CHAPTER IV

UTlLISATlONAL ASPECTS OP CANALS

4 .1 INTR)DUCTION

UldeNtJ.l1sation of .tr:r:i;ation potential cneted bJ

en .lr:r.lgat.lon work .le def.taed as ~ ta1lun to .trr1;ate the

total area that. the work was desl;ned to, in a panic\&l.ar:

;eo-pbysical se~tlng and unr.ter: tbe assumption of a given

c:roppillg pat.t.em. The tact. t.bat such wdea:utilisa~on bee

~actariaed irrigation developzent. 1A Xrdia has been well

documented by a number: of N.1-1nd1a npca-t.s end cornmies1ona1

as well ee bJ re;ion&l st.wU.es/suneys, confined to 1nd1v1•

dual .lr:r1Qat1on projects. 2 In fee~ for the fil'st. three Plan

per:iode the overall figures for perc:entaQe utilisat.ion - 60,

51 end 49 respectively - sboW a declinin; trend (Srin1vasa

1973). UndeRtillsation oi the major aovces of iJ:r.tQation

in tbe state ot Punjab baa &lao been not.ed. 3

Pu&'~r, it is widely obsa~d that. the offic.t.al

figures for ut.UiseU.On \&D4enst1mate the real extent. of the

1see, for example, Report, Icri;ation Ccmmiaa1ona 19721 Repor:t., National Ccmm.laa.lon ot A;r:1cult.uceal976J Ccxnm1-t.tee on Plan Projeot.aa1966J etc.

2see, among otbel'a, Venket.raman, Narayan ancS Sbenoya 197!h Aeope end Tr1petb1t19751 Ghoabal97SI wadea1975(b)l Re1din;er:a197t.

3see, for: instance, BSOal970,. 19,1, 19731 and Cc:xnmit.t.ee on Plan Pr:ojec:t.ea1962.

98

problem. 4 EKI.sting evidence points to mount.ing losses as a

l'eeUlt. of unnaliaecS potential. 5 In view of tbia and the

c.:J.Ucal relevance of i&-r:igat.ion for enhancing agl'iCNl ~ual

99

4vor example, VoMe points out tbat. "It is impor:tant to remembe&- that even ~ere potential is reported to have baeD "util.leed to the extent of lC>Cm, thie does not mean that the available supplies ar:e being utUJ.sed to the lJrolt. of tbei&- productive capacity or that the efficiency witb Which ir:riptJ.on .ls being c:ar:&"ied out. leaves not.b.lng to be des.lncS. In pnaent. Ur:1gat1on p&J:"lence, all that. .. 100% ut1Uaat1on .. moans ie tbet water: is either: being actually supplied or: bas been made available fo~ being auppl.lecS to ell tbe lands Wbic:b were planned to be irrigated in the commard area c:oncemecS. 'DMt r:eaponalbJ.lit.y ot the ir:r:~ation auth01"1Ues generallJ encts with the creation ot distl"ibution systems which do not. oo beyoDC! outlets meant to eer:ve blockS of upwams of 100 acne each, and the war in Wb!Cb water: is ut.iliaecS beyond the• outlets is n.ot their c:oncem. f\&1'ther, the fnquency as well as the t.1ming of ir:rigatlon - botb of wh1c:b are eo !mponant fram the agrieultural point of view - axe not at all reflected 1n the .. utUisat.lon" fi~s - so long as water has been supplied even once to e paa:-t.icular ana- it is .included in the ae~ea;e .cep~eent1ng 100% "utJ.Usation". Pe~oantage figures o! the "uUUeation• of potential are therafo~ no~ a satisfactory 11¥!ex of the use t.o wh1ob irr1• ;ation water is being p&t tor: parpoaes of agriC\lltural pro­duction. on the otl\er bend, they carry the danger o.e creatino a false aense of! complacency .. (Vobl"aa197&, p. Sl).

5It hee been eetimated that e total capital of Ra. 400 ccona waa blockad dunn; the fil"et three PleD& (S~1Divaaa1913j.

A mon ncent at\ldJ of the losa due to the exJ.stin; un~eliaed sotentiel of 38 lakh acre a 1n the counuy. not.es that •tbe cost. of cr:ea~ng .UrJ.QaU.On potential works out on an average et aa. 900 per ecze •. "'f,he unutilised potential ot 38 lakb aows npresents an investment of neerlJ Ra. 350 c:roree on Which no ntum ia bein.g pr:esent.l.J obtained" (Vobraa197S. p. 51).

growth6 • it. becomes impea:ative to study tbe a:easons undea:lyin;

thls sttenomena. However • the perception of the problem and

its solution by moat. studies in tbls context remain essenti­

ally technocnUc. lP conuast. to this, our: content.! on in

the present. thesis is that. tedmical cauaea epan, the

factors 1nb1b1tJ.ng fuller uUUsation of irrigation potential

have theia: roots al$o in the social organisation and manage­

ment. of t.heia: use. In tbe following t.wo cbepters we ~ to

est.abliab this with reiea:ence to tbe major sources of irriga•

Uon currently 1n use in tbe state ot Punjab.

This chapte~ end the i!ollowing one discusses the

pat.tem of ut1U.satlon of canals end of eballcw t.ubewella

respectively, with a view to 1dentJ.iying the aasociat.ed

problems. We also tzy to show that. there exist. different.

modes of utilising the same techftic:al source for different

econcm1c categol:'1e8 o£ cultivators. 'lb1s bas important. impli­

cations in terms of the opea:ational effidenc:y and the cost.

of J.c-ritJaUcm faced by the respective ;coups, and t.bJ.e, in

t.um affect.e the!~" prcduction <lec1a1ona end the ultim&te ou~

put. An analysis of the impact of .lrrigatJ.on on procluotion

therefore, calla for a futher cleas.UJ.cat.ion of the available

~ lack of ac.tequat.e 1&-&"i;at.ion facilities bas lleen ~ypically viewed as a majol:' conauaint. on tbe futher a;r:J.­Clltucal ;rowt.h in the countJ:y. Following this, policy recomm­endations callin; for: .lnc:reased ir:ci;aUonal investnent. bave been made. the unde&- utilisat1on of the exlst.1119 worka not.with­stan4ing (see Chapter: IX tor e further: disoussion oi tbia aspect.).

101

i~rJ.gaUon sources baaed co the typical modes of their utili­

seUon. 'lbie w refer to as the mocle of irl'igat.ion Wbicb

inclUdes no~ only the teebnlcal ch8r:acter1aat1on of the

sources but alao conclit1ons et.taohed t.o ut.ilisaUon. A cU.SCN~­

eaion of tM .impl.J.caUons of diffexent moc!ee of J.rri9et1on in

tems of cost. and efficiency follows.

Tbe unc.terlying thl:ust of tbe enUre cSiscusa1on will

be to focus. first. on the eocial or:i91D of some of the pro­

blema bindel'ing the realisat.ion of the urigat.ion potential

the~ ia teebnlc:ally created aocl secol¥Uy. on. tbe cU.ffenntial

econamlc implticaU.Ons of 8\ICb under-uW1satlon tor the cSitf•

ennt econcm1c categories of the uaer:a. ~king the owned

bolding size of the cultivators ea e roup bae.ls for tbia

cat:egcmJ.aatJ.cn.

4 • 2 WATBR REGULATION AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

Tbe pneent section focuaea principally on the

quality of ir:r£9ation associated with the mode of canal 11:11•

;at..lon. l'or anelyt.loal pur:poae • we will divJde the discussion

into wo parts- first.. deelin9 with the water diaU'itNtJ.on

frtom the aourrce of water to the outlet. 7 an4 •cold • fnxn the

ouUet t.111 the field. 8

7Tbat. is from point. A to point. E in Fi;ure 3.3. Chapter III •

8From point E t.o point o. in Pigure 3.3. Cbepter III. It. may be noted. that tbe oper:eticn end maintenance of the caaal net.wOI'k upto tbe water outlet. tell a under the admlnJ.a­t.ntJ.on of tbe Irrigation OepaJ:tment of the Stat-e Coverament..

10~

The basic elements of the e~c~~ of the canal

system as pnsent.ly pxevalent in Punjab, bave el,;eady been

diacus•d in Chapte&" 111. It was pointed out that the regula­

tion of water end ita ultimate c.teliveJ:y is ~.tma&-lly limlted

by the pett.em of l'ivel" flows - tbek qwmt..lty and fluctua­

Uone. Dams, weke, end bar:ra;es an the var:ious ~:egulatin;

mecban.lems. However:, pxovision for stot:age of water: ard

bance for contzolling the cive&' flow, exists solely at the

dam s1tee wb1le tbe funotion ot the bar:rage (and tbe wek) is

limited to ngW.at.ing the flow into the c:anel ft:cm the ;iven

flow J.n the river. 9 The fust point of n;ulation therefore

begins witb the conuol of water &-elea• fRm the dam, if it

exieta.10 Given t.be total quantum of water t.bue nleased,

wh.Ue the oroan1eation of watec dJ.stzJ.butJ.on including the cna.lntenance of the wat.el' COUC'se t=m the outlet t.o tbe fJeld nmains tbe joint mepona.lb111ty of the Shar:e holders of eecb outlet.

9xt the dam bae not been constzucted, as for example in the caee of r.lvel' Ravi in Punjab, the canal euppliee ere limited by tile &"Un of the rive&" supplies - with the z:eaul Ung, elmo st. oer:tain, lt\OJ:tegea of wate&" during the lean pe~:iod J. .e. Rabi season even in a no¥mal rea'", and m~e so d\ll'ing a ckou;bt yeaar. See fol' example Table 4.1, Which ahova the montbly cSemao:t and 8\&pply of wate~ fol" the year:s 1916 and 1919 • e good r:ainfall and a dr:aught. year: mspect.ively. The ;ap in demand for and supply of water: fol' montba of september, October, November:. Decembe~: aad January is ev.tdent. secondly, wbile the demand 1a gener:ally bigber J.n 1979 fl'an september to December, tban for cor:zeepoftling pe&-iocl in 1976, the supply ia lowe a:- in 1919 than in 1976 during the same perio:S.

10In the case of Punjab, tbe management of the two dams, Pong on Beas aftiS Bhakhra on Sutlej is enuusted to a TechftJ.cal Committee .. compJ:islag of engineers and otheJ: government. xepresentati"es for: all the states c:onc:emecS, and headed by the Chaiman of the Bhakbra-Bees Management. Board -

tbe next step a~ tbe canal heed WOJ:k8 1e to cSisUiblte tbe

same t.o the d1ffenn~ canal eyetema tak.lng off tberefrcm. lf

the supplies taU aboa:t ot the total ctemarr.t11 then the c:bannals

an fo~ into a Dllllbe&- oi equal gmu;pa, S\lob that. the sUpP­

lies en capable o£ meeting ot. least. the toel demand of one

etoup· in a tun. 'lba~ is, within a pel'iod of e doys • wbicb

ia the cycle ot iU.lgaUon supply for: each field to be wa~nd •

tbe water aboulc:l in.t.gete tJ\0 enUze ezea ~:eq\&lrect to ~ 1c~:J.,.

gated by the panicnalac- ocoup of c:haanele • at lean onoe.12

%i the wate~ supply excee4e nqulnmente ot the panJ..culer

~oup, then i~ is passec:l on to the gn~ JAenUtied ill the

accmd pnfennce eched\ale erd eo on. Tbe S'\IPplJ 1a tbua

fe4 to tbe vu.t.oua 91'0\lpS by "otatioD wbich meau the~ the

a Centnl Govenment orgeniaation. Tbe Commit"• meeu n;ulerly eveq month to decide oD the daily nJ.eaees, depen­ding pNdoJDinantly on tlle a:iver flows, expected raineall, neeaa of powe~, udGat.ton, pGwer and floo4 conuol. The nauldng output. of lr1'19at1on en! power az:e &hand by the cUiferent. stat.ee, ee per existing agreements <or the absence ct the same ee for example tm case with the sw:plus wat.e" at. SbeJcbJra). Altbou;h the process of decision making et. th.\a stage is subject to the vu.toua po11tice1 palla and preea~a, ;1ven the st~:ingent. tedm1cal r:eq\Wtement. oe ma.lata~ mialnun reeenou le•la, the tec:hnocnts maaap t.o prevail ovel' ~ deoialons.

1~ dUly estimation of Wic:b ia ecamunicatecl ~leocapbically to the bead office.

12xe tbls I.e not dona, then tbe taU-ende'"s on the paft!C\&lar ;coup will sllfte~, as <Sud.ng the following 9 days period. wate1: .apply will be d.lvea:ted to the next group a1 to98thal".

10~

maximllll t1na period after vb1c:b the same fJeld will get tbe

second irriQation is e mult..lpUecS by the number of ;roupa.

'rbe distributJ.on of water beyond the braneb c:ana113

lies under the overall conU'Ol of tile E•cuUve Engineer

1nchaqe in the f.lel4 who can use hi• discretion to distri•

bute the surplus waters as be deems fit. - i.e. the sur:plus

water over end above the~ allotted in the first. pxeference

ecbedule. lt finally. the last point o£ control is at the

heacS of the distzibuto&'f, beyond wbieb the outlets are merely

simple e:d.t pointe with no regulatoi'Y meChanism.

Serorr5 the outlet irrigation water .la supplied to the

farmera th=u;b the main watel' cow:'se. A acbecSule of weeklJ

tuns, kftowft ae •warabar¥!1', is f1•cS acco~ing to Wh.lcb the

users en euppoaed to irrigate tbeir plots for a ;1 ven t.lme

perioc! in suc:ceea.ton. '1be eotual t.kte o£ eaCh t.\&1'0 is calcu­

lated by multiplying the size of tbe plot to be uri9at.ed by

tbe avaiJ.able water time per week par ecr:a. 15 While alloting

this U., allowance is made for the eave time requ.Ued '01"

13ftult. is, et. point B in tlbe Pi~• 3.1, Chapter III.

14xt. is at. t:bis point. of control tbet. si9nif1cent. deviance bee ~plcally bien observed - depencUn; on the cnd.lbilit.y ot tM officer concemed an4 the pW.la an4 pree­sU&ea operatJ.n; on him from the official and polit.ical heir­arCby above end the fel'mlng ccxrmun.l~y below, or frocn both.

1"rbat. J.s, t.be total number of minutes of water supply in a week divided b)' the total numbar of scree to be 1n:.lgateci by the outlet.. Thus tbe total in:1gat1on is fi.•cS on tbe basis of the alee of bo141ng under the c.c.A. (Cult.ur­able Ccmmanded Ana) of the outlet..

10~

the water to tnvel in tile watercourse before nacbing eaob

field, known as 'bhara.fr•, em elao tor the tall water flow

ga.lned by the leat Shenholder, known aa •nttcal•. Water

diat&"ibution on the basis of Ume, ae opposed to a dire~

volwnevic: one, bee itnpoftant consequences for the guantwu oe

water actually naeb1ng the field Vbiob then gets deteanined

by tbe disdlez:ve (i.e. flat: per unit ot time) available in

the watercouae during the stipulated penocl. 'ftle d1s~

available at. the outlet., to begin witb, is &Nbject. to wicte

variations aa poJ.nt.ed above.16 This a~ply is funheJ:

reduced 'by the loaaes en route. 17 As a resul~ cSisehar;e at

the outlet ia ;enerelly £ound to be insuffic.lent for .trr.t;a­

ting the anti.:. ana it 1a sdlecl\aled t.o irrigate. 18 FW::ther,

en additional aet of factol's operating beyoncl the outlet,

16SJ.nce it depeQ:ls on the available sources of water for the entire canal net.wottk end tbe constraints operating on the cU.st.r:ibution of tbe o1ven resources to satisfy objec­tives, otber than those of irri9at.1on.

11'l'bese ara aggravated by the pooa: maintenanQe of the canal network, illegal canal c:uu, • breac:bea• of canal bankS, water stealing by pipes et.c., fui:ber acid on to the losses. In adcU.tJ.on there are ~announced closures of the cSistt:J.butariea for 1nspec:Uon,1:na1ntenance reasons.

18s1nce the 1rrigation revenue is assessed only for tbe aa:ea act.ually under urJ.oat.e4 cul.tivaUon- the differ­ence be~ween the areas assessed for revenue unSe~ each outlet per eeaeon, and the~ comroa.Piecl, i.e. that. Whicb ~t. was SUPP­osed to irdQet.e (in the sense, tbat it. is the tot.al area for Whlcb •wari' or twm was allocatee!) gives an 14ea oe the extent of water shor~ge. For example, Table 4. a shows the c.c.A. of ell the out.lets, feedin; village Ghudda J.n. distzJ.ct BhaUnde Which wae one of those select.ed for i'leid "-~rk# as also tbe area assesse<l for wvenue for each season. The persistent. difference beb~n the ~wo. reflect.s the extent. oe water Shoruge for u~1gatJ.on J.n the villac;e. relative t.o tbe level of irr:igation that. is t.echnically feasible.

106

aucb aa eeepage end evaporauon losses in the watercouse

agg~avaw this pxoblem leading to a further ndu.ction of

auppliee nacbing the field as well as an .lnc&-eesec:S unrel.t­

abil1ty of the same. Hence the under-ut.UisaUon of the

in'.l9aUon potentJ.al c~eated by canals. Xn the following two

seotJ.ons, we will briefly dJ.scu•s tlle major factors affectJ.n;

the d1acberge prior to ans beyoncl the outlet.

4 • 3 BBSORB 'l'BB OUTSET • MAINTBNANCB OF CANALS

Adequate maintenance of the main canal netwos-k.19 is

a critical requirement affecting the delJ.ve&'J of the schec!Uled

diaaharee at the outlet. However, the actual state of main-­

tenance of tbe canals 1rl Punjab bas been fu fRm sat.J.stac­

tory. 20 'lbe difficuldes appear at two levels. Fil"st., it

has been found that. the quest£on of proper ma1nt.enance bas

not. been accorded cSue imponance by tbe govennent body in­

chazve of financial 41sbureement. Being a paJ:t. and parcel

of the non-plan e:cpendi ture, no special gl"ante ere made for

tb1e. The ellocat.1on is done on a yearly ad boc basts which

19The majol:" items of &epailt' eat! maintenance conetJ.­t.ute the followings stzengtben1ng of embanlunents, weect cleannce, beam Uimm.ing, •11t clearance, checking of out,.. lets an! £low at tbe taU ends ( sae Appeo:tJ.x A. 4.1).

20As mentioned earlier the maintenance end opeJ:ation of th*. canal network till the ouUe~ temains the reepone1-b111t.y of the lrdo&t.ion Department..

baa been foUDS t.o be fu short of the zequlnments. 21 for

instance J.t. was pointed out that as against a recoameadat..lon

of the maintenance fwds at the nte of ae. so.oo per hectares

of the oroaa Irrioatect Aha ( Reaolut.lona1971) • the present

rata of expenclitw:e worka out to be oftly Rs. s.oo per hectare.

aDS even out of that~ more than 60 per cent en requind to

meet the estebliabment Ohar;ea. Tb.le brings us to tbe aec:old

set ot d.lff.leult.J.es, arJ.aing out of the buearocl'atJ.c functJ.on­

J.n; of tbe Irr.lgat.ton Depenment Whic:b c:oneumes a bl;b pXOpor­

t.lon of the funt!a for the organisation, leaving snell propor•

t.lon for the actual emcuUon of the works. Bv.ldence for the

reault.ln; de~erioraUon of aome of the major canal aystema in

Punjab. is available f=m the maintenance aecUon of the

Il'r.lget1on Depanment itself (see Appendix A.4. 2). Hence the

21Tb1s baa been np!atedly pointed out J.n the various report&/lrlemOI'anda of tbe Irrigat..lon Oepar:tment. For .lnat.ence a ncent memol'end\ID atat.es tbat. "The mainte• nance end up Jceep of U'r.lQat.lon systems in Punjab most of wblc:b lJ.Jre u.a.n.c. ~ liil'b1Jd Canal etc. ., .. conauuctecS about 100 years ego, has deterJ.onted. 1'tle position has fuctber woreanect becauee the ptriocS.lc nominal increases in the annual maintenance alloc:at1on have been ueecl up in tbe fcmn of 1ncnase .ln pay en:S eUo.:ances of ngular old workt­eharpd steff employed on tbe hftning and maintenance of the 1rr.t.gaUon syatema0 (Memorendwna1976). Further a nport of the Depanment citea that. "the constreJ.nt.a on the a:-esoUE"ces 1a tbe ;ovecnSng c:riteria erd bappens to be a continuing aJ¥1 nomal feat.uce. No bald and fast. nom for t:be operation erd maint.enanc:ea works exlst.a 1ft the atate1 but. e.:e car:r:iecl out depending on t.be elC1vencies of the work ead availability of fun.isn (lrr:ioation Department. Nota a 1977).

'108

reducUon of tbe d.t.scluu:9E) available at the outlet., besides

the increased wu:el£eb.t.11ty of supply. This further encourages

the illegal extreot.ions fzom the canals, n.t.nforoin; the

adverse affects noted aboVe, apec.t.elly during the lean period.

Probably the vox-at affected an the ta.U-enders, wo have to

bear the compounded bJ:UD~ of all these.

In short., although a de9l'ee of unceru.t.nt.y witb

fttapect. t.o the quantity 81¥! Umin; of wat.er supply is expec­

ted due to the techn.t.cal pxoblems associated with water n;ula­

t.t.on, the conditions of operaUon of the entire system in

actual use a;;ravate tbie uncertainty much beyond that wanan­

ted bf purely tecbnical conalder:aUons.

4 • 4 BBYOND 'fHB OUTLET

The Iu.t.gat..t.on Department delivers water at. the outlet.

to a group of private .t.t¥Uv.t.duals - i.e. farmers Whose fields

an water:ed by the pUt.t.cular out.let.. Beyon&S this point it. is

they ~o an auppoaed to or;aniM the water Sherin;, i.e. the

se~nce ot napectJ.ve t.ums, laying out. the field channels,

their: subsequent maintenance etc. In the pXesent. sectJ.on we

will discuss the problema aaaoc.t.atetS with water WJe at tba

level of the water: e»ursa, wblcb lead to a further: detariOJ:a­

Uon of the available <U.acbaJ:Ve. Tbe two most elp.U.t.cant.

faotora .f.n tb£• context ace, firat., the water losses due to

109

seepage and evaporation, enS secondly tbe location of • nakkas• 22

on the watezcouree.

DiacuaaJ.n; sources of water loas in the canal aystem

in Chapt.ec- XII, it. waa pointed out that. losses a~ t.be field

level - baa.lcally due to evaporation and seepage - al'e sl9ni•

f.lcantly .lnfluencecl by the velocity end volwne of flow in the

waterco~ae. C1ven tha fact. tbat. most ot the watercourses .ln

Punjab are 'KUt.c:ba' or unllned they nquire per.lcd.lQ cleannce

of weeds, aUt e~., t.o maintain velocity and 4lac:harge. 23

However, tbe OJ:Oan1sat.1on of this ma1ntananc:e of the

water cour•s is che&"acterJ.sed by the following aspects .... cb

2~se an the !U.d exit pointe on t.be watercourse fa:un which the water enters the J.ndJ.vJ.duals plot.s of the ahenhol<lere (see point. P in Plgure 3.3, Chapter XII).

23'1tlese an alao moa prone to breaches during ur.l­;aUon leading to a fvt.bel:' loa& of watel:'. Bea.ldes, very often about. two to traree people an reqW..:ed fol:' survelllence, while avaJ.lJ.ng of an J.l¥!.lv1dual turn. While one connects the wat.er to the pafticular plot (this 1a also done manually) , the othel:'a Mep an eye on the ent.J.re length of the waterc:ow:'ee to plu; 1n any breacbee 1mmed.lat.ely so as to avoJd lose of watec- during hie t.\1&'0. -n.J.a also puabea up the labour cost of irri;adon it family labou 1e not available. In contrast. to this 1ft the Uned watel"OC)urae • one men can connect the water ~ngle banded. '1'be ana irl'i;at.ed per t.um also inc:naaea by about 15 percent.. in case of lining. Lately, then baa been aame effort. in this dJ.noUon. Tbe PSTC (Punjab St.ate '1\abewell CorponUon) has taken on the wol'k ot 11n1ng .ln eome of the South...Weetem dist.r.lc:t.a, nc:ovet:"ing tbe cost. !&'OlD the beneticiai'J.es in J.net.all.mtmt., ovel:' a pel'1oci of 7 years. But many £acma~:e expnssed that. these balf• yeal:'ly J.netallment.e wez:e too heavy compand to tbe 1ft=eaaed benefit eCCNlnv on account. of lJ.nlng.

110

adversely effect the dJ.~oe. In the lust place. J.t 1s

done manuallX• Being a clum8J p~cesa • repeated manual clear­

ance upaet.a the level of the watec- bad in the course. conse­

qUently, then an depreaaiona .men watel:' coUect.a and the

J.nnec- sudac::e becomes uneven. 'l'bis venerates nalstance ~

~ wat.e~ flow a!fact..t.no veloc.lt.y adve&-eely an:S. thereby

J.ncreaeift; losses. Secondly, maint.eaance remains the Joint.

naponeJ.bllJ.t.y of all tate sbal'eholde&-a o! the outlet. Pol'

the flow to be ma.1nteined to tba end, 1t. 18 imperative for

!!!, the shanholders t.o contribute to the cleaning opel'atJ.on.

If for some ¥eaean, 24 some oi the ebanholders opt out. of

th.ia arrangement., it often leads t.o a dJ.ause of oanala by the

nmainin; ehaxeboldel's as weU due to the conaequan~ hduo­

t.ion in dJ.aebaJ:'ge. Poor ma!ntenence of the watercourse is

pal't.J.aul.erly bazaldoua for tbe taU eQ:!ere alnce they have to

bear the bi'W\t. o! cwnuletJ.ve losses. 25

24sucb as. access t.o elt.emative (and auper101') aource of in19at.loo.

2Soften watel' does not reacb them at. all 4u1ng their ~un. An idea of the extent of lossea syatematic:allJ suffend by the tail endea:s on a • l<Utoba • 01: unlined wau.c-c:oUI"aa. can be bad fRill Table 4.3 'Ml&Ar, wbieb 8howa the improvement 1n the PI'Oductivity vaa:-iablee (effected at succ=eaaive distances frcm the hea4 of tbe watercourse) as a nault ot 11nln;. In ao ob•J:!e aense. .lt incSJ.catea the d.lffenntial losses that bad been suffered by the sb&J:eholdere of that. outlet. along the uet.ercourse. prior to lin1ng • i.e. on t.be • K\lt.cba • wet.ea:­couee. 'Dle data ~late to a sample of wat.ercouee in the canal-11'riget.ed uacts of South•Wes~ P\1\jab. A compac-.lson of Columns 3 and S sbowe tWlt. the loaees at. the tail end bacS been almost foUl' t.imoe that. at the head • a1nce it reflects a four-fold improvement. in mo~ oi the var.S.ablea afte.r l.lning • ovel' the improvement at the head of tbe water:­cour:se.

111.

During the couee of our field w=k .\n tbe canal

irrigated ereee in Punjab, 26 we fo\ID:t that this problem djd

not aeaume a eer.t.oua pJ:OporUon in tbe 418U'iet ot Bhat.inda

when canals ~re the only feas1ble oow:ce of ir.:igatJ.on and

all the sbezeholders thenfon had a vested .interest in the

efficient operetJ.on of the same. However, it. was widely

prevalent 1n Amr1tear district 91b.1cb was pre4cml.nant.ly e

c:snal-irrigated ana bUt dler:e the far:mere cUd have the option

of 1nstellJ.n; tbeir: own t.~-ells (the latter were found to

be more conducive to the adopUOft of HYVa). Tbe development.

of this elternatJ.ve source leeS t.o the neglect of canal wat.eJ:

ua;e by .!e!!. shanholders, thenbr deprivin; even the others

of canal water since it. was not. practical for them to clear

the entire length of the waterccurse. ~ther, due t.o this

interruption of the water cycle, even eering erran;ements, 27

es in BhaUnda diat.rict, ~re not. possible. Hence the deter­

ioration of the positJon of the snell scale culUvat.or in

ter:ma of the accese to irr:i;aUon soU&"aes. 28 Since it. ie

they dto ere typically deperdent solely on canals, beJ.Ilg

unable to affol'C! the installaUon of tubewells. 'ftle s1t.uat.J.on

for tail en4e.:a. parUCNleJ:ly the small land owners. ia rather

2.6 That is, the dist'f"i.cts of Bh0-tin.d..a., a.ncl. Amyitsat". 27 Agreements nga~ng water Sharing bet.ween ad Ja•

eent abareholcters on tile same outlet. an-ived at., to over­come the water shortage typically associated w1th canal J.r.:1gaUon.

28SGe Chapte&- VIII for a further discussion ot the 1mpact of emer9ence of t.ubawaUs 1n a canal irrigated uea.

112

di.-nal. Case s~udiee of eome farmers illuatr:atJ.ng tbe impaot

oi water ahOJ:tagee for reasons as above on tbe1r economic

poaJ.ticn. an cUacusaed in Appendix A.4.3 and A.4.4.

1be point tbat nee<la empbaa.laJ.ng in examples suCh as

these is the~ in order tor the uulisat.1on of canals to be

effective it. requuee a c.tegne of c:oominaUon of the

effons of the 1rr19et.ion Department. and of the abanbolders.

Wh.Ue the for:mer 1s nspcQ&ible ior the proper ruon.in; ancS

ma1ntenence of canals to eneun regUlar end amooth opel'at1on

of tbe same. the latter bas the onus of organ1a1ng ita ut111•

aucn at tbe local level bJ attenc.Un; to the dia~iwtJ.oo

of vat.er to .1rd1vJdual laDS owners aid ens\U"ing the proper

maintenance of water e»UI'ses. If this J.nt.egrat1on .ls .inter­

rupted at. any point. eitber due to la:d.ty of the canal 4epen.­

mentor !DS.S.~J.dual. abanbolclere of the outlet opting out o£

the collective maintenance to adopt a better alternative

fom of irri9aUon such as t.ubewell. tbe uUUeatJ.on of

canal water by ell the ftlenbolael:'a 1a necessarily impair:ed.

Like tbe funct1on1ftg of an organic system. the breeJcdown of

any one part affe~s the opent.1on of the whole. as a unit.

Given the dischar:98 of the water available in the

watercourse a major £actol" influencJ.ng the water r:eaeb1ng

the 11\dJ.vjdual field is the location of •naklcaa• • These are

f~d points on tlle common watercouse ftan When the water

enters eacb individual plot.. Theil:' location affects tbe

water supply to the pa~ar plot. in t.wo waya. l'ic-s~. the

totel J.rr:J.;auon time eUocated to a \l88r: J.e 8\lpposed to

inclUde tbe extl'a tJ.me, Jcoowa ae • bha~:ai • , ~ by the

we tel:' to travel f&"Om tbe • naklca • pr:ior to the one feed .in; his

plo~ t.o the • nakka • for his plot in the watercouse. 29 In

ease ~· allocation is .iftsutfl.c1ent to cover tbe actual time

taken, tbe effeotlve t.1me le't. for ea~ual .lr1:!9aUon G•ta

correapordingly ncS\aeecS. Tbla, in fact, J.a tbe more typical

experience o! thoae aveil.ln; of canal .lnigeUon. 'lbe water

loaa on t.hia account. for each ettanholder thenfore, depends

on the cSJ.st.ence between the two • nakkaa' • 30 SecondlJ, t.bi.e

29Jtor example, .ae B'1gure 4.1 Whe&'e the owner of plot. II will pt tbe water at A. He 9eta • bhara.t. • for die­tance AB, irrigatea bia lanr! and releaaa water t.o plot. Ill at B f&"Cm Where it is can1ed to c br owner of plot III.

30An idea of t.be extent. end frequency of this lose of water time in the common wateJ:COurse, due to ioauf fic:.t.ent • bbarei' , can be had by 1ooldn; at columne s ana 6 of Table 4. ~, wbic:b lbowa tbe dittennoe between t.be tJJne ellotecS an4 that. actually taken for tbe water to uawl fRill prior • n.ekka • to that. of tbe pai"Ucula&" tn;ment. The cliffewnc:e between columna 5 erd 6 .t.a then deducted frcm column 3, tlthic:b mow a the total available dme tor il:r.igat.J.n; tbe plot., wb1ch being lees than nqu.irecl anyway, ia futher nd\lced. Column 4 abowe tbe percentaGe of ana ur19ated .ln one alftgle turn, of the pan.icular fragment., 9iv.lng an average pa&'an~;e of 15. Al~ugb ane doea not. need to water tbe enUre plot eve~ week, em ~ aven;e • one need a to .iJ:&'i9at.e the lancl at least once a month. 'l'bat. means tbat. cluing each weekly tum a~ least 25 peRent. oi tba area ehoulcS be watered. Tb.la 18 on the eaaumpt.lon that full d1achar;e .la available

114

--~

A e c.

I I ll Ill

Fiq. ~.1

A, 81 o-nd c. aT& nakh.as o~ ~ormeT& with

t:>(tats I, 11, a,d. J tl -res pecb·v~tg on 1ht. wa1sr

cour&e XV. AYrow shows the dere,1lcm o~

wo1ar 'tow.

115

watex- loss is !U&'the&" eqgnvated by cex-ta.ln topognpb.lc:al

fea~w:e•~ i.e. the ~elat.lve levels of the watercoU&"se and the

field at the • naklce • • xe the level of the wateccoU&"sa is ver,

much lower then that of the field~ sloniticant. amount. of Ume

is lost merely in • beading' up the watec in the wateccoU&"se

before it 1e able to ent.ec the fJeld. 31 However~ this heeding

up of water .la ecSvant.e;eous t.o the aub•quent. ahexebolder as

he ;ains an extra quant.\ID of water due to the increased velo­

city of flow naul ting from the nleeee of the water head

du1ng bi.a ~urn. Xn fact.~ since the chain of coneacutive

~ums ie continuous 1n tJme ~ 32 any loc:at.1onal disacSvanta;e

that. one feftler may suffer~ becomes edvantageoue t.o the ne.loh­

bour-ing plot bolde.c-. As a neult. of these acSvel'ae exten~&l•

iUee~ it a alt.uat.icn prevails~ w'bece one pal'ticular culti­

vator 1a either et.uok w1tb en unfavo~eble location of bie

regula&-ly in the canal aDd then an no at.oppa;ea or mlseecS tum e. If, however • on the avecage one tum a month ie m1aaed, ard tbe d1acbUVe durin; the other t.ums var:1ee u .• e. either: the fe&mer ;ets no wat.er at. aU or: 99t.s lese than nonnal) ~ then 1l'l Ol.'der to nly solely on 1t.e own time, the plot abould 90t. neuly 50 pel'cent. izo&-i;at.ion eve&'J tfttek. A br:J.ef look a~ c::ol\IDD 4 however:, allows tbia to be a fa&' ~ fr:om the aftual position. Out of e total of 62 fa-agments, 20 manage to U:dgate less then 10 peroent during theu own wat.er Q1m. Out of these 13 fr:agmenta get no wat.e¥" at. au cluing tbeu ec:beduled t.lae. 'l'h1s ~blem ia muc::b mon generallaecl in the Aml:'itsar villeoea vbic::b ... eur:veyed, and has ;ot. aggr:avat.ed with t.ub!wlla inatellauon - as cU.scu­seed later.

31111e tecbl\lca11Ues of tbia aspen have alr:eady been diacuased in dateil in Cbapter liX.

32.rbat is as soon ea one eaa:mezo• e tum expires, the next one • s begins.

•

116

•nakka•, he may find himself unable to alter it due to the

na.latance offend bJ the ne~ur1n; sbareholder, or if his

ne.l;hbour suc:ceecSa .ln bringing about a change favourable to

bim, it may adversely affecta tbe water reaeb.lng h.ls own plot.

In tbia conatan~ t\leale among the sbal'eholdere, tbe probab­

ility of the lerQGr lend owners 1mpoe.ln; adverse extemeliUes

on the smaller ones ia bl.;ber. 'lbla is pacticularly so in

light of the d.leadvante;e auffend by the aneller lend

holders vitb n;ald to thei&" access t.o the goveranent. mec:h­

inaq in their at.tampte t.o ndnaa any loss on this account. 33

Case~o st.udiea of 1n4ivjduel farmers who have bome tbe bnnt.

of 8UCh problema an discussed in Appendix A.4.5 •

33xt. may be noted t.hat t.ho location of these • nakJcaa' on the wateroouse .la filad anti can be alt.enct only by applying t.o the lrrJ.;atl.on nepa.nment.. Hcn:ever, the entire proc:ed\Ue .le rather len;tby end cumbersome, due t.o the functional .lnef Ueienoy, Chencter.lsUc of most. qovermental organl.zauoos. We nad from e nport. fa»m the Xrri;ation DepUtment (Db111ona1978) that for instance, accol'din; to e nndom sampling of actual c:aaea d.lspo•d off in wo typical nnning canal divialons, the average time talcen in the disposal of such a case upto the Divisional canal Oifice&-s and superintending Canal Officers .la 14 ard 18 months napeotively. Adding another ebou~ 5 months talclen in implementation of the decision of the competent eutbo~it.y, the total time taken in actually aeet.l.n; the demand of a farmer is found to be 24 months i.e. two )'ears • • • "but of WhS.ch more than tbne fourth .la used up for adm1n1auat..lve legal mat.t.ere" end only ona fow:tb for tbe actual 1m,ple­mentat1on. "W1 tb suitable edmlnia~Uve nfoma", the same &eport. ~oe s on to show, "tbat. the total time could be reduced to &•8 mont.bs i.e. more than 65 percent of the time is being wasted due t.o inefficient and careless management.'*. Not. only t.bat., eveq ac1dit.ione1 • process• provides tbe opport.un.lt.y for the fJ:ee play of • contacts, influences, corcuption ani othel' SUQb accidental factors•. 'Dlese in toulity, further: tend to c:UsC&".lminat.e against. the majority of amall landholde&-s.

4 • S MlSCBLLANEOVS PROBLBMS

Tbe following an some of the typlcal Foblems

encountered by the fame~a34 .t.n addition t.o those discussed

above. ldlich futller binder the utilisation of canal water

beyond the out.leta

(i) By far the most common compla.t.nt of the farmers is

the unreal1ability of the c:anel wat.e~ supply. Al thougb the

department ia supposed to .f.nfom them in advance. in event

of a cloau.re. this notice never neches tbe farmers in t.lme

and even .t.f .t.t does. there .f.e prec.lous little they can do

about it. 'l'bia is pan.t.culerly hamful for those -mo shant 35

tbe.lt: tums. as 1t further .t.nc::naees the .lntenal bet.ween

irrigation auppl.S.e. llle;al c:anal cute. breaebes and water

eteal.ing by throwing plpes36 further e;gnvetes his erratic

supply • apec1aUy 1n the drought years ancs during tbe crit•

.leal pedoda of the ~P life.

rurther. the use of water acceleratol'. (Chatha or

Burma) by some fa~~Dera. ncluces tbe water reaching tbe

34'1beae am based on tbe personal interviews with the farmere 1n the Bhau.Qda dietriot.

351bis ie discussed funhe&- in ~ following section.

36'1b1a was conduoted w.ltb the connivance of tbe ir:ri• gaUon depa&"tment personoel. lt .t.a mostly the &"W:'al elite which dominate these illegal tranaact.t.ona Wh.lle the weaker secUons have to bear the bi'Unt:. of tbis.

11~

followiftv field. 37 In addition ~cbnic:al fect.ora. auc:b ae

the level of the outlet. relative to that. of tbe d.leuibu­

toty. 38 number: of tuna .f.n tbe watei'CIOUI'ee • 39 planting of

tree al.Oft9 r:oada 40 etc. fur:tber nd\lc:ea the water: wppl.lea.

I'J.nally t.be moat alQDif.lcant h\&ldle. in the way of

better: utUisat..lon of canala, it appear:a fr:om the oomple.lnta

of ell the fermer•, is the cornption aid ineffic:J.ency pre­

veil.f.n; in tbe ir&-iQat.ion department. 1n ndneain; their:

problema • auc:b as, altentJ.on of the s1ze of outlet, ita

level. wuebel¥!1 pxoblema, adjuating 'bbani' time, etc. 41

1be depanment.el mecbanitm to beadle aucb PI'Oblema was fo\UlCI

to be blQbly unauitable. 42

37'lb.la aucka the watel' fJ:om the enure length of tbe watarcouree, Vhicb has to be filled up e;a.ln dudng tbe follow.lnv tum, at the cost of 1r:r1gat.lon time.

381'h.la effeot.s the preesun of water flew, from the outlet. If outlet is at a b1gb lewl, tben the pniS\11'8 falla when diachar98 in cSJ.stzibutoQ falls - affecting wat.el' nacbing ell the !umer:a.

39'ltle flow .f.a bette&- in str:ai;ht watel"coureea.

40Plantin; of ueea, along tbe Z'084a affect.a land wJ.tb.ln e mater:a r:adiua aa ite I'OOt.e euok up moat. of the J.rri­;ation water:. leavJ.ng the CEOpa ckr.

41For: example the clerk in o-c• a office dla~V•e as. 20. 30. for expecU.t.in; the iasue of notice fo&- bearing of a part.J.­culu ca•. It take a appzoxlmataly ae. 250-300 to ~t. the • wui • c:hanged.

•2xn BbatiD'a diatl'.lc~ foa:- example then wee one officer: to hanc.tle the problems of more than t.bUt.y four tbou-88nd fu:mera. 11\.la hJ9bly cenualised oonuol and authority veated in one !rdi vJdual 91 vea pool" sen1ce to t.be public:.

11~

To aum up tbenfon, we can aar tbat. the water

disVilnltion through canela ie Gbaracteariaed br the following

aspect.aa

(i) It. baa an J.D-built. rigjdit.y of aupplr. That. J.a, the

user baa no control over t.be Umin; of J.zr!;ation

encS baa t.o adjust. all bis otber operations acco&'dJ.n;

to bia filcad weelcly tum ot water.

(11) Tbe control over quantity oi vat.er supplied elao

nmaina ve~ poor. Th1a is pa~y d\18 to tbe tech•

D1c:al problema aeaoeiated wit.b ngulat.ing river water

supplies. However, the problem is further e;;ravated

by losses en K"Oute - botb till tbe water outlet, on

ac:coUDt of poor maintenance by tbe Xrri9atJon Depart.­

ment. and ala:> beyond the outlet. upt.il the field, due

to problems associet.ed widl tbe llbarin; of thia wateJ:

by e collective of private iadiv.tduale.

(iii) Implicit. in ~s diatz-J.but.ion aratem is a acele

effeot, such that. tbe adverae consequences det:iving

fmm the mode of vet.er diatzibut.ion are c»rreapon4•

in;ly oreat.er.- t= the amall acale uee~:a.

end eecoldly, enable a the misuae of tbe power end convol thus vested. 'ftle worst. vicUJD of the above were often thoR do could neither aif~ the bribe nor cUd they have the r.f.Ql\t. polit.ic:el connections t.o exan pnsa\mt at the • top• • Ne1theJ: was there any sociel organ1aat.ion to taka up tbeic­cause. Isolated ant neourcelesa, t.hair belplessaeaa is often exploited by t.he petty gowJ:Dment. of!J.ciala a~ eveQ suitable opport.Uftity.

1~0

4.6 MODES OJ CANAL lRRlOATlON

In an attempt. to panially ove&-come eome of the

problema a8Soc1eted w.ltb canal wat.el' utilisation. t.ben have

emerged cSUfennt patter:na of uti11alng the eme. Trpically •

tlu:ee major moctee of canal ur.t.p~on can a:. J.denU£1ect.

Below we cUecuas tbe impl.t.cat.t.ona. in tema of coat ald

effioiency of irrigation of ead\ of these mactea.

'.6 .1 xn-J.etion 'ftlrouQb WeeJslx ~

'Ibis mode compr.leea fill ir&"igaUilg the plot during

tbe &'e9Ulu weekly tu.rm eobec.t\aled tor it ea pe# tbe •wa&"abenU.•.

As elnady d.leoussecS. tbe actual water available dUE"ing the

.Upulat.ed per:.locl depande on the diadlarge in tbe water:courae

Wblcb .la typically found t-o ~ short of ctemanc:t. er:ntic and

unnliable.

'l'be coat ot canal Ul".t.;atJ.on, hovevel'. .t.e quite low t

1n Punjab. In fact tbe watel' Rtee pxevalent in the state

ar:e one of the lowest in the c:ounta:y. 43 But its efficiency

fi:OID the po.i.nt. of view of quantum and a:el.iabJ.11~y of eupplJ

ea well a a conuol ovel' timing of supply nma.lns poor. In

oater to overcame aome of tbese cS.laadvanta;aa the c:ult..lvat.ore

bave either n~ to .lnatalling tbeil' own privata t.\abewlls

43Por e:cample. in 19?0 the lowest per acre cost. of canal kr.t.QBtion (this 4epan4a on the crop irrigated) 1n 81ba&- wee as. 12.5 Which .la b.\Qher: than the b.J.9heat. pel" acn rate for Punjab. o! ae. 11.5 for wheat. (aee. Report. IJ:>rigat.lon Commission Report. Vol. 11. 1972. P• 23S).

121

Where~ tad\ni.cally feas.lble 01" adopted eithea: o! tbe

following opt.lone • i.e. Sba~J.ng of tums and or puchaae of

wateJ: !DB otbe&- lard ownet:a vho. to~ __. aason. have span

canal .. watAr-u.me•. lt. is to a dJ.scuaaicn of th• lat.ter two

a1 temaUvea \bat. we now Pft)ceed. leav.lng the fUat. to the

latez- •otion en t.ubawlle.

'l'bie ie an arn~t. t.tlenbf t.wo C\lltivatora-

bavJn; lard on tbe same outlet.. exchan;e theil: water•tuma.

For example two fal'lnQJ:S baving e weeklJ tum of X m.lllut.ea -

enteJ: into a private aft'angament of J.rl'.l;ating t.bek fields

tor 2 X minutes eve~:)' alteJ:nate wale. A aignit.t.cant. emoWlt. of

.U:ri;aUon u •• ard tbat. =o the iniual ume • .la weate4 en

route aDS melcaa pno~cally no J)RClucUve contriblt.t.on to the

ou\put.. 44 But. tbie •wastage• is a neceafiU'J pJ:enquisJ.te for

the wateJ: to naeb tba CJ:Ops. Henee the aaane~:e• l)l'efennce

fOJ: oet.dng wau~: J.Q a 1urnp8\D • altbougb at. tbG cost ot .t.ncn•

aalng the intenal of il'l'igaUon f~a~ oae to t.wo weeu.

44Fol:' example • oonaidear PiQW:. 4. 2 of a typic:al f.lelcl (DBOI') situated on a wat.E" c:oueo AB. with the • aakka' at. s. 1be water loa•• duing tnnalt t&"CD A to B have alnady been <liacuuecl. Beyon4 tba point. B the fumears uauallJ maJce tbeJ.r own J.nt.e.mal watel' cbannels. fo&- bet.teJ: cU8V.t.buUora (l ... e. see• ). The~ .t.s some water and time loaa in these Cbannele elao. AlthoUGh at. this point nlat.t.ve le•le oan be bet.ter manipulated ~ the cwne~a, being tbe.t.&- pl'.t.vate plots h~ver. tbe inltJ.al tzater flowing into these !s moot.ly conGWDecl by wett.lfto the ao.ll and seepage etc •• ard does not. c:onVibute to ir~1;at.1on as suob. Xt. .ls thenfore. ~e l.et.ter flow tbat feeds the oropped e:ea and hence. aot.uall)' U'r.l;ates.

1., q .... ~ •

G

l 3 +

FIG.4•3 .

... 1

I fiG.!·!

However, it may bet noted first, that. these acran;e­

ment.a an, by and lar:ge, enter:ed int.o by the analler: c:ul tJ.­

vat.ora, lai'Qely due to the following naaone. Pir:at, tbe

above mentJ.onecl lo••• ar:e bigber on e per: acn basis for

tbe snallezo laid boldera45 ~ the exunt. tbet eve.-y tuat bee

a mlnimlln t.1me loae involved (i.e. tba lo-a are enalo;oua

to min!m\ID •over-head• chargee). All other coDliUona nma­

inlng the eame, the nlatJ.ve need for: lbar:ing is thenfore

more acute for: them. secondly, being in an econam.lcally

privileged poalt.iora, the b1;gar: land•lozda can avail of better

options to c:ut down tM shortage. 46 VJ.nelly it. ia not always

poaaible to arrive at a\lCll anangement.s, alnce it. affe~a the

sur:rowdin; plot. boldera. Pozo instance consider plot holders,

1 -- s, on water:couee A, a, aa ebown in f1Qun 4.3. N~,

whUe 4 bimaelf may not abare with 3, he canal., object to

3 shar:in; with 2 or:, 3 can object to 2 aDd 4 llbar:J.ng. No cne

will abe.:. witb s, because, being at the tail end, his 1r:ri­

gat1on time ia aaduced to ac:coWlt. foe the exu-a water ~cb

drains into bia field fr:CXD tbe en tin wateroour:ae, wben the

cycle ia natart.ed. Mostly tbe water: fails to dJ:ein on

4 s,_ propor:Uon of ana actually irrigated (a) per: t\ll"n, to ana for Wbicb wat.er: tJ.me ia allocatact (x) ia directly nlat.d to x.

8,./X u .••• x£1'- , 46sucb as purcbaee of ext.r:a water t.Jme on annual

baaia. eppnapriaUng the epeciel and limlt.ecS quota oi 1ra:1-;ation time meant for or:cbal:da etc.

eoc:ount of depwasione and level problems of the watercourse.

1'bereeore, no one would lile to share the taUender• a loss. 47

PJ.nally, as regar:de the oos~ em efficiency impl1c:a­

t.iona, it may be note4 that aber.tng turns in case of canal

irrigation does not effect the cos~ of 1rE"i;at1on to t.he

cultivator, compand to the usual rat.ea charQed. But the

crtloiel imp11cat1oo for eff.loiency ie the consequent increase

in the interval o! irr.l;et.lon, particularly for the snaller

aimed tra;menta. 48

· 47Teld.ng en example from our sw:vey, con.wter: t.be c:aae of cne Pollo Siogb of village Ghudcta, owner of 1. 75 acne, wbo has bis plot located as at 2 1n Pi~ 4.4, wbi.Ch J..s at a b.loher than normal elevation. 1herefon wben be 1rrJ..gatea plot 2, he baa to heed up tbe water to a total height of 3.5 ft., wb11e 1 ft. is ~ noJ:"mal height of wat.er in the watercourse. After hie tum expine, tbe water rushes t.o c w1tb inoreased speed, as plot. 3 needs a lower level than plot 2 for the wateE" to enter. Tbetefon, aile time is lost by Pol.lo to head up water et. a, its ac:tvnnt.e;e goes to 010ner of plot 3 tfbo is therefore not intenatad 1n ahariag with owner of plot. 2. Neither will he let the owner oi plot 2 Share wi~ that of 1, as in that case, every alter­note week - there will be no heedin; up, at. B - to the • loss • of owner of plo~ 3.

481b1s can be eapleinecS es followaa lf one of tbe pan.ners 1n the deal has a anaUer plo~ ancS tbecefore lesser Ume to eXChange. he may bave to fofttgo mon ~ one tun -before irrtoetJ.D9 his field- in o=•r to make up bis convi­butJ.on to the total Uma. In fact, the sneller bis own plot., tbe leseer hie weeklJ Ume, the QJ:eater w.Ul be the n\llt\ber o! turns be will bave t.o miaa on a l'egular basis. Thus 1ncnaa1ft9 the 1ntenal of irriQation by one week pel' ec.tdJ..­Uonal ~UI'ft m1ssecS. lf, as is lilely, then 1s e canal cut, tbe number of weeka m.f.saecS conaecutJ.vely can be bazar:dous for his crops. 'lb1s can beat be Uluat.rat.ect by cons1c.terin; the example of Pollo S1noh f&Qn village Ohudda, Who owns a total of 1. 7S acme in tvo fn;ments of 1. 25 and o. 5 acres. For the bi<JG91' !ragmen~ he shares with one other household, and waters bia field every second ~ek. But t= the o. s acre plo~ he has to mies his ~um for 4 weeks, and irrigates

Superimposed on thia systematic J.nCJ:ease J.n the

1ntenal between il'ri;ation en the usual fact.ol's mentionecS

above, 11Jca canal c:loaue, bl'eac:haa etc:. wbicb fUI"tber

1ncnaae tl\ia 1nter:val. Vei'Y often it J.s after 3 to 4 weeka

tbat. a tamer may actually ~t his t.um. wJ. tb this addecS

unreliability, the po&lt1on of the fermer J.n aucb an uran9•­

ment, ie rendend mot:e wlnerable tdlic:b is the price be has

to pay for getting tM mer;inal. benefit. of obtaining water

in a 1UI1lpaum. Witb respect. to this aspect therefore, tbe

e!!icienoy of sucb an in'J.gaUon arrangement, ia poonr than

tbe fir at al ter:native of weekly irrigation t.urna.

4.6. 3 ~chasing Water

'l'tlen are basically two fonla of water Ume purchase.

VJ.rat., an annual agnement ia reached between the buyer 8ld

eeller, .-hereby tbe purchaser ;eta • t. • minute a in the regular

cycle eve~:)' week. It tbe canal is closed on that parUc:ular:

day then of CC)UM the loss is bia but hia acheduled -....alcly

q\lOta ie enhanced. It thenfore xepreaanta an improvement.

in efficiency over the fil'st eltemaUve of acbedul.ed weekly

eveQ Stb week if the canal runa eve~ wek without int.ern­ption. He ;au to~ of 4.S minutes for his plot., plus 4.5 minute a for • bbarai• , tlltlile in fact. it. take a &-9 minutes for the aema. -zbenfore, it. takee aay a.s minutes merely to bring water to hie field WbUe the total t.ime with him is only 9 mlnutea, leaving only o. s minutes for a~ual J.rr.lpe Ucn • Ho.ver, w1~ ebuipg be 98t.8 a total of 22. S minutes or effectively 22. 5 • 4 • 18. s minutes, eve&')' Sth week which waters the entire plot.. SCmet.J.mea, even tbis is not euf£1-c:ient. due to low d.lecher;e. He baa to m1ea an aciditional tum end water bie field eve&y 6th week. It, therefore, becomes vet:y difficult. fox- b1m to •absorb• a canal cut. or m1seed tum unlike tboae with weekly tuma and lowr: inter­vale of irrJ.;atJ.on.

tums. in so far as it. effect.e the total qu.an~um available.

However, the nliebili ty encS cont&-ol over the aupply of this

quantum nma.t.na tbe same, tbou;b bet.t.er than tb8 •cooS

alteJ:"Dat.i• (i.e. of Sharing tuma) einc:e the crole remains

a weakly one. '!be avdlabllJ.ty of J.ncceaeecS quen~wa maaa

it poHible to have e QRater flexlbJJ.ity in the cSiatzJ.buUon

~ water within tbe plo~ affording a bigber overall irri;a­

Uon eecw:'J.ty, witb a 8\lltable mix of cropa.

The aacona fom of pu.Rbaee is the~ of an -\!!divi~\lal

ana 1!i)let.ed uenaacUon - conducted wenever. for some

reaeon, apan water time is evallable for eale witt. a farmer.

Then ia ebaolutelJ no certainty of it.s availability or prior

ccam.ltment by the •ller, tbe wderetendin; baing, that be

will aell if and cmly if, his own need a ere first eat.iafied.

'Dlenfore if, ~~ e~ple. the canal flow J.a leaa or tbel'e

waa ao water durin; the preceding -. ... k, the aellel' J.e perfec­

tlJ within bia c-i;bt t.o nf\l88. It follow a that tbie 1rr1-

gat1on facility is 1eeat likely to ex.t.st. wben tbe nHd ia

moat acute. Hence e fermer depeldent on tbia anoc!e have tbe

mald.anlm inseCUJ:J.ty, becau• 1f be fail a to ;et. watec- durin;

the cr.t.Ucal juncwre in tbe ca:op life, bia investment on

the eulier ir:ri;ationa as wll as on other input.a ( fen.111-

aera, seed, pesticide. labour etc.) ooea waate. cos~wiee

alao. paying on e pe~-~1oat1ca ~um baeis t.ums out to be

the mos~ e~n&ve. ncm the poJ.n~ of efficiency an4 cost

~benfo~e. tbia mode ftmaina t.be worat. among all above.

TABLB &r.\

Total DemaDS aDd supply of Watel:' at. UBDC HeacSwol'ks (euaeca)

Montb 1976 19'79

Supply supply

Jan. 13'7,200 60,640 118.205 106,000

Peb. '78,640 72,158 .,., ,210 65,026

March 99,&06 92,690 104,839 101,834

April 153,045 1S2,636 169,234 169,23&

May 242,149 242,768 202,995 202,995

June 256,611 241,301 211,205 204,223

JUly 255,933 21'7,001 272,269 2$4,996

Aug. 71,175 60,393 281,883 249,506

Sept. 105,633 9'7,404 230,110 138,436

Oct.. 152,316 105,956 186,690 7'7,680

Nov. 130,630 70,521 159,300 61,665

Dec. 115,360 58,460 93,015 52,280

Soucea Offic::e of the superint.ending flnginees- (canals), I&-r.lQaUon Department, Punjab eoveranent., Aml'1t.ear.

No. of outlet

29616/L

8112/R

15013/a

11050/L

20013/R

28250/R

5811/R

TABLB 4.2

Area Assessed for Revenue ( 197D-71 to 1979-80) for Outlets f-or VJ.llage GbuMba, District Bbetinda (a~a)

Yeec-c.c.A. of out.let (acne)

1911-72 1972-~3 1973-74 1974-15 1975-?6 .W.76-T7 1971-'78 1978-79 1979-80

K R K a K a K R K R K R K R

562 308 218 316 212 334 286 347 246 353 312 358 353 348 348 364 342 366 341

808 358 324 363 307 - 344 37'7 254 399 368 440 402 413 446 t64 429 507418

348 464 155 174 147 - 140 181 121 185 159 189 1'75 19.{' 180 169 180 184 183

603 368 320 372 32'7 - 340 388 2,3 392 376 430 319 422 389 ,23 385 419 370

959 593 503 sas S06 - 515 617 421 641 590 724 638 690 622 722 651 689 632

17 13 14 13 15 - 14 17 15 13 17 15 18 18 17 15 16 11 16

603 322 293 33'7 293 - 326 355 250 354 330 (03 368 408 360 391 368 395 385

S~C:IIiU Office of the BxecuUve Eagiaeer (canala), Irr.lgaUao Depaz'tment, PUDjab Gover:ament.,

Bbattrwta.

129

TABLE 4.3

lmpect of Lining of Wate~use on Pl'oducUvity Val:'iablea

Sl. va~iable Improvement. of the variable No. at. different. posiuons of

the watercow:se •

Head fUddle Tail

I11 ( '' : (3) (4l (sf

1. Land utilisation 10.4 40.8 40.2

2. Cropped area Wbeat. 6.24 12.48 24.12

Cot. ton 9.6 8.32 16.08

3. C~pplng intenalt.y 10.40 20.0 40.2

'· Water use efficiency•• 0.6 12.9 22.S

~n tema of pel'Centa;e improvement ovel' the p:"e•lining level et co~reapondiag location on the wat.e~cow:see.

•-n. t1CDe taken to kd;at.e cma hectare.

Source a ftom .. Impact. on Lining canal weter: Courses on tbe Pam Bconcxny 1n Soutb Weet 9unjab - A case Stwly" b.v l<bepar, s.n., OUlat.i. a.s •• end Rei, A. in Symposlwn Oft Moctel'nisaUon of lrr:J.gat.lon systems, New Dell\1, April 2-4, 1979, Vol. 1, Publication No. 133, eenval Boam of! Inigauon and Power. New Delhi.

1~0

TABLE 4.4

Area Irrigated per TWm anti Time Lose fo&" • Bharei' Uncler Canal lrr.t.Qat.ion in DJ.atzict. Bbatinda

Hou•- Size of Total • war1' Pro~on Time for • Bharai•

hold fragment t=tbe of eraa (mina.)

No. (acnta) fragment lrrl;ated (m1ns.) per a1ngle Aetual Allot. ted

•wari•

{1): t ~) J:SJ (i1 (s) (6)

1. 2.5 40 10 nil nil 9 1&5 11 9 5

14 210 14 20 10 5 ss 18 4 3

2. 3 20 13 5 2 8 90 13 15 5 2 20 6 13 3

3. 1 15 25 ., 3 9 99 ? 19 13

4. ., 63 17 6 4.S 4 28 50 8 1

s. 1 1 12.5 6 3 1 22 12.5 7 6 2.5 31 5 12 5

6. 1 10 0 12 2 o.s e 0 6 2

1. 1.5 16.5 25 15 9 2.5 27.5 20 12 6

a. 1 10 12.5 8 3 1.25 8 19 1 0

9. o.s 4.5 0 e.s 4.5 0.6 10.0 0 5 0 0.4 4.5 0 12 1

131 TABLE 4.4 (continued)

11> (%1 : : : (3) (4) . <!)I (6)

10. 1.25 12.5 0 5 2 1.0 10 0 6 o•

11. 1.25 14 0 10 0 1.0 9 , 16 9

12. 1.9 1? 6 1 4 1.9 18 13 13 7 2.5 30 0 40 7

13. 1 7.5 0 10 3 1 10 0 20 3

14. 0.6 15 40 4 2 1.25 30 25 5 2 1.5 26 25 8 2

15. 2 22 40 2 1 2 %0 2$ s 3 1.5 10 2S 4 2

16. 5 30 30 12 7 2 25 25 15 10 s 21 5 20 11

17. 4 54 so 1& 0 2.5 21 13 15 0

18. s 42 10 a 4 3 39 17 15 7

19. 10 60 5 35 10

20. 3 25 33 6 ' 3 25 33 ? 5 10 eo 13 10 9

6 45 17 8 7

21. 11 ss 18 4 3

1a~

TABLE 4.4 (continued)

(1) (2) (3) (~) (S) (6)

22. 2 9 0 2S 0 1 s 9 7 0 4 30 25 20 s 2 10 - 20 10 2 10 0 2S 12 1 5 10 .., 3

23. • 20 25 10 3

24. 22 124 ? 15 0

25. 3 15 8 18 10 12 60 8 8 3

6 30 20 18 8

26. 3 15 1& 0 2 9 40 11 10 0 8 40 13 10 0

27. 4 20 13 9 ..,

SouY'ce,: Field. Su'tvey ,.District 8/,a.tind..a.) 1qgo.

-rhia f~egment. is e pen of tbe Ha&"ijen co-operaU.ve lend­fOJ:' wblcb all water ie del.lvend at one point# w1thout. allot.lng any eatl'a U&ne for 1nt.emal d.lst&"ibut.ion of tb1e water.

•wu~• ~a tba amount of time elloted to a panJ.culaJr plot­durin; wbJ.cb the d1schec-ge available ~ t.be watercoU&"ae can be WJGd f~ .lrri9at1on of the plot.

APPENDIX A ••• l

MAJOR 1'1'£MS 05' REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE OP CANALS

1. St.re!!Q!l!ning of the BmbonJcment.at 'Ibis involves main­

t:aill.lng tbe epeoiflecS width and elopes of the channels end

the maaona~ works and keeping the banks ine of any g&-owth.

BreeChes of wek sites can cause large scale damage to life

and propel"ty.

2. Weed elearancea A pxoblem panio\lluly assoc1ated with

the Bbakhm canals cu~ing 811~ ewe wauu:. Excessive weed

Ql"OWth nduces the c:ur,.ln; c:apeci~ of a channel ant1 adver­

sely atfects the wate~ disUJ.buUon. specially fo~: the tail­

enders.

3. Bem 'IT~ a Bel'ms are foned by tile c!epoa1~ of tine

a1lt in the channels and though they belp to guaa:d against

the bank breedles. tbe.U: hapbaaaJrd ;cowth c:an obsU'uct.

emootb flow end nduce the wate~ reaching the tail end.

Noxmally it eboUld be done about once 1n s years.

'· Silt Cleazoanc:ea flbis is one of the major maintenance

works. tbe ilnplications of WbJ.cb beve ala:eedy been discussed.

However. it ahoulc! te c!ODe only after: aecea:taillin; the need

for it - allt depoalt. end scoua:ing aw l:lotb baa:mful aid tba

zoi;ht balance had to be ma.lntained.

s. Checldnq of out.Aetsa Periodic check bas to be me.intained

to see that. it draws its authorised supply. no more end ao

lees.

134

6. 1be proper functioning of a d\almel is always teeti-

f.ied bf the condition and flow a~ its tail. 'lbe ~ecol'd of dis­

charge a~ tb1e poiftt is required to be kapt. agulal'ly to ascer­

t.ain Whether the fl01 en route baa been &a designed. 1

A violation of moat of tbeae nq\&11'emants has been

obsened 1D the case of oana1 networks £n Punjab pal'ticlllarly

in the UBDC end sc systems, i.e. the canals tbat urigate a&"eas

in Aml'itaar end Bbatinda d.lst.r.S.cta (see AppencU.x A. s. 2).

APPENDIX A ... 2

STATE OF MAINTeNANCE OF CANALS

'lbe poor state of ma.lntenance of canals in Punjab as

well ee the inadecuaate financial allocation for the same can

best be gauged fr:'Om a zeview oi a sample of the c:orzespon­

dence dealing with the subject.. Bel<* am given extr:acte of

correspondences in tbe Irrigation Department wbic:b graphically

~port the situatJon.

1. Letter from t.be officer inchar9e of the u.s.n.c. Circle

to the ~ief Sng1neec- (Irrigation Depac-tment. Lettera

1979a)

1

"During tbe 1nspecUons of the various channels of Upper Ba&"i noab canal. it bas been observed that the general coft41uon of the Cbannele is ext.nmely bad. Not to speak of dlstributa&"les and minors. even t.be ma!n canals ancl branChes. et. some of tbe vulnerable points ar:e in a ve~ prec:ar1oua conditJ.on. sane of the bl'Gacbes are badly scoumd rectucing the bank w1dtb at top to bardly 10 feet against the designed width of 20 feet. Such s1t.es an liable to bxeac:hes any ume. If sucb e catastl'Opbe arises. vast suet.d\es of lancl sball be submerged causing huge damage. • • • Actually during the last. S years due to the paucity of funds. no substant1a1 mcondi Uoning aDS xepe.ir work bas been done on these Cbanml s. The beldars employeeS on canals at the nte of one balder for three miles can baldly cope with the work of ,.,at.cb!ng and cloaing snall C\:'t.s caused by cat.t.le tress-passing.

1 am enclosing herewith a list. of vulnerable al.tes along the main canals. sn4 branches end d1st.&"ib\ltaries where the banks an extzemely weak and l.lable to bream any time. 'ftle total cost. of repairs wo\lld be as.21.0 lacs. No w~k has been done in these breac:hes durinQ tbe last S years.

The disu-ibu~J:"ies and minors have also a1ltect up badly and silt. clearance haw not been earned out during

1These ar:e administrative d1v1sJ.one of the la:"r1gat1on Department dealing with separate canal networks.

the last S years. The bean fomaticm has also been enor­mous. The bed wJ.dtb has b:!en n.duce4 considerably. It is

. very c:Uffic:ult. t.o feed the tail outlets. The demand is ve&y J<een and enomous because ~ c::ul tJ.vatore ha~ started sowing crops which l'leed high delt.a. During the last kbarif when the rain fa.llec:t. it was ve&y diffic:ul t. to give authori­sed supply to all tbe outlets. A large number of cuts aid cases of unautborJ.aecl irrigation took place dw:-J.ng that pel'iod. Tbis led to enomoua J.ncr:ease in the number of complaints nce1 ved from t.be krigawra.... 1be total cost therefore comes to Rs. 9S.o lacs. Against th1s a:equuement.. the t.ot.al aUotmant. for the cw:r:ent year was Rs. 34.0 1 ecs only. Tb1e wou14 sbow that tb1s allotment is ve&y meagre. It will not be out o£ place to mention here tbet the budget. gnnt bee practically remained tbe same i.e. Rs.30 laos in 74•75 and as. 34 .o lees in '79·80 ~ereas the price J.Jdex baa nearly doubled dw:'.lng tbe last S years" •

.. lt. was request.ed that Rs.&o.oo lacs over the normal maintenance budget. ebould be arranged so as to car&y out. urgent. zepeirs t.o the channels in u.e.o.c. t.rect. wbicb have remained neglected due to inadequate funds in the past. Tbeee urgent. repairs should not be sps:eecS over e period of tbl'ee years as these hew rema1necS neglected already fol' a considerable period. In case of any misbap J.n a branch or main canal. the damages may amount to lees of rupees. These works therefore should aot. be delayed iw:otber.

In additJon to above urgent repairs. tbe maintenance grant should be adequately incnased so that. channels are never allo•d t.o zeac:b eucb a stage of negligenc:es. In spite of t.be best effol"ts. i~ bas not been possJ.ble to trace out. any norma which haw been fixed for t.he maintenance of the running canal system. An attempt bas been made to frame suc:h noms on t.be basis of tbe experience gained on tbe maintenance of tbese channels. Noi:ID81ly a channel needs repaka after a period of about 6 reus. These a:epairs are due to the constant. I'UDn.lng of water J.n canals, uess paseing by cattle and tbe ~ether act.1on e.g. rains. wind etc. 'Ibis wear anc:l tear also depends on otber factors such as inten­sity of rainfall, t.be beigbt of the embanlcment end quality of soil. Wbem the channels Gl'e .in blgb filling and the intensity of rainfall is also ~. the damage to canal banks will be more tban in places where there 1s less rainfall or wbea:e tbe Channels do not hD in heavy filling. Sim.Uerly. the canal banks e~e prone to more repairs in Kallar or sandy e~eas than in aceas where the soil is ~tter textured. Tile size of t.be cbennels 1s another impon&nt. factor. Tbe damage t.o bankS is more on smaller c:bann~ls as compared t.o

bigger channels. The mglllar gangs employed on the channels at the rate of 1 beldar for 1~ miles for main canals and b~ancbes end one beldar for 3 t.o 4 miles for disU'ibutaries, end minoJ:s are j\lSt. sufficient to lfeep a watch on tbe chan­nels, npair cute caused bJ c:att.le tress-passing, maintain the roads and jungle clearance etc. They are not capable of undenaldng the heavy repairs Which OCCUI' io a period of ebout 5 years.... The inflow of silt is ver:y heavy in case of u.e.o.c. syst.em. It has baen exper1enced tbat in small d1SU'1blt.ar1es ard mJnors with diSCharge upto 100 cusec:s, the bea:m cutting beQ)l'Q9s essent.ial in petied of about. 2 years. Spacial funds sbell have to be ear:marlced for the maintenance of bea<lworks~ suc:b as repairs to undersluicds end barrage after evea:y flood season, pa.tntJ.ng of gates aDS steel stJ:uotures~ ~eplacement of wooden cteck1ngs, repairs to the pr:ot.eotion works 1n tbe river etc. Only· e lumpsllll provialon c:aft be made for these works. An &moWlt. of Ra.to.o lacs would be needecS ever:y year.

'lbe amount for tbe maintenance and repairs for- the u.e.o.c. system, on t.be above noms ccmes to Rs.1oa.o lacs. Adding Rs. 25.0 lees for the A.M. & R. estimate$ i.e. emolu• mente of workdlaa:gecS steff, J:Unning of vehicles ancS provi­ding unifoans etc., tbe enure amount comes t.o Re.133.0 lacs. This amount. is based on the pxesent. price iru.tex. In case of fua:ther: increase ot index, the amount. Shell have to ~ inc~esed a~glJ.

It. will be of .t.nt.enet to note that. t.be present. allotment. for maintenance end repairs J.a bar41y Rs. 34.0 loc:e against a a:equJ.rement of Rs.133.0 lacs. Tbe qualit.y of maintenance c:an be well .imagined f~ tbeee figures .. (lrriget.ion Department, Let.tera1980b).

Pul'~r.

"Dur1ng my inspection of pan r:eachee of main b~ancb lowr, aDS K.B.L. of you ci.:c:le. it was found that. the maintenance of tbe Cbannele was fa.: from sat..lsfactoJ:y end the conllltion of same zeac:hee was dangerously poor. The banks are scou~ at a n\lmber: of sites. In long stmt.ches even the bema are not foned. These short-comings ttu:eaten t.be safety of tbe Channels and make them unt1t t.o run t.o their full supply.

nowel and distance marks 1n long r:eac:he a are missing. Inspection roads are poorly maintained, embaalm3nts in the sections are danger for driving even foJ: inspections.

Non-inspection banks ere 1ft worst c:ond1Uons and do not sppaaa: to have ever been visited by officers/off.lcials" (InigatJ.on Department, Lettera19?9b).

2. From t.be office.: inchar;e of Fe.:ozpu Circle to the

c:b1ef Sng1nse.: ( I.:.:igation Depal"tment, Lett.era19808)

"The per:usal of the Ma.t.ntenanc:e Grant indicates tbat it bad been too meagre fo.: t.be last. few yea.:s, with the result., &'8Q\&1a1te ma.lntenance works could not be wdertalcen. The 9BDeJ:al condition of tbe chan~le pa&'ticulerly fl'cm maintenance poJnt. of view is fa.: fruD sat1afect.o&-y. Tbe works of st.&"engt.hen.lng wek banks/bam wt.t.ing, silt clear­ance etc. ant required to be done. Urder tbese c.t.J:Cwn­stances, the cbaanels do not remain fit to c:ai'Q thei.: auUlorisacS cUSChar;e at the tail ends. SJ.mllaJ:lJ, due to week readlee, breaChes clo oc:cur, dic:b not only wastes the precious wat.ec wbic:b comes from stored sou.:cas aft.er uave­lling o distance of 1SO miles, but the irrigation is also adversely effected. It is them fore, of utmost imporunce that the c:haDnels an kept in good shape so as to ensure au~orisect an4 dependable irr1gaUon supplies t.o the i.:ri­gato~:e.

oanual WateJ: Commission had already fixed norms foJ: maintenenoe of tbe canal systems ...:hen Rs.eo.oo par bee. of c.c.A. or an area irrigated efbiehever is g~eater, has been ncommended. In ac:coxdanca to the above norms fixed by the CenUal wateJ: Cc:lnmissJ.on, tbe amoWlt requued fOJ:' maJ.n­tenanc:e and allocated (aveJ:age for tbe last. 5 years) are tabulated below;

Sl. HeacJ of ac:count c.c.A. Average As per No. (lac elloca- reccmmen•

hec.) tion fox- dation of the last ewe 5 years Rs.(leca) ae.(lacs)

1. 333-I~.D. & F.C.P.A. Irri. a.96 24.39 148.24 Project (Commeroial) N-Plan Pive Year Project.

2. 333-I.N.D. & F.C.P.A., •Irr. 1.48 23.31 73.75 Projects (Commercial) M•Plan, s. v .P. (Maintenance)

3. 332-M.P.R.P. 1 A-Bbek&'a 1.08 8.35 54.29 Nengal t1orks ( Commel'e.ial) N•Plan. Maktlu Canal system

Total s.sa 5&.05 276.29

Prom the peNaal of the above table, it is abundantly c.\eer the~ the maintenance ~ant. of tb.ls circle is J.oeJ.gnlfic:an~ when compand witb tba noms fi:ca! by tbe c.w.c." Purtber,

"As d are aware. S\lro2pur Feeder stands e:ttenei• vely scoured/damaged down-st.nam rail-Z"Oad brid;e at. R.D. S100 Ferozepur Feede~: • Where a scou to t.be extent of 4S ft.. below the bed of the canal bas occ,u·red. speoial repair works so as to pJ:Ot.ect. the banks fl'om being out. flanked by way of erosion and bed so as to save bridge of Nat.ional 81gb­way No. 15, ar:e nqu.lnd m be taken, vblc:b may cost about Rs.to.oo laesa (Irri;et.J.on Department.. Let.teralO&Oc).

3. Similar evidence .ls available for the canals of the

PatJ.ala Cird.e • as per the following memoranclwn (see

MemoJ:andwnal981)

uMaint.enance of .k&-.lgaUon cbannel s over the years bas been constantly sutfer.l.ng cieter.lorat.J.on with the result. that & stage bas come that. this whole aspect. of tnnsport. and distribution of water through 111 maintained systems needs to be thonNghlr gone into and over-hauled to i:ing tbe channels into ~asonable abape for efficient zeguletJ.on and distJ:ibutJ.on of 8\lpplies tbrougb various net works in the State. 'lbe aw1n ceaaons nsponaible for the above state of affairs a~ listed as be~·undera

(1) SJ.nce the independence of the count.t:y thsse canals, their banks and 1nspect.1on roade have got thrown open t.o the village populations and p\&blic in 9enerel settled along or e=oae tbe various canal aet -.~rks. The canal embankments are excessively s\lbject.ed to cattle t.reea-paes for giving wat.er to the animals. <lay an:l night. washing of clotbes oo t.be banks is also a regular feature these days. The J.nspac:­t.ion &-oads t.oo Wbicb wen previously exclusively usecS for Jnspeot.ion vehicles only are now being wJdely misused t.lu:ougb trees-pass by t.rsctors, b\llloc~c:arte and all sorts of vehicles a~ tbe Uae of sowing, as well es beJ:VC&Ung. This bas ver:y much e~e4 bank sect..lon of canal ne~work over beaJdee forming dengexous ghatr po1n~s a~ all br14ge sites as well nee~: village abadie.

Unfort.unetely fwquent. attention end propar upkeep of cbannels bas not been posa.lble because the maintenance funds over the years bave practically remained stagnant whenae the cost oi earth work since independence bas gone

1~0

up nearly 20 daes. Posiuon in respect of masonary works is no different. eithec. on thO other hard the labow: rates aa well as the pays of tbe wol'k.Char;e establisbment bas ~one up ten fold with tbe consequence tbat it bas directly resul­te(J in the widespXeac! deterioration of canal embaDJcments and their: capaci~y to carr:y authorised diSCharge.

Tb1s bas also encouraoed cultivators to diSNpt supplies tbrougb fmquent. ouu aid put the blame on the -.-eok embankments. somet.t.mes breaches also do occ:w: \4M.cb puts eddi~J.onal suain on the meag&"e maintenance expen4~ t.ure besl4ee cS.letucbing the water 41stz1but1on to a large population of cultivators Whose sole dependence, most often, is on the canal supply with b1gb value ioput.s already inves­ted 1n tbeir: cmpe".

1~1

APPENDIX A ••• 3 .

WATBR SHORTAGE • CASB STUDY I

A faa:me&- f~:Qm retebpu YJ.lle;e in d1st&"1c~ Anu:1tsar

bas bia only plot oi 4.5 acns at. the eld of outlet. no.

25089/R on this ~!tear disVUNtot:r, for 1rr"b.lob be baa a

total • wari' of 1 bous. HoweveJ:, for the leat fiw year a

this time is not 8\llfic.lent. to wat.eJ: even one acn, elt.bou;h

earlMr he could irri;ate 2-2.5 ec:nta durin; a single tw:n.

'l'b1s water shortage is lar:gely on account of the followinQa

first, the 'bbarai • is alloted at. the .:ate of 5 minut.es per

eon wbUe in fact. it tt.akes 10 minutes fox- tbe watel:' ~

uavel the same dietanc:e. secondly, the .t.r:r:i;atico depart­

ment. has eltend the beeS of the dJ.au-J.butOI'Y in such e mannel:'

ae t.o bave a eud«!en sbaep incline in o~el:' to ~r:eeee the

water: speed to enable in to l:'eacb the tail en4. However: as

a maul t of this tbe wat.e&- preaau.Ee at the outlet. is quite

low, affecting the diac::heroe in tbia pe&-Ucular watercourse ..

and then fore, the wat.er xeaeh.ln; the t.a.U eOIS of this water­

course. Thil:'dly, the bed of tbe c.UsUibutoQ has ac:ound

due ~ repeated silt. cleuanc:e1 lately, furtbel:' nctudrtg the

head at. the outlet.. Foutbly, due to the reduced preasua:'e

at tbe outlet., the large.: land omex-e bave reaort.ed to the

1As the c:ont.nct for cleuing the silt. had been aucU.cne4 otf t.o a bric:k kiln-owner neal:by, Who uaect the silt for brick making.

practice of erecting tempora&'Y dams across the d.lsU.lbut.ory

to heed up the wat.er du.lng t.he.lr ~um (of usually over 20

hove). 1t'lese dams er:e removed aftel" tbe.lr turn eXPires.

wbic:h leacSa to e audden nduct.lon of tbe water level in the

wat.ez-couree. The total Ume requirted bJ this paa-Uculer

farmer to again exect. the dems enct re-ra.lse the watea- level,

would totally exbaus~ his tw:n.

Hia utiUaeUon of canal watez-. therefore, had been

reduced to zero and he was forca4 to depend on tubewell water.

However. be mentioned that be did not tincl it. eoonam.loal to

install an eleotzic tubewell of hie own panly due to the

delay in ;e~g an elec:tz.lc eonnectJ.e»n, witb the consequent

blockage of deposit. mouey (appxoxlmat.ely Ra. 500) for a

len;thy perioS but. pxedaminantly, it was due to the p~apec­

tJ.ve Wlder-ut.llisaUon of the t.ubeweU following fRID tbe

small size of his holding. 'l'be other altematJ.ve o! pw:'ch•

asJ.ng watez- from another elect.l"ic tubewell aearby was also

found to be uaeconomical due to the high rates obarged for

the water • Which bact in=easett lately (nearly as. 4 per hou

at. the time of the int.eniew) in spite of the fact. that. the

flat rates c:har;ed for the elecuic:ity hac! in teet.. declined

from Ra. 95 (per month for a s H.P. motor) in 1915 to as. 6S

in 19'79. Be aides. this faz:mer complained oi havin; to per­

fom unpaid labour on the lan4 of those Who sold t.ubevell

water. Pinally. the only etfectJ.ve al~emative open to him

wae to install a diesel Op!ratec! ~ubewell, J.n wblcb case also,

he complained of the lack o! availability end h19h price of

dJ.esel. as the major oonstrainta on its utilisation. 'ftle

montbly ration <J'lOta of 25 11tne wee sufficient only for a

dey for him aad be had to eatisfy tbe nat of the cSemencS by

neorUng ~o the black marJcet. pay.&ng ttu:ee to fou t.llres

the official J)l"ice of diesel (Ra. 1. '73 par liu:e in 1980).

As a atsult. of the dieeel ah01:tage at. tbe nqulnd t.J.me. his

riee crop on 3/4 of an ecn was to~lly dGstz'oyect • entailing

a loss of the following investment. he heel &l&'eady carried

out. a

4 Ploughing&

11 water sluab!ngs2

seedlings

Diesel (SO 11t.ne)

Sow.l.n; (lebou)

Total

Re. 72.00

as. 60.00

ae. eo.oo as. 82.00

Rs. 42.00

Re.336.00

2Thie is a proce_. Whereby the water er¥1 so.U is mi.eci to9f't.bel" by plouGhing a heavily wat.encS plot. It is .-equ.lred for soil p:epereUon foe r:ice cu.l Uvat.lon.

APPENDIX A .If- 4

WATBR SHORTAGE • CASE STUDY II

AnotheJ: faaner ~~ village Xbb&n Kalan, having a

5 acn plot. et. the end of enotbeir ~-atercour:ee ( 25202ft,)

taking off f~:om tbe same disU"ibuta~ mentioned that. watsr

cSoee not. fill even one acre of b.is t.a.U elliS plo~ in b1s

total tum of 10 bo~s ~e earlier on it used to take about.

3 hours to fill an acxe. The s1t.u.at.1on bee detel'i=ated

since 1973-74. He therefOJ:e uses all his •wari' for another

plot. of 5 acres in the middle of the watercourse, us.t.ng t-ube­

wells on the other fragment. r= this second plot. also it

takes 10 bours to water one acre. In ac1d1Uon to the canal

supply be bas a 1/3~ Share of an elect.ric tubewell for this

plot. Given the unxell.ability of canal tA1St.er, he ment1one4,

that. the cul t1vat1on sunives primar.Uy on t.ubewell irri;a­

Uon, witb the fo.rmer playing more of supplement.aa:y role.

LOCATION OF • NAIClCAS• AND IRRICATION

~- St.\ldx Ia Bal4ev s.ln;b of v Ulege Gb\dde 1n cUstrJ.c:t.

Bhatinda atme a plot. of 2 acne (Z) at. a dietence of S scree

from the water ou~et.,ea 8hown 1n Fi;unt tt: 'te.l.

Two other landlocds owninG X and Y ploU of send 10

ecrea napectively an nlaUvely located ea shown in PJ.gure

J§ A • .1. 'ftle order of water t.uma 1a a a follows. owner of

X Wbicb baa ita nakka at. A bas the fil:'at. t.\l&'n. It ;et.s water

at. A an4 leaves it off at. A When its tun e~a. Next. tum

is for plot z, tmose owner .-o has to bring the water from A

t.o B end water his plot from B, fcom when tbe owner of plot

Y tela!ts on c.Urect.ly as 8 is situated on b1a land. 'ftle bl&l'den

for canyift; tbe water fzan A to B therefore falls entirely

on the owner of plot z. 'lbe tJ.me allotecS for the water to

travel from A to B 1e only 10 mlnut.ea while in fact. it. takes

30 miftutes. out of a total of 60 minutes for plot. z. 20

minutes an lost. en route. seconSly, tbe level of his lan4

(i.e. plot. Z) .ls h1{1her than the watercoU&"ee and even w.ltb

uae of •chat.t.ba• be can water only 1/8 of b.le plot. per tum

of 40 minutes. Although tbe ownel:'s oi botb Y and z water

their f£elds fccxn a, the loaa at a higher per aon n.t.e for

plot z fells entirely on the snell bold.el', while owner of

tb8 10 acre pl~ U .• e. Y) bas the edvant.a;e of getting wat.e&"

c.tel.lvered rioht. at bis field, tbua escaping ell the losses.

A

X (~ClCYeS)

woletc/ "' A

" J)

y . ()Oecve.s)

)(

J

y

FA&, 2

c ... ..

z

Baldev SJ.n;h had applied ~ the I~rigaUon Depenment. fo~ a

change of tbe ol\te~ of ~um (i.e. owne~ ot Y should take

water after: the t.um of plo~ X), as well ae get.t.lng water:

scme when betMeen A and B, eo that. owner of Y sbana at

least pan ot the loss 1ft transit.. It. bee taken bim 3 JS&~a

and cost. b.lm as. 1200 in aclc:Ut.ion to the bat:raa~ment of

mak.ln; fnquent. Uips to the head quanel's bu~ the case .ls

et..lll pending aid nothing bas been done so fer. With tbe

alterations, he feels he could mana;e to get. 20 mds. of

grain frcm the plot Whenas at. pnaent be gats only 3 ode.

Cast. Study Ila The seme Balc!ev SJ.ngb has anotber 1 acre

plot (Y) on a d1ffennt. wet.e~ couse, as abatm J.n FJ.;un 2..

A. I. S •, He has a t.oUI. t.um of 11 minutes fo~ h1a plot,

J.n addit..lon to S minutes to pt. the water from A to B 1 .e.

a total of 16 minutes. The ante~ of tums J.e aa follows.

l'irst. plot Y brings water fDXD A to B .lrl:'igatea from B.

'!ban, owner of plot X 1J:~.f.9ates f~om B followed by owner

of plot z Wbo takes water fr:c:m B to c and il:r!Qatea fr:om c.

However due to the high level of plot. Y it taJces at least

20 minutes fo~ the wat.e~ to bead up at B and stan. entering

plot Y at. e. 'l'tlat is, in a total of 16 minutes, the watar

doea not even enter b1e field at a. He .ls unable to culU•

vate bis plot altogether and .instead sells b.ls water to

owner of plot z at. e. But it. takes e minutes for water to

travel fRm B to c. 'lben£01:'8 only a minutes which ere left

over al'e sold to owner oi plot z ~ Rs. 1000 per year for

1 hour/weeki that. is he geu either: Rs. 125/• per: year: or:

equ.S.valent 9l"e.ln fi'Om ownel' of plot z. Owner of plot X

ho.:ever. conUnues to take water only at or after point. B

and not. before, i.e. between A and a. Baldev sin;h feela

that if owner of X takes bis tum before b~ ancS gives

water: - say at. 'D, he would be able t.o cultivate o.s acre of

bia 1 acre plot. eve~:y aeeson. Assuming en avera;e yield of

10 quintals/acre of wheat end paid coste of a maxln\um of

Rs. 400/• per acre and Rs. 117/• per q\Untel as tbe pr:.1ce

of wheat., he could get a net profit of Rs. '770/• per acre

or as. 385/• per season on his half aCI'e. As a;a1nst. tbia

posaibilit.y. be oets only as. 62. s per season by selling

bia water, auffer.lng a potential lose of as. 322. 5 evea:y

aeaaon.