See the writing on the wall
Pradeep Purandare
Situation in the Jayakwadi irrigation project in
Marathwada region of Maharashtra is going from bad to worse. It’s an inevitable,
unfortunate & perhaps, irreversible effect of socio-political as well as
technical reasons. In order to understand the complexities involved, it would
be better to see the things in broader & right perspective. Running away
from the reality does not help in long run.
Jayakwadi project is situated in lower Godawari river
basin with its catchment area in upper basin. Obviously, it would always be at
the position of disadvantage & would experience either feast or famine.
Feast if upper basin receives excessive rains & famine if there is less
rainfall upstream or water is not released from upstream reservoirs for any
reason. Later is being witnessed this year.
Vested interests from upper basin have built number
of irrigation projects & impounded large volume of water far exceeding the
permissible limits (196 TMC as against 115 TMC). Moreover, being at strategic
location, they start utilizing impounded water in kharif season only. They,
thus, effectively use more water than their net storage capacity. Though
nothing can now be done to correct the historical wrong & reduce the
storage capacity upstream, releases can be legally regulated, at least in
theory, to have equitable distribution of water in the river basin. But this is
not being done in right earnest; thanks to the ineffective regulatory
mechanism. Virtual absence of political will in Marathawada & presence of
too much of killer instinct in Nashik & Nagar districts have adversely
affected the so called river basin-wise management of water resources which is
supposed to be the main stay of State Water Policy, 2003. The top brass of
Water Resources Department – both at state & regional level – remains
paralyzed due to various scams which can aptly be described as “water gate”. It
would be hoping against the hope to say that things will change for better in
the immediate future.
Serious lacuna in original water planning, subsequent drastic changes,
un-scientific management and inefficient & unauthorized water use have
further complicated the things for Jayakwadi. Water use for non-irrigation
purposes (drinking, domestic & industrial) & lift irrigation from
reservoir & canals was simply not considered in the original planning.
Encroachment of silt in the live storage too was not anticipated & provided
for. In the course of time, subsequently, the water use for non-irrigation
& lift irrigation has increased like anything. Encroachment of silt has also
significantly reduced the effective live storage. (See box) In order to
compensate, irrigation managers have now abandoned the practice of providing
for “carry over” in the water budget. Carry over means reservation of some
percentage of water from live storage in the current year for one or two
rotations for irrigation in the kharif season next year. Carry over acts as a
buffer in case rains get delayed & it ensures protective irrigation. Not
providing for carry over in water budget increases the vulnerability. This year
has witnessed the adverse effect.
[all
figures in M cum]
Item
|
Original
planning
|
Actual
|
Non-Irrigation
|
Nil
|
154
|
Lift
Irrigation
|
Nil
|
180
|
Silt in live
storage
|
Nil
|
127
|
Carry over
|
382
|
Nil
|
The actual Overall Project Efficiency (OPE) of
Jayakwadi project is hardly 20-25% as against design OPE of 49%. It is due to
criminal negligence in maintenance & repairs of the system & non
implementation of water laws. On the other hand, water use for Hot Weather
Ground Nut & Sugarcane has almost doubled. The average area irrigated per
unit of water is 63 hector per Mcum as against the norm of 134 hector per Mcum.
This has deprived the tail end farmers of their water rights. Since now they
don’t have any stakes in “water”, they too are indifferent towards the water
crisis. They refuse to be the foot soldiers in the so called agitations started
by the elite.
It’s time to read the writing on wall. If Marathwada
fails to unite & act, and act decisively & urgently, it may face untold
miseries & even migration in the coming summer. Getting water from upstream
reservoirs is of course the first priority. But equitable & efficient water
use should also be on the top of the agenda.
***
[Published
in Lokmat Times, Aurangabad, supplement, page-3, 30.10.2012]
