Saturday, January 23, 2016

Pre-budget 2016-17 Consultation Program, YASHADA, Pune 22 Jan 2016


Suggestions regarding Water Management
                                  Pradeep Purandare,                                                                                                                                                                                                        
In view of Kelkar & Chitale Committee Reports the Budget 2016-17 may try to reflect the long term Water Policy of Govt & spell out the roadmap of Restructuring & Reforms in Water Sector considering following suggestions
Sr.No.
Suggestions
1
Report of The High Level Committee on Balanced Regional Development Issues in Maharashtra, Oct 2013 (Kelkar Samitee)

Marathwada Development Board’s (MDB) comments have duly been submitted to Hon Governor. Those may pl be considered.
Though the proposed scheme of regional allocation for plan resources is welcome, Marathwada needs its due share of water at the same time. Mere allocation of funds for water resources development is meaningless if water itself is denied. Bitter experience of Krishna-Marathwada project is a glaring example of “dry” development. After carrying out works of Rs 500 Crores, now it is being told “sorry, there is no water !”

2
While framing a policy of completing incomplete irrigation projects & making plan allocations  for new projects govt would do well to take cognizance of
   Chitale Samitee’s findings
  High Court’s orders in respect of  PIL regarding Integrated State Water Plan
3
Report of Special Investigation Committee on Irrigation Related Issues, Feb 2014 (Chitale Samitee):

It is imperative to take a review of irrigation projects wherein following serious points have been noticed:
1.      Unprecedented cost & time overruns
2.      Doubtful hydrology & Water Availability Certificates
3.      Arbitrary changes in the scope of projects
4.      Serious irregularities of all kinds
5.      Scant respect for fiscal discipline
6.      Gross violations of even basic engineering principles
7.      By passing the prescribed procedures & processes
Such an in-depth review would help decide whether to go ahead with the controversial  projects or not and avoid wasteful expenditure. A process of elimination is urgently warranted to make the liability of completing the incomplete projects manageable & to prepare a time bound roadmap for completing the projects in drought prone areas on priority basis. In this respect
Pl see Table1: किंमतवाढ: आभासी वि. वास्तविक
           Table 2: विलंब झालेल्या प्रकल्पांची संख्या व कालावधी


4
PIL (124/ 2014) regarding Integrated State Water Plan (ISWP):

Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court has issued following orders:

Order dt. 13 July 2015:
(1)    About 189 projects have been cleared during the period  from 2007 to 2013 in the absence of Integrated State Water Plan (ISWP)
(2)   MWRRA & State Govt to place before the High Court the details in respect of said sanctioned projects
(3)   Not to grant any Administrative Approval in respect of any new project until finalization of the ISWP as per MWRRA Act, 2005

Order dt,  18 Dec 2015:
(1)   Administrative Approval given by the State Govt for the irrigation projects during the years 2007 to 2013 is outside the scope of MWRRA Act, 2005.
(2)   The State Govt is expected
(a) to conduct enquiry in respect of projects mentioned in the order & take appropriate decision thereafter,
 (b) to investigate into the matters concerning indiscriminate payment made to the contractors without ensuring commissioning of the project work.
(3)    The State Govt shall place on record details in respect of violation of Governor’s directives regarding backlog areas.
The legal implications of above orders are obvious. As much as 189 projects have been declared as illegally sanctioned & govt is not supposed to grant AA to any new irrigation project till the preparation of ISWP. This is a difficult situation because on hand water resources development is necessary to mitigate drought & on the other hand govt cannot take up new projects. The only way out is to complete all modalities in respect of ISWP on war footing & get the necessary clearances well before the budget session.
Pl see Table 3: Status of Projects cleared by MWRRA
5
PIL (152/ 2014) regarding Rules of Maharashtra Irrigation Act, 1976 (MIA 76):

MIA 76 is a parent Act which provides foundation & framework to the structure of water management in the State. It is necessary to issue various notifications under this Act for legal implementation. Those include river, command area, appointments of Canal Officers & the jurisdiction of their offices, Co-Op Lift Irrigation Schemes, compensation, etc. MIA 76 also provides for assessment & recovery of water charges & penal provisions regarding unauthorised use of water. However, the Rules of the Act have not been prepared even after almost 40 years. In absence of Rules, the Act has hardly been effectively used. Even the process of issuing notifications is incomplete.. All other Acts (IDC, MWRRA & MMISF) assume that MIA 76 is in force & is being implemented. This situation raises doubts about the vary locus standi of Water Resources Dept (WRD), adversely affects implementation of all other water laws & may eventually lead to unprecedented legal crisis in near future.
On this background, it is suggested that this matter may be referred to Law & Judiciary Dept and Advocate General, get official legal opinion & then take an appropriate decision regarding plan allocations for WRD.
6
Restructuring of MWRRA:
An Independent Regulatory Authority (IRA) is essential in Water Sector. However, last 10 years’ experience regarding MWRRA indicates that MWRRA Act needs to be amended & MWRRA is required to be restructured. Following are the suggestions regarding autonomy of MWRRA:
(1)   MWRRA may be delinked from WRD from administrative point of view. It may have direct linkage with State Water Board & State Water Council.
(2)   Ways & means may be identified to make MWRRA truly independent by elevating its legal status & suitably empowering it.

(3)   MWRRA may be given some percentage of funds provided for in the State’s annual budget for all water related departments taken together. Such funds may specially be provided in the name of MWRRA directly & not through some particular department
(4)   A corpus of substantial amount may specially be created for MWRRA
(5)   MWRRA may have adequate technical & ministerial staff considering its increased workload due to added responsibility of aspects related to Ground Water
7
Water Management, Governance & Regulation:
In order to switch over from “administration to management” & say good bye to “irrigation by accident”, it is very much necessary to have Water Management, Governance & Regulation (WMGR) in the truest sense of the term. One of the pre-requisites for WMGR is compatible infrastructure. Repairs, Restoration & Renovation (RRR) of existing projects is thus important. Govt may initiate this year a large scale program for this specific purpose. Implementation of this program may be done starting with Minor Irrigation (Local Sector) projects followed by State Sector Minor & Medium projects & then Major projects.
8
Eight Monthly Irrigation:
 In order to distribute water equitably & substantially increase area under irrigation, govt may re-introduce a scheme of 8 – Monthly Irrigation coupled with RRR and a mandatory component of measurement of water & irrigated area by modern methods.
 9
Cropping Pattern:

Large area under sugarcane, a water guzzler crop, is one of the main hurdles in equitable distribution of water. Farmers may gradually switch over to other less water requiring crops like pulses, oil seeds, etc if the govt makes appropriate arrangements to purchase the produce of these crops based on their MSP.

10
Watershed Development:
Watershed Development delinked from EGS & based on aquifer mapping with priority to soil conservation is a felt need of the hour. Govt may introduce an independent scheme exclusively for watershed development with following components  / features
(1)   Norm may be revised to Rs. 25000 / ha as recommended by Kelkar Samitee & it may be linked with price index
(2)   Third party Monitoring & Evaluation
(3)   Arrangements & funds for M & R for at least 5 years period initially
(4)   Fund to replace / re-execute the work once its life is over. As per GR life of watershed works ranges from 5 to 23 years depending upon type of structure / treatment.
This may increase the cost initially but it would be justified in long run if sedimentation of reservoirs gets reduced & ground water table rises.
11
Domestic Water Supply Schemes:
Domestic water supply, particularly in Marathwada, has become a major problem. Local bodies are running away from their constitutional responsibility of providing water to the citizens. And vacuum so created is being utilised by tanker & bottled water lobbies. This is a dangerous trend & needs to be checked immediately. Privatization & PPP in domestic water supply schemes will create more problems. Western countries after trying PPP, are now turning back to muncipalitaztion of water supply.
Govt may issue a white paper regarding bottled water supply in the State. 
Budget may make provisions to strengthen water supply schemes & institutions like MJP
Samantar Yojana in Aurangabad has become a controversial issue due to PPP. Corporation has got Rs.200 Cr. If it gets additional Rs.150 Cr from govt, corporation itself can implement the scheme.
Similarly, substantial provision is urgently warranted for Latur water supply scheme.
Pl see 4: Non-Irrigation Supply from Irrigation Projects










Table – 1: किंमतवाढ: आभासी वि. वास्तविक
तपशील
रू.कोटी
100 प्रकल्पांची मूळ प्रशासकीय मान्यतेची किंमत
8389
सरासरी 25 वर्षानंतर 100 प्रकल्पांची अद्ययावत मंजूर सुधारित प्रशासकीय मान्यतेची किंमत
68655
आभासी किंमतवाढ
60266
भाववाढीचा घटक वजा केल्यावर येणारी वास्तविक किंमतवाढ
31714
भाववाढ वगळता प्रकल्पांच्या खर्चाचे आर्थिक दायित्व मूळ प्रशासकीय मान्यतेच्या किंमतीच्या तुलनेत  (पटीत)
3.8









Table 2: विलंब झालेल्या प्रकल्पांची संख्या व कालावधी
(
कालावधी कंसात)
विलंबाचे कारण
कृष्णा
विदर्भ
तापी
कोकण
गोदा.
कू
प्र.मा.मिळाल्यावर प्रथमत: अनुदान देणे
17
(2-14)
23
(2-11)
8
(2-25)
10
(2-26)
10
(2-9)
68
 (2-26)
प्रथम अनुदान मिळाल्यावर प्रत्यक्ष काम सुरू करायला  विलंब
12
(2-16)
20
(2-15)
11
(2-13)
10
 (2-19)
9
(2- 16)
62
(2-19)
व्याप्ती बदल
95














Table 3: Status of Projects cleared by MWRRA
Sr.No.
Status  of the project
No. of projects
%
1
Administrative Approval not given by Govt even though project is cleared by MWRRA
9
2
Projects cleared by MWRRA but Administrative Approval cancelled by Govt
5
3
Projects cleared by MWRRA found to be infeasible projects by WRD
5
AA problems (1 to 3)
19
10
4
Work held up /  not started
19
5
No environmental/forest clearance
11
6
Projects not yet started
18
Starting trouble (4 to 6)
48
25.4
7
Works completed /handed over
22
11.6
8
Projects under construction
100
53
Total
189
100





Table 4: Non-Irrigation Supply from Irrigation Projects
Institutions
No.
Mcum
Gram Panchayat
2026
561
Municipalties/Nagar Parishads
159
530
Municipal Corporations
22
3050
MJP
313
520
Private Industries
325
364
MIDC
75
1146
Sugar Factories
134
115
MAHAGENCO (Thermal)
13
497
Private Thermal (running)
13
497
Private Thermal(Planned)
64
1455
Agro-industries
26
45
Others
31
155
Total
8450 (298TMC)