Managing water resources
S. MAHENDRA DEV
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Contemporary issues in water resources management from a multidisciplinary perspective
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INDIA'S WATER RESOURCES — Contemporary Issues on Irrigation: A.Vaidyanathan; Oxford University Press, YMCA Library Building, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi-110001. Rs. 595.
Water is a leading policy issue in the 21st Century. Conflicts over water are a grim reality today. Interstate disputes on sharing of river water (e.g. the Cauvery issue between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Almatti issue between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, and the Babli project issue between Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh) are well known. These disputes and other conflicts on water at the farm level are expected to increase over time. The problem is not due to shortage of water resource, but due to the absence of proper mechanisms for its augmentation, conservation, distribution, and efficient use. There has been a slowdown in the rate of expansion in surface irrigation and continuous depletion of groundwater. Although irrigation is the largest user of water, there is competition from increasing domestic and industrial demand.
Augmentation
In this context, this book, which is a collection of Prof. Vaidynathan's recent writings on some of the key issues relating to water resources management in India, is timely. The author is one of the well-known economists writing on water and agriculture. The 11 scholarly articles in the book are grouped into five sections: augmentation strategies, improving water use efficiency, some broader issues, urban water supply, and information and knowledge.
As mentioned in the introduction, "All the papers are backed by a strong belief that a proper study of water-related issues must recognise that their different aspects — physical, environmental, technological, economic, and institutional — are closely interrelated and that they are a part of dynamic, historical process."
The section on augmentation strategies has three chapters, which deal with past, present, and proposed strategies on enhancing water supply. According to the author, the strategy on irrigation development is preoccupied with increasing water supplies and has neglected efficiency of use and sustainability. He is very critical of the proposal for interlinking of rivers and says, "The proposal should be rejected in favour of programmes that improve water use efficiency."
Watershed development
The chapter on watershed development is an excellent one and clearly brings out the issues on this topic. Many of the programmes have not made significant impact in spite of considerable increase in allocations. Some of the problems under watershed are: "fragmented planning and implementation, non-involvement of beneficiary communities, and the lack of local institutions for deciding and enforcing rules regarding continuing maintenance of facilities and sharing of costs and benefits within the community." One hopes that implementation of the recent Parthasarathy committee's recommendations would help in improve the working of watersheds.
The second section contains four chapters, which deal with some aspects of efficiency in water use, measures to improve it and their prospects. In one of the chapters, the author provides a comparison of productivity per hectare and consumptive use of water across crops and regions. The estimates show that productivity per hectare is much higher in irrigated areas as compared to those of rain-fed areas. On the other hand, productivity per unit of consumptive use of water under rain-fed conditions is higher than irrigated areas in some states.
The other chapters in this section deal with pricing reforms and governance aspects in water sector. The author rightly mentions, "the causes of low efficiency of water use are partly institutional and partly a result of the pricing policies for water and electricity." It is also recognised that price reform is a necessary but not sufficient condition for improving efficiency. Demand side management is the most cost-effective option for improving efficiency. In the chapter on law and governance he discusses institutional aspects of water management. The rest of the book deals with some broader issues on water resources development and management, urban water situation in Chennai city and a good piece on huge gaps in information and research on water economy and its institutions.
Public investment
One caveat that can be mentioned is that it underplays the need for increase in the quantity of investments in irrigation and other water resources. In this book Vaidyanathan stresses the quality or efficiency of investments made in irrigation and the water sector. However, increase in quantity of investment in irrigation and water management is equally important for improving the livelihoods. It is known that public investment in agriculture is low. If we speak only about efficiency, the policy makers will be happy and they would not increase investments. On social sector expenditure, the Finance Ministry recently argued, "You do not repair a leaking water supply pipe by simultaneously stepping up the water pressure." It says that enhanced public financing must be preceded by reform of the delivery mechanism. The Ministry and state governments would give similar arguments about the water sector if we concentrate only on efficiency. Both quantity and efficiency (quality) of investment are important and it should be done simultaneously. This does not however undermine the merits of the volume.
The book has addressed an extremely important issue facing India today. This excellent and scholarly collection is a must reading for students, researchers and policymakers interested in the contemporary issues and policies relating to water resources of the country.
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