Browsing by Author "Nagaraj, N."

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Comparative Study of Groundwater Institutions in the Western United States and Peninsular India for Sustainable and Equitable Resource Use
(2000) Nagaraj, N.; Frasier, W. Marshall; Sampath, R. K.
"This study is aimed at the institutional perspective of groundwater management in dealing with overdraft problems in India and the western U.S. A great deal of management problems relating to groundwater over-development and use are emerging in both India as well as in the western U.S. In the western U.S. these problems are being effectively addressed through institutional policy instruments with local control. These include formation of natural resource districts with varying responsibilities over groundwater issues, creation of an enabling framework specifying user rights, correlative rights to a reasonable use, issue of permits for extraction, allocating quotas and declaration of moratorium on new wells in critical/over exploited areas. These regulations enabled to set an upper boundary for extraction of groundwater and made groundwater legally scarce. This has had a profound impact on use pattern and conservation of groundwater in the region. In India, lack of effective groundwater institutions at local level to deal with emerging problems in groundwater development and use has resulted in intergenerational, inter-temporal and inter-spatial misallocation and severe overdrafts creating several externalities. Further, the markets are not responding to correct the distortions in groundwater use. This has severely mauled equity, efficiency and sustainability of groundwater resource use. The emerging environmental implications resulting from groundwater overdraft will be terrible for the future generations. Drawing experiences from the Nebraska model there is a need for creation of an effective user-based groundwater management institutions at the local level with local control that are viable and reflective of social concern for conservation ethics, environmental values, equity consideration and efficiency in resource use. Towards this endeavor a package of incentives could be extended to promote user-based groundwater management institutions at grass root levels."
Water Crisis in India: Innovative Approaches and Policy Imperatives for Sustainable Management of Groundwater Resource
(2011) Nagaraj, N.; Fujita, Koichi
"Irrigation has a prime role in Indian agriculture, as 40 percent of the cultivated area is irrigated and 70 percent of the irrigated area is devoted to food crops to meet the needs of the ever growing population. While surface irrigation has been stagnating, groundwater irrigation has been increasing. In 1998, the groundwater extraction was 38 percent, which increased to 58 percent in 2009. Policies towards electricity, credit, technological innovations in well exploration, extraction and use, demographic shifts, lucrative product markets and week groundwater institutions are contributing to over-extraction. Since four decades, groundwater extraction exhibited a trajectory of utilization, boom, growing scarcity and eventually bust with rapid fall in groundwater table in the hard-rock aquifers. This has forced several marginal and small farmers to shift to dryland agriculture. The ineffective institutions efforts of the governance to contain groundwater overdraft have proved in vain. The challenge is thus to frame effective institutions focusing on resource management rather than resource development. Thus far, supply side of groundwater is being addressed by the State through schemes such as watershed development, tank rehabilitation, while the demand side is inadequately dealt. Thus key actions are necessary for demand management on individual and community basis. The community based approach to regulate groundwater incorporating IWRM is by promoting user groups with technical support and training. Major policy changes on energy and technical aspects in accurate assessment of groundwater recharge and extraction, maintenance of isolation distance, quality pumpsets, information dissemination, implementation of the best practices and appropriate crop pattern are in order."