Groundwater Conservation and Management in India: Application of IoS and Wade Frameworks

Abstract

"While India’s farmers boost of their contribution to green revolution supported by groundwater irrigation, being the largest pumpers of groundwater are facing the predicament of negative externalities, inefficiencies and inequities due to massive initial and premature well failure and declining yield of wells. Currently groundwater contributes to 80 percent of India’s irrigation. With declining Government investment in agriculture, farmers’ investments in agriculture account for 75 percent of the total, a major portion towards irrigation. The modern and extractive deep borewells and submersible pumpsets have gradually displaced the traditional and sustainable water extraction structures. In addition, the irrigation tanks which were performing the dual role of water supply and groundwater recharge are relegated due to institutional failure coupled with the farmers’ practice of agriculture technologies neglecting the traditional practices. Inconsistencies among water and land institutions, compartmentalization of water resource, multiplicity of organizations dealing with water, lack of water and irrigation literacy, subdivision and fragmentation of land and water resources, perverse subsidies, lack of well defined property rights, market forces, have exacerbated the predicament. This paper provides institutional, technological, outreach and market solutions to address the predicament using the IoS and Wade frameworks. Imposing a cap on the number of functioning irrigation wells, promotion of low water use crops and technologies including micro irrigation, provision of water flow meters to enable farmers for efficient water and crop budgeting, an effective irrigation management service, massive awareness programs regarding irrigation and water literacy with emphasis on educating farm women as also incorporating in school syllabi, linking developmental programs with adoption of water efficient devices, and methods are among the vital solutions suggested to address the predicament, before attempting institutional reforms in groundwater regulation."