Issues in Irrigation Institutions

Objectives

As part of the “decentralisation and participatory management policies” process that are being implemented, formal associations like Water Users’ Associations (WUA) and Tank Associations (TA) are introduced in the country and the world over to manage and maintain irrigation systems. Several new interventions can be seen in India during the last decade, due to legal, political and developmental initiatives. In many states the Water Resource Organisation (WRO) of the Public Works Department (PWD) has been in charge of their implementation, and NGOs also play a lead role.

In India there is a rich history of traditional institutions -including irrigation (TII)- that are functioning in some form or another. Especially in South India the presence of irrigation tanks is more preponderant than in other parts of the country. The national water policy of 1987 and 2002, had given various guidelines and the consequent amendment of legislation like the Farmers Management of Irrigation Systems Act in few states has resulted in a blanket approaches of forming WUA. Under the state’s schemes, programmes and legislations such introductions, in many cases, are being imposed on the villagers. The universal objectives and aims of the promoted institutions follow one model, which does not take into account the various local social settings. The advent of these new associations amidst the existing local institutions including statutory institutions is showing many facets of social symptoms like contestation to assume positions in the associations, causing fractious situation amongst various social entities like, castes, gender, between economic disparities and popular political party affiliations. There is a need to understand better the functioning of the emerging institution in relation to the traditional institutions under various contexts and to know how these new institutions are understood, accepted and integrated by the local people. Forming WUA/TA is gaining priority from the State’s interventions, but how sustainable are these association remains a question.

The one-day workshop will focus on the following major issues:

• Changing social dimensions of irrigation management – TII vs WUA/TA

• WUA/TA organisation structure and objectives – adaptation of irrigators and tank users

• Participation in irrigation management - what are the incentives and constraints?

• The role of caste, kinship, class, gender and Political parties in WUA/TA

• Emerging inter-related issues on stake holding, access and authority over resources of the tank among traditional institutions, PRI and WUA/TA.

• Opportunities of WUA/TA in becoming institutions

Scholars would present their experience and findings to evolve a methodological approach on the above-mentioned issues for further research. The outcome of this one-day intensive deliberation will form an initiation for a publication. I envisage also discussing the necessity of creating a network of social scientists dealing with the institutional aspect of development, and especially in the irrigation sector in South India.

Programme

*Each presenter will have 20 minutes to present and 15 minutes of discussion.
**In this concluding session, the presenters will make their reflections on presentations from the preceding two sessions, with 15 minutes each.

Funding

IFP

Organizers

Social Water Management Programme, Department of Social Science, IFP

Coordinator

P. Ignatius Prabhakar

Venue

Jawaharlal Nehru Conference Hall, French Institute of Pondicherry, 11, Saint Louis Street, Pondicherry - 605 001

Participants

• Mr. P. Ariza, Student (Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain)
• Dr. Olivia Aubriot, Head, Social Water Management Programme (French Institute of Pondicherry)
• Dr. P. Chellaperumal, Head, Department of Anthropology (Pondicherry University, Pondicherry)
• Ms.E.Galan, Student (Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain)
• Dr. S. Janakarajan, Professor (Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai)
• Dr. K. Palanisamy, Director, Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development Studies (Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu)
• Dr. R Parthasarathy, Director and Professor (Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad, Gujarat)
• Dr. P. Ignatius Prabhakar, Researcher, Social Water Management Programme (French Institute of Pondicherry)
• Mr. Ragunathan, Director (CERD, Pondicherry)
• Mr. T. Serrano, Student (Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain)
• Mr. M.S. Shanmugam, Project Co-ordinator (Vayalagam, Dhan Foundation, Chengulpet, Tamil Nadu)
• Dr. S. Sumathi, Lecturer, Department of Anthropology (University of Madras, Chennai)
• Dr. P. Tamizoli, Principle Scientist (MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai)