About The Institution of Engine e rs (India)

The Institution of Engineers (India) [IEI] is the largest multidisciplinary professional body of engineers that
encompasses 15 engineering disciplines and provides engineers a global platform to share their professional
interest. It also has the distinction of producing the maximum number of engineers in the core engineering
disciplines, thus augmenting the nation building efforts. To promote the general advancement of engineering and
engineering science and their application in India and to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas on those
subjects amongst the members of and the persons attached to the Institution. Established in 1920 with its
headquarters in Kolkata (erstwhile Calcutta), IEI was awarded the Royal Charter in 1935. The grant of Royal Charter
to IEI constituted IEI as a BODY CORPORATE endowing its corporate members the status of Chartered Engineers.
Since inception, this unique professional body has come a long way in rendering yeoman service to the nation in the
field of Technology, Research and Development, Non Formal Engineering Education, Rural Development and critical
issues such as Global Warming and Environmental Protection amongst many such other issues. Today, its request for
professional excellence has given it a place of pride in almost every prestigious and relevant organization across the
globe. The Institution is working in close collaboration with Indian National Academy of Engineering, The Institution
of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers, The Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, The Indian Institute of
Metals, The Institute of Marine Engineers (India), Computer Society of India, The Aeronautical Society of India &
many others promoting and advancing the science, practice and business of engineering in all its branches in the
country. The Institution has grown up with the presence of more than 100 State and Local Centres throughout the
country. It also boasts of having membership strength of more than nearly Six million Members. The Institution has
further extended its services to the international community with five overseas chapters at Abu Dhabi, Bahrain,
Dubai, Kuwait and Qatar. In the international arena, IEI has bilateral relations with 26 engineering organizations
worldwide such as, World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), Federation of Engineering Institutions
of South and Central Asia (FEISCA), Federation of Engineering Institutions of Asia and the Pacific (FEIAP),
Commonwealth Engineers Council (CEC), Federation of International du Beton ( fib ), World Mining Congress (WMC),
Engineers Mobility Forum (EMF) and many more. Out of 15 Engineering Divisions, Civil Engineering has found one of
the strongest Divisions where Corporate Membership is high.

CIVIL ENGINEERING DIVISION BOARD

About the Division Board
The Institution of Engineers (India) has established Civil Engineering Division in the year 1954. This Division consists of quite a large number of
corporate members from Government, Public, Private sectors, Academia and R&D Organizations
.Various types of technical activities organized by the Civil Engineering Division include All India Seminars, All India Workshops, Lectures, Panel
Discussions etc., which are held at various State/ Local Centres of the Institution. Apart from these, National Convention of Civil Engineers, an
Apex activity of this Division is also organized each year on a particular theme approved by the Council of the Institution. In the National
Convention, several technical sessions are arranged on the basis of different sub-themes along with a Memorial Lecture in the memory of “Dr K L
Rao ”, the eminent Civil Engineer of the country, which is delivered by the experts in this field.In order to promote the research and developmental
work taking place in the field of civil engineering, the Institution also publishes Civil Engineering Division Journal quarterly in a year, where
mainly the researches and its findings are focused. Due to multi-level activities related to this engineering discipline, this division covers different
sub-areas such as
X Disaster Mitigation Engineering
X Advanced Construction Technologies
X Tunnel Boring
X Precise Design Criteria for High Rise Buildings in Tsunami-prone Areas of the Country
X Disaster Mitigation
X Mechanisation in Construction Industry
X Cost Effective and Eco-friendly Construction Technology
X Influence of Large Dams
X Rapid Transit System for Medium Cities
X Quality Management System in Construction
In order to promote the research and developmental work in the field of Civil Engineering, the Institution also publishes Journal of The Institution
of Engineers (India): Series A in collaboration with M/ S Springer which is an internationally peer reviewed journal. The journal is published four
times in a year and serves the national and international engineering community through dissemination of scientific knowledge on practical
engineering and design methodologies pertaining to Civil, Environment, Agriculture, and Architectural engineering.
 Annual Technical Volume
2015-16

The I nstitution of Engineers (I ndia)

Civil Engineering Division Board
M essage from. .

I am proud to know that Civil Engineering Division Board of the Institution has
published the first Annual Technical Volume on the theme, “Traditional Irrigation Syste ms in
India”.
I am very much happy to learn that total 51 number of articles have been received for
this volume, which are all related to irrigation systems in our country. It is commendable that
the Chairman, Civil Engineering Division Board (CVDB) could encourage the contributors from
various states such as, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana,
Tamilnadu, Manipur, West Bengal, Haryana and Rajasthan who shared their experiences in this
field, which are quite informative and valuable for the practicing engineers in the field of
irrigation. This volume consists of general ideas of irrigation system having the cost effective,
sustainable and pragmatic methodology applied in traditional irrigation systems. It is well
known phenomenon that there are various regions which are having several climatic condition
due to differences in temperature, altitude and rainfall. As a result, the climate is drastically
varying from one place to another especially in northern Himalayan regions, southern coastal
regions as well as dry western & central regions. These methods of traditional systems of water
utilization have overcome many difficult situations over several decades in different places of
the country.
I am proud to know that our learned Corporate Members have contributed their
experiences of irrigation systems in this Volume and the Technical Department of the
Institution has made all liaisons with them.
I must congratulate all Members of CVDB for their whole hearted supports in bringing
out this Annual Technical Volume. I am also grateful to Mr Narendra Singh, Chairman, CVDB and
his team at Uttarakhand State Centre of the Institution for their extensive efforts to publish this
volume. I am confident that the readers will definitely be benefitted for further improvement in
irrigation systems of our country.

H C S Berry, FIE
M essage from. .

It is enriching to learn that the Civil Engineering Division Board of The Institution
of Engineers (India) has successfully brought out its Annual Technical Volume on the
theme, “Traditional Irrigation Syste ms in India” as per decision of 126th CATE and
682nd Council Meetings held at Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh in the month of June, 2014.
This volume is a collection of the papers from the Corporate Members of the Institution
who are in the field of irrigation systems.
I congratulate the Chairman and the Members of the Civil Engineering Division
Board for their sincere efforts to bring out this fine collection of articles. I believe that this
compiled volume will be helpful for the academicians and professionals, which will
stimulate further researches into this emerging field of technology.

N R Bandyopadhyay, FIE, PhD (Engg.)

Chairman
Committee for Advancement of Technology & Engineering (CATE)
The Institution of Engineers (India)
 Annual Technical Volume
on
“ Traditional Irrigation Systems in India”
PREFACE

Dr Ambrish Kumar Narendra Singh, FIE

Member of Executive Committee Chairman
IEI – Uttarakhand State Centre Civil Engineering Division Board, IEI

Civil Engineering Division Board (CVDB) of The Institution of Engineers (India) was taken a
decision to publish the first 'Annual Technical Volume' on “Traditional Irrigation Syste ms in India”.
nd
Council of the Institution at its 682 meeting approved the publication of Annual Technical Volume
by each Division Board covering articles of practicing engineers & technologists in their own fields. This
volume is related to various aspects of irrigation and its allied branches contributed by practicing
engineers and academicians in their respective fields. Undoubtedly, it is a unique initiative being taken
with the objective of documenting innovative ideas, methods and techniques developed in different subject
domain and bring them out in a book form so that the concerned stakeholders may update themselves in
the field of irrigation. This document reflects views and long experiences of engineers working in the
design and development domain and of academicians and researchers as well, which needs to be up-scaled
in larger areas to benefit the farming communities.
This volume may be useful in guiding the irrigation project implementers at various spatial scales,
which is envisaged under recently lunched ' Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana ' with the motto of ' Har
Khet Ko Paani'. There is a need for seriously considering all options including linking of rivers, wherever
feasible; for ensuring optimal use of water resources to prevent the recurrence of floods and droughts.
Harvesting rain water with the pointed objectives of ' Jal Sanchay' and ' Jal Sinchan ', will nurture water
conservation and ground water recharge.
Due to various changes occurred in the irrigation fields at different States of the country, CVDB has
decided to publish the Annual Technical Volume on the theme, “Traditional Irrigation Syste ms in India”.
We are fortunate enough that the Corporate Members of the Institution have contributed their experiences
at this domain in this volume. Total 51 numbers of articles have been published in this book, which are very
much knowledge oriented and would be helpful in improving the existing condition of the irrigation
systems.
We are grateful to all the contributors to this Volume for sharing their innovative ideas and
experiences on irrigation development and management in the country. We hope the readers will
definitely be benefitted by the ideas, experiences and techniques compiled in this compendium and it is
useful to the engineering community in particular and to the society in general.

Narendra Singh, FIE

Annual Technical Volume of Civil Engineering Division Board, Vol.I, 2015-16

President Editor
Mr H C S Berry, FIE Mr Narendra Singh, FIE, Chairman, CVDB

Secretary and Director General- I/ c Associate Editor

Dr Anil Kumar, FIE Dr Ambrish Kumar, FIE
ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil &
Chief Editor Water Conservation, Dehradun
Prof N R Bandyopadhyay, FIE, Chairman, CATE

Members of Editorial Board

Mr Ashok Kumar Basa, FIE, Past President & Member, CVDB Mr Sisir Kumar Banerjee, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr Ved Prakash Bansal, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr M B Dagaonkar, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr S J Desai, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr P S Gahlot,FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr V S Ghogare, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr M K Jadav, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr Jahnabi Konar, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr V Vijaya Kumar, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr Jagdish Mohan, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr L M Patra, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr Shivanand Roy, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr Parminder Singh, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr P N Tandon, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr Sandeep B Vasava, MIE, Member, CVDB
Mr Vinod Kumar Birthire, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr Gulam Mohd Dar, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr C M Dharmalingam, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr Janak Raj Garg, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr Arvind Kumar Gupta, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr D K Kashyap, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr Kishore Kumar, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr Archan Kusum Majumdar, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr A K Mitra, FIE, Member, CVDB
Dr I Satyanarayana Raju, FIE, Member, CVDB
Prof Ramesh Harilal Shah, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr G Sudhakar, FIE, Member, CVDB
Mr H O Thakare , FIE, Member, CVDB

Publisher
Dr Anil Kumar, FIE, Secretary & Director General-I/c Edit orial Team
for The Institution of Engineers (India) Technical Department, IEI
Publication Office Mr S Chaudhury
The Institution of Engineers (India)
8 Gokhale Road, Kolkata 700020 Mr N Sengupta Mr K Sen Dr S Ghosh
Ph : 2223-8311/14-16/33-34 Mr T Chakraborty Ms A Dutta Ms S Biswas Sett
Fax : (033) 2223-8345 Mr Partha Mukhopadhyay Mr T K Roy Mr S Bagchi
web : http : www.ieindia.org Ms H Roy Ms N Sikdar Mr P Mukhopadhyay
e-mail : technical@ieindia.org

The Institution of Engineers (India), 8 Gokhale Road, Kolkata 700020, as a body accepts no responsibility for
the statements made by individuals in the paper and contents of papers published herein.

The Institution of Engineers (India) subscribes to the Fair Copying Declaration of the Royal Society. Reprints
of any portion of the publication may be made provided that reference thereto be quoted.

Printed at Florence Offset Process Pvt. Ltd., 6A, S. N. Banerjee Road, Kolkata 700 013
Contents
Page
Post Independence Scenario in Irrigation Sector in India –Need for Private Participation 17
S. K. Mazumder
Depleting Ground Water Replenishment through Recharge 25
H. S. Chauhan
Irrigation Group Wells in India: A Disregarded Ground Reality 31
R. V. Rama Mohan
Traditional Irrigation Systems in India 40
S. Debnath
Traditional Irrigation Systems in India 46
K. P. Tripathi
Traditional Irrigation Systems of India 57
S. K. Srivastava, R. Singhal
Irrigation Scheduling Systems: Principles and Applications 66
P. K. Singh, S. K. Mishra, A. Kumar
Status of Irrigation Efficiency in India 85
A. Pandey
The Great Ganges Canal of Northern India 93
S. C. Goyal, N. Singh, N. K. Yadav
Land Evaluation for Capability, Irrigability and Suitability for Major Crops and its Management 103
H. C. Sharma, A. Kumar
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Himachal Pradesh 111
N. P. S. Nagi, S. K. Mahammad Sartaj Basha
Sustainable Water Resource Management for Efficient Irrigation System 117
A. Kumar, B. L. Dhyanil, P. K. Mishra
Micro Irrigation in Uttarakhand: Status, Scope and Design Considerations 124
P. K. Singh
Irrigation Systems in Uttarakhand: A Case study 131
T. Raina
Rejuvenation of Hill Channels in Uttarakhand: An Cost Effective Approach 135
R. Kumar
Effective Modification in the Traditional Tapping and Irrigation Techniques for 138
Agricultural Sustainability in Himalayan Region
A. K. Vashisht, H. C. Sharma, R. S. Negi
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Punjab 147
M. L. Ohri
Aspects of Irrigation Systems in Haryana – An Overview 154
N. Singh
Water Harvesting Systems in Central Highlands 159
O. T. Gulati
Appraisal of Kelia Irrigation Systems – A Boon for Tribal part in South Gujarat Region 162
B. V. Bhatt
Conventional and Modern Irrigation System of Gujarat 170
S. K. Shah
System and Present Scenario of Irrigation in Maharashtra 175
V. Ghogare
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Maharashtra 189
P. Jayakumar
PHAD System of Irrigation in Maharashtra 197
A. Suryavanshi
Traditional Rainwater Harvesting System in Hot Arid Zone of India 203
R. K. Goyal, R. K. Singh, P. R. Ojasvi
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Rajasthan: A Review 206
H. Sharma
Water Harvesting System in Thar Desert Region 209
C. V. Nadpara
Traditional Irrigation Systems in South India with Special Reference to Andhra Pradesh & Telangana 214
C. L. N. Sastry
Traditional Irrigation Methods in Telengana State 220
S. V. M. Rao
Wind Powered Water Pumping Systems for Irrigation in Pudukkottai Region 227
Preethika D., Loganayaki S., Ananth S.
Traditional and Modern Irrigation Systems in India 230
A. K. Murthy
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Tamil Nadu 234
A. Veerappan
Methods and Systems of Irrigation in Tamil Nadu 241
R. Paranthaman
A Study on Effective Utilization of Reclaimed Water for Landscape Irrigation in Technical Institution 246
V. Karthikeyan, R. Lavanya
Traditional Irrigation Systems Adopted in Tamil Nadu 251
S. Jayalekshmi
Surface Irrigation Systems in Tamil Nadu 253
B. Srinivasan
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Kerala 260
E. J. Joseph
A Traditional Farming System – Kuttanad, Kerala 268
S. P. Abraham
Traditional Irrigation Methods with Special References to the 273
Ernad, Valluvanad and Palaghat Region of Malabar
Abdulla P. K.
Traditional Irrigation Systems of Kerala 279
Deepu M. R.
A Holistic Approach for Harnessing and Management of Water 283
Resources for Enhancing Agricultural Productivity in Eastern Region
R. C. Srivastava
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Odisha 289
S. Mahapatra
Rivers of West Bengal 295
S. S. Ganguly
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Bengal Delta 301
T. Sanyal
Brief History of Origin of Irrigation in India 304
S. C. Pal
Irrigation System and Water management in India 308
S. Basu
Jharkhand: Water Resources Scenario 312
S. Roy, O. Nath
Traditional Irrigation Systems of Northeast India 315
M. K. Goyal, T. Das, D. Das, S. Gupta
Irrigation Systems in Manipur 320
A. D. Singh
Retrofitting of Irrigation Structures – Prakasam Barrage, Andhra Pradesh: A Case Study 322
I. Satyanarayana Raju
Water Resource Development Planning and Management for Island 325
Ecosystem – A Case Study for Andaman & Nicobar Islands
R. C. Srivastava
 Post Independence Scenario in Irrigation Sector in
India – Need for Private Participation
S. K. Mazumder
Former AICTE Emeritus Professor
Delhi Technological University, New Delhi
* somendrak64@gmail.com

Abstract
Although India has made substantial progress in irrigation sector after independence, the performance of many
of the projects is not satisfactory due to various factors discussed in this paper. There is a huge wastage of water
principally due to poor on-farm irrigation management and the wrong pricing policy resulting in low irrigation
efficiency. There is an utter need for private participation in irrigation sector for better management and
efficiency. Some of the constraints of private participation have been highlighted. Some important role
consultants can play in the public-private-partnership (PPP) model, as in roads sector, have been outlined.
Keywords : Irrigation schemes, Efficiency of irrigation, Pricing of water, Private participation

Introduction mha area under irrigation in India today, 58 mha is by

major and medium surface irrigation schemes , 15 mha
After independence in 1947, most of the irrigated land
area is by surface minor irrigation schemes and 40 mha
went to Pakistan. In the year 1951, when first five year
is by minor ground water schemes (IWRS-2007).
plan started, India had a population of about 300
Because of the timely irrigation development, India is
million and the area covered by irrigation was only 23
self sufficient in food today, producing 250 Mt of food
million hectares (mha) producing 90 Mt of food
grains for our 1200 million people. Figure 1
grains.Alarge number of irrigation schemes have been
(Maumder, 2002) shows the projected growth in
completed over the years to assure firm water supply
population, food grain production and irrigated area
to the agricultural community. Out of a total of 113
up to 2050.

Figure 1 Growth of population, food production and irrigated area in India during 1951-2050

Annual Technical Volume 17

 It has been estimated (Iyer,1989) that by the year 2025,
the total utilizable water resources of India (1100
mcum) is going to be almost the same as the total
demand from different sectors (1050 mcum). Demand
for irrigation water (840 mcum) has been steadily
rising due to population growth and food requirement.
It may be seen from Figure 1 that the irrigation
potential of 113 mha is going to remain constant unless
long distance water transfer schemes (IWRS, 1996) at
a huge cost are implemented to bring an additional
area of 35 mha under irrigation. Therefore, the only
way the country can feed the people in future is
through greater productivity of land with double or
triple crops on the same land for which more irrigation
water is needed.
The efficiency of water use of most of the surface
irrigation schemes, which consumes about 80% of our
utilizable water resources, must be improved to ensure
productivity of agricultural land per unit of area, unit
of water and unit of time. At present, overall efficiency
of irrigation in India is about 35% which is too low
when compared with the figures of 75% in Japan and
55% in China. Even a marginal increase in irrigation
efficiency will cause substantial savings of water
which can be either diverted for other uses or more
agricultural land can be brought under irrigation with
the same amount of available water. Unlike other
commodities like electricity, drinking water etc., water
for irrigation is currently distributed almost free of
cost. The present irrigation water rates are extremely
low. Whereas during the British days, 87% of the
overhead and maintenance costs of irrigation schemes
used to be realized from irrigation revenue, today the
revenue receipt is so low that it can hardly meet 15% of
maintenance cost of the projects. The cost of operation
and maintenance, administrative and depreciation cost
and the interest on borrowed capital are being
subsidized by the government (Mohile,1984). Many
of the irrigation projects which were our national
assets are soon going to be our national liabilities if the
present situation continues. Some of the early storage
projects are fast loosing their live storage capacity due
to siltation (CBIP,1994) requiring dredging at
enormous cost.
Performance of Irrigation Schemes in India
The overall efficiency of irrigation projects (also
called project efficiency) in India is too low at an
average of 35% in the case of major and medium
irrigation projects (INCID, 1998). The average project
efficiency in three major river-valley projects,
18
determined by author, was found to vary from 18.6% to
38.8% (Mazumder, 1984). Most of the irrigation water
was found to be lost in conveyance and field
application and extremely poor management of water
(Mazumder,1986) at the farm level. Bharat Singh
(1991) while emphasizing the present day need of
intensive irrigation for maximizing yield per unit of
area, identified the following major shortcomings of
our present irrigation schemes:
¨ Gap between the creation of irrigation potential
and its utilization
¨ Unreliable and inadequate supply
¨ Inequitable distribution of water between head and
tail enders.
¨ Non-responsive and authoritarian administration
¨ Lack of control and increasing malpractices
¨ Low efficiency of canal systems and poor on farm
management of irrigation water.
Planning Commission (1992), Government of India,
recognized the three major shortcomings responsible
for poor performance of irrigation schemes, namely,
¨ Unlined channels
¨ Lack of land consolidation, improper leveling and
sizing of irrigated land
¨ Improper on farm management of irrigation water
beyond outlets.
Zimermann (1966) examined several drawbacks of
protective type extensive irrigation practice being
followed in India where available water is spread over
vast areas through a widely spaced unlined canal
networks. Most of the water in such a system is lost in
conveyance and most of the remaining water is lost
because of inefficient irrigation management
(IWRS,2007).
Wastage of Irrigation Water
Compared to minor surface and ground water
irrigation (mostly at farmer's control), wastage of
water in major and medium schemes (under
Government control) is much more. The conveyance
losses in different stretches of the irrigation canal
system is shown in Table 1 (CWC-1995). Some of the
principal reasons of wastage of irrigation water are
discussed in the following sections.
Unlined Canal Systems
Permissible velocity in unlined canals (depending on
the type of soil) is quite low compared to lined ones. As
a result, time of travel from the storage reservoir to the
Annual Technical Volume
 Table 1 Conveyance losses in main canal and branches in
India
Type of In North As found by a sub- Purna
Canal India committee for MP, Project
UP, and Maharashtra
Main Canal 17% 25% N.A.
Branches 8% 20% 20%
Distributaries 20% 20% 20%
Total 45% 65% N.A.
farm lands are considerably high resulting in greater
losses due to seepage and evaporation. Due to lack of
proper maintenance, most of open canals have
luxurious growth of weeds and water hyacinth which
evapotranspires more water.
Poor on-Farm Irrigation Management
There is hardly any on-farm development e.g. land
consolidation, shaping and leveling of land, lining of
watercourses and field channels, farm roads, service
tanks etc. Lack of proper irrigation scheduling results
in colossal loss of irrigation water diverted from
outlets. Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, (1979)
,Government of India have found that most of the
water released from irrigation outlets go waste due to
uncertainty of delivery and lack of preparation of land,
inefficient method of irrigation application (e.g. wild
flooding and basin flooding), unlined water courses
and field channels, improper scheduling of irrigation
as per soil-water -plant relations (Mazumder,2007),
existing practice of charging irrigation rate on area
basis in many a projects, absence of proper forecast of
rainfall and pre-irrigation soil moisture content .
INCID (1998) in its report found that in major and
medium irrigation projects, less than 50% of water
released from the storage reservoir reaches the outlets.
Further loss occurs at farm level due to lack of
technical know how for efficient application of
irrigation water.
Inadequate and Unreliable Supply at the Outlets
To be of greatest use to the crops, the irrigation
application must be timely and in quantities adequate
to meet the consumptive requirement of crops at any
given stage of growth. In large irrigation projects,
where it takes several days for the water to reach from
the storage/diversion works to the farm point, the
timely supply of water in required quantities are
uncertain. Operation of the irrigation system, mostly
done manually, is dependent on so many factors
related to man, machine and structures. Proper
irrigation scheduling and its delivery by rotation need
Annual Technical Volume
expertise and enlightened farmers receiving proper
training. Design assumptions, design inputs,
construction quality, operation and maintenance of the
projects are interrelated and govern reliability and
adequacy of irrigation (Thatte, 2000, Bharat
Singh,1991).
Water Pricing and Realisation of Irrigation Rate
Because of the prevalent policy of charging irrigation
water (Planning Commission,1992) on the basis of
area, the farmers at the head end have a tendency to
draw as much water they can without bothering for
those at the tail end of canals. Volumetric
measurement (Mazumder,1999) of irrigation water
supplied to farmers and charging irrigation rate on the
basis of actual consumption are the best way to
achieve higher irrigation efficiency and reduce
wastage of water. For equitable and scientific
distribution of water amongst the farmers and
realization of irrigation rate, considerable cooperation
and understanding are needed between the supplier
and the consumers of water. As in most cases of our
public life, there is utter confusion and lack of clarity at
the consumers level wherever the government tries to
control.
Average productivity of land in India is found to be
only about 2.0 T/ha in irrigated areas and 1.0 T/ha in
rain fed un-irrigated areas (Prasad –2000). It is too low
when compared with the yield of about 5 to 6 T/ha in
developed countries like Japan, USA, Canada,
Australia etc. Cost of irrigation projects, on the other
hand, is increased several times due to long time
overrun, escalation in price and rampant corruption at
all levels in the Government departments. Considering
the heavy investments (from Rs. 4.42 billion in 1st
plan to about Rs. 2,320 billion in 11th plan ¾ center
and states together), it is extremely important for a
developing economy like India, to carry out critical
review of the financial performance of all irrigation
schemes.
Revenue return from irrigation schemes may be taken
as the gross receipts from the scheme which may be
due to (i) sale of water to farmers i.e. irrigation rates;
(ii) sale of hydro- power; (iii) navigation receipts;
(iv) proceed from plantations; and (v) irrigation cess
and different kinds of levies. Working expenses
include (i) direction and administration; (ii)
machinery and equipment; (iii) extension and
improvement; (iv) operation, maintenance and repairs
works etc. Average (of 15 states in India) year-wise
19
 Figure 2 Aveage Year-wise percentage recovery of working expenses for 15 states in India

recovery of working expenses as percentage of O & M so far been governed by highly subsidized supply-
costs of irrigation projects is shown in Figure 2. management policies. Maintenance of infrastructure
According to a compilation made by Central Water built at enormous cost is severely constrained due to
Commission (CWC 1990) on financial aspects of shortage of funds resulting in all round deterioration in
irrigation, the total deficit in the year 1986-87 alone the performance of irrigation projects. Examples of
was found to be of the order of Rs.120 billion. cost and time over- run in the case of a few irrigation
Unrecovered costs are subsidies. But one must not projects in India are given in Table 2.
assume that this subsidy accrues only to users of
Need for Private Participation in Irrigation Sector
irrigation. Part of it represents the cost of inefficiency
due to poor planning, design, operation and Need for limited private participation and consultancy
maintenance of the irrigation system. Objective in irrigation management arises due to the following
should be to reduce government subsidy, improve facts:
efficiency and effectively manage irrigation ¨ With the increasing costs of irrigation
water(Mazumder, 2013). Indian Water Resources development (from Rs.42,750/- per ha during 7th
Society in its theme paper on ‘Water: Vision 2050’ plan to 1,00,000/- per ha during 10 th plan) and
(IWRS, 1999) state ‘Water resource development has because of its overall resource crunch, Govt. alone
Table 2 Cost and time overruns in a few irrigation schemes in India
Project Budget Year Budget (Rs. ´106) Increase on Original Budget Comments
Indira Sagar 1984-85 13928.5 Estimated cost for earliest
1988-89 21676.7 56% time of completion.
1993-94 34967.9 151%
2004-05 75000.0 438%
Onkaleshwar 1984-85 5780.00
1988-89 19092.50 230%
1993-94 40000.00 592% Ditto
2004-05
Maheshwar 1985-86 2412.70
1993-94 8240.00 242%
2004-05 23000.00 853% Ditto
Sardar Sarowar 1984-85 42400.00
1986-87 64066.40 51%
1992-93 131806.20 211%
2004-05 275000.00 549% Ditto

20 Annual Technical Volume

 can not bear the responsibility of providing food
security for the rising population.
¨ Govt. allocation is inadequate to meet the
expenditures even for the ongoing irrigation
projects resulting in spillover of the projects with
consequent time and cost over-run. In many a
cases, the entire investments made by the
Government are lying idle.
¨ In case of completed projects too, fund allocation
is extremely inadequate to meet the expenditures
of O&M, operation, modernization, depreciation
etc. resulting in poor irrigation efficiency and
huge wastage of water in transportation and field
application (Mazumder, 2002)
Govt. allocation in irrigation sector has reduced over
the years because of the increasing demand of fund for
development of other infrastructures, for example,
roads, railways, industies etc.
Consultants – both public and private - can play major
role in improving professional management skills and
provide better and efficient services, introduce latest
technology for fast development and optimal
utilization of limited water resources of our country
(Mazumder, 2010).
Need for Private Participation in Irrigation
Management
Private participation has been encouraged by the
Ministry of water resources (MOWR), Goverment of
India. In section 12 and 13 of the National Water
Policy (MOWR,1987), it is stated ‘private sector
participation in planning, development and
management of water resources may help in
introducing innovative ideas, generating financial
resources and introducing corporate management and
improving service efficiency and accountability to
users’. The Planning Commission, Govt. of India
(2002), in section VIII (infrastructure) of its 10th five-
year plan (2002-07) document mentions “Despite
massive investments and impressive achievements, a
lot more investment is needed to fully harness the
available irrigation potential. The unit cost of
irrigation development is nearly Rs.1,00,000/- per ha
of CCA. This is so high that even recovery of interest
on capital from the service is difficult, unlike many
services which are able to pay for themselves with or
without some incentives or subsidies. Hence the
desirability of mobilizing financial resources from the
private sector which will ensure better irrigation
efficiency and better service’.
Annual Technical Volume
Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE-
2008) observed that water management and
water use efficiency need to be improved in all water-
use sectors to optimize productivity. Out of the several
recommendations made by the experts, one important
recommendation is regarding public-private
partnership (PPP) in water sector for efficient
management of water. To generate funds and provide
incentives for private investments, one of the ex-
secretry, Ministry of Water Resources, Govt. of India,
recommended levying 10% tax on all cold drinks and
bottled mineral water and transfer it to irrigation sector
in a manner similar to transfer of oil cess to road sector
Some Constraints and Limitations of Privatization
Even though there are a number of benefits of private
participation in irrigation management,, there are
several constraints and limitations for private
participation as follows:
¨ Water is far more basic than any other
commodity. Control and ownership of water is a
very sensitive issue. Private companies will be
interested in investment only when they own it
and sell it to realize costs from consumers. This
may result in so high price of water which the
poor and disadvantaged section of our society
may not afford.
¨ Unlike other commodities which can be supplied
as per demand, there is a lot of risks in irrigation
water supply due to unpredictable nature of
rainfall which is the principal source of irrigation
water in India.
¨ Unless there is business ethics and a national
outlook, private sector may try to exploit the
irrigation water to maximize their profit and
corner as much wealth as possible for their
personal benefits irrespective of long term
environmental damage.
¨ Many of the private contractors in water and other
sectors carrying out construction/operation of
projects/industries have a tendency to bribe
authorities to avoid strict adherence to
specifications, rules and regulations laid down by
the Govt. for long term benefit to the society.
¨ Except a few, most of the private organizations in
India are accustomed to perform only routine
type jobs in a haste. They are reluctant to invest
enough money and time for quality up-gradation
21
 of the employee (Mazumder, 2008) through
R&D.
Considering the above constraints, a high power
committee appointed by Govt. of India, recommended
private participation in irrigation for some pilot
projects on a selective basis. The committee further
recommended that the Govt. must exercise its full
control as regulator- economic and environmental.
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in Irrigation
Management
PPP is a mode of implementing government
program/schemes in partnership with private initiative
through corporate bodies, WUAs, NGOs,
cooperatives, self help groups, individual partnership
farms, voluntary organizations, community
development centers etc.. The objective of PPP as
opposed to privatization is to improve the
performance within the existing realm of public sector
responsibility for the quality of services provided..
It is apparent that under the existing conditions, the
Govt. can not give legal ownership right and its
regulatory capacity of irrigation water to the private
sector due to several socio-economic-political
constraints. On the other hand, the private sector may
not be interested to make any large scale investments
in major and medium irrigation schemes due to very
high cost, long gestation period, uncertainty and risks
involved.
There is a growing realization that given their
respective strengths and weaknesses, neither the
public sector nor the private sector alone can deliver
the goods to the people in the best interest of
agriculture and irrigation. It is a fact that the irrigation
water supply provided by the government through its
own departments has almost failed to meet the
requirements resulting in sufferings of people,
especially in rural and semi-urban areas where 70% of
our population live.
PPP is a middle path solution, a joint venture of public
and private sector, where each partner brings inputs
like finance, technology and management practices.
Together they work for achieving a common goal and
in doing so they share the risks and benefits jointly.
PPP enables the government to retain a better control
on the service than what would be possible without
government's involvement. However, because of the
sensitivity associated with water, PPP schemes in
irrigation management are much more complex
compared to other sectors. PPP is welcome in small
22
and micro irrigation projects as well as in areas like
operation, delivery, flow-metering, billing, collection
of water tariff etc. beyond the distributory canal
system in the major and medium projects. PPP is most
suitable in water conservation and preservation of
small scale water bodies like springs and wells, tanks
and ponds, nallas and small streams, drainages,
recycling and re-use of domestic and industrial
sewage etc. as suggested by Vasimalai (2004),
executive director, DHAN foundation.
Role of Consultants in Irrigation Management
Consultants can play a very important role in the
service sector in bridging the gap between private
initiative and public responsibility and in allaying the
fears of both the government and the private bodies.
Development of consultancy profession in India has
been quite significant during the last few decades.
Consultancy Development Center (CDC), Consulting
Engineers Association of India (CEAI), Engineering
Council of India (ECI) under the Department of
Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) of the
Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India,
have data base of consultants/consultancy farms - both
public sector undertakings and private organizations.
- covering areas like agriculture and rural
development, banking and finance, construction and
construction management, health and education etc. In
the water sector, there are both public undertakings
(e.g.CBIP, NHPC, WAPCOS, NPCC, EIL, EPIL,
MECON STUP etc.) and private consultants (e.g. J P.
& Associates, TCS, L&T, Jacob-CES, DHI, ICT,
SPAN, SMEC, URS-SWI, HALCRO, AQUAGREEN
etc.) who offer consultancy services in water sector in
India and abroad.Consultants face steep competition
amongst themselves for wining projects by projecting
bio-data of their experts who act as key persons in the
various disciplines to prove their capability and
worthiness. Consultants have also to train their
engineers to efficiently perform the various jobs
assigned to them by the team leaders and specialists to
complete the project in a time bound, cost effective
and efficient manner to the satisfaction of their clients.
They help in identification and cross fertilization of
best practices, development of best strategy, analytical
techniques and soft wares, technology up gradation,
innovative ideas, application of latest R&D and best
management practices to establish their credibility.
Many times, a consultant associates with other
consultants of repute from India and abroad or
outsource a part of the job where they lack in necessary
expertise and experience.
Annual Technical Volume
 Collaboration strategies of consultancy organizations
in India have been discussed in depth by Diwan (1999)
in a national workshop on ‘Challenges in the
Management of Water Resources and Environment In
tThe Next Millennium’ - organized by Delhi College
of Engineering (now Delhi Technological University)
in association with Indian Water Resources Society
(IWRS) and Indian Society for Hydraulics (ISH).
Summary and Conclusions
India has successfully completed a large number of
irrigation schemes after independence. This has
definitely helped us in meeting the challenge of food
production for our ever-increasing population. Many
of the major and medium schemes are, however,
operating at poor efficiency due to high conveyance
loss and poor on farm irrigation management.
Irrigation rate and the realization of rate are too low to
meet even the working expenses. Many of the projects
which used to be national assets are fast becoming
national liabilities. There is a need for public- private-
partnership in better management for efficient
utilization of water for irrigation which consumes
nearly 80% of our water resources. Consultants- both
public and private - can play a major role in bridging
the gap between private initiative and public
responsibility for overall economic benefits and
prosperity of the country.
Acknowledgement
Author wishes to thank M/s Aquagreen Engineering
Management, ICT, ITL and SWI Pvt. Ltd New Delhi,
for rendering help and co-operation in writing this
paper.
References
1. B Singh, Management of Irrigation in India – a
perspective, Water Management Forum, The
Institution of Engineers (India), 1991.
2. Proc. of Workshop on Reservoir Sedimentation org.
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(CBIP) and Irrigation Deptt., Govt. of Karnataka, 17-
19 May, 1994.
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Irrigation Programme for Eighth Plan (1990-95)”,
published by Central Water Commission (CWC), New
Delhi, 1995.
4. Financial Aspects of Irrigation and Multipurpose River
Valley Projects, pub. No. 74/90 by Central Water
Commission (CWC), New Delhi, 1990.
5. P L Diwan, Collaboration Strategies and Weaknesses of
Consultancy Organizations in India, Proc. Workshop
Annual Technical Volume
on Challenges in the Management of Water Resources
and Environment in the Next Millennium - Need for
Inter- Institute Collaboration, org. by Deptt. of Civil
Engg., Delhi College of Engg., ISH and IWRS,
Touchstone Publisher, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New
Delhi, October 8-9, 1999.
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India, Indian National Academy of Engineers (INAE),
IIT Delhi, February 21-22, 2008.
7. Sprinkler Irrigation in India, Indian National
Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (INCID),
Ministry of Water Resources, Govt. of India, 1998.
8. Role of Water Resources Development and
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on Water Resources Day observed by Indian Water
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2007.
9. ‘Water Vision 2050’, prepared by CWC & pub. by
IWRS on the occasion of Water Resources Day, at New
Delhi, March 22, 1999.
10. Inter-basin transfer of water for national development-
problems and Prospects, theme paper pub. on water
resources day by IWRS, New Delhi, 1996.
11. S. S. Iyer, Water Resources of India – an Overview,
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meter for Improving Water Use Efficiency, presented in
the workshop on Water Use Efficiency organised by
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Resources Development and Management, IIT
Roorkee, December 9, 2013.
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Irrigation Management- Role of Consultants, J. of
IWRS, Vol 30, No 3, July, 2010.
14. S K Mazumder, Quality Improvement through
Collaboration Between Educational, Research and
Consultancy Institutions in India, ‘Journal of
Consulting Ahead” by Consultancy Development
Center(CDC), January 2008.
15. Mazumder, Irrigation Engineering, Galgotia
Publications, 5, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi
110 002, 2007.
16. S K Mazumder, Performance of surface irrigation
schemes in India, Proc. of All India Seminar on Water
and Environment - Issues and Challenges, org by IWRS
and WRDTC, IIT Roorkee, October 2002.
17. S K Mazumder, I Deb Roy, Improved Design of a
Proportional Flow Meter, ISH Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering , Vol. 5, No. 1, March 1999.
18. S K Mazumder, Irrigation Water Management, Int.
Seminar on ‘Water Management in Arid and Semi Arid
Zones’HaryanaAgri. Univ. Hissar, Nov. 27-29.
23
 19. ‘National Water Policy’ pub. by Ministry of Water
Resources, Govt. of India, 1986.
20. S K Mazumder, Efficiency of Irrigation in the
Command Areas of DVC, Mayurakshi and Kangsabati
projects in West Bengal, Proc. National Seminar on
Water Resources Management for Rural Development,
KNIT, Sultanpur, Oct. 18-19, 1984.
21. Manual on Reclamation and Management of
Waterlogged and Salt Affected Areas in Irrigation
Commands ( MOWR), New Delhi, 1995.
22. Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Govt. of India,
Manual on ‘Irrigation Water Management’, 1979.
23. A. D. Mohile, C. Subhas, S. N Singh, Financial
performance of Major and Medium Irrigation Projects”
Proc. on Fifth National Water Convention, Org. by
National Water Development Agency, Ministry of
Water Resources, Govt. of India, Faridabad (Haryana),
Feb 25-27, 1994.
24. National Water Policy, Ministry of Water Resources,
Govt. of India, New Delhi, September 1987.
25. Planning Commission, Tenth Five Year Plan(2002-
24
2007), Govt. of India, Section-VIII, Infrastructure
Irrigation, Flood Control and Command Area
Development, 2002.
26. Planning Commission, Govt. of India, Report of the
Committee on ‘Pricing Irrigation Water’, New Delhi,
1992.
27. R S Prasad, Integration of Drainage, Flood Control and
Water Management in Alluvial Plain in India, Proc. 8th
ICID International Drainage Workshop, Vol I, Regional
Experiences, New Delhi, 2000.
28. C D Thatte, S A Kulkarni, ‘Status and Strategy for
prevention and Reclamation of Waterlogged and Salt
affected land from Irrigated area of India’, Proc. 8th
ICID Int. Drainage Workshop Organised by INCID and
WAPCOS , New Delhi, 235-252, 2000.
29. M P Vasimalai, Public-Privte Partnership for
Conservation of Tanks, Ponds, Streams and Springs - a
Way forward, Proc. of Water Summit 2004, Org. by
FICCI, New- Delhi, November 2004.
30. J D Zimmerman, Irrigation, John Wiley & Sons, Wiley
International Edition, 1966.
Annual Technical Volume
 Depleting Ground Water Replenishment through
Recharge
H. S. Chauhan
Former Dean, College of Technology and Post Graduate Studies
Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and
Technology Pantnagar, Uttarakhand
* hchauhan368@gmail.com

Abstract
Because of seepage through unlined canals and heavy and inefficient irrigation the water table has been rising in
some commands in the country. Also there has been a decline of water table in Western Uttar Pradesh, some parts
of Punjab, Haryana and other states because of indiscriminate use and heavy withdrawals of ground water with
the adoption of high-water demanding cropping system, growth of industries, and increasing population. In the
present paper, water availability situation, declining water table, scope of artificial recharge, ground water
recharge techniques and experiences have been discussed.

Introduction WaterAvailability Situation

It has been observed that there is a misbalance in
supply and demand of water in many irrigation
command areas. Because of seepage through unlined
canals and heavy and inefficient irrigation the water
table has been rising in some commands. Also there
has been a decline of water table in Western UP, some
parts of Punjab and Haryana and other states because
of indiscriminate use and heavy withdrawals of ground
water due to adoption of high-water demanding
cropping system, growth of industries, and increasing
population. The ground water development was
intensive in the alluvial areas of Indo-Ganga-Yamuna
plains of Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan, which
accounted for more than 85% of utilizable ground
water potential. If there can be a planned and regulated
use of surface and ground water a stable ground water
table can be maintained. With normal use sufficient
ground water recharge takes place from canal seepage
return flow and irrigation. Replenishment also takes
place from rainfall. A regulated use of canal water for
irrigation and supplementing irrigation from ground
water may be broadly termed as conjunctive use.
Ground water reservoir provides subsurface storage at
fewer costs, which provides relief from dam failure,
lean rainfall or drought years. In order to maintain
equilibrium between availability and withdrawal of
ground water suitable and economical recharge
techniques need to be adopted. There is a large scope of
ground water augmentation through artificial recharge
in different hydro geological terrains of the country.
Ground water and tube well development can be done
at faster rate to alleviate emergent irrigation. It has
several advantages against surface supplies such as
lack of evaporation, percolation and pilferage.
This would reduce available water in agricultural
sector and thus percentage area under irrigation. Water
quantum as already stated is about 70% of total
withdrawal worldwide. Irrigation covers about 250
mha, that is, 17% of the worlds arable land but
responsible for 40% of crop output and employs 33%
of population in rural areas. Classes of water shortage
have been ranked according to per capita Annual Water
Resources (AWR) in each country. In 1990, 18
countries were severely water scarce which may
become 30 by 2025. Most of these countries are located
in Asia and Africa already facing food shortage. More
than one billion people including one-third population
of China and India live under water scarcity.
Decreasing water availability for agriculture is likely
to increase from its value in1995/97 till 2030 only by
12%. To meet water demands for agriculture irrigation
efficiency need to improve from present 43% to 50%
by 2030.
Declining Water Tables
The indiscriminate exploitation of ground water is
leading to water table decline. The water table decline
has been occurring at a fast rate in many states in the
country because of various reasons, though mostly it is
due to increased intensity of cropping and a misbalance
in recharge and withdrawal, but a peculiar phenomena
has been observed that it is increasingly being
observed in areas where a high evapotranspiration
demanding crop like rice has been introduced in a big
way. Such examples have been more prominently
observed in Punjab Haryana and UP. This decline rate
can be arrested or contained by recharging ground
water by different available recharge techniques. Some

Annual Technical Volume 25

 aspects of this issue have been highlighted below: and river pumping the poor aquifers. The similar
Taneja and Sondhi’s studies it is estimated that the area problem seems to prevail in Chhattisgarh where about
under water table depth less than 5 m has reduced from more than a lakh farmers are using irrigation pumps
37.5% to 23.6% whereas under 5 to 10 m depth it has with the possibility of doubling to bring about a
increased from 42% to 54.30%. The area with water revolutionary change. The best remedy for
table depth more than 10 m has also increased. Chhattisgarh seems to be water harvesting and
Computation by Gupta, et al (1998) shows that judicious use of ground water because of little recharge
percentage area with a falling water table. In Punjab it practically taking place otherwise they may have
was 92.5% in the foothill zone, 99.8% in the central similar problems likeAndhra Pradesh.
zone and 63% in the southwest zone. The highest rate International Scenario of Water Management
of water table fall of 4% has occurred in the central
zone. About 31% of this area has registered a water Countries with largest irrigated areas (ICID, 2002) are
table fall of 22 to 33 cm/year. According to agricultural presented in the Table 1.
expert Johl, 80% of water requirement is met by World Water Forum Views on Water Management
ground water. It is facing multiple crises in the form of
fast deteriorating soils depleting water table degrading According to Schultz, et al (2004) at Hague, life
agro ecology and increasing economic squeeze. One environment in the 21st Century with its vision on
may cite the sad conditions of rural debt ground water water for food and rural development indicated a
depletion and farmer suicides. Hari Kishen Pura is one required duplication of food production in coming 25
of the 200 villages in Punjab that has been blacklisted years. Even after realization of irrigation potential
by government banks as unfit for rural credit. about 50% of Indian agriculture will remain
Collective debt is about 400 crores the Nainital district unirrigated. Therefore, all steps and strategies that help
of Uttar Pradesh is about 6792 km2 in area. It consists in enhancing conservation of water such as ground
of three zones namely, Hill, Bhabar and Tarai zones. water recharge, efficient irrigation water management
The artesian wells constitute one of the main sources and watershed management would assist in enhancing
of irrigation in the Tarai Belt of Nainital district in the irrigated area and play an important role in Indian
Uttar Pradesh. A considerable reduction in discharge agriculture. Some such aspects are discussed below:
has taken place. Not only the discharge but also the l Agriculture is the largest consumer of water
piezometric head of artesian aquifer which was accounting for 72% of the total withdrawals for the
observed to be more than 9 m above the ground level in world at large. The average irrigation efficiency of
the sixties has now reduced to about 2 m. the world is 37% (if efficiency can be raised by10%
As per the Sharma and Kaushik report (1998) quoting the total conserved water will equal to the water
CGWB’s national report of ground water resources of required in the world for all the other uses).
India, 249 blocks / mandals / taluks / watersheds falls According to Martin Smith (2000) sustainable
under over exploited category (utilization greater than food production will depend on the judicious use of
100%) and 179 blocks / mandals / taluks / watersheds water resources to meet future food demands.
fall under dark category (utilization greater than 85% l This would require an increase in water
but less than 100%) in 12 states of the country namely, productivity by the increasing water use efficiency.
Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka,
Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. For tapping Table 1 International Scenario of Water Management
water in these areas it would require deepening of tube Country Population Population, Total Arable Irrigated
well. While the numbers of over exploited and dark (a´106) ´106 Area, Land, Area
blocks were 253 in 1985 it went up to 428 in 1999 and Agriculture, ha ´106 ´106
if this was not reversed it could double in next 12 % ha ha
years. The 10th plan reported that out of 5711 blocks / India 998 55 329 170 59
China 1267 68 960 135 53
mandals / taluks / watersheds spread over 470 districts, USA 276 2 936 179 21
310 were in over exploited category and 160 were in Pakistan 152 51 80 22 18
dark category. Andhra Pradesh in many areas with Iran 67 28 163 18 8
over exploitation of ground water, the water tables Mexico 97 24 196 27 7
were declining fast and besides becoming unfit for Indonesia 209 45 190 31 5
agriculture they were becoming insufficient even for Thailand 61 50 51 20 5
Russia 147 11 1708 128 5
drinking water. The then new Chief Minister Sri Uzbekistan 24 28 45 5 4
Rajshekhar Reddy told in a press club that one of the Total 3298 - 4658 735 185
biggest mistakes were over exploitation of tube wells World 5978 - 13,387 1,512 271

26 Annual Technical Volume

 It is estimated that this would require irrigation
efficiency to be improved from present 43% to
50% by 2030. This would in consequence require
reducing irrigation water losses by introduction of
appropriate technologies such as drip and sprinkler
Irrigation and on the other hand adopting
improved water management such as precision
land leveling and better design of surface
irrigation.
l Adopting natural and artificial ground water
recharge methods:
v In highly permeable strata and good rainfall
like foothills, various surface-spreading
techniques could be tried.
v Percolation tanks constitute a good potential
of ground water recharge.
v Construction and rejuvenation of village
ponds
v Recharge through wells
v Recharge from artificial and natural drains
v Ground water recharge through watershed
management
Samra (1997) showed the rise of ground water table
with surface storage capacities created, because of
integrated watershed management. It was also
analyzed and calculated that the largest agricultural
area was without any water management system.
About 90% of the increase in production had to come
from the existing cultivated lands and only 19% from
new land reclamation. In the rain fed areas without
water management water harvesting and watershed
management may improve livelihood of poor farm
families. But much increase in production is not
expected. For this the share of irrigated and drained
land has to be increased. This would require installing
irrigation and drainage systems in areas without a
system, improvement or modernization of existing
irrigation and drainage system, installing irrigation
systems in rain fed areas and drainage systems in
irrigated areas. As per Dr Samra view, in next 25 years
there has to be a shift of contribution to total food
production as about 30% for the areas without a water
management system, 50% for the areas having an
irrigation system and 20% in rain fed areas with a
drainage system. It will however be difficult to achieve
it in an environmentally sustainable way in emerging
developing countries. In emerging developing
countries the improvement of irrigation and drainage
system would encounter certain issues as increase in
efficiency and water saving, institutional reforms for
stakeholder controlled management and government
Annual Technical Volume
support for modernization and reclamation, increased
stakeholders participation, transfer of systems or of
responsibilities modernization, and cost recovery
Scope ofArtificial Recharge In India
India has varying hydro geological situations. The
potential areas having favorable hydrological and
hydro geological conditions for creation of subsurface
storage in different parts of the country are as given
below:
Doon Valley
In Doon valley, highly permeable boulders and gravels
provide a good scope for artificial recharge of ground
water reservoir. Surface water spreading techniques
like flooding, ditch and furrow, recharge basins and
stream modifications are feasible.
Mountain Fronts
Sub-montane region of the Himalayas fringing the
Siwalik hills, termed as Bhabar or Kandi is a steeply
sloping belt of less than 10 to 30 km width, extending
discontinuously from Jammu and Kashmir to Assam.
The Bhabar-Tarai belt in Uttaranchal and Kandi-
Sirowal tract in Jammu outer plain and Bist Doab in
Punjab offer an excellent set up for mega recharge
projects.
Foothill Alluvial Tract of North Gujarat and Satpura
Mountain Front
The Satpura and Aravalli mountain front has a large
potential for artificial recharge from surplus monsoon
runoff, which would benefit alluvial aquifers in the
southern part of the Purna and Tapi basins and deeper
aquifers of North Gujarat area.
Cavernous Limestones
The cavernous limestone tracts in drought prone areas
like Kurnool, Cuddaph and Anantpur district of
Andhra Pradesh, Raipur, Durg, Rajnandgaon, Bastar
districts of M.P., Yavatmal district of Maharashtra and
Bilara, Jodhpur district of Rasjasthan are favourable
for ground water recharge. An appropriate
combination of check dams and percolation ponds are
suitable recharge structures in these areas.
Consolidated Formations of Peninsular India
In Peninsular India, most of the basins have more than
80% of the area under these formations. In the Deccan
Trap basalts, presence of thick weathered residuum,
vesicular horizons, fractured or faulted zones and
inter-trappean beds offer possible storehouse for
recharge. Integrated watershed management is very
effective for conserving and augmenting ground water
resources in these environments.
27
 Scope of Storage of Monsoon Runoff in Subsurface
Reservoirs
As per Das, et al (1996) the surplus monsoon runoff
available for creation of subsurface ground water
storage in 20 river basins has been estimated as 86.47
Mha-m. The subsurface storage potential of vadoze
zone beyond 3m below ground level of 20 river basins
has been estimated as 59.06 Mha-m of this the
retrievable storage works out as 43.64 Mha-m The
total available monsoon runoff is 86.47 Mha-m which
should be able to meet the water requirement of 59.06
Mha-m to create the ground water storage. But there is
a wide variation in the basin wise availability of runoff
and subsurface storage potential. The feasible ground
water potential has been estimated as 23.9 Mha-m.
The retrievable ground water storage works out as
17.5 Mha-m. These estimates are based on the in situ
utilization of available monsoon runoff in each basin.
Considering in an approximate way a net requirement
of 0.5 m/ha the ground water storage created would be
capable of irrigating additional 35 Mha.
Artificial Ground Water Recharge Techniques
The artificial recharge techniques can be broadly
categorized in four groups as:
(i) Direct surface techniques,
(ii) Direct subsurface techniques,
(iii) Combination of surface and subsurface
techniques, and
(iv) Indirect techniques.
Direct surface techniques include:
(i) Flooding,
(ii) Basins or percolation tanks,
(iii) Stream augmentation,
(iv) Ditch and furrow system, and
(v) Over irrigation.
Direct subsurface techniques include;
(i) Injection wells or recharge wells,
(ii) Recharge pits and shafts,
(iii) Dug well recharge,
(iv) Bore whole flooding, and
(v) Natural openings, cavity fillings.
Basin or percolation tanks with pit shaft or wells is an
example of combination of surface and subsurface
techniques, whereas induced recharge from surface
water source and aquifer modification are the indirect
techniques of artificial recharge. Besides above, the
28
ground water conservation structures like ground
water dams, roof top rainwater harvesting and
rainwater runoff harvesting, subsurface dykes or
locally termed as Bandharas, are quite prevalent to
arrest surface or subsurface flows. Similarly in hard
rock areas rock-fracturing techniques including
sectional blasting of boreholes with suitable technique
has been applied to interconnect the fractures and
increase recharge.
Experience ofArtificial Recharge
Construction of Percolation tanks, Check dams,
Subsurface dykes, Underground Bandharas,
Infiltration galleries and different types of weirs
besides watershed management and rainwater
harvesting through other traditional methods etc. have
been prevalent in various parts of the country
especially in the state of Maharastra, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Experiments for recharge through injection
wells/recharge wells, hydro fracturing of bore wells
has also been attempted. A brief review of case studies
and experience gained in various part of the country is
presented below.
Sikka, et al (1998) mentioned significant lowering of
ground water levels in most parts of the Delhi during
past two decades and suggested de-watering and
refilling of unconfined aquifer system underlying the
Yamuna flood plain, roof top rain water harvesting,
construction of small check dams at favorable
locations, recharging through on-channel storage of
water, recharge structures such as dug wells and
village ponds. Chauhan and Upadhyaya (1998)
categorized ground water recharge in three forms as
(i) recharge due to rainfall,
(ii) recharge due to irrigation and return flows, and
(iii) artificial recharge.
Taneja and Sondhi (1998) also emphasized the need of
recharge in Punjab where water table is declining at
the rate of 23 cm/year in sweet water zones of the state.
According to them excess water available in rivers,
drains and as surface runoff from land should be
recharged into the aquifer. Recharge measures
suggested to be undertaken are:
(i) recharge from east and west drains (drains
flowing in Doab region and ending in river),
(ii) recharge from existing drains,
(iii) construction of water harvesting tanks in
villages,
(iv) recharge through fields by raising bunds
around rice fields,
Annual Technical Volume
 (v) recharge through wells,
(vi) construction of check dams on streams in
kandi areas of state,
(vii) use of treated sewage water, and
(viii) recharging through canal network during
monsoon.
Khepar, et al (1998) reported that there is a great
potential for artificial recharge through the drainage
system in Punjab. A case study conducted at Rohti
drain revealed that by constructing series of check
structures across the drain at suitable intervals and
provision of recharge shaft under specific
hydrological conditions enhanced the recharge
capacity of drains.
Raju (1998) pointed out that in the state of Gujarat
there are thousands of tanks including minor irrigation
projects, which are either defunct or their capacity has
reduced due to silting. He suggested that top priority
should be given to revive these structures. In the areas
having deep water table, percolation ponds with
recharge tube wells are suggested, whereas in the
rivers of North Gujarat subsurface dykes for artificial
recharge may be appropriate. Das (1993) reported that
injection well method appears to be more practical in
recharging deeper confined aquifers in Central
Mehsana area of Gujarat.
Bagade (1998) studied the possibility of artificial
recharge in Maharashtra state and suggested that for
the high rainfall area along Western Ghats, roof top
harvesting of rainwater and construction of recharge
pit and spring development is the most feasible
recharging technique. In alluvial areas of Tapi river
basin artificial recharge through construction of
spreading basin, recharge shafts, injection wells, and
dug wells has been proposed. In the areas with over
development of ground water in unconfined or semi-
confined aquifer, contour bunding, nala bunding or
gully control, and percolation tanks etc are
recommended. In over-exploited deeper confined
aquifers, bore hole injection technique to provide
direct access to the deeper aquifers is recommended.
Jain and Jain (1998) studied the possibility of artificial
recharge in Nagpur city, Maharashtra and found that
artificial recharge through recharge wells using
surface runoff has immense scope for implementation
keeping in view the land use and hydro-geological
setup. It is one of the most effective alternatives for
mitigating the pollution observed in ground water of
the city. Sharma and Mehta (1998) concluded that in
hard rock basaltic terrain of Maharashtra construction
of cement plugs or check dams on first and second
order streams is the best method to augment the
ground water reservoir. The percolation tanks are
Annual Technical Volume
feasible in high reaches of watershed where natural
depressions to store surplus water are available and the
submergence area is underlain by highly weathered
and fractured rocks.
Rao, et al (1998) reported that both in red soil and
black soil areas of Andhra Pradesh, the rainwater
harvesting structures (check dams) with storage
capacity in range of 0.02 to 0.134 mcft contributed to
additional ground water recharge, rise in water levels
and improvement in well yields.
Thambi, et al (1998) reported that subsurface dykes
are ideal ground water storage structures for Kerala,
particularly along the higher elevations where wells
go dry during the summer. Since individual land
holding is very small, subsurface dykes can be
beneficial when it is accepted for community
irrigation projects.
The above case studies indicate that while planning for
artificial recharge in the area, one should not only
consider the hydro-geological conditions of the area
but the economics of recharge option also. If the
benefits exceed cost incurred in recharging and
transmission layer up to aquifer exists, only then one
should select the particular recharge option and that
area for recharging.
Concluding Remarks
Artificial ground water recharge is necessary to
control:
v the declining ground water levels,
v over-exploitation of ground water resources,
v sea water intrusion, and
v degradation of ground water quality.
There are various regions in India, where ground water
levels are depleting very fast and need attention of
planners for developing some control measures. In
order to maintain equilibrium between availability and
withdrawal of ground water suitable and economical
recharge techniques need to be adopted. While
planning for artificial recharge in the area, one should
not only consider the hydro-geological conditions of
the area but the economics of recharge option also. If
the benefits exceed cost incurred in recharging and
transmission layer up to aquifer exists, only then one
should select the particular recharge option and that
area for recharging. There is a large scope of ground
water augmentation through artificial recharge in
different hydro-geological terrains of the country.
Case studies and experiences on recharging under
various hydro-geological conditions in different parts
of the country and abroad are available. These
experiences should be used as guidelines for
developing appropriate strategies for artificial
recharge.
29
 References
1. S.P.Bagade, Artificial recharge techniques in different
hydro geological environments in the state of
Maharashtra, Proceedings of Seminar on Artificial
Recharge of Ground Water, New Delhi, December 15-
16, 1998, IV-45-57
2. D.K. Chadha, S.K. Sharma, U.Kapoor, Artificial
recharge-concept and remediation to ground water
quality, Proceedings of seminar on Artificial Recharge
of Ground Water, New Delhi, December 15-16, 1998,
III-71-85
3. D.Chandra Sekharan, R.K.Shivanappan, Case study
recharging ground water in Coimbatore district,
Proceedings of the Third Afro Asian Regional
Conference ICID, New Delhi, 1980, 228-237
4. H.S.Chauhan, A.Upadhyaya, Water conservation
through watershed management - ground water recharge
and its efficient use, Proceedings of seminar on Artificial
Recharge of Ground Water, New Delhi, December 15-
16, 1998, II-57-65.
5. S.Das, Hydro-geological considerations for recharging
coastal aquifers. Proceedings of Workshop on Artificial
Recharge of Ground Water in Coastal Aquifers,
Bhubaneswar, March 27-28, 1993, 1-34.
6. S . D a s , S . R o m a n i , S . K . S h a r m a , M . M e h t a ,
Y.J.Parthasarthi, Storage of surplus monsoon runoff in
subsurface natural reservoirs in India, Proceedings of
Sixth National Water Convention Organized by
National Water Development Agency, Ministry of Water
Resources at Bhopal, MP, January 4-6, 1996, 55-63.
7. S.K.Jain, P.K.Jain, Rainwater management for ground
water recharge in urban inhabitation - a case study for
Nagpur city, Maharashtra, Proceedings of Seminar on
Artificial Recharge of Ground Water, New Delhi,
December 15-16, 1998, V-55-65
8. S.D.Khepar, S.K.Sondhi, M.Siag, J.K.Chawla, Need
and scope for artificial recharge of ground water through
surface drainage systems in Punjab, Proceedings of
Seminar on Artificial Recharge of Ground Water, New
Delhi, December 15-16, 1998, IV-117-128
9. G.P.Kruisman, N.A.De Ridder, Analysis and Evaluation
of Pumping Test Data, International Institute for Land
Reclamation and Improvement; Wageningen, the
Netherlands,1970
10. O.P.Mathur, Artificial recharge studies in the Ghagger
river basin Haryana, Proceedings of Seminar on
Assessment Development and Management of Ground
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Water Resources, New Delhi, April 29-30, 1983, 317-
324
11. J.Mohan, Water management in eastern Ganga canal.
Proceedings of the Third Afro Asian Regional
Conference, ICID, New Delhi, 1980, 195-208.
12. R.N.Pandit, Conjunctive use of ground water in surface
irrigation systems- Performance in Haryana,
Proceedings of Seminar on Ground Water Development
–A perspective for year 2000AD.Organised by Indian
Water Resources Society, Roorkee, Dec19-20, 1983,
281-292
13. K.C.B.Raju, Case study of ground water recharge in
Gujarat state, India, Proceedings of Seminar on
Artificial Recharge of Ground Water, New Delhi,
December 15-16, 1998, IV-25-43
14. P.B.Rao, P.S.Prasad, S.I.Ahmed, Techno-economic
feasibility of artificial recharge studies in different
geomorphic unit of Anantapur district of Andhra
Pradesh, India, Proceedings of seminar on Artificial
Recharge of Ground Water, New Delhi, December 15-
16, 1998, VI-7-15
15. S.C.Sharma, Artificial recharge of ground water in
Gujarat. Proceedings of First National Water
Convention, New Delhi, 1987, III45-50
16. S.K.Sharma, Management techniques in artificial
recharge, Proceedings of seminar on Artificial Recharge
of Ground Water, New Delhi, December 15-16, 1998, II-
1-10
17. S.K.Sharma, M.Mehta, Artificial recharge for ground
water sustainability in basaltic terrain - a case history,
Proceedings of Seminar on Artificial Recharge of
Ground Water, New Delhi, December 15-16, 1998, VI-
29-48
18. V.M.Sikka, S.B.Singh, D.Chakraborty, S.K.Mohiddin,
D.Singh, NCT of Delhi – a test field area for artificial
recharge studies, Proceedings of Seminar on Artificial
Recharge of Ground Water, New Delhi, December 15-
16, 1998, I-31-46
19. D.S.Taneja, S.K.Sondhi, Need, scope and measures for
artificial ground water recharge in Punjab, Proceedings
of Seminar on Artificial Recharge of Ground Water,
New Delhi, December. 15-16, 1998, I-63-71
20. D.S.Thambi, A.Subbaraj, A.N.Bhowmick, Techno-
economic feasibility and performance evaluation of
ground water storage (artificial recharge) structures in
Kerla. Proceedings of Seminar on Artificial Recharge of
Ground Water, New Delhi, December 15-16, 1998, VI-
17-28
Annual Technical Volume
 Irrigation Group Wells in India:
A Disregarded Ground Reality
R. V. Rama Mohan
Director and Team Leader (SuGWM Project)
Centre for World Solidarity (CWS)
Secunderbad, Telengana
* rvrm2@yahoo.com / ramamohan@cwsy.org

Abstract
Sharing water for irrigation from wells jointly built and owned by groups of small farmers is a widely existing
traditional practice in India. As per the fourth Minor Irrigation Census (MIC) done by Ministry of Water
Resources, Government of India, there are 20,13,582 group wells in India during 2006-2007. Undivided Andhra
Pradesh occupied sixth position with 44,728 group wells. Sustainable Ground Water Management (SuGWM)
project enumerated a total of 571 existing group-owned wells in six of it’s project Gram Panchayats in undivided
Andhra Pradesh. In contrast, fourth MIC reported absence of any group well in the blocks where project villages
are located. This highlights the need for the MICs to be reformed for better accuracy. A sample study during
2011-2014, on 20 group wells with 50 farmers, revealed that average Rabi crop area under irrigation per farmer
increased dramatically by as much as 129% when these farmers were given sprinkler irrigation kits. Group well
farmers not only used water more efficiently but also shared water more equitably after using sprinkler irrigation
kits. Therefore, there is dire need to recognize the merits of group water sharing practice and offer additional
incentives to those farmers in the micro irrigation schemes.
Keywords : Group wells, Water sharing, Micro irrigation, Water efficiency, SuGWM project, Minor irrigation
census

Introduction for Water’ is also prevalent in many parts of India in

Construction of wells by groups of small farmers and
sharing of water by and between them has been a
traditional practice in India. There are broadly three
types of such group wells in vogue even today in
several States of India. Following is their broad
categorization:
¨ Brothers or successor kin inherit a well and continue
to share water between them
¨ Brothers or kin invest jointly in constructing new
wells and share water from such wells
¨ Neighbouring small farmers join together and
contribute the cost of construction and then share
water among themselves
Normally, groups of two to ten farmers share the well
water through informally-developed norms. While
some groups share water on a rotational basis, others
make a number of channels that divert the flows
equally among the members of the group and irrigate
the fields at the same time. Small and marginal farmers
with small land-holdings (say, less than 0.5 ha), who
cannot invest on constructing wells on their own, are
the category of farmers who generally opt for these
sharing arrangements. The practice of paying ‘Crop
which water receiving farmer pays one-fifth to one-
third of crop output to the well-owning farmer for
sparing water during a crop season. In contrast to the
extensive studies and acknowledgement of water
markets in India, these traditional systems of water
sharing are a disregarded reality in practice as well as
policy spheres.
Minor Irrigation Census (MIC)(i) classifies ownership
of wells under six major heads, namely, Government,
Cooperative Societies, Panchayats, Groups of
Farmers, Individual Farmers and Others. Since 1986-
87, four censuses have been conducted in India, at
intervals of five years. The fifth MIC is currently
underway with reference year 2013-2014.
Group Wells in India
As per the fourth Minor Irrigation Census 2006-2007,
Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Maharastra,
Madhya Pradesh and undivided Andhra Pradesh(ii) top
the list of States with the highest number of group
(i) Minor Irrigation Census is an exercise of enumeration of all minor
irrigation sources in India every five years. The census is coordianted by
Ministry of Water Resources, Govt. of India
(ii) Andhra Pradesh state was bifurcated as Telangana and residual Andhra
Pradesh on June 2, 2014. Prior to the birfurcation, the undivided Andhra
Pradesh state consisted of 23 districts

Annual Technical Volume 31

 wells (Ministry of Water Resources 2006-2007).
UndividedAndhra Pradesh stands at the 6th position in
terms of the number of such group wells
notwithstanding a rapid decline from 1,37,919 in
1993-94 to 44,722 in 2006-2007. All over India, there
are 20,13,582 wells owned by groups of farmers, out
of which 17,21,345 are in use and rest are in
continuous dis-use. Total irrigation potential created
by these group wells is 77,81,309 ha (Table 1).
These six states together account for a major share of
the country’s group wells (96.9% of total group wells
and 96.57% of group wells that are in-use). Undivided
Andhra Pradesh has the lowest percentage of wells in-
use compared to other States. This is a disturbing trend
pointing out to the urgent need for attention to the
exploration of the possibilities of the revival of such
wells.
MICs classify well into three categories, namely, dug
wells, shallow tube wells (having depth less than 70
m) and deep tube wells (having depth more than 70 m).
Except in case of Haryana, dug wells (or open wells)
occupy a major share of group wells in all the States
(Table 2) (Ministry of Water Resources 2006-07).
Drying up of shallow dug wells due to increased
pumping from tube wells and fall in shallow water
table might have resulted in a significant decline of
functioning wells in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan
States.
Table 1 Group wells in six Indian states
Geographical Area Total Group
Wells
India 20,13,582
Rajasthan 10,03,440
Tamil Nadu 3,19,210
Haryana 2,62,505
Maharashtra 2,47,691
Madhya Pradesh 73,671
Andhra Pradesh (undivided) 44,728
Total Group wells in top six states 19,51,245
Enumeration of Group Wells in SuGWM Project
S u s t a i n a b l e G r o u n d Wa t e r M a n a g e m e n t
(SuGWM)(iii) is a project being implemented in six
Gram Panchayats (GPs) in Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana states since July 2011. The focus of the
project is on building local systems of ground water
management through social regulations and involving
Gram Panchayats. The project addresses equity issues
in access to ground water for drinking and irrigation
through a unique blend of conditional subsidies, social
regulations and technological innovations.
In order to enhance the access of farmers to ground
water, the project identified and strengthened existing
traditional group well system mostly with kin-ship
based members but also with participation of a few
neighbourhood farmers. Changes in land ownership
transformed some kin-ship based wells into
neighbourhood wells over a few generations. New
groups were formed by neighbouring farmers coming
together and investing on a common dug well or tube
well as irrigation source. While the project did not
provide any financial assistance for digging a well,
partial financial support was provided to such farmers
to access Micro Irrigation (MI)(iv) units from various
Government schemes.
The findings of this enumeration of group wells by
SuGWM project were revealing. Against the initial
expectation of hardly finding any functional group
Group Wells Age of Group Irrigation Potential Created
in-use Wells in-use, % by group wells in-use, ha
17,21,345 85.48 77,81,309
7,78,762 77.61 41,62,250
2,80,355 87.83 5,53,493
2,62,505 100.00 14,27,266
2,43,239 98.20 6,85,730
72,917 98.98 2,08,666
24,672 55.16 81,997
16,62,450 85.20 71,19,402

Table 2 Classification of group wells in six Indian States as per fourth MIC
Geographical Area Dug Wells Shallow Tube Wells Deep Tube Wells Total Group Wells
Rajasthan 863600 63114 76726 1003440
Tamil Nadu 300333 3631 15246 319210
Haryana 1511 231820 29174 262505
Maharashtra 216138 11975 19578 247691
Madhya Pradesh 69569 1849 2253 73671
Andhra Pradesh (undivided) 32843 6763 5122 44728
Total 14,83,994 3,19,152 1,48,099 19,51,245

(iii) SuGWM project is supported by European Union (EU) and Bread for the World (BfdW). More information about the project available at
www.cwsy.org/sugwm
(iv) Micro irrigation is the method of water application directly to plant roots resulting in water saving and increased crop productivity. Sprinklers, drips and
rain guns are the three types of micro irrigation units that are very popular in India

32 Annual Technical Volume

 well in the project GPs, 435 group wells (33% being
open wells and rest tube wells) were enumerated
covering 1190 farmers out of the 3,317 project target
households. By March 2015, a total of 571 group-
owned wells were identified with 1608 farmers
depending on them for irrigation.
Due to intensive ground water recharge measures by
the project, many defunct ground water sources,
particularly dry tube wells, got revived and started
yielding water. With increased yield from the revived
group wells additionally, by March 2015, as many as
74 groups of farmers (162 farmers) came together
again and resumed irrigation from shared sources
lying defunct until that time. In addition, 123
individual farmers, who did not have their own well,
joined existing water sharing groups and got access to
irrigation water.
Water sharing farmers in group wells having micro
irrigation kits increased from 226 to 788 with the
support from SuGWM project and micro irrigation
schemes of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana state
governments. As a result, agricultural land owned by
these group well farmers and cultivated using micro
irrigation methods increased to 2779 acres in March
2015 from a mere 327 acres in March 2012.
For the purpose of enumeration as well as supporting
them in accessing micro irrigation kits, the SuGWM
project was liberal in its definition of 'water sharing' by
groups of farmers. It is not only those groups of
farmers who jointly-owned the wells which were
counted; the enumeration included also the
individually-owned wells which had water-sharing
between the owner and his fellow farmers.
Nevertheless, it is important to note that the ownership
and the right to water entitlement on the well of the
farmers in the group are customary in nature, with no
evidence on paper, in contrast to right on land. For all
official purposes, group-ownership of wells is not
formally recognized yet. The owner of the land in
which the well is located or the farmer on whose name
the agricultural electricity connection of the well
exists, is being treated as the individual owner of the
well. An empirical analysis of composition of 571
group wells enumerated by the project revealed that,
100% of the these open wells and about 55% of tube
wells are jointly-owned by the farmers.
In case of many open wells in SuGWM project
villages and elsewhere in Anantapur district, farmers
in the group have individual pump-sets and electricity
connections. But, in Warangal district, farmers in
group mostly use a common pump-set and share the
pumped water through a system of channels (locally
called, Gandi) whose dimensions are proportionate to
the area that it irrigates.
Annual Technical Volume
It was also found that some farmers are part of more
than one well group in the same village. Also, change
of land ownership due to selling by some members of
the groups resulted in some water sharing groups
having farmers from different castes, religions and
villages. This fortuitous diversity in ownership is to be
welcomed. Oldest of the group wells is an open well
dug in 1965 and most of the dug wells served three
generations of farmers. Land fragmentation among
brothers and kin resulted in smaller individual
holdings and greater number of farmers that each well
serves. Due to reduction in water yield in open wells,
some of these groups dug tube wells in last 10 to 15
years and continued to share from both the sources.
Group Wells in SuGWM Project Villages as
Counted by MICs
Through RTI requests(v), the author requested
Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, to
zoom-in at GP level and provide data related to group
wells, specifically for the six GPs where SuGWM
project is being implemented. Following are the major
points from the response received:
¨ All ground water sources owned by more than one
farmer are included under the definition of ‘group
wells’, and that group may or may not include
farmers in any family relationship
¨ In undivided Andhra Pradesh, 13,372 group wells are
permanently not-in-use out of the total 44,728 group
wells as per the fourth MIC done during 2006-2007
¨ Since information on Gram Panchayat is not
collected in the schedules of MIC , GP-wise number
of group wells is not available
¨ The information on number of farmers and names of
farmers for each group of farmers was not collected
as a part of census and hence the information is not
available
¨ However, block level number of group wells for
second to fourth censuses is available as aggregate
numbers for each of dug wells, shallow tube wells
and deep tube wells.
The block level data of group wells for project blocks,
as provided by the Ministry, offer intriguing insight. In
contrast to a larger number of group wells found by the
SuGWM project in it's operational GPs, the above data
from the Ministry reported much fewer group wells in
the blocks within which the project GPs are located
(Table 3) (Ministry of Water Resources 1993-1994
2000-01 2006-07). Second and third census data are
closer to each other, but fourth MIC reported a blank
for number of group wells in all the project blocks.
(v) F.No. I-11/2014-MI (Stat.)/ 288 and I-11/2014-MI (Stat.)/ 1131 of Minor
Irrigation (Sat.) Wing, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India
33
 Table 3 Total group wells in-use in SuGWM project blocks
District Block Wells Owned by Groups of Farmers
Second MIC
Total In-use
Anantapur Garladinne 4 0
Singanamala 6 1
Gandlapenta 401 292
Nallamada 345 275
Warangal Lingala Ghanpur 2 1
Total 758 569
Total group wells are zero during 2006-07, which
leaves us to interpret that all the groups of farmers that
existed earlier disintegrated by 2006-07. Despite the
normal annual rainfall during 2005-06 (1147 mm) and
2006-07 (858 mm), the data reported none of the group
wells in use by 2006-07. Comparing the micro level
data of SuGWM project and the census data of the
Ministry, one could easily conclude that the latter is
not adequately suited or designed to capture field
realities. There appear to be many more number of
group wells than reported by the MIC.
Group Wells andAccess to Micro Irrigation
A study of group wells and their access to micro
irrigation equipment revealed interesting details.
Many States in India are receiving support from
Central Government under National Mission on Micro
Irrigation (NIMI) under the Ministry of Agriculture,
Government of India. Some of them, like Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana etc, are offering additional
subsidies to farmers so as to promote micro irrigation
vigorously.
But, coverage of existing traditional group well
farmers under micro irrigation schemes of various
State Governments is not very significant. Some
States like Tamil Nadu terms ‘land-pooling by
neighbouring farmers’ eligible for accessing micro
irrigation systems (Agriculture Department 2011).
This implies that a joint well or a group well belonging
to more than one farmer is acceptable to the scheme.
Andhra Pradesh Micro Irrigation Project (APMIP)
included farmers having ‘shared water sources’ as
eligible under the scheme in 2011 (Agriculture and
Cooperation Department 2011). Rashtriya Krishi
Vikas Yojana (RKVY) permitted MI units to both
water-giving and water-receiving farmers through a
sharing agreement, but water sharing by farmers who
jointly own the well is not explicitly mentioned.
All these schemes pay no additional attention or offer
priority or offer differential subsidy to these groups. At
the implementation level, they are the last priority,
basically due to the informal nature of water sharing
and technical limitations. For example, when the yield
34
Third MIC Fourth MIC
Total In-use Total In-use
6 6 0 0
0 0 0 0
338 252 0 0
353 291 0 0
97 93 0 0
794 642 0 0
of the well is considered, only part of the land
belonging to group of farmers gets the eligibility, even
though farmers could irrigate entire pool of land on
rotation basis. When group well farmers together
apply for MI units, a single file number is assigned to
the group and processed. But, when the water sharing
farmers apply separately at different points of time,
these Government schemes treat them as individual
farmers. Thus, it is not possible to retrieve or re-
construct the data about the coverage of group well
farmers under MI schemes accurately.
Andhra Pradesh Micro Irrigation Project (APMIP)
APMIP was launched in 2003 and one of the earliest
initiatives backed by NMMI in India. APMIP reported
achieving an impressive coverage of about 1 Mha by
March 2013. The erstwhileAPMIP was bifurcated into
APMIP and TSMIP for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
States respectively, after the formation of these two
states on June 02, 2014. Since the data and analysis is
related to the period prior to the bifurcation, the micro
irrigation scheme is still mentioned as APMIP, which
refers the earstwhile APMIP in undivided Andhra
Pradesh. Data related to APMIP coverage of water
sharing farmers after the issue of GO 251 in 2011
(Agriculture and Cooperation Department 2011), was
obtained using RTI route(vi) for nine districts of
undivided Andhra Pradesh for the period 2011 to 2014
and juxtaposed the same with the number of group
wells given by fourth MIC (Table 4). In general, there
is no correlation between the group-owned wells
given by fourth MIC and the coverage of water-
sharing farmers underAPMIP.
Some points on column (3) on the number of group
wells and column (4) on number of water sharing
farmers: Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh has
highest number of group-owned wells among the nine
districts listed above. But, the number of water sharing
farmers under APMIP is the lowest. The number of
water sharing farmers under APMIP is reported to be
highest in Ranga Reddy district. Karimnagar,
Khammam and East Godavari have fewer group wells
(vi) RTI request dated March 14, 2014 to O/o Project Officer, APMIP,
Hyderabad
Annual Technical Volume
 Table 4 Coverage of water sharing farmers under APMIP
District Total group wells Coverage of farmers sourcing water from shared wells under APMIP
(as per Fourth MIC 2006-07) (During October 2011 to March 2014)
Water Sharing Farmers
Kurnool 634 2385
Chittoor 7838 751
Karimnagar 106 1302
Khammam 250 1983
Ranga Reddy 3616 13258
Krishna 398 1587
Prakasam 3581 805
East Godavari 125 2732
Guntur 7 1137
Total 16555 25940
but APMIP provided MI kits to large number of water
sharing farmers.
Generally, coverage of much higher number of water
sharing farmers is due to the fact that APMIP
recognises any group of farmers who comes forward
to share water from a common well. They only need to
submit a ‘water-sharing agreement’ signed by those
farmers and certified by the village level revenue
official. The farmer in whose land the well is located or
in whose name the agricultural electrical connection
exists is treated as the owner of the well and rest of the
farmers are treated as water receivers. When all these
farmers apply together, APMIP seems to identify them
as a group and assign a common Identification (ID)
number. In case of a well jointly-owned by group of
farmers also, they fit into this system of owner-
receiver relationship. When the farmers belonging to
these groups apply separately instead of as a group,
they are treated as individual farmers and assigned
different individual ID numbers in the APMIP
database. Thus, it may be inferred that APMIP might
have covered many more number of water sharing
farmers but this fact could not be captured as water
sharing groups.
On the other hand, there is no authentic method that
separates the ‘joint-well owners’ from the pool of
‘water-sharing farmers’ listed with the APMIP. Since
water rights are not formal in nature, no documentary
evidence will be available for each individual farmer's
right on the joint wells. When a piece of land is divided
between a farmer’s siblings, the sibling in whose land
the well is located is recognised as the well-owner and
others are treated as receivers. But, customarily, all
these siblings continue to have right over the well as
well as a share of water from the well. For the purpose
of APMIP, since all these siblings have land on their
names and have a water-sharing agreement amongst
them, they are eligible to apply for MI kits. When the
farmer did not divide his land among the siblings, they
need a partition deed executed for all of them to be
eligible. Otherwise, only the farmer is eligible as
individual owner of land and irrigation well.
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Area Covered, ha
1831
1502
1062
1350
11219
1004
790
3024
614
22369
Within the agriculture category, a sub-category of
group-owned well may be introduced by the
electricity distribution companies (Discoms). This
helps to identify the group wells more precisely. Since
anything that is not measurable, cannot be efficiently
manageable, this measure not only helps to identify
them but also to direct actions specific to them by
various government schemes. Unique group ID and
farmer IDs under the group ID may be given, as done
by SuGWM project to identify water sharing groups,
by the Discoms. It is also essential to encourage an
entire group to apply to Government MI scheme in one
go, instead of individual applications at different
points of time. The MIP guidelines of Telangana State
for 2014-15 reflect this view by saying that design of
MI units is to be done taking entire area under the
sharing arrangement as ‘one unit’.
A small additional financial incentive (say, to the
extent of 5%) may be introduced in the MI schemes,
when the farmers of group wells apply together, over
and above the subsidy offered to the individual farmer.
This will result in strengthening of water sharing
groups; discouraging digging new individual wells;
saving of money to the farmers due to common Head
Control Unit (HCU)(vii) and saving of time of
processing for both APMIP and the drip installing
company.
Group Wells and Water Management
Since most of the group wells are energized by
electricity supply from the grid, farmers in the group
need to cope with the limited hours of electricity
supply and low recuperation rates for irrigating their
lands on an equitable basis. Thus, each one's access to
water is limited further in group wells compared to an
individually-owned well. This necessitates group well
farmers to be more judicious with water use,
particularly in Rabi (winter) and Summer seasons;
(vii) HCU is a major component installed next to the well in a drip irrigation
system. It contains generally sub-components such as pressure valve,
gauges, venturi, filtration unit etc.
35
 Table 5 Composition of sample groups and farmers
Category*
(a) Groups with all farmers (b) Groups with some farmers (c) Groups with all farmers
using sprinkler kits using sprinkler kits and some following flood irrigation
following flood irrigation
Tube Wells (TWs) 6 (13) 4 (8)
Open Wells (OWs) 2 (4) 2 (10)
Total 8 (17) 6 (18$)
* figures in brackets indicate number of farmers in those groups
$ out of the 18 farmers, eight are using sprinkler kits and remaining 10 followed flood irrigation
each should cultivate only a limited extent of land and
opt to sow short-duration crops that are less water-
intensive.
Group wells are found to be more efficient in water
use; ensuring access more equitably, and avoiding
over-loading of power distribution network. Making a
new well on a sharing basis leads to sharing the
consequences of the well failure and investment
losses. Incurring initial capital expenditure and
maintenance expenditure later will be alike shared by
the group, reducing the burden on the individual
farmers in the group. Thus, group wells reduce capital
costs in agriculture and benefit farmers and
Government (Power Distribution Companies) equally
in a win-win manner.
There are primarily, two methods of water extraction
and application by farmers in group wells, namely, (i)
rotational pumping by farmers and (ii) pumping and
simultaneous distribution to all farmers. This pumping
could be either using multiple individual pump-sets
belonging to the group well farmers or using a single
pump-set owned by the group. Normal pump capacity
in both these cases varies from 5 hp to 7.5 hp. Micro
Irrigation (MI) methods, such as drips and sprinklers,
have gained popularity in several States with
Governments promoting them by offering a good
amount of subsidies on the unit costs. A few states like
Andhra Pradesh, included group well farmers also as
eligible for accessing MI kits.
To study the pattern of water usage among water
sharing farmers in groups and to ascertain how MI kits
alter the water access and utilization, a sample study is
being done by SuGWM project in its project villages
since 2011. A total of 20 groups (with 50 farmers) were
identified in Kotanka, Maddivarigondi and
Masakavankapalli GPs in Anantapur district for this
study. 13 of the 20 sample group wells are tube wells
each having single pump-set for lifting and sharing
water by the farmers in the group. Remaining seven
are open wells, each with farmers having individual
pump-sets for lifting water (Table 5). Number of
farmers in individual groups varies from two to seven.
In terms of usage of sprinkler irrigation kits, the
36
Total
3 (6) 13 (27)
2 (10) 7 (23)
6 (15) 20 (50)
sample is composed of eight groups with all 17
farmers using sprinklers kits; six groups with eight
farmers using sprinklers kits and 10 farmers using
flood irrigation method; and six groups with all 15
farmers using flood irrigation method.
Rabi 2011 is taken as baseline season with all 50
farmers following flood irrigation method. But, by
accessing sprinkler units from Government schemes
and SuGWM project, all together 25 of them started
using sprinklers for irrigation from Rabi 2012 and
continued in Rabi 2013 also.
Rabi or winter cultivation season in a year starts from
December and goes upto February. During Rabi
rainfall is scanty and most of the irrigation needs are
met from ground water. Due to limited water in wells
most of these farmers cultivate only one Groundnut
crop during rainy period (June-Sept.) and abstain from
cultivation during Rabi and summer seasons.
Therefore, extent of cultivation and irrigation during
Rabi is the real indicator of the impact of water
recharge works done by the project as well the utility
of sprinkler units. Predominant crop cultivated by
these farmers is Groundnut (about 95% of total
irrigated area of the sample farmers) and therefore
'total area irrigated' by them is considered instead of
crop-wise areas for comparison across groups and
seasons.
Out of the total 20 sample wells, 13 are tube wells and
remaining are open wells. Since it is possible to pump
using more than one pump-set in the case of open
wells, total pump-hours available to open well groups
is theoretically more than that to tube well farmers.
Since there is an over-all ceiling on the duration of
electricity supply to seven hours a day, a tube well
group has a limitation of 49 pump-hours a week, but an
open well group with three pump-sets, for example,
could pump for a maximum of 147 hours a week. This
distinguishes tube wells from open wells. To check
whether open well farmers took this to their
advantage, and irrigated more area, separate analysis
is attempted for these two types of wells.
This study analysed two key parameters: (1) average
irrigated area per farmer, and (2) equity in access to
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 ground water for three consecutive Rabi seasons
during 2011-13, for both sprinkler-using and flood
irrigation farmers. Year 2011 data is the baseline
during which none of these 50 farmers used sprinkler
irrigation.
Average Area Irrigated per Farmer
Average area irrigated per farmer from shared water
source for the seasons Rabi 2011, 2012 and 2013 was
calculated for three distinct categories (given in Table
5) within group tube wells and group open wells.
Obviously, with the use of sprinklers, area irrigated
increased upto 129% compared to the base line areas
irrigated (in flood irrigation method) in Rabi 2011 for
both tube wells and open wells (Figures 1 and 2).
Against the assumption that open well farmers have
the advantage of more pump-hours per week which
may result in more irrigated area per farmer, there is no
significant difference in area irrigated in tube wells
and open wells. Limited water availability and
recuperation rates of these wells as well as capacity of
one sprinkler unit seemed to be the influencing factors.
Farmers benefited by increasing area irrigated and
improved quality as well as quantity of crop produced.
26 out of the sample 50 farmers, who did not cultivate
Figure 1 Average irrigated area per farmer - Tube Wells
Figure 2 Average irrigated area per farmer - Open Wells
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any crop in Rabi 2011, resumed cultivation of second
crop and benefited from additional incomes.
Equity in Access to Ground Water in Groups
Ideally ground water is to be treated as a naturally
occurring common property resource. But, the
extraction and use for agriculture are mostly through
private investments by large number of small farmers
in India and many other developing countries. Since
the occurance and availability of ground water is not
uniform in all the areas, there is a nature-imposed
inequality in access to ground water. Since access to
ground water is linked to right on land, those farmers
who makes a well in their lands first, could appropriate
a perpetual right on ground water before others.
Group wells exist traditionally in many areas and have
been providing invaluable irrigation water to small
and marginal farmers. In group wells, all those farmers
in the group access water equitably, based on the land
area they hold. Thus, one group well provides access
to water to many small farmers. The current study of
50 sample farmers in 20 water sharing groups is
further extended to understand the 'equity in access to
water' by group members. For this purpose all 50
farmers were taken as a single set and average area
irrigated per farmer as well as standard deviation were
calculated before and after the introduction of
sprinkler irrigation practice.
Total area irrigated by all sample farmers together
increased from 41.5 acres to 106.0 acres in 2013,
which is about 155% (Table 6). Not only the average
area irrigated per farmer increased from 0.83 to 2.12
acres, but also the number of all farmers who
cultivated second crop during Rabi during 2012 and
2013.
Thus the revival of traditional water sharing groups
and providing them with sprinkler kits helped them to
resume cultivation of second crop and revive the
practice of water sharing by all farmers in the group.
By using sprinkler kits, farmers used the available
water more efficiently and cultivated more area of
crop in Rabi season. Thus, there may not be an over-all
saving in the quantity of water used but the quantity of
water used to cultivate an acre considerably reduced.
Though expansion of area irrigated might have
nullified the savings of water achieved using sprinkler
kits, water is now used more efficiently within the
available pump-hours.
Table 6 Mean area irrigated and Standard Deviation for 2011
and 2013
Parameter Rabi (2011) Rabi (2013)
Number of farmers using sprinklers 0 25
Total area irrigated (acres) 41.5 106.0
Mean area irrigated per farmer (acres) 0.83 2.12
Standard Deviation 1.00 0.64
37
 Standard deviation (SD) of areas irrigated by
individual sample farmers reduced from 1.00 in 2011
to 0.64 in 2013 (Table 6). As SD is a measure of
deviation from the mean, more SD indicates more
inequality among the farmers. With resumption of
cultivation by farmers in groups and utilization of
water entitlements by all, these inequalities have
reduced to 0.64. Since farmers having different land
holdings around these wells have unequal water
entitlements inherited from their forefathers, the SD
may not further taper in future years or by any other
interventions. Here, area irrigated is taken as the proxy
for measuring the equity in access to water, which is
fairly reasonable when a single crop type (Groundnut)
dominates the cropping pattern with about 97%.
Equity in access to ground water is more among water
sharing farmers compared to the whole farmer
population in a village. This is further enhanced by the
application of micro irrigation methods. Sprinkler kit
given by SuGWM project helped as a tool in reviving
and binding the group together. Thus, these efforts of
enhanced ground water recharge; revival of traditional
water sharing practices and efficient use of ground
water taken the villages a step forward towards
building the notion of 'ground water as a common
property resource'.
Since sprinkler units are portable, expansion of area
under irrigation was possible. Similarly, once the drip
systems are installed for enhanced areas in
conjunction with the water yield from the well,
farmers will be able to cultivate more gross area with
the same amount of water that he / she was using
earlier. Harvesting multiple crops in a year is a
possibility depending on the water availability in the
well. Therefore, similar results may be observed in
water use in groups in case of drip systems as well.
However, there is a need for systematic studies in this
direction.
Conclusion and Recommendations
This article attempts to decipher the traditional
practice of water sharing from wells existing in parts
of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states and to relate
the same with mainstream practices and schemes.
Customary nature of well ownership and water
entitlements among the group well farmers limited
their visibility and access to Government schemes. A
more accurate census of jointly-owned wells among
ground water sources is essential for triggering
appropriate policy actions related to this traditional
practice by National and State Governments. Once the
practice is recognized and census of these groups is
accurately done, their access to better irrigation
technologies such as micro irrigation also could be
improved not only achieving optimum water use
efficiency but also more equitable access to water
38
among farmers. The study points towards two major
areas for policy action, viz., (i) improving the accuracy
of data about group wells from the ground and (ii)
financial incentives to encourage water sharing.
Census of Ground Water Irrigation Sources
Though the Minor Irrigation Census seems to offer the
big picture of group wells in India, they are far from
accurate and removed from ground reality. Micro level
studies in limited number of villages revealed the
existence of many more numbers of group wells and
farmers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. Data
from MIC appeared to be inaccurate and not so
meticulous in enumerating the farmers under each
group well. Such meticulous information is more
useful to extend micro irrigation schemes of
Government to reach-out to deserving water sharing
farmers in the groups. In this context, the following are
the two specific recommendations to current practice
of the census of ground water sources in India:
¨ A more accurate method of enumerating jointly-
owned wells to be evolved in future census
operations that captures the ground realities more
completely. Such a method should record the
number of farmers accessing water per each group
well
¨ Also a broad categorization of electrified and non-
electrified group wells should be done by the census
among the total group wells in a given village
¨ In case of the electrified group wells, Discoms may
provide for a separate category within the category
of 'agricultural electricity supply' and additional
tariff concessions may be provided to them. This
also helps genuine group well farmers to come
forward and register as a 'jointly-owned well'.
Cesus operations could draw from such a database
of electrified individual and group wells in order to
verify the accuracy of primary data from the field.
Promoting use of Micro Irrigation Methods among
Group Well Farmers
When an individual irrigation well farmer is provided
with micro irrigation kit, water use efficiency alone
improves. But, when group well farmers are provided
with micro irrigation kits, not only water use
efficiency but also equity in access and distribution to
ground water improves. Currently, some farmers who
are part of the joint-well groups are applying
individually and availing the MI subsidy first for the
entire area that the tube well can support, denying
opportunities to other farmers in the joint well groups.
Group well farmers rotate water application, use water
more judiciously and irrigate about 2-4 times the area a
well could irrigate at a time. Provided there is
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 sufficient yield, MI schemes should consider entire
group as one unit and design for 2-4 times the area that
the well yield could support. Revival and
sustainability of wells is very vital for deriving lasting
benefits from micro irrigation systems. The
importance of source sustainability measures using
well recharge techniques needs to be promoted among
the farmers who adopt to micro irrigation methods.
Introducing a differential incentive to group-owned
wells and a separate category in the MI schemes will
be a win-win-win situation to farmers, Department as
well as companies. In this context, below are the key
points that deserve the attention of policy makers:
¨ Micro Irrigation Schemes of State Governments
shall make a distinction between ‘owner-receiver’
type of sharing and those wells that are 'jointly-
owned’ and shared by groups of farmers
traditionally for generations
¨ If all the farmers in a group well avail subsidy for
MI under MIP schemes at one go, the MIP scheme
may offer additional subsidy, say about 5%, passing
on the savings due to lesser costs of over-sight,
documentation and monitoring. Farmers further
benefit due to reduced cost of head-control units
and piping
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¨ Finally, integrating tube well and open well
recharge measures also as part of MI package
offered by the MIP schemes would help in
sustainability and better economic viability.
References
1. Agriculture and Cooperation Department, GO Ms
No.251 : Sanction of differential subsidy – Guidelines for
implementation of APMIP scheme, October 22, 2011
Government ofAndhra Pradesh
2. Agriculture Department, GO (Ms) No.221 : Micro
Irrigation Scheme – Enhancement of Subsidy, November
25, 2011, Government of Tamil Nadu
3. Ministry of Water Resoures, Report on the Census of
Minor Irrigation Schemes, Government of India,
http://micensus.gov.in/mi2census/default.htm, 1993-94
4. Ministry of Water Resoures, 3rd Census of Minor
Irrigation Schemes, Government of India,
http://micensus.gov.in/mi3census/index.htm, 2000-01
5. Ministry of Water Resoures, Minor Irrigation Census,
Government of India, http://micensus.gov.in /index.html,
2006-07
39
 Traditional Irrigation Systems in India
Satyajit Debnath
Engineer
West Bengal State Electricity Transmission Company Ltd.
* success.satyajit.civil@gmail.com

Abstract
During past 50 years area under irrigation has expanded considerably to feed a constantly increasing
population. The water requirement of irrigation sector has also increased which have had a negative impact on
the environment. Mindless and intensive irrigation to increase the global food production had sown the seed for
environmental degradation quite early. The impacts however, are being felt now. In such situation we need to
trust our traditional sustainable practices, which have withstood test of time. Innovations in the form of modern
technologies can also help in combating the challenges in the irrigation sector. Modern practices can be used for
water conservation as well as improved efficiency of the food production. The present paper sites selected
examples of modern and traditional agriculture systems. A case study of Rajasthan is presented to highlight the
problems of the region and suggestion of some corrective measures.

Introduction resources over spatial and temporal scale .

Sustainable irrigation management should be
successful in achieving two objectives: sustainable
irrigation to ensure food security and on the same time
preserving the environment. A delicate balance exists
between these two factors. Potentials conflicts
between the two objectives should be mitigated
through appropriate irrigation practices. During past
30 years area under irrigation has expanded
considerably to feed a constantly increasing
population. Water requirement of irrigation sector is
highest, 70% of human water use is diverted towards
agriculture. “In some countries, the expansion of
surface water use appears to be approaching the
physical limit, and groundwater abstractions are
increasingly exceeding rates of replenishment.”
In some countries water is being diverted to other
industrial sectors putting an additional stress on
irrigation sector. Nevertheless agriculture had been
able to provide food for all, it is criticized for its
negative impact on environment which includes water
table depletion, water quality reduction, water logging
and salinization, even marked reduction in annual
discharge of world's major river is ascribed to irrigated
agriculture. Moreover, inappropriate irrigation
practices, accompanied by inadequate drainage, have
often damaged soils through over-saturation and salt
build-up.
The whole world is facing a serious water crisis today.
This situation is quite imminent in many countries:
India being one of them, having water resources less
than 3% of global water resources, and an ever-
increasing population. The water problem is even
exacerbated by highly non-uniform distribution water
India is a large sub-continent with varied climatic and
soil conditions existing in different parts of the
country. Amount of rainfall received by various
regions is highly variable, with northeastern states
(Meghalaya) receiving more than average rainfall
while Rajasthan being worst hit state due to
disproportionately poor water availability.
The early traditional settlements in the various parts of
the sub-continent developed their own way of
maintaining water resources, especially for irrigation
water. Many of the remote corners of the country still
don't have the modern irrigation facility and depend on
the age-old traditional practices. The policy
interventions are needed to boost the traditional
sustainable irrigation practices. The role of traditional
irrigation systems, managed by the farmers
themselves is important in the remote and hilly areas.
Various Modern Irrigation Techniques
Irrigation water application to crops include various
methods including flooding the field surface, sub-
surface irrigation, spraying under pressure, or
applying in drops. Water supply, soil type, topography,
and the crop define the appropriate irrigation methods.
Adetailed representation is show in Figure 1.
Surface Irrigation Methods
In this method water is directly applied to soil surface
from a channel located at upper reach of the field.
Water distribution can be done through border strips,
check basins or furrows. To obtain high efficiency in
this method are properly constructed water
distribution networks and adequate land preparation to
ensure uniform water distribution over fields.

40 Annual Technical Volume

 Figure 1: Various water application methods

Table 1: Various surface water application methods

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 Sub-Irrigation
Water is applied below the soil surface by maintaining
an artificial water table at some depth. Water reaches
plants through capillary action. It requires special site
conditions since complete control of water table is
desired. It is best suited to soils which have a uniform
texture and permeable enough to allow water
movement horizontally as well as vertically.
Topography must be smooth and/or having gentle
slope. It can be used for soils having low water holding
Table 2: Sprinkler and Drip Irrigation
Traditional Irrigation Methods
Traditional irrigation practices are discussed by taking
examples of villages and tribes in various parts of
India.
Kuhl System of Irrigation
Kuhl is a traditional irrigation system of Mumta
Village, Gujrat India. A group of water users have
association. The head of the association or the water
tender is known as Kohli. His role is rebuilding the dam
each spring and monitors the distribution of water
42
capacity and a high infiltration rate. It can be used
where other surface methods cannot be used and
sprinkler irrigation is expensive. Evaporation losses
are minimized.
It can be applied only in a few areas, as the process
requires unusual combination of natural conditions.
Water having high salt content cannot be used. In
India, it is limited to vegetables cultivation around
'Dal' lake in Kashmir and coconut irrigation around
Kuttanad area in Kerala.
among the users. A temporary headwall is created near
the gorge to divert the water in the canals to the fields.
The average distance of the canal to the first field is 3
Km. As the area has slope, water flows from one
stream to another and finally falls into the gorge
downstream. Controlling the width of outlet between
two successive fields controls the flow of water. All the
users assist in construction of headwall and there is a
penalty for the offenders. The user if absent, is denied
access to the water. During water scarcity, the kohli
decides the amount of water to be allocated to the each
field.
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 Zabo System Of Irrigation
It is a famous irrigation practice in Nagaland. The
northeast region of India lies in the eastern Himalayas.
Terrace farming is the important practice in the region.
A forest is protected in the form of sacred grove on the
hilltop. The tribals maintain the watershed in this forest
by maintenance of forests. After the rainfall, the water
falls in the terraces successively and irrigates the land.
A storage structure in the form of pond is maintained in
the middle terraces. The water finally flows down to
paddy fields at the foothills. To get the wider coverage
of irrigated land, water is also distributed in the terraces
with bamboo pipes.
Table 3. Types of Indian traditional water harvesting method for irrigation
Ahar-pyne system
This system was followed in Bihar. 'Pyne' is the canal
through which water is collected in tanks called 'ahars'.
The ahar recharged the ground water and nearby wells
could generally absorb a good amount of water. In the
recent past, attempts have been made to revive this
system in few areas such as Jehanabad in Bihar.
Inundation System Of West Bengal
The banks of the rivers were left to inundate during
floods. The flood brought huge amount of silt on the
banks. Cultivation was done on the banks after the
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Bamboo Drip Irrigation In Himalayas
This system is used by, tribes of Khasi and Jayantia, to
irrigate their black pepper plantations. The water is
tapped from streams and springs by using bamboo
pipes. The inflow rate in the pipe in 18 to 20 m at the
entrance and the outflow rate are 20-80 drops per
minute. The water flows in the bamboo pipe from
hilltop to the fields at the foothills due to gravity. The
intake pipe size is manipulated at various stages to
control the flow of water. To fabricate the system, the
internodes of the bamboo pipes are removed. The
bamboo channel is smoothened by using 'Dao': a
smooth axe.
flood stopped. However, after the British rule, this
system was abandoned as embankments were created
on the flood plains.
Case Study of Rajasthan
The state has an area of 342 sq km. Drought is a
recurrent phenomenon there. In 100 years there are 7
years of acute drought, 27 years of scarcity, 63
manageable years and three normal years. Sir Diggs La
Touche said in 1974, “Ajmer-Marwara can never rely
on two good harvests in succession.” It has only 1%
water resource but 5.1% of population of entire
43
 country, 60% of the area of state falls in Thar desert.
Economy is primarily based agriculture and animal
husbandry. Livelihood is entirely dependent on
behavior of monsoon. Rain below 16-25% of normal
leads to drought and water scarcity. The rivers are
seasonal and fed by rain; they are identified into 14
major basins and 59 sub basins. The surface water
resources are restricted to south and south-eastern parts
of state a large area in western part doesn't have any
defined watershed. Thus there is high degree of non-
uniformity in spatial and temporal distribution of water
resources in the state.
Inequitable access to water, caused due to uneven
spatial distribution as well as imprudent policies, has
led to water related disputes many times. Irrigation
potential of water is exploited to its maximum extent.
Heavy and indiscriminate reliance on ground water has
caused water table depletion in the area. This is
exacerbated by inefficient surface water use as well as
heavy pollution leading to overall deterioration of
water quality.
The canal irrigation system in India suffers from low
performance causing sub-optimal agricultural
productivity. This leads to dissatisfaction and
unreliable and inequitable service among farmers.
“Poor maintenance of canal networks, inequitable
distribution of water, inefficient water conveyance and
delivery, and excess water application and inadequate
and inefficient drainage are causing extensive water
logging and silt build-ups. Large-scale water and
drainage management initiatives are needed to ensure
the sustainability of agricultural production, as well as
a sense of ownership among the farming community if
irrigated agriculture is to prosper.” To bring about a
sense of ownership amongst farmers participatory
irrigation management and water management by
users association can be used as a tool. Development of
such associations is considered essential to provide
sustainable agriculture and protection of existing
investment in agricultural field. Such associations
have been developed in Chambal. “The Rajasthan
Agricultural Drainage research project, sponsored by
the Canadian International Development Agency, has
44
introduced, on a pilot basis, irrigation system
management as part of an Integrated Water and
Agriculture Management (IWAM) strategy in the
irrigated Chambal command area of Rajasthan.” The
major activities included:
l Rehabilitation of the minor;
l Development of appropriate irrigation practices
and irrigation scheduling using model farmers to
demonstrate improved on-farm water use
efficiency;
l Strengthening of farmer education programme by
organizing farmers' meetings, training camps, field
displays, participation of farm women and mass
awareness campaigns;
l Development of a participatory approach to the
overall water management through the
organization of outlet committees and water user
associations; and
l Development of a sustainable maintenance
programme involving the water user associations.
Two initiatives, participatory rural appraisal and
participatory planning, were organized at grassroots
level in the IWAM implementation area. They resulted
in the creation of an atmosphere of mutual
understanding between farmers and officials, which
led to the formation of a water user association at the
minor level and of informal working groups at outlet
level. Participatory rural appraisal is a methodology to
get to know the existing situation by understanding
farmer's views, interacting with the villagers and
developing rapport with them. Participatory planning
consists in forming an institution at grassroots level
with the objective of providing an opportunity for the
farmers to discuss problems and find ways to solve
them. These two initiatives worked as catalysts in
accelerating farmers understanding and interest and in
the formation of outlet committees and a water user
association.
Sharing Some Good Practices
Bhilwara district is in Rajasthan is located near Ajmer.
The area faces water scarce condition and the main
source of irrigation is rainwater. Natives of the villages
migrate to urban areas in search of livelihood during
other months.
Community lift irrigation project was started here in
1997.Lifts were constructed on the tributaries of
Yamuna river: Banas and Kho. With the help of pump
sets of 15 horsepower, water is lifted and collected in
the tanks of different sizes. The size of tank depends on
the area to be irrigated, from the tank channels were
made to make water available to the fields.
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 Impact: The migration rate in the area has decreased.
In addition to wheat and rice, people are growing
various crops like groundnut, green gram and black
gram.
Such practices are needed to be undertook to make the
area productive and ensuring a constant supply of food
and livelihood in the area and minimize conflicts
among farmers.
Conclusions and Recommendation
Innovations in irrigation
A innovative method of irrigation practiced in
California can also be extended to be applied in Indian
states with scarce water resources.
Deep pipe irrigation system
Deep pipe irrigation system is not very common but
effective means to irrigate the land. Deep pipe
irrigation mainly fosters the growth of the root zone. A
pipe having the diameter of 2.5 cm to 5 cm is placed
vertically30-50 cm deep in the soil near tree seedling.
The opening of the pipe is covered with a mesh or net
to prevent the entry of animals or rodents into the pipe.
A series of 1-2 mm holes, 5-7.5 mm apart, are made to
supply water to the root at different levels. These holes
are called as weep holes. The meshed inlet is filled
using jug, hose or drip emitter.
Advantages of deep pipe irrigation:
l The deep pipe irrigation system reduces the
growth of weed.
l It helps in extensive growth of roots of plants,
which make them adapted to the water scarce
conditions also.
l The growth time of plant is shortened.
l Evaporation losses of water are minimized.
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l It is a cost effective system and does not require
expertise to implement.
One of the practical tools to resolve conflict among
agriculture and environment is providing information
on the needs of different sectors, including the
environment, and then negotiating water allocations
between various stakeholders. “This tool, called
'Environmental Flows', has been developed and
implemented by the IUCN Water & Nature Initiative
and the Comprehensive Assessment of Water
Management in Agriculture” Increasing agriculture
productivity is the main solution. Research has
supported the fact that it is possible to boost crop yields
while saving water by using a combination of farming
practices and crop varieties that require less water.
“More precise irrigation application using sprinkler or
drip technologies is gaining popularity in water scarce
countries” Improving productivity also reduces the
need for investments in new water withdrawals, which
many countries cannot afford in terms of financial and
ecosystem costs. But technical solutions need strong
supporting policies. For example, agricultural
subsidies in rich countries may discourage farmers in
Africa from investing in productivity-enhancing
inputs because crop prices are too low for them to get a
return on their investment. Firm land and water rights
are needed so people will invest in long-term
improvements. The lost practices can revived by
encouraging tribes to conserve their remnant cultural
practices. Any new method of irrigation has to be
assessed thoroughly before on ground application e.g.
application of wastewater for irrigation saves provide
soil nutrient to the crops. However, excess of it may
lead to infertility and /or salinization of soil as well as
pollution of other natural resources. Integration of
modern techniques with traditional methods can bring
about an absolute ideal irrigation management system.
45
 Traditional Irrigation Systems in India
K. P. Tripathi
Former Principal Scientist (Soil and Water Conservation Engineering)
ICAR – Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun
* tripathikp1@gmail.com
Introduction
Water is main source of life for all living organism
including human being, plants and animal etc. The
plants use water through an inbuilt mechanism and
further transpirates it through stomata after utilizing a
fraction of it for metabolism build up. The water
requirement of crops increases with foliage growth;
reaches peak during flowering and grain setting and
declines thereafter and reaches minimum or zero at
crop maturity. Thus the soil moisture available around
roots is only utilized by plants and rest is wasted. The
plants in-build-up mechanism for pumping water
works through the solar energy received/ available
during day time. Precipitation is main source of water
for all. Normally rainfall, if received at regular
interval, meets this requirement. However stored water
(part of rainfall) is used as irrigation, if soil becomes
deficient in soil moisture.
Irrigation is defined as application of water to the
vegetation (crops and trees etc) to meet its
evapotranspiration requirement once the soil profile is
deficit in optimum soil moisture which if not applied at
proper time and quantity is likely to damage the crops
in such manner that the crop is likely to die and
unlikely to produce significant biomass including
quality grain/seeds.
Irrigation includes;
l Water storage (including soil profile, surface,
subsurface and stream flow),
l Water conveyance from source to the field, and
l Water application.
The irrigation water is termed either as surface water,
which is available in perennial rivers, streams and on
surface water body viz. ponds, lakes, reservoirs
constructed against dams, etc. or as ground water both
stored under confined and unconfined acquifer. The
source of all water is precipitation which includes
rainfall too.
The emphasis in traditional method of irrigation was
more on storage of water and less on conveyance and
application. The water was normally conveyed from its
source to the field through unlined irrigation channel
46
amounting to heavy conveyance losses. The
application of water to the field/ crops/ trees was
usually through surface irrigation methods which
include food method, border strip method, check
method, basin method, and furrow method. The
application efficiency is low under surface irrigation
method.
History ofAgriculture in the Indian Subcontinent
The human civilization was initially hunter to meet his
food requirement. The sources of his food were plant
material, aquatic material, animal and birds. He
subsequently became gatherer in addition to being
hunter. They then became cultivator and started
growing those crops whose seed they observed to be
good food material. At this stage they discovered
importance of water for better plat and seed growth and
the initial source of water was rainfall. The first thing
they did in the field was to make field bunding all along
the boundary of cultivated land to store rain water for
better crop production which subsequently led to
storing of rain water, diverting river water and
withdrawal of ground water through construction of
open dug up wells to facilitate irrigation of crops.
Today we withdraw the water from confined aquifer
through deep tube wells in addition to other sources of
irrigation water viz. rain water stored above the ground
in ponds, tanks, lakes, reservoirs etc; below the
ground; and diverting river/stream water. Water has
been conveyed from source to the field through
unlined irrigation channels, lined channels and pipes
laid above and below the ground surface. The water
has been applied in the field through surface method
which includes flooding, basin, check and furrow
method. Presently we follow efficient water
application method of sprinkler and rip.
The history of irrigation development in India can be
traced back to prehistoric times. Vedas, Ancient Indian
writers and ancient Indian scriptures have made
references to wells, canals, tanks and dams. These
irrigation technologies were in the form of small and
minor works, which could be operated by small
households to irrigate small patches of land. In the
south, perennial irrigation may have begun with
construction of the GrandAnicut by the Cholas as early
as second century to provide irrigation from the
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 Cauvery River. The entire landscape in the central and
southern India is studded with numerous irrigation
tanks which have been traced back to many centuries
before the beginning of the Christian era. In northern
India also there are a number of small canals in the
upper valleys of rivers which are very old.
Indian agriculture began by 9000 BCE as a result of
early cultivation of plants, and domestication of crops
and animals. Settled life soon followed with
implements and techniques being developed for
agriculture. Double monsoons led to two harvests
being reaped in one year. Indian products soon reached
the world via existing trading networks and foreign
crops were introduced to India. Plants and
animals—considered essential to their survival by the
Indians—came to be worshiped and venerated.
Barley and wheat cultivation—along with the rearing
of cattle, sheep and goat—was visible in Mehrgarh by
8000-6000 BCE. Agro pastoralism in India included
threshing, planting crops in rows—either of two or of
six—and storing grain in granaries. In the period of the
Neolithic revolution (roughly 8000-4000 BCE.),
agriculture was far from the dominant mode of support
for human societies. But those who adopted it, have
survived and increased, and passed their techniques of
production to the next generation. This transformation
of knowledge was the base of further development in
agriculture. By the 5th millennium BCE agricultural
communities became widespread in Kashmir. Zaheer
Baber (1996) writes that 'the first evidence of
cultivation of cotton had already developed'. Cotton
was cultivated by the 5th millennium BCE-4th
millennium BCE. The Indus cotton industry was well
developed and some methods used in cotton spinning
and fabrication continued to be practiced till the
modern Industrialisation of India.
A variety of tropical fruit such as mango and
muskmelon are native to the Indian subcontinent. The
Indians also domesticated hemp, which they used for a
number of applications including making narcotics,
fibre, and oil. The farmers of the Indus Valley, which
thrived in modern-day Pakistan and North India, grew
peas, sesame, and dates..
Wild rice cultivation appeared in the Belan and Ganges
valley regions of northern India as early as 4530 BCE
and 5440 BCE respectively. Rice was cultivated in the
Indus Valley Civilisation. Agricultural activity during
the second millennium BC included rice cultivation in
the Kashmir and Harrappan regions. Mixed farming
was the basis of the Indus valley economy. Denis J.
Murphy (2007) details the spread of cultivated rice
from India into South-eastAsia:
Irrigation was developed in the Indus Valley
Civilisation by around 4500 BCE. The size and
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prosperity of the Indus civilisation grew as a result of
this innovation, which eventually led to more planned
settlements making use of drainage and sewers.
Sophisticated irrigation and water storage systems
were developed by the Indus Valley Civilisation,
including artificial reservoirs at Girnar dated to 3000
BCE and an early canal irrigation system from circa
2600 BCE. Archaeological evidence of an animal-
drawn plough dates back to 2500 BC in the Indus
Valley Civilisation.
Outside of the Indus Valley area of influence there are 2
regions with distinct agricultures dating back to
around 2800-1500 BCE. These are the Deccan Plateau
and an area within the modern states of Orissa and
Bihar. Within the Deccan the ash mound tradition
developed C.2800 BCE. This is characterised by large
mounds of burn cattle dung and other materials. The
people of the ash mound tradition grew millets and
pulses, some of which were domesticated in this part of
India, for example, Brachiaria ramosa, Setaria
verticillata, Vigna radiata and Macrotyloma
uniflorum. They also herded cattle, sheep and goat and
were largely engaged in pastoralism (Fuller 2006,
'Dung mounds and Domesticators'). In the east of India
Neolithic people grew rice and pulses, as well as
keeping cattle, sheep and goat. By 1500 BCE a distinct
agriculture focused on summer crops, including Vigna
and Panicum milliaceum was developed
Gupta (2004) finds it likely that summer monsoons
may have been longer and may have contained
moisture in excess than required for normal food
production. One effect of this excessive moisture
would have been to aid the winter monsoon rainfall
required for winter crops. In India, both wheat and
barley are held to be Rabi (winter) crops and—like
other parts of the world—would have largely
depended on winter monsoons before the irrigation
became widespread. The growth of the Kharif crops
would have probably suffered as a result of excessive
moisture. Jute was first cultivated in India, where it
was used to make ropes and cordage. Some
animals—thought by the Indians as being vital to their
survival—came to be worshiped. Trees were also
domesticated, worshiped, and venerated—Pipal and
Banyan in particular. Others came to be known for
their medicinal uses and found mention in the holistic
medical system Ayurveda. The History of Agriculture
by Britannica Educational Publishing holds that:
The Tamil people cultivated a wide range of crops such
as rice, sugarcane, millets, black pepper, various
grains, coconuts, beans, cotton, plantain, tamarind and
sandalwood. Jackfruit, coconut, palm, areca and
plantain trees were also known. Systematic ploughing,
manuring, weeding, irrigation and crop protection was
practiced for sustained agriculture. Water storage
47
 systems were designed during this period. Grand
Anicut dam on river Kaveri (1st-2nd century CE),
Kallanai dam built on river Kaveri during this period, is
considered the as one of the oldest water-regulation
structures in the world still in the use.
Spice trade involving spices native to India—including
cinnamon and black pepper—gained momentum as
India startted shipping spices to the Mediterranean.
Roman trade with India followed as detailed by the
archaeological record and the Periplus of the
Erythraean Sea. Chinese sericulture attracted Indian
sailors during the early centuries of the Common Era.
Crystallised sugar was discovered by the time of the
Guptas (320-550 CE), and the earliest reference of
candied sugar come from India. The process was soon
transmitted to China with travelling Buddhist monks.
Chinese documents confirm at least two missions to
India, initiated in 647 CE, for obtaining technology for
sugar-refining. Each mission returned with results on
refining sugar. Indian spice exports find mention in the
works of Ibn Khurdadhbeh (850), al-Ghafiqi (1150),
Ishak bin Imaran (907) and Al Kalkashandi (fourteenth
century).
Noboru Karashima's research of the agrarian society in
South India during the Chola Empire (875-1279)
reveals that during the Chola rule land was transferred
and collective holding of land by a group of people
slowly gave way to individual plots of land, each with
their own irrigation system. The growth of individual
disposition of farming property may have led to a
decrease in areas of dry cultivation. The Cholas also
had bureaucrats which oversaw the distribution of
water—-particularly the distribution of water by tank-
and-channel networks to the drier areas.
The construction of water works and aspects of water
technology in India is described in Arabic and Persian
works. The diffusion of Indian and Persian irrigation
technologies gave rise to irrigation systems which
brought about economic growth and growth of
material culture. Agricultural 'zones' were broadly
divided into those producing rice, wheat or millets.
Rice production continued to dominate Gujarat and
wheat dominated north and central India. The History
of Agriculture by Britannica Educational Publishing
details the many crops introduced to India during this
period of extensive global discourse:
The middle ages saw irrigation channels reach a new
level of sophistication in India and Indian crops
affecting the economies of other regions of the world
under Islamic patronage. Land and water management
systems were developed with an aim of providing
uniform growth. Despite some stagnation during the
later modern era the independent Republic of India was
able to develop a comprehensive agricultural
programme.
48
Ancient India
The earliest mentions of irrigation are found in
Rigveda. The Veda mentions only well-style irrigation,
where kupa and avata wells once dug are stated to be
always full of water, from which varatra (rope strap)
and cakra (wheel) pull kosa (pails) of water. This water
was, state the Vedas, led into surmi susira (broad
channels) and from there into khanitrima (diverting
channels) into fields.
Later, the 4th century BCE Indian scholar mentioned
tapping several rivers for irrigation. The mentioned
rivers include Sindhu, Suvastu, Varnu, Sarayu, Vipas
and Chandrabhaga. Buddhist texts from the 3rd
century BCE also mention irrigation of crops. Texts
from the Maurya Empire era (3rd century BCE)
mention that the state raised revenue from charging
farmers for irrigation services from rivers.
Patanjali, in Yogasutra of about the 4th century CE,
explains a technique of yoga by comparing it to "the
way a farmer diverts a stream from an irrigation canal
for irrigation". In Tamil Nadu, the Grand Anicut
(canal) across the Kaveri River was implemented in
the 3rd century CE, and the basic design is still used
today.
Anicut is a dam, found in streams in India, which
serves to control the flow of an irrigation system.
India's first Grand Anicut, also known as Kallanai,
which spans the Cauvery in the delta region of Tamil
Nadu, was built 2000 years ago to boost agriculture
yield. Kallanai (also known as the Grand Anicut) is an
ancient dam built across the Kaveri River in
Tiruchirapalli District in the state of Tamil Nadu in
South India. Located at a distance of 15 km from
Tiruchirapalli, and it is belongs to Thanjavur District,
the dam was originally constructed by the Chola king
Karikalan around the 2nd Century AD and is
considered to be one of the oldest water-diversion or
water-regulator structures in the world which is still in
use. The purpose of the Kallanai was to divert the
waters of the Kaveri across the fertile delta region for
irrigation via canals. The dam splits the river Kaveri
into 4 streams known as Kollidam Aru, Kaviri,
Vennaru and Puthu Aru. It is constructed from unhewn
stone spanning the Kaviri and is 329 m long, 20 m wide
and 5.4 m high. The dam is still in excellent condition,
and supplied a model to later engineers, including Sir
Arthur Cotton's 19th-century dam across the
Kollidam, the major tributary of the Kaveri. The area
irrigated by the ancient irrigation network is about
28,000 ha.
Medieval India
Ghiyasuddin Tughluq (1220-1250) is credited to be the
first ruler who encouraged digging canals. Fruz
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 Tughlug (1351-86) is considered to be the greatest
canal builder. Irrigation is said to be one of the major
reasons for the growth and expansion of the
Vijayanagar Empire in southern India in the fifteenth
century. Babur, in his memoirs called 'Baburnamah'
gave a vivid description of prevalent modes of
irrigation practices in India at that time. The Gabar
Bunds captured and stored annual runoff from
surrounding mountains to be made available to tracts
under cultivation.
Islamic Era
Waterworks were undertaken during the Delhi
Sultanate and the Mughal Empire era from the 12th to
18th centuries. However, these were primarily to
supply water to the palaces and parks of the sultans and
other officials.
Colonial British Era (1757–1947 CE)
Few Indian commercial crops—such as Cotton,
indigo, opium, wheat, and rice—made it to the global
market under the British Raj in India. The second half
of the 19th century saw some increase in land under
cultivation and agricultural production expanded at an
average rate of about 1 % per year by the later 19th
century. Due to extensive irrigation by canal networks
Punjab, Narmada valley, and Andhra Pradesh became
centres of agrarian reforms.
A number of irrigation canals were constructed on the
Sutlej River during colonial era. Ganges irrigation
canal built during the colonial era was inaugurated
during 1854.
In 1800, some 800,000 hectares was irrigated in India.
The British Raj by 1940 built significant number of
canals and irrigation systems in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Punjab, Assam and Orissa. The Ganges Canal reached
560 kilometres from Haridwar to Kanpur in Uttar
Pradesh. In Assam, a jungle in 1840, by 1900 had
1600000 ha under cultivation, especially in tea
plantations. Historian David Gilmour states British
colonial government had built irrigation network with
Table 1 Source wise development of irrigated area in India, Mha
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Ganges canal and that, "by the end of the century the
new network of canals in the Punjab" were in place.
Much of the increase in irrigation during British
colonial era was targeted at dedicated poppy and
opium farms in India, for exports to China. Poppy
cultivation by the British Raj required reliable,
dedicated irrigation system. Large portions of the
eastern and northern regions of India, namely United
Provinces, North western Provinces, Oudh, Behar,
Bengal and Rewa were irrigated to ensure reliable
supply of poppy and opium for China.
Major irrigation canals were built after millions of
people died each in a series of major famines in the
19th century in British India. In 1900, British India
(including Bangladesh and Pakistan) had about 13
million ha under irrigation. By 1947, this had
increased to about 22 million ha of irrigation. In North
western British India region alone, with the colonial
government's effort, 2.2 million hectares of previously
barren land was irrigated by 1940s, most of which is
now part of Pakistan. Arthur Cotton led some
irrigation canal projects in the Deccan peninsula, and
landmarks are named after him in Andhra Pradesh and
Tamil Nadu. However, much of the added irrigation
capacity during the colonial era was provided by
groundwater wells and tanks, operated manually.
The British regime in India did supply the irrigation
works but rarely on the scale required. Community
effort and private investment soared as market for
irrigation developed. Agricultural prices of some
commodities rose to about three times during 1870-
1920.
Republic of India (1947 CE onwards)
The irrigation potential through major, medium and
minor irrigation projects has increased from 22.6
million hectares (mha) in 1951, to about 78.33 mha
during 2002-03 (Table 1).
India's irrigation development in this century, and
particularly after independence, has seen large number
49
 Table 2 Irrigation Potential & Utilization up to 2000-02, Mha

of large storage based systems, all by the government

effort and money. Post independence has seen more
than 60% of irrigation budgets going for Major and
Medium projects. However, Growth rate of irrigated
area continues to fall from 4.23% per year during the
1970s to 3.08% per year in 1980s and to 2.56% in the
1990s. At present, with almost one fifth of worlds net
irrigated area (57 Mha); India has the highest irrigated
area in the world today. India's ultimate irrigation
potential was estimated at 139.9 Mha, comprising of
58.46 Mha through major and medium irrigation
schemes and 81.43 Mha from minor irrigation
schemes. Recently some positive steps were also taken
to long-awaited inter-basin water transfer, aiming at
adding 35 Mha to India's irrigated area. The Bhakra Dam (completed 1963) is the largest dam in India
implementation of the inter-basin water transfer link
schemes are taken up in a phased manner depending on generally been:
the priorities of the Government. The links namely (i) l Utilization of stream and river water
Ken-Betwa link (ii) Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal link
(iii) Godavari (Polavaram) – Krishna (Vijayawada) l Direct tapping of rain water (rain water harvesting)
link (iv) Damanganga-Pinjal link and (v) Par-Tapi- l Ground water Stream/river/surface water
Narmada Link have been identified as priority links for
consensus building amongst concerned States for Wherever these sources exist, especially in the hill and
taking up preparation of Detailed Project Reports mountain regions of India, people developed
(DPR). Table 2 shows irrigation potential and techniques to divert its water with the help of simple
utilization status up to 2002. engineering structures, into artificial channels that
would take the water directly to the agricultural fields
Bhakra dam is the largest multipurpose dam where streams joined to form rivers, even some larger
constructed in independent India (1963) and it has and complex engineering was used to divert the river
created large irrigation. water, for example the Grand Anicut on the river
In India, one may find regions varying in temperature, Cauvery.
elevation and rainfall. As a result, the climate is In the arid and semi arid regions, where water in the
drastically varying from one place to another for streams was more seasonal and not available round the
example, when that of the northern Himalayan regions year, the diversion channels were first directed into a
is compared with that of the southern coastal regions or storage structure-so that water could be used in the
the dry western and central regions are compared with ensuing dry period for human and animal
the west eastern and north eastern regions. Hence, the consumption, and for agriculture. However not all
methods of traditional systems of water utilization storage structures were river fed or stream fed. Many
have evolved very differently over the years in of them simply collected water running off a catchment
different places. The main sources of water have area to be stored for later use. In the flood plains,

50 Annual Technical Volume

 people developed ingenious techniques to use the are also very common in Rajasthan. Several such
menacing flood water, not just to irrigate their fields, structures can be found in the forts of chittor and
but also to fertilize their fields with the silt deposited by Ranthambhore. Rainwater harvesting using artificially
flood waters and control diseases like malaria by created catchments which drain water into an artificial
making use of the fish in the flood waters to eat away well – just about any land can be used to create such a
the mosquito larvae. water harvesting structure (Kunds of Rajasthan)are
also very common. Special rainwater harvesting
There is a great potential of rain water harvesting and
structures which help to keep sweet rainwater from
this has been used at many places of the country,
mixing with saline groundwater and, thus, providing a
especially in the drier areas. For example, even in the
layer of potable water (Virdas of kutch), horizontal
drier areas of the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, people
wells similar to the middle east to harvest seepage
devised water harvesting structures called the kundi. In
downhill slopes (Surangams of Kerala), haveli system
certain areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat, people even
of Madhya Pradesh, Khazana lands of Goa to regulate
devised and used techniques to tap the scarce rain water
ingress of saline river waters, especially during coastal
falling on roof tops. Ground water Traditionally, dug-
tides, and thus maintain crop productivity in the
wells have been constructed, the water from which was
coastal plains are another excellent example of rain
lifted using traditional technology like the Persian
water harvesting.
wheel or simply pulley arrangement for use in
agriculture or drinking water purposes. Wells were, and Western Himalayan region is the portion to the north of
still are, important source of irrigation in the ground India spanning from Jammu and Kashmir valleys and
water rich region of the Indo-Gangetic plains. In the going in a south-eastern direction through Himachal
dry areas of Rajasthan, people built structures like step Pradesh and ending in Uttaranchal. This region forms
wells and wells below tanks and other types of water the upper catchments of the river Indus and its five
storage structures. These served both as ground water tributaries, viz, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Jhelum and Chenab
collection points as well as storage structures for rain in addition to those of the rivers Yamuna and Ganga.
water harvesting. Generally, terraced agriculture is commonly practiced
on the slopes, and paddy cultivation in the valleys that
In some hilly regions, for instance in the hills and
separate the sub-Himalayan ranges from the middle
mountains of eastern ghats, people have long since
mountains. Here has been an extensive system of water
used the middle eastern technology of qanats to build
harvesting in the western Himalayas. Farmers have
subterranean structures, which are horizontal wells
had a major tradition of building canals aligned
with a mild slope and called surangams locally, the top
roughly with contours to draw water from hill streams
the water seeping down the hill sides for use as drinking
or springs. These canals are known as kuhls, which
water. It must be remembered that all these methods
vary from 1 to 15 kms. Generally, a kuhl would have a
are ingenious forms of water resources engineering and
trapezoidal cross section, 0.1 to 0.2 square meters in
a modern engineer may not only learn from these age
area, and usually conveys a discharge of around 15 to
old techniques but also suggest new ways to improve
100 litres per second. Many kuhls collect rainwater
them to make these more efficient. The stream water in
and snow melt running of the slopes above them, and
the hilly terrain of western Himalayas was diverted to
as a result, occasionally it is possible to find a kuhl
the agricultural fields through diversion channels
whose discharge increase along its length. The
(locally known as. Guhls and kuhls). At few places the
discharge can vary along with the season. A single kuhl
channel first leads into a storage structure so that water
can irrigate an area of 80 to 400 ha through
can be used in the subsequent dry period. Similar
distributaries or by flooding. The irrigated land, being
method in Ladakh is termed as Zings. Natural springs
situated on hill slopes, is terraced. The system is
were often harvested for domestic and irrigation
common at altitudes from 350 to 3000 m in the outer
purposes. In the Northeast, spring water is often carried
and middle Himalaya where there is a significant drop
over long distances with the help of bamboo pipes.
in elevation in the path of a kuhl, the fall is utilized to
Rainfed storage structures (Tanks) which provided drive a simple machinery, like flour mills.
water for a command area downstream and
Apart from these water channels, another water
groundwater harvesting structures like wells and step
harvesting structure-the ponds is fairly common
wells were built to tap stream or river fed storage
through India. However, these ponds now suffer from
structures, sometimes built in a series, with overflow
growing encroachment of rising population at water
from one becoming runoff for the subsequent one
inlets and from siltation.
(system tanks of Tamilnadu, bandharas of
Maharashtra, keres of Karnataka). These are known as North-eastern hill region stretches over eight states
Khadins in Jaisalmer district, Johads in Alwar district Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura,
in Rajasthan. Groundwater aquifers known as Bavdis Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Water

Annual Technical Volume 51

 harvesting practices in Meghalaya take the form of wet
rice cultivation in parts of the Jaintia hills, and of
bamboo drip irrigation in other regions. This ingenious
system of tapping of stream and spring water by using
bamboo pipes to irrigate plantations is widely
prevalent and so performed that about 18 to 20 litres of
water entering the bamboo pipe system per minute gets
transported over several hundred metres and finally
gets reduced to 20 to 80 drops per minute at the site of
the plant. The bamboo drip irrigation system is
normally used to irrigate the betel leaf or black pepper
crops planted in areca nut (betel nut) orchards or in
mixed orchards. Bamboo pipes are used to divert
perennial springs on the hilltops to the lower reaches
by gravity. In Manipur, the jhum method of cultivation
is still the prevalent mode of cultivation. However,
there has been some tradition of water harvesting
amongst the Nagas of Manipur. In Mizoram, the high
rainfall (about 2500 mm over about eight months a
year has had ill effects on hill slopes as deforestation
has resulted in soil erosion and reduction in water
retention capacity of the soil. The traditional sources of
water were the numerous springs in the hills, known
locally as tuikhur, but many have been drying up
recently.
Artificial irrigation is common in the terai region of
Darjeeling district. The slope of the land and numerous
small streams that exist there, make it easy to utilize
the water. The hill springs, called jhoras, are the only
dependable source of water in most places. In Sikkim,
local people have evolved efficient water harvesting
systems together with land management systems.
Irrigation is mostly confined to rice fields and
cardamom plantations. In rice fields, irrigation is done
in bench terraces. In the case of cardamom, irrigation
water is allowed to flow without proper distribution
channels. Construction of water channels, regulation
of water flow, and drawing of drinking water were
traditionally done through community participation.
The common sources of drinking water are streams
and kholas (tanks). There are two important traditional
irrigation systems in Arunachal Pradesh-the irrigation
of rice terraces with bamboo pipes, and the Apatani
system of wet rice irrigation. In the former method,
water is transported through an intricate system of
Bamboo pipes to agriculture fields. But this system is
now becoming obsolete and is being replaced by iron
pipes and channel irrigation. The apatanis have
evolved a very scientific system of field irrigation. The
striking features are partially flooded rice fields, and
the intricate design of the 'contour dams dividing the
plots. The valley floor has a gentle gradient, and the
terraced holdings are laid out along the general slope.
The plots are divided by about half a meter high
earthen dams supported by bamboo frames. All
52
holdings have an inlet facing the water head and an
outlet at the opposite side. The inlets for the low lying
plots act as outlets for the higher level plots. A deeper
conduit channel connects the inlet point with the outlet
point. When a terrace is to be filled with water, the
outlet is blocked. By opening and blocking the
connecting ducts, any field can be flooded or drained
as required.
Some of the Irrigation System of India
Phad System of Maharashtra
It is basically a system consisting of a diversion weir,
the canal and the distributaries to take the water to the
field. The special about the system is the management
of available water. The total land under command is
divided in 3-4 parts, which is called as phad. The land
in each phad is irrigated by overflow system i.e. the
whole land in the section is fully filled with the water
for the fixed duration. After that the water going to the
phad is stopped and transferred to 2nd phad and so on.
The excess water goes either from 1st phad to 2nd and
to 3rd and then back to main River through the Nalla or
minor tributary or goes directly to tributary and then to
main river. The phad system of irrigation is found in
Maharashtra over the rivers Panzara, Girna and Burai,
which are tributaries of Tapi.
Similar irrigation systems are also found on rivers Kan
and Jamkheli which conjugate in Panzara and the
rivers Mosam and Aram which meet at Girna. This
irrigation system consists of bunds along the river that
divert water into fields systematically and completely
managed by the local people/ users. Its earliest
mention can be traced to 300 BC. In the phad system,
the diverted water which flows into a field is kept in the
field for a few days and then transferred to the second
field and so on. Finally if there is any water remaining
it is returned to the river. The basis for the operation of
this system is the river having water.
Overflow Irrigation system of Bhagalpur
It works without any dam or weir. It is based on
principle to taking the flood water to agriculture fields,
flood them with the water, allow the suspended soil to
settle down, water to percolate before, then allow the
excess water to run back to main source when the flood
in main River recedes.
The second system is the overflow irrigation system.
This system was discovered in the early 1920s, when
the British were constructing a canal between the
rivers Ganga and Damodar. This system comes into
use when the river is flooded. Flood waters get
diverted to the agricultural fields, by breaching the
canal or river in a way that ensures it can be sealed
immediately.
Annual Technical Volume
 Khadin channels constructed to utilise river water in
agricultural fields. Starting out from the river, pynes
A khadin, also called a dhora, is an ingenious
meander through fields to end up in an ahar. Most
construction designed to harvest surface runoff water
pynes flow within 10 km of a river and their length is
for agriculture. Its main feature is a very long (100-300
not more than 20 km. The ahar-pyne system received a
m) earthen embankment built across the lower hill
death-blow under the nineteenth-century British
slopes lying below gravelly uplands. Sluices and
colonial regime. The post-independent state was
spillways allow excess water to drain off. The khadin
hardly better. In 1949, a Flood Advisory Committee
system is based on the principle of harvesting
investigating continuous floods in Bihar's Gaya district
rainwater on farmland and subsequent use of this
came to the conclusion that "the fundamental reason
water-saturated land for crop production.
for recurrence of floods was the destruction of the old
Vav / vavdi / Baoli / Bavadi irrigational system in the district.”
Traditional step wells are called vav or vavadi in
Gujarat, or baolis or bavadis in Rajasthan and northern
India. Built by the nobility usually for strategic and/or
philanthropical reasons, they were secular structures
from which everyone could draw water. Most of them
are defunct today. The construction of step wells date
from four periods: Pre-Solanki period (8th to 11th
century CE); Solanki period (11th to 12th century CE);
Vaghela period (mid-13th to end-14th century CE);
and the Sultanate period (mid-13th to end-15th century
CE). Sculptures and inscriptions in step wells
demonstrate their importance to the traditional social
and cultural lives of people. Step well locations often
suggested the way in which they would be used. When
a step well was located within or at the edge of a
village, it was mainly used for utilitarian purposes and Traditional Irrigation Methods
as a cool place for social gatherings. When step wells Surface irrigation method
were located outside the village, on trade routes, they
were often frequented as resting places. Many Surface irrigation stands for a large group of irrigation
important step wells are located on the major military methods in which water is distributed by gravity over
and trade routes from Patan in the north to the sea coast the surface of the field. Water is typically introduced at
of Saurashtra. When step wells were used exclusively the highest point or along the edge of a field, which
for irrigation, a sluice was constructed at the rim to allows covering the field by overland flow.
receive the lifted water and lead it to a trough or pond, Historically, surface irrigation has been the most
from where it ran through a drainage system and was common method of irrigating agricultural land.
channelled into the fields. A major reason for the Borders typically have a slope in the direction of
breakdown of this traditional system is the pressure of irrigation but not laterally.
centralisation and agricultural intensification.
(i) Flood irrigation: Water is left open to the field from
Ahar Pynes one side till it reaches to the end of the field. Under this
It is a traditional floodwater harvesting system is method water is unlimited.
indigenous to south Bihar. In south Bihar, the terrain (ii)Basin Irrigation Method: Basin irrigation is the
has a marked slope -- 1 m per km -- from south to north. most common form of surface irrigation, particularly
The soil here is sandy and does not retain water. in regions with layouts of small fields. If a field is level
Groundwater levels are low. Rivers in this region swell
in all directions, is encompassed by a field bund to
only during the monsoon, but the water is swiftly
prevent runoff, and provides an undirected flow of
carried away or percolates down into the sand. All
water onto the field, it is herein called a basin.Abasin is
these factors make floodwater harvesting the best
option here, to which this system is admirably suited. typically square in shape but exists in all sorts of
An ahar is a catchment basin embanked on three sides, irregular and rectangular configurations. It may be
the 'fourth' side being the natural gradient of the land furrowed or corrugated, have raised beds for the
itself. Ahar beds were also used to grow a rabi (winter) benefit of certain crops, but as long as the inflow is
crop after draining out the excess water that remained undirected and uncontrolled into these field
after kharif (summer) cultivation. Pynes are artificial modifications, it remains a basin.

Annual Technical Volume 53

 (iii) Border irrigation System: This can be considered
as an expansion of basin irrigation to include long
rectangular or contoured fields. Normally it has
longitudinal slope and no lateral slope with blocked
lower end. Water is applied to individual borders from
small hand-dug checks. When the water is shut off, it
recedes from the upper end to the lower end. Sloping
borders are suitable for nearly any crop except those
that require prolonged ponding.
(iv) Furrow Irrigation Method: Furrow irrigation
avoids flooding the entire field surface by channelling
the flow along the primary direction of the field using
furrows. Water infiltrates through the wetted perimeter
and spreads vertically and horizontally to refill the soil
reservoir. The distinctive feature of furrow irrigation is
that the flow into each furrow is independently set and
controlled as opposed to furrowed borders and basins
where the flow is set and controlled on a border by
border or basin by basin basis.
Modern Method of Irrigation
The application of micro irrigation produces more
crops per drop of water. Initially it is costly but in long
run it is more economical as there is saving in fertilizer
consumption as well. It is interesting to know that the
net irrigation efficiency of entire system being unlined
is 29% against being 90% when the entire system is
lined and drip irrigation method is used (Table 3).
Surface Irrigation Method
(i) Sprinkler Irrigation Method: Water is applied over
the surface by sprinkling it through rotating pipes.
54
Usually water is applied equivalent to the
evapotranspiration of the crop. Irrigation efficiency is
high (normally above 85 %). In sprinkler irrigation
method, water is taken from source to the fields
through pipes, whereas in surface irrigation methods
only 30-45 % water reaches the crops. Such loss of
water is avoided in sprinkler irrigation method. The
problem of water logging may be caused in case of
excess water from surface irrigation, whereas no such
problem is caused in sprinkler irrigation method. The
balance of groundwater is also maintained.
(ii) Drip Irrigation Method: In this method water is
applied at root zone near the roots of the crop through
net work of pipes. Irrigation efficiency is high
(normally above 90%). A precise amount of water
equal to the daily consumptive use or the depleted soil
water needs to be applied. The soil water can be
maintained at the field capacity during the crop
growing period. Deep percolation losses can be
completely prevented and the evaporation loss is also
reduced.
References
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Wa t e r M a n a g e m e n t i n H a r y a n a . H a r y a n a
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History Today 12, New Delhi, ISSN 2249-748X.
3. Anonymous.1979. Manual on Irrigation Water
Annual Technical Volume
 Table 3 Water losses and utilization efficiency under different components of Canal irrigation system (Agarwal and Khanna,
1983)

5. Agarwal, M.C., Dhindwal, A.S., Jaiswal, C.S.,

Sprinkler irrigation
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Rajendra and Alhawat, I.P.S., Indian Society of
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Prabhaker, A. and Anjla, M.S.1997. Status of Research
on Agricultural Water Management of Northen
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8. Chaudhary, T.N.1997. Water management in rice for
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1971.Water Resources and their Utilization in
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10. Dharashivkar, Mukund. 2007.The Two Ancient
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 Division on Deptt. of Agriculture, Ministry of
Agriculture, New Delhi. 129 p.
13. Government of India. 1999. Water Resources
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15. Gupta, Anil K. 2004, "Origin of agriculture and
domestication of plants and animals linked to early
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ancient-irrigation-systems-india-paper-presented-
national-seminar-water-and-culture.
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irrigation-development-in_01.html
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irrigation for top yields . Intensive Agriculture, May,
1970.
27. Michael, A.M. 1978. Irrigation Theory and Practice.
Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
28. Murphy, Denis J. 2007, People, Plants and Genes: The
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29. Narayanamoorthy, A. Trends in Irrigated Area in
India: 1950-51 to 2002-03.
30. Paliwal, K.V. 1972. Irrigation with saline water,
Mono. 2. Water Technology Centre, I.A.R.I., New
Delhi.
31. Possehl, Gregory L.1996. "Mehrgarh", Oxford
Companion to Archaeology edited by Brian Fagan,
Oxford University Press.
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32. Qanat Irrigation Systems and Homegardens (Iran).
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33. Rao, P. 1994. Management of water resources for
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for sustained crop production. Sadaphal M.N. and De
R. (Eds.) . Indian Society of Agronomy. AIPTF
Bhawan Trust Press, New Delhi, pp.77-78.
34. Reddy, M.S. 1998. Theme paper on five decades of
Water Resources Society, New Delhi. pp.554.
35. Salter, P.J. and Goode, J.E. 1967. Crop response to
water at different stages of growth. Common Wealth
Agricultural Bureaux. Farnham Royal, England.
36. Sharma, B.R. 2006. Water Resources, Handbook of
Agriculture, ICAR Publications.
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and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History
edited by Michael Adas, Temple University Press,
ISBN 1-56639-832-0.
39. Siddiqui, Iqtidar Husain.1986. "Water Works and
Irrigation System in India during Pre-Mughal Times",
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Orient, 29 (1): 52–77.
40 Singh, D.P.1964 a. Efficient land and water
management for sustainable agriculture in Indira
Gandhi Canal Area of Rajasthan. In: Resorce
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pp.70-85.
41. Singh, D.P. and Panu, R.K. 1998. Irrigation
Management in field crops. In fifty years of
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article4.htm
Annual Technical Volume
 Traditional Irrigation Systems in India
S. K. Srivastava
Chief Engineer
National Water Academy, Central Water Commission, Pune
* cwc.srivastava@gmail.com
Rajeev Singhal
Director
National Water Academy, Central Water Commission, Pune
* singhal_rajeev@yahoo.com

Introduction Tank and Gangai Konda Cholapuram tank was

constructed during 10th century in Tamil Nadu.
Irrigation of culturable land is practiced in India from
Anantaraja Sagar in Andhra Pradesh was constructed
time immemorial. Irrigation is done by two methods,
during the 13th century. Early Mauryan king
by lift irrigation and by gravity flow of water. Lift
Samudragupta and Ashoka took great interest in the
irrigation in India is mostly from wells. Irrigation by
construction of wells and tanks. Later Mughal kings
gravity flow of water is through canals. Water is fed to
of North India and Hindu kings of South India focused
fields (a) by canals from tanks which are either rain fed
their attention, in the establishment of canals, dams,
or filled by a trench connecting the tank with a river; (b)
tanks etc. British Government initiated their work
by canals from a reservoir formed by constructing a
during 19th century in remodeling and renovation of
dam, earth or masonry, across a river; and (c) by
the existing irrigation system. The Upper Ganga canal,
inundation canals. The head work is formed by
Krishna and Godavari delta system, Mettur and
breaching the bank of a river and allowing flood water
Periyar dams are the great irrigation structures built by
to enter in to the canal.
the British rulers. After independence, Irrigation
Above methods of irrigation were practiced in India activities have been accelerated and number of
before British rule. Innumerable wells and tanks were multipurpose river valley projects like Bhakra-Nangal
constructed from very ancient times to the 18th century in Punjab, Tungabhadra in Karnataka/Andhra Pradesh,
all over India. The practice of irrigation by inundation Damodar Valley in Jharkhand/West Bengal were
canals was followed in Punjab and Sind provinces as established.
the rivers are perennial and are in flood for eight
Kautiliya Artha Shastra (4th century B.C.) gives
months.
copious information regarding construction of dams
Status of Irrigation inAncient India (Figure 1), canals, management of canal water
Irrigation is as age-old art as our civilization. In India
the irrigation is practiced since pre historic times.
Historical records bear testimony to the existence of a
number of old irrigation works in different parts of the
country. The earliest form of irrigation practiced in
India was flood or inundation irrigation. In southern
peninsula where the country is mostly undulating,
large tanks were built from very early times for
collection of rain water. Large number of wells also
had been in use for irrigation since ancient times. There
are some evidences that during the Vedic period (400
B.C) people used to irrigate their crops with dug well
water. Irrigation was gradually developed and
extended during the Hindus, Muslims and British
periods.
The Grand Anicut (KALLANAI) constructed across
the river Cauvery is an outstanding example for the
irrigation work by a Chola king, the great Karikala
Cholan during second century. The Veeranarayanan Figure 1 Irrigation System

Annual Technical Volume 57

 including levying of tax. The irrigation works used to
be constructed privately by individuals or co-
operatively. If the work is large, the king was also
lending his hand for its construction. Rules for
location of tanks are also detailed. According to
different Smrities (200 A.D. - 900 A.D) a man who
breaches tank is to be given death penalty by
drowning him in the water of that tanks. Earth as
well as masonry dams were constructed in very large
numbers, in tens of thousands, from 2nd century to
17th century. Many of these are functioning even at
present time. In North as well as in South India,
inundation canals across perennial rivers were
constructed. In South India, wherever water level in the
river goes down considerably in fair season an earth
or masonry dam was constructed so that .the level of
water will be always high which was led by canals for
irrigation. The dams were constructed across the same
river one below the other as well as across its
tributaries.
In Maharashtra there were 50,000 small private tanks
which used to irrigate 2, 62,600 hectares in years of
high demand. About 200 Masonry or earth 'Bandharas'
were in operation during the 19th century which was
constructed by Indian Engineers on rock foundation.
They exist on every perennial stream of Dhule district.
Most of these bandharas consist of solid masonry
weirs.
The above description of irrigation works in India
before the advent of the British gives the idea of the
vastness of the system and it could be stated that
anything comparable of it did not exist in any other
part of the world. Tank irrigation as described above
was practiced all over India except in the provinces of
Punjab and Sindh. Irrigation by inundation canals was
practiced in these two provinces. The inhabitants on
the banks of the river Indus learnt to excavate small
channels through the higher lands on the immediate
bank of the stream to irrigate lands. This system of
inundation canals was used from unknown ages by
which the rising water of Indus was tapped and used
to irrigate fertile lands lying in the comparatively
rainless plains of the valley. Figure 2 gives plan and
cross-section at the mouth of an inundation canal.
Figure 2 Mouth of an inundation canal
58
IrrigationAdministration
The administration of irrigation water including the
basic procedure of levying of the tax for use of
irrigation water as followed by British engineers by the
close of 19th century was essentially same as described
in Kautiliya Arthashastra (3rd to 4th century BC)
which is probably the earliest treatise in which this
subject is dealt with. It can be argued that embracing
the traditional practices, especially the irrigation
methods, is important for communities in India. Using
traditional irrigation practices in agricultural districts
can provide communities with more sustainable and
cost-efficient irrigation system.
Local irrigation systems have been handed down
through generations becoming a tradition in India,
with regional farmers designing processes that were
invented to adapt to the landscape. The people of
Sikkim, for example, have combined water-harvesting
systems with land management systems in order to
become more efficient. Rice and cardamom fields are
irrigated in bench terraces, which can be watered
without the need for distribution channels. In
Arunachal Pradesh, two important traditional methods
of irrigation show the range of low-tech engineering.
Bamboo pipes irrigate rice fields along with a series of
earthen dams and conduit channels that can be used to
flood or drain fields as necessary for the harvest and
planting seasons. Some of the traditional irrigation
methods, specifically well irrigation, use water
harvesting systems such as the rahat (known as Persian
wheel). Many of these systems, however, are
becoming extinct in north-eastern states due to the
modern systems implemented by the government.
In the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, traditional
irrigation methods such as canals, (kuhls), have been
built by local residents to draw water from the small
streams that originate from hill springs. These water
sources are called jhoras. The springs are the only
reliable sources of water in a number of locales. As
elsewhere, though, new technologies have been
implemented to improve the traditional styles of
irrigation. Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme,
the government of Himachal Pradesh has helped to
make permanent kuhls and tanks, solidifying in place
the simple and locally adapted irrigation for self-
sufficient farms that provided for individual families.
Irrigation Methods Adopted by different Regions
of India
Himachal Pradesh
Irrigation is a way for farmers to manipulate existing
water sources to either store or distribute the resource.
It has been a fundamental need for the survival for
Annual Technical Volume
 farmers because it provides water, the lifeblood of
crops, to the growing plants when there is not enough
rain. One of the first reported cases of irrigation is
among the ancient Egyptians, who built dykes to trap
the water that would flood from the Nile River.
Irrigation strategies are necessary to all forms of
agriculture due to the unpredictability of the weather.
Different methods of irrigation were implemented
regionally in India because of the location in which
they were situated as well as the availability of nearby
resources. Nevertheless, three common formats are
identified for irrigation that exists in India. These
include diversion channels, surface-drainage tanks,
and wells. Across regions and districts in India, these
methods usually have a variety of nomenclature, each
influenced by the region.
Diversion Channels: One traditional irrigation method
that is common is the diversion channel as seen on
Figures 3(a&b) below (called kuhls in Himachal
Pradesh).
Figure 3a Hand-dug Kuhl in Kamand
Figure 3b Water Channel Flow
The traditional kuhl is constructed with a dug-out main
diversion channel that has structures that can be
temporary or permanent. Due to annual floods that
might destroy the system, temporary channels, which
are built using boulders, rocks, bamboo, and tree
branches, are preferred. In recent years, people have
also started using concrete. These kuhls flow through
different distribution points creating a diversion-based
system. Moreover, this system can range from
hundreds to thousands of kilometers long to allow
water (primarily floodwater) to be diverted to
farmlands. The canals are aligned to draw water from
the hill streams or springs. Kuhls also collect rainwater
and melted snow running from the slopes above them.
In addition, lands that are to be irrigated are usually
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situated on hill-sides, and are supplied on terraces
where water flows due to the gravity that “traverses the
contours of a mountain slope”. Figure 4 gives an
illustration of Kuhl design.
Figure 4 Irrigation in Khul region
A group of these diversion channels often create
community-based systems that are used for
“sustainable, cost effective and successfully managed
by local [governments]”. This system, which dates
back to 16th century, is used best post-monsoon when
the abundant rainwater runs off through diversion
channels. The construction requires a site that has a
concrete foundation and has a depth of at least eight
inches, where factors like the slope area of land and the
available rivers are also considered. In the Western
Himalayan Region, for example, farmers started
irrigation processes that were invented to adapt to
these mountainous landscapes. In northern India from
Jammu and Kashmir valleys down through Himachal
Pradesh and ending in Uttaranchal, farmers have
designed kuhls that are aligned with land contours to
draw water from streams or springs. These canals can
range in length from one kilometer to fifteen
kilometers. They generally have a trapezoidal cross
section and are one to two tenths of a square meter in.
Tank Irrigation: Another traditional method is tank
irrigation. The nomenclature for this system is rather
misleading because tanks are utilized as small
reservoirs that are typically in a rectangular prism
shape and are used as embankments. This irrigation
system is usually constructed in chains to have water
flow from tanks upstream to tanks downstream which
are important ancient traditions of storing the available
water from rainfall, streams or rivers that help improve
the cultivation of crops. Tanks can take many forms, as
seen in Figure 5.
Figure 5 Storage tank of water from rainfall
59
 Figure 6 Tank Irrigation
Similar to tank irrigation systems (Figure 6),
traditional khatris are pits, made of rocks, which
mainly collect rainwater seeping through these rocks.
It is generally built near the foot of the hill with a dug
tunnel and steps leading inside through the basin of
water. Multiple khatris may be constructed, but
ideally, the water gets collected in the lower-most
khatri. These structures do not provide water directly
to the fields. The water needs to be carried to the
locations. They are usually for drinking purposes as
well as washing and taking baths. Being more
expensive than kuhls (approximately INR 15000 per
khatri), they are not as popular as kuhls. One of the
examples of khatri can be seen in Figure 7.
Figure 7 Khatri system in irrigation
Baudis and nawns are also tank-style surface water
harvesting techniques. Deep pits are built to collect and
store the water and they are generally covered with a
roof. Both use same techniques, but the difference
appears in the final usage of them. Baudi generally has
a tank-like structure to store the water, in contrast to
nawn, which is larger and used for numerous purposes
such as drinking, washing, and taking showers. One of
the examples of a baudi and nawn can be seen in
Figures 8 & 9.
Tank irrigation systems have components that include
the “tank embankment, surplus of escape weir, and
outlet channels”, which are built across the slopes for
easy collection and preservation of water. Starting
from the tank bank, water flows through the sluices that
connect to paddy fields. Tank irrigation is managed by
local villagers and mainly used in regions that have dry
60
Figure 8 Baudi system
Figure 9 Nawn system
seasons and irregular monsoons. However, this
method has a few disadvantages. The water easily
evaporates and the tank occupies a huge area of land,
which leads to costly maintenance. Moreover, because
the tank is used as water storage, perennial water
supply is not guaranteed especially during dry, hot
summers.
The implementation of the well design requires
digging a hole in the ground to provide a perennial
“soft water” supply. This “soft water” is more
appropriate for irrigation because it sometimes has a
lower salt level. Saline water is capable of destroying
the quality of crops and has an adverse effect on soil. To
reduce the salinity, wells, which are generally at
shallow depths, are dug near the ponds where water is
collected on rainy days. Well irrigation is mainly used
in alluvial plains due to the softness of the soil. It is also
more popular in regions where ground water is plenty
and diversion channels are available. This irrigation
method is preferable because of the ease of operation,
and reduction of danger from water clogging
compared to the canal (channel) irrigation during the
water flow. Especially when the water level is high,
farmers sometimes still utilize water-harvesting
systems such as rahat (known as the Persian wheel),
which was commonly used in India in 9th and 10th
century. The rahat is typically operated either by
domestic animals such as cows and ox or by people.
This expense of energy to push the rod that connects
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 through the wheel to lift the water is also one
disadvantage of this system. An example of well
irrigation using the rahat is seen on Figure 10.
Figure 10 Well irrigation (Rahat operation)
Bihar
Ahar pyne irrigation systems of South Bihar : The
ahar-pyne irrigation system is an interesting method
that dates back over two thousand years. The pynes
(canals) bring water into ahars (tanks). The ahar
recharges the ground water and so the nearby wells
draw water. The system also helps to divert rainwater,
which reduces potential flooding of larger rivers.
Ahars are reservoirs with embankments on three sides
and are built at the end of drainage lines such as rivulets
or artificial works like pynes. Pynes are diversion
channels led off from the river for irrigation purposes
and for impounding water in the ahars. It is mostly to
the credit of these that paddy cultivation has been
possible in this otherwise relatively low rainfall area,
when compared to North Bihar. The system attained its
highest development in the district of Gaya.
North Eastern Region
North-Eastern Traditional Practices of Artificial
Recharge : Northeastern states such as Assam,
Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya,
Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh have a major
percentage of mountainous regions. In these states,
particularly Meghalaya, irrigation techniques similar
to kuhls are used. However, instead of creating canal-
like structures, bamboo is used to divert the water from
the forest to the fields. The water is transported over
hundreds of kilometers to provide water directly to the
roots of the plants using drip irrigation. Lots of water is
lost while being transported, but even then, substantial
amount of water is collected using this irrigation.
Moreover, other traditional sources of water in
Meghalaya include springs, known as tuikhur or
jhoras, streams, waterfalls and rooftop rainwater
harvesting. Due to the high average rainfall in
Meghalaya, rooftop rainwater harvesting structures
are constructed to increase water supply for post-
monsoon season.
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Bamboo Drip Irrigation in Meghalaya: For more than
200 years tribal farmers of the north-eastern part of
India, in the state of Meghalaya, have been using an
indigenous technique of bamboo drip irrigation to
irrigate their plantation crops. The farmers of the
Jaintia and Khasi hill areas have developed this system
of tapping springs and stream water to grow betel
leaves, black pepper and areca nut.
Terrain and water availability: The topology of the
region is hilly with steep slopes and rock boulders. The
soil depth on these hills is low and has poor water
retention capacity. Though the region gets plenty of
rain during the monsoon season, irrigation becomes a
necessity during the dry season. Faced with this need
for water, and the challenges imposed by the terrain,
the tribal farmers came up with this unique irrigation
system.
Mechanism: The bamboo drip irrigation system is
based on gravity and the steep slopes facilitate in
implementing it. Water from an uphill source is tapped
and brought to the plantation by a main bamboo
channel. Usually these water sources are far off from
the plantations and the main bamboo channel runs
hundreds of meters in some cases even few kilometers.
The water is then regulated through a complex bamboo
network of secondary and tertiary channels to all the
parts and corners of a plantation, right up to the bottom
of the hill. After this long journey, the water trickles or
drips drop by drop at the base of the plant. Sometimes
water is diverted to distant houses for domestic use
(Figure 11).
Figure 11 Principle of water distribution in bamboo drip
irrigation system
Madhya Pradesh
Tribals using traditional method to irrigate fields in
Madhya Pradesh: A group of tribal farmers in a remote
hilly area of Madhya Pradesh's Barwani district use a
century-old irrigation method, enabling them to grow
crops throughout the year. By following the technique,
61
 popularly called 'Paat' among tribals, 13 farmers in the
hilly Aavli village of the district are able to irrigate
their fields, spread on 125 acres of land, from far off
water canals by making narrow channels. With the help
of the old irrigation practice, these farmers not only
grow wheat during the Rabi season, but also produce
flowers and vegetables during the Kharif season. This
is significant as majority of the farmers in this hilly
region are not able to do farming for most part of the
year due to lack of water availability and only grow
some crops during the Kharif season with the help of
rainfall during the monsoon. Aavli village is located in
a remote 'Paati' area of Barwani district. The place
derives its name from the 'Paat' irrigation technique
used to channelise water in the agricultural fields from
the hilly water bodies, without the help of motor
pumps. Farmers have been drawing water from the
canals to their fields by making small 'channels'.All the
farmers take turns to use this water so that everybody's
field gets adequate irrigation supply. This traditional
practice allows the water to cover a distance of about
six km by passing through the hilly terrain to reach
their fields.
Southern India
Tanks, with their own limitations, play an important
role in providing the much needed protective irrigation
facilities to a large extent of area in Karnataka State.
Regional analysis of State-wise data of the country
reveals that tank irrigation is more prevalent in the
Southern part of the country than anywhere else. This
Southern-region consisting of the four states of
Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu
account for nearly 60% of the irrigated area under the
tanks in the country.
Tamil Nadu: Irrigation in Tamilnadu dates back to
several centuries. Earliest irrigation works relate to
small storages called tanks. A tank is formed by
forming a low bund across a shallow valley to hold the
runoff from its catchment. The stored water will be
utilised to irrigate the command area below the tank.
As India is mainly dependent on monsoon rainfall,
which has its own vagaries, the idea of holding the rain
water has been practiced for a long time. The pattern of
tank irrigation is almost similar all over the South East
Asia.
Classification of Tanks: In Tamil Nadu, there are about
39,000 tanks spread all over the State. Nearly 30,000 of
these tanks have been formed centuries ago. These
tanks receive water either from its own catchment or
from rivers through diversion channels. Hence a broad
classification of tanks can be:
l System Tanks
l Non-System Tanks
62
System Tank: A system tank is one which gets supply
from nearby rivers and may have its own catchment
source.
Non-system Tank: They are also called as Isolated
Tanks. They depend mainly on their own catchment.
As the tanks are of shallow storages, formed across the
existing contours and as the contours themselves fall
gradually towards eastern plains, they lie one below
the other. The lower one gets the benefit of the spills
from the higher. These tanks are called a "Chain of
Tanks" and the last in the chain spills out to a drain. In
many cases, the chains of tanks already existing have
got linked to supply channel, newly excavated from a
diversion weir on the nearby stream or river. This
additional facility greatly enhances the stability and
sustainability of the tanks source. These tanks are no
more totally dependent on rains. Irrespective of its size,
capacity and ayacut, it can ensure proper dependability
for irrigation than in Non-system tank in the same
region.
Operation of Tank Irrigation: There are 39,202
irrigation tanks of varied capacity in Tamilnadu State.
Out of this, only those which serve an ayacut of 40 Ha
and above are with the Public Works Department.
However, all the systems tanks even if they have less
than 40 Ha ayacut are under the control of Public
Works Department. There are 8,903 tanks maintained
by the Public Works Department. Out of this, 3,627 are
system tanks. The rest of the tanks are in charge of the
Local Panchayat Union. The Public Works Department
and the Panchyat Unions will look after the source and
the tank proper. But the water distribution and water
regulation are with the villagers especially the farmers
who are the beneficiaries.
We have historical evidences that even in 400-600
A.D., there were village committees, especially to look
after the maintenance and operation and water
distribution of the tanks. These committees are called
"Eri Variyam" (Tank Board). There was also a system
of "Kudimaramath", where the farmers themselves
voluntarily do physical works to clean the irrigation
channels and maintain the tank systems.
Karnataka State: The Karnataka State has a well knit
system of tanks in operation some of which can be
traced back to 4th Century. The scope of irrigation
under the tanks is estimated at one million hectares
which forms 18% of the total irrigation potential of the
State. Nearly 80% of the irrigation potential under the
tanks has already been developed. Almost all the
promising tank site have been exploited and scope for
the construction of economically viable new tank
projects is now very much limited, perhaps enough to
cover the remaining anticipated irrigation potential,
Judging from the number of tanks as recorded in the
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 Imperial Gazetteers published in the last quarter of the
19th century, one could perhaps infer that the
developments of tank irrigation had reached its peak
during the 18th or 19th century. The number of tanks
existing in Karnataka earlier to 16th Century as
gathered from the inscriptions was about 779.
Damoosi System: There is a unique method of water
allocation being practiced by farmers in an isolated
pocket in Chintamani Taluk of Kolar district . This
system is termed 'Damoosi' system which as a concept
symbolises equal opportunity for productivity.
Literally, in Kannada Language, 'Damoosi' means
distribute proportionately. In reality, it is a method
utilised to share the water stored in a tank in equal
proportion to ownership of land. This aspect of equal
proportion is based on the quantum of land held by an
individual within the command area of such a tank in
whose command area Damoosi is going to be
implemented. This method is exclusively used for
supplying tank water for a Rabi crop.
Open Head (mouth) Channels In Telangana & Andhra
Pradesh: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have a rich
legacy of tanks, reservoirs and canals as well as, bunds,
tank sluices, cross drainage works, and anicuts across
rivers/ streams to pond up water for diversion for the
beneficial use of humanity. Many of these works date
back to Chola rulers, Chalukya and Vijayanagar
emperors extending their existence from the Eleventh
century to Sixteenth Century.
With the limited scientific background and technical
know-how the hydraulic Engineers (known as Jala
Sutrada in those days) have tried their best to achieve
the tangible development on the irrigation sector to
meet their requirements at that time. Few examples to
quote are:
l Gudimallan Tank near Renigunat constructed in
the 9th Century.
l Colavaradhi tank of 10th Century in North Arcot
District.
l Almanda Tank in Visakhapatnam District
constructed in 11th Century.
l Pakhal lake in Warangal District constructed in the
middle of 13th Century.
l Phirangipuran Tank in Guntur District constructed
in 15th Century.
In those days, the River Waters were used to be diverted
through channels to feed tanks and also to feed directly
the ayacut. Most of such canals were not having any
head works for regulating the flow in the channels.
Such channels not having normally any regulation
arrangements, drawing the water directly from the
rivers/streams are known as “Open Head (Mouth)
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Channels.” To enable to draw the water through these
open head channels, it was found necessary to build up
the required driving head. For this purpose “Rough
Stone Groynes” and partial cross bunds across the
rivers/Streams were constructed. A good number of
such works are constructed on the following river
systems in north coastal districts ofAndhra Pradesh.
l Nagavali
l Sarada
l Varaha (including Sarpa)
l Bahuda
l Vamsadhara
l Yeleru
Out of the above, the Open Head Channel system on
Negavali River is discussed below:
Nagavali River System: Nagavali River is a major
river in Srikakulan District, having tributaries like
Vegavathi, Suvarnamukhi and Janjhavati and finally
joining Bay of Bengal in the village limits of Kallepali.
The flows of Nagavali are being harnessed by
constructing Reservoirs on Janjhavathi arm, and
Vengalarayasagar and Madduvalasa on Suvarnamukhi
arm and also anicuts were constructed on all the three
Tributaries and the main river Nagavali. In addition,
there are several open head channels. These open head
channels are existing since the ancient time.
Maharashtra State
The old irrigation works consist chiefly of a few small
canals and small sized tanks (Minor) and bandharas
besides few major works like Bhataghar,
Bhandaradara and Darana. "Sanction System" of
irrigation is practiced in Maharashtra. Every season
sanctions are accorded by the competent authority
specifying the extent of area authorized for irrigation,
the type of crops to be grown etc., The tanks are mostly
formed by earthen bunds, the larger ones irrigating
areas of about 500-600 ha and the smaller ones upto
200 ha. Whenever the tanks do not fill as in bad or
deficient years, they impose a cut in the area
sanctioned for irrigation according to the availability
of water in the tank. Sometimes there is a restriction on
the number of waterings also and such decisions are
taken in the meeting with the farmers.
System of Irrigation in Maharashtra: Different systems
of irrigation are being practiced in different parts of
Maharashtra according to the size of streams,
availability of water and rainfall. They are:
l Phad system of Irrigation.
l Shejpali system of Irrigation.
63
 l Pazar system of Irrigation.
l System of Irrigation under Malaguzari.
A brief description of the aforesaid systems of
irrigation is given below:
a) Phad system of Irrigation: This is an old irrigation
system of the state mainly practiced in the Nashik and
Dhule districts in the Valleys of Mosam and Panzra
rivers since the last two centuries. Even though the
rivers are small, typical geographical, geological
features of these valleys generate water throughout the
year in these rivers making them practically perennial.
A series of diversion bhandaras have been constructed
across these rivers with canals to irrigate lands
perennially.Lands under the command of a bhandhara
is divided into different "blocks or Phads" normally
four in numbers and each phad is having a separate
crop. One of the Phads is essentially to be under under
Sugarcane. Each land owner has his share in every
phad and management of water is done by a group of
progressive or selective irrigators almost on a pattern
of a successful cooperative society. A few irrigation
works have been constructed during the regime of Late
Ahilyabai Holkar. These have, however, become out of
use due to passage of time. Khodshi weir with Krishna
canal in Satara, Shanhda canals in Dhule, Lakh canals
in Ahmednagar and old Jamda canals in Jalgaon
district are a few (a century old irrigation works) which
are still in operation.
b) Shejpali system of Irrigation: This is an old
established irrigation system in the Western
Maharashtra. This is a typical form of rotational water
supply for irrigation. The requirement of water at the
outlet head for every rotation is calculated and
distributed considering the sanction demands. On the
basis of 4 hour requirements for one acre per cusec
flow, the total time for which a particular outlet is
required to run is calculated. On this basis the date and
time to sanction holders are specified. This time table
is known as Palipatrak and is prepared for each outlet.
This system of preparation of Palipatrak for supplying
water according to predetermined date and time is
known as "Shejpali system of Irrigation".
c) Pazar system of Irrigation: Whenever a canal passes
through highly fissured strata, an appreciable
percentage of the flow of canal is lost by seepage
throughout the length of the canal which runs in
cutting. This allows substantial quantity of water in the
nallahs and streams in the command of the canal
particularly in the fair seasons. Irrigators generally
64
construct kutcha Bhandaras called "Katmati
Bhandaras" and divert water to their fields and practice
irrigation which is known as "Pazar Irrigation'. This
system is widely practiced on the Girna left bank canal
(Nashik district) of the State. In fact one third of the
area of Sugarcane in the command of the canal is
grown on Pazar irrigation. Of late this heavy
percolation through canal has substantially reduced,
with consequent reduction in Pazar irrigation.
d) Mulguzari Irrigation system: Bhandara and
Chandrapur districts of Maharashtra are entirely
occupied by Metamorphic rocks. These rocks have
undergone sheltering, crushing and fracturing during
folding, faulting and thrusting of the rocks. The
transmission capabilities of these weathered
metamorphic rocks as observed in dug wells are of the
order of 0.106 To 110.4 kilo litre per minute as against
5.90 to 143.80 kilo litre per minute in Deccan trap. The
dug wells in these metamorphic rocks are therefore
low water yielders than those in Deccan trap region.
This geological condition appears to have been best
known to the ancient population of this area and it is
therefore observed that tapping of surface water had
become customary in these two districts which are
known as "Lake Districts" of Maharashtra.
There are as many as 68 large number of small
irrigation tanks built by private entrepreneurs as far
back as the beginning of the 18th Century. These tanks
are mainly distributed in the Wain Ganga, Bagh,
Chulband and Garhavi Valleys and the foot hill slopes
that overlook them.
The following table indicates the distribution of the
tanks in the two districts namely Bhandara and
Chandrapur and actual extent of irrigation under them.
The old Malguzari tanks located in Bhandara and
Chandrampura districts of Maharashtra continue to be
operated and managed by the respective village
community who constructed them. The supply of
water for irrigation under these tanks is free of cost for
the beneficiaries as per the rights for the free use of
water recorded in the village administrative report
"Waji-bul-arj" which is prepared as per the provisions
under the Land RevenueAct 1917.
Conclusion
These traditional systems are typically on small-scale
(meant for a village or for a small cluster of villages)
where maximum efficiency and sustainability is
considered. They have been in existence for years and
Annual Technical Volume
 able to provide the community good quality of crops.
The implementation of traditional irrigation systems
depends on factors such as the environment, economy,
social acceptability and indigenous technology at local
level.
Most traditional systems do not require extensive and
complicated maintenance and operation. These
systems rely on available natural resources,
particularly the water source. Moreover, in India,
engagement of the people in the community especially
for a community-based system is significant.
Traditional systems provide an opportunity for the
people to be involved. In addition, operation and
maintenance cost of a traditional system is reasonable
provided that the system is shared by a number of
farms and villagers that use the water. They have been
serving farming community for a long time and have
contributed to the well being of Indian population.
These traditional systems of irrigation have to be
preserved for future generations as low cost, low and
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easy maintenance systems with which local
communities have always felt convenient.
For the reasons as stated above union government
have already been taking initiatives on Repair,
Renovation and Restoration of water bodies (RRR of
Water Bodies) since 2004 under which the public water
bodies (not the private ones) like ponds tanks, wells,
lakes etc having command more than 10 ha for
financial support (domestic as well as external) to the
states.
References
1. IIT, Mandi report on Incorporating Traditional Methods
of Irrigation with Water Management in Mandi
2. Indian Journal of History of Science, 17 ( I).
3. "Traditional land and water management systems of
North-East hill region", R A Singh & R C Gupta, Indian
Journal of Traditional Knowledge
4. India Water Portal
65
 Irrigation Scheduling Systems:
Principles and Applications
P. K. Singh
Scientist 'C', Water Resources Systems Division
National Institute of Hydrology Roorkee
S. K. Mishra
Professor, Department of Water Resources Development & Management
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
* skm61fwt@iitr.ac.in
Ambrish Kumar
Principal Scientist, ICAR – Indian Institute of Soil & Water Conservation, Dehradun
* aktswc@yahoo.com

Introduction water percolation in the soil profile beyond the reach of

Irrigated agriculture is currently the largest single
water consumer in the world. The scarcity of water
supplies and the increasing demand from other water
users imposes pressure on the agriculture to limit its
water use. As a result, there is a constant need to
improve water use efficiency by crops, using better
irrigation management (Fereres and Evans, 2006).
Irrigation scheduling has conventionally aimed to
achieve an optimum water supply for productivity,
with soil water content being maintained close to field
capacity. In many ways irrigation scheduling can be
regarded as a mature research field which has moved
from innovative science into the realms of use, or at
most the refinement, of existing practical applications.
Nevertheless, in recent years there has been a wide
range of proposed novel approaches to irrigation
scheduling which have not yet been widely adopted;
many of these are based on sensing the plant response
to water deficits rather than sensing the soil moisture
status directly (Jones, 1990a&b). The increasing
worldwide shortages of water and costs of irrigation
are leading to an emphasis on developing methods of
irrigation that minimize water use (maximize the water
use efficiency). The advent of precision irrigation
methods such as trickle irrigation has played a major
role in reducing the water required in agricultural and
horticultural crops, but has highlighted the need for
new methods of accurate irrigation scheduling and
control.
Irrigation scheduling has been defined by many
authors, in essence, as how much water should be
applied to crops and when to apply it, that is to say,
planning water application in irrigated agriculture.
Late and/or insufficient irrigation may lead to
undesirable crop water stress and yield/quality
reduction. Excess irrigation generates undesirable
roots. This not only represents a loss of water
otherwise available for plant use, but percolating water
also transports nutrients, pesticides, and other
chemicals into deeper soil layers, eventually reaching
groundwater. Irrigation scheduling is a method of
applying water for irrigation of crops based on
calculated crop water needs. It improves water
management while maximizing crop yields. The goal
of irrigation scheduling is to make the most efficient
use of water and energy for applying the right amount
of water to crops at the right time and in the right place.
This not only avoids harmful conditions of water stress
but also saves irrigation water and other expenses. It
improves water management while maximizing crop
yields. Modeling and simulation of irrigation
requirements to ensure effective water management
has been employed in many regions, and a number of
irrigation schedulers have been developed (Cancela et
al., 2006; Daĝdelen et al., 2006; Fortes et al., 2005;
Grassini et al., 2011; Popova and Pereira, 2008).
How much and how often water has to be given
depends on the irrigation water need of the crop. The
irrigation water need is defined as the crop water need
minus the effective rainfall. When the soil is wet (e.g.
at field capacity), the crop have no difficulty in taking
up the water from the soil. When, however, more and
more time pass - and no irrigation is given - the crop
will have more and more difficulty in taking up the
water. Irrigation water should be given before this
happens. In general, irrigation should at the latest take
place when approximately half of the available water
content of the root zone has been used by the plants and
the amount of irrigation water given in one irrigation
application (irrigation depth) is the amount of water
used by the plants since the previous irrigation In
recent years it has become clear that maintenance of a

66 Annual Technical Volume

 slight plant water deficit can improve the partitioning
of carbohydrate to reproductive structures such as fruit
and also control excessive vegetative growth
(Chalmers et al., 1981), giving rise to what has been
termed by Chalmers et al. (1986) as 'regulated deficit
irrigation' (RDI).
Achievement of successful RDI depends on accurate
soil moisture or plant 'stress' sensing, and requires an
ability to irrigate 'little and often' on demand. A
disadvantage of RDI is that it requires water status to
be maintained accurately within a rather narrow
tolerance; any excess application loses the advantage
of the regulated deficit and can cost more in terms of
water used, while any under-application can lead to
severe yield or quality losses. An alternative recent
innovation to achieve the same measure of growth
control has been the development of partial root-zone
drying (PRD), where irrigation is supplied alternately
to different parts of the root system (Dry and Loveys,
1998; Stoll et al., 2000b). A potential advantage of this
method is that precise irrigation control is probably
less critical for success than it is for RDI, as plants can
always obtain adequate water from the well-watered
side of the root system and the drying side primarily
provides a signal to modify growth and stomatal
aperture (Stoll et al., 2000a). This chapter discusses
fundamentals to the different irrigation scheduling
approaches with their merits and demerits, including
automated irrigation scheduling. Lastly some of the
major irrigation scheduling based studies conducted in
India have been briefly summarized for readers' ready
reference and could be explored further for advanced
applications.
Advantages of Irrigation Scheduling
Accurate water application prevents over- or under-
irrigation. Over-irrigation wastes water, energy and
labor; leaches expensive nutrients below the root zone,
out of reach of plants; and reduces soil aeration, and
thus crop yields. Under-irrigation stresses the plant and
causes yield reduction. When water supplies are
limited and deliveries are made at much reduced rates,
irrigation scheduling can help users' to fetch available
water for greatest benefit on irrigated crops. Irrigation
scheduling offers several advantages:
l It enables the farmer to schedule water rotation
among the various fields to minimize crop water
stress and maximize yields.
l It reduces the farmer's cost of water and labor
through fewer irrigations, thereby making
maximum use of soil moisture storage.
l It lowers fertilizer costs by holding surface runoff
and deep percolation (leaching) to a minimum.
l It increases net returns by increasing crop yields
and crop quality.
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l It minimizes water-logging problems by reducing
the drainage requirements.
l It assists in controlling root zone salinity problems
through controlled leaching.
l It results in additional returns by using the “saved”
water to irrigate non-cash crops that otherwise
would not be irrigated during water-short periods.
Soil, Water and Plant Relationship
The soil is composed of three major parts: air, water,
and solids. The solid component forms the framework
of the soil and consists of mineral and organic matter.
The mineral fraction is made up of sand, silt, and clay
particles. The proportion of the soil occupied by water
and air is referred to as the pore volume. The pore
volume is generally constant for a given soil layer but
may be altered by tillage and compaction. The pore
volume is actually a reservoir for holding water. Not all
of the water in the reservoir is available for plant use.
At saturation, all of the pores are filled with water.
Gravity will pull some of this water down through the
soil below the crop's root zone. The water that is
redistributed below the root zone due to the force of
gravity is gravitational water. In general, gravitational
water is not available to plants, especially in sandy
soils, because the redistribution process occurs
quickly (in two days or less). The water content of a
soil after being saturated by rainfall or irrigation and
allowed to drain is called field capacity. Under this
condition it contains the maximum amount of water
that is potentially available to plants.
Soil is like a sponge in that “squeezing” water from it is
easy at first but becomes more difficult as water is
removed. When the soil profile is full, the plant
expends little effort to obtain water; but as soil
moisture becomes depleted, more effort is required to
meet the plant's water demands. The point at which a
crop can no longer take water up from the soil is called
the permanent wilting point (PWP). The water held by
the soil between field capacity and the permanent
wilting point is considered available water (AW). It is
calculated as
where, AW is available water (cm/m depth of soil), FC
is field capacity (%), PWP is permanent wilting point
(%), BD is bulk density of soil (g/cc) and soil depth in
meter. The amount of available water stored in the soil
reservoir is commonly expressed as the depth of water
per unit depth of soil. Table 1 shows the field capacity
(FC), permanent wilting point (PWP), Bulk density
(BD) and available water (AW) for different types of
soils.
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 Table 1 Field capacity, Permanent wilting point, Bulk density and available water for different soils
Source: ICAR (1987)
The amount of available water remaining in the soil
decreases as the plants extract water from the soil. The
amount of available water removed since the last
irrigation or rainfall is called the depletion volume. It
can be calculated as:
where, θ represents the soil moisture. Irrigation
scheduling decisions are often based on the assumption
that crop yield or quality will not be reduced as long as
the amount of water used by the crop does not exceed
the allowable depletion volume. The allowable
depletion volume generally recommended is 50 %.
However, the recommended volume may range from
40 % or less in sandy soils to greater than 60 % in
clayey soils. The allowable depletion is also dependent
on the type of crop, its stage of development, and its
sensitivity to drought stress. For example, the
allowable depletion recommended for some drought-
sensitive crops (vegetable crops in particular) is only
20 % during critical stages of development. The
allowable depletion may approach 60 % during non-
critical periods for drought-tolerant crops such as
Table 2 Allowable depletion volume for different crops
Table 3 Effective root zone depths (on full development)
68
cotton. Allowable depletion volume (%) for some of
the crops is given in Table 2.
Three plant factors important in developing a sound
irrigation schedule are: the crop's effective root depth;
its moisture use rate; and its sensitivity to drought
stress. The root depth of a crop also influences the
maximum amount of water which can be stored in the
root zone. If the root system of a crop is shallow, little
water can be stored in the root zone and frequent - but
small - irrigation applications are needed. With deep
rooting crops more water can be taken up and more
water can be applied, less frequently. Young plants
have shallow roots compared to fully grown plants.
Thus, just after planting or sowing, the crop needs
smaller and more frequent water applications than
when it is fully developed. Crop roots do not extract
water uniformly from the entire root zone. The
effective root depth is that portion of the root zone from
where the crop extracts the majority of its water. When
adequate moisture is present, about 70 % of the water
used by the crop comes from the upper half of the root
zone. This zone is the effective root depth. The
effective root zone depths of some of the common
crops are given in Table 3.
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 In general, crops grown for their fresh leaves or fruits
are more sensitive to water shortages than those grown
for their dry seeds or fruits. Table 4 shows four
categories of crops based on the sensitivity of the
specific crops to drought.
Identifying sensitive growth stages of a particular crop
under local conditions of climate and soil fertility
allows irrigation scheduling for both maximum crop
yield and most efficient use of scarce water resources
(Doorenboss and Kassam, 1979). Out of three
(vegetative, flowering and fruiting) growth stages, the
mid-season stage (flowering and grain setting or yield
formation) is most sensitive to water shortages. As
result of extensive experimentation, critical growth
stages of various crops have been identified in respect
of water demand (Table 5).
Methods of Irrigation Scheduling
Irrigation scheduling systems usually deal with two
basic questions: (i) when to irrigate; and (ii) how much
to irrigate. The question of when to irrigate is
approached in several ways. However, these methods
Table 4 Sensitivity of various field crops to water shortages
Table 5 Critical growth stages of some important crops in respect of water demand
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can be broadly classified under the following
headings: (a) Plant indicators; (b) soil indicators; and
(c) water balance techniques (Phene et al., 1990). The
main methods that are used for irrigation scheduling,
or that have the potential for development in the near
future, are summarized in Table 6. Plant indicator
methods include appearance and growth (Haise and
Hagen, 1976), leaf temperature (Jackson et al., 1977),
leaf water potential (Stegman et al., 1976), and
stomatal resistance (Kanemasu et al., 1973). However,
these methods are either too crude and subjective, or
call for the use of specialized instrumentation. The
major drawback of these methods, however, is that the
decision to irrigate is made after the plant has suffered
some amount of moisture stress, which may sometimes
irreversibly damage the plant and affect crop yield.
Besides, these methods do not lend themselves easily
to automation.
Soil based measurements as indicators of the irrigation
requirements of plants include appearance and feel
(Merriam, 1960), gravimetry (Stegman et al., 1980),
soil matric potential using Tensiometers (Stegman et
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 al., 1980; Bauder and Landstom, 1977), electrical
resistance using gypsum blocks (Fischbach, 1977),
and neutron probes (Stegman et al., 1980). Like plant
indicator methods, these techniques provide an a
posteriori measure of irrigation needs when the plant
might have been already adversely affetected by water
stress. These methods also involve disturbing the soil
in the vicinity of the plant, thereby affecting the
measurement being made. The water balance method
involves solving for irrigation requirement in the water
balance equation.
The approach to be used for proper irrigation
scheduling also depends on the method of irrigation.
High frequency methods such as drip irrigation do not
rely much on soil storage of water. There is much less
soil water storage with drip which makes frequent
irrigations necessary to avoid water stress. Irrigations
are applied to meet crop water use, typically on a daily
basis, utilizing a small volume of the soil potentially
available for root water extraction. Other irrigation
methods rely on the soil profile explored by roots as
water storage. Plants draw water from this storage until
a point where replenishment by irrigation is required.
The speed of storage depletion by crop water uptake
(and direct soil surface evaporation), the soil water
content at any given time, and the critical soil water
content (allowable depletion) at which irrigation is
required are the central elements of irrigation
scheduling. A detailed description of all the three
irrigation scheduling methodologies is being
discussed here as follows.
Plant Indicator Method
Irrigation can be scheduled based on plant
physiological measurements. Any physical
measurement related directly or indirectly to plant
water deficit, and which responds readily to integrated
influence of soil-water-plant factors and evaporative
demand of the atmosphere, may serve as a criterion for
timing of irrigation to crops (Yadav et al., 2000). This
might be considered as the ideal criterion because the
plant water is a good integrator of the soil, water and
climatic parameters (Gontia and Tiwari, 2008). The
sensitivity of the plant factor to monitor water
deficiency and the deleterious effects of the latter on
plant growth depend upon plant species, its
development stages and the prevailing environment. It
seems difficult to evolve any universal plant-based
index for scheduling irrigation to various crops under a
variety of field environments.
Symptoms of plant wilting such as drooping, curling,
and rolling of leaves are visual indicators of crop's
need for irrigation. To use the plant observation
method successfully, experience is required as well as
a good knowledge of the local circumstances.
70
Although the approach is simple and rapid, it suffers
from many deficiencies like personal error in
judgement, poor wilting of certain crops under
moderate to severe stress and growth reduction in
some crops even before the plant is visibly wilted.
Certain growth parameters like, cell elongation,
reduction in growth rate of sensitive plant organs and
fruit circumference may be used as indicators for
irrigation. Scheduling irrigation based on growth
indicators is yet at an experiment stage. Adoption of
this approach is constrained by inadequate
standardization of techniques, non-availability and
high cost of equipment, selection of suitable growth
parameters, lack of precision on growth measurement
and variation of growth-water relationship with stages
(Yadav et al., 2000). Various authors (Reddy and
Reddy, 1993; Jain et al., 1997; Iqbal et al., 1999;
Sharma et al., 1990; Kar and Verma, 2005; Kibe et a.,
2006; and Kar and Kumar, 2007) studied the irrigation
scheduling based on crop growth.
Irrigation scheduling can be based on parameters of
plant water status. Plant water status is generally
indexed from the measurement of relative leaf water
content and leaf water potential. Plant water status
depends on water uptake and transpiration rates. Plant
water potential is the most common plant parameter
which can be used for irrigation scheduling. Large
scale adoption of relative leaf water content and leaf
water potential as a basis for scheduling irrigation is
constrained by high-coast and intricate operation of
measuring devices and lack of standardization of
instruments with respect to nature, age and position of
plant leaf, measurement time of day and frequent
fluctuations in influencing environmental factors
(Yadav et al., 2000). Irrigation scheduling can also be
based on indirect plant parameters that respond to
plant water status rather than on plant water potential.
These include the use of stomatal aperture, growth
rates of plant organs and changes of trunk
circumference etc.
Another indicator of water availability is the leaf
temperature (Jackson et al., 1981; Jackson, 1982).
When plants are under water stress, it causes stomatal
closure which in turn interrupts in energy dissipation
and result in rise of leaf temperature. If the leaves are
cool during the hot part of the day, the plants do not
suffer from water stress. However, if the leaves are
warm, irrigation is needed. It is believed that
difference between canopy temperature and air
temperature is a better criterion of water stress than the
plant temperature alone. Special devices (infra-red
thermometers) have been developed to measure the
leaf temperature in relation to the air temperature.
However, they must be calibrated for specific
conditions before being used to determine the
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 irrigation schedule. The use of crop canopy
temperature measured through remotely sensed
sensors (by satellite, air-borne or ground-based
sensors) has opened up new vistas for control of crop
water supply, in proper scheduling of irrigation and
better utilization of water resources (Das, 1991).
Soil Indicator Method
Soil water affects plant growth directly through its
controlling effect on plant water stress. There are two
ways to access the availability of soil water for plant
growth: by measuring the soil moisture content and by
measuring how strongly that water is retained in the
soil (soil water potential).
Soil Water Content
For irrigation purposes, soil water content is generally
expressed as a fraction of the available water. This
fraction is given by the ratio of available water content
over available water capacity which is equal to the
difference of water contents at field capacity and at
wilting point. Gravimetric method, neutron probe and
Time Domain Reflectrometry apparatus (TDR) can be
used to estimate soil water content. The safe limit of
allowable soil water depletion which should serve as a
criterion for irrigation scheduling for a crop can be
determined by experimentation. This limit differs
among crops and for the same crop at various growth
stages. The number of irrigations to be applied and the
amount of water per application will depend on the soil
type and on evapotranspiration conditions. This
approach has been widely used and allowable soil
moisture depletion %age has been fixed for many crops
(Home et al., 2002; Kashyap and Panda, 2003; Pande et
al., 2003,2004; Shirgure et al., 2004; and Behera and
Pande, 2009). But this approach suffers from some
serious drawbacks. Assumption of a fixed root zone
runs counter to dynamic and ever-growing character of
plant roots. Periodic determination of root growth and
soil moisture are also beyond the capability of the
farmers.
Soil Moisture Potential
Soil-moisture potential has been used as an index of
scheduling irrigation using tensiometers and gypsum
blocks. These devices give direct information about
soil water stress. Plant roots must overcome the soil
suction or the attractions that soil particles have for
water in the soil in order to withdraw and use this water.
The measurement of soil suction is a direct indication
of the amount of work the plant roots must do to get
water from the soil. Mean soil-moisture tension
integrated across entire root zone is amore reliable
irrigation guide than soil-moisture tension of a shallow
soil layer.
Tensiometer readings reflect the relative wetness of the
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soil (high readings indicate a dry soil, low readings a
wet soil). The tensiometer measures soil suction
directly without calibration for soil type, salinity or
temperature. Rajput and Patel (2005) developed a
simple device Irrischeduler, a modified version of
tensiometer, for scheduling irrigations. Electrical
resistance meters determine soil water by measuring
the electrical resistance between two wire grids
embedded in a block of gypsum or similar material that
is permanently embedded in the soil. The electrical
resistance of the block varies with its water content,
which in turn is dependent upon the water content of
the soil in contact with it. As the soil dries, the block
loses water and the electrical resistance increases.
Therefore, resistance changes within the block as
measured by the meter can be interpreted in terms of
soil water content. Resistance blocks are generally
calibrated in terms of soil water tension so as to make
readings applicable across soil textures. Kukal et al
(2005) studied the feasibility of rice irrigation
scheduling on the basis of soil moisture potential.
The use of tensiometers and gypsum blocks could not
become popular due to many shortcomings. These
approaches do not indicate the amount of irrigation
water applied directly but require the use of soil-
moisture characteristic curve to interpret the soil
moisture content. Gypsum blocks do not work at very
low moisture tension and also fail to establish close
contact in some swelling-shrinking type soils. The
tensiometers do not work beyond 0-0.8 bar range
Water Balance Method
The objective is to obtain a balance of incoming and
outgoing soil water so that adequate available water is
maintained for the plant. Inputs include incoming
water in any form whether rainfall or irrigation.
Outputs include any type of water removal. Water
removal is more commonly referred to as
evapotranspiration (ET). To schedule irrigations using
the water budget method, one must be able to measure
or estimate the rate at which water is being used by a
crop. Evaporation pans can be used to indicate the rate
of crop water use. To use this method, one must know
soil type and the available water holding capacity of
the soil and the effective rooting depth of the particular
crop. It is desirable to try to manage only a %age of this
total water, usually 50 %. As water is removed daily
(ET), these amounts are subtracted from the adjusted
water available. When the water available approaches
a zero balance, it is time to irrigate. The amount of
water to add depends on the soil type but will usually
be the same as the 50 % value calculated earlier plus an
added amount to account for application efficiencies
less than 100 %. Irrigation scheduling based on soil
water balance is a simple procedure that can be
71
 operated either manually or using computer programs.
Adoption of the procedure is still low due to lack of soil
water parameters and availability of climatic
information. Furthermore, potential users are deterred
by both the time and paper work required to carry out
the calculations. The main methods that are used for
irrigation scheduling, or that have the potential for
development in the near future, are summarized in
Table 6.
Computer based Irrigation Scheduling Models
Many computer models have been developed to
schedule irrigation (Rao, 1987; Rao et al., 1988a; Rao
et al., 1988b; Rao et al., 1990; Swaney et al., 1983; Rao
et al., 2004). Rao et al., (2004) have described a GIS-
based decision support system for real time water
demand estimation in canal irrigation systems. Panda
et al. (2003) found that the CERES-wheat model
simulates the profile soil water variation with
considerable accuracy and therefore, this model can
successfully be used for determination of irrigation
management depth and scheduling of irrigation
without going through the rigorous experimentation
and data monitoring. A user-friendly window based
irrigation scheduling model (ISM) was developed by
George et al. (2000) for field crops and was further
modified by incorporating a rice irrigation scheduling
model and integrated with Geographic Information
System (GIS) software (George et al., 2004). Khepar et
al. (2000) developed a water balance model applicable
to intermittent irrigation practice in rice fields by
incorporating saturated and unsaturated water flow
concepts to predict deep percolation loss during wet
and dry periods.
Automated Irrigation Scheduling Systems
As discussed above, the concepts of 'Regulated Deficit
Irrigation' (RDI) (Chalmers et al., 1981) and partial
root-zone drying (PRD) (Dry and Loveys, 1998; Stoll
et al., 2000a&b) has catalyzed the development of
automated irrigation scheduling systems. The most
widespread use of automated irrigation scheduling
systems is in the intensive horticultural, and especially
the protected cropping, sector. In general, the
automated systems in common use are based on simple
automated timer operation, or in some cases the signal
is provided by soil moisture sensors. For timer-based
operation many systems simply aim to provide excess
water to runoff at intervals (e.g. flood-beds or capillary
matting systems), although some at least attempt to
limit water application by only applying enough to
replenish evaporative losses (often calculated from
measured pan evaporation; Allen et al., 1999). Much
greater sophistication is required if an objective is to
improve the overall irrigation water use efficiency or to
72
apply an RDI system. Most of the remaining
automated systems currently in operation base control
on soil moisture sensing; at least this approach has the
potential for greater precision and improved water use
efficiency.
Applications of automated plant-based sensing are
largely in the developmental stage, partly because it is
usually necessary to supplement the plant-stress
sensing by additional information (such as evaporative
demand). In principle, with high-frequency on-
demand irrigation systems one could envisage a real-
time control system where water supply is directly
controlled by a feedback controller operated by the
stress sensor itself, so that no information on the
required irrigation amount is needed. For such an
approach care will be necessary to take account of any
lags in the plant physiological response used for the
control signal.
The use of expert systems (Plant et al., 1992), which
integrate data from several sources, appears to have
great potential for combining inputs from thermal or
other crop response sensors and environmental data for
a water budget calculation to derive a robust irrigation
schedule. Among the various plant-based sensors that
have been incorporated into irrigation control systems
are stem diameter gauges (Huguet et al., 1992), sap-
flow sensors (Schmidt and Exarchou, 2000) and
acoustic emission sensors (Yang et al., 2003), though
there has been most interest in the application of
thermal sensors. For example, Kacira and colleagues
(Kacira and Ling, 2001; Kacira et al., 2002) have
developed and tested on a small scale an automated
irrigation controller based on thermal sensing of plant
stress. Similar approaches have been applied in the
field: for example, Evans et al. (2001) and Sadler et al.
(2002) mounted an array of 26 infrared thermometers
(IRTs) on a centre pivot irrigation system which they
used to monitor irrigation efficiency, but had not
developed the system to a stage where it could be used
for fully automated control. Colaizzi et al. (2003) have
tested another system that includes thermal sensing of
canopy temperature on a large linear move irrigator
(where the irrigator moves across the field). In another
approach to the use of canopy temperature that makes
use of the 'thermal kinetic window', Upchurch et al.
(1990) and Mahan et al. (2000) have developed what
they call a 'biologically identified optimal temperature
interactive console' for the control of trickle and other
irrigation systems based on canopy temperature
measurements. In this direct control system, irrigation
is applied as canopy temperature exceeds a crop-
specific optimum. The development of thermal
infrared imaging methods of irrigation control will be
aided by the recent development of automated image
analysis systems for extraction of the temperatures of
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 Table 6 : A summary of the main classes of irrigation scheduling approaches, indicating their main advantages and disadvantages (Comments that relate to all methods in a
section are not repeated in subsections)

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73
74 Annual Technical Volume
 leaf surfaces from thermal images, including shaded
and sunlit leaves, soil, and other surfaces (Leinonen
and Jones, 2004).
MeteorologicalApproach
Meteorological approach of scheduling irrigation is
based on the fact that the evapo-transpiration (ET) at
potential rate is desirable for optimum growth and
yield of a crop. Irrigation can be scheduled if allowable
depletion of the water in root zone and ET is known. A
more simpler and practical meteorological approach of
irrigation scheduling is on the basis of IW/CPE factors
(Parihar et al., 1974). IW is the amount of irrigation
water in terms of depth and CPE is the cumulative pan
evaporation minus rainfall during the period since
previous irrigation. This approach has been evaluated
extensively to develop optimum irrigation schedules
for different crops and agro-climatic regions of the
country (Singh and Mohan, 1994; Jain et al., 1997;
Thanki et al., 2000; Singh et al., 2004; Sailasree et al.,
2004; Gangaiah, 2005; Rajak et al., 2006; Singh et al.,
2007; and Kumar et al., 2007). Among the approaches,
the meteorological approach (IW/CPE) is widely used
in India. The study of all these irrigation scheduling
approaches leads to the conclusion that an estimation
of permissible soil moisture depletion is essential for
proper irrigation scheduling.
Research Scenario in India
Singh et al. (1980) conducted field studies to determine
wheat yield in response to irrigation scheduling and
variable fertilization. Irrigation scheduling was done
on the basis of cumulative pan evaporation. Irrigations
were given at 25, 50 and 75% available water in the top
60 cm soil profile. The amount of irrigation water
applied in each irrigation was equivalent to 75% of the
cumulative open pan evaporation. The crop was
fertilized at the rate of 0, 60, and 120 kg/ha nitrogen.
Maximum yield was obtained with irrigation at 50%
available soil water and 120 kg/ha nitrogen addition.
Consumptive use of water was maximum when
irrigation was applied at 75% available soil water. The
irrigation at 50% available soil water, however,
resulted in greatest yield per cm water use by the crop.
Sandhu et al. (1980) conducted field experiments to
evaluate the effects of three irrigation schedules based
on ratios of 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 times pan evaporation
on yield and quality of sugarcane for a sandy loam.
Cane yield increased by an average of 13.8% for the
1.00 over the 0.50 times pan evaporation.
Irrigation scheduling was carried out for wheat and
maize grown in a semi-arid region, using Cumulative
Pan Evaporation (CPE) by Reddy et al. (1983).
Scheduling of 60 mm depth of irrigation when CPE
was 60 mm (IW/CPE = 1.00) was found to be optimum
for wheat, while 60 mm depth of irrigation when CPE
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was 50 mm (IW/CPE = 1.20) was found to be optimum
for maize. A mathematical model for simulating soil
water content in the root zone was developed by taking
into consideration soil physical properties, crop and
climatic parameters by Jain and Murty (1985). The
governing differential equation for unsaturated flow of
water in the soil was solved numerically using the
Crank-Nicholson finite difference technique. The
water uptake by plants was simulated by using two
different sink functions. The model predictions were in
good agreement with field data and thus it is possible to
schedule irrigations. Singh et al. (1987) conducted
studies on alluvial soils of North India to determine the
water use, water use efficiency and yield performance
of a semi-dwarf high-yielding wheat variety in
response to irrigation schedule. Irrigation scheduling
was based on different ratios between irrigation water
and cumulative pan evaporation (IW/CPE). Irrigations
of 6-cm depth were applied on the basis of IW/CPE
ratio of 0.45, 0.60, 0.75 and 0.90. Pan evaporation data
were recorded daily using standard USWB-Class A
Open pan. The yield and yield attributes were highest
and irrigation efficiency was maximum when
irrigation was applied at an IW/CPE ratio of 0.75 in a
normal-rainfall year and at 0.90 in a low-rainfall year.
Water use efficiency decreased with increase in
irrigation frequency.
The problem of scheduling irrigation at weekly
intervals for a single crop when water supply is limited
was considered by Rao et al. (1988a) using
mathematical formulation based on a dated water-
production function, weekly soil-water balance, and a
heuristic assumption that water stress in the early
weeks of a crop-growth stage leads to suboptimal
yields. The allocation problem is solved at two levels,
growth stages, and weeks. At the first level, the dated
water-production function was maximized by dynamic
programming to obtain optimal allocations for growth
stages. At the second, the water allocated to each
growth stage was re-allocated to satisfy weekly water
deficits within the stage in a sequential order,
beginning with the 1st week of the stage. The model
was applied to a field problem to derive weekly
irrigation programmes for cotton under various levels
of seasonal water supply and initial soil moisture.
Subramanien et al. (1989) and Thanki et al. (2000)
observed that irrigating sugarcane crop with 0.75
(tillering), 0.75 (grand growth) and 0.50 IW/CPE ratio
(maturity phase) gave the highest cane yield. Irrigation
at 0.8 IW/CPE at Junagarh and Cuddalore (Tamil
Nadu) and with 1.0 at Chiplima (Orissa) gave good
yield (Malavia et al., 1995; Gulati et al., 1995; Durai,
1997).
Field experiment was conducted by Sharma et al.
(1990) at Karnal, India in a sodic soil with pH 9.2, and
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 exchangeable sodium % (ESP) 38 to evaluate the
critical growth stage for irrigation scheduling of wheat.
An increase in the irrigation frequency resulted in
greater relative growth rate, rooting density,
productive tiller per meter and grain yield of wheat.
The three irrigations given at crown root initiation,
tillering and milk stage gave significantly higher grain
yield and maximum water use efficiency as compared
to other treatment with three irrigations. The problem
of real-time irrigation scheduling under limited water
supply was considered by Rao et al. (1992). The goal is
to develop an irrigation operation policy which
maximizes crop yields. The decisions are arrived at by
a two-stage process. In the first or the design stage,
irrigations are planned for the entire season at weekly
intervals using historical data and an optimal irrigation
scheduling model. In the second stage, the decisions
for the subsequent weeks are revised each week after
updating the status of the system with real time data up
to that week and solving the irrigation optimization
model once again for the new conditions.
Ready and Ready (1993) conducted field experiments
on sandy loam soils to formulate optimum water
management strategy for peanuts, growing under
variable water supplies. They observed that scheduling
irrigation to supply adequate quantum of water during
the moisture sensitive period of flowering and yield
formation stages, yet allowing moderate stress at
vegetative and maturity stages produce the optimum
yield with maximum water use efficiency and water
economy. They suggested that at the time of deficit
water supply, irrigation could be scheduled at 60%
depletion of available soil moisture all through the crop
period. A field experiment was conducted by Sharma
and Singh (1993) to study the effect of irrigation
scheduling of mustard at Karnal, India, during
1987–1988 and 1988–1989 in partially reclaimed
sodic soil with pH 8.8 and Exchangeable Sodium
Percent (ESP) as 23. One irrigation at rosette stage
(28–30 days after sowing) gave maximum Water Use
Efficiency (WUE) and significantly Greater Relative
Growth Rate (RGR), branches and pods/plant, seed
and straw yields as compared to one irrigation at pod
formation stage and un-irrigated treatments.
Field studies were carried out on silty loam soil in the
north-western foothill region of India to determine the
water use, water use efficiency and yield performance
of sugarcane in response to irrigation schedules by
Singh and Mohan (1994). Irrigation scheduling was
based on different ratios between irrigation water (IW)
and cumulative pan evaporation (CPE), e.g. IW/CPE.
Irrigation of 6 cm depth was applied on the basis of
IW/CPE ratio of 0, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2. The yield and
yield attributes were highest and irrigation efficiency
was maximum when irrigation was applied at IW/CPE
76
ratio of 1.0. Shrivastava et al. (1994) studied the effect
of drip, mulches and irrigation levels on tomato yield
in fine-textured heavy soils of Western India. For drip,
three irrigation levels viz. 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 fractions of
pan evaporation (PE) were tried. In surface flood, the
recommended irrigation schedule, i.e. 8 cm depth of
irrigation at 100 mm cumulative pan evaporation
(CPE), was followed. The study revealed that drip plus
Sugarcane Trash Mulch (STM) scheduled at 0.4 PE
level was the best combination, which gave the highest
fruit yield of about 51 metric tons/ha with 44% water
saving. The highest yield of 163 kg/ha/mm of water
used was also maximum in this treatment. In areas of
high weed intensity, drip at 0.4 PE along with plastic
mulch (PM) could be adopted. This treatment resulted
in 95% reduction in weed infestation, 53% higher yield
and 44% saving in irrigation water when compared
with the surface flood without mulch treatment. Field
experiments conducted on mustard by Singh et al.
(1996) showed water use efficiency higher for the crop
maintained at 50% PET rates.
Jain et al (1997) developed a water stress response
function for the groundnut crop using 22 treatments of
different combinations of IW/CPE ratio. Three growth
stages of the crop in rainy season (kharif) were
considered. Results reveal that in the case of limited
water supply, water saving should be made during
periods other than the flowering and pod formation
stages of growth of the groundnut crop. Water use
efficiency (WUE) increases at a decreasing rate when
deficiency in IW/CPE ratio is made at one stage only.
When stress is applied at more than one stage, WUE
increases with increasing rate. The developed water
stress response function can be used for optimum
allocation of water resources for maximum benefit
from the groundnut crop. Irrigation scheduling
resulting in minimum percolation loss was optimized
for a wheat crop under deep water table (15 m)
conditions through the simulation model SWASALT
(Soil, Water, Atmosphere, SALT), using a field
experimental study of an area underlain by poor-
quality groundwater by Singh and Singh (1997). The
optimum irrigation schedules were found to be pre-
sowing irrigation depth of 4 cm, ten subsequent post-
sowing irrigations of 3 cm each with an interval of 11
days for sandy soil underlain by loamy sand, and pre-
sowing irrigation of 8 cm and four subsequent post-
sowing irrigations (critical crop growth stages) of 6.5
cm each for sandy clay loam underlain by sandy loam.
Raghuwanshi and Wallender (1998) used a seasonal
furrow irrigation model to optimize furrow irrigation
schedules and designs assuming 80% irrigation
adequacy at cutoff time. The irrigation schedules and
designs were optimized for the homogeneous and
heterogeneous infiltration under the mean and
Annual Technical Volume
 observed ET0 conditions. A small variation in daily
mean ET0 values with respect to daily observed ET0
values caused a change in both irrigation schedules and
designs. The net return to water increased (1.7 to
3.6%), and the seasonal inflow, losses, and bean yield
decreased in the case of variable interval scheduling
(holding maximum allowable depletion (MAD)
constant) as compared to the fixed interval scheduling
(MAD varies). Iqbal et al (1999) studied the yield
response of potato to planned water stress. There were
seven irrigation treatments comprising of water stress
and non-stress periods imposed at four growth stages.
The result obtained showed that the timing of water
stress influenced the tuber yield. The stress imposed at
ripening stage caused the least reduction in yield
whereas that imposed at early development caused the
greatest yield reduction, followed by the tuber
formation stage. The study also indicated that applying
deficit irrigation at appropriate growth stages could
increase the efficiency of water use with no adverse
effect on yield.
Field experiment was conducted by Home et al. (2002)
in a coarse textured lateritic soil (Haplustalf) of
Kharagpur, India, planted to Okra to investigate the
effect of method and scheduling of irrigation on yield
attributes. Three methods of irrigation: sprinkler,
furrow and basin and three irrigation treatments
scheduled at 15, 30, 45 and 60% Maximum Allowable
Depletion (MAD) of available soil water were studied.
The results of the study revealed that on sandy loam
lateritic soil planted to Okra crop, furrow irrigation
results in the maximum Deep Percolation (DP) loss
while the minimum deep percolation occurs under
sprinkler irrigation. Irrigation scheduled at 15% MAD
resulted in higher deep percolation loss than irrigation
timed at 60% MAD, particularly under surface
irrigation methods. The DP loss under furrow and
check basin irrigation scheduled at 15% MAD could be
reduced to almost half by scheduling at 30% MAD.
Maximum fresh fruit yield, nitrogen uptake and
nitrogen uptake efficiency of Okra were obtained with
sprinkler irrigation scheduled at 30% MAD, whereas
the maximum Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) was
obtained with furrow irrigation scheduled at 15%
MAD. Irrigation schedules with 60% MAD resulted in
the minimum fresh fruit yield, nitrogen use, nitrogen
uptake as well as the least nitrogen use and uptake
efficiencies irrespective of irrigation method. Thus,
scheduling irrigation at 30% MAD under sprinkler
method of irrigation was found to be the best for Okra
crop in sandy loam soil.
Kashyap and Panda (2003) studied the effects of
various irrigation scheduling systems on the potato
crop yield parameters under limited water availability
conditions. Five irrigation schedules of 10%, 30%,
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45%, 60% and 75% maximum allowable depletion
(MAD) of available soil water (ASW) during non-
critical stages of crop growth were studied. Irrigation
scheduling based on 45% MAD of ASW was found to
be the best for potato crop grown in lateritic sandy
loam soil in a sub-humid sub-tropical region. Pande et
al. (2003, 2004) recommended that only 0–45 cm soil
profile be considered for scheduling of irrigation in
case of wheat and maize, grown in sandy loam soil in
the sub-tropical regions. Measured and simulated
results revealed that under water scarcity condition,
plant extractable soil water depletion of more than
45% of ASW must be avoided even during non-critical
growth stages to obtain high water use efficiency and
net return. Optimum schedule of irrigation for wheat
and its response to irrigation based on the ratio of
irrigation water and cumulative pan evaporation
(IW/CPE) at 1.2, 0.9 and 0.6) was studied by
Bandyopadhyay and Mallick (2003) at Memari (West
Bengal) having sandy loam soil and shallow water
table. The yield increased significantly with increasing
levels of irrigation. An (IW/CPE) ratio of 1.2 produced
13 and 21% more yield, and 8 and 14% improved
WUE than 0.9 and 0.6 (IW/CPE), respectively. Water
application efficiency was noticed higher (79.85%)
under 0.6 (IW/CPE) irrigation regime.
A field study was conducted by Singh et al. (2004) for
three years on loamy sand and two years on sandy loam
soils to develop an optimum irrigation schedule for
spring sunflower. The treatments included were: two
to five irrigations on the basis of growth stages and
irrigations based on (IW/ PAN-E) ratios of 0.6, 0.9, 1.2
and 1.5. On both the soils there was a progressive
increase in grain yield of the crop, with increase in
frequency of irrigation. The optimum irrigation
schedule for the crop was to irrigate it on the basis of
(IW/PAN-E) ratio of 1.5 in the less water retentive
loamy sand and 0.9 in more water retentive sandy loam
soils. The interaction between 4 levels of irrigation
schedules (10, 20, 30 and 40% depletion of available
water content (AWC)) and 3 levels of fertigation with
respect to irrigation depth, growth, yield and fruit
quality was investigated for acid lime at Nagpur by
Shirgure et al. (2004). The incremental growth of plant
height and girth was more in irrigation scheduled at
30% depletion of AWC. Irrigations scheduled at 0.4
(IW /CPE) resulted in significantly higher seed yield of
castor in rice fallow than that of 0.6 IW /CPE ratio
(Sailasree et al., 2004). Field experiments conducted
by Gangaiah (2005) to assess the effect of 4 irrigation
schedules based on (IW/CPE) ratios on performance
of oat revealed that among the 4 irrigation schedules,
fodder yield and water-use efficiency increased
significantly with increasing (IW/CPE) ratio from 0.0
to 0.9.
77
 Phenology based irrigation scheduling was applied on
maize crop in Orissa with different levels of irrigation
by Kar and Verma (2005). One irrigation at early
vegetative stage, one irrigation at tassel initiation, two
irrigation at tassel initiation + grain filling, three
irrigation at early vegetative + tassel initiation + grain
filling and four irrigation at early vegetative + tassel
initiation + silking + grain-filling stages were studied.
Study revealed that one irrigation at tassel initiation
stage was more beneficial than that of at early
vegetative stage. Up to three irrigations, water use
efficiency (WUE) was increased linearly with
increased number of irrigation. With four irrigations,
the yield was higher, but WUE was lower than that of
three irrigations. Field study was conducted by Kukal
et al. (2005) to assess the feasibility of rice irrigation
scheduling on the basis of soil matric potential and to
determine the optimum matric potential. The
treatments included scheduling irrigation to rice with
tensiometers installed at 15–20 cm soil depth at five
levels of soil matric suction viz. 80, 120, 160, 200 and
240±20 cm, in addition to the recommended practice of
alternate wetting and drying with an interval of 2 days
after complete infiltration of ponded water. The grain
yield of rice remained unaffected up to soil moisture
suction of 160±20 cm. Increasing soil matric suction to
200 and 240±20 cm decreased rice grain yield non-
significantly compared to the recommended practice
of the 2-day interval for scheduling irrigation.
Irrigation at 160±20 cm soil matric suction helped save
30–35% irrigation water compared to that used with
the 2-day interval irrigation.
Rajput and Patel (2005) developed a simple device
Irrischeduler, a modified version of tensiometer, for
scheduling irrigations. This device indicates the time
for irrigation, based on the soil moisture level. In the
Irrischeduler, a coloured float instead of vacuum gauge
is used to indicate the level of water in it. This provides
an opportunity to monitor soil moisture fluctuations
through change in water level in its tube. It may also
enable marking one value on the tube indicating
maximum permissible drop of water level to indicate
the time for scheduling next irrigation. The device does
not require the user to read from a gauge, which was
reported by farmers as cumbersome in their perception.
Performance evaluation of the developed device
indicated that it could be used for most type of soils,
except sandy and highly clayey soils. Field
experiments were conducted by Kibe et al. (2006) on
late sown wheat under adequate and limited water
supply conditions on a sandy loam soil. Four levels of
irrigation (I0, no post-sown irrigation; I1, one
irrigation at CRI stage; I2, two irrigations, each at
crown root initiation (CRI) and flowering stages; I3,
four irrigations each given at CRI, jointing, flowering
and dough stages) were applied. Progressive increase
78
in irrigations from 0 to 4 and nitrogen levels from 0 to
100 kg/ha, increased the average leaf area index (LAI),
crop growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR)
and net assimilation rate (NAR), yield attributes,
wheat biomass and grain yield significantly (p ≤
0.05) over the control (I0 and N0). They recommended
providing relatively less quantities of water during the
0–60 DAS period as compared to the 90–120 and
60–90 DAS periods respectively, in order to provide
just sufficient amounts of water so as to enhance the
uptake of available nitrogen required for optimum
growth and development of wheat.
Rajak et al (2006) conducted field experiments on a
saline vertisols for evaluating the response of cotton to
applied irrigation water (IW, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4 times
the evapotranspiration, ET) with drip and furrow
irrigation method. They found maximum cotton yield
under drip irrigation applied at 1.2 ET while the lowest
yield when applied water equaled 0.8 ET with furrow
irrigation. A simulation analysis using the CROPMAN
model by Jalota et al. (2006) indicated that the yield of
chickpea to irrigation on coarse- to medium-textured
soils depends upon soil texture, the timings and
number of irrigations. The optimum yield (2 t ha−1) on
coarse- to medium-textured soils after rice can be
obtained with one heavy pre-plant and two post-plant
irrigations, i.e., one in mid-February and one in mid-
March synchronizing irrigations with flowering and
grain development stages. Singh et al. (2007)
conducted field studies in alluvial soils of north India
to determine water use, water use efficiency and yield
of sugarcane under various moisture regimes.
Irrigation scheduling was based on the ratio between
irrigation water and cumulative pan evaporation
(IW/CPE). Deep irrigations at 80 mm were applied at
IW/CPE ratios of 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00 and 1.25. They
concluded that in subtropical India, irrigation of
sugarcane during the tillering period should be applied
at IW/CPE ratios of 0.75 and 1.00 in silty clay loam
and sandy loam soils, respectively.
Buttar et al. (2007) determined the optimum timing for
the first and last irrigation of cotton on the basis of
meteorological approach for scheduling irrigations.
Delay of first irrigation from 28 days after sowing
(DAS) to 42 DAS, irrespective of last irrigation,
resulted in an increase of 8, 14 and 17% in seed cotton
yield during first, second and third year, respectively.
The corresponding increases due to delay in the last
irrigation from 130 to 170 DAS were 14, 32 and 8%,
respectively. On the basis of 3 years average,
application of first and last irrigation at optimum time
(after 42 and 170 days after sowing) resulted in an
increase of 36% in seed cotton yield without involving
any additional cost. Water expense efficiency (WEE)
increased by 54%. Kumar et al. (2007) analyzed the
Annual Technical Volume
 response of onion to different irrigation levels with
micro sprinkler irrigation system and found that
irrigation had significant effect on growth parameters
of onion and subsequently influenced the crop yield.
The four treatments comprised different ratio of
irrigation water (IW) to cumulative pan evaporation
(CPE) namely 0.60 (T1), 0.80 (T2), 1.0 (T3) and 1.20
(T4). The best yields were recorded from T3 and T4,
associated with the higher %age of bulbs having
diameter greater than 45 mm. Protein content in bulbs
was highest when associated to T1, but the loss in
marketable produce during the storage was also
highest in T1. Irrigation water use efficiency and water
use efficiency both were highest in T2 and then
declined with the increase in irrigation. They
recommended that in water constraint situation, T2
would be the most appropriate irrigation level for
onion production with micro-sprinkler irrigation
system.
Three irrigations of 75 mm each and mulching were
recommended by Kar and Kumar (2007) for growing
potato in the eastern India when limited water was
available. Arora et al. (2007) examined the
applicability of the CERES-Wheat model under
variable climatic, irrigation, and fertilizer-nitrogen (N)
regimes with the objective to analyze wheat yield
responses to water- and N-application for optimizing
crop productivity under water limitations in a semi-
arid sub-tropical irrigated environment. Evaluation
analysis showed that performance of the model was
reasonable as indicated by close correspondence of
simulated crop phenology, biomass accumulation,
grain yield, and soil water and N use with measured
data. The normalized root mean square of deviations
ranged between 10 and 20% for most of the
parameters. Cumulative probability distribution of
simulated grain yield and ET showed that for a given
irrigation regime, fertilizer N had greater effect on
yield than on ET and caused greater water productivity.
Scenario analysis also demonstrated that grain yield
and water productivity response to irrigation were
influenced by extractable water capacity of soils. Soil
effects on grain yield were more pronounced under I0
regime, and the effect decreased with increase in
irrigation. Post-sown irrigation was more effective
under conditions of low initial soil water. Initial soil
mineral-N status influenced the amount of fertilizer N
for a given initial soil water and post-sown irrigation
scenario.
Two dynamic mechanistic models (CERES (Crop
Environment REsource Synthesis)-Wheat and
CropSyst (Cropping Systems Simulation Model))
were validated for predicting growth and yield of
wheat under different nitrogen and water management
conditions by Singh et al. (2008) for New Delhi
Annual Technical Volume
representing semi-arid irrigated ecosystems in the
Indo-Gangetic Plains. The models were evaluated for
three water regimes [I4 (4 irrigations within the
growing season), I3 (3 irrigations within the growing
season) and I2 (2 irrigations within the growing
season)] and five N treatments (N0, N60, N90, N120
and N150). CropSyst predicted yield and biomass of
wheat more closely than CERES-Wheat. The DSSAT-
CSM-CERES-Wheat V4.0 model was calibrated and
validated by Timsina et al (2008) for yield and
irrigation scheduling of wheat at Ludhiana and
Phillaur, Punjab, India. Three irrigation scheduling
methods [soil water deficit (SWD)-based, growth
stage-based, and ET-based] were evaluated. For the
SWD-based scheduling, irrigation management depth
was set to 75 cm with irrigation scheduled when SWD
reached 50% to replace 100% of the deficit. For growth
stage-based scheduling, irrigation was applied either
only once at one of the key growth stages [crown root
initiation (CRI), booting, flowering, and grain filling],
twice (two stages in various combinations), thrice
(three stages in various combinations), or four times
(all four stages). For ET-driven irrigation, irrigations
were scheduled based on cumulative net ET0 (ET0-
rain) since the previous irrigation, for a range of net
ET0 (25, 75, 125, 150, and 175 mm). Yields and Crop
Water Productivity (CWP) were higher for SWD and
ET75-based irrigations, but Irrigation Water
Productivity (IWP) was higher for ET75-based
irrigation on sandy loam and for ET150-based
irrigation on loam. They recommended that irrigation
be applied based on the atmospheric demand and soil
water status and not on the growth stage.
Gontia and Tiwari (2008) developed the relationship
between canopy–air temperature difference and
vapour pressure deficit for no stress condition of wheat
crop (baseline equations), which was used to quantify
crop water stress index (CWSI) to schedule irrigation
in winter wheat crop grown in sub-humid subtropical
region of India. The maximum allowable depletion of
the available soil water of 10, 40 and 60 %, fully wetted
(no stress) and no irrigation (fully stressed) were
maintained in the crop experiments. The lower (non-
stressed) and upper (fully stressed) baselines were
determined empirically from the canopy and ambient
air temperature data obtained using infrared
thermometry and vapour pressure deficit (VPD) under
fully watered and maximum water stress crop,
respectively. The canopy–air temperature difference
and VPD resulted linear relationships and the slope (m)
and intercept (c) for lower baseline of pre-heading and
post-heading stages of wheat crop were found m = -
1.7466, c = -1.2646 and m = -1.1141, c = -2.0827,
respectively. The CWSI was determined by using the
developed empirical equations for three irrigation
schedules of different MAD of ASW. The established
79
 CWSI values can be used for monitoring plant water
status and planning irrigation scheduling for wheat
crop. They concluded that the CWSI values indicated
the moisture stresses and also reflected the water
requirement at different crop growth stages of wheat
crop. The CWSIVPD, is a non-contact, rapid and area-
integrating technique for measurement of plant water
stress and can be estimated using semi-empirical
approach with observations of canopy–air temperature
difference and VPD. It indicates the actual moisture
sensitive growth stages of the crop and shows the real
moisture stress of plant, unlike soil moisture stress,
which gives the water requirement of soil mass in the
root zone irrespective of the plant needs. Therefore,
CWSI can be used as a diagnosis tool for irrigation
scheduling and the baselines developed for computing
the CWSIVPD for pre-heading and post-heading
stages of wheat crop can be used to determine the crop
water stress and irrigation scheduling of wheat crop in
the study region. The treatment with 40% MAD of
ASW resulted in higher crop yield and water use
efficiency. The average upper limit of CWSI value of
0.3 corresponds to this treatment and whenever, this
limit exceeds crop should be irrigated. However, at
CRI stage irrigation should be applied irrespective of
the crop water stress values to avoid the stress effect on
the crop yield. The semi empirical equations
developed for CWSIVPD can be used to determine the
crop water stress using observed canopy–air
temperature difference (Tc - Ta) and vapour pressure
deficit (VPD) for pre-heading and post-heading stages
of the wheat crop grown in the study region.
Field experiment with rajmash on a sandy loam soil
(Aeric Haplaquept) in eastern India by Kundu et al.
(2008) and Kundu and Sarkar (2009) resulted in the
highest leaf area index (LAI), biomass, grain yield and
water use efficiency under the combination of
CPE33–P90 (irrigation at 33mm cumulative pan
evaporation and 90 kg P2O5 ha-1 phosphate fertilizer
application). Field experiments on rice conducted at
Ludhiana on a deep alluvial loamy sand Typic
Ustipsamment soils showed that with managing
irrigation scheduling based on soil water suction of 16
kPa at 15–20 cm soil depth, though 700 mm irrigation
water was saved but the associated yield was reduced
by 277 kg ha−1 (Jalota et al., 2009). Effect of
fertilization and irrigation schedule on water
movement and fertilizer solute transport in wheat crop
field in a sub-tropical sub-humid region was studied by
Behera and Panda (2009). Three irrigation treatments,
10% maximum allowable depletion (MAD) of
available soil water (ASW); 40% MAD of ASW and
60% MAD of ASW were studied. The results of the
investigation revealed that low volume high frequency
irrigation results in higher deep percolation losses than
the low frequency high volume irrigation for wheat
80
crop in coarse lateritic soil. Irrigation schedule was
found to have significant effect on nitrogen leaching
loss whereas no significant effect on nitrogen uptake
phosphorus leaching. They recommended irrigation
schedule with 49% MAD ofASW for maximum yield.
As it is evident from the above discussions that there
are numerous advanced methods of irrigation
scheduling available in scientific domain; however,
only a small proportion of farmers and stake holders
are aware about their benefits and role in water
management. There could be many reasons to explain
this lack of adoption such as: (i) lack of flexibility; (ii)
non-economic pricing of water; (iii) cost of irrigation
scheduling; (iv) lack of education and training; (v)
institutional problems; and (vi) behavioural
adaptation. A greater obstacle, however, is the lack of
interactive communication between researchers,
extensionists and farmers. Therefore, more emphasis
is required towards applied research and
demonstration, particularly at the on-farm level. The
communication between the groups involved in the
research/extension/farmer continuum would be the
key to the development and uptake of relevant and
useful irrigation scheduling methodology. Therefore,
the efforts should be directed towards establishing
good communications between those responsible for
water delivery, water distribution and water
application. An active involvement of farmers,
researchers and extension workers would be a very
conducive continuum to achieve desired results.
Summary
Irrigation scheduling aimed at to determine the
frequency and dosage of irrigation applications is
required to optimize water use while at the same time
maximizing crop yield farm profit. The fundamentals
to the different irrigation scheduling approaches, viz.,
plant indicators, soil indicators, and water balance
techniques with their merits and demerits, including
meteorological approaches and automated irrigation
scheduling systems have been discussed besides soil,
plant, and water relationships and different crop
characteristics. Approaches based on computer
simulations, meteorological approaches, and
automated systems using advanced sensing based
technologies have also been described. The techniques
based on remote sensing can enhance the efficacy of
irrigation scheduling. Out of the three main
approaches, although the plant-based sensing has
several potential advantages, including a greater
relevance to plant functioning than soil-based
measures, these have been offset by a number of
practical difficulties of implementation that have far
limited the development of commercially successful
systems. However, pressures for enhanced water use
efficiency and for greater precision in irrigation
Annual Technical Volume
 systems are invoke the development of more robust
irrigation scheduling systems that take account of the
irrigation need of individual plants and involve greater
use of plant-based sensing systems. Lastly major
irrigation scheduling based studies conducted in India
have been briefly summarized.
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Annual Technical Volume
 Status of Irrigation Efficiency in India
Ashish Pandey
Associate Professor
Department of Water Resources Development and Management
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
* ashisfwt@gmail.com
Introduction
Improvement in the performance of irrigation schemes
in India has emerged as one of challenging issues for
agricultural development. Irrigation efficiency is an
indicator of effective and judicious use of irrigation
water management. Therefore, for improving the
irrigation efficiencies it is very important to keep track
of where the water is going within the gross command
area or boundaries of the system. Water balance studies
in the command area could help the planners to
understand where the water within the command area
of the scheme is actually going, which helps in
correcting the management strategies. According to
IWMI (2000), water balance provides information
about all inflows and outflows within a defined
boundary and also provides different water efficiencies
such as conveyance efficiency, delivery efficiency, and
application efficiency, while taking into account the
multiple uses of water within the scheme.
Water is becoming increasingly scarce worldwide and
more than one-third of the world population would
face absolute water scarcity by the year 2025 (Seckler
et al. 1998; Seckler et al. 1999; Rosegrant et al. 2002).
The situation in India is also critical, where absolute
water scarcity is already affecting a substantial part of
the population and this proportion is increasing rapidly
(Amarasinghe et al. 2005, 2007). Irrigation is the
largest water consuming sector, accounting for.
India is amongst the largest irrigator countries in the
world today. In India it accounts for more than 80 % of
the total withdrawals. In India irrigation potential
created has not brought into the functional system due
to low operating efficiency, less crop productivity etc.
With the increasing awareness, studies have been
carried out to estimate the %age of water losses in each
part of the distribution system. In India CBIP
Publication number 14 reported 17, 8 and 20 % of
water losses in main canal, distributaries and field or
water course system respectively. The overall
efficiency of canal irrigation system in India is only 30-
35% (Sanmuganathan and Bolton, 1988). Low
irrigation efficiency of these systems also contributes
Annual Technical Volume
to poor utilization of the water resources in India.
Therefore, the need of the hour is to increase the
irrigation efficiency of existing projects and use saved
water for irrigating new areas. At present average
overall project efficiency of several canal irrigation
projects in the rice growing areas in the world has been
estimated to be 23% and that of nonpaddy crops to be
40 % (Walters and Boss, 1989). Most of the area in the
country is irrigated by surface application methods
such as check basin, border strip and furrow. The
application efficiency of these methods has been found
to be only 30 to 50 %. This is due to the fact that these
methods are not designed to match the stream size, soil
type, slope etc. By adopting efficient irrigation
practices, deep percolation losses can be reduced. By
growing row crops, particularly cotton, maize,
sugarcane, soyabean and sunflower under ridge and
furrow irrigation system about 30-40 % irrigation
water can be saved compared to border irrigation. It is
reported that on-farm irrigation efficiency for trickle
irrigation can theoretically approach 90 to 95% (Bucks
et al.1982). The problem of water scarcity in India is
due to spatial variation in demand and supply of water.
In India, a number of demand management strategies
in the irrigation sector have been introduced with a
view to increasing the water use efficiency
(Vaidyanathan 1998; Dhawan 2002). However, the net
impact of these strategies in increasing the water use
efficiency so far has not been very impressive.
Increasing water use efficiency is one of the five goals
of the National Water Mission under national action
plan on climate change.
Irrigation consumes maximum amount of water as
compared to industrial uses and municipal supply.
Improvement in irrigation efficiency will also help
considerably in enhancing the availability of water for
the drinking purpose. This study is envisaged to review
the prevailing water conveyance, application and its
management practices.
Brief Review
Just 20% of the world's croplands are irrigated but they
produce 40% of the global harvest which means that
85
 irrigation doubles the land productivity (FAO, 2003).
About 50% of the total developed fresh water
resources of Asia are devoted to growing rice (Barker
et al., 2001). Increasing water scarcity threatens the
sustainability of irrigated agriculture, and hence food
security.
Postel (1993) estimated the worldwide irrigation
efficiency, i.e. the amount of water used as
evapotranspiration compared to the amount of water
delivered to the field, to be about 37%. This estimate
suggests that about 63% of the water delivered to the
field is lost as runoff, drainage, or both. This means
that in addition to 30% of water wasted in storage and
conveyance, about 44% of the total water available at
the source is lost as runoff and/or drainage. Wallace
(2000) suggests that some of the water “lost” from an
irrigated field may return to aquifers or streams from
which it can be extracted again, provided the necessary
infrastructure is available and the water quality has not
deteriorated beyond acceptable limits.
Malhotra et al. (1984a) described a methodology for
monitoring the performance of large-scale irrigation
system using a case study of a warabandi system of
northwest India. The study area covered a distributory
with a command area of 22389 ha. An important
contribution of their study is the use of “wetted area” as
an indicator of water supply for a farmer's field in a
water-deficient system. They defined the net wetted
area (NWA) as the area of farmer's land that is wetted at
least once in an irrigation season; the total wetted area
(TWA) is the NWA multiplied by the number of
irrigations that the area receives. The area of every
individual farmer that can be irrigated is measured and
recorded. This area is called the cultivable command
area (CCA). In the case study of warabandi system, the
predicted outputs are: (1) NWA is equal to one-third of
CCA; and (2) TWA is equal to 133 % of CCA. By
measuring the actual outputs of NWA and TWA it is
possible to determine if the results of the warabandi
system are within an acceptable range of error. They
also defined the allocative efficiency as the coefficient
of determination between the wetted area after a
watering on each farm (NWA), and the farm area
(CCA). This will be one when there is perfect equity, in
the sense that every farmer receives a share
proportional to the size of holding. The conclusion was
that allocative effectiveness was 80% at the
distributory level and 90% at the watercourse level.
Seckler et al. (1988) in a continuation of the analysis of
the Malhotra et al. (1984) study, develop a
performance index for measuring the performance of
irrigation systems. They concluded that the coefficient
86
of determination previously proposed is not a valid
index of performance and suggested a new index
defined as the relationship between the concepts of
Management by Results (MBR). In MBR, the results
(R) are defined as the relationship between the
predicted outputs (Po) of the system and the actual
results (Ao) obtained from operation of the system.
The results are expressed as a ratio, R = AO/PO . If the
system is performing perfectly, Ao = Po and R = 1.0.
The index is applied to a sample of 39 farms on a
watercourse under the warabandi system of irrigation
management in India. It is found that while the farmers
in fact irrigated almost exactly the total amount of
irrigated area as designed, inter-farm variations were
considerable. The index shows that the degree of error
of managerial effectiveness of irrigation on this
watercourse is 20 %. Therefore it is concluded that the
system is performing at 80 % effectiveness.
Another field study of the performance of Warabandi
in Punjab (India) is described by Goldsmith & Makin
(1988). The field measurement was tested for 24 days
during February and March 1988 in Ferozpur District
of south-west Punjab. The study area includes the
commands of Mudki and Golewala Distributaries.
Mudki Distributory has a command area of 30894 ha
and serves 2 minor canals and 59 watercourses.
Golewala Distributory has a command of 28727 ha and
supplies 3 minors and 59 watercourses. Both
Distributaries and majority of water courses have been
lined over the past eight years. Measurements were
made of flows, losses and water levels in order to give
estimates of equity of supply, adequacy of supply,
seepage and conveyance losses at both distributory
and watercourse level. The flow and seepage was
measured using the portable current meter and
Ponding test respectively. A normalized equity called
IQR (Abernethy 1986) was calculated for each
distributory and compared with similar schemes.
Patterns of supply ratio (actual/design flows) for each
watercourse along the distributory were identified and
variations explained in terms of difference between
“designed” and “as-built” off take structures. The
measured IQR was 1.35 for Golewala Distributory is
very good and conveyance efficiency was 53 % at
present, but this may fall to 42% without improved
maintenance of linings.
In several irrigated regions, shortage of water and
inadequate availability of funds maintaining irrigation
works have focused attention on the potential for water
charges to generate financial resources and reduce
demand for water through volume-based charges
(Perry, 2001).
Annual Technical Volume
 A field study of water losses and estimation of
irrigation efficiency was carried out on Dabathua
distributor in Salwa command area by Sharma (1982).
The study shows that in unlined water course the rate of
conveyance loss was more than twice than that of the
main, distributaries and minor canals. Using inflow
outflow method, it was estimated at 1.16 × 10-5 m3/m
of channel (10.70 m 3/10 6 m2) whereas seepage loss
rate measured using ponding method was found in the
order of about 4.4 m3/106 m2. This shows that
conveyance losses are approximately two time the
seepage losses. Overall efficiency below outlet has
been estimated to be 40 %. Total seepage losses in the
Ganga canal were found to be about 44%, (Choudhury,
1982). These losses include 15% in main canal and
branches, 7% in distributaries and 22 % in water
courses. From the above results, it may be concluded
that the watercourses are the major source of water
loss.
Detailed studies on water use efficiency for 30
irrigation project in India were carried out by various
WALMIs/ IMTIs for CWC (CWC, 2010), the findings
of these studies will be appropriately utilised in this
study. The summary of the outcome of these studies is
presented in Table 1. MoWR has also implemented
farmers Participatory Action Program on Pilot basis
under which related methods and techniques,
agricultural practices has been demonstrated in farmer
field. Considerable improvement in Water Use
efficiency has been reported in this program.
Percolation losses from earthen irrigation channels
depends on intrinsic permeability of the strata through
which the channel passes and vary from 30 to 50 % of
discharge available at the head of an irrigation system.
Ministry of Irrigation and Power, New Delhi (1972)
reports that the commonly accepted figures for transit
losses in the alluvial plains of north India are 17 % for
main canal and branches 8 % for distributaries and 20
% for water course, which gives a total loss of 45 % of
the water entering the canal head. Then there are
further losses in the field itself, and these have been
estimated at 30 % of the supply reaching the field or
17% of the head discharge. Observation on Punjab
canal and Ganga canal shows that out of 100 % passing
at head only 55 % and 56% reaches the field.
A study to improve the efficiency of distribution
system of Musafirkhana pilot project was carried out in
Sharda Sahayak Command area on farm development
work. In this study significant improvement in the
water saving from water courses could be achieved
through suitable layout and maintenance of water
course (Belliah, 1981).
Annual Technical Volume
Among advanced micro-irrigation (MI) techniques,
drip and sprinklers are gaining special attention. Drip
irrigation (DIM) and sprinkler irrigation (SIM)
methods have distinct characteristics in parameters
such as flow rate, pressure requirement, wetted area
and mobility (Kulkarni 2005), but they have the
potential of significantly increasing water use
efficiency. DIM has little or no water losses through
conveyance (INCID 1994; Narayanamoorthy 1996,
1997; Dhawan 2002), and the on-farm irrigation
efficiency of a properly designed and managed drip
irrigation system can be as high as 90 %, compared
with 35 to 40 % efficiency in surface method of
irrigation (INCID 1994). However, SIM has relatively
less water saving (up to 70 % efficiency), since it
supplies water over the entire field of the crop (INCID
1998; Kulkarni 2005). Besides higher water use
efficiency, MI has other economic and social benefits
too. Research station experiments show MI increases
productivity by 20 to 90 % for different crops (INCID
1994, 1998); reduces weeds, soil erosion; cost of
cultivation, especially in labour-intensive operations;
energy use (electricity) for operating irrigation wells
due to reduced water consumption (Narayanamoorthy
1996 and 2001). Summary report of water-use
efficiency studies for 30 irrigation projects in India is
given in Table 1.
Summary and Conclusions
Based on the available literature following actions /
combination of measures can be adopted to enhance
the irrigation efficiency of the existing irrigation
projects.
lRehabilitation and restoration of silted canal
system.
lLining of canal and distribution system at selected
stretches.
lSuitable land modification/improvement
practices to save water loss.
lReliable and adequate water measuring system.
lConjunctive use of ground and surface water.
lExplore the possibilities for phase-wise
automation of irrigation for adoption in future.
lAdoption of suitable water application methods.
lUse of water measuring devices in the
conveyance system for volumetric measurement.
lProper and timely maintenance of system.
lChange in cropping pattern, if needed.
87
 Table 1: Summary of reported water-use efficiency in various projects in India (CWC, 2010)

88 Annual Technical Volume

Annual Technical Volume 89
90 Annual Technical Volume
 Source: Summary report on Water Use Efficiency (WUE) Studies for 30 Irrigation Projects.
Performance overview and management improvement Organisation (POMIO). Central water Commission, Government of
India (2010)
References
1. Amarasinghe, U. A.; Shah, T.; Turral, H.; Anand, B.
(2007). India's water futures to 2025-2050: Business as
usual scenario and deviations. IWMI Research Report
123. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water
Management Institute.
2. Belliah, K. (1981). Optimal Layout of water courses
and drainage with particular reference to Musafir
Khana Pilot Project. M.E. dissertation WRDTC,
University of Roorkee.
3. Bucks, D. A., Nakayama, F. S. and Warrick, A. W.
(1982). Principles, Practices and Potentialities of
Trickle Irrigation. Advances in Irrigation. Academic
Press, New York.
4. Choudhury, M.M. (1982). Efficiency determination of
Dabathua Distributary. Unpublished Technical Report.
Water Resources Developmen Training Centre,
University of Roorkee.
5. CWC, 2010. Water Use Efficiency Studies of 30
irrigation projects. Summary Report. Performance
Overview and Management Improvement Organisation
(POMIO), CWC, Govt. of India. Through
WALMIs/IMTIs.
6. Dhawan, B. D. (2002). Technological Change in Indian
Irrigated Agriculture: A Study of Water Saving
Methods. New Delhi: Commonwealth Publishers.
7. FAO, (2003). Statistical databases.
8. INCID. (1994). Drip Irrigation in India. Indian National
Annual Technical Volume
Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, New Delhi.
9. INCID. (1998). Sprinkler Irrigation in India. Indian
National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, New
Delhi.
10. Kulkarni, S. A. (2005). Looking Beyond Eight
Sprinklers. Paper presented at the National Conference
on Micro-Irrigation. G. B. Pant University of
Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, India, June 3-
5, 2005.
11. Ministry of Irrigation and Power, New Delhi. (1972),
Report of Irrigation Commission, Vol.I.
12. Narayanamoorthy, A. (1996). Evaluation of Drip
Irrigation System in Maharashtra. Mimeograph Series
No. 42, Agro-Economic Research Centre, Gokhale
Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, Maharashtra.
13. Narayanamoorthy, A.(1997). Economic Viability of
Drip Irrigation: An Empirical Analysis from
Maharashtra. Indian Journal of Agricultural
Economics, Vol.52, No.4, October-December, pp.728-
739.
14. Narayanamoorthy, A. (2001). Impact of Drip Irrigation
on Sugarcane Cultivation in Maharashtra. Agro-
Economic Research Centre, Gokhale Institute of
Politics and Economics, Pune, June.
15. Pala, M., and Studer, C. (1999). Cropping systems
management for improved water use efficiency in
dryland agriculture. Paper presented at the
International Conference on: Water Resources
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 Conservation and Management in Dry Areas. 3-6,
December 1999. Amman, Jordan.
16. Pasakarnis G, Maliene V (2010). "Towards sustainable
rural development in Central and Eastern Europe:
Applying land consolidation". Land Use Policy 27 (2):
545–9. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2009.07.008
17. Perry, C. (2001). Water at any price? Issues and options
in charging for irrigation water. Irrig. Drainage 50, 1–7.
18. Sanmuganathan, K. and Bolton, P. (1988). Water
management in third world irrigation schemes – Lesson
from the field, ODU Bull., II, Hydraulic Research,
London, UK.
19. Seckler, D.; Amarasinghe, U.; Molden, D.; de Silva, R.;
Barker, R. (1998). World water demand and supply,
1990 to 2025: Scenarios and issues. Research Report
19. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water
Management Institute.
20. Seckler, D.; Barker R.; Amarasinghe, U. (1999). Water
Scarcity in Twenty-First Century. International Journal
of Water Resources Development, Vol.15, Nos. 1-2, pp.
29-42.
21. Sharma, S.B. (1982). Evaluation of Irrigation
efficiency and water course losses in Salawa Command
area. Unpublished Technical Report. Water Resources
Developmen Training Centre, University of Roorkee.
22. Sivanappan, R. K. (1994). Prospects of Micro Irrigation
in India. Irrigation and Drainage System, Vol.8, No. 1
pp. 49-58.
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23. Rosegrant, W. M.; Ximing, C.; Cline, S. A. (2002).
World Water and Food to 2020: Dealing with Scarcity,
International Food Policy Research Institute,
Washington, D.C., USA and International Water
Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
24. Vaidyanathan, A. 1998. Water Resource Management:
Institutions and Irrigation Development in India. New
Delhi, India: Oxford University Press.
25. Walters, W. and Boss, M. G. (1989). Irrigation
performance, assessment and efficiency, Annual
report. International Institute for Land Reclamation
and Improvement (ILRI),Wageningen.
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matric suction: a criterion for scheduling irrigation to
rice. Indian J. Agricultural Sciences. 72:236-37.
27. Hira, G.S., Sidhu, A.S. and Kukal, S.S. (2007).
Tensiometer Chone vich pani di bachat laye sadaran
yanter. In pani bachoa Punjab bachoa released from
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28. Sidhu, A.S., Kukal, S.S. and Hira, G.S. (2008). PAU
Tensiometer: Chone Nu Pani laun Di Lahevand
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agricultural University, Ludhiana.
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(2000).Water accounting for Integrated Water
Resources Management, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka.
30. WANG, L., QU, J. (2009). Satellite remote sensing
applications for surface soil moisture monitoring: A
review. Front. Earth Sci. China 2009, 3(2): 237–247.
Annual Technical Volume
 The Great Ganges Canal of Northern India
S. C. Goyal
Former Superintending Engineer
Irrigation Department, Government of Uttarakhand
Narendra Singh
Former Superintending Engineer
Irrigation Department, Government of Uttarakhand
* nsinghfieindia@rediffmail.com
N.K. Yadav
Executive Engineer
Erection Division, Roorkee, Uttarakhand
General Background
The Northern plain in India is one of the largest fertile
agricultural land in the entire world. Generally
speaking, alluvial soils of Northern plain are quite
suitable for irrigation and give good response to the
artificial watering of crops. Among the states in India,
the state of Uttar Pradesh comparatively comprises
major part of Northern alluvial plain. The state is well
endowed with adequate water resources and also has
fertile, alluvial, gentle sloping land and besides the
large number of perennial streams descending from
Himalayas, there is generally a favourable water
bearing stratum, presently available at an average of 5
to 15 m below the ground surface, supporting the most
extensive system of irrigation by wells.
Necessity of a Irrigation Canal System
Study of Indian famine commission (1880), on the
occurrence of severe droughts shows that our country
had been facing severe droughts, average one at an
interval of 5 years and severe one with interval of 12
years, large no. of population was affected with these
droughts.
Famine attacking in year 1838, affected the whole
country between Delhi - Allahabad, Kanpur - Agra and
adjoining Rajputana. This event of Great famine
attracted serious attention of the administration of East
- India Company, to protect the vast fertile agricultural
tract of Gang-Yamuna Doab, from recurring droughts.
The Great Ganges Canal
Sir Proby Cautley designed and initiated construction
of a Canal system which was one of the largest in the
world.
This canal with 654 miles of main and branch canals,
costing nearly Rs. 135 Lacs was primarily constructed
with in a period of nearly 6 years (January 1848 - April
Annual Technical Volume
1854), with no precedence of the nature and magnitude
of works, existing anywhere on the globe, supported
by modern standard, a small staff, headed by only
seven senior officers of the rank of executive engineer
assisted by small British establishment and slightly
large native one and only using indigenous resources.
Sir Proby Cautley had absolute responsibility for
planning, layout and design of structures and then their
execution. It was then discovered that the bed-slope
was excessive, the resulting high velocity of flow
causing considerable erosion of bed and banks of canal
and serious scour below the falls. To remedy this
defect, an estimate amounting to Rs. 36.5 Lacs was
sanctioned and the work was taken in hand in 1865.
Further observations showed that the amount was
much in excess of what was required to counteract the
excessive slope originally given to ensure safety of
Canal works.
To sum up we may safely say that the upper Ganges
canal, in an average year, yielded a return of 8% on its
capital outlay, and that it is therefore, financially a
great success; that it protected a large area against the
evils of famine and drought.
Engineering Skills used on Major Works between
Haridwar and Roorkee
The main river, which runs under precipitous banks
scarped by its own action on the left, throws out on its
right, and within a distance of 2 miles above Haridwar,
a minor steam of considerable importance, which,
under all the fluctuations that characterize these
constantly varying beds, appears to carry, a uniform
supply of about one-third of whole volume. From this
branch (Commonly called Bhimgoda channel), the
inhabitants of Haridwar and Kankhal had been in the
habit of brining a water course, for the purpose of
supplying to towns, the priests being interested in
maintaining water at their ghats or bathing places.
93
 The following remarks of Sir Cautley showed, how he
appreciated the wisdom and efforts of local people in
drawing the river supplies after each flood season, and
with great modesty utilised it as a proper alignment to
feed his canal.
"The head works of Ganges Canal, therefore, were, in
limine, determined by the priests and the people, so far
as supply was concerned, it was only a matter of
degree. The source from whence their small channel
was fed, was ample for the purpose of a canal, and the
only question left for my consideration were these of
capabilities, which depended entirely on the results of
a very simple series of longitudinal and cross-sections,
the former extending from the departure of the branch
from Haridwar to a point south of Kankhal, and the
latter giving an accurate profile of the gorge through
which the river flowed".
The total drop of surface on this line was 34 ft 10 inches
in a distance of 19,864 ft; the branch itself was well
adapted to this purpose for which it was required; its
average width was 300 ft, and its section at those points
where it was free from branches was deep and well
defined. This portion of the channel, called the supply
channel, proved to be an excellent arrangement, for
feeding such a large canal without construction of any
permanent diversion work for almost several decades,
providing very charming and useful waterfront for the
town of Haridwar, maintaining the quality of water
without disturbing the self cleansing characteristics of
the river, and also providing a good sediment trap to
control the entry of heavy sediment load into the canal
head at Mayapur.
At Mayapur a very extensive and complete series of
work have been constructed, for regulating the
admission of water into the canal bed. they consisted of
a great Dam of masonary, 517 feet in length, across
branch, as alluded to above, and a regulating bridge of
10 arches, each 20 ft wide, across the channel of the
canal, with gates and necessary machinery for
regulating the admission of water according to the
wants of cultivators, all arrangements developed by
the local resources.
Between, the Mayapur regulating bridge and the high
land on which Roorkee, the head quarters station of the
canal Department (mid 1850) was situated, there
extends a tract of country within which the most
formidable obstacles to the project were found. An
attempt is to be made here to give in brief a general
impression of their nature and extent, and the concepts
and skills used.
The tract of the country referred to, is triangular in
shape, the northern side being formed by the Shiwalik
94
hills, the eastern, by the river Ganges; and the western,
by the high land that forms the boundary of the Khadir,
(the low lying land forming the valley of the river). It
slopes rapidly from north to south, or from the
mountain towards the plans, and more gently from
west to east, or from the high land towards the river.
Along the direction of the rapid slope, the canal is
carried, while that great volume of water which forms
the drainage of the Shiwalik hills flows along the
gentler declivity, intersecting the line of canal at right
angles. From these two sources the difficultly of
carrying the canal in safety through the Khadir have
mainly, if not exclusively sprung; and of the two, the
drainage has by far the most difficult to deal with.
In arranging an artificial channel for constant passage
of a volume of water, the first point that presented itself
for decision was the rate of slope per mile that was to be
given to the bed to insure just that velocity of current
which, while it keeps channel clear of the seeds or
impediments of all kinds, shall not erode the bottom or
wear away the sides and banks. Colonel Cautley,
projector of the Ganges Canal, decided after careful
thought and due regard to the experience gained on
canals previously opened, that a fall of 15 inches in
every mile of length would best secure the desired
ends. But this was much less than the slope of surface
of Kahdir, and the excess in the latter had to be
disposed of by artificial works. To this end, the
masonry falls that are found between Haridwar and
Roorkee were directed.
To regulate the slope of the canal form Haridwar to
Roorkee, four such falls of nine feet in depth each were
required, and the prolongation of the fixed general
slope of the bed from the foot of most southerly of
these, delivers the channel on the ridge of the valley of
Solani river at Mehwar, 27½ feet above the level of
lowest part of the valley. Here accordingly, a new
arrangement for the canal becomes necessary. To have
adhered to the system of the falls would have been
inconvenient for sound professional reasons, and the
most suitable method of carrying the canal across the
surface of the country, by a continuous embankment
adjusted to the required slope and having sufficiently
strong banks to retain the supply, was finally adopted.
This is what is called the Solani Earthen Aqueduct, it is
about 3 miles in length protected throughout with
masonary walls, having ghats on their water-faces for
convenience and comfort of the people.
But it was requisite to make provision of passing the
Solani river, which is one of the great-drainage line of
Siwaliks, through the embankment, and hence arose
the necessity for the Solani Masonry Aqueduct, the
most stupendous work on the whole line of the canal.
Annual Technical Volume
 This is in point of fact a bridge across the Solani, of 15
arches each having a span of 50 ft, giving a clear water
way of 750 ft, for the passage of the floods of the river,
a waterway which experience has hither to shown to be
abundant under every contingency.
On this great work, the greatest indeed of its kind in the
world by mid of 19th century, in passing the Solani
Valley, the government has expended a sum of nearly
Rs. 30 lakkhs. The masonry aqueduct is founded on an
elaborate series of blocks of masonry, sunk 20 feet
deep below the bed of the stream, each of which
measures 20 feet in length, breadth and depth, or in
certain positions, half these dimensions in length and
breadth, but always retaining the full depth. A perfect
forest of piles, strengthened by box work loaded with
heavy stones, protects the front flanks and rear from
the attacks of the current, and many ingenious devices,
the description of which has been given in the Report -
on Ganga canal Vol. II by Sir Cautley, have been
employed by the projector to secure each part of the
fabric from every accident that fore thought could
anticipate. When the aqueduct channel rests on high
land of Roorkee, it has passed the difficult and
dangerous part of its course, and after wards follows
the general level of the surface of the Doab with aid of
such masonry falls as the slope requires.
The above explanations dispose of the works required
for carrying the channels along the rapid slope form the
Hills south wards. A few Words must new be said of
drainage which intersects this course at right angles. It
is very well known to everybody that, between the
months of July and September and sometimes between
October and June, great quantities of rain fall in the
Sewalik Hills. The rain storms are occasionally of
excessive volume, and in projecting works to dispose
of the resulting drainage, it is necessary always to have
regard to the greatest quantity which experience has
shown may have to be dealt with.
Now in the Khadir of the Ganges, which receives the
waters the waters from a mountain line of 30 miles in
length, the drainage (neglecting small channels which
though several in number are slight in comparative
importance) is subdivided between four great basins,
each of which discharges to flood waters through well
marked river beds of these the first and most northerly
is the Ranipur basin, draining through Ranipur Rao,
the second is the Patheri basin, draining through the
Patheri Rao; these two are, in point of fact, part of one
great basin, of which the outlets have been determined
on Separate lines by local peculiarities of surface level,
but it is clearer and better to keep them separate, as
separate works have been constructed of each; the third
is the Ratmau basin, drained by Ratmau river; the
Annual Technical Volume
fourth and last is the Solani basin drained by Solani
river, each of these basins is distinctly separated from
its adjoining neighbour by a well defined ridge of
elevated ground or watershed, and to the whole the
Ganges is the great catch - water drain.
When rain falls, and flood come down upon the canal
channel from these various outlets, it is clear that the
water must either be carried over the bed, or under it, or
received into, and passed across, or along it. All these
methods have been employed by the projector,
according to his professional judgement of their
peculiar propriety in each case. The floods of Ranipur
and Pathri basins are passed over the canal bed, by
means of works, which are called Super-passages, and
in point of the fact are low aqueducts across the canal,
between the parapets were of the torrents flow. These
are very massive structures, as they have to withstand
the whole force of the rivers swollen to a great size, and
rushing down beds having excessively rapid slopes.
The Ratmau drainage in an illustration of the method
of passing the water across the canal bed, there being a
dam of inlet on the upstream, and one of outlet on the
downstream side; while the minor drainage, between
Haridwar, Kankhal, Jawalapur and the Ranipur super
passage, is an example of the plan of receiving the
water into, the passing it along the canal channel itself,
to find its exit at some convenient point below. Each of
these expedients has its special excellencies and
defects, and each has been used in those localities, and
under those circumstances, for which it was apparently
best adapted. There was good reason to hope that by
these different means, an entire command has been
obtained over that formidable obstacle to the progress
of the canal, created by the extensive drainage from the
mountains, through the river valleys of the Khadir,
when therefore inlets, outlets, dams or aqueducts come
under observation, it will be remembered from these
explanations, that they form parts of the system of
works devised to prevent floods from injuring the
canal channel.
The forest of the Northern Doab and Rohilkhand were
the great source of supply for the timber trade of these
provinces, and to provide for export of wood and other
articles of hill produce, as also for the import of goods
and merchandise from the south, a distinct series of
works had been provided for the express purpose of
facilitating the navigation of the canal. A little
reflection will satisfy everyone that with a volume of
water so great and a velocity of current so rapid as
existed in the Northern Division of the Ganges canal,
boats or raft could not have passed over the falls in the
main channel by any means that could have been
devised without great difficulty and no small damage
95
 to property and even life. Hence a small parallel canal,
bearing the name of "Navigation channel" had been
carried along - side the great canal, and in its locks had
been provided with all these necessary machinery, so
that rafts or boats can pass with freedom and safety.
These was a great advantage in saving of time, labour
and expenses, in this model of transport over any other
now in use.
The last class of works was that for the convenience of
passengers or people living in the neigbourhood, in
passing from one side of the canal. A bridge was
provided for this purpose at intervals never greater than
three miles, and wherever it can be done, bathing ghats
had been added to those bridges for the comfort of the
community.
On the opposite side of the station, and occupying the
crest of gentle eminence, there rises another mass of
building designed in excellent architectural taste, and
imposing in its extent and general effect. This was the
new "Thomason college of civil engineering", rapidly
approaching completion. To start with, within the walls
of this college, were being educated various classes of
public servants to whose efficiency high mental
training was essential. Commissioned officer and
soldiers, pupils of the European seminaries, of the
govt. colleges and of the humble village schools, were
all gathered together, and each class was receiving the
instruction suited to its future destination.
Course of Canal to the Southward of Roorkee
The great plain forming what is ordinarily termed the
Northern Doab, is triangular in shape; its boundary on
the north being the Sewalik hills, on the east the river
Ganges, and on the west river Yamuna; the base line of
the figure therefore stretches from the head of the
Ganges to that of the Eastern Yamuna canal, a distance
of about 45 miles, while the point at Allahabad is nearly
450 miles distant from the line.
If we suppose a line to be drawn right across the Doab
half way between Meerut and Bulandsahar, we have
the tract divided into two aspects. North of the line, the
most noteworthy peculiarities are the rapidity of slope
before referred to, and the prevalence of undulating
ridges, of sand hills, locally termed bhoor. South of the
line, the physical features meriting remarks are just the
converse of the preceding the slope is throughout very
gentle, rising but little above a foot per mile and
ultimately falling below it, generally continuous, but
broken at a few points by sudden and abrupt descents of
several feet in depth, so that country is divided into
small series of low steppes, descending one below the
other from north to south, while the whole has a fixed
general inclination in the same direction.
96
Case 1 : the direction of the canal has always been
made coincident with that of the highest land or water
shed of the tract of the country through which it was
carried;
Case 2 : as a consequence of the preceding, the heads
of all drainage lines have been turned, so that all
interference with the natural escape of the flood waters
have been avoided, it is better in every respect, thus to
follow nature rather then to oppose her directly- to win
the battle against the powers she opposes to us, by
skilful tactics, rather than by brute force.
Case 3 : when owing to complexity of the natural
drainage, interference with the heads or courses of
catchment line has become the least of evils amongst
which, in such a case, a selection has to be made, then,
as a general rule, an efficient escape is provided for
the intercepted portion of the drainage, and this is in all
instances directed away from the course of the canal.
Case 4 : no drainage water except in the immediate
vicinity of the canal works, is ever admitted directly
into the Canal channel.
These few principles kept steadily in view will furnish
the clue to the system by which works of the canal have
been made rather to improve than deteriorate the
natural drainage of the country.
The course of canal from Roorkee southward to
Nanoon has been marked out in strict accordance with
the general principles just stated; it turns the heads of
east & west Kalee Nadee, the choya kuroon and such
other drainge lines as are met with. It was provided
with escapes leading from canal channel to such of
there rivers, as were conveniently adapted to the
discharge of surplus water. The slope of the bed was
regulated by masonry falls whenever necessary, and
around each of these, a navigable channel with a lock,
was carried for the purposes of transit. Bridges for
cross-communication were built at intervals not
greater than three miles, and to most of the bridges
there was attached the head of a Rajbuha or main
irrigation channel, where by the water is carried to the
adjoining village.
The distance from the head of the canal to Nanoo is
about 180 miles, and on this length the canal consists
of a single main line, the breadth at bottom being as in
the northern Division 140 ft at first. But as the
branches are carried off from the main line and the
volume of water diminished by the consumption of the
Rajbuha supplies, this breadth is gradually diminished
till, on reaching Nanoo, it has become only 80 feet. Of
the great branches between Roorkee and Nanoo there
were three, called respectively the Futtehgarh branch,
leaving the canal at the 50th mile from the head, the
Annual Technical Volume
 Bolundsahr branch, leaving at the 110th mile, and the
koel branch leaving at the 152nd miles. The two latter
ultimately unite and form what is called Hathras line of
irrigation.
On both banks along the whole of the line, plantation of
useful trees has been formed, and at every 1st Class
choke there was a grafted mango garden from which
grafts were to be distributed to the community as has
for many years past been done on the Eastern Yamuna
canal with much success. The distances were marked
by substantial mile-stones, and at every bridge a large
area of ghat accommodation has been provided for the
people who may wish to bath in the canal. The bed of
the canal continues to slope at the rate of 15 inches per
mile length, and the excess in the fall of the country was
concentrated on the masonry falls before alluded to.
Colonel Cautley issued a Circular Memorandum to all
Executives on the Ganges Canal (No. 82, dated 1st
January, 1852), containing clear and detailed
instructions for forming Embankments and Plantation
along the whole of the line of this Great Canal.
At Nanoo the canal ceases to consist of one main
channel, and braches off into two separate and
independent terminal lines, one directed on the Ganga
river at Kanpur and the other on the Yamuna river near
Hamerpur above Allahabad. The same general
principles have influenced the directions of these
terminal lines as were before adverted to; the natural
drainage has been preserved with same scrupulous care
through not always with the same entire absence of
interference, for the canal embankments occasionally
intercept parts of the heads and channels through
which the flood water has hitherto flowed. But
artificial cuts re-establish lines of escapes for such
parts, and in no place was the drainage left to stagnate.
Regulators, escapes, bridges, chokies, and all other
works necessary for the full efficiency of the lines were
provided in sufficient abundance for every want.
The Kanpur terminal line passed directly through the
station of Kanpur between the cantonment and the city.
The entire length of this line from Nanoo to the Ganges
is 170 miles, and its bottom width, which at starting
was 80 ft, has become reduced at the actual terminus to
20 ft, the estimated depth of water at the head being 8 ft
and at Kanpur only 5 feet.
The Etawah terminal line from Nanoo to Yumana was
175 miles in length, with a bottom width at first equal to
80 feet and diminishing gradually, as the volume of
water is exhausted for irrigation, to 18 feet. Its depth of
water at the head was calculated at 8 feet, deceasing
towards the terminus till it reaches a measurement of 5
feet. The terminal locks connecting it with Jamuna
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were not completed and deferred for some time, as it
was considered expedient to watch the working of the
canal after the water was admitted before undertaking
them. The some consideration has led to the temporary
suspension of the works on the other great branches
north of Nanoo.
The preceding details will suffice to give a popular
impression of the extent and dimensions of the Ganges
canal. To sum up the whole in a single sentence, it may
be said that the total length of channel navigable
throughout, including the trunk and terminal lines,
with the great branches was very nearly 890 miles;
along which were distributed 17 Dams or Escapes
with water ways varying from 800 to 18 feet; 202
bridges for the purpose of regulation and cross-
communication, with waterways varying from 200 to
20 ft; 297 inlets for local or minor drainage; 16 falls for
regulating the slopes; 31 locks and navigation channel,
282 Rajbuha heads for irrigation; and aggregate length
of probably not less than 10 miles of bathing ghats for
the use of community; 49 1st class and 122, 2nd
chokies for the shelter of Establishments; 6 workshops
for supplying various wants of canal works; and lastly,
the great Aqueduct across the Solani River, unequalled
in its dimension by any work of the kind yet executed
throughout the world (by the mid of 19th Century). It
would be necessary to add here that upto the opening of
the canal, Government has expended on the works
south of Roorkee a sum to about Rupees 65 lakhs.
Such was the extent of work which had been executed
on the Ganges canal, virtually within the period of last
eight years, though it must be remarked that the visible
results were far from being a true measure of the
amount of labour which has been expended in that
time. It was the work of hand in construction only that
was seen on the surface of the country; to estimate the
extent of mental and manual labour of other kinds that
were required for pure constructive purposes, the
records and reports on Ganges canal may be examined,
and there would be found proofs of the thoughtful care
and immense toil with which every part of the great
design had been elaborated by those concerned in
working it out.
Construction of Masonry Haridwar Dam
The spill channel (Haridwar Channel) opposite Harki
Pauri was utilised as first escape to release surplus
monsoon flow entering the supply channel. The
discharge at the head of Haridwar channel during high
floods was estimated to the order of nearly 1,00,000
cuses, and needed some regulating device to pass the
surplus flow through the Haridwar channel. In 1870-
71, a design for a masonry dam across the Haridwar
97
 channel was prepared by Captain Scott Moncrieff, RE.
Captain Moncrieff's design was evidently very simple
and most economical, using locally available river bed
material with simple skills. In 1872-73, the Haridwar
masonry dam was constructed the proposals for gates
was finally settled in favour of a drop-gate, hinged at
the floor. This structure has been in use upto 1985 with
minor modifications but all success, and has been
ultiamtely replaced by a gated structure with much
reduced capacity. The earlier capacity of Haridwar
Dam was nearly 60,000 cusec and remaining nearly
30,000 cusec used to pass through Mayapur Dam.
Haridwar Dam was the first permanent masonry work
added at the head works, after the opening of Ganges
canal in 1854.
Construction of Bhimgoda Weir
In 1911, a preliminary estimate amounting to Rs.
25,93,499 was sanctioned by the secretary of state, for
the construction of Bhimgoda weir. New permanent
Headworks (Bhimgoda weir) were constructed
between 1914 and 1920, at a point about 3/4 mile
below the site of temporary bunds, for feeding the
canal. The reasons which led to this change were
mainly two :
(1) The delay in obtaining supplies for the needs of
irrigation after the close of the monsoon, owing to
the time taken in erecting the bunds and the
impossibility of adequately feeding the canal
during a long break in the rains, after bunds have
been breached.
(2) The ever increasing difficulty and expense in
building the bunds owing to the Bhimgoda
channel taking an increasing proportion of river
discharge, in conjunction with the necessity of
building the bunds at an early period each year
and maintain them for a long period, owing to the
considerable growth of irrigation.
It may also be mentioned here that the Excellency the
Viceroy visited headwork on 21st October 1916,
proceeding afterward to Gurukul, along the path cut
through Khairwala island, the arrangements of the trip
were in the hands of the Irrigation Branch.
The new Head works were completed in May, 1920;
they were built in a stretch of the river where the main
stream was confined to the right flank though the river
course in general was curved, left flank having a
concave bank and during the rains of 1920 a very large
proportion of the river discharge was taken by 5th &
6th bay of the weir, the remaining bays being largely
masked by shoals, while the under sluices were
completely so. Two leading cuts and big diagonal
98
leading cut 200 ft wide was excavated from the main
channel of the river down to the undersluices in cold
weather of 1920. This leading cut remained fairly well
open during succeeding rains, but never the less a large
amount of shoal clearance had to be done up stream of
the supply channel head and in the supply channel
before the canal could be opened.
The dividing wall between under sluices and weir was
reduced in length by 218 ft before the rain of 1921 in
order to give the river an earlier line of approach to the
undersluices, and this certainly had a good effect, even
so the shoaling after the rains was heavier than ever
and cost Rs. 29,542 to remove. It was than decided to
partially close bay no. 6 of the weir in order to force the
river over to its right flank and very many of the
masking shoals on this side have dis-appeared
altogether. The clearance required after the rains of
1922 cost Rs. 7150 only.
During the flood season the upstream river level on the
left flank of the weir was normally 4 ft higher than that
on the right flank and after the closing of bay no. 6 this
difference of level was observed to have increased to 5
ft. This increased afflux on the left flank together with
the fact that masking of headworks on the right flank
considerably decreased the discharging capacity,
rendered it advisable to raise the left flank afflux bund,
and this was accordingly raised in the working season
of 1922-23.
1924 stands out in the history of headworks as the year
of highest gauge recorded at Raiwal, which was as
high as 32.0 ft on 29th September. The maximum
discharge in this flood was estimated about 700000
cusec against 5,00,000 cusec of 1894. The river started
rising on the evening of 26th September and continued
doing so until 30th September, from 27th September to
30th; it rained continuously and the total rainfall
recorded in these dates at Haridwar was 30.15 inches
and the duration of high flood was about 40 hours.
Extensive damage was observed on training works
with breach of Kankhal bunds, right afflux bund at
Dudhiabund and also was Motichur Weir across
Motichur channel. Both wings of Haridwar dam were
topped, when parapets of both the wing walls
collapsed.
The main structure of Bhimgoda Weir and under
sluices had not been seriously damaged but there was
some damage to boulder sets in bay no 2, sixteen weir
gates had been washed away. Bay no 1 of the weir was
completely masked by the shoal, that extended nearly
upto the weir, it was then decided to raise the crest of
bay no. 5, 4 and 3 by 2½, 2 and 1½ ft respectively, as
great difficulty was likely be experienced otherwise in
feeding the canal in succeeding cold weather.
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 The design of the new Headworks was subjected to
much alteration during the course of construction
owing to agitation on the part of the Hindu community;
this agitation was based on the following grounds,
The effect
v of sluices in the head regulator on
the sacredness of the water going past the
Haridwar bathing ghats.
The breaking
v of the continuity of the flow of
the main Ganges river by completely
stopping its flow.
These objections were met by removing the sluice
gates from the supply channel head, and by providing a
gap in the weir (Ramdhara), which at all seasons of the
year would discharge 400 cusecs. At the same time it
was agreed to leave supply channel no. 1 open and to
provide a minimum supply of 1000 cusec down it, by
means of a temporary bund, if necessary. The terms of
settlement are given in the General Administration
department letter no. 1002 dated the 28th April 1917
and are published in Part VIII of United Provinces
Government Gazette dated 5th May 1917.
As regards method of construction, Kankar lime was
more generally used, almost entirely replacing white
lime for river training works, the proportion used these
days were :
Kankar lime concrete - Shingle 1½ inches gauge
100 cft.
Sand 25 Cft, Kankar lime 25 cft.
Hammer dressed boulder masonry - Dressed
boulders 75 cft,
Sand 23 cft kankar lime 23 cft.
Spurs were generally built of concrete blocks with
crates at the back of them to effect a junction with the
stem bund; these crates are subsequently clothed with
boulder masonry, should the spur successfully stand
and be required as a permanency.
50 cft blocks were used where the blocks have to be
laid by Derrick boat and 75 cft where they can be made
is situ, the respective size being 5 x 4 x 2½ and 5 x 5 x
3ft.
The New headworks were built of hammer dressed
boulder masonry with split boulder masonry hearting,
the proportion of the latter being split boulders 60 cft,
3/4 inch shingle 54 cft, and sand 19 cft, Kankar lime 19
cft.
Boulder sets were used for weir floors and consist of
large boulders squared on five sides, and laid as
headers in either fine lime or cement concrete and
cement pointed. The sets were generally 12" in depth
Annual Technical Volume
and form most effective flooring. They were largely
used in topping the old crates below Haridwar Dam of
which the upper timbers had rotted way, and have
answered there purpose admirably.
Repairs done in lime were frequently washed away
before they had time to set, owing to the necessities of
regulation or on account of early floods; and in such
situations cement was the proper material to use.
The proportions used were:
Mortar - sand 2, cement 1
Concrete - shingle 4, sand 2, cement 1
shingle 5, sand 3, cement 1
Choking of Ganges canal in head reach by flashy
Alakhnanda flood (1970)
Alakhnanda, a major tributory of the Ganga river faced
a calamitous flashy flood in last week of July 1970,
causing heavy silting in Ganges canal in the head
reach, resulting into almost complete choking the canal
in its first 12 km length; the flashy flood carried
excessive sediment load exceeding 30,000 ppm. The
canal had to be closed down in august 1970 and could
only be reopened by mid October 1970, after large
scale desilting operation, carried out by Mechanical
and manual means. The events leading to
unprecedented silting of the canal and the operations
during crucial period of desilting have been admirably
described and analysed by the Enquiry committee
headed by Senior Engineer Sri N.G.K. Murti, and set
up by Govt. of India. The committee submitted an
exhaustive and readable report on this calamity and
technical reasons for choking of the canal.
The silt clearance was carried out to a profile a little
higher than the theoretical bed profile approved in
1951. The canal was reopened after desilting
operations on 14.10.1970 and was run with full gauge
from midnight of 14/15 October 1970, to provide
timely irrigation facilities for Rabi crop in extensive
irrigable command. The canal bed could attain the non-
monsoon regime conditions within a fortnight of it
running and the bed got scoured to levels below
theoretical bed line. There was no problem up to mid
June 1971.
During running of the canal in monsoon of 1971, the
criteria were adopted for running of the canal, in
accordance with the recommendations of Alakhnanda
Enquiry committee, to close the canal when the
sediment concentration reached 12000 ppm, while
precautions were to be taken when it was above 7000
ppm. Towards the end of August, substantial silting
was found in the canal, and there after the canal was not
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 run if the sediment concentration exceeded 5000 ppm
for more than 48 hours. A field laboratory for
measurement of sediment concentration in the river at
head works and few suitable locations on the canal was
established at Mayapur, the head of the canal. A
detailed observation on sediment deposition and
measurement and record of silt load was maintained.
The total period for keeping the canal
closed, during monsoon of 1971, was 33
days. After initial silting at heavy silt charge,
the canal bed sowed a clear tendency of
appreciable deposition of silt even at the silt
content of 3000 ppm or lower. If the canal
was to be flowed for a silt content of even
3000 ppm or lower, the period of closure at
silt concentration of 3000 ppm or more on the basis of
monsoon 1971 concentrations would be 62 days
hardly conductive to the efficient Kharif irrigation,
beside loss of power generation.
In order to finalise the standing Regulations orders for
monsoon running of the canal, the problem was
referred for necessary study and recommendations to
Dr. Bharat Singh, an eminent engineer and professor at
WRDTC, University of Roorkee, by Shri P. Yog Chief
Engineer Ganga U.P. irrigation vide his letter dated
19.10.1972.
Dr. Bharat Singh, after in depth studies on the data
supplied by the irrigation Department U.P., from
observations, during Monsoon running of the canal
during 1971 and 1972, arrived at the following main
conclusions.
The hrdraulic roughness of the canal varies from
v 8000 cusec will probably not result in greater
day to day and on a given day it varies along the
reach. The values during the monsoon season
are considerably lower than those in the rest of
the year.
The capacity
v to transport 'bed material load'
(about half of the total load) during monsoon
with Pond level at Pathri power station (Mile 7-
3) at 915.50 was computed as, 1600 ppm to 250
ppm from mile 2-6 to mile 7-0 respectively.
Other conditions remaining the same, if pond
level at Pathri is raised to 918.5 ft, (FSL) the
reduced transport capacity for bed material load
were found from 1000 ppm to 75 ppm at Mile 2-
6 and 7-0 respectively. These variations occur
due to variations in hydraulic roughness and
energy gradient.
"During clear water season, with high values of
v
n and high pond at Pathri P.H., the transport rates
would be considerably lower".
100
It is likely that greater total deposit takes place at
v
higher discharges than at lower discharges,
when the silt concentrations are considerably
higher than the capacity of the canal.
The permissible
v total accumulation of silt upto
Mile 7-3 is considered to be 300 lakh cubic feet,
the following schedule was suggested.
Though
v no absolute upper limit of sediment
concentration need be specified, a watch on silt
deposit has to be maintained whenever the canal
is running above 2000 ppm.
The following recommendations were recorded,
lThe volume of deposit should be the main
criteria as per conclusion V above, the mean bed
level at M 4-0 is only a rough guide.
lAs bed load cannot really be accurately
measured, control by bed load will not be found
practical.
lRunning full capacity even when the demand is
less is not necessarily beneficial. The aspect
need further field study.
lIt is considered that running the canal down to
total deposition than at 9500 cusec or more.
lThe pond level at Pathri P.H. has important
influence on transport capacity. From 1st July to
31st October the pond level should be restricted
to 915.5 and thereafter gradually raised and
normally full pond level of 918.50 ft be allowed
to be maintained after 31st January. Under shot
running at by pass can have only local effect.
lThe observations made during 1971 and 1972
are adequate and should be maintained.
lRedesign of Mayapur works and provision of
silt ejector can undoubtedly improve
conditions.
Considering the above study and recommendations,
the Standing Regulation orders at head works of the
canal were reviewed, modified and approved. This
followed the exercise of revision of standing
regulation orders at other head works in the state.
Annual Technical Volume
 Providing Silt Ejector at km 2.2 on Ganga Canal
(1975-77)
Ganges canal was projected comparatively on a higher
bed slope as compared to other large canal systems in
Northern India. The bed slope in the head reach was
especially excessive, varying from m 0 to 1 as 3.6
ft/mile, from m 1 to m 2 as 2.0 ft/mile and the average
slope of 1.2 ft/mile in the remaining reach upto m 7-3.
For the first time during its 100 years of its running
history the canal received heavily sediment laden water
during 1970 in view of flashy flood in Alakhnanda, a
major tributary of the river Ganga, and this resulted in
the excessive sediment deposition and consequent
restriction of the canal section in a length of nearly 12
km (upto Pathri Power Station). Since 1970 monsoons
the canal was showing tendency of silting in its upper
reaches. To reduce this tendency a sediment ejector
was proposed to be constructed at Km 2.2, downstream
of head regulator at Mayapur, for exclusion of
excessive sediment using existing Kankhal Mill
channel as escape channel for the ejector.
The hydraulic design was worked out by Irrigation
Research Institute at Roorkee, by model during
1974/75. The model studies indicated that the ejector
would pass a discharge of 62m3/sec at a head loss of
0.62 m and all the tunnels would pass equal discharge.
The theoretical studies indicated that 75 % of 0.2 mm
and 28 % of 0.10 mm diameter particles would settle to
the bed, if settling basin of 76 width were provided in a
length of 185 m upstream of the Ejector.
The results of model studies conducted with coal dust
indicated that the efficiency of the ejector would be of
the order of 33 %, particles of size smaller than 0.1 mm
were not likely to be ejected out. The efficiency of the
ejector was observed to be reduced considerably at
lower canal discharges, and it was considered
advisable not to run the canal at appreciably lower
discharges.
The wash load is generally taken as that part of the
sediment load which consists of grain size finer than
those present in the bed. The wash load as determined
by grain size distribution was found to range from 50 to
70 % of the total load. Observations also indicated that
the rugosity coefficient (N) reduces with sediment
concentration. It has been observed to have the value of
'N' changed from 0.026 in case of clear water to 0.015,
with sediment laden water with concentration of 5
gms/litre.
After the study of sediment transport capacity of the
Ganges canal by Irrigation Research Institute and by
Dr. Bharat Singh, professor WRDTC. University of
Roorkee (1972), the regulation orders were modified to
Annual Technical Volume
take into account the restriction of the section, which
can be permitted without affecting the discharging
capacity and subject to the conditions that the
deposition is washed out, during clear water running
period.
The silt Ejector as per hydraulic design by IRI, Roorkee
was constructed at 2.2 km on the Ganges canal, during
the period from 1975-77. This needed the by-passing of
the canal with full capacity of nearly 312 m3/sec
(11,000 cusec), with lot of constraints of limitation of
available land width and quite heavy settlements of
local expending population of Haridwar and Kankhal
towns, along the canal banks. The canal was to be bye-
passed within a limited and short period of closure of
two weeks. This was the first attempt to by-pass such
large canal with long history and limitation of available
land. After careful planning and seeking some
equipment helps of Bengal Engineers, the canal was
diverted though the bye-pass and after completion of
the construction work of silt ejector and the escape
channel, it was again restored in its original route to
pass through the silt ejector added to its course.
After the modification and updating of regulation
orders and addition of sediment ejector as described
above, there has not been any noticeable problem in
running of this canal during monsoons, in spite of
occurrence of so many slides from time to time in the
large catchment in the Himalayas.
Practice of Drainage in Major Irrigated Commands
The Project of Ganges canal, the first largest perennial
canal of the country had undergone extensive
examination and investigations for a period of nearly
12 years (1836-48) and especially related to essential
measures against any interference in the drainage of
irrigable command. A special committee was
constituted by Govt. of India (General order
Commander-in-chief dated 16th Sept. 1845) to report
whether an injurious effect on the health of people of
the Doab is or is not likely to be produced by the
contemplated Ganges canal.
The committee recommended the following essential
guide lines for aligning the canal net work, related to
drainage of the area,
l"That the Ganges canal be kept as much as
possible within soil, i.e., that its ordinary surface
levels should be below that of the country".
lThat the canal and its branches be taken as much
as possible along the water shed of the country,
so as not to interfere with the drainage; and in all
cases where such interference may be
unavoidable, that the executive officer be
instructed to provide otherwise for the
drainage".
101
 Sir Cautley, had a very thorough tracking of the canal
command and took special care in aligning the canal
network, not only, to avoid interference in the natural
drainage of the agricultural land but to improve even
the existing depression on the flat land in the alluvial
plain. The following remarks by Sir Cautley reveals the
thoughtful care taken, as excerpts from his report of
1845.
“It will be plain that this system of drainage, supposing
that outlay of funds is not objected to, is a positive
remedy to the evils, and, as I have remarked, an
advantage which the country could not ever drive, had
the Ganges canal, not been executed - It may be said
that, whether the canal is executed or not, the system of
drainage which I propose might be adopted".
Subsequently while taking up the work of aligning and
construction of distribution net work of channels in the
command of Ganges canal, all care taken to align not
only the irrigation channels, but also the drainage
channels to drain off the newly irrigated command. The
following remarks from the Lt. Colonel F.V. Corbett
RE Chief Engineer (Completion Report for
remodeling the Ganges Canal 1895) further explains
the care taken in the field:-
"That there is no class of engineering work which
requires more detailed study of local conditions and
formation of ground than the alignment of drainage
cuts in the apparently flat alluvial plains of, this
country. Unless great care is taken, a drain constructed
for the benefit of one village may do serious injury to
the lands of other village lower down its course. In
nearly every case, personal inspection of the country,
must be seen frequently during or immediately after
heavy rain, and careful notes must be made of the
course of natural drainage and of the effects of the
floods in each village.”
"Of the great benefits resulting to the country from
these works, there can be no question, large areas,
which previously were either water logged or subject to
periodical floods, have now been drained and brought
under cultivation; the sanitary condition of the villages
has been improved; the spread of saline efflorescence
in the soil has been checked, and the level of sub soil
water, if it has not been lowered, has been kept from
rising to the level it would otherwise have reached
under the influence of past 10 years of abnormal
rainfall".
Conclusion
The continuous development of Irrigation over a long
time in Gangetic plain in Uttar Pradesh has
progressively contributed to improve the socio-
102
economic conditions and over all prosperity of the
people inhabiting the large irrigated canal commands.
Large tracks in the state which used to be uninhabited
until about 150 years or so now appears to be green
land, covered with intense agricultural activity and
rich harvests, with nearly over 100 % intensity of
Irrigation. Quite a good proportion of cropped area in
the state now contributes to many granaries of India.
Recurrent famines, which visited the state in 19th
Century, are new the events of the past, except for
infrequent droughts. Irrigation brings a lot of revenue
to the Government, which, normally is utilized for the
development of the state and the welfare of the people.
The development of irrigation in the alluvial plain in
different river basins has brought great environmental
changes in the agricultural tracts. The flora and fauna
have also undergone a substantial change with
appreciable increase in the intensity of Irrigation in the
state, the landscape have normally altered to Green
land, almost round the year. However with the pressure
of more land for cultivation, large no. of ponds and
plantation groves have disappeared.
In fact the ecology in Gangetic plain in the state has
become today's human environment in which natural
plants and animals play insignificant role. However
the overall quality of life of settlement has improved.
Acknowledgement
S.C. Goyal, author was posted on this Ganga Canal
during 1976 to 1980 as Assistant Engineer at Haridwar.
Credit for writing this paper goes to Prof. Raj Pal
Singh, the then Executive Engineer on this prestigious
Ganga Canal head works at Roorkee, and now
associated in W.R.D.M., I.I.T. Roorkee.
References
1. A report on the agricultural canals of piedmont and
Lombardy, By R. Baird Smith F.G.S. Vol.-I, II
London 1855.
2. A short account of the Ganges Canal, By Col. Baird
Smith R.E. Roorkee 1870.
3. Project of Permanent Head Works of Upper Ganges
Canal of Haridwar 1910.
4. Report on the Ganges Canal works by Colonel Sir P.T.
Cautley K.C.B, F.R.S., Vol. I, II and III London 1860.
5. Report on the silt problems of upper Ganga Canal By
Dr. Bharat Singh Professor, WRDTC, University of
Roorkee, Roorkee 1972.
6. Report of Alaknanda Enquiry committee (Govt. of
INDIA), to enquire, examine and finally report on
silting of upper Ganga Canal in 1970.
7. History of Irrigation in U.P. By Prof. Nayan Sharma
and Prof. Rajpal Singh through Department of
W.R.D.M., I.I.T. Roorkee, March 2011.
Annual Technical Volume
 Land Evaluation for Capability, Irrigability and
Suitability for Major Crops and its Management
H. C. Sharma
Dean, College of Technology
Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand

Ambrish Kumar
Principal Scientist, ICAR – Indian Institute of Soil & Water Conservation, Dehradun
* aktswc@yahoo.com

Abstract
Land evaluation in broad aspect is to assess current and future potential of land for given purpose and to plan
land use in such a way that the resources of the environment are put to the most beneficial use for mankind. Also it
enables one to get a picture of the hazards of the soils to various factors that cause soil damage, deterioration or
lowering in fertility and its potentiality for production. To get optimum returns from available land and water
resources it is necessary that the land should be evaluated for its capability, irrigability and suitability for major
crops. Owing to this need, the present study was conducted for soils of Budaun district and the land was evaluated
on the basis of various land features and soil characteristics. The study revealed that Parauli series was under
class I for land capability class while Dataganj and Ujhani Series were in class I for irrigability, which implies
that these soils have no significant limitation for different use of crop. Bagrain series was evaluated as class I in
irrigability and capability both. Also the suitability studies of entire study area resulted that wheat and sugarcane
were moderately suitable while maize and paddy were marginally suitable. On the basis of the suitability of
different soil series, and their morphological, physical and chemical characteristics, their use and management
for agricultural crop production have been suggested.

Introduction Description of the Study Area

There is tremendous pressure on agricultural land in
our country due to its rapid population growth.
Considering the need for sustaining agricultural
production at reasonable level, we must put our land to
a specific use only after careful planning based on
scientific principles of land evaluation and
management. Thus, it becomes essential for the
scientists to determine the soils for its capability,
irrigability and suitability for raising a particular crop
so that farming becomes more economical.
Land capability classification is an interpretative
grouping of soils mainly based on inherent
characteristics of soil, external land features and
environmental factors; which may limit the use of land
for various purposes (AISLUSO, 1970). Land
irrigability classification is a systematic appraisal of
land designated by classes on the basis of physical and
chemical characteristics (Resler, 1979). Land
suitability classification is the process of assessing the
suitability of land for specific kind of use (AISLUSO,
1970).
The district Buduan of Uttar Pradesh is a typical
district of Rohelkhand region, which has about 5163
sq. km area. It is surrounded by Moradabad, Barielly,
Shajahanpur, Etah, Aligarh and Bulandshar districts
(Fig. 1). The area under 18 blocks forms a part of Indo -
Gangetic alluvial plain of quaternary to recent age with
flat topography and slopes from north-west to south-
east. The alluvium is composed of gravel, sands of
various grades, silt, clay and kankar in varying
proportions. The beds are generally lenticular and
there are rapid alterations and gradations
between granular clayey horizons. The topmost
alluvial cover consists of soil having mixed sand
and tiny mica flakes. The water bearing zones,
below the soil cover area generally comprised of
medium to coarse sand with or without kankars. The
deposits of sand beds are the main source of ground
water.
Climate : The area experiences moderate type to
subtropical monsoonic climate i.e. in summer it is dry
and hot, and in winter it is mild but not frost-free. The

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Figure 1 Index map of Budaun district
maximum temperature reaches occasionally beyond
44o C during the months of May and June, and the
lowest temperature sometimes goes below 10o C
during the month of January. The monsoon generally
starts from June and lasts till October. The rainfall
during July, August and September contributes the
major part of monsoon rainfall. On the basis of I.M.D.
data of rainfall, the normal rainfall of the area is 907.2
mm. The rainfall increases west to east.
Soils : Based on morphological, physical and chemical
characteristics of soils studied, their associated
landscape features and field correlation of auger hole
data, 12 soil series, tentatively named after the towns
and villages of the district as Alampur, Amritpur,
Babrala, Bagrain, Bhatoli, Dataganj, Gunnaur, Parauli,
Sahaswan, Sikarpur, Sultanpur and Ujhani were
identified. The diagnostic properties of these soil series
Table 1 Diagnostic characteristics of soils of Badaun district
l- loam, sil- silty loam, sicl- silty clay loam, sl- sandy loam, ls- loamy sand, s- sand, cl- clay loam, imp - imperfectly drained,
pr - poorly drained, mw - moderately drained, wd - well drained, ed- excessively drained
104
along with the % area under each series are given in
Table 1. The surface texture of all the series varies
from sand to silty clay loam, whereas in case of subsoil
texture it varies from sand to clay loam and profiles are
excessively to imperfectly well drained Alampur,
Amritpur, Babrala, Gunnor and Sahaswan series are
calcareous in nature; Gunnaur and Amritpur series are
also salt affected. Bagrain series occupies the largest
area (24.42%) whereas Sultanpur series occupies the
smallest area (0.71% only). These series occur
together in a particular pattern in the group of two or
more and their separation on the scale of
reconnaissance soil map was not practically feasible.
They have, therefore, been combined on the soil map
of district into 10 soil associations. These soil
associations were grouped with the names of
constituent soil series listed in order to their area
occupied in a particular soil association.
Based on local and field correlation each auger hole
site, on the base map, was given a series name and
named with the symbol of that series, depending upon
the pattern of occurrence of that series in relation to
landscape features, physiography, landform etc. Soil
association boundaries were drawn on this map
(Figure 2). Numbers show different soil association
areas on this map. For example, soil association
number one is named as Ujhani-Bhatoli - Amritpur.
This indicates that in this association largest area is
occupied by Ujhani series followed by Bhatoli and
Amritpur series in that order. Soil series covering less
than 1% area in a particular association have not
been included in the name of association. The
associated soil series in each association have been
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 Table 2 Physical and Chemical Properties of soils of Budaun District
indicated in the identification legend given with the
map.
Land capability classification: Land capability
classification is an interpretative grouping of soil
mainly based on inherent characteristics of soil,
external land features and environmental factors that
limit the use of land.
The taxonomic soil units established after field and
laboratory studies and their correlation are the ultimate
management units that afford specific inherent
information about ability of the soil to respond to use,
management and plant growth. The inherent soil
characteristics so identified have a definite role to play
in the behaviour of the soil and its management such as
parent material gives an idea of potential nutrient
status of soil. Soil colour speaks of organic matter
content and the state of leaching and hydration.
Figure 2 Soil Association Map of Budaun District
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Texture and Structure influences the air water balance
in the root zone and movement of water. Depth of soil
governs the depth of root zone, leaching and runoff
losses. The gradient and slope profoundly affects the
rates of runoff and soil removal and indirectly amount
of moisture absorbed by soil. The degree of erosion
indicates decrease of productivity and suggests the
future use and treatment to overcome climatic factors
that can place limitations on land use. A.I.S.L.U.S.O.
(1970) grouped these factors into various land
capability classes ( Table 3 ) on the basis of severity of
limitation in crop production.
Capability classes : The land capability classes range
from class I to VIII. The land of first four classes i.e
class I to IV, is suited for cultivation and of last four
classes i.e. class V to VIII, not suited for cultivation.
The land of class V to VII is suitable for pasture and
forestry, and of class VIII is suitable for wild life. The
degree of permanent limitations increases when we
move from class I to class VIII, which implies that soils
of class I have no significant limitations, class II soils
have moderate limitations that reduce the choice of
plants or require moderate conservation practices,
class III soils have severe limitations that reduce the
choice of plants and require special conservation
practices. In the similar manner the limitations go on
increasing till class VIII soils.
Sub classes : Sub classes are given according to British
Columbia Land Inventory (BCLI) classification
system. They are indicated by small case letters such as
'c' for adverse climate, 'd' for low permeability or
undesirable soil structure, 'e' for erosion limitation, 'm'
105
 Table 3 Land capability classification (A.I.S. & L.U.S.O)

for moisture limitation, 'n' for salinity, 'p' for stoniness, investigation were set against these requirements on
't' for topography and 'w' for excess water, drainage the framework of Sys (1980). The Land Rating Indices
problems and overflow. (L.R.I.) were then calculated, as follows, using the
formula proposed by Sys:
Land irrigability classification : This classification is
done by USBR method of land irrigability L.R.I. = A. (B/100) . (C/100) (1)
classification. This method is based on different factors
This value of L.R.I. was then compared against
causing limitations. It is quite recent, the factors
suitability class definition. These are S1 (highly
encountered are texture, depth, erosion, infiltration,
suitable) when L.R.I. is 75 or above; S2 (moderately
wetness, fertility, alkali/salt limitation. This is a broad
suitable) when L.R.I. is between 50 and 75; and S3
level of generalization. This classification has similar
(marginally suitable) when L.R.I. is between 25 and
considerations as those of land capability
50. When L.R.I. is below 25 the land is considered to be
classification. Accordingly, 5 land classes have been
not suitable (N).
identified. Three of them are suitable for general
irrigation, one is limited suitable or suited for special 2. Limiting Condition Model (FAO, 1976) : In
crops and only one is unsuitable for irrigation. deciding the suitability class on limiting condition
model, the individual land characteristics/ qualities
Sub classes : This is the second degree of
rated equal to or above 85 was considered as highly
generalization. Each class of soil is sub divided into
suitable (S1), between 60 and 85 as moderately suitable
sub classes according to dominant kind of limitations,
(S2), between 45 and 60 as marginally suitable (S3) and
which is indicated by small case letters e.g. t, e, s, w,
below 45 as unsuitable (N). The overall suitability of
etc. USBR (1953) grouped the above mentioned
the soil group was then decided on the basis of the
factors into various land irrigability classes and sub
lowest individual rating as limiting to overall
classes (Tables 4 & 5).
suitability.
Land suitability classification : Three models were
3. Productivity Rating Index Model (Soil Survey Staff,
used for the land suitability studies as given below,
1951) : In this model the Productivity Rating Index
1. Sys Model (Sys, 1980) : The climate, landscape and (PRI) was calculated as follows using the yield data.
soil requirement for the crops under investigation in
In the present investigation the standard yields of
relation to limitations and suitability classes were
maize, paddy, wheat and sugarcane crops were taken as
taken as per guidelines of Sys (1980). The observed
50, 60, 60 and 900 q/ha, respectively. The PRI's were
climatic, landscape and soil data in the area under

106 Annual Technical Volume

 Table 4 USBR method for determining land classes for irrigation

Table 5 Limitation level and their ratings

then matched against the % of optimum yield values of

Dent and young (1981) for developing countries to
arrive at the appropriate suitability class (Table 6).
Results and Discussion
Land capability
Bagrain and Parauli series have been put under the
capability class I as these soils have no significant
limitations for land use (Table 7). Dataganj, Sultanpur
and Ujhani series have been classified as class II land
as these soils have moderate limitations that restrict the
range of crops. Alampur and Dataganj series have
subclass 'n' due to salinity problem. Sultanpur series
has subclass 'm' due to low moisture holding capacity.
Alampur, Bhatoli, Gunnaur, Sahaswan and Sikarpur
have been put under class III as these soils have
moderately severe limitations and require special
conservation practices. Bhatoli series has subclass 'w'
due to imperfect drainage. Gunnaur and Amritpur
series have subclass 'nw' as the soils are salt affected
and imperfectly drained. Sahaswan series has subclass

Table 6 Suggested guidelines for comparing crop yield with suitability class for developing countries

* % of optimum yield in the present investigation has been taken equivalent to productivity rating index (PRI)

Annual Technical Volume 107

 'ew' due to severe erosion and poor drainage. Babrala
series has subclass 'w' due to poor drainage. Sikarpur
series has subclass 'em' which indicates severe erosion
and low moisture holding capacity. Amritpur and
Babrala series have been put under class IV as these
soils have severe limitations that restrict the choice of
plants and require careful management.
Land irrigability
Bagrain, Dataganj and Ujhani series have been
grouped under class I as these series have no significant
limitation. Alampur, Amritpur, Bhatoli, Gunnaur and
Parauli series have been put under class II land due to
moderate limitations. Alampur series has subclass 'f
'due to high pH value. Bhatoli series has subclass
'w'due to imperfect drainage. Babrala, Sahaswan and
Sultanpur series are classified under class III land due
to moderately severe limitations. Amritpur, Babrala,
Gunnaur and Sahaswan series have subclass 'fw' due to
high pH value and poor drainage. Sikarpur series
comes under class V due to severe limitations and thus
this land is not probably considered for cultivation.
Sikarpur and Sultanpur series have subclass't' due to
low moisture holding capacity.
Land suitability
For maize production: According to PRI model all
series were marginally suitable (S3) while by Sys
model Alampur, Dataganj and Parauli series were
moderately suitable (S2) and Sikarpur and Sultanpur
series were not suitable (N) and rest all were
moderately suitable (S3) (Table 8). Alampur, Amritpur,
Table 7 Land capability and irrigability classes
108
Babrala, Bagrain, Dataganj, Gunnaur and Sahaswan
series were moderately suitable (S2) as resulted by
limiting condition model and remaining other soil
series were marginally suitable (S3).
For paddy production: According to PRI model all soil
series were marginally suitable (S3). Bagrain,
Dataganj, Parauli, Sikarpur, Sultanpur and Ujhani
series were not suitable (N) according to Sys model
and rest all series were marginally suitable. According
to limiting condition model Alampur, Amritpur,
Babrala, Bagrain and Sahaswan series were
moderately suitable (S2) and remaining were
marginally suitable (S3).
For wheat production: According to PRI model all
series were moderately suitable. According to Sys
model Alampur series was highly suitable (S1),
Sahaswan series was moderately suitable (S2) while
Amritpur, Babrala, Bhatoli, Gunnaur, Sikarpur and
Sultanpur series were marginally suitable (S3) and rest
were not suitable (N). According to limiting condition
model except Dataganj series all soil series were
moderately suitable and Dataganj series was
marginally suitable.
For sugarcane production: According to PRI model all
series were moderately suitable. While according to
Sys model Alampur, Bagrain, Dataganj, Gunnaur and
Sikarpur series were moderately suitable and
remaining were marginally suitable (S3). According to
limiting condition model, Alampur, Bagrain, Dataganj
and Gunnaur series were highly suitable and rest all
were moderately suitable.
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 Table 8 Land suitability classes according to the computed indices
Taking into consideration all the three models finally
the overall suitability of all four crops for the soils of
Budaun district indicated that sugarcane and wheat
were moderately suitable while maize and paddy were
marginally suitable.
Use and Management
On account of varying characteristics of soils and
associated landscape features the behaviour of soils
towards crop production also varies. In view of this the
use and management of each soil for a particular crop
shall be governed according to its characteristics,
climate and socio-economic conditions prevailing in
the area. This aspect is being discussed here. The major
problem associated with the soils of Alampur,
Amritpur, Babrala, Bhatoli, Gunnaur and Sahaswan
series is its imperfect to poor drainage. At improved
level of management with the provision of surface
drainage, the soil productivity could be improved to
high suitability level for all major crops.
Alampur, Amritpur, Sahaswan, Sultanpur and Sikarpur
are associated with moderate to severe slopes that leads
to the problem of erodibility. These problems could be
easily managed with adequate provision of irrigation
and land leveling and proper application of fertilizers
and manures. The soils of Bagrain, Babrala, Dataganj,
Parauli, Sikarpur, Sultanpur and Ujhani are coarser in
texture due to which nutrient and moisture availability
to crops are low. Addition of organic manures would be
fruitful for getting optimum yields from these soils.
The soils require frequent irrigation and high doses of
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fertilizers for better results. Thus, the soil series that
are marginally suitable could be made moderately
suitable and the soils that are moderately suitable could
be made highly suitable if the above management
practices are provided.
References
1. Bali, Y.P. and R.L. Karale, 1978. Soil survey
interpretations for watershed development. In: Soil
Resource data for Agricultural Development, Leslic, S.
and D. Leslic (ed.), pp.73-84.
2. Challa, O., A.R. Kalbande, S.L. Durge and S. Vadivelu,
1989. Land evaluation for irrigation by two systems. Jl.
Indian Soc. Soil Sc., 37(3), pp 532-538.
3. Dutta, H.K and R.M. Karmakar,1998. Soil survey of
horticultural orchard of Assam Agricultural University,
Jorhat. Jl. Agri. Sc. Soc. of North East India 11:1,
pp 10-14.
4. FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations),1976. A Framework for Land Evaluation.
Soils Bull. 32, FAO, Rome, 72 pp.
5. Kumar S., A.K. Sharma, T.R. Rathore, and H. N. Singh,
1995. Soils of Budaun district of U.P. Research
Bulletin No. 2.
6. Madsen, H.B., 1979. Soil surveying for evaluating soil
capability on the basis of soil water retention, root
development of barley and simulated plant production.
Folia Geographica Danica, 10(5), pp 203-206.
7. Mapa, R.B., 1990. Evaluation of irrigation suitability
for two Srilanka soils. In: Int. Agri. Engg. Conference
and Exhibition, Bangkok, Thailand, Vol. III, pp 819-
823.
109
 8. Mathur, A. and R.P. Tripathi, 1987. Land use pattern
and some soil physical properties of a mini watershed.
Jl. Indian Soc. Soil Sci., 35(1), pp 262-267.
9. Mayalagu, K. P. Poonkodi, and P. Paramasivam, 1998.
Detailed soil survey and evaluation for land use
interpretative grouping in Tamil Nadu Agriculture
University Farm, Coimbatore. Madras Agricultural
Journal 85, (5-6), pp 280-285.
10. Mishra, D.P and S.S.K. Nanda, 1984. A system of soil
and land irrigability classification for monsoonal
humid and sub-humid regions. Jl. Indian Soc. Soil Sci.,
32(1), pp 150-157.
11. Resler, L.L., 1979. World Soil Resource Report 50, pp
21.
12. Sharma, A.K., Suman Kumar and H.N. Singh, 1995.
Soil survey, mapping and land evaluation for
agricultural use and planning in the area under the
responsibility of the University. Experiment Station,
G.B. Pant University of Agri. & Tech., Pantnagar.
110
13. Sharma, A.K., 1997. Land evaluation for agriculture
and forestry. A short course sponsored by ICAR. New
Delhi.
14. Singh, K., S.D.Verma and B.R. Tripathi, 1989.
Toposeqence studies on the soils development in a
periodic moisture regime of Himachal Pradesh II.
Genesis and Classification. Indian Jl. Agri. Research,
23(2), pp 75-80.
15. Soil Conservation Service, 2002. Land Capability
Classification of North South Wales.
16. Soil Survey Staff, 1970. Soil Survey Manual. All India
Soil and Land Use Survey Organisation, IARI, New
Delhi.
17. Sys, C., 1980. Land Evaluation parts I, II and III.
International Training Center for Post Graduate Soil
Scientists, State University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium.
18. Sys, C., 1981. Evaluation of soil and landscape criteria
with respect to land use potentials in Europe.
Pedologie, 3(2), pp 337-348.
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 Traditional Irrigation Systems in India
N. P. S. Nagi
Regional Director, Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Water Resources
River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, NHR, Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh
* rdnhr-cgwb@nic.in
S. K. Mahammad Sartaj Basha
Senior Technical Assistant (Hg.), Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Water Resources
River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, NHR, Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh

Brief about Traditional Irrigation Systems

Traditional irrigation is the artificial application of
water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the
growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of
landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry
areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall.
Additionally, irrigation also has a few other uses in
crop production, which include protecting plants
against frost,[1] suppressing weed growth in grain
fields[2] and preventing soil consolidation.[3] In
contrast, agriculture that relies only on direct rainfall is
referred to as rain-fed or dryland farming.
Traditional irrigation systems are also used for dust
suppression, disposal of sewage, and in mining.
Irrigation is often studied together with drainage,
which is the natural or artificial removal of surface and
sub-surface water from a given area.
Types of Traditional Irrigation Systems
A. Traditional Irrigation Systems
(i) Check Basin System Figure 1 Check basin technique
(ii) Furrow Irrigation System
basins are made according to the inflow of water.
(iii) Strip Irrigation System These basins are surrounded by small furrows. Branch
(iv) Basin Irrigation System 'Dhora' flows towards the slope from the main 'Dhora'.
If the slope of branch 'Dhora' is steep, 'mooonja' or
B. Modern Irrigation Systems polythene is spread in it to prevent erosion of sides.
(v) Sprinkler Irrigation System The main source of water is located at the highest place
in the field.
(vi) Drip Irrigation System
The width of drains is affected by factors like flow of
(vii) Pot Irrigation System water, %age, slope and structure of the ground etc. The
A. Traditional Irrigation Systems length of 'Dhora' is different depending on the basis of
slope and formation of the fields. This method is also
(i) Check Basin System prevalent in India as it does not cause any burden on
In this method, the whole field is divided into basins the farmer.
according to the capacity of water. Basins are (ii) Furrow Irrigation System
connected through a 'Dhora' (A small drain type flow
way), which has raised earthen walls on both sides. Furrow irrigation method is resorted to where crops are
'Dhora' is of two types, one is the main 'Dhora' and the one grown in rows. Along the side of rows of crops,
other 'Dhora' is connected to basins (Figure 1). Size of 'Dol' is formed, and in between two such 'Dols', a

Annual Technical Volume 111

 furrow is formed in which water flows for irrigation.
The quantity of flow of water depends on demand of
water by plants and the rate of infiltration (Figure 2).

Figure 3 Strip irrigation system

(iv) Basin Irrigation System

This irrigation method is more suited for horticulture
development. In this method, a raised platform called
'Thanvla' is formed around trees or bushes and they are
connected with each other through drains and the water
reaches from one tree to the other. This method is not
suitable for crops (Figure 4).

Figure 2 Furrow irrigation method

In different situations, different furrow methods are

used (Surajbhan 1978). They are mainly of five types:
1. Slopy Furrow
2. Leveled Furrow
3. Contour Furrow
4. Serial Furrow
5. Corrugated Furrow
(iii) Strip Irrigation System
In strip irrigation method, fields are divided into strips
of different size. A boundary called 'Med' is formed to
separate the strips. These strips are constructed
according to the slope. The source of water is situated Figure 4 Basin irrigation system
at the highest place in the field from where the whole
field can get the flow of water. B. Modern Irrigation System
The width of strips is decided as per quantity of water. (v) Sprinkler Irrigation Method
More wastage of water is caused if strips are wider.
In present times, when water crisis is developing very
Length of strip is decided by the slope of land and its
fast everywhere, we should adopt improved
structure. Effect of soil composition is also visible on it
techniques of irrigation to encourage suitable water
(Figure 3).

112 Annual Technical Volume

 management. Sprinkler irrigation method is an easy mm. Side pipelines are fitted with drippers from where
and simple method of irrigation in present times. water falls in drops. Efficiency of drip irrigation
method depends on suitable operation of drippers.
The whole land becomes available for cultivation of
Flow rate of drippers is 2 to 10 litres per hour. This
crops, whereas in traditional irrigation methods, 15 to
system of irrigation is established on the basis of type
20% land remains vacant in depressions and
of crop, distance between plants, requirement of water
boundaries. Modern equipment's can also be used in it
for crops and distance of water source from the field
due to absence of depressions and boundaries. Rate of
(Figure 6).
infiltration is higher in sandy soils where frequency of
watering is more. Hence, sprinkler irrigation method is
more suited to sandy soils.
In sprinkler irrigation method, water is taken from
source to the fields through pipes, whereas in surface
irrigation methods only 30-45% water reaches the
crops. Such loss of water is avoided in sprinkler
irrigation method. The problem of water logging or
'kallar' may be caused in case of excess water from
surface irrigation, whereas no such problem is caused
in sprinkler irrigation method. The balance of
groundwater is also maintained (Figure 5).

Figure 6 Drip irrigation method

(vii) Pot Irrigation Method

Figure 5 Sprinkler irrigation method
(vi) Structure of Drip Irrigation Method
Pot irrigation method is more suitable for areas having
scanty rainfall. In saline areas where flow irrigation is
not suited, pot irrigation method is successful. An
earthen pitcher is used in this method. The pitcher is
fixed in the ground up to neck.
Holes are made in the pitcher and water is filled in it so
that seepage of water through the holes keeps the
nearby soil moist. Water is filled in these pitchers at
regular intervals. This method can be considered as an
alternative of drip irrigation method.

The following are the main organs of drip irrigation
method: water pump, main PVC, pipeline, branch PVC
pipeline connected to main line, plastic pipes
connected to branch line, drippers connected with
plastic pipes, fertilizer tank for application of
fertilizers, valve, water measure, pressure controller,
filter etc. Internal radius of side pipe is from 10 to 32
Commonly used Traditional Systems in Himachal
Pradesh
(i) Kul
Kuls are water channels found in precipitous mountain
areas. These channels carry water from glaciers to
villages in the Spiti valley of Himachal Pradesh.

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Where the terrain is muddy, the kul is lined with rocks
to keep it from becoming clogged.
(ii) Khatri
Khatris are structures, about 10x12 feet in size and six
feet deep carved out in the hard rock mountain. The
specially trained masons construct them at a cost of Rs
10,000-20,000 each. These traditional water
harvesting structures are found in Hamirpur, Kangra
and Mandi districts of Himachal Pradesh.
There are two types of khatris: one for animals and
washing purposes in which rain water is collected from
the roof through pipes, and other used for human
consumption in which rainwater is collected by
seepage through rocks. Interestingly, the khatris are
owned by individual as well as by a community. There
are government khatris as well, which are maintained
by the panchayat.
(iii) Kuhl
Kuhls are a traditional irrigation system in Himachal
Pradesh- surface channels diverting water from natural
flowing streams (khuds). A typical community kuhl
services six to 30 farmers, irrigating an area of about 20
ha.The system consists of a temporary headwall
(constructed usually with river boulders) across a khud
114
(ravine) for storage and diversion of the flow through a
canal to the fields. By modern standards, building
kuhls was simple, with boulders and labour forming
the major input. The kuhl was provided with moghas
(kuchcha outlets) to draw out water and irrigate nearby
terraced fields. The water would flow from field to
field and surplus water, if and, would drain back to the
khud.
The kuhls were constructed and maintained by the
village community. At the beginning of the irrigation
season, the kohli (the water tender) would organise the
irrigators to construct the headwall, repair the kuhl and
make the system operational. The kohli played the role
of a local engineer. Any person refusing to participate
in construction and repair activities without valid
reason, would be denied water for that season. Since
denial of water was a religious punishment, it ensured
community participation and solidarity. A person was
also free to participate by providing a substitute for his
labour. The kohli also distributed and managed the
water (Figure 7).
Figure 7 Incorporating Traditional Methods of with Water
Management in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, India
Access to water is a significant factor for the survival of
north Indian farmers in villages that are situated
particularly in hilly areas. These villages often have
inadequate surface water sources so they rely on
rainwater. Our project's goal was to evaluate traditional
irrigation practices in Mandi District in Himachal
Pradesh and to design a model to provide farmers at
higher altitudes with a sustainable, self-sufficient and
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 cost-effective water management system. Through site
assessments and interviews with local farmers, we
learned that there is a greater need for drinking water
than irrigation water. Therefore, our design utilizes
water-harvesting techniques to gather rainwater in a
tank that can be used for irrigation or routed through a
water purification system for drinking purposes.
Local irrigation systems have been handed down
through generations becoming a tradition in India, with
regional farmers designing processes that were
invented to adapt to the landscape. In the northern state
of Himachal Pradesh, traditional irrigation methods
such as canals (kuhls) have been built by local
residents to draw water from the small streams that
originate from hill springs. The springs are the only
reliable sources of water in a number of locales. As
elsewhere, though, new technologies have been
implemented to improve the traditional styles of
irrigation.
Methodology
Our goal was to evaluate traditional methods of
irrigation and to design a model to provide farmers on
higher altitudes with a sustainable, self-sufficient, and
cost-effective water management system. The goal
was accomplished through four objectives:
We identified
è and evaluated factors that influence
a design for irrigation.
We assessed
è the government policies and public
responses to these policies and irrigation issues.
We evaluated villages situated on different altitude
è
levels and assessed their irrigation techniques.
We designed
è a model of water harvesting and
made recommendations that can support farmers.
Findings
Using Google Maps, we found a topographical map
specifying altitude levels of different villages. The
map indicates the steep terrain, access to water, and the
distribution of small villages throughout the district.
Rainwater, especially during monsoon season, covers
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about 70% of total rainfall per year. The present study
in agreement that the need for irrigation was high, but
noted that cost and terrain as key reasons for
inaccessibility. The most surprising finding was that
agency officials use a cost-benefit analysis to
determine action. They focus on helping villages that
could provide better income. There are several
government schemes and projects implemented
throughout the district to improve irrigation on fields.
The MGNREGA scheme has helped farmers by
constructing the kuhls or diversion channels using
concrete for more permanent structures. Modern
techniques such as the micro-irrigation system and
poly-houses were also introduced to produce better
quality crops by subsidizing 80% of the total cost.
Farmers living on hilly mountains received minimal
help as they are remote areas and have a lower %age of
population.
In the villages located near plentiful water sources
there was, in every case that we encountered, an
occurrence of kuhls. The farmers would divert water
from the river through their farms and back to the river.
These kuhls are used, in addition to irrigation purposes,
in the operation of mills. In only one scenario did we
find that the kuhls were government subsidized,
everywhere else they were hand dug by the farmers
who operated the farms.
At the higher elevations we found that the farmers were
much more self-reliant; they use smaller fields to grow
crops for self-consumption. As the crops being grown
are not being used for profit, they are not putting active
efforts towards improving the irrigational methods and
rainwater is reportedly sufficient for the time being.
We found through interviews and site assessments that
water is unsafe; there have been reports of people
getting severe stomach illnesses. Due to increasing
demand, government is focusing more on drinking
water than irrigation. This has led the government to
build storage tanks for local villagers. We discovered
two cost-effective and easily accessible methods such
as the solar water disinfection (SODIS), which exposes
water to sunlight for a period of time, and the sari cloth
filter, where old women's cloth is folded four to eight
times to strain away bacteria that is usually present in
the water. After assessing irrigation methods and water
needs of villages in Mandi district, we determined that
a rainwater harvesting technique would be applicable,
especially since these areas receive abundant rainfall
during monsoon season.
Conclusion
The present study revealed an important water issue
that villagers are facing besides irrigation for fields. In
2007, a drought destroyed the local harvest of
subsistence farmers. Due to the drought, farmers did
115
 not even have drinking water for days and the
government failed to provide any form of assistance. A
system like this could alleviate the impacts of
unanticipated natural disasters, and increase the
overall resilience of the community. The ability to
recover for these calamities can be a struggle for
communities living at higher elevations. This model
can augment water supply to these hilly areas
especially in times of drought. Since most of the
farmers utilize rainwater for irrigation, the design also
captures rainwater through roof gutters and stores it in
a tank. Our study sought to improve the lives of farmers
particularly those situated in vulnerable locations at
higher altitudes by creating a model of water
management system that is easily accessible and
maintained. We realize that this scheme may not be
suitable for constant use but it does provide a certain
level of safety and assurance that even during extreme
weather the livelihood of the farmers will be preserved.
This solution can help villagers and farmers on hilly
areas around Himachal Pradesh and other states that
have limited access to surface water but have abundant
source of rainwater.
116
References
1. American Society for Microbiology (2010, May 20).
Sari cloth a simple sustainable protector from cholera.
Science Daily. Retrieved from.
2. Center for Science and Environment. (n.d.). Water
harvesting systems: Traditional systems. Retrieved
f r o m h t t p : / / w w w. r a i n w a t e r h a r v e s t i n g . o r g /
Rural/Traditional3.htm
3. Government of Himachal Pradesh Irrigation and Public
Health Department. (2005). Himachal Pradesh State
Water Policy. Retrieved from http://www.ielrc.
org/content/e0517.pdf
4. http://www.biologydiscussion.com/articles/traditional-
and-modern-irrigation-methods/2419
5. h t t p : / / w w w. r a i n w a t e r h a r v e s t i n g . o r g /
Rural/Traditional3.ht
6. The Himachal Pradesh Ground Water (Regulation and
Control of Development and Management) Act. (2005).
Retrieved from http://www.ielrc.org/content/
e0507.pdf.
7. World Bank Group. (2011). Growth and productivity in
agriculture and agribusiness: evaluative lessons from
World Bank Group experience. Washington, D.C: The
World Bank.
Annual Technical Volume
 Sustainable Water Resource Management for
Efficient Irrigation System
Ambrish Kumar
Principal Scientist, ICAR – Indian Institute of Soil & Water Conservation, Dehradun
* aktswc@yahoo.com
B. L. Dhyani
Principal Scientist, ICAR – Indian Institute of Soil & Water Conservation, Dehradun
P. K. Mishra
Director
ICAR – Indian Institute of Soil & Water Conservation, Dehradun
* pkmbellary@rediffmail.com
Introduction
Out of about 141 m.Ha of net area sown in the country,
about 65 million hectare (or 45%) is presently covered
under irrigation. Substantial dependency on rainfall
makes cultivation in unirrigated areas a high risk, less
productive profession. Empirical evidences suggest
that assured or protective irrigation encourages
farmers to invest more in farming technology and
inputs leading to productivity enhancement and
increased farm income (agricoop.nic.in). While the
situation in Hill and Mountain region is more
vulnerable, where major arable land( > 80 %) is rain
dependent. Himalayas is environmentally sensitive,
economically marginalized and densely populated in
proximity of the arable lands is highly vulnerable to the
impacts of these changes that may cause a substantial
decrease in availability of water for drinking and food
production, and consequently increase the
vulnerability of food and agricultural systems in the
entire region (Cline, 2008), that aggravate the situation
of already existing Critically Diversified Risk prone
Agriculture (CDRA). In the prevailing system under
non-availability of irrigation water, farmers grow rain-
fed cereals with very low yields. However, farmers use
water of low-discharge springs (discharge <20 l/min)
at very small scale in a unsystematic and scattered
manner of vegetable production. Plant to plant hand
watering is the most efficient water application
method, but it requires a huge amount of labour.
Geographically, hills and mountains are spread all over
the country covering more than twenty states.
However, the largest area is located in the Himalayas.
It consists of two distinct regions, viz., North-Eastern
hills (NEH) and North-Western hills (NWH). The total
geographical area in the NEH, comprising of
Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, is 18.4 million ha,
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whereas the area under the NWH, comprising of
Himachal Pradesh (HP), Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)
and Uttarakhand is 33.1 million ha. Agriculture
continues to be the mainstay of the people of the hills
(about 78% of the population in Indian Himalayan
region is rural despite the fact that the hills experience
adverse agro-climatic conditions.
Low productivity and cropping intensity, subsistence
level of farming is attributed to poor irrigation facility
in the hilly areas. To enhance the productivity and
livelihood in the Hill farmining situations Himalayan
foothills, development of Irrigation System which
could be able to provide irrigation to each farm is felt
need. In this direction, recently launched Pradhan
Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) with the
objectives of 'Har Khet Ko Pani' and 'per drop more
crop'could be a major push to mobilize the farmers
towards remunerative agriculture. PMKSY has been
conceived as an amalgamation of ongoing schemes
viz. Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP)
of the Ministry of Water Resources, River
Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR,
RD&GR), Integrated Watershed Management
Programme (IWMP) of Department of Land
Resources (DoLR) and the On Farm Water
Management (OFWM) of Department of Agriculture
and Cooperation (DAC). The objectives envisaged
under PMKSY may be achieved by upscaling and
disseminating the successful project -- 'Participatory
Dissemination and Assessment of Land and Water
Management Technologies for Livelihood Security in
Rain-fed Areas of North Western Himalayas, which
was funded by the Ministry of Rural development. In
this endeavor, rain-fed cultivable lands of the villages
– Pasauli and Devthala were selected for setting up a
water conveyance system towards developing
irrigation facility on the basis of the participatory
approach.
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 Description of Site
The study area, comprising a village cluster – Gadoria,
Devthala, Pasauli, and Dungakhet, is about 40 km
away from Dehradun on Vikasnagar - Langha Road.
Preliminary survey conducted in 2005 indicated that
out of total 321 farm families of these villages, 82%
belonged to socially backward (SC, ST & OBC) and
about 80% were economically poor. Total agricultural
land of the four villages is 165.08 ha and majority
(about 85%) of it is rainfed. The irrigated area in
Dungakhet, Pasauli, and Godaria was 20%, 11% and
98%, respectively but Devthala had only rain
dependant agriculture. This clearly indicates a very
meager irrigation facility in Pasauli & Devthala
villages so they were selected for the intervention of
water resource generation.
The area is totally dominated by marginal (92%) and
small (7%) farmers. About 85% of the stakeholders
were solely dependent on agriculture or agricultural
wages. Low productivity of crops due to rain
dependent farming and non-awareness of improved
crop production technologies, low productivity of
animals due to non-availability of nutritive fodder,
poorly available off-farm employment opportunities
are attributed to the poor economic condition of the
farmers. The area represents a typical sub-tropical
climate with high intensity storms during the rainy
season and scanty rainfall there after. The area is
drained by two torrents, namely Utmadi Rao (torrent)
and Gauna torrent. Undulating topography, faulty land
management practices coupled with high intensity
storms result in high runoff and soil loss from the area
during the rainy season while acute water shortage is
experienced in the lean period.
Water Conveyance System
In participatory rural appraisal and subsequent
topographical engineering survey, a site situated at
latitude – 30027'40.16''N, longitude -77053'59.77'' E
and altitude - 745 m amsl in a Serukhala perennial
stream, was identified to tap the surplus water for
creating an irrigation facility in Pasauli and part of
Devthala villages. The minimum lean flow recorded
during the study period (2005-2010) was 11.4
Litre/Second (LPS). An elevation difference of 26.5 m
between water source and delivery point indicated the
possibility of development of gravity fed conveyance
system for irrigation. An Intake Structure (IS) was
constructed at the source to convey water from source
to Distribution Tank (DT) through Galvanized Iron
(GI) pipe (diameter ,,: 100 mm) of length 1830 m, by
gravity flow with hydraulic gradient 1.96 %.
Distribution tank having a capacity of 50,000 liters and
inflow at DT is 10 - 12 LPS. The tank is located at the
head of the command area (26.28 ha) in order to convey
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the water through underground PVC pipelines (110
mm ) to the farmers' fields, by gravity flow with
maximum 26.5 m gravity head. PVC pipeline (1500m)
was laid across the command area in such a way that it
can supply the water to the farmers' fields spread in the
command area with 10-12 LPS discharge. The
command area is divided into 19 Unit Command Areas
(UCA) and a UCA covers 1.5 ha. At the head of each
UCA, one riser (outlet) is fitted on the PVC pipeline to
uniformly deliver the water. In order to enhance the
field application efficiency, collapsible synthetic pipes
are being used by the farmers. Distribution of water for
the irrigation to each beneficiary farmer is regulated by
the committee constituted by the Water Users
Association (WUA). Water being shared among the
farmers' fields on the rotation basis as decided by the
WUA and farmers get his turn in 15 days (irrigation
period). In one season, delivery of water follows the
sequence from head to the tail riser and in next season
delivery sequence gets reversed order to negate the
clash among the farmers.
The plan of the irrigation system, comprising of
different components, viz; water conveyance system;
Intake structure, GI pipeline and distribution tanks,
and water distribution system; PVC distribution
pipelines and risers are described below.
Implementation of the System
Water Conveyance
It covers the part of system from source to distribution
tank which was constructed at the head of the
command area, and consists of Intake Structure, GI
Pipeline and Distribution Tank. The plan of the water
conveyance is presented in Figure 1.
Intake Structure
Water source of the GRAvity-fed Irrigation System
(GRAIS) was identified below the inlet structure of the
drinking water supply scheme of Uttarakhand Jal
Sansthan (UJS) located on the bank of the stream
(SeruKhala), because of sufficient surplus flow over
the inlet structure of UJS, that was the specific
advantage of the site and there was no any risk of social
dispute between old drinking scheme of UJS and
newly proposed water conveyance system envisaged
under the project. Besides, it is a perennial stream
having average minimum lean flow 11.4 LPS as
recorded during the study period, and a tributary of
Gauna river which flows along North-eastern
boundary of the command area. On the basis of being
firm stream banks and gentle slopes in and on the
stream bank, and considering the interests of owners of
watermills lying below the source point, the site was
selected for construction of an intake structure. It was
constructed in the stream as two tier chambers in a
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 Figure 1 : Layout of water conveyance from intake structure to Distribution tank

cascading manner as upper and lower. Plan and side

Figure 2 : Plan of the intake structure of the water
conveyance system
Figure 3 : Elevation of intake structure along left bank of
the stream
elevation views of the intake structure are presented in
Figures 2 and 3, respectively. First, stone masonry
cutoff wall, depth – 1.20 m, length – 8.50 m and
thickness – 0.50m, was constructed for setting up the
upper chamber in order to make a bypass arrangement
for uninterrupted flow with the adequate head to
watermill lying just below the selected site. For this
purpose, a low height (0.8 m) wall was raised above the
bed surface towards maintaining the adequate head
required for operating the watermill as owner of the
watermill raised his concern about insufficient head for
running the watermill. R.C.C. headwall, height -2,
length – 7.4 m and wall thickness – 0.50m was
constructed at a distance of 4m from the cutoff wall for
the lower chamber as the capacity of water storage of
lower chamber was comparatively large. Side walls,
thickness – 0.5 m, of both the chambers were made up
with stone masonry. In order to check sub-surface
water flow, the foundation of the wall was extended
deeper to form an impervious barrier below the head
wall. On the downside, a gabion base was constructed
because of sudden drop and unstable debris deposit
that served the purpose of the apron as well. In fact this
base was constructed in step manner to act as a
retaining wall of the intake structure, along with
protection of bank from erosion. An inlet well,
rectangular in shape and 1x1x2m in size was set up at
down, left end of the R.C.C headwall of the lower
chamber. It was connected with lower chamber by
perforated GI pipe of 120 mm that acts as a filter. For
smooth inflow to the inlet, two GI pipes of 3 m long
each with 1.25mm holes (as a perforation) were used.
The opening space on each pipe was kept 40%, so that
hydraulic friction by constriction of flow into the holes
would not affect the smooth flow into the inlet well.

Annual Technical Volume 119

 Hence the total opening area of perforations was kept capacity of 50,000 liters was constructed at an altitude
too much larger than the cross-sectional area of the of 709 m amsl and was fed with water conveying
main GI pipeline. Filter materials such as gravels, through the main GI pipe by gravity flow from the
pebbles and stones were packed around the filter pipes source. A gate valve was fixed to the main GI pipe
in three layers, viz; outer layer with 10 – 20 mm size of before delivering the water into the tank with an
gravel, second layer with pebbles of size (>20 mm) and objective to control the discharge of incoming
third inner layer around the perforated pipes with pipeline. A schematic diagram of the masonry tank is
stones. The reason behind the arrangement of filter is given in Figures 5 and 6 showing all essential
to make the flow free from any blockage in the pipe. components of the tank. Perforated pipes as a filter
For water conveyance, the main GI pipeline was fixed were fitted to the outflow unit of the tank in order to
at a height of 45 cm from the bottom of inlet well, so check the entry of any trash, leaf or refuse into the
that the fine soil particles get settled on the bottom of distribution pipeline. The tank was covered with wire
inlet well. mesh to prevent the children from entry to the tank.
The walls of the tank were made with inside sloping
Laying of GI Pipeline
with top width 0.45 m. In fact, the tank was
GI pipeline, 100 mm , was laid out from inlet well to a constructed on earthfill site; there was a risk to uneven
distribution tank located at the head of the command
area, covering a distance of 1.9 km. A sluice valve was
fixed on the pipeline near the inlet well in order to
control the flow or for the purpose of repair &
maintenance of 1.9 km long pipeline laid on the
unstable and precipitous slopes of Gauna river in
Outer Himalaya. At 185 m from the source, the pipe
was laid underground to cross the river which is 18 m
wide. For protection of the pipe from flowing debris in
the river, particularly in the monsoon, gabion barrier
on the down side of the pipeline along the width of the
river was erected. A perusal of Figure 4 showing the
longitudinal section of the proposed pipeline reveals
the ground surface is 3-4 m above the hydraulic line,
drawn with the data collected from surveying the line,
in the segment between 1600 m and 2000 m. Thus, a
trench with varying depth (3 to 4m) in the elevated

Figure 5 : Plan of the distribution tank

Figure 4 : L-section of line between source and distribution

tank Figure 6 : Elevation of distribution tank at Section A-A

segment was dug befitting with the hydraulic gradient.
The main conveyance GI pipeline was connected with
the distribution tank which is located in a drop of 36.48
m with reference to the elevation of the source.
Distribution Tank
A masonry tank of size (7.4 x 5.5 x 1.8 m) and a
settlement of downside long wall, i.e. away from the
road. Hence gabions from outside were erected to
avoid any outward movement of the down wall or
subsidence of the structure when tank is full. In other
word, the placement of gabions on downside to retain
the wall of the tank was done like an arrangement of
counterfort to the wall.

120 Annual Technical Volume

 Figure 7 : Plan of PVC distribution pipeline in the command area
Distribution Pipeline
It was laid out from the distribution tank in the
command area with an objective to distribute the water
to each farm of the farmers who were members of the
water users association. In order to minimize the cost
of the system, PVC pipes of 110 mm with pressure 8
kg/sq cm was laid out in the command area, instead of
GI pipes. A plan of the distribution underground PVC
pipeline is shown in Figure 7. A gate valve was fixed
on the pipeline near the DT to control the flow into the
distribution pipeline. A small segment (185m) of
distribution line was laid with GI pipeline (100 mm )
from DT to Diversion Box as there is crossing of the
road (Langha to Dehradun) at two places in this
segment. For efficient management of irrigation, at the
end of 185 m of GI pipe segment, a diversion box with
gate valves were set up to regulate and distribute the
flow either side of the road which divides the command
area into two blocks, namely Pasauli-East and Pasauli-
West. A network of underground PVC pipeline starting
from diversion box was laid out in the entire command
area. The gravity head between DT and end point of the
distribution line in the Pasuali - west was registered
26.5 m and discharge recorded at that point was as
much as 12 lps. For irrigation to the farmers' fields,
risers (outlets) with complete assembly were fitted on
underground PVC pipeline using Female Treaded
Adapter (FTA). One riser in each around 1.5 ha area
was installed in order to maintain minimum discharge
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of 10 lps in the designed set up of risers. Control valve
and locking device were also equipped with each riser
for controlling the discharge and protecting riser from
misuse by any other person. Keys of the locking device
of all the riders were maintained by an operator
appointed by the water user association. Operator of
the system maintains the roster of turn of the irrigation
to individual fields or follows the instruction of the
association. Risers at the end points of the branches of
the pipeline were fixed with pressure gauges to
identify any low pressure/choking or any other
problems by checking the pressure in the particular
line.
In the middle of the progress, farmers of one more
village – Devthala well comprehended the outcome of
the project and they thus came forward to participate in
the project after a formal agreement with the Water
User Association which was competent to take such
decisions. While, this village is separated from the
existing command area by a torrent (stream) named
Udmadi. An additional PVC pipeline, 400 m in length
and 110 mm, was laid out from the last riser point in
Pasauli-west block to the Devthala block. GI pipe was
laid to cross Udmadi torrent (12 m width) and the pipe
segment in the stream was placed between two gabion
barriers laid along the width of the stream. The banks
of the stream at both ends of the GI pipe lying in the
torrent were stabilized by gabion protection walls and
retards.
121
 Command Area
Command area of the irrigation project is divided into
three blocks, viz; Pasauli-East, Pasauli- West and
Devthala (Figure 7). Pasauli-East block is spread over
an area of 5.5 ha with altitudinal variation ranging from
673 to 706.5 m amsl. The land slope varies from 7 to 12
% across the length and 3 % along the length, which
clearly indicates multi directional land slope in the
block with high variability. The length of block
extends from North to South along the road and
breadth from East to West. The farm holding size
varies from 0.30 to 0.64 ha and 50 farm families are
benefitted by the project. PVC pipeline (110 mm )
with 6 risers was laid, which was 10 m east from the
road. The second block, Pasauli-West, is sprawled
over 16.28 ha area with an altitudinal variation from
684 to 707m asml. The farm size varies from 0.07 to
2.0 ha and 59 farm families are benefitted by the
system. PVC pipeline (110 mm ) with 10 risers was
laid out in the block. This block is largest among all
three blocks and has a relatively gentle land slope, i.e. 1
-2% across the length and 4.3 % along the length. This
block follows the same pattern of length and breadth of
earlier block. To obtain desired flow at each riser, the
PVC pipeline is laid in the middle of the block along
the length. The last block, Devthala, is spread over 4.5
ha area with an altitudinal variation from 673 to 692 m
amsl. Variation in farm size is similar to Pasauli-west
block and 6 farm families are benefited by the system.
PVC pipeline (110 mm ) with 3 risers was laid out in
the block. This block is separated from Pasauli-West
by Udmadi river. Hence special arrangements were
made to install the pipeline for crossing the river. The
pipeline of this block is connected with last riser set up
in Pasauli-West block.
On-farm Water Management
In all three blocks, one riser is provided at every 1.5 ha,
this is termed as unit command area. A committee of
beneficiary farmers of each unit command area is
formed to decide turn to irrigate their fields. To
enhance the application efficiency of irrigation, the
farmers of unit command area use collapsible synthetic
pipes. Even in the unit command area, water is
delivered to the individual field head by a collapsible
synthetic pipe. With continuous motivation to the
farmers, adoption of the optimum size of border for
irrigation in wheat crop and strengthening of field
bunds for minimizing the seepage loss from the field
bunds, particularly from downfield bund is
popularized in the command area.
In order to avoid any conflict regarding the turn of
irrigation to the farmers' fields; a mechanism is
evolved with common consensus. In this mechanism,
in one season, delivery of water follows the sequence
122
from head to the tail riser and in next season delivery
sequence gets reversed order to negate the clash among
the farmers.
Gravity-fed in-line drip irrigation system was installed
at five farmers' fields having 1.5- 4 % land slope and
covering total 1.6 acres with an objective to
demonstrate the system among the farmers. The main
line of each unit of drip irrigation was coupled with
riser existing in the respective unit command areas,
and strainer type filters having capacity 25 m3 /hr was
also fitted to the main line near the riser. In order to
minimize the cost of the system, different sizes (50, 63
and 75mm φ) of submain were laid out in the field
4,600 m in-line laterals of 16 mm φ was laid out in the
fields in order to irrigate vegetable crops-tomato,
brinjal, cauliflower. Uniformity coefficient varied
from 74 to 82 %, depending on the land slope of the
field.
Participation of the Beneficiary Farmers
Participatory approach is more pertinent in the
planning and development of water resource
development and management. This is so because it
not only requires the resources to be developed or
managed properly, but equitably distributed among the
stakeholders or beneficiaries. It also requires that along
with the Private Property Resources (PPR), the
Common Property Resources (CPR) are developed,
managed and maintained efficiently.
For this, a number of meetings held in each beneficiary
village to form a Water User Association (WUA).
Amongst the beneficiary farmers of villages, members
were identified by the villagers to facilitate the project
team for the participation in every step of the project
starting from planning to maintenance the system after
withdrawal of the project.
Sustenance and Follow Up
In the traditional top down approach of management,
the component of repair and maintenance of water
resource development works has been lacking while it
should have a priority. An institutional arrangement
preferably with active involvement of local
communities should be formed and entrusted with this
responsibility. Participatory resource management is a
good example in this endeavour. Water user
Association of unit command area groups was
generating the revenue, managing the resources and
looking after repair and maintenance of those
structures. For this purpose an operation was appointed
by the WUA for smooth operation of the system and
collection of charges from the individual farmers on
account of irrigation to their fields. The members of
project team do the necessary technical guidance
whenever required.
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 Impact of the Irrigation System
Prior to the project, agriculture in adopted villages
were predominantly rain dependent, except Godaria,
which had 98% land under limited irrigation. Project
activities increased irrigated land in all the adopted
villages with a total increase, 173.8%. The maximum
increase in irrigated land was 391.9% in village
Pasauli followed by 22% in Dungakhet and least
(0.8%) in Godaria. Gross irrigated area during PrP was
46.92 ha and reached to the level of 130.15 ha at EoP
indicating that gross irrigated area increased by 83.23
ha though the net irrigated area was increased by 25.3
ha. Thus irrigability index (II) value was 3.29. The
high value of II revealed that developed water
resources are being utilized effectively. It is attributed
to new cropping sequence, maize – toria – wheat or
maize – vegetable- vegetable or oat – berseem –
berseem or vegetable-vegetable at EoP in place of
maize-wheat or Paddy-Wheat/follows cropping
sequence followed in the irrigated land during PrP.
Consequently a total crop production from the project
area showed about 191% improvement over pre-
project (2008) production level.
Productivity of major crops viz., Maize, Paddy, Wheat
and Toria were increased by 48%. Enhanced cropping
intensity by 29% due to intervening crop of Toria in
between Maize-Wheat sequence and cultivation of
Rabi wheat on fallow land resulted increased
additional net income of Rs. 17500/- ha. Crop
diversification index improved from 0.84 (pre-project)
to 0.96 at the end of the project, helped to minimize the
negative impact of climatic aberrations.
Availability of fodder increased by 350% resulted in
increased milk productivity by 97% due to
introduction of hybrid Napier grass on field bunds and
higher productivity of fodder sorghum and Berseem.
This has reduced dependency on forest for fodder by
60% besides reducing time spent on collection of
fodder to the extent of 23,457 woman days per annum.
Overall additional regular employment generated to
the tune of 65 mandays per ha per annum.
Induced Eco-development Index (IEI) of the irrigated
command area was found 0.316 showing 31.6% area
of cultivated land is under some form of permanent
vegetation. Sodling of napier grass on the field
boundaries and terrace shoulder bounds and their
survival (92%) in around 93% agricultural area,
particularly Pasauli and Devthala, clearly showed the
impact of creating the irrigation facility. Beneficiary
farmers contributed 15 % of the total cost of the
component, i.e. Rs 25,91,932.00.
Conclusion
The conveyance efficiency was recorded > 95 % with
designing discharge at remotest riser in the command
Annual Technical Volume
area. Productivity of major crops increased by 48%
with enhanced cropping intensity by 29% due to
intervening crop of Toria in between Maize-Wheat
sequence. Cultivation of Rabi wheat on fallow land
resulted increased additional net income of Rs. 17500/-
ha. Availability of fodder increased by 350% resulted
in increased milk productivity by 97% due to
introduction of hybrid Napier grass on field bunds and
higher productivity of fodder sorghum and Berseem.
This has also reduced dependency on forest for fodder
by 60%. Overall additional regular employment
generated to the tune of 65 mandays per ha per annum.
Himalayan hills have great potential to convert least an
economic rainfed farming into the most profitable
irrigated farming system through participatory water
resource development for the purpose of irrigation.
The study revealed that active involvement of
beneficiary farming community at all the stages of the
project life holds the key for sustainability of the
system. Development of an efficient irrigation system,
i.e. technically as well as socially, is followed by many
other activities such as land leveling, bunding,
terracing in the area, coupled with niche farming with
intensive land use management system; ultimately
leads to sustainable livelihood security in the area.
However, the proactive strategies for conflict
resolution among the beneficiaries as well as upstream
– downstream areas is equally essential.
References
1. Cline, W.R. 2008. Global warming and agriculture
Impact Estimates by country Peterson Institute for
International Economics, Washington.
2. Dhyani B.L., Bihari Bankey, Kumar Ambrish, Mandal
Debashis, Singh Charan and Muruganandan M. 2015.
Published a book entitled Natural Resource
management for livelihood security: project planning,
monitoring and impact analysis; published by ICAR-
IISWC(formerly CSWCRTI), Dehradun(Uttarakhand)
India; ISBN, p.175.
3. ICIMOD, 2007. Melting Himalayas: Regional
challenges and local impacts of climate change on
Mountain Ecosystems and Livelihood, Technical paper.
11-24 p.
4. Kumar Ambrish, Dhyani B.L., Bihari Bankey, Mandal
Debashis, Singh Charan and Muruganandan M. 2015.
Participatory Sustainable Water Resource Management
for Irrigation in Himalayan Foot Hills published in
proceedings of All India Seminar on “Advances in
Engineering and Technology for Sustainable
D e v e l o p m e n t o rg a n i z e d b y I n s t i t u t i o n o f
Engineers(India) at GBPUAT, Pantnagar, during 12-13
June 2015: p. 28-36.
5. w w w. g o o g l e . c o . i n / w e b h p ? s o u r c e i d = c h r o m e -
instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=pmksy.
6. h t t p : / / w w w. a g r i c o o p . n i c . i n / i m a g e d e f a u l t /
draftpmsky.pdf
123
 Micro Irrigation in Uttarakhand: Status, Scope
and Design Considerations
P. K. Singh
Professor, Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Engineering, College of Technology
Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand
Introduction
Agriculture is the largest private enterprise in India
which provides the understanding for our food and
livelihood security and supports for the economic
growth and social transformation. Sustainable
development and efficient management of water is an
increasing complex challenge in India, particularly in
hills of Uttarakhand and other North Western
Himalayan States. Increasing population, growing
urbanization and rapid industrialization combined
with the need for raising agricultural production
generates competing claims for water. In India, though
the area under irrigation has increased significantly
since independence, the share of irrigated area to gross
cropped area in Indian agriculture is only about 40 % as
of today. One of the main reasons for the limited
expansion of irrigation is the predominant use of
conventional / flood method of irrigation. The
efficiency of water use under flood method of
irrigation is extremely low mainly due to huge losses
through the evaporation and seepage in conveyance
network along with application and distribution losses
in the field. Considering the fast decline of available
water potential and growing needs for irrigation water,
various measures have been introduced to increase the
efficiency of water use under surface method of
irrigation. However, these measures could not bring
any substantial improvement in the existing water use
efficiency. Pressurized method (sprinkler and drip) of
irrigation introduced somewhat recently in Indian
agriculture proved to be an effective method in
increasing the efficiency of water use.
Micro irrigation (sprinkler, drip and micro sprinkler
etc.) offer possibilities of achieving higher efficiencies
of water use through controlled water application. In
micro irrigation methods water is applied more
frequently which in turn reduces the moisture stress to
the plants and thus enhances the crop growth. In micro
irrigation, water is applied at a very low rate, almost
matching the evapotranspiration requirement,
resulting into significant water saving. The use of
micro irrigation is rapidly increasing around the world,
and it is a viable irrigation method for agricultural
production in the foreseeable future. With increasing
124
demands on limited water resources and the need to
minimize adverse environmental consequences of
irrigation, micro irrigation technology will
undoubtedly play an even more important role in the
future. It provides many unique agronomic, water
and energy conservation benefits that address many
of the challenges facing irrigated agriculture, now
and in the future.
Micro Irrigation: Government of India (GOI)
Initiatives
Out of about 141 Mha of net area sown in the country,
about 65 million hectare (or 45%) is presently
covered under irrigation. Substantial dependency on
rainfall makes cultivation in unirrigated areas a high
risk, less productive profession. Empirical evidences
suggest that assured or protective irrigation
encourages farmers to invest more in farming
technology and inputs leading to productivity
enhancement and increased farm income. The
overreaching vision of Pradhan Mantri Krishi
Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) will ensure access to
some means of protective irrigation to all agricultural
farms in the country, to produce 'per drop more crop',
thus bringing much desired rural prosperity.
Micro irrigation (MI) supplies water directly at the
root zone of the crops through a network of pipes and
therefore, it substantially reduces the evaporation and
distribution losses of water. Apart from water saving,
drip method of irrigation also significantly increases
productivity of crops and that too with reduced cost
of cultivation. Though drip and sprinkler irrigation
are classified under micro-irrigation, the trends in the
adoption of these new methods of irrigation are not
the same across crops and regions. While the
adoption of drip is largely found in states like
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil
Nadu, sprinkler is largely adopted in states like
Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (INCID,
1994; 1998 and GOI, 2004). Drip method of
irrigation was introduced in India during the early
seventies at the Agricultural Universities and other
Research Institutions. More than 3.2 Mha area was
covered under micro irrigation by 2013 (Iyengar and
Lall, 2013). The areas covered and details of
Annual Technical Volume
 assistance under the centrally sponsored schemes in (including artesian wells) are main source of
different years are summarized in Table 1, Table 2 and irrigation. However, small canals (guls), lift canals,
Table 3. hydrums, springs, small natural nalas and water
harvesting structures are the source of irrigation in
Micro Irrigation in Uttarakhand
hilly areas. Total area under irrigation is about 11 % of
The state of Uttarakhand can be divided into the plain cultivated area.
and the hill districts. Uttarakhand is located between
Through centrally sponsored schemes such as
latitudes 29o5' -31o25'N and longitudes 77o45' – 81oE
horticulture technology mission, HMNEH, and
covering a geographical area of 53,483 km2.
National Mission on Micro Irrigation more than 1000
Uttarakhand is predominantly a mountainous state,
ha area under drip irrigation and about 500 ha area
situated in the Central Zone of the Himalayas between
under sprinkler irrigation were covered mainly for the
the state of Himachal Pradesh to the west and the
horticultural crops up to 2010. During 2011-14 total
country of Nepal to the east. The total area is 53,119 sq.
4320 farmers covering with 2185 ha were benefitted
km., which accounts for about 1.6 % of the total area of
with drip and sprinkler irrigation systems. During
the country. Excluding the forest, degraded and usar
2014-15, a target was fixed to bring 2620 ha area under
land, total area under agricultural cultivation is only
micro irrigation in Uttrakhand (Negi, et al.2014.)
12.50 lakhs ha in the state. Based on the agriculture,
Uttrakhand can be divided into Plain and Hilly area. In Micro Irrigation for Hill Ecosystem
plain districts of the state, canals and tube wells
Hill constitutes one of the most complex agro-
ecological systems. There is tremendous variation in
Table 1 Area covered (ha) under Micro Irrigation in the states physiographical conditions of land, shape of land
(Patle, 2015)

Table 2 Funding pattern under PMKSY- MI

DPAP – Drought Prone Area Programme; DDP – Desert Development Programme; NEH – North Eastern &
Himalayan states
Table 3 Cost of MI Technologies under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

Annual Technical Volume 125

 (Trapezoidal or rectangular), and availability of water
source (at top or bottom of the terrace) for growing
agricultural and horticultural crops. The land occurs
with varying degree (5 to more than 75 %) of slopes,
depth of soil and level of fertility. To have irrigated
agricultural for vegetable, medicinal and aromatic
plants, important cash crops and newly established
plantation crops and also to improve productivity of
existing old orchards, it would be necessary to develop
irrigation water resources and properly application of
irrigation water. The development of irrigation water
resources in the hills is possible through:
Taping/harnessing
l of rainwater and runoff, water
flow in streams, nalas and springs of different
dimensions, and
Taping
l of natural existing springs in hills several
low discharges natural springs exists.
The natural spring constitutes promising water
resources. The discharge of these springs varies with
the season. These natural springs have good potential
of water for domestic and irrigation purposes.
To increase the irrigation potential in hills, it is utmost
necessary that existing water resources in the uplands
such as springs, streams, and surface/subsurface
runoff should be exploited (Shukla et al. 2005). By
storing water in tanks, the low discharge
springs/streams can be used to provide assured
irrigation round the year. While, the surface runoff
stored in the water harvesting tank can be used for
supplemental irrigation during summer. Micro
irrigation technique would have special advantage in
the sense that the available gravity head can be used
without requiring an additional pumping unit and
energy.
Design of Micro Irrigation System for Hilly
Terraced / Sloppy Land
Design of drip irrigation system depends on several
parameters including topography, soil type, crop to be
irrigated, weather conditions, technology and financial
resources. Different criteria are available for designing
the drip irrigation system for widely spaced row crops
such as orchard and vegetables for supplying water to
the individual plants with the help of a single or a set of
drippers based on the rooting pattern and canopy area
of the plants. In this situation there is no need to apply
water to the entire land area and the laterals are
generally placed along the plant rows. For closely
spaced field crops the entire land area needs to be
wetted and the drip system needs to be designed on the
basis of meeting the water requirement of the total
cultivated area. Relationship between dripper
discharge, operation time, horizontal and vertical
movement of soil moisture under drip irrigation
126
provides superior criteria for designing efficient and
economic drip irrigation system for closely spaced
field crops.
Criteria and design of drip irrigation system broadly
involves the collection of general information,
determination of appropriate lay-out of drip system,
estimation of irrigation water requirement, capacity of
drip irrigation system, number of drippers, laterals and
sub mains, different accessories, capacity of drippers,
diameter of main, sub main and lateral pipes and size of
pumping unit besides the cost of designed drip system.
The design of micro irrigation main/sub-main should
be based on the balance between allowable variation in
head, friction head loss and the elevation difference in
sub-main. In the design of sub-main for
sloppy/terraced land, the head loss due to bends in sub-
main should also be considered. In the steep sloppy
lands the difference in elevation between the inlet and
end points of sub-main is sufficiently high and hence
the pressure compensating emitters can be used under
this condition to control the head due to higher
elevation differences. The design of main/sub-main
for the slopping and terraced land having water source
at the top or bottom of hill were also considered in the
design. Various steps of designing of drip irrigation
system are given in the following heads:
Objectives of Designing Micro Irrigation System
There are some prime objectives to be borne in mind
while designing micro irrigation system are :
To maintain
l higher system and irrigation
efficiency by means of higher emission
uniformity.
To maintain
l optimum moisture level in soil for
optimization of crop yield.
To keep
l both initial investment and annual cost
at minimum level.
To design
l a suitable type of system which will
last and perform well?
To design
l a manageable system which can be
easily operated and maintained?
To satisfy
l and fulfill the water and fertilizer
application requirements of crops and farmers or
users.
Design inputs
As we are aiming at a precise quantity and uniform
application of water for each and every plant,
collection of data as detailed below is a prerequisite for
designing an efficient micro irrigation system.
Topographical
l data : Measurement of field,
ground slope and contours.
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 Water
l source : Assessment of water source and
availability of water.
Agricultural
l details : Crop, spacing, type,
variety, age, water requirement and crop
physiology.
Climatologically data
l : Temperature, humidity,
rainfall, evaporation etc.
Soil and
l water analysis: Collection of soil and
water samples and analysing.
General Criteria Applicable to all Purposes
Planned work shall comply with all central, state, and
local laws and regulations. The system shall be
designed to uniformly apply water and/or chemicals
directly to the plant root zone to maintain soil moisture
within the range for good plant growth without
excessive water loss, erosion, reduction in water
quality, or salt accumulation.
Irrigation Water Requirement
Micro irrigation is a precise method of water
application, used mainly for orchard, plantation and
fruit crops where only part of the soil surface is
occupied by the crop. The canopy of young and widely
spaced crops intercepts only a part of incoming
radiation. When an unshaded portion of soil surface is
wetted by surface or sprinkler irrigation, a portion of
potential benefits of water applied is lost through
evaporation from soil and transpiration from weeds.
Therefore, the figures of crop water requirement
determined by the conventional methods include the
non-beneficial evaporation or transpiration;
consequently a reduction factor is applied to ETcrop
calculations. Vermeiren and Jobling, (1984) reported
that a factor (kr) may be used for the further
determination of crop water requirement under drip
irrigation as suggested by Decoroix, CTGREE in order
to account the reduction in evapotranspiration, which
gives reasonable results, is given as:
The water requirement (WRdrip) under drip irrigation
(mm/day);
WRdrip = ETo kc kr (1)
Where, kc the crop coefficient dependent on the
growth stage of the crop. The reduction factor kr is
given as:
kr = (0.10 + GC) or 1, whichever is the smaller (2)
where, GC is the ground cover as the fraction of total
surface area actually covered by the foliage of the plant
when viewed from the directly above. The value of
0.10 includes the oasis effect, which is important, if the
coverage is small.
Emitting devices – selection and layout
Annual Technical Volume
The number and spacing of emitters along the lateral
line shall be adequate to provide water distribution to
the plant root zone and % plant wetted area (Pw). The
design discharge rate of applicators shall be
determined from manufacturer's data for the expected
operating range. The discharge rate shall not create
runoff within the immediate application area. For
bubbler irrigation, a basin beneath the plant canopy is
required for water control, with applications confined
to the basin area. There are numerous varieties of
drippers / emitting tubes available, having different
discharge rates, features, functions, characteristics and
suitability to different crops. The selection of emitting
devices are based on peak water requirement of crop,
age and root zone, soil type, topography, soil water
holding capacity and infiltration rate, hydraulic
conductivity, life expectancy and cost economy.
Main and Sub-main Lines
Main and sub-main lines shall be designed to supply
water to all manifold and lateral lines at a flow rate and
pressure not less than the minimum design
requirements of each subunit. Adequate pressure shall
be provided to over some all friction losses in the
pipelines and appurtenances (valves, filters, etc.). Pipe
sizes for mains and sub mains shall maintain flow
velocities and emission uniformity (EU) within
recommended limits. Economic considerations shall
include both installation and operating costs. Main and
sub main lines shall be designed and installed
according to economical pipeline selection.
Design and Selection of Mainline
Mainline is a conduit which carries water from source
to sub main. The size of main line is determined by
considering the quantity of water flowing through it,
length and path of main line, elevation of ground,
velocity, safety parameters, cost economy and
monograms provided by the manufacturer. While
designing the main line , following points should be
kept in mind:
Permissible velocity
l : Should not exceed 1.5
m/s.
Frictional
l losses: Should be limited to 5 to 20
m/1,000 m length of pipe.
Economic
l size: Should be such that, low initial
investment, low annual cost and low power
cost.
Elevation
l and class of pipe: minimize use of
higher pressure rating (Class) of pipes at the
elevated ground. Run the main line as Straight
as possible in the shortest and at the same
elevation.
Control
l measures : Provide air release – cum
127
 vacuum – breaker valves, non return / check
valves, pressure relief valves, pressure
regulating and sustaining valves at appropriated
locations.
Design and Selection of Sub-mains
Sub main is a conduit (PVC/HDPE) which carries
water from main line and distributes among the
laterals. The size, length and frictional head losses of
sub main have to be determined by monograms or
charts and design guidelines provided by the
manufacturer or by using Hazen William equation and
limiting the frictional head losses within the limit of
design tolerance of the particular emitting devices as
specified by the manufacturer. In hilly terraced land it
is difficult to put main/sub main line below soil surface.
Therefore, in such area, it is recommended to the
HDPE pipe of desired size and becoming pressure as
main/sub main line.
Design of Laterals
Laterals are conduits which carry water from sub main
and feed to the emitters and are available in different
sizes- 12 mm, 16mm, 20mm etc. Emitting devices/
drippers can be fitted at determined spacing as per the
requirements of crops. In case of inline drip tubing ,
dripper intervals and discharge have to be determined
before designing of system. As the laterals are
significant with regard to pressure variation, proper
evaluation of frictional head losses in the laterals is
essential to achieve higher uniformity. Pressure
variation from 5 to 20% and discharge variation 5 to
10% throughout the system should be maintained in a
range . The size , allowable length and frictional losses
of laterals have to be determined by monograms or
charts and design guidelines provided by the
manufacturer for their emitting devices.
The lateral pipe is selected such that the head loss in it is
limited within 10 % of the operating pressure available
at the head of the lateral. Expected head losses in
different diameter pipes are estimated and that smallest
diameter pipe is selected in which the head losses are
within 10 % of the operating pressure. The lateral pipes
having 10, 12, 16 and 20 mm internal diameter with
wall thickness varying from 1 to 3 mm are used in drip
irrigation system. First a smaller diameter lateral pipe
should be selected to reduce the total cost of system and
the friction losses are estimated by using Equation (3)
and then elevation head is added to this. If the variation
in total friction losses are found within 10 % of the
operating pressure then selected diameter is accepted.
Otherwise successively larger diameter lateral pipes
are tested to meet the said condition.
h = [789000 × (Q/Nl )1.75 × l × Fd ] / d 4.75 (3)
128
Where, Q = Capacity of drip system, lps; h =
Frictional loss in lateral pipe, m; Fd = Correction factor
for multiple outlet; d = Diameter of lateral pipe, mm;
Size of Pumping Unit
Size of the pumping unit is estimated based on the
system capacity and the total head including friction
losses, elevation head, suction head and efficiencies
etc as follows :
hp = (Q × H) / 75 × ηp × ηm ) (4)
Where, hp = Motor horse power, hp ; H = Total head
loss, m; H = He + Hsm + Hm + Hs + He + Ho + Hf + Ha
;HL = Head loss in laterals, m = (head loss in one lateral
× number of laterals); Hsm = Head loss in sub main, m
= (head loss in one sub-main × number of sub main);
Hm = head loss in main, m; Hs = suction head, m; He =
elevation head, m; Ho = operating pressure head, m; Hf
= head loss in filters (2 m/filter), m ; Ha = head loss in
other fittings and accessories, m; ηp = Pump efficiency
(in fraction); ηm = Motor efficiency (in fraction).
In hilly terraced land system, if water source is at the
top of the field, gravity head can be utilized for creating
water pressure in the main/sub main line for the
operation of emitters. In such situation pumping unit is
not required.
Theoretical Design for Micro Irrigation Main /
Sub-main (Manifold) for Hilly Terraced Land
The head loss due to friction in smooth pipes can be
estimated by most commonly used Hazen-Williams
equation (5) and the head loss due to pipe fittings can
be computed by equation (6)
(Q / C )1.852 L (5)
hf = K ×
D 4.872 100
Q2 (6)
h fb = K b K r
D4
Where, Q = flow rate in pipe (L/s); C = friction
coefficient; D = inside diameter of pipe (mm);L =
length of pipe (m); K, Kb = constants (K = 1.22 × 1012,
Kb = 8.26 × 104 for metric unit); Kr = resistance
coefficient for the fittings; hf = head loss due to pipe
friction (m) and hb = head loss due to pipe fittings.
Considering a sloppy terraced land in which S is the
ground slope and hr and Wt are the riser height and
terrace width of bench terraces made on that slope
respectively as shown in Figure 1. It is considered that
Lt1, Lt2, ….and, Ltn are the length of first, second, …..,
and, nth terrace respectively.
Thus, the number of plants in ith terrace is Ni= Lti/Sp
Annual Technical Volume
 Figure 1 : Different types of subunit prevails in hilly terraced land

and the flow rate of ith lateral is Putting the values the head loss up to first terrace can
be given as :
qr = Ni × Np × qa (7)
K b K r Q12 (Q1 / C )1.852 L1 (9)
h1 = 2 + K ×
Where, Np – number of drippers per plant ; qa – D4 D 4.87 100
average dripper discharge (lph) and ql – flow rate of th
lateral on ith terrace (lph) n Terrace

The system capacity or sub-main flow rate can be Discharge after (n – 1) th terrace Qn = Qm – (q1 + q2 +
calculated as ……+qn-1 )

Qm = q1 + q2 + ….. + qI + …… + qn (8) Length of sub-main in between (n – 1) th and nth

terrace, Ln = hr + Wt .
The flow rate in the sub-main on ith terrace will be less
than the flow rate on (i-1)th terrace. Thus, if the flow Number of bends in nth terrace = 2.
rates of the submain on the first, second, ……,and nth
terrace are Q1 , Q2 , ….., and Qn respectively. Then the The total head loss in nth terrace can be given as:
head loss due to friction and bends of pipe can be
calculated using equation (5) and (6) respectively. K b K r Q12 (Q1 / C )1.852 Ln
hn = 2 + K × (10)
First Terrace D4 D 4.87 100
Total head loss due to friction and pipe bends (from
From Figure 1 it is clear that the sub-main flow rate in first terrace to nth terrace) can be obtained by adding
the first terrace Q1 = Qm and the length of sub-main pri the head loss in individual terraces. Thus, adding the
tp first lateral L1 and number of bends up to first terrace above equation we have
is equal to 2. Thus, head loss upto first terrace, h1 =
head loss due to bend + head loss due to pipe friction.

(11)

Annual Technical Volume 129

 On rearranging Design Charts for Hilly Terraced Land
The design charts for the design of main/ sub-main
(12)
(manifolds) for the ground slopes up to 100 % was
developed. The design of for the ground slopes for in
Assuming the uniform lateral spacing, Ls equal to (hr + between 50 and 75 % slopes are presented here for 10
Wt), and 5 numbers of terraces. These three slopes cover
almost all the hilly horticulture lands in India. The 25
L1 = L2 = L3 = …….= Li = …..= Ln = Ls = (hr + Wt) % slope was not considered in the development of
design chart because in India, people commonly adapt
Kb K r n
K K .Ls n the vegetable or cereals farming even up to 35 % slopes
h fb = 2
D4
∑Q
i =1
i
2
+
D 4.87
+
100.C1.852 .D 4.87
∑Q
i =1
1.852
i (13) and generally do not take horticultural crops in such
low sloped lands.
s K .L
Let K1 = 2.Kb.Kr; and K 2 = 1.852
then equation Conclusions
14 may be written as: 100 .C
Gravity fed micro irrigation system (GMIS) may be
n n designed as per stated design procedure for hilly
K1 K2
h fb =
D4
∑Q
i =1
i
2
+
D 4.87
∑Q
i =1
1.852
i (14) terraced /sloppy land system of Himalayan Eco system
as well as other part of India/world. Field micro
irrigation engineer can use the developed design charts
Equation 14 is the general equation for the calculation for the design of micro irrigation system in hilly
of head loss due to friction and pipe bends. Using this terraced land under prevailing slope, water source and
equation, the head loss from the first terrace to any soil conditions A simple poly tank /container can be
number of terraces (in between first and last terrace) connected with a small discharge spring and
can be calculated. This equation can also be used for positioned few meters (terraced) above the field to be
the calculation of total head loss when the water source irrigated. By opening a valve, the water flows by
is at the top or bottom of any shape of terraced or non- gravitation into the MIS. The fertilizer may be
added to the water, as in the conventional drip
system. The cost of installation of GMIS is
significantly lower than MIS with pumping
unit. Low cost drip irrigation system is about
Rs. 10,000 per system which can irrigate up to
800 square meter area and useful for the small
and marginal farmers, hilly terraced land and
kitchen garden irrigation. It does not require
additional source of energy for operation of
the MIS. Therefore, operation cost of the
system is minimized.
References
1. Patle, N. 2015. Present Status of Protected
Cultivation and Micro Irrigation in India.
Department of Agriculture, Cooperation
and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of
Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt. of
India, New Delhi. (Petrsonal
Figure 2 : Manifold design charts for 50,75 and 100% Communication).
sloppy terraced land
2. Shukla, K.N.,Singh P.K. Singh, K.K. and Pandey, P.K.
terraced land. When water is available at the top of the (2005).Water requirement and methods of irrigation
terrace land, the design is under gravity head or zero for hill horticulture. In : Souvenir of National
energy condition for the micro irrigation system. After Conference on Microirrigation, June3-5, 2005,
Pantnagar, pp.64-70.
designing the main / sub-main, lateral lines are
designed on the basis of 10% permissible head loss. 3. Vermeiren, I., Jobling., G.A. 1980. Localized
The emitters are selected as per the soil and crop to be irrigation: design, installation, operation, evaluation
irrigated using general design procedure of micro FAO Irrigation and Drainage paper no. 36
irrigation system. FAO.Rome, pp 203.

130 Annual Technical Volume

 Irrigation Systems in Uttrakhand : A Case Study
Tarun Raina
Senior Engineer (Projects), Government of Uttarakhand
* tarunraina83@rediffmail.com
Background
Among myriad agro-ecological constraints faced by
the small and marginal farmers of hilly regions of
Uttarakhand, the availability of water in non-monsoon
period for crop production is a prime one. Even though
the state has given rise to many important rivers from
the greater Himalayan ranges and the forest cover is
around 60 % of the total geographical area, the
irrigation scenario is grim. The typical hilly terrains,
steep slopes, high altitudes, low soil depth and ever
decreasing vegetative cover on hills owing to
anthropogenic interferences (felling of trees, mining,
land clearing for infrastructures) as well as natural
phenomena (high intensity rainfall, land slides, soil
slips, spatial and temporal variability in rainfall) have
further worsened the situation for the small and highly
fragmented farm-holders. Baring a few minor
irrigation systems mostly through traditional Gul1 and
masonry channels benefitting mostly the farm-holders
at valleys, the majority of farmers in the state subsist on
rain-fed agriculture. The supplementary irrigation in
hill slopes which is highly erratic and non-dependable
comes mostly through small diameter (0.5 to 1 inch
size) long distance laid GI pipes diverting water from
springs, perennial and semi-perennial streams. This
water is primarily used for drinking and other domestic
purposes as a priority over supplementary irrigation at
the time of acute water shortage. This water supply is
highly regulated and charged by the state control
department for each household. The excess water if the
case be is sprinkled over the plants from these GI pipe
lines through flexible plastic pipes. With this practice
not only the precious and scarce water is misutilised
but also crop productivity does not enhance
proportionately. Further there arises a water conflict
between the users of this single source of water. This
warrants a situation where water use efficiency need to
be enhanced by employing suitable micro-irrigation
systems that are gravity fed, low cost and simple in
design, operation and maintenance so as to encourage
the small farm-holders of the state to adopt widely.
Under this backdrop that farming community faces the
arduous task of choosing between drinking water
(including water required for other household
purposes) and providing life saving irrigations at the
critical crop growth stages in non-monsoon seasons,
Annual Technical Volume
IWMI-Tata Policy Program (ITP) has come out with
an innovative idea of introducing water saving mode of
water application to the crops that are remunerative
and adaptable to agro-ecology of the area. ITP has not
tried to create either massive irrigation infrastructure
or undertake large scale measures soil water
conservation in hill regions (steep slopes and mid to
lower mid-altitudes) which are long term to establish
and require big investment and larger involvement of
stakeholders/ various development agencies. ITP has
just attempted to utilize the drinking water supply
source which is almost perennial in nature though with
varying flow rate that majority of households residing
in hill regions do possess for a very low application
rate micro-irrigation systems.
With the core objective of demonstrating the
comparative advantage of improved micro-irrigation
methods over traditional irrigation practices for the hill
slope small farm-holders and to bring more area under
short duration marketable crops (vegetables) the
IWMI-Tata Policy Program (ITP) has put forward the
idea of undertaking an action research project on
micro- irrigation aspects by installing a few MISs on a
pilot basis in small farm holders plots on different
slopes, altitudes and crops combination so as to
evaluate the systems on the basis of water use
efficiency, BCR, crop yield and net farm return and
farmers feedback. This action research has also
envisaged analyzing the entire value chain of micro-
irrigation delivery systems in the state.
Objectives of MI Action Research
To identify locations suitable for micro irrigation
l
systems in high slopes and altitudes.
To study
l the feasibility of different types of drip
and sprinkler in slopes and altitudes.
To prepare
l the water budget both at watershed
and farm level.
To work
l out Water Use Efficiency, Benefit Cost
Ratio and Yield rates and Net Return potential
for farmers for different MI systems installed in
varied slope/ altitude/ crop mix.
To study
l the economics and feasibility of up-
scaling them in other locations.
131
 To analyze
l the entire value chain of Micro-
irrigation systems delivery mechanism in
Uttarakhand.
Methodology of the MI Action Research
Participatory mode of farmers site selection, crop
ü
choices, crop rotation, MI systems customized as
per farmers convenience.
Local NGOs
ü contracted to facilitate the entire
process of grounding the project starting from
selection of farmers/ sites, subsequent follow up
till periodic monitoring and reporting; thus local
NGOs capacity building is ensured.
No extra
ü thrust on farmers to use chemical
fertilizers and external inputs. Only low cost/ no
cost cultural practices advocated such as line
sowing, raised bed & furrows, optimum water
application, season/ area specific vegetable
crops.
Not too
ü much technical and rigid protocol
adopted for the research with an aim to test the
technologies under most practical set up and
ground reality so as to ensure easy replicability.
Key Features of the MI Action Research & Criteria
for Selection of Sites, Farmers & Crops
ITP with
l help of local NGOs have identified 13
s i t e s a c r o s s Te h r i G a r h w a l d i s t r i c t
(predominantly hilly), Uttarakhand on the hill
slopes (from 900m to 1800m above mean sea
level) where rainfed agriculture is practiced.
The farmers
l selected are all small farm-holders
currently undertaking subsistence farming using
no chemical fertilizers, good variety seeds and
low or no irrigation applications.
One more
l criteria of selection of sites was the
availability of water source at the farmer's house
(usually for drinking water purpose conveyed
through 0.5-1 inch diameter GI pipe).
Without
l water source it was not possible to
introduce micro-irrigation systems and creating
a new water source at the farmer's plot level was
beyond the scope of the project.
ITP after
l extensive field survey with help MI
agencies has designed customized gravity based
MI systems (drip- both pressure compensating
and non-pressure compensating in-line dripper
lines and micro sprinklers) on the 13 farm plots.
Areas of the plot range between 580 sq. mt.- 6
naali to 1400 sq. mt.- 7 naali.
Farmers
l plots are irregular in shape as expected
132
and the individual sub-plots within that are also
non-uniform table-top terraces.
Height between two successive layers of terraces
l
ranges from 1-2 mt. This particular situation
gives an opportunity for the systems to utilize the
static head of 2 to 10 meter from the water tank.
The systems
l have been economically designed
with the help two major MI companies of India.
The crops
l selected for both winter and summer
seasons are mostly potential vegetables, spices
& condiments based on agro-climatic situations
of the areas and farmers perception.
Working Modality
After installation of the MI systems at individual
ü
farmers plots and testing; farmers and NGO
personnel have been given on-site training on
repair & maintenance aspects of MIS by the
agencies
Preparation
ü of beds/ furrows and procedure for
line sowing, fertigation etc. has also been
demonstrated on the sites.
A stringent
ü monitoring framework to take stock
of the on-farm as well as off farm activities/
interventions has been worked out for the MI
sites. The facilitating NGOs have allocated staffs
for the monitoring of the sites.
The periodic
ü reporting of the key interventions
required to arrive at evaluation parameters has
been ensured through a full-fledged carefully
designed monitoring sheet. The frequency of
reporting has been fixed every fortnight.
Concerned
ü farmers and NGO personnel have
been provided with a chart comprising of
Irrigation schedule (MI system & Crop wise) and
fertigation schedule so as to serve as a guideline
to undertake optimum irrigation application and
fertigation for the crops.
Control
ü plots (crop and cultural including
irrigation practices taken up as done earlier) have
been fixed to have a comparative scenario.
Periodic
ü visits by the ITP Engineer and other
staffs to sites and hand holding support provided
by the MI agency has ensured timely supervision
and course correction if required.
NGOs
ü capacity building has been stressed upon
so that dissemination of technologies to other
areas through farmer-to-farmer extension is
possible.
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 Duration of Project: September, 2009 till August,
2010 (Figure 1).
Project Outlay: Rs. 5, 00,000 only which includes the
cost MI installations in 13 sites, monitoring &
supervision costs; Seed costs, Miscellaneous
(measurement equipment, etc.).
Impacts So Far
Realizing the perceived benefits of these gravity
ü
based low cost micro irrigation systems that
reduce family labour and water application
considerably the neighborhood farmers have
already started placing demands for installation
Figure 1 Gravity based Micro-irrigation system filtration & distribution assembly below water tank
The water preservation system is given in Figure 2 for
farmers, whereas the pressure compensating drip
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of the MI systems with the concerned NGOs/
participating farmers.
Himmotthan
ü the prime-mover of SRTT funded
development projects in the state has already
started initiative and dialogue with both IWMI
and its contracted MI agency to install a few
similar MI systems in its project areas nearby
Thatur.
The germination
ü and initial crop establishment
results have produced clear contrast between MI
operated plots and rainfed crops with the same
farmer's plots.
system, Micro sprinkler system and Chapin tape
irrigation system have been depicted in Figure 3 to
Figure 5, respectively.
133
 Figure 3 Pressure compensating in-line drip systems

Figure 4 Micro-sprinklers-crops sprouted

Figure 5 Chapin tape (in-line drip lines)

Figure 2 Water tank Placed on the roof of a farmers house

134 Annual Technical Volume

 Rejuvenation of Hill Channels in Uttarakhand :
An Cost Effective Approach
Ram Kumar
Advisor (Engineering), State Planning Commission, Uttarakhand
Introduction
Many of the important hill channels constructed prior
to inception of Uttarakhand, are bereft of water. These
channels usually off-take from streams (Gadhera)
which are either snow fed or spring fed.
Diversion head is usually boulder weir (ghori bund) or
conventional raised weir. Channel section is normally
constructed in stone masonry with cement mortar.
The diversion head is disrupted during flash flood
thereby disrupting the irrigation. The channels are in
dilapidated condition due to uncontrolled flow of
water from head, poor drainage in hill slope and high
velocity of silt laded water.
Possibilities of Depletion of Discharge in Snow Fed
Streams
The discharge of snow fed streams does not diminish
during lean period as the melting of snow increases
during summer.
Possibilities of Depletion of Discharge in Spring
Fed Streams
This is being felt that discharge of these streams is
depleting at alarming rate. To find out the reasons for
depletion of discharge, Morphology of these streams
may be understood.
Gravity springs result from water flowing under
hydrostatic pressure; the following general types are
recognized:
Depression
l Springs- Formed where the ground
surface intersects the water table.
Contact
l Spring- Created by permeable water-
bearing formation overlying a less permeable
formation that intersects the ground surface.
Artesian
l Springs – Resulting from releases of
water under pressure from confined aquifers
either at an outcrop of the aquifer or through an
opening in the confining bed.
Impervious
l Rock Springs- Occurring in tubular
channels or fractures of impervious rock.
Tubular
l or Fracture Springs- Issuing from
rounded channels, such as lava tubes or solution
channels, or fractures in impermeable rock
connecting with ground water.
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Discharge in springs is Geological and Hydrological
phenomenon. Geological and Hydrological changes
do not occur in a short span of time. Main reason of
short fall in discharge in spring streams may be
attributed to the Avalanche or heavy rain fall coupled
with massive earth and boulder flow in the catchment
area. The problem has been further aggravated due to
massive construction activities going on in the area.
Consequent to these reasons, streams are filled up with
fluvial material at many places. Substantial flow of the
streams is concealed below the fluvial material and
thus surface flow is apparently reduced.
The sub soil flow in the fluvial material can be taped by
providing cut of walls or by appropriate measures as
elucidated in ensuing paragraph.
Various factors responsible for adversely affecting the
efficacy of channels are recapitulated as below:
lShortage of surface flow in stream.
lDisruption of diversion head during flash
flood.
lChoking of channels by uncontrolled entry of
silt and rolling stone in stream, thereby
reducing the discharge carrying capacity of
channels.
lHeavy seepage in channel due to high velocity
and silt laded water causing abrasion, suction,
draw down, and impinging of rolling gravels.
lDamage of parapets of channels due to
uncontrolled water during flash flood.
lConstruction of several irrigation and drinking
water schemes from the same source.
Remedial Measures
Provide trench weir instead of boulder weir with deep
cut off walls to trap sub soil flow
This type of diversion structure is most suitable for
small hydro schemes and irrigation channels on hilly
strata due to its several advantages. This structure does
not pose much disturbance to the waterway of the river
during flood flows and it is safe from damage due to
rolling boulders during maximum flood flows. The
trench weir has also the capability to arrest minimum
flow effectively and efficiently.
135
 The intake structure is located at the end of the trench
weir sufficiently away from the midstream so that the
regime of the river is not affected during normal high
flood conditions. Two openings are provided in the
intake structure, one opening for carrying the design
discharge to the water conductor through the de-silting
tank and a second opening for carrying the silt
collected in the trench weir to a suitable location in the
stream downstream. The trench should preferably be
below the bed level of the stream at the location of the
structure and is generally trapezoidal in shape. A trash
rack grill is provided on top of the trench opening
sloped in the flow direction so that stones and pebbles
do not settle but roll away with the stream flow. The
trench is provided with a bed slope of about 1 in 12.5 in
the direction of flow the diverted water so that
sufficient velocity is generated to carry along heavy silt
that may find entry into the trench through the trash
opening. The intake opening is designed as a duct to
carry 120% of design discharge to allow for the
additional requirement for flushing silt. Entry to these
ducts is controlled by gates operated from the top of the
intake structures. The intake structure permits the
release of water to the desired extent. The top of the
intake gate is to be kept above the maximum high flood
level of the stream at this location. The top of the intake
gate is to be kept above the maximum high flood level
of the stream at this location. The duct should be
continued as a covered duct till a level is reached which
is above normal HFL of the stream to prevent the flows
from the stream entering the water conductor. The
protection works in the river bed both upstream and
downstream of the weir could consist of boulder crates
1500mm × 1500mm ×1500 mm in size in wire- mesh
grouted over with 100 mm concrete M 20 on top.
The bottom of the trench weir is designed as a slab
fixed to the two side walls of the trench weir. The whole
structure is designed as a beam spanning between the
two hill abutments of the stream. The intake structure is
designed to resist the soil pressure acting on the side
walls when the intake well is empty. The structure is
also checked for the conditions when the water
pressure acts on the.
Where the river bed is not rocky (As is usually the case)
and ground structures are not safe unless costly
elaborate foundation arrangements are made, trench
type weirs have been found to be successful. The
waterway is adequate to pass the desired flood and the
gate operation control is above the maximum flood
level.
The trash rack are of opening is adequate to draw
l
the design discharge even if 50% of the effective
area of the trash rack is clogged.
Adequacy
l of the longitudinal slope to develop
velocities capable of flushing out bed load
entering the trench. Flushing discharge of about
136
20- 25 % of the design discharge may be provided
in diversion structure to meet the flushing
requirements at the intake and the de-silting tank.
Suitable gate control for intake and flushing
sluices should be provided. The design of the
flushing outlet requires careful consideration
taking into view the particular silt load in each
one.
The trench weir is usually constructed below the bed of
stream. So, there is no disruption in flow in canal due
to flash flood as observed is in boulder weir or raised
weir.
Trapping of Subsoil Flow
As aforesaid, there may be substantial subsoil flow in
the stream due to fluvial material in the bed. The
structure of trench weir is constructed below the bed
which acts as impediment to subsoil flow. Additional
cut off walls of appropriate depth are construction in
U/S of weir. Thus substantial sub-surface flow would
be trapped and would be available for diverting into the
channel.
Trench Weir has been constructed first time in
irrigation department Uttarakhand in the year 2004 at
Kota canal near village Kota Bagh, district Nainital.
The weir has been constructed in minimal cost, largely
using locally available river bed material. Efficacy of
the structure with minimal maintenance cost has been
established.
Settling Basin
As per prevailing practice, stream water is diverted
into canal by constructing temporary boulder bund or
raised weir. There is no arrangement to check the entry
of rolling stone and silt in stream. This material gets
uninterrupted entry into the channel. It is deposited
into the channel as the bed slope of the channel is
usually lesser than stream. Consequently, the
discharge carrying capacity of the channel is reduced.
These undesirable materials may further travel to the
agriculture fields. It is detrimental to the fertility of the
agriculture land.
To safe guard against the entry of the undesirable
material from stream to channel, settling basing/ de-
silting tank is provided near the head of channel.
The de-silting tank is designed to exclude particles of
size detrimental to canal and agriculture field. This is
achieved by reducing flow through velocity by about
0.22 m/s and settling velocity of about 2.75 cm/sec.
Ferro Cement Lining
Several studies have been carried but in University of
Roorkee, CBRI Roorkee, and in several worldwide
forum for using Ferro Cement as an alternative to canal
lining.
Annual Technical Volume
 Presently, the parapets of channels constructed in stone
masonry are plastered in cement mortar. Alternately,
the parapets are constructed in cement concrete of
about 15 N/mm2 strength.
The service life of such structures is only one to two
years, after which cracks and damages occur along the
toes and side walls at many section of the lining. The
annual maintenance cost of this type of lining is
exorbitant.
In order to prolong the service life of the lining and to
reduce the maintenance cost as much as possible, it is
suggested that Ferro cement lining may be adopted.
The reinforcement consists of 6 mm dia. steel bars in
longitudinal and transverse directions and one layer of
gauge no 25 galvanized hexagonal wire mesh on back
side of the skeleton steel. Ferro cement is made either
by manual plastering at site or prefabricated, using
mould and vibrating table.
Thickness of lining is usually 25 mm to 50 mm. and 28
days compressive of 17.7 MPA.
Ferro cement lining has been successfully used in
drains at Balia Nala at Nainital and irrigation guls in
Irrigation Division, Kashipur.
Escape
Provide escape for surplus water of adequate capacity
near the head of the channel to escape surplus water.
Land slide and Subsidence
Many channels are located in land slide/ subsidence
prone area. Gullies of the identified land slide zone
may be properly channelized. Channels may be
covered in the sensitive zone and breast walls and toe
walls may be constructed as per site requirement.
Provide Roster in Canals
In many cases, several canals and drinking water
schemes off take from the same source. It results
shortage of water during peak hours. Requirement of
drinking water takes precedence over other water
requirements. Roster may be provided for such
irrigation channels.
Storage Tank
Usually irrigation activities are done during day time.
During night, water of the stream is wasted. The water
during night time may be collected in storage tank near
the head of channel.
Proper Discharge Data Collection
CBI&P publication no 175 recommends that the
discharge measurements should preferably cover a
Annual Technical Volume
minimum period of two lean seasons. Project framing
may be based on proper Hydrological data.
Integration of Small Hydro Projects with Irrigation
Channels would make Channel Financially Viable
Hilly channels have usually cascade of falls. Power
house can be constructed economically as many
project components like diversion head, settling basin,
head race channel / Irrigation channel can be doubly
used for power generation and irrigation.
The clean power generations would reduce CO2
emission which may further fetch additional sum of
money through sale of Carbon Credits under Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM)
China, which has about 2 lakh SHP, has demonstrated
to the world that SHPs contribute to the country
economy in a big way.
In Garhwal, Luster canal near Tilwara District
Rudrapryag and many other canals are a suitable for
providing power house on its falls. In Kumaun region
SHP can be constructed on Chorgalia canal on
Nandhaor river near Kathgodam. Similar projects can
be identified on other canals.
Power house may be any of the following two
categories:
1-Power house located in the main canal.
2-Power house located adjacent to the main canal in
separate by pass canal.
To begin with, pilot project can be taken up one each in
Garhwal and Kumaun.
Case Study of Development of Hydro Project on
Luster Canal
Luster canal is located near village Tilwara on Luster
guard in district Rudparyag. Discharge capacity at
head of canal 48.55 cusec (1.37 cumec)
Assuming available discharge in half of the year
10 cumec
Head different in first 5 km
495.96 – 479.46 16.5 m
Power potential
9.8 × 0.85 × 0.9 × 10 × 16.5 1.23 MW
1000
Provide two units of 600 K.W. each. Similar schemes
can be replicated with mutadis-mutandis in entire
length of this canal and other canals.
One M.W of power potential would provide net
benefits of about Rs. 45 lac
137
 Effective Modification in the Traditional Tapping and
Irrigation Techniques for Agricultural Sustainability in
Himalayan Region in the Present Water Scarce
Scenario
A. K. Vashisht
Department of Soil and Water Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and Post-Harvest Technology
Central Agricultural University, Ranipool, Sikkim
* akvashisht74@yahoo.com
H. C. Sharma
Dean, College of Technology, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology
Pantnagar, Uttarakhand
R. S. Negi
Department of Rural Technology, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar (Garhwal), Uttarakhand

Agriculture cannot be left on the fate of rainfall, since
majority of the population residing in the Himalayan
region is involved in this occupation directly or
indirectly. Thus, the availability of water resources
throughout the year (especially in the recession period)
is the basic requirement for sustaining the agricultural
production in the region. However, from the last few
decades the climatic variability has drastically reduced
the flow through natural springs and streams. The
water tapping and irrigation practices which were
based on the high-flow conditions of these water
resources have gone out of service. To cope with this
changed scenario, in what way the farmers have
adapted the suitable modifications in the existing water
tapping and application techniques are presented in
this chapter. Also, wherever practicable, proven
technologies based adaptive measures are suggested.
The adaption of any modification in the existing
practice depends on the flow rate (or depth of flow) of
the available water resource, its flowing behavior
(seasonal or perennial), its distance from cultivable
land, and topography of the area.
Introduction
In recent years, the occurrences of extreme events such
as droughts and floods have been on raise almost
worldwide (Al-Mukhtar et al., 2014). The Greater
Himalayas is also witnessing these extremes and the
variation in the availability of water temporally and
spatially is getting wider day-by-day in the region. The
Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change has also pointed out that the
availability of freshwater in Asia is projected to
decrease in near future (IPCC, 2007). For fulfilling the
continuously increasing demand for food and fiber by
ever-increasing population, agricultural production
cannot be left on the fate of rainfall. It has been
estimated that India's ultimate irrigation potential
without inter-basin sharing of water is 139 million-
hectare (Mha) (ICID, 2008). In 1951, the total
irrigation potential of the country was 22.6 Mha (Pre-
Plan) which has increased to 93.95 Mha till the end of
IX five-year plan (i.e. 1997-2002). India receives an
annual precipitation (including snow) of about 4000
billion cubic meters (BCM), but its distribution is
extremely uneven both spatially and temporally.
Currently, agriculture accounts for more than 80% of
water withdrawals in the country. It has been projected
by Central Water Commission (CWC) that the
irrigation water demand in India will rise from 688
BCM in 2010 to 910 BCM in 2025 (CWC, 2010).
About 80% of the population in the Himalayan region
is involved in the agricultural occupation. In
comparison to plane areas, groundwater abstraction
through wells in the Himalayan terrain is quite difficult
due to its rocky geological formations (Vashisht,
2008). Hence, the entire Himalayan biodiversity is
dependent on perennial springs and surface water
streams. However, the adverse weather conditions due
to change in climate have caused detrimental effect on
the flow rate and the perennial nature of these
resources (Chaudhary and Bawa, 2011; Vashisht and
Sharma, 2007). In the last four- to five-decades, the
majority of the springs have either dried-up or has
become seasonal. Consequently, the flow rate in the
perennial surface water streams has also decreased

138 Annual Technical Volume

 drastically. Since, the irrigation practices in the
Himalayan region are completely based on the springs
and surface water streams; the reduction in flow rate
along with the changed flowing pattern of these
perennial resources has drastically disturbed the
system of water tapping practices. To cope with this
changed scenario, by what means the farmers have
modified the existing water tapping and application
techniques are presented in this chapter. This chapter is
a bridge between prevalent water tapping technologies
and the local level adaptations, which are particularly
helpful in making suitable water policies for the region.
Current Agricultural Situation and Irrigation
Status in Himalayas
The majority of the farmers in the Himalayan region
are involved in traditional agro-ecosystem of farming
in spite of the fact that the current food grain
production is only 30% of the total requirement. The
Himalayas accounts for 14% of total geographical area
in India which is occupied by 6% of population (Kumar
et al., 2009). The net sown area is distributed as patches
in the matrix of forests and due to uneven topography it
is only 10% of the total geographical area (Semwal et
al., 2004). The ultimate irrigation potential in the
Himalayan region is ~ 2.80 Mha and out of which ~
1.65 Mha has been created till IX five-year plan (i.e.
1997-2002) (MoWR, 2012). Envisaging the
importance of assured water supply for irrigation,
minor irrigation schemes were introduced after
independence. Till the end of IX five-year plan, there
were approximately 50,347 surface flow schemes and
1,958 surface lift schemes in the Himalayan region of
India.
Tapping of Major/Minor Streams in Valleys
Canals are the major source of conveying irrigation
water in valleys which directly abstracts the water from
streams/rivers. The traditional method by which the
water from the natural stream is diverted towards the
canal inlet is photographically presented in Figure 1.
The bed level of the canal inlet is fixed at the same level
with the bed of stream/river. Therefore, water enters
the canal inlet with head equal to the flowing depth of
water in stream/river. Figure 1a depicts the two parallel
canals (with different gradient) that are collecting
water from the same stream, but at different locations
(upstream location is not visible due to vegetation).
Though the inlets of the two-canals are at different
locations, these are conveying water to the same field.
Upstream canal (No. 1) is laid with comparatively
higher gradient than downstream canal (No. 2). In the
recession period, flowing depth in the stream falls to
such a low-level that either the flow rate through canal
decreases drastically or it goes completely out of
service due to lack in proper head for flow. The
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Figure 1 (a) Traditional stream diversion method. (b) Canal
in stream bed
traditional way of managing such situation is by
raising the level of water in stream/river with the help
of stream bed stones and local grasses (as shown in
Figure 1a). It is well understood that for providing
adequate depth of flow in the downstream canal,
diversion bund should be high enough to create proper
head. Conversely, the flow through the upstream canal
can be maintained by constructing only low-diversion
bund as it is laid at higher elevation than the
downstream canal. The climate change is responsible
for the decrease in flowing depth of the streams/rivers.
For irrigating crops in recession period, the only option
left with the farmers is to divert water from the
upstream location (where water will be at higher level
than the bed level of canal) to the field by adapting
following measures.
Water Conveyance using Pipelines
Subject to the cost of irrigation project and reduced
water losses, conveying water through pipe lines
(flexible or rigid) is definitely the best option in
comparison to open channels. Moreover, because of
natural slope such type of water distribution system in
hilly region can efficiently work without any
requirement of pumping energy and its operational
cost involves only its maintenance. Flexible pipes may
be used for conveying water for shorter distances (e.g.
to irrigate fields by tapping water from adjoining
stream as shown in Figure 1a). However, it is very
difficult to lay flexible pipe with constant slope for
longer distance in hilly terrain as the development of
high pressures in the downward sloping portions
(Figure 2c) of the pipeline may initiate and/or boost
leakage through weak portions/joints. Increase in
water pressure by 1% will typically increase the
average leakage rate by 1.15% (Lambert, 2000).
Further, the plastic pipes are susceptible to burning due
to forest fires (Figure 2a) and their joints are
vulnerable to bending and tensile stresses (Figure 2b).
139
 Figure 2 (a) Burning of PVC pipe. (b) Breaking of pipe joint. (c) Over pressure/suction segments in pipeline

GI pipes, on the other hand are less sensitive to

pressure fluctuations (Gomes et al., 2011), bending,
and tensile stresses, and therefore, is the best option for
longer distances.
Conveying Water from Upstream Location using
Non-permanent Setup
The clear cut evidence of declined flow rate in the
streams during recession period is its low flowing level
than the canal inlet. Consequently, the canals
constructed with reference to past flowing level are
now become out of service due to decline in general
flowing depth of the streams (Figure 3). Accordingly,
the adaptation of inexpensive temporary techniques to
collect and divert water from suitable-location
Figure 3: Canal out of service due to decline of flowing level
upstream of the stream is the appropriate answer. It can
of water in stream
be accomplished by constructing a temporary channel
in the stream if its bed material allows the workability very deep. Difficult terrain and delicate geology are
otherwise polythene sheet canal can be used for the the possible reasons. Therefore, the development of
purpose (Figure 4). This temporary infrastructure will cracks in the channel due to undermining by crabs and
remain in service till the end of the recession period. erosion is a frequent phenomenon. Also, the persistent
Adapting Sense of Ownership on Existing Canal wetting and thawing of canal's cement lining leads to
Network its cracking and which is further responsible for heavy
seepage and undermining of the base. Unfortunately, it
In India, the overall irrigation efficiency of is a general mentality of the farmers that if canal is
surface/gravity systems is estimated as 30 to 40% and constructed by the government, then it is also their
major reason for this low efficiency is the dilapidated responsibility to inspect, maintain, and repair it. There
irrigation structures (ICID, 2008). During the visits in is a sheer lack in sense of ownership which is essential
different Himalayan states of India, the authors have for the sustainability of any irrigation system. The
observed that the foundation of the lined canals is not concept of farmers' involvement in management of the

140 Annual Technical Volume


Figure 4 Polythene sheet covered temporary canal in the
stream bed during recession period
irrigation system (i.e. Participatory Irrigation
Management) has been accepted as a policy of the
Governments all over the world. However, the
implementation of a new policy always faces hurdles
before getting stream lined. Above-all, for repair and
maintenance of the infrastructure there is a need to fix a
suitable %age of its development cost (MoWR, 2012).
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Managing Unlined Canals by Reducing Seepage
Losses
The construction of unlined canals in the hilly region is
not very common. These are suitable for low velocity
of flow and farmers usually construct these on
comparatively flat topographical areas with less
permeable surface/subsurface soils (Figure 5a).
However, masonry soil combination is frequently used
when there is a need to cross the canal through the
uneven topography (Figure 5b). High intrinsic
permeability of upper portion of canal bank (Trout,
1979), creation of breaches due to growth of weeds,
presence of organic matter in compacted soil and
crab/rat holes are the responsible factors for excessive
seepage losses through unlined canals. According to
the Indian Standards (Anonymous, 1980), the seepage
loss from unlined canals varies from 0.3 - 7.0 m3 /s per
106 m2 of wetted surface. With passage of time and in
absence of adequate maintenance, the condition of
canals deteriorates and these become irregular in
shape due to non-uniform silting, erosion and weed
growth, changing the roughness and seepage
characteristics (Mishra, 1996). Compaction of the bed
and sides of the unlined canals by putting more earth
wherever required is the effective measure for
reducing the seepage losses. In case, the compaction
measures remain ineffective in controlling the
seepage, low-cost temporary lining materials may be
adapted.
Lining with bituminous mixture, prefabricated
bitumen jute mats, soil cement and chemical sealants
considerably reduces the seepage losses. Nonetheless,
use of polythene sheet (as shown in Figure 4) provides
practically water-proof channel lining. Its service life
Figure 5 (a) A view of
unlined canal
(b) Unlined canal across
the series of bench
terraces
141
 can be increased further by burying it. However, most
of the lining materials are susceptible to damage due to
trampling by livestock, insects, weed growth and
erosion by high velocity flows and requires frequent
inspection during service time.
Construction of Temporary Check Structures
Across Minor Streams
During recession period, the flow to the perennial
streams is contributed by the springs or seepage lines
(Vashisht 2008). In most of the instances, these
perennial streams run at very shallow depth with very
little flow rate. Consequently, the available quantity of
water in these minor streams does not support the
surface and micro-irrigation practices in the adjoining
cropped area. The farmers adapted the construction of
permanent check structures at suitable locations across
the perennial streams (Figure 6a). Usually, they
construct structures in series for attaining maximum
possible storage (Figure 6b). Such water harvesting
structures have become the backbone of recession
period irrigation requirements even for the areas where
streams are seasonal.
The above-mentioned adaptation has second facet
also. There is a lobby of environmentalists and
ecologists who are against the construction of
permanent structures across the streams/rivers.
However, adapting the construction of temporary
check structures using locally available boulders,
soil/sand, and grasses is the appropriate solution to this
problem (Figure 6c). These temporary structures will
remain in position till the end of recession period and
will be demolished later on for unrestricted flow of
water through streams during the monsoon season.
Tapping of Major/Minor Streams on Steeply
Sloping Regions
Other than the regions where rain-fed cultivation
Figure 6 (a) A permanent check structure across stream. (b)
Series of permanent check structures. (c) Temporary check
structure constructed using locally available material
142
Figure 7 A view of traditional irrigation practice. Photograph
in the inset is representing the elaborated view of the water
fall from upper to lower terrace
practices are prevalent, terraces on the steeply sloping
regions are developed adjoining to perennial streams
with adequate flow rate. In traditional method of
irrigation, a separate water course/canal or inlet for
every terrace is not constructed. Water from the stream
is diverted towards the topmost terrace using locally
available materials. After filling the terrace up to
desired depth, water started falling into the lower
terrace through small cut(s) provided in the bund of
upper terrace and so on (Figure 7). Thus, the terraces
act both as cropped plots as well as water conveyance
channels. After filling the lowermost terrace, water is
again diverted towards the natural stream. In the entire
Himalayan region, this irrigation practice is prevalent
for paddy cultivation and is designated with different
names in different regions. There is a need to adapt
water saving irrigation practices specifically during
the recession period. Tapping of stream from an
upstream location using flexible or rigid pipe system is
an appropriate way of gaining water head for running
field-level irrigation systems. Steep gradient of the
stream can be beneficially used to lift water to higher
elevation with the aid of hydraulic ram for irrigating
cultivable areas and for storing water at higher
elevation which can be conveniently used for running
gravity-fed water-saving irrigation system at lower
elevations.
Need to Restrict the Traditional Irrigation Practice
Along with Water Tapping and Conveying System
To restrict the conveyance losses, the farmers have
developed and installed the flexible pipe network
irrigation system in their fields (Figure 8). The system
operates at a pressure around 0.5 kg/cm2 (or 5 m of
head), which is conveniently attainable by tapping the
stream from a location having elevation difference of
more than 6 m. Control valves are fixed at the end of
each outlet to check the application rate. Pipelines are
often thought to be very expensive for small irrigation
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Figure 8 Pipe irrigation in terraced land
Figure 9 Diagrammatical representation of low energy water
application (LEWA) device as per the specifications
proposed by [Singh et al., 2010]
projects; however, the flexibility of the system along
with water and land savings make it more appropriate
adaptive measure to open channels. The systems
achieve very high water conveyance efficiency, but,
still the flooding method of irrigation declines the
overall efficiency of the system. However, the
application efficiency of the system can be increased
substantially by adapting any modern water saving
application technique (such as micro-sprinkler
irrigation). ICAR Research Complex for Eastern
Region, Patna has developed a 'low energy water
application (LEWA)' device (Figure 9) which is cost
effective energy efficient advanced pressurized
irrigation technology for small and marginal farmers
for growing field crops (Singh et al., 2009). The device
operates satisfactorily at an operating pressure ranging
between 0.40-0.60 kg/cm2 (in comparison to impact
sprinkler which required operating pressure range of
0.99-2.99 kg/cm2 ) and is used in place of high pressure
overhead sprinkling nozzle which saves energy up to
Annual Technical Volume
50% and is 2 to 2.5 times cheaper than the traditional
sprinkler irrigation system that uses HDPE pipeline to
irrigate equal area (Singh et al., 2010). Therefore, the
adaption of LEWA system is more beneficial for
irrigating field crops in comparison to surface
irrigation practices.
Adapting Hydraulic Ram for Conveying Water at
Higher Elevations
The hydraulic ram (also abbreviated as hydram) is an
impulse machine which uses the kinetic energy in a
falling column of water to lift part of that water to a
height greater than that of the inlet level of drive pipe
(Figure 10). No external source of energy is required
for its operation but it lifts only 3 to 25% of the water
flowing through ram at various lift magnifications
(Singh, 1987). Experimental results show that the
delivery head for which maximum efficiency is
attained increases as velocity through drive pipe
increases (Lansford and Dugan, 1941). Hence, the
pump is most suitable for regions having streams
flowing at steep gradients. By adapting this pump,
water can be lifted to locations where no other source
of water supply is available.
Spring Water Management
Majority of the cultivable regions located at higher
altitudes (away from the surface water streams) are
clustered around the perennial springs for meeting
their irrigation demands. The discharging pattern and
flow rate of a spring mainly depends on the storage
capacity and permeability of its catchment (Vashisht
and Banu, 2013). The climatic variability in the
Himalayan region has changed the rainfall pattern and
which is further responsible for the reduced recharging
of the spring catchments, whose impact is visible
through the diminishing and/or drying-up of the
springs during recession period. Around 36% of
springs in Himalayan region have gone dry (Tiwari and
Figure 10 The adapted technique for providing the required
head for efficient working of the hydraulic ram
143
 Joshi, 2012) or become seasonal. In the present
scenario, farmers have no choice other than to take
only one crop in a year (i.e. in monsoon season).
Construction of specifically designed spring water
harvesting ponds and change in irrigation practices due
to changed cropping pattern are some suitable
measures that need adaption.
Construction of Spring Water Harvesting Ponds
It is well understood that the limited availability of
water from springs discharging at low-rate in recession
period cannot fulfill the surface irrigation demands.
Judicious-use feasibility of these small but perennial
resources lies with the storage tank based modern
irrigation techniques like drip or low-head sprinkler
system. The various studies have shown that the
storage structures significantly improve the irrigation
sustainability in dry season. But, the water resources
planning for a region usually involve forecasting its
future trends for identifying the infrastructure needed
to support them (Gober, 2013) and for that there is a
need to predict the spring discharge rate for selecting
the optimal size of the storage (Hajkowicz and Collins,
2007). Vashisht and Banu (2013) have presented the
analytical procedure for predicting the spring
discharge rate during the upcoming recession period.
Considering the advantages of water storage
structures, the National Horticulture Mission is also
providing INR 115.00 per cubic meter for the
construction of pond of size 20 m × 20 m × 3 m in hilly
144
farms for command area of 2 hectare (National
Horticulture Mission, 2010).
Change in Irrigation Practices Due to Changed
Cropping Pattern
The proper crop planning can save up to 50% of
available water with appropriate water management
practices (Shangguan et al., 2002). More lucrative
returns from the cultivation of vegetables and flowers
are compelling the farmers to leave subsistence
agricultural practices (Vashisht, 2012). To cope with
the existing situations of limited water resources and
sloping land features, few innovative farmers have
developed their own low-head micro-sprinkler
systems from locally available materials. The designs
of two such developments are presented in Figures 11
and 12. These systems are quite suitable for terrace
cultivation and can efficiently work with less than 1 m
head. Depending on the available head and width of the
plot, sprinkler-head height from the ground surface can
be adjusted easily. However, continuous monitoring of
the system is essential for frequent shifting of the
sprinkler heads; which is not a difficult task as the
system is used for irrigating vegetable and flower
crops those are habitually grown near to the residential
areas. Since, these irrigation systems apply water
under low pressures and near to ground, these can be
considered under the category 'low elevation spray
application (LESA)' in spite of the fact that the
application device is not located on the drop tube
similar to traditional LESA devices (ASAE Standards,
2005).
Figure 11 Diagrammatical
representation of
traditional low elevation
spray application (LESA)
device
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 Figure 12 Nail head micro-sprinkler
Acknowledgment
The authors are grateful to Dr. Ravi Gupta, All India
Co-ordinated Research Project on Post-Harvest
Technology, Central Agricultural University, Imphal
for providing the photographs of locally developed
micro-irrigation system.
References
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Assessing the impacts of climate change on hydrology
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Code of Practice. Bureau of Indian Standards, New
Delhi.
3. ASAE Standards, 2005. ASAE S526.2 Soil and Water
Terminology. St Joseph, MI, USA.
4. Chaudhary, P., Bawa, K.S., 2011. Local perceptions of
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Himalayas. Biological Letters 7(5), pp 767–770.
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Water and related statistics. Water Resources
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need for new approaches to water planning and policy.
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8. Hajkowicz, S., Collins, K., 2007. A review of multiple
criteria analysis for water resource planning and
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management. Water Resources Management 21, pp
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9. ICID (International Commission on Irrigation &
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10. IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change),
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Srinivas, K., Srivastva, A.K., 2009. Integrating water
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growing vegetables. Biosystems Engineering 102, pp
106-113.
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XXXVIII (22), University of Illinois, Urbana.
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and sustainable development of water resources in the
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Annual Technical Volume
 Traditional Irrigation Systems in Punjab
M. L. Ohri
Director-cum Principal, Anand College of Engineering & Management
Infront of Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala
* drmlohri@gmail.com
Introduction
Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the
land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of
agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and
revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during
periods of inadequate rainfall. Additionally, irrigation
also has a few other uses in crop production, which
include protecting plants against frost, suppressing
weed growth in grain fields and preventing soil
consolidation. In contrast, agriculture that relies only
on direct rainfall is referred to as rain-fed or dryland
farming.
This paper is meant for only Punjab State. Main source
of irrigation water source river or underground
resources.
Water from these river diverted from canal to main
canal to main branch distributory.
Water also available in underground by lighting open
wells or tubewells.
This paper relate to brief introduction about dams
constructed in Punjab state to store the water for
irrigation purpose.
Historical Background
Punjab, the name derived from the Persian words, Punj
(five) and ab (water) was a land of five rivers which
formed part of Indus Basin till 1947. After partition of
the country, Indus water Treaty-1960 restricted Indiaâs
rights of usage to only three Eastern rivers (Sutlej, Ravi
and Beas), the three Western rivers (Indus, Chenab and
Jhelum) were earmarked for exclusive usage of
Pakistan. Punjab does have a very well developed and
interlinked river system and widespread 14500 kms
long Canal Systems.
RANJIT SAGAR DAM is constructed on River Ravi
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These Systems are more than a century old and it is
difficult to even imagine today to develop such a
system of high level strength and utility. The estimated
value at the present price level of Water Resource
Infrastructure in the State is more than Rs. 50,000.00
crore. Punjab Irrigation Department was set up in the
year 1849 and has a number of milestones worth
mentioning. Construction of upper Bari Doab Canal
from river Ravi at Madhopur, Sirhind Canal from river
Sutlej at Ropar, Eastern Canal & Bikaner Canal from
river Sutlej at Hussainiwala headworks date back to
pre-independence era. Post independence period is
still brighter when monumental multipurpose projects
like Bhakra Dam on river Sutlej, Pong Dam on river
Beas, Beas Sullej Link Project and Ranjit sagar Dam
on river Ravi have been constructed in addition to
construction of Nangal Hydel Channel, Anandpur
Sahib Hydel Channel, Bhakra Canal System,
Mukerian Hydel Channel,Shah Nehan Barrage, Harike
Barrage etc.
Irrigation structure in Punjab state which are helpful in
supplying irrigation water are being discussed below:
Dams on Gateway of Punjab
There are three rivers crossing Punjab
1. River Beas L = 256.43 km, Embankment = 215.84
km,
2. River Sutlej L = 582.68 km, Embankment = 484.12
km,
3. River Ravi L = 141.29 km, Embankment = 245.28
km
147
 Bhakra Nangal Dam

Pong Dam

Flow Irrigation System (Canal System) Objectives

The total river water allocated to Punjab is 14.22 MAF
which is distributed to command area through 7 main
canal system namely Sirhind Canal System, Bist Doab
Canal system, UBDC system , Sirhind Feeder System,
Eastern Canal system, Bhakra Main line System and
Shahnehar Canal System.
Water is the most essential natural resource, a basic
human need and the most important input for all
human development activity. The main objective of
the Admn is to develop, plan, utilize and manage this
important resource for irrigation in a judicious,
equitable, sustainable and sound economic manner.

Canal Administration is primarily responsible for An Act to regulate irrigation, namely 'Northern India
Canal and Drainage Act, 1873 has been enacted for this
operation and maintenance of a very well developed
purpose.
and widespread 14500 kms long canal system and 5
Head Works. Total cultivable command area in Punjab Sirhind Canal System
is 42.90 lac hectare out of which 30.88 lac hectare has The Sirhind Canal is a large irrigation canal that carries
been brought under command of canals networks (in water from the Sutlej River in Punjab state, India. It is
addition to pre-partition utilization of 32MAF in one of the oldest and biggest irrigation works in the
Shahnehar Canal System). Indus river system, and was inaugurated in 1882. He
The canal infrastructure which was developed in pre canal begins at Ropar headworks near Ropar city in
independence and post independence period as per Rupnagar district of Punjab.
details: The Sirhind Canal begins at Ropar and heads
Canal irrigation systems in Punjab comprise of southwest to Doraha in Ludhiana district. At Doraha,
the canal splits into three: the Abohar branch, the
Sirhind Canal system
v Bathinda branch and the Patiala branch. Each of these
Bist Doab Canal system
v further subdivides extensively to irrigate a large
swathe of the Malwa region of Punjab. Once a partially
Bhakra Main Line (BML) Canal system
v
arid zone, this area is now extremely fertile due to the
Upper Bari Doab Canal system, Kashmir Canal
v water distributed by the canal network.
Ferozepur Feeder/Sirhind Feeder system
v Bist Doab Canal System
Eastern Canal system
v The Bist Doab Canal off takes from the right bank of
Makhu Canal system
v river Sutlej upstream of Ropar headwork. The Bist
Shahnehar Canal system
v Doab Canal system, constructed in 1954-55, is spread
over a length of 805 km. The canal has an authorized
Kashmir Canal system.
v capacity of 1452 Cs. with a culturable command area
The Rajasthan
v Feeder and Bikaner Canal which of 1.99 lac hect. Over the years, the carrying capacity
carry Ravi-Beas water exclusively for Rajasthan of the canal has got reduced to 1000 Cs. The system
run a considerable length over Punjab Territory. needs comprehensive rehabilitation/ renovation.

148 Annual Technical Volume

 Bhakra Main Line (BML) Canal System
The Bhakra Main Line Canal is an extension of Nangal
Hydel Channel. The authorized capacity of Nangal
Hydel Channel which offtakes from Nangal Barrage
downstream of Bhakra Dam is 12500 Cs. The
authorized capacity of BML canal is 12455 Cs at head
after taking into account 45 Cs. of losses in Nangal
Hydel Channel . The Bhakra Main Line has a length of
about 164Km, out of which 159 Km falls in Punjab
Territory and the balance is in Haryana. The BML
canal was built during 1950-54. It is an inter-state
channel which supplies water for irrigation and
drinking purposes to Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
The drinking water supplies are also made to
Chandigarh (160 Cs) and Delhi (370 Cs) through the
B.M.L Canal. The carrying capacity of BML canal was
restored to its authorized discharge of 12455 Cs in the
year 2004.
Narwana Branch Canal with an authorized capacity of
4500Cs, off takes at RD 158230/L of BML Canal, out
of which 4022 Cs water is supplied to Haryana . The
length of Narwana Branch is about 98 Km, out of
which 49 Km falls in Punjab. The total length of
channel off takes from BML Canal and Narwana
Branch in Punjab portion is of the order of 1256 Km,
with an irrigation potential of 7,35,463 acres.
Upper Bari Doab Canal system, Kashmir Canal
A barrage was constructed at Madhopur after the weir
type structure got damaged in the flood of 1955 and the
UBDC system which off-takes from Madhopur
Headworks was further developed by including
additional areas. The UBDC system was remodeled
during 2001-2005, to ensure full utilization of stored
waters of river Ravi, as a result of commissioning of
Ranjit Sagar Dam in the year 2000. The UBDC
presently, has an authorized discharge of 9000 Cs.
Seven main / branch canals off take from UBDC with
247 distributaries and minors, off taking from these
main branch canals. The UBDC system is spread over
a length of 3119 Km, having a culturable command
area of 5.73 lac hect
Ferozepur Feeder/Sirhind Feeder system/
Rajasthan Feeder
The Rajasthan Feeder which carries Ravi-Beas waters
exclusively for Rajasthan off- takes from Harike
Headworks. It has a capacity of 18500 Cs. However,
the head regulator of the canal has a capacity of 15000
Cs which is sufficient for supplying allocated
Quantum of Ravi Beas waters to Rajasthan. The canal
which was constructed in the year 1958-1961, runs in a
length of 149.53 Km in Ferozepur, Muktsar and
Faridkot districts of Punjab.
Ferozepur Feeder off takes from Harike Headworks. It
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has capacity of 11192 Cs was constructed in 1952-53
and runs in a length of about 51.30 Kms, for supply of
Ravi Beas waters to two distributary systems
(Mayawah, Sodhinagar) having a combined discharge
of 309 Cs.
The Sirhind Feeder off taking from Ferozepur Feeder
at RD 55413 ft. was constructed during 1954-55 and
runs in a length of about 136.50 km. It has an
authorized capacity of 5264Cs, having a culturable
command area of 3.6 lac hect.
The Rajasthan Feeder is a lined channel, with single
tile lining in bed and double tile lining on side slopes.
This type of lining was adopted, probably for the
reason, that ground water table was 33 meters deep at
the time of construction of Rajasthan Feeder. The full
supply depth from 0- 179000 was kept as 14.40 ft and
in the downstream reach RD 179000 to tail, the same
was kept as 21.0 ft.
The seepage from Rajasthan Feeder and Sirhind
Feeder in Punjab Territory has assumed alarming
proportions in as much as, the seepage from these
canal systems has been found to be 191.05 MCM i.e.
21% of the total annual ground water recharge. There
has been an enormous rise in sub soil water
level(SSWL) in reach RD 179000 to 496000 of the
Rajasthan Feeder and RD 124000 to 434000 of Sirhind
Feeder. Out of 84800 hectare of fertile land critically
affected by water logging in Faridkot, Mukatsar,
Malout, Lambi, Abohar and Gidderbaha tracts of
Punjab, 25% area is adjoining Rajasthan and Sirhind
Feeders.
Eastern Canal System
Eastern Canal system is a non-perennial system. Its
construction was completed in 1927 and it used to off
take from Hussainiwala Headworks. However, after
the construction of Harike Headworks, the supply of
water to Eastern canal system and Bikaner Canal has
been switched over to Harike Headworks, except for a
portion of Eastern canal running in a length of about
8.02 kms which receives water supply from
Hussainiwala Headworks for feeding 7 distribution
and 8 minors. The authorised discharge of Eastern
Canal system is 3197 cs, which has culturable
command area of 2.16 lac hect and runs in a length of
856 kms.
Makhu Canal System
The Makhu Canal, with a designed capacity of 292 cs
offtakes at Harike headwork. The Makhu Canal
system spreads over a length of 92.8 Km and has a
culturable command area of 20600 hectares.
Shahnehar Canal System
Shahnehar Headwork was constructed downstream of
Pong Dam in the year 1983 on river Beas. Mukerian
149
 Hydel Channel off takes from this headworks and four
power houses having a total installed capacity of 207
MW have been constructed at RDs 6.349, 16.004,
18.939 and 27.404 Km of the Mukerian Hydel channel,
for production of electricity before Beas waters is
released for utilization at Harike. The old Shahnehar
canal was replaced by constructing feeder No.1 and
feeder No. II canals (designed capacity 306+252=558
Cs) off-taking from Mukerian Hydel channel and
extending irrigation in Kandi areas for ensuring 0.32
MAF of pre-partition usage of Beas water.
Kashmir Canal System
Kashmir Canal off-takes from River Ravi upstream of
Madhopur Headworks. It provides irrigation water to
the State of J&K and some areas of Punjab as per old
agreements. The length of canal is 5.26 km with an
authorized capacity of 1050 cs at head. Lift schemes
installed on the canal draw 250 Cs of water. The Canal
bifurcates into two branches, namely chakandar feeder
and Kathua Canal with a discharge of 400 Cs. each.
Details of Main Canal
150
Headworks
Headworks is a civil engineering term for any structure
at the head or diversion point of a waterway. It is
smaller than a barrage and is used to divert water from
a river into a canal or from a large canal into a smaller
canal.
Any hydraulic structure which supplies water to the
off-taking canal is called a headwork. Headwork may
be :
1. Storage headwork.
2. Diversion headwork.
A Storage headwork comprises the construction of a
dam on the river. It stores water during the period of
excess supplies and releases it when demand overtakes
available supplies.
A diversion headwork serves to divert the required
supply to canal from the river. Introduction Diversion
Headworks ¾ A diversion head works is a structure
constructed across a river for the purpose of raising
water level in the river so that it can be diverted into the
offtaking canals. ¾ Diversion headworks are generally
constructed.
Components of Headwork
Annual Technical Volume
 1. Weir Guide Banks & Marginal Bunds
2. Undersluices Guide banks are provided on either side of the
diversion headworks for a smooth approach and to
3. Divide Wall prevent the river from outflanking.
4. Fish Ldder Various Method Used In Punjab For Various Crops
5. Canal Head Regulator Various Methods are:
6. Silt Excludor 1. Surface Irrigatiion
a. Flooding Method
7. River Training Works
i. Wild or Free Flooding
Under Sluices
ii. Border Strip Irrigation
lUndersluice sections are provided adjacent to the iii. Check Flooding
canal head regulators.
iv. Basin Flooding
lThe undersluices should be able to pass fair
b. Furrow Irrigation
weather flow for which the crest shutters on the
weir proper need not be dropped. I. Deep Furrows
lThe crest level of the undersluices is generally II. Shallow Furrows
kept at the average bed level of the river. 2. Sub-Surface Irrigation
Divide Wall 3. Overhead Irrigation
Free Flooding
A divide wall is constructed parallel to the direction of
flow of river to separate the weir section and the Free Flooding Method is used for - Rice
undersluices section to avoid cross flows
Fish Ladder
A fish ladder is a passage provided adjacent to the
divide wall on the weir side for the fish to travel from
u/s to d/s and vice versa.

Border Strip Irrigation

Border Strip Irrigation is used for – Wheat , Barley

Check Flooding
Canal Head Regulator
Check Flooding is used for: Fodder Crops
A canal head regulator is provided at the head of the
45canal offtaking from the diversion headworks.
Silt Excluder
A silt excluder is a structure in the undersluices pocket
to pass the silt laden water to the downstream so that
only clear water enters into the canal through head
regulator.

Annual Technical Volume 151

 Furrow Irrigation
This method is used for- Potato

Tube wells
Sprinkler Irrigation
It is the lifting of water by pumping from underground
Sprinkler Irrigation used for: Brinjal, Carrot reservoir. Extensive surface irrigation results in an
increase in the ground water level due to percolation
and seepage which causes water logging in large areas.
Irrigation by this method will reduce the yield. Tube
well offers a remedial measure by providing sub
surface drainage.
Tube well irrigation can be obtained more quickly than
from surface water project. Large costs involve in
making canals for the construction of headworks,
whereas less cost is involved in constructing
Lift Irrigation System tubewells.

When the main source is at the lower level than the Types of Irrigation Systems
supply level. Then water is supplied through some Ditch Irrigation
mechanical means. This is known as lift irrigation.
This can be done by the following methods.
Lift from canals.
l

Open wells.
l

Tube wells.
l

Lift from canals (Rivers)

Pumps are used to lift the water from canals or rivers at
lower level to the area at higher level for irrigation
purpose.
Open wells
In villages there are some open holes whose depth
intercepts the water table. So the water is taken out
from lower level to the surface for irrigation purpose
by adopting different mechanical means.
Ditch Irrigation is a rather traditional method, where
ditches are dug out and seedlings are planted in rows.
The plantings are watered by placing canals or furrows
in between the rows of plants. Siphon tubes are used to
move the water from the main ditch to the canals. This
system of irrigation was once very popular in the USA,
but most have been replaced with modern systems.
Terraced Irrigation
This is a very labor-intensive method of irrigation

152 Annual Technical Volume

 where the land is cut into steps and supported by sprinklers, sprays or guns, installed on permanent
retaining walls. The flat areas are used for planting and risers. You can also have the system buried
the idea is that the water flows down each step, while underground and the sprinklers rise up when water
watering each plot. This allows steep land to be used pressure rises, which is a popular irrigation system
for planting crops.
A well is a hole dug in the ground to obtain the subsoil
Drip Irrigation water. An ordinary well is about 3-5 metres deep but
deeper wells up-to 15 metres are also dug. A tube well
This is known as the most water efficient method of
irrigation. Water drops right near the root zone of a
plant in a dripping motion. If the system is installed
properly you can steadily reduce the loss of water
through evaporation and runoff.

is a deeper well (generally over 15 metres deep) from

Sprinkler System which water is lifted with the help of a pumping set
operated by an electric motor or a diesel engine
This is an irrigation system based on overhead

Annual Technical Volume 153

 Aspects of Irrigation Systems in Haryana :
An Overview
Narender Singh
Sub-Divisional Engineer
Public Works Department (B&R) Br. Sirsa, Haryana
* narender_nitk@yahoo.co.in

Abstract
Haryana is one of the smallest and progressive states of India. It has a population of 25.40 million, a
geographical area of 4.421 Mha (Million Hectare), and most of the land is flat. About 65% of the population is
rural based and generally engaged in agriculture and allied professions. Precipitation is only in the form of
rainfall, which is erratic and uneven distributed, varying from about 1100 mm in the northeastern parts of the
state to about 300 mm in the southern & southwestern parts. The total culturable command area of the state is
3.664 Mha, of which 3.102 Mha is served by different means of irrigation like canals, wells, public & private tube
wells, etc. There are four major irrigation systems (viz. Western Yamuna canal system, Bhakra canal system, Lift
irrigation system and Agra canal & Gurgaon canal systems) and two minor/ micro irrigation systems (viz.
Sprinkler irrigation system and Drip irrigation system) available in the state for irrigating the crops. In this
paper, efforts have been made to provide an overview of the existing irrigation systems in Haryana along with
elaboration of difficulties faced by the state in their operation and water distribution disputes with the
neighboring states.
Keywords: Major irrigation systems, Micro irrigation systems, Culturable command area, Irrigation potential,
Crop intensity, Water distribution disputes

Introduction
On 1st Nov., 1966 the state of Haryana was borne after
the trifurcation of the state of Punjab, while the western
district were kept in Punjab, above northern areas
(district Shimla & Kangra) were merged into the state
of Himachal Pradesh and the eastern & south-eastern
parts were formed into the new state named as
Haryana. After the division, the necessitated asset and
liabilities of the undivided state were divided into the
new states roughly in the ratio 60:40 (Punjab:
Haryana). Thus the then irrigation department of Figure 1 Net area irrigated by different means in Haryana
Punjab was also divided between newly created states.
This created problem in the distribution of the MAF (Million Acre Feet) against the total availability
available water resources like many other problems for of 18.75 MAF as given in Table 1. Because of the
the division of assets. Some of these problems still limited water resources available to the state and wide
continue to be unsolved and continue to be bone of gap between the demand & availability, it difficult to
contention between the two states [1]. meet with the growing demand of various sectors like
agricultural, domestic and industrial. The present
Net Area Irrigated by different Means average utilization of water in the state is 13.58 MAF
As mentioned in the Statistical Abstract Haryana 2013- as given in Table 2 [3, 4].
14, the net area irrigated by different means (like Irrigation Network of Haryana State
canals, tube wells, etc.) has been increased from 1.293
Mha in 1966-67 to 3.102 Mha in 2012-13 as shown in After the formation of Haryana, one of the priority
Figure 1 [2]. areas of the state government has been creation of
irrigation infrastructure to meet the growing demands
Demand and Availability of Water Resources of agriculture as well as drinking water. This was
The estimated demand of water for irrigation including necessary, as 54% of the area has underground
domestic and industrial uses for the state is about 33.65 brackish water. Over the years an extensive irrigation

154 Annual Technical Volume

 Table 1 Total availability of water to Haryana in foreseeable future
Table 2 Present utilization of water resources in Haryana (10 years average)
network has evolved consisting of 59 main canals
having a length of 1500 km and 1326 distributaries &
minors having a length of 12328 km as shown in
Figure 2. Presently 80% of the total culturable
command area of the state is irrigated with cropping
intensity of 181% [4].
Major Irrigation Systems
There are four major irrigation systems in the state as
shown in Figure 3 and discussed below [4- 6].
Figure 2 Irrigation network of Haryana state
Figure 3 Major irrigation systems in Haryana
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Western Yamuna Canal System
Western Yamuna Canal (WYC) off taking from river
Yamuna was constructed in 1335 A.D. during Feroj
Shah Tughlaq's rule but it ceased to flow in 1750 due to
excessive siltation. Government of India appointed
Mr. G. R. Blane, an Engineer of Bengal Engineers in
1817 to restore old Mughal canal. The canal was de-
silted and renovated during a period of 3 years. There
was no permanent head works constructed on river
Yamuna. The supplies in canal rose and fell with the
seasonal variation in the flow of river. The famine of
1832-33 led to remodeling of the canal and
construction of weir on Yamuna at Tajewala and a low
masonry dam at Dadupur & Somb torrents about 19.2
km downstream of Tajewala were constructed during
1875-79. The Sirsa branch, the largest of the branch
canals of WYC was constructed during 1889-1895.
The WYC system was extensively remodeled and
extended during 1940-43. In order to tackle the
problem of excessive entry of silt and also from safety
point of view, Govt. of India in consultation with
Haryana and U.P. decided to replace the old Tajewala
head works with modern Hathnikund Barrage across
river Yamuna as shown in Figure 4a.
As per the agreement, the cost of the barrage is shared
between Haryana and U.P. in the ratio of 2/3: 1/3. The
barrage has 10 bays of 18 meter size. WYC is 82 km
long with head discharge capacity of 16000 cusec.
WYC and its branches feed water to Kurukshetra,
155

Figure 4 Western Yamuna canal system
Karnal, Panipat, Sonepat, Jind, Rohtak and Jhajjar
districts with a culturable command area (CCA) of
0.970 Mha. Eastern Yamuna Canal (EYC) is of U.P.
which off takes from the barrage is a separate project
[7, 8].
Bhakra Canal System
Bhakra canal system with a CCA of 1.383 Mha, is
irrigating the districts Ambala, Kaithal, Hisar,
Fatehabad and Sirsa. The Bhakra Main Line (BML)
canal is an extension of Nangal Hydel Channel which
off takes from Nangal Barrage downstream of Bhakra
dam (fig. 2) and has an authorized capacity of 12500
cusec. The authorized capacity of BML canal is 12455
cusec at head after taking into account 45 cusec of
losses in Nangal Hydel Channel. BML canal was
constructed during 1950-54 with a length of about 164
Km, out of which 159 Km falls in Punjab territory and
the balance is in Haryana. It is an inter-state channel
which supplies water for irrigation and drinking
purposes to Punjab, Haryana & Rajasthan. The
drinking water supplies are also made to Chandigarh
(160 cusec) & Delhi (370 cusec) through B.M.L Canal.
Narwana branch canal off takes at RD 158230/ L of
BML canal and have an authorized capacity of 4500
cusec, out of which 4022 cusec water is supplied to
Haryana. The length of Narwana Branch is about 98
Km, out of which 49 Km falls in Punjab [9, 10].
Lift Irrigation System
Lift irrigation system with a CCA of 0.556 Mha,
serving the districts Rohtak (part), Bhiwani,
Mohindergarh and Rewari. This system has been
constructed to be finally receiving the surplus Ravi-
Beas water and has therefore not been utilized as per
the available infrastructure. Jawahar Lal Nehru (JLN)
lift irrigation scheme, estimated to have cost nearly
165.0 crore, comprises of JLN feeder; JLN canal;
156
Mohindergarh canal along with Narnaul branch;
Satnali feeder and a large number of network of
distributaries and minors (fig. 2). The water is lifted
against the reverse slope of the country at pump houses
which intercept the alignments of channels at
appropriate intervals. 92 pump houses are constructed
out of 98 pumps planned. Pump house JF-1 is the first
lifting station at 96.646 km of JLN feeder where water
is lifted by 3.88 meter. Pump house JF-2 at tail end of
JLN feeder at 104.57 km is the major lift which feeds
JLN canal, Mohindergarh canal, Jakhla distributary,
Amboli distributary [11].
Agra Canal and Gurgaon Canal Systems
Agra canal was constructed in the year 1873, mainly
for providing irrigation during cultivation of rabi crop.
This canal off takes from Okhla Barrage (earlier Okhla
weir) from the right side of river Yamuna and covers
11.2 km in National Capital city of Delhi, from km 11.2
to km 79.2 in Faridabad district of Haryana and from
km 79.2 to tail in Mathura & Agra districts of U.P.
including distribution system (fig. 4b). Okhla barrage
has 22 numbers of spillway bays and 5 numbers under
sluice bays. The barrage caters to the projects like Agra
canal, Gurgaon canal, Bharatpur feeder and Badarpur
thermal power station. Gurgaon canal has been drawn
at the Okhla barrage from the Yamuna. The Gurgaon
canal system has not developed because of non
availability of surplus Ravi- Beas water. The Agra
canal & Gurgaon canal systems irrigate some areas of
districts Faridabad, Gurgaon and Mewat with a CCA
of 0.139 Mha [12].
Micro Irrigation Systems
Due to scarcity of water, the state government
promoted the micro irrigation systems by the way of
providing 50 to 90% subsidy to the farmers for
adopting these systems and to conserve the available
water resources. To implement these systems in
Haryana, a State Micro Irrigation Committee (SMIC)
was formed in 2006. There are two micro (minor)
irrigation systems in the state as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5 : Micro Irrigation Systems in Haryana
Sprinkler Irrigation System
Sprinkler irrigation is a method of applying irrigation
water which is similar to rainfall. Water is distributed
Annual Technical Volume
 Figure 6 Layout of Sprinkler Irrigation System Figure 7 Layout of Drip Irrigation System

through a system of pipes usually by pumping as have been embroiling in a water sharing dispute from
shown in Figure 6. The water is then sprayed into the Ravi and Beas rivers. The Government of India
air and irrigated entire soil surface through spray heads allocated 3.5 MAF (Million Acre Feet) of the water to
so that it breaks up into small water drops which fall to Haryana in March 1976. To carry its share of surplus
the ground. Sprinklers provide efficient coverage for water, Haryana suggested construction of a link canal
small to large areas and are suitable for use on all types in the territories of the two neighboring states. Haryana
of irrigable soils. started construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL)
canal in 1976 and completed it in 1980 Figure 8.
This system is adopted for judicious use of available
water. By the adoption of this system, more area Punjab abruptly stopped work on the canal in July
become available for cultivation and the water is 1990. Haryana approached Hon'ble Supreme Court
effectively used [13]. (SC) in 1996 seeking direction to Punjab and the Union
Drip Irrigation System of India to complete the canal in a time bound manner.
The SC, in January 2002, ordered Punjab to complete
Drip irrigation is the most efficient method of
irrigating. While sprinkler system is around 75-85%
efficient, drip system typically is 90% or higher. Drip
irrigation works by applying water slowly and directly
to the soil with the help of a dripper/ emitter as shown
in Figure 7.
The high efficiency of drip irrigation results from two
primary factors. The first is that the water soaks into
the soil before it can evaporate or run off. The second is
that the water is only applied where it is needed (at the
plant's roots), rather than sprayed everywhere [14, 15].
The potential area under micro irrigation in Haryana is
given in Table 3 [16].
From the Table 3, it is clear that the state is not fully
utilizing the potential of the micro irrigation systems
and need more efforts for their optimization so as to
increase the crop intensity and to conserve the
available water resources.
Inter State Water Distribution Disputes
After the erstwhile Punjab was reorganized into
Punjab and Haryana in November 1966, the two states
Figure 8 Sutlej Yamuna Link canal
Table 3 Potential area under micro irrigation in Haryana

Annual Technical Volume 157

 the canal in one year [17]. The Punjab Assembly,
however, on July 12, 2004, passed the Punjab
Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, annulling all
inter-state agreements signed by Punjab on sharing
Ravi and Beas water. The Government of India, on
July 22, 2004, sought the SC's opinion on the validity
of the Termination of Agreements Act through a
Presidential Reference under Section 143 of the
Constitution [18].
The Hansi Butana canal was built by Haryana to take
its share of water from Bhakra Main Line (BML) at
Samana. Haryana had already spent Rs 354 crore on
the construction of the intra-state canal for effective
utilization of its share of water from the BML. Punjab
has been objecting to Haryana's move as this canal and
the cemented wall built alongside it has threatened
large area of Punjab with floods in rainy season, as the
canal was a major obstruction in the natural flow of
water. Haryana Assembly had passed a resolution
seeking construction of balance length of SYL canal
on July 14, 2014. Government of Haryana has once
again raised the issue of SYL and Hansi Butana canals
on May 28, 2015 and urged central government to
“solve” the decade long issue of SYL canal and clear
the “hurdles” in the way of Hansi Butana canal [19].
Both these issues are yet to be resolved and continue to
be bone of contention between Haryana and Punjab
states.
Conclusion
The development of irrigation network in Haryana
helps in the prosperity and crop growth. The various
irrigation systems are being operated effectively and
efficiently. However, the state is still waiting for its due
share of water and is suffering because of the non-
construction of SYL canal and non operation of Hansi
Butana canal. The irrigation system will further
improve when this legitimate share of water is received
by Haryana. The state government should make efforts
to resolve these problems so as to optimum utilization
of available water resources with active participation
of the stakeholders.
158
References
1. Manual of Irrigation Practice (Part-I), PWD (Irrigation
Branch), First Edition, 1996.
2. Statistical Abstract Haryana 2013-14, Department of
Economic and Statistical Analysis, Government of
Haryana, 2015.
3. Report of the Working Group on Water Resources for the
XI Five Year Plan (2007-2012) Ministry of Water
Resources, Government of India, December, 2006.
4. Orientation Programme about the Working of Irrigation
Department, Haryana Irrigation Research and
Management Institute (HIRMI), Kurukshetra, June 4-
16, 2007.
5. www.hid.gov.in.
6. Induction Training Programme, Haryana Institute of
Public Administration (HIPA), Gurgaon, July 30-
August 17, 2007.
7. Western Yamuna Canal Major Irrigation Project
JI01653, Water Resources Information System of India.
8. www.peopleandtheplanet.com
9. www.pbirrigation.gov.in
10. Bhakra Beas Management Board (Irrigation Wing),
Handbook of Instructions for the Design of Lined and
Unlined Channels and Masonry Works, 1977.
11. www.india-wris.nrsc.gov.in
12. Agra Canal Major Irrigation Project Uttar Pradesh
JI03261, Water Resources Information System of India.
13. www.agriharyana.nic.in
14. www.hortharyana.gov.in
15. www.wrmin.nic.in
16. PMKSY-CAD-Sprinkler and Drip Promotion, Ministry
of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation, Khajuraho, M.P., India, ppt.
17. www.yourarticlelibrary.com
18. A Canal Crisis, Frontline, India's National Magazine
from the Publishers of the Hindu, Vol. 21, Issue-16, July
31-Aug 13, 2004.
19. Sutlej Yamuna Link Row: Haryana to Move Supreme
Court Against Punjab, The Economic Times, Feb 3,
2015
Annual Technical Volume
 Water Harvesting Systems in Central Highlands
O. T. Gulati
Chairman, Water Management Forum
The Institution Engineers (India), Ahmedabad
* otgulati94@gmail.com

Introduction devised according to the peculiarities of the terrain to

divert water from swift-flowing hill streams into
The Central Highlands comprise the semi-arid uplands
irrigation channels called pats (Figure 1). The
of eastern Rajasthan, the Aravalli range and the
diversion bunds across the stream are made by piling
uplands of the Banas-Chambal basin in Rajasthan; the
up stones and then lining them with teak leaves and
Jhansi and Mirzapur uplands of Uttar Pradesh; the
mud to make them leakproof. The pat channel has to
eastern hilly regions of Dangs and Panchmahal in
negotiate small nullahs that join the stream off and on,
Gujarat; northern Madhya Pradesh uplands; the Sagar,
and also sheer cliffs before reaching the fields. These
Bhopal and the Ratlam plateaus of central Madhya
sections invariably get washed away during the
Pradesh; and the Narmada region, including the flanks
monsoons. Stone aqueducts have to be built to span the
of the Vindhya and Satpura ranges of southern Madhya
intervening nullahs. The villagers irrigate their fields
Pradesh.
by turns. The channel requires constant maintenance
The semi-arid region of eastern Rajasthan is marked and it is the duty of the family irrigating the fields on a
with intervening valleys. The annual rainfall varies particular day to take care of the pat on that particular
from 350-450 mm. The Uttar Pradesh uplands are a day. It takes about two weeks to get the pat flowing and
part of the Vindhyan system. The average elevation in the winter crop is sown in early November.
the region is 500-600 metres (m) and slopes towards
Saza Kuva
the Indo-Gangetic Plain in the north. While the Jhansi
uplands are dry, the Mirzapur uplands are This is an open dug well, which has several owners. In
comparatively wet. Mewari language, saza means 'partner'. This is an
important method for irrigation in the Aravalli hills in
The general elevation of the northern Madhya Pradesh
Mewar, eastern Rajasthan. These are considered
uplands is between 300-600 m with numerous thickly
common property resources (Figure 2). The soil dug
forested hills. The region is full of ravines and derelict
out to make the well pit is used to construct a huge
lands, the result of severe erosion. Rainfall in the
circular foundation or an elevated platform sloping
southern Madhya Pradesh uplands varies between
away from the well. Saza kuva construction is
2,000-3,000 mm and the whole area is densely
forested.
Pat System
Bhitada village, Jhabua district of Madhya pradesh
developed the unique pat system. This system was

Figure 2 Saza Kuva

generally taken up by a group of farmers with adjacent

landholdings; a harva, a man with special skills in
groundwater detection, helps fix the site. Water is
shared on the pro-rata basis of the size of the holding.
Protection of well and annual repairs and desiltation is
taken up collectively by all the partner farmers.
Water is lifted manually using pulley, rope and bucket
or using animal power. A traditional lifting device is
Figure 1 Pat System rehat (Persian Wheel); the sloping platform is for the

Annual Technical Volume 159

 chada, in which buffaloes are used to lift water (Figure
3). Water is lifted in a series of small buckets fixed on
an endless belt or chain moving on a vertical wheel or
drum. Bullocks or camels walking in a circle turn the
Figure 3 Rehat
Figure 4 Animal Power Used for Lifting Water
drum through a set of bevel gears and shafts, which
moves the endless belt. The revolving movement of
the belt rises the bucket full of water on one side, and
empties it when it reaches the top (Figure 4). It is
commonly found in Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh, western Uttar Pradesh, and parts of
Maharashtra.
Naada/ Bandha
Naada/ bandha are found in the Mewar region of the
Thar desert. It is a stone check dam, constructed across
Figure 5 Naada/ bandha
160
a stream or gully, to capture monsoon runoff on a
stretch of land. Submerged in water, the land becomes
fertile as silt deposits on it and the soil retains
substantial amounts of water (Figure 5). These dams
are constructed in phases over several years. The
height is slowly increased up to the same height of the
checkdam, which determines the size of the naada.
Rapat
A rapat is a percolation tank, with a bund to impound
rainwater flowing through a watershed and a waste
weir to dispose of the surplus flow. If the height of the
structure is small, the bund may be built of masonary,
otherwise earth is used. Rajasthan rapats, being small,
are all masonry structures. Rapats and percolation
tanks do not directly irrigate land, but recharges well
within a distance of 3-5 km downstream. Silting is a
serious problem with small rapats and the estimated
life of a rapat varies from 5 to 20 years.
Chandela Tank
A section of the Chandelas (Rajput families) ruled
much of the Bundelkhand region of central India
(Madhya Pradesh) for long periods between the 10th
and the 13th centuries AD. They established a network
of several hundred tanks that ensured a satisfactory
level of groundwater. These tanks were constructed by
stopping the flow of water in rivulets flowing between
hills by erecting massive earthen embankments,
having width of 60 m or more. These hills with long
stretches of quartz reefs running underneath them,
acted as natural ground water barrier helping to trap
water between the ridges. The earthen embankments
were supported on both sides with walls of coarse
stones, forming a series of stone steps.
These tanks are made up of lime and mortar and this is
the reason why these tanks survived even after
thousand years but the only problem, which these
tanks are facing, is siltation of tank beds. Chandela
tanks usually had a convex curvature somewhere in the
middle of the embankment; many older and smaller
tanks were constructed near the human settlement or
near the slopes of a cluster of hills. These tanks served
to satisfy the drinking water needs of villagers and
cattle.
Bundela Tank
The Bundela Kings who came later used lime and
mortar masonry and were bordered by steps, pavilions
and royal gardens. The tanks were built close to
palaces and temples and were not originally meant for
irrigation at all, but for the use of all. Breaching of
embankments and cultivation on the tank bed has
destroyed many. But the wells in the command area of
these tanks continue to yield well and also serve to
recharge the groundwater.
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 These tanks are bigger in size as compared to Chandela
tanks. These tanks had solidly constructed steps
leading to water in the tank; But these structures had
chabootaras, pavillions and royal orchards designed to
show off the glory of the king who built them. But
these tanks are not as cost effective and simple as
Chandela tanks. These tanks were constructed to meet
the growing water demands in the area, maintenance of
these tanks was done by the person employed by the
king but in case of smaller tanks villagers collectively
removed silt and repair embankment.
Talab / Bandhis
Talabs are reservoirs. They may be natural, such as the
ponds (pokhariyan) at Tikamgarh in the Bundelkhand
region. They can be human-made, such the lakes in
Udaipur. A reservoir area of less than five bighas is
called a talai; a medium sized lake is called a bandhi or
Figure 6 Talab
talab ; bigger lakes are called sagar or samand (Figure
6). The pokhariyan serve irrigation and drinking
purposes. When the water in these reservoirs dries up
just a few days after the monsoon, the pond beds are
cultivated with rice. The Mewar region is well-known
for its built reservoirs (talabs). Udaipur City is famous
for its large number of talabs, and is called the lake city.
Johad
Johads are small earthen check dams that capture and
conserve rainwater, improving percolation and
Figure 7 Johad
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groundwater recharge (Figure 7). A johad collects and
stores water throughout the year, to be used for the
drinking purpose by humans and cattle. In many parts
of the Rajasthan state the annual rainfall is very low
(between 450 and 600 mm) and the water can be
unpleasant to drink. Rain falling during July and
August is stored in johads and used throughout the
year. Johads are called as "khadins" in Jaisalmer. They
are popularly known as tankis in most parts of the
country. These are simple mud and rubble barriers built
across the contour of a slope to arrest rainwater. These
earthen check dams are meant to catch and conserve
rainwater, leading to improved percolation and
groundwater recharge. They are built across a slope
with a high embankment on the three sides while the
fourth side is left open for the rainwater to enter. They
are very common in the Thar desert of Rajasthan.
Starting 1984, the last sixteen years have seen the
revival of some 3000 johads spread across more than
650 villages in Alwar district, Rajasthan. This has
resulted in a general rise of the groundwater level by
almost 6 metres and a 33 % increase in the forest cover
in the area. Five rivers that used to go dry immediately
following the monsoon have now become perennial,
such as the River Arvari, has come alive. In 1990, when
the villagers started constructing the big dam, no one
knew that the site was the origin of the river. And by
catching and percolating water, they were injecting life
into the river (Figure 8).
Figure 8 Before and after water conservation
161
 Appraisal of Kelia Irrigation Systems : A Boon for
Tribal Part in South Gujarat Region
Bhasker Vijaykumar Bhatt
Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering Department
Sarvajanik College of Engineering & Technology, Surat, Gujarat
* bhasker.bhatt@scet.ac.in
Abstract
For the development and promotion of irrigated agriculture in Navsari District (originally Valsad District)
located in the Southern part of Gujarat State, Kelia Reservoir Project was taken up by the Government of
Gujarat. Kelia Project was estimated to cost Rs. 616.60 Lacs as per the W. B. Appraisal Summary Report of
August 1980. Later on the Project cost estimate was revised to Rs. 971.00 Lacs. The Original CCA under Kelia
Left Bank Branch Canal was 1,273 Ha. Moreover, Right Bank Branch Canal was 937 Ha thus making the total
CCA of the project as 2,210 Ha. Fertile land, good rainfall, sufficient storage, improving marketing facilities,
development of agro-industries and progressive nature of farming community in the command area have
provided the necessary circumstances for accelerating the pace of agriculture development. On the other hand in
recent past, conveyance capacities found to be inadequate for canals to meet present and future irrigation
demands. It is due to increased irrigation intensity with growing cash crops such as sugarcane; inadequate
drainage provisions leave the consequent effects on modifications in cropping pattern and constraints in
ensuring efficient water management have imposed severe limitations on the planned development of the area.
Recently, the Government of Gujarat has attempted to review the existing cropping pattern and identify the actual
water requirement of crops in irrigation projects of Gujarat. This paper provides details on the cropping pattern
and theoretical demand of net irrigation requirement of water for various crops being cultivated in the existing
scenario. In addition to above, a brief evaluation of the water carrying capacity of canals based on proposed
cropping pattern and suggests modifications in canals system is also referred.
Keywords: Irrigation system, Kelia project, Reappraisal, Tribal area irrigation

Introduction narrow gauge line is 24 Km. away. The Kelia project

mainly serves two Taluka: Vansda and Chikhli. The
Kelia Reservoir was taken up by the Government of
beneficiaries belong to the villages of Kelia, Sukhbari,
Gujarat during the 1980s. It is a dual-purpose medium
Pipalkhed, Kansariya, Vaghbari and Vandarvela of
type of irrigation scheme serving the tribal villages in
Vansda along with Sarvani, Ambach, Kakadvela,
the South Gujarat region for assisting in the
Velanpur, Ghodvani, Dhamduma, Kanbhai, Rumla,
agricultural activities along with flood control. The
Agaasi, Dholumbar, Miyazari and Mandavkhadak
total service area (Culturable Command Area-CCA)
villages of Chikhli taluka.
under the scheme in its final stage of development as
planned was to be 2,486 Hectares (Ha.) with a total From the Census (Figure 1) from the year 1991, the
irrigation intensity of 109%. Irrigation network for
2,210 Ha. has been completed. Originally the Kelia
was designed solely to irrigate an area of 2,486 Ha. The
entire Kelia Left Bank Branch Canal – LBMC and
Right Bank Branch Canal – RBMC are lined with pre-
cast cement blocks on both the sides and cast-in-situ in
bed with polyethylene film below it. The scheme
observed maximum irrigation in the year 1999 having
irrigated 2,053 Ha.
The project envisaged construction across Kharera
River (Latitude 20°42'-0" N and Longitude 73°16'-45"
E) near Village Kelia of Taluka Vansda in the Navsari
District (Earlier Valsad District). Figure 1 SC-ST population and Agriculture activity
involvement
The nearest railway station is Unai on Wagai-Bilimora (Source: Census of India, 1991)

162 Annual Technical Volume

 total population of villages of Vansda taluka was
around 13,600 whereas that of Chikhli taluka was
reported about 33,300. From above Figure, it can be
visualized that the ST population in all these villages
are more than 90% whereas the workforce under
Cultivators, and Agricultural labors are larger than
30%. In general, in India the workforce participation is
observed to be around 35% of total population. The
Kelia Water resource project acted as a boon bringing
in fortunate and prosperity among these tribal villages
of Vansda and Chikhli Taluka.
The climate is subtropical monsoon type with a
temperature suitable for year-round cropping. Daily
minimum and maximum Temperature ranges from
14.8 °C to 37.3 °C with its peak during April. The Figure 2 Kelia dam
Project area is predominantly under the influence of
the South-West monsoon with 96% of the rainfall long. The top of the dam as per revised flood hydrology
occurring from June to September with July as the works out to 118.6 Mt. The top width is 6.00 Mt. The
wettest month. The annual rainfall of the project area maximum height is 26.60 Mt. across the river Kharera
ranges from less than 1200 mm to over 2500 mm with a from the river bed level (Figure 2).
yearly average of 1200.70 mm. Inadequate
Masonry Dam with Spillway
conveyance capacities of the canal found to be failed to
meet present and future irrigation demands due to Chutes spillway is between Ch. 701.00 Mt. To 814.00
increased irrigation intensity with increasing coverage Mt. with left and a right key of 8.10 Mt. length on both
of cash crops (such as sugarcane and other perennial the sides. The crest of Chutes spillway is at R. L.
c r o p s ) . M o r e o v e r, t h e
inadequate drainage provisions Table 1 Designed Kelia Irrigation System
and their consequent effects on
cropping pattern, fewer control
structures and restrictions in
ensuring effective water
management have forced
severe limitations on the
planned development of the (Source: Sub-division office, Kelia, 2011)
area.
112.60 Mt. A Spillway basin and chutes blocks with
For the above reasons, in recent past, the Government
dented end sill has been provided on the downstream at
of Gujarat attempted for a review of the existing
chute spillway for the dissipation of the energy. The
cropping pattern and actual water requirement of crops
F.R.L./H.F.L. is 112.60/115.10 Mt. It is a non-gated
in all the irrigation projects across the Gujarat state.
chutes spillway with 113.00 Mt. length.
Sections from now on discuss on comparative details
Head Regulators
related to planned and existing situations for the
aspects of the cropping patterns and general demand of Only one Head Regulator at Ch. 75 Mt. with twin entry
net irrigation requirement of water for various crops of size 1.20 Mt. × 1.50 Mt. is provided.
being cultivated in the existing scenario. Also, a brief
evaluation of the water carrying capacity of canals Canal and Distribution System
based on proposed cropping pattern with suggests Only one Left Bank Canal has been offered in the first
modifications in canals and structures thereof are reach up to 810 Mt. and then after Right Bank Canal of
discussed. 0.81 Km. long with a capacity of 2.07 Cumecs with
Kelia Dam Project & Systems Maximum Section as 2.50 × 1.50 Mt. is off-taking. The
distribution system including minors and sub-minors
Dam up to 8 Ha. block covers CCA of 2,480 Ha. on the either
The section for the dam is revised as per revised floods sides (Table 1). The entire canal system up to 8 Ha.
hydrology that worked out to 1,225 Cusecs, increased block is lined with pre-cast blocks on both the sides
from previous 912 Cusecs. The Earth dam is 723 Mt. and cast-in-situ in bed with polyethylene film below it.

Annual Technical Volume 163

 The left Bank canal is of 8.7 Km. length. The main
canal has 90 structures whereas distribution system
has 960 structures. The right Bank main canal is 7.50
Km. long, having a capacity of 1.10 Cumecs with
maximum section 2.50 Mt. × 1.50 Mt. Both the canal
with distribution networks is irrigating about 2,210 Ha.
in the Navsari district. The Details of original GCA &
CCA and anticipated annual irrigation for both canals
are shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Command area of Kelia Water Resource Project

(Source: Sub-division office, Kelia)

The Project was designed to serve the backward and Cropping Pattern
underdeveloped region of the state i.e. Vansda, The cropping pattern was expected to immerge under
Chikhali Taluka of the Navsari district. The facilities of irrigation condition, which has been adopted for
irrigation to this region are proving to be a boon to planning the irrigation system as shown in Table 2.
farmers, who were at life at the mercy of the
weather. Construction of Kelia Project in Table 2 Original Cropping Pattern
this region has obviously made a significant
impact on the social-economic life of the
agriculture community.
Soil and Topography
The soil in the command area have residual
origin derived from the Volcanic Deccan
trap rock and accurse on a ridge to valley
formation. The soil is 29.80% of the CCA
are very deep (More than 90 cm.). In 35.8 %
of the area, the soils are deep (45 to 90 cm.)
and in 34.4 % are they moderately deep
(22.5 & 45 cm.). The soil colors vary from
yellowish brown to dark brown in the
surface and subsurface. The texture of
surface soil up to 30 cm. is about 23.8 % is
fine and, in 76.2 % it is medium. The
surface & subsurface layers thus
predominantly consist of medium to fine
texture followed by weathered basaltic
material (murram).

164 Annual Technical Volume

 The statement as shown in Table 3 on the cropping thus indicating the average of crops being cultivated in
pattern observed during the decade of 2001 to 2010 the command of Kelia Irrigation Project.
Table 3 Planned against existing cropping pattern in Kelia command area

The table depicts the changes (in bold letters) not only means, little-irrigated area generating more water
in the cropping pattern but also reveals the less demands; in other words, existing capacities are not
efficiently irrigated land. Against a total planned area sufficient to take care of originally planned CCA with
of 2,574.24 Ha., at present only about 60% area is ongoing practices. According to IBRD
being irrigated. The farmers are practicing a recommendations, fortnightly crop water requirements
completely modified cropping pattern, and the same are estimated by the Modified Penmen Method (FAO
may result in the decreased area under cropping. It is publication no. 24, revised 1977). These compare
observed that almost 50% of cropping pattern has
revised that include the introduction Table 4 Proposed Cropping Pattern for Kelia Project
of Sugarcane and banana that require
regular watering round the year.
A revision in the planned allocation of
water along with modernization of
canal system may be anticipated
shortly to keep the tribal area involved
in agricultural activities else these
areas will be forced to turn up into
urbanization, creating demand on
other resources at large becoming
consumers instead of producers.
Table 4 suggests on constant
switching over rather a reduction in
CCA from initial 103% to 60% and
now, based on current cropping
practices, another reduction to 56%. It

Annual Technical Volume 165

 favorably with the experimental results obtained by
the Agriculture University, Navsari. IMD stations at
Surat record agro-meteorological data that may be
used for crop water requirement. Recorded data used
are (1) maximum and minimum temperature, (2)
maximum, minimum, and relative humidity, (3) wind
speed and (4) sunshine hours/ cloud cover. For crop
water requirements for Kelia System, data of IMD
station at Surat may be considered. The fortnightly
crop water requirements may be worked out
considering the above aspects and proposed new
cropping pattern and accordingly, the canal system
revision shall be proposed.
Irrigation Efficiencies
Low irrigation efficiency observed at Kelia Irrigation
System is due to seepage loss (through the joints of
precast blocks in the sides of canal section) for the
conveyance of water field application loss and deep
Table 5 Water requirement based on proposed cropping pattern
166
percolation loss below the root zone of the crops due to
the soil characteristics. The irrigation system passes
through mainly areas with murram that have a high
coefficient of permeability. However, the reaches
where the seepage losses are excessive, the canals
should be lined. So far there has been constructed
lining works through precast concrete blocks on the
side slopes in the branch canal where expected seepage
losses as envisaged to be high. Also, some
improvement in the field channels has also been
observed with the Participatory Irrigation
Management (PIM) which in turn improves the
efficiency of the entire system to some extent. At
present, the irrigation efficiency is envisaged to be
around 49% whereas for the future needs the efficiency
needs to be increased to 63% to cater the irrigation
water requirements for the present and proposed
cropping pattern. The discharge discussed hereafter is
based on the revised cropping pattern and anticipated
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 improved efficiencies of the canal carrying capacities
Figure 5 shows the water requirement based on the
cropping pattern.
Canal Capacities
Presently, the K.L.B.B.C. is found to carry the design
discharges without encroaching on the free board. The
conveyance capacity of the canal in the Kelia project
command to meet the peak demands of irrigation are
not required to be increased to the irrigation demand in
different months; however some improvement is
proposed. The water carrying capacity of canal system
needs to be modified as the system is already carrying
47.07 Cusecs of Discharge at present instead of the
designed discharge of 59.14 Cusecs (2.07 Cumecs) as
planned.
Based on the proposed cropping pattern it is envisaged
that the capacity of Main Canal needs no modifications
as it can cater 59.14 Cusecs to compared to required
47.07 Cusecs in anticipated improved condition (for
irrigation purpose). However, the modification is not
proposed in the systems of Kelia Project Canal System
and also in some of the distributaries wherein
modification is proposed to cater the required
irrigation water carriage. In the sub-systems of Kelia
Branch Canal, individual increased water carriage
requirement shall be achieved by various means as of
full lining works, further implementation of PIM and
Table 6 Revised Discharges in Systems of Left Bank Branch Canal
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partly lining works reducing percolation losses and
improvement of canal structures as a way of reducing
afflux and improving system efficiency at field level.
Following is a computed statement for maximum
discharge requirements based on actual cropping
pattern and for the proposed cropping pattern.
So far as the water availability is concerned, the Live
Storage of the project is 17.35 MCM, which is not
required to be modified to catch the other flood waters
for utilization considering the proposed cropping
pattern and improved conveyance efficiencies. Tables
6 & 7 show the revised discharge requirements based
on the proposed cropping pattern and improved
conveyance efficiencies.
Conclusion
The Kelia water resource project is serving villagers of
the tribal region as an important aid for cultivation and
agricultural activities. The soils derived from the
volcanic Deccan trap and the terrain result in a high
rate of surface run-off. Over the years, the changes in
cropping pattern have affected the irrigable area and
the efficiency of the irrigation system. Water demands
have increased against a reduction in CCA with a
change of crop types. Up to an extent through PIM,
customized discharge from canals may help the sector.
Based on observed changes in cropping pattern, a
167
 Table 7: Revised Discharges in Systems of Right Bank Branch Canal

168 Annual Technical Volume

 proposed cropping pattern so that there is no need for
increasing the canal carrying capacities but to improve
the efficiency to avoid further reduction in the
cultivable command area. The efficiency may be
enhanced by ascertaining remedial measures as to
reduce percolation losses, improving cross drainage
works reducing afflux and so on. The dam with a live
storage capacity of 17.35 MCM can take care of
existing practices. However, a revision may be needed
in near future to maintain the cultivation and
agricultural practices for adhering to originally
planned CCA of 103.80% in 2,486 Ha. of the area. A
question remains unanswered, whether to continue
with cash crops in existing situation of reduced
irrigation efficiencies or to go for a complete new
system design to promote wealth through cash crop
cultivation support.
Acknowledgment
The author expresses a deep sense of appreciation to
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the Irrigation Department officers of State
Government of Gujarat. The author thanks, Dr.
Vaishali Mungurwadi, Principal at Sarvajanik College
of Engineering & Technology, Surat for all the support
in academic tasks and providing constant motivation
for pursuing excellence.
References
1. Census of India, 1991.
2. Detailed project report on "Reappraisal of
irrigation potential and canal capacity based on
irrigation achieved in past ten years – Systems of
Kelia Irrigation Project"; Jujh Project Division,
Vansda, Ukai Circle, Gujarat; June 2011.
3. Website of Narmada, Water Resources, Water
Supply and Kalpasar Department (Government of
Gujarat) referred on date 23-10-2015. (http://guj-
n w r w s . g u j a r a t . g o v. i n / s h o w p a g e . a s p x ?
contentid=1761&lang=english)
169
 Conventional and Modern Irrigation System of
Gujarat
S. K. Shah
Assistant Research Scientist (Soil Science)
Main Castor Mustard Research Station, S.D. Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar, Gujarat
* sarveshshah@gmail.com

Introduction is needed, this shows the importance of irrigation in

Gujarat. The state has about 96 lakh hectares under
Irrigation is an important resource for agriculture
cultivation and about 65 lakh hectares under estimated
hence plays an important role in the socio-economic
irrigation potential through surface and groundwater
development, poverty alleviation, employment
sources. This indicates that through proper water
generation, creating raw material for many industries,
resource development planning about 68% of the net
etc. Therefore, agriculture play a vital role in the GDP
cultivated area could be brought under irrigation.
of nation, and it is evidenced that irrigated area
There is greater scope for surface irrigation in the state.
produces most of the grains required to feed a large
Groundwater resources are relatively limited and some
population of than the rainfed area. Government has
of these are almost fully exploited to the point of
invested a large amount of money in creating irrigation
ecological degradation. There is an urgent need to curb
facilities. According to the Economic survey of
the over exploitation of groundwater and the only
Government of India, irrigation potential has grown
alternative is to harvest maximum rain water through
from 22.6 million hectares in 1950 to 94.7 million
different techniques like check dams, percolation
hectares in 2000.
tanks, percolation wells, direct well recharge and
Status of Irrigation in Gujarat measures of water conservation etc.
Gujarat has only 30% area under irrigation but it Various Irrigation Techniques of Gujarat
contributes 70% of total agriculture production. The
Irrigation water application to crops include various
average annual rainfall in Gujarat is 840mm, but it is
methods including flooding the field surface, sub-
highly erratic varying from 525mm to 1070mm during
surface irrigation, spraying under pressure, or
the last two decades. Within the state the rainfall varies
applying in drops. Water supply, soil type, topography,
from 1350 mm in south Gujarat to about 270 mm in the
and the crop define the appropriate irrigation methods.
Kutch region. In Saurashtra and Kutch regions annual
A detailed representation is show in Figure 1.
rainfall is most erratic and varies from 300mm to 660
mm. Therefore these regions face acute water scarcity. Surface Irrigation Methods
The average annual rainfall in the eastern hilly region
In this method water is directly applied to soil surface
of Gujarat varies from 870 mm to 1700 mm. This
from a channel located at upper reach of the field.
region receives good rainfall but due to the rocky
Water distribution can be done through border strips,
terrain rain water does not percolate and flows away to
check basins or furrows. To obtain high efficiency in
the sea. In general, rainfall is confined to only four
this method are properly constructed water
months from June to September and the rainy days
distribution networks and adequate land preparation to
number between 10 in Kutch and 50 in south Gujarat.
ensure uniform water distribution over fields.
There shows unequal distribution of rainfall during the
season. Sometimes 40-50 % rain falls only in 7-8 days. Traditional Irrigation Methods
High rainfall in small number of days does not provide
However, in different regions system for irrigation
enough time for water to percolate. Therefore, major
adopted by farmers are presented in Table 1.
portion of rain water flows into the sea. There are also
Traditional irrigation System of Gujarat is Kuhl
chances of high soil erosion.
System of Irrigation. Kuhl is a century old traditional
In Gujarat, especially rainfed farmers experienced that community irrigation system of Gujarat. Kuhl is
some times after sowing, due to the long dry spell, managed and operated by Kohli (water tender) on
germinated seeds do not grow and the crop fails. In this behalf of the water users. The Kohli's post is
situation support irrigation becomes a lifeline for hereditary. For rendering services he is paid in kind. At
farmers. So even for kharif crops protection irrigation the harvest he is given equal amount of grain to the

170 Annual Technical Volume

 Figure 1 Various water application methods
Table 1 Ecological region and system for traditional irrigation adopted
weight of the seed sown. The Kohli's role is
multifunctional. He is in charge of rebuilding the dams
each spring and coordinates and administers the
distribution of water as well as other social and
political aspects of the system. The community
irrigation system involves construction of temporary
headwall in the gorge to divert water through a canal to
the fields. At the beginning of the season the work is
started. Waters flows continuously from one field to
another since the fields are sloped and finally drains
into the gorge downstream. If a person remains absent
without valid reason during the construction of the
headwall, he is denied water for the season as a
punishment. During days of scarcity the Kohli decides
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on the quantity of water to be allocated to each
irrigator.
Irrigation water application to the field also varied
from location to location and to the need of farmers.
Some of the important water application methods are
described in Table 2.
It is observed that various type of flood method of
irrigation is commonly and traditionally followed are
liable to loss of water conveyance, distribution and
evaporation. Therefore, about 30-40 % of applied
water is being utilized by the crop rest is leached out;
evaporated, or lost through surface run off.
171
 Table 2 Various surface water application methods
In modern farming of Gujarat, Micro Irrigation System
(MIS) is well adopted by the farmers. In MIS, field is
irrigated in the close vicinity of root zone of crop. It
reduces water loss occurring through evaporation,
conveyance and distribution. Therefore high water use
efficiency can be achieved (Table 3). The unirrigated
rainfed cropped area, could be irrigated with the water
saved with this technology become a potential source
of food production for the benefit of country's food
security.
MIS is the best available way to utilize water and
fertilizer efficiently under farm conditions. The type of
MIS may very with the type of crop selected and
amount of water available for irrigation (Table 4).
Since MIS is a well planned and scientifically designed
way of farming, it also provides option for Crop
diversification. Unlike surface irrigation, drip
irrigation is more suitable and economical if it is
introduced in water scarce areas having undulated
topography, shallow and sandy soils barren and for
wide spaced high value crops. It reduces cost of
cultivation, increases productivity and reduces energy
(electricity) consumption.
Table 3 Irrigation efficiency under different methods of irrigation
172
The comparison of Sprinkler and Drip Irrigation on
different use aspects are presented in Table 5.
Crop-wise water saving over surface irrigation method
and increase in yield is presented in table (Table 6).
Changes in Cropping Pattern and Cropping
Intensity
Before the inception of the irrigation facility, farmers
were largely dependent on rainfed farming (Aakashi
Kheti) and were taking only one crop in a year. Farmers
were growing only local varieties of rain-fed crops like
rice, groundnut, jowar and cotton. With the residual
moisture some of them were taking pulses in the rabi
season. After the introduction of the different irrigation
schemes, there has been a marked shift in the cropping
pattern as well as the cropping intensity in the area.
They started taking upto three crops in a year and this
has largely been made possible due to the increased
availability of water in the non-monsoon months. With
the arrival of irrigation, farmers initially went for
improved varieties cash or commercial crops. Their
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 Table 4 Crop group wise advisable Micro Irrigation System
Table 5 Sprinkler and Drip Irrigation
way of farming changed largely. However within the
subsequent 3-4 years, most farmers shifted to most
economic crop based on their local experience and
market demand, for instance in South Gujarat, farmers
adopted Sugarcane cultivation due to support of deep
extension work and credit support by the sugar
cooperatives. In Bharuch district, after introduction of
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lift irrigation, farmers started growing vegetables,
particularly a variety of French beans (locally called
papadi) which is a delicacy for Gujaratis. The assured
irrigation has helped in increasing farmers income to a
great extent that is upto 4 times. All this impacted on
the life style of farmer, food intake, nutrition pattern
and social status of farmers.
173
 Table 6: Crop-wise water saving and increase in yield
Promotion of adoption of Micro Irrigation System
in India
Technological
l intervention is required to cut
down the cost of Micro-irrigation system.
MIS
l should be made an integral part of all
irrigation projects and common efforts taken by
the Government / NGO and the MIS companies.
174
Efforts should be made to ensure the production
l
and supply of good quality MIS components to
the farmers by enforcing strict quality control
measures and the manufacturers should also
guide the farmers in adopting suitable
agronomic practices.
After sales service should be strengthen.
l
Annual Technical Volume
 System and Present Scenario of Irrigation in
Maharashtra
Vijay Sadashiv Ghogare
Chairman, The Institution of Engineers (India), Pune Local Centre
* vijayghogare90@gmail.com

Pre Independence System of Irrigation private users. Construction of reservoirs upstream

Management in Maharashtra
Practice of irrigation has been in existence since time
immemorial. Large and small storage tanks have been
used for irrigation since ancient times. Lifting of water
or diverting the same from small streams and rivers
was also practiced in old period. In the Western
Maharashtra, the first large irrigation work was
constructed in the year 1870 across Krishna river
popularly known as Khodshi weir near Karad and the
system is known as Krishna canal system. Similarly
first large storage work was constructed in 1885 across
Mutha river known as Khadakwasla Storage
Reservoir. Thereafter, the storage works at Bhatghar,
Chankapur, Darna & Bhandardara were constructed in
the British Regime. Some small tanks were
constructed in Vidarbha Region near Ramtek,
Ghorajhari, Asola Mendha and Naleshwar. The PHAD
System on weirs across Panzara and Mosam Rivers in
Tapi Basin or thousands of irrigation tanks belonging
to Gond Era in Wainganga Basin are still in existence.
Maharashtra is one of the states where farmers'
participation in irrigation management had been going
on for more than two hundred years. Farmers managed
irrigation system could be divided in two broad groups
I) Traditional and II) Non-Traditional System.
Traditional system known as Phad system consisted of
those constructed, funded and maintained by the
farmers on their own initiative prior to independence.
This system entailed dividing the entire command in a
number of blocks known as PHADs followed
traditionally in Nasik and Dhule districts. Under this
scheme bandharas (weir) were constructed across the
river to divert the flow of river to canals. The command
area of each phad varied between 8 and 480 hectare.
The system was entirely managed by farmers
themselves for operation and maintenance of head
work and sluice gate. The system was useful up to a
point of time when reservoirs on the upstream of the
rivulets were not constructed and constant flow in
rivulets was maintained. This system which was in
operation for more than 200 years gradually lost its
importance and the system started declining due to
upstream water withdrawals by Government as well as
marred the initiative of the people. Another example of
the traditional system was provided by Malgujari tanks
in Chandrapur and Bhandara districts of Vidarbha
region. These tanks were operated and maintained by a
committee of eight to ten farmers. Later on these tanks
were acquired by the government after which the
earlier system came to an end. After that Irrigation
development and management activities are being
carried out by the Government. After independence
and after formation of state of Maharashtra; the
development in irrigation sector and its management is
governed by the recommendations of 1st and 2nd
Maharashtra State Irrigation Commissions formulated
by Government of Maharashtra.
Necessity of Development of Irrigation Facilities
The basic objective of irrigation development has been
to effect substantial increase in agricultural
productivity leading thereby to prosperity of rural area.
The Government has been focusing on development of
irrigation facilities since independence. With this view
Government has taken many policy decisions.
Agriculture is the main business of rural area. So if
proper irrigation facility is provided; it is possible to
take at least 2 season crops and if water availability is
more then it is possible to take perennial cash crops.
As per the irrigation commissions report, out of total
geographical area of state 225 lakh ha area is
cultivable. But using all the sources of water such as
surface and ground water; ultimate irrigation potential
that can be brought under irrigation is 126 lakh ha. Out
of that 85 lakh ha from surface water by State and local
sector works and 41 lakh ha from ground water.
Present Scenario of Water Sector in Maharashtra
Maharashtra is the third largest State in Union of India
considering population as well as area. The population
of the state is about 112 million. Nearly 58% of
population lives in rural area which depends largely on
agriculture for their livelihood. Geographical area of
State is 30.7 Million ha. Out of which cultivable area is
22.5 Million ha. The rainfall varies from 400mm to
6000 mm. Entire state is traversed by five river basins

Annual Technical Volume 175

 viz. Krishna, Godavari, Tapi, Narmada, and West
Flowing rivers in Konkan region. Annual average
available yield for entire Maharashtra state drained by
above river basins is to the tune of 163820Mm3 (5785
TMC). The geographical area of Maharashtra has been
divided into 35districts & 358 Talukas for
administrative purposes. The agriculture suffers due to
vagaries of monsoon. Nearly 148 Talukas are drought
prone. The Water and Irrigation Commission
appointed by GoM has estimated the water resources
of the State and has assessed the ultimate irrigation
potential through flow irrigation at 85 lakh ha which
can be increased to 126 lakh ha by using advanced
irrigation techniques, watershed development and
improving water distribution system.
ü
The geographical area of the state is 307 Lakh
ha.
ü
Cultivable area is 225 Lakh ha. (73%GA). Out
of this 40% area is drought prone. About 7%
area is flood prone.
ü
Ultimate irrigation potential of Maharashtra
state by all methods is 126 Lakh ha. means 56
% of the area can be ultimately brought under
irrigation. (126/225 x 100 = 56%).
ü
Presently 48.46 lakh ha. potential is created
through state sector projects having ICA>250
ha. and 16.24 lakh ha. potential is created
Table 1 Basin Wise Average Annual Availability of water resources, Mm3
Table 2 Surface water potential
176
through local sector and ZP having ICA<250
ha.
ü
So in total Maharashtra state has created
irrigation potential of 64.70 lakh ha.
ü
The highly variable rainfall in Maharashtra
ranging from 400 to 6000mm occurs in 4
months period.
ü
No. of rainy days varying from 40 to 100 days.
ü
58% of average annual availability is found in 4
major river basins(Krishna, Godavari, Tapi &
Narmada).
ü
These 4 river basins comprises of 92% of the
cultivable land & 75% of the people living in
the rural settlements and fast growing town &
industrial area.
Surface and Ground water availability as per the
2nd Irrigation Commission
The Second Irrigation commission has arrived for the
total surface and ground water availability in all basins
of Maharashtra state. The details of that are furnished
in Table 1.
By considering the total surface water availability and
ground water availability and its conjunctive use;
commission has arrived for the ultimate irrigation
potential of state using surface and ground water.
Annual Technical Volume
 Ultimate Irrigation Potential of Maharashtra brought under irrigation through groundwater is 41
lakhha.
A) Surface Water Potential
Out of this, 1 lakh ha area is catered through
Table 2 shows the potential of surface water at various
groundwater from project commands and the
levels.
remaining outside (It is inference-based. Presently this
B) Groundwater potential statistics lacks corroboration from field observations.
No method of precisely delineating the irrigation area
Table 3 shows the potential of ground water available
catered through groundwater is yet evolved.)
at different parts of the State. Total area in Maharashtra
Table 3 Ground water potential

Table 4 District wise details of Irrigation potentials and storages planned and created

Annual Technical Volume 177

178 Annual Technical Volume
Annual Technical Volume 179
180 Annual Technical Volume
 Ø
The figures as shown in Table 4 are of only State
sector projects having Irrigation potential more
than 250 Ha.
Ø
And presently 69781 Local sector projects and
ZP projects (irrigation potential between 0 to 250
Ha.) are completed and have created irrigation
potential to the tune of 16.24 lakh ha. 8471 Local
sector projects and ZP projects are ongoing and
will create 1.97 lakh ha. irrigation potential.
Ø
So Maharashtra state has created total irrigation
potential of 64.70 lakh ha.
Status of O&M Cost incurred in irrigation
management and Water Tariff Recovery
The following table shows how much amount has been
spend towards O&M of irrigation system during year
2002-03 to 2011-12 and recovery of water tariff during
this period and its percentage with O&M cost.
Table 5 clearly shows that Government of
Maharashtra has fully recovered its O&M cost through
water tariff.
Present Method of Irrigation Management where
WUAs are not Formed
Present method of water allocation to the irrigation
system has certain lacunae. Water requirement of the
individual farmers is collected through 'Patkari' at
minor level, and finally it goes to the higher authorities
for preparation of Preliminary Irrigation Program
(PIP). Patkari collects the water demand only of those
farmers who give their entitlement on ex-ante basis.
This type of demand collection procedure leads to
following two problems during the PIP
implementation period:
Table 5 Operational and maintenance cost for irrigation management system in Maharashtra
Annual Technical Volume
Water
l consumed by the farmer who has not
furnished his water requirement
Mis-reporting
l of crops sown by the farmers vis-
à-vis water requirement.
Above two incidents happen frequently and can only
be accounted for during verification, and auditing on
post-facto basis. However, due to this unscrupulous
practice, some genuine farmers suffer the loss, which
may be to the extent of non availability of water during
scarcity period. Manual interference should be limited
by using modern technologies like use of remotely
sensed imagery for determination of crop type and
crop area. If one views the existing tariff structure,
there are 66 different water rates for canal flow type
irrigation based on different crop types and seasons.
Such an exhaustive tariff schedule gives space for
manipulation. The tariff structure should be simple,
concise and easy to administer.
Ways to Improve the Water Tariff Collection
Water
l for irrigation requirements to be made
through volumetric measurements.
Water
l for irrigation use to be supplied to
individual farmers through Water Users
Associations only.
All irrigation
l management activities beyond
minor distributaries like O&M activities, water
distribution, and water tariff levy and recovery to
be handed over to WUAs.
Canal
l officers should be given the powers to
disconnect water supply to WUAs who have
water tariff arrears pending.
It was
l observed that area adjacent to the
181
 command area of the project was also benefitting
from the irrigation project (by virtue of water
leakage and percolation). The same should be
verified and appropriate water tariffs need to be
levied.
Legal Frame Work for Irrigation Development and
Management in Maharashtra
In order to develop and manage irrigation facilities, it
is essential to have strong understanding of the legal
and regulatory framework governing the sector as this
framework defines the boundary within which the
Regulator has to operate. Regulatory framework
assumes higher significance in sectors where either
market does not exist or markets are not competitive. It
assumes even higher significance in the water sector
due to its linkages with day to day survival of all
human beings.
The objective is to present legal and regulatory
provisions currently applicable to the water sector in
Maharashtra so as to develop a strong foundation for
development and management of irrigation systems,
based on important provisions in the most recent and
the most relevant Acts, i.e., MWRRA Act 2005and
MMISF Act 2005 followed by provisions in other Acts
such as Irrigation Development Corporations Act,
1996, 1997 and 1998, Maharashtra Irrigation Act
1976,MunicipalCorporation Act, 1949,Bombay Canal
Rules, 1934andalso relevant provisions in the National
Water Policy, State Water Policy.
Maharashtra Irrigation Act, 1976
Maharashtra Act XXXVIII of 1976 known as
Maharashtra Irrigation Act, 1976 was enacted on
August 5, 1976 in order to unify and amend the law
relating to irrigation in the State of Maharashtra and to
provide water rates for lands under the irrigable
command of canals and matters connected there with.
It may be noted that while some of the provisions of
this Act have been repealed under Section 77 of
MMISF Act for areas under management of Water
User Associations, these provisions continue to apply
to areas which are not under management of WUAs.
These provisions assume importance from the
perspective of MWRRA as it is expected to take into
account these provisions while developing bulk water
tariffs in the State.
MWRRA Act, 2005
The Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory
Authority (MWRRA) has been set up under the
provisions of Maharashtra Act No. XVIII of 2005
called as Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory
Authority Act, 2005. This Act provides the functions
and powers of the Authority with respect to various
issues associated with the water sector in Maharashtra.
182
Under this Act, the Authority has been given powers to
determine the entitlements of various water users as
well as tariffs applicable to bulk water supplies in the
State and to sanction irrigation projects in accordance
with state water plan, directive principles laid down by
the Governor of Maharashtra
MMISF Act, 2005
State Government of Maharashtra has enacted
Maharashtra Management of Irrigation System by
Farmers Act 2005 as per the guidelines given in state
water policy for participatory irrigation management
and volumetric supply of water to all consumers. Key
Features of MMISF Act 2005 are as follows:
MMISF
l has various innovative provisions to
strengthen the Participatory irrigation
management initiative.
The MMISF
l enactment laid down simple and
easy procedure for formation of WUAs.
The registration
l of society will be done by the
Water Resources Department itself.
Water
l for irrigation shall be supplied to WUAs
only.
All landholders or leaseholders must be member
l
of WUAs.
Water will be supplied on volumetric basis.
l
WUAs have freedom of cropping pattern.
l
Adequate
l representation to tail enders and
women members is provided in the Management
committee of WUA.
Time
l bound programme of completion of
rehabilitation works before transfer to WUAs.
Enactments for Establishment of Irrigation
Development Corporations
With a view to accelerate the completion of irrigation
projects and to manage the water resources in the five
river basins of Maharashtra, GoM established five
Irrigation Development Corporations (IDCs) in the
State of Maharashtra. These five corporations were
formed under the provision of the Corporation Acts
enacted in the latter half of 1990s as mentioned below.
Maharashtra
l Krishna Valley Development
Corporation Act, 1996 (MKVDC Act,1996)
Vidarbha
l Irrigation Development Corporation
Act, 1997 (VIDC Act, 1997)
Tapi
l Irrigation Development Corporation Act,
1997 (TIDC Act, 1997)
Konkan
l Irrigation Development Corporation
Act, 1997 (KIDC Act, 1997)
Annual Technical Volume
 Godawari
l Marathwada Irrigation Development
Corporation Act, 1998(GMIDC Act, 1998)
The objective of the above Acts is to make special
provisions for promotion and operation of irrigation
projects, command area development and schemes for
generation of hydro-electric energy and other
incidental activities. One of the major objectives of the
Irrigation Development Corporation is to plan,
investigate, design construct and manage the irrigation
project and command area development in the
respective river basins. Broadly, all the five Irrigation
Corporations Acts have similar tariff related
provisions.
Maharashtra State Water Policy 2003
The State Government of Maharashtra has adopted
State Water Policy in the year 2003. The objectives of
the Maharashtra State Water Policy (MSWP) is to
ensure the sustainable development and optimal use
and management of the State's water resources to
provide the greatest economic and social benefits for
the people of the State of Maharashtra in a manner that
maintains important ecological values within rivers
and adjoining lands. The key features of the state water
policy are:
Ø
Integrated, multi sectoral approach towards
irrigation development.
Ø
River basin is considered as unit in development
of irrigation, flood management and drought
management.
Ø
Preparation of Integrated State Water Plan for
planning irrigation projects in the basin.
Ø
formation of Maharashtra Water Resources
Regulatory Authority for regulation of basin wise
irrigation development works, water entitlements
and deciding water tariff for all users.
Ø
Involvement of all the stake holders in irrigation
management.
Ø
Participatory irrigation management through
Maharashtra Management of Irrigation System
by Farmers.
Ø
Priority of water use is finalized such as for
drinking, irrigation, industrial, hydro power
generation and other uses such as navigation,
fishing etc.
Ø
Public private partnership concept is introduced.
Ø
Water quality will be given importance.
Ø
Publishing Irrigation Status Report,
Benchmarking report and Water Audit reports
annually.
Annual Technical Volume
Ø
Water conservation works, and Catchment area
treatment programs will be undertaken for
mitigation of drought.
Water Sector Reform Initiatives Undertaken by the
State in Irrigation Sector
The Government of Maharashtra has undertaken a
number of bold and path breaking water sector reform
Initiatives, in the last 10 years to involve public
participation in water management sector, many of
which are for the first time in India and in fact in South
Asia and major part of the world. These include:
Policy Reforms
State of Maharashtra has formulated its State Water
Policy in year 2003. Main features of this policy are
Integrated and multi-sectoral approach in planning,
development & management of water resources.
Ø
Transfer of water management responsibilities to
legally empowered Water Users Associations
(WUAs) Determination and administration of
water entitlements to water users.
Ø
Rationalization of water charges& charging on
bulk/volumetric basis Establishment of legal
frame work The state has passed the following 2
major legislation:
Maharashtra
l Water Resources Regulatory
Authority (MWRRA) Act 2005, enabling
establishment of Maharashtra Water
Resources Regulatory Authority in
September2005.
Maharashtra
l Management of Irrigation
Systems by Farmers (MMISF) Act 2005,
enabling formation of legally empowered
WUAs in irrigation scheme and transfer of
irrigation system management
responsibilities to WUAs.
Institutional Reforms
Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority
(MWRRA) was formed in September 2005, The key
functions of the Authority are:
To regulate water resources within the State as per
l
State Water Policy.
To give
l concurrence to the irrigation projects as
per the Integrated State water Plan as prepared by
State Water Board (Section 15) and approved by
State Water Council (Section 16).
To follow
l Directives of the Governor of
Maharashtra [Section11(f) and Section 21]
To follow
l Directives of the State Govt.(Sec.23)
To facilitate & ensure judicious, equitable and
183
 sustainable management, allocation and
utilization of water resources to fix the rates for
use of water for various purposes.
To determine,
l issue, enforce and monitor Water
Use.
Entitlements fixing the water quota principles.
l Potential of 250 Ha which are with Rural
Every
l land holder in the command area shall be
given water quota.
Water
l quota shall be fixed on the basis of land in
the command area.
Water
l quota adequate to irrigate at least one acre
of land during scarcity shall be given to each land
holder.
In order to share the distress in the river basin, the
l
percentage of utilizable water including kharif
use, shall for all reservoirs approximately be the
same.
Drip
l /Sprinkler shall be made compulsory for
crops like sugarcane in water deficit project.
To determine,
l regulate and enforce the
distribution of water entitlements for various
category of uses at basin /projects levels.
To regulate seasonal / annual water entitlements.
l Ø
To establish
l and regulate water tariff system for
various uses of water with the view to ensure full
operation and maintenance needs of irrigation /
water utilities.
Adoption of New Management Practices
Ø
For efficient use of water and optimum use of
water distribution system, state of Maharashtra
has adopted following new management
practices which are recognized worldwide.
Ø
Management, including O&M of irrigation
systems by elected Water User Association
(WUA) Charging of water tariff on volumetric/
bulk basis.
Ø
Publishing annual water audit report for each
irrigation/ multipurpose project.
Ø
Benchmarking of irrigation / multipurpose
project.
Ø
Promotion of new technology with Integrated
Computerized information Systems(ICIS).
Major Achievements in the Water Sector by the
State
Storage Created in Dams is 33917 Mm3 (1198
Ø
TMC).
184
Ø
An Irrigation potential of 48.46 lakh ha. has been
created ( through state sector projects only having
ICA more than 250 Ha,).
Ø
Apart from this, 15.56 lakh ha of Irrigation
Potential is created on projects below Irrigation
Development and Water Conservation
Department.
Ø
The State has corporatized the irrigation sector
and construction of irrigation projects is being
carried out through five irrigation development
Corporations set up in the State.
Ø
First State in India to constitute Water Resources
Regulatory Authority for regulation of water
resources.
Ø
Formation of 3110 Water User association under
Maharashtra Management of Irrigation Systems
by Farmers (MMISF) Act, which covers 1.09
Million ha area.
Ø
Formation of 1559 Water User association under
co-operative act which covers 0.675 Million ha.
area.
Maharashtra Water Sector Improvement Project
has commissioned with the help of World Bank
for rehabilitation of 286 completed irrigation
project to stabiles 0.67Million ha of command
area.
Ø
Publication of Irrigation Status Report, Water
audit Report and Benchmarking Report annually.
Ø
By looking at irrigation Status report published
by Government of Maharashtra, it can be seen
that during year 2002-03 to 2011-12, GoM spend
Rs. 5188 Crore towards Operation and
Maintenance (O&M) works of irrigation systems
and recovered Rs. 5579 Crore in the form of water
tariff. This means State has fully recovered its
O&M cost through water tariff.
Ø
The State can boost of it's capacity building
through establishment of National Level
institutes Like Maharashtra Engineering
Research Institute, Central Designs
Organization, Water and Land Management
Institute, Mechanical Organization &
Hydroelectric wing and independent Quality
Control Organisation.
Table 6 shows the major dams available in
Maharashtra with its different storage capacity.
Annual Technical Volume
 Table 6 Information of Major Dams in Maharashtra showing their ICA, IP & live storages planned

Annual Technical Volume 185

186 Annual Technical Volume
Annual Technical Volume 187
 References 3) Irrigation Status Report.
1) E Jalseva website. 4) Maharashtra Water Irrigation Commission
(Chitale Commossion) Report 1999.
2) Report of Local Sector Projects from Website.

188 Annual Technical Volume

 Traditional Irrigation Systems in Maharashtra
P. Jayakumar
Civil Engineering Construction and Contracts Management Consultant, Mumbai
* p_jykmr@yahoo.com
PHAD Irrigation System on North-Western,
Vidarba & Kandesh Region of Maharastra
The PHAD irrigation system is the traditional
irrigation system adopted by the community of farmers
in parts of Maharashtra since olden times. The actual
age of the PHAD irrigation system is disputed. While it
is conjectured by many eminent researchers that
PHAD irrigation may be 300-400 years old, while
some research on PHAD has mentioned Bandharas,
i.e. PHAD, prevalent as early as 1409 AD. The river
Panzara in the Sahyadri range on which the PHAD
systems were rampant has a steep gradient and flows
through rocky beds, a topographical feature conducive
to construction of diversion weirs. The monsoon rains
contribute to the runoff apart from the existence of a
significant post-monsoon flow that can keep
substantial irrigation going in winter as well as in the
summer seasons. This provides the context for
building a series of BANDHARAs, or low water
diversion weirs, between one to five metres high of
stone and masonry, across these streams to divert
waters for agricultural use.
The water level in the stream is raised by the
BANDHARA to feed the off-taking canal and to pass
the excess supply to downstream over the top of the
BANDHARA crest as overflow to the downstream. In
the PHAD system, the supply to the canal(s) is
regulated by a head regulator. The canals vary in length
from a few hundred metres to seven kilometers.
BANDHARAs are constructed in a series to along the
river to store water for feeding to canals of PHAD
system. The availability of a command area at each
BANDHARA site, is also kept in mind.
The process of selecting the site for building the
structure is carried out taking into consideration the
base gradient of the river and the slope of the command
area. Scouring sluices are provided at different places
as per the length of the canal. This works as an
automated cleaning device for the drainage of sand and
silt. The average water discharge from the canal is 7-10
cusecs. The head of the canal has no provision of a gate;
the saucer and the scouring sluices present between the
diversion weir and the head of the canal regulates the
water flow. The length and size of the canals varies
amongst the BANDHARAs depending upon the size
Annual Technical Volume
of the PHAD and the distance of water travelled from
the site selected for the diversion of water through the
weir. The reason for the variation of size and length of
the canal was to maintain the velocity of water so that
the water could flow at its own gravity till it reached the
main command area or the THAL.
The term PHAD here refers to the block of land used
for irrigation purposes while BANDHARA refers to
the weir. A collection of PHADs (of 8 to 40 ha each) is
known as a THAL, and can cover an area upto 400 ha.
A PHAD comprises of a number of fields owned by
several cultivators, and receives water from the
BANDHARA diverted through the canal, also known
as pat. The canal has field distributaries called
assarang, while the excess water was drained back into
the main stream through sandwa or the surplus weir.
The management of the PHAD system is under the
chairmanship of the Bhagayat committee (farmers /
irrigators' committee) consisting of elected members
from the irrigators. The number of members in the
committee varies from committee to committee. The
membership is not permanent, and usually lasts for 2 to
4 years at a time, but can be changed in between
depending upon the interest of its members.
Hereditary positions like hawaldar (supervisor) and
jakleya (watchman) are involved in maintaining the
canal system. Patkaris (waterman) oversee the water
distribution process by operating the field gates (sasar)
and the jerai mali community, and some other
communities, are involved in the construction. People
used to contribute towards the construction of the
structure and these watermen used to get paid by these
means.
Elaborate rules for irrigation exist wherein water is
supplied to the second PHAD only after supplying
adequate water to the first PHAD. There were no
written rules in place and decisions were made on the
basis of experience. Water meetings are held at the
village level where the cropping pattern was decided
based on previous years' patterns. The process of
mobilizing the village farmers for the meeting is
normally done through a key person of the village, who
is often called a Kotwal.
Numerous such PHAD systems exist in Vidharbha
today and are in use. Some have been repaired and
189
 modernized by the Irrigation Department by providing
iron gates at the scouring sluices or by raising the
height of the BANDHARAs. A uniform cropping
pattern is usually followed within the PHAD in a
season, but it could vary across PHADs and over the
years. Paddy is the most common crop under the
PHAD system in the Panzara river; other crops like
maize, bajra and wheat have also been introduced now.
Because all farmers have some share of land in the
main PHAD, an equitable system of water distribution
is maintained.
Despite of elaborate managerial system governing the
'PHAD' irrigation in North Western Maharashtra, the
'PHAD irrigation' had deteriorated over the years
owing to direct suppression by the colonial
government and later on by the Indian Government
which was further accentuated with advent of modern
methods like energized water extraction mechanism
and post colonial reforms in the form of civil reforms
like the abolition of Permanent Settlement
(Zamindari) system for the systematic decline of most
of the traditional irrigation systems (PHAD). It is
noted that with advent of alternatives like energized
pump-sets and canal irrigation the traditional irrigation
system had declined. The emergence of reservoir
based canal system in the upstream of the rivers over
which the diversion weirs of the 'PHADs' were earlier
located had reduced the water flow in the river
downstream affecting PHAD irrigation system.
Illustrations of various BANDHARAs and parts of of
the PHAD irrigation system are shown here depicting
the PHAD system (Figure 1).
Figure 1 Map Showing Location of Bandharas Built for PHAD Irrigation System in Maharashtra
190
Traditional Irrigation in Coastal Region of
Maharashtra
The Konkan region of Maharashtra had also adopted
diversion based irrigation system by construction of
bunds (bandhini) and water courses (pats). The
lowlying land in coastal Konkan was protected from
saline water ingress by field embankments (shilotris).
The Konkan region of Maharashtra is a narrow belt of
land which lies to the west of Sahyadri range, and is
characterized by high humidity and heavy rainfall and
has fertile alluvial soils in the lowland regions and the
same is used for cultivation of rice. These soils are
free-of-salt as the fields are often embanked (bandhini)
and flooded during the monsoon. Wells, lakes and
reservoirs also were important source for irrigation.
The larger rivers are saline ingressed due to their
proximity to the sea and the waters are only
periodically sweet. Though there are no large canals,
often water from small streams are diverted through
narrow water courses (pats) to irrigate rice fields. Field
embankments (shilotris) were an interesting feature of
tillage in Colaba and Thana districts. These
embankments were made to keep out the tidal waters.
The diversion and transportation and management of
water for irrigating the lands for cultivating rice in
konkan region is done by construction of numerous
BANDHARAs and diversion canals are built across
the region in the same way as PHAD system. The
management of the irrigation system is done the same
way as PHAD system.
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 Figures 2 to 9 show various parts of PHAD system in
Maharashtra.
Figure 2 Bandhara - Water Diversion for PHAD System
Figure 3 Bandhara for Water Diversion in PHAD System
Figure 4 A Traditional Bandhara In Maharashtra to Store
Water for PHAD
Figure 5 A Farmer Operating the Outlet of PHAD System
(image Courtesy: Dilasa)
Figure 6 Field Channel in PHAD System to Carry Water
Figure 7 Water Diversion Channel At Bandhara In PHAD
System
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Figure 8 Bandhara Built under PHAD Irrigation System
Figure 9 Bandhara Built under PHAD Irrigation System
Revival of PHAD Irrigation in Yavatmal District in
Vidharbha
Among various regions of Maharashtra, a survey was
undertaken on the revival of 'PHAD irrigation' in
Yavatmal district, which was initiated by the 'Dhangar'
community from Sakri Taluka of Dhule district.
The 'Dhangars', classified as nomadic tribes in
Maharashtra, came from Sakri taluka in Dhule district
and settled in Dhangarwadi village in Yavatmal
district. They continued to practice rainfed agriculture
for decades. In the 90's, one of the young progressive
'Dhangar' farmer decided to tap the leakages from the
adjoining percolation tank and irrigate the field. The
percolation tank which was adjoining to the village
was earthen dam and the leakages from the walls took
the form of a stream which flowed round the year but
was never utilized. This progressive farmer in his
childhood had seen how farmers in Sakri Taluka used
to construct BANDHARAs across Panzara river and
practiced 'PHAD irrigation'. He along with his father
and five brothers decided to create an earthen bund
across the stream and construct earthen channel along
the contours to irrigate their patch of land. The entire
activity was completed within a period of 11 days. In
due course of time a 700 meter long earthen channel
was constructed and they started irrigating their patch
of land. This was in 1998. Within Dhangarwadi they
had largest landholding and they were the first to
practice irrigated agriculture. Cotton and Wheat were
cultivated from the 'PHAD irrigation' system. Till
2001, the entire endeavour was restricted to one family
but gradually this progressive farmer household also
started conveying water to adjoining fields to other
Dhangar farmers. This resulted in some sort of group
formation and around 15 hectares of land were being
irrigated from the PHAD channel.
191
 In 2006, 'DILASA' a Yavatmal based Non-
Governmental-Organisation and 'Collectives for
Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CInI)' a national
level Non-Governmental-Organisation initiated a
process of strengthening the revival process. The
objective of this process was to extend the existing
'PHAD' system by construction of permanent check
dam across the stream and extending the irrigation
channel to benefit 'PHAD' across the entire
Dhangarwadi village. The process of revival was
undertaken with active support of the community who
contributed by providing voluntary labour
(shramdaan) in the revival process. With time, 2 (two
nos) diversion weir of combined length 60 meters were
built-up across the stream to create storage and water
was diverted from the stream to the fields through
construction of 2 (two nos) of canals (contours based
canal system) of combined length 2.5 kilometers. In
due course a water user association named 'Pani Baba'
(Water User Association) was formed in the village
comprising 44 members including 11 executive
members.
Study of Revival of PHAD Irrigation System
The study of PHAD irrigation system was undertaken
based on the sample survey of PHAD irrigation system
in Yavtamal district, on qualitative and quantitative
approach to trace out the impact on the agriculture
based livelihoods of the 'Dhangars' with the advent of
revival of PHAD system. A complete census was
undertaken across the farmers who practiced
agriculture over the PHAD command. 'Recall method'
was used to find out the change in their agriculture
practice mostly manifested in terms of crop choice and
productivity. Personal Interviews were undertaken
with the farmers to trace out the governance pattern
over the PHAD system and also trace the impact of
PHAD at the household level. To trace out the direct
impact of PHAD, use of 'control area' i.e. an adjoining
rainfed area of the PHAD command, was undertaken
whereby respondents from two adjoining rainfed
villages were randomly selected. A cost of cultivation
survey and agricultural practices survey was
administered over both the PHAD command and the
'control area' to trace out the impact of PHAD. Thus,
this study undertook both 'with-without' and 'before-
after' method to assess the impact of PHAD. To trace
out the economics of PHAD revival, the study
computed the cost of revival of PHAD using
'Opportunity Cost Approach'. A focus group discussion
was undertaken with the project staff of 'DILASA' and
the community to trace out both the material cost
(which included both actual paid out cost and
shraamdaan) and time cost of the community. To
compute the time cost, detailed information of the
duration of community participation during the entire
192
revival period was undertaken and they were
converted into labour days and finally converted into
money value by incorporating the male or female daily
wage rate.
RCPHAD = MatCostPHAD + TCostcommunity (1)
Tcostcommunity = LDmale/female*Wmale/female (2)
Where: RCPHAD = Revival Cost of PPHAD (in Rs);
MatCostPHAD = Material Cost of revival of PHAD (in
Rs); Tcostcommunity = Time Cost borne by the
community in the revival process(in Rs); LDmale/female
= Male/Female Labour days (days); Wmale/female =
Daily Male/Female Wage Rate (Rs/day).
The study also computed the crop-wise Cost of
Cultivation and Gross Surplus and then they were
compiled together seasonally to infer about the
Seasonal Surplus and finally the Gross Surplus over
the entire PHAD command. The area follows an
intercropping system and different agriculture
operations are jointly applied to different crops. In
western countries, the following methods have been
recommended to suit their respective farming system:
1. Cost should be shared according to their relative
market.
2. The analysis of joint-cost should be based on the
food values of the two parts of the crop (starch
equivalent)
3. To charge whole cost of production against the
principal object of production and assessing no cost to
the by-product excepting the labour cost incurred in
handling it. (Singh pers. Commn. 2008). To resolve
this complexity and compute Crop-wise Cost of
Cultivation, this study followed Dhondayal (1987)
method whereby the ratio that exists in the income of
the crops that are intercropped is the ratio in the
apportionment of their cost of production.
IX = PX * OX IY = PY * OY (3)
CX/ CY = IX / IY (4)
Where: IX = Income from Crop X(in Rs); PX = Price of
Crop X (Rs/Quintal); OX = Output of Crop X (in
Quintals); CX = Cost of Cultivation of Crop X (in Rs),
Where: IY = Income from Crop Y (in Rs); PY = Price of
Crop Y (Rs/Quintal); OY = Output of Crop Y (in
Quintals); CY = Cost of Cultivation of Crop Y (in Rs),
The Cost of Cultivation was calculated on actual paid
out cost for the cost of Fertilizer, Pesticides, Seeds,
Farm Yard Manure, Ploughing and Labour but where
own farm Manure, self plough were used Opportunity
Cost approach was used to compute the total cost.
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 TCX = SCX + PlCX + LCX + FCX + PCX + FYMCX
(5)
TGSX = PX* OX - TCX (6)
GSPHAD = TGSKharif + TGSRabi = (TGSX1 + TGS X2
+….) + ( TGSX3 + TGSX4 + ..) (7)
Where: TCX = Total Cost of Cultivation of Crop X (in
Rs); SCX = Seed Cost of Crop X (in Rs); PlCX =
Ploughing Cost of Crop X (in Rs); LCX = Labour Cost
Under Crop X (in Rs); FCX = Fertilizer Cost under
Crop X (in Rs); PCX = Pesticide Cost under Crop X(in
Rs); FYMCX = Farm Yard Manure Cost under Crop X
(in Rs); TGSX = Total Gross Surplus under Crop X (in
Rs); PX = Price of Crop X ( Rs/quintal); OX = Output
of Crop X ( Quintal).
Results of Study of Revival of PHAD Irrigation
System
Change in Agricultural Landscape with advent of
PHAD- A macro view
With the advent of PHAD, the agriculture landscape in
Dhangarwadi village has changed from being an
extensive rainfed irrigation largely characterized by
higher sown area-high cost of cultivation-low yield to
intensive kharif-rabi cultivation. The cropping cycle in
the village now spans two seasons. In the agriculture
season 2007-08, the Net Sown Area was 90 acres and
the Cropping Intensity was around 172% (Refer Table
1) which was much higher than the cropping intensity
in the 'control area (CV)' Villages (which was 95%
PHAD:33%CV).
Change in Agricultural Landscape with advent of
Table 1 Cropping cycle
Table 2 Cultivated area against crop pattern
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PHAD-A Micro View
The cropping pattern in Dhangarwadi and the
adjoining control villages are quintessential Vidharbha
cropping pattern. In both these areas Cotton is the
predominant crop which is inter-cultivated with pulses
mainly Pigeon Pea. The dominant cereal crop
cultivated in the kharif season is Sorghum. In recent
years there has been increase in the area under oilseeds,
mainly Soyabean. It was seen while 80% of the
respondents reported inter-cropping of Tuar and
Cotton in the control villages, only 57% reported
Irrigated Cotton Pigeon Pea intercropping in the
PHAD command. Around 79% of the respondents in
the PHAD command reported some patch of land
under Sorghum cultivation which is 52% in the control
villages. Around 33% respondents in the PHAD
command area and 29% respondents in the control
villages reported soyabean cultivation. With the onset
of irrigation, Dhangarwadi village has witnessed
advent of Onion cultivation during Kharif. Around
29% of the respondents over PHAD command
reported cultivating Onion for the first time. Detailed
'cost of cultivation' survey shows that advent of PHAD
has resulted in yield enhancement in cotton, which is
most important cash crop of the area and Sorghum
which is the dominant food crop in the area during
Kharif season (refer Table 2). When compared with
control villages it was found that both Cost of
Cultivation and Gross Surplus from cultivation across
the PHAD command is more than in the Control
villages (Table 3). Thus the advent of PHAD has
contributed to both the cash economy and food security
of the area during Kharif.
193
 Table 3 Financial analysis of crops
Around 92% respondents reported wheat cultivation in
Rabi and 23% reported Onion cultivation. The cost of
cultivation and gross surplus as surveyed is shown in
Table 4.
Credit Scenario in the PHAD Command
Recent literature on agrarian distress has identified
credit as one of the major source of deficiency. The
study wanted to trace out how with advent of PHAD
irrigation, which is a community resource generation
the credit pattern has been affected. Also this becomes
important when it is taken into account that access to
cheap credit is important to practice profitable
agriculture. Thus indirectly the access to credit would
have implications on the sustainable and profitable
utilization of the created community resource like an
irrigation system. During the course of the study it was
found that around one third of the respondents depend
on informal credit source (moneylender) as dominant
source of credit. Around 59% reported formal credit
source like banks as their source of credit. Strangely in
the control villages the situation was quite contrasting
with as high as 77% of the respondents reporting
formal credit source like Banks as dominant source of
credit while only 9% reported to take credit from
moneylenders.(Refer Table 5) The authors' could not
interpret the results.
Another interesting thing pertaining to credit was
credit from relatives. Out of the 33% credit from
money lenders in Dhangarwadi, 'PHAD' command as
above, major part of around 32% respondents, mostly
Dhangars, had reported credit from relatives. The
Dhangars have a strong sense of community feeling
and they also follow a system of saalaana, which is a
Table 4 : Rabi Cultivation Status over PHAD Command
Table 5 : Credit Behavior among the Irrigated and Rainfed Farmers
194
system of providing credits markets in exchange of
young idle male labour. Thus in some form the labour
markets are interlocked with credit through this
practice. Such practices were prevalent among rich
Dhangar farmers who would lend money to their poor
counterparts in exchange of idle male labour, as a part
of patronizing their mates to start of new ventures.
Is revival of PHAD economically sensible policy
decision?
The above indicators lead to a very important question
at the policy level. Will revival of 'PHAD', which is an
example of concerted effort of community, remain as
an isolated case or can such efforts be promoted across
the district and across the state? The answer partly lies
in the economics of the revival of the PHAD. It thus
becomes important to see whether the revival of
PHAD can be an economically meaningful policy
decision. During the course of the study, the research
team computed the Gross surplus generated from
various agricultural operation over the PHAD
command area for an entire agriculture season. The
term Gross Surplus was used because the calculations
did not consider the rental value of land either paid or
received in case the land has been leased in or leased
out and also the interest on outstanding or fresh credits.
According to the computation the Gross Surplus
across the entire command came around Rs 6.74 lakhs
for the last agriculture season 2007-2008 (Refer
Table 6).
The study also looked at the cost side of the venture and
computed the total cost of revival of the PHAD using
opportunity cost approach. For this the research team
sat with the project team of 'DILASA' and computed
both the material cost required for PHAD revival and
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 Table 6 : Gross Surplus over PHAD Command
the cost incurred by the community both in the form of
voluntary labour (shramdaan) and their participation in
terms of time spent in meetings, discussions and
planning during the revival phase. It was found that the
total cost of revival of such a system which actually
irrigated 59 hectares came to around Rs 6.10 lakhs,
which is around Rs 10340 Rs/hectare. Combining the
cost side and the revenue side in the form of Gross
Surplus it was found that the venture of reviving the
PHAD system seems to break even at the end of first
year itself. Thus revival of PHAD also seems to be
economically sensible.
Governance Over PHAD Irrigation – the Issue of
Sustainability
The changes observed were for better and seem to have
a positive thrust towards livelihood improvement of
the nomadic Dhangar community. It becomes
important to question whether the observed
exuberance observed over the PHAD command is just
a phenomenon that runs for the project period like
many other decentralization programmes (or) is this
development sustainable and can carry forward on its
own by the community members beyond the project
period ?. The questions move beyond the domain of
technology and agriculture economics and moves into
the domain of institutions and governance as observed
over the PHAD command. During the course of the
fieldwork the researchers could not see a strong
community based governance system over the PHAD
command. There were 2-3 enterprising farmers, one
among them being the proponent of PHAD in the
village who seem to show some interest in the
management of the PHAD. But, there was no
systematic way of community based irrigation
management system being institutionalized over the
PHAD. The institutional organizers like 'DILASA'
have promoted a WUA, but the institution needs lots of
strengthening.
The 2-3 farmers who also happened to have large
landholdings over the command (and one of them
being the same farmer who started PHAD irrigation in
the village) had some interest of developing a strong
community based management system over the PHAD
command. According to them, in the first agriculture
season there were no conflicts and the distribution of
water took place with mutual understanding. While the
researchers argued that in absence of any community
Annual Technical Volume
based institutions, the system cannot be maintained or
managed. Some of the farmers argued that some
informal meetings do take place before the start of the
agriculture season where the farmers communicate
their crops patterns and based on it the water is released
and the distribution takes place. But the same was not
echoed by the majority of the farmers. It was also
observed that most of the cultivators over PHAD
command were not owner cultivators but seasonal
lease holders. Hence, institutionalizing a strong
community based management system over the
command becomes both operationally difficult but at
the same more important. The observations are quite
contrary, when we look into the contemporary
literatures on traditional irrigation systems. The
contemporary literatures have given detailed account
of the management of the PHAD systems in Dhule
district. They have mentioned how different actors like
the canal inspectors, water guards , the Water User
Associations played a role in maintenance of the
irrigation channels and more importantly the
distribution of irrigation water among the command
area farmers. The traditional irrigation systems
literature has identified the locale management system
as the unique proposition of most such systems and
noted that “the traditional management systems have
developed and were perfected over centuries and more
likely to be complex and very efficient”.
The contemporary literature/records on PHAD
irrigation system show how homogenous cropping
pattern evolved over the irrigation system and the
homogeneity implied easier and effective management
and facilitates collective action among the farmers.
The PHAD Irrigation system had shown that how the
WUAs (Water User Associations) decided upon the
crop rotation and crop choice across the PHADs and
across seasons that were means for better water
utilization and equitable water distribution. The
phenomenon where the land is fragmented and each
command area farmers have some land in head, middle
and tail reaches of the command ensuring that the
WUA have some incentive for ensuring that water
reaches to all the parts of the command. While
collating the observations from the command area of
PHAD irrigation under the context of the traditional
irrigation literature, following inferences can be made:
The
l observed exuberance in terms of improved
agriculture that is currently noted over the PHAD
195
 command can be attributed to the generic benefits
brought in by the irrigated agriculture from an
erratic rainfed situation, which solely depended
on the role of community institutions in drawing
collective action across the command area
farmers.
In the years when rainfall was abundant the water
l
scarcity in the stream coming out from the minor
irrigation dam was not felt by the command area
farmers. But, the complexity pertaining to water
distribution under scarcity situation can be
overcome by the role of community institutions
in ensuring proper water management under such
scarce situation.
Revival of PHAD irrigation cannot be an isolated
l
technological solution to a natural problem of
rainfall erraticity and scarcity. It is also a social
solution to water scarcity. The greatest strength of
the traditional irrigation system was their locale
specific technological and social innovations
which also proved to be their greatest
weaknesses. With advent of modern technology
like energized pump-sets and large canal
irrigation and with changes in the social
structures like abolition of Zamindari system the
traditional irrigation systems have gradually died
in different parts of the country. It was also
noticed how decades old lift irrigation co-
operatives in western Maharastra despite its
strong linkages with sugar factories were facing
imminent threat from outgrowth of tube well
irrigation within the irrigation societies
command. These observations have important
implications over PHAD system also. Currently a
lot of importance is given to the engineering
aspect (like the canal systems being drawn across
contours) but within few years if there is advent
of well irrigation within the command, the
current engineering may fall flat. This can be
more expected given the progressive nature of the
Dhangar farmers who with accumulated wealth
in few years may start digging wells within the
command. All these imply that a strong
community institution at the command area level
needs to be institutionalized from the beginning
itself to ensure equitable and efficient water
management.
Way Forward
In a district like Yavatmal which in recent years has
196
been infamous for agrarian distress, outcomes from
revival of PHAD in the village of Dhangarwadi have
been very impressive. There has been improvement in
both agriculture production and productivity which
has been manifested in terms of improvement of food
security and cash income. While the initial responses
are very positive, the issue of sustainability still needs
to be addressed through proper designing of
governance institutions over the command area.
Already it has been established that revival of PHAD
system in Dhangarwadi is successful and achieved by
active concerted community efforts. The more
important question within the policy arena is whether
this revival being a concerted effort of community and
civil society can be replicated across the district where
similar resource condition exist. As on date there is a
good scope of PHAD irrigation being promoted; at
least in the district of Yavatmal. There are many
streams which flow through the forest areas and
checking these streams, water can be utilized for
irrigation purpose. There exist 580 check dams in 16
blocks of Yavatmal district constructed under Tribal
Development Scheme, Zilla Parishad and Minor
irrigation Division. Many of these tanks have leakages
which flows out as streams and which can be harvested
to promote irrigated agriculture in the hitherto rainfed
areas. The economics of revival also portrays that such
revivals can also be a sensible policy decision.
References
1. Revival of Traditional Irrigation Systems and Impact
on Tribal Livelihood: A Case of PHAD Revival in
Maharastra N Choudhury , V Kher, G Neelam, K K
Sunny.
2. Approach paper on PHAD system of irrigation in
Maharastra, Water and Land Management Institute,
Aurangabad in Agarwal A and S Narayan ed. 1997
State of India's Environment A Citizen's Report 4
Dying Wisdom Rise Fall and potential of India's
traditional water harvesting systems.
3. Banstola A 2007 Withering of Traditional Water
Harvesting Structures A Study on PHAD of Dhule
District, Maharastra surfed from
http://adityabastola.blogspot.com/2007/06/PHAD-
system.html
4. Patil R K 1997 PHAD System of Irrigation in
Maharashtra from www.PHAD research.
5. Backgroundpapers\litrev\CPRIhttp://www.sristi.
orgcprcpr_detail.php3page=74&Mode=Institutions.h
tm surfed on 20.10.2008.
Annual Technical Volume
 PHAD System of Irrigation in Maharashtra
Arun Suryavanshi
Former Professor, Water and Land Management Institute, Aurangabad, Maharashtra
* arun1648@yahoo.co.in

Introduction
In the North – West part of the Maharashtra State, there
are number of small scale irrigation schemes in the
TAPI basin. These are run-off-the river schemes
managed by the community and are popularly known
as PHAD SYSTEMS. The irrigation system consists
of small diversion weir (called Bandhara) across a
river and irrigation channel commanding some area
mainly from one village. These schemes are prevelent
in Nashik and Dhule Districts of the state mainly on
Phanzara, Mosam, Aram and Girna rivers since the
past three/ four centuries. These rivers originate in the
Sahyadri ranges, receive runoff from the monsoon
rains (June – September) and finally contribute the
runoff in the Tapi river. A series of bandharas were built
on these rivers and their tributaries to divert the water
for agriculture use. In the past, these rivers were
flowing with considerable post – monsoon flow which
could sustain sizeable irrigation in the Rabi and
Summer seasons.( Figure 1).
The command area of individual bandhara varies from
8 ha. to 480 ha. (WALMI, 1987). No. clear records are
available to show when and by whom these bandharas
were built. However, some of the old records available
with the present baneficiaries indicates that they were
built either in late 17th century or early 18th century Figure 1 Series of Bandharas on Panzara river
(Patil, 1981). At present the PHAD System in its
original from is operative on limited bandharas in the Following are the Technical Aspects of the Main
upper reaches of these rivers and the same is almost System, (WALMI,1987):
non- existant in the lower reaches because of
inadequate post monsoon flow due to construction of All bandharas
l are masonary bandharas, with
storage reservoirs in upper reaches by Water height above river bed ranging from 2 m. to 10 m.
Resources Department and large scale ground water The
l bandharas are constructed on solid rock
pumping in the valley. The physical, cropping, social foundation.
and organization aspects of PHAD System are almost
similar in all the cases with slight local variations. The Most of the bandharas are located where the river
l
system in general prevalent in the region is explained takes a turn. Such a location facilities the
in this paper. diversion of water in the channel. When
bandharas are located in a straight reach due to
Main System
the availability of good foundation, they are
The Main system of Irrigation consist of following given horse-shoe-shape and channels are taken
components (Figure 2), off from both the sides of the river.(Figure 3)
Horse shoe type construction facilities diversion
Bandhara (diversion weir)
l
of the river flow towards both the flanks.
Main channel
l
The capacity
l of the main channel ranges from
Command area divided into parts (blocks) called
l 0.03 cumec to 1 cumec depending upon the
PHADS served by branch channels. command to be served.

Annual Technical Volume 197


Figure 2 Map showing PHADs of Dhadne Bandhara on
Panzra River (Dist Dhule)
Figure 3 Bandhara with Channels and Escapes
There
l is no control structure at the head of main
channel. The main channel takes off directly
from the opening provided in the flank wall of the
bandhara. However, the discharge in the channel
is controlled by the escape provided in the main
channel immediately downstream of the
bandhara. Some more escapes are also provided
along the length of main channel whenever it
crosses natural drain (Figure 3). These escapes
consist of rectangular openings provided in the
masonary wall with grooves to insert wooden
planks, 15 to 25 cm. wide, to control the
discharge. This type of arrangement also
facilitates desilting of bandharas. As the
bandharas are obstructing the flow in the river,
there is a tendency of silt deposition upstream of
the bandhara. During the monsoon period, when
water carries sand and silt, escapes on the main
channel are kept open to pass the water in the
river on downstream side. As the sill of main
channel is sufficiently below the crest of
bandhara, the silt in the approach channel is
carried on down -stream side. Actual observation
shows that although the central portion of the
river on up-stream of bandhara is silted up almost
upto the top of bandhara, the approach channel
leading to main channel is clear and sufficient
198
waterway and head is available in the approach
channel.
The capacity of
l the main channel is almost same
from head to tail. The channel terminates in a
natural drain.
The distance between two bandharas varies from
l
2 km to 6 km, depending upon the topography
and availability of suitable site. In summer,
generally from February onwards, one may not
see surface flow in the river. However, a pool of
water is seen just upstream of successive
bandharas. This pool or water is a result of
regenerated flow from the command of upstream
bandhara and contribution from the free
catchment.
The command is divided into a number of blocks
l
(generally 3 to 4 in number) called PHADS. This
division depends on topography and physical
boundaries such as natural depression, nallas
roads and availability of water in summer. Each
PHAD is supplied with water through branch
cannel and network of field channels serving
individual fields. All the PHADs under irrigation
may get water simultaneously, if the flow in the
river is adequatw. Otherwise, individual PHAD
are rotated if the available flow is less.Within an
individual PHAD ,water is supplied from head to
tail.
In Mosam valley, on one of the schemes
(Jayakheda Bandhara, Taluka Baglan, District
Nasik) a tunnel called Bhuyar is provided in the
deep alluvial soil to carry water. The total length
of the tunnel is about 3 km.This tunnel is
excavated through 15 to 20 m deep alluvial soil.
The height of the tunnel is about 2.0 m, lined with
stone masonry and having arch on the top. Rails
are provided to carry the silt in trollies (Figure
4). Vertical shafts are provided at certain interval
to facilitate silt removal.
On- Farm System
Each PHAD is subdivided into small units served by
Figure 4 Tunnel through soil
Annual Technical Volume
 field channels. The capacity of field channel is about
10 lit/sec. Water to individual field is supplied from
head to tail. Two or more units are irrigated
simultaneously if the available flow permits,
otherwise, units are rotated. The individual land
holdings are very small. In majority of the cases, 85%
land holdings are below 0.5 ha. Generally every family
has some holding in each PHAD.
Land Levelling
The individual holdings are developed to very flat
slope by bench terracing. The maximum slope in
irrigation direction observed in the command of
Jayakheda Bandhara (Mosam Valley, Dist. Nashik) is
0.3%.The irrigation proceeds from head to tail. The
Command is steeply sloping from channel towards the
river side. When irrigation starts from head reach, by
the time the fields in upper 2/3 reach are irrigated,
fields in lower 1/3 reach receive some irrigation due to
seepage from upper command (Figure 5). Part of the
seepage is utilized by lower fields and remaining flow
appears as regenerated flow in the river which is again
picked up by next bandhara. Thus there is reuse waste
water.
Water Application Methods
The water is applied to the field by preparing
systematic irrigation layout. Following irrigation
layouts are practiced.
Sugarcane – Serpentine furrows.
Other crops – Large basins or borders.
The observations show that water is applied uniformly
and efficiently. Because of the good land shaping,
leveling and proper irrigation layouts, the water
application is efficient and requires less labour and
control. The problem of water: – logging and salinity is
not observed because of :
Well drained soils,
v
community management and social pressure,
etc.
Cropping System
The command is divided into different PHADs
(blocks) ranging from 3 to 8 in numbers. The cropping
pattern consists of cash crops like sugarcane,
groundnut, and food crop like wheat, gram, sorghum.
etc.
Only one type of crop is allowed in one PHAD. The
type of crop, the PHAD in which it is to be planted and
time of planting is decided by Irrigation Management
Committee (called Panch Committee) of the
beneficiaries.
Generally, Sugarcane is taken in one or two PHADs. In
other PHADs seasonal crops are taken. In monsoon,
rice or sorghum is grown. The irrigated crops are
rotated every year from one PHAD to other as shown in
Figure 6. The PHADwise rotation of crops helps in
maintaining the fertility of the soil and reducing the
danger of water logging and salinity as high water
consuming crops are rotated.
The water is supplied at the interval of 15 to 30 days
depending on the available flow in the main channel, if
the monsoon is not satisfactory some PHADs are kept
fallow.If sufficient flow is available after rabi season,
summer crops like groundnut are also taken in addition
to standing sugarcane. The decision of taking
particular crop in any PHAD or keeping the PHAD
fallow is taken by Panch Committee based on previous
experience and judgement. Once the decision is made,
it is binding on all the land holders in the PHADs. Thus
there is single crop in one PHAD due to which
irrigation scheduling and pest control becomes easy.
The water to the individual field is applied by the

Land leveling,
v

Controlled
v application of water by adopting
proper irrigation layouts.
Rotation of perennial and seasonal crops.
v

Steep slope of command towards river.

v

Planned distribution of water.

v

Minimum
v wastage/ misuse of water due to

Figure 5 Land Levelling in the Command of PHADs Figure 6 Rotation of Crops in PHADs

Annual Technical Volume 199

 Waterman (Patkari) appointed by the Panch B) Supervisor (Hawaldar)
Committee.
I. To keep watch on bandhara and main channel.
Social & Organisational System
II. To supervise work of Watermen and Watchmen.
The PHAD system of irrigation is entirely managed by
III. Reporting to and consultation with Chairman
the community. It has its own controlling organization.
about day to day work and functioning.
Generally, the command lies in one village boundary
only. All the important functions like selection of IV. To maintain discharge in the main channel.
crops, water distribution, maintenance, etc. are
C ) Patkari (Waterman)
managed by the Committee of beneficiaries. The
Members of the Management Committee called Panch I. To irrigate each field as per schedule decided by
Committee are elected every year by the beneficiaries. Panch Committee.
The general body meeting is called before the
II. If the channels are silted, to inform Chairman
monsoon season and members elected or nominated.
and get desilting work done through
During the discussions in one of the villages, it was
beneficiaries.
learnt that no actual election is held for committee
members but Chariman and five members are III. If there are any complaints, to refer them to
nominated by the irrigators by consensus. The Supervisor or Chairman.
organizational set up of management is as given
IV. To inform the farmer regarding any damage to
Figure 7.
his crop.
Organisational Set – Up
Watchman (Rakhawaldar)
The functions at each level are given below:
I. To keep required discharge in the branch and
A) Panch Committee (Management Committee) field channels.
I. Deciding the crops to be grown in each PHAD. II. To keep watch on the standing crops in the
fields.
II. Preparing time table for water distribution.
III. To help waterman in water distribution.
III. To penalize the persons not following rules and
regulations made by the Panch Committee. All Waterman, Watchmen and Supervisors are
appointed by Panch Committee. If found
IV. To look after the maintenance of the whole
necessary, they are terminated at any time.
system.
Generally,this staff is paid in kind and not in
V. To keep contact with Canal Officer (Revenue or cash, e.g. few rows of standing crops from each
Irrigation Department official) for any help field. One major advantage of payment in kind
from Government in the case of major damages is that they try to maximize the crop production
to the system. by irrigating field properly and watching the
crop against theft or damage. Thus, the land
VI. To keep account of funds, fines, etc.
owner has nothing to worry about the irrigation
VII. Settling the disputes regarding water or protection of his crops.
distribution.
Defaulters
VIII. Appointment of Waterman, Watchman,
Default generally takes the form of:-
Supervisor.
a) Out of turn watering

Figure 7 Organisational setup

200 Annual Technical Volume

 b) Non- maintenance of field channels
c) Non – participation in the maintenance of main
and branch channels (Kulkarni et.el 1984).
In the case of unauthorized or out of turn watering, the
matter is reported by the Supervisor to the Committee
and a penalty is imposed in the form of fine about Rs.
51 to 101. Non- maintenance of field channel results in
the loss of turn. Non participation in the maintenance
of main and branch channels is also dealt with in the
same manner as unauthorized watering. Of course,
such cases are very rare.
Operation and Maintenance
Operation
The policy decisions with respect to water allocation,
crop planning, water distribution schedules etc, are
made by Management Committee. The day to day
operations are carried out by irrigation staff appointed
by the Committee. The decisions are taken on the basis
of past experience, judgment and mutual consultations.
Maintenance
Now a days the maintenance of bandhara is done either
by zilla parishad (bandharas irrigating area less than
100 ha) or Water Resources Department (bandharas
irrigating more than 100 ha). However, the canal
system is maintained by the irrigators themselves.
Maintenance of the canal system is done twice a year.
The silt is removed by ploughing the bed of the channel
and then washed through escapes by running the
channel. All the irrigators are informed through a
public announcement about the maintenance
requirements. All the irrigators have to participate in
the channel maintenance by the way of providing
labours and bullock pairs for the time period in
proportion of their holdings. The irrigator who cannot
provide these in kind, have to pay equivalent cash. The
maintenance record including manpower and bullock
pair utilized is maintained by the committee. The field
channels are maintained by the individual irrigators.
Management during Scarcity of Water
In the PHAD system, the command area is earmarked
in relation to average annual water flows rather than
flows in good years (Kulkarni et.el 1984).When the
flow in a particular year is less than the average
flow,cropping plan is suitably adjusted or water is
rationed by extending rotation period. In the case of
very good years, excess water is applied to temporary
PHADs outside the permanent command area.The
water to individual field is applied by the waterman and
not by the holder. Therefore, there is a fair and
equitable distribution and application of water as the
waterman is an employee of Panch Committee and not
of the holder.
Annual Technical Volume
Water Rates
As the schemes are managed by the community, the
water rates in the form of royalty an water use at the
rate of Rs. 25 per ha. (Rs.10 per acre) are levied along
with the land revenue.
Factors Responsible for the Success of PHAD
System
Since last 300 – 400 years, the community managed
PHAD System of Irrigation is working successfully,
although, it appears, at present, that the changed
environment is posing a threat to this system. The
factors responsible for the success of these systems is
summarized below so that similar things can be
applied on new projects/schemes and the existing
schemes,
Irrigation schemes serving one village.
l
Small
l command areas and easy access to water
resource.
Small
l community in which social and group
pressure operate successfully.
No involvement
l /interference of Government in
the management.
Management
l through committee of
beneficiaries.
Appointment of irrigation staff by committee and
l
payment in kind by individual farmer.
Clear operating and functional rules .
l
The task
l of water application handed over to the
staff to avoid conflict.
Stable and reliable water source.
l
Maintenance
l of the system by the beneficiaries
themselves from their own resources.
Fixed water charges on area basis.
l
lDividing command into big blocks, planting
same crop in one block, rotation of crops from
one block to other.
Adoption of PHAD Model on other Projects at State
and National Level
The distinguished features of this proven model of
Community Managed System of Irrigation that, it is a
fully users operated system right from Head-works and
there is no interference of the Government in
management. In fact, the users of the system have
agreed on priority of crops to be taken under situation
of surplus or shortage of water.
Sir M.Visvesvaraya, in his early years of service in this
area, studied the system and adopted it in the form of
201
 “Block System” on large irrigation projects in
Maharashtra constructed during British Era. This
block system is still very popular in Maharashtra.
Recently a massive programme has been taken by
Government of Maharashtra to transfer irrigation
management to farmers by enacting a law
“Maharashtra Management of Irrigation System by
Farmers”, 2005. Most of the important features of
PHAD System are included in this act.
Conclusion
The small scale irrigation systems managed by the
community called PHAD System of irrigation in Nasik
and Dhule Districts of the Maharashtra State are
functioning since last 300-400 years. Management by
the beneficiaries themselves, no involvement of the
Government in management, appointment of the
irrigation staff by the committee and payment in kind,
participatory maintenance, fixed water charges on area
basis coupled with land revenue, crop planning as per
the availability of water, rotation of crops etc. are the
main characteristics of these systems. It is interesting
202
to note that farmers developed sustainable irrigated
agricultural production system through various steps.
This proven model is worth considering for adoption
in other irrigation projects.
References
1. Datye K.R. and Patil R.K., 1987, Farmer Managed
Irrigation Systems – Indian Experiences, published
by Centre for Applied Systems Analysis in
Development( CASAD, Bombay – 400 039. PP. 102
– 123).
2. Kulkarni D.N. and Patil R.K., 1984, Water
Management Through Farmers Organisations PHAD
System – A Case Study, Twelth Congress, Irrigation
and Drainage ,Fort Collins USA. Transactions Vol.1
(A). PP 1-23.
3. Patil R.K.1981, Group Management of Irrigation
Water Distribution, WAMANA, Vol.1 No.4, October
81, PP. 14 -20.
4. WALMI, 1987, Operation and Management of
Irrigation System in Maharashtra State, Water and
Land Management Institute. Aurangabad 431 005,
Publication No. 20. PP. 65-74
Annual Technical Volume
 Traditional Rainwater Harvesting System in Hot Arid
Zone of India
R. K. Singh
Scientist, ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur
* ranjay_2005@rediffmail.com
R. K. Goyal, P. R. Ojasvi
Scientist, ICAR- Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun

Introduction moisture conservation and utilization in hyper arid

region of Rajasthan. This system was designed &
Throughout the arid and semi-arid regions of the world
developed by the Paliwal Brahmins of Jaisalmer
there are wide ranges of indigenous rainwater
(Rajasthan) in the 15th century. This system has great
harvesting and conservation technologies. It is true for
similarity with the irrigation methods of the people of
Indian hot arid zone also. Indian hot arid zone it can be
Iraq around 4500 BC and later of the Nabateans in the
characterized by limited seasonal precipitation with
Middle East. A similar system is also reported to have
erratic distribution; high atmospheric temperature with
been practiced 4,000 years ago in the Negev desert, and
large diurnal and seasonal variation; low atmospheric
in southwestern Colorado 500 years ago. The main
moisture; strong insolation; high evaporative demand
feature of khadin is a very long (100-300 m) earthen
of the atmosphere and strong and persisting wind
embankment built across the lower hill slopes lying
regimes. The weather condition, even in average years,
below gravelly uplands (Plate-1). Sluices and
for most part of the year remains too dry and
spillways allow excess water to drain off. The khadin
inhospitable for successful growth of crops. The
system is based on the principle of harvesting
people of rural arid areas live in scattered settlements
rainwater on farmland and subsequent use of this
called dhani's distributed over sand dunes, interdunal
water-saturated land for crop production. It is suitable
plains and undulating landforms where organized
for deep soil surrounded by some natural rock outcrops
water supply is neither feasible nor adequate water is
constituting catchment area. Large-scale development
available to fully meet the demand of thirsty land,
of khadin farms at suitable locations in western
human and livestock. Under such circumstances every
Rajasthan can enhance land productivity. The system
drop of water become very precious. People of this
is very effective even in hyper arid region of western
region have developed indigenous technologies for
Rajasthan where annual average rainfall is less than
rainwater harvesting and conservation. These
200 mm. A khadin is sometimes also called dhora.
technologies are site specific, time tested and are of
proven soundness for extreme conditions. People are
conversant with them and can be maintained at
minimum cost. There is need to revive these
technologies, modify them if needed and apply them in
the field extensively. Some of the important indigenous
technologies of Indian hot arid for water management
are described hereunder.
Common Terms for Different Kind of Water in Arid
Zone
Palar water: Rainwater
l

Patal
l water: Groundwater extracted through
wells and tubewells
Rajani/Rejani
l water: Potatable water between
transition zone of ground and surface water
Khadin
Khadin is a unique practice of water harvesting, Plate-1: Khadin

Annual Technical Volume 203

 Nadis
Nadis are village ponds used to store runoff water from
adjoining natural catchments during the rainy season
(Plate-2). The site selection of nadi is based on
availability of natural catchment and its runoff
potential. Water availability in nadi ranged from 2-12
months after the rains. The location of the nadi had a
strong bearing on its storage capacity due to catchment
and runoff characteristics. Nadis (ponds) once served
as the principal drinking water sources for arid
dwellers. Nadis received water supply from erratic,
torrential rainfall. Since nadis received runoff from
sandy and eroded rocky basins, large amounts of
sediments used to deposit regularly in them, resulting
in quick siltation. High evaporation and seepage losses
through porous sides and bottom, heavy sedimentation
due to biotic interference in the catchment and
contamination are major bottlenecks. To overcome
their problem CAZRI has developed design for
improved Nadis with LDPE lining on sides and bottom
keeping surface to volume ratio 0.28 and provision of
silt trap at inlet. Nadis are 1.5 to 4.0 meters deep in
dune areas and those in sandy plains varied from 3 to
12 meters.
Tankas
Tankas (small tank) are underground tanks, found
traditionally in most part of western Rajasthan. They
are generally built in the main house or in the
courtyard. Tanka is a circular hole made in the ground,
lined with fine polished lime for collection of
rainwater primarly from rooftop of individual house
(Plate-3). The water collected in Tankas is generally
used for drinking only. During subnormal rainfall
when tankas did not get adequate rainwater, water is
hauled in camel/bullock cart from nearby wells/nadis
to fill the household tankas. CAZRI has developed
improved design of tanka for capacity ranging
between 21 m3 to 600 m3. The improved design of
tanka has provision for inlet and outlet with silttrap for
control of silt inflow with runoff. The improved tanka
design developed at CAZRI has wide acceptability in
the region, which has been widely replicated in large
numbers under Rajeev Gandhi National drinking
Water Mission.
Plate-2 : Improved Nadi
204
Plate-3 : Improved Tanka
Kunds/Kundis
A kund or kundi looks like an upturned cup nestling in
a saucer. These structures harvest rainwater for
drinking, and dot the sandy tracts of Thar Desert in
western Rajasthan and some areas in Gujarat.
Essentially a circular underground well, kunds have a
saucer-shaped catchment area that gently slopes
towards the center where the well is situated. A wire
mesh across water-inlets prevents debris from falling
into the well-pit. The sides of the well-pit are covered
with (disinfectant) lime and ash. Most pits have a
dome-shaped cover, or at least a lid, to protect the
water. If need be, water can be drawn out with a bucket.
The depth and diameter of kunds depend on their use
(drinking, or domestic water requirements). They can
be owned by only those with money to invest and land
to construct it. For the poor, large public kunds have
been in the practice. The essential difference between
Tankas and Kunds is that while former is built in
individual houses while later is built outside the house.
Jhalaras
Jhalaras are human-made tanks, found in Rajasthan
and Gujarat, essentially meant for community use and
for religious rites. Often rectangular in design, Jhalaras
have steps on three or four sides. The steps are built on
a series of levels. Jhalars are surface water bodies,
which are built to ensure easy & regular supply of
water to the surrounding areas. The Jhalaras collect
sub-terranean seepage of a talab or a lake located
upstream. Surface runoff from surrounding catchment
is also allowed to collect in Jhalaras. The water from
these Jhalaras was not used for drinking but only for
community bathing and religious rites. Jodhpur city
has eight Jhalaras two of which are inside the town &
six are found outside the city. The oldest Jhalara is the
mahamandir jhalara, which dates back to 1660 AD.
Tobas
Tobas is the local name given to a ground depression
with a natural catchment area. A hard plot of land with
low porosity, consisting of a depression and a natural
catchment area was selected for the construction of
tobas.
Annual Technical Volume
 Naada/Bandha lives of people. Stepwell locations often suggested the
way in which they would be used. When a stepwell is
Naada/bandha are found in the Mewar region of the
located within or at the edge of a village, it was mainly
Thar desert. It is a stone check dam, constructed across
used for utilitarian purposes and as a cool place for
a stream or gully to capture monsoon runoff on a
social gatherings. When stepwells were located
stretch of land. Submerged in water, the land becomes
outside the village, on trade routes, they were often
fertile as silt deposits on it and the soil retains
frequented as resting places. When stepwells were
substantial amounts of water.
used exclusively for irrigation, a sluice was
Johad constructed at the rim to receive the lifted water and
lead it to a trough or pond, from where it ran through a
Johads are small earthen check dams that capture and
drainage system and was channelled into the fields. A
conserve rainwater, improving percolation and
major reason for the breakdown of this traditional
groundwater recharge.
system is the pressure of agricultural intensification.
Rapat
Virdas
A rapat is a percolation tank, with a bund to impound
Virdas are shallow wells dug in low depressions. They
rainwater flowing through a watershed and a
are found all over the Banni grasslands, a part of the
wasteweir to dispose of the surplus flow. If the height
Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. They are systems built
of the structure is small, the bund may be built of
by the nomadic Maldharis, who used to roam these
masonry, otherwise earth is used. Rajasthan rapats,
grasslands. Now settled, they persist in using virdas.
being small, are all masonry structures. Rapats and
These structures harvest rainwater. The topography of
percolation tanks do not directly irrigate land, but
the area is undulating, with depressions on the ground.
recharges well within a distance of 3-5 km
By studying the flow of water during the monsoon, the
downstream. Silting is a serious problem with small
Maldharis identify these depressions and make their
rapats and the estimated life of a rapat varies from 5 to
virdas there. Essentially, the structures use a
20 years.
technology that helps the Maldharis separate potable
Talab/Bandhis freshwater from unpotable salt water. After rainwater
infiltrates the soil, it gets stored at a level above the
Talabs are reservoirs. They may be natural, such as the
salty groundwater because of the difference in their
ponds or can be human-made, such the lakes in
density. A structure is built to reach down (about 1 m)
Udaipur. A reservoir area of less than five bighas is
to this upper layer of accumulated rainwater. Between
called a talai; a medium sized lake is called a bandhi or
these two layers of sweet and saline water, there exists
talab; bigger lakes are called sagar or samand. The
a zone of brackish water. As freshwater is removed, the
Talabs serve irrigation and drinking purposes. When
brackish water moves upwards, and accumulates
the water in these reservoirs dries up just a few days
towards the bottom of the virda.
after the monsoon, the pond beds are cultivated.
Kuis / Beris/ Paar system
Saza Kuva
Paar is a common water harvesting practice in the
An open well with multiple owners (saza = partner),
western Rajasthan region. It is a common place where
saza kuva is the most important source of irrigation in
the rainwater flows from the aagor (catchment) and in
the Aravalli hills in Mewar, eastern Rajasthan. The soil
the process percolates into the sandy soil. In order to
dug out to make the well pit is used to construct a huge
access the rajani pani (percolated water) kuis or beris
circular foundation or an elevated platform sloping
are dug in the aagor (storage area). Kuis or beris are
away from the well. The first is built to accommodate
normally 5 meters (m) to 12 m deep. The structure was
the rehat, a traditional water-lifting device; the sloping
constructed through traditional masonry technology.
platform is for the chada, in which buffaloes are used to
The mouth of the pit is usually made very narrow. This
lift water. Saza kuva construction is generally taken up
prevents the collected water from evaporating. The pit
by a group of farmers with adjacent landholdings.
gets wider as it burrows under the ground, so that water
Baoli/Bavadi can seep in into a large surface area. Normally six to
ten of them are constructed in a paar. However
Traditional stepwells (normally on one side) are called
depending on the size of the paar the numbers of kuis or
baolis or bavadis in Rajasthan and northern India. Built
beris are decided. This is the most predominant form of
by the nobility from which everyone could draw water.
rainwater harvesting in the region. Rainwater
Most of them are defunct today. Main source of water
harvested through Paar technique is known as Patali
in these structures is essentially groundwater.
paani. The water is used sparingly, as a last resource in
Sculptures and inscriptions in stepwells demonstrate
crisis situations.
their importance to the traditional social and cultural

Annual Technical Volume 205

 Traditional Irrigation Systems in Rajasthan: A Review
Himanshu Sharma
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Manipal University, Jaipur
* smile4anshu@gmail.com
Abstract
India is a country which has a large dependency on agriculture. According to budget of year 2014-15 agriculture
consumes around 55% of total workforce of India and shares 14% of Gross Domestic Production (GDP). The
worth of agriculture sector is around 15 lakh crores rupees, which is a huge amount. In order to sustain and
increase the output from agriculture sector an efficient irrigation system is needed, which can irrigate the
cropland and can enhance the worth from agriculture. Agriculture is a topic of concern where water is very
scarce and irrigation that is to be provided must use water in an efficient manner. A critical analysis of various
methods of irrigation is given here which are used in arid-area like Rajasthan. There pros and cons are discussed
in brief in this chapter so that one can choose the method in accordance with the availability of water and climatic
conditions.

Introduction Table 1 Various sources of water available for drinking and

irrigation in Thar area
India since from earlier times is known to whole world
Type of Source Bifurcation
as land of agriculture. 55% of our working strength
work in agriculture sector (Budget report of Ministry Bavadies Community Wells
of Agriculture, 2013-14), which implies that more than Taankas Underground Tanks
half of India's working population is farmer by
Nahri Canals
occupation. Thus, it can be inferred that India has a
large sector of revenue generation from agriculture Kuis Wells
sector. According to the Budget report of Ministry of Jhalaras Tanks
Agriculture of India for fiscal year 2013-14, Indian
Nadi Ponds
agriculture share 14 % of total GDP of India, the worth
of which is around 15 Lakh Crores Rupees. Hence, Khadins Embankment across
Indian agriculture field can be thought to be as of a high low hill slopes
potential field in terms of monetary earning as well as Kunds Stored water
employment. Thus, in order to procure the advantages
from field of agriculture an efficient system of pros and cons. The available resources of water in Thar
irrigation is required. But at present India is not having region is shown in Table 1.
an efficient system of irrigation as from total irrigation Irrigation Systems of Rajasthan
land only 35% of land is getting a proper irrigation
remaining 65% of land is purely depends on Monsoon Thar Desert is the area having scarcity of water and
(Wikipedia, 2010). Arid areas like Rajasthan are those very less rainfall leading to formation of very arid
areas which require a lot of water for irrigation but in climate. Due to the scarcity of water, people living in
spite of greater need of water to be used for irrigation the Thar area used to store the water for drinking as
due to scarcity of water it has to be conserved also. well as for irrigation purpose so that eventually they
Hence, irrigation in Rajasthan has to be a method can have some crops available for consumption at the
where water has to be stored first then it has to be local level. Bavadis are commonly used community
utilized for irrigation purpose. Thus, a critical look has wells in which stored water is excavated and a stepped
to be given on the traditional method being used in structure is created over the bottom concreted floor.
India to irrigate the channel so that one can confer the Since it is an open structure people used to come here
use of particular method in particular water availability and got water for drinking. Excess of available water
and climatic conditions to improve the irrigation then was manually lifted with helps of utensils and was
applied over the prepared field. Figure 1 shows the
efficiency. Hence, this paper deals with various
largest stepwell of world known as Chand Baori
traditional irrigation methods and also describes their
(Bawadi).

206 Annual Technical Volume


Figure 1 World largest stepwell, Chand Baori (Courtesy
www.amusingplanet.com)
Figure 2 Uncovered Kundi (Courtesy Google Images)
Kunds or Kundis are made as central hole where shape
of catchment is just like a saucer pan, having side-
slopes. Due to these side-slopes water is directed
towards the central hole and water is stored in that hole.
After water is stored in the central hole it is then
covered with wire-mesh, so that water remain
unavailable for physical contamination (Figure 2).
From theses stored water, irrigation is done by lifting
water up to field with the help of utensils.
Taankas and Jhalaras are basically techniques for
storing water in tanks. Taankas are the large tanks in
which water of rainfall is diverted by various nallahs
(drains). Just before the drains converge into this large
tank, a wire-meshing is provided to filter out the
leaves, garbage, etc. Taankas are usually covered so
that water which is basically used for drinking and
irrigation did not get contaminated by outside
agencies. Jhalaras are monumental tanks (Figure 4)
having steps on three or over all the four walls. Water is
stored in a central pit just like Kundis but major
difference between Jhalaras and Kundis is that Jhalaras
were basically used for religious rites or irrigation but
Kundis were basically utilized to provide water for
drinking but if excess of water remained in it than that
water was used for irrigation purpose.
Kuis (Figure 5) are found in Western Rajasthan. These
are 10-12 m deep pits dug near the tanks (Taankas) to
collect water lost from them due to seepage. Mouth of
the structure is usually narrow in order to minimize the
Annual Technical Volume
Figure 3 A typical taanka with converging drain (Courtesy
Wikipedia)
Figure 4 A typical Jhalara in Bundi (Rajasthan) (Courtesy
Water Management Forum)
Figure 5 A typical Kui in Jaisalmer (Courtesy
www.rainwaterharvesting.org)
effect of evaporation, as it is dug further, the
circumference of Kui becomes broader and broader, so
that a large amount of seeped water can be collected.
Unlike all the above described structures, Kuis are
basically earthen structure. In case of a sudden
calamity Kuis were used for alternate source for
drinking and irrigation.
Saaza Kua is an open well having multiple owners
being utilized in Aravalli Hill areas. The pit is
excavated with a broader mouth and excavated earth is
used to make an elevated platform moving away from
excavated pit. Over this platform, rehat, a wheel is
installed over which ox are used to lift water towards
irrigating farm. Figure 6 shows a typical layout of
Saaza Kua.
Johads (Figure 7) are small check earthen dams
utilized to retain and store water from runoff originated
post-rainfall. Water from Johads not only is stored as a
207

Figure 6 A typical Saaza Kua (Courtesy
www.rainwaterharvesting.org)
Figure 7 A typical Johad (Courtesy
http://alainjoly1.pagesperso-orange.fr/ecologie03.htm)
storage but also recharge and increases water table. In
1984, after revival of 3000 Johads in Alwar, water table
raised by 6 m and forest cover increased by 33% (Ref.
www.rainwaterharvesting.org).
Naada/ Bandha are small stone check dam used to store
water in Mewar region of Thar Desert. A typical cross-
section of Bandha is given in Figure 8. Not only it
helps stored water to percolate into ground and rise
water table but also silt being deposited make the land
fertile.
Nadis are village ponds basically found near Jodhpur
in Rajasthan. From the availability of nearby
catchment area, the location of a Nadi decided. From a
depth of 1.5 to 4 m and width of 3 to 12 m Nadi is
formed in an area where sand dunes act as natural
barrier and create storage of water.
Tobas is the name given to a local depression in any
catchment area. In order to select any site for
construction of tobas, land should be a natural hard
Figure 8 A layout of a bandha (Courtesy
www.rainwaterharvesting.org)
208
Figure 9 A khadin farm in Rajasthan (Courtesy Water
Management Forum)
plot with low porosity and a depression should be
present in order to store water from where water can be
uplifted and irrigation can be done.
Khadin (Figure 9) is a constructed storage structure by
harvesting surface runoff. They are basically used in
hyper-arid areas of Rajasthan. A 100-300 m long
earthen embankment on lower hill slopes to store
water over the rocky surfaces adjacent to the
embankments. In order to release the excess of the
water, a spillway or sluices are provided to guide this
excess water towards cultivated lands. A khadin farm
is develop over the rainfall probability, available
catchment area and available water yield. Cultivation
on khadin farm is done in such a way that crop is first
put over the land where moisture is more and then is
put accordingly as the amount of moisture recedes.
Khadin also acts as groundwater recharging source
and percolated water is utilized by excavating wells.
Conclusions
It can be concluded that utilization of any method of
irrigation is function of availability of water, type of
terrain, rainfall and material of construction. All the
traditional methods in the Thar area are basically based
on storage of water and then utilizing it further. These
methods are still utilized in the villages but are on the
verge of extinction after the construction of Indira
Gandhi Canal. In the areas where water from canal is
not accessible, these methods are still used. As it can be
observed that by storing water not only we are saving
to get wasted in form of runoff but also helping ground
water to get recharged when stagnant water percolates
down. Thus, in order to prevent our traditional
methods of irrigation and utilize them in multi-tasking
they must be utilized but with some modern
corrections.
References
1. Budget report of Ministry of Agriculture, Government
of India, FYI 2013-14.
2. www.amusingplanet.com
3. www.rainwaterharvesting.org
4. Google Images
5. Wikipedia
6. Water Management Forum
7. http://alainjoly1.pagesperso-
orange.fr/ecologie03.htm
Annual Technical Volume
 Water Harvesting Systems in Thar Desert Region
C. V. Nadpara
Former Secretary, Kalpsar Project, Gujarat
* cvnadpara@gmail.com

Introduction western Rajasthan region. It is a common place where

the rainwater flows from the agar (catchment) and in
The Thar Desert covers an area of 44.6 million hectare
the process percolates into the sandy soil. In order to
(mha), of which 27.8 mha lie in India and the rest in
access the rajani pani (percolated water) kuis or beris
Pakistan. The desert is bounded by the Aravalli hills in
are dug in the agor (storage area). Kuis or beris are
the east, by the fertile Indus and the Nara valleys of
normally 5 metres (m) to 12 m deep. The structure is
Pakistan and the salt marsh of the Rann of Kutch in the
constructed through traditional masonry technology.
west, and by the alluvial plains of Haryana and Punjab
Normally six to ten of them are constructed in a paar.
in the north. Area under Thar region: Western
However, depending on the size of the paar the
Rajasthan, part of Gujarat—whole of Kachchh and
numbers of kuis or beris are decided. There are paars in
parts of districts like Banaskantha, Patan,
Jaisalmer district where there are more than 20 kuis in
Surendranagar, Punjab- whole of Bhatinda and
operation. This is the most predominant form of
Ferozepur districts and Haryana-- most of Hissar and
rainwater harvesting in the region. Rainwater
parts of Mohindergarh districts.
harvested through paar technique is known as Patali
Nearly 60% of the Thar is being farmed, with varying paani.
intensities of cropping, and 30% is open pastureland.
Villagers not only developed an asset but also gained
The annual average rainfall is around 500 mm in the
employment during the course of work. The
east to less than 100 mm in the west and there is high
interlinkages between the traditional water harvesting
variability from year to year. Agriculture in the region
system and strategic land development measures act as
is extremely precarious and four out of every 10 years
a drought-proofing model in the Thar region of
on an average, are drought years. Strong winds blow
Rajasthan. Fodder, endangered species of the desert
for four to five months in a year over a large part of the
and Rabi crops can be grown in the adjoining land,
desert region. Dust storms during summer are a
which can be irrigated perennially by the paar system.
common feature. The region has great diversity in
Such an integrated approach would definitely help in
vegetation. As many as 700 species of plants are found
solving the problems faced by humans and livestock.
in the area, of which 107 are of grass alone. These
plants are deep-rooted and tenacious enough to Kuis / Beris (traditional wells)
withstand extended droughts and yet efficient enough
The natural percolation of rainwater is accessed
to gain biomass rapidly during a favourable season.
through kuis or beris. The locals refer to this water as
The local grasses are generally prolific seeders, and
PATALI PANI. Found in western Rajasthan, these are
most of the species are palatable, fairly nutritious and
10-12 m deep pits dug near tanks to collect the seepage.
rich in minerals, including trace elements. The Thar
These sizes of Kuis can store 5000 litres to 10000 liters
Desert is endowed with some of the best breeds of
water during one rain in a year (Figure 1). This much
livestock in the country. Nearly 50 % of the country's
water can fulfill the requirement of one small family
wool is produced in Rajasthan, and the area has been
for cooking, drinking and bathing by assuming an
the main supplier of bullocks to the North.
average consumption of water 25 litres per day for
By and large, land-use in the Thar is dependent on whole year. The structure is constructed by using
rainfall. In good rainfall years, large areas are cropped, traditional masonry technology. In larger catchment
cattle thrive on extensive pastures and substantial areas normally five to ten kuis are constructed. In some
amounts of hay are stored for future use. Rainwater is places of Jaisalmer district more than 20 kuis are also
stored in ponds and underground tanks. As rainfall is in operation in one catchment. This is the most
very erratic, a pattern of mixed farming has been predominant form of rainwater harvesting in the Thar
developed in which human and animal populations Desert region in vogue.
benefit from each other.
Kuis can also be used to harvest rainwater in areas with
Paar System meager rainfall. The mouth of the pit is usually made
very narrow. This prevents the collected water from
Paar is a common water harvesting practice in the
evaporating. The pit gets wider as it burrows under the

Annual Technical Volume 209


Figure 1 Kuis
ground, so that water can seep in into a large surface
area. The openings of these entirely kuchcha (earthen)
structures are generally covered with planks of wood,
or put under lock and key. The water is used sparingly,
as a last resource in crisis situations.
Nadis (Village Ponds)
Nadis are village ponds, found near Jodhpur and
Barmer in Rajasthan (Figure 2). They are used for
storing water from an adjoining natural catchment
Figure 2 Nadi
during the rainy season. The site for the nadi is selected
by the villagers based on an available natural
catchments and its water yield potential. Water
availability from nadi would range from two months to
a year after the rains. They are dune areas range from
1.5 to 4.0 meters and those in sandy plains varied from
3 to 12 metres. The location of the nadi had a strong
bearing on its storage capacity due to the related
catchment and runoff characteristics. The water stored
in a nadi is generally used for drinking by livestock and
human beings. A nadi also acts as a source of
groundwater recharge through seepage and deep
percolation. It is estimated that the recharge from a
nadi covering 2.25 hectare and having a storage
capacity of 15,000 cubic meter in an alluvial area may
induce a groundwater recharge of 10,000 cubic meter
in one rainy season. A poorly maintained nadi suffers
high water losses through evaporation, seepage and
210
biotic interference resulting in rapid siltation and
pollution.
The economic life of a nadi is 25 years with a cost
benefit ratio of 1:2.8. However, some of the functional
nadi are more than 50 years old in western Rajasthan.
This suggests that with due care in repair, maintenance
and desilting, a nadi may function for a much longer
duration than the designed life.
Khadin
A khadin, also called a dhora, is an ingenious
construction designed to harvest surface runoff water
for agriculture (Figure 3). It is popular in the hyperarid
Figure 3 Khadin
part of Rajasthan. Here, runoff from upland and rocky
surfaces is collected in the adjoining valley against an
earthen embankment having a masonry waste weir for
outflow of run-off excess. Its main feature is a very
long (100-300 m) earthen embankment built across the
lower hill slopes lying below gravelly uplands. Sluices
and spillways allow excess standing water to drain off
for crop cultivation. The khadin system is based on the
principle of harvesting rainwater on farmland and
subsequent use of this water-saturated land for crop
production. First designed by the Paliwal Brahmins of
Jaisalmer, western Rajasthan in the 15th century, this
system has great similarity with the irrigation methods
of the people of Ur (present Iraq) around 4500 BC and
later of the Nabateans in the Middle East. A similar
system is also reported to have been practiced 4,000
years ago in the Negev desert, and in southwestern
Colorado 500 years ago.
A khadin farm is developed on the basis of rainfall
probability, available catchment area and its runoff
generation potential. Apart from the submerged area,
khadin beds are cultivated from top to bottom on
receding moisture. Ponding of water in a khadin
induces continuous groundwater recharge. The
perched subsurface water is extracted through bore
wells developed in the khadin or in the immediate
vicinity downstream.
The soils in khadins are fertile due to regular
settlement of fine sediments brought down by the
runoff water and their potential for producing food
grain is well recognized for securing a dependable
harvest (Figure 4). However, the productivity from
khadin cultivation remains low due to many factors.
Some of the thrust areas and strategies for better
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Figure 4 A Well Developed Khadin Farm
management of khadins with higher productivity on
sustainable basis include designing of new khadins
with provision of spillway, recycling of excess stored
water for either growing of crops in down reaches or
for life saving irrigation in upper reaches and adjoining
land, conservation measures to ensure availability of
soil moisture to crops over a period of their duration,
standardization of fertilizer requirement of different
crops and adoption of multi-production systems such
as agroforestry, fisheries, etc.
In recent years, nearly 550 khadin farms have been
developed in western Rajasthan for an average water
harvest of 54,000 cubic meters per khadin benefiting
6,400 farm families.
Tankas (small tank)
Tankas are underground tanks, found traditionally in
most Bikaner houses (Figure 5). They are built in the
main house or in the courtyard. They were circular
holes made in the ground, lined with fine polished lime,
in which helped to keep the water cool. The water was
used only for drinking. If in any year there was less than
normal rainfall and the tankas did not get filled, water
from nearby wells and tanks would be obtained to fill
the household tankas. In this way, the people of
Bikaner were able to meet their water requirements.
The tanka system is also to be found in the pilgrim town
of Dwarka and old houses of Ahmedabad cities in Pol
area where it has been in existence for centuries. It
Figure 5 Tanka
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continues to be used in residential areas, temples,
dharamshalas and hotels. It is constructed in a circular
or rectangular shape, normally on bare ground where
surface runoff can be diverted to the tanka by creating a
clean catchment around it. A traditional tanka
constructed with lime plaster and thatched with bushes
has a life span of 3-4 years. With the decomposition of
brush wood, falling of leachate and entry of foreign
material with runoff through the open inlet, the quality
of stored water in the tanka deteriorates over time
making it unhygienic for drinking.
The tanka system of water harvesting is highly
economical and comfortable as compared to the
hauling of water by women folk from long distances
(Figure 6). As they have confidence in this technology,
people are willing to share 50 % of the cost of a tanka.
Figure 6 Tanka in the Front Curtyard of A House
The construction of 200,000 improved tankas at a cost
which is equal to a year's drought relief will eradicate
at least the problem of drinking water permanently in
12 districts of western Rajasthan.
Kunds / Kundis
Kunds, covered underground tanks were developed
for tackling drinking water problems (Figure 7). A
kund or kundi looks like an upturned cup nestling in a
saucer. These structures harvest rainwater for
drinking, and dot the sandier tracts of the Thar Desert
in western Rajasthan and in areas where the limited
groundwater available is moderate to highly saline. In
Figure 7 Kund
211
 such conditions, kunds provided convenient, clean and
sweet water for drinking. They were also prevalent in
Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.
Essentially a circular underground well, kunds have a
saucer-shaped catchment area that gently slopes
towards the centre where the well is situated. A wire
mesh across water-inlets prevents debris from falling
into the well-pit. The sides of the well-pit are covered
with (disinfectant) lime and ash. Most pits have a
dome-shaped cover, or at least a lid, to protect the
water. If need be, water can be drawn out with a bucket.
The depth and diameter of kunds depend on their use
(drinking, or domestic water requirements). They can
be owned by only those with money to invest and land
to construct it. Thus for the poor, large public kunds
have to be built.
Baoris / Bers
Baoris or bers are community wells, found in
Rajasthan, that are used mainly for drinking (Figure
8). Most of them are very old and were built by banjaras

Figure 8 Baoris

(mobile trading communities) for their drinking water

needs. They can hold water for a long time because of
almost negligible water evaporation. The baoris are
not merely tanks, but also groundwater recharge
facilities.
Vav / Vavdi / Baoli / Bavadi
Traditional step-wells are called vav or vavadi in
Gujarat, or baolis or bavadis in Rajasthan and northern
India (Figure 9). These were wells - stepped wells in
fact. Stepped and moving into the bowels of the earth,
some five to six storeys in height. Designed to bring the
people and Gods together, these wells attempted to
entice Gods to leave their abodes for a cool drink of
water - the elixir of life. The vavs or baolis (step-wells)
consisted of two parts, a vertical shaft from which
water was drawn and the surrounding it were the
inclined subterranean passageways, chambers and
steps, which provided access to the well. The galleries
and chambers surrounding these wells were carved
generously, which became cool retreats during
summers. A basic difference between step-wells on the
one hand, and tanks and wells on the other, was to
make it easier for people to reach the ground water, and
to maintain and manage the well.
Figure 9 Vav
A typical well is made up of the Mandapa (the entrance
pavilion), which forms the main approach at the
ground level; the Kuta (the flight of steps) leads down
to the water or Kund (tank) at the bottom. Most of the
wells are decorated with sculptures on all available
surfaces. While appreciating these works of art we
often forget to appreciate the science and engineering
skills with which so many pillars and lintels are made
to support the five or seven storeys and that too
everything under the surface of the earth.
The majority of surviving step-wells originally also
served a leisure purpose, as well as providing water.
This was because the base of the well provided relief
from daytime heat, and more such relief could be
obtained if the well was covered. This led to the
building of some significant ornamental and
architectural features, often associated with dwellings
and in urban areas. It also ensured their survival as
monuments.
Built by the nobility usually for strategic and/or

212 Annual Technical Volume

 philanthropic reasons, they were secular structures
from which everyone could draw water. Most of them
are defunct today. Step wells are also called water
temples of India. The idea to construct step wells was
initiated due to the need to ensure water supply during
the period of drought. Some of the step wells were dug
very close to tanks to get drinking water throughout the
year. The construction of step-wells date from four
periods: Pre-Solanki period (8th to 11th century CE);
Solanki period (11th to 12th century CE); Vaghela
period(mid-13th to end-14th century CE); and the
Sultanate period (mid-13th to end-15th century CE).
Sculptures and inscriptions in step-wells demonstrate
their importance to the traditional social and cultural
lives of people.
Step-well locations often suggested the way in which
they would be used. When a step-well was located
Figure 10 Concept of Jhalara
within or at the edge of a village, it was mainly used for
utilitarian purposes and as a cool place for social
gatherings. When step-wells were located outside the covering large areas and were associated with religion
village, on trade routes, they were often frequented as and culture. Often rectangular in design, jhalaras have
resting places. Many important step-wells are located steps on three or four sides.
on the major military and trade routes from Patan in the Jhalars are ground water bodies which are built to
north to the sea coast of Saurashtra. When step-wells ensure easy and regular supply of water to the
were used exclusively for irrigation, a sluice was surrounding areas the jhalars are rectangular in shape
constructed at the rim to receive the lifted water and
with steps on three or even on all the four sides of the
lead it to a trough or pond, from where it ran through a
tank the steps are built on a series of levels. The jhalaras
drainage system and was channelled into the fields.
collect subterranean seepage of a talab or a lake located
Jhalaras upstream. The water from these jhalaras was not used
Jhalaras were human-made tanks, found in Rajasthan for drinking but for only community bathing and
and Gujarat, essentially meant for community use and religious rites. Jhodhpur city has eight jhalaras two of
for religious rites (Figure 10). They were constructed which are inside the town & six are found outside the
at exorbitant cost and were often monumental, city. The oldest jhalara is the mahamandir jhalara
beautiful mansions with fine embroidery stone works which dates back to 1660 AD.

Annual Technical Volume 213

 Traditional Irrigation Systems in South India with
Special Reference to Andhra Pradesh & Telangana
C. L. N. Sastry
Former Engineer-in-Chief, Commissioner for Projects Formulation &
Ex-Officio Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh
* sastrycln@yahoo.com
Introduction
The good old definition of irrigation, according to Col
W.M. Ellis, is the supply of water by artificial means
for the cultivation of crops, and the works required to
give effect to such supply are irrigation works.
The function of irrigation is to supplement the supply
of water falling in the form of rain on the area to be
cultivated at the season and to the extent required for
successful cultivation of the crop.
It is said that irrigation in many countries is an old art,
as old as civilization, but the world now considers it as
a modern science and a strategy for survival. There is
historic evidence to show that irrigation sources were
created and developed in India even from the early
days of human civilization.
Pre-historic Period
The history of irrigation development in India can be
traced back to prehistoric times. Vedas and ancient
Indian scriptures made references to wells, canals,
tanks and dams which were beneficial to the
community and their efficient operation and
maintenance was the responsibility of the State.
Civilization flourished on the banks of the rivers and
harnessed the water for sustenance of life. According
to the ancient Indian writers, the digging of a tank or
well was amongst the greatest of the meritorious acts of
a man. Brihaspathi, an ancient writer on law and
politics, states that the construction and the repair of
dams is a pious work and its burden should fall on the
shoulders of rich men of the land. Vishnu Dharmottara
Purana enjoins merit to a person who effects repairs to
wells, gardens and reservoirs.
There is ample evidence to show that irrigation
received the needed attention in Vedic times. The
'Rigveda' contains description of well and artificial
water channels, water lifting devices like wheel, strap
and water pails. The method of construction of canals
from rivers is described in 'Atharvana Veda'. Technical
rules laid down by the great sage, Kashayapa, for
constructing reservoirs are relevant even to day.
Viswa Vallabha' written by Chakrapani is another great
book on construction of reservoirs. Varaha, Saraswati,
214
Gargeya, Samwasya, Kamadeni had contributed to the
science of using ground water for irrigation. The
irrigation schemes as described in the Mahabharata
and the puranas provided protection not only against
droughts but also against floods and excessive rains.
According to Mahabharatha, Narada is said to have
questioned Yudhishthira, “Are the agriculturalists in
thy kingdom contented? Are large tanks and lakes
constructed all over thy kingdom as proper distances,
without agriculture being in thy realm entirely
dependent on the showers of heaven?”.
Kautilya wrote, “Irrigation works are the sources of
crops; the results of a good shower are ever attained in
the case of crops below irrigation works”.
Krishnadevaraya, the emperor of Vijayanagaram, is
reported to have observed, “Virtue and prosperity will
increase only when tanks and irrigation canals are
constructed and favour shown to poor cultivators in the
matter of taxation and services”.
The books in Telugu and Kannada by the poet Retta
popularly called the ‘Retta matasastra' is a handy guide
in prospecting the ground water.
The Mauryan Period
During the Mauryan period (322 BC to 185 BC),
irrigation had become a part of their political economy
and they maintained a class of officers for supervision
of rivers, measurement of lands, inspection of sluices
by which water was let out from the main canals into
the branches and outlets, so that everyone may have an
equal supply of it. Kautilya's Arthasastra gives
elaborate descriptions of the duties of a ruler and the
ruled. The King shall construct reservoirs for
providing perennial water supply and their
maintenance is the responsibility of the beneficiaries.
The Kings used to collect revenue in kind from the
beneficiaries.Kautilya (300 B.C.) stated, “During the
times of famine, the king and his subjects took shelter
near dams; aquatic life in rivers, canals and dams was
protected and fishing was allowed under a license… If
privately managed dams were neglected for five years,
their change was taken over by the states, If they were
constructed by public contribution, revenue for five
years was remitted”.
Annual Technical Volume
 Buddhistic literature produced three masterly treatises
in pali language viz, 'Jalabindu', 'Jalavahan' and 'Jala
deepka', the copies of which are available only in the
library of Amsterdam (Netherlands), but not in India.
They explain in detail the method of construction of
reservoirs and canals and distribution of water to the
cropped fields.
Irrigation in South India
In south India, the Cholas, Pandyas, Pallavas, Gangas
and the Eastern Chalukyas bestowed their special
attention not only to form irrigation tanks and wells but
also river diversion works of high magnitude. The
irrigation through open head channels from east
flowing rivers like the Sarada, Tandava, Yeleru,
Godavari, Krishna, Pennar and Swarnamukhi are
notable examples. The Grand Anicut, constructed by
the king Karikalachola across the Cauveri river as
early as 2nd century A.D. is the standing example of
diversion works. Vaigae and other river systems
sustained Pandyan Kingdom. The Palar and Pennar
systems sustained Pallava Kingdom. The Cauvery
system produced the mighty Chola empire. The
Krishna, Godavari and Yeleru systems helped in
emergence of the great Kingdom of Eastern Chalukyas
of Vengi (West Godavari), who lovingly moulded the
wandering and warring tribes that settled in this happy
land into a cultured and powerful race. Irrigation
received serious attention since Vedic times, more so
in the South India, since the country is harsh, with less
rainfall and the shallow soils. It was irrigation which
produced and sustained great empires in the ancient
times. It is believed that the big tank near
Phirangipuram (Guntur District) was constructed in
409 AD by a queen, named 'Suryamitra'.
Wherever the topography and terrain permitted, it was
an old practice in the region to impound the surface
drainage water in tanks or reservoirs by throwing
across an earthen dam with a surplus weir, where
necessary, to take off excess water, and a sluice at a
suitable level to irrigate the land below. Some of the
tanks got supplemental supply from stream and river
channels. The entire landscape in the central and
southern India is studded with numerous irrigation
tanks which have been traced back to many centuries
before the beginning of the Christian era.
Irrigation in Medieval India
In medieval India, (reckoned as the period 800 to 1500
AD or the Pre-Renaissance period), rapid advances
took place in the construction of canals. Water was
blocked by constructing bunds across streams. This
raised the water level and canals were constructed to
take the water to the fields. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
(1220-1250) is credited to be the first ruler who
encouraged digging canals. However, it was Firuz
Shah Tughlaq (1351-86) who, inspired from central
Annual Technical Volume
Asian experience, is considered to be the greatest
canal builder before the nineteenth century. As
agricultural income was the pillar of the economy,
irrigation systems were paid special attention during
this period.
A study of ancient literature, epigraphical records and
old irrigation works ruins bear testimony to the special
interest taken by the ancient Hindu rulers of India for
providing irrigation facilities to its subjects to ensure
sustained agricultural production. This tradition was
also followed by the Muslim rulers who also took
interest in constructing new irrigation works. In 1568,
Akbar wrote: “In acknowledging God's mercy in
establishing this great empire, my desire, purer than
water, is to supply the wants of the poor, and to leave
permanent marks of the greatness of my empire by
digging canals, founding cities, by which too the
revenues of my empire will increase. For God has said,
“from water all things are made”. I consequently
ordain that this Jungle in which subsistence is obtained
with thirst, be converted to a place of comfort, free
from that evil”.
Every King strived to construct irrigation tanks and
river diversion works on a large scale during the
medieval period to meet the requirements of the
growing population. The man-power of the villages
contributed to the construction of as many as 11,000
big and about 40,000 small tanks and thousands of
percolation tanks and ponds in the state of Andhra
Pradesh.
During the reign of Kakatiyas, Vijayanagar Kings and
Qutubshahi Dynasties, efforts were made to provide
irrigation facilities. In Telangana area, the famous
major tanks such as Pakhal, Ramappa and Ghanapur
tanks in Warangal district, and Lakhnavaram and
Sanigaram tanks in Karimnagar District were
constructed by Kakatiya Kings in 13th century.
Ibrahim Kutubshah (1530 – 80 AD) was instrumental
in constructing Hussainsagar tank between
Secunderabad and Hyderabad and Ibrahimpatnam
tank in Ranga Reddy District.
There is also evidence that Vijayanagar Kings
constructed small anicuts on some of the rivers and
some lands irrigated under them. Tanks were also
constructed in Badvel and other parts of Rayalaseema.
In Kurnool district alone, about 400 tanks were
constructed. The famous Cumbum, Kanigiri,
Ananthasagaram, Ananthapuram, Nandyala and
Bukkapatnam tanks were built during the reign of
Vijayanagar Kings. The stone plaque found at
Porumamilla tank in Cuddapah District, constructed
in 1369 AD, depicts in detail the technique of
constructing tanks and it is an ample proof to show that
Andhras achieved expertise in tank construction. The
revenue of 1/6th produce collected during the reign of
215
 Cholas increased to 1/4th of produce during the
Vijayanagar empire.
Past Trends in Expansion of Irrigation in Un-
divided Andhra Pradesh
The erstwhile Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana).
is a river state of India, endowed with the three major
river systems of Godavari, Krishna and Pennar and 37
other medium and minor river systems. Its economy is
based essentially on agriculture, with its people
utilising these river systems traditionally for irrigated
agriculture since times immemorial for their
livelihood and sustenance.
A well thought out strategy for the development of
irrigation works was laid out in the ancient period for
the optimum utilisation of the water resources. The
basic tenets are:
a) Easy construction
b) Cheap maintenance
c) Durability
d) Least disturbance to environment and ecology
e) Beneficiaries' participation
f) Regulated system of taxes, and
g) Government responsibilities
The same basic principles were followed almost
without a change during the medieval period also.
During this period, large Kingdoms developed with
huge military establishments. Apart from the core
sector of permanent military, which the Kings or
Chieftains maintained, the bulk of the soldiery was
drawn from the agricultural communities. When not
engaged in war, the soldiery was utilised to construct
mostly irrigation works and temples, deploying herds
of elephants and animals.
216
As the small kingdoms were swallowed up and mighty
kingdoms emerged, scope to launch bigger irrigation
works with greater central authority, utilising the idle
time of the soldiery, developed. The need to feed the
increase in population, to overcome the drought
situations and above all to increase the resources to the
King's treasury arose. The great diversion works
across the small rivers and tributaries, reservoirs
across gorges, and the cascade system of tanks In a
valley were developed with confidence. No doubt they
had to face quite a good number of failures, but their
determination and almost free availability of cheap
surplus labour enabled them to get over the difficulties.
Pallavas of Kanchi, Cholas of Tanjavoor, Kakatiyas of
Warangal, Vijayanagar kings of Hampi, Gajapathis of
Kalinga made priceless efforts in expanding the
irrigation facilities.
Pallavas and Cholas developed the mastery of the
chain system of tanks and supplementation with river
diversions. This is evident from the utilisation of the
Palar river system (Tamilnadu) where no drop of water
is wasted to sea. Gajapatis concentrated on shallow
and long tank bunds, and open head stream channels
along the east coast. Kakatiyas developed the art of
deep reservoirs across gorges and saddles in the hill
ranges. Vijayanagar kings followed the traditions of
Kakatiyas, but developed the art of constructing
anicuts with huge boulders, specially across the
Tungabhadra river. To – day we have some 11000 big
tanks irrigating each over 80 ha and altogether about
40,000 tanks in the State, as a result of untiring efforts
of the various kings, chieftains and palegars that ruled
the medieval period. The total irrigated area under
these tanks is 1 Mha. Some notable works are given in
Table 1.
Table 1 The capacity
of water at various
Lakes in Andhra
Pradesh and
Telangana
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 The inscription found at Anantarajasagar
(Porumamilla tank) is perhaps the first of its kind
dealing with Do's and Don'ts of tank construction in
great detail.
The construction of a tank was considered as one of
seven acts of religious merit. The local chieftains
constructed many irrigation tanks without any
financial help from the king. This huge tank was built
by the Prince Bhaskara alias Bhavadura of the first
Vijayanagar dyanasty. It is situated about two miles to
the east of the village called Porumamilla, in the
Badvel taluk of Cuddapah district and is elongated in
shape, being 7 miles long and 2.5 miles wide. The bund
consists of four natural hills connected by three small
earthern dams, revetted with Cuddapah slabs. The
western flank thus consists of practically the range of
hills which runs north to south between Porumamilla
and Badvel. The total length of the artificial bund is
about 4,500 ft and the total lenth including the hills is
about 14,000 feet. At the deepest portion, the bund is
12 feet wide at the top and 150 feet at the bottom and is
about 33 feet deep. The tank has two sources of supply,
one natural and the other artificial. The latter was
constructed only recently. The natural feeder is a
stream called the Maldevi river. The reservoir is
provided with four sluices, two of which have been
repaired in the recent times and provided with screw
gear and there are five weirs.
The inscriptions on the two slabs set up in front of the
ruined Bhairava temple at Porumamilla throws ample
light on the tank building activity of that time. The
inscriptions give complete details of this tank with
place and time of construction. It is also stated that for
two years, 1,000 labourers were working daily on the
tank and the dam, and 100 carts were engaged in
getting stones for walls which formed a part of the
masonry work. Besides, the author mentioned the
twelve sadhanas (means) of the Porumamilla tank and
six doshas (defects) of tanks in general.
The following is the translation of the verses and lines
giving these sadhanas (means) and doshas (defects):
i. A King endowed with righteousness, rich, happy
(and) desirous of (acquiring) the permanent
wealth of fame,
ii. Brahmana learned in hydrology (pathas sastra),
iii. Ground adorned with hard clay,
iv. a river conveying sweet water,
v. the hill parts of which are in contact with it i.e.,
the tank (and) three yojanas distant (from its
source),
vi. between these portions of the hills a dam (built)
of a compact-stone wall, not too long (but) firm,
vii. Two extremes (sringa) pointing away from fruit
(giving) land (phalastira) outside,
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viii.The bed extensive and deep,
ix. A quarry containing straight and long stones,
x. The neighbouring fields, rich in fruit (and) level,
xi. A water course (sluice) having strong oddies
(bhrama) on account of the position of the
mountain (adri-sthana),
xii. a gang of men skilled in the art of its construction
With these twelve essentials, an excellent tank is easily
attainable on this earth.
While (i) water oozing from the dam, (ii) saline soil,
(iii) (situation) at the boundary of two kingdoms, (iv)
elevation (kurma) in the middle (of the tank) bed, (v)
scanty supply of water and extensive stretch of land (to
be irrigated), (vi) and scanty ground and excess water ;
are the six faults in this connection.
This shows that the science of building dams was well
advanced in those days.
The novel method adopted in the tank irrigation is the
release of waste water either through chain system of
tanks or by forming small subsidiary tanks in the
command or by pick up weirs across the valley.
The ecological balance in all these irrigation systems
was well maintained by the black babool plantation in
the foreshore and fruit bearing trees along the tank
bund etc. The ancient wisdom and their concern for
environment helped in keeping all these irrigation
works with continuous service even after more than
500 years of their construction.
The contribution of these irrigation works for
maintaining the ground water for reuse for irrigation,
drinking, plant life etc. is of a high order and a
considerable segment of population survive on such
resources even today.
In all these irrigation works, the Govt. interference is
almost not there and the responsibility is also limited.
The maintenance and water management of the
irrigation works were entirely resting with the water
users.
The irrigation work not only served irrigation but
helped in stabilizing the community settlement, the
village. The social and religious life of the village got
fused to the irrigation system. Dasabandha Inams were
introduced, assigning irrigated lands to Priest, Purohit,
Temple artists, servants and Neeruganties etc. who
were maintaining the irrigation system and the
common needs of the village. This is the most effective
inbuilt system, which is hereditary.
The irrigable areas under the tanks were often assigned
to demobilised army personnel during the medieval
period.
217
 The height of glory of Indian civilization is reflected in
the custom of willingly paying double the wages to the
pregnant ladies in the irrigated area, specially in
Rayalaseema, the greatest respect shown to
motherhood.
The expansion of irrigation in the medieval period was
certainly the people's programme, mostly contributed
by them under the leadership of the local chieftains,
with the mobilisation of army personnel during their
free time. State investment acted only as a catalyst and
state initiative helped in the organizational effort, but
nevertheless people's contribution played a crucial role
both in construction and maintenance.
During wars, men, women and children were being
killed in large numbers without any mercy. Properties
and crops enroute were being taken away without
compensation(except upto Chola period- 11th
century). They never hesitated to burn the villages.
But, be they Hindus or Muslims, during war or peace,
no irrigation work was touched, disturbed or
destroyed. The kings engaged in war recognized that
the irrigation works alone could help sustain
rehabilitation and recoup the treasury. Such was the
great influence of the irrigation works.
Certain fortunate areas in A.P. state like the Chittoor
district area, for a long time enjoyed the envious
position of a buffer zone between the great powers at
war. Peace prevailed for longer periods. As a result,
their energies were utilized for the development of
irrigation sources which numbered more than 10000
and more than 1,50,000 irrigation wells, the envy of
other districts.
In the command of these irrigation works, there are no
roads and drainage facilities. Irrigation is mostly from
field to field. Not an inch of land is wasted for
community services. The modern concept is that every
field (each holding) should have an irrigation channel,
a drainage course and a road. But the beneficiaries
managed all these centuries without these modern
concepts and facilities, only by certain adaptations for
common good and mutual benefit.
Over the years, the irrigation works acquired a regime,
developed, improved the eco-system, and helped
permanent village settlements with orderly life in the
best harmonious way. Unfortunately and ironically, it
was with the advent of the British rule, ushering in the
so - called modern technology, that all the irrigation
works of the ancient and medieval periods are
disturbed, with the eco-system and environment
sliding down.
The benefits from these sources are on the decline.
Certain of these irrigation works have become sources
of danger causing floods and misery by ill conceived
administrative actions and by ignoring the best
218
technological considerations well thought out and
handed down since the vedic times.
Irrigation in British India
When British conquered the country, the total area
irrigated in the country was small compared to present
day standard and may be a few million acres. It also
appears that there was little persistence in the
continuous maintenance of the works built from time
to time; they were frequently allowed to fall into
disrepair. They were periodically repaired, and again
allowed to disintegrate. Like the early rulers, British
also took keen interest in irrigation development soon
after they established their hold in different parts of the
country.
Irrigation development during British rule began with
the renovation, improvement and extension of existing
works. The Government also ventured into new
projects, like the Upper Ganga Canal, the Upper Bari
Doab Canal and Krishna and Godavari Delta Systems.
Few seminal projects undertook by British
Government in India includes major canal works like
the Sirhind, the Lower Ganga, the Agra and the Mutha
Canals, and the Periyar Dam and canals.
During this period, India witnessed a few major
famines of her entire life; so better irrigation system
became mandatory to combat with crops failure due to
natural disasters. Significant protective works
constructed during the period were the Betwa Canal,
the Nira Left Bank Canal, the Gokak Canal, the
Khaswad Tank and the Rushikulya Canal.
With an intention of stabilizing their colonial rule
among the people of India, the British made many
changes in the irrigation system. They rationalized the
land holdings and ryotwari system and started
collecting revenue in cash. They saw the minor
irrigation schemes only as a source of revenue. The
Britishers took over the responsibility of maintenance
of tanks from the water panchayats and entrusted it to
the Revenue Department. As the revenue staff was
inexperienced in maintenance and repairs of tanks, a
good number of breached tanks remained in disrepair
and the farmers too did not show any interest.
By 1765, most of the coastal Andhra came under the
control of the East India Company. For 80 years from
1765 to 1846, the company neglected the development
of irrigation facilities. Not only the company failed to
construct new irrigation tanks but also neglected
maintenance and repairs to the existing sources. The
irrigation sources thus deteriorated and this had an
adverse effect on agriculture in this area. During this
period, the seasonal conditions were also not favorable
due to failure of monsoon rains and the result was
frequent famines. Figure 1 shows the irrigation works
done in Rayalseema.
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 Figure 1 History of irrigation in Rayalseema
There were however exceptions like the famous
British army engineer like Sir Arthur Cotton who took
keen interest in developing the Godavari delta system
in Andhra Pradesh by constructing the Godavari
Anicut and the canal system. He is deified and
worshipped even till today by the grateful farming
community of the area.
Conclusion
Irrigated agriculture in India is indeed a glorious
culture acquired from the ancient times, to be
preserved and promoted by the present custodians and
passed on to the future generations in a sustainable
state up development.
The present trends in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in
carrying forward the traditional systems of irrigation
are encouraging. The Government of Telangana has
taken up the Mission Kakatiya for restoring and
renovating the tank systems in a big way and the
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Government of Andhra Pradesh is planning to develop
its water resources by improving and reorganizing the
cascading system of tanks in the state.
According to an invocation in Atharva veda,
May water from wells give us Prosperity!
May stored surface water give us Prosperity!
May direct rainwater give us Prosperity!
References
1) Background Paper on Irrigation : The Andhra Pradesh
Study (Consultancy Report of ESCI (1996) for the
World Bank.
2) Andhra Pradesh Water Sector Improvement Project :
Project Implementation Plan – Vol. I (Sept., 2009).
3) MoWR, GoI, Note on History of Irrigation
Development
4) Gradual Development of Irrigation in India
219
 Traditional Irrigation Methods in Telengana State
S Vijaya Mohan Rao
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
Siddhartha Institute of Engineering & Technology, Ibrahimpatnam, Telengana
* andalsvmr@gmail.com
Abstract
Telangana region accounts for huge chunk of natural resources of the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh. For
instance, the 10 districts in this region account for 45% of Andhra's forest cover. The region comprises 68% of the
catchment area of the Krishna river and 79% catchment area of Godavari river. There are abundant water
resources in Telangana. The irrigation is is done through major irrigation projects, Medium Irrigation Projects,
Minor Irrigation Projects, Water Storing in Tanks, Canal Irrigation and Well Irrigation. Among these, Irrigation
under the Tanks is one of the important systems for cultivation and Fishing. Over the years the Tanks are
neglected and caused heavy damage to Farming community. In this paper an attempt is made to discuss the
importance of Traditional Irrigation Methods in Telangana State ways and means to improve the Irrigation
Systems particularly with reference to Telangana State Government ambitious plan of 'MISSION KAKATEEYA’.

Introduction
Irrigation
Water that is required to be supplied at the head of a
channel that is conveying water to more than one field.
Infact, water supply to such a cluster of fields with
perhaps many sowing different crops is what is termed
as an “Irrigation scheme”. In this part , it is emphasized
about the ways in which various water sources may be
utilized to meet the demand of irrigation or the gross
irrigation requirement.
Telangana region accounts for huge chunk of natural
resources of the current Andhra Pradesh. For instance,
the 10 districts in this region account for 45 % of
Andhra's forest cover. The region comprises 68 % of
the catchment area of the Krishna river and 79 % Figure 1 Irrigation systems in Telengana
catchment area of Godavari river. There is no problem
with water resources in Telangana. sustainable way. Towards this endeavour, efforts are
afoot to Socio Economic Outlook 2015 110 expedite
Irrigation contributes immensely to the Agriculture the ongoing and proposed major and medium
sector and thereby to the Socio-Economic irrigation projects. This will allow rightful utilization
development of the State. Irrigation in Telangana is of total allocation of water to Telangana. The planned
mostly dependent on the utilization of water from utilization in Godavari & Krishna River is 933.70
Godavari and Krishna rivers and tributaries, tanks and TMC and 298 TMC respectively including
ponds. There are about 46,000 water conservation floodwaters in Krishna Basin.
structures varying from very large tanks to small ponds
including percolation tanks. These water conservation Irrigation system under the Kakatiyas, who developed
structures together are the leading source for meeting excellent irrigation technology, harnessing every drop
irrigation, commercial and other domestic needs. of rainwater, offers a very good model to revive
Below Figure 1 shows the river water source for sustainable drought-proofing measures. Apart from
Irrigation in Telangana State. the four major tanks – Pakhal, Ramappa,
Lakhnavaram and Ghanpur with a yield of 5,872 mcft
The State Government realises the importance of covering an ayacut of 11,975 ha, there are 5,000 other
irrigation and is striving hard to harness the water of lakes with a storage capacity of 100 mcft each.
both the rivers for development of the State in a Repairs, renovation and restoration of minor irrigation

220 Annual Technical Volume

 Table 1 Irrigated areas in Andhra Pradesh, ha
tanks have stabilized an ayacut of 3,908 ha in the years
2012-13 and 2013-14.
Minor irrigation tanks being the lifeline of Telangana,
the Government has accorded highest priority for
renovation of chain tanks in Minor irrigation sector
under the flagship programme 'Mission Kakatiya' in
the next fi ve years with funding from GOI, JICA,
AIBP, World Bank and through normal State Plan.
These activities would also contribute to stabilize the
groundwater levels. Rainwater harvesting is another Himayatsagar, Nizamsagar Project, Mannair Project,
area of high importance to ensure that water yields of Dindi Project, Palair Project, Wyra Project and
micro and minor irrigation structures would be kept at Sarlasagar Projects are some of the magnificent in the
easily exportable evels. Telangana Region.
Government has planned to complete the Major & This study proposes to concentrate largely on the
Medium Irrigation Projects in a phased manner, so as Telangana region and examines its three sources of
to create Irrigation potential of 99.136 lakh acres. irrigation and explains their variations over time.
Back Ground Hence this occasionally refer, where relevant, to the
two other regions and the state as a whole.
Telangana region has a rich heritage of cultivation and
irrigation dating back to several centuries. In the past, The state level figures for irrigation are given in Table
rulers paid a good deal of attention to the development 1. They show substantial rises in canal and well
of irrigation in their kingdoms for the benefit of their irrigation, but a drastic fall in tank irrigation. The
subjects. Big lakes like Ramappa, Pakhal, decline in tank irrigation seems that it nearly tripled in
Laknavaram and many other irrigation works of the many decades before the creation of Andhra
Kakatiya period have become names to remember. Pradesh.
Telangana had been the major region of the princely The source-wise distribution of irrigation in Telangana
state of Hyderabad. From the 1870s onwards, under is given in Table 2.
the pressure and “guidance” of his British suzerain, the In Telangana, it will be observed that while well
Nizam of Hyderabad and his government began to take irrigation has advanced substantially and in a secular
an interest in irrigation as a way of avoiding and manner over time, canal irrigation reached a peak in
mitigating famine. However, reliable data on acreage 1990-92 and then showed a decline, and later, a
under different sources are available only since the recovery. Tank irrigation, on the other hand, declined
1920s when detailed statistical and revenue records drastically ever since 1956-57 and has showed little
began to be published. sign of recovery. Despite this, the total irrigated
The taxes on un irrigated and irrigated land (the latter acreage has, however, grown but it is driven largely by
at a much higher rate) were the major sources of private sector investment in well irrigation – which
government revenues. While
these taxes took a substantial Table 2 Source wise Irrigated areas in Telangana, ha
part of the value of the crop,
irrigation development
became the basis of sound
revenue and fiscal policy.
Hyderabad state had a much
higher incidence of land
taxation compared to British
ruled provinces.
The Mir Alam Tank is the
finest example for arched
d a m s . H u s s a i n S a g a r,
Ghanapur Anicut across the
Manjra with two canals called
F a t h e n a h a r a n d
Mahaboobnagar Projects,
Pocharam lake, Osmansagar,

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 doubled since 1956-57. There has, therefore, been a
drastic relative decline in the share of government-
funded irrigation in Telangana since 1956-57.
Classification of Irrigation Projects
Projects are classified as under, based on the extent of
irrigated ayacut ( commandable area) under them.
Major Irrigation Project : This type of project consists
of huge surface water, storage reservoirs and flow
diversion structures. The area envisaged to be covered
under irrigation is of the order over 25000 Acres
(10000 hectare). Table 3, below Shows major
irrigation projects in Telangana districts.The
importance of irrigation and is striving hard to harness
the water of both the rivers for development of the
State in a sustainable way. Towards this endeavour,
efforts are afoot to Socio Economic Outlook 2015 110
Table 3 : Major irrigation projects
Total Ayacut in acres 95,22,641
222
expedite the ongoing and proposed major and medium
irrigation projects. This will allow rightful utilization
of total allocation of water to Telangana. The planned
utilization in Godavari & Krishna River is 933.70
TMC and 298 TMC respectively including
floodwaters in Krishna Basin.
Medium Irrigation : These are also surface water
projects but with medium size storage and diversion
structures with the area under irrigation, ayacut above
5000 Acres(2000ha) & upto 25000 acres (10000ha)
fall in this category. Table 4 below shows medium
irrigation projects Telangana districts.
Minor Irrigation Project: The area proposed under
irrigation for these schemes is above 5000 acres
(2000Ha) and the source of water is either ground
Table 4 : Medium irrigation projects
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 water or from wells or tube wells or surface water lifted
by pumps or by gravity flow from tanks. It could also
be irrigated from through water from tanks.
Canal Irrigation
During the Nizam's rule, one major irrigation project –
Nizamsagar– and several medium schemes were
undertaken. The real momentum, however, came with
independence and assistance from the central
government when giant projects such as
Nagarjunasagar and Pochampad were undertaken.
(Figure 2 shows a system in Canal Irrigation).
Figure 2 Canal irrigation system
Table 5 indicates, in the growth of both open and tube
well irrigation in Telangana and the results are quite
remarkable, with 56% of the total well irrigation in the
state contributed by Telangana farmers by 2005-09.
Table 5 Telangana Well Irrigation, ha
Table 6 shows that the decline in canal irrigation
within the period 2001-05 was alarming: it had fallen
from the 2000-01 to 2004-05 even more precipitously
by 53% or 1,31,887 ha! It then improved during 2005-
09 to exceed the 2001-02 figures, partly as old areas
recovered under the very favourable monsoon
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conditions of 2005-06 and slightly less favourable
years there after.
Thus, weather conditions seem to affect canal
irrigation also despite it being thought to be a
guaranteed all weather irrigation. From media reports,
the new canal irrigation is yet to materialise fully. But
the official statistics show an increase in new canal
irrigation ayacut (major and medium) of 1,18,739 ha
during 2004-07, with nearly 59% of this or 69,876 ha
coming into being in thought to be a guaranteed all-
weather irrigation. From media reports, the new canal
irrigation is yet to materialise fully. But the official
statistics show an increase in new canal irrigation
ayacut (major and medium) of 1,18,739 ha during
2004-07, with nearly 59% of this or 69,876 ha coming
into being in 2006-07. The figures of irrigation and
command area development ( I&CAD) and the Bureau
of Economics and Statistics (BES ) figures of irrigated
acreage (given by the revenue department)cannot be
reconciled largely because I&CAD reports
“developed” ayacut, which may not immediately (if
ever) materialise as irrigable areas available to
farmers.
Well Irrigation
Well irrigation has been in existence in Telangana for a
long time though the human and animal labour costs of
lifting water using traditional devices have been the
main hurdle in its growth. Even in time of monsoon
failure and consequent famine in the late19th century,
well irrigation has been able to hold its own as it relied
on groundwater.
Figure 3 shows, A typical well irrigation system at
Donthikunta Thanda in Ghanpur Mandal.
Yet, its growth took off only after the beginning of rural
electrification programme. Most, if not all, the
investment in wells is privately funded and
productivity tends to be high as farmers have
flexibility in selection of crop pattern and also cultivate
more crops in a year per acre irrigate (and many of
Figure 3 Well irrigation system
223
 Table 6 Eight-Year Canal-Irrigated Area, ha
them commercial crops of higher value than food
crops) than is done under other sources of irrigation.
Much of well irrigation depends on the condition of the
water table. As far as groundwater depletion is
concerned, nearly 54%of the 462 groundwater basins
in Telangana have been declared as “safe”, while 18%
are “over exploited” and 28% are “critical” or “semi-
critical”. Evidence indicates that the water table is
falling and with the decline in surface irrigation,
largely of the widely dispersed tanks, recharge of
groundwater depends almost directly on the monsoon.
Telangana overlies a shallow rock region and where
over extraction does not necessarily involve long term
ground water loss. The shallow aquifers of this region
can be quickly recharged by one or two wet years or by
safeguarding existing tank irrigation sources, which
are widespread in Telangana. If tank irrigation was not
so badly affected, the recharge of groundwater
probably would have been much better and thus
allowing well irrigation to expand further.
Tank Irrigation
The role of tank irrigation in south India is well known
to historians of the area. Telangana has a long history
of rain water harvesting through tanks and weirs The
enormous numbers of inscriptions at tank sites and in
temples proclaim the active role of Chola, Pandya,
Vijayanagara and Kakatiya kings and viceroys in the
construction of tanks.
Some tank irrigated lands were granted tax free to
temples for performance of ritual: as also to carpenters,
masons, boatmen, fishermen, water regulators and
others for the up keep and maintenance of tanks and
de-silting operations. Other inscriptions also show the
builder to be a private individual seeking merit by
dedicating tank-irrigated lands to the temple or
investing for his own benefit.
While the state or donor underwrote the capital costs,
224
“tank committees” carried
out maintenance
operations. This seems to
have been the great
strength and resilience of
the south Indian agrarian
society when faced with
war and conquest and the
successive dissolution of
one state and the rise and
dominance of another. In
short, south India owes the
survival of its culture,
religion and ritual to the
independent economic
base built around “tank and
temple”.
By the 13th century, the moral incentives were
strengthened when the construction of tanks was
included among the seven acts of charity, which were
considered especially meritorious. The construction of
tanks had become the major investment activity for
rulers and their local potentates. So common were
these tanks, that the Padma Purana (circa 750 BC) has
an entire chapter on ritual for the consecration of tanks.
Suitability
The topography and rainfall pattern in Telangana made
tank irrigation an ideal type of irrigation. The dense
forest cover and generally favourable soil structure
helped in promoting paddy/rice cultivation under tanks
and shallow rock below facilitated groundwater
storage and recharge, and consequently, exploited by
wells. The knowledge and technology for
identification of sites, construction of dams and
maintenance of tanks were well-developed in south
India. Till the decline and the end of the Kakatiya
dynasty, the construction of tanks seems to have been a
common feature in Telangana. Many of these still
function. Elaborate technical and ritual specifications
were developed for identification of sites and
construction of tank bunds and canals.
Krishnadevaraya even invited Portuguese masons to
build an embankment “a cross bow shot wide”.
Under Muslim rule, the religious part of the motivation
ceased to guide the rulers, but in course of time, the
economic rationale ensured some construction
activity. Data on this is scarce andtrade and commerce
seem to have had more importance in thisperiod than
agriculture.
If we look look at the Telangana region and its
irrigation sector, with an emphasis on tank irrigation,
where the decline is most severe and the well irrigation
sector, where the rise is phenomenal. Canal irrigation
in Telangana has been variable and subject to major
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 investment decisions at the state level, which are
subject to complex issues of political economy,
interstate and intra-state issues which are not clear.
In Telangana, it will be seen from Table 5, that the
major push in tank irrigation came in the 65-year
period (1875-1940), when tank irrigation multiplied
ninefold, while total irrigation in Telangana grew
sevenfold (Table 2). Between 1940 and 1957,however,
tank irrigation increased by only 42% and total
irrigation by 25%. On the whole, the Nizam's
government can justifiably claim credit for this
massive effort and achievement while restoration of
defunct tanks and wells held future promise for the
state and farmers .
The four year averages for 2001-05 and 2005-09
indicate a sharp recovery. However, Table 5 gives
annual data for the eight-year period from 2001 to
2009, which shows a sharp and steady decline in tank
irrigation in the first four years. The average for the
period 2001-05 conceals a drastic decline of over 34%
within the period – losing nearly another 66,324 ha!
But during 2005-09, there has been a recovery. The
average for the period 2005-09 is higher than for 2001-
05 due to better monsoon conditions but the acreage is
unstable. Table 6 shows the District wise tank details
in Telangana From 2010 to 2014.
The tank irrigation is curious and needs a close study,
especially as its advantages are obvious. First, it is a
type of irrigation favoured by the terrain and its
topography. Second, it is a quick gestation project
where paddy fields can be brought into cultivation in
short order. Third, the system of maintenance is well
established and can be continued on lines similar to the
past. Fourth, the technology is simple and needs no
sophistication (though with earth-moving equipment
the gestation period can be reduced and de-silting
accelerated).Fifth, tank irrigation is more amenable to
Table 7 District wise tank capacity in Telengana
Annual Technical Volume
farmer's control than irrigation under major canal
systems.
Case Study
“Virtue and prosperity will increase only when tanks
and irrigation canals are constructed and favour shown
to poor cultivators in the matter of taxation and
services” (Emperor Krishna Devaraya of
Vijayanagaram)
Below Irrigation Tank is an example!
Venkanna Cherruvu
“Venkanna Cheruvu” is situated in Manigila village in
Peddamandadi mandal of Mahabub-nagar District in
Telangana. The tank being very old, people are unable
to tell to which century it belongs. However, the
general belief is that this could have been constructed
during Vijayanagar regime. Tank water spread area is
62.82 ha and the command area is 89 ha.
Water Management
The water management practices in this tank is being
carried out informally from several generations
without major changes. It is quite evident from the
field research that the water management is combined
Figure 4 Water tank in Venkanna Cherruvu
with land and crop management, which is one step
ahead of Hirekere in ensuring equity and entitlements
to water. Although, land ownership is in the individual
farmers name both in the command and non command
area, resource utilisation redefine these land
ownership informally. The water distribution in
Venkanna Cheruvu is commonly called as 'Damoshi'.
Dhamoshi System
As and when the water is less in the tank, it becomes
impossible to cater to total command area of the tank.
Dhamoshi means a system, in which the farmers of the
command area take a decision to cultivate their lands
proportionate to the water availability in the tank. If the
tank has half of its capacity, all the farmers will irrigate
half of their area. Further, in order to avoid losses out of
seepage, transpoevaporation, leakage, time, etc, they
choose the area under irrigation near to the tank bund.
The owner of the land near the tank bund spares half of
this land to the tail end farmer to cultivate.
225
 Maintenance
The tank has feeder channel which is about 5 kms and
the cleaning of feeder channel in the past was carried
out by villagers as an obligatory service to the tank.
There are several instances of the breach of feeder
channel bunds, which farmers have addressed.
At present, There are 35,974 tanks serving an ayacut of
18.75 lakh acres including 31,196 Panchayat Raj
department tanks serving an ayacut of 6.68 lakh acres.
The tank irrigation is concentrated mostly in the
districts of Warangal, Khammam and Karimnagar.
Under minor irrigation, an area of 37,300 acres of
irrigation potential is created and 19,700 acres of
irrigation potential is utilised with an expenditure of
Rs.488.46 crores during the year 2013-14. The
rehabilitation of Minor irrigation schemes sanctioned
under World Bank assisted by Telangana Community
Based Tank Management Project is in Progress. The
scheme is intended to improve 1182 tanks and about
762 schemes are completed.
Tank irrigation has huge bearing on generation of rural
employment, poverty reduction and agricultural
growth. The sheer size of command area under tank
irrigation makes it a large centre of agricultural
production and provides a critical opportunity for
commercial agriculture through market linkages.
Conclusions
Among the various irrigation schemes, Tanks, well and
Canal Irrigation were the main source of irrigation in
Telangana for centuries. Over a period of time, due to
lack of proper maintenance and siltation, most of these
tanks have either shrunk or become defunct. Reduced
availability of surface water has resulted in over stress
on the available ground water resources.
Monsoon rains have been unevenly distributed and
85% of cultivated area in the state is rain ed. The
topography and rainfall pattern in Telangana has made
tank irrigation an ideal type of irrigation, storing and
regulating water flow for agricultural use. The
enormous number of inscriptions at tank sites and in
temples proclaim the active role of Kakatiya,
Qutubshahi and AsafJahi kings in the construction of
tanks. In the state, there are about 46,531 minor
irrigation sources irrigating a total area of 10.17 lakh
Hectares. The tank system has been critical to growth
of agriculture in the state, contributing to soil and water
conservation, flood control, drought mitigation,
livestock and domestic uses, recharge of ground water,
microclimate and protection of environment. Access to
irrigation infrastructure for the poor people allows
them to enhance their crop production and broaden the
opportunities to diversify their income base, reducing
226
the vulnerability caused by the seasonality amidst the
threats of climate change.
Telangana has widely diversified farming base with
large variety of crops, which include food, horticulture
and cash crops. The cultivable land is about 67% of the
total geographical area, 60% of which is under food
crops. Paddy is the predominant food crop and is sown
in 25% of the cultivated area. Pulses occupy 18% area
followed by sorghum and maize which accounts for
14% of the cultivated area. Groundnut, cotton, castor,
sunflower, sesamum and sugarcane are other
important crops grown in the State.
Considering the aforementioned issues related to the
tank irrigation, the Government of Telangana State has
taken up the massive programme of restoring all the
46,531 minor irrigation sources under the name
“Mission Kakatiya” (Mana Vooru – Mana Cheruv ) in a
decentralized manner through community
involvement. The Government is aiming to complete
the restoration of all the tanks in the next five years at
an estimated cost of Rs. 20,000 crores. This is a good
sign in keeping view of Farmer side.
Referances
1. Appadorai, A (1936): Economic Conditions in
Southern India (1000- 1500 AD) (Madras:
University of Madras), Vol II, p 668.
2. BES (various years): Statistical Abstract , Bureau of
Economics and Statistics, Government of Andhra
Pradesh, Hyderabad.
3. Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) (1969):
Report on the Quantum of Telangana Surpluses for
the Period 1.11.1956 to 31.3.1968 ( Kumar Lalit
Report ), Director of Printing and Stationary,
Hyderabad.
4. GoI (1909): Imperial Gazetteer of India – Hyderabad
State (Calcutta: Superintendent of Government
Printing), (Author is Mirza Mehdy Khan).– (1969).
5. Report of the Committee on Telangana Surpluses ,
Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India,
Justice Vashishtha Bhargava Report, Manager of
Publications, New Delhi. Irrigation and CAD
Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh (2010)
Water for Irrigation. Zürich: Biovision.2010].
6. Irrigation Water Management: Irrigation Methods.
(1988): Training manuals - 5). Rome: Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
2010].
7. STANDISH, S. (2009): How to Irrigate On A
Shoestring. Portland: Global Envision. 2011].
TILLEY, E.; LUETHI, C.; MOREL, A.;
ZURBRUEGG, C.; SCHERTENLEIB, R. (2008):
Compendium of Sanitation Systems and
Technologies
Annual Technical Volume
 Wind Powered Water Pumping Systems for Irrigation
in Pudukkottai Region
Preethika D.
Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering Department
Mount Zion College of Engineering & Technology, Pudukkottai, TamilNadu
* preethikajillu@gmail.com
Loganayaki S., Ananth S.
Civil Engineering Department
Mount Zion College of Engineering & Technology, Pudukkottai, TamilNadu

Abstract
At present, as there is a demand in electricity generation, this impact result in the scarcity of water generation for
irrigation purpose to the agricultural farmers, which affect the rural development. In India 25% of electricity is
consumed by irrigation pumps. In our project, we generating power using renewable energy which will be
available throughout the year. A wind generation takes place by wind turbines, which supplies power to the
reciprocating pump, which is used to drive water from ground and it can be stored in a tank. Then it can be
supplied to the field based on the requirement of water for the crops.
Keywords: Rural development, Wind turbine, Gear box, Reciprocating pump, Wind intensity

Introduction
Pudukkottai region is the underdeveloped area (Figure
1). Scarcity of water is high. Also annual rainfall rate is
minimum. So the majority of irrigation pumping in
Pudukkottai uses electricity.
An increasing demand of electricity results in poor
supply of electricity for rural areas. So the renewable
source of energy comes under discussion which is
wind energy.
Our main aim is to apply the concepts of wind energy
usage for Pudukkottai Region and to suggest whether
this type of system can be replaced.
In this research, we are generating power using
renewable energy which will be available throughout
the year. We are getting sustainable energy from wind
which produces minimum amount of energy. A wind
generation takes place by wind turbines which supplies
power to the reciprocating pump, which is used to
drive water from ground and to store in a tank. Figure 1 Pudukkottai District Map
Working of Wind Powered Pump
Compressed air pumping systems (Figure 3) are now
Windmills can be used to pump water and generate the most commonly used because of their low cost.
electricity. There are two types of wind powered water This type of wind mill pump compresses air which in
pumps. turn, activates a pump located in the water. Water
The traditional reciprocating pump has the wind mill enters the pump until the floating valve rises to close
situated directly over the water source (Figure 2). It the inlet opening, at which time the compressed air
offers the best pumping capacities using gear box and displaces water out of the pump and up to the trough.
reciprocating pump, but requires periodic maintenance The air exhausted aerates the water source so that good
and part replacement. water quality is maintained.

Annual Technical Volume 227


Figure 2 Wind powered (reciprocating) pump
Figure 3 Wind powered (air-activated) pump
Wind Resources
The amount of water a wind- powered water pumping
system can deliver, depends on the speed and
duration of the wind, the size and efficiency of the
rotor, the efficiency of the pump being used, and how
far the water has to be lifted. The power delivered by a
windmill can be determined from the following
equation:
P = 0.0109(D**2) (V**3) n
Where P is power in W, D is the rotor diameter, m, V is
the wind speed, km/ hr, and h is the efficiency of the
wind turbine. As can be seen from this expression,
relatively large increases in power result from
comparatively small increases in the size of the rotor
and the available wind speed; doubling the size of the
rotor will result in a four- old increase in power, while
doubling the wind speed will result in an eight – fold
increase in power.
228
However, the efficiency of wind turbines decreases
significantly in both low and high winds, so the
result is that most commercially available windmills
operate best in a range of wind- speeds between
about 15km/hr. and 50km/hr.
Average speed of the wind for the year 2013 is plotted
in Figure 4 for Pudukkottai Region. In which in the
month of June, wind intensity reaches the maximum
value of 20 km/hr. In the month of February it reaches
the minimum value of 6.524 km/hr. Hence the average
wind intensity is14.53 km/hr.
Conclusion
ü
The agriculture in our country is highly
dependent on rainfall.
Figure 4 Wind resources in Pudukkottai Region-Wind speed
(km/hr.) against Month
ü
The system is fully based on renewable energy
which is always available without any
limitations.
ü
Technological improvement in system and a
new designed wind turbine makes system more
efficient.
ü
Adopting windenergy means for water
pumping has resulted in huge benefits.
ü
Most commercially available windmills
operate best in a range of the wind speed
between about 15km/hr. and 50km/hr.
ü
Pudukkottai region is located in the shore of
Bay of Bengal, but wind energy available i.e.
the average wind intensity is 14.53km/hr.
ü
Hence it may be preferable to install water
pumping system near the coastal lines of
Pudukkottai region because the required wind
energy is available only in that line.
Annual Technical Volume
 References 4. Kunal Kumar, Ajit Singh, AmritSagar, Neeraj
Kumar, Kumar Sundaram & Aditya Kumar,
1. Agriculture Contingency Plan for District: Advanced Utilisation of Irrigation Pumping by
Pudukkottai[http://agricoop.nic.in/ Agriculture%20 Using Sustainable Energy, ISSN (Print): 2278-8948,
contingency%20Plan/TN/TN11-Pudukkottai% Volume-1, Issue-2, 2012.
203.2.2011.pdf]
5. Fabio Parigi, Tanya KirilovaGachovska, Jerry
2. India Meteorological Department Nwp Models Hudgins, Dean Patterson, Wind forIrrigation
Based District Level Weather Prediction, Application, Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences
http://www.imd.gov.in/section/nhac/distforecast/ta Research under Grant WBS 26-1217-0001-201.
milnadu.txt
6. Senjyu,T., Nakaji, T., Uezato, K., and Funabashi,T.
3. District Level Agro meteorological Advisory A Hybrid Power System Using Alternative Energy
Bulletin for the state of Tamil Nadu Bulletin Facilities in Isolated Island.IEEETransactions on
No.017/2014, http://www. imdchennai.gov.in/ Energy Conversion, vol. 20, no. 2, June, 2005.
agrocomp.pdf

Annual Technical Volume 229

 Traditional Irrigation Systems in India
A. Krishna Murthy
Former Engineer-in-Chief
Irrigation Department, Govt of Andhra Pradesh
* akmurty1@gmail.com

Introduction
The development of civilization in India was based on
growth of agriculture. The irrigation systems have
helped for growth of agriculture. The traditional
irrigation practices in India are as furnished below.
Rainfed Cultivation
This is the oldest method of irrigation practiced in
India . The agriculture is done utilizing the rainfall in
the area. Dry crops like jawar, bajra, castor, cotton,
pulses, cereals. oilseeds etc are grown purely
depending on the rainfall (Figure 1). In forest / agency
areas, where there is rainfall throughout the year, wet
crops like paddy (rice), wheat, sugarcane etc are
grown. In fact it is still the largest method of
cultivation prevailing in India. About 60% of total net
sown area is under rainfed crops only.
Direct Irrigation
This is the second oldest method of irrigation practiced
in India. In this method the flood water flowing
through the streams/rivers is diverted by constructing a
small obstruction across the stream, called
anicuts/barrages etc and the river water is diverted to
the adjoining fields through canals. These direct
irrigation structures are constructed across streams/
rivers having perennial flows, These anicuts/ barrages
have low storage capacity as there will be continuous
flows in the river, and they will be low in height to pass
away the excess flood waters over them.
Figure 1 Jowar rainfed crop
Figure 2 Flood irrigation system
Inundation (Flood) Irrigation
Another form of direct irrigation is the inundation
irrigation which is also called as river-canal irrigation.
In this type there will be no structure across the river.
An Inundation canal directly taking off from the river
will convey the water to the irrigation fields. whenever
the water is available in the river (Figure 2).
As the water is directly applied to the fields without
any storage / regulation , it is called as direct irrigation.
Indirect (Storage) Irrigation
In this method bigger structures called Dams,
Reservoirs are constructed across the rivers to store
flood water flowing in rainy season and to supply it to
the fields through canals as and when required.
As the water supply is controlled, regulated it is called
indirect irrigation (Figure 3).
Lift irrigation Systems
In this method the water available at lower levels in
streams, rivers, ponds, wells etc is lifted through
manually, bullocks, oil engines, electrical pumps and
delivered to the agricultural fields located at higher
levels. The fallowing are the various types of Lift
Irrigation systems practiced in India since ages.
Yatham System
Water is lifted from nalas, sreams flowing at lower
levels by tying a bucket to a vertical pole. It is operated

230 Annual Technical Volume


Figure 3 Indirect irrigation system
manually by lifting the bucket full of water and pouring
it on the bank to irrigate adjoining lands (Figure 4).
Figure 4 Irrigation handle manually
Open Well Irrigation ( Mota System)
The open well irrigation is the oldest lift irrigation
system fallowed in India since ages. Water is lifted
from open wells through a bucket pulled by bullocks,
and the bucket is emptied on the bank of well into a
canal flowing to the lands adjoin the well for irrigation
(Figure 5).
Figure 5 Open well irrigation
Persian Wheel System
In this system the water is lifted through number of
buckets attached to a wheel rotated by a lever and gear
Annual Technical Volume
arrangement, pulled by bullocks. The water falling
through the buckets is collected in a channel which
carries water to the adjoining fields for irrigation
(Figure 6).
Figure 6 Persian wheel irrigation
Diesel Engine Pumps
The diesel driven pumps, are used for lifting water
from open wells, canals, streams etc to pump water to
the irrigation lands located at higher levels, in remote
areas where there is no power supply (Figure 7).
Figure 7 Diesel engine irrigation
Electrical Pumps
Where ever the electricity is available the electrical
motors/pumps are used for lifting the water from wells,
canals, rivers etc for irrigating the lands at higher levels
(Figure 8).
Figure 8 Irrigation through electrical pumps
231
 Bore / Tube Wells Irrigation
In the upland / arid regions where there are no rivers,
bore wells are drilled to lift ground water for irrigation
purpose. Similarly in coastal areas tube wells are
drilled to tap ground water. These well are fitted with
electrical jet / submersible pumps to lift pump/water to
the irrigation fields (Figure 9).
Figure 9 Bore irrigation system
Methods of Application of Water to Irrigation
Fields
There are various methods of application of water to
the fields for irrigation as discussed below
Surface Irrigation Methods
In this method the water is directly supplied on to the
soil from a canal.
One of the surface irrigation method is flooding
method where the water is allowed to cover the field as
a continuous sheet of water .
The flooding method is used in two types of irrigation:
Border irrigation method
Basin irrigation method
Border Irrigation
Borders are long uniformly graded strips of
agricultural lands separated by small earth bunds as
shown in Figure 10.
Figure 10 Border irrigation system
The border shown in the figures above are called
straight borders, in which the border bunds are laid
along the direction of general slope of the field. The
borders are sometimes laid along the contours as per
232
Figure 11 Contour irrigation system
topography when the land slope is highly falling. This
method is called contour border method of irrigation
(Figure 11).
Basin Irrigation
Basins are flat areas of land surrounded by low bunds.
The bunds prevent the water from flowing to the
adjacent fields. The basins are filled to desired depth
Basin method of irrigation can be formally divided into
two, viz; the check basin method and the ring basin
Figure 12 Basin irrigation system
method. The check basin method is the most common
method of irrigation in India. In this method, the land
to be irrigated is divided into small plots or basins
surrounded by checks/ levees (low bunds); as shown in
(Figure 12).
The irrigation water is applied by filling the plots with
water up to the desired depth.
The other form of basin irrigation is the ring basin
method which is used for growing trees in orchards. In
this method, generally for each tree, a separate basin is
made which is usually circular in shape.
Furrow Irrigation
Furrows are small channels, which carry water down
the land slope between the crop rows. The crop is
usually grown on ridges between the furrows, as
shown in (Figure 13).
Subsurface Irrigation Methods
The application of water to fields in this type of
irrigation system is below the ground surface so that it
is supplied directly to the root zone of the plants. There
may be two ways by which irrigation water may be
Annual Technical Volume
 Figure 15 Drip irrigation system
Figure 13 Furrow irrigation system
water very scarce, drip irrigation system is used. In this
applied below ground and these are termed as:
system the water required for the plant is delivered at
Natural sub-surface irrigation method its root zone through net work of pipes and dripping
nozzles. The water from an elevated tank flows
Artificial sub-surface irrigation method
through the net work of pipes under gravity, and only
Natural Sub-surface Irrigation Method the required quantity of water is supplied to the plant at
its root zone avoiding all types of losses (Figure 15).
it may be done artificially by constructing deep
channels in the field which may be filled with water at SRI (System of Rice Intensification) Method
all times to ensure the presence of water table at a
It is also one of the latest techniques of irrigation to
desired elevation below the root zone depth.
conserve/save water. In this method water is not
Artificial Subsurface Irrigation Method impounded in paddy (rioce) fields like traditional
paddy cultivation. The paddy is also grown as a dry
Maintaining a suitable water table just below the root
crop with required wettings to keep the soil always
zone is obtained by providing perforated pipes laid in a
moist. This is giving good yields when compared to
network pattern below the soil surface at a desired
normal method of Paddy cultivation (Figure 16).
depth.
Sprinkler Irrigation
It is one of the latest methods of irrigation adopted in
water scarcity areas. In this method the water required
for the irrigation is sprayed like artificial rain on the
plants through a net work of pipes fitted with nozzles
and the water is pumped into the pipes net work under
pressure (Figure 14).
Drip Irrigation
In the upland / arid regions where the availability of
Figure 16 SRI irrigation system

Warabandi System (Weekly rotation system)

Figure 14 Sprinkler irrigation system
This is a method of water regulation to conserve water,
Instead of supplying water nonstop 24x 7 like canal
irrigation, the water will be supplied on rotational basis
based on the crop water requirements. In case of dry
crops the rotation may be weekly/fortnightrly, and
incase of wet crops like paddy/sugarcane it may be on
alternate days basis as per the crop water requirement.
This method conserves water and more area is brought
under irrigation.

Annual Technical Volume 233

 Traditional Irrigation Systems in Tamil Nadu
A. Veerappan
Former Special Chief Engineer
Public Works Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu
* er_a_veerappan@hotmail.com
Abstract
In India and also in Tamilnadu which is a forerunner in irrigation practices and construction of irrigation
structures for more than 2000 years normally adopts traditional construction materials such as RR masonry,
Rough stone dry packing of slopes and retaining wall, open earth channel with sand cement blocks lining, M20
grade concrete for foundation system. Similarly bulk drawal of water for irrigation from reservoir is carried
through open canals even for long distance of upto 200km, without bothering much the loss due to evaporation
and seepage en-route and theft of water by illegal pumping and also causing pollution of water by extraneous
agencies. Further traditional system of carrying water to tail-end areas is never ensured except with concrete
lining to allow higher velocity of water. This system of digging wide channel demands a great extent of private
lands owned by the farmers to be acquired and the same is at present vehemently resisted leading to inordinate
delay in the execution and completion of the irrigation projects. Hence in this paper it is urged to introduce a
paradigm shift from executing irrigation structures traditionally with the following concepts:
l Bulk water supply can be drawn by huge closed RC pipes, taking them along road sides of National
Highways, State Highways, Major District roads with little land acquisitions from farmers.
l Formation of open storage reservoirs can be created with RE wall technology for great heights instead of
large earthen bund, leading to economy besides early quality work.
l Simple easy distribution structures to off take lines can be effected by fixing V notches instead of manually
operated steel shutters and also with better upkeep and maintenance.
l Use of Geo-synthetics for soil stabilisation & foundation's sub base besides slope protection.
Keywords: Bulk water drawal, Distribution cross masonry structures with conventional construction material,
RC closed concrete pipes, Distribution of water with ‘V’ notches

Introduction 30 PWD Tanks, 41 Panchayat union tanks besides

adjoining 538 smaller ponds (Figure 1) .
Av i n a s h i Ta l u k a n d
Perundurai Taluk of earlier
Coimbatore District are dry
areas with an annual rainfall
of 660mm & 737mm
respectively. These areas
are neither benefitted from
Bhavani river nor by the
implementation of
Parambikulam Aliyar
Project. Hence the farmers
and other people of these
areas have been requesting
for more than 50 years for
some relief from the surplus
flood water of Pillur dam
fed by the Bhavani River. It
is then named as
Athikadavu - Avinashi
flood flow scheme for or
GW recharging, by filling Figure 1 Ground water recharge scheme

234 Annual Technical Volume

 lMany conferences, demonstrations and scheme was included in the TN budget report for the
agitations were conducted to stress their demand year 2009-2010.
and urge the Government of Tamilnadu to
A Mohanakrishnan's Expert Committee, after studying
implement the above scheme, but in vain due to
the proposal in detail, during October 2009,
various reasons, not acceptable to the people.
recommended to divert 2 TMC of flood waters from
lReports from the earlier history reveal that the Pillur Dam once in 2 years for 20 days in a year through
concept of utilising surplus water of Bhavani a flood flow open earthen canal drawing 2000 cusecs
river to benefit these dry areas was initially taken in the available contour by gravity flow into
envisaged as early as 1834 by Sir Arthur Cotton. Avinashi areas to feed the existing 31 PWD Tanks, 40
In 1905, Er.R.N.Arogyaswami Mudaliyar, Panchayat Union tanks besides 538 small ponds
former EE, PWD investigated two alternative attached to the above tanks mainly to recharge the
schemes - one to from a storage reservoir in the ground water for improving the drinking water
upper reaches of Bhavani river (upper Bhavani supplies in the above said area, considering the surplus
project) and the other lower down (Lower flood flow of Pillur Dam from 2000 to 2010 without
Bhavani Project) to serve Gobi, Erode, Bhavani affecting the existing commitments.
and Dharapuram Taluks of then Coimbatore
Based on this Expert Committee's recommendations,
District. However the Lower Bhavani Project
Public Works Department - Project Planning and
was implemented for the purposes of additional
Designs Division, Erode under the control of the CE,
irrigation without any benefit to the people of
Plan Formulation wing, WRO, PWD prepared a
Avinashi & Perundurai Taluk. Then again,
Project Report on Athikadavu - Avinashi Flood Flow
during 1960's, it was suggested to utilise the tail
Canal Scheme at an estimated cost of Rs.1862.00
race water of Pillur Reservoir for these areas by
crores (2011-2012 financial year) which may be of
gravity; but however it was given up, fearing that
Rs.2600/- crores during (2015-2016 financial year)
it would affect the power generation capacity of
and submitted to the Government of Tamilnadu for
Pillur Reservoir.
granting Governments administrative sanction.
lDuring 1967 and again 1968, a scheme with Government of Tamilnadu is at present exploring
restricted benefits to utilise 3.00 TMC of water possibility of obtaining funds from Government of
from the Kundah Tail race water was revived. India and also other funding agencies for the
However, the Government, for its own reasons implementation of the above project (Table 1).
deferred the above scheme in 1969. Again in
1975, another proposal to supply water to the Table 1 Surplus Data of Pillur Reservoir
restricted areas by a open canal, taking off from
the river below Pillur Dam from a diversion weir
was suggested. But due to the reasons unknown
it was not also proceeded with. Yet again during
1999 - 2000 there was vociferous demand for
executing a scheme by diverting water from
Bhavani for recharging ground water by filling
the existing tanks to ensure drinking water to
several villages in Avinashi Taluk, but was
negatived by the Cauvery Technical Committee
under the guise of ongoing Cauvery Waters
Dispute by the Tribunal.
Traditional Investigation and Traditional Project
Report by TNPWD
After the final award of Cauvery Water Dispute
Tribunal in February 2007, Government of Tamilnadu
constituted an Expert Committee to examine the
feasibility of the proposed Athikadavu - Avinashi flood
flow canal scheme in the Bhavani Basin in
G.O.Ms.No.319PW(Q1) dt.16.06.2009 under the
chairmanship of Er. A. Mohanakrishnan, then Advisor It can be seen that
(Water Resources) & Chairman, Cauvery Technical l Surplus is available in 12 out of 17 years
Cell by the Government of Tamilnadu since the l The number of days of surplus ranges from 1 to 22 in
the years of surplus.

Annual Technical Volume 235

 A Typical Irrigation Project with Traditional Way
The above TNPWD project proposal is prepared by
adopting traditional irrigation practices and traditional
construction materials which are listed out below,
It adopts
l traditional method of drawing water
through large open earthen canal using
conventional construction materials such as
clay, excavated earth, RR stone masonry, sand
cement slab, stone/M20 concrete cross masonry
structures etc., without adopting precast
concrete sheet piles, under reamed piles, Bored
in-situ pile with capping beams for foundation
system which does not require dewatering by
pumping.
Traditional
l method of drawing bulk water
through open earth canal for a long distance (say
about 100km) causes considerable loss of water
due to evaporation, seepage and theft of water by
illegal pumping en-route by anti-farmers,
leading to denial of assured quantum of water to
rear end (tail end) tanks and ponds.
The earthen
l canal with the standard slopes is so
wide for carrying 2000 cusecs of water as if the
entire water is to be carried through a canal in 20
days without providing immediate open storage
and hence requires large extent of private and
Government lands to be acquired at high cost
which is at present resisted by the farmers and
common people, causing enormous delay and
cost over-run in the completion of the project.
The project
l proposal adopts traditional method
and materials without considering the modern
construction materials and advanced
technologies developed in the past 50 years and
adopted elsewhere with higher safety and

236 Annual Technical Volume

 Table 2 Approximate Estimate Cost per 1 km length of RE
wall bund
greater durability, (modern construction
materials such as RE walls with Geosynthetics,
RC concrete pipes (NP2 class), simple cross
masonry structures with metal V notches,
precast units for crossing the streams/highways
under). The estimated cost for RE wall bund is
given in Table 2.
A closer scrutiny of the surplus data reveals that
generally Pillur Dam surplus occurs only in the month
of June, July, August & September of the year and
mostly in June and July only. It is therefore decided to
have open storage capacity reservoir for 1.20 TMC
Annual Technical Volume
only and to draw the water from the open reservoir
through 1 no. of 2000mm dia concrete pipe which
carries a quantum of 200 cusecs at 90% full in 120
days.
Determined engineering experts with exposure to
modern construction materials suggest the drawal of
bulk water quantity through closed large RC concrete
pipes, laid along the road sides of state highway, major
district roads and other village roads with little loss of
water besides mostly minimising the land acquisition.
Further water passes through smooth closed concrete
pipes, flow is uniform, speedy and delivering water to
tail end tanks and ponds judiciously. Order to make the
project most efficient and cost effective, the following
modern construction materials such as M40 Precast
Concrete facia wall, Geosynthetics, RC concrete large
dia pipes (Non pressure type) simple cross masonry
works with M25 concrete, metal V notches for water
flow measurement and certain advanced technologies
are adopted as detailed below.
Salient Features of the Modified Proposals
Drawal
l of 2 TMC of water through 4.50m dia
Tunnel - 4km long for 20 days as specified in the
report of Er. A. Mohanakrishnan's Experts
Committee.
Forming
l a open storage reservoir of about 1.20
TMC capacity with 838 acres of water spread
with an average depth of 10m at Kandiyur -
Velliangadu belt – 4.50Km long.
Making
l the U/S Precast facia walls water tight
by applying concrete sealant / micro concrete /
cement grouting) as the case may be.
Off-take
l line with 1x2000mm dia RC concrete
pipes of NP2 class (non-pressure type) as main
line from Kandiyur Reservoir to
Karegoundanpalayam, 45.31km long and also
feeding some 6 tanks & 20 Ponds in between
with a drawal capacity of 200 cusecs for 120
days by gravity flow.
OT line 2 - branching to Avinashi with 1x800mm
l
dia concrete pipes for 25.90km length and
feeding 3 tanks & 94 Ponds in between with a
drawal capacity of 15 cusecs by gravity flow.
OT line
l 3 – branching to Perundurai with
1x1600mm dia concrete pipes with 125 cusecs
237
 drawal capacity for a length of 89.00km for Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is also suggested to be
feeding 62 tanks and 424 Ponds for 120 days by created for speedy implementation of this PPP Project.
gravity flow. The estimation of RC concrete pipes is shown in
Separate
l Branching lines of 600 to 300mm dia Table 3.
concrete pipes to feed certain chain of Tanks in
the Perundurai line by gravity flow. Table 3 Alternative Proposal through RC Concrete Pipes
(NP2) Approximate Estimate
Separate
l smaller OT lines of 300mm dia RC
concrete pipes to feed smaller 538 ponds from
major tanks or main lines by gravity flow.

All the
l pipelines are proposed to be taken along
side of the existing State Highways, Major
district roads & also village roads to totally avoid
land acquisition from farmers and also expedite
the execution of the project.

Closed
l RC concrete pipes (non-pressure type
NP2) are chosen to supply the required water to
all the tanks and ponds including the tail ended
ones without evaporation loss, seepage, theft of
water by illegal pumping and also preventing the
front ones to draw more water denying the same
to tail ends and also with cost effectiveness.

Drawal of water to each and every tank and pond

l
is regulated by the cross masonry works which
are fitted with chromium plated metallic V
notches for letting out exact quantity.

The estimate provisions also include some amount

towards land acquisition of Forest Lands, unforeseen
items of work and also 10% increase towards cost
escalation. With all these provisions the modified
estimate cost works to Rs.950/- crores (at prevailing
2015-2016 rates) just 35% cost of the Government
PWD (PF, WRO) proposal.

The Federation for Athikadavu – Avinashi Ground

Water Recharge Scheme, the prime mover of the above
project suggests that the above scheme may be
executed as PPP project by obtaining loans / funds
from Government of India, NABARD, LIC &
Nationalised Public Sector Banks with the
contribution from the beneficiaries, in the best interest
of the State & of the people in general and farmers in
particular rather approaching World Bank or Asian
Development Bank for funds with many strings. A

238 Annual Technical Volume

 Figure 2 Athikadavu - Avanashi GW Recharging Scheme

Annual Technical Volume 239

 Figure 3 Cross section of pipe laying
Figures 2 & 3 show the water recharge system in
Tamilnadu.
Conclusions
From the above detailed study, the following
inferences can be easily drawn.
Bulk
l water supply/drawal can be accomplished
by laying large dia RC concrete pipes (NP2)
without loss due to evaporation, seepage, theft of
water by illegal pumping besides avoiding major
pollution en-route.
These
l RC pipelines can be easily and
conveniently taken along the road sides of
National, State Highways and district roads with
little land acquition.
Bund
l of the open reservoir can be formed with
RE wall Technology using concrete sealant or
micro concrete for water tightness in the
Upstream side with quality and cost
effectiveness.
Distribution
l of water to branch lines can be
accurately effected using metal V notches at
cross points, avoiding large cross masonry
works.
The Geosynthetics
l (Geogrids, Geotex, Geonets
240
etc) can be advantageously adopted for soil
stabilisation and for sub base to avoid much
settlement.
Acknowledgement
The author expresses sincere thanks to Prof M
Lakshmipathy, Structural Engineering, SRM
University, Mr D A Natarajan, Former Civil Engineer,
TNEB, Mr N Mathiyaraan, Assistant Engineer,
Highways, Mr N Kailasapathy, Senior Consultant and
Mr B Arunkumar, Design Engineer for their well-
merited guidance and assistance in the preparation of
this project proposal.
References
1. Mr A. Mohanakrishnan's Expert Committee Report –
2009 PWD, Govt. Of Tamilnadu.
2. Detailed Project Report on Avinashi - Athikadavu
Flood Flow Canal Scheme, PP&D Division, Erode,
WRO, PWD,. Govt. of Tamilandu – (2011-12).
3. IRC Spl. Publication No.102-2014 – Guidelines for
Design and Construction of Reinforced Soil Walls –
IRC 2014.
4. Literature on RE wall for Retaining wall – Z-TECH
CQC Manual for Reinforced Soil Walls with
CONCRETE Panel FACING.
5. TWAD Board Schedule of Rates 2014-15.
Annual Technical Volume
 Methods and Systems of Irrigation in Tamilnadu
R. Paranthaman
Former Chief Engineer, Water Resources Organisation
Tamilnadu Public Works Department
* paranthaman_hodcivil@yahoo.com

Introduction
India is basically, an agricultural country with more
than 65 % of the population depending on agriculture
for their livelihood. Eventhough India has to support
16% of world's population with just 4% of world's
fresh water, it is generally known as a country with
adequate water resources because the traditional
irrigation techniques followed by India over the time
was good enough to feed its large population
sufficiently. There is a wide variation in the spatial
distribution of Ranifall in India which is very high in
the Gangetic plain. Western ghats and Eastern hilly
region, very poor in Rajasthan and moderate in other
regions.
Our ancestors being people of very high wisdom
followed different irrigation techniques to suite the
conditions in different river basins and areas.
Traditional Irrigation in Tamilnadu
From time immemorial Tamilnadu had been ruled by
three ancient dynasties of Tamils, the Chera the Chola
and the Pandiya followed by Pallava. The Kings of
these dynasties developed and followed different
Irrigation methods in their frontiers which we inherited
along with the systems and infrastructure. The
techniques shaped by them are being followed in most
of the places even today with slight refinement Figure 1 River basins in Tamilnadu
wherever needed.
irrigation in Tamilnadu. The water released for
Tamilnadu has 17 River Basins, each with its own irrigation at Mettur Dam passes through a hydro
characteristics. A map showing the 17 River basins is electric power house at the foot of the Dam and the
given below, and a few of them which are of special tailrace water flows back into Cauvery River.
significance are discussed in Figure 1.
Traditional Irrigation in Cauvery Delta
Cauvery Basin and Cauvery Delta
The total area irrigated in Cauvery Basin is 45.29 Lac
Cauvery is one of the 12 major Rivers of India, and the Acres of which 24.71 Lac Acres lie in Tamilnadu
only major River in Tamilnadu. It is an interstate river (including 12.50 Lac Acres lying in Cauvery Delta).
starting in Western ghats in Karnataka state, flowing Cauvery Delta is one of the most fertile deltas in the
for a length of 800 KM and falling into Bay of Bengal world, very well formed by nature and excemplarily
across Tamilnadu coastal line, near Poompuhar. developed by sustained human efforts. The Delta has
Cauvery runs for 380 KM in Karnataka and 356 KM in an extensive distribution network consisting of 36
Tamilnadu and 64 KM in the common boundary branch rivers of 1598 KM total length 1505 main
Mettur Dam with Stanely Reservoir of 93 TMC channels of 5522km total length and 28376 Branch
Capacity with maximum depth of 120 was constructed channels of 18302 KM total length, with necessary
across Cauvery in the year for 1934 storing water for infrastructure like Regulators, Notches, Bed dams,

Annual Technical Volume 241

 Sluices, Syphons, Aquiducts, Drainage structures etc. 'Grand Anicut' by the English Engineers in
at the appropriate locations. There are a number of appreciation of its grandeur. Engineers of 20th & 21st
structures which are more than two centuries old. Centuries admire these changes (Figure 2).
Headworks of Cauvery Delta Kallanai (Grand Anicut) as an Engineering Marvel
because it was constructed two thousand years back
The apex of the delta is located at Kallanai (Grand
when science and Technology were nonexistent or
anicut in English) where Cauvery bifurcates into
primitive. They wonder how it withstood the fury of
Cauvery and Vennaru dividing the Irrigated area
the heaviest of floods for over two thousand years in
equally between them Later in 1928-31 a new Canal by
the absence of control structures on the upper reaches
name Grand Anicut Canal (GAC) was dug as part of the
of Cauvery.
Cauvery Mettur Project (CMP) to provide irrigation to
2.25 lakh Acres. This is a new Irrigated area (Ayacut) Research goes to prove that the following safety
added to the Delta with no gap in between and this area features considered necessary in modern Hydraulic
is known as New Delta or CMP area. The Head Engineering to protect such structures had been
Regulator of this Canal is located by the side of Vennar provided in Grand Anicut also,
head regulator. All these 4 structures viz Kallanai,
Reduction of scour depth to 1/4th by locating the
l
Cauvery Regulator, Vennar Regulator, and Grand
Anicut paralled to the flow direction.
Anicut Canal (GAC) Regulator forms the Head works
of the Delta commanding 12.5 lakh Acres. Curvilinear
l alignment convexing towards the
water side thereby causing Arch Action in the
Kallanai (Grand Anicut)
Anicut Alignment. The alignment plan showing
Out of the four structures forming the Delta Head the Arches is given is Figure 3.
works Cauvery and Vennar Regulators were
constructed in 19th Cauvery and GAC Regulator in
20th Century. But Kallanai (Grand Anicut) is much
older than these three. It was constructed by the Great
Chola Emperor Karikalan in 2nd century B.C. Thus it
is two thousand and two hundred years old, but is still
functioning as efficiently as the other three. Kallanai
in Tamil means 'Dam made of stones'. It was called

Figure 3 Schematic of arches

Dumping
l of rough stones on the upstream and
downstream sides of Anicut for its entire length
which act as aprons of the modern structures.
Kallanai when it was formed (and even now)
discharged the flood flow into Coleroon the only flood
carrier of the River Basin during heavy floods thus
saving the Delta from flood devastation; and diverted
water to the Delta to save crops. Thus Kallanai has
been responsible for protecting and nourishing the
Delta and preserving it as what it its today.
That such a wonderful structure was constructed two
thousand years back, stands testimony to the richest
tradition reached in Irrigation in Tamilnadu, long, long
ago.
It will be relevant here to make a mention of the
comments made by General Arthur Cotton who is
acclaimed as 'Father of Irrigation in South India' when
Figure 2 Grand Anicut complex

242 Annual Technical Volume

 he visited Nile Delta. He carefully examined the Mani canal and Thirumangalam Main Canal on the left
system of Irrigation there (in Nile Delta) employed and and right side of Vaigai River respectively. Periyar
found it far inferior to Irrigation in Cauvery Delta. Irrigation is mainly Direct Irrigation as against Vaigai.
(Quoted from his Biography. The total ayacut fed by Periyar water, including the
Cumbum vally ayacut is 208144 acres.
To be praised as superior to the Irrigation in Nile Delta
of Egypt whose civilization is more than 3000 years Vaigai Irrigation
old, that too by a stalwart of General Cotton's stature
Vaigai irrigation the total ayacut of Vaigai system is
speaks very high of the Irrigation methods followed in
1,36,109Acres Vaigai River provides only Indirect
Cauvery Delta by ancient Tamils in which Kallanai ie
Irrigation. The Vaigai Credit water from the Reservior
Grand Anicut occupies the place of pride.
is drawn through Vagai River and supplied to the tanks
Irrigation in Periyar Vaigai Basin based on their ayacut. Water is diverted to the tanks by
temporary Mud Kurambus in the River Bed as the two
Vaigai is a unique River in the sense that it carries,
major Regulators across Vaigai is mainly used for
along with its own flow, the water diverted eastern
control of reachwise quantity of water. In a letter to his
side from the west flowing Periyar River also. Vaigai
friend Er. Frederick Cotton, brother of Gl. Arthur
starts in Varusanadu hills on the Eastern side of
Cotton and Superintending Engineer, Thanjavur has
Western Ghats and is joined by its tributory Suruliaru,
highly commended the traditional method of forming
which also starts in western ghats and flows thro lush
mud kurambus for diversion of water in Vaigai River.
green Cumbum valley, 8 KM upstream of Vaigai Dam.
It is note worthy to state here that even today we are
The Western side of Western Ghats is blessed with very following the same method of diversion to tanks.
high Ranifall much of which flows back into Arabian
As Vaigai is not a water rich river it does not fall into
sea as there is no sufficient land to utilize the water.
the sea but empties into the Ramanathapuram Big tank.
Consequently the Eastern side of Western Ghats is
However to handle safely occasional heavy floods a
cursed to be a rain shadow region. Vaigai flowing in the
series of falling shutters are provided on the left bank
rain shadow region does not have enough water to feed
before entering the Big tank. When flood exceeds the
the vast stretch of land area available in its basin,
level the falling shutters will operate them selves, (they
resulting in abject poverty, leading the people of the
will fall) and the flood water will discharge into the
area to resort to unlawful and unfair activities to earn
deep and wide water course (flood carrier which can
their livelihood. The efforts of the Govt. to reform
also be called the Vaigai River Extension) and allow it
them bore no fruits. In these circumstances. Colonel
fall into the Bag of Bengal.
Penny cuik, the then Chief Engineer, PWD of Madras
Presidency was asked to investigate into providing They have also constructed long conveyance canals
irrigation in the area. Based on the investigation made duly lined to take the surplus water as far as 30 KM
by Colonel Penny Cuik and his Project – Report a lease from Melur to Thirupalbur tanks at times of floods.
Deed for 999 years was signed between The Madras
Periyar Vaigai river system proves to the world how
Presidency and the State of Travancore in 1886 for
sincere and sustained human efforts can change a
construction of a Dam across Periyar and divert the
poverty stricken area into a place of confortable living
west flowing Periyar water to the East flowing Vaigai,
and change the life style of the people.
through a 5707 ft long tunnel of 1600 cusecs capacity,
penetrating the Western Ghats. The construction of Tamiraparani Irrigation System
Periyar Dam was taken up in 1886 and completed in
Tamiraparani is a river loved and respected by the
1895. This is the first ever Inter Basin Transfer in India.
Tamils and particularly by the people of the area.
The diverted water of River Periyar, is passed through Gushing out from the dense forest of the Western Ghats
the 140 hydro electric power house and the tailtrace it is believed that the water of Thamiraparani has
water flows into Suruliaru, a tributory to Vaigai, and herbal effect.
reaches the Vaigai Dam (Constructed in 1959). Thus
The river starts at an attitude of +2000 m in the Western
Vaigai Reservior stores water from Periyar in addition
Ghats runs for a length of 120 km. and falls into the
to the flow from its own catenment. The reservoir
Bay of Bengal. Receiving water from both the
keeps the water account in two credits, viz Vaigai
mansoons (South West and North East) Thamiraparani
credit and Periyar credit. Out of the total capacity (live
remains a perennial river, the only perennial river in
storage) of 6.8 TMC of Vaigai Reservior 4TMC is
Tamilnadu. It irrigates a Registered Ayacut of 86107
reseved for Periyar credit & 2.8 for Vaigai credit.
Acres (which has now exceeded 1 Lakh Acres).
Periyar waters irrigating 175986 Acres is conveyed
down stream, thro a link canal upto 28 miles of Vaigai Thamaraparani River has two major Reserviors in the
Reservior and is used for irrigation through Periyar intial reach (before it reaches the plains). The first

Annual Technical Volume 243

 reservoir is across Servalaru, Thamairaparani is first
tributary joining it at 22nd km.
The Reservior has a capacity of 1.225 TMC. The
second Reservior is across Thamiraparani itself at
Papanasam with capacity of 5.5 TMC.
Power generation is made in both the above
Reserviors.
There are a number of tributories falling into
Tamiraparani after it reaches the plains, the most
important of which is Manimuthar. Manimuthar has a
reservoir across itself with a capacity of 5.5 TMC.
Anicuts and Channels
Thamiraparani provides irrigation through a system of
8 Anicuts and 11 Channels taking off at these anicuts.
The first seven of these Anicuts are as old as the Pandya
rule. They were constructed by the Pandya Kings, (one
of the 3 great dynasties of Tamils) at different periods
of time. They are many centuries old and some, even
millennium old.
The eighth and the last anicut viz Sri Varikuntaum
Anicut was constructed in the British rule in the year
1869-1873.
There are several special features in Tamiraparani
system exhibiting the excellence attained by the
ancient Tamils in the field of irrigation.
They are :
As the River receives its water from both the South
West and North East monsoons, a suitable cropping
pattern has been developed to suit the area and to make
best use of the water from both the seasons.
The crop cultivated during South West monsoon (June
to October) is called KAR CROP.
The crop raised during North East monsoon (October
to March) is celly. PISHANAM CROP.
A Summer cultivation in advance of KAR season is
also grown in the last two Anicuts areas and it is called
ADVANCE KAR (April - July).
Curvilinear Alignment of Anicuts
Anicuts are normally constructed in straight alignment
and perpendicular to the flow direction.
But in Tamiraparani the first seven Anicuts belonging
to Pandya period are not straight but curvilinear.
i. It is observed that on the side where a channel
takes off, the Anicut connects with the River
bank in an acute angle. Such an acute angle
directs and drives the flowing water forcefully
into the Head sluice of the Channel. In addition,
244
the velocity component of the flow in the River,
in the direction of head sluice also increases the
discharge into the head sluice.
ii. As the Anicut is curvilinear, it is longer than it
would be had it ban a straight Anicut. The
increase in length increases the discharge over it
at times of floods. This reduces the afflux caused
on the upstream side of the Anicut which
prevents overwash on the River Banks.
iii. The Curvilinear alignment also makes best use
of the rock outcrops or rockbase in the River Bed
to secure a firm foundation. Figure 4 shows a
curvilinear alignment of Anicut.
Figure 4 Curvilinear anicut
Alignment of Channels causing use of Return flow
The 11 channels branching off Tamiraparani at Anicuts
points are laid on contour lines and taken up to the
basin boundary. So the return flow from the irrigated
fields flows back into Thamiraparani supporting its
flow in the lower reach and that is why an ADVANCE
KAR is raised abundantly in the last two Anicut area.
To align the channels in such a way as to direct the
return flow from Irrigated field towards the mani river
at a lower reach shows the ingenuity of the ancient
Tamils in economizing water thereby irrigating
additional area.
Tributories to Tamiraparani
In addition to manimuthar River there are other
Tribulories such as Gadana River, Pachayar River,
Chittar River which have their own irrigation systems
with Dam and Reservoirs and Anicuts with which they
irrigate lards either directly or by filling up tanks. Thus
Tamiraparani uses its water to the maximum as human
efforts can take it to.
Annual Technical Volume
 Tank Irrigation in Tamilnadu
Tanks have been an important source of Irrigation in
Tamilnadu. It is an idegenous and time old method of
water harvesting followed in South India, especially in
Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Tanks have not only been a source of irrigation in a
village but also a centre of all cultural and and social
activities of the village agrarian society. Tank
Irrigation has been in practice in Tamilnadu from pre
historic days. Well planned Tanks were constructed
during the rule of early Tamil Kings and were in full
use even before the arrival of East India company
which, for the purpose of tax collection, took
possession of the tanks which were the community
property till then.
Now it is observed that 19.7% of the total irrigated area
in the state, is fed by Tanks. That reveals the
importance of Tanks in Irrigation in Tamilnadu.
Eventhough Tank Irrigation is prevalent in almost all
the districts of Tamilnadu, it is extensively & densely
followed in Sivaganga, Pudukkottai, Villupuram and
Kancheepuram Districts. The Tank Irrigated Area in
these districts forms 46.4% of the total Tank Irrigated
Area in Tamilnadu State as detailed below
Sivaganga - 12.7%
Pudukkottai - 12.5%
Villupuram - 10.6%
Kancheepuram - 10.6%
Pallavas and Pandiyas are admired as pioneers in Tank
Irrigation. But cholas were not behind then as they
have also created a number of tanks in areas not fed by
Cauvery.
In 1970's the Tamilnadu Govt. started a Tank
Restoration scheme in order to standardize them. To
their surprise, the Engineers who surveyed the tanks
and their bunds, found the Tank formation made
several centuries back when the theory of Tank
formation had not been developed, the Tanks, the
Annual Technical Volume
alignment of their bunds, side slopes, location of
sluices, surplus weirs to dispose off floods safely,
formation of leading channels to bring the surface run
off in the catchment to the tank water spread and
surplus water courses to carry the water from surplus
weir to the next tank (ie the chain of tanks concept) had
been immaculately followed in them.
The village community had laid down rules and
procedures to distribute the available water equitably
to all.
Ramanathapuram Big Tank, R.S.Mangalam tanks are
large tanks in South with over 5000 Acres each. There
are several other tanks with more than 2000 Acres in
the region. Maduranthagam Big Tank, Kaveripakkam
tank and such other Big tanks form reliable water
resources in North Tamilnadu.
Cholas constructed large tanks one of which is
Veeranam Tank. It was constructed by Paranthaka
chola to irrigate the area lying between River Coleroon
and River Vellaru. It is a large tank with a bund length
of 15 KM. The width of water spread perpendicular to
the tank bund varies from 1 KM to 6.5 KM. With a live
storage capacity of 1.4 TMC the Tank, with over 40
channels, irrigates over 40,000/- Acres on its east upto
the sea.
A supply channel called Vadavaru conveys water from
Coleroon River (which was once a deep river with
springs) which is the major and main source of water to
the tank as its own casement in very small.
The State Govt. recently took up a major scheme
known as. Tank modernization scheme for
standardizing Tanks in the state and have improved
them and brought them to super standards.
Conclusion
Tamils have, over a period of Two or Three thousand
years, been taking up innovative measures to devise
suitable Irrigation techniques to suite the different
conditions and have given its people food and
prosperity in good measure.
245
 A Study on Effective Utilization of Reclaimed Water
for Landscape Irrigation in Technical Institution
V. Karthikeyan
Principal, Thiagarajar Polytechnic College, Salem, Tamilnadu
* tptprincipal@gmail.com
R. Lavanya
Lecturer, Thiagarajar Polytechnic College, Salem, Tamilnadu
* lavanyakannanr@gmail.com
Abstract
This paper aims to present a study on the effective utilization reclaimed water used for landscape irrigation in
technical education institution. The waste water is collected from various sources such as domestic sewage, wash
room and storm water runoff in the campus. This waste water is treated in the waste water treatment plant and the
treated water is used for irrigating the landscape in the campus. This has resulted in a green environment with
300 number of trees and 70 % of landscapes.
Keywords: Raw wastewater, Treatment plant, Pressure filter, Carbon filter, Reclaimed water, Landscape

Introduction waste water treatment is carried out in three stages

such as Primary, Secondary and Tertiary.
The demand for fresh water in our state grows as the
population increases. This demand can potentially A. Raw Water
exceed in the supply of water during moderately
The Raw wastewater is collected from various sources
drought period. In the recent years, this demand has
in our campus such as from domestic sewage, wash
increased even during normal seasons. It becomes
room and storm water runoff.
necessary to conserve water in our state to meet the
drought. The water conservation can be adopted in the B. Primary Treatment
use of portable water for purposes such as landscape
The primary treatment is the first stage of the
irrigation, car washing, cleaning etc. The potential for
wastewater treatment process. It is used for the
developing new sources of portable water is limited.
removal of suspended solids, odour and colour.
Conservation measure, namely irrigation with
Screening removes large objects like diapers, nappies,
reclaimed water is the one way to help water
sanitary items, cotton buds, face wipes and even
conservation. The environmental benefits of using
broken bottles, bottle tops, plastics and rags that may
reclaimed water can satisfy most water demands, as
block or damage the equipment.
long as it is adequate to ensure water quality
appropriate for use. Recycled water is most commonly
used for the purposes such as agriculture, landscape
irrigation etc. In this respect, the effluent can be reused
as manure for irrigation purpose.
Treatment Process
Waste Water Treatment
Waste water, whether domestic or industrial have
undesirable components like organic and inorganic
pollutants that are potentially harmful to the
environmental and human health. The treatment of
waste water and its management has become a Figure 1 Screening tank
necessity to conserve this essential resource. The main
aim of wastewater treatment is the removal of C. Secondary Treatment
contaminants from raw water so that the treated water
can be reused for beneficial purposes (Figure 1). The The water, at this stage is put into large rectangular
tanks. These are called aeration lanes. Air is pumped

246 Annual Technical Volume

 into the water to encourage bacteria to breakdown the Activated Carbon Filter
tiny bits of sludge that escaped the Sludge scrapping
Carbon filtering is a method of filtering that uses a bed
process. Next, the 'almost' treated wastewater is passed
of activated carbon to remove contaminants and
through a settlement tank. Here, more sludge is formed
impurities using chemical absorption. Activated
at the bottom of the tank from the settling of the
carbon works a process called adsorption, whereby the
bacterial action (Figure 2). Again, the sludge is
pollutant molecules in the fluid to be treated are
scrapped and collected for treatment. The water at this
trapped inside the pore structure of the carbon
stage is almost free from harmless substances and
substrate. Carbon filtering is commonly used for water
chemicals.
purification, in air purifiers and industrial gas
processing, for example, the removal of siloxanes and
hydrogen sulfide from biogas (Figure 4).

Figure 2 Aeration tank

D. Tertiary Treatment
Pressure sand filter
The water is allowed to flow through the pressure sand
filter media to remove any additional particles.
Pressure filters are typically used with hot process
softeners to permit high-temperature operation and to
prevent heat loss. The use of pressure filters eliminates
the need for repumping of filtered water. Pressure Figure 4 Activated carbon filter media
filters are similar to gravity filters in that they include
filter media, supporting bed, under drain system and It is also used in a number of other applications,
control device; however, the filter shell has no wash including respirator masks, the purification of
water troughs (Figure 3). sugarcane and in the recovery of precious metals,
especially gold. It is also used in cigarette filters
(Figure 5).

Figure 3 Pressure sand filter media Figure 5 Layout of treatment plant

Annual Technical Volume 247

 Quality of Reclaimed Water soil at very low rates from a system of small diameter
plastic pipes filled with outlets called emitters or
The recycled water must protect human health and
drippers (Figure 7). Water is applied close to the plants
environment (Table 1). To reduce disease risks to
so that only part of the soil in which the
Table 1 Results of recycled water roots grow is wetted, unlike surface and
sprinkler irrigation, which involves
wetting the whole soil profile. With drip
irrigation, water applications are more
frequent than with other methods and this
provides a very favorable high moisture
level in the soil in which plants can
flourish.
Advantages
acceptable levels, reclaimed water must meet certain In this
l method, water directly reaches the roots
disinfection standards by reducing the concentrations of the plants, which take water to plants in
of constituents that may affects public health. balanced quantities.
Irrigation Methods Drip
l irrigation method saves 30 to 70 % water
Treated water is used for irrigating the landscapes at and it is possible to irrigate three times more area
our Thiagarajar Polytechnic College, Salem. The with the same amount of water.
following irrigation methods are adopted for the In this
l method, weeds do not spread because
purpose. water reaches only near the plants and does not
A. Surface Irrigation Method spread in the whole field.
In this system of field water application, the water is Fertilizers
l and insecticides can also reach the
applied directly to the soil from a channel located at the plant directly by solution in the water and it
upper reach of the field. It is essential in these methods saves 30 to 60 % chemical fertilizers as well as
to construct designed water distribution systems to 40 to 50 % pesticides along with saving of water.
provide adequate control of water to the fields and Even
l in case of uneven lands, drip irrigation
proper land preparation to permit uniform distribution method can do balanced irrigation.
of water over the field (Figure 6).
Cultivation in saline and alkaline soil also can be
l
done by this method of irrigation.
The drip irrigation system is particularly suited to
areas where water quality is marginal, land is steeply
sloping or undulating and of poor quality, where water
or labour are expensive or where high value crops
require frequent water applications.
It is more economical for orchard crops than for other
crops and vegetables, since in the orchards, plants as
well as rows are widely spaced. Drip irrigation limits

Figure 6 Surface irrigation method

B. Drip Irrigation
This is an irrigation method which minimizes water by
allowing water to drip slowly and directly to the base of
the plants through a network of pipes, tubes valves and
emitters. Drip Irrigation system is sometimes called
trickle irrigation and involves dripping water onto the Figure 7 Drip irrigation method

248 Annual Technical Volume

 the water supplied for consumptive use of plants by
maintaining a minimum soil moisture in the root zone,
thereby maximizing the water saving. A unique feature
of drip irrigation is its excellent adaptability to
recycled water. Since the frequency of irrigation is
quite high, the plant base always remains wet.
C. Sprinkler Irrigation System
Sprinkler irrigation is a method of applying water
which is similar to natural rainfall but spread
uniformly over the land surface just when needed and
at a rate less than the infiltration rate of the soil so as to
avoid surface runoff from irrigation (Figure 8). This is
achieved by distributing water through a system of
pipes usually by pumping which is then sprayed into
the air through sprinklers so that it breaks up into small
water drops which fall to the ground. The system of
irrigation is suitable for undulating lands, with poor
water availability, sandy or shallow soils, or where
uniform application of water is desired. No land
leveling is required as with the surface irrigation
methods. Sprinklers are, however, not suitable for soils
which easily form a crust. The water that is pumped
through the pump pipe sprinkler system must be free of
suspended sediments. As otherwise there would be
chances of blockage of the sprinkler nozzles.
Sprinkler irrigation is suited for most rows, field as tree
crops and water can be sprayed over or under the crop
canopy. However, large sprinklers are not
recommended for irrigation of delicate crops such as
lettuce because the large water drops produced by the
sprinklers may damage the crop.
Figure 8 Sprinkler irrigation method
Advantages
There is increase in production and compactness.
l
It is helpful in soil conservation and stabilization
l
of sand dunes in desert areas.
Sprinkler
l system is considered more suitable in
Annual Technical Volume
areas where slit is coagulated on surface of soil
after rains.
This system saves the crop from extreme frost or
l
temperature.
Fertilizer application as well as insecticide spray
l
can be done by sprinkler system.
Waste land can be improved by less water.
l
Physical
l condition and composition of soil can
be maintained in a balanced condition by
continuous sprinkling.
D. Subsurface Drip Irrigation
Subsurface drip irrigation is the irrigation of crops
through buried plastic tubes containing embedded
emitters located at regular spacings (Figure 9). By
minimizing evaporation, it uses water more efficiently
than surface irrigation. The depth that the laterals (also
used in conventional drip irrigation) are buried at
depends mostly on the tillage practices and the crop to
be irrigated. It is a costly system that needs expert
design and maintenance. But it is also a very effective
method that transports the water directly to the roots
and is especially appropriate for arid and windy
locations.
Figure 9 Subsurface drip irrigation method
Before entering the distribution pipes the water is
filtered to minimize the risk of clogging. Still, the
system must be designed so that all pipes can be
flushed periodically. As it requires high maintenance
and expert design, subsurface drip irrigation systems
are more suitable for medium and large-scale
production.
Advantages
High
l degree of control over water application
with the potential for high uniformity of
application.
249
 Evaporation is reduced
l References
The amount
l of water can be fine-tuned. This
avoids water loss caused by run off or
evaporation.
Frequent
l irrigation allows for optimum soil
moisture content in the root zone.
Great performance in windy and arid locations.
l Political Weekly, June 30.
If pre-treated
l wastewater is used for irrigation,
the risk of direct contact with crops and
labourers is reduced.
Conclusion
As water demands and environmental needs grow,
water recycling play a greater role in our overall water
supply. Water recycling has proven to be effective and
successful in creating a new and reliable water supply.
The various irrigation methods adopted in our
institution have been discussed in detail. Surface
irrigation systems are used for small crop and this
method is designed for water distribution systems to
provide adequate control of water to the fields. Drip
irrigation method is recommended for all types of
crops for irrigation and landscape for effective
utilization of irrigation water. Sprinkler irrigation is
suited for most rows, field as tree crops and water can
be sprayed over or under the crop canopy. It is helpful
in soil conservation and stabilization of sand dunes in
desert areas. Subsurface drip irrigation minimizes
evaporation and it uses water more efficiently than
surface irrigation. It is a very effective method that
transports the water directly to the roots. Water
recycling along with water conservation, can help to
conserve and sustainably manage our vital water
resources. The recycled water used for irrigation has
resulted in a green and clean campus with a good
number of trees and landscaping at different places in
the wide spread campus.
250
1. Kajisa K., 2012. 'The double tragedy of irrigation
systems in Tamilnadu, India: assessment of the
replacement of traditional systems by private wells',
Water Policy 14:371–90.
2. Sivasubramaniyan (2006), Sustainable Development
of small water Bodies in Tamilnadu, Economic and
3. Devitt, D.A., R.L. Morris, M. Baghzouz, M. Lockett,
and L.K. Fenstermaker. 2005. Water quality changes
in golf course irrigation ponds transitioning to reuse.
HortScience 40:2151-2156.
4. Sheikh, Bahman. 2004. Code of practices for
landscapeand golf course irrigation. In Valentina
Lazarovaand Akica Bahri (ed). Water reuse for
irrigation: agriculture,landscapes, and turf grass. CRC
Press, Boca Raton, Fla.
5. Kathryn C et.al 2004. 'Water Reuse: Using Reclaimed
Water for Irrigation, publication 452-014'.
6. Halliwell, D. J., K.M. Barlow, and D.M. Nash. 2001. A
review of the effects of wastewater sodium on soil
physical properties and their implications for
irrigation systems. Aust. J. Soil Res. 39: 1259-1267.
7. Wu, Lin, and Linda Dodge. 2005. Landscape plant
salttolerance guide for recycled water irrigation.
Slosson Research Endowment for Ornamental
Horticulture, Department of Plant Sciences,
University of California,Davis, Calif. Available on-
l i n e a t .
ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/filelibrary/ 5505/20091.pdf.
8. Bressan, R.A., P.M. Hasegawa, J.M. Pardo. 1998.
Plants use calcium to resolve salt stress. Trends in
Plant Sci. 3: 411-412.
9. Bouwer H. and Idelovitch E. (1987): Quality
requirements for irrigation with sewage water. Journal
of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, vol. 11 3: pp
516-535.
10. Biswas A. K. (1986): Role oJ wastewater reuse in
planning and management. FAO (1988): 3-17.
Annual Technical Volume
 Traditional Irrigation Systems Adopted in Tamilnadu
S. Jayalekshmi
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli
* jaya@nitt.edu
Abstract
Traditionally Tamilnadu practices surface irrigation. The types of irrigation structures include massive dams
such as Kallanai, Pechiparai, Manimuththar,Mettur, Papanasam etc., Tank irrigation, Canal irrigation, Well
Irrigation, Irrigation from lakes and reservoirs. In Karaikudi area and Ramanathapuram District, Tank
Irrigation is common.
Introduction
Seventy % of India's population is dependent on
agriculture. In the earlier days subsistence agriculture
was followed.
Furrow, flood and Level Basin irrigation systems exist.
The entire area is flooded with the water drawn from
the aforementioned sources and wetting of the land
occurs. The bunds of the fields are plugged with soil, to
prevent excess of water and to divert the water, through
channels. Huge cement pipes or plastic tubes of larger
diameter are used to connect the water from pumpsets
and wells. Lift irrigation can also be followed. In
terraced slopes, spices such as tea, cardomum, spices
and vegetables such as carrot, lettuces, cauliflower are
grown aplenty. These plants may be rainfed or irrigated
from streams and waterfalls.
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Tamilnadu
Statistics (Current)
The Ancient Tamils were excellent agriculturists and
they knew the importance of agriculture (Figure 1).
Figure 1 Map of Tamilnadu state
[Source: http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/agriculture/agri_
resourcemgt_water_irrigationsourceoftn.html]
Annual Technical Volume
Ancient Tamil literature abounds in agricultural
practices.
Without water there cannot be life – says Thirukkural,
Those who are agriculturists are the ones who live life.
Others are just followers of agriculturists –
spakeThiruvalluvar. Except, during famines, there
were three spells of rain almost every month. The
Tamils followed crop rotation. They had the concept of
'Oodupayir' or cultivation of multiple crops. The seeds
were sown at the right time just before the monsoon
starts. They grew nurseries of rice or paddy and
transplanted them. The tilling was carried out
manually with ploughs driven by men and bullocks. In
the furrows ploughed, seeds were thrown and again
tilled for plants such as groundnuts. The watering
systems include 'Ettram' in which a lever system was
used. To one end, was attached a huge basket of
Palmyra leaves or metal buckets and on the other end
stood a man/woman operating the lever mounted on a
fulcrum, so that water can be raised from a shallow
well/ Kanmoi. There is an arrangement to empty water
after lifting the same. The emptied water runs through
the channels and reaches the area to be irrigated.
Also, for growing 'Panankilangu' the tuber of Palmyra
the ' Thavun' / Seed is planted near the channel sides
where there are empty lands.
The wells also supply water drawn by hand or by
means of pullies, known as 'Kappi'es – which are
carved from wood or metals with axles and ropes are
passed on the shaft of the pullies, one end tied to the
bucket – naturally or artificially made or pots, and the
other end is pulled by 2 bullocks on whose neck a small
timber plank is kept(to the centre of which the rope is
tied.). The bullocks move back and forth drawing
water.
Lots of ponds, rivulets and lakes were existent in
Tamilnadu (Table 1). The excess water from rains and
those going waste by flooding were dammed. During
the season for cultivation, the sluices and weirs were of
regulatory nature, so that water can be distributed
251
 Table 1 Number of water resources in Tamilnadu
[Source: Season and Crop Report of Tamil Nadu 2009 – 2010]
Table 2 The area covered at various water storages in Tamilnadu
[Source: http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/agriculture/agri_resourcemgt_water_irrigationsourceoftn.html]
evenly through lined and more so unlined channels
(Table 2 ).
Nowadays, drip irrigation is also practised.
Environmentalists advocate the replenishment of the
ground water by storage of water in lakes and ponds.
Also, fish farming is increasing which is causing
salination of the land. This makes the land to go fallow.
The need of the hour is to use traditional crops which
are disease resistant and preservation of numerous
species, so that the eco system is much preserved.
A cess was levied for water and this was utilised for the
building of traditional irrigation systems by the ancient
Tamils. Thanjavur belt is traditionally known as the
granary of South India. There is also a saying that '
Chola Nadu Chorudaithu ' meaning the Chola Nadu
abounds in food. And to mill/ pound the threshes of
paddy, elephants were used instead of bullocks.
Sluices were known as Madhagu. The Kallanai is a
live indication of the expertise of King Karikala, the
252
Chola King, later refurbished by the Britishers.
Though some small amount of water was lost in
flooding, the regulatory mechanisms were acting
efficiently. There were places like 'Tirunelveli' and
'Nanjil Nadu' where existed paddy fields aplenty, with
furrows/bunds.
Conclusion
There was an integrated farming cum irrigation pattern
in synchrony with crop rotation and weather changes.
System Tanks and Non-system tanks which fed the
crops through canals were existent in the state of
Tamilnadu. Ponding for Orchards were also in
existence.Currently well irrigation is the major type of
irrigation.
References
1. http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/agriculture/agri_resourcemgt_
water_irrigationsourceoftn.html
2. Season and Crop Report of Tamilnadu 2009 – 2010
Annual Technical Volume
 Surface Irrigation Systems in Tamilnadu
B. Srinivasan
Structural Engineer, Shellter Sollutions, Chennai
* srinideepan@rediffmail.com
Introduction
Water is an invaluable gift of nature essential to sustain
life in the planet. History records that civilizations
flourished around perennial sources of water and mass
exodus of people happened from places where water
became scarce for human and animal consumption.
Water harvesting has been practised by the traditional
communities to conserve rainwater To meet the future
needs when rainfall becomes scanty. However, the
systems adopted varied depending upon the source and
the facilities available in different location.
Irrigation
Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the
land or soil. It is the replacement or supplementation of
rainwater with another source of water. It is used in dry
areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall.
The main idea behind irrigation systems is to:
assist in
z the growing of agricultural crops and
plants by maintaining with the minimum amount
of water required.
maintenance of landscapes
z regions consist of 97% of the total area. The average
re vegetation of disturbed soils.
z
Additionally, irrigation also has a few other uses in
crop production, which include:
protecting plants against frost
z
suppressing weed growth in grain fields
z covers most parts of the rice area. In 2000, 96% of the
preventing soil consolidation.
z
for dust suppression,
z Groundwater contributes to a major part of the
disposal of sewage, and in mining.
z irrigated area. However, recent trends of groundwater
In contrast, agriculture that relies only on direct rainfall
is referred to as rain-fed or dry land farming. Irrigation
is often studied together with drainage, which is the
natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface
water from a given area.
About Tamilnadu
Tamilnadu The Land of Tamils or Tamil Country is one
of the 29 states of India. Its capital and largest city is
Chennai (formerly known as Madras). Tamilnadu[7]
Annual Technical Volume
lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula
and is bordered by the union territory of Puducherry
and the South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, and
Andhra Pradesh. It is bounded by the Eastern Ghats on
the north, by the Nilgiri, the Anamalai Hills, and
Kerala on the west, by the Bay of Bengal in the east, by
the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait on the southeast,
and by the Indian Ocean on the south. It also shares a
maritime border with the nation of Sri Lanka.
Tamilnadu is the eleventh largest state in India by area
and the sixth most populous state in India. Tamilnadu
has historically been an agricultural state and is a
leading producer of agricultural products in India.
Tamilnadu was India's fifth biggest producer of rice.
Tamilnadu, located in the south eastern part of
Peninsular India, with a geographical area of 13
million ha (Mha), is the tenth largest state in India . The
state has been divided into seven agro climatic sub
zones for planning agricultural development (ARPU
1991). Semiarid conditions dominate the climate in
three sub regions: north, northeast coastal and
southeast coastal. The delta and central regions mainly
have semiarid to dry-sub humid climates. These five
rainfall varies from 865 to 3,127 mm among sub
regions, and the climate of a major part of the state is
categorized as semiarid to dry sub humid. Irrigation is
a vital input for food security in the State of Tamilnadu.
Rice is the major staple food, accounting for three-
fourths of the consumption of food grains. Irrigation
rice production was carried out under irrigation
conditions.
water use in the state show that its abstractions in many
regions exceed the total net annual recharge (CGWB
2006). Overall, groundwater exploitation exceeds
85% of the annual recharge. Moreover, irrigated areas
under tank commands, once a dominant source of
irrigation in Tamilnadu, and under canal commands
are decreasing. Besides, the cropping and irrigation
patterns are changing to meet the increasing demand of
non-grain food products. In view of the recent trends in
irrigation, meeting food security in Tamilnadu will
indeed be a major challenge.
253
 Irrigation in Tamilnadu
In India, the irrigated area consists of about 36 % of the
net sown area. Presently, the agricultural sector
accounts for about 83 % of all water uses. Tamilnadu
covers 4 % of the geographical area (13.01 Million ha)
and caters to 5.96 % of the population of the country
with 7.21 crore people living along the 17 river basins.
There are various types of systems of irrigation
practices in different parts of Tamilnadu. Direct
irrigation method and Storage irrigation method.
Various types of irrigation techniques differ in how the
water obtained from the source is distributed within the
field. In general, the goal is to supply the entire field
uniformly with water, so that each plant has the amount
of water it needs, neither too much nor too little. In
olden days Irrigation in Tamilnadu is carried on
through the following method (1)Gravity irrigation (2)
Lift irrigation.
In Gravity irrigation is defined as the group of
application techniques where water is applied and
distributed over the soil surface by gravity. It is by far
the most common form of irrigation throughout the
world and has been practiced in many areas virtually
unchanged for thousands of years. Gravity irrigation is
often referred to as flood irrigation, implying that the
water distribution is uncontrolled and therefore,
inherently inefficient.
Every village in Tamilnadu had three water bodies: one
for irrigation, one for cattle and an Oorani (pond) for
drinking water. All three are rain-fed. Many villages
have survived centuries because of these catchment
bodies. The traditional systems are a well recognised
fact, as this has been given as an example in the - XI-
five-year-plan (Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation in
the Eleventh Plan period – Excerpts). It says "For the
people of Tamilnadu the traditional Ooranis or ponds
have truly proved to be a blessing. The Ooranis were
developed as the main supply systems in Tamilnadu
centuries back. These earthen bunded ponds were
constructed by the collective efforts of the people over
the ages and have been designed hydrologically to
have adequate and assured inflow of surface runoffs.
Almost all Ooranis are well connected with irrigation
tanks called Kanmoi. In recent years however the
Ooranis were neglected and dilapidated due to
implementation of new water supply facilities like
handpumps, deep borewell and Combined Water
Supply Schemes. Ooranis are small ponds that have
collected rainwater from rains and from surrounding
catchment areas. These Ooranis traditionally were
used for various needs of drinking, washing, bathing
needs of the villages around it. Oorani is a Tamil word
meaning village pond. It is an institution as old as
Tamil society. Poet Thiruvalluvar referred to them
2000 years ago. Ooranis were usually endowed by
254
ruling or merchant princes. Beneficiaries were
involved in excavation and maintenance. They
developed a sense of ownership. After Independence
the government departments took over every aspect of
village management and Ooranis fell to neglect.
Kanmois are traditional tanks with earthen bunds
constructed many centuries ago. They are large surface
water stores that collected and stored surface water
run-offs. They largely supported and were used for
agricultural purposes as well as for drinking water.
Approximately one-third of the irrigated area of
Tamilnadu is watered by eris (Lakes). Eris have played
several important roles in maintaining ecological
harmony as flood-control systems, preventing soil
erosion and wastage of runoff during periods of heavy
rainfall, and recharging the groundwater in the
surrounding areas. The presence of eris provided an
appropriate micro-climate for the local areas. Without
eris, paddy cultivation would have been impossible.
Till the British arrived, local communities maintained
eris. Historical data from Chengalpattu district, for
instance, indicates that in the 18th century about 4-5 %
of the gross produce of each village was allocated to
maintain eris and other irrigation structures.
Assignments of revenue-free lands, called manyams,
were made to support village functionaries who
undertook to maintain and manage eris. These
allocations ensured eri upkeep through regular
desilting and maintenance of sluices, inlets and
irrigation channels.
The early British rule saw disastrous experiments with
the land tenure system in quest for larger land
revenues. The enormous expropriation of village
resources by the state led to the disintegration of the
traditional society, its economy and polity. Allocations
for maintenance of eris could no longer be supported
by the village communities, and these extraordinary
water harvesting systems began to decline.
Under Gravity irrigations the methods are
(i) Check Basin Method
(ii) Furrow Irrigation Method
(iii) Strip Irrigation Method
(iv) Basin Irrigation Method.
(i) Check Basin Method
If there is no tradition in irrigation, the most simple
irrigation method to introduce is basin irrigation. The
smaller the basins, the easier their construction,
operation and maintenance. If irrigation is used
traditionally, it is usually simpler to improve the
traditional irrigation method than it is to introduce a
previously unknown method (Figure 1).
Annual Technical Volume
 In this method, the whole field is divided into basins (ii) Furrow Irrigation Method:
according to the capacity of water. Basins are
Furrow irrigation method is resorted to where crops
connected through a 'Dhora' (A small drain type flow
are one grown in rows. Along the side of rows of crops,
way), which has raised earthen walls on both sides.
'Dol'is formed, and in between two such 'Dols', a
'Dhora' is of two types, one is the main 'Dhora' and the
furrow is formed in which water flows for irrigation.
other 'Dhora' is connected to basins. Size of basins are
The quantity of flow of water depends on demand of
made according to the inflow of water.
water by plants and the rate of infiltration (Figure 2).
These basins are surrounded by small furrows. Branch
'Dhora' flows towards the slope from the main 'Dhora'.
If the slope of branch 'Dhora' is steep, 'mooonja' or
polythene is spread in it to prevent erosion of sides. The
main source of water is located at the highest place in
the field.
The width of drains is affected by factors like flow of
water, %age, slope and structure of the ground etc. The
length of 'Dhora'is different depending on the basis of
slope and formation of the fields. This method is also Figure 2 Furrow irrigation method
prevalent in India as it does not cause any burden on the
farmer. In different situations, different furrow methods are
used (Surajbhan 1978). They are mainly of five types:
This method has the following advantages:
1.Slopy Furrow 2. Leveled Furrow 3. Contour Furrow
It is the
z best method of irrigation for leveled 4. Serial Furrow 5. Corrugated Furrow
fields.
Advantages
It does not require any technical knowledge.
z
Large areas can be irrigated at a time.
z
This method is more useful in soils having lesser
z
It saves labour since once the furrow is filled, it
z
infiltration. is not necessary to give water a second time.
In this method, rain water stays in basins, hence
z
t is a comparatively cheaper method.
z
soil erosion is not caused.
Plants
z gets suitable quantity of water by this
It has lesser economic investment.
z method.
It irrigates more area.
z Disadvantages
Crops gets sufficient water.
z Due to
z imbalance in flow of water, wastage of
water is caused in it.
t is not suitable in all types of crops.
z

Figure 1 Check basin method
Following are disadvantages of check basin method:
Due to
z seepage in drains, wastage of water is
caused.
Machines cannot be used m this method because
z separate the strips. These strips are constructed
during spray of insecticides or fertilizers, the
earthen walls of basins are damaged.
There
z IS imbalance in distribution of labour.
After growth of crops, water reaches the basins
in disproportionate quantity thereby causing
wastage of water.
Creation of problem of water logging.
z on it.
Making
z 'Dol' for drains requires more labour
information.
Due to
z filling of excess water, there is risk of
underground salts coming up to the surface
layer.
(iii) Strip Irrigation Method
In strip irrigation method, fields are divided into strips
of different size. A boundary called 'Med' is formed to
according to the slope. The source of water is situated
at the highest place in the field from where the whole
field can get the flow of water.
The width of strips is decided as per quantity of water.
More wastage of water is caused if strips are wider.
Length of strip is decided by the slope of land and its
structure. Effect of soil composition is also visible

Annual Technical Volume 255

 Advantages
It is possible
z to irrigate more area at a lesser
expenditure.
It requires less labour.
z the existing tanks have a depth of 4.5m while a few are
Method of irrigation is easy and it causes lesser
z
erosion.
Disadvantages
It is not suitable for all types of crops.
z
It is not possible to get balanced supply of water.
z escape arrangements for spilling away the excess
It is not suitable for all soil compositions.
z
(iv) Basin Irrigation Method:
This irrigation method is more suited for horticulture
development. In this method, a raised platform called
'Thanvla' is formed around trees or bushes and they are
connected with each other through drains and the water
reaches from one tree to the other. This method is not
suitable for crops (Figure 3).
Figure 3 Basin irrigation method
Advantages
It saves
z time. Once the water is opened, it
reaches other trees automatically.
Its economic investment is less.
z
It is beneficial for more trees.
z CHANNELS: They carry water to individual fields
Disadvantages
It is not useful for all crops.
z
Wastage of water is caused in it.
z Delta Canals-The Kaveri delta has the oldest and the
Diseases spread in trees.
z
Storage Irrigation
Storage irrigation which utilises the water stored on
upstream side of earthern dam called the bund. These
earthern bund reservoirs are known as tanks, especially
in South India. A large sized tank is termed as a
256
reservoir. Reservois are generally dams made of any
material (mansonry dam ,concrete dam, earth dam etc)
whereas tanks are formed by earthern dams only.
These earthern bunds are called as tank bunds. Most of
as deep as 7 to 9 m. and a few exceptional cases exceed
11m in depth. When the depth of tank exceeds 12m the
tank is generally referred as a reservoir. Tank bunds
are usually provided with sluices or outlets for
discharging water from the tank for irrigation. In dam
reservoir projects tanks are provided with the surplus
surplus water that may enter the tank to avoid over
topping of the bund.
Also Surface water stored in major and medium
irrigation projects or diverted directly is distributed
directly for irrigation through the canal irrigation
network to reach the fields to be irrigated. The canal
networks consists of canals, distributaries,
watercourses and field channels, which are termed
according to their capacity and orientation with respect
to the head works. MAIN CANAL: It takes its supply
directly from the reservoir or the river and its capacity
varies from 280 to 425 cubic meter per sec BRANCH
CANALS: These canals take off from main canal and
convey water to different major parts of irrigated areas.
Branch canals generally carry a discharge from 4 to 8.5
cubic meter per sec. MAJOR DISTRIBUTORIES:
They take off from branch canals and sometimes from
main canals and supply water to distributories or
outlets. They generally carry discharge between 0.75
and 5.5 cubic meter per sec. MINOR
DISTRIBUTARIES: These are smaller channels
taking their supply from major distributories and
supplying water to outlets. The carrying capacity is
less than 750 l per second. CANAL OUTLETS: They
are provided in irrigation canal system at appropriate
points. The size depends on irrigated area. Discharge
of outlet varies with level of water in the channel.
WATERCOURSE: It is any channel which is supplied
with water from canal but which is not maintained at
the cost of government. They pass through common
land and are maintained by farmers. FIELD
from the watercourse.
Canal irrigation is popular in deltaic and coastal areas
accounting for 29 % of the net cropped area. Kaveri
longest (6,400 km) irrigation canal system in the state.
These canals taken off from the Grand Anicut (built in
1889) irrigates about 5.15 lakh hectares of land in
Thanjavur and Tiruchchirappalli districts. Mettur
Canal System-these canals taken out from the Kaveri
River (Mettur dam) provide irrigation to 1.8 lakh
hectares of land in Salem and Coimbatore districts.
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 Lower Bhawani Project Canals-Bhawani Sagar
reservoir has been constructed over the Bhawani River
to irrigate 78.917 hectares of land in Coimbatore
district. Periyar Project Canals-a barrage has been built
across the Periyar River and its water is transported to
the Suruliyar River (tributary of the Vaigai River)
through a 1737 m tunnel. This water is distributed
through 432 km long canals to irrigate about 40,000
hectares of land in Madurai, and Ramanathapuram
districts. Katalai Canal-the Katalai High Level Canal
irrigates 8,300 hectares of land in Thanjavur and
Tiruchchirappalli districts. Manimuthar Project
Canals-The Manimuthar is a tributary of the
Tamraparni river over which an earthen dam has been
constructed. Canals taken out from this dam irrigate
41,694 hectares of land in Tirunelveli district.
Parambikulam-Aliyar Project Canals-this is a joint
venture of Tamilnadu and Kerala states under which
244 km long canals have been constructed to utilise the
water from eight rivers to irrigate 97.13 thousand
hectares of agricultural land.
Lift Irrigation
In Lift Irrigation water is lifted from lower level to
higher level with the help of Cattle and other
equipment. Construction of dams and canals helped
tremendously to increase the irrigated area lying at
lower level than the dam level, but scarcity of water
remained the problem for higher level areas. So as to
bring higher level area under irrigation Lift Irrigation
System are taken up.
Advantages of Lift Irrigation
Lift Irrigation made irrigation possible at higher
z
level.
Land acquisition
z problem in Lift Irrigation
System.
Water losses are low.
z
Man power is less used.
z
Well Irrigation
A well is a hole dug in the ground to obtain the subsoil
water. An ordinary well is about 3-5 metres deep but
deeper wells up-to 15 metres are also dug.
This method of irrigation has been used in Tamilnadu
from time immemorial. Various methods are used to
lift the ground water from the well for irrigation,
drinking, bathing and for other purposes.
Well irrigation is more popular in those regions where
ground water is in plenty and where there are few
canals. However, the greater part of the Penisnular
India is not suitable for well irrigation due to rocky
structure, uneven surface and lack of underground
water.
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Merits of Well Irrigation
Well is simplest
z and cheapest source of irrigation
and the poor Indian farmer can easily afford it.
Well is an independent source of irrigation and can
z
be used as and when the necessity arises. Canal
irrigation, on the other hand, is controlled by other
agencies and cannot be used at will.
Excessive irrigation by canal leads to the problem
z
of reh which is not the case with well irrigation.
There is
z a limit to the extent of canal irrigation
beyond the tail end of the canal while a well can be
dug at any convenient place.
Several
z chemicals such as nitrate, chloride,
sulphate, etc. are generally found mixed in well
water. They add to the fertility of soil when they
reach the agricultural field along with well water.
The farmer has to pay regularly for canal irrigation
z
which is not the case with well irrigation.
More reliable
z during periods of drought when
surface water dries up. Suitable for small
holdings.
Demerits of Well Irrigation
Only limited
z area can be irrigated. Normally, a
well can irrigate 1 to 8 hectares of land.
The well may dry up and may be rendered useless
z
for irrigation if excessive water is taken out.
In the event
z of a drought, the ground water level
falls and enough water is not available in the well
when it is needed the most.
Well irrigation is not possible in areas of brackish
z
groundwater.
Tank Irrigation
A tank consists of water storage which is developed by
constructing a small bund of earth or stones built
across a stream. The water impounded by the bund is
used for irrigation and for other purposes. Some tanks
are built partly as dugouts and partly by enclosing
bunds.
Tanks are of varying size but most of the tanks are of
small size and are built by individual farmers or groups
of farmers. There are about 5 lakh big and 50 lakh
small tanks irrigating over 25.24 lakh hectares of
agricultural land.
The ratio of tank irrigated land to the total irrigated
area of the country has reduced from 14 % in the 1960-
61 to about 4.6 % in 2001-01, primarily due to increase
in well and tube well irrigation and partly due to fall in
the tank irrigation .
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 Tank irrigation is popular in the peninsular plateau area
where Andhra Pradesh (Including Telangana) and
Tamilnadu are the leading states.Tamilnadu has the
second largest area which is over 23 % of tank irrigated
area of India and about one-fifth of the total irrigated
area of the state. There are about 24,000 tanks in
Tamilnadu.
Merits of Tank Irrigation
Most of
z the tanks are natural and do not involve
heavy cost for their construction. Even an
individual farmer can have his own tank.
Tanks are generally constructed on rocky bed and
z
have longer life span.
In many
z tanks, fishing is also carried on. This
supplements both the food resources and income
of the farmer.
Demerits of Tank Irrigation
Many tanks
z dry up during the dry season and fail
to provide irrigation when it is needed the most.
Silting of
z the tank bed is a serious problem and it
requires desilting of the tank at regular intervals.
Much water is evaporated from the large expanse
z
of shallow water and is thus not available for
irrigation.
Tanks cover large areas of cultivable land. In many
z increasing the farm production.
areas, other sources of irrigation have been
adopted and the dry beds of tanks have been
reclaimed for agriculture.
Moreover, lifting of water from tanks and carrying
z soil.
it to the fields is a strenuous and costly exercise
which discourages the use of tanks as a source of
irrigation.
Canal Irrigation
Canals used to be the most important source of
irrigation up-to 1960s, but in the 1970s they yielded
first place to wells and tube wells and now constitute
the second most important source of irrigation in India.
The %age of canal irrigation area to total irrigated area
in the country has fallen from about 39.77 % in 1950-
51 to 29 % in 2000-01.
Canals can be an effective source of irrigation in areas
of low level relief, deep fertile soils, perrenial source of
water and extensive command area. Therefore, the
main concentration of canal irrigation is in the northern
plain of India, especially the areas comprising Uttar
Pradesh Haryana and Punjab.
The digging of canals in rocky and uneven areas is
difficult and uneconomic. Thus the canals are
practically absent from the Peninsular plateau area.
258
However, the coastal and the delta regions in South
India do have some canals for irrigation. Some of the
important canal in India are Ainsley canal
Buckingham Canal Kalingarayan Canal
Kaveri–Vaigai link canal Lower Bhavani Project
Canal Tamirabarani–Nambiar link canal Telugu
Ganga project.
Canals in India are of two types,
1. Inundation canals, which are taken out from the
rivers without any regulating system like weirs
etc. at their head. Such canals provide irrigation
mainly in the rainy season when the river is in
flood and there is excess water. When the rainy
season is over, the flood in the river subsides, the
level of water falls below the level of the canal
head and the canal dries up. Since irrigation from
this type of canals is uncertain, they have been
converted in perennial canals.
2. Perennial Canals are those which are taken off
from perennial rivers by constructing a barrage
across the river. Most of the canals in India today
are perennial.
Merits of Canal Irrigation
Most of
z the canals provide perennial irrigation
and supply water as and when needed. This saves
the crops from drought conditions and helps in
Canals carry
z a lot of sediment brought down by
the rivers. This sediment is deposited in the
agricultural fields which add to the fertility of
Some of
z the canals are parts of multipurpose
projects and, therefore, provide cheap source of
irrigation.
Although
z the initial cost involved in canal
irrigation is much higher, it is quite cheap in the
long run.
Demerits of Canal Irrigation
The canal water soaks into the ground and leads
z
to the problem of water-logging along the canal
route.
Excessive
z flow of water in the fields raises the
ground water level. Capillary action brings
alkaline salts to the surface and makes large
areas unfit for agriculture.
The marshy areas near the canals act as breeding
z
grounds of mosquitoes which result in
widespread malaria.
Many canals
z overflow during rainy season and
flood the surrounding areas.
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 Canal irrigation is suitable in plain areas only.
z scientific methods may employed for silting of wells.
Conclusion
Old is gold is a very popular saying but its true in many
aspects and even our irrigation is not an exception for
this. The Traditional method which our ancestors
followed were scientific and efficient ways of
irrigation designed, taking into consideration of future
demand for water. The Tamilian civilization is world
famous and it has made the world to wonder about our
traditional method. Even though we have small
disadvantages in our traditional method we have to
improve them using our latest technique and make a
valuable irrigation for all purpose But as the
development of ground water has already reached an
alarming stage in many blocks of Tamilnadu, further
development of ground water for creation of additional
irrigation potential has to be carried out with extreme
caution. The heterogeneity of crystalline formation and
poor yield prospects make the availability of ground
water for further development site specific and
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On the basis of experiences in execution of Central
Sector Scheme and Demonstrative Projects on
artificial recharge, the desilting of existing
ponds/tanks will be the most cost effective structures.
The provision of recharge wells/shafts in percolation
ponds/check dams will enhance the efficiency of these
structures. Rainwater Harvesting has already been
made mandatory by the Govt. of Tamilnadu and
people have already made provision for roof top
rainwater harvesting. However, efforts may be made
to apply corrections if required to make these
structures effective. Further, operation and
maintenance of artificial recharge structures are
essential to make them efficient and priority may be
given to this activity so as to make these structures
effective. A concerted effort involving various
Government agencies and NGOs can create the
necessary awareness among the rural masses. Action
plan in this direction with participation of state and
central agencies and industrial establishments is
recommended.
259
 Traditional Irrigation Systems in Kerala
E J Joseph
Water Management (Agriculture) Division
Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, Kozhikode, Kerala
* jej@cwrdm.org

Introduction
Traditional systems prevalent in an area are specific
responses to the ecology and culture of the people in
that area, and are generally eco-friendly, less costly,
socially acceptable, flexible, and utilize local
resources, knowledge and labour. They are evolved
from the experiences gained and lessons learnt by the
people. Traditional irrigation systems are a part of the
traditional agriculture in Kerala, which is mainly
rainfall-dependent. Irrigation is given for partially
supplementing the water demand of crops. There are Figure 1 Well
several examples of valuable indigenous technology
continued both in the rural and urban areas of Kerala
knowledge (ITK) on irrigation management in Kerala.
both for domestic and irrigation purposes.
Many of these indigenous technologies and traditional
wisdom are dying out due to the influx of modern Keni is a type of very shallow well seen in Wayanad
technologies and changing life styles of the people. district, which are constructed in the valleys. The side
The different aspects of traditional irrigation walls of these small diameter wells are strengthened by
management in Kerala viz., water resources driving in hard, hollow, seasoned trunk of trees. The
development, water harvesting and conservation, best material used for this purpose in ancient times was
water diversion and irrigation are covered in this the rind of the basal portion of 'Choondapana' (Caryota
article. urens) and the Keni lined with this wood is called
Panamkutty Keni (Figure 2). Instead of
Development of Water Resources
'Choondapana', the rind of 'Aanjili' (Artocarpus
The spatial and temporal pattern of rainfall and the hirsutus), 'Nelli' (Emblica officinalis) etc. were also in
ephemeral nature of many of the surface water sources use. Several such kenis could be seen in different parts
in Kerala compelled the people to probe the of Wayanad district. Kenis are the important source of
groundwater sources for meeting their fresh water water for the tribal population of Wayanad. Many of
requirements for domestic and irrigation purposes. the kenis are as old as 500 to 600 years. The water in
these kenis are of good quality, eventhough many of
Wells
Most of the homesteads in Kerala have a dug well. The
art of construction of open wells in Kerala have
attained perfection over the years. The circular walls of
the wells are protected by aesthetic construction of
laterite stonewalls (Figure 1). To prevent the
differential settlement of these stonewalls and their
collapse, structures called nellipadi was generally used
in olden days. Here, stonewalls on the inner periphery
of wells are constructed on a wooden foundation made
from the timber of 'Nelli' (Emblica officinalis). In
ancient times, the laying of the nellipadi in wells was an Figure 2 Keni
important ceremony. It is believed that the gooseberry
wood aids in purification of water. But, now this them are located in marshy soils. Nowadays, concrete
practice is becoming extinct due to the dearth of rings are used to line the walls of kenis due to the
gooseberry wood. However, the 'well-culture' is being shortage of suitable wood.

260 Annual Technical Volume

 Valkinar is a special type of well seen in
Thiruvananthapuram district that allows people to
easily step down into the well. For this purpose, a
sloping walkway with steps is provided along one side
of the well up to the water level in the well. These wells
are generally square in cross section and are dug for
irrigation purpose.
Ponds and Tanks
There are innumerable number of ponds and tanks in
Kerala - both in homesteads and public places – that are
used for domestic and irrigation purposes. In the past,
most of the homesteads had their own ponds and tanks
and if a family did not have them, they depended on
their neighbour's ponds or public ponds. Thus, a
traditional 'well-pond' system existed in Kerala. Ponds
are unique ecosystems, which facilitate the growth of a
wide variety of plants ranging from herbs to hefty tree 3
species on the surrounding moist bank, as well as algal
and other aquatic organisms in the water. Aquatic flora
and fauna helps in purification of pond water. Ponds
also acted as percolation tanks helping in the recharge
of aquifers (Figure 3).
Figure 3 Farm pond
In early days, the valleys of small watersheds (known
as elas) in Kerala had a farm pond known as
thalakulam or melekkulam at the upstream side, which
not only facilitated gravity flow to the lower elevations
and valleys but also helped in recharging the
groundwater and maintaining the soil moisture. These
thalakulams are seen even today in several parts of
Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram districts. Valiyeri,
Pulavan kulam, Pandiyatheri, Parayeri etc. are some of
the large thalakulam seen in Palakkad district.
Palakkad is famous for its innumerable number of
extensive farm ponds and tanks. Farm ponds of even
up to 25 acres are also there. Valiyeri in Pudussery
panchayat has an area of 24 acres 34 cents. It irrigates
about 300 acres paddy fields surrounding it. This farm
pond has a structure called muttana, which occupies an
area about 50 cents. Muttana is a bund made of stone
across the upstream side of the pond to reduce
deposition of silt in the pond. Due to this structure, silt
and humus carried along with runoff water will settle
down before the water reaches the pond. The silt could
be used as manure.
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In Kerala, every village has at least one temple; and
associated with each temple is a 'sacred grove' (Kaavu)
and a 'sacred tank/ pond' (Kulam/ Theertham). Temple
ponds have historically played an important role in
rainwater harvesting.
Network of ponds: In the erstwhile Cochin State,
several ponds / tanks used to be interconnected that
formed a cascading system. This network of canals and
ponds helped in draining away the floodwaters as well
as in recharging the groundwater aquifers. In certain
areas of Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram districts
also network of ponds exist. One such pond network in
Palakkad district consisting of seven ponds (locally
known as yeri), could be seen in Pudussery Panchayat.
This pond network consists of Arogyamada yeri (with
water spread area of 15 acres and a command area of 80
acres), Chellankavu yeri (with water spread area of 8
acres and a command area of 90 acres), Valladi yeri
(with water spread area of 16 acres and a command
area of 22 acres), Sooryampotta yeri (with water
spread area of 8 acres and a command area of 20 acres,
Pandiyatheri (with water spread area of 7 acres and a
command area of 40 acres, Thamarakulam (with water
spread area of 8 acres and a command area of 23 acres),
and Sathramkulam (with water spread area of 1½
acres). All these ponds, except Sathramkulam, are used
for irrigation purpose. Sathramkulam is a temple pond.
Another major pond network seen in Palakkad district
is at 'Thumbi' in Kollengode, which consists of
Poolakkal yeri (with water spread area of 1 ½ acre),
Thumbikulam (with water spread area of 3 ½ acres),
Chanan chira (with water spread area of 5 acres) and
Kulamida chira (with water spread area of 2 ½ acres).
Surangam
Surangam is basically a tunnel dug through the soil on
laterite hill slopes in Kasargod district. Water trickles
down by gravity from the walls of this tunnel. The
name surangam is derived from Kannada meaning of
'tunnel'. Surangam is also known as thurangam,
thorapu, mala etc. Water from the mouth or outlet of the
surangam is mostly collected in an open pit/ tank/ pond
called mathakkam constructed outside the surangam
(Figure 4). The undulating topography provides
suitable environment to construct the horizontal
tunnels (surangams), instead of the vertical structure of
open dug wells. Once a surangam is excavated, it
hardly requires any maintenance. The general
dimension of a surangam is about 0.45 - 0.70 m width
and 1.8 - 2.0 m height. The total length varies from 3 m
to about 300 m. When the surangam is very long,
vertical airshafts are provided to get fresh air inside the
surangam. The water from the surangams is used
mainly for domestic and irrigation purposes.
Surangam is usually dug straight in the horizontal
261
 erstwhile kings of Travancore had constructed several
check dams. The Pandyans had constructed many
anicuts and weirs across the streams even ten centuries
ago. The anicut across Paralayar having a height of 6 m
is an example. They had also constructed a system of
cascading check dams. The check dam across
Pazhayar, along with the associated irrigation systems,
constructed by King Marthanda Varma of the erstwhile
Figure 4 Mouth of Surangam and storage pond Travancore State still exists. In many areas of Wayanad
and Kasargod districts, there are small check dams
direction. Sometimes a zigzag manner is followed, constructed by farmers, utilizing locally available
depending upon the obstructions created by materials (Figure 5).
underground rocks. In order to ensure a straight
construction path, a 'mirror and shadow technique' is
adopted. While construction, a mirror is held by
another person standing near the mouth of the
surangam in such a way as to reflect sunlight into the
surangam. When some deviations are taken during the
construction time the sunlight is obstructed. Then they
place a lit candle by the side and the digging is oriented
by looking at the shadow. Sometimes, several
subsidiary surangams are excavated inside the main
surangam. Figure 5 Brushwood check dam
The site for a surangam is identified mainly based on
traditional wisdom. The main factors considered in the Katta
location of a site are topography, soil type, degree of Katta is a very skillfully made temporary check dam
slope and the presence of indicator plants. The seen in Kasargod district. They are made out of stones,
downhill portion in between two or three hills is sand bags and soil, across rivers and streams (Figure
generally considered as a suitable site where water is 6). They are very commonly found in Badiyadukka
likely to be available. Surangams are not usually made and Kumbadaje panchayats of Kasargod. A series of
in areas having very rocky land. Some of the indicator Kattas are sometimes constructed in the same stream at
plants that are considered to be helpful in identifying an interval of about 500 m, and there are streams
site for surangams are 'Kudinjil' (Centella asiatica), having 20 to 30 such katta.
'Njaavel' (Syzygium cumini), 'Athi' (Ficus racemosa),
'Paarakam' (Ficus hispida), 'Athirani' (Malathrica
species), 'Neerkere', 'Bryophyllum' (Bryophyllum
pinnatum) etc.
Springs
The people in the highlands, especially the tribal
community, depended on springs and mountain
streams for freshwater needs. Water from the springs
was stored in pits known as uravakundu and carried in
pitchers to their hamlets. Tribal people of Kerala often
preferred running water than the stagnant water of the
wells. Split bamboo or arecanut poles are used to
canalize water from the springs to the pitchers. Several Figure 6 Katta
such springs are seen in the high range district of
Waynad and in the Attappady block of Palakkad The construction of katta is taken up in November-
district. Diverted water from many of these springs are December period and is usually demolished in May.
used for irrigation in homesteads. The katta is initially kept at low height; and increased
Water Harvesting and Conservation to the maximum height by January. A small drainage
hole is provided at both ends of the katta for controlling
Check Dams the level of water stored in it. The stones, soil, sand etc.
Construction check dams across the streams and from the demolished katta are usually stored for use
diversion of water to the adjacent plots for irrigation during the subsequent year. The construction is done
were age-old practices prevailing in Kerala. The through community participation.

262 Annual Technical Volume

 Anicut
Anicut is a type of check dam mainly seen in Palakkad
district, which is made across rivers or streams using
stone boulders and a material called kaara or soorki.
Kaara is a mixture of sand and limestone, along with
minute quantities of jaggery from molasses, 'kadukka'
(Terminalia chebula) extract, egg white and bark of
cotton plant. Strong iron nails are driven in to
strengthen the check dams for preventing the stone
boulders from moving-off due to the force of water
current. Ponnambilla anicut in L.G Palayam, Elapully
is more than 100 years old. Another such traditional
check dam of more than 100 years old is seen at
Moonnukannu yeri in Chullimada of Palakkad district.
Sub-surface check dams
A traditional subsurface check dam exists in Ottapalam
in Palakkad district, which was built by a farmer during
the period 1962-1966. The dam, which is 155 m wide
and 9 m deep, is located at the lowest portion of a
valley. Water is drained from the aquifer through a
gravel portion along the dam to a series of large
diameter collector wells. The dam was constructed by
making an impervious layer using brick lining and
one-inch thick cement plastering on the upstream side
on the brick lining of the dam. Depth of brick lining
varied from 1.5 m to 9 m. This dam has a catchment
area of about 15 acres. Stored water is used for
irrigation.
Mathakkam
Mathakkam is a traditional rainwater harvesting
structure seen in Kasaragod District. These are tanks/
ponds constructed to harvest either rainwater or water
delivered from surangams. There are small
mathakkams, wherein the bottom and side walls are
smoothly plastered using a mix of clay and cow dung to
control seepage loss of water (Figure 7).
Figure 7 Mathakkam
Water from the mathakkam is either conveyed to the
field through irrigation channels or pipes, or manually
lifted for irrigation. Mathakkams also act as
percolation tanks. When there was extensive paddy
cultivation some decades ago, there were hundreds of
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mathakkams in Kasaragod district that supported
paddy cultivation in thousands of acres. Now, with
decline in paddy cultivation, mathakkams are left
uncared.
Pallam
In some parts of Kasargod and Thiruvanathapuram
districts, water harvesting structures locally known as
pallam are seen. These are structures constructed at the
foothill portion of two or three adjacent hills where
there is a natural depression for harvesting runoff
water from the catchment area. People used to block
the fourth direction with an earthen or stone bund.
Catchments on all the three sides of the pallam drain
water into it. There are also pallams where rainwater
gets collected in extensive natural depressions of rocks
in foothills/ valleys. Some of the pallams are very
extensive and are perennial. The pallams mainly serve
the purpose of reservoirs for irrigation.
Chirakandam
Chirakandam is a piece of paddy land located at a
higher elevation in the paadasekharam (a large extent
of paddy field), which is used for storage of water.
Paddy crop is cultivated in this area only during the
first crop season of Viruppu. During the second crop
season of Mundakan, rainwater is collected and stored
in this field, and conveyed as and when required to the
lower elevation paddy fields for irrigation. It does the
function similar to a thalakkulam that was mentioned
earlier. An area of about 10 acres is kept as
chirakandam at the head reach for every 400 acres of
paddy field. Chirakandam is seen in some parts of
Palakkad district.
Water Diversion and Conveyance
Barrages and Diversion Weirs
Traditionally, barrages and diversion weirs known as
cheerpu were made to raise the level of water in stream
and divert water to the cultivated fields through
channels for irrigation. When the flow in the channels
decreases, water is lifted by different low-lift
techniques. The height of these barrages and weirs is
so fixed that the fields in the upstream areas are not
submerged. The woods normally used for making
cheerpu are 'punna' (Calophyllum inophyllum),
'pongu' (Hopea parviflora), teak (Tectona grandis) and
gooseberry (Emblica officinalis). Cheerpu is normally
used to store water when the water flow becomes lean.
When water is not to be stored, the plank is lifted and
water is allowed to flow.
Mathavu, Mathum Poottum and Pulikkannu
Mathavu is a control structure seen in parts of Palakkad
district, which are constructed at the downstream side
of a farm pond/ tank (yeri). These structures efficiently
263
 control the distribution of water into the fields. The
inlet structure of mathavu located inside the farm pond
has outlets at different levels to release water according
to the water level in the pond. The number of outlets
depends upon the depth of the pond. These outlets are
usually closed using a well-designed, tight-fitting
stone boulder having a chain and lock system for
locking the opening (Figure 8). Mathavus can be seen
in Para yeri and Chamiyeri in Attapallam panchayat,
and Kunnukadu in Elapully Panchayat.
Mathum Poottum is also a traditional controlling
device for water release from a chira (a pond), which is
similar to Mathavu. It is seen in parts of
Thiruvananthapuram district. Pulikkannu is another
water release controlling system seen in parts of
Thiruvananthapuram district. Panampaathy Ovu is yet
another locally devised structure water release from
ponds that are being used in Thenkurissy area of
Palakkad district. This outlet structure is made up of
many tight fitting cylindrical pieces of rind of palm
(pana) joined in a linear fashion and installed vertically
in the pond. The bottom-most cylindrical piece is
connected to the outlet of the pond (Figure 9).
Figure 8 Mathavu
Figure 9 Panampaathy Ovu
264
Kalpaathi
Kalpaathi is a water diversion and conveyance
structure made up of granite stones that are specially
chipped as long rectangular troughs open at top and
both ends. These rectangular troughs are connected
end-to-end and erected on series of posts to form a
continuous aqueduct to carry water. The Kalpaathi at
Thirunelli in Wayanad district conveys water from a
mountain spring located about 500 m interiors into the
forest (Figure 10). This is said to be more than 500
years old. The water from this kalpaathi caters to the
temple needs at Thirunelli and also for irrigation in
about 150 acres of land. 4.4. Vellathattu
Vellathattu is a local device seen in some parts of
Wayanad district used to ward off wild animals from
paddy fields. It also functions as a water diversion
structure for irrigation. The falling water from a water
course provides the driving force for a bamboo device
to function. The flowing water causes the bamboo to
make semi-rotations up and down, and in this process it
strikes a rock or a metallic plate that makes repeating
sound (Figure 11). This keeps the animals and birds
away from paddy fields. The water emptied from the
bamboo is diverted through conveyance channels for
irrigating the fields.
Figure 10 Kalpaathi
Figure 11 Vellathattu in Wayanad
Irrigation
Traditional irrigation methods and practices were a
part of the traditional agricultural systems in Kerala.
The traditional agriculture in Kerala was mainly
rainfall-dependant and irrigation was given for
Annual Technical Volume
 partially supplementing the water demand of crops. or metallic vessel known as thulakotta is used to lift
Pump sets were rare and had little impact on the water. This method can now be seen in parts of
traditional irrigation system. The first change in the Ottapalam and Thrithala blocks in Palakkad districts,
traditional irrigation system occurred when the parts of Kasargod district, Kuttanad region in
kerosene pump sets were widely introduced. Another Kottayam district, and parts of Ernakulam, and
big change came about with the intervention of minor Trivandrum districts.
irrigation wing of the government in the form of stone
Kayattukotta / Thekkukotta / Eravatti / Swing Basket
and cement-concrete diversion weirs. The advent of
larger irrigation projects, especially in Palakkad Kayattukotta or Thekkukotta is a conical-shaped,
district, gradually kept many traditional irrigation basket-like vessel used for lifting water from shallow
methods and practices at bay. ponds or channels to a height of four to five feet. Two
people are required to lift water using kayattukotta.
Water Lifting Devices
The lifting of water is done during morning and
Kaalathekku / Kavala Irakkal evening hours. This method is practiced in many areas
of Palakkad, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts.
Kaalathekku was a water-lifting method used in early
days to lift water from deep wells called kavala kinar. Veth / Thudippu / Uveni
This technique was used for irrigating mainly garden
Veth is an effective and simple traditional irrigation
land crops in areas near the Kerala-Tamilnadu border
method used to lift water from shallow ponds, streams
of Palakkad district. In certain areas like Valluvanad, it
or channels to fields at a height of about two to three
was used for irrigating paddy fields also. Kavala kinar
feet. Veth is a hollow wooden cuboid with its top and
could be seen in some places of Chittoor block in
front portions opened and a handle attached at the rear
Palakkad. Today, kaalathekku practice has become
end. One person can lift water continuously for about 4
almost extinct in Kerala.
to 5 hours (Figure 13). This practice is becoming
Round Kavala / Persian Wheel almost extinct from most of the areas in Palakkad
district, except Thrithala and Pattambi. However, this
Round Kavala is a type of kaalathekku. It is a wooden
method is even now being used in many parts of
water-lifting device consisting of three parts viz.,
Kasargod and Trivandrum districts where it is known
chakku (gear assembly), circular chain and cup /
as oani and uveni, respectively.
buckets. Here, two bullocks are required to rotate the
chakku. Chakku is geared to a circular chain on the
periphery of which small metallic buckets are fixed.
Due to the rotation of the chain, the cups containing the
water will reach the top and get discharged. Round
kavala enables continuous lifting of water.
Etham / Thulan / Thulakotta
Etham is a water lifting device used for irrigating
coconut and arecanut plantations, vegetables, and
paddy fields. In paddy fields, small thulan called
koorithulan are used. Unlike other water lifting
devices, this is being used nowadays also.
This is a manually operated technique using a lever arm Figure 13 Veth
and counter weight (Figure 12). A trapezoidal wooden
Kaipola
This is a water lifting device, similar to veth, seen in
Palakkad district. This device does not have a long
handle and fixing pole as in veth. This device is used to
irrigate betel leaf and banana plants from small water
pits and channels.
Chakram / Water Wheel
Chakkram was widely used in the wetland paddy fields
of Kuttanad, Alapuzha and Kole lands as a water-
lifting device, mainly to drain off water and make the
Figure 12 Etham / Thulan fields suitable for paddy cultivation during third crop

Annual Technical Volume 265


Figure 14 Chakram
season (January-February to March-April) (Figure
14). Bigger chakrams are used for drainage, while
smaller ones are used for irrigation. With chakram,
water is lifted to a height of about one to two feet. If
water has to be lifted to a height of about three to four
feet, then two chakrams are used in succession. With
the advent of petroleum oil, electricity and pumpsets,
chakrams are gradually disappearing from most of the
areas.
Petti and Para
Petty and para is a low head, high discharge centrifugal
pump commonly used to lift water for dewatering
paddy fields in Kuttanad and the Kole lands of Thrissur
district. The main components of this system are an
electric motor, a wooden box-like structure called
petty, a wooden drum-like structure called para, a
vertical shaft, a foot-valve, and chatty and blades
(leaves) (Figure 15).
Figure 15 Petti and Para
The selection of electric motor is based on the diameter
of the para. If para has a diameter 32 inches, the farmers
use a 50 HP motor. If para is 18 inches in diameter, then
a 15 HP motor is economically the best. A 10 HP motor
is most economical for driving a petty and para system
having 12 inches diameter. The power from the motor
is transferred to a vertical shaft by means of a flat belt.
As a result, the chatty with blades (leaves), which is
attached to the vertical shaft, rotates. The chatty and
leaf are placed inside the para and due to the rotation of
blades the water is sucked from the field and pushed to
the petty, which is at a higher level than the para, and
from there to the drainage canal.
266
Before starting the motor, the operator does the
priming. In order to get a water tight closure of the
foot-valve, the operator puts 2–3 baskets of mud in the
petty and flush it to para. The foot-valve is made by the
semi-circular metallic sheet and hinged at the bottom
of para. After closing the foot-valve, the operator fills
the para with water for making it free of air and this
process is known as priming. In order to carry out this
process, a 1 HP centrifugal pump is also associated
with a petty and para system.
In order to prevent the wear and tear of the inner
portion of para by the rotation of blades, a metallic
covering is provided at some portion of the para near to
the blades. Normally the para is 3 or 4 feet long. In
order to get higher delivery head, farmers sometimes
connect two paras by using nut and bolt. During the
off-season they dismantle the entire system and keep it
in a store room after coating it with cashew nut shell oil
or fish oil.
Pitcher Irrigation
Pitcher irrigation is an indigenous drip irrigation
method, which is being practiced by the people since
ancient times. Earthen pots are placed near the
seedlings of plants/ trees and water is allowed to drip
continuously through a wick placed in a small hole
made at the bottom of the pot. This continuous
watering system saves the large quantity of water. The
pitcher once filled supplies sufficient moisture for one
week and after that it should be filled again.
Splash Irrigation
Splash irrigation is done for plantation crops like
arecanut in Kasaragod district in areas where it is not
possible to divert water. Irrigation is done with the help
of wooden planks made of cashew wood or arecanut
leaf sheath. The water from the pond / channel is
scooped and splashed into the basin of the tree. A
person can irrigate about 150 arecanut plants through
splash irrigation in one day.
Conclusion
Many of the water-related problems in the State and
elsewhere are the results of man's casual attitude
towards water as a resource and his negligence in
efficient water management. In ancient period, pump
sets were rare and they had very little impact on the
traditional irrigation system. The first change in the
traditional irrigation system occurred when the
kerosene pump sets were widely introduced. Another
big change came about with the intervention of minor
irrigation wing of the government in the form of stone
and cement-concrete diversion weirs. The advent of
larger irrigation projects, especially in Palakkad
district, gradually kept many traditional irrigation
methods and practices at bay. Since the sustenance of
Annual Technical Volume
 various ecosystems and environment over the years
was mainly based on traditional wisdom, it is
important to make use of the traditional knowledge
also for the sustainability of water resources. There is
scope for refinement and up-gradation of many of the
traditional systems. Traditional methods / practices
like farm ponds and their interconnection, muttana,
mathakkam and anicuts in Palakkad, katta, pallam and
surangam in Kasargod, keni and brush-wood check
dams in Wayanad require proper attention for their
continuance / maintenance to mitigate the water
scarcity situations in future.
Acknowledgment
The financial grant provided by the Kerala State
Planning Board and the Indian National Committee on
Irrigation and Drainage (INCID) for the projects
entitled, 'Documentation and analysis of indigenous
Annual Technical Volume
technology knowledge on water management in
Kerala' and 'Documentation and analysis of farmers'
practices on water management of plantation crops in
Kerala', respectively is thankfully acknowledged.
References
1. CWRDM (2005). Documentation and analysis of
indigenous technology knowledge on water
management in Kerala. Project Completion Report
submitted to the Kerala State Planning Board,
Trivandrum. Centre for Water Resources
Development and Management (CWRDM),
Kozhikode, 73p.
2. CWRDM (2008). Documentation and analysis of
farmers' practices on water management of plantation
crops in Kerala. Project Completion Report submitted
to Indian National Committee on Irrigation and
Drainage (INCID), Ministry of Water Resources, New
Delhi. Centre for Water Resources Development and
Management (CWRDM), Kozhikode, 133p.
267
 A Traditional Farming System – Kuttanad, Kerala
S. P. Abraham
Former Senior Joint Commissioner
Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India
* spabraham@rediffmail.com
Abstract
Kuttanad is the only system in India that practices rice cultivation below sea level. The major land use spreads
stretches of rice fields in about 50,000 ha, of mostly reclaimed delta swamps. They exist in three landscape
elements: Karapadam (upland rice fields), Kayal (wetland rice fields) and Kari (land buried with black coal like
materials). The rice fields are popularly known as “Puncha Vayals”. Traditionally only one crop of paddy was
favoured followed with inland and estuarine fish wealth, notably the endemic prawn species, pearl spot etc. The
Puncha Vayals with coconut gardens on the bunds and crisscrossed water canals offer an amazing sight. It has
been over 150 years farmers developed and mastered the technique of below sea level cultivation. They made this
unique system as it contributes to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services including several
livelihood services. Kuttanad Below Sea level Farming System (KBSFS) deserves recognition as a Globally
Important Agriculture Heritage, a unique rice-fish farming system.

Introduction Below Sea-level Farming System (KBSFS)

Kuttanad is a delta region of about 900 sq. km situated
in the west coast of Kerala State, India. The landscape
is a deltaic trough like formation shaped by the
confluence of four major rivers of the State, the
Meenachil, the Manimala, the Pampa and the
Achenkoil draining into the Vembanad Lake.
Geologically Kuttanad is considered as a recent
sedimentary formation (Figure 1). In the geological
past, the entire area was part of the Arabian Sea.
Though the boundary of Kuttanad is rather loosely
defined and the extent of its area has been variously
computed at different times, now the area is a larger
mosaic of fragmented landscape patches and varied
ecosystems such as coastal backwaters, rivers, and vast
stretches of paddy ? elds, marshes, ponds, garden
lands, edges, corridors and networked water ways.
Below Sea-level Farming System (KBSFS) is unique
only for Kuttanad, as it is the only system in India that
practices rice cultivation below sea level. The major
land use structure of KBSFS is vast stretches of rice
? elds in about 50,000 ha of mostly reclaimed delta
swamps. The rice fields, which are popularly known as
"Puncha Vayals" exist in three landscape elements:
Karapadam (upland rice ? elds), Kayal (wetland rice
? elds) and Kari (land buried with black coal like
materials).

Figure 2 Kuttanad paddy fields

Farmers of Kuttanad have developed and mastered the

Figure 1 Location map of Kuttanad
spectacular technique of below sea level cultivation
over 150 year ago. They made this system unique as it
contributes remarkably well to the conservation of
biodiversity and ecosystem services including several
livelihood services for local communities (Figure 2).
Location
Kuttanad now encompasses 79 revenue villages, 10
Taluks and 3 Districts of Kerala. Cherthala,

268 Annual Technical Volume

 Ambalapuzha, Chengannur, Kuttanad, Karthikappally
and Mavelikara Taluks in Alappuzha Districts,
Thiruvalla taluk in Pathanamthitta District and
Changanassery, Vaikom and Kottayam taluks in
Kottayam districts covering an area of 870 Sq. km
(Figure 3).
Figure 3 Map of Kuttanad
Agriculture in Kuttanad
The golden era of Kuttanad Paddy cultivation started
with the construction of a harbor at Alapuzha by Sri
“Raja Kesava Das” the Divan of then Travancore
Empire. It was through these water ways of Kuttanad
that spices and other exportable commodities from the
Western Ghats reached Alapuzha harbor. Till that time
“Nanchinaad” (now in Kanyakumari district of
Tamilnadu) was known as the rice bowl of Kerala. The
rulers of Travancore realized the necessity of another
rice bowl to meet the increasing demand for food
grains which transformed Kuttanad into the rice bowl
of Kerala.
Land Reclamation
During 1912 with the lifting of the ban on reclamation,
nearly 5000 ha were reclaimed during this phase and
the most renounced one were “Rani”, “Chithira”, and
“Marthandam” which were done by the famous Kayal
King “ Murikkumootil Thomman Joseph”. In this
phase the indigenous “petty and para” were replaced
by mechanically operated Kerosene and Diesel
engines for de-watering. The third phase came to an
end by 1943 with the introduction of “wages system”
to the labourers.
Reclamation was taken up during summer when water
Annual Technical Volume
level in the back waters dipped. During those days
reclamation was done using water wheels to drain
water. The introduction of mechanical pumpset that
could drain deep back waters within a shorter time
became crucial for rapid change. This happened during
the last decade of the 19th century. Locally the pump
sets were called 'Pettiyum Parayum'. By the beginning
of the 20th century mechanized pump-sets fuelled by
Kerosene or crude oil came into practice. These were
imported from Great Britain.
Central to the organization of reclamation cultivation
was a detailed division of labour based on caste and
gender. Agricultural operations in the reclaimed tracts
began with ploughing. .It was attended with rituals.
The soil of the reclaimed back water was acidic and to
neutralize it, lime was applied during ploughing. After
ploughing the sluices in the dyke were opened to flood
the field. When the water receded, the field was again
ploughed and inner dykes and channels were repaired.
The soil was then raked with a harrow, weeded and
worked in to a soft puddle. Weeding was done before
sowing. Sowing was done after the monsoon subsided.
Within a week of draining the field, the first leaves of
the plant would be visible. The field was completely
drained after transplanting. Following this manure
(cow dung, green leaves, hay, and ash) was applied.
Neither chemical fertilizers nor pesticides were used.
Water was let into the field at regular intervals till the
harvest. To harvest, an iron sickle with wooden handle
was used. In certain parts of old reclaimed areas, a
deep-water variety of rice known as 'Kolappala'was
cultivated. Both transplanting and harvesting were
accompanied with traditional songs. The average
productivity in Kuttanad was recockoned as '10 Para
for 1 para of seed'(10 to 1). Considering the fragile
ecosystem prevalent in Kuttanad, the incidence of crop
failure was high. During the first three decades of
reclamation the fields were cultivated only once in two
or three years, allowing interval for the rejuvenation of
the soil.
Changing Pattern of Cultivation
The early practice of cultivating Kuttanad paddy fields
once in three years was changed to once in two years
with increase in profitability of rice cultivation due to
higher production. The fallowing of land in alternate
years was named as “pazhanilam”(old field) in local
parlance. At that time the demand for the staple food of
Travancore was met from Burma (Myanmar) which
later stopped during the World War II. This finally lead
to food scarcity which resulted in a strong urge for self
sufficiency in paddy production within the state. The
then Divan of Travancore Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer
ordered the farmers to cultivate their lands annually
and keeping the land fallow was made a punishable
offence. He also announced pumping subsidy to the
269
 farmers as an incentive for de-watering that amounts to
1/3rd of the expenses for pumping out water from the
fields. A Rice Research Station was also started in
1940 at Moncompu to develop ideal varieties to assist
farmers. The first variety from this Station was
introduced in 1978 as “Bhadra” which was suggested
as an alternate to the existing varieties cultivated at
that time. The varieties TN-1, IR-8 and Jaya yielded
thrice compared to the indigenous varieties. The entire
area was converted to high yielding varieties by 1960s.
It was at this juncture with an objective to maximize
food production, additional cropping season was
introduced as 'additional crop'. The duration of the
additional crop is from May / June to September /
October. This transformed to an organized structure
of paddy cultivation during 1966 over an area of 4000
ha which increased to the present status of 10,000 ha.
The 'Group Farming' introduced in 1991 brought a
boost to Paddy cultivation in Kuttanad.
Kuttanad Development Project
The studies undertaken in this region for the
intensification of paddy cultivation pointed out a
speedy drainage of the flood water into the Vembanad
lake and then into the sea. Taking these into
consideration the Kuttanad Development Project was
initiated and executed the following:
The Thottapplay Spillway
Constructed in 1951 and commissioned in 1965 to
drain flood water from the Kuttanad Wetland System
to the Arabian sea (Figure 4).
Figure 1 Thottapplay project
The Thanneermukkam regulator across the Vembanad
lake :
Started in 1955 and commissioned in 1975 to check the
intrusion of saline water and to stabilize agricultural
yield in 50,000 ha.
A 24 km long link road between Alappuzha and
Changanassery :
270
Completed in 1957, for easy communication and
transport.
The above developments ultimately led to the two
distinct paddy seasons in Kuttanad as shown in
Table 1.
Table 1 Crop production in different period
The important land marks which changed the
agricultural scenario of Kuttanad was the abolition of
slavery in Travancore in the mid 1850's by which sale
of slaves was banned. These slave workers were
engaged in the agricultural activities from reclamation
to stacking the hay after harvest.
The Pattam proclamation of 1865 granted the tenants
full ownership rights over their property including the
right to sell land and as a result they become
economically independent Another major land mark in
the Kuttanad Agricultural Scenario was the Lands
Reforms Act in 1970s. In the past the paddy cultivation
in Kuttanad was done under a three tier system as Land
Lord-Tenant- Labour. This system disappeared with
the enforcement of the above Act and many of the
tenants became owners of the land. In 1942 an
agricultural workers union was formed in Kuttanad
with the initiative of the Communist Party which
helped to improve the service conditions of the
organized labour of Kuttanad.
Kuttanad Package
Govt. of Kerala requested the Central Govt. to approve
a separate Package for the Kuttanad region considering
the unique problems faced in this agrarian ecosystem.
Govt. of India, entrusted the M.S.Swaminathan
Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai to study the
problems faced in Kuttanad and suggest remedial
measures. The MSSRF submitted its Study Report to
the Govt. of India in 2007 identifying 15 tasks covering
about 50 different activities to mitigate agrarian
distress in Alappuzha and Kuttanad Wetland System.
Annual Technical Volume
 The Govt. of India approved the Study Report and the floods. The mission also put forward definite proposals
interventions recommended by the MSSRF as a for preservation of the region's ecology and
Package on 24th July 2008. The Govt. of Kerala development of agriculture and fisheries besides
initiated the implementation of the Package in October drawing up schemes for housing sanitation and
2008. drinking water supply.
Based on the Proposal submitted by the State Govt., The study referred above, indicates the use of
the 13th Finance Commission approved Rs. 300 crore fertilisers and pesticides as 50 to 75 % more in
for the implementation of the Package to strengthen Kuttanad than in other regions. Studies by the KPCB
the Kuttand ecosystem. This ambitious Package is revealed the presence of DDT and its derivatives, DDE
expected to cover 31,000 ha of paddy area in and DDD in water and soil sediments. Organic tissue
Alappuzha district, 18,067 ha of paddy area in samples of fish, shrimp and clams, collected from
Kottayam district and 5,868 ha of paddy area in Vembanad lake show that levels of pesticides present
Pathanamthitta district which has been in progress, were as much as 10 times the admissible toxic levels
since then. for the respective species. Alarmingly the project
pointed out that more than 40 % of the population of
Flood, a Crisis of Water
the area or nearly five lakh people depend on polluted
Monsoons bring with them the perennial problem of canals, rivers and lakes for their drinking water.
floods in this farm lands carried by the region's four
Impact of Development on Ecosystem
major rivers. These rivers - the Pampa, the Achenkoil,
the Manimala and the Meenachil - drain into the The ham-handed development policies intended for
Kuttanad trough, taking a weblike course from the region have resulted in the outbreak of Japanese
Veeyapuram, about 35 km to the south of Alappuzha encephalitis. The immediate cause – positively
town. Heading north through the length of Kuttanad, identified by researchers was the proliferation of
they empty into the Arabian Sea through the Vembanad mosquitoes mainly the Culex vishnui variety. These
lake. were found in large numbers in the affected areas. The
basic reason for this was the uncontrolled growth of
The development projects aimed at diverting the flood
water weeds which has a direct bearing on the drastic
waters into the sea before they entered the region,
changes occurring in the region's aquatic environment
based on suggestions of the Vaidyanathan commission
since the commissioning of the Thanneermukkom
set up in 1954, involved the construction of a channel
saltwater barrier in 1976.
from Veeyapuram the confluence of the rivers the
Achenkoil and the Pampa (at the southern end of
Kuttanad) to Thottappally, spillway. However the
channel and the spillway did not have the desired
effect. The numerous roads which have come up in the
area act as dams preventing easy drainage of flood
waters. Extensive land reclamation in the area has also
brought about restricted water-logging in certain
pockets.
According to the Kerala pollution control board
(KPCB) which was associated in a detailed study of the
region's various problems under a three-year Indo-
Dutch programme. 25,000 tonnes (t) of fertilisers and
500 t of highly toxic pesticides are used in the region's
Figure 5 House boats in operation
55,000 ha of paddy fields annually. A considerable
portion of this enters the water bodies when the water
drains from the fields. The barrier though it initially helped farmers by
preventing seasonal intrusion of saltwater into the
An agricultural identification mission from the
backwaters has had a disastrous long-term impact on
Netherlands visited, in 1998, for studying ways to
the ecology of the region (Figure 5). It has transformed
solve Kuttanad's problems and evaluate possible
the Vembanad lake into two distinct zones - the
solutions to flooding, environmental deterioration and
upstream area in Kuttanad now a polluted freshwater
its adverse effects on public health and the problem of
body and the downstream section near Kochi which
poor sanitation. The recommendations of the project
has brackish water. Before the barrier came into being
included the construction of check dams in the upper
there was no water stagnation in Kuttanad. Even
reaches of the four rivers as measures to control the
during summer months when there was no flow into

Annual Technical Volume 271

 Kuttanad from the rivers emptying into the basin the
region enjoyed the cleansing impact of the ebb and
flow of the sea's tidal action. The salinity in the water
also helped check the proliferation of water weeds.
Today the stagnant cesspools of the region infested
with thick weed growth provide the ideal breeding
ground for mosquitoes.
Out break of Japanese encephalitis has highlighted
immediate attention and need for remedial measures.
In 1991 a devastating fish disease - ulcerative
syndrome - had wiped out a large number of fish in
Kuttanad. A series of researches conducted have
pointed out that pesticide pollution was the
predisposing factor for the disease. The next year saw
an almost similar disease affecting water snakes and
tortoises. Following that ducks too died in large
numbers because of some mysterious disease. Most of
the diseases were in one way or another related to
environment and its degradation
Widespread environmental degradation in Kuttanad is
matter of grave concern. The region lies between the
foothills of the Western Ghats in the east and the
comparatively elevated plains of coastal Alappuzha in
the west. Most aggravating among the region's
problems is the severe degradation of the aquatic
environment mainly caused by human intervention
leading to depletion of fisheries resources and health
hazards posed to the population.
Salinity Issues
The area has a monsoon climate with a wet season from
May to November and a dry season from December to
April (Figure 6). The main problem faced by the
region is the non availability of potable water in
summer. During the monsoon seasons, the water from
the mountains flow through the rivers to the sea,
bringing potable water to Kuttanad. But during
summer, due to the low level of the region, seawater
Figure 6 A view of water spread
272
enters Kuttanad and makes the salt content of the water
high and making it unpotable. Government of India
proposed Thanneermukkam Salt Barrier project across
the lake at Thanneermukkam so that seawater is not
allowed to come inside Kuttanad during summer and
allow farmers to cultivate an extra cycle per year.
Thanneermukkam salt-water barrier could prevent
salt-water intrusion to Kuttanad to a certain extend, but
it caused other problems such as deterioration of water
quality, spread of aquatic weeds and other
environmental problems.
During the closure of the barrier in the dry season, the
upstream area is no longer flushed by the tides and
large scale consumption of water for paddy and
domestic needs reduces the water level in the lake and
thereby the water is highly polluted by pesticides &
fertilizer residues from agricultural lands and by
organic wastes dumped in to the Kuttanad waters. The
water level depletion during the closure of the barrier is
mainly due to the fact that there is no dry weather flow
in the rivers.
Conclusion
An effective solution to tackle the problems of
Kuttanad may be possible by limited hydrologic
interventions in the region. When desired amount of
fresh water is made available to Kuttanad, the salinity
level can be kept within acceptable limits. This will
help the farmers in increasing their puncha (summer)
cultivation. Also the decreased salinity level and
pollution due to dilution will improve the lake water
for domestic use even in summer season. Flood water
storage at upstream of either or all of the rivers the
Pamba, the Manimala, the Meenachil and the
Achenkoil along with integrated and regulated
releases may be a long term solution to the pressing
ills of Kuttanad. Such releases may also ensure
adequate water, during worst summer months, which
in turn can promote backwater tourism. Timely and
systematic operations of Thanneermukkam Salt water
Barrier can facilitate migration of fish to the southern
part of the bund and improve fish and aquatic growth.
References
1. “Measures to Mitigate Agraian Distress in Allapuzha
and Kuttanad Wetland Ecosystem”, M S
Swaminathan Research Foundation, 2002.
2. Kuttanad Development Project, 1972.
3. “Kuttanad Water Balance Study”, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Kingdom of Netherlands, 1989.
4. M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation Report.
5. http://www.kuttanadpackage.in
6. www.india-wris.nrsc.gov.in
Annual Technical Volume
 Traditional Irrigation Methods with Special
References to the Ernad, Valluvanad and Palaghat
Region of Malabar
Abdulla P K
Scientist, Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, Kozhikode
* apk@cwrdm.org
Abstract
Over the centuries, irrigation methods are developed and improved to meet the location specific requirements.
Some of the methods developed are replicable at places having similar conditions. Irrigation method tested with
places having different conditions over the centuries and obtained from the previous generation or earlier
generations are generally known as traditional irrigation system. Increased demand of water from all sectors
such as irrigation, domestic, industries, etc and to produce more food; more area are brought under the irrigated
agriculture through the major, medium and minor irrigation schemes. The draw backs of traditional irrigation
methods like more labour intensive and prone to have more loss of water along with invention of new machinery
and materials and commissioning of irrigation projects caused discarding of many traditional irrigation systems.
In this paper a few traditional irrigation methods practiced in Malabar are discussed in general. Traditional
irrigation systems laid a strong foundation for the development of modern irrigation system and contribution
greatly in the evolution of history of irrigation systems.
Key words: Ethakotta, Theakkuthoni, Thudippu, Chira, Farm pond, Mathavu, Veth

Introduction modern irrigation methods. Traditional irrigation

Irrigation is as old as human civilization. When the
mankind started settled life on the banks of rivers;
agriculture and irrigation becomes a part of their life.
Over the centuries of learning and experimenting, the
irrigation methods were improved and inherited
through generations. Some of irrigation methods
developed by the ancient civilizations are documented
through the excavations at the sites of ancient
civilization like Harappa, Egyptian and Mesopotamian
civilization.
Over the generation, irrigation methods are improved
and leads to adaptation of the irrigation methods
developed at one place to other places having similar
conditions. Refinements of the irrigation methods to
suit the regional requirements lead to further
improvement in the methods and are passed through
generations. The irrigation methods obtained from the
previous generation or earlier generations are
generally known as traditional irrigation system.
Traditional irrigation method is a large domain; the
documentation of all these methods will be a herculean
task. Whatever is documented on the traditional
irrigation method so far may be a tip of an iceberg. In
the fast modern world, these traditional irrigation
methods are waning out; hence it is very much
essential to document these irrigation methods which
form a part or a stepping stone for the evolution of
systems are generally owned and operated by
individuals or by a group of individuals of an area to
irrigate the crops of that specific area. With the
increase in population, demand for the water has
increased by many folds from all sectors such as
irrigation, domestic, industries, etc. To produce more
food; more area are brought under the irrigated
agriculture. To achieve the goal of producing food for
the increasing population, in many irrigation projects
have been conceived and implemented in our country
particularly after the independence. Traditional
irrigation methods are generally more labour intensive
and prone to have more loss of water before it reach the
plants. With the invention of new machinery like
pumps run by kerosene, diesel and electricity, lifting
the water easier and less labour intensive which leads
to adaption of these in lieu in traditional irrigation.
Similarly invention of new materials (plastic) suitable
for conveyance of water, traditional irrigation system
got another setback. These two methods could
overcome the inherent drawbacks of the traditional
irrigational system and hence rich farmers started
adopting these new machines and materials for
irrigating the crops. In addition to the above; large,
medium and minor irrigation schemes implemented
for production of more food through intensive
irrigation accelerated the setback for the traditional
irrigational system. However, at few places some of

Annual Technical Volume 273


Figure 1 Erstwhile Malabar district with taluks and present
districts
the traditional irrigation systems are continues to
function along with modern irrigation systems. In this
paper a few traditional irrigation methods practiced in
Malabar are discussed in general. Malabar is the
geographic area covered by the erstwhile Malabar
district under British madras Presidency. Then
Malabar district consist of nine talukas which forms
five districts (Kannur, Kozhikode, Wyanad,
Malappuram and Palakkad) and part of sixth district
(Thrissur) of Kerala State (Figure 1). A few traditional
irrigation systems which the author had used to irrigate
the crops during his school days are discussed in detail.
Parts of Irrigation System
A modern irrigation systems, has many parts. Storage
or diversion, lifting, structures for controlling the flow
and water level, conveyance and on farm field
application are major components of any modern
irrigation system. Similarly, the traditional irrigation
system also has all these components.
Storage Structures
In traditional irrigation system, the storages are built
either by individuals or group of individuals to cater
their irrigation need in a particular area. Farm ponds
form the major portion of storage. In Malabar also,
farm ponds form a major traditional irrigation system.
Some of these tanks are extensively used even in these
days also.
Farm ponds: In early days, most of the small
274
watersheds or 'elas' had a farm pond or in local
parlance 'kulam'. When it is located at the upstream
point or head reach is known as 'thalakulam' or
'melekulam', which not only facilitated gravity flow to
the lower elevations fields and valleys, but also helped
in recharging the groundwater and maintaining soil
moisture. Farm ponds generally extend up to an area of
about 2 to 3 acres and many such thalakulams are using
even today at different parts of present Palakkad
district; Valiyeri, Pulavan kulam, Pandiyatheri,
Parayeri etc. are a few among them. Valiyeri in
Pudussery panchayat (Palakkad district) has an area of
24.34 acres and irrigates about 300 acres rice fields
surrounding it.
Network of Ponds: Several tanks were interconnected
to form a cascading system of tanks which helped in
storing water, regulating water levels and achieving
optimum use of water for irrigation purpose. One such
network consisting of seven ponds (yeri) can be seen in
Pudussery Panchayat in Palakkad district; they are
Arogyamada yeri (15 acres in extent with a command
area of 50 to 80 acres), Chellankavu yeri (8 acres in
extent with a command area of 83 to 90 acres), Valladi
yeri (16 acres in extent with a command area of 22
acres), Sooryampotta yeri (8 acres in extent with a
command area of 20 acres), Pandiyatheri (7 acres in
extent with a command area of 40 acres),
Thamarakulam (8 acres in extent) and Sathramkulam
(0.50 acres in extent). All these ponds are used for
irrigation purpose except Sathramkulam, which was
used for drinking water purpose till 1960.
To reduce the deposition of silt in ponds; a cross bund
is constructed on the upstream side of ponds with
stones known as 'Muttana' which will cause deposition
of silt and humus carried by the surface runoff before it
reaches the pond. The silt and humus is periodically
taken out and used as manure. Valiyeri in Pudussery
panchayat, which occupies an area of 24.34 acres, has
a muttana of about 50 cents.
Chirakandam: Chirakandam is an elevated stretch of
paddy field at the head reach of the agricultural fields,
which is used for storage of water. Only the first season
crop of rice is cultivated in this area. During the second
crop season, water is stored in this field and is released
to the lower elevation paddy fields as and when
required. During second crop season, Chirakandam
functions like a thalakkulam. Generally an area of
about 10 acres at the head reach is kept as chirakandam
to irrigate about 400 acres of paddy field and can be
seen in some parts of Palakkad district
Diversion and Conveyance
“The stream coming down the valley or ravine is
skillfully turned aside to right and left, high up in its
course where the first of the rice fields is terraced out of
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 the steep hill side. This device serves several purposes.
First of all, the divided stream is carried along the sides
of the valley at a higher level than the middle of it, thus
irrigation is easy; then again the channels serve as
catch drains for the streamlets coming down at
intervals along the hill sides; and, finally, the water
serves many domestic purposes as it flows close past
the outer gateway of the house. .. ". This is an excellent
description made by the then British Malabar
Collector, William Logan, in his book 'Malabar
Manual' about the diversion of stream to meet the
irrigation needs.
Different types of structures, mainly temporary nature,
are constructed (mainly during lean flow season)
across the stream so as to raise the water level in the
stream and divert water to the nearby fields. Locally
available materials, mainly bamboo, arecanut, coconut
leaves, earth and sand; are used for the construction of
these structures. Often, over flow portion will also be
provided for the structure. Depending on the nature,
materials of the construction and place; these types of
structures are known by different names.
Ø
Chira' is constructed mainly of
bamboo/arecanut, coconut leaf, earth and sand
during the beginning of lean flow season.
Ø
Check dam in some places chira is known as
check dam and is generally put up by farmers
themselves. Wayanad district has several check
dam made by earth known as manchira. In
Wayanad districts check dams are use to
construct by wood known as brushwood check
dam (Plate 1).
Ø
Anicut is a permanent structure constructed
across the stream by using boulders and soorki.
This type of structure is mainly seen in the
present Palakkad district.
Semi permanent structure similar to the present vented
cross bar (VCB) was used for diversion of water. In
this, vertical pillars at regular interval are constructed
across the stream up to the required portion, and a
beam connects these pillars at appropriate level.
Wooden planks 'cheerpu' are kept across the channel to
store and control water in the channel. Water level /
Plate 1 Brush wood check dam in Wayanad
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flow are controlled by lifting or dropping the plank.
Cheerpu is normally used to store water when there is
minimum flow of water. When water is not to be
stored, the plank is lifted and water is allowed to flow.
Control Structures
The purpose of control structure is to control the flow
and level of water. Water flow is monitored either by
controlling the water level as in the case of diversion
work or by controlling the opening of the inlet as in the
case of storage structures. Permanent, semi permanent
and temporary structures constructed across the
streams are also act like control structures, wherein the
water level is controlled to get the required flow
through the diversion.
Mathavu: Mathavu is a control structure meant for
storage structures and is constructed at the lowest level
of a farm pond / tank (yeri) to effectively control the
distribution of water into the fields which can be seen
in Palakkad district. A mathavu has three main parts.
The inlet structure located inside the farm pond has
outlets at different levels to release water according to
the water level in the pond. The number of outlets
depends upon the depth of the pond. These outlets are
usually closed using a well-shaped, tight-fitting stone
having a chain and lock system for locking the opening
(Plate 2). Depending on the water level in the pond, the
outlets will be opened. An earthen pipe conveys water
to the downstream side where an outlet tank is built.
The outlet tank will reduce the turbulence and eddies
caused by the water current. From this tank, water is
conveyed to the field channels.
Panampaathy Ovu: As name indicates, this control
structure is made up of many tight fitting cylindrical
pieces of rind of palms (pana) joined in linear fashion
Plate 2 Water control structure Mathavu
275

Figure 2 Control structure 'Panampaathy
(Figure 2). Each pieces generally having a length of
72 cm and diameter 20 cm. The connected rind pipe
crosses the bund at the lowest level of the pond. The
height of vertical cylinder inside the pond can be
increased or decreased by adding or removing the
pieces of rind. For closing the outlet of the structure
both at the upstream and downstream, round shaped
stones are used as stoppers. This type of structure can
be seen at Thenkurissy panchayat of Palakkad district.
Water Lifting Devices
Water lifting devices are of two categories; lifting from
small depth like that from channels or farm ponds and
lifting from deep water bodies like wells. Depending
on the depth to the water and depth of water column,
different methods are used.
Lifting through High and Medium Head
In this, water is lifted mainly from wells and lift varies
from 10 feet to 50 feet depending on the of method
employed for lifting the water.
Kaalathekku: It uses bullocks to lift water from deep
wells to irrigate both paddy and garden crops. This
was practiced in the Palakkad district (Valluvanad and
area bordering Tamil Nadu), now is almost extinct.
Capacity of kotta (bucket) of Kaalathekku is about 150
to 200 litres. About 5 minutes will be required to lift on
kotta of water from a dept of 10 feet and a pair of
healthy bullocks can lift water continuously for 5 to 6
hours. For the operation of Kaalathekku, two persons
will be required.
Round Kavala/ Persian wheel: This similar to
Kaalathekku. Here a series of metallic cups (about 15
to 20 numbers depending on the depth to water
surface), each having a capacity of 5 to 6 litres are
moving with a chain and gear system which is operated
by a pair of bullocks.
Ethan/Thulan: This is manually operated water lifting
device used for irrigating paddy, coconut and arecanut
plantations, vegetables, betel leaves. This works on the
principle of simple machines. Etham consists of six
276
parts. It is fixed on wooden poles called 'ethakallu'
having two parallel legs or a single Y-shaped leg. For
permanent use, legs are live trunks and for temporary
arrangements, legs are made of arecanut stem and
bamboo pole. A wooden block called 'edakana' is
placed at the top of the ethakallu such that it can rotate
between the ethakallu. A long bamboo pole with gentle
curvature called 'vesha' (in some areas this is called
'palanikolu') is placed on the edakana in such that
edakana is at about one-third of the length of the vesha.
A counter weight known as kumazha or uzhingal
(mostly circular shaped rock piece) which is fixed to
the end of shorter arm of the vesha with the help of njali
and moottani (to keep the stone in place). A bamboo
basket filled with stone and mud tied to vesha is also
used instead of rock piece. A bamboo piece, called
kaiari, is suspended at the other end of vesha using a
rope. The dimension of different components of, the
etham such as height of ethakallu vesha and kaiari and
distance of ethakallu from the water body depends on
the depth to the water table. Water lifted is delivered
into the kottathalam or kottapaathi from which water
flows through the channel.
Operation of Etham: For lifting water, a trapezoidal
wooden vessel known as 'ethakotta' or 'thulakotta' is
used. The ethakotta will be attached to the free end of
kaiari with the help of a wooden piece passing through
its centre called Nakku. A bridge called methiy or
palam made of bamboo or arecanut stem is placed
across the water source for the to and fro movement of
the person while operating the etham (Plate 3). While
lowering the ethakotta, the person operating the etham
moves backward along the bridge and by
simultaneously applying downward effort on the
kaiari. Ethakotta is free to rotate at the lower end of the
kairai and while lowering, the ehakotta uses to swing.
Plate 3 Etham with ethakotta
For an experienced operator, the ethakotta touches the
water surface on the tapered side. With a gentle
downward force on the kairai, ethakotta will be filled
with water and is lifted while moving forward along
the bridge and by simultaneously applying upward
effort on the ethakotta. After lifting, the upper edge of
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 the thulakotta is placed on brim of kottathalam and
with a gentle downward force applied on the kairai, the
thulakotta rotates about the edge and water discharges
into the kottathalam. Kottapaathi is usually made with
pseudostems of banana or a sack to prevent damage to
the thulakotta. By this method, water can be lifted from
a depth of 5 to 7 m.
The capacity of thulakotta is about 25 litres and it is
usually made out of Teak (Tectona grandis) wood. If
leakage is detected in thulakotta, a mixture of
powdered earthen tile and resin of jackfruit is placed at
the leaking area. Then a red-hot iron piece is placed
over that part so that the mixture melts and plugs the
leak. A person can continuously lift water using etham
for about one and a half to two hours during which it is
possible to lift nearly 400 kottas (10,000litres) of
water. Water is usually lifted during early morning
hours and late evening hours to prevent loss of water
due to evaporation. This method can now be seen at
isolated parts of Palakkad district. The out turn
(quantity of water per ethakotta) remains the same
irrespective of the lift.
Lifting through Small Head
In this, water is lifted through low head, from channels
and pits; the lift varies from 1 feet to 5 feet depending
on the of method employed for lifting the water.
Veth: This is an effective and simple traditional
irrigation method used to lift water from shallow
ponds, streams or channels to fields at a height of about
two to three feet. In this method, the person stands in
the pond /stream while lifting the water. Veth is a
hollow wooden cuboid with its top and front portions
opened and a handle attached at the rear end and having
a size of about 90 cm x 25 cm x 15 cm and weighs 2 to 3
kg. On the closed end, a rope is tied near to the handle
and the system is suspended from the top of tripod
made of poles fixed on the bunds / banks of the water
source (Plate 4). By exerting forces simultaneously on
the rope and the handle, and swinging the veth about
the top of the tripod water can be lifted. About 25-35
litres of water can be lifted at a time. One person can lift
water continuously for about 4 to 5 hours. Veth is
coated with cashew nut resin, tar or oil every year.
Thudippu:. This is made from the petiole of palm
Plate 4 Veth
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leaves (panampola) with a coir hook and a short
handle. This device is used to irrigate betel leaf and
banana plants, arecanut and vegetables from pits
(having diameter about 1.5 m) and channels containing
water. By holding one hand on the short handle and
other hand on the coir hook, keeping the bottom of the
thudippu in the water and with the synchronized
movements of both hands, water can be lifted. When
water leaves the thudippu, water will takes the
trajectory of a projectile and reaches the plants as a
splash. An experienced person can lift water upto 1 to
1.5 m and throw water up to 10 to 15 m. Often a
wooden or metallic stiffener will be provided at the
bottom of the thudippu so that it can cover more
distance from the pits. Since water is applied to the
plants as splash; this sometime called as splash
irrigation. Thudippu is still in use at few parts of Kodur
(Plate 5) and Ponmala panchayats of present
Malappuram district for irrigating the betel leaf and the
arecanut.
Plate 5 Thudippu
Theakkuthoni: This is similar to a boat with an open
end and is operated with etham for lifting the water
through small head. The open end of the boat is kept on
the kottathalam on the ridge of the paddy field and the
other end is in the water. The other end of the boat
(closed) is tied to the lower end of the kairai of the
etham with a rope. The bridge called methiy or paalam
made of bamboo pole or arecanut stem is placed across
the water source such that the length of boat can be
accommodated between the bridge and the bank. The
closed end of the boat has a footrest. Bottom of the of
the thoni is shaped such the near the open end it is flat
so that it can easily rest on the bank of the canal,
whereas the closed end of the boat is tapered
downward such that it can be easily filled with water
by applying little force by one leg (Plate 6). The width
of boat increases from the closed end to the open end
whereas the change in the depth of boat is in reverse
order. Generally these boats are made up of mango
trees. The length of boat varies from 1.5 m to 2.5 m.
The cross sectional details at open end will be about
width 20 - 30 cm and depth 15 - 20 cm; whereas that at
the closed end will be width about 10 - 15 cm and depth
25 - 35 cm. The bottom one third of the depth is tapered
and tapering of bottom extent up to the middle of the
boat.
277

Plate 6 Etham with theakkuthoni
Unlike in the previous case of etham with kotta, the
operator need not move to and fro along the bridge. In
this, operator stand on a bridge generally parallel to the
bank of the canal. By apply downward force with the
hands on the kaiari and downward force on the footrest
of the boat with one leg and other leg on the bridge,
water can be filled in the boat. After filling with water;
standing on the bridge, the kairai will be lifted with
hands which intern lift the closed end of the boat so that
the water will be emptied into the kottathalam. In this,
mechanical advantage of at least two each is obtained
both from etham and thoni. The depth of water in the
canal did not matter the operator as he stands on the
bridge. Generally 0.6 m t0 0.9 m lifting of water is
carried out by this method. Unlike the case of etham
and kotta, the output per the boat varies significantly
with the lift; output decreases has the height of the lift
increases.
Conveyance
Generally earthen channels are used for conveyance
wherein loss due to seepages is significant. Wherever
water availability is at elevated places in the traced
plots and that too with limited quantity; conveyance
made up of spilt bamboo or arecanut stems supported
on poles, properly staked and connected end-to-end at
joints are used. Arecanut stem are straight, hence for
conveyance without branching, generally split
arecanut stems are used. With this, water can be
directly made available at the root zone of the plants.
Split bamboo is more durable as it can retain its shape
for longer duration than that of the split areacanut stem.
Dead leaves from the trees often block the flow of
water and causes overflowing. This method was in
practice in parts of Malappuram, Palakkad and
Wayanad districts. With the introduction of plastics in
irrigation; this type of conveyance is replaced by it,
particularly by the pipes. Introduction on pipes could
overcome the two inherent drawbacks of this
traditional conveyance system like overflow of water
caused by the blockage in the conveyance system and
changes in the alignment /gradient due to the changes
278
at the support points for the split bamboo/ arecanut
stems.
On-farm Application
Often irrigation water reaches the plant through the
channels which leads to significant loss of water. To
reduce the water loss, a few traditional methods for the
application of irrigation water to the plant are used in
this region.
Pitcher Irrigation
Pitcher irrigation is an indigenous drip irrigation
method, which is being practiced by the people since
ancient times. Earthen pots or sewed pala of arecanut
are placed near the seedlings of plants/trees and water
is allowed to drip continuously through a wick placed
in a small hole made at the bottom of the pot. This
continuous watering system saves large quantity of
water. The pitcher once filled supplies sufficient
moisture for couple of days and after that it has to be
filled up again. This system is still practiced in certain
parts of Palakkad and Malappuram district districts.
Splash irrigation: Splash irrigation is done for betel
leaves and plantation crops like arecanut in
Malapuram district in areas where the plants are above
the channel. Irrigation is done with the help of
Thudippu or leaf sheath of arecanut. Water from the
pond/channel is scooped and splashed into the basin of
the tree.
Split bamboo/arecanut stem
Spilt bamboo or arecanut stems supported on poles,
properly staked and connected end-to-end at joints are
often used for on farm the application o the water.
Conclusion
Traditional irrigation systems are gradually fading
away form the irrigation history of the region. Any
factors contributed for this. Intervention of
governments through irrigation schemes (minor,
medium and major), invention of pumps (operated by
kerosene, petrol, diesel and electricity), inventor of
new materials (like flexible PVC pipes), shortage of
water, need to irrigate more area to produce more food
grains, migration of farm workers to other sectors,
shortage of farm workers, labour intensiveness of
traditional irrigation methods are some of the factors
contributed towards the fading of traditional irrigation
system. However, traditional irrigation systems put a
strong foundation for the development of modern
irrigation system. Contribution of traditional irrigation
system in the evolution of history of irrigation is
enormous.
Reference
1. CWRDM (2004), Indigenous Knowledge on Water
Management in Kerala, Report
Annual Technical Volume
 Traditional Irrigation Systems of Kerala
Deepu M. R.
Senior Engineer – Planning
Leighton India Contractors Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai
* deepumrcivil@gmail.com

Introduction catchment in the higher elevations. Besides storage of

water for six to seven months, the madakas can dry up
Traditional Irrigation systems in kerala have its own
in summer months, but can help immensely by raising
major part in this states culture, history and society. In
the water table of the aquifers as given in Figure 1.
earlier kerala lands were with kings, temples, churches
Building the madaka higher up ensures water in the
or Brahmin landlords. The Lands were leased to
lower areas until the end of summer. The excess of
tenants for cultivation and tenants have to pay Lions
flow that flows over the bunds can be utilised to
Share of harvest to land lord and most the times fixed
irrigate the fields and the madakas are most commonly
lion shares whether they yields it or not. Also being a
used for irrigation, but its other function of absorbing
pure monsoon dependent state always loss lied with
water for recharge continues to be a relatively less
tenants and the reforms to present state from that
known feature till recent times The laterite soil in
period including social development, political
agricultural areas is ideal for madakas as laterite belts
development, revolutions attached with and says the
have faster absorption and depletion of water and
importance of cultivations in this state and most
madakas aid in slow percolation of water through the
dorminantly importance of irrigation systems and need
cracks and are thus often compared to percolation
of effective irrigation system to the state as demand vs
ponds. This helps in recharge of groundwater and
supply from this field is acute all the times of its
water oozes through springs and other outlets into
history.
manmade tanks or wells, which are located near the
As per records, Kerala have 44 rivers, three originating point of water collection in the madaka.
in the Western Ghats. 41 of them flow westward and 3
It is a very effective technique in slopy/hilly irrigation
eastward. The rivers of Kerala are small, in terms of
lands.
length, breadth and water discharge. None of them are
major rivers and only 4 out of 44 are classified as
medium rivers. The rivers flow faster, owing to the
hilly terrain and as the short distance between the
Western Ghats and the sea. Also in these rivers, 33
reservoirs are constructed at state in which 16 are in
Palakkad, Thrissur, Kozhikode districts, 6 in
Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta
districts, 10 in Idukki district out of 14 districts in
kerala. Hence than some parts, it is a major monsoon
dependant state and all major traditional irrigation
systems followed were rain water catchment , storage
and supply types and river water diversion types at
river flowing areas eventhough major rivers have an
acute water shortage in summers. This paper refers
some traditional irrigation and water preservation
systems exist in kerala which can be a guideline to
follow in same type of terrains and climate.
The Madakas of Kerala and Karnataka
A madaka, also known as a kanive kere, is a traditional
rainwater harvesting body, a rejuvenated percolation
pond. Usually it is built on the upper reaches of the
hills, and thus catches the huge run-off that gushes
from hilltops. The main function of a madaka is thus to
catch most of the run-off that flows from their Figure 1 Storage systems of water

Annual Technical Volume 279

 The Thurangams of Kasargod, Kerala
Thurangams (Surangams in Karnataka) are traditional
manmade tunnels of water sees at kasargod. The
Bayaru village of Kasargod have 2000+ Thurangams
in existence with skilled people for Thurangam
carving!!!!. It is generally a dug for drinking water at
slopy areas. The basic sketch diagram of Thurangams
shown as below which are similar to Qanats of Iran.
The advantage of this system are the system requires
no energy, reliant on the force of gravity alone, the
system can carry water across long distances through
subterranean chambers avoiding leakage, evaporation,
or pollution and the discharge is fixed by nature,
producing only the amount of water that is distributed
naturally from a spring or mountain, ensuring the
water table is not depleted. More importantly, it allows
access to a reliable and plentiful source of water to
those living in otherwise marginal landscapes.
A Thurangamm is a tunnel dug through a laterite
hillock through which water seeps out and into the
tunnel. Water is then collected at the end of the tunnel
in a storage pit (Figure 2).
The only cost of the a Thurangamm is the initial cost of
digging which was done by local workmen who were
familiar with the geology, soil, slope etc.
Figure 2 Schematic of water tunnel
280
Figure 3 Channel of water
The Korambus / Chira
Korambu is a temporary dam stretching across the
mouth of channels, made of brushwood, mud and grass
(Figure 3). It is constructed by horizontally fixing a
strong wooden beam touching either banks of the
canal. A series of vertical wooden beams of
appropriate height is erected with their lower ends
resting firmly on the ground and the other ends tied to
the horizontal beam. Closely knitted or matted coconut
thatch is tied to this frame. A coat of mud is applied to
the matted frame. A layer of grass is also applied
carefully which prevents dissolution of the applied
mud. Korambu is constructed to raise the water level in
the canal and to divert th e water into field channels. It
is so built that excess water flows over it and only the
required amount of water flows into the diversion
channels. The height of the Korambu is so adjusted
that the fields lying on the upstream are not
submerged. Water is allowed to flow from one field to
another until all the field are irrigated. They are built
twice a year especially before the onset of the monsoon
season in order to supply water during winter and
Figure 4 Irrigation through pond
summer season. In Kasargod and Thrissur districts of
Kerala, Korambu is known as chira.
The Kulams (Ponds)
Tank irrigation is regarded as a stabilising factor of
agricultural production in the region where uncertainty
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 of rainfall is pronounced (Figure 4). Tanks are an
ancient source of irrigation and are found in almost all
States except Punjab in India. The Tank Irrigations in
Kerala conventionally named as Kulams. Kulams
normally refers to a dugout reservoir which has steps
on all sides reaching down to the waters. One of the
main functions of a kulam is irrigation of fields for
cultivation. Each Kulam is designed to irrigate a
certain extent of agricultural land. The water reaches
the fields through valves or sluices. Sluices are located
normally at different levels so as to be able to supply
water at different elevations at each time. Major paddy
cultivations in kerala were depend on Kulams for
source of water as paddy field requires constant water
levels throughout the cultivation period (Figure 5).
Figure 5 Cultivation through irrigation
The Padams (Conventional Check Basins)
It is the most common method adopts in paddy fields of
kerala. In this the entire field is divided into smaller
unit areas so that each has a nearly level surface. Bunds
or ridges are constructed around the area forming
basins within which the irrigation water can be
controlled. The water applied to a desired depth can be
retained until it infiltrates into the soil. The size of the
basin varies from 10m2 to 25 m2 depending upon soil
type, topography, stream size and crop (Figure 6).
Basin type irrigation is a very effective method for
crops which requires constant water levels throughout
the crop period as water can be lowered by
demolishing small portions of bunds as well as
Figure 6 Check basin
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recharge if requires by rising water levels. Also the
padams are the good natural rechargers of ground
water table.
The Thodu (Conventional Inundation Canals)
Thodu are the conventional inundation canals used to
draw water from large rivers without making any
barrage or dams. These are manmade branches of
Figure 7 Conventional irrigation system
rivers for the purpose of irrigation. Normally water
will be available in thodu while rivers are flooded,
mostly in monsoons. These were the channels to reach
water to agricultural fields or storages (Figure 7).
The Kinars (Wells)
Being a monsoon dependent state, individual houses
water requirements as well as agricultural
requirements in non-monsoon seasons were from
individual wells on grounds in kerala at low and
medium water table areas. Water used to lift by pulley
and bucket manually (Figure 8).
Eventhough this type of well irrigation directly
depletes ground water table and is not advisable for a
common usage, the acute shortage in water availability
Figure 8 Irrigation through well
281
 forced tenants to go for well irrigations especially in
summers. Eventhough water table gets recharged in
monsoon seasons in kerala, the studies reveals gradual
reduction in water table year by year and is more while
low monsoon precipitation seasons.
Conclusion
In Kerala, there is an evident absence in generalisation
and development on locally developed traditional
irrigation systems as on date. The Kulams or water
catchment tanks, thods, and padams are suddenly
diminishing without change in climatic conditions or
topography and tube wells and piped water supply
becomes the source of water to the major public which
inturn depends majorly on ground water table or
catching fast flowing rivers and distributing. In these
the first one is not advisable due to ground water
depletion as well as ground water pollution and second
one is costly to set up and operate and heavily depends
on monsoon at CATCHMENT AREA OR NEAR BY
and supplies to whole area.
Hence as a conclusion author believes in Kerala, the
282
public. than depending in major river catchments and
piped water supply only and blames for authority for
water shortage in summers, should go back and try for
kulams (tank storage or individual catchments for
every individual than major dam catchments at some
places for whole state), padams or flooding in lands
while monsoon to get sufficient water through wells
while summers from the same land, the madakas type
water catchment at hill tops to recharge acquifers at
valleys.
Also it is surprising that in Kerala while development
from old to modern age, this state concentrated to take
out water from resources but forgot to put it in to take
back next time which they practised in older times due
to the prevailing conditions of state. Hence author
believes every individual or small socities may
concentrate on recharge storage sources while water
available times predorminantly on monsoons which
shall use in water acute times like summer and
development for and familiarisation of that like
systems among public are need of the time for our
state.
Annual Technical Volume
 A Holistic Approach for Harnessing and Management
of Water Resources for Enhancing Agricultural
Productivity in Eastern Region
R. C. Srivastava
Scientist, Indian Institute of Water Management, Bhubaneswar
* ramesh_cari@yahoo.co.in
Abstract
Eastern India comprising east Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Chhattisgarh are
endowed with rich natural resources but still the difference between potential achievable yields and actual
productivity is highest in country. Sensing this potential, Government of India initiated many schemes for the
region to enhance the productivity. Lack of irrigation is a major constraint in bridging the gap between potential
and actual yields. To alleviate this, a holistic approach has been identified for development of water resources
covering all prevalent ecosystems. This article presents this holistic approach and plan.

Introduction was 1495 cubic meter as on March 2015 with a

Water resources occupy a special place among other
natural resources. It is fundamental for sustaining a
high quality of life and economic and social
development. The estimates suggest that the Earth's
hydrosphere contains a huge amount of water, but 97.5
% is in the form of ice and permanent snow cover in
polar and high mountainous regions. Out of total fresh
water available, which is only 2.7% of total water on
earth, only 0.26% is concentrated in lakes, reservoirs
and river systems and 22.6% is available as
groundwater. The annual rainfall in India is 120 cm but
its distribution is temporal and spatially uneven. As
entire rainfall in India occurs within the narrow span of
few days, it has led to increasing reliance on
groundwater as well as surface water for irrigation
purposes which has historically played and will
continue to play a critical role in agricultural
development and overall well being of many societies
around the World.
Irrigated agriculture is the dominant user of water,
accounting for about 80 % of global and 86 % of
developing countries' water consumption (Kumar et
al., 2003). Gross water demand for all users in India is
expected to grow up from 750 billion cubic meters
(BCM) in 2000 to 1027 BCM by 2025. The gross water
demand by irrigation sector alone is estimated to be
910 BCM by 2025 (CWC 2010). Population and
income growth will boost demand for irrigation water
to meet food production requirements, household and
industrial water demand. Though, India has one of the
largest irrigated areas in the World, its per capita or per
hectare availability of water in India has come down
from 5300 m3 (1955) to 1967 cubic meter (1977) and it
projection to further decrease and wide inter-basin
variations.
Irrigation development, which in combination with
high yielding varieties (HYV) contributed for the
success of Green Revolution in sixties, has always
been the priority area of national agricultural
development strategy. Ascertaining precise
contribution of irrigation is difficult (World Bank,
1998) because there are no official Indian statistical
data that provide the breakdown of agricultural
production under irrigated or rainfed conditions.
Nevertheless, various estimates point to a contribution
from irrigated agriculture to overall agricultural
production of about two thirds, and under some
estimates an even higher contribution. The World
Bank in its India Irrigation Sector Review in 1991
estimated irrigated agriculture's contribution to be
about 55 % (World Bank, 1991). This matches with the
Planning Commission (GOI, 1999) figure of 58 % of
food production coming from irrigated area. Seckler
and Sampath (1958) estimated that irrigation has
contributed nearly sixty % to the growth in agricultural
productivity. However, the contribution of different
sources of irrigation in agricultural growth is not
uniform. The area irrigated by Government canals in
India since independence is increasing at the rate of 2.4
%, while that by wells is increasing at the rate of 3.9 %,
(Kumar, 2005). In 1961 the contribution of ground
water to total irrigated area was 1% and rest by surface
water. Tubewell explosion has changed this scenario
and presently 61% of irrigated area is irrigated by
ground water and rest by surface water. This also
reflects change in the investment pattern as almost

Annual Technical Volume 283

 whole of investment in ground water exploitation is
from private sector while in surface water it is public
investment.
Although eastern region is still in safe category as far as
per capita water availability is concerned, but utilizable
and available surface water situation is not that
different from other regions (Table 1). It has got least
length of rivers and canals. Similarly ground water
resource utilization is least in eastern India (Table 2).
Compounding this situation is fact that % of Irrigation
Potential Utilized (IPU) to that of Irrigation Potential
Created (IPC) is least among all four regions and
almost 8% less than national average (Table 3).
In view of above water resource development and
management strategy for eastern region have to be
designed keeping in view the resource scenario,
technology availability and administrative network.
Indian Institute of Water Management, Bhubaneswar
in collaboration with National Academy of
Agricultural Sciences prepared an approach paper for
Table 1 Region-wise utilizable surface water
Table 2 Region-wise groundwater resources availability, utilization and stage of development in India
Table 3 Zone-wise irrigation development at the end of tenth five year plan (000, ha)
284
harnessing and management of water resources for
enhancing agricultural productivity in eastern region
with wide discussion with user departments. The plan
has been divided in five parts as per the domain in
which the water source exists. This article provides a
glimpse of this approach which fits very well with PM
Krishi Sinchai Yojna and emphasis of Government of
India on development of agriculture in eastern India.
Approach and Plan
This plan can be implemented by collaborative efforts
of different departments of state government with an
active involvement of institutes of Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR) and State Agricultural
Universities (SAUs.) The people's participation is a
must for effective and sustainable implementation of
the action plan, and therefore, their active involvement
has to be ensured by trapping existing non-
governmental organizations (NOOs) or creating new
ones wherever credible organizations do not exist.
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 Rain Water Management
The eastern region is endowed with adequate rainfall
varying from 1100 mm in eastern U.P. to more than
1500 mm in North Bengal. Unfortunately even with
this rainfall, drought is a common occurrence in the
region. With undulating topography and poor ground
water availability, Jharkhand, Orissa (except coastal
areas) and Chhattisgarh are severely affected by
drought. During 1961-2015 period, Orissa
experienced 18 droughts out of which 7 were severe,
although the state average rainfall was below 1000 mm
only in three years with lowest being 950.7 mm. Thus,
drought occurrence in this region is not due to the lack
of rainfall but its erratic distribution. During the year
2000, which was a drought year, in one location of
Northern Orissa, the total monsoon rainfall was just
12.8% below normal but the deviation from normal
rainfall during June, July, August, September and
October were + 81.6%, + 12.1%, -5I.5%, -31.8% and
80.5% respectively. Thus, the rice crop faced a severe
moisture stress during reproductive phase with yield in
rain fed areas dropping to a low of 0.4 to 0.6 t ha-1. It is,
therefore, necessary to formulate a strategy for
mitigating the effects of the aberration in rainfall.
Following actions should be taken up for achieving
these objectives in short term:
The region
l has a traditional culture of having
ponds both at individual level in the backyard and
community level as village ponds. These ponds
can serve as major sources of the water
conservation as well as ground water recharge.
However most of them have become redundant
due to siltation, choking of inlets and outlets. A
scientific enumeration of these ponds is required
using remote sensing and GIS techniques. With
satellite imageries available with 1m x 1m
resolution, a very detailed database can be
prepared. Once the required data are available, a
programme for renovation can be drawn up and a
massive renovation programme can be taken up.
With MANREGA funds the state government
can involve SAUSs and ICAR institutes in
preparing this plan. These renovated old ponds
can be coupled with open dugwells to harvest
recharged pond water. This whole system
alongwith pumping system and conveyance pipe
can create a large irrigation potential. The
technology for this is available with IIWM,
Bhubaneswar. Once the required data are
available, a programme for renovation can be
drawn up and a massive renovation programme
can be taken up with the help of IIWM,
Bhubaneswar.
With
l increasing human and environmental cost,
the major and medium irrigation projects are
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becoming economically and environmentally
unviable. Due to this, the growth of irrigated
areas under major and medium irrigation projects
has retarded considerably. IIWM, Bhubaneswar
has advocated a new tier of water resource
development called 'Micro level water
resources'. Under this, tank-cum well system,
small springs, small perennial and seasonal
streams can be exploited. Individually these
resources will command 2-10 ha area, but
collectively they can irrigate a large area.
Technology for exploiting these resources has
been developed by IIWM, Bhubaneswar.
Significantly, these resources are not accounted
in estimation of the ultimate irrigation potential
and therefore they are over and above that
potential. The cost of developing these resources
varies between Rs. 25,000 to 1,00,000 per ha of
irrigated area. These technologies have been
successfully demonstrated on pilot scale by the
IIWM. State governments should take steps to
replicate these technologies firstly on pilot scale
and then on large scale.
An inventory
l of water harvesting structures
(WHS) constructed under different watershed
management programmes and the area irrigated
by it should be compiled. Monitoring of the
effectiveness of these WHS for providing
irrigation as well as the difference between
potential and actual irrigated area should be done
on regular basis. For this, an independent
mechanism involving scientists, engineers of
other organizations and established and credit
worthy NGOs should be involved. Few
evaluation studies have found that there is huge
difference between reported and actual irrigated
areas. This should be recorded vigorously so that
strategies for its improvement could be
formulated.
Rain
l water management both in-situ and in tank
should also be adopted in canal/well commands
for reducing irrigation water requirement, and its
effect on increase in irrigation intensity should be
monitored to evaluate the impact.
Ground Water Utilization
The eastern region is quite rich in ground water
resource. The total overall utilizable ground water
potential for irrigation is about 12.5 M ha-m. From the
point of view of occurrence and exploitable ground
water, the entire eastern region can be divided into five
zones:
a) Zone of ground water reservoir with ample scope
of exploitation. It comprises alluvium of entire
gangetic plain in the states of Eastern U.P. Bihar
and West Bengal.
285
 b) Zone of ground water with hard and consolidated
rocks. It comprises entire Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh, Southern part of West Bengal,
Western and Central part of Orissa.
c) Zone of poor ground water availability. It
comprises hill region of southern Orissa and part
of northern A.P.
d) Zone of artesian ground water reservoir. It
comprises tarai region of Bihar and West Bengal
mostly at the foothills of the Himalayas.
e) Zone of coastal ground water resources. It
consists of coastal pockets of A.P. Orissa and
West Bengal.
A study of utilization of ground water in different
districts of eastern states shows that the in almost all
districts of eastern India barring few. Spending in
irrigation development is sluggish in all states which is
evident from % annual growth in major and medium
systems (just 0.8, 2.1 and 1.8% in Bihar, West Bengal
and Orissa respectively). It is slightly higher for
surface flow based minor systems (1.3, 2.78 and
2.45%). However, the % annual growth in ground
water based minor irrigation is 7.09, 13.5 and 2.79%
for Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa respectively which
looks quite good, but most of it has come from private
investment. A study in Andalusion (Spain) has shown
that each cubic meter of ground water used for
irrigation provides 5 times more money and almost 4
times more jobs than a cubic meter of surface water
used for irrigation. Thus, there is need for enhanced
government spending in the field of ground water
exploitation. This becomes more essential for eastern
region in view of poverty and farmers being resource
poor, unable to invest sufficiently. A planned
government intervention will also reduce the negative
effects of ground water exploitation such as excessive
draw down, land subsidence, drying up of springs, wet
lands or streams, ecological impacts or ground water
quality degradation. Following action plan has been
suggested to achieve the goal of sustainable higher
exploitation of ground water.
The plains
l of the region are rich in groundwater
and except areas near the coastline, there is a
great potential of exploiting this resource for
irrigation. Barring a few blocks of Balasore
district of Orissa, Northand South 24 Paraganas
of W.B and Gaya district of Bihar, almost entire
region is categorized as white from ground water
exploitation point of view. Thus, an ambitious
programme should be drawn up for ground water
exploitation. As this region also has thick clay
layer having very low permeability above the
aquifer, suitable measures should be adopted to
recharge the aquifer faster. This will enable
286
reduction in waterlogging due to water
congestion during monsoon as well as increase in
recharge of the ground water. Planning for
recharge structure should form an integral part of
ground water exploitation plan to avoid
contamination and fast depletion of ground water
which has happened in other parts of country.
Open
l wells/tube well system should be designed
in such a way that their total annual yield is equal
to annual recharge. Ground water for irrigation is
more beneficial for low duty high value crops as it
is costly because of energy required for pumping.
Suitable marketing infrastructure should form an
integral part of the crop diversification to
maximize the benefits to the farmers. Ground
water irrigation should be judiciously planned in
conjunction with surface water and rainfall.
A major
l problem in utilization of the
groundwater on individual basis has been the
high cost of infrastructure required. With the
advent of portable 1.5-3.5 hp petrol
start/kerosene run engines and 2-3 hp single
phase electric motors, the infrastructure cost as
well as running cost has been reduced
significantly. However, one of the major
constraints observed is non-availability of the
kerosene oil for pumping purposes. The public
distribution system does not supply kerosene oil
for pumping purposes and industrial kerosene oil
is not available in villages or even in small towns.
Thus a mechanism should be developed to ensure
timely supply of kerosene oil. Whenever
possible, single phase electrical connection
should be provided for operation of single phase
low horsepower electric pumping units
especially for small and marginal farmers. This
will eliminate security requirement and
installation of infrastructure of transformer etc.
Although several schemes for drilling of shallow
l
tubewells are available but they are not showing
desired impact. These schemes should be
strengthened by minimizing the paper work. If
possible NGOs should be involved in drilling
tubewells with sufficient people participation.
The
l productivity of the well water can be
increased by delivering the well water to fish
pond before taking for irrigation. Technologies
for this are available with ICAR-RCER, Patna
and Central Institute for Freshwater Aquaculture.
Development of Waterlogged Areas
Water logging is expression of edaphic environment
where the crop is not able to perform to its potential due
to excess water. Excess water retards the respiration
Annual Technical Volume
 process which affects plant growth. Normally
waterlogged area is defined by depth of ground water
table.If the ground water table is within the root zone of
the plant, it hinders root growth and the area is called
waterlogged. This high water table causes soil
salinization and its related problems. However, in
Eastern India, in general, and Orissa in particular,
water logging is mostly due to water congestion which
is created by topography, poor drainage density and
poor water fall conditions. These areas also suffer from
lack of water during post-monsoon period. While in
the inland areas, the problem can be solved by proper
ground water exploitation, in coastal areas which have
saline ground water, the situation is very precarious. In
some years, these areas face serious problem of even
drinking water. Thus, the approach to the problem
should be to mitigate waterlogging during monsoon
period, increase productivity of the waterlogged areas
by crop diversification, and create irrigation potential
for increasing the cropping intensity. The following
suggested action plan deals with these issues:
Waterlogging
l in the eastern region is mainly due
to water congestion during monsoon. Solution to
this problem lies not only at the place of its
occurrence but its treatment from the top of
watershed. A program of construction of micro-
reservoirs along low order steams should be
advocated to intercept runoff, reduce peak flow,
enhance ground water recharge and create
irrigation potential for increasing agricultural
production.
Large permanent water bodies such as Chaur, Tall
l
etc. have become wasteland although they can be
turned very productive with proper planning for
alternative/multiple use of water. IIWM,
Bhubaneswar has developed technologies for
alternative/multipleuse of such water bodies. The
state government department should replicate
these technologies in close collaboration with the
scientists of IIWM for its field evaluation. A multi
pronged strategy should be developed for
development of these water bodies for its
multiple utilization as sink during monsoon and
water source during post monsoon for
pisciculture, duckery and cultivation of aquatic
crops viz., makhana (Euryale ferox), water
chestnut (Trapabispinsa) and swamp taro
(Colocasiaesculenta).
There
l is good scope of expansion of irrigation
through micro water resource development in
coastal waterlogged areas, i.e., very shallow tube
wells upto a depth of 10 m, filter point wells, and
small sub surface water harvesting structure. The
project on land shaping-cum-sweet water
reservoirs can be undertaken in these areas to (1)
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store rainwater and harvest sub surface water
through small ponds, (ii) develop land to
mitigate/reduce water congestion within the mini
catchment, and (iii) promote diversified cropping
by irrigation. Technology for these systems has
been developed and demonstrated by IIWM,
Bhubaneswar.
Canal Commands
The eastern region has a large canal network.
However, most of the canal system barring a few are
run off the river type due to flat topography. Due to this
system suffers shortage of water during early monsoon
and the post monsoon season due to low flow of the
river during this period. The problem is further
compounded by two facts: (i) field to field irrigation
and (ii) rice is the major crop in post monsoon season
especially in Orissa, W.B. and Chhattisgarh. Due to
this, the efficiency of the system is quite low, and the
difference between potential and actual irrigated area
is quite high. For increasing the irrigated area and
reducing waterlogging due to over irrigation it is
necessary that application efficiency of the canal
commands is increased. The following proposed
action plan is an effort in this direction:
A very good beginning has been made in forming
l
farmers irrigation cooperatives, i.e. Pani
Panchayats to manage the operation and
maintenance of irrigation minors and sub minors.
However, they need to be strengthened
substantially for enabling the members to get
inputs at right time and right price. Further these
cooperatives may be involved in developing
marketing infrastructure which is vital for crop
diversification and value addition.
The canal
l commands of eastern region have
maximum potential of enhancing productivity
and production. To achieve this a water
management committee may be formed at
district, block and panchayat level involving
District Agricultural Officer, Block Development
Officer, Tehsildar, Irrigation field functionaries.
Representatives of SAUs/ICAR Institutes and
Pani Panchayat to take decision on (a) timing of
the canal closure for annual repair and
maintenance (b) design of suitable cropping
pattern for each block within the irrigation
command, (c) delineating the waterlogged and
high water table areas for designing multiple uses
of water and (d) avoiding mismatch between
timing of water delivery and crop needs in canal
command areas.
A task force should be constituted to evaluate the
l
performance of different irrigation systems to
formulate plan for improving the irrigation
287
 efficiency. This will also help in phasing the
program by prioritizing different irrigation
systems. Performance evaluation of the system
should be done not only in terms of area but also
quality of irrigation, productivity and efficiency
of the system.
Presently,
l canal water is used only for irrigation
purpose. If this water, before it is used for
irrigation, is used for non-consumptive uses like
pisciculture, duckery, azolla culture etc., the
economics of the system can be improved
significantly, besides, nutrient addition in water.
Technologies have been developed for non-
consumptive use of canal water before it goes to
the field. The department of water resources
(DOWR) of different states should start at least
one pilot project for evaluating these
technologies in field conditions.
Non-productive
l waterlogged area in canal
commands particularly lying by the sides of the
main canals can be converted into fish ponds for
high returns. They can also be used as source of
irrigation for early raising of paddy nursery
which help in transplanting as soon as water is
released in the canal. Judicious use of pond water
in conjunction with canal water will reduce the
pressure on canal water This will facilitate
coverage of more area especially during optimum
period).
Riverlift Irrigation
The eastern region is quite rich in surface water
resources as it is crisscrossed by large river systems
having perennial flow. There are seven major rivers
which have catchment area more than 20,000 sq km
and four medium rivers having catchment area more
than 5000 sq. km. Besides, the region has number of
small rivulets and streams. These river sources can be
effectively utilized for irrigation through lift systems.
Large lift based irrigation systems are very common in
eastern U.P. but their number is limited in other parts.
This resource can be used with following action plan:
Sites
l should be identified along major river
system to have lift canal system where more than
100 cusecs of water can be pumped and delivered
through a network of canals. This system is very
useful in flat lands of plains, both inland and
coastal.
288
River
l lift systems on the medium river can be
established with pipe and channel conveyance.
Although it has not performed satisfactorily at
several places in Orissa, it need not be
abandoned. The System should be studied in
detail and remedial measures should be taken up.
Wherever possible, NGOs should be involved for
participatory management. Marketing
infrastructure should from part of the project.
Small rivulets and streams are often neglected but
l
they can be very useful micro level water
resources. IIWM, Bhubaneswarhas developed
technology for their exploitation. Using this
technique, a significant area can be brought under
reliable irrigation.
Human Resource Development
The implementation of the above mentioned action
plan requires skill improvement and knowledge
updating of both functionaries of implementing
agencies as well as beneficiaries. Training the trainers,
who will impart training to lower level functionaries
and framers will be responsibility of the nodal center.
IIWM, Bhubaneswar can serve as nodal center for
providing training to the senior staff members of
implementing agencies and trainers; while KVKs, and
other state training centers can be entrusted for training
of the lower level functionaries and farmers.
References
1. NAAS & WTCER (2004) An Action Plan for
Harnessing and Management of Water Resources for
Enhancing Agricultural Productivity in Eastern
Region.
2. Kumar, R. Singh N.P. and Singh R.P. (2003) Water
resources in India : need for holistic development and
caution exploitation. Ind. J of Agri. Eco. Vol 58: 448-
466.
3. Kumar S. (2005) Note on farmsector in U.P. Depat of
Planning, Govt of U.P.
4. Central Water Commmision. 2010. Annual Report.
5. Seckler, D and Sampth, R.K. (1985) Production and
Poverty in Indian Agriculture Report submitted to
Indian Mission of USAID, New Delhi.
6. World Bank (1998) India Wate Resource Management
Sector Review: Irrigation Sector World Bank, New
Delhi.
Annual Technical Volume
 Traditional Irrigation Systems in Odisha
Souvagya Mahapatra
Scientific Officer-D (Civil), National Institute of Science Education and Research
(Department of Atomic Energy), Govt. of India, Bhubaneswar
* sm_2005@rediffmail.com
Introduction
Water is the elixir of life. Irrigation is a way for farmers
to manipulate the existing water sources to either store
or distribute the resource. It is a fundamental need for
the survival of the farmers because it provides water,
life blood to crops etc. In years to come the land and
water resources will remain the same but with the
increase of population the per capita consumption of
food grains will increase. We need to evaluate the
importance of traditional irrigation systems prevalent
in India to design a model to provide farmers with a
sustainable, self-sufficient and cost effective water
management system which would increase crop yield,
protection from famine, cultivation of superior crops,
elimination of mixed cropping, and economic
development of farmers to avoid the suicide.
History
The Indian subcontinent has witnessed many such
early settlements that devised their own systems of
water harvesting, which could be either from surface
water or ground water. In the medieval age areas
dominated by feudal system, some of these systems
took more scientific form and surprisingly, many of
these water extraction storage and conveyance
structures are still in use in some parts of the country. In
other parts of the country, especially in the hilly and
mountainous terrains, the communities have devised
Table 1 Ecological regions and system of irrigation
Annual Technical Volume
certain means of water tapping and transfer systems
that have been used for generations to provide water
for drinking and agriculture (Table 1). In British
period, in order to harness the surface water through
anicuts in some rivers and barrages were done. In fact,
even today most of these hilly tracts do not enjoy the
benefit of modern irrigation systems and still depend
on their age old practices.
Location Wise and Types of Traditional Irrigation
In India, one may find regions varying in temperature,
elevation and rainfall. As a result, the climate is
drastically varying from one place to another for
example, when that of the northern Himalayan regions
is compared with that of the southern coastal regions or
the dry western and central regions are compared with
the west eastern and north eastern regions. Hence, the
methods of traditional systems of water utilization
have evolved very differently over the years in
different places. The main sources of water have
generally been:
lUtilization of stream and river water
Direct
l tapping of rain water (rain water
harvesting)
Ground water
l
289
 Traditional Irrigation Methods The width of drains is affected by factors like flow of
water, %age, slope and structure of the ground etc. The
1. Check basin method length of 'Dhora is different depending on the basis of
2. Furrow irrigation method slope and formation of the fields. This method is also
prevalent in India as it does not cause any burden on
3. Strip irrigation method the farmer.
4. Basin irrigation method Advantages
5. Pot Irrigation method It is
l the best method of irrigation for levelled
The details of the traditional methods of irrigation fields.
along with their advantages and disadvantages are as It does not require any technical knowledge.
l
follows:-
This method
l is more useful in soils having lesser
Check Basin Method infiltration.
In this method, the whole field is divided into basins In this
l method, rain water stays in basins; hence
according to the capacity of water (Figure 1). Basins soil erosion is not caused.
are connected through a 'Dhora' (A small drain type
flow way), which has raised earthen walls on both It has lesser economic investment.
l
sides. 'Dhora' is of two types, one is the main 'Dhora' It irrigates more area.
l
and the other 'Dhora' is connected to basins. Size of
basins is made according to the inflow of water.
These basins are surrounded by small furrows. Branch
'Dhora' flows towards the slope from the main 'Dhora'.
If the slope of branch 'Dhora' is steep, 'mooonja' or
polythene is spread in it to prevent erosion of sides.
The main source of water is located at the highest place
in the field. Figure 1 Check basin method

290 Annual Technical Volume

 Crops get sufficient water.
l Disadvantages
Disadvantages
Due to
l seepage in drains, wastage of water is
caused.
Machines
l cannot be used m this method because
during spray of insecticides or fertilizers, the
earthen walls of basins are damaged.
There IS imbalance in distribution of labour. After
l underground salts coming up to the surface layer.
growth of crops, water reaches the basins in
disproportionate quantity thereby causing
wastage of water.
Creation of problem of water logging.
l
Furrow Irrigation Method
Furrow irrigation method is resorted to where crops are
one grown in rows (Figure 2). Along the side of rows
of crops, 'Dols' formed, and in between two such
'Dols', a furrow is formed in which water flows for
irrigation. The quantity of flow of water depends on
demand of water by plants and the rate of infiltration.
Figure 2 Furrow irrigation method
In different situations, different furrow methods are
used (Surajbhan 1978). They are mainly of five types:
1. Sloppy Furrow
2. Levelled Furrow
3. Contour Furrow
4. Serial Furrow
3. Corrugated Furrow
Advantages
Large areas can be irrigated at a time.
l
It saves
l labour since once the furrow is filled, it is
not necessary to give water a second time.
It is a comparatively cheaper method.
l
Plants
l get suitable quantity of water by this
method.
Annual Technical Volume
Due
l to imbalance in flow of water, wastage of
water is caused in it.
It is not suitable in all types of crops.
l
Making
l 'Dol' for drains requires more labour
information.
Due
l to filling of excess water, there is risk of
Strip Irrigation Method
In strip irrigation method, fields are divided into strips
of different size. A boundary called 'Med' is formed to
separate the strips. These strips are constructed
according to the slope. The source of water is situated
at the highest place in the field from where the whole
field can get the flow of water.
The width of strips is decided as per quantity of water.
More wastage of water is caused if strips are wider.
Length of strip is decided by the slope of land and its
structure. Effect of soil composition is also visible on
it.
Advantages
It is
l possible to irrigate more area at a lesser
expenditure.
It requires less labour.
l
Method
l of irrigation is easy and it causes lesser
erosion.
Disadvantages
It is not suitable for all types of crops.
l
It is not possible to get balanced supply of water.
l
It is not suitable for all soil compositions.
l
Basin Irrigation Method
This irrigation method is more suited for horticulture
development (Figure 3). In this method, a raised
platform called 'Thanvla' is formed around trees or
Figure 3 Basin Irrigation Method
291
 bushes and they are connected with each other through In this method, distribution of humidity around sides
drains and the water reaches from one tree to the other. of pitcher is affected by many factors, mainly size of
This method is not suitable for crops. the pitcher, seepage of water per unit of area and type
of soil. Humidity is spread in the same proportion as
Advantages
the size of the pitcher. Distance of pitcher also affects
It saves time. Once the water is opened, it reaches
l the moist area. Normally, distance between two
other trees automatically. pitchers should be kept so much that the humid area
between them does not overlap.
Its economic investment is less.
l
Advantages
It is beneficial for more trees.
l
In this
l method, only the area near the pot gets
Disadvantages
irrigated and not the whole area.
It is not useful for all crops.
l
Evaporation of water is minimum in this method.
l
Wastage of water is caused in it.
l
Water
l seepage below the ground is also in
Diseases spread in trees.
l minimum quantity.
Pot Irrigation Method It is
l the best method for horticulture crops and
vegetables.
Pot irrigation method is more suitable for areas having
scanty rainfall. In saline areas where flow irrigation is Once the pitchers are fixed, irrigation can be done
l
not suited, pot irrigation method is successful. An for six years, which reduces expenditure.
earthen pitcher is used in this method. The pitcher is
It needs minimum technical knowledge.
l
fixed in the ground up to neck.
Disadvantages
Holes are made in the pitcher and water is filled in it so
that seepage of water through the holes keeps the Irrigation
l in this method is possible in a limited
nearby soil moist. Water is filled in these pitchers at area.
regular intervals. This method can be considered as an
This method requires clean water because unclean
l
alternative of drip irrigation method.
water would cause blockage of minor holes,
Pot irrigation method can be adopted in the following which would not be able to provide moisture any
conditions: longer.
Unlevelled land which is uneven.
l It is
l costly to draw out pitchers again and again
and re-fix them.
Area having maximum shortage of water.
l
It is not suitable for every crop.
l
Such
l difficult areas where supply of fruits and
vegetables is difficult and they are costly. Irrigation System Prevalent In Odisha
Where
l there is saline water, making surface In Odisha in region of Eastern Ghats, traditionally
irrigation difficult. people depended on tanks for irrigation and terracing
for cultivation. The coastal plains of Odisha comprises
Table 2 Irrigation schemes

l l l

l l

292 Annual Technical Volume

 Table 3 Irrigation method & crop suitability
of three district geographic divisions- the salt tract, the
arable tract (main rice producing zone of state),sub
mountainous tract(where delta meets the mountainous
tract). In hilly areas, tanks is the main source of
irrigation. In plains, the chief source of irrigation is
flood water which let out into cultivated areas through
embankment sluices. Earthen dams were also
constructed across minor drainage channels to raise
the level of water to irrigate the adjacent fields.
Traditional irrigation systems like Munda, Kata, sagar
system(in western odisha) was prevalent. When it was
extinct, droughts occur (Table 3). Irrigation in
Agricultural farming plays vital role. Optimum
utilization of water and its proper management is the
sole aim of formation of Water User Associations
(WUAs) or Pani Panchayat. The basic aim of this
association is participatory irrigation management
(PIM), through which Govt. is aiming to associate
Figure 4 Organisational structure of Pani Panchayat/Water User Association
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farmers in planning, operation and maintenance of the
irrigation system. Involving the farmers in this
irrigation system is one of the remedy for addressing
the issues related to its management, empowering
firms to take the challenges as co-operative irrigation.
Panchayat'- involvement of more than five persons is a
brain storming decision making process of any
management which always gives good solution to a
problem (Figure 4). Hence keeping this fundamental
objective, Govt. of Odisha started effective water
management process through an act i.e. The Orissa
Pani-Panchayat Act 2002. The outcome of the
responses of members-farmers is:-
Farmers involve in internal water distributions
l
Farmers fix water rates for different crops
l
Farmers participate in the collection of water rates
l
293
 Farmers follow water sharing for irrigating crops
l knowledge required for operation of traditional
irrigation. Also traditional irrigation system does not
Farmers select specific crop pattern to be adopted
l
depend much on electricity and water. The traditional
by all member farmers
systems are generally community based, so persons
Farmers
l take care of maintenance of outlets, are involved. Operation and maintenance cost is
channels and distribution systems reasonable as the system is shared by a number of
farms and villagers that use water.
Farmers aware about law /rule /act, which support
l
farmers' participation in irrigation management References
Farmers
l raise their own fund other than water 1. Datas taken from ministry of water resources
rates http://www.wrmin.nic.in

Farmers
l have got mobilized for participatory
irrigation management through training
Farmers understand problems related to irrigation
l update” published in 1994 regarding the increase in
service controlled by outsiders
Conclusion
Traditional irrigations where feasible require small
investments, farmer friendly, no special technical
2. Datas taken from Food and Agricultural Organisation
(FAO) with the website http://www.fao.org
3. United Nations publication “Sustaining water-An
population and per capita grain consumption.
4. www.archiveindia.gov.in
5. Report by Anchalika Jana Seva Anusthan for Koraput
ditrict in Odisha supported by Sir Dorabjee Trust.

294 Annual Technical Volume

 Rivers of West Bengal
S. S. Ganguly
Former Chief Engineer, Irrigation Department, Govt. of West Bengal
* sitanshu34@yahoo.co.in

Introduction rivers and plains. Fed by rainfall and snowmelt and

propelled by rise in level, the rivers developed. The
West Bengal is a state having a substantial quantity of
Indus in the west and the Brahmaputra in the eas., The
water resources. This is provided by ample
Ganges with its large number of tributaries occupied
precipitation both inside and outside the state. Apart
the centre stage. Meanwhile Bengal comprised a large
from smaller ones, rivers like the Ganges and the
intrusion of the Bay of Bengal. Rivers rising in the
Brahmaputra bring forth run-off from their large
Himalayas from the north like the forerunners of the
catchment areas into West Bengal before entering
Teesta, Mahananda, Punarbhaba, Karatoya, Atrai and
Bangladesh to flow into the Bay of Bengal. Rivers are
the Brahmaputra started developing the North Bengal
not static. They change or rather evolve with time to
plains. In the meantime the east flowing rivers from the
conform with the changes in the topography, climate,
Chotonagpur highlands of the India plate also joined
land-use pattern or even the changes in the tectonic
the development process of South Bengal. Some rivers
plates.
from the south-east also joined hands. The Ganges was
West Bengal is a part of the Bengal delta. It has a late comer in the process. But when it came it was
developed through the ages in different perspectives. It already a very large river carrying large volumes of
is now generally accepted that the present day water charged with enormous quantum of sediment
disposition of the continents and other land masses on picked up from the rising fragile mountain slopes and
the globe is the result of long term movement of the detritus eroded from the river bed and side-slopes.
surface plates moving around on the vast seas and
The Ganges which was earlier flowing along the
oceans. The concept of moving plates or Plate
Bhagirathi-Hooghy channel in Bengal, blocked the
Tectonics is the theory that Earth's outer shell is divided
flows of the east flowing rivers at the meeting points
into several plates that glide over the mantle, the rocky
and stopped their delta building activities beyond the
inner layer above the core. The plates act like a hard
Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi threw down two important
and rigid shell compared to Earth's mantle. This strong
distributaries like the Saraswati and the Jamuna. Delta
outer layer is called the lithosphere. At the early stage
building process proceeded in South Bengal with the
the plates huddled with each other and formed a vast
help of freshly emanating distributaries.
landmass notionally named Pangea. Then the dispersal
started. A little more discussion on the evolution of the present
day situation of the rivers, even at the risk of some
Eighty million years ago, India was approximately
repetition, will possibly furnish a clearer picture.
6400 km (3968 miles) south of the Eurasian plate.
Separating the two was the Tethys Sea. The Indo- Area wise Description of the Rivers
Australian tectonic plate – containing the continent of
Although the Brahmaputra does not appear on the map
Australia, the Indian subcontinent, and surrounding
of West Bengal it influences some of the rivers in West
ocean – was pushed northward by the convection
Bengal, because of its strong presence in adjacent
currents generated in the inner mantle. For millions of
Bangladesh. For example the Teesta which falls into
years, India, shorn of its other attachments like
the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh has 83% of its
Australia etc. made its way across the sea toward the
catchment lying in Sikkim and West Bengal.A former
Eurasian plate. As India approached Asia, around 40
Chief Engineer. Sri S.C. Majumdar ISE, writes in
million years ago, the Tethys Sea began to shrink and
1941:
its seabed slowly pushed upwards due to subduction of
the India plate below the Eurasian Plate. The Tethys Brahmaputra was originally a small river, but since its
Sea disappeared completely around 20 million years connection with the Tsan Po of Tibet through its
ago and sediments rising from its seabed formed a tributary the Dihong (in Upper Assam), and
mountain range. The Himalayas. As the Himalayas subsequent additions of the floods of the Teesta (since
rose to its heavenly heights, the climate and contours 1787),it has been a formidable rival of the Ganges and
changed radically. These changes generated new promises to play more and more important part in

Annual Technical Volume 295

 future. It now traverses a length of 1800 miles and
drains an average rainfall of 88inches( in Assam
valley) over a catchment area of about 351000 square
miles.
But Sri Majumdar's contention regarding a later
connection of Tsan Po has not been supported by
scientists.
North Bengal
This part comprises the districts of Darjeeling,
Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar. Annual average rainfall
of these districts is 3201,3945 and 2994 mm.
respectively. Nourished by copious rainfall and
aided by steep mountain slopes large volumes of
run off are brought down to the plains quickly by
Sankosh, Raidak, Torsa, Jaldhaka, Tista and
Mahananda etc. rivers. Since the mountainous
catchment mainly consists of highly folded and
faulted rocks, which are likely to be disturbed
easily, the run off brings down with it large
quantities of boulders, gravels, pebbles, sand, silt
etc. to the plains. Indiscriminate removal of forest
cover has accelerated this movement. Velocity of
flow is related to the ground slope. So when the
fast moving flow from the mountains reach the
foot hills, its velocity suddenly gets reduced. As a
result, greater part of the comparatively coarse
sediment is off-loaded at this stage. With time,
accumulation of coarse sediment continues with
the formation of an alluvial fan, and at a later
stage the river finds it difficult to negotiate in its
original course due to obstruction created by the
alluvial fan, and charts a new course with
disastrous consequences. This type of phenomenon
known as “Avulsion” is quite common in North
Bengal.
Possibility of artificial damming through
obstruction of river course from landslide,
formation of natural dam and subsequent dam
bursting has also been a cause of flood. The
devastating flood in 1968 of Teesta at Jalpaiguri is
considered to be an after effect of such occurrence.
During over bank flow of flood water, widespread
sand deposition on agricultural land makes them
unfit for cultivation.
The Teesta
The Teesta is the largest river in North Bengal. It
originates from the glaciers of North Sikkim at an
altitude of 6400 metres (21000 ft.). It is formed mainly
by the union of two streams, Lachen and Lachung in
Sikkim. It flows to the south, cutting a deep gorge
through the Siwalik Hills east of Darjeeling, and turns
southeast to run through the Sivok Khola pass onto the
plains of Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. It then
296
passes into Bangladesh at Kaliganj village under
Satnai union of Nilphamari district. And finally flows
into the Brahmaputra river near Phulchhari. Its length
is 268 km.
The Teesta river is fed by tributaries which rise in the
Thangu, Yumthang and Donkia-La ranges. These
tributaries like the Talung, Dikchu, Rangpo and
Rangeet in the hill catchment are important feeders.
Theriver flows past the town of Rangpo where it
forms the inter-state border between Sikkim and West
Bengal up to Teesta Bazaar. Just before the Teesta
Bridge, which joins Kalimpong with Darjeeling, the
river is met by its main tributary, the Rangeet River.
Further down as it emerges from the hills it is joined by
the Relli, Lish, Ghish, Chel, Mal and Neora.
The flow of the Teesta is greatest during the summer
(June to September), when the monsoon rains are
heaviest and glaciers supply abundant melt water. Its
lower reaches are marked by flooding and frequent,
violent course changes. Alluvial fans grow as a result
of sudden change of velocity of flow at the point where
the river leaves the mountains and begins its journey
on the plains. Sharp fall in velocity results in
deposition of the sediment including sand, silt, pebbles
and even large boulders, transported by the hilly
torrents, grow up as mounds termed as alluvial fans
due to their shape. When the flow cannot negotiate in
the old course due to the obstruction of alluvial fans,
the river selects an easier course and avulsion (change
of course) takes place. In this connection the
following extract from Hunter's Statistical Account
of Bengal ( Volume VII, page 165 ), on the violent
avulsion of river Teesta in 1787, is worth recalling:
“In the destructive floods of 1194 B.S. or 1787 A.D.,
which form an epoch in the history of Rangpur
(Bangladesh), the stream ( Teesta) suddenly forsook
its channel and turned its waters into a small
branch marking an ancient bed of the same river;
running south-east into Brahmaputra, it forced its
way through the fields and over the country in
every direction.” Some scientists believe that the
violent avulsion was the result of an intense and
widespread rainstorm coupled with a high magnitude
earthquake.
Even earlier the river system of North Bengal
including the Teesta had undergone certain radical
changes. Major James Rennell, FRS (1742 – 1830)
was an English geographer, historian and a pioneer of
oceanography. His survey, made between 1764 and
1777 and his maps are the earliest authentic maps of
Bengal in existence. In these maps the Teesta is shown
as flowing through North Bengal in three branches,
Punarbhaba, Attreyi and Karatoya from west to east.
The name Teesta is probably derived from Trisrota or
Annual Technical Volume
 flowing in three channels. Before its diversion to the
Brahmaputra, the Teesta used to discharge her waters
through these three streams into the Ganges. After the
diversion of Teesta into the Brahmaputra, upland
supply of water carrying fertilizing sediment derived
from the Himalayas was cut-off from the large number
of spill and drainage channels of North Bengal.
Consequently these channels deteriorated bringing in
their train water-logging and progressive deterioration
of the country.
Precipitation and Flow Pattern
Sikkim exhibits a variety of climatic types, from
almost tropical conditions in the south to the severe
mountain climates in the north. Depending on altitude
and exposure, annual precipitation varies from 50 to
200 inches (1,270 to 5,080 millimetres), most
occurring during the months of the southwest monsoon
(June through September) Heavy rains and snows
often trigger destructive land slides and avalanches.
Jalpaiguri district also has an average rainfall of about
4000 mm. Considering, that problem of sharing
becomes critical during the lean season (November to
April) the agreement should consider this period in
detail .
Detailed flow data for the river Teesta is not available
for examination by the public in general. Yet some idea
can be formed from some published data. The flow
varies to a great extent. For example the design
discharge of the Teesta Barrage at Gajoldoba is
7,50,000 cusecs in summer as against the minimum
discharge of about 3500 cusecs in winter. Kalyan
Rudra, an expert in India writes: "This flow can be as
low as 90 cumecs (3177 cusecs) at Anderson Bridge.
The peak discharge in 1968 flood was measured
19,800 cumecs (6,98,940 cusecs) at Jalpaiguri. The
Anderson Bridge was destroyed in that flood Without
the support of a storage dam, as originally planned, to
store water during the summer, upstream of the
barrage, there is very little possibility to utilize the
surplus summer flow. The Teesta high dam project was
shelved earlier due to the objection of the Sikkim
Government as some mines and orange orchards had
been threatened to be submerged in the proposed
reservoir. Environmentalists were also very much
against the project citing probable large scale
degradation of the fragile environment. Their
objections could not be ignored.
Structures on the Teesta
Apart from the two barrages in India ( atGajoldoba,
district of Jalpaiguri, West Bengal) and at about 70 km
downstream in Bangladesh (Dalia in the district of
Nilphamari), Govt. of India is constructing about 21
Hydroelectric projects on the Teesta and its tributaries
in Sikkim. Apparently these are run-of- the river
Annual Technical Volume
projects and do not involve consumptive use. But low
height storage dams have been constructed to store
water for regulated use to suit power generation
requirements. There will be loss due to infiltration and
evaporation.Flow through the hydraulic turbines will
obviously be tailored to serve power generation
priorities resulting in radical change in flow pattern of
the river downstream. With a very high sediment
charge in the river water, the formation of the
reservoirs, however small will result in a higher stress
on an active fault region. Experts are apprehensive that
construction of these dams may cause reservoir
induced seismicity in the already earthquake prone
fragile region. Apart from environmental impacts the
high rate of sedimentation on the reservoir bed will
shorten the useful life of the reservoirs.
Mahananda
The Mahananda originates in the Himalayas:
Paglajhora Falls on Mahaldiram Hill near Chimli, east
of Kurseong in Darjeeling district at an elevation of
2,100 metres (6,900 ft).Its length is 360 km. Next it
flows southwards through the districts of Purnea in
Jharkhand and Malda before it meets the Ganges
(Padma) near Godagari in Rajshahi in Bangladesh. It is
360 km. long. The total drainage area of the
Mahananda is 20,600 square kilometres (8,000 sq mi)
out of which 11,530 square kilometres (4,450 sq mi)
are in India. Its important tributaries are Balason,
Danka, Pitanu, Nagar, Mechi, Tangan, Punarhbaba.
Siliguri, Kaliaganj, Haldibari, Krishnaganj and Barsoi
are some of the townships on the river.Flow in the river
is reduced to a tricle during the dry season. A Pick up
Barrage has been constructed on the Mahananda near
Phulbari near Siligguri to divert water received from
the Teesta-Mahananda Main canal.
Sankosh
Sankosh (also Gadadhar and Svarnakosha) is a river
that rises in northern Bhutan and empties into the
Brahmaputra in the state of Assam in India. In Bhutan,
it is known as the Puna Tsang Chu below the
confluences of several tributaries near the town of
Wangdue Phodrang. The two largest tributaries are the
Mo Chhu and Pho Chhu, which flow together at
Punakha.. The upper reaches of the Pho Chhu are
susceptible to ice blockages.The river has very little
presence in West Bengal. It forms part of the boundary
between Assam and West Bengal in Jalpaiguri and
Coochbehar districts. Its length is 320 km.
Raidak
The Wang Chhu, or Raidāk, rises in the Himalayas. In
its upper reaches it is also known as the ThimphuChhu.
The main river is a rapid stream, running over a bed of
large boulders. Between Thimphu and the confluence
297
 with the ParoChhu, the course of the river is not
severely confined but, after leaving the confluence, it
runs through a narrow defile between very steep cliffs.
It subsequently flows southeast through a
comparatively open valley, its course strewn with large
boulders against which the water foams violently. It is
joined by several small tributaries flowing from nearby
mountains. Just above ParoDzong a considerable
feeder, the Ta Chhu, joins it from the left. To the west,
the Ha Chhu drains into the Wong Chhu. At
TashichhoDzong the bed of the river is about 2,121
metres (6,959 ft) above sea level and at the point of its
exit in the Dooars its elevation is only 90 metres (300
ftWest Bengal and Bangladesh.
It debouches into the plains in Jalpaiguri district and
then flows through Cooch Behar district in West
Bengal. The Raidak confluences with the Brahmaputra
at chainage 327 km in Kurigram District in
Bangladeshwhere it is sometimes referred to as
Dudhkumar River.
The total length of the main river is 370 kilometres
(230 mi) but along with its tributaries, it covers a length
of nearly 610 kilometres (380 mi) in Bhutan alone.
Torsa
Torsa River (also spelt Torsha and also known as
Machu and AmoChhu) rises from the Chumbi Valley in
Tibet, China, where it is known as Machu. It flows into
Bhutan, where it is known as the Amo Chu. It has total
length of 358 kilometres (222 mi), out of which 113
kilometres (70 mi) is in China and 145 kilometres (90
mi) in Bhutan before flowing into the northern part of
West Bengal in India.
It flows past the important border towns of
Phuntsholing (in Bhutan) and Jaigaon (on the Indian
side of the border) and past the great tea estate of
Dalsingpara and the Jaldapara National Park. The
beautiful landscape here is ideal for family picnics, and
the wildlife sanctuary has tigers, rhinoceros and deer of
many varieties. a tributary known as BuriTorsa meets
Jaldhaka. Gharghariariver meets with Torsa in the
Tufanganj subdivision, near Deocharai and
BalarampurTorsa meets with Kaljani and it then flows
into Bangladesh by the name of Kaljani and meets with
Brahmaputra in Bangladesh. A distributary known as
BuriTorsa meets Jaldhaka.
Ghargharia river meets with Torsa in the Tufanganj
subdivision, near Deocharai and BalarampurTorsa
meets with Kaljani and it then flows into Bangladesh
by the name of Kaljani and meets with the
Brahmaputra (Jamuna) there.]
Jaldhaka
The Jaldhaka River is a trans-boundary river with a
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length of 192 kilometres that originates from the
Kupup or Bitang Lake in southeastern Sikkim in the
eastern Himalayas and flows through Bhutan and the
Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts of
West Bengal, India. At that point the river enters
Bangladesh through the Lalmonirhat District and then
joins with the Dharla River until the Dharla debouches
into the Brahmaputra River near the Kurigram District.
Jaldhaka Hydroelectric Power Project India is located
at Jhalong, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. This
infrastructure Hydro Power Plant has a design capacity
of 27 MWe. It has 5 unit(s). The first unit was
commissioned in 1967 and the last in 1983. It is
operated by West Bengal State Electricity Distribution
Company Limited (WBSEDCL).
Central Bengal
Central Bengal consists of Dinajpur, Malda,
Murshidabad, Nadia, Birbhum and Bardhaman
districts. But the part south of the Ganges is being dealt
with separately as South Central Bengal Annual
average rainfall of these districts is 1635, 1540,
1349, 1310, 1285 and 1351 mm. respectively. The
trunk drainage routes in this zone are the Ganges
and its distributary the Bhagirathi.In the 15th.
Century the main flow of the Ganges, due to a change
in ground levels turned east from the head of the delta,
followed the course of the Padma,joined the
Brahmaputra and jointly flowed as Meghna into the
Bay of Bengal. Padma also intercepted the south
flowing north-Bengal rivers and arrested their delta
building activity beyond the Padma. Deprived of the
major flow of the Ganges, the Bhagirathi with its
distributaries like the Saraswati and the Jamuna got
weakened and its major delta building activity shifted
to the east. The Padma in its turn threw down
distributaries like the Mathabhanga, Bhairab, Gorai
etc. and delta building proceeded in the eastern Bengal.
During this period, due to gradual withdrawal of
upland supply, firstly Bhagirathi and then the other
minor distributaries like Jalangi, Mathabhanga,
Bhairab, Gorai etc. lost their vigorous regime and
were reduced to tidal creeks, sparingly fed by
upland supply. In fact, before diversion of Ganga
waters through the feeder canal at Farakka in
1975, Bhagirathi did not have a link with the
Ganges for nine months in a year.
Dinajpur and Malda districts drain into Ganga
through Mahananda, Atrai, Punarbhaba etc. rivers.
These rivers have lost much of their conveyance
capacities due to sedimentation of beds. Moreover,
erection of marginal embankments along river
banks and railway and road embankments through
the countryside has seriously disturbed the natural
drainage system of the area. Since the Ganges rules
high interminably during the latter part of
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 monsoon, the tributaries cannot drain quickly. As a
result, drainage congestion persists and inundation
gets prolonged. In 1998, Ganga near Malda ruled
above extreme danger level by about 1(one) metre
continuously for about a month creating large
scale inundation in Malda.
Atrai
Atrai River flows in West Bengal and northern parts of
Bangladesh. In ancient times the river was called Atrei
and finds a mention in the Mahabharata. It is linked
with Karatoya River. It originates in West Bengal and
then after flowing through Dinajpur District of
Bangladesh, it enters India again. It passes through
Kumarganj and Balurghat blocks in Dakshin Dinajpur
district. The river then re-enters Bangladesh. It splits
into two rivers—the Gabura and the Kankra in
Dinajpur district. It crosses the Barind Tract and flows
into Chalan Beel The river serves as a perennial source
of fishing, even though it is often the cause of flooding
in many areas during monsoons. Its length is 390 km.
Punarbhaba
The Punarbhaba is a river of Bangladesh and West
Bengal in India, of total length about 160 kilometres
(99 mi) and a width of 3 to 8 kilometres (1.9 to 5.0 mi)
and a mean depth of 1.96 metres (6.4 ft) It originates
from the lowlands of Thakurgaon District of
Bangladesh. The river's upper part is a few kilometres
west of Atrai. Dinajpur district town of Bangladesh is
situated on the east bank of the river. It flows through
Gangarampur and Tapan blocks of Dakshin Dinajpur
district of West Bengal.After flowing to the south, this
river meets with the Dhepa River. Ultimately it flows
into the Ganges.
Total length of this river is approximately 240 miles
(390 km). The maximum depth of the river is 99 feet
(30 m).
South-Central Bengal
Mathabhanga
The Mathabhanga leaves the Padma about ten miles
below the point where the Jalangi leaves from it. It
flows first in a southeasterly direction as far as
Hatboalia, where it bifurcates one branch, which is
thereafter known as the Kumar or Pangasi, it then
proceeds in the same direction, past Alamdanga, up to
the boundary of the district which it forms for a few
miles until it passes into Jessore, whilst the other
branch pursues a very tortuous course. The general
trend of which is to the south, until, after passing
Chuadanga it reaches Krishnaganj (in India). There a
second bifurcation takes place, the two resulting
streams being known as the Churni and the Ichhamati,
and the name of the parent river being lost. It
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borderline's between India and Bangladesh. From Tibi
it takes a south-easterly direction past Baduria,
Basirhat, Taki, Sripur and Debhata to Basantapur.
From Basantapur it runs south-east through the
Sunderbans and finally joins the Raimangal estuary.
Jalangi
Jalangi River is a branch of the Padma (Ganges) river
in Murshidabad and Nadia districts in the Indian state
of West Bengal. It flows into the Bhagirathi river
opposite the town of Nabadwip and strengthens its
lower channel, the Hooghly.
South Bengal
South Bengal can again be divided into two parts
e.g. (1) Birbhum,Bankura,Hooghly, Howrah, and
Medinipur districts and (2) 24-Parganas district
including the Sunderbans. Annual average rainfall
of these districts are 1520, 1630, 1539 and 1608
respectively.
In this part also rivers like Mayurakshi, Ajay,
Damodar, Kangsabati etc. bring in large volumes
of run- off from the Chotonagpur plateau into
Bhagirathi or its lower part Hugly river. At the
same time the lower catchments also experience
heavy rainfall almost without fail. As a result flood
situation develops. The deteriorating condition of
the channels and rivers of lower Bengal
compounds the problem, especially when the
outfall levels of tidal reaches are high.
Kangsabati rises from a hill named Jhabarban (640 m)
near Ajoddhya mountain in Puruliya district of West
Bengal. Apart from many small hill streams, locally
known as nala, Kumari river joins the Kangsabati near
Ambikanagar in Bankura district,where the
Kangsabati dam has been constructed.The river then
enters the Midnapur district in the north-west.It
follows an exceedingly tortuous course and passes by
Midnapur town. Below Midnapur it contracts rapidly
till it reaches Kapastikri,13 miles down where it
bifurcates, one small branch flowing north and
ultimately falling into the Rupnarayan, while the other
channel runs south-east till it falls into the Haldi river
near Etamogra. Haldi river joins the Hooghly river at
the Haldia port. Length of the rier is 465km.
Damodar
It rises from the Khamarpat mountain near Tori in
Palamau in Jharkhand at an altitude of 1051 m.
Damodar has a number of important tributaries like
Barakar, Konar, Bokaroad Jamuniya. Flowing in a
tortuous course for a total length of 537 km. it meets the
Hooghly river at a point 48 km. south of Kolkata.
Damodar was notoriously famed for its devastating
floods. After construction of the storage dams at
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 Maithon, Panchet, Tilayia has to some extent mitigated reclamation with the help of embankments has
the flood problem. Irrigation in a large command area thrown the natural delta building process out of
in West Bengal. gear. As a result channel beds have been raised
through sedimentation and the level of the
But sedimentation of the reservoirs has created a
protected area has been lowered through relentless
serious problem Maithon (Barakar River) dam shows a
erosion. So maintenance of these embankments is
loss of 19.58% of loss of Reservoir capacity between
becoming more and more difficult. Moreover, storm
1955 (year of Impounding) and 1994 due to
surges generated due to cyclones rushing from the
sedimentation. Similarly Panchet Reservoir (Damodar
Bay of Bengal attack the embankments and the latter
River) has lost 14.10% of its capacity between 1956
often gives way resulting in ingress of large volumes
(year of impounding) and 1996. Present day figures are
of saline water.
bound to be much more alarming.
Pollution and Anthromorphic Interventions
Ajay
Pollution has reached dangerous levels in both surface
The Ajay rises in the hills of Santal Parganas and drains
and ground water. The causes are not far to seek but
a large portion of their southern and western slopes. It
may bear repetition. Release of obnoxious fumes in the
flows into West Bengal marking the boundary between
air, release of toxic effluents into rivers and other water
the Burdwan and Birbhum districts finally joins the
bodies. Rainfall run-off containing left overs of
Bhagirathi at Katwafter a length of 120km.
fertilizers and insecticides, carcasses of domestic
Mayurakshi River animals, human and animal excreta go to pollute river
water.
It is a major river in West Bengal, with a long history of
devastating floods. Human intervention like encroachment on the river in
the form of fisheries, brickfields etc. have also done a
It has its source on Trikut hill, about 16 kilometres (10
lot of harm to the free flow of rivers, particularly in
mi) from Deoghar in Jharkhand state. It flows through
south Bengal
Jharkhand and then through the districts of Birbhum
and Murshidabad in West Bengal before flowing into Conclusion
the Hooghly River. The river is about 250 kilometres
West Bengal is a land of many rivers. The rivers in
(160 mi) long. The Massanjore dam across the
general carried some flow to help irrigation and
Mayurakshi, was commissioned in 1955.
specially navigation. Traders with their large boats
Unfortunately, the Massanjore dam located near
travelled to south-east Asia and returned with their
Dumka in the state of Jharkhand (erstwhile Bihar) was
gains. But that is all events of at least 5/6 centuries
not allowed to have any flood reserve. Simultaneously
back. Even during the last century, steamers displaying
with construction of dams the state government in
names of beautiful birds like, Florican, Flamingo,
1956, selectively took over flood control
Mallard, Bittern ,Robin etc. regularly carried
embankments till then maintained by the landlords or
passengers and cargo in the Ganges, the Brahmaputra
local bodies. Massanjore dam is about 38 kilometres
and the Meghna. Numerous boats carried agricultural
(24 mi) upstream from Siuri in West Bengal. It is 47
and other produce from remote villages to Kolkata.
metres (155 ft) high from its base and is 660 metres
Navigation was also running in the Orissa Coast
(2,170 ft) long. The reservoir has an area of 67.4 square
Canal, Hijlee Tidal Canal, Damodar canals and
kilometres (16,650 acres) when full and has a storage
Midnapore canals.
capacity of 620,000,000 cubic metres (500,000
acre·ft). With rising cost of fossil fuels, navigation is bound to
come into prominence. So sufficient flow has to be
The Sunderbans
ensured in rivers and canals. Present day withdrawal of
Annual average rainfall of this district is 1608.00 water has to be curtailed for different uses through
mm. Drainage of 24-Parganas district, particularly improvement of technology, reuse and recycling.
the Sunderbans depend upon a few moribund
Moreover catchment control with stress on
distributaries of the Bhagirathi and a host of tidal
afforestation cangp a long way in stabilizing flow
creeks which criss-cross the area. Premature
throughout the year

300 Annual Technical Volume

 Traditional Irrigation Systems in Bengal Delta
Tapobrata Sanyal
Former Chief Hydraulic Engineer, Calcutta Port Trust
* sanyaltapobrata@gmail.com
Introduction
Practice of irrigation is as old as human civilization
though such practices were regionally and country-
wise different. There was reason behind the difference.
It all depended on the soil features, precipitation
pattern, types of crops to be raised vis-a-vis their water-
requirement and finally the extraneous water-support
needed above the quantity of water naturally available.
One common aspect was that irrigation in the past was
principally confined to use of surface water carried by
rivers and natural and man-made tanks and dug wells.
Today the stress is on conjunctive use of surface and
ground water and also on exploitation of water
resources for meeting increasing human needs for
water. Multi-purpose river valley projects have
transformed the irrigation scenario all over the world.
Any way this is beyond our scope of discussion.
Bengal delta has been historically water-rich. Built on
water-borne alluvium the region is fertile crisscrossed
by anastomotic river-and canal systems with
precipitation.aplenty. Traditionlly overflow irrigation
had been in use in the delta. The scenario has changed
in recent times due to shift of focus to impoundment of
river water by dams/barrages obstructing free flushing
with natural water. Besides, there is increasing
anthropogenic pressure in the delta resulting in less
land being available for agriculture.
In this article we shall confine to the traditional
irrigation system pracrtised in Bengal delta earlier.
Ancient Feats in Irrigation in India
There are references in the Indian history about
practice of irrigation in India. Historians on studying
the archaeological relics found from the seats of Indus
Valley Civilization are of the view that irrigation in
some form was practised in the valley. In Kaushika
Sutra of the Mahabharata, in the travelogue (Indika) of
Megasthenes (350 BC-290 BC) and in the Arthashastra
of Kautilya (350 BC-283 BC) we find references of
irrigation systems prevalent in the past. There are also
evidences of engineering feats connected with
irrigation system. Mention may be made of the mega
reservoir at Girnar in Saurashtra (Gujarat) built by
Emperor Chandragupta Maurya (340 BC-298 BC)
encircled by an embankment, the Grand Anicut
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(meaning 'weir' in Tamil) built on the river Cauvery in
the first century AD, Bhojpur Lake in Bhopal with a
water-spread of 250 sq miles constructed in the 11th
century AD, Gangaikeda canal also built at about the
same time with 26 km long encompassing levee,
Anantasagar Lake built in the 14th century AD with
water-spread of 42 sq kms. In fact India has a very rich
tradition of irrigation system for which we have
reasons to be proud.
Interestingly we get hardly any historical evidence of
such engineering feats in Bengal delta. Bengal delta
being naturally water-rich, no such engineering
manoevers were required. In the past overflow
irrigation through innundation canals was widely
practised in Bengal delta.
Policy Shift in Irrigation during the British Regime
British rulers were more concerned about famines
caused by draught. They constructed networks of
irrigation canals and designed weirs to ensure supply
of water to arable lands in the south. Weirs were
constructed to guide water to water-famished lands
while in the noth stress was on excavation of canals. Sir
Arthur Cotton, P J Cautley et al played major roles in
designing hydraulic structures. Later Dr M
Visveswaraiya and Dr A N Khosla contributed
immensely in desighning and executing irrigation
works in India.
Features of Bengal Delta & Flooding Pattern
Besides the three major rivers viz Ganga, Brahmaputra
and Meghna, there are about 250 smaller rivers in the
region. The slope is south-southeast with a gradient of
36 cm/km on average. The cathment area measures
1.72 million km2. Average annual rainfall is 1,474 mm
with a maximum of 2,265 mm and a minimum of 341
mm. The rainy season ranges from June to September
usually when monthly rainfall exceeds 100 mm. The
dry months experience average rainfall between 20 and
60 mm.
Rainfall regulated the nature of agriculture and
farming tenures in the past. Low level flood and
resultant inundation is a feature of the region during the
monsoon. In the past when anthropogenic interference
.was minimal, people learnt to live with floods utilizing
monsoon run-off and the overflowing major rivers for
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 irrigation through improvised canal networks . Canals
were broad, shallow, long and continuous as per
records till the 18th century AD. Canals were cut at the
sides for tapping water for distribution in the arable
lands. The cuts so made were closed after the flood
waters receded. Canals usually ran parallel to each
other.
Bengal Delta is among the most fertile regions in the
world. Flood water in the past used to carry fine clay
which got deposited on the fields making them fertile.
The concept of building levees for flood protection
was not practised in the past. Rivers in the region could
flow freely after overflowing the banks. Levees restrict
free movement of water forcing rivers to move along
defined constricted paths. As a result, silt carried by
flood waters gets deposited on the river beds reducing
their cubature. Occasionally such earthen
embankments give in, flooding the human settlements
staying close to rivers.
Historical References of Traditional Irrigation
System in Bengal
References about the system of irrigation practised in
Bengal in the past may be found in travelogues of
explorers and historical documents. Overflow
irrigation was the dominant system of irrigation during
the Muslim rule in Bengal (from 1205 AD to 1757 AD)
in general. We find also references of construction of
levees for flood protection during the Turkish rule in
Bengal .Sultan Ghias-al-din Khilji (1213-17) built
protective embankments to save his capital
Lakhsanavati from flood ravages. Responsibility of
maintenance of dykes was subsequently passed on to
local zamindars.
Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah (1442-59 AD) brought a big
chunk of southern Bengal under cultivation by
ushering in change in policies related to irrigation and
flood management. Rukunuddin Barbaq shah (1459-
74 AD) and Alauddin Hussain Shah (1493-1519 AD)
built dykes, tanks & roads for improvement in
agriculture production and surface communication.
Turkish rulers in general believed that tank-fed
irrigation was the most suitable irrigation practice for
Bengal. In fact Muslim rulers of Bengal concentrated
on excavation of tanks in addition to overflow
irrigation. Rainwater harvesting in some forms was
also resorted to for storage of water for drinking and
irrigation purposes. Travelogue of the famous
Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta (1304-77 AD)
mentions about use of water wheels and nurturing of
orchards and gardens by the side of rivers. Mughal
rulers lay more emphasis on distribution of water in
fields through canals as reported by the French
traveller Francois Bernier who visited Bengal in 1660
AD during the period when Shayesta Khan was the
Mughal ruler of Bengal.
302
Agriculture flourished during the Mughal rule in
Bengal when the focus was not only on development of
agriculture through adoption of appropriate irrigation
practice but also on introduction of an efficient
organizational waterway management system. A
separate department for looking after the works was set
up (pulbandi dafter). The local zamindars were in
charge of the department with an exclusive budget for
defraying necessary expenses incurred by the
department. Maintenance of infra-structure was a
priority to Mughal rulers. River-surveillance (chowki)
was also an integral part of activities of the department.
Zamindars constructed embankments for land
protection with the support of the Muslim rulers.
Zamindari embankments in the Sunderbans bear
testimony to the interest and initiative of land lords of
Bengal in the matter of river mangement and allied
activities related to irrigation.
During the British rule irrigation system wore a
different look. Britishers in the initial phase were more
interested in extracting its share of revenue—a sort of
feudal surplus—with less care for agricultural welfare
of the people of Bengal. In the second phase of the
British rule, scientific studies on the river system in
Bengal were undertaken and documented. At the same
time the prevalent system of river management
introduced by the Muslim rulers was gradually
abolished. Budgetary allocation for pulbandi dafter
was curtailed and role of zamindars was squeezed
substantially. As a consequence maintenance of
irrigation infra-structure built over the years in Bengal
suffered a set-back. Health of rivers and water bodies
gradualy became worse resulting in water-logging,
river-bed aggradation, increase in salinity intrusion in
tidal rivers. British rulers harboured a different
concept in river management with stress on over-
utilizing water of rivers without caring much for their
natural health. People with the passage of time became
oblivious of the benefits of floods and the art of
adaptation to live with it.
Lift irrigation in Bengal
Overflow irrigation was based on conventional gravity
flow. But for lifting water from the impounded water
bodies innovative manual contrivances were
practised. Water was raised by counterpoised sweeps
and fed into canals for distribution in arable fields.
Persian Wheels might have been in use though no
direct reference is available for confirmation.
Two other ways might have been used for water-
lifting. . In one, a bucket fitted with an improvized
lever was raised and lowered to lift water (shaduf). In
the other, a chain of buckets was set vertically
engaging a beast of burden to trudge around in a circle
for turning a wheel fitted to the vertical chain (sakia).
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 The first method was perhaps more common in
Bengal.
Observations of Sir William Willcocks
Sir William Willcocks (1852-1932 AD), a noted
British irrigation expert who had experience of
working in Egypt and Iraq, commented on the
overflow irrigation system practised in Bengal in a
series of lectures. In undivided Bengal floodwater was
allowed to inundate agricultural fields through a
network of distributary canals drawn from the main
rivers. Residues of rich silt were deposited on the fields
making the soil fertile. Besides, varieties of fish
swarmed these canals and the connected lakes and
tanks to feed on the larva of mosquitoes. This was the
natural way of controlling malaria in this region in the
past. According to Willcocks, the ancient system of
overflow irrigation had lasted for thousands of years.
The Afghan-Maratha war in the 18th century and the
subsequent British conquest of India marked the end of
this irrigation system not to be revived again.
Closure
It is pertinent to clarify that by Bengal delta I have
meant both Bangladesh and West Bengal. In view of
the fact that geographical barriers in regard to
technology adoption have ceased to exist now,
traditional innovations resorted to in the past
Annual Technical Volume
regionally for manual conveniences have lost their
uniqueness. Traditional irrigation practices have now
been largely replaced by appropriate emerging
technologies. However there is still a marked
difference in adaptability of the state-of-the-art
technology between developed and developing
countries. In Indian sub-continent this difference is
palpable in the realm of irrigation practice. Both
Bangladesh and West Bengal having identical
geographical and climatic features follow similar
irrigation practice the difference being in degree only.
It remains to be seen as to how irrigation practice takes
shape in this part of the sub-continent.in the years to
come.
References
1. Basham A L –Wonder that was India—Rupa & Co,
India.
2. Kamal A –Living with Water: Bangladesh since Ancient
Times—Included in “History of water—water control
& river biographies” -Ed. by Tvedt T & Jakobsson
E—Pub. By I B Tauris, New York.
3. Rao K L – India's Water Wealth-Its Assessment, Uses
and Projections; Pub by Orient Blackswan 1979.
4. Willcocks Sir William – Lectures on the Ancient
System of Irrigation in Bengal and Its Application to
Modern Problems—Pub. By Calcutta University 1930.
303
 Brief History of Origin of Irrigation in India
Subhas Ch. Pal
Project Manager (Civil), The Kolkata Museum of Modern Art, Kolkata
* subhas_pal15@yahoo.com
Introduction
The earliest mentions of irrigation are found in
Rigveda chapters 1.55, 1.85, 1.105, 7.9, 8.69 and
10.101. The Veda mentions only well-style irrigation,
where kupa and avata wells once dug are stated to be
always full of water, from which varatra (rope strap)
and cakra (wheel) pull kosa (pails) of water. This water
was, state the Vedas, led into surmi susira (broad
channels) and from there into khanitrima (diverting
channels) into fields.
Later, the 4th-century BCE Indian scholar Pānini,
mentions tapping several rivers for irrigation. The
mentioned rivers include Sindhu, Suvastu, Varnu,
Sarayu, Vipas and Chandrabhaga. Buddhist texts from
the 3rd century BCE also mention irrigation of crops.
Texts from the Maurya Empire era (3rd century BCE)
mention that the state raised revenue from charging
farmers for irrigation services from rivers.
Patanjali, in Yogasutra of about the 4th century CE,
explains a technique of yoga by comparing it to "the
way a farmer diverts a stream from an irrigation canal
for irrigation". In Tamil Nadu, the Grand Anicut
(canal) across the Kaveri river was implemented in the
3rd century CE, and the basic design is still used today.
Islamic Era
Waterworks were undertaken during the Delhi
Sultanate and the Mughal Empire era from the 12th to
18th centuries. However, these were primarily to
supply water to the palaces and parks of the sultans and
other officials.
Colonial Era
In 1800, some 800,000 hectares was irrigated in India.
The British Raj by 1940 built significant number of
canals and irrigation systems in Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar,[12] Punjab, Assam and Orissa. The Ganges
Canal reached 350 miles from Haridwar to Kanpur in
Uttar Pradesh. In Assam, a jungle in 1840, by 1900 had
4,000,000 acres under cultivation, especially in tea
plantations. In all, the amount of irrigated land
multiplied by a factor of eight. Historian David
Gilmour states British colonial government had built
irrigation network with Ganges canal and that, "by the
304
Figure 1 Ganges irrigation canal built during the colonial
era, and inaugurated in 1854
end of the century the new network of canals in the
Punjab" were in place.
Much of the increase in irrigation during British
colonial era was targeted at dedicated poppy and
opium farms in India, for exports to China (Figure 1).
Poppy cultivation by the British Raj required reliable,
dedicated irrigation system. Large portions of the
eastern and northern regions of India, namely United
Provinces, Northwestern Provinces, Oudh, Behar,
Bengal and Rewa were irrigated to ensure reliable
supply of poppy and opium for China. By 1850, the
Asian opium trade created nearly 1,000 square
kilometers of poppy farms in India in its fertile Ganges
plains, which increased to over 500,000 acres by 1900.
This diversion of food crop land to cash crop use, state
scholars, led to massive famines over the 1850 to 1905
period.
Major irrigation canals were built after millions of
people died each in a series of major famines in the
19th century in British India. In 1900, British India
(including Bangladesh and Pakistan) had about 13
million ha under irrigation. By 1947, this had
increased to about 22 million ha of irrigation. In
Northwestern British India region alone, with the
colonial government's effort, 2.2 million hectares of
previously barren land was irrigated by 1940s, most of
which is now part of Pakistan. Arthur Cotton led some
irrigation canal projects in the Deccan peninsula, and
landmarks are named after him in Andhra Pradesh and
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 Table 1 Traditional Irrigation System In West Bengal
State Features
Tamil Nadu. However, much of the added irrigation
capacity during the colonial era was provided by
groundwater wells and tanks, operated manually.
The Context
Nearly 70% of the population of West Bengal depends
on agriculture and three-quarters of the land area of the
State is alluvial plain and is highly suitable for
agriculture (Table 1). Major tributaries of the Ganges
River flow through the State with high rainfall of
1,200-3,000 mm per year. There is therefore distinct
potential for improving Agricultural Water
Management (AWM), agricultural production and
livelihoods. A particular difficulty in using AWM to
address agriculture and poverty issues is that water
resources are unevenly distributed across the State.
Despite the rapid growth of Modern Irrigation systems
i.e., Sprinkler Irrigation, Drip Irrigation, Pot Irrigation
etc. there are still in use of traditional irrigation systems
reasonably good areas of the total irrigated area.
The three zones that can be identified based on
groundwater resources and using different types of
traditional irrigation systems are as follows:
The
l Himalayan and Sub-Himalayan zones of
Darjeeling and parts of the Jalpaiguri and Cooch
Bihar districts in the north.
Annual Technical Volume
Rocky
l uplands of Purulia and the western fringes
of Bankura, Birbhum, Bardhaman and Medinipur
districts.
Low-lying
l alluvial plains encompassed within
Jalpaiguri, Cooch Bihar, North Dinajpur, South
Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, Hugli,
Haora, Bardhaman, Bankura, East Medinipur,
West Medinipur, North 24 Parganas.
Zone-Wise Existing Traditional Irrigation
Methods in West Bengal
1. Check Basin Method
2. Furrow Irrigation Method
3. Strip Irrigation Method
4. Basin Irrigation Method.
Check Basin Method : Used areas belongs to Zone-3
In this method, the whole field is divided into basins
according to the capacity of water. Basins are
connected through a 'Dhora' (A small drain type flow
way), which has raised earthen walls on both sides.
'Dhora' is of two types, one is the main 'Dhora' and the
other 'Dhora' is connected to basins. Size of basins are
made according to the inflow of water (Figure 2).
These basins are surrounded by small furrows. Branch
305
 'Dhora' flows towards the slope from the main 'Dhora'.
If the slope of branch 'Dhora' is steep, 'mooonja' or
polythene is spread in it to prevent erosion of sides.
The main source of water is located at the highest place
in the field.
The width of drains is affected by factors like flow of
water, %age, slope and structure of the ground etc. The
length of 'Dhora'is different depending on the basis of
slope and formation of the fields.
This method has the following advantages:
It is
l the best method of irrigation for leveled
fields.
It does not require any technical knowledge.
l
This
l method is more useful in soils having lesser
infiltration.
In this
l method, rain water stays in basins, hence
soil erosion is not caused.
Figure 2 Check Basin Method
It has lesser economic investment.
l
It irrigates more area.
l
Crops gets sufficient water.
l water is caused in it.
This method has the following disadvantages
Due
l to seepage in drains, wastage of water is
caused.
Machines
l cannot be used m this method because
during spray of insecticides or fertilizers, the
earthen walls of basins are damaged.
There
l IS imbalance in distribution of labour.
After growth of crops, water reaches the basins in
disproportionate quantity thereby causing
wastage of water.
Creation of problem of water logging.
l
Furrow Irrigation Method: Used areas belongs to
Zone -2 & 3
Furrow irrigation method is resorted to where crops are
one grown in rows (Figure 3). Along the side of rows
of crops, 'Dol' is formed, and in between two such
'Dols', a furrow is formed in which water flows for
306
Figure 3 Furrow Irrigation Method
irrigation. The quantity of flow of water depends on
demand of water by plants and the rate of infiltration.
In different situations, different furrow methods are
used. They are mainly of five types:
1. Sloppy Furrow
2. Leveled Furrow
3. Contour Furrow
4. Serial Furrow
5. Corrugated Furrow
This method has the following advantages
Large areas can be irrigated at a time.
l
It saves labour since once the furrow is filled, it is
l
not necessary to give water a second time.
It is a comparatively cheaper method.
l
Plants
l gets suitable quantity of water by this
method.
This method has the following disadvantages
Due
l to imbalance in flow of water, wastage of
It is not suitable in all types of crops.
l
Making
l 'Dol' for drains requires more labour
information.
Due
l to filling of excess water, there is risk of
underground salts coming up to the surface layer.
Strip Irrigation Method : Used areas belongs to Zone -
1
In strip irrigation method, fields are divided into strips
of different size. A boundary called 'Med' is formed to
separate the strips. These strips are constructed
according to the slope. The source of water is situated
at the highest place in the field from where the whole
field can get the flow of water.
The width of strips is decided as per quantity of water.
More wastage of water is caused if strips are wider.
Length of strip is decided by the slope of land and its
structure. Effect of soil composition is also visible on
it.
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 This method has the following advantages:
It is
l possible to irrigate more area at a lesser
expenditure.
It requires less labour.
l had been the inundation canals, which is almost totally
Method
l of irrigation is easy and it causes lesser
erosion.
This method has the following disadvantages:
It is not suitable for all types of crops.
l
It is not possible to get balanced supply of water.
l independence almost all rivers were embanked,
It is not suitable for all soil compositions.
l
Basin Irrigation Method : Forest Areas of All Zones
This irrigation method is more suited for horticulture
development (Figure 4). In this method, a raised
Figure 4 Basin Irrigation Method
platform called 'Thanvla' is formed around trees or
bushes and they are connected with each other through
drains and the water reaches from one tree to the other.
This method is not suitable for crops.
This method has the following advantages
It saves time. Once the water is opened, it reaches
l
other trees automatically.
Its economic investment is less.
l
It is beneficial for more trees.
l Education Centre. GOI).
This method has the following disadvantages
It is not useful for all crops.
l
Wastage of water is caused in it.
l
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Diseases spread in trees.
l
Note
In Bengal, one of the traditional systems of irrigation
abandoned today. In this method, the high flood waters
of the rivers were allowed to inundate the adjacent
flood plains, thus bringing with it rich silt over which
good amount of crops were grown after the passage of
flood. However, from the times of the British rule,
especially in the early twentieth century and even after
leaving no room such traditional practice of
agriculture. As a result, the rivers have to flow through
a much constricted cross-sectional area during floods,
with a corresponding rise in flood water levels. The
falling floods have also deposited the silt on the
constricted riverbed, thus raising it dangerously high at
many places. At times, the embankments breach
during floods, thus inundate the human settlements
that have unauthorizedly encroached upon behind
these embankments in the flood plains. (source:
Version 2 CE IIT, Kharagpur)
Treadle Pumps
In Bengal, treadle pumps are used by farmers in some
villages. These manually operated pumps are made out
of bamboo and cost as little as INR 200. The amount of
water extracted is similar to that extracted by hand
pumps, which means that they can be used on crops
with low water requirements and small vegetable
patches, but they cannot replace STWs, which are
essential for crops like boro paddy that require large
amounts of irrigation water and in places where the
groundwater table has fallen below 30 feet. An
advantage of treadle pumps is that they have no direct
financial operating costs, although they require labor.
References
1. Traditional water harvesting methods exist in
Bengal for irrigations are (source: C.P.R. Env.
2. Brahmaputra Valley: Dungs / jampois (Small
irrigation canals linking rice fields and a stream).
3. Indo-Gangetic Plain: Bengal's inundation
channels (Inundation canals).
307
 Traditional Irrigation Systems in India
Soumyabrata Basu
General Manager
Schemex Consultants Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata
* soumyabratabasu1978@gmail.com

Introduction and complex engineering was used to divert the river

water, for example the Grand Anicut on the river
Water is essential for the existence and survival of any
Cauvery. In the arid and semi arid regions, where water
life form. Hence human settlements the world over
in the streams was more seasonal and not available
have thrived so long they had enough water for
round the year, the diversion channels were first
consumption and growing crops that yield food for
directed into a storage structure-so that water could be
community. The Indian subcontinent has witnessed
used in the ensuing dry period for human and animal
many such early settlements that devised their own
consumption, and for agriculture. However not all
systems of water harvesting, which could be either
storage structures were riverfed or streamfed. Many of
from surface water or ground water. In the medieval
them simply collected water running off a catchment
age areas dominated by feudal system, some of these
area to be stored for later use. In the flood plains,
systems took more scientific form and surprisingly,
people developed ingenious techniques to use the
many of these water extraction storage and conveyance
menacing flood water, not just to irrigate their fields,
structures are still in use in some parts of the country. In
but also to fertilize their fields with the silt deposited
other parts of the country, especially in the hilly and
by flood waters and control diseases like malaria by
mountainous terrains, the communities have devised
making use of the fish in the flood waters to eat away
certain means of water tapping and transfer systems
the mosquito larvae.
that have been used for generations to provide water for
drinking and agriculture. Rain Water Utilization
Traditional Systems in different Regions of India There is a great potential of rain water harvesting and
this has been used at many places of the country,
In India, one may find regions varying in temperature,
especially in the drier areas. For example, even in the
elevation and rainfall. As a result, the climate is
drier areas of the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, people
drastically varying from one place to another for
devised water harvesting structures called the kundi. In
example, when that of the northern Himalayan regions
certain areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat, people even
is compared with that of the southern coastal regions or
devised and used techniques to tap the scarce rain
the dry western and central regions are compared with
water falling on roof tops.
the west eastern and north eastern regions. Hence, the
methods of traditional systems of water utilization Ground Water
have evolved very differently over the years in
Traditionally, dug-wells have been constructed, the
different places. The main sources of water have
generally been: water from which was lifted using traditional
technology like the Persian wheel or simply pulley
Utilization of stream and river water
v arrangement for use in agriculture or drinking water
Direct
v tapping of rain water (rain water purposes. Wells were, and still are, important source of
harvesting) irrigation in the ground water rich region of the Indo-
Gangetic plains. In the dry areas of Rajasthan, people
Ground water
v
built structures like step wells and wells below tanks
Stream/River/Surface Water and other types of water storage structures. These
served both as ground water collection points as well
Wherever these sources exist, especially in the hill and
mountain regions of India, people developed as storage structures for rain water harvesting. In some
techniques to divert its water with the help of simple hilly regions, for instance in the hills and mountains of
engineering structures, into artificial channels that eastern ghats, people have long since used the Middle
would take the water directly to the agricultural fields Eastern technology of qanats to build subterranean
where streams joined to form rivers, even some larger structures, which are horizontal wells with a mild slope

308 Annual Technical Volume

 Table 1 Water at different regions
and called surangams locally, the top the water seeping
down the hill sides for use as drinking water (Table 1).
In summary, the various types of traditional water
harvesting system practiced in India may be presented
as given in the table below. It must be remembered that
Annual Technical Volume
all these methods are ingenious forms of water
resources engineering and a modern engineer may not
only learn from these age old techniques but also
suggest new ways to improve them to make these more
efficient.
309
 Traditional Irrigation Methods
Traditional Irrigation Methods are of four types,
(i) Check Basin Method
(ii) Furrow Irrigation Method
(iii) Strip Irrigation Method
(iv) Basin Irrigation Method.
Check Basin Method
In this method, the whole field is divided into basins
according to the capacity of water (Figure 1). Basins
are connected through a 'Dhora' (A small drain type
flow way), which has raised earthen walls on both
sides. 'Dhora' is of two types, one is the main 'Dhora'
and the other 'Dhora' is connected to basins. Size of
basins are made according to the inflow of water.
These basins are surrounded by small furrows. Branch
'Dhora' flows towards the slope from the main 'Dhora'.
If the slope of branch 'Dhora' is steep, 'mooonja' or
polythene is spread in it to prevent erosion of sides. The
main source of water is located at the highest place in
the field.
The width of drains is affected by factors like flow of
water, %age, slope and structure of the ground etc. The
Figure 1 Check Basin Method
length of 'Dhora'is different depending on the basis of
slope and formation of the fields. This method is also
prevalent in India as it does not cause any burden on the
farmer.
This method has the following advantages:
It is the
v best method of irrigation for leveled
fields.
It does not require any technical knowledge.
v It saves labour since once the furrow is filled, it
This method
v is more useful in soils having
lesser infiltration.
In this method, rain water stays in basins, hence
v Plants
soil erosion is not caused.
It has lesser economic investment.
v Disadvantages
It irrigates more area.
v Due to
Crops gets sufficient water.
v
310
Figure 2 Furrow Irrigation Method
Following are disadvantages of check basin method
Due to
v seepage in drains, wastage of water is
caused.
Machines
v cannot be used m this method
because during spray of insecticides or
fertilizers, the earthen walls of basins are
damaged.
There
v IS imbalance in distribution of labour.
After growth of crops, water reaches the basins
in disproportionate quantity thereby causing
wastage of water.
Creation of problem of water logging.
v
Furrow Irrigation Method
Furrow irrigation method is resorted to where crops are
one grown in rows (Figure 2). Along the side of rows
of crops, 'Dol'is formed, and in between two such
'Dols', a furrow is formed in which water flows for
irrigation. The quantity of flow of water depends on
demand of water by plants and the rate of infiltration.
In different situations, different furrow methods are
used (Surajbhan 1978). They are mainly of five types:
1. Slopy Furrow
2. Leveled Furrow
3. Contour Furrow
4. Serial Furrow
5. Corrugated Furrow
Advantages
Large areas can be irrigated at a time.
v
v
is not necessary to give water a second time.
It is a comparatively cheaper method.
v
v gets suitable quantity of water by this
method.
v imbalance in flow of water, wastage of
water is caused in it.
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 It is not suitable in all types of crops.
v platform called 'Thanvla' is formed around trees or
bushes and they are connected with each other through
Making
v 'Dol' for drains requires more labour
drains and the water reaches from one tree to the other.
information.
This method is not suitable for crops.
Due to
v filling of excess water, there is risk of
underground salts coming up to the surface Advantages
layer. It saves
v time. Once the water is opened, it
Strip Irrigation Method reaches other trees automatically.

In strip irrigation method, fields are divided into strips Its economic investment is less.
v

of different size. A boundary called 'Med' is formed to It is beneficial for more trees.
v
separate the strips. These strips are constructed
according to the slope. The source of water is situated Disadvantages
at the highest place in the field from where the whole
field can get the flow of water.
The width of strips is decided as per quantity of water.
More wastage of water is caused if strips are wider.
Length of strip is decided by the slope of land and its
structure. Effect of soil composition is also visible on
it.
Advantages
It is possible
v to irrigate more area at a lesser
expenditure.
It requires less labour.
v

Method of irrigation is easy and it causes lesser

v
erosion.
Disadvantages It is not useful for all crops.
v

It is not suitable for all types of crops.

v Wastage of water is caused in it.
v

It is not
v possible to get balanced supply of Diseases spread in trees.
v

water. Irrigation Method Adopted in our State

It is not suitable for all soil compositions.
v In Bengal, one of the traditional systems of irrigation
Basin Irrigation Method
This irrigation method is more suited for horticulture
development (Figure 3). In this method, a raised
Figure 3 Basin Irrigation Method
had been the inundation canals, which is almost totally
abandoned today. In this method, the high flood waters
of the rivers were allowed to inundate the adjacent
flood plains, thus bringing with it rich silt over which
good amount of crops were grown after the passage of
flood. However, from the times of the British rule,
especially in the early twentieth century and even after
independence almost all rivers were embanked,
leaving no room such traditional practice of
agriculture. As a result, the rivers have to flow through
a much constricted cross-sectional area during floods,
with a corresponding rise in flood water levels. The
falling floods have also deposited the silt on the
constricted riverbed, thus raising it dangerously high at
many places. At times, the embankments breach
during floods, thus inundate the human settlements
that have unauthorizedly encroached upon behind
these embankments in the flood plains.

Annual Technical Volume 311

 Jharkhand: Water Resources Scenario
Shivanand Roy
Chief Engineer, Water Resources Department, Government of Jharkhand and
Chairman, The Institution of Engineers (India), Jharkhand State Centre, Ranchi
* shivanandroy@gmail.com
Onkar Nath
Assistant Engineer, Water Resources Department, Government of Jharkhand

Introduction residual Bihar, among the most food-insecure states in

The state of Jharkhand, India's twenty-eighth state was
carved out of Bihar and came into existence on
November 15, 2000. It is bound by Bihar on the north,
West Bengal in the east, Orissa in the south and
Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh in the west. It covers an
area of 79,714 sq km, with 24 districts, 32,616 revenue
villages and a population of 32.99 million according to
the 2011 census. With 28% of the state's population
comprising tribal communities (compared to the all-
India average of 8%), Jharkhand was created as a
“Tribal State”.
Jharkhand has a rich endowment of natural
resources— forests, minerals and abundant land
(Figure 1). With only 2.7% of the population of India,
the state possesses approximately 33% of its mineral
reserves, and is particularly rich in coal and iron ore.
There were several advantages that emerged from the
separation of Jharkhand from Bihar. It took away a
bulk of the parent state's industrial, educational,
mineral and forest assets and one-third of the
population. But Jharkhand remains, along with
the country.
Like any other newly created States, Jharkhand too had
to face many challenges in all areas of development, be
it Education, Energy, Roads, Agriculture or Water
Resources.
So far as Water Resources is concerned, at the time of
creation of the state only 12% of agricultural land had
the facility for irrigation. But presently, approximately
35% of agricultural land has been provided with the
irrigational facility through Major, Medium and Minor
irrigation projects undertaken by Water Resources
Department. Though it is an achievement, but still a
long distance has to be covered.
Jharkhand is blessed with average annual rainfall of
1200mm, which is considered to be a good quantity
compared to other states of the country. The state is full
of rivers and streams flowing across the land of the
region. There are 16 river basins in Jharkhand State as
indicated in the map, but still we are not able to harness
the benefit and utilize the available water for the

Figure 1 Natural resources in Jharkhand

312 Annual Technical Volume

 purpose of irrigation. Reasons are many, to name few
are forest land clearance, Land acquisition, lack of
resources etc.
There are Ongoing Major and Medium Projects, Minor
Irrigation Projects, New projects being undertaken by
the Water Resources Department apart from operation
and maintenance of completed Major, Medium and
Minor Irrigation Projects. The irrigation potential of
approximately 300.27 thousand ha has been created
through one major and 102 medium Irrigation
Schemes. The potential created through minor
irrigation scheme is 619.60 thousand ha
approximately.
The department of Water Resources, Government of
Jharkhand is involved in the management of the Water
Resources of the State in such a sustainable way so as
to provide optimal benefit to the people of the State.
The Department is engaged in construction and
maintenance of Major, Medium and Minor Irrigation
Schemes, Flood Protection work, Ground water
Conservation/ Reclamation and providing Industrial
water to Industries. It protects the right of the State in
sharing water of Interstate Rivers/ Basins. The
Department is also working in the field of Interlinking
of various river basins in order to supply water to water
starved areas from water surplus basins.
State of Jharkhand is in great need of development of
Water Resources as it is a water starved state and
managing and utilizing the available Water Resources
is of prime importance for the State. The State Water
Resources Department is primarily involved in
development of all kinds of water resources in the
state.
The main objectives of the Department are-
lIncreasing irrigation coverage
Making
l existing irrigation network more
efficient.
Moving
l towards effective Participatory
Irrigation Management.
Emphasis
l on minor and lift irrigation projects as
they are more suitable and economical and have
low gestation period.
Recharge
l and replenish the decreasing Ground
Water Table.
Providing
l Industrial water to prospective
Industries.
Inter River basin transfer of water.
l minor irrigation schemes have a wider scope and the
In order to meet the objectives, all round efforts are
being made by Water Resources Department.
Annual Technical Volume
Work execution is in full progress in ongoing major
and medium irrigation projects. Subarnarekha
multipurpose project is the most ambitious major
project of the state. By the end of March 2015 work of
Chandil dam and Galudih Barrage has been
completed. In Chandil Left main canal 113 KM out of
total 127KM has been completed, through this canal
presently irrigation facility for 39933 ha of the land has
been provided. From Right main canal of Galudih
main canal irrigation facility has been provided to
Orissa also.
Work is also going on other major projects such as Ajai
Barrage, Gumani Barrage, Punasi Reservoir project,
Amanat Barrage project, North Koel Rservoire
project, Bateshwarsthan Ganga pump canal scheme
etc. People of Jharkhand in a very near future going to
get benefit of these major schemes.
In Medium irrigation segment, Sonua, Ramrekha,
Upper Shankh, Panchkhero reservoir scheme the
headworks has been completed and water storage is
under progress. Irrigation is being provided directly
through main canal. Similarly irrigation through Ajai
Barrage has been started, which was pending for a very
long period.
Jharkhand inherited many irrigation projects from
Bihar which were either closed due to various
problems like land acquisition, Forest clearance,
public protest, various kind of litigation, insufficient
fund or in a very dilapidated condition due to poor
maintenance resulting in decrease in irrigation
potential. With creation of Jharkhand, an all round
effort has been made to improve the situation. Work is
also going on for extension and modernization of old
schemes as part of ERM (Extension, Renovation and
Modernization) projects. Sunder, Malay, Nandini,
Latratu, Chirka, Ghaghra reservoir schemes and
Kanchi weir, Lapasia weir, Jugra weir etc has been
taken up under ERM program.
To achieve the designed capacity of some old schemes
: Kokro, Sunder, Sonepur, Dahuajore, Doria irrigation
schemes, Bhoura Bandh barrage scheme, Tajna
Barrage scheme etc, rehabilitation Work is under
progress.
By solving the problem of public protest in execution
of Punasi reservoir scheme, the work has been started
again and in near future it will be able to provide
irrigation to command area of the project.
Considering the geographical condition of the state
and availability of agricultural land in Jharkhand,
most suitable for implementation as these could be
constructed in relatively shorter time period in more
areas for providing irrigation in small chunks,
313
 construction of checkdams have been taken up under
AIBP programme supported by Government of India
apart from state schemes. Minor irrigation sector has
become major contributor in the state to enhance the
irrigation potential of the state.
Going ahead with the agenda of enhancement of
irrigating capacity in the state, the department has
taken up construction of five new irrigation schemes,
Suru Reservoir scheme, Tilaia irrigation schemes,
Domni nala irrigation scheme, Burhai reservoir
scheme, Rarhu Reservoir Scheme. Execution of these
projects will take irrigation facilities in the state to a
new height.
Preparation of DPR of other schemes like Kanhar
irrigation scheme, Tahle reservoir scheme, Torai
reservoir scheme, Salaia reservoir scheme, Kanchi
Barrage scheme, Suggathan reservoir scheme, Siwane
reservoir scheme, Donaikala reservoir scheme etc.
Being mineral rich state, Jharkhand has a commitment
for providing water to industrial unit of the state also.
There is ample scope for industrialization and for
industrialization, there is a significant amount of water
requirement. Considering the fact that water is a scarce
commodity in Jharkhand a balanced allocation of
314
water to different sectors is required. Presently Water
Resources Department is allocating water according to
demand by different sectors. Presently facility of
online allocation is going to be provided through apps.
Other Activities
Department has framed Jharkhand State Water policy,
which has to take policy decisions for optimal
development and utilizsation and available Water
resources in Jharkhand. To regulate the Water
resources Water Regulalatory Authority is also being
constituted.
Participation of the farmers in irrigation process in the
field is of great importance in view of the efficient
utilization of the available water and operation and
maintenance of the canal system. For this purpose
Participatory Irrigation Management Niyamawali has
been framed.
Challenges
Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, Forest land
clearance, Lack of resources and weak engineering
infrastructure are the problems faced by the
department, which needs to be addressed in more
effective manner
Annual Technical Volume
 Traditional Irrigation Systems of North-East India
Manish Kumar Goyal, Tapasranjan Das, Durlav Das and Shivam Gupta
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati
* mkgoyal@iitg.ernet.in
Abstract
Northeast India is known for its climatic, topographic and agricultural diversity. Major part of the region comes
under hilly terrain therefore; traditional methods of crop farming and irrigation methods are very different from
the methodologies adopted by the rest part of India. Northeast region receives average annual rainfall of 2,480
mm; region also possesses the first position in per capita annual water availability. High annual rainfall and rich
surface water resources enable this region to get advantage of water harvesting for domestic and agricultural
purposes. Although several minor and major irrigation projects already proposed and completed in several five
year plans for the states of northeastern region, use of traditional methods of irrigation are in practice
abundantly. Article gives an overview of the traditional methods used for the irrigation practices in northeast
India. Major advantages of these irrigation techniques are that they are generally prepared from the locally
available materials, less care and maintenance and easy portability. Many tribal communities developed many
indigenous farming and irrigation systems. These systems are eco-friendly and use natural resources only.
Keywords: Irrigation; Indigenous farming.

Introduction
India is agricultural based country and it contributes
approximately 29% to the total GDP of India
(FAO,2001). Despite industrialization and
urbanization, agriculture still remains the major sector
contributing to GDP and providing jobs to millions of
the people of India. Agricultural production largely
depends on the efficient utilization of the available
surface and groundwater resources. Major agricultural
farming in India is dependent of the rainfall, uneven
distribution rainfall distribution and frequent drought
situations causes loss to the agricultural production.
According to the report of ministry of agriculture
(MOA,1998) net rain fedarea constitute about 30%,
and net irrigated area is only 16.5%. Various minor,
medium and major irrigation schemes are there run by
the Government of India for providing the water for
agriculture. After several irrigation projects in several
five year plans irrigation development in India has
risen significantly, but still the irrigation area is not
evenly distributed in different states of India.
Tamilnadu has achieved nearly 100% whereas Assam
has the lowest utilization of irrigation potential i.e.
23% (MoWR, 1996).
Apart from the irrigation projects governed by
governments, there are several traditional methods of
irrigation in general practices, which are used by
people directly for utilizing the available surface or
groundwater resources. Rivers and wells are natural
resources of water supply but for using it for
agricultural purposes need techniques to divert water
from river or water bodies and lifting the water from
deep or shallow wells to the farm. These techniques
depend largely on the elevation of the water surface
and available equipments. These techniques can be
classified as low head water lift; medium head water
lift and high head water lift (Michael, 2009).
Low head water lift techniques involves swing basket,
don, Archimedean screw and water wheels, whereas
Persian wheels, chain pump, animal drawn bucket
lifts, and manually operated counterpoise-bucket lifts
are the methods comes under medium head water lift.
Rope and bucket lift and hand-pumps are the methods
used in case of the high head water lifts.
Above discussed methods have some limitations in the
hilly area like northeastern part of India. In hilly
regions main challenges are the undulating land and
agricultural practices on the slope of the hills using
terraces and bunds. These conditions restrict the free
flow of water or need more coordinated path for water
to reach to the field. Another challenge in hilly region
is the source of water. As compared to the plane land
where river streams or canal are not very deep or high
from the agriculture fields, in hilly region water
sources may be some perennial spring or seasonal
spring. This makes additional challenge to divert water
from the water falling abruptly from the hills; this also
affects the efficiency of the adopted method of
irrigation.
The Northeastern Indian regionconsists of eight states
namely Assam, Meghalaya, Arunanchal Pradesh,

Annual Technical Volume 315

 Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, and Sikkim.
Geographical extent of the region lies between the
latitude 21.5o to 29.5o N and longitude 89.4o to 97.5o
E.The entire NE Region falls within the sub tropical
belt of warm summer monsoon climate (Sarma and
Goswami, 2015).This region has less resemblance to
the rest of the country in terms of the climatic
condition, topography and agricultural practices.
Northeastern region which constitute the Meghalaya
plateau includes Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills, the
north–eastern hills and the Brahmaputra valley. Spatial
distribution of rainfall varies highly from low
elevation to the high elevation areas. Highest rainfall
receiving place on earth Mawsynram is also located in
Meghalaya. Northeastern India is highly rich in water
resources available and which can be made beneficial
for the people of this region. Despite being high
rainfall receiving region, lack of management
practices causes drain of water to the rivers.
This region is the home for many tribal communities
having a long history and traditions, which helped
them to develop many indigenous farming and
irrigation systems. These systems are eco friendly and
use natural resources only. Depending upon the
topography, the tribal people of different places
evolved different irrigation systems. Some of these
practices are briefly discussed here-under.
Bamboo Drip Irrigation
The farmers of Meghalaya have been using this
indigenous technique of bamboo drip irrigation for
many years. Basically the farmers of Khasi and Jaintia
hill use this system of tapping springs and stream water
to grow betel nut, black pepper etc (Jeeva et al. 2006).
The topology of the region is hilly with steep slopes
and rock boulders. Soil depth is low and has poor water
retention capacity. The region gets large amount of rain
during the rainy season but irrigation becomes a
necessity during the dry season of the year. Diverting
water through ground channel is not possible in this
region due to low soil depth and rocky terrain. The
need for water and challenging terrain gave rise to this
unique irrigation system of bamboo drip irrigation
(Figure 1).
The bamboo drip irrigation system works on the
principle of gravity and the steep terrain of this region
facilitate in implementing it. Water from an uphill
source is tapped and brought to the plantation by a
main bamboo channel. Usually these water sources are
far off from the plantations. The water is then regulated
through a complex bamboo network of secondary and
tertiary channels to all the parts of a plantation, right up
to the bottom of the hill. These bamboo networks
usually have 4-5 diversion stages before water is
delivered at base of the plant. 18-20 liters per minute of
316
water from the main channel gets reduced to 10-80
drops per minute at the end of the network.
Bamboos of varying diameters are used to build the
channels, support structures, diversion pipes and
strips. Channels are held above the ground by bamboo
or wooden Y shaped sticks. One stretch of channel is
lashed to another by thin bamboo strips. Two labours
can construct a network covering 1 hectare of land in
15 days. They are built with such skill that water
wastage by leakage is minimal. The construction is
based on a simple rule of thumb – the ratio of diameter
of primary channel to tertiary channel determines the
quantity of water which will reach the trees. It is a
subtle skill which comes with years of observation and
experience.
Zabo or Ruza System
This indigenous irrigation and farming system has its
origin in Kikruma village of phek district of Nagaland.
This system is practiced basically by Chakhesang
Figure 1 Network of bamboo drip irrigation
Tribes (Kithan, 2014). The village is situated at an
altitude of around 1270 m from mean sea level on a flat
ridge, and have Seidzu River in the south and Khuzha
River in the north. The village is few 100 meters above
these two rivers and river water cannot be used for
irrigation purpose and due to which this beautiful
system of impounding runoff from hilltop was
evolved. At present the area under this practice is
around 1000 ha. The word Zabo means impounding of
water. It has a combination of forest, agriculture and
animal husbandry practices with well founded soil and
water conservation base. Water resource development,
water management and protection of environment are
inherent aspects of the system.
The Zabo irrigation and farming system has protected
forest land at top of the hill, water harvesting tanks in
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 the middle and cattle yard & paddy field at lower side.
Siltation tanks are made just below the forest. The
siltation tanks are desilted every year. The water
harvesting ponds are provided with embankments and
the inner surface and side bunds are compacted
thoroughly to reduce seepage losses of water as shown
in Figure 2. The size of the pond depends upon the
serving area and the amount of water to be harvested.
After that cattle enclosure is there. The water from the
tank is allowed to pass through cattle yard because
water carries with it the dung and urine of the animals
to the field which serves as a good source of nutrition to
crop.
Figure 2 Zabo system
Bogo System
This irrigation system is performed by the Apatani
tribe in Apatani plateau of Arunachal Pradesh (Rai,
2005). The valley is surrounded by high hills having an
elevation of around 2438 m from mean sea level. They
use this irrigation system to get water for their paddy
cum fish cultivation. There are no written records of
the history of this irrigation system. The traditional
ecological knowledge of the farmers in this region is
excellent (Singh and Gupta, 2007).
In this system water from natural stream is used
judiciously in a planned manner for crop cultivation.
Water is tapped near the forest in the foothills of the
valley and channeled through major canals on either
side of valley to supply the agricultural land. The
channeled water is then distributed via numerous small
canals so that every plot of land is well supplied with
irrigated water. Terraces made along the gradient are
connected using bamboo pipes at higher elevation
since there is low intake and using pipes made from
pine tree at lower elevations due to high intake. These
connecting pipes are called “Hubur” by the help of
which a field can be flooded or drained whenever
required. Dykes or bunds are also provided so
that water cannot cascade from one plot to another
(Figure 3).
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Prime principle of water management of this tribe is
equitable sharing of water. As there are limited sources
of water for irrigation in this region therefore good
water management is essential for efficient production
in the rice and fish system. These irrigation systems are
managed by the traditional farmer group led by “Bogo
Ahtoh”.
Figure 3 Bamboo hubur
Dong
Dongs are earthen water canals constructed by the
local people of Assam to harvest water for irrigation in
the paddy field. These are mainly found in the Bodo
populated area. In Bodo language it is called Doisa.
The basic source of dongs is natural streams from
which earthen canals are cut to divert water to the
paddy fields. Water in the field is accumulated in a
pond like structure from where water is lifted and taken
into the necessary portion by an instrument called
“Lahoni”. Another such kind of structure is “Koon”, it
is a wooden boat like structure handled with leg,and a
sketch diagram of the dong is shown in Figure 4. Koon
can lift about 25L water at a time, which is sufficient to
irrigate a plot of 4-5 beegha in one day. Lahoni can lift
about 10L of water at a time, and which can irrigate 2
beegha of land in one day. Generally the source of
water is natural stream but in the Kokrajhar district of
Assam “The Nepalpara to Narabaridoisa” is a unique
dong as its source is rain water. The poor cultivators of
about six villages constructed this dong as they are
solely depended on cultivation. The head work of this
canal is located at village Hazarika in Kokrajhar
district. They constructed a pond at the northern side of
the village Hazarika to trap rain water. The rain water
317

Figure 4 Dong
so accumulated is distributed by the dong to the vast
agricultural fields.
Panikheti
As we know high rainfall occurs in the NEH, which
creates weeds infestation in upland rice cultivation. To
overcome this problem it is become necessary to
construct plain terraces to store water which prevents
weeds growth. This process is known as Panikheti.
This system is highly practiced in Nagaland,Manipur
and Sikkim to provide uniform irrigation across the
terraced rice field associated (Das et al, 2012).
Terraces of different sizes are constructed as per the
slope of the hill, supported by bunds of 0.5 to 1.3m
width and 0.2 to 1.4m height. Cutting and filling
method is used for the levelling of the terraces which
prevents soil erosion and enhance soil fertility for
cultivation (Figure 5). Big clods of clays or silt are
randomly spread over the soil surface which is
disintegrated by rainwater, and chokes soil pores and
prevent percolation. Well pitched drainage channels
are provided to drain out excess water to lower reaches
in the storage tank. Leaves of trees, forest litter, crop
residues, and weeds etc are decomposed alongwith
cattle dung or burnt and incorporated in terraced fields
to maintain the soil fertility for rice cultivation.
Figure 5 Panikheti
318
Cheo-ozihi
This traditional method of irrigation was originated in
Angami village of Kwigema in Nagaland. In this
system a long channel called Cheo-ozihi is used to
bring down water from the river mezii. From this main
channel, many branch channels are taken off, and
water is often diverted to the terraces through bamboo
pipes. The term ozihi means water in their local
language and Cheo was the person who was
responsible for the laying of this 8-10 km long channel
with its numerous branches. A large number of terraces
of this area are irrigated by this channel.
Kholas
In Sikkim, local people evolved an efficient water
harvesting system together with land management
system. In Sikkim irrigation system is mostly confined
to rice fields and cardamom plantations. In rice fields,
irrigation is done in bench terraces. In the case of
cardamom, irrigation water is allowed to flow without
proper distribution of channels. Construction of water
channels, regulation of water flow, and drawing of
drinking water were traditionally done through
community participation. The common sources of
drinking water are streams and kholas (tanks).
Pukhris or Ponds
In Manipur Pukhrisare the most prevalent traditional
water harvesting structures. Till a few decades ago, one
pond was shared by two or three households.
Community ponds are also commonly found in this
region. A substantial amount of the vegetables
produced in the state are grown in private kitchen
gardens, which use water from ponds. It is quite
common to have a small pond at lower end of the plot
in paddy fields. It is useful during the dry spells of the
year after sowing. Sketch diagram of Pukhris or pond
is shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6 Pond or Pukhris
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 Tuikhur
In Mizoram, people used to harvest the water from
small hilly streams by constructing tanks or Tuikhur at
the foot hills. The harvested water is transported or
transferred by bamboo pipes, rubber/iron pipes for use
in different purposes. Harvested water is used for
irrigation, drinking, washing etc.
Rope Method
In some places of Assam this method is used in winter
season particularly in wheat and Maize field. At dawn
time due to full condensation, dew drops are found on
the leaves. Two men standing at two opposite side of
the field and pull a rope over the leaves by just touching
the leaves and move from one end to another, as a result
of which water drops fall on the ground and the soil gets
moisture, which helps in plant growth.
Conclusion
Although the efficiency of these traditional systems of
irrigation are not economical in terms of water diverted
to the amount of water reached to the field, yet the ease
of preparing the system with locally available materials
make them popular. These traditional systems are the
best example to use the locally available materials
perfectly and to cope with the environment. These
systems were used by our ancestors and are still in use.
But these traditional irrigation systems are either
confined to their place of origin or in the verge of
extinction due to the introduction of new technologies
which are more food grain production oriented and
have little care about environmental issues. There is a
huge scope of improvement in the field of irrigation in
NE India by adopting water harvesting and river based
traditional irrigation systems and integrating with
modern irrigation system wherever necessary.
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References
1. Report, (1998). Directorate of Economics and
statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of
India.
2. Report, (2001).United Nations Food and Agricultural
Organisation.
3. Report of the working group of Major and medium
Irrigation projects for ninth five year plan, (1996).
Ministry of Water resources Government of India.
4. Michael, A. M. (2008). Irrigation: theory and practice.
5. Sarma, Angkita and Goswami, D.C., (2015).
Sustainable agricultural practices and the methods of
traditional water harvesting in North East Region of
India, Applied Science Research, 2015, 7 (4):23-30.
6. Kithan, L. N. (2014). Indigenous system of Paddy
cultivation in Terrace and Jhum fields among the
Nagas of Nagaland. International Journal of Scientific
and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 3.
7. Jeeva, S. R. D. N., Laloo, R. C., & Mishra, B. P.
(2006). Traditional agricultural practices in
Meghalaya, North East India. Indian Journal of
Traditional Knowledge, 5(1), pp 7-18.
8. Das, A., Choudhury, B. U., Munda, G. C., Patel, D. P.,
Ngachan, S. V., Ghosh, P. K., and Kumar, M. (2012).
Natural resource conservation through indigenous
farming systems: wisdom alive in north-east India.
Indian J. Tradit. Knowl, 11(3), pp 505-513.
9. Singh R.A and Gupta R.C (2002),“Traditional land
and water management systems of North East hill
region”. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge,
Vol. 1(1), July.
10. Rai, S. C. (2005). Apatani paddy-cum fish cultivation:
An indigenous hill farming system of North East
India. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 4(1),
pp 65-71.
319
 Irrigation Systems in Manipur
Athokpam Dhaneshwar Singh
Superintending Engineer
Irrigation & Flood Control Department, Government of Manipur
* dhaneshwar.athk@gmail.com
Introduction
Manipur is one of the States of the Indian Union
situated in the North Eastern Region, bordering with
Myanmar. It is a charming place encircled by nine hill
ranges on all sides with a small and beautiful oval
shaped valley at the centre.
The geographical area of the State is 22,327 sq.km. out
of which 90% i.e. 20,089 sq.km. is covered by the hills
and the remaining area is a small valley covering only
2,238 sq.km. Altitude above mean sea level varies from
790 metres in the valley to 2020 metres in the hill. The
average annual rainfall is about 1500mm.
The State has two major river basins viz. Barak River
Basin and Manipur River Basin. Entire State is criss-
crossed by many small and medium rivers. The Barak
River and its tributaries flow in the hilly region and
finally go out of the State without much touching the
valley portion. The Manipur River Basin mainly flows
in the entire length of the valley. Major Rivers
contributing to the Manipur River Basin are (1) Imphal
River (named as Manipur River from Sekmaijin
onwards), (2) Iril River, (3) Thoubal River, (4) Nambul
River, (5) Kongba River, (6) Wangjing River, (7)
Sekmai River, (8) Chakpi River, (9) Khuga River, (10)
Nambol River etc.
Most of the above Rivers directly falls into Imphal/
Manipur River and finally drains out of the State falling
into Chindwin River in Myanmar. Other Rivers fall
into Loktak Lake and excess water from Loktak Lake
goes into Manipur River.
Water Resources in the State
The State, although small in geographical area, is
comparatively rich in water resources especially in
surface water. Rivers and Lakes including the biggest,
Loktak Lake contribute to the surface water resources.
Agriculture is the main occupation of the people of
Manipur and paddy its main food crop.
Irrigation
Due to the geographical reason different irrigation
systems are practiced in the hills and plains (valleys).
Traditional and Modern Irrigation in the hills
Rain water is the main source of irrigation for the hill
320
people in Manipur. They plant paddy, vegetables and
horticultural crops. Jhuming or shifting cultivation is
widely adopted in most of the hills. Terrace cultivation
is practiced in some pockets of the hills. Fairly plain
hill slopes and small valleys are converted into
terraced fields. These fields are lying at different levels
one after another. These small terraced fields are
bounded by small earthen bunds to retain water. The
excess water from the top terraced field is passed into
the next field lying below.
Besides using rain water hill people also construct
small channels and divert water from the nearby hill
streams to their fields. Now-a-days, Minor irrigation
projects are also taken up at suitable places.
Traditional and Modern Irrigation in the plains
(valleys)
Rivers, small streams, lakes and natural ponds were
plenty in the valley areas of Manipur in olden days.
Later on, the use of artificial ponds came into practice.
History of Manipur tells us the construction of a big
tank called “Ningthem Pukhri” at Wangkhei by the
people during the reign of Maharaja Garibaniwaja, the
then king of Manipur, in 1725 AD. Construction of
small ponds for almost every household was common
in the later parts.
Although, the use of pond water was manifold, it was
also used for small scale irrigation. The system of
irrigation in those days may be called as pond
irrigation. Methods adopted for irrigation were all
manual. Methods which were used for artificial
irrigation in many parts of India in olden days, like,
chain pumps, pulley system or use of animals and even
canal irrigation systems which were said to have
practiced during the Indus Valley Civilization in
Pakistan and North India were not available in
Manipur in the past.
The widely seen practice of irrigation by the people of
Manipur in the past was carrying of water from Rivers
and Ponds by using earthen pots and pouring water to
the plants. Another practice was the use of bucket like
structure made of cane or bamboo with bamboo handle
which was used in taking out water from ponds and
transferring to a higher field for watering the plants.
Sometimes bamboo tripods were used for hanging the
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 bucket like structure for easy working of the system.
The operator pulls down the end of the bamboo handle
and again releases while water from a pond in lower
level is transferred to a field at a higher level. This
irrigation practice is called “ Eshitpa” in Manipur.
Water inundated from river during the rise of water
level was also used to irrigate paddy in the fields. Small
earthen channels were also constructed to carry water
to the fields by gravity flow.
Irrigation Projects
With the growing of population in Manipur, more and
more lands were converted into paddy fields. Wetlands
were also reclaimed to form paddy fields. Although the
State was rich in surface water potential, there were not
any system to harness the available water resource for
agriculture and drinking purposes. Moreover, the loss
of forest in the catchment areas in the hills causes
irregular rainfall in the State. So, agriculture, which is
the main occupation of the people of Manipur cannot
depend on the capricious rainfall. Here comes the need
of irrigation projects in Manipur.
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The State did not have any major and medium
irrigation project upto 1972-73 and agriculture was
solely dependent on irregular and insufficient rainfall.
Hence, assured water supply for irrigation is of utmost
importance.
Major and Medium irrigation was started only from the
4th Plan period onwards. The State has so far taken up
8(eight) projects under Major, Medium and
Multipurpose Irrigation Projects. Out of these 8
projects, 3 projects namely Thoubal Multipurpose
Project, Singda Dam Multipurpose Project and Khuga
Multipurpose Project are multipurpose. Loktak Lift
Irrigation,(LLI) is the major project and 4(four) are
medium projects namely, Imphal Barrage Project,
Sekmai Barrage Project, Khoupum Dam Project and
Dolaithabi Barrage Project.
Besides, many minor irrigation projects are also taken
up in many parts of the State. Now, the State will get
assured irrigation not only to save from drought and
famine but also to enhance its agricultural products by
adopting multiple cropping system.
321
 Retrofitting of Irrigation Structures – Prakasam
Barrage, Andhra Pradesh : A Case Study
I Satyanarayana Raju
Former Chief Engineer, Government of Andhra Pradesh and
Chairman, The Institution of Engineers (India), Andhra Pradesh State Centre
* indukurirajn8@gmail.com
Preamble
The engineers mostly devoted time to develop methods
of analysis and construction techniques of different
kinds of structures in early 20th century and paid very
little attention on retro-fitting, repairs and
rehabilitation of structures. That too it is global
scenario that all countries concentrated on new
construction of Dams, Highways, Ports, Industries,
and Airways focussing on long term development for
economic growth and sustainability by capital
investment. In second half twentieth century, the
structures earlier built has passed half their age
demanding repairs and rehabilitation/retrofitting.
Further the structures during their service life have a
specified level of safety and serviceability under the
design working load and anticipated condition of use.
The deterioration of structures may be due to many
reasons such as inadequate design, deficient
construction, overloading, inadequate maintenance,
weathering, unforeseen events(Natural disasters) like
floods, cyclones, earthquakes, Tsunami, fire etc., and
the lack of knowledge on durability and long-term
behaviour of structural concrete. Hence repair,
rehabilitation, retro-fitting and strengthening of
structures are needed due to any one or combination of
above reasons.
Especially Irrigation structures are more vulnerable to
floods, cyclone, and earthquakes due to un-prediction
of their intensities adopting design criteria based past
experience. The Bureau of Indian Standards or the
International Standards of design are dynamic over a
period of time whereas the dams were constructed long
back with the then standards but functioning in course
of modification of such standards. For safety point of
view all such structures needs up-gradation by
checking their stability with present standards. Hence
the rehabilitation and retrofitting of Irrigation
structures has become a common phenomenon for
their sustainability and economic viability otherwise
cost more to bring in a new structure in their place.
A case study of Historic Prakasam barrage across
Krishna River in Vijayawada is presented.
322
Prakasam Barrage
The severe famine during 1832 in Krishna basin of
erstwhile Madras State drew the attention of British
rulers and decided to build an Anicut near the
Bezawada (now called Vijayawada) adjoining to
Goddess Kanka Durga hillock temple. The Krishna
Anicut was conceived and recommended by the
legend Sir Arthur Cotton to the East India Company
and Majesty Queen Elizabeth approved during the
year 1852 at a cost of Rs. 2 crores. The Anicut was built
by Captain ORR during 1952-55 to benefit 5.8 lakh
acres in Krishna Delta with 3.0 Ft. (0.91M) high falling
shutters. The Anicut was upgraded in the year 1925 by
raising the shutter height to 6Ft. (1.80M)and 319 Nos.
of 3.05X1.83M sizewere erected which enabled to
increase the ayacut to 8 lakh acres. This Anicut was a
communication facility for the Madras-Calcutta Grand
Trunk Road for crossing river at that time and linkage
between Krishna and Guntur districts.
The Anicut passing toan age of 95 years in the year
1952 was breached for a length of 30M and the state
decided to replace it by a gated barrage at 100 ft.
(31.83M) Upstream of Anicut. The Barrage was
constructed during 1954-57 at a cost of Rs.2.78 crores
with 70 Nos. of vertical gates (12.87X3.66M size) and
it has become permanent connectivity on Madras-
Kolkata National Highway connecting Vijayawada
and Guntur, the respective district headquarters. The
salient features of barrage are:
1. Catchment Area : 97,050 Sq. Miles.
2. Maximum Flood Discharge : 12.00 Lakh Cusecs
(Observed).
3. Length of Barrage : 1.23 KM.
4. Main Barrage Gates : 70 Nos.(12.19 M
× 3.66 M).
5. F.R.L : +17.39 M.
6. Crest Level of Barrage : +13.73 M.
7. Eastern Delta Canal : 7.41 lakh Acres
(370KM).
8. Western Delta Canal : 5.59 lakh Acres
(322 KM).
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 Water Allocation from Krishna Delta
Kharif Needs : 161.90TMC.
Rabi& Drinking Water Needs : 15.30TMC.
Evaporation Losses : 4.00TMC.
Total allotment : 181.00TMC.
Need for Rehabilitation of Prakasam Barrage
Originally the Barrage was intended to cater the needs
of Krishna Delta Ayacut of 13 lakh Acres spread in
Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, and West Godavari
districts. At that time there was a scope maintain the
barrage with dry Sill, and upstream dry bed condition
for carrying out annual repairs.
The scenario changed since 1979 when the
Vijayawada Thermal Power Station (VTPS) came in to
operation. The maintaining Upstream pond level at +
17.39M has become inevitable round the year to
supply water 24X7 for cooling needs of during Power
generation. This created a situation that the upstream
of barrage never had a chance to attend periodical
maintenance and observance of distress to barrage if
any, being a structure on permeable foundation prone
for Hydro-dynamic forces. In case of any eventuality
not only the delta ayacut of 13 lakh acres suffer but also
the drinking water needs of Vijayawada, Guntur, Eluru
cities, other Municipal corporations and rural water
supply in 4 districts suffer forever. The Central Water
Commission (CWC) gave its recommendations to take
up urgent repairs of barrage for structural safety on war
footing. Ultimately the State had approved the Repairs
and rehabilitation of barrage forthwith in the 2002 at a
cost Rs.30 crores.
Barrage Rehabilitation: The Barrage rehabilitation
works were phased in to: Upstream protection,
downstream protection, and replacement of 70 gates.
The main item of rehabilitation is Sheet pile cut off on
upstream and downstream right across the barrage
connecting to either flanks beyond scour vents. The
downstream sheet pile confirming to ISPS 1021 'Z'
Piling Section 400MMX185MM was driven to 3.4M
depth below CC apron. The Pile Cap of 1.2X1.5M of
RCC- M20 grade concrete was adopted and connected
to the existing aprons with suitable joints. The existing
aprons were strengthened by concreting and Cement
Concrete Blocks beyond sheet pile cut off. These
downstream protection works were completed
during2002- 2003.
Upstream Protection Works: The exigency is unless
the river bed on upstream of barrage was made dry
with a coffer dam for retaining water upto Barrage
sill+13.73M to facilitate VTPS for pumping water in to
Power Channel, the protection works cannot be
started. The VTPS authorities all the time resisted for
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this alternate as they could draw water in to Power
Channel by gravity when barrage kept at pond level.
They suggested carrying out under water protection
works and this is the only reason for inordinate delay in
taking up the rehabilitation of Barrage. Ultimately the
Barrage authorities prevailed upon the VTPS
authorities to make alternate pumping water for
cooling needs of their power generation and Coffer
dam was built on upstream of Barrage to maintain
Water level up to barrage crest(+13.73M) instead usual
FRL of +17.39M.
The Cofferdam work was a challenging task and
Irrigation Department could make it in 21 day's time.
As was done in downstream, the 'Z' sheet pile cut off
was carried out across the barrage from one end to
other end to a depth of 7M along with pile cap of
similar specification. Because of restriction of three (3)
months working period 90% of work could be carried
out in 2004. Otherwise there could have been an acute
drinking water problem in the Krishna delta area and
cities of Vijayawada, Guntur and Eluru etc. The rest
10% work could be completed in closure period of
2005. The Rehabilitation works completed could
withstand a pass a 6.lakh cusec flood immediately after
protection works carried out in the same year due to
rehabilitation of Barrage.
The Barrage was strengthened by sheet pile cut offs on
upstream and downstream of barrage and Concrete
aprons, CC Blocks, and Jeddy stone protection. In
other way the barrage is confined in between two sheet
pile cut offs on upstream and downstream against
original barrage that was built on well foundations. The
exit gradient could be brought with in safe limits of 1 in
7 at the end of the first apron.
Replacement of Barrage Gates: The originally erected
barrage gates could withstand for 46 years without
replacement due to the contingency of round the year
ponding kept at FRL to facilitate VTPS power
generation cooling needs since 1979. As part of
Barrage rehabilitation the 70 Nos. of Gates
replacements was carried out and could be done in just
one year during 2003. Plate Girder type gates of size
12.87X3.66 M in place of old bow type of gate were
replaced and each weighed at 21.61MT and coated
with Zinc, Silicon coat (Table 1). This gate
replacement was mostly carried out under reservoir
full water level by deploying floating bulk head gates.
The impediment while carrying out gates replacements
is diversion of regular traffic on barrage (a thorough
fare between Vijayawada and Guntur) to downstream
National Highway Kanakadurga Varadhi very much
resisted by public due to excess travel time and fuel
usage. These 70 gates could be replaced well before
schedule time by best efforts of project engineers with
proper planning and the same was very much
appreciated by public and state executive.
323
 Conclusions: The rehabilitation of Prakasam Barrage
was a mile stone in the annuls of Irrigation department
and created everlasting confidence among 13lakh
acres Krishna Delta ayacut farmers apart safety of
Barrage against mighty Krishna floods tested during
2009 passing Maximum Observed Flood
Discharge(MFD) of 10.6 lakh cusecs. This is against
scenario that the 46 year old gates could any time
washed of making barrage dry at cost of 13 lakh acres
and drinking water serving 20 million population. The
cost of this entire rehabilitation work was Rs. 30 crores
and a new barrage at the present juncture could have
costed about 600 crores. The return on investment of
rehabilitation cost was realized in just 10 years by
water Tax collection apart sustained food productivity
and zero cost collection for supplying drinking water
to 20 million population. This is in addition to facility
created for power generation by VTPS for its cooling
needs by gravity. The downstream boils of Post
rehabilitation of -7M is changed to +0.00M indicating
positive sign due to execution of sheet pile cut-off on
upstream and downstream of Barrage. The second
phase of Rehabilitation of barrage after 10 years of first
phase is now contemplated by the Water resources
department for sustaining barrage to its life span of
another 40 years (Phase-I and Phase-II).

Table 1 Barrage gate details comparing old and new replacement

Plate-I : Original Barrage Cross Section

Plate-II: Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Barrage Cross section

324 Annual Technical Volume

 Water Resource Development Planning and
Management for Island Ecosystem : A Case Study
for Andaman & Nicobar Islands
R. C. Srivastava
Principal Scientist, Indian Institute of Water Management, Bhubaneswar
* ramesh_cari@yahoo.co.in
Abstract
Island ecosystem are characterized with high rainfall with saline ground water, but due to high intensity, actual
water availability is much less and islands face water scaricity even for drinking water. The water scarcity of
Maldives is still fresh in memory when India had to ship drinking water by planes and ship. The islands have also
become major tourist destinations and in most of cases, the economy is based on tourism alone. In order to
support the tourist driven economy of the islands, the emphasis should be to produce adequate perishable items in
islands rather than transporting them from outside to make an equitable distribution of fruits of tourism economy
to all segments of society. With this in view we need to have a different perspective of water resource development
and planning and management. Such an exercise was undertaken by author during his tenure as Director of
ICAR-CIARI, Port Blair and a policy paper was prepared. This article provides a summary of that document.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands

The Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) archipelago
comprises of about 556 small and big islands covering
an area of 8,249 sq km with a coastline of 1,962 km
between 92-94 0 E longitude and 6-14 0 N latitude in
the Bay of Bengal (Figure 1). The northern group of
islands form the Andaman Islands, while the southern
group of islands form the Nicobar Islands, which is
separated by 10 0 channel. The North Andaman,
Middle Andaman and South Andaman islands occupy
major land mass. The A&N group of islands fall under
hot humid to par humid island eco-region designated as
Agro-ecological Region 21. The tropical ecosystem of
the A&N Islands is very unique having diverse species
with wide range of genetic diversity in varying density.
High rainfall, extremely humid climate, undulating
terrain and backwater creeks are very conducive for
faunal and floral diversity. Evergreen and littoral
forests, mangroves and coral reefs are important
components of the existing ecosystems prevailing in
the islands.
Area and Population
The total geographical area of A&N Islands is 8,249 sq
km. The forests in A&N Islands occupy about 92.2 %
of the total geographical area in which about 87 % area
is under legally notified forest. Remaining area is
available for agriculture and allied activities. The area Figure 1 Location map of the A&N Islands

Annual Technical Volume 325

 of Andaman group of islands is 6,408 sq km whereas
the Nicobar group of islands is 1,841 sq km.
Climate and Topography
These Islands fall under agro-climatic zone XV and
have a true maritime climate with least variation in
maximum and minimum temperatures throughout the
year. The islands receive an average annual rainfall of
about 3180 mm with about 95 % of annual rainfall
received during May-December (2250 mm in May-
September during southwest monsoon and 685 mm in
Figure 2 Monthly average rainfall and evaporation at Port
Blair, South Andaman
Figure 3 Probable rainfall at different probability levels for Port Blair
Table 1 Fortnightly average dry days and length of dry spell in A&N Islands
* In view of humid tropical climate dry day was considered when rainfall was less than 10 mm
326
October-December during northeast monsoon) but
due to the erratic nature of rainfall the intermittent dry
spells during the monsoon result in moisture stress and
poor crop harvest. A surplus of about 1530 mm
rainwater from mid-May to mid-December and a
deficit of about 610 mm are experienced during
January-April (Figure 2), when numbers of rainy days
in each month hardly exceed three. Historical weekly
rainfall (1970-2003) for Port Blair were analyzed
using RAINSIM software to estimate weekly probable
rainfall (Figure 3), which at normal probability
distribution function fitted at 1% level
of significance except for 24, 36, and 45
standard meteorological weeks. The
fortnightly dry days and length of dry
spell is given in Table 1, indicating
length of dry spell about 7 days during
June to November.
The topography of the islands is rolling
with low range hills to narrow valleys at
the foothills resulting in an undulating
terrain ranging from steep slopes (>45)
to coastal plains (<10).
Physiographically, the land in these
Islands can be subdivided into: (i)
moderate to steep hill ranges (ii)
intermountain narrow valley and (iii)
coastal tracts including swamps. The
huge hill ranges are generally covered
by dense forest. Except the Kalpong
river in the North Andaman, perennial
streams of the status of river are absent
Annual Technical Volume
 in these Islands. Nearly 75 % of the rainfall received in
the islands is lost due to undulated terrains, steep
slopes, porous soil stratum and its proximity to the sea.
As rainwater is the only source of the fresh water
availability, its harvesting, storage and recycling forms
the most important strategy for natural resource
management in these islands.
Water Resources Potential and Requirements
The water resource potential of A&N Islands and its
districts are is much higher than rest of country. Per
capita water availability (m 3/yr) is expected to be
45740 in 2021 and 22380 by 2051 much higher than
present national average of about 1500. However,
these figures are illusory as the amount of water
available for harvesting is far below due to topography
and high intensity of rainfall. Again for different
islands, the situation will be different for estimating
future water demands.
The island population is going to be about 4.5 lakhs in
2011 and 5.7 lakhs in 2021, so water needed to produce
the necessary food, excluding water losses due to the
irrigation system, is 0.47 BCM and 0.61 BCM
(including the requirement of armed forces),
respectively. Most of it is provided by rainfall stored in
the soil profile and only 1% is provided through ponds
created under minor irrigation. Irrigation therefore
needs 0.4 BCM of water per annum for food crops.
Although, on an average about 25% of water can be
withdrawn from rivers, lakes and aquifers for
agriculture to effectively contribute for crop
production (the rest is lost through overland flow,
evaporation and deep infiltration) but considering the
typical topographic conditions, high intensity rainfall
and narrow breadth of the land mass in A&N Islands,
only 20% of the water resources can be potentially
developed. Consequently, the water withdrawals in
island for irrigation are estimated to be about 5.2 BCM
per annum. The water demands for selected critical
Table 2 Projected water demand in selected islands
* Includes demand of drinking water and food requirements
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islands are given in Table 2. It indicated that
development of 5-7% by 2011, 7-10% by 2021 and 15-
20% by 2051 of the available island water resources
could meet their requirements.
Water Resource Development
Surface water: The present development and
availability of water resource in the urban area of Port
Blair is 17.79 million litres per day (MLD), equivalent
to 0.007 billion cubic meter (BCM) per annum. This is
mainly by storage in Dhanikhari dam, Jawahar
Sarovar, Lambaline diggi, Dilthaman, Nayagaon and
Chakkargaon diggi. As per the status of water supply
(Economic Survey of A&N Islands, 2007-08), the
available water supply in A&N Islands is 49.62 MLD
indicating an excess of 10.27 MLD whereas the
projected demand for 2020 is 53.91 MLD showing a
shortfall of 4.56 MLD. It is interesting to note that the
present and projected (by 2020) shortfall in water
supply in urban Port Blair alone are 9.38 MLD and
19.67 MLD, respectively. For development of water
resources in the urban and rural Port Blair, raising of
Dhanikhari dam by 5 m, sweet water lake at Sippighat,
Rutland water supply project, desalinisation plant at
Port Blair, Tylerabad weir, 14 m high earthen dam on
Indira nallah, Karupaswamy nallah and procurement
of barges in urban area and, 14 m high dam on Kamsrat
Nallah, 13 m high dam on Koila Nallah, Mithakhari
and reservoir for 100 day storage in rural areas have
been taken up. Further, the present irrigated area
(2007-08) in A&N Islands is 409.2 ha by pond, 985.5
ha by Nallah (out of this, the main project at R K Pur in
Little Andaman is non-functional from the very
beginning) and 116.5 ha by wells, which is less than 5
% of the cropped land (excluding rainfed paddy area)
suggesting adoption of a pragmatic approach and
policies for water resource development for irrigation
in these islands.
Ground water: Groundwater is the main source of
drinking water supply in rural areas in A&N Islands.
327
 These Islands are underlain by Late Cretaceous
igneous rocks - the 'Ophiolite Suite', marine
sedimentary group of Palaeocene to Oligocene age and
Recent to Subrecent beach sand, mangrove clay,
alluvium and coralline formations (CGWB, 2009). The
Ophiolite suite comprises a wide variety of acidic to
ultrabasic plutonic rocks and their serpentinised
equivalents and essentially basic volcanicrocks occur
in South, Middle and North Andaman, in sporadic
patches of Little Andaman, Kamorta and Bampooka
Islands in Nicobar group. The marine sedimantaries
comprise greywakes, graded sandstones, siltsones,
black shales and volcanogenic sediments. These fine
grained deep see deposits are generally having
predominantly clayey particles. The coralline
formations are observable in coral islands and also
occur in the fringe areas of the sedimentary and
igneous formations and form the narrow beaches
encircling the islands. The ophiolite and marine
sedimentaries have undergone different phases of
folding, faulting and upliftment which is responsible
for the development of fractures and fissures as a result
infiltrated rainwater percolates downwards. Marine
sedimentary rocks are located to an anomalous
admixture of sand and clay where clayey residue are
predominating and do not form well developed
potential aquifer system both in shallow and deeper
horizons. Bore wells are not feasible in marine
sedimenatary formations whereas dug wells of 4-5 m
diameter to 6 m depth may yield 3000-5000 litres/day
water. The igneous rocks also do not form potential
aquifers but in comparison to the sedimentaries they
yield moderately. These rocks form aquifer both in
weathered mantle and fractured basement rocks which
are generally developed through dugwell, ponds and
borewells. The fracture conduit is observed up to 45 m
depth with discharge varying between 30000-45000
litres/hour. The coralline limestone formations form
potential aquifer in shallow horizon and can be
developed as 4-5 diameter dug wells to 6 m depth in
many islands like Car Nicobar, Katchal, Neil,
Havelock etc. with a yield varying between 15000-
90000 litres/ day. There are approximately 2000 bore
wells on the islands. About 220 bore wells were
surveyed and reported that 90% of the freshwater bore
wells were drilled to less than 18 m. About 90% of the
dry bore wells (13% of the total bore wells surveyed)
were in compressed sedimentary deposits, which acts
as aquiclude or even as aquitard whereas rocky subsoil
formation was found to be more successful (Kumar et
al., 2009). It was also reported that a majority of the
328
bore wells surveyed were within one kilometre of the
coastline but saline aquifer was not found.
Technologies for Water Resource Development
The water resource scenario presented earlier clearly
shows that water resource development in A&N
Islands should be based on utilization of rainwater
either through surface storage or enhanced
groundwater recharges. Considering the topographical
constraints, surface storages at different inhabitation
area/cultivated land instead of centralized location
should be preferred. The drainage network of A&N
Islands (Figure 4) should be used for developing the
water resource plan. For surface water development on
a drainage line, a three tier water resource
development plan should be developed. This will
include development of plastic film lined tanks on the
top of the hills, recharge structure cum well system in
the mid-hills and development of open dug wells in the
valley areas. The recharge structure cum well system
in mid hills can be both dugout or impounded type or
combination of both depending up on the topography
of a location. These technologies have been
successfully demonstrated at CARI, Port Blair and
have been linked to supply of water for drinking and
irrigation purposes, which can serve as a model of
extending these technologies to other parts of the
islands. A line diagram presenting these systems is
shown in Figure 5.
In order to develop water resources at hill tops, lined
tanks can be constructed. The lining technique has
been standardized at CARI Port Blair, which involves
lining by silpauline covered by reinforced plaster (1:6)
on sides and 15 cm thick soil layer at bottom. Although
the annual cost of water in lined tank is high (about
Rs.30/m 3, varies from Rs 27/m 3 for 350 cu m capacity
tank to Rs 81/m 3 for 80 cu m capacity tank) after
accounting evaporation losses, the returns from
expected yield increase of about 1-2 kg/tree in case of
arecanut due to irrigation during five dry months of
December to April will make it cost effective. The
water requirement of arecanut per tree is about 1200
litres. Assuming even minimum enhancement, the
economic gain will be about Rs.70/tree and thus a
benefit-cost ratio of more than 2. For one hectare of
arecanut, a tank of about 1500 m 3 will suffice. This size
need not be created at one site but can be distributed in
the whole area. For wide spaced crops like coconut and
cashew, the tank size requirement will be further less.
The lining process is shown in Figure 6.
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 Figure 4 Drainage network in (a)
North, Middle and South Andaman
Islands and in (b) enlarged part of
South Andaman Islands
(a) (b)

Figure 5 A schematic diagram

showing different systems
implemented at CARI, Port
Blair

Figure 6 Process of lining of tank (a) dug

out tank (b) laying of silpauline (c)
reinforced plastering and (d) finished
lined tank

Annual Technical Volume 329

 In mid-hill areas, recharge structure cum well system
can be adopted for water resource development. A
series of recharge structures in the form of small pond
or check dam can be constructed in the stream itself at
appropriate sites where storage of about 1000 to 5000
m3 can be created. These storages, besides storing
water will also recharge shallow aquifer. Open dug
wells of 4-5 m diameter in the downstream of the
recharge structure can recover back the recharged
water. The surface storages can be used for providing
water for initial period of dry season whereas water
from dug well can meet the water requirement in rest of
Figure 7 Construction of (a) pond and (b) open well downstream of pond and (c) check dam and (d) well downstream of check
dam in Kaju Nallah at Garacharma farm
Figure 8 Tank-cum-well system at Sippighat farm
330
the season. This system has been constructed and
evaluated at Garacharma farm, CARI where a series of
tanks and wells have been constructed along with the
course of stream which are providing adequate water
to residential colony, demand of laboratories and
animal farm, and to irrigate about 20 ha of plantation
and 1.5 ha of vegetable crops (Figure 7). At Sippighat
farm, CARI, two such drainage lines have been treated
with structures and wells where irrigation will be
provided to about 20 ha of plantation crops (Figure 8).
In Manjeri village, gabion structures in the stream has
enhanced ground water recharge and thus made water
Annual Technical Volume
 Figure 9 Gabions constructed through water user association in Manjeri village
availability to domestic use and irrigate 7 ha
vegetables land through three open dug wells on the
sides of stream (Figure 9). At Manjery, development
of water resource process was unique as all the
stakeholders formed a registered water user
association and participated for creation of
infrastructure.
For valley areas, the paddy fields should be properly
bunded to store the rain water. The stored rainwater
will slowly percolate down and can be harvested back
through open dug wells in downstream. One ha of
paddy land, if bunded properly by 22.5 cm high bunds
with provision of draining excess water, will facilitate
slow percolation of about 6000 m3 of water (@4
mm/day for 150 days). Assuming that about 50% of the
percolated water can be harvested back through
downstream open dug well, which should not be
deeper than 8 m, about 3000 m3 of water will be
available per ha of paddy land which will be sufficient
for providing 300 mm irrigation water in the following
dry season crops. This will be in addition to the normal
recharge received from the forested catchment on both
sides of valley. This practice can be adopted for the
valley lands which are at more than 10 m elevation
than sea level to avoid the risk of sea water intrusion.
Using this principle, three open dug well of 2 m
diameter each have been dug at Bloomsdale farm,
CARI to irrigate 3 ha area. The cost of each well is
about Rs. 80,000. The pumping test of the well
indicated that about 20 m3 water can be pumped per
day from the well which will provide about 24 cm of
water to 1 ha land in 120 days of the crop, sufficient for
irrigating at IW/CPE of 0.5.
Since the cost of developing water resources by above
mentioned systems is high, application of water should
be practiced to achieve high irrigation efficiency.
Micro irrigation system allows precise application of
Annual Technical Volume
water with an application efficiency of 95% or even
more. In addition, it reduces fertilizer use and increases
crop yield. Since most of the farmers in these islands
are small and marginal, the high initial cost of drip
irrigation and economy of scale in its operation makes
adoption of drip irrigation difficult for the farmers. In
view of topography, gravity-fed drip irrigation can be
adopted successfully which if properly designed can
be very useful for the farmers. Design methodology for
such systems has been developed and successfully
demonstrated. Even for small farms of less than 0.1 ha
and low head availability (< 2.0 m), low cost low-head
filter has been designed. This filter costs just about
1/5th of conventional screen filter with a head loss of
only 0.13 m compared to 1.2 m by conventional filter.
Thus, the available rainfall in A&N Islands can be
harnessed for providing irrigation to plantation and
spice crops, which will increase the productivity by at
least 100 %. The fallow paddy land can be effectively
used for vegetables and flower cultivation. As the
initial investment of creation of water resource is high,
but in view of higher returns, these systems are cost
effective. However, efficient utilization of water
through micro irrigation system should be practiced.
This will not only increase water productivity but will
also save labour and fertilizer. These systems can also
be linked to domestic water supply in rural areas by
putting requisite water filtering systems.
Water Policy for A&N Islands
Unlike other parts of the country, Union Territory of
A&N Islands is a non-contiguous group of islands.
Therefore, each island should be treated as single
entity for water resource planning and development.
The important islands should have a comprehensive
land and water resource management plan, keeping in
view the environmental and ecological impacts.
331
 However, the general water policies for A&N Islands
are given below:
Hydrological Database
Island
l wise hydrological database on area, land
use, soil, topography, drainage network, geology,
groundwater hydrology, water quality is pre-
requisite for development of macro scale plans
for surface and groundwater resources. These
data need to be collected for future planning.
Since
l 86% of the area is under forest, those
drainage lines need to be identified which are
near to habitats as well as cropped area. Data for
these drainage lines should be collected for
reliable estimate of total water availability
present use, present and projected and required
amount of water which could be harnessed for
use given topographical constraints. This
information should be collected using remote
sensing and GIS to facilitate its continuous
updates. This will also help in adopting a holistic
approach to collect, handle and analyse the
Water Resource Planning
necessary data sets as well as expanding our
knowledge of the processes involved at the
appropriate scales to manage water resources
with objective thinking, planning and decision
making.
Water Allocation Priorities
Water
l allocation priority, in line of national
priorities, should be accorded for drinking water
to satisfy the basic human need followed by
irrigation, industries including agro-industries
and ecology. Limited but due priority should also
be accorded to micro-level hydropower
generation considering the lack of thermal based
power generation in A&N Islands.
The
l drainage network identified near habitats
and cropped area should be exclusively marked
for drinking and irrigation purpose in order of
priority.
lAs tourism is the backbone of the economy of the
A&N Islands, due priority should also be given
to the tourism industry. The importance of
tourism in A&N Islands is borne out by the vision
statement of administration which states that the
limited scope for industrial activity on the islands
coupled with the decline in the wood-based
industry pursuant to the Supreme Court
judgment has led to tourism being identified as a
332
thrust sector for economic development, revenue
and employment generation on the islands.
Keeping in view the fragile ecology and limited
carrying capacity of the islands, the objective of
A&N administration is to strive for sustainable
tourism. Therefore, the requirement of tourism
industry should be estimated. Drainage network
near designated tourism points should be
identified and exclusively earmarked for
development of water resources considering the
future requirements of the tourism industry.
It has
l been observed as well as reported that
construction sector and industries faces severe
problem of non availability of water. To meet up
water shortages, often public water system is
encroached which creates conflict of interest and
unrest in the society. To meet such challenges,
drainage line/network should be identified near
the prospective industrial area/construction sites
which can be earmarked to provide water
exclusively for these purposes.
Water
l resource development projects should as
far as possible be planned and developed as
multipurpose projects. Provision for drinking
water should be a primary consideration. The
study of the likely impact of a project on human
lives, settlements, socio-economic conditions,
environment and sustainability aspects shall
form an essential component of project planning.
Water
l resource development process should be
inclusive in nature taking care of rights of all
stakeholders. Special attention should be given
to the needs of scheduled tribes and other weaker
sections of the society at planning stage.
Integrated
l and coordinated development of
surface water and ground water resources and
their conjunctive use should be envisaged right
from the project planning stage and should form
an integral part of the project implementation.
Realistic
l time, cost and realisation of benefits of
a project should be planned to upgrade the
quality of project preparation and management.
The involvement and participation of panchayats
l
and stakeholders should be encouraged right
from the project planning stage.
Minimum
l flow in the perennial streams should
be ensured while planning a surface water
Annual Technical Volume
 resource development project for environment
and ecological considerations.
Surface Water Development
For surface water development in a drainage line,
l
a three tier water resource development system
should be created. This will involve construction
of plastic film lined tanks on top of hill, tank-
cum-well system in the mid-hills and open dug
well in valley areas. The tanks in the mid-hills
can be both dugout or impounded type or
combination of both depending upon the
topography.
A drainage
l line should be treated as single entity
for development of surface water resources on
contiguous basis to realize the full potential of
available water resources. The scheme may be
named as micro-level water resource
development scheme (MWRDS).
In island
l where soils are highly porous and
ground water is saline due to proximity to sea,
water resources should be developed through
lined dug out ponds.
Necessary
l provision for surface drainage should
be made in the valley areas.
Ground Water Development
Augmentation
l of groundwater resources is
necessary where surface storage structures are
inadequate to meet the demand or when annual
exploitation of resources exceeds its
replenishment in a given area. High runoff, lack
of surface storages and reduction in natural
recharge due to human interventions are the main
reasons for groundwater augmentation in A&N
Islands.
There
l should be a periodical reassessment of the
ground water potential on a scientific basis,
taking into consideration the quality of the
available water and techno-economic feasibility
of its extraction.
Ground
l water exploitation through bore wells
should be exclusively used only for drinking
purposes in view of typical confined aquifer
characteristics. No bore well should be allowed
to be used for irrigation/industry.
Exploitation of ground water resources should be
l Both
regulated to avoid detrimental environmental
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consequences of overexploitation by the Union
Territory Authority.
Over
l exploitation of ground water should be
avoided especially near the coast to prevent
ingress of seawater into sweet water aquifers.
Drinking Water
Access
l to safe and adequate drinking water is a
fundamental human need and needs to be
provided to the entire population both in urban
and rural areas.
Micro-irrigation
l / micro-hydropower projects
should invariably include drinking water
component.
Perennial
l streams, large diameter dug wells and
bore wells (in safer zones) should be utilized for
developing drinking water sources.
Roof
l water harvesting in government and
commercial premises should be made
mandatory for use in non-drinking purposes.
To maintain
l drinking water quality standards,
water treatment plants / units should be
established at village level.
Irrigation Water
Irrigation
l planning should be based on demand
rather than supply. Irrigation intensity should
aim to extend the benefits of irrigation to more
farm families to maximise the production.
Conjunctive
l use of surface and ground water
through rainwater harvesting in farm ponds and
wells located on seepage line should be
promoted. In porous soil areas, lining of pond
with silpauline/geo-membrane with covering
material to protect from high daily insolation
should be encouraged through subsidy.
lEfficient irrigation techniques such as drip
irrigation for plantation/spices/fruit crops
(coconut, arecanut, black pepper, clove, banana,
watermelon etc.) and sprinkler for vegetables
should be promoted.
Water conservation measures such as, mulching,
l
residue soil moisture management, minimising
evaporation losses, promotion of low water
requiring crops should be considered.
Water Quality
l surface and ground water should be
monitored regularly for its quality.
333
 lNecessary legislation is to be made for
preservation of existing water bodies by
preventing encroachment and deterioration of
water quality.
Energy Considerations
Feasibility of using renewable energy sources for
l building in communities, formation and capacity
pumping water specifically for irrigation should
be explored. Solar energy based pumping system
have a chance as the water requirement period
and sunshine periods coincide.
In A&N
l Islands, electricity generation is mostly
through diesel which is quite expensive, thus
efficiency of pumps should be given utmost
attention in water resource development design
parameter.
Participatory Approach through Water user
Association
Management
l of the water resources for diverse
uses should incorporate a participatory
approach. As rainwater harvesting is linked with
the watershed programs, involving water user
associations (WUA) at village level will help
ensure productivity and equity aspects. WUA
and the local bodies such as panchayats should
particularly be involved in the operation,
maintenance and management of water
infrastructures / facilities.
Regulation / Enactment of Law
Regulation
l in the utilization of groundwater by
way of legislation is important particularly in the
fragile ecosystem like A&N Islands. At present,
the groundwater development in A&N Islands is
mostly done by private individuals. Hence
virtually no groundwater discipline i.e. safer
zone, spacing etc. is being followed. Hence,
groundwater legislation is a must to regulate
groundwater development.
Presently A&N
l administration does not have an
irrigation department, therefore a water resource
development authority should be created for the
planning, development and management of
water resources with a multi-sectoral, multi-
disciplinary and participatory approach as well
as integrating quality, quantity and the
environmental aspects. It will oversee the
development of micro level water resources
right from planning to operation in close
334
collaboration with Panchayati Raj Institutions.
All the rights of ownership of the water resources
should be vested to this authority.
Role of NGO's
NGOs
l could play a pivotal role in awareness
building of water users association (WUAs),
design, construction and management of water
harvesting and conservation structures in rural
areas, sharing experiences and information with
various stakeholders, and integration of
information from various sources. Experienced
NGO's should also find representation at the
district and state level forums.
Research and Development
For
l effective and economical management of
water resources of A&N Islands, promotion of
frontier research and development efforts on
surface and ground water hydrology, assessment
of water resources, water harvesting and ground
water recharge, use of remote sensing techniques
in spatial database management, water quality,
river morphology and hydraulics, evaporation
and seepage losses, crops and cropping systems,
water conservation and better water management
practices, soils and material research, safety and
longevity of water-related structures,
economical designs for water resource projects,
risk analysis and disaster management,
sedimentation of reservoirs, use of sea water
resources, prevention of salinity ingress,
prevention/reclamation of water logged/saline
lands, environmental flow requirements, equity
and adequacy in water distribution and the
upcoming impact of climate change on natural
resources should be taken up.
Conclusions
The development of water resources in A&N Islands
requires an approach that is regional in scale and
holistic in scope. Planning and management of water
resources at a regional scale will increasingly demand
an integrated overview of different types of
hydrological data gathered from different sources.
Remote sensing could be used to define the
representative sites, guide the field work and generate
thematic layers such as surface hydrology,
geomorphology, geology, vegetation, rainfall and
human impact. It can be achieved by water resource
Annual Technical Volume
 planning at macro-scale, understanding, modelling and
monitoring water bodies and their catchments at
watershed scale and efficient management of
augmented water in the command area. In addition to
water resource development schemes (medium and
minor projects including digging wells and ponds,
constructing check dams and artificial groundwater
recharge structures), environment aspects should be
maintained with the prevailing socio-economic
settings and fragile ecosystem of the Islands.
References
1. Mohanty, S., Srivastava, R.C., and Samal, K.P. 2005.
Development of a low cost low head filter for
Annual Technical Volume
gravityfed drip irrigation in hilly areas. J. of
Institution of Engineers Vol. 86: pp. 49-51.
2. Srivastava, R. C. 2007. Multiple use of water-A
review and some suggestions for implementation.
Indian Journal of Soil Conservation, Vol. 35(3), pp.
198-203.
3. Srivastava, R.C. 2008.Water resource development in
Andaman & Nicobar Islands – A futuristic vision.
Indian J. of Soil Conservation. 36(3): pp. 165-167.
4. Srivastava, R.C. and Ambast, S.K. 2009. Water Policy
for Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands:
A Scientific Perspective. Technical Bulletin, Central
Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair, p. 20.
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Members of Civil Engineering Division Board for the Session 2015-16

Mr Narendra Singh, FIE Mr H C S Berry, FIE, President, IEI Mr Ashok Kumar Basa, FIE
Chairman Past President, IEI

Mr Sisir Kumar Banerjee, FIE Mr Ved Prakash Bansal, FIE Mr V K Birthire, FIE Mr M B Dagaonkar, FIE Mr G Sudhakar, FIE

Mr Ghulam Mohd Dar, FIE Mr S J Desai, FIE Mr C M Dharmalingam, FIE Mr P S Gahlot, FIE Mr Janak Raj Garg, FIE

Mr V S Ghogare, FIE Mr Arvind Kumar Gupta, FIE Mr M K Jadav, FIE Mr D K Kashyap, FIE Mr Jahnabi Konar, FIE

Mr Kishore Kumar, FIE Mr V Vijaya Kumar, FIE Mr Archan Kusum Majumdar, FIE Mr A K Mitra, FIE Mr Jagdish Mohan, FIE

Mr L M Patra, FIE Dr I Satyanarayana Raju, FIE Mr Shivanand Roy, FIE Prof R H Shah, FIE Mr Parminder Singh, FIE

Mr P N Tandon, FIE Mr H O Thakare, FIE Mr Sandeep B Vasava, MIE