QUITY CCESS AND LLOCATION functions. The WRD is supposed to allo- E , A A cate water and supply it to the WUA keeping in mind the ratio of the WUA’s operation area to the total culturable command area Discrimination in (CCA) of the project as per seasonal quotas fixed, and water availability in normal year. This is indicated in the agreement. an Irrigation Project The WUAs in turn are expected to allocate and supply water to farmers, maintain the system and recover the water fees from the Rising population and over-exploitation of groundwater for farmers. The association has to pay water irrigation has aggravated conflict among farmers located at the upper bills as per the volumetric rates fixed by reaches and the tail end of the Palkhed canal system of the Upper the Maharashtra government for different Godavari project of Maharashtra. The formation of water users’ seasons. The WUA has the freedom to associations did alleviate the conflict to some degree, but there grow any crops within the sanctioned quota. continues to be disagreement between the government’s water department and the WUAs on the terms of allocation and other measures. PIM Forces the Issue This process provided some solutions S N LELE, R K PATIL ever planned, frequent water release for for reliable, equitable and timely supply this purpose has also led to much greater of available water to all the farmers in the he Upper Godavari Irrigation seepage and loss through evaporation, command area. Under the PIM, the WUAs Project in Nashik district, reducing the water available for irrigation have to sign a memorandum of under- TMaharashtra, is a multi-storage, by larger amounts than what is apparent. standing (MoU) with the WRD, spelling multi-canal system. There are two storage For the reasons enumerated above, the out the terms and conditions, rights and reservoirs – Karanjwan and Palkhed on farmers on PLBC command area stopped responsibilities of both parties. Kadwa river, one each at Waghad on Kolvan getting water as per the plan. The problem Having realised the benefits of the sys- river and at Ozarkhed on Unanda river. All became severe when the farmers in the tem, farmers in Yeola initiated about 32 of these are tributaries of the Godavari. upper reaches of canal started siphoning WUAs by 2000-01, signed MoUs and Each of these reservoirs has an independent out water illegally by installing pipes in started getting reliable water supply. The canal system for irrigation and sundry the canal banks at bed level or even below water quota allotted to these WUAs was utilisation The balance water is pooled at bed level and drawing water 100 to 200 3,000 m3 per ha at minor head or 4,478 m3 Palkhed to feed the Left Bank Canal (LBC), m away from the canal to directly fill their at canal head. This quota was determined the longest and largest canal running dug wells directly in order to water their by WRD on an ad hoc basis, pending exact through Niphad and Yewala talukas. fields. These unauthorised pipes, locally information about seepage/transit losses, The Right Bank Canal (RBC), ex- called ‘dongala’ pipes are difficult to detect drinking/domestic water demands and Palkhed dam, was in existence before 1947. when the canals are flowing. Reportedly commitments or sanctions for lifts in the Other sub-projects were completed be- there are more than 4,000 such pipes in upper reaches. tween 1975 and 1990, and water was the Palkhed system. Because of these pipes The initial MoUs were for three years released for irrigation in 1990-91. The it is common for those at the tail end of with a provision for extending/renewing Palkhed Left Bank Canal (PLBC) was the the canal not to get adequate water in most the contract for a longer duration after last one to be completed. of the gravity canals; this is what has mutual consultation. But when the WUAs happened in the case of the Yeola farmers requested a renewal they found that there Iniquitous Distribution of the PLBC taluka. was no response from the WRD; mean- while, there was steady shortfall in supply. Since the dams were completed ahead Participatory Irrigation In 2000-01, even though the reservoirs of the canals, the areas commissioned in Management: A New Phase Table 1: Sub-Projects and Their their upper reaches received abundant water Allocations in the Upper Godavari pending the completion of the canal net- In the early 1990s, Participatory Irriga- Irrgation Project work. Because there was surplus water in tion Management (PIM) was taking root Sub-Project Live Canal Culturable the initial years it was possible to lift some in the state. Under this system, water users’ Storage Length Area from the upstream sub-project canals and associations (WUAs) were formed at the (mm3) (km) (ha) such permission was granted. minor level with operational areas ranging Palkhed 21.30 LBC – 130 59400* Due to increase in population and over- from 300 to 500 ha. Water was delivered RBC – 20 3700 exploitation of groundwater for irrigation to these WUAs on a volumetric basis; Waghad 72.23 LBC – 15 2357 purposes, there has been a significant drop water management was also the responsi- RBC – 45 7285 Ozarkhed 60.32 LBC – 49 14856 in the availability of groundwater for bility of the WUAs. Karanjwan 166.22 LBC – 16 2284 domestic use. Many villages and towns in In Maharashtra, the system is that the the vicinity are demanding drinking water Note: * Of which 22,000 ha are in Yeola taluka water resources department (WRD) and and the remaining in Niphad taluka. from the storage reservoirs and canals. But WUA sign an agreement specifying their Source: Office of the chief engineer, North since no storage for drinking water was respective rights, responsibilities and Maharashtra Region, Nashik. Economic and Political Weekly February 18, 2006 583 Figure 1: Upper Godavari Project sangh met at the office of the CE, Nashik to discuss the new water quota. The ex- ecutive engineer had worked out the net To Agra water available at the head of PLBC after Ozarkhed Karanjwan accounting for all upstream commitments. Tisgaon After taking into account the loss in the Palkhed Waghad reservoirs and loss due to seepage the WRD could provide only 1,537 m3 per ha at canal 3 Nandi head, which works out to about 877 m Niphad per ha at minor head. Yeola The reduced quota was rejected by the Nashik Gangapur BPVSS. Their arguments were: (i) all losses Trimbakeshwar Legend such as evaporation from reservoirs, silt- Canal ing, etc, were assumed and not actually Railway measured; (ii) quantities of water for lifts From Mumbai River were considered according to the maxi- Study Area mum area that could be sanctioned and not Bombay-Agra Highway as per actual sanctions so far; (iii) nearly Dam 4,000 unauthorised dongale pipes in the City/Town canal had been siphoning off water thereby reducing the flow to downstream areas; Figure 2: Illegal Water Drawing this was camouflaged as losses; (iv) the Top of bank upstream canal systems like Waghad, Karanjawan, Ozarkhed and PRBC were supplied their full quota as originally Water level Dongala pipes placed planned or demanded and only the leftover below bank water was allocated to the PLBC. This was a case of discrimination/bias; and most Canal importantly (v) all seepage, silting, evapo- ration and water likely to be reserved for drinking water from the entire Upper Godavari Project was deducted from the Bed level PLBC’s water quota. A more equitable method of deduction should have been in were 90 per cent full, the water supplied rejoinder and continued to negotiate with Table 2: Quota Sanctioned by WRD for was less than previous years when the senior officers. Meanwhile the WRD intro- Different Areas reservoirs has much less water. duced new conditions into the contract. Canal Water Culturable Water Quota Among these was reduced quota; a clause Allocated at Area Per ha that measurement of water would be done Head of Canal (ha) (m3/ha) Associations Federate 3 at distributary head and not at the entry (mm ) The WUAs, finding that the WRD had points of operational areas as had been Karanjwan 8.21 2284 3594 reneged on the agreement, came together done earlier; the condition permitting free- Palkhed RBC 22.37 3700 6046 Palkhed LBC 91.35 59400 1537 under a single umbrella organisation called dom of crops grown within the quota, Waghad 43.311 9642 4492 Balirajya Pani Vapar Sahakari Sangh carrying over the balance from rabi to (BPVSS) to represent their cause. The summer and storing water that was not Note: The cropping pattern is evolved by the WUAs keeping in mind the sanctioned quota BPVSS served a legal notice on April 16, used up in the kharif season, was also of water. 2001 to the officials of the WRD and the withdrawn. The changes were not accept- Table 3: Chronology collector, Nashik. The allegation was that able to the BPVSS. water supplied was less than sanctioned Year Event quota while the upper reaches of PLBC in Short of a Solution 1990-91 (i) Palkhed Left Bank Canal completed. Niphad taluka and other sub-projects/canals (ii) Waters made available to Yeola farmers (area: 22,000 ha). received more. The sangh requested the A meeting was held in the office of chief (iii) As per project Yeola farmers allotted WRD to immediately restore supply to engineer (CE) to resolve these issues. Both 4,478 m3/ha at canal head. Yeola taluka but the department replied parties came to a consensus on the issues 1997 WRD granted 4,478 m3/ha at canal head.