08 2 0 1 7 Water Policy Research HIGHLIGHT Reviving Minor Irrigaon 9,000 in Telangana Tank irrigated Groundwater irrigated 7,658 Mission Kakaya is the flagship program of 8,000 7,350 Midterm Assessment of 7,000 government of Telangana, a state whose 6,255 ) Mission Kakaya es 6,000 5,603 formaon itself was catalysed by perceived (acr First Census Second Census Third Census Fourth Census Fih Census dy 5,000 regional injusces in water distribuon for d Type of Structure a (1987) (1993-94) (2000-01) (2006-07) (2013-14) P r 4,000 irrigaon. Launched in 2014, the mission aims to de 3,165 un 3,000 harness benefits of tank irrigaon by increasing Dugwells (DWs) 7,320,586 4,466,958 9,617,381 9,200,191 8,784,359 ea r A 2,000 command area, water supply for irrigaon and Shallow Tubewells (STWs) 5,940,656 1,300 4,773,071 5,080,725 8,355,693 9,104,665 1,181 Medium Tubewells (MTWs) 3,176,684 1,000 opportunies for agriculture. Based on mulple 10 0 field studies, this Highlight presents a midterm Deep Tubewells (DTWs) 103,814 104,309 530,194 1,452,964 2,618,606 Kharif 2014-15 Rabi 2014-15 Kharif 2017-18 Rabi 2016-17 assessment of the project's impact on increasing Total Groundwater Schemes 12,197,471 9,651,992 18,503,268 19,757,820 20,520,305 irrigated area, farmers' incomes, groundwater Surface Flow Schemes (S-Flow) 436,466 418,584 642,013 601,115 592,156 recharge, opportunies for agriculture and Manisha Shah, associated livelihoods and shares insights on Bhar and Surface Li Schemes (S-Li) 481,045 352,916 606,918 647,738 600,093 improving implementaon and maximizing net Shilp Verma Total Surface Water Schemes 917,511 771,500 1,248,931 1,248,853 1,192,249 posive benefits. ALL MI STRUCTURES (millions) 13.11 10.42 19.75 21.00 21.71 Download this highlight from hp://iwmi-tata.blogspot.in 2 Water Policy Research Highlight-08 REVIVING MINOR IRRIGATION IN TELANGANA Midterm Assessment of Mission Kakaya*† Research highlight based on Kumar and Kumar (2015); Bhar (2016); and Aryan et al. (2017). 1. TANKS IN PENINSULAR INDIA The state government in (undivided) Andhra Pradesh too Over the last half-century, tank irrigaon has taken a back recognized challenges surrounding the lack of access to seat in peninsular India's minor irrigaon landscape with irrigaon in the Telangana region, but it took a state tubewells revoluonizing the way farmers irrigate their land. reorganisaon to germinate a comprehensive project aimed In spite of being plagued by issues of power policies, at reviving Kakaya tanks to improve access to irrigaon. In frequent well failure and rapid groundwater depleon, pump 2014, India's youngest state Telangana launched 'Mission irrigaon has been able to provide 'on-demand' irrigaon Kakaya' to harness the benefits of tank irrigaon by access to farmers and helped them grow mulple irrigated increasing command area, water supply available for crops. Country-wide share of tank irrigated area, which irrigaon and opportunies for agriculture. One of the major accounted for more than 15 per cent in the 1950s slogans of the Telangana movement was “Mana Ooru, Mana (Thenkabail et al. 2009), has shrunk to a mere 3% in 2011-12 Cheruvu” (our village, our tank), which essenally became the (MoSPI 2015). Flow irrigaon from tanks, used for centuries tagline for Mission Kakaya. The five-year long program to grow rice, has declined because of increased number of intends to uphold the vision of Kakayas through revival and wells in tank commands. Accounng for 65 per cent of the restoraon of minor irrigaon sources to their original country's territory, Peninsular India sits on hard-rock capacity by effecvely ulizing 265 billion cubic feet (7.5 9,000 formaons, primarily Deccan trap basalts and granic BCM) of water allocated for minor irrigaon sector under Tank irrigated Groundwater irrigated 7,658 basement complex; yet extensive areas are irrigated with 8,000 7,350 Godavari and Krishna River basins, achieving the basins' groundwater. Tamil Nadu, where tank irrigaon dominated in 7,000 irrigaon potenal of twenty lakh acres. 6,255 ) the earlier century, saw flow-irrigated area from tanks fall by es 6,000 5,603 a third, from 9,40,000 ha to 6,01,000 ha (Palanisami and 2. STUDY LOCATIONS AND METHODOLOGY (acr First Census Second Census Third Census Fourth Census Fih Census dy 5,000 Ranganathan 2004), reducing irrigaon tanks to percolaon d In 2015, not long aer Mission Kakaya was announced, the Type of Structure a (1987) (1993-94) (2000-01) (2006-07) (2013-14) P r tanks. Availability of cheap pumping technology and the 4,000 IWMI-Tata Program recruited two students from the de 3,165 provision of highly subsidised or free farm power catalysed a un 3,000 Instute of Rural Management, Anand for an exploratory Dugwells (DWs) 7,320,586 4,466,958 9,617,381 9,200,191 8,784,359 ea r shi in farmers' irrigaon preferences towards pumping A 2,000 study of Mission Kakaya. During their fieldwork, Kumar and Shallow Tubewells (STWs) 5,940,656 1,300 water accumulated in wells recharged from tanks instead of 4,773,071 5,080,725 8,355,693 9,104,665 1,181 Kumar (2015) visited 12 villages in Rangareddy and Warangal Medium Tubewells (MTWs) 3,176,684 1,000 using flow irrigaon even in tank commands. 10 districts to understand Phase I implementaon of the Deep Tubewells (DTWs) 103,814 104,309 530,194 1,452,964 2,618,606 0 The Kakayas were a prominent dynasty in south India that program. Largely based on qualitave enquiry and open- Kharif 2014-15 Rabi 2014-15 Kharif 2017-18 Rabi 2016-17 th th shaped the history of Telangana between the 12 and 14 ended discussions, Kumar and Kumar (2015) reported on the Total Groundwater Schemes 12,197,471 9,651,992 18,503,268 19,757,820 20,520,305 century from their capital in present day Warangal. The several technical and instuonal challenges the program Kakaya rulers built thousands of small reservoirs or tanks was facing on the ground, including variability in community Surface Flow Schemes (S-Flow) 436,466 418,584 642,013 601,115 592,156 across Telangana to store rain water and make it available to enthusiasm and parcipaon across villages and legal Surface Li Schemes (S-Li) 481,045 352,916 606,918 647,738 600,093 people and their farms in the dry season (Kothavade 2017). disputes around encroachment of tank beds. Oen built in a cascade, these tanks were managed and Total Surface Water Schemes 917,511 771,500 1,248,931 1,248,853 1,192,249 maintained by the communies through a system of The following year, Bhar (2016) conducted another study ALL MI STRUCTURES (millions) 13.11 10.42 19.75 21.00 21.71 decentralized governance. The tradion was to de-silt the for ITP in Warangal and Karimnagar which included detailed water bodies in summer and apply the silt on farm lands to household interviews with 90 respondents in 5 villages and maintain and improve land producvity. Over the years, land village-level focus group discussions (FGDs) in the command use changes in the catchment, encroachment of tank beds, areas of 25 tanks in Warangal and Karimnagar districts and reducon in their relave importance for irrigaon during Phase II of the program. Bhar (2016) also conducted eroded the decentralized governance instuons and led to fieldwork in tanks where Bala Vikasa had worked with village their neglect. The fih Minor Irrigaon Census (GoI 2017; communies to implement tank desilng. Besides looking at reference year: 2013-14) reports 46,531 such decentralized the impact of tank desiltaon, Bhar (2016) made an storages or tanks in Telangana. interesng comparison between the implementaon * This Highlight is based on research carried out under the IWMI-Tata Program (ITP) with addional support from the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). It is not externally peer-reviewed and the views expressed are of the author/s alone and not of ITP or its funding partners. † Corresponding author: Manisha Shah [[email protected]] 1 2 Water Policy Research Highlight-08 protocols of Bala Vikasa and that under Mission Kakaya. In June 2017, ITP again recruited three IRMA students to assess the progress of Mission Kakaya and its impact on the agrarian economy and on tank dependent livelihoods. Thirty seven villages in old Adilabad (Nirmal district) and old Warangal district were selected using purposive sampling to study examples of best implementaon on the ground (see Figure 1). The selecon of these two districts was done in order to focus on most successful tank de-siltaon under the program in the last two phases. Officer on Special Duty, Irrigaon and Superintendent Engineer (Godavari Basin), and officials from Irrigaon Department were consulted for study area selecon. Given that both districts have good rainfall and good project compleon rates, the precondions for Figure 1: Study locaons for Aryan et al. (2017) best performance are met. For village selecon within those districts, district level officers like Execuve Engineers and 3. IMPLEMENTATION PROTOCOL Assistant Execuve Engineers were consulted. From each NGOs like Bala Vikasa, Lodi Mulpurpose Social Service mandal (block), 3-4 villages were selected. Tank repairs in 59 Society (LMSSS) and Modern Architects of Rural India (MARI) per cent of beneficiary villages covered were completed in have also been implemenng tank-desilng programs in phase I and remaining in phase II of the mission.