Irrigation tanks are small reservoirs impounding run-off water. Tanks are common property resources owned by village community supporting the village economy. Karnataka state had around 36, 600 irrigation tanks with a command area of about 6.84 lakh Ha spread across26000 villages. Irrigation tanks which formed the lifeline of villages in Karnataka have deteriorated in their capacity to lend support to village economy. Several factors both historical and contemporary have been responsible for their phase-wise deterioration. The studies on tank rehabilitation and its impacts revealed that the tank rehabilitation has led to improved water storage, enhanced groundwater recharge, increased groundwater extraction, increased area under irrigation, savings in cost of fertilizers due to silt application as an organic amendment, supported livestock activities-are the tangible benefits accrued to the village community. The unequivocally supports justification for rehabilitation of tanks.
Rehabilitation, irrigation tanks, Eastern dry zone, Karnataka, economic analysis
