Policy initiatives for reforms in irrigation management

Irrigation is vital for achieving food security for the nation and better livelihood for the farmers through increased land and water productivity. However, in India, irrigation sector has less productivity and low water use efficiency (≍38%) which compares poorly with 45% in Malaysia and Morocco and 50–60% in Israel, Japan, China and Taiwan. The main factors contributing towards low agricultural productivity and water use efficiency are poor maintenance of canal and distribution network, lack of awareness among farmers, lack of regulation of water distribution on volumetric basis, absence of or ineffective regulatory mechanism especially for water charges, ineffective Participatory Irrigation Management, lack of agronomical logistics and modern agricultural tools, etc. The current institutional and legal structures that deal with water in our country need reforms. The planning, development and management of water resources has to keep pace with changing times. There is a need to restructure departments/organizations at Centre/State Governments levels to achieve inclusive development. Taking note of these factors, the National Water Policy (2012) and the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012–17) Document have suggested various policy initiatives, such as, appropriate institutional and legal framework, preparation of river basin master plan on Integrated Water Resources Management principle, promotion of micro-irrigation techniques, alignment of cropping pattern with the availability of water, greater involvement and empowerment of Water Users Association in the irrigation management, rationalization of water charges through regulatory mechanism, incentivizing States for water sector reforms through setting up of National Irrigation Management Fund, launching massive awareness and skill development programmes, etc. This paper outlines these policy initiatives to usher in improved irrigation management in our country.