Water sector regulatory reforms in Maharashtra: a step forward

Maharashtra has limited utilizable water resources, both surface water and groundwater. Since the last decade, the State has been witnessing many conflicts among irrigation and non-irrigation users, upstream and downstream users, regions of the State, gravity and lift irrigation schemes, food crops and cash crops, large irrigation projects and small water conservation structures in rainfed areas. During the last decade, India has witnessed some radical changes in the governance of the water sector through policy and regulatory reforms. Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA) established in 2005 has done some pioneering work in fixing of criteria for bulk water tariff and entitlements for agriculture, domestic, and industrial users besides resolving some water related disputes. The Authority has been successful in determining the bulk water tariff to main user groups of irrigation, drinking water, and industry based on the full maintenance and operation (M & O) costs of irrigation projects. As the reliability of irrigation services is improved, collection efficiency is improving. There is steady increase in the volumetric supply and charging of water, and empowerment of the WUAs through Entitlement Programme. The Authority has also been able to resolve water and irrigation related disputes as received from time to time. The Maharashtra State Legislature enacted the Maharashtra Groundwater (Development & Management) Act 2009 in 2013 to regulate and manage the groundwater resources of the State. The Act empowers the MWRRA to also act as the State Groundwater Authority. MWRRA envisages extension of the entitlement programme to the entire command area, improvement of water use efficiency through adoption of modern irrigation technology like drip and sprinkler irrigation, and reuse of treated wastewater. Other challenges include pursuing Water Resources Department (WRD) for timely preparation of the Integrated State Water Plan (ISWP) to facilitate approval of future water resources projects, and conversion of the existing Irrigation Development Corporations to River Basin Agencies; safeguarding of the bulk water use entitlements of various water users; ensuring the minimum quality of water delivery services by the service provider (WRD) to the bulk water users, implementation of environmental flows in rivers; stopping unsustainable extraction of groundwater and surface water owing to competing demands in the use sectors; improving coordination among various water related line departments and government agencies; It is hoped that the experiences of the MWRRA in respect of determination of the bulk water tariff for the irrigation, drinking, and industrial uses, fixing of bulk water entitlements to Water User Associations, equitable distribution of reservoir storages water in a sub-basin level will be useful to other States of India. This paper presents the functions, activities, achievements since establishment of the MWRRA and challenges ahead.