Irrigation Management Transfer and Role of Self Governing Institutions

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Irrigation Management Transfer and Role of Self
Governing Institutions
Synthesis of 19 case studies from Gujarat and
Andhra Pradesh
Aditi Mukherji
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Objectives of the study

• To define a successful Water Users Association
  (WUA) in canal irrigated areas only
• To relate successful WUAs with their physical,
  community and institutional attributes

• To cull out factors under which most successful
  cases are known to occur
• To derive pre-conditions for formation of
  successful WUAs.

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Data and Methodology

• Case study method
• A total of 19 WUAs were studied across Gujarat
  and Andhra Pradesh
• Using IAD framework, physical, community and
  institutional attributes of each WUA was studied
  in detail

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What is IAD Framework?

• IAD framework identifies the key working parts of
  typical situation facing participants in various
  circumstances (Tang, 1992)
• Thus depending on such factors such as no. of
  participants, choices available to participants
  and incentives facing them, different outcomes of
  their collective action evolve

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Complexity of Collective Action in Managing Canals

• Nature of canal irrigation as a CPR
• Non exclusion (rather costly to exclude)
• Subtractibility of the resource
• Asset specificity
• Collective Action Problems
• Bounded rationality
• Opportunism

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Need for effective Institutional Arrangements

• Institutional arrangement needs to be forged
• To overcome CPR problems
• To provide incentive to co-operate
• To provide disincentive for free riding and
  shirking
• Institutional entities studied
• Operational rules (entry, allocation, penalty,
  input rules)
• Organizational structure of WUA

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Physical, Community and Institutional Attributes
Irrigated area
No. of irrigators
Water supply
Alternative irrigation source
Community homogeneity
Crop type
Disadv. sections
Income disparity
Political interference
External finance
Allocation rules
Input rules
Penalty rules
Water charges
Annual Meetings
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Defining successful WUA

• Defining successful WUA
• If WUA can ensure good maintenance
• If WUA can ensure rule conformance
• Using this criterion, 8 out of 19 systems were
  considered success cases

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Collective Outcomes and Physical, Community and
Institutional Attributes

• No. of cases positive in both maintenance and
  rule conformance (out of 8)
• Small system (5 out of 8)
• Less irrigators (5 out of 8)
• Less water intensive crop (5 out of 8)
• Homogeneous community (5 out of 8)
• No perpetually disadvantaged (7 out of 8)
• No access to alternative irrigation (5 out of 8)

Continued.
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• Low income disparity (7 out of 8)
• Low external dependence ( 6 out of 8)
• Good allocation rule (8 out of 8)
• Input rule for maintenance (6 out 0f 8)
• Enforcement of penalty rules (7 out of 8)
• Ability to fix water charges (6 out 0f 8)
• Attendance in GBM (3 out of 8)
• Low political interference (6 out of 8)

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Unsuccessful cases

• Culling out most common attributes under which
  failure happened was often more difficult than
  culling out factors under which success cases
  were found
• But, presence of perpetually disadvantaged class,
  and lack of rules or implementation (such as
  allocation, penalty, input etc.) often were found
  more in failure cases

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Role of NGOs and Leadership

• Role of pro-active NGO such as DSC and AKRSP (I)
  emerged as vital
• All N. Gujarat systems under DSC were good both
  in terms of rule conformance and maintenance
• Similarly, only two AP systems which passed the
  acid test, were ones with good leadership seeking
  political salience

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Policy Implications

• Success cases are found to occur under a set of
  quite stringent physical, cultural and
  institutional arrangements
• Role of good NGO and leader was crucial
• But those enabling conditions as well as good
  NGOs and leaders do not occur everywhere
• This necessitates us to look beyond PIM

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Thank You