Factors effecting utilization of irrigation potential created in reservoir based medium irrigation projects

Abstract

Agricultural sector is important for food security as well as provider of livelihoods toa large number of our population. However growth of this sector has declined in the past decades. For enhancing the productivity of this sector assured irrigation is essential besides other inputs. For providing irrigation facility to its farmers investments have been made to create irrigation potential. However a gap has surfaced between potential created and potential utilized and as huge cost is associated with creation of irrigation potential it is imperative that it is optimally utilized. Less impoundment of water in the reservoir, problems of measurements, change in cropping pattern in the command, illegal use, over use, release of water for non-irrigation use etc. has been cited as some of the reasons for this gap in various studies. This study is intended to observe whether these causes are applicable to the selected reservoir based medium irrigation projects of Maharashtra. From the analysis of data in respect of these projects it was found that less storage of water, excess release of water for non-irrigation purposes, other measured losses from the reservoir, wrong estimation of the evaporation losses, change in cropping pattern in the command, less utilization of potential in Kharif season, and non achievement of irrigation system performance were factors responsible for this gap. However the most important factor that emerged from the study is the over estimation of the potential created due to excess allocation of water for irrigation in the project report. The irrigation potential as indicated for the project needs to be revisited and reassessed based on the availability of water for irrigation. It has also been observed in the study that Preliminary Irrigation Plan has not been effectively used as a tool of management of irrigation systems. These results need to be tested, however, with the help of time series data in further studies.