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 Neglect and Restoration of Minor Irrigation Tanks in Krishna District, India. A local - level case study of motivation, capacity and partnership interventions Harnath Tadipally, Maruthibala publishers, Nuzvid, India, pp 288 Tanks are traditional earthen reservoirs constructed in dry upland reservoirs to store rainwater. Once the pride of Indian rulers, currently only about 50 per cent of these structures are in use. In a country that boasts of an agrarian economy, with forecasts of impending water crisis, it is strange that there is a declining trend in the use of tanks. Obviously the potential of minor irrigation works lies ignored. This book examines the factors responsible for the neglect of these water bodies. It address three basic questions: why are the tanks of India lying dilapidated, are we ready to manage these currently state- owned minor irrigation sources and is there no way we can utilize rainfall better before it merges into the sea? The book introduces the reader to the tank irrigation system: from the concept and status, to reasons for their decline, with specific examples from Nuzvid and Agiripalli mandals in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. Reasons for non restoration of tanks are examined. Political inclinations are assessed. To focus on an economic approach to the non-restoration of tanks, a hypothetical tank is created with cost-benefit analysis to examine the costs and benefits that accrue at the individual farmer level, community and larger context. The author correlates the ‘social capital’- based on defined criteria- of the village with their willingness to restore and manage tanks. The studies reveal a lack of confidence of the villagers in the state as well as in themselves, in working together and restoring tanks. However, in villages with higher social capital, optimism levels were higher. The author describes initiatives taken by him along with the Society of Human Integrity and Prosperity in the dryland regions of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh to successfully restore these tanks. The author views tanks, a common property resource, as the catalyst to bring communities together, and defines various criteria so that Mahatama Gandhi’s vision of village development can be realized.
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Emphasising
the need and the impact of community based water management, Anil Agarwal, director of CSE
highlighted the impact of outstanding efforts of communities, who, in the face of extreme
adversity, had brought about dramatic change in the ecology and economy. Not only did
these efforts increase water availability, but also resulted in an increase in biomass
availability, agricultural production and improved economy. These efforts also put a halt
to distress rural- urban migration. He pointed out that drought and scarcity are not
problems of availability but of management of the vital natural resource. According to him
two historical discontinuities ought to be corrected : the replacement of the
community’s role by government and the focus away from rainwater.