Chapter on water resources from the Chhattisgarh State of the Environment Report

The chapter on Water Resources from the Chhatisgarh State of the Environment Report, 2004 begins with a discussion of the problems in the State like (a) limited irrigation potential created (b) unbalanced irrigable land to cultivable land ratio in districts (c) low budget for maintenance of created irrigation facilities and (d) over-dependence on paddy cultivation. The state is marked with fair rainfall, good water resources, neglect of traditional water harvesting practices and frequent droughts in recent times. The report presents the following key issues related to institutional framework –

• Limited skill sets – The law in force envisages an active participation of farmers in the management of irrigation systems. It also entrusts a lot of responsibility of O&M to the respective WUAs. However, skill sets for such functions would be required in Chhattisgarh to undertake development of further irrigation potential and other surface water schemes. Similarly, in case of urban water supply since some cities (viz. Raipur, Bilaspur, Raigarh, etc.) are expected to grow at a higher rate than in the past, it would be essential to review the available skill sets of municipal corporations and municipalities to assess their readiness to cope with the increased demand for water and associated services through innovative means such as private sector participation, raising of financial resources through municipal bonds, designing water supply projects, etc.
• Absence of a high level body – Chhattisgarh shares its river basins with many States, and within the State itself water resources are subjected to competing demands of different sectors. In order to take speedy policy level and in-principal decisions pertaining to inter-sectoral allocations and sharing with other States, it is preferable to have a high level body comprising ministers and/or secretaries of key departments (viz. WRD, Agriculture, PHED, Urban Development, Industries, etc.) to represent various stakeholders. Such a high level decision making body is currently absent in the State. In order to facilitate informed decision making based on the analysis of actual data, creation of a special technical cell (within WRD, if so desired) may also be explored.
• Absence of an independent regulatory body – WRD in its current form carries out the dual role of an operator as well as a regulator, i.e. WRD supplies water through its schemes, and decides the tariff it would charge to various categories of users. Being a Government department it is also prone to various pressures while fixing its tariff levels and enforcing revenue recovery. As a step towards ensuring self-sustenance and addition in capacities through private sector participation, an independent regulatory body may be required to be created to ensure viability of the sector while keeping consumer interests in mind.
• Groundwater regulation – As in most of the states in India, groundwater is an unregulated resource in Chhattisgarh. However, many States have realised the need to regulate this resource in order to prevent its over-exploitation. States like Rajasthan and Delhi have also introduced bills for regulating this resource. In order to take a long term view of sustainable development of water resources in the State, Chhattisgarh would also need to take a decision on regulating this resource.
• Need for strengthening of internal systems
• Need for strengthening coordination amongst various departments – In case of supply of water for irrigation purposes, since the ultimate objective is to improve crop productivity or yield per ha, it is imperative that the concerned departments i.e. WRD and the agriculture department work in close co-ordination at the field level. Such co-ordination is essential as the use of high yield variety seeds, time of cropping, time of watering, use of fertilisers/soil nutrients, etc. are critical for obtaining good yields. There is therefore a need to strengthen effective co-ordination amongst the departments.

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