Water reforms

Hyderabad: The state government is making quiet moves to introduce water reforms in the state in a subtle and phased manner. Major irrigation minister P Laxmaiah indicated this when he recently said that the government would bring in an ordinance for water regulation by August end on the lines of one that exists in Maharashtra and Punjab.
The minister said under the new act the government would give a calendar of water release so that it can save water and also help the farmer in increasing the crop yield.Giving an example, the minister said that though the crop time was just 135 days in ayacut under the Nagarjunasagar dam, water at present was released for 175 days.
Already, the irrigation and agriculture extension officials are talking to farmers and are trying to convince them about the proposed water calendar. But it is not clear whether the government is explaining to them about the other aspects of the act it proposes to bring.
If the government proposes to follow Maharashtra and Punjab, then it is certain that it would soon go in for constituting a water regulatory authority in the state.
In fact in 2007 itself it wanted to constitute an authority. The World Bank, while approving a loan of $ 189 million to the state government to improve agricultural productivity, had written a letter to implement certain water reforms like setting up a regulatory authority. The state government had resisted this move then but now it appears to be softening its attitude.
The Maharashtra Water Regulatory Authority Act 2005 inter-alia mandated the authority to determine the distribution of entitlements for various categories of use and equitable distribution of entitlements of water, work out entitlements for Kharif and Rabi assuming it to be a normal year of monsoon. Depending on the catchment rainfall and the actual flows in the river the entitlement can be increased or decreased.
The act also talks about establishing a system of enforcement, monitoring and measurement of the entitlement in relation to an agreement with Water Users' Associations (WUAs). In effect it means that the WUAs will get assured water at a particular time fixed by the authority. The Maharashtra Act also says that measuring devices at the head of the projects should be installed and calibrated and that the water tariff should be fixed for the end users.