m

Prime Mini5ter 0f lndi0 while tulking 0bout in(ome 0f lormers in 0 (is0n R0lly in B0reilly on 28'h Febru0ry 2016 sl0led th0l il is
his dre0m to see l0rmer5 d0uble their in(ome by 2022 when the rounlry rompleles 75 ye0rs of itr independen(e. This will require
0n 0nnuol gr0wlh r0le ol I0.4 per anl I0r the nexl 7 ye0rs- o re0lly d0unling l0sk. lmporl0nl f0doc I0r 0(hieving 5u(h o high
gro$th rh0ll indude signifir0nl improvemenls in o0p 0nd liverlo(k produ{livily,0(hieving higher re5ourte use elfr(ien(y lo lower
the (on ol pr0durli0n, in(reosing rropping inhnsilyfrom lhe pre!enl leveloi l40lo 153 per (en10nd in(eosing 0re0 under high
volue (rop! Irom l6.75lo 26.4 Mho.

ost farmers are of the view that "Without income. As per the data of NlTl Aavog, shifting one
water,nothingelsematters!"Evenasearlyas hectare area from staple crops to high value crops
in 371 BC, Kautilya in Arthoshastro advised like fruits, vegetables, fl oriculture, commercial crops
'Agriculture cannot be made solely dependent on etc, has the potential to increase gross returns upto
rains which amounts to gambling with nature". After Rs. 101,508/ha as compared to Rs.41,169/ha for
about 2,400 years of civilisadon since then and 70 staple crops an increase of 2,47 times,
years of planned development since independence,
only about 45 per cent of cultivated lands of lndia
Low and volatjle growth in
agricultural
production is a serious concern and affects farmers'
are covered under assured irrigation. lmportance of
irrigatjon for higher and assured levels of productjon
incomes. NSSo dala for Vear 2011_12 rev-"als
are well documented. District level data show that
that more than one'fifth of rural households
per ha productivity of all crops taken together was with employment in agriculture as their principal
occupation were having incorre ess than the poverty
1-5 times higher u nder largely irrigated condltions as
line and in some states like Jharkhand, 45.3 per cent
compared to under largely rainfed conditions during
of farm households were under poverty. The past
biennium 2011-12. Though lndia is now self sufficient
green revolution technologies are input intensive
in food productjon, lndian agriculture is usinS "too
and have not helped the entire agriscape of lndia.
much lond ond too much woter rather inefJiciently".
Yield levels of most crops ln lndia are lowerthan the
Additional v, average size ofthe operational holding
world average due to lower level or poor adoption is declinlng with 67 per cent as marginal farmers,
of improved technology. Enhancing there is a growing disparity between agricultural
access to irrigation and technological
advancement are the most potent
instruments to raise agricultural
productivlty. With availability of
irrigation it is possible to enhance
the cropping intensity known as
'vertical intensifi catron'. Presently,
76 per cent of the agricultural land
in the country remains unused for
half of the productive period due to
lack ofaccessto meetthe crop water
requirement, Even in irrigated areas,
adequate and affordable irrigatjon
is not available throughout the year.
Once assured irrigation is available,
diversifi cation to high value crops has
the potential to raise the farmers'

Kurukshetra November20l7-.4i-.:r.-' 9
E
and non agricultLlral incomes, ruralyouth has rising
aspirations, and there are inadequate lnstjtutjonal
arrangements to mltigate risks and crop loss due to
droughts, floods, heat/cold waves and other natural
disasters. The government has noticed a persistent asa i
distress among agrarlan society and is eager to
I
devise an effective mitigation policy
Prime Minister of lndia while talking about
lncome of farmers in a (isan RaILY in Bareilly on .,''.,r. r'.'-..''"/ -".t'r i'.P.?'.t,;r6' ,t
28"' February 2016 stated that it is hls dream to r (,! q'.r13rl\r
(|a. . 1
....-,, 4.. r r/
see farmers double their income by 2022 when the
country completes 75 years of its independence-
Fig.2: lncreosing qop betweenth. iftigotian porPntidl
This will requlre an annual growth rate of 10 4 per
creoted (tPc) and ntisotian potentidl utilBed ltPU)in
cent for the next 7 years- a really daunting task.
lndid present utilisotioh is anlv obaut 80%
mportant factors for achieving such a hiSh growth
shall include significant improvements in crop and
Prime Minister Krishi sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY):
livestock productivity, achieving higher resource
use efficiencv to lower the cost of producdon, ln spite of lndia being blessed with ample water
lncreasing cropping intensity from the present level resources at the natjonal level (Fig. 1), the present
lndlan irriSation is besieged with several problems
including a widening gap between irrigation
lfiLl'trdli rd Iflinl|ll. s,llill) potentia! created (lPC) and irrigatjon potential
..-' utjlised {Fig.2), high dependence on groundwater
irrigation (Fig. 3) leading to and overexploitation of
groundwater resources and declining water tables
.'--|-
in Large parts, poor development of water resources
and rural electrification and seasonal flooding in
IrJ [t]l
the eastern region, low water_use efficiency/ water
Rs%)
t-{
.--:1!-/
t t
I

N'
U
Y vl_qgrl
Prcsenry mcels lhe denraId but s]nadtquale lor
0lc$ 3

Fiq. 1: Woter Resaurcet Scenoria lndio

of 140 to 153 per cent and increasing area under

high value crops from 16.75 to 25.4 Mha. Coverage
of agrlcultural farms Llnder irrigation shall plaV a
pivotal role to implement all these interventions
and estrmates show that gross irrlgated area needs 681(10%)
to be increased from the present level of 92.6 E4Sev")
N/ha to 110.4 Mha in 2022- an increase of 2 5 Mha 96l7%)
per annum, For achieving such an unpre.edented
growth in irrlgation coverage the 'business as usual' Fis.3: Grcundwdter is nawthe mojot.ource of nisotioh
shal not sLrffice and some innovative schemes with b 6A%) leodinq to overexplaitotion afthe resautces
good convergence and much larger allocation of etpeciolly in the intensite itriqoted regiohs'

funds need to be Put in Place.

10 KurLrkshetra E November 2017

-,
 productivity in agriculture and all other sectors,
weak regulation and half-hearted implementation
Vision Strategy -
Outcome
of water policies and non-convergence of several Creat np water soLrce!
water resources related schemes. Provide & storages

With the objective ofaddressing several ofthe Access to

above stated concerns in the farm irrigation sector Eridtiry th€Eap
and also to facrlitate to double the farmers income
lrrigotion to beiween rrr gaiion *'::'j*'
every form potennal& uirisaiion
by 2022, an ambitious scheme of'Prddhan Mdntri (Har Khet
Ktishi Sinchdyee yojond' was developed with the
ko Poni)
twin objectives of "Hor Khet ko Poni ptovidin9 creatlng/Strengthening ."r"...dr...
irrigation to each farm" and "Per drop more crop- Water distrib rtio n
improving weter productivity" and launched by
the Government of lndia. salient features of the Enhance water use
RlErho'Pqiry
schemes are illustrated below (Fig. 4). efficiencY&
Speedy execution of the river linkin8 project,
at least one new water conservation structure per Fig. 4: An illustrotion afthe visian, st.ategy ond expected
village, speedy completjon of the pending irrigation autcome of the PMKSY
projects and masslve expansion of micro irrigation . Creation of new water sources through minor
systems to achieve 'more crop per drop'were irrigation schemes, repait restorahon and
advanced a( ihe ilstrumenr( 1o achreve the visron. renovation of water bodies, and additional rain
Profi e ard mdin (omponenl\ o[ PMKSY dre given water harvesting structutes undet Hor Khet ko
in Table 1.
. Efficient water conveyance and precision water
Table 1: Components and Allocation for
application devices like drips, sprinklers, pivots,
PMKSY (2O16-17)
rain-guns in the farm to achieve'Per drop more
PMKSY Ministry/ PhysicalTarget lndicativeout-
compo- Depart- (lakh ha) lay {Rs. crore)
Focus of the program is to provide end to-
nents ment 2015, 2015- 2015- 2O1S- end solution to irrigation supply chain through
20 t6 20 15 development of the water resources, creation
AcceleF MoWR' l-5 1.2 11,060 1000 ol dn e'ficient oistribuhor nelwork and imp.6v-o
ated RD&GR farm level management and water use efficiency,
lrrigation lmplementatjon of the program has been quite
ambitious where (i) sensitjsatron workshops were
organised for AS and lF5 officers about the PMKSY
Har Khet 21-o 2.8 9050 1o0o and guidance on preparatjon ofthe "District lrrigation
Plan", (ii) Knowledge partnerships were developed
Per Drop DoA&C 100-0 5.0 15300 1800 with ICAR, NIRD, CWC/NWDA and other NGOS
for capacity building and experienhdl ierrnr,1g n
Watershed DoLR 11-5 4.4 13590 1500 different regions of lndia, {iii) Ministry of Agricultlire
developed and shared the format for developing
the District lrrigetion Plan (DlP) which is the heart
Total 50,000 5300 ofthe program. These DlPs shall be discussed at the
state and central level coordination committee for
Approach of the PMKSY is: review and clearance, (iv) A total of 99 ongoing A BP
. Faster compledon of ongoing major and projects have been identified for completion upto
medium irrigation projects including National March 2020 phase, (v) Funding for the program sha ll
projects under,4/BP be made available through NABARD, an additional
. Effective management of runoff water and fund of Rs. 500 crore has also been marked for micro
irrigation.
improved soil and water conservation activities
based on wotershed bosis. The program is regularly reviewed by the PMO

KuruLsheira Novernber20lT i 11 l
 I
and NlTl Ayog about its progress and during the last v. Cosing the gap between IPC-lPU in the existing
review on March 30, 2017, Prime Minister called for major and medium irrigation schemes. Desilting
synergy between varioLrs government departments, of minors and water courses, allocation of
Krishi Vigyon Kendros and agricultural universities irrigation through scientific roasters, and urgent
lo work out efficient cropping patterns and water completion of the deferred maintenance.
use mechanisms in the command areas of these
projects. He exhorted the officials to work with a
vi. Supporting conveTsion to underground piped
conveyance network to reduce the water losses
comprehensive and holistic vision for the PMKSYHe and delivering uniform supplies.
also called for using the latest available technology,
including space applications, to monitor the vii. Conlunctive management of tanks and
progress of irrigation projects. groundwater systerns through regular desilting
of tanks, reducing encroachments, buried
ln spite of the good intentions and reasonable supply channels etc.- emulate Mission Kakatiya
allocation of funds by the central government and of Telangana.
its disbursement through NABARD, the program viii. Encourage groundwater harvesting and
has made little headway due to a number of factors
recharge, recharge shafts, recharge tubewells,
including {i) lukewarm interest at the district and
infiltration wells and percolation tanks, tame
state level, (ii) insufficient capacity at the district
to develop an innovative and cost,effective District
the seasonal floods for recharge through
schemes like "Underground taming of Floods
lrrigation Plan which really addresses the issues of
for Irrigation."
the district (iii) lack of synergy and convergence
between difFerent line development departments, ix. Watershed treatment through inclusion of
(iv) aspirations of the district/ state in fund communities for asset development, ownership
allocation are much higher than the actual funds and long-term maintenance.
available under the scheme. x. Encourage peri-urban wastewater irrigation for
farm forestry, fodder, vegetable and floriculture
It is therefore, essential that the state and cultivation.
the districts select the most innovative and
promisinB interventjons which can deliver the xi. ln hilly areas of Uttarakhand, Himachal
expected outcomes in the in the next 5-7 years' Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim and
time when Prime Min,ster has promised to Double north-ed\t states, speCial empnasis is g;ven on
the Farmer lncome. Research by lnternational the rejuvenation ofthe springs- emulate 'Dhara
Water Management lnstitute and several other Vikas' program of the Sikkim government.
sraleholder r have iderhlieo tl.e followrnB p.omising xii. Support revival of traditional hill water
interventions for inclusion in DIPs of the PMKSY: management systems and proven practices like
Multiple water use systems (MUS) corrbining
Proposed lnterventions for Successful
domestic and smail agricultural/livestock water
lmplementation of PMKSY and Doubling Farmers
use, lolkunds in high rainfall areas, bamboo
lncome:
drip system, Jabo system and other practices
i. Support for development of groundwater invo ving indigenous knowledge.
and lift irrigatjon schemes. TarSeted support xiii- Ensure community participatjon and social
to irrigation deprived farm households to inclusion in all programs with special emphasis
construct wells/ tubewells. on women and girl child who are traditionelly
ii. Affordable assured power for peak season respons'ble tor domestic water prov sioning.
irrigation ernulate the policies from Madhya xiv, Create synergies and convergence with the
Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. already on-going schemes like MGNREGA,
iii. Support to Solar Power lrrigators Cooperatives National Food Security Misslon, Roshtr'/yo
especially in the non-grid areas with shallow Krishi Vikos yoiono, Bringing Green Revolution
water tables. to Eastern lndia, and National Mission on Micro
lrrigation.
iv. Support to Micro lrrigation to promote speedy
installation of drips and sprinklers especially in (The duthor is Scientist Emeritus (WR),
the water stressed areas and areas underlain lntemotiondl Water Mondgement Institute, New
wiih poor quality groundwater. Delhi. Emoil : [email protected])

t 17\ --"'*. r-Kurukshetra Nov-"mber 2017