PARTICIPATORY IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT IN MAHARASHTRA, INDIA

摘要

Maharashtra state of India has long tradition of farmers’ participation in irrigation managementin the form of Phad systems and Malgujari tanks. In the nineteen nineties, the fi rst CooperativeWater Users Association (WUA) was established in the Mula Irrigation Project. Withthe success, Government of Maharashtra (GoM) has been promoting Participatory IrrigationManagement (PIM) in the State.Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) are responsible for the operation, maintenance andmanagement of the area under their jurisdiction and receive the water use entitlement inthe form of bulk volumetric supply with the freedom to grow crops of their choice. Over thelast 10-15 years, there has been appreciable growth in WUAs. There are number of successstories, underlining the importance of WUAs. WUAs are at centre of rural development,there is appreciable improvement in livelihood of farmers in and around command area ofirrigation projects. On the other hand, there are also some instances of little or no appreciableimprovement in performance of irrigation projects with WUAs.