Kshipra Sub Basin - Asian Development Bank

Support to the National Water Mission NAPCC
Appendix 3 Kshipra Sub Basin
o In Naugaon 300 years old village two brothers from Marwar in Rajasthan started the village
with Jowar and opium cultivation. Now it is soyabeans and cotton in last 30 years. 375
households are there. Bore hole based handpump (7-8) at 100-150 depth provide drinking
water . 100 dugwells are seconday drinking water source. There are 75% households who can
have one crop alone based on rainfall and 25% area can be under two crops. Dug well and
electric motor based boreholes (25%) are water sources for agriculture. There has been no
testing on quality. 144 BPL households . Four households have 100-250 bighas, 50
households with larger than 5 bighas and rest have 1-5 bighas. Water table is at 50ft but until
January.
o In Indore there are 384 gram panchayats and 600 villages. 100% are agriculture dependent
5% have milk production for market as non farm income source. 70% have own land and 30%
work in others‘ lands. Out of 7000 acres of cultivable land 41.82% is from ground water, 2%
from canals and rest practice dry agriculture.
o Boreholes at 100-400 ft depth provide ground water source. There is over exploitation of
ground water with increased agricultural activities and during dry season productivity is less by
30%.
o Farmers have very inequitable and high dependence (50-100%) on uncontrolled/open access
ground water resources. Perception of common property/open access resource and
knowledge on possible management practices either at theoretical level or practical point of
view is almost nil across all stakeholders. But were receptive to new ideas when discussed.
Ground water is depleting very fast. The area was known for high ground water level in the
past historically but is drying up. Ground water exploitation is exclusively driven by
unregulated private demand and affordability.
o Boring and recharge at various points in Kshipra river is happening. Nadi purnavaran project
of state government has started with the aid of an NGO.
o Water quality is declining : Salinity and hardness is causing problem for agricultural
productivity
o Tail enders do not get adequate water in gravity flow system due to declining water level in
Government tanks. These tanks beds are allowed to be used for cultivation when there is low
water level and understood to be very highly productive due to silt and organic matter etc. But
there is discontent among community by caste for this privilege being given to lower caste.
Government argument is that those whose lands were historically taken for tank are being
allowed to use the tank bed for cultivation. The other complaining community has high
demand for silt due to it‘s fertility and feel tank excavation can enhance gravity flow of canals.
o Current subsidy scheme on drip and sprinkler is seen as inefficient as these are targeted at
BPL farmers who do not have other compatible infrastructure to take advantage of the
scheme. There is a general feeling that it should have been for all and not BPL which could
have scaled up the efforts faster.
o Most of the farmers have reported that they have not taken any loan from money lenders. The
farmers who taken loan have used KCC facility.
o The Kharif crop is rain-fed. The rabi crop depends on irrigation. Two crops are grown in a
year. About 25% of the agricultural area is single cropped for the lack of irrigation.
o Flood is not an issue in the region as the region is water scarce. Drought is major threat.
Community want drought resistant shorter variety of soybeans, wheat.
o The households surveyed are of various landholding sizes. The small farmers have challenge
in accessing ground water this share crop 50:50 with large farmers to get irrigation water lifted
by pump at private cost.
4. Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM)
o Currently diverse irrigation water supply systems are run by diverse departments: agriculture
department, horticulture department, WRD, watershed management programme, farmers‘
individual initiatives. There is need for integration of efforts, targets, information compilation
and monitoring through coordinated community mobilization.
o High degree of farming community participation are characterise Kshipra basin. Pro-active
farmers in Kshipra basin have been historically harvesting rainwater at the private farm level.
There is strong community support to stop any run off from the basin to Narmada and hold the
water where it drops.
39