Managing the village-level open-access water resources in a region facing rapidly declining water availability

Abstract

Growing population, human settlements, industrialization and intensification in groundwater-based cultivation have resulted in severe onslaught on underground aquifers in West Bengal, an eastern province of India with high population density. The present paper focuses on this water resource management issue. The study shows that traditional, village-level surface water reservoirs which for centuries had supplemented irrigation in addition to providing water for all sorts of domestic needs are now in doldrums. Through statistical analysis, the study shows that for all practical purposes, there is very little effective management of these precious open-access water resources. The situation calls for paradigm shift in policy on water resource management that entails development of community-based management catalyzed by government intervention, external agencies and NGOs under supervision and control of local elected bodies.

Managing Land and Water under Changing Climatic Conditions in India: A Critical Perspective

“…The study by Palanisami et al, showed how the maximisation of revenue is possible by using irrigation tanks for various uses such as social forestry, brick making, fisheries, silt collection and groundwater recharge [24]. Roy explains that the surface water reservoirs such as tanks and ponds are the primary source of water for poor rural households for domestic uses, irrigation and fish production [25].…”