Revitalising Canal Irrigation From Systemic Decay to Sustainable Governance

Abstract

Canal irrigation management in Karnataka’s Krishna Basin is shaped by a complex set of interconnected challenges that affect governance, system performance, and environmental sustainability. Field consultations with farmers, officials, and local stakeholders across the Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal (TLBC), Bhadra, Vijayanagar Channel, Gondi, and Narayanpur Right Bank Canal (UKP) systems indicate that these difficulties are not limited to a single level of administration, but rather emerge across state, district, canal, and outlet levels. As a result, issues of efficiency, equity, and reliability continue to influence both agricultural outcomes and the day-to-day experiences of irrigation users. At the state level, the absence of a statutory Water Regulatory Authority has constrained the fuller implementation of water rights, entitlements, and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) principles. In addition, overlapping responsibilities within the Irrigation Department have, in some cases, made lines of accountability less clear and reduced the scope for coordinated decision-making. At the district and local levels, external pressures such as industrial pollution, mining-related siltation, urban expansion, interruptions in drinking water supply during canal closures, and catchment deforestation have placed additional stress on both water quantity and water quality. These factors have made the basin more vulnerable to seasonal scarcity and more difficult to manage in a balanced and forward-looking manner. Within the canal network itself, several operational concerns have affected performance. Unlined canal reaches contribute to seepage losses, while the limited presence of flow meters restricts the ability to manage supply on a volumetric basis. Periodic maintenance shutdowns, though sometimes necessary, often disrupt irrigation scheduling and create uncertainty for farmers who depend on timely deliveries. At the outlet level, disparities between head-end and tail-end users, together with soil salinization and yield pressures linked to paddy- and sugarcane-dominated cropping systems, have further complicated irrigation management and intensified farmer concerns. These challenges are further influenced by the variable functioning of Water Users’ Cooperative Societies (WUCS), uneven participation in participatory irrigation management, and implementation gaps under the Karnataka Irrigation Act of 1995. Overall, the findings point to the need for a more coordinated, inclusive, and responsive approach to irrigation governance. Such an approach would benefit from stronger regulatory arrangements, greater support for WUCS, canal rehabilitation, improved measurement and monitoring systems, crop diversification, groundwater regulation, and basin-level planning backed by transparent and accessible data systems.

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