CONJUNCTIVE USE PLANNING OF WATER RESOURCES IN CANAL COMMAND: A CASE STUDY OF INDIRA SAGAR PROJECT

Abstract

India’s large population and the fact of it being among the fastest growing major economies of the world, there is a huge demand for agricultural, industrial and other material goods. This puts great pressure on India’s limited land and water resources. Given the fact that over 70% of the water resources in India are utilised for the agricultural purposes solely, there is a compelling argument to optimise the usage of water in this sector. Conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater resources could be one of the most effective strategies for optimal utilization of the available water resources. In the present paper, scope of application of the conjunctive use of water resources in the canal command area of the Indira Sagar Project in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India has been analysed. A linear programming program model with various agricultural, hydrological and socio-economic constraints has been developed to arrive at cropping pattern for maximization of benefits from cropping activity based on the optimal use of water resources. The study shows conjunctive use could lead to an increase of upto 20% in the net benefits as compared to the scenarios based on existing cropping pattern and using only the ground water. It also leads to saving of over 70,000 ha-m of surface water as compared to the actual amount of surface water being provided through the canal system on the ground. The LINDO software package has been used for this optimization procedure. Further, sensitivity analyses showed that a new cropping pattern based on deviation from the existing cropping pattern has a positive relationship with the net benefits. A 40% such deviation could enhance the net benefits by over 13% in the canal command. Therefore, state authorities and project agencies along with the farmer community can plan and adopt strategies for the conjunctive use of available water resources. As ascertained by this study, it is a feasible and practical solution leading to an optimum water use and higher farm incomes though the adoption of optimum cropping pattern in the canal command.