Causes and consequences of conflicts in surface irrigation: Micro level study from Northern India

Abstract

This study was conducted in the Eastern Yamuna Canal (EYC) command areas and used the data collected from 295 farmers from three districts of Uttar Pradesh during 2017-2020. The results indicated that the growth rate of deep wells were very high for Saharanpur and Baghpat districts, whereas Ghaziabad district has recorded negative growth rate. Monthly water release data in the EYC has indicated that water release was regular every month during 2003-2013. However, for the period of May to November during 2018 the water release was negligible which may lead to high pressure on ground water. The main causes conflicts were observed as draught, water scarcity, irregular supply of canal water, small size of land holdings, and agriculture dependency. The water conflicts management was done through panchayats, friends and relatives, government departments and through police. Irregular supply of water, poor response of irrigation department during the conflicts, increasing cost of power were the major constraints. This study suggests that regular supply of water in canal irrigation system will reduce the pressure on groundwater.