Groundwater Economics and Policy in South Asia

1. Introduction

1.1 Changing Character of Groundwater Debate in South Asia

1.2 Purpose and Scope of the Book

1.3 Contents of the Book
References

2. South Asia’s Groundwater: The Resource Characteristics, Ownership Regimes and Access

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Geohydrology, Dynamic Groundwater Resources and Variations

2.3 Arguments that Shaped Public Policies in Groundwater and Agriculture

2.4 Is Access to Groundwater Equitable in South Asia?

2.5 Impacts of Public Policies on the Functioning of Groundwater Markets

2.6 Growth of Well Irrigation in South Asia: Will it sustain?

2.7 Conclusions
References

3. Application of Complex Concept of Groundwater Over-exploitation

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Assessment of Groundwater Over-exploitation

3.2.1 Conceptual issues in defining over-exploitation

3.2.2 Definitions of groundwater over-exploitation

3.3 Review of Existing Methodologies for Groundwater Assessment

3.3.1 GEC-1984 criteria and methodology for assessing groundwater development

3.3.2 GEC-1997 criteria and methodology for assessing groundwater development

3.3.3 Deficiencies of GEC-84 and GEC-97

3.4 Are Groundwater Over-exploitation Problems Serious in India?

3.4.1 What do water level trends really mean?

3.4.2 How do we look at groundwater balance for assessing over-draft?

3.4.3 How do geological settings matter?

3.4.4 Integrating negative consequences of over-exploitation in assessing groundwater development?

3.5 Summary and Conclusions
References

4. Comparing Well Irrigation and Gravity Irrigation

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Analyses, Data Type and Sources

4.3 Future of India’s Irrigation: Canals or Wells?

4.4 How Far Are Surface Irrigation Systems Inefficient?

4.5 Is Recharging Groundwater Using Local Runoff Viable in the Arid and Semi-Arid Regions?

4.6 Is Contribution of Surface Systems to South Asia’s Irrigation Declining?

4.7 Ground Water Quality Problems

4.8 Conclusions and Policy Inferences
References

5. Farm Ponds and Solar Irrigation Pumps: Economics and Implications for Groundwater Management Policy

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Farm Ponds in Maharashtra, India

5.2.1 Results from a Field Study

5.2.2 The Concerns about Farm Pond Construction

5.3 Solar Irrigation Pumps

5.3.1 The solar irrigation cooperatives of Gujarat

5.3.2 Misleading numbers

5.3.3 The logic behind subsidizing solar irrigation pumps

5.3.4 Unreal groundwater and energy savings

5.3.5 Summary

5.4 Concluding Remarks
References

6. Large Reservoirs for Improving Groundwater Sustainability in Over-exploited Regions

6.1 The Background

6.2 Impacts of Government Policies and Programmes: Tall Claims

6.3 The Complex Hydrological Regime of Gujarat

6.4 Weak Framework for Analyzing Groundwater Storage Change

6.5 Has there been a Change in Water Management Policy in Gujarat?

6.6 Had Decentralized Water Harvesting Made any Impact on Groundwater?

6.7 Factors that Caused Groundwater Rejuvenation

6.8 What can we learn from Gujarat’s Experience of Managing Groundwater?
References

7. Addressing Groundwater Management Issues in Semi-Arid Hard Rock Regions

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Groundwater Development in the Erstwhile Andhra Pradesh: How Far are the Estimates Reliable?

7.3 Can Well Irrigation Grow in Future?

7.4 Negative Externalities of Well Irrigation on Tank Irrigation

7.5 Effectiveness of Water Harvesting and Artificial Recharge in Mitigating Over-exploitation

7.6 Potential Impact of Crop Shift in Reducing Groundwater Withdrawal

7.7 Manoeuvring Energy-Groundwater Nexus for Co-Management of Electricity and Groundwater

7.8 Potential Impact of Drip Irrigation on Groundwater Conservation

7.9 Feasibility of Community Management of Groundwater

7.10 Future of Water and Agriculture in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

7.11 Addressing the Growing Groundwater Crisis in the Region

7.12 Conclusions
References

8. Institutions and Policies for Sustainable Groundwater Management in Alluvial Areas of South Asia

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Groundwater Development, Use and Management In the Indo-Gangetic Plains: Understanding the Institutional Landscape

8.2.1 Interventions by state agencies for developing groundwater irrigation

8.2.2 Groundwater markets for irrigation for small and marginal farmers

8.2.3 Legal and regulatory instruments for checking over-development

8.2.4 The mechanism of minimum support price for cereals

8.3 Groundwater, Energy and Food Sector Policies Influencing Groundwater Development and Use

8.3.1 Policies for providing power connections in the farm sector

8.3.2 Electricity supply policies for the farm sector

8.3.3 Electricity pricing policies and subsidies

8.3.4 Provisions of subsidized diesel engines and fuel

8.3.5 Procurement policies

8.4 Resource Sustainability: Impact of Institutional and Policy Interventions

8.4.1 Resource depletion in the Indo Gangetic Plains

8.4.2 Groundwater quality deterioration

8.4.3 Drying up of wetlands in the Eastern Gangetic Plains

8.5 Institutional Measures for Sustainable Groundwater Management

8.5.1 Refining resource assessment methodologies

8.5.2 Subsidy removal and correct pricing of electricity

8.5.3 Reducing the transaction costs of metering

8.5.4 Improving the direct groundwater access of the poor small and marginal farmers in EGP

8.5.5 Evolving a functional water rights system and its enforcement in the ‘over-exploited’ areas

8.5.6 Framing appropriate rules for groundwater abstraction in the EGP for managing groundwater quality

9. Regulating Groundwater Use through Economic Incentives

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Managing Groundwater: A Plethora of Flawed Ideas

9.3 Depletion and Current Status of Groundwater in Punjab

9.4 Punjab’s Direct Power Subsidy Model

9.5 Ad-hoc Basis for Fixing Electricity Quota

9.6 False Claims of Groundwater Conservation

9.7 The Way to Arrest Groundwater Depletion in Punjab

9.7.1 Better understanding of the groundwater balance

9.7.2 Getting additional surface water for irrigation through imports

9.7.3 Encouraging crop shift through fixing of energy quota

9.7.4 The criteria for fixing energy quota

9.7.5 Macro level implications of energy quota fixing

9.8 Conclusion and Way Forward
References

10. Market Instruments and Institutions for Managing Groundwater in South Asia

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Legal and Regulatory Approaches to Manage Groundwater

10.3 Institutional Reforms for Groundwater Management

10.3.1 Establishing tradable water use rights

10.3.2 Market instruments for groundwater demand management

10.4 Management of Groundwater by Local User Groups

10.4.1 The negative externalities in local groundwater management

10.5 A Framework for Design of Groundwater Management Institutions

10.5.1 Village Level Institutions (VLIs)

10.5.2 Watershed Institutions (WI)

10.5.3 Management institutions at aquifer level

10.6 Does An Enabling Environment Exist for Creating Groundwater Management Institutions?

10.7 The Future Steps

11. Managing Groundwater in under-developed Regions: Policy Lessons from South Asia

11.1 Synthesis of Findings

11.2 What Can Other Semi-Arid Countries Learn from South Asian Experience?
References