Towards Effective Governance in Irrigation Management for Enhancing People’s Participation

The nexus of water and food is complex and interdependent. Water is essential for agriculture, yet many states are failing to meet its increasing demand despite the creation of irrigation projects. There is a need to shift the paradigm from construction to management. Water, especially irrigation, being a state subject, operation and maintenance come under the purview of the state. Thus, the state needs to ensure effective water governance for managing better services and the creation of policies, institutions and regulations. The National Water Policy introduced reforms for farmers’ participation in irrigation management. In the northeastern region, Assam was the first to implement the Irrigation Water Users Act. So far, 847 Water User Associations (WUAs) have been formed in Assam to facilitate equal water distribution, operation–maintenance, levy collection and conflict resolution. The study on WUA in a minor irrigation system revealed that there is a decreasing trend in the area irrigated and levy collection and that it is failing to produce the desired results in irrigation management, while the traditional Dong Bandh system practice in Assam demonstrates the capability of the local community to self-organise management of water resources. The irrigation system is decentralised, yet the increase in its performance is uncertain in Assam. This article aims to identify irrigation water governance ways to rectify its shortcomings by learning from the Dong Bandh governance system.