Groundwater markets in karnataka: key issues in sustainability
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Date
2007
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UAS Dharwad
Abstract
The groundwater is a highly scarce resource in the Karnataka state and is also
depleting fast. It is one of the major factors of production in the agrarian economy of the
state. The groundwater draft in the state is more than its recharge, particularly in the arid and
semi-arid regions and has caused deepening of groundwater table. There are private water
sellers sharing water with fellow farmers and charging water mostly on crop sharing basis. In
all of these situations, a farmer’s decision to sell water depends on the reliability of water
supply, existence of buyer in the neighbourhood and price of water.
The present study was taken up in Karnataka state with the objective of examining
groundwater markets- their status, supply and demand for water, externalities involved and
sustainability and equity issues. The study mainly uses primary data obtained from 120
farmers spread across Belgaum, Bijapur and Bagalkot districts of Karnataka. Data were
processed using tabular analysis and Logit Model. The sample farmers consisted of 44.17
percent self-users, 27.50 percent self-users-cum-sellers and 28.33 per cent buyers. The
important sources of irrigation in the study area were borewell, open-cum-borewell and openwell.
Fall in water table was mainly due to decrease in rainfall and increase in number of
wells. Nearly 79 percent of the farmers had ‘insecurity’ feeling with respect to groundwater
resource mainly due to fall in water table. Farmers suggested changing the irrigation method
from furrow to drip/sprinkler for conserving water. Annual crops fetched highest average
gross returns per ha for both sellers and buyers. Well-owners sold water to neighbourhood
farmers only if they had surplus water. The most serious negative externalities of
groundwater marketing were reduction of water outflow during pumping and fall in water
table. Some policy implications that emerged from the study were implementation of
effective groundwater recharging technologies, monitoring of prescribed inter-well distance,
nationalisation of groundwater resource and establishment of ‘Community Borewells for
Irrigation’, among others.