By Mridula Ramesh In Telangana, politics is water, and water defines its politics, in a connection that stretches back through the sea of history.
In a cascading tank system, linkages are key; continual encroachment – both of the connecting channels and the tanks, together with a breakdown of the social systems lessened effective tank functioning: After all, why spend labour desilting a tank, when the water may not flow because a powerful upstream farmer decided to break the bunds, and take the water for himself?
Second, a subset of tanks, called system tanks, are connected to a network of other tanks and to the river through canals.
This highlights the effectiveness of the scheme in 2015, while making the 2016 impact harder to call.
These schemes (along with others like the drinking water scheme, important in regions plagued by Fluoride-rich groundwater) improve farmer resilience, which, as Telangana looks to be affected by climate change, makes this farmer-centricity a shrewd political move.
Ideally, system tanks with a dependable flow should be prioritised, so that desilting translates to better irrigation.
If one does not desilt the connecting channels, and prioritise upstream tanks, desilting downstream tanks will not result in a higher irrigated area.
The driver from Mahbubnagar bemoans two years later, “Follow-up is poor, and implementation is patchy.” He is not planning to return now.
Given that over 80 percent of irrigated land in Telangana is irrigated by wells, this politically savvy move helps explain the slowdown on tank irrigation.
Building resilience is a burning issue because Telangana ranks second in farmer suicides in India, and a recent study highlighted irrigation issues—including borewell failure—as a key cause.