Reviving Tank Irrigation

There are about 0.25 million tanks in India and the tank irrigated area has declined from 3.3 m·ha in 1953 to 1.67 m·ha in 2018. Encroachment of the tank catchment, weak tank-based institutions, erratic rainfall and poor tank filling, inadequate budget for maintenance, improper land use in the upstream, and siltation of the tank water spread over years had resulted in poor performance of the tanks. Tank rehabilitation programmes by various agencies have started around four decades ago and the performance was not satisfactory due to poor implementation protocols followed. Looking at the past rehabilitation performance and need of the future, six time-tested options for tank modernization are suggested: Option 1: Desilting only in selected locations in the tank water spread area. Option 2: Desilting the entire tank water spread area to a given depth. Option 3: Converting the tanks into percolation ponds. Option 4: Providing 1–2 fillings to the tanks during the tank season. Option 5: Full (optimum) groundwater development in the command area. Option 6: Adopting sluice rotation (opening and closing the sluices in alternate weeks) so that groundwater and tank water will be simultaneously (conjunctively) used throughout the crop season. At national level, a tank authority can be established mainly to coordinate and mobilize funds for tank investment and management by closely working with the states.