PARTICIPATORY IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT (PIM) IN THE CONTEXT OF FUTURE OF IRRIGATION IN INDIA

Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) and Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) are studied at three levels: the international literature, the policy and action taken in India and the field work in the various states of India at large scale irrigation system. International literature argues that management will improve if users can take management decisions that are the outcome of local negotiations between stakeholders and based on local knowledge and normative frameworks. Since the 1980s, several governments have adopted these turnover programs, often as part of the requirements of a structural adjustment package negotiated with IMF and international development banks. These show that in many countries the tight financial situation of governments has been important for introducing PIM/IMT. The management transfer from the State to Water Users Associations (WUAs) has been more successfully achieved in some places, than in other places. Literature provides explanations as success factors for PIM/IMT like relative strength of economy and central government, higher literacy and standard of living. It is necessary to understand the national as well as the local context, the opportunities it offers, and the constraints it places on successful institutional reform. Case specific reasons that could explain the hesitance of PIM/IMT implementation are i) The irrigated perimeter of various parts of India, as it is managed nowadays by the Public Works Department (PWD), functions relatively well, ii) the society is characterised by relatively strong central rule, iii) rigid labour relations in the civil service and iv) farmers are hesitant to take over the irrigation management. KEY WORDS: Irrigation, PIM, IMT, Irrigation in India, Irrigation Managemen