Analyzing the Spatial-Temporal Disparities of Tube Well-Based Irrigation Systems in India: Implications for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development

In India, where over half of the population depends on agriculture, the importance of irrigation in agricultural development and poverty reduction is undeniable and more evident. (Fan, Hazell, & Thorat, 2000; Mangisoni, 2008; Smith,2004). While the total irrigated area increased from about 30.2 Mha in 1970–71 to about 63.6 Mha by 2010–11, its composition has changed significantly. Though the site using both surface and groundwater sources has increased, the share of surface water sources has declined from 62% to 39%, with a corresponding increase in the share of groundwater sources(A. Suresh, Aditya KS, Girish Jha and Suresh Pal, 2018). The groundwater-based irrigation is mainly supplied by tube wells (Government of India, 2015). Currently, about 70% of irrigated agriculture in India depends on groundwater. (A. Suresh, Aditya KS, Girish Jha and Suresh Pal, 2018). India’s annual groundwater draft for irrigation was about 228 billion cubic metres in 2013, accounting for about 90% of the total groundwater draft (Central Groundwater Board, 2017). Some major advantages of groundwater-based irrigation are more reliable, offers control over quantity and timing, and caters to smaller areas, which can be better managed and irrigated (Pandey, 2016; Roy & Shah, 2002). However, the expansion of groundwater-based irrigation has also raised many concerns: the decline of groundwater tables, well failures, higher cost of cultivation, and inequity issues in water access (Janakarajan & Moench, 2006; Kumar, Scott, & Singh, 2013). The scope for further expansion of canal-based surface irrigation is fraught with challenges, including shrinking storage capacity, high capital costs, water conflicts between farmers of different reaches, and soil salinity, to mention only a few (Hanson & May 2011; Kumar & Palanisami, 2010). Irrigation development has played a vital role in increasing crop yields and farm income (Narayanamoorthy, 2017). With time, groundwater has become the more dominant source of irrigation for farmers due to its autonomous character and availability. Because now full access to groundwater resources remains in the hand of the landholder and tube well irrigation becomes the main means of groundwater withdrawal due to its low development cost than any other type of irrigation. It is estimated that over 70 per cent of India’s food grain production now comes from irrigated agriculture in which groundwater plays a dominant role (Vasant P. Gandhi and Vaibhav Bhamoriya, 2011). Since the growth in groundwater irrigation has not been largely government or policy driven and has happened mainly through highly decentralized private activity, the groundwater revolution has gone, by and large unnotice