Organization of a Small Reservoir System in Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract

This chapter examines the interplay between existing physical works and social irrigation behavior in a tank system in Madhya Pradesh, particularly the linkages between main system operators of the tank and main canals and farmers. Breakdowns in the organizational interface between farmers and main system managers account for a large portion of diminished productivity of irrigation water. Community development analysts recognized that conflict existed between individual interests and the requirements of collective community development action. The Balwantray Mehta Committee, appointed in 1957 to look into the problems of the Community Development Program, suggested a three-tier system of democratic decentralization known as Panchayat Raj. The Integrated Rural Development Program as implemented did not succeed in decentralizing authority. The traditional village had a more or less autonomous political structure with little direct linkage to state bureaucracy.