By managing their own irrigation systems, farmers are helping to stop water theft, a chronic problem in Pakistan.

 

 

   The newly set up Area Water Boards (AWB) and Farmer’s Organisations (FO) have effectively prevented illegal use of the community resource and have also helped to generate revenue for the central coffers.

   Pakistan began forming farmer groups and regulatory bodies to promote ownership of irrigation systems about a year ago. The early results of the policy shift are already evident.

   An evaluation of performance of 85 farmer groups of Lower Chenab Canal (East) Circle, Faisalabad says that many farmer groups have attained 100 per cent reduction in water theft. 

   The average recovery of water tariffs has also grown to about 75 per cent compared to 52 per cent when the government operated the system. 

   The public system was corrupt and large farmers could use more water than what they paid for while the poor did not get adequate water as a result of which they refused to pay. 

   “The idea was to involve the people to tackle these problems, and it is working,” said Sajjad Siddiqui, who heads the communications department at the Punjab Irrigation and Development Authority (PIDA).

   According to Siddiqui the problem had become acute and sometimes farmers would even pull down canal banks to let water flow into their fields or siphon it using pipes in collusion with officials of the irrigation department. 

   Even though theft is punishable under the law flouting the rules had almost become cultural – and people had begun to take pride for stealing water and cheating on tariffs. 

   The PIDA was formed in 1997 to promote participatory irrigation management in Punjab province. 

   It then transferred irrigation management responsibility to autonomous bodies at three tiers – the Provincial Irrigation and Drainage Authority, Area Water Board and the Farmers Organisations (FOs). 

   The management transfer is funded under the 27 billion Pakistani rupees (about 450 million U.S. dollars) National Drainage Program (NDP). The irrigation management program is funded entirely by the provincial government.

   The new institutions are the government’s response to the deterioration in irrigation management, including poor maintenance, says Sajjad Siddiqui.

 

   He adds: “Practically, no one owned the systems but every one was using them.” 

    Under the PIDA Act, the farmer organisations are put in charge of policing field-level distribution, controlling theft, resolving disputes and collecting water tariffs. 

   In return, they get to use 40 per cent of the water tariffs to meet operation and maintenance costs.

   Each farmer group has nine members elected by water users and must include three members from the most disadvantaged sections of the community. 

   "This arrangement has led to some panic among the staffs at the irrigation department who now fear that they could lose jobs," says M. Aslam Qureshi, general manager, PIDA. 

   “The farmer groups also have authority to hire and fire employees so they are in full control,” he adds. 

   Today many government employees have begun to seek jobs at the newly created institutions, including the farmer groups. 

   "Every FO is given water strictly in accordance with the collective requirement of areas under its jurisdiction,” says Sagheer Ahmed, president of a farmer organisation. 

   “If any one steals water, he deprives another farmer of his rights and believe me, no one is ready now to let go of a single drop of water from his share," adds Ahmed. 

   People who take more than their share or steal are first issued warnings and those that continue to do so after being warned are charged fines as high as 20 times the price of the stolen water. 

   When everyone uses a fair share everyone, even those at the tail end of the canal get to use water.

   PIDA officials said putting the system in place was not easy especially because of the opposition by farmer groups that had found ways to beat the system.

   "We had to recruit social mobilizers to visit rural areas and explain the idea to locals, the system was introduced only after we had convinced the people of the benefits of participatory management," says M. Aslam Qureshi. 

   The system has been so successful that now other provinces have begun following the path shown by Punjab.

(END/AWW/IPSAP/IA/BB/06)