Water
Management
While sectoral approaches are important, they may result in missing out on some of the most
promising opportunities to improve water efficiency such as improving water productivity in
rain fed areas, managing surface and ground water conjunctively and managing water supplies
for multiple uses. The State has adopted an integrated approach for efficient and sustainable
development as well as management of water resources, which is inclusive in scope and
includes water conservation, micro irrigation systems, strengthening of existing canal system,
Participatory Irrigation Management, inter-basin transfer of water and salinity ingress
prevention works.
Water Conservation
Improving productivity includes adding
more water at critical junctures in the form
of supplemental irrigation to mitigate the
effects of short-term drought.
The Government has therefore launched a
massive drive for augmenting the ground
water recharge by construction of thousands
of water harvesting structures like check dams,
boribundhs, farm ponds, simtalavadis, terrace
talavdis, van talavdis and deepening of ponds.
In all, more than 1,53,249 check dams, 2,61,785
farm ponds, 1,22,000 boribundhs, deepening of
existing 21,418 village ponds / tanks and lacs
of terrace talavadis, sim talavadis and van
talavadis have been constructed. This has
positively impacted the ground water and has
resulted in improved quality as observed by IIM,
Ahmedabad in its recently concluded study.
IIM Ahmedabad has made a detailed study on
Socio-Economic Impact on Water Conservation Works in
Gujarat. Its main finding is that Water Conservation Units
(WCUs) have achieved their primary objective of making
available additional water for irrigation and drinking
Effective protective irrigation services by averting crop
loss incidents on an average 3 times during the last
5 years, and bridging over 3/4th of the irrigation
shortfall from traditional irrigation structures
Increase in number of months for which water is
available by 3.5 months, allowing extra crop per year
55% increase in overall land cultivation
Over 70% increase in cropping intensity
Improvement seen in productivity of cotton, coarse
cereals, all cereals, all food grains and sugarcane
Gujarat State Watershed Management
Agency (GSWMA) has been conferred
Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence
in Public Administration for the year
2010-11
for the initiative entitled
Participatory Watershed Management
Programme.
