Command Area Development | Geography Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Introduction

 The low productivity of canal-irrigated lands has traditionally been attributed to poor water management in command areas. Key factors contributing to this issue include: 

• Inadequacies in water delivery and drainage systems at the micro level. 
• Failure to level and reshape fields within the command of an individual outlet to meet the demands of flow irrigation. 
• Unreliable water supplies in terms of timing and quantity required by crops. 

 Although these deficiencies are being addressed by the Command Area Development Programme (CADP), progress has been slow. This unit will introduce you to the genesis of CAD, its functions, contributions from state and central governments, achievements, weaknesses, CAD programmes in India, future improvement strategies, and training needs for beneficiaries such as farmers and engineers. 

Genesis of the Programme

• Since the beginning of planning in the country, a significant programme for irrigation development has been undertaken, leading to the construction of several large dams and canals. 
• However, there has been a substantial gap between the irrigation potential that was created and its actual utilisation. 
•  In response to this issue, the Command Area Development Programme (CADP) was launched in December 1974 as a centrally sponsored scheme. 
• The programme aimed at accelerating the utilisation of created irrigation potential and optimising agricultural production from irrigated land. 
• It was initiated following the recommendations of the Irrigation Commission (1972) and the Committee of Ministers (1972), and involved collaboration between the Planning Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture, and State Governments. 
• The fundamental idea behind the CADP was to bridge the gap between the created irrigation potential and its utilisation, as well as to enhance productivity in irrigated areas. 
• Despite massive investments in the construction of large irrigation projects, the utilisation and productivity of these projects were significantly lower than anticipated during their planning stages. 
• To address this, it was deemed necessary to establish a broad-based area development authority capable of coordinating all activities necessary for improving the utilisation and productivity of irrigation projects. 
• These activities, which fall under the purview of various departments and organisations, include aspects related to irrigation, agriculture, credit, and cooperatives. 
• The functions assigned to the Command Area Development Authorities (CADA) to achieve the programme's objectives encompass modernisation, maintenance, and efficient operation of the irrigation system up to the outlet, development and maintenance of the main and intermediate drainage systems, and carrying out 'on-farm' development works.
•  Additionally, tasks such as consolidation of holdings, enforcement of warabandi (water distribution), promoting conducive use, and selecting and introducing suitable cropping patterns are also included. 
• The CADP was initiated during the Fifth Five-Year Plan, and it started with 60 major and medium irrigation projects across 16 states. 
• By the beginning of the Sixth Five-Year Plan, the programme had expanded to 76 major and medium irrigation projects. 
• In 1983-84, 29 additional projects were included in the programme, while 3 ongoing projects were dropped upon the completion of on-farm development works. 

Functions of Command Area Development Programme

• The programme focuses on executing 'on-farm' development works to improve irrigation efficiency. 
• Implements Warabandi, a rotational system of water distribution, to ensure fair and timely supply of irrigation water. 

Key Functions:

• Modernization and efficient operation of irrigation systems and development of main drainage systems. 
• Construction of field channels and field drains to enhance water distribution. 
• Land shaping, leveling, and consolidation of holdings to optimize land use. 
• Lining of field channels and watercourses to prevent water loss. 
• Exploitation of groundwater resources through the installation of tubewells. 
• Adoption and enforcement of suitable cropping patterns to maximize crop yield. 
• Implementation of an appropriate irrigation rostering system. 
• Timely and adequate supply of inputs like fertilizers, pesticides, improved seeds, and credit. 
• Strengthening of existing extension training to enhance farmer knowledge and skills. 

Importance:

• The efficiency of irrigation hardware and a well-conceived water policy are crucial for controlling water utilization at the farm level. 
• Coordination with other programmes, such as road construction and setting up processing and marketing facilities, is also an important aspect of the CAD Programme. 

State and Central Government Contribution

 The program now encompasses approximately 155 irrigation projects spanning a culturable command area of around 19 million hectares across 20 States and 2 Union Territories, implemented through 54 Command Area Development Authorities (CADAs). 

• A significant investment of about Rs. 2600 crores has been made from the inception of the program to the end of the Seventh Plan, with the Government of India contributing around Rs. 900 crores. 
• The program has seen an increase in capacity utilization from 70% at the end of the Fifth Plan to a maximum of 77% in 1986-87, although it dropped to 73% in 1987-88 due to severe drought conditions. 
• Productivity has improved in selected projects such as Girna in Maharashtra, Sharda Sahayak in Uttar Pradesh, Lower Bhavani in Tamil Nadu, and Bhagirathi-Vaichgati Canal in West Bengal, with better annual average growth rates for crops like paddy, wheat, and sugarcane. 
• However, the overall increase in productivity has been unsatisfactory across the board. 

Achievements

• In the initial stages of the program, various Command Area Development Authorities were assigned specific functions. However, the current focus in most states/projects has narrowed down to primarily constructing field channels and, to a lesser extent, implementing Warabandi, land leveling, and shaping.
• Since the beginning, the cumulative achievements include approximately 1.2 million hectares (mha) of field channels, 52 thousand hectares (nha) under Warabandi, and around 2 thousand hectares (nha) under land leveling and shaping. 
• Despite this coverage, water utilization has not increased proportionately. It is important to note that utilization depends on various factors such as water availability, crop types, the condition of the irrigation system, and its management. Therefore, linking on-farm development (OFD) activities directly to utilization on a yearly basis may lead to incorrect conclusions without considering these other variables. 
• During the Seventh Plan period, the pace of implementing these key OFD activities has been unsatisfactory, with coverage at 48% for field channels, 54% for Warabandi, and 23% for land leveling compared to their planned targets. 
• Other CADA activities that received attention during the Seventh Plan include conducting adaptive trials, involving beneficiaries in irrigation water management below minor outlets, establishing wireless communication systems, and training farmers, field functionaries, and officers associated with the program. 
• However, most functions such as the modernization, maintenance, and efficient operation of irrigation systems, as well as drainage, consolidation of holdings, and conjunctive use, have not been pursued and achieved with the necessary vigor. 

Problems of CAD 

Slow Progress of OFD Activities:

 The slow progress of On-Farm Development (OFD) activities in Command Area Development (CAD) can be attributed to several factors: 

• Budget Provision: Limited budget allocations have hindered the pace of development. 
• Control Issues: CAD Authorities (CADAs) lack control over the department responsible for constructing field channels, affecting coordination and efficiency. 
• Construction Availability: There is a shortage of areas suitable for constructing field channels, which impedes progress. 
• Consolidation Problems: Issues related to land consolidation have further complicated the development process. 
• Cost Escalation: Rising costs have posed significant challenges to the implementation of CAD projects. 
• Flood Problems: Flood-related issues have also contributed to the slow progress. 

Organizational Challenges:

• A major reason for the slow progress is the inadequate or partial development of the organizational structure expected from CADAs. The Working Group Report on the Seventh Plan highlighted a crucial issue: while CADAs are tasked with increasing agricultural production, they do not have functional control over the necessary components, such as water release and agricultural input extension. This disconnect has hampered their effectiveness. 

Narrow Focus of CADAs:

• Due to these functional limitations, CAD Authorities have narrowed their focus to On-Farm Development works, primarily field channel construction. This shift has led to a deterioration of the original concept of CAD, which was meant to be more comprehensive. 

Lack of Integrated Approach:

• The essential linkages for agricultural production and integrated water management have not received the attention they deserve.
• The backward and forward linkages, which are crucial for a holistic approach to agricultural development and water management, have been largely overlooked. This lack of integration has further contributed to the problems faced by the CAD programme. 

Weaknesses of CAD

• Uncertainty in Water Supply: The Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, in a 1987 evaluation of the Command Area Development (CAD) programme, highlighted the crucial issue of unreliable irrigation water supply as a core function that needs addressing. The IIM study identified the lack of reliable water supply to all farm holdings as the main bottleneck in the CAD programme. 
• Need for Management Approach: The study suggested that a management approach is essential for the success of the programme and for achieving its basic objectives. 
• Lack of Control and Measurement: Other evaluation studies by agencies such as WAPCOS, Agriculture Finance Corporation, and others pointed out the lack of control structures, measuring devices, and poor maintenance as factors contributing to the unreliability of irrigation water supply. 
• Unauthorized Use and Responsibility: The studies also noted issues like unauthorized use of water, lack of responsibility centres, and inequity in water supply due to conflicts of interest between head and tail farmers. 
• Cropping Pattern Issues: There was a failure in achieving the desired cropping pattern and crop diversification as originally envisioned in the project. The current cropping pattern tends to favour crops that are less efficient in terms of return per unit of water. 
• Farmer Involvement:. significant aspect highlighted by these studies is the non-involvement of farmers in irrigation management, which is crucial for the effective implementation of the programme. 

Future Strategy for Improvement

Unified Control of Irrigation Water Management:

• There should be unified control of irrigation water management from headworks to farm gates under one single agency. This agency would be responsible for ensuring the delivery of water to every farm holding. 
• This approach is necessary until farmers' organizations are ready to accept water delivery at a higher point in the distribution system. 
• The need for this unified control arises from the dwindling financial resources of states and the need for cost-effective solutions. 

Focus on Higher Utilization and Cost Effectiveness:

• The focus should be on higher utilization of the created potential rather than just creating new potential, as the cost of potential created is expected to be over Rs. 30,000 per hectare. 
• The CAD (Command Area Development) programme aims at improving the utilization of existing potential. 
• The cost of constructing field channels, the last activity in the CAD programme, varies significantly and depends on the improvement in utilization and productivity. 

Ensuring Reliability and Intensifying Implementation:

• Future strategies should ensure the reliability of irrigation water supply through unified control and intensify the implementation of software activities. 
• The CAD programme package should not be considered in isolation but should be related to the construction programme of irrigation projects. 

Synchronization of Construction and Developmental Activities:

• Construction and developmental activities must go hand in hand and should be properly synchronized and sequenced. 
• The physical programme of CADP should consider the availability of financial resources and the organization’s capability to execute the works. 

Planning and Designing OFD Works:

• For planning and designing the On-Farm Development (OFD) works below the outlet, the entire command of the distributary should be considered as a unit for construction rather than individual field channels. 
• Lining should be need-based, and the present Central assistance for selective lining in vulnerable reaches should be up to 50% of the length of field channels. 
• States have often opted for a higher percentage of lining, but it is crucial to ensure that the watercourses/field channels carry the designed discharge. 

Renovation and Remodeling of Field Channels:

• Specific funds should be earmarked for the renovation and remodeling of field channels constructed long ago that are now in poor condition due to floods or other reasons. 
• Despite significant progress in warabandi (water distribution system), the actual implementation at the field level needs to be intensified with the involvement of beneficiaries, i.e., farmers, in framing and implementing the schedule. 

Night Irrigation and Land Levelling:

• Overnight service reservoirs in the field should be considered since night irrigation is not commonly practiced in most CAD projects. 
• Land leveling, although deemed a low priority by some studies, is an essential component of CADP and should be continued in projects and areas where uneven topography is a significant constraint, particularly in slopes ranging from 1-3%. 

Addressing Waterlogging and Salinisation:

• Due to the rising groundwater table, the issues of waterlogging and salinisation are becoming prominent, making it crucial to prioritize drainage activities. 
• A drainage network connected to the main drain should be constructed as part of the programme, ensuring both physical and financial commitments. 

Importance of Adaptive Trials:

• Adaptive trials should be a focus area in future plans, as they can yield significant benefits. 
• Involvement of Agricultural Universities and ICAR units in adaptive trials and demonstrations, along with research grants from CADA, can optimize utilization and production per unit of water. 

Farmers' Participation in Water Management:

• Farmers' participation in irrigation water management needs to be strengthened, as current efforts have not yielded sufficient results. 
• Successful cases where farmers’ organizations manage water distribution effectively are rare but should be encouraged and replicated. 
• The Ministry of Water Resources and State Governments should intensify efforts in this area, possibly through voluntary agencies. 

Agronomical Practices

• There is a need for better agronomical practices to increase crop production. 
• In reservoir-backed projects, early sown Kharif crops can help free up fields for timely Rabi crop planting. 
• Farmers should switch from continuous deep submergence to shallow intermittent submergence for paddy cultivation. 
• The ICAR has valuable recommendations for optimizing water supply to crops, which should be seriously pursued through lab-to-land experiments. 
• Systematic crop cutting experiments are needed to assess productivity in command areas, in coordination with state departments. 

Conjunctive Use

• There is a need for conjunctive water use to address the dual issues of water shortage in some areas and waterlogging and salinity in others. 
• Groundwater should be used not only to supplement surface water but also to manage water resources more effectively, ensuring reliable irrigation and reducing waterlogging and salinity problems. 

Consolidation of Holdings

• Consolidation of holdings should be intensified to enable more efficient construction of field channels and water distribution. 
• Fields should be rectangularised as much as possible to improve water distribution efficiency. 
• Due to ineffective inheritance laws, consolidation should be revisited approximately every generation. 

Coordination of Activities

• A proper multi-disciplinary organizational setup of CADAs is necessary for effective implementation of various activities aimed at achieving the programme's objectives. 
• Clear differentiation of functions between activities that CADA should carry out exclusively and those it should coordinate and monitor is essential. 
• Completion of on-farm development (OFD) works is just the beginning of CADA's activities, not the end. 
• CADA should be directly responsible for tasks like irrigation system operation and maintenance, OFD works, construction and maintenance of drains, and enforcement of water management practices. 
• CADA should act as a coordinating agency for agricultural functions such as input supply, credit provision, consolidation of holdings, and marketing of agricultural produce. 
• CADA's functions include environmental monitoring, evaluation, training, and fostering farmer participation. 

Organizational Structure for Command Area Development (CAD)

• Purpose of CAD: To manage and coordinate various development activities in command areas effectively. 
• Organizational Levels: CAD will be implemented through a three-tier organizational setup at the state, project, and field levels. 
• State Level:CAD Department:. separate department for CAD with a full-time Secretary. The Secretary will be assisted by officers from various relevant departments such as Irrigation, Agriculture, Co-operatives, and Agricultural Engineering. 
• CADA (Command Area Development Authority): CADA will be a semi-autonomous body with a Board. The CAD Commissioner will act as the Chairman, holding powers similar to the heads of relevant departments. 

Wings of CADA: CADA will have specialized wings for: 

• Human Resource Management
• Financial Management
• Cooperatives
• Agriculture

 Each wing will be headed by an expert in the respective field. 

• Project Level: Specific projects will be managed under the guidance of CADA, ensuring that the objectives of CAD are met effectively. 
• Field Level:Construction Wing: Under the Superintending Engineer, responsible for carrying out OFD (On-Farm Development) works, Warabandi (water allocation), etc. 
• OCM Wing: Also under the Superintending Engineer, responsible for maintaining headworks and the delivery system of outlets. 
• Agriculture Wing: Under the Joint Director of Agriculture, consisting of agronomy and input supply units. 
• Environment Wing: Under an Executive Engineer, responsible for studying waterlogging and salinity issues. 
• Coordination and Strengthening: CAD authorities will coordinate and strengthen extension activities, enforce suitable cropping patterns, and ensure timely supply of credit and inputs like improved seeds and fertilizers, especially to weaker groups in the command area. 
• Linkage Activities: CAD will link activities such as construction of link roads, market centers, agro-processing, and agro-industrial ventures to establish effective forward and backward linkages, promoting higher development rates in the command area. 

Monitoring 

Monitoring is crucial for managing the programme effectively and ensuring that it stays on track to achieve its objectives. It allows for timely diagnosis and improvement of ongoing projects. An efficient monitoring mechanism enables mid-course corrections, steering the programme in the right direction. 
Therefore, establishing a monitoring cell at the project level is essential. This cell should focus on various aspects: 

• Technical Monitoring: Assessing water availability, channel carrying capacity, performance of structures, water distribution, groundwater table, salinity and soil status, and drainage. 
• Financial Monitoring: Tracking financial allocations and expenditures for targeted activities and their execution rates. 
• Physical Monitoring: Evaluating various OFD works and software activities. 
• Operational Monitoring: Measuring potential created and utilized, area under different crops, water delivery to cultivators, efficiency, water demand, and conducting farm management surveys to determine crop-wise irrigated area, crops grown in the command area, input availability and use, crop yields, and farm income. 

Evaluation of Command Area Development

Command Area Development Evaluation involves assessing the value and worth of a programme or scheme. The primary goal of evaluation is to determine the extent to which project objectives have been achieved or are likely to be achieved. This process involves assessing achievements, identifying constraints, and suggesting necessary changes in policy and programme content to optimize benefits. 

Importance of Periodic Evaluation

• Periodic evaluation of projects every five years is essential to study the impact and realization of basic objectives. 
• Bench mark data needs to be generated and updated through a reliable data base for effective evaluation. 
• Establishing a network of centres for scientific data collection and farmer feedback in the command area is crucial for evaluation and planning. 

Training of Farmers and Engineers

Training needs for farmers, field functionaries, and officers of the Command Area Development Authority (CADA) are currently met through institutes like WALMI and the Administrative Staff College of India, as well as organizations like WAPCOS. However, there is a continued need for vigorous training programmes in the future. 

Suggested Training Initiatives

• Conduct 3-4 training courses at the State level for middle-level officers and an equal number at the National level for senior officers each year. 
• Provide intensive orientation training to lower-level hierarchy officials such as Canal Inspectors and Watermen if they have not received training at the recruitment stage. 
• Establish at least one farmer training centre in each project to educate farmers on water storage, water management, and crop water requirements. 

In-Service Training for Engineers

• Institutions like the Water Resources Development and Training Centre (WRDTC) and the University of Roorkee, U.P., also provide training to in-service engineers. 

The objectives of the Command Area Development programme, set at its inception, remain valid. However, the lack of a unified setup to integrate irrigation and agricultural activities, along with insufficient farmer involvement, has resulted in only marginal achievements. A suggested organizational setup with clear responsibilities and powers, backed by an efficient water management system under one agency, is necessary to meet the programme's objectives substantially.

Summary 

• Command Area Development Programs are designed to ensure the quick use of potential agricultural resources and maximize crop production on irrigated lands.
• These programs play a key role in enhancing the productivity of lands that receive water through canals.
• The initiative includes carrying out 'on-farm' development works to improve farming practices directly on the fields.
• In addition to farming improvements, the program also focuses on building roads and establishing processing and marketing facilities, which are essential parts of the CAD Programs.
• The slow progress in these areas can be attributed to various factors, but a significant issue is the lack of coordinated efforts among stakeholders.
• To enhance the use of available resources and boost agricultural output from irrigated lands, the CAD program has been initiated across the country.