29 October 2012: The Global Water Forum (GWF) has published a discussion paper on the replacement of traditional irrigation systems with private wells in Tamil Nadu, India. The paper highlights the dramatic increase in the use of private pumps and wells from a share of 26% of total irrigated area in 1960 to 54% in 2005.

Authored by Kei Kajisa, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the Philippines, the paper emphasizes the impact of private wells on groundwater levels and calls for the restoration of traditional community water management practices including collective tank management.

However, the paper notes that only those with high income can afford to construct private wells and the decline of the communal tank systems disadvantages the already impoverished. It underscores that open access to ground water resources by private users has resulted in the over-exploitation of the resource. The paper concludes that eliminating free electricity for agriculture or setting a progressive sales tax for larger pumps and deeper wells could provide revenue for tank rehabilitation projects, while reducing the exploitation of groundwater resources.

GWF is part of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). [Publication: An Assessment of the Replacement of Traditional Irrigation Systems By Private Wells In Tamil Nadu, India]