Dalvi, Komal

Conceptualising irrigation command as a socio-technical system, this research traces the change in irrigation infrastructure and water use practices in the last three decades in the command area of Nira Right Bank Canal in Sangola, Maharashtra, India. The evidence suggests that the canal command area is dynamic in nature in terms of irrigation sources, infrastructure, and water use practices. In the 1990s, after introducing borewell technology and pomegranate crop, the command witnessed a considerable shift in farming and irrigation practices. The drought-prone nature of the region, scarce and unreliable groundwater, increasing competition for groundwater use, the use of micro-irrigation, and the mismatch between canal water rotation schedules and the irrigation needs of pomegranate crop and soil texture led to the adoption of individually owned farm ponds as intermediary storage. Using pumps and a network of underground pipes connecting farm ponds, wells, and multiple farm plots, within and outside the command area, individual farmers are tapping multiple water sources and carrying water in multiple directions. Documenting the complex and dynamic nature of irrigation sources, infrastructure, and water use practices, the paper reveals the several institutional challenges associated with governing water in canal command and demands a reconceptualisation of canal command. The interdisciplinary STS approach adopted for this research facilitates examining biophysical aspects of irrigation (e.g. sources, infrastructure, soil texture, crop water requirements) and its relation to water use practices and irrigation governance.