Tell us about your research work
The research for which I got the award was a bigger project.I have been working on West Bengal groundwater users and irrigation projectssince 2001. I surveyed 4,000 users of groundwater, a main supplier forirrigation in South Asia.
How do farmers of West Bengal face restrictive policies?
West Bengal had a lot more restricted policies ingroundwater than any other parts of India. Because of high cost of electricityconnectivity, Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh per farmer, they were not able tointensify farming activities. From 1981 to the early 1990s, the state had thehighest food grain production among 17 major states of India. But itsignificantly slowed down from the mid-1990s.
In an electricitysurplus state, what prevented the government from providing electricity tofarmers?
The groundwater law “the West Bengal Groundwater Resources (Management, Control and Regulation) Act(2005) “ required farmers to take permission from the groundwater department toapply for electricity connections. There was a lot of rent-seeking and corruption.
You mean to say that there is no electricity subsidy for thefarmers of West Bengal?
Yes, there is no subsidy involved in the state. So, theeconomic instrument is controlling the irrigation pattern in West Bengal. It isnot like Punjab which sets a bad example for policymakers. While we suggesteduse of groundwater, at the same time we had warned that the state should notbecome Punjab. The archaic permit system should be removed and high capitalcost for electricity connection should come down. Now, the state governmentaccepted the findings and decided to give connection to farmers based on aone-time flat fee.
But if you allow farmers to extract groundwater forirrigation as your research suggests, the water tables will go down in thestate from twenty years from now?
I don’t think West Bengal will ever face the situation ofPunjab because of very different hydrogeological and rainfall conditions.Punjab receives 400 mm of rainfall while West Bengal receives 1,500 to 2,000mm.
What would be lessons for other states like Bihar?
Bihar has electricity generation problem. The state needsalternative sources of electricity. The problem of the eastern India is thatfarmers don’t have cost-effective ways of drawing water. That is the mainparadox India has.
