2nd major source of irrigation in india?

Answer 1

Hey PP,

Tanks seem to be a great source for many years. The ground water, and rivers are the main source.

"Tanks have been the main source of irrigation in many parts of India for centuries and an extensive system of rainwater harvesting structures comprising tanks and ponds have been built and maintained by the people. In recent years these have declined due to ineffective institutional mechanisms and poor maintenance. The Study examines rehabilitation and management of these traditional water bodies, under different scenarios in sixty rehabilitated tanks, in four States of India." 1

"Abstract
Groundwater is the backbone of irrigated agriculture in India. Consequent upon the advent of
Green Revolution in India, the use of groundwater has become very intensive. Despite
negligible public investment in groundwater irrigation, this source of water contributes more to
agricultural wealth and well being than any other source of irrigation. Groundwater irrigation in
India is a function more of demand for timely and reliable irrigation in area with high
population densities, than a function of supply side variables such as availability of
groundwater. This has given rise to unsustainable pattern of groundwater use in many parts
of the country, where extraction of groundwater has exceeded annual renewable recharge.
Groundwater is a so-called “democratic resource” in the sense that individual farmers have
direct access to it. Groundwater based agrarian economies have resulted in unprecedented
growth in rural income and agricultural productivity in many parts of the country. However, at
the same time, socio-ecology of groundwater irrigation, as we call it, reflects a remarkably
similar 4-stage pattern of growth and decline—from a stage where underutilized groundwater
resource becomes instrumental in unleashing agrarian boom to one in which, unable to apply
brakes in time, a region goes overboard in exploiting its groundwater resources. This paper
examines the trends in groundwater use in India over the decades and offers a first tentative
test of the hypothesis that the contribution of groundwater to agricultural wealth creation has
risen faster than the contribution from any other irrigation source. In other words, groundwater
contributes more to agricultural well being and rural wealth than any other irrigation source
per se." 3