In the 2004 budget, tabled last July, finance minister P Chidambaram had announced with fanfare the Rs 100 crore National Programme for Renovation, Restoration and Repair of Waterbodies linked to Agriculture (nprrrwa). But not much has happened since. In the 2005-06 budget, presented last month, he restated nprrrwa will be launched in March 2005. This pilot project is “planned for 16 districts in 9 states and will cover 700 waterbodies and 20,000 hectare of additional land”, said the minister in his budget speech.

But little is known about the scheme’s details. The Union ministry of water resources (mowr) has been made the nodal agency for its implementation and its officials reveal, “By the end of March 2005, we plan to release around Rs 15 crore. ” But for states that had submitted proposals under nprrrwa, it has been a long wait. Says E Venkataiah, secretary, minor irrigation, Karnataka, “The proposals submitted last August are yet to be approved.” The guidelines for nprrrwa’s implementation are still being prepared and officials are tight-lipped about its details. Strangely, nobody even knows how much money has been allocated for the scheme. While Chidambaram said Rs 100 crore had been earmarked, the approval given by the Union cabinet mentions the expenditure outlay of Rs 225 crore as central assistance for this Rs 300 crore scheme. Its duration is from 7 to 10 years, and again, it is not clear if the entire sum is to be distributed over this period.


Nobody is clear
According to mowr, the scheme is “expected to raise the issues to be addressed by the National Water Resources Development Project” slated for 2007, whose objectives have not been spelt out. In 2004 , Chidambaram had announced, “We would select at least one district in each of the five regions of the country.” Planning Commission sources say pressure from parliamentarians led to a major change — relaxation of the regional restriction. They say the funds will now be divided among 25 states with 2 districts each. This means 50 districts will share what was conceived for five districts.

mowr sources told Down To Earth there will be no ceiling on allocation to a state, though a limit of Rs 30,000 per ha of command area has been set. With such provisions, no one knows how the fund will be distributed among the states. Also, nprrrwa will not draw funds from existing programmes such as the Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojna, as planned earlier.

The government’s decision to make mowr the nodal agency for nprrrwa raises serious concerns. Rural development programmes are usually implemented by the Union ministry of rural development (mord). Many experts point out mowr has little experience in working with rural communities. Planning Commission member Kirit S Parikh is more guarded when he remarks, “Since a new ministry is introduced, careful coordination shall be required.” But mowr officials clarify, “Water linked to agriculture is irrigation and it demands technical inputs, hence the decision.”

mowr has been quick to make the scheme a bureaucratic-technical ladder.