10.2190/ES.31.3.a 42H46624L4R7184T 1 Building and Energizing Water Institutions: A Case Study of Irrigation Management Transfer in Gujarat 201 221 20080402 20080402 20080402 20080402 42H46624L4R7184T.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=42H46624L4R7184T 3 D. D. Tewari S. Khanna School of Economics and FInance, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa Consultant, Satpura Integrated Rural Development Institution, Bhopal, India Internationally speaking, irrigation management reform has a history of 50 years, but significant work has only been done in the past two decades. The experience of Gujarat province of India is relatively new and needs to be analyzed. The success of irrigation management transfer programs in Gujarat is attributed to the evolution of institutional rules which brought a variety of positive socioeconomic changes in terms of increased household income and reduced migration from villages—an unprecedented change in the area's history. The study explains how credible institutions were built, how new institutional rules were innovated and applied, how open information flow among the beneficiaries and stakeholders of the program was facilitated, and finally how the program promoted competition by exposing the scheme to the reality of scarce water resources. Some important lessons are gleaned from the scheme. The success of irrigation management transfer depends upon: developing a systematic method of collection of water charges; developing a system of repair and maintenance; developing a documentation system for beneficiaries; developing a responsible democratic governance; developing a culture of learning skills, ensuring a regular reliable supply of electricity; and finally on a culture of institutional endurance. Directorate of Economics and Statistics, <i>Statistical Outline of Gujarat</i>, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 2000. A. Oza, <i>NGOs and Institutional Reforms: A Case Study of Irrigation Sector Reforms in Gujarat India</i>, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, Ahmedabad, India, 1998. Aga Khan Rural Support Programme India, <i>Annual Progress Reports</i>, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, Ahmedabad, India, 1994-2001. Development Support Centre, <i>Participatory Irrigation Management</i>, Compilation of Orders of Government of Gujarat, Development Support Centre, Ahmedabad, India, June 1999. Directorate of Economics and Statistics, <i>Socio-Economic Review of Gujarat State</i>, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 2003. H. Saini, <i>Towards Sustainability of Irrigation Cooperatives</i>, N. M. Sadguru Water and Development Foundation, Dahod, Gujarat, 1997. N. M. Sadguru Water and Development Foundation, <i>Annual Reports</i>, N. M. Sadguru Water and Development Foundation, India, 1994-2002. S. Parekh, <i>Water Resource Development in AKRSP(I)—Programme Areas of Rural Gujarat: Socio-Economic Study of Lift Irrigation and Ground Water Recharge</i>, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, Ahmedabad, India and University of Toronto, Canada, 1997. A. C. Shah, <i>Samdhiala: Story of Development through Disciplined Democratic Process: A Lift Irrigation Cooperative Society</i>, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, Ahmedabad, India, 1991. H. Saini, <i>Why Irrigation Cooperatives Succeed or Fail: A Comparative Analysis</i>, N. M. Sadguru Water and Development Foundation, Dahod, Gujarat, 1999. H. Saini, <i>Training for Lift Irrigation Cooperatives: A Handbook</i>, N. M. Sadguru Water and Development Foundation, Dahod, Gujarat.