IWRA Proceedings

It is a fundamental question for the future productivity and sustainability of irrigated agriculture in many developing countries that which institutional aspects are most conducive to achieving and sustaining high performance in water sector development schemes. In Bangladesh, most of these schemes are designed for flood control, drainage and/or irrigation (FCD/I) purposes. Previously, a large proportion of the total irrigated area receives its water through systems constructed, owned, and administered by government agency such as Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB). In Upazila Parishad Act (1998), a clear and formal institutional link has been made between the Upazilla Parishad and the technical capability at local level, as represented by LGED (Local Government Engineering Department), which itself is a statutory organization under the Local Government Division of the Central Government. The LGED has already been given power to plan, design and implement small-scale ( ≤ 1000 ha) FCD/I schemes. These schemes are later transferred to the local Water Management Co-operative Association (WMCA) for operation and maintenance (O & M). Two such schemes (one FCD and one Irrigation) were considered as the study areas and the institutional aspects of these schemes were investigated. Primary data were collected interviewing different stakeholders in the scheme area using prescribed questionnaire and the secondary data were collected from different government agencies in the study areas. These data were further analyzed to evaluate the agro-socio-economic performance of the schemes and thus to identify the institutional aspects for the water management in small-scale FCD/I schemes. The results revealed that the rural leaders and the articulate people representing the elite, dominant and wealthy groups of the area largely control the local water management and the rate of participation of the overall beneficiaries in the field level.