Efficiency Analysis of Irrigation Tanks

Abstract

Village tanks in some parts of India, particularly in dry zones, have been one of the most important water resources on which the rural communities depend on for their livelihood. Though these traditional water harvesting structures provide a number of services like drinking water and protective irrigation, their importance and contribution declined during the post-independence period. Recognising the importance of irrigation tanks for agricultural development, the central government and some state governments of India have taken various irrigation development programmes like tank rehabilitation to improve surface irrigation. The present study attempts to measure the efficiency of the selected 50 irrigation tanks in dry zones in the state of West Bengal in India. The efficiency scores of the selected irrigation tanks have been evaluated using the non-parametric technique of data envelopment analysis (DEA). The study reveals that there is a wide variation in efficiency scores across the tanks with an average efficiency score being 0.688. The Tobit regression analysis reveals that the tanks with private ownership and of smaller size have higher efficiency levels. The study outcomes from this research will be useful for policymakers to adopt right policy in the direction of sustainable development.