Co-management of Electricity and Groundwater: Gujarat’s Jyotirgram Yojana

1. Co-management of Electricity and Groundwater: Gujarat’s Jyotirgram Yojana Strategic Analyses of India’s NRLP Regional Workshop Hyderabad, August 29, 2007 Tushaar Shah

2. These buy irrigation for food security and to absorb family labour Classes of Irrigators in India Most diesel pump irrigation is in Eastern India. Own and rented gen-sets Gross revenue & Irrigation cost/ha Rented diesel pump Electric pump purchase 7-8 mha Own diesel pump 15-18 million Marginal farmers and share cropper families Own electric pumps 12-15 mha 10-12 mha canals & tanks 30-32 mha 20-22 mha Million ha ofirrigated area

3. Distribution of Electric and Diesel Pumps in the Indian Sub continent

4. Evolution of South Asia’s Groundwater Economy Diesel pumps as % of total irrigation pumps • Phase I:1935-1965 struggle for demand creation • Phase II: 1965-1975 early expansion in electric tubewells • Phase III: 1975-2004 take-off in GW irrigation under flat tariff • Phase IV: 1985-98: de-electrification of rural eastern India • Phase V: 2002-todate- reversal under energy squeeze-immiserizing.. 12 m electric and 9 m diesel Pumpsets in use. 230 km3 of gw use/year >80-100 m ha served with supplemental irrigation with gw; 1 in 4 cultivators has a tubewell; 2 of The remaining 3 buy pump irrigation service

5. In “electrified” India, the energy-irrigation nexus has become a battle of wits between farmers and ‘reformers’ Diesel pumps as % of total • GW stress is ridiculously simple to ease. Price power at marginal cost of supply. • Irrigated area would fall by 15-18 million ha; • Farmers know this; so they have repeatedly organized to protect irrigation livelihoods; and challenged reforms. • Electricity Board’s default response: treat agriculture as a residual customer. • Farmer response:[a] agitate; [b] use capacitors to convert 2-phase power to non-farm users into 3 phase to run motors. Policing on 12 million tubewells costly. • ADB-World Bank solution: meter tubewells, charge at MC, improve power supply. Farmer suspicious. • Some CMs got misled, and lost their seats. • The political fall-out? harakiri • Unquiet equlibrium; farmers unhappy; electricity industry broke; groundwater under stress.

6. Intelligent Rationing as a 2nd Best Option:IWMI Argument2002 • Embrace electricity subsidy to agriculture as a strategy; managed subsidy versus default subsidy • Separate power lines to tubewells from non-farm users; • Control new connections and pump sizes tightly. • Stick to a strict, pre-announced schedule of power supply; provide quality power to farmers; • Give up on metering and MC pricing for now; gradually raise flat-tariff to approach average cost of supply; • Support on-farm storage, reward groundwater recharge, subsidize drip-irrigation; • Target high-quality power supply aplenty on 30-50 days of peak irrigation demand during the year; cut farm power supply to 4-5 hours/day during the rest of the year; power supply to mimic a high-performing canal irrigation system. Superior ‘on-off’ pump irrigation economy in terms of potency, precision, and practicality; and a great deal easier to put into operation at a short notice.

7. Approaches to Intelligent Electricity Supply Management for Agriculture • Agronomic Scheduling • Demand-based scheduling • Canal-based scheduling • Zonal roster • Season-adjusted zonal roster

8. Gujarat’s Pioneering Jyotirgram Yojana ADB’s Power Sector reform loan of US $350 m suspended for Failure to meter tubewells In Sept 2003, GoG launched Jyotirgram Yojana that incorporated All but one IWMI recommendations. During 2003-6, rural Gujarat was rewired at a cost of US $ 260 million. Tubewells were put on separate feeders and SDTs. Domestic and non-farm users were put on separate feeders 24*7 3 phase power was assured to domestic and non-farm Connections; 3 phase, continuous, full-voltage power was promised for 8 hours daily to tubewells.

9. Figure 1 a Electricity Network Before Figure 1 b Electricity Network after Rural Gujarat Rewired under Jyotirgram Yojana

10. Before Tubewells get 12-13 hours of 3-phase power supply of variable voltage, with fequent tripping, at unknown times mostly during nights Flat tariff: Rs 350-500/hp/year Massive use of capacitors to convert 1 and 2 phase power to run tubewells Non-farm users de-electrified because of capacitors Motor burn-out and rewinding the most important part of maintenance cost New connections not available. After Farmers get 8 hours/day of high voltage uninterrupted power at fixed schedules; night in one week, day-time the next Flat tariff Rs 850/hp/year Capacitors out; impossible Non-farm users get 24-hour non-stop single phase power Motor burn out at the minimum New connections allowed at high costs; now rationed; Rural power supply environment :before and after JGS

11. Jyotirgram Scheme’s impact on farm power subsidies Power supply to agriculture fell from 13 b units in 2000/1 to 9 b units in 2005/6 Groundwater draft fell by 20-30%

12. Impact of Jyotirgram Yojana: PerceptionsIWMI collaborative Study

13. The only IWMI recommendation JGS did not adopt..Demand-adjusted power rationing.. High Wastage of Satisfied power and water farmer Supply B Irrigation Needs Low High A Farmer is Power frustrated Volume of subsidy controlled Low Mismatch between power supply and irrigation needs; existing system in which the farmer is frustrated A: A win - winscenario ; power supply is good and reliable, when the irrigation needs are high (Satisfied farmer), and low power supply when irrigation needs are low (Volume of subsidy is controlled) B:

14. JGS’s Lessons Political master-stroke; by creating massive support-base Among domestic & non-farm rural power users, JGS vanquished Tubewell owners’ power and opposition to reform. Metering tubewells would have been disastrous, and reduced Irrigation surplus further. Jyotirgram, especially the improved one with demand-adjusted rationing, has lessons for western and southern states in how to usher in farm power reforms Improved Jyotirgram offers a way to reverse rural de-electrification in Eastern India at a moderate cost. Jyotirgram’s capital cost was 1/3rd Of GEB’s annual loss in 2001/2. In eastern India, JGS plus priority to marginal farmers in new Tubewell connections has the potential for mimicking equity outcomes of land reforms. JGS has taken the fun out of groundwater governance debate. It has Created a switch-on/off gw economy on which state has complete control.