Assessment of Barriers to Canal Irrigation Efficiency for Sustainable Harnessing of Irrigation Potential

Currently, irrigation consumes approximately 84 per cent of the total available water in India and is predicted to remain the dominant water user. This study assessed the barriers to canal irrigation efficiency in Jharkhand State of India. Through an extensive review of the literature and expert consultation, the study classified the barriers into five primary categories: Resource System, Legal and Institutional, Financial Barriers, Capacity Building, and External Environment. This study applied an integrated approach using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process, and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory approach to assess the issues prevailing in canal irrigation efficiency. The experts were selected based on their expertise and knowledge, and they provided their preferences on the weighting of the models for applying the three methods. From the study, it can be inferred that more attention is needed to reduce Financial Barriers to improve the overall performance of irrigation projects. This necessitates adequate government funding and collection of water rates. The lack of government support/funding and low collection of water charges make WUAs financially unviable and unable to bear the Operation and Maintenance costs and incurs high maintenance costs, resulting in capital loss.