APPROACH, METHODOLOGY AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK FRAMEWORK

As referred in the previous chapter, studies on irrigation and the tanks were made by different scholars from irrigation studies, sociology, history, economics and water management. The approaches to these studies vary widely. This chapter discusses the approach taken for this research.

2.1 I

Different approaches are used in the literature to study irrigation systems including the tanks. Gilmartin suggested that the engineers of the British government while developing new irrigation projects adopted an ‘engineering approach’. For example, estimating water availability, quantum required, and fixing the ideal areas for irrigation were done using mathematical computations without any hearing from the locals. According to him, the importance to ‘local knowledge’ or ‘local views’ held by the natives or farmers were not considered in such an approach (Gilmartin 1994). There are others who studied irrigation management projects in Philippines and India and believed a ‘participatory approach’ wherein the users, and how they actually view and use the systems are considered important (Wade 1981; Chambers 1988). Differing from them, Uphoff considers irrigation as a socio-technical process wherein ‘human and physical aspects’ of the systems are involved. Thus, a socio-technical approach envisages

‘knowing’ as it is practiced by the local people with some amount of technical analysis along with social understanding of the systems (Uphoff 1986; 1991;

1992). There are others who study ‘irrigation institutions’ as it exists and functions with or without any formal authority. This is termed an Institutional Approach and studies on tanks were undertaken (Coward 1980; Janakarajan 1989).

Differing from all of the above, Mosse believes technology, participation and management need to be ’placed in the larger social and historical perspective’

(Mosse 2003, 21). According to this approach, the role of history and the

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social/political situation of the area also need to be investigated and understood.

This approach resembles what Ostrom calls the socio-ecological approach (2007;

2009). Though the nomenclatures vary and appear to be distinct, in reality these approaches do overlap for the simple reason that irrigation (or water) by nature involves some amount of technical or technological aspects, institutions, participation, and management.

2.2 I

Most research is discipline oriented. However, “disciplinarity is about mono-discipline, which represents specialization in isolation (Manfred. 2005, 6)”. The research problem in this study covering law and technology cannot be put into any single discipline. In studying tanks and tank conflicts there are many more reasons to move beyond a disciplinary approach. There are several reasons for choosing an inter-disciplinary approach for this research. First and foremost, the tanks are not only technical systems but are multi-use ecosystems where different disciplines – engineering, water management, forestry, fishery and agriculture - converge. Second, the study is about conflicts in these tanks.

Conflicts are sociological and socio-legal phenomena and they have to be studied in light of tanks as a socio-technological system. Therefore, an interdisciplinary approach is taken encompassing the three aspects of this research.

2.3 S

Irrigation technologies in general encompass not only artefacts but also have differing customs, methods and procedures of operations, varying technical designs, agricultural, and water management practices. Tanks are no exception to this. I prefer to adopt an inclusive definition of Technology which does not compartmentalize its components, operating procedures and practice. The integrity of each of them has to be maintained in order to make it function well. Therefore, I define the technological integrity of a tank as completeness in all the needed technical parameters of a tank and its various components.

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For example, a supply channel of a tank even if it constitutes a fraction of its size will be crucial in making the tank live or dead. If a supply channel for a tank is closed or constricted it may not receive the necessary supplies even when it has a good catchment. If a water-spread area is converted to something else it would reduce its storage and hence the irrigation performance. Similarly, a reduction in the designed length of a tank weir may destroy a tank within minutes during peak floods. Hence, any consideration about the tank has to be thought in full in terms of preserving all its components.

Further, most tanks are interlinked water systems. They are hydrologically linked with the tanks above and below either for getting or for disposing water. This is done through the supply channels and rivers. Various technical studies made by technical Institutions such as the IWMI have established that the tanks are interlinked, and hence need to be considered as cascades for studying them.

These studies even suggest such an approach would be helpful in re-developing or rehabilitating tanks. (See (IIMI Studies 1994; Sakthivadivel, et. al. 1996;

Sakthivadivel, et. al. 1997)). Similarly, action research projects funded by the European Commission (EC) in the last 15 years, have treated and considered tanks as interconnected systems going beyond administrative boundaries. They too emphasized the need for considering them as cascades for understanding and developing¹ them (Karuppusamy and Seenivasan 2001). Similarly, Mosse has considered and used such an approach for his research in parts of Vaigai region to select tank chains for socio-ecological analysis (Mosse 2003).

Since there are many tanks and they are spread out across a large area it becomes necessary to find at what scale one must choose to study the systems. In irrigation engineering, dividing a river basin into macro, meso and micro basins of manageable sizes is widely followed around the world. Such divisions are made

1 DHAN Foundation in India, a non-government organisation involved in tank development programmes for the last two decades presently follows a chain of tank approach with a belief that individual tanks in a chain must be developed along with their common supply channels.

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based on the hydrological connections established through the streams and tributaries of rivers. Numerous land, water and irrigation development projects are implemented based on such an understanding around the world including India. The technical assumptions made in studying water systems in a basin is the primacy of hydrologic or watershed boundaries rather than the administrative boundaries defined by history. In the recent years, such a classification is also used to rehabilitate tanks under the projects funded by major donors and governments^2.

Also, classifying micro and macro is not an alien idea even in sociological studies.

The environmental anthropologists and ecological anthropologists have used such an approach to examine the relationships between humans and their environment across time and space. See for a discussion on the growth of micro-macro nexus in studying societies in (Bennett 1998). The emphasis of theorizing from different levels of study is debated and both the micro and macro levels are well appreciated by sociologists. As Geertz said, the goal is to have “a continuous dialectical tacking between the most local of local details and the most global structure in such a way as to bring them into simultaneous view (Geertz 2008, 69)’. This research does take both a micro and macro views of tanks and dependent communities.

In order to have a proper view of ‘global and the local’ Geertz, proposed “a continuous dialectical tacking between the most local of local detail and the most global structure in such a way to bring them into simultaneous view (Geertz 2008, 69)”. This research considers categorizing the interconnected tanks for studying the sociological phenomena of tank conflicts into three levels based on the hydrologic boundaries.

2 IAMWARM programme funded by the World Bank to the Government of Tamil Nadu has such an approach in dividing the basin into several sub-basins that are constituted by tank cascades or chain of tanks. Source: “Sub-basins selected for the project” http://www.iamwarm.gov.in/1year-subbasins.asp [Accessed 20 December 2013].

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1. Macro-level conflicts: Conflicts occurring at a regional level within a basin- say between lower and upper regions within the basin

2. Meso-level conflicts : Conflicts occurring between cascades, conflicts occurring between tanks within a cascade

3. Micro-level conflicts: Conflicts occurring between areas serviced by tanks (locally) or within an area serviced by a single tank.

However, an equal importance with the political boundaries is also given and hence the integrity of the analysis will not be affected by these classifications. As the macro level case study of Vaigai will show the hydrological division of Lower and Upper Vaigai exactly coincides with the colonial divisions of the country based on land settlements into ryotwari area (upper Vaigai) and zamindari area (Lower Vaigai). In law, ryotwaris are considered ‘the government area’ and huge investments for unprecedented engineering projects were made throughout the colonial rule by the government. On the other hand zamindaris were considered estates held by landlords or deposed small kings, and investments made by them in irrigation are rare. Rather there were many legal deterrents for them not to do such irrigation developments because of government monopoly over all waters.

This research treats all the interconnected components of tanks including the tank bunds, sluices, weirs, ayacut, field channels, supply channels and rivers together as part of an integrated tank system. Conflicts may occur independently and jointly in these components. All of them are considered as tank conflicts. The conflicts arise in each of these three situations may have some common elements but may differ in its content, form and consequences.

The following terms are used and clarified here to place the discussions in context. When conflicts arise within a tank area they are called intra-tank conflict.

When it arises between tank areas they are called inter-tank or intra-cascade.

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When conflict arise between two tank cascades they are called inter cascade conflicts.

Intra tank conflicts are between the individuals or groups of farmers located within an area serviced by a tank.

Inter tank conflicts arise mostly due to getting water into their tanks from the common supply channels used by the tank cascade. Most inter-tank conflicts are also intra cascade conflicts

Inter cascade conflicts – When single diversion structure (anicut) is shared by two different cascades there could be conflicts.

Intra regional conflicts – when a river is shared by distinct social and political regions there could be conflicts arising due to interventions elsewhere. Many cascades could be affected and involved.

2.4 C

S

Case study as a research strategy is adopted (Yin 2008). I have taken a historical and empirical approach in preparing these case studies of these three levels of conflicts from the selected sites. These studies explain how and why conflicts arise in these three typologies, based on the analysis of historical documents, interviews with users and personal observations. The selection of Tamil Nadu is based on the extensive existence and practice of tank irrigation in the State. Also being part of the former Madras presidency, tanks found in most of Andhra Pradesh and parts of Karnataka had same or similar laws governing them even today. Hence the selection has its usefulness in understanding tank conflicts in other parts of the country.

The following criteria are used to select these study sites:

i. Basin or the region must be known to be an intensively tankfed area

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ii. Existence of long drawn conflicts involving many questions of law, and technology

iii. Some amount of past literature and research must exist on these selected areas

iv. Modern technological Interventions in irrigation inside the selected area should have occurred.

v. There are policy interventions affecting the tanks that lead to conflicts.

Based on the criteria (Table 2.1), the following sites are chosen for investigations.

Table 2.1. Typology of conflicts chosen for study

Typology Study site(s) Nature of Conflicts

Macro level Vaigai basin Water conflicts affecting the Lower Vaigai region with hundreds of tanks due to technological and management interventions on the river elsewhere Meso level Kothai anicut

system

Water conflicts affecting two tanks and the cascade

Micro levels Around 12 court cases used

Conflict for water, trees, tank space, fishery, at individual tank sites.

The study sites, conflicts, and source of documents are given in Annexure 2.

Macro level case study

In chapter 7, I look at the Vaigai basin, which is known to be a tank intensive basin with over 2000 tanks that benefit from the river and its channels. The technological sophistication is known and appreciated from the writings of many engineers. About the basin, Voelker reported ‘all the tanks have been made that can be made’ in Vaigai area (1893, 80); Nelson remarked “Wherever, water may be, seen, it is quite sure to be water that has been stored up artificially *in tanks+”

(1868, 20 part I) and F. Cotton said Vaigai should be a model for water

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development in other parts of India (1901, 28). Modern technological interventions in the basin include: construction of Periyar reservoir and altering the hydraulics of ancient Peranai anicut to supply water to tanks in Vaigai basin (Mackenzie 1899); ‘River modernization and river control’ of Lower Vaigai (Mohanakrishnan 1997, 175–176); and World bank funded ‘first major attempt *in canal modernization+ in India’ (World Bank 1986, 1)’. Studies in sociology and history in the basin include the study of zamindaris of Sivaganga (Dirks 1986;

1993); zamindari of Ramanathapuram (Price 1994); and socio-ecology of tanks in parts of Vaigai (Mosse 2003).

Meso level case study

Chapter 8 looks at Kothai Anicut system (KAS) in Varadhamanathi, an ancient tank fed area. Technological interventions in KAS include building up of a modern reservoir in 1975. Other major interventions by the government and private include: conversion of a large tank bed for a bus stand in 1994; dumping of municipal sewage and debris inside tanks (1975-2013); and encroachment for 600 houses and various establishments (after 1975). Significant number of protests by farmers in the chain of tanks since early 1960s to save the tanks, and series of litigations between the farmers and the government to save the tanks.

Micro-level case study

This is done based on 12 selected tank conflicts seen from court litigations. Of these number, six are from Vaigai basin and the rest from adjoining basins. The micro level case studies are chosen from visits to courts in Madurai, Manamadurai, Mudhukulathur and Virudhunagar. Over 100 court cases are noted from the suit registers of which 12 complete case bundles were collected for further reading and analysis. From these, nine of them are discussed in this micro-level case study.

The Vaigai case study is constructed using archival documents, government orders and correspondences, government reports, original project documents

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related to the major interventions, judgements related to major disputes, court petitions of the ongoing litigations, farmers’ petitions to government, pamphlets and other literature generated by the agitating farmers, and technical and engineering reports made by government departments, consultants, and research institutions.

Archival work for Vaigai case study was done in Tamil Nadu state Archives, Chennai and in British Library between 2010 and 2012. Reports related to Vaigai reservoir and Varadhamanathi were availed from the respective PWD offices in Madurai and Palani. Rules of reservoir operations and recent correspondences were received from the PWD offices in Chennai and Madurai. Case bundles of ongoing cases related to Vaigai and Palani were received from the litigants and their counsels in Madurai High Court. Minutes of important meetings related to Vaigai reservoir were received from the personal collections of S.M.Ratnavel and DHAN Foundation offices. The field visits, archival work and discussions with farmers, lawyers and other groups fighting cases for all the case studies were done in two stints during 2010 and 2011.

2.5 F

G

D

I

In order to supplement and complement other data collected (Annexure 2) for constructing the detailed case studies personal interviews using a questionnaire (Annexure 6) with experts (Annexure 7) and other active village leaders (Annexure 8) were conducted. These individuals with their detailed knowledge on tank development programmes and running court cases offered valuable insights into the origin, growth and status of tank conflicts. Especially interviews with individuals who were organizing and running court cases and protests were highly useful to understand the process of mobilizing farmers and litigating in courts for tanks.

Focus group discussions were conducted in 13 villages where tank conflicts are noticed and ongoing. These discussions were guided by a list of questions (Annexure 3) and were used to understand the multiple dimensions of tank

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conflicts that are intertwined with local village dynamics such as feuds between neighbouring villages (Annexure 4 and Annexure 5). When the discussions are combined with analyzing the village maps (of 1:5000 size) offered how and why the incomplete records in them become a cause of conflict. Based on the discussions, map reading and walk through surveys Figure 1.8, Figure 1.9, and Figure 1.10 were constructed and used in the study.

Necessary approvals by the University’s ethics committee were received for conducting the interviews and group discussions. Most of them were voice recorded and referred to in the discussions.

The search for data related to case studies was based on visits to archives in Tamil Nadu State Archives (TSA) Chennai, British Library in London, PWD offices in Chennai and Madurai.

2.6 H

Throughout this research a historical approach was followed because the law that governs tanks came after colonization of India at various points over the last two centuries or more. Washbrook observed while studying the historical processes through the study of law that, “…it is not possible to study it only in the courtroom. It is essential to trace the arguments and forces displayed there back to their various origins and consider their situation in the general social context (Washbrook 1981, 650)”. Therefore, in order to trace the development of the law it is necessary to understand (i) the land settlement processes and (ii) various technological interventions in irrigation during this period. The law affecting tanks (as is practiced) emerged mostly as part of the colonial land settlement policies, and judicial interventions by courts. The statute law affecting tanks are comparatively minimal and the administrative law that came up through bureaucratic standing orders remains the most significant law dealing with the multiple uses of tanks, its water, irrigation, fishery, forestry and various other usufructs. On both accounts the law continues to be fragmented, compartmentalized and stagnant with limited changes since colonial times.

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Therefore, a historical approach is taken to find the process in which the law came about as it stands today. (Chapter 5 and 6 deals with this aspect of law) Disputes³ surrounding water and tanks are social realities, and this requires a deeper understanding. In many ways a disputes-focused approach “seeks to isolate and study a particular social relationship called the dispute"(Trubek 1980, 489). The approach is a response to practical needs of understanding the tank disputes that are typical. Each of the disputes discussed here is a lawsuit where precious resources of the parties and the court are spent. An empirical approach in law is needed because my research is concerned with the contextual questions about law. A non-doctrinal socio-legal approach is taken to study the law in a broader social and political context. Going beyond the mere interpretation of law in books, it is attempted to see why and how such conflicts arose in the first place (Chapters 7, 8 and 9 deals with the disputes).

3 Disputes and conflicts are treated synonymously in this research.

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