IRRIGATION AND POWER 341
EXISTING DEVELOPMENT 20. Most of the electrical installations in India in the early years were established for meeting the domestic and industrial needs of urban areas. The first large station for the supply of electric power was erected in Calcutta about the end of the last century and in the next two decades similar power supply stations were established in other large towns. These were nearly all thermal stations. The first hydroelectric station in India was erected at Sivasamudram in Mysore in 1902. This was followed by the Tata hydroelectric stations for the Bombay area. The progress of public electricity installations in the country since 1900 is shown in Figure 2. It will be seen from this that upto 1920 progress was rather slow, but after that date, the industry has seen rapid and continuous expansion. During the twelve years since 1939, the total electricity generating capacity has nearly doubled-from about 1 million kW. in 1939 to 1.71 million kW. in 1950. The total electricity generated (see figure 3) has also increased from about 2500 million kwh. to 5100 million kWh. during the same period. Approximately 60 per cent. of the electric generating capacity is in coal burning stations, 32 per cent in hydro-electric stations and the remainder in oil burning stations.
A comparison of Figures 2 and 3 shows that although the installed capacity of hydro installations is about 60 per cent that of the steam installations, the units generated by the hydro-electric plants are about 110 per cent of those generated by the latter. The existing pattern of development of public electricity undertakings is indicated in the following table which shows the installed capacity and power generated by different categories of public electricity supply undertakings:
342 THE FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN
21. In addition to the public utility power stations described above, there are a number of industrial and railway installations having their own power plants. The total generating capacity of these plants was approximately 588,000 kW. in 1950. Including these stations the total electric generating capacity in the country in 1950 was approximately 2.3 million kW., of which 1.7 million kW. was in thermal stations (including oil burning plants) and about 560000 kW. in hydroelectric plants.
22. Important particulars of major power projects in the country are shown in Table 3. In Bengal and Bihar, where the coalfields are located, most of the electricity generation is from coal., whereas in Bombay as well as in south India, where coal has to be transported over long distances, hydroelectric development predominates. Outside of these areas, electric development consists generally of thermal stations supplying urban areas or particular industries. In the Punjab (I) and western U. P., however, there are two important hydro- electric stations one at Jogindernagar and the other forming part of the Ganga electric grid. Table 4 shows for all States the installed capacity of power plants and the per capita generation of electricity. It will be seen that Bombay, Mysore and West Bengal are more developed than other parts of India, the most backward being Orissa and Assam.
23. It was mentioned earlier that electric supply undertakings were set up in the first instance for supplying the domestic and industrial needs of urban areas. This urban bias of the industry has persisted to a large extent. The two cities of Bombay and Calcutta alone consume about 40 per cent. of the total electricity generated in India. The following table shows the availability of electricity in 1950 to towns and villages in India :
Total Number of Percentage
Population number towns or of towns
range of towns villages or villages
(1941- or with with
Census) villages public public
electricity electricity
supply supply
to total
Over 100,000 49 49 100.00
100,000 50,000 88 88 100.00
50,000 20,000 277 240 86.64
20,000 10,000 607 260 42.83
10,000 5,000 2367 258 10.86
Below 5,000 559062 2792 0.50
It will be seen from the above that all towns with a population of 50,000 and over, and most of those with population above 20,000 are supplied with electricity. Rural electrification on the other hand, has made very little progress. Out of approximately 560,000 villages in the country, only about 3,000 or one in about 200 is served with electricity. This development, moreover, is confined mainly to Mysore, Madras and U.P. and is associated in each case with the development of Hydro-electric power.
IRRIGATION AND POWER 343
NEED FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT 24. Situated as India is geographically, with a tropical or sub- tropical climate with practically no rainfall over a large part of the year and uncertain rains during the monsoon months, successful cultivation is not possible in many parts of the country without the aid of irrigation. In the absence of irrigation facilities, large areas produce only a catch crop depending on rainfall alone, which as explained above, is often deficient and unevenly distributed from the point of view of agricultural requirements. It is not surprising, therefore, that the average yield per acre of cultivated area is very low. With the provision of irrigation facilities the yield per acre can be increased considerably. In some areas this increase may be of the order of 50 per cent. but in areas of low and uncertain rainfall this increase may be 2 to 3 times the yield from unirrigated lands ; also large areas of cultivable land, now barren and lying waste can be cultivated and put to productive use if irrigation facilities are provided. The quantity of water and the frequency of irrigation required to mature crops vary in different parts of the country. In some areas like parts of Rajasthan, nothing will grow Without the artificial application of water. In others, like Assam, where rainfall is plentiful, little irrigation is necessary and the problem, generally speaking, is one of draining the land for cropping. Between these two limits, there is a wide range of variation in the nature and quantity of irrigation required to mature a crop. In some areas, irrigation works are required, as a standby, to be used once probably in two or three years during a drought and at others for some of the more valuable crops or only in the period just before the rains set in. There are large tracts, however, particularly in Rajasthan, Punjab, western U.P. and parts of the Deccan, where irrigation is necessary for cultivation and is required all the year round. Table 2 illustrates the varying extent of irrigation practised in different parts of the country.
25. Apart from the rainfall-its shortage and abnormal distribution-floods, hailstorms, frosts and other vagaries of the season also affect India's agriculture. Other causes that contribute to a low yield include uneconomic units of cultivation, lack of fertilizers or manure, the use of bad seed, etc. The pattern of cultivation that has developed under these conditions. is generally of an uneconomic type and does not provide adequate employment for those engaged in agricultural pursuits. Over large areas of the country only one crop per year can be grown-during or after the monsoon rains. But where adequate irrigation facilities are available, the pattern of agriculture is different. Two crops can generally be grown and in places, even three. Also, it is not necessary for the cultivator to restrict himself to the particular crops that can be matured during the two or three favourable months of the year ; he can look ahead and plan a scheme of cropping that will keep him busy all the year round. He has also the incentive to improve his method of cultivation-use improved seeds and manures and practise crop rotation etc., because he is assured of his efforts bringing results. The supply of irrigation can thus change the entire agricultural pattern of large parts of the country and lead to increased production from land and increased employment for the cultivator.
344 THE FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN
THE QUANTUM OF DEVELOPMENT NECESSARY 26. Irrigation-The population of India has been increasing very rapidly during the last few decades. Between 1901 and 1951, there has been an increase of over 120 millions from 235.5 millions to 356.9 millions-in the population of the areas comprising the present Indian Union. Agricultural. development has, however, been comparatively stagnant during this period, with only a small increase in cultivated area. The following table shows the quinquennial averages of areas cultivated and irrigated in the provinces of undivided India (excluding Burma) during the last half century.
Total area Area irrigated Total area
Average for five years cultivated by Government irrigated
works
(Million acres)
1896-1900 179.6 16.0 29.6
1901-1905 192.9 18.6 32.5
1906-1910 204.5 21.2 39.4
1911-1915 207.7 23.5 44.5
1916-1920 203.9 25.9 45.5
1921-1925 208.4 25.8 46.0
1926-1930 209.4 27.2 46.8
1931-1935 210.0 28.1 48.8
1936-1940 212.0 30.5 54.5
1941-1945 216.6 33.6 58.1
It will be seen that between 1906 and 1935 the cultivated area remained more or less constant at 205-210 million acres. The only increase in production during this period was due to the increase in irrigated area which meant assured crops and increased outturn per acre. Some new lands came under irrigation and lands which produced indifferent crops were given up. The total irrigated area increased from about 30 million acres to 58 million acres, or nearly doubled, during the half century 1896 to 1945. The area irrigated by government works increased somewhat more rapidly-from 16.0 million acres to about 34.0 million acres-during the same period. But the increase in production on account of new irrigation facilities was more than counter-balanced by the increase in population.
27. The partition of the country in 1947 made the food problem worse for the Indian Union, as large parts of the highly developed canal-irrigated areas were included in Western Pakistan. Of the total of 400,000 cusecs of water carried by the canals of undivided India, nearly half is carried by the canals now in Pakistan and of the total of 24 million acres of land irrigated by State-controlled canals in undivided India, a little more than half now lies in Pakistan. This has added to the seriousness of the food situation in the Indian Union. With 18% of the population of undivided India Pakistan has 23% of the total area,32% of the rice,35% of the wheat and 25% of all the- foodgrains of undivided India. It has been estimated that the territories comprising, India depended, prior to the partition, for about one million tons of foodgrains annually on the areas now in Pakistan.
IRRIGATION AND POWER 345
28. The food problem has been dealt with elsewhere ; it is sufficient here to state that India can produce all that is needed to ensure progressively improving standards of nutrition for its increasing population.
(i) By utilising its water resources to the fullest extent practicable. The Planning Commisson has calculated that it will be necessary to double the area under irrigation within the next 15 to 20 years if the food problem is to be solved.
(ii) Secondly and concurrently with this, by improving the standards of agricultural practice through the application of the results of scientific research to agriculture.
29. Power-Cheap electric power is essential for the development of a country. In fact, modern life depends so largely on the use of electricity that the quantity of electricity used per capita in a country is an index of its material development and of the standard of living attained in it. Apart from its use in industrial undertakings, electricity has a remarkable diversity of application. Electricity can provide cheap power for pumping water for irrigation and for numerous operations in agriculture and in the home. Extensive use of electricity can bring about the much needed change in rural life in India. It cannot only improve methods of production in agriculture and encourage cottage and small scale industries but can also make life in rural areas much more attractive and thus help in arresting the influx of rural population into cities.
30. The use of electricity in India is very limited at present. The average per capita consumption of electricity is only 14 kWh per year (as compared with 1100 kWh in the United Kingdom, 2207 kWh in the United States of America and 3905 in Canada) and in a number of States the average is below one unit per year (see Table 4). Only five States have a per capita consumption higher than the average mentioned above for the country as a whole. Apart from this as stated already in paragraph 23 above, the development of power in India is unbalanced as between urban and rural areas. About 3% of the country's population in six large towns get the benefits of 56% of the total public utility installations.
31. There are many areas where the need for more electricity is immediate. In these areas, the growth of plant capacity has not been able to keep pace with the growth of load since 1940. There is an acute shortage of power in the Bombay area, Delhi, parts of Uttar Pradesh, Madras and West Bengal. To meet the normal growth of load, which received an impetus during the years of the war, all available spare capacity was put under operation and in many installations there is no stand-by plant. During the years of war and after its end, it has not been possible to obtain additional plant or replacement. Several restrictions have had to be imposed on new connections and- devices like staggering of holidays and of working hours have had to be adopted to meet the minimum-demands of industry. The economic development of the areas concerned is thus under check.
346 THE FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN
Apart from the above many of the generating units have outgrown their useful life and need replacement. Of the total installed capacity of 1,004,000 kW of public utility steam plants, it has been estimated that over 100,000 kW would have been in service for more than 25 years and would have to be retired now or in the near future.
32. Electricity has a great scope in India in the development of agriculture and related activities. Since 1933 when State tube-well schemes were first taken up in Uttar Pradesh, there has been an increasing demand for electricity for tube-well pumping. Further, as a part of the " Grow More Food Campaign ", pumping units have been install on rivers or wells for agricultural purposes. The supply of cheap electric power is essential for large scale development of tube- wells or lift irrigation from rivers. In 1948, about 35% of the electric energy generated by the Ganga. Canal Grid in Uttar Pradesh (about 61 million kWh) was utilised for pumping of irrigation supplies with about 2,200 tube wells, owned and operated by the State. In Madras and Mysore, irrigation pumping is mostly done from open wells or tanks. In 1949 there were about 12,500 such consumers in Madras State alone,and they took about 11.2% of the energy sold by the public utilities. About 20,000 applications for further connections are stated to be on, the waiting list because of the shortage of plant capacity. In Travancore-Cochin, electricity is in use on a large- scale, for de-watering of marshy lands. An idea of the growing importance of the use of electricity for agricultural purposes can be had from the following figures which show the trend in consumption of electricity for irrigation and agricultural de-watering in the Indian Union in recent years.
Consumption in million kWh
Year for irrigation and agricultural
dewatering.
1939 64
1945 93
1947 125
1949 150
There are also other agricultural operations for which electricity will be in demand as people are trained in its use-viz., processing of agricultural produce, cold storage, preservation and canning of fruit and farm produce, dairy farming, poultry breeding. Cottage industries can be developed on an economic basis with the provision of electricity to. rural areas and by the use of electrically worked appliances or small units of machinery.
33. Other water uses-Transport of goods by water is generally cheaper than transport by rail. Also, in times of emergency, alternative means of transport are of great importance to the defence and security of the country. With the storage of flood waters by dams and their gradual release for purposes of hydroelectric generation, new possibilities have been opened up for the development of inland transport. In every river valley development the possibilities of inland navigation must be investigated and integrated with the overall development.
34. The damage which occurs every year on account of floods has been referred to earlier. Destruction of crops and dwelling houses and dislocation of communications by floods are a normal feature in certain riverine areas, specially in Assam, Bihar, Bengal, parts of Uttar
IRRIGATION AND POWER 347
Pradesh and Orissa. In southern and central India, tanks breach annually due to heavy and uncontrolled floods and are rendered unserviceable. The total loss to the country directly due to these floods and indirectly through loss in production has not been estimated but it is admittedly heavy. As already stated, flood control measures must be considered as a part of river valley development in case of each multi-purpose project.
35. The problem of soil conservation which has received little active consideration in India until recently, has been dealt with in an earlier Chapter. Here it is only necessary to emphasise the importance of soil conservation in the development of water rsesources and in extending the useful life of reservoirs, made by the construction of high dams. Unless special measures are taken in the catchment area above these dams to reduce, by suitable soil conservation measures, the washing away of soil by rain water, the detritus carried by flowing water will be deposited in these reservoirs and their capacities seriously impaired. Such measures should form an integral part of every large irrigation project.