The common pool resource in which everyone has a stake today is groundwater, on which rural India has come to depend overwhelmingly. Most NREGS investments, on private or public land, contribute to ground-water recharge as a significant spillover benefit. Desilting village ponds or digging new ones, cleaning field channels, digging farm or fish ponds – all contribute. It is in this context that the furore over using NREGS funds on private lands needs to be viewed. If building and/or desilting farm/fish ponds or irrigation channels under NREGS on private lands promotes durable assets through better supervision by owners and enhanced groundwater recharge, there may be merit in supporting such investments. The writer is a senior fellow at the International Water Management Institute.
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Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/ed
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