Mudita Raj is a PhD scholar at A.N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies, Patna.
co-author – Dr. Rakesh Tiwary is Assistant Professor at A.N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies, Patna
This article explains a traditional indigenous irrigation system of Ahar-Pyne practiced in Bihar since 5000 years. Ahar pynes can be a huge support in recharging the groundwater alongwith irrigating the agricultural land. During the time of water scarcity or drought conditions these water storage structures can be a source of sustenance for the local people.
Sustainable practices help us to use natural resources in a way that they remain harmless to our surroundings and available for our upcoming generations as well. Water is one of the most ‘in demand’ resources which is required in industrial sectors, agricultural sectors along with household needs. With the exponential growth of the population, the pressure on the water resource is increasing. The gap in the need and availability of water is widening. However, there are a number of attempts being taken at the global level to opt for sustainable methods to use our resources including water resources. Water plays a crucial role in agricultural practices through irrigation systems. Irrigation systems can be efficient, sustainable, eco-friendly and traditional in nature at once. There are numbers of Traditional Irrigation Systems practiced around the world. These irrigation systems function in a close knit fashion based on the local physical conditions such as topography, climatic conditions etc. In other words, traditional irrigation Systems are the organizational units where social groups relate to the environment in which they operate both physically and socially. These systems have a unique local ecology.
Studies have shown that these Traditional irrigation systems are practiced since ancient times. Their operation is based on the collective action of individuals or the social groups where they establish a set of ideas and rules. Social groups relate to the environments in which they operate – both the physical and natural habitat and the socio-political milieu – through the mediation of socially organised activities.
Some examples of such system around the world are Khettaras of Morocco, Acequias of Mexico, Karez of Srilanka, Spate irrigation of Balochistan. A similar pattern of Traditional Irrigation Systems can be spotted in India with variation in their names and style of their functioning. For instance Johads of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, Apatani of Arunachal Pradesh, Phads of Maharashtra Kuhls/Kuls of of Himalayan Region, Ahar-Pyne System of South Bihar etc.
Ahar-Pynes : a well suited traditional irrigation system of South Bihar
The traditional system of Ahar-Pyne is a key irrigation institution of agriculture system of Bihar. It is an indigenous method of irrigation practiced since 5000 years. The origin of the term comes from Magadhi language of Bihar. It was a well managed irrigation system of Magadh Kingdom. Ahars are a type of reservoir with an embankment on three sides and the fourth side acts as the natural gradient of the land itself whereas Pynes are the channels drawn out of a river or the catchment area (fig 1). This system acts as a defence mechanism against floods by channelizing the surplus water to the deficit region i.e. a drought prone region. The water is mostly used for paddy cultivation and the natural slope gradient is also used for Rabi crops after the surplus water is used for paddy. The water is drawn from the Ahars by opening outlets at different heights in the embankments. The legacy of this irrigation system lies in the geographical factors which favour the sustainability of this system. The topography, the rainfall regime and the hydrogeology are such that they make Ahar-Pynes, a well suited irrigation system for this region.
This irrigation system is practiced in 17 districts of Bihar which are Patna, Nalanda, Bhojpur, Buxar, Kaimur, Rohtas, Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada, Jehanabad, Arwal, Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger, Jamui, Lakhisarai and Sheikhpura. In the past, Ahar-Pynes were used in many parts of South Bihar but in the recent decades their coverage has declined. The area irrigated under the Ahar-Pyne system was 0.94 mha in 1930s in south Bihar which declined to 0.64 mha in 1971 and to 0.55 mha by 1975-76.3 and in 1997 the area irrigated by Ahar-Pyne system in whole of Bihar came down to about 0.53 mha. Recent reports inform that in Bihar there are about 20938 traditional Ahar-Pyne schemes. The district wise distribution of Ahar-Pyne schemes was published after census of minor irrigation conducted in 2000-01 and published in 2005. The highest number of functional schemes are in Gaya (6502), followed by Jamui (2449), Banka (2146), Nawada (1488), Kaimur (1330), Aurangabad (1251) and others.
Agrarian structure of Bihar: facets of Bihar agriculture and traditional irrigation
Bihar has a total geographical area of 93.60 lakh hectares with a population of 82.9 million, thereby generating a population density of 880 persons per sq. km (Census 2001). According to the soil quality and climatic conditions of the relevant areas, Bihar has been classified in 3 agro-climatic zones: North-West Alluvial Plane ( Zone1), North-East Alluvial Plane ( Zone 2), and South Alluvial Plane (Zone 3), the last zone being further classified in two sub-zones 3A and 3B. There are around 1.04 crore landholdings in the State of which around 83% are marginal holdings of size less than 1 hectare followed by 10% small land holdings of size 1-2 ha., 6% semi-medium of size 2-4 ha., and 2% medium of size 4-10 ha. Agriculture in Bihar
has remained stagnant inspite of rich soil, abundance of easily accessible water and a rich peasant tradition. This stagnation has been ascribed to several factors such as the state’s colonial legacy, ecological conditions, population pressure and most importantly, the land tenure system. These factors are believed to have constrained the transition of Bihar’s agriculture from a semi-feudal to capitalist production system. Inequitable land distribution and land tenure relations are considered to be the backbone of semi-feudal agrarian structure in Bihar . Agriculture in Bihar is crucially dependent on monsoon. Although around 57 percent of its gross cultivated area is irrigated. According to Central Water Commission, Dept. of Water Resources, and Central Ground Water Board, Bihar has 45.67 lakh hectares of irrigated area against its total geographical area of 93.6 lakh hectares. Minor and micro irrigation have only a limited coverage in the overall irrigation scenario of the State, accounting for only 7.53 per cent of the irrigated area. There has been a huge decline in the culturable command areas of the functional Ahar-Pynes schemes. With the modernisation of agricultural practices, the Traditional Irrigation Practices are also changing. The increasing population, availability of alternative techniques, institutional changes and other reasons have been attributed to shrinking indigenous irrigation techniques. Ahar pynes can be a huge support in recharging the groundwater alongwith irrigating the agricultural land. During the time of water scarcity or drought conditions these water storage structures can be a source of sustenance for the local people. These systems can contribute to the livelihoods of the farmers and lead to rural development provided they are utilized at par. Modern Techniques such as tubewells have given farmers an option to operate their irrigation with their own individual authority. However, these modern techniques might not be reciprocating in terms of groundwater recharge. Since the Traditional Irrigation Systems are relevant even in the contemporary age, they need to be sustained and revived. Many government and non-government agencies through different programmes are actively intervening for their revival. Thus, there is a need to revive the Ahar-Pyne System which were once the life lines of Bihar irrigation system. However, the attempts of revival process can be challenging due to changing physical and social structure, technological advancement, etc.
Learnings from the field
In my pilot visit to the Gaya district when I met the local farmers, they were well aware of the fact that the numbers of Ahar – pynes is declining. They said, the situation in the earlier decades was much different. There use to be a system called Gomaam. It was a community based collective work in which the local villagers and those who were the beneficiaries of this irrigation system used to participate in the maintenance and monitoring of Ahar Pynes of their area. They were majorly dependent on these traditional system of irrigation for cultivation. The scenario has changed over the period of time. The landholdings are becoming smaller which restricts the interest of large groups to participate collectively. Modern techniques (tubewells) can be found afforded by most of the farmers. On the other hand, the people also accepted that these systems can be revived and showed some examples also. The reason is that the topography of south Bihar is such that it naturally supports these indigenous irrigation systems.
Some of the revival attempts by govt and non govt bodies are listed as follows:
Attempts from the Govt. bodies:
Master Plan For Artificial Recharge To Groundwater In India: 2020(Central Ground Water Board Department Of Water Resources, RD & GR Ministry Of Jal Shakti Governmnet Of India):the number of artificial recharge structures in Bihar under the category of (desilting tank+Ahar-Pyne)is 12679 with the cost estimate of 994.10 crores. Emphasis has been given on renovation of traditional Ahar – Pyne System. These structures, if revitalized would assist immensely in water conservation as groundwater recharge in South Bihar. 
Bihar Vikas Mission Agricultural Road Map: Under the Second Agricultural Road Map (2012-17), the Surface Irrigation Scheme (Ahar- Pyne, Tank, Weir ) targeted to increase the irrigation capacity.
Agriculture Road Map (2017-22): continuation of the schemes under the previous roadmap.
Project Jal Sanchay: A model of water conservation— adopted successfully by the authorities in Nalanda district, was conferred the national award for excellence under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Program by the ministry of rural development. Under the project, dozens of check dams were constructed and more than a 1,000 km of traditional Ahar -Pyne irrigation system were dug up and traditional water bodies were desilted and renovated, accompanied by campaigns to create awareness about rainwater harvesting.
Attempts from the non-govt bodies:
The Magadh Jal Jamaat (MJJ): founded by Rabindra Pathak in 2006, a network of individuals working to revive the neglected pynes and ahars. They persuaded villagers to form committees and donate anywhere between Rs 100 and Rs 1,000, depending on the size of agricultural plots they owned, and revived the 125-km Jamune Dasain pyne and 159-km Barki pyne. These two complex channels, rebuilt with help from social worker Chandra Bhushan, brought water from Falgu, a tributary of the Ganga.
DHAN (Development of Human Action): which is working in four blocks which are Tarapur ,Havali,Kharagpur and Dharahara out of 9 blocks in Munger .They promote village level association called Vayalagam and they came forward to renovate the water bodies falling in the administrative boundary.Till now (from 2015 nov to march 2019)they have renovated total 75 ahars and 84 pynes including all 4 blocks.
The ‘Ahar Pyne Bachao Abhiyan’ (APBA): is a civil society led mass movement educating the masses on the role of traditional watershed structures in sustainable agriculture as well as bringing together various stakeholders for rejuvenation and renovation of traditional watershed structures.
Janhit Vikas Samiti,Nawada: which was established in 1985 hasbeen playing a catalytic role In promotion of land and water resources for reversing the trend of degradation of these natural resources along with keeping special focus and revival of traditional water resources such as ahar-pyne.
All the above mentioned attempts show that there is no doubt that these ancient irrigation systems are relevant even today. Their uniqueness in terms of sustainability, low maintenance requirements, having scope of incredible community participation, possibilities to generate source of livelihood, and rural development make them special and hence these systems should be embraced, sustained and revived.
