“The rate of getting one hour of water supply is between Rs 125 and Rs 150 per hour along the Sanali branch, while in Thanawa village of Vadodara district, it is Rs 40 per hour. Diesel/kerosene, however, needs to be supplied by the buyers. As such, the cost for water comes to Rs 90 per hour for a buyer, at the most,” says a report by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

Farmers having fields along the branch or the main canal, have now started buying pump sets directly from the companies, and are selling water to other farmers in the interior. This has also increased the sale of diesel pump sets, especially in those regions where the branch canals have been constructed. The report says that around 75,000 diesel pumps are in use in the SSP command area of Gujarat.

“There has been a 20-fold increase in the number of pumps in the village of Lasundra, along the Sanali branch. There is a concentration of nearly 11 pumps in the 250 metres along the head of Sanali branch,” the study says.

“Last year, more than 1,500 pumps were sold in Ahmedabad district. This also confirms that there is more amount of lifting along Dholka and the Sanali branches. At present, maximum pumps are being sold in the Mehsana and Banaskantha districts of Gujarat,” the report adds.

This trend has also been observed along the north end of the main canal. The report says: “A concentration of 10 pumps along a 100-foot stretch can be observed along parts of the Viramgam and Saurashtra branch canal. People are mostly using low capacity diesel pump sets of 5 hp.”

Devang Shah of Devyami automatic pumps and control Pvt ltd. said the major companies in the business of diesel engine pumps are FieldMarshal, Kirloskar, Usha and Toplane.

Experts have opined that if the government is finding it difficult to construct the minor and sub-minor canals, then it should regularise the lifting of water.

Tushaar Shah, Executive Director, IWMI said: “The original plan did not entail any such provision, but we should think practically. The government should regularise this and charge fee from the ones who are lifting it, if they can’t stop them from doing so.”