Agricultural Water Management Scenarios in the Jaldhaka Watershed, West Bengal, India

The report examines how rural electrification and expanded independent tea production would affect stakeholders in the Jaldhaka watershed. Electrification is expected to increase crop yields and income but risks groundwater depletion and excludes those unable to afford installation. Expanded tea growing offers higher cash income but threatens food security, worker health due to chemical exposure, and downstream water availability.

• Rural electrification would likely increase agricultural productivity by enabling farmers to grow rice outside the rainy season and reducing the cost of pumping water compared to diesel pumps.
• Widespread electrification could exacerbate social inequality, as landless labourers, marginal farmers, and squatters on riverbeds may be unable to afford installation fees or lack the identification papers required for government loans.
• Increased use of electric pumps for 'boro' rice cultivation and other crops is expected to lead to the depletion of groundwater levels and rivers.
• The expansion of independent tea growing in the upstream area of the watershed would increase farmer wealth but could decrease regional food security by reducing the land available for staple crops like paddy, jute, and pulses.
• Expanded tea production poses significant health risks to labourers and pluckers due to the use of herbicides and pesticides, which have been linked to a higher incidence of leprosy.
• Increased tea cultivation upstream would disproportionately affect downstream farmers who rely on deep aquifers (200 feet) for diesel pumping, while those using shallow treadle pumps would be less impacted.

APA

de Bruin, A., Mikhail, M., Brahmachari, A., & Barron, J. (2012). Agricultural Water Management Scenarios in the Jaldhaka Watershed, West Bengal, India. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/agwater/jaldhaka-scenarios_120717.pdf

Chicago

de Bruin, Annemarieke, Monique Mikhail, Aniruddha Brahmachari, and Jennie Barron. Agricultural Water Management Scenarios in the Jaldhaka Watershed, West Bengal, India. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2012. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/agwater/jaldhaka-scenarios_120717.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=de Bruin |first1=Annemarieke |last2=Mikhail |first2=Monique |last3=Brahmachari |first3=Aniruddha |last4=Barron |first4=Jennie |title=Agricultural Water Management Scenarios in the Jaldhaka Watershed, West Bengal, India |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2012 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/agwater/jaldhaka-scenarios_120717.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{debruin2012agricultural, author = {de Bruin, Annemarieke and Mikhail, Monique and Brahmachari, Aniruddha and Barron, Jennie}, title = {{Agricultural Water Management Scenarios in the Jaldhaka Watershed, West Bengal, India}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2012}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/agwater/jaldhaka-scenarios_120717.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }