Water Resource Management : Riparian Conflicts, Feudal Chiefs and Hyderabad State (1901-1956)

Contents: Preface. Glossary. 1. Introduction. 2. Water management policy of the state: minor irrigation. 3. Management of river waters: reservoirs and dams. 4. Water resource management: an assessment. 5. Conclusion. Bibliography. Index.

"Hyderabad state, before the independence of India, covering an area of 82,698 sq. miles, with 16 districts was an extensive plateau with an average elevation of about 1,250 feet above sea level. It was divided between two equally great trappean regions, corresponding to the geological and ethnological aspects of the state, which divided the region, viz., the Godavari and Manjira, separating as they do the Maratha race from the Telugu and Kanarese people of the south, the region of trappean rocks of the north and west from the granite and limestone region of the south and east; and the land of wheat and cotton from the land of rice and tanks.

Natural resources like water, forests and minerals were in plenty. The local communities and the administration of the Nizam played a significant role in the use of these resources to strengthen ecological and social conditions. Though water is a renewable resource, the demands of a growing population and the increasing needs of agriculture, industry and urban society requires a scientific and organized management of the waters.

This very timely and critical study looks at the management of the vast water resources under the Nizam in the first half of the twentieth century and draws lessons from it that present-day policy makers can ill ignore. This volume is invaluable for scholars working on modern history, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, colonial history, water resources, environment and ecology." (jacket)