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N.2- VELAYUTHAM SARAVANAN, Competing Demand for Water in Tamil Nadu: Urbanisation, Industrialisation and Environmental Damages in the Bhavani and Noyyal Basins (1880s20001), Journal of Social and Economic Development, July - December 2007, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 199-238. The present paper focuses on the major factors influencing water demand in Coimbatore and Tirupur, two cities in India. Population growth, growth of industries, and other institutional arrangements have been found to influence water demand resulting in both ecological and environmental consequences. The author has brought out the issue of competing demand for water amongst nations all over the world and has introduced the concept of sustainability in the context of growing population and the need for an ingenious way of harnessing the earths natural resource like water. Rising demand for water in these two cities have been linked back to the rapid population growth as an outcome of industrialization and inmigration in these cities. Both cities have experienced launch of several schemes like Tamil Nadu Water and Drainage (TWAD) Board in 1976, aiming to draw 88 lakh gallons of water per day as to meet the rising demands for water. But in 2001 per capita consumption of water rose to 150 Litres/day in Coimbatore. The author has brought forward the issue of rising demand for water accompanied by increasing water pollution like the discharge of treated effluents from the dyeing and bleaching units in Tiruppur. Hence in the wake of sustainable development, rising water pollution, institutional failures to check pollution, lack of availability of water for agriculture as it is diverted to other sectors, further posing problems in years of low rainfall and drought, are of grave concern. Chandrani Dutta

N.2- JYOTIRMOYEE KAR, An Environmental Study of Land Tenure, Land Use and Input Intensity: A Case of Orissa, Journal of Social and Economic Development, July - December 2007, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 239-259. This study attempts to determine different factors leading to land degradation. The study of different tenurial practices has been

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analysed in this article with reference to Orissa, predominantly an agricultural state. The review has tried to bring out the impact of tenurial practices from two dimensions, the classical view given by Marshall (1890) and the equal efficiency view by Johnson in 1980 along with others. Three indicators have been selected: effect of land use intensity, cropping intensity and input intensity on land use behaviour. Empirical data on socioeconomic background of the farmers along with other secondary data has been taken to contextualize the problem. Study has revealed that small and marginal farm size predominant in Orissa has been a major cause of land degradation and low farm productivity. High cropping intensity, intensive land use practices have led to land degradation statistically proved in Orissa. Empirical studies have revealed family size, dependency ratio, as important factors in determining land use pattern along with the principal occupation of the household. Lack of off farm employment opportunities force the farmers to depend on agriculture, intensifying the land use, thereby leading to land degradation. Comparisons have been drawn with the agriculturally developed states like Punjab where farmers have large farm sizes. The paper has triggered policy recommendations where suggestions have been made that creation of off farm employment opportunities would diminish dependence on land. Access to credit and micro finance would make the poor households less dependent on land, thereby reducing chances of land degradation. Chandrani Dutta

N.2- V. KATHURIA and A.K. NISHAR, Vulnerability to Air Pollution: Is There Any Inequity in Exposure? Economic and Political Weekly, July 28, 2007, pp. 3158-3165. This paper investigates households belonging to various socioeconomic traits, that are most affected by the exposure to air pollution. This is carried out by first computing a household specific air pollution exposure index for 347 houses around seven pollution monitoring stations in Delhi. This index is then used in a multivariate regression by analyzing the relationship between this index and the socio- economic characteristics in Delhi. The study has two objectives; first, to define and construct a

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household specific index of exposure; and to estimate the crosssectional relationship between exposure and various socio- economic and other characteristics of the population. Log- linear form of model has been used to make the data approximately normally distributed because of skewed distribution at some variables. Also, the log- liner formulations take care of the problem of unequal variation and outliers. The study uses primary data, which includes information on various socio- economic and demographic variables and data on air pollutants collected from secondary sources (CPCB for the period 1999-00). Econometric analysis shows that other things being constant, the economically backward communities are most affected by the exposure to air pollution. The effect is quite pronounced when they are staying in industrial areas. However, the study does not find any evidence of environmental inequity due to religion and social backwardness. Education facilitates defense against the exposure, when it crosses a threshold level. Separate analysis of residential and industrial areas suggest that exposure to air pollution is dependent, though not systematically, on the location of residence, besides socio- economic status. Arun Kumar

N.2- B. CHINNAPA and N. NAGARAJ, An Economic Analysis of Public Interventions for Amelioration of Irrigated Induced Soil Degradation: An Appraisal of Performance, Agricultural Economics Research Review, Vol.20, No 2, July- December 2007, pp. 375-384. The paper studies the problems of soil degradation in the irrigated tracts of Karnataka state. The state has mainly five irrigated areas namely Cauvery, Malaprabha and Ghataprabha, Bhadra, Tungabhadra and Upper Krishna. It also reports the impact of public intervention for amelioration of soil degradation through subsurface drainage technology in the Tungabhadra (TBP) region. The primary data has been obtained from 105 farmers of TBP area which have been analyzed using budgeting, discounted cash flow measures and ginni ratio. The study shows that TBP project has the highest area under soil degradation due to salinity and water logging. It has revealed

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that public intervention has increased the productivity of land and has provided a source of regular income to resource poor households. It has been seen that subsurface technology has resulted in increase in productivity and profitability of degraded soils which shows the immense potential of Sub surface drainage technology. The technology is cost effective, socially desirable and economically feasible. The study recommends that the government should take steps to encourage and educate the affected farmers so as to make them aware of the available Subsurface Drainage technology. Archana Dang

N.2- KUMAR ANISH SINGH, A.K. CHAUDHARY and D.K. SINHA, Groundwater Marketing in Nalanda District of Bihar State: An Appraisal of Performance, Agricultural Economics Research Review, Vol.20, No 2, July- December 2007, pp. 333-344. This study examines the financial viability and cost of groundwater through tubewells in the Nalanda district of Bihar (India). The study is based on the primary data collected from two randomly selected villages in Nalanda district. Through stratified random sampling, a sample of 60 farmers comprising 9 from marginal, 18 from small, 21 from medium and 12 from large farmers are selected. The benefit cost ratio (B: C ratio), net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) techniques are used to examine the financial viability of tube wells in the area. Results reveal that small and marginal farms use their tube wells mainly for hiring , where as large and medium use them mainly for their own purpose during the main crop seasons i.e. kharif and rabi . Cost of installation of tubewells has been found higher by large farmers because of deep drilling. It has been seen that small farmers cannot generate enough cash flow so as to meet installation and operation costs. The financial analysis through B: C ratio and IRR has shown the economic viability of tubewell groundwater irrigation except in marginal farms. The study has revealed that owner seller farms category is predominant in the water market in the study area. It has been seen that participation in water market has negative relation with the farm size. With the development of water market in the area, adoption of new technologies in crop production would

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make the installation of tubewells on marginal and small size of farms financially viable. By providing subsidy on tubewells installation will reduce their dependence on large farmers for irrigation of their crops . Hence stern steps should be taken at the policy level for reducing irrigation cost by providing subsidized electricity , diesel , tubewells installation which would help in increasing agricultural production. Archana Dang

N.2- C.A. RAMA RAO and Y.V.R. REDDY, Economics of Crop Production in Different Agro-climatic Zones of Andhra Pradesh, Agricultural Situation in India, Vol. LXIII, No. 10, January 2007, pp. 577-583. The state of Andhra Pradesh has rich endowments of various resources. This has enabled the farmers to adopt various yield increasing technologies for the farm operations. Consequently, a further progress has been witnesses in the productivity and diversification of agriculture here. However, the extent of such rise both in productivity as well as diversification has been greatly influenced by the agro-climatic features of the state. This study examines the productivity levels and profitability of different crops grown in different agro-climatic zones of the state. The study uses primary survey based on a sample of 15 farmers from each of the 7 agro-climatic zones in which the state has been divided. It also uses panel data for 4 agricultural years between 2000-01 to 2002-04. Data pertaining to household and farm endowments, land use pattern, cropping pattern, input use and productivity levels is collected and put forward at 2003-04 prices to calculate the economics of crop production in each agro-climate zone in the state. On the basis of the survey and analysis the study shows that returns to land from irrigated farming were high in all the zones. Consequently, cultivation of rainfed crops is less profitable. Apart from crop farming, alternative sources of income generation have been explored and developed in areas where crop production is not a viable livelihood source. Smriti Walia

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N.2- D.C. GUPTA, SURESH, A.J.S. MANN and V.K. SINGH, Major Livestock Crop Production Systems and Socio-Economic Conditions of the Farmers in Different Agro-climatic Regions of Rajasthan, Agricultural Situation in India, Vol. LXIII, No. 10, January 2007, pp. 585-591. Agriculture in Rajasthan is highly prone to droughts due to occasional failure of monsoons. Bad or no monsoon combined with market imperfections make the situation even worse. Such a bad situation for farmers having a highly skewed asset distribution to their name gives rise to the vicious circle of poverty. In such a scenario, livestock sector behaves as a life-saver and thus is perceived as a safety net for those associated with agricultural cultivation. Keeping the strong relationship which comes out of this discussion into consideration, the study aims to elucidate the socio-economic status of the farmers living in various agro-climatic regions of Rajasthan. The study intends to identify various livestock-crop production systems in different agro-climatic regions of Rajasthan. This study is a part of National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP). The state of Rajasthan is divided into 9 agro-climatic zones where multistage random sampling technique is utilized to pick the requisite data set for the study. Apart from this data has also been collected through a complete enumeration of households in the year 2001-02 using structured interview schedules. Analyses shows that most of the livestock breeders belong to the category of small and semi-medium farmers, however, with fairly large operational holdings. Also, the land is not utilized upto its full potential because of lack/ poor availability of water in various parts of the states. Smriti Walia

N.2- N. DEKA, Impact of Weather Parameters on the Production of Selected Horticulture Crops in Assam, Agricultural Situation in India, Vol. LXIV, No. 2, May 2007, pp. 51-54. Horticulture is one of the major branches of agriculture that includes culture of garden crops i.e. fruits and vegetables. Horticulture in Assam is characterized by low production and has

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not attained its expected level because of inadequate industrial base and marketing support. Cultivation of these crops in Assam is dependent totally on nature, the pattern of which is quite fluctuating. With this consideration, the present paper is an attempt to correlate climatic factors with horticulture crop production in Assam to measure the relationship between the two. To achieve the objective, single as well as multiple correlation coefficients have been computed from state-level secondary data on 6 horticulture crops and three weather parameters viz. rainfall, temperature and relative humidity. The study shows that the impact of weather parameters on all selected crops was insignificant. However, their relationship cannot be ignored in face of existence of multicolinearity in the data set. Smriti Walia

N.2- B. DAYAKAR RAO, C.V. RATNAVATHI, CH. SHASHIDHAR REDDY, S.S. RAO and N. SEETHARAMA, Potential Alternative Feedstock for Bioethanol in India: Sweet Sorghum, a Bioenergy Crop, Agricultural Situation in India, Vol. LXIV, No. 6, September 2007, pp. 243-249. Sweet Sorghum has a unique trait of high carbon assimilation capability coupled with accumulation of high levels of extractable sugars in its stalks, which can be exploited for its extensive use as a raw material for manufacturing ethanol, jaggery, syrup and paper. However, this crop has not been fully exploited. This paper thus attempts to capture the strengths of and opportunities for the sweet sorghum production and its utilization as an industrial raw material. It also aims to analyse various weaknesses for the large scale production and utilization and the possible threats that could potentially affect its prosperity. The study is based on a SWOT analysis based on prosperity and threats for usage of sweet sorghum as an industrial material. Apart from production and utilization, it also sheds light on the marketing, technical and institutional aspects of sweet sorghum to assist researchers, planners, policy makers, industries etc. to draw appropriate strategies for achieving the respective goals. The study shows that the strength and opportunities of producing sweet sorghum outweigh its weakness

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and threats in India. It is a remunerative crop for dry land poor farmers and a source of supplementary raw material to ethanol industry. However, it faces certain problems which make coordinated efforts of private and public R&D in the area indispensable. Sweet sorghum can thus be of huge benefit for the farmers in dry lands of India, along with having immense potential for boosting the ethanol industry. Consequently, appropriate developmental, trade and policy initiatives are needed in this area. Smriti Walia

N.2- DALBIR SINGH, Who Gains Who Loses in the Game of Groundwater Markets in Water- Scarce Regions: An Appraisal of Performance, Agricultural Economics Research Review, Vol.20, No 2, July- December 2007, pp. 345-360. The main aim of the study is to understand the operations of groundwater markets in fragile conditions and to identify the gainers and losers in the game of water markets in the long run. The data estimated by the department of ground water of state government is used in this study. The study shows that sellers of water belonged to medium and large farms and the buyers to marginal and small farms. Certain well owners having large size of holdings remained out from water business. Water markets have helped in reducing inequalities in the accessibility of groundwater resources, but in water scarce regions, principles of profit maximization is being followed by the sellers. It has been seen that different strategies are being adopted in different regions. The study advocates that water rights should be redefined and nationalization of groundwater resource is the only possible solution for its sustainable development. Hence, effective provisions are required so that water is judiciously used; information system should be made more transparent. A community based action is required for the efficient and effective use of groundwater resources. Archana Dang

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N.2- R.S. SHEKHAWAT, Economic Analysis of Sub- Surface Drainage under Indira Gandhi Nahar Priyojna Command Area- A Case Study: An Appraisal of Performance, Agricultural Economics Research Review, Vol.20, No 2, July- December 2007, pp. 361-374. The main purpose of the paper is to study the effect of water logging on farm income and to ascertain the installation cost of sub surface drainage (SSD) in the pilot area, and to check the financial viability of SSD installed in the pilot areas. In order to study the effect of water logging on farm incomes, two major crops i.e. cotton in the kharif and wheat in rabi season is selected to carry out the analysis .The data regarding cost on installation of SSD is collected from the official record and to assess the financial viability Benefit cost ratio (B: C ratio), Net present value (NPV) and Internal rate of return (IRR) are used. The study has shown that water logging has adversely affected crop yields. The total cost on installation of SSD is Rs 17, 82,564 for whole pilot area of 75 hec. The B: C ratio (2.44), NPV (Rs 34275/hec) and IRR (25.88 per cent). These indicators have found to quite high and have well established the financial feasibility of the pilot area. Archana Dang

N.2- JYOTIRMAYEE KAR, An environmental study of land tenure, land use and input intensity: A case of Orissa, Journal of Social and Economic Development, Vol. 9 No. 2. 2007. pp. 239-259. To understand declining agricultural productivity a primary survey was conducted on a sample of 300 households of 30 selected blocks. In each block irrigated and unirrigated villages were selected since cropping pattern and input use largely depends on irrigation. In sample study it is found majority of households have a marginal holding while almost all share tenants cultivate small and marginal holdings. The literacy level of share tenants was low. Their family size is large along with high dependency level. Majority of households use family members for agriculture operations. The study assumed that chemical inputs in agriculture are significantly influenced by various factors along with tenurial practices. CobbDauglas production function was used to measure the production

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relation. The constant ratio, gross revenue per acres, non-farm income, size of land holdings, ratio of household labour to total labour, age of household, highest education in household, dependant-earner ratio, two regional dummies, irrigation dummy and land tenure pattern demmies were the independent variable used in study. Regression results revealed that independent variables explain nearly 90 per cent of variation in the dependant variable, chemical input. It is also found that large size holding use intense input since farmers prefer cash crops. Besides as land holding size increases family input also increases. Author recommends an increase in access to credit and micro-finance to marginal land holders so that dependency on land is reduced. It is also necessary to create awareness among small farmers and propagate share cropping to reduce intensity of input and cultivation. S. Sreekesh

N.2- VELAYUTHAM SARAVANAN, Competing Demand for Water in Tamil Nadu: Urbanization, Industrialization and Environmental Damages in the Bhavani and Noyyal Basins (1880s 2000s), Journal of Social and Economic Development, Vol. 9, No. 2, 2007, pp. 199-237. This article analyses competing demand for water arising out of urbanization, industrialization and environmental damages in the Bhavani and Noyyal basins of Tamil Nadu from 1880-2000. The discussion starts with a macro view of competing demand for water. Subsequently the author discusses the factors such as population growth, growth of industries and other estatblishments that have influenced water demand in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts that are within the basin. The author has analyzed how these demand factors have led to increased water demand, increase in effluents and water pollution. The industrial growth of Coimbatore and Tirupur districts resulted in growth of population as result of migration of people from neighbouring districts. Consequently, there was rise in demand for water in the domestic, industrial and agricultural sectors. These conditions are compared with the slow growth in local water supply for these two industrial cities. It is also observed that, there is tremendous growth of pollutants in both river

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basins. It was found that the available water is not only declining but also worsening in quality due to the ineffective pollution control measures. Further diversion of water to meet domestic and industrial use has decreased the availability of water of agriculture. The author suggests public and private partnership for the development of infrastructure for water resource use and development at the confluence of these rivers and also prudent use of water by adopting various methods of conservation, recycling and reuse along with the pricing of water according to its true value. S. Sreekesh

N.2- ABDUL SHABAN and R. N. SHARMA, Water Consumption Patterns in Domestic Households in Major Cities, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 42, No.23, June 9, 2007, pp. 2190-2198. This paper explores the nature of water scarcity for domestic household purposes in the seven major Indian cities: Delhi, Kanpur, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Madurai. The study is based on household sample surveys in these cities. The average water consumption in all seven cities was found to be lower than the norms provided by the Bureau of Indian Standards and tenth five year plan. Lower consumption is mainly due to supply constraints in these cities. All categories of households were found facing such acute deficiencies in water, though the low income households and areas suffered the most. Interestingly in spite of such shortages most of the households expressed satisfaction. Certain domestic activities required more water like bathing, washing, cleaning as compared to cooking and drinking. Use of tap water is higher almost in all cities, but it is not the single source of consumption. As the tap water supply is not reliable the households have to depend on ground water, as it is reliable. The share of such households is increasing over time. The duration of water supply from the taps was found to be highly erratic. During the summer months the households had to suffer the worst and many had to depend on tankers to meet their minimal water needs. Perception about the quality of water supply also varied from city to city; e.g. in Mumbai 65 percent believed that water was safe, while only 11 percent in Kanpur said so. Most of the people living in the slum

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areas in all these cities did not use any filter or any other purification methods before consuming water. The paper has emphasized on the rain water harvesting mechanism as the serious alternative for restoring the ground water resources for further exploitations. Almost all the current issues related to water consumption in metropolitan cities in India has been addressed in this paper. Dhiraj Barman