Articles by V Ratna Reddy

Poorly designed compensation policies, inadequate planning, the entry of land sharks and the weak power of rural communities are resulting in a deterioration of the living conditions of those displaced by land alienation from the fringes of cities. Field surveys on the fringes of Hyderabad-Secunderabad, where a vast number of infrastructure projects, special economic zones and institutions are planned, show the adverse impact of involuntary displacement. A major correction of land acquisition and compensatory policies is called for, lest the simmering resentment expresses itself in open conflict.



Often lack of political will is identified as the main reason for the tardy progress in irrigation reforms at the state level. Andhra Pradesh, however, has demonstrated the political will by initiating widespread irrigation reforms through legislation. This paper, based on the situation six years after Water Users' Associations came into existence, makes an attempt to provide a comprehensive view on the status and functioning of these associations in the state. It is argued that though substantial amounts of money were spent on the reform process, money was used mainly for improving the ailing irrigation systems rather than strengthening formal institutional structures. Despite the fact that WUAs are promoted as non-political institutions, "elite capture" and political involvement dominate their functioning. More importantly, devolution of powers to WUAs has still not taken place, as most of the important functions like assessment, collection of water charges, sanctioning of works, etc, remain in the hands of the irrigation department.

In several regions of India, especially the arid and semi-arid regions, environmental degradation is nearing irreversible levels even as replacement costs continue to rise. Land degradation occurs mainly in the form of water-induced soil erosion, though agrochemical and wind erosion have also made an impact. This paper seeks to measure the extent of damage due to land degradation of various types and their expected trends in the future. Besides examining trends in land-use pattern across states and estimating the extent and costs of degradation, it also explores the linkages between degradation and policy and institutional environment in the context of agro-climatic regional planning.

This paper looks at various aspects of education in an effort to pinpoint the reasons for the poor performance of the sector. Though Andhra Pradesh is doing better in school density, size and distribution of habitations, student-teacher ratio, etc, declining allocations for education in successive budgets could undermine these gains. The non-formal system has thus far proved to be ineffective and for the state to achieve genuine literacy, it is the formal sector that needs enhanced investment.