Irrigation Subsidies in Karnataka: A Growing Constraint for Reforms

Over the last three decades Karnataka has focused more on creating irrigation potential. Financially this has resulted in spending more on creating capacities without a proportionate increase in revenue generation, leading to significant cost and time overruns. This paper has estimated budgetary support at macro level and recovery levels of water charges, by reviewing the unrecovered costs and growing liabilities of the irrigation sector. It has also looked at implications and possible options for bailing out.