KHAZANA BAWALI; HISTORICAL WISDOM NEEDING PROTECTION

‘Khazana Bawali’ (Treasure Well) was constructed about four hundred and thirty years back during Nizamshahi rule in western India. Most of the cultivable land in this kingdom was arid and this was probably first public facility for irrigation. Barring negligible small portions irrigated by private wells, agriculture was dependent on insufficient and uncertain rains. Project is said to be once irrigating 1000 acres, but it is gradually on the decrease. Except in the recent past, project was managed by self disciplined beneficiaries. Now, a state department looks it after. Irrigated land was considered to be prize possession. Transfer of ownership was rare. Dry farming and very few army services were the only vocations. They did not generate enough money for purchase of irrigated land. Now, different means have given sufficient resources for such purchases to many. Original beneficiary families could not now resist temptation of lucrative prices. Lands under this project have changed hands. Vehicular assistance has made it possible to cultivate and supervise lands from a distance. Rich peasantry as a class has become influential in political life. This fact has many-sided effects. There is a tendency to flout rules to great personal benefit. Social ethics has lost its primacy and tendency to grab all benefits has replaced it. It has become difficult to enforce discipline and regulate the use of public amenities. Problems, which are posed by the present state of this project are of general importance and are relevant in consideration of similar projects.