Abstract
Archaeological investigations found the ruins or remains of old irrigation systems, as old as 6th millennium BCE to 250 BCE, in various countries like Mesopotamia and Egypt, Peru, Indus valley in Pakistan. Even water storage systems were built at Girnar, Egypt ancient Persia developed by Qantas in Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Sri Lanka, China and Korea. In India during Vedas time, irrigation was done on small land patches, with anicut on Cauvery and upper river valleys in north India. Water is a prime natural resource and used for multiple uses viz. domestic, irrigation, industry, power generation, navigation etc.. Therefore, water should be used in integrated manner to maximize economic and social welfare. Integrated Water Resources Management??s (IWRM) foundation as a global approach was laid at and after the 1992 conferences in Dublin (International Conference on Water and the Environment) and Rio de Janeiro (United Nations conference on Environment and Development, or the Earth Summit). The Global Water Partnership (GWP) was established in 1996 and became the main social carrier of the notion. The GWP promotes IWRM by creating forum at global, regional and national levels, designed to support stakeholders in the practical implementation of IWRM.
In this paper historical review of irrigation development in India and State of Maharashtra has been taken. Water policy and relevance of integrated water resource management is also studied. Maharashtra state is pioneer to implement Integrated State Water Plan (ISWP) in India. This study also reveals assessment of availability of water and equitable distribution of water in the Maharashtra state.
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