FARMERS in the orange-growing regions of Warud and Morshi in Amravati district of Maharashtra refer to the area as "the California of Vidarbha." According to the directorate of horticulture, of the 36,800 ha under orange cultivation in the state in 1989-90, 29,000 were in Amravati and Nagpur districts.

To keep pace with the growth in cultivation, the number of dug wells, tubewells and mandis has also been increasing. Hose-pipes stretch for upto 2 km in parts of Amravati district. A 1988 survey by Ashok Bang of Chetna Vikas, a local non-government organisation, showed only 125 tubewells out of 300 in Warud yielded water. More have since been constructed and they are being sited closer to each other.

Says Vasant Futane, a natural farmer in Ravana village, Warud: "Orange cultivation is the main reason for the poor availability of groundwater. Farmers tend to irrigate more than they need to keep on the safe side." Bang says the level at which groundwater is found has fallen in some areas of Warud from 12 m in 1960 to 150 m today.

C N Maggiwa, director of the Groundwater Survey and Development Agency, admits "excessive water-pumping is straining the carrying capacity of areas in the orange and banana belts". In 1984, his colleagues had sounded the same warning. Futane counsels, "Orange cultivation cannot continue at such a pace and, moreover, is not desirable."

But try telling this to the growers. With sustained demand from urban areas, the market rewards those who produce. It is not that the growers fail to see the environmental costs. But their attitude is: "When the rains come, the water table in the wells will rise."

Other costs arise from the orange boom. Monocropping, for example, has pushed up fertiliser requirements. In addition, the main source of boxes in which the oranges are packed are mango tree.

Few alternatives
Little is being done by the government to offer alternatives. Although Dilip Zende, deputy director of the directorate of horticulture, says 22 dryland crops are being introduced under a state employment scheme, they are intended to develop wastelands rather than as an alternative to oranges.

Bang points out indigenous fruit varieties that require less water are being ignored. His organisation's experimental farm is documenting the pros and cons of mango, guava, ber and custard apple, which he says require no irrigation.

"In any case," he adds, "there are factors besides monetary returns, including nutritional value and impact on the soil." He believes oranges cannot compete when all these factors are taken into account.