Water Institutional Reforms in Tajikistan - The Politics of Water Institutional Reform in Neopatrimonial States - page 143

VodKhoz and the Ministry of Energetics, it is officially stressed that there were neither coordi
nation problems nor conflicts between both bodies. Only one official of the MinVodKhoz ad
mitted that the relations between both ministries might have to be further clarified. 229 Others
stated that the ministries complement each other without interfering in each other's work;
hence, coordination was not necessary. In practice, this does not always seem to be the case. 230
In summary, while a Water Code exists, it is not widely applied. It can therefore be stated
that in practice, no coherent legal framework is in place yet. This especially refers to the man
agement of irrigation systems and water rights (SPECA 2004: 46). When normatively assessed
against the principles of good water governance, the national water legislation lacks clear defi
nitions and steps on democratic mechanisms, water rights, and the participation of water users.

7.3.3 Introduction of Market Mechanisms (Irrigation Service Fees)

As described in chapter 7.1.1, government budget allocations to the water sector declined
dramatically. Today, they only cover 10% of those at the end of the 1980s. This is perceived as
one of the most pressing problems in the water sector (see ch. 7.3.1).
In order to overcome the water sector's financial crisis, volumetric water tariffs for irriga
tion water delivery were introduced in 1996 with the Presidential Decree No. 460 “On jurisdic
tion and collection of charge for the exercise of the service of water delivery”. This represents
a change from the former quantitatively free access to water to payment as rule for water
supply. This irrigation service fee (ISF) is not levied for water as a resource but for the water
delivery service. Water as a resource and water use in general are free of charge. Tariffs have to
be paid for the services of accumulation, transportation, distribution, and obtainment of the
right to use water (Water Code §§ 25 and 31). Therefore, only those water users must pay for
irrigation water who receive it from the district water administration ( RaiVodKhoz ), i.e. who use
water transported by state managed infrastructure (channels, pumps). Those who use water
that is directly discharged from mountain springs or by self owned groundwater pumps do not
have to pay. 231
There are no intentions to introduce economic mechanisms for water services on an in
ternational level, although there are sporadic sympathies for the Kyrgyz position and some
indications that it might become more popular in the near future. 232 The new Water Sector
Development Strategy postulates such mechanisms.
In the ISF proposal of the MinVodKhoz, the real costs were taken as basis for the calculation of
a water fee. The government, however, decided on a lower level of fees according to the eco
nomic possibilities of the water users. This fee level covers about 30% of the actual costs
(Kholmatov 2003: 153). The objective was to create awareness first and to then gradually
229 Author's interview with a senior official at the MinVodKhoz , Dushanbe, 08/20/2004.
230 For example, there is a conflict at the Kairakum reservoir: The dam is in the budget of the OblVodKhoz , while the
attached GES is listed in the budget of the Ministry of Energetics. All the costs for dam maintenance have to be
covered by the OblVodKhoz, while the Ministry of Energetics does not contribute even though it uses the dam to
produce energy, which is perceived as unjust by water officials. Author's interview with the director of the Sughd
OblVodKhoz , Khudjand, 09/02/2004.
231 In many areas, villages use water directly diverted from a mountain spring or pumped by a pump built by
humanitarian assistance. These water users do not have to pay ISF to the RaiVodKhoz . However, they usually pay
(mostly in kind) the local mirab who is responsible for the maintenance of the infrastructure that delivers water to the
ogorod , since he is not longer paid by the FSK. The rates vary.
232 Much arable land was flooded for the Kairakum reservoir in Northern Tajikistan. Uzbekistan compensated only
part of the O&M costs.