Irrigation (Amendment) Act (No. 33 of 2022).

This Act provides for amendment of the Irrigation Act no. 14 of 2019, referred to as the principal Act. The amendments concern section 2 of the principal Act, including the definition of department and of irrigation as any hydraulic engineering driven process, which supplies water to crops or any other cultivated plants, livestock, aquaculture and desired forest trees, and inserting new definitions: agency contract, irrigators, national irrigation scheme, transboundary and inter-county irrigation scheme, strategic irrigation scheme. Section 3 and 6 of the principal Act are amended by inserting new words. Section 8 of the principal Act is amended by substituting a paragraph concerning land management in national and public irrigation schemes. Amendment of Section 9 concerns the appointment of members of board, with respect to gender equality. Amendment of Sections 11, 13, 16 and 20 concerns the substitution of words.
Section 15 is amended by inserting a new paragraph concerning appropriate water use fees structures and arrangements with Water Resources Authority. Section 17 is replaced by a new one concerning administrative and regulatory framework within existing laws and regulations on water storage existing and future irrigating requirements and on irrigation developments planned in accordance with Integrated Water Resources Management Principles, in accordance with agreements between irrigation water users and other stakeholders and in a proper manner as to reduce conflicts on water resources, protect the environment and public health and share water appropriately and equitably for multiple uses. Section 22 is amended by inserting a paragraph on estimated expenditure for the provision of irrigation services. Amendment of Section 27 concerns the development and implementation of a monitoring and evaluation system for regulating and financing of irrigation. Section 34 is amended inserting a paragraph concerning development of irrigation including infrastructure, complementary installations and water harvesting storage and multi-government agencies consultation, collaboration, cooperation and accountability in the implementation of this Act.