In Malay Peninsula, though rice was

Asian Agri-History Vol. 9, No. 4, 2005 287
For all the tall claims of benefits emanating from the modern multipurpose hydel projects,
they have been confronting a host of negative consequences mostly environmental in nature, besides being cost intensive propositions. The major irrigation schemes of Angkor, as per the critical study of Mc
Neely and Sochaczewski (1988), were undertaken at the cost of forests and wildlife. The inability to maintain massive schemes ended in tragedy and ruins. On the contrary, the traditional small-scale irrigation works have been environmental friendly and peasant-based, inasmuch as they help recharge of groundwater and generate rural employment. The British colonial regime in India was so impressed with the functional character of such traditional irrigation works as tanks and small ponds built by the native rulers that they also developed tank irrigation in peninsular India.
Quite deplorably, owing to the gross indifference of the state governments of independent India and the abysmal ignorance of the local community, several tanks in recent times have been threatening to become extinct. Hailing from the countryside, I have been experiencing an urge to remonstrate against the unfortunate sight of the functionless tanks and to demonstrate against the agonizing plight of the farmers resorting to suicides one after the other, following the futility of the huge investment on sinking deep bore wells. It is quite appropriate to quote Agarwal (from a brief report made available to the
Members of Parliament and State
Legislators in India Traditional water harvesting systems, being simple and sustainable, need to be respected and maintained with the assistance of farmers and also Self-Help-Groups.” Zawawi
(1998), while summing up the environmental issues in Southeast Asia, also favored the
“community-based” water schemes sponsored by the governments and political leaders, or those undertaken by self-help or cooperative organizations based on local citizen management. Having successfully accomplished the long-awaited process of integration of all Southeast Asian countries into Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), the ASEAN-member states by virtue of their commitment to the regional growth and development shall as well encourage the simple forms of irrigation which is the dire need of the hour, especially as they carry great deal of historical significance besides contemporary relevance.
Acknowledgment
I feel very much obliged to express my deep sense of gratitude to Prof. Lakshmana
Chetty, former Director, Centre for Studies on Indochina and South Pacific, Sri
Venkateswara University, Tirupati, Andhra
Pradesh, India for having improved the quality of the paper through discussion and suggestions.

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