Transcript Sh. Shailendra Tiwari, Sewa Mandir

Experiences of Water Resource
Development- A presentation by Seva
Mandir, Udaipur
• Founded in 1968
• Present in 626 villages and 56 urban settlements in
southern Rajasthan - 70,000 households & 370,000
people
• 300 full-time staff
• Serving the most disadvantaged in society
Context
oHilly and remote villages, little road
connectivity
o Arid and semi-arid desert (frequent
droughts)
oCommon lands-72% of total area degraded
and contested
oPredominance of small & marginal rain fed
farmers
oArea fares poorly in most of the human
development indicators
Critical Hydrological Features
• 640 mm. annual rain fall
• Mainly seasonal rivulets
and streams
• Major source of water
open wells & hand
pumps
Ground Water situation
• GW extraction- 115% Udaipur and 120% Rajsamand
• High GW depletion and contamination
• Reasons- Degraded and conflict ridden catchments,
mining, shift in cropping pattern- increased pumping,
Inappropriate agriculture practices, individual
sources, etc.
148
150
140
139
Extraction rate (%)
103
119
100
91
99
Kot
Khe
50
0
CGWB, 2009 (Raj) and 2010Bad
(Uda)
Gir
Jha
Kum
Kha
Response of Seva Mandir
•
Harvesting of rainwater
72 surface water harvesting
structures
–
Rejuvenation of 45 ponds
Improve Irrigation Facilities
–
45 Lift Irrigation Systems
–
Lining of water channels
–
5 Gravity Irrigation
Watershed Development
12,000 ha watershed area treated
Augmenting Water-use efficiency, and
promoting human well being
– Promote efficient irrigation
mechanism
– Promote low-irrigation crop
varieties
– Drinking Water Systems, Sanitation
& Hydro-geology initiatives
Response of Seva Mandir…
Safe drinking water &
Sanitation
• Well restoration, tank
construction, revival of govt.
tanks & providing water filters
to remotely located households
•Introduction of of Eco-san
toilets and persuasion towards
behavioral change
Response of Seva Mandir…
GROUND WATER MANAGEMENT
oIdentified 21 youths who are studying local hydro-geology
o Trained youth involved in water resource development
planning at grassroots
Achievements and benefits
• Water harvesting structures
serve as a major drinking
water source in summer for
livestock
• Lift Irrigation projects have
been able to make
participating households food
secure.
• Initiative on drinking water &
sanitation led to reduction in
drudgery and dignified
conditions for women.
• Trained youth provide critical
hydro geological inputs in
integrated water resource
development planning.
Challenges
• Social conflicts over natural resources lead to distorted water
regime
• Ground Water not seen as a Common Property Resource
• Irrigation dependency shifting on GW – increase in disparity among
households based on access to wells/ bore wells
• Increasing understanding of development workers and village
communities on Integrated water resource development process,
needs patient and persistent efforts
Way Forward
• Water to be seen from
overall natural resource
and societal perspective
• Land and Water
contestations ( local
conflicts) to be
addressed
• We need appropriate
institutional set up for
making it happen
THANKS