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

Organizational Overview

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

Context

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.

Bad Gir Jha Kum Kha Kot Khe0

50

100

150148 139

103119

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91 99

Ext

ract

ion

rat

e (%

)

CGWB, 2009 (Raj) and 2010 (Uda)

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 MANAGEMENToIdentified 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