Participatory Groundwater Management

Groundwater overexploitation is a significant problem in many parts of India, especially in groundwater dependent dry land regions such as Maharashtra. However, villages with unexplored groundwater resources often fall within the “dark zones” categorization and therefore are not allowed to access their water resources. In this project, two partners collaborated to help create access to groundwater resources and ensure sustainable management in one such village in Pune district.

Sustainable exploration, development and management of groundwater requires a specialized human resource base. However, there is a dearth of specialisation in this field. In this project, ACT created an internship to train people from local communities to understand geohydrology better and plan water management based on that. This programme helped them formulate strategies for management of groundwater on the basis of mapping and identification of aquifers with practical training in Mundra Taluka.

The traditional water harvesting systems of western Rajasthan are a science, elaborated by the people, to translate their experience with water into practice. For harvesting each type of water, they have engineered a structure.

In Phase I of this project, Sambhaav revived traditional water structures in Rajasthan, and phase II is a continuation of this project. The approach that Sambhaav adopts is completely participatory and community-centered, with a strong focus on sustainable interventions.

Effective water governance and disaster response needs data of stock of water resources, rate of flow of water, soil moisture levels, daily precipitation levels.

About the Programme

Arghyam partnered with PRASARI for their scaled interventions for building capacities of frontline workers across three different projects in West Bengal. 

Arghyam has been  a long-term knowledge partner of the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation to strengthen the Atal Bhujal Yojana - scheme launched by the prime minister Narendra Modi in April 2020 to improve ground water management that includes community sensitization and followed by systematic supply side and demand side interventions. 

The Government of Karnataka has been implementing the ambitious Antarajala Chetana program across the state to improve groundwater levels in rural areas by leveraging Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).