RAJ SAMADHIYALA: Rajkot, Gujarat
Population: 2,000
Initiation of water harvesting: 1986

Water is a major agent of change in this village. Hardev Singh Jadeja, the former sarpanch and the present block president of 90 villages in Rajkot district, is proud that his village has generated an income of Rs 5 crore, much higher than expected. In 2001, the village generated an income of Rs 4.5 crore (see Down To Earth, Vol 10, No 6, August 15, 2001). It is one of the few villages in Gujarat to have had three bumper crops in a single season.

Nearly 15 years ago, its people faced a major water crisis. The groundwater table had receded to a depth of 250 metres. By 1985, villagers started to build check dams and tanks by using funds under the District Rural Development Authority (drda) programme (see Down To Earth, Vol 10, No 2, June 15, 2001). They built 45 check dams over an area of 1,090 hectares (ha). Last year, the village received 400 mm of rainfall while this year, even with no sign of rain, water is available at a depth of 15 metres.

Easier availability of water also led to an increase in cultivated land area (see table: Water benefits). With last year’s bumper harvest, the village granaries are full. The villagers have planted trees and constructed pipelines to supply drinking water to individual homes.

Both Jadeja and Devji Baba, the present sarpanch are members of the powerful village development committee (vdc), the body that takes decisions on village welfare schemes, their management, finance and people’s participation. It has the power to even overrule decisions of government officials that may be detrimental to the interests of the village.

This body has also ushered in social change. “Anyone found littering or wasting water is fined Rs 50. “It is mandatory for all girls to attend school,” Jadeja informs.

Now the village uses remote sensing technique and geographic information systems (gis) to locate subsurface dykes to store water. These are natural underground water channels, which have gone dry over time. But once excavated and injected with rainwater, these help in faster recharge of ground water. Jadeja has a gis map of the entire taluk . He has also helped in building check dams in the neighbouring villages of Aniala and Kasturbadham, which has benefited the entire region under Jadeja.

This village shows all the necessary ingredients for success: A visionary leader, a village institution to take decisions and community participation in resource management.

MANDLIKPUR: Rajkot, Gujarat
Population: 3,000
Initiation of water harvesting: 1993

Villagers of Mandlikpur have benefited from well water recharging and check dams. In 1993, this village began recharging its 150-odd wells. Today, this village has about 300 wells in which water is available at a depth of 18-30 metres. Well recharging was initiated by the Saurashtra Lok Manch (slm), a non-governmental organisation (ngo) (see Down To Earth , Vol 10, No 2, June 15, 2001).

In 2002, villagers further invested in water harvesting infrastructure. With help from organisations like Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation (baif), villagers contributed 10 per cent of the cost through shramdaan or voluntary labour, to raise seven large check dams and make five farm ponds. Water will be diverted from the check dams to the ponds and recharge the wells in the coming monsoon.

But most of these wells are in the north and east of the village. Nearly 40 per cent of the households, geographically located at a higher level in the southwest, did not benefit from well recharging. “Simply because they are not interested,” says Vijay Bhai Senjhalia, a villager.

In the drought of 2001, the entire village had drinking water (see Down To Earth , Vol 10, No 2, June 15, 2001). But following the monsoon in 2001, villagers with land in the recharged zone could manage to cultivate crops (see Down To Earth, Vol 10, No 6, August 15, 2001) while the other side faced a crisis. Mandlikpur excelled in groundnut production. Most farmers netted an annual income of Rs 1 lakh. Last year before monsoon, Senjhalia managed 100 kilogrammes (kg) of groundnut, while this year he reaped 400 kg per ha.

Today, while the neighbouring villages and water-parched towns of Jethpur and Dhoraji depend on water tankers, nearly 50 per cent of the houses in Mandlikpur have rooftop rainwater storage facilities.

However, the absence of a central village institution like a local water committee fails to motivate the complacent. These villagers are excited about water benefits expected from the Sardar Sarovar project over the Narmada river. Hence even the panchayat is not interested in motivating villagers to recharge their wells. “We are getting Narmada water,” says Savadasbhai Sanjalia, the village sarpanch . Narmada water was recently made available to the village but the supply was erratic. “In their enthusiasm over receiving Narmada waters, villagers should not forget to recharge their wells and harvest roof water,” warns Shamjibhai Antala of slm.

GANDHIGRAM: Kachchh, Gujarat
Population: 400
Initiation of water harvesting: 1995

Gandhigram is today experiencing reverse migration. “When I learnt our village has enough water and agricultural work, I decided to return and work in my own fields,” said Mohanbhai, a villager, who returned from Muscat.

Since 1995, Gandhigram has consistently built its water harvesting infrastructure with the help of the Shri Vivekanand Research and Training Institute (vrti), an ngo and contributions from the drda, government of India and private donors.

In 2000, when the dte team visited the village there were 4 big dams, 30 small ones and 31 nullah plugs. “Today, we have 5 big dams, 72 small ones and 72 nullah plugs in the village” says Bhimji Premji Chowdhry, president, Gram Vikas Mandal .

These structures have helped in drought proofing this village. During 2001, although the village received only 165 mm rainfall as against the average of 340 mm, the reservoirs were brimming with water. Groundwater was recharged and villagers received an uninterrupted piped water supply from their well. The distribution of this water is managed by a pani sanchalan samiti , a local body that collects Rs 3 per month from each household, towards operation and maintenance costs. Villagers prefer to pay and get water rather than depend on the government’s unreliable water supply system.

Villagers have also set up the pani vitharan samiti (pvs), a village institution to manage water. “After the rains, we visit reservoirs to assess the quantity of water harvested and the extent of land that can be irrigated with it. Accordingly, villagers discuss the crop pattern and individual requirement,” informs Mohanbhai, president, pvs. This local body also prepares a time schedule for farmers to irrigate their fields. Farmers pay Rs 250 per ha for irrigation water. “These deposits are earmarked for maintenance of the structures,” informed Arvindbhai, secretary, pvs. For instance, this fund was used for repairing cracks caused by the earthquake in January 2001.

Sensible water management practices have yielded results. “This year we were able to grow groundnut in nearly 121 ha and 50 ha of land was brought under rabi cultivation,” says Gangaram Lalji Chowdhary, a villager.

Gandhigram’s success does not stop here. It topped in groundnut production in Mandvi district this year. The villagers also introduced new crops like wheat, onion and jeera (cumin) and increased their agricultural yield. Profits flowed in. Work availability has also benefited landless labourers.

These riches were channelled back into the village. In April 2002, farmers repaid Rs 2.5 lakh out of the Rs 5 lakh loan from Mandvi Gramin Bank for the construction of the Lokshakti dam (see Down To Earth , Vol 8, No 16, January 15, 2000). They also invested Rs 2 lakh in fencing the village to protect their crops from wild animals. “Another indicator of econo