Status of Community Based Water Storage Structures in Gujarat

Abstract

With the government's initiatives, about resolving water issues, over time the community water storage structures have been losing their due importance. Nonetheless, these still play a role in meeting water demand of rural people. This is particularly so in villages where government source such as Narmada water supply has not yet over taken the community resource on a large scale. These community sources not only meet animal water and supplementary irrigation needs but also some non-cooking non-drinking water needs of the poor segment of rural society. Field surveys were conducted to assess the people's dependency, benefits drawn and their distribution across the socio-economic strata of rural society. The average household benefit drawn from these sources was estimated to be varying between -1 -1 ` 1,122 to `1,559 Hh annum (2010-11 prices). The direct contribution of CPWR on agricultural returns varied from 30% to 60% in some villages. Similarly, the water productivity -3 -3 in crop and livestock production varied between ` 1.3 to ` 9.5 m and ` 1.6 to ` 14.3 m , respectively in different villages surveyed. The gross benefits was estimated to be between ` 0.08 million to ` 3.34 million across the community water storage structures surveyed. An attempt was made to examine the institutions managing the community owned water storage structures. Poor representation of weaker sections in water management bodies and gender discrimination in community water resources decision making observed to have weakened the institutional mechanism. The panchayat/ water user associations need to be revived with bigger roles for these groups as the latter largely bear the brunt of water constraints. Strengthened institutions being a panacea for efficient resource management, technical design and scientific planning in creating/maintaining water resources, nevertheless, would go a long way in serving the rural community efficiently as these factors not only affected the ponds' functionality and financial viability but also people's perception about resource utility and efficiency in service delivery. There is, therefore, a need to create management systems where the formal decisionmakers such as PRI/ water user association interact with relevant members of the scientific community, users and other stakeholders for a coordinated approach that successfully orchestrates water uses towards hydro-geological and socio-cultural compatibility. Water st resources management in the 21 century requires a radical reorientation and an effective dialogue between decision-makers, stakeholders and the scientific water community. In view of the observations made during the course of the study, some of the interventions in the management of community water storage structures are as under: iv v List of Plates Summary 1 Village pond and Sim Talav 7 2 A profile of community based water storage structures 11 (community ponds and check dams) studied 3 Animal dependence on community village pond 12 4 Water lifted from community check dam for supplementary irrigation 12 5 Water table in open well in vicinity of pond 15 6 Domestic uses - Community check dam 17 7 Hydrologic information of selected ponds 18 8 Community ponds for commercial enterprises such as fishery 34 9 Maintenance status of community check dams at the time of survey 37 10 Different uses of community water storage structures 38 Plate Description Page No. Introduction Common Property Water Resources (CPWRs) are water bodies which are managed by rural community for distribution of water benefits to locals. These village surface water bodies are small water-storing structures, with rain water accumulating in low lying areas of various depths, having a catchment and slope where water is collected during the monsoon period and are basically meant for catering to the domestic water needs of the village community. These are good source of water, particularly in areas that receive low rainfall and where livelihood is mainly based on rain-fed agriculture. These resources play a vital role in providing income and employment to rural people in many different ways. The degradation of these resources has a direct negative impact on the livelihoods of the poor. At the same time their degradation also poses serious environmental problems to the society and country at large in the long run. Preserving these resources, therefore, paves the way for long lasting local solutions to livelihood issues. Equity and management aspects of utilization of CPWR have considerable social relevance in the changing paradigm of people's participation in the management of common property resources. While the problem of equity is common to all common property resources, this is more so in case of water, particularly groundwater. In the case of groundwater the emerging technology-driven scenario, such as Tube Wells, in the agriculture sector contains altogether different challenges and implications for the traditional institutional arrangements for sharing of and caring for the CPWRs.Beinginnumerableandvariableinsize,theylendthemselvestodecentralizedmanagement. Water has been regarded as a gift of nature to fulfill the basic needs for survival in the rural localities, irrespective of the existing social diversities. Water needs in villages are common and, therefore, water is seen as a common resource with universal rights to users. The water management traditions in rural India are followed within small-scale village communities. While certain needs such as drinking, cooking, washing, cleaning and bathing are common to all, those pertaining to certain productive purposes have traditionally been defined by ownership of assets. The land owning agricultural community uses water for irrigation, others like potters, washer men and cattle herders use it for specialized livelihoods. Historically, the common property resources have been well managed as a part of the traditional socio-cultural wisdom of the local people. Village surface water bodies, locally known as Johad, Poker, Kund, or Talab, are small water-storing structures basically meant for catering to the domestic water needs of the village community. These water bodies are the common property resource (CPR) with the basic philosophy of water for everybody in the rural setting. Tanks, similarly, are one of the oldest sources of irrigation in India. There are many WaterManagement Traditions in India 1 1 Emphasis on pond siltation through utilization of state government's de-siltation scheme managed by Gujarat State Land Development Corporation on regular basis. 2 Allowing surplus water in ponds, where available, for limited irrigation use. 3 Strengthening community resource governance to avoid over exploitation of resource in such cases. 4 Community ponds with sufficient water for a longer period during the year may be encouraged for commercial enterprises such as fishery to improve financial condition of panchayat managing them. 5 Improving participation of women and weaker section of rural community in the management of community water resource as these groups were observed to have high stake but poor representation in resource management. 6 Motivation of elected body's members, who manage Community Based Water Storage Structures, through sustained campaign to manage the community resources, is strongly emphasized. A lack of interest among executive members of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI)/Water User Association (WUA) towards community water resource was observed during survey. 7 Involvement of Panchayat administration at higher levels, such as taluka and district, may be emphasized to ensure regular working of community water management bodies, sound fund availability and its management.