Introduction 1

Groundwater Recharge Management in Saurashtra, India:

Learnings for Water Governance

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

WATER RESOURCE SCARCITY AND PEOPLE’S RESPONSE

The past six decades have seen an ever-increasing role of water as a driver of

development in India (Roy et al. 2002). Post independence, the initial focus was on

harnessing the rivers, mostly perennial, through construction of dams and reservoirs for

various purposes-water supply, irrigation, hydropower and fisheries, and for water

diversion (Smathkin et al. 2006; Keermane et al. 2006) under the name of multipurpose

projects. A network of canals from the reservoirs ensured supply of dam water to the

farmlands. Although such projects are no more preferred due to widespread criticism and

the ever reducing utility of the reservoirs due to sedimentation (Smathkin et al. 2006), the

supply augmentation approach continues to dominate the irrigation policy of India. While

the multipurpose projects focused in well endowed areas, the arid and semi arid parts of

India that constitute 58% of the geographic area continue to be neglected. The Green

Revolution that was launched during sixties to address hunger and poverty through

enhancing agriculture production has succeeded in converting the country from being a

food-deficient state to a food-surplus one within two decades. However, it concentrated

in the northwest and a few river valleys in the peninsular regions of India where assured

irrigation support was available. Bulk of the central, western, eastern and north-eastern

states were left out of the preview of the Green Revolution (Bhatt, 2004). The Green

Revolution has simultaneously brought in its wake land degradation problems such as

Introduction 2

soil salinity, water logging, loss of fertility and reducing crop yields due to input-

oriented, agriculture intensification strategy adopted (Bhatt, 2004). While the surface

water sources such as rivers began to have less flowing water due to numerous dams and

depletion of groundwater levels, alongside groundwater was increasingly being tapped

throughout the country leading to secular declines. The impact was felt much more in the

arid and semi arid areas.

Alongside, there was also increase of population. Demands on land multiplied,

urbanisation proliferated leading to increased demand on water for various needs such as

for drinking, irrigation, livestock, industry, commerce and town and city drainage

requirements. With increasing gap between demand and supply which may be termed as

water scarcity1, the surface water harnessed in reservoirs was preferentially allocated to

meeting drinking water needs of towns and cities, especially during water scarcity

periods. Arid and semi arid regions which experience frequent water scarcity conditions,

and low, erratic and poorly distributed rainfall (with respect to time and space) witnessed

a clear change in use priority when such hitherto irrigation schemes reserved water to

meet drinking water needs2, in addition to ad hoc changes under specific situations such

as during summer of 2000 (1999-2002 was a drought period in Saurashtra, Kutch and

north Gujarat in Gujarat state) when out of the total capacity of 2200 million cubic metres

(MCM) water in 113 dams in Saurashtra region, less than 7% (140 MCM) storage was

available which was reserved fully for drinking water3.

In the past three decades, groundwater moved in to become a primary source of irrigation

to agriculture and for drinking water in many parts of India, and as supplementary

irrigation source even in surface water endowed areas. The increase in the number of

wells from less than one million in 1960 to about 28 million by 2002 (Mudrakartha,

2004) is indication of the emerging role and dependence on groundwater across country

for all purposes including the major demand for irrigation.

1 For a more detailed discussion, see Krishnan (2007).

2 Dharoi irrigation project in Mehsana district of Gujarat is one such example.

3 http://guj-nwrws.gujarat.gov.in/english/checkdam.htm accessed 6 August 2009.

Introduction 3

Groundwater being a „democratic resource‟ is available to any farmer who has access to a

pump (Roy et al. 2002); further it has legal status as a free resource attached to land

(Singh, 1992; Mudrakartha, 1999). In India, groundwater has come to occupy an

enviable position in terms of meeting 55% of irrigation, 85% of rural and 50% of urban

and industrial needs. Almost 90%of drinking water needs are met from groundwater

(Planning Commission, 2007).

Gujarat is one of the most water scarce and drought-prone regions in India (IRMA, 2000,

Rathore, M.S., 2006, Mudrakartha et al. 2004). As per the third Census of Minor

Irrigation Schemes (2005), the ultimate irrigation potential4 created in many states such

as Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana has far exceeded the ultimate potential, thus creating

overexploitation conditions. In case of Gujarat too where the irrigation potential of 4364

thousand hectares already created through groundwater has exceeded the ultimate

irrigation potential of 2756 thousand hectares through groundwater by 59%. The

irrigation potential utilized through groundwater is 2713 thousand hectares-almost equal

to the full potential (Planning Commission, 2007:6, Table 4). The total water utilization

of Gujarat, a predominantly semi arid state in western India, is 89% for irrigation, 7% for

domestic and drinking water, and four percent for industry and other uses (IRMA, 2000)5.

With many rivers reduced to seasonal flows and surface water resources drying up,

competition between various uses and users was increasing for the common groundwater

resource. Being the most affected, farmers were a worried lot.

During mid-eighties, some farmers from Dhoraji-Upleta and a few other villages in

Rajkot district of Saurashtra region discovered an opportunity to improve their well water

supplies when they realized that a lot of rainwater was running off their farmlands. This

realization led to diverting the „running off‟ water into their dry wells through a small pit

to trap the silt so that only fresh water is delivered into the well. The predominantly black

cotton soil in the Saurashtra region allowed a low rate of silt accumulation in general,

4 Ultimate potential assessment has been made based on the dynamic ground water zone recharged by

mainly rainwater. Rain water harvesting by artificial means supplements the recharge already taking place

and helps in partly recouping declining water levels. Thus, some of the lost irrigation potential due to

decline in ground water can be retrieved.

5 South Gujarat is the only water surplus region in the state.

Introduction 4

although in some places where the soil contained more silt, it posed a problem.

Gradually, some of the local leaders turned their attention to the rivers which were small

and seasonal. In order to capture more water, they constructed small check dams with

locally raised funds and found that it has further enhanced water availability in the wells.

The water remained in the wells for longer duration in a year due to extended flow in the

rivers due to the check dams. Over a period, farmers abandoned the direct dug well

recharging and adopted groundwater recharge through construction of water harvesting

structures such as check dams, farm ponds, tanks and earthen bunds; in the process they

have also made many innovations that reduced not only cost but also improved water

storage.

Saurashtra‟s major livelihood occupation, agriculture, has a very high dependency on

groundwater due to its typical inverted saucer shaped topography (NCA, 1992; Shah,

1998; Nagar, 2002) described later. Groundwater recharge efforts carried out by

households benefited thousands of wells; they have not only helped stabilise the agrarian

production systems but also have created a significant impact on the ecology. This was

evidenced in the form of increased biomass, enhanced vegetative growth in the upper

catchment and in the common lands. Although ecology was not of primary importance to

the individual households, and later, to the villages that were engaged in water

harvesting, coverage of villages in contiguity, and coverage of as many households as

possible within a village are considered crucial elements that helped create a social

capital sensitive to ecology and leading to ecological regeneration through adaptive

management.

Although it is two decades since the recharge efforts began (in late eighties) in

Saurashtra, there has been no systematic, intensive research done to inquire into the

impact of these efforts on livelihoods or on the social and technical aspects of the

approach. The variety of innovations carried out by households, promoted by local

leaders and non-governmental agencies have not been studied at reasonable scale for their

technical veracity or for suggesting improvements. There have been, however, some

quick, limited studies, that examined some of these innovations, a few anecdotal studies,

Introduction 5

and a lot of back-of-the-envelope computations to compute the quantity of water

harvested by estimating the number of wells covered. These studies were mostly by non-

governmental research agencies, and were largely based upon the information and data

provided by the local leaders and local NGOs. Notably, there have been no such studies

by government agencies. There have also been no systematic, longitudinal studies

essential to scrutinise the evolving techniques and technology of well recharging or the

science of it (in terms of hydrogeology, for instance). The Government of Gujarat had

commissioned a study in the year 2000 to study the check dams constructed under the

Sardar Patel Participatory Water Conservation Programme (SPPWCP), popularly known

as SJSY (Sardar Patel Jal Sanchay Yojana) scheme. The Indian Institute of Management

Ahmedabad (IIMA) which conducted the study submitted its report in June 2002. The

study was an independent evaluation of the scheme and its impact on agricultural and

rural water supply systems. The evaluation was made more with the objective of

exploring further investments and extension of the scheme.

When the above scenario is examined from the point of view of water governance, there

appears to be disturbing disconnect not only between constituent actors but also between

the actions on ground and the policy domain. Noteworthy is the weak link of the

government departments with the dynamic village communities and the non-

governmental agencies that have made the social movement happen.

Therefore, critical questions as to what constituted the key drivers that sustained the

recharging movement over the past two decades, and whether the movement has had the

necessary elements and characteristics to continue to be effective in future remain

unanswered. Recharge activity and the accompanying agrarian benefits shown by the

quick studies also raise questions such as whether farmers have evolved adaptive

strategies, if so, what are those and with what impact. What lessons are available from

these local water management actions for the larger water management domain? Related

questions are: What are the ways in which the groundwater recharge could be quantified

at village level so that farmers are able to manage the additional water more efficiently?

What are the socio economic benefits that the farmers seem to be deriving, and how can

Introduction 6

they be linked to the recharge activity? What impact does the recharge movement have

on the policies and programmes and vice versa? What kind of institutional arrangements

exist and what kind of a role they are playing?

This study aims at filling this crucial gap in understanding by focussing on the recharging

efforts, the technology (hydrogeology, economics), resource sustainability (institutions,

scaling and governance), social aspects (collectives, user groups), and socio-economic

impacts (lifestyles) through livelihood changes (crop yield changes, livestock). The study

considers the recharge activity in the background of adaptation efforts of communities in

the study villages. The socio economic impacts are traced at the household level as well

as the village level.

NEED AND SCOPE FOR ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE IN HARD ROCKS

Two-thirds of the geographical area of India covering states of Gujarat, Maharashtra,

Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu

comprise hard rocks ranging from granites, basalts and sandstones.

Hard rocks have no primary porosity but develop secondary porosity in the form of

fractures, fissures and joints due to tectonic activity. Dykes, where occurring, have given

rise to fractures and fissures in the country rock to serve as secondary water bearing zone.

Generally, a weathered zone is formed whose thickness depends upon the time period of

exposure to the weathering agents such as wind, water and temperature. The

disintegration of the rock over centuries into a weathered zone (broken down rock that

comprises soil, gravel and silt) plays an important role in accumulating significant

quantities of the surface run-off in the weathered zone and yielding the same through

wells under unconfined conditions. Unconfined conditions are created when a formation

has a confining (impervious) layer at the bottom and a water table at the top arising

normally due to partly saturated conditions of the formation (CGWB, 1982). The gravity

drainage in unconfined aquifers is not instantaneous resulting in a time delay in lowering

of the water table and drainage of the aquifer. The delay effect is more prominent in fine

grained aquifers as compared to coarse grained aquifers.

Introduction 7

Due to its occurrence in hard rock areas, weathered zone has become an indispensable

water bearing formation for the small and marginal farmers who generally have dug well

or dug cum bore wells penetrating the weathered zone. The weathered zone becomes all

the more important in arid areas where the generally dry zone, in particular, offers a huge

storage opportunity for water during the ensuing monsoon. Technically, parameters such

as moisture content, matrix potential and hydraulic conductivity are sensitively inter-

related; and hence, the volumetric water content and flow mechanisms in the unsaturated

(weathered) zone vary in a complex manner. The weathered zone rarely displays

homogeneous properties; but displays a strong potential for lateral rather than vertical

flow (Sakthivadivel, 2001). While this is a matter of research, what the farmers

experience is that the water in the weathered, unsaturated zone, percolates with relative

ease and is available to them in their wells.

In sum, the process of recharging is both simple and complex, and the efficacy of

recharging depends upon the degree of understanding of the complex aquifer systems.

Proper understanding of the physical systems and their interactions helps in utilizing the

full potential of aquifers for solving the water scarcity problem. Some of the promoters of

the Saurashtra recharging movement have recognized this complexity based on the

variation in the groundwater-dependent agrarian responses, in particular from the study

villages discussed later. As discussed in the foregoing there has been extensive

experimentation by the government agencies on scientific lines, and by the civil society

as an adaptive response. The research and experimentation in the former case by and

large remained as manuals or guidelines or at best as policies, and remained accessible to

only the elite section; in the latter case, the experimentation had made a difference to the

socio economic conditions of the practising households irrespective of the degree of their

knowledge about the process of recharge. The shallow weathered zone perhaps helped

achieve visible impacts of recharge in the form of enhanced water levels in wells and

crop yields. Often, due to lack of technical or scientific support, questions related to the

efficacy of the recharge methods in the case of civil society and quantification of socio

economic benefits remain as gaps.

Introduction 8

FOCUS OF RESEARCH

The focus of the thesis is on understanding the factors that transformed the innocuous

recharge experiments carried out by a few individual farmers and motivators during late

eighties into a mass-based social movement around groundwater recharge in Saurashtra

region of Gujarat. Saurashtra region‟s climate is known for uncertainty and variability,

adversely affecting livelihood occupations. Households have been adapting to these

climatic uncertainties in a variety of ways (Moench et al 1999, 2003; Mudrakartha et al.

2004c; Mudrakartha, 2007)6. The few innovative experiments such as the direct dug well

recharge carried out now accorded a new meaning to the adaptation strategies by

ensuring water in the wells of farmers. Beginning with this direct well recharge, the

recharge activity got transformed into a water-centric social movement. Since irrigation is

a socio technical phenomenon (Mollinga, 1998), it is imperative to understand the social

and technical factors that influenced and shaped the demands and responses, and the

shaping of the irrigation technology on the livelihood canvas. Further, for the movement

to grow and sustain for two decades, albeit in modified forms, there must have been clear

socio-economic benefits obtained at individual household level. The thesis analyses and

quantifies the agrarian benefits, and the consequent income returns. More specifically,

changes in the land use, cropping intensity, fodder availability, milk income, among

others, are analysed. Alongside these social effects or benefits accrued to the households

because of groundwater augmentation, it is essential to quantify the groundwater recharge

due to recharge activity. While it may be extremely difficult to draw a line in terms of pre

and post recharge structures, it is possible to arrive at quantum of annual recharge. It is

also important to compare the annual groundwater recharge figures using more than one

method, including one that uses modelling and climate data. For this purpose, the thesis

applies standard methods of natural recharge estimations to quantify groundwater

potential for the six study villages.

6 Research conducted in India and other countries by collaborating partners has provided some insights:

Adaptation is a continuous process. Adaptive strategies reflect the social, political, economic and technical

context in which groundwater problems are occurring and the types of response-including or excluding

conventional management-that are likely to be within that context. They focus on core objectives

(livelihood and environmental values as opposed to specific groundwater parameters) and respond to the

spatial and temporal factors that influence the probable effectiveness of response strategies rather than

attempting to be „comprehensive‟ or „fully integrated‟. (Moench et al. 1999, 2003)

Introduction 9

The CGWB estimates recharge routinely at taluka level using Water Level & Specific

Yield Method and Regression Method making several assumptions. The thesis makes

estimations at village level using primary data on groundwater extraction as a key input

to make recharge estimations more accurate and representative. The study has also

compared these recharge values with those obtained using a software model, namely,

CRU & NUT-MONTH by the University of East Anglia, U.K. The edge of this model is

that it uses global data on rainfall, temperature, evapotranspiration (potential and actual)

and sunshine hours to estimate groundwater recharge. The global data is available for 102

years from 1902-2002 and therefore it also helps study the recharge trends in the study

villages corresponding to rainfall patterns.

Further, any resource creation requires in-built mechanisms to sustain the resource and its

management. How did the study villages ensure this? This important aspect is examined

by analysing the efforts the households have made for the sustainability of the water

resource such as investments into the water infrastructure, conjunctive use of surface

flows from rivers and groundwater, and improving efficiency of water use.

The study will also examine the factors that contributed to the transformation of the

recharge activity into a social movement. For this purpose, the study looks at the main

actors-individuals and institutions, their leadership, philosophy, processes of social

mobilisation and meaning construction for awareness and participation. While this gives

the broad aspects, the study villages are researched closely for leadership styles,

processes of social mobilisation, awareness and communication, and comparison of

recharge estimates with the socio economic benefits through agriculture and animal

husbandry.

When the above scenario is examined from the point of view of water governance, there

appears to be disturbing disconnect not only between constituent actors but also between

actions on the ground and actions in the policy domain. Noteworthy is the weak link of

the government departments with the dynamic village communities and the non-

governmental agencies that have made the social movement happen.

Introduction 10

The central research question could therefore be formulated as:

What are the socio-technical and socio-economic processes and mechanisms that

contributed to the origin and sustenance of the Saurashtra Groundwater Recharge

movement over the past two decades?

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the study could be framed as:

Identify the gaps in understanding by focussing on the recharging efforts, the

technology (hydrogeology, economics), resource sustainability (institutions,

scaling and governance), social aspects (collectives, user groups), and socio-

economic impacts (lifestyles) through livelihood changes (crop yield changes,

livestock).

Identify the key drivers that sustained the recharging movement over the past two

decades including the socio economic impacts at the household level as well as

the village level;

What are the ways in which the groundwater recharge could be quantified at

village level;

How can the socio economic benefits derived by farmers be linked to the recharge

activity?

Whether the movement has the necessary elements and characteristics to continue

to be effective in future?

What lessons can be drawn for water governance from the Saurashtra recharging

movement experience?

The study considers the recharge activity in the background of adaptation efforts of

communities in the study villages. The socio economic impacts are traced at the

household level as well as the village level.

Introduction 11

STUDY METHODOLOGY

After an initial literature review, a reconnaissance visit was made to various parts of

Saurashtra during 2002-03 to look at some of the different types of recharge experiments

carried out by various individuals and non-governmental organisations. The survey

provided an indication of the range of local innovations attempted by people under local

leadership. However, in most places, check dams have become the most preferred mode

of groundwater recharge while the initial direct dug well recharging of late eighties was

abandoned somewhere down the time line. The survey also indicated that the farmers

were benefiting from the recharge activity in terms of agriculture and animal husbandry,

the two most prominent livelihood occupations. The on-going watershed programmes

that were launched by Government of India in mid-nineties have helped to link up with

government funding. The basic difference between the recharge activity and the

watershed programme was that every village now had opportunity to be covered in toto

aimed at benefitting all the participating families. The watershed programme also has

institutional support in the form of implementation support agency (ISA).

For the purpose of the research study, three study sites were selected comprising six

villages (including hamlets) across three talukas: Ambaredi in Jamkandorna taluka,

Vithalpar and Jalsikka in Wankaner taluka, and Haripar-Kerala and Bella in Morbi

taluka-all in Rajkot district located in Saurashtra region of Gujarat state in western India.

These are the villages (and talukas) which have had long association with the local

leaders such as Premjibhai Patel, Jayanthibhai Raval and Oddhavji Raghavji Patel

respectively. Some of these villages have participated in the earliest pioneering

experiments along with the local leader. Over a period, the leaders realised the need for

institutionalising their efforts and hence have formed and registered NGOs, namely

Vruksh Prem Seva Trust (VPST), Sarvodaya Seva Sangh (SSS) and ORPAT Trust

respectively. These organizations as well as their leaders have diverse backgrounds, work

culture and ideology. While Vruksh Prem Seva Trust was founded and headed by a

former businessman turned social activist, Sarvodaya Seva Sangh is run by a staunch

follower of Gandhian principles and ORPAT Trust is run by a former teacher turned

Introduction 12

leading entrepreneur in electronics goods and watches by establishing the company called

ORPAT.

The selection of study villages was guided by criteria that included village composition,

type and nature of the organizations and the variation in the hydrogeology. The villages

chosen had a mix of patels, kolis, Brahmins, rajputs, rabaris, harijans and STs, the

composition varying from village to village. Like in Saurashtra region itself, in most of

the study villages, patels formed a majority. The common factor across all these villages

is that they have taken up water harvesting activities.

Two types of questionnaire were included in the research design: one, the village

questionnaire that captured the larger scenario; and, two, a household questionnaire that

was administered on sampled families. The survey was carried out during 2003-4. The

sample households were selected based on proportionate stratification done with a view

to understand the equity and sustainability aspects of distribution of benefits from the

water harvesting structures in particular and the recharge movement in general. It may be

mentioned that all the sampled households are engaged in agriculture and or animal

husbandry; therefore the sample households have a direct concern with groundwater

recharge. When animal husbandry is the primary occupation for certain households, the

fodder security from within the village becomes important as it impacts their livelihood.

Further, an in-depth study of select villages was carried out to develop insights into the

critical elements of the various facets of the movement. There are two reasons for this: [a]

The non-governmental organisations supporting the recharge movement are considered

pioneers, and could achieve remarkable degree of people‟s participation. The research

study would provide an opportunity to understand the approach of the NGOs, and how

they have deployed technology, resources and the institutional form to achieve the targets

set by themselves initially, and later as part of the national watershed programme. The

leaders‟ target driven approach was embedded in their own vision of favourable

transformation of the livelihood economies through water enhancement. [b] The stratified

sampling helps understand the degree of participation, and the degree and extent of

Introduction 13

benefits accrued across the sample categories so important for access equity and

sustainability of the programme. The village survey provides the changing socio-

economic conditions that represent not just livelihood economics but also the human

growth and prosperity. Analysis of „plough back‟ into (water) resource management at

individual and village levels indicates sustainability and the stake of the people in the

programme proliferation essential for building ecological resilience.

The research study in the villages is carried out in the backdrop of the groundwater

recharging movement across Saurashtra (although with varying degrees of participation).

The study examines through secondary data as to how the recharge activity has converted

into a social movement around water, the type and role of key leadership, the

institutionalisation, the techniques and tools employed, the networking-all of which

provided an ambience often leading to local innovations in terms of social mobilisation,

technology and techniques.

The expressed opinion is that the spontaneous, self-energising and self-propagating

movement is hoped to be moving towards a long run aquatic equilibrium in Gujarat

(Shah, 1998). Literature shows that although the movement, which began in Gujarat,

spread to other states such as Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, there

has been varying degrees of success even within Gujarat. North Gujarat and Kachchh

have not received so much of a response when compared with Saurashtra within Gujarat.

These varying responses are reflective of the grass root level complexity from the point

of view of social, technical, cultural, economic, institutional and above all governance

factors. This only cautions that localisation of the technology, design and implementation

strategies are essential as against mere implanting of a technique or technology that was

„successful‟ somewhere. The study also aims at identifying the shortfalls in the water

governance mosaic believed to contribute to water crises.

ABOUT THE STUDY VILLAGES

The six study villages or gram panchayats (including hamlets), are located across three

Introduction 14

talukas: Ambaredi in Jamkandorna taluka, Vithalpar and Jalsikka in Wankaner taluka and

Haripar-Kerala and Bella in Morbi taluka-all in Rajkot district located in Saurashtra

region of Gujarat state in India (see Appendix 1 for location map). The Rajkot district

itself has a highly varying rainfall pattern, with an annual average of 552 mm. The

following table which relates to capture of rainfall in Bhadar dam constructed across

Bhadar river in Gondal taluka7 indicates the high inter annual variability in rainfall and

how it affects agriculture. The only other alternative is to source groundwater.

Table 1.1: Area irrigated under Bhadar dam, Rajkot district

Sr.

No.

Year Area irrigated

(ha)

% of cultural

command area (of

26,587ha)

1 1996-97 25,823 97.12

2 1997-98 9,299 34.97

3 1998-99 8,221 30.92

4 1999-2000 0 0

5 2000-2001 0 0

Source: http://guj-nwrws.gujarat.gov.in/english/checkdam.htm; accessed on 17 October

2008.

The villages have been facing water scarcity conditions very frequently, and therefore,

found a reason to participate in the recharge activities initiated by the local leaders during

mid-eighties. The taluka and district rainfall indicates that every 4-5 years, there was one

year of drought; sometimes, the drought spell continued for 4 years such as during 1999-

2002. Water being a very basic need for the agrarian communities of these villages, the

livelihoods were subject to instability.

Villages such as Ambaredi have participated in the earliest pioneering experiments along

with the local leader Premjibhai Patel. Looking at the well response, many villages in

Rajkot district and elsewhere have started participating under the local leadership that

was emerging. Over a period, the leaders of the study villages realised the need for

institutionalising their efforts and hence have formed NGOs, namely Vruksh Prem Seva

Trust (VPST), Sarvodaya Seva Sangh (SSS) and ORPAT Trust respectively covering the

7 Some part of Ambaredi was in Gondal taluka; now in Jamkandorna taluka.

Introduction 15

study villages as mentioned in the table below. These organizations as well as their

leaders have diverse backgrounds, work culture and ideology. While Vruksh Prem Seva

Trust was founded and headed by a former businessman turned social activist, Sarvodaya

Seva Sangh is run by a staunch follower of Gandhian principles and ORPAT Trust is run

by a former teacher turned leading entrepreneur in electronics goods and watches.

Table 1.2: Some salient features of the study villages Sr.

no.

Taluka Village

name

No. of

farme

r

house

holds

Sampl

e

House

holds

Sample

Compositio

n

Area

(Sq.

kms)

Supporting

Organisatio

n

Leader

1 Jam-

kandorna/

Gondal

Ambaredi 294 29 Patel-11;

Leuva

Patel-10;

Brahmin-1;

Harijan/SC/

Bharvad-3;

Koli patel-

3; Rajput-1

27.4

6

Vruksh

Prem Seva

Trust

Premjibha

i Patel

2 Wankaner Jalsikka 80 13 Ahirs/rabba

ris/Bharvad

s-12;

Harijan-1

15.1

1

Sarvodaya

Seva Sangh

Jayantbha

i Raval

3 Wankaner Vithalpar 80 17 Koli patel-

17

5.9 Sarvodaya

Seva Sangh

Jayantbha

i Raval

4 Morbi Haripar 101 14 Patel-13;

Brahmin-1

18.8

8

ORPAT

Trust

Odhavji

Raghavji

Patel

5 Morbi Kerala 69 6 Patel-4;

Goswami-2

5.6 ORPAT

Trust

Odhavji

Raghavji

Patel

6 Morbi Bella 133 11 Patel-9;

Bharvad/Du

rbar-2.

4.66 ORPAT

Trust

Odhavji

Raghavji

Patel

The six study villages are located in three talukas and are serviced by three NGOs as

described in the Table 1.2 above (see Figure 1.1). The study villages have different

castes combination. Ambaredi has multiple castes, with highest patel households.

Jalsikka is dominated by Ahirs, while Vithalpar is dominated by kolis (tribe). Haripar,

Kerala and Bella are dominated by patels. Patels are generally well-to-do, landed people

who are also often into business. Some members of the family venture to go beyond the

state and out of country, mostly for business purposes. The rest of the family remains in

Introduction 16

the village and continues to take care of the land. Thus, the kinship ties of the „migrant‟

family members with their native village remains strong.

Saurashtra has a mixed culture of living. All the castes inhabit together, as against in

wards segregated along caste lines. This mixed living breaks down the typical barriers

that exist in a disaggregated living style. The advantages include strong communication

linkages, familial bonding, and empathy. It is observed that exchange of information and

response to the innovations carried out by farmers from within the village and elsewhere

had been quite active, leading to generation of interest and awareness raising described in

Chapter 7. Saurashtra over the past few centuries has been recognized as a cotton

growing belt with the climate being suitable to grow best variety of export quality cotton;

farmers continued with this tradition post independence too. The change is that the

farmers now grow cotton and groundnut as well as adopting newer varieties of these

crops for higher yields. Specialising in growing certain crops also has the advantage of

attracting traders and thereby obtaining a better rate. Links get established with market

reducing uncertainty of buyers and ensuring a better price. In short, a farmer of

Saurashtra is more known as an entrepreneur farmer, and less known by caste tag.

Agriculture and animal husbandry usually comprise the main occupations. Farmer

households usually form half to three fourths of a village; they keep limited number of

livestock such as cows and buffaloes for domestic milk consumption. Rabari and bharvad

households have major occupation of livestock rearing comprising cows, buffaloes, goat

and sheep. Usually they have minimum or no land; however, good agriculture crop

implies availability of fodder for their animals within the village from farmland as well as

common lands thus helping establish fodder security. Cotton is dry fodder. Being a major

crop in the study villages, animal husbandry therefore has a direct link with the recharge

movement.

The villages have a predominance of medium farmers followed by large farmers

irrespective of caste. However, there are no marginal farmers, while small farmers are

negligible. Due to frequent water scarcity conditions, not-well-to-do farmers also work as

agricultural labour. Landless from the villages used to depend upon agriculture and non

Introduction 17

agriculture labour, both within and outside the village. Since 1990s, when the recharge

movement picked up, more employment opportunities have become available within the

village. Many villages started attracting regular migrants from other areas since late

nineties according to Premjibhai Patel. In addition to farmers and livestock rearers

(maldharis), the villages also have people with avocations such as tailoring, carpentry,

black smithy, barbers, skilled and unskilled construction workers, electricians and potters.

The number of such people is higher in big villages such as Ambaredi while it is quite

lower in villages such as Haripar, Kerala and Bella.

The rainfall pattern and the geological and topographical features of Rajkot district and

the study villages therein are quite similar. Within the district and within the study

villages the rainfall varies. The average annual for Rajkot district is 552 mm for the years

1961-2007. The potential evaporation is quite high, in the range of 1700-1800 mm/year.

The potential evapotranspiration is negative throughout the year except during the

monsoon months, i.e., during July-September. The level of groundwater development for

Rajkot district as per CGWB estimate is 72.01% as of 2004 as against the state‟s figure of

76.47% (CGWB & GoG, 2005). The drainage of Rajkot district is in radial directions

with an almost east west divide more or less in the middle of the district (see Figure 3.2).

This is because of the inverted saucer shaped topography. The study villages also have

slopes that form part of the inverted saucer shaped topography of Saurashtra region.

All the study villages have a shallow top soil comprising clay with varying silt and sand

content. The clay, silt and sand content determine the type of soil and thereby the rate of

infiltration and soil moisture balance. While Ambaredi, Vithalpar and Jalsikka are loamy,

Haripar, Kerala and Bella are clayey. Basalt is the country rock in all the villages; in

Vithalpar and Jalsikka patches of sandstone are exposed in the river section as well as in

some patches.

The hydrogeological profile of the study villages is broadly similar. Wells are a major

source of groundwater, in addition to (direct pumping from) rivers which flow during

monsoon and to a certain extent during winter. However, well inventory shows that there

is variation in the well dimensions due to lithology. The general well section is soil zone

Introduction 18

of about 2 m followed by highly weathered and partially weathered zone; underlying the

weathered zone is a partially or moderately fractured zone overlying hard basalt rock

which is the country rock. The thickness of these zones varies from village to village and

determines the total depth of well structures. The depth of wells in Ambaredi, Jalsikka

and Vithalpar are in the range of 13-20 m below ground level (bgl) while in the other

three villages Haripar, Kerala and Bella, they are in the range of 10-13 m. In the former

set of villages, the hard rock is struck at the bottom of wells and hence people do not find

scope for tapping any more groundwater. In the latter villages, the lithomarge occurs in a

depth range of 11-13 m and does not allow farmers to dig deeper due to collapsing

problem; in addition, beyond this depth of 13 m, the quality of water also turns saline.

Well inventory shows that as an alternative, farmers have drilled horizontal, radial bores

at the bottom of the wells. These bores are found to have enhanced the yield in Ambaredi,

Jalsikka and Vithalpar, and hence have become popular; whereas in other villages, they

are not popular because of the presence of lithomarge. The water levels in the wells

fluctuate over a long range: from shallow depths to becoming dry before advent of

subsequent monsoon. However, the recharge activity is reported by farmers to have

improved the water levels to shallow levels, while during pre-monsoon, there is still

water column left, generally. If less than half the annual average rainfall occurs in

subsequent years continuously, then the residual water levels are adversely affected as

reported by people.

All the study villages have proximity to rivers. River Phophal flows through Ambaredi,

river Machhu along Jalsikka, and river Mahanadi along Vithalpar. The other three

villages, Haripar, Kerala, and Bella are at around half a kilometer to 1.5 km away from

the river in different directions. In the Mahanadi river course along Vithalpar, sandstone

is exposed, while in Jalsikka, boulderous rocks of sandstone are exposed along the

Machchu river. Presence of sandstone tends to give rise to lithomarge which is poorly

permeable. The groundwater quality in entire Morbi taluka where Haripar, Kerala and

Bella are situated is categorized as moderately saline while the adjacent Wankaner where

Vithalpar and Jalsikka are located are less affected. Jam Kandorna/Gondal taluka where

Ambaredi is located is by and large found to be free from salinity or any other problem.

Introduction 19

The study villages along with other villages have been participating in the recharging

movement promoted by the NGOs and other leaders. From the direct well recharging

during the initial phase in late nineties, the activity expanded to include check dams

mostly under private funding. Along with check dams, there was some amount of

plantation work, farm bund and nalla plugging. From mid-nineties, the launch of

watershed programme in the Rajkot district has helped cover clusters of villages. As part

of watershed treatment, water harvesting structures, land development, entry point

programmes, plantation and animal husbandry were allowed. The NGOs VPST, SSS and

ORPAT Trust have taken up these activities with almost 80% of the budget for water

harvesting structures and the least for animal husbandry and plantation (with exception of

VPST which has been promoting plantation vigorously for many years). The status of

the key activities in the watershed programmes in the study villages is given in Table 2.5.

Notably, all these agencies have taken up clusters of 10 units of 500 ha microwatershed

in a contiguous manner. This has helped to have both in-village/watershed and extra-

village resource enhancement essential for creating/sustaining environmental flows.

While VPST has taken up watershed treatment of 27 contiguous villages that includes

Ambaredi, the study village, Sarvodaya Seva Sangh took up 30 watersheds along 35 km

of river Mahanadi under the name of Lunsar Mahal cluster that includes Vithalpar and

Jalsikka study villages. On the river, SSS constructed a total of 48 check dams across the

river Mahanadi that includes 3 check dams falling under Vithalpar watershed; the

watershed also implemented one pond and 10 nalla plugs and some plantation. The

farmers invested on VPST has covered entire Ambaredi village extensively with 43 check

dams, 10 ponds, 10 nalla plugs, farm bunds and farm ponds, and with plantation of

10,000 trees, thus more or less saturating the land and drainage treatment. ORPAT Trust

has similarly covered about 30 watersheds that included the study villages Haripar,

Kerala and Bella. Haripar has been covered with 28 check dams and 2 ponds; Kerala 22

check dams and 2 ponds; Bella 32 check dams (plus previous 8).

Introduction 20

Table 1.3: Details of water harvesting structures in study villages S. No. Watershed/

Village

Check dams Ponds Nalla plugs Farm

bunds

Farm

ponds

1 Ambaredi 43 10 10 Yes Yes

2 Vithalpar 5 2 10 Yes Yes

3 Jalsikka 23 1 10 Yes Yes

4 Haripar 28 2 10 Yes Yes

5 Kerala 22 2 10 Yes Yes

6 Bella 32 1 10 Yes Yes

Source: Primary data, 2003-04; Annual reports of agencies and other communication

material.

Farmers were using diesel pumpsets commonly for pumping water from rivers as well as

from wells. Since the introduction of Jyothi gram yojana8 during 2000-04, the electricity

supply for domestic lighting was available throughout the day while for irrigation it was

an assured 8-hour supply per day.

Table 1.3 shows that, in all the study villages except that of Vithalpar, there was more or

less uniform similar activities carried out as part of watershed that majorly consisted of

constructing check dams, ponds-new or desilting, farm ponds and farm bunds. However,

in the case of Vithalpar, there has been not watershed activity except for the construction

of 5 check dams across river Mahanadi. Farmers pumped water from the river directly to

their farms by laying pipelines totaling 26,000 m.

OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS

The literature review for the thesis is spread across Chapters 2 and 4. This is because the

8 Jyothi gram yojana (JGY) is a scheme by the Government of Gujarat to provide continuous three phase

power supply to the rural areas in order to boost quality of life as well as socio economic progress. Under

this project, 100% village electrification and 24 x 7 power supply is made available to all the 18,065

villages and 9,681 hamlets in Gujarat from the year of launch in 2003-04 to 2007-08 at a cost of Rs.10

billion. During first year, 2516 villages were covered, second year 6203 villages and the rest 17,826 by

2007-08. The separation of feeders and supply lines for catering to domestic lighting as well as agriculture

has ensured that 24 x 7 domestic power and assured 8 hours supply for agriculture is available. About

12,621 new transformer centres and 56,599 km of new electricity lines were laid down in 30 months. A

study by Confederation of Indian Industry and IRMA shows that the JGY has resulted in an increase of

average employment and reversed migration from rural areas by 33%. There has also been an average gain

of 3-6 hours of work per week due to uninterrupted power supply (http://guj-epd.gov.in/epd_jyotijojna.htm

and http://www.business-standard.com/general/printpae.php?autono320640 accessed 17 May 2008.

Introduction 21

core themes of the thesis, namely, the water-centric adaption strategies including the

historical and modern day responses, and the groundwater recharge assessment methods

dealt with in the two chapters respectively, require a distinct review. Accordingly Chapter

2 reviews conceptual foundations of adaptation theory, socio technical approach and its

(proposed) application to groundwater irrigation, a quick review of how groundwater has

evolved as a driver of development over the years both in India and in Saurashtra, and the

response of civil society and the government to the secular declines of groundwater and

water scarcity conditions. While Uphoff (1991) has applied the socio technical approach

to physical irrigation systems, limited to channel, sprinkler or drip, Mollinga (1998) and

Narain (2003) applied it to canal irrigation systems. This study extends the socio

technical framework to groundwater-based irrigation systems. The rationale for such an

application is provided in this chapter. Finally, the chapter deals with the conceptual

framework of social movements for the purpose of studying the Saurashtra groundwater

recharging movement examining aspects such as leadership, framing, and communication

processes. Chapter 4 deals with review of groundwater recharge assessment methods.

Chapter 3 aims at understanding the physical factors, review of policy environment in

pre- and post independence India, the efforts of relevant government institutions, and a

review of the recharge movements in Gujarat to contextual the current study. All this is

done through literature review. The chapter describes the physiographic, rainfall,

drainage and soil conditions of Gujarat followed by the hydrogeology and groundwater

conditions in Saurashtra. Saurashtra has been historically suffering from water scarcity

due to quick drainage in radial directions in view of its typical inverted saucer

topography. Topography plays an important role in terms of providing enabling

conditions for surface accumulation as well as scope for groundwater recharge. Put

differently, the Chapter aims at understanding water scarcity from the standpoint of

hydrological and hydrogeological settings of the region, and livelihood vulnerability. For

an enhanced understanding of the modern recharge movements, the chapter traces the

history of well irrigation in Gujarat over the past many centuries through analysis of

factors that worked and that did not. This is done by dividing the time period into pre-

colonial, colonial and post-independent India. This understanding helps lay a background

Introduction 22

context for modern day‟s recharge movements; at the same time, the chapter also

describes how water harvesting and recharging efforts were „embedded‟ in the policies

and strategies over the centuries. Following this, a brief review of the recent recharge

movements that took place during the past few decades in Gujarat is made and the

individuals and institutions that played a key role in the movement through social

mobilisation, awareness, technology and innovations. The chapter also recognises the fact

that the farmers did not have a clear idea as regards how much water was being

recharged, how much potential existed of the aquifers say on a year to year basis, or what

quantity of groundwater was extracted on annual basis vis-à-vis the potential of the area.

In spite of these recharge efforts sustaining over decades, no agency, government or

otherwise, has carried out scientific or systematic studies on the above. Some researchers,

however, have made back of envelope estimations as to the quantity of recharge. Notably,

the Guidelines for groundwater resource estimation itself were standardised and issued by

the CGWB for the first time in 1997, and revised in 2002.

Chapter 4 deals with establishing conceptual foundations of groundwater recharge and

estimation methods. This is done through literature review. The Literature Review is

organised in three sections: one, groundwater recharge: conceptual foundations; two,

global efforts for groundwater knowledge and practice; and, three, groundwater recharge

methods-an overview. The literature review also examines groundwater recharge studies

in basalts in particular, as basalts comprise the local rock formation of the study villages.

As part of the overview of the recharge methods, a brief description of the three methods

used, namely Water Level & Specific Yield Method, the Regression Method and the

CRU_NUT-MONTH Method is given. The Chapter also discusses briefly the challenges

in recharge estimation in arid and semi arid conditions under the term „uncertainty‟.

Continuing from the theoretical and conceptual discussions made in the previous Chapter

4 on the three methods, namely, WL & SY Method, the Regression Method and the CRU

Method, this Chapter 5 presents results of computation of recharge for all the six study

villages using these methods. These values are compared, and conclusions drawn on the

practical usefulness of one method over the other and on employing more than one

method. The consideration was whether the farmers or laymen could use these methods at

Introduction 23

village level, which is shown as one of the basic requirements and possibilities, in

Chapter 7, „An Agenda for Water Governance Reforms‟. Importantly, for drawing the

conclusions, the study examines the various factors that contribute to Uncertainty in

Recharge Estimates in different methods; this helps in being aware of not only the

relative merits and demerits of recharge estimations but also the limitations. The Chapter

also analyses the rainfall-recharge relationships, and the factors that contribute to

different rates of recharge such as rainfall pattern, distribution and quantity, and the soil

constants.

Chapter 6 begins by examining the enhanced income, and how these income changes are

linked to the agrarian actions by farmers. The actions are evidences that contributed to

enhanced agrarian returns or social benefits, in the form of changes in crops and cropping

pattern, shifts in land from unirrigated to irrigated, and from fallow to unirrigated or

irrigated, investments in water infrastructure such as purchase of WEM and pipelines that

indicate availability of additional income, changes in pumping hours, well structuration

in terms of depth, radial horizontal bores and depth limitations, and cropping decisions

etc. In other words, the villages have adopted socio technical approach to not only

enhance groundwater availability and thereby social benefits (as described in the socio

technical framework) but also adapt to the limitations of hydrogeology, with or without

an explicit understanding of the complexities of the hydraulics of groundwater. The

social action also integrates innovations-all by people in this case-in technologies such as

the variety of recharge techniques, changes in composition of pumpsets driven by diesel

and electricity to suit local conditions etc. In short, this chapter describes how irrigation

and irrigation technology have shaped the agrarian livelihood decisions as a function of

social benefits related with agriculture and livestock. The chapter also examines how the

communities have coped in the absence of any formal support from official technical

agencies, and how the local leaders have tried to fill in this gap by their innovations and

experimentation. Further, the study also examines if a relationship exists between the

recharge and the stage of groundwater development using computed data of the study

villages. It compares and contrasts the computed stage of groundwater development of

Introduction 24

the study villages with those taluka values used for policy decisions that greatly impact

farmers. The study also examines briefly how caste determines the livelihood occupation.

The core objective of the concluding Chapter 7 is to propose an Agenda for Water

Governance Reforms based on the study findings. The chapter begins by recapitulating

the adaptive responses of the farmers to water scarcity, their decisions on cropping, and

investment on WEM and pipelines. While doing so, the thesis captures the key drivers of

the Saurashtra Recharging Movement. While water itself is a core driver, factors that

contributed to the movement included self-initiated and self-propagated efforts for water

conservation by people, high degree of participation of study villages and the very many

spread all over Saurashtra aided by disaggregated leadership driven by honesty and sense

of purpose, business acumen employed by leaders in terms of ability to mobilise people

and other leaders, raise funds while avoiding government funds initially, and

participation of persons from different walks of life including journalists. Failure on the

part of the government to capitalise on the movement leads us to the water governance

agenda. The cornerstone for water governance today has to be the Integrated Water

Resources Management with well defined policies, guidelines and programmes that

protect water rights of people. With a brief discussion on the policies and programmes,

and the major learnings from the study, the chapter examines how the study villages have

played their part in the water governance, although beginning ostensibly with a simple

recharge activity. Though the stake was at individual level, the study villages have

displayed significant level of resource understanding and long-term concern evidenced by

absence of conflicts around water even after more than two decades of the advent of the

recharge activity. However, in the case of other villages in Saurashtra, the response is not

so uniform. The movement has a critical level of participation and not maximum

participation. Therefore, conflicts might arise in future when the water availability gets

further constrained or the demand increases disproportionately, say, due to complete

switch over to water-intensive cash crops. Promoting IWRM at gram panchayat level and

at other panchayati tiers within a river basin concept will help encourage local water

management. With decentralisation and devolution being advanced, the village (gram

panchayat) level institutions are in an increasingly stronger position to manage their own

Introduction 25

water resources, make conflict resolution and install their own agenda of water levies for

operation and maintenance aspects. The State could focus on river basin management to

provide a strong water resources database, while alongside generating data at gram

panchayat level which is mostly missing today. In local water management, gram

panchayat IWRM planning not only helps in generating reasonably reliable primary data

but also arrive at IWRM measures based on local demand supply gap9. Convergence of

the various fundings schemes/projects at gram panchayat level envisaged as part of GP

IWRM Planning institutionalises the planning and implementation. Being a dynamic

plan, the GP IWRM plan may be revisited every year or biannually as felt necessary by

the gram panchayat. Thus, local water management comes not only much closer to the

people, but also is embedded on the larger water governance. Imperative towards this

goal is the need to capitalise on the social capital, linking research and academic domains

with the ground level actions and institutions, and empowering the community. The

thesis also shows that it is not difficult for local people to assess their own surface and

groundwater resources scientifically; they could use this information to make a much

better GP IWRM Plan. On the implementation side, a GP IWRM could focus on different

priority elements such as drinking water, sanitation, pollution and contamination,

irrigation efficiency, rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge-all separately or in

combination-towards a holistic IWRM.

9 The European Union funded Rajasthan State Partnership Programme (EU SPP) is promoting IWRM at

various levels within the river basin; preparation and implementation of the plans at three tiers are part of

the approach.

Introduction 26

Figure 1.1: Map of Rajkot district showing Study Villages