No. S-14013/02/2013-DDPGovernment of India

Ministry of Rural DevelopmentDepartment of Land Resources

6th Floor, 11th BlockCGO Complex, Lodhi Road

New Delhi 110 003Dated: 23`' May 2013

Sub.: Minutes of the workshop on `Participatory Groundwater Management inwatershed projects ' held on 07.05 .2013 - reg.

The undersigned is directed to forward herewith a copy of the minutes of theworkshop on `Participatory Groundwater Management in watershed projects' at Mirza Ghalibhall, Scope Complex, New Delhi held on 07.05.2013 under the Chairmanship ofShri Lalchand Kataria, Minister of State, Rural Development, Government of India forinformation and necessary action.

The minutes and presentations by speakers are also available at the Departments'website www.dolr.nic.in.Encl: As above

(V.M.Arora)Director

Tel. 011-2436 4602

To

1. Sh. Sushi] Gupta, Chairman, Central Ground Water Board, Bhujal Bhawan, NH-IV,Faridabad - 121001.

2. Sh. Arun Kumar , Regional Director, Central Ground Water Board, West Block-II,Wing-3, Ground Floor,Sector-1, R K Puram, New Delhi

3. Dr. Shakeel Ahmed, Chief Scientist, National Geographical Research Institute, UppalRoad, Hyderabad, 500007(A.P).

4. Sh. Nilay Ranjan, Director, Rural Development, Government of India, New Delhi.5. Sh. Saleem Haider, Assistant Advisor, PHE, Ministry of Drinking Water and

Sanitation, New Delhi.

6. Dr. C. Suvarna. Special Commissioner, SLNA, DWCRA Building, Gandhi Nagar,New Lower Tank Road, Hyderabad 500 080 Andhra Pradesh

7. Sh. Balasaheb Palghadmal, Joint CEO, Office of Vasundhra Watershed DevelopmentAgency, Pune, 411001. Maharashtra

8. Sh. Mr. A.N. Prasad, CEO, SLNA, Room No. 21 1,Vikas Bhawan, Civil Lines,Raipur, Chhattisgarh

9. Sh. Lajvir Singh, CEO, SLNA, SCO No. 183-185 Sector 17 C (Above MehfilRestaurant), Chandigarh 160017.

10. Sh. Dr. G.H Shah, CEO, SLNA, Department of PR & RD, Civil Secretariat, Srinagar,Jammu & Kashmir.

11. Sh. B. Nijalingappa, CEO, cum Special Secretary, Jharkhand State WatershedMission -SLNA, F.F.P. Building, Dhurva, Ranchi, Jharkhand.

12. Dr. A. Rajanna, Director, Watershed Development Directorate, 7th Floor, KHBComplex, Kaveri Bhavan, Bangalore-560009. Karnataka.

13. Ms. N. Kulkarani Devi, CEO, SLNA, & Joint Director, Planning Department,Government of Manipur, Near State Guest House, Babupara, imphal, Manipur-

795001.14. Sh. D. C. Nepal, CEO, SLNA and CF Department of Forest, Environment and Wild

Life Management, Forest Secretariat, Deorali-737102, Gangtok, Sikkim.15. Sh. Saradindu Das, CEO, SLNA, 64-Ujjan, Abhoynagar Road, Near Buddha Mandir,

Agartala, West Tripura-799001.16. Dr. Sandeep Tambe, Special Secretary, Rural Development, Government of Sikkim,

Gangtok.17. Sh. Dipankar Bhadra, Deputy. CEO, Block-G, 2nd Floor, Writers Building, Kolkata-

700001, West Bengal.18. Sh. Albert Ngullie, Deputy Director, Department of Land Resource Development,

Government of Nagaland, Kohima.19. Sh. Mohd Ikbal, Technical Expert, SLNA, TANCOF Building No. 55, Thiru.vi.ka.

Industrial estate. Ekkattuthangalk, Guindy, Chennai, Tamil Nadu-24.20. Saba Ishaq, Chief Consultant (WD), National Rainfed Area Authority, NASC

Complex, Dev Praksh Shashtri Marg, Pusa, New Delhi21. Himanshu Kulkarni, Executive Director, Advanced Centre for Water Resources

Development and Management, Plot No. 4, Lenyadri Society, Sus Road, PashanPune - 411021 Maharashtra.

22. Shri Ramchandrudu, Watershed Support Services and Activities Network(WASSAN), No. 12-13-452 Street No. 1, Tarnaka, Secundrerabad-500017, AndhraPradesh.

23. Shri P.S. Vijay Shankar, Samaj Pragati Sahayog, Bagli, District Dewas-455227.Madhya Pradesh.

24. Shri Pramathesh Ambasta, Samaj Pragati Sahayog, Bagli, District Dewas-455227.Madhya Pradesh.

25. Dr Ravi Chopra, People's Science Institute, 252, Vasant Vihar, Phase-I, Dehradun-248006, Uttarakhand.

26. Sh. Popat Rao Pawar, Sarpanch, Hiware Bazar, Ahmednagar, Mharashtra.27. Sh. Shyam Sundar Paliwal, Sarpanch, Piplantri, Rajsamund, Rajasthan.28. Sh. Brijen D. Thakur, Assistant Programme Coordinator, Arid Communities and

Technologies, C - 279, Opp. Gunatit Chowk, Mundra Road Relocation Site, Bhuj -370 001. Kutch, Gujarat.

29. Sh. Jitendera Jadeja, Assistant Programme Coordinator, Arid Communities andTechnologies, C - 279, Opp. Gunatit Chowk, Mundra Road Relocation Site, Bhuj -370 001. Kutch Gujarat.

30. Sh. Sachin Oza, Executive Director, Development Support Centre, Near GovernmentTube-well, Bopal, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

31. Sh. Rahul Bakre, Director, Programmes, Arghyam, 12th Main, HAL 2nd Stage,Indiranagar, Bangalore ,Karnataka-560068

32. Sh. Parikshit Gautam, Manager, Foundation for Ecological Services (FES), P. O. Box29, NDDB Campus. Anand. Gujarat. 388001

33. Ms. Uma Badarayni, Researcher, Advanced Centre for Water Resources Developmentand Management, Plot No. 4, Lenyadri Society, Sus Road, PashanPune - 411021 Maharashtra.

34. Sh. Amit Upmanyu, Scientist, Advanced Centre for Water Resources Developmentand Management, Plot No. 4, Lenyadri Society, Sus Road, PashanPune - 411021 Maharashtra.

35. Sh. A. Ravindra, Consultant, WASSAN, No. 12-13-452 Street No. 1, Tarnaka,Secundrerabad-500017, Andhra Pradesh.

Copy for information to

1. PPS to Hon'ble MRD, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi.2. PPS to Hon'ble MoS (RD-LK), Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi.3. PPS to Dr. Mihir Shah, Member, Planning Commission (RD), Yojna Bhawan, New

Delhi.

4. PPS to Secretary (LR)/ PPS to SS & FA/ PPS to AS (LR)/PPS to JS(WM)/ PS to JS(LR)

5. Director/ DIG (WM)/ DC (WD)/ TE (WM),Watershed Division DoLR6. DS (Finance), DoLR New Delhi7. Sr.TD (NIC)/ PSA (NIC), DoLR, CGO Complex, New

8. PSA (NIC), DoLR, Nirman Bhavan, New Delhi - with a request to upload the sameunder IWMP in the Department's website.

Minutes of the workshop on Participatory Groundwater Management inwatershed projects held on 7th may, 2013 at Mirza Ghalib Hall, Scope

Complex, New Delhi under the chairmanship of Shri Lalchand Kataria,

Minister of State, Rural Development, Government of India

The workshop on Participatory Groundwater Management in watershed projects washeld on 7th may, 2013 at Mirza Ghalib Hall, Scope Complex, New Delhi under thechairmanship of Shri Lalchand Kataria, Minister of State, Rural Development,

Government of India. The list of participants is at Annexure-1.

Sh. B. B. Srivastava, Secretary (LR) in his welcome address said that the communityneeds to be mobilized and made aware about the depleting groundwater. He said thatbig farmers and industries are drawing more water and poor people are left not onlywith little water but also at many places, with contaminated water. He said thatparticipatory Groundwater management is a challenge that needs immediate attention.

Dr. Mihir Shah, Member Planning Commission said that a focused approach on aquifermapping and aquifer management has been proposed in the 12th Five Year Plan. Hesaid that though aquifer mapping was being done earlier too, but in 12th Plan it is nowproposed to be taken up with peoples' participation. He said that 2/3rd of the irrigationwater come from groundwater.The drilling for groundwater has gone down to suchlevels that water coming out is contaminated with uranium in Punjab leading to healthhazard. He emphasized on sustainability of groundwater management and said thatPanchayats are also now getting more aware and cited an example of a Panchayat inKerala, which was in confrontation with a soft drink company over excessive use ofgroundwater for its bottling plant, leaving very little drinking water for the village. Hesaid that there is a need to monitor water footprints. The industrial units such usthermal plants which use more water should reuse and recycle the water. He said thatWatershed management should not be looked only as supply side of water; themanagement of demand of water is also to be done. Watershed management enhanceswater availability, but people tend to take up more water intensive crops. He said thatunder Drinking Water and Sanitation (DWS) Programme, 100% coverage of habitationis targeted, but slipping- back is being seen as the groundwater levels go down in thehabitations. Therefore, sustainability of sources is also equally important. He was of theview that aquifer mapping should be linked with schemeslike IWMP and DWS. He wasof the view that the Ground Water Departments should partner with IWMP, Panchayats,Central Ground Water Board and voluntary organization for groundwater management.He said that such workshops should be organized by DoLR in all parts of the country toaddress the region-specific issues on groundwater. He emphasized on capacity building

of villagers on groundwater.

Shri Popat Rao Pawar, Sarpanch of Hiware Bazaar in Ahemadnagar district ofMaharashtra said that people in his village are now doing crop management based onthe rainfall data. Over the years, community has been managing the groundwater sowell that the village doesn't face drinking water shortage even during the droughtyears. He said that people take up one crop when rainfall is up to 100 mm, two crops ifrainfall is between 100-200 mm, Rabi crop if the rainfall is 300 mm and summer crop, ifthe rainfall is 400 mm. He said that people are concerned about depleting groundwaterand that banana and sugarcane are not grown by the villagers as these crops consumemore water. He said that tube wells have been banned in the village and the open wellsare sustainably supplying water without compromising on the agriculture requirementsand said that drip irrigation and sprinklers are commonly used for improving the wateruse efficiency. He emphasized the need for participatory planning and decision making,for attaining success. He insisted on inculcating discipline and management prior toconservation. He said that organic agriculture is being practiced in the village and senseof belongingness has been inculcated in the community. He suggested that for betterimplementation of watershed projects, Panchayat President may also be the presidentof watershed committee.

Shri Shayam Sunder Paliwal, Sarpanch of Piaplantari village in Rajasmand district ofRajasthan said that community participation is the key to success of watershedprogramme in his village and informed that lakhs of plants have been planted by thecommunity including school children. He said that 111 saplings are planted on the birthof every girl-child and the community takes care of these saplings. He said that thevillagers of Piplantri believe in sharing water with other villages by allowing water toflow from their village to other villages.

Shri Lalchand Kataria- Minister of State, Rural Development, Government of India in hisaddress said that groundwater management is essential as there is a drinking watershortage in Western and North Western part of the country and cited example ofRajasthan, where women have to fetch drinking water from a distance of 5-6 km. Attimes, even trains have to be engaged for transportation of water during summermonths. He emphasized on spreading awareness about use of groundwater. Heemphasized the need to follow integrated approach for sustainable development. Hesaid that his visit to Udaipur with the Parliamentary Consultative Committee hasbenefitted him in understanding the importance of watershed programme. He said thatwater related diseases are common and in many villages, people use boiled water. Hesaid that water is a common concern for common man for drinking water andagriculture, and underlined the need for awareness in groundwater management. Heemphasized on roof water harvesting and said that in areas where rainfall is low, roofwater harvesting should be encouraged to provide additional water.

Dr. Shakeel Ahmed, Chief Scientist, National Geographical Research Institute (NGRI)said that the Institute has developed a participatory decision support tool forgroundwater management. He said that the amount of water that can be drawn isbeing calculated and people are made aware about crops that can be taken up with thisamount of water. Pumping out of water is to be in tune with groundwater recharge. Heemphasized on use of rain gauge in each village to measure the rainfall and said thatwith artificial recharge, the water level in wells can increase and can be available on asustainable basis.

Shri Arun Kumar, Regional Director, Central Ground Water Board explained about thetriggering factors and increasing dependency on groundwater and highlighted the needfor convergent plan for surface water and groundwater. He said that CGWB can helpin training of trainers (TOT) for NGOs and provide training module to SLNAs and forWDTs and also prepare training material. He said that CGWB can provide scientific inputfor region specific problems related to groundwater management.

Shri M. V. Ramachandrudu, WASSAN, explained the integration of groundwaterconcerns in DPRs under IWMP. He explained about mapping of hydrologicalassessments, socio-economic status and scarcity issues. He explained about preparationof GIS layers and preparation of composite map with groundwater related issues. Hementioned that at every stage of planning, additional processes are to be taken up togenerate data; to assess the groundwater and surface water situation; to understandthe aspirations of farmers who do not have access to groundwater, and develop aperspective in the minds of people. As part of planning process, the local communitiesneed to be sensitized on the need for groundwater management and ensure that DPRsprovide opportunity for realizing the needs of all categories of farmers, in accessing thegroundwater in a sustainable manner. Ms. B. Bhamathi, Special Secretary & FinancialAdvisor, Rural Development suggested that a handbook incorporating groundwaterconcerns at different stages of project implementation could be prepared for SLNAs.

Shri Amit, ACWADAM and Shri Vijayshankar, Samaj Pragati Sahyog made apresentation on principles of Participatory Groundwater Management. Shri Shankar saidthat groundwater should be seen as a common resource and local communities need tobe engaged in management of this resource wherein science and knowledge systemsshould be fine-tuned to support the community level decision making processes. Heemphasized the need for convergence between various agencies working in the field ofgroundwater management. He advised the participants to involve practitioners andcommunities in planning and groundwater management in the context of IWMP andsaid that a cadre needs to be built up. Capacity building inputs should to be provided topractitioners and communities so that they are able to understand the typology andframe multiple strategies. Strategies should be able to address supply sideaugmentation and demand side management.

Brijesh Thakur from ACT, Bhuj, shared his experiences on training of para hydro-geologists in Kutchh region by developing a cadre of local youth who function as para-hydro-geologists. These para-hydro-geologists are local youth who provide necessarytechnical, managerial and knowledge support to local institutions in groundwatermanagement. Some of these members have become an independent unit andestablished themselves as "PARAB", as group of para-hydro-geologists, who could offerprofessional support services to variety of projects and local institutions, on issuesrelated to groundwater management.

Ms. Uma Asklekar, ACWDAM presented a case study of Randullabad village in WesternMaharashtra where ACWADAM had collaborated with BAIF and Village WatershedCommittee for facilitating groundwater management. The initial phase of this pilot was

spent on developing maps and conducting hydro- geological survey of the village. Localcommunity members were involved in all stages of the process. By the end of thisassessment, aquifer maps were developed for the village. Based on these maps,insights from the situation analysis, villagers were motivated to make watermanagement efforts and were made aware of water balance and aquifer characteristics.The Randullabad village no longer has drinking water scarcity.

Dr. C. Suvarna, CEO SLNA Andhra Pradesh explained the efforts made by SLNA, AndhraPradesh to develop a comprehensive legal and policy framework for community basedgroundwater management systems, as an alternative to APWALTA. She said that underAndhra Pradesh Drought Adaptation Initiatives and Comprehensive Land DevelopmentProject (CLDP), pooling of bore wells through pipe line network and providing access togroundwater to those farmers who do not have bore wells, has been initiated.

Dr. Ravi Chopra, Peoples' Science Institute, Dehradun spoke on quality issues ofgroundwater. Taking examples from Himalayan zone, he said that there is a need fordeveloping local perspectives in quality issues. He said that proper advice andknowledge support systems could reduce the vulnerability of communities on waterquality related issues.

A Ravindra, WASSAN said that groundwater scarcity is a problem of farmers who do nothave access to bore wells. Each of such farmers would dig a bore well during/ after thewatershed project to access the groundwater by incurring huge expenditure. This iscommon in most of the watershed village, where the entire groundwater is exhausted inno time. He said that the farmers are willing to share water from their bore wells withthose who do not have bore wells, if proper incentives are given to both categories offamers. This arrangement prevents the digging of new bore wells and the existing borewells could function for longer duration. Farmers who do not have bore wells couldbenefit by accessing water by way of critical irrigation during dry spells. He suggested

that part of IWMP fund may be used for improving the access to critical irrigation by allfarmers in a watershed area.

Dr. Savita Anand, Joint Secretary said that pace of implementation of IWMP projectsneeds to be expedited and suggested that groundwater concerns should also beincorporated in the DPRs. She requested the States to furnish requisite documents inrespect of foreclosed pre-IWMP projects to DoLR on immediate basis. She alsoemphasized on furnishing pending UCs, refund of unspent balance and completionreports of completed pre-IWMP projects.

Shri B.B. Srivastava, Secretary observed that participatory groundwater management isessential in the context of IWMP. He said that the following action points need to betaken up:

I. SLNAs may convene meetings with other concerned Departments to exploreopportunities for convergence.

ii. A network of resource organizations from academic institutions and NGOs may bedeveloped and shared with States for region specific capacity building ongroundwater management issues.

iii. A Hand book for processes could be developed for incorporating groundwaterconcerns into Detailed Project Reports of IWMP.

iv. A cadre of watershed professionals on hydro-geology and other themes may bedeveloped by SLNAs with the help of expert organizations.

v. Aquifer mapping related efforts of CGWB could be focused on IWMP villages.

vi. Mechanism to provide access to water to those farmers who are not having accessto groundwater (in the form of critical irrigation/ common and shared facilities forwater sharing; water use efficiency equipment, etc.) may be explored by theStates.

vii. Such workshops may be organized in other parts of the country to address theregion-specific issues on groundwater

Shri V.M. Arora, Director, DoLR thanked the Hon'ble Minister and participants for theirparticipation and contribution to the workshop proceedings.

Annexure-1

List of Participants for workshop on Participatory Groundwater Managementin watershed projects held on 7th may, 2013 at Mirza Ghalib Hall, ScopeComplex, New Delhi

1. Shri Lalchand Kataria, Minister of State, Rural Development, Government of India

II. Dr. Mihir Shah, Member Planning Commission (RD), Yojana Bhawan, New Delhi

Representatives of DoLR, MoRD

1. Sh. B.B. Srivastava, Secretary (LR), DoLR2. Mrs. B. Bhamathi , Special Secretary & Financial Advisor3. Sh. P.D. Meena, Additional Secretary, DoLR4. Dr. Savita Anand, JS (WM), DoLR5. Sh. V.M. Arora, Director, DoLR6. Sh. Jagdish Singh, DIGF, DoLR7. Dr. C.P. Reddy, DC, DoLR8. Sh. Dinesh Singh, DS, IWMP, DoLR

9. Sh. Naveen Agarwal, Principal System Analyst, NIC, New Delhi10. Sh. K. Garison, Section Officer, DPAP, DoLR11. Sh. Manish Singh Pawar, Technical Expert (WM), DoLR12. Sh. Yashpal Singh, Technical Officer, DoLR13. Sh. Mubeen Ahmed, Technical Officer, DoLR.

Representatives from Other Ministries Institutions and States

14. Sh. Arun Kumar, Regional Director, CGWB, New Delhi

15. Dr. Shakeel Ahmed , Chief Scientist, National Geographical Research Institute,Hyderabad

16. Sh. Nilay Ranjan , Director, Rural Development, Government of India, New Delhi17. Sh. Saleem Haider, Assistant Advisor, PHE Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation ,

New Delhi

18. Dr. C. Suvarna, Special Commissioner, SLNA, Andhra Pradesh19. Sh. Balasaheb Paighadmal, Joint CEO, SLNA, Maharashtra20. Sh. Mr. A.N. Prasad, CEO, SLNA, Chhattisgarh21. Sh. Lajvir Singh, CEO, SLNA, SLNA, Haryana

22. Sh. Dr. G.H Shah, CEO, SLNA, Jammu Kashmir23. Sh. B. Nijalingappa , CEO, JSWM, Jharkhand24. Dr. A. Rajanna, Director, Watershed Development Directorate, Karnataka25. Ms. N. Kulkarani Devi, CEO, SLNA, Manipur.

26. Sh. D.C. Nepal , CEO, SLNA, Sikkim,27. Sh. Saradindu Das, CEO, SLNA, Tripura28. Sh. Dipankar Bhadra, Deputy. CEO, SLNA, West Bengal29. Sh. Albert Ngullie, Deputy Director, Department of Land Resources Development,

Nagaland30. Sh. Mohd Ikbal, Technical Expert, SLNA, Tamil Nadu31. Sh. Shivraj Ghorpade, GIS, Expert, SLNA, Maharashtra32. Sh. Arun Kumar Surana, Deputy Director, Livelihood, SLNA, Rajasthan.33. Sh. B. L Verma, Additional Director, SLNA, Rajasthan34. Sh. Ravish Maraviaya, Professional Expert, GSWMA, Gujarat35. Dr. G. Narendera Kumar, ICRISAT, NASC Complex, DPS Marg , New Delhi36. Ms. Saba Ishaq, Chief Consultant (WD), National Rainfed Area Authority, NASC

Complex, Dev Praksh Shashtri Marg, Pusa, New Delhi

Representatives from NGOs and Panchayats

37. 37. Sh. Popat Rao Pawar, Sarpanch, Hiware Bazar, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra38. 38 Sh. Shayam Sunder Paliwal, Sarpanch, Piplantri, Rajsamand, Rajasthan.39. 39. Sh. Ravi Chopra , Director, Peoples' Science Institute , Dehradun40. 40. Sh. Anil Gautam, Scientist, Peoples' Science Institute , Dehradun41. 41. Sh. Brijen D. Thakur, Assistant Programme Coordinator, Arid Communities and

Technologies, Bhuj, Gujarat42. 42. Sh. Jitendera Jadeja, Assistant Programme Coordinator, Arid Communities and

Technologies, Bhuj, Gujarat43. 43. Sh. Sachin Oza, Executive Director, Development Support Centre, Near

Government Tube-well, Bopal , Ahmedabad44. 44. Ms. A. Usha , Programme Associate, WASSAN, Hyderabad45. 45. Sh. P. S Vijayshankar, SPS, Bagli, Madhya Pradesh46. 46. Sh. Rahul Bakre, Director Programmes, Arghyam, Bangalore.47. 47. Sh. A. Ravindra, Consultant, WASSAN, Hyderabad48. 48. Sh. Parikshit Gautam, Manger, FES, Anand , Gujarat49. 49. Ms. Uma Badarayni, Researcher, Advanced Centre for Water Resources

Development and Management, Pune50. 50. Sh. Amit, Scientist, Advanced Centre for Water Resources Development and

Management, Pune51. 51. Ms. M Veena Dhari, Consultant, WASSAN, Hyderabad52. 52. Sh. C. Bakka Reddy, Senior Programme Officer, WASSAN , Hyderabad53. 53. Sh. G. Uthappa , Programme Associate, WASSAN, Anantapur, Hyderabad.54. 54. Ms. Dixita J. Chhaya, Project Assistant, Arid Communities and Technologies

Bhuj , Gujarat55. Shri M. V. Ramachandrudu, WASSAN