AN OVERALL VIEW OF ACTIVITIES IN THE KALUVELLY PONDICHERRY BASIN
Since the ‘Green revolution’, started in the 1970’s, the Government of India had offered
heavy subsidy for well drilling, electrical installations and the concessions of free electricity to
all agricultural pump sets. As a result, the number of bore-wells in use for agriculture has
increased considerably. An individualistic approach caused by social change towards the
irrigation water management at the farm level and adoption of intensive cropping of cash
crops like sugarcane, casuarina, etc., led to a neglect of the traditional tank water irrigation
system. This system is an age old practice but it was seen that in the last 50 years, due to
the subsidies etc, these tanks have not been maintained leading to their neglect and
becoming dysfunctional. Subsequently, the decline of interest to maintain and manage the
tank structures, which was formerly a common feature in villages and carried out every year
before the on-set of Monsoon to store adequate rainwater.
Understanding the crisis of the water situation in the area of the Kaluvelly Pondicherry basin,
it becomes imperative to have a comprehensive water management plan of action. The
scientific component is furthered by field action projects which try to bring about
cohesiveness of a comprehensive system. There is a heavy emphasis on social mobilisation
of the communities towards building up an integrated and sustainable water resource
management plan. All projects carried out so far have a strong social component where
communities are made aware of the problem and become actively involved in helping to
ameliorate it in a sustainable manner.
TANK REHABILITATION PROJECT- PONDICHERRY
It is an ongoing project to rehabilitate the existing but dysfunctional traditional rain water
harvesting tanks in the basin area. The Tank Rehabilitation Project-Pondicherry (TRPP) was
initiated in the year 1999, with aid from the European Union. It is coordinated by the Public
Works Department (PWD) Govt. of Pondicherry and has currently been handed over to them.
It involves in rehabilitating all 84 tanks in Pondicherry and the surrounding area which also
fall into Tamil Nadu. Rehabilitation of existing water structures, feeding channels, irrigation
channels with new infrastructure like surplus weirs etc is included in the project. This is a
unique project in Pondicherry as it involves the participation of all the stakeholders in all
stages of the project. There are 4 NGOs involved in the social mobilisation component in
gaining active participation and ownership of
the various stakeholders and beneficiaries.
Auroville Water Harvest, an NGO under
Auroville Foundation, was entrusted with the
work of Community Organizing of 31 tanks
since the inception of the project in 1999. A
GPS topographic survey of tanks, channels
and ayacut (irrigation) areas for TRPP was
conducted. The end product was the
submission
of
computer
generated
topographic maps and reports describing the
methodology used as well as volume
computation. Harvest also looks after the
physical work in the tanks and the channels with its excavators.
The new phase commenced in January 2005 for another 3 1/2 years more to consolidate all
physical work and to ensure sustainability not only in terms of physical work but also social
mobilisation and ownership. A pilot phase project has started along the same lines with
Karaikal which is 150 km from the project area. This work has been entrusted to Harvest.
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The project has a strong social component in actively working with the community in planning
and implementation aspects. There is enhanced capacity building of the community for the
management of the resources especially among the women who form Self Help Groups.
These groups are given small enterprises to handle thus increasing their potential to act as
active change makers. The communities are organised along Water Users Associations
where they make rules and regulations for the use of water. These associations are then
linked cluster wise to see that the water resources are managed and maintained. A
federation of associations is in the process of formation.
Achievements on various aspects have been recorded:
 The PWD engineers have recorded a significant increase in the level of ground water
table.
 Water extraction from bore wells has reduced in many areas and the farmers have
started to use tank water for the crops cultivated in the ayacut area.
 Saving of electricity was also achieved in some cases as the motor pumps are less used
for water extraction
 The cleaning and renovation of feeder canal made the water flow easily towards the tank,
which made the tank fill to its full capacity during the rainy season. This allowed more
tanks to be linked together and water could be easily be diverted to difficult tanks.
 Foreshore bund was created achieving the stoppage of encroachments & water
inundation to the field..
 Due to the increase of water storage capacity in the tanks, fish culture has been taken up.
This provided an additional income and financial benefits to the tank associations and the
villagers.
 The Water User Associations took over the responsibility of managing and monitoring the
tanks. They were also given the usufructs rights of the tank. One part of the social
achievement is that the associations have obtained the involvement of women.
 Due to the drainage improvement, the irrigation practices were improved.
 Through the entire project the farmers were trained on Organic farming, Tree plantation,
Cropping pattern methodology, Horticulture, etc., which improved their standard of living,
attitude and skills.
 Tree plantation along the bund improved the ecology, and reduced soil erosion along the
bund. Many approach roads were constructed from the silt and mud from the excavation
of tank.
Seeing the success of this project, the Government of Tamil Nadu, the neighbouring state,
has adopted the technique of combining both physical work and social mobilisation in the
state to rehabilitate the traditional water harvesting devices.
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NEW PROJECTS
It is now well understood by the communities that water is a precious resource which is fast
depleting. It is only through community mobilisation and awareness creation that some sort of
management system can be reached. It has been observed that there is an increase in the
participation of women in the forums through the active work of the community organisers.
FIELD ACTION PROJECTS
Salinity Moderating & Proofing Of Coastal Aquifers:
Integrated Water Management With A Participatory Approach
The present trend of mining groundwater in the villages of Vanur Taluk is posing a big threat
to fresh water availability. The situation is highly favourable for further rapid intrusion of
seawater in the fresh water aquifers. Numerous wells in this region have become defunct
already. Moreover, the inhabitants are facing acute shortage of drinking water. The
percentage of fresh water sources affected by salinity is 48% and 66% in the coastal and the
interior parts respectively. The late catastrophic Tsunami increased the degradation and
multiplied the environmental and human risks.
Harvest, a local NGO, proposes to conduct a 3 years mini watershed project in an area
particularly threatened by salinity intrusion in the Vanur Taluk of Villupuram District, Tamil
Nadu, India. The development of the mini watershed is based on an integrated approach,
which comprises water, land, ecology, sanitation livestock and people.
Seven villages have been selected for the developmental cum research project and the
results of the project will be demonstrated to the nearby villages.
As the proposed project is based on a participatory approach with the water users, farmers
and the community, the already existing Water Users Associations of the area and the newly
formed associations will be motivated to act as change agents to conserve the natural
resources.
The project includes an important rainwater harvesting and artificial groundwater
recharge programme.
Artificial recharging will be done through
tanks rehabilitation, recharge wells, check
dams and percolation ponds in the
catchment’s area of the project. The
rainwater will be harvested with the help of
check dams, stored into ponds and will
recharge by percolation. This is a
participatory project which involves the
active participation of the communities
leading to a sense of ownership and
sustainability of the project.
Project objectives
The broader objective of the proposal is to retard contamination by salinisation of the coastal
aquifer (which is the only dependable source of accessible water for drinking and agricultural
purposes) in the coastal villages and to maintain the hydrodynamic balance of the
groundwater with seawater. The initiatives taken within this project will act on the global
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ecological system. The project aims to modify the natural resources capacities as well as
their usage. The scientific knowledge developed on the hydrogeological conditions of this
region will help to define suitable and practical solutions.
Methodology:
The surface runoff would be tackled, thus leading to a maximization of rainwater harvesting
capacities in the area, and large increase of groundwater recharge by appropriate recharge
structures on the waterways and in the fields. The rehabilitation of the water conservation
structures will contribute as well to augment the aquifers recharge but also to use more
efficiently surface water for irrigation purpose. Furthermore, implementing better surface
water management, irrigation and agriculture practices will reduce reliance on groundwater.
Through the development of appropriate facilities, sanitation aspects will also be taken care,
creating awareness in the population.
The community plays a major role
in seeing to the planning along with
technical experts. They are also
actively involved in the monitoring
and implementation of the project
thus making it a truly participatory
one. There is much capacity
building to the population for
management of all technical
aspects thus making the project
sustainable.
Kottakarai Sanitation Project
Kottakarai, a village on the outskirts of Auroville, has been facing severe water related heath
and sanitation problems. It was an acute crisis as the village is on top of a canyon whcih is
the head of a watershed area and is first in line of the drainage. There is a high risk of water
contamination as the village also lies on a shallow aquifer.
A few days ago, a sanitation project was launched in the village along with extensive
awareness generation sessions for the community. This is a pilot phase project.
Dewats and Ecosanitation
With the increasing problems in disposal of solid wastes and liquid wastes, Auroville has
been promoting the use of DEWATS and Ecosan toilets.
Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS) helps to treat waste water
generated from either household, institution or industrial / commercial set up consuming
water which do not have an outlet into a public sewer. The treatment efficiency is high
(>95%) and provides clear water whcih is rich in plant nutrients. The byproducts of the
treatment are biogas, sludge and a high hygiene-standard water. The biogas is an excellent
cooking fuel while the sludge can be transformed into good manure through composting.
This technology is being promoted by Auroville for the last 10 years.
UNICEF – WATSAN project
In the advent of the Tsunami, UNICEF and the DRDA has come up with a project to build
new toilest and repair of damaged toilets in the temporary shelters along the coast of Tamil
Nadu. This is being carried out with the local NGOs.
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SAVE WATER Campaign at school level
There is a national programme to spread awareness of water and sanitation among the
school children who in their way are effective change makers. Under the Total Sanitation
Campaign, in Tamil Nadu, 5 districts have joint programmes happening. The issues covered
are water scarcity, water haresting, sanitation, hygiene, health and environmental protection.
This campaign is to give children an opportunity to understand the problem of water and to
motivate families and neighbours to take action.
RESEARCH
There are currently many researches that are being conducted by Harvest in order to not
only build resources but also to help in implementation of projects.
2004 :
Geological contour checking on the
field, and construction of a 3D
geological model.
Pre and post monsoon geochemical
survey on groundwater, and during the
monsoon on rainwater (samples
currently being analysed).
Surface hydrology survey during the
monsoon,
including
flow
measurements and tanks water level
monitoring.
3D geological model
2005 :
Post-Tsunami actions :
Environmental impact study of the Tsunami on the coastal aquifer.
Surface hydrology modeling.
Pre Feasibility Study on Integrated Water Management
The Integrated Sustainable Water Management study for a region of 70 sq km is being
conducted by a team of international scientists from Germany, Netherlands, Israel and
France. The study looks at existing water resources and thier respective quantity and quality.
The study will come up with recommendations for appropriate management of water
resources and to define means and ways to conserve and protect resources.
This study aims to give a model that can be replicable in other similar situation.
Water and sanitation assessment in tsunami affected villages of Tamil Nadu
Catholic Relief Services, RedR India adn Harvest conducted an assessment on the water
and sanitation conditions in the temporary shelters in 20 tsunami affected villages. The
villages covered were in 3 districts – Nagapattinam, Tirunelvelli and Kanyakumari.
The study revealed that there was high contamination of both fecal matter and sea water in
these areas. The water pollution was due to the poor drainage and inappropriate sanitation
infrastructures constructed during the emergency period.
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SEMINAR FOLLOW UP
In september 2004, the President of India, Dr Kalam attened a seminar at Auroville on
Sustainable Water Management. The seminar presentations and discussions are in the
process of being published soon.
For more information on the activities of Harvest, one can visit the website –
www.auroville.org/environment/harvest/harvest.htm
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