Consultation workshop on small water harvesting structures technology, Institution and management October 7-8, 1998

Small Water Harvesting Structures (SWHSS) have long historical roots in India, going back to the medieval and ancient times. They formed the major source of irrigation and drinking water. The state supported their construction and maintenance for serving the needs of the people. However, there occurred a change in the state policy under the British colonial rule which favoured large and medium irrigation structures. This policy has continued even after independence. As a result, SWHSS have been on the decline for long all over the country.

The shift in the state policy has not been able to meet the needs of the people for water. The big and medium structures are very expensive. They have also created several serious problems, like, waterlogging, salination, submersion of forest and displacement of people. The groundwater policy of the state has led to the depletion of groundwater at an alarming rate. Further, it is observed that two-third of the net sown area is still without irrigation in the country. A large part of the country's precipitation is wasted due to lack of conservation measures.
In such a scenario, SWHSS offer an alternative to tackle water related problems and meet the needs of the people in the country. They also have the potential to mitigate some of the problems confronted in major and medium irrigation systems provided these structures are designed and managed appropriately with major and medium irrigation systems. The need of the hour is first to understand properly the status of these structures in different parts of the country and then to design strategies to integrate them in the national agenda of water policy and programmes which ensures their due role.
Society for Promotion of Wastelands Development (SPWD), New Delhi, in collaboration with the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), is working on a project to bring out a status paper on the conditions of SWHSS in the country. In this connection, four workshops have been organised to discuss and understand the status of SWHSS in different regions of the country. The third workshop was held at IRMA. This report presents an summary of the papers presented and discussions held there, and also includes some additional facts in case of the states of Rajasthan and Maharashtra to supplement the issues raised during the workshop. It gives a synoptic view of the status of SWHSS in western India with a focus on the issues of technology, management, institution and programme of action.