Panchayati Raj Institutions

Forwarded to the Portal by: Nitya Jacob, UN

Dr Kurien Baby, District Collector of Trissur, Kerala, and Solution Exchange Water Community are organizing a regional meeting to discuss the effects of the Mazhapolima program. The dates are 16-17 June 2009, and it will be held in Trissur.

Background

Kerala has among the highest well densities in India, and 71% of the population depends on them for drinking water. The aggregate household investment in the state on wells is pegged at Rs 1800 crore and they have a combined yield potential of 6.6 million cu m per day. That works out to a water availability of 197 litres of water per capita per day (lpcd), well above the government's prescribed norm of 140 lpcd. These wells are threatened. Despite an annual rainfall of 3,000 mm, 70% go dry in summer. The surface runoff is heavy, and therefore groundwater levels in several blocks have fallen sharply, and coupled with saline intrusion at an accelerated pace, have led to water quality problems.

The Swajaldhara Guidelines are an outcome of the Sector Reforms Project launched on a pilot basis in the year 1999-2000 and presently scaled up for the whole country from the Tenth Plan. Thus, if the village/block level Panchayati Raj Institutions or User Groups come forward and agree to adhere to the reform principles, water supply schemes can be taken up by them in those areas.

This paper presented at the workshop on "Policy Futures for Water Resources Management in India: From prescription and impact assessment to strategic analysis," 3-5 October 2002, IWMI/ICRISAT, Patancheru (Hyderabad), A P, India by

Water Initiatives Orissa(WIO) and the Indian River Network (IRN) organsied the Odisha River Conference during 18 - 20 April 2009 at Sambalpur, Odisha. Attended by about 75 participants which included activists, environmentalists, journalists, academicians, researchers and civil society representatives from across the country, the Conference has just concluded with a "Sambalpur Declaration" that calls for saving the rivers from the current fate of high rate of degradation and giving communities their traditional rights over the rivers, among other strong resolutions.

"Plenty on the roof", is a case study written by Shree Padre in August 2005, of how a district panchayat office in Kerala, used rainwater harvesting not just to overcome shortages in piped supply, but to tap the overhead source, so that no other source was needed.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have become a tool with widespread use in development applications. The power of a GIS can have positive influence in community based planning and scientific decision-making for developmental activities. Commercial GIS softwares are not always an economical and easy-to-use option.

The Jan Jagaran Abhiyan (JJA) is a nascent group working in Araria, towards creating a just and equitable society. It is led by young, committed professionals who are looking to work in the challenging socio-economic context of the state of Bihar.