Telangana, AP experts working hard to turn Rajasthan green

Celebrating Mahatma Gandhi or his life is easier said than done. The tributes that followed his 150th birth anniversary and the optics involving our political leaders sound hollow and make a sad commentary. But, not here, in these remote villages and hamlets of Rajasthan where self-reliance has peaked to turn the arid land into green pastures simultaneously increasing the ground water levels. Mini tanks, medium tanks and major tanks...call these by any name, hundreds of lagoons are transforming the geographical picture of the State.

This silent revolution is not only helping the land recover its moisture and soil health but also its livestock which could be abundantly seen all across the State where the Mukhya Mantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan (MJSA) is being implemented. Rural economy in these vast stretches is rapidly changing to progress towards self-sustenance.

Basic minimum water needs are being addressed by mitigating water woes and abuses of drought. This is not an easy task by any yardstick. Rajasthan is a water-starved State with fewer water resources of its own. Vagaries of weather have taken a heavy toll on it over long years. Deprived of perennial resources, the people of the State had only been dependent on the ground water for centuries and that depleted it to the deeper recesses of the earth.
Vedire Sriram, who is an adviser to the Union Ministry of Water Resources, and who is heading the MJSA, is highly focused in his approach.

"The MJSA is a unique techno-savvy venture, configured quite intelligently and meticulously to suit geo-metrological scenario of the State on the lines of Gandhian philosophy of attaining self-reliance at village level and envisaged to transform radically yet pragmatically, the water sector scenario of the State. We catch every drop of water in the planned area and save it in tanks. All trickles, streams and brooks are drawn into pools of different sizes and stored at regular intervals so much so that the water percolating down is getting linked up all around to form large water body formations inside the earth. This is helping the land and people thrive on it", he said speaking to The Hans India.

Amazingly, all 44,795 villages of the State have been included in the programme. Only, these will benefit in phases. Micro watershed-based approach is adhered to where villages based on it are encapsulated for a cluster-based programme. The Abhiyan was launched on January 27, 2016 and so far three phases covering 11,981 villages with the representation of each block in every phase was accomplished executing 3,77,663 water conservation works. It has also led to tree plantation to the tune of 148 lakh saplings so far in the State. People are the stakeholders here.

The role of Telugus, all experts in water conservation and specially trained, is unique to this. Ramesh, a retired water expert of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and Afsar and Janga Reddy, both Telangana State Government employees, are toiling hard here on deputation to MJSA and say "it gives us immense satisfaction when we see this dry land turn green and there are smiles on the faces of people". "We cannot go for big projects here. Hence, we need to catch every drop of rain water and store it to our benefit", they add.

The methodology of the Four Waters concept is revolving around the harvesting of available runoff (rain water, groundwater, underground water & in situ soil moisture) in every way. It effectively takes care of agriculture, soil conservation, ground water levels, surface water storage and geo-engineering.

Rejuvenation of defunct hand pumps and tube wells and open wells is a testimony to the success of the programme. Sowing has improved say villagers benefiting by it. There is an indirect impact too in enhancing the green cover, improvement in the status of flora and fauna and in livestock status and is also arresting migration in our villages, says Parvati Bai, Sarpanch of Lalpura Village of Bakani panchayat samiti of Jhalawar district, says.Villagers of Harnawada gaja of Pirawa Panchayat Samiti who gathered near a watershed programme advise other States to follow them. Shekawat says "we need to save ourselves and our mother earth. Let us not wait for anyone".