Atal Jal Scheme and the rise of participatory groundwater management

Water security is widely recognised as a major challenge for economic and social development worldwide, especially in rapidly growing countries. In India, the spatial and temporal variability of rainfall, along with the insufficiency of reliable surface water sources, led to the excessive exploitation of groundwater resources, especially from the 1960s.

The unabated exploitation of groundwater resources and the resultant water level decline nudged the stakeholders to evolve groundwater management practices. In the case of groundwater management, people’s participation becomes sine qua non because of its availability and importance in socio-economic development.

Water management practices have been used in India since time immemorial and are rooted in the Indian historical context.

Dholavira, an important town of the Indus Valley Civilisation, had several reservoirs to collect monsoon runoff. In modern times, communities as well as individual efforts have championed water management practices based on their geography and needs.

After independence, as groundwater exploitation increased, many local movements started for its conservation and sustainable management.

Localised but effective participatory water management (PWM) movements became the inspiration and foundation for government policy formulation. The National Water Policy (NWP) of 2002 introduced “participatory water resource management by involving government agencies, users and other stakeholders in various aspects of planning, design, development and management of the water resources schemes”.

The NWP was reviewed and comprehensively modified in 2012. NWP-2012 envisaged that groundwater needs to be managed as a community resource and held by the state under the public trust doctrine.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, “People’s participation is the essence of good governance.” With a mission to democratise groundwater governance, Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL), “a community-led sustainable groundwater management”, was launched by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, in 2020.

The major objective of the scheme is to improve the management of groundwater resources in select water-stressed areas in identified states viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

This ambitious scheme emphasises the concept of participatory groundwater management, empowering communities to actively engage in the conservation and sustainable use of groundwater resources.

By promoting local participation and collective decision-making, Atal Jal seeks to foster a sense of ownership, responsibility and long-term sustainability in water management practices. It also aims at bringing about a behavioural change at the community level through awareness and educational programmes and capacity building for fostering sustainable groundwater management.

The participation of women in water budgeting and water-security planning exercises has been kept at least 33% in the gram panchayat-level water user associations.

Atal Jal is based on a four-pronged strategy: a) decision support tools for groundwater management; b) strengthening community-based institutions to foster management; c) improving water use efficiency and enhancing groundwater recharge; and d) decentralised decision-making.

Key features of the Atal Jal Scheme are community empowerment by forming and strengthening water user associations; capacity building and knowledge dissemination through training programmes; workshops and awareness campaigns; data and information generation and sharing; water budgeting in the form of water security plan preparation at the gram panchayat level; and adoption of modern technologies and practices that enhance water use efficiency.

Expected benefits of the scheme are improved groundwater sustainability in target areas, contribution to the goal of doubling farmers’ income, source sustainability for interventions under Jal Jeevan Mission and, most importantly, inculcation of behavioural changes to promote judicious water use.

A dedicated mobile app has been developed for data and information gathering and dissemination to the public in a transparent manner.

The scheme has now entered into its fourth year and created a buzz amongst all stakeholders in terms of providing visibility to the invisible resource: groundwater.

Under the scheme, all gram panchayats have prepared their water budgets, containing information about the present annual available water and required water as well as Water Security Plans (WSPs) with proposed interventions that can make their GPs water secure.

These interventions are now being implemented in the field under convergence by various line departments. The idea of the scheme is to have a holistic GP-level water plan and all concerned line departments should implement the plan, which will be more economical as well as resource efficient.

The scheme aims at smart and water-efficient agricultural practices like drip and sprinkler, crop rotation, soil moisture monitoring etc., and, accordingly, targets to bring 4.5-lakh area under water-efficient use. More than 50% of the target has been achieved by FY-2022-23. 

With its comprehensive approach, the Atal Jal Scheme has garnered attention and support from various stakeholders. The scheme has also made significant progress in promoting smart and water-efficient agricultural practices, contributing to the goal of doubling farmers' income.

The Atal Jal Scheme is a testament to the commitment of the Indian government and its stakeholders towards sustainable water management. It is revolutionising the participatory approach through behavioural changes and promoting judicious water use. By ensuring the long-term sustainability of groundwater resources, the scheme paves the way for a water-secure future, benefiting both present and future generations.

(The writer is Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Dept. of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation)