Water Harvesting in India:

Rain water harvesting systems and water management systems have been in existence in India
since time immemorial. Preservation and management of water was taken up in a very serious
way. Evidence of water harvesting and management have been found even in the Indus Valley
civilization.- Archaeological evidence of irrigation and drinking water supply systems through
a large number of wells with brick lining have been found at several Indus Valley sites.
Dholavira, an important site of Indus Valley had several reservoirs to collect rain water. In
Lothal (Gujarat) and Inamgaon (Maharashtra) and other places in north and western India,
small bunds were built by the local people to store rain water for irrigation and drinking.
Kautilya’s Arthashastra mentions dams and bunds that were built for
irrigation during the period of the Mauryan Empire.The Satvahanas (1st Century B.C.-2nd
Century A.D.) introduced the brick and ring wells. Lake and well irrigation was developed on
a large scale during the time of Pandya, Chera and Chola dynasties in south India (1st-3rd
Century A.D.) and large structures were built across the Cauvery and Vaigai rivers. Water
resources development on a large scale took place during the Gupta era (300-500 A.D.). In the
south, the Pallavas expanded the irrigation system in the 7th Century A.D. The famous Cauvery
anicut was built during this period. Large-scale construction of tanks (Tataka) for tapping rain
water was also done in Tamil Nadu. The Chola period (985-1205 A.D.) witnessed the
introduction of quite advanced irrigation systems, which brought prosperity in the Deccan
region.
Dams, tanks and irrigations canals were built by kings from different dynasties all
over the country. In eastern India, Pala and Sena Kings (760-1100 A.D.) built a number of large
tanks and lakes in their kingdoms. Rajtarangini of Kalhana gives a detailed account of irrigation
systems developed in the 12th Century in Kashmir.Feroze Shah Tughlaq (1351-1388 A.D.)
built the Western Yamuna Canal in 1355 to extend irrigation facilities in the dry land tracts of
the present-day Haryana and Rajasthan. Emperor Shahjahan built many canals, prominent
among these being the Bari Doab or the Hasli Canal. Under the rule of Rangila Muhammad
Shah, the Eastern Yamuna Canal was built to irrigate large tracts in Uttar Pradesh. The
Vijaynagar Kingdom (1336-1546 A.D.) in the south took keen interest in building large and
small storage tanks like the Anantraj Sagar tank across the Maldevi river and the Korangal
dam. The Bahamani rulers (1388-1422 A.D.) introduced canal irrigation for the first time in
the eastern provinces of the Deccan.

Case Study of Rajasthan:

Rajasthan is India's largest state by area accounting for more than 10 percent of the country's
geographical area. While the state supports about 5 per cent of the human population and 20
percent of the livestock, it possess just 1.2 percent of the total surface water and only 17 percent
of the groundwater. The state is heavily dependent on groundwater for drinking water and
About 90 percent of the drinking water and 60 cent of the irrigation water is sourced from
supplies. About 80 per cent area of the state these groundwater depletion and many towns and
villages have experienced a shortage of drinking water particularly in summer months.
Rainwater which is the purest form of water, has been collected and stored for later use for
centuries. Hundreds, of years , the rulers of princely states in Rajasthan has created structures
for water harvesting now called traditional rainwater harvesting (TRH) structures. Many
community TRH structures also had temples or religious associations with them and became
centres of pilgrimage.
Traditional Rainwater Harvesting Structures:
The main TRH structures in Rajasthan, namely, kundi, kui/beri baori/bet, jalara, radi, toba
tanka khadin, johad and anicut are described below in brief-

Kundi: A kundi is essentially a circular underground well with a saucer shaped catchment area
that gently slopes towards the centre where the well is situated. A wire-mesh across water inlets
prevents debris from falling into the well pit. The sides of the well-pit are covered with lime
and ash Most wells have a dome-shaped cover for protection.
Kui/Beri: A kui/beri is a 10-12 meter deep pit dug near tanks to collect the seepage. It is used
to harvest rainwater in areas with meager rainfall. The mouth of the pit is made narrow to
prevent the collected water from evaporating. The pit gets wider under the ground so that water
can seep into a large surface area. The structures are generally covered with wooden planks.
The water is used sparingly as a last resort in times of crises.
Baori : A baori/ber is a community well, whose water is used mainly for drinking. Most of
these are very old, having been built by banjaras (mobile trading communities) for their
drinking water needs. They are shallower than wells and have beautiful arches along their
height.
Jalhara: A jhalara is a human-made tank, essentially meant for community bathing and
religious rites. Often rectangular in design, it is built at a series of levels and has steps on three
or four sides. It collects subterranean seepage of a lake located upstream
Nadi: A nadi is a small excavated or embanked village pond used for storing water from an
adjoining natural catchment during the rainy season. Its depth ranges from 1.5 to 12 metres.
Water availability from such source lasts from two months to a year. This practice of water
harvesting is over 500 years old and in and regions, each village has one or more such structures
Water from these structures i generally muddy and dirty and unit for human consumption
Toba: A toba is a natural ground depression within a catchment area It is usually flanked by
moves of shady trees, which helps in reducing evaporation of water The water in the toba
generally lasts for about four months
Tanka: A tanka is a small circular or square underground tank constructed with lime mortar
or cement plaster. It is normally constructed on the fallow ground where surface runoff can be
diverted to the tank by creating a dean catchment all around. It is constructed either for an
individual family or for a community depending upon the requirements.
Khadin: A khadin is a construction designed to harvest surface runoff water for agriculture In
this system, run-off water from uplands and rocky surface is collected in suitable deep soil
plots located in the lower valley segments of the area. An earthen bund is put in place on which
trees and grasses are established. These help in stabilising the bund and reducing evaporation
losses.

Johad: A johad is a small earthen check dam that captures and conserves rainwater, improving
percolation and recharging ground water.

Aincut: An anicut is a structure constructed across a stream. It uses an earth fill section with a
spillway and is designed to hold sufficient water to submerge a substantial upstream area during
the rainy season.

Dysfunctional State of TRH Structures:

In the olden days, TRH structures were considered as important assets and a thing of pride for
the family. The decline of TRH structures began during the British colonial rule in India. The
further march of industrialisation and urbanisation led to the TRH structures being degraded
and falling into disuse. The main reasons forthe dysfunctional state of TRH structures are:
 Availability of other sources of water (piped water hand pumps and canal water):
 Requirement of financial resources for their use and maintenance
 Requirement of time and labour to use water from these structures
 Lack of ownership and participation of the community, and
 Tendency to disregard age old and time tested ifestyle in favour of the latest technology
in the name of modernisation.

Revival Strategies for TRH Structures:

The old wisdom pertaining to water conservation in the state needs to be revived Reviving old
rainwater Structures and giving them a facelift through modern materials and technology can
solve the problem to a great extent. A few initiatives taken by various agencies in the state are
outlined below.
The work done by an NGO, Tarun Bharat Sangha (TBS) has received maximum
attention. TBS has been working on the revival of johads since 1986. of the structures built,
most were community structures. TBS relied on community participation by undertaking
padyatras and involving religious leaders. The entire work was done without relying on any
engineers and guided entirely by the traditional wisdom of the people. Due to these structures
2.5 lakh wells were recharged. Another prominent NGO Jal Bhagirathi Foundation (IBF),
founded in 2002 has been working in the area of water security for the Marwar region,
comprising seven districts in the western part of the state. JBF has revived or constructed over
2,000 TRH structures covering about 500 villages, It has improved water availability in the
area from an average of four months to 10-12 months in a year. The financial sustainability and
community ownership are ensured through a development fund, called Jal Kosh, in which
community deposits at least 30 percent of the project cost.