Water management: India
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Successes
The Puducherry Water Rich Model
Kiran Bedi, July 1, 2019: The Times of India
From: Kiran Bedi, July 1, 2019: The Times of India
From clogged drains to flowing canals: The Puducherry Water Rich Model
At a time when water conservation has become of paramount importance, as highlighted by the Prime Minister in his Mann Ki Baat broadcast on Sunday, a model called Puducherry Water Rich could perhaps offer some key learnings.
The genesis of the model was in interactions by a team of officers from Raj Nivas Secretariat and other departments over weekends with the public. Two issues were repeatedly highlighted in these interactions
• The need for desilting rural canals for improving water retention carrying capacity.
• The urgency of desilting urban drains to ensure regular flow and prevent malaria and dengue.
Most of the drains had been in a state of utter neglect for decades. The irony is that the practice of community involvement in desilting of canals and maintaining them goes back centuries in Puducherry, to the reign of the Pallavas. The Cholas and French too took this issue very seriously.
On December 22, 1937, the administrative control of supplying water for irrigation purposes was placed under the public works department. Till date it is the PWD, which is in charge of this management.
As mentioned earlier, since a multi-department team was regularly monitoring the situation of water bodies, the PWD finally admitted that they did not have the funds to de-silt 86km of 23 feeder channels and desilt and feed 84 tanks and 609 ponds, as was the task allotted.
They also said most of the channels were dangerously choked and could not be cleared manually. JCB machinery was required to desilt these channels, for which they had no funds.
We decided to go public, and used social media. On September 24, 2018, the first such appeal was made through my personal Twitter handle. Support started to pour in instantly, from educational institutions, corporates, business chambers, market associations, and an RWA. Individual philanthropists came forward and an MLA offered help.
The desilting of the first canal began on September 29, 2018. Thereafter there was no looking back. Interestingly, in rural areas we needed water in irrigation channels and in urban areas we needed to prevent overflowing of drains.
We were ready just in the nick of time for the rains. The canals filled with water. Our lakes and tanks too received good water. People said they had seen this after decades. We also had no flooding in urban areas.
We awarded all donors Swachta Hi Sewa Awards. They all committed to renew support for this year as well. Contractors too received their payments without any delay.
So what is the Puducherry Water Rich Model?
• Ensure mapping and bring under watch all water bodies and drains. Use technology.
• Use MNREGA where machinery is not required and human contact is safe. It empowers people and provides livelihood.
• Link the local community for shramdaan and monitoring water bodies. Encourage participation as they are the real stakeholders.
• Link them with the nearest donor support — any industry or institution.
• Let the supporter and the service provider decide on the contractual cost. Government officials should only be facilitators, not in any way negotiate or deal with their money.
• Allow farmers to take the silt away, as it is their soil which got washed away. It is rich in nutrients. Do not charge the farmers anything for it.
• Make collectors and municipal commissioners accountable for this work.
We went literally from factory to factory, university to university, giving time limits for construction of water harvesting pits. It worked.
In many colonies where municipalities were spending money for supplying tanker water, it is now being saved because water table in the areas went up.
Water is prosperity. It’s health. It quenches our thirst. It is life itself. Value it.
