WATER
Of all the water that exists on our planet, around 97% is salt water. Of the 3% or so of fresh water available, almost half of it remains frozen in glaciers, ice caps, or deep underground aquifers. Yes – just around 1.5% is available for our use, making every drop count. Further, with continuing population growth and industrial growth, demand continues to escalate in a supply-constrained domain.
Vision
To catalyze rural resurgence through Structured Collaborative Governance, in partnership with Government and with technology as the enabler
Mission
Interventions for use of appropriate technology in the country at scale with collaborative multi-stakeholder partnerships, leverage best practices spanning academia, scientific and research organizations, IITs, social enterprises, grassroots organizations, Industry, and others.
The Water Management Portal is a technology tool to connect Development Partners with the government at the village level, in a seamless & harmonious manner. The HP Pilot project provides the Proof of Concept. It has been released for Visitor access to ensure public visibility and scrutiny. It is designed for replication and scalability and is available to Development Partners and Government Agencies as a foundational block that can be built upon, as required.
Project Overview of Collaborative Governance - WHEELS Water Council (WCC)
Team Leaders
Kishan Goenka
Kishan Goenka is the President of WGF India and Chair of the WGF Water Council. He has held executive leadership roles in corporations across three continents over nearly four decades of illustrious career – from vice-president at Hindustan Gas & Industries to running Birla International’s Europe operations, and then country head for PT. Akraya and Mediterranean Fertilizers Company. He has also held board roles at several corporations including Clean Energy India AG, Vasundhara Bio Sciences Pvt Ltd, and Akraya Energy International Pvt. Ltd. All along, Kishan has been a passionate Rotarian with nearly 40-years of service. Additionally, he has supported several other impact organizations including PHS, ESRAG, and ISKCON.
Kishan has a B.Tech (Hons) in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT- Kharagpur) and an MBA in BITS Pilani, India.
Madhur Khanna
Madhur Khanna is the Co-Chair of the WGF Water Council and a practicing Architect/ Partner in her Architectural practice of 30 years.
She has served on the board of Pratham for the last five years – “Pratham is one of the largest and most successful non-governmental education organizations in India. Established in 1995 to provide education to children in Mumbai slums, Pratham (which means “first” in Sanskrit) is now one of the largest and most successful non-governmental education organizations in India. Working in collaboration with governments, communities, parents, teachers, and volunteers, Pratham focuses on innovative interventions to address gaps in the education system. The clarity of mission is “every child in school and learning well” Pratham USA is a volunteer-driven organization with 14 chapters across the United States.
Madhur Khanna is a member of a Women’s Entrepreneur group in Bangalore that focuses on providing micro financing to women in need – both in rural as well as marginalized communities. Currently elected on the board of WHEELS Global, she aims to work in Water Conservation, impact driven digital vocational programs as well as affordable housing.
Madhur Khanna holds an undergraduate degree in B. Arch from Delhi School of Planning and Architecture and a Masters in Architecture – Major in Urban Design from University of Texas at Austin. In her 40 plus span as an Architect, she has worked and is proficient in many areas of Building design, working with Financial Institutions underwriting Multi Family Developments, Construction as well as Development.
Her experience encompasses a wide range of Projects in affordable housing – having multiple years of contracts with various Public Housing Agencies including Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Gauri Kumar
Gauri Kumar is the Retd. member of the 1979 batch of Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Former Secretary to Govt of India & Former Chairperson, Public Sector Enterprises Board, Govt. of India. In the course of her distinguished career, she served as Secretary to Government of India, in the Union Ministry of Labour & Employment, the Cabinet Secretariat and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (Border Management). She served as Member/Chairperson of the Public Enterprises Selection Board, post her retirement. She has served in various capacities in the Union Ministries of Mines, Environment and Forests, Finance and Textiles. While serving with the Government of Gujarat, Mrs Kumar has held the positions of Principal Secretary, Urban Development; Principal Secretary, Industries & Mines; Industries Commissioner and Secretary, Education Department. The Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2009 was held under her stewardship.
Gauri Kumar holds a Master in Public Administration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. She was awarded the Littauer Fellowship by Harvard University, for her commitment to excellence, academic achievement, and public service. She is also the recipient of seven gold medals by Lucknow University, for exceptional academic distinction during her Master’s study in Mathematics. She is currently an Independent Director on the Boards of several distinguished companies and has been appointed by the Chief Vigilance Commissioner to serve as Independent External Monitor for two organisations. She is the Founder Trustee of VayahVikas, an organization for the elderly, based in Bengaluru.
She is a Member of the Board of Governors of Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration, Ahmedabad.She is the Delhi Public School (DPS) Society nominee on the Management Committees of several DPS schools in Gujarat and UP. She is a Special Invitee to the Management Committee of the Bangalore Chamber of Industry & Commerce (BCIC). She chairs the Water Council constituted by the WHEELS Global Foundation (a pan IIT philanthropic arm). A Pilot Project for Integrated Water Management, based on Scientific Data and Evidence-based Decision Support System, has been launched in Himachal Pradesh. It aspires to create a model of collaborative governance for holistic rural resurgence.
She is the Founder of an Edu tech startup which has launched an integrated Learning Platform for the education eco-system, encompassing teachers, students, parents, and schools. It’s positioned as a medium for making quality education accessible at scale. She has contributed a chapter on ‘Industry and Labour’ in the recently published book ‘Accelerating India: 7 Years of Modi Government’, edited by Shri K J Alphons, Member of Parliament, and a foreword by Shri Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of India.
Yogesh Andlay
Yogesh Andlay is a founding team member of several leading well-known companies in the IT, consultancy, and education fields. He is the Co-founder of Nucleus Software, Grows Talent Co Ltd., and School of Inspired Leadership. Yogesh, the alumnus of the IITD 1979 batch, was President of the IIT Delhi Alumni Association during the year 2006-07. He has also been an active participant in PanIIT Alumni activities. Yogesh serves on the board of SOIL – School of Inspired Leadership (www.soilindia.net).
SOIL has been recognized as a pioneer in leadership education and has won laurels for its unique approach to leadership development. It is founded on five pillars of mindfulness, ethics, compassion, diversity, and sustainability. Yogesh has been an advisor to the Millennium Alliance program of FICCI. Millennium Alliance is a fund set up jointly by USAID, DST, DFID (UKAID), and several other organizations. In the last five years, Millennium Alliance has supported more than 120 social sector innovations impacting about 10 million people. These have been selected from amongst about 5,000 applicants who applied for this catalytic funding. These enterprises have been in the field of education, healthcare, agriculture, energy, water, sanitation, etc. In addition, he served as a Co-Chair of the Startup Committee of FICCI and a member of the Science and Technology Board of FICCI. He is a sought-after mentor by the entrepreneurs incubated at FICCI-supported incubators and accelerators. Yogesh is an active participant in Mission Samriddhi. Mission Samriddhi is a Social Development and Acceleration project in India. Yogesh is a member of the Executive Council of Mission Samriddhi. Yogesh serves on the board of WHEELS Charitable Foundation. He is a member of the team working on the Pilot Project for Integrated Water Management based on Scientific Data and Evidence for Himachal Pradesh. Yogesh is a certified Executive Coach.
Sushil Bhatia
Dr. Sushil Bhatia is the President of Anu Data Inc. He pursued his B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay in 1966 and later Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1972.
Recollecting memories associated with IIT Bombay, he said, “Those were the days. First time out of my parents’ house and living by myself. Making new friends, playing, teasing, bonding, having fun along with learning technical skills. Learning to learn technology as well as dealing with people”.
Dr. Geetanjali Kaushik
Armed with a Masters from TERI and a BSc from University of Delhi (Silver and Golden Jubilee Awardee), Dr. Geetanjali Kaushik completed her PhD in Environmental Sciences from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Delhi has currently more than 90 international publications. She has participated in International Conferences held in Tropentag Germany (won first prize) and USA (received American Society of Nutrition grant – 3000 USD for outreach activities in India). Subsequent to her PhD she has also worked with UC Berkley on an Air Quality Monitoring Project for over 40 locations across Delhi. She has also edited 6 International books. Her taught assignments include stints as Assistant Professor with the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun and Amity University, Noida.
In 2012 Dr. Kaushik received full scholarship (Exceptional Merit among Non-EU students – 14,500 GBP) from School of Management, Swansea University UK to undertake MBA. She topped the MBA class and has worked in UK and Turkey in various positions. She returned to India in 2015 and has worked as Associate Professor with MGM’s Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College, Aurangabad. Currently she is working as Hon. Associate Professor in Dept of Civil Engg at Hi Tech Institute of Technology Waluj Maharashtra.
Arulmozhi Ramanathan
Arulmozhi Ramanathan is the Member of Rotary Club of Chennai Lake City and Chairman of Special Projects. Prior to this role she was President, Rotary Club of Meraki (2019-2020) and led community service projects, including donating 100 sewing machines to women, reaching 5000 students in southern India through programs on good touch and bad touch, developing leadership and team management skills.
She is also the District Chairman, Water Restoration (2022-2025) and led water restoration projects across the district, successfully restoring 15 ponds and creating a 10-acre water reservoir at Tamil Nadu Sports & Physical Education University. She also implemented additional community projects, including Walking paths, Children’s play areas and Tree planting initiatives. She developed expertise in water restoration and conservation projects.
Arulmozhi is also the President, Alumni Club of Connecting Presidents (2024-2025), leading the club in connecting with alumni and organizing events.
Her main skills are in the areas of Interior Design and Project Management, Leadership and Team Management, Water Restoration and Conservation, Community Service and Development, Event Planning and Management
She has a Postgraduate degree in Economics, Sharadha College, Salem, Madras University and a Diploma in Interior Designing.
E Nandakumar
E Nandakumar is a Mechanical Engineer from IIT Madras with a Post-Graduate degree in Management from XLRI. He has over 38 years of experience in leading corporates like ITC. He has worked in multiple roles and businesses in middle and senior management positions, and is especially skilled in integrating organisations’ functions towards a common purpose. With a multi-disciplinary and human-centric approach, he played a pivotal role in the turnaround of two of ITC’s businesses.
In June 2017, he left the corporate world to help Start-ups and MSMEs achieve rapid, exponential growth by employing the Theory of Constraints. He is a trained facilitator for Lean, TPM and Six Sigma and a certified Instructor-cum-Mentor for the Lean Start-Up methodology, used by the National Science Foundation in the US to determine funding for start-ups.
In January 2019, he helped set up the International Centre of Clean Water (ICCW) – an initiative of IIT Madras, a non-profit Centre of Excellence with six verticals of Research, Analysis, Hydroinformatics, Implementation, Outreach, and Incubation. He is currently the CEO of the Centre.
In June 2024, he founded Waterpreneur Studio – a non-profit company providing a one-stop shop for startups in the water sector to build a scalable business model with a strong social impact.
He is a Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs, Chennai Chapter and an Affiliate Fellow of IIT Madras’ School of Sustainability.
Amit Pramanik
Dr. Amit Pramanik is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) and Virginia Tech, Blacksburg. He has more than 30 years of experience in the Water Sector. Amit is a Board-Certified Environmental Engineering Member (BCEEM) of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists.
Most recently, he served as Executive Director of the One Water Academy, a US registered nonprofit organization, with a vision to equip governments, utilities, industry, academia, nonprofits and the community with the skills and knowledge needed to effectively leverage technologies as we move towards a “one water” economy, where water reuse becomes a critical method of mitigating water shortage issues globally.
He previously served in various roles as Chief Innovation and Development Officer, Director of Research, as well as Senior Program Director, at the Water Research Foundation (WRF), one of the foremost agencies dedicated to the funding and support of water and wastewater academic and applied research worldwide, from 1997 to 2019. Amit also served in an advisory capacity on projects supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Ghana, and he has been an invited speaker for various conferences globally, including the USA, Australia, India, Singapore, and South Africa. He has directed over 70 technical research and innovation projects while at the three water research foundations, and has co-authored numerous conference papers, peer-reviewed journal articles, and discussion papers.
Capt. K.K. Sharma
Capt. K.K. Sharma is a decorated & distinguished Indian Naval veteran and sustainability leader, currently serving as Executive Vice President at Maithri Aquatech Pvt. Ltd., pioneers of Meghdoot Atmospheric Water Generators (AWGs), an award-winning, Government of India–approved technology delivering clean drinking water directly from air.
With extensive experience across defence, corporate strategy, and social impact initiatives, Capt. Sharma has been instrumental in forging strategic partnerships with governments, academic institutions, corporates, and international organizations to deploy sustainable water solutions at scale. His work spans critical sectors including disaster resilience, rural development, railways, and CSR-driven community programs.
A passionate advocate for water security and climate resilience, he represents India’s innovation in atmospheric water technology globally and has played a key role in aligning Meghdoot deployments with UN SDGs, NDMA, Red Cross, defence applications & UN peace keeping missions.
Anuj Kumar Agarwal
Anuj Kumar Agarwal is the Director, River Programs at WGF, with over 36 years of post-MBA work experience across financial services, development ecosystems, and infrastructure management, with a proven track record in designing scalable, inclusive systems, embedding sustainability into core strategy, and driving measurable economic and social outcomes. His expertise lies at the intersection of operations management, impact delivery, sustainable infrastructure, with strong governance, risk oversight and philosophy of ‘Sustainability is Profitable’. His accomplishments have been over a distributed setup across India including extreme remote areas.
Indian Green Building Council, awarded him ‘IGBC Fellow’ in 2017 and subsequently the prestigious ‘Senior Fellow’ in 2023.
Under his vision, ICICI Foundation embarked upon various Social, Livelihoods, Ecology and Environment Conservation initiatives. Key outcomes have been Annual Water Harvesting capacity created of 12 bn litres through interventions across India of varying size and nature, 3000 rural schools powered with Solar installation of approx. 6mWp, and many such impact creating projects.is the
He is based at Mumbai, has superannuated in May 2026 and now works in advisory capacity to Institutions in the space of Sustainability and Social Impact.
Team Members
| Ambassador Pradeep Kapur | Executive Director, Smart Village Development Framework (SVDF) – WGF, Former Ambassador of India & Secretary – Govt of India |
|---|---|
| Suresh Shenoy | Vice Chairman – WHEELS Global Foundation, President – Alyxtech Inc. |
| Ashank Desai | Chairperson – WGF India, Co-founder & Former Chairperson – Mastek |
| Smita Siddhanti | Program Director (Livelihood) – WHEELS Global Foundation, President – EnDyna Inc. |
| Prof. Ranjan Kumar Ghosh | Associate Professor, Center for Management in Agriculture – IIM Ahmedabad |
| Ratan Agarwal | President, Board Member – WGF, Co-founder & Managing Partner – CARBON Group Global |
| Pradeep Nadkarni | Secretary – WHEELS Global Foundation, Founder – Paradigm Inc. |
Mentors
| Dr. Raj Shah | Chairman – HealthCare Council – WHEELS Global Foundation |
|---|---|
| Mr. Kewal Nohria | CEO Co-Founder, World BPO/ITO Forum |
| Mr. Shantilal Muttha | Founder, Shantilal Muttha Foundation |
| Prof Sudhir Jain | Vice-Chancellor, Banaras Hindu University |
| Mr. Joseph Fernandes | President and Co-Founder – IIT-IIT.org |
| Mr. Sundar Kamath | Senior VP (Technology), CTO – Sanmina Corporation |
| Mr. Apoorva Oza | CEO – Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP, India) |
| Prof Ajit Chaturvedi | Director – IIT-Roorkee |
| Dr. Bhakti Devi | National President of Water Resources Council |
| Mr. Kartik Kilachand | Executive Chairman – IITians Influencing India’s Transformation |
| Dr. Prakasam Tata | Executive Director – Center for the Transformation of Waste Technology |
| Mr. Dunu Roy | Chemical Engineer, Social Scientist & Political Ecologist |
| Dr. Cecilia Tortajada | Professor in Practice – Environmental Innovation, School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Glasgow, UK, and Editor in Chief, International Journal of Water Resources Development |
| Sh Asit K. Biswas | Recipient – Stockholm Water Prize, Founder – Third World Centre for Water Management, Distinguished Visiting Professor – Lee Kuan Yew School for Public Policy |
| Sh R. K. Malhotra | Consultant – World Bank |
3rd International Conference on Water Technologies - IIT Bombay
WHEELS Water Council was invited to make a presentation at a Conference on Water at IIT Bombay. on 5th December 2023.
Water Council Co-Chair Yogesh Andlay presented about the programs undertaken by the Water Council at WGF.
MoU with Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) for Restoration and Revival of Water bodies and Holistic Community Development
We are very happy to share that we have recently signed and exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) and WHEELS Global Foundation (WGF) for Restoration and Revival of Water bodies and Holistic Community Development, leveraging our Himachal Pradesh collaborative governance model and the Execution Convergence Portal.
An Agreement of Association (AOA) between WGF and its champion consortium partners was also signed and enclosed with the MoU. Our Partners with proven experience in the relevant fields are ATE Chandra Foundation and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. Spoken Tutorial of IIT, Bombay will support in community communication and IT training etc.
The Project is to commence from 15th January, 2023. The Inception meeting was held on 6th January. It’s heartening to mention the background of the Project. Dr Arun Veer Singh, CEO, YEIDA, invited WGF for a presentation on 30th Nov. 2022. We met CEO, YEIDA together with several of WGF partners and discussed the need of restoration and rejuvenation of water ponds and holistic community development in the villages in YEIDA’s administrative jurisdiction. Based on multiple discussions between all of us, a draft MOU and draft AOA was finalised with detailed action plan for outcomes in the following areas:
Natural Resources Productivity and Climate Change
Economic and livelihoods
Community institutions and sustainability
Social & Health
The Execution Convergence Portal for Collaborative Governance, developed by WGF for Rural Resurgence through Water Security for rejuvenation of springs in Himachal Pradesh, will be implemented for this project also. The AoA details the tasks etc to be carried out, which will be mapped in the Portal.
The Himachal Pradesh project gave an effective fund multiplier of 1:10 for contributions, through leveraging convergence with schemes of the government under the formal MoU. The state government is now taking up 500 more springs for rejuvenation in HP which provides almost a 100 times scalability of the Pilot project, from 55 to 500 springs, covering almost the whole state. The YEIDA project provides replicability of the Collaborative Governance model for water management-led holistic community development, initiated in HP, with the technology Portal as the anchor.
Water Security through Spring Rejuvenation (WASSR) in Himachal Pradesh
Water is a critical resource that impacts rural livelihood, economy and health. It is intricately linked to the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) such as SDG 3: Good Health; SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation; and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. The Indian government launched Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in 2019 which is aimed at providing tap-water connections to every household based on a community approach that includes extensive information, education and communication as the key components. Tap – water connections within the household aim to reduce drudgery and enhance ease of living especially for young girls and women who are often burdened with the task of fetching water by walking long distances.
In mountainous regions, springs serve as the key source of water for these piped water systems. However, in recent times nearly 60% of the springs in Himalayan regions of India have witnessed decline in discharge (Niti Aayog, 2018) thereby, posing high risks to water flows after the tap-water systems have been installed. This points to an urgent need for source augmentation through rejuvenation of springs. It is in this context that WHEELS Global Foundation Water Council is working with the State Government of Himachal Pradesh for a scalable and replicable pilot project for spring source augmentation through integrated water management, known as WHEELS-WASSR (Water Security through Spring Rejuvenation). It is based on scientific data and evidence-based decision support systems and is being implemented in 22 selected villages of Bilaspur, Solan, Mandi, and Kangra districts in Himachal Pradesh.
WHEELS-WASSR was initiated in April 2021 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Himachal Pradesh state government. The main vision of the project is to create a governance paradigm for a holistic and sustainable village infrastructure led model, through convergence between government schemes and departments and a consortium of various partners at state, district and panchayat level with proven capabilities in gap areas. The works are carried out by the state’s departments of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Jal Shakti, Forest, and Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Husbandry. A key feature of the initiative is to build robust systems, processes, and monitoring mechanisms driven primarily by a unified Portal that anchors seamless & coordinated implementation of the project. The Portal enables a platform for directing all activities by the consortium partners and the state government departments, within specified and agreed timelines, to deliver the envisaged outcomes in terms of natural resource productivity, economic impacts, social impacts, and a sustainable model of governance. Later, recommendations were formed by People’s Science Institute (PSI) and submitted to various departments and works were carried on as per recommendations. The impact analysis was carried on in September 2022.
The project was envisioned to cover 45 springs in 22 villages but, later on 10 additional springs were added on the recommendation of Jal Shakti Vibhag. Thus, at present, the project covers 55 springs in 32 villages with a total affected population of 10,724.
Preliminary Impact Assessment
The impact assessment has been carried out through collecting primary and secondary data along with primary stakeholder interviews with state level officers including Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Director of Rural and Panchayati Raj Department (RD), Superintending Engineer (SE) of Jal Shakti Vibhag, concerned Indian Administrative (IAS) officers and Indian Forest services (IFS) officers, district and block level officers of various departments including Department of Information Technology (IT), Panchayat representatives, communities and District Implementation Agencies (DIAs). The tools for the primary study included a questionnaire involving the direct and open-ended questions to relevant stakeholders. We summarize how the project has impacted across major categories related to Source Augmentation, Natural Resource Management, Socio-Economic Parameters & Program Sustainability.
- Source Augmentation
The primary impact has been on water flow or discharge from the springs that witnessed a significant jump. The total discharge from 45 project affected springs increased from approximately 514 liters/minute to 826 liters/minute. This led to an average per capita water availability increase by 60.45%.
- Natural Resource Management
Springs which were on a verge of depletion were selected for rejuvenation with a focus to recharge groundwater. We found that this has led to an increase in water discharge by over 60% in a span of one year of project intervention. With the intervention of this project, water quality has improved implying safer drinking water for the locals. With groundwater recharged, and the plantations done, the water retention levels of the soil have increased, adding to the moisture content of the soil. Better soil health ensures increased biomass productivity, increased soil fertility to enhance agriculture, horticulture, and fodder growth.
- Socio-economic Parameters
Given the scarce population in the hills, better soil has improved the chances of carrying out agricultural practices, thus increasing employment opportunities and reducing migration. With water security, time and resources used for water procurement have been forgone, and are being diverted for better uses. The local population have been employed through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (or MGNREGA), which has helped in income-generation, as the necessary constructions are made for spring rejuvenation.
Springs serve as means to water security and align with religious practices; thus, well-maintained springs bear psychological utility of the local communities. Traditionally women are involved in water procurement for households, and rejuvenated springs reduce time and resources spent there which can be used for income-generating activities.
We observed that the district implementing agencies integrated local participation through water user groups like “Paani Samitis” and “Mahila mandals” to take charge of maintenance and cleanliness, giving more power to women. These local bodies are integrated with SHGs, thus increasing savings and involvement of banking in the process. Interviewed villagers felt that safer drinking water has reduced incidences of water-borne diseases, thus reducing medical expenses by approximately 10% on an average and better health conditions.
- Program Sustainability
The portal is the main driver for program sustainability as it is designed to be a single point source for all village level data and information. We observed that the project included cadre training and spreading awareness to the local communities regarding the importance of springs and the problems of water depletion. Water User Groups have been formed, comprising of locals, which are in charge of maintenance and cleanliness of springs. This has reduced future dependence on the administration. Affected villagers expressed their eagerness to maintain the springs having witnessed higher discharge, thus ensuring longevity of the project. Below figure summarizes the key impacts across identified categories after 1 year of implementation of the project.
Increase in water discharge from project springs
Summary Indicators
Before WASSR (July-August, 2021)
After WASSR (July-August,2022)
Total discharge (Litre/Minute)
514.81
826.02
Total Population catered
10724
10724
Total Households catered
1714
1714
Average water discharge per capita (litre/minute)
0.05
0.08
Average Water discharge HH wise (litre/minute)
0.30
0.48
–
60.45
Source: IIMA team for the post-WASSR measurements; before-WASSR measurements are as shared by DIAs
Case Study - Lag Chaouwada Suhada Spring
This is a natural spring in the Jhandutta block of Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh. The People’s Science Institute (PSI) identified the spring as a part of the project which was under Irrigation and Public Health department (IPH). Water was supplied through pipes to the households in the villages of Lag and Bagla through the open spring, thus catering to 113 families in the villages. Since, the spring was exposed to open environment, the quality of water provided through the spring was not good enough. As part of the WASSR project, Manav Vikas Sanstha (MVS) intervened and made the people aware regarding the drawbacks of the open spring and the deterioration in the water quality due to it.
With awareness created by MVS, community members took the initiative to cover the spring. Inspiration for the design came from a similar spring in Hamirpur block. They also added an innovation of making a hand pump and a lever system from the spring so that water could be retrieved without accessing the spring physically. MVS, in order to encourage the people working for the spring made them the members of the Panni Samiti (Water User Group), which provided them with a recognition in the village as well. The total cost of this intervention was INR 1,29,100 resulting in a per capita expenditure of 387 Rupees and a per household expenditure of INR 1143. In comparison to this, other water supply alternatives, according to expert estimates, cost on an average of 15,000 INR/capita.
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Collaborative Governance: Lessons from Spring Rejuvenation Pilot in Himachal Pradesh
