Anjali Aggarwal

Jhabua, a tribal-dominated district with more than 85 percent population belonging to Scheduled Tribe (ST), is an agrarian district. Water security is, thus, a crucial element for its agriculture-based livelihood economy.

There are over 705 ethnic groups, which are recognized as Scheduled Tribes in India (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, 2020). These groups have their own unique Gods, beliefs, rituals, practices, and social systems.

The most important precondition to make farming profitable for small and marginal tribal farmers residing in undulating terrains

The earliest known civilizations settled around rivers as they provided access to the water needed for cultivating crops. Over time, humans learnt to control the flow of water by the construction of barriers across the direction of the river flow.

The total area under tanks and ponds in India is over 2.9 million hectares (Ministry of Jal Shakti, 2017).

For centuries, communities in undulating, hilly and mountainous regions have been using gravity flow water systems for drinking water and irrigation purposes.

150 years ago, no government system anywhere in the world was responsible for water supply.