Panchayati Raj Institutions

Featured Articles
April 6, 2021 Significantly reduced the daily drudgery of women in rural areas
The water requirement for the scheme is being fulfilled through borings, submersible pumps, and distribution pipelines implemented by the Department of Panchayati Raj, Government of Bihar. (Image: Sehgal Foundation)
December 7, 2020 The new farm related bills will spell doom for women workers who form the bulk of small and marginal sections of Indian agriculture, warns Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch (MAKAAM).
Farm women, overworked and underpaid (Image Source: India Water Portal)
October 24, 2019 An intern with Watershed Organisation Trust narrates his field experience from the villages of Madhya Pradesh, where farmers are using farm ponds to conserve water.
A farm pond constructed by Sheshrao Dhurve in Karaghat Kamti village of Madhya Pradesh
October 22, 2019 A forum discusses the need to stop illegal land transfers and land alienation of the poor.
The maldharis from kutch on their own road trip (Image: Malay Maniar, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
October 21, 2019 In this interview, Joy talks about his work as an activist working in rural Maharashtra, and how he came to work on water conflicts in India.
KJ Joy speaks at a felicitation for the late Professor Ramaswamy Iyer.
September 30, 2019 The recently concluded 4 day conference in Bangalore looked at the current state of global water resource challenges & future pathways to achieve the SDGs, while ensuring equity in access to all.
Charles Vorosmarty, Chair, COMPASS Initiative, Water Future at the opening plenary on advanced water system assessments to address water security challenges of the 21st century.
Livelihood augmentation in rainfed areas – A strategy handbook for practitioners by Development Support Centre
This strategy handbook deals with livelihood augmentation in rainfed areas. Posted on 19 Jun, 2011 10:33 AM

Cover Image It is a compilation of ongoing, successful strategies piloted and upscaled by a range of development agencies in different parts of the country. The handbook is presented in four volumes under a common framework and focus on initiatives related to: participatory natural resource management; rural entrepreneurship development; use of information communication technology and institution development.

About 400 million rural poor reside in about 200 poorest districts of the country that constitute rainfed areas. Scientific research has revealed a vast untapped potential in rainfed agriculture where crop yields are lower than their potential by two to five fold. A large number of innovative projects and ideas have been tried to address this issue, although documentation has been uneven and fragmented. Drawing upon such experiences, the handbook points towards new vistas and untapped opportunities in meeting the challenge of enhancing food security with limited water resources and improving the carrying capacities of rainfed areas to match the rapidly increasing populations in these regions and elsewhere.

A perspective of watershed development in the central Himalayan state of Uttarakhand – A paper by Malavika Chauhan
This paper discusses the evolution of watershed development projects and their implementation in Uttarakhand. Posted on 25 May, 2011 08:23 AM

 It traces the historical growth of thinking on watershed in the region, and highlights issues and influences. Impacts and benefits are discussed in relation to sustainability. The review shows that success in these projects is usually isolated, mostly seen in small micro-watersheds with naturally good water harvesting conditions.

Operation and maintenance for rural water supplies – A manual by Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation and the Water and Sanitation Program of World Bank
This manual provides information on the process through which village level water supply schemes are operated and maintained to ensure sustainable service delivery. Posted on 17 Apr, 2011 07:23 AM

RWSThis Operation and Maintenance (O&M) manual for rural water supplies by the Department of Drinking Water And Sanitation and Water and Sanitation Program of the World Bank complements their Gram Panchayat Handbook released in 2010 . It takes into account the current aspirations and challenges facing the sector, and builds on the framework already set out in the National Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) and Strategic Plan 2011-2022. 

Water pollution in villages - A post in Hindi by Ram Naresh Kumar and Sanjay Singh
दिनोंदिन द्रुतगति से बढ़ती आबादी का पेट भरने के लिए हमारी कृषि भूमि पर दबाव काफी बढ़ गया है Posted on 05 Apr, 2011 02:49 PM

गांवों में जल प्रदुषण 

Water management through communities in Uttarakhand - Neelima Garg
Since the beginning of human history, there have been wars over water issues. It is being said that there could be war over water in future. Posted on 28 Mar, 2011 06:36 PM

The conflict is over how water is perceived, valued and treated. Water is life savior elixir. The importance of water as a vital resource to the life system and an essential component of societal development cannot be over emphasized. Over the years, many ancient civilizations emphasized on various mechanisms of water collection & distribution.

MGNREGA completes 5 years - PIB Release
The nation has successfully completed five years of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Posted on 03 Feb, 2011 01:34 PM

 Addressing a large gathering at Vigyan Bhawan on this occasion in New Delhi, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh called upon the states to strengthen the Gram Sabhas for rural empowerment. He said the Ministry of Rural Development and Ministry of Panchayati Raj has jointly chalked out a plan to strengthen the Panchayats. Technical Units will be set up in Gram Panchayats and to improve the managerial efficiency every unit will have a Panchayat Development officer and one Junior Engineer. Focus would be on Left Wing Extremism(LWE) affected districts and the districts where more than Rs.100 crore have been spent under MGNREGA.

"Recommendations on water and sanitation services to urban poor"
Issue 16, Jan 2011, WASH newsletter Posted on 02 Feb, 2011 05:31 PM

Water Sanitation HygieneThe India WASH Forum newsletter for January 2011. It is an open platform for engagement on contemporary issues, for an independent credible voice in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector.

  • Recommendations on water and sanitation services to urban poor
    The group came up with a list of prioritised issues that need immediate attention if the urban poor were to be provided with sustainable and equitable water and sanitation services.

  • Water resources are under stress of depletion as well as denial of access for the poor
    Drinking water needs are met primarily from ground water. Except for the large metros that suck away water from rivers, most small towns in India depend on ground water supply.
Ensuring sustainable drinking water security in rural areas - PIB Release
The major thrust of the rural water supply programmes is to ensure provision of adequate drinking water supply to the rural communities. Posted on 28 Jan, 2011 04:40 PM

 Hitherto the role of the government was that of a service provider, with minimum involvement of the community in the planning process and the implementation activities. With the increase in demand due to public aspirations and decrease of availability of safe water it was considered essential to involve the community in the programme.

To achieve this, there was a paradigm shift and the Framework for implementation of National Rural Drinking Water Programme was revised in 2009. The Department appropriately addressed the soft issues related to facilitating the  active participation of PRIs in the process of planning, implementation and operation of schemes to achieve the goal of long term sustainability. It also ensured that the community gets continuous support and handholding so that they are empowered to take up the role of planning and implementing the systems also in addition to operating and maintaining them.

Managing Natural Resources -A report by IDSAsr
Managing the scare natural resources better and how space programme plays a role in this, a seminar of country's brilliant minds take the issue head on. Posted on 18 Jan, 2011 04:24 PM

The scarcity value of natural resources has risen due to rising pressure of human population and demands made by modern economics progress. As such managing these resources has become very important.

Blueprint for farm growth
Acting with determination and firm action, it should be possible for India to step up its agricultural growth rate to 10 per cent. Posted on 28 Dec, 2010 03:12 PM

 

Since the start of the 11th Five Year Plan, the growth rate in agriculture has virtually remained stagnant. A scene at a paddy field in the outskirts of Hyderabad.