How a small water project transformed a neglected Rajasthan village

By Bharat Dogra 

Discussions on water projects often revolve around how many years it will take for them to recover their costs. In the case of a recently completed water conservation effort in Jogipura village of Sapotra block in Rajasthan’s Karauli district, the villagers are convinced that the project will recover its entire cost within a single year—once the rabi crop is harvested. Beyond this quick recovery, the project has begun to strengthen long-term sustainability by raising the groundwater level in the village and even benefiting two neighbouring hamlets.

Jogipura is a remote settlement that has long remained neglected in terms of development facilities. Among its many deficiencies, the most severe and persistent has been the shortage of water—for drinking, daily needs, livestock, and irrigation. For years, villagers were compelled to drink unclean water and walk long distances in the summer to fetch potable water. Recalling these hardships, an elderly resident, Ramgilas, described how the festival of Holi would arrive each year with its joyous celebrations of colour, while the village struggled to find enough water even for basic needs.

Large tracts of good farmland also remained uncultivated due to the absence of irrigation. When members of the development organization SRIJAN visited the village, the community urged them to treat the water crisis as the top priority. Following a participatory process of discussion, villagers recalled a very old structure that once captured rainwater at a well-chosen location. Over the decades it had deteriorated to the point of being useless, allowing precious monsoon water to rush out of the village instead of being conserved.

Recognizing the suitability of the site, SRIJAN and the community decided to rebuild and renovate this structure. The villagers contributed in several ways, and the restored system has dramatically improved the local water economy. Farmland that had remained fallow is now under cultivation, and productivity has increased on land that was already being farmed. Jagdish, a young farmer who has tracked the economic impact, estimates that the increased rabi harvest alone will offset the entire project cost—about 1.6 million rupees—within the first year.

The benefits go well beyond agriculture. The water table has risen, and moisture retention has improved in Jogipura and in the hamlets of Hatiyaki and Bhojpura. Wells now hold water longer into the year, easing the drinking water crisis for people and livestock. More grass and vegetation mean better fodder availability, reducing the exhausting seasonal migration that villagers previously undertook to find water for their animals.

Villagers speak with deep appreciation of the SRIJAN team, whose members worked through rugged conditions to carry the project forward. One team member, Gaurav Raj, recalled how he, too, drank the same muddy water as the villagers when clean water ran out, because everyone shared whatever little was available. Such shared experiences underline both the severity of the earlier crisis and the significance of the current improvements.

While meeting immediate water needs, the project has also strengthened local resilience to climate variability—an increasingly crucial factor for remote rural communities. The work was carried out with CSR support from AXIS Bank.

Experiences like Jogipura’s are not uncommon in remote regions: relatively modest, carefully planned, and community-driven water conservation efforts can transform entire villages. Yet such interventions often languish for want of small but timely funds. Addressing such needs should be treated as an urgent development priority.

---

The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Planet in Peril, Protecting Earth for Children, A Day in 2071 and Man over Machine