In the cracked margins of the Little Rann of Kutch, where the monsoon arrives reluctantly—or not at all—life in Rapar is measured in the language of thirst. This district, with its 97 villages and some 250 hamlets, sits on a salt-rimmed plain that tells a stark story: erratic rains, saline groundwater, thin rocky soils, and a sky that often promises more than it delivers. More than two-thirds of Kutch lies barren.
In Rapar, farming is a gamble against fate. When clouds fail, crops wither, cattle thin, and families fold their lives into long seasonal migrations to towns in search of work. Official numbers obscure a harsher reality: in dry years, thousands leave—not by choice, but by necessity.
The population here is woven together—Kolis, Patels, Rajputs, Rabaris, Bharwads, Ahirs, Muslims and others—but livelihoods are uniformly precarious: small plots, daily wages, charcoal gathering, and seasonal work in the salt pans. State fixes have often been linear and distant: pipelines and promises such as the Narmada conveyance. But as a Rapar field worker put it, the core problem is not just low rainfall. "We are not harvesting what little we get."
Climate change, water management and the energy transition create complex trade-offs. Pumping Narmada water across elevation gradients requires significant energy. Complementary local groundwater-harvesting techniques could lower those energy needs and associated emissions. Adopting organic practices and reducing chemical inputs may help slow soil degradation, reduce fertiliser-related emissions, and lower input costs for smallholders. Renewable energy brings both opportunities and considerations.
Solar and wind can replace fossil fuels, but expanding supply alongside appropriate demand management will help avoid added pressure on local resources. Cities that rely on distant water sources tend to concentrate energy use in conveyance; greater use of sustainably managed local groundwater could reduce energy use and emissions. Crop and livestock choices influence local resource balances.
High-water crops can increase demand on shared aquifers, and commercial livestock systems change flows of fodder and nutrients across landscapes. Integrating production goals with ecosystem stewardship can help maintain long-term balance.
Rethinking policy and practice means measuring and managing water alongside food, fodder and milk flows; prioritising local consumption and equitable distribution; and aligning renewable expansion with demand-side measures and ecosystem protection. The Rann is not an empty wasteland but an ecosystem.
Its Banni grasslands once covered thousands of acres and supported both livelihoods and biodiversity. Policy and investment that recognise those values, promote local water harvesting and soil restoration, and couple energy transition with demand management could chart a more resilient future for Kutch.
Samerth’s work in Rapar and Khadir—semi-arid, drought-prone blocks in Kutch—illustrates practical pathways. Local communities depend on rainwater harvesting, groundwater and limited protective irrigation—the very systems Samerth has prioritised. Most farmers still rely on diesel pumps, making the case urgent for solarisation, decentralised renewables and other energy-transition projects that could reshape land use and rural economies.
Large-scale developments are accelerating change. A proposed solar park spanning roughly 550,000 acres aims to produce utility-scale solar power, green hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel. The developer has set a net-zero ambition for 2035. For Rapar, these shifts bring mixed prospects. Opportunities include solar irrigation pumps that cut diesel dependence and costs, decentralised power for drinking water and micro-enterprises, and new jobs in installation and maintenance.
But renewable deployments risk competing with grazing and agriculture and could exacerbate existing water stress in a landscape already marked by salinity and scarcity. Equity is central: women, vulnerable households and marginalised pastoral groups—Kolis, Parkara Kolis, Rabari and Ahir pastoralists, and smallholders—must be included so benefits are shared.
Samerth and the local community propose combined strategies for a just decarbonisation. Practical measures include household rain-roof harvesting with doorstep storage; using MGNREGA for watershed restoration and solar-based farm fencing; recharging defunct borewells and farm bunding to conserve water; strengthening self-help groups, farmer collectives and village water committees to manage energy assets; and restoring pasturelands to protect biodiversity.
Inclusive, participatory decision-making at the gram sabha level will be essential to ensure the energy transition supports local resilience rather than undermines it.
Many small, on-the-ground actions can cumulatively advance broader goals of decarbonisation and heat management. Nomadic tribes face shrinking pasturelands and longer treks for grazing; fisherfolk lose livelihoods as ponds dry up. Gendered impacts run deep: women bear disproportionate burdens when water and fodder become scarce.
Public health plans frequently overlook simple cooling measures—many public buildings lack cool roofs—and traditional, water-efficient farming knowledge is being displaced by water-intensive practices.
Government schemes such as the PM Kusum Yojana, which supports solarisation of diesel irrigation pumps, have a pivotal role. In Rapar, Samerth Trust has helped several farmers adopt solar pumps as demonstration models, encouraging wider uptake. But technology alone will not suffice.
Stronger participation and collaboration at the gram sabhas, integration of climate-change awareness and simple techniques at the doorstep, and policies that align energy, water and livelihoods are required to make the transition just and durable.
The challenge for Kutch is not only to deploy renewables, but to do so in ways that replenish soils, revive water cycles, protect grazing lands and distribute benefits equitably. Small, locally rooted interventions—scaled thoughtfully and paired with demand management and community governance—can turn a landscape of scarcity into one of resilient productivity and shared opportunity.
---
*Founder/Executive Director, Samerth Charitable Trust, Ahmedabad
Comments