Rain water harvesting and its conservation and management are vital for integrated development of Okhamandal, an extremely drought-prone region

The initiatives that the Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development (TCSRD) has taken in this sphere are aimed at:

	Arresting ground-water decline and improving its levels
	Improving the water quality in aquifers
	Stopping seawater from seeping into ground water
	Enhancing the availability of ground water at specific places and times

Under the Indian government's desert development programme, TCSRD was selected as the project-implementing agency for an integrated watershed-development project for five villages in Okhamandal. The District Rural Development Agency, Jamnagar, funded the programme and the five selected villages were Poshitra, Samlasar, Dhinki, Tupni and Beyt Dwarka.

The first year of the project was spent in contact programmes, putting in place watershed committees, and evaluating suitable sites. The successful implementation of the project led to a sixth village, Mojap, being assigned to TCSRD.

In a marked departure from conventional projects, the management and ownership of the watershed structures (check dams, recharge tanks, tidal regulators, etc) rests with villagers. The participatory environment thus created becomes a launching pad for further downstream projects.

Training: Training villagers for the effective implementation of the watershed project is a continuous process. A special two-day training programme was organised for the watershed committee of Beyt Dwarka to identify potential entry-point projects selected for implementation by villagers.

Medium water-harvesting structures: During this period, village-level watershed committees constructed six medium-sized check dams in five villages.

The success of the watershed development programme has changed agriculture from being a marginal source of income to a major one for land-holding villagers. With the assurance of irrigation, farmers have initiated double cropping and ventured into growing cash crops. The gross irrigated area in the area has increased by 150 per cent.

In two villages, user groups have also formed irrigation cooperatives to ensure an equitable distribution of water. The committee decides the quantity of irrigation water which may be drawn from the dams according to the crops sown by farmers.

As part of the downstream activities, 10,000 freshwater fish were purchased and released in two dams on an experimental basis.

Small water-harvesting structures: In Okhamandal soil moisture stress hampers the growth of crops. To overcome this small water-harvesting structures like farm ponds and farm bunds help in conserving rainwater in the fields, thereby increasing the soil moisture content. Towards this end, a total of 46 farm ponds and 78 farm bunds were constructed.