Maharashtra pioneers equitable distribution of water
Across India, drought is affecting agricultural productivity and contributing to suicide rates among farmers. But in Atpadi, Maharashtra, the sector is thriving thanks to a grassroots project that ensures everyone gets a fair share of water.
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00:00 A cool plunge to escape the mid-summer heat, Anand Rao Patil has brought his grandson and
00:08 a couple of other children from their village for a swim, an activity that would have been
00:13 unthinkable here in Akpadi when he was their age.
00:18 Because back then, this pond was dry.
00:24 I was born in 1960 and remember my first drought when I was 12.
00:28 That was when people had started growing more crops.
00:31 But every year brought less rainfall than ever before.
00:39 The 1960s marked the advent of commercially intensive agriculture in India.
00:44 In areas with irregular rainfall, farmers began drawing on groundwater, not just for
00:49 their crops but also for their household needs.
00:52 Amid increasing droughts and dwindling groundwater, many of Akpadi's struggling residents left
00:58 to find work in cities.
01:00 But Anand Rao Patil stayed.
01:02 He got together with others to push for residents' right to water.
01:07 They calculated that for a region like Akpadi that's dependent on agriculture, families
01:12 needed an average of 6000 cubic meters of water.
01:17 Bharat Patankar led their protests to press for a pioneering plan that would ensure everyone
01:22 received an equal share of water.
01:25 Because these areas are 350 millimeters per year average rainfall.
01:32 Out of requirement of this 6000 cubic meters, it would give only some kind of amount like
01:42 150 cubic meters per year.
01:45 So beyond that, it cannot give.
01:48 So droughts would be repeating themselves and the same, almost same situation would
01:53 remain.
01:54 So exogenous water is necessary.
01:58 Officials agreed to make up for this shortfall with water from the Krishna River.
02:03 It flows about 100 kilometers away through a water-rich basin.
02:07 The challenge now was how to get its water to Akpadi.
02:13 In India, water is frequently diverted through open canals.
02:17 But studies show it's not an effective method, with up to 60% of the water lost along the
02:22 way.
02:23 Instead, the Akpadi activists persuaded the government to try a closed pipe system.
02:29 It diverts river water directly to local ponds and reservoirs, and from there to each household.
02:35 Today, that plan is on track.
02:38 The question is, will the Krishna River ecosystem suffer as a result?
02:44 K.J.
02:45 Joy has been performing hydrological studies to find out.
02:49 It has an impact on the river system.
02:51 Definitely.
02:52 But then we also need to see this impacts in a much more of a holistic manner.
02:56 If it is going to rejuvenate the local water bodies and the groundwater in the long run,
03:03 then that will contribute to the base flow and to the rejuvenation of the river itself
03:07 and things.
03:08 It can happen if people use this water judiciously and not for very water-intensive crops and
03:13 things.
03:15 Crops like the pomegranate fruit, which, thanks to the regular and reliable supply of water,
03:20 has become a mainstay of the economy.
03:23 With their fields flourishing, local farmers are generating jobs and profits.
03:29 Akpadi's pomegranates are in high demand all over the world.
03:35 And because this fruit doesn't require a lot of water, there's been enough left in the
03:39 reservoirs to support a revival of traditional livestock farming.
03:48 The once quiet market in Akpadi is again bustling with activity.
03:53 Farmers say they are not just seeing more water above ground, there's more underground
03:57 too.
04:02 In places where our distribution system is supplying water, the groundwater level has
04:07 risen from a depth of 1000 feet to just 20 feet.
04:16 The system has not only succeeded in supplying villagers with enough water, it's also driving
04:21 social justice.
04:23 Because water here is treated like a currency.
04:26 Landless agricultural workers who don't actually use all the water they're allocated can sell
04:31 their surplus, a benefit to them and to large landowners and livestock herders who need
04:37 more water.
04:39 Most of the people who have got less amount of land or no land are low caste people.
04:47 So one acre owning person will get water, same amount of water as the person owning
04:57 10 acres of land.
04:58 So this is a caste justice, it's a gender justice, inbuilt in this system.
05:05 Akpadi was once known in the state as the land of droughts, a reputation it's now firmly
05:11 put to rest.
05:13 With its replenished water bodies, it could provide a template to ensure everyone in Maharashtra's
05:19 arid regions gets their fair share of water.
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