Adaptation, Groundwater Recharge and Livelihood Enhancement: Experiences from Saurashtra Groundwater Recharging Movement

Abstract

An innocuous diversion of rainwater into their farm wells by a few farmers two decades ago has triggered a water-centric social movement popularly known as the Saurashtra groundwater recharging movement in the southwestern part of Gujarat, India. Since irrigation is a socio-technical phenomenon, this paper attempts to capture the social and technical factors that influenced and shaped the demands and responses, and the shaping of the irrigation technology on the livelihood canvas. Apart from income as a key indicator, as a part of the socio-technical approach, the paper also examines several evidences that contributed to the total income, including agricultural income. These include crops and cropping decisions, changes in cropping intensity, shift from unirrigated land to irrigated land, changes in the number and composition of pump sets, well structuration in terms of depth, radial horizontal bores and depth limitations. The paper also analyzes the quantum of recharge estimated at the village level with the stage of groundwater development. The agrarian livelihood decisions reflect farmers’ wisdom of adaptive techniques. The movement also got a boost due to the Gram Jyoti Yojana that provided an assured supply of energy for a certain number of hours every day.