Anantha Nageswaran

The new millennium has begun with a bang, unfortunately not in the positive sense, of course. For India, the year (2001) and the millennium began with a devastating earthquake in Gujarat. While the real tragedy - in terms of lives that have been irrevocably altered - might yet be unfolding, a few of us attempted to make a difference in a small way.

We contributed to the purchase of equipment that would test the structural health of buildings that were spared by the quake so that its inhabitants could safely return to them and resume their lives. The details can be found in this website:olsen-india.com/quake.html (If this link does not work, please write to me if you need information )

Most of us passionately hope to see India scale the heights of economic development rapidly and enter the ranks of advanced nations. Towards this end, we contribute in several ways. More often, the predominant mode is material contribution to our favourite charities or local causes in the neighbourhoods where we grew up.

Charitable contributions leave us with a sense of incompleteness and a gnawing thought that we might be encouraging a culture of dependence. Further, donations or grants are suitable for supporting public and social causes but economic activities need only capital support.

Particularly, in the case of encouraging new business activity, there is much to be said for supporting individuals through investments rather than grants for it would inculcate a discipline that values capital and the need to grow it, through prudent business decisions

Based on the above logic, some of us Indians based in Singapore, began work on Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund (AIMVCF) in March 2001. After a lot of thinking, talking, writing emails and travelling, AIMVCF, with the support of many well-wishers and investors, is ready to do what it is meant to do - to provide venture capital to micro and small enterprises primarily in rural India. It seeks to deliver commercial returns to investors, to foster a culture of entrepreneurship in rural India and to achieve social impact.

For more details, please do visit the site www.aavishkaar.org and do let me know if you wish to participate in this path-breaking fund in any capacity - as investor, as volunteer, as mentor.

India is a country with widely varying rainfall patterns. However, the Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi (www.cseindia.org) reckons that even the region with the scantest rainfall could provide for its water needs, if only the water is harvested where it falls. It goes back to what our kings supposed to have done - to build tanks, small ponds and lakes to conserve water. That is what is rainwater harvesting is all about.

Water is so vital to lend dignity to human existence. It is not just a question of survival but also a question of leading a life with dignity, with culture and values intact. Without water, villages starve, villagers emigrate and family structures come asunder. Cities groan under the weight of influx of villagers who would have been happier living in the lands closer to their heart and tilling it, if only there was enough water.

India's Rajendra Singh won the Magsaysay award last year for his work in rainwater harvesting in Alwar district in Rajasthan. We were happy to associate ourselves with Jal Bhagirathi Foundation in constructing a rainwater harvesting structure in the village of Khejarla in Rajasthan. Read on for details.

Shri Rajendra Singh is the General Secretary of Tarun Bharat Sangh. Tarun Bharat Sangh (TBS) with mobilisation of the villagers has since 1985 built 4,500 johads; anicuts check dams or water harvesting structures to collect rainwater in 1050 villages regenerating 6500 sq. km of land. Farming activity resumed in hundreds of drought prone villages as this unique system of traditional water harvesting structures revived five rivers Ruparel, Aravari, Sarsa, Bhagani and Jhajwali flowing again after remaining dry for decades. Nembi and the Sariska region, which were declared "dark zones", have been converted into "white zones".

Former President K. R. Narayanan in recognition of these efforts felicitated Tarun Bharat Sangh with the Down to Earth, Joseph C. John Award in March 2000. Shri Rajender Singh, General Secretary of Tarun Bharat Sangh and the Vice-Chairperson of Jal Bhagirathi Foundation won the 2001 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, which is among many other national and international awards received by him in appreciation of the exemplary contribution of Tarun Bharat Sangh under his leadership.

The construction of the 'Taalab' in Khejarla village was part of the "Jal Bhagirathi" programme that was launched to replicate the work of Tarun Bharat Sangh in Marwar, to provide succour to the suffering populace in the Thar Desert, which is easily the most hostile landscape in the country. To ensure the success of such an enormous undertaking, Tarun Bharat Sangh entered into a strategic alliance with Maharaja Gaj Singh ji of Jodhpur and formed the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation (JBF).

Since TBS had not worked before in the Marwar region - a vast area compared to its area of operations in Alwar and the TBS strategy relies heavily on community participation - therefore there is a need to build up local alliances. Therefore, Maharaja Gaj Singh of Marwar, who has a strong following amongst the people of the region has come together with Tarun Bharat Sangh to combine their resources and experiences and formed the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation. The Board of Trustees of Jal Bhagirathi Foundation has four members, of which two are from Tarun Bharat Sangh, of which Shri Rajender Singh ji as the General Secretary is CEO of Tarun Bharat Sangh and Shri Prithvi Raj Singh ji is Member- Governing Council of Tarun Bharat Sangh.

Khejarla village is near Bilara in district Jodhpur, just off the Jodhpur to Jaipur highway. It has a total population of 8000 people, of which 1500 are Muslims. The total population has approximately 2500 men, 2400 women and the remaining are children of which 1500 children go to school.

Of the total land under agriculture, 2000 bighas is irrigated and 1800 bighas is not irrigated. The vegetation around the village consists mainly of the following trees: Kejadi, Babool, Neem, Rohida, Bordi, Kijar etc.

The village has a livestock of 500 cows, 300 buffalo's, 10,000 sheep and 3000 goats that need water in addition to the population of the village.

The water structure project consisted of a Talab, which is 350 / 400 years old, which was called the "Sujansagar" talab, which was made with traditional technology with locally available materials by the ancestors of the present village community. However, due to years of neglect the talab has collapsed and a valuable reserve of water for the community was destroyed. With the help of modern technologies the village dug deep wells and made water tanks in the village to provide piped water to the residents.

However, due to a public awareness camp held in the village by Jal Bhagirathi Foundation, the village realised that till the ground water resources were recharged, the continuous boring of deep wells would deplete the ground water resources and dry the wells. The water in the well was already decreasing at the rate of 5 meters of more each year.

The village community decided to reconstruct and repair the "Sujansagar" talab, which would have a direct impact on at least 54 wells and also impact the entire ground water table in the vicinity. Once completed, it would be a major source of water for livestock of the village and the largest water structure in this area.

The project included digging of the talab, repairing the talab and providing for a feeder canal to bring water to the talab. The total cost of the work was estimated by the village at Rs.3 Lakhs, of which the village community contributed in cash or kind Rs. 1 Lakhs.

The village was also selected for a workshop from 4th to 9th June to held by "Nai Azadi" an NGO from West Bengal which would address issues of communal harmony, health, hygiene etc and organised by the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation in which it was hoped that all the communities in the village would participate.

The construction of the project was undertaken by the village community for which a Jal Samiti was formed by the village that has Shri Durgadas ji as its president.

The village constructed the project at the substantially lower cost than estimated. In Khejrala village, Oxfam funded the mobilisation and training camps, Mrs.Amla Ruia funded other NGO's participation, TBS and JBF coordinated all the activities, Now the village has formed a SHG, while the JBF moves out of the construction of Talab, the community has been activated and hopefully will learn to find solutions to other problems.

As soon as we receive pictures from the JBF about the Taalab in Khejarla, we will post them here.

In the wake of the emotionally satisfying experience of participating in the construction of a Taalab in Khejarla, myy wife and I decided to continue our involvement with the work of the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation. Towards this end, we formed a 'water for all' club - an informal gathering of good souls who wish to water harvesting efforts in India. Forty five people have signed up.

At the beginning of the New Year, about two-hundred Singapore dollars will be collected from each of them (including us) and the money will go towards the restoration of the water harvesting structure in the village of Bhadrajun in Rajasthan.

Bhadrajun Village has a population of about 5000 and is situated 98 kms Southwest of Jodhpur. It is 350 km. away from the State capital of Jaipur and 590 km. away from New Delhi.

The three water retention structures that are to be restored are located at different altitudes in the Bhadrajun Hills. Restoring/creating these water holes would help in moisture conservation which in turn would help betterment of existing forest crop in surrounding areas and planting of fodder and trees. It would help to raise the ground water level in the wells that are in close proximity to the 'water holes'.

Additionally, awareness programmes will mobilise village community in realising the real value of preservation.

The total cost of the project, spread over three years, is Rs. 990,000. The contribution of the village is Rs.255,000 (more than 25%). Donors from the 'Water for all' club would contribute Rs.735,000 over three years. Surplus of Rs. 83,000 brought over from the funding of the water-harvesting structure in Khejarla village would be used for this project.

If you are interested, please do drop me a line at nageswar@singnet.com.sg In the meantime, if you happen to be in Rajasthan, please do make it a point to visit Khejarla.

The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Digvijay Singh, might not have won international attention for his computer literacy and for his wizardry with laptop computers. But his education guarantee scheme - that built a school on demand from any village - has been hailed as a worthwhile social initiative in many forums. All it takes is only Rs.16000 annually to support a school. To read more about it, please do visit www.fundaschool.org