DSC – Development Support Centre
HUF’s partnership with DSC focusses on ensuring water security in Himmatnagar, Aravali and Mehesana districts of North Gujarat. Farmers in the region depend on groundwater or canal water from the Sabarmati river to secure water for irrigation. Canal water distribution is inequitable in this region. This often causes social conflicts leading to indiscriminate use of groundwater by those without canal water access.
Our partnership with DSC aimed to improve reach of canal water by promoting its judicious usage in conjunction with addressing over-exploitation of groundwater. The programme aimed to build informed water governance measures at the village level through Sujal Sammittees, federated groups of water user associations. They worked with Bhujal Jaankars, a trained cadre of para hydrogeologists at the village level who captured data on surface water potential and ground water levels to take informed governance measures. The Bhujal Jaankars also drove behaviour change with farmers at the village level using this data.
The programme covers 22 villages in 3 districts of Gujarat. An estimated 1,893 farmers have benefitted through adoption of improved farm practices on 4,357 hectares of land. 1,472 hectares of land has been added into the canal command area.
