TRADITIONAL SYSTEMS WATER

MANAGEMENT IN INDIA
Introduction:
Water is the key to development and sustenance of all communities. Under conditions of
increasing stress on this essential renewable but scarce natural resource, effective and
efficient management of water is emerging as an urgent contemporary issue. The realisation
of its limited availability in space and time has necessitated the designing of new globally
viable water management regimes aiming at striking a balance between the use of water as
a basis for livelihood and its protection to help ensure its sustainability through present to
future generations. (Agarwal et al., 2000)
India is no exception to this emergent global trend and over the last couple of decades;
new water management interventions are being designed and implemented throughout the
country in anticipation of improved water management practices (RGNDWM, 2000). Broadly
speaking, these interventions enunciate water management regimes based on participatory
approaches where involvement of all stakeholders in universally defined water management
structures is the key strategy. There is much emphasis on involvement of water users in
decision-making processes; strengthening of local institutions; incorporation of traditional
knowledge, skills, practices, etc.
However, these participatory approaches invite criticism as being alien and top-down in
origin, plagued by the assumption that the communities to which the local users belong lack
any operational water management system or if there are any, these are irrational,
narrowly pragmatic or in the process of disappearance (Wolfe et al., 1992). If water is a
basic resource necessary for sustaining human activities, its provision in the desired quantity
and quality and at the right time and place must be seen as a constant human endeavour
in all communities, whether traditional or modern. The question of existence and the form of
traditional localized water management arrangements appear to have been little valued
in the modern globalized water development and management context.
Indeed, a majority of the local communities in India where water management takes place
are rural in nature, organised in villages that are also the smallest viable social units in the
rural milieu. How is water management traditionally organised in the rural Indian localities so
that the needs of the community are met through generations? What implications do such
systems based in local situated knowledge & practices hold for the global water
management context? Answers to these questions are sought in the paper through a
Water has been harvested in India since antiquity, with our ancestors perfecting the art of
water management. Many water harvesting structures and water conveyance systems
specific to the eco-regions and culture has been developed.

They harvested the rain drop directly. From rooftops, they collected water and stored
it in tanks built in their courtyards. From open community lands, they collected the
rain and stored it in artificial wells.

They harvested monsoon runoff by capturing water from swollen streams during the
monsoon season and stored it various forms of water bodies.

They harvested water from flooded rivers

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Traditional systems have benefited from collective human experience since time immemorial
and in this lies their biggest strength. Traditional systems of water management are found in
different regions of India. The techniques used in these systems, the reasons for choosing that
particular technique, resources utilized for building the structures, rules and regulations of
using the system, decentralization of decision making and integrated approach for
management of the resource, are some important aspects.
Different types of water management systems based on the climatic and geographic
locations:

I.

THE TRANS-HIMALAYAN REGION:

It consists of the cold deserts of Ladakh and Kargil in Jammu and

Kashmir, and the Lahaul and Spiti valleys of Himachal Pradesh.
1. Zings
Zings are water harvesting
structures found in Ladakh.
They are small tanks, which
collects melted glacier water. Essential to the system
is the network of guiding channels that brings the
water from the glacier to the tank. As glaciers melt
during the day, the channels fill up with a trickle that in the afternoon turns into flowing water.
The water collects towards the evening, and is used the next day. A water official called the
churpun ensures that water is equitably distributed.

II.

WESTERN HIMALAYA:

The Himalayan mountains bind India in the north by one continuous

chain of gigantic peaks. The western half, which stretches from the
Kashmir valley to the hills of Uttaranchal forms the watershed of the
river Indus, its five tributaries and the main Ganga river. These
mountains support a large human population. Terraced agriculture
is commonly practised on the slopes, and paddy cultivation in the
valleys and duns - the wide valleys that separate the sub-Himalayan
ranges from the middle mountains.
1.

Kul
Kuls are water channels found in precipitous mountain areas. These
channels carry water from glaciers to villages in the Spiti valley of
Himachal Pradesh. Where the terrain is muddy, the kul is lined with rocks to
keep it from becoming clogged. In the Jammu region too, similar
irrigation systems called kuhls are found.

2. Naula
Naula is a surface-water harvesting method typical to the hill areas of
Uttaranchal. These are small wells or ponds in which water is collected
by making a stone wall across a stream.

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3. Khatri
Khatris are structures, about 10x12 feet in size and six feet deep
carved out in the hard rock mountain. These traditional water
harvesting structures are found in Hamirpur, Kangra and Mandi
districts of Himachal Pradesh.
There are two types of khatris: one for animals and washing
purposes in which rain water is collected from the roof through pipes, and other used for
human consumption in which rainwater is collected by seepage through rocks. Interestingly,
the khatris are owned by individual as well as by a community. There are government khatris
as well, which are maintained by the panchayat.

III.

THE EASTERN HIMALAYAS:The Indian portion of the eastern

Himalayan region consists of the states of Sikkim and Arunachal

Pradesh, and the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. Unfortunately,
there is little documentation of the traditional water harvesting
practices of this region.
1. Apatani
This is a wet rice cultivation cum fish farming system practiced in
elevated regions of about 1600 m and gentle sloping valleys, having an average annual
rainfall about 1700 mm and also rich water resources like springs and streams. This system
harvests both ground and surface water for irrigation. It is practiced by Apatani tribes of Ziro
in the lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh.
In Apatani system, valleys are terraced into plots separated by 0.6 meters high earthen dams
supported by bamboo frames. All plots have inlet and outlet on opposite sides. The inlet of
lowlying plot functions as an outlet of the high lying plot. Deeper channels connect the inlet
point to outlet point. The terraced plot can be flooded or drained off with water by opening
and blocking the inlets and outlets as and when required. The stream water is tapped by
constructing a wall of 2-4 m high and 1 m thick near forested hill slopes. This is conveyed to
agricultural fields through a channel network.

IV.

THE NORTHEASTERN HILL RANGES:

They stretch over six Indian states Assam, Nagaland, Manipur,

Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya, extending over Bangladesh and
northern Myanmar, touching the southern slopes of the
Brahmaputra valley and the northern, eastern and southern slopes
of the Barak valley. The Meghalaya plateau covers the entire state
of Meghalaya and the Karbi hills of Assam.

1. Cheo-ozihi
The river Mezii flows along the Angami village of Kwigema in Nagaland. The riverwater is
brought down by a long channel. From this channel, many branch channels are taken off,
and water is often diverted to the terraces through bamboo pipes. One of the channels is
named Cheo-oziihi - oziihi means water and Cheo was the person responsible for the laying
of this 8-10 km-long channel with its numerous branches. This channel irrigates a large
number of terraces in Kwigwema, and some terraces in the neighbouring village. There are
three khels and the village water budget is divided among these

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2. Zabo
The zabo (the word means 'impounding run-off') system is practiced in
Nagaland in north-eastern India. Also known as the ruza system, it
combines water conservation with forestry, agriculture and animal
care.
Villages such as Kikruma, where zabos are found even today, are
located on a high ridge. Though drinking water is a major problem, the
area receives high rainfall. The rain falls on a patch of protected forest
on the hilltop; as the water runs off along the slope, it passes through
various terraces. The water is collected in pond-like structures in the
middle terraces; below are cattle yards, and towards the foot of the hill
are paddy fields, where the run-off ultimately meanders into.
3. Bamboo Drip Irrigation
Meghalaya has an ingenious system of tapping of stream and
springwater by using bamboo pipes to irrigate plantations. About 1820 litres of water entering the bamboo pipe system per minute gets
transported over several hundred metres and finally gets reduced to
20-80 drops per minute at the site of the plant. This 200-year-old
system is used by the tribal farmers of Khasi and Jaintia hills to dripirrigate their black pepper cultivation.
Bamboo pipes are used to divert perennial springs on the hilltops to
the lower reaches by gravity. The channel sections, made of
bamboo, divert and convey water to the plot site where it is
distributed without leakage into branches, again made and laid out
with different forms of bamboo pipes. Manipulating the intake pipe positions also controls the
flow of water into the lateral pipes. Reduced channel sections and diversion units are used at
the last stage of water application. The last channel section enables the water to be
dropped near the roots of the plant.
Bamboos of varying diameters are used for laying the channels. About a third of the outer
casing in length and internodes of bamboo pieces have to be removed while fabricating
the system. Later, the bamboo channel is smoothened by using a dao, a type of local axe, a
round chisel fitted with a long handle. Other components are small pipes and channels of
varying sizes used for diversion and distribution of water from the main channel. About four to
five stages of distribution are involved from the point of the water diversion to the application
point.

V.

THE BRAHMAPUTRA VALLEY

It is situated between two parallel hill ranges the eastern Himalayan

ranges of Arunachal Pradesh, with Bhutan to the north, and the
northeastern hill ranges of Meghalaya, north Cachar and Nagaland
to the south. The valley that falls in Assam can be divided into three
regions the western Brahmaputra valley covering the districts of
Goalpara and Kamrup; the central Brahmaputra valley region
covering Darang and Nowgong districts; and, the eastern
Brahmaputra valley covering the districts of Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh
and Sibsagar. Parts of the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal also
drain into the Brahmaputra through the Teesta river.

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1. Dongs
Dongs are ponds constructed by the Bodo tribes of Assam to harvest water for irrigation.
These ponds are individually owned with no community involvement.
2. Dungs or Jampois
Dungs or Jampois are small irrigation channels linking rice fields to streams in the Jalpaiguri
district of West Bengal.

VI.

THE INDO-GANGETIC PLAINS

The Indo-Gangetic Plains is the most important zone in terms of

human concentration in India. It is a vast enclosed basin of
numerous small and large rivers, separated by alluvial divides. The
western section, comprising Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi
and western Uttar Pradesh, is slightly higher in elevation, over 150
metres (m) than the eastern section of the plain. Geologically, the
whole region is made up of alluvium brought down by the
Himalayan rivers.
Agriculturally, the most important region is the Punjab plain.
Generally, the soils of the region are alluvial with variations of bangar and khadar. The
Haryana plain, which also includes Delhi, has soils which are mostly sandy and calcareous.
The Upper Ganga plain is a vast stretch of the Indo-Gangetic Plains, where the rivers play an
important role and have a definite influence over the area. In general, the soil of the region is
alluvial but variations exist in the upland and lowland areas. The Middle Ganga plain is the
transitional zone between the Upper Ganga plain and the Lower Ganga plain. The Lower
Ganga plain extends over Bihar and West Bengal and has a higher rainfall. It has an
elevation below 75 m, and has been divided into six micro-regions: north Bihar plain, south
Bihar plain, Barind tract, Moribund delta, Proper delta and the Rarh plain.
1. Ahar Pynes
This traditional floodwater harvesting system is
indigenous to south Bihar.
In south Bihar, the terrain has a marked slope - 1 m per km -- from south to north. The soil
here is sandy and does not retain water.
Groundwater levels are low. Rivers in this
region swell only during the monsoon, but the water is swiftly carried away or percolates
down into the sand. All these factors make floodwater harvesting the best option here, to
which this system is admirably suited.
An ahar is a catchment basin embanked on three sides, the 'fourth' side being the natural
gradient of the land itself. Ahar beds were also used to grow a rabi (winter) crop after
draining out the excess water that remained after kharif (summer) cultivation.
Pynes are articifial channels constructed to utilise river water in agricultural fields. Starting out
from the river, pynes meander through fields to end up in an ahar. Most pynes flow within 10
km of a river and their length is not more than 20 km.
The ahar-pyne system received a death-blow under the nineteenth-century British colonial
regime. The post-independent state was hardly better. In 1949, a Flood Advisory Committee
investigating continuous floods in Bihar's Gaya district came to the conclusion that "the

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fundamental reason for recurrence of floods was the destruction of the old irrigational system
in the district."
Of late, though, some villages in Bihar have taken up the initiative to re-build and re-use the
system. One such village is Dihra.
It is a small village 28 km southwest of Patna city. In 1995, some village youths realised that
they could impound the waters of the Pachuhuan (a seasonal stream passing through the
village that falls into the nearby river Punpun) and use its bed as a reservoir to meet the
village's irrigation needs. Essentially, this meant creating an ahar-pyne system
After many doubts, the village powers-that-be gave the go-ahead. Money was collected
and work began in May 1995. After a month of shramdaan (voluntary labour) the villagers
completed their work mid-June.
Their efforts have borne fruit. By 2000 AD, the ahar was irrigating 80 ha of land. The people
grow two cereal crops and one crop of vegetables every year. The returns from the sale of
what they produce are good. The village is no longer a poor one.
2. Bengal's Inundation Channel
Bengal once had an extraordinary system of inundation
canals. Sir William Willcocks, a British irrigation expert who
had also worked in Egypt and Iraq, claimed that
inundation canals were in vogue in the region till about
two centuries ago. Floodwater entered the fields through
the inundation canals, carrying not only rich silt but also
fish, which swam through these canals into the lakes and
tanks to feed on the larva of mosquitoes. This helped to check malaria in this region.
According to Willcocks, the ancient system of overflow irrigation had lasted for thousands of
years. Unfortunately, during the Afghan-Maratha war in the 18th century and the subsequent
British conquest of India, this irrigation system was neglected, and was never revived.
According to Willcocks, the distinguishing features of the irrigation system were:
1.) the canals were broad and shallow, carrying the crest waters of the river floods, rich in
fine clay and free from coarse sand;
2.) the canals were long and continuous and fairly parallel to each other, and at the right
distance from each other for purposes of irrigation;
3.) irrigation was performed by cuts in the banks of the canals, which were closed when the
flood was over
3. Dighis
Emperor Shahjahan (1627-58 AD) first shifted the city from the Aravalli hills towards the plains
of the Yamuna. But he made sufficient arrangements to meet the water needs of the new
palace, the army, and the common people. His system of Shahjahani canals and dighis was
probably the best creation of the time.
Shahjahan ordered Ali Mardan Khan and his Persian artisans to bring the waters of the
Yamuna to the city and to his palace. Ali Mardan Khan not only brought Yamuna waters to
the palace, but also linked this canal with another from Sirmaur hills, presently located on the
Delhi border near Najafgarh. The new canal, Ali Mardan canal, channelled the waters of the
Sahibi river basin to merge into the old canal.
In the main city, the canal charged dighis and wells. A dighi was a square or circular reservoir
of about 0.38 m by 0.38 m with steps to enter. Each dighi had its own sluice gates. People

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were not allowed to bathe or wash clothes on the steps of the dighi. However, one was free
to take water for personal use. People generally hired a kahar or a mashki to draw water
from the dighis. Most of the houses had either their own wells or had smaller dighis on their
premises. In the event of canal waters not reaching the town and the dighis consequently
running dry, wells were the main source of water. Some of the major wells were Indara kuan
near the present Jubilee cinema, Pahar-wala-kuan near Gali-pahar-wali, and Chah Rahat
near Chhipiwara (feeding water to the Jama Masjid).
In 1843, Shahjahanabad had 607 wells, of which 52 provided sweetwater. Today 80 per cent
of the wells are closed because the water is contaminated by the sewer system.
4. Baolis
Besides tanks, sultans and their nobles built and maintained many baolis (stepwells). These
baolis were secular structures from which everyone could draw water. Gandak-ki-baoli (so
named because its water has gandak or sulphur) was built during the reign of Sultan Iltutmish.
The water of this beautiful rock-hewn baoli is still used for washing and bathing. Adjacent to
this, there are the ruins of other baolis like Rajon-ki-baoli, a baoli in the Dargah of Kaki Saheb,
and a caved baoli behind Mahavir Sthal. During this period baolis were built in other parts of
the city too.
Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq (1325-51 AD) inherited Delhi with three competing habitations, and
added a fourth one to it - Jahanpanah - which means the shelter of the world. The Satpula
(meaning seven spans) was built to regulate water supply for irrigating the area falling
outside the city. Built across the southern wall of Jahanpanah, it is a dam towering 64.96 m
above ground level. Its seven principal spans were sluices that controlled the water in an
artificial lake.)

VII.

THE THAR DESERT

The Thar Desert covers an area of 44.6 million hectare (mha), of

which 27.8 mha lie in India and the rest in Pakistan. The desert is
bounded by the Aravalli hills in the east, by the fertile Indus and the
Nara valleys of Pakistan and the salt marsh of the Rann of Kutch in
the west, and by the alluvial plains of Haryana and Punjab in the
north.
In India, most of the area of the Thar Desert is situated in western
Rajasthan. In Gujarat, the entire Kutch region and parts of several
districts fall in this desert. In Punjab, all of Bhatinda and Ferozepur
districts and, in Haryana, most of Hissar and parts of Mohindergarh districts are part of the
Thar. Of the total area of the Thar, nearly 60 per cent is being farmed, with varying intensities
of cropping, and 30 per cent is open pastureland. The annual average rainfall is around 500
mm in the east to less than 100 mm in the west and there is high variability from year to year.
Agriculture in the region is extremely precarious and four out of every 10 years on an
average, are drought years. Strong winds blow for four to five months in a year over a large
part of the desert region. Dust storms during summer are a common feature.
The region has great diversity in vegetation. As many as 700 species of plants are found in the
area, of which 107 are of grass alone. These plants are deep-rooted and tenacious enough
to withstand extended droughts and yet efficient enough to gain biomass rapidly during a
favourable season. The local grasses are generally prolific seeders, and most of the species
are palatable, fairly nutritious and rich in minerals, including trace elements. The Thar Desert is
endowed with some of the best breeds of livestock in the country. Nearly 50 per cent of the

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country's wool is produced in Rajasthan, and the area has been the main supplier of bullocks
to the North.
By and large, land-use in the Thar is dependent on rainfall. In good rainfall years, large areas
are cropped, cattle thrive on extensive pastures and substantial amounts of hay are stored
for future use. Rainwater is stored in ponds and underground tanks. As rainfall is very erratic, a
pattern of mixed farming has been developed in which human and animal populations
benefit from each other.
1. Kunds / Kundis
A kund or kundi looks like an upturned cup
nestling in a saucer. These structures harvest
rainwater for drinking, and dot the sandier tracts
of the Thar Desert in western Rajasthan and
some areas in Gujarat.
Essentially a circular underground well, kunds
have a saucer-shaped catchment area that
gently slopes towards the centre where the well is situated. A wire mesh across water-inlets
prevents debris from falling into the well-pit. The sides of the well-pit are covered with
(disinfectant) lime and ash. Most pits have a dome-shaped cover, or at least a lid, to protect
the water. If need be, water can be drawn out with a bucket. The depth and diameter of
kunds depend on their use (drinking, or domestic water requirements). They can be owned
by only those with money to invest and land to construct it. Thus for the poor, large public
kunds have to be built.
2.

Kuis / Beris
Found in western Rajasthan, these are 10-12 m deep pits dug near tanks
to collect the seepage. Kuis can also be used to harvest rainwater in
areas with meagre rainfall.
The mouth of the pit is usually made very narrow. This prevents the
collected water from evaporating. The pit gets wider as it burrows under
the ground, so that water can seep in into a large surface area. The
openings of these entirely kuchcha (earthen) structures are generally
covered with planks of wood, or put under lock and key. The water is
used sparingly, as a last resource in crisis situations.

Magga Ram Suthar, of village Pithla in Jaisalmer district in Rajasthan, is

an engineer skilled in making kuis/beris.
3. Baoris / Bers
Baoris or bers are community wells, found in Rajasthan, that are used
mainly for drinking. Most of them are very old and were built by
banjaras (mobile trading communities) for their drinking water needs.
They can hold water for a long time because of almost negligible water
evaporation.
4.

Jhalaras
Jhalaras were human-made tanks,
found in Rajasthan and Gujarat,
essentially meant for community use
and for religious rites. Often rectangular in design, jhalaras
have steps on three or four sides.

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Jhalars areground water bodies which are built to ensure easy & regular supply of water to
the surrounding areas. The jhalars are rectangular in shape with steps on three or even on all
the four sides of the tank . The steps are built on a series of levels. The jhalaras collect
subterranean seepage of a talab or a lake located upstream. The water from these jhalaras
was not used for drinking but for only community bathing and religious rites. Jhodhpur city
has eight jhalaras two of which are inside the town & six are found outside the city.
The oldest jhalara is the mahamandir jhalara which dates back to 1660 AD
5. Khadin
A khadin, also called a dhora, is an ingenious construction designed to harvest surface runoff
water for agriculture. Its main feature is a very long (100-300 m) earthen embankment built
across the lower hill slopes lying below gravelly uplands. Sluices and spillways allow excess
water to drain off. The khadin system is based on the principle of harvesting rainwater on
farmland and subsequent use of this water-saturated land for crop production.

First designed by the Paliwal Brahmins of Jaisalmer, western Rajasthan in the 15th century, this
system has great similarity with the irrigation methods of the people of Ur (present Iraq)
around 4500 BC and later of the Nabateans in the Middle East. A similar system is also
reported to have been practised 4,000 years ago in the Negev desert, and in southwestern
Colorado 500 years ago
6.

Virdas
Virdas are shallow wells dug in low
depressions called jheels (tanks). They are
found all over the Banni grasslands, a part of
the Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. They
are systems built by the nomadic Maldharis,
who used to roam these grasslands. Now
settled, they persist in using virdas.

These structures harvest rainwater. The topography of the area is undulating, with depressions
on the ground. By studying the flow of water during the monsoon, the Maldharis identify
these depressions and make their virdas there.
Essentially, the structures use a technology that helps the Maldharis separate potable
freshwater from unpotable salt water. After rainwater infiltrates the soil, it gets stored at a
level above the salty groundwater because of the difference in their density. A structure is
built to reach down (about 1 m) to this upper layer of accumulated rainwater. Between
these two layers of sweet and saline water, there exists a zone of brackish water. As
freshwater is removed, the brackish water moves upwards, and accumulates towards the
bottom of the virda.

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Conclusion:
Since water is basic to life, the history of survival of local communities in rural India bears a
testimony to the existence of innovative approaches and sustainable practices in water
management. These are indigenously designed in history and passed on through generations
as informal organizations, intricately enmeshed in the overall socio-cultural matrix. It can be
further contested that these are by no means narrowly pragmatic or irrational nor are they
in the process of disappearing. These traditions are extremely complex, consisting of a series
of cognitive layers, in this case embodied in the ideational and operational domains of
the water management system. These layers, also identifiable as components of the
resources management system, are intricately woven into the overall socio-cultural matrix of
these communities and may not be meaningful in isolation.

Bibliography:

Agarwal, A., delos Angeles, M. S., Bhatia, R., Cheret, I., Davila-Poblete, S.,
Falkenmark, M.,
RGNDWM, 2000. Guidelines for implementation of rural water supply program.
Department of drinking water supply, Ministry of rural development, New Delhi.
Nandita Singh, Department of Land and Water Resources Engineering, Royal Institute
of Technology, Stockholm, Water management traditions in rural India: Valuing the
unvalued
Manish Rajankar, Traditional Water Management Systems of Eastern Vidarbha:
Community Conservation-1
http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org

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