From resource deficient to people-driven water management, MP’s Dindori shows how its done

Jabalpur: At a time when several Madhya Pradesh districts are baking under scorching heatwaves and battling a severe water supply crisis, the tribal-dominated Dindori district has emerged as an unlikely national model for water conservation, securing the first position in the state and second nationally with its pioneering ‘Jal Sanchay Bhagidari’ campaign.

Often counted among the state’s most underdeveloped and resource-constrained districts, Dindori turned its traditional tribal ethos of living in harmony with nature into a large-scale people’s movement to conserve water.

Through public participation and low-cost innovations, the district created nearly three lakh water conservation structures aimed at preserving every drop and improving groundwater recharge.

According to district officials, the campaign was driven not merely as a govt scheme but as a community initiative. Public awareness initiatives such as jal chaupals, kalash rallies and street plays were organised across villages to encourage people to adopt water conservation practices.

Residents and women’s self-help groups volunteered to pilot the initiative and actively participated in building and maintaining structures ranging from recharge pits and farm ponds to check dams and contour trenches.

As part of the ‘Ek Bagiya Maa Ke Naam’ initiative, about 3,500 fruit-bearing saplings were planted. Further, to ensure irrigation remains unimpeded even into harsh summer months, villagers improvised drip irrigation systems using discarded plastic bottles and earthen pots, allowing plants to survive with minimal water usage.

Water harvesting systems were also installed in govt buildings, while soak pits were constructed to improve rainwater percolation. Schools and hostels developed kitchen gardens where wastewater from kitchens and bathrooms was diverted through drains for irrigation purposes.

Collector Anju Pawan Bhadauria said Dindori’s soil has poor water retention capacity, forcing many farmers to rely on single crop cultivation annually.

Despite these limitations, the district succeeded in transforming water conservation into a grassroots campaign.

According to data available with the district administration, about 2.98 lakh structures have been developed under the initiative, including more than 41,000 recharge pits, nearly 10,000 farm ponds, over 6,000 check dams and thousands of rooftop water harvesting systems, dugwell recharge units and gully plugs.