A multi-stakeholders engagement to provide water security by adopting scientific method on springshed management in 100 rural areas of Nagaland was launched at SIRD conference hall in Kohima on Wednesday.
The project’s inaugural programme was organized by Northeast Initiative Development Agency (NEIDA).
The project has been launched with the objective of providing seasonal water security and conservation of springs with a technically sound spring revival project in 11 districts in the State covering 100 villages.
A consortium comprising government departments – Rural Development and Land Resources, Tata Trusts, Arghyam, Advanced Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM), People’s Science Institute (PSI), NEIDA and Eleutheros Christian Society (ECS) will work together for three years in the project.
An agreement was signed among the consortium partners in October 2017.
According to NEIDA official K Tsuhah, the consortium partners would pool in their resources with the objective of providing an innovative model of PPP.
She said resources from government’s existing programmes would be leveraged with non-governmental organizations like Tata Trusts and Arghyam that were providing software support and NGOs like NEIDA and ECS, which were extending support for coordination, community outreach and implementation.
She added that the project further aimed to strengthen community-level institutions, both formal and informal, to ensure local ownership and management to sustain the intervention beyond framework of this project.
Regarding criteria for selection of villages, Tsuhah explained that villages dependent on spring water for domestic consumption, having acute drinking water shortages and water quality issues were selected for the project.
Nagaland depends on spring water to supply most of its drinking water requirement as well as for agricultural use. However, due to human activities springs have been drying up making water availability, especially during the winter months a major concern.