Case Study 7B CHAPTER 4: Transitions For a Sustainable Future
Systemic and Integrated local planning for building humane settlements - Hiware Bazaar Maharashtra, India Hiware Bazar is a semi-arid village in Maharashtra that common pool resource and prioritise uses of available
from the 1970s to the 1990s overused and depleted most water. To institutionalise sharing of water, the village of its natural endowments of water. The village faced an introduced a practice of water budgeting. Using a ‘water acute water crisis, during which only 12% of the land was bank’ principle, the budgeting ensures that the village does
cultivated, leading to declining agricultural productivity and not draw more water than it stores, and a small amount is
rampant poverty in the region. Water retention was limited kept in reserve. Depending on rainfall in the year, available which further deteriorated by deforestation over the years. water is allocated amongst various uses, with first priority
Available water was poorly managed, and access to water for drinking water for humans. Of the remaining water, 70% was determined by ownership of the land and capital to is reserved for irrigation and 30% is stored for future use by dig deeper and deeper wells.
allowing it to percolate and recharge groundwater.
The change took place in 1989, when the Panchayat, led The local communities were made the key stakeholders by Popat Rao, engineered an integrated reform through the of the village. Responsibilities were divided amongst the
adoption of a decentralised model based on the needs of residents who were organised into cooperative societies the people. To address the most pressing problem of water, like the mutual interests groups, youth groups, SHG’s and the Panchayat, with support from the community, started other forums. Livelihood programmes to utilise the natural
a programme that channeled all the government drought resources in a productive manner were initiated. Regular compensation to create water conservation structures and meetings for collective decision making were organised for
reforest the area to restore the natural ecology. To prevent extensive and systemic involvement of the community. This overuse of water in cultivation, energy and water-efficient democratic model of governance also empowered women
technologies for irrigation, such as drip irrigation, were and other marginalised sections of the society to come adopted in addition to watershed conservation techniques forward and participate in the process of development. such as contour trenching and bunding, afforestation,
building of earth embankments around hills and rain water Today with outstanding natural, economic, social and harvesting.
physical capital base, Hiware Bazaar stands testimony to the fact that dynamic and sustainable planning can
The villagers were encouraged to consider water as a promote development of settlements as desired.
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