STAKEHOLDERS MEETINGS AND AWARENESS PROGRAMMES IN …

As part of the Water Security in Peri-urban South Asia

Project, the Hyderabad team organised a week-long

series of stakeholders meetings, interactions, and

awareness programmes across the field villages.

Stakeholders meetings were organised in 3 villages

namely, Aliabad, Ravirala, and Mallampet near

Hyderabad, during 30th April-2nd May, 2011. Apart from

the village locals, various other stakeholders like the

sarpanch, director of water users association, water plant

owners, farmers, representations from watershed

committee, gated-community, self-help groups, village

secretary, ward members, and activists were part of these

meetings.

A six month long exploratory phase - the scoping study,

looked at specific problems of select villages in terms of

competing users of water due to urbanization and the

likely impact of climate change. The prime objective of

the stakeholders meetings was to share findings from the

scoping study to the community and hear their opinions

regarding it. It also provided a good platform to

understand perspectives and receive suggestions by

varied stakeholders regarding possible interventions

that could be undertaken in the village. Discussions on

local capacity building were understood and avenues for

collaborating with relevant organizations explored.

Through these discussions, the locals shared many issues

and problems, especially related to the quality and

availability of the water sources. Groundwater in few of

the villages is unfit – not just for drinking but also for

agriculture purposes since it is highly polluted. Water

channels that help in filling of the nearby lake are

encroached upon, leading to the surface water bodies

almost never filling up. Since water canals to the village

bring water to the fields only when the lakes are full, the

village cannot even rely on surface water for its

agricultural needs. This is threatening the livelihoods of

farmers to a large extent, who are usually forced to sell

their lands to private developers which is far more

profitable as these peri-urban areas are very sought after

for real estate development. Apart from this, effluents

from industries contribute to a lot of surface and ground

water pollution. Rampant sand mining is also taking

place in two villages which has affected the sub surface

water flow which is one of the reasons why the lakes are

shrinking. Other problems emerge due to improper water

management, lack of any village level functional

committee looking at the problems, and ensuing local

political dynamics and vested interests by the powerful.

However, the underlying point in every meeting was the

fact that the villagers were very open to support and

cooperate with the project team and ensure that some

concrete actions are taken to improve their present

situation. Based on these discussions and suggestions,

the team has charted out its future plan of action and

STAKEHOLDERS MEETINGS AND AWARENESS PROGRAMMESIN PERI-URBAN HYDERABAD

April 30th-May 6th, 2011

interventions for each village so that there are some

significant ways that the issues at the ground level

are addressed.

The week concluded with awareness programmes

that were organised in each of the villages in the

form of street plays. Highlighting issues of

urbanisation, water security, pollution, and

implications due to the changing climate, the

cultural group creatively explained these issues to

large audiences in all the villages.

Following is the village-wise detailed report on the

three meetings conducted:

Ÿ To share findings of the scoping study and hear

views of local stakeholders with regard to our

findings

Ÿ To seek the support of locals to carry out research

and investigate in the village for the next 2 years

Ÿ To understand their perspectives and suggestions

with regard to possible interventions that could

be undertaken in the village

Ÿ To understand in what way local capacity

building and strengthening is required and

identify avenues for collaboration

Ÿ To address the concerns of stakeholders and

discuss and deliberate upon the issues related to

water and discuss plausible adaptive processes

Ÿ Welcome and Introduction

Ÿ Background on SaciWATERs and the Peri-urban

Project

Ÿ Sharing objectives of the stakeholders meeting

and issues identified in the scoping study

Ÿ Interaction and discussion with the participants

Ÿ Action Points for further course of action

Ÿ Conclusion and vote of thanks

OBJECTIVES OF THE MEETING

AGENDA

STAKEHOLDERS MEETING - ALIABAD

Date: 30th April, 2011Time: 4pm-6pm

Venue: Vrindavan Resorts, Shamirpet

FINDINGS FROM THE SCOPING STUDY

For Aliabad, the findings were as follows:

Ÿ It is largely an agricultural village with some

households engaged in the manufacturing and service

sector in Hyderabad

Ÿ The farmers are dependent on Shamirpet Lake for

irrigation but it is never full enough to be utilised for

this purpose. The channel constructed to bring water

from the lake now runs almost dry showing the impact

of the changing climate, rainfall and recharge

patterns

Ÿ Water for irrigation is thus, currently available from

groundwater and drawn through bores that are 400 ft

deep. Water intensive crops like paddy are grown1

Ÿ No Manjira drinking water connection available and

water for drinking is available through bores installed

by the panchayat which is stored in tanks and water is

pumped and supplied for 6-7 hours daily to different

areas of the village

Ÿ Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Commercial and

r e s i d e n t i a l c o m p l e x e s a n d g o v e r n m e n t

establishments like an Air force base surround this

area – bringing in competing users for the same

available water

Smt K Bhagya Rekha

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List of Participants

2MPDO - Shamirpet

Designation

Sri B Raghava Reddy

Sri B Rami Reddy

Ex-Sarpanch

Director - Farmers Cooperative Society

Sri G Prabhakar Reddy Director, Water User Association-Aliabad

Sri K Krishna Reddy Vice-Sarpanch

Sri P Raghupathi Sharma 3MPTC -I, Ex-President of Watershed Committee

Sri Raghuram Goud MPTC-II, Advocate

Smt Amrutha4Village Book Keeper- Velugu Project

Sri Gadhe Sathaiah Ward Member

Smt Andalu Village Organisation Representative- Velugu Project

Smt Meerabhai Village Organisation Representative- Velugu Project

Sri G Sudharshan Reddy Farmer, Postmaster

Sri Krishna Goud Farmer

Sri Ramulu Waterman

Sri Muthyalu Waterman

Smt Soni Self-Help Group Leader

Sri M Yellaiah Youth Leader

Sri R Murali Facilitator

Dr Anjal Prakash Director- Peri Urban Project

Ms Sreoshi Singh Research Fellow

Ms Vasundhara Dash Research Associate

Mr Yekambaram Research Assistant

DISCUSSION

Shamirpet Lake is part of a cascade of lakes and gets its

water from Medchal and Dhindigal Tanks. The water

channels between these two lakes have been blocked due

to various constructions around this area and the

existing channels bring in only gray and black water

carrying industrial effluents and household wastewater.

Area of this lake has gone down considerably. As per the

study by Indian Institute of Information Technology

(IIIT), 25% of the existing lake has disappeared within

the last 10 yrs (1989-2001) due to various reasons. When

levels of water in the lake are high, three villages are able

to use the water for irrigation. There has been a huge

agricultural loss due to shrinking of this lake as farmers

were earlier dependent on it for irrigation. Also, the

irrigation channels have been damaged. A solution to

filling up of this lake could be diversion of the Hakimpet

flood water to Shamirpet, as suggested by the

participants. Diversion plan has already been prepared

by the government, yet implementation remains to be

carried out.

85% of the agriculture is now dependent on bore wells and

digging up of these wells has increased investments

significantly. Groundwater table is receding as sufficient

recharge is not possible due to the increasing urban

sprawl and built-up area. There is high hardness and

contamination in this water which has also contributed to

the decrease in yield. Polluting industries in Aliabad area

were closed sometime back but still one textile industry is

still in existence.

The villagers have a lot of concerns on the levels of

pollution in the groundwater and their inability to check

them. The village water supply is from groundwater and

so far no agency has ever tested the water which the

locals think is not potable and unsuitable even for

making tea, along with leading to health problems like

pain in joints, bones etc. The Rathnalayam temple area in

Aliabad village has groundwater that is not even suitable

for washing as it is highly polluted with industrial

effluents. Complaints regarding these issues have

already been filed at the District Collectorate and

Pollution Control Board but no actions have been taken

so far.

There are no proper water management systems in the

village and people are facing lot of problems.Population

has increased to 20-30 times and hence, the demand -

leading to a large supply deficit. People are thus forced to

purchase water as Manjira drinking water is not

available to this village whereas the neighbouring

villages are getting the supply.

Rampant sand-mining has affected the sub-surface water

flow in the lake which is one of the reasons why the lake is

shrinking. Illegal constructions have taken place around

the lake and ponds. There is a lack of convergence

between the line departments. Villagers are concerned

that the old watershed has been disrupted and a solution

based effort of restoring the water levels in the lake is

required.

ŸAs the feeder channels from Dhindigal and Medchal

Lakes have collapsed, flood diversion plans from

Hakimpet to Shamirpet lake can be developed (Raghava

Reddy, Ex-Sarpanch)

ŸThe groundwater problem can be easily addressed if the

lake is developed as a reservoir under the Chevella and

Pranahitha Project (Raghava Reddy, Ex-Sarpanch)

ŸWater quality testing of groundwater as well as that

supplied by the panchayat needs to be carried out

(Krishna Reddy, Vice-Sarpanch)

ŸStrict vigilance to maintain water quality at the plants is

required (Yellaiah, youth leader)

KEY SUGGESTIONS BY STAKEHOLDERS

ŸDevelop linkages with the concerned line departments

like District Water Management Agency (DWMA),

Department of Minor irrigation, etc. (Raghupathi

Sharma, MPTC-I)

ŸIllegal sand mining across the outflow channel of

Shamirpet Lake needs to be stopped and check dams

need to be constructed for groundwater recharge.

Existing water bodies to be protected from illegal

encroachments (Raghuram Goud, MPTC-II)

ŸInitially we have to collect the technical evidences from

the concerned authority and then we have to sit together

with the Line departments (Anjal Prakash)

ACTION POINTS

Ÿ Periodical testing of the village drinking water and

sharing of results with the locals

Ÿ Mapping out different agencies working in the village

(irrigation, drinking water etc) and their existing

schemes

Ÿ Study of Shamirpet Lake has been started by

SaciWATERs together with IIIT which would be able to

find information on blocked channels and water flows

and extent of shrinkage and encroachment of the Lake

Ÿ Study of agricultural loss due to polluted water

–qualitative assessment to understand the problem and

the linkages with the industries and understanding the

extent of sand mining in the area

Sri B Suresh

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Sarpanch

Designation

Sri Suryanarayana Assistant Engineer, Rural Water Supply

Sri D Kotaiah Village Secretary

Sri A Ravindar Carobar

Sri B Bhupal Reddy Ward Member

Sri Thalari Srinivas Water Plant Owner

Sri M Srinivas Reddy Teacher

Sri P Varaprasad Activist, Teacher

Smt Srilatha President of Village Organization- Velugu Project

Smt Anasurya SHG Leader

Sri N Babu Village Book Keeper

Smt V Swaroopa SHG Leader

Smt Sailamma Village Organisation Representative

Sri J Krishna Reddy Farmer/ Activist

Sri V Balaiah Dhobi Community Representative

Sri R Babu Farmer, Dhobi

Sri K Yadhaiah Farmer

Sri Narsimha Farmer

Mr P Umesh Facilitator


Ms Sreoshi Singh

Ms Vasundhara Dash

Mr Yekambaram

Research fellow

Research Associate

Research Assistant

STAKEHOLDERS MEETING - RAVIRALA

Date: 1st May, 2011Time: 4-6 PM

Venue: Gram Panchayat Office, Ravirala Village


Ÿ Ravirala falls within the over-exploited groundwater

zone as per the Central Groundwater Board

Ÿ Groundwater is polluted with high fluoride levels

Ÿ Dependence on neighbouring villages for drinking

water as groundwater is the only source of drinking

water for the village

Ÿ A separate pipeline is connected to Hardware Park and 5Fab City for 24x7 water supply from Nagarjunasagar

Ÿ Only lake in the village has dried up due to illegal sand

mining

Ÿ Watershed of the lake has been encroached upto 10 km

radius disturbing the water access for 4 villages in the

vicinity

Ÿ Traditional dhobi community who depended on the

lake for their livelihood, have now installed a borewell

at the lake site - Increasing water scarcity threatens

their livelihoods

DISCUSSION

This village has a major problem of equitable water

distribution. Some people get water and some do not.

There is also a political battleground in the village which

has barred any water management solutions. The

Panchayat is currently headed by a person belonging to

the SC community (due to this seat declared as reserved

seat in the last elections) and thus, the dominant caste

people have been openly challenging his leadership. The

present Sarpanch is not interested in any developmental

work because the Panchayat is going to dissolve in 2

months from he knows he won't be re-elected. There is not

much of a problem in terms of water availability in the

village as there are 30 tubewells in the villages. 22 tube

wells are run by 5 hp while 8 tube wells are run by 1 hp

pump. The wells are 200- 250 feet deep. The three phase

electricity supply is available only for 7 hours (in actual it

comes for 3-4 hours) and there is a lot of fluctuation.

There is no standing water committee in the village

which should look after this. The village can apply for

24X7 electricity connection for drinking water but due to

Panchayat politics, this has been held up. The ground

water and the remaining surface water bodies are

polluted by the industrial effluents and sewerage water

from the nearby Thukkuguda village. Across the village

only bore wells located near the tank are potable. People

have started depending on neighbouring villages and

water plants for supply of drinking water. They are

buying water at Rs 2 per litre for drinking purpose as the

tube-well water is saline and has high fluoride contents.

However, purified water-cans are not affordable by the

marginalised community. This village is connected to

Krishna water project but the pipeline has not been laid

yet and there is a delay in execution. During the meeting,

villagers got angry with the RWS representatives as to

why the pipelines haven't been laid. There are also

maintenance issues with the panchayat water supply.

All parts are not getting sufficient water for household

chores and over-exploitation of piped water supply in the

main village is consequently leading to the farthest

located houses not getting sufficient water supply. There

is also lack of good administration and rigorous follow up

to address the issues at village level.

The village has a huge lake which hasn't been filled for

many years (about 10-15 years as per the villagers).

Illegal sand mining has lead to dumping of construction

waste and small bushes across the inflow feeder channel

which has also obstructed water flow. If this tank is full, it

would solve most of the problems of water availability in

the village for both drinking and irrigation. There is

threat for the livelihoods of the dhobi community and

fisherfolk especially due to shrinking of the lake. This

lake is connected with Ibrahimpatnam Lake but the

feeder channel has been blocked. The problem of

dependence on groundwater for the agriculture and

household chores is increasing day by day. Funds from

DWMA for the purpose of watershed works are getting

delayed and there is no transparency for the released

funds through SHG federation. It has also been observed 6that villagers need to be made aware regarding WALTA

and its implementation. There is a water users

association but it is non functional.

Ÿ There is scope of getting sagar water supply as tenders

are still in the process, not only for Ravirala but also for

the entire 62 villages nearby. (Suryanarayana, AE-

RWS, Maheshwaram)


Ÿ Since maintenance is the major problem for the

effective utilisation of the existing resources,

formation of Water & Sanitation Standing Committee

at the village level only may somewhat resolve the

problems (Umesh, Facilitator)

Ÿ If required we will extend the capacity building and

other exposure kind of inputs from SaciWATERs to

strengthen the water maintenance systems at the

Panchayat level (Anjal Prakash, Project Director)

Ÿ Awareness needs to be created among the village folk

on the protection of environment (Srinivas Reddy,

Lecturer)

Ÿ Panchayat can ensure the construction of rain water

recharge pit and plantation of trees as a rule for those

who construct new houses. Half of the problems will be

resolved if all sections of the village folk are involved

and a standing committee made (Srinivas Reddy,

Lecturer)

Ÿ Locals have to fight for the Pranahitha and Chevella

Project water (Irrigation and reservoir purpose) apart

from Sagar Project Water for drinking (Talari Srinivas,

Water Plant owner)

Ÿ Tank feeder channels renovation work can be taken up

with the convergence of NREGS, DWMA, Minor

Irrigation (Krishna Reddy, Farmer)

Ÿ 4 more Panchayat tanks are also there in the village

which have dried up and can be protected and

developed with watershed funds (Sarpanch)

Ÿ The immediate plan should be to streamline the water

management problem. This needs detailed study,

discussions and interaction with the villagers in

Ravirala

Ÿ An informal group can be promoted which can get

sanction from the panchayat for taking care of water

issues in the village

Ÿ Tree plantation activity is being planned for this

village.

ACTION POINTS

Sri Kolan Hanmantha Reddy

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MPP - Qutubullapur

Designation

Sri Vijay Kumar AE RWS

Sri Madasu Venkatesham Sarpanch

Sri Sudhakar Village Secretary

Sri Mallareddy Extension Officer, Rural Devlopment

Sri M Krishna Director WUA-Maheshwaram Colony

Sri Raghupathi Reddy Bill collector

Sri Narsi Reddy Village Revenue Officer- Mallampet

Sri U Sailu Farmer

Sri Vadla Veeresham Farmer

Sri Gandigudem Vijaya Ward Member

Smt U Rajani Community Volunteer – Velugu Project

Sri Ramu Water Plant Owner

Smt Gandla Eeshwaramma Ward Member

Sri Potnagari Anjaiah Ward Member

STAKEHOLDERS MEETING - MALLAMPET

Date: 2nd May, 2011Time: 12-2 PM

Venue: Mandal Office, Qutubhullapur


Ÿ Mallampet falls within the Qutubullahpur Mandal

which has been considered as a safe groundwater zone

by the Central Groundwater Board Report for 2006,

but after speaking to villagers during the initial phase

of the study, we realised that the waters were far from

being safe, be it for drinking or for agriculture

Ÿ Groundwater has been polluted over the last several

years by surrounding industries which has completely

polluted 2 lakes in the vicinity that were earlier used

for drinking purposes. Most people have given up on

agriculture and have been forced to sell their lands

because of the high pollution levels in the water.

Mallampet is the most sought after village with

regard to water supplies to the city and the industries

around it

Ÿ The village depends on the Khatua Lake for drinking

water and irrigation. This tank is also being

encroached now by the ring road resulting in

shrinking of 25 to 30% of the tank (We will be carrying

out a GIS study to enable us to understand the level of

encroachment). Also the water of Khatua cheruvu is

polluted during monsoons when the waste from the

entire village drains into the tank.

Ÿ During summers, villagers bring water in large tanks

from the surrounding villages which receive Majira

water and sell it in the village locally.

Ÿ Almost 12 tanker entrepreneurs are operating in the

village and random extraction of water from specific

farmlands is ongoing. Here water is being sold by the

farmer from his land by setting up a personal bore and

running his pump throughout the day, since

electricity is free

Ÿ The rapid pace of urbanisation is very evident in the

village and its surrounding areas, where gated

communities are also coming up and with competing

uses of water, the future of these vulnerable

communities are at stake

DISCUSSION

There are three lakes in this village. Two of those lakes

are being polluted through industrial effluents while one

lake is being polluted through local sources like diversion

of village wastewater into the lake. Almost 20% of the

Khatua Lake has been encroached upon due to the

construction of by the Outer ring road. The rain water

accumulated in existing tanks is exhausting within a

short time due to rampant abstraction by the tankers.

There are local fishermen who have traditionally used

Khatwa Lake and others complain that they are not

allowing other groups share this water. There is a

rampant groundwater extraction in this village for

commercial and industrial use. Livelihoods of the

fisherfolk and farmers are especially threatened.

Internal politics and non cooperation for the protection of

common property resources at the village level can be

seen.

The groundwater has high TDS (600-700). The village

has its own filtration plant (RO) which has been

sponsored by the Panchayat. The cost of treated water is

Rs 2 per 20 litres and villagers are happy over the low

cost. However, the marginalised and isolated families

can't afford water even at this rate. Villagers need

Manjira water connection as it has come till the adjacent

village, Bachupally but hasn't come to this village yet.

Ÿ Extent of pollution by the pharmaceutical industries

dumping their waste in Khatua Lake needs to be

found out (Sarpanch)

Ÿ Storing rainwater in one of the tanks and ensuring

that there are no leakages through previously

installed sluice gates by employing a care taker for

this (Anjaiah, Ward Member)

Ÿ Maintenance fund can also be mobilised from the

direct beneficiaries of the tank for employing a

caretaker (Prof. Ramachandraiah, facilitator)

Ÿ In accordance with WALTA, as a first step for the

protection of Khatua Lake from getting polluted, a

joint complaint (by Barompet & Mallampet villages

that are affected) can be lodged with the Pollution

Control Board with a copy marked to MRO, MPDO,

District Collector, SaciWATERs, etc. against the

particular industries (Prof. Ramachandraiah,

facilitator)


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Smt Vavilala Amboja Ward Member

Smt Susheela SHG Leader

Smt Laxmi SHG Leader

Prof. Ramachandraiah Facilitator


Ms Sreoshi Singh

Ms Vasundhara Dash

Mr Yekambaram

Research fellow

Research Associate

Research Assistant

ACTION POINTS

Ÿ Khatwa Lake needs protection from pharmaceutical

industries discharging polluted water in the lake

Ÿ Low cost, small-scale sewage treatment plant can be

established at Chenangi Lake for treatment of

household water

Ÿ Understanding the fishermen community and their

relations with the larger community with respect to use

of water bodies

Ÿ Complaining to the pollution control board with the

photos of effluent discharge as well as outer ring road

encroaching the lake

Ÿ Mandal Revenue Officer should be contacted

regarding stopping the water tanker operations.

Influential leaders are involved in this process and the

village folk need to sit together and discuss the

possibilities for stopping this business (Prof.

Ramachandraiah, facilitator)

Ÿ One sewage treatment plant can be started in the

Chennangi Lake to prevent it from being further

polluted. (Anjal Prakash, Project Director)

Ÿ Manjira water is required to ensure drinking water for

all sections of the village (Amboja, Ward member)

Ÿ A similar meeting in the next two months (June/July)

at the Grama Sabha can be held to identify the major

issues and to find out ways of addressing them (Anjal

Prakash, Project Director)

Reported byVasundhara Dash

With inputs from,Dr. Anjal PrakashMr. Chengala YekambaramMs. Sreoshi Singh

1Manjira River is a tributary of the Godavari River and this reservoir is a sustained drinking water source for Hyderabad and Secunderabad

2MPDO - Mandal Parishad Development Officer

3MPTC - Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency. One MPTC is appointed for every 5000 population in the village

4The Velugu Project has been introduced by Andhra Pradesh Rural Development Agency for the development of the poor so as to encourage their

inherited skills and strengthen their livelihoods by all means

5To match the hardware needs of the IT Companies in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation has developed the

Hardware Park and Fab City is being promoted as a world-class hub for advanced semiconductor and electronics manufacturing industries

6Andhra Pradesh Water, Land And Trees Act, 2002

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