Small Capital

The common property resource management traditionally practised by the communities of the Marwar region has been an integral part of the cultural heritage of the desert, and has played an important role in maintaining livestock and in preserving local biodiversity. Unfortunately, the community-based institutional framework for the management of the commons through collective wisdom and action has broken down due to centralized control, resulting in the absence of community ownership and increased dependence on the government. This has led to poor usage of the institutionalized support system and the neglect of democratic processes. The socio-political system has held back the emergence of an appropriate civil society response to the need for the sustainable development and social empowerment of local communities. Drought and water scarcity continue to be recurring phenomena in Rajasthan even after the government has spent billions of rupees on the issue over the past 60 years.

A centralized system of governance tends to be oriented more towards capital accumulation and leads to unsustainable development. Building social capital is therefore crucial for establishing an effective system of water resource management. The process involves supporting social norms and building networks that develop people’s ability to work together on common endeavours, leading to collective action. Facilitating an enabling environment for community action is the most critical aspect of JMF’s philosophy, and its core strategy seeks to build and enhance social capital for community action and decision-making. This has been translated in the field as a four-tier institutional arrangement for water management.

Through mobilization, training, workshops, orientation, and capacity building, the Foundation enhances the community’s capacity to work collectively to address its common needs, fostering greater inclusion and cohesion, and increasing transparency and accountability. Networks and relationships that exist within and between community-led bodies allow people to voice their concerns at the village level and to influence the water resource management in their region. As such, a four-tier water governance structure has been established to ensure the active participation of the beneficiary community, thereby institutionalizing social capital.

The base tier consists of the Jal Sabha (village water users’ association), the decision-making body for water resource development at the village level. It is responsible for the management of existing and future water-harvesting structures. Its functioning is based on the principles of democratic governance and participatory management, which demand accountability from entities at the grass-roots level. JMF works to ensure that all participants in the Jal Sabha have an active and equal voice in decision-making.

The Jal Samiti (water development group) exists in the tier above the Jal Sabha. This forum, covering a much larger area or block, consists of members of the Jal Sabhas and key community leaders. Members are chosen specifically for their local knowledge, leadership, and integrity. Jal Samitis meet periodically to review proposals received from Jal Sabhas and forward the selected proposals to the tier above for consideration and approval. They develop strategies for solving prevailing water problems and for building equitable systems for the disbursal of financial resources within the block.

The Jal Parishad (water forum) is a project-level institution consisting of people’s representatives and experts from reputed water institutions. They disburse grants to projects throughout the region, endorsing projects that adhere to water development strategies prepared at the local level. In this way, they are able to balance macro-level expertise with a focus on meeting local needs.

Finally, the Jal Sansad (stakeholders’ forum) represents the entire Marwar region, meeting annually to review the progress made by JMF. It prepares an annual work plan based on the progress of the previous year’s work. The Jal Sansad acts as a platform for stakeholders to participate in the creation of JMF’s annual strategic planning document, thereby affecting change at the highest possible level.

This four-tier water-governance structure has provided stakeholders with a formal network through which they can seek solutions to their water problems. Regular interaction between the tiers has enhanced their ability to collaborate on natural resource management and development in the region. Most importantly, the institutionalized social capital has enabled the local people to revive a forgotten tradition of self-governance at the village level.