Farm Ponds providing a unique solution in Rajasthan

Rajasthan’s Nagaur is a region with acute water scarcity. The rainfall is limited and for years, people have struggled to have an efficient water management technique. In 2009, the Rajasthan government had suggested the construction of ‘Farm ponds’.

Farm ponds are known as ‘Diggiyan’ in local parlance. Since the implementation of this government initiative, Nagaur is home to more than 5000 farm ponds. Farm ponds are not built with non-biodegradable materials such as concrete or cement and the collected water can be used for six to eight months. This is the most efficient solution to conserve water. The water collected in these farm ponds is used in planting the Rabi crops. Lilliya, a model village in Nagaur has a phenomenal water management technique where farm ponds assist in the irrigation of 3,500 hectares of land. The government maintains an online portal to manage the existing records of farm ponds and also to connect more people with this novel initiative.