The Government of Sikkim has given a fresh lease of life to its dying mountain springs and lakes with an objective to ensure water security in the Himalayan region.
About 65,000 rural households in Sikkim are hugely dependent on these springs for drinking water and irrigation needs throughout the year.
Funded under the MGNREGA national flagship programme, the state government launched the " Dhara Vikas Scheme", or "Spring Shed Development Scheme" in 2008 in active collaboration with WWF-India, People's Science Institute, Dehradun, ACWADAM, Pune and others by using rainwater harvesting, geohydrology and GIS techniques.
Principles of geohydrology, watershed and GIS were integrated to conceptualize this new initiative which was launched through the Rural Management and Development Department to revive and restore 50 Himalayan water springs and four lakes mainly located in drought-prone areas.
Factors responsible for the drying up of these springs and lakes were climate changes, population increase,erratic rainfall and unrestricted developmental activity, all of which created a hydrological imbalance.
An independent assessment by IISc, Bangalore observed that the Dhara Vikas Scheme has shown encouraging results and has led to a significant 15 per cent enhancement in the spring discharge.
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The full impact of artificial recharge will be visible in the next three years which will further improve the health, hygiene, sanitation and the livelihood options of the rural folks.
Over the last five years a total of 400 hectares of land has been covered under the spring shed development scheme, with a total investment of Rs.250 lakh, resulting in an annual ground water recharge of 900 million litres.
In order to provide specialized training and skills to existing manpower in the field of rainwater harvesting, geohydrology, spring discharge measurement, use of GPS and laying of contour trenches, over 20 capacity building programs were organized in coordination with various NGOs like WWF- India, Peoples Science Institute - Dehradun, ACWADAM - Pune, ARGHYAM - Bangalore, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Sikkim, Central Ground Water Board and the G. B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development.
An incentive mechanism is also being provided to the farmers thereby facilitating the use of private lands and their conservation.
Based on the successful experiences of this initiative to revive Sikkim springs, the Planning Commission, Government of India, recommended the inclusion of spring-shed development in the new expanded list of permissible works under MGNREGA in 2012 which has paved the way for starting revival of springs all across the country under this national flagship programme.
Teams from WWF Nepal, Bhutan Government, Arunachal Pradesh Government and others have visited Sikkim on an exposure visit to learn more about the spring revival initiative and implement similar programs in their respective states. This initiative has helped in impacting national policy and the sharing of the learnings has benefited other mountain regions as well.
The state was awarded the highest civil services award "Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration" on the basis of an independent assessment undertaken by the Ministry of Personnel.
This award was conferred by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Civil Services Day at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi in April 2013.
WWF-India was presented "National Groundwater Augmentation Award for technical support to the MGNREGA-Dhara Vikas by the Ministry of Water Resources for the year 2010-11.
The state also won the North East Award 2012 for preparing the Village Spring Atlas for the conservation of Himalayan springs and adapting to climate change.