Case Study of the Day: Community Participation helps a Maharashtra Village become Flood-Free

Background: The Kajli River in Maharashtra covers a distance of 72 kilometers. At the Kondgaon-Sakharpa village, the Kajli overflows annually during the monsoon months, flooding the village.

About the Situation

• Rainfall pattern: The Konkan region, situated on the western coast of India, has about 22 tributary basins. The region accounts for 42 to 49 percent of the total rainfall in the state.
  • With high rainfall, the rivers in Konkan flood heavily in the months of July and August. The turbulent water carries along silt, debris, and stones in its wake.
• Kondgaon-Sakharpa, a village with over 5,000 inhabitants in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district, witnesses water overflows during the monsoon months, entering homes, the marketplace, temples, schools, and the primary health center.

Efforts by Villagers

• Formation of a river conservation committee: A committee for conserving the Kajli River was established by villagers with the support of the village panchayat and Shree Dattatraya Temple trustees. This committee was known as the Kajli River Conservation Committee (KRCC).
• Donation drive: To begin the restoration of the river, the villagers sought permission from the district authorities and then started to collect donations from the village residents.
• Identification of the reason of the flood: The KRCC approached the Naam Foundation to help identify the cause of the flood.
  • The foundation discovered that the flow of the river had been restricted and diverted, causing debris and stones to accumulate in the riverbed. The NGO concluded that the flood crisis was a result of human actions in the region.
• Rejuvenation efforts: The rejuvenation of Kajli involved raising land on both sides of the river and clearing debris from the riverbed. After restoration, the residents survived two monsoons without any floods.

Conclusion

• The community-based conservation model to rejuvenate the Kajli River has enthused people living near other rivers in Konkan, that encounter regular flooding. This can lead to more such projects in future.

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