Paani Foundation
Paani Foundation: Changing the Water Conservation Scenario in Maharashtra
The Paani Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded by none other than the ace actor Aamir Khan, along with his ex-wives Kiran Rao and Reena Dutta, and director Satyajit Bhatkal.
This foundation has been a beacon of hope in drought-prone regions of Maharashtra, working to combat water scarcity and promote sustainable water management practices. The foundation has catalyzed a people-driven movement that is reshaping rural landscapes.
This article delves into the Foundation’s journey, initiatives like the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup, and its transformative impact on communities.
The Genesis of Paani Foundation
Aamir Khan’s TV show Satyamev Jayate prompted the initial social awakening that led to Paani Foundation. The show, while showcasing India’s terrible drought and water scarcity in a particular episode in 2012, called for sustainable management practice.
When the series finally ended in 2014, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao, with their core team, decided that this situation of drought in Maharashtra would be dealt with in an organized manner.
Launched in 2016, the Paani Foundation is aimed at drought-free Maharashtra, based on a principle of community participation and technical training combined with sustainable practices.
Water Crisis in Maharashtra
Maharashtra has always been prone to water scarcity; natural as well as anthropogenic factors contribute to it. Key problems include:
- Climatic Conditions: One-third of Maharashtra comes under semi-arid zones with erratic rainfall.
- Groundwater Depletion: Due to excessive extraction from bore wells, the decline of the groundwater levels has reached alarming levels.
- Agricultural Practices: Cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane has aggravated the problem, particularly in the absence of adequate irrigation facilities.
- Climate Change: Unpredictable monsoon patterns have made the state even more vulnerable to droughts.
In 2015, 60% of Maharashtra’s villages were reported to be drought-like conditions. The crop yields were as low as 50% of the normal standard. This called for a paradigm shift in the water management system, which Paani Foundation wanted to accomplish.
Satyamev Jayate Water Cup: A Revolutionary Initiative
The core activity of Paani Foundation is Satyamev Jayate Water Cup. Launched in 2016, this is a competition amongst villages for water conservation and watershed management. It focuses on shramdaan, wherein people give up some hours to conserve water, along with community participation, and gives concrete results.
Aim of Paani Foundation
Watershed development techniques.
Creating storage of rainwater in plenty of capacities before the arrival of monsoons.
It also brings a culture of working together and self-dependency among the rural populace.
Training and Guidelines
The Foundation trains the Jal Doots, who are village representatives, with all technical aspects of:
- Contour Bunding: Ridges formed along slopes to reduce runoff and increase soil moisture.
- Check Dams: Structures that impede flow to allow infiltration and replenish groundwater.
- Gabion Structures: Wire-mesh barriers filled with stones to stabilize the slope and reduce water velocity.
After training, Jal Doots organize their villagers to undertake large-scale watershed projects. Villages independently raise money for materials and equipment, although some organizations assist.
Success Stories
The Water Cup has a measurable and inspiring impact. As of 2018, the competition had grown to over 4,000 villages, thereby creating an aggregate water storage capacity of 100 billion liters. Here are two success stories:
Case Study 1: Hiware Bazar, Ahmednagar
Hiware Bazar, once synonymous with drought, transformed into a water-sufficient village through the Water Cup. Residents built check dams and ponds, reviving local wells and ensuring year-round water availability. The village’s agricultural output surged, and migration during summer months reduced drastically.
Case Study 2: Velu, Satara
Velu, a small village in Satara district, adopted the methodologies of Paani Foundation and dug trenches and percolation tanks. This work showed a steep increase in groundwater levels. The fields once barren turned into farmlands with crops like maize and onions. Now, people grow crops to increase their income.
Scaling Up: Collaborations and Grants
Paani Foundation works in partnerships with many organizations to strengthen its interventions. Major partnerships include:
Tata Trusts : Financial and Technical Support.
Watershed Organization Trust (WOTR): Providing knowledge resources and training modules.
Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana: Providing machinery for hand-intensity villages.
The model of the Foundation, where institutional support is combined with community effort, ensures sustainability as well as scalability.
Challenges and Innovations
Despite its great success, the Foundation has challenges such as:
- Scaling Efforts: Reaching every drought-prone area of Maharashtra requires a lot of resource efforts.
- Behavioral Change: Communities need to be made to adopt sustainable water habits through persistent efforts.
To answer these, Paani Foundation works on the following:
- Use of Technology: Applying GIS mapping and mobile apps for project monitoring and implementation.
- Public Awareness: This will include community education along the lines of long term water conservation benefits.
Nationwide Replication Model
The model has huge replication potential right at the grassroots level. It is able to factor in environmental and socio-economics with empowerment of community knowledge sharing. For instance:
Villages in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have shown interest in adopting similar practices.
The Foundation’s training modules are being adapted for non-Maharashtrian contexts.
Conclusion: A Transformative Movement
The Paani Foundation is an example of what collective action and innovative thinking can bring about to tackle deep-rooted issues such as drought and water scarcity. Through initiatives such as the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup, the Foundation not only replenishes water resources but also gives back a sense of ownership and pride to the rural communities.
As Maharashtra moves closer to being drought-free, Paani Foundation is a reminder that unity, education, and determination are the solutions to problems of this complexity. Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, and their team have not just launched an NGO but have ignited a movement, one drop at a time.
Aamir Khan’s View
Actor, film producer, and social activist Aamir Khan believes that the greatest happiness for him comes from solving problems. This could range from filmmaking to small challenges in general. Aamir has spent much time on his Paani Foundation, working on grave water shortages in Maharashtra and helping small farmers.
When asked why he focused on water when there were so many other problems to be addressed in India, Aamir said, “Water is fundamental. It’s essential for everything.” Speaking at the Dialogues on Development Management conference in Delhi, which was organized by the Indian School of Development Management, Aamir, Satyajit Bhatkal, CEO of Paani Foundation, and Amit Chandra of the A.T.E. Chandra Foundation pointed out how the success in communication and creation of people’s movement have really magnified the foundation’s effect.
Heeding this, Aamir revealed that the Paani Foundation was successful in the very first year as it delivered knowledge and training rather than the money. Villages readily adopted watershed development plans.
He acknowledged that the problems of water supply had been addressed, but often water-consuming crops such as sugarcane would be sown, negating the achievement. This led the foundation to expand its efforts to agriculture training and creating solutions that are economically viable to small farmers. They work on market access and some digital tools, such as an app, to connect with more people.
Aamir dedicated a third of his working time to the foundation in its early years and travelled extensively with Kiran Rao to remote villages in Maharashtra.
He spends much less time now, but the efforts have created hope and shown that with passion and respect, even the impossible can be achieved. Asked about leadership lessons for corporate India, Aamir modestly replied, “Leadership is just common sense.
When Amitabh Bachchan Appreciated it
In KBC Show Amitabh Bachchan has observed how Aamir made a conscious effort to learn the language so that he could communicate with the local communities at a humane level. Appreciating his efforts towards society and admitting Aamir’s effort to learn Marathi, Amitabh says, “I have seen the effort you have put into learning Marathi so that you could communicate and connect with the locals.
I’ve even heard you speak Marathi, and I must admit that I’m envious because I have been trying to learn it too, but I am still not as fluent.”Aamir further requested Mr Bachchan to visit a village with him and said, “The villagers would love to meet you, and it would be a novel experience for you as well.”
AB accepted the request graciously. Earlier, Junaid Khan was spotted asking Big B about his mother and he shared an interesting anecdote from his childhood when he had got beaten up by his friends and he complained to his mother about it. Teji Bachchan asked him to go and beat them back. That is when he went back and hit those who had hit him.
