A farm pond in an agricultural field at Kukas partially filled up with water during the ongoing rains.
A rainwater harvesting and irrigation project based on the construction of climate-resilient farm ponds was inaugurated at Kukas in Jaipur district on Monday (June 30, 2025) after the creation of annual water conservation capacity of 15 crore litres. The 75 scientifically designed farm ponds will support year-round irrigation for 300 acres of farmland.
Over 6,000 villagers in the region, most of whom are smallholder farmers and livestock rearers, are set to benefit directly from the intervention. The initiative involves digging of 10 ft. deep, plastic-lined ponds on 5% of each farmer’s land, reinforced with fencing.
Designed to capture the rainwater falling directly on the same farm, the ponds have started filling up in the ongoing rains. “By the end of the monsoon season, the farm ponds will emerge as a permanent source of water for the rain-fed agricultural fields,” Vipra Goyal of the Atomic Power Evolution Awareness Foundation said.
The foundation has partnered with the ‘Hero We Care’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) wing of Hero MotoCorp for implementing the project in the Kukas region, where the once perennial Kacherawala river has dried up, and more than 200 wells and handpumps have been rendered defunct. The groundwater levels in the region have plunged as deep as 1,000 ft.
Mr. Goyal, an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kharagpur alumnus, has been working with the farmers in Jaipur and Dausa districts for evolving a rural water model to resolve the water crisis. The initiative for a “pond on every farm” will be crucial for the Kukas region, where the villagers were entirely reliant on groundwater for drinking, domestic use, and agriculture.
The project was formally launched with the inauguration of a 29.5-lakh-litre capacity farm pond on the land of farmer Kaluram Meena. After the unveiling of a commemorative board, women performed traditional Rajasthani songs and dances, and guests joined the villagers in planting saplings along the pond’s boundaries.
Mr. Goyal said the availability of water would also support a community-led agro-climatic rejuvenation movement, with 4,500 fruit-bearing trees already having been planted on the pond embankments. The farm income in the region is estimated to grow by ₹5 crore a year, while over 10,000 rural households will get the long-term drinking water security, he said.
The farm ponds were “not just infrastructure”, but a means to strengthen the rural economy, Shailesh Ashar, head of Hero MotoCorp’s Centre of Innovation and Technology, said. Rakesh Patel of the company’s CSR wing called upon the farmers to take collective ownership of the conservation, maintenance, and supervision of the ponds.
With rural communities realising the potential of perennial irrigation based on surface run-off, the project is also expected to foster women’s empowerment, enabling female farmers to manage household expenditures on education, nutrition, and health from the incomes enhanced by water security.
Published – June 30, 2025 07:40 pm IST
