European Union launches project in Jodhpur

Jodhpur, Mar 8 (ANI): The European Union (EU) Ambassador to India, Dani?le Smadja today visited the village of Malion ki Dhani in Barmer District, Rajasthan, to launch a project on water, co-financed by the EU.

The visit was also the occasion to celebrate International Women's Day with the villagers of desert communities near Jodhpur.

This project about 'Poverty Reduction of Desert Communities in the Dry Lands of Western Rajasthan through Integrated Community Based Water Resource Management' is implemented by the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation (JBF) and will focus on reducing the vulnerability of the poor in the water-scarce Marwar Region.

The EU support is over a period of 48 months (till December 2014) and is directly benefitting 80 villages of Barmer, Jalore and Jaisalmer districts in the Marwar region, reaching a beneficiary population of 100,000. The overall budget is Euro 1.1 million of which 90% (INR 6 crs.) is the EU's contribution.

Assisting communities in water conservation and management will hopefully result in poverty reduction and long-term sustainable development. The project aims at developing integrated water resource management models and disseminating knowledge about water sector reform.

The project will also focus on issue of safe water, sanitation and women empowerment. JBF will leverage from its experience and create Jal Sabhas (water committees) in the project villages to showcase decentralized and efficient water management.

Speaking to the local community in Malion ki Dhani, Ambassador Smadja noted the strong linkages between poverty, water scarcity and women.

"Women across the world have primary responsibility for management of household water supply, sanitation, and health. And because of their dependence on water resources they have accumulated considerable knowledge about water, including its location, quality and methods of storage. This is why we invited women to be actively involved in all EU water related projects," she said.

The implementing partner, Jal Bhagirathi Foundation, is an Indian NGO which has been working in Marwar since 2002 to enhance water security in the context of sustainable development.

It has been advocating policy change favoring integrated and community based strategy for water management. The Foundation has been invited by the Government of Rajasthan to committees constituted for reforms in the water sector and has been involved in the EU's ?80 mn State Partnership Program with Rajasthan.

Maliyon ki Dhani, which is one of the 80 villages covered by this new water project, is a combination of a compact village with 50 households and population of 350 people, spread across in two hamlets. (ANI)