There has been a lot of praise for the work done by Tarun Bharat Sangh in the Arvari basin as a successful example of an alternative approach, but here is a piece written from a different perspective. “A majority of the water harvesting structures constructed by TBS in Alwar district of Rajasthan were private assets and not community assets. Even in the case of community structures, no mechanisms were developed at the village level to ensure that benefits were shared systematically and equitably.”

Original title: Traditional Water Harvesting Structure: Community behind ‘Community’
First Published in Economic and Political Weekly, February 18, 2006