Water Secure
Gram Panchayat
Securing equitable access to water for climate resilience, better health and shared prosperity in rural communities.
Explore The Approach
The Rural Challenge
600 million Indians experience high to extreme water stress.
Drying sources, inadequate water for cropping, and poor water quality strain daily life. They also fuel disease. Smallholder farmers struggle with low productivity, rising costs, and migration, while youth turn away from farming.
Women and marginalised groups have little voice. Weak local governance leaves citizens without the authority to act.
Without secure water, farming fails, health suffers, and poverty deepens in rural India.
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The Hyperlocal
Solution
The Water Secure Gram Panchayat (WSGP) programme strengthens water security through integrated action on natural resources, health, livelihoods, and local governance.
To make this possible, WSGP provides:
Practical tools
The Water Passbook for groundwater management, hyper-local weather and crop advisories, and a structured five-year planning cycle.
Partnerships
With research groups, government departments, technology providers, and philanthropic and CSR allies.
Local support
Village volunteers - ‘Gram Vikas Saathi’ - who provide sustained technical, livelihood, and governance support.
Evidence shows that water security improves health, strengthens livelihoods, and restores ecosystems.
Pillars of Change
WSGP’s inputs come together in four connected pillars. Through annual village planning, community priorities move from discussion into funded action.
Sustainability
Villages recharge groundwater, restore forests, and protect sourcesheds. Water Security Plans are costed and built into Panchayat budgets.
Prosperity
Crop and weather advisories help producer groups and self-help collectives cut risk and raise incomes. Enterprises link plans to national and state livelihood schemes.
Safety
All households have safe water for everyday needs. Greywater feeds backyard gardens. Village WASH plans secure funds for infrastructure and maintenance.
Equity and Resilience
Decisions made with women, youth, and vulnerable households are embedded in Panchayat plans each year. Local institutions become inclusive and accountable.
By the Numbers
In 2024-’25, WSGP delivered measurable change across households, ecosystems, water systems, and governance:
87,000+
households gained safer water and sanitation access, improving health outcomes.
1,457
acres of degraded land treated through watershed and afforestation work.
52%
of wells showed higher water levels, easing women’s burden of fetching water.
₹5.5
crore mobilised from public funds to sustain and expand water security.
Discover how communities turned these pillars into action last year.
Explore Impact
Mission at Scale
By 2032, WSGP will grow from local action to state adoption. From Odisha, it will open regional pathways, embedding water security for over 50 million people.
1,000 Panchayats
Odisha & JharkhanD
Direct impact on 6 million people by 2032
3,000 Panchayats
Adopted by Government of Odisha
Embedding water security for 20 million people
37,000 Panchayats
Across Central India
Pathways for another 26 million people
A network of grassroots organisations will carry the model across regions and prepare it for state and national adoption.
Pathways for Scale
WSGP grows through two models - deep transformation in core areas, scalable adoption across regions.
WSGP-Core
A comprehensive model for long-term transformation in Gram Vikas’s core areas. It connects water, livelihoods, sanitation, and equity systems to drive intergenerational change.
WSGP-Network
A lean, scalable design centred on water security, safety, and inclusive governance. It is implemented through the WSGP Network of grassroots organisations, governments, and partners, anchored by Gram Vikas.
News & Stories
Stories and updates from villages building water-secure futures.
STORY
“When Springs Return”
How 13 villages in Odisha afforested 690 acres and raised water availability by 15%. How 13 villages in Odisha afforested 690 acres and raised water availability by 15%
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RECENT NEWS
DEC 2025
Network for Water Secure Gram Panchayats launched in Odisha Network for Water Secure Gram Panchayats launched in Odisha
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RECENT NEWS
DEC 2025
Network for Water Secure Gram Panchayats launched in Odisha Network for Water Secure Gram Panchayats launched in Odisha
READ MORE
RECENT NEWS
DEC 2025
Network for Water Secure Gram Panchayats launched in Odisha Network for Water Secure Gram Panchayats launched in Odisha
READ MORE
Connected Pathways
Explore other Gram Vikas programmes that help rural communities secure their future.
Safe and Dignified Migration
Building community-rooted systems at scale, informing policy and practice for safer migration.
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Strategic Extensions
Piloting new ideas that meet emerging needs and grow our organisational capability.
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