New Delhi, Nov 4 : Focusing on community participation and decentralised water management under National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM), district collectors and experts have reasserted the need for dedicated expenditure on water-related works under MGNREGA for recharge, water harvesting, and source protection, an official said on Tuesday.

The 'District Collectors' Peyjal Samvad' initiative, a recent national dialogue, generated ideas to empower district leadership to strengthen local governance, ensure source sustainability, and enhance accountability in rural water service delivery under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), the official said in a statement.

Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM), Kamal Kishore Soan, highlighted that sustainable service delivery depends on data-backed decision-making, local ownership, and preventive governance, stating that 'District Collectors are the key functionaries and their role is very important under JJM.'

Several successful experiments and scalable models of local ownership and community participation are being studied for extension to other parts of the country.

One of the successful models being studied by water conservators is that in Maharashtra's Rajgad taluka, where Village Development Committees (VDCs) and Gram Panchayats have succeeded in ensuring water security by tapping and storing rainwater.

Almost 19.7 million litres of locally-managed water storage now ensures year-round availability, due to farm ponds, solar water ATMs, and a percolation tank, maintained by village communities and individuals following training from the Raintree Foundation.

In addition, SHGs and Mahila Gram Sabhas now even shape local resilience plans, with support from Foundation founder Leena Dandekar. Aligning with Jal Shakti Ministry's push for "tapping rainwater where it falls", the Rajgad approach is now being expanded to the Shastri River Basin in Ratnagiri, spanning 400 villages and 2 lakh hectares, advancing all 17 UN SDGs.

In rural India, where many water programmes struggle with upkeep, villagers in Rajgad have also used stored rainwater to revive 6.5 acres of community plantations with native species and reduced forest fires by 30 per cent.

Despite abundant rainfall, the Rajgad region suffers from chronic water scarcity, minimal industrial presence, and significant migration pressures.

The Jal Shakti Ministry's "District Collectors' Peyjal Samvad" series is part of the Department's ongoing effort to strengthen local governance and decentralised water management under JJM.

The first edition, organised on October 14, focused on empowering districts and panchayats through digital tools, accountability mechanisms, and peer learning.

/IANS