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Neeru-Meeru watershed programme (Andhra Pradesh) Photo: RITESH SINGH · Pexels License · source ↗

Neeru-Meeru watershed programme (Andhra Pradesh)

Neeru-Meeru ("Water and You") is the iconic Andhra Pradesh state watershed brand launched in 2000 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh as a people's programme for in-situ rainwater conservation and groundwater recharge. It is the political and operational forerunner of all subsequent watershed and water-security work in the state, and remains the popular name farmers use for any watershed treatment package in Rayalaseema.

Scope and launch

The programme was launched in May 2000 as a campaign-mode mass mobilisation involving the Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, Forest, Minor Irrigation, Agriculture and Groundwater departments. Treatments were targeted at the most rainfall-deficit districts - Anantapur, Kurnool, YSR Kadapa, Chittoor, Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda and Prakasam - with later phases expanding to the rest of the state.

Scope of treatments

  • In-situ conservation: compartmental bunding (Compartmental Bunding Rainfed), contour bunds, field bunds, vegetative barriers and trench-cum-bund treatments on farmland.
  • Drainage line treatments: gully plugs, loose-boulder check dams, gabion structures, sunken pits and earthen check dams in micro-watersheds.
  • Water harvesting: farm ponds (Farm Pond), percolation tanks, mini-percolation tanks (MPTs), rainwater recharge pits (Rainwater Recharge Pits).
  • Groundwater recharge: dug-well recharge, sub-surface dykes and revival of traditional cascading tanks.
  • Productivity enhancement: dryland horticulture, pasture development, dryland agronomy demonstrations.

Implementation

Neeru-Meeru is implemented through District Water Management Agencies (DWMAs) with technical support from the Andhra Pradesh State Remote Sensing Applications Centre (APSAC) and the Groundwater Department. Works are executed largely through user groups and Watershed Development Committees at the village level, with significant convergence with MGNREGS labour wages (Mgnregs Horticulture Plantation). Funds flow from the state budget and from the Watershed Development Component of PMKSY (Watershed Development Component Pmksy Wdc).

How farmers engage

Farmers do not apply individually. Watersheds are selected through a planning process at the mandal/MWA level, after which works are taken up by Watershed Development Committees consisting of local farmers and elected representatives. Individual benefits accrue through improved soil moisture, raised groundwater table and access to MGNREGS wages for works on their land.

Impact and limitations

World Bank and academic evaluations of the early phases reported a measurable rise in groundwater levels, increased cropping intensity and improved kharif sowing security in covered micro-watersheds. Persistent issues include weak maintenance of completed structures, uneven equity in benefit distribution (downstream landowners often gain more than upstream marginal farmers), and over-investment in extraction wells that erodes the recharge gains.

See also: Watershed Development Component PMKSY, Compartmental bunding, Farm pond, Rainwater recharge pits.

Sources

  1. Neeru-Meeru programme. Government of Andhra Pradesh, Department of Minor Irrigation.
  2. Watershed development in Andhra Pradesh - evaluation. World Bank.