Historically the breakdown of village institutions has drastically affected the lives of tank-dependent communities. DHAN Foundation believes that the absence of people institutions to run, manage and govern the tank systems is one of the major reasons for the decline of the system and that only village level institutions can save these assets. Therefore to build the skills, encourage new initiatives, augment resources and ensure entitlements, the programme focuses on building people organisations that will conserve and develop water harvesting structures.
Tanks are first identified such that:
- Small and marginal farmers are a majority
- Incidence of poverty is high among villagers
- Tanks are the only source of water
- Tanks and wells are used jointly
- Tanks that promote percolation (recharging the aquifer).