Freshwater bodies like ponds play a crucial role in water provisioning, especially for the poor, in many rural areas of India. These small-scale reservoirs also serve the domestic purposes of bathing, washing, cleaning, and as social gathering spots for dependent communities. However, increasing pressures from market forces, environmental degradation, and state neglect are posing challenges for equitable access to water resources, and for sustaining the ecological health of these ponds. Despite that, the dependency of rural communities on ponds for their everyday life and livelihoods is high.
The status of ponds and their relationships with communities in rural Indian villages has largely evaded critical enquiry and most of the earlier studies on lakes and ponds have focused on urban areas like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata, or smaller towns such as Bardhaman in West Bengal and Navsari in Gujarat.
Panchayat ponds in Kerala
This study on panchayat ponds from Palakkad district of Kerala, attempted to understand the status of ponds in terms of their structural and qualitative aspects, and factors affecting use of the ponds by local communities.
Palakkad, has the highest number of public ponds and reservoirs- close to one-third of the share in Kerala. As per the panchayat level statistics, prepared by the Department of Economics and Statistics, Government of Kerala, there are 854 panchayat ponds in the 88 Gram Panchayats (GPs) of Palakkad district.
Institutional arrangements over 30 select ponds across panchayats within Palakkad district that included rules of use, process of framing them, dispute resolution, funding mechanisms etc., apart from the socio-economic background of the users were explored.
Indicators such as ecological health (measured through a composite ecological score), institutional strength (measured by a composite institutional score), and the heterogeneity of water sources (indicating the variety of water sources households have access to) were considered to understand the state of the ponds.
The impact of socioeconomic factors such as gender, class, caste, and relative water scarcity on the use and access to ponds by the local communities was assessed. The study also tested the hypothesis of whether greater institutional stewardship would lead to more frequent pond use, and whether a greater diversification of water sources would reduce the dependency on ponds.
A total of 121 households participated in the study.
The study found that:
· Most of the ponds were in a good condition-
The ecological health of the ponds was evaluated using various indicators, and most of the ponds surveyed were found to be in a relatively good condition. They had clean water, functional embankments, and lacked any significant contamination. The composite ecological score (CES) demonstrated that ponds with higher scores—those with fewer weeds, less erosion, appropriate pH levels, and absence of polluting activities—were more frequently used for domestic activities. This correlation suggests that people’s perception of the cleanliness and health of the ponds was directly influenced by how often they used them.
· Access and utilisation patterns for ponds were universal
Access to the ponds was universal across different religions, castes, genders, and economic classes for domestic purposes like bathing, washing, and cleaning and the use of ponds for commercial activities was strictly prohibited. About 73 percent of the respondents used the ponds for bathing and washing, while 74 percent used them for cleaning. Use of the ponds for irrigation and drinking purposes was not common, as most households relied on other water sources like wells or panchayat pipe water connections for these needs.
· Frequency of pond use varied by gender and economic status
While access to ponds did not exhibit any variation based on social factors such as religion, caste, or gender, utilisation patterns exhibited differences by gender and economic status. Class (measured through occupation and the PDS economic category) and gender influenced the frequency of pond use, with daily wage earners and women more likely to depend on ponds for their daily needs
· Strong institutional support helped in efficient use and maintenance of ponds
Local governance, primarily through panchayats, played a major role in making and maintaining the ponds. The composite institutional score (CIS), which measured factors such as rule-making, monitoring, conflict resolution, and community participation, showed a positive relationship with domestic use of the ponds. This indicated that strong institutional arrangements promote sustainable usage.
· Good condition of ponds was the most important factor affecting pond utilisation-
When other factors influencing the utilisation of ponds were controlled, it was found that the ecological score highlighting the health and good condition of the ponds was an important factor affecting pond usage. Availability of alternate multiple water sources also influenced usage patterns that varied by different types of pond utilisation.
Thus, a healthier pond significantly increased the chance of usage for bathing. Interestingly, even as the diversification of water sources increased, the likelihood of usage of ponds for bathing continued to rise. A healthier pond also increased the likelihood of it being used for washing and cleaning.
Institutional support and community involvement prove crucial for natural resource management
The study observed that, despite universal access, usage patterns differed on gender and class lines, with women and daily wage earners depending more on ponds. Effective local governance, primarily in the form of panchayats, is essential to the effective management of these ponds and the subsequent improvement of the ecosystems. Prioritising domestic use over irrigation and commercial activities, this community-led governance has successfully resisted commercialisation and unsustainable practices with state support. The results indicate that the management of Kerala's ponds is in line with the commons principles, but they also highlight the necessity of community resistance to market pressures, and employing state power for equitable and sustainable resource use.
Amongst the rural communities, the importance of ponds is very high, as it fulfills their domestic water needs. The study has demonstrated how ponds can be managed as commons through strong local, democratic processes. Despite the environmental changes and market forces, ponds are functioning due to a combination of local self-governance arrangements and community involvement. According to the study, natural resources can be managed sustainably and fairly with the right institutional support and community involvement, refuting the notion that commons are destined to fail.
Vinay Sankar is a Fellow in Residence at ATREE, Bangalore. Eshani Girish Chemburkar is a final year Master’s student in Economics at Christ University, Bangalore.
The study was first published as ‘The Political Ecology of Rural Community Ponds in Kerala, India, A Quantitative Study (2022)’ in Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal https://ecoinsee.org/journal/ojs/index.php/ees/article/view/545