In autumn 2023, a team from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Nepal visited the Barahathawa Municipality in Sarlahi district in the Madesh province in southern Nepal. The Mayor, Kalpana Katuwal, had previously expressed interest in agricultural development through groundwater use. Her participation in the Regional Solar Irrigation Forum in Gujarat earlier in 2023 had stimulated a desire to make the municipality a role model in evidence-based policies.
Unlike its adjoining municipalities, Barahathawa, for the most part, does not experience acute water shortages during the dry season. The municipality has a thriving agricultural production and is highly reliant on groundwater for both irrigation and drinking water. Two surface water projects — in Bagmati and Manusmara — cover less than 50% of the irrigation needs.
To fill the gap the municipality has brought electricity to the fields for groundwater extraction, expanding agriculture electrification. This has increased access to irrigation and reduced dependency on diesel, but it also raises some critical questions: Who is accessing groundwater and who is being left behind? What are the environmental consequences of growing groundwater dependence? Does the municipality have long term plans and policies for sustainable groundwater use and management?
Groundwater extraction has interlinked opportunities and challenges and reflects the need for cooperation, synergy, coordination and dialogue across diverse actors for a shared vision and action.
Unpacking groundwater dependence
A mapping exercise conducted by IMWI found that about 73% of the 1,136 wells and boreholes across Barahathawa use electric pumps and most have shallow water tables (30–60 feet). Farmers prefer electric pumps due to several factors: government subsidies on irrigation electricity tariffs (starting from 2.25 Nepali Rupees (NPR) / $0.016 per unit), agriculture electrification, limited canal infrastructure, inadequate water supply in the existing canals and precise control over irrigation timing and volume for high value crops such as hybrid maize and vegetables.
Farmers are increasingly drawn to groundwater irrigation also because canal water is often delayed during crucial periods. One farmer said, “We spent the whole night in this cold winter waiting for our turn to divert canal water. We are already late by two to three weeks to supply water to our wheat.”
Limited cooperation for groundwater use and management
The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has raised safety concerns that local governments are installing electric infrastructure for agriculture electrification often with limited technical expertise and without coordination with the agency. Likewise, the Groundwater Division responsible for planning and installation of deep tube wells has acknowledged that they do not consult local governments during the planning of the projects.
Various government agencies are working separately on groundwater extraction for irrigation and drinking water projects at different scales but with little to no coordination. The authority for groundwater management is split across agencies: federal and provincial governments are in charge of deep tube well irrigation projects; local governments take care of shallow tube well irrigation projects; local, province and federal governments implement drinking water projects; and Agriculture Knowledge Centres and the Prime Minister’s Agriculture Modernization Program provide subsidies for shallow tubewell projects.
Groundwater management falls under the shared rights of federal, province and local governments across scales, but there are gaps in policy coherence, integrated planning, budgeting and data sharing. Institutional fragmentation has led to duplication in groundwater extraction projects in the same areas, but what is lacking is ownership and collective action for groundwater recharge activities. The interwoven and fragmented nature of groundwater issues does not stop here.
Unequal access to groundwater has deepened inequalities
Increased reliance on groundwater has exacerbated existing inequalities. Ownership of groundwater resources is tied to land ownership. Smallholder, landless, tenant, poor, Dalits and other marginalized farmers lack financial resources to invest in pumps and wells. Subsidies for electric or solar pumps require land certificates or lease agreements, which marginalised farmers, without formal contract cannot provide. Further, they struggle to navigate the subsidy application process due to information gaps, illiteracy, language and digital access barriers, deepening their exclusion.
“Those with political connections can easily get subsidized pumps. No one informs us and we do not know which form to fill or where to go,” said a farmer from Murtiya in Barahathawa.
Not everyone is able to equally benefit from groundwater which is a common pool resource accessible to all and vulnerable to overuse. Our study shows that Hill Brahmins, Chhetris and Newars, and Hill Janajatis have received more subsidized pumps than Terai Janajati and Dalits in the municipality.
Informal water markets
Farmers without wells and pumps rely on neighbors’ wells, which are sometimes free and sometimes very costly depending on their socio-economic dynamics. Informal transactions occur outside regulation. Water sharing or buying/selling are often viable options for fragmented landholdings as installing wells in every plot is not feasible. “Farmers are both water buyers and sellers,” says Surendra Shrestha, a hydrogeologist.
While expanding irrigation access through informal markets benefits farmers who cannot invest in pumps or boreholes, or who have scattered fields, this expansion also risks exploitation because pricing is unregulated. Our study shows that farmers pay up to NRS500 ($3.65)/hour for diesel pumped water and up to NRS200 ($1.46) for electric pumped water. These high and unregulated costs hit women farmers, smallholders and marginalized farmers the hardest who often have limited bargaining power and fewer irrigation options.
“We do not have electric poles near our field. Our neighbor has a diesel pump, and we buy water from them,” said a farmer from Barahathawa.
Bringing diverse voices together
Building on the insights from Barahathwa, IWMI organized a series of dialogues with water user groups, municipal sectoral units (agriculture, infrastructure, drinking water), provincial offices (Groundwater Division, Nepal Electricity Authority, Bagmati and Manusmara Irrigation Projects, Forest Division, Agriculture Knowledge Center), elected representatives, District Coordination Committee and agricultural cooperatives. During a Consultation Workshop on Groundwater Governance in November 2024, stakeholders voiced concerns and collectively reflected on the existing challenges of groundwater. They highlighted the need for a common platform for joint planning and decision making, not just on groundwater issues, but also to address agricultural and environmental challenges.
“Groundwater is linked to land, forest, soil and agriculture production, so all these sectors need to come together for joint planning. We have realized the lack of sectoral coordination in our municipality and the need to have a common platform to come together,” said Katuwal of Barahathawa Municipality.
Municipality-led multi-stakeholder platform
The culmination of these efforts has led to the establishment of a multi-stakeholder platform (MSP) headed by the municipality. MSPs are tools for natural resource governance that promote dialogue and collaboration among diverse stakeholders who meet at regular and agreed intervals, share information and take joint actions.
The origins of this model dates back to the 90s when the traditional hierarchical governance model was not able anymore to address complex and interconnected problems. The establishment of a MSP in the Barahathwa Municipality offers hope on how local leadership and evidence-based dialogues can guide decision-making and steer the sustainable, equitable management of natural resources.
The road ahead is long but with commitment from the municipality to lead the MSP, this can become a model for sustainable and inclusive natural resource governance.
