Research on the pressing challenges of accessing water for tea estate workers and their families in Darjeeling and Kurseong reveals that the scarce resource is subject to degradation through extensive use of fertilizer, pesticides, and agrochemicals by the tea gardens and indiscriminate disposal of waste along the mountain slopes and often into the streams. Since some sources of water are available seasonally, there is greater likelihood of them being degraded during the dry spells. Apart from quality and quantity, reliable access to water is challenging as well with multiple competing uses for the same sources of water. The situation has been further aggravated due to climate change. Climate impacts of decreased rainfall and increased temperatures in the northern part of West Bengal are well recorded in the Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment (INCCA), 2010 and the West Bengal State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC), 2017. Such changes are not conducive for tea cultivation and has resulted in increased dependency on local water reserves, natural streams and reservoirs. More often than not, access to water is subject to an unwritten hierarchy wherein the indigenous community and the tea estate workers are at the bottom rung. Time and labour-intensive practice of fetching water from faraway places, impacts women, in particular, from these communities.
The Community Led Action Plan (CLAP) project for Climate Resilient Water Security in the tea gardens of North Bengal proposes to develop a collaborative platform for local government, tea estate management, local NGOs and communities (particularly women from indigenous and migrant communities) in 4 tea estates of Darjeeling and Kurseong. The aim is to work together to enhance the quality and quantity of water resources and improve water security in the region. The project will train and build capacity of a cadre of barefoot hydrogeologists from the local communities to institutionalise community led and managed water security plans, that can act as a role model for the region.
Duration: December 2023 – November 2026
Cities Involved: 2 tea estates in Kurseong and Darjeeling each.
