Roots &
Recharge
Symposium
Reviving Traditional Water Wisdom for Groundwater Resilience
Reviving Heritage
Water Systems for
a Resilient Future
The Roots & Recharge Symposium marked the first day of a two-day engagement on India's water future, anchored firmly in the country's traditional water wisdom. The symposium focused on one geography — Gurugram — as a lens to understand how heritage water systems, particularly dug wells, can play a critical role in contemporary groundwater resilience.
Once sustained by a dense network of traditional wells, Gurugram today reflects the pressures of rapid urbanisation and groundwater depletion. Roots & Recharge brought together policymakers, practitioners, researchers, CSR leaders, and community representatives to examine how these traditional systems can be revived, governed, and integrated into modern water planning.
Organised by GuruJal Society and supported by Wipro Foundation, the symposium was held on Tuesday, 9 December 2025, at Juniper Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi — from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
Gurugram's Dug Wells:
Data & Discovery
At the heart of the symposium were findings from GuruJal's district-wide dug well inventorisation — covering 424 dug wells across more than 200 villages in Gurugram district. The data revealed both neglect and opportunity.
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Over 330 Wells Found InactiveMore than 330 of the 424 mapped wells were found inactive — abandoned, filled with waste, or facing contamination risks.
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Only 3% Connected to Rainwater HarvestingJust 3% of mapped wells were connected to rainwater harvesting systems — a critical missed opportunity.
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Significant Untapped PotentialRevived wells can function as community-centric recharge assets within district-level groundwater planning frameworks.
Revival Pilots in Action
Two revival pilots in Daulatabad and Khandewla demonstrated what is possible when ecological restoration is paired with community ownership.
Abandoned wells were technically restored and connected to rooftop rainwater harvesting systems, enabling rainwater to return directly to the aquifer.
Rooftop rainwater harvesting connected directly to aquifer recharge — a replicable model.
The reintroduction of a Kuan Poojan ceremony — absent for decades — transformed the well into a shared social space, reinforcing community ownership.
Cultural ceremonies reinstated alongside technical restoration build lasting community ownership.
Enabling Replication
GuruJal launched two key knowledge resources at the symposium — designed to bridge practice, policy, and replication across India.
A detailed framework covering site assessment, technical restoration, rainwater integration, and community stewardship — enabling any organisation to replicate the model.
Download SOPA richly illustrated documentation of the condition, history, and revival journeys of dug wells in Gurugram — capturing both data and lived community narratives.
Explore the BookPolicymakers · Innovators · Practitioners
Reflected on the need to move beyond access toward sustainability — noting that the transition from Har Ghar Nal to Har Ghar Jal demands renewed attention to traditional recharge systems.
Voices from the Floor
Discussions reinforced that groundwater resilience cannot be built through infrastructure alone. It requires community participation, local governance, and cultural legitimacy.
What the Symposium Established
When revived thoughtfully, dug wells function as community-centric recharge assets, embedded within district-level groundwater planning. The data from 424 wells across 200 villages proved this is a scalable intervention.
The revival of the Kuan Poojan ceremony was not ceremonial — it was the mechanism through which the community reclaimed ownership. Groundwater resilience requires community participation, local governance, and cultural legitimacy.
The SOP for Community-Centric Dug Well Revival and Wells of Gurugram were designed to close this gap — giving implementers, policymakers, and district planners a shared language and a replicable model.
Roots & Recharge Reaffirmed:
Traditional Wisdom for a Water-Secure India
Traditional water structures — when supported by data, technical rigour, institutional alignment, and community ownership — can play a vital role in India's groundwater future.
The symposium laid the foundation for scaling well revival as a credible, community-anchored, and replicable approach.