Event • Symposium
Roots & Recharge Symposium
Multistakeholder Dialogue on Reviving Heritage Water Structures for Groundwater Recharge
Dec 09, 2025
Juniper Hall, IHC, New Delhi
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About the Event

Gurugram district is experiencing a steep decline in groundwater levels driven by rapid urbanization, rising demand, and diminishing natural recharge. Traditional dugwells—once central to decentralized water access—now stand abandoned or degraded. A district-wide survey across 200+ villages recorded 424 dugwells and 278 borewells, of which 330+ dugwells are inactive, only 3% have rainwater harvesting linkages, and many face contamination risks due to nearby wastewater ponds. These findings highlight the urgent need to restore wells as community-centric water security assets.

Supported by Wipro Foundation, GuruJal (an Abhipsa Foundation initiative) launched the project “Comprehensive Inventory and Revival of Dug Wells in Gurugram District for Enhanced Water Security” to document, conserve, and reactivate traditional water structures. Through scientific mapping, hydrogeological assessment, and community engagement, the initiative demonstrates how heritage, hydrology, and citizen participation can jointly rebuild groundwater resilience. Two pilots—Khandewla (rainwater recharge model) and Daulatabad (cultural revival model)—serve as proof-of-concept for scalable, community-led well rejuvenation.

Purpose of the Dialogue

Roots and Recharge Symposium 2025 brings together government agencies, practitioners, researchers, CSR partners, and community leaders to reflect on project learnings and shape a collective action pathway for mainstreaming well rejuvenation into district and state water planning.

Core Objectives
1
Share insights from the Gurugram Well Inventory—spatial distribution, condition status, recharge potential.
2
Launch the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Dug Well Rejuvenation.
3
Release the Coffee Table Book: “Wells of Gurugram”, capturing the district’s water heritage.
4
Facilitate policy dialogue on integrating traditional wells into groundwater governance.
5
Discuss scalable pilots and investment pathways for district-wide replication.
6
Build cross-sector partnerships for community-inclusive water stewardship.
Why Attend?
Access the largest dugwell inventory dataset in Haryana.
Learn from panchayats, field teams, and citizen scientists leading on-ground change.
Obtain the Well Rejuvenation SOP for immediate use in recharge planning.
Engage in design-thinking dialogues on policy, financing, and scale strategies.
Join a collaborative network advancing Gurugram’s water security and cultural revival.
Experience the launch of “Wells of Gurugram” showcasing stories and visuals from the field.
Agenda
TimeDay’s Flow
09:30 – 10:30 AMRegistration & Exhibition
10:30 – 11:30 AMInsights from the Field
11:30 – 1:00 PMInaugural Session: Relevance of Traditional Water Structures for Water Security & Knowledge Products Launch
1:00 – 2:00 PMLunch Break
02:00 – 03:30 PMScaling Up and Stakeholder Collaboration
03:30 – 04:00 PMClosing & Networking Tea