June 20, 2001. The Rajasthan irrigation district notifies Rajendra Singh, secretary of TBS, that the Lava ka Baas johad has been constructed in violation of Sections 55(3) and 58(2) of the Rajasthan Irrigation and Drainage Act of 1954. The Rajasthan irrigation district asks Singh to stop construction work on the johad immediately and to demolish the completed portion. The Rajasthan irrigation district gives Singh seven days to comply with this order, on threat of action under Sections 55 and 58 - which allow for people accused of damaging irrigation structures to be arrested without a warrant.

June 25, 2001. Rajendra Singh replies to the notice from the Rajasthan irrigation department. Singh explains that that structure was built by the villagers as a remedy for their acute drinking and irrigation water shortage. He reminds the department that more than 550 johads already exist in the watershed of the Ruparel river. Singh's letter points out that a 1998 study done by the irrigation department itself found that downstream flows of the Arvari, a nearby river, had not been curtailed by the construction of upstream water harvesting structures. To the contrary, the report pointed out, downstream flows had actually increased. Indeed, Singh continues, johads are likely to be credited with returning the Ruparel to its original status as a perennial river - water diversions and watershed damage had turned it into a seasonal drain by the 1980s.

June 27, 2001. Lava ka Baas villagers and TBS organise a shramdan shivir (voluntary labor camp). People from adjoining villages and even other states come to work on the johad. Based on the warning in the June 20 letter to Rajendra Singh, villagers expect state officials to come and make arrests. The work camp is visited only by the Additional District Collector (ADC) in the late evening. According to Lava ka Baas resident Hira, "The ADC came, saw the structure, and left without interacting with us."

June 28, 2001. The district magistrate (DM) comes to see the structure. The villagers attempt to speak to the DM but he refuses.

June 29, 2001. A technical committee from the Rajasthan irrigation department visits the site. According to one villager, "All the officials who had visited the site were arrogant and angry because they had to acknowledge the fact that villagers too can construct large and safe structures."
On the basis of these investigations, the irrigation department files a report detailing the technical and legal problems with the Lava ka Baas johad. Its technical analysis concludes that the johad is unsafe and unsound. In its legal analysis, the department brings up the 1910 agreement between the former states of Alwar and Bharatpur to split the Ruparel -- 45% for Alwar and 55% for Bharatpur. Because the Lava ka Baas drain (nala) eventually leads to the Ruparel, the irrigation department claims that the 1910 law gives them control over the water behind the johad.
The department concludes that the johad is both unsafe and illegal and asks for action against Rajendra Singh under Sections 55(3) and 58 (2) of the Rajasthan Irrigation and Drainage Act.

July 1, 2001. Engineers from the irrigation department come to direct the johad breaking. To avoid citizen unrest and a downstream flood, the engineers instruct the villagers to just lower the level of the johad outflow rather than destroying the entire structure (the effect on the capacity of the structure would be the same). Villagers manage to delay the work. CSE's Eklavya Prasad is present and reports. Rajendra Singh contacts Anil Agarwal. Anil Agarwal reports.

July 2, 2001. Ashok Gehlot, Rajasthan CM, covenes a meeting to discuss the johad. He affirms the plan to lower the level of the johad outflow.

July 4, 2001. The Rajasthan irrigation department writes to Tarun Bharat Singh (TBS), an NGO which helps villagers to construct water harvesting structures, giving notice that the johad built by the Lava ka Baas village does not meet certain structural specifications and is unsafe. The irrigation department directs TBS to see that all water is drained from the drain or nala behind the johad and to ensure that no water is collected henceforth.

July 5, 2001. The Hindustan Times reports that Rajasthan irrigation minister Kamla Beniwal's declaration that "every drop of water that is received through the rains comes under the irrigation department."

July 8, 2001. CSE chairperson Anil Agarwal and director Sunita Narain meet Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot at his residence. The meeting is attended by the Rajasthan secretaries of agriculture, irrigation, PHED and groundwater, and the director of watershed development and soil conservation. At the meeting, it quickly becomes clear to Agarwal and Narain that the CM has been convinced that the johad was both illegal and technically unsafe. The CM's plan remains the same: to lower the level of the johad spillway such that the structure will not hold water.
Agarwal and Narain present the benefits of the structure and remind the CM of the irrigation department's own study which shows that downstream riverflow will not be reduced. CM Gehlot is sympathetic and explains that his administration is keen to invest in rainwater harvesting programmes. He says that the key challenge for his officials is to involve people in these activities. He is supportive of public action but concerned about the safety issues raised by his engineers.
The CM agrees that no further action will be taken at Lava ka Baas until CSE's technical experts meet with government experts to sort out safety concerns. The meeting is scheduled for 12 July.

July 9, 2001. Former Rajasthan chief minister and BJP leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat visits the Lava ka Baas structure. He tells the press that he is against the structure and against TBS and holds Gehlot's Congress government responsible for letting an illegal structure go up in the village.

July 12, 2001. The word spreads. Hundreds of villagers from neighbouring areas and from other parts of the country start a vigil at the johad. The protestors say that they will not allow any further lowering of the spillway.

July 12, 2001. Eminent engineer, Dr MC Chaturvedi, who in addition to designing a number of large dams in his career founded departments of civil engineering at Kanpur and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, agrees to advise CSE on the technical aspects of the structure. Chaturvedi, CSE coordinator Chandra Bhushan, and a structural engineer visit Lava ka Baas to meet with TBS barefoot engineer Gopal Singh. Indira Khurana reports on the tense face-off with Rajasthan irrigation department officials. The Rajasthan officials question the local villagers' wisdom and ridicule their johad building methods.

Check back for further developments ….