The project region in South Tamil Nadu is a part of river basins surrounded by hills which form catchment areas. This region comprises of thousands of interlinked tanks and ponds which were used in olden days for storage, irrigation and drinking. These water bodies were maintained and managed by the local village community through a 'Kudimaramth' system by contributing voluntary 'shramdan'. People owned and shared the benefits from these resources collectively through a community system of management. However in the last six to seven decades, the local management of these water bodies shifted from the community to the State and the community was alienated in the process. This led to a loss of maintenance, management and sustainability of these water bodies, which further resulted in low water availability for irrigation and drinking purposes in the project area.