All eight northeastern states have launched a joint platform to map, monitor and revive mountain springs across the eastern Himalayas.
The Himalayan Water Partnership aims to bring together science, policy and community action to strengthen springshed management.
Springs remain a crucial source of drinking water, irrigation and domestic use for many hill communities, but several are under pressure from erratic rainfall, deforestation and land degradation.
Tripura’s early spring revival work has shown increased water discharge, offering one model for wider regional action.
All eight northeastern states have come together for the first time to map, protect and revive mountain springs, a key source of water for millions of people across the region.
The Himalayan Water Partnership, launched in Guwahati on June 17, 2026 brings together officials, researchers, community leaders and civil society groups from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
The platform, facilitated by the Centre for Microfinance & Livelihood, an initiative of Tata Trusts, aims to improve springshed management in the eastern Himalayas, where many rural and peri-urban communities depend on springs for drinking water, irrigation and domestic use.
“This is the first regional consultation and workshop of eight states in northeast India on springs. The main aim of the Himalayan Water Partnership is to break the silos and bring together science, policy and practice of springshed management on a common platform,” said Divyang Waghela, head of water, sanitation and hygiene at Tata Trusts.
The partnership will work on a common protocol for monitoring springs, a shared regional spring inventory, collaborative research and community-led monitoring. It also aims to help states build springshed management into water policies and secure dedicated funds for spring rejuvenation through rural water supply and watershed development programmes.
“Aquifers remain invisible not only to people but also to policies. Climate change is making matters worse as rainfall patterns are changing and extreme weather events are on the rise. Understanding our aquifers and protecting springs are crucial for climate action and climate resilience,” said Rajesh Thandani, senior adviser, rural upliftment portfolio and WaSH at Tata Trusts.
The Indian Himalayan Region is estimated to have about three million springs, supporting more than 50 million people across 12 states.
Northeast India is among the country’s most water-abundant regions, but communities are facing increasing freshwater stress. According to the Centre for Microfinance & Livelihood, springs are drying because of erratic rainfall, deforestation, land degradation, shifting cultivation, ecological disturbances and seismic vulnerability.
These pressures reduce groundwater recharge and weaken the ability of landscapes to retain water.
A mountain spring is a natural point where groundwater emerges on a slope. Experts say reviving a spring requires understanding the aquifer that feeds it, not just treating the visible outlet.
“Understanding the type of spring is important for springshed management to identify the exact subterranean recharge zone of the specific mountain aquifer feeding the spring, rather than just treating the immediate surface area around the outlet,” said Himanshu Kulkarni, managing director of Pune-based Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management.
Springshed management involves mapping aquifers and carrying out soil and water conservation measures, such as trenches and brushwood check dams, to hold rainwater and improve groundwater recharge.
“The springshed approach links springs, aquifers, watersheds and landscapes. It is quite likely that a spring is in one village and its recharge zone in another village,” said Kulkarni, who joined the launch virtually.
Tripura has already begun a springshed management programme in Dhalai and North Tripura districts.
Rabindra Kumar Samal, principal secretary for forests, PCCF and head of forest force in the Tripura government, said the state receives good rainfall, but much of it runs off because of its sloping terrain, leaving limited groundwater recharge.
“To address this problem, we have launched a springshed management programme in two districts — Dhalai and North Tripura. A total of 76 springs have been treated and rejuvenated, and the project will complete in September 2026,” Samal said.
The programme is being implemented by the forest department and the Centre for Microfinance & Livelihood under a memorandum of understanding.
Sanjay Singh, executive director of CML, said 36 springs in North Tripura and 40 in Dhalai had been treated so far. Monitoring shows spring discharge has increased by 65 per cent in North Tripura and 40 per cent in Dhalai, he said.
CML has also signed an agreement with Tripura’s Public Works Department, Water Resources, to create a Spring Atlas for the state. So far, 1,028 springs have been identified in Tripura, with 80 per cent of them in North Tripura, Dhalai and Khowai districts.
Chandni Chandran, district magistrate and collector of North Tripura, said the administration was also promoting rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge. As part of a campaign, residents built 57,000 soak pits around their homes within two days, she said.
A national spring atlas is under preparation and is expected to be completed by 2027, said Tapan Chakraborty, regional director for the northeastern region at the Central Ground Water Board. India’s first spring census was launched by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in April 2025.
Some states have already compiled spring data. Ladakh has enumerated 1,512 springs and Sikkim 2,535.
Several institutions, including the Govind Ballabh Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, TERI, the North Eastern Spatial Data Repository and Himmotthan Society, are also building spring datasets for different Himalayan states.
But officials said much of this information remains scattered across agencies and research institutions.
“Different agencies and research institutes have their own datasets. It needs to be made available on a public portal so that we can identify the data gaps and then fill those gaps,” said Aiban Swer, director of the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority.