SMALL POLY TANK FOR WATER HARVESTING IN RAINFED AREAS OF HILLY REGION Introduction In Himalayan region most of the villages are water scare. Agriculture of the areas is totally depend upon rainfall. Farmers of such ecosystem are economically poor and less endowed with better resources. Considering topography, land holdings poor investment capacity, water harvesting through small poly tank is viable solution to increase productivity and income on sustainable basis. Farm ponds are small tank or reservoir like constructions, constructed for the purpose of storing surface runoff, generated from the catchment area. The pond which is lined with poly sheet is called poly tank. These small size poly tanks are very much suitable for rainfed area of Jammu region particularly in hilly topography. Five number of poly tank of 1,06000 litre (106 m3) capacity have been constructed under DST-SEED Project entitled “Demonstration of technologies for improving productivity of rainfed area of Jammu District” which was completed during March 2021. Gravity feed drip irrigation system is also installed with poly tank to harvest water for crop production particularly vegetables. Cost of poly tank is Rs. 50,000. Cost of gravity feed drip irrigation system for one kanal (500 m2) area is Rs. 38,000 along with 1 hp electric operated centrifugal pump to fill the water in overhead tank. Design features: Trapezoidal shape pond with top dimension of 9 m x 9 m, depth of 2 m and side slope 1:1 (H:V) were constructed at the potential site having a catchment area 1000 to 1200 m2. A small trench of 0.5 m width and 0.5 depth is constructed along the periphery of the tank. Multilayered cross laminated UV resistant 250 GSM (grams per meter square) sheet were laid across the poly tank and end of the sheet were buried with boulders and soil along the trench of the tank. Cost : Cost of poly tank is Rs. 50,000. This includes the cost of earth work and lining material. Cost of gravity feed drip irrigation system for one kanal (500 m2) area is Rs. 38,000. It includes the cost of angle iron frame of (1.5 m x 1.5 m x 2.0 m), cost of drip kit, cost of multilayered PVC overhead tank of 1000 litre capacity and cost of 1 hp electric operated centrifugal pump to fill overhead tank. Suitability: Such type of structures are very much suitable in hill areas of north-western Himalayan region where the flat surface area required for the big pond is also one of the constraints. Depth of pond is also a limiting factor due to presence of boulders within the lower strata of soil. Hence small capacity poly tanks are recommended in hilly terrain of the rainfed area of mountainous eco-system Impact of technology: Availability water in the farm pond and efficient women friendly irrigation system encouraged farmers for growing vegetable crops along with conventional crops. Introduction of vegetables crops enhanced the farmers income manifold and enriched the diet nutritionally among the family members.