Studies based on APFMGS data showed that during the period 2003–2009, reductions did indeed take place in many HUNs.
There was a signifcant shift from water-intensive crops to water-saving crops and the value of crop production increased, thus belying concerns about loss of income.
There was substantial expansion of micro-irrigation and soil-water conservation measures.
The massive volume of hydro-geological information, including GIS maps, that many HUNs generated, impressed many a visitor; and some HUNs began generating revenue by selling this information.
Local politicians lent support to make the APFMGS approach the centre-pin of state policy.
A 2010 World Bank study declared APFMGS a ‘proven model’ for community-based groundwater governance (Steenbergen, 2010).
Another World Bank assessment (Pahuja et al., 2010) argued that,“Community management offers an alternative mechanism to state enforcement for groundwater management…there is now a critical mass of experience [in APFMGS] for designing models that could be viable at least for the hard-rock settings in India.”