Post on 09-Feb-2017
transcript
Socio-Economic Survey
of
Gudwanwadi Checkdam Project
By
Satyajeet Somwanshi
Priyadarshi Dash
D. Parthasarathy
Prashant
Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
1
June 2006
Contents
Page
Nos.
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Profile of Gudwanwadi
Chapter 3. Problems of Water Scarcity and CTARA Initiative.
Chapter 4. Community Mobilization
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Chapter 5. Baseline Survey: Data Analysis
Chapter 6. Summary and Conclusion
Appendix I Check dam Project Destination Map
Appendix II Village Survey Profile
Appendix III Household Interview schedule
Chapter 1
Introduction
Several districts in coastal Maharashtra face the perennial problem of water shortage
despite getting bountiful rains during the monsoons. Lack of water is a particularly acute
problem during the months after the monsoon season. Raigad is one such district, where a
number of villages and hamlets inhabited by adivasis or tribals face acute water shortage
leads to many health and socio-economic problems.
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IIT Bombay decided to intervene in this situation to set up a series of small checkdams to
prevent runoff of rainwater, store water for use after the monsoons, and recharge ground
water. The first project has been taken up in Gudwanwadi village of Karjat block of
Raigad district in Maharashtra. Gudwanwadi is the tribal hamlet of the village ‘Gudwan’
having a total population of 364 comprising 45 households. The total population of the
Raigad district is 18,24,816, of which the tribal population is 2,33,953 (12.82 % of the
total population of the district, which is higher than the state and national average)1.
Most of the households in Gudwanwadi hamlet live below the poverty line. Further,
51.11% households are landless. The main community in the village – the Thakars find a
place at the bottom of the socio-economic hierarchy. While the overall literacy rate is
44.67 %, the literacy rate among persons below the age of 25 is around 90%. However,
the extent of unemployment in the hamlet is very high. Basically the villagers depend on
agriculture for their livelihood. However, it is hard for them to survive on agriculture
alone. As a result, the working population of the hamlet migrates to nearby mainstream
towns and cities. Large-scale migration occurs in the lean season between November and
May, the extent ranging from 60-80 % in Karjat taluka. Families migrate to work on brick
kilns in the villages or towns nearby and also engage in agricultural or construction
labour. Agriculture in the village is of a subsistence type and is rainfed. Rice is the staple
crop in the hamlet. About 44.44 % farmers in the hamlet are marginal farm households
with the average landholding ranging from 0 to 1 acres. Only two households (4.44 %)
have cultivable land in the range of 1 to 5 acres. Livestock and poultry are conspicuous
by their absence since people cannot afford to maintain them. Although Gudwanwadi
receives copious rainfall during the monsoon (around 1200-1600 cm), water holding and
retaining structures or irrigation facilities are almost absent.
1Annual Tribal Sub-Plan 2000-2001, Tribal Development Department, Government of Maharashtra.
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The staple diet consists of rice, dal and vegetables. In nutritional terms, this falls far short
of the requirements of a balanced diet. Poverty also contributes in placing a nutritionally
sound diet beyond the reach of the average household. Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM)
is widespread. This is manifested in the form of various diseases among the people,
women and children mostly.
Against this background, a technical team from CTARA- Centre for Technology
Alternatives for Rural Areas, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay visited the hamlet
and nearby villages for a preliminary understanding of the socio-economic problems of
the area in mid - 2005. It was observed that the drinking water problem was severe in most
villages in the area. After surveying several villages and assessing their suitability to start
a pilot project, Gudwanwadi hamlet was selected for the construction of a check dam in
consultation with a local NGO Academy of Development Sciences (ADS) in order to
address the drinking water problem on a priority basis.
The Check dam work was executed with the support of a construction firm Gangotree,
specializing in social infrastructure projects, and the NGO Academy of Development
Sciences. A village “Water Committee” (WC) was set up to carry out and implement the
work. The Water Committee consisted of four male and four female members who
participated in the entire decision-making as well as project implementation process.
Moreover the role of labor enforcement and labour payment was also coordinated by the
Water Committee. The Water Committee regulated the work force according to the
demand of daily work on the construction site; they gave an opportunity to every
household on a rotating basis to get employment on the project site and get a wage
incomes. They also monitored the work to reduce the gender discrimination. The water
committee was actively involved in village meetings to solve the labour issues as well as
technical problems that aroseduring the construction. Each Member of water committee
also worked as a supervisor on the check dam site. Weekly meetings of IITB, Gangotree,
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ADS and Water Committee helped to resolve emerging problems and issues. The
allocation and plotting of the land for those willing to donate land for the check-dam site
which was a major task was resolved sincerely through a community consensus. Equal
wages for male and female were offered in the initial phase of work; however, the labor
charges slightly rose for male laborers for their ‘heavier’ work profile. The labour force
was equally divided between men and women.
The main objective for the building the check dam was to hold enough water so that the
drinking needs for the village population and their livestock are met for the entire year.
In order to assess the long-term impact of this check dam on the livelihood and life style
of Gudwanwadi community, as well as to enable better implementation of the project, it
was felt necessary to have a preliminary database of the hamlet. A socio-economic survey
of Gudwanwadi was conducted during the months of April-May 2006. A semi-structured
questionnaire was used, along with focused group discussions (FGDs) and informal
interviews. In addition, participatory rural appraisal (PRA) were also done to understand
the history, evolution and dynamics of the community. Since a professional social work
practitioner was involved in the research, it was not just of an academic nature, but
involved action research as well in the form of collective action, mobilization, and
Community Organization.
The rest of the chapters in this report are organized as follows. Chapter II provides a
socio-economic and demographic profile of Gudwanwadi village. Chapter III outlines and
assesses the consequences and problems related to water scarcity. The IV Chapter presents
an overview of the community mobilization and collective action efforts and initiatives as
part of the project. Chapter 5 presents and analyses the data from the baseline socio-
economic survey that was conducted in the village. Chapter 6 provides a summary and
conclusions.
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Chapter 2
Profile of Gudwanwadi
The Community: Raigad district is one of the most populated districts of the Adivasi
(Scheduled Tribe) community in the Konkan region of Maharashtra. The Adivasis who are
present in Gudwanwadi are the Thakars, while the Katkaris are also prominent in the
region. These tribes are concentrated in different parts of the district. There is a hierarchy
of tribes, but this hierarchy is ambiguous and may not be accepted by a particular tribe in
question.
In Raigad district particularly, the tribal community is often characterized by mutual
mistrust. Thakars believe themselves to be superior to Katkaris but Katkaris believe that
they are not dominated by any other community. This may happen because the community
is polarized along political lines in several villages, where the Kunbi upper strata land
owing community also one of the dominant social groups.
Life Style of women: A striking feature of the Adivasi community in Gudwanwadi
hamlet is the relatively high status of the women. Though ‘patriarchal’, the women are
quite mobile and work participation rates are quite high – they are engaged in work in the
field as also as migrant labour (something that upper strata of Indian society does not
allow). It is not uncommon to find married couples and the wife’s parents living together.
Women lead extremely busy lives and do most of the work. Adivasi culture permits
practices, which may be frowned upon in non-Adivasi societies.
Culture: Adivasis possesses a unique culture of their own. This ranges from their
pantheon of gods – Hirva, Vaghoba, Gaondevi to name a few – to rituals and the
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celebration of festivals. While traditional Hindu festivals such as Ganesh Mahotsav,
Dassehra and Holi are celebrated in a unique fashion. Ganesh Mahotsav is celebrated by
men, women and children dancing together in circular formulation and singing songs
relating to everyday life – the sun, the rain, the animals, the family members gone far
away, and so on, reflecting the survival of animism2 among this indigenous community. It
is interesting to note that there is little connection with the occasion per se which
celebrates Rama’s victory over Ravana in battle. This phenomenon seems to symbolize a
singular adaptation of tradition with modern religious influence.
A Thakar Family
Life Pattern: Gudwanwadi community suffers from a high degree of economic
deprivation. Single season subsistence agriculture is the norm, with the second season
being taken up by migration to brick-kilns and other sorts of daily wage work. This is
despite the fact that the region receives plentiful rainfall in the monsoon. Unfortunately,
the absence of rainwater harvesting methods means that rainwater goes waste and water
sources dry up by January-February.
Thakars are a landless community and depend upon laboring in the farms of land owner
tribal as well as those of non-tribals in nearby villages. This migration could be
categorized as daily migration as they have to go in search of employment in nearby
2 Animism is sociological term for indigenous people’s nature worshiping life style
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villages to get work and the two square meals a day. Alcoholism is high in the community,
also the consumption of tobacco.
Political Situation: The hamlet is divided into two political party blocks but with the
concern of resolving the water issue both groups have worked together. The Congress
Party, Communist influenced Shetakari Kamagara Party and Shiv Sena are the major
influential parties in the area. However, social-political rivalry does not arise from
ideological commitment; party loyalty is dictated by personal gain more than anything
else.
Health: Health leve;s and attainment in the community is low. This is linked to the
poverty levels in the area. The diet typically comprises rice, yellow dal and vegetables like
bottle gourd or brinjal. There is a deficiency of proteins and carbohydrates, which is
manifested in the form of Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM). Thus, the incidence of
marasmus and kwashiorkor is common. Poor health is also reflected in low educational
attainment, something discernible among the older generation in the community. Water
scarcity also leads to skin diseases, with scabies as one of the most common problems,
apart from abdominal pains, and respiratory-track infections .
The village population places considerable faith in the traditional healer, the bhagat. The
bhagat’s knowledge is not to be belittled but it is to be accepted that he is unlikely to have
superhuman curative powers, or that illnesses are attributable to spirits that have crept into
one’s body. The trend of seeking Bhagat’s help has been declining but is still prevalent in
Gudwanwadi; people prefer to go to doctors in near by village and towns (Kashele or
Neral). The changing mindset of the community is a result of the Weekly baithak
(spiritual seatings) in the Gudwan village, where a spiritual Guru teaches some facts to
follow scientific methods in daily life and eliminate traditional superstitious practices.
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A third reason for poor health rests in the relative inaccessibility of health services. Private
medical services are generally clustered around towns. Primary Health Centers (PHCs)
and their sub-centers may be better accessed but only relatively. These tend to be poorly
equipped and bribes are charged for injections. Inaccessibility implies travel, which adds
on to the cost of health care. There was a case of a lady who was suffering from
tuberculosis for many months; her family delayed the treatment by almost two months due
to the inaccessibility of the Health Center.
Services: A striking feature about this area is the poor extent of material development
despite its proximity to Mumbai, India’s financial capital. Barely 130 kilometers away
from the metropolis and a mere 15-20 kilometers away from the National Highway No.4,
the village Gudwan was connected by road a mere five years ago from where
Gudwanwadi. Electricity supply came four years ago. The land line phone connections are
still non-existent, but the rivalry of mobile communication services helped to bring a
mobile phone in the tribal hamlet which is the only telecommunication means in
Gudwanwadi.
Electricity: Power connection in the area is a major problem. Most houses are not
electrified. Where electricity is available, it is usually illegal. Teenagers are adept at the art
of ‘hooking up’ from passing power cables. Electricity is too costly anyway. Where
meters were installed, massive unexplained bills landed up all of a sudden from the
Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB). Power was officially disconnected due to
high number of defaults, but only officially since it is easy to pilfer. However from mid
March 2006 the MSEB had removed the transformer from the village resulted in the entire
Gudwanwadi facing a black-out.
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At the beginning of the project a sense of status quo pervaded the village community.
Poverty was widely accepted as a problem but there was little attempt to break through it.
There was a lack of self-belief and often a sense of inferiority at being a tribal.
The Gudwanwadi community is stricken with fatalism born out of a sense of inferiority.
This can be attributed to the conventional attitude toward indigenous cultures, which
regards tribal as being less than civilised and looks at tribal cultures with condescension.
This attitude is reinforced by the education system, which provides little exposure to
alternate cultures. Not recognised is the existence of relative egalitarianism and gender
equity that is often closely interwoven into the lives of tribal community. The younger
educated generation is alienated from its own customs and traditions. This is visible; for
instance, in the way film music is supplanting folk songs at marriages and local
celebrations. The influence of urban lifestyles beamed through the visual media is
heightened when youth migrate to nearby towns in the off-season and accentuates the
alienation process. In Gudwanwadi there are two VCD players, three T. V. sets which
work as the home theater for the youth of the community, where they screen latest Hindi
movies almost every night. Imitation of city culture is accompanied by fatalism: the
community believes it is destined to live the way it has lived thus far – through subsistence
agriculture and wage labour. This self-defeating attitude is mirrored in the lack of
enterprise, and especially among school going youth, to a lack of professional ambition.
This attitude is a big impediment to the development of the community.
The Government: Our experiences were also an education of the way in which the
government fails to take note of ground realities. For instance, while it has provided for
construction of new check-dams, the State Government has ruled against disbursement of
funds under the Tenth-five year Plan and Annual Sub Plan of Tribal Development (2000-
2001) for repairing existing check-dams. Thus, a few hundred check-dams in the district
lie in disuse owing to lack of repair. Funds amounting to some crores have been set aside
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for new construction whereas only a fraction is needed to repair existing ones. This rule
has affected the group’s plans for repairing a check-dam in the hamlet. In another
instance, the newly introduced Yashwant Gram Samriddhi Yojana, which entails a 10%
contribution from the Panchayat before the Government releases the rest of the money,
failed to take off in the villages we observed. The government bodies also fail to gain the
confidence of the community because of neglecting the most marginalized section and
providing the services on the basis of bribes. In Gudwanwadi, repairing the bore well
takes months because of the ignorance of the Panchayat Samiti. The Tanker water supply
promises remained in air, and women have to walk 2 to 3 kilometers to fetch water from a
river during the summer. The dismantling of the welfare state under the forces of
liberalization, privatization and globalization has lead to the withdrawal of the state from
areas where it was hitherto present and working even if in an inefficient way. With social
sector infrastructure in rural India inadequate and riddled with corruption, and the private
sector not interested in such projects, initiatives like this in the form of public – private
partnerships may have some promise.
Gudwanwadi
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Chapter 3
Problems of Water Scarcity and CTARA Initiative
Karjat taluka (block) of Raigad district in Maharashtra is known for tourist destinations as
well as natural beauty. The areas taken up by CTARA is close to hill stations such as
Matheran and Bhimashankar in the Sahyadri ranges. The region is populated by many
tribal groups. In spite of natural beauty and heavy rainfall in the area (more than 300 mm
per years), many of the tribal hamlets located in the area face the problem of shortage of
drinking water. Gudwanwadi is a small tribal hamlet suffering from this problem. The
water shortage in the village has led to various socio-economic problems related to their
daily life. In this section an attempt is made to recognize and understand these issues, and
the possible effects of the CTARA initiative, in the form of an alternative technology for
development. What are the consequences of water scarcity? Which groups suffers more
from this problem? How are the social, economic, health related problems likely to be
resolved with the check dam project? Interviews and focused group discussions helped us
to understand the following issues with reference to water scarcity in the village.
1. The lack of water availability in the region post –monsoon, has resulted in the shortage
of drinking water in the village.
2. The lack of drinking water has resulted in increased burden on women in the summer
seasons; they have to walk 2 to 6 Km daily to fetch drinking water. The parents
usually engage their daughter’s in the water fetching work, which has resulted in the
low education rate among the women because parents do not sent their daughters to
the school.
3. The lack of clean drinking water also resulted in the spread of various waterborne
diseases among the villagers like jaundice, dehydration etc.; due to non-availability of
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primary health care facilities in the village, the patients have to suffer a lot and have to
bear heavy medical expenses in treating themselves.
4. The lack of water availability also resulted in low agriculture production due to non-
availability of water for irrigation purposes.
5. Water scarcity in the village also resulted in the lack of fodder production and even the
common pasture land in the near by areas of village dried up in the summer season due
to low water level. This has severely affected the livestock in the village.
6. Shortage of water also resulted in various changes in the social condition of the
village. The people from outside villages are generally do not prefer to marry their
daughter in the village. They felt that if they give their daughter in marriage inthe
village then her entire life would be devoted to the task of fetching the water.
7. Water scarcity over a long period has led to an increase in migration of people to the
urban areas. The villagers generally migrate to urban areas in the summer season for
working on construction site or brick kilns etc.
8. The low agricultural production and rampant poverty in the village has forced the
villagers to take money on high interest rate from outside people and become indebted.
The increased indebtedness resulted in increased psychological and poor health status
of the villagers.
9. Overall the village has a low social status of the village in the region
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Women engaged in fetching water with three Ghadas on head
The CTARA Initiative to answer water problems: In view of the above problems, the
Center for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA) of Indian Institute of
Technology, Bombay in collaboration with Academy of Development Sciences (ADS)
planed to construct small dams in some tribal hamlets in the region. The main objective of
the initiative is to create small check dams to hold enough water so that the drinking water
needs for the village and their livestock are met for the whole year. In addition the small
dams will also help recharge ground water levels, resulting in dug wells having water
throughout the year. For the purpose of the project initially CTARA and ADS have
selected Gudwanwadi, a small tribal hamlet of Gudwan village. The main objective of the
project was to construct a check dam for drinking water. CTARA was monitor the logistic,
funding and all technical aspects of the project including project design. ADS was to be
responsible for social mobilization and collective action, local support and execution, and
Gangotree would execute the project.
Looking for water
The prime objective of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay for initiating this project is
to create a model of learning while doing. For the purpose of meeting the objectives
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various department of IIT are involved in the project namely Earth Sciences, Computer
Sciences and Engineering, Metallurgy, Civil Engioneering, and Humanities and Social
Sciences. The main objective of involving the HSS department was to conduct a socio-
economic survey of the area and to prepare a community profile of the area so as to
analyze the changes that have emerged in the area due to water scarcity and to inquire into
the potential benefits the project may create in the social life and livelihood pattern of
people residing in Gudwanwadi.
The work under the project was started on 8th January 2006. Gangotree, an agency that has
considerable experience in constructing watershed structures was appointed as a technical
consultant for the project. The estimated cost of the project was Rs 18 lakhs. The money
for the dam was raised through donation from corporations and individuals (IITB
Alumni). The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay also supported the project
financially and logistically.
The sociological analysis of the project was seen to be essential since the project is aimed
at bringing some improvement in the lives of the local people. From this point of view the
technology aimed at improving the livelihood of people should be suitable to the area and
should be accepted by the local people. The local groups should be able to manage the
project themselves once it is completed. The sociological analysis offers important
insights for the technical projects in terms of obtaining the necessary information
regarding the community background, livelihood patterns of the people, identification of
the target or the most affected group, developing community consensus and developing
leadership among the community for the initiation and management of problem solving
processes.
Apart from that the sociological analysis plays an important role in assessing the
engineering feasibility of the project through identifying the suitability of the project in
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accordance with the consensus of local people, which can contribute to the long term
sustainability of the project.
Impact generated by the watershed project:
The ongoing construction of the check dam (at the time of the survey) in the village has
resulted in bringing some changes in the thinking pattern of people with respect to
understanding their socio-economic problems and doing something about them. Earlier,
the condition of abject poverty and lack of drinking water availability resulted in the poor
socio-economic condition of the people. Women had to travel several kilometers for
fetching water. The participation and status of women in social activities was much lower,
parents did not prefer to send their daughters to school. The outward migration level in the
village was very high. At this point of time, when the project has just been completed it
would be very difficult to analyze the positive benefits that the project has yielded.
However in the present section the changes that the project has yielded in this short span
of time are described. The outcomes are also a result of the institution of the project and
the social mobilization and collective action that were fostered by IIT Bombay, the social
work professional, and ADS.
1. The project has resulted in a positive impact in making people aware about their
problems; earlier there was no such effort made by any NGO or any local group to
make people realize the impact of water scarcity on their livelihood.
2. The project also helped the villagers in organizing themselves through the formation
of a water committee in the village. The formation of water committee also made the
village the stakeholder in the project.
3. The formation of the water committee helped the women in the village by directly
involving them in matters related to the implementation of the project. The project also
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resulted in giving some empowerment and recognition to women’s role in society and
economy.
4. The water committee also gave women a chance to meet with each other to discuss
their daily life issues, as a result of which the number of women participants has
increased in the meetings. Thus the implementation of the project has resulted in
enhancing women’s participation and their decision making power.
5. The formation of the water committee and increase in the interaction of women
members with male members in the village resulted in change in their social roles and
status.
6. The project also benefited the villagers by providing alternate employment opportunity
in the village itself during the construction period.
7. The formation of the water committee not only resulted in increasing people
participation in the village but also provide them a platform for discussing other social
issues concerning their village.
8. As result of intervention made by the social work practitioner in motivating the
parents to send their children to school, many parents have started sending their son
and daughter to the nearby school.
9. The project also helped the village in making other individuals and NGOs aware
about the condition of village, as a result of which some initiatives have been taken for
improving the condition of village.
Technical Details of the Project (source: www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~ctara)
The Site of the Project: Gudwanwadi village comprises 40 households and a population
of roughly 250. It is a small Thakar hamlet on the Kashele-Murbad road. The dam site is
Gudwanwadi, which is about 2 km from Gudwan village.
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The structure of the Check-Dam: The planned structure of the dam is to build a masonry
dam of length 70 m and height 7 m. This will hold around 2000 cu.m of water. The
storage is expected to be 80 m in length and 60 m in breadth. Behind the dam, the stream
on which this dam is to be constructed has two small soil conservation dams. The first one
is 3 m in height and is of masonry type, and the second about 7 m in height and is of
earthen type. The total submergence of land for the construction is about 6000 sq.m i.e.
roughly 1.5 acres.
Activities of the Project: The project of constructing check dam in Gudwanwadi of
Karjat taluka of Raigad district was initiated by the CTARA of Indian Institute of
Technology, Bombay in collaboration with ADS and Gangotri. The main consideration of
the project is to develop a mechanism in Gudwanwadi for conservation of water and to
provide availability of water through out the year to the villagers for drinking purpose.
The major objectives of the project were:
1. To develop a teaching and learning model for the IIT Bombay students, to look at the
critical issues of the project from conception to delivery.
2. To make drinking water available in the village throughout the year.
3. To develop an institutional approach in the village for the implementation of and
providing sustainability to the project.
The main activities in the implementation of the project were:
1. Needs assessment and site selection: - This involved visiting the village and
assessing the nature and severity of the water problem.
2. Social survey: - This involved developing an understanding of the village population,
its livelihood, possible benefits from a dam and subsequent water distribution. A study
of the village in terms of construction skills, organizational skills and resources was
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also necessary. This also assessed possible partial repayment models such as water
cess, shramdan and facilitating coordination and liaison of the entire project.
3. Topography survey: - This involved the detailed study of the physical site and its
topography.
4. Geological survey: - This included a detailed study of the geology of the dam-site, to
ascertain and establish conditions for water storage and percolation, and construction.
5. Watershed and storage analysis: - A study was carried out to establish storage
capacity of water at various dam-heights.
Implementation of the project: The actual work of the project site was started on 8th
January 2006. The selection of the village for the construction of the check dam was done
by ADS. The land for construction of the check dam was identified by IIT Bombay. As
much of the land under the project site belongs to the village Panchayat; they agreed to
donate the land for the project purpose. Approximately 20% of the project cost is borne by
the villagers through contributing their labour to the construction activities. The
construction of the check dam was completed in June 2006.
The check-dam site
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Chapter 4
Community Mobilization for the Watershed
“Letting the people decide no matter what they decide” -Alinsky
The social work practitioner from IIT Bombay initiated the work in Gudwanwadi with an
integrated method of community organization and community development. According to
the theories of involvement of organizers in the neighborhood, in order to gain entry into a
neighborhood or community, there is a need to gather support from the people of the
community. The social work practitioner started dealing with community people using
informal methods and tried to gain the confidence of the people in the community. This
helped gradually to understand the socio-economic conditions of the community; the
confidence building process helped to make the people open up with their problems and
realities.
The work in Gudwanwadi used the integrated approach of community organization.
Weekly meetings in the village created an atmosphere of basic understanding of the water
issues as the primary issue. Meanwhile the ADS formed a Water Committee with four
male members and four female members, which started involving actively in the
construction work of the check-dam.
The Strategy for Entry and People’s participation: The prime objective of conducting a
sociological analysis of the village was to generate people’s participation in the
implementation of the project and to make villagers aware about the problems that they
were facing with regard to drinking water scarcity. For the purpose of conducting the
sociological analysis, a household survey of the village was conducted to assist in
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generating people’s awareness and participation of the community in the implementation
of the project.
The social work practitioner when he first visited the village, observed that people are
facing the impact of water scarcity on their livelihood but they are not recognizing the
causes and nature of the problem and, due to their adherence to traditional norms and
values in the community, the participation of people was not adequate to mobilize them on
water related issues. Taking the traditional norms and practices of the villagers into
consideration, he tried to develop an entry point into the community by involving himself
with children’s activities in the village school. He tried to develop a facilitative
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CommunityParticipation.
Community Links withADS-IITB- GANGOTRI
Capacity
Building
of Hamlet
Sense of community unity Gender development and empowermentWater committeeVillage Development
Diagram of community participation, community connection, and community capacity:
Integration model: This model proposes that the people are the clients, while practitioners work as enablers, and they jointly decide
a plan for development.
relationship with the children through helping them in their studies, playing games and
making them aware about cleanliness and waterborne diseases etc.
The absence of strong community leaders or role models that can inspire and guide the
community added to the problems. Therefore one of the aims of the community
mobilization activities was to create role models in the community
Establishing Credibility:
The resistance of women to the process of forming groups and ensuring their presence in
meetings was difficult initially. Hence the Social Worker from IIT Bombay looked upon
children, and young girls and boys as the first target group. He mobilised youth (male \
female) and children with the help of recreational activities in the evenings. Some
informal groups were formed and various games and competitions were organised in
which parents of the group members were invited to see the progress of their sons and
daughters. These activities helped to get close to the community and especially women
realised that the person (Social Work Practitioner) was doing something good for their
children. The general discussions and regular intervention with women led to a better
understanding of the major problem of water in the community and created an awareness
that the most affected section due to water scarcity were women. They have to fetch water
from a long distance during the summer. To resolve this, men in the community had spent
a lot of time and effort with the Grampanchayat members, but failed to obtain a solution.
The social work practitioner mobilized the women for collective action so that they play
an important role in this initiative to resolve their water woes.
The Water Committee was established in the hamlet, which works as a central
autonomous body for this initiative. A group of women and a task group of youth were
given an orientation to understand and implement the concept of volunteerism and the
need to help individuals as well as the community to have harmony and smooth
25
functioning in the development of Gudwanwadi. Various activities and programs were
taken up through groups of women and youth (Women’s day and Republic day
celebration, celebration of festivals like Holi and Makar Sankranti as well as participating
in the village social functions such as marriages).
Why women and Youth:
The Adivasi community is known as more deprived compared to other groups in soceity.
This disadvantaged group rarely gets the chance to develop and implement their vision of
development. Adivasi women are doubly marginalized because of their being women in
the patriarchal Indian society. The development of women is more difficult and
challenging. There is a need to be more focused and continuous effort for the development
of the women in the interior tribal areas is required. In the development process it is
always assumed that “one educated woman brings education to whole family”. It has also
been considered that women should be a part of any decision making process not only in
the family but also in the governing process of the village.
The youth is also seen as a fresh generation that would work as a change unit for
alleviating existing social problems. They would carry forward the new vision of
development of the tribal society. With this aim in community organization programmes
youth are taught to understand the process of development and learn to come forward and
volunteer in the process of change.
Gender Development: Women constitute almost half the population, yet their
representation in decision-making process is far from fair. Women’s roles and
responsibilities in family and society are specific to caste, class and gender and
discrimination is maintained through the patriarchal framework. The journey towards an
egalitarian society needs to challenge and change this framework and inculcate values of
26
gender justice in every sphere of life. Recognizing this, the Water Committee was
constituted with equal representation from men and women.
Gaining Power for negotiation and management:
After the formation of the committee, regular meetings were conducted with the village
ommunity to discuss the implementation of the project. One issue that was raised by the
women was their engagement in water fetching work in the daytime. They can only work
in the construction site during the night. An important negotiation thus was around the
need to send two water tankers to the village for the construction work. They agreed to
give one tankers to the villagers for their drinking and household uses, so that wmen are
free to participate in check dam construction work.
The social worker also discussed with the members of water committee and villagers that
some participation should also come from the village side for the implementation of the
project. The villagers decided that they would contribute Rs. 10 per head from their
earnings from the construction work. It was also decided that as the project cannot employ
all people from the village in the construction work, the constructor of the project will
employ the people shift wise but the village committee will decide the labour, supervise
and will pay the village labour force on a weekly basis.
The formation of the water committee also resulted in providing some social recognition
to the role of women in the village, the male members in the village realized that women
are managing the matters related to the labour and financial issues efficiently. They also
started coming with their spouses in the meetings organized by water committee. As a
result of this, social consensus is generated among the villagers about their water-related
problem. The formation of water committee also resulted in increased interaction among
the villagers and specifically women; they share their daily life issues with each other,
which help them to build a social network among themselves.
27
Impact of social intervention on women’s participation:
The social intervention made by the social work practitioner through involving the women
in the implementation of the project, helped them not only in organizing themselves but
also led to changes in their social status in the village. Earlier their roles were confined to
fetching water from long distances and perform the regular household work. The
formation of the water committee provided them a platform, where the women as a group
can come together and discuss their problem and issues related to their daily life with each
other. The function allocated to water committee to maintain the financial and matters
related to wages rate etc also empowered the women to show their capability to the males
in the village that they are also capable of managing finances.
The changes that have emerged in the role of women in the village also influenced the
thinking pattern of males with regard to the role of women. It is now observed that males
give adequate recognition to the function and role of women, as reflected in the regular
meetings of the water committee with project implementing agencies. When the members
of the water committee and village people all sit together with members of IIT Bombay or
ADS the male members give recognition to women’s views in matters related to decision
making.
Changes have also emerged in the work roles of women; earlier women were engaged as
workers in the construction site but with the intervention made by IITB and ADS, they are
given new roles like supervision of labour work etc. These roles have brought changes in
the outlook of women and now they feel that they have a say in the village matters and a
better status in the community. These changes have also brought transformations in the
overall functioning of women in the village.
28
Community dialogues
The overall experience in Gudwanwadi tribal hamlet suggests that introducing an
alternative pro-people technology and people’s participation brings about development in
a true sense.
29
Chapter 5
Baseline Survey: Data Analysis
A long-term bottom-up approach is visualized for the check dam project at Gudwanwadi.
It is expected to generate the conditions and provide lessons for follow-up in the region in
other villages. In order to have a holistic documentation of the project implementation
process at Gudwanwadi, it was decided to conduct a baseline survey for evaluation of
project benefits to the inhabitants of Gudwanwadi in the long-run. For the same purpose,
semi-structured questionnaires have been administered among all the villagers along with
Focused Group Discussions and personal interviews with key informants. The data
analysis of this survey delineates the social and economic background of Gudwanwadi,
and provides a careful examination of strengths and vulnerabilities associated with this
particular intervention. The following sections describe the major findings of the survey in
relevant categories.
5.1 Demography
The demographic features of Gudwanwadi show some interesting trends. For instance, the
number of children in the age group of 0 to 14 years is higher in comparison to adults in
Gudwanwadi. Children constitute 37.87 per cent of the total population of Gudwanwadi
followed by the working population in the age groups 31-45 (16.57 %) and 46-60 (15.98
%). It shows that roughly every household has 3 children on average, who are in the age
group of 0-14 years (See Chart 1 & Table 1). The older people above 61 years of age are
only 14 (4.14%) in number, which raised questions regarding the mortality rate and life
expectancy in the village. The working population (15-45 years) comprises 42 per cent of
30
the total village population, which potentially can meet the demands of the large number
of children and old people.
Age-Wise Distribution of Population
37.87
25.44
16.57
15.98
4.14
0-1415-3031-4546-6061 & above
Chart 1
31
Table 1
Age-Wise Distribution of Population
5.2 Education
The status of education in the village is still below the satisfactory level. Only 44.67 per
cent of the total population is educated, of which primary and secondary levels consist
almost 80 per cent of the total educated people contributing 40 per cent each. In absolute
numbers 151 persons out of a total of 338 persons are educated. Only one person is found
have been educated beyond matriculation. If drop-outs are controlled and specific
emphasis on education is under way, then the next generation youth in Gudwanwadi will
have better prospects for social mobility and enhanced quality of life. A comparative
picture of education in Gudwanwadi is given in Chart 2 & Table 2.
Age Group No. %
0-14 128 37.87
15-30 86 25.44
31-45 56 16.57
46-60 54 15.98
61 & above 14 4.14
Total 338 100
32
Education Level in Gudwanwadi
16.56
42.38
40.40
0.66
Pre-PrimaryPrimarySecondaryCollege
Chart 2
Table 2
Education Level in Gudwanwadi
33
Level No. %
Pre-Primary 25 16.56
Primary 64 42.38
Secondary 61 40.40
College 1 0.66
Total 151 100.00
5.3 Land Holding Pattern
Most of the households in Gudwanwadi do not own any piece of cultivable land. In other
words, 51.11 per cent of households in the village are landless which indicates the
existence of high level of poverty in the village (See Chart 3 & Table 3). The households
having land are basically owner-cultivators most being marginal peasants. The marginal
farmers constitute 44.44 per cent of the farming community having cultivable land less
than 1 acre per household. It cannot be said that the distribution of land in Gudwanwadi is
skewed, but the possession of less than 1 acre does not assure diversified agriculture in the
village to serve as a potential source of livelihood. In the absence of alternative
employment opportunities, especially non-farm activities, it shows the existence of
structural vulnerabilities in the social and economic system in Gudwanwadi.
Table 3
Distribution of Cultivable Land
Acres
No. of
Households %
0-1 20 44.44
1-5 2 4.44
Landless 23 51.11
Total 45 100.00
34
Distribution of Cultivable Land in Gudwanwadi
44.44
4.44
51.11
0-1 acre1-5 acresLandless
Chart 3
The livestock population in the village comprises goats, cows, buffalo, bullocks and
poultry. As per the survey, households have more goats as compared to the total number
of cows in the village. This may be due to the better marketability of goats and easier
maintenance than cows for a supplementary source of income. The graphical presentation
of livestock data is given in Fig. 1.
35
As far as housing is concerned, there are 28 kachha, 4 semi-pucca and 13 pucca houses in
Gudwanwadi. Pucca houses are basically built with bricks and clay with a few of those
having cement coatings.
Fig. 1
5.4 Sources of Livelihood
Like many villages in India, Gudwanwadi is also characterized by the greater dependence
of inhabitants on agriculture for their livelihood. The graphical representation of various
Total Livestock in Gudwanwadi
91
10
3631 32
010
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Goat Buffalow Cow Bullock Poultry
Type of Livestock
No
Total Livestock
36
sources of livelihood in Gudwanwadi is given in Fig. 2. The total income of most of the
households varies around Rs.15000 per annum with a few families having higher income
in the range of Rs.65000 to Rs.70000 per annum. Despite marginal land holdings
cultivation has been the primary source of livelihood for the people in Gudwanwadi. Even
though agriculture is rain-fed and subsistence in nature, it provides the staple diet to the
villagers. Mostly, people cultivate paddy and ragi as main crops. Besides cultivation, daily
labour is the only source of income for the villagers. Only two persons are found
employed in government service. The annual income of the households in Gudwanwadi
from different sources is given in Fig. 2. From Table 4 it is evident that almost 85 per
cent of the households have annual income in the range of Rs. 5000 to Rs. 25000 of which
12 (26.67 %) are in Rs. 5000- Rs.15000 category, and 26 (57.78 %) in Rs. 15000 to Rs.
25000 category] (See Fig. 3).
Annual Income of Sample Households from Different Sources
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43
No. of Households
Inco
me
in '0
00s
CultivationDaily WagesServicesTotal Income
Fig 2
37
Table 4
Distribution of Households in Different Income Groups
Income
Groups
No of
Households %
5000-15000 12 26.67
15000-25000 26 57.78
25000-35000 3 6.67
35000-45000 1 2.22
45000-55000 1 2.22
55000-65000 0 0.00
65000-75000 2 4.44
Total 45 100
Distribution of Households in Different Income Groups
26.67
57.78
6.672.22 2.22
0.004.44
0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
70.00
5000-15000
15000-25000
25000-35000
35000-45000
45000-55000
55000-65000
65000-75000
Income Groups
Per
cen
tag
e
Annual Income
38
Fig. 3
As mentioned above agriculture is seasonal in Gudwanwadi basically during the months
of June to September. For a better understanding of the income disparities among
households in the village, the distribution of households according to their income from
cultivation is done. The details are given in Table 5 and Fig. 4. Around 72 per cent (39.29
% in Rs. 2000-Rs. 4000 category and 32.14 % in Rs. 4000-Rs. 6000 category) of the
households earn Rs. 2000 to Rs. 6000 from cultivation during the rainy season. The low
level of income from agriculture and absence of non-farm employment opportunities leads
to a high incidence of poverty in the village.
However, the villagers get daily employment throughout the year in the locality. As per
the survey, in agricultural season (June-September) 15 households (65.52 %) get income
from daily labour in the range of Rs. 2000 to Rs. 6000; while 5 households (21.74 %) earn
Rs. 6000 to Rs. 10000 during the same period. In lean seasons there is not much variation
in the income levels of the households (See Table 6 and Fig. 5). Both men and women
work during winter and summer seasons to supplement the income from agriculture. The
details related to gender-wise participation in daily labour are shown in Fig. 6.
Table 5: Distribution of Households According to Income from
Cultivation
(June- September) (In Rs.)
Income
Groups
No of
Households %
less than 2000 3 10.71
2000-4000 11 39.29
4000-6000 9 32.14
6000-8000 3 10.71
39
8000-10000 0 0.00
10000-12000 2 7.14
Total 28 100
Distribution of Households According to Income from Cultivation
10.71
39.29
32.14
10.71
0.00
7.14
0.00
5.00
10.00
15.00
20.00
25.00
30.00
35.00
40.00
45.00
lessthan2000
2000-4000
4000-6000
6000-8000
8000-10000
10000-12000
Income Groups
Per
cen
tag
e
Income from Cultivation
Fig. 4
40
Table 6: Distribution of Households According to Seasonal Income from
Daily Labour
Income
Groups
No. of Households
June-Sept Oct-Jan Feb-May
Less than 2000 3 (13.04) 3 (6.82) 3 (6.67)
2000-6000 15 (65.52) 16 (36.36) 24 (53.33)
6000-10000 5 (21.74) 22 (50.00) 16 (35.56)
10000-14000 0 (0.00) 3 (6.82) 1 (2.22)
14000-18000 0 (0.00) 0 (0.00) 1 (2.22)
18000-22000 0 (0.00) 0 (0.00) 0 (0.00)
Total 23 44 45 Note: Figures in the parentheses are percentages to the total in
different seasons.
Distribution of Households According to Seasonal Income from Daily labour
0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
70.00
less than2000
2000-6000
6000-10000
10000-14000
14000-18000
18000-22000
Income Groups
Per
cen
tag
e
June-SeptOct-JanFeb-May
41
Fig. 5
Gender-Wise Participation of Villagers in Daily Labour
18.18
40.91 40.91
16.41
42.19 41.41
0.00
5.00
10.00
15.00
20.00
25.00
30.00
35.00
40.00
45.00
June-Sept Oct-Jan Feb-May
MaleFemale
Fig. 6
Women’s work participation in the village is better as compared to the rest of India. This
however does not seem to have resulted in better status for women until the onset of this
project.
42
5.5 Drinking Water
The water sources in the village are not perennial except for one tube well and two
concrete wells for drinking water. The daily water requirements in different seasons are
given in Table 7 & Fig. 7. As per the opinion of 32 households, less than 5 Ghadas (One
Ghada is approximately equivalent to 10-12 litres) of water are required in rainy season
(June-September) whereas in summer 10 to 15 Ghadas of water are necessary for daily
consumption. The village women and children travel half kilometer a day during June to
January for fetching water from nearby wells and tube well. The situation is worse in
winter and summer seasons (during February to May). On an average they cover 4 Kms to
and fro to fetch water for daily domestic requirements. Men do not participate in rainy
season for fetching water; however, a thin participation is there during the months of
February and May. It is obvious from Fig. 6 that the water requirement is very high during
February to May. It reveals that the cost of collecting water in terms of time and energy is
pretty high as compared to other villages. Therefore, necessary interventions from
government and other development agencies are necessary to minimize the drudgery
associated with the daily lives of the people in Gudwanwadi. Earlier, an attempt had been
made by the Soil Conservation Department, Maharashtra to construct an earthen dam
basically to address the soil loss in the highly sloped stream passing through the village.
However, it did not help the local people much because of its poor design and irregular
follow-up by the government. There are no such efforts from District Authorities to
maintain the available water structures in the village such as wells and tube wells which
significantly worsened the condition of the villagers during water scarcity.
43
Daily Water Requirements Per Household in Different Seasons
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45
Households
In G
had
as
June-SeptOct-JanFeb-May
Fig. 7
Table 7: Perceived Amount of Water Required Per Day for Different
Households (In Ghadas)
Ghadas No. of Households
June-Sept Oct-Jan Feb-May
44
Less than 5 32 17 3
5-10 13 24 21
10-15 1 2 13
15-20 - 2 4
20-25 - - 4
Total 45 45 45
5.6 Household Expenditure
The gross household expenditure in Gudwanwadi does not vary very much across
households. Most of the households (around 75 %) revealed that the annual total
expenditure varied between Rs. 10000 and Rs. 12000 whereas in the case of two
households it varies in the range of Rs. 30000 to Rs. 40000. There are two families in the
village, which can be called as rich compared to other households, who have an annual
expenditure in the range of Rs. 50000 to Rs 70000 and Rs. 80000 to Rs. 90000
respectively. The graphical presentation of the consumption pattern is shown in Chart 4,
which clearly suggests that the average annual consumption in the village stays roughly
around Rs. 10000 to Rs. 12000. Further, the subsistence consumption pattern in the village
may be attributed to the low levels of income of the households. Since, at present, the
villagers cannot afford to purchase the things beyond their abilities, the expectations are
limited and that reduces the appetite for consumption beyond necessities. The class-
interval distribution of households according to their consumption expenditure is given in
Table 8 and Fig. 8. The details related to the consumption patterns can also be analyzed
by taking into account the major heads of expenditure. From Fig. 9, it is clear that the
major items of family expenditure are food and marriage, which substantiates the
existence of subsistence consumption pattern in the village.
45
Annual Consumption Expenditure of Households
less than 1000010,000 - 20,00020,000 - 3000030000 - 4000040000 - 5000050000 - 6000060000 - 7000070000 - 8000080000 - 90000
Chart 4
Table 8: Annual Consumption Expenditure of Households
Amount
No. of
Households %
less than 10000 3 6.67
10,000 - 20,000 33 73.33
20,000 - 30000 5 11.11
30000 - 40000 2 4.44
40000 - 50000 0 0.00
46
50000 - 60000 1 2.22
60000 - 70000 0 0.00
70000 - 80000 0 0.00
80000 - 90000 1 2.22
Total 45 100
Annual Consumption Expenditure of Sample Households
0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
70.00
80.00
less t
han 10
000
10,00
0 - 20
,000
20,00
0 - 30
000
3000
0 - 40
000
4000
0 - 50
000
5000
0 - 60
000
6000
0 - 70
000
7000
0 - 80
000
8000
0 - 90
000
Income Groups
Per
cen
tag
e o
f H
ou
seh
old
s
Annual Expenditure
Fig. 8
47
Fig. 9
Chapter 6
Summary and Conclusion
Based on the above findings an important insight that has emerged is that technological
interventions must be supported by people’s participation to mainstream communities's
concerns in water management. People must be engaged as partners, whose roles are
located in larger social, economic and political structures3. It has long been understood
3 Sudhirendar Sharma - flowing upstream
Annual Expenditure Pattern of Households by Item
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43
Households
Am
ou
nt
in P
erce
nta
ge
ClothingFestivalMarriageFoodHealthEducationEntertainmentOthers
48
that most of community based water management system undermine the role of women;
drawing upon their labor and assuming that this will in itself advance the objectives of the
project and benefit women and the community at large. The Gudwanwadi Check dam
building process intended in the true sense for women’s participation in sustainable
development initiatives and worked towards a gendered development process through
resolving the water scarcity problem in a poor tribal hamlet.
Gudwanwadi represents the socio-economic and education deprivation of the schedule
tribe groups of India. Water is the lifeline for human life. While most people in the urban
areas take clean and pure drinking water for granted, there are many villages in the
country, where availability of drinking water is a luxury. Gudwanwadi at the foothills of
Matheran is one such place. This area has abundant rainfall but due to poor conservation
techniques faceed severe shortage of water post-monsoon and the women have to walk
almost 3-4 km for fetching drinking water daily.
The study shows that most of the families are landless and work as laborers for a major
portion of the year. The Government has been neglecting to address the basic issue of the
illiterate marginalized section. CTARA, IIT Bombay and ADS realizing the consequences
of neglecting these problems evolved a strategy to jointly establish an autonomous Water
Committee in the village for resolving the water problem by providing an appropriate
technology.
Building Check dams, though a technical work, but the community involvement made the
work as an entry point strategy for community sensitization and community building.
People from the community came forward to work for the project. However since they did
not have the necessary technical and financial expertise, IIT Bombay and ADAS in
association with Gangotree came forward to provide the necessary assistance.
49
Overall, the project has to be successful in bringing water and sanitation to Gudwanwadi,
and the community is looking forward to making full use of the system once the
construction work is completed. No longer subject to the vagaries of the monsoon, the
future finally looks bright for this one small hamlet. A post project evaluation a year from
the completion will help us better assess the impacts and benefits.
By helping to harvest rainwater for domestic and irrigation purposes, check dams can also
help to improve livelihoods, particularly by providing a source of water for livestock.
Women too benefit from access to more water. The time saved in fetching water from
distant sources is now spent pursuing other income-generating and household welfare
enhancing activities. A more stable income means better nutrition and education
opportunities for the children and an overall improvement in the daily life of the entire
family.
Establishing the Water Committee helped to make key leaders from within the community
with maximum active participation of women. The involvement of the Water Committee
in the entire check dam construction led to people realizing the value of credibility and
that’s how the trust building process developed unity in the village.
The simple regular dialogues with women made them realize their inherent potential to to
contribute economically, socially and politically; an important result was that women
formed a self help group and also floated a proposal to provide nutritional for the ICDS
AGANWADI4 in the hamlet. Women in the hamlet also gradually realized that the need of
water and women’s role and status in society are related to each other.
4 Integrated Child Development Program of Government of India
50
The intervention through Check dam in the community, helped children to understand the
effects of bad habits (chewing tobacco habits) and abandon them. Even dropping out from
school was quite common in the hamlet but parents now started to think for the future of
their school going children. Enrolment and attendance increased after the intervention.
Improvement of social infrastructure is a priority need for the village. We found that as far
as health and education sector were concerned, insufficient allocation, poor quality of
services and lack of accountability emerged as major problems. Expansion of public
services for the poor at low cost, effective public regulation of private sector health care
and accountability to the local community must be ensured.
Based on an assessment of resources and livelihood options the following on farm and off-
farm livelihood opportunities are suggested:
1. To train the community youth in Bamboo art; to provide training for bamboo
harvesting as well as understanding market linkages.
2. To explore options for selling forest material including grass; also introduce
innovative techniques to package bundles of grass.
3. To promote women SHG group to run Fair Price shop or Kirana shop as a women’s
cooperative.
4. Introduce Bio-gas as a source of alternative fuel.
5. Forest products such as Jamun, (Indian blackberry), karvand and Mango can be
processed and linked to markets.
6. Exploring opprtinuties for home based income generation activities like making
papad from Ragi.
7. DRDA (District Rural Development Agency) can be a crucial organization in case of
training and market linkage. DRDA is running a huge outlet store in the market of
51
Thane to link the rural products in mainstream market under the banner of Jijai of
Yashodhani Foundation.
8. The Gudwanwadi people every year make bricks for their own utilization. Energy
efficient Bricks can be introduce with appropriate intervention from technology
institutes like IIT; this could help prevent environmental damage as well as promote
community based cooperative entrepreneurship.
9. After project check dam there is a need for a second phase to improve the livelihood of
the community e.g. introducing Wadi (Farm initiatives of BAIF organization to sustain
livelihood of tribal) initiatives. This could prevent the people from migrating or being
exploited by local landlords.
10. In Gudwanwadi since more people are landless, schemes such as Swabhimaan Yojana
(Land For LandLess for their dignity) should be implemented.
Water management:
According to L.C. Jain, a former member of India's Planning Commission, India has over
the last 50 years spent $50 billion on developing water resources and another $7.5 billion
on drinking water with little to show for the money -- much of which was siphoned out
through a corrupt contractor system. Apart from big dams and irrigation systems, the
government has encouraged the digging of millions of tube-wells and bore wells energized
by electric and diesel-driven pumps that now provide half of the country's irrigation.
(Source: http://www.indiatogether.org/environment/water.htm).
Despite the long term adverse impact of drought, increasing numbers of marginalized
farmer’s suicides in Maharashtra and nearby states, there is no proper management of
water in rural areas. At one end the landlords or big farmers (and urban middle classes)
are able to access water sources on a large scale. On the other hand small and marginal
farmers do not have access to minimum water resources. The new National Water Policy
does not take into account the local needs and participation.
52
In conclusion, what is needed to enhance better access to water for the poor in water
scarce areas is a four-folded approach:
1. Equitable distribution of water.
2. Appropriate management of water (including alternate technological interventions)
3. Efforts to improve agriculture practices with special focus on land rights of indigenous
people; and
4. Community management of water resources.
Appendix I
The Check dam Project destination Map:
(Courtesy: www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~ctara )
53
54
55
56