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ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS & IMPACT OF DUG WELL
SUB-SCHEME UNDER THE MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL
EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME IN HYDROLOGICALLY
PROBLEMATIC BLOCKS OF MADHYA PRADESH
Submitted to
Chief Executive Officer (MGNREGS),
Department of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development
Government of Madhya Pradesh
By
Govind Kumar Rai
Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA)
Intern,
School of Good Governance and Policy Analysis,
Government of Madhya Pradesh
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It was under the aegis of Mr. Sheo Shekhar Shukla, CEO (MGNREGS) that I got the
insights about the Dug Well Sub-scheme „Kapil Dhara‟ and went ahead with the Impact
Assessment of the Sub-scheme. This report in your hand has not been possible lest the
guidance and co-operation of my project guide Miss Roohi Khan, Deputy Commissioner
(MGNREGS), Department of Rural Development, Government of Madhya Pradesh. Under
her constant guidance and inspiration, it was possible to look through different aspects of the
project. I am very thankful the officials of the Department of Rural Development and the
School of Good Governance and Policy Analysis who gave the opportunity to interact with
the government system at place and its efforts to reach the masses.
The support and understanding of the livelihood issues provided by Organisation
action component guide Prof. Pramod Kumar Singh, IRMA helped me to dissect through the
different dimensions related to the impact of the project. I would like to thank IRMA for
providing me an opportunity to explore a new vista of working in an organisation.
Last but not the least I would thank all the respondents, PRI institutions and everyone
who was directly or indirectly involved in the due course of completion of this report.
Govind Kumar Rai
IRMA
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1
KAPIL DHARA SUB-SCHEME: ....................................................................................................................... 3
CONVERGENCE ............................................................................................................................................ 4
2. OBJECTIVE ............................................................................................................... 5
3. SCOPE OF THE STUDY ............................................................................................ 5
4. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................... 7
1. DATA COLLECTION METHODS:........................................................................................................... 7
2. SAMPLING PLAN FOR DATA COLLECTION ........................................................................................... 8
5. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BENEFICIARY/ RESPONDENTS .................... 10
1. NO. OF RESPONDENTS ........................................................................................................................ 10
2. LAND HOLDING: ............................................................................................................................... 11
3. IRRIGATION ...................................................................................................................................... 12
6. KAPIL DHARA SUB-SCHEME AND ITS PERCEPTION ................................... 13
7. STATUS OF STRUCTURES UNDER THE SUB-SCHEME ................................. 14
1. KAPIL DHARA DUG WELLS .................................................................................................................... 14
3. FARM POND ...................................................................................................................................... 14
8. IMPACT ON AGRICULTURE ............................................................................. 15
1. FROM AN OPTION FOR LIVING TO LIVELIHOOD ................................................................................. 15
2. IRRIGATION POTENTIAL CREATION ................................................................................................... 15
3. AREA UNDER IRRIGATION ................................................................................................................. 15
4. CHANGE IN CROPPING INTENSITY ..................................................................................................... 17
5. CHANGES IN CROPPING PATTERN ..................................................................................................... 18
6. FODDER AVAILABILITY ..................................................................................................................... 19
9. SOCIO- ECONOMIC IMPACT ............................................................................ 20
1. IMPACT ON THE SOCIAL STATURE ..................................................................................................... 20
2. FINANCIAL – RELIEF FROM INDEBTEDNESS ....................................................................................... 21
3. CHANGES IN INCOME LEVELS............................................................................................................ 22
4. ASSETS ACQUIRED ............................................................................................................................ 23
5. CHANGES IN MIGRATION/MANUAL LABOUR PATTERN ..................................................................... 25
6. NUTRITIONAL SECURITY ................................................................................................................... 26
7. CHANGES IN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE PATTERN .......................................................................... 28
8. AS A SOURCE OF DRINKING WATER ................................................................................................... 29
10. THE NEED FOR CONVERGENCE OF DIFFERENT SCHEMES .................... 30
11. ISSUES IDENTIFIED ........................................................................................ 33
12. SUGGESTIONS/ RECOMMENDATIONS: ....................................................... 39
13. LIMITATIONS OF STUDY ............................................................................... 42
14. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................... 42
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List of Annexure
S.No. Annexure Page
No.
1. List of Districts and Blocks where Groundwater is Semi-Critical,
Critical and Over-Exploited
v
2. Questionnaire at the Beneficiary Level - Semi Structured Interview vi
3. Time line of Study x
4. List of Gram Panchayats under study xi
5. Topics of FGD xi
6. Kapil Dhara Sub-scheme in Detail xii
7. Glimpses of Dug well Sub-scheme – few stills xxiv
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List of Figures
Figure
No.
Particulars Page no.
1 Details of Sample 10
2 BPL/APL composition of sample 10
3 Land Holding of Respondents 11
4 Pattern of Land Holding 11
5 Source of irrigation before Kapil Dhara 12
6 Water Availability in wells 14
7 Vegetable Cultivatioin in Zaid 16
8 Changes in area under irrigation 16
9 Changes in Cropping Intensity 18
10 Rise in Annual Income 22
11 Assets Acquired by the respondent 23
12 Change in Migration Pattern 25
13 Change in Wage Labour 26
14 Change in Income from Agriculture 28
15 Income and Expenditure Breakup 29
16 The 'hub' model of IFAD framework 30
17 Aquifer profile of Khargone 33
18 A typical Farm Pond 34
19 Useful Farm Pond in Rabi 34
20 Vegetable cultivation in Farm Pond, Amla 34
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Abbreviations
DP Diesel Pump
EP Electric Pump
FGD Focussed Group Discussion
ICAR Indian Council of Agriculture Research
IFAD International Fund for Agriculture Development
IRMA Institute of Rural Management
ITDP Integrated Tribal Development Program
KCC Kisan Credit Card
KD Kapil Dhara
MGNREGS Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
NREGS National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
RKVY Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana
SGSY Swarn Jyanti Gramin Swarojgar Yojna
TS Total Sanction
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1. INTRODUCTION
Madhya Pradesh is one of the largest and poorest states of India. More than 37
percent of its population lives in poverty. For scheduled tribes (20 percent of the State
population) and scheduled castes (15 percent), the poverty levels are higher, at 57
percent and 40 percent respectively. The economy of MP (population of 60 million
with an estimated 44% living below the poverty line), is dominated by agriculture
which accounts for 35% of the State GDP, and 80% of employment. More than one
third of the population belong to socially and economically disadvantaged groups
consisting of scheduled tribes and scheduled castes, one of the highest in India.
Gender-based discrimination is reflected in the unequal sex ratio (916/1,000, against a
national average of 933/1,000 in 2001) and lower human development indices for
women. Within the state, there are significant regional inequalities, with extremely
high poverty levels in tribal districts, where natural resource endowments are very
poor and connectivity is at its worst. Productive absorption of underemployed and
surplus labour in rural areas has in fact been a major issue in the rural development.
Direct supplementary wage employment to the rural poor through public
works is what has been a continuous effort of the government through launching
various employment providing schemes. In this light the rural employment guarantee
scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural employment Guarantee Act
(MGNREGA) is certainly the largest in terms of its outlay, coverage and expected
outputs. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 was notified on
February 2, 2006 by launching schemes for wage employment in 200 (Phase I) most
backward districts of the country. After inclusion of several more districts in the
financial year 2007 – 08, MGNREGS became functional in 330 (Phase II) districts of
the country. Currently the scheme is operational in all districts (Phase III) of the
country. State governments have launched employment guarantee schemes for
providing employment under MGNREGA. Panchayat Raj Institutions have been
designated as Principal Authorities for Planning and Implementation of the works for
implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS) in their areas.
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The MGNREGS represents a paradigm shift in its approach as compared to
past initiatives in rural development sector. MGNREGS guarantees 100 days of
employment in a financial year to any rural household whose adult members are
willing to do unskilled manual work. This scheme is an important step towards the
realization of the right to work. It is also expected to enhance people‟s livelihoods on
a sustained basis, by developing the economic and social infrastructure in rural areas.
The choice of works seeks to address the causes of chronic poverty such as drought,
deforestation and soil erosion.
Irrigation impacts have economy-wide effects through backward and forward
linkages, and have contributed significantly to poverty reduction in developing
countries over the past three decades (Chambers 1988, Chitale 1994, Barker et al.
2000, Bhattarai et al. 2002). The development of irrigation infrastructure contributed
to crop intensification, and improved crop production, has improved farm and non-
farm incomes, labor earnings, capital assets, human capital, food availability and
accessibility, etc. Rural poverty was substantially low in irrigated villages as
compared to the rainfed villages in India (Thakur et al. 2000; Janaiah et al. 2000).
Further, the elasticity of agricultural growth to poverty reduction is greater than the
elasticity of industrial growth to poverty (Mellor 2001). Thus, irrigation has had a
clear nexus with poverty reduction, and is a crucial input in accelerating agricultural
growth. It is possible to raise the living standards in rainfed agriculture areas by
conserving the soil and water resources and optimizing their use with a view to
regenerate the natural vegetation and increase agricultural productivity.
Realising this potential, Madhya Pradesh State government has initiated the
Kapil Dhara Sub-scheme in 2006-07 for creation of irrigation source on the field of
SC, ST, BPL, beneficiaries of land reforms and IAY in a planned and systematic
manner.
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Kapil Dhara Sub-scheme:
The underlying objective of the sub scheme is to help the poor families to
graduate from wage employment to more self sustaining modes of income
generation by creation of “sustainable livelihood assets”. This aims at providing
the irrigation source to those farmers who are willing but are unable to do so in
absence of water for irrigation. Thus providing a consistent source of income in form
of agriculture and promoting it as a sustainable livelihood.
In the Sub-scheme, four types of structure are provided to the beneficiary(s) through
cent percent grant by the state government through NREGA.
1. Dug well with ground water recharge structure
2. Farm Pond/Dugout Pond
3. Masonry Check Dam/ Stop Dam/ R.M.S
4. Micro tank
The eligibility criterions for being a beneficiary are:
1. SC/ST/ BPL/ IAY beneficiaries
2. A minimum of one hectare of land holding
3. No source of irrigation in the field chosen for the sub scheme structure.
4. A member of the family must have cleared fifth grade of schooling (not in case of
primitive tribes).
The beneficiary decides on the structure and the location of the structure, which is
later verified by a team of Patwari and Sub engineer/Agriculture Department
surveyor suggesting the feasibility of the structure and helping the beneficiary to
choose the location and structure according to geological formations and local
specific conditions. The final decision regarding the site is of the beneficiary. The
technical specification is decided by the survey team and is forwarded to the three tier
Panchayat system for approval. Once approved work is enlisted in the shelf of
projects of the Gram Panchayat.(for more details refer to Annexure 6)
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Convergence
To effectively address the issue of poverty alleviation, there is need to
optimize efforts through inter-sectoral approaches. In order to harness the maximum
benefits of the assets provided in the Sub-scheme the Department of Rural
Development, Madhya Pradesh has tried to converge different schemes of the state for
the beneficiary of the Sub-scheme. Those include the different sub- schemes of
MGNREGS and of the other departments as well in order to provide the beneficiary
with a water lifting device and providing conditions for the upgradation in the
livelihood of the beneficiary and land improvement by bunding the field of the
beneficiary. The water lifting devices were provided through SGSY, ITDP and
RKVY. Thus, providing support to the beneficiary in sustainable upgradation to
higher levels of income and living standards.
The guidelines issued jointly by the Ministry of Water Resources and Department of
Rural Development on 18th
February 2009 provided for artificial recharge of the
ground water through the dug wells. Also there is provision for construction of a
recharge pit for the dug-well in Kapil Dhara. In this, a onetime grant is given to the
beneficiary having dug well to the tune of Rs. 4800 and Rs. 2400 to BPL and APL
families respectively through NABARD.
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2. OBJECTIVE
There has been under ground water scarcity in the state of Madhya Pradesh with
twenty four development blocks coming under the Over exploited, five in Critical and
nineteen in Semi-Critical category summing up to a total of forty eight blocks (refer to
Annexure 1 for details). This scheme is expected to create an impact on those areas
thus providing irrigation facilities to the poor and needy in these areas.
The objective of the study is -
“Assessment of effectiveness & impact of Dug Well sub-scheme under the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the
Hydrologically problematic blocks of Madhya Pradesh.”
3. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study would analyze the different impacts of the asset creation by the sub scheme
on the beneficiary
Impact on agriculture as a livelihood option.
o Change in the cropping Intensity and crop cycle.
o Changes in production and productivity.
o Quantum of irrigation potential created.
o Rise in irrigated area under Rabi, Kharif & summer crop.
Impact on the socio-economic conditions of the family:
o The overall change in quality of life of individual/family.
o Economic independence in terms of Financial Inclusion, indebtedness both
in cash and kind.
o Change in Social respect of the family and individual.
o Change in Food consumption habits.
o Impact on availability of drinking water for human population and
livestock.
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Changes in the migration pattern of the area.
Identifying the constraints related to the effective implementation on the grass-
root level and suggesting measures to improve the effectiveness.
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4. METHODOLOGY
The underlying objective of the sub scheme is to help the poor families to
graduate from wage employment to more self sustaining modes of income generation
by creation of sustainable livelihood assets. This would reduce their vulnerability
especially to the environmental shocks and increase their living standards by ensuring
better income from agriculture through irrigation. The study analyses the asset
provided to the beneficiary as a source of sustainable livelihood (based on IFAD
framework). The study is exploratory in nature with the above mentioned points as the
basis.
1. Data Collection Methods:
The study will be based on secondary data provided by the department, block
and at the Panchayat level along with the primary data collected at the beneficiary
level. As the study aims at the socio-economic impact of the scheme on the
beneficiary through asset creation the primary data collection involved semi
structured interview, informal discussions and focused group discussion (FGD) of the
beneficiaries, in order to assess the effectiveness and level of impact on the
beneficiary. Both open ended and close ended questionnaire were used at the block,
Panchayat and beneficiary level. The study used a mix of quantitative and qualitative
methods to obtain the desired objectives of the study. Effective use of Case studies is
done to bring out important issues. Interviews of the officials at the block level were
conducted so as to get an idea of the issues at their level.
Secondary Data Sources:
1. MGNREGS records with focus on Kapil Dhara at District, Block and
Panchayat level.
2. Guidelines issued by the state of Madhya Pradesh regarding implementation of
the scheme.
3. Data available on different government websites.
4. Rainfall data of the blocks from the Tehsil office of the block.
5. Census 2001 data of the blocks.
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2. Sampling Plan for Data collection
The study is based on purposive sampling done in four stages:
1. Identification of Districts: All those districts where the MGNREGS was
implemented in the first phase of the implementation of the scheme were
chosen so as to make the study more effective.
2. Identification of development blocks:
The data from Technical Unit (MGNREGS), Madhya Pradesh was used to identify
the problematic blocks with regard to ground water status. They were divided into
Semi- Critical, Critical, Over- Exploited in terms of the current hydrological
scenario. Then the blocks were classified under the tribal and non tribal based on the
proportion of the tribal population.
Those bocks with maximum number of completed works under Kapil Dhara till
March, 2010 were chosen. At the same time the number of beneficiaries of
convergence of the scheme with the different schemes in the state providing pump
sets to draw water from the completed structures was taken into consideration. In case
of Dewas block, it being a block within the Dewas district with minimum number of
works under Kapil Dhara, was chosen to assess the impact and identify the issues in
areas where there is presence of industrial areas nearby.
Following Blocks have been identified:-
District Block(s) Semi-Critical/ Critical/Over Exploited
Badwani Pansemal (Tribal) Over Exploited
Badwani Rajpur(Tribal) Semi Critical
Betul Amla (Non Tribal) Semi- Critical
Dewas Dewas (Non Tribal) Critical
Dhar Badanwar (Non Tribal) Over Exploited
Khargaon Badwah(Non Tribal) Critical
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3. Identification of villages:
This was done with the help of the government officials at the block. The secondary
data about the villages, number of beneficiaries and work status along with the caste
composition of the village was collected at the Following filters will be used to
identify three to four villages-
i. The villages with the maximum number of the completed works under
Kapil Dhara (along with the maximum types of the structure issued if
possible).
ii. The villages with the maximum percentage/number of the population
eligible as a beneficiary.
iii. It was be desired that the village has the convergence scheme for
providing pump sets.
iv. If any exceptionally well or underperforming Gram Panchayat was
identified in due course of study.
4. Identification of the beneficiary:
All the beneficiaries identified consisted of those who were benefitted by the
scheme in 2006-07 and 2007-08. There were some cases of 2008-09 also. The
beneficiary was be identified based on data provided by the Panchayat, keeping in
mind representation of various communities and eligible beneficiaries. A minimum of
20% of the beneficiaries were sampled on the given criteria. A minimum of thirty
beneficiaries per block was targeted for the study summing to a minimum of 180
beneficiaries across six different blocks.
During the study the Panchayats were visited and with the help of Sarpanch
and Panchayat Secretary the beneficiaries were identified; and interviewed both
informally and in form of semi-structured interviews. In cases where a group of
beneficiaries came, group interviews were done.
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5. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BENEFICIARY/ RESPONDENTS
1. No. of respondents
The number of respondents for the study was 223 including the 11 cases of the Farm
Pond and, where the well under construction has been declared failed 13 failed cases
of dug wells due to water being not found after the well being dug. Thus the total
number of successful beneficiaries was 199. In the later part of the report whatever
reference is being made to „beneficiaries/respondents‟ it is to the 199 beneficiaries
whose dug wells were successful. The case of farm pond beneficiaries has been
discussed in the Issues Identified section of the report.
The chart below gives the breakup of the respondents for the different blocks
that were visited by me.
Figure 1: Details of Sample
The breakup of respondents in terms of Above Poverty Line and Below Poverty Line
is given below in the pie chart.
Figure 2: BPL/APL composition of respondent
35
32
35
30
33
34
9
8
15
14
5
11
21
12
8
10
25
6
5
11
12
6
3
17
0 20 40
Rajpur(T)
Amla
Dewas
Badwah
Pansemal(T)
Badnawar
Sem
i Cri
tica
lC
riti
cal
Ove
r Ex
plo
ited
Hyd
rolo
gica
l Sta
tus
of
Blo
cks Others
ST
SC
Total No. of Respondents*
No. Of Respondents
66%
34% BPL
APL
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2. Land Holding:
The average land holding of the respondent beneficiary was 1.423 hectares of land.
Out the 199 respondents, 37 respondents had just 1 hectare land holding. This was
mainly due to large family size leading to division of land into many fragments. The
land holdings were fragmented in 159 cases out of the 199 cases under study. But
since the irrigation potential of the wells through traditional methods of irrigation was
not more than 1 hectare (0.5- 1ha in 74% cases), the small land holding do not play
major role in the area of the crop under irrigation.
Figure 3: Land holding size of Respondents
Figure 4: Pattern of Land Holding
The reason for both small land holding size and fragmented land holdings was the
large family size prevalent among the backward communities.
1.6
1.3 1.28 1.36 1.41.6
00.20.40.60.8
11.21.41.61.8
Raj
pu
r(T)
Am
la
Dew
as
Bad
wah
Pan
sem
al(T
)
Bad
naw
ar
Semi Critical Critical Over Exploited
Average Land Holding of respondents
Avg. Land Holding( in ha)
Fragmented Consolidated
Series1 80% 20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
%ag
e o
f re
spo
nd
en
ts
Pattern of Land Holding
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3. Irrigation
The barter system of sharing of water was prevalent in the areas of study where the
beneficiary had to pay for the water used during irrigation by half the produce of the
area irrigated by the source in use. In terms of the sources of irrigation available to the
beneficiaries before they got Dug wells from the sub-scheme has been given below in
form of a chart.
Figure 5: Source of irrigation before Kapil Dhara
People were forced to migrate in search for labour as to earn living for the
family. In 1/3rd
cases the family itself migrated. This affected the education of the
children severely.
The barter system was responsible for the exploitation and migration of the
beneficiaries. The stake of the person taking water for irrigating his own fields by
using his own input and labour was very high as the person giving water for irrigation
would demand half of the produce in the field. Thus, the farmer was left in dilemma
of whether to go for crop in case the rains were not on time and most of the time the
field was left fallow in case of Rabi. Those farmers who could manage to get seed and
fertilizers (if any) from the non institutional sources were only able to cultivate their
fields in Rabi.
In case of the local streams or canal from local pond, they provided irrigation
only till second irrigation, out of required four, in case of Rabi crops and were
dependent on rains.
40%44%
16%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
None Barter System Canal/ local stream
Source of irrigation before Kapil Dhara
%age of respondents
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6. KAPIL DHARA SUB-SCHEME AND ITS PERCEPTION
It has been an observed that the sub-scheme has been understood as only for
providing Dug wells to the eligible beneficiary. Although the sub-scheme had
provision for construction of micro tank and masonry check dam, it was never
mentioned by the block officials as work under Kapil Dhara sub-scheme. Out of 6
blocks, only in 3 blocks farm ponds were constructed under the sub-scheme. The
feedback for the farm ponds was neither encouraging nor appreciating from the block
officials. As the sub-scheme is demand based, demand s for farm ponds was not there
as the beneficiary would be losing out on the opportunity to have a dug well. Farm
ponds were only seen in the initial phases of the sub-scheme due to this reason only.
Wherever it was asked about the Kapil Dhara sub-scheme everyone perceived
it was dug well scheme. The study is therefore mainly based on the impacts created
due to the dug wells under the scheme which form 88% of the total works undertaken
under Kapil Dhara sub-scheme (230877 out of total 263323 works issued in the state
till March 2010).
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7. STATUS OF STRUCTURES UNDER THE SUB-SCHEME
1. Kapil Dhara Dug wells
It was found that the wells have contributed to improve the livelihood by
improving upon income generation potential of agriculture. The water was found in
most of the times and was used for agriculture as well as consumption purposes. The
only problem was the water availability in lean months to irrigate the field. This
prevented the farmer from taking early crops in case of kharif season, cultivating a
larger area in case of rabi crops and left less scope to go for zaid or summer crops.
The chart below gives a breakup of the water availability in the wells and the months.
It is to be noted that the water availability here means enough water to give life saving
irrigation at least half hectare of land (*).
Figure 6: Water Availability in the Wells
The boundary wall of the wells of 2006-07 and 2007-08 was found absent in
all almost all blocks with few exceptions of some villages.
3. Farm Pond
As mentioned earlier in the report, the farm ponds were not so successful as
far as the results are considered. They were successful in cases where there was no
scope of finding water after construction of dug well due to the field being situated on
a high lying area. Excellent examples of those were in case of Hirapur panchayat of
Badwah, Khargone. In other areas, either it was filled due to silting or levelled by the
beneficiary. The latter cases were very rare. (Refer to Section 13 for more details)
All Year Round31%
March - April40%
January-February
25%
November11%
Water Availability in the Wells*
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8. IMPACT ON AGRICULTURE
1. From an option for living to Livelihood
The greatest achievement of the sub-scheme was changing the opinion about
agriculture from an option to just meet a part of food requirement of family to a
livelihood. Most of the beneficiaries had no option other than to work as a manual
labour or agriculture labourer. Sometimes the whole family has to migrate in order to
earn living. The crops in Kharif were mainly dependent on rains and the income
generated was not enough.
After getting dug well from the sub-scheme, they were able to get higher and
ensured yield than they got before.
2. Irrigation potential creation
Each of the dug wells provided increased the net irrigation potential of the area from
0.5 hectare to 1.5 hectare per well and 0.5 to 3.5 hectare of gross irrigation potential.
But the use of the irrigation potential created depends on the water availability in the
lean months and equipments used for irrigation. If the water was available in the lean
months and it was possible to go for early crops in the kharif or a crop in the summer
season i.e. Zayad with improved irrigation practices like Drip irrigation.
The notable difference between the irrigation potential created and utilized is
due to the inability of the respondent to purchase water lifting devices, irrigation
equipments and the low depth of the dug well provided than the maximum
permissible depth. In all areas, the same standards of well depth to a maximum of 12
meters in semi-critical and 15 meters in critical and over-exploited blocks was not
working out for the water availability and quantity as the depth of the aquifers varied
from 7- 16 meters in Deccan trap and basalt type of rock formations.
3. Area under irrigation
The most critical input for agriculture is irrigation. Once the farmer gets irrigation, the
productivity of other inputs such as improved seed and fertilizers increase many fold
than in case of rainfed. The Kapil Dhara sub-scheme has successfully provided
farmers the source of irrigation. There is a considerable rise in area under irrigation in
case of Rabi and a marginal rise in case of summer or Zaid crop. Even in case of
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Kharif, the life saving irrigation when there is delay in rains is provided through
the dug wells. This increases the productivity per acre.
In areas where the farmers have shifted to cash crops and vegetables like
Shimla Mirch there is a need of frequent irrigation. This was only possible through the
Kapil Dhara wells. As already discussed there was no source of irrigation available to
the farmers in case of 40% of the respondents and other 44% had arrangements made
under barter system which leads to lower income for the farmer just to sustain his
consumption needs and the investments he made in the season. The chart below
shows the increase in the area under irrigation in case of Kharif, Rabi and Zaid.
Figure 8: Changes in Area under Irrigation
51
15 5
134
105
180
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Kharif Rabi Zaid
Are
a in
He
ctar
es
Changes in Area under Irrigation
Irrigated Area Before
Irrigated Area After
Figure 7 : Vegetable Cultivation in June
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In the chart above, the area under irrigation is the area that was being covered through
the local streams and barter system before. But as the dug wells were provided to the
beneficiary he used it to irrigate those fragments of land holdings were the local
streams were far off. Thus there was an increase of 2.7 times in area under irrigation
in Kharif. There was a conjunctive use of natural surface water resources and ground
water resources.
In case of Rabi, there was an increase of 7 times under irrigation. Due to
ownership of source of irrigation, farmers used improved inputs and thus got greater
yield per unit area under irrigation.
4. Change in Cropping Intensity
With the increase area under irrigation and ensured irrigation, there was increase in
number of crops taken per year in a given field. As we have already noted that the
average land holding size of the beneficiary is small and fragmented, the farmer
utilized their land in the best possible way to grow crops for their consumption
purpose as well as for marginal income generations. There was increase in the
cropping intensity depending upon the area which can be irrigated by the well and the
water availability. The farmers with a larger family size grew several crops in small
area both in Rabi and Kharif to meet the consumption needs of the family as they
cannot afford to buy pulses and cereals. Also the nature of soil and the prevalent
cropping pattern in the area affected the cropping intensity.
On analysing the cropping intensity changes it is found that the major portion
of the respondents who were taking single crop in a year started taking more than one
crop. And the progressive farmers who took more than one crop went for double
cropping.
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18
Figure 9: Changes in Cropping Intensity
In those cases where the water was available in the wells and the respondent
was progressive, Moong, and vegetables were which were grown in addition to green
fodder.
In areas were vegetable cultivation was done exclusively; the land was left
fallow in zaid in order to maintain the productivity of the field in Kharif.
5. Changes in Cropping pattern
The number and types crops grown in a rainfed and irrigated setup is different
as the purpose of agriculture changes from subsistence to income generation.
Sometimes this leads to a shift from one crop to other that may yield better and could
be a profitable proportion. In absence of irrigation, the investments made the farmer
are limited due to uncertainty on the part of rains. The harvest is just enough to feed
69%
23%
9%
0%
0%
0%
10%
34%
21%
17%
10%
9%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
100-130
130-160
160-180
180-210
210-240
240-270
Percentage of Respondents
Cro
pp
ing
Inte
nsi
ty (
in %
age
)
Changes in Cropping Intensity
After Before
Page 25
19
the family and save for the rainy days ahead. This change is quite observable in case
of the impact made by Kapil Dhara sub-scheme.
There is shift from coarse grains to cereals in case of Rabi season. This is also
reflected in the food habits of the beneficiaries. Pulses and maize were grown in the
bunds of the field. Mixed cropping was followed in small stretches of land so as the
beneficiary have to buy least items for consumption.
6. Fodder availability
The benefit that the farmers had from the cultivation of Rabi crops was the
availability of fodder for livestock. The stem of the crops like groundnut, wheat and
linseed after harvesting is used as husk or straw to feed the cattle. This increased the
production of milk for home consumption purpose thus providing nutrition to the
family. Also due to increased fodder availability the issue of grazing was solved
which was generally done by the children of the family. The time saved was used in
going to school for elementary education.
Lets see what the respondents have to say about it -
- „ ……..before we had to send our cattle for grazing to fields, now we have enough
fodder to feed them. Whatever fodder from soybean we had in Kharif was saved
for rainy season for feeding cattle. Now we need not to worry about the safety of
our cattle.‟
- „….my son used to look after the cattle when they went for grazing, but now apart
from helping in household chores he go to the nearby school…‟
- „….after a year of getting the well under the scheme I contacted the private dairy
here and got a buffalo on loan for Rs. 20,000….within a year I repaid the amount
through selling milk to the dairy and then sold it for Rs. 10,000. And again
contacted the dairy….the household need for milk is also met…..‟
- Responses of various beneficiaries
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20
9. SOCIO- ECONOMIC IMPACT
1. Impact on the social stature
It is imperative in an agrarian society of the social respect and pride attached
to the production, acreage of crops grown, area under irrigation and livestock
strength. The beneficiaries of the Kapil Dhara sub-scheme were the socially
marginalised since they were economically poor and socially neglected. But as there
agriculture improved and they had good food to eat and don‟t have to be dependent on
some money lender for grains or money. There was a reduction in migration and
working as wage labourer in other fields and houses. When asked on different
parameters, the respondents reported increase in social respect and reported the
change of attitude of people in his class and caste.
The first criteria being the circle of people the beneficiary spent his/her leisure
time in the village. 93% respondents reported that his opinion was valued more than it
was done before in his peer group. It was found that the marriage proposals for their
children are coming from those sections in their caste that would never have sent their
daughters for marriage. This is because they have prosperity in terms of type of food
they had and their living standard. In case of the Schedule Tribes there is system of
reverse dowry still prevalent, in those cases the families easily got the bride.
Now when it comes to the acceptance in the higher caste circle, there has been
rise in the acceptance as ST/SC respondents are now being offered water at the houses
of higher caste people. Those who having higher income from agriculture and have
upgradation in their lifestyle in terms of cloths and housing, even share invitation to
the social gathering in the village. This was seen by the respondents as their increased
acceptance in the village.
As there was rise in the economic well being of the respondents, their capacity
to extend as well as repay also increased. This was of the reasons identified during the
FGD‟s with the beneficiaries for increased respect and acceptance in the community
along with their living standard being the other reason.
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21
2. Financial – relief from Indebtedness
As the target group of the sub-scheme was economically and socially
backward, they were some way or the other indebted either to intuitional or non-
institutional sources of credit. The reasons may vary from crop failure due to poor
monsoons, sickness to economic shocks in form of birth, death or marriage. As the
credit worthiness of the beneficiary was not enough to get credit from institutional
sources, he relied heavily on the non-institutional sources. The interest rates charged
were exorbitant. The rate charged was 2% per month i.e. 24% per annum. In most of
the cases the respondent had to buy inputs from the lender and then sell the produce to
the same person at rates lower than that prevailing in market. Again for their
consumption and agriculture purpose they were dependent on the same person.
After the beneficiary received wells, he saved some money every crop season
and paid off the debt. The amount paid off as a debt to both the institutional and non
institutional agencies varied from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 50,000. This also increased his
credit worthiness at both the places. In case of any economic shock, they were able to
bear it unlike the situation before where they had to be highly indebted and pledge
their property, even utensils in some cases. Thus they were saved from entering into
the vicious cycle of debt. Now he can sell his produce to whichever place he wishes
to.
As stated earlier, there was increase in credit worthiness of the beneficiary of
deg wells, it was apparent in many ways. After the field being irrigated, the farmer got
an extended credit limit on the irrigated part of land through schemes like Kisan
Credit Card (KCC). In case of any occasion like marriage, the beneficiary found
himself in a position to ask resourceful persons for credit as he was ensured that he
would repay it after harvest of next season. Now at these occasions he can spent
money as per the requirement.
At the same time the progressive beneficiaries shifted to the cash crops and
improved practices. They were able to foresee the future needs. The saving banks
accounts were opened and insurance policies were purchase by the beneficiary. The
premium being not more than Rs.10,000 - 12,000 in 18% of the cases.
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22
3. Changes in Income levels
With increase in area under irrigation and use of improved agricultural practices
there was marked increase in the levels of income for the beneficiaries from
agriculture. Although, manual labour was still done in the days when agriculture was
not practiced but here they had an option to work in the village under MGNREGS.
With shift from coarse grains to cereals and traditional crops to cash crops along with
increased vegetable cultivation, there was a rise in the income levels. The chart below
gives the amount of income changes that was reported by the respondents (*).
Figure 10: Rise in Annual Income
Here income is the net income after deducting the investments made in form
of seeds, fertilizer, pesticides and electricity. The figure on the axis below are the rise
in income in Rupees thousands. Thus we can see that there was considerable rise in
the income. The 11% of respondents reporting increase only up to 20,000 included
those with lesser water availability in the wells and those who had a very large family
size of eight and eight plus.
Rest of those who fall in category of 60-80k were those who went for
improved seeds and fertilizers. Those falling in the last two categories were the
farmers who used drip irrigation for sowing early crops and vegetable cultivation. The
11%
27%
34%
18%
8%
3%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Rise in Annual Income(In Rs. Thousands)
Rise in Annual Income*
%age of Respondents
Page 29
23
use of drip irrigation increased the productivity of the crops to almost double as in
comparison to traditional agriculture.
4. Assets Acquired
Now when we have increased income, there is increased expenditure also. The
economic progress of the beneficiary can be reflected well in the type and number of
assets he acquires in the due course of time. As the beneficiary had lack of assets for
the agricultural and family needs, the different type of assets acquired included lifting
devices and improved housing. The chart below gives the breakup of the assets
acquired by the respondents.
As far as water lifting devices are concerned, the beneficiary bought on credit
it either in the first year or the second depending upon his credit worthiness. The
amount was paid back from the income generated through agriculture. The next asset
that was acquired most was in form of improved housing. Most of the Schedule Tribe
beneficiaries were living in houses with thatched/mud walls and roof was either
thatched straw or thatched clay sheets. The initial step was getting the walls made of
bricks. Then if they had thatched straw roofs they went for clay sheets/asbestos/tin. In
12% cases pucca houses were constructed with a concrete roof. Apart from improved
housing the other assets included the utensils and cell phones. Second hand
Motorcycle in those areas where accessibility was a problem.
55% 52%
26% 25% 20% 18% 16% 15% 11% 5%0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Pe
rce
nta
ge o
f R
esp
on
de
nts
Assets Acquired by the Respondents
Percentage of Respondents
Figure 11: Assets Acquired by the respondent
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24
The progressive farmers went for purchase of irrigation devices such as drip
irrigation equipment, PVC pipes to irrigate the distant fragment of land. It was
notable that beneficiary had interest in opening saving bank accounts and purchasing
insurance policy. But this was prominent in areas which were near to the township.
Ploughing of fields were done through bullocks and those who did not had
bullocks gradually brought at least one so that they can use it on sharing basis with
other person having one bullock. In the times when a television set does not cost a
fortune, a slightly well income lead to purchase of television in their homes. It was
interesting to observe in few cases, how the beneficiary saved on the other things and
without adding other assets he invested his saving from year or two for purchasing
agricultural land near his field.
In addition to this, rather than depositing the money into a bank account, it
was a usual practice to mortgage agricultural land of the person in exchange of money
for a year. This was done by lending the saving from agriculture to the person in need.
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5. Changes in Migration/Manual Labour pattern
One of the important impacts of the Kapil Dhara sub-scheme was impact on the
migration pattern. Even after doing 100 days labour under MGNREGS the poor were
not able to sustain their family needs, so they migrated to nearby areas. The nature of
work involved working on brick kilns, manual labour in construction and so on. But
as already discussed, there was a change in perception towards agriculture and was
seen as a livelihood. Majority of the beneficiaries were the Schedule tribe and
Schedule Castes under the sub-scheme. They had no other choice than to work as
manual labourers or migrate in search of work.
Figure 12: Change in Migration Pattern
The chart compares before and after the scenario of Kapil Dhara. It can seen that the
percentage of respondents migrating from 4-6 months became Nil as they were busy
in the agricultural activity and had enough produce to at least feed their family. The
major reason for migration was to earn to buy food grains to feed the family. 50% of
the respondents stopped migrating from the village in search of work. That is a
considerable improvement. Although, those who don‟t have enough of water n their
wells to irrigate a substantial portion of land had some members of the family
migrating to other areas, that too not in one go or stretch. This was done on the basis
of needs.
14%
49%
24%
9%
64%
18%
10%
Nil0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Nil migration 0 - 2 2 - 4 4 - 6
Pe
rce
nta
ge o
f R
esp
on
de
nts
Number of Months
Changes in Migration Pattern
Migration Before
Migration After
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26
At the same time, there were changes in the pattern of manual labour being
performed by the beneficiary either in MGNREGS or at others field as an agricultural
labourer. Again due to poor economic conditions the respondents were forced to work
as wage labour in the village or nearby villages. This was due to the self sufficiency
achieved by the beneficiary in terms of food grains for consumption needs.
Figure 13: Change in Wage Labour
The chart above shows the changes as reported by the respondents in case the
extent to which they were involved in manual/wage labour. 15% of the respondents
stopped working as wage labourers as they got enough income from agriculture to
sustain their family through improved practices in agriculture. And gradually the
number of months came down as the number of years passed by.
6. Nutritional Security
One of the aspects which affect poor most is the lack of adequate food and nutritional.
This leads to other aliments later in their life. They are forced to do manual labour to
earn for meeting the daily requirements of the family. This goes on for generation to
generation as they cannot afford educating their child and use them has helping hands
to earn living for the family.
As stated earlier in the impact, the ensured irrigation and changed perception
towards agriculture made them to work in their own fields. This led to enough
0%
18%
39%
5%
15%
35%
21%
1%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
No Wage Labour 0 - 2 2 - 4 4 - 6
Pe
rce
nta
ge o
f re
po
nd
en
ts
Number of Months
Change in Wage Labour*
Before
After
*work undertaken in MGNREGS also included
Page 33
27
production to feed their family. As we already discussed in the impact on agriculture
how more area was brought into cultivation and multiple crops were taken, it lead to
improvement in the nutritional security for the families of the beneficiaries.
Usually after the money from the kharif crop is over, they had to either take a
loan from someone to buy grains for the family to be repaid o the next harvest or have
to work as a manual labourer or both. But as the production scenario improved, the
quality of food they had improved. The cereals that were consumed before mainly
consisted of Maize and Barley which had been replaced by Wheat, which once used
to be delicacy. The consumption of green vegetables in the household started as
vegetables were grown in a small part of field due to water availability.
Pulses also got into the daily part of diet as with the mixed farming the
beneficiary was able to grow enough pulses for the family. All these were to be
brought before and these were now cultivated by the beneficiary himself. In addition
to this as already discussed the fodder availability for the cattle increased the
consumption of milk due to increase in the production of milk.
„....we were just surviving anyhow and even had to borrow for the grains to eat...and
repay it by manual labour...now at least we have enough grains to fed our family for
12 months...‟
- Phoolsingh Rupya, village Vangra, Rajpur
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7. Changes in Income and Expenditure Pattern
The respondents were asked to tell the percentage of income they obtain from
agriculture and compare the before and after scenario for the same in terms of
obtaining Kapil Dhara wells. This was done as a group activity with the farmers in
three blocks Rajpur, Dewas and Badnawar.
Figure 14: Change in Income from Agriculture
There was significant rise in income contribution from agriculture (crop
husbandry) to the annual income of the family. Other sources included wages earned
from manual labour, agricultural labour and MGNREGS. In cases where farmers
shifted to cash crops and vegetables and market linkage was present or either farmer
collectively send their produce to remunerative markets; the proportionate
contribution of agriculture was from 60-80% or in some till 100% of the income now.
This is because in cases where the water volume and availability is high enough to
irrigate almost 1.5 to 1.75 hectares of land.
62%
27%
9%
2% 0%5%
10%
52%
27%
6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
till 20% 20% - 40% 40-60% 60 - 80% 80% - 100%
%ag
e o
f re
spo
nd
en
ts
Proportion contibution of agri. to annual income
Change in Income from Agriculture
Before
After
Page 35
29
Similarly it was done for the allocation to different heads of expenditure in the Annual
expenditure considering they have to spend the amount out of Rs. 100. This too was
done in the same villages of Rajpur, Dewas and Badnawar blocks. The weighted
average score were calculated and was drawn in form of the charts above.
Comparing the scenario before and after Kapil Dhara for the expenditure
heads we find that previously food was the major head under which 58% of the
expenditure was made. This was due to meagre income and feeding from „hand to
mouth‟ i.e. doing manual labour to buy grains for the family. Now with assured
irrigation, quality/improved inputs are brought by the farmer, payment for electricity
connection is made and this leads to increased income as we have discussed
previously. The expenditures on social occasions of marriage and gifts to relatives
increased as respondents felt that they can afford to spend on that head. There was
increase in level of awareness for education of children and wanted that their children
may study till under graduation.
8. As a source of drinking water
The dug wells formed a source of drinking water where water was not
available in the vicinity of the settlement. It is a usual practice to construct a small
tank, where water in the vicinity of the well, to store water for the cattle. The
community meet their water requirement from the well when the water from the local
streams is non drinkable. This dimension of the benefits is found in the tribal areas
mainly.
Food24%
Clothing11%
Medicine7%
Agriculture
19%Savings4%
Travelling7%
Education9%
Gifts and realatives
13%
Miscellaneous6%
Scenario After
Food58%
Clothing7%
Medicine5%
Agriculture7%
Savings2%
Travelling4%
Education5%
Gifts and realatives
7% Miscellaneous5%
Scenario Before
Figure 15: Income and Expenditure breakup
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10. THE NEED FOR CONVERGENCE OF DIFFERENT SCHEMES - Kapil
Dhara Sub-scheme through the Lens of IFAD framework of Sustainable
Livelihood
In the state of Madhya Pradesh, the schedule caste and Schedule Tribes form a
considerable portion of the population of the state viz. 20 percent and 15 percent
respectively. In addition to this the poverty levels in these sections is relatively very high,
making them more vulnerable to „n‟ number of shock be it natural, financial or any other.
The poverty levels in Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribes is as high as 40 percent and
57 percent. This calls for interventions at the public policy levels in order to bring
this part of the society to the mainstream. Until and unless all the elements involved viz.
„Enabling Agencies‟, „Service Providers‟, „Market‟ along with the creation of „Human
capital‟ is not in sync with each other , one cannot think of holistic development of the
individual beneficiary. The sub-scheme was directed towards the generation of
sustainable income source to the economically “poor” and socially backward section of
the society in form of source of irrigation. Then the need for the lifting devices was met
with the SGSY, ITDP and Agriculture Department. But still the demand for the lifting
Figure 16 : The 'Hub' model of IFAD framework of Sustainable Livelihood
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31
devices is very high in comparison to the beneficiaries covered by this sub-scheme. The
most successful effort was that of providing them with dug wells thus converting the
rainfed agriculture to irrigate and enhancing the income levels of the beneficiaries. The
sub-scheme is centred around the “poor” giving him access to Natural resource of water
helping him to develop agriculture as livelihood option. Through this the incentive for
investing more in agriculture increases. At the same time it triggered access to financial
services of other schemes providing soft credit to the farmers e.g. Kisan Credit Card. This
led to timely procurement of the inputs and thus increased number of crops and
production. Thus the beneficiary is gradually moving from poverty to self dependency.
This is also reflected in the social fabric. There is increased acceptance and respect of the
family in the society.
Once the physical assets are provided and are put to use, the most efficient use can
only be done if the beneficiary has proper skills to use i.e. Human capital and access to
other necessary resources. Thus, providing them the lifting devices is yet another step
further in this direction. It has been found during the field visits that the farmers which
were aware of cultivation of cash crops and vegetables were reaping larger benefits of the
scheme to an extent of earning around Rs.1, 00,000 each year. This calls for integration
of the scheme with the Department of Agriculture/ Horticulture and ICAR wings in
order to provide training and visits for the beneficiaries so that they would be able to
use better methods and technology in agriculture along with the crops suitable for area. It
was found that the farmers using micro irrigation methods were able to take early crops
and had higher yield to tune of 1.5 to 2 times the traditional methods. At present a subsidy
of 80% to ST, BPL and 33% to others is being provided on the micro-irrigation devices to
the farmers opting for the micro-irrigation. There is a need to ask the Horticulture
Department to use the slab of 80% subsidy for all the beneficiaries of Kapil Dhara
Dug wells on the micro-irrigation equipments. Along with this there is need to train
the beneficiaries to use the equipments and dissemination of this information of the
availability of such subsidy from Horticulture Department.
Now when the farmer is ready with the facilities to opt for vegetables and other
remunerative crops which demand labour and investment, there stands the question of
market linkage. Until and unless farmer is assured of that he would be getting returns on
the investment he is making, he is not going to take the risk. There are two ways to
address this issue. First one that after discussions with the Department of Agriculture
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Marketing, mechanisms must be devised to ensure the marketing of the produce in the
areas where farmers are trained and are practicing improved cultivation. But this may
have its own issues regarding co-ordination and infrastructural issues. The second one
being the beneficiary centric, training the farmers on the SGSY lines to form „Producer
Groups‟ in a given area, and accessing market information so that they may market their
produce to markets paying remunerative returns.
In order to sustaining the structures provided to the farmers in form of dug wells, it is
highly imperative to create small water harvesting structures in the area in the vicinity
of the dug wells. It has been found that in areas having large ponds the water availability
both in terms of volume and around the months increase to around 1.2 to 1.6 times
(based on the number of pump running hours). This was visible in the Tilgara Gram
Panchayat, Badnawar block of Dhar District. In 75% of the wells of the village water
was available all year round.
All these efforts when integrated will liberate a family from the shackles of poverty
and move them towards sustainable livelihood. This will increase the social status of the
family in the circles and with the economic empowerment the political power of the
individual increases, bringing him in the mainstream. This will increase the ability of the
target beneficiary to bear shocks which come in form of natural calamity and occasions of
birth, marriage and death (economic shocks). Thus, increased opportunities and
aspirations are followed by action and the outcome is positive taking the aspirations and
efforts to next level in a spiral circle.
Till now the convergence of SGSY, ITDP and agriculture department schemes
with Kapil Dhara is in lag phase and has to be accelerated by loosening the norms for the
beneficiaries of the sub-scheme. There is huge demand of lifting devices and with the
progress of scheme it would raise many folds in coming years. On the other hand, due to
cluster approach of ITDP it is not possible to allocate pumps to the beneficiaries. In
addition to this the SGSY have not been used effectively in many areas mainly due to
lack of proper information on the part of beneficiary.
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11. ISSUES IDENTIFIED
Following issues were identified in the due course of study both at the planning
and implementation levels which affect the functioning of the scheme and the extent to
which it can stride towards its stated aims and objectives.
1. Preparation of Estimates for the structures under the scheme – It has been a
common practice that the Assistant Engineers and Sub Engineers at the block
level are blindly following the estimate released by Chief Engineer, at the District
level, in the preparation of TS of the work to be undertaken. This was done
irrespective of the geological formations present in the area. Different hydro-
geological formations viz. Hard rock Aquifers and Soft rock Aquifers are there in
different parts of the district and even in the block. The role of the Agriculture
Department or the Hydrology department at the block level in surveying and
finding the suitable location of the site of construction was not found efficient
enough. In spite of the different rock types found after the excavation work was
started the authorities were reluctant to revise the TS. This leads to lower depth of
the well resulting in well of a lower efficiency in terms of volume and availability
of water. In such cases, to obtain sufficient depth the beneficiary had to invest
around Rs.10,000 - 25,000 from his own account depending on the type of rock
formation underneath. This was a financial burden on economically backward
beneficiary. In case the beneficiary was not in a financial position to do so then
again not so efficient wells were the result.
An example of Khargone District where the map from the Central Ground Water
Board is used to explain the problem stated
above. The dotted area is the hard Rock
aquifers the darker the shade the more the
discharge of the water, from 60-240 lpm at
a depth of 10 to 20 meters in case of
manually dug wells. The darker the area
more the water availability at lower depths,
thus a greater depth must be allowed and
budgeted for in the lighter shaded areas.
Source: District profiles, Central Ground Water Board, Bhopal
Figure 17: Aquifer Profile of Khargone
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Figure 20: Vegetable cultivation in Farm Pond,
Amla
2. Farm Pond/ Micro Tank – Mixed Bag!!
The sub-scheme also provided for the
construction of Farm Ponds and Micro
Tank to the eligible farmers. During the
field visits it was found that almost 90%
of the farm ponds were distributed in
the initial phase of the sub-scheme.
Later, the farmers were discouraged by
the mismatch in the expectations and
outcomes from the structure in relation to the water retentively and volume. Both
of these dry soon after the local streams or naalas dry up due to seepage and
percolation. Also there is not enough water that can be used to irrigate substantial
portion of the land. Although in the areas where there was undulating hilly terrain
and the soil was light in nature and not so productive, the beneficiary was at least
able to take crops requiring very less
water such as chickpea from the
moisture retained due to the water
accumulated in the farm pond. The farm
ponds in case of Hirapur village of
Badwah block, Khargone district served
this purpose. There is no doubt that they
serve the purpose for conservation of
soil and water and maintaining moisture in the low lying areas but no direct
benefit was visible to the beneficiary in 40% of the cases. It was reported that the
wells in the low lying areas had higher
volumes of water in Rabi season than
they had before farm pond construction.
Thus, others were more benefited than
the beneficiary. Also, beneficiaries were
not satisfied as they cannot apply for dug
wells under the sub-scheme as they
already have been covered under the sub-scheme. In some cases, the farm ponds
Figure 19:
Useful Farm Pond for Rabi in Hirapur, Badwah
Figure 18 : A typical Farm Pond
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35
were used as the place for vegetable cultivation for home consumption as they had
moisture for such activity at small scale.
3. Current Schedule Rates (CSR) and Market Rate of Material Inputs – and Issue of
Completion Certificate.
One of the reasons for prolonged delay in issue of completion certificate was the
mismatch between the billed amount and the current scheduled rate decided by the
Rural Engineering Department. This has led to status of even completed works to
be marked as “Under Progress” rather than “Completed” as it‟s not being cleared
by the concerned authorities. The CSR is updated every six months but the time
till the updated rates reach the Gram Panchayats, it is delayed by a year. Thus,
delay in the revision and circulation/implementation of new CSR according to the
prevailing market prices increases hindrances in the implementation of the sub-
scheme.
4. Task Rate for Working inside a Dug well
As in case of a dug well, the work is not carried by each and every worker. It
requires skilled labour. The task rate for working in the well was same as on the
ground. This was an issue in finding workers for the well excavation. The charges
for the digging a well is higher than normal after a certain depth. The extra
charges were either adjusted by the Gram Panchayat in different heads or borne by
the beneficiary. Also not everywhere labour are available to dig well, so labour
from outside the village/panchayat were brought and work was carried out in the
supervision of the beneficiary. This was done in areas where the strata was very
hard and where the local manual labour rates were higher than the MGNREGS
wages as it was very difficult to find labour. The extra charges were borne by the
beneficiary.
5. Absence of Jagat (boundary of well over the ground level)
A Jagat is very necessary for a well as it provides safety to the both human and
livestock from accidentally falling into the well. There was no Jagat found in the
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wells constructed in 2006-07 and 2007-08. This has to be taken into consideration
while making design for the dug well.
6. Lack of co-ordination between the material procurement and supply sections
according to the demands generated was found during the study. This was not
only in case of the sub-scheme but also in other works under MGNREGS. Delay
in the supply of the materials in the works led to longer duration and delay in
completion of the works along with decline of interest at the beneficiary and
agency part.
7. Lack of SOP for documentation of the works under the sub-scheme –
There was lack of awareness as well as maintenance of proper documentation in
case of completed works in 62% of the Gram Panchayats regarding the sub-
scheme works. There is a need of proper development of SOP for documentation
at all level. The formats in which the data was available at the blocks was not
uniform everywhere. Although it does not affect at implementation stage but for
future verification of the works and for preparation of reports as and when need it
is of utmost importance. All the documents must be maintained in a proper format
at the GP level either in original or a reproduction of the same along with a copy
at block level.
This was also evident from the lack of proper integration of the MIS for the
different sub-schemes or works under MGNREGS in the state. The reports
generated at the centre level were only consolidated reports at the district levels.
There is a need for a better MIS integration from the block level to the state
headquarters where reports with suitable number of queries can be generated.
Infrastructure is already in place for this.
8. Diameter and Depths of the works –
The amendments in the sub-scheme have guidelines regarding the maximum
depth of the 12 meters and 15 meters permissible diameter of 5 and 3 meters
respectively. But in observation none of the cases the diameter was less than 4.5
meters irrespective of the depth. The need for higher volumes of irrigation water
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led the farmer beneficiary, who in most of the cases supervised the work, to keep
the diameter of the well more than 5 meters. But this leads to lower depth of the
well and more investment on the beneficiary to reach a sufficient depth level.
When it comes to digging well in the hard rock strata as well as deep block cotton
soil the physical conditions after the blasting and excavation respectively make it
very difficult to maintain the diameter of the work undertaken.
9. Utility of the Recharge Pits – A Dilemma for the Beneficiary
There is a dire need to maintain the underground water level and recharging it by
the runoff is one of the most efficient options. This has been taken into account
into the sub-scheme and provision has been made to construct a recharge pit with
every dug well constructed under the sub-scheme. But let us see what the
beneficiary thinks about it:
“That smaller pit was choked after the first year and then crops were grown
on it. I never bothered about the utility of the pit.”
“It was disturbing in the agricultural operations so I closed it with soil. It
was wasting my field in as I couldn‟t use it for agriculture.”
“Given the small land holding we have it is more a hindrance than providing
support.”
“I put it to better use for storing water for the cattle after clogging the
pipeline to the well.”
- Different views of beneficiaries in the informal discussion at the site.
The recharge structures in form of recharge pits provided to with the wells had a
life of a single year.
10. Work Board at the site
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Work boards were not found in 80% cases of the field visit to the site. They were
either stolen or removed from the site by the beneficiary. In 35% of the total cases
the board was not installed on the site even after completion of the work. This was
prevalent in all the blocks visited except Badnawar block of the Dhar District. In
most of the villages with more wells it is very difficult to distinguish a private
well from a dug well under sub-scheme.
11. It has been found that due to higher number of works been issued at a given Gram
Panchayats, very few works has been started in the same year although the TS
being issued for all the works. Thus, the works issued in a given year were
pending and they are started later in the following years. This leads to delay and
the TS falling short of the required depth of well to have water in lean period.
12. It was found that many farmers were not aware of KCC and other schemes by
banks and co-operatives and their loan sanction limit was not revised. After the
land holding being irrigated, the credit sanction limit is revised.
13. It was found that the debris of the well excavation was lying in the field itself in
50% of the cases sampled. This was not desirable as it wasted that part of field
were cultivation could have been done. Although in other cases the same was used
for Mendh Bandhan or land improvement (bunding). This improved the utility of
the field and since most the bunding was done by the beneficiary himself, he also
earned wages under MGNREGS.
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12. SUGGESTIONS/ RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. In order to increase the effectiveness of the sub-scheme, a committee consisting of
experts from Rural Engineering Services (RES), Central Ground Water board and
other areas of interest should chalk out a framework based on the data available.
This framework should be used as a guideline while making Total Sanction for a
work to be undertaken under Kapil Dhara or other works of MGNREGS. This
needs to be done on a phase wise basis or rather regional basis as it would be an
extensive exercise.
2. A committee of agricultural scientists and RES experts must decide on the depth
of the well to be undertaken to after water have been found in order to make it
suitable to be used for irrigation purpose.
3. A greater extent of autonomy to be provided to Sub-Engineers and Assistant
Engineers to have flexibility in preparing TS for a given work. As the cases are
found that even in a Gram Panchayat, there are variations in the strata. This would
ensure a better well in terms of sustainability and durability. Also, the benefits
reaped from the well increases manifold. Proper training regarding the regulations
of the sub-scheme has to be imparted to the field staff.
4. The task rate to dig a well must be that of a skilled worker. This job is specialised
and is carried out by only those who are expert in it as it involves an element
degree of risk.
5. In case of Farm Ponds in order to make it more attractive proportion to the
potential beneficiaries, a membrane sheet or lining should be provided after
discussions with the RES/ Technical Unit (MGNREGS). This would ensure a
greater sustainability and retentively of water for longer durations. Thus, the
greatest drawback of the structure is resolved. It has to be kept in mind that Farm
Ponds are not meant to be percolation tank; rather it was to be used for irrigation
purpose.
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6. If possible, a review committee must reconsider the structural details and budget
related issues of the Farm ponds. The criteria of non issuance of a Dug well to a
beneficiary of Farm Pond should be reconsidered.
7. There is a dire need to educate the beneficiary about the utility of the recharge
structure in terms of the volume of water and sustainability of the well. The
beneficiary was unaware of the utility of the recharge pit in 70% cases. This calls
for educating beneficiaries about the benefits of the structure and maintenance of
the structure. A module for educating the beneficiaries in the Panchayats through
the Panchayat Secretary can be designed.
8. There is need to prioritize the construction of water harvesting structures, not
necessarily large ones, through co-ordination with the Rajiv Gandhi Watershed
Mission. These structures need to be constructed in the areas nearby wells already
constructed in order to increase the water availability.
9. In the designs of the wells, it was found that there is no provision of boundary
wall or Jagat. A fixed height of parapet above ground level, need to be
provisioned for in the design and budget of the dug wells. This will ensure the
safety of livestock and human life as well.
10. Rather than placing the boards on the work site in case of dug wells, the work
details to be painted on the parapet (Jagat). This will reduce the cost and the
hindrance caused due to the work board at the site.
11. After discussions with the Engineering and agriculture experts the diameter and
depth of well criteria should be revised for dug wells. This is need as the well is
not meant to be a storage tank, rather to be used a source of irrigation. Its
utility is when the water is available in lean periods for irrigation.
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12. To provide the lifting devices to the beneficiary through SGSY, rather than
allocating a firm in district for purchase, beneficiary should be given freedom to
purchase DP/EP from the shop of his choice. The minimum specifications for the
pump should be provided.
13. There is a dire need of co-ordination with ICAR and agriculture department to
provide training and extension services to the beneficiary farmers, on priority
basis, for improved methods of cultivation and seed suitable for the location and
market. E.g. vegetable cultivation.
14. Formation of small groups of farmers for the purpose of marketing their produce
to the remunerative markets should be promoted with convergence of other
schemes of state and centre.
15. Directions to be issued to all the banks and co-operatives to revise the loan
sanction limit on KCC and agriculture purpose loan, as per their norms. This
is to be done on the basis of land holding being irrigated by the dug well. This
would lead to easy access to credit for the beneficiary farmers.
16. A certificate should be issued to the beneficiary of having an irrigation source in
the given land fragment. This will help the farmer to extend its loan limit for
agricultural credit. At the same time the same may be used by the beneficiary to
get temporary or permanent electricity connection for using electric motor.
Directions to be issued to financial bodies and MP State Electricity Board to
facilitate the process of giving electricity connections to the beneficiary.
17. Land Improvement (Mendh Bandhan) to be made compulsory with the Kapil
Dhara dug well. This should be included in the TS of the work itself.
18. The subsidy provided on the micro-irrigation equipments should be same 70% -
80% for all the Kapil Dhara beneficiaries in order to encourage saving water and
use improved methods of cultivation.
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13. LIMITATIONS OF STUDY
The study undertaken had certain limiting factors which can be enumerated as:
1. The respondents had a perception of me being a government official
sometimes and tried to avoid sensitive information and economic details.
2. There may be cases where the respondents may have their own biases.
3. The limited timeframe may limit the outcomes of the study to some extent.
4. There are different dialects being used so language may be barrier in
expression.
14. CONCLUSION
The sub-scheme has been quiet successful in achieving its objective to help the
poor families to graduate from wage employment to more self sustaining modes of
income generation by creation of “sustainable livelihood assets”. The rise in the living
standards, assets acquired by the beneficiary, the shift from migration and manual
labour to agriculture has pronounced effect on the society as a whole. This uplifts
those who are below poverty line to above poverty line. There is a dire need to
converge various efforts of government in a co-ordinated way in order to uplift the
neglected and poor masses into the mainstream society. The efforts in form of SGSY,
ITDP etc. have tried in the same direction and have appreciable difference. There are
certain issues which can be sorted out and the scheme can be implemented with more
efficiency. The scheme is unique in its nature and has largely benefitted the
agriculture of the state and has helped society in a great way.
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Annexure 1
List of Districts and Blocks where Groundwater is Semi-Critical, Critical and Over-
Exploited
District Phase* Semi Critical Critical Over Exploited
Barwani 1 Rajpur - Pansemal
Bhopal 3 Phanda - -
Betul 1 Amla - -
Bhudhanpur 2 Bhudhanpur - -
Chattarpur 1 Chattarpur - -
Chindwara 2 Chindwara - -
Devas 2 - Devas, Sonkutch -
Dhar 1 Dharmpuri - Badnawar, Dhar,
Manawar, Nalcha,
Tirla
Indore 3 - Devpalpur Indore, Sanver
Khargone 1 Khargone, Maheshwar Badwah -
Khandwa 1 Chegaon- Makhan -
Mandsaur 3 - - Mandsaur, Malhargarh,
Sitamau
Nimuch 3 Jawad - Nimuch
Ratlam 3 Saelana - Aalot, Jawada,
Piplaunda, Ratlam
Satna 1 Rampur Baghelan - -
Sihore 3 Sihore, Aastha - -
Shahjahpur 3 Aagar, Shahjahpur Baraond Kalipipal, Moman
Baroadiya, Nalkheda,
Shujalpur, Susner
Ujjain 3 Tarana, Katchraud - Ujjai, Ghatia,
Badanagar
* Phase means the three phases of implementation of MGNREGS in the country.
Highlighted Districts and Blocks are the study area.
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Annexure 2
Questionnaire at the Beneficiary Level - Semi Structured Interview
A. General Information
101.Name...........................................102.Caste...............103Village.......................104Panchayat...............105.Bl
ock.........106. District...........
B. Land Particulars (in acre):
201. Total owned land: ……………… 202. Fallow land : …………… 203. Operated land …………
204. Leased-In: ………… 205. Leased-Out: ……………
217 Irrigated land: …………….. 218 Unirrigated land …………
C. Kapil Dhara related
1. Which structure under Kapil Dhara you got?
2. When?
3. Do you know about availability of other structures under the scheme? y/n
4. How much time duration does it took from the time of application to the work start and completion of
work?
5. A.Source of irrigation...........and B.irrigated area..... before Kapil Dhara
6. Increase in the irrigated area in your field ..
.... + shared (others).....
7. Which crops do you prefer to take with available irrigation
8. Increase in the production / productivity and crops. If irrigated
Before Production
And Area
Irrigated
Area
Productivity After Production
And Area
Irrigated
Area
Productivity
RABI
KHARIF
ZAID
RABI
KHAR
IF
ZAID
9. Is there a recharge structure (small square) beside your well? Y/N
a.If yes, is it Choked/ working ?
b.What do you think is the utility of the structure ?
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10. Did you got the DP/EP
If yes, When.....
In case of Electric/Diesel pump, how you manage?
a) Electricity Supply.... No. of hours during season Sufficient/Insufficient
b) Diesel.... Where you buy? .......................
Are you able to pay back the loan amount in regular intervals from the income generated?
If no. then why??
11. How many months water is available? Is it sufficient?
12. Source of income for the family (annual):
Income code: Agricultural =1, Wages labour =2, Salaried job =3, Livestock =4, Fishery =5, Migration
=6, Business =7,
Small Industrial =8, Arts and crafts =9, Forest Produce =10, Allied Agricultural activities = 11, Others
(specify) =12
Primary source of Income(121) Secondary source of
Income(122)
13. No. of days of wage labour reduced (approx)
14. Do you have increased social respect due to increased income through agriculture?
a. Increase in marriage proposal for the kids
b. Increased access to the Common property resources such as pond/temple/grazing ground
c. Acceptance in the social gathering or community
15. Attitude towards education
a. Enrolment of children (especially girl child) increased/ remained the same
b. Do any schools opened in the period
c. Any government schemes encouraged you to do so
16. Do you earn you part of livelihood through wage labour? Y/N ...approximately what proportion?
17. Is there any change in the no. of days of wage labour in a season?
Rabi
Kharif
Zaid
18. Did/Do you migrated/migrate for wage labour to other places?
If yes for how many days.................where...........
19. Till what month water in the well is enough to irrigate one acre of land
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a. All year round
b. March –april
c. January _ feb
d. November
20. Have you worked in the well construction? (y/n)
How many days.......
21. Credit
Whether your family borrowed any money since last 5 years
Yes =1, N0 = 2 (skip the next section)
Credit Details
211 212 213 214 215 216
Sr.
No.
Source of Borrowing A m o u n t
Borrowed
Purpose of
Borrowing
Rate of Interest Duration of
indebtedness
Remarks (if any):
22. Do the borrowing changed from non institutional to the institutional sources ?
Do you have opened bank accounts? Y/N
Have you brought insurance schemes.
23. How much and which crops did you sold in the Rabi and khafir?
Prevailing market rates of the crops
24. Change in assets.
S No Assets Number
S No Assets Number*
Before Now Before Now
1 Cow 15 Motorcycle/Scooter
2 Bullock 16 Radio /Transistor
3 Buffalo 17 TV B/W
4 Calf 18 TV Colour
5 Goat/Sheep 19 VCR
6 Poultry 20 Electric Fan
7 Bullock Cart 21 Telephone
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8 Plough 22 Others (Specify)
9 Thresher 23
10 Cycle 24
11 Number of rooms 25
12 House area
(including kitchen
garden)
26
13 Orchard 27
14 Tractor 28
25. Expenditure: Marginal increase =1, Sufficient increase=2, substantial increase = 3, decrease=4
a. Medicine
b. Clothing
c. Education
d. Food
26. How do you provide fodder to the livestock? Before/now Scenario
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Annexure 3
Time line of study
The study was spread over a period of two months from 24th of May 2010 to 23
rd of July 2010.
S.No. Activity
Wee
k 1
Wee
k 2
Wee
k 3
Wee
k 4
Wee
k 5
Wee
k 6
Wee
k 7
Wee
k 8
1 Desk review of Literature/
Documents
2 Finalizing Research Plan, Designing
of Survey Instruments and
Questionnaire
3 Field Study
4 Analysis of Data and Draft Report
5 Preparation and submission of Final
Report
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Annexure 4
List of Gram Panchayats under study
Block Gram Panchayats
Amla Kutkheri, Bothia Bramhadwara, Rambha
Kheri, Barangwadi
Dewas Jalodhiya, Badi Churlai,Sonda, Akya
Badwah Selda Badwada, Hirapur, Selda, Katora
Pansemal Moyda, Vangra, Karanpura, Sakrali Khrd
Rajpur Choti Khargone, Sangwithan, Nangalwadi
Khurd,Kadwi
Badnawar Tilgara,Bordi, Derkha, Mungela
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Annexure 5
Topics of Focussed Group Discussions
Three FGDs in total were conducted on the two topics, during the study one in each in Semi-
critical, Critical, Over-exploited Blocks. Following topics were covered:
1. Usage of the recharge structure
This was done to check the perceptions of the beneficiary about recharge structure.
2. Change in the income and Expenditure
The respondents were told that suppose they had Rs.100 Income and Rs. 100 expenditure.
Then they were asked to give specific amount to the different heads. Both were done with
reference to situation before Kapil Dhara and now scenario.
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Annexure 6
Kapil Dhara Sub- scheme Regulations
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Annexure 7
Glimpses of the works under Dug Well Sub-scheme under MGNREGS
A Dugwell in Dewas Block A Dugwell under construction
Convergence Lifting Device in Well Early Cotton Crop through irrigation
Nursery of Capsicum of a Dug well beneficiary
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Drip irrigation used for early crops A dug well
A farmer with Drip Irrigation in his field
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Early cotton crop with Drip Irrigation
Intercropping of Cotton with Long Melon
Water Level in a Dugwell
