Bundelkhand is characterised by some of the lowest levels of per capita income and human development in the country. Literacy levels are poor, especially among women, and infant mortality is relatively high. Local inhabitants subsist on rain-fed single crop agriculture and small-scale livestock production for their livelihood, with wheat, grams and oil seeds being the predominant crops.

Especially in rural Bundelkhand, rising population has led to the fragmentation of family land holdings. Human pressures on the existing natural resource base are compounded by livestock pressures. The human to cattle (or livestock) ratio is relatively high - almost 1:1; compared to a national ratio of 1:.45. In addition, the growth of private land ownership and past mismanagement of natural resources have led to the rapid decline of forest cover, reducing traditional sources of fuel, fodder and food. These factors, combined with limited rainfall and water resources, have resulted in low agricultural productivity. Many families are no longer able to meet their subsistence needs. Temporary and long-term migration of families, predominantly males from rural areas, in search of alternative sources of livelihood, has become increasingly common. In such situation of abject conditions of poverty, women and children are the most vulnerable.

Around 25.14 per cent of the population in the Uttar Pradesh part of Bundelkhand belongs to scheduled castes and 0.02 per cent to scheduled tribes (tribes like the Kol and Sahariya are included in the scheduled caste population in Uttar Pradesh). A vast majority of the scheduled caste population, about 82 per cent lives in rural areas. Social and gender discrimination and feudalism predominate in society.

‘Mujhe Dilli ya Gurgaon ke road par sona achha nahi lagta. Par ghar parivar bhi to chalana hai. Budhi maa ko bhi dekhna hai. Kya karun?’ says Rahish from Thona village in Tikamgarh. There are many such expressions that define the extent of distress migration in Bundelkhand.

"The wells in the village had plenty of water throughout the year. Even in the year when the monsoon was below normal, there was no shortage of drinking water for humans and animals," says a report of the Development Alternatives. "Most of the traditional structures have fallen into disrepair or have completely been destroyed," the study further reports. There are around 2.8 lakh dug wells in the region for drinking water purpose though most of them have dried this season.

It is true that such condition of intense drought has shocked and shaken almost whole of Bundelkhand, there are few villages that are shocked but not shaken. For instance, metered water supply is being implemented in villages of Bundelkhand in UP and MP by Development Alternatives and supported by Arghyam Trust. Metering enables villagers to understand exactly how much water they are using and managing it appropriately. However such successes are like an oasis in a huge desert.

It is worth noticing that the frequency of drought in Bundelkhand is increasing. The records from Government show a spell of one drought in 16 years during the 18th and 19th centuries in Bundelkhand. From 1968 to 1992, the region saw a drought in every five years. However in the 21st century the region has already suffered seven years of drought. There is not an iota of doubt that the drought conditions in Bundelkhand is largely due to ecological instability and inappropriate policies have led to its perpetuation. The current situation calls for immediate action, rather an integrated action from the Government, the civil society and private sector.

Though in the news for political reasons, the manifestation of dialogues in state assemblies and parliament have culminated in the announcement of relief packages, but is yet to demonstrate any achievements in changing the quality of life of people in Bundelkhand. The state government of Uttar Pradesh revived the Bundelkhand Divisional Corporation in April, 2008 and constituted a Bundelkhand Special Area Development Authority in July, 2008. However, such bodies fail to deliver right services to the right people on right time because of lack of long term development perspective and short term political mileages.

It is imperative that water is the top priority for Bundelkhand. "Water for all and always", enumerating the sense of availability and accessibility with its sustainability must be the mandate of any developmental strategy for the area. Communities in Bundelkhand need to understand that they have as strong role as that of the Government and Civil Society in management of water and water resources. Therefore, appropriate institutional mechanisms need to be instituted at grassroots levels for management of water.

Elders in the region agree that drought is becoming pronounced; even with a minor deficiency in rainfall the region suffers severe drought. This is ironical, given that the average rainfall in Bundelkhand area ranges between 750 mm to 1,250 mm. And it rains for around 100 hours a year. The average rainfall is comparable to many of the well endowed states in terms of rainfall. Add to it the safety net of community-managed tanks and other water harvesting structures. In the region there are around 4,000 such traditional structures and most of them are as old as 1000 years. Even now some people in the region do depend on tanks for irrigation and drinking water.

The scarcity of water is a direct fall out of environmental degradation and policies that encouraged centralized management of water resources post-Independence. Ecological degradation combined with government policies that took away community ownership from traditional systems has wrought havoc for the region. Off late governments encouraged use of groundwater, but didn’t take care of the recharge aspect. The traditional wells and tanks are the recharge instruments. Without them groundwater couldn’t be recharged in proportion with withdrawal. Add to it the massive deforestation in the catchment areas.

Experts say that government involvement in the maintenance of tanks and other rainwater harvesting structure has eroded the sense of community ownership. "Traditional Chandela, Bundela or Peshwa tanks and Haveli system of cultivation were neglected and could not be integrated with modern technologies, management of resources, livestock production, value addition and market driven economy," says the high level fact finding group. At the same time, the extraction of groundwater was speeded up. The results are there for everyone to see. After the drought hand pumps were installed. There was abundance of water in the first year. Then the water-table went down over the next three years by 15 metres a year on average.

An interesting aspect of current drought in the region is the scarcity of drinking water. Earlier, drinking water never became scarce during drought. The network of traditional water harvesting structures ensured that even in worst rainfall scenarios there are structures with water exclusively for drinking purpose. Till 1980s, around 70-80 per cent of drinking water need was met from dug wells. Even now most drinking water demand is met through such traditional structures. "The wells in the village had plenty of water throughout the year. Even in the year when the monsoon was below normal, there was no shortage of drinking water for humans and animals,"

There are around 2.8 lakh dug wells in the region for drinking water though most of them have dried this season. Studies conducted by NGOs and other agencies indicate that in the last 20 years, canals and tube wells have become the predominant sources of irrigation in Bundelkhand. "Most of the traditional structures have fallen into disrepair or have completely been destroyed," according to a study conducted by Development Alternatives.

Development Alternatives works through community mobilisation and capacity building of communities on planning and management of water resources through innovative technologies which can save energy and water. The technologies include use of TARA filter for purification of water, Water conservation practices, use of renewable energy and eco-building services. The adaptation mitigation strategy of Bundelkhand is totally society driven and the case advises that any adaptation or mitigation strategy of climate change should be society driven. By continuing this strategy, the organisation has formed green social enterprise under which three grass-root cluster groups namely; (i) Women energy cluster; (ii) Farmer adaptation cluster; and (iii) Folk artisans cluster, together called community carbon clusters, are using energy efficient low emission technologies, eco material production for buildings and involved in regeneration of resource base by reducing carbon foot prints.

There are several such examples in the region that demonstrate that technology and process of strengthening community institutions together manage the livelihood at the time of crisis is rather feasible as well as sustainable. There are few key lessons from these experiments:

• Village level institutions have taken up short-term as well as long-term measures to fight livelihood issues (drinking water crisis, crop diversification etc)

• An integrated approach has been adopted by the community at the local level. Recharge and overall local ecological regeneration have been given priority.

• In the villages, strong community level institutions have been set up that are both practical and effective. Women play a vital role through Self Help Groups and creating social capital at the village level.

Watershed development has great importance for Bundelkhand, which has traditionally been dependent on rain fed ponds and wells for irrigation as well as drinking water facilities. With the system getting damaged and catchment areas blocked during the past years, it is important that efforts are being taken to develop watershed areas so that earth gets filled with ground water and soil erosion is controlled.

Water is often used as a weapon for social suppression and show of power. In Bundelkhand the caste system is deep rooted. Population belonging to lower castes suffers from discrimination as far as government doles and local resources are concerned. Water sources are normally a major source of discrimination. In face of a crisis like the current drought when water has become a scarce resource, such population faces increased discrimination.

Constant deficit rainfall has definitely contributed to the current crisis. However, what has precipitated it is the decline of the traditional water harvesting structures created to face such crisis. The decline, on the other hand, is a result of long-term policy failure. As many studies and policy reviews indicate, the modern system should have learnt from and retained the traditional system while drafting new policies.

Linking for managing livelihoods

The current crisis becomes an opportunity to fix this problem. The Union government has declared a drought relief package for the Bundelkhand region. It has made a substantial commitment for water conservation and irrigation. However, governments have also spent huge amount of money earlier in drought relief. What is needed now is long-term relief from drought. To do this government must fine tune its policies to community needs and wisdom.

• Appropriate water management based on the ecology: Overdependence on groundwater must be curtailed. There is a need to make a shift from the current groundwater extraction to surface water utilisation and management. Rainwater harvesting must get precedence as water scarcity has been a problem of management rather than availability. Unless this is done, no matter how much it rains, there will be water scarcity. Revival of traditional tanks under schemes such as NREGA, Drought Prone Area Programme and Development Programmes in addition to the creation of new assets is inevitable. For this to be effective, we need to have appropriate integrated land and water development programmes. The current situation points at ignorance of drinking water availability and supply and security. While managing drought, it must be factored in that both agriculture and domestic water consumption gets priority. Mechanisms including institutions must be set up at all levels.

• Making government schemes effective: There are a large number of government schemes that cater to, or related to drinking water needs. There must be serious and sustained effort to revive them and to fine tune them to local needs. Without this we may keep on creating infrastructure but without much impact on local drinking water availability.

• Drinking water security plans: Every village must be encouraged, and accordingly supported, to make its drinking water security plan keeping in mind the drinking water needs of human and livestock population in long-term.

• Agriculture policy must be redrafted: The current agriculture policy has not been able to take care of rain fed agriculture needs. Rather it prescribes a cropping pattern that is not suitable for rain-fed situations. So there is an urgent need to change agriculture policy that takes care of local ecology and does not promote water intensive crops.

• Public-Panchayat-community partnership (PPCP): Government and communities must be partners in crisis management and water security. Government programmes must integrate capacity building programme for PRI, Community and regional stakeholders to initiate large-scale awareness campaign on water conservation and Management drought mitigation and livelihood issues to avert situation. Communities must be a partner and put in their efforts in the governance process to manage the situation at their own levels.

• Civil society monitoring of government programmes: There is no dearth of government programmes and funds. The problem lies in effective implementation and monitoring. Civil society groups and the community must play a proactive role in monitoring such programmes. That will not only help government getting feedback on its programmes, but also put it under constant public scrutiny.

There is also a strong need to develop alternative non-farm livelihood opportunities, as agriculture alone cannot support burgeoning population in long run. Bundelkhand is devoid of any major industry. Stone crushing and quarrying operations are known to be second largest source of employment after agriculture. This coupled with low levels of entrepreneurial abilities among people destabilises the local economy. Thus the establishment of region specific (non water intensive) industries that provides employment avenues for local people should be one of the priorities. Developing local entrepreneurship should be long term perspective. Such initiatives cannot be an exiting proposition unless and until basic infrastructure and facilities – especially roads and electricity develops.

The operational silos in Government, known as line departments, need to work horizontally rather than the most preferred vertical action to develop holistic development perspectives for Bundelkhand. For instance, priority development schemes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) has strong potential for enhancing household income and thus regulating distress migration and creating and strengthening durable assets for the community that strengthens their livelihoods in long run. Revival of traditional tanks under schemes such as NREGA, Drought Prone Area Program, etc. in addition to creation of new assets is inevitable.

A lot of efforts are being made, but possibly the pace of development is not matching the speed with which antagonistic factors are growing. It must be recognised that constructive processes take more time than what destructive processes take. So the pace of development needs to be much faster; with strong intent and accountability.

All this needs concerted efforts and convergent action with clearly defined milestones and deliverables against a well respected timeframe. q

References:
1. Report on Drought Mitigation Strategy for Bundelkhand Region, Inter-ministerial central team, New Delhi, May 2008.
2. Dry Bundelkhand’, Sachin Kumar Jain and Sumika Rajput, MP Right to Food Campaign and MP Apda Niwaran Manch, May, 2008, Bhopal, MP
3. Traditional water harvesting systems in Bundelkhand, Srijan, 2002, Bhopal
4. Water for all and always , Development Alternatives 2009
5. Drought and Drinking Water Crisis in Bundelkhand, Report , Water aid 2008