Sustainable Development Community Participation in the key
Prema Gera
 

Introduction

From the nineteenth century onwards and more so after independence, the focus in irrigation development has been on large scale projects which have mass impacts and are centrally managed.  In these scaler programmes, one sees a clear separation of responsibilities between the water authorities and water users.

On the other hand, it is observed that in small-scale irrigation projects, the users are actively involved in different aspects of the irrigation system.  The same is true also for traditional irrigation systems, many of which have become defunct.

In the recent years, an evaluation of scaler programs has revealed a number of disadvantages in terms of a lag between potential created and its realisation coupled with poor management.  As a result, the thrust in current irrigation development efforts has been to encourage revival of traditional systems as well as to induce farmers’ participation in irrigation projects.

The government on its part has taken the initiative to involve farmers in the irrigation system.  Irrigation Associations were formed in Gujarat in the early eighties; tanks in Karnataka were transferred to local self-governments and the Command Area Development and Integrated Watershed Management Programmes have incorporated farmers’ participation as a vital component of the whole scheme.

Another agency which has been an effective agent for ensuring farmers’ participation in irrigation systems is the non-government organisations.  They have been found to be more successful where they have set up effective institutions at the village level and then given moral, technical and financial support.

The paper focuses on the management of irrigation by a community with external assistance, in this case an NGO Tarun Bharat Sangh (TBS).  The NGO is based in village Bhikampura of Alwar District, Rajasthan where it is involved in reviving a traditional water harvesting structure, johad, in four tehsils: Rajgarh, Lachhmangarh, Thanagazi and Alwar (see Map 1).  It is working in villages which are poor and backward and are not reached by any permanent government irrigation scheme.  The villages are considered to be drought-prone.

Starting from one village Gopalpura in 1986, TBS has now spread its work to about 210 villages.  With the support of this voluntary organisation, a few hundred johads have been constructed.

To understand farmers’ participation in the system and the role of external agency in the entire process, a case study of village Mandalvas has been taken up for detailed study.  In Gopalpura village, which was the NGO’s first concerted effort, a lot of technical and financial inputs along with regular monitoring went into it.  However in villages where similar work followed, the johads were revived by TBS workers either through motivating villagers or the villagers having heard about or seen Gopalpura, came to the NGO to seek assistance.

In this paper farmers’ participation has been studied from the time the initiative was taken by the villagers of Mandalvas. Hence participation as a process has been studied in the following aspects:

The Case of Mandalvas

The village is located to the south of Sariska National Park, on the boundary between its core and periphery zone. It is accessible by a 30 km. kuchcha road connecting Sariska with Kalighati.  It falls in the Rajgarh tehsil of Alwar District.

The Setting

It is situated in a valley enclosed by high ranges, a continuation of the Aravalis.

The climate is dry. The average annual rainfall is 61.2 cm and almost 90% is received during the monsoons.  Groundwater is available at depth ranging between 15m and 75m.  The temperature shoots to 49°C during summer and drops to 8°C in winter.   Average humidity is 76%.  There is no perennial river flowing through the village. A few seasonal nalas (drains) constitute the surface water resources.

The settlement started about hundred years back.  Starting with three households, it has expanded to its present 49 (TBS Survey, 1991). All households belong to the tribal group Meena.

The main occupations are animal husbandry and farming. Everyone has land in the village which is more or less evenly distributed.  The average landholding is 1 - 1.5 hectares. Livestock includes cows (60), buffaloes (205) and goats (381). (TBS Survey, 1991).

The village is characterized by a subsistence economy and most of what is produced is consumed locally.

System of Irrigation

Typical to all arid regions, rainfed agriculture is practised in the village.  Earthen bunds - locally called johads store rainwater run-off.  In addition to the bunds, wells and seasonal nalas also provide water which is used for irrigation.

Johads are a simple mud and rubble barrier built across the contours of the mountain slope to arrest rainwater run off.  They are of two types - the series system and the single unit system. In the former system, the water from the overflow of one johad goes to the next one below and the process continues.

The shape of Johad is in most cases concave and resembles that of a crescent.  The height of the embankment is such that the capacity of the johad is more than the volume of run off coming from the catchment.  This is based on a rough estimation of maximum possible run-off that could come into it.

The construction of johad is very labour intensive.  It involves building a rubble foundation and then covering it with soil.  The soil is dug from the catchment area and this indirectly shapes the impounded area to take in maximum run-off.  The soil is rammed to make the structure compact.  Masonry work, if any, is done locally.

The water collected in the johads during monsoon is used directly for agriculture.  The water is either pumped into the fields or is taken to the fields through unlined channels.

The advantages of this structure, apart from arresting and storing rainwater run-off, are improving water infiltration in the fields, recharging groundwater to prevent wells from going dry and plugging the local drains (nalas) to prevent the loss of fertile top soil.  These are constructed on village common lands and/or cultivated land.

The management of johad involves annual repairs before the monsoons.  In case of heavy rains, they get breached or even washed away.  They silt up very fast too.  Hence, regular maintenance is necessary.

Intervention by NGO in Mandalvas

When Tarun Bharat Sangh came to the scene there were only two johads which, due to lack of maintenance, had fallen into disuse and most of the rainwater was going off in nalas.  The water from the government check-dam too served the needs of villages to the north of Mandalvas.

The four year drought (1983-87) had further worsened the situation and had left deep marks on the landscape of the village.   Barring two or three, most of the wells had dried up. The cows had been sold off.  Productivity of both land and livestock declined drastically with the result that most of the men had migrated to Delhi and Ahmedabad to work as wage labour.

TBS started its activities in the village in 1987.  As in other villages, here too they started with health and literacy. This provided the entry point to TBS in the village and also an opportunity to interact closely with the villagers and to get to know their pressing problems.  The foremost problem was drinking water for both animals and human beings,  Mr. Rajinder Singh (President, TBS), Dr. Gajraj Singh and a few other TBS workers visited the village as frequently as twice a week and talked about the benefits of johad as an immediate solution to their water problem.

The philosophy of TBS has been to first motivate the villagers so that they undertake the task of constructing and maintaining the johads.  This was not an easy task in Mandalvas for two reasons.  Firstly, as mentioned earlier, most of the menfolk worked outside the village as wage labour and would return for short periods during the sowing time of kharif crops and during the harvesting season.  To involve them in the construction of johads, which could be undertaken only after the harvest season, implied foregoing their wages of about 6-8 months.  Moreover, most decisions were taken by the men and with them not around, work could not proceed at all.

Secondly, there was a general feeling of skepticism among villagers as to the probability of the work actually taking place.  TBS workers were seen as government officials who came to the village with projects which eventually never materialised. Except for a checkdam constructed by the government way back in 1975, the village had seen not a single government initiative. The checkdam had developed cracks in several places which had not been repaired inspite of regular reminders to the concerned department.

Faced with such a situation, TBS decided to approach the village elders.  Many of them recollected the existence of johads in the village.  They, along with some of the younger men, were also taken to Gopalpura and some other villages where johads were being revived with TBS assistance.  Simultaneously, discussions were held initially with small groups and gradually with all households.  It was important that each household felt the need for a collective effort.  This was difficult in view of the fact that such a tradition had disappeared over the years and each household was involved independently in its daily existence.

However, the persistence of TBS workers resulted in the acceptance of the idea among most villagers who realised that as in other villages, they could also undertake the task and that the entire village, and not just a few among them, would stand to benefit from the johads.

At this point, TBS put forth two preconditions.  One was that the village would form a Gram Sabha so that all decisions regarding johads would be taken with the consent of all households.  Secondly, TBS would extend financial assistance, provided the villagers contributed 25-50% of the cost in the form of voluntary labour that goes into making each johad and agreed to undertake management of the system on their own.

These were accepted by the village and a Gram Sabha was constituted with 20 members chosen by consensus from among the village people. Most of the members were the elderly men of the village and women too.

The actual work on johads began only after the gram sabha was constituted and this took six months from the time TBS came to the village for the first time.  Among the first three johads that were constructed, two of them were constructed at old sites where they had existed.  The impact became visible by the end of 1989 and since then  two more have been constructed and another three are in different stages of discussion among the villagers, although the sites have been identified.

Participation Process in the Irrigation System

Since the underlying theme of the paper is to strengthen our understanding of farmers’ participation in the irrigation system, the entire experience was studied under the following three divisions: 

Designing of the System

Before the actual construction of johad begins, the detailed features of the water contributing area (catchment), possible utilisation of the stored water, suitable site, soil type and benefits likely to occur are studied and discussed among villagers in the Gram Sabha.  The village elders and the TBS workers have an important role to play in this matter.

Study of Catchment Area

A johad is constructed at a place which has maximum run-off contributing into it.  This necessitates looking into the following aspects:

(i)  Intensity of rainfall : This governs the proportion of rainfall that will contribute to the surface run off.

(ii) Topography of the catchment: Generally, in a square or circular catchment area, the tributaries often tend to come together and join the main stream somewhere near the centre of the area, thereby resulting in large and rapid increase in the discharge of the mainstream.  The degree of slope of catchment affects mainly the chance of faster movement of water before it has time to infiltrate, so that surface run-off is large.

Johads are usually made at places where ‘morram ‘ soil is available as this is regarded as most appropriate for construction.

Shape and Size of Johad

The size of the johad is  based on the amount of run-off coming into it and the shape of johad is dictated by water flow and its pressure.  All johads in the village are concave in shape.

After the site is selected by the villagers, the households directly benefitting from each johad are identified and they accordingly contribute their share of voluntary labour as well as land in case it has to be made on cultivated land as in the case of johad. 

All households, depending on the availability of water and need, take water from the johad which is either pumped out or taken to the fields through channels.

Management of the System

The simplicity of the system precludes the need for an elaborate management system.  This task is carried out by the Gram Sabha.  The Gram Sabha as it exists today is an informal body.  It is obligatory for all households to attend the sabha meetings held usually twice a month except during the harvest season when emergency meetings are called if necessary.

There is no single leader or a core group that oversees the management of the system. Instead, all households take active part in the working of the sabha and take all decisions by consensus.  The responsibilities of the Sabha includes:

Only one johad is common for all households. Annual repairs done before the monsoons every year include ramming of the soil which is necessary because animals of the village walk over it to go across to the hillock for grazing. Voluntary labour is provided by all.

The remaining johads are common for 5-6 families each and so maintenance responsibilities are shared among them.  In case they cannot manage it on their own the sabha decides who all can help on voluntary basis.   In case repair work requires money which is beyond their means, they approach the sabha for funds:

Depending on how much water has collected in the johads, the villagers decide among themselves as to how much land can be cultivated and accordingly distribute water equitably among all households.

There are hardly any conflicts over water use or over maintenance of johads.  To prevent cattle from entering the catchment area from the side of johads, stone fencing has been used.

Factors Facilitating Participation

The farmers’ involvement in all aspects of the irrigation system, as observed in the case of Mandalvas, brings us to an important issue of what are the factors which make such a participation possible.

Revival of a Traditional System

An important factor inducing farmers of Mandalvas to participate in the irrigation system was revival of a traditional system with which most of them were familiar.  Introduction of a new water harvesting system would have taken longer to assimilate among the farmers.

Simple Technology

\The johads are simple structures in terms of both the technology involved and the design.  The materials required as well as the skill and labour necessary for constructing johads is available locally.  Except for the initial financial and technical assistance required for the construction of johads, they can be largely managed by the villagers themselves.

Demonstration Effect

The villagers were able to see for themselves similar effort being taken up by villagers with TBS assistance in nearby villages.  This not only gave them confidence in their own capacity to undertake such a task but also helped to build up the NGO’s credibility among the villagers.

Homogeneous Group

All villagers belonged to Meena tribe and had more or less uniform landholding.  The problem of drinking water, low productivity and resulting poverty was common to all.  Johads addressed these very problems.

Transparency of Benefits

The benefits of johads were transparent and the whole village and not just a few families stood to gain from them.

Ownership

That the villagers had full control over the johads and not the NGO, was an important factor which induced villagers to come together.  Johads came to be regarded as a community asset and this justified the need for community action.

Mechanisms Inducing Participation

TBS laid stress on total involvement of the villagers in the irrigation system.  Hence its approach in Mandalvas has been to induce farmers participation in the system from the outset.  To institutionalise this participation it devised a number of mechanisms which eventually would serve to strengthen the spirit of community action.  These are:

Impact of the System

The impact of johads in the village can be distinctly observed in the increase in productivity of agricultural land and expansion of area under cultivation.  Drinking water is also available in the wells all the year round.  The johads have also indirectly resulted in strengthening the community and paving the way for self reliance.  Broadly speaking, the impact of johads can be seen:

On Productivity

The direct impact of johads can be seen on the productivity of land.  According to the villagers, before the drought years one bigha of land (1 bigha  = 0.25 ha.) yielded 250-300 kgs. of maize.  After the johads have been constructed, it has increased to 400 kgs. per bigha.

The area under cultivation has also increased. 

Increase in productivity has also had an impact on the migration pattern and now only two men work outside the village.

On Empowerment of the Group

Community management of johads along with afforestation through collective efforts has given these villagers greater access to and control over the local natural resources.  The johads are regarded as community assets which speaks for their total involvement in management of johads.  The same is true for the village forest.  The group as a collective entity has gained a lot of confidence to assess its needs and to look for solutions.  From johads they have diversified to protecting village forest and constructing three more johads for which the sites have been identified.  A road, market and a school are also proposed to be built by the sabha.

On Social Issues

Interaction among villagers indirectly promotes awareness on various social issues.  This can be seen in Mandalvas also where a discussion on persisting social problems like dowry and child-marriage has been initiated in the sabha meetings.  Although no perceptible change can be seen, a process has started and much depends on the sabha’s commitment to these issues in the future. The two women members in the sabha are actively involved in talking to women in the village on these issues and also on hygiene and literacy.  The children of the village too attend classes held daily at the TBS centre in the village.

Conclusion

This paper has identified the factors that make peoples’ participation possible in small irrigation systems and the mechanisms which facilitate it.  The role of an external agency as a catalyst in the entire process has also been highlighted.

This brings us to the issue of replicability of such systems.  In the light of current thrust on farmers’ participation in irrigation management, one needs to learn from these efforts; and these learnings, and not the specific system itself, can be applied on a larger scale.

There are two basic issues which are essential for the successful participation of farmers in an externally catalysed system.  One is identification of the irrigation system which is best suited for the area through discussions with the farmers, initial motivation of all farmers and provision of necessary financial and technical support.  Secondly, it is imperative to strengthen the village community or institutions in order to ensure involvement of all farmers in the different aspects of the system and leave the management entirely to them.  q  

Adapted from a study conducted by
Ms. Prema Gera, erstwhile social scientist at Development Alternatives. 
The study was sponsored by Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad.

Acknowledgement

The line drawings on pages 9 & 10 and the photograph on page 11 have been made
available by Mr. Anupam Sharma. Development Alternatives is grateful for this gesture.
 

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