MADHYA PRADESH DARSHAN III EDITION

RURAL IMMERSION 2011

Group5:BURHANPUR

FullNameofallteammembers(FirstName,Surname):
AnjaliBhushan
AranyaChoudhury
TanyaMalik
HarshitGupta
RichaGupta
PrateekKhanna
VaibhavMaheshwari
AbhinavKhullar
AnujPeepre
AnupamaKumari

RuralImmersionProgram2011
District:Burhanpur
BasicStatisticsabouttheDistrict
Burhanpur,alsoknownasDeccandoors,isoneofthedistrictsofMadhyaPradesh.Itissituatedonthebanks
oftheriverTapti.Thisisafortifiedcitywith60kmlongwallssurroundingit.Thecityhas7doors.
CollectorandDM:RenuPant(IAS)
Population:634883(asofcensus2001)generallyMuslimpopulation
Literate:311929
Location:340kilometers(211mi)southwestofBhopaland540kilometers(336mi)northeastofMumbai
Area:62%forestland
Majoroccupation:agriculture,powerloom
Majorcrop:Cotton,Banana,Sugarcane,wheat,chilly

Overaperiodofseven7days,wevisitedmanyvillagesandobservedmanyactivitiesas
follows:
HardaVillage
Thisvillageisanexamplehowthingscanimproveifpeoplecometogetherandhelpeachothertodeveloptheir
village.Tillsomeyearsback,theconditionofthisvillagewasverybadasthehouseholdsweregettingdestroyed
duetothedrinkinghabitsofthevillagermenandwomenboth.Thechangecameaftertheelectionofa
sarpanchwhohailedfromthesamevillagebuthadbeenworkinginatownasacaterer.Heeducatedthe
villagersabouttheharmfuleffectsofalcoholandimposedmanyrulesandregulationsonthevillagerssoasto
stoptheirdrinkinghabitsaftertheirconsent.Therewerepunishmentsimposedonthevillagerswhousedto
drinkandliquorsshopswereshutdown.Themoneycollectedwasagainusedforthedevelopmentofthevillage.
Thevillagersarenowworkingonamissioninwhichpolypackarebannedinthevillageandhasinturnstopped
thehabitoftobaccoeatingamongthevillagers.
ThevillagenowcomesinthecategoryofthemostdevelopedvillageinMadhyaPradesh.TheSarpanchofthe
villageisbeingsenttoChinaforatrainingprogramasarepresentativefromtheMPgovernment.
Dahinda

TheconditionofthisvillagewasnotasgoodasHardamainlybecauseofitsinaccessibilityfromthemaindistrict
i.e.Burhanpur.Roadswerenotthereinmostoftherouteandtheconditionofthevillagerswasalsoverypoor.
AnNGOnamedAgaKhanFoundationishelpingthisvillagebyformingsmallSelfHelpGroupsamongthe
womenofthevillage.
AgaKhanFoundation(SelfHelpGroup):
ThefoundationishelpingthewomenofDahindavillagetoformsmallselfhelpgroupandraisefundswhichare
depositedinthebank(BankofIndia)bytheNGOworkersinvolvedwiththevillage.Earlierthemoneyborrowed
fromlendersattractedinterestupto50%insixmonths.Thefundraisedbythewomenislentatinterestof24%
perannumandisalsousedtoprovideloantothewomeninthegroupsaccordingtotheirneedsand
requirement.Thismoneyisusedforfarming,cattlerearing,education,healthetc.Thisinitiativehelpedthe
villageinbecomingselfreliant.EachwomancontributesRs.3040permonth.Therearearound25groups
formedtilldate.Theygobythesloganbundbundsesagarbhare,paisepaisesebachatbadhe.
RiverRevivalProject(formationofperennialrivers)
TheRiverrevivalprojectaimsatincreasingthemoisturecontentofthecatchmentareabyholdingthewater
there.Earliertheriverwaterusedtoflowdowntotheriverwithverylittleamountofitbeingretainedbythe
surface.Nowtheyhaveerectedbarriersofsandinthefieldstoholdthewater.Thesebarriersaretrapezoidal
withupperwidthas1mandbottomas3m.Generaldistancebetweentwobarriersis50m.Thesebarriers
preventnotjustthewaterbutalsothenutrientrichsoilfromflowingaway.
Alsoonthehilltheyhavecreatedbunkerstoholdwater.Theyhavecreatedbunkersatsamecontourstohold
thewaterontheslopeitself.Theconstructionofthesebunkersrequiresforecastingtherainfallandthen
accountingforlosses.Thedimensionsofthebunkersarethendecidedaccordingly.
Theaimofthisprojectistomaketheriverperennial,increasethemoisturecontentofthecatchmentareaand
tohelpincreasetheproductivityofthefields.ItalsoprovidesemploymentunderNREGS.
NepaMillvisit
OurvisittoNEPApapermillwasoneofthemostremarkableexperienceswehadinourruralimmersion
programme.TheNEPAmill,attheheartoftheNEPATownshipisaclassicexampleofhowdelicensinghas
deeplyimpactedmostofthestaterunenterprises.Indianpaperindustryhadbeendelicensedunderthe
Industries(Development&Regulation)Act,1951witheffectfrom17thJuly,1997.Beforethat,NEPAmill
enjoyedsomewhatofamonopolyinthepaperindustryasnewspapercompanieswerecompelledtobuyfrom
it.Oncethegovernmentmandatewasrelaxed,themillquiteobviouslyfacedstiffcompetitionfromtheprivate
players.Itdidnothelpthatoperationsweremostlymanualinthemill.AsofnowtheMillproduces,amedium
brightnesspapertypewhichisusedbyHTmediaandsomenationalHindidailiesforthemiddlepagesofthe
newspapers.Themillusesitsownscrappapersreturnedbythescrapmongersasrawmaterialformakingthe
paperpulp.OneofthemajoradvantagesofNEPApapermillisthepresenceofriverTapiandtheabundance
supplyofwaterforthetreatmentofpaper.Wewereversedwiththeentireproductionprocessrightfrom
makingthepaperpulptoheatdrying,cuttingandpackagingintorolls.Weweretoldbythesupervisorsthatmill
justaboutmanagestobreakeven.Profitsarehardtocomebyinthefaceofstiffcompetitionandlackof

automation.Wealsosawhowrailroadrunbythesideofthepapermillforeasytransportationofpaperrolls.
Oneoffocalpointsofthevisitwasthatwegottounderstandtheexactwayssuchmillbasedtownshipsthrive.
Furtherwenoticedthatthesalaryofthelaborersaswellastheofficersinchargeofthemillwerenowherenear
theindustrystandard.Whereasitisobvioustofathomthatautomation,costreductionandsubsequentincrease
inoperationalefficiencywillmakeNepaseeprofitsoncemore;thereisactuallymuchmoretoit.Thefactthat
anentiretownshipsurvivesjustbecauseoftheNEPAmill,preventstheexecutivesfromdownsizingor
automatingandjustlyso.AllinallthevisittoNEPAmillwaslearningexperienceinmorewaysthanone.
Loksevaportal
Theyhavedevelopedanonlineportal,lokseva.gov.in,whichismaintainedbyNIC.Thisportalservesthe
purposeoftrackingthecomplaints.Theykeeptrackoftheduedateofanyregisteredcomplaintandthe
concernedperson.Areminderpopsupwhentheduedateiscloseandacallisgiventocompletetheprocess
andclosetherequest.Thereare26kioskscalledCSC(CommonServiceCentre)throughoutthedistrictwhere
thecommonmancanfilltheapplicationandgetthereceipt.Theplanistoincreasethekiosksto200byendof
2012.
Dripirrigation:Thedripirrigationiskindofameshofpipeswithsmalloutletsspreadthroughoutthefields.The
purposeistoprovidetheaptamountofwaterattherightspotwheretheplantisandreduceunnecessary
wastage,whichmaybeintheformofevaporationetc.Also,fertilizerscanbeusedinthedripstohavebetter
impact.InBurhanpur,thisisbeingextensivelyusedinbananaplantationsandpaddycropsandhasshown
significantincreaseintheproductivity.

Majorlearning(s)fromtheexperience

Government schemesarereachingtothevillagersaswesawinthecaseofDhulkot,Dahinda.
EvensomeNGOsarecomingforward

We saw how a great leadership can actually bring a big difference in the lives of many. The
Sarpanch of Harda village is a live example of a true leader who helped in eradicating the
drinkingissueinthevillage.

Thereisgreatenthusiasmamongstthevillagechildrentowardseducation.TheGovernmenthas
made good initiatives in the form Sarv Sikhsha Abhiyaan by making the schools easily
accessible. But there is dearth of teachers in the schools which is one of the most important
issuesatpresent.

Reflectionsoftheentiretrip:Howdoesitchangeouroutlooktowardsruralpeople,
Government

Wehadauniqueopportunityofinteractionwithpoliceofficers.Itreallychangedour
perspectivetowardsthem.Earlier,weusedtofeelthatpoliceofficersarecasualabouttheir
dutiesbutwefoundthatisnotthecase.Theyareconstrainedintheirreachduetolimited
manpower.Theratioofno.ofpeople/policemanisveryhighinIndiacomparedtothefigurein
otherdevelopedcountries

.Thatistheprimereasonbehindtheirseeminglycasualapproach.
ThemindsetoftheeducatedIndianyouthwhichprohibitedthemtojointhepoliceforceis
anothercauseforthenotsocompetentpoliceforce.

Use of IT: All the department of the state authorities in particular Burhanpur district are well
interlinked.

Suggestions:

Biomass energy model can be used to make village energy sufficient. Such a model has been
implemented in villages of Karnataka and many villages have become energy sufficient there.
Themodelissustainableandlowcost.

Thediscretionarypowersofsarpanch ofHardacanbeincreased.Forinstance,theemergency
hospital vans are being used for delivery purpose but considering the feats of the village and
sarpanch, the use of hospital vans can be increased. The sarpanch could be given more
discretionarypowers.