Odisha’s Watershed Odyssey

- Learning for Future Processes

Pranab R Choudhury
Organization of
Presentation
 Odishan Watershed Projects & Experiences
 Odishan Platform : Challenges, Contexts
 Land Rights & Watershed Development
 Thinking Aloud Options
 Convergence Contexts
 Convergence Tool Boxes
 Summarizing Focus
Watershed Experiences in Orissa
 Watershed Trajectory
Concerns/ Programs in Orissa Period
Generations
Catchment treatment Machhkund Project, Hirakud 1950s

Integrating SWC ridge to Machhkund, DPAP 1960s

valley
Brown revolution NWDPRA 1980s

External funded IWDP (Plains) – World Bank. ICDWDP - DANIDA 1990s

Participatory WDP Post 1994 Guideline : IWDP, EAS, ACA Late 1990s

Tool for Rural IWDP, NWDPRA (with focus on Convergence) Post Ninth Plan
Development
Sustainable Rural WORLP (Plus Watersheds ) Early-2000
Livelihood
E-Watershed OTELP (Rights & Empowerment) 2004-0nward

Next Generation? 2008 Common Guideline?

Bio-industrial? PPP? Trigger-watershed?
 Orissa
Donor & Project PIA Locations Focused Practices
Machhkund SC Koraput GWW, Cashew, Sisal & Coffee plantations, CSB
World Bank IWDP (Plains) Dept of SC Phulbani and Ganjam Bio-measures; vetiver barriers and plantations, Comm.
based mgt solutions for non-arable lands
DANIDA assisted IDCWDP Dept of SC Koraput Community participation, NGO-GO partnership, Silvi-
pasture, Grain bank, Water Hole
MoRD - IWDP SC/ Blocks 23 Dist (501 MWS) Common Guideline- Institution, Integration, CB
MoRD -IWDP & TDET CS&WCR&TI Koraput Participatory CPR dev, Bio-barriers, Integrated land use,
Zero energy irrigation system.
MoRD – DPAP Dept of SC 8 Dist (47 blocks) Soil Moisture Conservation, WHS
MoRD - EAS/ MoA – ACA Blocks/NGO KBK (ACA -314) Plantations, SHGs, Water Harvesting & recycling
MoA- NWDPRA SC <30% irrigated area Diversion weirs, Gully control, Vegetative filter strips,
blocks Plantations, Bull castration
Action Aid NGO Kalahandi Contour stone bunding, Hedge rows & plantations

NABARD NGOs Koraput Indo-German WOTR model

GAA (German Agro NGO - Tribal districts. Field bund plantations, Economic plantations, Contour
Action) Consortium stone bunding and plantations on hills
DFID – WORLP GO-NGO Western Orissa (4 NRM: Cropping system dev, aquaculture, tuber
districts) Livelihoods: Plus, micro-enterprise, CLRC
Institution: CB, Strategies
IFAD-DFID-WFP : OTELP GO-NGO Tribal Districts (7) Enhanced access to NR; food entitlement monitoring; ITK
promotion; comm. empowerment, strengthening
stakeholder Inst.; Pro-tribal dev
Arrangement &
Innovations
Mini Watershed – DANIDA
Micro-Watershed
Size One Village Watershed

Department
Nodal Agency - District DRDA/ITDA (OTELP)
PD (Watershed) - WORLP
Network -Sanjojana
Soil Conservation Department
PIA Other Department : FD
Block Development Office
NGO
Conventional Dept Approach
WDT – IWDP
PIA Team WDT & LST – WORLP, Jeevika
WDT & Village Community Organizer - OTELP
Watershed Manager & PoE – Sanjojana
GO & NGO - ICDWDP

Watershed Level WDC, UG & SHG

WDC, VDC, UG & SHG
…
 Shifting Concerns and priorities
 Gradual Evolution
 Participation, Integration, Institution, Empowerment,
Innovation
 Livelihoods of poorest and landless
 Convergence is the key
 Institutional Arrangements
 Collaborative platforms – WORLP, OTELP
 Cutting edge institutions – LST
…
 Water not marginal commodity unlike Semi-arid tracts
 Drainage is also as important as harvesting
 Recharge is not a major issue (84% of villages have GW at less than 10m
depth & 97% within 15m -MI Census, 2001; GWAR – 16%; Replenishable GW –
20 BCM)
 But LAND is
 Situation of Rights and access to resources
 Topographical features – more uplands, higher undulations
 Tribal-forest-upland-poverty link
 Tribal NRM vis-à-vis Govt Policy
 Smaller Size of Villages (area and population)

Land Rights in Watershed Context

Challenges …
 WDP for whom?
 Development Dilemma : Area or Community or Targeted
 Priority bias : Elitist, Resource, Discipline, funding, tech
 Ensuring Justice & Equity (Temporal & Spatial)
 Externalities to WDP
 Boundary limitation
 Resource mgt shift
 Changing Access – faster alienation!
 Gearing up for climatic aberrations – more run off
 Changing political, cultural and development contexts &
priorities
Context
 Investment Rush : Rural Development
 Employment & RD : NREGA, BRGF
 Agriculture : FSM, NHM, RKVY
 Water : BKVY, PIM, OCTMP
 Livelihood Quality : NRHM, WSM
 Marketing Mantra : Rural Marketing
 Target : Billions in the bottom of Pyramid
 Examples galore – E-choupal to Bio-Village
 Micro-finance Destination: Rural Poor
 Partnership is the buzz word
 Aloud!
Concerns,
Options &
Innovations
Approach
 Concerns : Normative
 Equity, Effectiveness, Sustainability, Cultural Identity, (Vulnerable)
Livelihoods (SL-framework), Gender
 Rights based Approach
 Investing to Alienate or Ensuring Rights
 Political context
 Elite capture of participation, Agency in Social Capital
 Small is beautiful
 Village Watersheds (e.g. Pallisabha)
 Implementation (Institutional) framework
 State-District-Block-Watershed OR State-Basin-Sub-levels-Wshd
 Institutions at different levels
 Convergence
 Resource Convergence
 Knowledge Convergence
 Institution Convergence (at Vill level)
 Convergence
Framework
Govt/ NGO/Donor/ICAR Corporate
Bilateral/
Multi-lateral

NRM NREGA, BRGF, Integrated NRM – SDTT, CSER Options, CAMPA

BKVY, PIM, NAIP
OCTMP, KBK-
RLATP
Livelihoods SGSY, NRPAP, NABARD-WADI (TDF), CSR Options, Value
KBK-RLTAP NAIP, Basix additions, NTFP
marketing

Institutional WDC, VEC, CBOs (SHG, Fed, Coops, Bio-industrial

VWSC, VHC Farmer Groups) by watersheds in
NGO, NABARD etc. partnership mode,
WASSAN, FOREWARD Industrial catchment
etc. treament
Technology
Contexts
 Productivity Vs Equity
 Agriculture Dev Vs Tribal Dev
 Collaborative user-driven Vs Curious Research
 Dividing or Bridging Water gaps
 Green Vs Blue Water
 Slow vs faster pace of land development
 Red and Green Technology
 New Technologies – SRI, Natural/Organic
Convergence Contexts
Convergence
Trajectory
 Single window – Block Approach
 Platform of DWC – to dovetail on-going programs while reviewing
and monitoring the watershed plans in meetings
 Common Guideline 2001 : Involvement of PRIs to convergence of
other programmes of MoRD Viz. JSGSRY, SGSY, IAY, CRSP, Rural
Drinking Water Supply etc.
 Recommendations to saturate watershed projects on priority basis
by ensuring convergence with other Government programmes.
Suggestions for reorienting guidelines of SGSY, RMK and other micro
credit based programmes for taking up watershed project areas on a
priority basis along with credit linkage with financial institution,
insurance agency and reflectance of the watershed credit needs in
district credit plan
 WORLP & OTELP Models
 2008 Common Guideline
Convergence in
Koraput (2004)
Sl No Convergence Rs in Millions
1 Funds mobilized per Watershed 0.53 (0 – 2.26 million)
% of convergence amount to
  46.2
watershed fund spent
Number of Works converged per
2 4.4 (1.6 – 19.3)
watershed
3 Amount spent per converged work 0.12
Range of amount spent per
4 0.0 - 2.28
watershed
Communication, Drinking Water Supply,
5 Sectors converged Education, Irrigation, Plantation, Pisci-culture,
Rural Housing
ATMA, CIC Grant, CRF, DPEP, EAS, FDR, IAY,
IHDP, ITDA, MLA LAD, Nalco Fund, OBB, PHD
6 Schemes Converged
(RWSS), PMGSY, SGRY, SGSY, Tribal Coffee,
Untied Fund, WFP, PMGAY,
7 Agencies Linked Block, GP, ITDA, PS

Rs 62.5 million mobilized in 117 WDPs

Analyzing
Convergence
 Easier Said than Done
 Leadership of PIA – (1.9 m /WDP in Pottangi)
 Sectoral Limitation – FD, Health limited
 Involvement of WAC, Dist & State
 Developed Islands!
Convergence
Tool Boxes
 Tool Box : Appraisal & Planning
 Appraisal
 NRM
 Net Planning & Land Rights Mapping ; manual GIS (3-D), People-
scientist LCC, joint survey (Rev-FD-WDC-PIA)
 Hydrological & Vegetation Survey etc.
 Livelihood Analysis
 Mkt-based Tools, VCA, Skill & Institution mapping
 Social & Institutional
 Stakeholder analysis, Institution mapping & analysis
 Bottom-up with Top-bottom (GIS based convergence)
 Planning
 Vision approach & LFA
 Convergence Plan
 Linking to GP Plan
 Tool Box : Institution Options
 Institutional Linkage at Watershed/Village level
 PRI & Other Committees (Health/Education/Sanitation etc)
 Linkage with Others
 Res Institution, Govt Dept, Corporate, Service
Centers
 Sub Committee at Watershed Level
 LL, Women, Vulnerable (SHG/CIG! )
 Small and Marginal Farmers (Area Groups!)
 Tool Box : Technology
 Small Holder Options
 Multi-tier, Food-seed-green banks, bio-prospecting
 CPR Options
 Bio-based options – barriers
 No closure – early return
 Compensating losers
 (Targeted) Livelihood Promotion
 Tool Box :Livelihood
 Livelihood Opportunity Analysis
 Resource/Skill, Enabling Environment, Market,
Project Relevance/Concern
 Identifying options through VCA, Institutional
frameworks & Business Plan
 Building viable & sustainable linkages
 CBO – SHG Fed, Coop, Producer Company
 Linkages with GO, NGO & Corporate
Summarizing Focus
 Smaller size – Single Village
 Focus on “WHO”
 Enabling Access to resources by the Poorest
 Empowerment of the Marginalized
 Slow-pace & Low Lost – Technology
 Space for Innovation
 Convergence : Knowledge, Resource & Inst
 Planning for Externalities & Exit
Thanks!