Environment Management

Case Studies in
Sustainable Development

Village & Community involvement

India is a land of villages and no development is possible

without the village and communitys involvement. In the
olden days, the village grazing lands, forests, streams and
ponds were common property and villagers enjoyed the
benefits of these natural resources. They also played an
important role in their mgmt.
The British nationalised these resources and brought them
under the control of Govt. agencies (eg. Social forestry). This
alienated the villagers and without their support the survival
rate of the trees would be poor. Same is true of village ponds
and streams, which can be taken care of by villagers alone.
Ecologically vital village resources cannot be maintained by
the bureaucracy but by village community alone, since it is
they who have a stake involved in their maintenance and
welfare.
An excellent example of ecosystem regeneration may be
seen in the case of the PROJECT ARAVALLI instituted in the
state of Haryana in the 1990s (N. K. Uberoi, 2nd Ed., pp. 3234).
Dr. B. K. Mukherjee

Case Study : Project Aravalli

BACKGROUND: Aravalli literally means wall of stones or rocks.

Starting from Gujarat and traversing through Rajasthan, it extends to
Haryana and the border of Delhi. The width of the Aravalli hill system
varies from 10100 kms and its height between 300-900 metres. The
Aravalli hill system has always played an important role in shaping the
ecology and environment of the surrounding region and serves as an
important watershed for the area and rivers like the Chambal, Banas
and Luni.
DEFORESTATION: Till about 50 years ago, the Aravalli and adjoining
areas were thickly forested and home to a variety of animals and birds.
Subsequently, large-scale felling of trees (mainly for charcoal, timber
and firewood) as also the sudden increase in population and livestock
led to significant loss of forest cover.
Large areas of forests were cleared for agriculture, and grazing
pressures did not allow the remaining forests to survive and regenerate.
This, in turn, led to water scarcity, falling water table, soil erosion and
floods and overall degradation of the environment in the Aravalli region.
By the 1980s, it became evident that the Aravalli ecosystem was
degrading fast. Life became difficult for the people and the worst
affected were women. Traditionally, in this area, it had been their
responsibility to procure fuelwood, fodder, water, etc. for the family.
Women had to toil hard to meet these daily requirements.
Dr. B. K. Mukherjee

Project Aravalli (contd.)

THE PROJECT: In Haryana, most of the land in the Aravalli region

belonged to the community as a result of certain legislation in the 1930s,
subse-quently amended in 1972. Therefore, in 1990, a project was
launched in five districts of Haryana to restore/regenerate the
ecosystem, and a Project Authority was constituted.
Village women were encouraged to start nurseries to raise
saplings/seedlings needed for reforestation, which augmented their
income. The European Union offered 82% finance, while the rest was
borne by the Haryana govt.
VILLAGE FOREST COMMITTEES (VFCs): of 9-13 members were
constituted, with the Sarpanch as chairman and a Forest Dept. official as
member-secretary. It was mandatory to have at least 3 local women and
represen-tatives of SC/STs on each VFC, who were responsible for
drawing up plans for the project.
OPERATIONS:
About 10.5 million seedlings were raised by 207 Mahila nurseries for
which over Rs. 55 lakhs were paid by the project.
To encourage savings, women were helped to open accounts in banks
and post offices; since 1993, about 3400 such accounts have been
opened.
VFCs were paid cash incentives to take care of the project areas and to
sustain the interest of the villagers; so far Rs. 41 lakhs have been
disbursed to 184 VFCs by way of incentives.
Dr. B. K. Mukherjee

Project Aravalli (contd.)

STALL FEEDING OF LIVESTOCK: With plantations of saplings (for

reforestation) on the community lands, traditional grazing could not be
allowed or otherwise the saplings would not survive. Therefore, it was
decided that:
Instead of open grazing, stall feeding of livestock would be followed;
Instead of keeping smaller animals like goats and sheep, farmers would
switch to larger animals like buffaloes;
To stall-feed the livestock, large quantities of fodder would be required.
Hence different types of grasses and legumes were sown in the open
areas between saplings in the plantation areas. Women could now collect
fodder from their own community lands instead of having to trudge for
miles.
Initially, grass seeds were procured from the market; later villagers were
encouraged to harvest grass seeds from community lands for purchase
by the project authorities. Within two years, the fodder availability
increased substantially and the villagers were encouraged to raise the
size of their livestock population.
FINAL OUTCOME: By the time the project was terminated in 1998-99, the
Aravalli region had regained its lost ecosystem and glory. For example,
about 34,600 hectares of land has been rehabilitated and supply of fuel,
fodder, etc. has soared. Women have benefited immensely in the form of
incentive money, price of grass seeds, increased yield of milk and other
livestock products and, above all else, less day-to-day hardships.
Dr. B. K. Mukherjee

Maharashtra : Hivare Bazaar

A VILLAGE WITH 54 MILLIONAIRES
By Neha Sakhuja, Down To Earth, January 31, 2008 issue,
Pub: Society for Environmental Communications, New Delhi
Hivare Bazar, a village in Maharashtras droughtprone Ahmednagar district, was sliding into an
abyss after degrading its environment. But in less
than a decade it turned itself around: into one of
the most prosperous and model villages in the
country.
Through intelligent use of funds from government
schemes, it regenerated its natural resources
forests, watershed and soil led by a strong Gram
sabha (village council) and a determined village
population.
With just 400 mm of annual rainfall, drought was
chronic and acute. The village faced an acute
water crisis, its traditional water storage systems
were in ruins. Green hills, once home to mogra
flowers
and
fruit
trees,
stood
denuded
andWith
In 1992, the district was brought
under
the
Joint
Forest
Mgmt
program.
overgrazing
had made
scarce.
People
were
EGS funds and labour donations,
the panchayat
builtgrass
40,000
contour
trenches
forced
to migrate
to cities
search of
work.
around the hills to arrest runoff,
conserve
rainwater
andin
recharge
groundwater.
Surface storage systems were created and the villagers also took up plantation
and forest regeneration activities.
Dr. B. K. Mukherjee
6

Hivare Bazaar (contd.)

Dr. B. K. Mukherjee

Hivare Bazaar : Adarsh Gaon

In 1994, the Maharashtra government brought Hivare Bazaar under the Adarsh
Gaon Yojana (AGY), which was based on five principles: a ban on liquor, cutting
trees, free grazing, and family planning and contributing village labour for
development work. The gram sabha was the force behind village regeneration:
it took decisions consensually and people listened.
The first work it took up was planting of trees on forest land and people were
persuaded to stop grazing there. With the water conservation schemes, the
little rainfall that is received is trapped and stored into the soil. The number of
wells have now increased from 97 to 217 and irrigated land has more than
doubled.
Grass production went up from 100 MT in 2000 to 6000 MT in 2004. With more
grass available, milch livestock numbers have multiplied and milk production
rose from 150 litres/day in mid-1990s to 4000 litres/day in 2007.
WATER AUDIT: Since 2002, the village measures the total availability of water
every year and consensually decides on the agricultural cropping pattern to be
taken up. Normally, crops like moong, bajra and gram, which require less water,
are preferred. During years of surplus water, wheat and jwari are also grown.
With 400 mm of rainfall, Hivare Bazaar is self-sufficient. To control any shortfall,
the gram sabha has banned borewells. Water for drinking (for humans and
animals) and other daily use gets priority. 70% of the remaining water is used
for irrigation. The remaining water is used to recharge groundwater.
The water audit has been very useful in ensuring sustainability of both
agriculture and water available for drinking purposes for humans and livestock.
Even during droughts, Hivare Bazaar is the only village that does not require
Govt. tankers.
Dr. B. K. Mukherjee