| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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Strategy Implemented
To bring back smile on the face of drought-hit farmers of Pune Division was the main objective of this Abhiyan. To rebuild the confidence among farming community and to provide water security to village a holistic, inclusive implementation plan of the Abhiyan was drawn systematically.
To unite the people to tackle the drought situation and to generate confidence amongst stakeholders a workshop was organized on 24th March 2013 at Karad (District Satara) in the distinguished presence on Hon. Chief Minister, Govt. Of Maharashtra. Major political leaders of five districts were also present. The implementtion plan of the Abhiyan was discussed.
The committee at District was formed under chairmanship of District Collector, with all concerned department heads, NGO on stakeholders. The guidelines were issued by Divisional Commissioner office after discussion with Collectors and other stakeholders for preparation of Action Plan for Tahsil and each District. Then block wise, district wise action plan was prepared through consensus planning process. A Sub-Divisional Officer was appointed as a Nodal Officer at each Sub-division to monitor the Abhiyan Implementation process and to generate people participation in the Abhiyan. Periodic brainstorming meeting with inter departmental heads were organized. ‘Do it yourself’ thought was sown in the public mind through mass media publicity and local workshops, meetings. Farmers’ Groups, NGOs, Private Organizations, Banking Institutions, Co-operative Organizations, Associations of Industries were encouraged to take active part in the Abhiyan. Importance of Desilting of water bodies and water structures imbibed on the general mindset. State Government waived off royalty on silt. This encouraged the farmers to bear cost of digging & transporting silt to their fields. In a short span the Abhiyan took momentum and became a people’s movement.
Physical & Financial Implications of Jalyukt Goan Abhiyan
The activity wise detail plan and financial requirements were worked out on the basis of site specific technical & topographical needs of water conservation and water harvesting structures. After analysis of district plans, overall financial requirement was worked out to tune of Rs. 1327.52 Crores. The details are as follows :
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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The major stakeholders of Jalyukta Gaon Abhiyan are Agriculture Department, Small Scale Irrigation Department, Revenue Department, Irrigation Department, District Administration, Zilla (District) Panchayat, Co-operative Sugar Factories, NGOs, Corporate Sector and Villagers. Peoples’ Representative in Local Bodies and media also played an important role in mobilizing people and transforming this Abhiyan into mass movement.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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The financial resources used for the Abhiyan were made available through convergence of funds from various schemes, such as Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Hon. Chief Minister Relief Fund, State Scarcity Fund, District Planning Committee Fund, Zilla Parishad Fund, Member of Parliament (MP)/ Member of legislative Assembly (MLA) Local Area Development Fund, Co-operative Sugar Factories Fund, NGOs, Corporate Sector. Awareness/field visit of the district officers, legislators, Sarpanch and peoples to places where good works has been done were organized.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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Successful implementation of Jalyukta Gaon Abhiyan resulted in achieving various targets. In Jalyukta Goan Abhiyan 10 Big-Fast-Results activities were selected. Important activities for more effective capture of rain water and storage are :
Sr. No. Name of activity Output
1. Watershed Development structures
a Compartment Bunding 1,29,103 ha
b Continuous Contour Trenches 5,909 ha
c Earthen Nala Bund 3,440 ha
d Farm Pond 1192
2. Construction of Series of New Check Dams
a No of structures constructed 2225
b Deepening & widening of nala bed 214KM
3. Rejuvenation of old check Dam
a No of old check dams rejuvenated 1298
b Deepening & widening of nala bed 285KM
4. Repair of K.T. Weirs & Storage Tanks 233
5. Desiltation of Percolation Tanks/ Village Tanks/M.I. Tanks/ Check Dams 1210
a No of structures desilted 1210
b Quantity of silt removed 341.92
( In Lakh Cubic Meters)
Generally to construct a dam of storage capacity of this size of 8.48 TMC requires about Rs. 3000 Crores. Also issues related to land acquisition, construction and rehabilitation may delay the completion of dam project. But Jalyukt Gaon Abhiyan succeeded in creating large number of decentralized water bodies with total storage capacity of 8.48 TMC. With proper and effective coordination of stakeholders and people’s participation, 8.48 TMC water storage capacity was created with expenditure of just Rs.507.25 Crores. Also Decentralised water bodies have helped to recharge groundwater resources and bringing up the ground water table by 2 to 3 meters in different parts of the districts.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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The regular monitoring of progress of the Jalyukta Goan Abhiyan was carried out at every stage. Both process & output monitoring at division, district and block level by the concerned authorities was carried out effectively. At Division level Divisional Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner (EGS) supervised overall implementation of Jalyukta Goan Abhiyan. The periodic meetings with District Collector, Chief Executive Officer and concerned departmental officials helped to implement this Abhiyan successfully. The process of submitting the progress report of Abhiyan by Sub-Divisional Officer to District Collector and then further to Divisional Commissioner helped to take immediate decisions about the Abhiyan implementation.
At District level, the monitoring process was administered by the District Collectors and their subordinate officials. People’s Representatives were also visited the work site during execution phase and after completion of the works. Villagers also act as a watchdog to check quality of work. All this monitoring process helped to maintain quality standards up to the mark.
Works carried out under Jalyukta Gaon Abhiyan were evaluated by a 4 members team constituted under the chairmanship of Superintending Engineer (Irrigation), other members were Deputy Director of Agriculture, Executive Engineer (Irrigation) and Deputy Collector. The evaluation team carried the verification of actual works. The works for evaluation were selected on random basis. The Cross District Evaluation Teams were appointed for each district. After completion of evaluation works, the report submitted to the Office of Divisional Commissioner. After analysis of report it was observed that the works carried out under Jalyukt Gaon Abhiyan helped in significant increase in capture of rain water in the villages.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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The prominent challenges encountered in the implementation are:
a) Paucity of funds
b) Lack of co-ordination among the executing agencies
c) Lack of Motivation
d) Farmerss opposition & obstruction to the work of deepening and widening of nala beds
These obstacles were tackled through proper and continuous dialogues amongst all stakeholders. Field Visits of opposing farmers were arranged to villages who have achieved water-security through such works. Commom people, NGOz, Corporate Sector & Co-operative Institutions were encouraged to raise funds for the Abhiyan. Healthy Co-ordination amongst all stakeholders was maintained through periodic meetings & brainstorming exercise at district level.
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