ACHIEVEMENTS IN JHABUA
• Some 22 per cent of the districts land area was brought under the Rajiv Gandhi Watershed Development Mission (RGWDM) by April 199& 374 villages have got involved In developing 249 micro- watersheds.
• The foundation of any watershed programme is water and soil conservation. In JbidAw it means arresting the water that falls on the hilklopes Instead of allowing it to run away, carrying away with It the precious ppsoil. The water is so trained that It percolates into the land and mharges groundwater. Where necessary, small tanks am made. Some 143 new tanks have been built and the groundwa- ter table has increased by 0,64 mattes on an average in 19 micro- watersheds studied (a m1cro-watershed is 500-1,000 he). However, it roort be pointed out that rainfall was good in 1996 and 1"7. With increased water avaitability, the Irrigated area increased to 1,115 he In 18 micro-waxersheds studied, which Is nearly double the irrigated area of 1994-95. The flow Intensity and duration of natural streams has also increased.
• With Increased Irrigation, agricultural productivity is increasing. In so~ micro-watersheds studied, the cropped area has Increased by 7 per cent and the cropping intensity of the cultivated land is also Increasing. The am under rabi (dry season 4;rop) has increased by 340 he in the same seven micro-watersheds. There is also a shift towards cash crops with the area under soybean and Cotton having Increased by 340 ha.
• Food availability has increased by a minimum of one month to about four months. 313 willage4evel grain banks have been estabUshed to ensure timely availability of foodgrain on easy credit
• Due to watershed management programmes and planting of various beneficial species, such as bamboo, anw1a, Acacia catechu and neem, there has been a 66 per cent reduction in wasteland area In 11 micro-watersheds studied. District officials' estimates show that over 2 million trees have regenerated. The regeneration rate has been far more rapid compared to lands where only joint foreg management programmes have been Implemented because the water conservation efforts Increase sod moisture and pl*m grawth. in turn, there is a more rapid increase In economic returns to the poor people involved in watershed management
• Perhaps the biggest benefit to the local people has corm fmm the rapid regeneration of grass, which has increased fodder availability. some estimates suggest a 5-6 times increase in grass from the regenerated lands' The dramatic nature of this change can be Sam in the data from the Hathipahwe watersh where work started in 1995- 96 (see table; Written with blader of gtass). The watershed coven a total land area of 323.66 he which is used by two revenue viltagia6 Arnbakhodra and Badlusa. The watershed coven village agriCultund land, government forest land and government revenue land. Before the work started, the land was heavily eroded with no vegetation. The six tanks which Jay In the watershed would rarely got filled up6 There was severe shortage of fodder and villagers had to buy it from Gujarat And there was seasonal migration - an annual stream of distress. Following watershed management and stall-feeding of onttie, people of the watershed sell grass every year and seas*" migration has almost disappeared. The change has come in just three yeam a result of economic benefits from increased grass production. Apart from earning money from selling grass, villagers have started keep- Ing better breeds. They have recently received 14 high-quality cows and buffaloes. Increased water availability has stepped up vegetable production.
The watershed development programme Is already having a substantial social impact. Dependence an moneylenders has grant down. A study of select micro-watersheds revealed that loans from moneylenders had gone down by 22 per cent. Grain banks have resulted in Increased food security. Distress migration has reduond considerably.