Rajiv Gandhi Mission for Watershed Management programme (Madhya Pradesh) was started in October, 1994 for sustainable development of area on watershed basis. It not only aims at conservation of natural resources like land and water, but also attempts to improve economic conditions of villagers by enhancing their employment opportunities in their village. This programme has innovated the approach of watershed management through community participation.The goal set for the Watershed Management Mission was to improve land and water resources in environmentally degraded villages to improve productivity and thereby incomes of the people in these areas. 

         Poverty and environment degradation relate to each other as both cause and effect and the Mission sought to address the linkage.  To be able to do this, the Mission adopted a strategy of organizing elected committees of people on a watershed basis and financially and technically supporting them for a programme for labor-intensive land and water management.  The larger goal of the Mission was to move watershed management from a techno centric programme into a peoples movement.  The mission in the last eight years has grown to be the country’s largest watershed management programme covering 7600 villages . It has completed work on over 14.8 lakh hectares of land and is targeted to cover over 34.38 lakh hectares.The watershed mission model started from Madhya Pradesh went across to Andhra Pradesh, Orrisa, Rajasthan and Haryana. 

         As a result of thismission now there is increased resilience to drought, increase in productivity of farm land, increased production of biomass, increase in productivity of farm land, increased levels of participation with obvious spillovers into the larger process of democratic decentralization and community empowerment.  In the through a Pani Roko Abhiyan (People’s movement for water conservation) which was able to create over 7.06,334 water harvesting structures. This established the possibility of a community-led water conservation programme which the Mission has now made its second generation effort thereby realizing the larger objective of growing from a watershed management programme supported by government into a community-led campaign for water security. Further more, the following strategies and activities were taken up:

Strategies
  .    People-centred integrated watershed management .  
   .  Combines the twin objectives of poverty reduction and environment management
        by addressing the linkage .          
   .  Locate funds by “greening” investment under rural employment programmes like
        Employment Assurance Scheme and from area development programmes like
        Drought Prone Areas Programme and Integrated Wasteland Development
        Programme .  
  .   Work executed through Watershed Committees consisting of User Groups, Self-Help
       Groups and Credit Groups .
  .   Government through Mission provides technical and financial support.

Way to Success  

1.   CREATION  OF WATERSHED COMMITTEES
                    This is the body, which act as the Executive committee to manage the day-today affairs of the watershed at village level and facilities the participation of the entire village community.  It has representation from all user groups, self help groups, panches, women and representatives of the PIA’s.  One full time Secretary and two Volunteers are appointed with each Watershed Committee to assist in their responsibilities.  The Watershed Committee is the vehicle through which community meetings are organised, watershed plans drawn up and executed, records and accounts maintained, funds are distributed to community groups for executing the activities, implementation is monitored and maintenance of assets created under the project is done after the project period. As may be seen watershed management at the local level is planned and implemented by the watershed committees and control over 84.8% funds.
         
2.   PREPARATION OF ACTION PLAN AND COMMUNITY ORGANISATION  
                  Atmosphere building and people’s participation were ascertained through numerous meetings before taking up the Action Plan. User Groups and Self-Help Groups were created to initiate people’s involvement into Watershed activities and to use their knowledge and wisdom in the preparation of Action Plan. Members of User Groups, Self-Help Groups and representatives from Gram Panchayats were included in Watershed Development Committees (CWC). Chairman was elected and secretaries selected for each WDC. Extensive land literacy campaign was launched to find out various geographical, geomorphological and geohydrological problems and situations. House-to-house contact activities were used to identify social, economical, ecological, geo-hydrological needs, problems and perceptions of the villagers. 
         
3.   ATMOSPHERE BUILDING AND PUBLICITY:-
                      To inform and create awareness regarding watershed activities in the villagers, effective use of "Kala Jathas" and street plays was taken up. Core group members organised meetings for the villagers for watershed development activities to create awareness. In every micro-watershed Self-Help Group and User-Groups were organised before preparing the action plans. Exposure visits for farmers and field level staff were organised to places within the district and also outside (like Ralegaon Shinde, Urli Kanchan, Alwar etc.) to provide them live demonstration.         

4.   REPRESENTATION OF PEOPLES REPRESENTATIVES:
                    The president, Zila Panchayat is the patron of Watershed Advisory Committee at the district level.  People representatives’ help is taken in PRA exercise and preparation of action plans also. Every Watershed Development Committee necessarily includes three to four Gram Panchayat members.
 

5.   SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION WORKS: Various effective and efficient soil & water conservation measures were adopted.  Contour trenches, staggered pits, gully control measures, Ridge-to-valley treatment, drainage line treatment alongwith fodder development and plantations of suitable species were taken up on recharge zone. Contour bunds, earthen embankments, nalla bunds, sub-surface dykes,

percolation tanks and other water conservation and harvesting structures were taken up in transition and discharge zone. Agronomic measures like intercropping, intensive cropping etc. along with pasture development and silvi-pastural activities were taken up on transition and discharge zone.

6.   FODDER PRODUCTION :
 

Fodder development has been promoted on private as well as government land. Grassbeds, silvi-pasture and pasture development has been given emphasis. 2950 hectares of land has been taken up for fodder production. Stylosanthes hamata, Dinanath   ( Panicum Pediseletum), Sukli, Batodi are major fodder crops. Fodder development provided immediate returns to the villagers, environ for biomass generation and soil conservation. Most of the watershed villages have become self-sufficient in fodder and forage.

7.  PLANTATION ACTIVITIES:

Plantation on private and community lands have been given priority among the watershed activities. To supplement these activities, soil working and seedsowing in vast expanses has been taken up. Jatropa ( Ratanjot), Anona squamosa ( Sitaphal), Moringa oleifera ( Moringa), etc. in vast number have been taken up, through seed sowing. A large number of fruit bearing species like Mengifera indica ( mango), Emblica officianalis (Amla), Zizyphus jujuba (Ber), Psidium gujava (Guava) etc. have been taken up on private lands. Multipurpose trees like Bombax cieba ( Samel) Pethocellebium dulce ( jungle jalebi), Dendrocalamus strictus (Bamboo), Eucalyptus spp. , Citrus limon (lemon) have been taken up.  

8.  REGENERATION OF DEGRADED FORESTS:

Assisting and ensuring natural regeneration from dormant seeds, coppices and gap planting has been taken up in 2900 ha. of degraded forest areas. Informal groups or village forest committees under JFM have been protecting these areas for last 2 to 3 years.  Tectona grandis (Teak), Butea monosperma ( Palash) etc. are major coppicing species. 

9.   COMMUNITY-ASSISTED WATER HARVESTING TANKS:
 

350 community assisted water harvesting tanks have been constructed. All these tanks sites were selected by the villagers themselves. Without any outside support, the villagers have successfully constructed these tanks with local knowledge and wisdom. Villagers have contributed 50% of the total cost in the form of Sharam Daan.

10.  ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE OF GROUNDWATER: Besides other water conservation and harvesting measures, a number of percolation tanks and subsurface dykes have been constructed to artificially recharge the groundwater. These structures are constructed on sites identified through remote sensing maps and village transects. A major emphasis has been proposed in this regard for the next two years. Water table has increased by 1 to 1.5 meters

11.  COMMUNITY-ASSISTED FALIA SCHOOLS/PORIAWADIS:
             
Gram panchayat supported schools and Anganwadi have been opened. They are called as ‘Falia-School’ and "Poriawadi" respectively. The village community pays the teachers/poriawadi workers and maintains the organisations.

12.  ENCOURAGING NON-TRADITIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES:
             
To save on the fuelwood requirements  smokeless stoves (chullah) have been distributed in the villages. These have been very popular. Similarly, solar cookers have also been distributed.

Performance

The Mission which started in, 1994 has grown to be India’s largest watershed management programme covering nearly 35 lakh hectares covering 7600 villages which is 1% of India’s land. Highlights of performance of the Mission are detailed below:

Scale:  
                §         Area for coverage selected is 34.38 lakh hectares
    §         Work completed in 14.26 lakh hectares
    §         7600 villages under Mission  

Environmental Regeneration: Impact (compared to Pre-Mission period) :

                    §      Increase in area under Rabi was 16%  
     §  Increase in productivity in Rabi was 30%  
     §     Increase in area under Kharif was 21%  
     §  Increase in productivity of Kharif was 37%
    
    Community Organization

                                            Source : Summarized from www.jhabua.nic.in/watershed.htm &
                                                                                                www.mp.nic.in/watershed.htm
 

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