Livelihood Augmentation in Rainfed Areas - Development Support ...

about 80 families, located in the foothills of the Shivaliks in Haryana. Under the
leadership of P R Mishra, the Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and
Training Institute, (CSWCRTI), Chandigarh, made an intervention that brought about
dramatic changes both in the ecology of the watershed as well as the economic
situation of Sukhomajri and adjoining villages. The intervention comprised of the
creation of a series of earthen dams on the drainage line, protection of degraded
forest lands through ‘social fencing’ by the villagers themselves, and reclamation
of wastelands through the cultivation of valuable tree species and bhabbar grass
(Eulialopsis binata), used locally for making ropes and also as fodder. The all-round
improvement in natural resources led to the strengthening and opening up of a
variety of livelihood activities. Within a decade, the benefits accruing from the project
brought a sea change in the ecological and socio-economic situation in the village
(see Box 1.1).
Box 1.1: Benefits Accrued from Watershed Development in Sukhomajri
The benefits accrued from the project over the span of a decade, starting from the mid
70s, may be gauged from the following:
• Run-off sedimentation from the highly eroded Shivaliks reduced dramatically from
80 t/ha to less than 1 t/ha.
• Production of grass more than doubled from 3.82 t/ha to 7.72 t/ha.
• Increased availability of fodder led to a transformation in the composition of livestock
in favour of buffaloes, which increased from 79 in 1975 to 291 in 1986. This led to
increased milk production from 334 litres per day to 579 litres per day.
• Tree density increased from 13 per ha to 1,292/ha in 1992. About 500 khair trees
mature in the forest every year. These trees produce katha, an extract used in
medicine, pan and natural dyes, which are highly valued in the market and fetch
a price of Rs 500/kg. If the villagers were to set up a small village enterprise, they
would produce and market katha directly and earn Rs 36 million annually.
• Availability of irrigation water doubled the productivity of wheat and maize.
• Bhabbar grass sold to paper mills earned the villagers Rs 2 lakhs per annum.
• Prosperity became a by-word in Sukhomajri. The 80 households replaced their
thatch and mud dwellings with brick and cement houses, and more than half of
them own television sets.
• Sukhomajri was one of the few villages to be taxed on income from natural regeneration.
Since 1989, when the Income Tax Act brought about an amendment, the Community
Based Organization (CBO) in charge of the economic activities has been paying 15
per cent income tax and a sales tax of 8 per cent on sale of bhabbar.
Source: ENVIS, June 2008
Introduction
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