Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
like crop failure, soil erosion and water inadequacy, thereby creating a
self-sustaining movement. Farmers are mobilized through awareness
campaigns, advertisement in farmer magazines, etc.
Trees bring biodiversity, soil fertility, a cooler climate, cleaner air
and increased rainfall. Their yields reduce agricultural expenditure, while
creating the possibility of future income through small-scale forestry
enterprises. A process documentation of PGH’s activity is given in
Annexure 14, and a detailed case study of PGH is given in Annexure 19.
CASE 3: MAHARASHTRA’S HORTICULTURE USING
THE EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT
Maharashtra Government pioneered the famous Employment
Guarantee Act in 1977, whereby it guaranteed work to rural unskilled
manual laborers needing work. Initially, only public works like roads,
irrigation tanks, other water-conserving structures, and works in the Forest
Department were taken. But it was noted that there was a scope to increase
opportunities for rural employment and open up possibilities in small and
marginal farmers’ farmlands (which constitute almost 75% of farm holdings)
by improving such farms. At that time, about 85% of lands in Maharashtra
were rain-fed, and cereal and other crops were becoming slowly unviable
with unpredictable outputs due to the vagaries of monsoon.
It was then that Maharashtra Government introduced the
horticulture scheme (popularly known as “EGS horticulture”) in 1990. It
was an instant success from the first year. According to the EGS Scheme,
the farmer will be given daily wage to plant horticulture trees in his own
farm. The scheme envisaged financial support to the farmer for three
years – 50% of the cost of production in the first year, 30% in the second
year, and 20% in the third. The critical inputs like good QPM, fertilizers,
etc., were provided by the Agriculture Department, and the costs were
deducted from the farmer’s subsidy. In fact, substantial quantities of the
planting material were developed in the nurseries of the four agricultural
universities of the State.
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