Livelihood Zones in West Bengal
A scenario for AWM interventions
Prepared by:
Rajarhat PRASARI, Kolkata (India)
In consultation with
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome (Italy)
1 PRASARI was established in year 2007 and is a Non Govt. Organization working in rural development sector. Within a less than four years’ span, PRASARI has proved its role in improving food sufficiency in southern parts of West Bengal viz; Sundarbans. PRASARI shares part of its success with local PRIs (Panchayeti Raj Institutions) as well who are taking further initiative and a lead role in some parts of Sunderban. Further in the line, PRASARI has expanded in the northern parts of WB as well viz; Jalpaiguri district and the theme over here, is to introduce and promote SRI (System of Rice Intensification). PRASARI believes that small and marginal farmers over here would be benefitted most with this new intervention.
Today PRASARI is the leading organization in the state of West Bengal in promoting SRI.
PRASARI receives its support from various national funding agencies such as NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) and SDTT (Sir Dorabji Tata Trust) and recently started consulting FAO of UN on AWM (Agriculture Water Management) Potential in India.
This document has been prepared by PRASARI in consultation with FAO of UN, Rome, Italy. This document explains mainly about the Livelihood Zones identified during the workshop held during November 2010 in Kolkata (India). The data used in this document were collected from various government agencies as soft copy and though various online resources such as government websites.
Mailing address: PRASARI 17 B, Bapujinagar, Jadavpur, Kolkata – 92 India
+91-33-24297935 +91-9836341858
May 2011
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1 INTRODUCTORY NOTE
3
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
ater is a precious natural resource and in Indian scenario, availability of water is getting scarce in several states; reason is not the unavailability and rather is not being able to harvest the W potential. E.g. the case of West Bengal - fig 1 (1 and 5) explains the situation; there is a huge difference between ground water potential (yield Litres/sec) and ground water quality where ground water is low. West Bengal where more than 72% of population resides in villages and is predominantly agriculture dependent; rural livelihoods are vulnerable to both floods and droughts - water has to be planned, developed, conserved and managed as such, keeping in view the socio-economic aspects and needs of the State (MInistry of water resources 2002). It is also one among most important aspects to be considered during development planning at ground level.
In the light of technology where a major portion of agriculture can be fed with deep tube wells, horizons, even with shallow water pumps, can put drought prone areas vulnerable to mass famine (Fig 1; 4). Though the proportion of utilization would vary from state to state but various researches show that there has been a sharp decline in the ground water table over the years (Fig 1; 8). Availability of technology and proper infrastructures might help conserving water and make it able to get utilized for dry seasons but lack of awareness among communities towards water related issues can put efforts at risk. According to a NGO viz; Development Alternatives Group, It is recognized that water problems cannot be solved only by quick technical solutions; solutions to water problems require the consideration of various cultural, educational, and scientific aspects (DevelopmentAlternativesGroup 2001).
In India, State Governments mostly run various schemes such as canal irrigation, RLI (River Lift Irrigation) etc. through local administration in the area and try to strengthen the situation of irrigation facilities for the local farmers. The arrangement in most situations is based on users’ cooperatives/societies (Phadhke 2002) and it should ideally be like this only. Somehow the trend shifts towards the utilization of ground water resources; reasons might be lack of proper maintenance of canals/RLIs or so (IWMI 2010). Furthermore, the use of shallow water tube wells and other low power irrigation devices allow users have independent rights to use ground water for farming purposes. In this light, if policies of devolving management of resources assume that (only) users will organize and take on the necessary management for community based irrigation facilities grow major possibility of the system getting dysfunctional within a short span of time only (Meinzen-Dick, Raju et al. 2002).
Coupling the above information with monsoon rainfall; largest source for water for the agriculture – on all India time scale has been without any trend and mainly random in nature over a long period of time. But on the spatial scale, existence of trends was noticed such as Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim and Bihar Plains (decreasing) and Punjab, Konkan & Goa, West Madhya Pradesh and Telangana (increasing) (Guhathakurta and Rajeevan 2008). Above mentioned trends are based on the rainfall data from 1901 – 2003 so It can be easily assumed that with vagaries of climate change, this rainfall trend might show a different trend in future as well. This also implies that policies for water use should be realistic and essentially be looking at broader perspectives and should not look for only immediate solutions as this might put Indian agriculture on a temporarily boost putting long term interests at risk.
4 IMPORTANT MAPS OF INDIA
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
Figure 1; 1 – Hydrological map, 2 – District wise population, 3 – Drought prone areas, 4 – Flood prone areas, 5 – Ground water quality, 6 – Land use, 7 – Population growth, 8 – Decadal ground water fluctuation (1997 - 2006)
5
2
BACKGROUND
6
BACKGROUND
Workshop held in November 2010 in Kolkata (WB) helped produce a map of WB (Fig 1) with different zones1 delineated on the basis of similarity of living conditions of rural communities. Participants from different govt. and non-govt. agencies contributed to explore solutions as well to overcome the problems of water for agriculture purposes in WB; relevance of each solution was also defined for each zone.
Further in the line, participants also helped to find out priority zones (where AWM can be an entry point) and few criteria such as poverty level, unavailability of infrastructure etc. were considered for it to be relevant in the context of rural communities over there.
Figure 2: Different zones defined by the participants during the group discussion.
The zones defined in Fig 1 are based on the information provided by the expert participants and does not necessarily match with the AEZ2 map of the West Bengal. This was a two days’ workshop and experts showed excellent participation for the entire group activities during the workshop; various group discussions and presentation helped brought key features of West Bengal forward.
In total there were made five groups3; facilitators provided them with necessary tools such as different relevant maps, blank attribute sheets and that were with clear objectives. So in spite of being from different back grounds, participants could come to some kind of consensus and ultimately could produce the map showing different zones relevant for AWM interventions. Figure 3: AEZ map of West Bengal.
1 See annexure for details. 2 AEZ – Agro ecological zones 3 See workshop report for more details. 7
3 METHODOLOGY
8
METHODOLOGY
Three main steps are considered in order to explain profile of different zones.
A. Identification of different zones B. A brief look in to different aspects of State of West Bengal C. Different livelihood zones and major characteristics D. Identification of AWM investment potential
A. Identification of different zones Workshop provided participants a platform to discuss and redefine the zones necessary for AWM intervention. Initially there were little disagreements pertaining to demarcation of different zones but later due to expert facilitation, participants could come on a common consensus.
B. A brief look in to different aspects of State of West Bengal It would be worthwhile to have a look at this state in a nut shell; population and land use pattern are major in this topic – would be able to give an overview of the state in general.
C. Analysis of different datasets Datasets pertaining to area, population, climate, workers, agriculture etc. were obtained from Bureau of Applied Economics & Statistics (Govt. of West Bengal) and National Atlas & Thematic Mapping Organization (Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India).
A lot of information has been fetched from different scientific papers and secondary resources for making better analysis of existing datasets obtained from different government departments.
D. Identification of AWM investment potential Looking at the several solutions been identified by the participants, it was a must task to find out the relevance of each solution in each area, hence every solution was checked against each zone (Table 2) as per its relevance for making an investment.
9 ZONES’ DELINEATION IN WB IDENTIFICATION OF DIFFERENT ZONES The two days’ workshop held in Kolkata facilitated by PRASARI and FAO gave participants from different government and Zones’ delineation in West Bengal non-government agencies a platform to Livelihood zones’ identification discuss about possibilities to improve agriculture-water situation in West Bengal. Livelihood zones’ nomenclature During the workshop, initially many zones were identified but rearrangement (through rigorous group discussions and presentations) resulted in total 15 zones (except Kolkata) (Fig 2, Table 1). Different maps such as soil map, AEZ map and agro-climatic maps were considered in order to delineate boundaries for livelihood zones.
LIVELIHOOD ZONES - IDENTIFICATION
A detailed analysis considering several important factors such as climate, population, agriculture, poverty, and water related issues etc. is done in order to define different livelihood zones. It was also analyzed on how a specific zone can be considered for making an investment; poverty followed by lack of infrastructure for water, technology and management still make most important criteria amidst all intended for making an investment. West Bengal GIS layers (up to block level) were used in order to define the boundaries of Livelihood zones. These layers were then superimposed over the administrative map of the state; the delineation of the boundaries of the entire livelihood zones is random in nature and is not district specific. Hence, it gives all the zones a vague boundary contrasting to normal revenue map of the area (Fig 4). It is also clear from the Livelihood Zones’ map that a single zone might consist of more than one district.
LIVELIHOOD ZONES - NOMENCLATURE
Table 1: Nomenclature of Livelihood Zones based on key characteristics and key livelihoods
Zone Nomenclature based on key characteristics and key livelihoods in the zone Zone 1: Hilly-Terai Rain-fed Grain Crops4-Fruits-Vegetables- Spices5- Livestock Livelihood Zone. Zone 2: Terai-Grain crops-Fiber-Vegetables-Livestock Livelihood zone. Zone 2a: Terai-Grain crops-Fiber-Tobacco-Vegetables-Livestock Livelihood zone. Zone 3: Barind Rain-fed- Grain crops-Pine apple-Fiber Livelihood zone. Zone 4: Barind-Rice-Horticulture Livelihood zone. Zone 5: Gangetic Alluvial & Barind- Rice-Sericulture Livelihood zone. Zone 6: Ruhr & Alluvial-Grain crops-Poultry-Livestock Livelihood Zone. Zone 7: Ruhr & Alluvial-Grain crops-Fishery-Poultry-Livestock-Cottage Industry Livelihood zone. Zone 7a: Old Vindhyan alluvial-Grain crops-Fishery-Poultry-Livestock-Cottage Industry Livelihood Zone. Zone 8: Ruhr & Alluvial-Grain crops-Livestock Livelihood zone. Zone 9: Eastern Plateau & Alluvial-Grain crops-Livestock Livelihood zone. Zone 10: Coastal & Alluvial-Grain crops-Fishery-Floriculture-Vegetable-Legumes-Livestock Livelihood zone. Zone 11: Coastal-Grain crops-Horticulture-Livestock-Fishery Livelihood zone. Zone 12: Coastal-Grain crops-Fishery-Livestock-Bund Horticulture Livelihood zone. Zone 13: Coastal-Small Scale Single crop (Grain/Horticulture)-Capture Fishery-Livestock Livelihood zone.
4 Grain crops typically include Rice, Wheat, Mustard and Maize, and in some zones such as zone 1, it is Millet. 5 Spice crops typically include cardamom, ginger, turmeric etc. 10 LIVELIHOOD ZONES IN WEST BENGAL
Table 2: Zones and districts falling under a particular zone
SN Zones Districts falling under the zone 1 Zone 1 Darjeeling 2 Zone 2 Jalpaiguri 3 Zone 2a Koch Bihar 4 Zone 3 Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Maldah 5 Zone 4: Maldah 6 Zone 5: Maldah, Murshidabad 7 Zone 6: Birbhum, Bardhman 8 Zone 7 Birbhum, Bardhman, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas 9 Zone 7a Birbhum, Bardhman 10 Zone 8: Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur 11 Zone 9: Purulia 12 Zone 10: Kolkata, Nadia, Haora, North and South 24 Parganas 13 Zone 11: South 24 Parganas 14 Zone 12: South 24 Parganas, East Midnapur 15 Zone 13: South 24 Parganas
Figure 4: Livelihood Zones' Map 11 AN OVERVIEW STATE OF WEST BENGAL 2 West Bengal with the area of 88752 Km is the third largest economy in India. West AN OVERVIEW Bengal has 18 districts and Kolkata serves as the state capital. There are over 23 towns POPULATION with a population of over 100,000. The largest cities are Kolkata, Howrah, Asansol, Durgapur LAND USE PATTERN and Siliguri. Other important towns include Darjeeling, Kharagpur and Haldia. Kolkata is amongst the largest metropolitan regions in the world. The state has international boundaries with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal (IMRBInternational 2010).
The River Ganga and its numerous tributaries have contributed to some of the most fertile regions in the world. In West Bengal, agriculture is the mainstay for about 70% of the population. The land usage in West Bengal is as follows - arable land: 62.8%; forests 13.38%; the rest is for other purposes – shall be discussed in details in following subsections.
The state of West Bengal has been a center of a brilliant and rich history, culture and heritage. With a population of over 90 Million, West Bengal is the fourth most populous state in India, and ranks first in terms of population density. West Bengal is predominantly an agriculture driven state (Fig 1; 6), however, there has been a rich tradition of industrial setups since the start of the industrial age in India. The state is actively engaging investments in industrial sectors to ensure Figure 5: West Bengal with all district resurgence in of a glorified past as a leader in industrialization in India. West Bengal is a state with progressive thought and forward vision; the people of the state are generally identified by a strong sense of culture and cognizance. West Bengal has earned the distinction of being one of the “food basket” states of India (Prahalad 2010).
Table 3: Overview6 of West Bengal. Particular Measure Capital Kolkata Area ~ 89000 km2 (2.7% of India’s area) Human Development Index (HDI) 0.61 No. of Districts 18 State Language Bengali Population > 91 Million (Male: Female = 51%:49%) Urban – Rural Breakup of Population 22.97: 72.03 (%) State’s share in India’s Population 7.28 % Population Growth (1991-2001) 17.77%
6 Source: www.indiaat75.in 12 POPULATION
According to Census of India (2001) the estimated population of West Bengal in year 2001 was 80.17 million and is projected to be 91.00 million in year 2011.
District wise Population in West Bengal - 2001 10000000 9000000 8000000 7000000 6000000 5000000 4000000 3000000 2000000 1000000 0
Figure 6: District wise population in West Bengal – 2001.
It is clearly visible that the population in different districts makes four different categories –
1. Low population districts – Darjeeling, Dakshin Dinajpur, Cooch Bihar, Uttar Dinajpur and Purulia. 2. Moderately populated districts – Jalpaiguri, Maldah, Bankura, Birbhum 3. Medium populated districts – West Midnapur, East Midnapur, Nadia, Hooghly, and Howrah. 4. Highly populated districts – Murshidabad, Bardhman, North and South 24 Parganas.
Population growth in West Bengal (1940 - 2011)
1000 800 600 400 200 0
1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 Population in 00,000 in Population Year
Figure 7: Growth of population in West Bengal over the years (1941 - 2011)
With Fig 4, it is also evident that population in WB has just quadrupled in last 70 years with maximum increase in highly populated districts (Census of India, 2001) such as Murshidabad, Bardhman, North and South 24 Parganas. This information is important in terms of AWM intervention possibilities in West Bengal; maximum industrial development happened in these highly populated districts only. This also indicates that priority zones (Zones 8, 2 and 12; Fig 43) were almost left behind from development 13 perspectives. Lack of proper road networks, poor electrification, poor agricultural growth, and poverty in itself are among major issues in priority zones.
LAND USE PATTERN
Land area available in West Bengal 1000.00 900.00
800.00 700.00 600.00 500.00 400.00 300.00 ARea in ha in ARea 200.00 100.00 0.00
Districts
Figure 8: Available land area in different districts.
Total available land in West Bengal is 8684 ha; out of which > 50% area is available in only 6 districts (Fig 5).
Land Use pattern in West Bengal
Net area sown 5296 Current fallow 341 Fallow land other than current fallow 22 Culturable waste land 34 Misc. tree groves 58 Permanent pastures & other grazing land 5 Barren & unculturable land 21 Non-agricultural use 1733 Forest Area 1174 Area in ha
Figure 9: West Bengal and land use pattern.
Land use pattern (Fig 9) shows there are only four broad categories and total land use pattern can be divided into; net sown area for agriculture purposes, for non-agricultural use, forest area and a little area as fallow land. It would be interesting to see on how different districts are doing in the light of different land use pattern.
14 Net area sown (Agriculture) 600 500 400 300 200 Area in ha in Area 100 0
Figure 10: Area utilized for agriculture purpose in different districts.
Current fallow 140
120 100 80 60 40 Area in ha in Area 20 0
Figure 11: Area not being utilized for any purposes.
All the priority zones (Zone 8, 2 and 12) comply with the current situation of agriculture; fallow area data from the concerned districts show that there is need to intervene as lot of land is not utilized for any purpose. It would be nice to look into the profile of two districts viz; Purulia and Bankura that show highest fallow land area falling under high priority zones.
Purulia; comes first in the priority zones, and is predominantly mono-cropped. About 60 % of the total cultivated land is upland. Out of the total agricultural holding about 73% belongs to small and marginal farmers having scattered and fragmented smallholdings. Paddy is the primary crop of the district. 50% of the total land is under net-cropped area and only 17% of the net cropped area is under multi crop cultivation. 77% of the net-cropped area is under Aman paddy cultivation. The crops are grown mostly under rain fed condition, generally with low fertilizer consumption per unit area thus per hectare production is also low as compared to other district of West Bengal (Anno. 2011).
Bankura; net cultivable area of the District is 4.30 lakh ha and nos. of cultivator is 4.47 lakhs and per cultivator availability of net shown area comes to 1.02 ha. Due to continuous division and fragmentation of cultivated land, agriculture is becoming less remunerative. About 46% of the net cropped area is under Irrigation. The gross cropped area is about 6 lakh ha and cropping intensity is 147%.
Other major purposes land is mainly used for in all the districts, can be divided in to two viz; non- agricultural and forest area.
15 Non-agricultural use 250
200 150 100 Area in ha in Area 50 0
Figure 12: Area utilized for non-agricultural purposes.
Forest Area 450 400
350 300 250 200
150 Area in ha in Area 100 50 0
Figure 13: Area utilized for growing forests.
16 ZONE 1 LIVELIHOOD ZONES OVERVIEW There is only one district that falls in Zone 1 viz; OVERVIEW Darjeeling. With an area of 3149 km2, Darjeeling is different from all zones and is unique from MAJOR LIVELIHOODS AND ISSUES environmental Eco-perception. There are different climatic zones in district Darjeeling PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS with distinctive attributes and the soils here have been developed by both fluvial action and PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE lithological disintegration. Here annual mean
max and min temperature touches range of 14.90C and 8.90C respectively with average annual rain fall of 3092 mm. Darjeeling is also one amongst most beautiful places in India and considered as the ‘Queen of the Hills’.
This district has also been bestowed with several rivers such as Tista, Great Rangit, Mechi, Balason, Mahananda, Lish, Gish, Chel, Ramman, Murti and Jaldhaka. Considering several great things, Darjeeling can be said comprised of six T’s i.e. Tea, Tourism, Teak, Toy train, Tiger Hill, and Trekkers’ paradise (Desai 2011). Figure 14: Darjeeling
MAJOR LIVELIHOODS7 AND ISSUES8 CONCERNED Environmental conditions play a major role in conditioning the livelihood and economy of the people in Darjeeling; subsistence agriculture, livestock, forestry, plantations and allied activities are the major activity of the rural folks. Physiography in the area has made agricultural conditions extremely diverse. Agriculture is greatly impacted by altitude and slope aspect. On account of cold no crops are grown above 9500 feet above sea level. Such situation in Darjeeling has made cultivation extremely difficult and needs considerable input of human labour. Bare rocks and steepness restrict agriculture operations to a great extent.
Broadly, agricultural crops in the Himalaya can be grouped into two categories – Food crops and cash crops. Major Food crops include rice, maize, potato, wheat, barley etc. and are explained as TMS (Total miscellaneous crops) in following figures (Fig 16, 17) while the cash crops are tea, cinchona, ginger etc. Usually agriculture is practiced on irrigated terraces called Khet or rain fed terraces termed as Bari. Khets are mostly seen on the lower altitudes (below 1500 meters) and is meant mainly for paddy cultivation. Livestock serve as the primary and perhaps the most important source of fertilizer.
7 Source: http://beacononline.wordpress.com/ 8 Source: Desai, M. (2011). "Identification and Mapping of Hazard Prone areas regarding landslide in the Darjeeling Hill area." Retrieved May 2nd, 2011, from http://www.darjeeling.gov.in/geography.html#land-use.
17 Table 4: Zone 1 covering districts and blocks falling under it
District under Zone 1 Blocks falling under Zone 1 Darjeeling Pulbazar Gorubathan Kalimpong0I Darjeeling Kalimpong0II Kurseong Mirik Rangli Rangliot Sukhiapokhri Jorebunglow
Zone 1: Persons engaged in agriculture 9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000
Numbers 3000 2000 1000 0 Sukhiapo Darjeelin khri- Rangli Kalimpon Kalimpon Gorubath g- Kurseong Mirik Jorebung Rangliot g-I g-II an Pulbazar low Bargadars 2331 27 132 1111 1221 144 212 23 Small farmers 2560 5 510 2030 1240 1160 510 16 Marginal farmers 8005 1285 3780 8510 4475 2730 1580 479
Figure 15: Persons engaged in agriculture in different blocks of Zone 1
Forestry is also an important occupation of the people of Darjeeling. Darjeeling has about 38.91 % of its area under forest. Many forest-based industries have come up and there is huge potential for further development. Tea plantation contributes to a great extent to the livelihoods of people over here.
Major issues in the region –
a) Frequent landslide hazards due to unstable geological structure and tectonic Figure 16: Broken disturbances. highways b) Presence of very thin soil cover and heavy rainfall makes it vulnerable to Soil erosion. This aspect is important from socio economic development of the hills and its people. c) The forest cover is in a precarious condition due to the rapid increase in cultivated land (with the exception of tea gardens), expansion of settlements, and construction of roads. The rapid depletion of forest cover is noticeable in the tea plantation area. In most of the tea gardens in the hills, any type of shade tree or trees along the fringe line of the garden for the protection of the soil is more or less insignificant.
18 d) Rapid expansion of settlements and towns especially along the roads is one of the important causes of frequent landslide hazards in the hills. Multi storied buildings without proper planning along the roads and on the steeper slope increase the load on already deteriorated slopes. e) Demand for fuel is another issue; mining of less spirited coal layers and illegal felling of young trees to meet the demand of firewood is an unpleasant fact of the hills. f) Population explosion in the hill areas, especially in the urban areas has been followed by the rapid increase in number of heavy vehicles; continuous horizontal vibration gradually destabilizes unstable slopes and geological formations. g) Water demand at domestic and commercial fronts has increased many folds during recent years. Apart from this, forest clearance and removal of top layer of soils have resulted in decreasing ground water level and consequent drying up of the streams during most part of the year.
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Zone 1: Production of major crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07
250 205.9 200
150
100 58.7 50 30.8 31.4 14.4 3.2 1.2 8.1 0 Rice Wheat Maize Other Pulses Oil Seeds Jute TMC Cereals
Figure 17: Production of major food crops in zone 1
Zone 1: Productivity of major food crops (Kg/ha) 2006-07 4254
2116 1866 1428 1207 609 564 12.7
Rice Wheat Maize Other Cereals Pulses Oil Seeds Jute TMC
Figure 18: Productivity of major crops in Zone 1
19 PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE
Zone 1: Production pattern of Zone 1: Productivity pattern of rice rice 50 2100 2050
40 2000 30 1950 1900 20
Production 1850 Productivity 1800 10 1750 0 1700 Aus Aman Boro Aus Aman Boro Series1 8.9 46.6 3.2 Series1 2040 1824 2071
Figure 19: Production (thousand tones/ha) and productivity (kg/ha) patterns of rice in different seasons (2006-07).
20 ZONE 2
OVERVIEW9 Zone 2 consists of four districts viz; part of Darjeeling, Koch Bihar and Uttar Dinajpur, and Jalpaiguri. As the zone covers a major portion of district Jalpaiguri so it would be more important to discuss the district Jalpaiguri in details; rest districts would be given proper explanation in different parts of the report.
Table 5: Zone 2 with its districts and blocks
Districts under Zone 2 Block falling under the Zone 2 Kharibari DARJILING Matigara Naxalbari Phansidewa Alipurduar I Alipurduar II Dhupguri Falakata Jalpaiguri Kalchini JALPAIGURI Kumargram
Madarihat0Birpara Mal Maynaguri Metiali Nagrakata Rajganj Haldibari KOCHBIHAR Mekhliganj Chopra UTTAR DINAJPUR Islampur
Crisscrossed with rivulets, rivers and hills, the district is primarily rural with over 80% of population residing in rural areas. The district is the gateway to the entire North-Eastern States and Bhutan. Having high percentage of migrated population different cultural groups (Ranjbanshi, Ravas, Totos, Metch, Santhals, Madasia and Oraons) has created a unique cultural harmony which is rarely seen in other districts of West Bengal (NIC-Jalpaiguri 2011).
MAJOR LIVELIHOODS AND ISSUES10 CONCERNED
Apart from agriculture and livestock rearing, tea gardens also contribute to the livelihoods in the region and Jalpaiguri is the second highest tea producing district it the country. The tea estates define not just the the economy but also the ethnic composition, employment and livelihood patterns, culture
9 Source: NIC-Jalpaiguri (2011). "Jalpaiguri Online." Retrieved May 2nd, 2011, from http://jalpaiguri.gov.in/index.htm.
10 Source: www.nrega.net 21 Table 6: An overview of district Jalpaiguri
Particulars Measures Geographical area 6245 km2 Area under tea garden 1987 km2 Area under forest land 1790 km2 Average annual rainfall 3160 mm Average maximum temperature 30.90C Average minimum temperature 10.80C Relative humidity 82% Main crops other than tea Rice and Jute Major rivers Tista, Torsa, Jaldhaka, Raidak, Sankosh.
and economic development perspective of the district. A good percentage of population belongs to SC/ST and they form the labor class for working in the tea gardens.
The tribal laborers are not native to this place and were brought from present day Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand and were settled here by the British. Their ethnic and cultural identity and social systems are also maintained till date (DistrictMagistrate 2010). Figure 20: Jalpaiguri
Zone 2: Persons engaged in agriculture 20000 18000 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000
Numbers 6000 Bargadars 4000 2000 Small farmers 0
Marginal farmers
Mal
Metiali
Chopra
Rajganj
Kalchini
Falakata
Haldibari
Matigara
Kharibari
Islampur
Jalpaiguri
Naxalbari
Nagrakata
Maynaguri
Dhupguri
Mekhliganj
Madarihat-…
Kumargram
Alipurduar-I
Phansidewa Alipurduar-II Blocks in Zone 2
Figure 21: Number of persons engaged in agricultue in blocks of Zone 2
Major issues in the region –
1. The tea Industry went through several fundamental changes and a severe crisis that peaked during the first decade of this century. This manifested itself in a large number of sick, locked out and closed tea gardens. After a period of great hardship, a number of gardens did become operational, though issues of productivity Figure 22: Demand for Gorkhaland
22 remained. However, despite all efforts, twelve gardens remained closed and two lied abandoned at the beginning of 2008 leaving a great number of laborers on the verge of hunger. 2. As the tea gardens are reviving, farmers are showing interests in establishing homestead tea gardens; reasons include water scarcity in dry seasons and less returns on basic inputs. Middlemen also share a part of Figure 23: A protest rally this discouraged situation as a big part of the (supposed to be the profit) income is wasted in by sharing their produce with the middlemen. This is a hard reality and middlemen over here have a strong syndicate not allowing local farmers selling their produce directly in the market. 3. Floods – during monsoon season, rivers are full of water – rise and fall and often changing their course causing massive damage to the forests and agricultural land of villagers (Das 2009). 4. Conflict of intention between Supreme Court and forest communities – Supreme Court of India in year 2000, posed ban on restraining removal of dead, diseased, dying or wind-fallen trees, drift wood and grasses etc. from any national park or Game Sanctuary. In view of this, rights and concessions cannot be enjoyed in the Protected Areas (PAs). This was interpreted wrong by banning all activities, including forest resource use for survival, and livelihood of forest communities. The court had no other intention apart from stopping destructive actions for the commercial profit in the protected forest areas. It actually threatened the lives and livelihoods of the forest villagers as well as the ecosystem and plantation areas especially in reserved areas where frequent and devastating flood occur with the continuous changing courses of rivers and streams (Das 2009). 5. Political disturbance – the area is highly vulnerable to political disturbances; demands for making another state within state are always on a high for a long time. The poor is the most affected in these agitations.
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Famous mainly for its tea gardens and sanctuaries, District Jalpaiguri has rice, wheat, maize, a small portion of pulses and oil seeds, jute and other fibrous crops as among main crops. Potato and tea are covered as TMC (Total miscellaneous crops) in following figures (Fig 20, 21).
Zone 2: Production of major crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07 734.3
449.2 419 446.7
33.1 23.1 0.3 2.1 7.8
Rice Wheat Maize Other Pulses Oil seeds Jute Fibres TMC Cereals
Figure 24: Production of major crops in district Jalpaiguri.
23 Zone 2: Productivity of major crops (kg/ha) 2006-07)
2055 1982 1824
860 505 565 10.6 10.5
Rice Wheat Maize Other Cereals Pulses Oil seeds Jute Fibres
Figure 25: Productivity11 of major crops in zone 2 PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE
Zone 2: Production pattern of Zone 2: Productivity pattern of rice rice
350 2500
300 2000 250 200 1500
150 1000 100 500
50 (kg/ha) productivity Production ('000 tonnes)('000 Production 0 0 Aus Aman Boro Aus Aman Boro Production 54 322 43 Productivity 1311 1892 2347
Figure 26: Production and productivity pattern of rice in different seasons in Zone 2 (2006-07).
As expected the production of rice is higher in the season of Aman; the main Kharif season for it. Comparing production of rice with other crops such as maize; rice production is much better compared to maize and wheat but the productivity is still lesser than these two. Production wise jute and other fibers are also doing well in this district, and as this is a good place for tea gardens so people preference are also inclined towards tea production. This is noticeable that there has been a trend going on over here when farmers don’t get enough production/return from their field then they try to shift towards the tea production which can let them avail a minimum amount of money per month during the top season which is not possible through conventional agriculture. This is an alarming situation for this zone and proper efforts need to be done here. Actually, this situation is more or less similar in places where tea is on a major and plays an important role in the local economy.
Local economy is also influenced with the vegetable production viz; potato and part of the contribution also comes from the production of chilly.
11 Productivity for TMC is not available for period of 2006-07 24 ZONE 2A
OVERVIEW The Zone 2a consists only of Koch Bihar; with a geographical area of 3387 km2 contributes 3.82% to the total land mass of the State of West Bengal. Koch Bihar is a district under the Jalpaiguri Division and is located in the north-eastern part of the state, surrounded by the district of Jalpaiguri in the north, state of Assam in the east and the international border in the form of Indo-Bangladesh boundary in the south as well as in the west (NIC-KochBihar 2011).
Table 7: Zone 2a with its districts and blocks
Districts under Zone 2a Blocks falling under the Zone 2a Coochbehar I Coochbehar II Dinhata I Dinhata II KOCH BIHAR Mathabhanga I Mathabhanga II Sitai Sitalkuchi Tufanganj I Tufanganj II
Table 8: Overview of district Koch Bihar
Particulars Measures Geographical area 3387 km2 Area under agriculture 2530.63 km2 1. Net Area for cultivation 246,491 ha 2. Cropping intensity 215 % 3. Single cropped area 24,900 ha 4. Double cropped area 1,41,491 ha 5. Triple cropped area 80,100 ha 6. Irrigated area 35% Area under forest land 56.99 km2 Average annual rainfall 5348.8 mm Maximum temperature 39.90C Minimum temperature 3.90C Relative humidity Highly humid (except Feb to May – 50-70%) Main crops Rice, vegetables, wheat, tobacco, chili, maize and pulses Major rivers Tista, Torsa, Jaldhaka, Raidak, Kaljani, Sankosh and Gadadhar systems etc.
Almost 85-90% of the total population depends on agriculture. In spite of poor soil condition, acidity and lack of irrigation facilities the production and productivity of different crops is able to cope with increasing demand. Part of the contribution comes from adoption of improved technologies, inclusion of different
25 high yielding and hybrid variety seeds and a series of government schemes like ATMA, NFSM, RKVY etc. (NIC-KochBihar 2011).
MAJOR LIVELIHOODS AND ISSUES12 CONCERNED
A favorable climate helps rural Cooch Behar make its major livelihood as agriculture farming, and it supplies the town with fruits and vegetables. Poorer sections of this semi-rural society are also involved in transport, basic agriculture, animal resource farming, small shops, and as manual labor in construction.
Koch Behar is largely an agricultural place where more than 70% of total available land is used for cultivation purpose but the very situation is that only 35% of total cultivable area receives irrigation (NIC- KochBihar 2011). This situation puts the agriculture at risk as the agriculture still remains dependent on monsoon rainfall and which can’t be said a favorable situation for its development point of view.
Major social and developmental challenges –
1) Lack of irrigation facilities13 - Koch Behar is an irrigation deficient district. There are no major irrigation schemes worth mentioning in the district; only about 35% of the cultivable area is under irrigation. The benefit of the Teesta irrigation cannels for the district is perhaps distant possibility due to the topographical reasons. The district is however blessed with large numbers of perennial rivers, khals, beels, and water bodies. These Figure 27: Koch Bihar resources are being utilized as a source of surface irrigation through a number of RLI and Mini RLI schemes in the region. However, most of these RLI often remain unutilized or underutilization due to yearly flooding, meandering and heavy siltation of these rivers. But the ground water potential of the district is very high. No doubt pump operated shallow tube well is the most viable and popular irrigation scheme among the farmers of this district.
Zone 2a: Persons engaged in agriculture 20000 18000 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000 Numbers 6000 Bargadars 4000 2000 Small farmers 0 Marginal farmers
Blocks in Zone 2a
Figure 28: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 2a
12 Source: www.voiceofbharat.org 13 Source of text is the official website for the district of Cooch Behar (http://coochbehar.nic.in). 26 2) Unemployment – although the government has made several efforts through several schemes such as SGSY14 and PMRY to overcome the situation of unemployment in the region but the trend to migrate to cities in search of employment is still increasing. 3) Cross border trafficking and domestic trafficking are one among serious issues. 4) Improper implementation of energy schemes – causing the region failing to fulfill the energy needs. 5) Gender bias and violence on women – the sex ratio is very less and is only 949 i.e. only 949 women per 1000 men. 6) Rate of school dropout have increased. 7) Condition of health facilities in the rural areas of the district is very poor.
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Zone 2a: Production pattern of major food crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07
762 770.9
445.8 304.5
25.2 35.2 0.5 4.9 12
Rice Wheat Maize Other Pulses Oil seeds Jute Fibres TMC Cereals
Figure 29: Production pattern of major food crops in zone 2a
Zone 2a: Productivity (kg/ha) pattern of major food crops (2006-07) 7016 5966
1862 1956 734 551 533 10.4 10.4
Rice Wheat Maize Other Pulses Oil seeds Jute Fibres TMC Cereals
Figure 30: Productivity pattern of major food crops in zone 2a.
14 SGSY: Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yogna, PMRY: Prime Minister Rojgar Yogna. 27 PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY PATTERN OF RICE
Zone 2a: Production pattern of Zone 2a: Productivity pattern rice of rice
400 3000
350 2500 300 2000 250 200 1500 150 1000 100
Productivity in kg/ha in Productivity 500 50 0 0 Production in thousand tonnes thousandin Production Aus Aman Boro Aus Aman Boro Production 11 351.4 83.4 Productivity 886 1784 2775
Figure 31: Production and productivity pattern of rice in zone 2a in different seasons (2006-07).
28 ZONE 3
OVERVIEW Zone 3 mainly consists of four districts viz; Dakshin Dinajpur, Maldah, Murshidabad and Uttar Dinajpur.
UTTAR DINAJPUR15
With two sub-divisions viz; Raiganj & Islampur, there are 4 Municipalities, 9 Blocks and 98 Panchayets covering 1516 villages in the district of Uttar Dinajpur. The total population is nearly 2.5 million comprising mainly of rural masses. Bengali is the main language but a sizeable portion of Urdu and Hindi speaking people also live in Islampur Sub-Division. The Climate of this district is characterized by Hot-Summer with High Humidity, abundant Rainfall and cold winter (NIC-UttarDinajpur 2003).
The district forms a part of the basin lying between Rajmahal hills on the East. The older alluvium is estimated to be Pleistocene age. Uttar Dinajpur is bestowed with a very fertile soil. The soil is very rich in nature due to the alluvial deposition which helps to grow Paddy, Jute, Mesta and Sugarcane etc. Figure 32: Uttar Dinajpur
Raiganj on the bank of the River Kulik is the District Headquarter where "Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary", the second largest bird sanctuary in Asia situated.
Table 9: Overview of district Uttar Dinajpur
Particular Measure Geographical area (ha) 313080 Villages (numbers) 1516 Population (numbers) 2441794 Male: Female (%) 51:49 No. of families depending on agriculture 239500 No. of persons depending on agriculture 1297557 No. of small cultivators 88536 No. of marginal cultivators 135827 Forest area (acres) 1483.75
Uttar Dinajpur is a newly constructed district and was formed in year 1992. The district is preliminarily agricultural in nature. Diverse and surplus production of various crops like Tea, Jute, Potato, Ginger, Spices and Pineapple etc. make the district a strong base for agro based and horticulture- based industry such as –
a) Potato chips from potato. b) Ketch-up, Sauce from Tomato. c) Jelly, Jam from Guava, Mango, Pineapple. d) Packed juices from Orange, Pineapple, Mango, Guava, and Jackfruit. e) Ginger Oil, Ginger finger, slices. f) Pickle from Mango etc. g) Papain from papaya. h) Spices powder from Chili, Turmeric.
15 Source of information: http://uttardinajpur.nic.in/ 29 Table 10: Zone 3 with its districts and blocks
Districts Blocks Balurghat Banshihari Gangarampur DAKSHIN DINAJPUR Harirampur Hili Kumarganj Kushmandi Tapan Bamongola Chanchal0I Chanchal0II Gazole MALDAH Habibpur Harishchandrapur0I Harishchandrapur0II Old Malda Ratua0I Ratua0II Behrampore Beldanga0I Beldanga0II Bharatpur0I Bharatpur0II Burwan Domkal Farakka Hariharpara Jalangi MURSHIDABAD Kandi
Khargram Lalgola Nabagram Nowda Raghunathganj0I Raghunathganj0II Sagardighi Samserganj Suti0I Suti0II Goalpokhar0I Goalpokhar0II Hemtabad UTTAR DINAJPUR Itahar
Kaliaganj Karandighi Raiganj
30 DAKSHIN DINAJPUR
Brief history: West Dinajpur District was created out of the erstwhile Dinajpur district in 1947 at the time of partition of India. The rest of the Dinajpur district is now in Bangladesh. The West Dinajpur district was enlarged in 1956 at the time of reorganization of the State with the addition of some areas of Bihar. The district was bifurcated into Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur on April 1st, 1992. The erstwhile Balurghat Sub-Division along with Banshihari and Kushmandi Blocks (which were in Raigunj Sub-Division prior to the bifurcation) comprise the new district.
The district is drained by a number of North-South flowing rivers like Atrayee, Punarbhava, Tangon and Brahmani. It is predominantly an agricultural district with large area of land Figure 33: Dakshin Dinajpur being under cultivation.
Dakshin Dinajpur is a "Non-Industry" district having no large scale industry. The first industry in medium scale sector got off to a start in the district in November, 2003. Transport and Communication facilities are not very satisfactory. New railway line has been laid between Eklakhi and Balurghat, the district HQ. Train services have been started only from December 30th, 2004. There is one State Highway with only 3 Km of National Highway falling within the district. Bengali is the principal language of the district. The principal communities are Hindus and Muslims and they constitute the major portion of the population. Table 11: Overview of Dakshin Dinajpur
Particular Measure Geographical area (ha) 2,21,480 Population 15,03,178 Area available for cultivation (ha) 175620 Fallow land (ha) 1.24 Land not available for cultivation (ha) 26513 Cropping intensity 183% Area under high yielding variety seed (paddy) (ha) 26125 Rivers Atrayee, Tangon, Punarbhava, Ichamati, Brahmani.
31
Zone 3: Persons engaged in agriculture 250000
200000
150000 Persons 100000 Bargadars Small farmers* 50000 Marginal farmers*
0
Hili
Suti-I
Kandi
Suti-II
Itahar
Tapan
Jalangi
Lalgola
Nowda
Ratua-I
Raiganj
Domkal
Burwan
Farakka
Ratua-II
Kaliaganj
Habibpur
Gazole
Balurghat
Khargram
Old Malda Old
Sagardighi
Nabagram
Hemtabad
Banshihari Chanchal-I
Beldanga-I
Karandighi
Kumarganj
Kushmandi
Chanchal-II
Beldanga-II
Bamongola
Bharatpur-I
Samserganj
Harirampur
Hariharpara
Bharatpur-II
Behrampore
Goalpokhar-I
Goalpokhar-II
Gangarampur
Raghunathganj-I
Raghunathganj-II
Harishchandrapur-I Harishchandrapur-II Blocks
Figure 34: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 3
32 MALDAH
The gateway of North Bengal, Malda, once was the capital of Gour-Banga with its 3456 km2 lay. The land can be easily classified into Tal, Diara, and Barind and is a famous spot for adventurous activities. People of archeological interest are also very welcome in its huge potential to be explored (NIC-Malda 2010).
During the 18th century it was a place known for its prosperous cotton and silk industries. Constituted a municipality in 1867, it has Rice, jute, legumes, and oilseeds among main crops in the
surrounding area. Mulberry plantations and mango orchards Figure 35: Maldah occupy large areas; mango trade and silk manufacture are the main economic activities (NaturaBeyond 2011).
Table 12: Overview of District Maldah
Particular Measure Geographical Area (ha) 373300 No. of Villages 3701 Total Population of the District 3290160 Normal Rainfall 1453 mm Forest (ha) 1694.3 Current Fallow Land (ha) 52800 Other Fallow land that Current Fallow (ha) 300 Net Area under Cultivation (ha) 22849 Marginal Holding (below 1.0 acre) 343677; Area-157309 ha Small Holding (1.0-2.0 acre) 74863; Area-112926 ha Medium Holding (4.0-10.0acre) 7528; Area-41342 ha Large Holding (10.0 acres and above) 120; Area-1232 ha Vested land distributed 30332.00 ha Area Irrigated 120067 ha Electricity consumption ('000 KWH) a) Domestic 77560 b) Commercial 13454 c) Industrial 16199 d) Public Lighting 598 e) Agri-irrigation & Dewatering 31627 f) Public water works & Sewerage Pump 4187
33 MAJOR LIVELIHOODS AND ISSUES CONCERNED Zone 3 is some ways can be considered as really a challenged zone; more than 50% are small farmers and 12-31% is landless (IRRI 2011). Local economy is dependent on agriculture and small scale industries; poor market service, poor access to farm mechanization, and increasing population can be considered as main constraint to the local economy.
Major social and development challenges –
1. Recurring erosion, floods and droughts – The River Ganga in its fury is able to destroy land, lives and homes on a mass scale in every flood season. Short-term measures like building spurs or attempting to reduce velocity don’t serve great purpose; the central channel has to be dredged regularly according to an executive engineer, Irrigation department in Maldah (Chattopadhyay 2003). The damage that usually occurs due to floods is mainly to the following – a) Agricultural crops b) All Kaccha (made by mud) house c) Sources of drinking water d) Poultry and livestock e) Buildings of any type f) All type of communication
2. Floods also help in out breaks of many diseases like dehydration, dysentery, influenza, skin disease etc. 3. Scarcity of drinking water and Figure 29: Eroded embankment due to flood in Ganga. contamination of water with iron and fluoride is getting serious problem in certain parts of district Maldah. 4. Lack of permanent garbage dumping grounds and drainage systems might lead life in general towards unhygienic conditions which can’t be said a favorable situation to either class viz urban or rural (Sarkar 2011). 5. Uttar Dinajpur is placed among least developed districts in West Bengal as well as in India. With high level of illiteracy, low health care and livelihood access and widespread rural poverty makes life over here vulnerable at all fronts. 6. Rapid population growth – if it is termed as population explosion then it is not an exaggeration. Rapid population increase restricts the inclusion of new rural workers in to farm based employment. At the other hand, low level of urbanization restrains the growth of non-farm sector. 7. Social and economic development of communities Figure 36: In its fury Ganga destroys everything pertaining to a specific religion is also at stake. This is not that comes in its way. only because of poor implementation of government schemes but also due to lack of awareness within the community. E.g. the Muslim communities over here in the zone 3 show a tremendous increase in the population leaving their children on roads for earning a meager wage by working in different places (VoiceOfBharat 2011).
34 8. Contamination of drinking water with Arsenic and decreasing ground water table is also of great concern in the zone.
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Zone 3: Production pattern of major crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07 2000 1500 1000 500 0 Rice Wheat Barley Maize Other Gram Pulses Oil seeds Jute Mesta TMC Cereals
Uttar Dinajpur Dakshin Dinajpur Maldah
Figure 37: Production pattern of major crops in zone 3.
Zone 3: Productivity (kg/ha) pattern of major crops 60000 50000
40000
30000
Maldah kg/ha 20000 Dakshin dinajpur 10000 Uttardinajpur 0
Figure 38: Productivity patter on major crops
35 PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE
Zone 3: Production pattern of Rice 350 322.5 294.4 300 263.9 258.7
250 201.9 200 Uttardinajpur 150 133.8 Dakshin dinajpur '000 tonnes'000 100 50 Maldah 3.3 18.2 10 0 Aus Aman Boro Seasons
Figure 39: Production pattern of rice in zone 3 in three different seasons (2006-07).
Zone 3: Productivity pattern of Rice 4500 3825 4000 3163 3500 2957 3000 2525 2224 Uttardinajpur 2500 1960 2000 1748 Dakshin dinajpur 1323 1497 1500 Maldah 1000 500 0 Aus Aman Boro
Figure 40: Productivity pattern of rice in zone 3 in three different seasons (2006-07).
Zone 2a and zone 3 are quite similar in a way that the productivity of rice is much higher during the Boro season than its main one i.e. Aman. Aman extends from July until December end and Boro extends from January till April. This is remarkable in a way as the water scarcity is much more comparative to its previous season.
Whole West Bengal is poor in the production of oil seeds which is not a very good situation; oil seeds act like a cash crop and is attracts less attention compared to tea. This information is important from awareness point of view. Production of Jute is quite comparable to rice and this trend is similar in all the livelihood zones. Productivity wise tea and vegetables come on the first place; the situation would need further in depth analysis on block level as the production of different crops would vary at block level than at district level. Amidst all, main question arises for the better productivity during the Boro season in all the zones; in spite of this much good productivity farmers don’t get enough production in the season. Reason is quite simple – no or very less water available in this season. The need of AWM is most in places where production of staple food crops is least in Boro-this gives space to back trace all the zones in production matters. If we can calculate areas where rice production is less in Boro season would let us trace most vulnerable areas in terms of food production in lean seasons. AWM intervention would be most effective in 36 places where water is not available in Boro season; during Aman – it is a season of monsoon as well and crops can get water no matter if you are able to use ground water or not, they would get enough water for the crop purpose. Only time when water is really needed is Boro season so investor should take care regarding the seasons as well; it would be able to reduce high amount of investment money to be put in these areas unnecessarily.
37 ZONE 4
OVERVIEW Zone 4 consists mainly of district Maldah with only four blocks. Maldah as a district has already been explained in the zone 3.
Table 13: Zone 4 along with its districts and blocks
Districts under Zone 4 Blocks falling under Zone 4 English Bazar MALDAH Kaliachak I Kaliachak II Manikchak
Zone 4: Persons engaged in agriculture 35000 30000
25000 20000 Bargadars 15000 Numbers 10000 Small farmers 5000 Marginal farmers 0 English Bazar Kaliachak-I Kaliachak-II Manikchak Blocks
Figure 41: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 4 PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR CROPS
Zone 4: Production pattern ('000 tonnes) of major crops 2006-07 500 470.6
400 341.3 292.1 300
200 111.1 100 29.5 40.7 1.7 4.6 22.5 5.6 0 Rice Wheat Barley Maize Gram Pulses Oil seeds Jute Mesta TMC
Figure 42: Production pattern of major crops in Zone4 (2006-07)
38 Zone 4: Productivity (kg/ha) pattern of major crops (2006-07) 45000 38947 40000 35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 3051 2591 2157 1435 975 861 1009 14.7 9.8 0 Rice Wheat Barley Maize Gram Pulses Oil seeds Jute Mesta TMC
Figure 43: Productivity pattern of major crops in zone 4 PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE
Zone 4: Production pattern of Zone 4: Productivity pattern rice of rice
300 4500
4000 250 3500 200 3000 2500 150 2000 100 1500 1000 50 Productivity in kg/ha in Productivity 500 0 0
Aus Aman Boro Aus Aman Boro Production in thousand tonnesthousandin Production Production 10 201.9 258.7 Productivity 1497 2525 3825
Figure 44: Production and productivity pattern of rice in three different seasons in zone 4.
MAJOR ISSUES 1. The zone consists mainly of low - lying plains, sloping towards the south with undulating areas on the northeast. Old alluvial and relatively unfertile soil, is commonly known as "Barind" is good for the Mulburry plantation which in turn helps in the production of raw silk. But as it is low lying, it is vulnerable to flood during rainy season. 2. In the block of Manik Chak, it is vulnerable to heavy soil erosion due to regular floods in the River Ganga and can cuase a heavy shock to the silk industry in the zone. 3. Kalia Chak, where goatery is a viable livelihood activity can get severaly affected with the water contamination in the zone. 4. Since the tribal population of the zone is quite high, it goes without saying that the development of the zone mainly depends on the development of the tribals who are very much backward from all perspectives. Lack of awareness on different issues among the tribal communities is also responsible for the poor management of natural water resources in the zone.
39 5. The maximum precipitation in the zone occurs in a short span of time from June to September. Lack of proper water harvesting structures makes local communites vulnerable to drought situations during summers. 6. In the "Barind" areas where the ground is high and agriculture is the sole occupation, the tendency for the people is to remain in small hamlets. This tendency of being remain as individual lead them to an unorganized society leaving them incapable of performing major economic activities.
40 ZONE 5
OVERVIEW Zone 5 consists of two districts viz; Maldah and Murshidabad. As there is only one block of district Maldah is falling under this zone and major portion is covered by district Murshidabad; the detailed explanation would be done for latter.
Table 14: Zone 5 with its districts and blocks
Districts under Zone 5 Blocks falling under Zone 5 MALDAH Kaliachak III Bhagwangola I Bhagwangola II MURSHIDABAD Msd Jiaganj
Raninagar I Raninagar II
MURSHIDABAD16 Like other parts of the West Bengal, there has been inter-racial mixing in the local communities; people from other parts of India came over here and settled as well.
The River Bhagirathi has divided the triangle shaped district and put it into two broad geographical regions viz; Rarha area (West of Bhagirathi) and Bagri area (East of Bhagirathi). Both areas are almost equal in area and having a striking difference in their geology, in the agricultural and habitation pattern and even in the religions of their inhabitants. Looking at the present state of the region, it seems hard to believe that tigers, rhinoceroses, and wild buffaloes roamed here until the mid-nineteenth century. Leopards and wild boars were found even much later. But now the only wild animals found are perhaps a few jackals. The black-faced monkey is
however found in abundance as well; their herds are a common site Figure 46: Murshidabad even in Berhampur Town. In the region, although there is no forest coverage, there are many water bodies like rivers, canals, lakes and ponds and an abundance of trees and shrubs. Therefore birds of many species including some migratory birds are quite common over here. The eastern half of the district may be described as an isosceles triangle. The Ganga (Padma) and the Bhagirathi forms the two equal sides; the River Jalangi forms almost the entire base. However, the line of drainage is not along any of these rivers. During flood two great rivers converges towards each other, and ultimately makes its Figure 45: A typical view at River Bhagirathi way in a south – eastern direction.
16 Source: http://www.murshidabad.nic.in/ 41 Table 15: Overview of district Murshidabad
Particular Measures Geographical area 5324 Km2 Population 5863717 a) Rural population 5131374 b) Urban population 732343 Forest area (ha) 771 Agriculture area (ha) 408296 Irrigated area (ha) 116950 Annual mean temperature 270C Annual rainfall 1600 mm
MAJOR LIVELIHOODS AND ISSUES CONCERNED
Murshidabad has a tropical wet-and-dry climate. Summers are hot and humid with temperatures < 300C and during dry spells the maximum temperatures often exceed 40 °C during May and June. Winter tends to last for only about two and a half month; making the place favorable for the production of silk; extensive mulberry cultivation is carried out in the western Murshidabad. The district is also known for the quality and diversity of Mango produced, however, Mango is not a major produce of the Murshidabad district, unlike the adjoining district of Malda.
People mostly are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood; rice, jute, legumes, oilseed, wheat and barley are among major crops. There are some silk farms and some weaving machines as well, but they are losing out fast against the modern industries. Murshidabad is famous for the high quality silk produced here.
Zone 5: Persons engaged in agriculture 140000
120000
100000
80000
60000 Numbers Bargadars 40000 Small farmers 20000 Marginal farmers 0
Blocks
Figure 47: Number of persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 5
42 PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Zone 5: Production pattern of major crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07 2500 2000 1500 Maldah 1000 Murshidabad 500 0 Rice Wheat Maize Pulses Oil seeds Jute TMC
Figure 48: Production pattern of major crops in zone 5
Zone 5: Productivity (kg/ha) pattern of major crops 2006-07 70000 60000 50000 40000 Maldah 30000 Murshidabad 20000 10000 0 Rice Wheat Maize Pulses Oil seeds Jute TMC
Figure 49: Productivity pattern of major food crops in zone 5 PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE
Zone 5: Production pattern in Zone 5: Productivity pattern in Rice Rice
Murshidabad Maldah Murshidabad Maldah
492.8 475.6 3825 3464 2525 2189 258.7 1908 201.9 1497 62.2 10
Aus Aman Boro Aus Aman Boro
Figure 50: Production and productivity patterns of rice in three different seasons in zone 5.
43 ZONE 6
OVERVIEW Zone 6 typically consists of few blocks from district Bankura, Bardhaman and Birbhum.
Table 16: Zone 6 with its districts and blocks
Districts under Zone 6 Blocks falling under Zone 6 Barjora BANKURA G. Ghati
Mejia Andal Ausgram II Barabani Faridpur Durgapur BARDHAMAN Galsi I Jamuria Kanksa Pandabeswar Raniganj Salanpur Khoyrasole Md.Bazar Murarai II BIRBHUM Nalhati I
BIRBHUM17 In shape looking like an isosceles triangle, the district covers an area of 4545 km2. The district is well drained by a number of rivers and rivulets with a slight southward inclination. The climate is generally dry, mild and healthy; on the western side it is dry and extreme, but is relatively milder on the eastern side. The rainfall is higher in the western areas as compared to the eastern areas. The eastern portion of the district is a continuation of the rice plain of West Bengal, and the vegetation is Figure 51: A common village in Birbhum Figure 52 Birbhum characteristics of rice fields in Bengal. Birbhum is primarily an agricultural district with around 75% of the population being dependent on agriculture. Principal industries of the district include cotton and silk harvesting and weaving, rice and oilseed milling, lac harvesting, stone mining and
17 Source: http://www.birbhum.nic.in/ 44 metal ware and pottery manufacture. Bakreshwar Thermal Power Station is the only heavy industry in the district.
Table 17: Overview of district Birbhum18
Particular Measure Population 3,015,422 a) Rural 2,757,002 (91.43%) b) Urban 258,420 (8.57%) Forest area 159.3 Km2 Agriculture area 3329.05 Km2 Major crops Rice, legumes, wheat, maize, potatoes and sugar cane. Irrigated area 2763.9 Km2 Total inhabited villages 2259 a) Villages with safe drinking water 2234 b) Villages with electricity (domestic) 1,605 Rivers Ajay, Mayurakshi (Mor), Kopai, Bakreshwar, Brahmani, Dwarka, Hinglo, Chapala, Bansloi, Pagla.
Zone 6: Persons engaged in agriculture 25000
20000
15000
Numbers 10000 Bargadars Small farmers* Marginal farmers* 5000
0
Suri-II
Galsi-II
Kalna-I
Raina-I
Kanksa
Barjora
Nanoor
Sainthia
G. Ghati G.
Katwa-II
Nalhati-I
Rajnagar
Salanpur
Jamalpur
Memari-I
Murarai-I
Md.Bazar
Ausgram-II
Khoyrasole
Ketugram-II
Mongalkote
Purbasthali-I
Rampurhat-II Mayureswar-I Blocks
Figure 53: Persons engaged in agriculture in zone 6
18 Source: www.pacsindia.org/birbhum/ 45 BARDHAMANN19
A town of tanks; several tanks are scattered here and there across the town forms the boundary with many other such Dumka (Jharkhand), Birbhum and Murshidabad on the North Nadia in the East, Hooghly, Bankura and Purulia in South and Dhanbad (Jharkhand) in the West. The river Barakar forms the State boundary to the west; the Ajay separates Birbhum and Dumka to
the north with exception of a portion of Katwa Figure 54: Bardhman subdivision; the Damodar forms a southern boundary with Purulia and Bankura, while Bhagirathi forms the main eastern boundary with a few exceptions. The maximum length from east to west is 208 Km while the maximum breadth from north to south is 112 Km. In shape the district resembles a hammer.
Forest: The forest areas of the district are chiefly situated in the lateritic and red soil high lands in the Aushgram PS of Sadar Subdivision and in the Asansol subdivision. In Aushgram P.S. the forest areas are interspersed with paddy fields. The Durgapur forests are continued in the Birbhum district beyond the Ajay while the forest area in the Asansol subdivision forms a part of the forest area of Dumka District of Jharkhand.
Table 18: Overview of district Bardhhaman
Particular Measure Geographical area 7024 Km2 Population 6895514 a) Rural 63.06% b) Urban 36.94 % Rainfall 1442 mm Temperature 430C (Max) - 50C (Min) Forest area 22270 ha Agriculture area 698740 ha a) Net cropped area 466630 ha b) New irrigated area 335890 ha Major rivers Damodar, Bhagirathi, Barakar, Ajay, Dwarakeswar, Nonia
MAJOR LIVELIHOODS AND ISSUES CONCERNED
Birbhum: The region is a dual blend of rolling plateau made up of laterite and Gangetic alluvial plains, which is highly conducive for cultivation. Hence the economy of the district is entirely based on agriculture (Indianetzone 2008). Looking at the weather, the dry weather of Birbhum is highly adverse to the agriculture (except monsoon the dry weather prevails over the year). Apart from this, most of the land is dry and the rivers are only rain fed, this means the agriculture is supported neither by rain nor by rivers therefore the Government has decided to undertake some irrigation projects such as Mayurakshi River Project and Hinglow River Projects in recent years in order to promote the agricultural development in the region.
19 Source: http://bardhaman.nic.in/distataglance.html 46 Birbhum is a major center of cottage industries; perhaps the most notable cottage industry here is a non- profit rural organization named Amar Kutir. Other main industries in Birbhum are agriculture-based industries, textiles, forestry, arts and crafts. Sriniketan is noted for its dairy industry and as a forestry center. Some of the notable forms of cottage industries of Birbhum include textile—especially cotton and locally harvested tussar silk, jute works, batik, kantha stitch, macramé (weaving by knotting threads), leather, pottery and terracotta, solapith, woodcarving, bamboo and cane craft, metal works and various tribal crafts. There are 8,883 small and medium scale industries. Principal industries of the district include cotton and silk harvesting and weaving, rice and oilseed milling, lac harvesting, and metal ware and pottery manufacture. Bakreshwar Thermal Power Station is the only heavy industry in the district.
Bardhaman20 21:
Bardhaman is the only district in the state of West Bengal that is fortunate both in industry and agriculture. Several iron and steel companies are situated in the district.
Regarding agriculture, there is on an average about 58 percent of the total population belongs to the agriculture sector while the non-agricultural sector accounts for the remaining 42 percent (NIC-Bardhaman 2011). Rice and oilseed milling and hosiery, cutlery, and tool manufacturing are the chief industries.
Regarding the district, the eastern part is a low alluvial plain, densely populated and often waterlogged and swampy. The western region is one of the busiest industrial tracts in West Figure 55: Population growth in Bardhaman Bengal, with rich coal, fireclay, and iron-ore deposits, especially in the Raniganj coalfield area. The Damodar Valley Corporation provides irrigation, industrial power supply, and flood control. Rice, corn (maize), legumes, and oilseeds are the chief crops in the east.
Major social and developmental challenges include population growth poor rural development and lack of proper infrastructure.
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Zone 6: Production pattern of major food crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07 4000
3000
2000 Birbhum Bardhaman 1000
0 Rice Wheat Pulses Oil seeds Jute TMC
Figure 56: Production pattern of major food crops in zone 6.
20 Source: http://www.bardhaman.gov.in 21 Source: http://www.grassoportal.com/district/burdwan.asp 47 Zone 6: Productivity pattern (kg/ha) of major food crops 2006-07 40000
30000
20000 Birbhum Bardhaman 10000
0 Rice Wheat Pulses Oil seeds Jute TMC
Figure 57: Productivity pattern of major food crops in zone 6. PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE
Zone 6: Production pattern of Zone 6: Productivity pattern of Rice Rice
Bardhaman Birbhum Bardhaman Birbhum
3442 3462 1201.3 3232 2864 3070 960.3 2591 722
223.3 43.7 15.8
Aus Aman Boro Aus Aman Boro
Figure 58: Production and productivity patter of rice in three different seasons in zone 6.
48 ZONE 7
OVERVIEW
Table 19: District 7 with its districts and blocks
Districts under Zone 7 Blocks falling under Zone 7 BANKURA Bishnupur, Indus, Joypur, Kotulpur, Patrasayer, Sonamukhi
Bhatar, Burdwan I, Burdwan II, Galsi II, Jamalpur, Kalna I, Kalna II, Katwa I, BARDHAMAN Katwa II, Ketugram II, Khandaghosh, Memari I, Memari II, Monteswar,
Purbasthali I, Purbasthali II, Raina I, Raina II HAORA Amta I, Amta II, Bagnan I, Bagnan II, Jagatballavpur, Pandhla, Shyampur I, Udaynarayanpur, Uluberia I, Uluberia II HUGLI Arambagh, Balagarh, Dhaniakhali, Goghat I, Goghat II, Haripal, Jangipara, Khanakul I, Khanakul II, Pandua, Pursurah, Tarakeswar Chakdaha, Chapra, Hanskhali, Kaliganj, Karimpur I, Karimpur II, Krishnaganj, NADIA Krishnanagar I, Krishnanagar II, Nabadwip, Nakashipara, Ranaghat II,
Ranaghat I, Santipur, Tehatta I, Tehatta II, NORTH 24 PARGANAS Baduria, Bagdah, Bongaon, Gaighata, Habra I, Swarupnagar
Chandrakona I, Chandrakona II, Dantan I, Dantan II, Daspur I, Daspur II, Debra, PASCHIM MEDINIPUR Garbeta I, Garbeta II, Ghatal, Keshpur, Kharagpur II, Mohanpur, Narayangarh,
Pingla, Sabong Bhagawanpur I, Bhagwanpur II, Chandipur (Nandigram III), Egra I, Egra II, PURBA MEDINIPUR Kolaghat (Panskura II), Mahishadal, Moyna, Nandakumar, Panskura I,
Potashpur I, Potashpur II, Sahid Matangini, Tamluk SOUTH 24 PARGANAS Budge Budge I, Budge Budge II, Diamond Harbour II, Falta
NADIA
Table 20: Overview of district Nadia
Particular Measure Geographical area 3927 Km2 Population 4604827 a) Rural 36,25,308 b) Urban 9,79,519 Cultivated agricultural area 272135 ha Total Forest Area 1249 ha a) Reserved area for utilization in future 510 ha b) Reserved Forest Area 302 ha c) Area under Social Forestry 640 ha
Figure 59: Nadia
49 HOOGHLI The district is a completely flat land with no more than an elevation of 200 meters anywhere in the area. The River Hooghly and Damodar are the major rivers in the region. Hooghly is the one of the most economically developed districts in West Bengal. It is also the main jute cultivation, jute industry, and jute trade hub in the state with jute mills located mainly along the river banks of Hooghly. There are also a number of industrial complexes including one of the largest car manufacturing plants in India viz; the 'Hindustan Motors'.
The district of Hooghly offers a rich cultural heritage since the Figure 60: Hooghly prehistoric times. The region of Hooghly existed even when there was no separate state called West Bengal. The region, as has been inhabited by several generations for years, it inherited a diversified cultural heritage.
HOWRAH Howrah the second largest city of West Bengal lies along the West bank of Hooghly River and as a district is one of the main administrative districts of the state. With a population of over 1 million, Howrah draw its economy chiefly from industries and only ≈ 30% of the total population is engaged in cultivation.
EAST MEDINIPUR22
With roughly an area of 4060Km2, East Medinipur is one of the 18 administrative districts of West Bengal. The total population of the district comprised of four subdivisions viz; Tamluk, Haldia, is ≈ 4.5 million and is Figure 61: Howrah Egra and Contai.
The district has an excellent transport and communication network of national highways and railways. A major existing industrial base at Haldia and Kolaghat, availability of skilled man power at comparatively lower rates, abundance of electric power and a business environment conducive for industrial growth both from the labour and political fronts are a few plus points for promotion and development of Micro and Small Medium Enterprises (MSME) in this district. Aquaculture and shrimp farming has been taken up in a big way in the coastal belt of this district and floriculture and horticultural activities are concentrated in a major portion of Tamluk Sub-division. In Haldia a large number of heavy engineering, chemical, and small-scale clusters are growing. Similarly, in Contai, Egra, Digha, Tamluk, Mahishadal and Kolaghat a wide number
of Small Scale Industries are spread over. Handloom-weaving is a Figure 62: East Medinipur traditional industry in this district and a considerable number of people are engaged in this activity.
22 Source: http://www.indianetzone.com/ 50 WEST MIDNAPUR23
West Medinipur district has been carved out from the erstwhile district of Midnapore, and it came into existence on 1st January 2002. It has a total geographical area of 9295.28 Km2 and a population of 5193411 as per census 2001. The district is primarily agricultural in nature, with cultivation being the chief livelihood of a majority of the people. Paddy occupies the first place in production. The district has a suitable agro-climatic condition for cultivation of mulberry and horticulture crops such as mango, banana, guava, lemon, orange, papaya, cashew and jackfruit. The district is well known for the production of mulberry Figure 63: West Medinipur and tussar silks, and Silk saris from Midnapore are much in demand. Kharagpur, an important junction of the South-Eastern Railway is located centrally in the district. It provides connectivity to all parts of the country for passengers as well as goods.
NORTH 24 PARGANAS
North 24 Parganas is West Bengal’s most populous district. It is also the tenth largest district in the State by area and second most densely populated district in the country. The district lies within the Ganges- Brahmaputra delta. The river Ganges flows along the entire west border of the district. There are many other rivers, which include the Ichhamati, Jamuna, and Bidyadhari. North 24 Parganas is one of the nine (including Kolkata) severely arsenic affected district in West Bengal. The climate is tropical, like the rest of the Gangetic West Bengal; the symbol is the Monsoon, which lasts from early June to mid-September. The weather remains dry during the winter (mid-November to mid-February) and humid during summer. Folk Culture: Folk Culture is one of the main traditions of
West Bengal. The District of North 24-Pgs is proud of his own folk culture viz Figure 64: North 24 Parganas Jhumur, Kabigan, Tarjagan, Manasha vasan, Rayani, Austakgan, Banabibir Pala, Tusu, Patar Bashi Bhatiyali etc. This various forms of folk culture have already reached to the people of the whole West Bengal as well as all over India.
23 Source: http://www.indianetzone.com/ 51 Table 21: Overview of district North 24 Parganas
Description Particulars Population 8,930,295 Geographical area 4094 Km2 Cultivable Area 2,71,845 ha Net cropped Area 2,64,952 ha Net area irrigated 1,67,128 ha Forest Land 4,221 ha Rainfall 1,579mm(Normal) Temperature 410C in May (Max) and 100C in January (Min) Relative Humidity 50% (March) - 90% ( July) Net Water Area 73,916 ha Area under Pisciculture 36,322 ha
BANKURA24
An overwhelming agro-economic base and low urbanization and industrialization characterize the economy of the district of Bankura. The district is broadly divided into two regions: the alluvial plains in the east and the undulating tract to the west. Within the district and even within these regions, the villages vary not only in their geographical features but also in their physical forms and composition of their economic and social life patterns. Agriculture forms the prime contributor to the economy of the district.
The net cultivable area of the district is 43 million hectares, and about 46% of the net cropped area is under irrigation. Mines and minerals play a vital role in the economy of Bankura district. Mines and minerals based ventures have already come up on the stretch of land from Bankura to Saltora. Certain areas in the region have been setting up agriculture based industries like, Rice and Oil Mills. Cottage and Small Scale Industries
constitute a major segment of the district`s economy. It Figure 65: Bankura provides maximum employment opportunity next to agriculture and this account for nearly 9 percent of the district income. The forests in the district produce various medicinal flora and fauna which are routinely exported to neighboring districts and also outside the state.
24 Source: http://www.indianetzone.com/ 52 PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY PATTERN OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Zone 7: Production pattern of major food crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07
Bardhaman Bankura Birbhum West Midnapur East Midnapur Nadia Hoogly Howrah North 24 Parganas
2000
1500
1000
500
0 Rice Wheat Maize Pulses Oil Jute seeds TMC
Figure 66: Production pattern of major food crops in zone 7
It is quite evident with Fig 66 that the trend of rice, jute and tea production is more or less similar in all the livelihood zones of West Bengal. Bardhman and Nadia these are two districts which are quite opposite in production of rice and tea. Tea here in all the figures is in the form of TMC (Total Miscellaneous Crops which include production of vegetables as well). The production of rice is equivalent to production of TMC in Nadia district. This is quite remarkable in the production of tea and other vegetable crops for Nadia as these crops act like a cash crops. West Midnapur is also good in the production of rice in its main season i.e. Aman but it lags behind Bardhman regarding the total production of rice in whole year. The availability of water is very less in Boro season in whole West Bengal and West Midnapur is not an exception in this regard.
This situation again puts emphasis on the hypothesis that the main season that needs water most is Boro; this is the season when there is very less or no rain and all the water harvesting structures gets dried by the end of April first week so literally no water in the water harvesting tanks. All the rivers are already dried by the March end so it is the most difficult time for a farmer to fetch water for agriculture purposes. Only method that can provide water during non-rainy season is using ground water; we would discuss the situation of ground water in detail in the ‘solutions’ chapter in this report and of course, it is needed to be discussed; AWM relies on use of available ground water for agriculture purposes and several means of using this water has been proposed in many countries which include low cost pumps and many other things. But, this needs to be validated whether this kind of intervention would put agriculture at risk in long term or would allow farmer more output from the same field.
53 Zone 7: Persons engaged in agriculture 70000
60000
50000
40000
Numbers 30000
Bargadars 20000 Small farmers Marginal farmers 10000
0
Egra-II
Amta-I
Kalna-I
Chapra
Tamluk
Raina-II
Baduria
Kaliganj
Keshpur
Katwa-II
Daspur-I
Goghat-I
Memari-I
Bagnan-II
Garbeta-I
Hanskhali
Tehatta-II
Panskura-I
Uluberia-II
Nabadwip
Burdwan-II
Ranaghat -I Ranaghat
Mahishadal
Krishnaganj Potashpur-I
Dhaniakhali
Shyampur-II
Kharagpur-II
Purbasthali-I
Narayangarh
Jagatballavpur
Budge-Budge-I
Bhagawanpur-II
Sahid Matangini Sahid Chandipur (Nandigram-III) Chandipur Blocks
Figure 67: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 7
54 Zone 7: Prodctivity pattern of major food crops (kg/ha) 2006-07
18000 16000 14000 12000 Rice 10000 Wheat 8000 Maize 6000 4000 Pulses 2000 Oil seeds 0 Jute TMC
Figure 68: Productivity pattern of major food crops in zones 7
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY PATTERN OF RICE
Zone 7: Production pattern of Zone 7: Productivity pattern of rice rice 1400 4000 1200 3500 1000 3000 800 2500 2000 600 1500 400 Aus 1000 Aus 200 Aman 500 Aman 0 0
Boro Boro
Nadia Nadia
Hoogly Hoogly
Howrah Howrah
Bankura Bankura
Birbhum Birbhum
North 24… North 24… North
Bardhaman Bardhaman
East Midnapur East Midnapur East West Midnapur West West Midnapur West
Figure 69: Production and productivity pattern of rice in zones 7 and 7a.
55 ZONE 7A
OVERVIEW Zone 7a typically consists of few blocks from districts Bardhaman and Birbhum. Major livelihood activities have already been discussed in Zone 7.
Districts under Zone 7a Blocks falling under Zone 7a Ausgram I BARDHAMAN Ketugram I
Mongalkote Bolpur Sriniketan Dubrajpur Illambazar Labhpur Mayureswar I BIRBHUM Mayureswar II Murarai I Nalhati II Nanoor Rampurhat II Sainthia Suri II
Zone 7a: Persons engaged in agriculture 20000 18000 16000
14000 12000
Numbers 10000 8000 Bargadars 6000 Small farmers 4000 Marginal farmers 2000 0
Blocks
Figure 70: Persons engaged in agricultuer in Zone 7a
56 Zone 7a has following characteristics –
1. This zone is a mix of uneven lateritic territory and allvial flood plains. 2. There has been a regular increase in the occurance of droughts putting the local economy at risk regardless of its nature. 3. This zone is close to main agriculture land of district Bardhaman which are also called as ‘Rice Bawl’ but amazingly the productivity of rice and other agriculture crops, is much less. 4. Lack of proper water harvesting structures in the zone results in the surface run off which in long run causing ground water level going down. Lower ground water level doesn’t allow small and marginal farmers with enough water; there are cases of farmers’ suicide due to corp failures in the zone.
57 ZONE 8
OVERVIEW This is the zone belong to undulating Lateritic region under the agro-climatic subdivisions of the state West Bengal and typically consists of Bankura, West Medinipur and Purulia districts.
Table 22: Zone 8 with its districts and blocks
Districts Blocks falling under Zone 8 Bankura Bankura I, Bankura II, Chhatna, Hirbandh, Indpur, Onda, Saltora, Sarenga, Simlapal, Taldangra West BinpurI, Garbeta II, Gopiballavpur I, Gopiballavpur II, Jamboni, Jhargram, Keshiary, Medinipur Kharagpur I, Medinipur, Nayagram, Salboni, Sankrail Puruliya Arsha, Balarampur, Bandowan, Hura, Jaypur, Kashipur, Manbazar I, Manbazar II, Neturia, Para, Puncha, Purulia I, Purulia II, Raghunathpur I, Raghunathpur II, Santuri
PURULIA As per 2001 census total population of the district is 2535516, out of which 89.93% are residing in rural areas and 10.07% are in urban areas. Cultivation of this district is predominantly mono-cropped. About 60% of the total cultivated land is upland. Out of the total agricultural holding about 73% belongs to small and marginal farmers having scattered and fragmented smallholding. Paddy is the primary crop of the district. 50% of the total land is under net-cropped area and only 17% of the net cropped area is under multi crop cultivation. 77% of the net-cropped area is under Aman paddy cultivation. The crops are grown mostly under rain fed condition; generally with low fertilizer consumption per unit area Thus per hectare production is also low as compared to other district of West Bengal.
Fishery is also a viable activity in the district but results are not encouraging; tanks/ponds are not utilized properly. Total inland area of the district is 71,255 ha leaving an ample opportunity to bring more area under efficient Pisciculture. Figure 71: Purulia Forests in Purulia: Total forest coverage in this district including social forestry and degraded forest as per Satellite Imagery data is 185726 ha which is 29.69 % of the total land of the district. The management and maintenance of Forest is being done by Joint Forest Protection Committees under active control of different divisions of Forest Department. At present 702 nos. of Forest Protection Committees are working in this district. These committees have not only helped to protect the plantation areas but have also guarded against illegal felling of trees.
The natural forests of the district are mostly of mixed nature and restricted to northwest part of the district covering Ajodhya Hills and Panchet hills of northeast. As per Remote sensing data the forest cover of this district is increasing compare to its past status. The extensive farm and social forestry plantation programs might have contributed in a big way to the increase forest cover.
58
Zone 8: Persons engaged in agriculture 25000
20000
15000
Numbers 10000 Bargadars Small farmers Marginal farmers 5000
0
Para
Hura
Onda
Arsha
Jaypur
Indpur
Saltora
Santuri
Salboni
Puncha
Neturia
Sankrail
Binpur-I
Sarenga
Chhatna
Jamboni
Purulia-I
Simlapal
Keshiary
Kashipur
Purulia-II
Jhargram
Hirbandh
Bankura-I
Taldangra
Garbeta-II
Nayagram
Bankura-II
Medinipur
Bandowan
Manbazar-I
Balarampur
Kharagpur-I
Manbazar-II
Gopiballavpur-I
Raghunathpur-I
Gopiballavpur-II Raghunathpur-II Blocks
Figure 72: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 8
59 POVERTY AND LIVELIHOOD CHALLENGES
Table 23: Percentage of the backward communities
Districts Total ST ST (%) SC SC (%) Population Purulia 2536516 463452 18.27 463956 18.29 Bankura 3192695 330783 10.36 997408 31.24 West Midnapur 5193411 772177 14.86 937340 18.04 Total 10922622 1566412 14.34 2398704 21.96
This zone has the maximum population of the Schedule tribe population who are considered as the most backward class in the state and the country as well. The Purulia district comprises highest ST population (over 18%) in the zone and the state as well. At the same time the zone also has a significant Scheduled Caste population who also represents the backward class. This is a complete rural zone comprising of an average rural population of 90% (approx) having very limited numbers of industries.
Table 24: Work availability in different districts
Work availability Total workers Class of Total Workers (TW) District Number P.C. Cultivators Agricultural Household Ind. Other Workers Labourers Workers Number PC to Number PC to Number PC to Number PC to TW TW TW TW Purulia 1127488 44.45 352712 31.28 406223 36.03 84466 7.49 284087 25.2 Bankura 1427272 44.7 439957 30.82 503214 35.26 83492 5.85 400609 28.07 West 2131547 41.04 639201 29.99 748661 35.12 163984 7.69 579701 27.2 Midnapur
As stated in the aforesaid table, over 60% of the employment opportunities in the zone are directly from the agriculture and agriculture is the main source of livelihoods in the zone. There are occupations like biri making (an indigenous product used instead of cigarettes) from the tendu leaves (a non timber forest produce) in a wide zone in Purulia and Bankura and making shaal leaf plates in a range of forest fringe area of the West Midnapur district. Bothe the sectors are unorganized and operate through a much localized kind of market value chain mainly dominated by the middlemen; exploitative agents.
Though agriculture is the main source of livelihoods in the zone but the data shows over 90% of the land holding belong to marginal and small farmers. More critically almost 70% of the landholding belongs to the marginal farmers as shown in the table below. If we consider the average land holding pattern, it is 1 hectare or less per family.
The increase in the population during the last decade resulted in further marginalisation of assets, especially land ownership. Of these lands, about 50% would consist of uplands with very low productivity in fragmented and scattered parcels. Irrigated land in the zone is approximately 15% and most marginal farmers do not have access to irrigation. The zone experiences poor monsoon once in almost every three years, which results in total loss of kharif paddy, particularly in the uplands. Such widespread poverty and the frequent occurrence of natural calamities limit the possibility of any savings and wealth formation, 60 closing out the possibilities of investment to improve resources. Thus most of these marginal and small farmers are actually living in a precarious condition that deteriorates with every passing year.
Table 25: Land size class in the zone
S I Z E - C L A S S Avera Total Margin Small Semi- Mediu Large ge land Districts al medium m land holdin No.of % No.of % No.of No.of No.of holdin gs holdin margin holdin small holdings holdin holdin gs al gs holdin gs gs g (ha) (no.) g Purulia 213085 70.6716 63750 21.143 22455 2197 27 0.86 301514 8 3 Bankura 239365 65.2146 84960 23.147 36870 5827 20 1.06 367042 1 21 West 577469 84.8928 82262 12.093 19001 1478 23 0.75 680233 Midnapur 2 21
To summarise, a little under half of rural zone 8 is below the poverty line as per official estimates. The entire district is drought prone. Over 70 percent of the population is dependent on marginal agriculture and allied activities, with low incomes and stagnant productivity. Thus, the challenge is not merely creating new livelihoods to offset the effects of population growth, but to make existing agricultural-livelihoods more productive so that persons engaged in agriculture can earn adequate income to meet their basic needs.
Topographically and agro-ecologically, zone 8 is an extension of the Chhotanagpur plateau, characterized by an undulating terrain with hilly outcrops and average annual rainfall of 1300 mm. The productivity of this kind of land under traditional cropping system (a single crop of kharif paddy) is very low as soil fertility and water holding capacity are low, water control is difficult and soils are shallow. The broad classification of land is as follows.
Broadly speaking, the land in most of the villages in zone 8 can be classified into:
Valley land (bohal) Medium lowland (kanali) Medium up land (baid) Upland (taand) Homestead land (Badi)
These are pictorially illustrated in Fig 1. Leaving aside forests and lands under the custody of different government departments, the use of privately owned land is better understood in the context of livelihoods. However, as individual holdings are also set in a particular geographical location in the landscape, it makes sense to look at the general terrain features.
61
Figure 73: A typical village transact
Figure 74: resource ownership pattern of a typical marginal family in the zone
As shown in the Fig 64, a family owns an area of 2.69 acre and divided across four different land categories. Apart from their own land there is forest lands people use for fuel and other non-timber forest produces like shal, tendu leaves, mushrooms etc. The table below would explain land categories and their usage:
62 Table 26: Land categories and their usage
Type of land Status Ownership Scope for improvement Forest lands Green cover, vulnerable to illegal Forest Long term protection and soil felling. department. moisture conservation to enhance growth. Degraded forest lands used as Protection, new plantation, soil pasture lands by villagers and moisture conservation. Fallow Mostly wastelands, highly eroded Almost all With land development for soil uplands with occasional presence of bushes families have moisture conservation or (taand*) or stubbles of trees some share. irrigation development, could be brought under orchard
Homestead A family may have 500-800 sq. m., All categories Lands at the back yard could be lands (Badi) usually reserved for extension of of families best productive assets for houses as families grow/split. have such women provided there is access Sometimes uplands, used to grow lands. As to irrigation. Several vegetables for home consumption. usual, poorer neighbouring families could get Some families might have a dug well, have less. together to share a dug well to used as a source of drinking water intensify homestead farming. and to irrigate vegetable patches if cultivated. Terraced & Without irrigation support, people Poorer Could be converted into double bunded mid- grow only monsoon paddy. families on cropped lands with low cost uplands Vulnerable to the vagaries of the an average water harvesting and irrigation (baid) monsoon.. have 0.10- infrastructure development. 0.15ha of such lands. Terraced & Used to cultivate longer duration, Poorer Could grow three crops by bunded mid increasingly HYV, paddy during kharif, families on developing water harvesting low lands these are the most productive and an average and irrigation infrastructure and (kanali) & the only secure source of food crops. have 0.08 – good water management. Farm low lands Sporadic cultivation of pulses or 0.15 ha of fisheries possible. (bohal) oilseeds in winter. such lands.
IRRIGATION AND AGRICULTURE
Table 27: The percentage of cultivable land and irrigated area (2006-07)
Irrigated area (ha)- Irrigated-Rice District Net sown Area(ha) considering repetitive productivity (kg/ha) irrigation Purulia 310.24 71.13 2092 Bankura 344.66 1157.621 2981 West-Midnapur 555.62 428.12 2874
Irrigation coverage is calculated on the basis of total irrigation provided to an area in different seasons of a year (say for three crop seasons). The Bankura irrigation coverage with respect to net sown area in 2006-07 is the cumulative coverage figure and is too small indeed for other two districts as stated. Most of the canal command areas do not receive water when it is needed. A large number of villages have no irrigation coverage at all. Fluctuation in rain, particularly early withdrawal of monsoon in some years drastically reduces the command area from all sources. Considering thje cumulative irrigated area coverage it is
63 prominent that there is almost no second crop in Purulia district under irrigated condition and almost the same in case of West Midnapur. At the same time natural resource husbandry is not a very common practice that resulted in very poor crop production. The highest rice yield in the zone under irrigation is even much lesser than the average state’s yield and falling far behind of highest irrigated rice production of 3.6 t/ha. The typical viscious of the zone is as following:
Figure 75: A typical viscious of the zone.
Agriculture is the backbone of the rural economy of zone 8 with more than 80% of the population directly dependent on it. However, modern farming practices are yet to take root and a majority of the farmers continue to follow traditional practices with low yields. Like other hilly and undulating parts of the country. Cereal crops like paddy and maize occupy a major portion of the agricultural area in the zone, Other important crops grown are wheat and oilseeds. Paddy dominates the present cropping pattern. Due to lack of irrigation facilities, small size of land holdings, lack of extension services with regards to input management and package of practices and lack of access to institutional credit, yield of these crops is extremely low. A majority of farmers cultivate only one crop in a year due to lack of irrigation, resulting in low income.
Livestock in the zone is of poor quality, and primarily an adjunct to subsistence agriculture – cattle of non- descript quality are kept primarily for draft power and manure. However, due to the practice of free grazing and non-descript breeds of cattle, their contribution to the economy in general and to agriculture (by way of manure and draft power) is limited even though the per capita availability of livestock compares well with the all India average. The practice of rearing livestock is to cope-up with emergency situations and also for festivals.
64 PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Zone 8: Production pattern of major food crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 Purulia 1000 Bankura 800 600 West Midnapur 400 200 0 Rice Wheat Maize Pulses Oil seeds Jute TMC
Figure 76: Production patter of major crops in zone 8.
Zone 8: Productivity pattern (kg/ha) of major food crops 2006-07 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 Rice Wheat Maize Pulses Oil seeds Jute TMC
Purulia Bankura West Midnapur
Figure 77: Productivity pattern of major food crops in zone 8. PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE
Zone 8: Production pattern of Zone 8: Productivity pattern of Rice Rice
Purulia Bankura West Midnapur Purulia Bankura West Midnapur
1281 3165 2813 946 2618 2615 2497 24842760 725 1961 1501 436 139 3 53 81 3
Aus Aman Boro Aus Aman Boro
Figure 78: Production and productivity pattern of rice in three different seasons in zone 8. 65 ZONE 9
OVERVIEW The zone 9 typically consists of few blocks from district Bankura, Paschim Medinipur and Puruliya. All three districts have alrady been explained in zone 8 as well but from livelihood zones’ point of view it is different from zone 8.
Districts Blocks falling under Zone 9 Khatra BANKURA Raipur
Ranibandh PASCHIM MEDINIPUR Binpur II Baghmundi PURULIYA Barabazar Jhalda I Jhalda II
Zone 9: Persons engaged in agriculture 16000
14000
12000
10000
8000
Numbers Bargadars 6000 Small farmers 4000 Marginal farmers 2000
0
Blocks
Figure 79: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 9
Main characteristics of the zone are as follow –
1. The Purulia portion is actually the forest fringed area of zone 8. The topography here typically consists of steep granite hillocks. This means there is very less soil dust and thus less green cover. 2. Although this zone can be considered as the recharge zone but as the topography is not suitable – there is no recharge actually. Steep slopes don’t allow water to percolate down in the soil and results in the fast surface run off.
66 3. Majority of farmers belong to small and marginal category. Livelihoods mainly dependent on either forests or on the agriculture; forest based livelihoods such as collection of fuel wood, tendu leaves and mushrooms provide a significant economic value to the farmers. 4. The zone is not completely dependent entirely on agriculture; goatery is also a viable activity which can give higher returns compared to agriculture. But this is still a coping mechanism as the economic situations of farmers don’t allow them to purchase their staple food from the market on higher prices. 5. The zone is rain fed in nature and maximum rain fall occurs during the monsoon season leaving the local communities vulnerable to drought situations during summers. 6. Agriculture is mainly single cropped during the Kharif season and done for paddy cultivation which during rainy season is mostly flooded not allowing farmers to receive optimum production from their fields.
67 ZONE 10
OVERVIEW The zone 10 consists of few blocks from districts Haora, Hugli, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas.
Table 28: Zone 10 with its districts and blocks
Districts under Zone 10 Blocks falling under Zone 10 HAORA Domjur Sankrail Chanditala I Chanditala II HUGLI Chinsurah Mogra Polba Dadpur Serampur Uttarpara Singur NADIA Haringhata Deganga NORTH 24 PARGANAS Habra II
Haroa Bhangar I Bhangar II SOUTH 24 PARGANAS Bishnupur I Bishnupur II Sonarpur Thakurpukur Maheshtala
Zone 10: Persons engaged in agriculture 30000 25000
20000 15000
Numbers 10000 5000 Bargadars Small farmers 0 Marginal farmers
Blocks
Figure 80: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 10
68 PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR CROPS
Zone 10: Production pattern of major food crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07 2000
1500 Nadia 1000 Howrah
500 south 24 Parganas North 24 Parganas 0 Rice Wheat Maize Total Total Oil Jute TMC Pulses seeds
Figure 81: Production pattern of major food crops in zone 10.
Zone 10: Productivity pattern of major food crops (kg/ha) 2006-07 20000
15000 Nadia 10000 Howrah 5000 south 24 Parganas North 24 Parganas 0 Rice Wheat Maize Total Total Oil Jute TMC Pulses seeds
Figure 82: Productivity pattern of major food crops in zone 10.
Zone 10 is very peculiar as the zone is the combination of sweet and saline water zones as well. There is high rain fall in the zone with aroung 2300 mm bu amazingly most of the rain happens in the monsoon season only. This zone contains a lot of rivers as well which are connected to the ocean; Bay of Bengal and there is always presence of tides in the rivers.
During the rainy season the entire zone is flooded with the water; there is no outlet for the water and it later results in the water logging. This stagnant water has got the higher salinity as well. The increased salinity has the direct impant over the local livelihoods; farmers prefer agri-pisciluture due to stagnant water conditions. In other words this type of agriculture can also be termed as ‘Tide based agriculture’. During high tides the water comes in the agriculture fields and accumulates over here; farmers then go for the paddy cultivation and fish farming both in the stagnant water. This zone has got a great potential for the agriculture water management; poor land where good agriculture is possible only is summers if somehow can be given proper treatment would be able to provide high return even in the monsoon season. The situation is such that agriculture over here is possible in flooded conditions only as the salinity is also an issue in the stagnant water. Flooded water keeps the salinity at low and if somehow the water level is reduced – it would result in the crop failure as the paddy can’t tolerate high salinity.
69 ZONE 11
OVERVIEW The zone 11 contains only five blocks from the district South 24 Parganas.
Districts under Zone 11 Blocks falling under Zone 11 Diamond Harbour I Kulpi SOUTH 24 PARGANAS Mandirbazar
Mograhat I Mograhat II
Zone 11: Persons engaged in agriculture 20000
15000
10000 Bargadars
Numbers Small farmers 5000 Marginal farmers 0 D-Harbour-I Kulpi Mandirbazar Mograhat-I Mograhat-II Blocks
Figure 83: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 11
Chief characteristics of the zone are as follow –
1. The zone consists of semi-urban and rural areas and is typically agriculture in nature; only rural areas contribute to the agricultural production. 2. Similar to zone 10, this zone is also having the problem of water stagnation. The major reason of this water logged situation is the encroachment of existing ponds and khals that were used to store the water during rainly season. They now have been occupied in order to make new houses and other infrastructures. The encroachment has left no space for getting water stored in the zone. 3. In a long course of time, local rivers are also silted increasing the river bed. This means in high tides and during rainy season, the river crosses the bunds and enter in to the agriculture fields and even in the main lands. 4. Local people have adopted a coping mechanism in the form of ‘Bund farming’. They grow vegetables over the bunds – they do vegetable cultivation two times a year along with the rice. The Bund farming is successful due to less salinity on the bunds as maximum salts get leached into the soil during the rain. 5. Fresh water fishery is also a major source of livelihood in the zone.
70 ZONE 12
OVERVIEW Zone 12 typically consists of some blocks from districts North 24 Parganas, East Medinipur and South 24 Parganas.
Districts under Zone 12 Blocks falling under Zone 12 Basirhat I NORTH 24 PARGANAS Basirhat II Hasnabad Minakhan Contai I Contai III Deshapran (Contai II) Haldia Khejuri I EAST MEDINIPUR Khejuri II
Nandigram I Nandigram II Ramnagar I Ramnagar II Sutahata Baruipur Canning II Jaynagar I SOUTH 24 PARGANAS Jaynagar II
Kakdwip Mathurapur I Sagar
Chief characteristics of the zone are as follow –
1. The zone is agriculture dependent but as this zone is also affected with higher salinity issues so not very different from zone 11. 2. Tide based agriculture and vegetable cultivation is a major source of livelihood in the zone. 3. Captured fishery is very remunerative to the people of the zone and it acts as a coping mechanism for less agricultural production. 4. A high rain fall of 2200 mm doesn’t bless the region with plenty of water as the >80% of rain happens within only <80 rainy days which in absence of proper water harvesting structures causes only flood.
71 Zone 12: Persons engaged in agriculture 60000
50000
40000
30000 Numbers Bargadars 20000 Small farmers Marginal farmers
10000
0
Blocks
Figure 84: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 12
72 ZONE 13
OVERVIEW The zone 13 typically consists of North and South 24 Parganas and in a nut shell defines the Sunderban region.
Districts under Zone 13 Blocks falling under Zone 13 Hingalganj NORTH 24 PARGANAS Sandeshkhali I
Sandeshkhali II Basanti Canning I Gosaba SOUTH 24 PARGANAS Kultali
Mathurapur II Namkhana Patharpratima
Zone 13: Persons engaged in agriculture 35000 30000
25000 20000 15000
Numbers 10000 Bargadars 5000 Small farmers 0 Marginal farmers
Blocks
Figure 85: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 13
It is, indeed, a complex zone, stretching from the metropolitan Kolkata to remote riverine villages, upto the mouth of Bay of Bengal. The rural area significantly suffers from the lack of transport and communication facilities and weak delivery systems. 84% of the population lives in the rural areas, where development is taken care of by the Panchayat bodies. The scheduled caste comprises 39% of the total population and B.P.L. families constitute 37.21% of the population.
The zone under saline Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forests on earth, is spread over ten development blocks in the district. Due to its peculiar geographical location and the dictates of geography, the means of transport and communication in this region are not well developed, with all the attendant consequences. Lack of irrigation has meant mono-cropped agriculture. Breaches in earthen embankments and cyclonic storms mean loss of life and destruction of crops and property on a regular basis. Any development strategy in this ecologically fragile environment must be carefully designed and implemented.
73 Apart from marine fishing, the principal traditional occupation in the entire coastal zone of the State is agriculture. In zone 13 the other occupations are fishing, honey collection and wood cutting although agriculture is the major occupation of the people. Due to hostile geo-physical conditions that entail inaccessibility, communication impediments, low productivity agriculture, constant change in land masses coupled with the prevailing climatic condition, the entire coastal zone -13 is characterised by severe economic backwardness.
PHYSICO-CHEMICAL VARIABLES
The coastal zone of West Bengal experiences a moderate type of climate because of its location at the apex of the Bay of Bengal as well as due to regular tidal flushing in the estuaries. Wave action, micro and macrotidal cycle, long shore currents are recorded in most of the islands of the ecosystem. Coastal processes are very dynamic and are accelerated by tropical cyclone which is locally called Kal Baisakhi (Nor’Wester). Field investigations show that the coastline is changing in the reclaimed areas due to abnormal cliff erosion.
The seasonal climate in coastal West Bengal may be conveniently categorised into pre-monsoon (March- June), monsoon (July-October) and post-monsoon (November- February). Each season has a characteristic feature of its own, which is very distinct and unique. The oscillations of various physical variables in different seasons of the year are discussed briefly.
WAVES AND TIDES
Sea waves in this region rarely become destructive except during cyclonic storm. During Nor’westers, the wind speed rises above 100 Km/hour and is usually accompanied by huge tidal waves. When the cyclonic incidences coincide with the spring-tides, wave height can rise over 5m above the mean sea level
SALINITY
Salinity is an important parameter governing many biological and chemical processes in the coastal zone of West Bengal. This parameter exhibits unique seasonal variation with highest value during pre-monsoon (March-June), minimum during monsoon (July-September) and intermediate during post-monsoon (November-February).A drastic variation of salinity is also observed in different transects of the estuary at the same time (Mitra, 2000).
RAINFALL
70-80% of total precipitation takes place in the period of June to September whereas the minimum rainfall is distributed across October to April in the year.
Chief characteristics of the zone are as follow –
1. This zone is mainly representing the delta region with lots of streams passing through up to Bay of Bengal. 2. Regular river bank failure is common feature over here; river banks fail at a frequency of 5 – 6 years causing Hugh damage to the local economy. Blocks particularly Gosaba, Sandesh Khali and Namkhana are highly vunerable to river bank failures; saline sea water enters villages easily and thoudands of hectare of the cultivable land people are loosing every year. 3. Agriculture and fishery are the popular livelihood activities and majority of the people fall in the smallholder categories. 4. Water level in the zone is very high but the percentage of salinity is very high which is not good for agricultural activities. For sweet water, the level goes as deep as 700 feet; as the zone is having no 74 irrigation facility so the return on the agriculture is also very less. Migration to distant places to earn cash money is the only coping mechanism. 5. The land-use composition (Fig 86) of the coastal region reveals that maximum land in the coastal area is under agriculture, followed by residual and homestead land. Uses of land under other purposes like orchard are negligible. Pasture land in the coastal region is virtually non-existent. Reclamation of agricultural land for aquaculture which reached its peak beginning the late ’80s up to 1995 has apparently reached a plateau after imposition of ban on semi-intensive prawn farming in 1996. 74.68% of the total cultivable land covered under Kharif paddy whereas 8.4% is the coverage under boro paddy. The area severely suffers from water logging in the kharif and higher saline concentration and non-availability of sweet water in other seasons made it mono-cropped. The water stagnation profile of a typical village is shown by resource-mapping on revenue sheets:
Figure 86: Resoruce map of a village in the coastal West Bengal
75 PRIORITY ZONES: AWM INVESTMENT POTENTAIL The 2 days’ workshop also explored the 3 priority zones (Fig 41); based on all the PRIORITY ZONES criteria considered by the participants; zone 8 (District Purulia, Bankura, and West SOLUTIONS Midnapur) was put 1st in terms of intervention followed by zone 2 and 12.
Zones' prioritization for AWM intervention
Zone 1 Zone 13: 20 Zone 2 and 2a 15 Zone 12: Zone 3 10 5 Zone 11: Zone 4: 0 Votes scored Zone 10: Zone 5:
Zone 9: Zone 6: Zone 8: Zone 7 and 7a:
Figure 87 Voting was done in order to prioritize zones for AWM interventions
SOLUTIONS AS AN AWM INTERVENTION:
Table 29: Different solutions and their relevance25 explored during the workshop in different zones.
Zones 1 2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13
Watershed development 1 1 3 1
Water harvest 3 3 3 1 3 1 3 3 3 3
Water and soil conservation 3 2 3 3 3 2
Electrification 1 3 1 1 1 1 3 2 1
Financing 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 1
Drip irrigation 1 1 3 1 3 2 1 1 1
Small scale lift irrigation 3 2 1 1 1 3 3 1
Solar 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Capacity building 3 3 3 3 3 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Participants were facilitated to rank all the solutions as high, moderate and low; it significantly sorted out most relevant solutions and validated the priority zones suggested by the participants. But this exercise also throws light on the zones which were not selected by the participants and seems relevant from intervention point of view; criteria followed by the participants were mostly responsible for prioritizing the
25 Relevance indicators; 3 = High, 2 = Medium and, 1 = Low 76 zones (see workshop report for more details). In further analysis, we would see the solutions explored by the paticipants along with some necessary comments on their relevance as a favored AWM intervention method.
A. WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT
Watershed development
3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1
Relevance in each zoneeachin Relevance 0.5 0 1 2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13 Watershed development 1 1 3 1
Figure 88: Solution in the zones and its relevance
Table 30: Zones showing relevance of intervention with Watershed development
Relavance for watershed SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED intervention 1 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, 2 7 Low Haora, East Midnapur 3 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann High East Midnapur, South 24 4 12 Low Parganas
Comments: 1. Zone 7a shows highest relevance for intervention with watershed development as per participants’ opinion during the workshop. 2. Fig 43 explains about the rainfall trend (from 2003 – 2007) in the zones; zone 7a (Birbhum and Bardhmann) is in accordance with the participants’ opinion as the increase in rainfall over the years is more or less stagnent. 3. In order to dig in this isssue deep, we need to look at the Fig 44; Ground water situation (2007 data). There is a difference between projected amount of ground water need and water availability. 4. So in first look, the solution suggested for zone 7a appears worthwhile.
77 Rainfall trend in Zones 6, 7, 7a, and 12 2500
2000
1500 Year 2003 Year 2004 Year 2005
Rainfall in mm in Rainfall 1000 Year 2006 Year 2007 Normal 2007
500
0 Bardhaman Birbhum Nadia Hoogly Howrah East West Bankura North 24 south 24 Midnapur Midnapur Parganas Parganas Districts
Figure 89: Rainfall pattern in different districts.
78
Ground Water Situation in Zone 6, 7, 7a, and 12 700000
600000
500000 projected demand 25 yrs for domestic and industry 400000 use 300000 Existing draft from all uses
200000 Net Annual availability 100000 Districts 0
Figure 90: Ground water situation in Zone 6, 7, 7a, and 12
It is quite evident from Fig 43 and 44 that where there is presence of good rain, net annual availability of ground water is good and vice versa. This information is important from agriculture point of view. The idea of AWM intervention would be applicable in places where there is low rain availability along with low ground water table. So this way, Birbhum, Nadia, Howrah, Bankura and South 24 Parganas are more important than our priority zones (Fig 41). But one has to keep in mind that these districts are also highly populated zones and very much urbanized so idea of intervention in terms of AWM would have to see other perspectives as well.
79 B. WATER HARVEST
Water Harvest
3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Relevance in each area eachin Relevance Zone 2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 Water Harvest 3 3 3 1 3 1 3 3 3 3
Figure 91: Water harvest and its relevance in each area.
Table 31: Zones showing relevance of intervention with water harvest
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest 1 2 Jalpaiguri High Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin 2 3 High Dinajpur and Maldah 3 5 Maldah, Murshidabad High 4 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East Midnapur, West 5 7 High Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas 6 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann Low Purulia, Bankura, West 7 8 High Midnapur 8 9 Purulia High 9 11 South 24 Parganas High East Midnapur, South 24 10 12 High Parganas
Comments: 1. There are only two zones viz zone 6 and 7a (Birbhum and Bardhmann) which show less relevance for water harvest during the rainy season. Partly it does’t match with the findings of previous solution i.e. watershed development; at block level, only eastern Birbhum and western Bardhmann fall in zone 7a which is why it looks different. 2. Water harvest is needed for small and marginal farmers which are most affected during the Boro season (from Dec to March). Fig 7 and 8 can help explain as why Birbhum and Bardhmann show less relevance in terms of intervention with water harvest.
80 Area Vs. Production 1000000 800000 600000 400000 200000 Production (tonnes) Boro rice 0 Area (ha) Boro rice
Figure 92: Area available for production of Boro rice in zones relevant for intervention with water harvest.
Yield (kg/ha) Boro rice 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 Yield (kg/ha) Boro rice
Figure 93: Yield in Kg/ha of Boro rice in zones relevant for intervention with water harvest.
81 Rainfall trend (Year 2007) 4000
3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 Rainfall in mm in Rainfall 500 0
Figure 94: Rainfall trend in zones relevant for intervention with water harvest.
3. Rainfall pattern doesn’t support participants’ assumption for whether Birbhum and Bardhmann should be left aside in terms of intervention with water harvest structures.
82 C. WATER AND SOIL CONSERVATION
Water and soil conservation 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5
Relevance in each zoneeachin Relevance 0 Zone 2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 Water and soil conservation 3 2 3 3 3 2 Figure 95: Water and soil conservation and its relevance in each zone.
Table 32: Zones showing relevance of intervention with water and soil conservation
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest 1 1 Darjeeling High Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East Midnapur, West 2 7 Medium Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas 3 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann High Purulia, Bankura, West 4 8 High Midnapur 5 9 Purulia High East Midnapur, South 24 6 12 Medium Parganas
Comments: 1. All the zones show a great requirement of water and soil conservation; Fig 11 puts light into this issue. Rainfall trend except Darjiling is more or less similar in all the zones, but how much water of that can be used for the irrigation purpose would be worthwhile to notice (Fig 12). 2. The solution suggested by the participants appears to be realistic at first approach.
83 Rainfall trend 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000
Rainfall in mm in Rainfall 500 0
Figure 96: Rainfall trend in zones relevant for interventin with water and soil conservation.
Trend irrigation (ha) 2007 450000 400000
350000 300000 250000 200000 150000 Area in ha in Area 100000 50000 0
Figure 97: Trend in irrigation in zones relevant for intervention with water and soil conservation.
84 D. ELECTRIFICATION
Electrification
3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Relevance in each zoneeachin Relevance Zone 2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 Electrification 1 3 1 1 1 1 3 2 1
Figure 98: Electrification and its relevance in each zone.
Table 33: Zones showing relevance of intervention with electrification
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest 1 2 Jalpaiguri Low 2 2a Kooch Bihar High Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur and 3 3 Low Maldah 4 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East 5 7 Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, Low North 24 Parganas 6 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann Low 7 8 Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur High 8 9 Purulia Medium 9 12 East Midnapur, South 24 Parganas Low
Comments: 1. Electrification is neede for the irrigation purposes; only two zones viz; zone 2a (Kooch Bihar) and zone 8 (Purulia, Bankura and West Midnapur) show high relevance for the intervention with electrification. 2. Fig 14 also confirms the need of electrification in the concerned zones as even the RLIs (River Lift Irrigation schemes are also not functioning well.
85 River Lift Irrigation Schemes by WRDD 250
200
150 NOS.OF RUNNING SCHEMES Diesel NOS.OF RUNNING SCHEMES Electric 100 NOS.OF PERMANENTLY DEFUNCT Diesel NOS.OF PERMANENTLY DEFUNCT Electric
50 NOS.OF TEMPORARILY BREAK DOWN Diesel NOS.OF TEMPORARILY BREAK DOWN Electric
0
Figure 99: River Lift Irrigation schemes owned and run by WRDD.
86 E. FINANCING
Financing
3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Zone
Relevance in each zoneeachin Relevance 2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 Financing 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 1
Figure 100: Financing and its relevance in each zone.
Table 34: Zones showing relevance of intervention with financing
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest 1 2 Jalpaiguri Low 2 3 Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur and Low Maldah 3 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low 4 7 Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East Low Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas 5 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann Low 6 8 Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur High 7 9 Purulia High 8 12 East Midnapur, South 24 Parganas Low
87 F. DRIP IRRIGATION
Drip irrigation
3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0
Relevance in each zoneeachin Relevance Zone 2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 Drip irrigation 1 1 3 1 3 2 1 1 1
Figure 101: Drip irrigation and its relevance in each zone.
Table 35: Zones showing relevance for intervention with drip irrigation
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest 1 2 Jalpaiguri Low 2 3 Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur and Low Maldah 3 4 Maldah High 4 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low 5 7 Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East High Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas 6 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann Medium 7 8 Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur Low 8 9 Purulia Low 9 12 East Midnapur, South 24 Parganas Low
88 G. SMALL SCALE LIFT IRRIGATION
Small scale lift irrigation
3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Zon 2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13
Relevance in each zoneeachin Relevance e 1 Small scale lift irrigation 3 2 1 1 1 3 3 1
Figure 102: Small scale lift irrigation and its relevance in each zone
Table 36: Zones showing relevance for intervention with small scale lift irrigation
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest 1 2 Jalpaiguri High 2 3 Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur and Medium Maldah 3 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low 4 7 Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East Low Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas 5 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann Low 6 8 Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur High 7 9 Purulia High 8 12 East Midnapur, South 24 Parganas Low
89 H. SOLAR
Solar
1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 Zone
Relevance in each zoneeachin Relevance 2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 Solar 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Figure 103: Solar and its relevance in each zone.
Table 37: Zones showing their relevance for solar intervention
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest 1 2 Jalpaiguri Low 2 3 Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur and Low Maldah 3 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low 4 7 Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East Low Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas 5 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann Low 6 8 Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur Low 7 9 Purulia Low 8 12 East Midnapur, South 24 Parganas Low
90 I. CAPACITY BUILDING
Capacity building
3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Zone Relevance in each zoneeachin Relevance 2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 Capacity building 3 3 3 3 3 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Figure 104: Capacity building and its relevance in each zone
Table 38: Zone showing their relevance for intervention with capacity building
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest 1 2 Jalpaiguri High 2 2a Kooch Bihar High Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur and 3 3 High Maldah 4 4 Maldah High 5 5 Maldah, Murshidabad High 6 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East 7 7 Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, High North 24 Parganas 8 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann High 9 8 Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur High 10 9 Purulia High Kolkata, Nadia, Haora, North and 11 10 High South 24 Parganas 12 11 South 24 Parganas High 13 12 East Midnapur, South 24 Parganas High 14 13 South 24 Parganas High
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93 ANNEXURE I
Table 39: Production details of different crops (‘000 tonnes) in different districts (2006-07)
SN District Rice Aus Aman Boro Wheat Maize Total Total Oil Jute Total Pulses seeds Miscellaneous crops
1 Darjiling 58.7 8.9 46.6 3.2 3.2 30.8 1.2 8.1 31.4 205.9 2 Jalpaiguri 419.0 54.0 322.0 43.0 33.1 23.1 2.1 7.8 446.7 734.3 3 Coachbihar 445.8 11.0 351.4 83.4 25.2 35.2 4.9 12.0 762.0 304.5 4 Uttardinajpur 589.7 3.3 322.5 263.9 86.3 60.2 2.7 20.7 650.0 116.0 5 Dakshin dinajpur 446.4 18.2 294.4 133.8 21.9 4.1 0.3 13.5 204.6 44.8 6 Murshidabad 1030.6 62.2 492.8 475.6 270.3 34.4 36.1 86.2 1972.0 454.8 7 Maldah 470.6 10.0 201.9 258.7 111.1 29.5 22.5 40.7 341.3 292.1 8 Bardhaman 1967.0 43.7 1201.3 722.0 5.8 0.8 1.4 46.7 229.6 1076.7 9 Purulia 731.4 3.0 725.1 3.3 3.7 19.3 6.2 4.7 29.3 10 Bankura 1138.0 53.2 945.6 139.2 12.8 2.1 0.2 26.5 0.6 459.3 11 Birbhum 1199.4 15.8 960.3 223.3 83.8 0.4 16.0 38.7 6.3 245.4 12 West Midnapur 1798.8 81.3 1281.1 436.4 15.3 1.8 3.4 99.5 70.8 1056.7 13 East Midnapur 1045.3 33.6 540.4 471.3 1.2 13.0 36.7 26.5 66.0 14 Nadia 677.7 93.4 232.2 352.1 102.6 10.4 28.3 102.6 1887.0 204.0 15 Hoogly 846.8 18.1 529.9 298.8 2.7 0.7 1.2 39.9 585.8 1069.0 16 Howrah 243.6 1.3 131.6 110.7 0.7 0.1 0.6 9.3 70.2 79.3 17 south 24 Parganas 911.1 18.2 662.9 230.0 3.3 0.5 6.5 15.2 7.8 68.2 18 North 24 Parganas 726.0 46.3 407.8 271.9 16.9 7.8 44.6 1118.8 150.1
94 ANNEXURE II
Table 40: Productivity details of different crops (kg/ha) in different districts (2006-07)
SN District Rice Aus Aman Boro Wheat Maize Total Total Oil Jute Total Pulses seeds Miscellaneous crops
1 Darjiling 1866 2040 1824 2071 1428 2116 609 564 12.7 4254 2 Jalpaiguri 1824 1311 1892 2347 2055 1982 505 565 10.6 3 Coachbihar 1862 886 1784 2775 1956 5966 551 533 10.4 7016 4 Uttardinajpur 2301 1323 1960 2957 2448 5018 571 547 12.2 9063 5 Dakshin dinajpur 2412 1748 2224 3163 2476 2671 402 557 11.6 7724 6 Murshidabad 2609 1908 2189 3464 2154 4615 693 934 14.6 22185 7 Maldah 3051 1497 2525 3825 2591 2157 861 1009 14.7 38947 8 Bardhaman 3060 3232 2864 3442 2278 2555 396 827 16.6 16590 9 Purulia 2607 1501 2615 2484 2047 1687 437 519 10464 10 Bankura 2797 2618 2813 2760 2151 2710 551 627 17.8 12281 11 Birbhum 3128 2591 3070 3462 2643 1619 773 1011 17.8 12916 12 West Midnapur 2598 1961 2497 3165 2143 2284 577 1031 13.7 11833 13 East Midnapur 2429 2197 2021 3195 2323 1205 1733 17.8 7021 14 Nadia 2707 2255 2154 3483 2188 2326 724 958 14.5 15573 15 Hoogly 2830 2547 2706 3104 2149 2607 701 1132 18.5 10930 16 Howrah 2084 1506 1716 2816 1551 1151 548 1380 18.5 8620 17 south 24 2195 2271 2009 2988 2051 2084 641 1251 12.4 11965 Parganas 18 North 24 2611 2612 2390 3031 2397 576 949 18.5 14160 Parganas
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