Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Mumbai Supported Sustainable Agriculture using NREGA Volume III making& Sustainable - Progress Report August – October 2010 JANAKALYAN A Team Committed for People’s Empowerment Shantinagar, R H Colony No.4 in Raichur District, Karnataka Sindhanur-584128, Raichur District, Karnataka State, India Telephone: 08535-264488, 264140, email: [email protected] AgricultureProfit Website: www.jankalyan.in Leveraging NREGA Funds to make Sir Dorabji Tata Trust JANAKALYAN Mumbai Leveraging NREGA Funds to make Agriculture Profit-making & Sustainable in Raichur, the last ranked district of Karnataka Quarterly Progress Report Index Chapter Particulars Page No. Chapter I Progress during the reporting period (August – October 2010) 1.1 Plan of action to complete at least Rs.100,00,000/- works in 4+1 issues 2 of Janakalyan under NREGA 1.2 Village wise list of works and their estimated cost with tentative time 7 line to complete these works before October 2010 1.2.1 Strategies adopted to execute NREGA works 7 1.2.2 Problems encountered in executing the planned works 8 1.3 Strengthening AIG & preparing them to execute the planned activities 9 1.4 Orientation to the newly elected PRI members 10 1.5 Orientation to government staffs at various levels 10 1.6 System of Rice Intensification 11 1.7 Integrated Farming System 12 1.8 High Income Crops (vegetable) cultivation 15 1.9 Introduction of collective purchase and marketing through farmers 15 Chapter II Learning from Field 2.1 Problem faced 16 2.1.1 Major problems faced in implementing activities in 3rd quarter 16 2.1.2 How have we resolved such problems 17 2.1.3 How the planned activities could have been implemented better? 17 2.2 Learning from field 17 2.3 Future strategies to implement the planned activities 18 2.4 Expected problems in future 18 2.5 Possible solution to resolve anticipated problems in future 19 2.6 Strategies to ensure people’s participation 19 2.7 Strategies to ensure PRI members participation 19 2.8 Strategies to ensure government staff involvement 20 Chapter III Quarterly Action Plan (November 2010 – January 2011) 3.1 Plan of action to complete Rs.2,02,50,000/- worth asset building works 21 in 4+1 issues of Janakalyan under NREGA 3.1.1 Strategies to complete these works 21 3.1.2 Problems anticipated in completing these works 22 3.2 Plan of action to strengthen the AIG and preparing them to execute 22 the planned activities 3.3 Plan of action to orient the newly elected PRI members 22 3.4 Plan of action to introduce collective purchase and marketing through 22 farmers An Appeal to the TRUST for extension of Project Period 22 Annex 1 Recommendation for approval of micro-plans by the EO, TP 23 Annex 2 List of Members of Labor Groups 24 1 Part I Progress During the Quarter (August – October 2010) While most of the planning and preparatory activities were completed in 1st and 2nd quarters of the project period, the 3rd quarter was completely dedicated for execution NREGA shelf of works and demonstration of farm based activities. The team had an apprehension that the agricultural operations and monsoon might come in their way in execution of these shelf of activities while never calculated the big hurdle that government might suspend implementation of all NREGA activities during the reporting period. Not even a single NREGA work has been taken up during the year (since April 2010 to till date) in the entire Raichur district citing several reasons by the implementing authorities. This report is prepared at the end of the 3rd quarter of the project period to document the activities completed in the 3rd quarter i.e. August to October 2010. While in earlier reports (Volume I & II), we have tried to present all activities with detail analysis, this report restricts only to the reporting period activities. The activities completed in previous quarters have not been covered in this report to remain specific to the plan of action of 3rd quarter. Therefore, the sequence of the report is as that of the plan of action submitted to Sir Dorabji Tata Trust in the beginning of the 3rd quarter. 1.1 Plan of action to complete at least Rs.100,00,000/- works in 4+1 issues of Janakalyan under NREGA: The micro plans prepared by the Janakalyan team with the communities was reorganized as per the requirement of the government in the prescribed format and got the approval of the newly elected Gram Panchayat members and then placed before the government for approval. The Taluk (Intermediate) Panchayat has also recommended this shelf of works to District Panchayat (scanned letter is annexed) and the District Panchayat has withhold its approval citing a reason that the Annual Action Plan has already been approved by the Government; however, at the end of the year, if any of the activities form the approved lists is dropped, then these can be taken up. Further, he also suggested that many of these activities proposed in our microplans have also are common in the government approved list, which can be implemented immediately with Janakalyan cooperation. CEO told that payment for many of the works completed last year to mitigate flood affects were pending due to lack of funds and also incomplete NMR. All such works have been included in the current Annual Action Plan which have been approved and have been uploaded in MIS. 2 Sir Dorabji Tata Trust JANAKALYAN Mumbai Leveraging NREGA Funds to make Agriculture Profit-making & Sustainable in Raichur, the last ranked district of Karnataka The major categories of works proposed in the micro plans have been summarized below while the detailed reports are hyperlinked to this document as microplans for Alabanur, Badarli and Madasirwar Gram Panchayat for your ready reference. The works are scattered to all the 4 sectors wherein productive agricultural assets could be created for all 3 Gram Panchayat. The total outlay is about Rs.146.80 lakhs, which was approved by all 3 Gram Panchayat and recommended by Taluk Panchayat to District Panchayat. Shelf of works planned in all 17 villages of 3 Gram Panchayat under Estimated Budget (in lakh Rs) Sl. NREGA order of priorities to execute asset-building activities in order Labor Material No. Total Cost to make agriculture profit-making Cost Cost Alabanur Gram Panchayat 1 Drought proofing (including afforestation and tree plantation) : Priority – 2 3.54 2.36 5.90 of NREGA 2 Provision of irrigation facility to land owned by households belonging to 5.40 3.60 9.00 the SC and ST or to land of beneficiaries of land reforms or of IAY of the Government of India program : Priority – 4 3 Flood control and protection works, including drainage in waterlogged 8.70 5.80 14.50 areas : Priority – 7 of NREGA 4 Rural connectivity to provide all-weather access : Priority - 8 6.48 4.32 10.80 Total of Alabanur 24.12 16.08 40.20 Badarli Gram Panchayat 1 Drought proofing (including afforestation and tree plantation) : Priority – 2 7.50 5.00 12.50 of NREGA 2 Provision of irrigation facility to land owned by households belonging to 7.80 5.20 13.00 the SC and ST or to land of beneficiaries of land reforms or of IAY of the Government of India program : Priority – 4 of NREGA 3 Flood control and protection works, including drainage in waterlogged 17.10 11.40 28.50 areas : Priority – 7 of NREGA 4 Rural connectivity to provide all-weather access : Priority – 8 of NREGA 9.60 6.40 16.00 Total of Badarli 42.00 28.00 70.00 Madasirwar Gram Panchayat 1 Drought proofing (including afforestation and tree plantation) : Priority – 2 2.85 1.90 4.75 of NREGA 2 Provision of irrigation facility to land owned by households belonging to 1.50 1.00 2.50 the SC and ST or to land of beneficiaries of land reforms or of IAY of the Government of India program : Priority - 4 of NREGA 3 Flood control and protection works, including drainage in waterlogged 13.05 8.70 21.75 areas : Priority - 7 of NREGA 4 Rural connectivity to provide all-weather access : Priority – 8 of NREGA 4.56 3.04 7.60 Total of Madasirwar 21.96 14.64 36.60 GRAND TOTAL 88.08 58.72 146.80 To achieve this target, we have done lots of works at various levels with context specific strategies which are dealt in the subsequent paragraphs- Preparation at Community level: The execution plan at the community level was modified as per the contexts arouse from time to time as under- 1) AIG: Initially it was planned that the work would be executed in the leadership of the AIG and thus an AIG in each village was promoted with the farmers (who shall create productive assets in their farms), wage-earners who must get 100 days of work from the NREGA activities. The information about these AIGs has already been provided in previous volumes of our reports. Several rounds of capacity building interventions have been done for their empowerment in all respects of NREGA. The focus was on complementary approach. 3 2) WEG: When we realized that the complementary approach might not yield expected results during the year, the team decided to form Wage Earners Group (WEG) involving 50 wage- earners from each village to create pressure groups for the government. About 9 such WEG has already been promoted in 9 out of 17 villages. All the members of these WEG have been made aware about various aspects like job rights, benefits available under NREGA, roles of various stakeholders under NREGA and the Act itself through meetings, awareness camps and trainings.