One step towards development

Jalamchand Vaktaji, Udaipur, Rajasthan

Shyampura-Kalan is two km from Bichiwada Panchayat in Jhadol tehsil. An adult education centre was started in Shyampura in 1983. There was a severe drought in the region in 1986-87, leading to large scale migration of people from Udaipur to Gujarat. The adult education centre had to be closed in this period. I shared these problems with my colleagues in Seva Mandir, and came back and discussed with the people in my village regarding the problems being faced. There was acute shortage of food, water and fodder. People were forced to migrate to Gujarat for survival.

With the help of Seva Mandir an application was made to the government for building an anicut. The proposal was sanctioned and with the work on the anicut people were able to get water to drink, the animals as well. There was also some employment for the villagers, so the adult education centre could be started again. In the second year, a lot of silt came with the water and started choking the anicut. The villagers consulted with Seva Mandir and decided that it was important to undertake afforestation in the catchment area to prevent soil from being washed away and silting up the anicut.

Around the time, in 1991, the government introduced a national afforestation programme and Shyampura was one of the villages selected to implement the programme under Joint Forest Management - Sajha Van Prabandh. A survey of the forest area had to be conducted before afforestation could be initiated. It then came to light that nineteen families of the village had encroachments in the forest area. These had to be removed if the afforestation programme was to be implemented. This caused a lot of tension in the village and people were divided in their opinion on whether the encroachments should be removed. I would call villagers frequently for meetings to discuss the issue. It was clear that the people who had encroached land in the forest area, had very little cultivable land and none of it was irrigated. They also had no recourse to alternative employment opportunities.

With Seva Mandir’s help a community well was built, which would help in irrigation of the land and help to increase productivity of the land. A lift irrigation system was established. What was critical in this process was to ensure that there was consensus among the villagers throughout the process. At times I felt there was no hope with all the divisions and problems in the village, but with persistence, solutions always came.

There are several benefits today to the steps that were initiated in Shyampura. The encroachments were gradually removed. With afforestation of the land and protection, there was sufficient fuelwood and fodder for the villagers throughout the year. The anicut does not get silted anymore. The community lift irrigation system has helped increased productivity of the land. What is perhaps most important is the unity among the villagers today and the strength that they derive from that.

Inspired by Shyampura, neighbouring villages of Bada Bhilwada, Amariya, Turad, etc, were motivated to come together and initiate similar steps in removing encroachments from forest lands systematically and in undertaking afforestation. Village institutions set up in these villages are gradually becoming stronger. Forest Protection Committees (Van Suraksha Samitis) have been set up in all these villages.

Over 200 villages in Jhadol tehsil are today part of this process and in over 70 villages the Forest Protection committees are very strong. These have been brought together with the help of Seva Mandir into a federation called Van Utthan Sangh. In its infancy, Van Utthan Sangh plays a critical role in continued motivation of villages towards forest protection. The Van Utthan Sangh member villages in Jhadol have several instances of successful removal of encroachments on forests. It also plays a crucial role in demarcation of forest land. As per norms of Joint Forest Management scheme, rights between the Forest Protection Committees and the forest department are divided as 60:40. In the process, people are able to claim their rights, as well as improve their own lives and livelihoods.