Evaluation of Attappady Wasteland Conservation Project

1. Evaluation Cum Documentation Of Attappady Wasteland Comprehensive Environmental Conservation Project, Kerala (JBIC Assisted) STUDY TEAM Chief AdvisorAdvisors Sh. T. Madhava Menon, IAS (Retd) Dr. P. Sivanandan & Dr. K. Pushpangadan Emeritus Fellow ISDL & Chairman, ISA Fellows, Centre for Development Studies, Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigators Sh. M.P. Jaisingh - Scientist G (Retd) CBRI, Roorkee Sh. PV Hari - Chief Architect, PWD (Retd), Trivandrum Smt. V.K. Sulochana - Chief Engineer, PWD (Retd), Trivandrum Dr. P.K. Sivanandan, IAS (Retd) - Director, ISA SUBMITTED TO Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Government of India, Sardar Patel Bhavan, New Delhi – 110 001 • INSTITUTE FOR SOCIETAL ADVANCEMENT • Thiruvananthapuram - 695 013. • 0471 - 2362308 • E-mail : isatvm@gmail.com

2. PREFACE NEW INITIATIVES - Empowerment of People THROUGH - Training - Support Activities - Handholding, - Sustainable livelihood of Poor, specially Tribal Families - Mobilising People, Specially Poor - To build and operate organisations to implement project components - Appropriate Technologies - Creation of “little republics” - Hamlet Development Committees - Independent committed Programme Implementing Agency - Corruption free Development Administration.

3. Kerala ATTAPPADY Attappady Block Fig.1 LOCATION MAP

4. GEOGRAPHICALLY IT IS AN EAST WARD - SLOPING VALLEY IN WESTERN GHATS. DRAINING THROUGH THE SIRUVANI AND THE BHAVANI INTO THE KAVERI. IT IS THE HOME OF THREE ST COMMUNITIES - IRULAS, MUDUGAS AND KURUMBAS (PRIMITIVE) - EXPLOITED BY INMIGRANT SETTLERS. CONVENTIONAL MODELS OF DEVELOPMENT FAILED. ATTAPPADY IS UNIQUE THE JBIC ASSISTED PROJECT INNOVATED A PROGRAM BASED ON PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION. • IT HAS BEEN SUBJECTED TO OVER-EXPLOITATION OF LAND AND FOREST AND WAS FACING DESERTIFICATION.

5. AREA IN DANGER OF DESERTIFICATION

6. Pre-Project Situtation • Recurrent drought • Land, left uncultivated and poor productivity, specially in tribal lands • Starvation deaths • Deaths due to sickle-cell anaemia among tribal population • Contractor – Politician – bureaucrat nexus • Corruption – Ridden Administration • Grama Sabha not active • People helpless against the blatant corruption of Panchayati Raj functionaries Source: T.K. Jose etal, 1999, Study Report

7. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT “Ecological restoration of degraded wasteland in Attappady and development of replicable models of participative eco-restoration, so as to prevent further degradation and promote sustainable method of livelihood for the local people(with special emphasis on tribal population)in harmony with resource base”

8. Soil and Biomass Management Land Development Afforestation Agro-forestry Agronomic conservation Water Resources Development Ecologically compatible Income generating Schemes. Human Resource Development Infrastructure facilities such as Project Offices, Equipment Vehicles and Access roads. Detailed Survey, Detailed designing and evaluation. International Consultancy Services. COMPONENTS

9. Organizational setup of the Project Govt. of India Govt. of Kerala High Power Committee Governing Body AHADS Implementing Agency Development Units (15 Nos.) Watershed level UA (93 Nos.) Micro Watershed Level OVS (160 Nos.) Tribal Hamlets JFMC (29 Nos.) Forest Areas LAG An Operational Unit at Sub Micro Watershed Level

10. Watershed Approach • 15 Macro Watersheds

11. Attappady Block Map with watersheds

12. AGENCIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION • PROJECT IMPLEMENTING AGENCY (PIA) – ATTAPPADY HILL AREAS DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY (AHADS) • FIELD LEVEL IMPLEMENTING AGENCIES 1. Regional 2. Functional

13. REGIONAL AGENCIES OF BENEFICIARIES • THE USER’S ASSOCIATION FOR EACH MICRO-WATERSHED - 93 Nos. • LOCAL ACTION GROUPS UNDER EACH USER’S ASSOCIATION

14. A People Centered Project • Grass root level peoples organizations to plan & implement field level activities: - 93 User Associations (UA) & Local Action Groups (LAG) under each UA - 160 Ooru Vikasana Samithi (OVS) - 29 Joint Forest Management Committees JFMCs) - 120 Taikulasangams • Through empowerment and skill development of poor. • Tribal & women well represented in organization building. • No contractors or middlemen - benefits direct to poor. • Totally corruption free administration.

15. Role & Representation of ST & Women in the Executive Committee of User Association

16. Human Resource DevelopmentPreparing People for Implementation Project familiarisation- Orientation -Skill development Project Formulation Supported by TrainingEnvironment Creation 1. Awareness campaign 2. Film show 3. Street play

17. Forestry Activities Afforestation -909 Ha -770 Ha in progress Structural Conservation measures–2350 Ha Loose boulder check dams –3432 nos Forest Nurseries – 7 nos Water resources/ Civil Lift Irrigation - 12 nos Gravity Irrigation - 8 nos Spring protection and development- 5nos Aquifer Recharging structures - 4nos Rainwater harvesting structures - 2nos UA Office building - 5 nos 10 in progress Access path to hamlet & roads - 13 km Agriculture Activities Private Waste land - 1264.47 Ha Medicinal Plant - 6.3 Ha Agriculture Nursery –9 nos Vermi compost Unit - 2 nos Organic farming - 4.5 Ha – 2 sites I.G. Activities. Fencing Unit - 1no Teak Stump Nursery - 1no Thuvara Processing Unit - 2 nos Versatile Dal Mill -1 no Soil and water conservation Retaining wall - 10377 m Contour bunds -32520m Bench terracing - 581m Check dams - 899 nos Water harvesting pits - 1064441 nos Earthen dams - 6 M3 Staggered trenches - 127801 Nos PHYSICAL ACHIEVEMENTS (Upto October, 2003) MANDAYS GENERATED –935,219

18. Social benefits • Corruption free development administration facilitated. • Dignified work environment • Confidence and capacity building at grass-root level • Improved health and labour efficiency • Exposure to new skills • Promotion of saving habit • Change of attitude favoring quality livelihood • Wiped out starvation death Yet these benefits did not reach the tribal communities

19. SPECIAL PROGRAMS FOR ST LAND-BASED PROGRAMS DID NOT BENEFIT ST PEOPLE ADEQUATELY.OORUVIKASANA SAMITHIS WERE FORMED TO FILL THIS LACUNA.SPECIAL PROGRAMS WERE IMPLEMENTED THROUGH THEM SPECIFICALLY AND EXCLUSIVELY FOR ST, WITH THE HAMLET AS THE BASE.TOTAL HAMLET DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMNEED-BASED (PER CAPITA) HOUSING DESIGNNote: “Need based housing”: instead of type designs, houses were designed for each family on the basis of the developmental needs of the members of the household.

20. T H D P • Need based Housing • Drinking Water & Sanitation • Land & Water Development • Income Generation • Need based education for excellence • Health care -traditional & modern • Other Infrastructure facilities All leading to sustainable livelihood

21. Ooru Vikasana Samithi (OVS) (Hamlet Development Committee) Purpose: • To ensure the sustainable development of Tribes. Coverage: • Constituted to cover each of 188 tribal hamlets • 160 OVS has been constituted. • The Executive Committee including Ooru Moopan • Hamlet Development Program would be implemented through OVS.

22. WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT • ENSURED ADEQUATE REPRESENTATION FOR WOMEN IN ALL FORA • WOMEN SPONTANEOUSLY FORM GROUPS (TAI KULASANGHAM) TO FIGHT AGAINST ILLICIT LIQUOR AND GANJA ADDICTION • CHUNDAPATTY DECLARATION – THE PRESIDENT RAISED IT TO ‘ATTAPPADY DECLARATION’.

23. President's visit

24. CHILDREN ARE OUR GREATEST ASSETS WE SHALL TREAT THE MALE AND THE FEMALE CHILDREN EQUALLY FOR THEIR PROPER GROWTH WE SHALL LEAD A HARMONIOUS LIFE, FOR GETTING OVER DIFFERENCES AND AVOIDING QUARRELS FOR THE BETTER LIVING AND PROPER DEVELOPMENT OF OUR CHILDREN LIQUOR AND OTHER ADDICTIONS ARE NOT GOOD EITHER FOR US OR FOR OUR CHILDREN – HENCE WE SHALL JOIN TOGETHER AND STRUGGLE TO ERADICATE THEM. WE SHOULD COME TOGETHER AND DEDICATE ALL OUR EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE SOIL, TREES AND OUR ENVIRONMENT FOR THE GOOD OF OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS. ALL EFFORTS SHALL BE MADE TO PROVIDE GOOD EDUCATION TO OUR CHILDREN AND TO HELP THEM REALISE THE IMPORTANCE OF HARD WORK AND EDUCATION. ATTAPPADY DECLARATION

25. Achievements as on 31.12.2005 • Abject poverty removed (Impact of 23,53,663 man days of work) • Better Food intake, more visits to doctors, almost full enrolment in School etc. • Tribal Women Empowered; Illicit Arrack Partly Controlled • THDP Making Changes in Confidence and Quality of Life • Initial Development of Land Helps Richer, but • Poor Gets Regular Employment • Clean and Transparent Development Administration • Also Dissonances Sources : 1. National Review Seminar Report, 16 – 18th December, 2003, (Sh. S.R. Sankaran, Chairman) 2. Institute of Rural Management,Anand May, 2003 to May, 2004 3. Socio Economist’s Report, August – Septermber, 2004 (Dr. Hans A Van Zendlitz)

26. LESSONS LEARNED (See Chapter VI)

27. Sustainability and Replicability (See Chapter VII)

28. Future Scenario • Project Extended for three years. • Further extension for two years on satisfactory implementation. • What after five years?

29. High Power Committee Numbers in parentheses ( ) refer to notes below CHIEF MINISTER CHAIRMAN REGN. HEADS DEPART MENTS (1) FEDERA TION REPS. (2) SECY. TW DISTRICT COLLECTOR (CONVENOR) FINANCE SECY. MP & MLA PRI REPS. (3) P.O. ITDP SUPPORT OFFICE (4) • (1) All heads of Dept., at Regional level. Where there is no officer other than the District Officer at this level, then the District Officer. • (2) The Federation will elect five of its members to this level. At least two must be members of ST, and at least two must be women. Federation will also nominate not more than six experts: [Agriculture, Animal Husbandry], [Forestry], [Small Scale Industries], [Social Welfare, Tribal matters], [Engineering] & [Medicine] • (3) President District Panchayat. He may, if he so decides, nominate the member representing Atta- ppady in the District Panchayat in his place. • (4) PD ITDP will be a member, and will look after the “secretarial’ fun- ctions, viz., issue of notices, pre-paration of agenda, minutes, etc.

30. Confederation of People’s Organisations at Attappady CONFEDERATION 3 ST 3 G + 2 ST 4 ST 2 G + 3 ST 3 G + 2 ST 1 G / ST C P R M Fed - UAs Fed.- OVS Fed - TKS FEDERATION - JFMCS Fed.- IGA Gov. Body 11 members Gov. Body 11 members Gov. Body 11 members Gov. Body 11 members Gov. Body 11 members Gen. Body 186 members Gen. Body 320 members Gen. Body 58 members Gen. Body 324 members Gen. Body 240 members UAs elect 2 members to General body OVSs elect 2 members to General body JFMCs elect 2 members to General body TKSs elect 2 members to General body IGAGs elect 2 members to General body TKS UAs, LagS JFMCs OVs IGA 93 nos. 160 nos. 29 Nos. 164 nos. 120 nos.

31. Discussion follows

32. THANK YOU

33. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS % Project Funds • Land & Water, Infrastructure, Hamlet, Human Resource, Health care etc. and monitoring and awareness creations. • Survey, Planning, Design and Institutional Strengthening. • International Consultancy. Non-Project Funds d) Taxes and Duties, Administrative Charges and Indirect Expenditure. • 71.44 • 6.02 • 4.60 • 17.94

34. COMPONENTS OF CATAGORY - a • Water and land conservation work in Pvt. Land 34.70 • Water and land conservation in degraded state forests 32.19 • Infrastructure 31.48 • Hamlet based development 11.16 • Hamlet and Ooru Bhumi development 4.61 • Water resource development 2.29 • Human resource development 0.57 • Improving health care facilities 0.35 • Monitoring and Evaluation 0.25 • Income generation activities 0.08 TOTAL 100.00

35. DIMENSIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY • Organisational • Environmental • Technological • Livelihood

36. ORGANISATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY “An organisation is sustainable if it continues to be active, and functions effectively, even after the external agencies, under whose aegis it was set up, demit the scene” • Structuring for specific competence • Comparative autonomy • Independent and transparent accounting procedures • Freedom from procedures that institutionalise corrupt practices • Flexibility and heuristic programme capability • Answerability to the people

37. ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY Prerequisites for Sustainability

38. LIVELIHOOD SUSTAINABILITY • “Livelihood comprises all means and methods humans adopt to ensure” • Survival • Mental and bodily health • Development of faculties to full potential • Upbringing of progeny “AHADS staff should reiterate painstaking communication with the local people for awareness building on the project, consensus building on participation in the project, active planning in plan formulation, active participation in the implementation of the plan, developing sense of ownership, etc. In this process, the important thing that AHADS would NOT do is to force them to follow. The third important thing is capacity development of the local people so that can take action at appropriate time in an appropriate manner.” –Seiji Koyanagi

39. CONCEPT OF DESIGN OF HOUSES *Each house has been designed separately, taking into consideration specific requirements of each family member and the norms laid down by AHADS. *For each house, the design has been got approved by the head of the family, before taking up the construction. *From aesthetic considerations, the houses can be considered as simple, without any ornamentation. *Houses have been constructed using locally available materials, adopting cost-effective construction technologies.

40. DESIGNING HOUSES WITH PEOPLE

41. INTER LOCKING BRICK

42. Bamboo Ply Door & Window Shutters

43. DETAILS OF FILLER SLAB

44. ACCEPTABILITY & ADOPTABILITY OF TECHNOLOGIES *It was found that the technologies used are acceptable to the householders. *However, they have not acquired sufficient technical skills to adopt the technologies on their own. *With the help of skilled craftsmen and supervisors, they are ready to adopt these techniques in any constructions, to be carried out in future.

45. A Double Storeyed House at Mamanna

46. OTHER HOUSES UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT KOODANCHALA

47. RAIN WATER HARVESTING SYSTEM (RHS) POSITIVE EXPERIENCE • Economical & effective, compared to conventional system of water supply • The extra initial cost of construction of RHS can be recouped in 3 years and 8 months time. • RHS has no running expenses and saves the energy needed for pumping water. • Once the RHS is maintained properly, the quality of water is best available, unlike the stream water, which is often polluted and needs treatment to avoid water borne diseases. • Adoption of RHS will have a very positive impact on the health of the beneficiaries.

48. RAIN WATER HARVESTING SYSTEM

49. FILTER FOR RAIN WATER

50. CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, ADOPTED • For economical and corruption-free execution of the works, the works are being done directly by OVS, without the involment of contractors. • However, as OVSs are lacking in technical and managerial skills needed to plan and carry out the construction, reputed multidisciplinary NGOs and Govt. undertakings, having experience in planning & executing such works, have been appointed to act as facilitators to OVSs in implementation of the project. • 23 facilitators were selected for implementing the development worksin 64 hamlets.