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Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

Usharmukti project: A confluence of institutions for rejuvenating rivers -Ashwini Kulkarni

-IdeasforIndia.in

Usharmukti, a project of the Government of West Bengal, is being carried out in collaboration with civil society organisations in the western part of the state, to carry out watershed activities under MNREGA to conserve soil and water. In this note, Ashwini Kulkarni describes the main idea behind and working of the innovative project from her visit to the project area.

When a farmer says that with potato in Rabi season and duckery in their Hapa (farm pond), their family’s income will increase by Rs. 50,000 to 60,000 in that year, that optimism remains in your mind for a long time. Given the ongoing rural distress across the country, it is not difficult to accept that this is a rarity – more so, when the family is that of a marginal farmer with no assured source of water. A simple Hapa in his farm land generated the optimism. It is not a single activity but a part of a systematic plan for the restoration and conservation of water and soil, based on a meticulously prepared watershed-based plan of activities.

This is the scenario across blocks in the western part of West Bengal. One such area is the Jangal Mahal area, which is hilly and receives annual rainfall in the range of 1,000-1,500 mm.  It is populated by small and marginal SC/ST (Scheduled Caste/Tribe) families who are mainly involved in monsoon-dependent farming, and lack access to irrigation facilities. This area is traditionally known to be an economically backward region of the state – and now with degraded soil and depleting groundwater level, the situation could only get worse. For this a project called Usharmukti (freedom from drought) was designed by the West Bengal Government.

IdeasforIndia.in, 20 January, 2020, please click here to read more.