DROUGHT IN OUR PROJECT AREA

The failure of the monsoon in the year 2000 has resulted in the second consecutive year of drought in our project areas.  The drought has engulfed three neighbouring and adjacent States of, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh for second consecutive year.   

The overall rainfall was so low and the pattern was so unfavourable that there was hardly any fresh water seen in most of our rivers and rivulets.  According to the Secretary, Water Resources, Gujarat, the water in various reservoirs in the State was 2 % - 12 % of the usual capacity at the end of monsoon 2000 (September 2000).  It’s a terrible situation not faced by people in last half a century and according to many, not even in last one century.  So grave was the water situation immediately after monsoon that the agitation, morchas, conflicts between villages and towns and among the villages around water issue, started from the month of November - December 2000.  In any previous drought year, the grave situation on water front was witnessed in the month of April – May, whereas this year it was witnessed in November - December.  The difference glaringly reminds us of seriousness of the situation.   In our district town Dahod, drinking water was given once a week during December 2000 and January 2001 and once in a fortnight, that too with uncertainty from the month of February 2001.

The impact of drought in the tribal regions is magnified by the fact that even in a normal monsoon year the condition of the tribals remains pathetic due to various factors such as: poor land, meager holdings, negligible irrigation, massive areas of unproductive wastelands and vast forest lands, most of which without tree cover, in the possession of the Forest Department. These factors are hardly benefiting to the community.  In this scenario when drought occurs or recurs, the condition of the tribals worsens.  No community suffers more than the tribals as their existing state of deprivation, compounds in the drought year.       

DROUGHT PROOFING : A MYTH AND REALITY

In our last year’s Annual Report we dealt with the topic of drought proofing.  We would like to repeat our views that 100 % drought proofing is just not possible.   Logically, unless the shortfall of rain is substituted by the same amount of water through artificial storage and delivered to all the people to meet their various needs, there cannot be 100 % drought proofing.  There are regions where drought recurs regularly for centuries. Never has, any part of such a region had during any drought year, 100 % drought proofing, unless that area had irrigation available to all or substantial portion of the land.  It is a different matter when some chronically drought prone areas develop effective mechanisms to cope with the drought situation.  Our programmes like DPAP and DDP should not aim at 100 % drought proofing, which is a myth.  But, such programmes should aim at partial or substantial mitigation of a drought condition, by providing enough buffers to the affected people so that they can cope with the drought situation effectively.  However, with scientific planning and water harvesting techniques, almost 100 % proofing could be achieved with respect to drinking water requirement.  Yet, if the drought recurs for two or three years successively, even in this respect there would be a problem.  Perhaps, a region with plenty of ground water potential stands to fare better in comparison to a region with surface water potential.   This is because in the event of a severe shortfall of rain, as happened in 2000, there may not be scope for surface water harvesting, whereas there could be some ground water in the similar condition in the region with enough ground water potential.  Of course, this theory does not work in regions where ground water has been over exploited, like the Mehsana and Saurashtra regions of Gujarat, which were known for their ample ground water, and are now facing acute problem of water due to over exploitation.     

COPING WITH DROUGHT IN OUR PROJECT AREAS

Due to the monsoon failure, and the resulting drought condition, our project area has not been spared from the adverse effects of the second successive drought year.  Being a tribal region, as stated in the beginning of this chapter, the situation is very bad.  However, the situation has been diffused, it is not as alarming in our project villages due to several reasons.  One reason is the buffer, in the form of savings of food grains from the previous year or enhanced creditworthiness to raise the necessary finance to cope with the drought condition.  Those with irrigation face the drought situation more confidently as they are certain of an economic recovery next year. Another reason is half of our total beneficiaries possess a large number of trees.  This asset gives them enough security to face the drought.  It is like someone who has a comfortable level of savings during temporary period of unemployment situation. Time and again, in our regular and repeated conversations with our villagers, we never find them unduly perturbed or panic stricken even in this second successive drought year. Regarding drinking water availability, most of our villages have some water for this purpose.  However, in our region most of the wells have not been deepened up to a proper depth.  Most of them were dug to only 20 - 30 feet.  Obviously in the drought year, there may not be water in such shallow wells.  Studies and observations suggest that for an adequate water supply, a proper depth for open dug wells should be around 40 - 50 feet in our region.  Therefore, there is a scope for deepening the wells to get water.  We do not consider it necessary to dig beyond 50 feet. After 50 feet, our policy is to use a recharging technique, rather than deepening the wells.   We plan to deepen at least 1,500 wells in the summer of 2001 which would ensure drinking water in all our villages and also in nearby non-project villages.  

This year, we are experimenting with a few wells in the river bed immediately below a check dam.  If this experiment succeeds in accessing enough water, respective villages with such wells will have no drinking water problems during any year of drought or no drought. Depending on the success of this experiment, we will expand this programme to various other sites in the future. 

THE GUJARAT EARTHQUAKE AND THE TRIBALS

On 26^th January 2001 when the Nation was celebrating its Republic Day, massive earthquake struck in many parts of Gujarat, causing unprecedented and devastating damage to the people and property.  Thousands of people died and lakhs of people rendered homeless as their houses totally collapsed.  Many parts of Gujarat will require total rebuilding.   

One important dimension of the impact of recent Gujarat earthquake on tribals of the most backward tribal districts like Dahod of Gujarat, Jhabua of Madhya Pradesh and Banswara of Rajasthan has not been noticed or highlighted by the media and Government.  Lakhs of (hundreds of thousands) tribals of these districts earn their livelihood by migrating to other places in main land Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch.  Our tribal people provide most of the manual labour for almost all the construction activities in all the cities and towns of Gujarat.   The construction of roads and bridges are done by our tribals in the entire state of Gujarat.  They provide farm labour in all the agriculturally prosperous districts of Gujarat.  Most affected Kandla Port itself and near by biggest town of Kutch, Gandhidham employ thousands of tribal labourers. 

The severe earthquake in the main land of Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch has created very bad situation for our tribals.  Many of them have been directly affected by injuries or deaths of family members and all of them understandable by the panic situation.  All our tribal people, who had migrated to any parts of Gujarat’s heartland, Saurashtra and Kutch at the time of earthquake, attempted a panic dash back to their homes by any available mode of transportation. A few of them even walking back 100 or more kilometers due to the non-availability of transportation.   

The real crux of the impact is that lakhs of tribal people have been rendered workless, and therefore, without any livelihood support on account of the earthquake.  Back home in their own respective district, there is second consecutive year of severe drought.  The Government’s planning and resources under the drought relief programs in these districts, with all probability, will not be enough to provide relief works. Over the years the Government is accustomed to plan relief programmes for the people who have not migrated, and thereby, not considering vast number of tribal people migrated elsewhere.  In absence of work and livelihood, some of them would resort to the criminal activities.  The first signal of such situation has started coming in the month of February 2001 by the increase in highway robbery and looting.  As the time passes, the situation will deteriorate in the summer months of April onwards.  Many of the tribal villages in above districts will be unsafe, threatened by criminal activities

This may be compounded by law and order problems around water issues.  The agitation, morchas, strikes, etc. on the water issue has been resorted in the tribal area of Dahod as early as from January 2000 onwards.  The summer months will exacerbate this situation.

For peace in the tribal regions, it is imperative that reconstruction in the earthquake-hit areas starts immediately and at a massive scale.  The reconstruction activities will give lakhs of our tribal people their livelihood, as these tribals being the hardest and toughest people will be in demand everywhere.  While other sections of people will contribute their money and other resources, the tribals, mainly from above tribal regions, will contribute their hard labour and profuse sweat in the reconstruction of Gujarat.  This will be the contribution of the poorest people. 

REBUILDING GUJARAT AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE

On the prospects of rebuilding Gujarat after the massive and unprecedented earthquake, from the perspective of one of the senior most NGOs in Rural Development in Gujarat, we can confidently predict that the reconstruction of Gujarat will be much faster than anyone’s expectations.  Though the Government’s role will be very important and crucial, most definitely, it will be the Gujarati people with the support from world over, who will rebuild Gujarat.  Money will not be a problem.  The Gujaratis, world over, have enough money, financial power, and they have capacity to raise funds from others.  Look at the galaxy of the most enterprising mercantile communities of Gujarat in the form of the Patels, Banias (all sects of Banias including Jains), Lohanas, Bhatias, Bohras, Ismailis, Parsis, etc.  This is a rare concord of extra ordinarily enterprising communities to be found in a single state in our country.  Not only are they wealthy communities, they are also very generous with their help whenever occasion demands.  This is not to undermine the capacity and contribution of other communities.  This is the list of most enterprising communities known for their entrepreneurship.  Any omission in this list is inadvertent and regretted.  If channelised and motivated, the Kutchhis and Kathiawadis (people originally from Kutch and Saurashtra) can easily take care of at least half of the reconstruction work. Mumbai’s Gujaratis and other sections of its cosmopolitan population known for their generosity can take care of atleast   25 % of the need.  Known for their self-respect, resourcefulness and strong supportive caste system, it is a possibility that large number of affected people (about 20 - 25 %) in Kutch and Saurasthra may not opt for Government assistance for their housing construction.   Due to delay in the Government assistance and such other reasons, they may construct their houses without waiting for the Government support.  This is an assumption.  However, if needed, they must be given all assistance.

Matched with this enormous wealth in the hands of the Gujaratis and their spirit, there are a large number of exceptionally reliable NGOs in Gujarat, known for their unquestionable integrity and public work performance.   It reminds us that few years back, the CAPART, Government of India, had blacklisted the hundreds of NGOs of our country for various “alleged” irregularities and mal-practices.  Not a single NGO from Gujarat figured in that list, though large numbers of NGOs from Gujarat were the recipients of CAPART funds.  Fortunately, Large numbers of NGOs in Gujarat have still the ethos of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel well entrenched in their functioning.  Many of the Gujarat NGOs have extra ordinary legacy inherited from the work and principles of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel.  These NGOs will be greatly useful in the reconstruction of Gujarat. 

The Government should repose more faith in their NGOs than the Government machinery.  Although there are some good officers in the Government, by and large the Government departments carry a stigma of being very corrupt and inefficient even in relief and rehabilitation programmes.  Many funding agencies and individuals are reluctant to give funds to the Government for the above reasons.  Even the Gujarat High Court has endorsed these views by ordering the District Judges to keep watch over the relief and rehabilitation programmes as a district Lokayukt. It is a pity that people have no faith in whatever Government does in our country.  Whatever may be the ultimate truth and outcome of the recent TEHELKA video tape exposure, it has certainly eroded further the credibility of the Government, our political system and entire system of governance.  In the aftermath of TEHELKA, many agencies / individuals could be de-motivated to give funds to the Government for the reconstruction of Gujarat.   

On the part of NGOs, instead of competing with each other or working in isolation, they should group themselves in the field of their expertise and offer collective help in the relief and rehabilitation programme.  This is the challenge of the century for Gujarat NGOs.  They are capable of rising to the occasion.  All that is needed is a will and spirit to work collectively and efficiently.  NGOs should also realize their limitations and competency in such massive and unusual task, for which very few have good experience. 

The silver lining in this challenging work is that, Gujarat is the only State, where people’s initiatives and efforts in all walks of life are greater and better than that of the Government.  Many people say Gujarat has progressed because of its people, not the Government.  Some articulate it better by saying that Gujarat has progressed, inspite of the Government.  This is the real and unique strength of Gujarat and this strength will quickly lift Gujarat from the present predicament, and the State will not only reconstruct itself, but, will rejoin with vigour the path of progress and development.  

The real problem will be the proper and speedy implementation of rehabilitation programmes and cooperation among various agencies.  It will require coordination of the highest order by using information technology and bringing in high quality professional management skills and systems.  The challenge is so great that if utmost care is not taken, chaos, duplication, delays and all sorts of mis-management and mal-practices would result.  Knowing the Gujarat bureaucracy closely, the State has many very good Government officers known for their integrity and efficiency.  The Government should spare the best of its officers for this task and also involve large number of professionals from various fields to support these officers.  Once, a team of good officers is assigned various major responsibilities, that team should not be disturbed for quite some time in the interest of the continuity and consistency in the implementation of the programme.  Proven NGOs could be allocated sub-regions and cluster of villages for monitoring the implementation.  Some 50 - 100 proven NGOs could easily be identified for this purpose.  Some retired Government officers with good record and having attachment and affection for Kutch and Saurashtra could be invited to help in the rehabilitation programme.

Another serious problem in the rehabilitation work would be to keep away the dis-reputed politicians.  This is very sensitive issue.  It is easy to keep away some allegedly corrupt bureaucrats, but not half that easy to keep away unscrupulous politicians, on the standard argument that they are the elected representatives of people, and therefore, they have the right and responsibility to be involved in such programmes.  True, in our democratic setup, their right to be involved cannot be denied.  But, no one has the right to resort to corruption and mal practice, particularly in relief and rehabilitation programmes.  The question is who can control such politicians ?  A leader of the stature of Sardar Patel could have easily controlled any kind of unscrupulous politician, but people of lesser stature can hardly control such political elements.  The Government will have neither the will nor courage to handle such political elements.  The politicians can be controlled by people alone and not by fellow politicians irrespective of party. This is the reality of the present day political scene in our country, including Gujarat.   TEHELKA exposure has served a notice to the corrupt system and to people using this system for their own ulterior motives.   

In the present circumstances, it is the power of people supported by genuine NGO’s with the Judiciary playing a role of active watchdog that can perhaps control the unscrupulous politicians and bureaucrats.  Such elements need to be exposed instantly and publicly, and good, honest among them should be given all credit for their work and leadership.

It would be better if the Government refrains from direct involvement in the construction activities.  The best of the Government cannot accomplish such a massive task.  The Government should be a support with resources - financial and others and monitor the progress through a team of good officers and NGOs.  Let the construction be done by the people themselves individually or collectively.  Proven institutions like HDFC, HUDCO etc. could be assigned the construction task.  Gujarat has mix of good and bad builders.  Select the good among them and assign them some responsibility of reconstruction, either at no profit or no loss basis or at modest profit.

In the whole process of reconstruction, it is necessary that all the financial transactions are strictly monitored by honest agencies and honest people at all levels and everything related with money and progress should be totally transparent. 

The world has come to the help of Gujarat in an unprecedented manner and scale. The spontaneous help from the world within the first few hours of the catastrophe, has given an impression, maybe for the time being, that this world is one family and prepared to share the grief of others.  For a while, enmity between two staunch enemy countries was also forgotten.  It is a case worth studying, whether at any time in the recent past, any other country was the recipient of such spontaneous and massive assistance from the international community.

With the assistance from the global community and the inner strength and resourcefulness of the Gujaratis, Gujarat will be rebuilt very soon. This is definite.