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Rural Development
Prize of hard work
Issue Date: Oct 31, 2000
the people of Bhaonta-Kolyala village of Alwar district of Rajasthan have constructed a stone checkdam, reinforcing their earlier Johad (earthen dam). "This has been possible because of the Rs 1,00,000 prize given to us by Down To Earth ( dte ),"says Kanhaiya Lal, one of the villagers.
Banking on labour
It is a labour bank called Thozhil Sena . Its capital is human labour and the clients are mostly farmers who loan labour at a rate of interest. Perhaps the first of its kind in India, the 'bank' was formed in 1998 by the Kunnathukal Gram Panchayat of Thiruvananthapuram district, after the power to plan and implement was devolved to local bodies. It has become the solution to declining agricultural yield and large-scale migration to urban areas.Divide and rule
Issue Date: May 15, 2000
the rural planning approach in India has mainly been one of trials and errors. Piles of documents are gathering dust in the national archives to substantiate the belief that the reforms in the countryside have not been based upon a well-researched positive and integrative approach to village life.
Centre allots funds
Issue Date: Feb 15, 2000
around Rs 3,500 crore will be grantedto the states by the central government for enhancing irrigation potentialunder the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund during the next fiveyears.
About 50 per cent of the allotted sum will be utilised for minor irrigation schemes and the rest for major and medium projects. The purpose would be to create an additional irrigation potential of 12 million hectares (ha) of land, out of which 10 million ha would be through groundwater schemes and the remaining 2 million ha through surface water schemes.
Beware of Policymakers
Issue Date: Jan 15, 2000
extinction is a nasty word one normally associates with lumbering gigantic lizards, huge prehistoric insects, dragon flies the size of a fighter plane or the Dodo. While humans had no say in the death of the dinosaur, they definitely played a major role in the death of the Dodo.
Gujarat village project
Issue Date: Nov 30, 1999
development in G ujarat seems to be restricted to the industrial sector only. More than 18,000 villages in the state do not have basic facilities like roads or drinking water. In 1995-96 the Keshubhai Patel government unveiled the Gokul Gram Yojna. The project aimed to transform the face of rural areas.
The project aims to develop model villages complete with infrastructure like roads, drinking water facilities, latrines, village ponds, pastures and panchayat ghars.
Understanding Gandhi
Issue Date: Oct 31, 1999
GANDHI's Vision and Valuesis meant to be a serious exploration into the contemporary meaning of Hind Swaraj and the kind ofpossibility it indicates for agricultural practices in rural India. Hind Swaraj herein refers to Gandhi's text and also to India's last 50 years as an independent country.
"Women know how to manage better"
Issue Date: Nov 30, 1998
Involvement of women is on your priority list. Why?
The women in the villages are involved in three basic things - water, fuel and fodder. Along with agriculture, one of the basic goals of watershed development programmes is to help in improving the life of women in villages. It is essential to involve them in something which is a part of their every day life... empowerment of women is necessary to build up their confidence and give them a sense of financial security. Also, I feel women know how to manage better with minimum resources.
Interviewee:
Smita Ghate
Setting an example
Issue Date: Oct 31, 1998
Palahi, a sleepy village in the Kapurthala district of Punjab, has set an example in the use of non-conventional sources of energy. All the gurudwaras, private hospitals, nursing homes and a large number of households have solar water heaters, according to Gurmit Singh of the Community Polytechnic. Palahi and four other villages have been chosen for the establishment of biogas plants. The village has been declared as an Urja Gram by the Punjab Energy Development Agency for making optimum use of non-conventional energy sources.
