MattersMonthly Development update from DHAN Collective

Development April 2012

DHAN bags JINDAL Prize

PerspectiveFreebies

Does it serve the Purpose? 23

FeatureRevitalizing Irrigation Tanks for Ensuring a Food Secure Future 14

EventDHAN bags JINDAL Prize 2011 8

Event

MattersMonthly Development update from DHAN Collective

Development

DHAN Foundation18, Pillaiyar Koil Street, S.S. Colony

Madurai - 625 016. Tamil Nadu, INDIA

Tel.: +91 - 452 - 2610794, 2610805

Email: dhanfoundation@dhan.org

Website: http://www.dhan.org

From the Editors’ Desk

Contents

Dear Readers,

Greetings!

This issue features articles on Revitalizing irrigation tanks for ensuring a food secure future: Contributions of Vayalagams in South India, which really gives a comprehensive view about how tanks serves to ensure food security and the intervention of Vayalagams to safeguard such tanks. DHAN Foundation bagged the JINDAL prize 2011 for its achievement in Rural Development and this issue features an article on it. The issue also captures the budget watch 2012 event, which views the budget on development perspective and also gives the snapshot of sector wise performance of our economy in the previous years. The event organized by Tata-Dhan Academy every year to create awareness about budget to college students and development workers. The readers also will get a overall view of our economy and the budget through this article.

This issue also features an article on Retreat 2012 event. Mr.M.P.Vasimalai has given an institutional brief and the way forward which will make all the DHANites to feel proud of our organizational achievements.

We expect the continued patronage of the readers and constructive feedbacks to improve the quality of our magazine. Your feedbacks can be sent to dhancdc@dhan.org

Happy reading!

1. Step towards the future - Building on the learning 1

2. Institutional Brief and Way Forward 5

M.P. Vasimalai

3. Reflective meet on the Budget-2012-2013 8

4. DHAN Foundation bags Jindal Prize 2011 13

5. Revitalizing Irrigation Tanks for Ensuring a Food Secure Future: Contributions of Vayalagams in South India 14

A. Gurunathan

6. Freebies - Does it serve the Purpose? 23

S. Singarayar

DHAN Foundation bags Jindal Prize 2011 for its contributions in rural development and poverty alleviation. The prize carries a cash contribution of Rs. 1 crore to further its initiatives. The Jindal Prize has been instituted by Dr. Sitaram Jindal to accolade exceptional service of current significance rendered by individuals or organisations for the welfare of Indian citizens in the country.

Vol. VI Issue 4 April 2012

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Events

Step towards the future - Building on the learning

The Fourteenth Retreat event of DHANFoundation was organized on March 19-22,

2012 in the Mahatma Gandhi Auditorium atNaryanamoorthy Center for Excellence, Hebbal Mysore,a training centre for new recruits for Infosys establishedin a sprawling 300 acre campus with good infrastructurefor training. As innovation is one of the core values ofthe institution, this event was different from the earlierevents in that it was scheduled in two phases- the firstphase for professionals at Mysore and the second phasefor all the other DHANites in Kanyakumari. Secondlythis event was a starter for the strategic planning processof DHAN Foundation, the plan document of which isto be ready by September 2012 and the process hencebeing guided by the professional trainersDr.G.K.Jayaram from Institute of Leadership andInstitutional Development.

Day-1

The event started with the value song of theinstitution. Mr.M.Karthikeyan, Programme Leader,DHAN Foundation the overall facilitator for the event,introduced Dr.Jayaram and his associates Mr.ArunNathan and Mr.Suresh Sharma from Jawaharlal NehruInstitute of Leadership and Development, New Delhi.

Mr. M. Kalyanasundaram read the message fromMr. Thulsiraj, Treasurer, Board of Trustees, DHANFoundation. Mr.Thulsiraj, in his message shared thatstrategic planning process is a good initiative since paststrategies may not work in future and new strategieswhich are sustainable and scalable must be worked outconsidering the future challenges.

Mr. Mathew, the Director, Narayanamoothy Instituteof leadership and Institutional Development, in hisspeech shared his experience with various developmentorganisations in India and said he is here to learn fromDHAN's experience. He stressed that values, vigor andvision are the three essentials for the organization andevent like retreat will help to bounce back to strengthenthe organization.

Mr. Vasimalai, the Executive Director of DHANFoundation in his opening remarks stated that the eventbeing held at Mahatma Gandhi Auditorium is a sheercoincidence since the DHAN was born on the birthdate of Gandhi in the year 1997. He said, the fourteenthretreat is unique and it focuses on strategic plan

considering the changes in the macro environment. Themission statement of DHAN Foundation has beenrevised twice since the beginning of the organization.He stated that this strategic planning event is thebeginning of the six month process of evolving thestrategic plan and it will be finalized by September 2012.Ideas generated will be given due importance andexclusive working group will be constituted to finalizethe plan.

Dr. Jayaram in his address asked everyone presentin the hall to reflect honestly on "why you exist inDHAN?" and " Why DHAN exists" which can help a lotin the strategic planning process. He also quotedintensity, integrity and intelligence as essentialcharacteristics of social entrepreneurship and isimportant for the growth of any organization. He alsoshared about the growth of Infosys which was achievedwithout compromising the values and vision. He saidthe vision, mission and values of the organization standsas a roof of a 'Mandap", the strategies are the pillarsand the human resource, financial resource and thedifferent centers of DHAN are the foundation of theMandap. Strategies should be formed after goodunderstanding of the vision, mission, values and goalsof the organization and the strength of the foundation.The strategic planning process will enable us to concludewhich we should retain, what we can expand, whichwe should withdraw and what we can introduce sothat the organizational sustainability and growth can beensured. He also stressed that while arriving at the goalstatements one should be careful that goals arequantifiable and that a definite time period is attachedto achieve this goals. He said effectiveness (doing rightthings) and efficiency (doing things right) are important

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for an organizational success and this should be kept inmind during the strategic planning process.

Mr. Vasimalai briefed the challenges that theorganization has to face in the future and asked theparticipants to get involved in the process to evolve aconcrete strategic plan to overcome the challenges andproceed ahead with our developmental interventions.

Revisiting the mission, vision and goal statementsof DHAN to fine tune them to the present situation andmake them precise relevant and sufficient formed a partof this strategic planning process. Ms.A.Umaranipresented the existing mission and vision statementsand asked the participants to critically review andsuggest for changes and refinement wherever needed.To facilitate this the participants were divided into subgroups and asked to deeply introspect and reflect "Whyone exists in DHAN?" And "Why DHAN exists?".Answering these questions will enable us to come outwith the appropriate vision, mission and goal statements.As suggested the Vision, mission and goal statementsgot refined during the sub group discussions and theygot synthesized during the sub plenary. The outcomesof the subgroup discussions got shared through postersfor everyone to learn. The same was presented to theorganizations strategic forum members for follow up.

Day-2

The second day started with Dr.Jayaram's speech.He said by going through the first day process and thevision and mission statements of DHAN, he couldunderstand and summarize DHAN Foundation worksas follows

1. Building Institution for poverty reduction

2. Building scalable, cost effective and sustainable model

3. Inculcate values and ethics in the society

4. Influencing policy

5. Disseminating best practices

DHAN Foundation works under different thematicprograms and these programs in turn have their ownvision, mission and goal statements. These statementsshould get well accommodated in the overall vision andmission statements of the organization. To know theirrelevance and how far they are in tune with DHANsstatements, the respective program anchors were askedto present their vision, mission, values and goalstatements. The program anchors also shared thechallenges in the present scenario and challenges aheadin long run in achieving their goals.

Dr.Jayaram asked the participants to go through theinputs from the presentation carefully and suggestedthe sub group deliberators to include the following areasas lead questions.

1. How relevant are the Vision, Mission, values, andgoals of the programmes to DHAN Foundation.

2. Resource requirement in areas such as Human,Finance, development communication to achieve thegoals proposed considering the challenges ahead.

Apart from different thematic programs DHAN hasdifferent centers like Center for finance, Center forHuman Resource development, Center for Developmentcommunication, Center for Research and Center forPolicy and planning which Dr.Jayaram said are thefoundation for any organization. Mr.Vasimalai suggestedthe centres to present their status so that the foundationof the "Mandap" is also known to the participants, sothat it aids the strategic planning process. Mr.Vasimalaisuggested the centres to make a presentation the next

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day. He also said that the strategic forum members ofDHAN Foundation will be involved in finalizing thevision, mission, goal and strategies of the organization,taking into account all the ideas generated from thisretreat process and also the second retreat to bescheduled by April, 2012.

The program wise vision, mission and goalstatements were discussed in the sub group processthat followed and the outcomes were again consolidatedin the sub plenary and submitted to the strategic forumcommittee. It was interesting to note that all the subgroups unanimously agreed that the vision, mission andgoals of the programs are well in tune with that of theorganization. Moreover good suggestions also came forsimplifying the vision, mission and goal statements.

DHAN Foundation in the coming years is to focusmore on improving the livelihood of the poor throughits different thematic programmes. To make theparticipants aware of the different livelihood activitiesthat is being implemented currently in different regionsa livelihood exhibition was organized in the venue ofthe meeting which provided a platform for crosslearning. Charts, photos and other documents of theirefforts got displayed.

Day-3

The third day proceeding was started with the prayerand recap of the Day-2 minutes.

The proceedings of the special Strategic Forum (SF)meeting on the revisited vision, mission and goals ofDHAN Foundation and its collectives were briefly sharedby Ms. A.Umarani. The vision, the mission, and thegoals were scanned through two broad dimensions, viz.structure or format of the statements; and its content.Though the team had a hectic task of going through allthe ideas and suggestions, they sorted out relevant andappropriate suggestions to carry forward.

Subsequently the Executive Director appreciated thepro-active initiatives of the Strategic Forum by takingup the challenges on the spot. He also introduced theStrategic forum members calling them to the dais

Continuing to this, Dr. Jayaram stated that three stylesof strategic planning exist in all the organisations andthey are information sharing, involvement and jointplanning. In information sharing, the top managementtakes all the decisions related to strategic planning andshares the information to the staffs. In case ofinvolvement style of strategic planning, the leaders ofthe organisation invite the staff for inputs but decisions

are taken by the top management. In joint planning style,everyone in the organisation sits together, analyse theissues and chose best alternative together. In ademocratic organisation, the joint planning style ofstrategic planning predominantly exists.

As it was decided in the previous evening, all anchorsof our five centre presented their roles and goals tofacilitate in achieving the organisation's commitment.

This was followed by a training exercise of forminga strategy and a activity chart to accomplish a goal.Each subgroup was given with a goal and ask to evolvestrategies for that particular goal. Then the subgroupswere asked to work out a detailed action plan based onone specific strategy for which a tool was provided byDr.Jayaram. Questions for clarification on the processwere asked by the participants which were answeredprecisely by him.

The subgroups were given one and half hour timefor discussion. Of the twenty subgroups eight wereselected randomly to present their strategies and actionplan for a specific goal. Dr.Jayaram appreciated theefforts and emphasised that it was only a trainingexercise and more detailing of the strategies and actionplan with deliverables and deadlines should be workedout so that, they get implemented in the field.

Before breaking for lunch, Dr. Jayaram and his teammembers viz, Dr. Suresh Sharma, and Mr. Arun werefelicitated by the Executive Director for their gracioussupport in strategic planning.

After the lunch break, a CSR supported film madeon impact of our water conservation works throughproject taken up with ITC Mission Sunerakal suppportwas screened.

Subsequently the Executive Director noted that thisprocess of strategic planning is vital especially to theyoung colleagues of DHAN on getting clarity of vision,mission and goals of the organization. He also suggested

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that an operational framework for each goal has to beprepared by the respective programmes and should beviewed on donor perspective also to generate proposalsto support the strategic plan. The strategic plan as suchwill be a larger document that will decide our futurecourse of action in different perspectives.

He also graded the quality of exhibits made in theLivelihood exhibition made by the regions. He rated thatSalem, Dindigul and Madurai Urban came closer to theexpectations of the organization. He also added that theother regions also should rise up to the expectations toensure quality.

Mr.Vasimalai announced 25th and 26th April, 2012as dates of second retreat.

Other suggestions which came where:

The cross cutting people's institutions such asKDFS, People's Mutuals, KTL and SUHAM willhave to be included during the subsequent processof strategic planning.

Similar to strategic planning for DHAN Foundationand its programmatic institutions, future searchexercises have to be conducted in people'sinstitutions in vernacular languages guided bymanuals. Ms. Shanthi Maduresan volunteered todemonstrate on such event in one or two federations.

Display of the vision and mission statements inDHAN offices across the programmes.

It was felt that the two and half day long strategicplanning process with handholding support from Dr.Jayaram would be useful for not only completing theprocess but also transferring to other colleagues.

A campus visit was organised for the retreatparticipants after the completion of the regular events.

After dinner the day proceedings were closed witha composite of cultural events performed by themembers at ABM towers, the place of stay of the retreatparticipants.

Day-4

The day started with prayer. The support ofDr.Jayaram during the previous three days was laudedand it was expressed that his views regarding the vision,mission and value statements will be taken care of bythe organization. Incidentally, as the day fell on the worldwater day, DHAN Vayalagam foundation screened twodocumentary films, which created a bigger impact onDHANites on importance of water. Water is becoming

the most wanted commodity and we should use itjudiciously was the message conveyed strongly throughthose films. The draft national water policy is alsoframed by our country considering the growing demandand disputes over water. DHAN Vayalagam Foundationhas suggested some changes in the policy, consideringfew issues and missing elements in the draft. DHANVayalagams new initiative for conservation of waterthrough awareness campaigns involving Lady Doakand Fathima college has been a success and more focusto be given in forthcoming years for expansion of thisto different colleges across states. Our ExecutiveDirector insisted that beyond awareness, action throughShiramadhan to clean up water bodies and demonstrationof this is planned in Manamadurai.

The proceeding of the strategic forum meetingsand CFM meetings held during the year 2011-12 wasshared by Ms.A.Umarani. Five strategic forum meetingshave been conducted last year, the one due by Marchlast week, the agenda being on institutional processes,succession and rotation, Annual performance enablingprogram and regional support for states for which soliddecisions like rotating and finalizing the board membersof DHAN nested institutions was done. In the CFMmeeting diversification of donors for resourcemobilization, developing a livelihood model bycollaborating with NRLM, framing of Livelihood policyand streamlining the new lending policy based onpurpose wise loan implemented by Kalanjiam,Vayalagam and Tanks programs were focused.. For theCF meetings of ensuing two years Ms.V.K.Padmavathiwill take over as Secretary, the post presently beingheld by Mr. A.Gurunathan. The twenty eighth CFMwas scheduled from 15th-17th April,2012 which willhave focus on the annual review program andcontribution by thematic programs last year.

The update of the institution and way forward wasgiven by the executive director, in which he shared theachievement of the different programs and centers andappreciated their efforts. He also said we should notfeel complacent about our achievements and there is along way to traverse. Followed by this was a sessionon Advancing Livelihoods-Focus of the year 2012facilitated by Mr.P.Krishnamurthi of CDC. Presentationon Livelihood activities done so far was made byMs.Sivarani, Mr.Kiran Kumar, Ms.Rama Praba andMr.P.Lakshmanan.

The Retreat event 2012 concluded successfully withvote of thanks by Mr.Chandrasekar, RegionalCoordinator, Mysore.

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Institutional Brief and Way Forward

M.P.Vasimalai*

I am happy to share the institutional achievementslast year to all DHANites. The year was good for

DHAN, not only we were able make to make salientachievements but also our work being recognized well,the feather in the cap of all being the Sitharam Jindalaward to the organization which carried a prize moneyof one crore rupees. DHAN was awarded for the workswe have done in the field of rural developments throughvarious thematic approach. Along with DHAN, ShriDharmasthaala Veerendra Hegde and the Rishi ValleyFoundation got the award for the works in the field ofhealth and education respectively. More than the award,the Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Anna Hazare also beingin the award list added value to our works.

DHAN has been organizing Madurai Marathon eventevery year, which is basically a event for creatingawareness on different social issues and also a fundraising event. This year the Madurai Marathon eventrechristened as Walkathan 2012, the theme of whichwas the Climate Change. Earlier event were organizedfocusing only Madurai and this year it got extended toother cities. The Walkathon 2012 conducted in Mysorehad a overwhelming response. A fund of Rs.55 lakhswas raised for this event by Mr.Santhanam and anotherRs.6 lakhs being provided by Axis bank. I extend mywishes to all those who have organized the eventsuccessfully. Unfortunately we had a problem this yearin Madurai where the city commissioner gave permissionfor participation of only 3,000 people, while our originalplan was for 25,000 participants. In fact, it was a not aproblem but opportunity in disguise, because of whichcould strengthen the process by organizing Walkathon2012 at the same date in different villages in and aroundMadurai, which created a good impact.

I also appreciate the efforts taken by the regions tocelebrate Foundation day, which helped the regions toset up standards and milestones for moving aheadtowards a definite goal. A special committee will be setup to identify and reward persons from poorbackground, who have strived hard to come out ofpoverty and have done salient achievement in their life

during next Foundation day celebration. A committeefor his will be constituted much earlier by June/Julyfor institutionalizing the process.

Our plan to reach 1 million poor families throughour developmental works by September, 2011 wasachieved which is a great feat. Not only the reach butthe impact we create through our programs are muchimportant. A strategic plan for next five years, withtargets for poverty reduction should be done at grassroot level and that will be the focus for next five years.The impacts of our developmental efforts should becarefully documented, which will keep our spirits high.

As a developmental worker, we all have to have aneye on economy of our country and the path in whichthe country travel. The budget document of a countryis the financial plan which speaks about the revenuesand deficits, with focus on different developmentalareas. I insist every DHANites to go through the Budgetdocument 2012 and all regions to have a copy of it.Not only the national budget, the state, municipal andpanchayat level revenues and expenditure should beknown to grass root development workers

Let me come to program wise achievements lastyear. The CALL program which works in coastalcontext completed the donor commitments to Oxfamand NOVIB by December, 2011 the effort of whichgot appreciation. The Minor millets project underRainfed Programme, which is a basically a actionresearch project is being carried out excellently and the

Event

*Mr. M.P.Vasimalai, Executive Director, DHAN Foundation

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milestones fixed were crossed in the first year, beyondthe expectation which was very well acclaimed by allthe stakeholders. Mr.M.Karthikeyan andMr.M.Palanisamy, contributed much for this success.The process of constituting the advisory committee isa good start for the programme. More focus will begiven by the organization to promote cultivation andconsumption of small millets, which have high nutritivevalue and can fetch good returns to the cultivars.

DHAN Vayalagam (Tank) Foundation also has donea commendable job in implementing a CSR project ofITC, which will enable us to take similar such CSRsponsored initiatives in the near future. The collaborationbetween Government of Andrapradesh and DHAN, inimplementing the states watershed program also yieldedproductive results. It also got support for India waterweek program the efforts of which are alsocommendable.

The UPNURM program which is a National Umbrellaprogramme for resource management implemented byDHAN Vayalagam and KDFS is also in progress andthe achievements of which also deserves appreciation

With respect to community banking programme, thestate sponsored SHG program in Maharashtra, getsimplemented with DHANs support. The Maharashtragovernment, pleased with our efforts extended supportfor promoting additional locations which speaks of ourwork. Apart from this Convergence of AgriculturalInterventions in Maharashtra(CAIM) project also getsimplemented there with DHANs support. The proposalto SRTT also got sanctioned and much effort was madeto fine tune to proposal. Anemia reduction program gotdiversified across many locations. Based on the initialsuccess, the model was replicated to other locations,without incurring much additional cost. This model canbe replicated by the respective state governmentsfocusing on anemia reduction.

TATA DHAN academy completed the EkalVidhyalaya Foundation’s educational project with thesupport of our own team in different locations indifferent states which shows that resource is availablewith DHAN for taking any kind of research

People Mutuals got integrated with ITC because ofwhich weekly communication through skype withpeople in Netherland was made possible. Theestablishment of IGNOU community college by DHAN

People Academy and collaboration of DHAN ICT withIGNOU also adds value to our organization.

With respect to Panchayat programme, a proposalis about to get sanctioned by April, 2012. The newthemes like Youth and development and Migration needsexclusive persons to coordinate.

The Center for documentation and communications,has ventured into a new initiative along with KTL tobring younger generation to exhibit their talent in artand short film making by enabling them through propertraining and also through support of local televisionchannels and other satellite medias. The task ofsubmission of our achievements for Jindal award andsubsequent facilitation of their field visits was done byMr.P.Krishnamurthi of CDC. The center for researchhas completed the diagnostic study of cooperatives andcame up with a quality report. The City HumanDevelopment Report preparation for Madurai and Salemwhich will get completed in few months will also be agood document for micro level planning in these twocities.

The Kalanjiam Development Financial Services isimplementing housing program with the support ofRABO bank, apart from focusing on regular loans.Livelihood loans for agriculture and dairy will also getextended through KDFS. People Mutuals has launchedthe micropension scheme and a MoU is to be signedwith LIC

Way Forward

Though we have many achievements behind, I feelthat there is lot more to do with focus on specific areasin the coming years.

With respect to Livelihood development, we haveto further strengthen our approach. Livelihooddeepening with concrete goals, strategies and plan forthe implementation particularly in agriculture, dairy andlivestock must be given priority. Strengthening theexisting PPGs and PMGs and promoting new PPGsand PMGs must be done. Our efforts should result inpoverty reduction the results of which should beproperly documented. Like for minor millet project morefarmers participatory action research project must betaken at a larger level in agriculture, which will help tosolve the crisis now farmers and agriculture are facing.

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I feel that we have rich experience in livelihood andlivelihood models based on our experience should bedeveloped and proposals to NRLM to be generated. Thegovernment has planned to support educational loan tothe needy, but still the students face the problem ofobtaining these loans and we should focus in the comingyears to channel these educational loans to the studentsthrough our people institutions.

Regarding the Human Resource, we have few issueswhich we have to address by redeploying right personat right place and decentralizing and contextualizing thehuman resource development through regions. Eachone of us can take responsibility for bringing a additionalperson with fire in his heart for development work, theprocess of which be made formal by allocating specifictime for it. A separate policy is also need for thecontractual staffs. DHAN People Academy and Tata-Dhan academy have a critical role in human resourcedevelopment. The administrative services pool,leadership development pool and people organizationpool should be strengthened

As a grass root organization Community Identityof our organization has to be strengthened which fillfacilitate recognition of them by the stakeholders. Isuggest for conducting retreat at federation and regionallevels to enable the community to participate in thestrategic planning process. The creation of public privatepartnership of our community organizations and of thegovernment should be given priority in the comingyears.

As our health program has expanded in a larger scale,Mr.R.Rajapandian will be assigned to look after it. Anew educational initiative, the works of which has also

commenced and Mr.N.Karthikeyan voluntarily cameforward to lead this initiative. Special focus will be givenfor strengthening education in Tribal areas.

A data base management system has to be createdat all program office, since documentation speaks moreabout our works and will serve as a reference not onlyto others, but also for ourselves in long run. ITC willtake care of computerized management of data. ThePublication division of CDC will come out withpublications of our works through different programs.A monthly popular journal is also planned in the comingyears.

The regions should make efforts to capture thelending processes followed in the locations to strengthenthe system. I suggest for following cross guaranteemechanism in financial lending. Professionalizing theinsurance packages to the community right frominsurance education to claim settlement must be done.All locations should adhere to the non negotiablestandards prescribed by the region.

I feel that there is a need for creating Medical fundfor staffs at institutional level the mechanisms of whichis to be worked out. Though medical insurance coverageis available to staffs, this fund will serve as a additionalsupport. The institution has also planned for new salarypackage for both people and DHAN staff. As DHANite'swe always closely relates with community and wearingthe dress which symbolizes the community with whichwe work at least once in a week can be our dress code.

I once again appreciate one and all who havecontributed to the achievements of the organization andhope forward for much progress in the coming years.

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Reflective meet on the Budget-2012-2013

A budget is an important concept ofmicroeconomics, which is a financial plan with

a list of all planned expenses and revenue. In simpleterms it is plan for savings borrowing and spending.For planning the development of a country, budget playsa crucial role. To drive the importance of budget to thevarious actors involved in the development process,particularly the younger generation Tata-Dhan Academyis engaged in conducting a knowledge building andreview event on the budget of the country, on the day itis presented in the Indian Parliament every year. Theunion budget for the year 2012-2013 was presented byour Finance minister Mr.Pranab Mukherjee waspresented on March 16, 2012, when the country wasfacing a problem, the growth being not on the expectedtrends (slower growth).

This year also Tata-Dhan Academy organized thereflective meeting on the Indian Budget on March 16,

Event

2012 at Hotel Germanus, Madurai, Tamil Nadu whichhad a overwhelming response than the previous years,showing the interest of the participants. Nearly 150participants including from the students of AmericanCollege, Fathima College, Thiagaraja School ofManagement and Agricultural College, Maduraiparticipated.Apart from them faculties from Departmentof Economics from Colleges, Bankers, Auditors andNGO representatives participated in the event.

Fiscal Behaviour of Indian Economy - Sectorwise Growth

The event started with the analysis of Fiscal behaviorof Indian Economy with focus on sector wise growthin the previous years, a presentation made by Dr.Jenaand his team of Tata-Dhan Academy. The followingwere the highlights of the presentation.

The India's GDP growth is a cause of concern in recent years. The GDP was ashigh as 9.5 and 9.6 in the year 2005-06 and 2006-07 respectively, whereas thegrowth was only 6.9 (as per the budget estimate 2011-12). Compared to previousyears the GDP fell by 1.7 %, which is a serious cause of concern ( Fig. 1).

The GDP contribution of service sector, Industry, agriculture and other sectorswere 9.1 %, 3.9 %, 2.5 % and 5.9 % respectively in the year 2011-12, the contributionby the agricultural sector being the lowest. The contribution by the agriculture andthe industry has shown a sharp decline in 2011-12 compared to the previous years.

Fig.1 India’s GDP growth rates (2004-05) prices)

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The fiscal deficit, revenue deficit and the primary deficit remained at 4.6, 3.4 and 1.6 as per the 2011-12 budgetestimates.

The inflation rate of 6.9 % is high, this too being achieved by the country with much efforts by the government.The increase in cost of whole sale price index of food crops contributed much to the inflation.

Concentration to agriculture and allied sector, which is a necessary condition for inclusive growth, isdecreasing over the years. The land, labour and capital issues are increasing ( exploitation of land and waterresources, less productive labour and the capital support declining)

The share of agriculture and allied sector to total GFCF in 2010-2011 was only 7.2% 9( at 2004-05 prices). TheGFCF in irrigation and electricity for agricultural purposes was only 0.04 crores

The percentage of capital expenditure on agriculture and allied activities to total expenditure is declining rapidly( Fig.3)

Fig.3 Percentage of Capital expenditure on agriculture and allied activities to total expenditure

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The planned out lay for agriculture and allied activitiesin eighth five year plan was 5.8 % which got reducedto 3.7 % by twelfth five year plan

There was no much increase in the minimumsupport price for agricultural commodities as evidentfrom the support price of wheat and paddy whichremains at Rs1285 and Rs1080 in the year 2011-12,even though the cost of production has increasedmanifold.

With respect to employment in organized sector,the public employment remains stagnant whereasthe private employment has improved. Employmentin Khadhi and village industries, Handloom andcooperative societies shows a declining trend.

The share of employment in industry sector isaround 22 % (2009-10). When manufacturing aloneis taken into consideration the share is 16 %, whereasthe share of employment generated by constructionworks is around 10 %. Compared to china where40 % of employment is generated throughmanufacturing, India falls short very much.

The budget allocation and expenditure on Socialsector is yet another cause of concern. The totalsocial service expenditure as % of GDP in health,education and other sectors (nutrition, gender etc.,)is only 3 %, 1.25 % and 2.25 % respectively as perbudget estimates 2011-12.

With respect to poverty of the country it wasreported differently by different agencies 28 % byPlanning commission, 37.2 % in Tendulkarcommittee report and 50 % by Saxena committeereport. This shows that a consensus is yet to bearrived in poverty estimation across the country,without which planning becomes difficult.

The total public expenditure on education as % ofGDP has come down from 3.94 % in 2000-01 to3.37 % by 2007-08, though there is no muchvariation.

Annual Status of Educational Report (ASER) 2011by PRATHAM shows that, private school enrollmenthas risen (6-14 age group), increasing from 18.7%in 2006 to 25.6% in 2011. However it reports declinein quality of education. The % of children in Std Vable to read a Std 2 level text has dropped from53.7% in 2010 to 48.2% in 2011. The % of std IIIchildren able to solve a 2 digit subtraction problemwith borrowing has dropped from 36.3% to 29.9%

in 2011.(in case of STD V, 70.9% in 2010 to 61.0%in 2011)

With respect to Environmental performance indexIndia ranks 122 out of 132 world wide, though theprocess of estimation is disputable considering thesize of the country. The allocation as of % GDP forenvironment is 2.84 %. Specific focus is expectedon climate change in the current budget which is awelcome sign.

Budget 2012-13 Highlights

The participants then watched the budget presentedin the parliament by the finance minister in a widerscreen carefully.

GDP growth estimated at 6.9 per cent in real termsin 2011-12. Slowdown in comparison to precedingtwo years is primarily due to deceleration in industrialgrowth. India's GDP growth in 2012-13 expectedto be 7.6 per cent +/- 0.25 per cent.

Food and fertilizer subsidies continue. In forwardingsubsidies to agriculture, the system of direct subsidyto retailers and farmers will be introduced as perrecommendations of Nandhan Nilakeni's Panelreport.

Microfinance bill 2012 and other bankingamendment bills to be tabled.

Government to earn Rs30000 crores throughdisinvestment

Rajiv Gandhi equity scheme through which taxexemption can be had upto Rs50000 can be had tobe introduced which will help the government togenerate revenue to a tune of Rs60000 crores

Budget for infrastructure doubled from Rs30000crores last year to Rs60000 crores in 2012 -13.

Rs5000 crores to HUDCO and SIDBI each forhousing

Rs4000 crores allotted for affordable housing projectthrough rural housing fund ( Increased by Rs1000crores than last year)

R15888 crores to refinance RRBs/PSU's/agriculturalcooperatives

Agricultural outlay was marginally increased t0 18% to a tune of Rs20208 crores.

Rs2242 core project for dairy development withworld bank assistance to commence

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Rs5.75 lakh crores allotted for agricultural credit.

Post-harvest loan against warehouse receipt planned

Rs200 crores for scientific research andtechnological development

New PDS scheme based on AADHAAR card to beintroduced.

Rs 3915 crores allotted for NRLM scheme whichis 34 % higher than previous year allotment.

MGNERGA allotment to be reduced to Rs30,000crores from Rs40,000 crores, primarily due tounderutilization.

Interest rebate to SHGs ( rate of interest will be 7 %for loans upto Rs 3.00 lakhs)and additional 3 %rebate on prompt repayment is announced. Howeverthis is restricted for implementation in 150 districtsonly.

Right to Education (RTE)-Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan(SSA) received Rs 25, 555 crore allocation, showingan increase of 21.7%; while a 29% increase forRashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan making itRs 3,124 crore.

A credit guarantee fund for educational loans to beset up for ensuring better flow of credit to studentsand prevent the present problems is ensuringeducational loans

An allocation of Rs 15, 850 crore was made forIntegrated Child Development Services (ICDS)scheme, an increase of 58% and Rs 11, 937 crorefor National Programme of Mid-Day Meals inschools for the year 2012-13. Also, an allocation ofRs 750 crore was proposed for Rajiv GandhiScheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls,SABLA.

The health sector has got a total outlay of Rs 34,488crore in the budget estimates for 2012-13, which is13.24 per cent more than the budget estimates ofRs 30,456 for the ongoing fiscal.

Proposal to allow deduction of upto Rs5,000 forpreventive health check up.

National Urban health mission to be set up

Fiscal deficit is expected to be 5.9 % in 2012-13and the revenue deficit will be Rs1.85 crores

The IT rebate slab was increased to 2.00 lakhs withtax of 10 % for income between Rs2.00 t0 Rs5

lakhs, 20% for Rs5 to Rs10 lakhs and 30% forincome above 10 lakhs.

Measures to revamp Airline industry

Budget Review

The post lunch session focused on reviewing thebudget 2012-13 with sector focus especially on itsimpact on Agriculture and microfinance and Socialdevelopment. The overall review of the budget was alsodone. The Tata-Dhan academy students remained asfacilitators for these deliberations. Discussion in locallanguage was also permitted on request from theparticipants so that ideas flow without any barrier.

Agriculture and microfinance

The panel for this session were Mr. A.Gurunathan,CEO, DHAN Vayalagam (Tank) Foundation andMr.Kalyanasundaram, of INAFI-India. The panelreflected that the budget was drafted taking into accountthe present economic and political scenario of thecountry. The panel welcomed the higher allocation offunds for agriculture (18%) but felt that it is notsufficient and the interest rebate to SHGs is a welcomemove by the government. The other reflections thatcame from the participants are

The allocation for agriculture cannot be increasedall of a sudden, but only gradually and we shouldsee positively that something is better than nothing.

Contrary to reports in media, the fertilizer subsidywas kept intact which shows that government hasrealized that some subsidies are inevitable.

Interest rebate to the SHGs must be expanded inthe near future for sustainability of the movement.

Microfinance bill 2012, though a good effort careshould be taken that it does not lead to problems ofmultiple lending or poses threat to SHG movementspromoted by many state governments and NGOs.

Rather than the mere allocation of higher agriculturalcredit to a tune of Rs5.75 lakh crores properutilization of the same as well as their repayment ismore crucial.

Implementation of Nilakani Panel report offorwarding direct subsidy by Dec,2012 will beproblematic, time consuming and may lead tocorruption without placement of proper systems andaccurate time saving delivery channels.

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Social development

The panel for this discussion was Mrs.BhimlaChandrasekar of Ektha Foundation and Mr.Muthuraja,Prof. of Economics, American college. The panel feltthat Budget literacy among people is very important inthe sense that people can participate in the developmentprocess of our country. The students can also voicetheir opinion in www.indianbudget.com. More genderfocus could have been given in the budget, the panelfelt. The participants appreciated the allocation of fundsfor scientific research, for education and health asreasonably good. However only when the educationaland health status has improved we can feel proud aboutthese allocations. The report that 47% of our childrenare malnourished, the status worse than droughtaffected African countries is to be viewed seriously.The increase in monthly pension to the disabled fromRs200 to Rs300/ is not at all sufficient, as stronglyrepresented by one of the participants. It should bemuch higher, considering their plight and the presentcost of living since it will not cause a bigger dent in thebudget, the participant felt.

Overall view of the budget

The panel for this discussion was Mrs.Vidhya Sureshand Mr.Kodhanda Raman, Professors from ThiagarajaSchool of Management. Mrs. Vidhya quoting Chanakyasaid that “ a government should collect tax from thepeople like honey bees which collect honey from theflower i.e without the people feeling the disturbancemuch. In that way this budget was cautious and hencecannot be said as a unique budget, considering theeconomic situation of the country. The following werethe response of the participants

The widening of tax net to the entire service sector,except for 17 services (like government sector,public transport, education etc) had a mixedresponse viz. some welcoming the decision and someopposing.

More than bringing a white paper on black moneyno other solid measures were given in the budget,because curtailing black money and corruption alonecan reduce the fiscal deficit of the country.

The income tax slab revision from Rs.1.8 lakhs toRs.2.0 lakhs and introduction of Rajiv Gandhi equityscheme for tax redemption was appreciated.

Taxation to industry and service sector went up asexpected from 10 % to 12 %, since the governmenthad no other option.

Though food and fertilizer subsidy is retained,subsidy to petroleum products are likely to getreduced which means that there will be increase inthe cost of petroleum products in the near future.

The fiscal deficit for the year 2012-13 is estimatedto be 5.1 % which reflects that this is a deficitbudget.

The FDI investment in defense was also debatedwhether it is right or wrong. Only when it isadministered with at most care, this will be of benefitor otherwise may be detrimental to national health.

Though inclusive growth is talked about, it is notpossible without giving due importance to agriculturesector on par with industry and service sector.

Mr.Kodhanda Raman had a word of caution thatthe increasing deficit means we have to borrow moreand more from outside, which will increase both thecredit and interest burden of the country, which is notat all good when seen on a long term basis. Thegovernment has to borrow additional Rs5.13 lakh croreswhich is not at all a good sign.

The budget review meeting 2012-13 was a grandsuccess considering the feedback from the participantsthat post-budget sessions on these must be held onquarterly basis to review the actual progress, wherewe lag and where we failed to plan. Mr.Vasimalai,Executive Director of DHAN Foundation suggested thatnot only the national budget, but also the state budgetand the local municipal and panchayat budget shouldbe reviewed seriously by the development practitionersto know the path towards which we are heading. Theefforts of DHAN Foundation and Tata-Dhan Academyand its students in organizing this event got appreciationin the feedback.

Electricity Saving Tips

Computer: More often, we shut down our PC, butremain careless in switching off the monitor. Keep boththe monitor and computer switched off when you arenot using them or even if you are about to commenceyour work again even after few minutes. Practice thisconsciously regularly until it becomes a habit. Go forLCD monitors since it consumes lesser power.

Water Heater: Use geyser with thermostat and use itat minimal heat. Instead of hot water prefer warm waterwhich is good for your health also. If possible go forsolar water heaters.

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Events

DHAN Foundation bags Jindal Prize 2011

DHAN Foundation bags Jindal Prize 2011 forits contributions in rural development and

poverty alleviation. The prize carries a cashcontribution of Rs. 1 crore to further its initiatives.The Jindal Prize has been instituted by Dr. SitaramJindal to accolade exceptional service of currentsignificance rendered by individuals or organisationsfor the welfare of Indian citizens in the country. Itis expected that the recognition garnered by theJindal Prize awardees will catalyse their effortstowards social upliftment.

Sitaram Jindal Foundation has honoured 27Outstanding Institutions and individuals includingDHAN Foundation. Five prizes carrying Rs. 1 croreeach have been given to DHAN Foundation for RuralDevelopment and Poverty Alleviation, Rishi ValleyEducation Centre, Chittoor (AP) for Education - withmoral upliftment, Shri Dharmasthala Veerendra Heggadefor Health - including drugless healing, A P J AbdulKalam for Science and Technology,Justice N Santosh Hegde for SocialDevelopment.

The founder of the Art of LivingSri Sri Ravishankar and ShriTejendra Khanna, LieutenantGovernor of Delhi gave away prizesto winners in New Delhi onFebruary 23, 2012.

Together Jindal & S R JindalPrizes had attracted close to 2000nominations in the first year oflaunch, mirroring the exceptionalresponse for the Prizes. Thenominations were invited fromacross India and abroad throughadvertisements in print andelectronic media as well as thewebsite of Jindal Foundation. Thenominations received wereadjudicated by Juries comprisingeminent persons of high integritythrough a process independent ofthe working of the Foundation.

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Feature

Revitalizing Irrigation Tanks for Ensuring a Food

Secure Future: Contributions of Vayalagams in

South India

A.Gurunathan *

*Mr. A. Gurunathan, Programme Leader, DHAN Foundation

Overview

Water and Poverty has a close nexus. Povertyis in general a complex, multi-dimensional

issue challenging the growth and development ofunderprivileged across the world, most particularly inthe developing nations like India. Within the on-goingdebate over water and poverty nexus, the agriculturalwater holds an important place. While the solutions tomany dimensions of water and poverty problems suchas livelihoods and food security comprising sanitation,hygiene, access to safe and potable water supplies callsfor increased expansion of services, the agriculturalwater/ green water problems requires significantimprovements in the existing services throughfavourable policy interventions.

Access to irrigation infrastructure for the poor peopleallows them to enhance their production and income

and broaden the opportunities to diversify their incomebase, reducing the vulnerability caused by the seasonalityamidst the threats of climate change, Thus, creating afavourable mechanism or system that providesopportunity for the poor peasants to rebuild and renovate

Briefing about the Prize, M.P. Vasimalai, ExecutiveDirector of DHAN Foundation said ''The prize is timely,as DHAN Foundation reached a mark of one millionpoor families through its pioneering initiatives such asKalanjiam Community Banking Programme andVayalagam Tankfed Agriculture DevelopmentProgramme, spread over 12 Indian states and over10000 villages and slums"

"Since 1990, we have launched new themes in thebeginning of each decade. The Kalanjiam and VayalagamProgrammes promoted by us in 1990, have now becomelarger programmes, and took a shape of resourcecentres supporting other development organisations,government agencies who are interested in replicatingour model. ICT for poor, Democratising Panchayats,Tata-Dhan Academy and Rainfed Farming DevelopmentProgramme were launched in 2000, and in 2010, we

have launched Youth and Development, Migration,Climate Change Adaptation. DHAN will continue toevolve and launch new themes for poverty reduction inthe future" he added

V.K. Padmavathy, Programme Leader, DHANFoundation said "Driven by the philosophy of 'Givingback to the Society", DHAN Foundation attracts,grooms and engages highly motivated, educated youngwomen and men to the development sector. Over 700professional graduates drawn from various disciplineshave been employed at the grassroots work along with2500 local field workers. All these were possible becauseof the collective efforts of the communities with whomwe are working, our collaborators, and DHANProfessionals and field workers working at thegrassroots level".

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the irrigation infrastructures to serve the needs of theirmarginal farm holding has the potential to contribute topoverty reduction and the movement of people fromill-being to well- being.

Irrigation Tanks – A neglected System

India, a South Asian democratic country, has manyhistorical evidences on irrigation structures, systemsand management, almost from 8th century A.D onwards.They captured India’s long history of humaninterventions in the management of village water bodiesfor agriculture. One such intervention, is an irrigationtank. A tank is a simple earthen banked rainwaterharvesting and storage structure, designed by the earlysettlers using their indigenous wisdom and constructedwith the generous support of native rulers and chieftainsover the past several centuries. Surprisingly theseearthen structures have withstood the test of time andsurvived over many centuries. They are simpletechnological innovations developed by those people toaccommodate their primary needs and adapted to thedistinctive Indian climate – intense monsoons followedby protracted droughts.

Sir Arthur Cotton, a well-known British Engineerwho worked in India at the time of Colonial imperialismexclaimed on seeing the constructed tanks:

“The natives have constructed tens of thousands oftanks in almost every kind of soil with earthen bundwithout the puddle bank, which English Engineersfancied necessary”.

John Ambler (1994) aptly describes the usefulnessof tank systems as follows:

“Tanks need to be thought of in terms of a widecomplex of natural resources, physical facilities, landuse patterns and managerial institutions. The tank isnot simply an irrigation system that starts from thereservoir down. It is also a collection point for run-offfrom the catchment area, pond for pisciculture, sourceof silt for fertilization and construction material, arecharge structure for local groundwater, a location forcultivation on common lands, a source of drinking waterfor livestock, and finally, an irrigation system for crops.To help keep in mind this multiplicity of uses whichspans the administrative ambit of several government

departments, it is useful to think of tank complexesrather than tanks, which too often connote only thedirect surface irrigation aspects of these systems.”

Tanks and their Functions

The tank system has four different functions inirrigated agriculture: soil and water conservation, floodcontrol, drought mitigation and protection ofenvironment of surrounding area. Likewise,development of tank irrigation has to undergo the fourphases, namely, water acquisition or harvesting, storage,disposal of surplus water, distribution and managementof water in the command area by an institution. Thetank complex comprises the catchment area, the feederchannel, tank bund, water spread area, sluice outlets,command area, field distributaries (water courses) andsurplus weir.

While the South and East Indian tanks are knownfor their antiquity and are created essentially as a sourcefor providing supplementary irrigation during monsoonseason, innumerable small water holding structurescalled ponds have been in existence in many NorthIndian states and some were constructed even after

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Independence for multiple uses including irrigatedagriculture. Although many of these ponds are primarilymeant for inland fresh water aquaculture, they havealso been used for multiple purposes like irrigatedagriculture, livestock and other domestic uses. Tankirrigation has thus a rich heritage on account of longhistorical antecedents in various regions of India. Overcenturies, tanks and ponds constituted an importantsupplementary source of water to the distressed poor.

The advantage of tank irrigation is its proximity tothe command area, so that the water requirement of

Source : Water Statistics, Central Water Commission, 2002

The distribution of land holding in a tank irrigated area is owned by marginal, small, semi-medium and mediumfarmers. There is a gradual increase of farm size under tank in less than 2 ha category since 1970 owing to landdistribution within farming family as the entitlements to the wards. (Table 2) It also implies that the farmers whoare falling under subsistence living highly depend on the above optimum performance of tank irrigation systems inorder to access their food security from the piece of land asset.

the crop can be assessed and supplied from the tank,which is the core issue of water management. Most ofthe small tanks serve one single village and its hamlets,enabling the de-centralized management to be effective.

Despite the fact of having higher irrigation efficiencyand equitable water distribution for ensuring foodsecurity, compared with canal and well irrigationsystems, the net area irrigated by tanks dwindled from34.68 million ha during 1952 to 29.16 million ha during2000 (Table 1). More-over, the productivity from tankirrigation command has also decreased.

Table 1: Comparison of Tank Irrigated Area, 1952-53 to 1999-2000-India

Unit in ‘000 ha

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Source: Tank Irrigation Economics, Dr.K.Palanisami (2004)

Revitalizing Tank systems – Building Community

Ownership and Investments (Vayalagam Model)

In global context of achieving MillenniumDevelopment Goal and its indicator on environmentalsustainability (Goal-7 , Target 9 and Target 10), itnecessitates and warrants that all stakeholders, primarilythe people should spearhead the mission to conserve aswell as protect the treasures of rural small waterresources like tanks and ponds by revitalizing them withcommunity investment and building the ownership.

DHAN Foundation has initiated a water thematicprogramme as a small pilot in Madurai district viz.

Vayalagam Tankfed Agriculture DevelopmentProgramme way back during 1992 with aim of stakebuilding of people over the precious traditional watercommons viz. tanks and ponds located in varied eco-systems by promoting social capital and communityinvestments for revitalizing the irrigation assets. In itstwo decades of evolution, a community governedinstitutional framework was evolved and ensuredsustainable food security interventions based on thecommunity needs under a development branding “Vayalagam” (depicts the users of water in a wetland invernacular) . The Vayalagm Institution Model is givenin Fig.1.

Fig 1 : Vayalagam Nested Institution Model

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The program has a number of components that arenecessary to ensure that the interventions are sustainablein the long term. The measures that are proposed inrehabilitation/revitalization of tanks compriseimprovements not only to the physical works but alsothe software aspects like operation, maintenance andmanagement of water resources. They comprise thefollowing:

Prioritization of Tanks for Rehabilitation

The tank irrigation systems taken up for rehabilitationare spread over the four states of South Indiaviz.Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka andPondicherry and the two states of East India Orissaand Bihar. The tanks /Ahar-pynes are selected basedon the scope for working with the marginalcommunities whose livelihoods and food securitydependent entirely on tankfed agriculture. The villagesand tanks are identified in such a way that cascades oftanks are selected and all the tanks in each cascade areimproved in a phased manner based on the followingcriteria:

Willingness farmers to invest a part of the projectcost through labour and/ or cash; while the landlesswill contribute labour.

Willingness of the community to own the assets andexecute the works themselves without involvingcontractors and maintain and manage the systemthereafter.

Building equity by involving both women and menin planning and implementation of the program.

Tank Institutions and their Roles

DHAN Foundation facilitated a three tier system ofcommunity participation.

(i) Vayalagams (Tank Farmers Associations (TFAs)

Enrolling the farmers having land and the otherinterested groups in the village under the commandarea, as members.

Planning and implementing development works liketank rehabilitation, community well construction andon-farm development.

Undertaking activities such as pisciculture, treeplanting and brick making as a measure of generatingrevenue for the tank associations.

Maintenance of tank systems and their managementincluding water distribution.

Building up a corpus or endowment for the tanksfor maintaining and managing the tanks through therevenue.

(ii) Tank Cascade Associations (TCAs)

Formed with the Tank Farmers Associations asmembers across the cascade.

Undertaking the development works such as cleaningand excavation of feeder channels and repairs todiversion weirs/ regulators on feeder channels.

Resolving conflicts among the Tank Farmers’Associations in water sharing and maintenance.

Mobilising funds across villages for the bettermentof the tank irrigation systems.

Providing improved services on agriculture andwater management.

(iii) Tank Farmers Federations (TFFs)

Formed with the Tank Farmers Associations asmembers.

Organising the tank farmers federation in theadministrative district or block level.

Mobilising funds for the rehabilitation of tanks fromvarious sources including the District, State andCentral government administrations.

Organising training programs on tank related aspectsfor the TFAs, TCAs.

Monitoring the operation & maintenance ofrehabilitated tank systems and the performance ofTFAs and TCAs.

Rehabilitation to Assure Food Security

Tank rehabilitation includes not only restoring thephysical structures to their originally designed standard,but more importantly, facilitating the proper maintenance,efficient water management and improved croppingpractices in a sustained manner.

Prioritisation of Works

The people’s felt needs and priorities are givenimportance in formulating detailed work plans and costestimates, as the planning itself is done with people’sinvolvement. The works included in the tank

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rehabilitation follow an order of priority, which the usersperceive as most important.

i. Acquisition of water

ii. System restoration

iii. Improvements to water use efficiency

iv. Tankfed agriculture development

v. Micro finance activities (MFAs)

vi. Endowment for TFAs

DHAN Foundation empowered the Communityownership building and stake by making them to investaround 20-30% cost of rehabilitation and the rest ofthe share was mobilized primarily from the governmentthrough the schemes that were in vogue in differentperiods of time. The funding partners of DHANFoundation also at-times supported investments inrevitalizing the village water assets to demonstrate asan entry point programme to sensitize the stakeholdersto participate. After the new millennium, the Corporatefirms too show keen interest in partnering with DHANFoundation in rebuilding the village water assets to meetthe food security needs of the poor farmers and landlesspeople. The fig. 2 represents the shares of differentdevelopment partners in the efforts of DHAN Foundationin revitalizing the tank eco-systems to ensure food andnutritional security.

Source: DHAN Foundation Annual Reports (NetInvestment in Revitalization of small water bodies=About.Rs.4275 Lakhs from 1997 to 2011)

Ensuring Food Security in Agriculture: Sources and

Status

The agriculture is the main livelihoods of over 70%population in India. The secured food production fromthe cultivable lands largely depend on assured irrigationsources and the contribution of monsoon rains tomonsoon dependent agriculture. In Indian context, theagriculture could be classified largely based on thesources of irrigation. The following table 3 representsthe status of agriculture in four different contexts.

Canal/Irrigated Agriculture

1. Mostly owned byGovernment.

2. Flow of watercontinuous, during theseason. So nouncertainty in doingagricultural operations.

Tank fed Agriculture

Traditionally peopleowned and were involvedin tank maintenanceworks.

Season bound; souncertainty of adequatewater storage. Helps inrecharge of ground water.Stabilises agriculturalproduction in rain fedareas during deficit rainfallperiod.

Ensures higherproductivity as that ofirrigated areas duringnormal rainfall period.

Rain fed Agriculture

Mostly subsistencefarming; supplementarysource of income neededfor family expenditure.

Monsoon decides thecritical activities inagriculture, as rainfall isthe only source of water.

Coastal Agriculture

Agriculture land up to 10km from seashore.

Coastal area includesseashore, backwaters,estuaries, and lagoons,which are the sources ofwater not quite suitablefor agriculture.

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Canal/Irrigated Agriculture Tank fed Agriculture Rain fed Agriculture Coastal Agriculture

3. Agriculture can takeplace throughout thecropping seasonbecause of availabilityof water.

Focused on conservationof water, agriculturedepends on wateravailability in the tanks.Silt from tanks can beused as manure.

Tanks also provide wayfor alternate livelihoodactivities like pisciculture,forestry etc., Less capitalintensive to build andmaintain. Provides wageemployment for landlessand marginal farmers.

Scope exists for cropdiversification andproductivity enhancementas well as off-farmactivities.

The major activities areFishery, Agriculture,Horticulture, Livestockmaintenance and small-scale business.

Features of tank fed agriculture

As an agricultural system, Tank fed Agriculture isdistinct in cropping practices, varieties and watermanagement. As a social system the tank serves andbenefits various sections of the village community suchas farmers, fisher folks, artisans, animal rearers andespecially women. Even though the tanks are individuallysmall in size as a water storage system, collectivelytheir large number facilitates the absorption of seasonalfloods and supply of the stored rainwater to cropsduring water scarcity periods. In short, tanks serve asflood moderators and drought mitigators.

Characteristics of tank fed agriculture

The productivity in tank fed areas is more becauseof the indigenous crop cultivation practices and theindigenous/traditional varieties. Due to less amount ofwater available for cultivation, proper watermanagement practices like conjunctive use of surfaceand ground water and appointing Neerkattis for equitabledistribution of water are followed. In some villages,people form tank associations in order to maintain thetanks and its structures.

Tankfed Agriculture enhancement for food security by Vayalagams

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Solutions for Scaling UP and Way Forward

I. Solution Packages

DHAN Foundation propose the conceptual solutionpackage for the issues of Water and Food security intank intensive states in India based on its grassrootslearning by promoting Vayalagam Nested institutionsand revitalizing irrigation commons in different ecosystems in South India and East India.

1. Re-orient investment pattern towards tankfedand rainfed agriculture:

Since the first five year plan, all the five year plansinvestments gave much importance for Canal Irrigationand Well Irrigation sectors. But the poverty incidenceof the country is high among the small and marginalfarmers who depend on dryland and tankfed agriculture,where there is much scope for the development. Hencethere is a strong need for the government to reorient itsinvestment pattern towards them. The solution thereforehas to come up with specific area development approachfor combining both the tankfed and rainfed agriculture.In south Indian context, Tank based watersheddevelopment undertaken on contiguous basis in a sub-basin level will be looked as a potential area forinvestment. This should be combined with grant andlong term loan based investment.

2. An unique action plan focusing on surface waterbased lift irrigation programmes for NorthIndian Flood Plains

In states like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh,Jarkhand, Orissa and part of Andhra Pradesh, there are

untapped potential available to help the underprivilegedfarming community to adopt lift irrigation schemesacross all surface water resources which go unutilizedat present.

3. Area/Context Specific Planning awaits for a bigpush.

The solution package varies with respect to areaand context. Even though the country is divided intomany agro-climatic regions, the schemes so farimplemented by the government were taken up withcommon approach. For instance, the coastal and tribalcontext need different solutions compared toconventional rural, semi-urban contexts.

Coastal Agriculture: Coastal agriculture is the termnever got attraction among the Scientists. India havingthe longest coastline in South Asia has got greatopportunity to invest on promoting coastal agriculturewith salt tolerant varieties of crops and also revitalizethe mangrove plantation. This in turn would minimizethe exploitation of sea based bio-diversity by inlandfarmers as the wage labourers going for fishing.

Tribal Area Context: Tribal areas in the Countryare endowed with great amount of natural resourceswith lesser utilization. This is because of high level ofilliteracy and reluctance of government machineries andschemes reaching them. There is a huge exploitation oftribals by the traders in marketing the minor forestproduce and purchasing the fertile lands at cheaperprices.

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II. Supporting Mechanisms

The solution packages have to be complimented withthe supporting mechanisms like Institutional Creditaccess without much of paper works and collaterals,Affordable crop insurance to cover the weather basedrisks and emergence of Action Research programmesby the agricultural and allied research institutions basedon farmers’ need. The role of NGOs and VoluntaryOrganisations have to be integrated as an integral partof facilitating these supporting mechanisms to thefarmers with the agencies concerned and working ondeveloping successful models for different contexts.

III. Promoting Effective Extension Services

The agriculture extension services should be the mostimportant component for achieving the objective of thetopic. Yet, the present agricultural extension servicesof the government remain either inadequate orineffective. Therefore the government must look intopromotion of effective extension services by involvingPeople, NGOs, Agricultural Universities / ResearchStations and Media. It is well known that the All IndiaRadio played an important role in the first greenrevolution. So, we propose the following action plansfor consideration.

Mainstream Farm Field Schools Concept and createa demand system among farmers to pay for theservices

Operating an exclusive Television Channel fordisseminating the agricultural technology andservices offered by the government agencies tofarmers.

Establishing Plant Clinics at appropriate places forproviding timely advice to the needy farmers

Information Technology through Village ResourceCentres or Internet Kiosks can play a key role indisseminating the best practices, counseling withagricultural experts, traders and other relevantfarmers.

IV. Dynamic Farming Systems:

The farming system has undergone many changesover the years. It is not possible to stick to a single andstraight jacket approach in evolving techniques to suitthe needs of the farmers. Hither too, adopting policyon focusing the enhancement of dynamic farmingsystems becomes critical in getting expected results.

Farm Ponds, Organic farming, Contract Farming,SRI methods are the buzz words in the modernagriculture towards economizing the water use for cropproduction.

To conclude, the government always make verygood plans, but they get diluted while implementationand monitoring. The involvement of farming communityfrom the planning to action and sustaining the initiativesare very essential in present days. A multi-stakeholderapproach (Community, NGO, Academia/ResearchInstitutions, Financial institutions, Government) isalways needed to make the implementable action plansa resounding success. Above all, the action plan shouldbe in such a way that the farming should be maderemunerative so that the farmers could gain confidencein adopting the techniques and technologiesrecommended by the government with greateraccountability attached to the government.

References

1. DHAN Foundation Publication 2003, Compilationof irrigation epigraphs (Kalvettil Paasana Seithigal”.

2. DHAN Foundation, Madurai; 2003. “Neerkatti-TheRural Water Manager”. A publication of DHANFoundation, Madurai.

3. Gomathinayagam.P and Ratnavel S.M 2006; “InSearch of Ancient Wisdom – Irrigation Tanks”,DHAN Foundation, Madurai Publication

4. Gurunathan.A and Shanmugham. C.R.; 2006,“Customary Rights and their Relevance in ModernTank Management: Select Cases”, Paper presentedat the National workshop held during Dec.8-10,2006at ILERC, New Delhi.

5. John Ambler 1994. “Basic Elements of an InnovativeTank Rehabilitation Programme for SustainedProductivity. – Paper presented at the Seminar on“Regeneration of Farmers’ Management of TankIrrigation systems.” Madurai 8th Dec 1994.

6. Palanisami K et al (1994), “Tank Enumeration Studyin Tamil Nadu”, Water Technology Centre,Coimbatore

7. Sivasubramanian.K (1995); “Irrigation Institutionsin Two large multi village tanks of Tamil Nadu, Ph.DThesis’’, MIDS, Adayar Chennai

8. Central Water Commission (2002) – Water Statistics

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Freebies - Does it serve the Purpose?

S. Singarayar*

Perspective

*Mr. S.Singarayar, Programme Leader, DHAN Foundation

Our economy was in a crisis situation at the timewhen our country got Independence. The

industrial, infrastructural, transport and communicationfacilities that we see now were much lacking. Majorityof the population depended on agriculture for their dailyliving. Still people were hard working and content withwhat they earned. Availing loan was perceived as ashameful activity.

The plight of our economy made the great thinkersof central and state government to implement variousdevelopmental plans to improve the nation economically.The cooperative movement which got flagged off in1951 to ensure formal credit to farmers, especially tosmall and marginal farmers raised great expectations.In due course the noble philosophy of cooperation wasforegone due to vested political interest and now itremains as a most corrupted institution. The reformpackages announced, including the latest packageannounced by Vaidhiyanathan were of no use due topractical implementation hurdles. Only the financialrevival package which cost the government much wastaken care off, while the rest of the recommendationsare yet to kick off on a larger scale.

The Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP)introduced in 1980’s was perceived as a milestonepoverty reduction program. To impart development inthe life of poor, the Indian government spent Rs143billion on subsidies. This is the first program to reachlarger number of poor by way of subsidies. Thisprogram also paved way for the poor to access formalcredit through banks and cooperatives. Also the creditof sowing the first seed of negative mind set amongborrowers that “when we borrow from bank, we neednot repay” was sown through this program which nowstands strong like a banyan tree.

The Swarna Jyanthi Grama Swarojkar Yojana(SGSY), was introduced in 1999 as yet another povertyreduction program with a different approach (Presentlycomes under the banner of National Livelihood Mission

for which 3,915 crores got allotted in the budget 2012-13). This program also because of improper seedingkept people intoxicated in the subsidies, thereby notachieving the real purpose.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employmentguarantee program ( MGNREGA) which was pilotedin 2005 and currently being implemented across thenation (Rs30000 crores allotted in the current budget)is considered as the star program of the centralgovernment. Drafted as an act, this boasts of ensuringright to employment for all villagers who have thecapacity to do physical work. The program muchacclaimed by the world, when gets implemented indifferent states faces different kind of problems therebyreducing the quality and making it divert from the verypurpose for which it is created. From “money for workdone” it has transformed to “money for not doing work”in many villages creating a wrong mindset among thepeople. The employment guarantee for 100 days to afamily (envisaged through tank renovation works,construction of farm ponds, de-silting of wells, plantingtrees etc, in the villages for common purpose) duringnonagricultural season, when practically implementedseems to forego the basic principles. The works werenot done perfectly due to mutual agreement in thevillages between the beneficiaries and the panchayat’sin many villages. Moreover it gets implemented evenduring peak agricultural seasons, causing scarcity oflabor for agricultural purposes.

Not only for poverty reduction subsidies for food,agriculture and energy is being spent on larger scale,the fertilizer subsidy of Rs. 90,000 crores being oneamong them. The state governments, too on their partare throwing away subsidies without a long term vision– from free television sets to free mixie, grinder andfan, which understandably are politically motivated. Thecensus 2011 report says that, there are more numberof Television than toilets in Tamil Nadu, thanks toRs. 4500 crores spent for providing free colour televisionset to poor. Currently, the Tamil Nadu government for

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its free rice, free mixie, grinder and fan, free cows andgoats plans has allocated Rs. 8000 crores.(The TamilNadu government extending the subsidies has allocatedRs. 22,500 crores in the recent budget for allsubsidies).The most worrying fact is the amountintended for other welfare schemes is directed towardssubsidies. In fact Tamil Nadu leads and demonstratesto the country in this aspect.

In Tamil Nadu through the World bank aided projectof Pudhu vazhuvu (a SHG based program rechristenedas Vazhudhu kattuvom and again now taking the oldname) another 750 crores is spent as subsidies. Formidday meals program another 924 crores is being spentevery year. For the past twenty years, electricity is freefor agriculture which is again largely misused. Apartfrom this through ‘Single bulb” scheme 1.3 lakh housesgets free electricity. By this scheme, Rs. 4800 croreshas been given as subsidies every year.

It is disheartening to note that our national money iswasted either through poor implementation of schemesor through unwanted subsidies. Selfish interest takespriority, which is the curse of the nation foregoing longterm vision in best of interest of the country. The resultis the mounting debts of the country (India’s externaldebt, as of March 2009, was US$229.9 billion (22.0 %of GDP) which has increased to US$ 326.6 billion (Sept2011) and is about to rise even more).

The programs and plans implemented with shortterm vision, apart from resulting in wastage of moneyalso result in negative impact on the society and theattitude of the people. The culture of expecting morefrom the government is snowballing and people’s desireto ‘work hard’ is getting diminished. It is agreeable thatsome subsidies are inevitable for poor. But withoutweeding the implementation hurdles, the purpose willnot be solved. In implementing the freebie schemes,currently there is no transparency or honesty, they beingovershadowed by corruption and selfishness. Becauseof this the purpose is not served. If this trend continuessustainable and productive service will remain a utopiandream.

Making people to understand the real situation ofthe country, taking bold steps to cut unnecessarysubsidies, designing a fool proof implementation

strategies and planning with a long term focus, is whatthe need of the hour.

The need to integrate the rivers in Tamil Nadu wasfelt long long ago. The estimated budget for this isaround Rs40000 crores. It is possible to generate sucha huge resource if proper planning is done. This willensure the basic necessity greatly, thereby contributingto livelihood development. Poverty and famine can bekept at distance. If irrigation demand is met completelyand agricultural productivity is improved, the subsidiesfor farming can be reduced a lot.

If we have intention to invest around Rs.16,000crores for renovating and strengthening of 39000irrigation tanks in Tamilnadu, there will be significantimpact on the lives of Tamilnadu farmers in a sustainableway.

The investment towards solar energy will also be aworthy investment considering the “current” scenario.Thereby we can prevent exploitation of nonrenewableenergy and improve usage of sustainable renewableenergy.

In our country, people exists in different stages ofdevelopment- poor, very poor, middle class, uppermiddle class, rich and very rich. The below povertyline list already existing is not a true one. The recentplanning commission estimation of fixing Rs22 andRs28/day as sufficient for a family also came to muchcriticism. Hence appropriate system to ensure one thatthe subsidies reach only the real poor must be in place.There is nothing wrong in providing subsidies to ensurebasic necessities to the needy. No one comes togovernment demanding subsidies. They are availingsubsidies since the government is ready to give. Politicalintentions are there behind subsidies rather than realconcern for people.

A leadership which can forego the nectar ofunnecessary subsidies and ready to give bitter pills forthe goodness of people and with unselfish broaderperspective is much needed for the country. Those whogovern us should work in best of interest of the nationand the people, with a long term sustainable andequitable growth. Only then the real development ispossible.

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Development Cartoon

Art by:Mr.Sundarajan, CDC, DHAN Foundation

Every drop counts

DHAN Foundation18, Pillaiyar Koil Street, S.S. Colony, Madurai 625 016. Tamil Nadu, INDIA

Tel.: +91 452 2610794 / 805 Fax: +91 452 2602247

Email: dhanfoundation@dhan.org Website: http://www.dhan.org

eavy downpour in a few Hrainy days is a

phenomenon caused by

climate change. It

necessitates more water

harvesting structures to

augment the storage. While

the tanks serve irrigation

water needs of the farmers in

the entire command area,

creation of farm ponds would

supplement the irrigation

needs of each farm, creating

space for the farmers to go for

diversified cropping. A well

sited and properly integrated

pond can be the most crucial

'shock absorber' to large

precipitation fluctuations.

Farm ponds can be built to

store water ranging from 500

to 5000 cubic meter

depending on the farm size.

Besides irrigation, the farm

ponds can be used in multiple

ways such as fodder

production for livestock, raise

vegetable crop on its bunds

and fish rearing.

Farm ponds buffer climate change variation