Hardevsingh B Jadeja
Jadeja, the former head (sarpanch) of the village council
of Raj-Samadhiyala village in Rajkot, transformed the socio-economic
status of his village by implementing water harvesting projects.
He is now the taluka pradhan, looking after 93 villages. A
post-graduate in English Literature, he had organised the
people in his village to take up 12 watershed management projects.
He also initiated the drive to plant trees. Today the village
is one of the most prosperous in the area boasting over 3
crores in earnings and cultivating two crops despite the drought
situation. The once-water starved village no longer faces
drinking water scarcity thanks to his efforts.
For
details:
Harshdevsingh B Jadeja
Vill. Raj-Samadhiyala
Dist Rajkot
Ph: 9825075246, 0281-285246
Mansukh
Bhai Suvagia, Saurashtra, Gujarat
Concerned over the water level in the region of Saurashtra,
which had receeded from 15 m in 1990 to 120-210 metres in 1998,
Mansukh Bhai Suvagia, a 37-year-old government servant decided
to initiate steps to tackle the problem.
With the help of villagers, he launched a Lok Fund scheme
and collected more than Rs 1 lakh to build 17 check dams in
the area. "These are the cheapest check dams in the whole
country," says Suvagia.
Well-planned locations and building according to the requirements
were the two main reasons for the low cost of construction.
Cost was further reduced as the villagers built the dams themselves.
Suvagia's wife Rasila helped him out in his work by mobilising
the village women to get involved in the building of the dams.
Four dams have been built in the area with the help of local
women.
At present, in over 100 villages of the Saurashtra region,
money is being raised to build dams. The amount of money collected
ranges from Rs 1-5 lakh. Jamka village in Junagadh district
is successfully carrying out the work of building check dams.
The village is 1,011.7 hectares in area with a population
of 3,000 and the area under cultivation is 809.4 hectares.
Even though the area has one river and four rivulets, the
water supply is inadequate. Moreover, with 1,200 bore wells
the water level has gone down to 200 metres in the last 15
years. The villagers started constructing the dams in 1999
and so far, 51 check dams and two ponds have been built to
harvest water. As a result, the water situation has improved
and the farmers are able to cultivate kharif and rabi
crops even during drought conditions. Mansukhbhai projects
the profit as around Rs 3 crore in the years of good rainfall.
This includes money from agriculture, livestock and trees
used for afforestation. "It puts the government in a
very bad light," says Suvagia. He is all set to spread
the message to the rest of Saurashtra and has already created
awareness in about 500 villages. He feels that CSE is doing
a good job of spreading the message of self- help to other
parts of the country.
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NATIONAL
