The Impact of the MGNREGA–CFT Programme: Steps towards Transformation

Campaigning for the Intensive Participatory Planning Exercise and initiating village-level meetings, the Sarguja Gramin Vikas Sansthan, through MGNREGS and a series of effective interventions, has been successful in transforming barren, eroded lands to flourishing fields yielding different crops and fruit all year round

‘Gully plug’ is a small structure in a watershed. When, however, made in hundreds in a series, these gully-plugs aptly illustrate two proverbs in Hindi: Dekhan ko chhoto lage par ghaav karat gambhir (It looks tiny but is capable of inflicting deep wounds) and Jo kaam sui kar sakti hai vah talwaar nahi kar sakti (A needle can do things that a sword cannot). Most certainly, one cannot understand the value of a ‘gully plug’ without visiting the field sites. The impact of these small, low-budget watershed structures prompts one to take a closer look.

T In the foothills of Koti village the area falls under the Tamor Pingla Forest Reserve), there is a 16 ha (40 acres) plot of land, which has been eroding incessantly over the years. The erosion has been so serious that it has led to the formation of big gullies in the area. The soil from these gullies and nearby regions flowed from these gullies into Banki river. The situation was so bad that 40 acres of land in the region saw no agricultural activity and the land lay barren. The villagers, understandably, were distressed and saw no way out of this problem, which has been a major cause of concern for many years.

In 2014, the Department of Rural Development, along with a team from Sarguja Gramin Vikas Sansthan (SGVS), began a campaign for Intensive Participatory Planning Exercise (IPPE) and initiated village-level meetings. In these meetings, the villagers brought up the issue of soil erosion and asked for it to be looked at as a priority. They requested the MGNREGA planning team to visit the site, investigate and provide technical guidance to find a solution to the problem.