SBM Field Visit - NIRID - Project Report-Nachiket

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THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, INDORE

SBM Term Project Project Report of term project with NIRID

National Institute of Rural IntegratedDevelopment

1/19/2009

Course: Society, Business and Management

Instructor: Dr. M.R. Sreenath

NGO: National Institute of Rural Integrated Development,

Thane District, Maharashtra, India.

Prepared by: Nachiket Sane

Roll No.: 2008PGP122C



The Indian Institute of Management, Indore [Type text] SBM Project Report

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 4

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 5

NIRID THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR RURAL INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT ...... 7

ABOUT TALAWALI ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 8

Socio-economic Situat ion ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ 8

Traditional Agricultural Practices ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 8

Geographic Scenario ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 9

THE TALAWALI WATERSHED PROJECT ................................ ................................ .......... 11

Project Objectives................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 11

Problems Faced ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 11

Project Implementation ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 12

1) Water Resource Development ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 12

2) Soil Conservation ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................... 12

3) Recharge & Discharge wells: ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 13

4) Aforestation: ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 13

5)

Dry Land Horticulture: ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 13

Short term benefits ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 13

Long term benefits ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 15

NEWER PROJECTS ................................ ................................ ................................ .................... 17

1. Dam near Palghar................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 17

2. Dam near Kelva ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 18

3. Dam near Manor ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 18

4. Dam near Bahadoli ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ 19

LEARNINGS................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 20

1. Integrated Development ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 20

2. Panchayati Raj its beliefs and its implementation ................................ ................................ .............. 21




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3. Political Will ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 21

4. Political Games & Pressures ................................ ................................ ................................ .................. 22

5. Socio-Economic issues in dealing with Adivasis (tribals) ................................ ................................ ....... 22

6. Participative Growth ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................. 23




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Executive Summary

This project report is based on the activities I performed when I worked at the National Institute of

Rural Integrated Development (NIRID) in Palghar, Maharashtra, India. This was done as a

compulsory requirement of the course Society, Business and Management (SBM) offered at the

Indian Institute of Management, Indore.

The report contains a brief summary of NIRID. It then focuses on the ³Talawali Watershed Project´

project undertaken by NIRID in the Talawali Village, Taluka Jowhar, District Thane, Maharashtra,

India. It also contains brief descriptions of other NIRID initiatives I visited and learnt about.

The report ends with the learnings and insights I got during my field visits, project report studies and

interactions with the NIRID trustees and volunteers.




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Acknowledgements

At the outset, I would like to thank Mr. N.B. Shah, Trustee, National Institute for Rural Integrated

Development (NIRID) at Thane, Maharashtra. He has been my initial point of contact at NIRID. Mr.

Shah was kind enough to share his vast experience and learnings from the NIRID experiment. He

gave me some deep insights into the rural psyche, the political and socio-economic situation prevalent

in rural India and the way NGOs like NIRID must function within these constraints.

I would also give special thanks to Mr. Save. Mr. Save was my guide at NIRID. I am grateful for him

to have taken time out of his hectic schedule to join me in my visits to the various tribal areas and

NIRID projects. He was instrumental in explaining to me the workings and functioning of NIRID.

I would also like to thank the faculty, Dr. M.R. Sreenath, for having given me this excellent

opportunity to work at an NGO like NIRID as part of the Society, Business and Management (SBM)

course at IIM Indore. This experience is not just essential, but a true eye-opener. My interactions in

the field work have not just re-enforced my understanding of business and HR concepts, but has

sensitized me to the problems, trials and tribulations of a rather neglected section of Maharashtra¶s

society, the µAdivasis¶, or tribal population.

The SBM course and my work at NIRID have shaped my perspective about rural development, and I

am sure I would continue to work in such developmental areas in the future.




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Project Report

Course: Society, Business and Management (SBM)

Instructor: Dr. M.R. Sreenath

Prepared By: Nachiket Sane




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NIRID ± the National Institute for Rural Integrated

Development

The µNational Institute of Rural Integrated Development¶ (NIRID) was founded on May 8, 1978under the Bombay Public Trust Act of 1950. It has been working as a voluntary organization in the

Thane District of Maharashtra since 1978. The trustees of NIRID are Mr. Pinakin Patel, (Late) Mr.

V.B. Chitre, Mr. Arun Chhatrapati and Mr. N.B. Shah.

NIRID volunteers work in about 25 villages of Palghar and Jowhar talukas of Thane district,

Maharashtra mainly among tribals who once lived in the forest and are now denied its benefits.

Naturally enough NIRID lays stress on the importance of the forest for the adivasis, as also within the

context of the overall development philosophy of the country. According to NIRID, the planners

have not given importance of the forest sector. Their priority has been farm land, the agriculturalsector, to the utter neglect of the forests. While agricultural production has risen, it has reached a

point of diminishing returns. The fertility levels of agricultural areas near forests have declined. And

NIRID emphasises that the spread of wastelands has led to poverty and nowhere is this more apparent

than in the hilly areas and forests where tribals live.

The areas in which the organization has acquired specialization are reforestation, eco-regeneration and

crop diversification. NIRID has recently implemented several projects in the area of water

management and rain water harvesting. Promotion of oilseed and pulses production has also been

given priority and successfully implemented such a program in the village Talawali. NIRID has also promoted horticulture activities. Today it is one of the leading agencies in nursery raising and

training.

As such, NIRID¶s primary activities involve fact finding and research activities, followed by

commissioning detailed project reports and then even executing the project.

The National Wasteland Development Board has assisted the organization financially. NIRID also

receives funding from private institutions like the Tarapur Industrial Estate and the Rotary Club for

specific projects. Most of its projects are funded by the government or government bodies like

NABARD.




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A bout Talawali

Located in Jowhar Taluka of Thane District, village Talawali represents many such tribal villages in

Northern Konkan. It is nearly 100km away from the district headquarters, Thane and 80km away from

the Taluka Headquarters, Jowhar. It is approachable from Jowhar and Wada, another Bazaar town, by

an all-weather road up to adjacent village Bhopali. There is a Macadam road of 3.5km between these

two villages. The village can be reached by State Transport buses from Palghar up to Bhopali only

and there onwards on foot.

Socio-economic Situation

NIRID has carried out a socio-economic survey of the families of the village. The families here have

an equally distributed male-female population. The population of the village is about 900 people.

Villagers here don¶t employ other to work on their farmland. They have the equipment and common

tools, but do not have any mechanised machinery. Most of the population lives in temporary houses,

and about 20% live in thatched huts or shacks. Only 2 families have poultry birds, with no special

facilities for feeding them. The agricultural output is clearly unprofitable, as almost 200 people

worked with the Employment Guarantee Scheme. Expenditures come to an average of Rs 43960

while the income is roughly Rd. 20000. As such, they end up supplementing their income by odd jobs

like operating grocery shops, selling fish and vegetables, tapping palm juice etc.

The richer population of about 61 families that own more than 1.8 hectares of land each, lay priority

on Health coverage, latrines and drinking water and education. The story of about 144 landless people

at the other end of the spectrum is even more pathetic, the only difference being that their gambling

expense is less.

Traditional Agricultural Practices

Cutting and collecting foliage for drying, preparing piles of it, collecting stray dung and heaping it

near the fields are time consuming major activities undertaken in the pre-monsoon period. Depending

on the control over this and the distance involved, the activity is undertaken as early as January and

continues till the middle of May. During May, the same material along with any other available

agricultural but combustible waste is arranged on small portions of the field and burnt. It is this area

that is used for the preparation of paddy fingerling.

Repair work on µbunds¶ is another important task that is attended to during the pre-monsoon months.

Normally these jobs are completed by February/March depending on the labour strength available

within family, the size of the holding and if in pieces, distance separating the individual places.




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During March and A pril, burning of fields is the major activity. May is the month when very little

work is being done on the field. However, many people are engaged in the Mango business during

these months. Plucking, packing, transporting and sale are the various activities directly connected

with the mango business, but guarding yield also becomes a major activity. However, in Talawali this

is not the case for want of orchards.

Unlike at other places, ploughing is undertaken during late May and early June. The paddy fields are

ploughed for achieving mud consistency. Very small acreages allocated for cultivating groundnut,

Arahar, Sorghum and Khursoni are also ploughed and prepared. It is June when the monsoon

approaches and the fate of the following few months can be somewhat understood or predicted.

Kharif Crops:

The main crop of farmers is Rice. Some farmers adopt new varieties of rice like Jaya, Ratna, Pankya,

IR 8 etc. which have got a maturity period of 135-140 days, while some adopt traditional local

varieties like Kudal, Dangi, Tornya, Surati and Kolumb etc. which have maturity periods of 100-105

days. Methods adopted by farmers for paddy are as follows:

1) Japanese Method: In this method farmers simply sow the seed by topen method at a distance

of about 8´ to 10´. Time for preparing the seedlings is saved and consequently labour cost for

preparing seedling and planting is also reduced.

2) Seedling Nursery: In this method seedlings are prepared in the nursery and transplanted in the

field, only after it becomes 10-12cm high. Mug and Chavali are taken as a mixed crop with

rice.

Rabi Crop:

Land under cultivation in Rabi is only 17.7 hectares.

The main crop in Rabi is gram having a yield of 1 qt. /acre. Some farmers also adopt ³olericulture

farming´, for those who own a well or any source of irrigation. They mainly plant vegetables like

Brinjal, bottle gourd, tomato and chilli. This hardly fulfils their food requirements from Rabi crop.

The overall yields in Rabi are very low because of scarcity of water.

Geographic Scenario

This area has heavy rains only for 4 months between June and September. All the other months are

dry. There is no other source of water in this region. Konkan area lies betweenArabian ocean and

Sanhyadri Mountain range which is just over 100Km in width hence there exists a natural slope

towards west. Due to slope and short distance of rivers, by December to January, most of the water

sources are dry.




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The soil in this region is loose and comparatively shallow. There is only one type of red soil found in

this area. Due to heavy rainfall, the soil easily flows off with water. Hence there is a high rate of

erosion.




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The ³Talawali Watershed Project´

Project Objectives

A

n initial project research was carried out by NIRID with a project proposal developed byA

FR A

M,Pune for the Talawali Watershed Project. From the analysis of the initial research and data, the

following objectives were formulated:

1. To increase and stabilize the agricultural income i.e. agricultural production

2. To increase the biomass availability

3. To ensure year-round availability of water for domestic purposes, irrigation in Rabi season to

optimum extent and consumption.

4. To attempt to create sustainable livelihood opportunities for villagers.

Problems Faced

The most critical problem in developing this project was to involve local residents/villagers. The

project was impossible to complete and maintain thereafter without consent of the villagers due to

following reasons.

Many of the smaller dams were to be

built on private properties on smaller

streams. The consent of the land

owners was to be taken. Many people had to give away some

of their farming and non-farming

lands for this project, the proportion of

which was not equally distributed

among all the villagers. Also the

benefits enjoyed were not equally shared. To overcome this problem, villagers were made

aware of all the hidden benefits of this

project for other people.

The dams were built by pooled efforts

of the villagers. But the beneficiaries

were different for different smaller

tasks. Hence there was a lot of

problem while allocating the work.




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Maintenance of the dams was to be handled by the local population as there is no continuous

stream of finance produced for this project.

A committee was formed look after this project which still runs intact, members of which are

local villagers.

The second problem came in convincing the short term and long term benefits to the villagers. It

was easier to convince or educate the villagers about the short term benefits as they were related to

their daily routine and primary needs, which included mainly continuous water supply and new crop

options. But making them understanding the long term benefits was difficult which was achieved by a

lot of efforts by the NIRID representatives. As the adult villagers were less educated, making them

understand the benefits of education to their children was difficult. Also as the benefits were not

equally proportionate for all the villagers, convincing them also involved some local political and

social issues.

The salaries paid to the villagers for their work in this project was less than market rate. NIRID could

not afford to give compensations to the villagers at the market rate. Since money was a critical issue

for the villagers, acquiring manpower was a big problem initially. Villagers use to move out of the

village in the months of November to May for a temporary source of income to Tarapur, Kalyan or

Vapi (Nearby industrial areas). And since no project work can be done in rainy season, it was very

important to retain these workers in the village in that period.

Project Implementation

Working around these problems, the following initiatives were implemented at the Talawali Village:

1) Water Resource Development:

The prime objective was to harness the heavy, but short period rainfall in Talawali

effectively. Due to low vegetative cover and heavy soil erosion, retention of water is low. For

this, overflow type masonry weir are constructed along the main stream. The diversion drain

is simply an excavated canal feeding the lower foothills.2) Soil Conservation:

The hilly and undulating topography causes a lot of soil erosion. The following methods have

been used-

i. Gully plugs made from locally available stone are used to plug streams and gullies to

prevent them from deepening




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ii. Bund repairing and terracing: Bunds are natural barriers to run-off soil. This soil

accumulates in the upstream areas, and regular maintenance is needed to ram it up.

iii. Contour Terracing: This is done on moderately sloping shallow soil areas. Terraces

help increase retention and decrease speed of the flowing water after a storm.

3) Recharge & Discharge wells:

The main purpose of recharge wells is to increase the time required for recharge so that

maximum water will percolate through the ground to the low lying areas. The Discharge wells

are used to collect ground water that near the logged area. It can then be pumped out to avoid

water logging.

4) Aforestation:

Aforestation is primarily needed to maintain environmental stability. Tress like Subabul,

Australian Babul, Anjan and Shewari are planted on the bunds, on the downstream side of the

trenches as well as between the trench lines.

5) Dry Land Horticulture:

This was proposed to supplement the income of locals by growing Mango, Phanas and

Cashews. A bout 64 hectare area has been developed under Dry Land Horticulture.

Short term benefits

The biggest benefit of this project was having

long lasting water supply. Initially the water

was readily available only in rainy season. By

December, all the natural streams use to dry up.

The only sources then were wells. Now, the

dam water lasts all throughout the year. For

many villagers, the sources are very near to

their houses.

This results in saving time to acquire water.

Since the water sources were very few and far, a lot of time and efforts were wasted for acquiring

water, especially in summer season. Now since the increase in ground water levels, almost every

household has a boring well which provides ample amount of water near to their house.




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The ground water levels are increased by a great

margin. Ground water levels were very low

initially. The older wells are more than 20-30

feet deep which again use to dry in summers.

There were very few places where the

underground water was found. Since there was

no way of finding out a good place to build a

well, many of the attempts to dig a new well

were wasted. Now the ground water levels are

increased significantly. Water can be gathered anywhere in the surrounding area at only 10 feet depth.

This has resulted in many new wells in all the convenient locations, including houses and farms.

Now there exists a possibility of new crop options. Wells in farms can now support even µrabbi¶ crop

options (crops taken in winter season). Crops like Wheat or Corn can be taken in the farmland after

the normal Rice crop. The number of rabbi crops or the amount is now dependent on crop cycle or

nature of soil rather than availability of water.

The new options include possibility of growing

fruits and vegetables. Most of the initially unused

land can now be used to grow fruit trees, since

they can be grown in lesser productive soil with

some continuous water supply. Vegetables can be

grown in smaller chunks of land with the readily

available water.

NIRID has

introduced

Bamboo nests to the villagers. Every household now has at

least 3-4 nests, consisting of 50-200 bamboo sticks

each, in their land which is very useful and fast growing

crop option. Bamboo is now used for fencing, building

storage pits and other household usage.

With increased vegetable farming, the food quality of

the villagers is greatly improved. Initially the villagers




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use to hold only Rice and Toor daal; all the other food options were dependent on external supply by

merchants or outgoing villagers. Now the village is self sufficient in terms of food options. Villagers

now have both variety and quantity of different vegetables. This has reduced the rate of illness in the

children in the village.

Long term benefits

This project has given the villagers some new income options.

Most of the farm lands are used to grow vegetables in winter and summer season. Due to large

quantity of vegetables produced almost every day, the merchants especially from Mumbai, approach

the villagers and take it directly from their hands. Villagers vary the type of vegetables for every crop

cycle which keeps the nourishment in the soil intact and reduces the infections in the crops.

Many villagers have fruit trees especially of Jamun

and Mango, in initially unused land which gives

them small income in fruit season. In hilly regions

or on slops of nearby mountain, villagers have

planted µSaag¶, which can be sold every 10 years.

NIRID had provided them the smaller plants which

now are coming to the age. Saag has a huge

demand in market hence the villagers are

expecting a big income by this way. Bamboo is

another income option for the villagers, which grows fully within 1-2 years. Bamboo is easily sold in

nearby markets with a good price.




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Due to this increased income options, the migration has stopped in non-crop season. Villagers now

have presence in the village throughout the year. This has also improved the overall standard of living

in the village. As the villagers are settled permanently in the village, their children go to schools

regularly. There are more than 300 children in the nearby school. The number was increased from 20-

30 when the project was started.

Due to smaller dams and obstacles created on smaller streams the soil decay is reduced. The soil is

blocked and piled which is dug up every 3-4 years and used in the farms. In rainy season, in case of

heavy falls, there use to be loss of crops due to force of flowing water from hills. Now due to the

obstacles, the speed of flowing water is reduced and hence the crops are safer. Due to the plantation

done on the previously unused land, the soil is preserved. Also the leaves from these plants provide

compost for the land, increasing its nourishment.




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Newer Projects

The success of Talawali has inspired newer developments in Palghar Taluka. The newer and bigger

projects are initiated in past 10 years which mostly run on government aids. There are bigger water

conservation sites built near Palghar which are used to give water supply to Palghar, Boisar, Vasai

and Virar area. These projects include.

1. Dam near Palghar: This dam was created nearly 5 years back near Palghar. A new water

treatment plan is being built near it. At completion, it will supply water to Palghar city.

Image: Dam near Palghar.

Image: Water Treatment Plant (Under Construction).




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2. Dam near Kelva: Kelva is nearby place with very rich and nutritious soil. It is closer to

the sea shore hence some part of this area is also used for creating salt from sea water.

Recently this area is used a lot for farming of fruits and spices. Mango, Jamun, Kaju and

Dalchini are the most frequent crops here which require a lot of water throughout the year.

Due to large demand, there were lot of boring wells put in this area which reduced the groundwater levels to a large extend.

This resulted in penetration of salty water in the ground water streams.A dam is built to

suppress this effect in the nearby hilly region. This resulted increase in the ground water

levels and the penetration of salty water is stopped. Local government has also banned

digging new boring wells without permission to prevent overuse of ground water.

Due to these initiatives Kelva is now coming up as location to build new farm houses and

resorts for guests from nearby Tarapur Industrial Area. Being closer to Sea shores it is now

considered as a weekend getaway spot for people in Mumbai.

Image: Kelva Dam

3. Dam near Manor: Manor is a market place for more than 20 nearby villages. It is a

bigger village with population of more than 2000. A dam is built near Manor which gives

water supply to Manor, Palghar and Boisar. This is a bigger dam which covered by hills from

3 sides and once side is built with piles of stone. This dam water is also used by villagers to

take Rabi crops in nearby farms. Some people also use it for fishing. Three different breeds of

fish are grown in this water. The smaller ones µKatla¶ and µKati¶ and the big ones µDadha¶ are

then sold in Mumbai.




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Image : Manor Dam

4. Dam near Bahadoli: Bahadoli village is currently known for the famous breed of black

Jamun. This breed produces very big and sweet black Jamun which can be grown only in this

particular region due to its distinctive soil. This development is mainly done due to the dam

built nearby which provides continuous water supply.Image Bahadoli Dam:




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Learnings

During the course of the project, I and my colleague, Mr. Rohit Patil, had several discussions with Mr.

Shah and Mr. Save. Mr. Shah is a trustee of NIRID and Mr. Save is a full-time employee of NIRID

who has entirely devoted himself to NIRID¶s initiatives in the rural µadivasi¶ areas. Following are

some of the concepts and practical learnings I received in my field visits and interaction with the

tribals, the NIRID Volunteers and Mr. Shah himself.

1. Integrated Development:

India¶s villages are a microcosm of the entire country itself. As such, the villages¶ problems are as

complicated and interlinked as the problems faced at the national level. Thus, NIRID from its very

inception realised that taking up initiatives in villages with a narrow focus is not the solution to the

problem. Integrated Development is the need of the hour.

Integrated development involves co-ordination between various issues that plague the village, and

designing and implementing solutions that cater to all these in a holistic manner. One example is the

primary water harvesting project at Village Talawali. The idea wasn¶t to simply build only dams and

bunds, or only reforestation projects or only horticulture initiatives. The rationale behind it had a lot

of thought put into it.

Village Talawali is a typical rural village in Maharashtra that derives sustenance from farming, and

the primary crop grown here is the Kharif crop, based on the monsoon rains. The winter months saw

no rainfall, and in the lack of irrigation, the Rabi crop gives very poor yield. Irrigation wasn¶t feasible

due to the soil erosion problem. Now only bunds, or only dams, or only aforestation initiatives aren¶t

the solution. NIRID undertook a comprehensive solution as described before in the report. Dams and

Bunds, supplemented by trenches and terracing to arrest runaway soil, and aforestation initiatives and

horticulture are the comprehensive integrated solution NIRID implemented quite successfully at

Talawali.

Moreover, in the winter months between the harvest and the next sowing period, the villages had

extremely minimal activity or source of income. As such, most of the villagers had taken up

temporary jobs as contract labourers and part-time daily wage workers are various construction sites

and factories in and around Palghar, even up to Vapi. This involved a daily commute of about 3 hours

daily, and hard manual work which did not pay very well. Moreover, the village teenagers too would

join their parents in such employment. This caused something short of a mass exodus.Aside from

personal hardship, the teenagers missed school, and often did not end up rejoining. The Watershed

project created a steady source of irrigation for the farmers and also arrested soil erosion to a large




21

extent. This has allowed Talawali villagers to sow a Rabi or winter crop. This generated a stable

employment pattern for the villagers, thereby obviating the need to work in small time jobs.As such,

NIRID volunteers expected school attendance to improve for the children of these farmers. They thus

constructed and upgraded the local school, where occupancy has risenfrom 32-40 students to almost

300.

Most of the initiatives undertaken by NIRID keep this concept of Integrated Development in mind.

Every attempt is made to get a holistic view, reach the root of the problem and solve a multitude of

problems in one go.

2. Panchayati Raj ± its beliefs and its implementation

I have studied about the Panchayati Raj right from school. There, even though I learnt the definitions

and dates and milestones of its creation, I was never taught the belief behind it. My discussion with

Mr. Shah gave me a clear idea of the Panchayati Raj. The Panchayati Raj, as advocated by MahatmaGandhi wanted µGram-Swaraj¶ ± village self-governance. The provisions for devolution of powers

and responsibilities are provided in The Amendment Act of 1992 both for preparation of plans for

economic development and social justice and for implementation in relation to twenty-nine subjects

listed in the eleventh schedule of the constitution.

Though this concept sounds well suited to the Indian context, it is unfortunately not as effective at

ground level, as we saw. The implementation has not been entirely successful, where the structures as

required by law have been created but have not been given the powers or knowledge transfer to

effectively carry out their functions. This happens because often reforms aren¶t backed by politicalwill at the grassroots level.

3. Political Will

Political Will is a must for any development to happen in rural India. Mr. Shah has studied the

Panchayati Raj system in India for several years. Being a one-time MLA from the local constituency,

he also has first-hand experience of the political system. He is a firm believer of the fact that the

Panchayati Raj was instituted with a view of transferring the decision making process and some

political power to the very grassroots. But like most ideal policies in India, its implementation has

been sadly inadequate. Some gross inconsistencies he has noticed, and brought to the light of the court

are taking ages to be solved. For instance, the local panchayat hasn¶t been disbursed with enough

funds from the local MLA¶s development fund. The Panchayat members haven¶t even asked for it,

because of the simple fact that they aren¶t even fully aware of their rights and resources. In another

case, the Panchayati Raj has setup a provision for the local Panchayat to form a committee that

oversees and rates the local education facilities, and recommends hiring/firing of staff and




22

improvements in infrastructure. This is an incredibly powerful tool in the hands of the local villagers

to improve the lot of the local education system. But sadly, the head of the committee is the local

MLA, who hasn¶t passed on enough information about the powers and responsibilities of this group to

its members, rendering it quite impotent.

Mr. Shah believes that the Panchayati Raj is excellent in spirit, but its implementation has been

hampered by the lack of political will. The MLAs and MPs are unwilling to share power with the

local Panchayats and always want these bodies subjugated to them.

4. Political Games & Pressures

Mr. Shah corroborated another concept we learn here at IIM Indore. In µFacility Location¶ in

Operations Management, we learnt that the local political and judicial system is an important factor to

be considered when setting up operations in a particular area. Unfortunately for NIRID, they don¶t

have a choice but have to contend with the existing political and judicial system for all their initiatives. Several problems faced are:

i. Getting government grants is a tough task, due to a lot of political lobbying that happens

in the background by development contractors.

ii. Legal permissions and formalities must be completed at the local government offices,

which are often influenced by the local politicians.

This made me realise the pitfalls of a democratic system of governance. Yet, I continue to believe,

that Democracy may be bad, but it¶s the best we got.

5. Socio-Economic issues in dealing with Adivasi¶s (tribals)

A very important learning the NIRID workers learnt was that there is a very different way of

approaching villagers, than approaching a problem in an urban setting. The areas where NIRID works

are mostly µAdivasi¶ or tribal settlements. They are even more socially backward than most typical

villages. Their access to education, hygiene, civic facilities and basic infrastructure is very limited.

This makes them typically suspicious and guarded in their interactions with outsiders. NIRID employs

a tactic of befriending or taking into confidence the village elders or influential thought leaders. This

is again a concept from Management that we saw put to practical use. A thought leader is a vital cog

in getting the NIRID volunteers accepted by the local populace. Even we were not allowed to visit the

village and the development project sites alone, without supervision. We were first introduced to the

village elders and the point of contact, who then took us around and explained the workings and

benefits of the various projects.




23

Moreover, NIRID field workers often have to contend with the cast mechanism prevalent in the

village society.

This taught me a valuable lesson in rural behaviour, that will improve my understanding in subjects

like rural marketing and consumer behaviour.

6. Participative Growth

This is the most important lesson I will take away from my NIRID experience. Several OB lectures

and sessions have been devoted to explaining how µTeams¶ have greater accountability and how

µDistributed Decision-Making¶ fosters acceptance. I understood its real significance only when Mr.

Shah explained to us the importance of Participative Growth.

NIRID volunteers realise that the village tribals are major stakeholders of government policy on

forests as well as NIRID¶s initiatives. As such, they make sure that the villagers are involved in all

stages of decision making and implementation. Most NIRID projects are developed by employing

local villagers as workers, with NIRID volunteers guiding them in the technical aspects. After

completion of the project, its working and maintenance is handed over to a committee comprising

entirely of villagers and tribals.

Mr. Shah explains that this fosters a sense of ownership among the tribals. They cease to see it as

government duty or NGO charity, but accept it as part and parcel of their existence. They realise that

it is theirs to grow and maintain. This tremendously helps NIRID volunteers in maintenance of

existing projects and initiation of new projects.

SBM Field Visit - NIRID - Project Report-Nachiket

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