February 2008
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A river that has come to life in Palakkad district
of Kerala offers more than one surprise in its
unique rebirth. This is the first time in southern
India that a river has been revived. Even more
amazingly, its resuscitation has been made possible
by a government organisation generally criticised
for being sluggish and corrupt. Called Ahads
(Attappady Hills Area Development Society) the
government organisation worked with local tribals
to achieve this miracle.
(For the first report on this unique event see
Civil Society, January 2008)
The Kodungarapallam, which has a 28 km course, can now be seen flowing in Mannarkkad
taluk, north of Palakkad town close to the Tamil
Nadu border.
Three rivers originate from the surrounding
Attappady hills: Bhavani, its main tributary
Siruvani and Kodungarapallam.
The three rivers join in Koodappatti. From there onwards, the river is known as Bhavani. It flows to Tamil Nadu and joins the Cauvery. Attappady and Kasargod are punishment transfer destinations for government officers. In fact in some parts of the state, fools are referred to as Attappady! Sadly Attappady’s name used to conjure images of a backward desert where poor tribals like the Kurumbas, Mudugas and the Irulas had to fight for survival. Clement Selvaraj, assistant director of Ahads’ soil and water conservation programme, recalls the first day he visited Vattulakki, an Adivasi hamlet here devastated by environmental degradation: “It was in 2003.
There was only one Adivasi living on a hilltop. There were no birds, not even a dog. A goat was searching in vain for a blade of grass. An old woman with silver hair, Velliyamma, was climbing the hill with a vessel of water on her head. She had to walk two km to fetch it. How would we construct check dams when there wasn’t even water to mix cement? That night I didn’t sleep. If we don’t do anything who else will? By next morning, I had taken it as a challenge.” In 1995 a few good-hearted bureaucrats started Ahads.
They received financial assistance from JPIC (Japan Bank for International Cooperation) and the state government. Their main objective was watershed development of Attappady and improving the livelihood of local communities. The Rs 219.3 crore project had a JPIC loan component of Rs 176.9 crore. The rest has been borne by the state government. Ahads comes under the Local Sel -Government Department of Kerala. Nobody knows when the Kodungarapallam disappeared. The catchment of the river which is in Tamil Nadu is still green. But the catchment in Kerala in eastern Attapaddy was completely dry and degraded. Yet Kodungarapallam was once a lush river. Recalls 65-year-old Nariyan, an Adivasi: “Kodungarapallam had knee deep water in summer. There were huge trees on both sides.
During the monsoon, the adventurous among us used to tie a rope between trees on either side to cross the river.” And then it gradually metamorphosed into a desert. Many factors contributed: colonial policies, government policies, road construction, charcoal production, over grazing, cropping patterns and finally soil erosion, the highest in Kerala. Tribal families abandoned their land and turned to brick kilns for work. As the fertility of soil declined thin topsoil began to be used for brick making. The net result was that about 507 sq. km out of a total of 745 sq. km. turned into wasteland. In 1999, starvation deaths, uncommon in Kerala, were reported from Vellakulam hamlet.
THE STOP GAP FOREST: Like any other government project, Ahads had its share of teething problems. Low on staff, the group started trying to create awareness in 1997. However, it was only around 2000 that the project took off. In the meantime rumours had begun doing the rounds. Vested interests sowed seeds of suspicion. “This is a conspiracy to take the land of poor tribals by the Japanese,” whispered some devious people. “One more scheme to rob off remaining forest trees” was another mischievous rumour. And “officials are here to make money” said others. “In the beginning, when we visited the hamlets, the Adivasis would flee,” recalls an employee of Ahads.
An earlier study had categorically stated that development projects hadn’t reached the target groups. “This made us very guarded. We went to the communities with three new approaches: participation, transparency and financial accountability,” recalls VH Dirar, assistant director, training. “All the project details were discussed with the stakeholders.” Ooru Vikasana Samithis or Village Development Committees (VDCs) were formed. The office-bearers were elected. The implementation of the project was done by the VDCs. Money was paid to the respective office- earers only by cheque. People were hand picked for responsible posts. Most of Ahads staff is young and untainted by sloth. “We didn’t demand 10 years’ experience. The average age of our 120 plus staffers is around 30. Then there are 300 volunteers working as animators who are young locals,” said Vinod Uniyal, project director. This may be one reason why Ahads tempo didn’t slacken though they had 11 directors in 12 years and many staff transfers. The total area treated by Ahads in this river catchment is 60 square km.
Soil and water conservation structures were built using only stones and soil. The next year itself they struck water barely three feet below the surface. Velliyamma was excited. She now had to walk only 300 metres to fetch water. The pond didn’t dry till monsoon. The project provided ample employment to locals as labourers. Instead of the occasional Rs 40 as wages, they started getting regular work at Rs 110- 120. This melted suspicion and distrust. At a later stage it was the water available nearer their houses that reinforced their belief. As the region has an undulating terrain, different soil and water conservation techniques were adopted. Efforts were made to slow down the water and make it seep into the ground starting from ridges and ending in valleys. Six million plants in forest lands and private wastelands have been planted. “You can call this a stop-gap forest,” said Radhakrishnan, assistant director, forestry. “After 15-20 years, the planted trees will develop good canopy and micro-climate. The process of natural forest formation starts from here. Birds and animals will take over.
Till then, we have to ensure there are no gaps in canopy, no forest fires, no grazing and that local use of forest produce does not exceed a critical level.” The Ahads team took their mission seriously. Yet nobody thought the river would flow again. “Kodungarapallam hadn’t registered in our minds as a river or even a dried river,” confesses Sumesh Kumar, soil and water conservation officer. “We assumed that it must have been a motorable road.” In 2005, the river flowed till February. Then its dry period started shrinking. Next summer it is likely to flow the year round. Other small streams like Uppungarapallam and Puliyapathi --- two tributaries of the Kodungara --- are also flowing. But many locals are not ready to believe that the river has resumed its flow thanks to watershed development. “There have been good rains since the last few years,” they point out. Ground water levels in 25 observation wells at Vattulakki, Mattaththukad and Puliapathy, according to Clement Selvaraj, show a rise of seven to 40 feet. A study by Kerala University indicates that in dry and partially dry wells, water availability has increased from 7 to 37.8 cubic metres per day. FRUITS OF LABOUR: Vellangiri, a settler from Tamil Nadu, says his 60-foot well used to go dry by March.
A deep bore-well sunk five years ago failed. Losses in agriculture and the marriage of three sisters made Vellangiri a defaulter at the local bank for Rs 2 lakh. Now his well is brimming with water. Apart from other crops, he has been growing banana on an acre for the past three years. He has now bought another three acres. Another bore-well sunk recently is a success. “Now I am hopeful of reducing my dues at the bank,” he says showing off his chillies and bananas. At Muttaththukad, large scale banana cultivation is on. One acre of kadali banana - a much sought after table variety - fetches an income of Rs 80,000 to Rs 1 lakh. According to one estimate, farming has been extended to about 200 hectares in eastern Attappady. Half of this is banana. Vegetables like brinjals, chillies, ladies’ finger, tomatoes and snake-gourd are also grown in a large area. “The farmers are hard working. If they get a little water they raise one crop or the other. Though the topsoil is so degraded, it grows very good vegetables with proper farming techniques and, of course, water,” points out Sumesh Kumar.
Five to ten years ago an acre was available for Rs 15,000 to 20,000. This has now increased to anything between Rs 60,000 to 2 lakhs. Observes Venkatachalam, officer at Canara Bank, Anakatty, “Loan repayment has improved by 30 to 40 per cent. The villagers who didn’t mind walking for 10 km earlier now shell out Rs 5 to 10 to travel in service jeeps. Bus services have increased. More children are going to school and the dropout rate is coming down." Small towns like Anakatty, Agali and Kottaththara now have fancy shops, STD booths, lodges and even digital studios. Milk procurement in local cooperative societies has more than doubled. At Kottaththara, the main branch of the society, milk output has increased from 350 litres per day five years ago to 800 litres. Farmer suicides that have become a regular feature in Wayanad, Idukki and other districts haven’t occurred here. STEPPING BACK: The downside is farmers from nearby districts are moving in attracted by water.
The ground water aquifers so painstakingly built by local communities are now being carelessly used by ‘visiting farmers’ who have no sentimental attachment to the land, water and forest. These farmers are using chemicals liberally. “Farming with groundwater is not suited to this area,” warns a local youngster. “The groundwater is hard and has many dissolved salts. In the irrigated farms, flooding is common. A thin white layer forms on topsoil. In the long run, as in Punjab, the soil might turn unproductive.” Ahads is the only large-scale employer. The project will wind up by March 2010 but nobody is prepared for that. “We haven’t thought about this at all,” says Vijayan, president of Anakatty VDC. “Yes, that is a big concern,” admits Vinod Uniyal, “and we have been seriously thinking about it. Our priority is to prepare the communities.
To retain the gains earned in this long process, community management is the only answer.” “Locals should start getting income from the forests,” says Radhakrishnan, “Apart from fodder and firewood there are medicinal plant products in this area. Many companies are commercially collecting them. If the local JFM (joint forest management) committees can be empowered to take it over, that would make the communities develop a deeper interest in forests.” Ahads is carrying out a unique education programme called ‘Enlight’ for Irula, Muduga and Kurumba tribals separately. Trained instructors, preferably from the same communities, conduct classes at the Adivasi Ooru’s (settlements) during twilight. The focus is literacy and informal environmental education. Text books have been printed in their own language. Community resource centres have been built. At present the literacy programme covers 110 Adivasi centres.
Contact : AHADS, Post Agali, Attappady, Palakkad District, Kerala 67581. Ph: 04924 - 254 516/17/18; E-mail: ahads@sancharnet.in
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