DRDA, CCpur: Setting the pace of rural development

Lunminthang Haokip *

An Agency for Change: DRDA, Churachandpur was registered under Societies Registration Act, 1860 in 1980 with the sole objective to bring about tangible change for the better in development of the rural Blocks of the largest District in Manipur State constituting 20.47% of the State's total geographical area. As of today, the progressive RD Agency with DC/CCPur, as ED/DRDA at the helm of affairs, is made functional by 3 POs, 2 AOs and 3 APOs assisted by 45 Contractual Adm staff, 3 IAY staff who, in turn, are supported by 58 Casual Scheme staff (under MGNREGS) and 10 M/Roll staff.

DRDA Schemes: Implementation of GoI's flagship programs like MGNREGS, MsDP, IAY (Rural Housing), BADP (from MHA) and the recently announced SAGY (Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana) which are technically handled by one EE, three AEs and three SOs at DRDA level and RD functionaries at the cutting-edge Blocks, comprising of 10 BDOs and their subordinates, are managed collectively, as per the prescribed Guidelines of GoI, to ensure delivery of services and benefits to the target beneficiaries.

Livelihood Activities Under MGNREGS: Post-1993 when an unfortunate hill-area communal clash took place in the State, that displaced a good chunk of tribal populace, many affected rural-poor families moved base in search of petty menial works for a living in the State's urban settlements. The 100-day employment guarantee scheme lured them all back to the back-blocks. The flexible work-components MGNREGS offered on payment of wages for an assured period of time made up for shortages in income of the target groups. Sustenance came easier and Job-Card became a household name with some hope attached to it.

Pineapple Cultivation at Jolzam Village, CCPur: With thanks to the permission of the chief of Jolzam in Tuibong Block, who owns the land, a cluster of 3 to 4 families of the gentle-slopes inhabiting settlement of 67 houses, began to plant pineapple saplings way back in 2009-2010 period under MGNREGS. A cluster of families was permitted to grow the horticultural plant in an area of one acre.

The determined hard work invested in the income-generating activity of Jolzam villagers gained momentum year after year to have covered about 25 acres of pineapple-planted area by now. Their toil and sweat that wetted the soil in the fields did not go unrewarded. An acre of pineapple fetches more than Rs 50,000 today, annually, and the produced fruit was ranked second in quality in a recent State-level Pineapple festival.

Watershed Management in CCPur: Integrated Watershed Management Programme, popularly known as IWMP, has been renamed PMKSY-Watershed, recently. DRDA/CCPur launched the game-changer scheme in FY 2009-2010. The main objectives of IWMP are 'to restore the ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover and water." In the District, of all the 18 Watershed Projects taken up in 9 Blocks, all of which are headed and monitored by 6 WCDC staff and 40 WDT – 'Watershed Development Team' members, captained by PO/PMKSY, Project X at Saikot stands out in performance and achievement.

Watershed Project at Saikot: The components of IWMP are Base Line Survey, Capacity Building, EPA – Entry Point Activity, Watershed Development Work (WDW), Livelihood Activities, Production System and Micro-Enterprises. IWMP Project X at Saikot, implemented by DRDA CCPur, had taken up WDW activities like Agriculture, Horticulture, Pasture Development, Contour Bunding, Bench Terrace etc.

Stakeholders' capacity was built up in the preparatory phase to equip them with the know-how to take up livelihood activities like Carpentry, Bee Keeping, Piggery, Poultry, Mushroom Cultivation etc and under Production System & Micro-Enterprise, works like Vermi-Composting Unit, Nursery Plantation, Horticultural Plantation, Micro-Enterprises and Organic Farming. In Project X, Rain Water too is being harvested, and water-tank made and farm-pond dug right in the middle of the project area.

Over To Khuga: Located 7 KMs south of downtown CCPur, Manipur, the 38 meters high, 230 meters wide Khuga Dam, the construction of which started in 1983 and resumed in 2002 across the erstwhile popular river, Tuithapi/Khuga river, was projected to be a multi-purpose venture having power-generation, water supply and irrigation components. The Dam in which the upper-Churachandpur cultivators pinned their hopes on, was inaugurated finally by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi on 12 November, 2010.

Cry Over Spilled Water: Today, disheartened by the frequent fabled drowning cases on the banks of Khuga river-turned-lake, which could either be due to lack of habitual or departmental caution or supernatural affliction, residents of the District are vertically divided on the utility of the NPCC-constructed Earthen Dam (Spillways and Canal) and the R M Sinha & Co-made Power House and water Supply systems.

The harsh critics of the gigantic project, at the mention of it, spare no expletives in dubbing it a totally useless undertaking. That the spilled water of the dam had submerged hundreds of acres of land, for which, of course, they had been suitably compensated, in the catchment villages like Misao Lhahvom, Buallian, Mata Mualtam, Lamjang, Geljang etc, and failed to irrigate paddy fields as targeted, pessimistic observers are not entirely wrong when they run down the 'non-performing project.'

The Silver Lining: The optimists view that although much water which had flowed down the river Tuithapi, allegedly, got wasted, Khuga Dam is not an utter let-down. Came dry season, every year and, the western part of CCPur town's Tedim road stretch had regularly been struggling under staggering drinking water shortage. Of late, as reported by functionaries of PHED, CCPur, a 2.5 Lakh Litre capacity Service Reservoir to store treated water pumped from Khuga lake has been installed at Khuga bank in Buallian land under "Improvement of Water Supply for Churachandpur in Zone-III, 2014."

The treated water is being piped down and stored in the huge overhead Zonal Reservoir at CCPur Higher Secondary premises. The Zone-III venture has started supplying drinking water to the residential neighbourhood from Hill Town to CCPur Police Station and Bijang, twice in a week. If made operative to full capacity, after a new Pumping set is being installed at the source-base, our burgeoning township's water-woes may become a nightmare of the past.

A Potential Aamby Valley: Thanks to Shahara Group, 27 Kms hidden from the heavy-laden Mumbai-Pune Expressway traffic, spread in10,000 acres of hill land, Aamby Valley has become a world-class resort replete with Spanish Chalets, Five-Star Hospitality accessories, golf course, and state-of-the-art water sports facilities.

A chance exposure to the top-notch tourists haven kept me thinking, "why can't we develop our own Khuga, which has a perennial feeder-river to bank on, into an Aamby Valley-type water-front tourists destination with a vision to link tourism with economic growth." Aamby waters are rain-fed. With rapid globalization of our planet, and eco-tourism gaining momentum, the dream to build up an Eimi version of Poor Man's French Riviera, if we can stitch up a pan-Eimi emotional unity, is not entirely beyond our grasp.

Back To DRDA/CCPur: With all roads starting from the District's BHQs merging at the DHQ, and MoRD continually concerned about RD, it's advantage DRDA/CCPur. Plans are afoot to materialize the objectives of e-District. Let us go for skill-development on a war footing and motivate our educated youth to push the envelope in entrepreneurship. If we can together create an investment climate and implement RD Programmes in letter and spirit, the days are not far when we will become a reference-district to reckon with.

Lunminthang Haokip

* Lunminthang Haokip wrote this article for The Sangai Express
This article was webcasted on July 13, 2016.