Annexure-III
CONVERGENCE OF MGNREGS AND IWMP: A COMPREHENSIVE RURAL
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY- CASE OF GUJARAT
Ram Kumar, CEO, GSWMA and Suvendu Rout, Professional Expert, GSWMA
1. INTRODUCTION:
The policy decision to undertake convergence of different rural development
schemes of the Government of India with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is one of the most significant steps towards
comprehensive rural development. This will specifically help the Integrated Watershed
Management Programme (IWMP) to reach its logical impact level with complementary
funds from MGNREGS. Today, MGNREGS is the biggest programme of rural development
in terms of scope and fund base. Other sectoral programmes relating to rural
development with limited fund base can benefit immensely by converging with
MGNREGS and in turn, can help MGNREGS fulfil its stated objective of providing assured
wage employment to the rural poor along with creating rural infrastructure.
BOX-1
MGNREGS: Important features
Objective:
The basic objective of the Act is to enhance livelihood security in rural areas
by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to
every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. This
work guarantee can also serve other objectives: generating productive assets,
protecting the environment, empowering rural women, reducing rural-urban
migration and fostering social equity, among others.
Time-Bound Employment:
The Gram Panchayat/Programme Officer shall be responsible for providing
wage employment to the applicant within 15 days of the date of receipt of the
application. In the case of advance applications, employment will be provided from
the date that employment has been sought, or within 15 days of the date of
application, whichever is later.
If a worker who has applied for work under NREGA is not provided
employment within 15 days from the date on which work is requested, an
unemployment allowance shall be payable by the State Government at the rate
prescribed in the Act. This entitlement comes into effect as soon as the Act is notified
in a particular District or area.
Eligibility:
The Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (REGS) will be open to all rural
households in the areas notified by the Central Government. The entitlement of 100
days of guaranteed employment in a financial year is in terms of a household. This
entitlement of 100 days per year can be shared within the household; more than one
person in a household can be employed (simultaneously or at different times).
Source: Guidelines on convergence with NREGS, MoRD
BOX-2
IWMP in Gujarat: Salient features
With the coming into effect of the new Common Guidelines, 2008, the
individual earlier Watershed Development Programmes like DPAP, DDP and IWDP
have been merged together to form one comprehensive programme, namely,
Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP).
In Gujarat the State Level Nodal Agency (SLNA) is Gujarat State Watershed
Management Agency (GSWMA) under the Rural Development Department.
Objectives:
The main aims of the IWMP are to restore the ecological balance by
harnessing, conserving and developing degraded natural resources such as soil,
vegetative cover and water. The outcomes are prevention of soil run-off,
regeneration of natural vegetation, rain water harvesting and recharging of the
ground water table. This enables multi-cropping and the introduction of diverse
agro-based activities, which help to provide sustainable livelihoods to the people
residing in the watershed area.
New features:
a) Application of Geographic Information System (GIS) in planning,
implementation, monitoring & evaluation and impact assessment
b) Centralized Management Information System (MIS)
c) Participatory approach at village level
d) Consortium approach for capacity building
e) Zone wise comprehensive livelihood system
2. NEED FOR CONVERGENCE:
a)
Saturation approach and filling the fund gap: Watershed development
involves treatment of natural resource base as well as creating meaningful livelihood
opportunities. Thus there is a perceivable gap in demand for and supply of funds.
Integrate Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) has been implemented
throughout India since 2009-10 after the commencement of the new watershed
guidelines, 2008. Prior to the Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP),
unit cost of a watershed project was Rs. 6000 per hectare (approximately Rs.4500 was
available for watershed treatment). Under IWMP, it has been increased to Rs. 12,000 Rs. 15,000 per hectare depending upon the characteristic of the project area (out of the
total project cost, 50% is available for watershed treatment, which amounts to Rs. 6000
to Rs. 7500). Though this increase is a great initiative, the amount is still not enough.
According to a study conducted by ICRISAT, scientific and holistic development of an
area on watershed basis requires at an average Rs. 20,000 per hectare.
This gap can be filled by convergence with different other schemes of the
government, especially, MGNREGS. MGNREGS, after becoming an act, is here to stay and
has significantly large fund-base. Huge amount of fund can be released depending upon
the requirement of the village community, and the labour budget. MGNREGS is very
much open for convergence purpose; IWMP should take the opportunity and undertake
all round development of the projects areas.
b)
Covering 100% population of the project area: In earlier watershed
projects, selective households got the benefits of the programme. So, a number of needy
households had to be left out due to lack of sufficient funds. This can now be amended
by covering all the needy households and all the needy survey numbers (land parcels).
c)
Holistic development: A watershed approach can be holistic when it is
undertaken in three stages- (i) augmentation/conservation of natural resource base, (ii)
building livelihood options based on the natural resource augmentation and then (iii)
establishing linkages for sustaining the activities taken up. It requires integration with
different agencies working on rural development and convergence with other schemes.
d)
To stop duplication of works: Since a number of departments of the
government are working for rural development and carry out similar kinds of activities,
it is often observed that works are being duplicated. To stop this duplication, proper
convergence of projects should be done at project implementation level.
e)
Post project management: For long term benefit from a watershed
development programme, appropriate post-project management has to be in place. It
involves largely repair and maintenance of structures made under the programme. This
in turn requires substantial money after the project period. Post- project management
can be smooth if convergence takes place with a programme like MGNREGS.
3. SCOPE FOR CONVERGENCE:
Permitted works under MGNREGS: Schedule I, Para 1 lists permissible works as following
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
Water conservation and water harvesting
Drought proofing, including afforestation and plantation
Irrigation canals, including micro and minor irrigation works
Provision of irrigation to poor households
Renovation of traditional water bodies
Land development
Flood control and protection works
Rural connectivity
A look at the above permissible works shows that most of the watershed works
under IWMP can be taken up under MGNREGS. This is vindicated from the actual figures
of distribution of works taken up under MGNREGS in Gujarat.
Works done under MGNREGS in Gujarat:
Share (%)
Share of different works under MGNREGS in Gujarat
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
78
82
2008-09
78
2009-10
2010-11
10
7
8
6
6
8
2
2
2
4
3
3
0.025
0 0.009
Water
Provision of
Rural
Land
Any Other Rajiv Gandhi
Conservation Irrigation Connectivity development
Activity
Seva Kendra
& Harvesting
facility
Approved by
MRD
Type of Works
Data Source: http://nrega.nic.in/MISreport.htm
In each of the last three years, nearly 80% of works carried out under MGNREGS
are related to land and water. So, there is huge scope for convergence in Gujarat.
Some of the other schemes with which majority of convergence is done are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Tribal Area Sub Plan (TASP)
SwarnaJayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY)
National Horticulture Mission
Bamboo Mission
Drinking water security scheme by WASMO
4. STRATEGY FOR CONVERGENCE IN GUJARAT:
Government of Gujarat has initiated several models of convergence to
experiment with the processes before settling down to a particular strategy / policy.
The models are discussed in brief below:
For facilitating the process of convergence, committees at different levels (state,
district and taluka) representing different departments have been formed. These
committees oversee the planning process. Scientific planning as followed by IWMP has
been prescribed for the whole state.
The important features of this process are:
 Issuing required circulars
 Regular information sharing mechanism
 Common workshops and training programmes
 Sharing of human resources
 Supplying GIS based thematic maps to the functionaries and the villagers
 Establishing consortium of institutions
Institutional mechanism for convergence:
Under IWMP micro-planning is done at village/project level by the Watershed
Development Team (WDT) and Village Watershed Committee together. After net
planning (process is briefly discussed below), the convergence plan is shared with the
concerned responsible authority at taluka level, which then goes to the district level for
approval. For example, once the activities for convergence with MGNREGS are
identified, it is placed before the Gram Sabha for approval. This approved plan then
moves through the taluka Panchayat to the district level where it is approved and
incorporated in the Labour Budget of MGNREGS for the district.
At district level, the District Development Officer (DDO) is the head of IWMP,
MGNREGS and National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), which are implemented by
the Rural Development Department. He/she oversees the planning and implementation
of these programmes, sanctions the budgets and monitors their progress. Further, there
is a District Level Coordination and Collaboration Committee (DLCCC) headed by the
DDO to share, deliberate and monitor projects at district level.
At state level, IWMP, MGNREGS and National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM)
are implemented under the same department, i.e. Department of Rural Development
under the same head- Principal Secretary, RDD. National Rural Livelihood Mission
(NRLM) is implemented under a separate agency called Gujarat Livelihood Promotion
Company under the aegis of RDD only. This makes information and directions to flow
easily between the programme implementing agencies. It also provides a common
platform for regular discussions and deliberations on policy issues as well as
implementation issues.
4.1.
MGNREGS under IWMP platform (pilot projects):
IWMP in Gujarat has initiated GIS based approach to watershed development. It
involves both scientific and participatory approaches. The planning at village level
includes the following steps:
 Preliminary Village Meeting (Gram Sabha)
 Provision of GIS based baseline maps and thematic maps to the village
community for making informed decisions
 Base line survey that includes:
o Socio-economic survey (covering each household)
o Bio-physical survey (covering each and every survey number of the
village)
o Village infrastructure survey
 Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
 Participatory Problem- Solution Analysis
 Participatory Net Planning (PNP)
 Budgeting including Convergence with different schemes
 Preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) including the Annual Action Plan
and the Action Plan maps
The above process is rigorous and takes stock of the entire problem- solution
scenario of the village. It estimates the full fund requirement of the village and plans
accordingly.
Planning for MGNREGS can be much more comprehensive if done in the above
manner. Thus, the Government of Gujarat decided to undertake a number of pilot
projects in the state. This has been done in collaboration with the IWMP. IWMP has
been implemented in 151 projects across the state at the moment (as sanctioned by the
Government of India in 2009-10). So, the required human resource is already employed
in these project areas. The pilot projects of MGNREGS under IWMP platform has thus
been taken up adjacent to the 151 project areas, in 640 villages. Geographic distribution
of these villages is presented in the map below:
Intensive planning in line with IWMP processes is underway in pilot project areas
for review of 5-year perspective plans and NREGS labour budget 2011-12. The human
resources engaged in IWMP are helping the functionaries of MGNREGS in scientific
planning of these pilot projects.
Once these pilot projects are successful, necessary steps will be taken up for upscaling it to all the villages of Gujarat in a phased manner.
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


4.2.
BOX-3
Pilot Project Strategy
Scientific and participatory Planning of 151 micro watersheds covering 640
villages for MGNREGS on pilot basis by GSWMA
Scientific and participatory planning for remaining villages using
technological tools.
Capacity building of MGNREGS staff(TAs/ Field Functionaries)
Coordinated efforts of GSWMA and MGNREGS teams
Planning of MGNREGS like IWMP plan throughout Gujarat
On a less intensive scale, IWMP type planning has been taken up in all the other
villages of Gujarat for Labour Budget, 2011-12. Workshops were conducted in all the
districts involving MGNREGS and IWMP functionaries. Both the teams shared their
experiences and discussed the strategy for planning. The IWMP teams shared their
planning mechanism with the MGNREGS team as well as use of the GIS based thematic
maps for scientific planning of works.
The workshops were preceded by providing GIS based thematic maps to the
functionaries (Technical Assistants) of MGNREGS in all the villages of the state. These
functionaries carry these maps to the villages and support the Gram Sabha to prepare a
technically sound, need based Labour Budget.
BOX-4
Implementation Mechanism for MGNREGS on Watershed Platform

Scientific planning by using GIS based Planning Map and Indicative Action Plan
Matrix
Participatory Planning Approach for MGNREGS on the basis of Watershed
Platform
Secondary Data Collection- Basic Socio-economic parameters
Identification of Priority Works
Discuss in Gramsabha - Tentative Labour Budget
Approval of Final Labour Budget in Gram sabha







4.3.
Scientific Monitoring & Evaluation using Web-based GIS
Convergence planning of MGNREGS with IWMP:
IWMP gives utmost importance to convergence. This has been made mandatory by
making convergence an integral part of every Detailed Project Report (DPR). Necessary
circulars have been issued to the district levels regarding the same. While preparing the
DPR, the project management team has to study the total fund requirement of the
village or the project area.
As stated above, the DPR preparation process is comprehensive enough to estimate
the total fund requirement of the village; because it ensures every household and each
survey number is surveyed. Once the survey and the net planning are completed, the
physical measures required are converted into financial figures. Thus the total financial
requirement comes into picture. The gap in fund requirement is calculated by deducting
the funds available from the funds required. The Watershed Committee and the
Watershed Development Team then identify options for convergence.
To illustrate the above discussion, let us look at an example.
4.3.1. Illustration: Padal village, Jhagadia taluka, Bharuch District
The village Padal falls under IWMP-II cluster located in Jhagadia Taluka of
Bharuch District in Gujarat state. The project village is a cluster of 3 micro watersheds
with 5D1A3c2c, 5D1A3c2a, 5D1A3c1c as micro watershed codes. The total project area
of the village is about 968.90 ha, out of which 218.90 ha is proposed to be treated under
Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP). About 584.1 ha or 60.1 % of
land is under agriculture. 276.5 Ha of land is cultivable wasteland and 108.3 ha is non
cultivable wasteland. The wasteland consists of ubiquitous Bamboo and other shrubs.
Patel, Darbar and Schedule tribe communities are the primary inhabitants of the
village. The villagers mainly depend upon agriculture and Animal husbandry or working
as wage labour in the nearby towns like Ankleshwar and Netrang. Agriculture is totally
dependent on rain. Drinking water mainly comes from the Kaveri and Narmada
River.and other borewells and handpumps are situated near in the village.
Occupational Distribution
45 42
Agriculture
354
564
Animal Husbandry
Agriculture+Animal Husbandry
Casual Labour
Handicraft
186
Other
378
Above figure tells that 564 no. of families have agriculture as their occupation
while 375 families depend upon wage labour and 87 families upon other works like
handicraft and related activities.
There are 340 households in the village. The total population is 1569 out of
which 810 male and 759 is female population. In this village nearly 95.86 % of
populations are Schedule caste and rest are general and other backward class. The
literacy rate is 70.68%.
People depend upon small water harvesting structures for irrigation. The
irrigated area is 23.5 ha, which is 3.9 % of the total agricultural area of the village. Main
source of irrigation is from previously constructed check dams and ponds.
Planning process followed:
To start with, the Watershed Development Team (WDT) conducted a Gram
Sabha and elaborated the programme and its purpose. A lot of meetings were conducted
in that village with people by them. Through this, some people with fully enthusiastism
come forward in each meeting and then WDT members started coming to the village
regularly for ice breaking with the villagers.
It was followed by detailed Base Line Survey which included a household socioeconomic survey (door to door survey), a survey number wise Bio-Physical Survey
(field survey) and a Village Infrastructure Survey as well as existing structure details
with the help of GPS.
In order to understand the social, economic and political aspect of all the village,
Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercise was done with the villagers in Padal. It was
really a useful tool to appreciate the village in its totality. The following methods were
used:
(i) Resource Mapping
(ii) Social Mapping
(iii) Seasonal Calendar
(iv) Tree matrix
(v) Cropping Pattern
(vi) Income-Expenditure pot
(vii) Ven diagram
The PRA helped the team in identifying the main problems, which are listed below:
a) Critical ground water status
b) Scarcity of drinking water in summer season
c) Low land and agricultural productivity
d) Seasonal migration
e) Scarcity of fodder in summer season
This was followed by Participatory Net Planning (PNP). The WDT and the farmers went
on fields to find out what the possible interventions can be and discussed with the land
less & asset-less regarding their livelihood measures.
Budgeting with Convergence (focused on MGNREGS):
Once the physical measures were decided, it was time to sit down for the
budgeting. The team found out the total funds required for the village as a whole and
then estimated the gap between the funds required and funds available under IWMP.
This gap was filled up by leveraging funds from MGNREGS and funds of the Forest
Department. The details are given in the table below:
Sl no:
Phase/
Activities
Total Fund
Requirement
Available
under IWMP
Gap
Deptt. /
Scheme
1
EPA
3.00
1.05
1.95
2
Works
36.796
19.176
17.62
MGNREGS &
WASMO
MGNREGA
3
Total
39.796
20.226
19.57
Figures in Rs. lakh
Action Plan Map with Convergence of MGNREGS and IWMP (Padal village):