Building reserves of water and goodwill

“I could barely manage two meals a day for my family from the undeveloped two-and-a-half bighas I own in our hilly terrain. Today, I too can dream of a decent life,” says Prem Thakur from Kalhot village, Janedghat panchayat, Shimla district.

Thakur thanks MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005) for this change in his life. He says he did not have the means to either convert his land into terraced fields or for irrigation. “Constructing a water tank can cost ₹1.5 lakh; similarly, in a mountainous region, retaining a wall for each of the terraced fields is a costly affair. How can a small farmer like me afford it?”

He says he never dreamt that he would get wages to develop his own land under the MNREGA. “You also get money to install your own water tank for irrigation! What more can you ask for?”

Not just Thakur, hundreds of other farmers, especially those with small holdings, in the Janedghat and Piran gram panchayats, in Mashobra block, say they owe their improved living standards to the rural job guarantee scheme. With water available round the clock from the water tanks, their yield of vegetables has increased substantially.

That’s not all. The rich vegetable yield has prompted Mother Dairy and Reliance to set up collection centres at Jeetnagar, in Janedghat, which function from April to October.

Roop Ram Vera from Cohabit village is happy that farmers in Janedghat and adjoining panchayats no longer have to spend large amounts on transportation or pay commission agents to sell their produce.

“We get good payment and without having to wait too long. And if you have a bank account, the money is transferred in no time.”

In the peak season, 250-300 quintals of vegetables — mostly tomatoes, French beans, capsicum and peas — are collected from one centre alone, says Vera. Sushma Rawat, who became Pradhan of Janedghat for the second time in a row, says MNREGA has transformed life for the villagers.

“Before the scheme was implemented, until about 5-6 years ago, most farmers in Janedghat lived from hand to mouth.”

Pritam Singh, a farmer in Trai village, under Piran panchayat, says his income has increased four-fold. “This season I earned ₹4 lakh from selling tomatoes. It used to be just ₹1.5 lakh until even a few years ago. I was able to develop around five bighas under MNREGA.”

Channi Lal is from the same area; he says his once-barren land has turned into gold. “The complexion of the area has completely changed and so has the income profile,” says Attar Singh Thakur, Pradhan of Piran.

“The dry, undeveloped land has turned into green terraced fields with a rich crop of tomatoes, peas and other vegetables that are being sold to other states.”

The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi

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