Local Produce; A peri urban perspective.

Local Produce; A peri urban perspective.

Peri-urban areas are an interesting  setting for research studies. the mix match of occupation, lifestyle, work habits reflect an area which is neither purely rural, or purely urban. in Gurgaon, farming for commercial purposes is declining. Land acquisition, changing climate, lack of water avalibility due to the falling grounwater tables is a major reason for people shifting to jobs in secondary and tertiary sectors. Here what is interesting is that, although urbane in their job profile, these people also wish to be rooted in a traditional rural setting and ethos. Modernity and tradition have a perfect blend in these peri-urban areas.

Traditionally these  people were all employeed by farming or allied activities like animal husbandry etc. changing needs and times have forced many to take up jobs in and around urban areas as guards, auto drivers etc. The fall in commercial agriculture has been due to various reasons that have been already discussed, but the emotional connect with local produce has not let subsitence farming die. Subsistence farming according to my understanding of the field , is one the most important  aspects of peri-urban life. 

A lady proudly told me that my Six year old daughter refuses to drink packaged milk. we only drink from our own buffalo. other than that various encounters have led to the understanding that vegetables are either grown or bought from nearby villages, where the farmers have some solidarity. Peri-urban agriculture is seen to have many positive effects, it can primarily be used as a sink for organic wastes of urban areas.it is interesting  to see how emotion is the tie between modernity and tradition. although surviving at the present, peri-urban agriculture needs to be given incentives, if it has to have long term sustainability, because regardless of emotional connect, the land price escalation caused by growing commerce, will make peri-urban agriculture a losing sum game. hence eventually farmers will end up selling thier land. Despite such possible outcomes, in todays peri-urban gurgaon, local produce is most relished and serves as a connect for the people with thier ancestrol roots.

Stakeholder meeting in Gurgaon

The SaciWATERS stakeholder meeting held in Gurgaon on the 13^th of December 2012, began with Dr Narain, setting the agenda for the meeting. He expressed, that the role of SaciWATERS is that of a dialogue facilitator and that it wanted to promote mutual accountability amongst the main stakeholders. They being the community and the PHED. Further Aman Dewan, with prior consultation from the community, set out the main points that had to be discussed. Two main issues were cropped up; the first being that the Dharamsala line of the village is not able to get access to PHED water supply. The second issue was that a Tube-well is needed beyond the railway line so that people not serviced by the PHED can also access a safe water source. 

In Sultanpur a settlement of Balmiks live beyond the railway line, the PHED does not have permission to supply water beyond that point, as it comes under the jurisdiction of the railways. The Balmiks being lower caste people are often refused water by the upper castes, as they feel that their presence pollutes their water sources. Due to this lack of social cohesion, amongst the different castes of the village, the Balmiks suffer the most.  Starting with the first issue, the people said that, they want a larger capacity motor to increase pressure of the water supply. The PHED responded, that the mess was due to illegal water connections, and that if people installed taps then, he would ensure that sufficient water will be provided. 

Understanding the concern of the community, the PHED team said that it shall try to increase the allocation of time; water is supplied, from 20 to 30 minutes. The issues were concluded by agreement that the Panchyat will cut illegal connections and get the village water connections registered, further to which if water availability is not sufficient; the PHED shall install a larger motor. The second issue was a relatively more harmonious issue. The PHED was in agreement that a tube-well must be present, and that a resolution should be given proclaiming that area as a Dhaani, as they are getting government patronage. It was agreed that within a week, the Panchayat will present the resolution to the PHED, which would then process it. 

Dr Narain showed concern towards the timeline of this activity, to which the PHED replied, that they shall be informed about funds availability during a meeting in April, and thus this issue will be fixed post that. The meeting concluded on a positive note, with the community agreeing to try out legal water connections and the PHED also assuring the people, that if even that did not work out, they shall be ready with their next set of solutions. Personally it was great to see the stakeholders interact, such dialogue does not leave room for doubt, thus furthering the trust levels between stakeholders.

Thus the stakeholders meeting was a great opportunity for SaciWATERS to fulfill its agenda as a catalyst for change.

Haryana Agriculture Department – Perspectives from a Day Spent in the Government Office

My work as Research Associate at SaciWATERs required me to collect data on the groundwater quality of villages under the Peri-Urban Project.  After waiting for a while, I got a chance to speak with one of the senior hydrologists in the department. I spoke about what we (SaciWATERS) do and why we need such information. He suggested that I should sit and wait, while they process the information. This wait gave me the perfect chance to observe the problems people face with regard to groundwater and its extraction.

First a woman walked in - judging by her behavior, it felt she had made these rounds many times over. She wanted to install a tube-well; the duty officer said that it’s not possible, “the Supreme Court has banned any more borings”. She said that, “At least I am following the procedure; others just go on and install it”. He said that she should complain to the District Commissioner if someone puts it illegally, to which she replied that hurting others would not help her cause.  

Moving on further, a group of villagers walked in - they exclaimed  that sowing time of mustard has already come and wheat’s shall also come soon, thus giving rise to the acute need of boring. They pleaded for the approval to bore to which they got the standard reply of ‘it’s not allowed’.  They said that without water , survival is not possible.  The hydrologist said that he sympathized with them but could do nothing - he also said that he could have asked other departments to supply water if the need was for drinking water but in this case, they would have to explore other solutions. The people questioned if they should go ahead and bore themselves, to which he replied with a gentle smile “Take your call”. It seemed that he understood where they came from.

 Next a man walked in, he said that he lived in Sitapur- one of the various unauthorized colonies in Gurgaon. His problem was different - the pump of his submersible had gotten spoilt and the police were not allowing him to replace it. He shared that even to remove the motor and repair it, the police ask for a Rs 20,000 bribe. The hydrologist said he had heard many such complaints, and urged that a group of 10 people should get-together and complain to the District commissioner. As the hydrologist was processing this man’s complaint, it became evident that his tube well was not registered; the man being ignorant about such a process said that he has come back to his retirement home and was always away and thus, never knew of such a problem. The hydrologist said that an unregistered tube-well even if ten years old , is illegal if not registered. Again when the person asked what he should do , he smiled and said, “Do what you have to , what can I say , it’s the supreme court’s order”.  The man said that as the colony is illegal, private water tankers come in, and it’s really expensive to rely on them.

Through this ,we see how information is such an asset; surely some provision should be in place for people who could not get their wells registered for numerous reasons.

The hydrologist asked me, if I wanted a cigarette, I declined politely; he took a liking to me and asked me to come out for a walk. He expressed, “I know people will bore illegally; even I do not want to stop them. Where will they go - why did the government allow unauthorized colonies to settle? Either let them take water, or resettle them someplace else.”  We had a small discussion on legal pluralism. He opined, “Yes, it’s something like that, if the law does not seem suitable for most of the population, people will start to make their own law and undertake such activities any which way.”  A blanked ban does not seem a solution to me personally, groundwater should be accessible for drinking purposes at least.  Definitely we need differential permissions and for once let’s hope that the common man in Gurgaon can benefit more than the construction industry[1].

---

[1] Buildings require massive water supply during construction. The people living in such buildings are also better heeled to access private water tankers. 

Water as a common good

Water as a common good

The debate on whether water should be a free resource or be subject to market mechanisms is an immensely interesting one. Many scholars have advocated that water pricing is the solution to scarcity, I am no expert in the field of water resources, but in my present visits to Budheda and Sadhrana peri urban villages, it has come across that over exploitation of groundwater is a major problem. In our country, ground water rights are attached to land. This gives us the right to extract water at will, given we have the technology to do it.  Our Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh echoes the thought that India is increasingly going to suffer from water scarcity due to the over exploitation of ground water. He feels that extremely subsidized electricity is the main cause for depletion. He feels that water pricing will lead to water being treated as a common property resource and improve its usage. Our constitution guarantees right to life, sufficient water is a pre-requisite for fulfilling right to life. Pricing of water  may exclude the extremely poor from accessing water and thus cannot be an effective solution from the rights perspective .

Keeping these perspectives in mind, I tried to gauge people’s responses in Peri-urban villages in Sadhrana and Budheda on their views of water pricing. A person I met said that, peoples whose borings in the fields get spoilt cannot access groundwater at all, it’s better to price it, than to completely ban its usage. Further the thought that kept echoing was that “ pakki road pani nahi peeti” ( concrete roads do not let the water seep in) . People said that with further development, the amount of water that reaches the soil is diminishing. A few said that water extraction should be priced for cities and industries, we are farmers, and we can even do without fertilizers, but at least need water. Some said that pricing water usage would be absurd , we still have to pay electricity costs for extracting water, further costs will just add up to our burden.

 

One day as I was going back from the village, barely a kilometer away, I saw, extreme water logging, this made me understand exactly what the villagers were saying. Although rainfall is reducing, construction that will allow water to seep in, or flow into the fields might be a considerable solution.  The solution although seems elementary, but then most problems can get solved by applying common sense or so I believe.

---

[1] Water logging in the peri-urban villages in gurgaon.

Vulnerability – Agricultural and rainfall aspects.

The last few weeks have been an enriching experience for me. Although, we did have field trips and training in our Masters program at TERI, nothing quite prepares you for the surprises the field throws up at you. These rapport building exercises have helped me understand some aspects of life in Peri Urban areas. The reality of life in such areas is quite contradictory to what I had thought it would be.

I had notions that these areas would be far more developed than traditional villages, although that might be true for certain areas in the village, like the ones which are dominated by the land holding class and have seen a incredible rise in disposable income.

The visit I made to Budheda, gave me a firsthand experience of what vulnerability and uncertainty actually means to the locals in daily life. Budheda, one of our principal study villages, relied on waste water from the Gurgaon waste water canal to irrigate crops.

The irrigation of crops from waste water, although having its own flaws, did allow some respite to the farmers from untimely rainfall.  The waste water supply in the canal has been stopped, and the lack of rainfall this summer isn’t helping the farmers cause either. The perspective of certain people, I spoke to in the field was that this supply should not have been stopped during these months, as this is our main time to grow Bajra.

A person, I met told me, that people who had access to water sowed bajra in the end of June, but I did not, it’s better to be unemployed than to be in debt, he said this because, now in end August it has started to rain more than it should. People without the ability to sow are vulnerable, but even the people who have the initial ability can’t protect themselves from untimely rain.

In Jhanjhrola Khera during early July, people said that “ iss baar toh barish hi nayi hui , Bajra bhi ugana mushkil pad gaya hai” ( It has not rained at all this time, even growing Bajra has become difficult).But now as seen in Budheda , they might be a victim of untimely rain.

Listening, interacting with the villagers, gave me an insight into the neglected shadow of the city.

While, Gurgaon city barely 35 minutes from the village, is pegged to be the millennium city of India, the lands of Jhanjhrola khera, Budheda are totally dependent on rain for agriculture.