EDAVAKA (KALPETTA): For a district which was reeling under a crippling agrarian crisis just over five years ago, Wayanad has come a long way. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), which was supposed to provide succour to the pauperised thousands, failed to do so in its original avatar as its norms were out of sync with the ground reality. But change in the norms and some innovative application of the norms by the State administration and, more importantly, the local self-government institutions, have brought about a wholesome change in the lives of the people.
Leading the pack was the Edavaka grama panchayat which emerged second best among the panchayats in the country in the matter of MGNREGS implementation during 2009-'10. The panchayat deployed as much as Rs.4.33 crore during the year to ensure that its people, regardless of their age, sex and even physical condition, got employment for a minimum number of days. Its interventions came with catchy tags such as ‘Kathirjyothy,' ‘Ente Thanal' and ‘Thanal.' Under ‘Kathirjyothy,' a project aimed at reviving paddy cultivation, the panchayat was able to bring around 1,000 acres of land, used for cultivating plantain, back to paddy.
In its bid to make paddy cultivation remunerative, the panchayat gave the farmers subsidy at the rate of Rs.2,500 a hectare. It also brought another 50 acres under ‘karanellu' (dry land paddy).
Under ‘Ente Thanal,' saplings of five fruit-bearing trees were provided to each child in the panchayat.
Caring the elderly
The panchayat's real innovation was ‘Thanal' which sought to bring the elderly into the MGNREGS framework. Panchayat president Justin Baby said it was conceived when the panchayat found that the elderly were not taking up work under the MGNREGS for fear that they would be outdone by the youngsters. Started as a pilot project during 2008-'09, the project helped the panchayat give employment to 600 senior citizens, including 250 tribal men and 10 physically challenged persons in 15 nurseries.
“I have got 100 days of work,” 80-year-old Kembi, a tribal woman of the Agraharam Paniya colony, told The Hindu with pride.
Seventy-five-year-old Patta concurred. “I had got the job card two years ago, but did not go for work because youngsters were better at it. But now I too earn a good income working at the nursery,” she said.
Each nursery has raised 10,000 to 25,000 saplings. “Now we are engaged in transplanting the saplings to homesteads free of cost,” said panchayat vice-president K.R. Jayaprakash.
The panchayat, which had won the Swaraj Trophy in 2008-'09, has been trying to address the problems of the aged by other means as well. It has started an old age clinic attached to the local primary health centre where all consultation and drugs are provided free of cost every Thursday. The panchayat spent Rs.3 lakh for the project last year besides creating a medical treatment fund for the benefit of the abject poor, said panchayat health standing committee chairman Manu Kuzhivelil.
Source:The Hindu 17 July 2010
Leading the pack was the Edavaka grama panchayat which emerged second best among the panchayats in the country in the matter of MGNREGS implementation during 2009-'10. The panchayat deployed as much as Rs.4.33 crore during the year to ensure that its people, regardless of their age, sex and even physical condition, got employment for a minimum number of days. Its interventions came with catchy tags such as ‘Kathirjyothy,' ‘Ente Thanal' and ‘Thanal.' Under ‘Kathirjyothy,' a project aimed at reviving paddy cultivation, the panchayat was able to bring around 1,000 acres of land, used for cultivating plantain, back to paddy.
In its bid to make paddy cultivation remunerative, the panchayat gave the farmers subsidy at the rate of Rs.2,500 a hectare. It also brought another 50 acres under ‘karanellu' (dry land paddy).
Under ‘Ente Thanal,' saplings of five fruit-bearing trees were provided to each child in the panchayat.
Caring the elderly
The panchayat's real innovation was ‘Thanal' which sought to bring the elderly into the MGNREGS framework. Panchayat president Justin Baby said it was conceived when the panchayat found that the elderly were not taking up work under the MGNREGS for fear that they would be outdone by the youngsters. Started as a pilot project during 2008-'09, the project helped the panchayat give employment to 600 senior citizens, including 250 tribal men and 10 physically challenged persons in 15 nurseries.
“I have got 100 days of work,” 80-year-old Kembi, a tribal woman of the Agraharam Paniya colony, told The Hindu with pride.
Seventy-five-year-old Patta concurred. “I had got the job card two years ago, but did not go for work because youngsters were better at it. But now I too earn a good income working at the nursery,” she said.
Each nursery has raised 10,000 to 25,000 saplings. “Now we are engaged in transplanting the saplings to homesteads free of cost,” said panchayat vice-president K.R. Jayaprakash.
The panchayat, which had won the Swaraj Trophy in 2008-'09, has been trying to address the problems of the aged by other means as well. It has started an old age clinic attached to the local primary health centre where all consultation and drugs are provided free of cost every Thursday. The panchayat spent Rs.3 lakh for the project last year besides creating a medical treatment fund for the benefit of the abject poor, said panchayat health standing committee chairman Manu Kuzhivelil.
Source:The Hindu 17 July 2010
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