CASE STUDY

ON PROJECT ARAVALI

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CASE STUDY : PROJECT ARAVALLI “ Aravalli” literally means “wall of stones or rocks”.

The width of the Aravalli hill system varies from 10–100 kms and its height between 300-900 metres.

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REASONS FOR DEFORESTRATION•Till about 50 years ago, the Aravalli and adjoining areas were thickly forested and home to a variety of animals and birds.

•Subsequently, large-scale felling of trees as also the sudden increase in population and livestock led to significant loss of forest cover.

•Large areas of forests were cleared for agriculture, and grazing pressures did not allow the remaining forests to survive and regenerate.

• This, in turn, led to water scarcity, falling water table, soil erosion and floods and overall degradation of the environment

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ARAVALI BEFORE THE PROJECT

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PROJECT ARAVALLI

In Haryana, most of the land in the Aravalli region belonged to the community as a result of certain legislation in the 1930s, subse-quently amended in 1972. Therefore, in 1990, a project was launched in five districts of Haryana to restore/regenerate the ecosystem, and a Project Authority was constituted.

This project cover 10 districts of Rajasthan viz. Alwar, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Nagaur, Jaipur (Including Dausa) Pali, Sirohi, Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Bansware. The total cost of project is Rs. 288.86 crores.

The OECF assisted Aravalli Afforestation Project started in the year 1992 and the financial outlay was of Rs. 176.69 crores (8095 million Yen). The Project period was five years, i.e. 1992-97. The project period was extended up to March 2000. 

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PROJECT OBJECTIVES

•To check desertification and to restore the ecological status of the Aravallis by intensive reforestation.  •To meet the fuelwood, tree fodder, grass, timber, fruit and minor forest products. •To check soil erosion and thereby improve infiltration of water and hydrological balance. •To provide employment to the rural / tribal population and thereby improve their socio-economic condition. •To improve the habitat for the animal population in the wild life sanctuaries

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VILLAGE FOREST COMMITTEE

• 9-13 members were constituted, with the Sarpanch as chairman and a Forest Dept. official as member-secretary.

•It was mandatory to have at least 3 local women and representatives of SC/STs on each VFC, who were responsible for drawing up plans

for the project.

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OPERATIONS About 10.5 million seedlings were raised by 207

“Mahila nurseries” for which over Rs. 55 lakhs were paid by the project.

To encourage savings, women were helped to open accounts in banks and post offices; since 1993, about 3400 such accounts have been opened.

VFCs were paid cash incentives to take care of the project areas and to sustain the interest of the villagers; so far Rs. 41 lakhs have been

disbursed to 184 VFCs by way of incentives.

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STALL FEEDING OF LIVESTOCK

Instead of open grazing, stall feeding of livestock would be followed

Instead of keeping smaller animals like goats and sheep, farmers would switch to larger animals like buffaloes

To stall-feed the livestock, large quantities of fodder would be required. Hence different types of grasses and legumes were sown in the open areas between saplings in the plantation areas.

Initially, grass seeds were procured from the market; later villagers were encouraged to harvest grass seeds from community lands for purchase by the project authorities.

Within two years, the fodder availability increased substantially and the villagers were encouraged to raise the size of their livestock population.

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FINAL OUTCOME

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FINAL OUTCOME

BADODIA AREAPROTECTIVE WALL AT A SITE

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THANK YOU!

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