This activity covers seven villages of Dunda development block of Uttarkashi district. The villages are Dunda, Khattukhal, Jakhari, Birpur, Kurah, Saini and Balla. The first three villages are part of Dunda Gram Panchayat, the fourth is part of Birpur Gram Panchayat, the fifth and sixth are part of Kurah Gram Panchayat and the last is part of Valya Gram Panchayat. Most of the inhabitants in Birpur village are Bhutias, a Scheduled Tribe, whose main occupation is goat and sheep rearing. Garhwalis dominate rest of the villages. The watershed has been named the watershed as Bhagirathi watershed.

Bhagirathi watershed comprises three micro watersheds and is aligned in north-south direction and oriented towards east. The land in the watershed is second grade, inclined and stony. Agriculture is traditional, based on human and cattle labour. It is entirely dependent on rain, which is mainly confined to four monsoon months. As a result agricultural yield is less than normal and people are dependent on non-agricultural activities like jobs, business and labour.

The main problems of the watershed are:

In view of the above problems the following are objectives of the activity:

Necessary community mobilisation structure – Watershed Committee – has been formed. The Watershed Committee is a 17-member body and has chairperson, deputy chairperson, secretary and treasurer. It includes two or three members from each village with due representation to Scheduled Castes and women in the committee. Bank account in the name of Bhagirathi Watershed has been opened and is being operated by joint signatures of one male and one female member each from among the Watershed Committee members. Watershed Committee is the nodal body to undertake several important jobs including formation and capacity building of user groups and self-help groups. Necessary arrangements have been made for just distribution of benefits and maintenance of assets created under the activity.

Capacity building inputs to Watershed Conservation Team (the staff of the organisation associated with the activity) were given by the watershed resource agency People’s Science Institute, Dehradun, in five phases starting from January 1997. The PSI gives valuable guidance and cooperation to the organisation from time to time.

Original budget of the activity was pegged at Rs 118.36 million. But much less money was sanctioned, forcing the Watershed Committee and Watershed Conservation Team to curtail a number of activities. There was too much delay in releasing first instalment of the sanctioned money. Finally in March 2002 the funding agency released only 12.5 per cent of the curtailed sanctioned money. Residents of the watershed are quite demoralised in view of the dilly-dallying practice being adopted by the funding agency. The amount is just sufficient to organise a few capacity building activities and some plantation. But major works, including those engineering works, will have to be delayed.

Home