Madhya Pradesh : Livelihood Zones Analysis

Improved livelihoods for smallholder farmers

LIVELIHOOD ZONES ANALYSIS A tool for planning agricultural water management investments

Madhya Pradesh

Prepared by Centre for Advanced Research & Development (CARD), Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India in consultation with FAO, 2010

About this report The AgWater Solutions Project aimed at designing agricultural water management (AWM) strategies for smallholder farmers in sub Saharan Africa and in India. The project was managed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and operated jointly with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI) and International Development Enterprise (IDE). It was implemented in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia and in the States of Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal in India.

Several studies have highlighted the potential of AWM for poverty alleviation. In practice, however, adoption rates of AWM solutions remain low, and where adoption has taken place locally, programmes aimed at disseminating these solutions often remain a challenge. The overall goal of the project was to stimulate and support successful pro-poor, gender-equitable AWM investments, policies and implementation strategies through concrete, evidence-based knowledge and decision-making tools.

The project has examined AWM interventions at the farm, community, watershed, and national levels.

It has analyzed opportunities and constraints of a number of small-scale AWM interventions in several pilot research sites across the different project countries, and assessed their potential in different agro-climatic, socio-economic and political contexts.

This report was prepared as part of the efforts to assess the potential for AWM solutions at national level. The livelihood zones analysis divides the country in a series of areas where rural people share relatively homogeneous living conditions on the basis of a combination of biophysical and socio-economic determinants. It describes the main sources of livelihood of rural populations (by category of people), their natural resources base, potential and key constraints to development. It analyses the relation between people and water and helps understanding to what extent and how water can be a factor for development.

Contents

GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................................................... III INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 1 THE CHAMBAL REGION ..................................................................................................................... 1 NORTHERN CHAMBAL ZONE ............................................................................................................. 2 ZONE 7: NORTHERN CHAMBAL RAVINES ZONE ‐ NRRIGATED MUSTARD PREDOMINANT .........................................2 CENTRAL DRY CHAMBAL ZONE ......................................................................................................... 5 ZONE 8 – GWALIOR ZONE – NRY DEGRADED MINING AND PASTORAL .................................................................5 SOUTHERN CHAMBAL ZONE ............................................................................................................. 8 ZONE 9: SOUTH CHAMBAL ZONE ‐ NROGRESSIVE FARMING, WHEAT‐SOYA ..........................................................8 THE MALWA REGION ...................................................................................................................... 10 WESTERN JHABUA HILLS ZONE........................................................................................................ 13 ZONE 2: WESTERN MALWA HILL ZONE – NHIL TRIBE PREDOMINANT ...............................................................13 THE CHITTOR MALWA ZONE ........................................................................................................... 15 ZONE 1: NORTH MALWA‐CHITTOR ZONE – IPIUM‐SILICA PRODUCTION .............................................................15 THE NIMAR ZONE ........................................................................................................................... 17 ZONE 3: NIMAR PLAINS ZONE – NOT DRY – COTTON, CHILLI, BANANA, SUGARCANE ...........................................17 MALWA SUBZONE .......................................................................................................................... 19 ZONE 4: MALWA PLATEAU PLAIN ZONE – ARADITIONAL AGRICULTURE (SPICES PRODUCTION) ..............................19 MALWA EXTENSION ZONE .............................................................................................................. 22 ZONE 5: EASTERN MALWA EXTENSION ZONE – QUALITY WHEAT AND PIGEONPEA PRODUCTION ............................22 ZONE 6: INDUSTRIAL/URBAN SUBZONE OF MALWA (INDORE AND BHOPAL) ......................................................25 VINDHYA REGION ....................................................................................................................................27 THE BUNDEL‐KHAND REGION ......................................................................................................... 28 UPPER BUNDELKHAND ZONE .......................................................................................................... 29 ZONE 11: UPPER BUNDELKHAND ZONE – LOW SOCIO‐ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, LOW PRODUCTIVITY WASTELAND 29 LOWER BUNDELKHAND‐VINDHYA ZONE ......................................................................................... 31 ZONE 10: LOWER BUNDELKHAND ZONE – LOW SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, LOW PRODUCTIVITY WASTELAND .31 THE BAGHEL‐KHAND REGION.......................................................................................................... 33 EASTERN BAGHELKHAND ZONE ...................................................................................................... 34 ZONE 13: EASTERN BAGHELKHAND ZONE ‐ GOREST, GAME RESERVE AND ENERGY PRODUCTION ...........................34 WESTERN BAGHELKHAND ZONE ..................................................................................................... 37 ZONE 12: WESTERN BAGHELKHAND ZONE ‐ GOREST, GAME RESERVE AND ENERGY PRODUCTION ..........................37 THE MAHAKAUSHAL REGION .....................................................................................................................40 THE SATPURA HILLS MAHAKAUSHAL ZONE ..................................................................................... 42

ZONE 15: SATPURA HILLS MAHAKAUSHAL ZONE – NRIBAL FOREST GATHERERS AND DRY LAND FARMERS ...............42 MAHAKAUSHAL MAIKAL HILL ZONE ................................................................................................ 44 ZONE 16: MAHAKAUSHAL MAIKAL HILL ZONE – NOREST, WATER RICH, SUBSISTENCE (MILLET) TRIBAL ZONE ..........44 CENTRAL NARBADA SUB ZONE........................................................................................................ 48 ZONE 14: CENTRAL NARBADA SUB ZONE ‐ NRRIGATED INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION (HORTICULTURE) .....48 UPPER NARBADA SUB ZONE ........................................................................................................... 51 ZONE 17: UPPER NARBADA SUB ZONE – NIXED COMMERCIAL TRIBAL FARMERS, INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES ................51 ANNEX 1 – LIVELIHOOD ZONES ATTRIBUTE TABLE – GENERAL CHACTERISTICS .................................. 1 ANNEX 2 – LIVELIHOOD ZONES ATTRIBUTE TABLE – AWM PRIORITY SOLUTIONS .............................. 2

List of Tables 1 – Groundwater data in the Chambal region 2 – Groundwater data in the Malwa region 3 – Wastelands in Bundelkhand‐Region of MP 4 – Groundwater data in the Bundel‐Khand region 5 – Groundwater in Baghelkhand region 6 – Groundwater status in Mahakaushal region

2 12 28 28 34 41

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Glossary BPL

Below poverty line

FAO

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

FMCG

Fast Moving Consumer Goods

HDI

Human development index

Kharif

Rainy season crops

Lahk

Unit in Asian system. One hundred thousand, usually written as 1,00000

Mandi

Agriculture produce market

MP

Madhya Pradesh

NGO

Non‐governmental organization

NTFP

Non‐timber forest products

Patidars

Land owners

Rabi

Spring harvest in India and Pakistan

SC

Scheduled class

ST

Scheduled tribe

UP

Uttar Pradesh

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INTRODUCTION Historically, Madhya Pradesh (MP) State used to have six regions. The sixth region, however, Chhattisgarh, became autonomous in November 2000. Hence, currently MP state has only five regions. There are about 52 143 villages, 23 044 panchayats and 313 development blocks in 50 districts. Regions forming MP state are the Chambal, Malwa, Bundelkhand, Baghelkhand and Mahakaushal regions. Together the Baghelkhand and Bundelkhand regions are known as the Vindhya region. So, in all there are five regions.

THE CHAMBAL REGION The Chambal region is known for its beehads or ravines, which occur along the scores of rivulets and rivers forming the tributaries of the Chambal river flowing in Yamuna.

This region has eight districts. Datia district is similar to Baghelkhand and not the Chambal region, which is well known for its dacoits, its mustard crop. Gwalior is the largest city in this region, with Gwalior‐based industries, and a very low gender ratio.

In the last 10 years the recorded average annual rainfall was 800 mm.

About 21 percent of the population is scheduled castes (SC) whose settlements represent pockets of poverty. In 2002 it was reported that, during the drought, people from the Sahariya tribe, which dominates villages in Pohri Block, in Shivpuri district, died from starvation.

The northern Madhya Pradesh Chambal region can be divided into three parts based on the livelihoods of the inhabitants and geo‐morphological characteristics. These three regions are the famous ravine‐dominated region on the extreme north border of the state along the banks of the river Chambal, the central dry zone comprising the undulating plains of Gwalior region and the irrigated plains of the southern region. The characteristics of each region are outlined below: Extreme Northern Border – Higher irrigated area, better education, mustard and gram as main crops.

Central Dry Zone – Livestock‐based livelihoods, promotional goatry and mining area/degraded land.

Southern Area – Double cropped well‐irrigated area, soya bean and wheat produced.

Critical areas identified in the region as requiring attention include: irrigation water, crops and cropping intensity, land type, water‐centre issue, efficiency of water use, lack of proper water distribution system, livestock and length of crop growing period, market infrastructure/institution and value chains of farm product. See Table 1 for data on groundwater in the Chambal region.

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Table 1 – Groundwater data in the Chambal region S. No.

District

Status of Groundwater

1

Bhind

All blocks in White Zone (Much groundwater is still available)

2

Guna

3

Ashok Nagar

All blocks are in white zone, except Chachoda block is in Grey zone- Grey zone means the area is reaching the over-exploitation stage of groundwater fast.

4

Gwalior

All blocks in White Zone

5

Morena

All blocks in White Zone

6

Sheopur

All blocks in White Zone

7

Shivpuri

Karera & Narwar in Grey zone. Remaining six blocks in white zone

8

Datia

Datia Block is in Grey Zone, remaining two blocks in white zone

Source: MP‐Human Development Report Archive

The region states a positive for groundwater status with only one block each of Guna and Datia, and two blocks of Shivpuri district out of 40 development blocks of the eight districts of the Chambal region failing in the grey zone.

NORTHERN CHAMBAL ZONE Zone 7: Northern Chambal Ravines Zone ‐ Irrigated mustard predominant GENERAL INDICATORS Demographic composition: The region comprises parts of the districts of Bhind, Morena and Sheopur and is located in the extreme north border region of the state, bordering Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (UP). The average family size is more than 6.37 and more than 6.60 in the districts of Bhind and Morena and less than 6 in Sheopur. The scheduled caste population varies between 16.16 (Sheopur) to 21.48 (Bhind) and is cumulatively placed at 19.57 and above the state average of 15.19. The scheduled tribe population though is below 8 percent, but varies widely within the zone. In Bhind (0.47) and Morena (0.81) the scheduled tribe (ST) population is below 1 percent while in Sheopur (21.53) it is considerable. In fact in Sheopur, the STs along with the SC population exceed one‐third (36 percent) of the total population and are considered highly vulnerable.

A common factor shared by all the districts is that they all have more than the state average share of SC population. In the top two districts (Bhind and Morena) the absence of tribal communities make it somewhat distinct from the bottom district of Sheopur.

Development – All three districts have uniform performance on the human development index (HDI).

All districts are above 0.51 points on a scale of 0 to 1. The landholding pattern suggest that there are about 44.6 percent cultivators and 8.35 landless labourers (agriculture), which suggests there are less than 10 percent landless in the area and the percentage of people engaged in agriculture is less than 55 percent. Translated into a crude economical indicator, it is a good sign that fewer households are dependent on agriculture.

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The level of poverty is reflected in below poverty level (BPL) numbers and the cumulative and district figures suggest that less than 21 percent are in the poverty indicators top bracket. There is correspondence between all these numbers and percentages suggesting absolute poverty to be around 20 percent and is related to access to and management of resources.

Literacy – Cumulative literacy shows that 49.21 percent of the population is literate. Across the districts Sheopur has a literate population of 37.09. On the cumulative score of 48.74, the zone is behind the state average of 52.42 percent literate. Literacy among women is just over one‐third of total women or 35.32 percent. It is far below the state average of 41.33 percent (which in itself is quite low). Bhind district is better off than the rest with 45.35 percent of the female population literate. The concern is Sheopur with just 23.12 percent of literate women.

Gender – The zone has one of the lowest sex ratios in the state and the scene is uniform across the zone. With a cumulative sex ratio of 849, the zonal ratio is 69 points below the state average of 918 (which in itself is of concern). Bhind (829) and Morena (822) have the lowest sex ratios in the state, while Sheopur (894) is not far behind. Sex ratio in the SC is worse at 833 which is 7 points lower than the general population and 62 points lower than the state average (905). Here too, as in the case of the general population, the two districts with the lowest sex ratios are Bhind (812) and Morena (817) and the third follows the pattern of the general population.

In the tribal population (905) the sex ratio is better than the general population or the dalit population but is still 50 points lower than the state average for the tribal population. Here too, as in the case of the general and dalit population, the lowest sex ratio is in Bhind (877) and Morena (894) and there are better results in Sheopur (945).

With lower literacy and lower sex ratio in the zone, especially Bhind and Morena districts, the districts are low on gender equity and should be of concern to planners. With more than 69 percent of girls marrying before the legal age of 18, there is great concern for gender equity.

The trend of low sex ratio and low literacy and high early marriages (7 out of 10 girls) shows that gender discrimination is rampant and uniformly spread throughout the rural areas in all communities in this zone.

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – About 26.24 percent of the total area is under kharif cultivation. This is 29 percent points lower than the state average. Within the zone, Sheopur (38.51) has the highest kharif cultivable area and the lowest kharif area is in Bhind at 13.50 percent.

The lower area for kharif is compensated by the higher cultivable area for rabi at 73.76 percent cumulatively. Bhind has a lower kharif area and one of the highest (86.50) rabi areas. In all the districts the rabi cropped area is above the state average of 44.15 percent.

Pulses – The area under pulses in kharif is 3.01 (from a low of 2.22 in Sheopur to 4.46 in Morena) and is lower than the state average of 8.49 percent of kharif area under pulses. The area under pulses in rabi is also very low (16.73) compared to the state average of 43.35 and varies wildly (from a meager 3.99 in Morena to 10.37 in Bhind). The combined kharif and rabi area under pulses is highest in Bhind and lower in both Morena and Sheopur (below a cumulative score of 10).

The share of pulses production to total production in kharif is than 0.77 percent and is as low as 0.09 percent in Bhind, which has about 2.35 percent of the area under pulses in kharif. In rabi the share of pulses for total production is 5.59 (12.54 percent area under pulses in rabi) and is well below the state average of 14.61 percent. In this zone, Bhind has a better share of pulses in the total

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production at 2.28 and 11.31 (total 13.59), while Morena and Sheopur has the lowest share of pulses for total production.

Cereals – The area under cereals in kharif is about 68.28 percent and is 36 percent points above the state average. The area under cereals is highest (90.51) in Morena for kharif (which has the lowest area and production of pulses) and the lowest in Sheopur (which has the highest area and production for pulses) at 43.35 percent. The area under cereals in rabi is 36.87 percent and deviates from the state trend (45.87). There are no wild swings within the districts.

The share of cereals in kharif total production is 16.87 percent (with 68 percent area share) and in rabi it is 40.56 (against the area share of 37 percent area). Cereal production has sharply increased in rabi, the factor contributing to this increased production is water use.

Land‐use pattern – There is fairly good cumulative forest cover but the scene is disturbing in Bhind (2 percent) and Morena (10.1 percent) while in Sheopur (43.84) it is quite good.

The area under pasture is 4.3, which is uniform across the zone but below the state average of 4.38.

The net sown area is 49.35 percent and is comparable to the state average of 47.91. Bhind has a large net sown area (72.06) while Sheopur (23.64) has one of the least sown areas. The disparities in net sown areas are the result of the availability of irrigation in the districts with Sheopur having better water infrastructure than Bhind and Morena. The double sown area is far less (9.26) and is about half the state average.

Irrigation – Open wells are the major source of irrigation with wide disparities. Open wells’ share in irrigation is above 50 percent in Bhind (60.58) and Morena (50.74) but is as low as 8.86 percent of total irrigation in Sheopur. Incidentally, Sheopur has 51 percent of irrigation by canal followed by 31 percent by tube wells. This indicates that in Sheopur use of open wells, and use of traditional sources of irrigation, has reduced with use of modern technologies.

Canal irrigation is the second largest source of irrigation with 34 percent share for total irrigation.

Bhind has the lowest (21.28) percentage, but all districts have more than the state average of 18.12 percent.

Tube wells form the third source of irrigation and are almost uniform in the two districts of Bhind and Morena and are lower than the state average of 25.5 percent. Sheopur has the highest share of total irrigation at 31.64 percent.

The zone has good irrigation facilities and one of the districts, Sheopur, has about 60 percent of the total cultivable area under irrigation, which is one of the highest in the state.

Work force – Workers’ participation rate is 38.28 percent and female workers’ participation rate is 26 percent. Cultivators share in total workers is 45 percent and agriculture workers 8 percent.

Livestock production – The subzone comprising the three districts are similar. The Chambal north zone, as for the Chambal region as a whole, has good livestock and milk status and is a successfully operating flood region that registered a milk revolution during the 1980s. Milk production for the individual districts is 223.6 (Bhind) and 490.3 and (Morena and Sheopur combined) 1 000 tonnes.

Meat production is only 0.2 tonnes and egg production is 5.6 lakh1 for Bhind district. The region is famous for the Bhaindehi breed of buffalo.

Soil and rainfall – The zone has very few (30) rainy days and the average rainfall is 608 mm, which is also on the low side. Bhind has about 479 mm of relief and Morena – Sheopur 569.9 mm, which is less than the average rainfall and is compensated by irrigation infrastructure.

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Unit in Asian system, one hundred thousand, usually written as 1,00000 4

The northern border area is highly irrigated and some of the districts have the highest irrigation by any source in the state. Irrigation is from groundwater lifting and flooding. The social fabric is extremely traditional and caste discrimination may easily be discerned. The landholding pattern is, to a certain extent, on the lines of caste division; almost 30 percent of the households are without holdings.

Another 50 percent are subsistence farmers and, along with the landless, almost 80 percent of families have precarious livelihoods. Only 20 percent is cash crops with large landholdings.

The main cropping area is under mustard and gram, which are the main cash crops. Excessive groundwater lifting has turned the area into a critical zone. In the first exercise, on‐farm and community water management was identified as the number one priority area followed by water governance (conflict management) and efficient use of water. In the subsequent exercise, irrigation management is considered highest priority followed by land reclamation.

Considering the socio‐economic pattern of the area with land holding and land‐use pattern, there is a need for water governance and management as the top priority with share equity to landless and marginal farmers.

CENTRAL DRY CHAMBAL ZONE Zone 8 – Gwalior Zone – Dry degraded mining and pastoral GENERAL INDICATORS Demographic composition – Popularly known as Gwalior zone, comprises the districts of Gwalior, Datia and Shivpuri. The average family size is more than 6.13, varing between 5.86 (Datia) to 6.70 (Gwalior).

The SC population in the zone is 20.93 percent and in all districts it is more than the state average of 15.19 percent. The highest percentage of SC is in Datia (24.95), which is followed by Gwalior (21.08).

The tribal population is just 4.27 percent, except for Gwalior (11.19), the rest of the districts have a negligible tribal population ranging from 0.81 in Morena to 3.49 in Shivpuri. The tribal population in the zone is well below the state average and only in Gwalior the combined SC and ST share is about 30 percent of the total population.

Development – HDI has a uniform performance across all four districs with cumulatively agregates to 0.51, which is better than other zones in the state. The gender development index is 0.52 and is better than the general human development index.

There are 42.40 percent who are cultivators in the zone and 7.23 percent are landless labourers. The percentage of landless suggests that poverty in the zone could be below the state statistical average.

This is corroborated by the percentage of households below the poverty line (19.58) and the spread of poverty is uniform in all districts.

Literacy – The cumulative literacy of the zone shows that more than half the population is literate at 54.48 percent. The literacy rate is uniformly spread, except for Gwalior (47.34), which is below 50 percent and is less than the state average of 52.42 percent. The difference in female to male literacy is about 13 percentage points and, again, Gwalior (32.61) has the dubious distinction of having the lowest female literacy in the zone.

Gender – The zone has one of the lowest sex ratios in the state and the scene is uniform across the zone. With a cumulative sex ratio of 846, the ratio for the zone is 72 points below the state average of

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918 (which in itself is a point of concern). Morena (822) has the lowest sex ratio in the zone but the three others have a poor sex ratio (860), which is 61 points below the state average.

The SC sex ratio is less at 841 and at 817 Morena has the lowest SC sex ratio. The rest are lower than the general population sex ratio and in conformity with the state trends for the SC population. Though this is in line with the state trends, the sex ratio among this segment of the population is below 850 and is a huge concern.

The sex ratio among the ST population is comparatively better at 915 but well below the state average of 976. Except for Shivpuri (945), the rest of the districts (especially Morena with 894) have considerable lower sex ratios among the tribal population. The lower sex ratio among the tribal is discernible as the tribal population is a minority in the zone and the influence of the general population’s customs and traditions could affect this result.

The zone is of concern because about 56.75 percent of girls marry before the legal age of 18, except for Gwalior (35.8). In the rest of the districts more than 50 percent of girls marry before the legal age of 18. The highest figure is for Morena (73.9), followed by Shivpuri (68.3). The trend suggests that gender discrimination in this zone is critical and should be a matter of concern for all.

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Area under crops and production – 29.87 percent of the area is under kharif cultivation and is about 36 percentage points lower than the state average. Rabi cultivation is about 70.13 percent and is 26 percentage points above the state average. This suggests that the zone has either a good irrigation infrastructure or good irrigation potential.

Pulses – In kharif the area under pulses is 10.68 and, except for Morena and Gwalior (4.46 and 8.03 respectively), the other two districts have more than 10 percent of the kharif area under pulses (18.50 and 11.73 percent respectively for Datia and Shivpuri). Because of Datia and Shivpuri the area under pulses is more than the state average of 8.49 percent. The area under rabi cultivation of pulses is low at 20.68 and is lower than the state average of 43.68 by more than 23 points. No single district has equal to or more than the state average for rabi area under pulses; though the trend in kharif is exactly opposite in almost three districts. Datia (37) followed by Gwalior (29.21) have considerable area under pulses during the rabi season. On average, the total area under pulses (combined kharif and rabi) is very low and varies between Morena (4.46 kharif plus 3.99 rabi: total 8.45 percent), Gwalior (8.03 kharif plus 12.53 rabi: total 20.56 percent), Shivpuri (11.73 kharif plus 29.21 rabi: total 40.94 percent) and Datia (18.50 kharif plus 37 rabi: total 55.50 percent).

The kharif production of pulses is a meager 0.93 percent of the total production, whereas the rabi share is 9.95 percent. In both kharif and rabi the share of pulses is less than the state average. In addition, the production of rabi shows a greater yield of more than 39 percent points over kharif.

The total production of pulses in the zone is 10.88 percent of the total production and is well below the state average of 16.79 percent. Compared to the state average production of pulses at 0.32 per unit, the production of pulses (yield) is better at 0.34 per unit. In Datia, the average yield of pulses is 24 percent points higher than the state yield.

Cereals – The area under cereals during kharif is about 45.55 percent and is 13 percent points above the state average. There are wild variations from Datia at 16.93 to Morena at 90.51 percent of kharif area under cereals. Another low area is Shivpuri at 21.37 percent. The rabi season area under cereals is more or less equal to the state average, but Gwalior has about 60.07 percent of the rabi area under cereals, followed by Datia at 53.15. Morena has the lowest rabi area under cereals at 29.30 percent,

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the rest of the districts have a higher rabi area under cultivation, which may be attributed to better irrigation potential in the districts.

The share of cereals is 14.56 percent against 16.44 percent at the state level. The share of cereals is 47 percent of total production (the state average is 31.63 percent with identical area average under cultivation).

The average yield of cereals during the kharif season is below the state average of 0.50 percent per unit of area. It is lowest in Datia at 0.10 and highest in Gwalior at 0.61. In rabi the situation is reversed with Datia averaging the highest yield for cereals at 1.24 percent against the state average of 0.68. All districts have better rabi cereal yield production at 1.02, with the lowest being Gwalior at 0.80. The share of cumulative cereals for total production is 61 percent, and is above the state average of 48 percent. Gwalior is the exception, with lower than the state average share of cereals production to the total production, the rest of the districts have a better share of cereals for total production.

Cumulatively the yield for cereals (0.67) is better than the state average of 0.61 This could have been better still if Morena had not given 0.46 yield.

The trends show that the share of cereals for total production is quite high and is better suited in the rabi season either, because of the availability of protective irrigation or assured irrigation.

Land‐use pattern – Cumulative forest cover is of concern, as the average does not provide a clear picture. The average, at 17.31, is 11 percentage points lower than 28.28 percent, except for Shivpuri (33.16) and, to a lesser extent, Gwalior (16.07). Datia and Morena have about 10 percent of the forest cover. Pasture and grazingland is a only 3.15 percent (against the state 4.38 percent). The net sown area is very high at 51.22 percent and is higher than the state average of 39.58 and, at 63.11 percent, is very high in Datia. The double sown area is far less at 15.16 (against the state average of 17.49 percent).

Irrigation – Open wells comprise the major source of irrigation in the zone showing wide disparities.

Open well share of irrigation is above 50 percent in Shivpuri (52.17) and Morena (50.74); about 42.42 in Datia and just 16.48 in Gwalior. This is followed by canal irrigation at 34.15 (against the state average of 18.12 percent). Datia has the highest canal irrigation share in its total irrigation potential at 55.11 percent. The lowest is Shivpuri. This is followed by tube wells with 20 percent. Gwalior delivers 37.55 percent of its irrigation via tube wells and the lowest is in Datia (1.22). Irrigation from tanks is below 1 percent and only Shivpuri has almost the equal share as that of the state (2.35).

Work force – The districts of Gwalior, Datia and parts of Shivpuri and Morena show variations in work force distribution. Datia leads with 50 percent of worker participation rate, followed by Shivpuri at 45.2 percent and, the other extreme, is 32 percent for Gwalior. The female work participation rate follows in the same order at 43.2 percent, 37.3 percent and 14.7 percent for the three districts in the same order respectively. Similarly, there are 53.7 percent cultivators in Shivpuri, 47.8 for Morena, 45.5 in Datia and 40.8 in Sheopur. Agricultural labourers are a maximum of 10 percent in Sheopur and 5 percent in Gwalior. Gwalior district distorts the other worker scenario because of the sizable urban population in Gwalior city, with 52 percent of other workers.

Livestock production – The subzone comprises four districts and, because of its size, is well placed in the field of livestock production. Chambal region, as a whole, has good livestock and milk status and is a successfully operating flood region, which registered a milk revolution during the 1980s. The milk production for the individual districts in 1 000 tonnes is 117.2 (Datia), 221.6 (Gwalior) and 259.3 (Shivpuri). Meat production is a moderate 300 tonnes per district per annum. Egg production is low

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and the combined figure of 97.5 lakh is for the four districts. The combined cattle and bovine population of these districts is 10.73 lakh, over 10.55 lakh for goats and 1.19 lakh for sheep.

Soil and rainfall – The zone has an average of 34 rainy days and an average rainfall of 662.57, which is evenly spread across all districts. The soil has good copper and iron content but low to moderate zinc content.

The area is marked by a high level of poverty, as for the neighboring Chambal north zone with almost 20 percent landless labourers and close to 60 percent are marginal farmers. The land is degraded, mining is one of the main activities, there are large livestock holdings and goat rearing.

Availiability of water is too low. There are huge differences between those that have and those with no access to resources. There are few echnological interventions. Water management is almost non‐ existent. In the first round [of the workshop], water harvesting, water management and water for livestock were identified as primary areas for intervention. Subsequently, irrigation and watershed management has been prioritized for focussed interventions.

The area needs two important interventions: resource‐sharing knowledge management and collective resource creation and management.

SOUTHERN CHAMBAL ZONE Zone 9: South Chambal Zone ‐ Progressive farming, wheat‐soya GENERAL INDICATORS Composition – The subzone is comprised of Guna district, which is now split into two districts Ashoknagar and Guna. The average family size in the zone is more than 6, varing between 6.12 (Ashoknagar) to 6.03 (Guna). The zone has above the state average of family size. The SC population in the zone is 20.43 percent, which is more than the state average in both districts as Ashoknagar (23.25) having almost one‐quarter SC population. The ST population is just 7.66 percent and is well below the state average of 20.30 percent. There is a considerable ST population in Guna at 12.22 percent and, together with the SC population, the vulnerable and traditional resource‐poor families comprise 30 percent.

Development – The human development index is below 50 at 0.47. The gender development index is identical with the general HDI. The percentage of main workers is 74.48, which is quite high considering that almost 20 percent are children. Taking into account the elderly, with the above 20 percent for children, the two‐thirds of main workers is quite high. Even at the state level, the percentage for main workers is 73.86.

The zone has 39.97 percent cultivators, which is above the state average of 34.33 and just 12.94 percent landless laborers. Though the landless labourers are low, the main workers and other indicators suggest that the poverty level is uniform and profound.

Literacy – The zone at 49.97 percent literate population, has one of the least literate populations in the state, which is below the state average of 52.42. Ashoknagar has a slightly better (52.07 percent) literacy than Guna (47.88). Female literacy is a further 13 points down at 36.17 percent. The trend is the same as for the general population and Guna has one of the lowest female literacy rates in the state.

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Gender – The zone has one of the lowest sex ratios in the state; both the districts have almost identical sex ratios and the cumulative sex ratio is 882.97, which is well below the state average of 918.5. The sex ratio for the SC category follows almost the same trends and the cumulative sex ratio is 883.94. The sex ratio for the ST category is a welcome change at 54 points above the general population sex ratio. In a sense, if the tribal sex ratio is subtracted, the general population sex ratio may be further reduced and is a matter of concern.

Early marriages are the norm in this zone with almost 70 percent of girls getting married before the legal age of 18. These indicators indicate that gender discrimination is a critical issue in this zone.

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – Two‐fifths of the area is under kharif cultivation and is about 15 percentage points lower than the state average. Rabi cultivation is about 59.99 percent and is 15 percentage points above the state average. This suggests that the zone has a relatively better protective irrigation infrastructure or good irrigation potential.

Pulses – During kharif the area under pulses is 13.80 and is almost 5 percent points above the state average. The pulses in kharif, however, are almost one‐quarter in Ashoknagar (23.32) against a low of 4.29 percent in Guna. The area under pulses in rabi is almost half the total area under cultivation (50.63) and both the districts have a considerable area under pulses during rabi with Ashoknagar (56.30) marginally ahead of Guna (44.96); both are above the state average of 43.35.

Though there is greater area under pulses during kharif, the share in production is just 1.84 percent of total production. The state average yield is 0.25 percent, the two districts are lower than the state average with 0.11 and 0.13. The state average for pulses in kharif is 8.49 percent, the state share of pulses is 2.18 percent of total production; whereas the two districts under discussion have 13.80 percent of the area under pulses in kharif but the share is just 1.84 percent of total production.

In rabi the area under the pulses is 50.63 (against the state average of 43.35), the share in production is 29.18 percent of total production. The state yield is 0.32, and the rabi pulses yield in Ashoknagar is 0.55 points and in Guna 0.44 points higher than the state average.

Cereals – The area under cereals in kharif is about 11.44 percent and is 22 percentage points below the state average of 32.67. There is uniformity across both district. The rabi area under cereals is higher but barely touches the state average of 45.87. Combined, the area under cereals in kharif and rabi is just 66 points against the state average of 88 points.

The cereals production share in kharif is 4.12 percent. The average yield in kharif (cereals) is about 0.35, and is below the state average of 0.50. In fact the yield for kharif cereals in Ashoknaar is just 0.29 and is quite low. In rabi, though, with just 44.47 percent of the area under cereals (against 45.87 at the state level), the share is 34.61 percent (against 31.63 at the state level). At first sight the yield looks good in rabi for cereals, which is poor in kharif. In rabi the state average yield is 0.68 and Guna is on par with this (0.66) while Ashoknagar has a whopping 0.90 return of yield in rabi. The yield during rabi shows marked improvement over the kharif yield as well as the state averages.

Land‐use pattern – Cumulative forest cover is quite healthy at 25.58, the forest cover is good in Guna (39.88) and average at 11.29 percent in Ashoknagar. The area under pastures is again better at 4.87 (against the state average of 4.38). Guna has good pastures and grazing with a percentage of 7.07 percent, while Ashoknagar has just 2.67 percent for pastures and grazing.

The total net sown area is quite high at 52.35 (five points higher than the state average of 47.91 percent). The net sown area shows the same trend as for the other area distribution. In

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Ashoknagar the net sown area is very high at 65.71 and the return on such a high net sown area is very low. The double‐cropped area is very low at 12.68 percent and is a mystery when comparedi with the high rabi sown area.

Irrigation – Tube wells are the main source of irrigation at 37.68 percent share. This is followed by 21.95 percent share of open wells. The share for canals is 11.68 percent and tanks are a miniscule 2.52 percent. As far as irrigation trends are concerned, there are no disparities between the two districts.

Work force – Total workers to total population in the two districts differ significantly and are 41 percent (Guna) and 34 percent (Ashoknagar), whereas there is a wide disparity between the female participation rate for Guna (29.1 percent) and Ashoknagar (15.8 percent). The ratio of cultivators to total work force is in the range of 54 percent. The ratio of agriculture labourers is similar for both districts (13 percent).

Livestock development – The cow and buffalo population is 4.35 lakh, which is significant. There are few sheep, around 5 000 and goats are 2.45 lakh. Adwani has predominance of local non‐descript breed cattle. As per the 2009–2010 animal husbandry data for milk, egg and meat production, which are combined for Guna and Ashoknagar, was 2.11 lakh tonne, 29.8 lakh and 300 tonne.

Soil and rainfall – The zone has an average of 41 rainy days and an average rainfall of 832.9 mm.

Copper content is good and the iron is adequate to moderate but zinc is very low.

The area has moderate levels of poverty with about 20 percent of rural households being landless labourers. About 50 percent of the farm area is under cash crops. This area is the southern tip of the Chambal region and has better access to irrigation. Water access is moderate with low technological inputs and the technology in use is diesel and electricity pumps to draw water from the ground. The major crops are wheat and soybean. The region has seen a large‐scale inflow of progressive farmers from Punjab since the 1970s and the area has become a landmark for agriculture revolution in the state.

In the first exercise, community on‐farm water management was the top priority followed by water governance and water for livestock. Water governance is a critical issue in this area and the important aspects requiring attention are conflicts between upper castes and lower castes over water access and use.

Subsequently, other areas needing improvement have been identified. These are irrigation management, access to extension services and agriculture inputs.

Considering the socio‐economic situation in the area, the focus should be on community watershed management, water governance education and community managed extension services.

THE MALWA REGION The Malwa Region elects the largest number of legislatives and grows a large quantity of soybeans, gram, potatoes, wheat and government‐controlled opium. In 2005 the Malwa region had 18 districts.

It has a rich cultural and literary heritage, owing to its various architectural sites and the recognition of the Malwi dialect as being one of the prime sources of the Hindi language. Besides, Malwa was the seat of the Great Ujjain King – Raja Vikramaditya – the Julius Caesar of India, who gave the Vikrami Calendar to India, not unlike the Julian calendar given by Caesar.

Malwa recorded an average rainfall of about 1 000 mm over the last 10 years. Malwa Region has two distinct subregions: distinct hilly areas, such as the four districts of Nimar, Dhar and Jhabua and

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Sailana and Bajna blocks of Ratlam district and the second subregion contains relatively plain‐plateau land.

Indore is the largest city in the region and the state. Bhopal is the second largest city in the region and the state and is the capital of Madhya Pradesh. Malwa has two large industrial areas, one near Indore and the other near Bhopal. The Malwa region has the dubious distinction of having the three poorest districts in the state, which are the districts of Jhabua, Khargone and Barwani, inhabited by a large belt of the Bhil tribes.

These districts have suffered land, water, soil and biomass‐based degradation on an unprecedented scale. Because of the loss of biomass on the peaks, along the slopes and massive topsoil erosion, productivity on many big parcels of land has been irreversibly lost. The same has happened in many parts of Khandwa, Ratlam (Sailana, Bajna) and Dhar areas, but at a smaller scale then in Jhabua and Khargone. Hence most of the degradation‐affected inhabitants migrate to remote areas to seek their livelihoods.

This region also has a large pool of grassroots non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) engaged in the protection of Jal, jungle, zamin, Janvar and Jan (5Js: water, forest, land, livestock and human) of this subregion in Malwa. Interestingly, some small parts of these districts still use the circuitous paat‐ based traditional Bhili irrigation system. The government is investing huge resources to restore the ecology of these hilly areas.

There are three sets of rivers in Malwa. The first set of move from east to west, i.e. Narmada river originating on Maikal peak in Amarkantak (Shahdol district) and Tapti river originating in Multai block of Betul district. Both rivers exit into the Arabian Sea, after passing the Malwa tract and crossing a small part of Gujarat. A series of dams have been built on the Narmada river, which provide irrigation and hydraulic power to the state. The second set is comprised of two relatively small rivers, which originate in the Malwa region itself and receive some water from Rajasthan. They are the Arabian Sea‐ bound Mahi and Anas rivers. Mahi‐Kadana and Mahi‐Bajaj are two major dams on the Mahi river.

The third set of rivers are the eastward moving tributaries of Chambal river, such as Shipra, Parvati, Kali Sindh, etc. Two of these originate in Madhya Pradesh and the others come from Rajasthan, there are five such Chambal‐bound rivers. Gandhi Sagar lake, a large water body in Mandsaur district, lies on one of the Chambal tributaries.

The participants of Malwa region at the AWM workshop in Bhopal agreed to divide the region into five subzones. Starting from the west, the Jhabua hills zone extends into the whole western boundary of Gujrat state. The north region, a part of Chittor region is famous for narcotics cultivation, the Nimar plains and hills south of Narmada, the Malwa plateau plain region and Malwa east extension. Further, this region also has a higher concentration of urban and industrial activities because of the presence of Bhopal, which is the state capital, and the Indore‐Dewas‐Pitampur industrial belt. The characteristics of each region are: Western Jhabua hills Zone – Bhil tribe dominated hilly terrain not suitable for intensive cultivation, comparatively lower rainfall of 800 mm. Main crops are maize and jowar.

Central Malwa Zone – Soya, wheat and potato belt. Also famous for production of spices (coriander, ginger, onion, garlic) cattle‐based livelihoods, large‐scale exploitation of groundwater through tube wells now in critical condition.

Southern Nimar Area – Cotton, chilli and sugar belt south of Narmada, very hot and dry climate.

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Livelihood based

Mahua, chirongi, hurra, awalan, tendu leaves

Tourism

Ujjain, Dewas, Khargone, Vidisha, Raisen

Non religious:

Indore, Dhar, Jhabua, Vidisha, Raisen

Live stock

Large ruminants: cow, buffalo and bullock

Small ruminants

Goat

Birds

Poultry, swan

Horticulture

Citrus, pomegranate, grapes, guava,

Papaya, banana, mango, vegetables,

Spices:

All spices, turmeric, chilly, cumin, veti verra

Agriculture

Wheat, maize, soybean, mustard, sea‐sum, gram, cotton, tobacco

Water based

Fisheries, shell nuts

The big challenge is to drought‐proof the 18 districts of Malwa. Rajiv Gandhi Watershed Mission has been engaged in doing this since 1996. Major watershed‐related works have been taken up in both the hilly and plateau areas of the region. Much more remains to be accomplished. Dataon the status of groundwater in Malwa region is shown in Table 2.

Table 2 – Groundwater data in the Malwa region

S. No.

District

Status of Groundwater

1

Bhopal

Phanda Block in Grey zone and Berasia block is still in white zone but not very far from the grey zone.

2

Dewas

Except for Kannod block all others are in low groundwater holding stage. Particularly, two blocks of Sonkutch and Dewas have almost exhausted their groundwater. Bagli, Khategaon and Tonkl khurd are the three blocks that have depleted about 42 percent to 45 percent of the groundwater through harnessing.

3

Dhar

Four Blocks, viz. Badnawar, Dhar, Mannawar and Nalcha are in Black zone. Three blocks: Bakaner, Dhrampuri and Sardarpur are in grey zone. Remaining six blocks are in white zone.

4

Indore

Of the four blocks only Mhow block falls into the white zone, remaining three are in the black zone.

5

Jhabua

All 12 Blocks fall in the white zone. Pellawad and Sendhwa blocks have harnessed their groundwater much more than the other ten blocks

6

Khargone

Only one block, viz. of Badwaha has reached the grey zone stage but Gogaon, Khargone and Maheshwar blocks also are nearing the grey zone stage. Remaining five blocks are in safe or white zone.

7

Barwani

Panscimal Block falls into the black zone (already declared over exploited, no more harnessing of groundwater should be allowed in the block) Thikari block is in grey zone and remaining five blocks are in white zone.

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8

9

Khandwa and Burhanpur

Chhegaonmakhan is the only block that has reached the grey stage of water exploitation.

Punasa, Khandwa and Khakner blocks are also using groundwater a lot and are close to grey stage. Remaing five blocks still have a lot of groundwater available and are hence in white zone.

Raisen

All in white zone. But four blocks, viz. of Bagum Ganj, Gairat Ganj, Silwani and Obaidullaganj are reaching the grey zone stage fast (when 60 percent of all groundwater has been exhausted) and remaining five blocks are safely in the white zone.

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Rajgarh

This district is left with very little groundwater. Khichipur block is clearly in the black zone, having exploited 108 percent of its groundwater, but Zirapur is also not very far, it has already exploted > 82 percent of its total groundwater. All other blocks are very close to grey zone.

Biora block has the most potential for untapped groundwater but 52 percent of total groundwater has already been harnessed.

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Ratlam

Sailana and Bajna blocks are in the white zone. Except for the Sailana and Bajana blocks all four blocks are over‐stretched for groundwater.

13

Ujjain

Ujjain, Ghatia and Badnagar are the three blocks that have overexploited the water balance.

Only Mahidpur block is in the white zone.

14

Sehore

Sehore and Ashtha blocks are in the black zone. Remaining three blocks are in the white zone.

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Shajapur

All seven blocks have drawn and exploited aquifer reserves

16

Mandsaur

Of the five blocks, Garoth and Manpuira are in relatively better position, though not below 65 percent of level of exploitation. Remaining three blocks have over‐exploited groundwater.

17

Neemuch

Of the three blocks Nummuch has already used 160 percent of its resource, Javad block is in the white zone and Manasa is nearing grey zone.

18

Vidisha

All seven blocks are in the white zone.

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Source: MP‐Human Development Report Archive‐2002

Overall, Malwa is facing groundwater depletion more seriously than the other districts or regions.

WESTERN JHABUA HILLS ZONE Zone 2: Western Malwa Hill Zone – Bhil tribe Predominant GENERAL INDICATORS Demographic composition – the Western Jhabua hills subzone has three districts: Jhabua, Alirajpur and Ratlam. Alirajpur is a recently carved out district and therefore has similar characteristics to Jhabua. Both are tribal districts, with an 87 percent share of the total population, whereas Ratlam has comparatively less share of tribal people, who are located mainly in the two southern blocks of Bajna and Sailana. One‐quarter of the population is tribal, more than the state average (20.30 percent) of tribal population. The SC population is less than 5 percent in the tribal dominated districts (5.58 and 2.82 percent respectively) but Ratlam has SC representation (13.41), almost equal to the state average (15.19). Cumulatively, the subzone has more than 66.60 percent of tribal population and 7.27 percent of SC population. Together these groups comprise about three‐quarters of the total population.

Development – HDI is 0.46 percent and may be considered good. There are, however, wide variations within the subzone; Alirajpur/Jhabua have 0.36 HDI, the lowest in the state and Ratlam has 0.55 HDI and it is in the top ten bracket for the state. This creates the disparity in development within the zone.

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On the gender development index, there is uniformity across the zone and it is comparatively higher at 0.56 (state high 0.64), which is the result of the higher sex ratio among both SCs and STs. The ratio of landless labourers in the zone is also low at 6.94 percent (very low in Jhabua and Alirajpur and about 13 in Ratlam). Only one‐quarter of the total population lives below the poverty line and is better off than where poverty is more pronounced than this zone.

Literacy – The literacy rate in the zone is quite low at 35 percent. This is because the two tribal districts have one of the lowest literacy rates (21 and 28 respectively) in the state. The female literacy rate is abysmally lower at 26 percent.

Gender – The sex ratio of the zone is quite good cumulatively at 980. This is because of 997 and 986 of the two tribal districts. Even in Ratlam the sex ratio (957) is higher than the state (918) average. The child sex ratio is also better at 970 (981, 974 and 957 for Alirajpur, Jhabua and Ratlam respectively).

The only anomaly is the early marriage of girls. About 53 percent of girls are married before the legal age of 18 The sex ratio of the ST in Alirajpur is above 1 000 and in Jhabua it is close to 1 000 (993) and cumulatively it is 990 in the three district. The SC sex ratio is lower than the general sex ratio and is a big concern as it shows the preference for ‘males’ is increasing in SC communities.

The trend in the male to female literacy gap shows that in the tribal districts the rate is around 14 to 17 percent but is more than 20 percent in Ratlam. A primary inference can be made that gender discrimination is more pronounced in the non‐tribal communities in this zone. Even early marriage data shows there is not much difference between the two distinct districts of this zone.

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – About 80 percent of the area is under kharif and about 21 percent under rabi crops. Cereals share in the production is about 55 percent and pulses 13 percent. Whereas, cereals production is more than the state average, pulses production is less. With cereals and pulses combined the production share is 68 percent and shows that there is very less ingenuity, innovation and adaptability to market as far as the selection of crop is concerned. The reasons are related to knowledge management, lack of extension services and lack of infrastructure (water, markets, etc).

Land‐use pattern – Though two districts are tribal dominated, and with more than 66 percent as the total population, forest cover is very low at 11 percent. Even in the two tribal districts, forest cover is (14 percent) below the state average of 28 percent. The net sown area is about 60 percent and the rest is fallow. Less than 1 percent of the land is under trees or horticulture.

Irrigation – Interestingly, the tribal districts have better canal irrigation than the non‐tribal areas. Of the 20 percent of the area under irrigation, the tribal districts have 15 percent under canals, whereas the non‐tribal district has just 1.51 percent of canal irrigation. The share of tank irrigation in the tribal areas is equal to canal irrigation, tube wells share just 3 percent, open wells around 36 percent and other sources (the paats and traditional sources) 29.55 percent. In the non‐tribal district of Ratlam the percentage for tanks is similar to that for canals (1.6) but the tube well share is 56.31 percent and open wells 35.39 percent. The two areas in the zone have distinct irrigation features.

Work force – The percentage of the work force in the Bhil predominant tribal Jhabua and Alirajpur districts is 53 percent with 51 percent female work participation rate. In comparison, Ratlam figures are 45 and 36 percent. Similarly cultivators are overwhelming in the first two districts (57 and 54) and there is an almost miniscule representation of agriculture labourers. This is because of the

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government land, patta, distribution policy to ST, which is reflected in the average farm size of around 1.7 ha. Ratlam district in comparison has 38 percent cultivators and 13 percent agricultural labourers.

Livestock production – The subzone is moderately placed in the livestock production field. The annual milk production is low at 115 and 151 000 tonnes for Jhabua and Ratlam respectively. Meat production is also moderate at 650 tonnes per annum. But the tribal hill region (Jhabua/Alirajpur) far excels in egg production at 286 lakh out of a total of 6 714 lakh for the state, which includes organized poultries in urban centres such as Bhopal, Indore, etc. The combined cattle and bovine population of these districts is 4.5 lakh and there are over 7 lakh goats and 16 000 sheep.

Soil and rainfall – The area has a uniform rainfall of around 1 000 mm with about 40 rainy days. The soil is rich in copper and iron but lacks zinc supplements.

This subzone is a hilly terrain that adjoins the Gujarat’s tribal districts. The Bhil tribe dominates this zone with its hilly terrain and low rainfall of around 800 mm. Maize and jowar are the main crops. The region is highly vulnerable to drought and the poverty level is also high, with about 30 percent landless and the rest of households are subsistence farmers (about 70 percent).

Groundwater availability is very high but technological intervention is moderate and is mostly traditional. The management of traditional technologies is good, comparatively less efficient for water management solutions. Adaptability to new forms and management is extremely low. Vulnerability to drought is high. In the earlier exercise, the priorities for the zone were water‐harvesting technologies, watershed development and development of an agro‐pastoral based livelihood option.

In the subsequent exercise the area was identified as being in need of watershed development, agricultural extension services and micro‐credit. The institutional base in the area is very weak and needs to be developed.

THE CHITTOR MALWA ZONE Zone 1: North Malwa‐Chittor zone – Opium‐silica production GENERAL INDICATORS Composition – The Chittor‐Malwa zone (Neemuch and Mandsaur districts) bordering the famous Chittor of Rajasthan, has a combined 15.29 percent SC population (12 and 17 in Neemuch and Mandsaur respectively) and 6 percent ST population (8.51 and 3.17 in Neemuch and Mandsaur respectively) and together forms one‐fifth of the total population. The state has 15.19 and 20.30 percent respectively of SC and ST population forming 35 percent of the total population. Compared with this and other high SC and ST population districts, these two are in the middle range; nevertheless Mandsaur is in the top half (fifteenth) of the SC population and, as such, at a greater level of disadvantage.

Development – Compared to other zones and districts, Neemuch and Mandsaur have a good HDI of 0.54 (the lowest in the state is 0.36 and the highest is 0.64). The gender development index places this zone in a positive position with 0.61 in both the districts (0.43 and 0.66 as the lowest and highest in the state). About one‐fifth of the population lives below the poverty line (at 23 percent each) but this pales in comparison with districts and zones with more than 75 percent of the population living below the poverty line. The region is in the lower half of the poverty line with just 12 districts being better off than this zone.

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The sex ratio of the zone is comparatively good at 949 and 956 and is above the state average of 918 (16 districts have less than 900 and another 8 have less than state average of 918). There is a concern about the child sex ratio in Neemuch (and Mandsaur) at 931, which is below the state average of 932 and puts this region in the growing trend of traditional preference for boys.

Literacy – The zone has one of the better literacy rates in the state with more than 56 percent of the population literate. The female literacy rate is around 43 percent.

Gender – Though the sex ratio is favouarble, the other indicators suggest that gender bias is one of the issues in the subzone. Early marriages take place and as per the National Family Health Survey round 3, around 59 percent of girls marry before the legal age of 18.

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – Cereals and pulses are the two major crops in the subzone. Of the total cropped area, about 70 (69 to 75) percent is kharif or rainfed and only 26 (31 to 25) percent is irrigated. Apart from the poppy cultivation, which this subzone is famous for, cereals form the major agriculture production followed by pulses. Cereals share is between 30 to 40 percent, whereas the share for pulses is between 6 to 7 percent of total production. This is far below the state average of 48 and 17 percent respectively for cereals and pulses.

Land‐use pattern – The subzone has two distinct characteristics as regards forest cover. Neemuch has about 23 percent of the forest cover and Mandsaur has negligible forest cover of 7 percent. There are variations in the net sown area in the two districts. In Neemuch, the net sown area is comparable to the state average of 47 percent whereas in Mandsaur the net sown area is about 65 percent.

Irrigation – Of the total irrigated area, about 75 percent of the area is irrigated by open wells. Tube wells are between 22 and 9 percent respectively in Neemuch and Mandsaur, while canal irrigation is a meager 4 to 1 percent respectively.

Work force – As the two districts are part of the same district the work force distribution is similar for total worker participation rate (48 percent) and female work participation rate (44 percent). The proportion of cultivators to total workers is a uniform 44 percent, but the ratio of agriculture labourers varies at 17 percent for Mandsaur and 14 percent for Neemuch.

Livestock population – The region is good for pastoralists as milk production is sizable at 28.74 lakh tonnes but egg production is low at 24.6 lakh during 2008‐2009. There are over 45 000 crossbreed animals. The sheep population is 23 000 and there are 3.40 lakh goats.

Soil and rainfall – The subzone has around 32 rainy days spread over four months with a total annual rainfall between 830 and 1 117 mm. Copper and iron nutrient fertility is moderate to high but zinc is lower.

This subzone has two districts and belongs to North Malwa region adjoining the Chittoor region of Rajasthan and is famous for its poppy cultivation and spices. It is also famous for its silica‐slate reserves. The region has a bad name for child labour, which is absorbed in the silica industry, and caste‐based prostitution by the Bachhra caste along the Agra‐Bombay national highways. The poverty level in this region is estimated to be low based on the composition of the households with less than 10 percent of landless, about 10 percent subsistence farmers and about 80 percent are growing cash crops. The area has not overused groundwater and is in the safe zone. The availability of water is moderate and potential for crops is high. The region being in the catchment of Maharana Pratap sagar dam on the Chambal river has a good water level because of the high rate of percolation. Drip

16

irrigation technology is being used in the area with a higher than average knowledge base for irrigation management. Drought vulnerability is limited to parts of this subzone.

In one of the primary exercises to define probable solution applications in the zone, groundwater recharge and micro‐irrigation were two of the solution‐applications identified. In the subsequent exercise, watershed management, groundwater recharge and market linkages were identified as the top three priorities (in that order) as probable applications for solutions in the zone.

THE NIMAR ZONE Zone 3: Nimar Plains Zone – Hot dry – cotton, chilli, banana, sugarcane GENERAL INDICATORS Demographic composition – The Nimar (east and west) is a traditional cultural zone of Madhya Pradesh south of the Narbada river, which divides the Malwa from Nimar horizontally. The region is known for chilli and the sugar belt south of the Narbada, and a very hot and dry climate. The zone is comprised of Barwani, Khargone, Khandwa and Buranpur districts.

The average family size is 5.80, which is higher than the state average of 5.52. The ST make up 28.99 percent of the total population and tribal population in Barwani is around 67 percent. The Bhil tribal belt, which is spread across the three states of MP, Rajasthan and Gujrat is concentrated in MP, mainly in Jhabua, Alirajpur and Badwani districts and some blocks of neighbouring Ratlam and Dhar districts. The other four districts have between 15 to 24 percent of the tribal population and cumulatively two districts: Barwani and Khandwa (24 percent) have more than the state average of 20.30 percent. SCs are comparatively fewer and make up about 9.44 percent of the population, which is lower than the state average of 15.19 percent. In all the districts the dalit population is less than the state average and may indicate the migration of the SC population (especially from Burhanpur, Khandwa and Khargone with 9.03, 13.87 and 11.20 percent of the share) to towns and cities, especially Bhopal and Indore.

The sex ratio of the general population is above the state average at 945 but there are variations within the districts. Barwani has 971 whereas Khandwa has 929, between Burhanpur (942) and Khargone (934) suggests that there is a connection between tribal and sex ratio as elsewhere. In the tribal communities the sex ratio is 965 (average of four districts) but here the influence of the mainstream Hindu societies can be seen in the sex ratio of tribes in Khandwa (945), which is on a par with the general sex ratio in the zone (945). In the dalit communities the sex ratio is just above the general ratio but is more because of the better sex ratio among dalits in Barwani district. For Khandwa, the sex ratio for dalits is on par with the general sex ratio in the district (929). The sex ratio of dalits is better than at the state level (905) and the tribal is less than at the state level (976 at state level and less than 950 in two districts and just one district has more than the state average) Development – The HDI is 0.40 in the zone and may be considered good as there are no variations in the zone. The gender development index is also good at 0.59 and here too there are no variations. But the poverty rate is alarmingly high at 67 percent and is as high as 75 percent in Barwani and Khargone.

The high percentage of tribal population in Barwani, and the equal number living below the poverty line is understood, but the high rate of poverty in other districts (also in Khandwa the percentage is 50 percent and is quite high) is alarming.

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Literacy – The literacy rate in the zone is 50 percent. There are variations with Barwani (32.40) and Khargone (58.21). The three districts have almost similar literacy percentages: between 53.38 and 58.21. The literacy rate is lower than the state average and corresponds to the poverty percentage.

The literacy rate for women is on par with the state average of 41 and almost all the states except Barwani (24.83) are in the same literacy band in all categories.

Gender – The sex ratio of the zone is poor (cumulatively) and, individually, Khandwa (929) and Khargone (934) have very poor sex ratios but these are still better than the state average of 918. The sex ratio for children is also poor, especially for Burhanpur (926) and Khargone (933), which are either less than state average or on a par. The same goes for dalits as well as tribal communities in the zone with the exception of Barwani. The female participation in the work force also shows the same trend and as such gender discrimination is a critical issue in the zone except for Barwani district. Data for marriages is unavailable for all the four districts, but variations are comparable with other districts.

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – About 85.25 percent of the area is under kharif and about 14.75 percent under rabi crops. In all the districts except Khandwa (79.52), the kharif area is more or less 85 percent and the rabi area is around 11 to 15 percent. In Khandwa the area under rabi is about 20.48 percent, which suggests comparatively better irrigation than in the other districts. The area under kharif in the zone is very high and is almost 30 percent more than the state average of 55.85.

The rabi on the contrary is 30 points less than the state average of 44.15.

Cereals form the bulk of the area under cultivation with 51.72 percent of the total production. Cereal production is very high in Barwani at 71.92 percent, in the other three districts it is uniform between 43 and 45 percent and is on par with the state average of 48 percent. The share of pulses production is very low at 5.16 and in Barwani (2.86) and Khargone (3.03) it is almost negligible. Overall pulses production is 10 percent less than the state average. Low level of cultivation for pulses and cereals is compensated by cotton (in almost all the districts) and plantains (in Burhanpur and partially in Khandwa). Cotton is the cash crop in the zone and Khandwa is one of the biggest mandis in the state for cotton procurement.

Land‐use pattern – Burhanpur (58.92) has one of the better forest coverage in the state (28.28), overall the forest cover is around 35.98 percent of the total land area. Apart from Burhanpur, Barwani (34.53) and Khargone (30.18) have good forest cover. Only Khandwa (20.29) has below state average forest cover. The forest cover in Khandwa is alarmingly low against the tribal percentage. The net sown area is about 40 percent and is in the uniform band of 30 to 40 percent. More than once the net sown area has been about 8 percent. Both net sown area and sown area have been lower than the state average at more than one time (48 and 18 respectively).

Irrigation – Irrigation by canal in the zone is very low and is around 4.79 percent. Here Khargone (10.79) has a large share of canal irrigation, followed by Khandwa (5.45). In Burhanpur the canal irrigation is less than 1 percent of total irrigation and the majority of the irrigation is from open wells (69.79) followed by tube wells (23.94). In Barwani; wells (44.73), tube wells (26.69) and other sources/traditional sources (25.72) make up the irrigation scenario. Irrigation from open wells in the zone is far higher (58) than the state average (39.55) where tank irrigation is almost non‐existent (0.36) against 2.35 at state level. Interestingly, Khargone and Barwani derive more than one‐quarter of water for irrigation from other sources/traditional methods.

Work force – Total workers to total population range between 40 percent (Burhanpur) and 53 percent (Khandwa) whereas the female participation rate varies widely among workers of different districts of

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the region as shown in descending order: Khandwa 51 percent, Badwani (44), Khargone (31) and Burhanpur (28). The ratio of cultivators to total work force is in the same range of female participation; Khandwa (54), Badwani (45), Khargone (24) and Burhanpur (21). The ratio of agriculture labourers is very high for Burhanpur (33) and very low for Khandwa (4).

Livestock development – The cow and buffalo population is highest for Khargone (2.72 lakh), followed

by Khandwa and Badwani (1.92 lakh and 1.83 lakh) and is least for Burhanpur (0.54 lakh). Sheep and goat populations are the same for Khargone/Badwani (8 000 and 6.25 lakh) and Khandwa/Burhanpur (18.2 000 and 2.68 lakh) respectively. Badwani has a predominance of the local non‐descript cattle breed.

Livestock production data is available for the two districts of Khandwa and Khargone, which also accounts for the other two districts. As per the 2009‐2010 animal husbandry data for milk production, egg and meat production for Khandwa and Burhanpur is (10.9 lakh tonne, 51.1 lakh and 800 tonne respectively) and for Khargone and Badwani it is (23.47 lakh tonne, 330.8 lakh, and 800 tonne).

Soil and rainfall – the area has a uniform rainfall of around 675 mm with about 37 rainy days. The soil is rich in copper and iron but lacks zinc supplements.

The Bhil tribe dominates Nimar region (subzone). The area is comprised of the typical black cotton soils in the cotton belt of Madhya Pradesh. The region is also known for its extreme hot and dry climate. The economic profile is mixed with around 10 percent landless and another 30 percent marginal or subsistence farmers. The area also has a good share of cash crops and it is estimated that more than 50 percent of the area is under cash crops. The cash crops are mainly cotton, chilly, papaya and banana. Bananas are also grown in the neighbouring Maharashtra district of Jalgaon, which has influenced their cultivation in this region.

Though cotton is one of the major cash crops, it is also grown on hilly terrain without irrigation. But the production of cotton in this part is substantial in the state with Khandwa as the main mandi (agriculture produce market).

Water availability is low and, because of the hilly terrain, groundwater use is low. Use of technology is good as well as knowledge management. The region is vulnerable to drought as watershed management is patchy. During the earlier exercise with some of the development workers and agriculture experts from the state, three priorities were identified: groundwater recharge, on‐farm water management and capacity development of user groups.

Three main priorities/constraints that could impact production and eradicate poverty in the region are water management, market regulations and value addition to cash crops.

MALWA SUBZONE Zone 4: Malwa Plateau plain zone – Traditional agriculture (spices production) GENERAL INDICATORS Demographic composition – Ujjain, Dewas, Dhar, Rajgarh and Shajapur comprise the Malwa region (minus Indore). Indore, like Bhopal, has been excluded from the main zone because the city of Indore dominates the district statistics. The region is a traditional agriculture rich belt. The average family size is 5.74, which is above the state average of 5.52 and all the districts have family sizes from 5.69 to 5.87.

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The SC population is 29.17 percent of the total population. All the districts have above the state average for the SC population, the highest being in Ujjain (24.72) followed by Shajapur (21.98), Dewas (18.26) and Rajgarh (16.07). Dhar is the only exception with lower than 6.5 percent for the SC population. The region is, however, occupied by rich patidars (land owners) with many pockets of poverty, which are inhabitted by the SCs. The ST population is sizable (26.86) because of Dhar district in the region. Only two districts: Dhar (54.5 percent) and Dewas (16.45 percent) have considerable ST populations, the other districts have lower percentages 3.80 (Rajgarh), 3.11 (Ujjain) and 2.74 (Shajapur).

Development – 46.7 percent of the total population work, the state average is 42.42. In Rajgarh (49.52), Shajapur (48.80) the work force is made up of almost half the population, while in Dewas (44.37) and Ujjain (44.14) the percentage is not much lower. Women’s participation in the work force at 39 percent is also higher than the state average and is one of the highest in the state. Rajgarh (45.21) and Shajapur (42.01) have some of the highest percentages for participation of women in the work force. Dewas (36.42) and Ujjain (33.88) have relatively lower participation of women. Women work in agriculture and with 62 percent of girls marrying before the legal age of 18, their participation is a forgone conclusion. Of the total population 38 percent are cultivators, which is more than the state average. At 43.24, Rajgarh has one of the highest percentages of cultivators.

Landless labourers amount to 15.38 percent, which is almost uniform across all the districts.

Urbanization is not as prominent; although a considerable percentage of Ujjain (38.74) is urban. This could be because Ujjain is prominent as a pilgrimage centre. Dewas also has more than one‐quarter (27.35) percentage of the total population living in urban areas. This is because of the industrial zone in and near Dewas (Pitampur). Other districts have 16.56 (Dhar) 17.33 (Rajgarh) and 18.55 (Shajapur) and overall 23.7 percent of the urban population, which could be termed as quite good.

At 53, the human development index is fairly placed. The lowest being in Rajgarh (0.46) and highest at Dewas and Ujjain (0.57). The gender development index seems healthy at 0.58 and it is very high in Dhar and Dewas (above 0.6) and low in Rajgarh (0.56).

Almost one‐quarter of the population in the zone lives below the poverty line (23.68). It is highest in Rajgarh (28.7) and lowest in Ujjain (20.1). Nevertheless, one‐quarter of the total population is too high.

About 60 percent of girls marry before the legal age of 18. This percentage is as high as 83.7 in Shajapur and could be termed as one of the highest and most critical districts as far as gender discrimination is concerned. Ujjain has a relatively lower percentage of girls (42.4) who are married before the legal age of 18.

Literacy – Just half the population in this zone is literate (very poor) and the literacy rate is lowest in Rajgarh (36.40). At 50.97, the literacy rate is two points below the state average. The female literacy rate is also lower than the state average and at 24.63, Rajgarh again has one of the lowest female literacy rates in the state.

Gender – The sex ratio is 937.5, a shade better than the state average of 918. All the districts are in a narrow band of sex ratio between 926 and 938, except Dhar, the tribal district, which has 955. The SC sex ratio is reversed (against the state trend) and is above the general sex ratio by two percentage points. It is in a band of 923 to 953 in all the districts. The ST sex ratio has somehow reversed the trend and at 937 is the lowest in all categories. It is 54 points lower than the state average and except for Dhar (981) and Dewas (955), which has a sizable ST population, the rest of the districts have critically lower ST sex ratios at 913 (Rajgarh), 918 (Shajapur) and 920 (Ujjain). Superficially it seems

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that the general population is influencing the sex ratio, which is above the ST population and needs to be ascertained.

The female literacy rate is also a concern and critically so in Rajgarh (24.63). It is below 40 in two districts and below 50 in the remaining two districts.

With 60 percent of girls marrying before 18, as high as 83 percent in Shajapur, the zone is very critical for gender discrimination indicators.

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – Kharif season cultivation is quite high at 70.58 percent, in a narrow band of 67.40 to 73.86 in all districts, which is above the state average by 15 percentage points. Rabi also shows the same trend across all districts.

Pulses – The kharif area under pulses in is just 1.88 percent and is well below the state average of 98.49. The percentage for pulses in kharif areas are in a narrow band of 0.77 (Ujjain) to 2.68 (Rajgarh).

The rabi area under pulses has increased phenomenally to 62.65 percent (but the rabi area is only 29 percent) and is in a uniform band of 58.61 (Ujjain) to 66.79 (Dewas). For both kharif and rabi the return on pulses is average (in kharif it is the same or marginally above the state average, while for rabi it is lower than the state average by 11 points). The return for pulses seems to be on the low side in this zone.

Cereals – The kharif area under cereals is very low and at 11.76 it is more than 20 points lower than the state average. It varies in a broad band of 2.42 (Ujjain) and 5.45 (Dewas) to 15.90 (Shajapur) and 23.25 (Rargarh). For rabi the cereals are lower than the state average by more than 10 points, moving in the narrow band from 32.37 to 40.62 for all districts.

The returns on kharif cereals are healthy at 0.78 and, except for Ujjain (0.51 which is on par with state average of 0.50), the rest are from 0.75 to 0.84. In rabi the return is lower than the state average of 0.68. At 0.47, the yield is too low and is almost uniform for all districts.

The total kharif area under pulses and cereals is less than 15 percent. The kharif area is almost 70 percent indicating that both are minor crops in this zone. Spices are the number one crop in this zone. For rabi the total pulses and cereals are major crops but the area under rabi is very low at 29.42.

Land‐use pattern – At 8.45 percent, forest cover is very low and except for Dewas (29.46) the rest of the districts have almost no forest cover (Rajgarh/2.86, Shajapur/0.97, Ujjain/0.52) and is quite critical.

Grazing and pastures are comparatively better at 8.42 and double the state average. It is good in all the districts and especially in Rajgarh (10.74). The net sown area is very high at 69.49 and is one of the highest in the state. At 80.59, Ujjain has one of the highest net sown areas in the state.

Double cropping is also good and at 37.67 percent, it is more than double the state average. In Ujjain, double cropping is more than half at 53.81.

Irrigation – Canals and tanks are almost non‐existent amounting to not more than 4 percent cumulatively (1.69 and 1.84 for canal and tanks respectively). The distribution is in a narrow band of 0.50 to 2.57 for canals and 0.68 to 2.48 for tanks.

The share for the two sources is almost identical. While open wells occupy the number one spot at 44.66 cumulatively followed by 42.06 percent by tube wells, which are the major source for Ujjain

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(62.36) and Dewas (53.81). For Rajgarh, the open wells are in first position at 67.80 percent and for Shajapur 51.74.

Though tube wells are number two by source share, the percentage for Rajgarh is 18.88 and in Shajapur it is 33.20 is quite high.

Soil and rainfall – The rainfall is average at 883 with 36 rainy days. The soil has adequate to high copper and iron content and marginal to very low zinc content.

The area is the most developed industrial belt in the state from Dhar to Indore and stretching to Bhopal. About 10 percent of households are landless laborers in the rural areas and close to 30 percent marginal farmers. Cash crops are important in this area with horticulture, spices, wheat‐soya, mustard, cotton and tobacco.

Water availability is good as is the use of groundwater putting the area in the critical stage.

Technology use is low; flood irrigation with some minor aberrations. The water management needs much improvement.

The earlier exercise identified groundwater recharge, on‐farm water management, capacity building of water user groups and water harvesting as the priority areas. Subsequently, the priority areas for intervention in this area have remained the same with watershed management as a solution for groundwater recharge as the number one priority and technological and knowledge management as the second priority. Both these measures, it is assumed, should be addressed together because groundwater is depleting fast and needs to be recharged. In addition, the use of available groundwater should be efficiently managed using technological as well as knowledge management.

MALWA EXTENSION ZONE Zone 5: Eastern Malwa Extension Zone – quality wheat and pigeonpea production GENERAL INDICATORS Composition – The region extends to the Malwa plateau to the east bordering or rather surrounding Bhopal. The region comprises Vidisha, Raisen and Sehore districts, and bears characteristics common to the Malwa region. The scheduled caste population is above the state average of 15.19 and is (18.9) close to one‐fifth of the total population. In Sehore it is more than one‐fifth; Vidisha (19.85) and Raisen (16.37) is more than the state average. The tribal population is just 10.46 percent, nearly 50 percent of the state average. Vidisha has (4.88) the lowest tribal population.

Family size (5.71) is above the state average (5.52) but the sex ratio (888) is well below the state average (918.5). The sex ratio in the SC category in Vidisha and Raisen districts is equally bad, less than the other population and is a concern. The ST sex ratio in both districts is well below the ST sex ratio at the state level, which is healthy at 976. The ST sex ratio is better than the SC or the general population but is still at 931 and 45 points separate this from the state average and as such is a concern. It reflects the relative influence mainstream society has had on the ST population and the less than general sex ratio of the SC should be investigated further but could indicate persecution of dalits.

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Development – The composite human development index is favourable at 0.54 and the gender index is good at 0.54. The poverty rate though does not match the general human development index. More than one‐third of the population/households (34.13 percent) live below the poverty line.

Literacy – The literacy rate in the zone is 52.42 percent. The literacy rate in Raisen is quite good and is 58.54 but there is a disparity between the literacy rate for males and females. In Raisen the disparity is about 17 percentage points, and more than 20 percentage points in Vidisha and Sehore.

Gender – The sex ratio in all three districts is alarmingly low and should be a concern with only 888 aggregate sex ratio in general and 883 for SC and 931 for the ST population. In the tribal communities in this zone, the sex ratio varies more than 30, 22 and 46 points from the state average. There are two or three probable factors for a low sex ratio: one could be the influence of the general population, which traditionally prefers boys. The second could be the general atrocities and violence expressed against women and girls by antisocial elements because females are considered to be a burden on the family.

The third could be the atrocities and violence specifically directed against the economically and resource‐poor weaker sections of the society. Traditionally dalits and tribal populations have been more vulnerable and as such the sex ratio in these two categories is poor. Another indicator is prevalent child marriage. Reportedly, 53 percent of girls are married before the legal age of 18. The reported occurrence of early/child marriage is exceptionally high in Vidisha at 60 percent.

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – The percentage of area under kharif is about 43 percent of the total area under production and is less than 12 percentage points from the state average of 55.85 percent.

The rabi area under production is quite high at 57.71 percent and higher than the state average of 44.15 by almost 13 percentage points. This suggests there are better irrigation facilities for rabi crops in this zone. Only Sehore has a higher percentage of area under kharif (63.7) than under rabi (36.3).

Pulses form 11.57 percent and cereals 19.23 percent of the kharif area under crops. Area under pulses in kharif is more than the state average of 8.49 and also the area under pulses is more than 15 percent points higher than the state average of 43.35 for the rabi season. Cumulatively the area under pulses is very much higher than the state average for both seasons.

The kharif area under cereals is a lowly 8.3 percent, which is almost four times (32.67) less than the state average. The rabi area under cereals (40.56) is too less than the state average (45.87) by 5 points.

Cumulatively pulses and cereals in the kharif area are about 20 percent, which means there are other crops that occupy a major place in the kharif season. Of course, the contribution of pulses is not less when compared to the state average. But the cereals area comparatively is far lower and less by four times the state average.

Though 11 percent of the area is under pulses in kharif, the contribution of pulses is 1.70 percent to the total production in kharif. The same goes for the rabi season with 59 percent of the area under pulses cultivation contributing 28.87 percent to the total production.

Cereals area for kharif is 19 percent of the total and the contribution to the production is just 3.23 percent. For rabi, the area under cereals is 41 percent and contribution to total production is 31.63 percent.

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The share of pulses to total production is about 30.57 percent (state average is 16.79) and cereals are 31.57 percent (state average 48.06). Pulses production is very high and, together with cereals, form more than 75 percent of total production.

Land‐use pattern – Forest cover is near (26.67 percent) with the state average of 28.28. But there are district disparities and Raisen has a fairly good forest cover of 39.31 percent. The area under pasture is 2.31 and is less than the state average of 4.38 percent. The net sown area is 60.75 and is 13 percentage points higher than the state average. Interestingly, the double sown area is 21.36 percent against the state average of 17.49 percent. This suggests that a large area remains fallow during the kharif season.

Irrigation – Tube wells (35 percent) are the major source of irrigation in the subzone with variations across the districts. This is followed by canal irrigation (22.1) and open wells (18). The tanks form a miniscule (1.68 percent) of total irrigation. Tube well irrigation is 15 percentage points higher than the state average, while canal use is higher by 5 percentage points. Open wells are almost 16 percentage points less than the state average and tanks by leass than 1 percentage point. As tank irrigation is much less in the state (at 2.35), the further drop suggests that modern technology is mostly used for irrigation in the zone. Canal irrigation is well placed in Raisen with almost one‐third of the total irrigation potential.

Work force – The work force percentage in the Malwa extension zone is placed low for all districts at 38.54, even worse is the participation of women at 25.75. Similarly, cultivators are only 33 percent and agriculture labourers are 20 percent.

Livestock production – The subzone is moderately placed in the field of livestock production. Annual milk production is 165 and 124 000 tonnes for Vidisha and Raisen respectively. Meat production is also moderate at 1 800 tonnes per annum. Egg production is low at 15.6 lakh for Vidisha and 48.2 lakh for Raisen. The combined cattle and bovine population of these districts is 5.3 lakh and 7.86 lakh for goats.

Soil and rainfall – With 43 rainy days and about 1 000 mm of rainfall, the area is moderately served.

Copper fertility and iron is rich whereas zinc is marginal to low in the area.

This is the wheat and pigeon pea belt of the state. The Sujata and Sharabati brands of rainfed wheat are famous throughout the country. Landlessness is more pronounced in this area, more than one‐fifth of rural households are landless. The social composition of the landless indicates the scheduled castes.

Of all farmers 30 percent are subsistence or marginalized and the family lives on less than 2 acres of land. Cash crops are grown by 60 percent of farmers and wheat and pigeon pea are the two important cash crops Water availability is moderate and water use has been low. Technology and knowledge management have a huge scope for improvement. In the first of its kind exercise for development workers, the group identified water harvesting, groundwater recharge, capacity building of water user associations and on‐farm management as top priority areas. In the subsequent exercise water management was identified as the top priority. There is minimum use of technology or of adaptation and are components that need to closely followed along with water management and water used as a commodity in the water management section. Fertilizers, especially unsuitable chemicals, are on the market and access to fertilizers is the next priority for the area. The third priority is the development of infrastructure, especially access to markets, development of mandis and quality extension services.

The area has low irrigation potential and because of the topography it is suggested that the top priority should be water management with adaptive technologies.

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Zone 6: Industrial/Urban Subzone of Malwa (Indore and Bhopal) GENERAL INDICATORS Demographic composition – The average family size is 5.39 and is below the state average. It is on a par with the state average in Indore (5.51) and comparatively low at Bhopal (5.27).

The SC population is less than the state average at 14.88 and is in the narrow band of 14.00 (Bhopal) and 15.75 (Indore). The ST population is quite low at 4.97 with Bhopal accounting for 3.29 while Indore 6.65. This suggests that there has been less migration of the SC and ST to the urban centres in MP. Development – 34.16 percent of the population work and is less than the state average by 8 percent.

It is comparatively lower in Bhopal (32.08) than in Indore (36.24) and indicates that more children are in school than in the rural areas.

Female participation is a lowly 17.04 percent. The urban characteristics show more women are in schools and educational institutes than are working.

Just 11.81 percent of the population is cultivators, with Bhopal at the lower end with 9.62 and Indore at the upper end (19.14). Landless labourers are 7.27 percent with Bhopal at the lower end at 5.65 and Indore at the upper end at 8.89, which is less than the state average.

Urbanization is very high at 76.05 percent, which is understandable. Bhopal has a slightly more urban population at 80.53, while the urban population of Indore is 71.57 percent. The human development index is healthy at 0.63 (Bhopal/0.61 and Indore/0.64). The gender development index is healthy at 0.62 with almost identical indices for both districts.

The percentage of poverty is somewhat high and could be linked to the large slum population living in these two cities. At 36.5 percent, every third person in Bhopal is poor and in Indore this amounts to 32.8 percent of the population.

Despite the high urban population, the zone has a high early marriage rate for girls. At 38.60, it is one of the higher rates of early marriage and fares worst than some of the southern districts. At 42.6 (with 71 percent urban population) in Indore almost half of girls marry before the legal age of 18. In Bhopal this is 34.6 percent and every third girl is married before the legal age.

Literacy – At 63.40, the percentage for literacy is higher. Both districts have almost similar literacy percentages at 62.91 (Bhopal) and 63.89 (Indore). Considering the high urban population, the literacy rate is relatively low. Female literacy is at 55.46, which is numerically good but with the high human development index, high gender development index and high urban population, the female literacy is relatively low.

Gender – The state capital district of Bhopal has one of the worst sex ratios in the state at 895.3 in the general category. Indore is relatively better off, but at 912 it is below some of the less urbanized districts. Cumulatively, at 903.90, much critical thought should go into finding and addressing the causes.

The SC sex ratio is below the state average for Bhopal and is 902. Indore has a comparatively better SC sex ratio at 939. Cumulatively, the sex ratio of SC in the zone is around 920.35 and should be termed critical. The ST sex ratio for the first time is less than the SC sex ratio for both Bhopal (901) and Indore (918) and cumulative score of 909.33.

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The high rate of child marriages, low sex ratio in all categories and relatively low literacy rate places the urban corridor of Bhopal‐Indore in the most critical bracket.

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – Of the total area under cultivation, kharif is 56 percent and rabi is 44 percent. Indore has a high kharif area at 62.07 and Bhopal has exactly 50 percent of the area for kharif.

Pulses – In kharif the area under pulses is very low at 0.70 percent. Bhopal has 1.1 while Indore has just 0.30 percent of the kharif area for pulses. The rabi area for pulses is more than the state average at 51.19, Indore has 62.84 and Bhopal 39.53 percent of the area under pulses. Considering the urban population, the low area for kharif under pulses is justified.

The return from pulses grown during kharif and rabi is lower than the state average. At 0.19 and 0.23 respectively for Bhopal and Indore, the return from pulses in kharif does not justify cultivation. But the dedicated area for pulses in kharif is almost negligible and as such could be ignored. In rabi the area under pulses is almost half of the total rabi area (43 percent of the total cultivation area) and the returns of 0.29 (Bhopal) and 0.28 (Indore) are less than the state average of 0.33 percent and does not justify dedication to such a large cultivation area in rabi.

Cereals – The area under cereals in kharif is about 4.07 percent and is eight times lower than the state average. In rabi the cereals area increases to 48.37 percent and is above the state average. In kharif the return from cereals is below the state returns for Bhopal (0.42) and slightly above for Indore (0.53). In rabi, the returns remain less than the state average for both Bhopal (0.67) and Indore (0.58) In kharif, the combined area for pulses and cereals is less than 5 percent of the total area under cultivation. This implies that in kharif pulses and cereals are not major crops and some other crop/s occupy the major cropping areas in both districts. In rabi though the combined cereals and pulses occupy almost the entire area under cultivation. Cereals are the major crops in rabi.

Land‐use pattern – Despite almost 76 percent being the urban population, a forest cover of 27.08 is quite good and is one of the best in the state. In fact, at 38.3 Indore has one of the best forest covers in the state and Bhopal at 15.87 percent is not too bad.

A total of 8.02 percent of grazing and pastureland is good and is double the state average. At 12.15, Bhopal has one of the best grazing and pastures in the state, but Indore at 3.89 is on the low side.

With 50.09 percent of the net sown area, the area has quite high sown area in the state. In Bhopal it is as high as 55.18, while in Indore it is 45 percent. The double sown area is 28.15 percent and in Indore it is 30.44 while in Bhopal it is 25.86.

Irrigation – Tube wells are primarily used for major irrigation at 49.54 percent and it is as high as 62.26 in Indore, while in Bhopal it is 36.82 percent. Open wells are a second major irrigation source at 21.75 cumulatively (Bhopal/29.48 and Indore/14.02). The third source is canals at 10.02 (Indore/13.43 and Bhopal/6.61). The tanks are almost non‐existent at 1.24 (Bhopal/1.93 and Indore/0.56).

The region is in the critical zone because there is more than double the number of tube wells in the zone than for the state average of 25.51 and for Indore at 62.26.

Soil and rainfall – Bhopal gets 892.1 mm rainfall in 38 rainy days while for Indore it is marginally better at 903.9 with 40 rainy days. Soil copper and iron content is high to moderate respectively, zinc content is marginal.

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The industrial, urban and peri‐urban area that stretches from Dhar (Pitampur), Indore to Bhopal has peculiar characteristics. Farmers in the rural areas surrounding the urban centres have large landholdings and other non‐farming communities and, apart from vegetables and horticulture, the land is marked for industrial and or related housing development.

Close to 40 percent of the population in the area is landlessness. Landholders have been consolidating their landholdings through acquisitions, large landholders account for more than 40 percent with remaining 20 percent subsistence or marginal landholders. Water availability is moderate but could become critical shortly. Technology use is high for flood irrigation but the efficient use of water resources and optimum returns on the use of technology are still areas requiring improvement. During the earlier exercise, the three priority areas identified were groundwater recharge, micro‐irrigation and on‐farm water management. The subsequent exercize prioritized water conservation, groundwater recharge and regulations as areas for intervention.

The area could absorb the urban unemployed as well as the peri‐urban unemployed youths. Towards this end, there is a need to create a water bank, water management skills education, shift in production with a focus on urban demand for vegetables, milk and the processing industry. Though, at present, these are two disjointed pockets, the thrust of development in the state is concentrated around these two points. Over time the belt could become a consistent semi‐urban industrial belt covering two cities and other towns.

Vindhya Region Vindhya region comprises three distinct regions and is known for its complex sociopolitical and agriculture land‐use system. One thing that stands out in the area is that there are many farmers with large holdings, are from 50 to 300 ha each. The legacy of landholders giving shelter, kutcha, to labourers within the precincts of the land, makes this system a halwahi system, a type of bonded labour. The major crops produced in the state are rice, sugarcane, banana, pulses and wheat.

Bundelkhand – Bundel‐Khand, and probably some parts of Baghel‐Khand, are the toughest areas to work. The problem is basically socio‐political and related to the political economy. Issues related to Bundel‐Khand are the legacy of the zamindari system, unresolved agrarian issues, large share of wasteland, inefficient use of water tanks, problems of large‐share of wasteland, inefficient use of water tanks, problems of fisher‐folk, rampant caste‐based politics.

Baghelkhand – The Land of Tigers, which is the literal translation of the name ‘Baghel‐khand’, was not settled until the seventeenth century. Later, the rulers of the region adopted the title of Baghel. The region is proud of its white tigers; of having the largest national wild life park in India; of being the energy capital of India, as a result of the many thermal and one hydropower plant, its strong industrial base, especially cement and of having two well‐known seats of learning, the universities of Rewa and Chitrakoot.

Vindhya plateau – The southern slopes of the range are drained by the Narmada river, which proceeds westward to the Arabian Sea through the wide valley between the Vindhya range and the parallel Satpura range farther to the south.

Hills of Chhattisgarh – The forest products produced are teak, saal, bamboo, sisal, mahua, tamarind, haldu, saja, sheesham and various herbs.

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THE BUNDEL‐KHAND REGION Of the total 12 districts in the Bundel‐Khand region, seven are in UP and five are in MP. Four of the five MP districts are well known: Tikamgarh for its centuries‐old water tanks; Sagar district is the leading Beedi‐producing district; and Chhatarpur is world‐famous for the Khajuraho temples of Lord Vishnu; Panna is known for its National Park and diamond mines; Damoh was once inhabited by Cleopatra‐like ‘Rani Damyanti’, the consort of Nal; of Nal‐Damyanti‐Puranic‐fame. ‘Dammo’ or Damoh was the nickname for Damyanti, so Damyanti gave her name to the district.

Bundel‐Khand, and probably some parts of Baghel‐Khand are the toughest areas to work. The problem in these parts is related to the socio‐political and political economy. Issues related to Bundel‐Khand are the legacy of the Zamindari system, unresolved agrarian issues, large share of wasteland, inefficient use of water tanks, problems of fisher‐folk, rampant cast politics, problems linked tp large‐ scale stone‐quarrying; halwahas; women beedi workers; child‐labour; prevailing untouchability; exploitation; female foeticide; lack of reproductive health care; atrocities against women.

Bundel‐Khand does not have a large tribal population, except in some pockets of Damoh, Sagar, Panna and Chhatarpur. Settlements of four types of community groups occur in these tribal pockets. They are Khairwars, Gonds, Bhumiyas and Bhils. In contrast to the small proportion of scheduled tribes Bundel‐Khand has a large share of scheduled caste population. Overall the SC proportion in the Bundel‐Khand region is around 22.5 percent of the total population. The region is also characterized by the vast stretches of wastelands.

Table 3 – Wastelands in Bundelkhand‐Region of MP Bundelkhad Percent wasteland of total geographical area

Damoh

Panna

Sagar

Tikamgarh

Chhatarpur

25.56

17.91

20.45

41.64

17.94

(Source: Wastelands Atlas of India, 2000, Govt. of India)

Data for the status of groundwater in the Bundel‐Khand region is presented in Table 1.4.

Table 4 – Groundwater data in the Bundel‐Khand region S. No.

District

Status of Groundwater

1

Damoh

Of the seven blocks, only four blocks are within the safe limits of white zone. Patharia is the only block that has actually reached the grey zone. But the blocks of Damoh and Batiagarh are not very far from being in the grey zone.

2

Chhattarpur

Bain Nagar and Chhatarpur are two blocks are in the grey zone. Bada Malahara and Nowgown are two blocks that are very close to reaching the grey stage. Remaining four blocks are well within the white zone.

3

Panna

Ajaigarh block is the only one of the five blocks that has exhausted its entire groundwater stock. Remaining four blocks are in the white zone.

4

Sagar

All blocks in this district fall into the white zone. Sagar and Rehli blocks are fast reaching the grey zones.

5

Tikamgarh

Almost all blocks have exhausted their 58 percent or more of groundwater stocks. Prthvipur and Niwari blocks are the worst affected and are in the grey zone. The remaining four blocks are not far behind.

Source: MP‐Human Development Report Archive

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UPPER BUNDELKHAND ZONE Zone 11: Upper Bundelkhand Zone – low socio‐economic development, low productivity wasteland GENERAL INDICATORS Demographic composition – Tikamgarh and Chhatarpur districts are representative of upper Bundelkhand region. The average family size is less than 6, around 5.83, which is still higher than the state average of 5.52. The larger family size is one constraint on the economic status of the family and should be analysed along with the percentage of workers.

The scheduled caste population is 23.77 percent. Both districts have an almost identical SC population, which is more than the state average by eight percentage points. Almost one‐quarter of the population is SC and, together with the ST population (3.91 percent) is disadvantaged as far as access to and control of resources is concerned, which are vital for development and progress.

Development – At 0.45, the human development index is average and the gender development index is a further improvement on the generic HDI. About 43.62 percent of the total working population is above the state average. In Tikamgarh, this percentage is 47.06 percent and almost half the population works, which may be high considering that children make up more than 20 percent of the population and another 20 percent are elderly.

The percentage of cultivators is high (46.36) and there are few landless labourers (8.12). Cultivators are more than the state average by 12 points and landless labourers are less than the state average by 6 points. This is a favouarble situation but needs to be analysed in connection with the irrigation and returns on the area under cultivation.

Literacy – At 43.95 percent, the literacy rate is low, 11 points lower than the state average. At 32.19 the female literacy shows the same patterns as elsewhere and is less than the state average by 11 points.

Gender – This zone belongs to the category of districts having lowest sex ratios. At 877.55 and is 42 points lower than the state average; gender discrimination is pronounced. Both districts have similar characteristics.

As the trends in the state suggest, the SC sex ratio is lower than the general sex ratio and is placed at 871.62. The ST sex ratio shows marginal improvements over the general and SC sex ratio but fails to catch up with the tribal dominated zones healthy ST sex ratio, which is 933. The reason for this figure could be the influence of the general population and eroding of tribal culture.

More than 70 percent of early marriages are reported; the zone is one of the most critical for gender discrimination and opportunities to women.

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – The kharif area is 36.40 percent of the total area; kharif season is 20 percentage points lower than the state average. The rabi area is 63.60 percent of the cropping area, which is 20 points above the state average and may be attributed to better irrigation potential in the zone.

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Pulses – The kharif area under pulses is four times higher than the state average at 32.47 percent. The rabi area under pulses is 10 points lower but almost equal to the kharif area, which is rare for all the zones.

The kharif production share is very low with 32.47 percent of the area the returns are just 3.18 percent. At the state level, with 8.49 percent of the area, the returns are 2.18 percent of total production. At the state level for kharif, the returns are 0.25 percent while here the returns are as low as 0.10 percent. In the rabi season there is marginal increase over the kharif season, which is better than the state figures of 0.33 and 0.56 percent. Compared to the zones in the north, especially Datia, Shivpuri, etc. the returns for rabi are not encouraging. It seems that the only input that goes into rabi is water and crop management needs urgent attention.

Cereals – The kharif area under cereals is less than pulses and at 19.96 is less than the state average by 13 points. The rabi cereals area has increased over pulses by 24 points, and over the state average by 12 points. The major crop is cereals in rabi and pulses in kharif.

As the area under cereals in kharif is low, its share to total production is lower. The returns in kharif are pegged at 0.28 percent against the state average of 0.50. The rabi production share is quite good and is almost 40 points above the state average and also better than the pulses in rabi. At 1.10 percent in Chhatarpur, the returns from cereals are far better than for pulses and Tikamgarh is not far behind.

Land‐use pattern – The cumulative forest cover is not healthy. At 19.19 percent this is average but Tikamgarh has just 13.6 percent, while Chhatarpur has 24.79 percent forest cover. The pastures in Chhatarpur are 7.33 percent, while Tikamgarh is on a par with the state average of 4.38. Cumulatively, pastures and grazing land is 6.09 percent and quite healthy. The net sown area is 39.25 percent and is better than some districts in other zones. Double cropping is limited to 14.05 percent and is lower than the state average.

Irrigation – Irrigation from tanks is higher than the state average by more than 2 percent and stands at 4.46 percent. In Tikamgarh it is as high as 6.45 percent, while in Chhatarpur is more than the state average.

The major source of irrigation is from open wells and at 75 percent, may be the highest in the state.

Along with tanks, this exceeds 80 percent, which means that the traditional sources, tanks and open wells, are still the major sources of irrigation in the zone.

At 8.65 percent, canal irrigation is a distant second. Tube wells have the lowest position at 3.08 percent and in Chhatarpur, tube well irrigation is just 0.75 percent of the total.

Livestock development – Together these districts produce around 3 lakh tonne of milk as per 2009 figures. Egg production is more than 60 lakh during the same period with two‐thirds coming from Tikamgarh district. Meat production is 2 000 tonnes. The subzone has around 11.7 lakh cattle, which includes 7.7 lakh milch cows, 6.7 lakh buffalo, 8 lakh goats and 0.78 lakh ship heads.

Soil and rainfall – The zone has an average of 36 rainy days and an average rainfall of 809.75 mm.

Chhatarpur has 1 035.3 mm rainfall over 41 rainy days, which is quite good, and Tikamgar receives 584.2 mm over 31 rainy days, which is scanty. The soil has rich copper, moderate iron and low zinc content.

The northern tip of the state is characterized by high poverty, low education level, influence of traditional value systems and non‐adaptability to new forms of agriculture practices. The area has a high concentration of landlessness, along with a high level of subsistence farmers (30 percent landless

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and 60 percent are subsistence farmers) throughout the state. Water use has been low as well as access to water use. Technological adaptations and knowledge management are very low.

The area has some water tanks and a typical agriculture practice. Watershed management is the priority issue in this area followed by water for livestock and micro‐irrigation for horticulture.

Agriculture extension services are almost non‐existent and agricultural inputs are minimal.

Against this backdrop, the priority areas that need to be looked into are: development of knowledge institutions for extension services; institutions for micro‐credit for agriculture operations and for value additions and water management with specific focus on community water management and capacity development for water user associations.

LOWER BUNDELKHAND‐VINDHYA ZONE Zone 10: Lower Bundelkhand Zone – low socioeconomic development, low productivity wasteland GENERAL INDICATORS Demographic composition – This region is comprised of the two districts of Sagar and Damoh spread over the Vindhyan ranges north of the Narbada river. The average family size is around 5 and is well below the state average of 5.52. The scheduled castes comprise one‐fifth of the total population in the zone and both the districts have a similar percentage (20 percent), which is more than the state average of 15.19. The ST population is 11.14 percent and together with the SC population, the zone has about 30 percent of the population belonging to disadvantaged groups.

The workers participation rate is 45 percent and 42 percent for Damoh and Sagar, respectively. The female participation rate is 36 and 30 percent respectively. A little less than three‐quarters of the total workers are main workers, which is almost equal to the state average. The percentage of main workers is high. Landless labourers are about 16.64 percent and cultivators are 23.33 percent lower than the state average of 34.33 percent.

Development – HDI is 0.48 and can be considered average. The gender development index is 0.58 and is higher than the general human development index. More than half the population lives below the poverty line, which is high by any standard.

Literacy – The cumulative literacy of the zone is on a par with the state figures and is 52.42 percent.

The female literacy follows the same trend as state figures and is 41.36 percent.

Gender – The zone has a low sex ratio of below 900 and, cumulatively, is 892. Damoh is the better of the two at 900 and Sagar at 884 is on the lower side. The sex ratio is 26 points below the state average, which is 918 and on the low side. The SC sex ratio is lower (875). The ST sex ratio is 946 and is below the state average by 30 points.

More than 57 percent of girls are married before the legal age of 18, which is high. The urban population in the zone is 24 percent and the rural is 75 percent.

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AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – The kharif area is 34.60 percent, which is almost identical in both districts. The figure is 21 points lower than the state average. The rabi area under cultivation is 21 points higher at 65.40 percent and both the districts have almost identical areas under rabi cultivation.

Pulses – Area under pulses in the kharif season is 12.55 percent of the total and there is not much variance in the two districts. The area is about five points higher than the state average. The rabi area under pulses is about 21 points higher than the state average. This is the first zone where pulses in both seasons occupy a greater area than the state average.

The return on pulses is very low in kharif and is about 12 points lower than the state average. In the rabi season the return is better than the state average by about 20 points. The kharif area (12.55 percent) yields a 1.74 percent share of the total production whereas, at the state level, just 8.40 percent of the area returns 2.18 percent of total production.

This is the result for kharif, as is the case for the two northern zones. The picture for rabi is reversed with 64.49 percent of the area returning about 34.37 percent of production against the state area average of 43.35 returning just 14.61 percent of total production. This trend is reversed in rabi for yields from pulses but the return is not as pronounced as for Ashoknagar‐Guna zone or the other northern zones, where the return is around 0.90 points and about 60 points higher.

Cereals – The area under cereals in kharif is about 25.80 percent and is 7 percentage points lower than the state average. The districts have wild swings for cereals in kharif with Damoh having 43.75 percent of its cropped area in kharif for cereals, while Sagar is very low at 7.85 percent. In rabi the area under cereals is less than the state average at 33.12, and together Damoh has about 70 percent of the area under cereals, while Sagar has just 47 percent under cereals.

On 25.80 percent of the area the return is just 7.40 percent of total production, while at the state level the return is 16.44 percent with 32.67 percent of the area. The return is 0.28 points against a 0.50 at the state level in kharif. In rabi the trend is reversed; with just 33.12 percent of the area the returns are 40.04 percent of the share to production. That is, the returns at 0.98 percent against the state average of 0.68 in rabi. In Damoh, for example, the return is 1.10 percent and is more than 40 points over the state average.

Land‐use pattern – The zone has good forest cover at 32.9 percent, which is above the state average.

Damoh has 36.66 percent and Sagar 29.14 percent, which can be termed as adequate forest cover.

Pastures and grazing land is 6.50 percent, two points above the state level. In Sagar, the grazing and pastures comprise 8.35 percent. The net sown area is less than half the total area at 47.64 percent and in Damoh is better than the state average at 42.74 percent. This is a clear deviation from the other zones where the net sown area is much larger and the returns smaller. The double cropping area is 16.19 percent and is on the lower side.

Irrigation – Open wells comprise 36.59 percent of the total irrigation potential in the zone against the popular perception that tanks are the major source of irrigation in the area. In Sagar, which is called the tank district, irrigation from open wells is 49.43 percent, while tank irrigation is only 1.08 percent.

The old Chandel tanks are gone but the effect of percolation has resulted in increased water level in the wells.

Tube wells are second as the source of irrigation (in Damoh it is the primary source at 25.72 percent against 23.77 percent for open wells, with 21.28 percent share. Canals are the third important source at 5.69 percent, Damoh has 9.35 percent of irrigation from canals and Sagar has 2.04 percent

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irrigation from canals. Tanks in the state comprise 2.35 percent of irrigation, but the zone is below 1 percent at 0.75 percent.

Livestock development – Total cattle population is 5.91 lakh in Damoh and 8.80 lakh in Sagar, made up of mostly indigenous breeds. Bovine register 1.3 lakh and 2.42 lakh respectively. There are 1.3 lakh goats combined. Milk production during 2009 was 112 tonnes and 195 tonnes respectively. Sagar leads in egg and meat production with 123.4 lakh and 5 000 tonnes respectively, compared to only 36.8 lakh tonne and 1 000 tonne for Damoh.

Soil and rainfall – The zone has an average of 43 rainy days with an average rainfall of 988.4, which is quite good. The soil has good copper and iron content but has low to moderate zinc content.

The area is marked by large malgujari tanks that are either taken over by the government departments, or still owned by private parties. Most villages have at least one tank and some of the villages have more than one tank. The tanks are used for two purposes: for irrigation and fishing. In the last few years, there have been conflicts between the fishing community and the agrarian community over the access, control and management of the tanks.

There is moderate poverty but about 20 percent of the household is landless and 50 percent are subsistence farmers. Only 30 percent of the total sown area is under cash crops.

Water availability is moderate. The malgujari tanks are either not maintained or are silted, or the area under the water body is shrinking. The ownership‐control‐management of the water tanks is a critical issue. In the ensuing conflict, the water bodies are not being conserved and developed.

The use of technology has been almost non‐existent. In the absence of knowledge transfer the need for a water governance mechanism is acutely felt. In the first exercise, groundwater recharge was the top priority identified followed by rehabilitation of tanks and micro‐irrigation for horticulture. In the subsequent exercise, access to water and irrigation structures have been added to the list of priorities.

Taking into account the above background the most important issues to be addressed are: i) Establishment of an efficient mechanism for the governance and management of the existing water tanks. The state has taken over ownership of some tanks but many are still owned by private owners.

Policy level changes need to be in place to ensure that water bodies are a state resource and that community or institutional governance mechanisms are established. In the absence of such an intervention there are conflicts between the agrarian and fishing communities, and the result is that the water bodies are slowly deteriorating. There is much scope for the efficient use of the water bodies to alleviate poverty with proper policy changes. (ii) Creation of new water bodies: there is a reduction in the number of water bodies but the cropping area is increasing. This is because attention has not been given to the creation of water bodies in the area. The area has a rich tradition of water bodies, and their use is traditional. (iii) Establishment of knowledge management (agriculture extension services, community traditions of knowledge transfer, adaptations to new technologies, alignment with new concepts of water as commodity and sale value, etc.).

THE BAGHEL‐KHAND REGION When Huen Sang, the Chinese Budhist scholar, visited India in the sixth century he found that this region adjoining the western part of Allahabad was a large, thickly forested region and there were few settlements. Major settlements began to be established after the sixth century.

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Baghelkhand region is proud of its: white tigers. The first‐ever white tiger, called Mohun, was spotted in this region; the largest National Wildlife Park in India, the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, which is over 2 000 km2 starts in this region, in Kushmi block of Sidhi district. There is also the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in the region; and the region retains the status of being the energy capital of India. Singrauli has six huge power generation units, which together generates about 60 percent of the total energy needs of the capital. There are also cement factories, and two universities Rewa and Chitrakoot University. The literal meaning of Baghelkhand is – the Land of Tigers. Even the rulers of Baghelkhand adopted the surname of Baghels or tigers for themselves. Baghelkhand region did not have any significant human settlements until the seventh century. Huensang a Buddhist scholar who travelled from China to India during the Raja Harsha Vardhan’s rule of North India, in the seventh century referred extensively to the region in his travel memoirs.

The halwahi system is prevalent in this region. There are many farmers with between 50 ha to 300 ha each. The legacy of giving residential houses to labourers within the precincts of lands, by the large landlords, makes it the potent halwahi system. In other words, the labourers find it difficult to severe their relations with their host landlords and still survive.

The status of groundwater in the Baghelkhand region is shown in Table 5.

Table 5 – Groundwater in Baghelkhand region S. No.

District

Status of Groundwater

1

Rewa

All nine blocks are in white zone. But Gangev block has exploited up to 58 percent of its total available grdt.

2

Satna

All blocks fall in the white zone. Nagod, Amarpatan and Sohawal are nearly at 40 percent level of groundwater exploitation. Remaining blocks have exploited between 17 percent and 31 percent of the total groundwater available to them

3

Umaria

All the blocks are in the white zone. None of the blocks exploited even 10 percent of the total available groundwater available.

4

Sidhi

All blocks are in the white zone. Widhan Block that has Singrauli registered utilization of about 17 percent groundwater by the year 2000.

5

Shahdol

6

Anuppur

All blocks in white zone. Jaithari Block, the district that exploited the most groundwater has done so by harnessing mere 16 percent of the total water available and Pushaprajpur has not even exploited 1percent of its water.

Source: MP‐Human Development Report Archive

EASTERN BAGHELKHAND ZONE Zone 13: Eastern Baghelkhand zone ‐ Forest, game reserve and energy production GENERAL INDICATORS Demographic composition – The region comprises three districts Anuppur, Shahdol and Sidhi. The average family size is just above 5 at 5.12, but there are variations within the zone: Shahdol has 4.89 were as Anuppur (5.00) and Sidhi (5.48) above five. All three districts have less than the state average family size.

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This is also a tribal dominated zone with a cumulative percentage of 35.37; Shahdol has the highest ST population at 44.48 percent while Anuppur has 31.73 and Sidhi has 29.89. All three are above the state average for the ST population.

The SC population is less than the state average at 9.60 percent and all the three are in the band of 7.36 to 11.85 percent.

Together, SC and ST form 45 percent of the total population, which exceeds 50 percent in Shahdol at 51.84 percent. The other two districts have more than 40 percent of the total population.

Development – About 39.59 percent of the population works and is less than the state average by three points. Cultivators make up 30.77 percent of the population, which is low in Anuppur (21.83) and high in Sidhi (39.31). Landlessness follows a similar pattern with an average of 13.28 percent, low in Anupur (10.38) and high in Sidhi.

The HDI is almost uniform at 0.47 and could be termed satisfactory. The gender development index is higher at 0.57. About 35 percent of inhabitants live below the poverty line, which is uniform across the districts.

Literacy – Is a shade below 50 percent. Cumulatively literacy in the zone is 48.06 percent. There are no large variations in this zone. Anuppur has 53.94 percent literacy followed by Shahdol with 48.73 and Sidhi 41.50. Female literacy is 19 points lower than for male literacy and is somewhat lower than the state average.

Gender – The sex ratio is uniform in all three districts. Cumulatively this is 944.14 and is 26 points higher than the state average. The sex ratio in the SC category (as for other tribal dominated zones) is 950 and better than the general population. This is against the state trends where the SC sex ratio is the lowest. In this zone the sex ratio is uniform for all three districts and is 45 points higher than the state average.

All three districts are above the general sex ratio, which is a healthy sign. In the ST category, the sex ratio is 979, which is marginally higher than the state average because of Sidhi where the ST sex ratio is equal to the SC sex ratio at 950. In the other two districts, the sex ratio for ST is 995 for Anuppur and 993 for Shahdol. Early marriages are 67 percent, which is similar to other high early marriage districts despite the very high tribal population. There is a need for gender equity.

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – The kharif area in this zone is high at 75.43 percent, which is higher than the state average by 20 percentage points. In Shahdol the kharif area is about 84 percent and in Auppur it is 77.34 percent. Sidhi has a comparatively lower kharif area at 64.76 but is still quite high. In rabi the average area under cultivation is far less and 20 points lower than the state average.

Pulses – The area under pulses in kharif is very low but still higher than the state average of 8.49 percent. At 11.90 it seems impressive but this is because of Sidhi, which has 20.28 percent of its kharif area under pulses, while Anuppur (5.94) and Shahdol (9.46) have less area under pulses.

In rabi the area under pulses is 20 percent points lower than the state average. Again, Sidhi has a considerable area (27.19) in rabi for pulses while Anuppur has 27.66 percent of the area for pulses.

Shahdol has a lower area dedicated for pulses in rabi.

The return in kharif is higher than the state average at 0.47 percent. Anuppur returns are 0.36 percent and Shahdol 0.54. The returns on pulses in rabi show a downward trend at 0.16 (the state average is 0.33). The returns are as low as 0.07 for Shahdol and 0.12 for Anupur, while Sidhi is a satisfactory 0.24.

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Cereals – More than two‐thirds of the area is under cereals in kharif 79.60 percent, with almost 60 percent in rabi.

Cereals share are in a narrow band of 71 to 84 percent in kharif and 50 to 68 percent in rabi. The production share of cereals is quite good and indicates better results at 0.84 percent against the state returns of 0.50 in kharif. The top two producers are Anuppur and Shahdol with identical returns of 0.91 are exemplary. Only in Sidhi the returns are close to the state level but still higher by 18 points.

In rabi the returns are lower and are almost half the state average. Ranging from 0.19 in Shahdol to 0.24 in Anuppur and there are somewhat better returns of 0.47 in Sidhi. The low return from rabi for both the pulses over kharif is a phenomenon in this region.

Looking at both the pulses and cereals returns in both the seasons, it seems that the kharif has an advantage over the rabi crops. This could be attributed to uncertain irrigation along with inadequacies in soil and crop management.

Land‐use pattern – Cumulative forest cover is one of the best in the state at 34.28 percent. Sidhi (41.84) and Shahdol (40.62) have extremely good forest cover and Anuppur has just 20.4 percent, which could be below the state average but is not bad compared to some of the tribal districts.

The grazing and pasture is uniform across the three districts and is a bare minimum of 1.21 percent.

The net sown area is 35 percent and could be termed good. The double‐cropped area is much less at 8.81 (as low as 5.15 in Shahdol) and there is scope for improvement.

Irrigation – Open wells are the main source of irrigation in this zone and at 33.51 percent represent one‐third of the total irrigation potential. Two districts have about 41 percent of open well irrigation and Shahdol has 18 percent from this source.

Canals are the second major source of irrigation, which is uniform across the three districts and is cumulatively 21.58 percent. Tube wells are the third most important source of irrigation with 12.79 percent, and increasing. In Sidhi there is 19.49 percent irrigation from tube wells, which is 1 point off the share from canals, in Shahdol this is 12.38 percent and in Anuppur it is stable at 6.51 percent.

Tanks form 4.23 percent of the share, which is because of Shahdol, which has 8.46 percent and is one of the best in the state. At 3.43, Anuppur is not too bad for tank irrigation.

Soil and rainfall – Rainfall is average at 890 mm and it is quite good in Shahdol at 986 mm and low in Sidhi at 814 mm. There are 46.66 days of rain and the relief spread is good, especially in Shahdol with 51 rainy days and 48 in Sidhi.

This is an extension of the zone number 11 and 12 but with minor changes. Poverty levels are very high but there is a lower level of landlessness. The area under cash crops is negligible and almost 80 percent of farming is subsistence. Water availability is moderate to high but access is low. Technological adaptability is very low along with extension services.

There is an absence of infrastructure in the area: institutional as well as access to roads and electricity.

The high level of marginal farming needs to be consolidated with water user groups and knowledge transfer. The use of fertilizers is too low and productivity is affected. Need for an institutional mechanism for farming inputs is a priority.

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WESTERN BAGHELKHAND ZONE Zone 12: Western Baghelkhand zone ‐ Forest, game reserve and energy production GENERAL INDICATORS Demographic composition – The districts of Rewa, Satna, Umariya and Panna comprise the Baghelkhand region. The land of tigers is now famous for its white tigers. The average family size is just above 5 at 5.25 and two of the districts Panna and Rewal have family sizes of 5.14 and 5.04, which is less than the state average of 5.52 and can be considered good.

The SC population of the zone is 14.66 percent, but is unevenly distributed in the four districts. While Panna has a high of 20 followed by Satna with 16.27 and Rewa by 15.57 (all above the state average of 15.19), Umraiya has just 6.81 percent of the SC population. The ST population in the zone is 21.66, which is more than the state average. The ST population is unevenly distributed with Umariya having around 44 percent of the ST population and Panna (15.39), Satna (14.34) and Rewa have 12.87.

Together ST and SC population exceeds 50 percent in Umariya while in Panna is more than one‐third (35.39), Satna (30.61) and Rewa (28.44). Cumulatively, for the zone, the SC and ST population comprises 36.32 percent of the total population and is a major block in socio‐political developments.

Development – 42.34 percent of the total population works, less than the state average. This ratio is almost uniform across all the districts in a band of 39.85 and 43.73 percent.

Cultivators represent 31.53 percent, against the state average of 34.33, and in the band of 27.53 (Rewa) and 37.69 (Panna). There are 17.11 percent landless labourers with Rewa having 20.70 and the Umariya with 14.38 percent. The average for the zone is greater than for the state.

Urbanization is not pronounced in the zone and Panna has 12.66 percent urban population and Rewa has 20.70 percent. The HDI is 0.44, which is a shade below the average and is uniform across all the four districts. The gender development index is better placed at 0.55.

Poverty or economic conditions are uniformly spread across all four districts. About 28.85 percent of populations/households live below the poverty line with Umariya at 33.4 followed by Rewa at 29.4, Satna at 28.8 and the least is Panna at 23.8. With more than 36 percent of the vulnerable population and about 21.66 percent of the ST population, these figures for those living below the poverty line are encouraging.

Literacy – Is a shade below 50 percent. Cumulatively literacy in the zone is 49.98 percent. There are no great variations in this zone. In Satna there is 52.66 percent literacy followed by Rewa with 50.24 and Panna (49.11) and Umariya (47.93).

The trend at the state level is maintained and female literacy is 22 points lower than for male literacy.

The trend lines are similar across the four districts with Satna topping female literacy with 41.58 percent followed by Rewa with 38.62 and Panna with 38 and Umariya with 36 percent female literacy.

Gender – The zone is better placed than some of its northern counterparts in the sex ratio.

Cumulatively the sex ratio is 928 and is 10 points higher than the state average. It would have been much higher but Panna (901) has bought down the ratio to its present level. The sex ratio is quite good in Umariya (946) and Rewa (941), while Satna has fairly satisfactory ratio of 925. The high sex ratio in

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Urmariya may be attributed to 44 percent of the ST population and, in this category; Umariya has 972 sex ratio, less than 2 points off the state ST ratio.

The cumulative SC sex ratio is above the state average and looks good at 930.23. But there are wild swings and concern in Panna (895) and better performance from Umraiya (950), Rewa (939) and Satna (937). Umariya has consistently better sex ratios in this category, which may be affected by the tribal culture influencing the sex ratio among the most vulnerable communities (because of unsocial elements and groups).

The cumulative ST sex ratio is healthy at 946.90. The influence of other factors can be discerned in the sex ratio of the three districts having less than a 950 sex ratio in the ST category. Even then the sex ratio is far better than some of the northern counterparts. Umariya has a better SC sex ratio with just 6.81 percent of the population. This could be attributed to the presence of the tribal population, which is almost half of the total population in the district.

About 60 percent of girls are married before the legal age. The trend suggests that this is universal for Madhya Pradesh, and despite a high ST and SC population, the percentage has not increased.

Gender discrimination is less severe in this zone and there are some positive trends that can be noted in gender equity.

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – About 45.92 percent of the area is under kharif cultivation and is 10 points lower than the state average of 55.85. The kharif cultivation area is unevenly distributed with Umariya (66.30) at one end and Panna (31.26 and less than half of Umariya) at the other and in between Rewa (46.05) and Satna (40.08) have an average kharif area.

The trend is reversed in rabi with Panna (68.74) at the top end and Umariya (33.70) at the lower end.

In between Rewa (53.95) and Satna (59.92) have substantial gains over the kharif area and at 54.08 percent cumulatively the zone is ahead of the state rabi average by 10 points.

Pulses – The area under pulses in kharif is 13.95 and is about 5 points higher than the state average.

There is variance in the kharif pulses cultivation area with Satna having the maximum area of 20.01 percent under pulses. Satna has 40.08 percent of the kharif area and out of this about half is under pulses. By contrast, Umariya has 66.30 percent of the kharif area and just 8.75 percent of this is for pulses. Panna has 63.09 percent of its area under pulses in rabi, while Rewa has just 33.60 of its 53.95 percent rabi area under pulses.

Panna (63 of 68 percent and 14.19 of 31.26 percent) has one of the highest areas under pulses, followed by Satna (45.45 of 59.92 and 20.01 of 40.40).

From an average 13.95 percent of kharif area, the share of pulses production is 3.23 or 0.23 percent returns against the state average of 0.25 percent. Umariya has a very low area under pulses but has one of the better returns of 0.46 percent in kharif, while Panna, which has a very high area in kharif has a very low return of 0.14 percent.

With 44.32 percent of the kharif area, the return is 21.28 percent share of total production. This is better (0.48) than the state average of 0.33 percent. The return from rabi in Umariya contrasts that for kharif returns and is very low at 0.23 percent. The adaptability of pulses in rabi in Umariya needs to be further investigated. The rest of the district have better rabi returns ranging from Panna with 0.64, which has very low kharif returns at 0.14, to Satna with 0.42, which has lower returns in both the seasons with 0.18 percent in kharif.

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Cereals – The area under cereals in kharif is more than pulses and at 69.80 percent is more than double the state average. Umariya has a high of 85 percent of its area in kharif dedicated to cereals, followed by Panna with 74.19 percent and Rewa with 72.32 percent. Only Satna has 46.71 (below fifty) percent of the kharif area under cereals, which is more than the state average of 32.67 percent.

In rabi the area under cereals is less than the kharif area but is almost on a par with the state average.

There are two groups here: at one end is Rewa with 60.11 percent and Satna with 51.79 percent of the rabi cereal area. The other group is Umariya (31.60) and Panna (34.69 percent) rabi area under cereals.

The return from cereals in kharif is almost equal to the state returns but districts have their own variations. Panna has a return ratio of 0.26 percent, which is the lowest and Umariya has a return of 0.74, which is the highest. Incidentally, Umariya has better returns for both pulses and cereals in kharif and Panna has poor returns for these two crops in kharif.

The return from rabi follows similar trends for pulses. At 0.76 percent, the cumulative returns are better by 8 points over the state average but Panna (0.98) and Satna (0.92) have pulled the average up, while Umariya (a strange case of rabi lower outputs) with 0.48 and Rewa (0.64) have pulled the average down.

A general inference could be drawn from this situation, Umariya’s better results for kharif rather than for rabi needs to be studied to discover the factors contributing to this high return for kharif and low return for rabi.

Land‐use pattern – Cumulative forest cover is one of the best in the state at 34.06 and some of the districts have far better forest cover. Umariya for example has exemplary forest cover of 52.56 percent (this may solve some of the mystery surrounding the high returns in kharif); Panna (42.64) also has good forest cover. A good forest cover along with high tribal percentage is the factor contributing to the better results in Umariya during the kharif season, but has not helped Panna district. In addition, Satna 27.43 and Rewa 13.62 percent forest cover is not too bad.

Grazing and pastureland cover only 2.88 percent and is as low as 1.18 percent in Panna and 2.74 in Satna. Rewa (4.27) and Umariya (3.36) are relatively better off but the state average is 4.38 and the zone does not have good grazing and pasture reserve.

The net sown area is 39.66 percent and is better than some of the other districts in other zones. There are variations with Rewa having 56.02 percent of the net sown area followed by Satna (45.97).

Umariya (23.37) and Panna (33.3) have decent percentages of sown area.

Double cropping is low, and lower than Panna (4.96) and Umariya (7.11), satisfactory in Rewa (20.08) and Satna (15.48). There is scope for double cropping in Panna and Umariya.

Irrigation – Tube wells are the major source of irrigation at 26.03 (on par with state average). But it is as high as 45.20 percent in Satna and 33.91 percent in Rewa, which should place these two in a critical stage. The second source is open wells at 25.19 (well below the state average of 39.55) and there is uniformity across all the districts. The third source is canal irrigation at 11.93 and, except in Satna (4.96), the rest of the districts have from 11.59 (Panna) to 16.12 (Rewa) but is below the state average of 18.12 percent. Tanks make up 4.61 percent (state average 2.35) and are as high as 7.08 in Panna, to 5.30 in Umariya, and 3.43 in Satna and 2.67 in Rewa. Tanks seem to be the second source of irrigation after open wells that are preferred in the tribal and forest‐covered districts of Panna and Umariya.

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Soil and rainfall – Rainfall is good at 999.92 mm and 43 rainy days. It is better in Panna at 1 196 followed by Umariya 984 and Satna (965). It is 852 in Rewa, which is the odd district out of this good relief zone.

The Land of Tigers, which is the literal meaning of Baghel‐khand, did not have any human settlement until the seventh century AD. Later the rulers of the region adopted the title of Baghel. The region is proud of its white tigers, the largest National Wild life Park of India, and it is the energy capital of India. The region has a strong industrial base, especially cement and two well‐known universities: Rewa and Chitrakoot.

The halwahi system is prevalent in this region as many farmers having holdings of between 100 and 300 ha. The legacy of landowners providing residential space to farm labourers means that there is a greater possibility of the halwahi system being practiced in this region.

The skewed land use along with lower area for cultivation means there are a higher proportion of marginal and small‐scale farmers.

The uneven topography, poor soil quality and low irrigation levels, despite the reasonably good groundwater, makes small farmers lives difficult.

The people more as a tradition rather then an enterprise practice animal husbandry.

The Mahakaushal region Mahakaushal region had 17 districts in Central Province and Berar, until 1947. Of these, eight districts are now in MP. Four districts have gone to Chhattisgarh state, three districts to Maharashtra and three to Andhra Pradesh. These districts were once called Gondwana region. These eight districts are now eleven districts. The area left in MP is now called central Gondwana region.

Mahakaushal region is famous for the highest peak in the Satpura hills and the town of Pachmadhi that surrounding it, which is the only hill‐station in Madhya Pradesh. The region is also famous for its three major rivers the Narmada, Tapti, which are west flowing rivers to the Arabian Sea and Wainganga of Balaghat, Wardha river of Chhindwara merge with Indravati river that flows from Bastar district in Chhattisgarh state and then to Godavari. Narmada river is considered to be a holy river, as is the Ganges by the Hindu residents of Madhya Pradesh. The Kanha Tiger Reserve is famous for the large number of tigers and bisons, and the legendary elephant.

In addition, there are the districts of Chhindwara and Betul, which have half a dozen coalmines and one thermal power unit is located at Sarni, in Betul district. (Then there is the densest forest in the state and in this region. The forest of the Bori range, forests of Pachmadhi Bio‐Reserve and the Pench forests are very thick. This region has a large tribal population, 43 percent of the total population is comprised of Gonds, Baigas, Bharias and Korkus, the four major tribes of the Mahakaushal region.

The region has five medium and major dams built on the Narmada and other rivers flowing through it.

Jabalpur is the largest town in this region. This region is rich in natural resources and rainwater, although there is a lack of enterprise and technology.

The Mahakaushal region, which mostly lies in the Maikal and Satpura hills region south of Narbada river, starts on the eastern border of the state adjoining the Chhattisgarh state and moves down stream of Narmada up to Hoshangabad. Linguistically and culturally the region is of Mandla, Dindori, Balaghat, Betul, Chhindwara, Hoshangabad, Jabalpur, Seoni and Umaria districts in the state.

The Maikal hills region – This is a rice belt comprising mainly the districts of Mandla and Dindori, and partly the areas of Jabalpur and Seoni. Baiga and Gond are the main tribes.

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Narmada Valley region – Comprises the fertile plains of Hoshangabad, Harda, Narsinghpur, Jabalpur, Katni.

Satpura Hills region – The Satpura hills are known for the hill queen Pachmarhi and the Tamia forest area Bharia is one of the tribes of Chhindwara and Korku in Betul areas in addition to the majority Gond tribe.

Chhattisgarh Plains – is the rice belt of Balaghat, known for more than one hundred local paddy varieties.

The topography of the region is a key parameter.

Socio‐economic distribution – Underdeveloped tribes, Korku, Gond.

Cropping pattern – Wheat, rice, pulses, soya bean, vegetable, horticulture.

Mining – Katni, Jabalpur, Betul, Chindwara mine granite, marble, coal.

Rainfall – Mandla, Betul, Balaghat (high but erratic rains).

Market (Mandi) – The large markets are Jabalpur, Hoshangabad, Itarsi, Betul, Chindwara, Seoni, Mandla, Balaghat, Katni, Harda, Narsinghpur, medium‐size markets are in Dindori, Pandurna, Multai, Kareli and the small market is in Nainpur.

Fisheries are in Jabalpur, Mandla, which is part of Balaghat.

Agriculture – Vegetables are cultivated in Chindwara and Jabalpur. There are sugar mills in Narsinghpur, Betul and Mandla. Livestock is raised in Jabalpur and Narsinghpur. Sericulture is carried out in Mandla. (NTFP) timber Forest Products in Harda, Chindwara, Mandla. Dindori, Seoni and Balaghat. Bed ornaments are made in Mandla, jute in Dindori.

Table 6 shows groundwater status in the Mahakaushal region.

Table 6 – Groundwater status in Mahakaushal region S. No.

District

Status of Groundwater

1

Balaghat

All the blocks lie In the white zone. Wara Seoni and Lanji blocks, with 16 percent and 14 percent harnessing levels of water respectively. The Highest exploitation level has been obtained for drawing groundwater.

2

Chhindwara

Mohkheda and Chhindwara are the two worst hit districts In terms of groundwater balance.

Because nothing much Is left as groundwater reserve In these blocks. Amarwara, Choraiand Pandurna are three other blocks that are fast consuming their groundwater stocks. The remaining five blocks are In the safe limits of the white zone.

3

Hoshangabad

All blocks are in the white zone. Piparia and Bankhedi blocks have used a lot of groundwater but there is still enough residual groundwater left.

4

Harda

All fall in the white zone. Khirkhia block has used up about 50 percent Of their groundwater stocks. The remaining two blocks have plenty of untapped groundwater.

5

Jabalpur

All blocks are in the white zone. Shahpura block has already drained out about 56 percent of its groundwater stock and Patan is a distinct second with about 60 percent of the groundwater stock remaining intact. All other blocks have between 65 and 94 percent of untapped groundwater.

6

Katni

All blocks fall in the white zone.

7

Mandla

All blocks fall in the white zone..

8

Dindori

All blocks fall in the white zone..

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9

Seoni

All blocks fall in the white zone.. But Barghat block has already used 41 percent of the total groundwater stock.

10

Narsinghpur

Although all blocks fall In the white zone, except for one block of Kareli, which still has 78 percent of its unused groundwater., All others have used between 45 and 71.1 percent of their groundwater..

11

Betul

Five out of ten blocks have expanded their 37 percent to 40 percent of water reserves.

These blocks are Prabhatpatnam, Multai, Chicholi, Amla and Betul. The remaining five blocks lie safely within the white zone.

Source: MP‐Human Development Report Archive

THE SATPURA HILLS MAHAKAUSHAL ZONE Zone 15: Satpura Hills Mahakaushal Zone – Tribal forest gatherers and dry land farmers GENERAL INDICATORS Demographic composition – Betul and Chhindwara tribal districts comprise this zone. The average family size is around 5.41 and is below the state average. It is higher in Betul at 5.60 and lower in Chhindwara at 5.21.

At 11.08 the SC population is less than the state average and is similar in both districts. The ST population is more than one‐third at 37.05. In both districts, the ST population is more than one‐third 39.41 in Betul and 34.68 in Chhindwara.

Both Betul and Chhindwara are among the districts with a majority of ST population. With the SC population, the total block forms almost half the total population.

Development – A total of 43.15 percent of the total population work, which varies from 44.15 (Betul) to 42.15 (Chhindwara). These figures are on par with the state average in one district and marginally above in the another. Female participation is more than one‐third and is above the state average.

There are just 33.33 percent of total cultivators, which is a little below the state average. Both the districts have similar figures. There are 16.35 percent landless labourers and the two districts are above the state average of 14.53.

About 21.52 percent of the population lives in urban areas. The figure is higher for Chhindwara 24.46, almost one‐quarter of the total population and lower for Betul (18.57). Urbanization is on the upswing in the non‐tribal areas of both the districts.

The zone’s HDI is 0.48 and is neither good nor bad comparatively. The gender development ratio is on par with the best in the state at 0.6 and is uniform for both the states.

The poverty rate is very high and, at 48.40 percent and every other person is poor. This is a very critical condition, especially in Betul where 65.6 percent of the population lives under the poverty line.

In Chhindwara every third person is poor, poverty in the zone is critical.

There are fewer early marriages as compared to other northern counterparts. At 29.50 percent there are early marriages but this is low compared to the highs of above 60 percent in some of districts.

Gender discrimination could be termed not so severe.

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Literacy – At 55.20 percent, literacy is on the high side. Both districts have almost similar percentages for literacy 55.21 (Betul) and 55.19 (Chhindwara). The female literacy rate is at 45.99, which is comparatively good and is uniform for both the districts.

Gender – The zone has one of the best sex ratios in the state at 958.62. The sex ration is even better in Betul (965.2) and in Chhindwara it is 952.1. The sex ratio is lower than the general population and is 942 is 37 points above the state average. The ST sex ratio is one of the best in the state and in the country, at 991.54 and is 15 points above the state average. In Betul it is 994 and in Chhindwara it is 989 and can be termed better in relation to the other districts.

With a favourable female literacy rate of 45 percent and a low rate of early marriages, gender discrimination is not severe; on the contrary, gender equity is one of the best in the state.

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – 77.84 percent of the area is in kharif while 22 percent is in rabi. The kharif area is very high at 80.69 percent in Chhindwara and 75.00 in Betul. The zone has one of the largest areas under kharif and a poor share under rabi.

Pulses – Kharif area under pulses is on par with the state average of 8.26 percent. Betul has 8.76 percent while Chhindwara has 7.76 percent of kharif pulses cultivation. The figure for rabi at 34.07 percent is more than kharif, and is less than the state average by 9 points.

The return of pulses in kharif is double than the state returns and is comparatively better in Chhindwara (0.61) than in Betul (0.41). In rabi the return is less than half the state average (0.33).

Both districts have 0.12 and 0.13 percent return for Betul and Chhindwara respectively.

Cereals – The area under cereals in kharif is about 37.02 percent and is 5 percentage points above the state average of 32.67. Cereals cultivation is a narrow band of 35.82 (Betul) and 38.22 (Chhindwara).

The percentage of area for rabi under cereals is 60.10 percent of the total area under cultivation and is 15 points above the state average. It is as high as 62.95 percent in Betul while in Chhindwara it is 57.25 percent.

The return on kharif cereals is far better than the state average of 0.50 percent. At 0.84, Chhindwara has comparatively better returns than Betul (0.76). Returns for rabi decrease by half at 0.32 against the state returns of 0.68. Both districts show similarities for returns in rabi for cereals.

Land‐use pattern – At 39.91 percent, the forest cover is one of the best in the state. Both districts have similar forest cover, with Chhindwara (40.46) marginally ahead of Betul (39.36) and well above the state average of 28.28 percent. There are fewer pastures and grazing land than the state average at 3.55. This is comparatively better in Chhindwara (4.39) than Betul (2.71) The net sown area is 40.51 percent and less than the state average by 7 points. It is on the low side for the state. The double cropping area is just 13.48 and is below the state average by 5 points.

Irrigation – Open wells make up 64.58 percent of total irrigation, one of the highest rates in the state, being 25 points above the state average. Both these districts have open wells for their major source of irrigation at 65.50 (Betul) and 63.67 (Chhindwara). Tube wells come a distant second at 15.78 cumulatively but is third for Betul (10.87). In Chhindwar (20.71) tube wells are on the rise and could move the district into the semi‐critical zone.

At 10.66 percent, canal irrigation is the third major source cumulatively but for Betul (12.50) it is the second major source for irrigation. The share for tanks is 1.25 percent and is almost non‐existent in Betul (0.10) and on par with the state average in Chhindwara (2.41).

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Soil and rainfall – Betul (925.8) has better rainfall than Chhindwara (667.8). The number of rainy days in Betul is 46 and in Chhindwara are 41. Copper and iron content is adequate to high while the zinc content is adequate to marginal.

Chhindwara and Betul districts are predominant for their agro‐ecological diversity and ecotourism potential. They are close to the large metropolis of Nagpur. The area is tribal dominated with Korku and Gond tribes. These are forest gatherers and dry land farmers. The major crops are millet and wheat. There are two communities in the area, the tribal poppulations live in forest villages and the other mainstream communities live in the revenue villages and in the towns. There is high degree of exploitation of the tribal as well as other communities, but more so of the tribal communities. Limited cultivable land non‐traditional forest products are the result of the undulating topography, which has constrained progress.

Known for the dense forests, high returns are promised under diversified farming practices. The zone could develop into a ‘business hub’ for fruit processing particularly oranges and grafted mangoes, aromatics, scented rice and fish. Chhindwara in particular, with its strong political patronage, can lead towards multi‐sectoral activities with intensive cultivation and processing of cash crops, fruits, vegetables and NTFPs. There is about 30 percent landlessness and marginal farmers are another 40 percent. About 40 percent of the area is under cash crops, mainly soya bean. Water use has been moderate and technology low.

The priority areas for interventions are: water harvesting and water management; Institutional Infrastructure for micro‐credit and mandis; knowledge transfer/extension services.

MAHAKAUSHAL MAIKAL HILL ZONE Zone 16: Mahakaushal Maikal Hill Zone – Forest, water rich, subsistence (millet) tribal zone GENERAL INDICATORS Demographic composition – the region is part of Mahakaushal region and is also known as Maikal Hill Zone. Mandla, Dindori, Seoni and Balaghat districts are gathered under this region. The average family size is below 5 at 4.80, which is lower than the five and six in other zones. Except for Seoni, which has a marginal high of 5.03 average family size, the rest of the districts have family sizes of between 4.63 to 4.83.

This is a tribal dominated zone with 45.07 of ST population, except for Balaghat, which has close to the state average ST population of 21.80 percent, the rest of the districts have very high percentage of ST population. More than half the population is tribal in Dindori (64.48) and Mandla (57.23), while Seoni has 36.78 percent ST population. The cumulative SC percentage is below ten at 7.13 percent 10.34 percent in Seoni, followed by 7.75 in Balaghat and a low of 4.62 in Mandla and 5.83 in Dindori.

Together, SC and ST populations exceed 50 percent cumulatively. It is 70 percent in Dindori, 62 percent in Mandla, 47 percent in Seoni and 32 percent in Balaghat. With such a high combined ST and SC combined, the family size of less than 5 is encouraging.

Development – Exactly 50 percent of the population work, which is very high compared to the state average of 42.42. As much as 56.98 percent of the total population in Dindori work. This indicates that children and the elderly, and differently abled people, are working. The percentage is above 50 in the

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other two districts and just below 50 in the third, indicating that most children and the elderly are working in the zone.

Cultivators amount to 38.34 percent, against the state average of 34.33, with only 29.61 in Balaghat and 54.51 percent in Dindori. Landless labourers amount to 18.25 percent and are almost uniformly spread across all the districts, the figure is above the state average of 14.53.

Urbanization is very low at 9.67 percent, except for Dindori (4.64), which is the lowest, the other districts have almost uniform percentages for the urban population.

The HDI is 0.48, in a narrow band of 0.45 and 0.52, which indicates uniform development with very few marginalized groups within the districts. The gender development ratio is a healthy 0.64 percent, which is almost uniform in all the districts.

As 47.38 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, this is one of the most economically backward zones in the state. At the upper end of the spectrum is Dindori and Mandla with identical 53.7 percent of the population living below the poverty line, in Balaghat 45.3 percnet and Seoni at the lower end with 36.8 percent of the population are living below the poverty line.

Literacy – Literacy is a shade above 50 percent, cumulatively the zonal is 51.93 percent. There are no wide variations in this zone. Balaghat has a 58.12 percent literacy rate followed by Seoni 54.54, Mandla (49.99) and Dindori (45.07) below 50. The trend at the state level is maintained and female literacy is 22 points lower than for the male literacy. At 40.85 percent, female literacy requires improvements.

Gender – This tribal dominated zone is a better example of gender equity than some of the more urbanized counterparts. In the general category, the sex ratio is almost 1 000 and at 997.68 is 80 points above the state average. All the districts’ performance on this scale is notable, with Balaghat at 1 022.2 followed by Mandla (996.3), Dindori (990.7) and Seoni (981.5).

Perhaps this is the only district in the whole of MP to have an SC sex ratio that is above the general sex ratio. At 1 038 it is one of the best not only in the zone and the state, but, perhaps, in the country. The cumulative sex ratio for SC is 972.16 and is 67 points above the state average. Apart from Balaghat, the sex ratio for the SC population in the rest of the districts is not bad, but there is a difference of more than 94 points between the highest and the lowest (Dindori/944) and the other two are just above the 950 mark. This is phenomenal and needs to be understood and studied.

The cumulative sex ratio in the ST category is extraordinary, and at 1 026.37 is 50 points above the state average. Again, Balaghat leads with 1 050 followed by Mandla (1 028), Seoni (1 016) and Dindori (1 011). All the districts in this zone have sex ratio in ST category that is above 1 000.

Early marriages are 37.25 percent, as compared with their counterparts in the more urbanized and better‐developed districts, which is 25 to 30 points lower than them. This is also a good indicator and is uniform in all the districts.

Gender equity is most visible in all aspects in the tribal dominated zone, which is one of the best zones in all Madhya Pradesh.

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – About 66.89 percent of the area is under kharif cultivation and is 11 points higher than the state average of 55.85. The kharif cultivation area is uniformly above 60 percent, but is higher in Balghat (78.38) followed by Mandla (67.72). Both Dindori (61.25) and Seoni (60.24) have more than the state average area for kharif season.

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There is a downward trend for rabi in this region and Balaghat has the least area in rabi. Incidentally, Balaghar has one of the better irrigation facilities in the state at about 40 percent of the total area but its low figure for rabi does not correspond to the irrigation poterntial.

In other districts, the rabi area is in the 30s with Seoni at 39.76 (the highest) followed by Dindori (38.75) and Mandla at 32.28 percent. The late relief and moisture retention could be factors causing rabi to be so high in DIndori and Mandla, which has less than 10 percent of the total area under irrigation and Dindori has the lowest irrigation from any source.

Pulses – The area under pulses in kharif is 4.11 and is half the state average and is uniform across all the districts. The pulses in rabi increases to 39.04 percent, almost on par with the state average, except for Dindori (33.68), which has marginally low rabi in the zone, the rest of the districts have uniform coverage.

Though there is less area under pulses in kharif (half the state average), the share in total production is almost equal to the state average of 2.18 (from 8.49). The return from kharif (pulses) is 0.52 percent, which is more than double the state average. There is uniformity throughout all the districts (between 0.44, 0.45 and 0.54 percent) except for Mandla, which has a high return of 0.70 (against 0.25 at the state level).

The area under pulses in rabi increases many fold, but the return is low. As against the state average of 0.33 for rabi, the average for the zone is 0.19, which swings from a low of 0.12 in Balaghat to 0.27 in Seoni.

It seems that pulses production is more suited to kharif in the tribal and forest covered hills of this region.

Cereals – The area under cereals in kharif is more than two‐thirds at 78.03 percent. Two districts: Balaghat (94.93) and Mandla (90.34) have more than 90 percent of the area in kharif dedicated to cereals. This is staggering, and is only low in Seoni with 52.79 percent, which is also 20 points higher than the state average.

The cereals area in rabi is low and except for Seoni, which has almost idenitical (54.33) area coverage in kharif and rabi, the rest of the districts have from 23.99 (Balaghat), to 32.03 (Mandla) and 38.49 (Dindori) area, which is lower than the state average by eight points.

The kharif returns for cereals are better than the state average in all the districts with Balaghat topping the returns with 0.88 percent followed by Dindori (0.75), Mandla (0.66) and Seoni (0.63). The rabi returns though are very poor and are 0.38 about 30 points lower than the state average. In Balaghat the returns are less at 0.13, a huge 55 points lower than the state average.

From both the pulses and cereals returns in both the seasons, it seems that the kharif has an advantage over the rabi crops, which could be attributed to the uncertainity of the irrigation along with inadequacies in soil and crop management.

Land‐use pattern – The cumulative forest cover could be termed the best in the state 40.15 percent against state average of 28.28. It is very high in Mandla (61.44) followed by Balaghat (54.62) and Seoni (37.49). The only black spot is Dindori, which has just 7.06 percent of the forest cover and is home to one of the primitive tribes in the state.

There is only 2.79 percent pastures and grazing, which is lower than the state average of 4.38 and could be termed inadequate. This shows that the communities may consider animal husbandry to be a low priority. The net sown area is 37.74 percent, which is relatively low compared to the state average of 47.91 percent. But it is as high as 56.74 percent in Dindori, which is quite high, considering the

46

percentage of the tribal population. It is on the grey side of the land‐use pattern, which explains the low forest cover in the district at 7.06 percent.

The double‐cropped area is below the state average of 17.49 percent at 11.95, this is low in Balaghat (7.37) and Mandla (6.7) and above ten in Dindori (19.81) and Seoni (13.94).

Irrigation – 63 percent of total irrigation is by canal with all districts averaging above 50 percent. The highest is in Mandla at 77.34 followed by Dindori (66.47), Balaghat (60.79) and Seoni (50.70). The share of canal in total irrigation is very high in this zone amost 45 points higher than the state average.

This indicates that irrigation itself is a new concept in the tribal land and could be gauged from the second major source, i.e. open wells at just 16 percent. The contribution of open wells to irrigation in the tribal districts of Balaghat (13.79), Dindori (9.57) and Mandla (13.77) indicate that irrigation was less of a priority for the tribal districts. For example, Dindori has just 3 percent of its net sown area under irrigation, Out of this, 66 percent is from canals and just 9.57 percent from open wells. Tanks and tube wells are zero. It does suggest that before the advent of canal irrigation, the communities had not tried irrigation. The communities are open to change but need catalyst agents.

Tanks are the third major source for irrigation, but the cumulative figures in the zone could be misleading. Though the zone has 7 percent irrigation from tanks, this is zero and 0.21 in Dindori and Mandla respectively, and is as high as 21.12 percent in Balaghat and 6.97 in Seoni. The influence of Chhattisgarh can be easily seen in Balaghat as well as development of tanks in Seoni.

Soil and rainfall – Rainfall is good at 1 110.15 mm and 54 rainy days. It is uniformly good in Balaghat (1 027), Dindori (1 292) and Mandla (1 235) and, below 900 in Seoni (884).

This is predominantly a tribal zone with the main tribes being Gonds and Baigas. The area has one of the lowest levels of irrigation in the state. About 3 percent of the area is under irrigation (in Dindori with the exception of Balaghat). The landlessness are about 10 percent of the population, and the rest of the holdings are subsistence farmers. The cash crop is rice, mostly concentrated in Balaghat district.

The major crops are minor millets (kodo, kutki, etc.). Water use has been minimum and the extension services non‐existent.

Mandla and Dindori are resource‐rich districts of poor inhabitants have the glory of the past Gond Kingdom, exceptionally rich biodiversity and primitive tribes have vast scope for ecotourism.

Balaghat has exceptionally rich biodiversity, with forest cover spread over half of the district. There is a large, untapped irrigation potential, which has not seen much progress because of limitation of cultivable lands and undulating topography. Balaghat is known for producing famous varieties of rice cultivated both using traditional as well as modern techniques.

These districts need to depart from the traditional development approach, from subsistence farming to a more diversified approach that integrates fishery, poultry, sericulture, horticulture. In addition, brands of traditional organic minor millets, pulses, oil seeds could be promoted as well as scented rice based on a public private community partnership Seoni is a district that is drained by the Wainganga and Pench watersheds. It is famous for the Mogli of the past and today the Pench National Park has the advantage of being located on the National Corridor (Golden Quadrangle). The district could develop into a market hub for farm fresh products (fish, egg, vegetables, fruits) and organic farm produce by establishing inter‐state linkages.

The priority areas could be: institutional framework for knowledge transfer, extension services and micro‐credit; creation of water bodies with community water management and water users

47

association capacity building; aquaculture as an alternative source of occupation; strong marketing support for diversified farming activities.

CENTRAL NARBADA SUB ZONE Zone 14: Central Narbada Sub Zone ‐ Irrigated Intensive agriculture production (horticulture) GENERAL INDICATORS Demographic composition – The district of Hoshangabad, now Harda and Hoshangabad, form this subzone. The average family size is above the state average of 5.52, which indicates traditional, mainstream and upper‐caste dominance. At 5.66 Harda is above the state average, while Hoshangabad at 5.41 is a bit lower.

The districts are in the Narmada basin and have 15.91 percent SC population. Both districts have almost uniform SC composition at 16.06 (Harda) and 15.75 (Hoshangabad). The ST population is also on par with the state average of 20.88 percent. There is 11 points difference between the two districts with Harda at 26.63 and Hoshangabad at 15.13 percent. Cumulatively, SC and ST population form about 36 percent of the population, which is about 42 percent in Harda and 30 percent in Hoshangbad.

Development – About 40.32 percent of the population is engaged in work. This is less than the state average. Female participation is very low at 28.48 (lower than the state average of 32.67). Female participation is quite good at 36.43 in Harda and very low in Hoshangabad (20.53).

There are just 28.02 percent cultivators, which is quite low (but a good indicator that population is engaged in other employment than cultivation). It is about 30.85 in Harda and 25.20 in Hoshangabad.

The landless labourers are 20.89 percent and higher than the state average of 14.53.

Urbanization is quite visible in these two districts but more so in Hoshangabad with 30.95 percent of the population being urban. At 26.14, cumulatively, the urban population is quite large without any major cities (with small towns) in the districts.

The HDI is one of the best in the state at 0.55 and is same for both the districts. At 0.57, the gender development index is also satisfactory.

Almost 40 percent of the population is living below the poverty line. This could be attributed more to urbanization than other factors. Both districts have about 39 percent of the population living below the poverty line.

Child marriages are considerably lower than other high incidence districts. At 48.30 percent, this indicates that almost half of girls are lured away from schooling and married before attaining the legal age of 18.

Literacy – Both districts have fairly high literacy at 56.48 cumulatively, which may be termed as one of the best in the state. Hoshangabad has a slightly edge over Harda and is marginally, four points, over its neighbour at 58.64 percent.

Female literacy is 19 points lower than for male literacy but at 46.20 is better than the state average.

In Hoshangabad there is 48.29 female literacy while Harda has 44.11 percent literacy rates. Here

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female literacy is 19 points lower than for the male literacy and is somewhat lower than the state average.

Gender – The sex ratio is (907.64) below the state average of 918. At 919, Harda is barely above the average. In Hoshangabad the sex ratio of 896.3 is critical, indicating the dominance of traditional upper caste dominance.

The sex ratio in the SC category is still low at 899.12 (below the state average of 905). Both districts have lower sex ratio in the SC category and in Harda it is lower than the general population sex ratio while in Hoshangabad it is equal to the general population sex ratio.

The 20 plus ST sex ratio is marginally above the average along with the SC sex ratio at 937, but is almost 40 points below the state average of 976.

With half the girls married before the legal age, this agriculturally and economically developed zone presents an example of retro trends in gender equity.

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – At 50.33 percent, the zone has half the area in kharif and the other half in rabi. This indicates good irrigation facilities in the zone. Hoshangabad is marginally better off for irrigation with 54 percent of the rabi area, while Harda has just 45.38 percent of the rabi area, which is, nevertheless, better than the state average.

In rabi the average area under cultivation is far less and is 20 points lower than the state average.

Pulses – Of the 50 percent of kharif area only 2.57 is dedicated to pulses with as little as 0.93 percent in Harda and 4.22 in Hoshangabad, which is well below the state average of 8.49 percent. With about the same area under rabi, the pulses share is just 22.20, with Hoshangabad having 24.85 percent and Harda having 19.54 percent of the area dedicated to pulses.

The return for kharif is on par with the state average for pulses and at 0.28 percent it is marginally ahead of the state average. For rabi the share of production for pulses and returns is 8 points above the state average with better returns in Harda (0.44) than in Hoshangabad (0.40).

Cereals – The area under cereal in kharif is very low in Harda at 1.51 percent. Cumulatively the area percentage is 6.26 percent, with a marginal increase in Hoshangabad at 11.02. As 50 percent of the kahrif area and just 9 percent combined of pulses and cereals, there is a possible need for mapping because cash crops other than pulses and cereals could be the major crops.

In rabi the cereals dedicated area is quite large at 77.02, with another 23 percent for pulses, the rabi season is exclusively a combination of cereals (major stakeholder) and pulses (minority stakeholder).

Harda has 80.25 percent area under cereals, while Hoshangabad has 73.79 percent under cereals for rabi.

The returns are less for kharif at 0.34 (state returns at 0.50); Hoshangabad at 0.33 is lower in Harda (0.41) though marginally. In rabi the returns increase by 9 points over the state average and is 0.77 percent. Hoshangabad is marginally better placed for results at 0.86 over Harda at 0.70.

In kharif, the total area is dedicated to other crops rather than cereals and pulses. Vegetables and soybean could be two crops that are cultivated in kharif as cash crops. In rabi, the shift is to a total combination of cereals and pulses (99 percent combined) with less than 1 percent for other crops.

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Land‐use pattern – Cumulative forest cover is on par with the state average and is 28.01 percent.

Hoshangabad has better forest cover 31.7, while Harda has relatively low forest cover at 24.33 percent of the total area. This is one of the better zones for forest cover.

Pastures are relatively low at 3.6 (state average, 4.38). Harda has 3.06, while Hoshangabad has 4.15 and pastures are on the low side.

The net sown area is more than the state average, and is 48.75 cumulativley. Hoshangabad has 54.63 percent sown area, while Harda has 42.88 percent. The net sown area is relatively high, signifying low returns for yield.

Irrigation – Both districts have very high irrigation, as more than 40 percent of the area is under irrigation, and canals are the major source of irrigation at 56.03 percent. Both district have their fair share of canal irrigation: Harda (57.09) marginally ahead of Hoshangabad (54.98). These two districts have one of the best canal irrigation systems in the whole state. The state average for canal irrigation is 18.12.

Open wells are the second major source of irrigation at 22.25. Both districts are identical for their use of open wells as for canals and Harda (23.64) is marginally ahead of Hoshangabad (20.86). The third source of irrigation is tube wells and at 13.27 is lower than the state average of 25.51 percent.

Hoshangabad is ahead with 18.65 percent of irrigation from tubewells, while Harda has 7.90 percent from tube wells. The need for tube wells is very low but the increase in use of tube wells is growing in Hoshangabad.

Tanks are almost non‐existent in both districts. Cumulatvely, this source is having 0.22 percent of share; Hoshangabad has 0.34 percent while Harda is having 0.11 percent from tanks.

Soil and rainfall – With 936 mm rainfall, the zone has good relief. There is variation though with Harda having good relief at 1 045 mm, while Hoshangabad is 826 mm. There are between 44 and 41 rainy days. Copper fertility is good, while zinc supplements are adequate. Iron is low in both districts.

This is a champion district for agriculture production in the Mahakaushal region. The region should make a mark in the national agriculture scenario through selective crop development along with intensive promotion of micro and minor irrigation for the development of horticulture (fruits and vegetables), poultry, fishery and sericulture based farming systems using a market‐led approach. The area is a rich agriculture zone for wheat and pigeon pea. The zone has one of the best mandis in the state, and produce is marketed outside the state. Most large firms (Fast Moving Consumer Goods ‐ FMCG) have warehouses near the mandis.

In the Narmada river basin, which is one of the highest irrigation zones in the stat, irrigation is from canal and canal‐based groundwater recharge. There are about 10 percent landless in the area and about 40 percent aref subsistence farmers. Subsistence farmers are better off in this region because of the availability of and access to canal irrigation.

The priority focus in the area could be institution building: creation of water user associations/building the capacities of the water user associations, knowledge transfer (extension services) through institutional set up and technological adaptations for efficient use of water.

The second priority is for technology inputs, policy and mechanism appropriateness and community knowledge transfer for waterlogging and drainage issues.

The third priority is the area of scarcity amidst plenty. There are pockets of affluence (water availability and use) and pockets of dryland farming. These blocks are connected to tribal dominated areas and

50

negligence. There is a need for an integrated intervention in these pockets of negligence focusing on resource building, institutional infrastructure for micro‐credit and knowledge management.

UPPER NARBADA SUB ZONE Zone 17: Upper Narbada Sub Zone – Mixed commercial tribal farmers, industrial activities GENERAL INDICATORS Demographic composition – Jabalpur, Katni and Narsingpur cover the region of the Upper Narbada catchment. The average family size is just above 5 at 5.04 and, with minor variations, is almost uniform for the three districts. Katni has the lowest at 4.92, Jabalpur 4.98 and Narsignpur marginally higher at 5.23. All districts have less than the state average family size.

The zone has relatively low SC population and at 13.45, it is marginally lower than the state average of 15.19. Katni has the lowest with 11.48 followed by Jabalpur at 12.73 while Narsingpur has 16.14 percent of the SC population. The ST population share is more than the SC share but at 17.08 it is still lower than the state average by three points. Katni has the highest ST population of 23.07 percent followed by 15.01 percent for Jabalpur and 13.17 percent for Narsignpur.

Together, SC and ST form more than 30 percent cumulatively for all the districts.

Development – At 40.33, the percentage of population engaged in work is less than the state average.

Jabalpur has the lowest working population at 37.17 percent and, understandably as it has one of the state’s largest urban city centres in Jabalpur. With 57.51 percent of the urban population, Jabalpur’s working population is quite naturally placed at 37.17 percent, as there would a higher number of children in school than working.

At 40.33 the percentage of population working is not proportional to the urban population and is barely below the state average. Jabalpur is better placed at 37.17, with one of the best percentages of workers to the total population. Female participation ratio is 27.70, which is indicative of gender discrimination. At 12.67, Jabalpur has one of the lowest numbers of cultivators per hundred people and cumulatively, the percentage of cultivators is 22.15. This is lower by 12 percent than the state average. The percentage of agricultural landless labourers is very low in Jabalpur and Katni (almost identical at 13), while in Narsingpur is almost double the state average of 14.53. In Jabalpur and Katni, it is understood that there are fewer agriculture labourers with urbanization and industrialization being better in these two districts, while Narsinghpur is totally an agriculture‐based economy.

The percentage of urban population is almost one‐third of the total population but it is as low as 15.99 percent in Narsingpur and slightly better at 21.15 in Katni, while in Jabalpur more than half the population is urban (57.51). The zone’s HDI is 0.55 and is quite good in Narsinghpur at 0.60. The GDI is 0.61 and is one of the best in the state.

The poverty rate, however, is not as good and not in sync with the development indices. At 35.73, almost one‐third of the population lives below the poverty line. In Jabalpur and Katni, the below poverty line (BPL) percentage is much higher at 42.2 percent each while in Narsinghpur it is relatively better at 22.8. Urbanization and industrialization has contributed to the increased number of people living below poverty line.

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Early marriages are common across all the districts as for the state, 43.97 percent of girls are married before the legal age of 18.

Literacy – The rate is quite good, above the state average by 8 percentage points. At 65.24, Narsinghpur has one of the best literacy rates in the state, while Jabalpur is not far behind at 64.90.

The literacy rate in Katni is on par with the state average.

The female literacy follows the same patterns as elsewhere. At 57.42 and 56.37 percent respectively for Narsinghpur and Jabalpur, female literacy is comparatively quite good. At 39.54, Katni is a dark spot for female literacy but follows the overall pattern.

Gender – The sex ratio is a shade better than the state average of 918 and at 919.30 cannot be termed good. In fact two of the districts Jabalpur and Narsinghpur have 908 and 909, while Katni has a relatively better sex ratio at 940. The pattern is followed in the SC category with an overall better ratio of 927. Narsinghpur sex ratio is poor (908 and less than general population); it is good for Katni (954 better than the general population and a reverse in the general trend) and, at 921, Jabalpur cannot be termed as good or bad but, relative to the general population there is an increase of 13 points above, which is again a sign of reversal of the general trend found elsewhere. The ST sex ratio is relatively better placed at 964.88 but is lower than the state average of 976. Katni has a fairly good ST sex ratio at 981 and the Jabalpur with 958 and Narsinghpur with 955, have almost similar ST sex ratios.

With half of girls married below the legal age in all the districts there is generally a very low sex ratio, as well as SC category in two of the districts, it can be assumed that gender discrimination is more pronounced in Jabalpur and Narsighpur and is less severe in Katni (or could be better).

AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS Cropping area and production – The kharif season cultivation is 40.98 and the rabi is 59.02 percent.

There are variations in the cultivation patterns and at 51.11 percent, Katni has half the cultivation in Kharif while, the other two have just one‐third of their areas under kharif cultivation.

Pulses – The area under pulses in kharif is higher than the state average (8.49). It is as high as 28.75 in Jabalpur and 26.95 in Narsinghpur, while it is very low (6.13) in Katni. In rabi the area under pulses is more than the state average by 12 points (almost the same as kharif). Pulses cover 65.23 percent of the rabi area in Narsinghpur and 59.78 percent in Jabalpur. At 41.28 a considerable area is cultivated in Katni in rabi for pulses. On the whole, both rabi and kharif together, pulses comprise more than one‐third of the area, which this is quite high.

The average return on pulses in kharif is on par with the state average except for Jabalpur (0.20) it is not bad in other two districts. In rabi, the returns are slightly better than the state average, except for Jabalpur, where it more than double from kharif, rabi pulses returns are average or below average.

Cereals – The area under cereals in kharif is very high in Katni (91.16) and is very low in Narsinghpur (10.79), while in Jabalpur it is 62.75; cumulatively it is 54.93 percent, more than the state average of 32.67. The trend reverses in rabi and only 52 percent of the area in rabi is under cereals in Katni, in Jabalpur it is just 36.96, and in Narsinghpur it is 25.95.

Cumulatively, only Katni has about 70 percent of the area under cereals while Jabalpur has 48 and Narsinghpur has 18 percent. This indicates that the zone (or some part of it) is more inclined to pulses than cereals.

In kharif the return is a shade below the state average cumulatively, and is good for Katni at 0.54 but poor in Jabalpur (0.27) and Narsinghpur (0.23). In rabi, though the return on cereals has jumped by

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double to 0.91 (37 points higher than the state average) and in Jabalpur it is 1.15 and Narsinghpur it is 1.16, two of the highest returns in the state. At 0.62, Katni is on par with the state average.

As the returns from cereals in rabi is quite good, it is not known why pulses occupy the major crop position in the two districts of Jabalpur and Narsinghpur in rabi.

Land‐use pattern – At 19.9 percent, the forest cover is average and below the state average. It is almost on par with the state average in Narsinghpur (26.58) while it is low in Jabalpur (13.63) and Katni (19.49). Grazingland and pastures are on the low side. At 1.29 in Katni, it is one of the lowest percentages, while in Jabalpur (5.08) and Narsinghpur (4.62) it is on par with the state average, but cannot be termed good.

The net sown area is very high at 59.82 percent, 12 points above the state average and indicates linear cultivation pattern and occupations. At 67.14, Jabalpur has one of the highest net sown areas, while the other two are not far behind at 59.13 (Narsinghpur) and 53.21 (Katni). The double cropping area in Jabalpur is very high at 51.79 percent, while it is very low in Katni (10.35) and Narsinghpur (16.49).

Irrigation – Although a major dam lies on the river Narmada in this zone, canal irrigation is a low 8.20 (against 18.12 at state level) and is as low as 0.63 percnet in Narsinghpur, near the state average in Jabalpur (7.24) and double the state average in Katni (16.76). The major source of irrigation is from open wells at 38.73 cumulatively, but occupies primary position in Narsinghpur (52.88) and Katni (37.90), while in Jabalpur (25.43) it is second behind tube wells (55.09). At 33.63 percent tube wells are the second major irrigation source, but occupies first position in Jabalpur (55.09), second in Narsinghpur (42.53) and third in Katni (3.28), after open wells and canal irrigation. Tank irrigation is 0.42, below the state average. It is almost nil in Narsinghpur (0.00) and Jabalpur (0.08).

Soil and rainfall – Rainfall is quite good at 1 204.6 with 46 rainy days. All three district have above 1 000 mm of rainfall with Narsinghpur at 1 400 and Jabalpur at 1 200 mm and Katni at 1 000 plus mm.

Copper and iron content is very high and zinc very low.

This is a mixed population zone with tribal, mainstream communities and industrial activities. The area has two main major crops rice and wheat with minor millets. The area is rich in soil and productivity along the Narmada basin. Landholdings are somewhat large with only 20 percent subsistence farmers and about the same share of landless labourers.

Jabalpur, the gateway to and the epi‐centre of Mahakaushal region’s backward districts is well connected by rail, road and air to the larger Indian urban markets, whereas, Katni district is a conglomeration of three cultural zones in the state: Mahakaushal, Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand. It is rich in mineral resources. As a result of its strategic location it has emerged as a main rail junction of Central India serving the backward rural hinterland of the vast region. It has great development potential as the centre of niche for ‘eco‐agro produce’ (ecologically sustainable farming produce) and a hub for fruits and vegetables, with its strong links to the hinterlands of Kymore, Maikal and Mahadeo Hills region. Jabalpur, in comparison, can emerge as a champion of processing, packaging and trading of farm fresh produce for the whole region of Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand.

Narsinghpur district, situated north of Narbada, is known for the holy kachhars of Narbada river, offers a salutary environment to its people for experimentation and innovation. In the past it inspired the internationally renowned sagas (Acharya Rajnish, Maharishi Mahesh and the Shankracharya Savrupanand. Recently, the National Innovation Foundation recognized four innovators from this district. The district also offers traditional wisdom of its progressive farmers to innovate in agriculture.

It can be a model of micro‐ irrigation, and seed production and certification in the Central India Region.

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The priority areas in the region are: micro‐irrigation; aquaculture in rice fields; drainage in flooded areas.

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ANNEX 1 – NIVELIHOOD ZONES ATTRIBUTE TABLE – GENERAL CHACTERISTICS

Livelihood zones

Poverty level

Farmers typology Landless

Subsistence

Commercial (cash crops)

Priorities for livelihoods

Water availability/access

Technology

Management

1st

2nd

3rd

Vulnerability to droughts

1

Low

10%

10%

80%

High

Moderate

High

Watershed management

Gw recharge

Market access

High

2

High

30%

70%

0%

High

Moderate

Low

Watershed management

Ag. Input

Micro credit inst

High

3

Moderate

10%

30%

60%

Low

High

High

Water management

Market regu

Proces

High

4

Moderate

10%

30%

60%

High

Low

Low

Watershed management

Gw recharge

High

5

Moderate

20%

30%

60%

Moderate

Low

Low

Water management

Fert‐ chemi avail

Infrast roads

Moderate

6

Low

40%

20%

40%

Moderate

High

High

Water conseration

Gw recharge

Regulations

High

7

High

30%

50%

20%

High

Low

Low

Irrigat management

Land rclam

Low

8

High

20%

60%

20%

Low

Low

Low

Irrigat management

Watersh manag

High

9

Low

20%

30%

50%

Moderate

Low

Low

Irrigat management

Ag extension

Ag inputs

Low

10

Moderate

20%

50%

30%

Moderate

Low

Low

Access to water

Irr struct

High

11

High

30%

60%

10%

Low

Low

Low

Watershed/tanks renovation

Water distr

Processing (oil seeds).

Pulses

High

1

12

High

30%

60%

10%

Low

Low

Low

Conservation of water bodies

Ag ext

Ag inputs

High

13

Moderate

10%

80%

10%

Moderate‐High

Low

Low

Water manag

Ag ext

Ag inputs

Moderate

14

Moderate

10%

50%

40%

Moderate‐High

Low

High

Irrigation management

Ag ext

Ag inputs

Moderate

15

High

30%

40%

30%

Moderate

Low

Low

Water management

Micro credit

Ext services

Moderate

16

High

20%

70%

10%

High

Low

Low

Wat management

Ext serv

Ag inputs

Moderate

17

Moderate

20%

20%

60%

Moderate‐High

High

High

Wat management

Ag ext

Moderate

ANNEX 2 – EIVELIHOOD ZONES ATTRIBUTE TABLE – BUTEPRIORITY SOLUTIONS AWM solutions Livelihood zones

1st priority

2nd priority

3rd priority

4th priority

5th priority

1

Groundwater recharge

Micro‐irrigation (horticulture)

2

Water harvesting

Watershed management

Agro‐pastoralism

3

Groundwater recharge

On‐farm water management

Capacity building (wuas)

4

Groundwater recharge

On‐farm water management

Capacity building (wuas)

Water harvesting

5

Water harvesting

Groundwater recharge

Capacity building (wuas)

On‐farm water management

2

6

Groundwater recharge

Micro‐irrigation (horticulture)

On‐farm water management

7

On‐farm and community water managemnt

Water governance (conflicts)

Congentive use of water

8

Water harvesting

Watershed management

Water for livestock

9

On‐farm and community water managemnt

Water governance (conflicts)

Congentive use of water

Energy saving

Water for livestock

10

Groundwater recharge

Rehabilitation of tanks

Micro‐irrigation (horticulture)

11

Watershed management

Rehabilitation of tanks

Acquaculture

12

Watershed management

Water for livestock

Micro‐irrigation (horticulture)

13

Groundwater recharge

Water harvesting

Micro‐irrigation (horticulture)

Water for livestock

14

On‐farm water management (drainage)

Congentive use

Capacity building (wuas)

15

Water harvesting

Micro‐irrigation (horticulture)

16

Water harvesting

Acquaculture

Water diversion

Relay cropping

17

Micro‐irrigation (horticulture)

Acquaculture + rice

Drainage

3