CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT PLAN (JHABUA)

By

JATIN GOYAL (25019)

Organisational Traineeship Segment
PRM 2004-06

Submitted to

Prof. D.P. Mishra

Institute of Rural Management Anand

2005
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART A: INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY

I. Introduction ……………………………………………………..……….……………………..1
II. Objectives of the Study…………………………………………..……….…………….……...1
III. Scope of the Study………………………………………………..……….……….………….1
IV. Methodology……………………………………………………….………………….……...2

PART B: IDENTIFICATION OF THE CLUSTER

I. State Level Comparison……………………………………………………..……….....……....4
II. Block / Tehsil Wise Comparison……………………………………………….....…..…….…5
III. Identification of the Cluster……………………………………………………...…..………..7

PART C: DESCRIPTION OF THE CLUSTER

I. Basic Introduction to Jhabua……………………………………..………..………………
…….8
II. Demography………………………………………………………..….…………..………
…10
III. Natural Resources………………………………………………….……………….….…….13
IV. Infrastructure …………………………………………………………..………………..…...16
V. Social System………………………………………………………………...………….……19
VI. Livelihood Pattern……………………………………….……………………………
…..…23
VII. Developmental Challenges……………………………….………………………………....32

PART D – RECOMMENDATIONS
I. Institution Building…………………………………………….………………………………34
II. Partnerships with Other Agencies………………………….…………………..……….…….43
III. Other Recommendations…………………………………………….……….………………44

PART E: POTENTIAL RISKS………………………………………………………………….48

REFERENCES………………………………………………………………..…………………50
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) and our OTS Co-
ordinator, Prof. Jayant Negi, for providing me with the opportunity to conduct this study. I would
also like to express my sincere gratitude to my faculty guide, Prof. Debiprasad Mishra, for
guidance and valuable suggestions throughout the study.

I thank my host organisation Christian Children’s Fund India for hosting me for my
study. My sincere thanks are due to Mr. Dola Mahapatra, National Director, CCFI for his support
and encouragement. I express my gratitude to Mr. Guru Naik, program director CCFI and my
reporting officer for his valuable inputs and logistics support.

I wish to thank Mr. Tapan Bhattacharya, Chairman of Adivasi Sewashram Trust and the
rest of the staff of AST for providing me the logistical support during my study period. Thanks
are also due to other NGOs and various government officials for sharing their insights with me.
Most importantly, I thank the people of Jhabua who helped me in this study by sharing their
experiences with me.

Jatin Goyal
PRM - 25
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Project Title : Cluster Development Plan - Jhabua Cluster

Organization : Christian Children’s Fund India
Reporting Officer : Mr.Guru Naik, Program Director, CCF India
Faculty Guide : Prof. Debi Prasad Mishra
Student’s name : Jatin Goyal (25019)
Objective: CCF India is in the process of redefining its operational philosophy as working
through NGOs for more than 50 years has not led to desired results. For this, Bright Futures
Approach is suggested, at the heart of which is working directly with 3-tier people’s institutions.
The objective of the study is to recommend an intervention strategy for CCF-India under the
broad framework of Bright Futures after a thorough study of a poverty cluster including its
demographic characteristics, natural resource base, livelihood patterns and the developmental
challenges faced by the community, especially children. Exploring partnership avenues with
organisations working in the region and identifying potential risks are also the objectives.
Scope: The scope of the study is limited to tri-junction area of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and
Rajasthan around the Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh.
Methodology: The wide geographical and thematic scope ruled out using any structured,
questionnaire based survey for primary data collection. So, most of the data collection was
through unstructured and semi-structured interviews with the community, NGO workers and
government officials. Secondary sources of data include thematic studies done by NGOs, data
from government records and internet.
Major Findings: Jhabua region is predominantly tribal and poor lagging in almost all
development indicators. The level of development in the villages is directly proportional to its
accessibility from the town. The settlement pattern within the villages is distributed into falias.
Agriculture, migration, animal rearing and forestry are the existing major livelihood options
while others like handicrafts and poultry need to be promoted. Undulating terrain and poor soil
are main challenges for agriculture. Though the performance of Jhabua on all indicators is poor,
the felt need for health facilities is especially high. High social expenditures during marriages,
deaths and festivals cause undue financial burden and often force the villagers into migration.
Various governmental and non-governmental organizations are operational in the area. A number
of local institutions exist including official institutions (Gram Panchayats and Cooperatives),
traditional institutions (tadvi and bhanjadia) and various modern institutions like NGO promoted
SHGs. However, there exists a strong precedence of doling out benefits through groups.
Recommendations: The falia level groups, village level community associations and district
level area federations should form the 3 tier institutions, though the option of another tier at the
level of catchment area of weekly haat should be left open. The interventions should ideally start
from the remote interior villages as they are the most vulnerable ones. Most of the existing
institutions are not credible enough to be adopted directly as village level institutions in the
Bright Futures approach and only a few can be adopted depending upon their performance and
local support. Meaningful partnerships with NGOs and government departments can be built
with level of cooperation ranging from sharing of understanding to collaboration in projects.
Concept of institutions as self supporting institutions (instead of those doling out benefits) will
need to be drilled into the minds of the people and hence institution building should start from
informal groups having limited financial functions. Violence, especially communal, is the biggest
risk of operating in the cluster.
Table of Tables

Table 1: Selected Human Development Indicators for Jhabua District

Table 2: District/ Block wise Comparison
Table 3: Administrative units of Jhabua
Table 4: Demographic Statistics
Table 5: Population wise distribution of villages
Table 6: Literacy rates for Jhabua
Table 7: Health Indicators for Jhabua
Table 8: Land and Soil Characteristics
Table 9: PDS system in Jhabua
Table 10: Educational Institutions in Jhabua District
Table 11: Teachers in Jhabua District
Table 12: Summary of Agricultural Statistics
Table 13: Foodgrain production in Jhabua
Table 14: Land distribution
Table 15: Weekly Haat Baazars in Jhabua