In the beginning...

The story of Tarun Bharat Sangh, an NGO working in the Aravalli hills of Alwar district of Rajasthan can never be complete without the mention of Gopalpura. It took upon its shoulders to rise against the tide of misfortune and calamity that shook its people from the state of inactivity into constructive action.

A small, homogenous village of 52 families of Meena community, Gopalpura's inhabitants were primarily cattle-rearing, agropastoralists with small land-holdings producing one poor, rain fed harvest. Most of the land was characterized by hilly, rocky terrain, with highly denuded forest cover and barren expanse of the pasture land.. The community which had once prided itself on its large cattle herds and the milk, ghee and curds, was forced into abandoning their homes, and hearths and migrating with much of their cattle to distant areas in hope of survival.

It was in this scenario of much gloom and hopelessness, that a group of young individuals of Tarun Bharat Sangh, who had been striving for socioeconomic upliftment of the deprived people, arrived into this district.

The young team led by the Rajendra Singh set up a camp on 2nd October '86 at Bheekampura, started elementary education and health facilities in Gopalpura. Increasing interaction of the TBS team, their dedication, zeal and enthusiasm, devoid of self-pride, acting and living as the village people, they were able earn their confidence and good will. The basic problem of the area was acute water scarcity, and this affected the health of the biomass, and in turn the income of the farmers, leading to poverty and the other socioeconomic ills.

So TBS started to find out ways and means to argument the water resources of the area. One evening sitting in the courtyard of Mangu Patelji's house(the old respected gentleman of Gopalpura), remembering the earlier better times, pointed out to his '300'year old large 'haveli'. Recounting those happy times he said, "Those were the days when our "johads"(water tanks) were full and there was enough water for our cattle, fields and homes", and sadly trailed off, that their Anaj Kothas (granaries) could be full again, if their johads could somehow be full again.

This conversation with Mangu Patel and his family members became a turning point in the events to follow. The talk of building johads started in the village, for in earlier times, johads existed in every village. They served as rainfall storage tanks and were also used for minor irrigation. They helped in the recharge of the ground water which became available in the wells downstream. They also faciltated the soil conservation and in the improvement of the moisture content in the soil. It emerged that the revivals of this indigenous system of rain water harvesting could form the basis of the over-all development of the village.

The acute need for water built bridges of cooperation and solidarity among the people. And in early '86, the old irrigation tank or johad of Gopalpura was selected as the first site for repairs. The team visited the Block Development officer, who pleaded his helplessness in doing anything at government expense, but assured full cooperation and assistance if the villagers voluntarily undertook the task themselves. Help came in the form of the people of Silibaodi, a neighboring village, who came forward to work in Gopalpura. Most of the work progressed under the watchful eye and supervision of the elders of Gopalpura. Desilting and deepening the bed of the johad, got completed before the monsoon of '86. After years of drought, the clouds showered heavy rain, and this resulted in the storage of water in the johad for a longer period of time, than in earlier times, providing instant relief and direct benefit to the people. Encouraged by the success of their first attempt, the villagers embarked upon a bigger task the repair of another irrigation dam which stood in dire straights.

The task of restoring the dam to its original glory was enormous. The decision-making, planning and monitoring of all the earthwork was carried out by Gopalpura people themselves. The work on the dam commenced after the rains. The morale of the people was so high that they not only proposed to contribute their Physical Services, but also to bear the cost of materials required for the repairs of the masonry overflow and sluice systems. When the work caught speed, the villagers recalled their families working in cities.The second johad was also fully repaired and was ready to receive the bounty of the rain clouds by early '87.

The TBS team resolved that the building of johads would only be undertaken and supported in villages, which volunteered to give up the making and consumption of alcohol. This principle had a deep impact on the psyche of the people and in effect Gopalpura, the forerunner in 'johad' building, became the first village to even give up alcohol. All this also motivated the people to engage in community cleaning of their houses, and their villages, and in April '86, 3 families of Gopalpura were even awarded by the government for their efforts in improving village drainage and sanitation.

As the acceptance among the people increased, rejection and opposition from the state irrigation department propped up in the form of a legal notice being served on TBS declaring all their johads illegal, stating that all monsoon drains and streams were Govt. property. The villagers were not deterred by such threats and they continued to protect their johads. The govt. realized that the people would not allow their structures to be broken. Thus they were forced to admit that they were effective soil and water conservation institutions and revoked their orders. The people had won.

This organisation and togetherness of the people, had been the backbone of the village life for generations. The endeavors of the TBS team had been to awaken the dormant spirit, the inert potential and the hidden talent, that had made our villages self-sufficient and self reliant, in earlier times.

In earlier years the land in this region, was locally known as 'Naha' implying an area with a high water-table level. This was possible because of the rich tradition of johad in the region. The concept of johads was not new to the people but had been a part of the culture the indigenous life-support system of the people for centuries.The Johads had been constructed by the people to store the rainwater on their lands. They supplied them with water even after the rains were long gone. The natural bonding between the geographical make-up and the elements of nature, had been broken in the years of mismanagement, overuse and the attitude of easy gains.

Gopalpura receives 60 cm. Of annual rainfall and accounts a total land cover of 1446 bighas in its revenue records. Despite having only 9% of the cultivated land under irrigation, the ground water-level of the region only showed signs of rapid decline. Aravalli hills stood highly denuded. The rush of water down the hill slopes carried fertile topsoil and silt in its speedy movement and got settled and deposited in the johads located at the foothills. It led to the declining ground water level, visible in the empty faces of the wells downstream.

The people of Gopalpura started with the conservation of their forests in June '87. The Gram Sabha had collectively decided to afforest this land. The land was planted with trees and a fencing of stone wall, demarcated the entire boundary, to keep the grazing cattle out of its reach.

The people had disciplined themselves with an accepted moral code of restrictions and regulations against the lopping or pruning of any green branches and leaves. Any one caught breaking the rules was fined Rs11 but the one witnessing the crime and not reporting it to the Gram Sabha was fined 22/-. Anyone found repeating the mistakes, would be expelled from the society.

The Patwari ( a govt. official) saw the planted trees and protective wall around the plot and reported it back to the high officials and local politicians. The local politicians felt threatened by the united front of the people and pressurized the village administration to intervene. Despite the best efforts of the people, the govt. came down heavily on the villagers and destroyed the planted trees under police protection. The people of Gopalpura did not lose heart and they continued their protracted fight. Finally Govt had to step down and agreed to provide another 60 bigahs of land and Rs10,000/- to the Gram Sabha for the environment development activities.

Besides the share of Shramdaan, the people had also started a 'Gram Kosh', with their own contributions to tide over any emergencies.

Over the years, the people of Gopalpura have constructed almost 8 more johads on their lands. In the years of normal rainfall, these johads together, help irrigate 600 bighas of agricultural land. The brimming waters in the johads of Gopalpura had established this traditional water harvesting system, as an important soil and water conservation institution.

The impact of land and water conservation activities in Gopalpura, had a direct impact on the rise on the ground water in the area. The water column of the village wells had shown a considerable increase between '87 - 97'. From a mere 15ft to a high of 55ft. during the monsoons, when increased ground water recharge became clearly visible. The water available during summer months also increased from a low of 10ft in 87' to 35ft in 94'.

IN the Kharif season, the irrigated land increased from 33 hectares in '87 to 108 hectares in '94. Similarly in the rabi months, the irrigated land, increased from '87 to 190 hectares in '94.

Besides agricultural and natural regeneration, the villagers had also undertaken, massive plantations and raised thousands of indigenous tree species surrounding the village. More than 10,000 trees form a flourishing forest canopy girdling Gopalpura.

Today, Gopalpura is famous as "Pae", implying large stock of grain. From the days of scarcity to days of abundance, the people of Gopalpura have reestablished their identity, as the land of water, Nerha and a basket of grain.