FIELDWORK SEGMENT (PRM 20011 – 13)

An Exploratory Study of the Village

VILLAGE: 507 Head

GRAM PANCHAYATH: Sansardeshar

TEHSIL: Chattargarh

DISTRICT: BIKANER

STATE: RAJASTHAN

HOST ORGANIZATION: Uttar Rajasthan Milk Union Limited (URMUL)

Submitted by:

Varun Thakran (32046) and Rohitash Jain (32088)

INSTITUTE OF RURAL MANAGEMENT, ANAND

2011

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This acknowledgement is not merely a catalogue of names but an expression of deep

sense of gratitude to all those who helped us in course of our entire fieldwork.

First of all, we would like to thank IRMA and our fieldwork co-ordinator, Prof.

Debiprasad Mishra, for giving us the opportunity to stay and conduct a fieldwork in this

wonderful village of 1 KM (507 head).

We acknowledge the help and support provided by our host organisation, URMUL SETU

SANSTHAN. We are grateful to Mr. Durjan Ramji who throughout our stay helped in

coordinating the activities and understand the issues prevailing in the village. Also thanks to

Mr. Poorkha Ramji for making our stay comfortable.

Also, we would like to express my immense gratitude to the villagers for their warmt,

hospitality and their valuable time for our study and responded to our questions patiently.

Varun Thakran (32046)

Rohitash Kumar Jain (32088)

ABSTARCT

In this paper, an analysis has been made to understand the functioning of Self Help

Group (SHG), the role of the group as a financial intermediary and whether the rules or

norms of the group are actually followed or not as it should be according to the standard

operating practices have been studied in this paper.

This paper also takes note of the defaulters in payment of loans and those in

attending meetings of the group and what actions are taken by the group in such cases, and

whether the group charges them penalties or fines or not. This paper also takes into

consideration how the loans are utilized by the members in the group and observes

whether all the members are well versed with the rules or not.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ICDS Integrated Child Development Scheme

IGNP Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojna

IGP Income Generation Program

NGO Non Government Organization

NREGS National Rural Employment Generation Programme

PHC Primary Health Center

PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal

SHG Self Help Groups

USS URMUL Setu Sansthan

1. Introduction:

We had been to the village 1 KM (507 Head), in the Bikaner district of Rajasthan as a part of

the field work module of PRM course. URMUL Trust was our host organization for the field

work module. The stay in the village for almost 50 days helped us to develop an insight

towards the ground level rural realities and gave us a firsthand experience of life in the rural

areas, the problems faced by the rural people, their resources, their perceptions, and their

evaluation of their current situation. We also had the opportunity to interact with the

various interventions of URMUL happening in the village and understand the various

impacts of such interventions on the life of the people of the village.

We have tried to analyse village dynamics in terms of its socio-political and economic

scenario. This study attempts to give a picture of the resources available in the village and

the various institutions that are present in the village. This study also tries to capture the

changes that the village has undergone with time.

2. Objective of the study:

Our main purpose of this fieldwork was to experience firsthand rural life and to get deeper

insight. The objectives of the study are:

• To enhance our understanding of the village society, village economy and village polity.

• To understand the role and functioning of various village level institution in addressing

the developmental work.

• To understand the issues and concerns of villagers.

• To blend classroom learning with field experience.

3. Methodology:

The study carried out was a combination of exploratory and descriptive study and the data

collected was both in qualitative and quantitative in nature. We collected data from the

village on resources, demography, religion, caste, social structure and dynamics, family size,

agro-climatic resources, infrastructure facilities, occupation, health, education and its

quality, migration, customs, rituals, livelihood systems and organizational interventions in

the village.

The methodology adopted by us for our study consisted of collecting data from the primary

as well from the secondary sources, analyzing the data and drawing our conclusions from

the analysis.

3.1 Source of Data:

The required data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data

was collected from the village through various methods, which included the household

survey, PRA exercises, Focus group discussions, informal and unstructured interviews, non-

participant observations, attending SHG meetings etc. Secondary data was collected from

the Gram Panchayat office, Tahsil office, Banks, Schools, PHC and Anganwadi centre in the

village as well as from URMUL.

3.2 Data collection Methodology:The process of data collection was initiated with secondary data collection from all the

major institutions in the village. Further, some unstructured interviews were conducted with

village heads and prominent persons of village. Data available in the Panchayat, Anganwadi,

School, Bank, and PHC were collected. Data related to village resources, income levels,

family size, custom, rituals, migration were collected through household survey and PRA.

3.3 Data Analysis:

Graphs, bar charts, percentages etc. were used to analyze the data collected.

3.4 Limitations of the Study:

The following are some of limitations of the study which we faced during our stay in village.

A lot of time was spent by us for rapport building.

Harvesting period was going on so most of the villagers were busy in their agricultural

activities.

Village institutes are at distant locations and people handling them were not easily

accessible.

3.5 Sampling Plan:

It was a bit difficult to cover 171 families in one and half month time. The revenue village 1

km (507 Head) includes 1 km, 2 km, 3 km, 1 RJD, 7 DL and 8 DL villages. Except 1 km

population, rest population live in dhanis at their fields. And so we did random cluster

sampling among 2 km, 3 km, 1 RJD, 7 DL and 8 DL. In our sample survey we included all

households from 1 RJD and 1 KM. It includes 60 households comprising of 44 household of

1 KM and 16 household of 1 RJD.

4. THE VILLAGE

4.1 Location:

The village 507 head is located north western part of Rajasthan in Chhatargarh Tehsil of

Bikaner district. It is situated 100 km from district head quarters. It lies between longitude

and latitude. The India-Pakistan border is 50 km from the village. The village comes under

gram Panchayat “Sansardesar” which is 10 km away. The Indira Gandhi canal also flows in

the vicinity of village.

Brief profile of the village:

Name of the village 1KM (507 head)

Name of the Tehsil Chhatargarh (25 km)

Name of the District Bikaner(100 km)

Name of Parliamentary Constituency Bikaner

Name of Assembly Constituency Khajuwala

4.2 History and background:

The village is popularly known as “507 head” because Indira Gandhi canal passes through

the village. There is regulator distributor to control the flow of water and it is 507 meaures

away from the place it enters in Rajasthan.

Around 30-35 years ago this place was complete desert and no human population was there.

But after construction of Indira Gandhi Canal, people from other places migrated here and

purchased the land. At the same time Government allocated the land to the persons evicted

from Mahajan Firing Range as this area was emptied by government to construct firing

range.

4.3 Our stay:

We were allotted the village ‘507 head’ in Bikaner district after we chose Rajasthan state for

our fieldwork segment of PRM course. URMUL trust has a wide presence in Western

Rajasthan and was our host organisation for this village exploratory study. Our stay in the

village was for 50 days and in these 50 days we developed some understanding of rural

society, its polity, economy, resources, problems and constraints and evaluation of the

current situation. We also had the opportunity to have insights of different livelihood

patterns in the village and as well as what interventions URMUL has brought innovatively to

help people. It further augmented our qualitative exploration of activities of wide spectrum

in the village apart from what we have learnt in PRM course First Term.

5. Agro –climatic conditions:

5.1 Rainfall:

The average annual rainfall of the area is between 12 to 25 cm. The winters fall between

November-March and summers between April-June while the rains are experienced from

July to mid September.

Table 1: Rainfall details of last 5 years-

Year Rainfall (mm) Annual Rainy days2010 315 192009 127 132008 361 192007 186 172006 128 13

5.2 Temperature:

The temperature ranges widely in the area. It may come down up to the level of 5°C

in winter nights and goes up as high as 45°C to 48°C during summer days.

5.3 Land and soil

The area is typical of desert with sand dunes and interspersed shrubs on undulating terrain.

The soil is generally sand and sandy loam. But also due to water availability for irrigation

from Indira Gandhi canal, a large part is used under agriculture and soil has better fertility

and is browner in colour. For the same reason there are lots of trees naturally grown as well

as planted under afforestation around Indira Gandhi canal by forest department.

5.4 Water Resources:

Although there are desert like conditions in this north western belt of Thar but the area has no

shortage of water surprisingly. All thanks to Indira Gandhi Canal Pariyojana, the canal flows

just across the main road. In rainy season, extra water from canal is released from canal to

lake which is close to 10 square km in area. In course of time the water has percolated

beneath the surface and can be found as close as 60 feet. Also water is not saline and fit for

irrigation.

There are governments installed hand pumps in the village at different locations as well as a

submersible pump. Few villagers themselves have personal bore wells. All household in the

village have Diggi in their houses (circular water reservoir). They carry water from canal or

public bore well and fill their diggies according to their water requirment.

5.5 IGNP

The canal flows just across the main road in the village as mentioned above and is the major

source of water for all purposes.

6. Demography and Social Structure:

6.1 Population:

The census of 2011 enumerates 171 households in the village with a population of

approximately 1233.

Table 1 : Population Distribution across Various Categories:

Population 2001` 2011 2021 (Projected)

Male 588 638 734

Female 484 595 684

Total 1072 1233 1418

Around 40% of population live where their farms are. Rest of the population live near IGNP

head. There are mainly three population clusters in 507 Head. First one belongs to Audh,

Meghwal and Bhopa communities which are lower cast groups. Second one belongs to

mainly Jat and Brahmin. And third one belongs to mainly Muslim community.

The most dominant cast in the village is Jat followed by Brahmin. Among lower caste groups

dominant casts are Audh and Meghwal.

Table 3: Cast wise distribution of population:

6.2 Literacy:

Literacy rate is very low than national and state average.

Literacy rate (%) 2001` 2011

Male 29.08 47.6

Female 13.02 28.7

Total 21.83 39.3

Caste No of householdsRajput 13Pandit 12

Jat 35Sikh 10

Muslim 45Oudh 25Bhopa 9

Meghwal 7Nai 2

Kumhar 5Sansi 3

Bawari 5

6.3 Language:

Most spoken language is Marwari. Other languages are Hindi and Punjabi.

6.4 Sex ratio:

The sex ratio of village has improved but still it is less than national average.

6. 5 Spatial distribution:

The village has got a total area of 1465 Hectare. Irrigated land is 18 % of total area where as

43 % of land has no irrigation facility. Average land holding is around 21 bighas in village.

After construction of Indira Gandhi Canal, people from other places migrated here and

bought the land. Same time Government allocated land to persons who were evicted to

construct Mahajan Firing Range for Indian Army.

Table 4: Land break-up area wise-

6.7 Hosing: There are 3 population clusters in village 507 head. The cluster population

comprising of lower cast groups are having Kuccha houses. Second cluster population

belonging to Jat, Rajput and Pandits are having well built pakka houses, where as cluster

population consisting of mostly Muslims are having semi-pakka houses. The kuccha houses

are built using locally available materials like grass, wood, shrubs, unfired mud bricks and

plastered with a mixture of mud and cow dung. The roof is thatched.

House types and their proportion:

7. INFRASTRUCTURE:

7.1 Road and Transport-

The village is well connected to Chattargarh (Tahsil HQ) and Suratgarh by Double Lane

Border Link Road made by BRO (Border Road Organization). Also village is connected to

Panchayat and Ghadsana by single lane pakka road. In the village and dhanis there are no

roads. And due to desert soil it is very difficult to drive vehicle. So people prefer to use

camel-cart for transporting things from their field to village.

Distance of main places from village are-

Sansardeshar Panchayat 12 km

Chattargarh Tahsil HQ 22 km

Bikaner District HQ 110 km

465 RD (Market) 12 km

Transport service is very good in village because of good road connectivity to Chattargarh

and Suratgarh. It is totally in the hand of private operators. In the day time every half an

hour one can find bus to Chattargarh and Suratgarh via 465 head. There are three buses to

Bikaner and three buses for Ghadsana.

7.2 Communication:

Main media of communication among people is mobile. Almost every household got mobile

connection. There is no landline connection in village. There are two mobile shops in village.

They sell and recharge mobiles. Nearest post-office is in Mahadevadi which is 15 km away

from here. Main mobile network service providers are Vodafone and Airtel.

7.3 Market linkages

Though one can find daily usage items easily in the village but for buying items farm

equipments, Fertilizers and seeds etc. And selling their farm produce there is a big market

12 km far at village 465 RD

The same place has around 22 wholesale ration shops which takes the form of a mandi.

Villagers take their farm produce to these shops to sell. The owners of these shops buy the

produce from farmers by bidding and sold at the highest price. This produce is later sold to

big traders and mills.

This mandi takes all seasonal crops like currently Gowar, Bajra, Groundnut, Moong, and

Moth. The farmers are given prices above MSP but under poor quality some penalty is

levied. The mandi operations are monitored on daily basis by an official from APMC in

Loonkarnsar to acquire production figures for government records. The mandi here also

attract a mandi tax of 1.60% of every transaction. In our observation we saw most of the

tractions are done on kuccha bill to avoid above tax.

Another market is 22 km far at chattargarh which is also Tehsil Head quarter. It also got

Krishi-Mandi where villagers sell their crop output. The process is same but mostly the

villages go to 465 RD mandi since it nearby.

7.4 Electricity:

Around 50 % of households are electrified and metered. But there are many household who

steal electricity. Electricity remains for 14-16 hours in village. But there are frequent

interruptions either low voltage or fault. One remarkable thing is that some households use

solar battery for lighting their houses and charging their mobiles.

7.5 Water supply-

Hand pump, canal and bore well are main sources of water for villagers. Although IGNP

canal passes through village but there is no overhead tank in the village. So villagers have to

go to nearest hand pump or Panchayat bore well to fetch water.

Water quality is good and one can find ground water just at the depth of 50-60 feet. This is

because of IGNP canal. During rainy season water is released from canal to lake which

covers the area of 10 km2. With time this water is percolated through soil so water level

improves. As household are scattered and they are far from drinking water sources so they

bring water from hand pump/Borewell in tank by camel-cart and empty this into cemented

underground tank at their home. This water is used for all purposes. Many households are

having private hand pumps or bore well.

7.6 Health:

Nearest PHC is 12 km far at Damolai and another PHC is 22 km far at Chattargarh. In

Damolai PHC there is no doctor so villagers have to go to chattargarh to see doctor in case

of exigency. Although there are private hospitals at 465 head and Chattargarh but they are

very costly and every one can’t afford it.

So villages who can’t afford health services, prefer to go to Local Jhola-chap doctors and

they provide services at their door-step. They also give medicines and injections to the

affected and charges nominal charges. There are three such doctors in the village.

One ANM visits Aaganwadi on First Thursday of month for health check-up and

immunization of pregnant women and infants.

8. VILLAGE INSTITUTIONS:

8.1 Gram-Panchayat:-

The village falls under Sansardesar Gram Panchayat of Lunkaransar block. Panchayat office is

in 3 RJD, 10 kms away from village. Four other villages coming under this Panchayat are

Sansardesar, 3 RJD, 3 KWSM and Ghegda covering a total population of 6177. Last elections

were held in Feb 2010. The ward-panch from 507 head is Vimla Devi and she is also the

‘upsarpanch’ and belongs to Meghwal community. The Sarpanch is of Jat community and

lives in Bikaner. And in our observations could not attend scheduled Panchayat meetings.

The Panchayat is apparently less concerned about developmental activities and

implementation of MNREGA, IAS etc.

Anganwadi:

There is one Anganwadi center in the village which are managed by an Anganwadi Worker,

an Anganwadi helper and an ASHA sahayogni. On every first Thursday of every month, the

ANM of the village visits the Anganwadi and administers vaccines to infants, pregnant

women and lactating mothers. Various programme carried out under Anganwadi are as

follows:

S.no. Services Beneficiary Services provided

by

1. Supplementary

nutrition

Children below 6 years, Pregnant &

Lactating Mother (P&LM), Kishori Balika

AWW

2. Pre-school education Children 3-6 years AWW

3. Nutrition & Health

Education

Women (15-45 years), Kishori Balika AWW, AWH or

ANM

4. Immunization Children below 6 years and Pregnant &

Lactating Mother (P&LM)

AWH or ANM

5. Health Check up Children below 6 years and Pregnant &

Lactating Mother (P&LM)

AWW, AWH or

ANM

6. Referral Services Children below 6 years, Pregnant &

Lactating Mother (P&LM)

AWW, AWH or

ANM

Through our observation and consultation with beneficiary as well as other people we learnt

that Aanganwadi centre in this village opens only for one day in a month which is scheduled

as first Thursday of every month to distribute nutrition supply and for immunisation. We

learnt the main AWW doesn’t herself come to the centre but keeps all records through ANM

and Asha Sahyogini. We would like to mention that Ms. Sudha Rani, the Asha Sahyogini in

the village works diligently and received praise from people. She visits 5 households daily to

consult of any health problem. She encourages pregnant ladies and children to come to

Anganwadi center to measure their health status and informs them villagers about vaccination

programmes. She plays a pivotal role in educating the villagers about birth control. She

explains the various temporary and permanent contraceptive measures to the womenfolk.

In one of stay in Anganwadi on first Thursday of October we found no supplementary or pre-

school education or for that matter no material to carry the same was available.

Primary Health Center:

PHC which is situated in Damolai has allocated staff is one temporary ayurvedic doctor, one

compounder, one lab technician and an ANM. The PHC building is newly built and has 4

beds, a minor OP theatre, OPD, a lab and a delivery room.

The PHC has various facilities like vaccination, testing of Blood(malaria, Hb), urine,

pregnancy, saliva and general health check up. It also provides first aid treatment for minor

injuries. In other emergencies patients are referred to Bikaner hospital. We learnt that

people of our village use these facilities regularly. The recent scheme of Rajasthan

Government is providing a free medicine is also being followed.

Village Economy-

1. Livestock:

Animal Husbandry is next important source of livelihood after Agriculture in village.

Milk and milk products being the staple diet of the villagers, almost every household keeps

cows. Cows are of the local Rathi breed. Low income households have Goats and sheep on an

average 15-20. Goats fetch a good market price and are an additional source of milk for own

use. Many households in village have camels to draw cart as a means of transportation. Few

households have sheep for their wool and sale purpose.

Table 3: Livestock details-

Livestock Numbers

Cow/Buffalo 2000

Sheep 800

Goat 400

Camel 15

Table 4: Rate of livestock and their products

Rate of Livestock Rate of livestock products

Cow/Buffalo Rs 10000-25000 Milk Rs 22.00 /liter

Poultry Chicken Rs 90-100/ kg

Sheep Rs 3000-6000 Wool Rs 150 /kg

Goat Rs 3000-6000 Milk For home consumption only

Camel Rs 18000-30000

2. Non-Farm occupations:

As the main border link road which connects Chattargarh to Suratgarh, passes through village

and another road coming from Ghadsana forms a junction at village. Due to this strategic

advantage it has taken a form of small market to cater the needs of not even this village but

also nearby.

Non-farm activities in village 1 km (507 head) include:

Village Shops: - There are around 15 shops in the village which include 4 kirana stores, 1 dhaba cum

tea-stall, 2 mobile shops, 1 motor vehicle repair shop, 1 medical shop and two flour mills.

Potter/Tailor/Barber/Jeweller: There are 2 barber shops, 1 tailor and 1 jewellery shop. Apart from it

one potter is there who does pottery works at his home only. These services are produced by the

particular caste people using their traditional skill set.

Some of the villagers are engaged in private and government services at schools, anganwadi, and

IGNP canal. There are two private schools in village. A few of villagers rent vehicles for transport and

agriculture equipment like tractor, thrasher etc. Villagers, who don’t have irrigated land holding, are

engaged in seasonal labour activities.