The Bundelkhand Tragedy

Bundelkhand - An introduction
The Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh consists of seven districts viz. Jhansi, Jalaun, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Lalitpur and Banda. This is one of the less developed regions in the state. The total area of the region is 29,418 Sq. km, which constitutes 12.21% of the total geographical area of UP.

Total population of the region is 82.33 lakhs which is 4.95% to the total population of the State. The composition of schedule castes and tribes is 25.14% and 0.02% respectively. 82% of the total SC population is in the rural areas. Agriculture and allied activities are the primary sources of the livelihood in the area. More than 80% of the farmers are small and marginal. Agriculture in the region is largely rain fed.

Cropping intensity is 124 % and that itself reflects the general condition of the workforce dependent on the farm based activities. Soil erosion and ravine formation are two very critical problems of the region. According to estimates, soil erosion affects about 50% of the area. Banda, Hamirpur and Jalaun districts are the worst affected by ravine formation. The average land holding size in the region is 1.7 hectare while the state average is 0.89 hectare.

About 50% of the farmers are marginal farmers with landholding up to 1 hectare and another 25% are small farmers having 1-2 hectare land. About 72% of the farmers are possessing 32% of the area of operational holdings while only 0.9% families possess 7% of the operational holdings.

Situation in Bundelkhand

The topography and extreme climatic conditions has isolated the region of Bundelkhand. The region has also been victimised by political and economical exploitation. The region has one of the lowest levels of economic and human development in the country. Lack of availability of basic infrastructure like roads, electricity, water and sanitation, transportation and communication facilities, etc. have further added to the miseries of the deprived communities of the region.

To compound this problem the region has been under the grip of severe drought for the past 4 years with rainfall ranging from 110 mm to 450 mm which is only about 40% of the normal rainfall. The last kharif season is reported to be a total failure and several newspapers have reported that the Rabi sowing has also been abandoned. As a result there has been large scale migration from the region. It has been reported that on an average the migration rate is about 39%, which is about 3.5 times of the national average.

The Bundelkhand region is a semi-arid region and has quite a number of water bodies like the perennial rivers of, the Pahuj, the Betwa, the Dhasan, the Ken, the Baghein, the Paisuni and the Tons and their tributaries. In addition there are about 6,852 kms of canals for carrying irrigation water (irrigating app. 4.44 lakh ha of land) and 1,604 state built tube wells (irrigating app. 0.92 lakh ha of land). However, as per UP Planning Commission reports, the Bundelkhand region has the lowest proportion of net irrigated area (8.22 lakh ha) to net sown area (20.16 lakh ha) in UP (40%) and consequently the average yield of food grains is also the lowest. Most of these water bodies and canals are silted up and dry while the tube wells are in various stages of disrepair. Lakes like the 260 yr. old Baruasagar just outside Jhansi which were full in the year 2000 has now gone dry due to continuous drought, silting and encroachments.

Newspapers in the region have reported that farmer suicides are taking place due to the crop failure and likely to rise with the impending failure of the ensuing Rabi season. A few NGOs like Pramarth, Akhil Bharatiya Seva Samiti and BAIF, following the successful examples of Magsaysay awardee and Tarun Bharat Sangh cofounder Rajendra Singh’s efforts of social mobilisation and community watershed development in Rajasthan, are trying to create an awakening by mobilising the community to do soil conservation and watershed activities but are facing an uphill task due to large scale migration and lack of motivation.