Project How it works ?

Philosophy/Methodology Peoples Participation

Project Implementing Agency - AHADS

Attappady Hills Area Development Society (AHADS) has been registered under Societies Registration Act of 1860 with a Memorandum of Association and a Bye-law (vide Number 390 dated 31.10.95 before the District Registrar, Palakkad).

According to the directions issued by the State Government, the AHADS has been considered as the Project Implementation Agency (PIA) for the implementation of “Attappady Wasteland Comprehensive Environmental Conservation Project”. The Society has a Project Directorate with minimum Technical and Ministerial Support Systems under the Project Director. The society has a Governing Body with due representation of the Panchayats, MLA, MP, Scientific Organizations, selected experts, other peoples representatives etc. Policy making at the project level, issuing of directions for implementation of activities, monitoring of activities etc, are the responsibilities of this committee. There is a High Power Committee with the Honorable Chief Minister as the Chairman and the Ministers of developmental departments, MLA, MP and Government nominees as members. The Principal Secretary to Government, Rural Development Department is the Secretary to the committee. The Committee upholds the principles and obligations of bilateral agreement between the Government of India and the O E C F (Government of Japan). The committee envisages the activities of the project with in the broad format of the eco-restoration principles .The Project Directorate (Attappady Hills Area Development Society) has been considered as a subordinate mechanism of operation to the Executing Agency of the project viz, The Rural Development Department. This agency gets associated with the Wasteland Development Department and the Department of Economic Affairs (Government of India).

Philosophy and Working Methodology for the Project

Deviating from the normal process of development work based on artificial boundaries like village/ward/panchayat, this project has adopted a purely scientific approach based on watersheds. Attappady block area has been divided into 15 watersheds or Development Units. These 15 watersheds are further divided into 146 micro watersheds. The project proposals envisaged in the reports are implemented through active people’s participation.

Unlike the traditional system of planning undertaken at the upper echelons of the organization, this project envisages a system of hierarchy of committees for planning. In this approach, the broad outline of Project viz. Perspective plan will be formulated by the Project Implementation Agency (PIA) viz. AHADS. It will carry the realistic targets in all the sectors of development. The AHADS will organize its subsidiaries viz. User Associations [UA] (Registered Societies) to enable realistic participation of the inhabitants at the micro watershed level. Apart from this Ooru Vikasana Samithies (OVS) are formed at each tribal hamlet to address the common issues of these marginalized communities and Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMC) to manage the forest resources taking initiation in regenerating the degraded forestlands. These grass root level interest groups will emerge out with creative proposals to satisfy the demands, desires and aspirations of the locality. AHADS employ volunteers to get associated with the beneficiaries for enlightening the possibilities of organizing target oriented work priorities aimed at the Project goals. This will help these bodies to evolve need-based micro plans within the broad principles of perspective plan.

So far 93 User Associations (UA) have been formed in 93 Micro Watersheds with human population out of the total 146 MWS’s. Considerable time has been spent on organizing these Beneficiary Associations at grass root level.and building up their capacity to Administer the project implementation and accounting & documenting the process as well as the results. A total of 160 Ooru Vikasana Samithies (OVS) have been formed and activated at the Tribal Haamlets level to take up the activities concerning the hamlet common lands.

Development Unit level co-ordination committees set up by Government consisting of elected representatives and Government Officials to act as an advisory body and to avoid duplication of works by various departments of the Government are functioning in all the 15 Development Units.

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Peoples Participation
User Associations (UAs)

Logic : To ensure maximum peolple’s participation and transparency, the project is being implemented through User Associations at the micro-watershed level.  

Composition: Consists of both tribes and non tribes Governance: Has a democratically elected Executive Committee consisting of 9 members. 

Responsibility : To implement the micro-plans for the respective watershed prepared by AHADS with participation of local community.

(Training and Technical assistance are provided by AHADS to facilitie capacity building of the UAs.)

AHADS, the Project Implementing Agency (PIA) has the role of organizing the people and to facilitate planning, execution and evaluation of various components of the project by the people through their organizations.

The project proposals envisaged are implemented through people’s beneficiary associations such as User Associations (UA), Ooru Vikasana Samithies (OVS), Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMC) etc.

Ooru Vikasana Samithies (OVS) are formed at each tribal hamlet to address the common issues of these marginalized communities. 160 OVS are formed.

Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMC) to manage the forest resources taking initiation in regenerating the degraded forestlands. 54 JFMC’s are constituted.

These grass root level interest groups will emerge out with creative proposals to satisfy the demands, desires and aspirations of the locality. AHADS employ volunteers to get associated with the beneficiaries for enlightening the possibilities of organizing target oriented work priorities aimed at the Project goals. This will help these bodies to evolve need-based micro plans within the broad principles of perspective plan.

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