Women to ensure continuity of watershed management project

Our Correspondent

Una, March 27

The Rs 220-crore Swan River Integrated Watershed Management Project, funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency for Una district, today finally completed after a span of about eight years.

A workshop on sustaining the livelihood of the rural families, who were benefited from the project, was held today at Upper Badheda village. The workshop was presided over by Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Project Director Dr Suresh said the main project objectives were to develop the catchment area of the Swan river in a manner that most of the rainwater got percolated into the groundwater or could be stored in water bodies for agriculture, fisheries, forestry and allied activities. Besides, he said the land related livelihood activities of rural folk had been addressed by bringing in improvements in the fields of livestock rearing, poultry, agriculture, fisheries and the likes.

RK Dogra, Deputy Director of the Project, who is at present Una Divisional Forest Officer, said the project was planned and implemented by way of participatory micro-planning at the ward and panchayat level, while socio-economic uplift of rural women was ensured under the project by the formation of about 500 women Self-Help Groups (SHGs), whose individual membership numbered almost 6,000. The livelihood generation activities under the project were mainly implemented through these SHGs, he said, adding that these groups had been clubbed into a non-government organization, Swan Women Federation.

The responsibility of ensuring the continuity of the project objectives was formally entrusted to Swan Women Federation. With financial assistance from the project, the latter has already set up its own spices processing unit at Badheda village. On the occasion, Agnihotri commended the project staff for successful implementation of the project and extended full support and cooperation to Swan Women Federation for continuity of project objectives.