VILLAGE STUDY ASSIGNMENT

VILLAGE STUDY ASSIGNMENT
Based on Moiradanga village in Falakata, Jalpaiguri













SUBMITTED BY: - SAUMITRA MOHAN, IAS (P)
JALPAIGURI,
IAS, PHASE II.








Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration
MUSSOORIE

CONTENTS

Chapter
Topics

Page No.

I.
General profile of the District, Block and Village

4

II.

The Infrastructure

10

III.
Social System and Cultural Practices

15
IV.
Land Use and Landholding Patterns

17
V.
Agriculture and Allied Activities

21
VI.
Employment

26
VII.
Migration

28
VIII.
Land Reforms

30
IX.
Rural Development Programmes

36
X.
Village Panchayat

39
XI.
Gender Empowerment

44
XII.
Conclusion

47






























CHAPTER - I



GENERAL PROFILE OF THE DISTRICT, BLOCK AND VILLAGE


District – Jalpaiguri
Jalpaiguri is said to have derived its name from the olive trees (Jalpai in Bengali), which grew in the town and were seen even in 1900. The suffix guri means a place. The name might as well be associated with Jalpesh, the presiding deity (Lord Shiva) of the entire region who had been in the minds of men there from time immemorial.

We might also recall that the Jalpaiguri subdivision of Rangpur, so named since 1854, was coterminous with the earlier Sukhani subdivision and it was the nucleus of the district formed in 1869. The local name of a place like Jalpaiguri, which happened to be the seat of a military cantonment, thus gave first its name to the subdivision and then to the district. Earlier in March 1849, Hooker had arrived at Jeelpigoree, which was then ‘a large straggling village near the banks of the Teesta, a good way south of the forest’ and at this place according to him, ‘we were detained for several days, waiting for elephants with which to proceed northwards.’ Naturally, ‘Jeelpigoree’ was then a point of transshipment in an area covered by forests.

The district lies between 26” 16’ and 27” 0’ north latitude and between 88” 4’ and 89” 53’ east longitude. It comprises an area of 6,245 sq. km as on 1st July, 1971, but present area is 6,227 sq. km.

The present district consists of the Western Duars since 1865 and the Jalpaiguri and Rajganj thanas of Rangpur district since 1869. The district so formed in 1869 is bounded in the north by the Darjeeling district and Bhutan, in the east by Assam, in the south by Rangpur district in Bangladesh and Koch Bihar district and in the west by Darjeeling district and part of Bangladesh.

The long international border with the countries of Bhutan and Bangladesh has made Jalpaiguri a strategic location so far as the defense, development and economy of this region is concerned. Besides being the largest district in the northern part of the state of West Bengal, with an area of 6227 sq. km., this district with a population of 34,03,204 (census 2001) is the house of many tribes and communities (Toto, Rava, Mech among others), the abode of a variety of birds and animals, including the rare “clouded leopard”, the land of 188 rivers, rivulets and vast, verdant forests. It is the largest tea producer of the state with 184 established Tea Estates. It also possesses Asia’s best dolomite reserves in the Dooars.

Despite these advantages, this district suffers from many problems. The district has a profuse store of ground water, practically the entire district is a ‘white zone’. Still, there is drinking water crisis in some remote areas and hardly 30 per cent of the water reserve is utilized. Production of surplus vegetables is coupled with the absence of proper storing facility, impeding the growth process altogether. Poor irrigation and routine flash floods hamper food production and escalate the flood control budget simultaneously. Illiteracy, low energization, lack of sanitation, deforestation, poor marketing facility, absence of exposure to modern technology, uncontrolled transformation of agri-land to tea-gardens, growing unemployment in rural and urban areas, especially in the tea gardens, are the other deterrents to the developmental process.

The district has a vibrant cultural life with the many cultures contributing to its multi-textured life. Administratively, the district is divided into three sub-divisions and thirteen blocks (and Panchayat Samities). There are four municipalities and one hundred and forty six Gram Panchayats.

Sub-division- Alipurduar
Alipurduar sub-division is headquartered at Alipurduar town. The area under the jurisdiction of the sub-division lies in the southwestern part of the district. Aman and Boro paddy, jute, vegetables and potato are the principal crops in the region. Apart from this, a very small area is under wheat, gram and mustard cultivation. Known mostly for its tea gardens and lush, green forests including Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary, Alipurduar is a relatively peaceful district except for the off and on KLO activities. The crime rate is markedly low in the entire district of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar in not an exception. Being a very big sub-division consisting of seven blocks, Alipurduar has an important place in the North Bengal region itself. Its cultural life is enriched by the diversity of its social life, more so because of the diversities brought about by the social life in its tea gardens, which are populated by labourers from the neighbouring states who bring in their own culture and life style.

Block- Falakata
Situated in the south-central parts of Jalpaiguri, Falakata is the third largest block of the all 13 development blocks in the district. It is unique for its varied topographical features. The rivers Dudua and Torsa as well as the district of Cooch Behar and Madarihat block define its boundaries. Other rivers of this area include Mujnai, Buri Torsa, Kali and Birikiti. The specialty of the land is of course its people. As rural as they possibly could be, they are also the simplest of their kind one could possibly come across.

Falakata is about 43 Kms from Alipurduar, 22 Kms from Madarihat and about 65 Kms from the district headquarters of Jalpaiguri. The trade centre consists houses of some big local merchants. Before partition, it served as an important centre from which trade was carried out with East Bengal Districts.

Minor floods occur more often than not and border scuffles are a regular irritant. Historically, this area has been famous for growing tea and timber but due to lack of marketing and extension facilities, there is now a trend of damaging crop switch against it. Similar is the case with jute. Geographically positioned at one of the remotest parts of the district and the power centres of the State capital, it has historically escaped the notice of the planners. It is perhaps because of this reason that the demands of the area and its people have not been articulated as strongly as it should have been.

Till about a decade ago, Falakata was out of the bounds of modernity. Things have undergone a sea change over the last decade. Of late, developmental works have picked up pace in the block. This has also generated a lot of enthusiasm and interest in the people. They are a major inspiration and force behind us all. The new work-dynamics is an outcome of this newfound energy. The block officials and the Panchayat level functionaries work in tandem to appreciate and address the much-felt needs of the people.

One of the biggest challenges that Falakata faces on the eve of the new century is the communication barrier. The dimensions spread from the crude physical barriers to the tele-communicational hurdles. Whereas the distance of the Sub-divisional headquarters of Alipurduar is only 43 Kms, river Torsa has to be crossed in ferries and the time taken to cover the distance is close to two hours. By road, the distance is a whopping 90 Kms via Madarihat. Construction of a bridge over Torsa from Falakata to Alipurduar can change the scenario of Falakata drastically and the area could be absorbed into the uniform developmental processes of the district. It would also imply tremendous savings in terms of money, fuel and precious time of the local residents. The local economy could experience a new tide and the area would be kick-started onto a new era. All this is of course appreciated by the district administration, but the crux is whether they would be willing to spend Rs. 7.5 crores for a population of only one lakh and thus what position it takes in their list of priorities. It is also an earthquake-prone zone but no contingency plan seems to be in place.

Much of Falakata is yet to experience the magic of electricity. Even for the places under electricity coverage, power cuts are random and painstakingly long. This brings whatever little electronic facilities available to a grinding halt and instantaneously the block is cut off from the rest of the humanity. While under conditions it is only an irritant; under emergency situations or natural calamities, things could assume serious proportions.

Falakata block was in news in last 2-3 years due to militant political movements by the KLO (Kamtapur Liberation Organization). The majority of the inhabitants are ‘Rajbansis’ who claim to have a separate culture and language of their own and hence demand separate statehood on a linguistic basis. The entire stock belongs to the Scheduled Castes. The other main problems relate to land related matters. People of Falakata are poor and unemployed. Therefore the pressure on the land is more as people find land as a main source of living; hence the problem. I was given the independent charge of the Block Development Officer (BDO) of Falakata. Working as BDO was an opportunity full of many learning experiences that too in the situation prevailing in the area due to political problems and related issues.

The Village – Moiradanga

Geography
The survey village, Moiradanga is a medium sized settlement in Falakata block of Jalpaiguri district. Falakata is a predominantly agricultural block in the Southern portion of the district. Moiradanga in Moiradanga Gram Panchayat area is located towards the East of the block area of Falakata. The village is at a distance of 10kms from the block headquarters of Falakata. It has a total population of 5476 including 2,788 men and 2,688 women meaning thereby that sex ratio is slightly in favour of men.

The Mouza Moiradanga consists of 11 hamlets. All these hamlets have a total of 1,247 households including 409, 245 and 593 belonging to those of SC, ST and general community. It has a literacy rate of 54.11 per cent. The names of the hamlets are as below:


Name of hamlet
No. of household
No. of household sampled
1. Modakpara
2. Rabirhat
3. Paromundapara
4. Bhagatpara
5. Makhantari
6. Dakuapara
7. Sarkartari
8. Ukhradanga
9. Mundapara
10. Patowartari
11. Thangbhanga
110
117
163
127
84
38
161
94
47
128
178
10
09
11
04
00
00
13
04
00
00
00


Demography
Moiradanga is a medium sized village of 1247 households and total population stood at 5476. There are 2788 males and 2688 females. The sex-ratio (1000: 964) is, therefore, in favour of the male. The average size of a family is 5 members, but there are a few cases of joint families of as many as 16 members. There are 593 non Scheduled Caste-Scheduled Tribe families – most of them are Kayasthas and a few Brahmins. The Scheduled Caste population is 33% comprising one-third of the entire population. A few families of Muslims too are present.









CHAPTER - II


INFRASTRUCTURE


Communication
Moiradanga has only a riverbed material road, which is the main approach road to the village from the Block Head Quarters. The nearest bus stop is three Kms away, at the point where the village road joins the highway at Moiradanga.

About 85% of the households own bicycles. This is the most convenient form of transport. 7 families own a motorcycle. The other private means of transport are cycle-van rickshaws and bullock-carts.

The nearest town is Falakata, 10 Kms. away. Moiradanga does have telephone connectivity. There is no telephone connectivity in Moiradanga village at present. There is no broad gauge train connectivity for this area. The nearest railway station is at Falakata about 13 Kms away.

Education
There are three primary schools in the village having classes I to V. There are 11 male teachers for 764 children, of which 387 are boys and 377 are girls. Of this 257 belong to SC, 117 to ST and 390 to general category. Teacher to student ratio is 1:59, which is higher than the nationally acceptable norm. Three teachers live in the same village, two others in a village 4 Kms away and the rest commute from Falakata 10 Kms away. The teachers work from 11 am to 3 pm in the afternoon. However, their attendance is surprisingly regular. There is in general a public pressure on them to be regular at the schools, the parents are quite demanding
.
On the day of survey the attendance of the students were satisfactory; standing at impressive 85% or 650 students. I did notice the odd occasions on which the school is arbitrarily closed down, especially during December, which is the harvesting season. The school is housed in its own building. The School has two rooms and one long verandah constructed separately. The accommodation is not quite adequate for the children. It has a playground, and tube well for drinking water purpose. There is a ‘pucca’ toilet also. There is no school uniform. The children are given books free of cost. No tuition fees are charged, but there are incidental costs of sending the child to school. The parents said that they spent about Rs. 300 on a child’s schooling annually. No mid-day meals are provided to the students, but they are given 3 Kgs of rice at the end of the month, if they have 80% attendance.

After primary school, the students have to move to Falakata for higher education. The School at Falakata is up to Madhyamik (10th Std.). It is a co-education School. For higher secondary level the student have to go Falakata, which is 10 Kms away. It is at this transition point that most of the dropouts occur, especially among the girls. There are only 14 graduates and two para-medical doctors in the village. But most of them stay out of the village.

Primary level school education is free in West Bengal so there is no question of cost of schooling. District inspector of schools controls the schools. Textbooks and uniforms are provided to the students free of costs. Scholarship is given to the ST/SC students. The drop-out students are taken care of by SSKs, so there is hardly any child out of school in this village.

Literacy
The literacy rate in 2001 was 54.11% in aggregate; 55 % for male and 53 % for female. In 2004, the total literacy improved to about 63%.
A Continuing Education Centre (Which is now termed as Shishu Shiksha Kendra) exists in Moiradanga. The government is giving Rs. 1000/- to each of the two Sahayak and Sahayikas for each centre as advocacy. The purpose of SSKs is to provide learning opportunities to those students who have either dropped out or are not able to attend School regularly.

Health
There is a health sub-centres in Moiradanga. The nearest Primary Health Centre is in Falakata, at a distance of 10 Kms from Moiradanga. This PHC has one resident male doctor and one female health functionary, who act as the nurse. The doctor, who is supposed to stay there, comes only once a week on Saturdays. In spite of that, his contract gets renewed every year, due to his alleged proximity to the Minister from the Constituency. However there is one private doctor who takes care of health related problems of the people in case of general illness. The PHC does not conduct deliveries, but performs exercises of immunization, IUD insertions, treatment of minor illnesses and provides ante and postnatal care. Common medicine for diarrhea, fever and cold and minor infections are available, but anything more has to be bought the by patients themselves. The most common diseases are malaria, acute respiratory tract disorders and diarrhoea as per the Falakata PHC health register.

The people however are not very happy with the quality of services provided by the PHC. The BMOH does not take any interest in the hospital. He practices at his residence. The PHC is in a general state of despair. The appalling stench of dirty toilets pollutes the entire atmosphere. Veterinary facilities are available at Paanch Mile called Salpukuria Hat at a distance of 3 Kms.

Immunization
During the Pulse Polio Immunization Programme on 9th November 2003, 10th December 2003, and 21st January 2004, 96.5% children in the 0-5 age group had been administered polio drops. I was that time acting as BDO of Falakata block. In a few pockets of Falakata, people refused on each Pulse Polio programme to take the dose. Their apprehension was that this might make their children infertile.

The usual health problems in the village are gastroenteritis, other water borne diseases, Malaria, Diarrhoea, and Acute Respiratory-tract Infections etc; despite the fact that safe drinking water is available. The villagers said they hardly saw any Health Assistants coming to them, instead they prefer to make the trip to the PHC or the BPHC at Falakata. They said that in fact the Anganwadi workers were more helpful. Serious cases are referred to the Sub-divisional hospital in Alipurduar, Falakata or Jalpaiguri.

There is one medicine shop in the village. The people have to procure the supplies from either Moiradanga or the block headquarter, Falakata and Jalpaiguri town.

Sanitation
The sanitation systems are more or less satisfactory. About 85 % of the houses have pucca latrines. A lot of funds are being used for awareness for the improvement of Sanitation. Scheme as there are no benefits for them.

A local NGO CADC at Jateshwar and Panchayat Office at Moiradanga do the job of RSM (Rural Sanitary Mart) in Falakata. They have various models of low cost sanitary latrines (from Rs. 400 to 1600), which they construct for the IAY houses and also separately. In a local modification of the IAY, a sum of Rs.4000 is set aside from the total of Rs.20000 that the beneficiary is entitled to. This money used to construct a latrine and smokeless chullah in the IAY house. It is only when these two items has been installed that the second installment is released to the beneficiary. I inspected quite a few such houses in Moiradanga.

The sanitation work receives some subsidy from the Government. About 2600 new toilets have been constructed (IAY and non IAY categories combined) in Moiradanga GP and about 165 units in Moiradanga village itself.

Poverty
Though there is an all-pervasive sense of general poverty around the village, officially there are only 456 people below poverty line in Moiradanga. All belong to the Schedule Castes. Most of the people below poverty line are either marginal farmers or agricultural labourers. Few patta holders and bargadars also are below poverty line.

Other Services
Moiradanga has been fully electrified though some houses do not have electricity connection but that has more to do with economic reason than those relating to supply and provisioning. More and more families are demanding electricity connections, but the SEB is unable to provide it because of a short supply of transformers. This is a problem in many areas throughout the state, which are served by the SEB. Therefore, even though people are willing and able to pay for electricity, they have to wait for an unreasonably long period to get a meter installed. Electricity and telephone connectivity are very common demands in the Gram Sansad meetings. There is not even a single cooperative operating in Moiradanga at present. There was one cooperative, a few years back, which was dissolved due to political reasons.

The village has one PDS shop, one sub-post office, no PACCS, no Farmers’ Centre or Service Centres. There is one Anganwadi centre. The nearest ICDS centre is at Falakata, the Block Head Quarters. The nearest bank is the branch of the SBI Bank at Moiradanga, the GP headquarter. The nearest post office is also at Moiradanga.


There are tube wells for drinking water. The unhygienic habits increase the chances of water borne diseases and Malaria. There is general lack of pond sanitation and health care. There are ponds called pukurs attached to almost every household. Water in these ponds is very dirty with layer of green algae.







CHAPTER -IIIChapter II

SOCIAL SYSTEMS AND CULTURAL PRACTICES

Religion and Festivals
The majority of the population in the village is of those belonging to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes. The only language spoken is Bengali. The households observe typical Bengali style of living. At the time of my survey, the aman paddy crop had just been harvested. In middle of October, people were busy celebrating their biggest Festival “ Durga Puja”. This is both a community and an individual family oriented festival.

I have already mentioned about the Bhawaiya Folk songs. Baul songs are also very popular. Even in these essentially folk rituals however, one finds the intrusion of the ubiquitous loudspeaker and Hindi film songs. Kali Puja, Durga Puja and Makar Sankranti are very warmly celebrated as also all other festivals in the Bengali Calendar.

There does not appear any division of society based on religion. There is no mosque in the whole mouza. Nearest mosque is in Moiradanga. However, the place for a mosque has been identified and it will come up soon.

Social Discriminations
There are no overt caste conflicts in the village. There is no discrimination on the basis of caste. This is true of a typically tolerant Bengali community. The people do not live in clusters segregated along caste lines. However, some such groupings are apparent. Some of the SCs are found living in separate hamlets solely because they have been recipients of vested lands, the plots of which are contiguous. Since they all like to live near their plots, they are incidentally found living together. There is no untouchability being practiced in the village.

Position of Women
There is no overt discrimination against women in the form of female infanticides or bride torturing etc. Dowry is given at the time of marriage, but there is no coercion associated with it. Girls are sent to School. The women do not work in the fields of others. They only work in their fields, if any. Few women of SC hamlets work as agricultural labourers in other fields also. The age of marriage for the girls is around 18, although there might be slight lowering of the age in certain cases.

NGOs
There are many NGOs operating in the area but none in the Moiradanga village itself. The Zilla Parishad with the help of the NGOs has also organized three block level orientation programmes for the teachers of the Primary Schools to make them aware of the hazards of defecating in the open and the necessity of using hygienic toilets. The response at these sessions, two of which I attended, was good. The idea is to provide these facilities to the Children at School, so that they can demand of their parents that toilets be constructed at home too.














CHAPTER - IV


LAND USE AND LAND HOLDING PATTERN IN THE VILLAGE

The village Moiradanga is spread over 1859.59 acres of land. Of this, 1034.24 acres of land are available for cultivation. The average annual rainfall is 309.51 mm and this is concentrated mostly in the monsoon season. The crop profile, however, is diversified and includes Aman Paddy, Aus Paddy, Boro Paddy, Jute, Wheat, Mustard, Potato and Chilly. Attempts are being made to introduce more crops in the districts and further diversify the crop profile of the district with the aid of new HYV varieties and new technology but these are still at very embryonic stage and would take more time before yielding any positive ground results. The village is flood prone and has to go through the ordeal of floods every year as the climatic conditions and ground realities hardly leave any scope for permanent solution to the problem of floods even though efforts are always on to minimize and overcome the problems related to floods.

Types of land:

Types of land
Area (in acres)
Land for cultivation
1034.24
Land under forest cover
03.35
Fallow land
96.25
Pasture and grazing land
36.34
Waste land
230.86
Net sown area
51.26
Land for homestead
42.16
Community land
24.53
Patta distributed
340.60



Irrigation

There are various sources of irrigation, though not sufficient in aggregate. There are private pumping sets, well, dugwell, irrigation canal and state owned deep or mini deep tube wells. About 129.00 acres of land in the village have the irrigation facility available. There are also some cluster groups (that constitute a group of farmers having contingents plots), which pool money and buy private pump sets to operate it collectively. For this, they get some Government subsidy too. But all the plots of land do not have access to means of artificial irrigation. Some of the cultivation is rain fed but the extent of dependence on irrigation is 80 per cent. One important factor is the very high level of the water table in the village, which is normal for the entire district, and this is a great factor instrumental in the high dependence on irrigation.

Nature of soil:
The Moiradanga village is situated in an area, which has been the playground of river Tista and its tributaries for thousands of years. The soil is basically sandy in nature and slightly acidic in nature (PH value being on an average around 4-5 for the entire district). Years of siltation and floods have made the land very fertile indeed. There is no problem of soil erosion in Moiradanga village and hence no physical or financial loss. There is no problem of water logging also but high rainfall and constant floods often results in leaching and consequent acidification of the soil. One problem that is really alarming however, is the land scouring by the stream of the river Tista on its left bank. Several hectares of land has already gone into its bed and irrigation department has a tough time every year trying to construct check bunds, spurs etc.

Land holding pattern:

Total land under personal ownership amounts to 1339.96 acres including 744.48 acres for cultivation by 1150 raiyats. Those under tenancy stand at 264.52 acres. In all, there are a total of 799 landholders in the village and an overwhelming majority of 496 own less than 1 acre of land. There are 127 landholders whose landholding varies between one to three acres while there are 56 landholders whose holding size is between three to five acres. There are yet another 21 landholders whose holding size is between 10 to 20 acres. The total land held by the tribals in the village comes to 136.17 acres.
Government land
The extent of government land on day of survey was 501.84 acres out of which 340.60 acres were agricultural, 42.16 acres were used for homestead purposes, 59.86 acres were wasteland, 17.05 were barren, and 42.17 acres were being used for other purposes. Total number of allottees was 515, which included 87 for scheduled tribes, 172 members of scheduled castes, 50 women and 206 others. Total area allotted to different categories of people was 340.60 acres, which included 63.92 acres to ST, 113.31 acres to SC, 22.41 acres to women and 140.96 acres to others.


The government still owns 501.84 acres of land in the village in Khatian no. one. Of this, khasmahal land is 40 acres (used as grazing land) 6.75 acres are quarry, 10.13 acres are grazing land, 16.88 acres are nadi khas (riverbed), and 5.864 acres are comprised inter alia of temples, mosques and clubs. About 181.36 are in illegal possession of local people being used for cultivation and government is still to do anything about this. Thus, the total encroachment on the government land in the village amounts to 298.096 acres but government is hardly in a position to do anything given the political and practical compulsions and related implications thereof.




Survey Operations
The last land revenue survey was started towards the end of 1974. Of the total 743 mouzas, there were 595 revenue mouzas and 148 were tea garden mouzas. Out of the total of 743 mouzas, Khanapuri-Bujharat was completed in 731 mouzas but this is still pending in 12 mouzas. Of the 12 pending mouzas, KB was going on in two and was withheld in the rest. Attestation has been completed in 715 mouzas and pending in 28 mouzas. While draft publication has been completed in 708 mouzas, it is pending in 35 mouzas. Again, while final publication has been completed in 705 mouzas, it is pending in 38 mouzas. In Moiradanga, KB work started on 6th June, 1978 and was completed on 22nd September, 1978. The final publication of the Record of Rights based on this survey is complete and the new R.o.R is operational. The land records have been computerized in almost the entire mouzas of Falakata block including Moiradanga. Anyone may obtain a computerized copy of the Khatian from the concerned Block Land & Land Reforms Officer office on the payment Rs.10/-. The land records of Moiradanga Mouza are not fully computerized as yet. The process is still on.

Common Property Resources:
The CPRs in the village area are not of an extensive nature. They include two canals (both dysfunctional), three mosques, six temples, four clubs/meeting places, three rivers three primary schools, four ICDS Anganwadi centers and four Shishu Shiksha Kendra run under Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojna. Besides, there are other government land used as CPRs as mentioned above and are comprised of grazing land, quarry, nalahs, roads, riverbed, rivers, religious places not to speak of those under illegal possession for agricultural purposes. All the villagers have equal access to CPRs, as there is no discrimination on the basis of caste or race/ religion. These resources are maintained either by the villagers themselves or not at all maintained. Some times gram panchayats (GPs) also maintain the CPRs.


CHAPTER - V



AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED ACTIVITIES

Agriculture is the main occupation of the people in Moiradanga. Out of the 1859.59 acres of land, 1034.24 acres are under crops. In all, there are a total of 799 landholders in the village and an overwhelming majority of 496 own less than 1 acre of land. There are 127 landholders whose landholding varies between one to three acres while there are 56 landholders whose holding size is between three to five acres. There are yet another 21 landholders whose holding size is between 10 to 20 acres. The total land held by the tribals in the village comes to 136.17 acres.


Major crops and productivity
The major crop grown in Moiradanga is ‘Aman paddy, which is grown in the monsoon season (July- November). The productivity is generally low to average. Since there are no assured sources of irrigation during Feb-May, Boro paddy, wheat, mustard etc are raised in very low quantities. The average productivity of paddy is 25-30 qtls / acre. Rice productivity in this village is very low compared to other nearby villages. The reason may be the lack of adequate irrigation water through out the year. In aman rice crop is most of time affected by heavy rains and floods. Boro crops are affected by draught like situations.
Potato is grown in Rabi season and harvested in Jaid season. Potato productivity in this village is about 120 quintals per hectare, which is quite satisfactory. Jute is another major product in the summer season. The major problem is that the village does not have a jute-bailing machine and thus has to sell the raw jute at a much lesser price. Attempts are being made by the Gram Panchayat to arrange a bailing machine, which they would run as a remunerative asset.

Jute is cultivated but of an inferior variety, it is exported to Myanmar and used locally for production of Bidi. In winter, potato, green chilly and tomatoes are also cultivated in small amounts. Larger productions are not done due to lack of marketing facilities and non-availability of high yield seeds locally. The seeds in the minikits provided by the Government have turned out to big failures in the last couple of years. There is very little marketable surplus for vegetables but the potential of the area is high.

There are very few deep tube wells in the village. Diesel pump-sets are used in Moiradanga by a few.

Marketing of produce
Surplus agricultural produce, particularly potato and rice is sold in block market. Some farmers sell their produce directly to rice mills at Falakata. Most products are sold through intermediaries that take a major portion of the price. The farmers cannot in most occasions wait for the price to rise as they are cash strapped. Thus there is an element of distress sale.

Horticulture
There is no planned cultivation of horticultural plants in the village. Horticulture is practically non-existent. There are no orchards for commercial exploitation or even for household consumption. Neither pulses nor vegetables are grown. This region however cultivates excellent varieties of pineapple. Attempts are being made by the district administration to contact private firms who would buy pineapple pulp assuredly from the farmers, which would boost the production.


Farming Inputs
The farmers themselves procure the farming inputs. Paddy seeds are bought in the open market at Rs.10 /kg. Some farmers keep aside a part of the crop to be used as seeds. Pesticides too have to be bought from the open market. Fertilizers are available from the Falakata. The farmers procure inputs from block market, either from the open market or from a cooperative society in the block. Rate prevalent for paddy seeds is Rs 12 in open market. Most of farmers reuse their own seeds. Nobody is sowing high yielding varieties of crops. People use NPK, a mixed fertilizer that is readily available in the block market. It’s rate is Rs. 7.65 per kg. Whenever farmers purchase NPK from co-operative society, they are bound to purchase urea also. It costs Rs 3.60 per kg.

The nearest PACCS is at Falakata 10 Kms away. It mainly supplies fertilizer inputs and also seeds in some seasons. At present it is more or less closed. The credit is available form cooperative bank on bank lending rates.

Market
The farmers do not market the farm produce themselves. In the case of paddy, intermediaries collect the crop from the field of the farmers, take them to the rice mills to be processed and then bring it to the market. This means that the small farmer who has no means of carrying the crop to the rice mill, gets only 40-50 % of the price it fetches in the market. The rice is sold within 3 months of harvesting. Farmers are not able to wait for better prices. This makes them more prone to be exploited.

Livestock and Milch Cattle
Livestock forms an important source for the village folk. Most villagers keep milch cattle for their own household consumption. There are 1545 milch cattle in the village. Of these, 816 are ordinary cows and buffaloes, which produce 4 ½ litres of milk per day. There are only 95 crossbred cows yielding 8 litres of milk each per day. 30% of the milk produced is consumed locally. The rest is marketed through the Jalpaiguri Milk Union. Some milk is supplied to the sweet shops at Moiradanga and Falakata. The market rate for buffalo milk is Rs. 14 / litre and for cow’s milk is Rs. 10 / litre in the locality. But it fetches up to Rs. 16 / litre if sold to Falakata town at a distance of 10 Kms. Veterinary facilities are available at Satpukuria Hat at a distance of 3 Kms. Dairy is very underdeveloped here as the productivity of milch cattle is very less and milk produced is also not of good quality because of low fat content. People here do not show any interest in acquiring good cross-bred milch cattle and do not feed their cattle with nutritious fodder and supplements which negatively reflects on the milk quality.

Few households also own goats. Consumption of the goat’s milk is only for the household. It is not sold outside. There are 1242 goats in the village besides 81 oxen, 109 ducks and 28 pigs.

Poultry & Piggery
There are no established poultry farms in Moiradanga. Except few ducks in some village household, there is no other existence of poultry. Some families, however, rear pigs as they are consumed locally. Pigs have a very quick rate of multiplication and piggery is indeed a very good income avenue for the unemployed youth. But despite this, piggery as a self-employment avenue has not been explored much notwithstanding the fact that neighbouring Bhutan has a huge demand for pork.

Traditional and Allied activities
Non-farm activities are not very significant economically. Only 14 families are dependent on them. These include a tea – shop, 3 grocer’s shops, one cycle repairer, one tailor, and some petty vendors. The farmers sometimes carry on pottery and weaving of fishing nets to supplement their income in a small way. Due to availability of nylon nets in the market at cheaper prices the livelihood of those weaving the fishing net is also dwindling. There are 2 quacks in the village, who practice here; they are local people. Few villagers own shops in nearby town at a distance of 10 km. In this village some household industries are also operating. People prepare plastic ropes and sale them into the market through cooperatives. Most of the families are having their own fishpond. Rohu is the most common fish consumed here.

Handicrafts
Alipurduar and a part of Jalpaiguri is equally famous for bamboo, cane and wood craft. There are also a few master craftsmen who can produce real beauties on wood or clay. Local people also take keen interest on their traditional customs, art forms and practices like the Bhawaiya and Baul songs.





























CHAPTER - VI

EMPLOYMENT


Employment Situation
Moiradanga village is primarily an agricultural village. Due to recent political tension prevailing in the area, the work undertaken by the Gram Panchayat and Panchayat Samity under different rural development schemes also could not be delivered up to desired level. The employment situation in the village is very precarious.

Few of them are doing business or engaged in some small trade. Few are also working in Falakata or Jalpaiguri town. There is not even a single industry of any scale near around 30-40 kilometers. Most of them work as agricultural labourers. Some of villagers are skilled workers like mason (Raj mistry) and carpenters.

Unemployment Situation
The unemployment situation in the village, as in the whole of the district and the state is very acute. Most of the landless agricultural labourers find employment only for about 60-80 days in a year and are unemployed for the rest of the year. This too is partly guaranteed by the Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) and JGSY projects in the village where they get work for a minimum number of days for digging earth for construction of earthen or pucca roads or bridges. The job is however physically demanding. The BPL individuals get preference in the priority in getting these jobs. They are however grossly inadequate in the face of the crisis situation. Disguised employment and underemployment quotients are also very high. About 45% people do not have a fixed or assured source of employment.

Wage Rates
The majority of villagers are agriculturists. Agricultural labourers are paid at the rate of Rs. 50 per day along with lunch. The work hours are 7 am to 4 pm. The minimum agricultural labour wage is Rs. 62 per day, which are paid in Government works. But actually only about Rs. 45 to 50 is paid when labourers work in any other persons’ field. This is due to excess supply of labour. The non-agricultural labourers are paid at the rate of Rs. 62 per day. Labour can be found locally and farmers very rarely hire labour from outside, even during peak harvesting seasons. The persons employed in shops and other works are paid a little more. The majority of labourers expressed their dissatisfaction with their pay rates.




















CHAPTER - VII


MIGRATION

Reasons
The lack of employment opportunities in the village and in the vicinity has forced out-migration from the village. Young able- bodied males usually do the migration. This rate is high among either small farmers or agricultural labourers. The main causes of migration are lack of employment, wage differential, and attraction towards the west.

Destination and frequency of migration
There are few instances of temporary migration from Moiradanga. Few people migrate (Commute) to nearby Jalpaiguri or Falakata or Alipurduar for work. They commute weekly; they either work there as daily labourers or as salespersons in some shops. Most of the people migrate within the district. Few villagers also migrate to other districts for their business.

Recently, a new trend is noticed. Many young men and some times the entire families are out-migrating to Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Bhutan in the months of September, October only to come back in March or April before the main cropping season. They go mainly to work in stone quarries, brick kilns, marble mines etc. The families hire buses and trucks and leave in large numbers, without any intimation to the Panchayats or the Motor Vehicles officers. This has now become a matter of concern for the administration. Some are migrating to Surat, Vadodara, and Benaras etc. for goldsmith, embroidery and zari works on clothes. The reason for their migration is mostly for job opportunities and better wages in other places. But this trend is not peculiar to Falakata only and applies to the entire district of Jalpaiguri.

All this has directly registered an impact on the sex ratio of the village; as such predominantly male migrations would indicate and show on a small population base. It stands at a much improved 1000-964 as compared to the national average of 1000-933; but the reason is as stated. There are no instances of in-migration in the village or any nearby area.































CHAPTER - VIII


Impact of Land Reforms

Land reforms, both in the matter of distribution of vested land to Pattaholders and recording bargadars’ names in the R.o.R is almost complete in Moiradanga. What ever has been done in the field of recording of bargadars, distribution of vested lands, computerization of land records, and the impact is felt both in the economic and social life of the beneficiaries. The patta holders are rightful owners of their lands, which though not considerable in size, had given them a sense of psychological security, which is important for their social well being. The bargadars on the other hand, I observed, have been assured of a regular livelihood because now they are secure against unlawful eviction. The bargadars who are cultivating larger areas than the Pattaholders are economically on a sound footing. It cannot be said definitely that land reforms have reduced income disparities in the village. The economic stratification is obvious. What it has achieved is that in fulfilling the rural peoples’ craving for land, it has stabilized the social fabric of the village. This is no mean achievement. Moiradanga is a largely crime-free village. Harvest disputes are rare. People are generally content and lead a settled life. One also found people polarized along different political lines depending upon as to who benefited how much from the process of land reforms. Except political tension, there is no other problem.

Observations during the survey
During the survey, I recorded the opinions of the beneficiaries of land reforms including recorded and unrecorded Bargadars (sharecroppers), Patta holders of agricultural lands and beneficiaries of homestead land allotted under Acquisition of Homestead Land Act. This was in addition to the survey of the households of the village who are not the beneficiaries of the land reforms; to know their views and opinions regarding various provisions in WBLR Act. The salient observations, which struck me, are:

Bargadars
1. The size of the holdings is so small that use of tractor or even power tiller is almost impossible and not feasible. [Co-operative farming could be a solution but has not been encouraged].
2. Though “ Land Reforms” [i.e. abolition of intermediaries, ensuring tenancy rights, recording of sharecroppers, land ceiling and computerization of Land Records] has been implemented to some extent but “ Agrarian Reforms” [Like providing dependable irrigation facilities, availability of inputs like HYV seeds, manures, fertilizers, pesticides and institutional factors like Credit facilities, Agricultural demonstration centres, marketing facilities etc] have been neglected.
3. It is observed that in case of bargadars they grow only one crop of paddy during monsoon in barga land whereas if they own any land they grow paddy crops, potato wheat or sugarcane in addition to monsoon paddy crop. It appears that neither the bargadars nor owner is interested in making investment in the land.
4. Almost all bargadars said that their financial position, legal protection, social status and security have improved after barga recording.
5. Most of them said that present provisions of law are sufficient to protect their interest but their implementation is not proper. They are evicted as per directions of the political party in power. Name of many has not been recorded but official figures show that number of bargadars yet to be regarded is nil.
6. The financial assistance from bank, co-operatives, and government was not sufficient.
7. Almost all surveyed said that they are not aware of Revenue Inspector’s Office.
8. Except plough, bullock carts and cycle, they do not have any other equipment like power tillers and pump sets.

Patta Holders
1. Scheduled Caste persons (priority to land less) were given pattas for agricultural land as SC / ST landless has the first priority in allotment of vested or government land.
2. Almost all patta holders said that they feel that their social status, security, financial prospect etc. has improved after getting patta in their name.
3. No one said that he faces any problem in possessing land allotted to him.

Homestead Beneficiary
Almost all of them said that they do not feel any change in the attitude of the original landowner after getting their name recorded as homestead beneficiary.
All the beneficiaries felt an enhancement in social status, legal strength and security.
The beneficiaries were either daily wage labour or agricultural labour or unrecorded bargadars.

A New Direction
West Bengal has certainly achieved much in terms of distribution of vested land and recording of bargadars rights. But much remains to be done. We must realize that giving land or conferring security of tenure will by itself not amount to much. We must think ahead. Much scope by way of providing farming input, training, irrigation, credit and marketing facilities. Only then will the possession of land become meaningful. Only forward and backward linkages and institutional factors could improve the situation. There is no existence of agricultural extension centres in the village. It is quite evident that the Falakata block has been totally neglected from the Green Revolution. However, this is the only state in the country that has successfully implemented the computerization of land records at block level.

At present, after Operation Barga and distribution of pattas, most people are content with mere ownership. However, as soon as it becomes obvious that this land is not yielding economic returns, the situation will change. And then ownership will become pointless. This feeling struck me particularly strongly when I saw the condition of the patta holders of other villages. The allotted land is barely managing to keep them from starvation at present. It will be unable to do so much longer if land reforms are not given a wider definition. We must move now from Land Reforms to Agrarian Reforms. I think that it is essential to move on to a new stage in land reforms now, otherwise the gains of Operation Barga will be squandered.

Vesting & Distribution of Ceiling Surplus Land
Under the provisions of West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 and West Bengal Estate Acquisition Act, 1953, 750.17 acres of land was declared surplus and all of them have been released, there being no land pending under litigation. Of all the lands declared fit for production and distribution, about 520.21 acres of land have been distributed, total number of beneficiaries being 360. Despite being of the Dhani Soyem category i.e. good arable land, some land has been used for homestead purposes as well without being converted for the purpose. Of this 360, 230.62 acres were allotted to 192 beneficiaries belonging to SC category, 103.92 acres were allotted to 67 beneficiaries belonging to ST categories and 185.67 acres were allotted to 101 beneficiaries belonging to people of other categories. There are in all 4,910 tenants who hold an area of 1859.59 acres in the village holding land under their landowners fulfilling the conditions as prescribed by the law.

Pattaholders
Of all the 515 people who were allotted pattas for an area of 340.60 acres, I interviewed 15 beneficiaries of ceiling surplus land. They had all been given these allotments in 1981-83. At present, all of them have the land under personal cultivation. When asked about how the possession of land had affected their socio-economic status, none of them were able to quantify the benefits. The annual returns they reaped from the land averaged about Rs.3500, but they earned no profits. Despite this, they paradoxically asserted that owning land had indeed enhanced their quality of life. They were now able to eat better and had some standing in society. They said people no longer held them in contempt for being landless. They felt that land had given them some respect. They also seemed to have the confidence that they would now no longer starve for food. My feeling, however, was that although land has conferred a certain security to them, they were still living precariously on the edge of subsistence. But during my posting as BDO of Falakata, I noticed that a lot of land was not actually allotted to any body, but a few people under political patronage of some local leaders cultivated it.

There are approximately 12 patta holders in Moiradanga as per land records. All the beneficiaries of the land distribution belong to the Scheduled Caste community. The patta has been given in the name of both husband and wife in about 8 of the 12 cases. The size of the land allotted to them varies between 4 decimals and 6 decimals.

Bargadars (sharecroppers)
Apart from the pattaholders, who have become the owners of government-vested lands, there is another class of cultivators called bargadars (sharecroppers). In Moiradanga, 1360 bargadars have been recorded. Under the WBLR Act, 1995, the bargadars have been given security of tenure provided they fulfill certain conditions. A bargadar is a person who cultivates the land of another person on the condition that he will deliver a share of the produce of such land to him. This is an age-old system and was known as adhi or barga. The WBLR Act made sure that the bargadar’s right to cultivate the land would be heritable, and would not be terminated except under certain conditions. The bargadars, if they receive no help from the owners in matter of inputs like seeds, fertilizers, plough or cattle, deliver only 25% of the produce to the owner. In case the owner supplies the inputs he can claim 50% of the produce. Disputes in bhag-chas cases mainly arise over this issue. Also, the bargadar’s name is recorded in the khatians and he cannot be arbitrarily evicted. However, the rights of Bargadars are not transferable, though heritable.

In Moiradanga, there are 15 bargadars, who cultivate about 6.56 acres of land. None of them receive any input assistance from the owners, and are under obligation to pay only 25% of the produce to them. In matter of the share of the crop, I heard conflicting statements from the owners and the bargadars. I spoke to 5 bargadars, and all of them said that they had never defaulted in delivering the due share of the produce. The owners however had a different story to tell. They said that the share they received was rarely as much as 25%. It was more likely that the bargadars deliver only 10-15 %, the owner got 25%, only if it was an exceptionally good harvest.

In a bad year, defaults could occur. I found out that the owners were reluctant to resort to litigation to procure their rightful share – indeed; there were no bhag-chas cases pending in Moiradanga. I realized that their sense of ownership of the barga cultivated lands were not so keen; they almost believed that they had been alienated from these lands. Consequently, they were content to receive whatever the bargadars thought fit to deliver them; this was at least preferable to the complexities of a court case. I got the feeling however that the owners where not going to give up their claims as easily as they pretended to. The truth about bhag-chas, I am sure lie somewhere in between the positions taken by the owners and the bargadars. Another factor at play here was that the owners had a fair amount of land under their personal cultivation and consequently were not too dependent on the bargadars contribution.















CHAPTER - IX
RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES

The delivery of the Rural Development Programmes in Moiradanga is in general satisfactory. The Prodhan is a honest person and he commands the respect of the people. The public is also in general very aware and keeps a strict vigil on the developmental works. Overall there is a strong presence of the district press.

Indira Awas Yojana
There are 27 IAY beneficiaries in Moiradanga. In Falakata block, an amount of Rs.20000 is given in 2 installments of Rs. 10000 and Rs. 10000 to the IAY beneficiaries. From both the installments, Rs. 2000 is given to the NGO (Rs. 4000 in total), to construct a smokeless chullah and a low cost latrine in the house. The 2nd installment is released only when the NGO certifies that the 2 items have been installed.

The money is now placed in the hands of the beneficiary directly and they are free to construct their own houses, as they like. There are model plans available at the block offices if they so require. The houses have mud walls and tin roofing in general. The beneficiaries are required to put up a signboard declaring it to be a IAY house. But it is seldom displayed. The quality of the houses constructed differs from beneficiary to beneficiary.

The funds are available for both constructions of new houses as well as up gradation. For up gradation, one gets Rs. 10000. I was not particularly impressed by the delivery of this programme. Most beneficiaries take the cash and do not build houses but use it for other purposes; some even for direct consumption. Some have opened shops and let others operate it on lease. The delivery of the up gradation funds is even worse. Though BPL household are to get preferences, the beneficiaries are mostly chosen on political terms. Even worse is the case that same persons or persons belonging to the same family are getting funds more than once; depriving other deserving candidates.

SGSY
The progress of formation of Self Help groups under Swarna Jayanti Grameen Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) is very good. There are 69 SHGs under SGSY in Moiradanga. Recently, the District Magistrate has taken some concrete decisions regarding formation of SHGs under SGSY. The programme of formation of SHG has been given a great degree of importance and priority. The scheme has been modified locally. It has been decided that some amount of revolving fund will be placed with Panchayat Samities, which would be used for growth of Self Help Groups. Each group will consist of 10 rural women belonging to the poorer sections of the society. Each group will be given revolving fund of Rs. 10000/-. The group members will have the opportunity to take loan from this fund. The fund will be repaid to the Panchayat Samities in equal installments. The revolving fund will be directly paid into the Savings Bank account of the Self Help Groups. Panchayat Samity will utilize the amount being recovered for further assistance to new groups. The amount will remain with Panchayat Samity as revolving fund to be used continuously for development of SHGs. However, the Panchayat Samity will be responsible for collection of monthly installment from the groups regularly.

At the end of the financial year, the amount, which will fall short of the target, will be made good by the Panchayat Samity. It can be calculated that if 10 groups are given revolving fund in the beginning, more than 12 groups can cover in addition in one-year time with the amount recovered as installments from the earlier groups. Panchayat Samity will maintain records of amount distributed to various groups and recoveries made. To start with, this programme, which is called “ SHG Project”, will be taken up in select Panchayat Samities. The amount of revolving fund will be provided from funds available with the Samities.


JGSY
The fund under SGSY is directly released to the Gram Panchayats. The works in progress at the time of survey in Moiradanga were ‘Road’ repair and excavation of 2 ponds (pukurs). Rest of the funds was spent in providing beneficiaries with shallow tube wells. I felt that the works done under JGSY has a better delivery percentage than other schemes.

EAS
The amount given under the EAS is ever dwindling. It has shrunk from Rs. 30 Lakhs annually to Rs. 8-10 Lakhs now. Most of the funds are spent on construction of earthen roads, which give wage employment to the poorest in the lean season. Two local roads were being up graded and a bamboo bridge over a rivulet was being constructed during the time of the survey.

Social Forestry
There is one water shed development project in the village under the NWDPRA scheme, constructed way back in 1995, but the centre is since its inception under lock and key. Recently, some training camps for farmers are being held there. A large pond had been dug under the scheme and many trees had been planted by the Social Forestry Department. The area is really beautiful. The pond is now being thought of leased off for aquaculture purposes.










CHAPTER - X


VILLAGE PANCHAYAT

Composition of the GP
Moiradanga is included in Moiradanga Gram Panchayat. This GP was constituted in May 1998 during the Panchayat elections held throughout the state. Moiradanga has 22 seats. There are 14 male and 8 female members. These are 11 SC, 4 ST and 7 general category members in the Gram Panchayat. Elections are fought on party lines. The Prodhan belongs to Scheduled Caste. One of the members is a primary school teacher and 13 are marginal farmers. All the female members are housewives.

Gram Sansad Meetings
At the time of the survey, Gram Sansad meetings were in progress. The Sansad is a meeting of all the voters in a GS constituency. I attended the Moiradanga Sansad meeting. The GS meeting is usually convened in the evening when everyone is free. The required quorum is 10% of the enrolled voters. Before the meeting is actually held, there has to be adequate publicity. The, usually done by hiring a loud speaker and spreading the message. Even then, I discovered that the quorum is barely managed. The members took a long time to trickle in. Finally, proceedings were started, with the Prodhan reading out the agenda. The points to be discussed were the GP budget, the annual action plan and its implementation status, and the selection of beneficiaries of different social and rural development schemes.

Level of Participation
I observed that the way the meeting was being conducted precluded participation. The meeting was held on the verandah of the primary school. The Prodhan read out the business matters and the annual financial statement – in which hardly anyone evinced any interest. The names of the beneficiaries of IAY were suggested and accepted in a mechanical way, there was no discussion as such. The main demand was for more electricity connectivity, at Moiradanga. The people said that although they were willing to pay, the SEB was unable to give a connection. Other demands were irrigation facilities and telephone connectivity.

Among the major activities of the Panchayat is the execution of developmental works. It mediates in the matrimonial conflicts and other domestic disputes of the inhabitants. It is provided in chapter viii of West Bengal Panchayat act, 1973. But it is not being followed in any GP in this State. Nyaya Panchayat, as it is generally called, is dysfunctional. However, GP Prodhan hears small disputes related to matters of various nature. In last three years total 49 cases were registered in the GP, out of which 12 relates to SC, one to women, and others to miscellaneous disputes. Out of 49 cases, 35 cases were decided by the Prodhan on personal level taking into consideration the party equations. In no case fine realization was done. Actually cases were not heard according to Panchayat Act provisions.

The turnout during the Panchayat elections is as high as 80%. The people repose faith in the Panchayat, which has now become a part of their lives. The local leadership in Moiradanga is provided by the well to do farmers, school teachers and the whole time party workers.

Political groupings and political awareness
Political grouping is established totally along party lines. The villagers feel that political patronage is essential for getting benefits. Panchayats play a dominant role in the lives of the people and they turn to it as the most appropriate means for reddressal of grievances.



Resources Mobilization
Internal Resources
As provided u/s 45 of Panchayat Act, GP fund includes contributions and grants from the central sector schemes, state sector schemes, grants in aid, grants from Zilla Parishad, internal resource mobilization from jute Godown rentals, Ferry ghat lease amounts (4 Ghats), charges from renting the GP hall for social functions and donations. The Moiradanga GP thus mobilized a total sum of Rs 34,384. A sum of Rs 30,132 was spent on collection of such charges, which is 87.63 % of total collection. So it is not a viable option of resource mobilization. Each GP should be encouraged to construct such remunerative assets.
External Resources
Moiradanga GP gets fund from central schemes like JRY, IAY and MWS, state sector schemes like rural electrification, grants, fund from Zilla Parishad, MPLADS, Infrastructure fund, fund from various social sector schemes, BMS fund and salaries from the state Govt. This GP got Rs 2,14,788, Rs 2,55,613, and Rs 2,89,912 as external resources in 1999, 2000 and 2001 respectively. Details of resource mobilization are given in the table below: -
Internal Resources


Year
Source
Amount Mobilized
Spent on Collection
% of Total Revenue
1998-1999
Tax Collection
26,390=20
26,390=20
100%
1999-2000
Tax Collection
Pond
34,645=80
5,911=00
25,405=50
62.64%
2000-2001
Tax Collection
34,384=00
30,132=20
87.63%

External Resources

Year
Salaries
Grant-in-aid
Total Mobilized
1998-1999
2,14,788=00
2,14,788=00
2,14,788=00
1999-2000
2,55,613=00
2,55,613=00
2,55,613=00
2000-2001
2,89,912=00
2,89,912=00
2,89,912=00


Expenditure Statement of G.P.

1998-1999

Income
Expenditure
1. Internal Resources
26,390=20
1. Office Expenditure
2. Collection Charge
26,390=20
4572=20
2. External Resources
a) Grant in Aid
2,14,788=00
1. Salary
2,14,788=00
b) J.R.Y
12,00,880=00
2. Dev. Work
10,44,780=00
c) N.O.A.P.S
1,59,678=00
3. Old Age Pension (109 Person)
1,38,712=00
d) Infrastructure Development
30,000=00
4. Latrine & Urinal
29,470=00

1999-2000

Income
Expenditure
1. Internal Resources
40,556=80
1. Office Expenditure
2. Collection Charge
25,405=50
4353=00
2. External Resources
a) Grant in Aid
2,55,613=00
1. Salary
2,55,613=00
b) J.R.Y
3,59,161=75
2. Dev. Work
3,58,721=00
c) J.G.S.Y
8,75,304=00
3. Dev. Work
8,14,689=00
d) I.A.Y
10,75,599=00
4. I.A.Y
10,32,475=00
e) N.O.A.P.S
1,40,866=00
5. Old Age Pension (109 Person)
1,34,000=00

2000-2001

Income
Expenditure
1. Internal Resources
34,384=00
1. Office Expenditure
2. Collection Charge
30,132=20
3,942=20
2. External Resources
a) Grant in Aid
2,89,912=00
1. Salary
2,89,912=00
b) J.G.S.Y
16,35,015=00
2. Dev. Work
16,09,699=00
c) I.A.Y
30,09,524=00
3. I.A.Y
29,96,246=00
d) T.F.C
6,50,000=00
4. Office Building & A.I. Centre
1,57,471=00
e) N.O.A.P.S
1,70,382=00
5. Old Age Pension (109 Person)
1,18,473=00
f) N.F.B.S
1,60,206=00
6. N.F.B.S
90,274=00


Besides this GP also undertakes social activities like distribution of old age pension, NSAP, Drinking water, health facilities, literacy, sports activities, Indira Awas Yojana Bhawan construction and distribution of relief material during floods.





























CHAPTER - XIDER EMPOWERMENT


Position of Women
There is no overt discrimination against women in the form of female infanticides or bride torturing etc. Dowry is given at the time of marriage, but there is no coercion associated with it. Girls are sent to School. The women do not work in the fields of others. They only work in their own fields, if any. The age of marriage for the girls is around 18, although there might be slight lowering of the age in certain cases.

Work Contribution
The female of the most of the families are engaged only in household affairs. The contribution of women in agriculture related works is only in their own family lands as personal cultivation. Females of only few families go for working in other’s fields. They also work with milch cattle in their milk extraction and their feeding. Many are engaged in the making of local handicrafts based on wood and other such local materials. Some work in the social fields like SSK Sahayikas, Anganwadi workers, Health assistants etc.

Participation in decision-making
The female do not face any discrimination in the decision making process. Though the Panchayat Act provides for only 33% reservation for females in Panchayat bodies; the Moiradanga Gram Panchayat has 37 % representation of women. Sabhapati of the Falakata Panchayat Samity at block level is a lady.

I have seen that even though the Gram Sansad meetings are held in the evening, when most of the females are either busy in household affairs or do not come to meeting venue because of darkness; in Moiradanga Gram Sansad meetings there was a good presence of female participants. The women who were present in the meeting raised their voices when any issue concerning them was raised.

Sex Ratio
In 2001 census the sex ratio of Moiradanga Gram is 1000: 964, which is much higher than the state figure of 1000:954 or the national average of 1000: 933.

Land Reforms
The female are enjoying a good position as for as land reforms are concerned. The patta of land distributed from the ceiling surplus land is allotted in the joint name of husband and wife. Out of 12 patta allotted, 8 were issued in the joint name of husband and wife. The rest four were issued in single name because the beneficiaries were unmarried.

Education
Girls have a very good presence in the primary school pointing to the non-existence of any discrimination regarding sending the female child to school. Out of 764 students in the primary school 387 are boys whereas girls are 377. The disparity becomes more pronounced at the higher education level. The girls’ dropout become more when they have to go for higher education because the Madhyamik (10th Std.) and higher secondary schools are situated at far off places which they are unable to cover due to various reasons like security, difficulties in communication etc.

Income Generation
Though the district administration has tried for formation of DWCRA groups, but response in Moiradanga village as well block and district level was very good. DWCRA groups though formed initially are now in a moribund state. The district administration is trying hard to encourage formation of Self Help Groups under SGSY. Presently, the old DWCRA groups have been translated into SGSY groups and a new lease of life has been pumped into them. The new scheme mentioned earlier gives a lot of emphasis on the formation of all rural women groups. We have to see the result. About 95% of the groups formed in the district are all women groups belonging to lowest strata of the rural villages.

Health
The facilities regarding child and reproductive health are not satisfactory in Moiradanga or any other neighbouring villages. The female have to depend on untrained “dais” for delivery. The nearest PHC is about 10 Kms from the village where facilities for delivery are available.

Social Position
Women are given high regard in the family matters. I hardly heard of any incidence of wife beating or the like. Eve teasing is also not present in the society. The views of women are obtained in most of the matters related with household matters.

Government Schemes
The Government gives a lot of importance to females in its rural development programmes. Government of West Bengal has one scheme “ Balika Samridhi Yojana” in which the mother is given Rs. 500 for 2 female children for their better feeding so that the growth of female child is not hampered; who are generally not given attention regarding their growth in the most important phase of their development.











CHAPTER - XII

CONCLUSION

Moiradanga is a very typical Bengali village. The social profile shows a mixture of the poor and the well to do, the lower and the higher castes, the educated and the illiterate. It is a peaceful co-habitation. The social composition precludes communal tensions (since there are very few Muslims except one small hamlet) and there are no class conflicts. The crime rate is also very low.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the village economy. In this respect, it is not very well endowed by nature even though the soil is fertile, but water is not available. The irony is that it is situated in a land chequered with rivers. There is scope for more river lift irrigation projects.

There is scope for improvement in the support services. Market access has to be upgraded to enable the farmers to get more remunerative prices. Intermediaries should be excluded. In this regard, the cooperative in Falakata should play a greater role. Also, land reforms should be given a wider interpretation which goes beyond distributing vested land and recording bargadars’ names, to include training in better farming practices and providing opportunities for better procurement of inputs and marketing of output. Well structured forward and backward linkages are required to be established.

The village, though not isolated, does not enjoy very good road communication. Its only advantage is that it is within 10 Kms of the block headquarters, Falakata. The existing roads need frequent repairs. The people have been demanding a black top road surface.

The Panchayat is a well-established institution. It plays an active and vibrant role and makes it’s presence felt in the daily lives of the people. The villagers approach the Panchayat with their problems.

It is no doubt that West Bengal has done remarkably good in the area of Land Reforms, but I still feel that something has been missing in implementation. Though too much emphasis was given to Land Reforms, Agrarian Reforms has been neglected.

The involvement of Panchayat Institutions in Land Reforms was a good thought, but in actual implementation political parties have vitiated the process. The vested lands are not distributed properly and pattas are not issued properly. The persons of political parties are being allowed to cultivate the land and others are evicted as per the discretion of party. The financial assistance has to be more targeted in beneficiary identification and schemes identification.

Moiradanga is largely untouched by the city air, and to that extent it is rather insular. However, migration from the village is a disconcerting factor. It is a very inward looking place. There are not many means of entertainment available to people here. Though, there are some forest parks available in the nearby mouza or nearby blocks including Kunjanagar mouza and Madarihat block. The villagers look forward to the pujas, local fairs and local football matches. Of late, a few video parlours have sprung up which are proving to be a menace by screening indecent material rather than a medium of healthy entertainment, not to speak of damage they have been doing to the film industry by showing pirated versions of the recently-released films without proper authorizations.

I chose Moiradanga as a survey village because I thought it represented in its entirety the rural life in Bengal. It is a life characterized by hard labour in the fields and little else. The expectations of the people are not very high. They make do with their own bit of land, and supplement their income with the traditional allied activities. Govt. interventions in the form of IRDP, JRY etc. have had a marginal impact on the economy of the village.

When compared with Jalpaiguri and Falakata, towns that are only a few Kms away, Moiradanga evokes wonder; urbanization has almost completely passed it by. Once the darkness of evening settles down, people have nothing to do except gathering in clusters and gossip. The people in Moiradanga are extremely fond of games in general and football in particular. I mention this separately because the craze is surprisingly high even in comparison to the neighbouring mouzas. People in absence of gainful employment in the lean season take on to games very enthusiastically. The children, after school, wander idly here and there, playing football and cricket.

Moiradanga was the perfect village to study. It is an example of that kind of rural society in Bengal, which has hardly been affected by the winds of modernism, and which, in spite of all kinds of govt. interventions and attempted interventions, is essentially a village which fends for itself. To be able to do my survey here was, indeed, revealing, educative and gratifying to the maximum.