Article

Sujala watershed project and its impact on rural energy management - A study in Hosadurga Taluk of Chitradurga district

Sri Sandeep Dave and T. M. Mahesh

¹Water Supply Board, Government of Karnataka, Bangalore, India.

²Institute of Development Studies, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri Mysore, Karnataka, India.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: chandruids@yahoo.com.

Accepted 20 May, 2009

   Introduction

Water is a natural resource without which life cannot be sustained. Watershed development is to ensure the availability of drinking water, fuel wood and fodder and helps in raising incomes and employment opportunities for marginal and small farmers, landless laborers and also socially marginalized groups through improvement in agricultural productivity and production (Rao, 2000). It is very certain that the watershed development programmes have ushered in the ‘green agenda’ in the villages but more changes and improvements are required yet is also a fact of life right now, for the stakeholders of the programmes. Sujala is a unique and innovative programme of rural development is not in doubt. Women find an increasing role in development that there are activities that make their lives a little more comfortable than ever before is certainly brought to the fore, for example, indoor pollution control, through the use of gober gas or LPG and increased kerosene availability, has implications for making women relieved of age-old drudgery through seemingly the most acceptable green practices. The greenery of the village communities has gone up in thickness, depth and density is borne clearly out by the third component. Watershed plus with its focus on, say, green agenda, is indeed a tool for rural development. An attempt is made to analyse the impact of Sujala watershed project on rural energy management in selected villages of micro-watershed areas of Hosaduraga taluk in Chitradurga district.

Key words: Hosadurga, Sujala watershed, rural energy management, socially marginalized groups and fuel wood..