PRA- A POWERFUL TOOL IN PROJECT FORMULATION

 By Angshuman Dey, IFS,
                 DFO Forest Research Division,
                Agartala, Tripura.

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is a powerful and effective tool in project formulation, which is very easy and gives an effective method easy to carry out in the difficult various reasons. The pure form of PRA may be difficult to carry out in field situations like one in Tripura, but it can definitely be modified and applied successfully to involve rural people in the project right from the formulation state. The obvious advantage of it is that at the time of its implementations spontaneous involvement of people is ensured because people think that it is “their” project, which is extremely vital in the successful implementation of any project.

The project of regrouping of tribal jhumia families being talked about in Tripura is a case in hand. Jhumias live in difficult terrains and because of their disadvantaged geographical location much of the benefit of the schemes taken up by the Government from time to time does not reach the people these are intended to reach. As a result, despite sincere government efforts, there is not much dent in the living condition of the people even after the schemes have been implemented.

  The jhumias are living in the interior areas, mostly forests practicing jhum cultivation (shifting cultivation). They are located in pockets called paras. They are intended to be relocated in certain specific locations decided and agreed upon by the government agencies and the jhumias on the basis of a mutual discussion that is taken place at a congenial atmosphere of sincerity and mutual trust. The pockets from which they are to be brought may be termed “Origins “ denoted by ‘O’ for the sake of simplicity and the sites where they are to be relocated as termed “Destinations” denoted by ‘D’.

  ‘D’ is to be selected with utmost care taking the preferences of jhumias, and various other factors. Administrative convenience is one of them. The site ‘D’ should be a secured one, preferably in a roadside, in a degraded forest or khas land of even any non-forest. Preference should be for locating ‘D’ in non-forest land, so that for taking up activities that diversion of forestland is not needed. Availability of a security camp should be next criterion. If it is situated on a roadside it would be easier for the governmental and other donor agencies to closely monitor the implementation of the project and official can move frequently without any fear. It should also satisfy the tribal ethos. If some good infrastructure facilities are already available then such a site would be ideal for planning to locate a ‘D’ there. Sometimes it is found that many people have already come out from the interior areas and settled in a cluster on the roadside near a security camp. That site may also be shown as  ‘D’.

Once D is selected, we should be in the look out for Origins. Let us suppose that there are there origins O₁, O₂ and O₃ form that the jhumias are to be brought to D. Then we shall call representative population from O₁, O₂ and O₃ preferably ten (10) informed village elders to a suitable location on a pre-publicized date and talk to them in a congenial atmosphere.

The exercise may be conducted in a single day and therefore much of the time and labour is saved. The matter should be thoroughly explained to them. 

PRA  Exercise

In the fires step, jhumias representing each of the pockets shall be encouraged to talk about their problem in their existing pockets. The problems are first listed. But care must be taken to list only the genuine problems faced by people by and large. Individual-specific  problems are to be avoided. The problems could be the following:

Matrix Scoring of Problems in O₁:

  C are should be taken not to dictate the problems to the jhumias; rather they should themselves come spontaneously with their problems.

  Then total should be calculated against every listed problem. The problems scoring highest shall be the most pressing problems for the pocket O₁. Thus based on the total score, a list of prioritized problems is drawn up for the pocket (Para) O₁. Similar list is prepared for O₂ & O₃.

  Then a combined priority list of problems is drawn up based on their weighted average of all of the paras.  Let N₁, be the population of O₁; N₂ that of O₂ and N₃ that of O₃. Then the common prioritized list of problems shall be 

Total weighted score

The final drawn up combine priority list is on the basis of total weighted score (TWS).

Topmost problems are taken and views (options) are solicited form the jhumias. The options should be viable, practicable and based upon technologies, materials and skills locally available. Various options thus emerging out of the particular problem can be expressed in a tabular form as follows: 

This pairwise ranking is done for O₁, O₂ & O₃ with same options. A common list of preferred options is drawn up on the basis of weighted average of the scores of the options. Thus the final preference list is obtained for each of the problems and planning is started for the most preferred options. A list of activities is thus drawn up which can be taken up at ‘D’. Preference should be given to those activities, which are most urgently required to be provided before (as soon as the shifting starts) such activities could be 

Ø      Construction of Dwelling House/ Toiletries

Ø      Provision of Drinking Water

Ø      Primary Schools/ Junior Basic Schools

Ø      Primary Health Sub-Centres 

The options are to be matched with the facilities/ infrastructure already available at D. For this, a joint visit by the district level officials from various departments can be planned, and assessment made and feasibility of various preferred activities discussed and settled in the field itself at this stage. Various departments are involved in the planning stage itself.

A facilities map may be drawn at this stage showing the following (the list is not exhaustive) with their distances from D. 

v     Markets (weekly/ daily/ otherwise)

v     Water bodies / streams

v     Existing Roads

v     Existing Security Camps

v     Banks

v     Other Govt. Offices, Sub-Div. HQ, District HQ

v     Existing Schools

v     Origins

                        Market, Bank

                                 FPS – 1 KM                          9 KM – 2 KM Market, School     

The position is reconciled and plan is drawn up to bridge the infrastructure gap.

Physical Transect:

Physical transect of the D is drawn up on the basis of a walk through the place D. The observations may be summarized as follows: 

Treatment of the area is prescribed in the above pictograph wherein the problems & opportunities are shown pictorially to make of understandable to the local people. Separate prescriptions are made for forestland. 

 JFM:

A JFM committee may be formed if there is no such committee already existing. These days funds are available under the National Afforestation Programme Scheme (NAPS) a CSS started in the 10^th plan then of the concerned territorial forest division. The JFMCs have to sign a MoU with the Forest Department under certain conditions as per GO dated ……. The committee may be got registered with the concerned territorial DFO and also under Societies Registration Act 1860, if possible. The regrouping project report prepared shall serve the dual purpose of  Project Report as well as Microplan for the JFMC. The microplan shall obviously be a plan document for 5 years involving all the line departments in various activities. 

Historical Transect: 

By talking to elders, a historical sketch of last 20 years (preferably from 1980 onwards) is drawn up. Major events are shown in a concise manner. 

  Major incidents could be; extension of power to the para, first matriculate, major epidemic, flood/ draught, tracing change in front cover, major govt. initiative & any major upheaval etc.

Effects of Regrouping           

Amount of area that will be rejuvenated as a result of regrouping due to the rest that will be available from jhum. The area is to be compared with much smaller an area to be proposed for diversion if D is located on forest land. This analysis will show that there will be an overall increase in area as well as density of the forests as a result of regrouping.