Debashis PatraPGP 2008-10Indus World School of Business

RURAL PROJECT PRESENTATION

Introduction

Name - Balasore Ashraya YojanaConcerned NGO - Seeds IndiaOrissa Flood Resilient Shelter ProgramSupported by ECHO and Christian AidUndertaken during late Decemeber 2008 and

January 2009 Areas covered- four gram panchayats of Basta

block, Balasore district of Orissa

Features Building 400 flood resilient shelters(not to be confused

with houses) for persons whose houses were completely washed away in the devastating floods wreaked by Subarnarekha river in Balasore in 2008.

It involved identification of potential beneficiaries, doing a three round verification before ascertaining their status as final beneficiaries , and starting construction of the shelter for them, and handing it over to them after completion.

Active support from the district and the local government(gram panchayat) for its day to day functioning.

Devastation wreaked by floods

Flood Resilient Shelters – Before and After

Processes InvolvedBaseline StudyStakeholder AnalysisCollection of Affected Population List

from State Govt AuthoritiesPermission from local government

(gram panchayat) Formation of Core Team for project

implementationIdentification of BeneficiariesVerification of Technology and

Construction material

Processes contd… Purchase of equipment Concrete Pre- Cast piles, Beams, Bands, Bamboo Sticks,

MCR paving blocks Verification of beneficiary land deed(“patta”) , Voter ID,

BPL Card(optional) Operationalization of Material Yard , Storage of

components, Transportation and Delivery of Construction material

Training – Both hands on and class room, Formation of fifty mason teams, Construction Plan for each shelter, Implementation Plan and Schedule.

Commencing on field activities Exit preparation , Govt Approval and Transfer of

Operations Evaluation, Financial Audits , Documentation Final Report.

Flood Resilient ShelterWalls and Plinth built of Fly Ash bricks Fly Ash procured from Birla TyresUse of Bamboo “Truss” ( support structure)Pillars and Beams prefabricatedAll construction materials built away from villagesStored at Materials YardTransported and assembled to form final structureMost imp feature- High plinth wall and strong fly

ash bricks Avg time taken to construct a shelter after

beneficiary identification – 5 to 6 days

Operational Aspects Daily monitoring and evaluation of progress of

the work Exchange of information between Head Office

and Branch Office Close co-ordination between all units, field

officers, office, material yard, masons as well the stakeholders (beneficiaries) and villagers

Obstacles encountered during the project in the form of ineligible beneficiaries, beneficiary identification, opposition from untoward elements etc were

successfully tackled by the project team quite efficiently

Major Issues InvolvedBeneficiary Identification – A rigorous three step

processVoter ID, BPL Card, Land Deed (“patta”)Most important criteria for assessing the above –

socioeconomic conditions of potential beneficiaries

C0-ordination with “Sarpanchs” as well as district and state administration

Solving conflicts that would arise in the course of beneficiary identification

To ensure that the benefits accrue to those who were affected the most

Critique Beneficiaries in some cases are located quite far away Adds to the problems of limited number of staff Villagers were treated as stakeholders Collaborative working Members of Project Team involved with beneficiaries at each

stage of the project Lack of adequate number of experienced professionals Interference from local politicians on the lookout for freebies

and bribes in extreme cases Most serious lacuna – two houses to share one toilet Against Indian Socio-Cultural values

My LearningsA watershed experience in my life that made me

aware of the glaring disparities existing in our society

Sensitised me to problems faced by villagers on a day to day basis

Conducted my own sample survey and arrived at conclusions regarding the feasibility of the project

The poor and uneducated people are as intelligent as we so called educated people are

Honesty , Integrity and Commitment can work wonders and overcome short term problems

My Learnings contd…A single glitch gone undetected can stop a

project in its tracks abruptlyHave learned first hand about Disaster

Management and Rural ManagementGot to practically implement all that I had

learned during my two terms at IWSBAs a management student I would lay stress on

recruiting the most experienced persons in such projects

Skills become redundant in such projects, all that matters is the no of years you have worked in that area