annual-report-FY2021

208 COMPANY OVERVIEW BOARD’S REPORT MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS CORPORATE GOVERNANCE BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY REPORT STANDALONE ACCOUNTS CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNTS 2. Conserve as much rainwater as possible in the places where it falls and increasing the groundwater level and maintaining it for sustainable use 3. Prevent soil erosion and reduce sediment production by means of suitable soil and water conservation measures 4. Enhancement of agricultural productivity and production in a sustainable manner 5. Restoration of ecological balance in the degraded and fragile rainfed ecosystems by greening these areas 6. Creation of sustained employment opportunities for the rural community including the landless • The Integrated Watershed Management Project (IWMP) is one such project that was initiated in 2011 in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode with the Government of Madhya Pradesh at Damoh. • The project was implemented in 32 villages over 9,660 hectares of land covering 4,219 households thereby benefiting 17547 people. • There were three main interventions of the project 1) Soil & Water Conservation, 2) Productivity Enhancement and 3) Alternative Livelihood Generation. This project resulted in 1) Ground Water availability improved by 1.8 meters compared to baseline. 2) An average percentage increase of annual income from agriculture by 339% over the baseline 3) An average percentage increase of household annual income by 363% over the baseline. • On completion of the project the Company has partnered with NABARD for a watershed development in Hatta which covers 13 villages and is spread over 4816 hectares benefitting 1613 households and benefitting 6884 individuals. • Along with this Climate Change Mitigation project has been initiated in 3 micro catchments of IWMP village to develop climate change resilient practices impacting over 4500 beneficiaries. • This project at Bhopal follows the similar PPP model with the Government of Madhya Pradesh. Being implemented in 35 villages that is spread over 10,760 hectares of land covering 6,673 households benefitting 34,228 people. Project is completed on 31 st March 2020 and is in the process of handover to Government and Gram panchayat. • Multiple soil and water conservation activities along with seed replacement and irrigation techniques have resulted in increased crop production from the same hectare of cultivable land. This coupled with micro enterprise and skill development through provision of revolving funds to SHG’s has translated into outcomes such as increased income and saving levels and reduction in the cost of agriculture inputs. The project resulted in 1) An average percentage increase of income by 262% over the baseline. 2) An average percentage increase of income from agriculture by 150% over the baseline and increase in crop productivity of major crops by 30%. 3) Average increase of ground water table by 1.8 m. • The Company has also initiated a project along with NABARD in Nasik to be completed in seven years and the first under River Basin approach in Maharashtra. • Total area of 13500 ha from catchment of Kadva river is proposed for watershed development along with climate proofing interventions and 2805 ha area only for climate proofing in completed watersheds. • Watershed development projects on area of 13500 ha will be implemented from F 21 to F 27. • Each village gets a combination of watershed harvesting structures that work in unison to achieve the final overall output. Along with increasing water availability, simultaneous work on implementing ‘best in class farming package of practices’ is also done. • Handholding of farmers during the entire crop cycle results in sustainable benefits of increased crop production and enhanced income. • Self Help Groups (SHGs) for livelihood generation are also formed in close co-ordination with the village councils resulting in generation of additional income avenues. Further details of community development initiatives are given in Principle 8.