Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 Program Madurai institute of Social Sciences – C- 36582 Project-No: RP-03525G entitled, “Removal of Prosopis Juliflora (Seemai Karuvelam)"

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 Program

Madurai institute of Social Sciences – C- 36582

Project-No: RP-03525G entitled, “Removal of Prosopis Juliflora (Seemai Karuvelam)"

Introduction:

Madurai Institute of Social Sciences has got approval during April 2022 for funded Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA 2.0 -SEGS) project entitled “Removal of Prosopis Juliflora in Y.Pudhupatti Gram Panchayat.

The first phase of the project was planned to interact with Panchayat Officials. UBA Team of Madurai Institute of Social Sciences conducted a preliminary meeting on National Panchayat Day to explain the project to the representatives and members of the community. The UBA team of Madurai Institute of Social Sciences had visited project location of the village and discussed.

I phase of the Project: May to June 2022

As scheduled, meeting was held on 24.04.2022 at Y.Pudhupatti Grama Panchayat. Mrs.R.Rajalakshmi, UBA Co- Ordinator and Dr Gurumoorthi V, Project In-charge had interacted with the Panchayat representatives and members of the community. UBA cell of Madurai Institute of Social Sciences gave an introduction of the Project and formally got the approval from the members of the community to implement the project after narrating its importance. The UBA team of Madurai Institute of Social Sciences solicited the cooperation and support from Grama Panchayat representatives for the successful execution and completion of the project.

Mrs. R. Rajalakshmi, UBA Coordinator and Co-Investigator of the Project, Dr Gurumoorthi V, Principal Investigator of the Project along with Fieldwork Trainees interact with Grama Panchayat officials on Panchayat Raj Day 24.04.2022

During the meeting, VAO (Village Administrative Officer) suggested to seek permission from competent authorities i.e., from the District Collector, Public Works Department, Thasildhar and Madurai East Panchayat Union office to implement the project.

The UBA team of the Madurai Institute of Social Sciences had decided to conduct another meeting with Village people and the same was conducted on the 01.05.2022, i.e., on International Labour Day. On this special Day, UBA team discussed with village people, introduced the scope of UBA Project and sought their support in removal of Prosopis Juliflora and thereafter planting sapplings in the lakeshore of Y.Pudhupatti. The village people raised

Questions and finally assured to support this meaningful project which would be immensely useful for them

UBA Team of Madurai of Institute of Social Sciences participated in Gram Sabha meeting at Y.Pudhupatti in Grama Sabha meeting at Y.Pudhupatti and discussed the UBA project followed by the previous discussion on National Panchayat Day.

Activities done before the implementation of the project

Initiated the activities of seeking Permission from Various Authorities and conducting programmes on Water Management:

The UBA team incharge Dr.V.Gurumoorthi and Mrs.R.Rajalakshmi started to seek permission from various competent authorities namely

The Collector

East Panchayat union Madurai

Taluk office - Madurai East

Public Works Department – Madurai

Grama Panchayat

Obtaining permission from various competent authorities took a quite long time. Meanwhile, the progress of the project was reported highlighting the then status. During the permission process, Public Works department insisted to release Water from Vaigai Dam and therefore the implementation of the project got delayed. While PWD granted permission to execute the project in the month of August 2022, it was raining like cats and dogs. Hence, the project got delayed further for a period of two months.

Other activities related to programme:

Seminar on Water Management on 12.09.2022

The Unnat Bharat Abhiyan has organized a Seminar on Water Management on 12th September 2022. The session was started at 11.00 am and ended at 12.30 pm. Mrs. Lakshmi Prabha, Deputy Director & Mr.Arumugam, Assistant Executive Engineer, Department of Agriculture were invited as resource persons. Mrs.Indira Alagumaliyan, Panchayat President graced the occasion. Mrs. Lakshmi Prabha, Deputy Director elaborated about the water irrigation methods and its importance. Mr.Arumugam, Assistant Executive Engineer narrated the means to manage the local water resources and briefed the schemes available for water management. Village people actively involved in this programme clarified their doubts. The Programme was organized by the Mrs. R.Rajalakshmi, UBA Coordinator of Madurai Institute of Social Sciences.

Poster making competitions on 21.09.2022:

As a part of this Project, UBA team of Madurai institute of Social Sciences conducted a Poster Making Competitions on 21.09.2022 on Water Management. The objective of the Programme was to sensitize the participants on the importance of Saving Water for Future generations. During the competition, the students were oriented about the rules of the poster competitions

Ground rules:

One hour

Using own materials

Poster should be related to theme

Mrs.Malarvizhi, Head Mistress, Adi Dravidar Welfare High School, Semiyanathal distributed awards to the students participated in the poster making competition

Totally 45 students from 5th std to 8 th std participated in the competition and prizes were distributed to the best performers.

Implementation of Phase of Project: Removal of Prosopis Juliflora (Seemai Karuvelam)

The project was commenced with support of representatives of Gram Panchayat and members of the community. Unnat Bharat Abhiyan team of Madurai Institute of Social Sciences, with the support of Bull-Dozers initiated the removal of Prosopis Juliflora.

Specific Intervention of the Project: Soil Test

After the first phase of removal of Prosopis Julifloara on the lakeshore of Y.Pudhupatti, the UBA team decided to plant the trees after soil test. Planting of Calophyllum Inophyllum Linn (Alexandrian Laurel), called as Punngai maram in Tamil was found to be most appropriate as per the recommendations given after soil test. Around 100 trees were planted in the lakeshore of Y.Pudhupatti The soil test report is enclosed in the appendices.

Tree plantation Process:

The Unnat Bharat Abhiyan Cell of Madurai Institute of Social Sciences was conducted a soil test from Department of Agriculture for planting the suitable trees that best suit to the soil. After getting soil test results, the UBA team of the college-initiated planting trees with support of the community, and also planted around 100 tree saplings in the lakeshore during first week of December 2022.

The UBA team of MISS Comprises of the project Coordinators & students of Social Work along with the people in the community involved in the process of planting trees and oriented the people to safeguard the trees

II PHASE OF PROJECT

Again, the team decided to clean the remaining area in the lakeshore from 28.01.2023. The pending work was approved and permitted by public Works Department.

Conclusion

The project addressed the removal of Prosopis Juliflora from targeted areas and restored the beautiful view of the lakeshore. Through planning, continuous efforts, and collaboration with the local community and the authorities, UBA Team achieved the objectives of mitigating the negative impact of Prosopis Juiflora and restoring the natural ecosystem of the village. Prosopis Juliflora has negative impacts on agriculture, livestock, and water resources. During the execution of project, the awareness and Capacity Building programs on ecofriendly behavior were conducted. The project recognized the importance of community participation in achieving the successful completion of the project. The UBA team conducted informative seminars, and engaged in community discussions in the Grama Sabha meetings to ensure the long-term sustainability of efforts. It is important to acknowledge the contributions of all stakeholders involved in the project, including the village residents, project team members, Y.Pudhupatti Grama panchayat local authorities .The initiative taken by UBA team of MISS can inspire and guide others in their efforts to preserve and protect their natural environments. It is concluded that the removal of Prosopis Juliflora water management project would certainly contribute to the increased level of water, sustainable and resilient ecosystem, livelihoods and better water management practices.

.