K a b i l , N e w D e l h i

Community Development Plan (CDP)

of Damchera village, North Tripura
district, Tripura
North East Rural Livelihood Programme (NERLP)

April
2014
444
08
Fall
2
Brief description about North Tripura district and Damchera village
North Tripura district having altitude of 12.80 meter; latitude of 24 19North; and
longitude of 92 01 East is bounded by Assam & Mizoram in the East, North by
Bangladesh, West by Dhalai district and in the South partly by Dhalai district and
Bangladesh. Total area of North Tripura District is approx.2, 469.90 sq. km. and it has
210 km. of International Indo-Bangladesh Border line. North Tripura District consists of
three revenue sub-divisions namely Kailashahar, Dharmanagar and Kanchanpur. There
are six blocks in the district- Kadamtala, Panisagar, Jubarajnagar, Juri R.F., Jampuri hill,
and Dasda; five Revenue Circle, 34 TK and 166 revenue mouja or village.
Figure 1: Physical map of Damchera village

Source: Google maps accessed on 16/04/2014
Damchera village is among the other eight villages in the Damchera block. It is 4.1 kms
from the block headquarter at Damchera.The village shares boundary with Narendranagar
in the east; Piplachhara in the west;Rahumchhara in the north; and Kacharichhara in the
south. Mirozam state border starts quite nearby the main market and an over-bridge
onArrang riverconnects the two states.The village has 25 hamlets (paras) and a total of
229 families.Halam, Reyang, Bengali, and Manipuri communities inhabit these hamlets.
In Halamhamlet only, 83 families are living. Most of the people speak Bengali and
Kokborok language but also understand Hindi.Most of the people either follow Hinduism
or Christianity.

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Figure 2: Damchera village

Village economy is dependent on rainfed agriculture and the village gets enough rains
round the year. Other than agriculture, members of a few families have migrated to find
service jobs in other states. Under MNREGS;road, water channels, and land leveling work
has been done in the village. On an average, villagers have been paid for 12 days per
month at the rate of INR 135 per day per person.
Agricultural scenario of the village
Agricultural farming is the primary occupation of the villagers and rice is grown in plain
terrain only; not practised on jhum fields. Farmers are following mono cropping in which
only one major crop is taken due to lack of sufficient amount of water. However, potato
and pulses are the other major crops cultivated in the village.Jackfruit, pineapple, banana,
arecanut, and orangestop the list of horticultural products.Traditionally, most of the
indigenous population practised jhum method of cultivation however; the number of
people dependent on jhum has declined over the years.Pisciculture has made significant
advances in the village as fishponds can be seen at various places.
The cropping season, which begins in March and continues up-to August isKharif while
the Rabi season starts in September and ends in December every year.Rabi crops are
mainly confined to vegetables. Use of improved seeds, fertilizers, and better
implementscan be seen in the village but are limited to better off farmers.

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Figure 3: J humland and plain terrain in the village where vegetables and paddy are grown

Land (soil)
In general, soils of the area are acidic in nature. Alluvial soil rich in fertile deposits is
found in the village and suitablefor cultivation of paddy, pulses, oilseeds, fruits, and
vegetables. The pH of soil ranges from 5.50 to 5.64. Nitrogen and phosphate is low,
available potash is medium to high, calcium, magnesium and sulfur are deficient in these
soils. The small isolated hillocks interspersed throughout the state are known
as tillas(hilly / small mounds). Lateritic soil is found in tillaarea; younger soils or river
valley soils are found along all major river courses.
Livestocks
Almost all the households to meet own consumption rear cows, pigs, goats, ducks, and
hens for milk and meat purposes.
Rainfall
The average annual rainfall of the area is 2430 mm. Out of that the average monsoon
rainfall is 1630 mm. The average nos. of rainy days for last 5 years is 110. Maximum
rainfall of 4026 mm (1993) recorded at Kailashahar and minimum rainfall of 1598 mm
(2001) recorded at Kanchanpur. The co-efficient of variation of rainfall in the area ranges
from 19-21% suggested a low variability of annual rainfall.
The temperature in the area varies from 5.1
0
C to 35.6
0
C. The humidity is generally high
throughout the year. In summer season the relative humidity varies between 50 to 90
percent and in rainy season, the relative humidity is over 85 percent in morning and in
evening it varies between 70 to 80 percent.
Table 1: Monthly Average Temp and Rainfall in the district
Level
April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
Max
0
C 32.7 33.9 32 32.9 32.5 32.9 31.9 29.3 27.2 26.4 26.2 31.4
5
Mim
0
C 21.3 23.7 24.3 24.5 24.1 23.2 21.3 16.7 10.2 10.7 12.1 19.1
Mean
0
C 26.8 28.3 29 28.7 28.2 28.1 25.4 22.9 18.3 18.3 19.1 25
Rainfall
(mm)
121.4 196.6 204.4 165.
6
275.6 95.02 100.3
3
26.16 0 12.7 139.
71
169
Water
As the village is scattered over a large space, villagers fulfill their water requirements
from near by small perennial streams. The village has a perennial river, which provides
water round the year, but in summer, its flow becomes very less. 20-30 families get water
from a cemented tank, which collects water from a perennial source. Water through PVC
and galvanized pipes has also been supplied to a few households and a few public taps but
it does not fulfill the village requirement. We saw two dried and broken supply pipes and
water supply was stopped long back. There are a few ring wells and a hand pump in the
village but water table has gone down too much that it could provide water to 3-4 families
only. With the support of Agriculture department, one small check dam was also
constructed ona private land in the village.
Figure4: Water sources available in the village


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As far as irrigation requirements are concerned, villagers are dependent on rains and
irrigate fields with water from river Sahayadeng. However, farmers expressed their
interest more towards drinking water as fields produce enough produce even if dependent
on rainwater.
Forest
The village has natural forest, which has been gradually replaced by rubber plantation
and banana plantation. In some patches,Chhan(thatching grass) is planted mostly for the
economical purpose. These forests are privately owned and have a tie-up with the state
forest development corporation. The natural forest is disappearing with the economic
benefits from rubber plantation. Fuel wood is collected from the remaining forest.
Community Development Plan (CDP)
Community development planning based on natural resources aimsat improving
livelihoods,agro-ecosystem resilience, agricultural productivity, and environmental
services. Involving community in all kinds of decision-making, planning aims at
strengthening social, physical, human, natural, and financial capital of the village. It will
help in resolving conflicting interests among stakeholders and empower villagers; foster
efficient utilization of resources; make use of available technologies; and provide policy
recommendations.
With the objective of creating CDP for Damchera village, Kabil resource persons with
experience in integrated natural resource management conducted the planning along with
NERLP staff and villagers in the village. The following steps were followed with the
purpose of creating a concrete plan for livelihoods promotion focusing on natural
resource management as well as conservation of the existing resources in the village.
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Sl Steps Purpose
1 Baseline Data
collection
PFT had earlier collected data about village profile
2 Resource Mapping PPT conducted PRA to get an overview of the available
resources in the village.
3 Land ownership and
users mapping
To get an understanding of the land ownership
4 Problem identification Problem identification in sub-groups, discussion among the
villagers and consolidation. Division of the consolidated
problems in to NRM and Non-NRM issues. Generation of
options along with brainstorming
5 Visiting the
important/top priority
sites in NRM
planning
Visiting the sites for possible NRM intervention along with
the villagers. To come up with a suitable NRM plan for the
village. Suggesting villagers that these interventions can be
done and getting their opinion about the viability of such
options.
6 Desired NRM and
intervention plan the
priority land.
To come up with the NRM intervention plan with
interventions and a tentative budget
7 Presenting the plan
for verification of the
villagers
To present the whole exercise with a recap and suggest
possible interventions along with the budget. If required
further refinement can be done in the plan and tentative
budget
8 Approval of CDP at
various levels
Approval of the CDP at various levels (i.e. - Gram Sabha,
DPMU, SPMU of NERLP office in Guwahati). As some of
the plans need convergence, related departments will be
contacted.
The process to develop a CDP was started with initial interaction with the NRM
Coordinator, Block Coordinator, and PFT memberson the first day. The staff was
introduced with the CD planning process and was informed about the steps involved to
create a NRM based plan. With the help of videos and PPTs, NRM planning steps were
explained to them. After briefing, they wereasked to share their understanding and their
ideas to do planning in the village. Later, during the field visit a formal meeting with
farmers and village leaders was organized at the community center in the village.
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Figure 7: Discussion with PFT staff and farmers in the village

Starting with an introduction on the first day, farmers shared about themselves and which
CDG they belong to. Two teams of professionals visited two different paras and
conducted the same exercises. The participants were divided into two subgroups and
conducted the exercise of problem analysis in which they shared the problems related to
natural resources with in the village. Both the groups listed about 4-5 most important
problems of the group and asked the group leaders to a common platform to discuss and
prioritize the problems of the villages.
The villagers pointed the following most important problems in the village.
1. Insufficient amount of drinking water in the village. Even if water is available, it
is not potable because of high iron content
2. Absence of an over-bridge which disconnects a group of families who live on the
other side of the water stream (nala)
3. Lack of irrigation facilities in farm fields
4. Forest fire which destroys agricultural fields
Later to discuss the possible solutions to solve the problems in the area, farmers field visit
and current sources of water available in the village were visited.
NERLP officials, Kabil consultants, and five farmers visited water sources, reservoir, ring
wells, vegetable cultivation farms, jhum fields, drinking water perennial springs, and water
tanks in the village. Farmers along with the resource persons visited all these sites to
ascertain the exact extent of the problem and possible interventions that can be made to
help the villagers tackle such problems. Water availability and flow of water were
calculated on the source site and measurements were taken.
After basic measurements and understanding on the site, resource persons proposed
following NRM activities that can be implemented under NRELP and convergence with
other departments and programmes in Damchera village.
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1. Diversion based irrigation (DBI): A DBI is proposed in the stream for gravity
flow irrigation. Construction of Masonry water-inlet system from the small stream
having flow of over 5 liters per second (in April-the driest month). The proposed
structure will divert the stream water to the pipe under gravity through 2,500
meters long pipe. The diversion structure would be prepared by a qualified
engineer and constructed under expert supervision.
2. Drinking water supply for 25 households inparaI
3. Drinking water supply for 60 households inparaII (Halampara)
On the second day, the proposed activities under CDP were explained to the villagers on
white board and with the help of pictures and asked about their suggestions and any
problems that might see. Farmers supported the idea of water tanks with pipeline supply to
provide potable water and asked many questions for clarification. Farmers were willing to
provide labour and any other help for construction of various structures in the village.
Table 1: CDP estimate for Damchera village
Diversion of spring water (flow of 8 liters per second) to the crop fields (2 numbers)
Sl
Item of work Unit
No of
units
Unit
Cost
Amount
in Rs
A Activity - 1: Diversion based irrigation (DBI) - A
perennial stream flows through the village. A
BDI is proposed in the stream for gravity flow
irrigation.
1 Construction of Masonry water-inlet system
from the small stream having flow of over 5
liters per second (in April - the driest month).
The proposed structure will divert the stream
water to the pipe under gravity through 2,500
meters long pipe. The diversion structure would
be prepared by a qualified engineer and
constructed under expert supervision. An
estimated lump sum amount of Rs 50,000/- for
the diversion based irrigation structure. Lump sum 1 50,000 50,000
2 Stream Water will be conveyed through a
pipeline of 160 mm diameter to the intended
area for irrigation. Total length of the pipeline
will be 2,500 meters. Some part of pipelines
will be underground and some part will be
exposed depend on the terrain. It has been
estimated that the PVC pipe will be 2,000
meters and rest 500 meters will be galvanised
iron pipe. Cost of Laying of 2,000 meters PVC
pipe of diameter 160 mm buried under the
ground is estimated at INR 300 per meter
including cost of pipelines, earth excavation in Meters 2,000 300 600,000
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lying of pipelines including fittings and fixtures.
3 Lying of 500 meters Galvanised pipes of
diameter 160 mm exposed on the ground.
Estimated cost is Rs 1,000 per meter including
cost of pipelines, Stony earth excavation in
lying of pipelines including fittings and fixtures. Meters 500 1000 500,000
4 Accessories (i.e. joints, PVC pipe fittings, gate
valve, riser etc). A lumpsum of Rs 20,000 has
been estimated. Lump sum 1 20,000 20,000
5 Small outlets for supply of irrigation water (1
mt x1 mt x1 mt) will be constructed - 6 such
units are required. Estimated cost is INR 5,000
each. Cubic-meter 6 5,000 30,000

Sub-total A 1,200,000
B Activity - 2: Drinking Water - I - for 25
families
6 Construction of Masonry water-inlet system
with proper net to protect from siltation and
otherdirt, from a reservoir created under
Watershed Program. It would cost Lump sum
INR 10,000/- Lump sum 1 10,000 10,000
7 Water conveyance PVC pipeline of 120 mm
diameter to supply drinking water to the
intended area. Total pipe length is 600 meters.
PVC pipe buried under the ground will be used.
The cost will be INR 200 permeter including the
cost of 120 mm diameter pipe of 2.5 kg of
pressure per square centimeters, earth digging,
laying of pipeline etc. Meters 600 200 120,000
8 Accessories (i.e. joints, PVC pipe fittings, gate
valve, riser and outlets etc. Lump sum 1 20,000 20,000

Sub-total B 150,000
C Activity - 3: Drinking Water - II - for 60
families
9 Construction of a Dug Well of 3 meter diameter
and 12 meter depth with masonry lining at the
foot hills of a hillock. The well will yield water
flow of 2 liters per second (in April - driest
month) from the sub-surface ground water.
Estimated cost of the well is Rs 400,000/- Lump sum 1 400,000 400,000
10 Construction of Masonry water-storage tank of
size (3 meter length x 3 meters breadth x 3
meters height). The well water will be lifted by
a pump for storage. It would cost @ Rs 10,000
per cubic meter of storage. Cubic-meter 9 10,000 90,000
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11 A 2 HP pumpset (preferred electricity with a
stand by of 3 HPdieselpump set) will be
installed for lifting the water from the well to
the storage tank. Estimated cost is Rs 50,000
including two pumpsets and electricity
connection. Lump sum 1 60,000 60,000
12 Water conveyance PVC pipeline of 120 mm
diameter for carrying water to the intended area
for drinking water supply. The total length is
800 Kilometer. PVC pipe will be used that
would be buried under the ground. The cost will
be Rs 200 per meter including the cost of 120
mm diameter pipe of 2.5 kg of pressure per
square centimeters, earth digging, laying of
pipeline etc. Meters 800 200 160,000
13 Accessories (i.e. joints, PVC pipe fittings, gate
valve, riser etc. Lump sum 2 10,000 20,000
14 Construction of water supply points - two
numbers for two hamlets to cater 40 and 20
families respectively. Estimates cost of each
supply unit is Rs 10,000. 2 10,000 20,000

Sub Total C 750,000
15 Contingency (primarily for preparation of
estimate by qualified Engineer and supervision
during construction) - around 5% 100,000

Grand total for all items 2,200,000
The estimate for the plan is only about Rs. Twenty-two lakh only for more than 100
families.The proposed investment has the capability to sustain the needs for about three
decades. The design of the proposed interventions will be similar to whatis given below.















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Figure 8: Design of the proposed water supply model3

(drawn for illustration only)
Implementation Plan
The group discussions and site visits provided enough support to practice diversion based
irrigation system in the village but PFT members would again discuss the plan and the
proposed design among farmers to get their final agreement on this. A qualified engineer
would be hired to finalize the proposed estimate and detail out all the measurements
properly. Total 100 householdswill be benefited directly from the NRM activities under
CDP. NRM Coordinator with the help of PFTs will facilitate CDG members to construct
structures in the village and implement other project activities.
For effective utilization of potable water, water usage system could also be created in the
village, which will ensure that families pay as per the usage of water. Water meters can
be installed at each household that will monitor water supply and excess usage by any
family will pay as per the rates decided by the community. Kabil strongly supports and
recommends for this water usage system for families for effective and efficient
conservation and utilization of water in the village. Moreover, a community-based system
will also help in repair and maintenance of the irrigation structures due to wear and tear.
_______________


Water
Source

Distribution
tank for
supply

Supply to the households
through pipes