Started with a target of 12 lakh hectares, India's largest watershed management programme has already expanded to cover 33.9 lakh hectares, amounting to over one per cent of the country's land.

The watershed programme tends to conserve water and soil by arresting the rain water that falls on hill slopes instead of letting it flow away, carrying with it the fertile top soil.

The water is so trained with contour trenches, boulderwalls and vegetative cover that it percolates into the land and recharges groundwater. Small tanks are also made wherever necessary," say GM Vyas, advisor to the project for watershed development.

"With 218 micro watersheds covering 1240 sq km of land Jhabua has become an example of how political will, integratedplanning by a committed bureaucracy and community involvement could work wonders", says Sanjay Shukla, chief executive officer of Zila panchayat in Jhabua. As a result of the project, farmers in the drought-prone area have started reaping two crops a year, says Shukla noting that it has not only led to raising of groundwater level and greening of hills but also brought about socio-economic changes and in stemming the migration of farmers in off season.

According to R Gopalkrishnan, state chief secretary, "ground water table has increased by 0.64 metres on an average in 19 micro watersheds studied by the mission, which is now covering nearly 7,800 villages in the state.

With increasing water availability, the area under irrigation increased to 1,115 hectares in those watersheds. The cropped area has increased by 7 per cent and area under rabi (dry season crop) has increased by 340 hectares.

And the investment? "the cost of treating one hectare of land is only Rs 3,000", says Gopalakrishnan while theDhar district Rural Development Authority chief claims it to be around Rs 1,8000 per hectare."

With the land productivity going up there has been a decrease in migration rate of the villagers which is now pegged at 33 per cent. Apart from Jhabua, level of groundwater has risen in more than 3,000 villages and soil and moisture conservation works have been completed in 12 lakh hectares, according to a Madhya Pradesh human development report. The project has also led to the empowerment of women with formation of women's thrift and credit groups, which are used to provide loans on easy interest rates for productive activities. We no longer go to the money lenders," says Ramkanyabai of Phulgauri village in Dhar district.

"He asked for Rs 10 as interest on Rs 100 for every month whereas our own cooperative charges Rs 2 only. Ours is a group of 15 women contributing Rs 30 per month and we have also utilised this amount for taking a loan of Rs 43,000 from Nabard."

The loan amount would be utilised in purchasinga buffalo for every two women in the group so that they could earn something by selling milk. Although the watershed project has come a long way in Madhya Pradesh since 1994, yet there still remains a lot of work to be done.

If Jhabua and Dhar are examples of what sincere efforts can achieve, watershed projects in Raisen and Rajgarh districts show that there are a number of grey areas in so far as intensive planning, proper monitoring and expertise are concerned.

No soil deposition or ecological changes can be seen in Alampur in Raisen district even after two years of work. "The topography of the area calls for boulder walls but the NGO in charge of the project went in for trenching. Even the trenches are not of correct measurement," a district administration official said requesting anonymity. Calling for proper monitoring of the projects, he says that experts should be consulted over the techniques before embarking on the projects. The organisations, however, claim that they have taken expert opinionregarding this issue.

The people too in these two districts are barely aware of the projects. For them they are just like any other ``sarkari kam'' in progress.

As 75 per cent of the grant goes to the watershed committees of the village, often there is considerable political pressure to place members of a particular party in key positions leaving scope for seepage of funds, alleges a social worker in Dhar.

The grey areas not withstanding, it's the greener pastures that are inspiring emulation.