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| Himmothan Pariyojana |
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In the last century, the Central Himalayan
region, comprising the states of Uttarakhand
and Himachal Pradesh, has suffered severe
environmental degradation. Consequently,
the rural populations in the region have
found it increasingly difficult to gather
even basic resources for daily subsistence,
food, fuel, fodder, and water. This has
led to heavy out-migration, particularly
of able-bodied males, in search of employment.
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| Geographical spread
of projects |
This reduced availability of labour from
within the family has increased the daily
workload of women. Another major problem
of the region is the loss of forest cover,
leading to widespread soil erosion, and
consequently less productive agricultural
lands.
Though almost two-thirds of the geographical
area of Uttarakhand (UK) and Himachal Pradesh
(HP) is designated as forest area, in reality,
the forest cover is limited to just 26 per
cent in HP, and about 46 per cent in UK.
In addition, barely 15 per cent of the geographical
area in the mountain districts is cultivated.
In both the hill states, landholdings on
an average are less than one hectare.
Himmotthan
In 2001, the Trusts initiated the Himmotthan
Pariyojana (HMP) in Uttarakhand, to focus
on the root causes of rural development issues
in the state. The three major components of
the programme included Watershed Conservation,
Water Supply and Sanitation, and Farm and
Non-farm activities. In 2005, following recommendations
of a State Level Steering Committee (SLSC)
meeting of the HMP, a state based Cell was
set up to coordinate the programme.
This unit, the Himmothan Cell was initiated
in 2006.
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In December 2007,
the Himmothan Cell was registered as a society
under the Society Act 1860 and renamed as
“Himmotthan” (or the Himmotthan
Society). Apart from monitoring, evaluating
and handholding for the Pariyojana, Himmotthan’s
mandate includes idea incubation by implementing
pilot programmes, up-scaling strategies, village
institution development, data base management,
liaison and fund raising.
The thrust areas of Himmothan
involves:
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Developing
a database on the status and management
needs of natural resources and rural
development issues in Uttarakhand, identifying
areas of livelihood potential, and facilitating
knowledge management |
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Playing
the role of an idea incubator by exploring
new innovations, particularly in the
area of Natural Resource Management
(NRM), and livelihood strategies |
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Facilitate
linkages with the state government,
partner non-profit organisations and
technical institutions to develop sustainable
and scaleable strategies to help implement
and better monitor government led initiatives
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Creating
a unique identity for this initiative
through brand building efforts |
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Assisting
in monitoring of the Trusts' on-going
projects under the Himmothan Pariyojana,
and providing technical inputs to organisations
participating in this programme |
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Acting
as a network and coordinating unit between
all Himmothan Pariyojana partners, and
at a broader level, helping to create
linkages between various civil society
institutions, government agencies and
donors |
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Collaborating
with the state government and partner
agencies, in activities that help increase
awareness and build the capacity of
various village level institutions to
directly undertake and implement projects,
thus circumventing intermediary agencies |
Himmothan Pariyojana programmes:
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