Aravallis project awaiting Japan funds

By Sunny Sebastian

UDAIPUR, OCT. 30. The Aravallis are awaiting the arrival of the next lot of Yen. It has been a rather long wait for one of the oldest hill systems in the world, situated in north western India, for funds from Japan. Since the completion of the OECF (Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund)-assisted Aravalli Afforestation Project in 1997-98, Rajasthan has been awaiting sanction for the second phase.

The funds would have been released much earlier but for the Pokhran II nuclear tests in May 1998 which prompted the Japanese Government to slap economic sanctions on India. The Rs. 293 crore Aravalli Afforestation Project (1992-1997) has done a lot of good to the hill system by way of reclamation of the land, regeneration of the soil and greening of the tracts hitherto ravaged by soil erosion.

The bamboo saplings, planted under the RBH and RDF, (Reforestation of Barren Hills and Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests) schemes would be ready for harvest next year in the predominantly tribal habitats of Banswara, Chittorgarh, Sirohi and Udaipur. The Japanese Government is impressed by the performance of the project and concedes that it has been much above its expectations specially by way of people's participation.

The villagers are already reaping the benefits of community- oriented projects such as PCL (Plantation of Community Lands) and the much acclaimed VFPMCs (Village Forest Protection and Management Committee) planned under the JFM (Joint Forest Management) scheme. The grass is greener on that part of the Aravallis where farm forestry schemes have been on.

Interestingly, the two-year gap during which the Rajasthan Forest Department - the implementing agency - was left to fend for itself without funds has come as a blessing. The Japanese think that the period proved the sustainability of the programme.

The hopes for an early approval of the second phase have been rekindled with the visit of a senior delegation from Japan, led by Mr. Kazuto Tsuji, chief representative of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), to the Lake City on a post evaluation mission. ``Sanctions are a political decision. Once this issue is tackled we do not have any problems from our side,'' Mr. Tsuji told The Hindu.

``The JBIC, formed after the merger of OECF and Export Import Bank of Japan in October 1999, is part of the Japanese Government. We have to follow the Government policy and directives,'' Mr. Tsuji observed. Ever since the first ODA (Official Development Assistance) fund from Japan was sanctioned in 1975, till March 2000 a total of Japanese Yen 1,642 billions (about Rs. 67,295 crores) have been made available to India under 143 loan agreements.

ODA commitments to India have been growing steadily since 1990 and Japan had become the biggest bilateral donor for this country. However, after the sanctions in the wake of Pokhran II, only one new loan - Bakreshwar Thermal Power Station Unit III - was committed by Japan and this too has been on the ground that it was an extension of the ongoing project. Mr. Tsuji revealed that at least a dozen Indian States are in the queue for development assistance from Japan.

So far, maximum funds have been provided by Japan to Uttar Pradesh (Yen 316,447 millions), followed by Andhra Pradesh (Yen 165,998 millions ) and West Bengal (Yen 160, 918 millions). Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Maharashtra, Haryana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Orissa and Rajasthan (in that order) are other recipients of substantial assistance from Japan.

The Japanese delegation acknowledged the fact that the project, especially the VFPMCs, helped reduce the antagonism of the people towards the Government forestry schemes. ``The JFM has made villagers the stakeholders. This is a big change, a sound transformation,'' observed Mr. Sato Kan Hiroshi from the Institute of Development Economics, Japan, who was one of the delegates.

The Aravalli Afforestation Project was taken up with the objectives of conserving soil and moisture, checking desertification and for conservation of biodiversity of flora and fauna. It also aimed at creating employment for the locals - especially the tribals, women and members of the Scheduled Castes - and to fulfil the local demand for fuel and fodder.

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