12. Watershed Management Process Under MGNREGA: An Approach to Natural Resource Management Through People’s Participation

The Watershed management project is dedicated to soil and water conservation as well as livelihood development. This paper summarizes the importance of MGNREGA in watershed management. This is an observational study based on the review of papers and field level experience. Various watershed management structures can be set up under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which are extensively discussed here, considering the ridge to valley treatment method. So many natural resource management (NRM) schemes have been included in the guidelines of permissible work for MGNREGA, but some have a less significant impact on watershed management. This paper discusses those schemes which have a high impact on watershed management. The participatory approach of planning and the preparation of a detailed planning report (DPR) for micro watersheds have been conferred here. Impact of “Ushar Mukti Project” in watershed management has been analyzed as a case study. It is identified that the main obstacles to watershed management planning are communication gaps, insufficient Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) material, selection of schemes irrespective of land types, etc. The possible solutions to those problems are active participation of the community in the planning process and cooperation between the government and civil society organizations.