Cashew trees give the Panchayat an income of 20 thousand every year, the land left by encroachment, greenery in the village
Raipur. 12 October 2020. MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) is continuously bringing positive changes in the villages. Along with strengthening the means of livelihood, the work of saving natural resources is also being done on a large scale under this. Along with this, works of greenery propagation and environmental protection are also being done. MGNREGA has changed the fate of barren and rocky earth in Dashapal village of Vananchal Bastar. Gram Panchayat had planted cashew plants on the vacant land there a few years ago under MNREGA works. Now these plants have become trees and are giving an annual income of 20 thousand rupees to the panchayat. Not only has this plantation saved the vacant land from encroachment, the village has also covered the sheet of greenery.
Dashapal is a dependent village of Bherripadar Gram Panchayat of Bakavand development block of Bastar district. In view of the climate suitable for cashew production, the village was planted under MNREGA in 2006 in this village, 20 km from the district headquarters. At that time, 1385 cashew plants were planted at a cost of 40 thousand rupees. 49 MGNREGA workers completed the work in four weeks. 34 families of the village had got employment of 232 man-days and got about 14 thousand rupees as wages. These saplings, planted on more than two and a half acres of vacant wasteland of Dasapala, have now become cashew trees of 11–11 feet. For the last seven years, Gram Panchayat is earning Rs 20 thousand annually from them.
Mr. Raghunath Kashyap, sarpanch of Senderipadar, explains that cashew plants do not require much water and animals do not harm it either.
Spherical trenches were constructed with each plant to retain moisture in the ground. Now that these plants have become trees and are giving fruits, the village is earning income. Some families are also getting employment in their maintenance and plowing of cashew nuts. He says – ‘This work done under MNREGA has converted a piece of barren land into a earning resource. Along with spreading greenery in the village, the environment of the village is also improving.
