East Garo Hills – Meghalaya PCS Free Notes

Meghalaya Food Security

Tucked away in the hills of eastern sub-Himalayas is Meghalaya, one of the most beautiful State in the country. Nature has blessed her with abundant rainfall, sun-shine, virgin forests, high plateaus, tumbling waterfalls, crystal clear rivers, meandering streamlets etc.

Emergence of Meghalaya as an Autonomous State on 2nd April 1970 and as a full-fledged State on 21st January 1972 marked the beginning of a new era of the geo-political history of North Eastern India.

The State of Meghalaya is situated on the north east of India. It extends for about 300 kilometres in length and about 100 kilometres in breadth. It is bounded on the north by Goalpara, Kamrup and Nowgong districts, on the east by KarbiAnglong and North Cachar Hills districts, all of Assam, and on the south and west by Bangladesh. Meghalaya Food Security

Meghalaya is subject to vagaries of the monsoon.The average annual rainfall is about 2600 mm over western Meghalaya, between 2500 to 3000 mm over northern Meghalaya and about 4000 mm over south-eastern Meghalaya. There is a great variation of rainfall over central and southern Meghalaya.

Meghalaya is basically an Agricultural State with about 80% of its total population depending entirely on Agriculture for their livelihood.Rainfall varies from place to place and from altitude to altitude. The amount of rainfall over Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram is quite heavy. During the last two decades, it has ranged from 11,995 mm to 14,189 mm in Cherrapunjee and over Mawsynram it was 10,689 mm to 13,802 mm.

The total cropped area in the State has increased by about 42 per cent during the last twenty-five years. Food grain production sector covers an area of over 60 per cent of the total crop area. Besides the major food crops of Rice and Maize, the State is also renowned for its Horticultural crops like Orange, Lemon, Pineapple, Guava, Litchi, Banana, Jack Fruits and Temperate fruits such as Plum, Pear, Peach etc.Potato, Ginger, Turmeric, Black Pepper, Areca nut, Tezpatta, Betelvine, Short-staple cotton, Jute, Mesta, Mustard and Rapseed etc. are some of the important cash crops in the State.

Meghalaya has ranked among the known BIMARU states in the malnutrition index for 2016. According to a report titled ‘Bridging the gap: Tapping the agriculture potential for optimum nutrition’ prepared jointly by ASSOCHAM and EY, seven Indian states which rank high on the malnutrition index are Uttar Pradesh (50.4 per cent) followed by Bihar (49.4 per cent), Jharkhand (47.4 per cent), Chhattisgarh (43 per cent), Meghalaya (42.9 per cent), Gujarat (41.6 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh (41.5 per cent). Even among the northeastern states, Meghalaya stood high as far as child undernourishment is concerned. According to National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16), as much as 43.8% of children in Meghalaya have stunted growth, which is also related to the maternal-undernutrition, and 29% are underweight. Low nutritional outcomes can in turn lead to slower development and susceptibility to illness, the effects of which can hamper them throughout their lives, hindering and limiting their potential for growth. While at a glance the situation seems dismal at best, there are glimmers of hope in the offing.

Consistent indications of food shortage or mismanagement of food services emerge especially in Songsak Block, East Garo Hills.

To overcome these difficulties in the state; the state government has taken various steps and launched various schemes and programmes like:-

National Food Security Act:- The state government launched the Food Security Act (FSA) across the State in 2015 under National Food Security Act, 2013. Under the programme, 77.79 per cent rural population and 50.87 per cent urban population will be covered based on the 2011 socio-economic census. under the programme, focus will be given to pregnant mothers and infants from 0-6 years for supplementing their nutritional requirement as per the mandate of the Act.Under NFSA, 2013, a total of 4.22 lakh has been identified as priority households in the State of Meghalaya and 72, 460 household in West Garo Hills district out of which 29,476 is in Tura Sardar Division and 41,984 in Dadenggre Civil Sub-Division.

According to the Act, every person belonging to priority households is entitled to receive 5 kg of food grains per person per month at subsidized prices not exceeding Rs. 3.00 per kg for rice, Rs. 2.00 per kg for wheat and coarse cereals for Rs. 1 per kg.

Integrated Child Development Services:-

It is centrally sponsored scheme and was launched in 1975. ICDS is a unique early childhood development programme aimed at addressing the health, nutrition and development needs of young children, pregnant and nursing mothers. In Meghalaya the first project was launched on an experimental basis at SongsakC&RD Block, East Garo Hills District in the same year. Since then, the Department has come a long way in expanding the ICDS projects to the 39 Community and Rural Development Blocks and 2 Urban ICDS Projects at Shillong and Tura through a network of 5896 Anganwadi Centre.

The scheme has been re-launched in Mission Mode during 2012 as the restructured and strengthened ICDS programme with the vision to ensure holistic physical, psychosocial, cognitive and emotional development of young children under 6 years of age in a nurturing, protective, child friendly and gender sensitive family and community.

The components and core package of services under ICDS are: –

Early Childhood Care, Education & Development (ECCED)
Care & Nutrition Counselling
Health Services
Community Mobilization, Awareness, Advocacy and IEC

The Supplementary Nutrition Programme under ICDS has two components:

Morning snacks & hot cooked meals served daily at the AWC to all children between 3-6 years attending Preschool at AWC for 25 days in a month.
Take Home Ration in the form of RTE Energy Dense Food is given for children 6 months to 3 years and pregnant/lactating mothers.

SCHEMES UNDER ICDS:-

A. Kishori Shakti Yojana – KSY (Adolescent Girls Scheme):-It aims at improving the nutritional health status of the adolescent girls by promoting awareness of health, hygiene, nutritional and family care. The activities also link with learning life skill and steps to become productive member. Under the scheme, unmarried BPL and school drop outs adolescent Girls in the age group 11-18 years are selected and attached to the local Anganwadi Centres for monthly sitting of learning and training activities.This scheme is fully state funded scheme.

Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG)-SABLA:- The objective of the scheme is to:

Enable self-development and empowerment of Adolescent Girls
Improve their Nutrition and Health Status
Spread awareness among them about Health, Hygiene, Nutrition, Adolescent

Reproductive and Sexual Health (ARSH) and Family and Childcare

Upgrade their Home-based Skills, Life Skills and Vocational Skills
Mainstream out of School Adolescent Girls into Formal/ Non Formal-Education and
Inform and guide them about existing public services, such as PHC, CHC, Post

Office, Bank, Police Station etc.

C. Indira Gandhi MatritavaSehyogYojana (IGMSY) – Conditional Maternity Benefit (CMB) Scheme:-It is a centrally sponsored scheme implemented in the State as a pilot project in 1 (one) District i.e. in East Garo Hills, Williamnagar with 100% financial assistance from the Govt. ofIndia. Under this scheme, pregnant and nursing mothers are provided maternity benefits. During 2013-14, the Govt. of India, to bring the amount of maternity benefit at par with the provisions of National Food Security Act, 2013, enhanced the rate from Rs.4000/- to Rs.6000.

Further, the Govt. of India introduced the financial sharing pattern during 2015-16 i.e. 90:10.

3. SampoornaGrameenRozgarYojana (SGRY):-

The primary objective of the Scheme is to provide additional wage employment in all rural areas and thereby provide food security and improve nutritional levels. The secondary objective is the creation of a durable community, social and economic assets and infrastructural development in rural areas.

But even after decades of government efforts have not yielded the desired result in terms of social security indicators and nutrition status in the state. The government can take the following steps to further improve these indicators.

Way forward:-

A community headman in ShillongUrban, also recommended a change in the food items to include more bengal gram, kidney beans, eggs and other high nutrition components. These should be considered by the government.
There were concerns too about instances of low and irregular supplies.
A lady supervisor from East Garo Hills, a functionary of the Department of Social Welfare, lamented the lack of locally grown, organically produced fruit and vegetables on the menu, something that would get children used to eating high-quality produce.
Provide a reliable source of income to local cultivators to boottheir income.
Not just the nutrition component but the ICDS scheme itself, with its focus on universalisation and strengthening of its programmes through community involvement, geared towards the welfare of vulnerable sections of the population, can benefit from new localised solutions.
At the same time, it must be remembered that ICDS is not just about getting a free meal – it’s about ensuring a more holistic development, be that nutritional, educational or in terms of medical help, for the generations to come.

Irrigation and hydro power of Meghalaya

Bamboo irrigation in Meghalaya

In Meghalaya (one of the seven northeastern states in India), an ingenious system of tapping of stream and springwater by using bamboo pipes to irrigate plantations is widely prevalent. It is so perfected that about 18-20 litres of water entering the bamboo pipe system per minute gets transported over several hundred metres and finally gets reduced to 20-80 drops per minute at the site of the plant. The tribal farmers of Khasi and Jaintia hills use the 200-year-old system. Irrigation and hydro power of Meghalaya

Dating back 200 years, tribes in Meghalaya have used bamboo drip irrigation as a means of bringing water to seasonal crops. This traditional technology uses locally available material while harnessing the forces of gravity. Holed bamboo shoots are placed downhill, diverting the natural flow of streams and springs across terraced cropland. The advantages of using bamboo are such that it prevents leakage, increases crop yield with less water, and makes use of natural, local, and inexpensive material.

The Jaintia, Khasi, and Garo hills of Meghalaya are largely made up of steep slopes and generally rocky terrain where the soil has low water retention capacity and where the use of groundwater channels is impossible. During the dry seasons, rain fed crops such as paddy, betel leaf, and black peppers can be irrigated by bamboo drip irrigation.

The bamboo drip irrigation system is normally used to irrigate the betel leaf or black pepper crops planted in arecanut orchards or in mixed orchards. Bamboo pipes are used to divert perennial springs on the hilltops to the lower reaches by gravity. The channel sections, made of bamboo, divert and convey water to the plot site where it is distributed without leakage into branches, again made and laid out with different forms of bamboo pipes. Manipulating the intake pipe positions also controls the flow of water into the lateral pipes. Reduced channel sections and diversion units are used at the last stage of water application. The last channel section enables the water to be dropped near the roots of the plan.

Bench terrace Irrigation practice

This is the common irrigation practice in Meghalaya as well as throughout the North East Himalayan region. The hill streams are tapped as soon as they emerge from the forests and the water is channeled to accommodate a series of terraces. In this system, water flows continuously from the upper to lower terraces. This method of irrigation practice is widely used for non-fertile land to be utilized for raising rice crops. Stone and gunny bags help in the maintenance of terraces and stop soil erosion problems. Submergence of water up to 5 – 8 cm is maintained continuously throughout the year. After harvesting, ear head of rice is plucked and the straw is left as such in the field, which then gets rotted and helps improving soil fertility. Mostly all farm operation is done manually; bullock power is used for field preparations only in some pockets of Meghalaya. Bench terracing is an important conservation measure for valleys and hill slopes. This is used predominantly for rice cultivation. In bench terrace agriculture practice under rainfed condition, topo-sequence crops such as maize, bean and potato are planted on upper slopes and crop requiring more water such as rice and jute are grown on lower slopes. The excess runoff from upper portion of slope is nutrient rich, utilized for the lower hill crops.

Hydro power in Meghalaya

Meghalaya is rich in potential water power resources, hydro power has played an important role in the state’s energy policy.

Small Hydro Power

In a move that aims to address the power requirements of the Megahlaya, as many as 50 mini and micro hydel power projects have been identified to be set up in different districts of the state.

The projects which have already been commissioned include Sonapani on Wahumkhra-Umshyrpi river, Pashyiang Micro HEP on Barim river and Umsaw Micro HEP on Umsaw river. The Lakhroh Micro HEP on Lakhroh river in Jaintia Hills district is under construction.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has also identified 37 mini and micro hydel projects in the state with a cumulative power generation capacity of around 8.5 MW. Out of the total 37 projects, elecven project sites are located in West Garo Hills, South Garo Hills and East Garo Hills districts; nine of them in West Khasi Hills district; eight in East Khasi Hills district; six in the Jaintia Hills district and three in Ri Bhoi district.

Some of the hydro power projects in Meghalaya are as follows:

Myntdu-Leshka Hydro Project

The Myntdu-Leshka Hydro Project Dam (3X42 MW)[2] built across the river, undertaken by MeECL, scheduled in three phases, is located at Leshka, West Jaintia Hills district, Meghalaya near Amlarem, the sub-division headquarters. The project cost is estimated to be around INR 360 crores.

Umiam Hydro Power Complex

All the power stations are in the Umtru River which flows to the north into the mighty Brahmaputra. Running adjacent to this river are two other rivers viz. the Umiam and the Khri. Water from the Umiam basin is diverted into the adjacent Umtru basin thus enhancing the water flow of the Umtru River where all four power stations are constructed. In a similar manner, the water from the Khri River is also intended to be diverted to the existing reservoirs at the Umtru River to further enhance the power generation at the existing system.