TABLE OF CONTENTS

BACKGROUND
I POST-EARTHQUAKE RELIEF ACTIVITIES IN KACHCHH: BSC’s engagement as part of ‘Citizens’ Initiative’
II COMMUNITY-BASED REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT PROGRAMMES (CBRRP)
III LEARNINGS AND REFLECTIONS
Details of Donations & Utilization of Funds
Utilization of Funds – Expenditure Statement
Appendix 1 Perspective plan, Strategy, Plan of Action of BSC for Community Based Rehabilitation and Resettlement
                  Programmes (CBRRP) in Kachchh
Appendix 2 Details of Sneh Samuday – principles and objectives
Appendix 3 Government policy for rehabilitation, its implementation, faults and role of BSC
Appendix 4 Public Hearings in Kachchh

BACKGROUND

The earthquake that hit Gujarat on the morning of 26th January 2001 left in its wake a trail of death and destruction, leaving a population of close to 500,000 homeless and almost 100,000 dead or seriously injured (unofficial estimates). The quake measured 6.9 on the Richter Scale (7.7 as per the US Geological Survey), lasted for about 100 seconds and shook the entire state of Gujarat. The epicentre of the earthquake lay 20 kilometres to the north-east of Bhuj in Kachchh district in Gujarat. About 16 million people in 21 districts out of 25 in Gujarat state were affected by the earthquake. The total loss was estimated at Rs. 700 crores (US$ 4.5 billion), which was about 15% of GDP loss in India.

In Kachchh, several villages were decimated, literally sunk into the ground within 100 seconds. Most of the buildings in towns like Bhuj, Bhachau, Anjar, Gandhidham in Kachchh were completely destroyed, some were partially affected while some were cracked. Massive infrastructure loss or damage was recorded – roads, bridges electricity poles and telecommunication lines. All civic amenities and supply lines had ceased to function till restored after 48 hours. Most of the towns and villages had turned into heaps of rubble and the estimate of people killed under the rubble was more than 20,000 and the number of seriously injured was close to 200,000.

Although earthquakes have been part of the history of Kachchh (according to popular lore every three years Kachchh witnesses an earthquake, a drought and a normal monsoon) but the one on 26th January 2001 was very different in intensity and scale. It left behind near complete destruction – approximately 4 lakhs houses completely destroyed, about 7 lakhs houses partially damaged, claimed thousands of lives and left thousands of people injured in Gujarat. It posed a huge challenge to the state administration to gear up to meet the rescue and relief needs of the situation. In addition to these, the earthquake threw up innumerable challenges and questions in terms of long term rehabilitation and resettlement (R & R) policies and plans, as also disaster related issues – care of the most vulnerable, the disabled, the orphans, widows, those without means of survival, and their rights and entitlements. Most importantly it pointed out many inadequacies of the state in terms of its disaster-preparedness.

The last time that an earthquake left such large scale destruction in Kachchh was on June 16, 1819. The extent of damage in Kachchh during the recent earthquake can be seen in the following table:

Following the earthquake a number of NGOs of Gujarat came together under the banner of Citizens’ Initiative, a broad platform of NGOs of Gujarat, under the aegis of which a number of organisations got involved in relief operations. BSC, as part of this coalition, along with the Ahmedabad Nature Lovers’ Association (ANALA)¹ set up and managed a relief camp at village Moti Chirai.

The present report is divided into three sections – the first section describes the efforts of BSC (as part of a larger coalition of NGOs) during the relief phase which lasted till the end of February 2001. The second part of the report details the community based rehabilitation (CBR) activities undertaken by BSC in 2 talukas of Kachchh viz. Bhachau and Rapar. The third part of the report describes the perspective plan developed by BSC for its intervention in Kachchh and, as a part of it, the long-term activities which were initiated during the CBR phase and would be continued in future also.
 
 

Faced with a disaster of this magnitude we, the St. Xavier’s Nonformal Education Society (SXNFES), tried our best to do whatever we could to alleviate the misery of those hit by the quake. After the earthquake of 26th January we joined a broad platform consisting of various players from civil society under the banner of “Citizens’ Initiative”. The agencies / individuals involved in this initiative, apart from us, were:

• Ahmedabad Nature Lovers’ Association (ANALA);
• Staff and students of St. Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad;
• Student volunteers from Centre for Environment Planning & Technology (CEPT);
• Student volunteers from National Institute of Design (NID);
• Doctors, psychiatrists; psychologists; engineers; architects; and others.

We came to know about the situation through some of the volunteers who had  visited Kachchh on 26th and 27th January. On 28th we decided to plunge into the relief efforts. Accordingly on 29th evening our staff and volunteers, 35 in the initial stage,  set out with a convoy of three Jeeps and a truck and reached Bhachau. There we held discussions with government officials who suggested that we work in rural Bhachau rather than the town. They arranged for the premises of a collapsed factory in village Moti Chirai (Indian “wood” Plywood Factory, Aakash Veneer, 12 kms. towards Gandhidham on the Bhachau – Gandhidham highway). The Taluka Panchayat at Bhachau and were assigned relief work in four villages. The villages were:

The volunteers of the Citizens’ Initiative  (Bhachau unit) at the base camp in Moti Chirai

(i) Moti Chirai, where the relief camp was located;
(ii) Nani Chirai;
(iii) Chopadwa;
(iv) Lunva.

The base-camp of the Bhachau unit had 10 tents besides 2 plywood enclosures to accommodate the volunteers. At any given time there were 80 – 100 volunteers at the base camp. The positive point of this camp was that it consisted of people from diverse backgrounds and disciplines. The groups included: students of CEPT, St. Xavier’s college, NID; NGOs such as Behavioural Science Centre, Gantar, ANALA, Janpath; doctors; religious personnel; a group of volunteers from Maharashtra who have the experience of working in Latur; social workers. All volunteers had assumed duties like maintaining stock of relief material, making a list of required material, coordinating with the headquarters at Ahmedabad, loading and unloading material from the trucks, providing First Aid and medical services to the injured, repairing broken buildings, making tents, distribution of relief material, relief related activities (removal of debris and retrieval of dead bodies) and so on. The identity and character of the camp were dynamic and constantly evolving according to the composition of the group. The discussions therefore were very rich and consequently also the nature of decisions taken and the manner of dispensing relief.

The camp had evolved 3 principles in administering relief:

• No relief work would be undertaken which violated the self-respect of the victims;
• We would not undertake any activity which the people are capable of carrying out themselves;
• Relief material would be distributed equitably among all communities in the village starting from the most needy and socially weak and then going upwards.

As per our information some interior villages in Rapar had not received any relief material. We thus decided to cover these villages in the 2nd week of February. Some volunteers engaged in removing rubble and debris from the nearby villages. The students of architecture started exploring the possibilities of repairing the partially destroyed houses and building new ones from the available material.

Some volunteers then returned to Ahmedabad to maintain and regulate supply of relief material to Kachchh and sending e-mails to raise funds and materials needed, sharing information, giving updates about the situation in Kachchh and for other requirements. They appealed for various things like medicines, medical supplies (ortho sets, syringes, bandages, plasters), tent, camping equipments, blankets, warm clothes, dry and raw food, utensils, potable water and other things suitable to the weather and culture of Kachchh.

Our observations revealed that there were various political and social obstacles to relief reaching the Dalit and Muslim communities in the villages. This struck our volunteers very strongly, especially the college students studying in various colleges in Ahmedabad and who had hitherto never had any experience of caste/ religion based discrimination. Most striking among them were – use of power by the “upper” castes, taking undue advantage of their power, the discrimination faced by the “lower” castes and backward communities like Dalits (literally meaning ‘oppressed’ but used as a generic term for the Scheduled Castes in India), Koli (Scheduled Tribe in Kachchh, otherwise belonging to the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes – SEBC in other parts of Gujarat) and a few Muslim (a major minority in India) families.

• In Vamka village of Bhachau taluka, the volunteers encountered a Rajput (traditionally warrior community, belonging to the “upper” caste) leader holding a gun at the entrance of the village and forcing volunteers to follow his command for distribution of the material.
• At Nani Chirai village, volunteers witnessed stocking (hundreds of warm blankets on stacks, food packets) of large quantities of relief material by the “upper” castes who were not willing to share them with all the villagers, but only with their relatives.
• In Kadol village of Bhachau taluka, cash doles provided by the Government were not given to 23 Koli families by the Sarpanch who belonged to a dominant caste group. These families received cash doles only after the intervention of our team.
• In Shivlakha village of Bhachau taluka, the Sarpanch used to corner each and every item reaching the village. He had stock of cement sheets, tents and also the cash doles. He stopped the volunteers from entering the village.
• This was the case with many villages in Kachchh where the “upper” or dominant castes in the village had not allowed an equitable distribution of relief materials among all the residents of the village. In light of such experiences, BSC volunteers ensured that relief material reached the remotest villages, and to the most marginalised communities like Dalits, Kolis and Muslims and the weakest individuals (orphans, widows, single women, disabled and destitutes) in the village.

Such experiences initially appalled the volunteers; they had never thought that at such times the ills of the caste system would overwhelm the more humane and humanitarian concerns. They reported undergoing a fundamental transformation in their thinking about the policy of reservation in education (a very sensitive topic for students): “if we require to adopt a policy of reservation in relief supplies then it is certainly needed in education”. In fact, the earthquake had aggravated the social ills of Kachchh. So our staff and volunteers decided to visit villages and extension of villages (called vandh) directly, organising meetings with the residents there and then distributing the relief material.

There were meetings every morning around 8.30 where planning and allotment of work for the day were carried out. Each evening around 9.30 there would be an evaluation cum reporting meeting to discuss the day’s activities and findings.

Activities carried out:
Apart from the distribution of tents, clothes, food items and other items of personal use we also ensured water supply through water tankers to these villages by the second week of February. By the middle of February, the government supply (of food, cash doles, drinking water) was stabilized.
 

• Distribution of relief materials to the tune of Rs.16,56,617. An approximate break-up of the materials and their value is provided in the table below.

Material distributed

• Apart from this the team was also involved in carrying out a survey for information regarding relief reaching the people. Surveys regarding castewise distribution of commodities and services through the government and other mechanisms were also carried out. The survey activity was carried out with the following purpose:
• To make the distribution easy and equitable;
• To analyse the village situation in terms of the caste composition;
• To locate the needy families and thus mobilise resources for them.

• Post-Trauma Stress Disorder (PTSD): A group of volunteers were involved in the assessment of the extent of trauma and possible systems and strategies for its redressal. This was done keeping in mind the most vulnerable groups i.e. single women / widows, orphans and the aged. Based on the experience of relief and rehabilitation after the Orissa super cyclone, some of the NGOs (under the leadership of Action-Aid) were involved in setting up Sneh Samudaya (SS) centres for those who are dispossessed. The idea behind this concept is providing a space for the dispossessed (single women, children who are orphaned by the earthquake, and the aged) to come together and grieve over the death and destruction and find strength to carry on their lives.

Action-Aid (India) joined the relief initiative at Moti Chirai. They began the SS initiative by working towards setting up 100 SS shelters in the affected villages in earthquake-ravaged Gujarat. They were joined in the effort by volunteers of ‘Gantar’ and ‘Campaign Against Child Labour – CACL’. The methodology they employed consisted of visiting villages, carrying out a feasibility check as to the shelter and its viability and subsequently setting up of the shelters. 17 such shelters had been set up till the end of April 2001 as the following table indicates:

Sneh Samudaya Centres

The shelters having been set up they were helped to run them by volunteers from Nirmala Niketan School of Social Work and the Jamia Millia Islamia.

Medical follow up.
Simultaneously some volunteers realised that many people who were injured were not visiting the camp, perhaps due to lack of information and in some cases, due to lack of trust. In such cases, medical professional and para-medics started visiting villages, treating injured people there and motivating them to come to the camp for follow up.

Observations:
Our observations and apprehensions at the end of the relief phase are captured in the paragraphs below. These were the primary considerations which had a bearing on our decision to remain in the area for a longer duration to influence, in whatever way we possibly could, and to put social justice and equity on the rehabilitation agenda.

Caste and communal discriminations in the distribution of relief was shocking to us as to most others in the general public. In spite of the fact that we have, for so long, been dealing with the issues of caste discrimination, we had not anticipated such a blatant show of casteism. We had also not expected the government to ignore such incidents, especially at a time such as this. Our experience of relief work provided us with a first-hand evidence of the discrimination being faced by the Dalits, the Kolis and the Muslims in the distribution of relief. Our experiences were also corroborated by the experiences of other agencies in Kachchh. The compensation package (which included land and cash doles) which had been announced by the government was blatantly iniquitous. It compensated differently to persons in different economic categories. The State had itself become a violator of the constitutional guarantee of equality and justice.

Further, compensation and rehabilitation packages and claims for death and damages would necessitate regular interface with the bureaucracy. Bureaucracy, which even in the most normal of times is ridden with red-tape and delays, was sure to continue at the same pace and style even in these times. This would certainly aggravate the trauma of the victims who were already trying to cope with death and loss.

In spite of adequate resources being pumped into the area we envisaged a paucity of funds as far as the most vulnerable groups, i.e. the SCs, the STs and the minorities were concerned. It was doubtful whether principles of social justice and social equity would be adhered to in the rehabilitation phase; we felt that they would be ignored in the whole process. Further marginalisation of the vulnerable groups in the allotment of land (position, quality, access to infrastructure, etc.) was likely to take place. Resettlement and relocation would become a losing proposition for the already poor while becoming opportunities of gain for some others.

The immediate and most severe effect of the earthquake had been on people’s shelters and livelihoods. Temporary shelters of the kind that had till then (end of February) been provided (tents, tarpaulin or reinforced plastic sheets) would perhaps last them for a couple of months (March – April). There was an urgent need for the people to shift from these to shelters of a permanent nature, as these would not have been adequate for the monsoon beginning from June.

The process of reconstruction and rehabilitation is closely connected with the restoration of livelihoods to the people. Unless this happens any activity remains at the level of temporary relief. The mainstay of the economy in the Bhachau taluka was agriculture, agricultural wage work, work in the salt factories, charcoal making and minor handicrafts. Agriculture and allied activities were suffering because of a lack of water. The tubewells and borewells had suffered extensive damage due to the earthquake and were in need of major repairs, or as in a number of cases, needed to be installed anew. Apart from this a number of facilities and services such as credit and marketing linkages were needed to get the local economy functioning.
 
 

As the needs of the region were immense, partially fulfilled and the rest needed to be fulfilled, the relief experience in the region inevitably led BSC to initiate long-term rehabilitation programmes. BSC members, while carrying out relief activities, learnt more about Kachchh as a region; as a society (its caste system, composition and social ills, gender inequality) and the prevalent socio-economic and political problems; distinct geographical characteristics and disparities and uneven development (economic imbalances, availability of infrastructure facilities, precarious natural resources like water and land that needed to be developed). In fact, we also learnt that all these problems had always been in existence but were only aggravated and made more visible by the disaster whereby the already marginalised groups were further marginalised.

In this situation, BSC felt that there was a meaningful role to be played – to support the marginalized and ameliorate their condition, develop livelihood options. Strategically also, Kachchh being closer to Banaskantha (where BSC had already established a base), it would be easier to replicate development activities and bring the entire eastern belt together as part of north Gujarat region. The transition from relief to rehabilitation and long term interventions for development of Kachchh were debated among BSC members and planned for (for a perspective plan of BSC in Kachchh see Appendix 1). The continuation of relief activities were thus directed towards fulfilling primary needs of the residents of the area like shelter, drinking water and livelihood restoration (through water and seeds for agriculture that can lead to self-reliance, revival of embroidery/craft of the region). Another priority was to monitor the rehabilitation rights of the earthquake affected people with a special focus on the marginalised communities who were to receive not only benefits, namely cash doles and cash compensation, but also entitlements to land (specially plots for housing) and other property in the village.

BSC decided to be an effective agent of change in rural Kachchh, adopting the strategy of working with and through community based organisation (CBOs) and community leaders, similar to the approach it had earlier adopted in other parts of Gujarat (Bhal region – Kheda, Anand and Ahmedabad districts and Banaskantha district). Thus the concept of Community based Rehabilitation (CBR) came into existence where the appraisal, planning and implementation of programmes for the rehabilitation and resettlement were to be carried out through community based efforts and through promotion of formal and informal organisations for carrying out development initiatives and interventions.

Description of target population:
The main caste groups in the villages include the following castes:

• Darbars
• Ahirs
• Brahmins
• Baniyas
• Patels
• Kolis
• Harijans
• Muslims

The reasons for this choice were that firstly, these castes are the lowest in the caste hierarchy in the village and for that reason suffer from economic exploitation and social oppression and marginalisation of an extreme kind. Secondly, because of the foregoing the reconstruction and rehabilitation plans for the village were not likely to consider them and their needs, which would not even figure on the list of priority, and the process would ultimately leave them worse off than before. The rehabilitation process was going be as traumatic for them as the earthquake and the related losses.
 

Consequently, a base camp was set up at village Rajansar in Bhachau taluka during the first week of March 2001 to carry out rehabilitation related activities. The programme staff for these activities included experts in architecture, agriculture and water resources, in community organisation and development.  Our intervention in the area covered the following activities:

Relief activities:  In spite of the relief camp formally being declared as closed, relief activities continued over the next few months to overcome the needs and difficulties of the people. There were 3 kinds of relief which we provided over the course of the next few months (March – August):  Food and Clothes: In our relief work and meetings with the people in the villages we had come to know that women were left with no extra clothing and were in dire need of fresh clothes. The kind of clothes which had come during the period (through donations in kind) consisted of clothes which were of no use to them. Therefore we arranged for culturally appropriate clothing for women.

Total amount distributed thus, in the form of food relief, comes to Rs.12,01,116/-.

Seeds: Year 2001 was a drought year. The usual channels for obtaining agricultural inputs on credit were disrupted due to the earthquake; in order for farmers, especially small and marginal, to resume normal economic processes it was essential that we provide seeds as relief for initiating the agricultural operations. This was another kind of relief activity that we undertook. We took care to obtain seeds of a local variety and not hybrid seeds, giving priority to food crops.

Food For Work (FFW): The major sources of income in this region were salt pans and charcoal making. These had temporarily been disrupted on account of the earthquake. It was, therefore, essential to provide relief works to tide over the period of unemployment till the normal occupational activities could be re-activated. In this context we undertook FFW programmes through which we initiated approach road construction and pond deepening in some of the remote villages and vandhs.

Total amount distributed thus, in the form of food kits, comes to Rs. 6,92,230/-.
 

Providing semi-permanent shelters:

This programme was initiated with the objective of  providing interim shelters to the most needy families who had no other support. The shelters of the people, especially of our target communities, consisted of some poles and/or beams salvaged from the debris and tarpaulin or plastic sheets. These were extremely fragile structures, unable to withstand the wind velocity in the area; the people were constantly engaged in a battle with the forces – tying and retying the plastic/tarpaulin sheets with ropes and bands and whatever else they could find. Apart from the fact that these structures were unbearable to stay in the heat of the day they were also highly inflammable and there were quite a few incidents where they had caught fire and damaged the scarce property they still had.

BSC had attracted a large number of volunteers from some of the major professional training institutions such as NID, School of Architecture and Vikram Sarabhai Community Science Centre (CSC). These volunteers formed a core group that consisted of students and senior faculty members to evolve a design- development- production- dissemination brief for the proposed shelter programme in Kachchh.  We started with intensive community consultation processes in all the villages in order to identify the most needy families as also to find out people’s preferences regarding shelters. After the initial process of community consultation five different models of interim shelters were evolved.

1. Superstructure of bamboo, walls of Random Rubble (RR) masonry with mud plastering. This model was not acceptable because firstly bamboo is not a local material and constructing a bamboo roof requires skills which were not available at the village level. Moreover the bamboo supplied by other NGOs was lying unused in villages. There were many apprehensions and the people were not ready for it. We also realised that people may have to stay in it for much longer and they were looking for a longer term solution.
2. Full steel structure with E-board or cement board walls. This model too was not acceptable because it was a very industrial in its looks and did not appeal to the cultural needs of the people. The walls would be made of materials which were environmentally not very sound because the walls of E-boards would increase the temperature of the house which would be uninhabitable in the hot climate of Kachchh.
3. Collapsible and folding roof of steel pipes. This model posed technical problems for implementation on a large scale, the joineries could not be worked out well and there was not time to stabilise the design.
4. 3' walls of RR masonry or mud bricks, and walls above from any light local material.
5. 3 fixed rafters, connected with steel angles, grouted in RR masonry walls. This model was acceptable on account of its cultural affinity to the traditional housing patterns of the area, it was easy for the people to implement since many of the components were to be provided ready-made. It provided a sturdy roof structure which, from a security point of view, made it the most acceptable.

1. Mud (wattle and daub) walls;
2. RR masonry of 1½' thickness with strong corners upto 3'' constructed by the people with technical supervision by our trained masons; the gaps (3' and above) could be filled up with any light material like grass or broken roof tiles or tin sheets;
3. 14'' walls upto 3½' made of burnt brick and 4'' partition walls above;
4. walls of interlocking stabilised blocks, mortarless construction.

1. be able to withstand aftershocks and provide psychological security to the user;
2. be able to provide basic protection against the severe summer heat;
3. be able to withstand the frequent cyclonic wind conditions so typical of the area;
4. be termite-resistant;
5. be sensitive to the culture of the area and its residents;
6. be made from easily and locally available building material which is ecologically sound;
7. be easily implementable and replicable;
8. minimize the use of such industrial material which would be unfamiliar to the region, very highly skill-based or redundant for future constructions;
9. be semi-permanent in nature rather than temporary shelters which, with a few modifications or additions, could be turned into a permanent shelter;
10. be disabled-friendly.

1. A room of nearly 140 sq. ft. is provided to each nuclear unit of the affected families.
2. Walls up to 3.5 ft to be made from the local debris stones using mud mortar having all basic earthquake safety features.
3. Roof frame to be fabricated from best quality Steel Tubes in order to ensure safety from both cyclones as well as earthquake.
4. Roof cover using backed Mangalore style Clay Tiles normally used in local construction and produced industrially in the nearest town of Morbi.
5. Minimal use of cement and concrete given the water shortage in the area without compromising the safety aspects.

The fabrication process for the metallic roofing frame which mainly includes cutting, welding, drilling and production of clamps and hooks was managed in a local workshop.

The number of shelters provided till 30th September are given in the table below.

Restoration of livelihoods in the villages:
Most of our target population, in April and May 2001, was unemployed. The transitory nature of their shelters and livelihoods and uncertainty regarding future prospects compounded their despondency and inertia which was characteristic of the communities at that time. Restoration of livelihoods was a crucial aspect of getting a semblance of normalcy, and more importantly, hope, back to the lives of the people.

A survey was conducted to ascertain the livelihood options earlier practised and the options which were possible, to restart or to introduce afresh in the area. The options which we considered were: masonry, charcoal manufacture, embroidery, fabrication and agriculture. In the same line we also explored marketing linkages with various professional organisations for the locally manufactured products like charcoal and handicraft items. Subsequently the two options which we implemented were restoration of wells which had collapsed in the earthquake and intensive training in embroidery.
 

Wells In connection with well repair and reconstruction a preliminary survey was carried out in 25 villages in the beginning of March 2001 to assess the damage to wells on account of the earthquake. They shortlisted wells in 13 villages for repair and reconstruction. A qualified Geohydrologist then visited these wellsites between 27th and 30th March 2001 to reassess the damages. The Geohydrologist, along with BSC staff, moved in some sample villages and interviewed the farmers. The objective of the visit was to actually see the damages to the open well sites and estimate the expenses involved in rehabilitating/ reconstructing the damaged

structures. The reconstruction work had a time limit to it owing to the onset of monsoon from 15th June onwards.
 

These farmers were mostly Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes having small land holdings and one open well to irrigate this land.  The open wells or bore wells were the structures used for drawing groundwater by using a centrifugal pump in case of open well and submersible pump in case of borewell. In cases of borewells, cement pipelines were laid in the fields for distribution of irrigation water. Due to the earthquake the open wells has been damaged, the pump room on top was broken and the pumping machinery had fallen in the well. There was an urgent need to repair these well structures for the coming monsoon season.

Location of the reconstructed wells and villages is given below.

The uniqueness of the project lay in the fact that it was completely managed by the owners themselves. The quality of construction was overseen by a technical group headed by a geohydrologist. The beneficiaries were mainly marginal and small farmers belonging to Koli, Muslim and Dalit families. For these people it would have been next to impossible to mobilise the finances required for reconstruction of the wells. The reconstruction enabled them to resume their agricultural operations in the ensuing monsoon. According to the observations of most of the beneficiaries water holding capacity of the reconstructed wells, which had been done in a technically sound manner, have increased substantially.
 

Embroidery Craft, for the people of Kachchh, has evolved to become a way of life rather than being an economic activity. Apart from providing economic security and sustainability, the therapeutic value of their embroidery had the scope of bringing a semblance of normalcy back to their lives. Different villages specialise in different forms of handicrafts, be it embroidery, terracotta, wool weaving, tie-dye, block printing, leather-work, wood-carving or weaving.

We evolved some basic guidelines for livelihood support programme as part of our long term community based rehabilitation strategy, such as,

• It should be based on traditional skills and indigenous knowledge base of the peopel;
• It should be sustainable;
• It should empower the beneficiaries;
• It should cover those who are the most vulnerable.

An extensive livelihood survey, along with community consultation processes, was undertaken to identify the most needy families in Bhachau and Rapar talukas. The purpose of this study was not just to study the crafts of the people, but also to understand the circumstances in which the people were living and the changes which had been brought about in their lives as a result of the earthquake and then, to provide appropriate productive assets for income generation. We aimed at introducing crafts as a means of income-generation for the focused communities – women of Dalit, Koli and Muslim communities. By analysing the profile of mainly dalit women who engage in embroidery we came to the conclusion

Even for making this activity suitable for supplementary income, their present skills which are endowed from mother to daughter traditionally, need to be upgraded in terms of quality and relevance to market demands. It is true that their embroidery is not as intricate and exquisite as that of the Ahirs, Rabaris, Meghwals or Sodha Rajputs elsewhere in Kachchh. Such work is patronised by other NGOs and find its market in the upper elite sections of Indian society or in the international market. But their skills are certainly extremely good for the middle-level segment of the market. It is this level of skills that finds market in places like Law Garden in Ahmedabad. We thus thought it worthwhile to make efforts in upgrading the neatness and quality of the work done by dalit women so that its market potential could be enhanced. This would also involve sensitising the women to the trends in the market by minor variations in colour combinations, design and stitches flowing from their traditional strength and skill.

The survey also revealed that the craft had tremendous potential, but their skill needed upgradation in terms of design, materials, and finishing. Therefore, we started with a workshop, in village Vamka, primarily to assess the level of their skill, especially in terms of finishing and speed. We gave them blank pieces of fabrics of 9”x11” and 9”x9” which they had to finish within a fortnight.  As most of the women at that time were engaged in reconstruction of shelter and agriculture, we decided to pay them a stipend for this work. The stipend varied between Rs. 15/- and Rs. 35/- (depending on the quality of their work). A similar process was carried out in Shivalakha and Gharana villages of Bhachau taluka and, later, in the villages of Rapar. Villages in Rapar included Moti Hamirpar, Dorkivandh, Khariyavandh and Momaidhar. Moti Hamirpar and Dorkhivandh had more skilled artisans.

This process helped us to identify the skilled and the non-skilled women who could provide leadership to the programme. The sampling phase also gave us a clear picture of the women, their social status, ability to work and so on. Of the three target communities, the Dalit and the Muslim women were more competent whereas Koli women were still at an early stage of learning the craft. This was on account of the fact that these women work at the saltpan factories and are therefore not exposed to the finer aspects of embroidery. The Dalit women were found to be more enterprising than the Kolis and the Muslims. The Muslim women were timid and shy but highly skilled; their style of embroidery was quite unique in comparison to the other two communities.

Having established the availability of these resources we embarked upon the product development stage. Two students from the Textile Department of NID contributed their ideas and helped in developing the products. After the initial market and user-survey we decided on products like bags, pouches for mobile phones, and spectacle cases. Bag as an accessory was designed for the age group of 18-25 year olds, who would prefer a bit of styling and a contemporary look with their outfit. A tailor in Ahmedabad was asked to stitch the samples before the actual embroidery work was done in order to get the correct dimensions for fixing the design areas for printing. Once the samples were approved the patterns of the required product were cut and delivered to the women in the form of kits.

Since BSC does not want to remain the intermediary for production management and marketing for long, it is important that the project emphasizes capacity building for women leaders engaged in this activity. This would enable the women’s groups to take control of this activity at the earliest. Capacity building here would consist of introducing women to the basics of design, trends in the market, quality and costs of various types of material and accessories they have to procure and use, quality control in production, types of products their work can be converted to and the agencies/traders who could provide them with job works in future. This should enable them to become well informed and to develop the confidence and negotiating skills needed to operate independently in the market.

For this purpose the women were taken for exposure trips to various institutions and to commercial agencies in Bhuj and Ahmedabad to see for themselves the aspects mentioned above. They are also given regular training programmes for confidence-building and leadership development in Rajansar camp. For quality and skill enhancement the method adopted was workshops in the villages for which the help of master craftswomen from Women Artisan Marketing Agency (WAMA) from Bhuj was taken. Through their consultancy we have been able to systematise the preparation and supply of standard embroidery kits at appropriate costs. We have also perfected the method of maintaining a reserve inventory of marketable products so as to cater to the bulk demands of traders/agencies within the timeframe they expect.

To achieve the objective of self-management it is important to develop institutional mechanisms and formal institutional linkages. After experimenting with a number of suppliers of raw material and accessories we have identified a list of suppliers providing such material at reasonable costs without compromising on quality. Similarly institutional linkages with resource institutions (like KMVS, WAMA) also are being built up. The women are in the process of being introduced to and linked to all these entities so that they would be in a position to negotiate and manage the programme on their own in the long run.

The effort towards identifying reliable fair-trade enterprises and government agencies has to be pursued in the market linkage phase. It is the most difficult phase, and will take approximately another year. The ad-hoc efforts made have covered institutions like Auroville in Pondicherry, Fab-India in Delhi, Bandhej and Gurjari in Ahmedabad, and some friendly institutions abroad such as Sophia University in Tokyo and friends of BSC in Spain, Germany and Belgium. The invitations for Government sponsored handicraft exhibitions have also started arriving, and these are also being considered seriously. These ad-hoc efforts have to be systematized now and reliable agencies and enterprises have to be identified, listed and introduced to the women.

In order to strengthen the institutional aspect of the as yet informal embroidery groups we are in the process of setting up appropriate systems. There are registers to record transparently and accurately the quantum and type of job work given to each woman, objective method of grading the work on the basis of its quality, a card system to record the wages paid, and a well maintained stock register and sales register. It is envisaged that the women’s groups, through whichever method they deem feasible, would eventually maintain these systems.

Our strategy encompasses the spheres of production, quality control, development of institutional linkage, strengthening the internal organizational systems and identification of appropriate market segments and agencies. The only precaution we have taken is that this activity should be during their leisure time so that it does not increase the otherwise heavy workload of women. And also that our efforts should not harm the women by drawing them away from their chief means of livelihood before the viability at every level is established and decided by them in a well informed fashion.

Monitoring of rehabilitation rights:
As has been outlined above the rehabilitation process is likely to work to the disadvantage of our target communities and to leave them worse off than before. We could hear such statements as “… those who died are the lucky ones; ones surviving are the ones who are cursed…”. Stratagems of the dominant castes to rid the “new” villages of the Dalit, Koli and Muslim populations were underway and were beginning to fructify under a political dispensation sympathetic to this cause. In view of this we felt that the rehabilitation phase needed to be closely monitored, especially from the Human Rights perspective. A strong organisation of the people was also needed which could act as a pressure group vis a vis the government to be able to make the rehabilitation just and equitable.

The rehabilitation process also needed to look at the needs and rights of the most vulnerable sections even within the target communities viz. the widows and the orphans. Another activity carried out as part of this component was that of running the “Sneh Samuday” shelters for the widows, orphans, aged and the destitute (discussed below).

Participation of people in the process of their own development was of vital importance to us. In this line a meeting with the people of 38 villages (218 persons had turned up) – Dalits, Kolis, minorities and some OBCs – was called on the 11th of March where the people were encouraged to voice their concerns. The main issues to emerge from the meeting were:

• Housing, especially in the face of the summer and approaching monsoon;
• Discrimination towards the marginalised communities with regard to relief and compensation;
• Rights of the marginalised communities and hence the need for monitoring them;
• Livelihood and the urgent need to restore them;
• Dissatisfaction with the government’s tardiness in announcing the compensation and rehabilitation package.

Based on the survey findings we decided to take up the cause of the dispossessed communities. Accordingly, we started conducting village level meetings to mobilize people to fight for their right to rehabilitation. This was the first step in the formation of the “Lok Adhikar Manch (LAM)” in July 2001. Under the banner of LAM a Right’s Campaign was launched on July 21, 2001 which continued till September 24, 2001. Around 90 villages from Bhachau, Anjar, Rapar and Bhuj were covered under this campaign. The main objective of this campaign was to bring about an awareness in the community about their rights and entitlements and to access the same. Another important objective of this campaign was to create and strengthen a vibrant and aware civil society that would raise its voice against the denial of rights to the poor and the most marginalised sections. As our work progressed we started raising the issues before the concerned Government authorities.

Initially, village level committees were formed in each village and meetings held. One of the important points to emerge from these meetings was the need to challenge the government’s rehabilitation and compensation policy. We also realised the need for collective advocacy and a people’s forum that can effectively represent the issues faced by the earthquake affected people of Kachchh. Consequently we formed a pagala samiti (action committee) to decide upon a plan of action and its implementation. The Action Committee consisted of members selected from each village. Meanwhile, many of the affected people who had not received any compensation or left out of the government survey decided to hold a symbolic protest at the Mamlatdar’s office in the respective talukas. A dharna by people from all the talukas (Bhachau, Rapar, Anjar and __) was planned on 16th January 2002. A charter of demands, produced below, was prepared.
 

Members of the Action Committee started visiting different villages and mobilising people for collective action and advocacy. Meanwhile, people of Anjar started a dharna at the TDO office on 19th January 2002; and in solidarity, the people of Bhachau and Rapar talukas also joined the action. There were at least 300-500 people participating in the dharna from Bhachau taluka, and almost 1,000 from Rapar². Each day the number of participants increased by 600-700. At least 200 people used to camp overnight.

As days passed, people from many other villages joined the protest and thus LAM took the shape of a mass movement for rehabilitation and resettlement rights. The local officials and bureaucrats took stern repressive actions such as, ordered closure of photocopying shops, closure of tea stalls, breaking the shamiyana, not providing drinking water. In spite of this the people continued their silent and non-violent protest. They used to bring their grievances to us; we helped them prepare applications as per their requirements. Each family had to attest documents like copy of ration card, election card, house tax bill, survey card. Each application, along with these documents, was photocopied in 3 sets and then submitted to the respective authorities – one at TDO office, one at DDO office and the third for our record. At the end of the day, all the applications were sorted out according to the nature of the problem and follow up actions were taken accordingly. We must have filed at least 700 applications for Bhachau taluka and 1,500 for Rapar taluka. In all, about 3,000 such applications were filed. This was followed by a mahasammelan (a very large conference) on the issue of people’s rights for R & R and entitlements at village Samakhiyali in Kachchh on 4th February 2002. More than 3,000 people from the earthquake affected areas (Rapar, Bhachau, Anjar, Bhuj taluka of Kachchh district, Jodiya taluka of Jamnagar district and Junagadh district) participated in this conference and put forward their demands.

On 7th February 2002, after the mahasammelan, members of the co-ordination committee met the DDO of Kachchh and submitted a copy of their demands along with all the applications (3,050) prepared during the agitation. The DDO responded positively and gave an assurance of doing the needful after due scrutiny, and responding within 15 days. On 12th February, the Government provided the list of 36 villages to LAM where a re-survey had been ordered. On 4th March, we received a written response from the administration to 2,084 applications out of the 3,050 which had been submitted. The response also contained an explanation as to why compensation/benefits were not given to the applicants. This has advocacy implications for policy changes to ensure that persons/families without assets or entitlements are not deprived of compensation/benefits. As a follow up, members of the co-ordination committee started visiting these houses/families to cross-check the information. The members of the co-ordination committee have suggested that LAM should be continued as a community based organization and it would continue to fight for people’s rights.

This entire episode, along with the process of mass mobilisation for human rights, has led to positive fall-outs. Firstly, it is the fact of 3 disparate but similarly marginalised cultural groups – the Kolis, the Dalits and the Muslims – coming together to assert their rights and demands. This process of coming together forced the government to respond to as many as 60% of the applications, something which was very unexpected from an unresponsive government machinery. Further, the participation of women in this whole process was a revelation to us. Kachchh being a tradition-dominated and orthodox society, our expectation was that the whole movement would have to be spearheaded by men, but this turnout of women has made us rethink our assumptions and strategy.

Sneh-Samuday (SS)
The activities under SS have to be understood in the context of the post-earthquake phase, wherein efforts were made to bring people out of the pall of fear, nervousness and anxiety. Many such adverse impacts were observed on children, women, disabled and destitute. As part of this programme the following activities were undertaken:

1. Day Care Centres
2. Nutrition programme
3. Medical and psychosocial support
4. Cultural activities
5. People’s right – legal awareness and advocacy

avoiding sitting under a roof, waking up abruptly in the middle of the night, continuous prayers to God for protection and so on. Bringing children to a state of normalcy was the uppermost concern. We realised that the concept of Bal Vikas Kendra (BVK)3 could be replicated here with different activities with children along with providing functional literacy. We thought of activities such as story telling, singing, craft activities, some elements of environmental education – identifying birds, insects, tools, trees, etc., cleaning the village, and games. 8 such shelters have been set up in the following villages: Jadsa; Vamka; Vijpasar; Bharudiya; Shivlakha; Gharna; Bandadi; Kadol.

The objective of these Day Care Centres was to create an enabling environment for the children within their own community to help them cope with the post-disaster trauma more effectively. It would also, in the process, fill up the gap created by schools being closed down in the aftermath of the earthquake. Varied activities like singing, creative dramatics, origami, pottery, crafts training, indoor games were carried out with the children. The children were also taken out on excursion visits to historical places. Exchange programmes between villages were also organized wherein children from one village went to another village and participated in cultural programmes.

The ruined school buildings needed reconstruction. While deliberating on the centre – its situation, purpose etc. – we reflected on the position of our priority communities and their needs. In the process we expanded the scope of the physical space to include other members of the community, to make it a place where they could converge and meet. A participative consultation process with the community members was undertaken so as to build a sense of shared ownership of the centres. This was the beginning of a community-based approach for rehabilitation. A series of meetings were held in the villages leading to a consensus from the community and finally with the community leaders signing the agreement letter for the community centres. A total of 20 villages were selected for such day care centres.

The running of these centres was the next hurdle that we had to overcome. Consultation among Sneh Samuday partners brought out the idea of appointing an educated person from the community itself who would take up the responsibility to run the centre. Such a person would be called a ‘Sneh Karmi’ (a caring and dedicated worker). Our search for an educated person from our priority communities (Koli, Dalit, Muslim) revealed that there are very few educated youths who could take up this responsibility. The selection of these volunteers was a difficult process. Basic criteria that followed while selecting Sneh Karmis were:

• they should be from the same community,
• they should preferably belong to the marginalised and deprived sections of the community,
• at least 50% of them should be women.

Here too the caste equations and discriminatory practices proved to be a hurdle for us. We tried to locate the semi-permanent community structures amongst the marginalised and deprived sections of the community. This was strongly opposed by the upper castes. In some villages, we got places which were located amongst the powerful castes, and children from “lower” castes refused to go there. In many places there were internal problems amongst Dalits and other marginalised sections.

From BSC, three supervisors were appointed for the 20 Sneh Karmis, providing assistance whenever required, as also information about different government schemes for relief and rehabilitation in the respective areas. In the process the Sneh Karmis became resource persons for the community and a link between the community and BSC. The contribution of the Sneh Karmis in helping orphan children link up with foster families within the community was significant and laudable. At other day care centres, the community has started taking up the responsibility for such orphans.

From August 2001 when Government schools were restarted the number of children coming to the day care Centres dropped. The timings of the Day Care Centres were then changed keeping in mind the timings of Government schools. The average number of children at Day Care Centres was the about 25-30. Regular nutritional support was provided to all children till August 2001. Nutritional support has now been discontinued at all centres except for a few ones.

In order to identify and reach out personally to the most vulnerable groups such as widows, orphans, single-parent children, persons with disability, uncared old etc. a social surveillance programme was initiated to monitor the condition and special needs of these groups and to respond to their problems immediately. This process of monitoring was called “SOCIAL WATCH” wherein individual record (containing detailed information regarding their problems, needs and available support system within and outside the community, benefits availed of, follow-up actions if not,) of each vulnerable family was maintained at the village level. The Sneh Karmis were engaged in creating and updating this database besides their activities with children.

The process of Social Watch has been very effective in terms of reaching out to the most vulnerable families in the earthquake-affected areas and to provide prompt and timely response to their needs and problems. Looking at the effectiveness of the process the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of Gujarat, has replicating the process of Social Watch in the rest of the earthquake-hit villages of Kachchh. This has been a significant achievement of SS in terms of sensitising and influencing the Government to adopt a people-friendly approach to rehabilitation.

The activities with children through the Day Care Centres started at a time when they were needed the most. When we started these activities there were no schools which were running, children were undergoing trauma, many children were left orphaned without any food arrangements, there were no recreational places. No NGO or GO had initiated any activities to address the needs of the children apart from distributing relief materials. Therefore our intervention received a good response wherever we started it.

b.   Food and Nutrition Programme
This programme was started with the objective of supporting the most vulnerable among the survivors who were left without any means of support. This programme was specially designed for the persons who were dependent, needy and vulnerable to malnourishment in post earthquake phase. The idea was to extend food and nutritional support to vulnerable families till such time that they were able to create an alternative support system. This support was temporary in nature.

The Sneh Karmis made a list of vulnerable families who needed food and nutritional support that includes widow without any support, single women, pregnant women, lactating mother, old age people, and injured and disabled people. These families were given food packets on a regular basis till August-September 2001. In all 360 people were covered under this programme during. As the name suggested, the diet was planned keeping the nutritional needs of the person. The high protein food like pulses, groundnut, items of wheat flour and pressed rice were included in the diet. The supplementary food was given to the children attending Day care Centres.

The temporary nature of the support made it difficult for us to discontinue the programme especially in view of the fact that many of the persons needed long-term assistance in the absence of alternated sources of livelihood. We are searching for options to counter dependency. In case of uncared old, for whom it is difficult to engage in any livelihood support activities, we are helping them to access old age pension from the Government.

Another problem that we faced was selection of cook and closely linked up with that was timely delivery of food. We preferred to select cooks who were local and also vulnerable like widow or single woman, so that they can also get some kind of support for themselves. But here caste factors created a hurdle. Most of the cooks are Dalits, Muslims, Kolis or other marginalized sections of the community. In such cases people from other communities refused to eat it. Initially we had thought that food for all the vulnerable families would be prepared at the Sneh Kendras where they would come and eat together. But on account of such problems we started supplying ration packets at their shelters. At some of the day care centres children from “upper” castes refused to eat this food. The villages and number of beneficiaries reached under this programme are as shown in the table.

DETAILS OF FOOD DISTRIBUTION

c.   Medical and psychosocial support
Medical and psychosocial support services were started primarily with two objectives:

1. To reach the unreached and the most vulnerable, injured and disabled persons who have no access to proper medical services,
2. To provide psycho-social support to individuals, children and communities in general to relieve their trauma and with particular stress on the most vulnerable and also to help and guide them in locating various support systems available for them along with rebuilding their hopes and self esteem.

The Sneh Karmis carried out a detailed survey of all villages to identify the injured and disabled persons. We tried to reach out to these people through organizing medical camps, medical personnel and volunteers. Some of our staff members attended a ‘Sensitisation Workshop’ where they learnt how to handle psychological problems in the post disaster phase. The Sneh Karmis maintained a close watch on the availability of medical support, follow up and other support required at the community level.

The compensation for injury depends on the injury certificate issued by the government hospital. The process of getting the right injury certificate was very cumbersome. In many cases, wrong certificates were issued by the Government. People with more than 40% injury were given certificate showing less than 20% injury, which would result in inadequate compensation. The Sneh Karmis also helped the injured persons in getting injury certificates from the Government hospital.

d.   Cultural activities
While working with our priority communities, we realized that they lacked the necessary information regarding rehabilitation & resettlement (R&R). Raising awareness about R&R efforts and people’s rights appeared to us as an important aspect to be dealt with in the rehabilitation phase. We realised, through the experiences of the Day Care Centres, that conveying such messages through folk and other culturally accepted media was very effective for awareness raising. Some organisations⁴ had evolved slogans, songs, skits, street plays and such cultural activities to pass on information about people’s rights related to R&R. We used these in different villages to spread awareness. Reaching the village in the morning our volunteers would spread word about the cultural programme scheduled for the evening where the people were invited. They also tried to involve the community members in evolving a theme for the programme which was put up in the form of a street play, songs or slogans. This was followed by a question-answer session. It thus evolved into a participatory activity and helped tremendously in spreading awareness about R&R rights.

A Bal Mela was organised at village Samakhyali in order to provide a platform to children for expressing themselves and exhibiting whatever new skills they had developed at the Day Care Centres. Children performed skits, sang songs and chanted slogans which they had developed.

e.  People’s Right for R&R – legal awareness and advocacy
The national and international NGOs that turned up in response to the earthquake confined themselves to distribution of relief material. As mentioned earlier our experience during the relief phase had brought to our notice many incidents of discrimination and oppression. This had led us to initiate community-based rehabilitation work with the underlying mission of promoting equity and social justice.

In this process, BSC witnessed malpractices and ill treatment of the poor by government officials – unwillingness to provide information, corruption, refusal to pay the correct amount as compensation, and such like. The persons who suffered were mainly from marginalised communities like Dalit, Koli and Muslims.

In this situation, the foremost need was to spread awareness among the affected people and mobilise them to fight for their rights. The formation of the Lok Adhikar Manch (LAM) was a step in this direction. The first programme/rally was organised between 14th and 19th April 2001, on the birth anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, a champion for the rights of the downtrodden. The rally visited 42 villages and undertook large-scale mobilisation of people on the issues of R&R rights. This programme was jointly organised by BSC and Council for Social Justice (CSJ). In the same line, a public hearing was organised by the Indian People’s Tribunal (IPT) at village Samakhyali. The tribunal consisted of a retired judge of the high court, a renowned lawyer, engineer, educationist, social activists and medical practitioners. The tribunal listened patiently to the grievances of the affected persons and gave them valuable guidance (legal and other matters). The tribunal finally submitted a report to the Government of Gujarat (GoG), narrating the situation, possible solutions and policy recommendations for rehabilitation in Kachchh as well as the need for strengthening government schemes for the betterment of the people (see Appendix 4).

A cultural programme named ‘Mashaal’ (meaning torch) was organised in 6 villages (Vamka, Gharana, Samakhyali, Shivlakha, Moti Hamirpar, Mouvadhar Vandh) of Bhachau taluka. Social activists and lawyers accompanied this cultural group which provided information on various government schemes and rehabilitation packages as well as problems on account of loopholes in the policy or malpractices. During the day the team helped to fill in application forms for Widow’s Pension, Injury compensation, Housing compensation. The evening saw cultural activities which portrayed the difficulties faced by people, discrimination in receiving compensation. The programme ended with an appeal to the  audience to get united in the war against injustice. This was the first step in mobilisation of people for the community based organisation.

The people in Rapar and Bhachau taluka were also mobilised on the issue of scarcity of water. The government had announced that it would provide water for reconstruction of houses and for drinking purposes but failed in fulfilling this promise. The women were forced to fetch drinking water from long distances while water for construction had to be transported over long distances, which put an additional burden on them. They prepared an application and submitted it to the Taluka Development Officer (TDO) requesting him to do needful, failing which, they would start a campaign for their rights.

Women’s Empowerment Activities
The decision to initiate work with women was taken in the light of the crucial need for women’s participation in the process of R&R as well as in the long term programmes of BSC. Our observations had brought home the fact of the extremely poor status of women in Kachchhi society. Low literacy level, lack of or very negligible participation in Panchayati Raj or any political event, earning a secondary wage in the salt industry or agriculture, little or no participation in any social events (especially in castes like Rajput) were some of  the indicators which underscored the need for women’s development and empowerment.

Our objective in working with women was to address gender issues, specifically to restore to women the control over their lives. This in essence would imply:

• Promotion of leadership among women;
• Increasing women’s participation in decision-making bodies – family, community, panchayats;
• Ownership and control over assets;
• Economic self-reliance.

The activities with women started in February 2002. In the main they consisted of holding village level meetings, getting women to share their issues and developmental needs. The idea of a savings and credit activity is also discussed at this forum and membership mobilised for the initial village level savings group. Initial difficulties (inability to participate in meetings, inability to come together, initial hesitation, discriminatory caste practices) notwithstanding, till date, there have been 5 such savings groups which have been formed. Some of these women also participate in the LAM activities.

Research:
A study on the situation of the marginalised communities (Dalits, Kolis, Muslims and OBCs) vis a vis government’s policy and package of rehabilitation in the wake of the earthquake in January 2001 was undertaken. The first phase of this research, which focussed on the relief activities between January 26 2001 and May 2001, ended in May 2001. A report of the findings of the study, entitled Relief Activities in the Earthquake-affected Areas of Gujarat: the Perceptions of the Marginalised Communities is available with us. This study was a collaborative effort of the Centre and the Indian Social Institute (ISI), New Delhi.

Given the unequal socio-economic structure of Gujarat and Kachchh in particular, some activists and organisations expressed openly the fear that aid and relief material would not reach equally to all. In the course of a few weeks it became clear that a systematic study into the position of the marginalised communities vis a vis the relief package of the government could be useful to throw light on the attitude of the state to these groups. The main findings of the study were as follows:

General conclusions:

1. There has been a systematic failure of the government in implementing the disaster-management plans it had announced. Cutting across communities, and geographical locations, people feel that the government has failed in rescue, relief, and rehabilitation.
2. NGOs have been more successful and effective that the government, especially in rescue and relief operations. Had not the NGOs responded promptly to the catastrophe, marginalised groups and people  from remote places (Rapar and Anjar) would have been left entirely on their own.
3. People’s own security continues to be seriously affected. After cash doles were stopped and new ‘family cards’ issued, food distribution is neither regular nor evenly distributed among all social groups.
4. Benefits have been concentrated in Bhuj and Bhachau. People living in Anjar and Rapar have been generally neglected. Since Rapar and Anjar have the highest concentration of ST and SC population among all the four talukas chosen for the study, it is logical to conclude that geographical discrimination has, in practice, menat discrimination against STs and SCs on a large scale.
5. The biased nature of the various measures taken to ameliorate the condition of the earthquake victims is confirmed by the unequal pace of recovery experienced by different social groups. The progression of the OBC/FC towards recovery has been steady and increasing from one stage to another: the proportion of those recording a positive impact and full recovery increased from 15% at the end of the first month, to 28% at the end of the third. In the case of STs, there has been a sort of ‘regression’: the proportion of respondents evaluating rescue and rehabilitation operations as positive fell from 23% after rescue, to 14% after rehabilitation.
6. The transition from relief to rehabilitation has meant the ‘stagnation of hope’ for all communities. With the exception of Muslims, the proportion of those believing that ‘no effect’ or ‘no impact’ is taking place has been increasing among all social groups, after each of the three stages, but especially during the transition from relief to rehabilitation. The rate of increase in the number of ‘sceptics’ is largest among STs.

7. The overall picture emerging during the phase of rescue work is rather dismal. The government failed comprehensively to offer succour to the victims of the earthquake during the first week: 55% of all respondents did not receive water, food, clothes and shelter during the week following the disaster.
8. Rescue came primarily from NGOs: while 8% of respondents obtained aid from the government, 45% did so from the operating NGOs.
9. Government and NGO efforts were concentrated mainly in Bhachau and Bhuj. Rapar and Anjar were practically left without rescue facilities. Later, NGOs were able to fill up the gaps in the latter two talukas.
10. Government rescue activities discriminated against SCs: only 2% of SCs received rescue aid from the government.
11. There is enough evidence to suggest that NGOs favoured marginalised communities in rescue operations: while the proportion (2%) of SCs receiving aid from the government was the lowest among all the social groups, the proportion (53%) of SCs receiving rescue aid from NGOs was the largest.
12. Proportionally the highest number of casualties occurred among the ST and Muslim communities.
13. Casualties were gender-biased: the proportion of female injured was higher slightly higher than the proportion of injured males. The proportion of women unable to work after the earthquake is much higher than the proportion of men. This is especially so in the ST and Muslim communities.
14. Casualties have been mainly concentrated in Bhachau and Bhuj. Poor hospital facilities in Rapar prior to the earthquake were a determinant cause of the comparatively poor treatment received by the earthquake victims of Rapar.
15. Compensation to and treatment, though sometimes late, of the injured have been carried out fairly well without any visible discrimination.
16. Members of the ST community are the strongest critics of the quality of treatment received. Due to their isolation and ignorance, (especially in Anjar), the comparatively most injured group (STs) received the poorest medical treatment.
17. In rescue operation, SCs had to face an unfavourable (uncaring may be more correct) attitude from rescue officials in Bhachau (13% of SC respondents) and in Rapar (15% of SC respondents), and a difficulty in accessing rescue facilities in Bhachau and Anjar.

18. The government completely failed to fulfil its constitutional obligation of providing relief in times of a calamity: only 13% of respondents received adequate and prompt relief, and a majority of respondents cutting across all social groups and regions perceive the government’s relief efforts as ineffective and having a negative impact. Evaluating the quality of government relief work, 80% of respondents felt that it was ‘neglected’.
19. This government’s neglect was particularly felt in Rapar and Anjar. Since the proportion of SCs and STs is relatively high in these two talukas, both these communities have borne the brunt of the government’s inefficiency.
20. NGOs have been able to fill the glaring gaps left over by the government. It is no exaggeration to conclude that in all the four talukas, and in respect of all social groups, the proportion of those having received relief aid from NGOs are 3 to 5 times the proportion of those having received aid from the government.
21. The government’s intervention in distributing compensation and cash doles has been more successful. The problem of timely issue of ‘new cards’ has, however, plagued a good number of respondents.
22. Social or regional discrimination in relief work has not attained generally alarming proportions. This must be attributed to the almost complete absence of the government from any systematic relief operations.
23. Even in this general chaos affecting all, the ST community has been discriminated against. They have received relatively less relief material than other social groups, they are the most ardent critics of the relief-impact, they have felt more difficulties than other groups in accessing relief, and they have comparatively been the worst affected in terms of compensation, cash doles and in receiving food rations.
24. One of the greatest failures of the government has been its inability to provide adequate food subsidies after the first month. Once cash doles were stopped, a majority of people found it difficult to access adequate quantities of food through the public distribution system. Consider the following: 11% of respondents feel that they have not received food, 38% complain of irregular distribution, and 36% have not received enough food. Considering the excess supplies of foodgrains in the country during this entire period, this negligence is totally unpardonable.
25. There is a strong perception of an urban bias in relief distribution. More than half the respondents (65% of SC and Muslims) feel that they have not got the relief material because they live in a rural locality.

26. The government has failed to communicate the benefits available in various rehabilitation packages to the people: only 7% of all respondents are aware of it. As a consequence, people have lost faith in the government: 60% neither perceive nor expect any benefits to flow from the rehabilitation package.
27. Closeness to district headquarters makes a difference in terms of awareness: the proportion (18%) of all respondents from Bhuj who know about the rehabilitation programme is the highest in all talukas.
28. OBCs/FCs and STs record lower levels of information than other groups. In the case of the latter, it is evident that the government has not taken any precaution to ensure that ST communities geographically isolated from the urban centres be informed about the programme.
29. About half of respondents evenly distributed among all social groups blame procedural complexities for not being able to obtain rehabilitation benefits. SCs, STs, and minorities underline the lack of assets as the main difficulty in getting rehabilitation. Muslims are relatively more aware than other social groups but none can perceive or expect any benefits. This disappointment is the result of past bitter experiences of discrimination.
30. Instances of discrimination against marginalised communities have been recorded: 63% of SC respondents from Rapar resent the attitude of officials at the time of registering the loss of assets. In Anjar, a few ST and SC respondents have specifically mentioned caste discrimination as an obstacle to register their asset-loss.
31. The government’s decision of leaving the final decision to relocate the village in the hands of the Gram Sabha (GS) has been contested mainly by marginalised communities: 47, 50 and 59% of all STs, SCs and Muslim respondents respectively do not agree with the decision taken by the GS. A majority (61%) of OBC/FC, however, supports the decision to relocate the village taken by the GS. The conclusion is inescapable: these marginalised groups perceive that decisions taken by the GS are manipulated by the upper castes in their own interest. This is confirmed by the fact that about 60% of respondents are not aware of the type of decision taken by the GS, and 70% feel that they have not been consulted. Most members of marginalised communities reject the option of relocation outside the village. Given these facts, the government’s proposal to relocate those villages with 70% damage has no takers. Rehabilitation has failed while people continue to suffer as neither the debris of the collapsed houses has been cleared nor temporary shelters have been constructed.

• In spite of publishing specific guidelines for economic rehabilitation, by April-May 2001, 73% of all respondents had not received any economic help.
• The distribution of economic help to revive livelihoods has followed a clear discriminatory pattern against SCs and STs. Proportionately, and to a significant degree, OBC/FCs have received more economic help than SCs and STs.
• Economic help has been mainly disbursed in Bhachau and Bhuj. People from Rapar and Anjar have been entirely left out: 97% of respondents from Rapar and 90% from Anjar had not received any economic help by April-May, 2001.

• The government had failed singularly in its duty as a welfare state in providing rescue as well as relief material to the earthquake affected people in Kachchh. There was also large-scale discrimination in regional and in social terms in the provision of rescue effort as well as relief measures. The study concluded that the state of affairs in the district was extremely fragile, with neither any makeshift arrangement for social security set up, nor any sustainable long-term measures taken for rehabilitation. Keeping this in mind, we had recommended the restarting of cash doles, distribution of ratio as well as other short term means of sustenance, along with the setting up of the properly planned setting up of long term rehabilitation in the district.
• The rescue and relief phases have since then elapsed, and a year after the calamity, the rehabilitation of the affected areas is under way. This study, therefore, comes as a sequel to the previous one and aims at establishing to what extent the earthquake affected regions are today in a position of self reliance and sustainability as far as habitation and livelihood are concerned.

• In all the three districts most people live in their original place of residence near their original place of residence, in tents and tarpaulin. However half of the respondents of Bhachau have migrated to different places.
• About 25% of the total respondents have not got any temporary shelter from any source. Out of 2212 respondents in Kachchh, 354 i.e. 16% respondents have as yet not received any temporary shelter.
• Where temporary shelter has been provided, it has been mostly the NGOs that have done so; 41% have got shelters from NGOs, while 22% have got them from the government and 11% have built them on their own. In Kachchh 46% people have got temporary shelters from NGOs.
• The government has concentrated on Bhuj to the detriment of other talukas. Almost 70% people in Bhuj have got temporary shelters from government while in Anjar it is 27% and for Kachchh overall it is only 29%.
• NGOs are the most active in providing temporary shelter in Rapar, where 86% have got their temporary shelter from NGOs followed by Bhachau with 80% and Maliya with 52%. Anjar has been ignored by NGOs also in providing shelter.
• Anjar has been neglected the most, since 40% have had to build their own temporary accommodation facilities.
• Even in the areas where it has concentrated, the government has not provided the full package of materials for temporary shelter.  More than half the respondents (57%) have got the corrugated iron sheets that the government provided, but only 8% have got cement and only 3% have got bricks through the government. In Kachchh 22% of the respondents have received no building material. In Rajkot this figure is as high as 72.6%.
• There is inequality between communities in receiving building material. The Ahirs and the Muslims have been the major beneficiaries of the government’s distribution, with 37% of the Ahirs and 42% of the Muslims getting some material from the government. Against this the Government has given temporary shelters to only 15% of SC and 20% of ST respondents.

• By now, the majority of people have been covered by the first survey. In Rapar there are still 5% people whose houses have not been surveyed. In the other districts the proportion is higher e.g. 12% in Rajkot (11.4% in Maliya and 13.8% in Morbi talukas) have not been yet covered under even the first survey.
• Everywhere there are a significant number of people who have been left out of the resurvey that was carried out because of the admitted inaccuracy of the initial survey. In the taluka of Bhachau, more than 70% respondents have not had the benefit of a resurvey. More than a third of Kachchh in the sample (36%) has been left out of the resurvey. It is also interesting to note that two-thirds of the Rajputs, more than half of the Ahirs and more than 70% of the Jain respondents have had their damage resurveyed. On the other hand, 6% of the ST community and 43% of the SC communities have not got the benefit of this. Since houses are surveyed on request, the low level of understanding of categorisation means that most people may not have asked for a resurvey simply because they do not know enough about it.
• The majority (63%) of people in all the three districts are not sure whether the measurement was done accurately or not. Only 28% of all the respondents are sure that their house area was properly measured. A little more than a third (36%) of Bhachau respondents, and only 18% of the Bhuj respondents are sure about the accuracy of the measurement. Besides this, 11% of Kutch and 6% of Rajkot respondents have said that their house was not measured properly.
• A large proportion of people do not know when a house may be classified under a respective category. In the overall picture, more than half of the S.C. and S.T. communities do not know about the categorisation, while most of the Ahirs (70%) know about them. The poorer communities, therefore, would be likely to suffer due to their lack of knowledge. The level of knowledge is the lowest in Rapar in Kachchh and Halvad in Surendranagar, where 95% each of the respondents have no idea how the categories are denoted.

• There is an indication of communitywise discrimination in categorisation of damage. In Anjar, 40% of the houses of SC communities have been categorised as G2, and 17% Muslim houses as G1, while of all the communities the Darbars have the maximum proportion classified as G5 (88%). In Bhachau, all the Darbars, Ahirs and other forward caste communities have got their houses classified as G5.
• Another interesting fact that emerges is that 5% of the respondents in Rapar do not know which category that their house has been put under. This includes 13% of the Rabaris and 12% of the Muslims in the taluka.

Compensation accruing and received:
Accrual:
This section takes into consideration that many people have 3-4 houses surveyed.

• The average amount accruing throughout the earthquake-affected region, taking into consideration all the three districts is Rs. 71,100.  That the variation is extremely wide is obvious when we see that the minimum amount (barring those people that do not know what they will get) is Rs. 500 in Morbi and the highest is Rs. 1,20,000 in Malia.
• Talukawise differences are obvious at first sight. People of Bhachau, the taluka most devastated by the earthquake, get only Rs. 52123 and Rapar Rs. 42448 on an average, while people of Anjar and Bhuj get more than Rs. 88000 on an average. The variation within Bhachau and Rapar is also quite high. More surprising is the fact that Rapar gets only 8.8% of the entire sum of money to be given by the government in the studied areas, and Bhachau gets another 19%.
• There is talukawise disproportion in the funds allotted when compared to the proportion of people and G5 houses in that taluka. Whereas it 13% of the sample is taken from Rapar, and also 13% of the houses in the G5 category are in this taluka, it gets only 9% of the funds. Similarly Bhachau with 24% of the sample and 37% of the G5 category houses gets only 19% of the funds. Bhuj gets the highest proportion of the funds (37%) though it covers only 26% of the sample and 31% of the total G5 category houses. There is a disproportionate amount accruing to Maliya as well, with only 8% of the sample (2% of the G5 category houses) getting 14% of the funds.
• The extent of variation within the talukas is also quite high. Discounting for the moment the people who do not know what they are going to get, the greatest differential is seen in Morbi with a minimum of Rs. 500 and a maximum of Rs. 90000. In Anjar the minimum is Rs. 7000 while the maximum is Rs. 90000, a difference of Rs. 83000.
• There is variation seen in the amounts accruing for different communities. The Forward Castes in Kachchh are eligible to the highest average amount, Rs. 88957, followed by the Ahirs who get an average of Rs. 79704. The ST communities get the lowest amount of Rs. 62940 on an average.

• As of December 2001, 27% of the respondents had not yet received the first instalment of compensation. In Kutch itself, 20% were yet to receive the first instalment.
• There are regional differences in the proportion of people who have received the first instalment. In the worst affected talukas of Bhachau and Rapar, 30% and 26% of the respondents had not received the first instalments. In Rajkot, more than half (56%) and in Surendranagar 24% were waiting for the money. In Bhuj, on the other hand 95% of the respondents had already received their first instalments.
• Certain communities have definitely cornered the first share of funds. The Ahirs and the Oswals have been among the first to get the money. More than 80% of these communities had received their first instalments in November – December when the data was collected, whereas 30% each of the SC and OBC communities were still waiting for it.
• The average amount obtained over all the three districts is Rs. 49472.221. However, there are regional differences. People in Rapar have obtained the lowest average amount, while people in Bhuj have obtained the highest average amount which is 8 times higher than amount of Rapar. A similar table comparing the proportion of fund with the proportion of sample and proportion of G5 houses in the taluka will make the picture clearer.
• There is some discrepancy in the amounts that have been distributed to the different communities. The SC communities, constituting 31.8% of the sample, have received only 26.4% of the funds. The case of the ST communities is by far the worst. Though they have the highest proportion (18.8%) of the G5 houses, they get only 12.9% of the fund.
• Over all the three districts, people have received on an average 59% of the amount that they were promised.
• Kachchh has received a smaller proportion of the total amount due, while other districts less affected by the earthquake have received larger proportions. The two districts of Rajkot and Surendranagar have received a higher proportion than the four talukas in Kachchh. People in Maliya have got on an average 60% of what they were due to receive while the people of Morbi have got 55% of it. on the other hand, in Anjar people have received on an average only 20% of what they were to receive.
• Intercommunity differentials are also noticeable in some talukas, especially Bhachau and Rapar. In Bhachau, the average amount received by the Ahirs and Rajputs is about 30% more than for the S.C. and ST communities. Similarly, in Rapar, the SC, OBC and Muslim communities have received about half the amount that the Oswal community has received. In Maliya in Rajkot the ST community has received only 3% of what the Ahirs have received.

• Such people who have received amounts insufficient to build their houses have been faced with a very difficult option. Especially in the light of the notice issued by the government that all construction work must begin immediately, people are now faced with the necessity to fulfil the shortfall through any means at their disposal.
• Most people (32% of the respondents) plan to fill the shortfall through private credit. The rate of interest is as high as 60% in a year in some places. Apart from this, getting material on credit and paying it back through non-paid work is another way of constructing the house.
• Though all communities have stated that they would overcome the shortfall through taking money on credit, the cause of concern is that this includes 36% of the SC and 29% of the ST communities.
• It is also likely that the earthquake-affected regions will face a sale of assets such as land in the near future. About 3% of all the respondents have said that they would sell land to cover their expenses in building their house. This includes more than 5% of all the forward caste communities, the Rajputs and the Ahirs. The other communities not having much land do not have this option. However, 16% of Rabaris have taken the option of selling their jewellery as a means of raising money.
• Especially in Rapar, 75% of the respondents will be taking money on private credit, followed by 30% respondents in Bhachau. As high as 89% of the Rapar ST respondents and 82% of the SC, Muslim and OBC communities in this taluka will be relying on private credit to fund their houses.

• More than half of the respondents have received no training on earthquake resistant building techniques. However, information about earthquake resistant housing has been received by 50% respondents of Kutch and 70% respondents from Rajkot .
• It has been the government agencies that have been most active in giving this information, mainly in Kachchh, and that too, concentrating on talukas like Rapar and Anjar. However, most training / information dissemination in Rajkot talukas has been given through NGOs or other sources.
• In November, more than half the respondents of Rapar and Bhachau talukas were yet to start their reconstruction work. The reasons maybe that the amounts of compensation were low or that they had not received training.  In the other talukas, including Bhuj (74%) and Anjar (77%) the proportion of people who had not yet started building their houses was even larger.
• A very small proportion of people, noticeably the dominant communities such as the Ahirs (22%), Patels (20%) and Rabaris (27%) of Anjar and the Oswal community (18%) in Bhachau, have completed their construction work. These are obviously the communities who can function very well without external funds, and for whom the government aid is therefore superfluous.

• Since the earthquake, most people have been living in other places mostly nearby the original village. More than half the people in the study have faced relocation; in Kachchh more than 62% are relocated.
• Most people (75%) have felt some impact on their economic activity. We can definitely say that the economy of Kachchh has been affected by the need to shift their place of residence.
• People in Bhuj have faced the maximum difficulty, among them too, the most highly affected communities are the ST and the Muslims.

• There appears to be some shift in the sources of income of people after the earthquake, mainly in the agricultural sector. We see a slight reduction in the proportion of people earning their livelihood from the agricultural sector, working on their own farm (from 44% to 41%).  However, since Kachchh has also been facing a drought for the last three consecutive years, that rather than the earthquake may be the cause of the shift.
• The main change is seen in Kachchh, and within that in Anjar taluka. There is a definite shift of people from working as independent farmers in their own farm (reduced from 68% to 49%), to working as labourers in other people’s farms (increase from 39% to 49%). Thus, Anjar has faced a 10% increase in the proportion of dependent labour.
• Similarly, we can see a slight increase in the proportion of people working as non-farm daily wage labour, and a decline in the proportion of people in cattle rearing. In short, we can say that Anjar is facing an economic decline in terms of losing independent means of employment. Surprisingly the other talukas have not faced such a shift in employment.
• The main community affected by the decline is the dominant Ahir community. This is obvious since they are the main owners of land who have now shifted out from work of their own farm (declined from 84% to 71%). There is a corresponding increase in the proportion of Ahirs working as labour in the farm and non-farm sector. Members of other forward caste communities as well as the Rabaris also share this situation.
• In the case of the SC, there is a general slight decline in the level of employment. A small proportion of this community has lost work on their own farm, as well as in farm and non-farm labour, but have not been able to substitute it with gainful employment elsewhere.

• The loss of assets in the earthquake has affected all communities over all regions. Most people (95%) have lost their houses as well as shops and factories in the earthquake. This loss has been felt by all communities, and over all the regions studied.
• Apart from this, some have lost farm implements (about 19%). This has happened mainly in the three talukas of Anjar (42%) followed by Bhachau and Rapar. The main communities affected by this loss are the Ahirs and Oswals. More than 25% of the Rabaris have lost their cattle.
• Human resources have been seriously affected. However, the main reason has been loss of employment rather then death or injury to the income earner. Thirteen percent people have lost their sources of employment. The loss has been the greatest in Anjar (54%) followed by Bhuj and Bhachau (more than 25% each).
• Some people have lost wage earners due to deaths or injury as well. The talukas most affected are Anjar and Bhuj where more than 25% people have lost workers to death or injury.
• Almost all communities are affected by the loss of employment opportunities. The greatest sufferers are both the Ahirs as well as the ST communities. However, the other poor communities have also faced employment loss (SC 10%, OBC 12%, Muslims 11%).

• All areas have lost their infrastructure facilities. In some of the regions, they have now been restarted. The talukas of Anjar and Bhuj mainly have their infrastructural facilities restored. However, in Bhachau in 50% these facilities have not been restarted. Rapar is in the same situation where infrastructure has been restarted in only 16% cases.
• It is significant that there is a difference in the proportion of respondents of different communities, who have got the infrastructural facilities restored. This could be related with the issue of adoption. The Oswal community in Bhachau has got full infrstructure restored in their residential areas. The other dominant communities like Ahirs, Patels and Rajput have also regained access to infrastructure in more than 60% cases. On the other hand, these facilities have not been restored for more than half of the SC, ST, Muslim and OBC communities in Bhachau. The same pattern is seen in Rapar.

• Only a very small proportion of people get the benefit under the various welfare schemes of the government. Most people (more than 75%) have not received any benefit.
• Logically the largest proportion of the beneficiaries should come from the ST, ST and OBC communities, but instead the Ahirs and Muslims are the largest beneficiaries (27% and 29%). Only about 10% of SC and 19% of ST communities are beneficiaries. This may indicate large-scale diversion of the government welfare funds, which as it is do not reach too many people.
• Regional discrepancies are also seen. Rapar, which is among the poorest talukas of the district, has received welfare in only 2.5% cases, while the major proportion of beneficiaries are in Anjar and Bhuj.
• Apart from the regular welfare schemes, the government had also declared a number of packages for economic rehabilitation of the earthquake-affected areas. The packages were aimed at benefiting different groups of workers such as farmers, small-scale industrialists, masons etc. About 10% of the respondents have not yet received the aid.
• Most of the aid that people have received is in terms of cash doles rather than other packages. Only 2% respondents have received aid in terms of other packages apart from the cash doles.
• The benefit from the economic packages has been mainly in terms of the agricultural kit. The kit is notorious for its ineffectiveness and lack of use in the agricultural land of Kachchh. The fertiliser provided as part of the package is one that is not useful in the soil of Kachchh. Even this useless collection of agricultural implement has been given to only 2% of the beneficiaries.
• Residents of Anjar have received the greatest benefit, where the agricultural package has been received by 9% of the respondents. However, more than 20% people in Anjar received aid – whether in terms of cash doles or economic packages – quite late, only in June-July 2001.
• Another 4% residents of Bhachau have also received the package. Among them 80% received aid in April-May and another 19% in June-July.
• Rapar was the last to get aid. As compared to the other talukas of Kachchh, about 40% people in Rapar received aid through cash doles or other rehabilitation packages only in June-July 2001. Another 12% received aid only in August-September.
• Bhuj is a special case where more than 87% people get the aid first, in April-May. Nevertheless, a miniscule 1% has received any aid at all other than cash doles.
• It appears that the SC and ST communities were among the first recipients of aid, but as explained before, it was mainly in terms of cash doles.
• People faced various difficulties in accessing the rehabilitation packages. About 30% people have said that they faced “other difficulties”; mainly the problem of corruption was mentioned.
• In the study, more than 40% people refused to answer the question since they said that they had not received any significant benefits of rehabilitation.
• The main difficulty was the delay in availing various benefits. More than 20% people have faced this problem. Apart from this other issues like no bank account, no availability of chequebooks etc. were also mentioned.

Our engagement in Kachchh was an intensive one. It was, moreover, the first time that we had taken part in disaster relief and rehabilitation, and that too on such a scale. The entire experience has taught us several lessons on disaster management and response. We produce below some of our recommendations based on our experience and observations.

Rescue:

1. For rescue to be effective, it is essential that a proper data-base of rescue equipment (what, who has it, how many,) should be maintained (and updated regularly) so that it can be requisitioned without delay. In Kachchh it took about 3-4 days before adequate equipment could be brought in. This resulted in loss of precious lives which could otherwise have been saved.
2. There is a crucial need for well-trained rescue and first-aid workers, for every area, who can do the needful in the immediate aftermath of any disaster and to administer first-aid to the victims. If they are not available in good numbers then they should be trained for it, and on a regular basis. In Kachchh, the international agencies came in with their experts, which only points to the need for such workers.
3. As of now, rescue and relief are highly centralised, with authority vested in the government and the Army. It is imperative that decentralised systems are put in place so that decisions can be taken locally and speedily to save time. Local (village) level committees should be formed which are equipped and enabled to take decisions in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

1. As our experience reveals, the socially marginalised groups are rendered especially vulnerable by disasters. In this context, it is the responsibility of the state to see to it that special provisions are made for the socially marginalised groups, and more specifically, that these reach the persons/groups they are meant for. This should be followed up by bringing out periodic status reports on the same.
2. In this context it is also recommended that a Special Relief Commissioner be appointed for looking at issues of discrimination faced by certain sections of society in the dispensing of relief. He/she can be aided by an Advisory Committee consisting of persons from these communities, experts, and other eminent citizens from various walks of life.
3. Besides this, government and NGOs should also undertake the mapping of such groups/ communities right down to the local level, so that they can be immediately identified at such times for speedy relief to reach them.
4. As per our experience, in the case of the present disaster, the far-flung areas like some of the villages of Bhachau on the border of Rapar and the hamlets and dispersed settlements in Rapar, were untouched by rescue and relief efforts even after 1 week of the earthquake. Therefore the geographical situation of the villages and its residents should be included in the mapping exercise so that they are not left unattended.

1. In the aftermath of the earthquake the biggest challenge faced by various relief agencies and the government was to provide temporary shelters to families rendered homeless in the quake affected zone. The task ahead needed innovative approaches which could deliver what was needed in the given time, quantity, and at an affordable cost. Many innovations in terms of forms, materials, delivery mechanism etc. were explored and implemented by various groups working in the quake affected areas and hundreds of thousands of families were reached with temporary or semi-permanent shelters. However, these shelters were too temporary in nature (tents, tarpauline sheets, bamboo houses etc.). Moreover, they were not upgradable, such that the materials could be reused for a permanent shelter at a later date. Many of such shelters could not even survive the monsoon. In such a situation it is necessary that agencies look at shelters for the interim period, not as temporary shelters, but semi-permanent shelters, since the time span between the disaster and restoration of pre-quake normalcy is, on an average between 2-3 years. These shelters should be such that they can cater to the people for at least 2-3 years and the materials re-usable for an upgraded shelter later on.

1. Rehabilitation efforts should pay special attention to the vulnerable groups created by the disaster, such as orphans, widows, old and infirm, destitute, disabled and/or otherwise variously challenged, and special provisions made for them in the rehabilitation efforts.
2. There is no single line of command to direct the rescue and relief activities and to coordinate the activities of various agencies undertaking humanitarian aid. This results in replication and under-utilisation or wastage of precious resources, but above all resulting in loss of precious time and therefore loss of life. In a disaster situation there should be a body with full executive powers and a single chain of command to direct the efforts of various groups. At a later stage too, there are too many centres of executive powers, like the Collector, the DDO, the Relief Commissioner, the Lokpal (Ombudsman) and so on. This results in delays as far as assistance or grievance redressal is concerned. Such cumbersome procedures should be avoided in favour of a simplified system.
3. As of now, there is no information which is forthcoming from the government on the use of funds received after the earthquake for relief and rehabilitation of the quake victims. There should be transparency in the use of funds from IFIs and multi and bilateral funding.

DETAILS OF DONATIONS & UTILIZATION OF FUNDS FOR RELIEF
& REHABILITATION WORK UNDERTAKEN BY BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE CENTRE
From 26-01-01 to 30-09-02

UTILIZATION OF FUNDS – EXPENDITURE STATEMENT

 

Appendix 1
Perspective plan, Strategy, Plan of Action of BSC for Community Based Rehabilitation and Resettlement Programmes (CBRRP) in Kachchh

Perspective plan for Kachchh
The following components of BSC’s vision for Kachchh were taken into account while formulating the perspective plan:

• A just and equitable society in which people of the priority communities live with self-esteem and freedom from fear and oppression due to the caste ideology; with fair opportunities for human development.
• Communities where women have decisive role in the process of decision making and takes leadership in all activities and struggles
• An economic dispensation where the priority communities have adequate control over natural and financial resources, and viable livelihood options
• Attainment of all rights and entitlements related to rehabilitation so as to move towards a disaster-prepared condition at every level
• A political dispensation in which the hitherto excluded communities would participate decisively in governance
• Interventions which have respect for the fragile ecosystem of Kachchh

• A counter ideology to the dominant caste and gender ideologies needs to be developed. It is the same mindset that operates in strengthening communalism and discrimination based on ethnicity. The development of a counter ideology is possible only by constantly breaking stereotypes and symbols of the dominant ideology. The strategy would be to organise and mobilize those communities that have historically been at the receiving end of this discriminatory ideology, which in Kachchh have been identified in the aftermath of the earthquake as the Dalit, Koli and Muslim communities. This sends clear signals to the perpetuators of the system as to the counter ideology that recognises the inherent worth and dignity of the communities hitherto discriminated against. The collective strength and achievements of the organisation would enhance self-confidence and break stereotypes.
• Women need to be organised and be made equal partners in the economic and political processes. There should be steps taken towards an exclusive organisation of women which would enable their organisational growth unhampered by the dominating presence of men. This organisation should have an economic base that would eventually enhance the economic strength and assets of the women.
• The organisation of the Dalit, Koli and Muslim communities and the women’s organization will have to be consolidated through the struggle for their immediately relevant rights. It is obvious that rehabilitation rights and entitlements would be the priority at this point of time.
• In the long run these organisations will have to take up issues pertaining to the livelihood options available in the region. The issues related to the access and control over the meagre and fast degrading natural resources and the skewed commercial development of Kachchhi craft among the various communities need to be addressed.

• Detailed survey of the region to create a database which will serve as a benchmark and also inform the action plan. Besides socio-economic profile of the villages this survey will also look into the natural resource base of the Bachau Rapar region and the link to the livelihoods of the communities.

• Creation of a community-based people’s movement to struggle for rehabilitation rights and in the long run to struggle for equitable access and control over natural resources and means of livelihood. This would also become the platform for decisive political participation of these communities.

The following steps need to be undertaken towards this struggle:
• Mass education campaign wherein the communities at a broader level understand discrimination and injustice being practised. This would involve the preparation of tools and cultural media for mass communication.
• This would require strong means of establishing and maintaining contacts over a large number of villages. A cadre of volunteers would have to be built up and their capacities built over the next one-year.
• Negotiation with the government and agitational programmes
• Integrating the groups of the most vulnerable sections of the population like widows, destitute and the physically challenged into the movement
• Creation of an area level women’s organisation, which has an economic base. This organisation would be exclusively owned and managed by women and would eventually become the platform for gender issues. The economic base could be a credit cooperative with an emphasis on productive credit and asset building. This organisation would focus on leadership development and capacity building among the women of the region. The aim would be to bring about women leadership and decisive participation in all spheres of life in the region. The steps involved are a follows:
• In the mass education campaign have special sessions with women in all villages and fora so that their perspective on rehabilitation rights is elicited and their participation is ensured.
• Identify issues of immediate importance to the women and mobilize them into action (water and other basic amenities)
• Introduce the idea of a credit cooperative and initiate the membership campaign.
• Register the cooperative at an appropriate stage, set up systems and start training and capacity building processes
• Set up Bal Vikas Kendras. The BVKs would be centres of learning and excellence for the children of the priority communities. They would set up a model for meaningful pre-primary education using culturally appropriate and relevant pedagogy, which takes into account the damaging impact of caste, gender and communal ideologies on the children of these communities. The workers of BVKs would be trained to be pre-primary educators and also community based child rights activists. This model should be made sustainable through community ownership of the programme.

The steps envisaged are:
• Running pre-primary education centres for the age group of 1-6. Nutrition programme fully through community support.
• Training programmes for the BVK workers in the pedagogy and towards becoming child rights activists
• Monitoring of the child rights situation in all villages of the region with special reference to the content and delivery of education
• Regular community interface programmes to enhance awareness regarding meaningful education and rights related to the public education system
• Programmes for older children like village libraries, science clubs and games.
• Intervention in Natural Resources and livelihood options. The natural resource base of the region would be studied in detail. Demonstration projects in micro-watershed development and augmentation of agricultural productivity through water conserving organic farming would be implemented. This would serve as a learning ground for the type of interventions that the people would demand from the government to ensure a more equitable access and control over natural resources. The demonstration micro-projects would thus be the pilot projects for awareness building and learning before launching a major advocacy initiative and struggle to achieve equitable control over resources and the process of resource development.

 

 
 
 

Embroidery has great potential as a livelihood option for women empowerment. The stereotype that high quality work is done only by certain communities has already been challenged; Dalit, Koli and Muslim women are in the process of producing commercially viable products. A lot more work needs to be done in setting up training and production centres, in developing innovative products for the market and in identifying markets for the products.

The above-mentioned programmes are highly technical in nature and requires a separate work culture, professional ethos and infrastructure. BSC may consider grouping these technical functions under a separate organisational entity in order to be effective. This would enable technical experts and consultants to function in a more conducive and focussed environment. The community organisation function would have a strong coordination with the technical function in matters relating to community interface, communication and advocacy.

Principles of Sneh Samudaya:

• We believe that any disaster has differential impact on different groups of people, and they also have differential recovery rates from the disaster. Therefore, our own work would concentrate on those groups which are left out of relief and rehabilitation work.
• We also strongly believe that the “aid recipients” have to, and can be active partners in the post-disaster work. This means seeking and ensuring active participation of the disaster victims. Any work we take up will respect and restore their dignity.
• We believe that our work should be based on our core strength, and should try and influence the relief policies and relief actions of the state and other agencies. This mean emphasis on community accountability, transparency and honesty.

• The most vulnerable among the survivors are children who are left without adult protection, single women (including widows), disabled people and old people who are deprived of the care of their families.
• It is the paramount responsibility of the state, in partnership with civil society organizations, to ensure not only the physical survival but also the best available long-term psychological, social and economic rehabilitation of children, women and elderly survivors of the disaster who have been left with no families.
• Institution based rehabilitation, orphanages, women’s rescue homes or old people’s homes, should not be resorted to under any circumstances. Empirical studies have established that, although such institutions possibly ensure the physical survival of children, their emotional and intellectual growth is hampered without the personalized care of families. Similarly, women, disabled people old people in such homes suffer from loneliness, neglect and physical abuse. The residents of such institutions also bear the life long burden of social stigma. Therefore, the efforts should be for community-based rehabilitation within families, in accordance with their wishes.
• Except for very young children who are taken in adoption, there would be a further completely avoidable trauma, if they are uprooted after a disaster from the familiar land and community which has nurtured them since their birth. Therefore, not only should people at risk be rehabilitated in families, if this is what they aspire, but these families should also be located within their own communities, to the extent possible.
• The responsibility for care of people at risk is usually of state institutions or external NGOs, which are funded for this purpose. The effort here is to make a clear departure from this policy, and to facilitate the creation of community institutions to care for and protect people at risk, although the resources for this must come from the state.
• In the process of reconstruction from the ruins of the earthquake, the effort should be also to construct an empowered and caring community.

• Protection of the rights of the most vulnerable survivors of the Gujarat earthquake – children who are left without adult protection, single women (including widows), disabled people and old people who are deprived of the care of their families;
• Ensuring the best possible rehabilitation for these segment of the population who are most at risk, based in families and their communities;
• Strengthening caring responsibilities in the communities and;
• Influencing the state policies with regard to these groups, particularly in the context of disaster.

With the help of Sneh Samudaya, Indian People’s Tribunal (IPT) completed three days of public hearings in Kachchh districts of Gujarat from August 17, 2001 to August 19, 2001. Three public hearings were organized at Satapar village, Samakhyali  village and  Malia town. Over a hundred earthquake-affected villagers, people’s representatives, humanitarian workers as well as a few government officials and media personnel testified before the panel at hearings at Satapar, Bhachau town, Samakhyali and Maliya town and during IPT members’ visits to several villages.

The IPT is an unofficial forum of retired Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. The panel visiting Gujarat headed by Mr Justice (Retd) Sukumaran who served the High Courts of Kerala and Bombay, included sociologist Sujata Patel, health activist Nimita Bhatt, disaster management expert P V Unnikrishnan, journalist Max Martin, economist Jitendra Dholakia, physiotherapist Ashok Patil, mental health expert Harish Shetty, disability expert Ranjana Subberwal, housing activist Dunnu Roy and legal activist MihirDesai.

Broadly speaking, the people said that they were finding problems on three fronts. First, rehabilitation measures and compensation  disbursement remain grossly inadequate, leaving huge backlogs.  Especially, getting compensation for lives lost during the days following the earthquake is cumbersome due to lack of medico-legal documentation. Second, people without property entitlement or  tenure record have been denied compensation for habitat loss. Banks refuse to give loans to rebuild their lost livelihood. The poor as well as minority communities with less voice in pubic affairs find the rehabilitation and compensation distribution process outright discriminatory. Third, the psychosocial needs of the survivors and the special needs of the physically disabled survivors are not adequately addressed in the rehabilitation process. Low literacy levels have amplified the survivors’ problems.

The IPT’s Gujarat visit has provided a forum for people to express their grievances and it is expected to bring about a better understanding of the ground realities. Those who are working for the survivors found in the IPT a forum to ventilate their feelings, share their experiences and to defend their approach. Several other social organisations like INSAF, SUCI, Darshan, Vikas Adhyayan Kendra, MANAN, Ashadeep, SXSSS and others facilitated and supported this public event.

footnotes:

1. ANALA is an NGO which is involved in organising outdoor environmental treks and camps. They, thus, had expertise and equipment necessary for setting up and running a camp of this kind and scale.
2. There were more number of people participating from Rapar taluka, mainly because they had suffered more.
3. Bal Vikas Kendra (BVK) is an activity of the BSC which has been ongoing with the Dalit and Adivasi children in Bhal of Cambay and Danta taluka of Banaskantha district since 1996. For more on this activity see Annual Reports 1996 to 2001.
4. Primarily ‘Darshan’ of Ahmedabad.