Wayandu district was raised in 1980. It has a total area of 2130 sq.km, 40% of which is forest areas. The district is landlocked and shares boundary with the States of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, besides having borders with Kozhikode, Malappuram and Kannur districts of Kerala. The Western Ghats cuts through Kerala, between Kozhikode and Wayanad districts and the plateau portion of Wayanad merges with the Deccan Plateau. The altitude of the district ranges from 700 m to 2100 m. Wayanad has a cooler climate than the plains of Kerala. Wayanad district has only one river, Kabani, originating in the eastern side of Western Ghats and drains into, the Cauvery river.
Project Location
Wayand has experienced heterogenous ethno-migration from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and the plains of Kerala since several centuries. Wayanad has the lowest density of population (383/sq.km- 2011) in Kerala. Another significant feature of the district is its sizeable number of tribal population. 18.5% of the population belongs to various tribal communities, which mainly includes the Paniyas, Adiyas, Mullu Kurumas, Urali Kurumas, Kurichiyas and Kattunaikas.
Nenmeni Gram Panchayat lies at the south-eastern corner of Wayanad district. The most important crops cultivated in Wayanad are Pepper, Coffee and Tea. The narrow valley portion between hillocks was converted into paddy fields which have recently experienced land-use changes in favour of banana and Arecnut crops. Wayanadu has diverse local water resources; streams with round the year flowing water, Keni, a local shallow spring well with palm wood protection is a traditional and trusted local water source, ponds and surface open sunk wells are also common.
The Sulthan Bathery Panchayath was bifurcated into Sulthan Bathery and Noolpuzha Grama Panchayats in 1968. Subsequently, the Noolpuzha GP was further divided into Noolpuzha and Nenmeni Gram Panchayats in 1973. The Nenmeni GP consists of 23 ward divisions. The GP has a total population of 46950 (Census 2011), of which 4% is SC, 17% Scheduled Tribes and 79% of general category population.
The GP is situated in the south east corner of Wayanad district. The Edakkal Caves, famous for its petroglyphs, is located atop the Ambukuthimala in the Nenmeni Gram panchayat. The engravings on the rocky wall inside the cave dates back to the pre-historic– neo-lithic period.
Nenmeni Rural Water Supply Scheme (NRWSS) was implemented in Nenmeni Grama Panchayat during 1988-91 by Kerala Water Authority. NRWSS was taken over by Nenmeni Grama Panchayat in 2005 as mandated under the agreement with Kerala Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, under Water Resources Department, Government of Kerala. NRWSS Figure 1NSJVS Logo- put in Home Page was technically and institutionally rehabilitated under Jalanidhi Project and was handed over to Nenmeni Shudha Jala Vitharana Society (NSJVS) (Nenmeni Drinking Water Supply Society) in December 2007 and continues under its management.
Jalanidhi
Jalanidhi is a new-generation rural water supply project implemented by Government of Kerala in the select districts of the State. The Jalanidhi project was loan funded by the World Bank through the IDA window and was implemented in two phases: phase-I during 2000-2008 and phase-II during 2011-2020. KRWSA (Kerala Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency) was raised as a SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) to plan and implement the Jalanidhi project. The Jalanidhi project consisted of three major components such as: (1) capacity building, (2) infrastructure development and (3) project management.
Over and above the statistical data on achievement under Jalanidhi, the project became an eye opener on several grounds: (a) community participation and cost sharing; (b) good demand for an improved service and a House Service Connection (HSC); (c) willingness of community to pay for a reliable service; (d) Jalanidhi proved that the community can plan, implement, operate and maintain water supply schemes; (e) 53% of the Jalanidhi beneficiaries were from BPL category; (f) contributed to the development of community leadership and social capital; (g) GPs learnt to work in a new development coalition which consisted of PRIs, communities, NGOs and the line departments and (h) dovetailing the project with decentralized planning and local self-government institutions in Kerala.
Key features of achievement under Jalanidhi include
4.52 Lakhs rural House Service Connections through 5884 schemes in 227 Grama Panchayats.
Community contributed 10 to 15% of capex demonstrating willingness to pay.
Emergence of leaders from among women and the underprivileged and strengthened gender sensitivity
Jalanidhi radically deepened democratic values and demystified development practices at the grassroots
1.04 lakhs individual latrines constructed. 24194 unsanitary latrines converted in to sanitary latrines
Community meets 100% O&M cost of Jalanidhi schemes.
Jalanidhi focused districts included Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur, Kottayam and Idukki
High rate of sustainability for Jalanidhi schemes
Popularised rain water harvesting programme by constructing more than 37,000 RWH structures