Master thesis

5.1.2Udaipur District Conclusion

Overall there is very little restriction on the use of the CPRs in the District and very little effort in evicting the encroachers. The encroachment problem is very high and the local institutions as well as the relationship with the government officials are plagued by corruption. In general the villagers seem to be unable to resolve their conflicts without external help and in the majority of the cases no real effort is taken or it is simply ignored by the local institutions. There is a general norm of; Encroach before someone else and the economically powerful actors view their encroachments as private land which they have the right to, due to the long-term cultivation. This leads to a breakdown in the community cohesion and the further depletion of the local Commons. Some efforts are being taken towards this in terms of initiating JFM sites by the communities but overall it does not seem that the local organisations are able or willing to enforce management on the commons. Although, there have been cases where the communities have created successful development of their CPRs but only with outside help and little initiative has come from the villages.

In general the local institutions are hampered by a significant amount of corruption both within the local institution and with the Government Revenue Department, who should uphold the federal laws, especially concerning the encroachments. There is a status general apathy towards the CPRs from the Panchayats’ and this is reflected in the communities as a whole.

Overall it must be concluded that the predictions of Hardin to a large degree hold true towards the management and usage of the CPRs in Udaipur District, and the few efforts for improving the Commons are done mainly by outside actors. Even though the resources are scarce the general behaviour is to enhance personal profits and not towards the benefit of the community. In accordance with Hardin’s theory this is leading to overexploitation of the Commons, the destruction of community solidarity and alienation. The local knowledge of the scarcity does, in this case, not lead to people supporting local governance but instead to an increased level of encroachment and the resulting destruction of the resources.

5.1.3Case II - Jaisalmer District

Jaisalmer District: is located in the western part of Rajasthan and is dominated by the desert and arid climatic conditions. Jaisalmer is the largest district in Rajasthan in terms of area and second largest in India. The arid western Rajasthan, that forms the Indian part of the Thar Desert, accounts for 62% of the total hot-arid areas in India¹⁵³. This area faces severe challenges of desertification, due to the frequent droughts, overgrazing and increase in both human and livestock population. Most of the traditional and centuries old methods of integrating agriculture with livestock farming, utilizing recurring trees and grasses to sustain the animal fodder and efficient systems of water harvesting and usage, are now either forgotten or threatened by modernization¹⁵⁴.

Geomorphology¹⁵⁵ plays a significant role in assessment of the physical potential of the arid regions and it can pinpoint environmental problems, related to context and the use of land. In the arid western parts of Rajasthan the desert is completely dominating the landscape. But within the desert area, many different landforms must be taken into account for vegetation programs to have success. Overall many different landforms can be identified; this ranges from hills, rocky/gravel pediments¹⁵⁶, flat aggraded alluvial¹⁵⁷, flat buried pediments, sandy undulating pediments, plains, saline plains, sand dunes, sandy undulating interdunal plains, saline depression and graded river beds (Singh & Ghose, 1980). The different land types indentified are affected by different types of geomorphical problems, like wind erosional, salinity hazards, sand dunes and the scarcity of water¹⁵⁸.

The erosion and salinity hazards that are created by geomorphical progress and accelerated by human activities are some of the major factors that limit agricultural production in the arid areas of Rajasthan. The problems are by no means isolated to the Thar Desert, but are evident in all arid regions across the world¹⁵⁹. These hazards have resulted, due to the interaction between humans and the fragile desert environment, in large areas being unfit for any form of agriculture and severe drop in productivity in many other areas¹⁶⁰.

According to studies conducted by CAZRI¹⁶¹, the major reason behind the desertification is caused by wind erosion followed by water erosion and water logging and salinity. The desertification of the western part of Rajasthan is either severely or moderately affected by wind erosion. Close to 76% of the area in western Rajasthan is under the influence of wind erosion¹⁶². This includes all of the major land categories, but mainly farming land and dune/sandy areas. According to the same research, 18% of the area is severely degraded and 66% is suffering from moderate to slight degradation, whereas approximately 16% of the area is not affected by degradation¹⁶³.

The degradation of the natural vegetation in the region is very severe and widespread, as most pasture land has been overexploited through grazing and collection of fuel wood. In resent time the effects of industry is also becoming an important factor towards the further overall depletion of the land. It is estimated by CAZRI, that more that 60% of the area in western Rajasthan requires intensive rehabilitation management¹⁶⁴.

Climatic condition: The climate of the region being arid, the erratic behaviour of the meagre rainfall (100-450 mm/year, 90% falls during July-September), extreme temperatures (often >45°C in the peak of summer and sub-zero in winter) and high summer winds (>30 km h^-1 during sandstorms) are continual climatic challenges to be reckoned with, especially for agriculture¹⁶⁵. Drought is and will remain a major challenge for agriculture in the region.

5. Bhopa

Bhopa village comes under the Kita Panchayat of Jaisalmer. Bhopa is located around 30km south of Jaisalmer City. The village of Bhopa is connected to the district office via road. There is electricity, irrigation department and a school till class 8^th standard in the village. The population of the village consists of close to 100 households, with a population of around 812 (2011). Animal husbandry and agriculture is the most important livelihood of the region.

Agriculture is practiced mostly in the rainy season, due to the long dry period after the monsoon. However a couple of years back two tube wells dug in the village which now facilitates agricultural activities round the year for the villagers. Most of the people here are to some extent depended on livestock with cattle, camel, goat and sheep as the main animals for livestock rearing. The villagers in Bhopa are also generating an additional income from the windmill established by Enercon Energy, by leasing land east of Bhopa.

Village Statistic:

One of the particular aspects of Bhopa is the massive size of the land areas, with close to 8000 bigha of total CPR or around 1778 ha. The land category Gochar and Oran is also a new aspect compaired to Udaipur District; both of them represent a sacred area of land surrounding a temple or other sacred place. Orans can be found in all of Rajasthan, but the Gochar category is only found in Jaisalmer District. Although, the Oran has only minor importance in Udaipur District, due its fairly small size and the comparably more fertile topography, it plays a significant role in Jaisalmer.

Magra: (Hills) 2131.01

Banjad (Barren and Uncultivable/Wasteland) 3410.04

Barani Banjad (Barren and Uncultivable/Wasteland) 142.14

Gochar (Sacred land) 1757.13

Oran (Sacred land) 473.03

Total: 7915 bigha



Magra:

In Bhopa, Magra constitutes of 2131.01 bigha. The Magra can’t be used for agriculture, due to the severe degradation of the vegetation. But they are still encroached upon. On the encroached areas, a powerhouse has been constructed and others are used for fodder storage and livestock enclosements. Whereas, some parcels are used for tube-wells or windmills. It was observed that encroachments on the Magra are evident, but only minor in relation to the amount of land available.

The above graph depicts the level of encroachment and the vegetation status on the Magra in Bhopa. Most of the land is severely degrade although, about 25% of the total Magra area is sparsely vegetated, the rest was deemed to be degraded. The 72 bigha of encroachments in the Magra category are relatively new encroachments; most of them are no more than 6 years old. Only one encroachment of 25 bigha is around 25 years old, this might give the encroaching household a fairly good chance of getting the land regulated to them, according to government laws of pre-1980 encroachments, and thereby, turning an illegal privatization into a legal one.

Banjad & Barani Banjad:

The total land size of the Banjad lands amounts to 3552.18 bigha, and is the largest land category in Bhopa. Although, on this Banjad land people are encroaching and conducting agriculture, some people do agricultural encroachment by filing for cases of regularization, and could thereby obtain the land through allotment in the future. Apart from this, this land is also used for grazing of livestock throughout the year, some villagers also use this land for residence and have built small hamlets in this land and some of them have created fencing while some have dug tube-wells, to further improve the agricultural encroachments.

The total encroachment of this Banjad/Barani Banjad land amounts to 570.02 bigha which is used for agriculture and the remaining land is used for grazing livestock. Most of the illegal occupants of this Banjad land are Khaatedars¹⁶⁶ who encroach on the nearby land and are now claiming proprietary rights for its ownership.

During the rainy season the encroachment is at its maximum, as the agriculture can be done during this season. Contrastingly during the hot season the encroachment decreases as the land becomes uncultivable and due to strong winds the sand cover is blown away, making the land unfavourable for agriculture. Some areas of the Banjar land are severely degraded and holds no- or very little vegetation. Such patches cannot be used for either agriculture or grazing livestock and are either used for digging wells or construction of sheds for fodder storage. The encroachment during the rainy season for agriculture is typically fenced and these fences are temporary in nature and are removed as soon as the rainy season ends. It came to light, during the interviews and through the walks of the area, that around 40-50% of the villagers are encroaching on the Banjar land during the rainy season.

The above graph depicts the situation of encroachment and the vegetation status in the Barani Banjad land in Bhopa. This land is relatively small in terms of area spanning only 142 hectares of which 35 bigha is encroached. The entire area has fairly poor vegetation, with minor scrubs and average to low grass cover.

The Banjad is the largest area of land in Bhopa village. It is spread over an area of 3410 bigha out of this 535 bigha are being encroached upon. Most of the land is either sparsely vegetated or degraded. The encroached land is being used for agriculture or irrigation construction, in the form of water tanks. Only one case of regularization has been filed with the Kita Panchayat.

Gochar:

Gochar land in Bhopa lays outside the village and in one of the parcels a cenotaph and a temple has been constructed, a tube-well has also been dug. Only 1.18 bigha of the Gochar land has been encroached out of the total 1757.13 bigha, which occupies mainly north and east parts of the village. The Gochar is viewed as village common and is used for grazing, there is no tree felling within the Gochar, as it is considered sacred land in the Jaisalmer District and is one of the few areas that holds and tree cover.

The above graph depicts the situation of encroachment and the vegetation status on the Gochar land in Bhopa. The Gochar category amounts to 1757 bigha and is the third largest category in Bhopa. The land is almost unencroached, only 1.18 Bigha. However, the status of vegetation is not good on this land. Only 167 hectares out of the total area of 1757 hectares are well vegetated which accounts to less than 10% of the total Gochar land. The rest of the land is either sparsely vegetated or degraded, although in most of the Gochar scrubs and bushes are found, making it sparsely vegetated.

Oran:

The Oran land is considered sacred land all over Rajasthan and is located around a temple or another local holy place. In Bhopa it is being used by all villagers as a common grazing ground for their cattle. The Oran land generally named after some god or goddess due to which the villagers take good care of this land. In Bhopa the Oran occupies 473.03 bigha of land and lies in the western and northern parts of the village. One of the parcels has been used for constructing a school and some government residential quarters. Almost 16 bigha of the Oran land have been encroached and it can be predicted that with the rising population of the village the Oran occupation will increase. The Oran lands have traditionally been exclusively reserved for cattle grazing but now encroachment and poaching on these lands are taking place. In general the Orans in the arid regions of Rajasthan are the only areas that hold a decent amount of vegetation in otherwise very degraded surroundings. Out of the few encroachments on the Oran lands, approximately 16 bigha out of 473.03 bigha, none are being used for agriculture. Although, the Oran is always open to grazing and no maintenance is being conducted by the village community, no one is cutting any trees due to the religious significance and the norms set forth by the village community.

The above graph depicts the level of encroachment and the vegetation status on the Oran land in the Bhopa village. As we see from the graph that only 16 bigha of land are encroached. The reason for this is because of the fact that the villagers of Oran consider this land to be sacred and hence prevent encroachments on this land. The vegetation status is however not very good on this land, but comparing to the other land categories in the desert region the vegetation is fairly good. 277 bigha or 58% of the total Oran land in Bhopa is well vegetated and the rest is sparsely vegetated.

On the encroached land a school has been constructed, this means that the school has been constructed illegally, but most likely it is, a mix-up between two different departments. (Forest department and Revenue department) One reason for this could be ambiguity in land categories/laws and the boundaries between categories and/or the lack of communication between departments. The fact is that a school and a few houses have been built on the encroached land within the Oran category.

Level of encroachment:

A few cases of encroachment are found on commons, especially on cultivable wastelands, but overall the level of encroachment is only minor and holds little significance to the usage of the commons in general. However, hardly any case has been filed against the encroachers, which reflects the very small impact they have on the commons and the rest of the community. The encroachments in the cultivable wastelands are seasonal and occur on the peripheries of the revenue wasteland. The Patwari made a point that due to the vastness of the land in Jaisalmer districts, it was impractical to keep a track of all the land. The settlement survey, by the Revenue Department, in Jaisalmer district has been done just once in the last 60 years. The only land category that holds a large amount of encroachments, according to the field data collected, are the Banjad lands with 535 bigha of encroached land out of a total of 3410 bigha.

Status of Vegetation:

The overall condition of the vegetation level in Bhopa is degraded; this must of course be seen in relation to the arid area and the lack of rain fall in the region. But, it must also be seen as a consequence of the lack of maintenance and plantation work on the common land in general and an increase in livestock population, which brings an increase in the resources. The vegetation coverage in Bhopa mainly falls into two categories; the barren/degraded and at best the sparsely vegetated. Although, there is a relatively good vegetation in the Oran and to some extent in the Gochar the rest of the CPRs hold very little vegetation. There are efforts conducted by the forest department to plant new trees both in order to stabilize the sand and avoid the dust storms and to hold on to the soil moist that does come with the monsoon season.

Interview Findings:

According to the villagers in Bhopa, Gochar, Oran and Nadi (river, water sources in general) are the only three common property resources located in the village, e.g. the Magra lands are not viewed as part of the De Jure common land by the village. Due to the severe degradation of the Magra, the land is of little use to the villagers and, this could be the reason for the villagers’ disregard of this land. During the interview it was stated that there are only very few encroached lands in the village there are only few regularization cases in the village. This fits well with the data collected on the encroachment in the village.

The elders from the village will meet once every two months and set the rules and sanctions towards encroachments and other rule violations; usually the penalty is 1000-2000 Rs and 100kg of fodder for the birds, as a token of repayment to the community. Only very few cases ever get filed against the encroachers. During the interviews it was stated that the majority of the encroachments was done by bribing the government officials, and mainly done by the more powerful and influential households in the village. Although if the village committee wants to take action, it is fairly free to move without “orders” from the government, in a case of encroachment the sanction will be eviction.

According to the village the Gochar and Oran are used only for livestock rearing and grazing purposes, and are never used for agricultural purposes. Furthermore, in the Oran trees are never cut although, this is not the case with the Gochar. According to the knowledge of the village elders, such an incident has never occurred in the village. If ever there is an offender, he will be arrested by the police and socially boycotted by the villagers. However, villagers are well aware of the significance of Oran and Gochar and are motivated to protect them.

The Oran holds fairly good vegetation, relative to the district, and provides fodder for the village livestock; this has especially been the case the last two years (2009-10) due to very good monsoon seasons. There are no plantation efforts ongoing within the village CPR.

The villagers practise open grazing all year around, and there are no rules or social norms concerning livestock grazing, this is mainly due to; tradition, the size of the land and the fairly good vegetation for fodder in the Oran. The only other rule for the Oran, as stated above, is that no trees are allowed to be cut.

According to the villagers, the Revenue Department determined the boundaries of the Oran and Gochar and now these boundaries are considered as the demarcations of Oran and Gochar land. These demarcations of boundaries were done by the revenue department around 60-70 years back according to the village elders. However, the villagers were unable to specify any specific rules or proceedings followed by the revenue department in the demarcation of the boundaries of Oran and Gochar.

It was stated by villagers that the Oran and Gochar were not encroached by any of the villagers for dwelling or agricultural purposes. The reason for this is that the people in the village are aware of the benefits of Oran and Gochar and the significance of these two lands for their livestock. This indicates that the villagers are socially motivated to protect the Oran and Gochar. This motivation for protection has a very strong link to the religious significance of the Oran as well as the importance the Oran holds towards grazing purposes.

According to the villagers the government is also very strict in protecting the Oran and Gochar. If there is encroachment in the Oran or Gochar, and a complaint to this effect is ledged with the Revenue Department. They immediately swing into action and come for inspection. If a villager is found to be guilty, the local police are notified and the offender is arrested within 90 days. Although other villagers stated that; the few encroachments that existed within the village CPR was mainly done by influential groups and facilitated by bribery of government officials.

In the interviews it was stated that there had been some developmental activities in the Oran in the form of plantations and the villagers are ready to plant grasses and trees if proper infrastructure and funding is provided. It was stated that the village does not have the means to do so without external help. There is some water conservation being conducted near the temples within the Oran, and the only maintenance work being done in the village is for the water sources, no other development work is currently being done on the CPRs.

The villagers said that Gram Panchayat plays the pivotal role in development activities of the village and every development activity in the village is undertaken by Gram Panchayat. Decisions regarding the development activities are taken after approval from all villagers. The Gram Panchayat meets once every two months to discuss current issues and management in the village, its members are, according to the interviews, from all castes represented in Bhopa.

The Nadi is the principle source of source of water for the village and the Gram Panchayat looks after cleaning of this water body. According to the villagers there are no other institutions other than Gram Panchayat for development activities in the village. In Bhopa the common water sources are; the river, which only has water during the monsoon season and is normally dry by Jannuary, three tube wells and the anicut. The tube wells hold water during most of the year but the anicut will also run dry during summer.

Villagers also mentioned the availability of fodder and its shortfall during drought season. During droughts the Government arranges for fodder and rations it through camps which are opened in the village. The State Government provides fodder only to the cattle, for other livestock the villagers have to arrange in their own way. This means that goats and camels are roaming for water and fodder during a drought. During droughts the only water source that still holds any water is the government tube wells, all other sources are dry, and this is the case even through a normal summer. A household that does not have access to water, will work for a household that does and get water in return. During a drought the livestock population will go down, due to the death of the old and weak and that many households sell some of their livestock. There is no crisis-management or rules of the CPR during a drought, and there are no limitations on grazing or on the water.

There is no outside organization in the village working on development of the common property resources; only the Government is involved in the constructions of tube wells in the area. A livestock rearing organisation has created a SHG¹⁶⁷ although; they do not work on CPRs.

6. Bhopa Conclusion

Overall, the local institutions are well functioning and the populations accountability towards the norms on the Commons is very good. This is indicated by the very low level of encroachment in all land categories, the regularity of the Panchayat meetings and the inclusion of all member of the community in the institution and decision making. This is one of the major aspects of Ostrom´s theory in order for the local community to effectively manage the CPRs. The encroachment that is there is mainly being used for the construction of community facilities, such as schools, bus stops, water conservation and power houses. Given the amount of land under CPR, this has basically no impact on the overall status of the CPRs. The few private encroachments are being done by the more powerful people, who are able to influence and bribe officials. Especially towards the Oran and Gochar, the villagers strictly uphold the norm of conduct. This is both due to the religious significance but no less due to the vegetation and fertility on these areas, especially compared to the arid nature of Jaisalmer. According to Ostrom´s principles the accountability and the guarantied sanctions towards rule breakers, are some of the major aspects for a successful local organization. This indicates the overall situation in Bhopa well.

Another aspect of when local organizations are effective in managing the Common is, when the enforcement of private property rights is difficult or impractical, and this is definitely the case in Bhopa with the very large areas. The general scarcity and the irregularity of the resources as well as the conditions of the desert provide a strong incentive for the villagers to continuing the traditional management strategies and adhere to the social norms regarding the Commons.

During drought there are a few special management conditions, with livestock roaming and the work-for-water arrangements as well as the Government provided fodder, to take some of the pressure of the resources.

Overall it must be concluded that, given the difficult conditions of the area, the community have been fairly successful in managing their Commons. The few cases of private encroachments and bribery have only little impact on the Commons as a whole and the general accountability towards the social norms and official rules is good.

7. Rasla

Rasla is located in the Fatehgarh tehsil of Jaisalmer District about 65km from Jaisalmer City. It is a Gram Panchayat in itself, with a population of 1070 divided into 226 households. It is well connected with three concrete roads which go to Jaisalmer, Devikot and Sacra. There are many different castes and social groups living in the village, the main groups are Rajput, Meghwal and Muslims. In addition to this there are a few sub-castes. The main livelihood is livestock rearing, farming and wage labour as a third and often additional source of income for most households.

The village has electricity, water and education facilities. There is a middle school, a Gram Panchayat and a Patwari house in the village. Agriculture here is largely rain-fed but now some tube-wells have been constructed by the State Government which provides irrigation to some of the fields. As of now there are 14 tube-wells in the village and the agriculture produce have improved due to the new sources of irrigation. In the rainy season Bajra, Moong, Jowar, Til and Sesame crops are produced. After the introduction of tube wells the farmers are now able to produce Wheat, Groundnut and Gram as well. The main species of livestock are cattle, sheep, goat and camel. In a situation of drought a fodder depot by the government provides for the food of the cattle, while other livestock, such as camel and goats will be roaming for fodder and water. This is a general policy in all of Jaisalmer District.

Village Statistic:

• 
  Oran 5.789
  
• 
  Gochar 678
  
• 
  Banjad 20.003
  
• 
  Barani Banjad 2.364
  

Total: 28.834 bigha

In hectare: 5.767

Like Bhopa, the special aspect of Rasla is the massive land size of close to 29000 bigha, approximately 5767 hectares. The representation and importance of the Oran and Gochar categories is equal to Bhopa village and is a general aspect for Jaisalmer District due to the harsh nature.

Oran: The village Oran is named Ainath Devi after the deity that presides there. It is the second largest Oran in Jaisalmer District. The livestock come here for grazing and water all though the year, and there is no restriction on the usage of the Oran. The area of the Oran is 5789.14 bigha. Out of the total area, 51 bigha have been encroached with homesteads. Two parcels have been encroached by the Muslim community, this amount to about 45 bigha of Oran land, and they have built homesteads here for the past 15 years. The temple trust is working on getting them evicted, and there is a current conflict concerning a proposed construction of a Mosque. In the rainy season, they come to graze their cattle and in the other seasons they go back to their fields.

There is also a group of gypsies that comes to the Oran, they frequently come to live in the village area and migrate in search for livelihood.

The above graph depicts the level of encroachment and vegetation in the Oran.

As we see from the graph only 51 bigha of land is encroached upon, less that 1% of the area. The reason for this is the fact that the villagers of Oran consider this land to be sacred and hence prevent encroachments on this land as well as no trees are allowed to be cut. The vegetation status, however, is not good, but given the conditions in Jaisalmer District, as one of the driest parts of the country where vegetation in any case is scarce; the relative spatial vegetation is not too bad. 727 bigha of Oran land in Rasla is well vegetated (12,5%) and rest is mainly sparsely vegetated and around 19% is estimated to be degraded.

Gochar: (see graph on the next page) It is about 678 bigha and has not been encroached upon. Only the high-tension wire of the electricity department goes across the land. Earlier the Gochar was not a main source of fodder. However, this is not the case today and some people consider the Gochar to be of religious importance, in line with the Oran. The Gochar in Rasla is of fairly small size (678 bigha) compared to the other land categories, but it is providing a significant portion of the fodder needs in the village.

The above graph depicts the situation of encroachment and the vegetation status on the Gochar. The status of vegetation is not good on this land. The entire Gochar land in the village is sparsely vegetated and mildly degraded due to overgrazing, desertification and wind erosion. Still vegetation is present due to the good past monsoon seasons.

The above graph depicts the situation of encroachment and the vegetation status in the Barani Banjad land.

This land is relatively large in terms of area spanning at 2.364 bigha of which 516 bigha is encroached upon, around 22%. The land is to a large extent dominated by sparse vegetation but a fairly small percentage is deemed as degraded, thereby in fairly good condition in relation to the area in general.

About 22.367 bigha of land are under the Barren and Uncultivable category. People have encroached on this land for agriculture and farming. Anicuts have been constructed in the same area making water accessible for farming, households and the livestock alike. The Barren lands around the privately owned land are being encroached upon by villagers; in this way they are increasing the immediate land holdings without having to walk long distances, but putting additional pressure on the size of the CPR and on the availability of fodder. In some parcels villagers have built a bus stand and in another a school has been constructed.

The Banjad (a sub-category of the Barren & Uncultivable land) is the largest area of land in Rasla. The Banjad lands spread over an area of 19973 bigha and only 535 bigha out of it is encroached, less than 0,2%. Most of the land is sparsely vegetated (72%) and the rest is degraded (16%), bearing some truth to its characteristics as barren land.

Level of encroachment:

The amount of encroachment found in Rasla village is not overwhelming or as widespread as in many other places in Rajasthan. The highest percentage of encroachment (22%) is found in the Barani Banjad category, which is part of the more general category of Barren land. But if the combined encroachment (1051,11 bigha) is seen against the combined land in the Barren land category (22367,20 bigha) then the percentage of the total encroachment comes to only 4,7%.

Status of Vegetation:

In general the condition of the vegetation in Rasla is dominantly sparse to degrade, and thereby vegetation-wise it is deemed as of fairly critical situation. The only area that holds some amount of good vegetation is the Oran with around 12% of well vegetated area.

There is an ongoing conflict between the Hindu- and the Muslim population, the conflict is mainly over access to the vegetated land for fodder purposes but it has escalated into a more religious nature. The conflict over the construction of a Mosque near the main temple has aggravated the people in the temple trust further.

Interview Findings:

According to villager’s Gochar, Oran and Nadi are the only CPRs in the village. All other lands have been, either allotted by the government or is set aside as private land by the Panchayat, some villagers are practicing agriculture on them and others have built households there. The villagers say there are only very few encroachments in the village common properties and these statements are corresponding with the field data findings, percentage-wise.

There are 5789.14 bigha of Oran in the village and the massive size of it, which is special for the Jaisalmer district, is obvious of benefit in relation to the amount of fodder available and its ability to recover. It was stated that, the size of the Oran in each village provides enough land for fodder for all the village members, which is a significant aspect for the very few inter-village conflicts in the area. The entire Oran land is registered in the name of temple trust (Shri Degray Mandir and Oran Vikas Sansthan) and is managed by the trust chairman Mr. Ram Singh.

According to the village the Gochar and Oran are used only for livestock rearing and grazing purposes, in the Gochar the villagers are allowed to collect dry fallen wood for fuel and funeral fires. The Oran or Gochar are never used for agricultural purposes and no trees are allowed to be cut. The Oran and Gochar hold fairly good vegetation and provide fodder for the village livestock. There is no plantation of grasses or any other plantation efforts in the Oran or Gochar of the village. Although the temple trust is doing some plantation work near the main temple, this is mainly to enhance the religious tourism they get in the area and to beautify their newly constructed accommodations for the pilgrims. It was stated by some of the villagers that their primary objective was not to enhance the general vegetation.

The boundaries of Oran and Gochar are fixed by the temple trust after consultation with all the villagers. According to the villagers the Oran and Gochar were not at all encroached by any of the villagers for dwelling or agricultural purposes. The reason for this is that the people in the village are aware of the benefits of Oran and Gochar and the significance of these two areas for their livestock and livelihood. The villagers are socially motivated to protect the Oran and Gochar by all means. Moreover there are religious sentiments attached with Oran and Gochar due to which people are afraid to encroach on them lest some disaster might happen to the village or to their families.

According to the villagers the government is also very strict in protecting the Oran and Gochar. If there is encroachment in these areas, and a complaint to this effect is ledged with the revenue department the department immediately swings into action and comes for inspection. If a villager is found to be guilty, the local police are noticed and the offender is arrested within 90 days. The same conditions were stated in the Bhopa interview.

There has been plantation of seven grasses in the Oran and Gochar in recent years and there are efforts by temple trust to increase the Oran land. In this village 2700 bigha of Oran land has been noted in the government records as Barren and Uncultivable land which can be easily diverted for industrial purpose.

According to the villagers the temple trust and village Panchayat plays an essential role in development activities of the village. Decisions regarding development activities are taken after approval from all villagers. The temple trust is around 10 years old and before the trust was formed there was no real institution concerned with the CPR’s in Rasla. However, the main reason for the temple trust committee is to collect money for the temple. This money is spent for constructing houses and gardens to attract religious “tourists”; the focus is not on improving the wellbeing of the common land or for lessening the stress of the degradation on the land.

The Nadi is the principle source of water in the village and the Gram Panchayat and the temple trust undertake cleaning of Nadi from silt every two years during winter. The villagers also do some plantation activities around the Nadi.

Villagers also mentioned about availability of fodder and its shortfall during drought season. During drought season the state government arranges for fodder and rations it through camps which are opened in the village. The state government provides fodder only to the cow and for other livestock villagers has to arrange in their own way. This is also a general state policy of Jaisalmer District. The state government has constructed three new wells in the village, which has been a great stress relive during drought. Before the construction there were only a few wells and ponds available to the village, and villagers could only use specific sources of water, now after the government initiative there are more water sources and the wells are open to all.

8. Rasla Conclusion

The villagers understanding of what consists as CPRs in the village does not include the category of Barren lands, the reason could be that more than 1000 bigha of encroached land within this category and with the construction of anicuts, irrigation for agriculture have become available. They view this land as private- or allotted land. Only the Oran, Gochar and the water sources are thought of as Commons. These three categories are also by far the most important for the village, it is where the majority of the fodder is obtained and water is of course of extreme importance in the arid region. According to Ostrom, when the resource is in short supply accountability towards the rules of usage the facilitation of local management is enhanced. This seems to be the case in Rasla, where local efforts have protected and in some sense enhanced the vegetation of the Oran and Gochar as well as the sources of water. Restriction on the use of water has been in use until the Government constructed new wells and thereby increased the availability. After that the restricted use of water is not in effect any more.

The gypsy community, which could be seen as outsiders, with their nomadic traditions has been part of the regions culture for millennial and are viewed as an integrated and normal part of the region and culture, much more than the permanent Muslim community. The community of Rasla seemed much more open towards “outsiders” than any village in Udaipur District would ever be. It could be due to the large areas of land and the next to impossible task of “patrolling” the area. Upholding a form of property is impractical in cases with large areas of land and this goes against the theory of Ostrom in facilitating local management organizations, where easy monitoring and exclusion is one of the main points. But it does not seem to be the case in Rasla where there is a fairly well functioning local institution. But equally, the cost of upholding private property rights is also impractical in the case of such large areas of land.

The fact is that the local institution is functioning, with only minor cases of irregularities, the accountability towards the social norms is very good in all of the community and there are no external conflicts. The conflict with the Muslim community is more of religious nature and derives from the more general conflict between Muslins and Hindus, especially in the north-west of India near the border to Pakistan. The temple trust is one of the main catalyst for development work on the Commons and with their interest in religious Tourism they have a “natural” conflict with the Muslim community.

The decision making process in the village Panchayat is very closely related to Ostrom´s principle of collective-choice arrangement, as decisions regarding development project are approved by the community as a whole before it is initiated, as well as the frequent face-to-face communication and the dense social network will enhance the ability to form and maintain local governance of the Commons.