thalakudi village ecosystem - centre for ecological...
TRANSCRIPT
State of Environment and
Natural Resources 2006
Thalakudi Village Ecosystem
Centre for Sustainable Technologies,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012
Tiruchirapalli District, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu Uplands and Plains
Centre for Environment Education Tamil Nadu,Chennai - 600091
CEE
Thalakudi Village Ecosystem; State of Environment and Natural Resources 2006
Centre for Environment Education Tamil Nadu
Chennai - 600091
Published by
Centre for Sustainable Technologies,
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore – 560012
Karnataka, India.
Year of publication
2007
Team–CEE TN
Arunkumar S, Manikandan A, Shiva Prabhu G, Mahamuni D
Team–IISc
Deepa Kumar, Girish A C, Hameedulla Khan, Mythri D J
Coordinated by
N Ramjee
CEE- TN
and
N H Ravindranath, Indu K Murthy, Rakesh Tiwari
CST, IISc
Supported by
India Canada Environment Facility
New Delhi - 110066
Contact
N. H. Ravindranath
Centre for Sustainable Technologies
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore – 560012
Karnataka, India.
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank Dr. Sandhya Rao, Dr. K Kameshwar Rao, Dr. Ramakrishna Parama, Dr. P Pramod,
Dr. Shailaja Ravindranath, Mr. Mariappa Raju and Mr K R Thiruppathi for the technical support. We thank
Y Joshi for editing the draft report. The invaluable support provided by the people of Thalakudi is deeply
appreciated.
Contents
1. Introduction ...................................................................................................1
2. Demography and Rainfall ...........................................................................4
3. Land ................................................................................................................6
4. Livestock ....................................................................................................... 14
5. Water and Soil .............................................................................................15
6. Energy and Sanitation ................................................................................17
7. Summary ....................................................................................................... 18
8. Key Environmental Issues ............................................................................18
1
C onservation and sustainable
management of natural resources
are fundamental to sustainable food
production, water supply and livelihoods.
Natural resources such as land,
biodiversity, water, livestock and soil
are being continually exploited by
human societies, often leading to the
degradation of these resources. Village
ecosystems are complex systems with
inter-linkages between natural resources
and livelihoods of communities.
The state of environment and natural
resource report of a village focuses on
major natural resources, their status and
trends over the years and also the
inter-linkages. With this understanding,
the report highlights key environmental
issues with implications for resources,
livelihoods and sustainability. To
understand the status of and trends in the
resources, indicators were identified and
an inventory of the natural resources
carried out. The agro-ecological zone
(AEZ) approach was adopted in
selecting the vil lage, taking into
consideration the key features of the
selected AEZ and the representativeness
of the vil lage. This facilitates
understanding of the strata of the
sub-AEZ in which the village is located.
This report serves as a model and has
been generated adopting the indicators
and methods developed by the Indian
Institute of Science for monitoring
natural resources.
The report presents general information
of the vil lage in the initial section.
Subsequent sections systematically
address the status of various resources,
and the final section concludes with a
synthesis of the findings, which identify
inter-linkages of various resources and
environmental issues.
1. Introduction
1.1. Utility of a State of theEnvironment Report
This state of village environment report
is important to the following entities:
l Village communities including
farmers and particularly women to
assist them in decision-making on the
use and management of natural
resources.
l Policy-makers at regional, state and
national level to help them design
strategies and policies to conserve
natural resources.
l Distr ict/block/panchayat-level
planners and decision-makers.
l Development departments such as
forests, agriculture, pasture
development, water resource and
the envirnoment to promote
sustainable practices.
l Educational institutions to create
awareness.
1.2. Agro-Ecological ZoneApproach
India is a large country with diverse
temperature, rainfall, soil, vegetation
and socio-economic conditions. AEZ
categorization is based on the length of
the growing period (LGP), which is
derived from climate, soil and
topography data using a water balance
model and knowledge of crop
requirements. The AEZ approach
is adopted by FAO and other
agencies for all forest, cropland and
other land-resource-related planning
activities.
India has been divided into 20 AEZs based
on rainfall, moisture and temperature
regimes, soil type, land form, etc.
2
The AEZ and village ecosystem approach
is adopted in this study for the following
reasons:
l AEZ is widely used by the Planning
Commission, the Ministry of
Agriculture, National Bureau for Soil
Survey and Land-Use Planning,
agricultural universities, and others.
l A strong functional
interdependence exists among
the natural resources (forests,
watersheds, grasslands, water
bodies, livestock and cropland) at
the village environment level in
each AEZ.
l Decision-making on the use and
management of natural resources
such as forests, biodiversity, grazing
lands and irrigation water occurs at
the village environment level.
l Participatory institutions such as
water sanghas, forest protection
committees and biodiversity
management committees are
organized and function at the
village level.
l Overlaying the natural ecosystem
boundary of an AEZ with
administrative boundaries gives a
unique combination of physical,
biological and socio-economic
perspectives.
1.3. Village Location
l Thalakudi village ecosystem is a part
of Lalgudi taluk of Tiruchirapalli
district of Tamil Nadu (Figure 1).
l It is located approximately 6 km
from Tiruchirapall i city at
10º52’22.8”N and 78º43’14”E,
67 m above mean sea level.
l The village falls under the agro-
ecological sub-zone 8.3, the
Tamil Nadu uplands and plains of
India, characterized by hot, moist,
semi-arid climate with deep red
loamy soils.
1.4. Reason for SelectingThalakudi
l Thalakudi is a vil lage that has
practised intensive agriculture
over the years. There is a distinct
inter-linkage between resources
and communities. The village is
representative of the zone and
paddy is cultivated intensively.
l Issues such as brick-making and
sand mining reflect over extraction
of resources and degradation.
Figure 1: Location of the village
TIRUCHIRAPALLI
TAMIL NADU
THALAKUDI
3
enable comparison with past data
and to understand changes in
land-use pattern.
l Household survey to obtain
information on cropping pattern,
water sources, fuelwood
catchment area, consumption
pattern, etc.
l Field measurements to estimate
biomass in different vegetation
types, fuelwood, water
consumption, dung production by
cattle and assessment of fish
resources and diversity.
l Laboratory measurements to
measure the quality of drinking
water and the status of soil quality
in terms of soil organic carbon.
l Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
to gather detailed and qualitative
descriptions of village resources,
patterns of use, trends and changes
in the status of resources over the
years.
1.7. Monitoring period
The study was conducted from
September 2006 to March 2007. The
land use and crop particulars are
for kharif (October to January), the
major cropping season, referred to as
‘current period’.
1.5. Natural ResourcesMonitored
The resources monitored in Thalakudi
village ecosystem include:
l Demography: Population and land
holding pattern.
l Climate: Rainfall pattern.
l Land Resources: Cropland,
wasteland, agro-forestry and
plantations.
l Soil Resources: Organic matter
status.
l Water Resources: Canals and wells.
l Livestock Resources: Population
and breeds, dung production.
l Settlements and Infrastructure:
Sanitation, electrification status,
housing areas and roads.
1.6. Methods Adopted
The following methods were adopted to
assess the status of various resource and
resource indicators.
l Secondary records for data on
rainfall, population, land-use
pattern, livestock, etc.
l Land survey to demarcate and map
different land-use systems as well as
estimate the area under each to
4
2. Demography and Rainfall
2.1. Population
2.1.1. Current Population
• The population of Thalakudi in 2006
was 4068, comprising 1993 men
and 2075 women.
• There are 810 households in the
village.
2.1.2. Trends in Population
• Population of the vil lage has
gradually increased from 3456 in
2001 to 4068 in 2006 (18% increase)
(Figure 2).
• The number of households has
remained almost constant.
• The village has a healthy sex ratio.
• Over the last couple of years, the
number of women has exceeded
the number of men.
2.1.3. Factors Contributing
• The high literacy rate (over 90%) in
the village could be one of the
reasons for the healthy sex ratio and
slow growth of the population in the
village.
• The slight increase recorded in the
population can be attributed to
immigration from Tiruchirapalli city.
2.2. Occupation Pattern
2.2.1. Current Status
• Thalakudi is a typical agricultural
village; over 60% of the families are
involved in agriculture.
• Agricultural labourers or landless
farmers account for 15% of the
population.
• Families that own land form 44% of
the population.
• Nearly a fifth (19%) is involved in
gem-cutting for their livelihood.
• A little over one-fifth (22%) of the
people depend on other
occupations such as basket-
making, dairy, and brick-making
(Figure 3).
Figure 3: Current occupation pattern
Others
22%
Gem
cutting
19%
Landless farmers
15%
Land
holding
farmers
44%
Figure 2: Trends in population
3456
3957 4068
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
2001 2004 2006
Po
pu
latio
n
5
Figure 4: Distribution of rainfall of 2006
Jan
250
200
150
100
50
0R
ain
fall
in m
m28 45
026
106
24
157
243 231
8163
0
Feb
Mar
Apr
Ma
y
Jun
Ju
l
Aug
Sep
Oct
No
v
De
c
2.3.2. Trends in Rainfall
Rainfall of this region was normal in
the last two years. Although the
level f luctuated, the rainfall was
above the district average of 880 mm
(Figure 5).
2.3. Rainfall
2.3.1. Current
• The mean annual rainfall of
Tiruchirapalli district is 880 mm.
• The mean annual rainfall of Lalgudi
taluk is 1036 mm.
• In 2006, Lalgudi taluk recorded 1004
mm of rainfall.
• The region usually receives rain from
the south-west monsoon (July–
September) and the north-east
monsoon (October–December)
(Figure 4).
• In 2006, the rainfall was equally
divided between the two
monsoons.
Figure 5: Rainfall pattern of Lalgudi taluk
6
3. Land
3.1.1. Current Land Use
• The total geographic area of
Thalakudi is 257 ha. The broad
land-use systems include cropland,
fallow land, settlements,
infrastructure and water bodies
(Figure 6).
• Approximately 91 ha of land is under
water bodies such as Kollidam river
and the Ayyan canal.
3.1. Land Use
Thalakudi is bound by Keeramangalam
village on the north, Pichandar Kovil
village on the west, Kollidam river on the
south and Appadurai village on the east.
The settlements are located primarily on
the western and eastern sides of the
village, and along the sides of the road
leading to Lalgudi.
Figure 6: Current land use
KEERAMANGALAM PERAPPAN
LALGUDI 9.25KM
APPADURAI
PICHANDARKOVIL
Wasteland
7
• Settlements and infrastructure
(including schools, roads, and a
temple) are spread over 41 ha.
• Eucalyptus plantation occupies 15
ha, which is maintained by the
panchayat under the joint forest
management programme.
• Currently, 77 ha is under cultivation.
• Approximately 33 ha is currently left
fallow (Figure 7).
• There is an increasing trend to leave
the land fallow for a few consecutive
years to have it classified as “non-
agricultural land” to facilitate its sale
for housing activities.
Figure 7: Current land-use composition
Cropland
30%Infrastructure
16%
Fallow
land
13%
Plantation
6%
Water
bodies
35%
3.1.2. Trends in Land-use
• The following information was
compiled from the records
maintained at the Office of the
Village Administrative Officer.
Trends in major land uses over the
past decade are discussed in this
section (Figure 8).
• Cropland: Cropland has decreased
by 6% over the past 5 years (from 82
ha in 2001 to 77 ha in 2006).
• Fallow land: Area left fallow has
decreased from 46 ha (2001) to 33
ha (2006).
• Water bodies: Area under water
bodies has remained stable (91 ha).
• Infrastructure and settlements: Area
under settlements has increased
significantly from 23 ha in 2001 to
41 ha in 2006.
Figure 8: Trends in land-use
100
75
50
25
0Cropland Fallow land Infrastructure/
settlements
2001 2006
Are
a in
ha
3.1.3. Factors Contributing
• The decrease in the cropland could
be attributed to urbanization and
increase in the area under
settlement.
• Land holders in the village are slowly
succumbing to the pressures of
urban sprawl of the nearby
Tiruchirapalli city.
• The rising land prices within the city
are forcing people to settle in
villages around the city.
3.1.4. Implications
• Decrease in the cropland area
would mean decreased agricultural
production.
• Increase in the settlement area
leads to loss of fertile cultivable
land area.
3.2. Cropping Pattern
3.2.1. Current
There are three cropping seasons in the
village. The first cropping season (rabi)
8
is between June and September. The
second season is between October and
January, during which the region gets
maximum rainfall. The third season,
summer extends from February to May,
when the canals supplying water dry up.
• Paddy is the major first- and second-
season crop whereas black gram is
the major third-season crop. Other
crops include sesame and green
gram.
• Nearly 70% (53 ha) of the cropland
is under paddy. Banana accounts
for nearly 20% of the crop area, and
sugarcane and coconut account
for about 5% each.
• Banana accounts for 19 ha (25%) of
total irrigated cropland (Figure 9).
3.2.2. Trends in the Cropping Pattern
• Past data related to cropping
pattern were collected from the
office of the Village Administrative
Officer, taluk office, panchayat
office and the panchayat union
office.
Figure 9: Major crops 2006
Paddy Banana
CoconutSugarcane
9
• The current area under paddy
cultivation is 13 ha less than the
area cultivated in 2001 (Figure 10).
3.3. Crop Varieties
3.3.1. Current Crop Varieties
• Paddy varieties currently under
cultivation are andhra ponni, ponni,
ADT46 and ADT36.
• Banana varieties currently under
cultivation are rasthali, poovan and
nendhran.
3.3.2. Trends in Crop Varieties
• Almost all the farmers have
shifted to cultivation of high-
yielding varieties.
• In the past decade IR20, AC10,
ADT18 and IR8 were the paddy
varieties cultivated.
• Traditional and local varieties of
paddy are not cultivated currently.
• Rasthali and poovan were the
varieties of banana grown in the
past decade.
3.3.3. Factors Contributing
• Awareness and promotional work
done by the village agricultural
officer and vil lage agricultural
union has promoted cultivation of
high yielding varieties.
• Higher returns due to cultivation of
high-yielding crop varieties.
3.4. Crop Yields
3.4.1. Trends in Crop Yields
The following information was drawn
from the data collected through
surveys.
Paddy: Nearly 25% of the farmers
growing paddy reported a decrease in
yield.
Banana: About 40% of the farmers
reported a decrease in yield over the
past five years.
Figure 10: Changes in area under major
crops
Sugarcane
Coconut
Banana
Paddy
0 20 40 60 80
Area in ha
53
66
16
10
4
4
4
2
2001
2006
• There has been a gradual shift from
paddy to crops like banana and
sugarcane.
3.2.3. Factors Contributing
• Market forces have driven the
farmers to cultivate banana and
sugarcane instead of paddy.
• Labour requirement for different
tasks involved in paddy cultivation
like preparing land, sowing, weeding
and harvesting are very high.
• With the cost of labour increasing
in the region, many farmers have
shifted from paddy to other less
labour-intensive crops like coconut
and banana.
3.2.4. Implications
• Decrease in area under food grain
production.
• Permanent loss of cultivable
land area due to conversion of
ferti le agricultural lands into
settlements.
10
3.4.2. Factors Contributing
• Paddy yield has decreased
considerably due to pest attack
and decrease in soil fertility.
• High incidence of wilt in banana has
decreased the yield.
3.4.3. Implications
• The decrease in yield and
increased incidence of pests
discourage farmers from practising
agriculture.
• Improper and excessive use of
fertilizers and pesticides in the long-
term would make the soil unfit for
cultivation and also make the pests
resistant to the pesticides used,
thereby increasing the cost of
production.
3.5. Fertilizer and ManureApplication
3.5.1. Current Fertilizer Use
Almost all the farmers in the village use
synthetic fertilizers. Less than 10% of the
farmers use organic manure along with
synthetic fertilizers.
Paddy: All farmers cultivating paddy
use about 430 kg/ha/season of
synthetic ferti l izer such as urea,
potash, superphosphate and DAP .
Sugarcane: Almost all the farmers
cultivating sugarcane use synthetic
fertilizers (800 kg/ha/year)
Banana: Farmers cultivating banana use
about 910 kg/ha/year of synthetic
fertilizers. Urea, potash, superphosphate
and DAP are the commonly used
fertilizers (Figure 11).
• Nearly 5% of farmers cultivating
banana use organic manure along
with synthetic fertilizers.
Figure 11: Quantity of fertilizer applied for
major crops
Banana Sugarcane Paddy
Quantity
in k
g/h
a
1000
800
600
400
200
0
910
800
430
3.5.2. Implications
• Excessive use of synthetic fertilizers
may have adverse effects on soil
quality.
3.6. Pest Incidence andPesticides Usage
Paddy: Stem borer and leaf roller are
the major insect pests of paddy.
Pesticides like monocrotophos and
endosulphan are used to control the
insect pests.
Banana: Wilt is the only disease reported
by the farmers cultivating banana.
Lindane powder and dimethoate
are used by farmers to control this
disease.
3.7. Agro-forestry
3.7.1. Current Practice
• In Thalakudi, agro-forestry on
croplands is practised on about 15
ha. Out of 77 ha cropland only 15 ha
have trees.
• A major share of agro-forestry (65%)
is in the form of block plantations
and about 35% is in the form of bund
plantations.
11
Figure 13: Roadside tree composition
Neem
18%Tamarind
32%
Mango
4%
Portia
5%Fan palm
8%Coconut
16%
Others
17%
• Fourteen major tree species are
found in the croplands.
• Coconut is the dominant species,
accounting for 66% of the total trees
with an average density of 20 trees/
ha. Most of these trees are under
block plantations.
• Portia (Thespesia populnae) trees
account for 10% of the total trees
and almost 100% are under bund
plantations.
• The other major species found on
cropland bunds include neem, teak,
Albizia sp. and fan palm (Figure 12).
Figure 12: Agro-forestry tree composition
Coconut
66%
Portia
10% Others
6%
Neem
6%
Fan palm
6%
Albizzia
3%
Teak
3%
3.7.2. Trends
• Information about past agro-
forestry practices was obtained
through PRA and focus-group
discussions.
• Over the past few years, the area
under block plantations has more
or less stabilized.
• Species promoted as block
plantations are primarily those that
have a good market value.
3.8. Roadside Vegetation
• In Thalakudi, roads occupy about
10 ha.
• Along the roadsides, fifteen species
of trees were found.
• Tamarind is the most dominant
species along the roadsides (32%).
• Neem constitutes 18% of the total
trees found along the roadsides.
• Coconut trees constitute nearly 16%
of the total trees.
• Other species include fan palm,
portia and mangoaccounting for
34% (Figure 13).
3.9. Canal-side Vegetation
• Canal extends over approximately
9 ha.
• Eleven tree species are found
along the canal. Neem is the
dominant species.
• Other major species include fan
palm (18%) and Acacia sp. (16%),
which, together with silk cotton,
mango, tamarind, etc. account for
over 25% (Figure 14).
Figure 14: Canal-side tree composition
Neem
37%
Adina sp.
11%Fan palm
18%
Others
18%
Acacia sp.
16%
12
3.10.3. Factors Contributing
• The increasing sprawl of
Tiruchirapalli city.
• Increasing commercial value of
land.
Figure 15: Changes in area under
different land-use categories
Cropland Fallow
land
Settlement
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Are
a in
ha
2001 2006
3.10. Fallow Land
3.10.1. Current Status
• In Thalakudi, fallow lands account
for 33 ha.
• Because no separate grazing
land is found in the village, local
people graze their cattle on fallow
lands.
3.10.2. Trends in Fallow Land Area
• There is an increasing trend to leave
the land fallow for over five years
to facil itate the conversion of
cultivable agricultural land to “non-
agricultural land” and sell it off as
plots for settlements.
• Of the 23 ha of land left fallow in
2001, 18 ha has already been
converted to settlements
(Figure 15).
13
The natural resource exploited
during the process of
brick-making is the ferti le
cultivable land. Particularly the
top soil is scraped off and used
for making bricks. The top soil
plays an important role in
agriculture, as it is the only layer
rich in all nutrients and microbial
biota. Secondly, the process
requires large quantities of fuelwood for firing the kilns. For this reason, trees are
cut in large numbers, affecting the tree cover. The large-scale utilization of
fertile soil for brick-making has a long-lasting impact, namely the land becomes
unfit for agriculture in future. It will take many decades to bring the top soil back
to its original status.
Demand for bricks in the region is high because of large-scale developmental
activities in and around the village. There are two brick-making units in Thalakudi.
According to the president of the village panchayat, more than 5 ha of cultivable
land has been converted to brick-making units. Further, farmers also lease or
rent cultivable land to such units for the soil it can supply.
Common plant species like coconut, neem, prosopis and others are utilized as
fuelwood for brick-making. If the exploitation of natural vegetation continues in
this manner, the region may soon become barren.
Factors Contributing
About 95 ha area was under agriculture two decades ago; today it is only 77 ha
(a decrease of 23%). On the other hand, the area under settlements has increased
from 15 to 41 ha, almost a threefold increase over the same period. This is one of
the reasons for the increase in brick-making units in Thalakudi and other
neighbouring villages.
Lack of market and low price for agricultural products, shortage of labour and
high wages for labour are key factors driving farmers to leave cropland fallow
and sell the topsoil to the brick-making industry.
Impacts
The primary impact of brick-making is on the topsoil
as removal of topsoil makes land unfit for
agriculture. Secondly, large amount of fuelwood
required leads to over extraction of trees,
affecting the tree cover, fuelwood availability
and biodiversity. However, the positive impact
of the brick-making industry is creation of local
employment and increased income.
Brick-making
14
4. Livestock
4.1. Livestock Population
4.1.1. Current Population
• The total livestock population in
2006 was 528.
• The population of milch animals was
144, which includes both local or
traditional and crossbred cows as
well as buffaloes.
• The number of bullocks was 18.
• Sheep and goats constitute a large
share, and together number 366.
4.1.2. Trends
• Livestock population of the village
has remained nearly constant
although its composition has
changed.
• The number of cows and buffaloes
decreased by over 30% over a
ten year period of 1996 to 2006
(Figure 16).
• Sheep and goat population
increased slightly by 21% over the
ten year period.
• People shifted from traditional
breeds to crossbreds in the 1980s.
• The number of draught animals
decreased considerably by over
50% during the past decade.
4.1.3. Factors Contributing
• There is no land left exclusively for
grazing within the vil lage. This
scarcity encourages farmers to rear
goat and sheep, which can be fed
even on wild bushes that grow
along the roadside.
• Development and mechanization
in the area have replaced draught
animals.
• The high incidence of disease
among crossbred cows has
discouraged farmers from rearing
them.
4.1.4. Implications
• The decrease in milch animal
population indicates increasing
dependence on external sources for
milk and milk products.
4.2. Dung Production
• Total dung production potential per
day of the cattle population is
1450 kg.
• Average dung production per
cattle per day is 8 to 9 kg.
• There are no biogas plants in the
village.
• Dung-cakes are used as fuel for
domestic purposes.
Figure 16: Trends in livestock population
Sheep and
goats
Milch
animals
Draught
animals
1996 2006
1838
144
208
366
287
400
300
200
100
0
Popula
tion
15
5.1. Irrigation Water
5.1.1. Current Availability
• The entire cropland in the village is
irrigated.
• Water from the Ayyan canal, the
major canal from the Kollidam river,
is used for irrigating crops.
• Nearly 60% of the area is irrigated
with water from borewells
(Figure 17).
5. Water and Soil
5.1.2. Trends
• There is increasing dependency on
groundwater for irrigation.
• Increasing number of farmers prefer
using water from borewells to that
from the surface irrigation source,
namely the canal.
5.1.3. Factors Contributing
• Water supply from Kollidam river is
neither stable nor a minimum level
of supply assured.
• Due to the increasing shortage of
water supply from Kollidam river,
more and more farmers are digging
new borewells.
Table 1: Quality of drinking water
Parameters Desirable Permissible Taps Hand Borewells Overhead
limitξξξξξ limit*ξξξξξ pumps tanks
Total dissolved solids# 500 2000 469.47 507.69 471.67 470.00
Total alkalinity as CaCO3
# 200 600 245.79 260.38 268.33 265.00
# in mg/litre; * in the absence of any alternative source; ξ Bureau of Indian Standards
Figure 17: Sources of irrigation
Borewell
58%
Canal
42%
• Tamil Nadu government provides
free electricity for agricultural
operations. This has encouraged
farmers to shift to borewell irrigation
and also to pump excess water to
the fields.
5.1.4. Implications
• Excess pumping of water from
borewells may lead to depletion of
groundwater.
• Pumping excess water into fields
consumes more energy.
5.2. Drinking Water
5.2.1. Current Availability
• Groundwater is the major source,
used for drinking and other domestic
needs.
• Panchayat water supply through
taps and hand pumps is dependent
on groundwater sources.
5.3. Drinking Water Quality
• Total dissolved solids in the samples
collected from hand pumps were
slightly higher than the desirable
limit.
• Samples from all the water sources
showed total alkalinity higher than
the desirable l imits set by the
Bureau of Indian Standards.
• A few samples of hand pumps
recorded slightly higher values of
hardness (Table 1).
16
5.3.1. Contributing Factors
• Higher alkalinity and increased total
dissolved solids can be attributed
to geological sources.
• Hardness can be due to the
presence of salts of magnesium and
calcium.
5.4. Microbial Contamination
• 33% of the borewell samples, 54%
of hand pump samples and 74%
of tap water samples had total
coliform count within the stipulated
limit (0–10 MPN/100 ml).
• 67%, 23%, 100% and 26% of the
samples from borewells, hand
pumps, overhead tank and taps,
respectively had a total coliform
count of 11–100 MPN/100 ml.
5.4.1. Contributing Factors
Presence of total coliforms in sources
can be attributed to:
• Contamination due to improper
covering.
• Mixing up with sewage water during
transmission.
• Poor sanitation around the water
sources.
Table 2: Soil organic carbon in different
land-use systems
Crop or land use % organic carbon
Banana 1.24
Coconut 1.74
Paddy 0.83
Sugarcane 0.66
Fallow land 2.05
Grazing land 2.22
Note: <0.5%, low, 0.5–0.75%, medium and
>0.75%, high
5.4.2. Implications
• Risk of waterborne diseases is high
because all the samples from the
major source of drinking water, the
overhead tank, recorded high
microbial loads.
5.5 Soil Quality
• Soil organic carbon in croplands
under paddy was 0.83% and that
under banana was 1.24%.
• The highest value of organic carbon
(2.05%) was recorded on fallow
lands.
• Croplands with sugarcane
recorded soil organic carbon of
0.66% (Table 2).
17
6. Energy and Sanitation
6.1. Energy Sources
The following information was gathered
prior to free distribution of LPG stoves
by the government.
• Nearly 30% of the households own
improved stoves.
• Only 10% of the households that own
improved stove have chimneys.
• Nearly 30% of the households have
LPG stoves.
6.1.1. Implications
• Due to improper maintenance of
improved stoves, the fuel savings
are much lower than the potential.
• Stoves that are not energy-efficient
waste fuelwood, resulting in greater
pressure on trees.
6.1.2. Lighting Energy Sources
• Most (95%) households are
electrif ied and own electrical
appliances such as TV sets and fans.
• Electricity is highly subsidized.
6.2. Sanitation Status
The status of sanitation in the village
is much higher than the state’s
average.
• Nearly 85% households have
toilets.
• All the households with toilets use
them regularly.
• All the toilets are of Indian style with
septic tanks, which are emptied
into fields regularly.
• Over 50% of the toilets have tap
water connection.
• Most (93%) of the households
have cattle sheds separated
from the house whereas in the
rest the cattle shed is part of the
house.
• About 75% of the vil lagers
dump kitchen waste in manure
pits and the rest use garbage
bins provided by the panchayat.
18
7. Summary
There exists a functional
interdependence between all the
natural resources such as water bodies,
cropland, livestock and the people in
the village. Thalakudi is one such typical
agricultural village in Lalgudi taluk of
Tiruchirapalli district, which practises
intensive agriculture. The fast expanding
city (Tiruchirapalli) continues to have
considerable impact on the resource
utilization pattern in the village. Lack of
assured supply of water for agriculture
has forced many landowners to
abandon agriculture and cater to the
demand for bricks from the construction
industry. This activity harvests the
nutrient-rich top soil, leaving the land
unproductive and barren.
Sand mining in Kollidam river is another
activity that indicates the susceptibility
of the village to rapid urbanization,
which further decreases the ability to
replenish water resources. This has
forced many agricultural labourers to
shift to alternative means of livelihood
like gem cutting and other un-skilled
labour work. This trend, if continued,
could lead to loss of livelihood for a
significant proportion of the population
of the vil lage sti l l dependant on
agriculture.
This village exhibits significant changes
in the status of all the natural resources
of the village, a change that in the
long-run could have serious implications
on the quality of life, a few of which are
mentioned here.
• Significant decrease in the extent
of fallow land and a slight decrease
in the cropland.
• Drastic increase in the area under
settlements, as a result of the
pressures of urbanization.
• Increased practice of leaving the
land fallow to convert the legal
status of cultivable lands.
• Decline in paddy cultivation over
the past 5 years and increase in
cultivation of annual crops such as
banana and sugarcane.
• Increasing trend to sink more
borewells in the region because of
the lack of water in the canals
during the major part of the year.
8. Key Environmental Issues
l Fallowing of fertile agricultural lands and conversion for non-agricultural purposes.
l Loss of top soil due to extraction for brick making.
l Over extraction of trees to fire brick kilns.
l Ground water depletion due to increase in number of borewells.
19
20
