Livelihoods Security Project for the Earthquake Affected Areas in Gujarat

The Project has been designed in response to the devastating earthquake which struck Gujarat on 26 January 2001 claiming more than 20,000 lives. The earthquake followed a series of disasters that had struck the region in the last few years, including a devastating cyclone in 1998 and debilitating droughts in 1999 and 2000. Against this background, IFAD agreed to provide assistance, in partnership with WFP, to address the immediate needs of the communities for rehabilitation of their livelihoods as well as addressing their inherent vulnerability.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE

The objective of the project was to provide greater livelihood security to economically vulnerable households living in a harsh, disaster-prone and increasingly fragile natural environment and to enhance their preparedness and capacity to cope with future crises.

PROJECT AREA

The project covered 12 blocks in three of the most severely affected districts of Kutch, Surendranagar and Patan.

TARGET GROUP

The project focused on villages where over two-thirds of the households are poor and in which SEWA has higher membership coverage. The target group mainly comprised of households below the poverty line and SEWA's members who are all women and largely drawn from the poorest and most vulnerable groups in the community. The participation of men particularly in the activities that affected the communities as a whole was also ensured.

PROJECT COMPONENTS

The project comprised of the following components to achieve the objectives:

• Capacity Building and empowerment of Stakeholders
• Livelihood systems enhancement and crisis coping capabilities
• Disaster preparedness and mitigation
• Social Development
• Project Management activities
• Food handling

PROJECT COST AND FINANCING

The total cost of the project, over 7 years, was estimated at USD 24 million. The IFAD loan assistance was USD 15 million to finance 62% of the project costs. Of the remainder, WFP to contribute USD 4.9 million in food assistance, SEWA USD 1.7 million, Govt. of Gujarat/GOI USD 1.7 million and the SEWA members and the communities to contribute USD 0.7 million in voluntary labour contributions.

BENEFITS AND IMPACT

At the time of appraisal, it was estimated that around 53,000 women would benefit from increased incomes and livelihood security, and improved household food security.

The implementation of the project has been affected by a number of issues that led to the friction between Government of Gujarat and SEWA. IFAD made several attempts to resolve the issues with the principal stakeholders. Regrettably, the different positions could not be reconciled and Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India has requested IFAD on July 14, 2006 to terminate the project.