Indian Forest Records . 
[Vol. Vlt. 
24 
PART II 
Ravine Reclamation and Famine Relief. 
Being a note on the experience gained in the Etawah district 
IN THE 1919 FAMINE. 
Introduction. 
I N the autumn of 1918, when the complete failure of the monsoon 
had made it clear that there would be severe scarcity in the 
ravine tracts of the Etawah district, Government decided that the 
principal form of famine relief in those tracts should be ravine reclama¬ 
tion work. This was a form of relief that had not been tried previously 
to any appreciable extent, and the Famine Code, comprehensive as it 
is, does not in many ways cover this type of work. Moreover, few Forest 
Officers in these Provinces know much about the Famine Code, or have 
had occasion in the past to study it intimately in its actual working. 
With probable extension of afforestation and ravine reclamation work 
in the Province, and with the certainty of recurrence of famine opera¬ 
tions (in the Jumna-Chambal ravine tracts especially), at fairly fre¬ 
quent intervals, the need of some guide or record for this type of work 
becomes apparent. This note has therefore been drawn up on the 
experience gained in the 1918-19 famine in the Etawah district. Al¬ 
though primarily from the Forest point of view, and to serve as a guide 
to the Forest Officer, it will, it is hoped, also prove of some value to 
Collectors, Famine Officers, and others within whose charge this type of 
famine relief work is adopted. 
The absence of all previous experience of famine relief work in ravine 
reclamation led inevitably to a few mistakes in the beginning. The 
account procedure was new to the Forest staff, while the standardisa¬ 
tion of tasks, the organisation of gangs, the checking of continually 
shifting work, and many other points had to be ascertained by practi¬ 
cal experience before the work could run smoothly and properly. 
This note will, it is hoped, help to smooth over the initial difficulties 
when ravine reclamation work is again carried out by famine labour. 
2. A description of these ravine tracts, and the methods and objects 
of treatment have been given in detail in Part I (paras. 12 to 20) of 
this note, and need not be repeated. 
There are several factors in this ravine reclamation work which 
make it a very suitable form of famine relief. These may be briefly 
indicated— 
(i) The variety of work affords employment for every description 
of unskilled labour, for men, digging and cliff breaking, for 
women, ridging and carrying earth, for the old and feeble 
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