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Case Analysis Dharwar Drilling Society Shishir Raut- Section A- PGP-I (2011-2013)

The article prepared by Professors MeenakshiMalya and V.L Mote entitled, Dharwar Drilling society, describes the dilemma faced by the society while acting as a development support organization. The objectives of the organization were elaborated in detail by the article and so were a number of problems faced by the farmers in the state of Karnataka. The central point of the article is the discussion of the dilemma faced by the organization while alleviating the problems faced by the farmers. This paper is based on the information provided by the article and is divided into three sections. The first section elaboratesthe objectives of the organization in detail. The second section discusses the difficulties confronting the farmers. The final section offers suggestions that would allow Dharwar Drilling Society to address the dilemma it currently faces. Objectives of the organization MrNijalingappa, Managing director of Dharwar Drilling Society (DDS) describes the organization to be formed with the objective of helping small and marginal farmers improve their productivity through minor irrigation. DDS, however typically focuses on digging wells in the search of water, which is the most important resource in agriculture. On a more general level, DDS is a response to concerns about irrigation of agricultural land in Karnataka and an attempt to improve the state of irrigation in Karnataka. Its long-term objective could be quoted as Making the farmers self-reliant by motivating them to take risks with a broader perspective in mind. Problems faced by farmers The myriad of problems faced by the farmers could be traced back to the uncertainty in regards to the success of the wells. Keeping in mind the broader perspective of increasing the state of irrigation in Karnataka, banks and other financial agencies make the loan facilities available to the farmers. However, in cases where the farmer has mortgaged his land to avail the loan facility and the well fails; could finally end up giving up his only livelihood with the added burden of loan repayment and no other possibility of income to support his family. In spite of interest waivers and percentage waivers on the loan amount by the state government, farmers are still left with a heavy liability of the loan amount. The managing director of DDS expresses his desire to lessen the above difficulties of the farmers in a way that would be aligned with the objectives of the organization and the bigger picture in mind. This is wherein he seeks the proposal of Miss Malati Prasad, a management student of WIMWI.

Evaluating the alternatives to the problem and suggesting a solution Considering the fact that the director is aiming for a no-profit-no-loss situation, the following three alternatives could be evaluated. y Digging up to 200 feet with the probability of success being 0.6 This is the average depth at which water is struck. Chances of finding water at this depth are 60%. So far every 100 wells, 60 wells strike water while the rest 40 wells fail.Also the total cost of drilling is an important factor to be taken into consideration. With an average of Rs 50 per foot, the total cost of dril ling for 100 sites is Rs 10,00,000. This is the basic assumption against which the other alternatives may be evaluated. y Check soil conditions and then proceed to dig up to 250 feet On reaching the depth of 200 feet, if water is not found, the soil conditions are checked for hints that could indicate the presence of water below. The chances of finding favorable soil conditions are 20%. So for the 40 wells failed so far, in 8 of those cases we could proceed to dig even further up to 250 feet. The success rate of finding water at 250 feet is 30%, which brings our figure down to 2.4 cases in the above-considered 8 cases. Statistically speaking, the probability of finding water at 250 feet is 0.624. The total cost for the entire drilling process in this scenario would be calculated as follows. In only 8 of the total sites, the drilling has gone up to 250 feet (8*250*50=Rs 1,00,000) while the rest of the 92 sites; the drilling is only up to 200 feet (92*200*50=Rs 9,20,000). Therefore the total cost comes down to Rs 10,20,000. y Conducting surface geophysical surveys before drilling process There is a 70% chance that the surface geophysical survey would prove out to be positive indicating the presence of water in the specific area. So 70 well sites are cleared for the drilling process while the remaining 30 sites arent worked upon. It is said that the success rate of the survey is 80% on sites recommended for drilling. 80% of 70 sites would mean a total of 56 well sites finding water eventually. Again statistically speaking, the probability of finding water in the third case is 0.56. The survey accounts for Rs 490 per site, which amounts to Rs 49,000 for the 100 sites investigated. For the 70 sites drilled, the total cost of drilling is Rs 7,00,000. Therefore the total cost of drilling is Rs 7,49,000 for 100 sites in the third scenario. From the evaluation of the above three alternatives, it can be seen that the third alternative presents the best possible option. With improvement in the technology employed for performing geophysical survey, the chances of striking water may be increased even further. Advanced techniques such as down hole surveys, soil texture analysis, and moisture analysis should be performed. Other elegant solution to this problem may include beneficial government schemes, increased subsidy, and partial re-imbursement by directing funds from successful farmers etc.

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