Everything you need to know about Cauvery Calling

If you’re wondering how to sift through all the news, opinions and allegations out there on Cauvery Calling, here’s a ready reckoner that will help you segregate fact from fiction.

What is Cauvery Calling?

Cauvery Calling is a project under the aegis of Isha Outreach. The project is intended to address the Farmer and Water Crisis in the Cauvery Basin Districts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It offers an Economic Solution with significant Ecological Benefits. The project will aim to facilitate farmers in the Basin Districts to adopt Tree-based agriculture on their Private Lands, thereby securing their financial future as well as the Ecology.

What is Isha Outreach?

Isha Outreach is a public charitable trust registered under section 12AA of the Income Tax Act. Isha Outreach is also registered under section 80G of the Income Tax Act. Isha Outreach works primarily in rural India delivering healthcare, education and ecological initiatives. 

What have been the successes and achievements of Isha Outreach? 

Isha Outreach initiatives have been nationally and globally recognized and awarded. To name a few milestones: 

• In 2010, Project GreenHands (PGH), an ecological initiative launched by Sadhguru to increase tree cover in Tamil Nadu, was awarded India’s highest environmental award – the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar.
• PGH also holds the Guinness Record for the largest mass plantation in 3 days – 8,52,587 saplings were planted in 6284 locations.
• The Rally for Rivers initiative launched by Sadhguru in 2017 to address the challenge of India’s dying rivers was awarded the National Water Award in the category of Best Educative/Mass Awareness effort in 2019 by the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India.
• Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar was awarded to Isha Outreach for its project Isha Gramotsavam, a Rural Sport-based revitalisation initiative.

How much money has been collected for the Cauvery Calling Project so far?

As of January 2020, the project has been able to raise funding that will enable farmers in the Cauvery basin to plant more than 1.6 crore tree saplings. You can follow our status update at https://www.ishaoutreach.org/en/cauvery-calling.

Who has contributed?

The contributions have come from individuals across the globe. Online and digital contributions have accounted for 99.6% of all total contributions. They have come from voluntary contributions from 150 different countries and lakhs of individuals.

How will funds be managed?

All funds for Cauvery Calling are handled separately under the stewardship of the eminent Board of Advisors and will be audited by reputed Independent Auditors.

Has this money got anything to do with State Government?

This money is not being received on behalf of the State Government. The contributions are only to facilitate farmers in the Cauvery Basin to be able to procure and plant quality saplings on their own lands.

What is the participation of the State Government?

The State Government will also make its own contribution directly to the farmers. The Government will also work towards the success of the proposed Tree-based agriculture endeavour with policy redirection that will remove roadblocks for the farmer and facilitate this process.

Where will the trees be planted?

The trees will be planted on the Farmer’s private lands and has absolutely nothing to do with public/government owned lands. 

When will the planting begin?

Our on-ground teams have begun to formulate systems to reach out to at least 500 farmers in each of the 54 talukas of the rural basin districts in Karnataka, alongside a corresponding effort in Tamil Nadu. Farmers will take up plantation in the monsoon of 2020.

The entire effort is by the volunteer force of Cauvery Calling movement and has nothing to do with any political or religious denominations. This is a global effort for a local solution.