**_nh, Iundan Project_**

29 participation in development activities than the multicaste larger villages situated near the highway. Discrimination against women is less among the tribals than among Hindus and Muslims. No son preference is reported among the tribals. Early marriage (mean age of women at marriage 14.5 years) arranged by parerr is customary among all sections of population. Prolonged breastfeeding, starting from the second day of birth, is common. Lives of tribal and low caste Hindu women are characterized by strenuous work, frequent pregnancies, and inadequate nutrition. In general, the pre-Project socioeconomic situation in Kundam block seems to have been conducive to high fertility and child mortality and it seems reasonable to assume that there was no significant difference between the Project Area and Control Area in this respect.

# _Impact of th Projedt on Contracepdve Prevalence and Fenih_

According to the records maintained by the Project and the PHC, the contraceptive prevalence (proportion of currently married women using contraceptives) by the end of 1980 when the Project started was 19.9 percent in Kundam block, 19.9 percent in the Project Area and 20.0 percent in the Control Area. As shown in Table 6, there was an immediate surge in prevalence in the Project Area which continued until 1984 when it reached 66.2 percent; by 1985 it was 68.4 percent.

The contraceptive prevalence also increased in the Control Area but at a much slower rate; by 1985 it was 41.5 percent. The prevalence estimates for Kundam block as a whole were also higher than the Control Area because the former included the Project Area estimates. The sample survey of 1,000 eligible couples conducted in March 1987 in 20 randomly selected villages of the Project Area revealed a contraceptive prevalence of 61.3 percent. It is possible that the estimates made from the Project and PHC records may have some upward bias and those made from the survey data may have some downward bias. In any case, it is clear that by the end of 1985 the Project Area's contraceptive prevalence was significantly higher compared to that of the Control Area, Madhya Pradesh state, and India as a whole.

The 1986-87 survey showed that the three most commonly used contraceptive methods in the Project Area were tubectomy (25.3 percent among all users), vasectomy (23.5 percent), and condom (8.8 percent). The acceptance of vasectomy is higher in the Project Area as well as in Kundam block than in India as a whole because the rate of compensation payment for sterilization in Madhya Pradesh exceeds that of the Indian average and because there is not much difference among the tribals in the use of tubectomy and vasectomy (perhaps due to lesser discrimination against women).

According to the records maintained by the Project and PHC, the crude birth rate in the Project Area declined from 36 per 1000 population in 1980-81 to 25 in 1983-86. But a sample survey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 10 Project villages in 1986-87 showed the birth in that year to be 35.1, and the 1986-87 survey conducted by the ORG in 20 Project villages also showed the birth rate to be equally high (35.4). The consistency of the survey findings makes it reasonable to assume that the birth rate (25 per 1000 populat,on) estimate derived from the Project and PHC records is a serious underestimate. However, if 35 per 1000 population is accepted as a reliable birth estimate for 1986-87, than the question arises why the birth rate declined only one point from 36 in 1980-82 to 1986-87, while the contraceptive prevalence increased from below 20 to over 60 percent during the period. Although it is likely that the impact of increase in contraceptive prevalence at the initial years of the Project