|
Mr. Kisan Baburao Anna Hazare, popularly regarded as
'Anna' (elder brother) came there. With a resolve
to improve the condition of poor, farmer, women
& children, he initiated his efforts. The
approaches adopted by him was:
Persuasion
& Creation of a common platform
First
of all, Anna went through a careful envisioning of
the deteriorating situation in village life and
decided to initiate through religion-moral
undercurrent by persuading the people for
reconstruction of Sant Yadava Baba temple. But
failed. Then he organized the youths of the village
under 'Tarun Mandal' (youth organization). This
insured participation from all the sections of
society. People started sitting in groups during
evenings and discussing about the affairs of the
village and common concern. Thus, the process of
friendship, cooperation and communication started.
Villagers were impressed by his sense of sincerity,
selflessness and sacrifice and he emerged as their
undisputed leader by winning the hearts of the
people.
Identification
of key problem
The
main reason of disintegration, division and distress
of the village society was the lack of a sound
livelihood support system. The economy of the
village was agrarian and shortage of water for
irrigation was the major constraint to its
development. Thus, assured availability of water was
collectively identified as the top priority in a
meeting of villagers.
Socialization
of costs and surpluses
In
the implementation of resource management activities
e.g. developing public utilities, tree planting,
deepening of wells etc., voluntary labor (Shramdan)
is an essential component. This has helped in
socializing the costs and has helped develop a sense
of belonging among the people, in addition to
lowering labor costs of the activities.
Democratic
decision making process
Every
new initiative is thoroughly discussed in village
meetings. Pros and cons of any new initiative are
considered. Plans for implementation of a particular
scheme and code of conduct are openly discussed and
a select group of people carry out and supervise the
works. Thus, at every stage the involvement of
people in decision-making is very important.
Need-based
planned socio-economic development
Since
all the decisions pertaining to launching of any
scheme are taken in village assembly, the decisions
reflect the needs and aspirations of the community.
For example, the top priority was accorded to the
rain water harvesting and management of the four
village watersheds. Every drop of rain was trapped
by developing a drainage system, trenches, check
dams, drainage plugs, percolation tank etc. by
developing and designing micro-watershed specific
schemes. This initiative recharged the ground water
and now enough water is available all year round at
6.5 m depth as compared to the ground water depth of
20 in earlier. This was followed by regeneration of
plants, grasses, development of best locally suited
farming systems, continuous watch and monitoring of
water distributions to irrigate crops in a judicious
manner, selection of crops according to soil
moisture and needs of the people. Organic manure is
prepared by the farmers by using human and animal
wastes as well as crop residues. Similarly, to meet
basic minimum needs of the people solar street
lights, community latrines, biogas plants for
cooking and above all a well managed high school are
installed and being satisfactorily run.
Cooperative
management system
Most of the villagers are farmers. Hence, it is
beyond their repaying power to go for bank loans for
irrigation wells individually. To overcome this
problem, cooperative system of irrigation has been
evolved. Two or more farmers develop the source
collectively, share the water equitably and repay
the bank loan in proportion to the land irrigated by
that source. This system has enabled an access to
irrigation even to the poorest of poor farmer on
equal terms. To avoid any confusion or misuse of
water, Water Ration Cards are maintained by farmers.
Each farmer can use the water as per his/her
allotment. A second turn to any farmer is allowed
only when all the farmers have taken their first
term.
Special
focus on women
The
availability of drinking water, fodder, toilet
facilities, bathroom etc. have reduced the drudgery
of women. The moral upliftment of the village has
improved the status of women at home and in society,
due to change in attitudes of men towards women.
Mahila Mandals (Women's Groups) manage the
women-specific issues.
Facilitating
village organizations
To
manage the affairs, village organization have been
developed for smooth functioning of each and every
activity. The broad administrative organization
diagram is given in Fig. 2. Each of these units are
separately registered societies with fair degree of
independence and are competent enough to take
operational decisions. Thus, in all the above
approaches people and moral values enjoy the centre
stage, and common good is the sole aim.
Fig.
2: Organization diagram of village Ralegan Siddhi
|
