10.4.11

Ralegan Siddhi

From an obscure, barren and water scarcity-hit village to a green belt, Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar district, about 110 km from Pune, stands as a shining example for sustainable development based on Gandhian principles. Unwittingly, the village has become part of the newly found anti-corruption movement spearheaded by its son, Anna Hazare. Nearly four decades ago, the village of 2,500 people was like most others, mired in poverty with 33 liquor dens boosting the illicit trade. Water scarcity meant little farming and with no other source of livelihood, the per capita income was just Rs 271. Hazare, a soldier who took voluntary retirement, returned to the village and began to transform it. The village's Yadavbaba temple became the focal point of his agitations. He donated Rs 3,000 for its renovation. He made fellow villagers take an oath. They swore to his five commandments: prohibition, family planning, voluntary labour, a ban on open grazing and on felling trees. Voluntary labour was necessary to ensure minimum dependence on the government for dole. As expected, Hazare ran into opposition, especially when he insisted on prohibition. Village youth Datta Awari (27) said the liquor den owners threatened him with dire consequences. Anna stood up to them. "Today we are reaping the benefit of listening to Anna. For us, he is nothing short of god," he said. He targeted open grazing next by imposing a complete ban and insisted on stallfeeding of cattle. The village opted out of cultivating water-intensive crops like sugar cane was and instead sowed pulses, oilseeds and cash crops which needed less water. "Jowar and onions grown in our village are now sold outside. Anna started a water recycling project last year. Water is lifted from the check dam in the village, treated and recycled," Awari said. The village now has a bank run by women where every villager donates one sack of grain every year. "The grain is stored properly and auctioned to raise funds whenever the village needs money for any developmental work. Those who have left the village and settled elsewhere, send money every year for development," Awari said. The village dairy has a milk bank that operates like the grain bank. When well water became available for irrigation, the villagers formed cooperative societies that brought more land under cultivation. It spiralled into developments like double cropping, change of farming system, horticulture plantations, vegetable cultivation and dairy farming. All this brought about a political change too. All elections to local bodies are now held through consensus. There were other spillover effects. A new system of sharing of labour grew and people volunteered to work on others' land. This way, the landless labourers gained employment. Today, Ralegan Siddhi's residents plan to buy land from adjoining villages.

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