A success story –
A role model of water
conservation work can be seen at Ralegaon-Siddhi, which
is also called the Ideal Village.
is also called the Ideal Village.
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In 1975,
when Anna Hajare, a retired army man, went back to
his village in Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, he found the village reeling under drought,poverty, debt, and unemployment. He decided to mobilize the people and,with the collective support of all the villagers, he began to introduce changesToday Ralegaon Siddhi is being taken as a role model for other villages by the Maharashtra government and by other states too. Massive tree plantation has been undertaken, and hills have been terraced to check erosion. Large canals with ridges on either side have been dug to retain rainwater. |
As a result, the water table in this
area is now considerably higher and the wells and tube wells are
never dry, making it possible to raise three crops a
year where only one was possible before.
The villager's
biggest achievement is undoubtedly in the
area of non-conventional energy. All the streets in the village
are lit by solar lights, each with a separate
panel. There are four large community biogas plants
and one of them is fitted to the
community toilet. There is a large windmill used for pumping water. A number of households
have their own biogas plants. The village is self sufficient .
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