 The
visionaries of the village, along with some youngsters,
invited Mr. Popatrao Pawar
for the gramsabha (village meeting).
He was unanimously elected as the
Sarpanch after he
addressed the need for an all-round development of the
village
that touched a chord in the people's hearts.
On January 26, 1990, the first gram sabha (meeting) was
called, and the
following basic needs of the village were
identified:
|
- Providing educational facilities
- Providing health facilities
- Providing village roads
- Providing electricity
- Providing employment and their social and cultural activities.
Soil and water conservation treatments - from contour blocking of rainwater, to afforestation, to trenching on private land, to built earthen structures and percolation tanks - all have played an important role.
Together with the green agenda, the reformer in Hiware Bazar have also implemented a program for social change, which involved banning liquor, adopting family planning program, and rendering voluntary labour - called shramadan - to develope their village.
Positive results are being reported from the field - the out-migration of villagers to nearby urban areas has been arrested; there is now an influx of families seeking better water, health and economic conditions.
For Shri. Pawar, the young man who changed the image of the high-crime village, prone to infighting that was Hiware Bazar prior to 1989, there has been a positive fallout too, personally. He has been elected the village head continuously since 1989 without opposition.
"The ban on grazing increased the production of grass from 200 tons in 1994-95 to more than 5,000 tones in 2001-2002," says shri. Pawar. "Likewise, the ban on felling trees has increased the biomass by 900,000 trees. Banning liquor has increased the efficiency of manpower,"
Villagers in Hiware Bazar also decided at their local council meetings to ban the sale of village land to "outsiders," and make HIV/AIDS testing compulsory before marriage.
Shri. Pawar says that their experience shows it is easier to carry on such work without an influx of big money.
Today, the village has been awarded the prestigious 'Ideal Village' status by the government of Maharashtra.
