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Issue No. 2
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December 2002
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AVAG meets with the Panchayat Presidents
The newly elected village leaders come forward to cooperate
For the first time after the elections this year, the President,
Vice President and Councillors from 22 Panchayats around
Auroville met together with Village Action Group at the
AVARC office on the 13th of Nov. 2002. About 60% of the
invitees attended the meeting, including the MLA of the
area. Altogether there were 22 leaders present, along with
Karin, Bindu, Harini, Moris, Anbu and 15 Development Workers.
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Purpose of the meeting
AVAG Development Workers had requested the meeting, so
that the village leaders, with whom they are working, could
gain a clear and comprehensive picture of Auroville Village
Action Group. It was also an opportunity to discuss the
possibilities for village development through common projects
and the necessity of forming a Village Council in every
village.
Proceedings
After the guests had introduced themselves and everyone got
acquainted, AVAG presented its main areas of work: the educational
activities in village schools, the community development programme
including men's and women's clubs and microprojects, the particular
activities with women and young people, such as savings and
loan schemes, income generation projects, legal counselling
and leadership trainings. AVAG also brought into light its
joint efforts with other organisations such as JIPMER hospital,
PIMS (Pondicherry Institute of Medical Science), Field Publicity
Office, DRDA (District Rural Development Agency), Vallalar
Grameen Bank, Auroville Health Centre, Palmyra and Pitchandikulam.
Some ideas of working together were put forth
The importance of forming a Village Council, where
the traditional as well as the elected leaders could meet
and plan, together with representatives of the women's and
men's clubs, was stressed. One of AVAG's experienced coordinators
explained that to be able to work effectively with the government
and other development agencies, such a firm base that involves
all the people of the village, is an absolute necessity.
Some of the possibilities, like improving availability of
drinking water with the help of DANIDA, taking the
initiative of waste management and then connecting
with EXNORA and starting self-help groups for income
generation under the government programmes, were explained.
The Namaka Nameh Thittam programme of the government,
which can provide funds for taking up village improvement
projects such as deepening the pond, making road, digging
new wells, was discussed. Presently this fund is under-utilised
in this area due to lack of collaboration between the people
and the leaders.
Reaction of the leaders
The assembled leaders were very happy to learn about these
opportunities, expressing eagerness to take them up for
the benefit of their villages.
Leaders who had worked with AVAG before spoke enthusiastically
about their projects. They expressed their eagerness to
meet more often and regularly focus on village development.
Some leaders voiced the problems they face while working
with the government. The funds they are allotted never come
to them on time. Whenever they require funds for small village
improvements (e.g. hand pump) there is no money in the government
treasury. Then suddenly the government releases a big amount
of funds for erecting a public toilet. And the toilet project
gets precedence while the villagers keep struggling for
drinking water. They have tried to explain this to government
officers but nobody seems to be taking heed. The leaders
strongly feel that if we invite these officers to our meetings,
the situation might improve.
Another difficult task related to working with the government
is the drawing up of a list of all the people in the village
who fall "Below the Poverty Line". This BPL list
is a very important one for selecting beneficiaries for
the government programmes. For some reason the previous
leaders had not been able to present a genuine list. This
had made the implementation of government programmes difficult,
something which AVAG itself had experienced. Now, the newly
elected leaders would like to make the new lists with the
help of the AVAG women's and men's groups.
Conclusion
The conclusion of this already very positive meeting was
a strong determination by the Panchayat Leaders to get a
Village Council established in each village. This should
be accomplished within two months, and that would mark also
the next regular meeting of the Panchayat Leaders and AVAG.
They would like to continue meeting every two months to
strengthen their cooperation with AVAG in the development
of the villages.
Decisions taken at the meeting
- To make a joint effort to solve the problem of constant
electricity failure in the region
- To make necessary arrangements for the maintenance of
public toilets in each panchayat
- To organise more service camps and awareness programs
in the villages
- To organise an exposure visit to Koothampakkam, a model
village
panchayat in Thiruvallur district
- To invite a Resource Person from the Govt. Departments
like DRDA, Women Development Corporation, DANIDA, HUDCO
and Social Welfare Board for our meetings in the future
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