Empowering Villages in Rural India

Let me start out by wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy New Year.

Village Development Committee or Gram Vikas Committee (GVC) is a concept that was started by Seva Mandir to encourage villages to become autonomous by building a village institution around a common village fund.

Shyampura, a small village in Kherwada Tehsil 79 km south of Udaipur consists of 115 households, most of whom are farmers and depend on subsistence farming and livestock as well as migrant labour for their livelihoods.

In the early ’80s they turned to Seva Mandir for an action plan for land development, which would increase fodder production and conserve water, following a period of drought.

Working with the GVC, a successful trial of planting trees that had been grown by 20 households in their beeds (private land used for growing fodder), was followed by pastureland development.  The intention was to provide the whole community with sufficient quality grass for their livestock.

After several years of good production, the heavy monsoon rains caused trees to fall and boundary walls to collapse allowing other animals access to graze freely in the pastureland site.

During recent elections of the GVC conducted by Seva Mandir, the committee took on the responsibility of motivating the villagers to work on the pastureland revitalisation.  People from each household worked on a voluntary basis for two days to repair the boundary walls and revive the site.  The pasture was made secure and a guard appointed, who visits twice a day.  Penalties were put in place for anyone breaking the rules.

This year, the pasture grass has flourished again and will provide fodder for the animals of more than 100 households.

The GVC has also been able to recover a loan of Rs 20,000 ($315) that dated back five years.  It was granted to a Self-Help Group who gave it to a family in need.  However, the family had since refused to repay the loan to the ‘Village Development Fund’ when it fell due.  So a recovery committee was formed and after many discussions and counselling the family eventually paid back Rs 35,600 ($560), including interest.

The village committees and Seva Mandir have succeeded in taking the concept of Village Development Committee further.  The idea of creating self-reliant and autonomous village institutions has become a reality with the Shyampura village committee showing a great sense of ownership for the ongoing sustainability of the assets of the community as a whole.

We would like to thank you for letting us meet our commitments at the field.  All this has been possible due to your consistent support and trust in us.

Remember, together we can make a difference for these villages. We look forward for your continuous support. If your travel brings you to this part of the world, please do visit us. 

Thank you

Atul Lekhra and Seva Mandir Team

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