Success Stories

Kerabar village comes under Barwenagar Panchayat, Chainpur Block, Gumla district in Jharkhand. There are 39 households in the village. The main occupation of the people in this village is rain fed agriculture. Some years back, a vibrant Gram Sabha under the leadership of the traditional leader used to exist. However, it has become defunct in recent years.

Chiriya is a revenue village of Manoharpur block. It is located by the bank of a beautiful river. The inhabitants of Chiriya largely depend on water from this river for their household use and irrigation purposes. There are 140 households in the village. Chiriya is known for the iron ore mines operated by the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). A kachcha road connects the mining area from the main road. Vehicles from SAIL use the road all through the day and it makes the road dusty. This is unhygienic and unhealthy for the residents.

Gompu is an unrecognized forest village in Chiriya panchayat of Manoharpur block. There are 45 households with a population of 225. Since it is an unrecognized forest village, and not a revenue village, the residing community is deprived of their rights and entitlements so far. As a consequence, their living conditions are poor. For the last 4-5 years they have been longing to get their hamlet converted into a revenue village so that they can get the benefits of government schemes and programs. However, they were unable to move further due to lack of information on how to go about it.

Kali Pahari village is situated in Khamarbad panchayat, Fatehpur Block in Jamtara district and consists of 2 Tolas namely Upar tola and Aadiwasi tola with 71 households. Its distance from the block office is approximately 15 kms. and 22 kms. from the district headquarters. In the village, communities from 2 castes (Bangali and Santhal tribal) reside. There is an issue of unavailability of safe drinking water in the village. There have been numerous occasions that despite bringing up the issue to be resolved the voices of the community have gone unheard.

Khijuriya is a revenue village under Fatehpur panchayat, in Jamtara district. The village has a mixed population comprising of tribal, non-tribal, backward castes and minorities. Even though the village is in proximity to Fatehpur block, delivery of services and entitlements to the community is poor. In the absence of proper health facilities, the people of the community have to cover a distance of around 40 kms to reach Jamtara or Dumka to avail adequate health facilities.

The tale of Dimbuli village under Manoharpur Block is a significant implication of Gram Sabha empowerment. The village with seven Tolas and about 420 families has kept a big industrial house away from acquiring land to set up a hot metal plant there. Although the protest against the steel plant began in the year 2017 itself, after empowerment of Gram Sabha the villagers adopted a systematic approach towards it and have not given approval for land transfer for the plant yet.

Binua village of Chiriya Panchayat in West Singhbhum district is situated near one of the oldest iron ore mines in Jharkhand. And, yet development is far away from the village where people are living in penury at the same time bearing the consequences of industrialization. The village, comprising of six Tolas and 145 families is struggling to get even pure drinking water.

Very few villages in Jharkhand have Gram Sabhas that are not only functioning but also making development plans to be implemented by government agencies. Manjhladih village of Chapudia Panchayat in Jamtara district boasts to be one of them.

The villagers of Manjhlachala in Dumariya Panchyat of Jamtara district are no more ignorant to the concept of the Gram Sabha. As they sit and discuss issues of common concern and make their voices heard, they have begun understanding the value of local self governance and the dimensions of the Panchyati Raj system. With the help of Lok Jagriti Kendra and PHIA in association with APPI, they have begun questioning the authorities and making a way for the development of their village in the short duration of eight months.

The residents of Fatehpur village under Jamtara district had little idea of what a Gram Sabha is. For decades they were manipulated by middlemen and were used to giving their consent on government schemes without having a say in their positioning and implementation in their village. Unaware of the concept of Panchayati Raj system they were devoid of the powers of Gram Sabha and the powers vested in them by legislation.