Further Activities:
The following additional events, organized under the women’s empowerment project, deserve special mention
- A State-level interaction with the newly elected Chairpersons of Gram Panchayats in West Bengal, held at Seva Kendra, Kolkata on 18-19 September 2013 with 95 participants; and
- A National Consultation on ‘Women’s Empowerment through Panchayats’ held at Gandhi Darshan, New Delhi on 24-25 November 2013 with 117 participants.
Both the above events were successful
Scoping Studies:
Besides, the following scoping studies have been completed, concluding with their brief reports:
- Small Holder Agriculture and its Role in Food and Nutritional Security;
- Indigenous Peoples’ Land Rights (their access to, and control over, Land and Other Natural Resources to ensure Food Security and reduce Poverty);
- Women’s Land Rights (their access to, and control over, Land and Other Natural Resources to ensure Food Security and reduce Poverty);
- Land Grab Campaign: A Case Study. In addition,
- A Country Overview Paper, ‘Access to Land and Tenurial Security’;
- A ‘Country Land Reforms Monitoring Report’;
- A study on ‘Envisioning Strengthening of Rural Development Network of Voluntary Organisations in India’;
- ‘Regenerating AVARD to Strengthen Civil Society Organisations in India’; and
- ‘AVARD: Fifty-Five Eventful Years’ (A Brief History, 1958-2013).
have been prepared and/or acted upon. Not least, a number of other country papers and studies prepared during the period are not being listed here for the sake of brevity.
Highlights:
Highlights of the activities discussed above are as follows:
- As mentioned at the outset, preceding strategic plan (2007-12) and the current one (2012-17) provided the frame of reference for the activities implemented during the period under review.
- The activities under various projects have been implemented successfully, with largely positive impact and outcomes as expected.
- In the process, Panchayats, VOs, elected representatives, and people at large especially from the disadvantaged sections such as women, STs, SCs, OBCs and minorities in the underdeveloped areas of the country have benefited considerably, the focus being on initiating, internalising and sustaining a participatory process and cartalysing development, rather than on achieving targets.
- Participatory microplanning and development with gender-equity and social justice through Panchayats, along with adequate transparency and accountability, has been a special feature of most of the projects undertaken during the period under review.
- Approach adopted has been to help people help themselves.
- Modest resources available and invested have produced relatively better results, with considerable multiplier effect.
- In sum, the experience has been rewarding for the disadvantaged people, Panchayats, local VOs and AVARD alike, notwithstanding the limitations of the project-based functioning and systemic constraints in the restructured Panchayati Raj system.
Constraints:
Minor constraints have been overcome when encountered. However, the following major constraints, primarily related with the Panchayati Raj system, have been persisting:
- Deficient Constitutional mandate resulting in inadequate devolution of functions, functionaries and finances to the PRIs along with some other flaws in the system preventing the PRI from functioning as the ‘institutions of self-government’ effectively.
- Generally numerical, not substantive, representation of women, STs, SCs, monorities, etc along with the democratic deficit and trust deficit in the Panchayats resulting from widespread corruption and nepotism in the PRIs, except in project areas like ours in which planned sustained sensitisation, training, capacity-building, activation and facilitation has been able to change the situation for the better.
- Not the least, persisting resource constraints adversely affecting the scale, quality and range of activities in AVARD.
