“We didn’t know what a Gram Sabha was or why it was held. We never attended because it was always held three kilometres away in Kodepur, where the Panchayat office is located,” shared Gaurubai Gedam, a resident of Gharpana, as she reflected on the general indifference of her village towards these meetings.

This is a common situation in many villages across central India. Small settlements or hamlets often are aggregated to form a Panchayat, but many of these hamlets are located far from the Gram Panchayat office, making participation in meetings difficult.

“Although Gram Sabhas were held in Kodepur, we were never properly informed. Sometimes, notices of these meetings were posted in our village, but we ignored them because we didn’t understand their importance. Going to Kodepur also meant losing a day’s work, so we avoided attending altogether,” explained Pattubai Marskolhe, another woman leader from Gharpana, describing the general apathy of her community towards Panchayat affairs.

Gharpana is a tribal village nestled in the mountainous region of Chandrapur district, Maharashtra. The 79 families in the village primarily depend on farming, agricultural labor, and occasional work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). However, the community’s experience with MGNREGA had turned sour in recent times.

“We stopped working under MGNREGA because of unpaid wages. Whenever we inquired with the Gram Panchayat about the non-payment of wages, we were told that the funds hadn’t arrived. Later, we found out that our wages had been transferred to the bank accounts of officials’ relatives,” said Jana Bai Ade, shedding light on the rampant corruption in MGNREGA payments. “We wanted to take this issue to higher authorities but didn’t know how.”

The civic literacy campaign, initiated by the Loksamgraha Social Service Society (LSSS) under the Jeevan project, provided much-needed guidance to the villagers. Supported by Misereor, the Jeevan project aimed to organize women into community-based organizations and promoting women’s leadership in governance and agriculture. LSSS introduced a series of activities, including leadership development, literacy programs on government schemes, and training on public speaking, conflict resolution, and community representation. Importantly, the community was informed about their rights under the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act (PESA), a law that grants special powers to Gram Sabhas in tribal regions.

To give the villagers practical exposure to Gram Sabha proceedings, LSSS organized mock Gram Sabhas, beginning in October 2023. These demonstrations were designed to educate the community about their right to call for special Gram Sabha meetings to address local issues.

“Women of the village decided to work together to claim our unpaid wages. We submitted a petition to the Sarpanch requesting a special Gram Sabha in our village during which we could pass a resolution to for the payment of our unpaid wages. We also demanded the formation of an independent PESA committee, as is our right as a tribal community,” recounted Ms. Pattubai Marskolhe.

Women faced stiff resistance as expected. “Neither the Sarpanch nor the revenue officer were willing to organize the special Gram Sabha. They were both relatives and were afraid that such a meeting would expose their misconduct,” said Radhabai Pendore, a woman farmer leader from the village. “But we remained determined.”

Recognizing that local officials were stalling, the women decided to escalate their demands to higher authorities. On November 16, 2023, they submitted a petition to the Block Development Officer (BDO), outlining their grievances. “The BDO assured us he would intervene and even promised to personally attend the special Gram Sabha for women,” Ms. Radhabai shared.

But despite assurances, no action followed. After waiting a month, the women returned to the BDO to remind him of his promise. Once again, they were given assurances of immediate action. Despite their growing frustration, they decided to wait a little longer and trust the BDO once more.

Their persistence finally paid off. On February 26, 2024, the first-ever special Gram Sabha for women in the region was held. “During the meeting, we raised our concerns about unpaid MGNREGA wages and the formation of a PESA committee for the village,” said Dhurpata Marskolhe, brimming with joy. The special Gram Sabha not only accepted several of the women’s demands but also passed resolutions on key development issues for the village.

Soon after, the results became visible. The villagers received their overdue wages, a PESA committee was established to oversee local development, and the PESA committee of the village received funds under the PESA act.

“This victory was a significant step toward justice. We fought not just for our rights but for the future of our entire community,” Dhurpata concluded, expressing her pride and newfound confidence.