A Living Constitution Pachgaon

This multimedia story was developed by Native Picture, with support from Kalpavriksh, Vikalp Sangam and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Small village like Pachgaon in Maharashtra (India) being primarily agriculture based, face livelihood and economic challenges where both farmers and bhoomi-heen (landless) laborers may earn only during once or twice a year (during harvest, if any). Any owned land is also minuscule, resulting in the need for multiple sources of income to sustain. The economic instability and lack of alternate income sources eventually forces people to migrate to cities. However, the story of Pachgaon is a unique example of community governance at the grassroot level that began with reclamation of forest rights - their former ability to both utilize and preserve forest resources. This not only improved the living conditions of the communities but also revived the deep connection people have had with their natural environment for centuries.

Among the residents of Pachgaon that demonstrated strength and fought for their rights is Vijay Dethe, the founder of Pariyavaran Mitra Samstha in Chandrapur zilla of Maharashtra (India). Originally from Virur village in Rajura Taluk of Chandrapur district, Vijay has been working towards the development of Pachgaon village since 2007. Growing up, he observed poverty and unemployment as the biggest issues surrounding him. After completing his education, he decided to work with people and help uplift living conditions. Associating himself with Mr. Mohan Hirabai Hiralal (Convenor, Vrikshamitra, Maharashtra (India)) around the age of 21, he started to understand challenges around livelihood and employment. 

In 2007, Vijay started working towards the implementation of various government schemes like the Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Act, the central NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and JFM (Joint Forest Management) for livelihood support. By 2009, NREGA implementation started to bring economic benefit and reduce the need for migration within the communities, inspiring more villages to adopt the same. This brought Vijay to Parsodi, Tohogaon and eventually Pachgaon where he started to help with adoption of the Employment Guarantee Act.

Many residents of Pachgaon village who had moved to cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru in search of jobs returned once the schemes got implemented – reinforcing the community’s faith in practical application of the law and leveraging of existing instruments towards the betterment of society. However, while NREGA’s opportunities (like soil digging work) were helpful as immediate sources of income, they were temporary, labour intensive and lacked a long term security.

By 2009 the Forest Rights Act (FRA) was passed countrywide and a few villages like Mendha and Marda of Gadchiroli in Chandrapur district had started to benefit from its implementation. This inspired Vijay to move beyond NREGA and to work on the adoption of FRA to uplift Pachgaon village as well. What this would entail is the holistic conservation and protection of the abundant natural resources and forests of the area, along with provision of livelihood support for the community. After three years of concerted efforts and activism championed by Dethe – on 14^th April 2012 – forest rights were granted across 1,006 hectares, pioneering community led, forest-based livelihood development in Chandrapur zilla.

When the application for adoption of the forest rights was first filed in 2009, people would approach government officials and processes with a sense of apprehension. However, their work in NREGA implementation that brought them in regular contact with the authorities eventually alleviated their fears and also improved their skills of official writing, communicating, and generally following legal procedures. Through the documentation process the community members learnt about the importance of systemic processes and legal structures. Between 2009 and 2012, there was much capacity building and training that the community underwent.

The community was getting restless since their FRA application had not moved in three years since the filing. In 2012, they approached the authorities seeking a response - even a refusal - and wrote letters demanding immediate action either to sanction or reject their application. They gave the authorities a deadline of 14th April 2012 - the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar - for the decision making, failing which they affirmed to engage in Satyagraha in the forest by cutting and depositing one bamboo shoot each at a depot - symbolically declaring establishment of their rights from that day on. Further, letters were written to the police authorities, the DCF, the Collector’s office and views were put across through the paper media. Though this caught the attention of administration, they were advised not to proceed with this protest which by nature was in violation of the law. The community insisted that it was a last resort since they had tried all possible legal methods to elicit a response. The date for the protest was also intentionally chosen to send a clear message of the forgotten ideals set by the father of the Indian Constitution; an intentional reminder to the bureaucracy of their lack of resolve in granting law-abiding people their rights. The administration decided to implement the act before it became a sensitive issue, and hence a fax was issued on 14th April 2012 at 8.00 am, recognizing the community forest rights, thus deferring the need for a Satyagraha.

The forest and people always coexisted and communities depended on it for basic necessities, livelihood and resources like mahua, tendu, amla, bamboo etc. The basis for being denied the rights in the first place was the outlook by external agencies like the Forest Department, that forests are being depleted by communities linked to them for their resources.

Pachgaon challenged this viewpoint with the argument that it would be counterproductive for people to destroy the means for their own livelihood, and that the very reason forests have survived for centuries is the care and compassion of the communities that coexist with them. 

Once the FRA was recognised, the Pachgaon gram sabha realized the need to address this misconception by using legal frameworks to create a robust set of rules and regulations drawn from the community itself to function as a self-governing model that could sustain over time. Though a board resolution was passed to accept two written suggestions from each household, the enthusiasm of the people resulted in an average contribution of five each – totalling to about 550 suggestions. These were discussed upon and distilled further to 115 which became a base for the management, mindful utilisation and preservation of forests. This approach did not simply incorporate but truly embraced the natural law of the land that is embedded in the traditional knowledge specifically passed down over generations - in the process also solidifying unwritten nuances for practice and posterity. 

Further it was decided that the implementation of the rules would be tested for six months before finalisation. Discussions continued on matters including the process of meetings, the delegation of responsibilities amongst community members to uphold the essence of their new governance model. Utilisation of forest resources would be monitored by the gram sabha and only sanctioned upon review of applications based on need and relevance – generating a pass with specifics of the approved requirement that is verified before processing. Meetings would be presided over by different representatives from the community each time thus promoting a sense of shared decision making rather than devolving power to a single individual.

Vijay’s is of the view that rules are necessary to bind people to the system; but when the rules are built and run by the people themselves, democracy is respected and upheld in a continued and sustained way. In the thirteen years that these processes have been carried out, the forests have not only sustained but further flourished along with the progress and development of the community. Their belief is that progress at a fundamental level is the preservation of love amongst humans and of humans towards wildlife and forests. It also lies in restoration of dignity along with mindful, ground up and collectively tethered development. Vikaas or development or according to Dethe is not merely infrastructural or economical, as is commonly understood in urban terms. Development is to be holistic, and across the aarthik (economical), moolbhooth (essential), samajik (social) and maanviya (humanitarian) – which is possible when all efforts come together, with people as the centre. 

Earlier, Vijay was involved in top-down Joint Forest Management. He was once associated with a protest - tendu patta andolan - and observed the hierarchy and corruption involved in its distribution. He learnt that the tendu patta or beedi leaf market is illegal in the way the auction is conducted, with contractors making money along the way and the government getting royalty out of it. The whole process was driven by a scam which he thought ought to be fixed. He informed the forest administration about his findings and declared a protest if there was no action taken against it. After giving them a month to respond, he attended the meeting that was to bring together the authorities along with middlemen and others involved. Neither did anyone show up for the meeting, nor did anybody take responsibility for the allegations. Infact, Vijay later found out that each of the people involved in the scam had settled down further with official positions. The knowledge of these power dynamics led Vijay to change his perspective and start working bottom up and specifically with, and for the most powerless and disadvantaged people. It made more sense to him to dispense effort in a direction that empowered them rather than bureaucrats. A quote from a book stays with him: “Ghamane dabdablelya samanya manasacha chehra hach khara” – kicking off participatory processes at the grassroot level.

His NREGA work brought him closer to the lower classes of people. He engaged with the labor unions to eliminate the need for a union leader and implemented collective decision making instead. An instance of its implementation is when one of the NREGA jobs was assigned seven kilometers away - only possible to be accessed by walk - inside a forest. The people decided to try it out only for a day knowing that if they would agree to this once then they would be subjected to such jobs going forward. Though Vijay was distraught at watching them walk the distance, it also gave him strength to witness the resolve of the people to follow through on a decision they had themselves taken. Fifteen such unions were created applying the same model - among which Pachgaon was one - which got people accustomed to local community led governance. A similar model was proposed at the gram sabha level, which materialised after much resistance from stronger sections of people, eventually unifying and benefitting all. 

Part of Pachgaon’s vision through self governance was to become vyasanmukt or free of addiction (alcohol, tobacco, ganja etc) for its people. Prohibition of tendu leaf harvest was in line with this goal. There were also equally compelling environmental reasons at the core of this decision.

For the harvest of leaves, it was common practice for entire tendu trees in the forest to be felled - stripping many species like deer, boar and other herbivores of their only food source (tendu fruit) in April and May. The fruit is also known to be beneficial to the nutritional health of children. Since the community forest rights got activated, bamboo harvest started to contribute as a prominent source of income for the village. The community was hence able to prioritise forest conservation over the loss of livelihood from constraining the harvest of tendu leaves. There has been a 41% increase of tendu trees per hectare since this self governing law came into force, with over ₹5 lakh being spent by the gram panchayat annually towards forest preservation. 

In 2012, the initial contribution of the community towards creation of the gram sabha was by shram daan or physical labour that lasted a whole month. Since then, proceeds from the auction of harvested bamboo have been contributing to the gram sabha’s corpus, amounting to ₹40-60 lakh annually. Till date, bamboo cultivation has made ₹6 crore in business. 50% of the gram sabha’s fund amount is used for forest conservation, and the rest is utilised for infrastructural, health and educational and administrative development works. The income for bamboo cultivators of the community also comes from this fund, which is about ₹10-15,000 a month. 

The gram sabha also handles intermittent expenses for the well being of the community, including relief work during covid, purchase of computers for children’s education, no-interest loan schemes and annual festive events for the people. There are focused initiatives towards capacity building and training, with efforts made to uplift the dignity of all its people. There is also emphasis on the responsibilities of the people towards maintaining the self governance model. It is mandatory for every individual over the age of 18 to be a member of the gram sabha, and for one man and one woman from each family to be present at each of the meetings. This ensures that the model in essence remains participatory, just and fair.

Pachgaon is a village that has successfully demonstrated this aspirational model by returning basic rights to Adivasi communities who have upheld the environment and kept it thriving. It is a demonstration of harmonious coexistence that has existed between land and people. This reclamation along with the collective efforts of the gram sabha and the people over the years resulted in Panchgaon getting allocated with a devrai or sacred grove of 34 hectares. When the flora and fauna of the area increased, this area was further expanded to 45 hectares. This proved that an already compassionate and selfless adivasi community, when empowered with rights, led to an awakening at a societal level. among many other outcomes including economic upgrade of households and the reawakened sense of self-respect and socio-cultural identity for the communities.

Listen to Vijay and the citizens of Pachgaon

The podcast you are about to listen to is primarily in Hindi, with some portions in Marathi. Translations of the Marathi sections are provided below.

Transcript of Marathi conversation

Without all your co-operation and leadership, nothing is going to happen. 

The work which all of us have collectively done for Panchgaon is truly great work. 

What we have achieved and shown may sound new to the outside world but inside ourselves we have been to do it wonderfully well. 

For example, if an individual had to go to jail for raising his voice against injustice, it would have become a world news but in this case, it just continued to happen as

we were firm in achieving something for us as well as the society. 

Today, as we venture into the forests, does any one of you fear the forest department? 

No.

Today, the forest department has supported us with cooking gas facilities. You have received it, haven’t you?

Yes

What is the cost of gas of cooking gas?

It is Rs. 980 but totally we have to pay Rs. 1020/-

Now, a common lady who goes stresses it out on the field, can she really forego one month’s supply of gas which is worth Rs. 980?

Initially, it was possible as it was available free but now, can we afford it?

Don’t just think about Panchgaon, think about the other surrounding villages.

What is their position when it comes to getting the supply of gas?

If accumulating firewood is easy then ok otherwise you have to use a stove for cooking

In Panchgaon today even if accumulating sticks is made easy, still people have to use it to prepare the fuel required light the gas stove.

The welcome part is that today prominence is given to accumulating sticks and the facilities that have been given to Panchgaon presently is not seen in any of the surrounding villages. Even the environment at Panchgaon is perfect for this activity.

Now, we don’t have to waste a whole day to go in search of wood as it still happens in some of the other places. As you attend to your other jobs, if you spot a log of wood, break it into some pieces which are easy to carry on your bicycle and come back. This way you have finished both, your personal work as well as ensuring a source for fuel.

In this way, you could generate matchsticks within your effort for daily earnings and save close to Rs. 1000/- isn’t it! Today, we have the freedom of bring in firewood as well as choosing which type of firewood to bring. Is such a facility available in any of the surrounding forests? You tell me.

Then will you not pay whatever is the price necessary price to enjoy this supreme facility? You will surely take this matter seriously isn’t it as where else can you even imagine such a freedom. 

Today we cut bamboos and get them. It generates monthly income.

We sell the Bamboo. How much have you sold the Bamboos for?!

Rs. 42,97000.00

Ok, now has this amount gone to the account of Vijay Dethi?!!!

No to Gram Sabha.

Then whom does Gram Sabha extend this amount to as support? Don’t they share it with members. They give a guarantee and take responsibility for this, don’t they?

And who benefits out of this freedom? We people from Panchgaon isn’t it?

This freedom is a result of our precious time, effort, practice, isn’t it?

So don’t lose this freedom. Retain it as it is your freedom and with the help of this freedom, all of us are going to proceed ahead and progress.