56
Page | 0 ANNUAL REPORT 2012-13
Page | 0
ANNUAL REPORT 2012-13
Page | 1
Contents Page
The SRUTI Fellowship Programme 2
Geographical Reach 4
Work undertaken by Fellows 5
Capacity Building - Trainings / Workshops / Shivirs 39
Landmark Contributions 41
Networking / Exposure / Advocacy events 43
Fellows Meets 46
Administration and Personnel 50
Fundraising Overview 52
Annexure 1 - Fellowship Disbursal Sheet
Annexure 2 – Scrap Donors
Annexure 3 - Auditor’s Report and Balance Sheet 2012-13
Page | 2
SRUTI
Society for Rural, Urban and Tribal Initiative
SRUTI – Society for Rural, Urban and Tribal Initiative was founded in 1983, on the belief that individuals
are powerful instruments of social change and transformation. Originally conceived by social sector
leaders Tara Ali Baig, Lotika Sarkar, Bunker Roy, Ela Bhatt, Samir Chaudhuri, among others, the SRUTI
Fellowships support individual and community action towards justice, rights, dignity and opportunity
among some of India's most marginalised groups. December 2013 will bring in the 30th year of SRUTI.
Through its vision to work towards a society that is based on the core values of justice, equity,
compassion, respect and dignity for all, SRUTI aims to harness the power of individuals in doing so. The
importance of collective social action and local leadership at the grass root is the crux of the SRUTI
Fellowship – at its heart is the idea of „People for Change’. SRUTI and its Fellows believe that
directional social change and sustainable economic development can be achieved by empowering
marginalized, oppressed & vulnerable communities to access justice, equality and opportunity and be
true stakeholders in an integrated and powerful democracy.
SRUTI‟s core mission, therefore, is to identify and invest in individuals armed with zeal and a vision to
work towards the ideals of a more equitable democracy; individuals with idealism, staying power and
the ability to mobilize communities at the grassroots to seek solutions to address their most pressing
issues through the idea of the „sangathan‟, a peoples‟ group that facilitates community social action.
SRUTI extends a mix of financial support and intermediary inputs to a group of Fellows through a
Fellowship Programme that has evolved substantially over the decades. The Fellowship Programme is
financed by resources mobilized, to the extent possible, from within the country, through support
partnerships and a range of fundraising efforts. The Fellowship Programme, its related Advocacy and
Outreach, and the Resource Mobilization efforts, form the key pillars of SRUTI.
As an extension of the direct social action supported through the Fellowship Programme, SRUTI also
engages through intermediary processes such as advocacy, perspective and capacity building, trainings,
legal support etc. and also extends solidarity to like-minded groups and networks across India.
The SRUTI Fellowship Programme
SRUTI‟s focus is the Fellowship Programme. The objective is to provide support to dedicated
individuals, (or small groups), who have initiated community driven processes of grass root social
action, ensuring socio-economic opportunity, entitlements, justice and dignity to some of the most
marginalized communities in India. Collective action led ably by committed individuals, from local
areas, who have the expertise to objectively analyze the ground situation and recognize the factors at
play, is critical for effective solutions at the grassroots. This importance of collective social action is
the core of the SRUTI Fellowship Programme.
The Fellowship Programme is designed to identify and assist such individuals and groups (known as
SRUTI Fellows) so they can pursue their chosen path with less concern about supporting themselves and
their families, in the absence of sustained livelihood support.
Page | 3
The uniqueness lies in its wide and deep-rooted outreach at the grass root. Additionally, it focuses on
building capacity and local leadership within these communities – allowing the change to be rooted to
the ground, rather than offering external support which could make vulnerable groups even more
dependent. The Fellowships help mobilize and sustain community awareness, participation &
collaboration in democratic processes.
A key function & USP of the SRUTI Fellowships is that it is not driven by any agenda. It seeks to support
ground-up, organic community development with local leadership & initiative; invisibly triggering and
facilitating a sustained process of change, across social and geographical boundaries. The key
advantages of this are that the change is organic - not imposed; and while the cost of enabling this
change is low, it is highly effective.
Apart from a modest honorarium, SRUTI also aims to strengthen the Fellows‟ initiatives through
exposure visits, capacity building, information sharing, training, solidarity and moral support during
crises. Inter-Fellow learning through meetings, exposure visits and perspective building training
programmes is also supported. A consistent endeavour of SRUTI has been to encourage sangathans to
mobilise independent funds locally.
Some key issues dealt with by the SRUTI Fellows and the sangathans are: Access to, and Ownership of
Natural Resources - Jal, Jangal, Zameen; Land and Forest Conservation; Small Holder and Sustainable
Agriculture; Right to Food; In situ Livelihood; Panchayati Raj Institution and Governance; Rights to the
City; Education; Right to Information; Caste and Gender, among others.
Funds for the core Fellowship support are raised by SRUTI through individual donations, institutional
support and independent resource mobilization efforts e.g. scrap collection and other fund raising
activities.
Since its inception, SRUTI has supported the work of more than 128 fellows at the grass roots in 18
states across India.
SRUTI currently supports 27 Fellows, 131 karyakartas (volunteers/activists) and their groups in 12 states:
Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The current outreach of SRUTI Fellows is over 7000 villages
and 230 urban clusters covering around 6 lakh families and 30 lakh people*.
*1 lakh = 0.1 million
The Fellowships honour the dignity of the individual, community efforts and experience.
It supports peoples’ movements, encouraging a democratic structure and active participation of all
levels of karyakartas within the sangathan, building local leadership that can carry the movement
forward.
Page | 4
Geographical Reach of SRUTI Fellows
- SRUTI Fellows‟ work area
Page | 5
Work undertaken by Fellows, 2012-13
FOREST RIGHTS and CONSERVATION
Overview:
Fellows and karyakartas worked towards an enhanced understanding of rights and entitlements
guaranteed by the The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Forest Rights) Act, 2006. Capacities of grassroot volunteers, activists and the community as a whole
were strengthened to exercise social control over natural resources.
13,801 Individual claims and 31 Community Claims were filed under Forest Rights Act during the
period in Odisha, AP, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, MP and Maharashtra out of which 6841 individual and 18
community claims covering more than 1000 acres of land were settled after strong and continuous
follow-up with concerned district administrations. The sangathans have been focusing on resubmission
of community claims over forests as per the September 2012 amendments to the Forest Rights Act
2006. Collection of NTFP products (mahua, herada, behada, amla, etc.), trainings/shivirs on Forest
Rights Act and forest conservation processes were followed in Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar.
150 villagers received RS. 11,00,000/- for tendu patta collection due to sangathan intervention in
Maharashtra. More than 40 Forest Rights Committees were facilitated and trained to strengthen the
process of implementation of Forest Rights Act in Odisha, Maharashtra and MP.
Adivasi Mahila Mahasangh in Jashpur district, Chhattisgarh, facilitated bi-monthly meetings with
community members (adivasi women, men & youth; including PRI & FRC members) to discuss the
progress made under FRA 2006 in 2 panchayats - Alori & Surjula. A collective process involving filling of
individual & community claim forms (Surjula
panchayat), regular follow-ups, wall writings of
provisions of the legislation and tree plantation,
etc. was undertaken. 103 Individual Forest Rights
(IFR) claims of families have been approved,
securing about 258 acres. Seeds & fertilizer was
provided to the title holders by the District
Administration. 10 Community Forest Rights (CFR)
claim forms have been filed across panchayats but
have not seen progress yet. 4 trainings on FRA were
organised in Bagaicha Resource Centre, Ranchi, and
Pathalgaon attended by 200 villagers. The
sangathan also celebrated International Adivasi Day
on 1st August, 2012, which saw an impressive
turnout of 2000 adivasi women & men at the
District Headquarters.
82 individual and 12 community claims were filed by Adivasi Chetna Sangathan in Angul district,
Odisha. As per the recent 2012 amendments to the Act, the sangathan has been focusing on
resubmission of community claims and reformation of VFRCs as per the special order of Odisha Govt. in
February 2013 due to irregularities and problems. 40 VFRCs have been formed with 444 sangathan
Procession organised in Jashpur town to raise awareness on FRA 2006, Jashpur district, Chhattisgarh
Page | 6
members (155 female and 289 male). A total of 550 individual claims have been submitted out of which
45 covering 70 acres have been settled. Demand for community rights over natural resources like land,
forest, water, MFP, minerals and other natural resources has been initiated as a national campaign by
the sangathan under the banner of „Samaaj Ki Prabhusatta Andolan‟. 100 men and women participated
in a sit-in held on 25th March 2013 at Bhubaneshwar. Sangathan karyakartas, Ghasiram Munda, was part
of the delegation that met the Governor of Odisha demanding proper implementation of Forest Rights
Act 2006. 40 village level/Gram Panchayat level meetings and 10 regional shivirs have been organised
on FRA and the 2012 amended rules. Sangathan activists participated in FRA and Village Development
Planning trainings and 194 Indira Awas Yojanas have been sanctioned on community forest land.
Bundelkhand Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan in Damoh district, Madhya Pradesh, submitted 7000
IFRs across 200 villages of Tendukheda and Jabera tehsil. Out of these claims only 456 have been
verified by DLC and the rest (6505) have been rejected. To raise public awareness against this
negligent behavior, the sangathan pushed for re-approvals of IFRs & CFRs in the gram sabhas that were
conducted on 14th April 2012 across different villages. CFR forms were distributed in 70 villages
explaining in detail the procedures to comply with while filing the claims. To speed up the process of
filing claims, proper implementation & verification, workshops were conducted for 12 new karyakartas.
One day shivirs were also organized on FRA 2006 in Tejgarh, Taradehi and Sigrampur tehsils with FRC
members. The sangathan made efforts and built people‟s perspectives to ensure that the issues of
forests rights become one of the top most agendas in gram sabha meetings. Demarcations of
boundaries and passing of resolutions in gram sabhas were stressed on, in the meetings. 400 claimants
of 35 villages gathered at the block level to access information on the claims filed. A time limit was
fixed by the people for the authorities to provide information. During this period, 625 new claims were
filed in 36 villages and submitted to Sub-Divisional Level Committee (SDLC) with proper evidence &
validation by the gram sabha. 600 village meetings were organized where the average participation was
around 30 people.
Dalit Adivasi Manch in Mahasamund & Baloda
Bazaar district, Chhattisgarh, organised 89 village
shivirs; attended by 1150 men & 740 women,
including FRC & PRI members. Apart from other
crucial concerns at the ground, the focus was
primarily given to problems faced in the
implementation of FRA. A 2 day meeting & public
gathering was organised on 16-17 August 2012, in
Kasdol block, attended by FRC/PRI members,
sangathan members and community leaders.
Challenges & issues faced by the community
members under FRA were discussed. A public
procession was carried out after the meeting & a
memorandum for control over the Gram Sabha
submitted to the Tehsildar. As a result of this,
repression of the FRA claims has reduced
considerably. 210 IFRs were filed through the gram sabha. 32 people in Bagmada village (Kasdol tehsil)
underwent training on how to use CGNet as a medium to bring attention to their concerns regarding
forest rights.
Sammelan on CFR organised by Dalit Adivasi Manch in Pithora, Chhattisgarh, June 2012,
Page | 7
During the period, agricultural labour members of Mitra Association for Social Service (MASS) in
Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, continued their demand for regularization of 1200 acres of
cultivated forest land. They submitted 170 forest rights claim forms covering over 245 acres in six
villages claims to the Revenue Divisional Office and Divisional Forest Officer.
CASE STUDY
Empowering dalits to claim their forest rights; Bundelkhand Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan
(BMKSS), Madhya Pradesh
Claim forms filed by Other Tribal Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) have not been verified in the region despite
40% of the forms being filed by dalits who are landless and poor and thus wholly dependent on forest
land, as it is their sole source of livelihood. During this period the sangathan made an earnest effort to
mobilize and organize dalits in the region. Village meetings across the region led to a collective
decision of conducting a regional consultation with OTFDs, media, intellectuals and dalit activists on
28th Nov 2012.
80 Dalit representatives from 40 villages
participated. An action plan was made at the end
of the consultation and a date for the next meeting
was decided (9th Dec 2012). Some of the most
important points that emerged from the meeting
were - demarcation of boundaries and resources
through people‟s participation to advance the
struggle for land rights, promotion of women‟s
participation and ensuring leadership roles and
spreading awareness on the history of injustice
faced by dalits. A 16 member committee consisting
of sangathan karyakartas and dalit representatives
was constituted under Bhoomi Adhikar Sangharsh
Morcha.
In the next meeting organized on 9th Dec 2012 with the committee members, an attempt was made to
understand the socio-economic injustice faced by Dalits and it was decided to conduct a survey of the
land situation and status of title deeds amongst dalits in the backdrop of the bhudaan movement
among dalits. A decision was also taken to submit a memorandum on 28th Dec 2012 to the CM
highlighting the exploitation and injustice to dalit communities. On 12th Dec 2012, issues related to
dalit rights over forest and other natural resources was raised by the sangathan karyakartas in front of
Shri Kishore Chandra Deo (Minister of Tribal affairs) in a consultation organized by Campaign for
Survival and Dignity.
Maati Sangathan in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand, continues its conservation efforts through van
panchayats in the hill state. Along with Sarmoli van panchayat, Shankhadura, Mahila Mangal Dal, Himal
Prakriti and people‟s representatives, Maati organised the 6th Mesar Van Kautik (mela). Voluntary
contributions (shramdaan) towards the mela/haat were offered by people from Jainti who also took up
BMKSS raising awareness about Other Tribal Forest Dweller (OTFD) rights in Tejgarh, Madhya Pradesh
Page | 8
collection of the forest conservation fund as they had realized that grass that was being sold for
Rs.16,000/- a year is no longer available in their forests, as stray cows have been allowed to consume
it. The watchwoman was not responsible either. From this experience, the people of Jainti have begun
to be a part of the sangathan again. Shankhadura van panchayat saw shramdaan towards the
construction of a wall protecting the forest, enabling auction of grass every year. On account of a
dispute between Golpha van panchayat and Bona regarding the harvesting of „worm grass‟ – a medicinal
fungus that cures several ailments from cancer to hepatitis to hair loss – a procession was organised in
Munsiyari tehsil on 25 May.
Gaon Ganrajya Sangathan in Ambikapur-Sarguja
districts, Chhattisgarh, also facilitated the
reformation of Forest Rights Committees as per the
new rules and guidelines. The sangathan organised 2
meetings with PRI members from Ambikapur and
Balrampur districts. Around 90 Panchayati Raj
Institution (PRI) members participated and are now
actively engaged with the Sangathan. 3 perspective
building trainings on FRA 2006 were arranged with 150
youth leaders from the region (Ambikapur, Lundra,
Rajpur, Pratappur blocks). These leaders have been
working with Bharat Jan Andolan and are volunteers in
Van Suraksha Samitis formed at the village level.
During this period, 47 IFR claims of adivasi families
were recognized, securing 143 acres of land. 987
rejected claims were also re-submitted in Surajpur and Balrampur districts along with 2 CFR claims in
Rajpur block.
Lok Chetna Sangathan in Rayagada district, Odisha, filed 213 individual forms and 5 community claim
forms. 25 verification committees have been working with active participation of sangathan
karyakartas in the mapping process along with the President and Secretary of the Committee as well as
Forest and Revenue Inspectors and Welfare Extension Officer. 300 individual and 2 community claims
have been settled, translating to 60 acres of land. 3 Van Surakshya Samiti (VSS) trainings and 2 VSS
awareness camps were organised.
250 claims for individual forest rights for dalit forest dwellers were submitted to the FRCs by Mazdoor
Kisan Samiti in Gaya district, Bihar. They are currently following-up on the process. 250 Mango and
Neem trees have been planted by the communities in the area.
With the initiation of Community Learning Movement,
Adivasi Kranti Sangathan (AKS) in Dhenkanal district,
Odisha, had submitted a memorandum to the Minister
of Tribal Affairs to take appropriate measures to ensure
rights over community forest resources. As part of
Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD Odisha & New
Delhi), the sangathan has been able to bring attention
to the issue at both the local and national-level. 1838
Tendu patta collection by adivasis in Ambikapur district, Chhattisgarh
Meeting organised by Adivasi Kranti Sangathan in Pittaldhwa village, Dhenkanal district, Odisha
Page | 9
IFRs and 14 CFRs were approved covering over almost 1000 acres of agricultural forest land. AKS has
been recognized at the state-level for just implementation of FRA 2006 with the SC/ST Development
Department frequently inviting sangathan members for consultation meetings. As a result, the
Government of Odisha has reconstituted the village FRC & identified neglected forest villages in the
district. The sangathan has also been working on advocacy for revival and revitalization of the Tribal
Sub Plan which is crucial to safeguarding the right to life and livelihood of adivasis in Odisha where
they comprise 23% of the state‟s population. Along with a group of young activists in Odisha, they have
been tracking the misappropriation of Tribal Sub Plan funds that were diverted for infrastructure
development activities in non-adivasi areas in Odisha.
Khetihar Khan Mazdoor Sangathan in Chittorgarh district, Rajasthan, helped facilitate 160 IFR claims
that were settled totaling almost 155 acres. A one day training meeting was organised in Bijoliya in
which 450 people participated. A total number of 240 individual and 6 community forms were filed, out
of which 2 community claims have been settled. During the process of verification, sangathan
karyakartas would meet with the Forest Revenue Inspector and Welfare Extension Officer and would be
present with the President and Secretary of the Committee at the time of enquiry and spot visits with
mapping material. 2 Van Surakshya Samiti (VSS) trainings and 4 VSS awareness camps were organised.
Mati Maa Mahila Morcha in Nayagarh district, Odisha, held a Forest Conservation Committee Meeting
on 28th August in Batagaon where representatives from 11 villages participated including Rungurungei,
Landipada and Talapaju Anchalika Jungle Surakshya Committee members. The discussion focused on
submission of community claims, plantation on waste land, formation of village forest management
rules, etc. Overall, the sangathan organised 73 meetings covering 50 villages on issues related to FRA,
Community Forest Rights (CFR), and conservation, as well as on the occasion of World Forest Day.
Kashtkari Jan Andolan in Nagpur district, Maharashtra, facilitated a bonus of Rs.11,00,000/- for
tendu patta collection benefitting 150 villagers. 1200 claims for individual forest rights were filed
during the period out of which 300 have been verified through GPS, and the rest are underway.
Jan Abhivyakti working in Korba, Janjgir-Champa and Sarguja districts, Chhattisgarh, organised 14
village meetings in Korba, Sarguja & Janjgir region on issues of FRA & PESA, attended by 241 women &
379 men. A one-day meeting was conducted in Raipur under the banner of Chhattisgarh Bachao
Andolan to call attention to proper implementation of PESA and FRA. 12 IFR claims of adivasi families
in Korba have been settled entailing approximately 23 acres of cultivable land.
Furthering forest conservation initiatives, Adima Adivasi
Mukti Manch (Nayagarh district, Odisha) organised
meetings with FRC members in Chhamundia cluster at
Haripur and Gopinathpur on bamboo & teak plantation.
The discussion included interactions with FRC president,
Secretary and Forest Range Officer. 117 forest land patta
holders benefitted from Indira Awas Yojana, facilitated by
the sangathan. A Herbal Practitioner‟s Camp (Gaon Baidya
Sammelan) was organised on 17th Nov 2012 and attended
by 30 practitioners. Articles on farmers‟ problems and
related government statistics, written by SRUTI Fellow
Prafulla Mishra, were published in various local dailies.
Meeting organised by Adima Adivasi Mukti Manch on FRA and conservation in Ambalimba, Nayagarh district, Odisha
Page | 10
RIGHT TO WORK - MGNREGA
Overview:
Over Rs.14.4 crores distributed as wages for 9,03,382 man days of work among 15,880 job card
holders (60 % women) in AP, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Odisha. Bank accounts
opened for labourers to receive wages since most of them live in remote areas with no access to
banks. More than 651 micro plans (prioritising land development, plantations, farm ponds, walls and
other agricultural projects) sanctioned by the Gram Sabhas through sangathan initiatives. Pending
wages monitored by Fellows in 9 states and arrears recovered. 12,000 trees were planted in Bihar
under NREGA and are being taken care of by the community. Fellows in Odisha also kept a watch over
the facilities such as crèche, drinking water, shade, etc. mandated to be provided to workers under
MGNREGA.
Adivasi Kranti Sangathan in Odisha was successful in initiating silviculture - the practice of controlling
the establishment, growth, composition, health and quality of forests to meet diverse needs and values
- in Sagbari village by successfully mobilising the block administration and District Rural Development
Agency (DRDA), Dhenkanal. As a result, the tussar society in Kamakhyanagar contacted Ghuntuliposi
and Sagabari villagers and made a plan of action to begin tussar plantation in the area. The DRDA
Dhenkanal has allocated Rs.3.5 lakhs under MGNREGA for 15 adivasi families to start plantation
activities. 274 land title holders were selected to execute land development work in phases under the
scheme. This effort of Sangathan became a historic achievement within the district as land
development measures have been given priority under MGNREGA. During the palli sabha empowerment
process, over 3000 adivasis have enlisted their demand to raise funds under MGNREGA. It was the main
reason for the state-level monitoring committee (under the chairmanship of the CM of Odisha) to take
a policy decision where the Collector of Dhenkanal was directed to choose land development as a
priority area in December 2012. Furthermore; the Sangathan also ensured that 235 members registered
for job cards and demanded work in 10 villages in the
Kamakhyanagar block.
Khetihar Khan Mazdoor Sangathan in Rajasthan
facilitated 709 job card applications with an average
amount of Rs.100-110 being disbursed.
Micro/development plans for 52 villages were put
forward in the panchayat. In Sodavaas village, 39
women were not paid wages for 20 months. A
gathering was organised at the Chittorgarh
Collectorate as a result of which wages worth
Rs.39,400 were obtained eventually. Soniyana village
also saw 33 women not being paid for 6 muster rolls
for which a public procession was organised and wages
obtained. The sangathan enabled the filing of 388
MGNREGA applications in 7 villages. 90% of the workers are women.
Union conveners, coordinators and Union action team of Mitra Association for Social Service in AP
actively participated in the implementation of MGNREGA in 92 union working villages and 80 -100 days
of employment were obtained. 4,990 union members received employment and each member was
given Rs.60-120 as daily wage. Women also got equal wages for the same work. Wages increased for
Wall writings ensured by sangathan in Rajasthan to spread awareness of MGNREGA provisions
Page | 11
1200 families in 90 villages from Rs.130-150 for women and Rs.110-130 for men after several demands
by the union members were made to the Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO) and Labor Officer to
implement the Minimum Wages Act in the area.
Adivasi Chetna Sangathan in Odisha facilitated the sanctioning of 35 farm ponds under MGNREGA for
FRA land patta holders. 1,620 applications were made for job cards out of which 1,428 job cards were
received and work provided. 110 microplans were sanctioned. Efforts were made to provide work to 78
women out of the new job cards obtained. 3000 bank accounts have been opened in 6 local banks. The
sangathan also suggested 646 micro plans out of which 596 have been accepted. Also; 526 people got
work during in other Sangathan‟s villages. 4 microplans have been submitted for tap water supply
systems for 4 villages under MGNREGA. The Sangathan also facilitated the sanctioning of 35 farm ponds
under NREGA for FRA land patta holders.
Navjeevan in Andhra Pradesh facilitated work for 8,806 people for 1,33,527 work days in this period
through MGNREGA with wages totaling Rs. 346 lakhs.
Pending wages of 300 villagers for 50 days at Rs.122/- per day were availed due to the intervention of
Gaon Ganrajya Sangathan in Ambikapur-Surguja district, Chhattisgarh. 70 new job cards were made
in 3 villages - Parsagudi, Bhadrapara and Karji in Surajpur block of Sarguja. 12 farm walls were
constructed where 156 labourers received work for 76 days. A total of 2400 villagers received work for
35 days (on an average) at full minimum wages.
Mazdoor Kisan Samiti in Gaya district, Bihar,
facilitated the construction of 30 farm ponds under
NREGA in Mohanpur, Fatehpur and Barachatti block
in Gaya district. 1300 labourers received work for 60
days at Rs.138/day. 12,000 trees were planted in the
3 blocks as well and are being taken care of by the
community. 10 stop dams have also been
constructed under the scheme.
Through the intervention of Shoshit Kamgar
Sangathan in Latur district, Maharashtra, 21 wells
are being constructed for drinking water and
irrigation in Shirur Anatapal and Nilanga blocks in
which 229 labourers were employed. Sangathan has
been closely watching the ongoing work ensuring full
and proper wages to labourers and monitoring the quality of construction materials. The payment of
wages has begun through bank accounts and more are being opened. The wages have also been
increased from Rs. 142 per day to Rs. 162 per day.
Bundelkhand Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan in MP has been making an effort to ensure that the
marginal farmers have access to sources of irrigation. Construction of wells began during this period
benefitting a total 10 small and marginal farmers and at places where the wells were not in good
shape, provisions were made to make motors available to the farmers for irrigation purposes. The
sangathan demanded work for people of 10 villages resulting in employment for about 800 people,
helping stem migration. Pending wages of Rs. 60,000 for road construction under CM road scheme were
retrieved with the help of the sangathan karyakartas benefitting the labour force of 6 villages -
Tree planting by sangathan members of Mazdoor Kisan Samiti, Gaya district, Bihar
Page | 12
Selvada, Hinoti, Silpura, Chirkona, Kansa and Baraghat. Land development, land leveling, stop dam and
watershed management were given prime importance while demanding work under MGNREGA to secure
real development benefits for the village.
Adima Adhivasi Mukti Manch in Nayagarh district, Odisha, initiated the demand for fair wages for
women who were employed to construct a road in Kuchumara village. They were being paid Rs.90 a day
initially which was increased to Rs.120 after continued objection.
Two MGNREGA social audits were conducted by Mati Maa Mahila Morcha in Tumandi and Banigocha
Gram Panchayat of Nayagarh district, Odisha. Key issues and objectives faced in the scheme were
discussed. The attention of block-level authorities and implementation agencies was drawn to the need
for regular payment of wages and facilities at the work site.
Through the efforts of Dalit Adivasi Manch in
Chhattisgarh, 1352 people from 7 gram panchayats
demanded and provided work. 4 gram panchayats of
Kasdol block filles job demand forms, out of which ten
days later 600 people received work. Two gram
panchayats in Saraipali block of Mahasamund district
demanded for work out of which 250 people received
jobs. The sarpanch and rozgaar sahayak sachiv were
submitted applications for this. 140 people demanded
work in Pithora block.
675 job card applications were facilitated by Lok
Chetna Sangathan in Rayagada district, Odisha, out of
which 500 job cards were received. A total of
Rs.2,90,000/- of wages were ensured. 5 micro plans
were proposed by sangathan, out of which 3 were accepted by PRI members. Special efforts were made
to include more women in pond work and FRC land development work undertaken by SHG groups and
plantation work undertaken by Mahila Mandal. So far an amount of Rs.42 lakhs has been sanctioned
towards land development activity for 5 villages. The sangthan is also planning to demand for 200 days
of work instead of the stipulated 100 days. Sangathan members and village watch monitors have also
helped open bank accounts various rural banks and Gram post offices of Gunupur, Gudari , Ramanguda
and Padmapur Blocks.
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
Overview:
Sangathans have helped enroll over 7,287 children in schools in Odisha, Rajasthan, MP, Maharashtra
and Bihar during this period. Follow-ups on the quality of education, the condition of school
infrastructure and the school services was done by over 165 Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs)
formed in Odisha and Maharashtra. The three alternative education schools run by SRUTI Fellows have
enrolled 550 children in Rajasthan and MP. Other initiatives were scholarships for 870 under-
privileged children, re-enrollment of school drop-outs and monitoring of Mid-day Meal scheme taken
up in Maharashtra, MP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Odisha and AP. Establishment of more Kasturba Kanya
MGNREGA job card facilitated by Dalit Adivasi Manch, Mahasamund district, Chattisgarh
Page | 13
Ashrams for girl students of primitive communities was sought with the help of PRI members in
Odisha. 25 Child Protection Committees (community based groups at village-level linked to Child
Welfare Committee and Juvenile Justice Board at the district-level) comprising SHG members, PRI
members, youth, adolescent girls, parents, anganwadi worker/teachers and mothers are functioning
effectively in AP. Meetings on right to education of children were conducted in 77 brick kilns in
Rajasthan with migrant labour from UP, Jharkhand and Bihar.
Adharshila Shikshan Kendra in Barwani district, Madhya Pradesh, has been actively involved in
exchange programs with other schools run in MP. Majali, an ex-student and teacher at Adharshila,
helped set up three new schools started in unrecorded forest villages of Burhanpur district, by Adivasi
Ekta Sangathan karyakartas. Adharshila‟s role was to provide educational guidance to the managing
committee and teachers. Four teachers from these schools came and stayed at Adharshila for a 15 day
training programme. On another occasion, about 20 teachers from 6 schools run by peoples‟
organizations in Burhanpur, Nepanagar, Alirajpur, Barwani and Adharshila‟s Kakrana School stayed
together for three days at Adharshila. In all, these schools are working with about 400 children.
Teaching-learning techniques and common programs such
as art competitions on the Madhya Pradesh Sthapana
Diwas were decided upon. Baal Melas were organised in 5
government schools in surrounding villages involving about
400 -500 children. Two Baal Melas were organised in the
affiliated schools run by community organizations in
Alirajpur district and Pati block of Barwani district. Books
and other material developed at Adharshila were also
given to 6 schools. These included books to teach English,
Hindi, Bareli primers, Math Level Worksheets, time-
tables, Social Science, Science Project Guidelines, Song
and Rhyme books in Hindi and English, story books etc. It
is also a matter of pride that a student of Adharshila,
Kamal, topped his undergraduate college and gained
admission into BHU for the Masters in Economics
course.
Adivasi Chetna Sangathan has been working with 40 primary schools in Talcher district with a total
enrolment of 1,640 children. During this period 155 dropout children re-enrolled and 45 parent forums
were formed. Monthly meeting of PTAs, MTAs and VECs are being conducted regularly where school
activities are reviewed, planned and monitored. Rs.10,63,000/- has been sanctioned by the
government for building the 6th and 7th classrooms for Mohanpasi Mundasahi (adivasi hamlet) school.
CASE STUDY
Higher Education triumph for marginalized students from Bihar; Bahishkrit Hitkari Sangathan, Bihar
1,561 children from 20 districts in Bihar were enrolled in higher education and vocational education
(engineering, computer applications, pharma & management diploma and degree courses) in
institutions across the country. 680 of these students who passed Class 10 were enrolled in diploma and
the rest in degree courses. Among the youth who were given admission there were 210 students from
the chamar community, 360 musahars, 40 girl students, 55 muslim students and 2 doms; providing a
Majali, an ex-student of Adharshila, is now a senior teacher and helped set up 3 new schools in Barwani district
Page | 14
crucial and unprecedented opportunity to young people from some of the most vulnerable and
marginalized communities in the state.
An average of Rs.80,000/- per student per annum (under various categories) has been approved by the
Central and State Government, adding up to an amount of Rs.11,60,00,000/- (Rs. Eleven crore sixty
lakh) being directed towards the higher education of poor and marginalized students, through the
initiative and campaigning of BHS.
Bahishkrit Hitkari Sangathan and SRUTI Fellow, Sanjeev
Kumar, launched this campaign to provide higher
educational oppurtunities to children of dalit and
minority communities on 16th April 2012 from Bihar
Sharif (Nalanda). Despite several avenues provided by
the Central Government to facilitate higher education
and vocational training for students of these
communities, the Bihar Government is still to utilize an
amount of nearly Rs. 50 crore. It is the State
Government‟s responsibility to select and ensure
admission of such students into higher education
institutions.
Most children from these communities just about
manage to finish their 10th and 12th standard school
education, but are unaware of how to approach and
access higher education. Due to insufficient funds they usually cannot prepare for All-India entrance
examinations. For most children the door to the future closes at this stage, and they are often forced
into taking on brick kiln, construction or other daily wage labour.
Through this campaign, the sangathan initiated a planned effort to connect deserving students to the
higher education support and opportunities that they are entitled to. Firstly, information of
universities, colleges and institutes that allow for exemption of the entrance exam and facilitate
admission of marginalized students was collected. After this, data of various schemes from the Central
and State Governments was gathered. The sangathan then took this information from village to village,
informing students with the support of village heads (elected as well as traditional). The campaign was
initially started in two districts. With encouraging results, it was expanded to 20 districts. The relevant
documents of the children were collected at the village level; about 3000 certificates were collected.
The children then underwent counseling where they were informed of the Government‟s incentive
schemes. The areas of interest of the applicants were also noted. The application forms were then
submitted in relevant institutes across the country. Finally, over 1500 students from Bihar were placed
in different higher education institutions. During this period, the sangathan was also in touch with the
Bihar government's SC, ST and minority welfare departments.
To strengthen and ensure effective implementation of the government education system Bundelkhand
Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan in MP has been raising awareness in this regard. After a proper
analysis of the situation, a memorandum stating the discrepancies and gaps in the education system of
Tendukheda block was submitted to the Chief Minister. Owing to the lack of inclination and intention
of the state government to improve the system, an eight-point memorandum was yet again submitted
Over 1500 students from Bihar were placed in different higher education institutions by the efforts of Bahishkrit Hitkari Sangathan, Bihar
Page | 15
to the District Collector. Through this, the District Education Officer was given the responsibility of
looking into the matter and conducting the investigation. The investigation details were finally
presented to the DC and action against incompetent teachers will be taken during the investigation
process.
Shoshit Kamgar Sangathana in Latur district, Maharashtra, continues to provide scholarships for girl
students. During this period a total of 97 schools have been monitored by the sangathan and
Rs.1,53,000/- has been enabled for 240 girl students as scholarship.
Maati Sangathan of Uttarakhand conducted a survey on higher education and migration from rural
areas. Guidance was provided by a PhD student from Germany who was pursuing the subject as part of
his study. The survey was initiated in 3 villages in the area of Maati sangathan and 3 in Pakistan. The
sangathan also started a library with 417 books in Sarmoli village which is visited by students as well as
by the sangathan members every Sunday. Two meetings of the School Monitoring Committtee were
held in Sarmoli. Sangathan member Bina Nitwal has been elected as the new president of the SMC.
CASE STUDY
YUVANIYA – A Youth Magazine; Adharshila Shikshan Kendra, Madhya Pradesh.
Signaling a landmark moment in Adharshila‟s journey, the school has
brought out a magazine called Yuvaniya for local youth which is
mainly written by them as well. Yuvaniya is derived from a Bareli
word Juvaniya which means „young‟ and yuva of Hindi meaning
„youth‟. The publication was a long time dream of Fellows Jayashree
and Amit and is an important beginning, as there is no culture of
reading and writing in this entire part of the tribal belt of western
Madhya Pradesh. Many youngsters go to colleges and schools but do
not have any access to reading material.
Six issues were published with the last issue being a 50 page special
issue of writings by adivasi leaders and writers. The publications have
seen contributions by several volunteers who helped with editing,
typing and designing the magazine. About 5000 copies were sold over
the year and encouraged at least 50 adivasi writers to express their
thoughts.
The school was able reach to out to 500 adivasi children directly belonging to Barela, Bhilala, Bhil and
Naik tribes. Some of these tribes are fast losing their identity to the city, market culture. Educationally
these communities are quite backward, though better off than other tribes in the area. Through the
other outreach activities like Baal Melas and village centres, 3000 children from about 15 villages were
reached. The youth outreach increased this year mainly due to the writing workshops conducted for
Yuvaniya. At least 4000 magazines and 200 booklets on the lives of local martyrs were sold over the
year, in the area.
272 scholarships for SC, ST and BC students were sanctioned for high school and college students in 5
mandals in the area of MASS in Andhra Pradesh. 25 Child Protection Committees (community based
First edition of Yuvaniya magazine published by Adharshila, MP
Page | 16
groups at village-level linked to Child Welfare Committee and Juvenile Justice Board at the district-
level) comprising of SHG members, PRI members, youth, adolescent girls, parents, anganwadi
worker/teachers and mothers are functioning effectively in 25 villages. 62 dropouts who were involved
in child labour have been reenrolled (35 boys and 27 girls). Navjeevan working in Nellore district of
the same state has helped reenroll 389 dropout children.
VTMS in Tamil Nadu also undertook a programme for college students. Bharathiyar Kalai Kalloori is a
college in Gudalur in which over 2000 students are studying. The college has been beset with a number
of problems including misconduct by the Principal and teachers, as well as corruption. This issue was
taken up by VTMS along with other organizations and the Principal was removed and replaced. At
present the college is running satisfactorily. VTMS continues its involvement with the parents of the
students as well as the students in order to provide quality education. On 20/08/12 VTMS conducted a
session on socio-economic awareness for 45 students of whom 19 were girls. Situation of society, social
analysis, untouchability, etc. were some of the issues discussed.
160 students (50% girls) of Manthan School in Jhiri Village,
Jhalawar District, Rajasthan, have achieved 100% pass results
this year as well. The school provides free education to all girls
and also 38 boys who are from very poor background. The rest of
the children contribute a nominal amount of Rs 50/- towards
their fee. The students participated in the Rashtriya Baal Mela
organized at Gandhi Smriti, New Delhi. The students also
participated actively in extra-curricular programs including
cultural and agricultural activities.
Lok Chetna Sangathan in Rayagada district, Odisha, is working
with 100 schools out of which 120 students are from the Fellow‟s
areas. 70 dropouts have been re-enrolled, 30 PTAs formed and 5
awareness camps conducted on education. The sangathan has
organized 6 training programs for PTA and VEC leaders along with
4 training programs for Mother-Teacher Association (MTA)
leaders. A two day meeting was also organised for parents and
teachers in the month of October.
In November 2012, the sangathan along with sarpanch, samiti and
zilla parishad members went to Bhubaneswar to demand the establishment of a Kasturba Kanya Ashram
at Gunupur Block and another at Gudari Block for girl students of primitive Lanjia Soura and Kandha
community of KBK (Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput) region. From previous experience, it was learnt that
such schools attract full admission which in turn encourages children from other poor families, and
drop out students to enroll as well. Citing non-availability of land, the government was planning to
change the location of the school to another area. After demands from the sangathan and lobbying
with Odisha Primary Education Programme Authority (OPEPA), the director agreed to establish the
residential school at Pagadabilli. The construction of the building is under progress and classes will be
initiated from the next education session.
Khetihar Khan Mazdoor Sangathan in Chittorgarh district, Rajasthan, has been holding regular
meetings with school children of 52 villages. 54 girls aged 6-14 years from the area are currently
studying in Adharshila School run by Fellows Jayashree and Amit in MP. The sangathan is planning to
Lalita, Bhanwari and Kavita of Manthan School. Bhanwari and Kavita also teach at Manthan and recently secured first class results in their 12
th board exams
Page | 17
admit 13 girls into Kasturba Residential School after their 5th class exams. Meetings on right to
education of children were conducted in 77 brick kilns where migrant labour from UP, Jharkhand and
Bihar are employed.
LAND RIGHTS
Land has been one of the focus issues during the period. The proposed Land Bill does not articulate
and address the rights of the displaced as well as the issues of Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.
Mobilisation of various parliamentarians and lobbying with representatives of stakeholders from
various arenas was done to demand for a participatory and pro-people bill. A national level
consultation was organized at Constitution Club, New Delhi on the proposed Land Bill with the
participation of representatives of many grassroot organizations, political parties, civil society groups
and academic circles. Also; 4 state level conventions were organized in Maharashtra, Odisha and
Jharkhand to further understand the land issues and the proposed bill.
More than 625 acres of land were enabled through the Fellows’ efforts, benefitting over 417 landless
families from Odisha, MP, Maharashtra, Bihar, AP and Rajasthan. More than 5,500 people of over 70
villages benefitted from implementation of household and agricultural land pattas in Odisha,
Maharashtra, Bihar and AP. Follow-up of realising rights over 4000 acres of gairan (grazing) land for
180 families is ongoing in Maharashtra. Identification of waste/govt. land in Maharashtra, Odisha and
Bihar was also done during the period. More than 250 Mango and Neem trees were also planted by
communities in Bihar. Village watch monitors were formed in Odisha, AP and Chhattisgarh to check
the process of land rights and handing over of land patta. Land conservation processes are being
adopted in Jharkhand through mobilisation and land development initiatives. State level conventions
on proposed Land Bill organised in Odisha and Jharkhand during the period.
7 regional meetings were organized by Jan Abhivyakti in Janjgir district, Chhattisgarh, on issues of
land acquisition, updates on cases filed in the High Court & mining in Kera Kachar, Siladehi and Bhada
villages. As a follow-up of Jan Chetna Yatra, Jan Abhivyakti extended its solidarity to the Chhurikaala
struggle where 65 families are struggling against the construction of the Rakhad Dam by NTPC at
Chhurikaala village in Korba district. Along with other affected people, the struggle of one of the
families whose land was dug up by NTPC despite the High Court stay order was followed up by the
sangathan. Meetings & regular follow-ups helped the family obtain
a favourable decision in the HC.
Due to the intervention of Shoshit Kamgar Sangathana in Latur
district, Maharashtra, 67 landless Scheduled Caste families in
Nilanga and Shirur Anantpal block received 40 hectares of gairan
(grazing) land under the State government scheme of land to the
landless.
Lok Chetna Sangathan in Rayagada district, Odisha, has been
working towards identification of Government land in Gunupur,
Ramanaguda and Gudari Blocks which has been occupied by Andhra
cultivators to grow cotton and palmolein. With the cooperation of
local PRI members some amount of land has been distributed
amongst the landless in these blocks. They have also submitted a
request to the Government and Revenue authorities to take action
Corn cultivation on dali land in Kalamgaon village in Shirur Anantapal, Latur dt., Maharashtra
Page | 18
against Andhra and non-tribal cultivators of Gunupur taluk who have been occupying adivasi land and
paying low lease amounts. The sangathan has been actively raising awareness on this issue amongst the
villagers and has been encouraging them to stop cotton cultivation, and urging them not to hand over
their lands at such low rates. Crops such as ragi, cereals and pulses such as green gram are being
promoted. Marking a major achievement, the sangathan with the help of PRI members and Revenue
officials distributed 416 household pattas, 75 land pattas and 70 houses through relevant schemes to
adivasi families in Gunupur block. 130 legal applications of villagers have also been submitted to the
tehsildar of Gunupur to distribute land for the
landless. Sangathan members and village watch
monitors also initiated Orissa Scheduled Areas
Transfer of Immovable Property (OSATIP) cases
against those who have illegally occupied adivasi
lands.
Bundelkhand Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan in
Damoh district, Madhya Pradesh, has been
generating awareness amongst village members on
the 2011 Land Bill, the existing Land Acquisition Act
1894, the land situation and challenges of land rights
struggles across the country. The process of land
acquisition, the intentions of the state, definition of
public purpose and possible impacts were discussed
at length. Perspectives on social control over natural resources, denial of basic rights and benefits for
few at the cost of many was also looked at in the meetings by drawing from the examples of struggles
from across the states. People also reviewed the upcoming threats in the region and similar situations
at the national level. Proposed projects in the area that will result in displacement or adversely impact
agriculture such as Sakha Bhajiya ONGC Gas plant, Suhela dam project, Maycem Cement Narsinghgarh
were discussed.
During the reporting period, 107 union sangha members of MASS, Andhra Pradesh from 17 villages
achieved land pattas covering 204 acres after demands made to the Government Revenue Dept. under
the guidance of Union Conveners. Agricultural laborers union members have been pressurizing the
government and forest department to regularize their occupation forest and government lands of
around 1200 acres of forest and Government lands. This land is being cultivated by 743 families in 24
villages. The sangathan has networked other sanghas such as AP Yanadi Sangham and District Land
Reforms Committee on the issue.
50 acres of land was distributed among 50 landless villagers under the Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of
Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961, through the efforts of Mazdoor Kisan Samiti in
Mohanpur, Fatehpur and Barachatti blocks in Gaya district, Bihar.
Navjeevan of Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh, has identified a total of 918 acres of land in 3 mandals
for redistribution and has submitted the same to the various mandal tehsildars as well as the District
Collector. The sangathan is awaiting the 6th phase of the land distribution programme.
Adivasi Chetna Sangathan facilitated 75 land pattas totaling 7.5 acres of homestead land where
beneficiaries were selected through the palli sabha.
Meeting on land rights organised at Nuakalama village by Lok Chetna Sangathan in Odisha
Page | 19
Shramjeevi Sangathana in Latur district, Maharashtra, has been extensively working on gairan land
issue since its inception. There is a strong demand and need among the landless dalit families in the
area for a small piece of land to meet their survival needs. It would not only be a source of livelihood
or income but a source of dignity and pride through ownership. Land is a political issue in the region as
everywhere. The Sangathan is dealing with this issue and demanding fair allotment of gairan land for
landless dalit families in the region as per the provision of the state to providing a certain percentage
of the Gram Panchayat‟s common land, to landless dalit families. After an affirmative order in this
regard from the High Court of Maharashtra, the
process of land distribution received a boost and the
sangathan is taking a leading role towards awareness
building, surveying, collecting of necessary
documents, advocating the issue and engaging with
relevant officials. Approximately 1,235 claims for 2200
acres of common/gairan land have been submitted to
the appropriate authorities in Jalkot and Udgir blocks.
Verification and measurement at the site as per land
records is underway.
Due to the efforts of Adivasi Kranti Sangathan 350
tribal families in Sagabari have filed the application
form for homestead land patta. 264 landless adivasi
families have applied for homestead land pattas in
Kankadahad tehsil and were sanctioned by the tehsildar. 256 homestead land pattas are under the
process of preparation.
KKMS organised a sammelan on the occasion of Ekta Parishad‟s Chetna Yatra campaign in Bijoliya
village of Bhilwara district for those undertaking agriculture on adivasi forest land. 450 adivasis had
given a verbal testimony. 274 people from 11 villages received pattas for 4 bighas of land each.
CASE STUDY
National Consultation on Land Bill; 30 August 2012, Constitution Club, Delhi
A day long consultation on the “Proposed Land Bill: Development or Investment?” was organized by
SRUTI on 30th August 2012 at the Constitution Club, New Delhi. The event was a follow-up to the
Janmorcha and meetings co-ordinated by
SANGHARSH (an alliance of various grass-root based
organizations) on the land issue.
Several crucial aspects of the Land Bill such as
commoditization of resources; impact on agriculture
and livelihood; control over resources; food security
& sovereignty; decentralized democracy & effective
PRI, and the socio-economic-political impact were
discussed as part of four focused sessions. The event
saw the participation of distinguished guests
speakers such as Dileep Singh Bhuria (Ex-Central
March organised by Shramjeevi Sangathana in Udgir, Latur district (Maharashtra) on gairan land rights for landless dalit families
Page | 20
Minister & Chairman Bhuria Committee) P.L.Punia (INC– Parliamentary Standing Committee Member &
Chairman-National Commission for Scheduled Castes) and parliamentarians P.Rajeeve (CPM- PSC
Member); SP Singh Baghel (BSP) and A.V.Swamy (Independent - Member of Rajya Sabha). The speakers
also saw representation from various peoples groups and movements from across the country including
Ulka Mahajan (Sarvahara Jan Andolan - Maharashtra), Anand Mishra (Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan),
Kavita Krishnan (CPI-ML), Ashok Chowdhary (NFFPFW), Lingaraj (Samajwadi Jan Parishad), Jayashree
(Adharshila - Maharashtra), Jang Sai (Bharat Jan Andolan), Arvind Anjum (Visthapit Mukti Vahini –
Jharkhand), MJ Vijayan (Programme for Social Action), Anil Chaudhry (PEACE – Delhi), Shankar
Gopalakrishnan (Campaign for Survival and Dignity), Devendra (Hum Kisan Sangathan – Rajasthan) and
Vilas Bhongade (Ghosikhurd Prakalpgrast Sangharsh Samiti - Maharashtra). Many other sangathans from
across the country were represented among the attendees and moderators.
The following recommendations, suggestions and actionable points emerged from the day‟s discussion:
1. Wider consultation: Engage not only within civil society groups and people‟s organizations (sangathans), but take it wider to key political actors, policy makers, media and also minds from
the corporate/ industry/finance world, to genuinely address the gaps and concern areas.
2. State-wise forums with follow up meetings at the national level should be created bringing together diverse groups such as political party representatives, trade unions, people‟s movements, PRI representatives, journalists, artists, academicians, university students/ youth, etc. Special effort must be made to reach out to include representatives from business houses, infrastructure
and industry bodies.
3. People’s audit on a national-level to assess status of five spheres - electricity, water, land, forests, and employment. This should be conducted in a sound, transparent manner with wide coverage so
the facts can speak for themselves.
4. A comprehensive Land Use Policy to be drafted envisioning land as a vital source of livelihood and
food security.
5. A white paper detailing the status of every piece of land acquired so far in the name of „public purpose‟ to be put together.
6. A certain percentage of agricultural land to be reserved to avoid food insecurity. Every district
must mark out a certain amount of land for agricultural purposes that cannot be violated.
7. As we are a prime agricultural country with a massive section dependent on agriculture and urgently need to establish food security as a priority, a Land Protection Bill must be demanded. It should be drafted in such a way that only in very stringent rare cases can the use of land be altered and that too after consulting the people. Common land especially must be defended to avoid
further exclusion of the marginalized.
8. Ground level advocacy to create awareness and engage community participation in the legislation consultation process. Concise literature in local/colloquial language on important legislations and development projects and their impact should we disseminated widely. Towards this there is a need to create analytical, legally sound, and duly simplified key points for effective communication on the ground. Attention should also be paid towards education of the government and
administration officials regarding PESA Act and Vth Schedule.
L-R: AV Swamy, P.Rajeeve, Dileep Singh Bhuria and Anil Chaudhry
Page | 21
9. Talks and debates on key issues and concerns to engage young people across the country.
10. Creative strategies such as a mock court strategy shared by Ulka Mahajan, to create awareness,
understand opposing views, clarify doubts amongst people at different levels.
11. Formation of core committees from among SRUTI Fellow groups to pursue the issue in their
regions and effectively associate with other network groups.
RIGHT TO FOOD and WELFARE SCHEMES
Overview:
Over 300 Public Distribution System (PDS) Monitoring Committees comprising of over 1,000 sangathan
members ensured better and transparent functioning of ration shops through sangathans in Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Odisha. Sangathans in, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and
Rajasthan have also been continuously involved with the issue of Right to Food through regular
meetings and dialogues with respective authorities. Over 8400 people were benefitted under PDS
scheme. Additionally; more than 2800 old age pensions (at an avg. of Rs.450 per month)1800 Indira
Awas Yojana and over 600 life and health insurance schemes were facilitated and followed-up on a
regular basis. 52 Fair price shops that were closed or not functioning properly due to corrupt dealers
were re-opened/rectified in 40 villages in Maharashtra. Furthermore; annual Right to Food Convention
was organized with the support of SRUTI Fellow groups working in Delhi and Odisha. Follow-up of
schemes such as widow pensions, anganwadi, etc. was also done by the sangathans on regular basis.
Navjeevan in AP facilitated the establishment of drinking water in 459 households and street lights
benefitting 160 homes. 150 old age pensions were sanctioned, 30 joint liability groups were formed for
agriculture, 35 solar lights distributed to Adivasi families by NEDCAP and 25 ration cards were renewed.
The sangathan facilitated the construction of 44 biogas plants and distribution of 35 solar lights to
adivasi families. 25 ration cards were renewed and 2044 Aadhar Cards were distributed in 35 villages of
5 mandals. 186 people benefitted through old age pension, 56 people through widow pension and 139
from Persons with Disabilities (PWD) scheme. 2 National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS), 2 Aam Admi
Bima Yojana and animal insurance for 10 families were facilitated as well.
Bundelkhand Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (BMKSS) in Madhya Pradesh continues to raise
awareness on gaps and discrepancies in PDS amongst
locals in 60 villages, administration and media. 250
litres of kerosene sold in black by the PDS dealer in
Khamariya Kalan village was immediately reported to
the police and stock recovered. Similarly, cases of
black marketing, lack of proper distribution,
concealing of ration cards were found in Samdai gram
panchayat. Pressure was exerted on the sarpanch to
take appropriate steps, after which a resolution was
passed in the gram sabha to take action against the
salesman. Investigation of cases of 8 ration shop
dealers is underway with a dealer already suspended
in Patloni village. Fresh ration cards have also been
BPL and Antyodaya ration cards
Page | 22
demanded for those whose cards have either finished or are not in good shape.
During this year, Satark Nagrik Sangathan (Delhi) community mobilisers reached out to 1500 families
living 6 low income settlements - Savitri Nagar, Sangam Vihar, Ravidass Camp, Kusumpur Pahadi,
Chirag Dilli and Khidki Gaon. Mobilisers used pamphlets on PDS to create awareness about the rights
and entitlements of cardholders. 47 community meetings were held to train people on how to use
vigilance tools to monitor the functioning of their ration shop. As there are several proposed policy
changes to the functioning of PDS in Delhi, such as conditional cash transfers, cardholders were also
made aware of these. In this period people were assisted in filing over 200 complaints to the Food
department to highlight deficiencies in the functioning of their ration shops or to oppose policy
changes such as reduction in the allocation of foodgrain to BPL families. The sangathan is also an active
member of the Delhi Right to Food group that has been set up under the National Right to Food
campaign. SNS networked closely with the group and has been building a campaign for the Delhi group
to demand greater transparency in the functioning of the PDS in Delhi. SNS helped organize a mass
procession of the RTF campaign on August 28, 2012.
12 PDS monitoring committees were formed by Lok Chetna Sangathan in Rayagada district, Odisha,
comprising of 85 members (60 men and 15 women). 13 BPL cards were rectified and 5 fake cards
cancelled.
MASS in AP is ensuring different provisions under PDS through Ration Monitoring Committees which
have been promoted with women SHGs and union leaders. The issue of corruption in PDS is garnering
strong local support and is one of the major activities of community mobilization. Gram Panchayats
were pressurized to display the list of beneficiaries. Regular interventions have resulted in the local
sarpanch and MLA holding meetings with tehsildars who in turn have been undertaking surprise visits to
the PDS shops. Rates of kerosene, and grains were brought down close to the government prescribed
rate. Receipts for payments for purchased ration are issued to the volunteers and rate list of the
available ration displayed. 47 PDS monitoring committees have been formed in 5 mandals comprising of
430 members. 124 pension members from 21 villages also took part in a mass procession to raise their
voice against corruption in the old age and widow pension scheme.
As part of the Chetna Andolan in Rajasthan, the PDS
system of 39 villages (13 panchayats and 3 blocks)
was reviewed by Khetihar Khan Mazdoor
Sangathan. PDS Monitoring Committees have been
formed in 39 villages (105 men, 90 women). Due to
extreme poverty and alcoholism several children
end up becoming orphans after their fathers have
succumbed to the addiction and their mothers have
deserted them. The sangathan ran a campaign
where 76 out of the 162 villages in Bhadesar
development block were surveyed and Paalanhaar
Yojana was facilitated for 136 children through
which an amount of Rs.675 every month and a one-
time amount of Rs.2000 would be spent on every
child. 65 BPL cards were also enabled to deserving
families.
Members of kalbeliya community at a meeting on PDS entitlements organised by Khetihar Khan Mazdoor Sangathan in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan
Page | 23
Adivasi Kranti Sangathan has facilitated caste certificates for 516 tribals and homes through Indira
Awas Yojana for 916 adivasi families. There was a crucial irregularity in identification of poor left out
(PLO) families by the Block & Gram Panchayat officials violating the prescribed norms of State Govt. of
Odisha & Supreme Court. The deprived families were mobilised and together they sent a memorandum
to the District Collector with a copy to the State Adviser to Commissioner, Supreme Court of India. The
collector Dhenkanal had taken action on receipt of the complaint & instructed the BDO & Market
Inspector (Block) to make necessary rectifications. However no action was taken and the community
leaders sent a memorandum again to the State Advisor‟s office. As a result, an authorized team
conducted a sample survey in 10 villages and ensured justice to the families.
Shoshit Kamgar Sangathana in Latur district, Maharashtra, is
extensively working on PDS in 52 villages of Bhilangana and Shirur
Anantpal blocks of Latur district in Maharashtra. The Sangathan
maintains regular monitoring of the PDS system through village
level monitoring watch groups to ensure the fair amount of grain at
fair price to the ration card holders. Currently 5,376 BPL, 1980
Antyodaya and 271 Annapurna card holders are receiving
prescribed amount of grain at fair price in Bhilangna and Shirur
Anantpal blocks. Additionally, 176 people have submitted
applications for old age pension in. 432 people from 5 villages have
submitted forms for Aam Admi Bima Yojana health insurance. Work
is ongoing in several villages to provide Bima Yojana IDs to more
people. 36 women have received Janani Suraksha Yojana
assistance of Rs.700/- per month. Due to unfortunate death of
primary breadwinner, 15 families from 5 villages received
compensation of Rs.10,000 under NFBS.
1000 new BPL/antodaya cards were distributed due to the efforts
of Mazdoor Kisan Samiti in 20 villages in Mohanpur, Fatehpur and Barachatti blocks in Gaya district of
Bihar. Due to the intervention of the sangathan, 250 homeless families received homes through Indira
Awas Yojana in 3 blocks.
250 new ration cards on the name of woman of the family were facilitated in 5 villages by Gaon
Ganrajya Sangathan in Ambikapur-Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh. It is mentionable that under the
State Food Security Act, Chhattisgarh Government is considering women as the head of the family. The
process of making new ration cards under this provision is underway at the block level.
125 new ration cards were issued in Samudrapur blocks in Nagpur district due to the intervention of
Kashtkari Jan Andolan. Through the Janshri Yojna, a government of Maharashtra scholarship for
children of domestic workers, 300 domestic workers were able to support their children through middle
school.
100 ration cards were converted from APL into Antyodaya in Mangaon block and 500 new Antyodaya
ration cards were issued in Shrivardhan block due to Sarvahara Jan Andolan’s intervention in Raigad
district of Maharashtra.
Adivasi Chetna Sangathan in Odisha facilitated the formation of 16 PDS monitoring committees with
104 people. 83 families were included in the PDS (APL) list 752 old age / widow pension sanctioned,
Rate board outside PDS shop in Nilanga block, Maharashtra
Page | 24
683 Indira Awas Yojana, 28 concrete roads, 260 Parivar Mangal Yojana @ Rs.10,000 (government
support after death of family head), 3 community ponds, 7 acres of tree plantation and 3 tube wells for
drinking water were also ensured. More than 7000 labour class families have been included under
National Health Insurance Scheme.
CASE STUDY
Pension Relief for 1,636 Senior Citizens; Shramjeevi Sangathana, Maharashtra
Shramjeevi Sangathana conducted a survey with the help of its volunteers and educated youth of the
community on recognising eligible candidates as per the criterion prescribed for pension benefits under
old-aged pension scheme of the Central and State government. The survey was done in 35 villages of
Jalkot block in Latur district. During the survey Sangathan‟s volunteers and youth approached each and
every household and met people, collected the necessary documents/evidence and then compiled the
report. The report showed that there were 1,636 senior citizens who are unable to avail the scheme.
Among them, 798 persons told the sangathan that their pension has been stopped without any
intimation and rest (848) never got any such support.
As a follow-up of this survey, Sangathan organised a public meeting before the Tehsildar‟s office and a
delegation was formed to discuss the issue with him. Apart from the pension issue there were many
other issues related to welfare schemes such as Niradhar Pension Yojana, Aam Admi Bima Yojana, PDS,
etc. Due to strong mobilization around the issue, the campaign received an encouraging response from
the villagers and following a series of consultations at basti, village, gram panchayat and Block-levels,
the sangathan organized a big public gathering before the Tehsildar‟s office on 22nd January 2013. All
identified ineligible candidates reached Jalkot and wanted to present a signed memorandum to the
Tehsildar who refused to meet them. However, the people refused to budge and invited others to
extend their solidarity to the cause. From 22-25 January, around 850 people, mostly women, were
present consistently, voicing their demands. Finally on 25th January, the Tehsildar attended to their
demands and guaranteed relevant welfare schemes, especially old-age pension, to all the people
gathered. This was a big victory for the senior citizens.
PANCHYATI RAJ INSTITUTON
Overview:
Around 450 Panchayati Raj elected members from sangathans monitored the effective functioning of
Palli and Gram Sabhas with active participation of men and women in Odisha, Maharashtra,
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, AP and MP. Various sangathans in MP,
Uttarakhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, AP and Delhi ensured effective functioning of Palli/Gram Sabhas
and municipal wards in rural and slums in urban areas. Governance issues such as corruption and
implementation of FRA, PDS, land patta, MGNREGA, etc. were taken up with the Gram Sabhas in the
sangathans’ area. Various trainings and workshops were organized to build the legal understanding
and socio-political & economic perspectives of Panchayati Raj.
A two-day regional-level training workshop on ‘Panchayati Raj Institution’ was organized in
Bhubaneswar with 70 people from 3 states of Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. 3 Village
Development Plans were organized with the participation of around 200 villagers and panchayat
Page | 25
members at Jashpur, Janjgir and Pithora in Chhattisgarh under Panchayati Raj Institution to make a
development plan of the three villages. The plans were later shared with the local administration to
follow-up with the democratic and decentralized process of planning
During the reporting period, BMKSS in MP started an awareness campaign amongst the gram sabha
members in order to strengthen PRI. The role and powers of the gram sabha were elaborated in detail.
Gram sabha members were encouraged to actively participate and exercise their power in meetings
and push for implementation of various schemes such as social security pension, housing scheme, forest
rights, etc. As a result of this campaign, people participated in large numbers in gram sabha meetings
across various villages taking important decisions in their hands. Corrupt practices followed by the
sarpanch and secretary in the housing scheme were identified and complaints registered. Emphasis was
also laid on securing forest rights through active participation of the gram sabha members.
Adivasi Chetna Sangathan in Angul district, Odisha,
organised informal trainings in 45 sensitive villages
through village/regional-level meetings and shivirs
where Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRISs) are
dominated by vested interest groups and party politics.
500 women voters were especially motivated by the
sangathan to choose proper micro plans and
beneficiaries for their villages in 20 selected villages.
The women actively participated in palli sabhas and
gram sabhas and presented their demands for proper
beneficiary selection and approval of micro plans
without any party politics. 4 regional shivirs were also
conducted by the sangathan for 400 people including
PRI members on the convergence of panchayati raj,
MGNREGA and FRA which is crucial for their individual implementation. Special attention was given to
full participation of members (men and women) in 25 village palli sabhas wherein 200 microplans (100
agri land development + 50 farm ponds + 50 aam admi yojana houses) were approved.
Bahishkrit Hitkari Sangathan in Khagariya district, Bihar, is working towards the formation of a
sangathan comprising of newly elected PRI
representatives in the region. Beginning from
Parbatta block, the effort has spread to over 10
panchayats so far. The basic thought behind this
initiative was to mobilize people to recognise their
real rights and entitlements and not to work for the
administration, as sub-ordinates. The effort is being
appreciated by the representatives themselves. 1
block-level and 10 panchayat-level committees have
been formed so far. The sangathan is playing a
crucial role in developing micro level planning
including all factors such as health, education,
agriculture, electricity and ration with the active
involvement of these representatives.
Meeting on PRI organised by Adivasi Chetna Sangathan in Dwiteeya Krishnapur village, Angul, Odisha.
Meeting with elected panchayat members in Parbatta block, Bihar
Page | 26
Satark Nagrik Sangathan’s community mobilisers reached out to 1500 families living in 6 low income
settlements in New Delhi - Savitri Nagar, Sangam Vihar, Ravidass Camp, Kusumpur Pahadi, Chirag Dilli
and Khidki Gaon. Mobilisers used pamphlets to create awareness about the roles and responsibilities of
Councillors of MCD. 54 community meetings were held to train people about the roles and
responsibilities of elected representatives and on how to hold these representatives responsible for
addressing the development needs of the local area. A voter jagrukta abhiyan (awareness campaign)
was carried out in slums to create awareness among people about their rights and responsibilities prior
to the elections. As part of the abhiyan, residents put up banners in their slums to demand that
elected representatives address their development needs. At the hearing, people demanded that ward
sabhas must be held every month in every ward of Delhi where residents, Councilors and MLAs are
present and people are consulted about their development priorities. Prior to elections, SNS sent
petitions to the Congress and the BJP to demand that they commit in their manifestos that they will
hold ward sabhas in their wards. In the manifesto of the Congress party, the commitment was made.
Mati Maa Mahila Morcha undertook Panchayati Raj training in July. Ward members, sarapanchs, Naib
Sarpanchs, the Block Chairman, ASHA/Anganwadi workers and the Panchayat Executive Officer were
present. Local governance systems, their origin, evolution, functions of panchayat, roles,
responsibilities and power & functions of representatives, pallisabha & gramsabha - the procedures &
funds, schemes, standing committees, MGNREGS, FRA, NTFP (control and management), powers vested
upon panchayat, etc. were discussed in great detail. Certain members complained that procedures are
not properly maintained and standing committees not formed. Thus the Chairman and Sarpanch
directed the Panchayat Executive Officer to follow the rules and act upon then. It was decided to form
panchayat standing committees immediately. Meetings were held in 96 villages of 5 panchayats of
Daspalla block in Nayagarh district towards awareness building.
CASE STUDY
Cycle March for Adivasi Rights in Odisha; Adhima Adhivasi Mukti Manch, Odisha
A Cycle March was organized by the karyakartas of Adima Adivasi Mukti Manch (Gochhabari) and Gramin
Sramik Chetna Sangathan (Chhamundia) to raise mass awareness on the occasion of World Human
Rights Day (10th Dec, 2012). More than 200 cyclists participated from Gania and Daspalla Blocks of
Nayagarh District in Odisha. The march started from a tribal village named Gochhabari and reached
Ghania tehsil after covering 40 kms with slogans demanding FRA implementation, homestead land patta
and electrification of remote villages.
The cyclists later submitted a memorandum
addressed to the Chief Minister and Tehsildar,
signed by the villagers of the sangathan‟s work-area.
On receiving the letter, the Tehsildar assured the
people that necessary steps would be taken under
her jurisdiction. She also discussed the problems of
the area with the villagers. People shared their
grievances about the negligence of administrative
staff in implementing the Forest Rights Act. A fair
Page | 27
and full implementation of Forest Rights Act was promised by the Tehsildar and a team of block
officers and villagers was formed for further sharing and discussions to be scheduled with the ADM,
DFO, and Sub-collector of Nayagarh. It was also decided to organize regular meetings and discussions of
the tehsil administration with villagers for future sharing of implementation status of various schemes
and programmes. The march turned out to be crucial and successful thanks to the collective effort of
the people and the administration paving the way for a participatory democracy.
With the help of the Panchayat watch monitors, Lok Chetna Sangathan members in Rayagada district,
Odisha, organized panchayat-level shivirs in 12 villages with a participation of 1,749 people. To
strengthen the sangathan and to raise issues and awareness, training programs were organised at the
village, GP and Block-level every month. Training programs for selected village leaders have also been
organised in the last 6 months. Forest Right Committees, Education Committees, Health Committees
and Bonosurokhya (forest protection) committees have been formed for effective governance.
Karyakartas also organized Sarpanchs, ward members and Samiti members with priority is being given
to women. 4 meetings for women PRI members and 2 camps for all PRI members were organised. As per
the suggestion of the Sangathan, out of 18 Sarpanchs of Gunupur Block, 10 have been regularly
attending the panchayat office and observing one day in the week as grievance day for the public.
AGRICULTURE
Overview:
Two state level Conventions were organized on small holder agriculture issues in Bihar and AP. A one-
day national level discussion was organized with the participation of various representatives from
grassroot organizations from different states, state and national level representatives of farmers
associations. The National Consultation was organized as a follow-up of the state level Conventions
organized in Bihar, AP in 2012 and Uttarakhand and Odisha in 2011. Various activities such as
conducting meetings, trainings and meetings with farmer clubs, development of irrigation facilities
through MGNREGA, preservation of seeds and creation of seed banks, training sessions on climate
change adaptation, etc. took place in Tamil Nadu, AP, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and
Odisha. Livelihood opportunities were also provided through various agricultural activities in Odisha,
AP, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. Grain banks were mobilized by
Sangathans in Odisha and Uttarakhand, silk worm and vegetable cultivation were done in Odisha, AP
and Uttarakhand. Herbal medicinal plants are continued to be grown in Odisha. Organic farming and
low-cost farming are being encouraged and followed-up in Odisha, MP, Jharkhand, AP, Rajasthan,
Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Bihar and Tamil Nadu
VTMS in Tamil Nadu focused on cash crop
cultivation. 430 seedlings per family consisting of
pepper, coffee, silver oak, lemon, gooseberry,
papaya and cardamom were distributed. A total of
17,400 seedlings were distributed. It took about a
week to complete all the planting covering over 31
acres of land. If continued for another three years,
the effort will cover about 100 acres of land ensuring
Multiple Cash crop cultivation on Nilgiris’ slopes in Tamil Nadu
Page | 28
a secure livelihood for the people of Moolakkadu and making it a self-reliant village. In Kottaimattom
village, 11 families were provided 200 coffee plants each, totaling 2200 plants distributed.
One of the core ideas of Adharshila Learning Centre in Badwani district, Madhya Pradesh, is to
engage children and experiment with best practices in farming that are relevant to the local
community. The idea is to foster dignity for the work that their parents do and to truly enjoy the fruits
of hard work. Apart from being introduced to the traditional crop diversity in the region, taking care of
the plants, animals and birds, engaging with real life responsibilities, is a live learning and emotional
experience – a learning pedagogy very dear to Fellows Amit and Jayashree who started the school.
Children learn through the school organic farm and make their own plots. They also take turns to look
after the animals in the cowshed. This year, Adharshila started a poultry farm as well with 5 hens and a
cock. The number had grown to 50 by the end of the year. 100 trees including fruits such as papaya
were planted with a green fence. The trees provide green mulch for the farm, firewood for at least
two months and are a breeding ground for birds and squirrels.
Maati Sangathan in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand, continues its seed sovereignty efforts through
farmers‟ collectives. Tomatoes, brinjal, kheera, kakdi,
lahi, capsicum, pumpkin, radish, methi and potatoes
are being grown both outdoors and also in semi
controlled environment in polyhouses, due to very low
temperatures, in the area. Seedlings of these
vegetables were distributed in the farmers‟ collective
and members were advised on different features of
organic farming. Rajma, horsegram, ragi, corn, lentils,
etc. were sown. Strawberry and peppermint plants
were distributed as well. 8 mahila haats were
organised during this period. The haats encourage
local farming and organic produce, snacks, clothes,
etc. Due to heavy snowfall on 14th January, 2013, 5
polyhouses were destroyed. This was a major setback
for the sangathan‟s vegetable cultivation efforts.
Navjeevan in Nellore district, AP, conducted 50 farmers‟ club meetings and trainings on sustainable
agriculture and new methods in agriculture. There are a total of 2,375 members. 20 base-level
orientations and 35 animal husbandry health camps in 3 mandals were conducted. 5 capacity building
trainings of farmer leaders were also organised. 949 acres of land was developed for horticulture
through MGNREGA benefitting downtrodden communities of 22 villages. 252 SHGs were formed and
loans worth Rs.5 lakhs mobilized.
Adivasi Chetna Sangathan in Odisha generated awareness to encourage use of bio-fertilizers,
indigenous seeds and seed banks. 300 farmers were trained through mass processions in bio-farming for
rabi crops cultivation. 700 farmers were covered under agricultural insurance scheme covering about
2000 acres paddy fields. 15 villages were also motivated to cultivate vegetable and cash crops more
than paddy.
18 new Joint Liability Groups (JLG) adding up to a total of 52 JLGs with 245 small and marginal farmers
were promoted by MASS in Chittoor district, AP, to provide livelihood activities and crop loans.
Samples of organic seeds cultivated by Maati sangathan in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand
Page | 29
CASE STUDY
National-level Consultation on Small Holder Agriculture – Rajasthan – 1st March 2013
A one day programme on Small Holder Agriculture was organised on 1st March 2013 in Manthan School
in Jhiri village (Jhalawar dist.), Rajasthan. The event saw the participation of 21 groups from 10 states.
Anand Mishra of Chhattisgarh Krishak Biradari, Nand Kashyap and Bijay Panda of Bharat Jan
Andolan were invited as resource persons to contribute to the discussions.
Learnings from consultations organised by SRUTI in
the past one year in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha
and Uttarakhand, were shared. The agricultural
crisis and reasons for this prevailing condition such
as increased marketization, lack of basic
infrastructural support in terms of inputs and
irrigation, drop in crop diversity, deforestation,
destruction of crops by wild animals, proliferation
of hybrid seeds, unpredictable weather and the
burden of loans were discussed in detail. Lack of
sufficient investment by the State combined with
flawed policies that encourage monocropping, cash
crops, biogas cultivation etc. at the cost of traditional farming knowledge have created irreversible
damage to the country‟s broadest economic sector. It has also resulted in the devaluing of agricultural
land which will ultimately threaten the food security and sovereignty of the country‟s diverse regions
and populations.
Another aspect discussed was the skewed assessment of GDP vis a vis segregation of value added
agricultural produce from the agriculture GDP e.g. sugar, edible oils, potato chips etc. Value addition
and processing of farm produce is included in the industrial GDP, while the unremunerative, low price
sourcing of farm produce reflects on the agricultural GDP.
„Anand Mishra felt that an alternative strategy to ensure the survival of agriculture needs to be
brought into action, on priority; food security and diversity have suffered significantly under the
measures of the past2-3 decades.
It was felt that as reassessment of the real value of agricultural output is required to wrest control
from the middleman and transform agriculture to a rewarding occupation for the next generation.
„Influential decisions by the IMF and World Bank back in the 90s have caused structural changes in the
sector. Figures of landless and farmers must be put forward to convey the gravity of the situation‟
stated Amit of Adharshila Learning Centre, MP. It was felt that a centralized system to bring all
learnings to a common front would be of great help to all collectives working on the issue.
The status of agriculture in different states, factors responsible for the situation and ways to bring
about desired changes were discussed state-wise, the session was moderated by Bijay Panda.
Page | 30
LIVELIHOOD Initiatives
Continuing their efforts to ensure livelihood security, Maati (Uttarakhand) Farmer‟s group was given
tomato, cauliflower, capsicum and brinjal seeds. Saplings were planted and distributed amongst the
group. Strawberry plants were also distributed again. Rajma, gahat, ragi, corn, masoor, bhat, soya
bean, garlic, yellow lentil were grown. Alongside, suggestions and advice regarding organic farming
were disseminated. Every month Maati Farmer‟s group organises the sale of vegetables grown in poly
houses and outside such as tomoatoes, brinjal, kheera, cucumber, lahi, capsicum, pumpkin, radish,
methi, dhaniya and potato. Mint is also being grown. 7 Mahila haats were organised during this period.
Bi-monthly haats are organised to give a boost to local produce, food and clothes made by women.
Additionally, members of Maati continue their home stay program as part of their in situ livelihood and
ecotourism efforts.
Maati workshop has initiated tailoring of clothes on order such as salwar kameez, etc. are being
stitched. Wool mufflers, gloves, sweaters, runners and bags are being made for the coming winter
season. Economically disadvantaged women from several villages have received work through wool
spinning, this work is thriving in the sangathan. 164 merchandise pieces amounting to a total of
Rs.1,13,470/- was produced during this period by 35 people.
Hum Kisan Sangathan’s Adarsh Hathkargha
Cooperative Society in Jhiri village (Rajasthan) has
increased the number of looms to 32. Their products
are now being successfully sold in Delhi, Lucknow,
Pune and Kolkata. They received their first large
weaving order from Fabindia. This year, they also
received the Handloom Mark certification.
The VTMS office in Gudalur (Tamil Nadu) was used to
stock processed honey, and surplus from Moolakkadu
such as bananas, ginger, maize, vegetables, pepper
and coffee. These were sold in the market when their
price was reasonably high. Kattunayaka women were
largely involved in their marketing. It is expected that
in the coming years the quantity that will be available for sales would be higher. It was decided that
efforts should be made to set up a separate shop in Gudalur for selling the products of Kattunayakas.
Mati Maa Mahila Morcha in Odisha organised two Board Member Meetings of Mati Maa Mahila Primary
Cooperative Society and Suna Pratima Mahila Primary Cooperative Society. The discussion was focused
on expansion of membership, storing of grains, collection of NTFP and its value addition, processing
after rainy season, etc. It was decided in the meeting to raise a revolving fund for product promotion.
Adivasi Chetna Sangathan in Odisha facilitated silk worm cultivation which is being carried out by 35
tribal families. It is currently at pilot stage in 5 villages and the sangathan hopes to expand it to other
people and villages. Training has been provided to 25 women on vegetable cultivation using bio manure
and bio pesticides. The process has also been initiated for collective selling of leaflets prepared by
adivasi women. It is being discussed among the kendu leaf pluckers (women) to raise the issue to
Adharsh Hathkargha Cooperative Society in Jhiri village, Jhalawar district, Rajasthan
Page | 31
increase the wage given to pluckers from 40 paise to Rs.1/- per 20 leaves bundle along with other
benefits. Leadership will be taken by the women for this campaign and movement.
Considering the regular demand of work and lack of livelihood opportunities for villagers MASS in AP
had formed 320 women SHG groups in the 5 Mandals of its work area. These groups are being linked
with local banks for savings and loans. Loans ranging from Rs.5000-25,000 for livelihood development
are regularly perused by each member of the SHG for cattle rearing, petty shops, sheep rearing, basket
making, etc. The groups are a major source of local support in each village to carry forward other
endeavors of the union.
CASE STUDY
Chandil Cage Culture: A Leading Employment Model for Dam-displaced Communities; Visthapit
Mukti Vahini, Jharkhand
What started as a ray of hope in the extremist-hit
Seraikela-Kharsawan district is now growing into a leading
employment model for communities displaced by large
dams. The cage culture initiative by Visthapit Mukti Vahini
under the name of Chandil Bandh Visthapit Matsyajibi
Swabalambi Sahkari Samiti (CBVMSSS), has provided much
needed livelihood relief to 1,163 displaced families.
CBVMSSS, which oversees 17 Fishing Cooperatives, has
harnessed the waters of the reservoir to produce
14,40,000 kgs of fish per season from the entire area of
the 18,000 hectare reservoir. The cumulative value of fish
produced since July 2012 is over Rs. 71 lakhs.
This achievement was acknowledged by Planning Commission Members, Dr.Kasturirangan and Nidhi
Khare, who visited the area. They applauded the ongoing work as a unique model and strongly felt that
it should be adopted at all large reservoir locations
in the country.
Sharing his thoughts with SRUTI, Dr.Kasturirangan
said “I was very impressed with the initiative which
is innovative, extremely effective in supporting
livelihood and above all has also an entrepreneur
dimension. I could see several stakeholders
enthusiastically explaining their own ideas about this
initiative. I personally feel this example should be
widely known to all concerned in different parts of
the country, so that in areas where large
dam/reservoirs are likely to come up in future, this
model can be adopted.”
Visthapit Mukti Vahini’s initiatives have contributed to -
2013 – Pioneering livelihood initiatives acknowledged by
Planning Commission
2012 – Rehabilitation package revised to Rs.6,57,000/-
2011 - Irrigation of 5000 acres of fringe area farmland
near the Chandil Dam
2010 – 52 villages saved from submergence due to
limiting of reservoir height by 5 metres
1990 – Rehabilitation policy demanded by VMV accepted
by authorities in Chandil
1987 – Visthapit Mukti Vahini formed to address concerns
of those displaced by dam
Page | 32
As part of the Central Government‟s National Mission for Protein Supplement Scheme, this project was
introduced as a pilot in collaboration with the Fisheries Department. Technical guidance, skill
development and step-by-step training of community members on cage construction and management
have led to a pioneering adoption of the cage culture system in Jharkhand. It has so far only been
successfully practised overseas in countries like Vietnam,
Norway, Thailand and China.
In January 2013, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam
Ramesh interacted with members of the Chandil fishing
cooperatives as well while on a visit to the state. Shyamal
Mardi and Narayan Gope of CBVMSSS shared the issue of dearth
of boats, following which Mr.Ramesh immediately asked the
Collector to look into the matter.
Saraikela-Kharsawan district is plagued by lack of education,
employment opportunities and infrastructure. Those displaced
when 112 villages were submerged by the construction of
Chandil dam have been doubly disadvantaged in this context.
Not only has CDVMSSS stemmed extremist forces and provided
a direction for aimless youth who are forced to migrate in
search of jobs, it has also addressed the issue of food security
for the affected through adequate self-employment. This has
been crucial to ensuring meaningful rehabilitation, a cause
that Visthapit Mukti Vahini has been spearheading for three
decades.
URBAN GOVERNANCE
CASE STUDY
CIC order to Delhi Legislative Assembly Secretariat; Satark Nagrik Sangathan, Delhi
As a result of the complaints and the public hearing organized by SNS, the Central Information
Commission in August 2012 ordered the Delhi Legislative Assembly Secretariat to proactively provide
information to citizens on the proceedings of the Assembly, the legislations introduced and passed by
the Assembly and information on the proceedings of Assembly committees. The Commission has
directed the Assembly Secretariat to provide this information on the website of the Assembly and to
provide live telecast of assembly proceedings through the website. Further, the Commission has
ordered the Secretariat to adopt a system of publishing highlights of laws which are passed by the
Assembly prominently in Hindi and English newspapers.
Right to Information
Satark Nagrik Sangathan has been working towards ensuring better implementation of the RTI Act. On
the occasion of the 7th anniversary of Right to Information Act 2005, a national Public Hearing and RTI
mela were organized in Delhi by the National Campaign for Peoples‟ Right to Information (NCPRI) in
Dovetailed rewards of this entire effort:
1. Fishing co-operative for the overall reservoir and the cage culture experiment supported by the Department of Fisheries 2. Increased protection of the water, higher fish harvest and increased returns for the displaced people who were earlier alienated from this community natural resource. 3. Farming and horticulture on the reservoir slopes with drip irrigation support from the government mobilized by the sangathan 4. Boating as a tourist attraction 5. Plantation of 10000 custard apple trees planned this monsoon
Page | 33
collaboration with other civil society groups including Satark Nagrik Sangathan and Mazdoor Kisan
Shakti Sangathan. The purpose of organising the public hearing was to discuss the problems related to
implementation of the RTI Act. The RTI mela was organized to highlight the use of the Act by people
across the country to realise their constitutional rights.
At the public hearing, many information commissioners were present and 400 RTI users from over 16
states discussed key issues related to the implementation of the RTI Act in different states. People
from across the country testified about their experience with the use of the RTI Act – including,
problems faced in accessing information, poor
functioning of Information Commissions, attacks on
information seekers, central/state rules which make it
difficult for common people to use the Act, compliance
with provisions of Section 4 of the Act, and the recent
Supreme Court judgment on the appointment of
information commissioners.
Resolutions were drafted and passed on the basis of
people‟s experience to strengthen the RTI regime,
including better and more efficient functioning of
Central and State Information Commissions. These
resolutions were forwarded to the government. Also,
significant discussions on the recent Supreme Court
appointment of Information Commissioners and its
current and potential impact were discussed threadbare. SNS plans to work closely with other groups to
take the demands that emerged from the public hearing and RTI mela forward.
DISPLACEMENT
CASE STUDY
Victory for struggle against illegal Bhilangana Hydro Power Project; Chetna Andolan, Uttarakhand
Years of struggle finally yielded a landmark order from the Uttarakhand High Court concerning the
Bhilangana Hydro Power Project in Phalenda village of Tehri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand. The
Bench comprising of Chief Justice Barin Ghosh and Justice UC Dhyani, ordered a review and a second
public hearing on September 18 in light of the project‟s electricity generation capacity being increased
from the originally approved 11MW to 22.5 MW. The court had directed Tehri‟s District Collector and
District judge to conduct the public hearing amidst the affected villages.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests carried out a fresh appraisal of the project by Swasti Power
Engineering Limited (SPEL) in 2004 without a fresh public hearing. This historic decision brought much-
awaited happiness and cheer to the affected villages. People felt that the higher courts have finally
understood the people‟s suffering after a prolonged struggle. The decision was followed by much
discussion and debate in the area.
Public hearing and RTI mela organised by NCPRI along with Satark Nagrik Sangathan.
Page | 34
The news of the public hearing was conveyed to various
gram panchayat pradhans of the affected village via the
SDO, Ghansali tehsil, and District Collector, Tehri.
Alongside, they were also asked to suggest one person
from each gram panchayat for the panel. Chetna
Andolan‟s karyakartas were in constant touch with people
of the affected villages and people were chosen after
their feedback and suggestions. Representatives from
Phalenda, Sarua, Ronsal and Baheda gram panchayats
were chosen and sent to SDO, Ghansali, on 23rd
September, 2012.
Affected villagers, with the support of Chetna Andolan,
got pamphlets printed to disseminate information
regarding the imminent public hearing after which a
community meeting was organised with the related villages. It was decided in the meet that the
proposed public hearing and milestone High Court decision will be discussed with everyone so they
could all share their stories of struggle. Oppressive tactics used against the community, consent letters
obtained by SPEL on behalf of each village, the damages caused by electricity generation for 4 years,
were all discussed. Important points were collated in written to be presented at the public hearing.
IDENTITY-BASED ISSUES: GENDER, CASTE AND COMMUNALISM
Skill development training on tailoring for single women was organized in the work area of MASS,
Chittoor, AP, for 10 single women/widow/ST communities from 7th to 13th September 2012 with the
support of Usha Sewing Machine Company Ltd - New Delhi.
A case of gang rape and murder of a college going dalit girl was taken up by the sangathan in
Baireddipalli, Chitoor. Few farmers who were grazing animals in the same village identified the body
found in the bushes and informed her parents. Then Gangavaram and Baireddipalli Circle Inspector (CI),
Sub Inspector (SI) and Constables went to the death spot and send the body for post mortem to
Palamner. Later, the Chittoor district Union Convener‟s team visited the area and and met with
villagers and family members. A case of rape and murder was registered. The union team then
approached the District Headquarters and submitted petitions to the District Collector and
Superintendent of Police (SP) with the victim‟s father and mother. The police, however, was negligent
and slow to act owing to discrimination against SC community to which the victim belonged. The union
team visited the police station several times for an update on action taken, but no one was arrested
for 15 days. MASS union team then discussed the matter with like-minded unions in the district to
garner support for the dalit girl after which other unions in the district came to Palamner and
organized a mass procession at Ambedkar circle on September 6th 2012 where 210 people participated.
Due to this pressure, the police actively investigated the issue and arrested the culprits on 8th
September.
Bahishkrit Hitkari Sangathan in Khagariya district, Bihar, began Beti Bachao Abhiyan, a campaign to
spread awareness and protect the rights of girls and women. It is to be mentioned that the Sangathan
also runs a helpline for women with the support of local administration for which one room in the
District collector‟s office is allocated to the Sangathan. The sangathan organised a candle march on
Bhilangana Hydor Power Project in Tehri Garhwal district, Uttarakhand
Page | 35
30th December 2012 at Parbatta, Khagariya to join the mass processions regarding the brutal 16th
December rape in New Delhi. Before this public march the Sangathan organised a meeting with women,
students, doctors, journalists and villagers. Since the issue of women‟s rights and protection is one of
the core issues of the Sangathan, other related issues such as women trafficking in north Bihar and
women‟s education, reproductive health, dowry and female infanticides, etc. are also being identified,
and addressed.
Like every year Shoshit Kamgar Sangathan in Maharashtra celebrated Women‟s Day on 8th March. The
sangathan includes more than 400 women‟s SHGs in the area for livelihood and socio-economic
empowerment of the women through the occupational mobility and creating new scopes of income
generation etc. This year, the sangathan organised a public meeting and organised a talk on women‟s
issue such as socio-cultural and economical repression of women, causes and ways to counter them.
Around 200 women and men participated in the programme.
During this period Maati sangathan in Uttarakhand worked on resolving 17 cases of domestic violence
that were brought to their notice. The sangathan first approaches both the families concerned and a
solution is sought through mediation and dialogue. If no resolution is reached, the sangathan finds a
favourable settlement ground through the van panchayat.
Adivasi Chetna Sangathan in Pallahara area of Angul has resolved 2 cases of divorce and family
dispute in cooperation with the Ho caste sabha. In one case, the wife, children and husband were
reunited while in the other, the woman was able to rightfully claim her husband‟s property which was
denied to her through intimidation. 40 women demanded work under NREGA towards tree plantation in
Balitoila village as well as appointment of women caretakers to look after their children at work site
and became successful.
219 women took part in a one day NREGA training programme in Khetihar Khan Mazdoor Sangathan’s
area, in Chittorgarh district, Rajasthan.
CASE STUDY
Countering human trafficking in Chhattisgarh; Adivasi Mahila Mahasangh
Adivasi Mahila Mahasangh has been tackling the issue of young adivasi girls/ women being trafficked
from Jashpur district to urban areas on the pretext of jobs. Chhattisgarh's northern region that includes
Surguja, Korba, Jashpur, Koriya and Raigarh districts, is
infamous for human trafficking cases. There has been a
steady rise of instances where impoverished girls have been
lured to big cities on the pretext of lucrative opportunities
where they are eventually forced into prostitution or
domestic work under abusive conditions.
The sangathan, led by Fellow Mamta Kujur, has been
addressing this concern over the years, and have stepped
up their response to counter the recent escalation of such
cases. 33 women have been rescued so far and brought
back to Jashpur, cases have been registered to bring back
AMM karyakartas collecting information from parents of girl who left for Delhi
Page | 36
16 more and 19 others have been reported missing. There are scores more missing, for whom there are
no leads yet. One of themain challenges is the reluctance of the victims and their families to register a
case.
To better understand the circumstances that force girls to migrate to cities despite the uncertainty and
dangers they face, Adivasi Mahila Mahasangh carried out a survey in 3 areas – Sitonga, Pidi and Tekul.
Through interactions with the community, families, local leaders and the administration, several
reasons for youth migration emerged. Of these, poverty, education, alcoholism in the family,
misleading by agents, seeking of livelihood, lack of awareness of - and failure in delivery of - govt.
schemes were common reasons.
A committee to address human trafficking in the area was formed with members of women‟s SHGs,
Anganwadi Sahayika, youth members, and other social leaders. Additionally, a social awareness
programme was organised which included the screening of documentary films, meetings explaining the
importance of education, painting of anti-trafficking
slogans on walls and dissemination of various govt.
schemes for youth. Group meetings were also conducted at
the village level where child trafficking and the status of
children engaged in domestic work, were discussed. Ways
to provide a conducive environment for development of
children, focusing on higher education, were also
discussed.
The sangathan is working with the local government to
counter this growing concern, and take steps to stop it. A
district level committee on the issue of human trafficking
(adolescent girls/women) was also formed in Jashpur with
SRUTI Fellow Mamta Kujur as one of the lead members.
LABOUR and MIGRATION
VTMS in Tamil Nadu organised a public meeting at the Bazar area of Nadukani. Rajendran the youth
wing leader of VTMS led the meeting. The problems facing the estates and estate labourers were
specifically discussed. Tea estates have been a major economic activity and employment provider in
the region since long with lakhs of people depending on it. The families who are skilled in this activity
cannot easily shift their occupation. But with the WTO agreement in 1991 and the changes that
emerged due to liberalization of trade, market manipulation, cartel formation in trade etc, crisis in the
sector set in. Price of tea crashed leading many estates to closures. In addition, the forest department
intervened to create hurdles in maintaining the estates. These issues have been the subject of various
struggles organized by VTMS which in earlier years led to some short term relief. This time around, the
non-payment of wages was taken up and resulted in big plantations to pay 6 months back-wages to
workers. However, the present wages are a low of Rs.150 per day which should be increased to Rs.300
per day which is what VTMS has been demanding. There is also the need for the workers to own secure
and adequate housing which the government must ensure. The meeting discussed these and other
issues and decided to continue the struggle. Over a 1000 people participated in the meeting.
14 year old girl from Aara village (extreme right) who was rescued from domestic work in Delhi. She has been admitted in school.
Page | 37
CASE STUDY
Historic Brick Kiln Workers Union Formed in Bhilwara; Khetihar Khan Mazdoor Sangathan, Rajasthan
SRUTI Fellow group Khetihar Khan Mazdoor Sangathan and Prayas Centre of Labor Research and Action
were the architects of a historic moment in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan. Brick kiln workers in the
Maandal-Asind brick kiln cluster came together as part of a union named Rajasthan Int Bhatta Majdoor
Union to fight against bonded labour and abysmal wages.
Brick making is a labor intensive industry wherever
everything is done by hand. The work involves
preparation of soil, its molding by hand into bricks
(pathai), sun drying, carriage into a stack below the
chimney (bharai), arrangement of bricks into the
stack (khadkan), firing of bricks (jalai), removal of
fired bricks from the stack (nikasi) and finally loading
into trucks. The pathera (brick molders) workers
comprise the maximum number and account for
almost two thirds of the workforce at a kiln.
A major union action was planned in the Maandal–
Asind brick kiln cluster as it has 89 brick kilns employing around 15,000 workers, mostly from the Rawat
caste. A majority of the workers are seasonal migrants from UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, MP and
Chhattisgarh. The Union formation was organised in the off season of July–August, primarily based on
bharai and nikasi workers of Masuda tehsil in nearby district of Ajmer. The union formation drew good
support from the community with enthusiastic participation from the labor contractors as well. A
demand charter asking for wage hikes across all categories of workers and improvement in working and
living conditions was drawn up before the season began.
The union team undertook extensive mobilization amongst the workers between 15th and 21st
December, visiting all the brick kilns and presenting the memorandum to employers. Another team met
the Government officers in the Labor Department. Most owners accepted the memorandum but there
were heated discussions with a group of 6-7 who own comparatively larger units and pay the lowest
rates and stand to suffer the most from a wage hike.
A meeting organised on 21st December saw the participation of almost 2000 workers, exceeding
expectations. Following the meeting, there were incidents of aggression including a violent attack on
bonded workers where women and children were not spared either. The Union responded to the attack
by staging a public procession in front of the SDO office in Maandal. The main demands were an
administrative enquiry into the violent attack on the Union and release of workers under the Bonded
Labor Act.
As a result of the entire mobilisation, wages in the district have been hiked from Rs.50 to Rs.100 per
1000 bricks – an increase of 16 to 33%. Most brick carriers, a critical part of the work process, were
offered a hike of Rs.10 from Rs.80 to Rs.90. The pathera were offered varying hikes. Efforts to secure
the release of 15 groups of workers are ongoing. This success of the labour collective under a union
banner sparked enthusiasm and hope for the workers and strengthened their resolve to struggle for a
free, fair and dignified life of labour.
Page | 38
CAPACITY BUILDING - TRAININGS / WORKSHOPS / SHIVIRS
Adivasi Kranti Sangathan carried out the following capacity building initiatives in Odisha:
Post Amended Rules of FRA, the Sangathan
karykartas attended a capacity building training
held in Sundergarh district in November.
Resource person, Bijay Panda oriented
karyakartas on ground-level procedures to be
followed to determine traditional boundaries of
different village communities. The process of
filling application claim forms was also
discussed. Subsequent to this the village
communities were educated and assisted in
preparing claim applications. 67 village leaders
underwent training in the Community Learning
Movement process at Kantapal GP training hall
in the last week of December 2012. As a follow-
up of the training programme a 12 day long
campaign was organized in Batagaon &
Kankadahad GP to educate village communities regarding determination of boundaries & filling-up of
claim applications.
Two teacher trainings were conducted by Adharshila Shikshan Kendra in MP for the Kakrana School
teachers. Adharshila children also organised a Baal Mela in Kakrana. A 3 day women‟s empowerment
workshop – Wenlido - was organised for the girl students and lady teachers of a public school in
Sendhwa. A media workshop on sound and film was organised by a sound designer from Bollywood. 3
songs were recorded and about 10 students learnt about multi-track recordings for four days. They
learnt aspects of how a chorus is made, how one can replicate the effect of a crowd with just 5-6
people, car screeches in films, etc. A 20 day filmmaking workshop was also conducted along with a
cameraman and a director. A group of students made a film on what they thought was important about
Adharshila. Script writing, story boarding, planning, shot preparation, types of shots, handling the
camera and editing were learnt. The film was later showed to students of English medium public
schools in Sendhwa and was followed by heated discussions between the crew and students.
Teachers and students of Adharshila were encouraged to take part in whatever social activities going
on in the area. They were invited to four Adivasi Sammelans held in Khatti and Langdi Moohdi in
Madhya Pradesh, Zoida in Maharashtra and Mangarh in Rajasthan. In three of these places they were
invited to present a song and dance sequence based on Adivasi heroes.
Creation and dissemination of reading material based on local history and culture is a constant theme
in which Adharshila has engaged successfully in the past years. Adharshila has about 10 publications to
its credit. Four students also participated in a play by IPTA at the CPI National Conference in Patna.
The students of Adharshila have enthusiastically formed Naatak India Company - a theatre troupe. Two
new plays were performed this year. The students were requested to perform on the Mahila Diwas
celebration held by the Govt. Another new production, based on the Battle of Ambapani, fought
between the British and the adivasi rebel army under the leadership of Khajiya and Bheema Naik, was
shown on the Khajiya Naik Diwas celebrated on the eve of the battle in a nearby village in front of
Community Learning Movement program organised by Adivasi Kranti Sangathan in Dhenkanal district, Odisha
Page | 39
about 500 – 600 people. The regular play done on Independence Day was also performed by the new
children who learnt the story of Independence.
A two-day training on gender violence was
conducted by Dalit Adivasi Manch in Chhattisgarh
to discuss sexual violence faced by women,
especially from marginalized groups, in the state
and the situation of women‟s safety in the country
overall. Recommendations of the Justice Verma
Commission Report and their implications were a
core part of the event‟s agenda which included
group activities.
In this period, 18 trainings of the Community
Leader's Vigilance Programme were held by Satark
Nagrik Sangathan in Delhi. A new group of
community leaders were identified from the
different slums in which SNS works and trainings
were started from February. So far, the trainings
have focussed on the basic structure and
framework of the Constitution of India and various provisions and sections of the RTI Act. 8 trainings
youth groups were held to train youth residing in slums around Malviya Nagar - Jagdamba camp, Lal
Gumbad camp, Indira Gandhi camp, etc. Currently, the group consists of about 30 young people.
Separate trainings are being organized for girls and boys.
Lok Chetna Sangathan in Rayagada district, Odisha, put together a cultural team comprising of
karyakartas in the last six months. Entertaining programs are organised by the team in remote villages
on various issues of local governance (such as Gram Sabha, Palli Sabha, role of Mahila sarpanch),
labour, MGNREGA, etc. The sangathan is planning on participation of the cultural team in inter-state
events as well as training programs. The team has received a very encouraging response at the village-
level and is preparing its own songs and scripts for future programs.
Gender Workshop for SRUTI Employees
A gender sensitization workshop for the SRUTI team was held in the Delhi office from 4th – 5th October,
2012. Conducted by Purwa Bharadwaj, an experienced gender trainer, the workshop was held at a
time when issues of gender, equality, sexuality and power politics in relationships were being discussed
and debated at different forums.. Starting with a story reading exercise among the participants,
followed by a discussion involving everyone in the dialogue process, the gender sensitization workshop
over the course of two days was intensive and myth shattering. The event saw the participation of a
diverse group cutting across age, gender and identity sensibilities. What was considered as the issue of
gender being universal and hence “understood” by almost everyone, the workshop shook set notions
and provided space and time to rethink thoughts and experiences that have been intricately shaped by
the society around us. Mixing small activities followed by discussions, the workshop helped individuals
look within at entrenched gender orientations and also was fruitful in initiating discussion and breaking
of stigmas and stereotypes.
Workshop on gender violence held in Pithora, Mahasamund district, Chhattisgarh
Page | 40
The first day saw a subtle shaking of perceptions towards
breaking the ice among the participants of the workshop
while the second day saw a greater focus on issues of
patriarchy, power, control over resources and dominance
of sexuality took place. Issues of societal perceptions
towards transgender, homosexuals and other
“marginalized” groups were openly discussed and honest
views from everyone were sought. Becoming an
emotional confrontation and a journey for everyone, the
workshop ended with much food for thought for
everyone.
LANDMARK CONTRIBUTIONS
Leading role in formation of PESA Rules in Odisha; Adivasi Kranti Sangathan (AKS), Odisha
The PESA Act 1996 is meant to enable adivasi societies to take control over their own action, and
preserve & conserve their traditional rights over natural resources. This requires the State Govt. to
change its existing laws wherever they are inconsistent with the central legislation. However, in
reality, not much action had been taken in Odisha. The implementation of the law was hampered by
the reluctance of the State Government to make the law & its rules in conformity with the central law.
The disempowerment of adivasi communities remains one of the most critical factors responsible for
less than desired outcome in all the interventions.
Adivasi Kranti Sangathan in Dhenkanal district, Odisha, has played a vital role in building alliances with
a number of state-level groups & individuals to assert action from the Govt. of Odisha to prepare &
enact the Rules in Odisha, in accordance to the central PESA Act. AKS has maintained continuous
dialogue with the policy makers in the State Govt., especially in SC & ST Development Department &
its policy research wing to advocate pro-adivasi rules of the PESA Act. SRUTI Fellow AK Pany along with
a group of young social leaders from Odisha, drafted a set of rules in conformity with the central Act.
This draft will be used to finalize the rules adopted under PESA.
Dispossession to Development - Rehabilitation Success for Chandil Dam Displaced
SRUTI Fellow group Visthapit Mukti Vahini‟s (VMV‟s) 25 year
old struggle to achieve rehabilitation of 12,000 families
displaced by the Chandil Dam in Jharkhand has seen yet
another success. This time in the form of a 250% increase in
the compensation package for 1200 families that were not
adequately compensated. The package has now been revised
to Rs.6,57,000/- per family, from the previously mandated
amount of Rs.1,89,000/-. The 2012 rehabilitation law has
also provided for Rs.75,000-Rs.1,00,000/- for training and
Rs.2,00,000/- for diploma education for educated youth in
the families.In 2010, VMV had managed to stop the
Chandil dam
Resource person Purwa Bhardwaj conducting the gender workshop
Page | 41
submergence of 52 villages by stalling a proposed 5m increase in the dam height.
Beginning in 1987, Visthapit Mukti Vahini has been struggling for adequate compensation for the
displaced as well as their right to a life of dignity. In the initial stages of land acquisition for the
project, the displaced were offered Rs.4500 per plot of land and Rs.750 for shifting expenses. VMV
sought land for land, house for house, priority to employment, and independent family status to every
member over 18 years in the rehabilitation law proposed by the sangathan. In December 1990, a
rehabilitation law was announced where several of these demands were incorporated. A package of Rs.
52,250 was announced and more than 1700 people were given employment in the project. Apart from
this, hundreds of displaced were employed in the district administration and mining sector. In 2003,
the package per family was increased to Rs.1,89,000/-.
VMV has continued to push for increase in the rehab package
amount every year, based on relevant indices. After years of
effort, in 2012, it has been raised to Rs.6,57,000/- per family.
This has been a big victory for the effort. However, despite this
positive step from the government, the disparity in package is
unfair to those who accepted the 2003 package for Rs.1,89,000/-
, as recently as two months or one year prior to the increased
amount. While 1200 families are now more satisfied with their
package the remaining displaced families of Chandil are trapped
in this unjust situation of having let go of their life‟s resources
for minimal compensation.
Justified as inevitable, and necessary for development, more than 12,000 families were forcibly
displaced for the Chandil dam. Now only 1200 families have received this increased rehab package
whereas all 12,000 have been equally affected. The sangathan and community are now campaigning for
a retrospective gratitude package for the remaining families who were earlier paid less compensation.
The other long-term success of VMV‟s efforts has been to initiate several livelihood opportunities based
in and around the Chandil Dam reservoir for local families. From struggling for the rights of the
displaced, VMV has positively integrated government mechanisms to provide real opportunity and
access to resources for the displaced families. The sangathan‟s proposal for lift irrigation and deep
boring along the slopes of the reservoir were both accepted by the Chief Minister. Once hopelessly
alienated from their land and water, the local people here are now building a hopeful and self-reliant
future for themselves through VMV‟s initiatives to positively engage with government mechanisms.
Cage culture (details included in VMV Story 2), fish and geese cultivation, livestock breeding,
horticulture/ fruit trees plantation (sitaphal, maandaal, amla, etc.), lacquer/shellac agriculture and
development of tourism through boating, etc have created robust and sustainable livelihood
opportunities for many. Apart from asserting for the provision for monetary support for technical
training and diploma education for displaced youth in their 2012 rehab package, VMV also insists on
special attention to educating children by monitoring enrollment in schools and utilization of village
libraries.
A displaced family from Hesakocha village
Page | 42
NETWORKING AND ADVOCACY
Land Rights and Proposed Land Acquisition Bill: Series of Consultations Held; Networking with
Various Alliances; Lobbying with MPs
Continuing the advocacy on the proposed Land Acquisition Bill, a series of consultations were held in
several states as a follow-up to the national-level consultation held at Constitutional Club on 30th
August, 2012. The aim was to disseminate the main features, positive and negative aspects and other
concerns raised by mass movements and various civil society groups regarding the upcoming legislation
on land, which is the core issue of struggles across the country. State-level consultations were held in
Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha and regional-level consultations
in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Odisha.
Areas of concern in the proposed Bill, such as the
principle of eminent domain, ambiguous meaning of
public purpose, undermining of the importance of the
gram sabha, contradictions with existing overlapping
legislations such as PESA 1996 and FRA 2006 etc were
discussed. Flaws in the ideological foundation of the
draft such as viewing land as a property and not as a
generational livelihood resource and compensation-
based rehabilitation and resettlement would also have
grave repercussions for those dependent on natural
resources (forest, land and water) for their sustenance.
Another important legislation, the Mines and Minerals
(Development and Regulation) Bill (MMDR Bill) 2011,
that aims to regulate mining and will affect the livelihood of many, was also introduced in the
meetings. The importance of documentation and research to buttress arguments in support of right to
fair rehabilitation with the aid of Supreme Court judgments was highlighted.
Nagpur Consultation, Maharashtra
Fellow Vilas Bhongare of Kashtkari Jan Andolan
(Vidarbha region) addressing the consultation
Ranchi Consultation, Jharkhand
Screening of film on mining „Curse of Karna‟ during consultation
Bhopal Consultation, Madhya Pradesh
Page | 43
Lobbying with parliamentarians (especially from the PSC on
LARR 2011) and Ministries such MoTA, MoRD, MoEF, NCST,
NCSC, etc. continued to ensure support for a more inclusive
and fair Land Acquisition Bill.
Sangathans supported by SRUTI as well as the team were
part of organising events along with members of peoples‟
organizations and movements such as SANGHARSH, NFFPFW,
NAPM, INSAF, Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, Samajwadi Jan
Parishad, Campaign for Survival & Dignity, etc., in various
states of India.
State-level Consultation on National Scenario of Energy, Government Policies and Impacts
A state-level consultation was organised in Raipur on 8-9 December 2012. The consultation was
organized on issues related to energy production, transmission and distribution that affects the lives of
millions. Com. Shailendra Dubey (Secretary General-All India Power Engineers Federation, Lucknow),
Prafulla Samantra (Lok Shakti Abhiyan - Odisha/NAPM), Soumya Datta (National Gen Sec - India
People‟s Science Forum - New Delhi) and Com. Mohan Sharma (Nagpur) were the main speakers of the
seminar. About 120 representatives from various Sangathans (24 sangathans of Chhattisgarh Bachao
Andolan, 3 from Odisha, 4 from Maharashtra, 2 from Tamil Nadu and other groups from Chhattisgarh)
participated in the seminar. Various aspects of the politics of energy and relevant policies such as the
Electricity Act 2003, PESA 1996, FRA 2006, MMDR Bill, LARR Bill, Coal Bearing Act, etc. were discussed.
Advocacy related to the PDS and food security
SNS is an active member of the Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyaan and the National Right to Food
campaign. SNS networked closely with other citizens‟ groups to oppose the proposed conditional cash
transfer scheme of the government wherein the government has been proposing to give a fixed amount
of cash to poor families instead of foodgrains. This move will adversely impact the poor for several
reasons including the fact that with high inflation rates the poor will not be able to buy the same
amount of foodgrains a few months later that they can at the current prices. This is likely to have a
very negative impact on the lives of the poor in Delhi. In meetings with slum dwellers held by SNS and
other citizens groups, people have clearly stated that they are not in favour of dismantling of the PDS.
SNS and the Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan have been opposing this move towards dismantling the PDS
in Delhi and have been advocating strengthening the PDS to ensure food security. The campaign is
demanding that the Delhi government strengthen the Public Distribution System and ensure that the
poor get foodgrains at subsidised prices. SNS along with other groups organized processions against the
proposed conditional cash transfer policy of the government in August, November and December 2012.
SNS worked closely with the National Right to Food Campaign and participated in several campaigns and processions in 2012 and 2013 on the issue of food security and the PDS. SNS has been actively involved in the Right to Food campaign‟s activities to formulate and demand a strong National Food Security Bill from the government. Members of SNS also deposed before the Parliamentary Standing
Bhubaneshwar Consultation, Odisha
Page | 44
committee examining the proposed National Food Security law as part of the National Right to Food Campaign to give suggestion to the committee.
In November 2012, a five day Jan Sansad or Peoples‟ Assembly was held from the 26th to the 30th of November to bring before Parliament many basic issues awaiting legislative action. More than 53 peoples‟ movements and organistions from across the country participated in the
Jan Sansad.
The objectives of the Jan Sansad were to take forward the demands of each campaign and to start the process of building a people‟s Manifesto for the 2014 elections to ensure that people‟s issues find prominent space in the manifestos of political parties. During the five days of the
Jan Sansad, several crucial issues related to governance, state responsibility for social security and basic services, discrimination, gender, land acquisition, natural resources and increasing repression by
the state were raised.
On the second day of the Jan Sansad i.e. the 27th of November, issues related to governance - the Lokpal bill, Grievance Redress bill, Whistle Blower Protection bill, Judicial Accountability bill, RTI Act, police reforms, electoral reforms and corruption in the private sector were discussed. The resolutions of the Jan Sansad were
sent to relevant MPs and ministers.
BMKSS in MP attended a meeting organized by Bijoy Panda
from Campaign for Survival and Dignity on 13th August 2012
in Jabalpur to discuss and review the amendments being
proposed to the rules of FRA 2006. The suggestions given
by BMKSS, Tejgarh, were – 1) notices to be given regarding
rejection of claims 2) if the complaint is not settled at
SDLC level within 60 days, it should be referred to HC 3) the prescribed time limit to file claims should
be removed 4) verification of documents and rejected claims to be done by the Tribal Department, in
locally organized shivirs.
Members of Satark Nagrik Sangathan in Delhi deposed before the Parliamentary Standing Committee
and Select Committee on the Lokpal, Grievance Redress and Whistleblower Protection Bills. Public
meetings and consultations were held to discuss the legislations on February 3, August 7 and August 27,
2012 which SNS helped organize.
Gaon Ganrajya Sangathan in Chhattisgarh actively participated in a meeting with the Governor of the
State to jointly draft the rules and regulations for the implementation of PESA 1996, in September
2012; along with eminent individuals like BD Sharma, Jayant Verma and Bijay Panda.
Mitra Association for Social Service union conveners, coordinators and leaders in Andhra Pradesh
attended 7 network meetings at district-level to develop a rapport with other unions who are working
for the same issue of Land Reforms Committee, Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), AP
Yanadi Sangham, State Krushi Yojana Programme Union, etc. A programme on the occasion of
Ambedkar Jayanti was also organized in the work area of 5 mandals on 14th April 2012. On this
Women from SNS speaking out against cash
transfers at the Jan Sansad in Nov, 2012
Jan Sansad or Peoples’ Assembly, November 2012
Page | 45
occasion, mass processions and meetings were organized and memorandums submitted to the
respective MROs to resolve issues. Govt. officers and local like-minded organizations like Ambedkar
Dharma Porata Samithi, Auto unions, etc. participated in the programme.
Indigenous People‟s Day was celebrated by VTMS in Tamil Nadu on 18/08/2012 at Ooty. This meeting
was attended by members of VTMS and others totaling 59 people from Kattunayaka Munnetra Sangham
(Kattunayaka organisation facilitated by VTMS karyakartas). People recollected traditions and customs
of indigenous peoples, their art, culture, knowledge systems, health care, knowledge on biodiversity,
etc. in detail. The need to preserve these traditions, customs, knowledge and practices were stressed.
The manner in which an alien culture and lifestyle are being imposed in the region was also narrated
with distress. The importance of the day was stated and it was decided to make next year‟s
celebrations more elaborate and purposeful. Officials from various administrative departments also
attended the event.
FELLOWS MEETS – SATHI MILAN
The first bi-annual Sathi Milan was organised on 29th August
at Indian Social Institute, Lodhi Road, New Delhi. Updates
related to land acquisition, mining and related activities in
Fellows' areas over the past six months were discussed. The
meeting preceded the day-long consultation on the
proposed Land Bill organized by SANGHARSH (an alliance of
various grass-root based organizations) and SRUTI at the
Constitution Club, New Delhi.
The second bi-annual Sathi Milan was held on 2nd and 3rd
March 2013 in Manthan School in Jhiri village (Jhalawar
dist.), Rajasthan. 21 groups from 10 states participated in
the meet. Continuing from the last discussion on
„Alternative Politics and the Role of Jan Sangathans‟ at Mangaon in Maharashtra, Dr.Sunilam of Kisan
Sangharsh Samiti (MP), Lingaraj of Samajwadi Jan Parishad (Odisha) and Bijay Panda of Bharat Jan
Andolan (MP) were invited to give their perspective and dimensions to the discussions.
Participants were asked to re-group state-wise and discuss
answers to three questions that would throw some light on
a political way forward. 1) As representatives of people‟s
movements, what does politics mean to you? 2) What or
who are the driving forces of your idea of politics? 3) What
is your role in this politics? What should it be? These
answers were shared one by one with the rest of the
groups.
One minute silence was observed for 3 anti-POSCO activists
who were killed in Patana village, Odisha, on March 2nd.
Sathi Milan -Indian Social Institute, New Delhi,
August 2012
Sathi Milan - Manthan School, Rajasthan, March
2013
Page | 46
SRUTI Welfare and Solidarity Fund (SWSF)
Background
The SRUTI Welfare and Solidarity Fund (SWSF) was initiated in 2012. The objective of the revolving fund is to provide financial assistance in case of urgent need, to SRUTI Fellows; staff members; associates in SRUTI‟s solidarity network, and communities supported through SRUTI‟s Fellowship programme. Except in the case of limited support to a community cause or to extended to a SRUTI solidarity associate, 1/3rd of the support amount is flowed back to the revolving fund, by the recipient of the support. Started with seed money from Shri Nimesh Sumati of Caring Friends (CF), CF continues to disburse an annual contribution towards the SWSF. Support Details Under Eligibility Criteria 1
When a SRUTI Fellow is confronted with the urgent need to raise money for a personal emergency or
other important requirement, separate from his / her regular sustenance.
1. Prafulla Kumar Mishra, Adima Adivasi Mukti Manch
- Date of Release: 04.06.2012 - Disbursed Amount: Rs.15,000/- (Rs. Fifteen Thousand only) - Support for bore well construction
2. AK Pany, Adivasi Kranti Sangathan, Odisha
- Date of release: 02.07.2012
- Disbursed amount: Rs.50,000/- (Rs Fifty thousand only)
- Scholarship for child‟s higher education
3. MS Selvaraj, VTMS, Tamil Nadu
- Date of Release: 13.07.2012 - Disbursed amount: Rs.75,000/- (Rs Seventy Five Thousand only) - Scholarship for child‟s higher education
4. Rama Kant, Chhattisgarh Mukti Morch, Chhattisgarh
- Date of Release: 12.07.2012 - Disbursed amount: Rs.10,000 (Rs Ten Thousand only) - Scholarship for daughter‟s education
5. Amulya Kumar Nayak, Manavikata Kala Seva Sahanti, Odisha
- Date of Release: 20.11.2012
- Disbursed Amount: Rs.10,000/- (Rs. Ten Thousand only)
- Medical support for treatment of sangathan karyakarta Gangadar Siju
Page | 47
6. Ulka Mahajan, Sarvahara Jan Andolan, Maharashtra
- Date of Release: 04.12.2012
- Disbursed Amount: Rs. 30,000/- (Rs Thirty Thousand only)
- Support for medical treatment
7. Rajim Ketwas, Dalit Adivasi Manch, Chhattisgarh
- Date of Release: 20.11.2012
- Disbursed Amount: Rs. 11,466/- (Rs Eleven Thousand Four Hundred & Sixty Six only)
- Medical support for elderly woman with severe head injury from Chandna village
8. Pandurang Biradar, Shoshit Kamgar Sangathan, Maharashtra
- Date of Release: 21.12.2012
- Disbursed Amount: Rs. 30,000/- (Rs Thirty Thousand only)
- Support for medical treatment
9. Lakhan Singh, Bundelkhand Kissan Mazdoor Shakti Sangathan, Madhya Pradesh
- Date of Release: 24.08.2012 - Disbursed amount: Rs. 15,000/- (Rs. Fifteen Thousand only) - Daughter‟s marriage
Under Eligibility 2:
When a SRUTI staff member is confronted with the urgent need to raise money for a personal
emergency or other important requirement, separate from his/her regular sustenance.
1. Jojy Mathew, SRUTI, New Delhi
- Date of Release: 25.09.2012
- Disbursed Amount: Rs.30,000 (Rs Thirty Thousand only)
- Medical support for wife‟s treatment
Under Eligibility Criteria 3:
When a SRUTI associate; other (duly vetted) individual, group or community involved in grass root
social change, confronts the urgent need for financial assistance.
1. Sanjeev : Delhi Form, New Delhi
- Date of Release:25.09.2012
- Disbursed Amount: Rs.10,000 (Rs Ten Thousand only)
- Land Acquisition deliberation with members of MoRD
2. M.S. Selvaraj, VTMS, Tamil Nadu
- Date of Release: 18.09.2012
- Disbursed Amount: Rs.10,000/- (Rs Ten Thousand only)
Page | 48
- Public meeting on the issue of land development
3. Sadre Alam, Peoples Foundation, New Delhi
- Date of Release: 15.10.2012
- Disbursed Amount: Rs.10,000/- (Rs Ten Thousand only)
- Rehabilitation of children in resettlement colonies of Bawana and Bhalswa
4. Rajim Ketwas, Dalit Adivasi Manch, Chattisgarh
- Date of Release: 22.01.2013
- Disbursed Amount: Rs. 10,000/- (Rs Ten Thousand only)
- Logistics support for fact finding team constituted to investigate complaints of sexual
harassment of girls in Government hostels
5. K. Sahadevaiah, Navajeevan, A.P.
- Date of Release: 30.11.2012
- Disbursed Amount: Rs. 30,000/- (Rs Thirty Thousand only)
- Relief for flood-affected community during Neelam Cyclone
6. Dharmender Yadav, Lok Adhikar, New Delhi
- Date of Release: 06.03.2013
- Disbursed Amount: Rs. 10,000/- (Rs Ten Thousand only)
- Support for organizing a Symposium and Film Release on Rag Pickers issues
New Fellows 2012-13
Sr.No Name Fellow Organization Area Issues Start of Fellowship
1. Smita Choudhary
The Mojolab Foundation
Vasundhara, Ghaziabad (Dist) UP
Citizen
journalism
through mobile
phone and IVR
in remote
adivasi areas
April 2012
Fellow Exits 2012-13
Sr. No
Name of Fellow
Organisation Area Issues undertaken Month of Exit
1 Trepan Chetna Andolan Tehri dist., Jal, jangal, zameen /
Rehabilitation / Governance /
March 2013
Page | 49
Administration and Personnel
SRUTI Executive Board
An Annual General Body Meeting was held on 25 November 2011 where the Executive Board for the
period 2011-14 was constituted.
1. Enakshi Ganguly Thukral, President
2. Prabhu Mohapatra, Vice President
3. Amita Joseph, Treasurer
4. Abha Singhal Joshi, Member
5. Kanika Satyanand, Member
6. Ravi Rebbapragada, Member
7. Shubhalaxmi Pande Iyer, Member
8. Amita Baviskar, Member
9. Shibani Chaudhury, Ex-officio member
SRUTI General Body Members
1. Ela Bhatt (Founder Member)
2. Bunker Roy (Founder Member)
3. Poonam Muttreja (Founder Member)
4. Samir Chaudhuri (Founder Member)
5. Uma Chakravarti
6. Vijay Sardana
7. Apoorvanand
8. Anju Talukdar
9. L.R. Sarin
Chauhan Uttarakhand Gender
2 Shashi
Bhushan
All India Kabadi
Mazdoor
Mahasangh
Delhi Rag picker rights and security
/ Child labour /
Environmental pollution /
Gender
October2012
3 Smita Choudhary
The Mojolab Foundation
Vasundhara, Ghaziabad (Dist) U.P.
Citizen journalism through mobile phone and IVR in remote adivasi areas
January 2013
Page | 50
SRUTI Team*
1. Shibani Chaudhury, Executive Director
2. L.R. Sarin, Financial Advisor
3. Baldew Thakur, Finance Officer
4. Jojy Mathew, Assistant Officer – Finance and Admin
5. Rakesh Sharma, Assistant Manager – Resource Mobilisation
6. Sanjay Verma, Assistant Manager – Resource Mobilisation
7. Mahipal Singh, Admin Assistant
8. Satyam Srivastava, Senior Programme Executive
9. Shweta Tripathi, Senior Programme Executive
10. Manisha Lath, Programme Executive
11. Lotika Baruah, Executive – Admin and Resource Mobilisation **
12. Sukruta Alluri, Programme Executive – Communications and Advocacy
** Till January 2013
Team Capacity Building –
Baldew Thakur and Lotika Baruah undertook a one day training workshop in Microsoft Excel as a tool for database management and analysis through a workshop by Gyan iVolunteer.
Salary Structure of the SRUTI Team (2012-2013) Slabs of gross
monthly salary (Rs) plus benefits paid to
staff
No. of male staff No. of female staff Total staff
Year 2011-12 2012-13 2011-12 2012-13 2011-12 2012-13
<5,000 0 0 0 0 0 0
5,001-10,000 0 0 0 0 0 0
10,001-25,000 5 5 0 0 5 5
25,001-50,000 2 2 4 4 6 6
50,001-100,000 0 0 1 1 1 1
>100,000 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 7 7 5 5 12 12
Page | 51
SRUTI Fundraising Overview
Total Income
SRUTI Income for the financial year 2012-2013
S.no. Details Amount (Rs.)
1 Interest on Investment 41,85,551
3 Donations 47,53,176
4 Scrap Donation 14,84,296
5 Grants from Donors
(inc. previous year's) 52,46,538
7 Other Income -
Total Income 1,56,69,561
Resource Mobilisation update:
Scrap Collection Achievement - This year SRUTI‟s Scrap Collection programme saw the highest ever
income generated totalling Rs.14,84,296/-. This also included another landmark with the highest
amount generated in a month (March) totalling Rs. 2,07,181/-.
SRUTI Resource Mobilisation events were held in the SRUTI Office as well as corporate offices such as
Punj Lloyd, Gurgaon. Clothes, handloom products from Rajasthan, organic produce from Odisha, and
wool items from Uttarakhand were available.
Page | 52
Total Expenditure
SRUTI Expenditure for the financial year 2012-2013
Details Amount (Rs.)
1
Fellowship Programme 91,90,729
2 Advocacy 26,16,038
3
Resource Mobilisation 6,74,636
4 Core Cost (Admin) 25,59,454
5 Depreciation 3,96,253
6 Other expenditure 4,68,108
Total expenditure 1,59,05,218
Support Partners
Caring Friends
Oxfam India
Letz Dream Foundation (beginning August 2012)
Paul Hamlyn Foundation (beginning October 2012)
ActionAid India (beginning March 2013)
Page | 53
Annexure 2
Individual Donors, FY 2012-13
S.No
Name
1 Shrikumar S. Poddar
2 Nikhilesh Ram
3 Rajiv Dheer
4 Kanika Satyanand
5 Adish Bamba
6 Dr. Tulsi Dass
7 R.K.P. Shankardass
8 Gaurav Passi
9 R.K. Dheer
10 Munish Garg
11 Shashi Garg
12 Pooja Sarin
Individual Scrap Donors FY 2012-13
Name Name Name
1 A K Panchouli 39 M.C.Bansal 77 S J Arora
2 Abha Joshi 40 M.R Patwardhan 78 S K Bharnaghar
3 Ajanta Kumar 41 Mahesh Aggarwall 79 S K Nigqam
4 Ajay Gupta 42 Mahindra Malhotra 80 S.L Kapoor
5 Alpna Vasudeva 43 Mamta Vaish 81 Sahil Aggarwall
6 Anuradha Khanna
44 Manish Kr Gupta 82 Salini Gupta
7 Asha Gupta 45 Manju Bhatnaghar 83 Samina Shaw
8 Ashali Verma 46 Mansi Hemrajani 84 Saroj Gupta
9 Avinash Sharma 47 Meenu Ahuja 85 Seetha Venkataraman
10 B M Sudershan 48 Meenu Nageshwar 86 Shanta Monga
11 Bani Naik 49 Meera Kuckreja 87 Shanti Hemrajan
12 Bimla Kalra 50 Meeta Singh 88 Sudha Sharma
13 BMS Murti 51 Monika Duby 89 Suli-Sethi
14 C K Ghai 52 Monika Sarin 90 Suman Lal
15 Col B N Pathak 53 N V Seshen 91 Sunita Bajaj
Page | 54
16 Col Ravi I F Verdi
54 Neena Sandhu 92 Surya Prakash
17 D K Pabby 55 O P kalra 93 Sushila Ambika
18 Deepa Rastogi 56 Oonita Kathpalia Hiremath
94 Sushma Bhargava
19 Devika Sachdeva 57 P S Bhatnaghar 95 Uma Aggralwal
20 Dr K P Mathur 58 Pooja Ashwin 96 Vaibhav Verma
21 Enakshi G. Thukral
59 Prabha Chawla 97 Vandana Gulati
22 Fatima Pais 60 Prem Batra 98 Veena Kalra
23 Geeta Chadda 61 Premlata Jain 99 Veena Ralli
24 Geeta Duggal 62 Pushpa bali 100 Vijaya-Murti
25 Gurvinder Singh 63 Pushpa Srivastava 101 Vinod Kashyap
26 Hem Bhatnaghar 64 Pushpa-Sunder 102 Sangeeta Sabarwal
27 Ipsita Barua 65 R P Bhatnaghar 103 Nandini Sunder
28 J K Jain 66 R.D Saxena 104 Urmil
29 J Sidana 67 Rajesh Kocher 105 V.P. Kachwah
30 Jagdish D Vasa 68 Rajinder Bajaj 106 K.C. Gupta
31 K S Bhalla 69 Rani Subramaniam
32 Kanchan Singhal 70 Ranjeet Kaur
33 Kaushlya Shraf 71 Rashmi Singh
34 Kavita Lamba 72 Renu Ahuja
35 Kiran Karnik 73 Renu Bhandari
36 Kirpal Chowdhary
74 Rita Banerji
37 Krishna Lal 75 Rita Sharma
38 Kusham Chopra 76 Ritu Kukreja
Institutional Scrap Donors FY 2012-13
Institution/Org Institution/Org Institution/Org
1 AgaKhan Foundation 31 IBM (Gurgoan) 61 PEACE
3 Alfa G Corp 32 IBM cyber-Park 62 Pulsar Knowledge Centre
4 Attree 33 IBM Sector 199/63 63 Punj Llyod Gurgaon
2 Avantha Holding 34 IBM Silokhra 64 Radio-Mirchi
5 B B C 35 ICCO 65 Ranbaxy Gurgoan
6 B G India 36 IDRC 66 Ranbaxy Okhla
7 Bilt C P
37 India Habitat Centre- Library and Research Center
67
Realistic-Realtors-Delhi,Gurgaon
8 Cincom 38 Insaf 68 RMSI
9 Concar 39 ISLE 69 Royal Bank of Scotland CP
10 Diamantion 40 Lohia 70 Royal Norwegian Embassy
11 Discovery 41 Lovis 71 Embassy of Spain
12 Ekatra 42 Mainhardt 72 SSIPL
13 Ericsson( Noida ) 43 N R I 73 ST Paul School
14 Ericsson(Gurgoan) 44 Nasscom 74 Subhash Mittal
15 Fritolay 45 National Media Centre 75 Swiss Agency for Development and
Page | 55
Cooperation (SDC)
16 Galleri Art 46 NDPL (Rohini) 76 Taffles
17 GIZ Safdarjung 47 NDPL Shalimar-Bagh 77 Tarshi
18 GIZ Pancheel 48 NDPL ( K-Camp) 78 Trimble Navigation
19 49 NDPL (Keshav-Puram) 79 UNICEF
20 Greenpeace 50 NDPL Badali 80 VLCC- Gurgaon
21 India Habitat Learning School
51 NDPL civil line
81 Vaish – Delhi and Gurgaon
22 HCL- Sector 16 52 NDPL Sakti-Nagar 82 Vibgyor brand Service
23 HCL- Sector 3 53 NDPL Tishazari 83 World Bank
24 I B M Sector 62 54 Oxfam
25 I B M Sector 62 55 P H I
26 I B M Sector 63 56 Prime Minister‟s
House - Medical-unit
27 I I F 57 Prime Minister‟s
House – Room no.5
28 IBM Okhla 58 Prime Minister House -
Room no.7
29 IBM Vasant-Kunj 59 Palette Art Gallery
30 IBM (CP) 60 Population-Foundation
![BG Chapter 13 - Vedanta Students...2019/03/13 · S. No. Title Verse Page No. 51. Validity of Sruti as a pramana [Verse 35 –38] 35 –38 2089 to 2132 52. Sruti support for the method](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/5f3f2399d137c51bf9723b7a/bg-chapter-13-vedanta-students-20190313-s-no-title-verse-page-no-51.jpg)
![ANDM 2012/13 ANNUAL REPORT - Alfred Nzo … An… · andm 2012/13 annual report [alfred nzo district municipality 2012/13 annual report] alfred nzo district municipality 2012/13 annual](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/5b686e157f8b9a23188cac1e/andm-201213-annual-report-alfred-nzo-an-andm-201213-annual-report-alfred.jpg)
