Sunday, October 6, 2013

One village. 60 millionaires. The miracle of Hiware Bazar

Hiware Bazar is a village in the Ahmednagar District of MaharashtraIndia. It is noted for its irrigation system and water conservation program, with which it has fought the drought and drinking water problems.[1]

History
The village experienced mass exodus during the severe drought in 1972. However the village experienced a turnaround after 1989, Popatrao Baguji Pawar, the only postgraduate in the village contested for the post of gram panchayat sarpanch and won. He managed to get the illicit 22 liquor retail outlets[2] closed, secure bank loans for famers and started rainwater harvesting, water conservation and management programs, which involved building 52 earthen bunds, percolation tanks, 32 stone bunds and nine check dams. Its development plan was based on village Ralegan Siddhi, 35 km away, also in the same district, turned around by Anna Hazare. By the 1990s, reverse migration started as families started returning home. In 2012, the village with its 235 families and an overall population of 1,250, had a monthly per capita income Rs 30,000, up from Rs. 830 in 1995, plus it had 60 millionaires.[3][4]
In 2012, the joint state and central government plan was announced to establish a national-level centre for training in panchayati raj system forwatershed development, sanitation and capacity building at the village, to be built at a cost of Rs 12-crore.[5]



Links

  1. One village. 60 millionaires. The miracle of Hiware Bazar
  2. The Miracle Water Village, a short film on Hiware Bazar

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