A Maharashtra village's journey from 'punishment zone' to award winning watershed management

The story of Hiware Bazar Village in Ahmednagar of Maharashtra is one of rural revolution.

Situated in the rain shadow region of the Western Ghats, natural resources were scarce in Hiware Bazar village in Maharashtra. On an average, there are merely 35 rainy days per year but this village has gone on to become an inspiration for many across the country.

From a drought-prone village that was the ideal spot for punishment transfers for government officials, the village today has set gold standards in the field of watershed management. It owes its success to Popatrao Bajugi Pawar, an enterprising Sarpanch who led the journey of transformation from a drought-prone village to a green and prosperous
model village.

The village banked upon its strengths. The local vegetation cover comprises of shrubbery and a few native variety of trees and in 1994, Joint Forest Management (JFM) programme resulted in regeneration of complete degradation of 70 hectares of village forest and the
catchments of the village wells.

The village collectively worked to improve the water balance sheet with rain water harvesting. This resulted in ground water level rising from 75 feet to 22 feet. Change in cropping pattern from traditional crops to various horticultural and cash crops was implemented. This increased cropping intensity and fodder availability. As a result, the
village saw an increased in cow based economy like milk and milk products. Organic farming is what the farmers here support.

Key concerns for substantial energy needs are met through biogas and solar sources in this village. Today, a trend of reverse migration is witnessed in the village due to the implementation of Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Conditional cash transfer (CCT) scheme.

People who left to the city are returning to their homeland. Hiware Bazar has received multiple awards. Ideal Village Award, National Productivity Award in Dryland Farming and National Water Award are some of them.

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