End Game

"Conflict builds character. Crisis defines it."

I spent the late afternoon today watching one of my favourite movies, 'A Few Good Men' starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore and Kevin Bacon. Though I have seen it a number of times, I still cannot get enough of it. Brilliant performances by the leading and supporting cast and the crisp script make it a must-watch.

Coming to the number of good men, there are hardly any when it comes to the murky world of Indian politics. But there is a general feeling that the incumbent Home Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, RR Patil is as clean as you would like them to be. I do not know and cannot tell how far that might be true, but there is a certain difference about that man.

Today in a small column, The Times carried a news-piece about the the state EC, Nand Lal putting the brakes on the Deputy CM's pet project, the Mahatma Gandhi Tanta Mukta Gaon Mohim which roughly translated means, Strife-free villages Campaign.

The campaign aims at ridding many of Maharashtra's villages from strifes that continue to plague them. More thrust will be laid on crime and land disputes. The plan envisages the formation of local committees that will deliberate on land disputes. These committees will work with the gram panchayats and try to resolve many disputes. The committee will include the local police and revenue department officials for resolving land disputes.

Many petty crimes can be settled by this committee. There have also been proposals to amend the law to empower these committees to take action against violators. Villages which declare themselves as strife-free will be getting cash rewards of Rs. 100,000. These funds can be used for the village community's development.

Also it is hoped that resolving land disputes at the local level itself will reduce the number of litigations in the courts and thus ease the pressure on the judicial machinery. This, in the long run, will be an important by-product of the campaign, if it is successful.

The idea is brilliant. This is just on the same lines as that of the highly successful Sant Gadgebaba Gram Swachhata Abhiyan, also the brainchild of Mr. Patil, that offered villages cash rewards (and even media coverage!) if they keep the whole village clean and sanitised. The campaign has been the precursor to the Centre's 'Nirmal Gaon Yojana' which is on the same lines. The campaign has been appreciated by international groups and is one of the shining example of how to bring people together on issues that matter to them.

And this is where the Strife-free villages campaign will meet its biggest challenge. Many of the land disputes are of personal nature and do not affect the community as a whole. It also involves land and property that might be worth a lot of money. How will the committee make the two parties come to an agreement and an amicable solution to the dispute is to be seen. For that we will definitely need a robust grievance redressal mechanism. Also many cases of land grabbing involve small farmers up against land sharks and big landlords. And the committee might have on board the very same officials who might have worked in collusion with those very same land sharks. How will a person get justice?

It is also a known fact that our villages are divided along caste lines. The committee should have an adequate representation of the deprived sections of the village community. But above all
there should be adequate dissemination of awareness about the rights of the villagers and their duties, of course. Everyone in the village should know basic legal procedures for buying, selling, transferring land, so that others do not take them for a ride. This can be done by holding seminar sessions and Q&A sessions with the villagers by the same committees.

If implemented well, the innovative campaign can have far reaching effects in the hinterland of the state. It could also serve as a model for development of villages across the country and even the world! Social development and economic development always go hand in hand. We have competent IAS officers in the state and an able Deputy CM. I am sure we will soon have Doordarshan's Sahyadri Vaahini covering conflict-free villages and villagers exhorting others like them to bury the hatchet when it comes to strifes and not throw in the towel when it comes to fighting for their rights.

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