nder the ‘Shamlat Abhiyan’, a day-long chaired by Ms Naseem Akhtar Insaaf, the State workshop was co-organised by the Depart- Minister for Education, Government of Rajasthan. Ument of Rural Development and Pancha- The workshop was marked by the presence of six

yati Raj, Government of Rajasthan and FES on 24th members of the state legislative assembly from March in Bhilwara, Rajasthan with the objective of Bhilwara, cutting across party lines, as well as the sharing and discussing the provisions of the Draft District Collector and the District and Sessions Rajasthan Common Land Policy and arriving at the Court Judge. future course of action for protecting and restoring Informing and Sensitizingthe common lands in the state. The key provisions of the Rajasthan Common Land Over 700 people hailing from Bhilwara and Policy were shared with the participants by Pratapgarh districts, including key people’s resource persons from FES – Mr B.K.Sharma, representatives, community leaders and govern- Regional Team Leader, FES, Mr Yash Sethia and Ms ment officials, attended the workshop. Dr C.P. Dimpal. Highlighting the criticality of Commons Joshi, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Bhilwara and for the rural poor, especially the significance of the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Commons-Livestock-Agriculture interaction for was the Chief Guest at the workshop, and it was rural livelihoods, their presentations impressed

‘Shamlat Abhiyan’: State Level Workshop held in Bhilwara

Chief Guest Dr C.P. Joshi, MP Bhilwara and Hon’ble Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, appraises himself with the Draft Common Land Policy for Rajasthan at the first ‘Shamlat Abhiyan’ workshop.

Artists of Lok Tarang Manch put up a variety of entertaining shows on the issue of Commons in the folk idiom.

Mediapersons listen with rapt attention as Ms NaseemAkhtar Insaaf, State Minister for Education speaks.

Participants are absorbed in one of the many postersdisplayed outside the auditorium.

upon people the pressing need to protect and conserve common lands.

Stories: During the event, the Sarpanch of Nandray Panchayat narrated the story of his village where the community succeeded in removing encroachments on grazing land and in getting it demarcated. A documentary film, Yeh Shamlat Rahe Shamlati, on the story of Thana village in Bhilwara where again, the village community has been successful in converting revenue wastelands into grazing lands, in establishing strong institutional arrangements for management of common lands and in undertaking development of the land under MGNREGA was shared with the participants. These stories served to inspire other villages to work towards the Commons as well. Many villagers, especially the people’s representatives, appreciated the effort to organize a workshop of this nature as it made them aware of recent policy and legal developments that are extremely relevant for village level development. Some villages also submitted applications regarding the use of MGNREGA and encroach-ments on grazing land. Holding the interest of and enthusing all those present in the workshop on the issue of common lands was the puppet show, drama and dance performance by the folk artists of Lok Tarang

Local yet Global

March 24, 2012

Manch, Chitamba, a village in Bhilwara district.

Keynote AddressesWhile addressing the gathering, Dr Joshi commended FES for its efforts and acknowledged the need for such a Campaign in view of the usual gap between policy formulation and implemen-tation and the need to build awareness at different levels for bridging this gap. Emphasising the key role of Panchayati Raj Institutions, he brought to light the need to reorient the role of Panchayats with a focus on natural resources and improving governance at the local level. He requested the Gram Panchayat represen-tatives to improve the planning process at village/ Panchayat level and incorporate restoration work on common lands under MGNREGA with a focus on increasing biomass and water availability. Dr Joshi also put forth the need to define new and innovative ways of measuring progress—both political and that of government programmes. He requested the people’s representatives and Gram Panchayat leaders to go beyond political boun-daries to secure community rights on Commons.

mentation of the key provisions of the Rajasthan He asked the District Collector, Bhilwara to formu-Common Land Policy. late a five year plan for securing common lands and He suggested that the District Administration and developing them under various programmes. FES should prepare verifiable metrics for the In the light of the Supreme Court judgement and Shamlat Abhiyan with indicators, such as area of orders by the Government of Rajasthan, he directed common land demarcated, fenced, treated under the District Collector, Bhilwara to ensure that no MGNREGA, number of trees planted on the allocation of pasture lands is done for any other common lands etc., through which its impact can usage, and to put in mechanisms for proper imple-be monitored and the efforts can be revised

The Bhilwara Nagar Parishad Town Hall auditorium was packed to capacity for the workshop. Posters with Commons-related messages were prominently exhibited both inside and outside the hall.

FES was a member of the State Level Committee constituted by the Government of Rajasthan in 2010 for evolving policies on common lands and gave major inputs in the drafting of the Draft Common Land Policy. The draft policy was shared for public consultation in a state level workshop co-hosted by Government of Rajasthan and FES in September 2011. The workshop witnessed the launch of the year-long campaign on Commons in Rajasthan, ‘Shamlat Abhiyan’. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was signed between the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Government of Rajasthan, and the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) at this workshop for improving the restoration and governance of natural resources, especially common lands, paved the way for collaborative efforts between FES and GoR to undertake the campaign. FES also contributed significantly to the drafting of the Operational Guidelines for Grazing Land Development under MGNREGA which was released in this workshop and have been issued in the state for implementation.

March 24, 2012

periodically depending on the progress. He also directed the District Collector to provide all land records on common land through Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Suchna Kendra. Dr. Joshi also appreciated the new initiative of FES towards building capacities of Gram Panchayats through Prakriti Karyashala (Rural College) and acknowledged the need for such an institution for building capacities at the local level so that the delivery of government programmes may be improved.In her address, Ms Naseem Akhtar highlighted the need to save common lands and conserve trees and water. Mr Pradeep Singh, MLA, Mandalgarh highlighted the unique work of FES in the district.

campaign and in ensuring the implementation of He argued that the village level planning process

the government orders issued by the Government undertaken by FES is a critical step in improving

of Rajasthan for developing common lands. the implementation of programmes and

Wide Media Coveragestrengthening local governance over common land Leading local dailies such as the Punjab Kesari, and water resources. Dainik Bhaskar, Dainik Navjyoti and Rajasthan The District Collector, Bhilwara, Mr Onkar Singh, Patrika covered the workshop. The event was also emphasised on the need to protect and manage telecast by electronic media like eTV, TV99, HBC common lands and assured the support of the and Sahara TV in their daily news segments.District Administration of Bhilwara in the

Dr C.P. Joshi highlighted the importance of the Campaign for strengthening decentralized governance.

Mr. Pradeep Kumar Singh, appreciating the persistent efforts of FES in Mandalgarh towards the cause of better management of Commons.

The District Collector, Bhilwara assured the whole-hearted support of the District Administration for Shamlat Abhiyan.

The local media enthusiastically picked up the story andgave it wide coverage the following day.

The 700-strong gathering also included a substantialnumber of women participants.

March 24, 2012