Badalpara village handed over the reins of its panchayat to women to disrupt thinking and change societal conventions – a remarkable step in a state marred by a skewed sex ratio. Mahatma Gandhi preached a same message many years ago, and it resonated with this quaint little community in Badalpara several decades later.
Badalpara village, located about four kilometres from the temple town of Somnath and winner of the Adarsh gram award for cleanliness, set its own path this year by voting entirely women to its panchayat. The village panchayat, which serves a population of 2,000 people, is in its sixth term, and all of the members — one Sarpanch and eight members — were elected unopposed.
Kantaben Vara was chosen to the coveted office of sarpanch this year, which was reserved for scheduled castes.
Rajiben Barad, a panchayat member said, “in over 70-odd years after Independence, our village has never held any gram panchayat election. This is the sixth term when all women were selected uncontested to rule the village. The villagers have reposed faith in the decisions taken by the women and have been witness to the development the women leaders have brought in after they took charge”.
The village has installed 12 public announcement systems, not only for recreation with bhajans and music, but also for all critical announcements, in addition to pakka roads and 25 CCTV cameras for security. It offers 100% bathroom facilities as well as a library. Near every street, sign boards have been installed with not only the street's name, but also the names of its people. Every home in this area has been equipped with a water connection and a water metre.
The water metres, according to Bikhu Barad, a gram panchayat supervisor, are a precaution to ensure that no one wastes water. He said, “we will allow 15 to 18 litres free water per person but beyond that it is chargeable which will be decided by the next panchayat body”.
The village was declared free of all addictions in 2004, and no one is permitted to use cigarettes or gutkha. The regulation is carefully enforced by the hawk-eyed women's body, with a punishment of Rs 500 imposed by the panchayat on anyone who break it. In an effort to maintain a green environment, the panchayat has planted roughly 10,000 trees in recent years.
