THE NAUNI STORY

Baldev Singh Verma was elected pradhan, unopposed, of Nauni gram panchayat in 2006 when this 'model village' was carved out from the Ojghat panchayat.

In a village of 300 households, 150 have toilets in their homes.And they are all soak pit and toilets with bio remediation methods. 90 per cent of the households harvest their own rainwater.

From a village where open defecation was the norm, and water borne diseases were rampant, Verma led this village's transformation into one of India’s finest, self-sustaining model village. The transformation started with discussion, debate and final acceptance by the Gram Sabha, or village council. To use government schemes for transformation ensured speedy, effective and long-term solutions to the issues faced by all.

Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS)
The transformation started when the Gram Pradhan was trained in a program called CLTS by Dr. Kamal Kar. Community Led Total Sanitation is an innovative approach that involves community participation to eliminate open defecation. Making Nauni an open defecation free (ODF) zone was the top priority, one that was shared by the state, which had schemes to support community led efforts to rid villages of this debilitating 'habit'. Through the Gram Panchayat, the villagers learnt about the problems caused by open defecation and as a community, agreed to be a part of the program. It was important to include the socially excluded. For instance, Budhram and Devi Lal, members of the Scheduled Caste community, innovatively used their ginger pits to make a bio-friendly toilet, which was essentially a pit where human excreta was decomposed by bacteria and converted into bio gas and water. Nauni soon was an open defecation free village.

Enhancing Livelihoods
In Nauni, high value vegetables like bell peppers were always grown by the villagers. But the yield was low. The villagers were afraid of the concept and cost of polyhouses.

Through training, the villagers were made aware of the merits of a polyhouse and how, with the joint financial support of the community, they could effectively purchase one. Verma explains, "The entire village agreed to adopt a model where government intervention will be at a minimum and all the resources are ultimately owned by the people collectively". Three hundred families contributed one lakh rupees each to buy polyhouses that increased the yield of the vegetables. With the help of the Pradhan, the villagers were informed of their cost-benefit ratio. The soil was also tested to know the nutrient content so that the right amount of manure could be added.

Women participation was encouraged in all spheres. They were empowered to share their views, feedback and even encouraged to take initiatives. Value addition in the dairy sector was women centric. 'Teach the people', a supplementary to CLTS was implemented to educate the community (especially among the vulnerable, the elderly and children) about various problems faced and their solutions. This initiative has been successful in Nauni.

Connecting the Dots
For a layman 'government schemes' and 'banks' are intimidating. But the villagers in Nauni were educated on the various schemes available, and its effects. Verma explains, "A competitive spirit can act as the biggest driver of action, but for it to be really effective, the process has to be transparent for all". Therefore the villagers were more confident when a particular scheme was implemented and were in full support of the changes that followed.

The Pradhan, with the help of the gram sabha, helped in construction of roads within and beyond the village. The terrain being hilly, roads within the village helped in the easy commute of the villagers as well as easy transport of the produce. The highway built outside the village made connectivity easier to the main city. The government scheme used for this was the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.



With the help of the State and central government schemes, renewable energy sources were installed. Biogas plants and solar lanterns are set up across the village. Rain water harvesting is practiced consciously and substantially. Many water storage structures are constructed all over the village and there are many pipes connecting these to the houses.

The biggest question one can ask is 'what is the future of this model village?' The Pradhan and his team seem to be answering this consequential question by their work and not words.

When you understand the way this village is evolving and growing, one is reminded of Gandhiji's dream of Gram Swaraj or ex-president A.P.J Abdul Kalam's PURA (Providing Urban Amenities to Rural Areas) initiative and how finally it is being practiced.