To,                                                                                                                   Date: 04-09-2018
Prof. Virendra K Vijay
National Coordinator
Head, Centre for Rural Development
IIT Delhi
Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016

Sub: Report regarding Gramasabha.

Sir,
While thanking the Ministry of Human Resource Development and IIT Delhi for providing us an opportunity to take part in Unnat Bharat Abhiyan scheme, I hereby submit report regarding Gramasabha attended by the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan Cell of our College. The first Gramasabha was organized by Chikkanahalli Gram Panchayat at Donenahalli village on 27-08-2018. The team with Principal, Co-ordinator, 10 senior faculties of Different Departments from various streams also 50 students of UBA cell of our College attended the Gramasabha to identify the prioritized top 2-3 problems of each village adopted by the college under the scheme.

The team reached Donenahalli village at 11:00 am and met the President, Vice-president, members, Panchayat Development Officer and officials of the different Government Departments and keenly made some important observations in the Gramasabha. The Principal of the college Dr. Snehalatha G.Nadiger and the Co-ordinator Mr.Mahantesh B.Havani addressed the gathering and explained about Unnat Bharat Abhiyan scheme. During the Gramasabha the villagers discussed various problems faced by them. Few of the problems are as follows, with the possible solutions.

  1. Poor healthcare facilities: The villages adopted by the college are facing problems on non-availability of basic healthcare facilities such as hospitals, ambulance and medical shops. This problem can be solved by setting up a clinic in the Panchayat headquarter Chikkanahalli with the cooperation of Gram Panchyat under NRHM and National AYUSH Mission.
  2. Poor Educational infrastructure: The other major problem in the villages is a lack of basic educational facilities, poor educational infrastructure such as lack of adequate number of teachers and classrooms, insufficient teaching aids, non-availability of playgrounds and untidy school environment. All these issues have resulted in low enrolment rate. This problem can be solved through the adoption of schools by various Corporate Houses like Infosys, Wipro, under Corporate Social Responsibility activities and other available Government schemes.
  3. Problem of Unemployment and Substance Abuse: Unemployment among youth is high due to lack of employable skills. This has resulted in increased frustration and substance abuse among youth.
    This problem can be curbed through setting up of skill training centers at Chikkanahalli village with the help of Banks and NGOs and other available Government schemes.
  4. Lack of Banking Facilities: Another severe problem faced by the villages is a lack of banking and financial services. This problem can be solved with help of elected representatives such as MLA, MLC and MPs who can recommend and help in the establishment of Cooperative Banks, with ATM facilities.

The above mentioned problems are similar in all the five adopted villages. These problems can be solved with an integrated Development Plan for all the villages instead of individual village development plans for each of the villages. Further, before proceeding, we plan to do a ground reality check to verify whether the problems posed by the villagers in Gramasabha are true or not. This will be done by our Unnat Bharat Abhiyan student volunteers by visiting the villages and inspecting the schools and hospitals. They will also be involved in a household survey during the months of September and October. The team returned to Bangalore late in the evening after a fruitful time spent in the Gramasabha session.

With Regards,
Mahantesh.B.Havani
Co-ordinator, UBA Cell
Faculty, Department of Economics
NMKRV College for Women
Bangalore-560011