INDIA'S FIRST 'MBA' SARPANCH

A jeans-clad, highly qualified woman hardly fits the bill for a sarpanch in rural India. There is, however, an exception in Chhavi Rajawat, who has left her corporate job to address the problems of her village in Rajasthan. ERAM AGHA reports

The changing face of rural Rajasthan is a sarpanch in jeans! Chhavi Rajawat took a de tour in her career by leaving a comfortable corporate job to address the problems of the villagers of Soda district, 60 km from Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Carrying the legacy of her grandfather, Brig Raghubir Singh, Rajawat picked up from where he had left — the Brigadier had retired from the post of sarpanch 20 years prior to Rajawat’s election. Her grandfather had worked hard to provide basic amenities — roads, electricity, schools and hospitals — to the villagers.

Rajawat was not prepared for a village life, but the locals had already set plans for her. “I would give full credit for this change of direction in my life to the inhabitants of this village. I had never planned to fight elections or contest for such a post and perhaps wouldn’t have, had it not been for the persistence of the villagers,” Rajawat says.

Fifty-odd men went a long way in convincing Rajawat to contest elections. But why were they so convinced to have her onboard? “There were many reasons that influenced them. This is my ancestral village where my grandfather was also elected unanimously as sarpanch. He was behind many development activities in the village,” she says.

After his retirement, the village hardly saw any development activities. “After the retirement of my grandfather, the village did not see any significant development. Primarily, owing to their love, faith and respect for my grandfather, the villagers decided to get someone from his family to run for the post,” Rajawat says.

The Soda residents were already familiar with Rajawat, as she used to spend a lot of her vacation in the village. The unbounded energy of hers found expression in hopping around from one house to another in the village.

She would often jump onto someone’s tractor and visit the neighbouring villages.

“I, therefore, formed a strong bonding with the villagers at a very young age,” she says, adding: “The team which came calling upon me with this plea, comprised of men older than my father and many as old as my grandpa. These were the men who had carried me on their shoulders and pampered me when I was a child.”

So, Rajawat was left with no choice but to take up the responsibility. She says, “I did not want to let them down... since I am a great believer of the idiom — ‘charity begins at home’ — I wanted to make a difference by starting work in my own backyard. And, being originally from the village, I was aware of all the problems. I had the nagging thought that if an insider like me did not come forward to help, then how could an outsider be expected to do the same?”

“I have seen, observed and become aware of the issues that exist. Also, I have noticed how, over the years, problems have only got aggregated in my village,” says the sarpanch.

Rajawat’s MBA experience and Lady Shri Ram College education helped her in her endeavour. “Through my education I am able to better manage projects, prioritise tasks, balance budgets and even create reports for the village. This, I believe, helps me win credibility when I meet government officials,” she says, emphasising the importance of an educated leader in rural areas.

On March 25, 2011, Rajawat addressed the 11th Info-Poverty World Conference at the United Nations. “I believe I was the only one there (at the UN) representing the grassroots,” she says. “There was no clear understanding of the grassroots issues. But why should we look outside? Even within our country, most people living in cities are unaware of what rural India is all about. There is much to be done,” Rajawat says, adding: “Rural development is as important as urban development. It needs to be understood that if rural areas are neglected, then the migration to cities will increase, ending up creating chaos in urban centres.”

The battle had just begun for Rajawat after her election victory. Issues like safe drinking water, education and sanitation were lined up for her attention. First and foremost was the water conservation project, which aimed to dig afresh the village’s main reservoir covering an area of 100 acres.

In Soda, the limited groundwater is unsafe even for agriculture, as it is saline and has high natural contamination, resulting in high skeletal and dental fluorosis. Due to the lack of water between mid-March and August, life becomes very difficult in the village. Conserving rainwater is the only way to have safe drinking water. The project, therefore, aims to conserve rainwater.

“Of 100 acres of reservoir needing to be excavated and strengthened, we have been able to excavate only 10 acres through personal funding from friends and family. Today, only this excavated area provides drinking water to the villagers,” Rajawat says.

“Of 1,000 houses, not even one per cent have toilets. We intend to construct toilets in each and every household. For reforestation, approximately 1,200 bighas of forest and pastureland need to be revived. As for education, the high school here has Hindi literature, Sanskrit literature and Geography available for the 11th and 12th standard students. Just imagine the future they have in store,” she rues.

As a visionary, Rajawat wants agriculture, animal husbandry and horticulture to be taught to schoolchildren. These lessons will not only provide technical know-how, but also equip them with tools to improve the yield. Since agriculture and animal husbandry are the only source of income for the villagers, the move is much needed.

Rajawat’s wish-list is long and challenging, and in the span of one-and-a-half years she has been exposed to some shocking realities. She asks, “Would you believe, companies that are already selling their products and services in the village said, in a flip-flop, that they couldn’t help the village because it was not located in close proximity to their plant or unit! It might be worth mentioning here that our district, apart from being one of the most backward districts of Rajasthan, has no industry. Does that mean the villages here should not be supported at all?”

Rajawat is not going to take it lying down. After all, grassroots service lies in her jeans. Err... I mean genes!