Mendha Village Gets ‘Gram Panchayat Status’ Under Gramdan Act

Context: 

Recently, Mendha village in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra gets separate Gram Panchayat status under Gramdan Act

After 10 years struggle, Mendha Gets Separate Gram Panchayat Status Under Gramdan Act

• Mendha Village’s Struggle for Self-Rule: The battle for Gramdan implementation in Mendha commenced over a decade ago in 2013.

• Legal Recognition: In October 2023, Mendha attained Gramdan status following a directive from the Bombay High Court .
• Gram Panchayat Notification: On February 21, 2024 the Maharashtra government finally issued a notification declaring Mendha as an independent Gram Panchayat under The Maharashtra Gramdan Act, 1964.It marked a significant milestone in the residents’ struggle for sovereignty over their forests and land. 
  • It grants extensive powers and responsibilities to the Gram Sabha for the administration, development, and welfare of the village. 

Gramdan or Bhoodan Movement: Initiated by Vinoba Bhave

• The Bhoodan Movement, initiated by Vinoba Bhave in the 1950s, was an attempt at land reform, at bringing about institutional changes in agriculture, like land redistribution in rural India in post independence.
• Objectives Of Bhoodan Movement
  • To bring about a social order based on equality of opportunities by ensuring balanced economic distribution. 
  • Decentralization of economic holdings and powers

• Gramdan: Towards of the end of 1955, the movements in India took a new form, that of Gramdan or ‘donation of village’
• • Objective of the Gramdan movements : To persuade landowners and leaseholders in each village to renounce their land rights and all the lands would become the property of a village association for egalitarian redistribution and joint cultivation.
  • Political Support: The movements in India received widespread political patronage. Several state governments passed laws aimed at Gramdan and Bhoodan.
  • Gramdan Significance:
    • The movement not only facilitates equitable distribution of land but also empowers communities towards self-governance and sustainable resource management. 
    • Future Prospects: It will assert  autonomy and realize its vision of self-rule and sustainable development.

Gramdan Across India 

• The first village to come under Gramdan, was Magroth, Haripur, Uttar Pradesh. The second and third took place in Orissa In 1955. 
• Currently, India has 3,660 Gramdan villages spread across seven states, with Odisha leading with 1,309 villages.

News Source : DTE

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