My first tryst with village level politics was back in 1992 when I was elected as a Ward
member. In my first tenure, I was not able to bring about many changes in the Panchayat.
However, this second time, I have been far more confident and conscious of my rights,
and being an active member of a political party has helped significantly. To begin with,
I conducted a survey in the ward to determine the total number of households and list
the BPL families, the unemployed, and the disabled. I mapped out resources like safe
drinking water facilities and communication facilities in the village.I have maintained good relationships with local political parties, MLAs, Anchalik Samiti
Members (Block Panchayat), and Zilla Parishad (District Panchayat) Members. This has
stood me in good stead as I have built a cremation ground, a Buddhist Temple, and a road
in the village using the Member of Parliament’s (MP) fund. I constructed a waiting shed, a
public urinal, an Aanganwadi centre, a school, roads, tube wells etc., using the Panchayat
fund. Forty BPL families benefited through the individual beneficiary selection that was
initiated in the area. Issuing death and birth certificates, Panchayat resident certificates
and annual income certificates facilitated the process of availing loans.Apart from the work of distributing and administrating Panchayat Schemes a Panchayat
representative should also think about the development of society. Keeping this in
mind I took up women’s issues in the Panchayat and whenever we received a complaint
regarding dowry or any other form of violence against women, Panchayat meetings have
been called and appropriate punishments meted out. I managed to stop the sale of local
liquor in the area, with the cooperation of the Police and the Excise Department. I
addressed specific needs of poor women through the Antodaya Scheme, Kutir Jyoti and
provision of cooking gas connections. I also organized trainings for many women and
young girls in nursing and other small industries.I regularly organize cultural programs even in the gram Sabha to make them more
exciting and to bring in a sense of social cohesion. After attending the Women’s
Leadership Workshop conducted by The Hunger Project-NEST, I brought about
significant changes at the Panchayat level with more confidence and faith.I plan to contest the next elections and I am keen to continue the process of development
that I have initiated.Anjali Boruah
Ward Member
Panchayat: Chinapara
Block: Bargchong
District: Jorhat