Women Leaders in Village Panchayats

I live with my husband at Tarbod, two kilometers away from our village of

gohirapadar. My only daughter and her family also live with us. We all depend

upon the income of my husband, Badrinarayan, who is an employee in the

Horticulture Department. We own 2 acres of agricultural land, which helps

support the family’s sustenance to a certain extent. My father, who is a resident

in nearby Chhatisgarh State, was elected as President twice in his life. Even my

grand father was a freedom fighter. Hence, inspired by them, from early child

hood, I had an inner desire to join the local governance process. My desire was

fulfilled when Tarbod gP was reserved for SC (W) in the PRI elections held

in 2007. I contested with four other candidates and defeated my nearest rival

by 360 votes. I was given immense support from women groups in my village,

as I am myself a member of a SHg.

However, it was my inner desire to be a President. However, initially I lacked

essential information in managing the day-to-day affairs of the Panchayat.

I had to depend upon the secretary and other officials or local people to

guide me. Even though I felt exploited and faced other difficulties, I had no

other option. Fortunately, FARR, a local NgO organized a 5 days training

workshop on leadership building. Seizing this opportunity, I attended

all 5 days of the workshop and was able to increase my knowledge, skills

and capabilities.

In July 2008, when the Chief Minister of Orissa declared that under the Public

Distribution System (PDS) rice would be sold for Rs.2/- a Kilo both for BPL

and APL households of the Kalahandi, Balangir, Koraput (KBK) region, great

political pressure was put upon me, as Tarbod is a highly politically sensitive

area. Official orders to my Panchayat were to select only 180 above poverty

line households, whereas the demand was much higher than that. Selecting

the right beneficiaries became a rather daunting task! I therefore decided

to involve the people of the entire Panchayat in the selection of the actual

beneficiaries. Therefore, the selection process was started from the Palli Sabha

held in each village and only then; a list of 180 beneficiaries was finalized

at the gram Sabha. Selecting these primary beneficiaries was a very difficult

task as pressure from influential groups gradually increased. In an effort to

Debaki Sethi
President
Panchayat: Tarbod
Block: Komna
District: Naupada