As reports of an imminent increase in oil prices began making headlines about two months ago, the gram sabha of Hiwre Bazaar in Ahmednagar district, about 300 km from Mumbai and home to about 1,300 people, passed a resolution urging residents not to use motor vehicles within the village and encouraged pooling automobiles and the use of bicycles.

Although the impact may seem like a drop in the global fuel ocean, it is nevertheless bringing some cheer to the villagers. Hiwre Bazaar is heading towards saving about 100 litres of petrol everyday and many villagers who have aggressively adopted the resolution claim they have cut their fuel expenses by 50 per cent.

“Our village has always been thinking ahead of its time,” says sarpanch Popatrao Pawar, the brain behind an idea economists and finance ministers would heartily endorse. “According our estimates, we plan to save 100 litres of petrol everyday by pooling and switching to bicycles. People here go far for work and most of them have vehicles. So by better co-ordination and pooling, enough fuel can be saved.”

Residents of the village are quick to point out that their economising is not forced by poverty or their inability to afford petrol and diesel. The largely farming village of 236 families has 307 vehicles — 268 motorbikes, 22 four-wheelers and 17 tractors. In fact, 25 per cent of the families are millionaires, they add.

Rajendra Pawar, 36, one of four tempo-owners in the village, says that in the past each one would go to Ahmednagar, 16 km away, separately to sell vegetables. “At that time, the profit used to get divided between us. But now each one takes turns going to the city. This not only saves our diesel and transportation cost but has also increased our profits.

Now, we use our tempos for some other purpose on a lean day,” he said.

Rajendra Thumbe and Rajendra Sumbe, both teachers at Nimga Waga village, 16 km from Hiwre Bazaar, give rides to each other on their motorbikes every week “after proper co-ordination”. “We save Rs 300 every month over fuel which otherwise used to cost us Rs 600,” said Thumbe.

Raosaheb Ranoji Pawar (82), who bought the first motorbike in the village in 1970, but now rides a bicycle, has a different take on the resolution. “It is much healthier to ride a bicycle than a motorbike. These young boys get exhausted after cycling and all due to their habits,” he said.

While neighbouring villages and government agencies are amazed by the move, it is just the latest in a series of progressive steps for residents of Hiwre Bazaar. When the village was drought-hit years ago, residents took to water harvesting and also started to protect the forests around it, winning accolades and drawing the attention of national and international agencies which came to study their success.

Villagers now farm through the year due to abundance of water. In 2000, the village passed a resolution making HIV tests mandatory before marriage. It also passed a resolution preventing land sale to outsiders. Village resolutions, including the one on fuel consumption, are rarely violated as residents say they are close-knit community.

“Our village has always been an example for others,” says sarpanch Pawar, a masters in commerce from Pune University and a cricketer, who chose to return to Hiwre Bazaar after his education in 1985. “We don’t want to claim that we are doing anything great, but if a small village can do this, and if others can at least follow our model, we can save enough of our foreign currency used for buying fuel.”