Today, however, Hiware Bazaar has a whole new claim to fame. Of the 216 families in the village, one fourth are millionaires with an income of over Rs 10 lakh a year. Apart from these 54 millionaire families, the per capita income of the village, at Rs 24,000, is almost thrice the average of the top 10 per cent of rural areas nationwide and the average income has apparently risen 20 times in the past 15 years.

While in 1992, 168 of the 180 families lived below the poverty line, the figure went down to 53 in 2000 (among 210 families) and to three (out of 226 families) in 2007. “Our aim for 2008 is to make this figure zero. The Gram Sabha will give land to these three families and make sure their status is elevated,” said Poptarao Pawar, the sarpanch of the village who scripted the amazing turnaround after he took over in 1992.

“The main problems the village faced were that it fell in the rain shadow area with an average rainfall of just 350-400 mm, heavy soil erosion, degradation of natural resources, and scarcity of drinking water, fodder and wood for fuel. Given the situation, there was mass migration and those who stayed back indulged in crimes and drank all day. The village became a punishment posting for government officers and teachers,” said Pawar, a B.Com graduate, who as sarpanch decided to use funds from government schemes like the Employment Guarantee Scheme to regenerate the village’s natural resources—soil, water and forests—and put together a transparent administration led by a strong gram sabha.

... contd.