{"id":67819,"date":"2025-11-06T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/?post_type=article&p=67819"},"modified":"2025-11-06T11:57:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T06:27:52","slug":"hamaare-gaon-mein-hum-hi-sarkaar-reclaiming-commons-across-india","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/article\/rights\/hamaare-gaon-mein-hum-hi-sarkaar-reclaiming-commons-across-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamaare gaon mein hum hi sarkaar: Reclaiming commons across India"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every week, families in Hastinapur volunteer to patrol the village’s charagah zameen <\/em>(common pastureland). Located in the Bhilwara district in southern Rajasthan, Hastinapur is among several villages across India where people have come together to revive and govern common lands.<\/p>

Rajasthan’s Panchayati Raj Act<\/a> has a specific provision for a charagah vikas samiti<\/a> (pastureland development committee) in every revenue village<\/a>. It is a constitutional body, headed by the ward panch, with the responsibility of managing, developing, and conserving this land.<\/p>

Since charagah<\/em> is essentially open, public land, its boundaries aren’t clearly defined, which leads to conflict between villages. In Hastinapur, upon formation of the committee, <\/em>the villagers first demarcated the land that belonged to them. The revenue department then did its own survey and informed the village about their share of land.<\/p>

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Following this, the charagah vikas samiti, with support from the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), fenced off the land with cactus bushes to protect it from encroachment. A three-month ban was imposed on grazing so that the grass and trees could be revived. The samiti also presented proposals to the panchayat to grow diverse, traditional varieties of trees on the land; to dig a pond under MGNREGA; and to build a drainage system so water could collect and nourish the soil, trees, and grass.<\/p>

“Now, not only does the charagah<\/em> land provide grazing grass for livestock, but surplus grass is also sold and the money is invested into the development of the charagah,” <\/em>says Paras Banjara, the director of the Olakhaan Trust and a social-cultural activist from Rajasthan. He highlights a key point about the governance of commons in India: When the protection of commons is vested in the people who have been managing these resources for centuries, when local governance institutions facilitate community stewardship, and when administrative mechanisms don’t become an obstacle in this process, that is when commons thrive.<\/p>

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Rajasthan’s Panchayati Raj Act has a specific provision for a charagah vikas samiti (pastureland development committee) in every revenue village. | Picture courtesy: Kalahandi Gram Sabha Mahasangh<\/figcaption><\/figure>