March 2025 Trip Report

Dear Friends,

By God's grace, we successfully completed our Odisha program, marking a significant milestone in our journey toward establishing the Gandhian Modern Eco-Village, Village Swaraj's first Pilot Project in Odisha.

We traveled from Mumbai to Bhubaneswar by air and proceeded to Manitara by taxi. On March 12th, we celebrated the unveiling of Mahatma Gandhi Ji’s statue at the proposed 4gashram /Vanaprasta Ashram for like-minded Senior Citizens from different streams of life with deep respect for Mahatma Gandhi and his values who can contribute in some way to the proposed Gandhian Modern Eco-village, Village Swaraj 1st Pilot Project in Odisha. We also visited the proposed sites for the Naturopathy Centre, a Cottage Industry for local tribals and women, a Natural Food Forest, a prayogsala for promoting natural food forests, and a Cooperative Agro-Enterprise for Organic / Natural Farming. After our work in Manitara, we returned to Bhubaneswar and then flew back to Mumbai.

Past vs. Present: The Transformation of Village Life

In my father-in-law’s time, life in the village was self-sufficient and eco-friendly. Villagers met their food needs through local labor and self-sustaining agriculture. Farmers grew an abundance of fruits and vegetables without chemical fertilizers. Surface and groundwater were readily available, with wells and ponds ensuring water security. There was no shortage of agricultural labor, and migration to cities was rare. Dense forests preserved topsoil, water, and biodiversity, providing seasonal fruits, nuts, honey, and medicinal herbs like Neem, Harida, Bahada, and Amala.

Thanks to the sincere efforts of the Odisha state government, some significant improvements have taken place in the past decade: There is now excellent road connectivity between Bhubaneswar and Manitara, lined with fresh air and greenery. Many village women have received education and are employed as school teachers and government employees. Most villagers now have water pipelines, gas connections, and toilets in their homes.

Major Concerns and Challenges

• Farmer Exploitation: Farmers are not receiving minimum support prices (MSP) for their produce, forcing them to sell their land at unfair rates.

Massive Migration: Skilled and unskilled workers are migrating to cities, leading to labor shortages in agriculture.

• Limited Crop Diversity: Since the government only purchases reasonably priced paddy, most farmers grow paddy only once a year.

Wildlife Damage: Increased deforestation has led to rising incidents of crop destruction by elephants, monkeys, etc., yet farmers receive no compensation.

• Soil & Water Contamination: The widespread use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides degrades the soil and contaminates groundwater.

Loss of Ecologically Valuable Trees: Sacred trees like Banyan, Peepal, and Neem, which were once protected for religious reasons, are disappearing.

• Alcohol Addiction Crisis: Illicit liquor production and consumption have surged, causing serious social and health problems, yet authorities remain indifferent.

Lack of Government Support: Villagers fear retaliation if they complain about issues to government officials. Legal justice is inaccessible to most due to financial constraints.

Solutions to Prevent Desertification & Farmer Suicide

To restore ecological balance and improve the livelihoods of farmers, we propose the following steps:

• Promote Cooperative Organic / Natural Farming to make agriculture sustainable and profitable.

• Strict Regulation of Land Transactions: Ensure corporate agents do not exploit farmers or degrade the environment through excessive groundwater harvesting and chemical use.

• Tree Plantation Drives: In the context of the present grave Global Warming and Climate Change crisis, reforestation with zero deforestation as far as possible must be promoted, ensuring the plantation of only local trees.

• Reviving Sacred Trees: High-oxygen-producing, carbon dioxide-absorbing, and soil-preserving trees like Banyan, Peepal, and Neem should be planted on government and village common lands.

The Vision: A Nationwide Gandhian non-violent Movement / Satyagraha for creating Gandhian Modern Eco-Villages, Village Swaraj

Suppose we succeed in establishing our first Gandhian Modern Eco-Village Pilot Project in Odisha. In that case, it will serve as a role model for sustainable rural development for our country and the world. We firmly believe that this initiative will inspire the creation of thousands of similar villages across rural India. This movement can lead to reverse migration, drawing people away from the pollution and congestion of cities and back to a more harmonious, eco-friendly rural life.

We sincerely hope that state and central government authorities, noble industrialists, and philanthropists will support this profoundly noble cause.

A Call to Action

Mahatma Gandhi envisioned self-sufficient, sustainable, and equitable villages as the backbone of India. We must know that the fundamentally ethics-based, Eco-friendly, village-friendly, agro-friendly, just, sustainable loving, and caring Gandhian non-violent culture of decentralized industrialization and urbanization, which is based on the fundamental ethics of all great religions in the context of our present world, is perhaps the only surest permanent rational solution available to us for avoiding the impending catastrophic consequences of the present very grave global environmental crises in general and the crisis of global warming and climate change in particular. (Please visit our websites, www.savegangamovent.org, and www.4gashram.org, for a deep, detailed discussion on this issue.)

We must act now to ensure a healthy future for our planet, masses, future generations, and the voiceless life forms that share this Earth with us.

Mrs. Rama Rauta

Chairperson: Gandhian Modern Eco-village, Village Swaraj Pilot Project, Odisha

President: National Women's Organization, Pune

Former Expert Member: National Ganga River Basin Authority, Government of India

Former Member: Expert Advisory Committee, Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of WR, RD & GR, Government of India

Founder: Save Ganga Movement

Websites: www.savegangamovement.org | www.4gashram.org

Email: ramarauta29@gmail.com | Mobile: +91-9930537344