MADHYA PRADESH DARSHAN III EDITION

RURAL IMMERSION 2011

Group2Gwalior
SubmittedBy:
AbhinavKumar

ChintaGowriPrasad
IshankKataria
OmPrakashVerma
PrasadPawar
PrasadPatil
RahulSingh
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VipulSingh
VivekDhaka

Basic Statistics about the district

Gwalior City is a District in Madhya Pradesh State near Agra. The new section of the city called
Lashkar. Lashkar is few miles south from the old city. It is the site of factories producing cotton,
yarn, paint, ceramics, chemicals, and leather products. The nucleus of Gwalior is a citadel crowning
an isolated rock about 91 m (300 ft) high, 3.2 km (2 mi) long, and 823 m (2700 ft) wide. The rock is
said to have been a strong hold for more than Ten Centuries and Old city is located in the Eastern base
of the rock. The old city is covered with white sandstone Mosque, Palaces, rock temples and statues
of archaeological and architectural interest. When Madhya Bharat became part of Madhya Pradesh, it
becomes separate District. Gwalior had a population of 1,053,505. Males constitute 53% of the
population and females 47%. Gwalior has an average literacy rate of 85.20%, higher than the national
average of 74%
Total Area Details
Total Area

5214.00 sq.kms.

Forest Area

1091.79 sq kms

Net sown area

2601.42 sq.kms

No. of Households

209.12 thousands

Net irrigated area

911.93 sq.kms

Activity basis recording of major activities

28/11/11
The team's day started off with a meeting with the CEO of Gwalior District, Mr. Ashish Kumar, in the
Jila Panchayat office. He made us aware of the statistics like general population, rural population,
labour work force, wage rates etc. of the district. We were then taken on a field visit. The field visit
gave us a first-hand experience and learning about the different government schemes being
implemented in rural areas.
29/11/11
The team was taken to the collectors office so that we can understand how the Jan Sunwai works. We
were informed how the process helps to speed up the judicial process and also somewhat eliminates
the chances of injustice to the people.
30/12/11
Present at meeting of Watershed Chairman and Secretaries at Jila Panchayat with CEO of Gwalior
District.
01/12/11
The team was given the day off to work on the presentation and gather data about livelihood options
other than farming that were suitable for the climate and geographical conditions of the area. These
options were supposed to be presented to the farmers of Lohagarh village along with convincing
enough data.
02/12/11
The team presented our research and findings about viable livelihood options to the farmers of
Lohagarh village which was a highly interactive and successful session.

03/12/11
The team left for IIM Indore.
Reflections on the entire trip rural areas, people, govt, life
Often when we think of rural life in India -vivid effigies of mud plastered walls, shady trees, green
fields, dung cakes, uneven roads, bullock carts and deep dark wells which becharm our minds. Our
perception was not quite different from the others. But to our surprise the awareness level of people in
rural areas has changed significantly. The attitude of earning enough to meet their basic needs and
meet livelihood is gradually shifting. They have started craving for smaller luxuries of life as the
disposable incomes of villagers are rising. They are now very much aware of brands, urban products,
modern equipments and technologies. But again not everyone has access to all these amenities. The
people from lower strata of society are often influenced by the decisions made by the elders and the
Panchayat of the village. Significant efforts have been made to impart basic primary education to rural
children by the government. Infrastructure and reach of the village from the city were still a problem.
Farming has been the main occupation of villagers in Gwalior district. However, Government has
taken significant efforts to engage people in other occupations like poultry farming, dairy products
manufacturing etc. Also the villagers seemed receptive of the various ideas which had been suggested
by us, as an alternate source of income in addition to their fixed earnings. In all the rural population
cannot be underestimated anymore and can act as a significant market. The rural myth of people being
ignorant is thus soon to be busted and this nascent stage in the change in the outlook of urban people
about rural people can help us in the long run
Great feat of a local visionary, developmental wonder or humbling experience
During our visit at Jila Panchayat Gwalior the present CEO told us about the vision of
previous collector as he was from Botany background so he has great interest in Plantation.
He was involved in extensive plantation scheme around Gwalior district. Even people from
other parts of India visit Gwalior to see Lohagarh (One of the plantation site). Also under his
vision villages which were once unapproachable were connected by roads under GOI
(MNREGA) and MP Govt. Scheme.
Observation of schemes through field visit to Dabra, Bhitarwar, Murar, Sikrauda and ZILA
PANCHAYAT PARIYOJANA meetings and our experience
The Rural Immersion program was an overwhelming experience as we got sensitized to the rural
lifestyle, environment, communication and behaviour etc. We were informed about various schemes
pertinent to the betterment of the rural population in blocks and panchayats in Gwalior district. The
field visits to a few panchayats helped us to understand the intricacies of these schemes. The table
below provides important schemes under progress in Gwalior district (Exhibit 1). We also learnt about
the various forms of livelihood followed in different blocks; farming, cattle-breeding, and milk dairy
are the prominent ones. After developing a greater sensitivity and insight about the issues faced by the
majority of the population, we presented them different ways to generate income. (Making carpet,
candle, etc. and fish-harvesting including shoe-making)

Exhibit 1:-

Sl. No.

Name of Scheme

Physical progress
Target Achievement

SGSY (credit
Mobilization)

Financial progress
amounts in millions
Target

Achievement

986

180.88

300.25

(A) 80% of
Housing

661

632

131.68

131.66

(B) 20% of
Housing

332

314

35.01

35

Prime Yojana
(Rural Housing)

32

27

6.51

6.40

Integrated
wasteland
development
Program

9803 O

8621.288 O

112.622

86.118

SGSY (Sampurna
Gramin Rojgar
Yojana)

1129

817

375.41

271.9

11 th Annual
Commission

104

67

133.55

91.02

IAY (Indira Awaas

Yojana)
2