Transparency and honesty is the mantra of her work, says Vijaypura sarpanch Rukmini Devi Salvi
Rukmini Devi Salvi, sarpanch, Vijapura panchayat, Rajsamand district of Rajasthan
Rukmini Devi Salvi is the sarpanch of Vijapura panchayat in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan. She was recently honoured at the Outstanding Woman Panchayat Leaders Awards held in Delhi by the think tank Institute of Social Sciences (ISS). She was elected as sarpanch in 2010 with just Rs. 2,000 as campaign expenses. In little over a year, she has brought her panchayats solutions for many longrunning problems like access to water. However, most of the work was initiated by her husband Kaluram Salvi who was sarpanch from 2005-10. But Rukmini Devi told Trithesh Nandan that she is not guided by her husband and takes her own decision. She partcularly prides her panchayat's MNREGA record.
How do you feel on winning the award of outstanding woman panchayat leader?
I feel happy and also there has been some very good developmental work initiated earlier by my husband who was sarpanch, and since 2010 by me. I have carried the good work forward.
What major work have you done for the upliftment of the villagers?
Since I took over last year, I have transparency to the administration. One of the things which has been regularised are old age pension in the village. Some of the villagers who did not have land pattas were given land rights. 135 pattas were issued to those villagers who have been living here for long. The gram sabha meetings are conducted regularly. Funds are also utilised in a more efficient way than before to solve villagers’ developmental work. The details of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) work are pasted on the walls of the panchayat office. In terms of MGNREGA, our village is the model village.
What would you say is your biggest achievement in development projects?
I mainly worked on solving the water problem in the village. The panchayat arranged for a dalit woman to supply drinking water to workers at MGNREGA sites. The duty was to be rotated with women from other castes as well. When this system was introduced, there was a lot of resistance from the upper caste villagers. However, this system is still in function and women from every caste are cooperating now. On the panchayat land, we dig tanks to store water. This has also improved water level in the village. We have introduced tree plantation also. There wasn't a single crop in the village until very recently, but now we have three crops in the same year. The availability of water has changed the village's economic status.
As you come from dalit family, do you face any problem running the village panchayat?
Some problems do come but I manage to work around them. I don’t think there is any disruption to my developmental work.
Any special movement against corruption?
The Right to Information (RTI) Act was introduced in the village when my husband Kaluram Salvi was sarpanch. Awareness messages are painted on the walls of home in our village. There are slogans against corruption also. All the data related to my work is available. People from the village file RTI. Since my taking over, at least 40 women have used the RTI to get their entitlements.
How are decisions on the developmental work taken in the village?
We decide everything in the gram sabha meetings held regularly. Plan is made according to the budget available from the government. We take suggestions from people and other panchayat members. The whole process is very transparent and based on consensus among the villagers.
Any pressure from your husband who was also sarpanch?
No. He runs his own business in the village. I am not a rubber stamp sarpanch and also not guided by my husband. I take decision on my own and in consultation with panchayat members and villagers in the gram sabha meetings. But I would also like to make it clear that on some occasions I do consult my husband but the decision is always mine. I am uneducated but the villagers can’t fool me.
