Success Story under Bharat Nirman

Kamalpur – a model village

It has been noted under CB&T that an exposure visit is the most effective tool and method of training for target group of villagers.While designing modules for basic training of Bharat Nirman Volunteers it was felt that the design demands for at least one local exposure visit. Considering the level of literacy of the volunteers and their ability to grasp the task requirements under the strategy, the villageof KAMALPUR was selected for the purpose of giving the volunteers an exposure. However one moot question is - why Kamalpur?A profile of the village tells us its own success story.

  • Profile of Kamalpur

Kamalpur is a village of Prantij block located on national highway and 2 kilometers away from Prantij. The population of Kamalpur is 1410 consisting of different communities and castes such as Patels, Brahmins, Darbars, and Harijans who coexist peacefully. The livelihood of the village is farming and animal husbandry based. Kamalpur has three temples of Lord Rama, Lord Shiva, and Goddess Ashapura. The village has two water tanks, one community health centre, and one milk cooperative society. There are three tube wells exclusively for drinking water facility.Kamalpur has one aanganvadi also.

Kamalpur has a group gram panchayat for village Kamalpur and Sadoliya. ShriRohitbhai B. Chauhan is the Talati cum Mantri for this panchayat. He is running his administration with one clerk, two peons and two bore operators. Village is connected with e-gram connectivity.

Kamalpur Gram Panchayat was established in the year 1957. Kamalpur is a samras village that is the community harmoniously selects a panchayat and within the members then selects a S arpanch. The present Sarpanch of Kamalpur is BhavnabenBalvantbhaiPatel for this term but in previous term (7.3.2003 to 4.3.2008)BalvantbhaiGopalbhaiPatelwas sarpanch who isthe husband of the presentsarpanch.Bhavnaben is chairman of Swajaldhara committee and Gramsukhakari committee too.The Chairman of the Social Justice Committee is VankarRameshbhaiMotibhai.

The members of the Gram Panchayat are;

  1. Patel SimabenRameshbhai.
  2. VankarRameshbhaiMotibhai.
  3. ChauhanShankabenChehusinh.
  4. RavalJeshabhaiMadhabhai.
  5. Patel NikhilkumrNathabhai.
  6. RathodAadarsinhMansinh.
  7. Patel BalvantbhaiGopalbhai.
  • Certain details related to land ownership, land holdings, crops cultivated, population and livestock population are presented here in the tabulated form.

Table-1: Land ownership details:

Sr.No. / Name of Agency / Owned land (in ha)
1 / Private / 373
2 / Uncultivable / 6
3 / Others / 69
Total / 448

Table-2: Land Holdings

Sr.No. / Type of Farmer / Number of farmers
1 / Marginal / 10
2 / Small / 185
3 / Big / 110
Total / 305

Table-3: Crops Cultivated

Sr.No. / Crops / land (in ha)
1 / Vegetables / 280
2 / Cotton / 10
3 / Paddy / 78
4 / Castor / 5
Total / 373

The people of the village are cultivating crops with irrigation facilities that are of two types. 373 hectors of land is irrigated by 60 bore wells and 30 hectors of land is irrigated through 2 canals. This kind of irrigation facilities makes it possible to cultivate cash crops. Thevillagers are growing vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, brinjal, ladyfingers, and beans. They have their own marketing arrangements. Kamalpur has total 8 trucks of ownership by which they are sending their product up to markets of Ahmedabad, Udaipur, Surat and sometimes Delhi also to fetch good market rates.

Table-4: Population of Kamalpur

Sr.No. / Category / Male / Female / Total
1 / S.C. / 110 / 70 / 180
2 / OBC / 410 / 340 / 750
3 / General / 280 / 200 / 480
Total / 800 / 610 / 1410

Table-5: Livestock information of Kamalpur

Sr.No. / Type of Animal / Numbers
1 / Buffalo / 677
2 / Cow / 39
3 / Bullock / 7
4 / Goat / 180
Total / 903

Kamalpur has one milk production and marketing cooperative society also. The society has 90 members and they do not find any problem in sale their milk production. They have hybrid variety of cattle so they are getting more milk production.Kamalpur milk production and marketing cooperative society is giving milk to Sabar Dairy.

  • Some Noticeable Achievements at Kamalpur;
  1. Since last three years villagers are enjoying solar lightsin all streets of Kamalpur which was done in a participatory way with villagers contribution.
  2. The village has covered drainage line throughout the village. This is due to the keen interest of panchayati and the drainiage covering was taken up asa gram panchayat work. Every household has tap water at their house.
  3. Kamlapur has a very good PanchayatGharbuilt with people’s participation.
  4. Panchwatigarden was developed with government grant but villagers have contributed both in cash and labour for the construction of oneShiv temple in that garden, benches for seating, a play station for small kids, and plantation of neem trees. Villagers are celebrating all social functions at this panchvati.
  5. There have been no elections in Kamalpur village for the last two terms, so village has been declared samras village.
  6. 90 % of the village’s roads arecement concrete surfaces.
  7. TCM says that there are four various types of units working in the jurisdiction of Kamalpur gram panchayat i.e. Tudol, Sabar Roller Mill (Aata mill), Market Yard, and Poonam Gas Agency. Gram Panchayat is collecting tax from all these units which makes panchayatself-sufficient and panchayatis able to generate finance its works for development.
  8. The school in Kamalpur is unique. We further tell you its success in some detail

Kamalpur Primary School (KPS) is a unique primary school of District and Block. Ms.Sapnaben D. Patel is the current principal of the KPS. Due to her efforts and enthusiasm KPS has made a difference at village level. She believes that in this era of information, knowledge, technology, and innovations students must have exposure to computers and experience of English language from the beginning. She has introduced English from 1st standard and computer literacy from 3rd standard in her school. As a result students of the school who are appearing for government scholarship in 5th standard are getting 100% success.

While the Government has provided furniture for 5th standard students only, which consists of benches, one computer, one cupboard, one PA address ysstemand a swing for the playground.the joint efforts of principal, sarpanch, staff, and villagers have created a number of facilities for students.They have developed facilities like benches for all other classrooms, one more computer, green board in each classroom, construction of one classroom itself, store room for mid-day meal, stage for prayer, water tank, painting and whitewash of school, completed 75% compound wall of school, shoe stand for each class, stand for plates, and mirror in each class. Everything which is done can help students to follow discipline, cleanliness, create comfort and safety, maintain their health and hygiene, in all it enhances learning capacity of students. School is raising funds from villagers on the occasions of marriages, birthdays, deaths.

Some best practices they have adopted for overall developments of students are;

1.Every Monday writing competition.

2. Every Tuesday Guajarati spelling competition

3. Every Thursday different competitions like storytelling, drawing, singing, sports

4. Offering prize for 100% presence every month

5. Weekly quiz

6. Most important is they are maintaining separate file for every student with his/her photographs and details of likes, dislikes, specialties and all extra curricula activities of the student. Regularly informing every detail to their parents and updating the files.

7. Celebrating all national events and important festivals for the cultivation of patriotism, unity and cooperation with good moral.

8. Uniform is compulsory with tie for every student

9. Strict follow up for use of clean water and sanitation.

KPS has created foundation for the students to make them good citizens and they have given engineers, doctors, teachers, pharmacists, and other graduates to Kamalpur.

  • Kamalpur Aanganvadi:

Kamalpur has one aanganvadi run by ParmarDakshabenHirabhai, who has been its aanganvadi worker for the last 15 years. The total strength of this unit is 71 children out of which 37 are boys and 34 girls. Dakshabensays that there are 5 Self Help Groups in the village. Due to the intervention and social mobilization of the SHG, vices of gutka and liquor are reduced in this village in comparison of other villages of the.

The success of Kamalpur and the reason we have chosen it as a role model for exposure visits of volunteer trainignis because of these women who are active members of the village community.

If you ask a woman what her dream is, she will at once say ‘to somehow be able to change the

destiny of my family and my community’. In a society where women are unable to voice their demands,it is the reservation of 33.3% seats in the Panchayats, for women, that have given them a critical massto represent the issues that affect their lives, and those of their families. It is also the active representation for women in jobs that has ensured that women like Sapnaben and Dakshaben become community leaders and the builders of the next generation.

DR Bharat Patel

Core Faculty (Pubic Admin)

Some photographs