Mendha-Lekha is a small Gond village of around 100 houses nestled in the forests of Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. Following its tribal ethos, Mendha was taking decisions by consensus, but it was an all-male con­sensus. ADVERTISEMENTThe gram sabha, composed of all adult voters, is the ‘government’ at the village level. The gram sabha has accumulated over seven million rupees in its village fund. Mendha tells us that it is essential to endow village communities with rightsover local natural resources to build the country from below.

Source: The Telegraph December 21, 2023 02:18 UTC