One of the main reasons why children from rural backgrounds are unable to compete with their colleagues from urban areas is the lack of similar exposure to books, learning and community spaces.
Senior IAS officer and Additional Chief Secretary, Panchayati Raj, Karnataka, Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta, along with her team of officers and with the help of panchayats, has brought a sea change in rural literacy in Karnataka by opening rural libraries for children and empowering them with books, computers and even the smart speaker, Alexa, in some panchayats.
Mahadevan spoke passionately about the ‘Oduva Belaku’ (The Light of Reading) movement in Karnataka, which was inaugurated during the first Covid-19 pandemic year in 2020 among other important issues in the Panchayati Raj while interacting with the editors and staff of The New Sunday.
Express. Excerpts:
How has ‘Oduva Belaku’ shaped up since its inception?
We know the importance of early literacy and how it helps shape a child’s life and perspective. ‘Oduva Belaku’ was launched across Karnataka in November 2020 during the Covid pandemic when schools were closed. It was a difficult time with educational institutions closed because of the lockdown. We decided that all the 5,600 rural libraries must have children’s sections to help children stay connected to reading and learning by building a library culture within communities.
To take this forward, we launched ‘Pustaka Jolige’ programme to collect donated books from Bengaluru, other districts and villages. This became a statewide movement with individuals, NGOs like the Azim Premji Foundation, Sikshana Foundation, Pratham Books, Adhyayan, Concerned for Working Children, Bharathiya Gnana Vignana Samithi, India Literacy Project, Yuva Chintana Foundation, corporates like Dell Technologies, and many more, partnering with us.
Under the ‘Pustaka Jolige’ programme, we collected more than one million books. Recently, two ex-servicemen from Belagavi and a late freedom fighter’s family in Dakshina Kannada district donated books to the libraries.
How has ‘Oduva Belaku’ helped turn rural libraries into community spaces for learning and positive interactions?
In Karnataka, with around 3.3 million children aged between six and 18 from rural areas enrolling free of charge, our 5,600 rural public libraries in the state are on the way to becoming knowledge centres. This is extremely heartening and goes to prove that there’s an immense hunger for learning among our children. What they need is equal opportunity and support.
Giving a child a library card is one step forward in the direction. Our libraries are now open for six hours a day, even on weekends. A child is entitled to borrow one book at a time and can take it home. His or her parents and grandparents may not be literate but the child can read the book to them and bring them to the library. Close to 4,000 libraries have computers and internet connectivity, where children get to navigate the Internet.
These libraries are inclusive spaces and cater to children with disabilities so that they can also learn and make use of the facilities. Last year with the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai, we got some wooden chess boards in rural libraries. Playing chess hones a child’s thinking and strategy-building abilities. Besides children, other community stakeholders like ASHA workers and constables play chess in the libraries during their break.
The rural libraries are now functioning as decentralised learning hubs. In many panchayats, after the official closing hour of the libraries, they have given permission to use the terrace for learning, art and craft and community interaction. This also is an indicator of decentralisation of power for which Karnataka has been a pioneer state starting with the 73rd Amendment.
WATCH FULL INTERVIEW :
How is the solid waste management (SWM) initiative shaping up in the panchayats?
SWM has picked up pace in panchayats and it is very heartening to see women's self-help groups (SHGs) taking the lead. They are engaged as partners by their local gram panchayats to carry out SWM duties, like daily waste collection, waste segregation, Swaccha Vahini driving and so on. Around 12,000 women are trained in SWM and 1,200 women are driving Swachh Vahinis. They themselves came forward and are being supported by their families. To see women getting into public spaces is a visible sign of their empowerment.
What are the challenges faced by the government in ensuring proper implementation of schemes at the ground level?
Communication or outreach from the government’s end continues to need strengthening; it is to be ensured that a government order sent across to different talukas and zilla panchayats is explained to the people. The administrative language of an order has to be translated by a lay person to ensure its proper implementation. Accessibility is another barrier. Rules and regulations or government orders need to be made accessible online and elsewhere to ensure any person can read and follow them.
Was it difficult to manage the Covid situation across gram panchayats? How did the government handle the situation?
During the first wave of Covid, uncertainty and anxiety prevailed among people. We tried to disseminate information to gram panchayat leaders through online meetings and even YouTube. The information given by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the State Health Department was shared and further translated for people to make them understand the situation better.
The PowerPoint Presentation (PPT) depiction of the Coronavirus was made into a rangoli, wall paintings, and other traditional folk art as well by the gram panchayats. Swach Vahinis and loudspeakers were used across areas to provide information to people and ensure that Covid protocols were followed.
Gram panchayat task forces were set up during Covid time including frontline workers, Anganwadi workers and ASHAs, who organised village-level committee meetings to educate people about following Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB). Schools were turned into Covid care and isolation centres to isolate symptomatic patients.
Has increased rural literacy rate improved women’s representation in gram panchayats?
The profile of panchayat members has considerably changed in Karnataka. Reservation for women was 33 per cent earlier and was increased to 50 per cent a few years ago. Women are sometimes proxied by men, not only because of illiteracy but largely because of patriarchy. Over the years, the shift is seen, wherein even semi-literate women are elected, who showcase good leadership skills.
Training programmes have also been organised and women are being called upfront, especially focussing on improving the social infrastructure across villages.
Despite several efforts from the government, why are child marriages still prevalent in Karnataka?
Karnataka is one of the states with a higher percentage of child marriage cases, though it has relatively come down now. According to the NFHS-3, it was around 40 per cent. It came down to around 20 per cent in NFHS-4. Karnataka has also been one of the states where the Devadasi system has been traditionally practised.
The primary reason for both is gender discrimination. Amendments have been brought to the Prevention of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), removing loopholes that allowed child marriages to be officiated. Encouraging education for girl children is the most important way through which this practice can be stopped.
Several women-oriented programmes have been initiated to uplift the status of women in society. Around 58,000 officers in Karnataka have been notified as Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPO) to ensure that authorities are informed in cases of child marriage.
How has technology aided governance in rural areas? What are the plans for digitising the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department’s portals?
Several e-governance solutions have been developed at the RD&PR (Rural Development & Panchayat Raj) Department. Karnataka has been a pioneer in using rural e-governance solutions. An accounting software -- Panchtantra -- is being used for some time now.
A new version of this digital platform — Panchatantra 2.0 — has also been recently started to provide end-to-end solutions to gram panchayats for monitoring and managing the works and making digital payments as well. These portals will also help ensure committee-level meetings are being held regularly and members are participating.
Real-time data will be shared on the portals which will help the public with information about panchayat meetings. Another portal -- PanchMitra -- is available where these meeting decisions, budgets etc can be accessed online later.
Is untouchability still prevalent in the state? What measures are being taken to end it?
The panchayats have a responsibility to prevent any exploitation or discrimination among people. Even during the pandemic, they ensured that people were not ill-treated while being provided treatment or during isolation. Panchayats also spend 25 per cent of their funds towards SC/ST welfare. Further, people are being sensitised towards practising gender and social equity in the villages.
Any suggestions given by panchayat members that have been noteworthy to be applied in other areas as well?
One of the panchayat presidents from Udupi was working on SWM. He addressed the problem of women being unable to travel to district training centres, which were far away. To reduce the travel time for women, centres were set up in nearby areas to make sure that they did not miss their training.
Village tourism is now picking up in Karnataka. Are steps being taken to increase tourism scope in rural parts?
Village tourism is very low-intensity and environment-friendly. Now it is picking up with the help of women SHGs and the state has also taken pilot initiatives in Ramanagara and now in Kolar to promote camps involving rock climbing and journey of silk production as activities to attract tourists. Women in these areas volunteer to make people participate in such activities and further educate them on the different stages of silk production. In the upcoming months, the department also plans to extend such services to people in other districts as well.
What motivated you to enter the civil services?
My parents urged me to pursue civil services. In my family, nobody before me or after I joined the IAS, has joined the civil services. It has been a journey of 30 years and the motivating factor has been to help bring societal change. We work towards designing policy interventions and impacting large groups of people in rural areas. I am happy to say that with time, women’s representation (in civil services) has also significantly improved.