Recasting Citizenship for Development - File UPI

298 VINALINI MATHRANI AND VANI PERIODI
Initially, we thought of highlighting the main trends across all the villages,
but after we collected the data we realised that each of these apparently
innocuous looking structures conceal distinct tales of intrigue, perseverance,
despair, hope and success. Hence, each story has been recounted. It
is also useful to look at acquisition and construction processes separately,
as in some cases construction has not begun and in others construction
proceeded smoothly while land acquisition was fraught with problems,
and vice versa.
Land Acquisition
SANGHA MANÉ PROCESSES
Tuppanakhanahalli, Bellary district: The process of land acquisition was
initiated in December 2000. The women approached the secretary of the
gram panchayat (GP), who maintained that first, they had to get their sangha
registered. The women had to go to the MLA five to six times before the
sangha was registered in February 2001. Both the traditional village head
(Gowda) and the secretary of the gram panchayat accepted the women’s
application, and showed them a site for the sangha mané. The women
went to the gram panchayat (GP) four times, but the title deed was not
issued. They then contacted the MLA in Kudligi twice and Badalaku once,
to recount all their problems. The MLA asked a Congress member to help
the women. Six women went to the GP again, where the Congress member
requested GP members to issue the title deed. Finally, in October 2001,
the sangha became the owner of the allotted site.
Marakunda, Bidar District: The sangha women submitted an application
to the GP in 1991, asking for a plot of land. Till then, the women had
been conducting their meetings in the temple. The GP informed the
women that they were unaware of any free plots in the village, so the women
would have to find a site for themselves. The women identified a plot, which
had been used as a garbage dump, in the Kuruba (OBCs, shepherds) colony.
The GP members verbally agreed to their request. Hence, the women
proceeded to clean up the area. When they decided to conduct a ceremony
before initiating construction, the Kurubaru intervened and showed them
the title deeds to the same plot. The GP realised that the Kurubaru were