Jaipur: Chhavi Rajawat, who quit her corporate career and city life to work for rural development and became one of the country’s best-known women sarpanch in the last decade, has again been elected sarpanch of Soda gram panchayat in Tonk district’s Malpura panchayat samiti after a gap of six years. She won the election in the third phase of Rajasthan’s Panchayati Raj polls.
Chhavi Rajawat, Sarpanch, Soda gram panchayat, Tonk
Rajawat, who served two consecutive terms as sarpanch from 2010 to 2020, said she was initially reluctant to contest this time as her mother was unwell and hospitalised, but agreed after villagers approached her and persuaded her to enter the fray. “In 2020, villagers wanted me to continue and contest the election again, but I told them it was time to give someone else an opportunity. However, when they approached me this time, I felt there was still scope for further development in the gram panchayat. That is why I agreed to contest again,” Rajawat said.She said the villagers’ faith in her and their insistence that she return to the post moved her. “When my mother was admitted to the hospital, I was worried. But villagers persuaded me to come back and asked me to meet them. I was deeply moved by the trust and faith they placed in me,” she said.Rajawat said her priorities in the new term would be education, healthcare, employment generation and economic upliftment. She stressed the need for collaboration with the private sector, individuals and other stakeholders to accelerate development, particularly in the village’s hamlets. More people should come forward to contribute to improving rural infrastructure and livelihood opportunities, she said.Recalling her earlier tenure, Rajawat said addressing the water crisis and ensuring access to safer drinking water were among her key interventions. The village had earlier depended on pond water that was unsuitable for human consumption and agriculture. The initiative to increase the storage capacity of existing ponds and revive smaller water bodies helped improve water availability, support farming and raise crop yields by 70%, she said.The work also included strengthening embankments to protect hamlets from waterlogging and constructing roads. Describing it as a three-pronged strategy, she said the revival of small ponds across the village and its hamlets was an initiative she wanted to continue.Looking ahead, Rajawat said she hoped to develop multipurpose halls with support from the private sector and individuals. “These centres could serve as common spaces for digital and financial literacy programmes, skill-development workshops, libraries and activities such as judo, particularly for women, youth and economically weaker sections.”Such facilities would provide opportunities for training, networking and focused skill development, she said, adding that mobilising funds and bringing different stakeholders together would be crucial to implementing the plans.Rajawat, an MBA graduate who studied at Lady Shri Ram College for Women in Delhi and later at Sri Balaji Society in Pune, had worked with corporate companies before returning to her village. Her grandfather, Brigadier Raghubir Singh, had also served as Soda’s sarpanch about two decades before she first took office in 2010.During her earlier tenures, she worked on rainwater harvesting, improving sanitation and providing toilet facilities in homes, besides initiatives to empower women through skill-development programmes. Her work brought her national recognition, including an opportunity to address delegates at the United Nations’ 11th Infopoverty World Conference in 2011. Former President APJ Abdul Kalam also honoured her at a Technology Day function in New Delhi.
