Gram panchayats in Karnataka demand higher MSP for organic produce, dedicated fund for climate adversities

The suggestions in the nine-point declaration include higher MSP for organically grown farm produce, linking the Carbon Credit Programme with gram panchayats that focus on reforestation, separate funds to manage climate adversities, installation of biomass-to-biochar conversion units in gram panchayats, and developing climate-resilient agricultural models under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme action plans.  

Representatives from around 80 gram panchayats in Karnataka have come up with a declaration demanding governmental measures to help address climate challenges and adopt sustainable practices.  

The suggestions in the nine-point declaration include higher MSP for organically grown farm produce, linking the Carbon Credit Programme with gram panchayats that focus on reforestation, separate funds to manage climate adversities, installation of biomass-to-biochar conversion units in gram panchayats, and developing climate-resilient agricultural models under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme action plans.  

The declaration was drafted at a two-day workshop organised by Pipal Tree and Ramakrishna Hegde Chair for Decentralization and Development at the Institute for Social and Economic Change in Bengaluru. Gram Panchayat members from Bengaluru Rural, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Belagavi, Haveri, Vijayapura, Kolar, Chikballapur, and Mangaluru participated in the event. 

The organisers of the event told The Hindu that the declaration would be submitted to the government along with a proposal to develop model villages in each of the ten agro-climatic zones of Karnataka.  

“We feel that panchayats, being the units functioning at the grassroot level, could play an important role in climate action. But so far, the level of awareness among panchayats on climate is very low,” Siddartha, founder of Pipal Tree, told The Hindu.

The other demands included bringing the biodiversity management committees (BMC) under the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993, strengthening the BMCs at the gram panchayat level by providing resources and financial support, organising workshops to preserve cultures linked to biodiversity conservation and rural community livelihoods, establishing a climate action committees within gram panchayat jurisdiction to analyse and provide solutions for losses due to climate change, and making the ‘OK Card’ system mandatory for all works carried out under gram panchayats. 

“Gram Panchayats can embrace new responsibilities in mitigating climate change, and help improve local ecology, and also earn new incomes that enhance their capacity to do good at local levels,” said Ramakrishna Hegde Chair professor Chandan Gowda.