Common Property Resources

Common lands make up one-fifth of India’s landmass and play an important role in meeting the subsistence and livelihood needs of more than 350 million rural population, and are of great social and cultural significance to rural communities. However, they are still officially designated as ‘wastelands’ since colonial times informs this paper titled '

India has a large expanse of common lands that meet the livelihood needs of over 350 million people.

What do forests, air, and groundwater have in common?

The community of Narayanaswamykote in Bagepalli block of Chikballapur district in Karnataka has earnestly been protecting and restoring their 240 plus acres of commons for over a decade now. There are 68 households in the village and a majority of them depend on agriculture, livestock rearing, wage labour and non-timber forest produce (NTFP) collection for their livelihoods. 

Hailing from Mawtangor village in Meghalaya’s Mawsynram block, Larishisha Pdahsiej has always been keen on supporting her community and being an active participant in the village’s development.

In 2018, when the communities of Ghatanji Block in Yavatmal attended a workshop about the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, the information accessed brought about a shift in their perspective, where they felt empowered to reclaim common resources that rightfully belonged to them.

Sagdi ka Guda, a revenue village in Gogunda block of Udaipur district, has 114 households and a total population of 429 people, with the majority of the population (88%) belonging to the Gameti and Nath communities.

The Maralappanahalli community has come a long way since the formation of its Grama Parisara Abhivruddi Samiti in 2017. The livelihood basket of the 40 households here largely comprised agriculture and livestock rearing for the longest time, but the Samiti has been instrumental in helping its people learn about MGNREGS and avail it to support their livelihoods.

It is rightly said that "what is measured is managed better". And we observed this happen at Sagapali village in Keonjhar district of Odisha. This village is in the Nayakote gram panchayat, and has an undulating terrain surrounded by five hillocks. It has forests around it with limited plainlands for cultivation.

The community in Undakhora, a village of 250 households in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan, has made significant strides towards resilience by practising sustainable agriculture, harvesting water and ensuring social security over the past 10 years.