In the heart of Kalidanga village, under Basanti Gram Panchayat of Basanti Block in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, the community was able to bring a transformation through the hand holding and capacitating by SPAN that remained unfolded for over years. The area belonged to families comprising of 157 individuals. The piece of land they lived in had no legal claim. Despite living there for generations, it made them vulnerable of being evicted. It also made them lose their dignity, rights and security.
Among the 157 members, 44 were adult males, 44 adult females, and 69 were children under the age of 18. Most of the adults worked as daily wage laborers .Over the years, these families approached the Panchayat and Block administrations a number of times for getting their land ownership documents known as “Patta”.—but their pleas were ignored. During their process of approach many fell prey to local agents and middlemen those who committed to provide solutions in lieu for money. But this also made them leaving cheated and hopeless.
Every efforts made by the community had no positive result with months and year passing by. That’s when SPAN stepped in. Our organization began organizing the community focusing on women and youth. Women were brought together under the Women’s Council, and the youth were mobilized under the Youth Council. SPAN capacitated them about their rights, entitlements, and the processes to claim land ownership legally. Initially they were doubtful about their move but slowly began to believe in the possibility of change . Runa Gazi, a local woman and a member of one of the landless families, emerged as a leader it is then the community regained its confidence. They reapplied for land Patta not just to the Panchayat, but also to the Block administration and followed up on their application relentlessly.
Inspite of resubmitting their application ,they perceived to be unheard. Refusing to be ignored again they collectively, led by the Women’s Council, marched to the Panchayat office and boldly declared that they would boycott the upcoming Panchayat elections if their voices remained unheard. This action made the authorities to take a prompt action. Officials from the Block office soon arrived and conducted a formal land measurement.
Finally, on 17th February 2024, the Block office announced that 19 of the families would receive their land Patta. And on 5th March 2024, these 19 families were formally handed over their land ownership documents. A representative from the Block office also guided the remaining 11 families on how to proceed with their applications, promising continued support.
This collective effort stands as an example as a strength of community mobilization and the leadership ability within the community leading to their advocacy. What once seemed impossible became reality because ordinary people refused to be silenced.
