Achievement for the year 2008-09

The Assembly Elections were held in this year. Astha along with Employment and Right to Information Campaign (Rozgar Evam Suchana Ka Adhikar Abhiyan) organized State Level People’s Forum to raise the issues of tribals, dalits and women with contestant of the political parties and insist them to include in the party manifesto. The issues mainly raised were rights of tribal on forestland, proper implementation of the Forest Rights Act, create pressure to stop the process of removing the Section 42 B from the Land Revenue Act for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. At the state level, Jan Manch (people’s forum) was organized by the campaign and leaders/ representatives of the main party attended the Jan Manch & had dialogue with the people. A petition was handed over to include the issues of poor, tribals, dalits, and women in the election manifesto of the political parties.

Astha has developed module for Mate trainings, demonstrated it to the state government and tested in year 2007. As Mate is key person for proper implementation of the NREGA works, who can ensure minimum wages, implement measurement system, work distribution to groups (five in each) etc. During the year, Mate training was focus point of the NREGA in Rajasthan. The state government organized a large number of Mate trainings on the suggestive module. Astha facilitated the Mate trainings as Resource Organisation and the process is going on, till now around 7,000 mates were trained. Mates allocate work to 40-50 labourers on the measurement basis at the beginning of the day and again measure the work done at the end of day. The labour become aware about the wages calculated against the work done, and alert about amount of the work he/ she have to do next time to get minimum wage and try to do more work to get higher wage. Astha focuses to include the women in the Mate training and thereafter work as Mate in NREGA works. The government reduced 30% in quantity of the Basic Schedule Rates (BSR), which benefited the labours in getting minimum wages.

The People’s Education and Cultural Resource Unit (PECRU) conducted a study to understand the situation of education in tribal areas as well as various innovations being practiced by the various organisations in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh States.
The aim of the study was to develop a deeper understanding of the issues in tribal education so that a relevant intervention can be plan in the Southern Rajasthan. Planning was done on quality education to tribal children in the area of Tribal Development Forum and Godward Tribal Association.

Two residential educational camps were organized for tribal girls in two blocks of two districts (Kotda Block of District Udaipur and Kumbalgarh Block of District Rajsamand). A total of 100 tribal girls has completed the competency level of class 5th and they will continue the efforts, and get admission in the government schools.
The PECRU become fully functional from this year and the activities of the Unit were completed due to willingness and interest of the workers of the Unit. The Unit also prepared cultural teams who play drama on the NREGA and on the Forest Rights Act during the campaigns.

Series of meetings/ workshops/ trainings were organized to discuss the National Forum for single women alone (Ekal Nari) and possibly the Forum of Single Women will be evolve in the coming year.
The Forum will - do lobby the central government on common issues of single women across several states; spread the movement for the organization and rights work of single women to other states; share information about state schemes, laws, policies and rules on matters related to single women, and enable member organizations to share such government provisions with political and administrative leaders in other states so that the best of the provisions may be more wide-spread; to support each other across state lines; and to share.
The Association of Single Women Alone (Ekal Nari Shakti Sangthan) has strong base in Rajasthan and with the inspiration of the Rajasthan Association of Strong Women Alone, similar organizations have been formed in other states (Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat) of the country.