punsari

“There were 328 BPL (Below Poverty Line) families in the village. They had neither house nor land. I could uplift them to APL (Above Poverty Line). I think as a Sarpanch that was my biggest achievement and my happiest memory.”

There was no electricity, no water system and law and order were almost out of control when Himanshu joined as a Sarpanch in 2006.

Some are so unique, they might almost sound like a place straight out of a fiction novel.

From renewable energy to organic farming, here are 15 Indian villages that have walked the talk and are shining examples of what a community can do when it comes together for a better tomorrow.