National meet urges stronger Mahila Sabhas, women-led panchayats for climate resilience

Mumbai, Oct 8 (PTI) A national consultation on gender and climate change here on Wednesday recommended boosting ‘Mahila Sabhas’, investing in women’s leadership at the panchayat level and allocating local budgets for climate adaptation for better handling of climate-related issues.

The event underscored how panchayats, when led by women, can be at the frontline of India’s climate response.

Organised by Yashwantrao Chavan Centre, along with Resource and Support Centre for Development and Asar Social Impact Advisors, the forum brought together panchayat leaders from Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Karnataka, policymakers, researchers and civil society representatives.

In her keynote address, NCP (SP) working president and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule emphasised the importance of collective action to ensure that growth doesn’t come at the cost of the planet.

“Real change will come only when we move beyond political divides and work together to make climate action a national mission. There are so many action plans across states, but how much do we focus on the implementation? I will take deliberations from this consultation forward, and also facilitate taking it to the Centre,” she said.

Abhijit Ghorpade, Director, State Climate Action Cell, Government of Maharashtra, underlined how panchayats can make climate action equitable.

“The past decade has witnessed some of the most extreme climate events in India, with floods, droughts and heatwaves severely affecting communities from Himachal to Maharashtra. To respond effectively, we need to strengthen climate-resilient practices in agriculture, water and forestry, and ensure that women are at the centre of these efforts,” he said.

Sharada Shende, sarpanch of Bela grampanchayat in Bhandara district, called for stronger state support to help women leaders put climate-sensitive plans into action, stressing that one doesn’t need extreme climate events to feel the impact of climate change.

“I feel the impact of climate change every day – in the water we fetch, the food we grow, and the air we breathe. It affects our health first and most deeply. That’s why I consider it my responsibility to care for the health of everyone in my village. My motto is to make my village 100 per cent solar, clean, and green,” said Shende.

Komal Devulkar, sarpanch from Kalamna gram panchayat of Nagpur district, stressed that women’s leadership in water governance is vital to tackling droughts and water scarcity.

Sharing experiences from other states, Chaya of Gram Vikas, Karnataka, explained how Mahila Sabhas deepened community participation in climate planning, while Bidyut Mohanty from Odisha described how “participatory mapping of commons” helped shape panchayat development plans. PTI PR NR