Meet IAS officer Ravikant Rao, whose innovative approach and relentless dedication transformed "Dewas", a drought-prone district in Madhya Pradesh, into a lush green landscape.Once an arid region facing severe water scarcity, Dewas now boasts 16,000 ponds across 60-80 acres and supports over 1,000 farmers earning more than Rs 25 lakhs annually.This remarkable transformation was made possible through Ravikant’s combination of commitment and strategic thinking, which not only revitalized Dewas but also inspired neighboring districts to adopt similar strategies. <h3>THE STORY</h3>When Ravikant Rao took charge as the District Magistrate of Dewas in 2006, he encountered a region struggling with acute water shortages. Farmers were unable to secure loans for constructing ponds, essential for irrigation and water storage.The severity of the drought was such that Dewas had to have water delivered by train, highlighting the dire need for a sustainable solution to water scarcity. Confronted with this challenge, Ravikant realized that addressing water issues was crucial for the district’s survival and prosperity.Drawing on his background as a civil engineering graduate, he developed an innovative model for water conservation that also emphasized economic benefits. He introduced the concept of "Jal Bachao Labh Kamao" (Save Water, Earn Profit), encouraging large-scale farmers to invest in building ponds on a small portion of their land.This model not only promoted water conservation but also provided an opportunity for farmers to increase their income, creating a win-win situation.

Turning an Arid District Green: The Story of an IAS Officer Ravikant Rao.

Governance

With the conclusion of the General Lok Sabha election in India there comes out of the box results which were not predicted by the exit polls. With the conclusion of the elections Election commission of India came forward and gave the important and very factual numbers. It says that India has made a world record with total of 642 million voters who voted in these elections.This number i.e. 642 million is a record in itself as it is:<ul><li>1.5 times greater than the total voters of the G7 countries.</li><li>2.5 times greater than the voters of the all 27 countries of the European Union.</li></ul>It is the largest festival of the democracy and democracy provides option to individuals to elect their representative and get better governance. So in this festival of democracy everyone has their right to vote and choice to elect.<ul><li>There comes an important conclusion from the results of the general lok Sabha elections that there is no single party which&nbsp;gets complete majority and due to this ,collision government is about to form.</li></ul>During this time we have witnessed a record break of NOTA (None of the above). In Madhya Pradesh’s Indore constituency NOTA is the runner up with more than 200000 votes in favour of NOTA. Why does this happened?The congress candidate Mr. Akshya kanti Bam withdrew his candidature and joined BJP and date for filling the nomination for the new candidate had already gone, so with no choice congress in its campaign asked the voters to vote for NOTA.From where does NOTA Came?In September 2013 Supreme Court directed Election commission of India to introduce option of NOTA for the voters in order to protect the secrecy of the voters’ choice.