Hiware Bazar
| Hiware Bazar | |
|---|---|
 Hiware Bazar
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| Coordinates: 19°4′7″N 74°36′4″E / 19.06861°N 74.60111°ECoordinates: 19°4′7″N 74°36′4″E / 19.06861°N 74.60111°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Maharashtra |
| District | Ahmednagar |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Vehicle registration | MH-16 |
Hiware Bazar is a village in the Ahmednagar District of Maharashtra, India. It is noted for its irrigation system and water conservation program, with which it has fought the drought and drinking water problems.
The village experienced mass exodus during the severe drought in 1972. However the village experienced a turnaround after 1989, Popatrao Baguji Pawar, the only postgraduate in the village contested for the post of gram panchayat sarpanch and won. He managed to get the illicit 22 liquor retail outlets closed, secure bank loans for farmers and started rainwater harvesting, water conservation and management programs, which involved building 52 earthen bunds, percolation tanks, 32 stone bunds and nine check dams. Its development plan was based on village Ralegan Siddhi, 35 km away, also in the same district, turned around by Anna Hazare. By the 1990s, reverse migration started as families started returning home. In 2012, the village with its 235 families and an overall population of 1,250, had a monthly per capita income Rs 30,000, up from Rs. 830 in 1995, plus it had 60 families with an annual income of over 10 Lakh rupees.
In 2012, the joint state and central government plan was announced to establish a national-level centre for training in panchayati raj system for watershed development, sanitation and capacity building at the village, to be built at a cost of Rs 12-crore.
Hiware Bazar lies in the drought-prone Ahmednagar district. Prior to 1989, the village was facing several problems such as migration of the villagers to the nearby urban areas, high crime and scarcity of water.
In 1990, after Popatrao Pawar was elected as the sarpanch (village chief), the village used funds from government schemes and launched a program to recover its past glory. The village is conceptualized and planned after Ralegan Siddhi, another village noted for its conservational initiatives.
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