N G Hegde: Grassroots Man of the Year
NGO-BAIF
Dr N G Hedge, a Rural Development Specialist with experience in Agroforestry, Wastelands Development and Environmental Education, is the President of BAIF Development Research Foundation. He is committed for sustainable development of rural poor for over twenty years. Notable of his achievements are one such project called Wadi in Vansda in Gujarat that has converted a wasteland into a productive orchard with healthy cashew and mango growth. It has also helped landless labourers become orchard owners, resulting into reverse migration, increase in education levels, prosperity – in turn helping twenty five thousand families become prosperous – all this in just about 10 years. BAIF is implementing water resource management in selected village clusters in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.