Land Consolidation-Chakbandi campaign in Uttarakhand

Ganesh Gareeb was born to Chandan Singh Negi and Kanthi Devi on 1^st March.1937 in a small village called Soola Patti.,Pauri Garhwal in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.. He studied at DAV Inter College, Dehradun. He got married to Saraswati Devi in 1960. He went to Delhi in 1961 where he started the repairing work of radio from 1961 to 1981. But all along he kept thinking about the development of his native place in the hills. This brought him back to his village in 1981.Realizing that only land reforms could better the misery of the hilly people. In order to stress upon the importance of land consolidation he changed the face of 18 Naali barren lands by transforming it into a fertile agricultural zone. To spread more awareness he walked from one place to another pasting poster and distributing pamphlets and organizing meetings. He brought together the land consolidation workers at block, district and state levels. He toured extensively. In 1992 he went to the districts of Shimla and Mandi in the neighbouring hill state of Himachal Pradesh to study the Land Consolidation Project.  He published some journals like Pustika Ujjwal Bhavishya and Hamara Daiytwa (1978), Gagar Mein Sagar Smarika (1987), Parvatiya Vikas aur Chakbandi (1990). This programme was carried forward under his supervision under the banners of other land reform agencies too. These were – Akhil Bhartiya Pragatisheel Garhwali Sangathan , Delhi (1977), Pravatiya Vikas Sangathan, Kaljikhal Pauri Gharwal (1984), Mazdoor Krishant Sangathan, Kaljikhal , Pauri Garhwal (1986), Chakbandi Pramarsh Samiti, Pauri (1988), Chakbandi Paramarsh Samiti Kotdwara, Pauri Gharhwal (2000), Mool Nagrik Kishan Manch, Kaljikhal Pauri Gharwal (2001)  to till date.He also participated in 40 radio- talk shows on Land Consolidation at the All India Radio studios at Najibabad and Pauri. He published a tremendous amount of literature on the subject. General Surveys were conducted for five years from 2000 to 2005. He demonstrated the use of a land consolidation project at Chandan Vatika , village Soola in 1981,Kirtibagh,Village Hulakikhal,Khirsu, 1987, Premvihar,Village Tachvad Akeshvar,1988, and his other efforts included contact and correspondence with the state ministers, MLAs and parliamentarians. He also met the higher officials in the planning Commission and the media.MP B C Khanduri and Rajya Sabha member Manoharkant Dhyani raised chakbandi related questions in Lok Sabha 1993 and Rajya Sabha 1997 respectively. On  27 September 1989 the UP government took the decision of land consolidation in the hilly regions .In 1990 a Land Consolidation Survey team was sent as a result of which Chakbandi offices were established at Pauri and Almora. When Uttarakhand became a state a Land Consolidation Advisory Committee was formed by the initiative of minister Harak Singh Rawat in 2003. Ganesh Gareeb was a nominated member of this committee. He was also a nominated member in the state government established Land Reforms Parishad in 2004,and also a member of a high level committee on land consolidation in Uttarakhand in 2009. Gareeb Ganesh has been honoured and fecilitated by several organizations.