Senior Gandhian and a prominent figure in the field of forest rights, bamboo conservation and skill development in Chandrapur district, Mohan Hirabai Hiralal passed away at a hospital in Nagpur on Thursday following brief illness. He was 75. Inspired by Acharya Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan, Hiralal played a major role in ‘Mava Nate, Mava Sarkar’ campaign in Mendha-Lekha village in Gadchiroli district. Hailing from Chandrapur, Hiralal, was instrumental in introducing self-governance in village by energising the community forest rights movement in Chandrapur as well as the entire State.

  

 

Condoling the death from Davos, Switzerland, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “With the demise of senior social activist Mohan Hirabai Hiralal, a distinguished personality who worked tirelessly in the fields of community forest rights, environment and village self-government has left us. He worked to embody the idea of ‘We are the government in our village’ in Maharashtra’s first village in Lekha-Mendha in Gadchiroli district. “This helped in popularising forest management. Due to his efforts, he created a big movement in the villages of Mendha (Lekha) and Marda. Lekha-Mendha was declared a Gram Daan village under the Maharashtra Gram Rajya Act. This became the first village in the country. He honoured the power of motherhood long ago by adding his mother’s name before his own name. I pay my heartfelt tributes to him. We share in the grief of his family”.

 

Congress leader and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh paid tributes to Hiralal in a post on X. “For four decades, he worked tirelessly in Gadchiroli and Chandrapur districts of Maharashtra. His dedication paved the way for Mendha Lekha to become the first Gram Sabha in the country on April 27, 2011, to get full control over all aspects of bamboo trade including harvesting and selling as part of the Community Forest Rights Act, 2006,” Ramesh noted. He leaves behind wife Savita, son Mihir, daughter-in-law and grandchild to mourn the loss. The last rites were performed on Thursday at Sahakar Nagar ghat.