The two project sites identified were villages in Roha taluka and Pen taluka, both in Raigad district of Maharashtra.
We began investigating Roha taluka. Maveen Soares, the secretary, writing the managing committee minutes on November 12, 1988 states: The decision was taken that exploratory work be undertaken at Roha taluka. Two members were to establish contact with local people. To begin with local youth would conduct a survey of the area. The initial emphasis the managing committee felt ought to be on adult education/literacy. It could be DRAG’s entry point.
In order to promote the work of the Roha project, it was felt necessary to form an advisory committee of selected persons from within Roha, who could meet at least once a month…
The tasks envisaged for the first three months included:
Schemes implemented.
Possible Action: The managing committee meeting recorded by the secretary, Maveen Soares on January 21, 1989, takes note of the steps being adopted by DRAG to intervene in a pocket of Roha taluka. Too much reliance may not be put on the advisory committee. Its members are local bigwigs and hence (a) may not have too much time to spare; (b) may be part of the vested interests. In any case, they will relate to DRAG enthusiastically only after it has demonstrated its capacity on the ground.