Marked ‘saaf’: Inside Adachiwadi, Maharashtra’s cleanest and smartest village

Just about 250 km from Mumbai tucked away in Purandar taluka of Pune district lies Adachiwadi a tiny village that is proving how collective will and community participation can transform rural India So much so that it even earned recognition as one of Maharashtrarsquos cleanest and smartest villages from Eknath Shinde when he was Chief Minister in 2024 And just like Meghalayarsquos Mawlynnong mdash known as Asiarsquos cleanest village mdash Adachiwadirsquos residents now plan to use all their hard work to turn their economy around with tourismShivaji Parbhati Pawar demonstrates how well water is filtered and dispensed through a smart meter that charges Rs 1 for every five litresUnlike many villages that struggle with basic infrastructure Adachiwadi stands out for its planning and foresight On spending a day in the village Sunday middayrsquos scribe has found that the achievements of the village are not the result of large external funding or complex technology alone Instead they stem from strong leadership community participation and a shared vision of a better future In this hamlet that is home to barely 1500 people across 179 families decisions are discussed collectively responsibilities are shared and success belongs to everyoneFrom deep cleaning the village every weekend to a smart water filtration and dispensal system to converting households and public spaces to solar power this village is truly clean In fact the village is all set to go 100 per cent solar powered by March Of 179 houses 68 now completely run on solar energy ldquoThe money for the rest of the 111 houses has already been paid to the company and they are installing the panels periodically By March we are confident the entire village will run on solar completelyrdquo says Mayur Nandkumar PawarIn a trajectory similar to the plot of Swades the IT professional turned away from posh jobs in the big city opting for a workfromhome role instead so he could stay in Adachiwadi He is now among a group of young people who seek to bring the village into the futureldquoEven our common areas such as the gym lights in the cremation ground and panchayat office are solarpoweredrdquo he adds The company charges Rs 60000 per kilowatt of power generating capacity While each household has made a onetime payment of Rs 30000 government subsidies covered the other half Mayur explainsRani Appaso Pawar is among many villagers who depends on fig farming for their livelihoodNot every village is blessed with abundant clean drinking water In Adachiwadi not only is water behind the name of the village but the residents have also figured out a system to ensure clean potable water supply for allThe oldest person alive in the village 93yearold Dnyaneshwar Maruti Pawar recalls how the village came to be named so ldquoWe had a big 130yearold vihir well in the corner translates to adachi of the village this was once our only source of water Thus the village came to be called Adachi vihir asleli wadi village with a well in the corner which was later shortened to AdachiwadirdquoVillagers have now diverted this well water to a smart water purifier ldquoAnyone can fill this filtered water after tapping a smart card that every family has Each tap of the card deducts R1 and gives five litres of waterrdquo explains Mayur ldquoThis way there is no wastage of water Since money is cut mdash even if a tiny amount mdash people fill their buckets wisely This money is collected by Gram Panchayat and officials use it for the maintenance of the purifierrdquoTourists are also expected to maintain the same respect for cleanliness Villagers have pinned the location of all garbage bins in Adachiwadi on Google Maps right to prevent litteringThe quantity of water saved is so high that at times when adjacent villages have faced trouble Adachiwadi has supported them with as much as 75000 litres of water per dayThe village wasnrsquot always known as Adachiwadi however When it strikes this reporter that apart from two families everyone is a Pawar here another resident Shivaji Parbhati Pawar 62 shares ldquoMany decades ago a few Pawar families mdash not related to each other mdash settled here Back then our hamlet was known as Pawaranchi wadirdquoAs for the two families that are not Pawars he adds ldquoLong ago when the village was getting established the villagers needed guravs priest caste found primarily in Maharashtra specialising in the worship of Shiva temples Some land was given to these families to construct their homes and they were expected to do pooja of our gramdaivat village deity at the Kaalbharavnath templerdquoInviting the guravs to join their village and carry out temple duties was a nod to wellintentioned and harmless traditions emphasise the villagers They have been careful not to let caste get in the way of harmony however ldquoThere are a total of 12 wadis in this districtrdquo says Shivaji ldquoOurs is the only one with a neartotal Maratha Pawar population Despite that all the names of the roads are of warriors and great men from all subcastesrdquoThe two nonPawar families take just as much pride in their village Among them is Sandesh Shirke whose love for Adachiwadi holds strong even generations after his grandfather moved out for work ldquoMy family is based in the Konkan region but my roots are with the Shirke family that still lives in this villagerdquo says Sandesh the resident deputy collector in Raigad districtMayur Nandkumar PawarThough he was never posted in his native village he is the brain behind the development works in Adachiwadi ldquoIf one uses his power position and contacts with good intentions and honesty no one can stop developmentrdquo he says ldquoWhatrsquos the use of such a high post in the public service sector if I cannot put it to use for my own public Of course there is support from the current officials toordquoSandesh Shirke in dark blue holds one of the villagersquos monthly meetings to discuss development projects PicBy Special ArrangementThe villagers were sceptical in the beginning ldquoInitially there was resistance to any idea that I pitched Like any other official they believed I must have some hidden interestrdquo he recalls But his work spoke for him After he raised funds to build additional classrooms for school students studying under the scorching sun the residents began to trust himBhausaheb BhongaleldquoThe trust further strengthened when I promised that neither I nor any of my family members would contest any elections this confirmed that I wasnrsquot doing this for any political aspirations The only thought that I have always had is lsquoApan aplya gavacha jyane aaplyala astithvath anla tyacha kahitari dena lagtorsquo we should give back to the village that brought us into existencerdquo shares the DCRs 65crore ecotourism planJust as Mawlynnong in Meghalaya made clean living a tourist attraction Adachiwadi too hopes to bring in more prosperity for its residents through ecotourism Already the village is a pitstop for warkarisrsquo annual walking pilgrimage to and from Pandharpur The warkaris prefer to stop here precisely because the village is clean Sant Dnyaneshwarrsquos palkhi also stops here In addition the village is less than 20 minutes away from the famed Khandoba temple in Jejuri Adachiwadi residents have now submitted a R65crore ecotourism plan to state environment minister Ganesh Naik which includes plans forgtgt thinspA forest gardengtgt thinspTraining women and youngsters as tourist guidesgtgt thinspHomestayaccommodation for Jejuri visitorsgtgt thinspAgrotourismFarming for livelihoodAnjeer fig cultivation is the main source of income in this village Each family here cultivates figs and exports almost 3040 tonnes per month ldquoOur anjeer has a GI tag and even though each family cultivates the same crop no one faces lossesrdquo says Sunita Suhas Pawar A few villagers also cultivate onions jowar and raise poultry ldquoWe grow vegetables such as brinjal beans garlic harbhara and onions as well as jowar and bajra crops We grow 85 per cent of what we need for Just a few ration items such as oil are bought from outside the village Even the milk and meat we consume is produced hererdquo says villager Mayur PawarEvening study hour at cremation groundChildren study during postschool hours at the village cremation groundAn unusual custom at this village is students going for extra classes at the cremation ground While they all attend the local school and use tablets there this ground is used for their afterschool studies ldquoItrsquos our duty as educated elders of the village to break the bad chain of superstitionsrdquo says Anil Pawar a retired English teacher who dedicates two hours daily to guide students ldquoIn one of our monthly meetings we discussed where the children could study post school hours Evenings are the only time when their parents get some free time to watch TV so their homes were not an option We collectively decided on the cremation ground as it is big enough and has pindrop silence And it has been over three months now that the children are happily studying thererdquoFuture plansThe village is now setting up a biogas plant that will provide fuel for domestic purposes Villagers are also establishing a waste water treatment plant where waste water from the village will be treated and made usable for agricultural purposes Meanwhile a study room and an elibrary is being constructed above the Gram Panchayat Office where students preparing for competitive exams can study Pipes for water connections are also laid to establish one more smart water purifierNo crime hereThe village has managed to maintain a zero per cent crime rate for at least the past decade ldquoThere are barely even any quarrels here whatever happens we solve it among ourselvesrdquo says resident Mayur Pawar adding that they have also installed 46 CCTV cameras across the village Constable Bhausaheb Bhongale of Walhe police station confirms ldquoIn the last three years of my tenure I havenrsquot seen any complaint or fight in this village Those who worked here before me told me the samerdquoOther interesting factsgtgt thinspThis village has an open and free public WiFi setupgtgt thinspEach family can only construct a single house The remaining land in the village is used for various community facilitiesgtgt thinspWith CSR funding the village has also set up a gym with advanced equipment A nominal monthly fee of R300 is collected for gymrsquos maintenancegtgt thinspThe village has a NanaNani Park as wellFirst village with concrete roadIn September 2025 the village became the first in Maharashtra to convert a soil pathway paayvaat into a concrete road ldquoWe constructed it using CSR funds from one of the biggest tycoons of the country and named it Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Concrete Roadrdquo says villager Mayur Nandkumar Pawar ldquoThis road was also cited by then CM and now deputy CM Eknath Shinde when he pushed for concretisation of the statersquos roads He had said that if a kaccha path can be converted into a concrete road then a tar road can definitely be converted toordquo Mayur shares adding that all 15 roads in the village are now being concretised