About Melghat Development Society

The Melghat Development Society (MDS) was established in 1996, to cater to the poor and marginalized, that they may live a life with dignity, freedom and self respect. The organisation was founded by Dr.John Maliekal with like-minded people to help people below poverty line to help themselves to live a fully human life. It is a secular organization catering to all sections of people irrespective of caste / creed.

Melghat is the place where MDS began its work. It is inhabited by people of different races and castes, consisting of 315 villages spread over 2400 sq kms on the Satpura ranges of Maharashtra. The life of these people is very primitive. It does not have a proper infrastructure: no proper facilities of drinking water, transport, medicare, electricity, etc. The literacy rate is just 30% and most of the people are small farmers or landless labourers (20%).

MELGHAT DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY (MDS) is one of the premier institutions championing the cause of the very poor and marginalized people. This organization was founded to focus attention on the DEVELOPMENT of the disadvantaged people especially of Melghat and also the very poor of Amravati region, regardless of caste or creed. It is a small organization with the basic infrastructure facilities and a dedicated / committed team of workers.

Various developmental programmes are being implemented in different villages of Melghat. With relentless effort, dedication, strong determination and the support of our partners in development, we have been able to accomplish much. We hope to continue the mission of LIBERATION by orienting our programmes in the line of sustainable development through an increase in our activities, thus reaching out to as many villages as possible.