Ganga Ram Paikra

Gangaram Paikra is a senior social worker, tribal leader, and development practitioner from Chhattisgarh with over 40 years of experience in the development sector. He currently serves as the Director of Chaupal Gramin Vikas Prashikshan Evam Shodh Sansthan, Ambikapur (Surguja), where he has been working for nearly two decades to support tribal and marginalized communities. Belonging to a Scheduled Tribe community, he has played an important role in strengthening the rights and development of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), especially the Pahadi Korwa community, and contributed to mobilizing communities across Surguja, Raigarh, Jashpur, and Korba districts. His work has focused on enabling communities to access forest rights, food security, livelihoods, healthcare, and employment under MGNREGA. He has also been actively involved in the Right to Food campaign and has served on several state and district-level advisory committees. In recognition of his contributions to social development, he has received several honours, including the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Memorial Award (2014 and 2019) and the Mainpat Mahotsav Award (2021). His work continues to inspire efforts toward strengthening the rights, dignity, and self-reliance of marginalized communities.