DH Changemakers 2026 | Meet Sadashiva Hydra: The man who turned MGNREGA into a green movement

Honna Kiranagi, a village in Kalaburagi district of North Karnataka, knows the harsh realities of drought, extreme heat, and failing agriculture. For years, these conditions have forced families to migrate in search of work, turning survival into a cycle of uncertainty.

Sadashiva Hydra, a 44-year-old resident of the village, refused to accept this as inevitable. An MGNREGA advocate and grassroots organiser, he began mobilising villagers to access work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, a scheme many had lost faith in due to paperwork, delays, and bureaucracy.

Sadashiva helped people secure identity documents, apply for job cards, and understand how to demand work legally. As wages began to reach households regularly, migration slowly reduced. But he didn’t stop there.

Recognising the need for meaningful and sustainable employment, Sadashiva brought together nearly 1,000 MNREGA workers to take up environmental restoration. Over time, they planted 68,000 native saplings across 1,600 acres of barren land, creating green cover, improving livelihoods, and restoring pride in the village. Sadashiva Hydra’s work shows how MNREGA, when implemented with community leadership and accountability, can create both income security and ecological resilience. His story is a reminder that rural transformation begins when people choose to stay, organise, and rebuild from within.