Elgar Pratishthan is a social organisation working in Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra since 1999. Elgar believes in organizing the rural poor to access their legal and constitutional rights. It uses democratic institutions such as courts, human rights commission, and media for protecting the rights of the poor. The organisation has worked on several important issues affecting the lives of the marginalised sections in the area including the following:

Tribal land rights: The organisation raised the issue of forcible dispossession of tribals by non-tribals in Chandrapur district. It organised the tribals and represented their cause in High Court. The organisation helped more than 200 tribal families to regain access to their agricultural land.

Women’s issues: The organisation runs a family counseling centre for women facing domestic violence or other forms of violence. The organisation also helps women accessing police and courts regarding land and property issues, maintenance, etc. Elgar has organised women for accessing social security programmes and challenged the unjust criteria imposed by the Maharashtra government on potential beneficiaries. The organisation has facilitated the setting up of a women’s credit cooperative which has completed 10 years and has an annual turnover of more than Rs. 1.5 Crores. Elgar organised women in large numbers for liquor prohibition in Chandrapur district and was successful as the Maharashtra government declared prohibition in the district from 1st April 2015 onwards.

Rural Unorganised Sector Labour: Elgar has helped organize rural labourers for access to work, timely payment of wages, payment of minimum wages, issues of migrant labourers, and better work conditions. The category of rural labourers include forest workers, NREGA workers, tendu leaf gatherers, contract labour in factories, autorickshaw/taxi drivers, data entry operators in Panchayati Raj Institutions, vendors etc.

Elgar Pratishthan is registered under Societies Registration Act and Public Trust Act.