63% work under model village scheme over, Tamil Nadu tops the list
With 38% incomplete work and 17% plans not available, the progress of the scheme will be reviewed later this month by officials and experts.
The Narendra Modi government’s flagship Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), for targeted development of select villages, has seen 63% of its work completed, according to official data.
Tamil Nadu has clocked the best usage, completed 96% of the projects, followed by Uttar Pradesh which finished 88% of works. On the other hand, West Bengal has not completed a single project, the data shows.
The rural welfare programme was launched in October 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to develop model Gram Panchayats under the leadership of Members of Parliament (MPs). The project allows MPs to cherry pick a village to push development projects. So far, 1,418 Gram Panchayats have prepared Village Development Plans (VDP) with 72,720 projects. “But around 300 GPs identified under SAGY-II are yet to prepare VDP,” said a document of the rural development ministry.
With 38% incomplete work and 17% plans not available, the progress of the scheme will be reviewed later this month by officials and experts.
Adding to problems, official records also say that in 2014, the first phase of the programme saw adoption of 1,493 Gram Panchayats, but in the second phase with 2019, MPs adopted 348 Gram Panchayats, showing a sharp decline in the rate of adopting a village.
A senior Opposition MP maintained that picking one village over another is always a tricky choice. “There is always a fear that residents of villages left out in the scheme would be upset. After all, only five villages can be adopted in five years.”
Apart from West Bengal, Assam (25% work completed in each of these), Bihar (36%), Punjab (37%), Odisha (42%) and Maharashtra (44%) are the bigger states where large number of projects are pending.
The rural development ministry has also identified that only 30% of utilization certificates or statement of expenditure have been shared by States/UTs till July 15, 2020. These documents are necessary for release of next instalment of funds and delay is submitting these proofs of expenses, further delays the work.
The official document also points out that after the union rural development ministry asked the states to organize orientation programmes for MPs to make the scheme more successful, only 4 states/ UTs have done it.
Along with the schemes such as cooking gas and electricity connections, rural housing and roads, the SAGY forms an important component for development of Indian villages. Officials emphasize that the scheme attempts to develop the value chain in rural India.
Officials added that despite the difficulties in the scheme, there is no plan to shelve the programme. But the situation will be reviewed on August 28-29 to plug the loopholes and ensure a better delivery system.
