SAGY Related News and ArticlesNeo-learners assessed in the GPs : Orissa

State Resource Centre for Adult Education, Rayagada conducted assessment tests for neo-literates in five gram panchayats named Baligaon & Pitaguda of Koraput District, Bilabadi of Kandhamal District, Barida(A) & Kesaripada of Ganjam District. All these panchayats come under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana(SAGY). 1281 learners went through a simplified assessment process out of which around 60% were women.   Under the Sakshar Bharat Programme, a flagship scheme of Govt of India, voluntary teachers of the said panchayats were able to boost the interest of the adult learners and keep them engaged in a sustained basis as far as reading and writing skills are concerned. The centres dazzled with the learners during the evening as almost all the learners came from labour class.  Conducive environment building & thematic workshops at regular intervals kept the interest of the learners sustained throughout. - See more at: orissadaily.com

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SAGY- Rs 15 crore to 15 villages - electricity to BPL

Union minister of state for labour and employment Sh. Bandaru Dattatreya stated that under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, Rs 15 crore was provided to 15 villages to provide electricity to BPL families in Telangana.

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Power minister takes lead on switching to renewable energy

NEW DELHI: While India leads the global solar alliance of 120 nations, MPs, ministers and institutions alike are lining up to make hay while the sun shines. Power minister Piyush Goyal has taken the lead on switching to renewable energy back home. In Golavali village of Maharashtra — which he has adopted under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, Goyal ensured uninterrupted power supply to three schools simply by switching to solar. The village also has 40 such green streetlights, backed by lithium ion batteries when the sun goes down. 

 "Streetlights run on full intensity from 6 pm to 10 pm. From 10 pm to 6 am, they switch to 50% intensity mode. This way more economy of power is ensured. Using lithium ion batteries has also helped as these can be charged even in diffused sunlight. The set-up at schools and lights has run well enough since July," officials from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) told ET. In Jharkhand's Bokaro, the scale is even larger, with 400 solar-backed streetlights installed and running after BJP MP Ravindra Kumar Pandey stepped in, also roping in the Power Finance Corporation. Women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi is also said to be in talks for supply of solar lanterns in her constituency Pilibhit, while many MPs from eastern Uttar Pradesh have also approached the ministry of new & renewable energy (MNRE) and SECI for solar solutions.

Demo Cum Training Prog for Farmers in Itanagar

The District Agriculture Office, Aalo organized a demonstration cum training programme for farmers at Yigi-Kaum village under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) in Aalo,Itanagar.Study and demonstrations were conducted on potato peeler/slicer, ground nut decorticator, brush cutter, wheel hoe , wet land paddy weeder, battery operated knapsack sprayer, power operated sprayer cum duster, maize sheller (tubular n rotary type).Horticulture tool kits, fruit harvester, fertilizer brood caster and manual seed drill,, drum seeder, lawn mower, multi tool bar, according to a release from district agriculture office.Live demon on paddy reaper was also conducted in a paddy field. Around 140 farmers attended the programme. Training was also conducted on gender friendly equipments for women farmers. Similar demos were also organized at Maate, Kabu villages, Logum Jini and at the Dao’s office.The demo cum training programme was organized in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute (NER), Biswanath Chariali, Assam from October 14 to 17.

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SAGY villages avail savings benefits from postal deptt.

Focusing on educating the rural households on the various available schemes and services for economic development purposes under postal service, department of Posts: India Nagaland Division organized a programme on October 15, at Seluophe village for two Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY)  villages including Seluophe and Ikishe, on post office Mela comprising of postal, rural postal life insurance and Sukanya Samridhi account.The mela was carried out in the presence of superintendent of post offices (Hq) Nagaland, Kohima K.I. Singh who delivered the details regarding the benefits of the department to the individuals for savings. He mentioned that the department will set up a branch post office at Seluophe village for easier accessible for the villagers as part of their development plan for SAGY programme. Various benefits of the department that can be access by villagers were also explained by inspector post office Dimapur sub division E. Yanthan and marketing executive Imti Imsong. Meanwhile, SAGY charge officer P. Koza, directed the villagers present to pursue all benefits freely available from the postal department to improve on savings, health insurance and life insurance. He also urged the villagers to have at least one savings account for every household which will yield high return due to the high interest rate the department was offering and savings account that will help them able to receive all kinds of direct transfer benefits from various government schemes. 

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SAGY: Govt mulling giving 'matching grant' to MPs

NEW DELHI: The Rural Development Ministry is contemplating giving "matching grant" to enthuse MPs to adopt villages under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet scheme Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) following complaints of fund crunch."We are thinking providing some sort of mechanism like a matching grant. We will have to see if our ministry could provide grant matching the contribution made by

the MPs," Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh told a press conference a day after the Union budget. 

Singh said he would approach Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on the issue of providing "matching grant" to MPs. 

Read more at:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/sagy-government-mulling-giving-matching-grant-to-mps/articleshow/51209763.cms

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Nirmala dedicates projects to villages

Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman dedicated various projects to her adopted villages Pedhamayanavanilanka and Toorputallu in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, to mark one year of Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana during her visit. The minister was on a visit to these villages from October 18-19. In the last one year, efforts have been undertaken to improve the quality of drinking water, build bio-digester based toilets, establish an integrated solid waste management programme and multipurpose disaster relief center in the two villages with financial assistance from MPLADS funds.  Besides, measures have also been taken to facilitate education, provide financial security, clean energy, aqua culture and roads. As located on the sea coast, the two adopted villages were forced to drink water with high salt content.  To provide them with pure drinking water an RO water treatment plant was inaugurated on April 8 while another RO plant at Pedhamayanvanilanka was inaugurated on October 17.  Funded by MPLADS funds, the second RO water treatment plant at Toorputallu was inaugurated on October 17. The two adopted villages are the first in the country to have individual Bio-digester based toilets developed by Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). A multi-purpose cyclone relief building funded by the World Bank was inaugurated by Sitharaman on October 17. It will act as a disaster relief centre for the adopted village during the time of cyclonic disturbances and for rest of the year

will be used as a centre for computer training, skill development centre for women and for other social gatherings.Besides, Class 10th students of the two villages had to walk between 5-7 kms to reach their examination center for Board Exams. Towards this issue, on February 13, an examination center was established in Toorputallu for Class X students. Besides, special Camps were organised in November last year in the two villages to ensure that all the households are covered under Jhan Dhan Yojana and AADHAR Scheme. Towards clean energy, 3,500 solar lanterns were distributed on October 17 to power households in the villages.

The original source of the article can be read here: Business Standard

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Pedhamayanavanilanka & Toorputallu, West Godavari dist, Andhra : 100% on Solar Power

Serving the Hon'ble PM, Sh Narendra Modi 's call for use of solar power, villages adopted under #Saansadadarshgramyojana - Pedhamayanavanilanka & Toorputallu, West Godavari dist, Andhra Pradesh become the first villages in India to be run 100% on Solar Power. Credits due to Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for their support to implement the project. The Villages will also earn revenue for every unit of electricity produced. #SAGYFrom Economic Times: A 2 MW solar power plant will be developed by a private entity and the power generated by the plant will be bought by Andhra Pradesh discom APEPDCL. As per the proposal, the district administration has earmarked the required land and APEPDCL has consented to buy power from the developer. The solar plant will be completed by August 2016.  The plant would also generate substantial income for the village - 60 paise per unit. 

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34 villages in Pune set to roll out digital schools

The 34 villages selected by Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) and Aamdar Adarsh Gram Yojana (AAGY) are all set to moot for wi-fi facility as well as roll out digital schools and digital libraries. While eight villages are

adopted under the SAGY, the remaining 26 villages are adopted under AAGY and the entire programme focuses on ideal villages to be developed by these MPs and MLAs to develop a model village in the area.

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Farmers exposed to organic farming

Farmers of Thayanur were exposed to various aspects of organic farming at a training programme organised by the Regional Centre of Organic farming, Bangalore, in association with the Department of Agriculture, here on Thursday. The programme was organised in the village adopted by P.Kumar, MP, Tiruchi, under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY). Chandra Prabha Bandari, Junior Scientific officer of Regional Centre of Organic Farming, which is engaged in popularising organic farming in the country, explained the concept of organic farming, use of organic manures such as farm wastes, vermicompost and green manure. Green manure played a big role in sustaining soil health, she said. She elaborated on formation of model organic farms and on-farm compost preparation. Mr. Kumar inaugurated the training and distributed soil health cards and organic farming technical guides to 61 farmers in the presence of R.Chandrasekaran, Joint Director of Agriculture. As a follow-up, a demonstration on organic farming will be held in the village to sensitise farmers to how farm waste can be converted into useful necessary organic inputs. 

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Trg and demonstration prog on potato cultivation

ATMA Dimapur organised a training and demonstration programme under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) on potato cultivation on October 10at Selouphe village in collaboration with District Agriculture Officer (DAO). In his keynote address, DAO and project director (ATMA) S. Bendangtemsu encouraged the trainees and SHGs from Ikishe and Selouphe villages to take up farming activities for additional income generation and sustainability. He said that through such efforts the two villages could establish an impact on other surrounding villages to emulate the model set by them. 

Training on potato cultivation was given  by AI Rokovotsolie, who explained on the package and practices, soil type, seed selection, land preparation, method of sowing, sowing lime, irrigation and harvest. During the course of discussions on pests, diseases and other problems related to potato cultivation, various indigenous and technical methods of prevention and protection against such problems were recommended and demonstrated in the field by the resource person. In the programme chaired by APP L. Monsanger, potato seeds and farm implements were also distributed by the agriculture department to the participants. Altogether 14 SHGs from Ikishe and Selouphe villages attended the training programme. 

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Demo on farm machineries, tools at Seluophe village

Live demonstration on farm machineries, tools, implements and tomato cultivation was organised by ATMA, Dimapur under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) for farmers of Ikishe and Seluophe village at Seluophe village Wednesday. Resource person for farm machineries, tools and implements from Agri Tech Pvt. Ltd, 4th mile and AFA, DAO, Dimapur Chumyani Ovung demonstrated tomato cultivation.  Agri Tech Pvt. Ltd demonstrated various tools and machineries like pruners, sprinklers, multi-sharpener, safety kits, sprayers, gloves, watering cans, chainsaw, grass-cutters, maize cutters etc. The tools and machineries were made available to farmers at discount rate. Chumyani also explained the importance of nursery management of tomato with proper spacing and proper care during transplantation.  Project officer (RD) in-charge of SAGY under Seluophe village, Pfukrulhou Koza gave a brief note on centrally-sponsored SAGY scheme. He urged the farmers to avail the facilities provided by the department. Earlier, the programme was chaired by BTT (ATMA) & AO Dimapur, Ronchamo, while vote of thanks was offered by DPD, ATMA Dimapur, Janet Chishi. The programme was attended by officer-in-charge from NRLM, PMRDF and village council members of Ikishe and Seluophe village.

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Mid Day Meal to be a 'model scheme' under SAGY

NEW DELHI: With the aim of making the Mid Day Meal programme a 'model scheme' in villages covered under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), the Centre has asked states to plug loopholes in its execution and adopt best practices that can be emulated by other schools. Considering its critical importance in meeting many of the objectives of SAGY, the HRD Ministry has asked the states to "issue instructions at all levels for effective implementation of the MDMS (Mid Day Meal Scheme) in eligible schools in SAGY gram panchayats so as to make it a model for other panchayats and villages in the area". In a communication, the Ministry has sought sustainable action which could bring visible improvement and special attention on higher enrollment, attendance and availability of food grains, cooking cost, model kitchen-cum-store, water and hand-washing facilities. Attention has also been sought on cooking utensils, eating plates, timely payment to cook-cum-helpers through e-transfers, varied and enriched menu and enhanced community participation. "You may also consider implementing best practices such as the concept of 'tithi bhojan' for community participation, provision of proper dining halls in convergence with other schemes of rural development or MPLAD and promoting more intensive participation of parents and the community at large in these schools," the communication states. The overall objective of SAGY also includes focusing on universal access to education and improving nutritional status of children, besides promotin ..

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City honchos look forward to meet Tata

City-based industrialists are looking forward for the rare opportunity to meet the doyen of Indian industry, Ratan Tata who will be here to launch the Village Development Plans (VDP) of Vijayawada Parliamentary constituency along with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on August 24.Mr. Tata’s last visit to the city was four years ago (in Aug 2011) in connection with a TATA Group company dealers’ meeting. The present trip is going to be a

milestone both for the TATA Trust, headed by Mr. Tata himself, and the Government of Andhra Pradesh. TATA Trust is partnering with the State government offering a helping hand for the development of villages on a large scale.By extending a helping hand in the development of 264 villages in four rural Assembly segments of Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituency, it has opened a new chapter in the participation of private companies in creation of social infrastructure in the State.Member of Parliament Kesineni Srinivas, who took the initiative in response to a call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to MPs to adopt villages under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), is in an exuberant mood as the well-known trust has readily agreed to change the rural landscape in his constituency and Mr. Tata, present Chairman Emeritus of TATA Sons, has chosen to personally fly down to launch the project.The full New Report can be read from the The Hindu, 24th August 2015. The online version is available here!

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Corporators too can choose one area for model development

Nagpur: Following Central government's Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (model village scheme) and state government's Aamdar Adarsh Gram Yojana, NMC too has launched an Adarsh Vasati Yojana (model area scheme).NMC standing committee chairman Ramesh Shingare has invited all 149 corporators to come forward and avail the scheme. "Each corporator will have to select one area in his/her ward. They have to prepare list of works to be undertaken for turning the selected area into ideal one. Proposal has to be submitted with the assistant commissioner of respective zone who will table it before the standing committee for approval," he said.Shingare added standing committee will provide matching grant to the funds allocated by the corporator. "Each corporator gets Rs 17.50 lakh as ward fund and Rs 15 lakh for fixed priority works, Rs 10 lakh as zonal funds for roads development and another Rs 12.50 lakh from zonal budget making a total of Rs 55 lakh in one financial year. Corporator will have to provide funds from out of this

for works in chosen area and standing committee will provide an equal amount," he said.

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Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana: The will to serve our villages

By Nirmala Sitharaman

Last week, fellow parliamentarian Tathagata Satpathy wrote on the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) and chose to call it a “flawed scheme, that looks good on paper but whose implementation is flawed” (‘Adarsh Milligram Yojana’, ‘Poke Me’, ET, July 11). Since he has written so decisively about the flaws in “implementation” of SAGY, a rejoinder is in order to set the record straight on why putting SAGY into action is no rocket science. All that it perhaps takes from us is sincere commitment.In comparison to a Lok Sabha MP, it may indeed be easier for a Rajya Sabha MP to adopt and allocate funds under SAGY. But to state that it is aHerculean task for a Lok Sabha MP to implement SAGY is also incorrect. For instance, when an MP from the Lok Sabha claims that he finds it impossible to pick a few villages out of thousand-odd ones in his constituency and is left asking “on what basis” he should pick a village for adoption, the answer is not that difficult. What better basis for adopting a village than choosing, say, ‘the least developed village’ and transforming it into a ‘model village’?The outcry that the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds are too little for the execution of SAGY because there are so many assembly segments within one parliamentary constituency is again hollow. As per the official website of the MPLADS, in the financial year 2014-15, the government had released Rs 2,147.50 crore for all the members of the current Lok Sabha. Even though a year has passed, 75 per cent of the funds — Rs 1,659.88 crore — remain unspent.Many MPs have been unable to recommend more than 50 per cent of their MPLADS funds that were meant to be utilised in the past year. Drawing from my personal experience, I provided for three reverse osmosis water treatment plants, an underground drainage system, a digital community centre and a dozen roads in my adopted villages under the MPLADS, and was still left with enough money to

fund more than 20 projects in the rest of the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.One of the key reasons why villages have lagged behind is not because there are no schemes for their development. It is because these schemes have not been effectively implemented. The idea behind SAGY is to use the leadership skills of MPs to ensure that at least around 800 adopted villages every year are given guaranteed access to the existing centraland state-sponsored schemes for which funds are already available with the district administration.For example, my adopted village, Pedhamyanavanilanka, is a coastal village in Andhra Pradesh that gets submerged in water every monsoon. At the time I was conducting the ‘need assessment’ survey there to pencil down its top priorities, an obvious demand from the villagers was for the construction of an elevated bridge to ensure that the village is not cut off from rest of the world.It did not require me to generate additional funds for implementation of this project. The proposal for such a construction was already covered under the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) scheme. All I had to do was to ensure that the project was expeditiously implemented.There are dozens of centrally sponsored schemes — the Pradhanmantri Grameen Sadak Yojana, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employee Guarantee Act (MNREGA), the Jan Dhan Yojana, the Indira Awaas Yojana, the Pradhanmantri Jeevanjyoti Beema Yojana, the Atal Pension Yojana and others — which can be readily implemented in the adopted villages without having to mobilise additional funds. Then there are activities like promoting the culture of cleanliness and hygiene, gender neutrality, retention of children in school, etc, that have no financial bearing at all.The least convincing claim against SAGY is that it is an “armchair” scheme “imposed” on the people. SAGY requires that its development plan is designed by individual members of the village in a gram sabha. Can such a scheme be called an “armchair” scheme? Under SAGY, MPs have to take up issues that are given priority by the villagers. Is this an “imposition”? It is, in fact, the closest that any administration has come to the people in designing, implementing and evaluating a scheme.The prime minister’s vision for SAGY is simple and yet game-changing. If around 800 parliamentarians adopt a village every year, by 2019, more than 4,000 villages will be transformed into model villages. Without putting an ounce of extra burden

on the taxpayer and by effective utilisation of presently underutilised local area funds, SAGY would transform the lives of more than 2.5 crore people in rural India. This, by no measure, will be an ordinary feat.The writer is Union minister of state for commerce and industry, and for finance and corporate affairs. Inputs from Akshay Labroo

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SR: banks agree to spend on adarsh grams at Mysuru

In continuation of a meeting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) involving representatives of industries here recently, the district administration on Friday held another programme with the heads of banks.Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha presided over the meeting. Heads of about 20 major and minor banks attended it.The focus was on conceptualising and implementing CSR initiatives to improve basic amenities and implementation of Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna (SAGY).The bankers were informed about the yojna under which Karimuddanahalli gram panchayat of Hunsur taluk in Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency and B. Matakere gram panchayat of H.D. Kote taluk in Chamarajanagara Lok Sabha constituency are to be developed as model panchayats. The Deputy Commissioner has been appointed nodal officer for the scheme.Works for Rs.1,71,75,000 had been allotted to banks through voluntary consent. Basic amenities such as building of toilets for schools, installing permanent drinking water facilities, and providing books for libraries and computers was agreed to be taken up within a month.At the meeting, the banks were asked to take up the responsibility to fill the existing gaps in government schemes in these gram panchayats. “The response by banks was encouraging and have agreed to take up various activities,” Ms. Shikha said.

Karimuddanahalli in Hunsur and B. Matkere in H.D. Kote identified as Adarsh Grams under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

Kirron inaugurates solar power plant at school

MP Kirron Kher today inaugurated a 50 kWp Grid Tied Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sarangpur village, which was adopted by Kher under the “Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana” (SAGY) of the Government of India. Kher on this occasion said, “I appreciate the efforts taken by the Chandigarh Administration in developing Chandigarh as a Model Solar City. One of the smart initiatives being started from this village is ‘production of power through renewable energy’.” She desired that other schools of Sarangpur should also have solar plants in shortest possible time. Santosh Kumar, Director, UT Science and Technology Department, said 50 kWp grid tied rooftop solar photovoltaic power plant project had been implemented by the Chandigarh Renewal Energy, Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST). The total cost of the project is Rs 45.47 lakh, which includes operation and maintenance charge for 10 years. The plant will be able to generate 62,500 kWh (units) per year, he said.The Original Story is available here: http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/chandigarh/kirron-inaugurates-solar-power-plant-at-school/108214.html

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Pyari stands No 1 in SAGY execution

Rajya Sabha member (Independent) Pyarimohan Mohapatra has emerged as No 1 among all MPs of Odisha in implementation of the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), a national project. Under the SAGY, MPs adopt gram panchayats under their Local Area Development (LAD) funds. Mohapatra adopted the Dhauli gram panchayat and developed it into a model village, according to revelations made by the Khordha District Magistrate, nodal officer of the SAGY, and the ADM Bhubaneswar, in-charge officer.Mohapatra has been able to achieve the vast progress well before the allotted time limit, they said. District Collector Niranjan Sahoo also praised District Planning Officer AK Panda and Sarapanch Rabi Maharana for their cooperation. It was

revealed that training and sensitisation programmes along with the baseline survey have...

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Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana- Purana Bharat sees the light

Highways often point to the worrying contradiction that is India, and National Highway-8 is no different. Stretching from Mumbai to Delhi via Gujarat and Rajasthan, it is the kind of road that would have been little more than a dream in the '90s. Four-laned for most parts and six-laned on a short stretch, it exemplifies India's rush to the future, but on the sides of the road the country is stuck in the morass of the past.Barely a couple of kilometres off NH-8, about 120 km from Mumbai, Parvati Wartha is glad to have lights in her home for the first time in her life. A widowed mother of six girls, one of whom lives with her, she beams with joy when asked how life has changed after the government recently gave her four tiny lights powered by a solar panel. "I even leave a light on at night," she says, smiling. About 30 homes like hers in Charoti village in Palghar district have got solar-powered lights in the last four months under a government scheme.When asked if she knew that she was aware of this scheme, she says, "No, we don't know about any of the schemes. The government officials just came one day and installed these lights." Making people like Wartha aware of the schemes they are eligible for is one of BJP member of Parliament (MP) Poonam Mahajan's tasks in Charoti, the village she has adopted under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).Launched on October 11, on the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan, by prime ministerNarendra Modi, it is one of the key programmes of his government, which involves MPs cutting across party lines. Modi asked each MP to take responsibility for the development of a village by 2016, two more by 2019, and then one each year till 2024.Lok Sabha MPs were asked to choose a gram panchayat in their constituency, and if their constituency is an urban area, a village near their constituency. Rajya Sabha MPs were asked to pick a village in their home state.As per the latest data, 491 of the 543 Lok Sabha MPs and 185 of the 244 Rajya Sabha MPs have picked a village each. Though there are no specific funds

allocated to this programme, the MPs make use of the various schemes available to villages and among the objectives of SAGY are better livelihood, education, self-governance, gender equality, financial inclusion and cleanliness; and there are targets every other month. "This is not a rupiya-paisa yojana but a demand-driven, people's participatory scheme," Modi said at the time of the launch.Mahajan, who won from the Mumbai North Central constituency, says she wanted to adopt a tribal village as part of the programme and hence adopted Charoti, threefourths of whose 4,600 residents belong to scheduled tribes. "It is shocking and depressing that not far from Mumbai people are still living in purana Bharat," notes the daughter of the late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan. She says the fact that the Parliamentary constituency Charoti falls in, Palghar, is held by her party member was not a factor in her choosing the hamlet. "Though I did meet the MLA and MP, I interact mostly with government officials," notes Mahajan.She admits that though she may not be able to visit the village every month, she is keeping a close watch on the developments in Charoti through her associates. "She is very focused on this. She has asked for a report every day. Even if nothing happens, she wants us to tell her that," says Kushal Mehra, former co-convenor of Friends of BJP Mumbai, who visits Charoti every weekend to meet officials and villagers as part of SAGY.He adds that one of their first tasks is to get every department to list the schemes they have and collate them and put them out in a Marathi booklet. "I personally found about a hundred schemes. I'm sure there are more," he observes.Charoti could do with some serious attention from the government. Its literacy rate in the 2011 Census was 58.1% compared with Maharashtra's 82.3% and nearly 60% of its residents live below the poverty line. One of the first things Mahajan's team did was to go to all the 10 blocks in the village to ascertain their problems and demands. Later, on May 2, a meeting was called with the villagers and officials and a map of the 10 blocks was drawn in the sand with what needed to be done where.Mehra says the village development plan will be ready in a few days.

Part of the plan will be a '4 crore project under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme, and 16 other water supply projects totalling 1.4 crore'.Among Mahajan's first priorities was lavatories for those who did not have it. In the last four months, 30 households have built lavatories and been paid 12,000 each for it under the Swachh Bharat Mission. By the end of the month, another 50

households will also have lavatories. Vinod Wagat, who rides an autorickshaw, dipped into his savings and built a concrete toilet with an asbestos top after he came to know of this scheme."Till I built it, my wife, two daughters and I would go to the field behind our house," says Wagat.Besides the solar lights and toilets in homes and solar-powered motors to draw groundwater, the main school in the village has been painted and seven solar street lights have been installed recently.Mehra says there are plans to set up a 20-computer lab and train students under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in the school. Also on the anvil are encouraging farmers to think beyond the paddy crop, the mainstay of the region, and to practice organic farming, and also train the unemployed youth of the region to stitch the uniforms of the 900 school stu dents in the village, providing them a source of income.Mahajan says a lot of companies have written to her about their interest in projects in Charoti, but she says she first has to set the house in order before inviting them. "What we are trying to do is show how efficient the government can be," she adds. Tribal development inspector AS Ingle appreciates being pushed to deliver on the government's objectives: "We can then proudly tell people how Charoti has developed."

While SAGY has not attracted as much attention as the other marquee initiatives of the Modi government like the Jan-Dhan Yojana and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan as it is more incremental than the latter, it has the potential to be a game-changer for India's villages if only our MPs treat it with the seriousness and commitment it deserves.Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Saansad-Adarsh-Gram-Yojana-Purana-Bharat-sees-the-light/articleshow/47315313.cms

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Dr Jitendra allocates MPLAD for Kathua, Udhampur Rly stations

Union Minister of State for PMO, Dr. Jitendra Singh has allocated an amount of Rs. 34,24,584/- from his MP LAD Fund for upgradation of Railway Stations and platforms at Udhampur, Kathua and Ram Nagar falling in his Lok Sabha constituency.

The above funds have been allocated as a part of the Indian Railways’ programme to augment passenger amenities.The amount will be spent on building 30 stainless steel benches and 4 stainless steel platform shelters at Kathua railway station, 50 stainless steel benches and 4 stainless steel platform shelters at Udhampur railway station and 6 RCC Benches and 2 stainless steel platform shelters at the smaller railway station of Ram Nagar, respectively. This is in addition to the MP LAD allocations already made from installment of Rs.2.5 Cr, which stands fully the first disbursed.Pertinent to mention that Dr. Jitendra Singh is the only Member of Parliament from J&K State who has, within the first one year of his 5-year term, adopted as many as four villages for development as "model villages", out of which three villages of Sangwali-Hira Nagar, Humbal-Doda and Bhattan-Kishtwar have been adopted under “Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana” while the fourth village of Saddal in Udhampur district, which was ravaged by floods last year, is planned to be fully developed as “smart village” by the middle of next year and till now  over 40 newly constructed hutments have already been allotted to local villagers.

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Karayamputhur to Become Model With Rs 14-Crore Plan

PUDUCHERRY:  Village development plan (VDP) for developing Karayamputhur as a model village under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) has been finalised at an outlay of around `14.12 crore and approved by the district-level committee, which met under the chairmanship of Lok Sabha MP R Radhakrishnan on Friday.The plan prepared through convergence of 16 schemes of Central and State government is set to go on stream shortly and executed within a year, official sources told Express. Radhakrishnan had adopted Karayampathur village under SAGY on November 22 last year and planned several developments. Situated around 40 kilometres from Puducherry, the village has a population of 4,518, with the Scheduled Caste population being 1,191.An expert committee headed by Ramkumar of the Rajiv Gandhi Veterinary College and comprising officials from all the departments of the government, bank officials and officials of the Karayampathur village panchayat was constituted to conduct a survey and find out from the people their requirements for development.

Based on the feedback from the people a detailed plan execution report was prepared and Radhakrishnan released it in the review meeting. The report contains the approximate time to implement the schemes suggested by the people, estimated cost, department which would implement it and the existing central government scheme for implementation.As per the VDP for the village which is predominantly agricultural, de-silting and widening of a major irrigation canal, the Bangaru canal and construction of a bridge over it has been planned at `1.5 crore by availing funding from NABARD.Besides, detailed plans for soil reclamation and farmers in the village to be provided with details of the soil condition and crops best suited for cultivation. The soil will be periodically monitored and farmers would be guided on the type of crops to be cultivated for better productivity, yields and revenue, said officials.

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Will make Neemka Shahjahanpur village a model village within a year, says MP Mahesh Sharma

From giving employment to youth to making the village Wi-Fi enabled, were some of the promises made by MP Mahesh Sharma to the villagers of Neemka Shahjahanpur on Sunday afternoon.Union Minister Mahesh Sharma was accorded a warm welcome at the village located nearly 60 kms from Noida, which he had adopted under PM Narendra Modi’s Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojna. Sharma, who adopted the village three months back further promises to make the village a model village within one year. This means the village will soon have better road connectivity, schools, hospitals, improved drainage facilities, toilets to name a few basic facilities. This is the first time the minister visited the village after adopting it under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojna (SAGY).The whole village thronged the government middle school in Neemka to see Mahesh Sharma, with a hope of cure for the sufferings of the villagers.Talking to the villagers he said, “People of Gautam Buddha Nagar have given me so much. It is my time to give it back. We will make this village a model village in a year and others will be developed accordingly. As far as electricity crunch is considered, I know there is a scarcity of electricity in the state. We will try to generate electricity through, biomass and solar.”

However, makeover of the village which has a population of around 4000 will not be easy as it is plagued with damaged or no roads in most of the areas, lack of toilets, ill-maintained Panchayat Ghar, poor drainage system, shortage of electricity to name a few.“The nearby hospital is in Jewar, which is 7-8kms and the college for students is also in Jewar.  It is more difficult for girls to travel in buses to schools. In short, there is no arrangement of hospitals or schools in the village,” Satendra, former head of the village said.He also said organisations like ASSOCHAM and Birla Institute of management and technology have come forward to volunteer and suggest ways for the development of the village.“A team of 10 management students will do a survey and will try to understand the problems and needs of the people. They will educate villagers on sustainable development and will also help villagers in resolving issues and disputes,” said NN Sharma, Associate Professor, BIMTECH.On the other hand, ASSOCHAM will offer skill development training in order to employ the youth of the village. Sharma also added that a nine-member team of villagers will be formed who will decide what all work is needed to be done in the village and will also resolve local disputes.Concluding the gathering, he said, “You have given me a responsibility of three-three cabinets. If not on weekdays, I will surely visit on weekends. Most importantly, I need your support to change the blueprint of this village.”

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Centre to launch agri-training programme in 593 SAGY

NEW DELHI: To boost farm productivity, the Centre is planning to launch soon an agri-training programme in 593 villages under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, one of the flagship schemes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The nodal Agriculture Ministry is working out the training programme guidelines for implementation in each village adopted by Members of Parliament under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).

"The training programme would most likely start during the forthcoming kharif season (beginning July). We are targeting to cover 593 notified Sansad Adarsh Grams," a senior Agriculture Ministry official said.Under the proposed programme, the government plans to conduct field-level demonstrations on organic farming, testing of soil health and agri-technologies including use of different machineries for raising crop productivity.The agri-training programme, to be conducted for two days in each village, will be implemented by the National Centre of Organic Farming and Central Fertiliser Quality Control and Training Institute along with the support of the state governments, the official said.The training would aim to create awareness among farmers on how the use of farm technologies and balanced use of fertilisers and even organic inputs can help achieve better crop yields.SAGY, which was launched in October 2014, is a rural development programme that primarily focuses upon the development in villages.

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How Poonam Mahajan is developing Charoti village

Highways often point to the worrying contradiction that is India, and National Highway-8 is no different. Stretching from Mumbai to Delhi via Gujarat and Rajasthan, it is the kind of road that would have been little more than a dream in the '90s. Four-laned for most parts and six-laned on a short stretch, it exemplifies India's rush to the future, but on the sides of the road the country is stuck in the morass of the past.Barely a couple of kilometres off NH-8, about 120 km from Mumbai, Parvati Wartha is glad to have lights in her home for the first time in her life. A widowed mother of six girls, one of whom lives with her, she beams with joy when asked how life has changed after the government recently gave her four tiny lights powered by a solar panel. "I even leave a light on at night," she says, smiling. About 30 homes like hers in Charoti village in Palghar district have got solar-powered lights in the last four months under a government scheme.When asked if she knew that she was aware of this scheme, she says, "No, we don't know about any of the schemes. The government officials just came one day and installed these lights." Making people like Wartha aware of the schemes they are

eligible for is one of BJP member of Parliament (MP) Poonam Mahajan's tasks in Charoti, the village she has adopted under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).Launched on October 11, on the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan, by prime minister Narendra Modi, it is one of the key programmes of his government, which involves MPs cutting across party lines. Modi asked each MP to take responsibility for the development of a village by 2016, two more by 2019, and then one each year till 2024.Lok Sabha MPs were asked to choose a gram panchayat in their constituency, and if their constituency is an urban area, a village near their constituency. Rajya Sabha MPs were asked to pick a village in their home state. As per the latest data, 491 of the 543 Lok Sabha MPs and 185 of the 244 Rajya Sabha MPs have picked a village each. Though there are no specific funds allocated to this programme, the MPs make use of the various schemes available to villages and among the objectives of SAGY are better livelihood, education, self-governance, gender equality, financial inclusion and cleanliness; and there are targets every other month."This is not a rupiya-paisa yojana but a demand-driven, people's participatory scheme," Modi said at the time of the launch. Mahajan, who won from the Mumbai North Central constituency, says she wanted to adopt a tribal village as part of the programme and hence adopted Charoti, threefourths of whose 4,600 residents belong to scheduled tribes. "It is shocking and depressing that not far from Mumbai people are still living in purana Bharat," notes the daughter of the late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan.She says the fact that the Parliamentary constituency Charoti falls in, Palghar, is held by her party member was not a factor in her choosing the hamlet. "Though I did meet the MLA and MP, I interact mostly with government officials," notes Mahajan.She admits that though she may not be able to visit the village every month, she is keeping a close watch on the developments in Charoti through her associates. "She is very focused on this. She has asked for a report every day. Even if nothing happens, she wants us to tell her that," says Kushal Mehra, former co-convenor of Friends of BJP Mumbai, who visits Charoti every weekend to meet officials and villagers as part of SAGY. He adds that one of their first tasks is to get every department to list the schemes they have and collate them and put them out in a

Marathi booklet. "I personally found about a hundred schemes. I'm sure there are more," he observes.Charoti could do with some serious attention from the government. Its literacy rate in the 2011 Census was 58.1% compared with Maharashtra's 82.3% and nearly 60% of its residents live below the poverty line. One of the first things Mahajan's team did was to go to all the 10 blocks in the village to ascertain their problems and demands. Later, on May 2, a meeting was called with the villagers and officials and a map of the 10 blocks was drawn in the sand with what needed to be done where.Mehra says the village development plan will be ready in a few days. Part of the plan will be a `4 crore project under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme, and 16 other water supply projects totalling `1.4 crore.Among Mahajan's first priorities was lavatories for those who did not have it. In the last four months, 30 households have built lavatories and been paid `12,000 each for it under the Swachh Bharat Mission. By the end of the month, another 50 households will also have lavatories. Vinod Wagat, who rides an autorickshaw, dipped into his savings and built a concrete toilet with an asbestos top after he came to know of this scheme.

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Adopted Varanasi village gives a thumbs up

After the rumble-tumble on the highway and the pot-holed arterial road near Raja ka Talaab, the road to Jayapur, some 30 km from Kashi, feels like an oasis in a parched desert. One does not encounter a single bump on the way to this village, indicating its VIP status.

This is the village prime minister Narendra Modi adopted last November under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that it is not MPs who are taking guardianship of the village under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, but villagers who were taking MPs under their wing, through this scheme.Gabru, a road-side vendor selling cucumber signals to a road ahead that he says, goes straight to 'Modi ka gaon' (Modi's village). Smiling he tells us that it is a 'swarg' (heaven).

Giant wall painted advertisements of different nationalized banks, their schemes and union-government run schemes like the 'Sukanya Samriddhi', Jan Dhan Yojna' and the three socials ecurity schemes rolled out by the BJP government greet you as you enter the village. Trucks and dumpers are off-loading construction material at a point outside the recently inaugurated sub-post office.Manoj Antala, an employee of a Surat, Gujarat based firm who is overseeing the laying of inter-locking tiles in a stretch of 18-km lanes of the villages, said that a deadline of 40-days has been set for him to complete the work. "It is a very enriching experience" he says while adding how they were working 24x7 to ensure that 'Modi saheb's' dreams for this village are completed in time.Swaminath Gond, a 62-year-old rag picker is headed to one of the new bio-toilets constructed at the village, near an old temple. Asked how things were in the village his sun-tanned face breaks into a smile: "Modi ji se bahut khush hain (We are very happy with Modi)," he blurts out.Vinod Kumar Verma, a 22-year-old undergraduate pursuing polytechnic says things are looking up after Modi adopted the village but wishes that some factories should came up in neighbourhood to generate employment."Some companies should be brought here by PM Modi so that youth like us get jobs" he says as Sujit Kumar Gupta, an 18-year-old polio-afflicted boy nods in agreement. Pursuing his BA (IInd year) Gupta said that "things happening in Jayapur were not even imagined in their wildest dreams." His mother Meena Devi however wants more. Triloki Singh, her neighbour says impetus should be given to the cottage industry in the region.In a village of 700-odd families, 135 solar street lights have come up. There is a solar pump near the under-construction 'Panchayat Bhawan' which fills in ample water in an overhead tank. Of the 15 bio-toilets to come up in the village, eight are already functional, informs Narayan Patel, the de-facto village head. With Durgavati Devi, the village 'pradhan' busy with meetings in Varanasi, it's Patel, her brother-in-law, who holds the fort.He says that the Prime Minister's Office was constantly in touch and was monitoring the work here. The villagers however rue that the electricity supply to the village is abysmal at only 8-hours a day. Modi's men say that's the job of the state's Akhilesh Yadav government. Ask 70-year-od Panna Lal, lying on a charpoy under a tree how many marks he would give Prime Minister Modi for development in the village and pat comes the reply: 15 on 10.

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