New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Rural Development has sanctioned a survey to evaluate the impact of the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY)—one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet projects—before deciding on its second phase, ThePrint has learnt.
SAGY was launched in October 2014 with the objective of comprehensive development of rural villages by improving basic amenities and the standard of living via convergence of central government schemes and through people’s participation. It was also meant to serve as a model for neighbouring gram panchayats (GPs) to learn from and adapt.
Under the scheme, each MP was expected—though not mandated—to adopt eight GPs for infrastructure development. According to SAGY guidelines, of the eight GPs under each MP, three GPs were to be developed by March 2019 and the remaining five by March this year.
Officials in the rural development ministry told ThePrint that MPs played a crucial role in SAGY’s implementation, but response from them was muffled. While the first phase of the scheme ended in March this year, only about 54 percent (3,361) of the nearly 6,300 GPs (ideally to be taken up under the scheme given that there are about 793 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs) were adopted by MPs.
Though there was no financial allocation under the scheme, the ministry still decided to evaluate its impact before finalising the plan to launch the second phase of the scheme, according to ministry officials.
“The decision to launch the second phase of the scheme will be based on the findings of the impact assessment. The findings will help us make necessary changes to the scheme. If phase 2 is launched, the findings will help us ensure effective implementation on ground,” a senior official in the rural development ministry told ThePrint.
The impact assessment will be carried out in 100 GPs that have been adopted by MPs in five regions across the country. “The idea is to assess the infrastructure development in these villages and the socio-economic impact on the lives of people because of the work done under the scheme,” the official added.
The survey will also look at the extent of work done and the reasons for the slow pace of implementation of projects conceived under the scheme, sources in the ministry told ThePrint.
The muted response to the scheme from MPs and the slow pace of implementation of the sanctioned work has been a major cause for concern, according to ministry officials.
The pace of implementation of the work has been a major cause for concern. During a review meeting in November last year, the ministry had asked state governments and Union territories (UTs) to expedite work and redraw development plans if needed, ThePrint had reported.
ThePrint has reached the ministry for a comment. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
A former Delhi MP, who did not want to be named, told ThePrint that it is a good scheme, but there aren’t many rural villages in Delhi. “We still adopted a few villages in other constituencies.”
In other states such as Haryana, where around 67 percent of the sanctioned work has been completed, a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP told ThePrint that he got work done in all the villages he adopted. “But since there was no dedicated fund for the scheme, it took time to get the work done.”
Few states have completed over 70% of sanctioned work
According to the rural development ministry’s portal, of the 3,361 villages adopted by MPs, the village development plan for 3,112 were prepared and uploaded on the SAGY portal.
In only six states were more than 70 percent of the planned projects completed. These states were Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Karnataka, according to the dashboard.
In states such as Bihar, Punjab, Assam and Maharashtra among others, less than 50 percent of the sanctioned work was completed as on Monday (14 October).
In the past decade, close to 2.62 lakh activities were planned under the scheme, of which 2.29 lakh were completed.
Around 7,309 tasks are under various stages of implementation, according to the dashboard.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
Also Read: HPCL to Reliance, Modi’s adarsh villages have hit CSR jackpot — solar lights, roads, anganwadis