Sarpanch is backbone of Panchayat Raj system: Devendra Fadanvis
Pune, Feb. 15: Infrastructure facilities, social amenities and economic development is the three-pronged strategy of developing ideal villages and Sarpanch is the backbone of Panchayat Rai System said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis and appealed to the sarpanchs to devote them to make their villages ideal as envisaged by Mahatma Gandhi and Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj.
He was speaking after inaugurating the 7th Sarpanch Mahaparisahd at Dhariwal Sabhagruh at Alandi near here organized by ‘Sakal Group’ on Thursday. Village Development Minister Pankaja Munde, MLA Baburao Pacharne, Chairman, Sakal Group Prataprao Pawar, Chairman, Force Motors Pradip Ghadiwal, Chief Editor of Sakal Group Sriram Pawar, Editor of Agrovan Adinath Chavan, Pramodraje Bhosale and others were prominently present on the occasion.
Lauding the efforts of Sakal Group in implementing various programs for development of agriculture and rural development, Chief Minister Fadanvis said that this Sarpanch Mahaparishad consistently being held for the last seven years is kind of a workshop to make sarpanchs of the state more mature. This will accelerate the process of rural development. 48 percent of the state’s population lives in cities while 52 percent are village dwellers. The rural sector has a greater share in state’s development and therefore, development of agriculture and villages is the only mantra for developing the state, the Chief Minister said, adding that the government has given major thrust on village development along with agriculture development.
Giving example of ‘Jalayukta Shivar’ scheme which enhanced the water resources in the state, Fadanvis underlined that with growing public participation in any government scheme, the scheme gets transformed into people’s scheme and then only the development process gets accelerated. ‘Jalayukta Shivar’ scheme has become a mass movement through such massive public participation he added saying that its effects are visible in the state. Emphasizing that every village must strive to be self-reliant in water resources, Fadanvis further urged the gathering to understand the changes in the climate and how to safeguard the farming process from them. Excessive use of chemical fertilisers has affected the fertility of soil, we need to take care of that, he said. He also advised them to evolve process for management of solid waste and safeguard the water resources in their respective villages.
Government spends major portion of the state budget on agriculture and village development he said adding that the people must understand the government schemes in right perspective. The state government has taken steps to erect solar feeders to provide 24x7 power supply to the farmers. He reiterated that the government is committed to welfare of the farmers in the state. Government has adopted the online system so that the genuine farmers could get the benefit of loan waiver scheme. One crore farmers have registered under this scheme, the Chief Minister said. This scheme will be continued till the last eligible farmer in the line received the benefits of this loan waiver scheme, he added.
Fadanvis further said that the government is committed to take healthcare facilities to rural people in an effective manner. The Central Government has just announced the largest healthcare insurance scheme and the state government is laying stress on making rural healthcare system more capable and effective through the telemedicine system, he added.
It is necessary to provide employment to rural youth to ensure rural development, Fadanvis said adding that the government is emphasizing on employment generation in rural areas. As a part of this effort, 2.5 lakh youths will be given training in skill development in farm sector through Sakal Group. In addition to this the traditional system of ‘Bara Balutedar’ which formed the basis of economic development of villages in the past, will be braced with modern techniques and technology to generate more employment opportunities, he said.
The government has launched ‘Mahalabharthi’ an online initiative to make them know about the various development schemes launched by the government for the masses. Once people feed their personal information in this online initiative, the information about the scheme will be available at one click. The Chief Minister appealed to the people to take maximum advantage of this scheme.
The State has done best work in the country in the field of cleanliness. 60 lakh latrines were constructed in the state. Along with cleanliness, the government intends to provide house to every citizen by 2019. He appealed to all the 1000 sarpanchs assembled at the program to ensure that everyone in their village gets a house of his own. The state government is ready to extend all the help for this project. He assured them that he would remain in constant touch with all of the satpanchs assembled here through Sakal Group, through audio clip.
Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde said that agriculture and village development are priority for the state government. The government has initiated ‘Sarpanch Darbar’ program in Mantralaya. The funds for village development are directly deposited in the account of sarpanch as per the directives of the 14th finance commission. The Government intends to provide pucca roads in all the villages and finances are made available to SHGs at zero percent interest. The state has done remarkable work in rural cleanliness and now sanitary napkins will be supplied at reduced cost to ensure health of rural adolescent girls and women.
The lottery for tractor on behalf of Force Motors was drawn at the hands of Chief Minister Fadanvis and the lucky winner was sarpanch Meghshyam Ghongde of Amaravati. He was given the keys of tractor at the hands of the dignitaries present.
Sakal Group Chairman Prataprao Pawar made introductory remarks and gave information about sarpanch mahaparishad. Adinath Chavhan proposed vote of thanks.