UP Rural Dept officials told to adopt 3 villages each

With Assembly elections just about a year away,the Uttar Pradesh government has asked officers of the Rural Development Department

With Assembly elections just about a year away,the Uttar Pradesh government has asked officers of the Rural Development Department,from the secretary to block development officers,to adopt three villages each and turn these into model villages through proper implementation of schemes.

One of the three villages each officer gets will be an Ambedkar gram. An Ambedkar gram is a village with a high population of SCs/STs,and the government has special development schemes for them.

Since the Rural Development Department has around 2,000 officers,about 6,000 villages will get adopted. However,most of the Ambedkar Grams,which number about 2,200,will get adopted.

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The government hopes that by making the adopted villages models of development,it can accelerate the development in all the 52,000 villages of the state. An order has been sent out across the state in this regard,with specific guidelines for implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS),Swarna Jayanti Gramin Swarojgar Yojna,Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY),housing schemes for the poor,and drinking water facilities.

The work of identification of the villages and which officer would adopt which villages is currently on in Lucknow.

The government order states that officials should visit the villages as frequently as necessary,personally supervise the work and submit a monthly report,giving details of the progress of implementation of various schemes,action taken in cases of non-compliance,and feedback from the beneficiaries.

A senior official of the Rural Development Department said: During inspections,it was found that despite the fact that there is no shortage of funds,officials failed to ensure that the benefits of development schemes reached the people. So,it has been decided to set accountability of all officials down to the block level.

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The order does not say how long the adoption will last,but officials have been told that their performance will be recorded in their annual confidential reports. Copies of the order have been sent to district magistrates and other departments. In the case of MNREGA,officials have to plan work in such a manner that at least one work is in progress all the time,all those who demand work get employment within 15 days,preference is given to women,and payment is made to workers as soon as possible.

In rural housing,officials have to ensure that the selected persons get the money at every stage on time to complete their houses expeditiously. They have to ensure drinking water facilities in adopted villages and ensure repair of faulty pumps.

Under the Swarna Jayanti Gramin Swarojgar Yojna,officials have been asked to personally call meetings of self-help groups formed under the scheme,assist them in getting financial help from banks,and activate groups which have become defunct.

As for the RSBY,officials have to identify BPL families which have got smart cards,those which have benefited in the last one year and their feedback,and those who needed medical treatment but failed to get the benefit.