(a) whether any special scheme is under consideration to promote Gram Swaraj in rural areas of the country and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether any special scheme is being implemented by the Government in the State of Madhya Pradesh for the development of rural areas and if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the names and details of the places where various schemes are being run by NITI Aayog in tribal dominated areas of Madhya Pradesh?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS & PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION; MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS
(RAO INDERJIT SINGH)
(a) to (c): NITI Aayog has no such special scheme to promote Gram Swaraj in Rural Areas of the country.
However, under the Aspirational Districts Programme, 8 districts of Madhya Pradesh viz. Chhatarpur, Damoh, Barwani, Rajgarh, Vidisha, Guna, Singrauli and Khandwa have been selected on the basis of their relatively less progress on key social and economic indicators and on the basis of published data. Therefore, all initiatives undertaken under the Aspirational Districts Programme in Madhya Pradesh are applicable upto these 8 Districts.
The programme aims at rapid transformation of these districts in the State across sectors which are critical for improving quality of life or economic productivity of citizens and these sectors are Health and Nutrition, School Education, Basic Infrastructure, Agriculture and Water Resources and Financial Inclusion & Skill Development. 49 key performance indicators have been selected across these sectors and each district’s performance is monitored on the basis of progress made on these indicators. The broad strategy of the Aspirational Districts Programme rests on the 3 Cs – Convergence (between Central and State Schemes), Collaboration (between Centre, State, District Administration, Development Partners and Citizens) and Competition (between Districts). Every month, districts are ranked on the basis of progress made and this instils them with a sense of competition which results in rapid improvement. Another strategy of the programme is nomination of an official from Government of India as Central Prabhari Officers for each of the districts. The role of these Prabhari Officers is to guide the district administration on the basis of their long experience.
As the main strategy of the programme is based on convergence of existing schemes which have their own funding arrangement, large infusion of additional fund is not envisaged. However, in order to foster a competitive spirit, and for addressing the critical gaps, additional allocation on the basis of performance is also envisaged. Every month, districts are assessed on the basis of monthly progress and the best performing Districts in overall terms and in each of the five sectors are identified. The first and second rankers in overall terms are awarded ?10 crores and ?5 crores respectively. The first ranker from each of the five sectors is awarded ?3 crores each. Based on the performance grant as mentioned above, it is the districts which undertake specific projects to address critical need felt by them. Details of the projects undertaken by the Aspirational Districts of Madhya Pradesh is provided at Annexure.
As stated above, the Aspirational Districts Programme is over and above the existing schemes of the Central and the State Governments concerned and as such it is in the nature of additionality. The Programme, primarily works towards improving governance in these Districts through the instruments described in (a) above, with the objective of improving the overall ease of life of the people in these districts, including the tribal dominated areas. Tribal dominated districts of Madhya Pradesh have also been encouraged to take benefit of the on-going Van Dhan Scheme being implemented by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
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Annexure
Details of projects under various stages of implementation in the Aspirational Districts of Madhya Pradesh
State District Projects
Madhya Pradesh Chhatarpur Upgradation of Health Infrastructure
Smart Classes for 60 high schools
Skill development and capacity building through Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) in District
Installation of solar power system in 74 govt schools having smart classes
Skill development and capacity building through ongoing projects on industrial training institutes
Madhya Pradesh Damoh Constructions of 10 new Anganwadi buildings
Establishment of Community Nutrition Hubs and Nutrition Gardens
Livelihood improvement project through construction of two check dams
Construction of Boundary wall in 6 schools
Improving School Infrastructure in order to improve attendance and enrollment
Improvement and Construction work in Health Facility of District Hospital
Madhya Pradesh Barwani Transformation of 328 model schools
Strenghthening of ICDS and Health Services facilities
Madhya Pradesh Vidisha Construction of 32 New Anganwadi Centre Buildings
Madhya Pradesh Guna Safe and Organic Product Program
Improving ANC coverage through provision of conducive environment during antenatal checkups
Upgradation of Aaganwadis to ‘Anganwadi Pathshalas’
Project Shiksha Sambal
Madhya Pradesh Khandwa Strengthening of High load delivery points
Capacity Building and Leadership development of teachers, headmasters and Cluster Academic coordinator
Construction of 4 multipurpose halls