Dream of Turning Every Village Prosperous
I have a dream of making every village self-dependent and prosperous. Without development of villages, our country and state can not make progress. Betterment of villages consists in making every villager prosperous and self-dependent. Economic status of villages will rise with eradication of poverty and penury. I have always dreamed of delivering dynamic service to the villagers and connect them globally. Let cities and villages have a level-playing field.
As a part of that I have tried before to deliver the e-service at the village level. Now I have decided to connect these villages with broadband Internet. Communication through internet will be faster. The government’s decisions will reach the intended beneficiaries at a faster speed. It will also lead to speedy implementation of the government decisions. The Mantralaya will monitor its implementation. More dynamism has to be injected into this mechanism. It will have to be seen how to reach the direct benefits of those facilities to the common people.
Facing the Challenges of Globalization
Globalization has thrown up many challenges. We have to prepare and train a competent young generation to take on the challenges of globalization. This generation will stay updated in every respect and thus be able to develop themselves. The eco-gram and the eco-village concept initiated by me is a part of that.
Speedier and Faster Times Ahead
Hereafter speed will define everything. Government should take speedy decisions and they should reach every village and town. This is possible only through the latest technology. This scheme is for that only. E-facilities are going to be provided through that technology. E-governance, e-panchayat, e-tender, ISO panchayat. Zilla Parishad File Tracking system and such modern systems are emerging out of this vision. Hereafter, e-banking facility too will be launched. Gram sabha invitations will be messaged via mobile phone. We have to see to it that there is need to seek greater involvement of public.
Monitoring Implementation of Schemes:
It has come to our notice that the government schemes are good but they do not percolate down to the grassroots level. There is not enough propaganda about them. But now this hurdle will be removed through computer system. Sometimes the schemes may reach out to the intended beneficiaries, but are not implemented. Implementation part is what we will have to closely monitor. The schemes being implemented by the rural development department now are going to be model for the entire country. The success of these schemes will be experienced by Maharashtra in two to three years. If the action is continued without break, every village will become self-sufficient be furnished with all modern facilities after 20 years. Therefore my effort will be to ensure implementation of the schemes and reach out their benefits to the villagers.
Henceforth, attention will have to be paid to the happiness of every family. The schemes aimed at increasing their per capita income will have to be continued. Increasing their participation in the standard education, agriculture, industry and agro allied industries; ensuring remunerative price for agricultural produce; making available job for at least two persons in a family; giving work to women and such other concepts will have to be implemented to ensure how the economic level of family is lifted. Once the economic problems of a family are solved, other problems automatically get sorted out. This is a huge task.
I have begun the task of poverty eradication through public participation. It includes conducting the survey of families, solving their problems through proper and constructive action i.e. I put roof over the roofless. I have provided all necessary assistance to those who are engaged in their traditional trades. Thus I have made them stand on their own. I helped the youths with education, particularly those who found it impossible to continue their education because of economic constraints. I helped those who wanted to do job or business. I bore the cost of medical treatment of those ailing. I also bore the expenses of cataract operations of those suffering from cataract and other optical issues. I provided wheel chairs to the orthopedically handicapped.
I fulfilled the needs of every person. The funds for these activities are raised through our societies, employees and public participation. The funds are used for the above purposes and thus economic condition of families is strengthened. In a way, this is rehabilitation of the families. It is a big task that includes providing facilities and motivation to the families till they become self-dependent. The scope of work has to be increased and economic power of every family has to be enhanced further.
Women have 50 percent reservations in local self-governed bodies. This facility has increased their participation in the public works. We have started implementing the projects that include offering jobs, providing cows and buffalos for business, sewing machines and extending financial loans at low interest rate through the saving group or ‘bachat gat’, securing customers for their products, and many such works have been started. Once women become self-dependent, their families automatically become empowered. Women contribute substantially to the dairy business in rural area. But men in the family get the bill. If the bill is given to women, their daily expenses will be met effectively. Therefore we have started crediting the bill in the account of women. This system has yielded positive results. As many as 51 dairy outlets have been started in taluka which are fully managed by women. Industries have been set up through the saving group or bachat gat. We brought the project like Bombay Rayon for women. Over 5000 women have got gainful employment there. There is substantial population of women workers in our education institutes, cooperative societies and industrial plants.
Drip Irrigation for Agriculture
Water schemes have been implemented for agricultural development. But due to the excessive use of water, the productivity of land has reduced. Hence awareness about the proper use of water is going to be a challenge hereafter. There is need to create awareness regarding the drip irrigation and convince the farmers of its importance. On the other hand, the excessive outflow of the water has to be stopped and the same has to be conserved. My slogan is to ‘retain water and conserve water’ so that ground water level increases and the same can be used in times of crisis.
Categorization of Panchayats and Schools:
Villages have been categorized as A, B, C and D based on certain quality parameters. Henceforth, the panchayats which undertake maximum developmental works will get maximum funds. This is expected to generate competition among villages. We have to motivate the villages for developmental work through this. Along with that, the educational level of the Zilla Parishad schools has to be increased. Hence ZP schools too have been classified. Every village will display the board stating its category so that the villagers know progress of the school. This will also put moral pressure on the teachers and headmaster to improve the standard of school.
There is a huge task of maintaining balance in nature, conserving natural resources and stopping the environmental degradation. Saplings need to be planted in villages and the planted saplings should be sustained. Tree felling should be stopped and our development must be environment friendly. We have to care for environment while bringing about development. We have to tackle the issues born out of global warming. This is possible through the above movement. We have to implement the policy which envisages the strengthening of the roads that link villages, besides the use of solar energy and solar-powered devices should be increased in every household and every house should have an attached toilet.
Complex indeed are the health issues faced by the people. With the ever increasing cost of medical treatment, the health services are well beyond the means of the poor. They just can’t afford health services and hence they remain untreated. Many face death. To overcome this we will have to strive hard for providing for the primary needs of people that include cheap and affordable health services to the poor, supplying clean drinking water and improving the quality of air besides providing them nutritious food.
Education that turns Dreams into Reality
Young boys and girls are the mainstay of the nation. There is need to motivate them to have dreams and bring them to reality. Through my schools and colleges, I am bringing up a generation of students that is competent and well-equipped to face the challenges of life. I dream of making them responsible citizens of tomorrow.
I have to bring these dreams to fruition as a part of my social commitment. I am leaving no stone unturned at the state level and constituency level to realize this goal. Awareness among farmers on proper use of water is being generated, the land has to be got rid of salinity, need to encourage the greater use of drip irrigation, the fertility of land has to be preserved and its productivity should be increased. There is a big scope for work in the field of education, use of technology, cooperatives, sports, farming, industry, superstition, arts and others. Development of individual, family and society is possible only through the creation of scientifically-oriented societal set-up. This will lead to the development of scientific temper in farming, industry, education and social life. No stone will be left unturned to achieve this millennium goal. I believe that all this is possible through the support of the activists and the people.