Modi identifies 2nd village to develop; colleagues far behind

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is among the few members of Lok Sabha who have identified a second gram panchayat under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.

Even though the deadline ended on January 31, Modi identified Nagepur gram panchayat in Varanasi as the second village to be developed into a model village on February 17.

The scheme that was launched with much fanfare seems to be so far evoking lukewarm response from Members of Parliament (MPs) in the second phase, where a second panchayat is to be developed into model village.

Rural Development Minister Chaudhury Birender Singh had written to all MPs on January 1, 2016 to identify a second gram panchayat by the end of January. Till February 19, only 26 among the 543 Lok Sabha members have identified a second gram panchayat for conversion into model village. Of the 252 Rajya Sabha members, only six did so. The notable absentees include former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who is a Rajya
 

Sabha MP from Assam and Congress president Sonia Gandhi from Raebareli.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has a strength of 281 in the Lok Sabha, while in the Rajya Sabha, it has 48 members. Apart from Modi, others who have identified a second village in UP are Sakshi Maharaj, Mahendra Nath Pandey and Mukesh Rajput.

Under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, each MP has to develop one model village in their constituency by 2016 and two more by 2019.

A Lok Sabha MP has to choose a gram panchayat from within his constituency, while Rajya Sabha MPs can choose a gram panchayat from the rural area of a district of their choice in the state from which they are elected.

The guidelines state that nominated MPs have to choose a gram panchayat from the rural area of any district in the country.

In case of urban constituencies - where there are no gram panchayats - the MP will identify a gram panchayat from a nearby rural constituency for developing as a model village.

Data show that in the first phase, 499 out of 543 Lok Sabha members have identified their villages, while of the 252 Rajya Sabha MPs, 198 have done so.

Work has started in only 30-40 villages in the first phase, though according to the guidelines framed by rural development ministry, the model village has to developed within 21 months from the date of identification.

Modi had identified Jayapur in Varanasi as the first village.

According to officials, one reason why MPs are not showing much interest in identifying village for developing into a model village in their constituency is paucity of funds.

The villages to be developed under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana cannot be funded from the MPLAD (Member of Parliament Local Area Development) scheme, while line ministries are also not showing much interest in allocation of fund for the programme. The entire reliance is on private and corporate funding, which is not regular.

A model village under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana is expected to have basic minimum facilities.

These include pucca houses for all, drinking water, all-weather roads with covered drains, electricity connection to all households, street lights, including from alternative sources of energy, and pucca infrastructure for public institutions - anganwadis, schools, health institutions, gram panchayat office and libraries.