 "Centre seeks states' feedback on Gram Uday campaign impact")
Officials said states have been asked to submit their reports as soon as possible so that course correction, if any, can be taken. The Centre had on April 14 started a massive nationwide campaign to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar and also to celebrate the National Panchayati Raj Day (April 24).
The campaign, which culminated on April 24, was aimed at appraising the 285,000-odd gram panchayats about the Centre’s new programmes and initiatives and also work with them for their development.
It followed the Centre’s increased allocation to the gram panchayats in 2016-17 Budget, according to the recommendations of the Fourteenth Finance Commission.
The funds would be used to develop the gram panchayats, according to the development plans submitted by them.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said, in his Budget speech, that a sum of Rs 2.87 lakh crore had been given as grant-in-aid to gram panchayats and municipalities, according to the recommendations of the FFC. This translates into an average annual assistance of Rs 80 lakh for each gram panchayat. The campaign was jointly run by the Union ministries of rural development and panchayati raj, agriculture, social justice, labour, and information & broadcasting along with states.
On the first four days of the campaign (April 14-17), discussions were held on social harmony and justice across all villages in the country. The next four days had discussions and programmes on how to bolster farmers by increasing their income.
In this phase, scientists and government officials went to villages and held discussions with farmers on ways to improve agricultural practices and enhance income. The Centre also asked officials to take note of farmers’ suggestions.
In the last four days till April 24, there was discussion on how the Panchayati Raj system could be strengthened across the country. It was during these days that the panchayats were directed to prepare their development plans.
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan successful: NSSO survey
A rapid survey done by National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) to understand the impact of Centre's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has found that almost 96 per cent of toilets constructed under the Swachh Bharat Mission since 2014 were used by households, unlike in the past when only 40-50 per cent of the people used the toilets constructed under different sanitation missions. The same percentage rose to 99 per cent in urban areas. The NSSO survey was done during May-June 2015 and had a sample size of 3,788 villages and 2,907 urban centres. It also showed that in rural areas, 13.1 per cent of villages had community toilets, while in urban areas, this percentage shot up to 42 per cent of the surveyed wards.