New Delhi: Arunachal Pradesh panchayati raj and rural development minister Bamang Felix on Monday said that the localisation of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Arunachal Pradesh has already entered its implementation phase and is being backed by the SDG-based state annual budget 2022-23.
Felix was speaking at the national stakeholders’ conference on the localisation of SDGs, which commenced at Vigyan Bhawan here on Monday.
The weeklong event is being organized by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj as ‘Iconic Week’ under the central government’s Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav campaign. The event is being participated by the panchayat ministers of 12 states along with their respective panchayat leaders and officials.
Addressing the occasion, Felix said devolution of powers under the SPICE model to PRIs in Arunachal Pradesh has also been delegated along with the allocation of 10% of the revenue from state-owned resources to the PRIs so that they identify and prepare budgets according to their needs and requirements.
Informing that many central flagship schemes like PMAY-G are already being implemented in villages across the state but due to mobile connectivity issues the same could not be updated, Felix said the matter would be resolved soon as the installation of 900 already sanctioned telecom towers will commence shortly.
Highlighting a few challenges in the implementation of central flagship schemes, the minister sought consideration of the limited working seasons in the state for disbursement of central funds against various central flagship schemes.
Informing that Arunachal Pradesh has only four to five months of working seasons due to its climatic conditions, Felix said that disbursement of central funds during off-seasons and uniform model of flagship programmes poses a challenge in the implementation of various schemes.
He also extended an invitation to the union ministry officials to visit Arunachal Pradesh to assess the ground reality of implementation exercises and its challenges and also to advise on works being undertaken and challenges to be met in accordance with the short working months in a year.
Earlier, addressing the inaugural ceremony, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu emphasized striving for a vibrant Panchayati Raj system with a special focus on the three ‘Fs’ – fund, functioning and functionaries. He also called for the active participation of people at the grassroots level for the success of any developmental initiatives.
Stating that India cannot develop without the development of rural India, the Vice President of India called for giving special impetus to women empowerment, connectivity, transportation, electricity, clean drinking water, education and also entertainment in villages.
Union Minister of Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Giriraj Singh highlighted the nine themes identified for Gram Panchayats which include “poverty-free and enhanced livelihoods village, healthy village, child-friendly village, a water sufficient village, a clean and green village, self-sufficient infrastructure in a village, socially secured village, a village with good governance, and engendered development in the village.”
He also called for ensuring transparency and accountability in the functioning of panchayats and the need to create a ‘Master Plan’ for panchayats with the help of technology for a vibrant panchayat.
