Mumbai:
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said the state government plans to transform 1,000 villages with the help of corporate sector, and the civil over the next few years.
He said corporate sector is already working with the government in various sectors through the CSR and “we thought of using their resources, knowledge, technology and planning and implementation skills”.
He said the corporate sectors’ expertise would be used to set up an institutional mechanism to amalgamate work done by different companies in different areas to transform 1000 villages in collaboration with the state government.
He was addressing reporters here after his meeting with industrialists Ratan Tata, Anand Mahindra and Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan.
Fadnavis said currently, scattered efforts are being made by the corporate sector which will now be consolidated and villages will be transformed within a specific time frame.
He added that 50 per cent of the villages will be chosen by partnering agencies where some work is currently underway and the remaining would be those villages that score low on the Human Development Index.
“Rajashree Birla (of Aditya Birla Group) has already shown her intent of taking 300 villages (out of 1000) to develop them. Similarly, we have got tremendous response from others as well,” he said, adding the government is looking at working on at least 100 villages by October 2.
He further said no programme will be forced upon villages and the Gram Sabhas would decide the kind of work required by their respective villages and the government will only assist them.
Fadnavis said the government intends to build a sustainable development model under which initiatives would be taken to improve indicators like health and education in each village.
“For every village, aspects like education, health, water conservation and skill development will be covered. We do not have a package. We will only provide what a specific village needs,” he said.
“The existing schemes will be converged and this initiative will only complement their work and lacunae will be filled,” he said.
Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata who was also present at the press briefing said it has been a great realisation for the government to develop rural hinterland.
“While we have industrialised cities, rural communities have not received the same attention. This initiative is a forward looking move which will make hinterlands a profit making part of the nation,” he said.
Chairman and Managing Director of Mahindra Group Anand Mahindra said, “What excites us is the clear purpose of convergence, clear intent of private sector collaboration and the CM’s passion. If this works, it will be a prototype for the nation.”
Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan said, “For someone like me involved in several campaigns, this initiative seems to be a convergence of all of them. I feel awareness and communication is an important element. If my face and voice can create an awareness, I will be most happy.”
