Odisha Lags In Central Scheme On Village Adoption By MPs

Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s performance in implementing the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) is far from satisfactory, according to a report by the Union Rural Development Ministry.

The objective of the scheme, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2014, was that each MP would adopt three villages in three phases between 2014 and 2019 and five villages between 2019 and 2024.

Though Odisha has 21 Lok Sabha members and 10 Rajya Sabha members, the report said that the state MPs have managed to identify only 61 gram panchayats (GPs) as adarsh villages till October 26 this year.

Of the 61 GPs identified, the state government has initiated 1,464 projects as part of the Gram Vikash Yojana in 46 of them. Of these projects, 614 have been completed and the work for 185 is underway.

The report further stated that in terms of the number of projects formulated under the Gram Vikash Yojana, Odisha is far behind the states like Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kerala, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.