A rural development scheme, Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) was launched by the Lok Sabha, under which every MP needs to adopt a village and develop it by 2016. A village in Gujarat, Chikhli was adopted by an MP C R Paatil and he completely transformed it which is a really shocking sight.
Paatil started off with cleaning roads and he himself participated actively in the campaign along with the village volunteers. He told Governance Now, “A gram sabha was organised in presence of local administration to discuss possible development works required in the village. Later I also sat with village farmers and teachers. In total, works worth 19 crore were identified.”
380 toilets are constructed, garbage bins are put up, solar street lights are installed in recreational areas and paver block flooring is made as well.
The area around the river has also been transformed; the narrow streets have been widened and the sanitation situation of the village is now ten times better than what it used to be. In the beginning, the villagers were not so supportive as a volunteer stated, “It took time to convince the dwellers to cede spaces they occupied in front of their houses and lay out paver blocks. Once they understood the whole idea of SAGY they cooperated with us.”
Paatil also made arrangements for making a bus top, a library, a modern Anganwadi center and a diagnosis machine which was needed in the Rotary Eye Hospital.
Not only this, the MP has been working with complete dedication towards improving the education and health services and some positive results have been experienced too.
Chikhli has a population of 6953 and we really hope that some other villages will also experience the same type of transformation.