Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana ( SAGY)

Last Updated on January 20, 2017 by Bharat Saini

Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) is an ambitious village development project, striving to realize twin objectives of strengthening infrastructure and nurturing values of national pride, social justice, spirit of community service, patriotism and self-confidence. Under the scheme each Member of Parliament is to take the responsibility of developing physical and institutional infrastructure in three villages by 2019. The focus of the scheme is to develop three Adarsh Grams or model villages by March 2019. Then five such Adarsh Grams (one per year) is to be selected and developed by 2024. The scheme endeavours to provide in villages quality access to basic amenities and thus raise living standards of the residents.

Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) : At A Glance Objectives : The development of model villages, called Adarsh Grams, through the implementation of existing schemes, and certain new initiatives to be designed for the local context, which may vary from village to village. Creating models of local development which can be replicated in other villages.  Obligations : Each MP (From Rajya Sabha as well as Lok Sabha) is obligated to develop three villages by 2019 and a total of 8 villages each by 2024. An MP should develop the first Adarsh Gram by 2016 and remaining two, during the current Lok Sabha tenure by 2019. From 2019 to 2024, five more Adarsh Grams must be developed by each MP. Selection of Village: The MP can select any Gram Panchayat that does not belong to him / her or spouse. There is a population criterion for MPs. Choosing a village in plains, its population should be 3000-5000. If in hills, it can be 1000-3000. A member of Lok Sabha can choose a village from his / her constituency. A Rajya Sabha MP can choose from the state from which he / she had been elected. A member from urban areas, can identify a village nearby. A nominal member can choose from any district. Funding: No new funds have been allocated for the Yojana.  Resources may be raised through : Funds from existing schemes, such as the Indira Awas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, and Backward Regions Grant Fund, etc., The Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), The Gram Panchayat’s own revenue, Central and State Finance Commission Grants, and Corporate Social Responsibility funds.   How it will work?  First step is to create a Village Development Plan, followed by a list of activities to be carried out. The chalk out resource requirements. Raise the money from sources given above and then spend in those activities. These include basic healthcare, livelihood development, farm development, skill development, providing pensions to eligible families, housing for all, social forestry etc. Implementation of the scheme has to be done by Gram Panchayat.   Monitoring: A web based monitoring system will be established to enable the MP and other stakeholders to monitor the scheme. Outputs relating to physical and financial targets will be measured each quarter. A mid-term evaluation and post-project evaluation will be conducted through an independent agency.

The Scheme adopts a holistic approach towards development envisaging integrated development of the selected village across diverse areas like agriculture, health, education, sanitation, environment, and livelihoods. infrastructure development is one aspect of the scheme; the more significant concerns that have been enshrined and stipulated in  the scheme is to instill core values of Indianness and humanism among the villagers through gender equality, cleanliness, eco-friendliness, maintaining ecological balance, peace and harmony, mutual cooperation, probity in public life and self-reliance. The basic idea is to develop model villages not just in term of infrastructure but also in respect of moral values system.

It is the Members of Parliament (From Rajya Sabha as well as Lok Sabha) who will begin and supervise this scheme. In the scheme Gram Panchayat has been made the basic unit for development. The ideal size of population will be within 3000-5000 in plain areas and 1000-3000 in hilly, tribal and difficult areas. Currently 2,65,000 Gram Panchayats exist in India. The total number of Members of Parliament (MPs) is 793 with Lok Sabha having 543 MPs and the Rajya Sabha 250, 12 of which being nominated. Supposing an MP adopts three villages, then it can fairly be said that the scheme can cater to the development needs of 2,379 ‘Gram Panchayats’ (793 multiplied by 3) over the next five years. The MP is free to choose and identify a Gram Panchayat  to be developed as Adarsh Gram. However, the Gram Panchayat picked or selected by an MP should not belong to his/her own village or that of his/her spouse.

An individual MP’s role in developing the Gram Panchayat as Adarsh Gram is to engage with the community, facilitate the Village Development Plan and mobilize the necessary resources. The emphasis has been laid on enabling every poor household to get out of the vicious circle of poverty. Though the whole planning process is to be coordinated and supervised by the district collector with active participation of villagers the MP will play the role of facilitator in this exercise. The constituency fund, MPLADS, can be utilized for filling in critical financing gaps. The MPs and villagers together are expected to do every bit on their parts to make the scheme a grand success with MPs being involved in activities at village level like health camps, organizing grievance redressal camps, community mobilization and the villagers paving their own path through their hard work and entrepreneurial skills. The special feature of the scheme is community participation which can play a catalytic role in removing the evils like alcoholism, smoking, and tobacco consumption among all age groups of population.

This scheme encompasses activities cutting across different spheres so in order to implement the scheme successfully close coordination and convergence of Ministries, departments, MPs and villagers are seriously required. If intended goals of the scheme are successfully achieved the Adarsh Grams as envisioned in the scheme can be replicated elsewhere as models of sustainable development and growth. To encourage all those concerned with the scheme the government awards have also been announced to be given in the categories of best practices, best charge officers, best district collectors and best Adarsh Grams.