Bharat SainiLast Updated on November 9, 2018 by Bharat Saini
President’s Estate was declared a Smart Township when an Intelligent Operations Centre (IOC) was inaugurated in Rashtrapati Bhavan on May 19, 2016 by the then President Pranab Mukherjee. He had then directed that the Rashtrapati Bhavan Smart Township model should be replicated in five selected villages in adjoining districts in NCR to convert them into smart model villages. Subsequently, ‘Smartgram’ initiative aimed to transform five villages of Haryana – Tajnagar, Dhaula, Alipur, Harchandpur and Rojka Meo was inaugurated on July 2, 2016 by Pranab Mukherjee. The initiative was later extended to 100 villages on May 1, 2017.
These villages have been adopted by Pranab Mukherjee Foundation, named after the former President, formally launched on March 15, 2018 in Delhi – to initiate, support and execute projects that will create and use knowledge, creativity and innovation to improve the quality of life in rural, semi-urban and urban areas and contribute to the building of an inclusive India.
To mark adoption of these villages by his foundation, Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday September 2, 2018, while addressing a gathering from Harchandpur, Alipur and Naya Gaon villages, said that more and more villagers must be connected with the “Smartgram” project to ensure peaceful, happy and prosperous villages and added he had adopted the villages as he wanted the standard of living of the people staying there to be on a par with that in the cities.
Pranab Mukherjee, along with Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, and in the presence of Union Minister of State for Planning and Gurgaon MP, Rao Inderjit Singh, on September 2, 2018 – laid foundation stone of ‘Nayagaon Happiness Square’ at Nayagaon village and inaugurated the following projects – aimed to transform villages into happy, harmonious and hi-tech villages, by connecting the villagers with the Smartgram initiative:
- Harchandpur ‘Smartgram Gramalaya’ building,
- Smartgram Partner Processing Centre at village Harchandpur,
- Training and Innovation Warehouse at village Alipur and
- ‘Water ATM’ at village Nayagaon.
Pranab Mukherjee also launched the “Selfie with Daughter” trophy at Alipur village and released booklet of “Laado-Rights” at Nayagon village.
Under Smartgram initiative a large number of projects have been undertaken in the initially selected five villages of Haryana in the fields of agriculture, skill development, energy, education, heath, employment generation, developing entrepreneurship etc. As these initiatives generated a lot of enthusiasm in the nearby areas, Smartgram initiative was extended to 95 more villages in the vicinity of the earlier selected five villages taking the total number of villages to 100.
