Gujarat govt to develop 400 smart villages: CM at Bhabhar

Palanpur

Speaking at Bhabhar in Banaskantha district of north Gujarat, Chief Minister Anandiben Patel today in her address to farmers and others said the state government will offer loan to farmers for kharif crop upto Rs 3 lakh at just 1% interest rate. An announcement in this regard has been made in recently presented annual budget in assembly.

She said government has proposed construction of Rs 10,000 crore rural roads in next 3 years. In first phase, Rs 2500 crore rural roads will be constructed in 2016-17 financial year.

Anandiben said, Gujarat government will develop 400 smart villages under this scheme that will offer Rs 1 crore to each village in first year, another installment of Rs 50 lakh in the second year and Rs 25 lakh in third year.

She said the central government has taken up Smart city project for 100 cities and also covered municipalities under AMRUT scheme, and therefore Gujarat government decided to take up scheme for smart villages.

She said increasing number of youths are becoming Sarpanch and are making plan to make their village smart.

She said there will be a competition between villages. Top 400 villages will be selected by an expert committee that shall have no elected candidate or government servant.

Survey will be conducted after 3 years on various parameters like whether the village has achieved 100% school admission, which are the villages that have witnessed zero FIR, villages that have achieved 100% successful deliveries, plantation of 500 trees, pure drink water upto home etc.

She said the government has taken a decision to develop polyethylene laid water bodies at three places in north Gujarat and fill them with Narmada water for which huge allotment of money has been made in budget. She said government will open science stream schools in talukas that lack that facility.

The Chief Minister on this occasion dedicated/launched works for and announced Rs 26.78 crore development works. She announced new ITI at Bhabhar.

Speaking on this occasion local MLA and Minister of State Shri Shankarbhai Chaudhary said he had told party workers that if they get success to achieve victory of BJP on all seats of Bhabhar Municipality they would be felicitated by Chief Minister herself. Chaudhary in light tone said he was not sure about victory on all seat and therefore he thought he would not need to approach Chief Minister, but party workers made victory on all seats possible and therefore Chief Minister is here.

Chaudhary said Banaskantha district had not heard about the word ‘irrigation’, and that was the past. Total income of Thara and Bhabhar agriculture market yard was about Rs 200-400 crore in those years. But now it’s R 1000-1500 crore per year and that has been possible due to arrival of Narmada water.

Chaudhary said there were days when farmers would wait for hours standing in long queues for fertilizer, but that too has been a matter of past.

He remided those days when DP would burn and not repaired for days. Now repairs take place in 24 hours.

Chaudhary recalled booster, teta and langariyu era of power infrastructure in rural Gujarat which has been a matter of past. He said today shops of Teta have shut down and new generation people don’t know what is booster.

– DeshGujarat