Jaipur: Chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma Thursday launched ‘Mukhyamantri Viksit Gram-Ward Abhiyan’ on Rajasthan Day to prepare development roadmaps for all gram panchayats and urban wards in line with local aspirations. The campaign will continue till May 15.Launching the campaign’s website and video, Sharma described the initiative as a step towards turning development into a mass movement and said it would help build a “Viksit Rajasthan” through broad public participation. He said the campaign aims to connect “the new vision of development from villages to urban wards” with people’s involvement and make it “a comprehensive medium for holistic development of villages as well as improvement in the lives of individuals.” Under the programme, the state will prepare master plans at the gram panchayat and urban ward levels, a measure Sharma announced in the budget. “In this sequence, this campaign will give concrete shape to the development roadmap in accordance with the aspirations of local people,” he said. The CM said the master plans should cover infrastructure as well as local resources, traditional skills and employment opportunities to help check migration to cities and maintain population balance in villages. He said each village’s agriculture, flora, minerals, traditional arts and industries should be identified, with special focus on processing units, mandis and value addition in agriculture-based areas to raise incomes and create local jobs. “Due to these efforts of the state govt, the per capita income in the state has increased and has crossed Rs 2 lakh for the first time,” he said. Sharma also called for a socio-economic profile of every village covering education, healthcare, roads, electricity, water and employment. “For this, district collectors should engage in dialogue with farmers, youth, and women of each village and seek suggestions. He said that efforts should be made to form groups at the local level on the lines of Rajeevika and cooperative societies, and suggestions should be taken by forming teams of youth for the works of gram panchayats,” he said. The first gram sabha in gram panchayats and Ward Sabha in urban wards will be held on March 20 to explain the campaign framework. Further meetings will follow in phases. Panchayat- and ward-level teams will compile databases through public consultations, while dynamic profiles and GIS-based base maps will support evidence-based planning through a dedicated portal.
