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Bureaucracy Today series - Model Villages of India: Punsari
Meghna Chukkath and Gulshan Kumar, Punsari, Gujarat
Bureaucracy Todaytours villages (Punsari, Akodara, Baben, Jashvantgadh) to capture the changing face of resurgent India. Follow theBTseries and discover'The New Rural India'.
A typical Indian village is normally known for an irregular water supply, a recurring power outage, an unemployed human force, an anarchical governing authority and disorganized government schools with the maximum dropout rate.
It is usually stereotyped as a place devoid of sanitation and sewerage facilities and digitalized at the least. A village offering amenities on a par with those in a metropolitan city is hard to imagine, especially located in a remote district, but Punsari in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat has redefined the cliché concept and sets an example of a “model village”. ABureaucracy Todayreport.
Eighty kilometres north from Ahmedabad city lies the district of Sabarkantha. In 2006, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj put Sabarkantha in the category of 250 backward Indian districts out of a total 640 but for the last eight years it has been flourishing by leaps and bounds with most of its villages weaving their names as the country’s modern villages with excellent infrastructure and social development. Punsari is one such model village which has been acclaimed by the Gujarat Government and the Central Ministry for successfully carrying out development projects.
ALso Read:
A tale of the changing face of rural India
Rural Gujarat beholden to IAS officer Rajendra Kumar
Punsari: Model village of Gujarat
The Extraordinary tale of Akodara village
Baben: Typifying development
Jashvantgadh: On way to becoming 'adarsh village'
MODERN VILLAGE WITH MODERN FACILITIES
Along with its modern amenities, Punsari village offers its inhabitants infrastructure facilities which are uncommon even in most Indian cities. Every house in this village has well-constructed in-house toilets and there are public toilets even near bus stands. Having a modern sanitation and sewerage system was the major concern while planning the development project of this village which was gradually resolved with the help of its Gram Panchayat. On the lines of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan the village has initiated various programmes related to health and sanitation. Mineral water is supplied to every household for Rs 4 which is purified with the help of reverse osmosis treatment.
Every street in the village has a concrete road and is under the constant surveillance of closed circuit cameras. “This village has a zero per cent crime rate,” claims District Collector, Banchhanidhi Pani. During the last three years hardly any FIR has been registered and the village has repeatedly won several national and State awards as the Best Gram Panchayat in India. There is an internal bus service for villagers making it easier for them to commute on an everyday basis. There are 109 self-help groups which are mostly run by females of the village. With the help of the National Skill Development Commission, centres have been opened in the vicinity which has trained about 550 persons so far.
The entire Punsari village is WiFi- enabled and is equipped with most modern conveniences. Its schools are smart with digital, air-conditioned classrooms coupled with a hygienic midday meal programme. Computers, projectors and audio-visual presentations have made the learning process easier for students. The Principal of a school along with Gram Panchayat members monitors school activities. Parents can keep themselves updated about their wards with an online app which they install on their mobile phones. With five primary and four secondary schools in Punsari, the village has a reduced dropout rate. When asked about the dropout rate, Collector Pani admits, “Initially there was a dropout rate of 30 per cent but since 2006 it has been zero even among girls.” The number of students attending schools has doubled in the last few years.
GRAM PANCHAYAT’S WORK
It all started with Punsari’s young Sarpanch, Himanshu Patel, who won the local election and drafted a plan to develop the village. With initial hiccups and disbelief shown by authorities Himanshu’s plan was executed with Central and State Government grants. Patel was able to provide facilities which were envisaged by the Government under the “Rurban concept”. It took nearly eight years and Rs 14 crore to transform the village into a modern example. “In 2006, there was hardly any government provision for water supply and electricity in the region. Under the PPP project RO plants were installed and energy saving street lights became a part of the plan in 2007 by the Gram Panchayat,” he says.
A Roadmap for a new infrastructure facility was executed but it was not an easy journey for Patel. In the beginning of the development process it was difficult for him to gain the trust of the people residing in the village. The installation of CCTVs in Punsari initially met with the angst and scoff of villagers. “Though security was the sole purpose of installing closed circuit cameras, maintaining discipline about littering and wastage and curbing crime rate were also the main motto of the Panchayat,” says Patel. It took several months for residents to get accustomed to it. Similarly at the start of his tenure, the Sarpanch realized that there was a communication gap between authorities and people as they were finding it difficult to keep themselves updated about various schemes. It was then that Patel came up with an idea of putting loudspeakers at regular intervals so that through the public address system all important notifications, government schemes and benefits could be announced. “Devotional songs and Bhajans are also played twice in a day,” he adds.
When people felt that the Sarpanchs promises were shaping up in a desirable manner they started believing him. “A project yields a good outcome only when the entire population of a locality supports and works together for a cause,” says Patel. For better functioning and execution of plans he has set up several committees like those of Health, Education, Anganwadi, Biometric system, Sanitation and IT involving people from the village. At the moment there are 30 volunteers in the village who are striving hard to make Punsari conducive. Each and every development that took place in the village was financed through Central and State Government grants. He adds, “In the last eight years only Rs 1 lakh has been given to the village Panchayat by the Member of Parliament. The Panchayat hasn’t received any funds under the MLAs Scheme, neither from NRIs nor any support from NGOs.”
Electricity will be generated through the recycling of wastage in the next few months in the village. “We have plans to sell electricity generated via wastage to the State Government,” confirms Patel who has bagged an award for being the agent of change by the Gujarat Government. “The Sarpanch managed everything in a grand and systematic manner and completed every project,” says Collector Pani. The Collector says the Government has been very supportive from the beginning as all the projects undertaken here are funded by it.
SANSAD ADARSH GRAM YOJANA
It is a known fact that the BJP Government’s initiative of introducing the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana was inspired by developments in Punsari. This quaint little Gujarat village has been setting an example for the entire gamut. After the success of Punsari, a series of healthy competitions have been witnessed in nearby villages. Taking a clue from Punsari, the Sarpanchs of other villages have made similar plans to develop their areas. “Recently power point presentations were made by the Sarpanchs and a blueprint of their projects was placed before authorities,” confirms the District Collector. As per the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, every Member of Parliament has been asked to adopt one village but in the case of Sabarkantha district, now villages have been adopted by MLAs, MLCs and Zilla Parishad Pramukhs. Through the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana one can witness the convergence and cohesion of government organized schemes in a particular village. The Yojana will help guide villages to prosper and progress like cities.
The Collector believes that the new scheme introduced by the Government can be a pedestal for others. It will allow villages to develop networks in nearby areas of the district just like Punsari and Jaswantgarh -- based networks. “One of our villages is under the process of transformation into digital village whereby all the transactions from grocery shopping and local payment to the milkman will be done through online banking. The use of cash will be minimal to nil,” says Pani. The District Collector states that 30-35 villages are on a par with Punsari. He adds, “In tribal areas we have opened about 50 ATMs for trading and transactions based on the Central Government’sJan Dhan Yojanascheme.”
There is no denying the fact that Punsari village has transformed into a model village in a very short span of time. People of 21 different communities with varied mindsets dwell in this village. An awareness campaign carried out to broaden the conservative mentality of people has aided this village. It took concentrated efforts of local individuals who are the driving force behind the accomplishment of this village. The leadership of its visionary Sarpanch, the support of governing authority, the active involvement of college students and the participation of women has made this village modern. The success of Punsari has truly demonstrated the benefits of understanding various government schemes and notifications and leveraging them.
Bureaucracy India, Govt. of India, Government of India, Ministry, Bureaucrat, Bureaucracy in India
Meghna Chukkath and Gulshan Kumar, Punsari, Gujarat
Bureaucracy Todaytours villages (Punsari, Akodara, Baben, Jashvantgadh) to capture the changing face of resurgent India. Follow theBTseries and discover'The New Rural India'.
A typical Indian village is normally known for an irregular water supply, a recurring power outage, an unemployed human force, an anarchical governing authority and disorganized government schools with the maximum dropout rate.
It is usually stereotyped as a place devoid of sanitation and sewerage facilities and digitalized at the least. A village offering amenities on a par with those in a metropolitan city is hard to imagine, especially located in a remote district, but Punsari in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat has redefined the cliché concept and sets an example of a “model village”. ABureaucracy Todayreport.
Eighty kilometres north from Ahmedabad city lies the district of Sabarkantha. In 2006, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj put Sabarkantha in the category of 250 backward Indian districts out of a total 640 but for the last eight years it has been flourishing by leaps and bounds with most of its villages weaving their names as the country’s modern villages with excellent infrastructure and social development. Punsari is one such model village which has been acclaimed by the Gujarat Government and the Central Ministry for successfully carrying out development projects.
ALso Read:
A tale of the changing face of rural India
Rural Gujarat beholden to IAS officer Rajendra Kumar
Punsari: Model village of Gujarat
The Extraordinary tale of Akodara village
Baben: Typifying development
Jashvantgadh: On way to becoming 'adarsh village'
MODERN VILLAGE WITH MODERN FACILITIES
Along with its modern amenities, Punsari village offers its inhabitants infrastructure facilities which are uncommon even in most Indian cities. Every house in this village has well-constructed in-house toilets and there are public toilets even near bus stands. Having a modern sanitation and sewerage system was the major concern while planning the development project of this village which was gradually resolved with the help of its Gram Panchayat. On the lines of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan the village has initiated various programmes related to health and sanitation. Mineral water is supplied to every household for Rs 4 which is purified with the help of reverse osmosis treatment.
Every street in the village has a concrete road and is under the constant surveillance of closed circuit cameras. “This village has a zero per cent crime rate,” claims District Collector, Banchhanidhi Pani. During the last three years hardly any FIR has been registered and the village has repeatedly won several national and State awards as the Best Gram Panchayat in India. There is an internal bus service for villagers making it easier for them to commute on an everyday basis. There are 109 self-help groups which are mostly run by females of the village. With the help of the National Skill Development Commission, centres have been opened in the vicinity which has trained about 550 persons so far.
The entire Punsari village is WiFi- enabled and is equipped with most modern conveniences. Its schools are smart with digital, air-conditioned classrooms coupled with a hygienic midday meal programme. Computers, projectors and audio-visual presentations have made the learning process easier for students. The Principal of a school along with Gram Panchayat members monitors school activities. Parents can keep themselves updated about their wards with an online app which they install on their mobile phones. With five primary and four secondary schools in Punsari, the village has a reduced dropout rate. When asked about the dropout rate, Collector Pani admits, “Initially there was a dropout rate of 30 per cent but since 2006 it has been zero even among girls.” The number of students attending schools has doubled in the last few years.
GRAM PANCHAYAT’S WORK
It all started with Punsari’s young Sarpanch, Himanshu Patel, who won the local election and drafted a plan to develop the village. With initial hiccups and disbelief shown by authorities Himanshu’s plan was executed with Central and State Government grants. Patel was able to provide facilities which were envisaged by the Government under the “Rurban concept”. It took nearly eight years and Rs 14 crore to transform the village into a modern example. “In 2006, there was hardly any government provision for water supply and electricity in the region. Under the PPP project RO plants were installed and energy saving street lights became a part of the plan in 2007 by the Gram Panchayat,” he says.
A Roadmap for a new infrastructure facility was executed but it was not an easy journey for Patel. In the beginning of the development process it was difficult for him to gain the trust of the people residing in the village. The installation of CCTVs in Punsari initially met with the angst and scoff of villagers. “Though security was the sole purpose of installing closed circuit cameras, maintaining discipline about littering and wastage and curbing crime rate were also the main motto of the Panchayat,” says Patel. It took several months for residents to get accustomed to it. Similarly at the start of his tenure, the Sarpanch realized that there was a communication gap between authorities and people as they were finding it difficult to keep themselves updated about various schemes. It was then that Patel came up with an idea of putting loudspeakers at regular intervals so that through the public address system all important notifications, government schemes and benefits could be announced. “Devotional songs and Bhajans are also played twice in a day,” he adds.
When people felt that the Sarpanchs promises were shaping up in a desirable manner they started believing him. “A project yields a good outcome only when the entire population of a locality supports and works together for a cause,” says Patel. For better functioning and execution of plans he has set up several committees like those of Health, Education, Anganwadi, Biometric system, Sanitation and IT involving people from the village. At the moment there are 30 volunteers in the village who are striving hard to make Punsari conducive. Each and every development that took place in the village was financed through Central and State Government grants. He adds, “In the last eight years only Rs 1 lakh has been given to the village Panchayat by the Member of Parliament. The Panchayat hasn’t received any funds under the MLAs Scheme, neither from NRIs nor any support from NGOs.”
Electricity will be generated through the recycling of wastage in the next few months in the village. “We have plans to sell electricity generated via wastage to the State Government,” confirms Patel who has bagged an award for being the agent of change by the Gujarat Government. “The Sarpanch managed everything in a grand and systematic manner and completed every project,” says Collector Pani. The Collector says the Government has been very supportive from the beginning as all the projects undertaken here are funded by it.
SANSAD ADARSH GRAM YOJANA
It is a known fact that the BJP Government’s initiative of introducing the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana was inspired by developments in Punsari. This quaint little Gujarat village has been setting an example for the entire gamut. After the success of Punsari, a series of healthy competitions have been witnessed in nearby villages. Taking a clue from Punsari, the Sarpanchs of other villages have made similar plans to develop their areas. “Recently power point presentations were made by the Sarpanchs and a blueprint of their projects was placed before authorities,” confirms the District Collector. As per the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, every Member of Parliament has been asked to adopt one village but in the case of Sabarkantha district, now villages have been adopted by MLAs, MLCs and Zilla Parishad Pramukhs. Through the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana one can witness the convergence and cohesion of government organized schemes in a particular village. The Yojana will help guide villages to prosper and progress like cities.
The Collector believes that the new scheme introduced by the Government can be a pedestal for others. It will allow villages to develop networks in nearby areas of the district just like Punsari and Jaswantgarh -- based networks. “One of our villages is under the process of transformation into digital village whereby all the transactions from grocery shopping and local payment to the milkman will be done through online banking. The use of cash will be minimal to nil,” says Pani. The District Collector states that 30-35 villages are on a par with Punsari. He adds, “In tribal areas we have opened about 50 ATMs for trading and transactions based on the Central Government’sJan Dhan Yojanascheme.”
There is no denying the fact that Punsari village has transformed into a model village in a very short span of time. People of 21 different communities with varied mindsets dwell in this village. An awareness campaign carried out to broaden the conservative mentality of people has aided this village. It took concentrated efforts of local individuals who are the driving force behind the accomplishment of this village. The leadership of its visionary Sarpanch, the support of governing authority, the active involvement of college students and the participation of women has made this village modern. The success of Punsari has truly demonstrated the benefits of understanding various government schemes and notifications and leveraging them.
Bureaucracy India, Govt. of India, Government of India, Ministry, Bureaucrat, Bureaucracy in India
