The concept of 'Gram Swaraj' of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi is taking shape in Madhya Pradesh under the leadership of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The villages of the state are developing as self-reliant autonomous units and the biggest thing is that many of them are headed by women. There are more than 4 lakh self-help groups of women in the state, more than 45 lakh families associated with various activities are not only making their families financially self-dependent, but women are also becoming socially empowered.
In the elections held for 23,012 gram panchayats, 313 janpad panchayats and 52 zila panchayats, 630 sarpanchs, 157 janpad members and one zila panchayat member were elected unopposed, out of which 415 are women Sarpanch. In the last years, about Rs 189 crore has been earned by the Panchayats as their own income by effectively implementing the sources of tax and non-tax revenue of their own income. At the same time, Panchayats are also ahead in innovation. In “Surya Shakti Abhiyan”, the electricity consumption of panchayats is being transferred to solar energy. This will also enable panchayats to mobilize additional financial resources.
Working on the roadmap of self-reliance prepared by Chief Minister Chouhan for the state, our department (Panchayat and Rural Development) is working at a fast pace towards making rural areas self-reliant. Continuous work is being done in the villages not only in the field of infrastructure development, basic facilities, employment, sanitation, but pucca housing is also being ensured to every family. Under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman Yojana, nutritious food is being provided to the students. Under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, 125 Amrit Sarovars are being built in the state at a cost of Rs 152 crore in this financial year.
In this financial year, more than 36 lakh families were provided employment under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA scheme in the state and more than 14 crore 93 lakh man-days were created. Our state is a leader in the country in providing employment to the scheduled tribe families. In this financial year, more than 12 lakh scheduled tribe families were provided employment and 4.79 crore man-days were generated in the state. With this scheme, 2.70 lakh water structures have also been constructed in the villages under the "Catch the Rain" campaign.
Under the State Rural Livelihood Mission, work is being done in 47 thousand 22 villages of 52 districts of the state. So far, 4 lakh 3,172 self-help groups have been formed and 45.05 lakh families have been connected in the mission. They have been disbursed loans worth Rs 4,408 crore from banks. Products worth Rs 529.43 crore have been sold through the mission. In self-employment programs, 73 thousand rural youth are being trained in various trades and employment is being provided through employment fairs. Total 3.81 lakh villagers have been benefited under Mukhyamantri Gramin street vendor Yojna.
In the first phase of Swachh Bharat Mission, the target of Open Defecation Free (ODF) has been achieved on October 2, 2018, a year before the period set by our villages.
In the second phase of the Mission (Gramin), arrangements are being made for solid and liquid waste management. So far, 3.41 lakh individual toilets and 16,274 sanitation complexes have been built in the state. Besides, solid waste management has been done in 15,164 villages and liquid waste management in 15,919 villages.
15 thousand 525 villages of the state have been made ODF plus. On October 2, 2022, by the Central Government, our state has been given the award of the leading state in various categories.
In the rural areas of the state, work is being done at a fast pace to fulfill the resolve of Chief Minister Shri Chouhan to have 'Pucca Housing for All'. About one lakh Pradhan Mantri Awas are being built every month. Till now 38 Lakh houses have been approved, in which 29 lakh houses have been completed. More than Rs.35 thousand crores have been spent on these. This year around 4 lakh 51 thousand houses were completed in 6 months and on the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras Prime Minister by Shri Narendra Modi, made our rural beneficiaries enter their new homes through virtual medium.
Rural infrastructure development works are also being done continuously in the state. Under Mukhyamantri Gram Sadak Yojna, 8 thousand 714 roads of length 20 thousand 89 km have been approved to connect 8 thousand 942 villages, out of which 8 thousand 292 roads of 19 thousand 135 km have been built so far. 8 thousand 456 villages of the state have been connected with all-weather single connectivity. In the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, in the last 3 years, 9 thousand 127 kms of roads have been constructed with quality in the state and got the first place in the country.