Chief secretary S Ramaswami highlighted a unique experiment being done in Uttarakhand of roping in the Mahila Mangal Dals (MMD) in the maintenance of rural roads while making a presentation before the Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the PM’s meeting with the chief secretaries of different States in Delhi on Monday.
The CS mentioned that the move has won accolades from the Niti Ayog. He said though initially implemented through the all- women self-help groups (SHG) as a pilot project, it is now being implemented across the State with astounding result. During the presentation the CS was assisted by Principal Secretary Rural Development Manisha Panwar, Secretary Planning Amit Negi and Additional Secretary Raghav langer.
During the presentation, Ramaswami said in line with ‘user is the best manager’ axiom, the women of the State, attached as they to the roads, are playing an instrumental role in maintaining the roads in the rural areas, resulting in the reduction of the maintenance expenses. “Sense of ownership being developed among the community, their management skill is being further enhanced and their level of confidence is on a surging spree,” he said.
Also, the CS apprised the of several works being done by the MMDs, including cleaning sewers, removing stones and debris and undertaking sanitation and plantation. "The State Government constituted a community maintenance team which was trained on the works involving PMGSY and rural development. By way of an experiment, 1142 members of 14 MMDs are executing the community contracts in the rural areas of Pauri, Rudraprayag and Chamoli districts. Spurred by the success, we are including other districts now,” the CS said.
Dwelling on the achievements of the State Government in the road sector, the CS claimed that Under PMGSY, 8057 kms of roads have been constructed, benefitting 956 inhabitant. “Besides, 6723 kms of roads are being repaired.