Glorifying the name of the State at the national level, IAS officer of Chhattisgarh cadre, CR Prasanna has bagged this year’s award for Excellence in Public Administration. The Central Government has conferred this award on Prasanna for the innovative scheme called Fulwari Yojana, which he had initiated as Collector of Surguja district in 2012.
This prestigious award is conferred on only a few officers, who have shown exceptional and innovative initiatives in administration. It was the only entry from Chhattisgarh shortlisted by the Government of India, officials stated. The Fulwari initiative was evaluated by three teams, sent by the Central Government to Surguja. The scheme was found to be quite effective in improving health and nutrition of tribal children and mothers.
Humbled by the achievement, Prasanna has attributed the Award to dedication and hard work of local mothers, Mitanins and Panchayats. He has expressed his gratitude towards Chief Minister Raman Singh, Former Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Ramvichar Netam, Chief Secretary and the then Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Vivek Dhand, ACS DS Misra for the support they provided to the Fulwari Yojana.
He thanked the individuals who had worked closely with him while starting the Fulwari initiative – Former Zila Panchayat President Pushpa Netam, Dhananjay Dewangan and Kiran Koushal former-CEO Zila Panchayat of Surguja, Samir Garg and JP Mishra of State Health Resource Centre Raipur and Dr Satish Tajne former-PM Rural Development fellow in Surguja.
Prasanna also thanked departments of Women and Child Development as well as Panchayat for making it a successful scheme based on inter-department coordination and community participation.He hoped that Fulwari scheme will soon emerge as a model for health, nutrition and care of 0-3 year aged children and mothers in all tribal and other backward areas of the country.
Under Fulwari Yojana, crèches are set up in tribal areas which provide good quality food and care to children, pregnant and lactating women. Another, innovative feature of Fulwari scheme is that it does not have any salaried worker. The crèches are managed by groups of mothers from the local community. Mothers volunteer their time to cook and take care of children. Panchayats play a major role administrative role in running the crèches and provide support to mothers.