Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand on Friday underlined the major 17 Sustainable Development Goals on the priority list of Chhattisgarh Government at a workshop held on the topic ‘Vision 2030: Chhattisgarh State level Consultation on Sustainable Development Goals’.
UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in India Yuri Afanasiev spoke on ‘Sustainable Development Goals: A global Perspective.’ Further Joint Secretary and Advisor (Energy), NITI Aayog Anil Kumar Jain also gave presentation and addressed the workshop.
Chief Secretary Dhand elaborated the subject of workshop by speaking about all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals which includes no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, industry innovation and infrastructure, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, sustainable consumption and production, climate action, life below water, life on land, peace and justice strong institution and partnerships for the goals.
He further added that Chhattisgarh Government has taken effective steps in the direction of poverty reduction, food and nutrition security through efficient Public Distribution System.
“The Sate already has the best sex ration in the country and the MMR and IMR have significantly declined. Chhattisgarh already boasts surplus energy production, the only area to be worked upon is laying transmission line in some regions,’’ Dhand stated.
Talking about the sixth goal, he said that Chhattisgarh receives 1300 mm of rainfall every year that ensures availability of water around the year. Chhattisgarh government has made extensive skill development of youth and number of schemes are being implemented for generating maximum employment opportunities.
Speaking on development of infrastructure Dhand informed that 1200 kms of rail line have already been laid and State plans to construct rail line and ensure rail connectivity with Bastar, Surguja and Raigarh districts in the next two years. He emphasised on the point that people in Chhattisgarh have access to justice and equality.
UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in India Yuri Afanasiev insisted on the interconnectivity of all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. He said, “We can not excel in one goal while avoiding the others. Development is possible only if work is done simultaneously in all the areas.’’
He suggested to set realistic timeframes for attainment of the goals. Speaking about 'Indian National Development Strategy', he said that there is a time schedule and in a couple of months the first draft is to be presented.
He said that Vision 2030 has to include the states because India is a federation and we can’t just create a plan at Centre and not include States. Every state has different issues when it comes to security, defence, regional operations etc and their priorities should be also taken in consideration.
Joint Secretary and Advisor (Energy), NITI Aayog Anil Kumar Jain suggested structure and sample for vision, strategy and action agenda for Vision 2030.
He said that SDGs can be attained through inclusion, participation and growth. Monitoring of the same needs to be done at global as well as regional, national and sub-national level.
He further said that having worked in Chhattisgarh previously in the capacity of a senior government official, he understands the need of the State and people here. Explaining the difference between vision, strategy and action agenda, he said that vision comprises of goals that are specific and measurable in nature. Translating vision into achievable plans requires strategy. Action Agenda should be made by dividing the strategy into 3 year check point, he added.
He further said that specific action is required for 7 years plans. He shared his vision for urban transformation. He also suggested the officials attending the workshop to do SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, threat) analysis of their regions and chalk out strategies based on the analysis result.
The inaugural session was followed by technical session which was chaired by Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand and co-chaired by Yuri Afanasiev.
In the technical session, Afanasiev talked about 'Planning for SDGs- What it meant for State Governments'. Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, UNICEF KD Maiti spoke about 'Monitoring of SDGs at state and district level'.
The workshop concluded with question and answer session followed by Vote of Thanks which was proposed by Additional Chief Secretary, Planning and Tribal Welfare NK Aswal.
Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Panchayat and Rural Development Department MK Raut, ACS Agriculture Ajay Singh, ACS Tribal Case and Schedule Caste Development and Planning NK Aswal, Principal Secretary Gramodyog Sunil Kujur, Principal Secretary Forest and labour Department RP Mandal, Principal Secretary Home, Jail and Transportation BVR Subramanium, Principal Secretary Public Works Department Amitabh Jain, Principal Secretary Health Department Subrat Sahu, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Bl Sharan, Director General (Home guard and Jail) Girdhari Nayak, Secretary School Education Vikassheel, Secretary Food Department Richa Sharma, Secretary Water Resource GS Mishra, Secretary Revenue and Calamity Management KR Pisda, Secretary Mining and Industry Subodh Kumar Singh, Secretary Women and Child Development Department M Geeta, Secretary Social Welfare Sonmani Borah, Secretary Cooperatives Department DD Singh, Secretary Agriculture Anuj Shrivasav, Secretary Tribal Caste and Schedule Caste Development Ashish Bhatt, Secretary Housing and Environment Sanjay Shukla, Special Secretary Public Health Engineering Shaehla Nigar, Special Secretary Finance department Kamalpreet Singh, Special Secretary Urban Administration and Development Rohit Yadav and other officials attended the workshop.