Disparities among districts of Jharkhand regarding progress in sectors of public welfare and standard of living should to be bridged to realise the objective of a better State, exclaimed experts while analysing data about Millennium Development Goals (MDG), laid down by United Nations Organisation (UNO).
This statement came during a State-level symposium on Status of MDGs in Jharkhand convened this Tuesday to gauge the development seen in the State after the stipulated deadline for achieving them expired on December 31, 2015.
Back in 2000, UNO had set eight goals for its member countries – eradicate extreme hunger and poverty, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, ensure environment sustainability and develop global partnership.
A presentation showing statistics collected from all 24 districts established that districts lagging behind earlier MDGs are still behind others despite showing progress.
“Efforts for bringing up the districts lagging behind in indicators pertaining to MDGs at par with districts leading in these sectors will help with development of Jharkhand as a whole,” stated KK Sinha, Deputy General Manager, National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD).
Based on the data, RB Singh, Special Secretary, Tourism Department pointed out that growth in forest cover has to be taken up to 45 per cent in Jharkhand, or the plateau State will find it hard to solve the ongoing water crisis.
“According to the numbers that have come before us, development in four to five sectors has been encouraging. Now we need to honestly assess our progress with regard to MDGs. The gaps discovered in the deliberations that will follow can be addressed in near future. Analysing MDGs will prove beneficial in finding the way ahead,” stated Singh.
Presenting the data, State Data Consultant for SDG-PMPSU Shelly Kerketta stated that the State has been doing well in certain sectors, more or less, whereas some sectors required more dedication.
“The data we have here is in aggregated form and will serve well for forming plans for universal resolution of issues. But this information needs to be disaggregated so that focussed efforts can be made to deliver to those in dire needs of our initiatives,” stated Madhulika Jonathan, UNICEF State Head for Jharkhand.
“It is not as if Jharkhand has been lagging behind in all MDGs, effective work has been done in the fields of education and poverty reduction. Now efforts have to be focussed on checking maternal mortality and nutrition. If the departments working together towards a particular goal coordinate properly, improved results can be generated with available resources and time,” stated Kerketta.
The statistics will be helpful in motivating beneficiaries to take initiative for their own betterment, stated NABARD DGM. “These numbers should be made available on the public forum as people will also endeavour then to uplift themselves. Making them aware of the goals will invite efforts on their part to achieve them,” Sinha said.