It is yet to be verified whether the gold deposit at Parasi-Tamar area of Khunti is of one lakh tonne or even more than that, but the panchayat caught attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a different reason.
The PM during his regular radio chat programme ‘Maan Ki Baat’ on Sunday named it to showcase successes the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna, another initiative close to his heart, has scored so far nationwide.
The Prime Minister, while mentioning the Parasi village panchayat lauded the steps initiated by Khunti Member of Parliament Karia Munda in the way of making it an ideal village.
“It is a proud moment for all of us from the area. I had selected Parasi panchayat based on some of its qualities. It is neither too close to town nor an interior. Population here is also a mix of tribals, SCs, OBCs. Also, village level planning could be done here for making the panchayat self-dependent. looking at these aspects I started a composite planning for Parasi and some initial works have even started there,” said the delighted MP while talking to The Pioneer after the PM’s pat.
Parasi panchayat comprises about 18 tolas or small clusters and has been chosen by the MP under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna announced by Narendra Modi in his first speech on the occasion of Independence Day.
Otherwise in news for wrong reasons due to dreaded Naxal activities, the Parasi-Tamar-lungtu-Hepsel region grabbed spotlight since the Geological Survey of India located excellent quality gold deposit worth over Rs25,000 crore.
“I am planning to develop the panchayat in a composite manner. There is a river which can be used for providing irrigation and drinking water facilities for the villagers. Numerous produces coming in the form of grains, milk, vegetables, fish and poultry products would be marketed locally. The entire planning for the panchayat would be done based on local conditions and local resources would be utilised to deal with migration, unemployment, poverty and even extremism,” added the eight-time lok Sabha MP.
Munda also stressed that proper development can neutralise the menace of Naxalism from the region and believes that the PM’s pet scheme has the potential in that direction. “They (Naxals) do not disturb if good work is being done. After all, they also agree that poverty should be eliminated. I am happy that local youths of Parasi are taking interest in the scheme by attending meetings which is a good sign for all of us,” said he.
Munda also expressed satisfaction over the support he is getting from local administration in making Parasi an ideal village. Exercise for baseline survey of the village panchayat is about to be completed and after the paddy season is over, works on roads, electricity and toilets would be started in order to accomplish the task by 2017.
“Along with my initiatives under the scheme, I think the Almighty has also blessed Parasi with the huge gold deposit. locals are happy that the gold mine would bring prosperity and better employment opportunities for them. It can be a perfect blend of localised development and mining industry,” added Munda, snubbing the reported fear of displacement gripping the locals.