The Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) was launched on 11th October, 2014. It aimed to bring to life Mahatma Gandhi's vision of the ideal village, keeping in mind the present context. Presently there are 3014 (Gram Panchayat)GPs selected, with 2,33,196 projects planned under (Village Development Plan)VDP and 1,16,654 projects completed. Through this, the Member of Parliaments is to adopt a Gram Panchayat within their constituency to guide holistic progress, addressing social development following infrastructure. More on government official website.

What is Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) | UPSC IAS IPS IFS

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According to the Hon'ble Prime Minister, the scheme was launched not with a preconceived notion of beneficiaries as the receivers and the Government as the doer but to empower each villager to make a conscious choice by providing them with the opportunity to exercise it. This scheme provided a direction to the genuine villagers through hard work and entrepreneurial skills to pave their path.

The goal was to develop three Adarsh Gram by 2019, one to be achieved in 2016. After that, by 2024, five Grams, one per year, were to be selected and developed. This was to provide rural India with quality access to basic amenities along with various opportunities for self-development while keeping the essence of rural India alive.

 

Need for the scheme

The scheme was required because there was a need to trigger a holistic development process of identified Gram Panchayats (GP) and to nurture those identified Adarsh Grams as schools of local development to motivate other Gram Panchayats. The Government specified that the objective was to encourage other neighboring Gram Panchayats through local development and effective local government model generation for them to learn and adapt.

Further, the Government wanted to address the necessity of improving the life quality and living standard among all sections of the population by improving the basic amenities, higher productivity, enhancing human development, livelihood opportunities, reduction in disparities, access to rights and entitlements, increased social mobilization and enrichment of social capital.

 

About the scheme

The Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) uses an alternative approach to achieve the objectives, attempting to leverage the MPs' leadership, capacity, and vitality for developing the model Gram Panchayat. It also focuses on partnering with volunteer-based organisations, co-operatives, and academic and research institutions, with the main focus on outcomes and sustainability.

The villages are selected based on population, a basic unit with 3000-5000 people in plain areas and 1000-3000 in the hilly, tribal and rugged regions. The MPs heading their constituency are to select a village other than their own or that of their spouse, then will pick out one gram Panchayat for imminent consideration and two for later.

Each Adarsh Gram must have its own Village Development Plan (VDP). While each community will establish its list of activities based on its unique resources and needs, possible actions are specified in the scheme's rules. Adarsh Grams, for example, can endeavour to provide universal access to essential healthcare services, promote diversified livelihoods through agriculture-related livelihoods and skill development, provide pensions to all eligible families, provide housing to everyone, and promote social forestry.

After the GP is identified, a Charge Officer is appointed, and the MP creates an environment and mobilisation. Analyses specific requirements, critical restrictions, and resources available in relation to societal dynamics, the provision of facilities and services, the fulfilment of villagers' rights and benefits, etc. The group of experts creates a draught village development plan based on the requirements identified by the community. The Village Development Plan would essentially encompass activities from the eight Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) Guideline categories. Following the incorporation of the Hon'ble MP's proposals, the VDP is approved at the Gram Sabha and the District Level Committee led by the District Collector.

Key functionaries are involved at the national, state, district, and village levels. The MPs identify, facilitate the planning process, mobilise funds, and monitor the scheme. There will be two committees, the Minister of Rural Development and Secretary, Rural Development, heading them respectively, monitoring and reviewing the scheme's implementation and detecting bottlenecks. On the State level, the committee is controlled by the Chief Secretary, who supplements the central guidelines for the scheme, reviewing village development plans and implementation and designing a grievance redressal mechanism.

The responsibility of the district collector is to conduct a baseline survey, facilitating the preparation of the development plan and monthly progress review. Lastly, the Gram Panchayat and functionaries of the scheme have the mission of executing, detecting the needs of villagers, resource optimisation and ensuring participation.

A web-based monitoring system will be built to allow the MP and other stakeholders to monitor the plan. Each quarter, outputs related to physical and financial goals are measured. An impartial organisation will undertake a mid-term and post-project review.

 

Pros 

• The project intends to strengthen the whole health system by coordinating policy efforts across all sectors and expanding the provision of preventative, curative, palliative, and rehabilitative services within the public sector.
• Fostering and protecting the neighborhood's social history.
• It will encourage group participation, personal growth, and self-assurance.
• Ensuring that all social groups are represented in all aspects of town life, particularly those connected to the administrative processes.
• The mission also focuses on women's and children's health and universal immunization.

 

Cons

• The funds allocated for this scheme are allocated from the budget of existing schemes such as the Indira Awas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Therefore, creating a lack of a dedicated funding mechanism.
• It will be difficult for the MPs to regularly monitor the on-ground development of the GM.
• One of the most severe difficulties is coordination between ministries and departments involved in the scheme and their administration.
• There are no specific criteria for choosing a village.

 

Effect on the Indian economy

The Common Review Commission, which the Central Government established in 2020, discovered that there had been a disproportionate allocation of funds from the Members of Parliament Local Area Development scheme. Further, there is no dedicated fund for the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) arranged through convergence. This creates an issue since the funds which belong to the purpose of a particular scheme which is already functioning will be short on funds or unable to fulfil the requirement of a particular project.

 

Conclusion

The aim of this scheme holistically was rural development in all aspects, but it needs timely review for improvement in its phases. The Ministry of Rural Development should see that the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) communities are included in the scheme's goal and do not fall behind. There needs to be a mechanism for MPs to monitor the real-time development of the Gram Panchayat regularly, and a specific manner should be adopted for coordination between ministries and departments involved. Lastly, it is of utmost importance that criteria are developed for selecting villages that are required for immediate selection and the others for later.