Lucknow: In a bid to take development to grassroots level, the Yogi Government has intensified the Aspirational Blocks Development Programme to fast track the development in the most backward areas and bring them at par with the developed ones.
Chairing a high-level meeting with senior officials on Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “All 8 aspirational districts have made significant improvement under NITI Aayog’s Aspirational Districts Programme model in Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, special initiatives should be implemented to develop aspirational blocks and real-time monitoring should be done to track progress.”
Taking the Aspirational Districts Programme to micro-level, a survey was conducted to identify as many as 100 aspirational development blocks. A set of special initiatives has been planned to be implemented in these blocks for expeditious improvement in their socio-economic status.
The efforts will be made for holistic development of these aspirational development blocks on key parameters under 5 broad socio-economic themes – Health and Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, Financial Inclusion and Skill Development and Infrastructure.
In pursuance of the directives issued by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, far-reaching and impactful initiatives like BC Sakhi, Gram Sachivalayas and Amrit Sarovars will also be included as development indicators.
Continuous assessment of the updated status will be done regarding the development standards set for the aspirational districts. Along with this, students of IIT Kanpur and IIM Lucknow will be roped in for continuous monitoring of aspirational development blocks and accurate assessment of the real situation.
For smooth progress of the programme, the Block Development Officer (BDO) posted in aspirational development blocks will not be given additional charge of any other block and visionary officers will be deployed in these areas.
The concerned SDM will be designated as the nodal officer of the development block and will be responsible for the pace of development works and that transparency is ensured in marking their progress.
It is worth mentioning here that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Aspirational Districts Programme in January, 2018 as part of the Government’s effort to raise the living standards of its citizens and ensure inclusive growth for all, ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas aur Sabka Vishwas’. The programme aims at development of backward districts. As many as eight aspirational districts of Uttar Pradesh namely Balrampur, Siddharthnagar, Sonbhadra, Chandauli, Fatehpur, Chitrakoot, Bahraich and Shravasti have made remarkable progress that signifies the efforts undertaken by the Yogi government.
