Smart village Campaign: 1255 development works begun at cost of Rs.74.41 crore for holistic rural development in second phase

Mohali : In a move to boost up infrastructure and facilities in rural areas across the district, as many as 1255 development works have been commenced in the various Gram Panchayats so far at an outlay of Rs. 74.41 crore to ensure holistic rural development.Overseeing the progress of several development projects during a special review meeting held at the district administrative complex, the Deputy Commissioner Ms. Isha Kalia accompanied by Additional Deputy Commissioner (D) Dr. Himanshu Aggarwal, stated that under the first phase about 441 development works were started in the district and all of them have been completed by the authorities at an outlay of Rs. 16.96 crore. Similarly, in the second phase a total of 1631 development works were sanctioned and as many as 1255 have been started by the executing agencies adding that 977 works from the total started works, have been completed successfully to the date.Expressing satisfaction over this pace, she asked the executing agencies to accomplish all the projects within the due time period and submit Utilization Certificates (UCs) against the funds issued to them.

Meanwhile, the DC Ms. Isha Kalia directed the officials to accomplish all the projects related to construction of model playgrounds at the earliest. She mentioned that out of total 20 proposed playgrounds as many as 12 playgrounds have been completed, while emphasizing that the remaining 8 playgrounds should be ready up till October 10, 2021. She directed the officials to further accelerate the pace of various projects being undertaken in the district so that the benefit of the pro-people scheme of the state government could be extended to the people without any delay.Notably, the state government launched the second phase of SVC on October 17, 2020 after successful implementation of its first phase, which was launched in 2019. The first phase of SVC included works like; Renovation of Ponds, Street lights, Parks, Gymnasiums, Community Halls, Drinking Water Supply, Model Anganwadi Centres, Smart Schools and Solid Waste Management thus making villages in Punjab self-sustaining by providing enabling environment, while in second phase, the main focus is on “Har ghar pakki chhat” to provide the rural poor with better housing facility. While doing so, focus shall be on ‘inclusive’ growth, i.e. to include households such as Women Headed Households, persons with disabilities, critically ill persons, families of martyrs, scheduled castes, besides taking up sports stadiums in the rural areas for development.