the goan I network
PANAJI
Five years after the Rachol village was adopted under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), a study undertaken by Carmel College and the Parikrama Knowledge Terminus has found that the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community of the village has barely benefited.
Rachol was adopted under SAGY in 2014 by late Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik. One of the targeted areas of development under the scheme included job opportunities for the villagers, 72% of whom belong to the ST community according to the last census.
However, the study undertaken, which interviewed 429 of the 1686 villagers, has proved to have helped the ST community very little, if at all. The interview was restricted to the ST community only as it forms a majority of the total village population. All five wards of the village were represented.
Of the respondents, 284 villagers felt that the scheme has not helped in the revival of traditional occupations of the ST community, while 145 villagers felt that the scheme has helped in the revival of the same. Further, majority of the respondents i.e. 356 respondents were of the view that the scheme has not helped in providing new job opportunities to the villages belonging to the ST community. Only 73 respondents stated that the scheme has provided new job opportunities to this community.
When asked whether the scheme has curbed migration by providing new job opportunities to the villagers, majority of the respondents i.e. 401 replied in the negative. Only 28 stated that the scheme has helped stop migration.
When it comes to the empowerment of the village women, while 271 villagers stated that the scheme has not helped in their empowerment, 158 villagers stated that it has. Many respondents said that it was the village women themselves who had organised self-help groups, and that no other special initiative had been undertaken under SAGY for the economic development of the women which could have been done by focus on a micro-industrial set up.
134 respondents stated that they received individual benefits from the scheme while 295 respondents stated that they didn’t receive any individual benefits. Overall, 311 villagers said that the scheme has not helped in the overall development of the village. 181, on the other hand, stated that the scheme has helped in Rachol’s overall development.
According to the study, around 50% of the villagers interviewed had no awareness about SAGY at all.
However, when asked, the panch members unanimously agreed that the scheme has proven to be a great opportunity for Rachol and the panchayat because of its financial assistance in carrying out
development activities.
The objective of carrying out the study was to find out the overall impact of the scheme on Rachol, to analyze whether the scheme has helped in improving the economic condition of the ST community, to learn whether the scheme has been demand driven, and to find out whether the scheme has led to the increase of community participation in the development of Rachol.
SAGY was launched with the aim to translate the comprehensive vision of Mahatma Gandhi about an ideal Indian village into reality, keeping in view the present context. Under SAGY, each MP adopts a gram panchayat and guides its holistic progress giving importance for social development on par with infrastructure.
The distinct features of SAGY are supposed to be that development is supposed to be demand driven, inspired by society, and based on peoples’ participation.
Demand-driven development
Rachol was adopted under SAGY in 2014 by late Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik
One of the targeted areas of development under the scheme included job opportunities for the villagers, 72% of whom belong to the ST community according to the last census
Other areas included curb on migration, empowerment and economic development of the village women, individual benefits from the scheme and overall development of the village
According to the study, around 50% of the villagers interviewed had no awareness about SAGY at all
However, panch members unanimously agreed that the scheme has proven to be a great opportunity because of its financial assistance in carrying out development activities
