PANAJI
'India lives in its villages' is an oft-recalled quote of Mahatma Gandhi. On October 2, his birth anniversary, the Goa government will launch the ‘Swaympurna Gaon, Sampanna Goem’ a plan to "economically revive" Goa's 190 odd villages.
The project aims to help the State reduce its dependence on neighbouring States for daily essentials and other basic requirements.
It involves government officials fanning out to the villages and motivating people to take up economic activities which will produce these commodities over the next one year.
The plan has been formulated after a ground-level survey conducted by the Directorate of Higher Education with support from the Goa Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development (GIPARD).
Students and faculty teams are drawn from 25 Colleges covered the 191 Village Panchayats to do the ground level survey in May-June.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said officials who will implement the programme have been imparted the relevant training and that government officers will have to be "karmayogi" for its success.
The plan was prepared after identifying 'Sectors of Concern' for each panchayat to revive the grassroot economy and meet the aspirations of the community.
A manual to implement the plan and guide the stakeholders has also been prepared to focus on agriculture, animal husbandry, tourism, fisheries and natural resources.
Also in the ambit of the plan is the development of youth and adolescents, care of senior citizens besides women.
The areas of operation in the plan have been segregated for the achievement of goals under three broad time frames - - immediate (within a year), the short term within 3 years and long term after more than 3 years.
