Mission Panchayat: Odisha govt to develop over 53K futuristic model villages by 2047

BHUBANESHWAR: As part of the state government's futuristic model gram panchayat mission, which will be launched under the Viksit Odisha vision, every village in the state will have exemplary public infrastructures, according to a senior official in the state government. Official sources said the government will develop model infrastructure including park, library-cum-infotainment centre, Kalyan Mandap, well-maintained playground, haat with dedicated storage and waste disposal facilities, tank, crematorium and model anganwadi centre in every panchayat. As part of the mission, every block and district will have a mega model tourism circuit for preservation and showcasing cultural heritage sites like temples, monuments and handicraft hubs. The state has 53,845 villages under 6,801 panchayats in 314 blocks of the 30 districts. Although there is no dearth of rural development schemes, most of the villages in the state still lack some form of basic infrastructure and amenities. The Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water department has decided to develop in three phases the public infrastructure in all villages. At least 7,000 villages, especially the panchayat-headquartered villages, will be developed as model ones by 2029, 20,000 villages by 2036 while the remaining villages by will be transformed by 2047. Commissioner-cum-secretary of the department Girish SN said, in order to propel the state towards the path of accelerated growth, it is imperative to ensure holistic development of its rural areas, where the majority of its population resides. The state government has envisioned to transform all villages into self-sustaining models with access to basic amenities. Several panchayats have some of such infrastructure which will be further improved. A base-line survey will be conducted to finalise the list of infrastructure to be created. A director-level committee has already been formed to monitor it, he informed. The government has multiple schemes for all weather road connectivity, piped water supply, electricity, rural sanitation and waste management, healthcare, education, telecom and internet connectivity and development of public spaces like parks, community halls, playgrounds, libraries, crematorium and markets. These schemes will be converged for developing core rural infrastructure, the PR&DW secretary said. It has also been decided to develop rural tourism circuits around the ancient/culturally significant temples, historical monuments, handicraft hubs, renowned cultural centres and other popular tourist destination like lakes and waterfalls to showcase local culture, heritage and tradition. Suitable sites will be selected for holistic development of nearby and surrounding areas of culturally significant temples in each gram panchayat. Site specific development plans will be prepared for each site with the involvement of local community and PRIs. Amenities like amusement park with vending zone, waste management facility and beautification of traditional water bodies/tanks will be focused. Rural parks will be a major component of the model tourism circuit. Transforming villages State govt has envisioned to transform all villages into self-sustaining models with access to basic amenities. Several panchayats have some of such infra which will be further improved.