India News | A Campaign to Bring Together Rival Political Groups to Expedite Development in Villages in UP's Prayagraj
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. A retired IAS officer has begun a campaign in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh to bring rival political groups in villages under one platform with the aim to reduce differences and expedite development activities.
Lucknow, Jul 22 (PTI) A retired IAS officer has begun a campaign in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh to bring rival political groups in villages under one platform with the aim to reduce differences and expedite development activities.
The "Sadbhavna Gram Yojana" campaign, initiated by Ajay Shankar Pandey, is drawing widespread support.
"The rift between the (elected) village heads and those who were defeated in panchayat polls promotes factionalism. We have resolved to push for development by bringing both sides on one platform for the progress of villages and have started the campaign," Pandey told PTI.
The political rivalry between the village heads and the unsuccessful candidates hampers development activities in villages, he claimed.
Pandey is using his 37 years of administrative experience to ensure the campaign's success.
Asked about the source of funding for the campaign, Pandey said, "This is a voluntary scheme and since all pradhans keep coming to block headquarters, they also attend seminars organised there at their own expense."
He said the organisations of pradhans, volunteers and locals are also joining his campaign.
Pandey came up with this plan when he was the district magistrate of Ghaziabad. But before it could be implemented, he was promoted as Secretary. As the commissioner of Jhansi Division, he started it as a pilot project in some villages, but in the meantime he retired.
Pandey, who retired last year, launched the campaign on June 5 this year.
So far the campaign has reached eight development blocks -- Uruva, Meja, Manda, Kaundhiyara, Karchhana, Shankargarh, Jasra and Chaka -- in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, he said.
There are a total of 22 development blocks in Prayagraj district.
"My aim is to implement this scheme in all gram panchayats of Uttar Pradesh, so that the river of development can flow peacefully in the state by breaking the walls of hatred," he said.
There are 58,000 village panchayats in the state's 75 districts.
Pandey said the campaign follows a process of dialogue in several stages.
First, a meeting is held with the elected pradhans and then a separate meeting is held with the defeated candidates. After this, both the parties are convinced to sit together for the development of their villages.
"By creating an atmosphere of harmony in the joint meetings...a resolution is passed for the adoption of 'Sadbhavna Gram Yojana' in Gram Sabha meetings," he said.
Under the Sadbhavna Gram Yojana, a pradhan is called "kushal pradhan" and a defeated candidate "vikas salahkar" (development advisor).
The pradhan of a village in Jasra development block, Brijesh Kumar Bind, hailed the campaign and said it has led to fruitful conversations between rival political groups in villages.
"It is a very good initiative.... If the (political) environment of a village improves, then it is obvious that it will be easier to solve various problems," he said.
Vipin Mishra, the national vice-president of the All India Pradhan Sangathan, told PTI over the phone, "There is no compulsion on anyone to join the campaign.... This is a very commendable initiative."
Satyanarayan Yadav of Madra Mukundpur village, who lost the pradhan election, said, "I was very happy when Pandeyji told about this plan. I want our village to develop, so we have no objection to sit with the pradhan and find solutions to various problems. If the people of every village follow this plan, then the development of villages will gain momentum."
Pandey said he has been receiving requests from other districts to spread the campaign.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)