Naidu discuss draft plan on smart villages with Corporates

Hyderabad, Jan 5 (INN): In a meeting with Corporates and NGOs on the government's flagship 'Smart Andhra Pradesh' program, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu discussed the draft plan including 20 non-negotiable indicators for a smart village.

The 20 key indicators include compulsory power, gas, road and drinking water, individual toilets, 100% literacy, no maternal or infant deaths, broadband connectivity, no child marriages among others.

The other indicators, the Chief Minister said, could be taken up on competitive spirit basis. 'But, we cannot compromise on the 20 key indicators. They have to be implemented,' he said.

However, the Chief Minster said that the draft will be finalized based on suggestions from experts in various fields. 'I'm targeting 16,000 VIPs and High-Network Individuals (HNIs). If we have 16,000 different ideas, we can pick the best ones which are feasible and work on them,' he added.

Given that the government has invited NRIs, NRVs (Non-Resident Villagers), Industrialists, Ministers, MPs, MLAs, Celebrities, IAS, IPS and IFS officers to adopt villages, the Chief Minister said that if more than one person comes forward to adopt a village, a lead partner will be identified in the group and he/she, along with other partners, will work with villagers.

Each time an NGO or a Corporate achieves an indicator or a set of indicators and sets higher targets, they can inform the Planning Department.

The Planning Department will then make the data available online and publicize the best practices used by a Corporate or an NGO in achieving targets.

The Chief Minister assured NGOs that the government will soon provide them with a village-level status report for them to work on the indicators and identify problem areas. 'Every year, we will review your progress and improvement in indicators and publicize it if you achieve positive results,' he said.

"We are also planning to establish an institution for 'Swachh Bharat' which will monitor construction of Individual Household Laterines (IHL), public toilets, sanitation and waste management," the Chief Minister said.

Suggesting NGOs and Corporates to follow a result-oriented approach, the Chief Minister said that they can either give a theme-based support (i.e. to work on a particular issue and pioneer it) or work at the community level in capacity building and impart skills.

Meanwhile, NGOs have requested the Chief Minister to have an integrated institution with NGOs and government officials to implement smart village concept.

Organizations like CII, FAPCCI, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, COWE, IL&FS and heads of NGOs from across the state participated in the meeting.

Special Chief Secretary S.P. Tucker, Deputy Chairman of State Planning Board Kutumba Rao, principal secretaries of Rural Development and IT&C departments and other officials were present.