President Mukherjee inaugurates Smart Model Village pilot project

President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday inaugurated a smart model village pilot project at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and asserted that it were the representatives of the villages, who can transform this country.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that in the last nearly four years of his Presidency this was the first time that he was having the privilege of interacting with Sarpanches and village level functionaries in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

He also said that since assuming office, he had been emphasizing on the opening of the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the people, however, today he felt that Rashtrapati Bhavan had been truly opened to the public since the village representatives were present there.

"Our progress and development can be achieved at the desirable speed only in partnership with these decision makers in the villages. We also need to empower our women and youth. He expressed confidence that this initiative would not remain confined to these five villages but would spread to the entire country," the President said.

President Mukherjee also said that this is a landmark initiative for the nation, as it seeks to replicate the experience in transforming the President's Estate into a smart model township, in five selected villages in Haryana.

The five villages which will be developed into the smart villages under this pilot project are Dhaula, Alipur, Harichandpur and Taj Nagar from Gurgaon district and Rojka Meo from Mewat district of Haryana.

The President had announced this pilot project on the occasion of inauguration of the Intelligent Operations Centre (IOC) in Rashtrapati Bhavan and launching of a Mobile App 'Monitor' for transformation of President's Estate into a smart township on May 19, 2016.