With an intent of developing rural India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched an ambitious scheme under which he asked each of around 800 MPs to develop physical and institutional infrastructure of three villages by 2019.
Under the 'Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana' (MP Model Village Scheme), announced by Modi in his Independence Day address, an MP will be free to choose any village but it should not be his or her own village or that of his in-laws.
He said he will choose a village in Varanasi, his Parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
If all the MPs adopt three villages each, nearly 2500 villages will be developed by 2019.
Launching the scheme, the Prime Minister said it is envisaged that under the leadership and through the efforts of Members of Parliament, one village would be developed by each MP by 2016.
On the basis of the model created by this experience, it is envisaged that two more villages would be developed by each MP by 2019 and that one village will be developed every year.
"We are nearly 800 MPs. If before 2019 we develop three villages each, we reach nearly 2,500 villages. If in the light of this scheme, the states also create a similar scheme for MLAs, then 6-7000 more villages can be added," Modi said.
The Prime Minister also said that if one village is developed in a block, it is also likely to have a "viral" effect and development would permeate other villages also.
He said that till now the model of development being followed in the country has largely been supply driven.
"In Delhi, Lucknow or Gandhinagar, a scheme is prepared and then an attempt is made to inject it everywhere. Through this 'Adarsh Gram' (scheme), we want to shift from supply driven to demand driven model," he said.
He also said that atmosphere should be created where every person is proud of his or her village.
