Digvijay introduces `Gram Swraj’

Inaugurating a shopping complex constructed by the Rogi Kalyan Samiti at Tarana in Ujjain, Singh said his government wanted to implement all schemes with full participation of the people. There were about 71 thousand villages in the state and affairs of these villages could not be managed effectively from the distant state capital alone, he said.

The panchayat raj and district governments had been set up in the state to decentralise the state government’s powers, the CM explained. Panchayat raj institutions and urban civic bodies had also given new opportunities to people from Scheduled Castes and Tribes and women to come forward and participate in the decision making, he noted.

The Chief Minister said that the Gram Sampark Abhiyans launched by the government had brought the administration closer to the people over the three years that it has been in force. “The motto of my government is to move from “Rajniti” to “Lokniti”. The bureaucracy and people’s representatives are being made accountable to the people,” he added.

At the same time, village panchayats and local self-government institutions were being empowered to generate their own resources so that development works suited to local needs could be taken up expeditiously, Singh said.

For example, out of the Mandi tax of Rs two, 85 paise would go towards the construction of roads in rural areas, the CM told the villagers. A provision had been made to confiscate not only goods being transported without paying Mandi tax, but also the vehicle carrying the goods. The Chief Minister promised that except two per cent of pasture land, all surplus land would be given to landless persons from Scheduled Castes and Tribes.

Expressing concern over the depleting ground water, Singh said steps were being taken to harvest rainwater instead of digging more borewells.