Aizawl, Feb 3: A meeting of the State Level Empowered Committee (SLEC) was held today under the chairmanship of Khilli Ram Meena, Chief Secretary, Government of Mizoram, at Conference Hall No. 1, New Secretariat Complex. The committee decided to delete 80 projects under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) that remain incomplete.
Saansad Adharsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) is a village development project launched by Govt., of India in October, 2014, under which each Member of Parliament takes the responsibility of developing physical and institutional infrastructure in villages. The development must be holistic, covering social, cultural, economic and infrastructural aspects. Each Member of Parliament (MP) adopts one Gram Panchayat (Village) and develops it into a model village by 2016. After that, MPs develop two more villages by 2019, and then one village per year till 2024.
Objectives of SAGY:
• Holistic development of selected villages into Adarsh Grams (Model Villages).
• Improve the quality of life and livelihoods of all residents, especially the poor and marginalized.
• Trigger a culture of participatory development, transparency, and accountability at the grassroots.
• Make model villages as ‘schools of local development’, so other villages can replicate the success.
The implementation of the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) in Mizoram began in 2014, aligning with the nationwide launch of the scheme. Under this initiative, 14 Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the state have been adopted by respective Members of Parliament (MPs) to be developed as Adarsh Grams (Model Villages).
Each of these GPs formulated a Village Development Plan (VDP) through a participatory approach involving local stakeholders. In total, the VDPs included 816 projects/activities, covering a wide range of development areas such as infrastructure, education, health, livelihood, sanitation and social inclusion. 736 out of 816 projects/activities have been successfully completed. The original target was to complete all planned interventions by the year 2024. However, a few projects could not be completed within the timeline due to various challenges. Despite these challenges, the overall implementation of SAGY in Mizoram reflects substantial progress and a strong commitment toward holistic rural development. Notably, all projects in Khumtung, Mualcheng, Muthi, and Damparengpui have been fully completed.
As outlined above, out of the 816 projects/activities included in the Village Development Plan (VDPs) under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) in Mizoram, 80 projects/activities remain incomplete due to various challenges:
• Initial Overambition in Planning: During the launch phase of SAGY in 2014, selected villages and associated officials exhibited a high level of ambition. This led to the inclusion of an excessively large number of projects in the initial Village Development Plans (VDPs).
• Funding Constraints as a Primary Challenge: A critical implementation hurdle has been the absence of a dedicated, separate budget for SAGY. Consequently, numerous projects listed in the VDPs could not be initiated or completed due to a lack of earmarked funds.
• Departmental Scheme Limitations: The existing schemes of concerned line departments, which were intended to be converged for SAGY, often operated with limited or tightly allocated funds. This made it impractical for these departments to take up many of the additional projects proposed under the VDPs.
In accordance with the directive issued by the Ministry of Rural Development, SAGY Division dated 7th August, 2023, the Ministry has permitted the deletion of works listed in the VDPs on the SAGY portal. This is subject to the condition that the concerned State forwards the deletion proposals with necessary approvals from the Gram Sabha, District Level Committee (DLC), and the State Level Executive Committee (SLEC).
Following this instruction, all Charge Officers of SAGY villages were directed to obtain the required approvals for the works proposed for deletion. Accordingly, the approvals from the Gram Sabha and DLC has been received.
Furthermore, as per the Ministry’s instruction to achieve 100% completion of all planned projects/activities under SAGY by 31st July, 2025, the SLEC’s formal approval of the deletion of the 80 projects/activities, as recommended by the DLC and ratified by the concerned Gram Sabhas, has enabled the State to attain full saturation and successful closure of the SAGY initiative in Mizoram.
