(DIPR feature by Mhonlumi Patton, APRO)
To usher in all-round development at grass root level, the role of the highest planning body in the District/State and the active participation of the grass root people need to be taken into account. This idea is incorporated in the concept of Village/Ward Adoption Committee undertaken by the Kohima District Planning and Development Board (DPDB), and this novel initiative has been featured in “New Beginning,” a book on innovations for the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence, released by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on 21st April, 2017.
It was in the year 2010 that the Kohima DPDB brought out a concept known as Village Adoption Programme which was re-christened as DPDB Village/Ward Adoption Committee in 2014. Initially, it was conceptualized with the name/term “Village Vision Cell” under the theme “Back to the Root,” by involving people from all walks of life including retired Government servants/officers, politicians, social workers and other intellectuals.A group of responsible people from a particular village forms a team called Village Vision Cell (VVC), who collectively coordinates with village leaders to improve the system of village level governance and to submit its vision and plans to the Kohima DPDB. The DPDB members are grouped into 6 DPDB Village/Ward Adoption Committees consisting of 9-10 officers and it has set up a Core Committee headed by Additional Deputy Commissioner HQ to evaluate the works of the 6 (six) committees annually.
Each Committee is assigned a village or a ward, as the case maybe, to adopt and study the Village/Ward in detail, to ascertain the status of Government programmes, to locate lacunae and suggest measures to be taken. They also help to design and implement innovative programmes of the Committee in the Village/Ward, and finally, a detailed report on the Village/Ward is presented to the DPDB.
Initially, an amount of Rs. 50,000/- was given from the Local Area Development Program Common Pool to each of the Committee, which was increased to Rs. 1,00,000/- in 2015. In 2016, it was further raised to Rs. 1,50,000/- in view of the positive impact of the programme on the adopted Villages/Wards and popular public demand. The amount so sanctioned is being used by the Committees for various expenses.
Till date, 20 (Twenty) villages in rural areas and 8 (Eight) wards in urban sectors have been covered under this Village/Ward Adoption Programme by the Kohima DPDB. Yearly competitions are also held to choose the Best Adoption Committee.
Objectives/Goals:
- To identify the needs of the villages, be it in economy, education, social, health and sanitation and assist them by using locally available resources.
- To create awareness of the activities of the DPDB.
- To develop cooperation and understanding and to inculcate team spirit amongst the member department for achieving synergy.
This model of “Bottoms Up” approach to planning and reporting has proved to be successful and beneficial, as is seen in the case of Kohima DPDB. As rightly said by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, “Innovation is no longer a choice but has become an imperative,” such models need to be emulated in other districts so as to fulfil the basic and priority needs of the local populace and also to bridge the vital gap between the Government and the grass root society.
