SAGY: J&K MPs opt out, no Gram Panchayat adopted in third phase

Fate of 484 projects identified in past hang in balance

JAMMU: It seems that Member of Parliaments from Jammu and Kashmir have opted out from Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) as none of them has adopted any Gram Panchayat during the third phase of the scheme to develop it as model village.
Moreover, the fate of projects indentified in the past under first and second phases of centre’s program is hanging in balance.
“In the first phase, six MPs including MP of Ladakh had adopted six Gram Panchayts in their respective constituencies. In the second phase only three MPs respond to centre’s request for adopting Gram Panchyat as model villages while in third phase none of the MPs have shown interest in the scheme, “an official said.
“In the first phase of the SAGY, MP from Baramulla, Muzaffar Hussain Baig had adopted GP Laderwan in district Kupwara, Srinagar MP Tariq Hameed Karra adopted GP Manigam-A in Ganderbal, Anantnag MP Mehbooba Mufti adopted GP Melhura in Shopian, Jammu MP Jugal Kishore Sharma adopted GP Mathwar in Jammu while MP from Udhampur, Dr Jitendra Singh adopted GP Sangwali in Samba.
“In the second phase, only three MPs-- Muzaffar Hussain Baig, Tariq Hameed Karra and Dr. Jitendra Singh adopted Gram Panchyat in their respective constituencies,” the official said.
“However, in the third phase of Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, none of the MPs from Jammu and Kashmir has adopted any village,” he added.
Moreover, the projects identified under first and second phase of SAGY across Jammu and Kashmir are progressing at snail’s pace as only 44 percent projects have been completed in last six years.
The SAGY was launched in 2014, under which Gram Panchayats adopted to prepare Village Development Plans (VDP) through a participatory process under the guidance of respective Members of Parliament.
The VDP includes prioritized time-bound activities to achieve holistic and integrated progress of the village.
“Out of the 15 Gram Panchayats identified under SAGY, 14 Gram Panchayats have uploaded their VDPs containing 928 projects,” an official told The News Now.
“Out of the total projects identified under SAGY, only 444 projects have been completed so far, which is 44 percent of the total projects indentified under the scheme,” he added.
“The projects are being implemented in phased manners. Currently, the third phase of scheme is going,” he said.