Naveen inaugurates workshop on model villages

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar, Sep 4: The model village programme will bring in the community of citizens, public representatives, corporates and academia to the centre stage and their creativity, professionalism and passion for development will be employed to rev up rural economy, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said here today.Inaugurating a workshop on `Model Villages for Good Governance’, Patnaik said that good governance constitutes the core of “our vision and the essence of our development strategy”.“Our sustained efforts for good governance have produced ample opportunities for growth and development in the state. We have displayed high economic growth, massive infrastructure and industrial development, and noticeable changes in a host of other sectors like health and education,” he said.The Chief Minister said that rural development and upliftment of people living in villages has always remained his government’s priority.“Our development in rural areas must be accelerated by convergence and synchronisation of all our developmental policy and programmes,” he added.Stating that an environment friendly inclusive development approach is needed for sustainable development, Patnaik said that the Model Village programme will serve this purpose by leveraging the synergies of the existing and future programmes.Increased production and supply of food grains, pulses, foods and vegetables and other farm produces will help infuse the much needed fillip to rural economy, Patnaik said.“It also aims at combating and mitigating climate change by successful afforestation and plantation programmes by sensitizing communities on the issue.”The Model Village programme has an objective to bring transparency and accountability in government initiatives by enlightening people about their rights and entitlements under the laws of public service delivery, food security, forests, education and other programmes, said Patnaik.All departments will implement Model Village programme in a convergence framework to make it highly effective, he observed.The workshop was attended by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Panchayati Raj Minister Arun Sahoo and many officials.The workshop was jointly organised by State General Administration Department and Administrative Reforms Department of Government of India.