Adarsh gaon' to now boast of self-sufficient villagers, organic farms

Taking the 'smart city' concept a few steps ahead, the Maharashtra government is planning to launch a scheme to develop 'smart villages.' These villages will have ample green cover, sanitation facilities, organic and community farms, adequate educational coverage and facilities and employment. They will also be 'self-sufficient,' have good roads and tap renewable energy resources like solar energy.

"After launching the adarsh gaon (ideal village) scheme, we are planning to make these villages smart," finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar told dna.

In his maiden budget speech, Mungantiwar had announced the launch of the 'Aamdar Adarsh Gaon Yojna' for legislators along the lines of prime minister Narendra Modi's scheme which enables MPs to adopt villages and target schemes to them.

This will enable the development of around 1,000 villages in the state. The Modi-led NDA government plans to develop 100 smart cities in the country.

Maharashtra, which is the second largest state in India in terms of population, is one of the fastest urbanising states with 45.2% residing in urban areas, according to the 2011 census, compared to 38.69% in 1990-91 and 42.43% in 2000-01.

However, the state, which is spread over a 3.08 lakh sq km area with a population of 11.24 crore also has 40,959 villages, with cultivators accounting for 25.4% of total workers in Maharashtra.

"(Our smart villages) will have features like ample of green cover, community and organic farms, drainage schemes and sanitation, educational facilities and employment generation. We plan to make villages self-sufficient so that all major commodities except salt and sugar can be produced in the village itself," said Mungantiwar, adding that this was in line with Mahatma Gandhi's thinking.

He said they were taking the Adarsh Gaon concept forward and were likely to come forward with a concrete scheme in a year's time.

The state is also planning to launch 30 smart cities based on themes like education, health and information technology (IT), and is looking at government land parcels in places like Pune, Palghar, Thane and Aurangabad for the purpose. Otherwise, there is a risk of these prime lands falling prey to encroachments.

Projects which may come on the anvil include a medical city at Palghar to boost medical tourism, and educational and IT cities. However, sources said that an in-depth study was needed to develop the concept on the drawing board before it was put into practice.