The Krishna district administration launched ‘Manavooru', a new initiative aimed at socio-economic development of villages, at a programme held at Kankipadu near here on Saturday.
Minister K. Parthasarathy, who launched the programme, underscored the need for strengthening rural areas by taking up programmes for their overall development. The officials and elected representatives must work at the rural level in close coordination and always be answerable to the public, he suggested.
Mr. Parthasarathy said public participation would play a key role in solving local problems, and ‘Manavooru' was aimed at discussing the village-level problems at length and find out solutions on the spot. He cautioned the officials against showing laxity while discharging their duties and made it clear that negligence in duty would never be tolerated. The Minister released the schedule of the programmes to be taken up under ‘Manavooru'.
Infrastructure
He felt that a strong administrative system in the village would help in quicker development of rural pockets.
District Collector Peeyush Kumar said importance was given to issues like development of basic infrastructure, public health, education and welfare programmes to all while designing ‘Manavooru' programme. He said that a sum of at least Rs. 500 crores was required to make villages self-sufficient in the next five years and the programme was aimed at awakening people towards solving the local problems on their own. Village level officials, elected representatives and the villagers would meet once a month to discuss the problems, he explained.
Referring to ‘Grama Darsini' and ‘Prajavani' programmes that were already being implemented, Mr. Peeyush Kumar said that many problems were identified while conducting these two interactive programmes.
Zilla Parishad Chairman K. Nageswara Rao said decentralisation was the only way to develop rural pockets and the villages would become self-sufficient only when the villagers took the initiative to take up developmental works. Kankipadu Sarpanch Bandi Nancharayya presided over the programme. Joint Collector B. Ramaiah and other officials were present.
