Listing the various challenges faced by the Department of Rural Development, the Tamil Nadu government on Monday requested the Union government to provide for the appointment of specialist consultants on nine themes identified for localising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking at the National Stakeholders’ Conference on Localisation of SDGs in Delhi, Minister for Rural Development K.R. Periakaruppan requested the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj to provide for the appointment of specialist consultants at the State level and in each district.
He also sought the appointment of one resource person in each of the blocks to help the Village Panchayats through the identification of goals and sub-goals, resource planning in convergence and continuous hand-holding for monitoring and evaluation for a period of three years till 2025.
The nine themes identified for Village Panchayats entail the following aims: Poverty-free and enhanced livelihoods village; Healthy village; Child-friendly village; Water-sufficient village; Clean and green village; Self-sufficient infrastructure in village; Socially-secured village; Village with good governance; and Engendered development in village.
Though the State government was conscious of the fact that rural transformation and poverty alleviation were continuous pursuits, there were “many challenges” in achieving the nine themes recommended by the expert committee on the localisation of SDGs, Mr. Periakaruppan said.
The challenges he mentioned were the preparation of a meaningful Village Panchayat Development Plan based on the “Thematic Framework”; convergence of resources and funds of all schemes at the village level; close co-operation and convergence of various line departments; and the absence of sector specialists in PRI Training Institutions, who can facilitate quality training in nine themes.
Maintaining that Tamil Nadu had already laid the path to realise the objectives of SDGs, the Minister said the villages in Tamil Nadu had good facilities and services in terms of electrification, drinking water supply, road connectivity, transportation, education and health infrastructure.
