Nine Solan villages selected under tribal infra development scheme
Nine Solan villages have been selected under the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan of the Central Government. The scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September endeavours to improve the socio-economic condition of tribal communities in tribal-majority villages as well as in aspirational districts. It will cover 63,000 villages nationwide.
The nine selected villages fall in eight gram panchayats of the Nalagarh and Doon Assembly segments. These villages are Bairchha, Mastanpur, Gol Jamala, Dhang Nichli, Malpur, Gullerwala, Lehi and Mandhala.
As many as 25 interventions will be implemented through the scheme by 17 ministries in a time-bound manner. Funds will be allocated under the Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribes in the next five years. Issues like a provision of pucca houses with tap drinking water, improving village infrastructure by providing mobile phone connectivity, skill development for students after Class X and XII, marketing support for the cottage industry, ensuring quality and affordable education by developing tribal hostels at the district and block levels. This will also help in improving the gross enrollment ratio.
Access to quality health care and immunisation through mobile medical units in areas where a sub centre is more than 10 km away in plains and 5 km in hilly areas under the National Health Mission will also be ensured through this scheme.
Being a hill state, villages located at far-flung places often lack proper infrastructure like good road connectivity. They usually lack skill development centres apart from higher educational institutions, besides health care facilities on their doorsteps. Residents of these areas are forced to trudge several kilometres to access facilities. The Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan endeavours to address these concerns.
In Solan district, there are 2,383 census villages having a Scheduled Tribe (ST) population of 25,645, as per the 2011 Census. Villages having more than 40 per cent ST population or where their number is at least 100 have been selected under the scheme
Ajay Yadav, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Solan, says that a meeting will be held with all villagers to make them aware about the scheme and information regarding their demands vis-à-vis improvement in infrastructure related to health, education, water, electrification, provision of liquefied petroleum gas, livestock rearing, skilling, digital interventions, etc., will be provided. A project will be submitted to the Union Government for seeking the requisite funds for improvement in these sectors.
Pucca houses, tapped water supply
- The nine selected villages fall in eight gram panchayats of the Nalagarh and Doon Assembly segments. These villages are Bairchha, Mastanpur, Gol Jamala, Dhang Nichli, Malpur, Gullerwala, Lehi and Mandhala
- In focus will be issues like a provision of pucca houses with tap drinking water, improving village infrastructure by providing mobile phone connectivity, skill development for students after Class X and XII, etc
- Being a hill state, villages located at far-flung places in Himachal often lack proper infrastructure like good road connectivity
