Ampati, May 5: Fourteen villages under Zikzak Block in South West Garo Hills came forward to submit their consent letter to the Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma to be a part of “My Village Model Village” which was launched with much grandeur at Garagre UP School Playground on Friday afternoon. These villages also took “My Village Model Village” pledge before the Chief Minister and lit the candles as a symbol of their commitment to the cause.
Facilitated by Bakdil NGO, Tura and supported by the district administration of South West Garo Hills, the Model Village programme, based on a sustainable development model, is a result of a thought process based on the interventions on one hand and possibilities on the other, to empower the communities by addressing the critical gaps in convergence with line departments and other government agencies through increased community participation. The concept envisions making one village level institution as the convergent point of all developmental programmes and stakeholders involved in the life of the village.
The 14 villages that gave the consent letter to be a part of this programme are Garagre, Digligre, Aruagre, Boldorenggre, Diglakona Bolchugre, Tewaligre, Pagolpara, Balughat-B, Lower Banangpara, Simlakona, Bollonggre-B1, Agonggittim and Denggnagre, where Bakdil has been working actively and MGNREGS programme is well implemented and all the women of these villages have been organized into self-help groups and opened bank accounts. Bakdil would continue to handhold these villages for the next six years with plans are afoot to develop allied activities through bank loans.
Besides the Chief Minister, local MLA of Mahendraganj and Chairperson, Meghalaya Resources & Employment Generation Council, Dikkanchi D. Shira, Bishop of Tura & President, Bakdil Rt. Rev. Andrew Marak, Deputy Commissioner, Cyril Darlong Diengdoh, ADC & PD, DRDA, Ampati, HDB Sangma, officials of various line departments, nokmas and local leaders were also present during the launch of the programme.
The Chief Minister, who has been advocating the model village, model district and model state concept, said he was moved by the My Village Model Village programme being launched in the remotest corner and economically backward area of the state bordering Bangladesh, adding that this part of the country had faced the most difficult situations after free trade that flourished in the region was stopped post Independence. Despite a number of development schemes initiated by the government for the uplift of the rural poor, these developmental programmes failed to make impact due to lack of information and absence of handholding support to the villagers.
He lauded Bakdil under the leadership of its Director, Fr. Sunny Mavelil, for giving that kind of handholding to these villages to become a model and assured that he would coordinate with Bakdil and the local MLA to ensure that all developmental works under the programme are taken up on a sustainable mode and objectives of model village programme are achieved. He also said that directions would be given to all the concerned line departments to help these villages with schemes that are available for them in their quest to become model villages.
It was informed that the target area being an elephant corridor the villagers have been facing a lot of problem with their plantations, etc, to which the Chief Minister said that there is a natural solution to such problems and suggested that the villagers opt for natural barricades like planting a very thorny species of citrus plant to keep the elephants.
Local MLA, Dikkanchi D. Shira, Bishop of Tura, Rt. Rev. Andrew Marak and Deputy Commissioner CVD Diengdoh, were among others who also spoke on the occasion, while Director Bakdil Fr. Sunny Mavelil highlighted on the model village programme as well as the activities of Bakdil in the area.
