Aim for time-bound delivery of services and facilities, PM Modi tells district magistrates

“The success achieved in aspirational districts has expanded the country’s targets. Today, during the Azadi ka Amrit Kaal, the country’s goal is to achieve 100% saturation of services and facilities. That is, we have a long way to go compared to the milestones we have achieved so far and have to work on a much bigger scale,” Modi said addressing the district magistrates across the country in a virtual conference, where the NITI Aayog CEO gave an overview of the aspirational district programme, which “leveraged competitive and cooperative federalism, driven by a Team India spirit”.

The prime minister said every district must have a time-bound target on how roads will reach every village, how every eligible individual will get an Ayushman Bharat card and government insurance, how every household will get an Ujjwala gas connection, among others. He also called for a two-year vision for every district and suggested that every district identify 10 tasks to be completed in the next three months to improve ease of living for common people. Similarly, five tasks may be associated with the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to achieve “historical success in this historical epoch”.

“When the aspirations of others become your aspirations and when fulfilling the dreams of others becomes the measure of your success, that path of duty creates history. Today ‘aspirational districts’ are eliminating the barriers of the progress of the country. They are becoming an accelerator instead of an obstacle,” Modi said, calling for “a direct and emotional connect between the administration and the public is very important—a sort of ‘top to bottom’ and ‘bottom to top’ flow of governance”.

The prime minister said that convergence was a major reason for the country’s success in the “aspirational districts”. “All resources are the same, government machinery is the same, officials are the same but the results are different. Seeing the entire district as a unit enables the officer to feel the enormity of her efforts and give a sense of purpose of life and satisfaction of bringing meaningful change,” he said. He remarked that “aspirational districts” had proved that by eliminating silos, optimum utilization of resources can be achieved.

Modi also said no district should be left behind in the digital revolution. “The prime minister sought direct feedback from them (district magistrates) about the key steps taken by them which has resulted in success in the districts, and about the challenges faced by them in this endeavour,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said. “The efforts have resulted in these districts performing remarkably better on every parameter. The best practices like the smart classroom initiative from Banka, Bihar; Mission Aparajita to prevent child marriages in Koraput, Odisha etc. were replicated by other districts as well. Analysis of the performance of districts vis-a-vis the stability of the tenure of key officials of the district was also presented,” the statement said.

The statement said the rural development secretary gave a presentation on a mission to uplift 142 selected districts on the lines of the focused work done in the “aspirational districts”. “The Centre and states will work together to uplift these identified districts to address the pockets of underdevelopment. Fifteen sectors corresponding to 15 ministries and departments were identified. In the sectors, key performance indicators (KPIs) were identified. The aim of the government is to ensure that the KPIs in the selected districts surpass the state average in the next one year and that they come at par with national average in two years,” it said.