The Concept of Model Village

Ananthasagar, 2 bedroom houses

A model village where the primary facilities are easily available for the people there, which is a small city. In the 18th century, the model village concept in the world came from Europe, when the landowners living in villages planned to plan their homes in a planned manner. At the same time, they also saw the primary needs that all these things are easily available to the people in the village. After the advent of industrial revolution in Europe, the way cities began to develop, a large number of people started migrating from the village to the cities, thereby making the concept that we should develop the villages for the people living there. After this, the development of model villages was started in many European countries.

In relation to the village in India Ambedkar, Gandhi and Nehru had different ideas. Ambedkar had considered the village as a center of social security, he said, "what is a village - a sink of democracy, ignorance, narrow-mindedness and a cave of communalism". He believed that the village is not less than any torture for the Dalits, he said that it is difficult to come to social, economic and political equality in the villages as long as there is habitation in the villages. He believed that we would have to end the caste system from the village so that we can establish an equitable society in the villages. According to Nehru, if we have to develop a village, then we have to bring the industrial revolution to the villages. There was a different opinion about Gandhi's villages; he believed that keeping the rural culture alive could only save Indian culture. He considered the idea of a village republic based on democratic values.

If we talk about India's population, then we see that almost 70% of India's population lives in villages. Even the most populous population is poor and they are manual labor who are directly dependent on agriculture. Balwant Ray Mehta Committee was set up to bring the idea of self-government to the villages from the parliament to the villages. The committee was asked to investigate the activities of the community development program under the National Expansion Service and to suggest measures for their better functioning. This committee submitted its report in November 1957 and recommended the establishment of a scheme of 'democratic decentralization' which was finally known as Panchayati Raj. The main purpose of Panchayat Raj system is to solve local problems locally and make people politically and economically viable. Believing the recommendations of this committee, Panchayat system was established in villages in India. With the advent of Panchayati Raj system in India, it was believed that soon there will be a development of villages and soon social, economic political inequality will be over.

To develop model villages in India, the Government of India has been started of Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna in 2014. This one A village development program in which a village will be prepared in a model form. Through this program, the primary structure will be constructed in the village, in which construction of the streets, construction of houses in a planned manner, proper arrangement of water distribution, health facilities and public resources will be utilized properly. The responsibility of preparing Model Villages is put on the entire Panchayat system. The percentage of education in a model village should be good there should be no increase in the crime rate and the means of employment should be easily available. The model village should have facilities like a small town.

Many state governments in India are paying considerable attention to the model village like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala etc. Many states of South India have done a great job in the development of model villages.

One such village is Ananthasagar of Siddipet district of Telangana state, this village model is a very good example of the village. Ananthasagar is situated at a distance of twenty-two kilometers from the district headquarters. In this village, over the past five years, Panchayat has done very good work in improving the village infrastructure.  The road, drain, house, water distribution and drainage system has been well managed by the Gram Panchayat. 

Any Time Water(ATW), card holder, Ananthasagar

One of the uniqueness of the village is that the surveillance system and distribution of mineral water. Every family of the village has a unique identification card (Any Time Water). This is used for swiping and gets around 20ltrs of drinking water for 2 rupees. Every family can have 40 liters of drinking water per day.

Village Surveillance system, Ananthasagar 

There is 24 hours surveillance system all around the village. There are 15 cameras installed by the Panchayat worth Rs. 2, 60000 which is directly connected and monitored by the Panchayat office. In the village, all the schemes of the state government and the central government are being implemented properly. The villages also implemented the 2BH housing schemes for SC in the village, where there are around 30 houses are constructed within a year. The MGNREGA is also been implemented properly for the employment generation in the village. As per the observations, there is paccha road throughout the village with solar street light.

As we know, according to the 2011 census, there are 650,244 villages in India, and in these villages around 70 percent of India's population lives, so developing villages is a very important issue. Even today, many states of India are in a very miserable condition, even today people are not reaching the basic amenities people. Today many people are suffering from malnutrition and hunger in many states. Therefore, if we have to implement constitutional values at the grassroots level, then the central government and the state governments will have to work hard on the development of villages by forgetting mutual differences, only then we will be able to create a living environment for a third of the country's population to live a humane life. Only half of the population of the country, which is women, will have to walk along with this campaign. Women in many villages today play a dynamic role in the development of villages. If elected women representatives are given proper training and guidance, then they can bring a bigger revolution by displaying their desire and self-confidence to change their villages. The government will have to create an equitable society by eliminating the social evils of the village such as caste system, untouchability, economic and social inequality, and then we will be able to establish the values of Ambedkar, Gandhi, and Nehru at the grassroots level.

By Gajraj Solankee