State, corporates join hands to fight Covid in rural areas

At a time when it was debated that villages in large numbers were neglected during the second wave of coronavirus, a campaign was launched by Village Social Transformation Foundation (VSTF) - a joint initiative between the state government and corporates.

In the first phase, the VSTF under its Mission Mahagram initiative has been successful in making 204 villages Covid19 free. This achievement has been made from the total 441 village panchayats where the VSTF has its presence.

Launched in 2017 by the then BJP-led government, the VSTF — a joint venture between the state government and the top 17 corporate houses to make 1,000 villages drought free — has completed its first phase and is waiting for the launch of second phase. Headed by the Chief Minister, VSTF is now under the Rural Development Department. During the regime of the previous government its control was with the Chief Minister’s Office. At the time of its launch, it was founded on the concept of convergence of government schemes worth Rs 1106 crore and Rs 53 crore by the corporate houses through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Mission Mahagram – a Covid-19 response initiative for rural Maharashtra — has been specially undertaken by the VSTF to reach out to villages. When asked about it, Rajaram Dighe, CEO of VSTF said, “It began with the survey of 2,555 individuals that comprised village panchayat members, teachers and selfhelp group members”.

An awareness drive was launched through digital programmes in which 3.4 lakh people were contacted by creating awareness on early diagnosis and referral, self-hygiene practices, social distancing and respiratory etiquettes, he said.