VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT: WHY IT MATTERS

New Delhi: Over the past year, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, a slew of village outreach schemes were initiated by the Lt-governor and the Aap-delhi government — each vying with the other in their promises of better roads and sanitation.

The L-G announced a village revamp initiative (Dilli Gramoday Abhiyaan) to be undertaken by the Delhi Development Authority. As part of this, 11 district magistrates and senior bureaucrats stayed overnight at select villages and held dialogues with residents. In its Budget this year, the government proposed a separate allocation of Rs 900 crore for upgradation of 1,000 km of roads and other development work in villages.

Delhi has 360 rural and urban villages — most lie in Northwest, West and South Delhi. As per political experts, the percentage of rural population is higher in

Northwest Delhi, which is around 15%, and is less than 10% in South Delhi.

Paras Tyagi, president, Centre for Youth, Culture, Law and Environment (CYCLE), a non-profit organisation, said the situation in most villages is debatable: “Except for benches and signages bearing names of MPS, no development has taken place in rural parts of the city... they lack hospitals, colleges and basic facilities like potholefree roads, sewers, water...”

Explaining why village development is a major concern, especially with polls a month away, a BJP leader said: “Overall, vote share of rural parts accounts for around 10-12% of the total vote share... this is not a small number... People from rural areas and semi-developed and unauthorised colonies vote in large numbers...”