The Uttar Pradesh government is working to bridge the gap between cities and villages. For this, a total of 19 clusters of ‘rurban villages’ have been created till July 2020 by the state government while maintaining the basic form of rural life. In these villages, over 8,000 youths have been linked to employment.
“Apart from this, the government has carried out construction work worth Rs 196 crore to provide basic facilities in villages,” a government spokesman said.
“As many as 19 smart classrooms and 425 primary and upper primary schools have been upgraded in these villages. Besides, RO has been installed in 110 schools and a CC road link of about 90 kilometres has been constructed,” the spokesman said here on Friday.
Under the Rurban Mission, a cluster of geographically contiguous villages with a population of about 25,000 to 50,000 in plain and coastal areas and with a population of 5,000 to 15,000 in desert, hilly or tribal areas are being provided basic urban facilities. The main objective of Rurban Mission is to stimulate local economic development, enhance basic services, and create well-planned rurban clusters.
The official said that in every house of 19 clusters of rurban villages, the construction of toilets had been done and they had been declared open defecation free (ODF).
“Besides, 21,500 public toilets have been constructed and clean drinking water is also being supplied in the villages. Under the Swachhata Mission, action is being taken for solid and liquid waste management,” the spokesman said.
Under Critical Gap Funding (CGF), over 4,300 solar street lights and 113 high mast solar lights have been installed in the rurban villages.
Apart from this, 18 multipurpose community buildings and 19 marriage halls have been constructed in these villages.
The spokesman said that over 9,000 cooking gas (LPG) connections had been provided to all the families living below the poverty line. He said in order to make these areas digital, public convenience centres had been opened and the state government was providing transport services in these areas.
It is to be mentioned that under the Syama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission, Uttar Pradesh has received a national award for overall performance and rurban soft integration in public financial management system in 2019-20 from the Government of India.
