Nearly 15 to 20 lakh people participated in the recently concluded Back to Village-IV programme, while more than 25000 officers visited every panchayat across the Union Territory.
The main purpose of the B2V-IV was to reach out to the rural people to get the feedback from the “Ground Zero” and address their genuine grievances.
The very idea of the B2V-IV revolved around the people first. Administration went to their doorsteps to know what it could do for them. The overwhelming participation of people has proven beyond doubt that the masses wait for such initiatives.
The government had fixed targets for B2V4 to make it result oriented which included saturation of individual beneficiary schemes, youth skill and self-employment. The visiting officers tried to resolve the issues of the people on the spot and the problems that couldn’t be solved immediately were passed on to the concerned departments for early redressal.
Rural people were made aware about various centrally sponsored schemes like old age pension, widow pension, marriage assistance, Ayushman Bharat and other schemes. Hundreds of people were enrolled on the spot with an assurance that the benefits would reach them in a short span of time.
The concept of Back to Village has helped the government officers to understand the needs and requirements of the people. It has also helped a common man to discuss his problems with the administration so that the solutions could be provided.
The visiting officers were tasked as ‘Panchayat Mentors’ who were assigned the responsibility to listen to the future grievances and address them accordingly. The ‘Panchayat Mentors’ were directed to play the role of leaders in Panchayats. They were asked to visit these areas within two months to address pending grievances of citizens.
Through the Back to Village programme, the government has developed a direct connection with the rural people and has instilled confidence in them that the government cares for them and officials are there to help them, and resolve their issues.
Like the first three phases of B2V, the fourth phase too was a grand success. The B2V has proven to be a major step towards filling in the void between the people and the government.
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