In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision 2022 to make a new India by eradicating poverty and to make the country free from corruption, initiatives have been taken for widespread awareness among the masses following which the City Mission Management unit of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) under the Assam State Urban Livelihoods Mission Society has also taken initiative to build a new India by 2022.
Giving the slogan of ‘Sankalp se Siddhi’ (Pledge to Achieve) at the launch, Prime Minister Modi urged the people to work shoulder to shoulder to create the India that the freedom fighters would be proud of.
The New India initiative has been taken in commemoration of the Quit India Movement of 1942. “The objective of the project is to make the country free from poverty as it is due to the poverty that our country has a huge illiteracy rate for which the country is lagging far behind. The project has targeted women to take the initiative to build a new India with the help of Self Help Groups (SHG) as it is only the woman who runs a family and have a hold over the family right from guiding their children to managing the household. As it is difficult to visit each and every family we have formed the SHGs so that they can make the women aware of the initiative of a new India,” said City Project Manager of GMC, Rupjyoti Borah while speaking to G Plus.
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Borah informed that the main target of the new India initiative is to make the people aware of a healthy and hygienic environment and to eradicate poverty. “India is a country where poverty has been the root cause for malnutrition, illiteracy etc. and to build a new India this problem has to be eradicated and therefore we have asked the SHGs to create awareness among the masses. Area Level Federation (ALF) groups having 10-11 members have been formed and registration for 22 ALFs is in process under Co-operative Society Act, 2007,” said Borah.
The project manager said that the lower class or the economically poor families do not know how they should save money and as they have a concept that they can take loans from many private financial institutions for their personal benefit they do not think of the future and waste lots of money. He said that they don’t have any idea that they are spending a huge amount of money on interest on the loan amounts that they take. “The ALFs will be provided with Rs. 50,000 each and another small amount will be invested by them with which they can lend the money to the people at a minimum rate of interest which will save the money of the people and that money will increase month on month as they will get interest out of it. They can also utilize the money for their household activities once they are out of poverty,” said Borah.
The initiative was launched with rallies at various locations where the flag hoisting ceremony was followed by a march on major roads of the city on Independence Day. “The themes and pledges of a new India by 2022 were sworn by all members in the procession to make a new India that is dirt-free, poverty-free, corruption-free, terrorism-free, communalism-free and caste-free. Citizens also joined the rallies enthusiastically and expressed satisfaction with the involvement of poor SHGs in the awareness campaign,” he added.
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Borah also said that it is through this project that the youths will be trained in skill development. “Youths will be trained in skill development programme as it is not possible to provide jobs to all the unemployed. There are many vocational courses but the people are not aware of it and therefore they crave for government jobs. There are ample numbers of vocational courses and youths will be offered with the courses which are free of cost and include food and lodging. With the skill development programme people will be able to start their own means of livelihood which will also help in eradicating poverty,” Borah reiterated.
Rallies were taken out sequentially at Ward Nos. 29, 5-6, 27, 23-24-21, 25, 29, 30, 2-3, 17-19, 31, 24, 8, 11-12-10-13, 26-17, 16, 22, 26, 4-5 and 24. Apart from processions, a number of participants also undertook cleanliness drives at many locations like Kamakhya, Six Mile, etc., to keep their wards and localities clean and hygienic.
• Rallies have been taken out in 20 localities by ALFs for awareness generation
• Cleanliness drives have also been undertaken at Kamakhya and Sixmile as part of the project
• Youths will be trained in skill development programmes under the project
• The themes and pledges of a new India by 2022 were sworn by all members of the processions to make a new India that is dirt-free, poverty-free, corruption-free, terrorism-free, communalism-free and caste-free
• The ALFs will be provided with Rs 50,000 each by GMC
• Registration for 22 ALFs is in process under Co-operative Society Act, 2007
