Maharashtra's Digital Dialogue: 25,000 Sarpanches Shape Rural Prosperity

"Today, it is a commendable matter that we are interacting with 25,000 Sarpanches at a time on it. The depth that has come in rural development is evident from this interaction," he said.

Fadnavis said that the development of the state and the country cannot take place without rural development.

The Central government has given priority to rural development and provided a large amount of funds in the last ten years.

"To create a prosperous ideal village in the concept of village prosperity of Mahatma Gandhi, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj and Sant Gadge Baba, two things are important in village development works, which include public participation and leadership," he added.

According to the chief minister, Sarpanches are the changemakers for the overall development of villages.

"Sarpanches do the work of developing villages by taking the government's schemes to the villages. They should make the best use of the funds provided by the Central and State governments for farmers, women, children, health, education, infrastructure and women's self-help groups," he said.

He added that various schemes and campaigns can create basic work in villages. A good example of this is the remarkable work done in the state under the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan, which not only worked on water conservation by storing water, but also made people realise how much change can be achieved through leadership and collective power in the village.

He added that the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan campaign gave a new direction to the progress of agriculture.

"All the villages have done very well in the Mukhyamantri Samriddhi Panchayat Raj Abhiyan," he said.

Expressing his resolve to make every village in the state a smart village, CM Fadnavis said that after the fibre network, with the help of Starlink, the best internet connectivity will be provided to the villages.

He added that smart devices will increase productivity and reduce the cost for farmers.

Fadnavis said that Maharashtra will soon set a Guinness World Record in the solar pump scheme, as this is proving to be a huge success in the state.

"Concepts of cost savings, like pumps during the day and free electricity to homes at night, are now becoming a reality. The government will also implement the concept of natural farming as a mission and is focusing on making agriculture sustainable by reducing production costs," he added.

- IANS