Adityanath to visit Mumbai this week, meet industrialists

A government spokesperson said the Chief Minister is scheduled to meet Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Hiranandani Group chairman Niranjan Hiranandani, L&T chairman S N Subrahmanyan and other industrialists. He is also supposed to meet some personalities from Bollywood.

Meanwhile, Adityanath on Sunday laid foundation stones for road projects worth Rs 851 crore in 56 districts under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

A government statement said that under the Panchayati Raj Department, roads in these districts will be built at a cost of Rs 204 crore. Another 2,000 km of roads will be built at a cost of Rs 647 crore under 748 projects.

Speaking during the inauguration ceremony via video conferencing, the CM said if villages are self-reliant, then the state will also become self-reliant. “After villages become self-reliant, people living there will not be able to call themselves unemployed. People of villages can show a new ideal for economic self-reliance. The idea of Mahatma Gandhi about ‘Village Swaraj’ can be followed too. This is a good start towards that goal,” said Adityanath.

He said that the PMGSY was started by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. “The PMGSY was implemented for the first time in 2001 five decades after Independence which means that rural India was denied basic facilities till then. Good roads are the most important aspect of development,” said the CM.

He said that if the money allotted to the three-layered panchayat system is properly utilised, development can be achieved and the issue of unemployment can be addressed.

He said panchayat officials and representatives should leave behind a legacy through their exemplary work. “It is important that one works in a way that in the future, they can say that something was done in their tenure. The gram panchayat should work towards inter-locking, water logging… It should also work towards cleanliness and ensure proper disposal of waste. The thought that our village is clean and its identity must be developed,” said the CM.

Panchayats should not solely rely on funds from the government but should also seek to increase their income on their own, said the CM. “If panchayats become independent, then people of the village will also be independent,” he underlined.

Highlighting his government’s ‘One District, One Product’ scheme to promoted local artisans and small industries, he urged panchayats to buy such products.

“Gorakhpur’s terracotta comes from Aurangabad while Lucknow’s chikankari is also from a village… Is it not the responsibility of panchayats to promote their products? People should gift products from their districts during festivals,” he added.