The Madras Institute of Development Studies has thanked the State government for making it the knowledge partner for focus block development programme.
The State government had announced the launch of Focus Blocks Development Programme in its 2023-24 budget. Under the scheme, ₹5-crore worth projects would be implemented in 50 most backward blocks in the State.
A statement from the MIDS said the aim is to identify blocks “that require additional government assistance while converging the existing departmental schemes to improve public utilities and the lives of poorer households. The secondary objective is to create capacity in the block-level administrative machinery to strive for augmenting development resources and deploy them effectively to achieve faster development in relation to other regions in the State”.
The knowledge partner will actively support the State Planning Commission in formulating Block Development strategy papers. MIDS shall also guide support institutions and district administrations for effective implementation of the programme, the statement read.
Institute director Suresh Babu said the institute would provide input about the block development strategy plan (BDSP). The selected blocks are low on developmental indicators and the aim is to improve them and bring them up on a par with the better developed regions of the State. “In that we will look at what could be the development target — for example, if you have to reduce infant mortality rate, there will be a target for every year. As knowledge partners we will be training officials, telling them about the possibilities and how they could get resources. The focus programme is for 3 years. At the end of that time the block will be at a par with other parts of the State or even do better,” Mr. Babu explained.
“We have been involved in many projects and this is prestigious as it is an important initiative of the State government,” he added.
Published - June 28, 2024 10:40 pm IST
