Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Sept 4:

Chief minister Naveen today said the Model Village programme taken up by the state government would bring in perceptible changes in rural Odisha.
CM naveen Model village
Development in rural areas must be accelerated by convergence and synchronization of all developmental policies and programmes, Patnaik said while inaugurating a workshop on “Model Villages for Good Governance” jointly organized by the state General Administration department and the Administrative Reforms department of the government of India here.

Though Odisha has achieved high economic growth, infrastructure and industrial development and noticeable changes in a host of other sectors like health and education, rural development and upliftment of people living in villages has always remained the government's priority, he said.

“Good governance constitutes the core of our vision and the essence of our development strategy. Our sustained efforts for good governance have produced ample opportunities for growth and development in the state”, the chief minister said.

Odisha needs an environment friendly inclusive development approach for sustainable development and the Model Village programme will serve this purpose by leveraging the synergies of the existing and future programmes, he said.

"It will bring in the community of citizens, public representatives, corporates and academia whose creativity, professionalism and passion for development will be employed to rev up rural economy, Patnaik said.

“All government department will implement the programme in a convergence framework to make it highly effective since it has an objective to bring transparency and accountability in government initiatives by enlightening people about their rights and entitlements under the laws of public service delivery, food security, forests, education and other programmes”, he said.

Among others, Art of Living Guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Panchayati Raj minister Arun Sahoo, chief secretary GC Pati, special secretary, General Administration, additional secretary, Union Administrative Reforms department other dignitaries attended the workshop.