While creating work for the rural poor, the upcoming VB-G RAM G Act aims to build rural infrastructure based on a “convergence model” that requires the participation of various ministries and government departments apart from the nodal rural development ministry.

Such a model has, however, failed to yield satisfactory results for an 11-year-old central scheme, with the different arms of the government involved appearing to work on the principle of “everybody’s business is nobody’s business”, multiple officials said.

“Rural works planning under this Act shall be undertaken through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans, prepared by the Gram Panchayats and integrated with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, so as to enable spatially optimised infrastructure development and strengthened inter-departmental convergence,” the Ram G bill, passed in both Houses this week, said.

Projects under the RAM G regime come under four categories:

• Water-related, such as building canals, check dams, micro-irrigation channels, rooftop rainwater harvesting (requires the participation of the Jal Shakti ministry);

• Rural infrastructure, such as roads, Anganwadi centres, libraries, school infrastructure, playgrounds, solar lighting, housing (ministries of women and child development; culture; education; youth affairs and sports; new and renewable energy);

• Livelihood-related, such as building training and skill development centres, market infrastructure, silos, cold storages (ministries of skill development and entrepreneurship; agriculture; consumer affairs, food and public distribution; food processing industries).

• Extreme-weather mitigation, such as cyclone and flood shelters, diversion channels, rehab infrastructure, road repairs, forest fire management (National Disaster Management Authority which reports to the home ministry; ministries of Jal Shakti and environment, forest andclimate change).

A serving and a retired rural development ministry official said the “convergence model” proposed for the programme mirrored the one adopted — with limited success — for the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), launched by the Narendra Modi government in 2014.

“Coordination between the line (related) departments for certain developmental activities is not happening on the ground,” the retired bureaucrat said.

“The exclusive schemes of departments are being implemented because the departments take ownership of such schemes. When it comes to joint efforts, the sense of accountability is low.”

According to the Frequently Asked Questions section on the SAGY website, each of the country’s 780-odd MPs was to select eight gram panchayats and develop themby March 2024.

The MPs were to take the initiative to implement government programmes such as harnessing solar power for drinking water supply, construction of bio-digester toilets, land development and tree plantation so that these panchayats emerged as models for others.

This means that more than 6,000 gram panchayats should have become model villages by now.

However, the parliamentary standing committee on rural development has found that the MPs selected only 3,361 gram panchayats till March 2024. Of them, 3,114 have prepared their village development plans and 87 per cent of the planned projects have been completed.

In its report on the ministry’s demands for grants for 2024-25, the House panel expressed displeasure at the SAGY’s poor implementation. It praised the MPs’ intent and underlined a problem of “convergence” but did not specify who was to blame.

“The Committee are concerned to witness the sorry state of affairs being faced by the MPs who have adopted the villages under SAGY but are not able to see any prioritised implementation of development schemes in the concerned villages,” thereport said.

“For some reason or other, the real intent and efforts of the MPs are not translated into a holistic development of the villages under SAGY. Primarily, there is an urgent need to carry out convergence/ implementation of schemes at ground level onpriority basis.”

Apart from mandating the involvement of multiple government arms, the scheme allowed partnerships with voluntary organisations, cooperatives and academic and research institutions. The district collectors were to coordinate the implementation, and block development officers were to do the monitoring.

While agreeing that the “convergence model” had stuttered under the SAGY, the serving rural development ministry official who spoke to this newspaper said it was too early to predict similar problems for the VB-G RAM G.

“It will depend on how the state governments and the gram panchayats drive the VB-G RAM G. The concept is good,” he said.

An email sent on Friday to rural development secretary Shailesh Kumar Singh, seeking his comments on the slow progress of the SAGY, has not received an answer yet.