Union Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Shri Giriraj Singh today launched ‘Azadi Se Antyodaya Tak’, a 90-day campaign with a mission to saturate 75 Districts across 28 States/UTs with beneficiary schemes of 09 central ministries. Celebrating the spirit of the year- long Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM), the identified districts are aligned with the birth place of 99 Freedom Fighters, who made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation during India’s struggle for independence.

The goal of the campaign is to take up 17 select schemes with direct assistance to beneficiaries in saturation mode, reaching out to the person at the bottom of the pyramid in rural areas by each of the participating ministries/departments.

The 75 districts, marginally lagging behind in the development parameters, have been shortlisted through MPCE (Monthly per Capita Indicators) and D5/D7 SECC-2011 (Socio-Economic Caste Census) data.

Describing the Azadi se Antyodaya Tak campaign as a concrete step of the government towards Amrit Mahotsav, Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Giriraj Singh said that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is working towards making India as dreamt by freedom fighters. He said that to make the campaign successful, all 9 Ministries must work unitedly along with public participation.  We will take these 17 schemes in saturation mode along with intensive real time monitoring. It will be kept as a record after the campaign is completed”, the Minister added.

Sharing her views during the launch of the campaign, Minister of State for Rural Development, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said, “Even today there are many freedom fighters whom the people of the district do not even know. We now have an opportunity to remember them, pay tribute to them and develop their village. Achieving our goal in 90 days will be a true tribute to the martyrs."

Minister of State for Panchayati Raj, Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil said that through the campaign, the people will now get to know about unsung heroes of the freedom struggle.

Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development said, “Today’s program is unique in itself. Today we are remembering the contribution and role of the forgotten freedom fighters associated with the freedom struggle.”

During the programme, Shri Giriraj Singh also interacted with the families of 3 freedom fighters out of 99 selected. Relatives of freedom fighter Late Shri Thakur Pyare Lal Singh from Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh said that- “This event is a matter of pride for our family, district and city.”

Azadi Se Antyodaya Tak campaign is a concerted effort of Ministry of Rural Development, Department of Social Justice & Empowerment-Divyangjan, Ministry of Women & Child Development, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Department of Agriculture & farmers Welfare, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying and Ministry of Labour & Employment. 

The campaign will be implemented in a celebratory mode involving all rural stakeholders including families of identified freedom fighters (FF), Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), women networks, youth groups and students highlighting the achievements of the schemes. It will also be participatory in its approach with active support of public servants like local MPs, MLAs, Sarpanch etc.  

The Azadi Se Antyodaya Tak campaign is being led by Ministry of Rural Development with active support from Ministry of Culture and all participating ministries/departments.

The campaign is extended to cover 75 districts across 28 States/UTs namely Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Click here for the list of 75 Districts

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APS/JK