Sullia: A small nondescript village of Balpa in Sullia had several problems of its own till about a year ago. The people had almost given up hopes of seeing any change, when Member of Parliament Nalin Kumar Kateel decided to adopt the village under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana and started developmental works.
With the tag of being ‘MP’s Village’, this hamlet which boasts of several temples, is seeing development like never before.
The MP is closely monitoring the Phase II of developmental works under the SAGY, one of the ambitious programmes of the BJP led NDA government at the centre, which aims to make the villages chosen by the MPs across the country into modern villages.
The entire program is split into five phases with each phase costing around Rs 4 crores and the blueprint for Balpa is ready for execution. In the second phase Gram Panchayath service center, five modern bus shelters, three anganwadi centers, two school buildings and one meditation centre will be taken up and the works are likely to be completed by December 2016. In addition dredging works at the famous lake Bogayana Kere, covering 1.5 acre land area will also be completed.
In the first phase installation of solar street lights, upgrade of two primary health care centers, construction of public toilets and road works between Addabailu and Beedigudde were completed. The village deprived of banking facility was provided with a new bank, cooperative society in the first phase along with drinking water facility and computers for schools.
Future plans
Third phase works are likely to begin during January 2017 where emphasis will be on providing basic amenities to the village, which include development of minor village roads and housing. Plans are on the anvil to focus on organic farming, providing cows to each household to develop dairy farming, gobar gas plant installation and improving power supply to the village.
In the last phase, rejuvenation works in and round the Bogayyana Kere will be taken up along with works on gardens and parks including beautification. Few more meditation centers will be established in the village known for temples. Community centers, small scale industrial units to create self employment will be setup in the last phase.
After the adoption of the village under the SAGY, village youth are being trained in computers, tailoring (for women) and IT enabled services. Agricultural training programs, medical surveys, camps, de addiction programs are being conducted on a regular basis. Ration cards and Aadhar cards have been distributed to each household and most programs are helping in the assessment of the progress made under the scheme.
Public and private funding for the MP led SAGY program
The entire project cost exceeding Rs 20 crores is funded by companies like MRPL, NMPT, ONGC, MCF,Syndicate Bank, Vijaya Bank and Corporation Bank. Alva’s college, SKDRDP and Srinivas college too have contributed towards the development of Balpa village under SAGY.
Balpa village covering a land area of 3836 acres and with total population of 5000 people ( based on 2011 census data) located on Subramanya-Manjeshwar state highway was deprived of basic amenities. MP Nalin adopted the village to bring about sea change in its development in early 2015 under PM’s Modi’s pet project SAGY.
Days are not too far from Balpa turning a model village in the state free from disputes and addiction related issues.
Next village will be chosen from Mangaluru Taluk: MP Nalin
After witnessing satisfactory progress, MP Nalin intends to adopt a second village under SAGY program from Mangaluru Taluk. He expresses happiness while witnessing the development works at Balpa village and said elected representatives, local leaders and financial institutions have contributed in a big way to fulfill PM Modi’s dream project to make India a country known for model villages.
