GADCHIROLI BROUGHT HIGH TECHNOLOGY IN THE TRIBAL TOWNS!
Unique inclusion of tribal dominated towns into the national mainstream, being realised in Maharashtra through cutting edge technology for SBM.
Gadchiroli District collector Sanjay Meena has displayed that a strong administrative will can make it happen. Technology arrived in a tribal majority district Gadchiroli and how! Scanify Codes are being mounted on the hutments and the walls of households. To ensure the success of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). But, the words by senior IAS Mahesh Pathak, Principal secretary UD, Maharashtra appear prophetic as he foresees the technology also being used for monitoring deliverables in health and other pro people welfare schemes in future.
India Input team
A young technical assistant is mounting a scanify code on a kutchcha hutment, while the amused dweller, a middle aged man from tribal community, is watching with pride and elation. The young man then scans the code on his mobile hand held device.
A few metres away, another young man is mounting another scanify code on the front wall of the wooden front portion of another tribal family’s residence.
Top pics : Etapalli. Lower (L-R) Bhamragad, Aheri (Pics courtsey : ITI)
This happened in February 2022. The place was Etapalli, a town with an estimated population of 12 thousand, about 142 Km from Gadchiroli city. Each one of the three thousand households in the town now sport a fresh scanify code on the front side.
A few minutes later, the codes were scanned using handheld devices while a third techie who was watching a digital map on his gadget appeared satisfied. Reason for his smile?
All of these households are now geotagged and have now entered into the database. The resident families have been informed about the new technological changes in the waste collection campaign, their relevant details have been noted in proper formats.
A day later, Shubham Gupta, IAS and the then officiating Chief Officer Etapalli addressed a training workshop for Waste collection vehicle drivers, other officers and elected representatives in the Urban Local Body (ULB) there.
Around the same time at Armori, another town in Gadchiroli district, a young man from a tribal family stood for a photo-op right in front of the scanify code stuck on his house, smiling while holding the information pamphlet handed over to him by one of the technical assistants.
India Input has similar Exclusive images from the major parts of the Gadchiroli district. These are indeed very interesting and reassuring. These pics speak volumes about a new initiative that is doing magic in the towns and cities of Maharashtra. And also reignite hope and optimism about a better and promising future for the towns that were somewhat neglected or left behind in the race for development and progress.
GADCHIROLI LEADS BY A PRO TECHNOLOGY MINDSET
‘These scanify codes will help us know whether the waste garbage was collected from each of these houses today, at what time, by which collection vehicle. And whether the waste garbage material was properly segregated,’ explains Mahesh Pathak, senior IAS and principal secretary, Urban Development, Maharashtra, ‘Till now, in absence of a fool proof monitoring mechanism, it was very challenging to ensure that the waste collection campaign worked well on the ground. But, the use of the scanify code technology can further empower the monitoring and thus strengthening the system for SBM. Use of ICT (Information & Communication Technology) is mandated under the SBM guidelines. We took approval of HPC of Chief Secretary twice and issued orders to assign work to ITI a public sector of GOI. Agreement with ITI was vetted by Law Department. This will be signed between ULBs and ITI.’
WHY THIS LOOKS A HUGE POSITIVE STEP?
Gadchiroli is referred to as among the state’s most backward districts in developmental aspects and is often mentioned in the news for Maoist related incidents. This district is also known for the largest tribal population in Maharashtra. However, now the use of technology unequivocally proves that, the state of Maharashtra is excelling in SBM (Swachh Bharat Mission) and appears to have taken a lead, thanks to the use of technology. More importantly, the guardian minister of this district happens to be Maharashtra’s Urban Development minister Eknath Shinde.
That explains why the towns and cities, in Gadchiroli, once the most backward district, are turning a new leaf. For those habitually expecting mostly negative stories from Gadchiroli, this is a huge positive change.
Sanjay Meena, IAS and the district collector is keen on the speedy implementation of this, what he calls ‘a game changer project’. That reflects through his personal monitoring and regular interactions with his team leaders. Officials in the district are all geared up after the district collector approved the project, provided grants and issued directions for an aggressive implementation.
And the results are there for all to see and get surprised. For a district, known mostly for chronic extra longer delays in implementation of government schemes, survey was conducted at about fifty thousand properties in the district and this project is near completion in the areas of eleven Urban local bodies out of total twelve, in just just a few months.
The pace of implementation can be gauged by the fact that survey and mounting of scanify code work in Bhamragad is over and the system is already fully operational. The last Nagar Panchayat of Maharashtra on Chhattisgarh border, Bhamragarh is situated near Hemalkasa town, the venue of the internationally renowned Lokbiradari Prakalp to help needy tribals, by Magsaysay award winner Dr Prakash Amte and Dr Mrs. Mandakini Amte.
Bhamragad town has about 2500 households with an estimated 11 thousand population. Says a techie who had participated in the work there, ‘We found the local people positive and curious about the initiative. Thanks to the attention and monitoring by Dr Suraj Jadhav, the chief officer, Municipal council, Bhamragad.’
Sanjay Meena tells indiainput.com, ‘This is more about the further inclusion of our citizens in the national mainstream. This is the real happening face of the slogan, – ‘government at your doorstep.’ This ICT based solution is expected to bring about the much needed behavioural change among the people and also speedy identification of the areas that need extra attention. So, it leads to better cleanliness, hygiene and health conditions among our citizens here. The guardian minister is keen on ushering a visible positive change in the district. We are getting it. Information is fed into the cloud based database through the Mobile application. The scanify code helps identify households where the waste garbage collection is not happening post segregation. The online system makes real-time monitoring possible, helps to check the progress of the garbage collection work, helps to identify the idle time or straying away from specified routes.’
ICT BASED TECHNOLOGY MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
And this is not happening in just Gadchiroli but almost in every part of Maharashtra State. The technology offers a centralized system wherein the waste collection updates from all over the state can be viewed in real-time on a single monitoring platform. The competitive spirit, driven by a zeal to perform better, is seen motivating the urban local bodies. And that’s the success of the Swachh Bharat Mission in Maharashtra. Definitely a strong reason for other states to catch up.
The state’s Director, for the Swachh Bharat Mission, Anil Mule lays emphasis on the transparent system ensured by ICT and the potential it offers. He says, ‘Use of proper technology takes us forward. A common citizen will definitely be satisfied to see the SBM system is working regularly and without hindrances to his advantage. Reports that need to be filed as monthly compliances can be autogenerated now. These can come quickly, saving time and manpower due to the use of ICT technology.’
Then, there is always a question about the future scope. So, how useful is ICT technology, really?
India Input sought to get a first hand response from the force behind this initiative, a pro technology officer Mahesh Pathak, senior IAS and the Principal secretary, Urban Development, Maharashtra. And he pointed out a much bigger aspect, saying, ‘We should employ as much useful ICT technology for the Swachh Bharat Mission as possible. All across the state. For cities, towns and for all residents. The new technology can be useful for monitoring deliverables in health and other pro people welfare schemes in future. Across the state. With the help of QR code, the entire chain of movement of garbage from generation to segregation to processing can be mapped online and monitored by a dashboard. This will also help in mapping of all properties in future, thereby indirectly helping to bring new properties into the property tax net.’
Sanjay Meena, the district collector Gadchiroli adds, ‘If the technology helps you in identifying the areas that need more attention, we save time, manpower and government’s money. Any technology is a boon if it is useful.. if it helps you. Such a technology will be a game changer.’
(images: Gadchiroli District administration & ITI)