Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) was launched with the objective of improving villages all over the country. Around 1000 villages were selected in the beginning from around 5 states. The five states included Himachal Pradesh in the Northern Region, Bihar from the Eastern Region, Rajasthan in the Western Region, Tamil Nadu in Southern Region and Assam in the North-Eastern Region.
The scheme was further extended to another 1500 villages in Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Haryana later on. One of the main objectives of the schemes was reduction of poverty and increasing development. Improving the literacy rate in the various villages was also a part of the scheme.
The scheme also implements the existing schemes of Central and State Governments in a convergent manner and utilizes funds from the centre. The various targets of the scheme are Universal adult literacy, 100% enrolment and retention of children at the elementary stage in schools, reduction of infant mortality rate to 30 and maternal mortality rate to 100.
The villages also have to fulfill the Nirmal Gram Puraskar norms of the Department Of Drinking Water Supply, Ministry of Rural Development. These villages should also be 100 % open defecation free. There should also be access to safe drinking water facility to all villagers on a sustainable basis.
Construction of village roads, community halls and meeting places, community toilets, drainage works, installation of hand pumps, solar powered street lights, drinking water scheme etc. are also a part of the scheme. Moreover immunization programme for children also is included in the scheme. The scheme aims at overall development of villages. It is one of the best ways to carry on with the implementation of the existing schemes.
