Mumbai, Aug 21 (IANS) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday called upon the corporate and private organisations to focus on investing and implementing social responsibility activities in remote and developmentally backward districts instead of urban areas while doing their social responsibility work.

He gave a call to work together and bring about a more comprehensive and effective transformation in the new phase of Maharashtra’s rural social transformation.

He said that the schemes implemented in many villages in the first phase of VSTF have shown positive results, and the results of its evaluation are encouraging.

“Although there are some shortcomings in this phase, we will correct them and implement the second phase more effectively and make it a success,” he said was speaking at the 5th Governing Council meeting of the Village Social Transformation Foundation (VSTF).

The Chief Minister added that while implementing the Village Transformation Initiative, it has been found that the pace of transformation there has slowed down after the VSTF fellows leave the village.

“It is necessary to build an institutional structure based on the manpower available in the village itself. While implementing schemes in villages, if the needs of each village are identified and changes are made in the schemes, the pace of transformation will increase,” he added.

The Chief Minister pointed out that in the first phase of the VSTF project, several private companies and social responsibility partners strengthened the government’s efforts by not only providing financial support but also suggesting policy changes, new technologies, data-driven processes and innovative solutions.

“This transformation was not just about implementing the scheme, but also focused on the presence of dedicated individuals in the village, fellows working with social commitment and building institutions at the local level,” said the Chief Minister.

He said that the contribution of each private partner is very valuable, and with in-depth knowledge and cooperation of government schemes, good results have been achieved in every village.

He added that VSTF and its partner private companies have done a good job in transforming rural development.

“The ‘Lakhpati Didi’ scheme announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has benefited the state on a large scale, and in just two years, 50 lakh women in Maharashtra have become ‘Lakhpati Didi’. The government has only provided them with opportunities, and the real credit for this goes to those women,” remarked the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister also released the report on water conservation work prepared by STL Limited and also unveiled the warehouse of Raosaheb Patil Shetkari Producing Company in Latur.

–IANS

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