Citizen App - VIA 70, First-time-in-India

VIA 70 App

(Vile Parle, Irla, Andheri MCGM ward no. 70)

A unique, first-time-in-the-country tool for govt-citizen interface prepared by UPL Ltd and Shroff Family and social activist Mayank Gandhi with the support of the elected representative of ward 70 of MCGM, Mrs Sunita Mehta.

Preamble:

Decentralization: The 73^rd amendment (1991) for decentralization of power in rural India has led to the creation of the Panchayati Bill, which has substantially improved governance in rural India. But there is an equal, if not more, need for decentralization in urban governance as per the 74^th amendment.

Urban disconnect: Urban citizens have shortage of knowledge and involvement in the workings of local government.

Government working: Gap in communication between the govt machinery and the citizens reduces the performance of services and leads to discontent among citizens.

Proposal:

A model App has been created for one of the 227 municipal wards of MCGM to address the above concerns. This is an honest and non-political attempt to create a model for integrating urban citizens of India with the governance of their locality. This can be done by sharing of necessary information with citizens, involving them in day-to-day governance and empowering them with knowledge and data in an easy-to-access and user-friendly manner. This will serve as a model, which can then be replicated across various urban areas.

Details:

The app has the following features

Ward budget – details of works planned, work-in-progress and completed works VIA 70 ward. The app will allow citizens to rate the civic works done and also make comments on its quality and timelines. They can also suggest fresh work to be undertaken in the ward.

Complaint mechanism – Citizens will be empowered with information about the officers to whom civic complaints can be made with the necessary timelines. Escalation of complaints in case of failure to solve the complaints will be part of the App.

MCGM data – a complete data tree with various departments of the MCGM.

Ward data – Complete data of education institutes, health institutes and open spaces with Google map.

Important numbers can be accessed to report complaints in various other forums like Police, Traffic Police, Anti-corruption, elected representatives etc.

Volunteering opportunities in the ward.

Know your rights – citizen charters

Neighborhood chats – there will be multiple chat groups to encourage citizens to chat and discuss local civic issues.

Present Report:

Launched on 18^th Nov 2018

Till 25-Nov-18
Total No of installs	302
Total No of Users	211
Open Complaint (work-in-progress)	46
Closed Complaint (addressed satisfactorily)	39
Total Complaint	85
Total No of suggestions	5

Transforming rural India through large-scale horticulture

My endeavor is to transform rural India by creating a replicable model using technology and new techniques. The drought this year in Marathawada has thrown in an intense challenge to put in place sustainable and long-term solutions. These solutions should be able increase income by ten times in the next five years and insulate farmers from these periodic droughts.

We are embarking on creating a lasting solution by planting 10,00,000 fruit trees across the taluka in the next monsoon. This is over and above, ensuring supply of drinking water to all the 106 villages in Parli Taluka, Beed.

On the 3rd, 4th and 5th Dec ’18, we intend to take over 200 farmers who are interested in horticulture from these 106 villages for field visit and technical presentations and lectures to Jain Hills, Jalgaon. Jain Irrigations is India’s finest company with multiple agronomists and scientists in the field of agriculture and horticulture.

Posters are being put in all villages and sarpanch and other eminent people in all villages are being called for the trip. We wish to address the following issues:

1. Out of 10 lakh fruit trees to be grown by the farmers, which fruit trees to grow. Our first priority - Kesar Mango (UHDP), Cashew, Moringa, Mulberry and Sitafal. Next priority - Peru, Pomengranate, Nimbu, Chinch, Papaya etc




2. Water requirements (month wise) for each of the fruit plantation options. Drip irrigation and its costs and subsidies. Sourcing of water.

3. Economics, income and expenditure, profitability, time for production to being, which months will fruition take place, any inter-cropping solutions?

4. Marketing plans for each of the fruit plantation. Is there a buy-back arrangement for any fruits? What is the pricing?

5. Quality and varieties of saplings and fruits. Advantages and disadvantages of the same. Soil testing and quality parameters.

6. Government subsidies and documentation for the same.

7. Regular training, exposure visits and responding to technical challenges.

The sericulture option

GLOBAL PARLI

Our farmers have been traditionally growing cotton and soybeans. Those are low earning crops and generally revenue per acre has been around 20 to 40k per year/acre.

We are encouraging farmers to diversify their lands into other options. Last year, we have started working on converting some of the farmers towards Sericulture (silk worm rearing). Mulberry is planted in one acre and then these mulberry leaves are to be laid on long metal / plastic trays inside a shed. Small eggs of silk worm are placed on these leaves and they start eating the leaves. As they continue eating, they wind their saliva around themselves and create a cocoon of silk.

These cocoons are sold in market in Bangalore at good prices. The first batch is of 4 months, but after that the production increases as well as production comes out every 45 to 60 days. So, there are around 6 crops per year. Already 108 farmers have adopted sericulture and others are waiting and watching.

Here are some examples of farmers who have earned

Velankar case with Hinduja

Nation First

Shashikant Velankar, age 58 lives in the fishermen chawls of Mahim and he had kidney stones in both kidneys. Somehow or the other, he managed to gather Rs 3 lakhs from his relatives and friends and got himself treated in Hinduja Hospital for removal of stone from the right side kidney.

Now, all sources for further funds had dried up and he needed to be treated for the left side kidney too.

He contact us on 12th Oct, 2018, and our volunteers Shrinivas and Khushru did a scrutiny on 16th Oct, 2018 and found that he was a deserving case and also had the orange ration card that was mandatory for treating in the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Scheme.

Nation First referred him to Malika Hospital (Jogeshwari) where he was admitted under MJPJAY scheme, on 18th Oct. They checked the operated right kidney and found that 80% of the stone was still present.

So, they successfully operated the same right side kidney on the 22nd Oct and he has got the discharge on 29th Oct.

Malika hospital has now given the date for left side kidney surgery on the14th Nov.

While Shashikant Velankar is happy with the Mallika hospital's treatment and indebted to Nation First and especially Srinivas for follow-up for help and guidance. He told us that he was angry with the Hinduja Hospital and wants to file a case against hospital.

Statue Saga continues (last episode) - English and Hindi

The statue saga continues (final episode):

While I understand the value of inspiring the nation by putting up a statue of Sardar as a symbol of unity.

While I understand BJP's political move to abrogate Sardar's legacy and put him on a pedestal vis-a-vis the Nehru dynasty.

While I understand all those that talk about spending on other priorities, rather than build a symbolic statue.

But my support for building a HUGE statue in the extreme poor Narmada taluka continues, for following reasons:

1. The tribal budget per year of Gujarat is around 13000 crores, mostly to be used in the eastern talukas which are extremely backward, have poor cultivable soil and few opportunities of earning livelihood.

2. Tourism is one of the fastest growing, clean source of income generation and building a world's largest statue to attract tourists, especially the lakhs of rich Patel NRIs is a fabulous idea. For me, the primary role of the statue is to attract tourists.

3. Spending 2400 crores by the Gujarat Govt and 600 crores by Central Govt over a period of 3 years is a smart investment decision for a start-up for tourism that will last for over a century.

4. I work in the areas of Marathawada (Parli), where there are droughts, suicides, misery and tremendous poverty (avg family income is 3500 p.m). Every village has schools. Parli has many colleges and hospitals. Most villages have Engineers, post-graduates and some even have doctors. But poverty is increasing. 

What is urgently needed is livelihood solutions. Like the Sardar Statue that will bring in tourism, if there were some serious long-term livelihood solutions for Parli or other poor areas - I would work for it. Getting people out of poverty has to be the main criteria.

Would I support other HUGE, expensive statues in other places? Probably not, unless they are situated in areas that need livelihood and the statues perform that function.

Happy Diwali

मूर्ति गाथा जारी है (आखरी अध्याय ):

जबकि मैं एकता के प्रतीक के रूप में सरदार की मूर्ति बनाकर देश को प्रेरणा देने के मूल्य को समझता हूँ .

जबकि मैं सरदार की विरासत को बढ़ाने के लिए भाजपा के राजनीतिक कदम को समझता हूं और नेहरू वंश से ऊँची पदवी देने की नियत को भी समझता हूँ.

जबकि मैं उन सभी को समझता हूं जो प्रतीकात्मक मूर्ति बनाने के बजाए अन्य प्राथमिकताओं पर खर्च करने के बारे में बात करते हैं.

1. गुजरात के प्रति वर्ष जनजातीय बजट पूर्वी तालुकों में लगभग 13000 करोड़ रूपए का उपयोग किया जाता है जो ट्राइबल एरिया में बेहद पिछड़े हैं, गरीब खेती योग्य मिट्टी और आजीविका अर्जित करने के कुछ अवसर हैं।

2. पर्यटन आय के उत्पादन के सबसे तेज़ी से बढ़ते, स्वच्छ स्रोतों में से एक है और पर्यटकों को आकर्षित करने की दृष्टि से सबसे बड़ी मूर्ति का निर्माण कर रहा है, खासतौर पर लाखों समृद्ध पटेल एनआरआई - यह एक शानदार विचार है। मेरे लिए, मूर्ति की प्राथमिक भूमिका पर्यटकों को आकर्षित करना है।

3. गुजरात सरकार द्वारा 2400 करोड़ रुपये खर्च करने और केंद्र सरकार द्वारा 600 करोड़ रुपये, 3 साल की अवधि में पर्यटन के लिए स्टार्ट-अप के लिए एक स्मार्ट निवेश निर्णय है जो एक शताब्दी से अधिक समय तक टिकेगा।

4. मैं मराठवाड़ा (परली) के क्षेत्रों में काम करता हूं, जहां सूखे, आत्महत्या, दुःख और जबरदस्त गरीबी है (औसत परिवार आय 3500 प्रति महीने है)। प्रत्येक गांव में स्कूल हैं। परली में कई कॉलेज और अस्पताल हैं। अधिकांश गांवों में अभियंता, स्नातकोत्तर और कुछ डॉक्टर भी होते हैं। लेकिन गरीबी बढ़ रही है। आजीविका के साधन की तत्काल आवश्यकता है। जैसे सरदार मूर्ति पर्यटन के पैसे और काम लाएगा, अगर परली या अन्य गरीब क्षेत्रों के लिए ऐसा ही कुछ गंभीर आजीविका का साधन हो - तो मैं इसके लिए काम करूंगा। लोगों को गरीबी से बाहर करना मुख्य मानदंड होना चाहिए।

क्या मैं अन्य स्थानों पर अन्य विशाल, महंगी मूर्तियों का समर्थन करूंगा? शायद नहीं, जब तक वे उन क्षेत्रों में स्थित न हों जिन्हें आजीविका की आवश्यकता होती है और मूर्तियां उस कार्य को निष्पादित करती हैं।

शुभ दीवाली