AP CM Sets Sustainable Development Goals Across Sectors

Amaravati: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy directed the heads of various departments to inspect the village and ward secretariats twice a month to ensure their effective functioning in the process of achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in various sectors.

During the review meeting on SDGs held here on Monday, the Chief Minister directed them to visit at least two secretariats in a month to examine their Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and revise them by incorporating changes wherever necessary while maintaining and updating monthly records of the goals achieved using latest technology such as artificial intelligence. 

He emphasized the need to treat the village and ward secretariats as a driving force and make their staff fully involved in achieving the SDGs. There should be a constant vigil on the functioning of village secretariats by Mandal Level officials while Joint Collectors and District Collectors should also ensure effective maintenance of records to know where we stand in the process of achieving the goals.

Underscoring the importance of maintaining constant vigil and safeguarding the Aadhaar-linked data of the results of development, he said it would make the staff fully accountable. 

Citing the goals of reducing Anaemia under the YSR Sampoorna Poshana and Sampoorna Poshana Plus schemes, he remarked that responsibility doesn’t end with the implementation of the schemes. Village Secretariats should also find out whether nutritious food is being supplied to the targeted women while monitoring their health condition periodically.

Underlining the fact that no other state in the country is spending as much money as AP in educational, agricultural, women and child welfare sectors, the Chief Minister asked the officials to own up the institutions and streamline their functioning for achieving the SDGs. 

He asked the officials to ensure zero drop-out rate in schools by monitoring the attendance of students regularly and discussing the issue with parents whenever absence is noticed for more than three days and taking effective steps. 

While the Government has introduced several reforms in education such as English medium schools with a view to make modern education accessible to the poor, a section of the media is vehemently opposing this for selfish ends, he regretted. 
Referring to the conditions laid down for marriages under Kalyanamastu Scheme such as minimum educational qualification of tenth class while the bridegrooms and brides should cross 21 and 18 respectively, the Chief Minister said it would help increase literacy and prevent child marriages.

Chief Secretary Dr Sameer Sharma, Special CS (Finance) S.S. Rawath, Special CS (Village and ward secretariats) Ajay Jain, Special CS (School Education) B. Rajasekhar, Principal Secretary (Medical and Health) MT Krishna Babu, Principal Secretary (Panchayat Raj and Rural Development) Gopala Krishna Dwivedi, Principal Secretary (Women and Child Welfare) M. Ravi Chandra, Principal Secretary (Home) Harish Kumar Gupta, Planning Secretary Vijayakumar, School Education Commissioner S. Suresh Kumar,  Commissioner (Basic infrastructure in Schools) Katamaneni Bhaskar, Commissioner (Municipal Administration) Praveen Kumar, Director (Medical and Health) J. Nivas,  Swatchh Andhra Corporation MD P. Sampath Kumar, Director (Women and Child Welfare) A. Siri and Director (Midday Meal Scheme ) Nidhi Meena were among those present.