Lok Sabha Question No. 3523 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-01-02
Subject: Appointment of Incharge Officer
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: HARISHCHANDRA DEORAM CHAVAN, MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3523 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.01.2019

## APPOINTMENT OF INCHARGE OFFICER

## 3523. SHRI HARISHCHANDRA CHAVAN: SHRI MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA:

Will the Minister of Planning be pleased to state:

- a) whether the central monitoring incharge have been appointed to monitor schemes being implemented in the backward districts of Maharashtra and Gujarat;
- b) if so, the details thereof;
- c) whether the Incharge officers have identified shortcomings in their monitoring of projects being implemented in the backward districts of above States; and
- d) If so, the details thereof and the steps taken to remove these shortcomings?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) Of THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS

## (RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

- a) Yes. Government of India has appointed officers from Central Government to monitor progress of key performance indicators in 'Aspirational districts' in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
- b) Government of India has not declared any district as a backward district. However, 117 districts in 28 States, which have shown relatively slower progress in socio economic indicators have been identified  as  'Aspirational  Districts.'  These  117  Aspirational  Districts  include  4  Districts  of Maharashtra and 2 districts of Gujarat as follows:

## Maharashtra

- 1) Gadchirolli
- 2) Nandurbar
- 3) Osmanabad
- 4) Washim

## Gujarat

- 1) Dahod
- 2) Narmada

Government of India has appointed an officer from central Government as central Prabhari officer for each district mentioned above. District wise list of Central Prabhari Officers are placed in annexure-A.

There are 49 key performance indicators having 81 data points in sectors under focus of the  aspirational  district  programme:  Health  and  Nutrition,  Education,  Agriculture  and  Water Resources, Financial Inclusion, Skill Development and basic infrastructure. One of the functions of the Central Prabhari Officers is to monitor progress of districts across these 49 indicators.

- c) The Central Prabhari Officers have in general inter alia informed that major shortcomings include lack  of  vision,  absence  of  a  robust  monitoring  mechanism  and  lack  of  motivation  among  the district level officials due to remoteness and other challenges being faced by these districts.
- d) The Central Prabhari Officers have guided the District teams to finalize a district action plan to ensure a focused attention on  key sectors in the district.  They are regularly visiting districts  to motivate the team. In addition, progress made in indicators is being captured and monitored on regular basis on the dashboard of Niti Aayog  www.championsofchange.gov.in.  For motivating the  team,  districts  are  being  ranked  on  the  basis  of  their  incremental  performance.  This  has generated healthy competition among district teams to excel in delivery of public service.

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## List of Central Prabhari Officers

| District    | Central Prabhari Officers   | Designation                                                            |
|-------------|-----------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Gujarat     | Gujarat                     | Gujarat                                                                |
| Dahod       | Shri Raj Kumar              | Director General, ESIC, Ministry of Labour and Employment              |
| Narmada     | Shri Rameshwar Prasad Gupta | Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog                                       |
| Maharashtra | Maharashtra                 | Maharashtra                                                            |
| Nandurbar   | Shri Rajesh Aggarwal        | Joint Secretary &CVOMinistry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship |
| Washim      | Shri Jayashree Mukherjee    | Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting         |
| Gadchiroli  | Shri Kunal Kumar            | Joint Secretary -Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs                 |
| Osmanabad   | Shri Asheesh Sharma         | Member (Finance)-National Highway Authority of India                   |

## Annexure-A