Maharashtra holds Corona Free Village Contest

The Maharashtra government has opted to adopt an unusual and intriguing approach to ensuring that all Covid-19 precautionary norms are followed in villages.

According to state rural development minister Hasan Mushrif, “Corona-free village competitions will be held in Maharashtra to encourage steps to curb the spread of Covid-19. Three village panchayats will be awarded for doing good work in Covid-19 management in each revenue division.”

The top award will be worth 50 lakh, the second will be for 25 lakh, and the third will be for 15 lakh, according to the minister. As the state has six income divisions, there will be a total of 18 rewards. He stated that the entire reward money is 5.4 crore.

As an added incentive, the communities that win the competition will get an additional sum equal to the prize money. The funds would be used for development projects in such villages, according to the ministry. The participating communities will be assessed on 22 criteria, and a committee will be formed to do so.

He went on to say that the contest is part of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s recent announcement of the “My Village Corona Free” programme.