Times are changing, and the youths are taking the matters in their hands—to change the country! Envisioned to create thousands of model villages, the Maharashtra Government is taking one step at a time, aiming for a total transformation in its latest initiative called the Maharashtra Village Social Transformation Foundation (MVSTF). Last month, Ramnath Subramaniam, CEO, MVSTF was happy to announce that they have spread its footprint in 18 districts of the state covering 584 villages. Commending the groundwork of the Chief Minister Rural Development Fellows (CMRDFs), Subramaniam said, “The Fellows form the core of this CSR initiative and they are doing a splendid job by staying put in the villages allotted to them thus ensuring direct connect with the villagers”. As a part of its expansion programme MVSTF has spread its wings to seven new districts, namely, Pune, Buldhana, Washim, Akola, Hingoli, Latur and Jalna to the current existing 11 districts, namely, Aurangabad, Beed, Nanded, Parbhani, Nandurbar, Amravati, Chandrapur, Yavtamal, Gadchiroli, Wardha and Raigad. In conversation with Corporate Citizen, Subramaniam shares some important insights on the initiative
Under the MVSTF, an education
camp held for the kids at WardhaMaharashtra Village Social Transformation Foundation, is a not-for-profit (section 8) company, institutionalised by the Government of Maharashtra to create 1,000 model villages. Maharashtra Government has embarked on a rural development journey to transform 1,000 villages in the state, worst-affected by social, economic, livelihood, connectivity and infrastructural challenges. The focus in these villages is to create an inclusive growth model and transform them into model villages that are selfsustainable by collaborative and focused efforts.
Realising the need to enable greater convergence between the State, Corporate and the Civic society, this first-of-its-kind Public Private Partnership is the brainchild of Hon. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. It aims to solve problems such as better access to clean drinking water, housing for all, sanitation, skill development, digitisation of schools, among others. The organisation was launched in January 2017 and started operations in April of the same year, when the Hon. CM inaugurated the pilot cohort of over 150 young Fellows at YASHADA, Pune. Since then the programme has grown by leaps and bounds under the aegis of the Hon. Chief Minister and the mentorship of Mr Praveen Pardeshi, Additional Chief Secretary to the CM.
Centrally, it is being led by a group of professionals from diverse backgrounds such as banking, social development, human resource development, project management, to name a few. On ground, we have the Chief Minister Rural Development Fellows working with the district and local administration and guided by the respective district collectors along with support from our Lead Development Partners such as Tata Trusts, Reliance Foundation, Aditya Birla Foundation, Mahindra Rise, etc. along with grassroots NGOs and social enterprises among others.
Unlike typical CSR projects which focus on creating impact in silos, essentially in one or limited cause areas or verticals, MVSTF aims to create a platform for convergence of stakeholders such as the Government, CSR Foundations, HNIs, NGOs and the citizens to enable sustainable and holistic development. The social development problems of our time are complex and need to be solved using an ecosystem-level approach. Most importantly, the programme is designed where in all stakeholders complement each other. The Government reach is matched by Corporate expertise. This programme enables bottom- to top-level policy making wherein the Village Development Plan (VDP) is prepared by the CM Gram Parivartaks in consultation with the villagers who decide the priorities of their village needs and spend in a data-driven and most importantly participative manner.
For example, you can improve educational outcomes of a student by not only training teachers or providing infrastructure, but also by creating an environment conducive for learning, sanitation infrastructure and other facilities. We help all our stakeholders amplify their impact manifold by working with the Government. The social impact delivered for every rupee invested in the programme is much more than any conventional CSR project.
"You can improve educational outcomes of a student by not only training teachers or providing infrastructure, but also by creating an environment conducive for learning, sanitation infrastructure and other facilities"
Yes, that is absolutely right! At the core of our mission are the Chief Minister Rural Development Fellows (CMRDFs), who are young and extremely passionate about creating an impact. These highly-driven and motivated youth, typically between the age group of 22-26 work directly with the villagers in the most backward parts of the state. Demographically, it comprises people from all kinds of backgrounds, from journalism to social work, agriculture to engineering to arts—each one of them creating value in their own unique way. The Fellowship is a full-time residential and intensive programme, where every CMRDF is assigned a Gram Panchayat, basically a cluster of three-four villages and are the ones leading its developmental agenda. The fellows dedicatedly live in the assigned GP for the span of the fellowship which enables them to know firsthand the issues and challenges of the villagers and gain community insight and acceptance.
The Fellows spend the first few months collecting data about the most pressing issues and the best ways to address them. They then work closely with the local and district-level administration to create developmental plans to solve these problems. The Fellows are keyed to ensuring more efficient delivery of schemes, better planning and allocation of resources along with management of the implementation of these projects. Our Fellows, in a way, enable better democracy and the most sustainable kind of development at the grassroots. These CMRDFs are facilitators of change, driving the programme across the state. We currently have over 280 CMRDFs working in over 19 districts. We are extremely proud that the cohort has as many as 25% female Fellows who are leading some incredible efforts in their villages.
The social development problems of our time are complex and need to be solved using an ecosystem-level approach
Gadchiroli-Bamboo tree guardThe Fellows are selected through a process which entails a written test followed by a round of interview. The selected Fellows are then provided a week-long training by industry experts along with field visits to model villages such as Hiware Bazar and Nidhal. This kind of exposure prepares them to begin their journey of transforming their villages. The kind of work our Fellows have managed to do is truly inspiring and a model for anyone who wants to emulate it.
If you want to solve the toughest problems, create the best kind of social impact and serve the society, then this is the place for you. We offer an opportunity to work closely with the government, the largest social development agency along with some of the biggest philanthropic institutions such as the Tata Trusts, Reliance Foundation, Aditya Birla Foundation, Mahindra Rise, to name a few. Every day would throw up new challenges, anxious moments, excitement but at the end of it all, the feeling of doing something for mankind at such a young age is gratifying.
We aim to see large-scale development across 1,000 villages. The objective is to empower the villages and the grassroots democracy to identify problems, maximise use of Government schemes and policies, effective use of resources leading to increase in overall Human Development Indicators.
Access to clean drinking water, housing for all, skill development and livelihood, solar electrification, increase in farm incomes and digitalised schools are major areas of growth and development for us. Eventually, we aim to be a model for all the other villages, not just in the state, but across the country.
Under the MVSTF, a gas distribution initative
for the habitants of ChandrapurWhile we have seen tremendous development across all our districts, I can share a case-inpoint of Wardha as one of them where we have seen great efforts coupled with support from the administration and the Lead Development Partner. We have seen extensive work around skill development and livelihood, in areas such as LED bulb manufacturing, livestock and poultry farming, mushroom and silkworm cultivation, along with sanitary pad packing and distribution, which have both, economic and social gains for the villagers. The Fellows have also enrolled more than 200 youth in the villages into various skill development programmes.
Over 210 agricultural tool kits have also been provided in order to improve the state of farming. Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the district has over 300 houses already under construction. Some fellows have also led modern interventions such as e-banking and cashless economy.
Due to a painting initiative undertaken, the villages will witness the rise of 18 schools and 15 anganwadis which will create better learning infrastructure for the students consequently improving their learning outcomes.
Our Lead Development Partner, Mahindra Rise, is also building 150 toilets in public places, to make them open defection-free and improve the state of health and sanitation. Construction of soak pits for liquid waste disposal is another initiative aimed towards the same.
The net social impact of these and other initiatives across the district has been very positive, with the villagers involving themselves in the process and sharing ownership and responsibility along with our Fellows. “Be the change you want to see in the world,” said Mahatma Gandhi and it’s heartening to know that our work is a step towards that and the sustainable development we aim to create.
By Ekta Katti
