Hyderabad: Three districts each from TS and Andhra Pradesh figure in the list of 115 backward districts notified by the Centre as lagging in education, health, nutrition, basis infrastructure like rural road connectivity rural household electrification, access to potable water and individual toilets. The list was drawn up in consultation with the NITI Aayog.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with incharge officials of these districts on Friday as part of the conference to launch his ambitious programme “Transformation of Aspirational Districts”, which aims to bring back to mainstream, the backward districts.
From Telangana state, the three backward districts are Bhupalapally, Asifabad and Khammam, and those from AP are Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and Kadapa. Of these, Khammam and Visakhapatnam have been identified as districts affected by Left wing extremism.
Centre turns down 3 more districts
The Telangana state government had requested the Centre to include three more districts — Kothagudem, Gadwal and Mahabubabad — to the list but was turned down.
The initiative was launched in line with Mr Modi’s vision of a new India by 2022 under which the Centre has embarked upon a major policy for rapid transformation of 115 backward districts.
Senior government officials in the rank of additional secretary and joint secretary have been designated as prabhari (incharge) officers to coordinate the efforts of the Centre and the states in addressing the specific developmental needs of the districts.
Friday’s meeting of the prabhari officers has been entrusted with the responsibility to co-ordinate the efforts of the Centre and the states towards rapid transformation of 115 backward districts.
Cabinet secretary P.K. Sinha will chair the meeting with NITI Aayog chief executive officer Amitabh Kant. Secretaries of key ministries would also attend this session. The home secretary will brief the Prabhari Officers.
Among the 115 backward districts, 35 are affected by Left wing violence. Soon after this event, meeting of representatives of the state governments and Prabhari officers is being organised to ensure that transformation of backward district is carried out by a dedicated team of central and state governments.
