Jagan says AP aims at realising sustainable development goals in real terms

VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has said AP aims at realising the sustainable development goals in real terms. He was chairing a high-level review meeting on SDGs with government officials here on Monday.

The chief minister called for close monitoring of the works of village/ward secretariats and swift resolution of issues that crop up at such levels. In preventing anemia, the target should be achieved via implementation of schemes like Sampoorna Poshana and Sampoorna Poshana Plus.

The women’s health conditions must be closely monitored and it must be ensured that they get a nutritious diet. The responsibility and accountability in these respects must be fixed on the village/ward secretariat staff, the CM said.

He said employees from several departments working at village/ward secretariats should help realise the targeted goals. Heads of various departments must visit two village/ward secretariats once in a month and check whether they were working in the right direction to realise the set goals. Joint collectors and district collectors also must monitor the functioning of village secretariats on a regular basis.

He asked officials to appoint mandal-level officers in an expeditious manner and underlined the importance to make changes in the existing SOPs guiding the village/ward secretariats.

Maintaining that no other government was spending such a huge amount of money on agriculture, education, women and child welfare and health as is done in AP, Jagan Reddy advised the officials to avail the artificial intelligence to monitor the functioning of various departments tasked with project implementation.

On education, the CM said no child should drop out from schools. Officials must keep a tab on daily attendance of students. “Send text messages to parents in case any student keeps off school for three consecutive days.”

On the Kalyamamasthu scheme, he said the norms fixed for the bride and groom are that the minimum educational qualification is Class X and the age of the girl is 18 years and boy 21 years. These would help avoid child marriages and improve literacy among them.

The CM also laid stress on realising the SDGs in maintenance of sanitation / cleanliness in villages, prevention of air pollution and supply of protected drinking water to the people.