Smart Village JALI

The economy of Chhattisgarh state will flourish only with the growth in its village economy. To improve the village economy and give the villagers financial aid, the government needs to provide basic facilities in villages.

The state will be stronger with smart villages. In this modern era, smart village is a reality. This requires amenities like proper roads, public toilets, electricity, drinking water, education, employment, good farming facilities, well aided Panchayat and the solutions to the problems related to these amenities.Apart from these fundamental issues, the village is dealing with social issues like untouchability, dowry, child marriage etc. which affects the economy of the place.

Area of research: The given study is of a village in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh. This village is situated approximately 40 k.m. away from the Bilaspur city and was established during the British rule.

Objective: Presently the entire world is accessing all the facilities right at their door, in other words, the world is running on the highway of information. In this era of smart homes, smart kitchens, smart phones and smart wallet, the villages can't be unprovided with these facilities. Along with smart cities, the government has also announced the conversion of 300 villages into smart villages and has launched a Re-urban mission. Keeping in mind all these scenarios, the main objective of this research is the need of smart villages. This include two objectives:

1. Meaning of a smart village

2. Why is there a need for smart village?

Hypothesis: The main focus of this research is to study a smart village and present the need for a smart village.

1. In this era of technology it is not enough to provide basic amenities like food, water, road, toilets but to connect all these villages with national optic fibres under the Digital India scheme; which is majorly lacking in the Chhattisgarh state.

2. The villages lack digital empowerment.

Methodology: This study is based on both primary and secondary data collection. The data collection and area overview have been done through census booklet.Various statistical methods like growth rate, percentage etc. have been used for the analysis of the collected data.

About 90 years ago, a village was established which had a framework similar to that of the colonies in a city, it was the Jali village. It is situated on Bilapsur- Korba road, 40 k.m. away from Bilaspur. This village carries the basic framework of a smart village and shelters mostly the farmers and fishermen. This village has basic amenities as well as some modern ones too.

During their rule in 1922-1923, the Britishers established the foundation of Khuntaghat dam on the Kharang river, which was completed in 1927. This dam served many villages including Jali village. Ramakrishna Rao Shende, a landlord of this village lost his 750 acres of land in the construction of this dam and was allotted with 500 acres of land near the dam area. He established this village on this land and sheltered the affected people, thus this planned village.

The land use study of this village indicates the segregation of land based on their usage.

According to the land use the following blocks were made:

Residential area: The village is planned in such a way that the visual connectivity is strong from all points. People of about four generations have been residing here but their is not change in the vaastu of this place. Their was a growth in the income rate of the residents so new constructions were brought in, but still the planning is systematic in nature.

Agriculture: The agriculture area is beside the residential area and has a good source of irrigation. This village has 4 lakes and the irrigation facilities have been well planned through these lakes. This is the reason for smooth functioning of the agriculture in this place.

Fisheries: Apart from agriculture, fishing is another main source of income. The fishing is done in the 4 lakes of the village.

Water Facilities: The water facility is modern in nature. There is a drinking water tank in the village which is further connected to the taps. The water distribution is done through these taps and solar panels are connected to these tanks to pull the water. This leads to a good distribution of water throughout the day.

Roads: The residential, agricultural and other areas are well connected with roads. There is provision of kaccha road from the agricultural to the residential areas. The village is well connected to other villages through a twenty feet wide main road which has drains on either sides for storm water drainage purposes.

Other Facilities: This village has a Primary school which was established during the British reign. This school serves not only the residents of Jali village but kids from nearby villages also study here. As a result the literacy rate of this villages is high.

There is a huge temple called Mata Chaura at the entrance of this village which serves the purpose of religion as well as entertainment. People from communities like brahmins, kurmi, thakurs, kewat etc. and tribes contribute to this place.

The major speciality of this village is that it has no illegal occupation and the planning is similar to that of a city. Therefore, this village needs the digital empowerment. There should be the introduction of internet through national optic fibres scheme under the Ditigal Inida mission. This will help in the economic growth of the people living here.

Few criterias out of the 14 criterias formulated by the Indian government for smart villages already exist in Jali village like roads, drainage, education, agricultural facilities etc. Aprt from these facilities there is a skill development centre to make people financially independent which includes hindi processing, agricultural services, waste management, street lights, mobile healthcare, educational facilities, e-services, LPG connection, public transport etc.

Souce: mgnsindia.org

The main aim of a smart village, apart from providing basic amenities, is to make the residents financially independent to reduce the migration from villages to cities.

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