Lucknow, June 2: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday inaugurated the 'Matrubhumi Yojna' with an aim to help people working in cities or abroad to "reconnect" with their villages, and donate money for development projects, if they so wish.

"The mother and motherland are greater than heaven. There can be no comparison between them. Therefore, everyone should be given a chance to participate in the Matrubhumi Yojana. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath Announces Rewards for Top Performing Civic Bodies To Improve Working and Encourage Mutual Competition.

"Our government has currently implemented this scheme in rural areas. We will implement it in the urban areas as well," the CM was quoted as saying in a press statement. In November 2021, the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet had approved the proposal for the implementation of 'Matrubhumi Yojana' to facilitate individuals or private institutions to contribute to the development of any village.

According to officials, a large number of people from rural background now working in cities or abroad want to contribute to the development of their village but are not able to do so due to the absence of any systematic platform. If any such person or private institution wants to contribute to development works in any village panchayat and is willing to bear 60 per cent of the cost, the remaining 40 per cent will be arranged by the state government under the scheme, says the press release. Uttar Pradesh: CM Yogi Adityanath Lays Foundation Stone of SDMA New Building.

"This scheme will serve two purposes: first, individuals will be able to reconnect with their roots, and second, they will be able to contribute towards their motherland," the CM said while inaugurating the scheme. "Each person has a bond with their motherland. We must encourage this bond and instil faith in their hearts. Earlier, people had doubts about misappropriation of funds in the state government's budget," he said, adding, now every single penny contributed will be accounted for.

"The Panchayati Raj Department should develop a mechanism through which the person contributing money can be given an account of every single penny," he said. On the occasion, the CM also distributed awards to 370 'outstanding' gram panchayats under the Mukhyamantri Panchayat Protsahan Puraskar Yojana.

In addition, 3,145 gram panchayat secretaries were given laptops under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan scheme. Aditynath said 10 municipal corporations are being developed as Smart Cities in UP, in addition to seven municipal corporations which are being developed as 'Smart Municipal Corporations' under the State Smart City programme."

The CM stressed on the need to work towards making gram panchayats smart and self-reliant. "First, there should be competition between villages, and further, we will organise a cleanliness competition between villages and cities." During the programme, Chief Minister Yogi also interacted with Indian migrants associated with the Matrubhoomi Yojana. Sanjeev Rajoura, who is originally from Bulandshahr and is living in California, USA, for 21 years expressed his desire to be a part of this scheme.

Vivek Chaudhary, living in California for 23 years and originally from Modi Nagar, attended the event through a video link. He called the scheme a great opportunity for migrants to contribute to their homeland and expressed his desire to invest in health ATMs, education, and other areas, the release said.