‘Covid-free village’: Maharashtra announces contest, winners to get Rs. 50 lakh

The Maharashtra Government on June 2, 2021, announced the ‘Covid-free village’ contest with an award of Rs. 50 lakh for the village which will bag the first position.

The contest has been introduced as a part of an effort to encourage the villagers to follow the COVID-19 protocols to limit the spread of the deadly virus.

Recently, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and State Rural Development Minister, Hasan Mushrif had also appreciated the remarkable work of three gram panchayats with regard to the COVID-19 norms.

Thus, the announcement of a monetary award by the government was made to instill a feeling of competitiveness to achieve the target of a village>Covid-free village.

Corona-free village competitions will be held in Maharashtra to encourage steps to curb the spread of COVID-19. Three village panchayats will be awarded for doing good work in COVID-19 management in each revenue division: State Rural Development Minister Hasan Mushrif (02.06)

— ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2021

Covid-free village contest: Key details

•The ‘Village’>Covid-free village’ contest by the government will require the villages to meet 22 standards.

• The villages in the competition will compete for 50 marks, based on the assessment of the work that will be done between June 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022.

• The prizes in the contest will be awarded to a total of three-gram panchayats from three of the six revenue divisions.

• The villages which will come second and third will get the prize money of Rs. 25 lakh and Rs. 15 lakh, respectively.

• The villages which will win the ‘covid-free village’ contest will also get an additional amount equivalent to the prize money by the government. The amount will be utilized for the development works in those villages.

COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra:

According to the public health department of Maharashtra, 15,169 new COVID-19 cases have been recorded in the state, with 285 deaths and 29,270 recoveries over a period of 24 hours as of June 3, 2021. Meanwhile, the recovery rate in Maharashtra stands at 94.54 percent.