Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Sustainable Development goals (SDGs) are successors to the ‘Millennium Development Goals MDGs’. The MDGs were adopted in 2000 by governments to make global progress on poverty, education, health, hunger and the environment. The MDGs expired at the end of 2015. During 25-27 September 2015, the member states of the United Nations converged in New York for the United Nations (UN) Summit on Sustainable Development and adopted the new global goals for sustainable development. The world leaders pledged their commitment to the new ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, encompassing 17 universal and transformative SDGs. The United Nations General Assembly has taken the resolution, for adopting 17 Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ), with 169 targets and 304 indicators, on 25th September, 2015 under the official agenda  "Transforming our world : the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".

The SDGs are a universal set of goals, targets and indicators that all UN member states are expected to use to frame their development agendas, socio-economic policies, and actions towards low carbon pathways for the next 15 years, in order to achieve a sustainable world where ‘no one is left behind’ without compromising sustainability of the planet. These new global goals are much broader and comprehensive than the outgoing MDGs, as they attempt to address all three dimensions of sustainable development- economic, social and environmental. The list of 17 SDGs adopted by the United Nations is:

1. Poverty - End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
2. Food - End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
3. Health - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
4. Education - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
5. Women - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
6. Water - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
7. Energy - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
8. Economy - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
9. Infrastructure - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.
10. Inequality - Reduce inequality within and among countries.
11. Habitation - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
12. Consumption - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
13. Climate - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
14. Marino systems - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
15. Ecosystems - Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
16. Institutions - Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
17. Sustainability - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

The Government of India is one of the signatories to this Resolution. The Government of Assam recognizes that the 17 SDGs, 169 targets and 304 indicators represent the consensus of the global community on things to be done by different Governments in the interest of the well-being of the entire world and humanity. Keeping the above in view, the Government of Assam has decided to implement the SDGs in the State with effect from 1st January, 2016, and to launch an initiative titled "Assam -2030 in light of SDGs" from that date. The overall approach and strategy to be pursued by the Government of Assam for achieving all SDGs by 2030 is also being prepared. Department wise mapping for implementation of all SDGs and its associated targets has already been done. The existing schemes projects of the departments been re-oriented with a view to achieving the goals and target of SDGs.

As the Panchayat and Rural Development Department’s mandate is to eradicate poverty and to create infrastructures that accelerate socio-economic growth in Rural Assam, the primary associations of the department with SDGs are:

Goal 1: End Poverty in all forms everywhere

Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

The board strategy of Panchayat and Rural Development Department in achieving the associated goals is:

1.Participatory approaches for poverty eradication:

• Participatory poverty assessment.
• Participatory priority/need assessment and problem analysis.
• Sustainable livelihoods assessment.
• Participatory empowerment assessment.
• Participatory assessment of social capital.

2.Ensuring smooth functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions for poverty eradication

• Streamline the day to day functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions.
• Ensure equal participation of all the members in the activities of Panchayati Raj Institutions including of ST / SC & women members.
• Ensure proper record keeping in the panchayats.
• Monitor & ensure proper implementation of the resolutions taken in the meeting of Panchayti Raj Institutions for poverty eradication.
• Ensure holding of regular gram sabhas with massive people’s participation particularly those living below the poverty line, marginalized section and women.
• Proper record keeping of gram Sabhas.

3.Strategy for poverty eradication by the department of Panchayat and Rural Development through Panchayati Raj Institutions and its convergence with other line departments.

• Water conservation and water harvesting to help poor farmers in increasing agriculture production.
• Micro and minor irrigation for increasing production and productivity in agriculture and horticulture sector.
• Renovation of traditional water bodied to enhance fish production by poor fish harmers.
• Tree plantation and horticulture for increasing fruit production and enhance the income of the rural horticulturist.
• Land development / waste land development for enhancing production and productivity among small and marginal farmers.

 4.The Gram Panchayat with different stakeholders will work for social inclusion of poor & marginalized section of the society including women for bringing equality and equity.

• Panchayat will mobilize rural poor to help them overcome exclusions like geographic, economic social and political.
• Ensure access of the poor and marginalized sections including women to the institutions that delivers services for livelihoods and development.
• Panchayat including gram sabhas will work to remove the constrains that the poor face in accessing services

5.To ensure equal right among poor and vulnerable groups to basic services following participatory process will be adopted for smooth implementation of poverty eradication programmes.

• Citizen report cards.
• Citizen voice card.
• Participatory budgeting.
• Public expenditure tracking / monitoring.
• Family satisfaction survey.
• Citizen monitoring of public service delivery.
• Social audit.
• Mobilizing rural poor and vulnerable section to reduce their vulnerability and facilitate their development:
• Mobilizing rural people through gram sabhas into development specific people’s committees. The committees are as follows:
  • Village water and sanitation committee.
  • Liquor prohibition committee.
  • Street light committee.
  • Local committee to sort out problems.
  • Nutrition committee.
  • Health committee.
  • Siksha committee.
  • Youth affairs committee.
  • Forest and environment committee.
  • Natural resource management committee.
  • Electricity committee.
  • Land and water resource committee.
  • Child and women development committee.
  • Vigilance committee.
  • Social audit committee.
  • Women Empowerment Committee.