U.P’s ‘aspirational dev blocks’ shine in NITI Aayog rankings

letters@hindustantimes.com

Uttar Pradesh has delivered an impressive performance under the aspirational development block program conducted by NITI Aayog, a state government spokesperson said on Friday.

In the overall rankings released by NITI Aayog, Kaushambi development block in Uttar Pradesh secured the second rank in June 2023, while the Jamunaha development block in Shravasti achieved the first rank in March 2024, the spokesperson said. Delta rankings are issued quarterly based on 40 selected indicators in both overall and zone-wise categories.

In the zone-wise rankings, various development blocks of Uttar Pradesh have performed remarkably well. Notable achievements include Harraiya (Basti) securing first place and Virno (Ghazipur) second place in June 2023, Baheri (Bareilly) earning second place in September 2023, and Sandila (Hardoi) and Jagdishpur (Amethi) achieving top ranks in March 2024. Additionally, Puredalai (Barabanki) and Rajepur (Farrukhabad) excelled in June 2024, while Khesraha (Siddharth Nagar) and Nawabganj (Farrukhabad) ranked first and second, respectively, in September 2024.

Notably, NITI Aayog has appreciated Uttar Pradesh for the consistent progress of its aspirational development blocks. It has divided 500 development blocks across the country into six zones—Hilly, North East and Islands, Northern, Southern, Western, Central, and Eastern. Uttar Pradesh is part of Zone-2, which includes 85 blocks.

A total of 68 development blocks across 42 U.P. districts have been selected under this initiative.

To encourage excellence, NITI Aayog provides monetary rewards to top-performing blocks. Development blocks securing the first rank in overall rankings receive ₹3 crore, while the second rank fetches ₹2 crore. Similarly, for zone-wise rankings, ₹1.5 crore is awarded for the first rank and ₹1 crore for the second rank.