Port Blair, Jul 14: The Government of India has planned to celebrate “Independence Week” from 11th to 17th August 2022 across the country as the “Har Ghar Tiranga” programme which is an important initiative under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) commemorations. To honor our national flag, the National Implementation Committee headed by the Home Minister of India which oversees all efforts under AKAM has approved the programme of ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’.
The idea behind the initiative is to invoke the feeling of patriotism in the hearts of the people and promote awareness about our national flag. During the week, 26 crores of households in the country would be encouraged to hoist the Tricolour to celebrate the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ programme. The aim of the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign is to inspire people, rather than carry out a distribution drive.
In order to facilitate the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign, the Union Home Ministry had amended the Flag Code, which earlier only allowed hand-woven or hand-spun flags to be made, to allow flags to be polyester and machine-made.
The A&N Administration is taking up all efforts with great zeal for the effective implementation of the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign. For smooth implementation of the Har Ghar Tiranga programme in the rural areas of this UT, the Department of RD/Panchayat has been designated as the Nodal Department.
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, GOI has also requested all the Panchayati Raj Departments to take all suitable actions for stocking and distribution of flags (Tirangas) through Panchayats, Post Offices, CSC, etc. as well as to encourage rural households to hoist National Flag at their respective premises/home.
The Department of RD/Panchayat, A&N Administration has prepared an action plan for effective & smooth conduct of the programme. The assessment of the requirement of flags (Trianga) in the Gram Panchayat has been ascertained based on the number of households approved by the previous Gram Sabhas held in the month of December 2021. Accordingly, the total number of households in 70 Gram Panchayats isis 53286 wherein the National Flags (Tiranga) are to be hoisted.
For the supply of flags (Tiranga), the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have been leveraged for the stitching of flags. 127 SHG members across the Islands are involved in the stitching of the National Flag for the program. 40 SHGs have also got registered on GeM Portal under the service category (tailoring activities).
These SHGs will collect stitched flags from 127 identified SHG members and sell them through GeM. A uniform dimension of 45 cm X 30 cm is adopted for the stitching of the flag by the SHGs for hoisting at each household. The SHGs were guided through Video Conferencing mode to get enrolled under the GeM portal and provided hand-holding support for other specifications for stitching the Tiranga.
This initiative has paved a way for generating income for the poor SHG members and expanding their service category from Catering to Stitching & Tailoring on GeM Portal. The sale point of the flag (Tiranga) at the Gram Panchayats will be the Office of the Gram Panchayat, Post Offices, Common Service Centers, Fair Price Shops (FPS), etc.
As per the directions of the GoI, the Department of RD/Panchayat has sought the support of Corporate and Private Organizations through CSR resources so as to make them participate and contribute through CSR resources to the SHGs/Gram Panchayats of this UT for the implementation of “Har Ghar Tiranga” programme.
The Department has also planned IEC activities such as Painting competition, Ralley, Selfie with Tiranga contest, etc to be done from 1st August onwards as per the action plan for mass awareness & proper implementation of the programme and the general public is requested to participate in these programmes to show their love & patriotism towards our county. The Self-Help Groups, Village Organizations, and Block Level Federations of the DAY-NRLM scheme are already making awareness about the programme among the community.
The Secretary (RD/Panchayat), Mr. Suneel Anchipaka, IAS has urged the Gram Panchayats to encourage the general public to the procurement of flags from the SHGs of Islands for hoisting at their respective houses. The Pradhans & other PRI members, Panchayat Secretaries and Field Functionaries of RD & Panchayat department are requested for awareness of the programme and to ensure that the National Flag is hoisted at each rural household of this UT and not mutilated by any means.
The Department of RD/Panchayat is focused on the successful implementation of the “Har Ghar Tiranga” programme in the rural areas of the UT of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
