Amritsar, March 3 : To bring change in public life by active participation, a novel beginning has been made here under which 100 village heads have extended their support to district administration to fight social evils and ensure development.

The coming together of 100 village heads is a quite an unusual event in Amritsar city and has made the local governing bodies speed up their efficiency.

Named the `Group 100'', the team will focus its efforts on issues like drug-addiction, female foeticide and casteism. Members of the team have joined hands with social scientists from Guru Nanak Dev University and the Amritsar district administration to eradicate social evils.

"The government has brought together all departments on a single platform - be it rural development, health, education, welfare association, agriculture or the cooperatives, they will provide support to the villages. If the villagers have any problem, they can raise their problems in the concerned department. Sometimes the officials ignore the village heads and their problems but now they can''t do so, as they know that the Deputy Commissioner (DC) will be conducting a quarterly meeting and village head can give their name to the DC. So it''s a two way process and I hope it will benefit us in a big way," said K. S. Pannu, the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar.

Bureaucratic hurdles has stalled development work in many villages. And village heads often fail to persuade the authorities and make them aware of their problems and needs.

It is often noticed that they have limited or no experience of dealing with social issues like -- drug abuse, illiteracy and sex ratio.

Now, with proper coordination among village heads, district administration and social scientists, it is expected that there would be a major change.

"I hope, if development can successfully take place in about 100 villages, it will provide an example to other village heads also. The step that the DC has taken was very important for the progress of the villages and a lot of development will take place. Earlier, the village heads were unable to perform their duties, it''s been almost 8 months but I have failed to carry out any development work. But, after the meeting I am feeling encouraged and am determined to do my work properly," said Sukhdeep Singh, the Village head of Majvind.

"The village heads were hesitant earlier and faced difficulties taking their problems to the government. Now with the introduction of this system, there won''t be any hesitation. Direct communication will be established with the government and administration, which is very good for the development of villages," said Jagir Singh, the Village Head of Boshara.

Local governance bodies can play a major role in bringing about a social revolution, and the formation of `group 100'' is one step forward in this direction.

Amritsar has made a beginning. It is hoped that its successful outcome could start off a new wave of local governance throughout the Punjab. (ANI)