Nashik: Surgana Jumps 311 Places To 77th In NITI Aayog's Aspirational Block Programme, Excels In Health And Infrastructure

Nashik: Surgana taluka in Nashik district has achieved its best-ever performance under the NITI Aayog's Aspirational Block Programme (ABP), making a remarkable leap from 388th to 77th position among 515 aspirational blocks across the country. The achievement is attributed to effective planning, continuous monitoring and coordinated efforts by various government departments.

Nashik District Collector Ayush Prasad has been closely monitoring the implementation of the programme, while Zilla Parishad Chief Executive Officer Omkar Pawar conducts weekly review meetings to assess progress across key performance indicators. Kashmira Sankhe, Project Officer of the Kalwan Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP), has been coordinating the programme as the nodal officer.

Surgana has outperformed state and national averages across several indicators related to health, nutrition, agriculture and infrastructure. Key achievements include:

97.5% first-trimester registration of pregnant women (ANC)
100% institutional deliveries
Only 9.5% low birth-weight babies
84.9% hypertension screening
90.8% diabetes screening
100% drinking water availability in functional Anganwadi centres
99.7% toilet coverage in Anganwadis
100% successful tuberculosis treatment
100% Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccination of livestock
100% achievement in establishing Farmer Producer Companies (FPOs) as per approved targets

To accelerate development, the District Planning Committee had allocated an additional ₹7 crore during the previous financial year. Encouraged by the progress, the administration has now decided to provide a further ₹5 crore in additional funding.

District Collector's Statement
District Collector Ayush Prasad said, "Surgana's success under the Aspirational Block Programme is the result of coordinated efforts by all departments. Through effective implementation, continuous monitoring and people-centric planning, the administration remains committed to improving the quality of life of citizens. A focused action plan will also be implemented to bring other aspirational talukas into the mainstream of development."