Tracking Cm Bhajanlal Sharma’s three-year journey of rural transformation in 52,600 villages
The Saga of India’s economic strength, self-reliance and national pride has always been rooted in its villages. The annals of the Green Revolution and the country’s march towards food grain self sufficiency bear eloquent testimony to the sweat, sacrifice and steadfast resolve of its farmers, whose toil has nourished the land and fortified the foundations of the nation.
The furrows of India’s fields have, in essence, been the very cradle of its prosperity, while the hands that sow its harvest have shaped the destiny of its economic progress. Little did those who devoted their lives to tilling the soil and sustaining the nation imagine that one among them, a man whose livelihood was once intertwined with the humble trade of selling milk, with the soil of the fields still familiar to his hands, would one day rise to lead a state.
Those who had aspired to become the bedrock of the nation witnessed the rugged land of Rajasthan bring one of its own to the helm. Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma’s journey and association with rural Rajasthan thus carries a significance that extends beyond the contours of public office. a Khaat Chaupal and exchanging thoughts over tea in Bambori, Pratapgarh; and spending nights in villages across Sikar, Ajmer, Jaipur, Banswara, Dungarpur and Udaipur.
Significantly, Each interaction turns villagers’ voices into action, with on-the spot approvals for science streams, upgraded health centres, dairy centres, sports grounds and drinking-water facilities. He sees in its villages the warmth of home, it is an extended family, bound by shared soil, affection and aspirations and in their progress a deeply personal commitment. The journey from Attari, a small village in Rajasthan, to the Chief Minister’s office has not distanced Bhajanlal Sharma from the world that first shaped his understanding of life. Even as the clarion call of “Aapno Agrani Rajasthan” resonates across the country and beyond the borders, he continues to seek the warmth and his deepest repose in village life.
Being a son of the soil, as he calls himself, by conviction as much as by origin, Sharma has made direct engagement with rural communities an essential part of his approach to governance. He believes that the trust and affection of one’s own people provide the very strength from which the resolve to serve is born. That belief is visible in the way he reaches out: sharing a night meal at Bhemaram’s home in Panseri, Jalore, after a Gram Vikas Chaupal; holding The vision of inclusive rural development has found a tangible expression in the Gram Rath campaign, which has carried the resolve of “government at the people’s doorstep” into hundreds of villages.
Mobile vans have travelled through hundreds of villages, carrying information on welfare schemes and bringing farmers and livestock owners closer to modern technology and facilities. The Sambal Sakhi initiative has further strengthened this bridge by giving rural women a direct voice before the leadership. Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma is working towards the wellbeing and progress of village families as one of their own, a son, a brother and a father figure. Few challenges have tested Rajasthan as persistently as the scarcity of water.
The historic resolution of the long-pending Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP), through an agreement between the Centre, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, marks a significant advance in addressing this challenge. The Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal link is set to bring drinking water and irrigation to thousands of villages across 17 districts, covering 2.80 lakh hectares. The revised Rs 91,000-crore project, including the Isarda-Dausa works, is advancing alongside the mission to bring tap water to every village and hamlet.
The decades long pending resolution of the Panchana dam dispute, the Gudla Panchana lift project, the Yamuna water agreement, Rajasthan’s allocation of 124 million cubic metres under the Kishau project and the expansion of irrigation networks represent further steps towards water security in eastern Rajasthan and Shekhawati. The Rs 1,717-crore works announced for the centenary of the Gang Canal add another chapter to this effort. Antyodaya the commitment to uplift the last person in the social and economic order is no longer merely an ideal; it is being translated into action.
The Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Garibi Mukt Gaon Yojana seeks to uplift BPL families in 10,000 villages above the poverty line. In its first phase, nearly 31,000 families across more than 5,000 villages are being supported through incentives and self-employment assistance, backed by an allocation of Rs 300 crore. The objective is not merely relief, but the creation of lasting self-reliance. Improved road connectivity has added momentum reshaping the rural landscape.
With Rs 37,527 crore invested in the development of 51,790 kilometres of roads, 1,760 villages have been connected through paved roads. Atal Pragati Path and Aapni Bus are bringing remote settlements closer to the block and district headquarters. Solar initiatives under PM Surya Ghar and PM-KUSUM are expanding across western Rajasthan, easing the burden of electricity costs while opening avenues of employment.
The Vibrant Villages Programme is extending this development vision to 184 strategically located border villages. The future of rural Rajasthan also rests on the opportunities available to its young people and women. Atal Gyan Kendras and sports grounds are being developed at the panchayat level; RSETIs are imparting vocational skills, while Rural iStart is nurturing rural enterprise. Tourism projects in tribal regions are bringing their cultural heritage to wider audiences.
Through 4.53 lakh self-help groups, more than 52 lakh families are connected to collective enterprise and financial inclusion. The Lakhpati Didi initiative has reached 18.49 lakh women, while Rajasthan Mahila Nidhi and the Mukhyamantri Lakhpati Didi Loan Scheme are helping turn savings into enterprises. Rural prosperity is increasingly linked to industrial growth. BHAVYA industrial hubs, the Rajasthan Semiconductor Policy 2026 and the proposed Bhiwadi chip packaging plant mark this shift, backed by over 420 industrial zones and a land bank of 94,000 acres.
The message emerging from the Chief Minister’s development journey is unmistakable: the road to Viksit Bharat@2047 and Viksit Rajasthan@2047 runs through the narrow pathways and courtyards of Villages. There the promise of inclusive growth must take root and the spirit of Antyodaya finds its fullest expression. As the story of Rajasthan’s villages reaches the world, it carries a larger message that the true measure of progress lies in leaving no community, no household and no individual behind. A vision rooted in the village can, indeed, offer the global village a compelling example of inclusive development..
*The author is Media Assistant, DIPR.