Proposed Framework for Sustainable Village Strategy in the Semi-Arid Region of Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Urbanization is a trend that is unavoidable and is in fact a result of a developed economy. In every field, India is witnessing tremendous growth. India has recently launched a smart city program, but when cities in the developing world lack long-term strategic planning, management skills, struggle with infrastructure provision, and high concentration of poverty and slums, it does not seem to be a realistic goal to think of smart cities. Developing countries should concentrate more on their villages rather than being obsessed with the vision of smart cities and try to curb the growth of urbanization. Yet smart village has not made in roads as the cost of developing physical infrastructure in rural areas of low density has been too high, and Panchayats village has little income to support such infrastructure even if it is built through state or federal funding. Sustainable villages can therefore be another good option. The main objective of this paper is to establish a sustainable perspective strategy for a Maharashtra community. The current village was analyzed in the present study in terms of productive resource and energy usage. A questionnaire was distributed to all villagers to determine the overall consumption of electricity, water, and other energy sources. Detailed analysis of the rainfall data and groundwater level survey of the last 10 years has been performed. In addition, the program was also introduced for renewable energy (solar power), toilets with soak pit. A perspective strategy for the sustainable development of that village was established after a detailed analysis of the survey data. Such results will help the government strategize its efforts to achieve prosperity in the village rather than in smart cities.