MERI MAATI MERA DESH (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Governance)

Context: Recently, people from various regions of the country gathered at Kartavya Path in Delhi, where they carried soil from over 700 districts as part of the 'Meri Maati, Mera Desh' initiative.

Meri Maati, Mera Desh

• About: The 'Meri Mati Mera Desh' campaign is an initiative launched to honor the brave hearts who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country. 

oIt involves installing special inscriptions in panchayats across the nation in memory of these heroes.

• The 'Amrit Kalash Yatra': It is a part of the 'Meri Mati Mera Desh' campaign. During this yatra, 7,500 pots carrying soil from different parts of the country will be brought to the national capital along with saplings. 
• These pots will be used to create an 'Amrit Vatika' near the National War Memorial, symbolizing 'Ek Bharat Shresth Bharat.'

Key Points

• Events have been planned at the panchayat, village, block, urban local body, and State and national levels, respectively. 
• The five-point agenda includes the installation of a shilaphalakam (memorial plaque), as per specifications, bearing the “names of those who have made the supreme sacrifice”.
• Work for the shilaphalakam may be executed through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), leveraging local materials and resources.
• ‘Vasudha Vandhan’ envisages every gram panchayat or village renewing “Mother Earth by planting 75 saplings of indigenous species and developing an Amrit Vatika”.
• ‘Veeron Ka Vandan’ will felicitate freedom fighters, and the families of deceased freedom fighters.