Kurgaon declared most beautiful village in Maharashtra's Palghar

Kurgaon gram panchayat has been declared the most beautiful and honoured with Rs 40 lakh as the district-level winner and an additional Rs 10 lakh as the taluka-level winner.

Kurgaon has been declared as the most beautiful village in Maharashtra's Palghar district, earning a total cash prize of Rs 50 lakh, officials said on Sunday.

Eight villages in the district have been selected for the 'Beautiful Village Award' under the R R (Aaba) Patil Beautiful Village Award Scheme implemented by the state rural development department for the 2023-24 financial year, they said.

Among them, Kurgaon gram panchayat has been declared the most beautiful and honoured with Rs 40 lakh as the district-level winner and an additional Rs 10 lakh as the taluka-level winner, taking the total to Rs 50 lakh, a release from the Palghar Zilla Parishad said.

The awards were presented on Saturday during the closing ceremony of the 'Employment Fair and Service Fortnight, organised under the chief minister's 150-day action programme, it said.

The taluka-level winners, each receiving Rs 10 lakh are: Palghar-Kurgaon, Talasari-Amgaon-Achchad, Wada-Hamrapur, Vikramgad-Vasuri, Mokhada-Khodala, Vasai-Khanivade, Jawhar-Jhap, and Dahanu-Gholwad, the release said.

State Forest Minister and Palghar Guardian Minister Ganesh Naik, who felicitated the winning gram panchayats, said, "This initiative will inspire positive competition among villages, encouraging cleanliness, environmental conservation, sustainable development, and public participation."