To help tribal people residing in remote pockets of the Gadchiroli district access Government schemes, IPS officer Ankit Goyal launched the ‘Police Dadalora Khidki’ – a one-window system for all public services.
“In Gadchiroli, there are a lot of areas that are untouched in terms of not only road infrastructure but also Government welfare schemes,” he says.
He adds that this is because of several issues they face — including poor road connectivity, poor mobile connectivity, and less penetration of the Government departments in remote areas.
“We know police have the maximum penetration because we have outposts in the deepest areas. So, we used the police outposts as the service delivery centre for all Government schemes,” says Ankit, who is currently serving as SP in Pune (rural).
Launched in January 2021, the Police Dadalora Khidki has helped over 2.7 lakh people in the remote and Naxal-affected areas of the district.
The single window system expands services to all public services — including employment opportunities for tribal youth, fixing Aadhaar card-related issues, ensuring pension for widows, and welfare cards for persons with disabilities.
This has been made possible through the coordinated efforts of police persons across 50 outposts located in the under-reached areas, he shares.
These outposts act as a service delivery system where the police persons facilitate applications for all Government schemes and then coordinate with the related department to ensure the schemes reach the people.
Unlike regular haphazard and several rounds at the Government departments, here people come only once with their appeal, informs Ankit.
Police persons do regular follow-ups with respective departments on their behalf.
“People who were scared to reach the police are now lining up to avail different schemes. It feels really good to be able to help the public,” says Ankit.
For his work of ‘Police Dadalora Khidki’, the IPS officer has won several accolades including the Arun Bongirwar Public Service Excellence Award 2021, Dr SS Gadkari Memorial Award, and the Maharashtrian of the Year Award 2022.