In order to curb the novel coronavirus cases in the state, the Maharashtra government has announced a ‘corona-free village’ contest. Villages that do not have a single active COVID-19 patient will be rewarded. 

Three village panchayats doing good work in the COVID management, in each revenue division of the state, will be rewarded. The first prize is Rs 50 lakh, second prize is of Rs 25 lakh and the third is Rs 15 lakh.

In a media report, Hasan Mushrif, State Rural Development Minister explained there were six revenue divisions in the state,and a total of 18 prizes. The total prize money for this initiative is pegged at Rs 5.4 crore [Rs 54 million]. 

Yesterday Maharashtra recorded 14,123 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total infection tally to 5,761,015. Over 450 deaths were reported in the state yesterday.

A similar initiative ‘mera gaon, corona mukt gaon’ was launched by the Uttar Pradesh government on May 21. The state government announced villages that declare themselves COVID-free will be rewarded.

Also Read: UP govt launches ‘Mera Gaon, Corona Mukt Gaon’ campaign

A week later on May 27, the Chhattisgarh government declared nearly 10,000 of its total 20,000 villages in the state as COVID-free. 

Also Read: Half of Chhattisgarh’s villages have become COVID-free, says the state govt