Bhopal, March 4 : Madhya Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has set a deadline for all gram panchayats in the state to decide a particular date to celebrate 'Gaurav Diwas' of villages by April 15. The Chief Minister has asked panchayat representatives to ensure that each village in the state celebrates its birthday by the year end. Gram panchayats' representatives have been asked to organise a meeting with all the people of the village and decide on a three-day programme and send it to the CM's office. Three days programme will consist of various activities for all age groups like sports activities, cultural programmes etc. Also, the gram panchayats have been asked to prepare a roadmap for the development of the villages. The Chief Minister asserted that there should be a dual roadmap of development of villages, one - using government funds, second - through collective efforts of people of villages. "Villages can't be developed without involving people. Try to understand the vision behind this proposal. If we could do this, we would set up a unique example in the country. The initiative will also set the path of economic and social growth of villages," Chouhan said. As per the plan, the elected representatives of villages (panch and sarpanch) and the villagers will decide a particular day to celebrate the birthday. The panchayats will decide a particular date, with its unique identification, coinciding it with any ritual, traditional, or historical value of their villages. The gram-panchayat will hold a meeting with residents of the village and prepare a comprehensive plan for the celebration. All the people who belong to a particular village but are living in other districts, states, or countries will be invited for the event. For instance, the Khandwa district administration has decided to celebrate Gorav Diwas on the occasion of legendary singer and actor Kishore Kumar on August 4. Khandwa is the birthplace of Kumar. It is mandatory for all gram panchayats to organise programmes and the details regarding the event will be uploaded in the government-run Panchayat Darparn portal. "If Madhya Pradesh is the body, 55,000 villages in the states are its heartbeats. It would not only give villages their unique identification but people living far from villages will be able to reconnect with their birth places," Chouhan said. A proposal for celebrating birthday or "Gram Gaurav Diwas" was announced by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on January 28 asserting that people living far from their villages, who have expertise in different sectors will gather under one roof and contribute in setting the path of development of their village. /IANS