Rural Development

Ram Rattan Sharma
In India  seventy percent of our population lives in villages, but the developmental schemes ,for the development of rural segment are not given the required priorities .Our economy is developing fast, industries and big corporate are going globalised, with liberalization, tremendous changes are being felt in IT, manufacturing service sector, but no  body thinks of the rural development to make it as fast as in  this  sector. Then what all this progress and development means? Benefitting  30% of the total population, already developed and above poverty line does not mean actual development. While visiting a village we find even today houses made of mud, bamboos and grass that , have no protection against rains, storms, moisture and fire. Supplying of adequate drinking water is a tedious problem in which house wives and girls devote a sizable part of the daily routine, fetching enough water from far flung area or standing in queue for hours waiting their number at the public tap. Illiteracy particularly among the girls is  main peculiarity  of our rural India. A few states  tried to enroll and attract children in schools with the incentive of mid day meal scheme ,but all the same universalisation of elementary education is still a dream and there is no let up in the number of annual drop outs .Rural poverty and illiteracy has given our country the dubious name where highest number of child labourers  in the world are on the job to feed their bellies .
Health care is just rudimentary and few doctors are willing to work in rural area .Villagers are mostly dependent on vaidyas, or other RMPS for their medical needs. Lack of proper infrastructure like roads ,transportation, electricity, water, proper housing and  educational schools demotivate  a person whether a doctor, engineer or any other educated person to go to village and stay there with his family. High rate of migration from villages  to nearby cities or metros is also the result of lack of proper infrastructure in rural areas .
The govt. realized the gravity of the situation and has taken some important measures to develop infrastructure in the countryside. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana launched in 2000,seek to provide road connectivity through good all weather roads  to all unconnected habitations having a population of more than 1000persons by the year  2003 and those with a population of more than 500 persons by the end of the tenth plan .Huge investment has been made so far in the water  supply sector. According to govt. sources more than 15 crore rural  habitants have been coverd by the provision of drinking water facility under the  Pradhan Mantri Gram Odaya  Yojana ,it was proposed to tackle quality related problems like fluorides, arsenic and iron contamination, blackishness and also sustainability of drinking water sources .The states  are also  being encouraged to promote schemes of water conservations ,rainwater-harvesting, Groundwater recharge in respect of regions where programmes such as desert development programmes  ,drought prone  area development  programme are running .Indira  Aawas Yojana was launched in 1985 to provide dwelling units to the people below poverty line, belonging to schedule casts, Scheduled Tribe freed bonded labourers  and others. Since 1995-96 benefits under the schemes have also been extended to widows or next of kin of defence  personnel   killed in action and service men and retired members of paramilitary forces .
As per the reports 80 lac houses  have been  constructed under Indira  Awaas Yojana up to     2001  other schemes for rural   housing include Pradhan Mantri  Gramodaya Yojana, credit  cum subsidy schemes for rural housing and Samagra Awaas Yojana. Swarana Jayanti Gram Swarojagar Yojana were  also launched on April 1,1999 to support the family income of rural poor. The scheme aimed at establishing a large number of micro enterprises for individuals or group or self help groups, in order to bring every assisted family above the poverty line. Four or five activities identified in each block based on the resources, occupational skills of the people and the availability of markets with the start of SGSY, all the old rural development programmes like IRDP, DWCRA, TRYSEM etc have ceased to operate. In addition to this, there are other schemes and programmes like employment assurance programme, National Social Assistance programme, Annapurna Scheme and the like for the development of the rural area.
The point is, inspite of many programmes launched earlier and presently what real impact, quantitatively and qualitatively these have on the progress and prosperity of rural area. We have to evaluate each programme, funds involved theirin and the result derived there from the most challenging task is to see whether the funds have been properly utilized. It is strange that before the panchayats were made self sufficient and strong we had been accusing the bureaucrats for their corrupt practices, now the corruption has gripped the panchayats also and  it has destroyed the very concept of rural democracy  was  envisaged by Gandhi Ji. The funds are swindled away by the local leaders and officials who are supposed to implement them in the right spirit.
Though lot of initiatives have been taken by the Government to improve the economic condition of the rural people and providing infrastructure to boost the rural economy, yet much more is needed keeping in view the peculiarity of our rural areas in the field of education, electrification, drinking water, health and hygiene sectors etc. The implementation is to be properly checked to bring the required result.
(The author is former Dy. Librarian university of Jammu)
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