Rural development: India
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
Government expenditure on rural areas
2013-21
From: Dec 1, 2021: The Times of India
See graphic:
The Government of India’s expenditure on rural areas, 2013-21
What makes village development efforts successful?
16 factors push villages ahead on the development index/ 2018
Villages that pull together forge ahead. A study seeking to establish reasons behind good and bad performance of panchayats has cited the example of two villages in Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra.
Chandrapur and Dadh Khurd are so strong on social participation that they celebrate festivals together. Like, “one village, one Ganapati” —one Ganesh idol for the whole village. The study says that avoiding the tradition of other villages, where every household performs separate idol worship, cuts down on pollution during immersion.
“Strong community participation” is one the factors among many that has pushed the two villages towards high all-round performance. Union rural development ministry in 2017 undertook a baseline survey to rank 50,000 panchayats selected for Mission Antyodaya that has the objective of making them “poverty free”.
National Institute of Rural Development went back to 50 high-performing and 50 lowperforming panchayats to check the reasons behind their performance. The study has shortlisted 16 factors that push a village ahead on development index, “collective decision making” being just one.
According to the report, key factors behind a panchayat’s success are “geographical location”, “singlevillage panchayats”, “access to officials”, “awareness of government schemes”, “institutional support from outside” and “own resources”.
The study says that panchayats comprising a solitary village have strong advantages of fund flow, programme implementation and distribution of benefits to members over those with multiple villages under their jurisdiction. “Except one or two high performing panchayats, most of the low performing panchayats have more than two villages/hamlets under main village,” the study noted. A single-village entity ensures that all facilities are centrally located.
Besides, a village also benefits from its “locational advantage” – highways, main roads, proximity to tourist centres and district headquarters. Panthawada in Gujarat is near Dantiwada dam which is also a tourist attraction.
In Baktra in MP, the study says people have become “financially sound” since the panchayat is nearer to the main road. Outside support of NGOs and other institutions has bolstered development of villages.
According to a study, key factors behind a panchayat’s success are geographical location, single-village panchayats & access to officials, among others
A summary of the NIRD report/ 2018
Executive Summary
National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj
In order to ensure convergence of various government interventions of different Ministries with improved accountability for achieving saturation, Gram Panchayat Mission Antyodaya (MA) has been launched. It is a State - led initiative for transforming lives and livelihoods of rural people in a phased manner. In its first phase, MA has targeted 1,00,00,000 households in 5,000 rural clusters or 50,000 Gram Panchayats in 1,000 days on measurable effective outcomes considering the need of optimizing the efforts through inter-sectoral approach. Out of the 50,000 GPs allocated to 35 States / UTs on the basis of deprivation and populations size, the States / UTs have identified the GPs based on potential of social capital and community action. For these Mission Antyodaya GPs, the data with regard to 37 indicators connected to six key parameters such as (i) irrigation, (ii) infrastructure, (iii) economic development & livelihoods, (iv) health, nutrition, sanitation, (v) women empowerment and (vi) financial inclusion were collected and uploaded through the baseline survey conducted in August 2017. The scores obtained by GPs are different as the performances are different; 120 GPs of 15 states have scored higher than 80 (out of 100). In view of this, Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) desires to know the processes and progress made in 120 GPs of Mission Antyodaya which scored more than 80 points and also in comparison with the low performing GPs of the concerned state.
In this regard, at the instance of MoRD, National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) has taken up the study in all 15 states which have GPs scoring more than 80 marks comparing with GPs which scored less from the same state / district with the objectives (i) to find out the progress and processes under taken in MA GPs (ii) to evaluate/compare the inter-se performance of parameters in the high performing Panchayats and their performance with that of the low performing Panchayats and (iii) to document and map the successful cases, underlying factors and reasons to scale/replicate the success in other Panchayats.
The study has been designed to cover 50 High Performing Mission Antyodaya Gram Panchayats (HP-MAGPs) and 50 Low Performing Mission Antyodaya Gram Panchayats (LP-MAGPs). The selection of sample 50 HP-MAGPs from the 15 states was done based on the criteria -- in proportion to the GPs from the sample states with minimum of one GP from state. As far as the selection of sample 50 LP-MAGPs of the 15 states is concerned, the matching GP preferably with less than 50 score has been taken in to consideration. Care has been taken in identification of LP-MAGPs for matching with the characteristics of HP-MAGPs with regard to (i) natural resources (ii) distance from urban local bodies (iii) market access (iv) connecting road network (v) industrial development, etc. As such, 50 Pairs of GPs were identified to undertake the study in 15 states in consultation with District Panchayat Office. A total of 16 study teams with faculty and consultants as team leaders / superiors had been deployed for each team to cover 3 – 4 GP pairs with the support of two assistants in the field; one of them was the person already trained / used in the baseline survey. The same GP schedule that had been used for baseline study was used to understand / check the current status / progress of indicators’ performance by collecting primary data (quantitative and qualitative) at GP level. In addition, Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with functionaries and elected representatives were conducted at GP level to have feedback on availability / improvement of indicator based services and to know the opinion on performance with reasons for achievements / shortfalls through a checklist. Analysis of data was undertaken to assess key variables / changes perceived at outcome level with regard to six key parameters and 37 indicators. The report contains four chapters; first chapter on background, objectives and methodology, second chapter on overall progress of the MAGPs, third chapter on comparative account of key parameters and indicators of the MAGPs and the fourth and last chapter on summarisation of factors and underlying reasons for success of village development.
As noticed in the beginning of study, there are cases of some distortions. Assigning of weightages to the indicators happened to be not exact; in some cases it was low reporting and in some cases it was high reporting of scores. It requires validation of indicators and tracking systems in order to ensure continuous and effective monitoring. However, these differences have been rectified and updated during the study for the sample GPs and reported the progress with correct figure of score against the indicator / key parameter.
This study has tracked the progress made with regard to six parameters in Mission Antyodaya Gram Panchayats and explored the reasons for high performance. Convergence and accountability factors have been examined while analyzing reasons which contributed to the high performance of some Gram Panchayats. Several major factors are identified for the best performance. Active social participation is the key factor, found to be crucial compared to the GP with poor community participation. Collective decision is the key for any good cause. Due to active participation of community as an entity, many things could be possible for village development. This active participation had happened in the high performing GPs which resulted in addiction-free GPs, reducing pollution, etc apart from many village development activities made possible in effective manner. This participation happened through teachers, youth, retired officials, educated sections and other who have commitment. The efforts and commitment of village president is seen different from GP to GP. It is apt to attribute that the leadership role is a significant contributor for high performance GPs which happened as a result of conducting gram sabhas regularly, taking decisions with peoples participation, etc. Primarily, villagers would like to see the effective leadership in terms of implementation of development activities in a transparent manner. Leaders who have taken decisions in consultation with the other functionaries results in to success in most cases. Effective functioning of panchayats executive body was main reason in many cases with able leadership of the village president concerned. As a result of that many villages have achieved the target of toilet construction in order to ensure open defecation free villages. Participation and acceptance of the community, though it is voluntary but becomes mandatory by the high performing GPs whereas this effort is week in most of the low performing GPs.
Apart from the leadership qualities of elected representatives efficient gram panchayat officials with a will to involve in village development are seen in high performing GPs. Effective functioning of PRI functionaries with apt response is noticed to be very important driving force for the better performance of GPs in orderly manner. It is important to note that almost all the infrastructural facilities like construction of roads, availability of piped water, schools and health care centre through Government administrative system using exclusively allotted funds. As confirmed by the village elders, the role of local government officials and gram panchayat members play a crucial role in the process of bringing and maintaining such basic infrastructural facilities at village level appropriately. The HPGP through its efficient members, has moved to e-governance which paved way for success in creating awareness about various social issues and making every transaction of GP in more transparent manner.
Though the role of sectoral departments are not uniform across the GPs (high and low performing), the interest paid by individuals (officials) with regard to the subject concerned is noteworthy. Hence, effective functioning of Sectoral department functionaries has gained prominence in village development. Usually, the representative officials of the sectoral departments are stationed at block level. However, the attendance / association of officials of sectoral department like agricultural, horticultural, fisheries animal husbandry, etc with important meetings at low performing GPs is poor compared to the prominence given to the high performing GPs. As a result of that even most of the Gram Panchayat presidents of low performing GPs are not aware of the officials concerned to any particular sectoral department. This results in poor evaluation of the natural resources available at GP level and also in making the plans prepared appropriately for the utilization of these resources. The prime duty of making the availability of technical services particularly in the field of agriculture, horticulture, livestock management, etc is still a dream for most of the deprived people belonging to the GPs that are not rated well in performance.
High level of awareness on government schemes among all is seen evident in well performing GPs. Because of the high educational status and social background, the public representatives are capable of utilizing the opportunities well. They are aware of the various government schemes for the benefit of village as well as deprived people. In general, the public representatives belonging to well performing GPs are active in participation and keen in knowing the govt policies, strategies, programmes, schemes, etc. Most of them have undergone good number of capacity building trainings and still they are eager to participate if they get an opportunity. Such enthusiasm is lacking in most of the people in low performing GPs.
Apart from these factors having an advantage of GP village being a single unit is also a major contributor for progress. Single Gram panchayat village has greater advantage than the GP with more number of villages. Except one or two HP-MAGPs, most of the LP-MAGPs have more than two villages / hamlets under main village (GP). Allocation of funds in accordance with the population size of the GP is not in preference to the GPs having more hamlets; less population with more number of GPs (LP-MAGPs) are getting less funds against the requirement of development needs. For example, the total length of road network of a GP covering all hamlets requires more funds than the GP with less total length of roads in a single unit of GP. Locational advantage and better access to opportunities like proximity to urban and plain areas, tourist spots have also played a significant role in high performing GPs. Development of infrastructure, industrialization and urbanisation have been made possible due to nearest location of the village to city. Because of the good road connectivity, access to specialised healthcare and higher education facilities made possible. As good infrastructural facilities with amenities are accessible, villagers do not prefer to migrate.
Other than these, collaborative institutional support from outside extended by some organizations is mainly focused on high performing GPs than low performing GPs. This is again the matter of choosing the GP which is convenient to the institution concerned than the GP which is on demand. Adoption of villages by individual and organisations is seen better for the development of villages. Their contributions are observed on particular aspect of development. This emphasizes the need of collaborating organisations to choose GPs based on the actual need / scope of outcome level performance. Through this effort, it is possible that GPs which are not well equipped would be able to get required support. It has been observed that the functionaries of well performing GPs are looking for using technology for overcoming the problems most economical manner and deliver the services in better manner. Therefore, appropriate use of technology has served as the contributing factor for high performing panchayats. Less use of paper, partial implementation of digital payments, solar based infrastructure, etc are picking up in high performing GPs. Awareness on use of existing technology is made available to the GPs through various IEC means. Solar plant, chilling unit, e-governance, smart PDS are some of the initiatives taken with the help of technology and these are followed well in HPGPs than in the LPGPs.
Better access to officials matters the most in implementation of programmes speedily and effectively. Due to better amenities at nearby town and cities, officials are preferring to stay and operate from there in order to avail the education and medical facilities on demand. This result in poor coordination at GP level (LP-MAGP) compared to the availability of particularly PRI functionaries, in well performing GPs. In some instances, due to proximity of some well performing GPs with nearby towns and cities, the officials working in cities prefer to stay in nearby GPs. As a result of that these GPs are flourishing well with the settlement of migrated population thereby strengthening the GP status economically. In these village, implementation of government schemes are done speedily and timely. People of these panchayats are quite aware of government plans and programmes. They participate in decision making and gram sabha meetings because of increased accountability. All government schemes are implemented effectively and timely in order to avoid unnecessary complaints by the people.
Funds are primary requirement for any function in the Panchayats. To sustain and maintain the facilities created and to initiate new projects, finance is needed. Fourteenth Finance Commission has come to its rescue with its allocation of funds. Although the allocation of FFC grants are as per the population size, the utilisation of funds was seen appropriate in well performing GPs. As a result of that most of the HP-MGPs received performance grants which happened to be used for further developmental activities. Though the allocation of FFC funds is in accordance with the population, the distribution and utilisation of these funds is concentrated in HP-MAGP which is single unit of GP. In the case of LP-MAGP, the FFC funds were utilised mostly for main village in the GP and the development needs of other villages have been neglected as the funds are meagre in proportion to the requirement of total demand. Access and exploring of various financial sources from sectoral departments is also the initiative of the high performing GPs. HP-MAGP Panchayat Raj functionaries have successfully undertaken many water conservation methods such as chain check dams, water retention in well etc., due to which agriculture has flourished and made the village prosperous.Use of solar handpumps and lamps are also promoted in the households in the village. Water conservation methods are adopted to maintain the greenery in the surrounding by using water retention methods. For these activities, sectoral department funds are utilized. Likewise, Fund from CSR has also played an important role in the development of some HP-MAGPs. CSR activities of the corporate sector can be more appropriate if they integrate their activities with the Gram Panchayats which are not well equipped with the facilities.
Generally, the decision of convergence of funds at the time of planning stage itself is common. In view of the growing instances of decentralized planning with people participation in GPs, some of the well performing villages are serious about exploring convergence opportunities at the time of implementation also when they really feel about the need of financial constraints.
Most of the convergence happened with MGNREGA funds only that to for the construction of solid waste management units. This has happened as result of issuance of guidelines to fill the gap of funds with the provision of MGNREGS. Similar efforts are required to be in place for other schemes with required
Performances of well performing GPs are good in respect of grabbing opportunities of Own Source Revenue (OSR) compared to the Low performing GPs. The generation of funds under this category is made possible in different ways in different GPs based on the locally available resources. Baring few instances of efforts, exploring to generate OSR in low performing GPs is very poor. For independent functioning as an institution of local self-government, efforts should be made to generate its own source of revenue. In this context, the accountability of PRIs is crucial in order augment own source revenue to provide public services. Formulation of viable Gram Panchayat Development Plan with the powers of financial autonomy need to be strengthened.
The status of GPDP based planning and use of Plan Plus is more or less similar in all GPs. But the awareness is comparatively seen well in high performing GPs. In depth interaction with PRI functionaries revealed that in some villages, GPDP preparation was done in a routine manner of collection of the views from a few elders at the instance of officials. Real participation of people and gram sabha approval was not the occurrence in finalizing the village plan. In very rare cases only, GPs are looking from the angle of implementation of GPDP plan. But, some well performing GPs are aware of the importance of GPDP as serious as the GP in other development activities of the village. In addition, any such best practice being followed in village plan preparation could be a model for the planning and its implementation. Besides micro plans which are based on basic needs, macro level planning at district / state level based on the resources and demand is also required to be strengthened in order to have firmness on the results to be achieved at output and outcome level with indicators for effective monitoring of progress on performance of Gram panchayats.
Factors that make village development efforts successful
Summary of Findings on Success of Village Development
Keeping the convergence and accountability as the key for monitoring the progress and performance of the Mission Antyodaya Gram Panchayats, this chapter summarizes the performances of 50 GP pairs with regard to the village development. In conclusion, it deals with the factors and underlying reasons for such cases of better performance in utilization of human and financial resources effectively.
1. Active social participation is critical
Strong community participation in the Gram Panchayat has been found crucial compared to the GP with poor community participation. Collective decision is the key for any good cause. Due to active participation of community as an entity, many things could be possible for village development. This active participation had happened in the high performing GPs. For example, Chandrapur and Dadh Khurd Gram Panchayats in Ahmednagar (Maharashtra) have realized the importance of social participation by organising the village festivities like installation of single Ganesh idol for the whole village - one village, one Ganapati. There is no HH level Ganesh idol worship as it happens generally in other villages which cause pollution during immersion. Koujalagi GP of Belagavi district (Karnataka) represents the community involvement and their strong commitment towards the GP development. Many of the educated, local leaders, state leaders form this GP and retired people from government services are involved in the GP development process. Each and every activity taken up by the Gram Panchayat was supported by the community. Being a single unit, in Koujalagi Gram Panchayat, all the facilities are centrally located compared to the Lolasur GP (LP-MAGP). Majority of the works are completed under convergence of PMKSY, PMGSY, MGNREGS, PMAY, SBM works like roads, check dams, culverts, recharge pits, farm ponds, drainage etc. using central, state and local donors support. Parinche Gram Panchayats in Pune district (Maharashtra), through social participation, it is made possible to bring change in the waste management. Awareness campaign was organized in the village and a collection pit was made for channeling drainage in order to decompose the waste appropriately. In the same village, the mahila mandals ran a campaign for de-addiction in the GP which included awareness and counselling to HHs. The issue was discussed regularly in gram sabhas and as a result, the GP is now addiction free.
In Ampolu GP, Gara block, Srikakulam district and Kambavalsa GP in komarada block both GPs have shown high performance in Andhra Pradesh. School teachers have shown active social participation by encouraging the children and their parents on health and hygiene issues. Creation of awareness on environmental issues by the school teachers helped the community to understand the importance of hygiene and also helped them to maintain their surrounding neat and clean and sustain hygiene. Further, the District Collector motivated the teachers in performing those tasks and in turn those teachers encouraged the students to follow hygienic practices. Teachers are also members in committees for checking quality of mid-day meal and monitoring in all stages of activities. Teachers also encourage the children to take part in science talent test competing with other corporate schools. Two students won the first prize. During the interaction, the teacher named Lakshmi who is the mother of block level officer of that district expressed her concern that if we nurture the children well in the primary school in all aspects and that can help the students in maintaining discipline and attaining higher education. She says, “it is a great satisfaction to be a teacher in rural area”. She writes patriotic songs, tune them and teach the children to sustain their patriotic sprit in the mind. Commitment of teachers in shaping the children towards moral and social responsibility is noteworthy. Different sections of village are involved in one or the other activity contributing for the social participation which is seen key in sensitizing the development functionaries in well performing villages.
2. Leadership and decision making functioning of elected representatives
The efforts and commitment of village president is seen different from GP to GP. It is apt to attribute that the leadership role is a significant contributor for high performance GPs which happened as a result of conducting gram sabhas regularly, taking decisions with peoples participation, etc. Although Gadhula GP (Gujarat) is getting location advantage but it has another advantage of having active Gram Panchayat members. Sarpanch and Upa-Sarpanch are active enough to look after major issues of Gram Panchayat. They are playing vital role in shaping GP development. It is seen that the Panchayat President of the Baktra GP (Madhya Pradesh) is young and he has lot of dreams to develop his Gram Panchayat. Panchayat president is educated, active and used to take interest for all kind of development programmes of the government. So, capacity and education of the PRIs members have a significant role with regard to development of their own constituency and GP as a whole. There is effective coordination between the Secretary and GP President along with other PRIs members making the functions of the GP to run smoothly compared to the other GP (LP-MAGP). In Bela, Bhandara District (Maharashtra), the panchayat executive body is quite active having better connectivity with district headquarters in terms of road, transport, education, health and so on. On other side, comparatively the performance of LP-MAGPs depends on the family members of village president as a result of low education of the president. This also affect the performance of PRI functionaries working at village level as well as to get required support from higher level functionaries that would result in the failure quite often. The efforts of Mahila mandals under the leadership of Sarpanch in Parinche (Maharashtra) achieved making the GP a de-addiction village. In Ampolu and Kajuluru GPs (AP), the village presidents have made significant effort which resulted in taking appropriate decision in making the construction of IHHLs for community level with the participation of all sections.
Primarily, villagers would like to see the effective leadership in terms of implementation of development activities in a transparent manner. Leaders have taken decisions in consultation with the other functionaries. Participation and acceptance by the community is made mandatory by the high performing GPs. Whereas this effort is week in most of the low performing GPs.
3. Effective functioning of Panchayat Raj functionaries
Efficient gram panchayat officials with a will to involve in village development are seen in Chandrapur Gram Panchayat in Ahmednagar dist (Maharashtra). It is important to note that almost all the infrastructural facilities like construction of roads, availability of piped water, schools and health care centre through Governments administrative system using exclusively allotted funds. As confirmed by the village elders, the role of local government officials and gram panchayat members play a crucial role in the process of bringing and maintaining such basic infrastructural facilities at village level appropriately. This HPGP through its efficient members, has moved to e-governance which paved way for success in creating awareness about various social issues and making every transaction of GP in more transparent manner. Knamwargram is another GP in Maharashtra which has very good infrastructural facilities like ATM, Bank, weekly market, schools, Anganwadies, Panchayat office, electricity, transport and roads and people are getting good access as a result of proper maintenance. Because of this, the villagers acknowledged the role and efforts of Panchayat executive body, which include Sarpanch, Panchayat Members, Secretary, Accountant, Anganwadi workers, and Kotwal. These facilities are being managed well so that everyone can access them. This body utilises the developmental funds properly. Because, the people of this village are well educated and socially & politically motived, therefore, they do not let executive body to misuse the developmental funds. Since they have unity at community and village level, they participate in each gram sabha meeting and contribute for decision making. Such motivation camps are being organized in other villages by Maharashtra State Rural Livelihood Mission (MSRLM). The best efforts of Panchayat Raj functionaries of Tehare, a HP-MAGP, has led to provide a community hall to the SHG members, as endorsed by SHG members primarily for carrying out their entrepreneurial activities.
Functioning of core PRI functionaries with apt response is noticed to be very important driving force for the better performance of GPs in orderly manner.
4. Effective functioning of Sectoral department functionaries
Though the role of sectoral departments are not uniform across the GPs (high and low performing), the interest paid by individuals (officials) with regard to the subject concerned is noteworthy. In Periyapatti Gram Panchayat of Tirupur district of Tamil Nadu, the Village Health Nurse (VHN) and the Anganwadi teachers update their records regularly (everyday update on Immunization and birth registration) and also give awareness to all the gram panchayat people especially to women on health and hygiene by door to door visit. The block coordinator, MSRLM of the Tehare HP-MAGP is very active and motivated to bring women’s participation by mobilising over 400 HHs into the fold of micro- finance through SGH activities. With this consistent effort, it is observed that women are able to utilize the benefits of SHG bank loan facilities for running their enterprises successfully. The cooperative society formed under agriculture is serving the needs of farmers in Baktra in Sehore District, Madhya Pradesh. The SHGs in this GP are very active in producer groups and ultimately the farmers are beneficial compared to the performance of comparable GP.
Usually, the representative officials of the sectoral departments are stationed at block level. However, the attendance / association of officials of sectoral department like agricultural, horticultural, fisheries animal husbandry, etc with important meetings at low performing GPs is poor compared to the prominence given to the high performing GPs. As a result of that even most of the Gram Panchayat presidents of low performing GPs are not aware of the officials concerned to any particular sectoral department. This results in the poor evaluation of the natural resources available at GP level and in making the plan prepared appropriately for the utilization of these resources. The prime duty of making the availability of technical services particularly in the field of agriculture, horticulture, livestock management, etc is still a dream for most of the deprived people belonging to the GPs not performing well.
5. Awareness on Government schemes
High level of awareness on government schemes is seen evident in well performing GPs. Because of the high educational status and social background, the public representatives are capable of utilizing the opportunities. They are aware of the various government schemes for the benefit of village as well as deprived people. In Chandrapur GP (Maharashtra), this advantage of having efficient, educated and skilled Gram Sevak and panchayat members is observed to have followed up with the necessary procedures in order to avail the benefits of the development schemes such as PMGSY, Indira Awaas Yojana etc. The SHG members of Tehare HP-MAGP are encouraged to take bank loans for starting new enterprise and for upscaling the present enterprise. Total 28 SHGs have availed loans from the bank and they are into garment business.
In general, the public representatives belonging to well performing GPs are active in participation and keen in knowing the govt policies, strategies, programmes, schemes, etc. Most of them have undergone good number of capacity building trainings and still they are eager to participate if they get an opportunity. This enthusiasm is lacking in most of the people in low performing GPs.
6. Advantages of GP village being a single unit
Major / single Gram panchayat village has greater advantage than the GP with more number of villages. Except one or two HP-MAGPs, most of the LP-MAGPs have more than two villages / hamlets under main village (GP) – For example, Thirlangi GP has two villages, Palem GP has 3 villages, and Lothu gedda GP has 10 villages in AP, Sagarpur GP has 3 villages in Bihar, Ghatshila GP has 2 villages in Jharkhand, Lolasur has 2 villages in Karnataka, Anwalighat has 2 villages in Madhaya Pradesh, Ramdaspur GP has 5 villages in Odisha and three villages each from Savaralala GP, Korma GP and Chakiya in Uttar Pradesh sample states.
Being single unit of Vaddadi GP (AP), all the facilities are centrally located compared to the scattered 10 villages of Lothu Gedda GP (LP-MAGP). As such the availability of services are not uniform to all villagers of Lothu Gedda GP. Anganwadies exist only in 5 different villages of Lothu Gedda GP compared to the 8 anganwadies in one Vaddadi GP. Out of 10 villages, 6 villages have Anganwadies. The link workers will take care of the children of other villages, bring them to the nearest Anganwadi and drop them back to the respective villages at the end of day. Similar situation arises in all GPs which have more number of villages / hamlets. From this, it can be understood that allocation of funds in accordance with the population size of the GP is not in preference to the GPs having more hamlets; less population with more number of GPs (LP-MAGPs) are getting less funds against the requirement of development needs. For example, the total length of road network of a GP covering all hamlets requires more funds than the GP with less total length of roads in a single unit of GP.
7. Locational advantages and better access to opportunities
Panthawada GP (Gujarat) is located near the famous Dantiwada dam. It is also a place of tourist attraction. Apart from this Dam, the location of Panchayat on the State Highway has access to Ambaji Temple and Mount Abu. Tourists to these places pass through this Panchayat. It has its own source of revenue from House tax, shop tax and Water tax. In addition, it has daily regular market and in the last one year numbers of shops have increased based the demand from the tourists. Villagers get some income by selling toys, food items to the tourists who visit Dantiwada Dam. They used to sell toys, food items, home decors and cosmetics, though it is seasonal and uncertain. Vaddadi GP (AP) is located on state high way which is parallel connectivity to the national high way 5. So, vehicular movement is almost equal to the NH. Therefore, commercial operations to meet the requirement of traffic are very huge at High performing GP – Vaddadi which in turn generate revenue to the GP for developmental needs. In addition, Vaddadi has established market place with huge activity daily as well as weekly. People of Baktra GP (Madhya Pradesh) become financially sound as the GP is located nearer to the main road. People used to go to Bhopal to get work. This become additional source of income other than their livelihood based on agriculture. Parinche (Maharashtra), being nearer to Saswad highway having connecting road to Pune city, has many advantages. Because of the good road connectivity, access to specialised healthcare and higher education facilities are being availed. As good infrastructural facilities are accessible, villagers do not prefer to migrate.In addition, the GP has an advantage of having some tourist places such as Purander fort and Bhuleshwar temple. In another GP Tehare, It has a locational advantage of being near to tourist place - Shirdi Sai temple. It provides livelihood opportunities to the villagers and also revenue to the GP. The Bela (Maharashtra), is also a HPGP which is located near to district headquarter (Bhandara) with all the basic infrastructural facilities like road (NH-6), transport, Bank, ATM, Primary Health Centre school and son. This village has also an advantage to access government schemes. Because, a considerable proportion of people are well educated and have government and private jobs, their socio-economic, political & cultural life is quite progressive and their participation in gram sabha meetings and decision making at panchayat level is remarkable. It is possible for the technical / sectoral officials to make visits to the village and implement government schemes effectively on time. Development of infrastructure, industrialization and urbanisation has been made possible due to nearest location of the village to city.
8. Collaborative institutional support from outside
Institutional support extended by some outside organizations is mainly focused on the high performing GPs than the other one. This is again the matter of choosing the GP which is convenient to the institution concerned than the GP which is on demand. Adoption of villages by individual and organisations is seen better for the development of villages. Their contributions are observed on particular aspect of development. In Koujalagi GP, Karnataka, KVK introduced a few crop varieties which made significant improvement in the crop yield benefitting the farmers which were earlier not so happy with the low yielding varieties. KVK in Hulkoti GP supply seeds to farmers and do extension activities. Organic farming is another practice the farmers are ready to adopt it. NGOs are also seen appropriately to the development of villages. SDMET-NGO in Koujalagi GP, Karnataka played a crucial role in women empowerment. In addition to the formation of SHGs, the NGO has provided training to women in income generation activities and awareness creation. Few women trained by this NGO have contested in the Gram Panchayat elections also. In Veldurthi Gram Panchayat (AP), the institutional mechanism developed under SERP-VELUGU programme helped to generate awareness and mobilization particularly women SHGs. Under this programme, the official machinery (Asst project managers, community coordinators, village assistants are playing major role to mobilise the community towards various developmental activities. In Kerala, Kudambasree programme is active in all GPs in implementation of govt schemes through women participation. However, the effectiveness is not uniform in all GPs as the effectiveness largely depends on the commitment of person-in charge of the activity.
In Parinche HP-MAGP(Maharashtra), Asmita Bhavan NGO has trained 2 women from the village as ‘Digital Sakhi’ who were trained in basic computer knowledge. These 2 trained women then taught computer to the other women in the village which resulted in significant progress in making women digital system. 19 Women were also trained for tailoring course by the same organisation. The trained women played an important role in creating awareness amongst the villagers about various schemes also. Regular conduct of Mahila Gram Sabhas has helped in enhancing the knowledge and awareness about various schemes in the village. In the same village, Zila co-operative bank which has its ATM along with 2 co-operative credit societies playing a crucial role in giving loans and credits to farmers especially for taking commercial/cash crops like sugar cane and for other agricultural activities. The village also has its own Kharedi- Vikri Kendra- a point of purchase centre which helps the villagers in supplying their agricultural goods to nearby industry and larger market. This has led the village to flourish in agriculture sector. As informed by village elders of Knamwargram (HP- MAGP),
Maharastra State Rural Livelihood Mission has been working towards providing employment and livelihood opportunities to the people through dairy, livestock, SHGs, community based organisation, and village organisation. It has also been playing a major role in making people aware of various government schemes like old age pension, education loan, and government schemes for farmers and other employment and livelihood related schemes. A total of 32 SHGs from Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahamandal (MAVIM), a government organisation involved in overall development of women through financial and resource support are active in Tehare village in mobilising over 400 HHs. The village has presence of Pravavra Gramin Sangh Co-operative not only helped in providing employment opportunities to the villagers though skill development programs but has also contributed in creating awareness though educational activities by their education society. Similarly Village Organizations have also played an important role. In Sagarpur GP SHGs have played a significant role in constructing 525 toilets.
Panthawada GP having livestock extension services, milk production ii the village has become second main occupation of the people. GP has its own collection and chilling center facilitated through cooperative. Thycattussery GP has constructed bio compost unit with the support from the World Bank. This is also an excellent example collaborative institutional support from the outside. Thuravoor panchayat is started sale of electricity which produced through solar panel in collaboration with Keltron and Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB). NRIs have also played a significant role in the development of their Village. This is noted in Usmanpur GP where many of the villagers have migrated to Canada and now they used to contribute financially for the development of village particularly to the Youth.
This emphasizes the need of collaborating organisations to choose GPs based on the actual need / scope of outcome level performance. Through this effort, it is possible that GPs which are not well equipped would be able to get required support.
9. Appropriate use of technology
It has been observed that the functionaries of well performing GPs are looking for using technology for overcoming the problems most economical manner and deliver the services in better manner. For example, Periyapatti Gram Panchayat of Tirupur district of Tamil Nadu, village panchayat resource centre, is an initiative of state government for providing online facilities to the village level with well-structured building under the maintenance of women SHG. These women group collect all information about the gram panchayat and update it online. This resource centre provides services to the village people and students for online form filling and downloading, web services etc. In Chandrapur GP (Maharashtra) is ahead in creation of awareness on social issues and resolving the problems through e-governance. The GP has been awarded as ‘Paperless GP’ in the block for the same. The gram sevak of Chandrapur HP-MAGP is well versed with the knowledge of computers. She has promoted and motivated villagers for fewer paper works and more of e-documents for the official work that needs to be completed for paying taxes and submitting various forms and registrations. She submitted 119 forms in previous year by using e-gram software. The GP has been awarded as ‘Paperless GP’ in the block for the same. In Tehare HP-MAGP, educational institutes are strengthened by providing digital classroom facilities in ZP school and projector in the anganwadi centre. In Kerala, to overcome the problem of dumping of domestic waste in to the nearby canal adjacent to the village president with the participation of some youth set up CCTV cameras to monitor the illegal activities. This resulted in to the success of controlling the pollution causing activity. It is the opinion of people that similar activity might work for controlling open defecation in those places of villages where the problem is acute. The use of technology for effective governance and services vary widely from GP to GP. In some better GPs like Mararikulam, Wi-Fi line of net connectivity was made possible. This facilitates the villagers to go for availing web based services and to lead better living conditions compared to the other GPs which are low in the status of performance score.
Parinche GP (Maharashtra) HP-MAGP panchayat raj functionaries have successfully undertaken many water conservation methods such as chain check dams and water retention in wells which made agriculture flourished well and made the village prosperous. Asha workers, Anganwadi teachers, community resource persons and many grassroot level officials in Andhra Pradesh are equipped with mobile/tab technology in updating information instantaneously in order to facilitate the real-time data monitoring at higher level. Fiber net connectivity to all village households is going in big way in Andhra Pradesh. Apart from the use of electronic governance systems, the use of Reverse Osmosis (RO) water plants and solar based equipment like pump-sets and solar bulbs is quite common compared to the low performing GPs. Panchayat like Panthawada has its own chilling unit to preserve its famous potato variety. The awareness on availability of appropriate technology has also improved the livelihood opportunities of people in high performing GPs.
IEC activities in the form of less use of paper, partial implementation of digital payments, solar based infrastructure, etc are picking up in high performing GPs. Required awareness and use of existing technology is made available to the GPs through various IEC means.
10. Access to officials
Better access to officials matters the most in implementation of programmes speedily and effectively. Due to better amenities at nearby town and cities, officials are preferring to stay and operate from there in order to avail the education and medical facilities on demand. This result in poor coordination at GP level (LP-MAGP) compared to the availability of particularly PRI functionaries, in well performing GPs. In some instances, due to proximity of some well performing GPs with nearby towns and cities, the officials working in cities prefer to stay in nearby GPs. As a result of that these GPs are flourishing well with the settlement of migrated population thereby strengthening the GP status economically. The mobility of officials which include primary functionaries located within or nearer the GP in the case of Vaddadi (AP). Whereas in the case of comparable Lothu gedda GP, officials are operating from distant places like Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli which are situated more than 100 Km away. This causes delay in scheme implementation. As a result of that concentration of officials is comparatively more on the GP which is accessible. Bela GP (Maharashtra) has better opportunity to access all kind of official works timely because all the government offices are located at the district headquarter. In this village, the implementation of government schemes are done speedily and timely because Panchayat executive body is quite active. People of this panchayat are quite aware of government plans and programmes. They participate in decision making and gram sabha meeting because of increased accountability. All government schemes are implemented effectively and timely in order to avoid unnecessary complaints by the people.
11. Fourteenth Finance Commission grants in making the GPs resourceful
Although the allocation of FFC grants as per the population size, the utilisation of funds was seen appropriate in well performing GPs. As a result of that most of the HP-MGPs received performance grants which happened to be used for further developmental activities. Chennugaripalle (AP) during 2017-18, received an amount of Rs 9,66,547 and the funds are being utilised for the works like pipeline extension for drinking water,
street electrification, maintenance of community health and sanitation and construction of Concrete Cement roads. Mandal headquarters Pakala is nearer to the Chennugaripalle Gram Panchayat at the distance of 3 Km. It is an added advantage to the Gram Panchayat that have connectivity, access to markets, banking services and other economic activities and services. Sannupalle GP received Rs 62,45,866 under FFC grants. Veludurthi in Kurnool District received Rs 44,98,805. Though the allocation of the FFC funds is in accordance with the population, the distribution and utilisation of these funds is concentrated in HP-MAGP (Vaddadi) which is single unit of GP. In the case of LP-MAGP, the FFC funds were utilised mostly for main village (Lothu Gedda) GP and the development of 9 other villages have been neglected as the funds are meagre in proportion to the requirement of total demand. It has been reported that the fourteenth finance commission funds have played a major role in village development.
12. Significance of sectoral department funds
Access and exploring of various financial sources from sectoral department is initiative of the well performing GPs. In Veldurthi Gram Panchayat, the provision of VELUGU-CIF fund made available to the SHGs has really contributed for the income generating activities in the GP. Parinche HP-MAGP Panchayat Raj functionaries have successfully undertaken many water conservation methods such as chain check dams, water retention in well etc., due to which agriculture has flourished and made the village prosperous.Use of solar handpumps and lamps are also promoted in the households in the village. Water conservation methods are adopted to maintain the greenery in the surrounding by using water retention methods in wells using Bhandardara dam water. Parinche HP-MAGP has very well utilised the Jal Sandharan Yojana-water conservation fund for constructing 13 chain check dams which helped a lot in agricultural activities across the year. In Chandrapur HP-MAGP, using MLA local area development fund, computers are procured at gram panchayat which made the GP to achieve Paperless GP award.
13. Corporate Social Responsibility in key areas of development
Individuals and corporate sector are known to contribute a lot in rural areas as a matter of responsibility. In Kalacahri GP in Dhalai district of Tripura, TATA Trust has set-up a dairy farm which is put into function in the month of June, 2018. The farm was fully funded by the Tata Trust with an objective of enhancing income of poor rural women through dairy farming. Local youth voluntary organization is actively involved in the project. The project is designed to undertake the activities like skill development of womenfolk on different aspects right from the stage of identification of milch cattle, rearing techniques, post harvest care and also on marketing of the milk. Sofar, three women groups are formed with 13 members in each group. According to the official, the farm has completed initial trials in June,2018 and is now ready for commercial operations. This will promote the livelihood opportunities of poor women. Apart from this in Ghatshila GP street light (Solar) is installed by TATA Steel Company as part of their CSR activities in the GP area.
In Bhadi GP one Aganwadi is constructed and maintained with the support from Reliance CSR fund. CSR activities of corporate sector can be more appropriate if they integrate activities with the Gram Panchayats which are not well equipped with the facilities.
14. Exploring convergence opportunities at the time of implementation
Generally, the decision of convergence of funds at the time of planning stage itself is common. In view of the growing instances of decentralized planning with people participation in GPs, some of the well performing villages are serious about convergence at the time of implementation also when they really feel about the need of financial constraints. In Periyapatti Gram Panchayat of Tirupur district of Tamil Nadu, solid waste management is the occurrence as result of utilisation of funds from state and centre which resulted in construction of a solid waste management shed under MGNREGS scheme. However, sanitary worker remuneration of Rs 2600/- per month is met from GP. These workers collect waste regularly from the households and segregate the bio and non-bio waste for recycling purpose. Similar activity was seen in implementation in Virichiyur Gram Panchayat of Madurai district. Under the Swatch Bharath Abhyan scheme, MGNREGS funds were utilized for construction of one waste segregation shed for separating waste for recycling purpose. Uppalaphad GP of Yadadri dist of Telangana has used Rs. 4 Lakhs received under MLA grants and spent on the construction of internal CC roads. Similar practice was observed through convergence of schemes for the CC roads in Khajipet and Veldurthi (AP) high performing GPs. Most of the convergence happened with MGNREGA funds only that to for the construction of solid waste management units. This has happened as result of required guidelines made to fill the gap of funds with the provision of MGNREGS. Similar efforts are required to be in place for other schemes with required provisions.
As witnessed from Gopalpur GP (AP), PDS shops are digitized and the distribution of material is happening with the involvement of SHGs. Contrarily, these opportunities have not been aptly utilized by low performing GPs.
15. Grabbing opportunities of Own Source Revenue (OSR)
Performances of well performing GPs are good in respect of OSR compared to the Low performing GPs. The generation of funds under this category is made possible in different ways in different GPs based on the locally available resources. For example, Chennugaripalle GP has annual OSR worth of Rs 1,42,041 and the amount is spent on laying pipeline extension for drinking water, street electrification, maintenance of community health and sanitation and construction of Concrete Cement roads. Many HP- MAGPs have been generating OSR like Sannupalle GP (Rs 53,84,393) and Veludurthi (Rs 67,73,888). Vaddali in Visakhapatnam District, AP with annual OSR of Rs 31.20 Lakh comes from different sources - Property tax-11.00, Water tax – 3.00 Lakh, Weekly market cess – 9.00 lakh, daily market cess – 0.20 and shop licenses – 8.00 lakh.
In Karnataka, Nelyady GP has annual Own Source Revenue worth of Rs 37.20 Lakh (Property tax Rs 8.49.00, building license tax Rs. 0.98 Lakh, business licence tax Rs.0.90 lakh, Weekly market cess Rs. 3.96 lakh, shops rent Rs. 1.78 lakh and others like NOC, land mutation, FD etc Rs.4.97 Lakh), Hulkoti GP worth of Rs.83.44 Lakh (Housing tax Rs.39.92 Lakh, water tax Rs.11.13 Lakh, Gujjadi worth of Rs 32.20 Lakh (Property tax Rs 4.41 Lakh, water tax Rs. 0.53 Lakh, Market fee Rs. 0.10 Lakh, Others Rs.0.89 Lakh), and Koujalagi - worth of Rs 66.98 Lakh (Property/Housing tax Rs 5.79.00 Lakh, Weekly market cess Rs. 0.54 lakh, water tax Rs. 2.24 lakh) and
In Kerala from Alappuzha District, Thuravoor GP has an annual revenue worth of Rs 127 lakh, Pattanakkad GP worth of Rs 20.66 lakh and Kanjikuzhi worth of Rs 25.0 lakh worth of Rs 25.0 lakh from property tax, profession tax and non-tax revenue. From Ernakulam District, Puthenvelikkara, Avoly GP and Vadakekkara GP has an annual revenue worth of Rs 32.9 lakh, Rs 21.3 lakh and Rs 80 lakh respectively.
In Telangana, Tellapur GP has annual own source revenue of property tax is 1.52 crores, water tax is Rs.4.70 lakhs and stamp duty collection is Rs.2 crores. These funds are spent for the construction of Library Building, Sr. Citizen Welfare Building and RO purified system. Annual own source revenue of Konaimakula GP of Warangal dist towards property tax and water tax together is Rs.2,16,448 and shop license is Rs.8000. In the case of Kondamadugu of Yadadri dist, own source revenue is Rs.2,16,448 (property tax and water tax) and Rs 8,000 from shop license.
Baring few instances of efforts, exploring to generate Own Source Revenue (OSR) in low performing GP is very poor. For independent functioning as an institution of local self government, efforts should be made to generate its own source of revenue. In this context, accountability of PRIs is crucial in order to augment own source revenue for providing public services. Formulation of viable Gram Panchayat Development Plan with the powers of financial autonomy needs to be strengthened.
16. GPDP based planning and use of plan plus
The status of GPDP based planning is more or less similar in all GPs. But the awareness is comparatively seen well in high performing GPs. In depth interaction with PRI functionaries revealed that some villages the GPDP prepared was done in a routine manner of collection of the views from a few elders at the instance of officials. Real participation of people and gram sabha approval was not the occurrence in finalizing the village plan. In very rare cases only, GPs are looking from the angle of implementation of GPDP plan. But, some well performing GPs are aware of the importance of GPDP as serious as the GP in other development activities of the village. For example, under Gram Jyothi programme, a mission mode initiative in Telangana, gathers villagers to come out on a common platform in the direction of GPDP. In addition, any such best practice being followed in village plan preparation could be a model for the planning and its implementation. Besides micro plans which are based on basic needs, macro level planning at district / state level based on the resources and demand is also required to be strengthened in order to have firmness on the results to be achieved at output and outcome level with indictors for effective monitoring.
Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana
Model village scheme a non-starter: govt audit
Subodh Ghildiyal, June 22, 2020: The Times of India
Six years after it was launched with much fanfare by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ‘Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana’ (SAGY) aimed at developing “model villages” has been found to be ineffective in ushering in development in chosen gram panchayats, with a central performance audit urging the rural development ministry to review the scheme.
Commissioned by the RD ministry, the Common Review Mission-2019, an audit of rural schemes, has noted: “The CRM teams that visited the states did not find any significant impact of this scheme. In many of the SAGY villages, MPs did not give any significant money from MPLADS. In isolated cases, where MPs have been pro-active, some infrastructure development has taken place, but the scheme has not made any perceptible impact.”
Launched in October 2014, SAGY offers each MP to select a village in his constituency for development. The scheme has no budgetary allocation and aims to bring about convergence in government schemes to improve developmental parameters in the selected village. The goal was to develop three “model villages” by each MP by March 2019, and then five more by 2024.
But with each passing year, as reported by TOI, fewer MPs were adopting villages under SAGY. The reasons were twofold — there was concern that picking one village would earn them the wrath of other villages in their constituencies, while the absence of budget too acted as a dampener.
However, the ministry was mindful that it was the PM’s personal initiative.
Now, the CRM audit has attested to the fact that SAGY has been a non-starter. “As such these villages cannot be called model villages. The CRM is of the opinion that in the current format, the scheme is not achieving the desired purpose. It is recommended that the ministry may review the scheme for enhancing its impact,” it has stated.
In another important redflag, the CRM has expressed concern over the quality of roads constructed under schemes of state governments and maintenance of rural roads under central PMGSY after the end of fiveyear warranty period.
The audit has urged the Centre to frame a “National Rural Road Policy” to ensure uniform norms of construction and maintenance, irrespective of whether the road belongs to a state scheme or PMGSY. It has also urged the Centre to examine if the finance commission can provide funds for maintenance of rural roads, as many states have requested that the Centre should share cost of maintenance.
