J.Amala Thanka Kumari1 & Dr.Revathi Thomas2
1 Research Scholar, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli.
2 Associate Professor, Dept of History, WCC, Nagercoil.
Abstract
Around 65% of the State’s population is living in rural areas. People in rural areas should have the same quality of life as is enjoyed by people living in suburban and urban areas. Further there are cascading efforts of poverty, unemployment, poor and inadequate infrastructure in rural areas on urban centers causing slums and consequential social and economic tensions manifesting in economic deprivation and urban poverty. Hence, Rural Development which is concerned with economic growth and social justice, improvement in the living standard of rural people by providing adequate and quality social services and minimum basic needs becomes essential.1 The present strategy of rural development mainly focuses on poverty alleviation, better livelihood opportunities, provision of basic amenities and infrastructure facilities through innovative programmes of wage and self-employment. The above goals will be achieved by various programme support being implemented creating partnership with communities, non-governmental organizations, community based organizations, institutions, PRIs and industrial establishments, while the Department of Rural Development will provide logistic support both on technical and administrative side for programme implementation.
Introduction
Rural development in general is used to denote the actions and initiatives taken to improve the standard of living in non-urban neighbourhoods, country side and remote villages. These communities can be exemplified with a low ratio of inhabitants to open space. Agricultural activities may be prominent in this case whereas economic activities would release to the primary sector, production of foodstuffs and raw materials. The government’s policy and programmes have laid emphasis on poverty alleviation, generation of employment and income opportunities and provision of infrastructure and basic facilities to meet the needs of rural poor. For releasing these objectives, self employment and wage employment programme continued to pervade in one form or other.
There are some major considerations in the development and transformation of rural areas in India. They are as follows:
Food Security
Prior to independence the growth rate in agriculture was very low. It was 0.3 per cent. After independence in 1951 when the First Five Year Plan was promulgated, it focused its attention on the development of agriculture. A team of expert in agriculture from Food Foundation was invited by the government of India for advice to boost agricultural production. On the advice of this team fifteen districts, which had very favorable environment for the development of agriculture were taken up and agricultural inputs were liberally provided to these districts. The measures met with success. So the Intensive District Development Programme was extended to other districts and the scheme was designated as Intensive Area Development Programme.
Alleviation of Poverty
Alleviation of poverty in rural development is the most crucial issue. India’s population in 2002 was 1.05 million, 700 million live in rural areas and according to official data 360 million in India are below the poverty line. These figures include the urban poor also, but some critics, on the basis of ground level situation in the rural areas, feel that half the population of the rural area is below the poverty line in India.
When the country became independent the first focus was on the proper development of the resources. It was planned to reduce regional imbalances. The First Five Year Plan was promulgated in 1951-56, when the focus was on community Development Programme towards eradication of poverty. In 1976-77 came a new programme for alleviation of poverty called Integrated Rural Development Programme. It was promulgated called “Training for Rural Youth for Self- Employment. Another scheme was introduced known as Rural Landless Employment Generation Scheme and then came the National Rural Employment Programme. It was thought that alleviation of poverty cannot be successfully fought unless power was transferred to the rural community.
Rural Energy
Half the energy consumed in India is of household purpose, like cooking. In the absence of availability of energy, inspire of stringent laws for deforestation trees are cut surreptitiously and fuel wood is obtained for cooking purposes. Trees absorb Co2 and release oxygen. Moreover, the roots of the trees bind the top fertile soil from being wasted away by the run-off. In the watershed areas, cutting of trees makes the ground base and material through run-off accumulates on the bed of rivers and the beds gradually rise and make the river shadow. In the event of heavy rainfall, water overflows the banks of the rivers and causes floods.
The absence of trees leads to the increase of Co2 in the atmosphere and raises the temperature of the air causing Greenhouse Effect. It is estimated that during the past century, the temperature of the earth increased by 0.5 to 10oc owing to burning of fossil fuel and deforestation globally. The alternative is the availability of cheap cooking energy from bio-gas. The number of biogas plants in India which provided energy to rural areas in 2001-2002 was 3.36 million.
Credit Facility
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development came into existence in July 1982. It was established for providing credit for promotion of agriculture, small scale industries, cottage and village industries, handicraft and other allied economic activities in the rural areas with a view of promoting integrated rural development and securing prosperity for rural areas.
Rural Housing
Rural Development must take care of the dwellings of the people in the rural areas. The objective of the scheme is to help the people below the poverty line belonging to SC and STs freed bonded labourers and non SC and STs Categories to improve their kutcha houses by providing grand-in-aid.
Apart from Indira Yojana, there are six housing schemes for the development of rural areas and the people below the poverty line. These schemes are.
i) Gramodaya Yojana
ii) Samagra Awas Yojana
iii) Innovative Schemes for Rural Housing and Habitate Development
iv) Rural Building Centres
v) Equity Support to Housing
vi) Natural Mission for Rural Housing and Habitate
Rural Water Supply
The problem of rural water supply in the villages has become acute. Village women have to cover several km. to fill their pale of water. Drinking water facilities in rural habitations are provided under the State sector programme. The national agenda of the Central Government envisages provision of safe drinking water to all rural habitation. The provision of safe drinking water supply is entrusted to Panchayatraj. The norms should be fixed as to the number of house hold per hand pump. If the supply is to come from rivers, water supply installation should be fully supervised depending on the number of hand pump installed.
Rural Sanitation
The rural development cannot be fully achieved unless sanitation is taken care of. Although sanitation is a State subject, the Central Government through technical and financial assistance collaborates with the States. In 1993, the concept of sanitation was expanded to include personnel hygiene, home sanitation, safe water, garbage clearance, excreta disposal and waste water disposal. The component of the programme includes the construction of individual sanitary toilets for households below the poverty line, conversion of dry latrines, to water pore flesh toilets, construction of village sanitary complexes for women.
Vocational Training
Vocational training in education is extremely important and is highly instrumental in providing jobs and in alleviation of poverty. The training opens avenues of employment. A student after doing High School with conventional subject is not able to prosecute his/her education further, by the large remains unemployed but in case of vocational training, he can easily be self employed. The vocational training should start from the lower primary school to higher primary school and lower secondary school to higher secondary school.
Job Creation
The basic question involved in poverty eradication is increasing the purchasing power of the poor people through incoming generation and job creation and wherever necessary vocational training be arranged for the poor people. What is important is the processes of the income generation should be continuous throughout the year. The goods that are produced through the innovation jobs should be quality products, for which, where necessary, training may be provided and/or special camp be arranged to improve the techniques in the production of goods. So that they may have safe marketability at the national and international level and the country may take full advantage of WTO and globalization.
Land Reform
The land reform policy adopted since independence aims at restructuring relations to eliminate exploitation of the tiller of the soil, also enlarge the land base of the rural poor, increase agricultural production and diversification of agricultural economy. The major strategy of land reform has been the abolition of Zamindari, and intermediary tenures, tenancy reforms, ceiling on ownership of agricultural holdings, consolidations of holdings, updating of land record systems, employment of women to ensure greater access to land and abolition of gender bias.
Since introduction of land reform bill 2001, 7.3 million acres of land have been declared surplus in the country out of which 5.3 million acres have been distributed to 5.5 million beneficiaries of whom, 3.6 per cent belong to SC and ST tribes.
A centrally sponsored scheme on computerization of land record was started in 1988-89. At present the scheme is being implemented in 582 districts of the country.
Conclusion
The government’s policy and programme have laid emphasis on poverty alleviation, generation of employment and income opportunities and provision of infrastructure and basic facilities to meet the needs of rural poor. For realizing these objectives, self-employment and wage employment programmes continued to pervade in one form or other. The best means of rural reform and development is indirect, that is by spreading education. The primary need is to do a good deal of educational propaganda for the necessity of heavy good and clean good houses and have the wherewithal to realize their needs and wants, a permanent solution of rural development is not possible. However, whatever little effort is being made in this direction is welcome and the primary need is to intensify it.
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