Module IV
Rural Development
Various Approaches to Rural Development
The multipurpose method: providing a range of services and facilities to rural
areas
The minimum package method: focusing on the basic needs of rural people
The target group approach: identifying and supporting specific groups of rural
poor
The area development approach: planning and implementing development
projects in selected regions
Integrated rural development approach: coordinating different sectors and
agencies to address rural problems
BASIC NEEDS APPROACH/ THE MINIMUM PACKAGE METHOD
⮚ Adopted welfare-oriented approach.
⮚ The basic needs approach gives primary to the need for a minimum
standard of living of the poor as a central concern of development planning.
⮚ This approach sees development in terms of the fulfilment of basic needs
of all.
⮚ It aims to satisfy the consumption needs at personal as well as social levels
keeping in mind the human right of each individual.
⮚ The Minimum Needs Programme in India was introduced in 1974 during
the first year of the fifth plan period.
⮚ The main components of MNP are (1) Rural Health (2) Rural Education
(3) Rural Roads (4) Rural Drinking Water (5) Rural Electrification (6)
House sites for Landless (7) Environmental improvement in slums (8)
Nutrition from the seventh plan onwards new components like domestic
cooking energy, public distribution and sanitation have been added to
MNP.
INTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT APPROACH
● Based on employment strategy
GANDHIAN APPROACH TO RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Gandhian approach contains a solution to problems-both immediate and ultimate.
According to him man is the centre of all activities and his well-being is the
ultimate goal.
Gandhian approach to rural development is based on the following postulated:
1. Gandhiji’s approach to solve the problem of villagers was never
exclusively economic problem as part and parcel of other problems of the
society like social, cultural, political and the like. Thus he diagnosed the
various dimensions of the development process which were calling urgent
attention in rural India. He adopted a holistic or comprehensive approach.
2. Gandhian approach to rural development laid the seeds of micro level
planning based on decentralized administration. He identified the problems
of ‘tiny villages’ and searched for the availability of resources to solve the
problems at grassroots level.
3. Gandhiji advocated the need for integrated rural development strategy.
4. Gandhian philosophy offers a practical solution to the various problems of
Indian villagers based in Sarvodaya and Antyodaya principles. It aims at
bringing a social revolution in villages along with improving the quality of
life of the people. What he uttered was not only for the Indian villages but
the entire deprived people of the world. His message was not for a
particular sector time but for the future of the mankind.
LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Local Economic Development (LED) is an approach to economic development
that involves local people working together to achieve sustainable economic
growth and development in their area.
The World Bank in 2002 defined LED as: LED is the process by which public,
business and non-governmental sector partners work collectively to create better
conditions for economic growth and employment generation. The aim is to
improve the quality of life for all in the community.
Local economic development is not just about development of basic needs of
individuals but about people working together to achieve sustainable economic
growth and improved lives. Employment and income are needed to prosper.
The purpose of local economic development (LED) is to build up the economic
capacity of a local area in order to improve its economic future and the quality of
life for all. It is a process by which public, business, and non-governmental sector
partners work collectively to create better conditions for economic growth and
employment generation.
ASSET BASED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Asset-based community development (ABCD) is a methodology for the
sustainable development of communities based on their strengths and potentials.
It involves assessing the resources, skills, and experience available in a
community; organizing the community around issues that move its members into
action; and then determining and taking appropriate action.
This method uses the community's own assets and resources as the basis for
development; it empowers the people of the community by encouraging them to
use what they already possess.
The ABCD approach was developed by John L. McKnight and John P.
Kretzmann.
Needs-based community development emphasizes local deficits and looks to
outside agencies for resources. In contrast, asset-based community development
focuses on honing and leveraging existing strengths within the community.
Asset based community development (ABCD) is a localised and bottom-up way
of strengthening communities through recognising, identifying and harnessing
existing 'assets' (i.e. things like skills, knowledge, capacity, resources, experience
or enthusiasm) that individuals and communities have which can help to
strengthen and improve things locally.
Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is a globally adopted approach
that recognises and builds on the strengths, gifts, talents and resources of
individuals and communities to create strong, inclusive and sustainable
communities.
Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) is a methodology for the
sustainable development of communities based on their strengths and
potentialities. It emphasizes the creation of policies and activities involving the
capacities and skills of neighborhood residents. ABCD calls for the “identifying
and mobilising existing, but often unrecognised assets” for sustainable
community development. ABCD is both a strategy and a mindset within the
community context.
Example asset map
Principles that guide ABCD include:
Everyone has gifts: Each person in a community has something to contribute.
Relationships build a community: People must be connected in order for
sustainable community development to take place.
Citizens at the center: Citizens should be viewed as actors—not recipients—in
development.
Leaders involve others: Community development is strongest when it involves a
broad base of community action.
People care: Challenge notions of "apathy" by listening to people's interests.
Listen: Decisions should come from conversations where people are heard.
Ask: Asking for ideas is more sustainable than giving solutions.
Inside-out organization: Local community members are in control.
Institutions serve the community: Institutional leaders should create
opportunities for community-member involvement, then "step back
MODULE V
GOVERNANCE
Governance refers to all processes of governing, the institutions, processes and
practices through which issues of common concern are decided upon and
regulated. Good governance adds a normative or evaluative attribute to the
process of governing.
Governance encompasses the system by which an organisation is controlled and
operates, and the mechanisms by which it, and its people, are held to account.
GOOD GOVERNANCE
Good governance means that processes and institutions produce results that meet
the needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal. The
concept of efficiency in the context of good governance also covers the
sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of the environment.
In fighting corruption, good governance efforts rely on principles such as
accountability, transparency and participation to shape anti-corruption measures.
Key attributes of good governance
The Human Rights Council has identified the key attributes of good governance:
transparency
responsibility
accountability
participation
responsiveness (to the needs of the people)
ACCOUNTABLE DEMOCRACY
Democratic accountability. Accountability is a central piece of good governance.
It enables the sharing of power (concept of checks and balance) and the public
control over the use of public resources. It contributes to reducing the risk of
power abuse and corruptive practices, which in turn is essential to ensure the
fulfilment of peoples' basic human rights. Well-functioning accountability
relations contribute to build trust in State institutions and processes of managing
public affairs. This can be particularly important in situations of conflict.
Accountability describes the relation between state institutions and people,
private sector affected by their decisions. It is about the obligation of state
institutions, or any other authority with assigned public duties to inform the
public, to explain, justify their decisions and actions (information, answerability).
And it is about the right and responsibility of the citizens to access information,
get explanations, to check, and to pass judgement on the conduct of those with
public responsibilities.
PANCHAYATI RAJ
Panchayati raj is the system of local self-government of villages in rural India as
opposed to urban and suburban municipalities. It consists of the Panchayati Raj
Institutions through which the self-government of villages is realized.
Mahatma Gandhi advocated panchayat raj as the foundation of India's political
system. It would have been a decentralised form of government, where each
village would be responsible for its own affairs. The term for such a vision was
Gram Swaraj ("village self-governance").
DECENTRALISATION
Decentralisation is the process of transferring authority from the Supreme and
state levels to the local level. The process of distributing functions and power
away from a central place or authority is known as decentralisation.
HISTORY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ
HISTORY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ IN VEDIC PERIOD
The origins of Panchayati Raj in India can be traced back to the Vedic period
(1700 BCE).
The Rigveda, a Hindu text from 1700 BCE, mentions self-governing village
bodies called sabhas. Over time, these bodies became panchayats, which are
councils of five people. Panchayats were functional institutions of grassroots
governance in almost every village.
The administrative structure and spirit of the Panchayats remained basically intact
from the Vedic period through the Mauryan and Gupta periods up to the end of
Mughal rule in India. The headman, the accountant, and the watchman still
carried on their traditional duties.
The Manusamhita, Dharmasastras, Upanishads, Jatakas, and others refer
extensively to local administration, or the panchayat system.
The main administrative functions of those pancayts were look after the various
aspects of village administration namely, tanks,
temples, justice, roads, gardens, education, etc.
HISTORY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ DURING THE BRITISH RULE
The Panchayat had never been the priority of the british rulers. The rulers were
interested in the creation of controlled local bodies, which could help in their
trading interest by collecting taxes for them.
The Panchayt was destroyed by the East India Company when it was granted the
ofdice of Diwan in 1765 by Mughal Emperor as part of reparation after his defeat
at baxar.
As Diwan the company took two decision. The first was that, it abolished the
village land record office and created a company official called Patwari.
The Patwari became the official record keeper for a number of villages.
The second was the creation of office of magistrate and the abolition of village
police.
The magistrate carried out policing functions through the Darogha who had
always been state functionary under Fajudar.