Rural
Development and Village Communication in India
Unit 3-3.1
Notes by Sis Patricia Michelle Mathias
Introduction
India is primarily an
agrarian economy. It basically means that a large part of India has as its main
source of income ‘agriculture’. Madhusudan L states that Indian agriculture
sector accounts for 18 % of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) and provides
employment to 50% of the countries workforce.
Despite this as our fact,
it’s the urban cities that get developed due to industrialisation. The urban
cities are provided with infrastructure and facilities. The rural areas in many
parts of India often suffer neglect. Much of agriculture is done with the same
old techniques as only a few farmers can afford the modern-day technology or
machines. While roads have been built in many places, there is still a lot of
work done in order to commute to certain places.
Rural development: Farming and Agricultural woes
Farmers often reel under
heavy loans. One of the primary reasons is either bad monsoon or heavy
rainfall. A bad crop leads to bad loans which has further led to massive farmer
suicides in India. The farmers often feel betrayed by urbanisation,
industrialisation and Government apathy towards them. The villages also have a
strong cultural background which often causes loopholes in the process of
growth or equal access to growth amidst all. In such a scenario, Rural
Development is required, but the process is slow.
Most of the rural Indians
are directly or
indirectly dependent on
agriculture. Some are directly attached with the farming and some other
people are involved in doing business with these goods. India has the capacity
to produce the food grains which can make a vast difference in Indian Economy.
To achieve this targeted mark. the government needs to provide support in case
of land, bank loans and other machineries to the small farmers along with the
big farmers in order to help the Indian economy.
The governments – both at
the Centre and States have tried to provide aids. For instance, “the first Five
Year plan had agriculture as the most important focus. Even though it may not
have been given the primary status in other Five-Year plans, yet it was
accorded a major position in terms of developing it.”
The Green Revolution in
the 1960s turned beneficial for many in Punjab as attempts were made to bring
in the aid of Industrialisation, new techniques, modern methods, high yield
seeds, tractors, other pest control methods along with the use fertilisers.
Punjab was spear-headed into this direction. However, while the Green
Revolution in India was a huge respite, especially in the aftermath of many
famines, over the period of years, one realised that while the green Revolution
bought in a huge success at one point, the agricultural experts didn’t realise
that in the long run, environmental harm has occurred with Soil degradation, land
losing fertility and water levels going down to extreme low levels in many
areas. Today many environmentalists point out that despite becoming
self-sufficient at one point with regard to food production, the Green Revolution, was not an actual
success when one thinks of the harm done over time to environment which is now
getting back at the farmers themselves.
Also, the seeds used,
primarily aided the Multi-National companies that sought to diffuse particular
types of seeds. In the long run, while Punjab initially became a model, today
it is not so. The model of Green Revolution has back-fired. Many farmers are
poor and are not provided with aid for their fields. Others cannot manage to
pay back loans they have take for pesticides and fertilisers. In other parts of
the country, natural calamities also contribute to the anxiety of farmers Many
farmers, even today commit suicide as they are unable to sustain themselves and
pay back their loans.
In a world that has
become far more conscious of Sustainability, agriculturists have realised, that
indigenous varieties have a natural tendency to deal with pests. However, the
green Revolution and maximising yields of particular crops to bring in
prosperity has led India to lose a large number of indigenous varieties of rice,
crops, pulses, vegetables and fruits. Besides,
this over use of pesticides and insecticide have also led to the destruction of
insects that actually aid farming and pollination. There is also a huge loss of
bio-diversity.
Many of the farming
families were un-educated, and accepted the modern technologies as ventures of
becoming prosperous only to have these ventures turn into disastrous over many
years for some. Many don’t realise the harm done by pesticides. Others do, but
use very heavy pesticides which gradually harms humanity at large. The
government went forward with this initiative with a noble mind, however, it has
backfired as in the long run people have discovered that sustainability is the
only solution, using pesticides and fertilisers in the long run harms both
water and soil.
The year 2020, saw the
government bring in policies they believe will aid farmers. However, the
farmers in many parts of the country are sceptical and consider it another
invasion of the MNCs who will takeover all rights. A lack of proper
communication has only aggravated the farmer -government issue.
While we have looked at
agricultural issues, Rural development also includes promotion of hygienic
practices, introduction of vaccines related to health, tackling problems of water,
electricity, sanitation and mal-nutrition.
Rural Development: Health Issues and Initiatives in India
Health is an important
factor that does make an impact on the economic growth of any country. Covid-19
has sent many countries and their economies tumbling down. This is a huge
example that points out the need for health and well-being of individuals in a
country. Another fact is that the World Health Organisation has pointed out
that 1.7 million Indian deaths are caused by Heart diseases. Tuberculosis is
another matter of concern.
India ranks at number 129
among 189 countries in the Human Development index as of 2019. India barely spends
1.45 of GDP on health despite the fact that over 469 million people having no
regular access to medication, 63% of primary health centres having no operation
theatres, 29% lacking labour rooms, and India lacks massively in the
availability of surgeons, gynaecologists and pediatricians. (oxfamindia.org, 2018)
Furthermore, surveys in
India have pointed out that the rising expenses of Health care have sent over
32-39 million Indians, below the poverty line, while 23% can’t even afford
Healthcare services, besides 7% are below poverty line due to loans taken in
order to deal with health expenses. (oxfamindia.org, 2018)
This is indeed a sorry
state of affairs. However, the Government is indeed trying to reach out to the
poor. A good governance can help. For instance, under the initiative of the
Delhi State Government of the Aam Aadmi Party, many ‘Mohalla Clinics’ were initiated
to provide medication to the poor and this was widely appreciated by the people
of Delhi. Initiatives such as these require a non-corrupt administrative
process. Delhi’s venture can be a role model for villages if the middle men are
cleared off the path and the resources reach the right recipients.
Some of the health
initiatives by the Government in rural India are remarkable. The administration
of the Polio Vaccine leading to India overcoming the disease completely is
remarkable. And the Government needs to be lauded for these efforts.
Communication being used to spread awareness of Hygiene and sanitisation is
another admirable step.
The Pradhan Mantri
Bharatiya Janaushadhi Parriyojana (PMBJP) was a campaign launched by the
Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India to provide generic drugs at
inexpensive prices to the citizens of the country especially the poor through
special kendras. Initially launched by the UPA government and re-christened by
the present Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, these medicines are available only
through certain exclusive outlets meant for the same purpose. The Bureau of
Pharma Public Sector undertakings of India
(BPPI) has been established for co-coordinating the procurement, supply
and marketing of these generic drugs. Government initiative of this type are
praise worthy. However, the loop holes rise everywhere in a good initiative due
to lack of authenticity and proper transactions.
The Indian Express in one
of its articles however pointed out that in certain places like Ludhiana,
Punjab in India barely 20% patients are able to access this facility and that
many stores lack the stock of common medicines for seasonal infection dieases.
While the officials state this is due to logical issues. (New Indian Express)
Rural Development: Malnutrition Issues and Initiatives in India
While many things have
occurred, India being a huge country a lot more has to be done. India still has
a large number of malnutrition cases. India has around 46.6 million cases of
stunted growth among children, (i.e. almost one third of the world’s
malnourished children), as per the Global Nutrition report 2018. The lockdown
has escalated the problems.
In one incident in India,
when a journalist pointed out that children in the midday meal scheme were
being fed Chapati with salt, while the menu had Rice, pulses, vegetables,
chapati, fruits and milk as per time-table. The School principal and the staff
was suspended, but the hard step taken against the journalist by filing a
criminal conspiracy case against him was an unwise decision by the state for
bringing to light the truth and corruption that happens in our villages in the
name of the mid-day meal scheme. The
State’s encouragement of the journalist and the teaming up of media and the
government to search loop-holes and rectify them, would have been a better
solution to the issue. Such cases are rampant across India, and perhaps in many
other countries too, where the poor get hoodwinked by those with greed and the
rich.
The NDTV website in an
article has enlisted the various schemes that have been made by the Government
to deal with Malnutrition. These include
1.
Integrated Child Development Services
(ICDS) – Launched in 1975 to provide food, preschool education, primary
healthcare, immunization, health check-up and referral services to children
under 6 years of age and their mothers. (NDTV, 2020)
2.
National Health Mission (NHM) launched in
2013 to address the health needs of 18 states that had been identified as
having weak public health indicators, this was then extended to the whole
country. (NDTV, 2020)
3.
Mid-Day Meal Scheme implemented since
1995, in order to provide one nutritional mean by the school to better the
nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide
4.
Rajiv Gandhi Schemes for Empowerment of
Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) also known as SABLA, was launched in 2011 to improve
nutrition and health status of adolescent girls aged between 11–18 years. (NDTV,
2020)
5.
Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojna, launched
in 2010 to provide incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and
lactating mothers. The scheme also educated the women about the benefits of
breastfeeding for the optimal nutrition of their newborns. (NDTV, 2020)
6.
Poshan Abhiyan in 2018 by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, headed by Ministry of Child and Women Development, to reduce
stunting in children aged between 0 and 6 years from 38.4 per cent to 25 per
cent by 2022. The programme also attempted to reduce the level of
under-nutrition, anaemia and low birth weight in children, and special
attention to adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers, thus
holistically addressing malnutrition. It also clubbed all the
previous schemes under one scheme. There has been a huge fund allocation for
the same. (NDTV, 2020)
Rural Development: Hygiene and Sanitation in India
Some of the primary
problems in India that one sees while looking around is the lack of basic
hygiene. Spitting after consuming betel nut leaves, spitting on walls,
defecating and urinating in the open, dirty toilets, etc. More than one billion
people worldwide defecate in the open without using a toilet or latrine. Open
defecation is particularly widespread in India, and it has been suggested that
this fact can help explain why children in India are among the shortest in the
world (Spears, 2013).
According to joint UNICEF
and WHO (2012) estimates for 2010, 15% of the world population and 19% of
people in developing countries defecate in the open without using any toilet or
latrine. Of these 1.1 billion people, nearly 60% live in India, which means they
make up more than half of the population of India. People in India are much
more likely to defecate in the open than even people in much poorer sub-Saharan
African countries, on average, and open defecation in India has declined little
despite rapid economic growth (Coffey et al., 2014).
Water Supply and
Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC, 2016) says that there are various
barriers which aggravate the situation. For instance, the council highlights
how financial limitations, physical limitations and also gender inequalities
are a cause to lack of building toilets in many households in India. Another
cause pointed by them states that despite being aware of cleanliness and
hygienic practices withing their homes, many people do not adopt these practices.
The report highlights how many faecal
related diseases are often relegated to villages. But open defecation has
drastically reduced over the years and the report affirms it.
Moreover, the study
highlighted that people do not attribute lack of sanitation to be the primary
cause for major illness but think that it is due to a lack of proper nutrition,
hard physical labour or general weakness of the human system over the years
from early marriage, child birth, weakness from repeated attacks of malaria and
viral fevers, etc. Subsistence livelihoods and living conditions, generate a
lower hope for improvement. “Aspirations for a better quality and healthy life
do not include sanitation and toilet in their list of priorities,” the report
reads. Notions of purity and cleanliness (purity is not equated with
cleanliness, hence higher caste and purer people may display a poor hygiene
standard) are very different in some tribal areas. A belief that open
defecation is a safer sanitation management practice—not related to notions of
purity-, dominates the tribal communities and other lower castes.
The Government of India
(GOI) has been promoting sanitation coverage by introducing an award based
Incentive Scheme for fully sanitized and open defecation free Gram Panchayats,
Blocks, Districts and States called “Nirmal Gram Puraskar” (NGP) in October
2003 and gave away the first awards in 2005 as a component of its flagship
scheme Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC). Villages certified by
central government auditors to be open defecation free receive a trophy and a
cash prize, presented to the village chairman at a prestigious ceremony in the
state or national capital (World Bank, 2010b, Lamba and Spears, 2013). However,
only 45 of all villages have won prizes, but this is atleast a start.
The Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan
initiated in October 2014 was a motivational move under the leadership of prime
minister Narendra Modi to keep surroundings clean and to build and use toilets to
be open defecation free India by 2nd October 2019 was a good campaign. Actors and Actresses too were roped in to
promote this campaign to create a better impact.
Rural Development: Rural Road Infrastructure
in India
Roadways are a necessity
for development to occur as roads provide a means of connectivity to the world
outside leading to further business activities and also have access to
amenities like medication, education, jobs, etc,. “Rural roads comprise over 85
% of the road network and their being kept in serviceable condition is crucial to
the rural /
agricultural growth and
affording means of access to millions of rural people to social
facilities viz. medical, education as also to market. Lack of maintenance
affects the poor people badly as the time for access to markets
and other social
infrastructure is increased.” (niti.gov.in)
Madhusudan Ghosh in his
paper points out that “better road conditions lead to more efficient allocation
of resources by reducing transaction and
marginal costs of agricultural production”. He further explains the
trickle down effects of Road infrastructure benefits by saying that “Higher
agricultural production and productivity reduce rural poverty through
trickle-down effects. Rural households gain
better access to
health care, education
and credit facilities
through improved road
and transport facilities.
Better road connectivity
invariably improves rural–urban linkages, and strengthens backward and forward
linkages in the farm sector. This also opens up avenues for employment outside
the village, improving the living conditions of the poor.” (Ghosh. 2017)
There have been many
road-pans made over the period of years right from 1943 onwards. For instance,
the Nagpur Plan (1943-1961), the Lucknow Plan (1981-2001), etc meant to aid
rural road infrastructure. However, most of the road plans were badly executed
due to lack of proper planning, design and engineering. The roads got battered
in no time, worse still other elements like drainage were not considered,
resulting in poorly built roads.
The Government website of
India states that “some of the
major constraints and
bottlenecks in providing
rural connectivity faced were insufficient funds with States for rural
roads, inadequacy and unpredictability
of funds for
rural roads, inadequate
maintenance of rural
roads by many States due to
inadequate funds, inadequate maintenance of MDRs resulting in pressure on rural roads,
quality and specifications not
strictly adhered to,
layers of informal sub-contracting at
the cost of
quality, some roads
constructed without bridges etc.”
(niti.gov.in)
There have also been many
number of government initiatives like the
Rural Infrastructure Development
Fund (RIDF) which supports rural
infrastructure, Accelerated Irrigation
Benefits Programme (AIBP)
for accelerating the
implementation of major/medium
irrigation projects, Pradhan
Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched in December 2000 to
provide all-weather road
connectivity to eligible
unconnected habitations, and the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005.
Roads have indeed been
built over the period of years and the programme continues. The Central
Government has indeed spent large amounts from 2000 onwards towards better
connectivity and making of highways. In fact, the study by Madhusudan Ghosh
reveals a four-fold increase
in total expenditure
on rural infrastructure between
2000/01 and 2010/11,
but a subsequent
decline in 2011–12 from the
previous years. During the entire period (2000–12), rural roads received
the highest share,
followed by drinking
water and sanitation,
rural housing and irrigation. Currently, the present Central Government
has reached out to far-away Leh Ladakh in order to construct Roads. And this is
a remarkable gesture.
Greed of certain
officials has led to faulty contracts being taken, badly constructed roads and
mismanagement of funds. For instance, in cities like Mumbai, which is an urban
area, numerous accidents take place due to large potholes in the monsoon which
are a result of faulty road construction.
The Government has reached
out and has to reach out continuously to rural areas in order to provide aid to
those living in pockets which lack accessibility. India is vast and
construction of roads has become a vital requirement. Road building initiatives
must always be given priority. The country’s growth depends on each one of us.
Unless we overcome our greed, as politicians, government officials or ordinary
citizens, we become the cause for our own downfall. The government faltered at
many points to keep all of this in check, however, it has made efforts too.
Rural Development: Electricity and Water issues
Electricity and Water are
like basic amenities to develop any given place. However, ‘Roads, electricity
supplies, telecommunications, and other infrastructure services are limited in
all rural areas, although they are of key importance to stimulate agricultural
investment and growth’ (FAO, 1996, Chapter 10, p. 15). In India too, this is
still a fact in many rural areas. Some villages have electricity, but face huge
power cuts.
Under Rajiv
Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran
Yojana(RGGVY), which was launched to (i) electrify all the villages,
(ii) provide electricity to all rural households and (iii) provide electricity
connection to all the households below poverty line (BPL) free of charge, a
total amount `138,698.3 million was disbursed during 2010/11–2014/15. (Ghosh.
2017)
The current Central
Government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, promised
electricity to all villages within two years. As of May 25, 2017, 13,523
villages had been electrified, however, not all households received
electricity. Only 1,089 villages had electricity reaching all households, not
others according to data in the power ministry’s Grameen Vidyutikaran (GARV)
dashboard. Besides 45 million people of rural households across
the country still have no electricity. In Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland, Jharkhand
and Bihar, fewer than 50% of rural households have electricity (Hindustan
Times, 2017).
The task is daunting.
Hopefully the governments in unison with the state governments will reach out
to different households and work to provide electricity for all households in
the future.
Drinking water is another
main concern for many people across India. Especially, towards late summers.
Too many dams have caused major hazards to the environment. While, in some
places, pelting rains have deprived people. India needs to spend wisely in
water conservation in a sustainable manner across many places, especially those
that have less water.
Government Initiatives
for Rural Development
Employment through
MGNREGA
Farmers still reeling
with loans. Roads, Hospitals and Medical units are still a major requirement in
many villages. In many villages, the people have to travel for hours to reach a hospital. Another
problem is that since farming is risky and sometimes doesn’t bring in the
stipulated income, the farmers or villagers migrate to the cities in search of
odd jobs, to sustain themselves and their families. This leads to over crowding
in cities. It also helps us to realise that we live in a community, if one is
affected all get gradually affected.
The government initially launched
“several employment generation and poverty alleviation programmes of the
Central and State Governments to achieve the goal of rural connectivity such as
the Minimum Needs Program (MNP), National Rural Employment Program (NREP),
Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP), Jawahar Rozgar Yojana
(JRY) etc.; but these programmes failed to achieve their desired goals. A pragmatic
analysis of the past schemes reveals many deficiencies in the whole process
from planning to implementation and monitoring to evaluation”. (Samanta, 2015)
However, one programme
that was appreciable was the MGNREGA. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act 2005 by the Government of India. The world bank termed it
as the “stellar example of rural development”. The MGNREGA aims at enhancing
the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing 100 days of
wage employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members
volunteer to do unskilled manual work. This was indeed a good initiative by the
Government under the Prime Ministership of Manmohan Singh with Raghuvansh
Prasad Singh as Minister of Rural Development. Although this act was proposed
in 1991 by P V Narsimha Rao, it got gradually accepted after many years. The
Gram Panchayats (Village authoritative bodies) were involved in the
implementation and contractors were kept out. According the the ministry of
Rural Development, apart from providing security and creating rural assets,
NREGA can help in protecting the Environment, empowering rural women, reducing
rural urban migration and fostering social equity among others. (Ministry of
Rural Development 2005, pp1-2
MGNREGA also aimed at creating
durable assets like roads, canals, ponds, wells. Employment according to the
act was to be provided within 5 kms of a person’s residence and minimum wages
were to be paid. If work was not provided within 15 days of applying,
applicants were entitled to an unemployment allowance.
A large number of poor
people did benefit from this scheme in rural areas. However, there were also
many cases, where people got unpaid due to middle men siphoning off the funds.
These are loopholes that occur all across the world. Any good project runs into
troubled waters due to corruption and greed of certain few citizens of the
country.
Swacch Bharat Abhiyan
Swacch Bharat Abhiyan which
in English means Clean India Mission was also another scheme of the Government of
India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 that grew popular and created
a conscientisation about cleanliness.
The objectives included
eradication of manual scavenging, creating an awareness with regard to
sanitation and becoming free of the open defecation status. Under
this initiative, the rural areas were financed and monitored by the Ministry of
Drinking Water and Sanitation and subsidies were provided to build toilets.
This was a boon for many.
While, there were many
cases of fake publicity and photo-ops by celebrities, the idea itself was
noble. The cleanest village award or Swacchhata awards for 20 individuals and
agencies in seven categories for
furthering the Clean India objective was
also a welcome initiative. It is also a
boon and encourages villagers to participate in the activity of keeping their
surrounding clean. It further also led to the construction of toilet
facilities, cleaner surroundings and upgradation of many parts of India. This
scheme is notable.
However, as citizens, we are
still a long way, despite rules and repeated encouragement by the government. We
the people of the country often lag and take rules for granted, Spitting,
defecating in public, dumping garbage anywhere, wherever we find a place, is
often the case. The initiative also floundered in many places as the villagers
were not used to accessing Toilets, or there was lack of water, etc. However,
this venture was much needed and the efforts are commendable.
Village communication
Ø The
government permitting NGOs and Colleges to promote Community Radio that reaches
out to the villagers is another positive step in the field of Rural Development
in many parts of India. In some parts of India, NGOs have also teamed up to
help farmers to discover the benefits of Solar lights thus benefiting Rural
development.
Ø E-choupals
to aid farmers in a huge blessing for many farmers.
Ø Street
plays are often used to communicate social messages.
Ø While
infrastructure is a major concern and often political leaders in nexus with
contractors turn into greedy money launderers often swindling funds mean for
people’s welfare. Despite the unholy nexus, many villages have seen the
building of roads due to good leadership.
Ø Certain
films with social messages have also become very beneficial.
Ø Non-Governmental
Organisations too have carried out varied services of providing medication,
solar lamps, women’s welfare initiatives and making bank accounts.
Ø Graffiti,
posters, village groups are all means of communication.
Ø Today,
Social Media is also being used to communicate and get people together.
Ø Meetings,
and community entertainment during fairs, markets, religious place corridors, etc
are platforms that become hosts to variety of messages which get diffused.
The
topic of village communication can also be answered through my noted on the
topic Role of media in development communication. Please refer to the same, by
following the link.
https://michellemathiasfsp.blogspot.com/2020/10/notes-on-development-communication-unit_9.html
