RURAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN (RDP)

Rural development plan (sometimes called Village Development Plan (VDP)) is prepared after conducting baseline surveys and PRA exercise and comprehensive analysis of data collected in the process. Rural Planning and Management needs a multi-disciplinary approach focusing on spatial, social, economic and environmental issues related to human habitat in rural and regional contexts. Rural planning coverage will ranges from policy perspectives for planning and management of rural areas and preparation of action plans at the micro level. The Main aim of the programme is to integrate various issues to develop comprehensive strategies for rural planning and management. In order to provide the rural people with better prospects for economic development, the focus has to be on increased participation of people in the rural development programmes, decentralization of planning to villages, better enforcement of the land reforms and greater access to credit and employment opportunities.

A rural development plan usually contains following:

1. Profile of Target Rural Area
2. Profile of Target Rural Community/Beneficiaries
3. Need analysis/Rationale of the plan
4. Objectives of Rural development plan
5. Project Duration
6. Sector-wise development initiatives
7. Methodology for implementation
8. Work Plan (Time and Staff Scheduling)
9. Financial Requirements including community contribution
10. Outcomes/Results of plan
11. Convergence through Government Schemes
12. Withdrawal Strategy (Post Project Management)
13. Cost Benefit Analysis
14. Past experiences of Implementation Agency (Testimonials)

Details of above listed components are given below:

1. Profile of Target Rural Area: Geographical details including natural resources (Land, Forest, Water, Human, Livestock) availability and usage patterns, distances from major cities and markets, Infrastructure and facilities status (roads, schools, hospitals, railway, transportation, banks, cooperatives, post-office, telecommunication services, local market) and Agricultural profile (Cultivable land, wasteland, pastureland, irrigated land, Major crops with varieties of inputs, productivity and related economics)
2. Profile of Target Rural Community/Beneficiaries: Major Castes and religions, Population demographics and cultural profile, literacy and nutritional levels, Level of Poverty, Skills, Potential for Capacity Building, Training needs, present micro-enterprise status, occupation, unemployment, social dynamics, politics and major conflicts (overall behavioral analysis)
3. Need analysis/Rationale of the plan: Problems of the rural area and population and Possible solutions with different stakeholder analysis
4. Objectives of Rural development plan: Project Specific Objectives clearly outlining the plan
5. Project Duration: Time period of implementation and Post project management activities
6. Sector-wise development initiatives: Various development initiatives specific to different sectors like infrastructure, agriculture, water resources, forestry, biodiversity, health, nutrition, education, horticulture, livestock, micro-enterprises, community based organizations, women development, farmer producer organizations, value chain and governance etc. Long term sustainability through community participation, capacity building training plans, market linkages and credit assurance shall be ensured for each initiative.
7. Methodology for implementation: Detailed approach and methodology to achieve the objectives of the Rural Development Plan (RDP)
8. Work Plan (Time and Staff Scheduling): Detailed work plan in accordance with the methodology. Staffing requirements with justification, Time and Staff scheduling of various activities. Roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders.
9. Financial Requirements including community contribution: Total costs involved along with time frame of the Rural Development Plan (RDP) with justifications
10. Outcomes/Results of plan: Benefits of the Plan activities (Quantitative as well as Qualitative analysis of probable results)
11. Convergence through Government Schemes
12. Withdrawal Strategy (Post Project Management)
13. Cost Benefit Analysis
14. Past experiences of Implementation Agency (Testimonials)
15. Future Opportunities and Initiatives: Further planning required and initiatives to be included in next plan

Rural Development Approaches and Components

In order to understand rural development, we need to first comprehend the problems associated with rural areas. Most common problems of rural area are:

• Lack of infrastructure, facilities and institutional support
• Lack of literacy and hence lack of knowledge and skills required to develop livelihood options from existing resources
• Systemic discrimination on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or caste
• Economic policies that discriminate against or exclude the rural poor from the development process and accentuate the effects of other poverty-creating processes
• Large and rapidly growing families with high dependency ratios
• Unemployment
• Low agriculture productivity and market access
• Low income and poor economic status leading to rural poverty.

 

These problems need solutions both on grassroots level as well as policy level. The approach to rural development is to understand that if the local people are final beneficiaries of development assistance, the aim of rural development should be improvement of sustainable livelihoods (especially impoverished groups), with careful attention paid to local characteristics. For development to be sustainable, it must be inclusive, both in terms of the people who serve as active designers and participants and also the ultimate beneficiaries. It must put in place practices and infrastructures that are renewable and adaptable. A focus on good governance is key to enabling marginalized rural people to negotiate with the state and the private sector in order to set a new political and economic agenda. Decentralized policy-making is essential in that respect, as is the willingness to scale-up successful initiatives carried out at the local level. Thus community participation in a rural development programme is essential to ensure sustainability.

Study of rural area in terms of natural resources (land, forest, water, human and livestock), common problems and area specific problems is necessary to develop an effective development programme. A rural development programme may include:

• Baseline Survey and Participatory Rural Appraisal of rural community for identification of problems as well as their solutions
• Natural Resource Development and Management (land, forest, water, human and livestock)
• Agriculture Interventions
• Health Interventions
• Education Interventions
• Livelihood Enhancement Interventions through Income Generation Activities (IGAs)
• Sensitization and Awareness building campaign through IEC/IPC activities to ensure participation and development of sense of ownership
• Formation and mobilization of community based organizations (CBO) for consolidation of benefits of various interventions
• Capacity building of community through training programmes and exposure tours to ensure learning, adoption and long term sustainability
• Creation of market linkages for various Income Generation Activities (IGAs) carried out by CBOs and hence creation of value chain
• Access to credit through institutional support

Rural people are the main users of natural resources and the key persons for the conservation and sustainable use of the natural environment. A comprehensive approach encompassing assistance in agriculture, industry, education, health, and infrastructure sectors is necessary for the reconstruction of rural areas. Sustainable Rural development is in fact a multi-sectoral activity that generates synergy effects. This approach includes “Integrated Rural Development,” which effectively combines multiple sectors and techniques from health care service, agricultural expansion, education, improvement of infrastructure to technical transfer, choosing specific regions and treating the local governments as counterparts. This approach has advantages when coping with multidisciplinary issues such as poverty, or tackling regional problems and in obtaining participation of the people concerned.

Contd...