Rural infrastructure in India New thrust areas

Land Acquisition

PURA Development Agency (PDA) would be set up as a status of Development Authority with a mandate to perform municipal functions. PDA would adopt land pooling, partially pooling and partly acquisition, land acquisition, etc. to get land for the projects.

Plan Preparation

PDA would prepare Economic Plan, Structure Plan and Implementation Plan for the projects.

• Economic Plan: Identification of local resources and skills, key investors as anchors, ascertain industry ancilliarization / outsourcing, etc.

• Structure Plan: – Utility Infrastructure: Water Supply, Sewerage, Drainage, Low Cost Sanitation, Power, Transport, Solid Waste Management, etc. – Social Infrastructure: Health, Education, Community Halls, Parks, Play Grounds, etc. – Commercial Infrastructure: Shopping Centre, Markets, Theatres, Trade Centre, etc.

• Implementation Plan: PDA would prepare implementation plan to implement various provisions of PURA. The Chief Executive of PDA would be a professional on 5- year contract to supervise the works.

PURA would be a viable infrastructure project in rural areas since infrastructure is less expensive in rural areas and small towns than in large cities.

Rural development plans by the panchayat

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 has provision for the establishment of panchayat at village level. The Eleventh Schedule (Article 243-G) of the same has listed 29 items for consideration in development plans. Panchayats have power to prepare plans for economic and social development and implement schemes for such development in their respective are

Economic aspects in rural development plan

Various items as per Eleventh Schedule such as:

Item No. 1: Agricultural Productivity

Item No. 2: Land Improvement

Item No. 3: Minor Irrigation

Item No. 4: Animal Husbandry

Item No. 5: Fisheries

Item No. 7: Minor Forest Products, etc. are related to economic development of rural area and hence they should be incorporated in development plan.

Social aspects In rural development plan

These aim at welfare of the people,, provision of better education facilities, health services, recreational facilities, etc. and change in social attitudes of the people.

Item No. 10: Rural Housing

Item No. 11: Drinking Water

Item No. 14: Rural Electrification

Item No. 17: Education

Item No. 18: Technical and Vocational Education

Item No. 19: Adult and Nonformal Education

Item No. 24: Family Welfare

Item No. 25: Women and Child Development, etc. are mostly related to social development of the rural areas and should be a part of development plan.

Spatial aspects in rural development plan

The development of rural area basically depends on location of various economic and social activities, their integration and proper linkages within and outside the areas. Similarly, anticipated development activities, set up of organizational framework at different level, etc. also affect the size of existing settlements, emergence of new settlements and overall development of the area. Item No. 13 (Transport and Communication), Item No. 8 (Small Scale IndustriItem No. 9 (Village and Cotton Industry), etc. decides the location of various functional units. Hence, development plan of any rural area need to take care of all these aspects for proper and balanced development.

It is mandatory for State Government to constitute District Planning Committees (DPCs) to consolidate plans prepared by panchayats and municipalities. The preparation of development plans certainly requires engineering consultancy to create values. Engineering consultancy explore the potential of the districts, priority of various plans and schemes, fi nancial details, environmental sustainability, viability of the

projects, etc. for achieving integrated planning and development of rural and urban areas of the district.

Rural building centres and industrial extension services

The then Ministry of Urban Development and Employment, Government of India, initiated building center movement in 1988 has spread out with establishment of more than 650 building centers in the country. The scheme has been implemented through HUDCO with the following objectives:

• Technology transfer from lab to land by disseminating of information on Cost Effective and Environment Friendly (CEEF) construction in rural and urban areas

• Skill up gradation of work force.

• Creating a pool of trained rural / urban construction work force for construction industries and building activities.

Rural Building Centres (RBCs) may be established in rural areas having

the same goals and objectives. The engineering consultancy can play important role to create values in these areas. The active participation of Government and Non-Governmental Organizations through RBCs can prepare and implement infrastructure projects. Rural consultancy and synergy with various government departments and agencies at district level can integrate various development projects.

Industrial Extension service aims at providing complete technical, economic and managerial consultancy services in small scale and cottage industries. The industrial extension service is provided through Small Industries Service Institutions (SISIs) which are State level agencies. The same my be located in different parts of rural areas to assist and supervise the minor and major infrastructure projects and serve as common service facilities centers.

Concluding remarks

Development of Infrastructure in rural areas is a thrust area to create values through engineering consultancy. Engineering consultancy can provide technical, managerial and on-site consultancy from conceptualization to fi nal implementation of the projects. Various infrastructure projects under Bharat Nirman have become lifeline to new markets, new business, new incomes, and above all, to new opportunities. Even a narrow road can be a highway to prosperity. Similarly each infrastructure project has its own advantages particularly rural connectivity Yojana ensure that every village in India has access to markets, to services, to opportunities, indeed, to prosperity.

PURA would be considered as a model for infrastructure development in rural area for developing modern habitat having high quality water supply and sanitation, full range of connectivity, provision for future expansion, etc. PDA would encourage establishment of employment generating industries such as herbal, diary, poultry, meat processing and animal husbandry, food processing, etc. In connection with preparation of Draft District Development Plan, DPC shall have regard to matters of common interest between panchayats and municipalities including spatial planning, sharing of physical and natural resources, development of infrastrcutre and conservation of environment, etc. Similarly, DPC may also co-ordinate various schmes and programme at district level such as Minimum Needs Programme (MNP), Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), National Rural Employment Programme (NREP), Rural Landless Employment Generation Programme (RLEGP), Jawahar Rojgar Yojana (JRY), Drought Prone Area Development Programme, etc. to derive maximum benefits for rural development.The emphasis on establishment of rural building centers and small industries service institutions in various parts of rural area by the Government may help to cater engineering consultancy to create values for rural India.