Final Inclusive Growth

8/2/2019 Final Inclusive Growth

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Inclusive growth is the buzzword

Guest Column - Nikhil Advani

The budget presented by the finance minister today clearly reflects the governments intention to

foster a more inclusive growth oriented economic agenda, so that the masses also get a share of

the development pie. Hence, various schemes to provide economic security to the common man

have found pride of place in the budgetsuch as increased allocation for NREGA, the proposed

food subsidy bill etc. These measures may be termed populist but the fact of the matter is that

these steps are essential for long term sustainable growth of the economy.

The proposed food security law that envisages providing 25kg of rice and wheat each month at a

subsidised rate of three rupees a kilo to each poor family is an important element of the social

security net that the country is gradually putting into place, and deserves to be applauded.

The initial reactions of the markets have been negative, largely because a great deal of the

expectations that were built up over the past few weeks have not been realised. But that is not to

say that there is no good news for the corporate sector, or overall economic growth in the budget.

Infrastructure will get a boost through the 23 per cent increased allocation for highwaysandthis will provide a critical boost to increased economic activity across various sectors. Roads

connect the producer to the consumer, and having a strong network of roads gives a multiplier

effect to economic growth. More importantly, as the lifeline of commerce connecting rural

production centers to the urban centers of consumption, highways are essential for bridging the

India-Bharat divide. As our rural centers become increasingly more important markets for

industrial products, the increased allocation to the construction of highways will clearly have a

positive cascading effect on the entire economy.

The increased allocation for the construction of highways has been more than matched by a 59

per cent increase in the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). This scheme provides

funds the last mile connectivity to each and every village. So, with both the highways and ruralroad network expanding, ever-increasing parts of rural India are being integrated into the

national commerceboth as producers and consumers.

Another important initiative in the budget has been the proposed long-distance gas highway,

which will help meet the needs of the energy-deficient parts of the country.

Admittedly, this is not the first time that a national gas grid is being talked about. But this

initiative is important to link the gas starved areas with the newly discovered major gas fields.

This move will have the impact of reducing considerably Indias energy import bill, and is an

important feature of the budget.

The increased spending on the various infrastructure schemeshighways, rural roads, irrigation,

urban and rural housing schemeswill provide the necessary impetus to create additional jobs

and get the economic cycles moving faster than they currently are. If the rate of our economic

growth is to jump again from the 7 per cent to 9 per cent and higher, government spending will

have to play an important role. The budget clearly seems to have this goal in mind.

For those of us who live in Mumbai, the budget has good news in the form of the Rs 500 crore

provided for the development of the city, with an emphasis on flood alleviation measures.


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Overall, given the challenges that the country faces in these difficult times of global economic

slowdown, the budgets focus on providing protection to the most vulnerable sections of society

has to be appreciated. If that has meant that there is less available for the corporate sector, that is

understandable.

Once Corporate India reads the fine prints, it will be realised that there is enough stimulus

provided for in the budget. In my mind this is a reasonably balanced budget which will benefit

both the Aam Adami and the corporate India.

Welfare of Minorities, specially of the underprivileged section of them, has been put high on the

agenda of the UPA Government ever since it adopted inclusive growth as its guiding principle

of governance. Otherwise too, in every meaningful democracy, its the duty of the state, and as a

corollary, responsibility of the majority community to ensure the welfare of minorities so that all

sections of the society feel proud to be part of the democratic setup and thus contribute their best

to the development of the nation. Specially in our historical context: where all communities and

sections of people had marched shoulder to shoulder and laid down their lives in the War of

Independence, the concept of Inclusive Growth becomes sine qua non for the roadmap ofdevelopment and progress. It was in this context that the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh,

had appointed in March 2005 a High Level Committee under the Chairmanship of Justice

Rajindar Sachar to prepare a report on social, economic and educational status of the Muslim

Community of India. This study was necessary because till then there was no authentic

information on the social, economic and educational backwardness of this community, thereby

hampering proper formulation and implementation of specific policies, interventions and

programmes to address the issues relating to its socio-economic backwardness. This 7-member

High Level Committee, popularly known as Sachar Committee, gave its report in November

2006and it clearly found that the Muslim community was really seriously lagging behind in

terms of most of the human development indicators.The Government immediately sensed the gravity of the problem and started working on the

follow-up action in right earnest. Of the 76 recommendations of the Committee, 72 were

accepted. Ministry of Minority Affairs being the Nodal Ministry for examining these

recommendations. And in less than a year, i.e., on 31 August , 2007 a statement on the follow-up

action taken on the recommendations of the Sachar Committee was laid in both Houses of

Parliament. The progress of implementation is being reviewed regularly.

Ever since the Government has been taking regular steps towards implementation of major

recommendations of the Sachar Committee. Education being the most powerful means of socio-

economic transformation, a multi-pronged strategy to address the educational backwardness of

the Muslim community, as brought out by the Sachar Committee, has been adopted. The

madarsa modernization programme has been revised to make it more attractive by providing

better salary to teachers, increased assistance for books, teaching aids and computers, and

introduction of vocational subjects, etc. This scheme, now known as Quality Improvement in

Madrasa Education, has been launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.


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A new centrally sponsored scheme of financial assistance for Infrastructure Development of

Privately Managed Elementary/Secondary/Senior Secondary schools set up for minorities has

been launched. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has prepared

text books for all classes in the light of the National Curriculum Framework-2005.Thirteen

universities have been provided Rs.40 lakh each for starting centers for studying social exclusion

and inclusive policy for minorities and scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

Under the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya scheme (KGBV), criteria of educational backward

blocks has been revised with effect from 1st April 2008 to cover blocks with less than 30% rural

female literacy and in urban areas with less than national average of female literacy

53.67%(Census 2001). Universalization of access to quality education at secondary stage

(SUCCESS), has been approved. Setting up of new Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSSs) is being

incorporated in the revised schemes by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Provision

of more girls hostels in colleges and universities in minority concentration districts/blocks is

proposed under the existing University Grants Commission scheme of the Ministry of HRD.

Three scholarship schemes for minority communities viz., Pre-Matric , Post-Matric and Merit-cum-Means were launched and 6.89 lakh scholarships were awarded to students belonging to

minority communities in 2008-09. The corpus of Maulana Azad Education Foundation, which

stood at Rs. 100 crores, was doubled to Rs. 200 crores in December, 2006. The corpus was

increased by Rs. 50 crores in 2007-08 and by Rs. 60 crore in 2008-09. A budget provision of

Rs.115 crore has been made in 2009-10. A revised Coaching and Allied scheme was launched

and 5522 candidates belonging to minority communities were provided assistance in 2008-09.

The Multi-sectoral Development Programme was launched in identified minority concentration

districts in 2008-09. Plans of 47 Minority Concentration Districts (MCDs) in Haryana, Uttar

Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Manipur, Bihar, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Andaman & Nicobar

Islands and Orissa were approved and Rs.270.85 crores were released in 2008-09. In the currentFinancial Year, Plans of more than a dozen more MCDs have been approved till date. An inter-

ministerial Task Force constituted to devise an appropriate strategy and action plan for

developing 338 identified towns, having substantial minority population, rapidly in a holistic

manner submitted its report on 8th November, 2007. The concerned Ministries/Departments

have been advised to give priority towards implementation of their schemes in 338 towns.

Economic factor being an important tool in the upliftment of a community, all public sector

banks have been directed to open more branches in districts having a substantial minority

population. In 2007-08, 523 branches were opened in such districts. In 2008-09, 524 new

branches were opened. Reserve Bank of India revised its Master Circular on 5th July, 2007 on

priority sector lending for improving credit facilities to minority communities. Rs 82864 crore

were provided to minorities under priority sector lending during 2008-09. District Consultative

Committees (DCCs) of lead banks have been directed to regularly monitor disposal and rejection

of loan applications from minorities. The Government has accorded in principle approval for

restructuring of National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation.


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A National Data Bank, to compile data on the various socio-economic and basic amenities

parameters for socio-religious communities, has been set up in the Ministry of Statistics and

Programme Implementation. An autonomous Assessment & Monitoring Authority (AMA), to

analyse data collected for taking appropriate and corrective policy decisions, has been set up in

the Planning Commission. A training module has been developed by the Indian Institute of

Public Administration, for sensitization of government officials. The module has been sent to the

Central/State Training Institutes for implementation. Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of

Administration (LBSNAA) has prepared a module for sensitization of organized civil services

and it has been incorporated in their training programmes. Under Urban Infrastructure

Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT), additional central assistance

of Rs 1602.20 crore has been sanctioned for 69 towns having substantial minority population, out

of which Rs.659.37 crore was released in 2008-09.

A High Level Committee, set up to review the Delimitation Act, has considered the concerns

expressed in the Sachar Committee report and submitted its report. Guidelines on Communal

Harmony have been issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Dissemination of informationregarding health and family welfare schemes is being undertaken in regional languages in

minority concentration areas. State Governments and UTs have been advised by Department of

Personnel & Training for posting of Muslim police personnel in thanas and Muslim health

personnel and teachers in Muslim concentration areas. State Governments have been advised by

Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ministry of Urban Development, to improve representation of

minorities in local bodies. The recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on

Wakfs have been received. These have been processed as per approved modalities. An expert

group constituted to study and recommend the structure and functions of an Equal Opportunity

Commission submitted its report on 13th March, 2008. This has been processed, along with the

report of the expert group on diversity index, as per the approved modalities. To meet the evergrowing need for ameliorating the condition of minorities, and Muslim community in particular,

the Annual Plan allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affairs has been increased substantially

to Rs 1,740 crore for the year 2009-10.

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna

The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY)- was launched on 25 December 2000 as a

fully funded Centrally Sponsored Scheme. The primary objective of the PMGSY is to provide

connectivity to all the eligible unconnected habitations of more than 500 persons in the rural

areas (250 persons in the hilly and desert areas) by good quality all-weather roads.

Under Bharat Nirman, goal has been set to provide connectivity to all the habitations with

population of more than 1000 in the plain areas and habitations with a population of 500 or more

in hilly and tribal areas in a time-bound manner by 2009. The systematic upgradation of the

existing rural road networks is also an integral component of the scheme. Accordingly, an Action

Plan has been prepared for connecting 66,802 habitations with 1,46,185 km of all-weather roads.
http://india.gov.in/outerwin.php?id=http://www.pmgsy.org/http://india.gov.in/outerwin.php?id=http://www.pmgsy.org/


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This Action Plan also envisages upgradation/renewal of 1,94,130 km of the existing rural road

network. Subsequently, based on ground verification by States, 62,985 habitations were found

eligible to be connected under the programme, out of which 3421 habitations have been

connected under other schemes. Thus, the revised target is to connect 59,564 habitations. It is

estimated that an investment of about Rs.48,000 crore would be required for achieving the

targets under Bharat Nirman. The implementation strategy focuses on quality, cost management

and 'on time' delivery.

Up to July, 2008, project proposals amounting to Rs.81,717 crore have been approved against

which a sum ofRs.38,499 crore has been released for 86,146 roads covering a length of 3,31,736

km. Against these, 52,218 road works having road length of 1,75629 km have been completed

with a cumulative expenditure ofRs.35,295 crore.

National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) is a welfare programme

being administered by the Ministry of Rural Development. This programme is

being implemented in rural areas as well as urban areas. NSAP represents a

significant step towards the fulfilment of the Directive Principles of State

Policy enshrined in Article 41 of our Constitution which enjoin upon the State


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to provide public assistance to its citizens in case of unemployment, old age,

sickness and disablement and in other cases of undeserved want within its

economic means. The Govt. of India launched NSAP as a Centrally Sponsored

Scheme w.e.f 15th August 1995 towards fulfilment of these

principles.

2. At inception, NSAP consisted of the following three schemes:

i) National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS): Under the scheme, destitutes aged

65 years or above were entitled to a monthly pension of Rs.75/-.

ii) National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS): The benefit under the scheme to a

Below Poverty Line (BPL) household was lump sum amount of money on the death of

primary breadwinner aged between 18 and 64 years. The ceiling of the benefit was

Rs. 5,000/- for death due to natural causes, and Rs. 10,000/- for accidental

deaths.

iii) National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS):Under the scheme, lump sum cash

assistance of Rs. 300/- per pregnancy was provided as a maternity benefit towomen of BPL households up to 2 live births.

3. Over the years changes have taken place in the composition as well as guidelines of NSAP

in consonance with the demands of the changing times.

The important modifications are listed below.

a)1998 : The amount of benefit under NFBS was raised to Rs. 10,000/- in case of death due to

natural causes also. The cash assistance under NMBS was also increased to Rs. 500/- per

pregnancy.

b)2000 : A new scheme known as "Annapurna" was launched w.e.f. 01/04/2000. Under the

scheme, 10 kg of food grains per month are provided free of cost to those senior citizens who,

though eligible, have remained uncovered under NOAPS.c)2001 : NMBS was transferred from Ministry of Rural Development to the Department of

Family Welfare w.e.f 01/04/2001 and subsumed under Janasri Suraksha Yojana. Hence NMBS is

no longer a part of NSAP.

d)2002 : NSAP schemes were transferred to the State Plans from 2002-03. Ever since funds

under the schemes are being released as Additional Central Assistance (ACA)to States by

Ministry of Finance and to UTs by Ministry of Home Affairs.


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e)2006 : The amount of pension under NOAPS was raised to Rs. 200/- per month

per beneficiary, and State Governments were urged to contribute equally towards the pension

amount.

f)2007 : NOAPS was renamed as Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme

(IGNOAPS) and brought into effect from 19/11/2007. Eligibility criteria were

revised to include all citizens aged 65 years or above who belong to BPL

category.

g)2009 : Two schemes named Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme

(IGNWPS) and Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS) were

introduced in Feb 2009. While BPL widows aged 40-64 years are eligible for

pension under IGNWPS, BPL persons aged 18-64 years with severe and multiple

disabilities are eligible for pension under IGNDPS. In both the cases the

amount of central assistance for pensioner is Rs. 200/- per month.

4. Thus, NSAP now comprises of the following five schemes:-

i)Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS): Under the scheme,BPL persons aged 65 years or above are entitled to a monthly pension of Rs. 200/-.

ii)Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS): BPL widows aged

40-64 years are entitled to a monthly pension of Rs. 200/-.

iii)Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS): BPL persons

aged 18-64 years with severe and multiple disabilities are entitled to a

monthly pension of Rs. 200/-.

iv)National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS): Under the scheme a BPL household is

entitled to lump sum amount of money on the death of primary breadwinner aged

between 18 and 64 years. The amount of assistance is Rs. 10.000/-.

v)Annapurna: Under the scheme, 10 kg of food grainsper month are provided free of cost to those senior citizens who, though

eligible, have remained uncovered under NOAPS.

5. States/UTs implement the schemes under NSAP and deliver the intended benefit to target

groups. Ministry of Rural Development on its part monitors the effective implementation of the

programme and ensures allocation of adequate funds by Planning Commission, timely release of

ACA by Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Home Affairs. Besides, as a step towards e-

governance to bring in more transparency and accountability in implementation of the

programme, Ministry of Rural Development has rolled out the NSAP- MIS for use by all States/

UTs and has launched the NSAP website.

Central Rural Sanitation Programme

Rural Sanitation is a State subject. The efforts of the states are supplemented by the Central

Government through technical and financial assistance under the CSRP.

The Programme was launched in 1986 with the objectives of improving the quality of life of

rural people and providing privacy and dignity to women. The concept of sanitation was


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expanded in 1993 to include personal hygiene, home sanitation, sage water and disposal of

garbage, human excreta and wastewater. The components of the programme included

construction of individual sanitary toilets for household below poverty-line (BPL), conversion of

dry latrines to water-pour flush toilets, construction of village sanitary complexes for women,

setting up of sanitary marts and production centres, intensive campaign for creating awareness

and health education, etc.

Keeping in view the experiences of the Central and state governments, NGOs and other

implementing agencies and the recommendations of the Second National Seminar on Rural

Sanitation, the strategy for the Ninth Five Year Plan was revised and the programme was

restructured form 1 April 1999. The restructured programme moves away form the principle of

state-wise allocation of funds, primarily based on poverty criteria, to a demand driven approach

in a phased manner. Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) was introduced and the Allocation Based

Programme was phased out by 31 March 2002. TSC is community-led and people-centred. There

was a shift from a high subsidy to a low subsidy regime. The TSC approach emphasized

awareness-building component and meets the demand through alternate delivery mechanism.School Sanitation has been introduced as a major component to encourage wider acceptance of

sanitation among rural masses. The States/UTs are required to formulate project proposals under

the TSC in order to claim Central government assistance.

Under the TSC, so far 559 projects in 30 States/UTs have been sanctioned with the total project

outlay of about Rs.6240.27 crore. The Central, State and Beneficiary/Panchayat contributions are

about Rs.3675.38 crore, Rs.1424.09 crore and Rs.1140.80 crore respectively. The components

sanctioned in the 559 projects are

a. Construction of 499 lakh individual household latrines

b. 656690 toilets for Schools

c. 36098 Community Sanitary Complexesd. 199033 toilets for Balwadis/Anganwadis and

e. 4030 Rural Sanitary Marts/Production Centres.

Besides, funds have been earmarked for start-up activities, Information, Education and

Communication (IEC) and Administrative charges. The total numbers of household toilets

constructed up to 2005-06 are 14,48,1807.

To add vigour to the implementation of TSC Government of India has separately launched an

award scheme 'Nirmal Gram Puraskar'(NGP) for fully sanitised and open defecation free Gram

Panchayats, block and districts. In the first year of its institution only 40 PRIs were awarded

NGP on 24 February 2005. In the second year the number of awarded PRIs/Blocks and

organisation have increased to 772. His Excellency, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, President of India,

distributed the Awards on 23 March 2006.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The Ministry of Rural Development lays great emphasis on monitoring and evaluation of all

rural development programmes in general and poverty alleviation and employment generation

schemes in particular, being implemented in various States/UTs.It is well recognised that the


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success of the programmes largely depends on the effective delivery system and efficient

implementation at the grass-roots level so that the programme benefits reach the rural poor in full

measures. In order to ensure this, the Ministry has evolved a comprehensive multi-level and

multi tool system of Monitoring and Evaluation for the implementation of its programmes. The

Monitoring mechanism includes, inter-alia, the Performance Review Committee, Review

meetings by the Minister of Rural Development and Ministers of State with the Chief Ministers/

Ministers of Rural development and Officers of the States, the Area Officer Scheme, periodic

progress reports, audit and utilisation certificates, video conferencing and field visits. The

Ministry conducts quick evaluation/concurrent evaluation of all major programmes. Impact

assessment studies to asses the overall impact of programmes of village-level is also conducted

in selected district. The Vigilance and Monitoring Committees at State and District Levels in all

States/UTs monitor the implementation of Programmes and introduce greater transparency in the

process. These Committees inter-alia include MPs/ MLAs representatives of Panchayti Raj

Institutions and NGOs. The Members of Parliament both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been

assigned a Central role in the reconstituted V&M Committees and they have been nominatedChairman/Co-Chairman of the district level V&M Committees.

The Ministry has also taken initiatives to strengthen the monitoring mechanism and quality of

implementation of programmes by introducing District Level Monitoring (DLM) System in 130

district of 27 States through external agencies which include monthly reporting of physical and

financial performance, qualitative reporting about policy and implementation environments in

the district and physical verification of the assets crated under various programmes of the

Ministry. Similarly DLM of Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) and Swajaldhara is implemented

in 398 districts of the country w.e.f. 1 July 2005 This system aims at providing continuous,

transparent and accountable monitoring inputs in reporting format with the objectives of

reporting of the process and progress of the programmes covering different components of theprogrammes. It also aims at identification of gaps in the implementation at the village, block,

district and state level. The monitoring system also elicits the stakeholders' views; assesses the

institutional issues and document case studies and success stories on best practices, innovations

and lesson learned.

In order to strengthen the monitoring mechanism, the Ministry has a panel of about 300 National

Level Monitors comprising retired servicemen and Retired Civil Servants to monitor and furnish

periodic reports to the Ministry on the implementation of programmes in selected districts

including verifying facts of the cases and complaints if any, which may be referred to them.

The Union Government in recent years has given emphasis to e-governance in all possible areas.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Rural Development has also initiated action with the state

Governments and UTs to ensure that information and progress reports completed by Districts

Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) are sent through the electronic medium. About 400

(DRDAs) have started sending their reports through online. Efforts are being made in this

direction to obtain online progress reports from all the remaining DRDAs.


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National Food for Work Programme (NFFWP) is a scheme under the Ministry of Rural

Development, Central Government of India. The scheme is formulated to provide the 150 most

backward districts of the country with supplementary resources other than the resources provided

under the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana.

The target group of the NFFWP scheme is the rural poor, requiring financial assistance by the

means of wage employment. The scheme would provide wage employment to any individual

willing to do manual unskilled labor. In general, the NFFWP scheme is self-targeting in nature.

National Food for Work Programme-Objectives

To provide supplementary resources along with other aids to the rural poor of the backward

districts

To provide supplementary wage employment to the poor rural populace of the backward districts

To provide security pertaining to food to the rural poor of the backward districts

To facilitate the creation of common economic and social assets for the rural areas

NFFWP-Target areasThe 150 backward districts where the project would be executed are acknowledged by the

Planning Commission with the approval of the Ministry of Rural Development in India as the

target areas under the scheme.

Funding Structure-NFFWP

The project would be executed as a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme

Under the scheme food grains would be supplied to the State Government at free of cost

The costs pertaining to the tax, duties, handling charges, transportation, would be incurred by the

State Government

National Food for Work Programmed-Strategies The Collector at the district level would be endowed with the power to plan, execute, organize,

supervise and monitor the project

The District Rural Development Agency and the District Panchayat would aid the Collector in

the project

The project would also focus on the areas of drought control, development of land, and water

conservation by the mean of tree plantation and afforestation

The project includes the provision of rural connectivity by setting up weatherproof roads

The program would also formulate a five-year Perspective Plan pertaining to the districts, blocks,

and gram panchayats.

The scheme would automatically include the resources pertaining to the any other Central or

State sponsored scheme mentioned in the Perspective Plan

NFFWP-Distribution of food grains

The food grains are provided as a part of the daily wages

The distribution of the food grains is based on safe guarding the real wages and provides the

rural poor with better, nutritional food


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Food grains would be provided as part of wages at the rate of 5 Kg. per working day

Food grains exceeding 5 kg can be provided to special cases, and in such cases 25% of the wages

are paid in cash

The State Government would incur the cost of the food grains at a flat BPL rate

The remaining part of the wages would be paid in cash in accordance to the minimum wages

mentioned in the scheme

The food grains provided would be less than 5 kg per working day, when the availability of food

grains is inadequate

In such a situation the deficit amount of food grains would be paid in case

National Food for Work Programmed- Distribution of Wages

The wages in this scheme are paid in portions, in cash and kind, i.e. food grains

The wages paid to the skilled and unskilled labor should be in accordance to the minimum wages

predetermined by the State Government

The wages paid should be equal for both men and women laborers

The payment of wages are should be made on a predetermined day of the week The day of the payment of wages should be the day before the local market day

INDIRA AWAAS YOJANA

With a view to meeting the housing needs of the rural poor, Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) was

launched in May 1985 as a sub-scheme of Jawahar Rozgar Yojana. It is being implemented as an

independent scheme since 1 January 1996. The Indira Awaas Yojana aims at helping rural

people below the poverty-line belonging to SCs/STs, freed bonded labourers and non-SC/ST

categories in construction of dwelling units and up gradation of existing unserviceable kutcha

houses by providing grant-in-aid. From 1995-96, the IAY benefits have been extended to

widows or next-of-kin of defence personnel killed in action. Benefits have also been extended toex-servicemen and retired members of the paramilitary forces as long as they fulfill the normal

eligibility conditions of Indira Awaas Yojana.

Under the scheme allotment of the house is done in the name of the female member of

the households or in the joint names of husband and wife. A minimum of 60 % of funds are to be

utilized for construction of houses for the SC/ST people. Further, 60% of the IAY allocation is

meant for benefiting SC/ST families, 3% for physically handicapped and 15% for minorities. 5%

of the central allocation can be utilized for meeting exigencies arising out of natural calamities

and other emergent situations like riot, arson, fire, rehabilitation etc.

Assistance for construction of new house is provided at the rate of Rs. 45000/-and Rs.

48,500/- per unit in the plain and hilly/ difficult areas respectively. It has been decided that the

focused 35 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts will be treated as difficult areas and

the higher rate of unit assistance of Rs.48,500 for construction of IAY houses in these 35 districts

will be provided. IAY houses have also been included under the differential rate of interest (DRI)


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scheme for lending by Nationalized Banks upto Rs.20,000/- per unit at an interest rate of 4% in

addition to financial assistance provided under IAY.

Selection of beneficiaries under IAY is done from the permanent IAY waitlist prepared

out of the BPL Lists and approved by the Gram Sabha. Selection of construction technology,

materials and design is left entirely to the choice of beneficiaries. Sanitary latrine and smokeless

chulha are integral to an IAY house. For construction of sanitary latrine, the beneficiary can avail

of the existing assistance from the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) Funds, in addition to the

financial assistance provided under Indira Awaas Yojana.

Introduction

To involve village communities in the implementation of watershed projects under all the area

development programmes namely, Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP),

Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP) and Desert Development Programme (DDP), the

Guidelines for Watershed Development were adopted w.e.f.1.4.1995, and subsequently revised

in August 2001. To further simplify procedures and involve the Panchayat Raj Institutions

(PRIs) more meaningfully in planning, implementation and management of economicdevelopment activities in rural areas, these new Guidelines called Guidelines for Hariyali are

being issued.

Applicability

New projects under the area development programmes shall be implemented in accordance with

the Guidelines for Hariyali with effect from 1.4.2003. Projects under DPAP and DDP will be

taken up in the blocks identified under the respective programme and projects under IWDP shall

generally be taken up in the remaining blocks. Projects sanctioned prior to this date shall

continue to be implemented as per the Guidelines of 2001.

Objectives

The objectives of projects under HARIYALI will be: -i. Harvesting every drop of rainwater for purposes of irrigation, plantations including

horticulture and floriculture, pasture development, fisheries etc. to create sustainable sources of

income for the village community as well as for drinking water supplies.

ii. Ensuring overall development of rural areas through the Gram Panchayats and creating

regular sources of income for the Panchayats from rainwater harvesting and management.

iii. Employment generation, poverty alleviation, community empowerment and development

of human and other economic resources of the rural areas.

iv. Mitigating the adverse effects of extreme climatic conditions such as drought and

desertification on crops, human and livestock population for the overall improvement of rural

areas.

v. Restoring ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and developing natural resources

i.e. land, water, vegetative cover especially plantations.

vi. Encouraging village community towards sustained community action for the operation

and maintenance of assets created and further development of the potential of the natural

resources in the watershed.


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vii. Promoting use of simple, easy and affordable technological solutions and institutional

arrangements that make use of, and build upon, local technical knowledge and available

materials.

Sanction of Projects

The projects will be sanctioned by the Department of Land Resources in the Ministry of Rural

Development, Government of India as per procedure in vogue. The Department may amend or

relax this procedure from time to time. For interpretation of any of the provisions of these

Guidelines, the Department of Land Resources will be the final authority. The Department may

sanction special projects for treatment of wastelands in Special Problem Areas such as high

altitude regions, land slide areas, slopes having more than 30 degree gradient or for any other

specified technical reason. These projects need not necessarily be implemented through

participatory mode and may be implemented on intensive treatment specific, departmental

approach.

Criteria for Selection of Watersheds

The following criteria may broadly be used in selection of the watersheds:i. Watersheds where Peoples participation is assured through contribution of labour, cash,

material etc. for its development as well as for the operation and maintenance of the assets

created.

ii. Watershed areas having acute shortage of drinking water.

iii. Watersheds having large population of scheduled castes/scheduled tribes dependent on it.

iv. Watershed having a preponderance of non-forest wastelands/degraded lands.

v. Watersheds having preponderance of common lands.

vi. Watersheds where actual wages are significantly lower than the minimum wages.

vii. Watershed which is contiguous to another watershed that has already been developed/

treated.viii. Watershed area may be of an average size of 500 hectares, preferably covering an entire

village. However, if on actual survey, a watershed is found to have less or more area, the total

area may be taken up for development as a project.

In case a watershed covers two or more villages, it should be divided into village-wise sub-

watersheds confined to the designated villages. Care should be taken to treat all the sub-

watersheds simultaneously.

Development of Forest Lands in Watershed Areas

Some watersheds may encompass, in addition to arable land under private ownership, forest

lands under the ownership of State Forest Department. Since nature does not recognize artificial

boundaries of forest and non-forest lands in any watershed, the entire watershed is to be treated

in an integrated manner. Though the criterion for selection of watersheds primarily

remains predominance of non-forest lands, forest lands forming part of such watersheds may

also be treated simultaneously as detailed below:

i. The Divisional Forest Officer concerned should give technical sanction for the treatment

plans.


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ii. The treatment plans should as far as possible be implemented by Village Forest

Committees in close coordination with the Village Panchayat.

iii. The Micro-watershed Development Plan for the forest areas should be in conformity with

the Forest Conservation Act and the approved working plan of the area.

iv. Where a large portion of the watershed is covered by forestlands, Forest Department at

the district level should be encouraged to take up the work of development as Project

Implementation Agency.

v. A forest official should invariably be included as a member of the Watershed

Development Team wherever forestland falls within the watershed.

Project Commencement

The date of sanction of the project shall be date of project commencement for all purposes. The

project shall be implemented over a period of five years from the date of its sanction.

The projects under these Guidelines will be implemented, mainly, through the Zilla Parishads

(ZPs)/District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs). However, wherever it is expedient in the

interest of the Programmes, the projects can be implemented through any Department of theState Government or an autonomous agency of the Central Government/State Government with

the approval of the Department of Land Resources, Government of India.

Project Implementation Agencies

At the district level, ZP/DRDA shall be the nodal authority for implementation of all the area

development programmes under the supervision and guidance of the State Government and the

Government of India. It shall approve the selection of watersheds, the appointment of Project

Implementation Agencies, approve the action plan/treatment plan of the projects etc. The CEO

(ZP)/PD(DRDA) shall maintain the accounts of watershed projects and shall sign all statutory

papers such as Utilization Certificates (UCs), Audited Statements of Accounts, Progress Reports,

Bonds etc.The ZP/DRDA will be entitled to recover funds from any institution/ organization/ individual

and take appropriate action under law if the project is not properly implemented or funds are

misutilised or not spent as per these Guidelines.

At the field level, the Gram Panchayats shall implement the projects under the overall

supervision and guidance of Project Implementation Agencies (PIAs). An intermediate

Panchayat may be the PIA for all the projects sanctioned to a particular Block/Taluka. In case,

these Panchayats are not adequately empowered, then the ZP can either act as PIA itself or may

appoint a suitable Line Department like Agriculture, Forestry/Social Forestry, Soil Conservation

etc. or an Agency of the State Government/ University/ Institute as PIA. Failing these options,

the ZP/DRDA may consider appointing a reputed Non-Government Organization (NGO) in the

district with adequate experience and expertise in the implementation of watershed projects or

related area development works as the PIA after thoroughly checking its credentials.

Nonetheless, the State Governments should endeavor to empower the PRIs and build their

capacities so that they may ultimately be in a position to take up the responsibility of

independently implementing the watershed development projects as PIAs. An NGO-PIA shall


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normally be assigned 10-12 watershed projects covering an area ranging from 5,000-6,000

hectares. However, in exceptional and deserving cases, an NGO-PIA may be assigned a

maximum of 12,000 hectares at a time including ongoing projects in all the Programmes of

similar nature in a district and a maximum of 25,000 hectares in the State.

An NGO is eligible for selection as PIA only if it has been active in the field of watershed

development or any similar area developmental activities in rural areas for some years. The

quantum of funds handled by an agency in the last 3 years may be taken into account for their

selection as PIA by the ZP/DRDA. The NGOs blacklisted by CAPART or other Departments of

State Government and Government of India should not be appointed as PIA.

The Project Implementation Agency (PIA) will provide necessary technical guidance to the

Gram Panchayat for preparation of development plans for the watershed through Participatory

Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercise, undertake community organization and training for the village

communities, supervise watershed development activities, inspect and authenticate project

accounts, encourage adoption of low cost technologies and build upon indigenous technical

knowledge, monitor and review the overall project implementation and set up institutionalarrangements for post-project operation and maintenance and further development of the assets

created during the project period.

The ZP/DRDA shall, normally, be the authority competent to decide on the suitability or

otherwise of the Project Implementation Agency (PIA) for taking up projects under the

watershed development programmes. However, the State Government may consider changing

the PIA in any of the projects on specific grounds with prior concurrence of the Department of

Land Resources, Govt. of India.

Each PIA shall carry out its duties through a multi-disciplinary team designated as the Watershed

Development Team (WDT). Each WDT should have at least four members one each from the

disciplines of forestry/plant sciences, animal sciences, civil/agricultural engineering and socialsciences. At least one member of the WDT should be a woman. Preferable qualification for a

WDT member should be a professional degree. However, the qualification can be relaxed by the

ZP/DRDA in deserving cases keeping in view the practical field experience of the candidate in

the relevant discipline. One of the WDT members shall be designated as the Project

Leader. The PIA will be at liberty to either earmark its own staff exclusively for this work, or

engage fresh candidates including retired personnel, or take people on deputation from

government or other organizations. The WDT shall be located at the

PIA/Block headquarters/any other town nearest to the cluster of selected villages. Honorarium

to the WDT members shall be paid out of the administrative costs as indicated in Annexure-I.

In order to avoid the tendency for over-emphasis on certain activities related to the speciality of

the PIA selected, particularly in the case of Line Departments like Agriculture, Soil

Conservation, Forestry etc., the ZP/DRDA should ensure that subject matter specialists from

various Line Departments at the district and block levels are involved in the preparation of the

plans.


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Gram Panchayats will execute the works under the guidance and control of the Gram Sabha. In

States where there are Ward Sabhas (Palli Sabhas etc.) and the area to be treated is within that

Ward, the Ward Sabha may perform the duties of the Gram Sabha.

In 6th Schedule areas, where traditional Village Councils are functioning instead of Gram

Panchayats, these Councils may be assigned the responsibilities of the Gram Panchayats/Gram

Sabhas. In cases, where there is neither a Gram Panchayat nor the traditional Village Council, the

existing provisions of Guidelines (2001) would apply.

The Gram Panchayat shall carry out the day-to-day activities of the project and will be

responsible for coordination and liaison with the Watershed Development Team and the

ZP/DRDA to ensure smooth implementation of the project. It shall be responsible for

undertaking watershed development works and to make payments for the same.

The Gram Panchayat shall maintain a separate account for the watershed project and all receipts

from ZP/DRDA will be credited to this account. This account shall be operated jointly by the

Gram Panchayat Secretary and Gram Panchayat Chairman. The Gram Panchayat Secretary will

be responsible for convening meetings of the Gram Panchayat and Gram Sabha and for carryingout all their decisions.He will maintain all the records and accounts of project activities. If

required, the Gram Panchayat may appoint two or three volunteers to provide assistance to the

Gram Panchayat Secretary in the implementation of activities as per the action plan/treatment

plan of the watershed project. The volunteers will be paid honorarium as per Annexure-I

Gram Sabha Meetings

The Gram Sabha will meet, at least twice a year to approve/improve the watershed development

plan, monitor and review its progress, approve the statement of accounts, form User Groups/Self-

Help Groups, resolve differences/disputes between different User Groups, Self-Help Groups or

amongst members of these groups, approve arrangements for the collection of public/voluntary

donations and contributions from the community and individual members, lay down proceduresfor the operation and maintenance of assets created and approve the activities that can be taken

up with money available in the Watershed Development Fund.

Self-Help Groups

The Gram Panchayat shall constitute Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the watershed area with the

help of WDT from amongst landless/assetless poor, agricultural labourers, women, shepherds,

scheduled caste/scheduled tribe persons and the like. These Groups shall be homogenous groups

having common identity and interest who are dependent on the watershed area for their

livelihood. Separate Self-Help Groups should be organised for women, scheduled castes,

scheduled tribes etc.

User Groups

The Gram Panchayat shall also constitute User Groups (UGs) in the watershed area with the help

of WDT. These Groups shall be homogenous groups of persons most affected by each

work/activity and shall include those having land holdings within the watershed areas. Each UG

shall consist of landholders who are likely to derive direct benefits from a particular watershed


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work or activity. The UGs shall be responsible for the operation and maintenance of all the assets

created under the project through which they derive direct or indirect individual benefits.

Van Rakshaks

To take care of plantations on public/ community/ Panchayat lands, the Gram Panchayats may

engage local unemployed youth from BPL families as Van Rakshaks on honorarium, which

will be paid out of the administrative costs prescribed in Annexure-I. The Van Rakshaks and

volunteers shall not be treated as employees of the Gram Panchayat/ PIA/ ZP/ State Government/

Government of India. The honorarium of Van Rakshaks may be increased or decreased by the

Gram Panchayat keeping in view the survival rate of plantations. The Gram Panchayat shall also

ensure usufructs for these Van Rakshaks

Community Mobilization and Training

Community Mobilization and Training are pre-requisites for initiating development work in

watershed projects. Prior sensitization and orientation training on Watershed Project

Management should be imparted to all concerned functionaries and elected representatives at the

district, block and village levels before they assume their responsibilities. In case ZP/ DRDA/Line department is the PIA, it may involve NGOs for community mobilization and training. For

this, approval of ZP/DRDA should be taken.

Activities for Watershed Development

A meeting of the Gram Sabha/ Ward Sabha shall be convened for preparation of the Action Plan/

Watershed Treatment Plan, on the basis of the information generated from the benchmark survey

of the watershed areas and detailed PRA exercises. After general discussion, the Gram Panchayat

will prepare a detailed Action Plan/ Treatment Plan for integrated development of the watershed

area under the guidance of the WDT and submit the same to the PIA. The WDT should utilize

various thematic maps relating to land and water resources development in the preparation and

finalization of the Action Plan/ Watershed Treatment Plan. This Action Plan shall necessarilymention the clear demarcation of the watershed with specific details of survey numbers,

ownership details and a map depicting the location of proposed work/activities. The PIA, after

careful scrutiny, shall submit the Action Plan for Watershed Development for approval of the

ZP/DRDA. The approved plan shall be the basis for release of funds, monitoring, review,

evaluation etc. by the ZP/DRDA, State Government and Central Government. The Action

Plan/Watershed Treatment Plan should be prepared for all the arable and non-arable land

including degraded forestlands, government and community lands and private lands. The items,

inter-alia, that can be included in the Action Plan/Watershed Treatment Plan are:

i. Development of small water harvesting structures such as low-cost farm ponds, nalla bunds,

check-dams, percolation tanks and other ground water recharge measures.

ii. Renovation and augmentation of water sources, desiltation of village tanks for drinking

water/irrigation/fisheries development.

iii. Fisheries development in village ponds/tanks, farm ponds etc.

iv. Afforestation including block plantations, agro-forestry and horticultural development,

shelterbelt plantations, sand dune stabilization, etc.


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v. Pasture development either by itself or in conjunction with plantations.

vi. Land Development including in-situ soil and moisture conservation measures like contour and

graded bunds fortified by plantation, bench terracing in hilly terrain, nursery raising for fodder,

timber, fuel wood, horticulture and non-timber forest product species.

vii. Drainage line treatment with a combination of vegetative and engineering structures.

viii. Repair, restoration and up-gradation of existing common property assets and structures in the

watershed to obtain optimum & sustained benefits from previous public investments.

ix. Crop demonstrations for popularizing new crops/varieties or innovative management practices.

x. Promotion and propagation of non-conventional energy saving devices, energy conservation

measures, bio fuel plantations etc.

The WDT, while drawing up the Action Plan/ Watershed Treatment Plan should ensure that

project works involve only low-cost, locally available technologies and materials, are simple,

easy to operate and maintain. Emphasis should be on vegetative measures. Costly masonry/

cement works, use of machinery should be discouraged.

While preparing the watershed treatment plan, the Gram Panchayats should give emphasis to rainwater-harvesting activities and undertake massive plantation works on community as well as

private lands. Where private lands are involved, these should belong, predominantly, to SC/ST

and small/marginal farmers. Focus should be on employment and income generation activities

that benefit the rural poor in the watershed project area. Impounded rainwater could also be used

for income generating activities like fisheries.

While preparing the detailed action plan, technical requirements and feasibility of appropriate

biophysical measures are to be carefully worked out by the WDT for long-term sustainable

interventions for the entire area of the watershed. The Action Plan should specify, among others,

the following:

i. Physical targets to be achieved (year wise) under the project and the road map for achievingthese targets;

ii. Definite time frame for each major activity;

iii. Technological interventions for the proposed activities;

iv. Specific success criteria for each activity; and a

v. Clear Exit Protocol.

After the detailed action plan is approved by the ZP/DRDA, it would be the responsibility of the

PIA to get the same implemented through the Gram Panchayat with active support and

supervision of the WDT members.

PURA

Background:

1.1 Lack of livelihood opportunities, modern amenities and services for decent living

in rural areas lead to migration of people to urban areas. There are wide gaps in the

availability of physical and social infrastructure between rural and urban areas. To

address these issues, the President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam highlighted a vision


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of transformation of rural India through launching a mega mission for Provision of Urban

Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA). During his address to the nation on eve of Republic

Day 2003, Dr. Kalam visualized providing four connectivities: physical connectivity,

electronic connectivity, knowledge connectivity leading to economic connectivity of rural

areas. PURA was envisaged as a self-sustainable and viable model of service delivery to

be managed through an implementation framework between local people, public

authorities and the private sector. The Government support would be in the form of

finding the right type of management structure to develop and maintain rural

infrastructure, empowering such management structure and providing initial economic

support. Subsequently, Prime Minister of India also announced implementation of PURA

scheme in his Independence Day speech on 15th August 2003.

1.2 Seven pilot projects were implemented during the 10th Five Year Plan in Basmath

(Maharashtra), Bharthana (Uttar Pradesh), Gohpur (Assam), Kujanga (Orissa), Motipur

(Bihar), Rayadurg (Andhra Pradesh) and Shahpura (Rajasthan). An evaluation study of

these pilot projects by National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) identified thenecessity of community and private sector participation, need for factoring infrastructure

development with lead economic activities and livelihoods creation, requirement of

project site selection on the basis of growth potential and need for convergence with other

schemes of rural development or other Departments. Based on the findings of the

evaluation study by NIRD, comments of various Ministries / Departments, feedback

received during consultations with private sector representatives and officials of State

Governments, and the recommendations of the consulting team of Asian Development

Bank (ADB), the scheme of PURA has been restructured for implementation on pilot

basis during 11th Five Year Plan as a Central Sector scheme.

2. Mission and Objectives of the PURA Scheme:2.1 Mission: Holistic and accelerated development of compact areas around a

potential growth centre in a Gram Panchayat (or a group of Gram Panchayats) through

Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework for providing livelihood opportunities and

urban amenities to improve the quality of life in rural areas.

2.2 Objectives: The primary objectives of the scheme are the provision of livelihood

opportunities and urban amenities in rural areas to bridge the ruralurban divide.

3. Strategy:

3.1 Public Private Partnership (PPP)the Distinguishing Feature: The objectives

of PURA are proposed to be achieved under the framework of PPP between Gram

Panchayats and private sector partner. Core funding shall be sourced from the Central

Sector scheme of PURA and complemented by additional support through convergence

of different Central Government schemes. The private sector shall also bring on board its

share of investment besides operational expertise. The scheme would be implemented and

managed by the private sector on considerations of economic viability but designed in a

manner whereby it is fully aligned with the overall objective of rural development. To


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attract the private sector, there is a need to design the scheme that would be project

based with well defined risks, identified measures for risk mitigation and risks sharing

among the sponsoring authority (Gram Panchayat), Government of India, State

Government and the Private Partner.

3.2 Pilot-testing and Upscaling: Through the implementation of proposed pilot

projects, the unique features of this scheme would be tested on the ground that will

provide lessons for upscaling in the future. Besides, the entire process shall help

strengthen the institutional ability of a Gram Panchayat to undertake PPP and help pilottest

the viability of PPPs in rural infrastructure development. Based on the experience of

the pilots, the scheme would be suitably modified for scaling up in future.

Part IIPlanning and Implementation

4. Planning: The Private Partner selected to undertake PURA projects shall identify

a Gram Panchayat / a cluster of geographically contiguous Gram Panchayats for a

population of about 25,00040,000. Whereas, the cluster would be the project area, there

may be sub-projects to cover each of the Panchayats within the cluster. Alternatively, alarge single Panchayat could individually provide critical mass to make the project viable.

In the pilot phase, the Private Partner is given the flexibility to identify and select the

Gram Panchayat(s) for undertaking PURA projects based on their familiarity with the

area or past experience of working at the grassroots level. In this identified PURA area,

the Private Partner shall plan for the development / re-development of selected

infrastructure services along with economic activities, after undertaking baseline studies.

5. Identified Infrastructure and Urban Amenities:

(a) Amenities under MoRD Schemes: The Private Partner shall be responsible for

delivering amenities and services such as water and sewerage, construction and

maintenance of village streets, drainage, solid waste management, skill development anddevelopment of economic activities under the following ongoing schemes of MoRD:

Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), National Rural Drinking Water

Programme (NRDWP), Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), etc. The convergence of these

schemes shall be at the level of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) through

which the funding under these schemes will be made available to the Private Partner.

(b) Amenities under non-MoRD Schemes: The PURA may include schemes of

other Ministries that are available on tap as some areas of critical infrastructure (urban

amenities) necessary for the project are not within the purview of MoRD such as Ministry

of New and Renewable Energy (for village street lighting and electricity generation) and

Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (for telecom services) etc. The

Private Developer shall access the support under such schemes of relevant non-MoRD

Ministries and dovetail into PURA for delivering the identified urban amenities. Although

the list in paragraph 5.1 is illustrative, the private partner would be encouraged to include

as many of such schemes as the local conditions permit.

(c) Add-on Projects: It is necessary that the Private Developer create a pipeline of


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commercially viable and peoplecentric projects in the nature of add-ons to the list of

urban amenities to be provided. To ensure delivery of all elements of the project, add-ons

submitted as part of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) shall become essential /

mandatory for the purpose of performance guarantee. Such add-ons will generate

economic and livelihoods opportunities and are preferably developed in partnership with

the Gram Panchayat and may inter-alia include:

(i) Village tourism projectsthat provide direct employment to locals and opportunities

for incomes to local artisans, performing artists, etc

(ii) Setting up good skill development institutionthis would link up with the economic

activity initiated in the project

(iii) Integrated rural business centresthat will help the local economy to upgrade to

commercial scale

It is expected that at least one such activity would be included in the project.

6. Business Model: The leveraging of public funds with private capital and

management expertise for creation and maintenance of rural infrastructure is the essenceof the PURA scheme.

6.1. Funding: Funding for projects under PURA scheme may come from four sources:

MoRD schemes, non-MoRD schemes, private financing and Capital Grant under PURA.

(a) MoRD Schemes: As PURA scheme envisages convergence of various schemes

and a sustainable framework for long term maintenance of assets, most of the capital

expenditure (CAPEX) will have to come from Government schemes. To manage effective

coordination in the delivery of schemes that are administered by different ministries and

departments, mainly the schemes administered by the Ministry of Rural Development

such as SGSY, NRDWP, TSC, etc. will be converged in CAPEX provision of PURA

projects. Only community development schemes would ordinarily be included as thePrivate Partners would find it difficult to manage individual beneficiary schemes. An

omnibus provision will be made in all such schemes to allow the execution through the

Private Partner in addition to Panchayats or Government Departments. As a

concessionaire for the Panchayat or the Government Department, the Developer shall

source funding through the identified schemes. The implementation will be done within

the guidelines of the respective scheme. However, the service standards would be kept as

close as possible to the service standards prescribed for the urban areas. In the specific

instance of convergence with National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS),

only those works can be taken under NREGS which are permitted as per the provisions of

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) 2005. An

effort shall be made to do manual and unskilled work components under NREGS for

those activities which will be common to PURA projects and the permitted list of

activities in MNREGA 2005. Gram Panchayat(s) will be asked to complete such works

from NREGS funds through the prescribed mechanism of MNREGA job card holders.

Such works carried through NREGS will not form part of project costs under PURA.


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(b) Non-MoRD Schemes: The Private Partner shall also be responsible for delivering

certain services under schemes of other Ministries, as per the guidelines of those schemes.

Alternatively, the concerned Ministry may make funding available under those schemes

through DRDA.

(c) Private Funding: It is possible that the essential infrastructure may not get fully

funded by Government schemes wherein the Developer shall invest some capital of its

own to fund the CAPEX of such infrastructure and to meet the operations and

maintenance (O&M) costs. O&M of infrastructure assets and provision of services will be

for a project period of 10 years. Financing of commercially viable add-on projects will be

done fully through private funding.

(d) Capital Grant under PURA: The Private Developer is given flexibility to

choose suitable revenue generating / self-sustainable projects as add-ons, in consultation

with the Panchayat and it is expected that this would part subsidise the maintenance cost

of infrastructure. Since the returns for the Developer will be only from the revenues

that can be generated within the overall framework of the rural economy and the revenuebase will continue to be thin, there is a provision of Capital Grant under PURA scheme.

The viability gap that may exist in a PURA project will be met from the Capital Grant

under which upto 35% of project cost can be given as a grant to the pilot projects.

6.2 Project Cost: The project cost for the purpose of determining Capital Grant shall

be reckoned by total of (i) CAPEX, (ii) Operating expenditure (OPEX) of essential

infrastructure (Urban amenities) and Add-on infrastructure for a period of ten years, and

(iii) deficits on the Return on Investment (ROI) for the private sector. The total cost of

each PURA project shall not exceed Rs. 120 crore.

7. Land: A necessary element for PURA projects is the availability of land. For thepublic amenities, land will be made available free of cost by Gram Panchayat / State

Government. For add-on facilities, if land is provided by Gram Panchayat / State

Government, the revenue will be appropriately shared between Gram Panchayat and

private partner through mutual agreement and such add-on facilities shall revert back to

Gram Panchayat / State Government at the end of the concession period. If land is not

provided by Gram Panchayat / State Government, it will be purchased by the Private

Developer from the open market, but its cost will not be included in the project costing.

As PURA envisages creation of livelihood opportunities, while approving the DPRs it

will be ensured that the transfer of common lands for PURA projects from Gram

Panchayat / State Government does not affect livelihoods security of local poor.

Furthermore, PURA is an attempt to kickstart a process of creation of livelihoods and

urban amenities in a potential growth centre in rural areas. Hence, PURA project will not

be allowed to become an instrumentality for undertaking Rehabilitation & Resettlement

(R&R) of Project Affected Persons (PAPs) in and around an ongoing / proposed

economic project.


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8. Selection of Private Developers:

8.1 Bidding Process:

(a) The selection of Private Developers would be done through an open competitive

bidding process. An Expression of Interest (EoI) would be called from reputed

infrastructure development companies through an open advertisement (salient features of

EoI placed at Annexure I). The interested bidders shall submit their response on the basis

of which short-listing shall be done.

(b) The draft Request for Proposal (RfP) document would be issued to the short-listed

bidders who will be invited to a pre-bid conference for consultations. Thereafter, the final

RfP document (salient features of RfP document placed at Annexure II) shall be issued.

The short-listed bidders shall submit their detailed proposals which will include Concept

Plans (salient features of a Concept Plan placed at Annexure III) along with the consent

from the participating Gram Panchayat (s) and the concerned State Governments. A

format for the consent letter shall be provided as part of the bidding documents.

8.2 Evaluation of Proposals: Response to EoIs shall be evaluated vis--vis the prequalificationcriteria as laid out in the EoI. At the stage of submission of bids in response

to the RfP, there would be no financial bidding. The bidders would be evaluated on their

technical capability and assigned scores as per the pre-approved evaluation methodology.

The proposals / Concept Plans received from various bidders will be evaluated by a

Project Screening and Monitoring Committee and scored and ranked as per the criteria set

out in the RfP document. The top ranked bidders would be selected and mandated to

prepare DPRs (salient features of a DPR placed at Annexure IV). The DPRs shall be

appraised by Project Screening and Monitoring Committee. Thereafter, the DPRs and

Capital Grant shall be sanctioned by an inter-Ministerial Empowered Committee and the

different agreements executed. In the pilot phase, while there will be an emphasis uponrural development priorities, there shall also be an effort to dovetail the Developers

perspective on an economically viable project. Each proposal shall also be examined from

the point of view of inclusiveness and balanced geographic spread.

8.3. Agreements between Stakeholders: Following agreements will be executed

delineating the roles, responsibilities, liabilities and obligations of different stakeholders:

(a) Concession Agreement: There shall be a Concession Agreement (salient features

of Concession Agreement placed at Annexure V) between the Gram Panchayat as the

sponsoring authority (grantor) and the Private Developer (concessionaire). The

Concession Agreement shall include details of minimum service level standards,

performance guarantees, etc. The Concession Agreement will also enable the Private

Developer to collect reasonable user charges for the services and amenities provided.

Although user charge for the urban amenities to be provided under Government schemes

is not compulsory in nature, it is desirable that some fees to the extent that it can be

reasonably borne by the beneficiaries be charged.

(b) State Support Agreement: There shall be a State Support Agreement (salient


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features of State Support Agreement placed at Annexure V) between the Central

Government, State Government and the Private Developer. The commitment of State

Government for delivering the core facilities like roads, bulk water and power to the

PURA area within defined time-lines shall be made as part of this agreement.

8.4. Project Committees:

(a) A Project Screening and Monitoring Committee (PSMC) is constituted under the

chairpersonship of Joint Secretary, Department of Rural Development (DoRD) which

shall examine and evaluate the responses to EoI, proposals including Concept Plans

submitted in response to RFPs and the DPRs prepared by Private Developers. The PSMC

shall also be responsible for monitoring of progress of sanctioned projects. The members

of the PSMC shall be as follows:

(i) Joint Secretary, DoRDChairperson

(ii) Representative of Department of Economic Affairs - Member

(iii) Representative of Planning Commission - Member

(iv) Representative of Department of Drinking Water Supply - Member(v) Representative of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy - Member

(vi) Representative of Ministry of Power - Member

(vii) Representative of the concerned State Government - Member

(viii) Director (PURA)Member Convener

The Committee may associate any other officer / person to assist it.

(b) An inter-Ministerial Empowered Committee (EC) under the chairpersonship of

Secretary, MoRD comprising the following is constituted for approving the project

proposals. The EC shall give approval to different stages of project transaction and take

all decisions incidental to the project.

(i) Secretary, Rural Development - Chairperson(ii) Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs / or representative not below

the rank of Joint Secretary - Member

(iii) Secretary, Planning Commission / or representative not below the rank of

Joint Secretary - Member

(iv) Secretary, Drinking Water Supply / or representative not below the rank of

Joint Secretary - Member

(v) Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy / or representative not

below the rank of Joint Secretary - Member

(vi) Secretary, Power / or representative not below the rank of Joint Secretary -

Member

(vii) Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor, MoRD - Member

(viii) Principal Secretary / Secretary, Rural Development of the concerned State

Government - Member

(ix) Joint Secretary (PURA), Department of Rural Development - Member

Convener


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The Empowered Committee may invite any other officer or expert according to need.

9. Implementation: The rollout of the implementation action plan over the

concession period shall be outlined in the DPR. The Private Developer shall put in place

an implementation action plan for the different sub-projects of PURA over a construction

period of maximum three years and an operations and maintenance (O&M) period of ten

years from the commercial operation date or the date of completion of construction. In

order to ensure proper monitoring and supervision of performance by the Private

Developer, an Independent Engineer will be provided to the PURA cluster of Gram

Panchayat(s) to supervise and monitor performance during the project life cycle.


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10. Flowchart of PURA Project C

ycle:


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11. Project Management and Control:

11.1 A dedicated project management team in the PURA Division of MoRD shall

oversee and coordinate all activities pertaining to the implementation of the scheme under

the overall guidance of Project Screening and Monitoring Committee. Asian Development

Bank (ADB) is supporting MoRD through a Technical Assistance (T.A.) programme for

policy framework development, institutionalisation of PPP unit within MoRD, capacity

building of MoRD and identified Gram Panchayats and rollout of pilot projects.

11.2 Appropriate management control, reporting and quality assurance mechanisms

shall be put in place to enable timely evaluation and impact assessment of the PURA

scheme.

11.3 To enhance the generic acceptability of the PURA scheme and to improve the

quality of projects therein, appropriate capacity building of Gram Panchayat(s), officials ofDRDAs and State Governments shall be undertaken along with an outreach and

communication plan, as part of the ADB T.A. programme.

Execution of Concession Agreements between the Private Developers

and participating Gram Panchayats and State Support Agreement

Project Execution by Private Developer

O&M of project facilities by Private Developer


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Handover of project facilities to the Gram

Panchayats at the end of the concession period

Monitoring and impact assessment of PURA projects by

Project Screening and Monitoring Committee

Part IIIRelease of Funds

12. Estimation of Capital Grant and Release: Though Capital Grant will be limited

to a maximum of 35% of project cost, the actual Capital Grant admissible will vary from

project-to-project. The total Capital Grant approved for the pilot projects during the 11th

Five Year Plan shall be borne from the Plan outlay of Rs. 248 crore. During this pilot

phase, the cost of each PURA project shall be limited to a maximum of Rs. 120 crore, for

the purposes of determining Capital Grant. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) would

form the basis for determining the exact amount of Capital Grant required for each pilot

project. The final cost composition and Capital Grant would be approved by an inter-

Ministerial Empowered Committee constituted for the purpose. The grant will be released

in four installments (linked with completion of milestones) as follows, assuming that theconcession will be for ten years and the construction phase will be of three years:

a) 1st installment (25%) - on signing of the concession agreement

b) 2nd installment (25%) - on completion of one year from date of signing of concession

agreement

c) 3rd installment (25%) - on completion of two years from date of signing of concession

agreement

d) 4th installment (25%) - on completion of construction of those sub-projects as approved

in the DPR

However, in cases where milestones are achieved before the afore-mentioned time

projections, the release of installments may be accordingly re-scheduled.13. Funds Flow:

13.1 The sanctioned installment of Capital Grant shall be released by MoRD to the

District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) which will be kept in an escrow account. It

shall be released to the Private Developer upon completion of approved milestones linked

to time-lines after certification by the Independent Engineer and concurrence of the

concerning Gram Panchayat(s).

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13.2 The funds under other schemes of MoRD shall also be released to the Private

Developer through placement of funds in the same escrow account managed by DRDA

upon certification by the Independent Engineer and concurrence of the concerning Gram

Panchayat(s). Similarly, other Ministries for non-MoRD schemes in a PURA project may

make funding available under those schemes through DRDAs.

13.3 The Gram Panchayat(s) shall give their concurrence within one week of

certification by Independent Engineer, failing which they have to assign reasons thereof.

The matter shall then be referred to the District Magistrate / Deputy Commissioner /


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Collector who will examine the same and decide within one weeks time.

13.4 The Project Director, DRDA is responsible for timely release of funds by DRDA

as per guidelines.

13.5 The Private Developer shall maintain a project escrow account for all receipts and

payments on account of PURA project.

14. Cost of Independent Engineer: The fees of the Independent Engineer will be

released through DRDA, but not included in the project cost estimation for determination

of Capital Grant.

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Part IVMiscellaneous

15. Audit: The auditing process and criteria for audit shall follow the guidelines

issued by Government of India from time to time.

16. Grievance Redressal and Dispute Resolution: An appropriate grievance

redressal mechanism shall be constituted under the chairpersonship of the concerned

District Magistrate / Deputy Commissioner / Collector of the district wherein the PURAproject is being implemented for handling local level grievances. Similarly, a mechanism

for grievance redressal shall also be institutionalized under the chairpersonship of Joint

Secretary, MoRD for handling grievances wherein intervention of MoRD is required.

17. Arbitration: Secretary, MoRD is the authority to arbitrate grievances and

disputes, wherever required.

18. Risk Management: The key risks associated with the implementation of PURA

pilot projects may involve Central Government, State Government, Gram Panchayat or

the Private Developer. The risk mitigation in this regard will be guided by legally vetted

Concession as well as State Support Agreement. In case of default by any of the

stakeholders, the affected stakeholder will be appropriately compensated as perprovisions in the relevant agreement.

INCLUSIVE GROWTH THROUGH THE PROMOTION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP-

INITIATIVES OF KUDUMBASREE IN KERALA (INDIA) - A CASE STUDY

Abstract

Kudumbasree is a multi-faceted women-based participatory poverty eradication programme

initiated by the government of Kerala and implemented by community Based organizations

(CBOs) of poor women in co-operation with the local self government institutions. The

Kudumbarsee process starts with a simple participative spotting of poor families using a 9

point risk index. A family having at least four of these factors qualifies to become a member of

the basic unit in Kudumbarsee movement. Once the poor are identified, small groups of them

consisting of one woman each from 15-40 families at risk are organized in to Neighborhood


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groups (NHS). 10-15 NHS are federated in to Area Development Societies (ADS) at world level.

ADS are federated in to Community Development Societies (CDS) at the local self government

level. In a period spanning over a decade, 1, 50,210 groups have been formed at various levels in

the state of Kerala. It has been visualized as a strategy for social development and social change,

directed through an accelerated economic development of the poor, particularly women and

children. The entire strategy is targeted at those unreached on one side, and towards their

empowerment with in the rights paradigm on the other. A formal process instrument to the

Convergent Community Action (CCA) strategy is the Participatory Learning and Actions (PLA)

methodology. In the present system of decentralized governance in Kerala it has been effective

in articulating the felt needs in a priority manner.

To facilitate the poor in saving and to create saving habit in the community, Kudumbarsee

organize thrift and credit societies and create saving habits in the society at NHS level. This

society which acts an informal banks of the poor, has established linkages with other financial

institutions to facilitate adequate and easy credit to the poor. The ultimate aim is the promotion

of entrepreneurial skills to enable them to initiate micro enterprises. Kudumbersee targets 100%employment even to the illiterate poor folk. The stage has been set for social take-off for women

from low development paths to an accelerated phase in achieving higher levels of self sustaining

economic growth. With the amount of loan sanctioned to the members they have started micro

enterprises which help them in raising the standard of living and contributing to an all inclusive

growth.

With the inception of Kudumbersee since 1992 there is a remarkable improvement in the status

of poor women in Kerala. Weekly meetings, thrift and credit operations micro enterprises, and

participatory governance have enhanced their economic activity which intern has reproduced the

economy of the state to a great extent.

THE CASE OF KUDUMBASHREE PROJECTS IN KERALA*

Poverty alleviation schemes based on micro- credit system have been implemented in many of

the

developing countries in recent years. The Government of Kerala State in India has introduced a

novel scheme of poverty alleviation based on micro-credit and self help grouping. Paraphrased as

Kudumbashree ( Prosperity of the Family), the scheme aims at improving the living levels of

the

poor women in rural and urban areas. It seeks to bring the poor women folks together to form the

grass root organizations to help enhance their economic security. The project aimsat removing

poverty among rural women households through setting up of micro-credit and productive

enterprises. The activities such as micro-credit and micro-enterprises under the scheme were

undertaken by the locally formed Community Development Societies consisting of poor women.

The State Poverty Eradication Mission-Kudumbashree- launched by the Government of Kerala

in

India is a massive poverty eradication programme in contemporary history. It has proved without


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doubt that women empowerment is the best strategy

Final Inclusive Growth

Documents

Transcript of Final Inclusive Growth