11.14 Since the bulk of the rural poor are landless or marginal farmers, a significant part of the activities for their benefit will have to be in the non-farm sector. While subsidies will continue on the existing pattern to help the rural poor to acquire productive assets their role which has been overplayed will have to be brought in the correct perspective. Formulation of schemes to launch the prospective beneficiaries in viable economic activities is the clinch pin of this programme. identification of these activities, formulation of projects based on these, provision of forward and backward linkages, arranging of credit and choosing the right beneficiary, are the most important aspects of the process of helping the intended beneficiaries. Village' and cottage industries and the services sector offer considerable untapped potential for self and wage employment. These sectors have heretofore received only scant attention in the poverty amelioration programmes. The potential of these sectors needs to be optimally exploited by strengthening the arrangements for the supply of raw materials, consumer-based designs and marketing facilities. It is proposed to cover a sizable number of beneficiaries in each block through programmes in these sectors. Suitable support will be provided through programmes of skill forma- tion. In these tasks, the educational, research and technical institutions will be fully involved through suitable agreements between them and the concerned development departments. An All India Coordinated Research Project for the development of technologies for increasing the income of landless labour families will be initiated.
11.15 The operational strategy of IRDP will have the following main elements:-
(1) A, five year development profile will be drawn up for each district dis-aggregated into blocks, based on practical (achievable) possibilities of development in agriculture and allied sectors. This plan will be based on a scientific understanding of the developmental assets of the district and will particularly deal with optimum development of ground and surface water (minor irrigation) resources, fuller water utilisation (including private sources like wells and tubewells), and dairy, animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry and local manurial and fuel resources including bio-gas, development. The plan so formulated will become the framework of action for the relevant schemes of development in these sectors.
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(2) While access to agricultural extension ser- vices is to be provided to all farmers, the programme will ensure that a farm guidance is provided on a systematic basis to the small and marginal farmer families. A specific operational programme will be drawn up by the extension agency for this purpose.
(3) A special programme of assistance to the poorest of the rural households will be drawn up to raise the specific households, so identified, above the poverty line. This programme will be implemented on a phased basis. A household rather than individual approach will be followed, implying that the economic uplift of the household will be sought through a package of activities involving all working members, with particular attention being given to economic programmes for women. In the identification of families to be assisted, the village council (Gaon Sabha) must be involved, and the identification done in a manner which would ensure that only those belonging to the target group are identified.
(4) A blueprint for exploiting the available potential in the secondary and tertiary sectors, which also spells out linkages for training and marketing will be prepared for each block and families from among the target group identified for assistance based on such a blueprint.
(5) A suitable mechanism should also be developed to secure representation of the poor on the implementing agencies at the district, block and village levels to facilitate better planning and implementation of the programme. A village plan register indicating details of all the identified families and the development programmes drawn up for them should be maintained ;at each village.
(6) The credit plan for the District/Block while taking into account the total credit needs of the area, must also specifically indicate the credit programme for the target groups. It must also be ensured that their needs are met on a priority basis.
(7) IRDP will be implemented through a single agency in each district. Such agencies already exist in most districts in the country. In others new agencies will be set up. Adequate autonomy for these agencies to enable them to formulate and implement the programmes effectively is necessary. An unambiguous organisational arrangement for making available the needed support from various concerned departments is essential and must be clearly spelt our. Each district agency will have a multidisciplinary planning team which may be funded out of the. programme provision. The planning teams will take up the preparation of block plans in each district, and will also prepare specific development projects within the framework of such plans with the help, where necessary, of appropriate technical personnel available in the district or higher levels in concerned departments.
(8) Effective implementation of the programme is largely dependent on an efficient and well-equipped field level organisation. Block Organisation which has necessarily to be the field level agency for implementation has been greatly eroded over the years. and needs to be strengthened adequately in the terms of staff, both specialised and village level. Where the T&V extension scheme has been introduced, clear linkages will need to be established between the personnel working with this scheme, both at the specialist and V.L.W. level and the plan of work to be undertaken under IRDP.
(9) IRDP has been conceived essentially As an anti-poverty programme. This objective, is proposed to be achieved by enabling the poorest families to acquire productive assets, technology and skills as would make their economic activities visible. These families will also need support from social services like health, education and housing, It will be necessary to link to the extent possible the prospective beneficiaries under the IRDP to these social services, particularly programmes like applied nutrition, compulsory primary education, adult education, family welfare, children's and women's welfare, activities etc. The prospective beneficiaries having been identified, these lists should be made available to the departments concerned for them to follow up these persons in respect of the services handled by them. The house-hold-centered poverty alleviation strategy will thus come to consist of steps not only for the economic emancipation of the family, the but also the education of the children, health and welfare of the vulnerable members, adoption of small family norm etc.
11.16 Of the approximately 20,000 families in a block, about 10,000-12,000 families on an average would be below the poverty line, though undoubtedly in individual blocks this number would vary from area to area. It is proposed to provide specific' assistance under this programme to 3,000 families on an average in each block during the Sixth Plan. These families should be from the bottom deciles of the rural population below the poverty line. It is essential that specific income generating projects are developed for each identified beneficiary family. Though the nature and scope of development projects for these families will vary from block to block depending upon opportunities, it is assumed that of the 3,000 families ap- proximately 2,000 could on an average be covered
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by schemes broadly falling in the area of agriculture and allied activities, 500 in villages and cottage inlustries and another 500 in the services sector. It is important that the identification of an economic activity(s) for a household is done in full consultation with the beneficiary household concerned so that the project is appropriate to its inclination and management capability. The project must also be able to give enough net income to take it across the poverty line.
11.17 The scale of funding under the Programme will be Rs. 5 lakhs per block in the first year of the plan, Rs. 6 lakhs in the second year and Rs. 8 lakhs each in the last three years. This gradual stepping up will take care of the time that will initially be taken in developing the district/block plans. identifying all the eligible beneficiaries, building' up the Organisation and putting the programmes on a firm footing. In consonance with the funding pattern the target of beneficiary coverage could be lower in the first two years and higher in the last three years, with about 3,000 families covered on an average in each block over a full five year period.
Credit for Weaker Sections 11.18 Small and marginal farmers who constitute over 70 per cent of the farming population have little input mobilising power and risk taking capacity. Hence credit is a key input in. achieving a rapid diffusion of benefits from new technology. It is also essential for promoting self-employment and in the creation of productive assets. The success of Integrated Rural Development Programme will mainly hinge on the preparation of viable schemes for these identified for assistance and the provision of investment credit therefore on and assured basis. While over the years there has undoubtedly been an impressive step-up in credit availability to- the weaker sections, its dispersal among various strata of the rural poor has been extremely disparate. Among them the main beneficiaries have been the small and marginal farmers, the former distinctly more than the latter. The least to benefit have been the landless and the rural artisans, who as a category account for as much as one-fourth of the rural work force. The policy of stipulating a minimum percentage for the entire target group of weaker sections has done little to prevent glaring intra-group distortions. Experience shows that bracketing those who have some resource (land) with those who have none generally tends to operate to the disadvantage of the latter. it, therefore, appears necessary that the strategy of credit deployment should be so oriented as to equitably serve the needs of each category. This will call for more effective credit planning and prescription of separate targets of credit for the subgroup of the landless and the artisans, alongwith arrangements for the formulation of economically viable projects for them.
11.19 While attempting to do this, it needs to be stressed that the credit delivery systems, of both co-operative and commercial banks, will require considerable toning up. Simplification of procedures, systematic identification of the most needy among the target group and preparation of appropriate investment projects for them and re-orientation from security-based lending to project-based lending are some of the important aspects of an improved delivery system. Credit-cum-input supply melas or other effective credit and input delivery systems will have to be adopted on a large scale before the onset of kharif and rabi sowings. Full support will need to be given by the extension agency in building up the awareness and motivation of the rural poor in respect of their production and investment needs. It is also proposed to devise suitable credit insurance schemes for insulating weaker sections from total loss due to factors beyond their control. Alongside, fullest emphasis will be given to recovery disciplines, pressures which have lately developed in some parts of the country for general writing off of overdues can only be viewed with extreme concern, for the consequences of this will be disastrous for the credit system as a whole. The aim of the Sixth Plan is to secure a high rate of rural credit expansion to serve the productive needs of all with priority being given to the credit needs of the various economic groups among the poor. Recycling of credit is an imperative of the process of expansion.
Drought Prone Area Programme 11.20 The DPAP which covers 557 blocks spread over 74 districts in the country is an integrated area development programme in agricultural sector and aims at optimum utilisation of land, water and livestock resources, restoration of ecological balance and stabilising the income of the people particularly the weaker section of the society. Some of the important elements of the programme are:-
(i) Development and management of water resources.
(ii) Soil and Moisture conservation measures.
(iii) Afforestation with special emphasis on social and farm forestry.
(iv) Development of pasture lands and range management in conjunction with development of sheep husbandry.
(v) Live-stock development and dairy development.
(vi) Restructuring of cropping pattern and changes in agronomic practices, and
(vii) Development of subsidiary occupations.
11.21 The programme will be continued during the Sixth Plan period with the strategy for development of these areas being re-oriented to insulating the economy of these areas from the effects of recurring droughts through diversification of agriculture and promoting afforestation, pasture development and soil and water conservation. Of late, operational plans for these areas are being prepared from year to year.
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This is inconsistent with the long-term perspective which is essential for these areas. What is needed is to evolve a medium-term strategy for development of these areas from which should now the annual action programmes. Mere spending of money even on accepted priority programmes would not meet the objective unless this is done as a part of clearly conceived perspective of development. Economic development of these areas would be achieved through activities which in the long run contribute actively in creating conditions which mitigate the effects of drought in these areas. Watershed management will receive the highest priority and steps will be taken to promote the cooperative management of the watershed by the people in the area. Medium term project profiles which aim at achieving the objectives of the programme would be prepared for each drought prone district as also five year and one year project profiles which will be scrutinised and approved by the competent authority. An inter-disciplinary Task Force has been set up to review the scope and coverage of this programme. Individual beneficiary content of these programmes will be supported through the IRDP. The DPAP has a large potential for generating avenues of employment. This will be optimally utilised in conjunction with the National Rural Employment Programme. Overlap of areas under this programme with those under the Desert Development Programme will be eliminated.
Desert Development Programme 11.22 The Desert Development Programme aims at checking further desertification of the desert areas and raising productivity of the local resources to raise the income and employment levels of the local inhabitants. The programme will continue to be implemented both in the hot and cold and zones of the country during the Sixth Plan. The emphasis will be on arresting desertification through activities which restore ecological balanced, stabilise sand dunes, and facilitate soil and water conservation. Plantation of shelter belts, adoption of water harvesting techniques and development of pastures to sustain the livestock economy will be vigorously pursued. Exploitation of the natural resources of these areas will be closely linked to replenishment of these resources, It is proposed to encourage innovative use of land for fodder crops, pastures and fuel and fodder plantations. This 'diversification can substantially improve the economy of the desert areas in keeping with the ecological requirements of the area. in the cold and zones of Ladakh and Spiti, irrigated agriculture and improved animal husbandry practices would be among the activities to be encouraged.
Outlays for IRDP and related Programmes 1.1.23 The outlay on the IRDP programme during the Plan period 1980-85 will be Rs. 750 crores in the central sector. It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme and the outlay will be matched on an equal basis by the States. The IRDP which will be operative in all the blocks in the country will replace the on-going SFDA/IRD/SLPP programmes. No separate provision also would need to be, made for minor irrigation subsidy. The scheme of Training of Youth for Self- Employment (TRYSEM) will be operated ,as a part or IRDP for the benefit of the identified households. A small provision, however of Rs. 5 crores is being made separately for TRYSEM to meet some exceptional needs in suitable cases to strengthen the institutional infrastructure.
The Drought Prone Areas Programme will continue to be financed at the rate of Rs. 15 lakhs per block per year with a total plan outlay of Rs. 175 crores in the central sector which will be matched on an equal basis by the States.
The outlay for the Desert Development Programme with be Rs. 50 crores in the central sector with a similar provision in the State Plans.
There is a provision of Rs. 17.55 crores in the central sector for other programmes of rural development including the scheme for Rural Godowns.
The provisions in the State Plans for Rural Development amount to Rs. 1509.22 crores (Details in Annexure 11.2). 'This includes the matching contribution of States for IRDP, DPAP, DDP along with the provision for the National Rural Employment Programme.