COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
INTRODUCTION WHEN the first set of community projects were taken up nearly nine years ago, community development was described as the method and rural extension as the agency through which the transformation of the social and economic life of villages was to be initiated. During the intervening years the tasks to be accomplished by the community development movement and the national priorities to be realised through it have come to be more precisely defined. At the same time, the concept of rural extension has broadened into that of Panchayati Raj, that is to say, the development of a set of interconnected democratic and popular institutions at the village, block and district levels in which the representatives of the people in the Village Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishads and co-operative organisations function with the support and assistance of the various development agencies of Government working together as a team. One of the principal tasks in the Third Plan will be to ensure the growth and working of Panchayati Raj institutions so as to enable each area to realise its maximum development potential on the basis of local man- power and other resources, co-operative self-help and community effort, and effective use of the available resources and personnel.
REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENT 2. The community development programme now serves over 3,100 development blocks comprising about 370,000 villages. Of these, about 880 blocks have completed more than five years and entered the second stage of the community development programme. By October, 1963, the programme will extend over the entire rural area of the country. The total outlay on community development in the first two Plans has been about Rs. 240 crores. The Third Plan provides for a total outlay of Rs. 294 crores, in addition to about Rs. 28 crores for Panchayats.
3. In the course of the Second Plan, three important developments occurred in the community development programme. At the beginning of the Plan, work had been taken up in 950 development blocks of which about 370 were under the community projects scheme and about 580 under the national extension scheme. In the scheme of organisation prevailing at the time, every block was first taken up in the national extension service scheme, for which a programme budget of Rs. 450,000 was allotted. After a period, which extended from one to two years, a proportion of the national extension projects were taken up under the community development scheme for which the budget allotment was Rs. 15 lakhs. In this way the national extension and community development aspects were regarded as related phases of the same programme. The review undertaken in 1957 by the Study Team set up by the Committee on Plan Projects, led to the adoption of a single scheme of community development which was spread over two stages, each of five years. The first stage envisages a block budget of Rs. 12 lakhs, and the second of Rs. 5 lakhs. With these changes it was also decided to extend the period for covering the entire rural area by three years, from October, 1960 to October, 1963.
4. The second major development concerns the introduction of Panchayati Raj. For many years, the establishment of democratic institutions at the district and block levels, in addition to panchayats at the village level, was felt to be an essential and inevitable step if rural development was to proceed not only rapidly but largely on the basis of local effort and resources, This approach was broadly indicated in the First Plan. The Second Plan clearly visualised a well organised democratic structure of administration within the district in which the village panchayat would be organically linked with popular organisations at higher levels. Pending further study, the Plan offered interim proposals for setting up district development councils and also development committees in the blocks. The recommendations of the Study Team set up by the Committee on Plan Projects in favour of a system of `democratic decentralisation' were considered by the National Development Council in January, 1958. The Council emphasised that the foundation of any democratic structure had to be democracy in the village. The two institutions which made effective village democracy possible were the village panchayat and the village cooperative. The first step in any area should, therefore, be to establish the network of institutions needed at the village level. Democratic institutions at the district, block and village levels should be viewed as parts of one connected structure of development administration within the district. The Council, therefore, affirmed the objective of introducing democratic institutions at the district and block levels and suggested that each State should work out the structure which suited its conditions best. During the past three years, legislation for the introduction of Panchayati Raj has been enacted in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madras. Mysore, Orissa. Punjab and Rajasthan. In Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh legislation has been passed by the State Legislatures. In Bihar legislation is under consideration, and in Maha-
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rashtra and Gujarat proposals have been drawn up by special committees and their reports are being considered. These developments are the fruition of the general approach which has been regarded for the past ten years as basic to rural development under democratic conditions and constitute a most significant step forward.
5. A third aspect of community development work which has assumed considerable importance is the proposal that, along with the district, the block should serve as a unit of planning and development. It was suggested that in the following fields proposals for the Third Plan should be drawn up by States on the basis of district and block plans : (1) agriculture, including minor irrigation, soil conservation, village forests, animal husbandry, dairying, etc. ;
(2) development of cooperatives;
(3) village industries;
(4) elementary education, specially provision of school buildings for local communities;
(5) rural water supply and the programme of minimum rural amenities, including construction of approach roads linking each village to the nearest road or rail-head; and
(6) works programmes for the fuller utilisation of manpower resources in rural areas.
Although efforts were made in several States to prepare block plans specially in agriculture, in the main, the plans of States have been prepared independently of local plans. The inference to be drawn from this is that much more effort will be needed before local plans can become a distinctive stage in the initial preparation of a Five Year Plan. In the present context of the Third Plan as formulated, what is important is that local plans should be worked out as a means for the more effective implementation of the State Plan.
6. Within the general framework of the district plan, the block plan is intended to include all social and economic activities undertaken within the block which call for (a) planning initiated locally at the block and village levels, and (b) coordination with the plans of various Departments which are implemented within the block. The following are the principal types of activities which will fall within the block plan :
(i) items in the schematic budget of the community development block according to the stage reached;
(ii) items included in the budgets of different Departments which can be executed through the block organisation:
(iii) works undertaken by the local community or beneficiaries in accordance with the obligations laid down by law;
(iv) works involving unskilled and semi-skilled labour undertaken in the block; and
(v) other activities undertaken in the block or by the block Organisation with a view to securing greater contribution from local communities in respect of development schemes in different fields.
7. The three aspects described above, namely, the extension functions of the community development organisation, introduction of democratic institutions, and the preparation and implementation of area and village plans, are closely related. For carrying out extension activities, each development block has a body of village level workers and a team of technical specialists in agriculture, animal husbandry, cooperation, rural industries and other fields functioning together under the leadership of the Block Development Officer. Supported and guided by senior specialists at the district level, these extension cadres serve the Panchayat Samitis in the Block and Panchayats and Gram Sabhas in the villages. They have to assist the elected representatives in preparing and implementing technically sound block and village plans on the basis of the widest possible participation on the part of local communities and the maximum use of local manpower and other resources.
AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION 8. The principal extension functions entrusted to the community development organisation fall within the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, cooperation and rural industries. It is to these that village level workers are expected to devote the bulk of their time and energy. In the Third Plan, the tasks to be accomplished in the fields of agriculture and cooperation are of formidable dimension. Agricultural production has to be raised by about 90 per cent, and large programmes of minor irrigation, utilisation of irrigation from both large and small irrigation schemes, soil conservation and dry farming, application of fertilisers and development of local manurial resources have to be carried out in the blocks. The programme for cooperation envisages a threefold increase in agricultural credit through cooperative agencies. Increase in agricultural production can only be achieved with the most intensive effort that can be organised at the village level. Increase in cooperative credit also demands the strengthening of the cooperative movement at the base, bringing all families in the village into the cooperative, and ensuring that credit is linked both with production and with marketing. Thus, the basic problem in the rebuilding of the rural economy at present is the organisation of the agricultural effort at the village level. In the measure in which progress is achieved in mobilising the village community for increasing production, every other problem in the rural areas becomes easier of solution and more intensive development can be undertaken in other directions, specially rural industry and the provision of social services. The growth of agricultural production is of such critical importance that, in the immediate context of the Third
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Plan, the principal test to be met by the community development movement must be its practical effectiveness as an agricultural extension agency. It is, therefore, essential for the community development Organisation to take all steps necessary to strengthen itself in this respect, and to accept responsibility for achieving the targets of agricultural production on the basis of the largest possible local effort. At the same time, it is incumbent on the Agriculture Departments and other Departments concerned with agricul- tural production that they must place at the disposal of the community development organisation at the district and block levels, the necessary expert supervision and guidance and the supplies, trained manpower and other resources needed.
VILLAGE PRODUCTION PLANS 9. The principal means for involving all cultivators in the village in the agricultural effort and mobilising effectively the resources of the local community is the. village production plan. The main elements in agricultural production programme at the village level are :
(i) full utilisation of irrigation facilities, including maintenance of field channels in good condition by the beneficiaries, repairs and maintenance of community irrigation works and economy in the use of water;
(ii) increase in the area under multiple cropping;
(iii) multiplication in the village of improved seed and its distribution to all cultivators;
(iv) supply of fertilisers;
(v) programme for composting and green manures;
(vi) adoption of improved agricultural practices, such as, soil conservation, contour-bunding, dry farming, drainage, land reclamation, plant protection, etc. ;
(vii) programme for new minor irrigation works to be undertaken in the village, both through community participation and on an individual basis;
(viii) programme for the introduction of improved agricultural implements;
(ix) programme for increasing the production of vegetables and fruits;
(x) programme for the development of poultry, fish and dairy products,
(xi) animal husbandry, e.g. maintenance of stud bulls and castration of scrub bulls, etc. ; and
(xii) programme for the development of the village fuel plantations and pastures.
10. The village production plan includes two main groups of programmes, namely; (a) supply of credit, fertilisers, improved seed, assistance for plant protection. minor irrigation, etc. for which a measure of assistance has to come from outside the village, and (b) programmes such as the digging of field channels for utilising irriga- tion from large projects, maintenance of bunds and field channels, contour bunding, digging and maintenance of village tanks, development and utilisation of local manurial resources, village fuel plantations, etc, which call for effort on the part of the village community or the beneficiaries. The success of the village production plan will largely depend on the efficient organisation of supplies, credit, etc. and the quality of the technical advice given by extension workers. In the measure in which these services are provided, there will be greater enthusiasm and cooperation from the village community in the second group of programmes mentioned above. In June, 1960, the Ministry of Community Development and Cooperation forwarded proposals to State Governments on these lines, and a number of States have since issued similar instructions. It cannot, however, be said that village production plans are yet established as a normal method of work in agricultural development or that the various practical problems involved have been resolved. In the field of extension, by far the most important task to be undertaken in pursuance of the Third Plan is to give effect to the idea of working out village production plans so as to draw all the cultivators into the common effort and, at the same time, to make, available to individual farmers in an efficient and organised manner the credit, supplies and other assistance needed. The Third Plan devotes considerable resources to minor irrigation and soil conservation, supplies of fertilisers on a large scale have been assured, and resources have been provided for plant protection, improved agricultural implements and other schemes. The programme for setting up seed farms is in an advanced stage and it should now be somewhat easier to arrange for the multiplication in the village of the quantities of improved seed required. Thus, the Third Plan provides for the various factors required for the successful execution of village production plans.
PANCHAYATI RAJ 11. The establishment of democratic institutions at the district and block levels and the role assigned to the Gram Sabha and the Village Panchayat constitute fundamental and far-reaching changes in the structure of district administration and in the pattern of rural development. Their significance lies in the fact that, subject to guidance and supervision by the State Government, the responsibility for the implementation of rural development programmes will now belong to the Block Panchayat Samiti working with Panchayats in the villages and the Zila Parishad at the district level. These institutions have not been at work long enough to permit more than a preliminary statement of the problems which are likely to require careful attention, In considering these, certain aspects deserve to be stressed. The primary object of Panchayati Raj is to enable the people of each
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area to achieve intensive and continuous development in the interest of the entire population. The elected representatives should be encouraged to value the development of Panchayati Raj as offering new avenues of service to the people rather than opportunities for the exercise of authority. The concept of Panchayati Raj is not limited to the non-official and democratic organisations associated with it. Representing, as it does. a distinct level of responsibility and functions within the general scheme of administration, Panchayati Raj comprehends both the democratic institutions and the extension services through which development programmes are executed. Extension personnel at the block and village levels, although functioning within the jurisdiction of the Panchayat Samiti, form part of a larger administrative and technical network, which extends to the district and even beyond it. It is vital to the permanent success of Panchayati Raj that the integrity of the structure of technical and administrative services provided by Government and their ability to fulfil the duties and responsibilities cast upon them should be fully ensured, while their knowledge and experience are made available to the elected bodies at the district and block levels. It is also of the highest importance that there should be clear recognition of the distinct role of federal cooperative organisations functioning at the State and district levels, as in the field of banking, marketing , processing, distribution and education and training. Large obligations are undertaken by various cooperative organisations and they should be enabled to fulfil them in accordance with the approach and principles of the cooperative movement. The economic development of rural areas is still in its beginnings and large possibilities lie ahead. It is the object of the new institutions and relationships now being established to help each area to realise these possibilities to the utmost limits of its resources. From this aspect the following are among the main tests by which the success of Panchayati Raj will need to be measured from time to time :
(1) agricultural production as the highest national priority during the Third Plan;