Sep 14, 2011

PM’s speech at national workshop on “Appropriate Development Strategies for effective implement of Schemes of Rural Development in IAP districts”

             Following is the text of the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s speech at national workshop on “Appropriate Development Strategies for effective implement of Schemes of Rural Development in IAP districts”:

             “I listened with great interest the development experience in some most difficult parts of our country, the realities as they are seen at the ground level. Development to be meaningful has to be in tune with the people’s felt needs and requirements and their perceptions of what constitutes good development has to be integrated into all processes of development. As I remember way back when the first five year plan was being formulated under the inspiration of Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Minister for Community Development Sh. S.K. Dey, devised a programme of community development. And sometimes I feel that we have to go back to that holistic approach to the development of our rural areas and people’s representatives as well as the officials who are administering the schemes at the grassroot level – they must have the maximum degree of freedom to make changes in schemes which may appear very sound from a distance but at the ground level they run into problems. So I think the challenge before the Planning Commission and the M/o Rural Development and the M/o Panchayati Raj is to bring about this synthesis. We have limited resources. How to make best possible use of these resources in accordance with the felt needs of the people and then ensure that the monitoring process takes care of any wrong doing that could occur in the process of development. In that point of view what I learned in the few minutes that I listened to the District Collectors, I think, was very constructive. I hope this will be translated into meaningful analysis as to how we can ensure that scheme that work in some places can be made to work in other places. And therefore, learning from the facts, learning from the grassroot has to be the keynote of our development planning for the 12th five year plan.

I am very happy to be here amongst you all in this workshop on “Appropriate Development Strategies for effective implementation of schemes of Rural Development in the IAP districts”. It is crucial for policy-makers to acquaint themselves with the felt needs on the ground. In this context, today’s workshop provides a very unique opportunity for sharing the experiences of our field level officers and thus deepen our understanding of ground realities and I hope in the process we will discover ways and means to improve the effectiveness these programmes as we move into the 12th five year plan. I commend our Ministries and the Planning Commission for organizing this workshop.

            The Integrated Action Plan (IAP) is aimed at bridging the development deficit in the extremely backward areas that are affected by Left Wing Extremism. Lack of security is a big constraint. Without effective security many of our programme cannot be implemented as intended. And therefore, the struggle to give a modicum of security to all those who are engaged in development of process in these difficult areas must go hand in hand with emphasis in development as it is traditionally understood. I know, it is not easy, it is difficult, there are no set rules which will help you. You will have to learn by doing. Somethings will work somethings will not work. I heard for example the difficulties in establishing the post offices, the difficulties in establishing bank branches in these areas. May be we should experiment with the use of police stations – the ground floor can be the police station, the first floor can be the bank and similar other activities can be located at places where security can be provided for those who deal with the cash component of various programmes.

            As I was saying that this programme is aimed at bridging the development deficit in the extremely backward areas that are affected by Left Wing extremism. Lack of devlopment often leads to a sense of alienation among the inhabitants of these areas. If the sense of alienation is to be converted into a sense of belongingness, our programes and policies must ensure that the people of these areas have equitable share in the prosperity that a rapidly growing economy like ours is bound to bring in. To this end, the experiences of participating Collectors and other field functionaries from the IAP districts should help us better orient and structure our programmes and put in place systems for efficient and more effective delivery. Our officers from the field shall, I hope, equally benefit by hearing the innovative methods adopted in similarly placed districts from other states.

            The IAP districts are scattered over several States with a diverse socio-economic set up. There obviously cannot be a uniform structure for implementation of government sponsored programmes in these districts. We must learn from the ground realities and our programmes must be sensitized to the need to be in tune with the felt needs of the people. Therefore, it is essential to provide in-built flexibility in implementation of IAP so that the field officers are in a position to overcome the challenges peculiar to a district.

            While implementing the IAP, we must be sensitive to the aspirations of the common people voiced through the Panchayati Raj Institutions, more so in the Scheduled Areas where PESA is in force. I hope the presence of the new Minister of Panchayati Raj, Shri V. Kishor Chandra Deo will provide an opportunity to the Ministry to interact more regularly with what happens at the grassroot level and programmes where we want to give utmost emphasis to the gramsabhas, the panchayati raj institutions. In some places things work, in some places these things do not work. How can panchayati raj become a genuine instrument of transforming the lives of the people living in these areas is a challenge which we must learn to cope with.

            In my view, no amounts of development funds are adequate in making a difference in the development status of people, until and unless we win the trust of the people and inculcate a sense of ownership over the development process. The pre-requisite for any intervention to be successful is that people own the programme meant for them and are involved in the planning as well as in the implementation process.

            Let me cite here the example of the Ramakrishna Mission in Narayanpur, which has been awarded the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration and innumerable other recognitions. The work of this mission in the extremely backward areas of Narayanpur amidst the Pahadi Madia tribes is exemplary and we must draw inspiration from their selfless work. I am told that the work of the mission has the respect of the entire community. The swamis and the technical staff from the mission go into the so called Left Wing Affected areas fearlessly and render yeoman service. Well, that is the sort of exemplary guidance and leadership which our development planning processes staff and those incharge of implementing these programmes need and they must acquire. I know it is difficult but India has to find practical, pragmatic means of doing this. That’s our challenge and that’s why great importance attaches to the work of the District Collectors working in these most difficult parts of our country.

            We must learn from such successful examples. If we can find a way to ensure that the development programmes are delivered with complete honesty and the right intentions, I do not see why these will not be accepted. As administrators, we must have zero tolerance for corruption. We must demolish the invisible wall between ‘us’ and ‘them’. The livelihoods we promote must be sustainable on the ground and not on paper alone. They must be suited to the local milieu and attuned to the local aspirations.

            I am sure the participants must have comprehensively deliberated upon the implementation issues and field programmes and problems and must have come out with appropriate strategies to maximize the impact of development programmes.

            I have only this to say to my young collectors, CEOs and Project Directors, that this is the most rewarding and enriching time of your career. A wise man has said that “To be persuasive, we must be believable; to be believable, we must be credible; to be credible, we must be truthful.” Let us be true to ourselves and find it within us to rededicate ourselves in the service of our nation. Our work will surely strike a chord with the common people who are very quick to recognize true intentions. Mahatma Gandhi once said, our task will not be complete until and unless we can remove tears from the eyes of each and every one of the Indian people. That may be a task beyond we mortals, but I wish to congratulate you because you are a part of that process of wiping tears from the eyes of people who are often seen to be the victims of the so called processes of development. And I congratulate you for your dedication for your commitment and may god bless each one of you. I thank Jairam, Kishor Deo ji, Dy. Chairman of Planning Commission and the Ministers of other Ministries, and all those who have made it possible that to bring together our young Collectors to exchange experiences, to educate us and the government and the Centre and the Planning Commission, what the grassroot realities are and how our programems need to be monitored, modified in order to bring them in line with the aspiration of our people. I thank, you.

            Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh read out key conclusions at the end of the day-long meeting attended by collectors from 60 districts across the country. Seeking the prime minister's intervention, he said connecting almost all habitations in 60 IAP districts under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) would require an additional Rs.35,000 crore over the next three years. Ramesh later told media persons that the prime minister had decided to discuss the issue with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and home minister P. Chidambaram. He said 500 people will be enrolled as "Bharat Nirman Volunteers" in each IAP district by March 2012. The volunteers will act as a link between the administration and people. The ministry, he said, proposes to launch the Prime Minister's rural development fellows programme under which young professionals in 25-30 years age group will be recruited to work in IAP districts for a period of 2-3 years and will support the collector in the field.

            Chidambaram, who spoke in the inaugural session, said Left-wing extremism was the most "formidable challenge" to governance and added that real hurdle was not restoring peace or development but winning the minds and hearts of villagers. He said more people had been killed in Maoist violence this year than in incidents of terrorism. According to the minister, 26 civilians had been killed in the first eight months this year in incidents of terrorism, 46 in insurgency-related incidents in the northeast and 27 in violence in Jammu and Kashmir - the corresponding figure for civilians killed in left-wing extremism violence was 297.

            He said 109 security personnel had been killed in Maoist violence this year while 50 had been killed in insurgency related incidents in the northeast and violence in Jammu and Kashmir. "The numbers tell their own story. The most formidable challenge to governance is left-wing extremism," Chidambaram said. He said burden of governance cannot shift from the state to central government. The minister said he had been told by the Planning Commission that none of the projects under IAP had been targeted by Maoists. The battle was not for restoring peace or complementing development, but winning "minds and hearts of villagers", he said The IAP for 60 selected tribal and backward districts in nine states was approved by the government in November last year with a grant of Rs.25 crore for 2010-11 and Rs.30 crore for 2011-12. [PIB and other reports].