Bharat Nirman - Rural Dreams Coming True
Posted : December 21, 2005 at 9:21 pm [IST]
I have written earlier too on Bharat Nirman- a massive programme of rural development and transformation, as it was something exciting. Seing and feeling rural India from a nearer quarter made me sold to the grand plan. Perhaps this is the only way that can transform the villages into ’swarg’ as perceived by our national poet- Maithili Saran Gupta.
The Confederation of Indian Industry describes Bharat Nirman as ‘Unlocking Rural India’s Development Potential through Infrastructure’. Bharat Nirman can accelerate the ‘process of reducing the gap between Bharat and India and make our rural consumers and rural producers an integral part of the processes of wealth creation and wealth distribution.’
Bharat Nirman, if implemented effectively as promised, is a four-year time-bound business plan for achieving identified goals in six selected areas of rural infrastructure:
1.Roads: All-weather roads will cover all habitations with over 1000 population, and all unconnected habitations above 500- population in hilly and tribal areas. There are 66,802 such habitations. And the road connecting the rural India can become a highway to its prosperity, as every village in India then can have ‘access to markets, to services, to opportunities, indeed, to prosperity.’
2.Rural electrification: Today, one can’t think of a good living without electricity. Over 100,000 villages still do not have electricity connection. Bharat Nirman through ‘Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana’ ensures electrification of all villages by the year 2009. And then the Yojana may move to next step ‘rapidly to ensure availability of electricity to all households.’ And with electricity will come the opportunities to make every household a manufacturing unit or service provider.
3.Rural telephony: Though telephony has expanded significantly, there are still about 66,822 villages without a telephone. By September 2007, every Indian village will have access to a telephone. And with it come, perhaps a little later the broadband and Internet to ensure data access to make the villages also e-enabled.
4.Irrigation capacity: While the major and medium irrigation projects in progress will irrigate 4 million hectares, 2.8 million hectares will come from minor irrigation. Enhancing utilization of completed projects would yield 2 million hectares. In addition ground water development will yield about an additional 1 million hectare.
5.Housing: Out of an estimated gap of about 15 million houses, over 6 million houses will come up through Bharat Nirman in the next four years.
6.Safe drinking water: About 55,000 villages are without safe source of water supply. Nearly 3 lakh villages have slipped back because of negligence. Bharat Nirman ensures that every habitation, not just a village, is provided with a source of safe drinking water.
Bharat Nirman estimates an investment of over Rs.1, 74, 000 crore. Panchayats will have to play a major role in the creation and management of rural assets to make it successful and to attain the dreamt prosperity in the rural India. Panchayats will need empowerment and the population in the rural India will have to be educated to play the role of a responsible citizen to own all the projects under Bharat Nirman. People using the asset must not abuse the facilities and take care of them too. Otherwise, it will be difficult to maintain these permanent assets that can be created only once. State Governments can take this opportunity keeping aside the politics and play the role of key implementing agencies.
Surprisingly, for the first time the Government has committed to deliver on the promises, meeting the goals set under Bharat Nirman, within the politically defined time-frame of four years, that is, by the year 2009. That is, by the time our tenure in government expires.
The initiatives- to guarantee rural employment, through the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act; to improve rural health, through National Rural Health Mission; and rural education, through Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, taken all together with Bharat Nirman indeed gives a ‘New Deal to Rural India’.
A massive programme of rural development and transformation is in progress to open the door of prosperity to rural India. Why should one bother for who gets the credit? Let Bharat Nirman goes on fast, faster, and faster.
Through E-Chaupal, Sagar Haat, Shakti effort with SHGs, many firms have done excellent service for rural India. Some more Public and Private Sectors’ and NGOs’ initiative and imagination in building the rural India can further accelerate the process of Bharat Nirman. The process will provide an opportunity for an unprecedented knowledge explosion in rural India that constitutes 70% of the country, as they get effectively connected. And that means a huge market for them too.
Our PM has rightly urged: “Bharat Nirman is not an agenda of the Government alone. It is a collective agenda. It is an agenda in which every Indian has a role either as a user or as a partner. It is up to the captains of industry and leaders of enterprise to understand the true potential of Bharat Nirman and participate in it. It is without doubt the largest, transformation exercise undertaken in this country for rural infrastructure. The growth of rural India will grow Indian business and business in turn can fuel rural growth. It is a situation of mutual advantage.”
And a footnote: With ‘Chakrabyuh’ now reflecting the misuse of MPLADS that for the nation costs some 30,000 crore for all the members of legislatures at center and state levels, I suggest that to be abolished and shifted to Bharat Nirman. Let all the elected members assist in implementing all projects of Bharat Nirman in their respective areas without again making intereference for personal gains. Even Members of Parliament, cutting across party lines, demanded scrapping of the 12-year-old MPs’ Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).
- Indra
Category: Government Policy/Administration |
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