• Garibi Hatao makes a come back
• NSSO poverty survey: Too little, too slow
• Panchayat elections will be less whimsical
• Parliamentarians to be out of rural development committees
• Rural areas have less employed people
• Additional funds for water projects

Garibi Hatao makes a come back
In a surprising development the Union government has decided to revive the three decades old Garibi Hatao or 20-point programme (TPP), initiated by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the mid-1970s as the country’s main poverty eradication programme. What are more surprising are the changes done in the original list of 20 points: land reform, a key feature earlier, is not in the new list of priorities.
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NSSO poverty survey: Too little, too slow
National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO)’s yet to be released poverty estimate points at very slow rate of poverty eradication. And it is not in tune with the spectacular economic growth the country is experiencing since last one decade.

The survey finds that during 1999-2000 and 2004-05 poverty has declined at the rate of 0.79 percent. NSSO findings show the number of people living below poverty line (BPL) at 22.15 percent in 2004-05, compared with 26.09 percent in 1999-2000. During the same period, the country’s GDP grew at around 6 percent.

Reduction of poverty has been faster in rural areas than in urban areas, according to the survey findings. BPL population in rural areas decreased 4.68 percent between 1999-2000 and 2004-05, which was over twice the pace of the decrease in urban centres, estimated at 2.12 percent. Initial explanation for this is that migration to urban areas from rural areas has pulled down the poverty reduction rate in urban areas. But if this were the case, the rural poverty reduction would be lower than what the survey finds.

High-growth states like Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan and Goa have reported increase in BPL population. NSSO officials point at this fact to substantiate that rural-urban migration is distorting the poverty figure.



Panchayat elections will be less whimsical
The Supreme Court has ruled that the state Election Commissions (ECs), responsible for holding elections to Panchayats, could under no circumstance postpone elections to the local bodies after the completion of their five-year term. This marks a major development in local governance, as not holding elections to the local tier of government is rather a practice than exception. A five-judge constitution bench of the apex court gave the verdict. The ruling came on a petition filed by an Ahemdabad corporator, challenging the delay in holding elections to the city municipality even after the expiry of its term. This order empowers the state ECs to hold elections irrespective of state governments’ wishes.

The court ruled that the state ECs should complete the election before the expiry of the five-year term and not yield to situations that may be created by vested interests to postpone the polls from being held within the stipulated time. Further clarifying the roles and mandates of the state ECs, the apex court ruled that If the state EC felt that the concerned government was not cooperating with it for holding of elections on time, then it could approach the high court and thereafter Supreme Court, seeking necessary directions to the state in this regard for fulfilling the constitutional mandate.

Click for Analysis of panchayat roundtables [2004]



Parliamentarians to be out of rural development committees
The Ministry of Rural Development is planning to keep Members of Parliaments (MPs) from district committees meant for vigilance and monitoring of rural development programmes. The reason: MPs failed to give time for the task. District vigilance committees were formed in October 2004 for supervising and monitoring rural development programmes and MPs are the chairpersons. For the 604 districts there should have been 4832 vigilance committees meetings. There should be four meetings a year in every district. Till date only 656 meetings have taken place and that also in only 384 districts. Most of time after the first inaugural meeting, MPs have failed to turn up for subsequent meetings. The committees were formed in response to MPs’ complains that they were bypassed by district authorities in planning and monitoring rural development programmes.



Rural areas have less employed people
According to National sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), unemployment scenario has worsened in rural areas. For every 1000 people only 399 persons were employed in 2004-05 as compared to 403.5 in 1972-73 based on current weekly status (CES). As per current daily status (CDS) findings of NSSO, in 1999-2000, 478 males and 204 females out of every 1000 rural population were employed. It went up to 488 and 216 respectively in 2004-05. The difference between CDS and CWS are not much.

For a comprehensive story on unemployment in India log read Jobs, Jobs Jobs
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Additional funds for water projects
The Ministry of Rural Development has released Rs 744.2 million to 18 states as first instalment of funds against additional allocation of Rs 1,798.4 million under the centrally sponsored Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP) during 2006-07. The funds will be used for execution of schemes to provide safe drinking water facilities to rural habitations and schools in respective states under ARWSP.

The states will be transferring Rural Water Schemes to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) for their operation and maintenance and as such, delegate powers to PRIs for this purpose. Under the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme, the central government supplements the efforts of state governments in providing drinking water facilities in rural areas by rendering financial assistance and technical support. The state governments are competent to plan, sanction, implement and execute rural water supply projects from funds provided under ARWSP.