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12. RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN WEST BENGAL
The success in rural development in West Bengal is one of some impeccable
instances of the new economic order of the state. This very new idea of rural
development is obviously different from the old one and a pointer to a certain future
potential for success. Work for this development is on in 18 rural districts of the state.
The mid-year population of West Bengal in 2003 was 8.30 crore. Rural population was
5.97 crore and urban population 2.33 crore. That is rural population was 71.9 per cent of
the total population and urban population 28.1 per cent. The total scheduled caste
population was 1.96 crore i.e., 23.61 per cent of the total population. Scheduled tribe
population was 0.46 crore, which was 5.54 per cent of the total population. Thus, SC and
ST population was 29.2 of the total population. The statistics proved that this multitude of
rural population was benefited with an increase in per capital income. Per head food-
calorie intake has also increased, accompanied by a considerable and undoubted rate of
success in formal education and literacy and a steady decrease in the rate of infant
mortality. Above all, democratization of the 3 tier panchayat system has contributed to
the administrative and political empowerment of the same. The number of people below
poverty line in the rural sector of West Bengal was 73.16 per cent in 1973-74, while in
1999-2000 it slumped down to 31.85 per cent. During 1980-81, in agriculture average
97
per capita income was 1612.13 which registered an increased to Rs.10636.71 in 2000-
2001. This certainly is an index of an overall progressive scenario.
One could not miss, even a couple of decades ago the grim sight of a serpentine
queue of men and women waiting patiently for a Government Relief or dole outside the
Block Development Officer office, or the decibels of a soulful cry for help of the farmers
affected either by a drought spell. Over a single crop yielding plot of land or by a
devastating flood, the procession of people, trudging, along covered with the powdery
dust all over on way to the distant market place. The sum-down invariably pronounced a
total desolation and desertion then.
Now a day the scenarios have been totally changed. Today buses, trucks, tow-
wheelers are plying along the arterial, night-roads, making transport easier and faster.
The farmer now is contemplating on the possibility of a fourth crop after two or three
harvests. A youth, who has successfully passed the Madhyamik, is learning Computers.
Women folk are out to form self help groups taking time off from their household
duties. This newness of life – of a generation – is but the ultimate truth in today’s rural
West Bengal. Much has been achieved, but much remains to be done.
This ideal existence has been achieved by the Left Front Government, which is
rich in experiences of mass-movements and struggles and is still attached with those.
The present study is an endeavour to measure the development status in the state
of West Bengal especially the rural Bengal. This development not only includes
economic development but other facets like social development also. The major sectors
considered are economic growth, health, education, poverty, rural employment etc. West
Bengal, being a state with the population of more than 8 crores, has varied dimensions of
development. Though economic development is the primary concern of any state, but the
reality is that the fruits of development are not enjoyed equally by the all citizens of a
state. Development is an exercise where according to Paul Streeten (1994) “We should
never lose sight of the ultimate purpose of the exercise, to treat man and women as ends,
to improve the human condition, to enlarge people’s choice……”.
Transformation of relations of production and power in rural West Bengal
through implementation of land reforms and reorganisation of panchayats unleashed the
productive forces and led to a remarkable performance by the State in terms of
98
agricultural growth. Until the 1970s, West Bengal’s record of agricultural growth had
been noted for agricultural stagnation – a condition that was called an "agrarian impasse".
Reports of several official committees as well as the Seventh Plan document noted the
under utilisation of productive potential in rural West Bengal. The change in the
correlation of class forces in the favour of working people through implementation of
land reforms and reorganisation of panchayats helped the State not only in overcoming
the agrarian impasse but in achieving growth rates of agricultural production as were
unmatched by any other State in the country. In the post-1977 period, the foodgrain
production in West Bengal grew at the rate of 6 per cent per annum, which was highest
among seventeen most populous States of India. West Bengal has emerged as the largest
producer of rice and second largest producer of potato in India. Cropping intensity in
West Bengal has increased from about 136 per cent in 1980-81 to about 180 per cent in
2000-01, second highest in the country. The NSSO data show that as much as 66 per cent
of the gross cropped area was irrigated in West Bengal by 1992. Scholarly studies have
reported that high agricultural growth was characteristic of most crops and was
widespread across districts1.
Reference : 1. Rural Development in West Bengal-Vikas Rawal.
12A. Economic growth in Rural Bengal
In the last two decades, the state has experienced relatively rapid economic
growth, compared with the rest of the country. This is an improvement from the first
three decades after independence, when the relative position of the state in income terms
was deteriorating. Thus, while SDP (State Domestic Product) growth in West Bengal was
below the national average over the 1960s and 1970s, it increased more rapidly than the
national average in the two subsequent decades. In the 1990s, West Bengal was one of
the fastest growing states in India, and actually showed the second highest rate of
aggregate SDP growth among major states, after Karnataka. Indeed, its aggregate rate of
growth was faster than that of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, both of which are more
commonly described as dynamic states. Below the table shows the example :
99
Average Annual Growth in Net State Domestic Product(NSDP)
(at constant prices) (In per cent) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State 1961-62 to 1971-72 to 1981-82 to 1991-92 to
1970-71 1980-81 1990-91 2000-01 Andhra Pradesh 3.11 3.46 6.58 5.52
Assam 2.63 3.70 4.14 2.84
Bihar 2.47 3.20 5.06 2.34
Gujarat 4.83 4.31 5.99 6.34
Haryana 10.29 4.82 6.84 4.71
Karnataka 4.36 3.38 5.09 7.51
Kerala 4.00 2.30 3.34 5.74
Madhya Pradesh 2.86 3.63 4.89 3.65
Maharashtra 2.95 4.51 6.12 5.74
Orissa 9.94 2.50 2.98 3.53
Punjab 5.67 4.64 5.40 4.61
Rajasthan 5.78 4.10 4.35 4.47 Tamil Nadu 2.59 2.10 5.71 6.25
Uttar Pradesh 2.79 3.39 5.03 3.38
West Bengal 2.24 3.23 4.24 6.75
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source : Bereau of Applied Economics and Statistics, Govt. of West Bengal
Human Development Report-2004 has stated that the West Bengal is unique
among the states of India in having district-wise estimates of Domestic Product. These
are available from 1980-81 onwards; however, frequent changes of base and in
methodology mean that a continuous time series cannot be derived which would provide
some indication of district-wise growth of Domestic Product. However, assessments at
any one point in time are possible, and the table below provides information on the per
capita income in 2000-01 (at current prices) and the relative ranking of districts then as
well as twenty years earlier.
100
District per capita incomes -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name of the In Rank in Per cent of Rank in Per cent of
Districts Rupees, 2000-01 highest in 1980-81 highest in
2000-01 2000-01 1980-81
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Darjeeling 18529.18 2 55.6 2 70.8
Jalpaiguri 16749.07 4 50.3 11 38
Koch Behar 13855.35 13 41.6 16 31.7
Uttar Dinajpur 11182.86 18 33.6 14 34.5
Dakhin Dinajpur 14579.15 12 43.8 14 34.5
Malda 14777.2 10 44.4 17 31.2
Murshidabad 13392.39 15 40.2 18 31.1
Birbhum 12791.72 17 38.4 8 46.1
Bardhaman 17537.98 3 52.7 4 67
Nadia 16211.46 6 48.7 12 35.2
North 24-pgs. 14768.32 11 44.3 6 56.7
Hooghly 16279.65 5 48.9 5 63 Bankura 15741.64 7 47.3 10 41.9
Purulia 13044.67 16 39.2 9 43.2
Medinapur 15526.01 9 46.6 13 34.6
Howrah 15591.44 8 46.8 3 70.3
Kolkata 33299.5 1 100 1 100
South 24-pgs. 13630.22 14 40.9 6 56.7
West Bengal 16072.26 48.3 51
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source : Bureau of Applied Economics & Statistics, Govt. of West Bengal Note : For 1980-81, the data refer to the undivided districts of 24-pgs. and Dinajpur
It is clear that per capita income in Kolkata is substantially above that in all other
districts. Furthermore, this disparity has increased over time, despite the pattern of
growth which has emphasized agricultural output expansion by small cultivators and
rural industrialization. Of course, this does not mean that per capita income in other
districts has come down; on the contrary, it has increased, as per capita income in West
Bengal as a whole has increased by nearly 4 per cent over this period.
The economic development of rural West Bengal can also be seen in several other
indicators on which West Bengal has scored a distinction. West Bengal had the highest
growth of per capita net state domestic product in the 1990s among all States in the
country. Between 1977-78 and 1997, the proportion of people below poverty line
declined in rural West Bengal by 36 percentage points; the decline in poverty in rural
West Bengal was more than in any other State. Data show that the per capita calorie
intake in rural West Bengal increased by 184 kilocalories between 1987-88 and 1993-94;
in the same period, the per capita calorie intake in rural India as a whole declined by 38
kilocalories.1
101
Reference : 1. Rural Development In West Bengal-Vikas Rawal.
12B. Rural Poverty Alleviation Programmes
Poverty is a complete phenomenon with multiple dimensions that cannot be
comprehended by the use of a single homogeneous criterion applicable to all strata of the
society and regions of a state or a country at all times. The inherent pluralism of the
concept of poverty has given rise to the alternative forms of conceptualization and
measurement of the deprivations which have not only income, but also social, cultural,
political and even physiological dimensions. Poverty prevents human beings from
enjoying a decent living. They also are denied from getting the light of education and the
benefits of health services and are debarred from dreaming for the future with aspirations
and hopes. Thus, poverty has both intrinsic and functional significance. For this reason
preparation of the list of below poverty line families and targeting development
programmes towards them are getting maximum priorities in the planning agenda. The
recent estimates for poverty as calculated by the Planning Commission, India, on the
basis of the NSSO 55th
round survey data on consumer expenditure publishes state
specific poverty line – in case of West Bengal it is Rs.350.17 for the rural and Rs.409.22
for the urban areas. The overall state specific poverty line for West Bengal is calculated
through assigning weights to rural and urban poverty line equivalent to their respective
share in total population of the state – it is Rs.376.70 per capita per month.
The land reform based development strategy has ensured that benefits from rising
production and income in the rural areas of the state do not bypass the poorer sections of
the society. Consequently, abject poverty in the rural areas of the state has largely been
eliminated. West Bengal was one of the poorest states in India with over 60 per cent of its
rural population below the poverty line as late as the mid seventies.
The State Government has ensured that ceiling surplus vested land distributed to
the poorer section of the society. After proper implementation of the Land Reform
Programme in West Bengal, the poverty line especially, in rural areas has declined
rapidly. The table below shown the percentage of rural population below the poverty line
in major state of India :
102
Impact of Land Reform on Poverty in rural Bengal (in percent)
Source : Planning Commission of India, Govt. of India
Percentage of rural Population below the poverty line in major states of India
States 1973-74 1977-78 1983 1987-88 1993-94 1999-2000
Andhra Pradesh 48.41 38.11 26.53 20.92 15.92 11.05
Assam 52.67 59.82 42.60 39.35 45.01 40.04
Bihar 62.99 63.25 64.37 52.63 58.21 44.33
Gujarat 46.35 41.76 29.80 28.67 22.18 13.17
Haryana 34.23 27.73 20.56 16.22 28.02 8.27
Karnataka 55.14 48.18 36.33 32.33 29.88 17.38
Kerala 59.19 51.48 39.03 29.10 25.76 9.38
Madhya Pradesh 62.66 62.52 48.90 41.92 40.64 37.06
Maharashtra 57.71 63.97 45.23 40.78 37.93 23.72
Orissa 67.28 72.38 67.53 57.64 49.72 48.01
Punjab 28.21 16.37 13.20 12.60 11.95 6.35
Rajasthan 44.76 35.89 33.50 33.21 26.46 13.74
Tamil Nadu 57.43 57.68 53.99 45.80 32.48 20.55
Uttar Pradesh 56.53 47.60 46.45 41.10 42.28 31.22
West Bengal 73.16 68.34 63.05 48.30 40.80 31.85
All-India 56.44 53.07 45.65 39.09 37.27 27.09
Source : Bureau of Applied Economics & Statistics, Govt. of West Bengal
Programmes : For alleviating rural poverty, number of Central-State sponsored rural
development programmes was launched since the days of the Sixth Plan and are
continuing till date with some rearrangements.
The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojar Yojana (SGSY) seeks to bring 30 per cent of
the poor families in each block above the poverty line by involving them in income
generating schemes by the provision of bank credit and Government subsidy. SGSY
seeks primarily to pomote Seft-Helf Groups (SHGs) and involing them in income
generating activities. Individual beneficiaries are also covered under SGSY, though the
subsidy for individuals is much less than that for groups. Under SGSY, the beneficiaries
0
50
100
72-73
87-88
93-94
99-0072-73 73.16 56.44
87-88 48.8 39.4
93-94 41.2 37.1
99-00 31.7 26.8
West
BengalIndia
103
are known as swarojaries. The cost of SGSY is shared by the Centre and the State in the
ratio of 75:25
The Central Government has introduced the Pradhan Mantri Gramodya Yojana
(Gramin Awas) (PMGY-GA) in 2000 for providing house facilities to below the poverty
line families.
There are also so many poverty alleviation programmes are going on successfully
to eradicate the rural poverty in West Bengal.
12C. Rural Employment
According to 2001 census, the rural population of West Bengal was 5.10 crore
and the number of people below poverty line in the rural sector was 31.85 per cent.
There were 129.64 lakh agricultural workers in rural Bengal. Taking average household
size of 5.21 as per the 2001 census, the numbers of agricultural workers’ households
come to 24.88 lakh. Each year direct employment from cultivation of crops ranges from
1500 to nearly 1600 million mandays1. The table below shows the estimated mandays of
employment generated directly through cultivation of crops in 2001-02 and 2002-03.
104
Estimated mandays of Employment Generated in West Bengal through Direct
Cultivation of Crops (In Million Mandays)
Crops 2001-02 2002-03 (Provisional)
Aus 58.37 55.82
Aman 589.62 567.15
Boro 349.2 337.46
Wheat 75.95 70.94
Pulses 18.93 18.37
Oilseeds 60.42 56.84
Sugarcane 15.14 12.65
Mesta 2.66 2.05
Jute 162.95 159.02
Potato 85.15 99.2
Fruits 14.73 15.59
Vegetables 95.72 96.43
Others 54.86 52.89
Total 1583.7 1544.41
Source : Department of Agriculture, Government of West Bengal
The Sampoorna Grammen Rojgar Yojana (SGRY) is an employment generation
scheme formed by merging two former employment generation schemes. The cost
component of SGRY is shared in the ratio of 75:25 by the Centre and the State.
Foodgrains are provided free of cost by the Centre.
Further, every year employment for about 60 thousand to one lakh persons is
generated through various self-employment programmes. In 2003-04, employment for 61
thousand persons has been generated up to September, 2003, through these self-
employment programmes which stated table below2.
Employment Generation Under Credit Linked Self Employment/Poverty Alleviation Programmes in
West Bengal (2003-04, up to September, 2003)
(In numbers) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Programme Employment generated (based on disbursement)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SGSY 7647+483 (SHG)
SCP 36853
TSP 13276 SESRU 40
SJSRY 450
SEEP 110
PMRY 856
BSKP 1800
Total 61032 (excluding SHGs)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source : Dept. of Finance, Govt. of West Bengal
105
A steady rise in the scope of employment in agriculture on one hand and
enhancement of wages on the other have consistently built up a favourable influence in
improving the standard of a peasants life. Increasing the scope for employment in
agriculture desperately needed stepping up of the faculty to accept and assimilate the
technological advancement and above all, a good will to employ the same in agriculture.
Political decisions of the Left Front Government and these institutional changes lent a
momentum to the development of agriculture. During 1980-81, in agriculture per capita
income was Rs.1612.13. During 1997-98, per capita income increased to 10636.473.
References:
1. Economic Review 2003-04, Govt. of West Bengal
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
12D. Agricultural Labourers
In West Bengal a large number of agricultural labourers engaged in agrarian
sectors. In the agricultural sector, West Bengal had 56.13 lakh cultivators and 73.51 lakh
agricultural workers according to the last census report, 2001. That is there were 129.64
lakh agricultural workers in rural West Bengal. Without their participation in the agrarian
and its allied fields, it is impossible to increase the production of agriculture in West
Bengal.
As a consequence of different institutional reform measures introduced by West
Bengal Government since early 1980s like recording of share croppers, distribution of
surplus land among the landless and the introduction of three tier panchayat system, it
becomes possible to cause rise in agricultural wage rate of male agricultural labourers.
106
No data is available in respect of female agricultural labourers. For this reason male-
female disparity, if any, cannot be reflected in this study. Increasing trend of wage rate
for agricultural labourers indicates relative improvement of this sector in the overall
growth process of the agrarian economy in the State.
Agricultural wages have gone up substantially in the period the Left Front
government has been in power. In the 1980s, the growth of agricultural wages in West
Bengal was highest among all States of India. This has been a direct result of the struggle
for implementation of minimum wages. The high agricultural growth in the post-1977
period also led to an increase in employment of rural workers. Rise in wages and
expansion of employment have substantially improved the economic conditions of
agricultural workers in West Bengal1.
The progressive increase in the wage rate of the male agricultural field labourers
is attributed to better implementation of various self and wage employment programmes
implemented under the initiative of Central and State governments. The observation of
Economic Review 2001-2002 is quoted here to corroborate this hypothesis :
“Significant employment is generated in the rural areas through the implementation of
schemes like SGSY, JGSY, EAS, IAY and under different schemes implemented by the
Panchayats and Government departments. At present the situation is such that the
agriculturally developed districts in the State face shortage of labour during busy season
– a situation that could hardly be envisaged a decade back. As a result agriculture wage
rate has been steadily rising.”
Before the Left Front Government, there were no such laws for the protection of
wages of agricultural labourers in West Bengal. Only the then United Front Government
in 1967 and 1969 and the ‘Kisan Sabha’ of the Peasant’s Organization of the Communist
Party had fought for the increase of wages of agricultural labourers. When the Left Front
Government came to power in West Bengal in 1977, only then the Government had
introduced the laws for the benefit of agricultural labourers and amended the Land
Reform Act. From the year of 1980-81 to 2002-2003 the average daily wage rate of
agricultural labourers has been increased tremendously.2
107
District wise Average Wage Rate for male Agricultural Field Labourers in West Bengal (Daily wages in Rs.)
Districts
1
1980-
1981
2
1990-
1991
3
1995-
1996
4
1998-
1999
5
1999-
2000
6
2000-
2001
7
2001-
2002
8
2002-
2003
9
WEST BENGAL 7.26 21.50 31.47 49.96 54.86 55.97 56.93 57.92
Burdwan 7.66 24.15 38.14 51.79 57.44 59.21 60.27 60.89
Birbhum 6.96 20.25 25.66 44.96 50.46 51.79 53.22 53.66
Bankura 7.29 23.50 30.32 48.50 53.96 55.02 55.52 55.79
Midnapore (E)
Midnapore (W)
7.59
25.40
20.00
34.94
26.90
51.60
47.27
59.94
52.59
60.87
54.10
61.33
55.68
62.08
56.33
Howrah 7.92 22.65 34.89 54.80 59.21 61.35 62.47 63.35
Hoogly 8.13 24.55 - 50.99 58.77 60.17 61.47 63.60
24-Parganas (N)
24-Parganas (S)
-
7.63
21.15
27.10
32.92
42.65
79.99
59.93
55.92
64.17
57.52
64.98
59.04
65.62
60.41
66.70
Nadia 5.25 21.85 31.04 48.71 54.25 56.00 56.97 58.25
Murshidabad 7.75 20.20 29.25 48.06 53.21 54.46 55.89 57.22
Uttar Dinajpur
Dakshin dinajpur
5.05
17.40
26.44
47.09
49.36
51.60
50.37
52.43
50.83
53.58
51.66
Malda 4.79 20.00 27.78 46.01 49.96 52.02 53.27 54.29
Jalpaiguri 7.04 - - 51.69 55.09 56.56 57.20 57.75
Darjeeling 7.68 - 39.59 62.75 63.17 63.67 64.14 65.02
Cooch Behar 6.27 17.10 28.12 46.16 49.48 50.23 50.70 51.68
Purulia 5.26 17.35 23.37 39.08 45.52 47.48 48.75 50.37
Source : Directorate of Agriculture, Evaluation Wing, Govt. of West Bengal
In the off-season of cultivation when there is no work, the agricultural labourers
go through some self employment rural training which has introduced by the panchayats
in West Bengal when the Left Front Govt. came in to the power in 1977. As a result there
is no acute hunger features in rural West Bengal.
The State Government also provides homestead land to agricultural labourers,
fishermen and artisans under West Bengal Acquisition of Homestead Land for
Agricultural Labourers, fishermen and Artisans Act, 1975. Till the end of January, 2003,
3.08 lakh families have been provided homestead land under the Act. Homestead land is
also distributed under section 49 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955. Under this
Act, 2.39 lakh families were provided homestead land. Therefore, a total of 5.47 lakh
families have been provided homestead land.3
References:
1. Rural Development in West Bengal-Vikas Rawal.
2. Bureau of Applied Economics & Statistics 2002-03, Govt. of West Bengal.
3. Economic Review, Govt. of West Bengal-2003-04.
108
12E. Rural Health
The Departments of Rural Development, Health and Family Welfare and
Panchayat have simultaneously played significant roles to built up an effective rural
health-care system. A system of active participation of these departments in the process
from the district level down to the rural health centres has been ensured. The health-
worker reaches the doorstep of every person with preventive drugs and the message of
health-awareness. It has directly effected on the fall of infant mortality rate and increase
of average span of life. The success of family planning programme was remarkable
achieved. Simultaneously sanitary latrines, tubewells, bio-gas plant, smokeless ovens etc.
were set up with the help of centrally assisted programmes.
The rapid development of the rural economy as indicated by rising agricultural
production spread of rural literacy, empowerment of the poor through the panchayats and
above all the abolition of the feudal mores through effective implementation of land
reform measures, have made the poor receptive to new social ideas, specially in the realm
of their own and their families welfare. These factors among others to be touched upon
later have been instrumental in the declining vital rates, especially in the rural areas of the
state. The significant fact is that not only has the vital (birth and death) rate declined in
the rural areas, the vital rates for female in West Bengal has also progressively declined,
so that at present they are one of the lowest among the major states. The table below is
shown the infant mortality rate by sex for rural and urban regions of the major states in
2001.
109
Infant Mortality Rate by Sex and Residence in Major States, 2001 (Per thousand)
India/State Total Rural Urban
Total
Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female
India 66 64 68 72 70 74 42 41 44
State
Andhra Pradesh 66 65 6 74 74 75 40 37 42
Assam 74 69 80 77 72 83 34 28 42
Bihar 62 57 68 63 57 69 52 49 57
Gujarat 60 61 60 68 69 66 42 41 42
Haryana 66 63 70 68 64 73 55 57 53
Karnataka 58 59 58 69 72 66 26 20 33
Kerala 11 14 9 12 15 9 9 11 6
Madhya Pradesh 86 83 89 92 88 95 53 55 51
Maharashtra 45 43 48 55 52 59 28 28 27
Orissa 91 90 93 95 94 95 61 52 71
Punjab 52 43 63 56 47 67 38 29 49
Rajasthan 80 78 82 84 81 87 57 59 55
Tamil Nadu 49 45 54 55 50 61 35 33 38
Uttar Pradesh 83 82 84 86 85 87 62 64 61
West Bengal 51 53 49 54 57 52 38 37 38
Source : Health on the March, 2002-03, Govt. of West Bengal.
Rural West Bengal had the second lowest infant mortality rate after rural Kerala
among the major states in India. This was because female infant mortality rate in rural
West Bengal was second lowest after Kerala and was significantly lower than those in the
rural areas of the other states. In fact, West Bengal’s female infant mortality rate in the
rural areas was lower than that of Punjab. West Bengal, Kerala, Gujarat and Karnataka
were the only states where infant mortality rates were lower for females than males in the
rural areas.
It was seen in the previous Economic Review (2002-03) that in West Bengal
estimated death rates for children in the age group 0-4 years was second lowest after that
of Kerala for females in rural areas. All these figures indicate that the general health of
the population especially that of rural population has improved over the years. This is
particularly significant for the rural female population and the female child. This, as was
noted earlier, is not merely because of the rising living standard but also related to the
improving social status of women in rural West Bengal1.
Reference: 1. Economic Review, 2003-04, Govt. of West Bengal.
110
12F. Rural Education Scenarios
In the words of the Education Commission (1991) set up by the Govt. of West
Bengal, “The most wide ranging changes since 1977 in the educational landscape in the
state have been in the sphere of primary education”. While establishing new primary
schools in the state, attention is equally being given on areas with the predominance of
marginalized section of the community. From the statement below growth of primary
schools can be visualized.
Number of primary schools in West Bengal
Year Number
1973 39132
1978 42659
1986 48456
1992-1993 51021
1996-1997 51021
1997-1998 51021
1998-1999 52123
Source : Directorate of School Education, Govt. of West Bengal
Therefore, over a period of twenty seven years around 33 percent increase in the
number of primary schools was registered. As regards the enrolment of students in the
primary education it is every expanding. Year wise figure for enrolment corroborates this
assertion.
Enrolment of students in Primary Schools
1973 1978 1986 1992-93 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99
54,61,939 57,77,591 68,83,911 101,17,000 90,06,000 88,07,732 89,48,677
Source : Economic Review of Govt. of West Bengal
The literacy rate in West Bengal has always been higher than the all-India
average, and West Bengal ranks sixth among the major states in this regard. But until the
last decade, the improvement in literacy has been relatively slow in the state, especially
for women. However, in the past decade, the state government has been making
111
concentrated efforts through various special schemes such as ‘total literacy campaigns’,
‘non-formal education’, etc. apart from formal schooling for children to achieve the goal
of ‘education for all’ as soon as possible. As a result, according to the Census, the
literacy rate in West Bengal has increased from 48.6 per cent in 1981 to 57.7 per cent in
1991 and to 69.2 per cent in 20011.
The progress of Land reform, the rural development with the help of panchayats,
decentralization of administrative reforms etc. have been done successfully in this state
during the last 30 years which has already been discussed in the previous chapter. Along
with these the expansion of various educational programmes has also been implemented
with vigour. The State has been honoured with ‘International Nona Award’ for its
literacy movement.
The Government which had been in power for 30 years in West Bengal after
independence followed almost the same policies of the British ruler who had made
education free only for the students of rural primary schools. But during the Left Front
Regime, the Govt. made educations free not only for the students of rural primary schools
but for all the students up to higher secondary in all the Government and Government
aided schools of West Bengal.
The Government has also arranged for distributing books free of cost and ‘mid
day meal’ to all the students up to class V. These policies help all those needy students
especially of the rural areas who did not have the capacity to buy books and were forced
to drop out.
In the higher education also the Government policies have helped the rural
students immensely. The Government has set up 142 colleges in the rural areas which
helped the students especially the female students who faced various problems in
continuing their higher education.
The progress of literacy rate in rural Bengal during the left front regime has given below :
Table-1
Literacy Rate in rural Bengal in 1951
(in percent)
Total Literacy Rate 18.77
Male 28.91
Female 7.55
Source : Directorate of Education, Govt. of West Bengal
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Table-2
Literacy Rate in rural Bengal in 1981
(in percent)
After 30 years
Total Literacy Rate 37.90 19.13
Male 49.71 20.80
Female 25.34 17.79
Source : Directorate of Education, Govt. of West Bengal
Table-3
Literacy Rate in rural Bengal in 2001
(in percent)
After 20 Years
Total Literacy Rate 68.06 26.16
Male 73.75 24.04
Female 53.82 28.48
Source : Directorate of Education, Govt. of West Bengal
Under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), introduced in 2001-02, 811 new school
buildings, 2051 additional classrooms, 649 drinking water and toilet facilities have been
constructed till 2002-03. In 2003-04, 359 new school buildings, 13035 additional
classrooms and 2454 drinking and toilet facilities have been approved. Work on 461 new
school buildings, 2466 additional classrooms, 312 drinking and toilet facilities is going
on2.
As per SSA programme, nearly 2.50 lakh teachers are provided Teacher’s
Learning Material Grant at the rate of Rs.500 per year, each of the 62000 primary and
upper primary schools are being provided with school grant of Rs.2000 per year, 5000
primary schools are being provided maintenance grant at the rate of Rs.5000 year. In
addition, 350 Circle Resource Centres (CRC) have been constructed3.
As a result, the school children especially the rural areas have been benefited by
these schemes.
Ref erences:
1. Human Development Report of West Bengal-2004.
2. Economic Review, 2003-04, Govt. of West Bengal.
3. Ibid.
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12G. Rural Market in West Bengal
The income of the rural people of West Bengal have been increased much more
than early 70s due to an land reform, reform of panchayats, etc. during the last 30 years.
This annual turn over in rural Bengal market Rs.18,000 crores and it is increasing year
after year. The purchasing capacity of the marginal, poor peasants and bargadars who
were allotted land under the Land Reform Programmes has increased appreciably. As a
result the rural market is expanding. The State Government is also helping in building the
infrastructure of rural markets especially the agricultural markets.
The State Govt. has taken steps to improve the existing marketing infrastructure
in the state. It has constructed or facilitated the provision of infrastructural facilities like
concrete sheds and yards, market link roads, drinking water and toilets, etc. in the 24
Principal Market Yards and 551 sub-market yards including cold storages under the 44
operating Regulated Market Committees in the state. Around 44 link roads with total
length of 37.05 km. have been constructed with the funds of the Regulated Market
Committees. In addition, another 120 market yards have been provided sheds, culverts,
tube wells, sewage systems, etc.1.
Reference : 1. Economic Review-2003-04.