Backward regional development

Backward Regional development plan

Submitted by:D. Akash (11011BA001)

M. Samyuktha (11011BA022)B. Sarath chandra (11011BA024)

V. Srinivas (11011BA032)M. Pradeep (1011BA024)

Submitted to:Mrs. Indu Priya;Mr. Praman Kumar;Faculty, Planning legislation

05/03/2023Backward regional development plan

2 Outline

Need for Identification of BACKWARD regions

Concept

National committees on identification of BACKWARD regions

Variables recommended by the committees

Methods of identification of BACKWARD regions

Backward Area Grant Fund

Case Study: Himachal Pradesh (Backward Area Sub Plans)


3 Why Identification of BACKWARD regions ?? Aim: The study attempts to assess the spread effects of

development process in the country with a view to identify the regions of iniquitous distribution of development.

Identification of forces adversely affecting the process of development requires to be made for evolving criteria for identification of backward areas in the country.

Backwardness is a relative concept. Within the overall context of under-development, observable patterns exist and areas with different kinds and severities of backwardness can be identified.


4 Why Identification of BACKWARD regions ?? It is necessary to identify levels of development, the factors

with which such levels are associated and the features underlying structural backwardness.

Necessity arises for formulating strategies for long term plans, immediate policy requirements and the choice of the instruments. Selection of a set of indicators is a crucial decision.

Studies by Various committees constituted by planning commission, formulated by Government of India are made in these connection.


5 Concept of BACKWARD region

Regions which have not come out of the low level equilibrium trap.

Regions in which the economy is largely subsistence one.

Regions having Lack of infrastructure facilities, adverse geo-climate conditions, low investment rate, high rate of growth of population, and low levels of urbanization and industrialization.

There are no absolute standards of 'backwardness‘.

Hence the concept is a relative one and in the ranking of areas.


6 National committees for identifying BACKWARD regions Study Group Constituted in the context

of the formulation of the Draft Fourth Five Year Plan (1966-71) to identify areas with high density of population, low level of income, employment and living conditions etc. in the country through a set of indicators of regional development.

The Pande Committee with the intention to ultimately suggest a strategy whereby regionally imbalances could be minimized or even eliminated by arranging establishment of industries

of all sizes in selected backward areas or regions through financial and fiscal incentives.

Distance from larger cities and large industrial projects

Per-capita income

Population engaged in secondary and tertiary activities

Factory employment

Non/under-utilization of economic and natural resources


7 National committees for identifying BACKWARD regions The Wanchoo Committee was the

second working Group appointed by the National Development Council in 1986 to make a careful study of the issue of regional imbalance.

This Committee was appointed to suggest financial and fiscal incentives in order to remove the industrial backwardness.

This Committee suggested a number of incentives like the excise subsidy, the transport subsidy, the concessional finance, the liberalized import and supply

of scarce raw materials, etc.

Another Committee on Backward Areas under the Chairmanship of Prof. Sukhamoy Chakravorty in October 1972.

Planning Commission appointed another committee on 6.2.1997 to evolve criteria for identification of 100 most backward poorest districts in the country. This committee was headed by Dr. E.A.S. Sarma.


8 National Committee on the Development of Backward Areas National Committee on the Development of Backward Areas (N.C.D.B.A.) under the

chairmanship of Shri B. Shivaraman was appointed by planning commission in November, 1978, evolved an innovative method in identifying and classifying the backward areas in the country, i.e. instead of relying upon any indicators of development/backwardness or indexes there of (either sectoral or composite), it settled upon recommending the following six types of problem areas as backward:

Chronically drought-prone areas

Desert areas

Tribal areas

Hill areas

Chronically flood affected areas

Coastal areas affected by salinity

These six categories can be viewed as six types of fundamental backwardness. In this sense an area may suffer from the handicap of more than one type of fundamental backwardness.


9 Variables recommended by the committees for the Identification of BACKWARD regionsI. Density of population per sq.km. of area.II. Percentage of agricultural workers to total workers.III. Percentage of literate population.IV. Percentage of school going children.V. Total per-capita income.VI. Per capita income from agriculture.VII. Sex ratio, industry and mining.VIII. Availability of infrastructural facilities.IX. Per capita consumption of electricityX. Chronically drought prone areas.XI. Chronically flood prone areas.XII. Length of surfaced roads per 100 sq. km. Of area.XIII. Public health care system.XIV. Safe drinking water facility.


10Delineation methods For Backward regions in INDIAN context


11 Indices Method

An index of development of each district was computed on the basis of the above six indicators taking the national average position as 100. The index of development of the district was then obtained by taking the arithmetic average for all indicatiors.

The districts with indices below 100 are treated as backward in this case. The results of this exercise as indicated below:

206 districts get classified as backward

Each district was ranked as per the various indicators.

The individual ranks were added to get a total rank for the district

Taking the median value (955) as the cut-off point, all those districts which had a value below the median value were classified as backward.

,164 districts get classified as backward areas

Values of Indices No.of Districts

Less than 50 81

60 – 80 66

81 – 100 39

101 – 120 45

121+ 75

Simple Ranking Method

Total ranks No. of districts

<400 8

401 – 650 59

651 – 955 97

956 – 1250 65

1251 – 1500+ 97


12 Principal component method

In the simple ranking method and the in dices method, an equal weighting techniques was followed which is without underlying mathe matical logic.

The principal component analysis was, therefore, used as a supplement to the other simple methods.

In this method, all the fourteen variables were used.

The principal component analysis starts with a matrix of correlation coefficients measuring the degree of co-relation between the indicators.

A comparative picture of the results obtained by the three methods is given below:Method Cut off

PointNo. of

districtsSimple ranking method

Median value of total rank

955

164

Indices method

Below 100 206

Principle component

method

Factor – score >10

181

A further analysis of the results of the three methods reveals that 160 districts are common to all the three methods & 19 backward districts including UT’s the figure comes to 179 backward districts


13

10223

2225

07

179 - Total Backward districts in India


14 Backward Area Grant Fund

The Backward Regions Grant Fund Program (BRGF), launched by the Indian Prime Minister at Barpeta in Assam on 19 February 2007, signified a new approach to addressing persistent regional imbalances of development in India.

The program subsumed the Rashtriya Sama Vikas Yojana (RSVY), a plan previously administered by the Planning Commission.

The BRGF Program covers 250 districts in 27 States, of which 232 districts fall under the purview of Parts IX and IX-A of the Indian Constitution dealing with the Panchayats and the Municipalities, respectively.

The remaining 18 districts are covered by other local government structures, such as Autonomous District and Regional Councils under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and state specific arrangements as in the case of Nagaland and the hill areas of Manipur.


15 Objectives: The Backward Regions Grant Fund is designed to redress regional imbalances

in development by way of providing financial resources for supplementing and converging existing developmental inflows into the identified backward districts, to:

Bridge critical gaps in local infrastructure and other development

Strengthening and providing professional support to Panchayat and Municipality level governance with more appropriate capacity building, to facilitate participatory planning, decision making, implementation & monitoring.

Improve the performance and delivery of critical functions assigned to Panchayats & local bodies.

Special provisions have been made in the guidelines for those districts in J&K, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, which do not have Panchayats, where village level bodies and institutions mandated under other frameworks to plan and implement the programme


16 Unique features:

There are three features of BRGF that make it truly unique among central initiatives to combat backwardness.

1) First, the approach of putting the Panchayats and the Municipalities at the center stage of planning and implementation.

2) Second, no Central funding stream is as ‘untied’ as the BRGF – the funds can be applied to any preference of the Panchayat/ Municipality, so long as it fills a development gap and the identification of the work is decided with people’s participation.

3) Third, no other programme spends as much funds, nearly 11 percent of the total allocation, for capacity building and staff provisioning.

The planning process under BRGF is based on the guidelines for district planning issued by the Planning Commission in August 2006 and January, 2009.

The process of integrated development commences with each district undertaking a diagnostic study of its backwardness and a baseline survey by enlisting professional planning

support, to be followed by a well-conceived participatory district development perspective plan to address this backwardness during the period of the Eleventh Five Year Plan.


17 BRGF Development Grants: District Plans received from the various States indicate that the untied fund allocated to the

districts are generally being used for filling infrastructural gaps in drinking water, connectivity, health, education, social sectors, electrification, etc.

The basket of works taken up includes construction of school buildings /class rooms, health sub-centers, drinking water facility, sanitation facilities, anganwadi buildings, Panchayat buildings, irrigation tanks/channels, street lights, link roads, culverts, soil and water conservation measures, etc.

BRGF Capacity Building Grants: The BRGF has adopted the National Capability Building Framework (the NCBF).

This envisages strengthening of institutional arrangements, including the infrastructure as well as software support for capacity building of elected representatives, the functionaries and other stakeholders of PRIs and thereby improving the vigor of grassroots level democracy

In 2009, the World Bank conducted an independent evaluation of the BRGF program in 16 districts in 8 States. The evaluation report pointed out that the BRGF funds are the single most important source of discretionary funds available to the Panchayats. The funds allocated under BRGF are small, meaningful investments for backward areas development. The study also suggested that outlays should be enhanced in order to be more effective.


18

Case study: HIMACHAL PRADESHBACKWARD AREA SUB PLANS


19 Context

Himachal Pradesh remained concerned about the need to remove the micro level regional disparities/ imbalances in terms of creation of infrastructural facilities in Backward Areas.

With this view, identification of certain areas as backward was taken up during the Fourth Five Year Plan and efforts were made to identify certain areas being remote and inaccessible which remained neglected due to their inaccessibility and other difficult geographical and harsh climatic conditions prevalent in these areas.

The basic criteria decided for this purpose was remoteness, inaccessibility, coupled with visual perception of the level of socio- economic development and infrastructural backwardness.

This process gave birth to the formulation of the Backward Area Sub Plan which was designed to mitigate the micro-regional disparities in development and to look after the developmental needs at the micro level for these identified areas.


20 Objectives of Backward Area Sub Plans

Reduce regional disparities

Evolve suitable policy for the development of Backward Areas

Decentralization of Planning process

Ensure people’s participation in Planning & decision making

Providing better coordination and integration of development programme

Effective mobilization of resources at district level

Reduce communication gap between people and the Government

More powers to people at local level

Evolving effective decision making system at District level


21 Working methodology

Step 1: Identification of backward areas throughout the state considering indicators

Step 2: Delineating Backward regions & sub categorizing them.

Step 3: Appointing District Planning Officer as District Development Officer .

Planning suitable policy/ strategy is prepared involving people participation.

Step 4: Implementation & Monitoring is done by District Development Officer. District Development Officer introduces sub plans and coordinate funding to heading sectors.

State District

Identification

Delineation

Planning Implementation

District Development officer & Deputy commissioner

Plan Review

Funding


22 Criteria for declaring Panchayats as BACKWARD (The Indices Method)Indicator weight

Remoteness & Inaccessibility (25): The geographical centers of the area under consideration should be at least 15 Km. away from the main motorable road.

25

Demographic indicators (35): The percentage of Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe population in the area under consideration should be 25 percent or more

20

90% of the total workers population in the area under consideration should be workers engaged in the primary occupation like Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, etc.

5

The %of school going children in 6-14 years age-group in the area under consideration should not exceed 20%

10

Infrastructural (36): The percentage of scarcity villages with reference to drinking water should be 60 percent or more.

10

The percentage of electrified villages to total should be 25 percent or less. 8

The number of health institution in the area should not exceed one & no veterinary institution in the area

13

The area under consideration should not be served by a bank branch as per RBI norms. 5

Agriculture (4): The average holding size in the area under consideration should be one hectare or below.

3

The percentage of cropped area under major cereals (Wheat, Maize and Rice) or remunerative cash crops like potato, apple, tea, etc. to the gross cropped area should not exceed 50 percent.

1

TOTAL 100Any Panchayat scoring 60 or more than 60 points on an absolute basis based on the above weights assigned to various indicators becomes eligible for being declared as backward


23 Formulating Backward Area Sub Plans

All such Panchayats which have been carved out of the existing notified backward Panchayats , will be declared as backward.

All such blocks as have more than 50 per cent panchayats notified as backward will be declared "Backward blocks“. Group of Backward Panchayats which form a contiguous area will be considered as a "Backward Area".

For "Backward Blocks" and "Backward Areas", area based planning will be adopted.

For Backward Panchayats which are dispersed in nature, beneficiary and area based planning will be undertaken.

Separate budgetary arrangements will be made under this policy and the total

earmarking for backward areas will be allocated on the basis of total number of panchayats in each group.

The "Backward Area Sub- Plan" will be administered through the Deputy Commissioners.

The Backward Area Sub Plan will comprise of three categories viz:-

Backward blocks ;

Contagious pockets &

Dispersed Panchayats

A total number of 551 Gram Panchayats out of 3243 Panchayats in the State have been declared as Backward Panchayats in Himachal Pradesh.


24 Set up Sectors covered under the beneficiaries

oriented planning include Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Village and Small Industries and incentive schemes under the Education sector.

Deputy Commissioners have been declared as controlling officers for the allocation of funds under this Sub-Plan.

All the District Planning Officers have been declared DDOs for all the Capital heads under Sub Plan and DDOs of the concerned departments in the districts operate revenue heads only under the Sub Plan.

District Planning Officer helps the Deputy Commissioner in implementation of the various aspects of the Sub Plan and District Planning Officer is responsible for physical and financial monitoring of all schemes under the Sub Plan.

Backward Area Sub Plan is operational in ten districts of the State except tribal districts, which are being taken care of under separate Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) .

Hence, Backward Area Sub Plan is restricted to the non- tribal areas of ten districts of the State.


25 Funding

To regulate and avoid any abnormal fluctuations in the expenditure under BASP, the State Government has issued instructions during 2001 to spend the budget in the following controlled manner:

1st Quarter 25%; 2nd Quarter 40%; 3rd

Quarter 25% ;4th Quarter 10%

The quarterly budget authorization under BASP to the districts is also made on the above mentioned criteria.

District-wise break-up of these backward panchayats is as :

District Total Panchayats

Backward panchayats

Bilaspur 151 15

Chamba 283 159

Hamirpur 229 13

Kangra 760 17

Kullu 204 79

Mandi 473 149

Shimla 363 83

Sirmour 228 26

Solan 211 7

Una 235 3

Kinnaur 65 -

Lahul & Spiti 41 -

Total 3242 551


26


27 Comments

BSAP is characterized by decentralized approach but concerned about few sectors only.

Budgetary funding is done quarterly based on the performance of the blocks, which can be appreciated.

Peoples participation is encouraged in decision making which has to be extended to implementation level & Problem solving.

Decision making should be done at panchayat level in coordination with District development officer…


28 Source

Regional planning in India – Mahesh Chand and V.K.Puri

Regional planning-Concepts, Techniques, Policies and Case Studies - R.P.Mishra

Report on “General issues relating to Backward Areas development”, Planning Commission, Government of India, 1991.

Report on “Approach to imbalances: Identifying Backwardness & Regional imbalances”, [Planning.kar.nic.in]

Report on “Backward Area Sub Plans”, Planning department, Himachal Pradesh

Documents

Backward regional development