Varanasi: In the entire country, UP has the most backward and under-developed districts. This fact has been revealed by the evaluation study of Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana (RSVY). The Chandauli district, which is known as the rice bowl of the region, is at the 14th position among the 15 districts of the country selected for evaluation study under RSVY. Another district of the state— Sitapur— has been placed at the 15th position- the bottom rung. The evaluation study of RSVY was prepared in December 2009 and released in January last. The RSVY, a special programme, was launched by the Planning Commission in 2004 with the objective of removing barriers to growth and improving the quality of life of people. Since balanced economic growth has been one of the prime objectives of planning, successive reduction in regional disparities has been adopted as an appropriate strategy for development. The Backward Districts Initiative was initiated with the main objective of putting in place programmes and policies that would improve the quality of life of people in the 147 selected backward districts spread over 27 states of the country. The initiative especially aimed at addressing the problems of low agricultural productivity, unemployment and critical gaps in physical and social infrastructure in the selected districts. And, 15 districts including Chandauli and Sitapur of UP were selected for the purpose of programme evaluation. According to the study report, in financial performance, Chandauli’s achievement was found to be 79 per cent. As regards the achievement of districts in terms of the utilisation of total RSVY funds allotted to them, it was found that except for Chandauli, the utilisation has been around 90 per cent or more in all other districts. During the study, endeavours were made to assess the reasons for low levels of achievement in Chandauli district. The achievement of the district was adversely affected by Maoist menace, which hampered the implementation of various activities in the Maoist-affected areas. The construction of a bridge on Karmanasha river at Kahahua Ghat, Naugarh, with an approved budget of Rs 230.41 lakh was incomplete. So far, only one pillar and some base on either side of the river have been constructed. When probed, it was revealed that due to non-receipt of clearance from the forest department, its site was changed from the previous to the present one in 2005-06, causing considerable delay in starting the project. The statistics of financial progress of Chandauli show that a fund of Rs 3,469 lakh could be spent out of the sanctioned amount of Rs 4,380.23 lakh, registering 79 per cent achievement. However, the district showed 96.7 per cent achievement in physical performance that includes three key sectors- agriculture, addressing unemployment, physical and social infrastructure. Out of the 878 tasks, the district completed 849. Besides, for assessing the overall utility of various RSVY interventions, a utility matrix was developed. For the purpose, the observed interventions were ranked on a five-point scale involving three key parameters- perceived quality, usage and satisfaction level of the beneficiaries elicited through physical verification, focus group discussions with the beneficiaries as well as in-depth discussions with the functionaries of the concerned executing agencies. The individual utility- score matrices of all 15 districts- showed that Chandauli district got a ranking of 14 while Sitapur district of the state was at the bottom (15th rank). For the purpose of performance rating of the districts, a five-point scale representing Very Good, Good, So-So, Poor and Very Poor categories along with the corresponding range of overall utility scores was used. Most of the districts (13 out of 15) fall under the ‘Good’ category with overall utility scores between 60 and 80. As regard the remaining two districts (Chandauli and Sitapur of UP), they fall under the ‘So-So’ category. Their overall utility scores are found to be 57 and 48, respectively.However, by and large, RSVY has been able to achieve its objectives and most of the work taken up under the scheme were perceived by the community to be useful. UP has been among the most backward states of the country. Some districts of the state are also affected by the Naxalite activities. However, as evaluation report says, RSVY has thrived well in bringing about significant changes in the lives of people in the districts covered under the scheme. In Chandauli district, the Lift Irrigation Scheme of 50 cusec capacity was taken up under RSVY in Newajganj (West) of Chakia block with an expenditure of Rs. 74.0 lakh. Set up on a floating barge, there are five pumps, 10 cusec capacity each, coupled with 125 BHP, three-phase induction motor. Due to low voltage, the full capacity of 50 cusec is not realised. Generally, three out of the five pumps are operated for an average of 8-10 hours a day, thus supplying around 30 cusec of discharge. As a result, some of the farmers having land in the tail area are not getting water. Otherwise, the scheme has benefited most of the farmers in the command area. As per the records, the total irrigated area has been shown as 1,397 ha for three crops (Rabi, Kharif and Maize). * FOR YOUR INFORMATION
* * WHAT IS RSVY *The Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana (RSVY) is an important step for the balanced economic growth in the planning process. Removal of the barriers to growth and improvement in the standard of life of the people are being achieved by addressing the problems of low agricultural productivity, unemployment and critical gaps in physical and social infrastructure in the selected districts under the RSVY. * OBJECTIVES *The core objective of the study was to draw lessons with regard to the processes and outputs of the Backward Districts Initiative of the RSVY so that the same can be applied in future programmes. * SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES *w To evaluate financial and physical progress of schemes under the programme w To study the role of people and people’s organisations in planning, implementation and monitoring of schemes under the programme w To assess the status of achievement of the objectives of the programme, that is, to assess the extent of benefits accrued to the target groups/areas w To analyse the effectiveness of the administrative and implementing systems for drawing lessons to design future schemes LACKING DEVELOPMENT: A remote Dalit village in Naugarh and (right) villagers engaged in work under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Chandauli -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""GLOBAL SPECULATORS"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/globalspeculators?hl=en.
