• Bhagyashree Child Welfare Policy for girl child, Rajrajeshwari Mahila Kalyan Bima Yojana for women, Janashree Bima Yojana for Labour in Unorganised Sector, Khetihar Mazdoor Bima Yojana for agricultural labours & Shiksha Sahyog Yojana for education allowance to poor children.
• Decentralisation and devolution of powers, funds and functions to the Panchayati Raj Institutions with mandatory reservation for women.
• Balika Smridhi Yojana
• National Maternity Benefi t Scheme
• Stree Shakti (TPP – 2004) : The programme launched in 2004, covers micro fi nancing. Rashtriya Mahila Kosh, Balika Samridhi Yojana, Kishori Shakti Yojana and Women Participation in Panchayats, municipalities, state legislatures and Parliament.

• National Old Age Pension Scheme provides social security to 44 lakh destitute persons above 65 years. 10 Kg. Free foodgrains per month to identifi ed poor under Annapurna Scheme. Under National Maternity Benefi t Scheme Rs.500/- to women below poverty line during maternity.
• Social Security Scheme
• Anusuchit Jaati, Jan Jaati, evam Alpsankhyak Shashaktikaran (Twenty Point Programme – 2004) : This covers the issues of reservation quotas assistance to primitive tribal sub-groups, ownership rights to tribals, and promoting modern and technical education among all minorities.
• Yuva Shakti (TPP-2004) : The Yuva Shakti programme covers the items like National Service Volunteer Scheme, National Service Scheme, National Cadet Corps, Nehru Yuva Kendra, Youths – sports and cultural development.
• Samajik Suraksha (TPP-2004) : To provide social security to the weaker sections of society, this programme aims at rehabilitation of the handicapped, National Policy on older persons for providing health and shelter, vocational training, reforming social/juvenile delinquents, alcoholics and drug addicts.

Upbhokta Jaagran (TPP-2004) : To make the consumer more aware, to
ensure food and nutrition security, and to bring about improvements in the food storage facilities, the Upbhokta Jaagran programme, which includes the following, has been launched in 2004: · Consumer court cases · Jagriti Shivir Yojana · Strategy for food and nutritional security: (i) Nutrition Programme for mother and children (boys/ girls), (ii) Targeted Public Distribution system, (iii) Anthodhya Anna Yojana, (iv) Annapoorna Scheme, (v) Construction of additional storage facilities, (vi) Establishing Grain banks in cronically food scared area, (vii) New Strategy for food and nutritional security and (viii) New Ration Card issue BPL Families/others

• Conducting of timely Panchayat Election
• Devolution of funds and functions
• Transfer of functionaries to Panchayats for local administration
• Kriyasheel Prashaasan (TPP-2004) : The programme – Kriyasheel Prashaasan aims at improving governance and responsiveness of the public administration, covering items like simplification of procedure, delegation of authority, enforcement of accountability, Redressal of Public Grievances, and Transparency in decision making, Development of Technology for e-Governance, versatile on-line information system for citizens, civic administration and municipal corporation, Development and upgradation of website of Ministries and State Governments.
• Sheeghra Nyay Prakriya (TPP- 2004) : To expedite disposal of court cases the Sheeghra Nyay Pakriya programme has been launched for monitoring the pendency of court cases and expansion of legal aid services.

In spite of numerous laudable programmes and huge investments, the reality of rural livelihood is rather dismal. There is a continuous distress
migration to the cities and most of the villages lack the basic amenities and services, like a pucca road, transport, communications, drinking water supply, power, sanitation, health center, irrigation facility and jobs for survival and sustenance. The power is concentrated in the hands of few and the village administration is by and large urban-centred. The concepts of citizen empowerment, participatory governance and decentralization are often confi ned to the seminars and papers. The decision-making is often piecemeal, disjointed, ad-hoc, motivated and lacks an overall perspective. A lion’s share of subsidies is eaten up by the administration/establishment structure and their salaries. The programmes are too many, so are the departments involved in each one of them. There is often overlapping and lack of clarity about the organizations and their accountability. The programmes too often exceed the time and fi nancial allocations and the facilities including housing built up by the government bodies have often remain unoccupied. This leads us to identifi cation of the pertinent issues involved in rural development, as given below:

• Lack of clear goals, objectives and targets
• Lack of benchmark and quantifiable standards
• Abstract and disjointed programmes without a coordinated spatial dimension
• Lack of strategic interventions and time frame
• Gap between plans/programmes and implementation
• Urban Centred, Multi-layered and multi-tiered rural administration and lack of accountability
• Complex procedures and obsolete legal frame
• Lack of funds, bulk of expenditure booked for establishment and salaries

• Evolving Smart Targets (Specifi c, Measureable, Action-oriented, Realistic and Timely)
• Setting up the Benchmarks for amenities and services
• Preparation of the development plans at policy, strategic and operational levels, and exploring a need based approach for clustered hierarchy of facilities
• Strategic planning for priority projects, areas and sectors in a timeframe
• Action Planning and participatory management
• Institutional/organization framework/Governance
• Legal framework and procedural reforms
• Financial Planning and harnessing the potential of private and community sectors Planning of the Rural Areas is essentially comprised
the following levels: 1. Policy Goals 2. Strategic objectives 3. Action Plans 4. Projects

So that all these fit into a comprehensive frame-work, a matrix structure can be developed relating the above with the following: (a) Focus Areas/Priority Sector, based on the characteristics and potential of a particular region/district/village. (b) Benchmarking of standards, levels and norms (c) Time Frame for achieving the targets/accomplishing the activity (d) Key organization/ departments responsible (e) Financial resources (f) Monitoring and Feedback system

Participatory learning with the target groups provides useful clues towards adopting a ‘needs based approach’. The needs of the rural population can be categorized in the following priorities:

1. Survival: Freedom from hunger and malnutrition, food security, agriculture and employment, credit facility

2. Supportive: Shelter, drinking water supply, power, transport, sanitation etc.

3. Transformational: Education,
literacy, skill development, environmental upgradation and access to information.
4. Empowerment: Equal access to resources, including land, finance and services, justice, participation in decision making, etc.

It is observed that with a little external support, the rural poor are often
capable of meeting their survival needs. The organized sector has a vital role in helping the rural poor in meeting these needs. The experience indicates that the supportive needs really help the rural poor in climbing up the economic ladder. The provision of basic services and facilities in the rural context is a major concern. As such the rural amenities and services be grouped under the above heads and the priorities of planning, development and investments can be worked out. Based on participatory rural learning, the viable distances for these amenities and facilities can also be worked out (which will vary according to public transport facility, topography and characteristics of potential areas). This leads us to a system of clustering of the facilities into a conceptual hierarchy of rural settlements (such as ‘cities in green field’, rurban centers, growth centers etc.) which can be developed according to the potential of either the existing settlement or as the new areas.

Keeping in view the above approach, the following steps are necessary in the process of rural planning:
1. Mission Statement and Objectives (mainly derived from 11th schedule, Article 243 G and 20 Point Programme-2004)
2. Translating the above into regionwise SMART Goals and Targets (specific, measureable, Action-oriented, Realistic and Timely).
3. Baseline Information and participatory learning at District, Taluk and village settlement levels
4. Identifying the issues and Key Action Areas
5. Conceptual Framework with respect to Policy Option, Strategic planning, Benchmarks and Standards
6. Evaluation of planning options, by SWOT Analysis, financial implications, cost benefi t analysis, feasibility and viability assessment. 7. Development of Plans at District, Taluk and settlement levels, strategies of development, disaggregated into sectoral plans for various amenities & services. 8. Resource Planning and Governance:
• Shared Governance and Decentralisation
• Identifying key issues vis-àvis Resource assessment
• Empowerment of the community.
• Participatory Action Planning Implementation Planning
• Matrix structure for integrated implementation
• GIS/MIS, computerisation, information sharing and
participatory monitoring
• Capacity building and networking
• Legal, institutional and financial framework. The entire superstructure of rural planning and development rests on the three pillars of-
- Organisation/ institutional structure
- Finance
- Legal Frame

No plan, however good, can be implemented unless it is supported by the people and stakeholders, who have to participate at all levels of decision making and implementation.

The Government with its avowed commitment to rural development has resorted to the conventional “programme” approach, which has serious shortcomings in achieving its objectives and has the danger of reducing the laudable mandate into mere exhortations. It is time that a more professional, participatory planning approach is evolved, which should be accompanied by supportive governance, organization/administrative structure, fiscal and legal/procedural reforms to induce a holistic approach towards the development of the rural areas.

1. Agarwal Anil & S. Narain: Village Ecosystem Planning
2. Axion G.H. & Nancy (1997): Collaboration in International Rural Development, Sage, New Delhi.
3. Beishaw. D.(2000) Decentralised Governance and Poverty Reduction: comparative experience in Africa and Asia. In P. Colins (ed.) Applying Public Administration in Development: guideposts to the future. Chichester: Wiley.
4. Blackwood.J.(1988) World Bank Experience with Rural Development, Finance and Development, Dec., 12-15.
5. Conyers D. et. Al (eds.) (1988) Integrated Rural Development: The Lessons of Experience. Manchester Papers on Development.4.1.
6. European Commission (1993) Principles of Development Design. Brussells.
7. Gaude, J and Watzlawick, H. (1992) Employment Creation and Poverty Alleviation through Labour-intensive Public Works in Least-developed Countries. International Labour Review, 131.1
8. Griffin,K.(1989) Alternative Strategies for Economic Development. London/ Paris Macmillan/OECD.
9. Govt. of India, Planning Commission (2002): Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-07), New Delhi.
10. Jain. L.C. (1988), District Planning –Another Flight of Fancy and Broken Promises, Times of India, May 9 and 10, 1988.
11. Misra, B., (1997) Regional Variations in Urbanisation and Urban-Rural Relationships, Report Commissioned by National Commission on
Urbanisation, Ministry of Urban Development, Govt. of India.
12. Moris, J. Bailey A. Turner R.K. & Bateman I.J., (2001): Rural Planning & Management Elgar (UK).
13. Nawani, G.S., (2002): Training for Rural Development, Rawat Publications, Jaipur.
14. Reddy, Ratna.V.(2000): Land Degradation In India, Extent, Costs, Determinants and Trends (mimeo) Centre for Economic & Social Studies,, Hyderabad.
15. Roy, Pradipto and Patil, B.R., (ed.) (1976): Manual for Block Level Planning, Department of Rural Development, Government of India.