WHERE WERE WE?

Economy

Largely cattle raring and agricultural

Small Land Holdings (1.5 Biga Average)

Migratory youth

Mineral rich: Rampant granite mining in Mandal

WHERE WERE WE?

Socio- Cultural

Conservative

Caste Rigidity

Restricted social mobility

Patriarchy

Largely uneducated population

WHERE WERE WE?

Political

Caste politics

Dynastic politics

Limited interface between the state and people

WHY WERE WE THERE?

As civil society agents:

To partake in the grievance redress process To raise awareness on the RTH To collectivize workers to save NREGA

As students:

To study functioning of policies For Rural Appraisal

HOW DID WE DO IT?

Travelled on foot: ‘Pad Yatra’

Went house to house interacting and spreading awareness

Conducted village meetings

Rural experience as participants and observers

Conducted public hearings at the end of each yatra

Reflect on welfare policies aimed at rural

development in relation to the grievance redress

system.

Place specific policies in the developmental

paradigm

Apply policy analysis tools to review policy

performance and suggest future policy reforms.

Right to Education

Desired

Policy Target:

Making

primary

education a

fundamental

right for all

children in the

age group 6-14

Poor infrastructure

Extremely high student-teacher ratio

Non implementation of prescribed standards in

midday meal

Socio-cultural obstacles e.g. child marriage

KUNWAR KA BADIA DUNGELA

Universal, rights-based legislation essential for

development of human-capital

Appropriate management of resources

Take in account other socio-economic-cultural

problems to be able to comprehensively address the

issue

Desired Policy Target:

To provide public financial assistance to women

above 55 years of age and men above 58 years

of age within the economic capacity of the

state.

Several leakages observed

Integrated auto upgrading non-existent

Required to produce too many documents

Long, tedious and expensive process

Case study of

Meera Devi:

PPO/Bank receipt

was asked along

with a new

application.

The only universal scheme with the potential to

support the elderly.

Need to emphasize on oral modes of

communication as opposed to written

Need to increase awareness on entitlements

Desired Policy Target:

Providing financial assistance for the

construction of dwelling units for households

under the Central BPL

Assistance given in stages

Money provided is not sufficient

Long waiting list

Skewed eligibility criteria

Targeting leads to marginalisation of the

deserving people due to rigid eligibility

criteria

MGNREGA

Desired Policy

Target:

Poorest

marginalized

households with no

alternative means of

employment.

Engaged women and old-people

Minimal amount trickling down to the poorest

No asset creation

People rarely finish 100 days of work

Mixed response to its dilution (case study)

Mandal Raipur

• Dependent on cattle-rearing/agriculture

• Migration – limited to few women and old people

• Problems in implementation

• Dependent entirely on manual labour, no land holdings

• Popular among men, women and the aged

• Relatively better implementation but no alternative anyway

Crucial rights-based legislation for people with no

alternative means of employment

Effective distributive policy that empowers villages

with a significant influx of funds

Empowerment tool

Dilutes difference between the policy and it’s implementation – conspicuous absence of awareness

Building a comprehensive policy that does not address issues in isolation but integrates them. For example: building houses under NREGA, instead of separate housing and employment schemes

Desired Policy Target:

Development in rural India seen largely from the lens

of infrastructure development

Provision of basic infrastructural facilities to all

people residing in rural India

NREGA: no asset creation

Absence of Electricity

Absence of gravel roads

Lack of Sanitation and clean drinking water

Intends to universalize basic infrastructure amenities

that are crucial to improvement of human life.

Inflexible policies tend to exclude vast numbers of

population from acquiring basic facilities. Ex. 1 hand

pump per 250 people

Does not universalize basic amenities

A NON-

FUNCTIONING

HAND PUMP IN

JENA VILLAGE

IN MOTA KA

KHEDA

PANCHAYAT. THE

ONLY HAND

PUMP IN THE

ENTIRE

VILLAGE.

Grievance redress only the first step to effective policy implementation!