Marketing of Specific Government Rural Development Schemes in India

INTRODUCTION

The term ‗Sustainable Development‘ is a broad concept and there are a number of definitions available. TheWorld Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission, 1987) defines it as―development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meettheir own needs‖. This definition is perhaps the easiest and most acceptable one. Sustainable developmentrecognizes the interdependence of environmental, social and economic systems. It promotes equality and justice through people empowerment. In the political aspect it demands broad based participation and democraticprocesses. The answer to the question that why sustainable development is important lies in the fact that byproviding a new framework for decision-making, issues are considered from a multi-dimensional point of view.Success is measured not simply by the profit generated, but by the triple bottom line of economic prosperity,environmental stewardship and corporate social responsibility. Besides simply making good common sense,adhering to the principles of sustainable development fulfills compelling business needs as well, including reducingcosts and liabilities, enhancing brand image and reputation, increasing customer loyalty, encouraging innovationand stimulating growthand strengthening with our communities (www.dow.com 1995-2004). The principles of sustainable developmentinclude fulfillment of human needs for peace, clean air and water, food, shelter, education and useful and satisfyingemployment. Environmental issues are important, such as ecological integrity through careful stewardship,reduction of wastes, and protection of diverse species and ecological systems. Sustainable development focuseson local people through public involvement in the definition and development of local solutions to environmental anddevelopment problems. Achievement of equity is attained through the fairest possible sharing of limited resourcesamong contemporaries and between our generation and that of our descendents. In the literature there are two concepts of sustainability: weak sustainability and strong sustainability.However, operationally it is the concept of weak sustainability that is used. It is not inconsistent with the experienceof evolutionary process of human society. Sustainable development requires the maintenance of natural capital. Bynatural capital we mean natural resource stocks, land and ecosystem. If any pattern of development continues todeplete natural capital, then that development is not sustainable. The question that arises here is whether natural capital can be substituted by other forms of capital or not. The two conflicting views regarding the degree ofsubstitutability between natural capital and other

depletion is offset by increase in thestock of other forms of capital. It assumes that all forms of capital are substitutes of one anotherstrong sustainability, on the other hand, requires all forms of natural capital to be maintained independently of one anotheras it assumes that different forms of capital are complimentary to each other.

India is home to almost one-fifth of the world‘s population,living on just over one fiftieth of its landmass. By 2025, itis forecast to be the world‘s third largest economy. Suchgrowth should bring hundreds of millions out of poverty –certainly a cause for celebration.However, India also faces very practical environmentalsustainability challenges in relation to its growth aspiration.For example, to meet forecast energy demand by 2030,India will need to expand its power generating capacityby 400 GW (equal to the current combined total powergeneration of Japan, South Korea and Australia), andensure widespread access to cheap, clean energy. As theworld‘s second largest producer of cotton, India will alsoneed to ensure sustainable and improved livelihoods for itsfarmers (currently 58% of the population), whilst managingsafe water withdrawals, which are currently 25% oversustainable recharge limits. These are just two snapshotsof some of India‘s environmental sustainability challenges,notwithstanding other urbanization, industrialization andtransportation issues. With India‘s growing economic power, Indian businessleaders now also have great potential to influencesustainability in the global market. For example, Indiais the world‘s biggest importer of palm oil, used in foodpreparation both for domestic consumption and export.Ninety-eight per cent of Indian palm oil imports come fromIndonesia and Malaysia, where palm oil farming is a majorfactor in deforestation. If Indian businesses were to promotesustainable palm oil sourcing, we can expect significantenvironmental implications at a global level.The business entrepreneurialism and social innovation thathas driven the last decade of India‘s economic expansionis a rich resource. Could these energies be applied in newways to help drive a step change in resource-use efficiencyfor economic growth? As the world‘s largest democracy,and a well-recognized centre for business innovation andsocial entrepreneurialism, Indian insight on how to deliverpractical models for environmentally-sustainable economicgrowth at scale, could prove to be its most valuable exportyet. With the Rio+20 meeting in 2012 set to decide goalsfor sustainable development for the coming decades,now is the time for Indian green business innovation andexperiences to be shared on a global basis. billion people will havejoined the global middle class by 2030, bringing almost 80%of the world‘s population into a middle income bracket.Short term volatility of key commodity prices remainshigh. In July 2011 cotton prices were the highest theyhave been in around 300 years, at 290% higher thanthose of the March 2009 mid-recession low. This volatilitypresents uncertainty and rising costs for companies andgovernments alike.

Soni and Kakade (1999)have described indicators of sustainablerural development which are protection and development of village commons, sale of productive animals andpercentage of underprivileged people involved in the development program to monitor ecological, economic andsocial dimensions. Wickramsingh (1999)introduced a measure of sustainability of rural development termed as index ofhabitat security based on farmers self-analysis in Kelegama district of Sri Lanka. He has also studied in the contextof Sri Lanka that literacy level and life expectancy have increased and level of infant and maternal mortality hasdecreased. World Economic Forum report (2011) of sustainable growth summit states that how businesses can play a critical rolein sustainability and how, with the dynamism and vitality ofbusinesses in India, it is possible to achieve it. However,it needs to be clear why sustainability is important, andhow businesses need to function hand-in-hand with civilsociety and government if it is to become a reality. Thepanel agreed that the government is often not quick enoughto react to challenges, and that there is a new role forbusiness to play in India. Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India report (2011) highlights some innovative approaches that playan important role in India‘s efforts at achieving sustainabledevelopment. These include the use of economic instrumentsand eco-labeling to influence improved environmentalbehavior and clean energy change. UNDP India report (2012) highlights that the Ministry of Rural Development‘s Schemes havean immense potential to contribute to the goal of sustainable poverty reduction and efficient use ofnatural resources, including improved land use planning and management practices.The report recommends measures needed to achieve green, including measuring and tracking, the useincentives and the building of capacities. It also

The main objective of the study is to examine the potential of rural development programs toprovide environmental benefits that further their developmental goals and recommend specific andgeneric changes in their guidelines to achieve them.

The analysis has been done with the help Secondary data (from internet site and journals). The data is collected mainly from websites, annual reports, UNDP reports, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India report.

The Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) spearheads the country‘s efforts to reduce poverty in therural areas. Until recently, its work was divided among three departments: (i) Department of RuralDevelopment (ii) Department of Land Resources (iii) Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation. In July2011, the Department of Drinking & Sanitation was converted into a separate ministry, the Ministry ofDrinking Water & Sanitation.The MRD website states, ―This Ministry‘s main objective is to alleviate rural poverty and ensureimproved quality of life for the rural population especially those below the poverty line.‖ 3Towards thisend, it sponsors scores of development programs, big and small, influencing ‗various spheres ofrural life and activities, from income generation to environmental replenishment.‘ A small number ofprograms of the two ministries – MRD and MDWS, however, account for a substantial share of theexpenditure on rural development. Primarily, these include the following: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS): MGNREGS is the largest rural development program in the country in terms of its reach and budget. A vast majority of MGNREGS works are ‗green‘ in nature given their focus on the regeneration and conservation of natural resources and ecosystems and their main emphasis being on land (farmlands, forests, pastures and waste lands) and water resources. In fact, since the initiation of MGNREGS more than 50 percent projects are related to water through implementation of water conservation works, flood control, irrigation, drought proofing, renovation of traditional water bodies and micro-irrigation. Their main developmental consequences are higher crop productivities and production. Drought proofing activities, floods management works and vegetation belts planted in the coastal areas also reduce the potential damage due to extreme weather events. resources and the conservation of the assets created. Their green outcomes include reducing soil erosion, improving soil fertility, increasing biodiversity, augmentation of surface and ground water resources for irrigation and household use and increasing carbon sequestration. A number of such outcomes have been highlighted in many states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala and Maharashtra. National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM): The basic objective of the National Rural Livelihood Mission is to create efficient and effective institutional platforms of the rural poor that enable them to increase their household incomes through sustainable livelihood enhancements and improvedaccess to financial services. It plans to cover 70 million households living below the poverty line (BPL)in rural India. (Budgetary allocation in 2012-13: INR 3,563 billion)The NRLM promotes the formation of self-help institutions of the poor - SHGs and their federations and builds their capacities to improve their livelihoods on a sustainable basis. The Mission has astrong sustainability orientation as reflected in the Mission Framework: (i) institutional sustainabilityby providing resources for reducing the financial vulnerabilities of the livelihoods institutions of thepoor and (ii) environmental sustainability through a specific sub component program, the MahilaKisanSashaktikaranPariyojana (MKSP) and a sustainable livelihoods innovations fund that reaches outto tribal communities, forest produce collectors, coastal communities, ecologically fragile areas and thecommons. Integrated Watershed Development Programme (IWDP): The main objectives of the IWDP areto restore ecological balance in a watershed by harnessing, conserving and developing degradednatural resources such as soil, water and vegetative cover, and thereby, help provide sustainablelivelihoods to the local people. (Budgetary allocation in 2012-13: INR 2,744 billion)The IWDP is inherently a green rural development scheme. The activities proposed by its guidelinesare very comprehensive and environment-friendly, though in practice the focus remains largely onregenerating land and water resources. Greater attention is paid to enhancing productivities, thoughoften without adequate concern for sustainability. Fortunately, in most cases, resources are firstregenerated or augmented before their exploitation in the project. Hence, the challenge of greeningIWDP is to make the scheme greener.A shift is required in the scheme‘s emphasis from quantitative to qualitative aspects - from regeneratingor augmenting resources to their sustainable use. Thus, the

andsustainable use, from merely planting saplings to their survival rates and species diversity and fromunsustainable high external input agriculture to low external inputs sustainable agriculture.Key aspects of a sustainable production system include a nutrient/pest management approach thatincreases the use of organic or biological inputs, cultivation practices such as minimum tillage, soilmulching, ploughing back crop residue, crop rotation and companion cropping, seed banks, integrationof livestock husbandry with agriculture, and post harvest storage and processing. These shifts will makethe farms more productive, will sustain the natural resource base, increase biodiversity on the commonsand the farms, and reduce ecological vulnerabilities and pollution due to agricultural chemicals. All of thisentails a revision of the scheme objectives, activities and desired results. As also redesigning the capacitybuilding processes for stakeholders‘ groups to include greener watershed approaches that are reflectedin the new project plans or detailed project reports.The new green results for IWDP will need to include (i) ecological and economic aspects (ii) quality of lifefor the watershed communities (iii) institutions and their capabilities (iv) planning and implementationand (v) convergence of resources.4 Indira AwaasYojana (IAY): This scheme provides financial grants to rural BPL families and the nextof-kin of defence personnel killed in action for construction of houses and up gradation of existingunserviceable kutcha houses. (Budgetary allocation in 2012-13: INR 9,966 billion) National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP):

The goal of this scheme is to provide adequatesafe water for domestic uses on a sustainable basis. (Budgetary allocation in 2012-13: INR 10,500 billion)Most rural development water supply systems depend on ground water sources at a time when thereare heavy competing demands from industry and agriculture. Despite impressive figures of coverage ofhabitations with water supply systems, slippages continue to dog the sector due to drying up of sources,reduction in discharge or contamination. At the same time, the Working Group on Drinking Water andSanitation for the 12th Plan has recommended piped water supply, preferably with house connections to55 percent rural households up from 35 percent at present.5

The Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan is an inherently green scheme as its activities improve the qualityof the rural environment. Like rural water supply, however, open defecation. Relatively very little attention has been paid to other aspects, especiallysolid and liquid waste management. In the green context, the time has come to accord a higher priorityto the latter.A campaign for greening of the NBA is required to change public perceptions, attitude and behavior forrural sanitation. So far, IEC materials have focused on the intangible benefits of sanitation, i.e., the dignityand status of women. New IEC materials must also promote tangible benefits by highlighting the impactof sanitation on health and livelihoods, e.g., how improved sanitation and hygienic drastically reducethe number of lost livelihood days. The campaign must aim to demystify the value of faces and urine asreplacements for chemical fertilizers and the resultant cost savings. In fact, toilets can be projected as away to harvest nutrients from human excreta and urine with a known payback period.

The green orientation of the schemes will entail specifying green principles, goals, actions, processes,desired outputs and outcomes, monitoring and evaluation procedures and systems in the schemeguidelines.Unless the green commitment and content are specified in the guidelines, implementation is likely todepend on individual initiative rather than be systemic. Hence, the Ministry may consider initiating aprocess of (i) identifying a set of key green outcomes that are most likely to succeed and will have thebroadest impacts and then (ii) adding an annexure on Green Guidelines to the Scheme Guidelines whichwill detail the procedure and propose supporting actions towards the desired results and outcomes. Thehallmark of the Green Guidelines will be (i) a set of non-negotiable principles and goals that must be metin each state (ii) flexibility beyond the non-negotiable so that people and institutions are encouraged toadopt creative and innovative activities that will later expand the Green Guidelines.6

An Innovations Portal for greening rural development may be established with the objective to (i)encourage people and institutions to develop and publicize innovative ideas, activities, technologiesand processes adopted to promote and expand the greening activities and (ii) provide information andnews about the progress of the Green Guidelines. The Innovations Portal will register demand for greensolutions to specific problems; invite technology developers and social processes innovators to developsolutions; serve as organizations.

A Green Innovation Fund may be established to promote and incentivize the development and extensionof green technologies and social processes. Priority may be given to fund action research proposals thatseek to experiment with or replicate innovative ideas in response to demands for solutions to problemsemerging in the field.

A dedicated Green Cell, adequately empowered, should be set up within the Ministry for guiding thegreening agenda and for the implementation of Green Guidelines in the country. It will submit an annualGreen Report to the Minister for Rural Development summarizing the major green achievements andtheir outcomes during the year. Its specific functions will include:

• Finalization of the Green Guidelines for each scheme.7

• Formation of a network of support organizations dedicated to facilitating the achievement of theGreen Guidelines. • Managing the Innovations Portal and the Green Innovations Fund. • Developing a capacity development programme for local communities, panchaytas and field staff atstate and district levels to implement and monitor green results. • Establishing indicators for monitoring and evaluation of the different schemes and their projects andevolving green indices for measuring the impact of the scheme/projects on the environment. Further,discussion on the green indices is provided in annexure 2 along with the identification of measurableindicators of green impacts and initial methods for calculating green indices for MGNREGS, NBA and IAY which can be used as a basis for developing the indices for various schemes. Facilitating evaluation of the greening results across the schemes by commissioning select institutions for conducting monitoring and evaluation exercises. • Recommending activities and procedures to states from time-to-time based on emerging experiences. across the schemes. • Production of the Annual Green Report.

Sustainable use of environmental resources can contribute to growth and stability. Global debateson green growth draw attention to the contribution of environmental resources to increasing theproductivity of investment and to the effectiveness and longevity of infrastructural investment. Theelasticity of substitution between natural capital and other inputs is found to be low, which implies thatit may be possible to compensate for the loss of natural capital with other capital inputs in the short runbut not in the long run. Moreover, while direct economic benefits from environmental policies will accruemainly over the long term, green policies can also contribute to short-term economic growth. Thisstrengthens the case for paying attention to environmental sustainability. In India, the Ministry of Rural Development (MORD) has been implementing a wide spectrum of programmes which are aimed at poverty alleviation, employment generation, infrastructure developmentand social security. MoRD programmes have significant potential for green results, both at the local andglobal levels. In this light, this Report on ―Greening Rural Development in India‖ is an attempt to supportthe systematic internalization of ―greening objectives‖ across the various rural development programmes in India. The Report aims to enhance the understanding of the concept of greening specific to each ofthe major Rural Development schemes, document good practices where incremental green results havebeen achieved, and provide recommendations on what the schemes need to do differently to achieve incremental green results.

1. Planning Commission, 2011, Faster, Sustainable and more Inclusive Growth. An Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan. 2. UNDP (2012), The Future We Want Biodiversity and Ecosystems – Driving Sustainable Development, UNDP pg 27. 3. MoRD (2010): National Rural Livelihoods Mission: A Framework for Implementation, Ministry of Rural Development, (GoI), New Delhi, p. 26. 4. http://dolr.nic.in/IWDP_main.htm

Water Supply, MoRD(GoI), New Delhi, p. 1. 6. Nature‘s Role in Sustaining Economic Development, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 365, pgs 5-11; 7. Arrow, Kenneth et al, (1995) Economic Growth, Carrying Capacity, and the Environment, Science, Vol. 268, 28th April 1995, pg 520