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CIVIL
SERVICE: THE ONLY HOPE FOR THE PROTECTION OF LANDS OF THE
WEAKER SECTIONS --J.M.Girglani
The
Marxists call the phenomenon of the powerful against the
weak as the class war. When the weak cannot keep the wolf
of the land grabber away from their doors, they are driven
to a desperate situation and the country gets signals of
their hitting back in desperation. When such signals are
ignored, we have the situation of a rebellion or a revolution.
But unfortunately after the revolution, those who come to
power again conspire to grab the land of the weaker sections.
This phenomenon of the powerful against the weak, the watchdog
turning wolf, is illustrated by the case study of tribal
lands in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, where systematically
the very stringent protective laws have been subverted to
deprive the tribals of their lands. The Tribal Policy document
of the Government of India, 2006, shows this to be a nationwide
phenomenon. This paper contains a very detailed case study
of the tribal lands in Telangana region and the lessons
to be drawn from the case study. The politician in a democracy
cannot see beyond the tip of his nose. So the onus is on
the civil servant to protect the rights of the weaker sections
on their lands, especially in the scenario of coalition
politics of India. If the civil servant shoulders this responsibility
which he is capable of doing, he can save the country from
anarchy. The civil service has proved its capability to
face great challenges during the last 60 years. It can still
rise to the occasion. In fact the Development Administrators,
like Riggs, consider bureaucracy to be the initiators and
catalytic agents of change in developing countries.
©
2008 J. M. Girglani. All Rights Reserved.
SOCIAL
CAPITAL, COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND PANCHAYATS: STUDY OF
AAPNI YOJNA IN RAJASTHAN --Sudha
Menon
Creation
of trust and norms, popularly known as social capital, is
a desired goal of grass roots democracy anywhere in the
world. Social capital formation requires high-level trust,
awareness and empowerment of people towards their collective
goal. Community participation is a necessary prerequisite
towards this end. This paper analyses the relationship between
Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) and social capital in
the context of Aapni Yojna—a state government/NGO-funded
water/health and sanitation project in Rajasthan. Unlike
other NGO projects it functions through active role of PRIs.
Success of the programme in delivering water, health and
sanitation reveals that genuine community participation
and collective capital can be achieved only through intermediary
role of PRIs in selecting beneficiaries and prioritising
local needs. Without the support of gram sabha it is difficult
to mobilise participation. At the same time Aapni Yojna
shows that with the direct initiative of gram sabha, externally
funded project can also be made sustainable even in a backward
state.
©
2008 The Icfai University Press. All Rights Reserved.
GOVERNANCE
AND ADMINISTRATION REFORM AT GRASS ROOTS
--G.Palanithurai
Every
society wants an efficient government to deliver public
goods to the people. Only an efficient leader can give an
efficient government. An informed and responsible citizen
will emerge only when efficient governance is in position.
A government should be efficient to protect the people and
property, enable the people to earn their livelihood and
achieve prosperity and live peacefully. Though there are
innumerable government departments in India carrying out
activities at the grass roots level through various schemes
and programmes, the people's needs are not met. While the
spending on development has not reduced, the demands of
the people have increased. Secondly, these government departments
are not uniform at the Gram Panchayat level. Thirdly, there
is no scientific database at the Gram Panchayat level. In
India, governance and development are exclusively for a
class of people and as a result the poor, women and Dalits
are marginalised in getting due access to governance and
information related to development. To overcome the problems,
Panchayat Raj Institutions need to be strengthened.
©
2008 The Icfai University Press. All Rights Reserved.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
IMPACT OF TRIBAL SELF-HELP GROUPS PROMOTED UNDER WATERSHED
PROGRAMME IN NABARANGPUR DISTRICT of ORISSA --R.K.Panda
The
study intends to analyse the effectiveness of tribal Self-Help
Groups (SHGs) promoted under the watershed programme in
the Nabarangpur district of Orissa on the basis of primary
data obtained from 200 SHG members in four tribal dominated
blocks where watershed programme is currently being implemented.
The marginal changes are analysed by comparing their present
socio-economic status with their past—the immediate
preceding time when they were not the members of any SHG.
It is found that due to the watershed promoted SHG programme,
there is an increase in the Gross Cropped Area (GCA) and
in the yield of plantation and horticultural crops. Increased
milk production, meat production and shifting from traditional
crop production to cash crops are also reported. This indicates
a good deal of crop diversification, which is possible due
to the efforts of the SHGs in watershed areas. The households
from the lower income groups are now in the higher income
group. Mean annual household income, mean Per Capita Per
Day Consumption (PCPDC) of cereals and pulses, and Monthly
Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE) have increased.
This indicates increased consumerism and development in
the rural areas propelled by the forces of microfinance
activities. As per the outcome of the study, it is viewed
that due to the tremendous socio-economic merits associated
with this programme, the sustainability of the programme
is of crucial importance. Convergence of the rural development
programmes with the microfinance programmes can lead to
sustainability.
©
2008 The Icfai University Press. All Rights Reserved.
RURAL
SANITATION IN INDIA: TRENDS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND POLICY CHALLENGES
- AN OVERVIEW --M.Kullappa
Access
to sustainable sanitation services is one of the most important
factors for improving the quality of life of human beings.
Improved sanitation facilities along with availability of
potable water are the two basic facilities for human development.
Communities in the developing countries are more prone to
water-borne diseases due to lack of proper sanitation facilities.
Water and sanitation related sickness puts severe burden
on community, health services and keep children out of schools.
Around 2.2 million people in the developing world, mostly
children, die every year from diseases associated with lack
of safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene,
resulting in losses to productivity. Improved sanitation
reduces many diseases and deaths in millions of people.
Recognising the importance of sanitation, the world governments
agreed to commit themselves to halve the proportion of people
without access to proper sanitation and clean water by 2015.
The Government of India stressed the importance of sanitation
from the inception of the Five-Year Plans, revising the
policies from time-to-time to accelerate the sanitation
coverage. This paper aims at assessing the status of sanitation
in the context of policy changes in India.
©
2008 The Icfai University Press. All Rights Reserved.
Book
Review
Gender
Disparities in Education --A.V.Yadappanavar
and Gyanmudra
Education
plays an important role in human development as it provides
a necessary tool to acquire various skills in the era of
knowledge economy. Realising the importance of education,
the United Nations has included it in its Millennium Development
Goals 2000 to achieve Universal Elementary Education (UEE)
by 2015. India recognised the necessity of education even
before Independence and included it in the Article 45 of
the Constitution which says that the State “shall endeavour
to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement
of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education
for all children until they complete the age of 14 years”.
In pursuit of UEE, India embraced educational policies like,
Dakar Framework for Action on Education for All. Even the
founding fathers of the Constitution of India recognised
the importance of women’s education and made provisions
in the Constitution through Article 15(3), etc. India set-up
the National Literacy Mission to achieve the literacy rate
of 75% by the year 2007. Though India is progressing in
its mission of achieving UEE, women still fall behind men
in literacy rates; female literacy rate is 54% against the
male literacy rate of 75%.
©
2008 The Icfai University Press holds the copyright for
the review. All Rights Reserved.
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