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The ILO cooperation with India regarding Employment Intensive Investment Programme started in 1981, supporting three field projects, two located in the State of West Bengal and the third one in the State of Tamil Nadu. The main objective of all the three field projects was: poverty alleviation through creation of employment and generation of income for the rural poor. Project activities aimed at the creation and rehabilitation of rural infrastructure, water conservation and development, soil conservation and forestry, irrigation and related works.

Currently, the ILO, through the ASIST AP programme is collaborating with the Government, donors and other development organisations on issues relating to sustainable infrastructure that meets the expressed needs of local people and maximizes the use of local resources. Eventually, ILO/ASIST hopes to become involved with infrastructure projects in order to put the theory behind decent employment to practical use.

The ASIST AP approach to effective engagement in rural infrastructure programmes in India is initially to provide assistance to a select number of States and District authorities, through a series of demonstration initiatives, to better plan and implement rural infrastructure works. It is expected that the demonstration initiatives will provide conclusive evidence to support the case for mainstreaming these methods and practices into Government policies.

At the moment, ASIST AP is providing technical assistance to two states in India - in Orissa, developing Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning tools for Panchayati Raj institutions, and in Madhya Pradesh developing effective maintenance systems for rural roads.

Capacity Building at Local Level to Improve Maintenance of Rural Road Infrastructure

In recent years, India has shown considerable achievement in terms of providing access to its rural areas. The PMGSY – a centrally funded large scale country-wide programme is aimed at providing all-weather access to all villages with population above 500 by the year 2007. An outlay of approximately Rs. 30 to 40 billion per year is envisaged. For accelerating this programme where current levels of road connectivity are low, assistance of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank is being obtained. Besides this, funds are available as loans from the NABARD for rural infrastructure. It is recognised that this is essential to reduce poverty and increase the quality of life of rural people. With these employment intensive public works programmes, the rural road network is growing at an impressive rate. However, this has created a maintenance demand of new proportions. A broad national level study undertaken by the World Bank in 2002 shows that there is gross under funding of maintenance of roads in the country, which is even worse in respect of rural roads.

Effective maintenance of rural roads is a big challenge before the authorities in India and it is a field in which ASIST group of ILO can provide valuable experience from its work in the Asia-Pacific and other regions. This is also a major concern of donor agencies like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. An additional concern is the current capacity of the Panchayati Raj Institutions to maintain the existing roads.

Infrastructure maintenance being one of the key thrust areas of ASIST activities and being a labour intensive activity, it was agreed with the Rural Development Department of the state of Madhya Pradesh to undertake a situation analysis in the first instance as regards the financial, institutional and technical elements involved in effective provision of maintenance of rural roads. The review will assess the rural road network broadly in the entire state with more in-depth picture of two selected districts (Sihora and Dhar).

The study is currently in progress with the help of international and local consultants. After phase 1 work, it is proposed to take up demonstration projects in selected pilot areas in subsequent phases. The idea is to demonstrate the improvements that can be made in relation to planning, training of staff and local contractors, improved maintenance techniques and work organisation.

Madhya Pradesh is a focus state of the Asian Development Bank and the DFID, UK and thus provides a very good opportunity whereby new strategies and implementation arrangements can be tried out.

Objectives

Develop framework for effective maintenance of rural roads.
Incorporate promising practices in other countries with suitable adaptation to the state environment and administrative system.
Build-up capacity at Panchayati Raj level to deliver the maintenance works efficiently and properly.
Identify options for improvement of productivity of permanently employed workforce.

Outcomes

Overview of current financial, institutional and technical issues in effective delivery of rural roads maintenance in Madhya Pradesh.
Possible strategies for improving the productivity of gang labour.
Modalities for building up capacity of PRIs in delivery of road maintenance within their jurisdiction.
A comprehensive framework and suggestive Action Plan for maintenance of roads at state level.
Assessment of the extent to which good labour practices are being applied by the District and the Contractors.

Partners

Partners in project include State Public Works Department, Rural Development Department, concerned Panchayati Raj Institutions, the Asian Development Bank and local communities.

The first phase work activities are funded by the ILO ASIST AP. ADB is providing loan assistance for rural roads in Madhya Pradesh. It is proposed to work jointly with them. DFID has also agreed in principle to work on this activity jointly for the subsequent phases.

For more information, please contact Mr D.P. Gupta, National Coordinator. Email: d_p_gupta@vsnl.net

To Build-up Local Capacity for Rural Development and to Promote Good Governance

Capacity Building for Improving Community Access to Social and Economic Needs and Improving the Delivery of Infrastructure Services in Orissa (India).

Lack of access is perceived as one of the main underlying factors of poverty, particularly in rural areas. People need to have adequate access to water, education, health services, transport services, markets and locations for employment and income. Lack of access limits the opportunity that people have to improve and sustain their social and economic well being. Improving access has been identified as a main strategy for reducing poverty.

All over India including Orissa, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have the overall responsibility for social and economic development within their areas of jurisdiction and are responsible for identifying and prioritizing development projects. (Refer 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 on Panchayati Raj.) The PRIs are to function as institutions of local self-governance and plan and implement schemes for economic development and social justice.

Over the last few decades, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has been developing tools and capacity building process to strengthen the capacity at local government level to better provide the goods, facilities and services that rural people need for their socio-economic development. This package is often referred to as Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning (IRAP). The IRAP consists of a set of planning tools, which can help local government officials in the identification of rural infrastructure projects and determination of investment priorities in the areas of education, health, water supply and transport particularly roads.

ILO has developed country specific procedures in Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, Philippines, and Thailand). Work to develop procedures and capacity building process for the state of Orissa in India started in 2002. A team of local experts backed by ASIST AP group of ILO demonstrated the use of the planning tools in a number of Gram Panchayats and has modified the tools for use within the Orissa context. The response from the Panchayati Raj Institutions has been very positive and the experiences were used to develop a first Guideline for Orissa.

ILO has been financing the demonstration and development of the planning techniques and capacity building tools and has now prepared draft guidelines, training materials and manuals. Local expertise to replicate the process has been established both within the pool of local experts implementing activities and in selected Gram Panchayats. It is now proposed to scale up activities and to strengthen capacity across the districts in Orissa for using the tools.

The proposed project is a capacity building project that will in the long-term benefit the rural population in general and the more disadvantaged groups in the society in particular.

The project will contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). An adequate delivery of rural infrastructure services is essential for improving income opportunities, improving access to education and health and improving living conditions. The responsibility for delivery has been decentralized in India and this project will strengthen the capacity of the local bodies to better deliver the services according to the needs of the people.

The main objective of the project is to strengthen capacity at Gram Panchayat level in selected blocks/districts for the delivery of rural infrastructure services through improved targeting, identification, prioritization and participation.

The direct beneficiaries would be the people working with the Gram Panchayats in providing rural infrastructure services, who will receive training to better perform their planning tasks.

Partners

Selected Blocks/Districts in Orissa, State Government of Orissa, DFID (India) and ILO.

Outcomes

Capacity at block level to provide inputs on local level planning to Gram Panchayats;
Capacity in districts to apply the local level planning tools to identify infrastructure service priorities based on the real needs of the people;
Data-base at Gram Panchayat level on rural access and infrastructure services in selected blocks/districts;
Rural access and infrastructure priorities and project outlines at Gram Panchayat level and implementation of central government schemes by Panchayati Raj Institutions;
Set of guidelines, manuals and training materials;
Support and endorsement at State level.
Possible replication in other states to scale up the IRAP process in the country.

Activities

Data collection, mapping, analysis, identification of interventions and priority setting;
Conduct of workshops and on-the-job training at Gram Panchayat level;
Strengthening the awareness and involvement at district and state level;
If necessary, modifying the draft guidelines, manuals and training materials.

Implementation Agency

Initially this programme is funded by the ILO as demonstration project for developing the planning techniques. Scaling up of the activities is envisaged through funding from DFID.

Rural Employment Guarantee Act

The Indian parliament has passed a law that guarantees 100 days a year of employment on public works projects to a member of every household in India's rural districts. EIIP has developed a set of guidelines for use at the State level to implement this scheme focussing at participatory planning and selection of employment-intensive water conservation and harvesting, and flood control and protection works. In addition, EIIP is working on the adaptation of ILO's guide on Labour Policies and Practices for application under this national Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

Indian Roads Congress

Over the years, EIIP has been working with the Indian Roads Congress to introduce the principles, practices and approaches related to labour-based rural road maintenance and participatory local-level investment planning. This has resulted in the integration of the EIIP principles into the country's new Rural Road Development Plan �Vision 2025� which state that �as a refinement of the current guidelines, the states could consider tools such as IRAP developed by ILO� and �road construction and maintenance using labour-based technology promises to be a good avenue for creating employment potential while building productive assets� and �The IRC (Indian Road Congress) can network with ILO and International Focus Group (IFG), etc. in accessing the techniques found successful in the construction of rural roads� and �The ILO�has gathered considerable experience and expertise in training of small-scale contractors�..the training institutions in the country will do well to collaborate with them��. This is an important milestone for the EIIP for 2007 in mainstreaming employment intensive approaches in India!

For more information, please contact Mr D.P. Gupta, National Coordinator. Email: d_p_gupta@vsnl.net

India

Capacity Building at Local Level to Improve Maintenance of Rural Road Infrastructure

Objectives

Outcomes

Partners

To Build-up Local Capacity for Rural Development and to Promote Good Governance

Partners

Outcomes

Activities

Implementation Agency

Rural Employment Guarantee Act

Indian Roads Congress

Further reading