la India
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.
For more information, please contact Mr D.P. Gupta, National Coordinator.
Email: d_p_gupta@vsnl.net
Más información
- Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning at the Gram Panchayat Level, Orissa State- PDF 3,316 Kb
International Labour Organisation, 2006
- Situation Analysis of Rural Road Maintenance in Madhya Pradesh, Volume I: Strategy Elements and Options for Reforms- PDF 1,208 Kb
International Labour Organisation, 2005
- Situation Analysis of Rural Road Maintenance in Madhya Pradesh, Volume II: Policy, Institutional and Financial Aspects- PDF 658 Kb
International Labour Organisation, 2005
- Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning,
Application in Rajasthan - PDF 4,426 Kb
Ashoke Sarkar,
International Labour Organisation, 2004
- India State of Orissa, Integrated Rural
Accessibility Planning Gram Panchayat Level - PDF 1,337 Kb
International Labour Organisation, 2004
- Strategy Document for a Labour Based Programme
in Jabalpur District - PDF 180 Kb
Madhya Pradesh, Kirit Vaidya,
International Labour Organisation, 2002
- Construction and Maintenance of Rural Roads by
the Public and Private Sectors - PDF 204 Kb
International Labour Organisation, 1996
- The application of appropriate technology in
road construction and maintenance - PDF 231 Kb
International Labour Organisation, 1981
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