CHAPTER - VI

RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NAGALAND; b^RATEGY AND

PERFORMANCE

257

6. RURAL DEYELQPI4EMT IN NAGALMD: STRATEGY MB

PEBFORMAI 'CE

6 . 0 1 . The Background of IRDP

The Commiinity Development programmes were i n i t i a l l y •1

s t a r t e d in Nagaland in 1952-53 t»y creat ing a number >f

Community Development Blocks, This was the beginning of the

State sponsored soc ia l change as a p a r t of general soc io­

economic transformation in Nagaland. This process was fur­

ther enhanced when Nagaland State was carved out on f i r s t

December, 1983.

However, for the l a s t 16 years , there was no Rural

Development Department as a separate Department in the

State . The State r u r a l development department was, however,

s t a r t e d functioning from the year 1978-79. The Small and

Marginal Farmers Development Agency (SMFDA) had s t a r t ed

some years back in 1971-72. I t was then merged along with

the concept of the Integrated Rural De-welopment Programme

(IRDP) in the year 198O. Thus, the Rural Development Depart­

ment i s a separate Department in the S ta te , whereas the

IRDP i s a c en t r a l l y sponsored Agency, which i s run both by

the State and the Central Governments on the bas i s of 50:50

share .

258

In t h i s study, ve propose to study the introduct ion

of lEDP; i t s s t ra tegy axid performance with spec ia l re fe ­

rence to Medziphema block. There are another tvo spec ia l

programmes under IRDP v i z , (a) the Training of Rural Youth

for Self-Employment (TRYSEM), and (b) the Development of

Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWGRA), but th i s study

does not cover the above two components of IRDP. Thus,

t h i s chapter i s bas i ca l ly confined to the IRDP i t s e l f .

In Nagaland, the IRDPs are planned and implemented

a t a l o c a l l eve l i n s t i t u t i o n known as the Vil lage Develop­

ment Board (VDB) under the supervision of the government.

The ro le of Village Development Board and i t s e f fec t ive ­

ness in ru ra l development have been careful ly examined in

t h i s chapter . At the end, we propose to suggest for a Naga

model of ru r a l development for future development of t h e i r

socie ty ,

6 ,02. The Concept of IKDP

The concept of IKDP was f i r s t proposed in the

Central budget of 1976-77, and a beginning was Jus t made,

and i t has been incorporated as the main s t ra tegy in the

Sixth Five Year Plan. There may be various def in i t ions of

IRDP, however, i t means, "the t o t a l development of an area

and i t s people by bringing about the necessary i n s t i t u t i o n a l

and t r a d i t i o n a l changes by del iver ing a package of services

259

2

tha t encompass a l l t he i r f e l t - needs . " To most of the econo­

mis t s , IRDP means, bringing together of the d i f f e ren t sec­

to r s of the rura l economy - i . e . , ag r i cu l tu re , education,

hea l th , l u r a l i n d u s t r i e s , r u r a l ve ter inary and animal hus-

bandaiy e t c . Thus, the IRD i s a "mul t i - facet framework

involving mul t i -d i sc ip l ina iy approach, in tegra t ing them

in to one s ingle whole. The IRDP i s also t o be viewed as a

mul t i - l eve l , mul t i - sec t iona l and mul t i - sec to ra l concept. As

a multi l eve l concept, i t encompasses r u r a l development a t

the various l eve l s in the h ierarchy, such as v iab le c l u s t e r

of v i l l a g e s , areas , ranges, blocks or d i s t r i c t l e v e l s . As

a mul t i - sec to ra l concept, i t includes an in tegra ted deve­

lopment of d i f fe ren t sec tors of ru r a l economy l i k e ag r i cu l ­

t u r e , ru ra l i n d u s t r i e s , education, drinking water f a c i l i ­

t i e s , ru ra l roads and so on and so fo r th . As a mul t i - sec­

t iona l concept, i t encompasses a socio-economic development

of d i f fe ren t sect ions of the r u r a l communities, including

a l l t r i b e s , a l l v i l l a g e s , a l l c lans , and a l l fami l ies , par­

t i c u l a r l y of the poor sect ions of d i f fe ren t soc ia l groups.

These are the main t a rge t s of IRDP as a mul t i - sec to ra l and

mul t i - sec t iona l concept.-^

6 .03 . Objectives

The Integrated Rural Development Programme has been

accepted as the main s t ra tegy for the development of r u r a l

260

areas during the Sixth Five Year Plan of 1978-1983, with

the following objectives.

i) To raise families in the identified target groups

above the 'poverty line'.

ii) To create substantial additional opportunities of

employment in the mral area.

ill) To revive/intensify the traditional rural industries

and trades,

Iv) To explore and utilise the local resources fully in

the spheres of both social and economic development.

v) To ensure that the \veaker sections of the rural com­

munities are enable to participate in the develop­

ment process taking poorest of the poor family as a

unit of development, reaching their door step vitb a

number of different package of programmes.

Thus, the primary objectives of IRDP is to attack

the target group and to make them cross above the poverty

line through a multifarious programmes,

6,0^, The Content of the Programme

During the year 1983-8I+, the State Government of

Nagaland framed rules, known as the 'Model Sch«nes' for

identification of the schemes for individuals or households

schemes. Biis Model Scheme includes the folloving items

namely:

261

i ) Land Development - Subsidy for land development @

Rs. 800 per acre In p la in area, and Rs, 2,000 per acre in

h i l l area (p la in area means land measuring slope of not

more than H

i i ) Minor I r r i g a t i o n - For construction of minor i r r i g a ­

t ion channels, the subsidy i s ^0% of the t o t a l investment

subject to maximum subsidy of Rs. 5,000 per channel. Only

Individual cases are covered under t h i s scheme, as per the

ex is t ing ru les of the Public Works Department,

i i i ) Hort icul ture - (a) Pineapple Rs, 3,000 per acre in

one instalment , (b) for o ther f r u i t s , Rs. 2000 per acre i s

the subsidy, and apar t from tha t 75% to 80^ of which i s

given in kind in three ins ta lments ,

iv) Fishery Development - The subsidy i s 50% of the t o t a l

expenditure as per the ex is t ing schedule rules of P.W.D.

Subsidy can be given for f ishery pcmds measuring 35 ' x 100'

X *+' and above with permanent water, subject to the maximum

of Rs. 5,000 per benef ic ia ry .

v) Farm Forestry - Subsidy for farm fores t ry i s Rs. 1000

per benef ic ia iy i . e . ; not exceeding one hectare per benef i ­

c i a ry . Since protect ion i s the primary requirement, fencing

mater ia ls are also to be provided.

262

v i ) inimal Pover - Subsidy for a p a i r of ploughing

animals i s Rs, 2,000, "which may be given to the farmers

having terraced f i e ld not l e s s than one hectare .

v i i ) Ser icul ture - Subsidy of Rs. 2,500 per hectare i s

given. This i s envisaged for se lected areas only keeping in

view the v i a b i l i t y of the scheme.

v i i i ) Bee-keeping - The subsidy i s l imi ted to Rs. 1,000/-

per bee-keeping u n i t , i . e . 5 boxes and one ext ra ex t rac to r

cons t i t u t e one u n i t .

i x ) Dairy - One cross-breed milch cow and a he i fe r con­

s t i t u t e a dairy u n i t for which a subsidy of Rs. 5 ,000/- i s

provided.

x) Piggery - Three p igl ings (female) cons t i tu te one

piggery u n i t for which a subsidy of Rs. 1000 i s given.

x i ) Goat keeping - One goatery u n i t consis ts of nine

ewes and one ram ( fu l ly grown) for which there i s provision

for subsidy of Rs. 3000.

x i i ) Duckery - One u n i t consis ts of 25 ducklings (22 f e ­

males and 3 male) for which subsidy of Rs. 1500 i s provided,

x i i i ) Poultry - One u n i t consis ts of 30 poultry b i rds

(6 months old or more) for which subsidy of Rs. 2,500 i s

provided.

263

xlv) Knit t ing aiid Tailoring - One kn i t t i ng or sewing can

be Issued to ttiose deserving persons vho have been t ra ined

under TRYSM. Subsidy for a kn i t t i ng machine i s Rs. 2100

and for a sewing machine i s Rs. ^-00, A kn i t t i ng centre or

a t a i l o r i n g centre can also be sanctioned for which there

i s provision of Es. 5000 and Rs. 3,500 respect ively for each

Centre.

xv) Agr icu l tu ra l tools and Implements - Tools and imple­

ments l i k e junrper, kodali« pick-axe, dao, pumping s e t ,

wheel barrow e t c . can be purchased for sa le to the farmers

a t 50^ subsidy. Livestocks are issued to the bene f i c i a r i e s

only a f t e r r ece ip t of the ve r i f i c a t i on repor t from the

iD^lementing o f f i ce r about the completion of construction of

animal shed by the benef ic ia r ies to ensure 50 per cent con-

t r i b u t i o n to the cap i t a l investment.-^

The above schemes are en t i r e ly designed for i n d i v i ­

duals or households. However, the community oriented pro­

grammes are also taken care of by the State Rural Develop­

ment Department. The model schCTie tinder I t s department has

nine major schemes such as the c<M:i^truction of res t ing sheds

on khe t l road, wire rope suspension br idge, v i l l a g e main

s t r e e t , s teps or footh path, v i l l a g e approach road, v i l l age

r ing wel ls /water tanks, community g^ainary, community

orchard/gardens and expeilmental schemes. Similarly, a number

26 If

of conmiunity or iented pro jec t s are a lso taken care of by

other Central ly sponsored programmes l i k e the National Rural

Employment Programme (NERP) and the Rural Landless Employ-

,ment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP), These programmes are also

required to be re-designed according to fe l t -needs of the

people within the network of t he i r soc ia l organisat ion.

6 .05. The Organisational set-up and s taf f ing pa t te rn

In other tJtates there i s one D i s t r i c t Rural Develop­

ment Agency (DRDA) in every d i s t r i c t of India. But there i s

only one Agency in Nagaland, known as the 'S ta te Rural Deve­

lopment Agency (£DRA), with i t s headquarter in Kohima and

branch off ices in other s ix d i s t r i c t s in Nagaland. In the

State l e v e l , the Agency i s headed by a Direc tor , who i s the

Cijief Executive Oif icer . He i s a s s i s t ed by one Deputy Pro­

j e c t Officer, f ive Ass i s tan t Project Officers , Accounts

Officer, Credit Planning Officer and other min i s t e r i a l s taff .

At the d i s t r i c t l e v e l , the Ass is tan t Project Officers are

also ass is ted by one Upper Divisional Ass i s t an t s , one Lower

Div i s ia ia l Ass is tant and two to three grade four s taf f . I t

has been observed tha t the Agency s t a f f has l e s s role to

play in the process of programme implementation both in the

branch and Headquarter o f f i ces . Because the i den t i f i ca t i on

of benef i c i a r i e s i s general ly done by the Vil lage Develop­

ment Board (VDB) and the Block Development Officer (BDO),

265

The technical schemes are prepared by the Block Develop­

ment Officer and the schemes are implemented by the bene­

ficiaries themselves under the guidance of the Block

Development Officer and the Village Council, The funds

are channelised directly through the Bank. Iherefore, the

Agency has less role to play excepting to deposit the

Block-vise allocation of fund into the Bank and to accord

the sanction in time. In the branch office, the Assistant

Project Officer has less role to play except to scruti­

nise the list of the beneficiaries prepared by the Village

Development Board submitted through the Block Development

Officer to him,

6.06. Identification of the Beneficiaries

As a general policy, the process of identification

starts from the preliminary bench mark survey, vhich has

to be conducted by the Agency in collaboration with the

Block staff, Bank Officials and the Village Development

Board in every village. The list of beneficiaries is

initially prepared by the Village Development Board v?ith

consultation of the Village Council. The list is then veri­

fied by the Block Development Officer. The Bank Manager

or his representatives are to be associated with the pro­

gramme right from the identification of the beneficiaries.

To ensure that the right person is identified for assis­

tance, the final list of the beneficiaries is displayed/

266

n o t i f i e d on the not ice board of the Vil lage Council and

the block of f ice . In case of any serious dispute regard­

ing any name in the l i s t , i t i s re-examined by the v i l ­

lage council and f i n a l l y i t i s decided by the D i s t r i c t

Planning Board with consultat ion of the concerned Block

Development Officer, who i s also one of the members of

th i s Board.

6.07. Selection Cr i te r ion

There are few speci f ic condit ions for i den t i f i ca t i on

of the bene f i c i a r i e s . Generally, the questions l i k e who

i s to be chosen, for what scheme and a lso how the choice

i s to be made. In t h i s context, a l l tbese basic questions

are l e f t to the v i l l a g e r s to be decided by themselves.

However, the basic c r i t e r i o n for i den t i f i c a t i on of the

t a r g e t group i s the 'income of the fami ly ' . A family con­

s i s t i n g of five persons with an annual income not excee­

ding Rs. 3»500 i s considered to be l iv ing below the pover­

ty line'^ and i s e l i g i b l e for ass i s tance under t h i s pro­

gramme.

The Government of India has defined the poverty l i n e

in terms of annual inccxae of a family, having an annual

income of Rs. 6,^00 or l e s s . The 'cut o f f l i n e for iden t i ­

f i ca t ion of the famil ies would be Rs. if,800 annual income

per family. However, in order to ensure t ha t the poorest

267

of the poor faxnily gets the maximum bene f i t s , a family

with an annual income l eve l upto Rs. 3,500 are ass i s ted

f i r s t . Hovever, the Government of Nagaland do not take

the f igure of Rs. 3,500 and i t has enhanced upto Rs. 5,500

This arrguigement has been made according to the exis t ing

socio-economic condit ion of the people, to be considered

as the fsimilies l i v ing belov the poverty l i n e . The other

important c r i t e r i o n for se lec t ion of the benef ic ia r ies

and the schemes v,ere l e f t on the advice of the technical

personnel in the pas t . But nov, the role of government

o f f i c i a l s in ident i fying a person for a p a r t i c u l a r c a t e ­

gory of the scheme has been reduced. After a person/

family i s once i d e n t i f i e d ; the choice i s given to him for

se lec t ion of any scheme according to h i s own i n t e r e s t

within the same budget a l loca t ion , Ohis freedom of choice

of the scheme i s given t o the benef ic iary in order to

enable him to make the programme a success.

In t h i s study we have t r i e d to ident i fy the poorest

of the poor family within the range of the family income

of Rs. 3,500 to Rs. lf,800, but no one f a l l s within t h i s

range. We have careful ly c l a s s i f i ed the econcxnic s t a tus of

the people by working out both income and expenditure of a

family according to prevai l ing situaticxi in Medziphema

block amongst the various Naga t r i b e s . The d e t a i l i s given

in the beginning of chapter four ( r e f e r tab le if .1,^.2 &

268

Out of 150 households, the minimum annual income of

a family vas recorded to be Rs. 5,000. Therefore, the

lo-west l eve l of anrtual income of a family was taken in to

account as Rs. 5,000^ Thus, in t h i s study, the poorest of

the poor families were 28 (18.66^) out of 150 households

in the f i r s t category of the f ive v i l l ages ( tab le ^ , 1 ) ,

and 12 (16.66^) in Diphupar v i l l a g e amongst six Naga t r ibes

( tab le h,2), Biis i s according to our c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of

the s t a tu s of family.

6 ,08. Change in programme s t ra tegy

The Integrated Rural Development Programme was

ushered in Nagaland in 1971-72 taking the name of the

"Sknall and Marginal Farmers Development Agency," Since

t h a i , constant changes have been iden t i f i ed in the s t ra tegy

during the l a s t 16 years . F i r s t l y , during the period of

1971-72 to 1978-79, the programmes were implemented d i r ec ­

t l y by the Block l eve l s t a f f without involving the v i l l a ­

gers and a lso the bene f i c i a r i e s . The benef ic ia r i e s were

i n d i r e c t l y chosen by the Block s ta f f alone without going

to the v i l l a g e s . The subsidies were simply d i s t r ibu ted

under various schemes e i t h e r cash or in feing incformjof.

glving piecemeal without bearing much f r u i t s . As a r e s u l t

the Vil lage Development Board was cons t i tu ted in 1979-80

with a view to mobilising the masses and to make them

269

involved in the programme plannings and implementation.

The Vil lage Development Board have now been cons t i tu ted in

a l l the government recognised v i l l ages throughout Nagaland,

After the incepticai of the Vil lage Development Board,

the IRDP have become by and large the r e spons ib i l i t y of the

Board in every v i l l a g e . !I3iis i s the second phase of change

in the prograimne pol icy , 3111 th i s s tage , there have been

no d i r e c t involvonent of the Banks in the IRDP. However,

very recently another s t ra tegy has been introduced in the

year 1986-87 in which the d i r e c t involvement of the finance

i n s t i t u t i o n become a must. This i s known as ' the Bank

Credit Linkage Prograimne' under IRDP. Under t h i s new s t r a ­

tegy, no IRDP can be implemented without the knowledge of

the conmercial banks in the S ta te . Thus, iinder t h i s pol icy ,

a l l the schemes of IRDP are channelised only through the

Banks. This i s summarised below,

6,09, The Role of the Commercial Banks in IRDP

Under t h i s new s t ra tegy , the Bank has to perform a

mult i far ious function as mentioned below. For Medziphema

Block, the Allahabad Bank, Medziphema has been authorised

by the State Government to deal with the IRDP schemes. The

primary dut ies of the Bank are as follows:

270

i ) To ensure t ha t a l l the v i l l ages and families i d e n t i ­

f i ed under the IRDP are given loans from ihe Bank.

i i ) To prepare the appl icat ions of the i den t i f i ed fami­

l i e s and the d e t a i l s of the schemes selected for each

of them under the prograjnme.

i i i ) To re lease the sanction amount to the benef ic ia r ies

without delay with int imation to the Agency, BDO/VC/

VDB.

i v ) To ensure the types and number of schemes which are

v i ab le for giving loan agains t the Agency share ,

v) To review the progress of the schemes undertaken )

through the Bank loan and to examine the new types

and l a rge r number of schemes tha t may come up in

fu tu re ,

v i ) To take care of the i ini ts of asse t s ( e . g . the nianber

of animals or b i rds for each beneficiary) t o be sup­

p l i ed unc?er the scheme and cos t of the un i t s are in

accordance with guidel ines l a i d down by the appro­

p r i a t e a u t h o r i t i e s ,

v i i ) To r e j e c t or accept the loan appl ica t ions on the

v a l i d grounds under the programmes,

v i i i ) To nominate a su i t ab l e o f f i ce r in the d i s t r i c t / b l o c k

to be the l i a i s o n of f icer or coordinator fo r a l l i t s

branches in the d i s t r i c t in i t s dealing with D i s t r i c t

Rural Development Agency (Sta te Rural Development

Agency) in case of Nagaland in regaixi to IRDP.

271

ix) To ensure t ha t the programme of lendings are not

hanpered.

6 .10. The Method of Financia l Transaction

Under th i s new s t ra tegy of development, no IRDP fund

i s required to be kept with the Agency or with the BDO.

Every year the Agency has to deposit the whole budget

a l loca t ion of the blocks in to the Banks, After receiving

the f i n a l l i s t of benef ic ia r ies from the D i s t r i c t Planning

Board routed through the VDB/BDO, the Direc tora te of Agency

accords the sanctions to the bene f i c i a r i e s . Die sanction

l i s t i s a lso comnunicated to the BDO/VDB and the Bank

Manager. Then a l l the benef ic ia r ies rush to the Allahabad

Bank, Medziphema (in case of th i s block) to open t h e i r

Bank Account. This f a c i l i t a t e s them to withdraw the sanc­

t ion amount from the Agency and also to ava i l the loan

from the Bank agains t the Agency share. When a U the o f f i ­

c i a l formal i t ies are completed the Bank Manager re leases

the money to the respect ive benef ic ia r ies with int imation

to the BDO/VDB/VC and the Agency. Hie completion c e r t i f i ­

ca te i s then issued by the BDO/VDB. The Bank then provide'

50% of the loan agains t the agency share. I t means tha t i f

tile cost of the est imate of a p a r t i c u l a r scheme i s Rs.5000,

the Agency w i l l give Rs. 2,500 as subsidy and the r e s t

Rs. 2,500 w i l l be given as loan from the Bank. However,

the maximum l i m i t of amount e n t i t l e d under IRDP scheme to

272

one beneficiary i s Rs. 5,000 only. In case the estimate i s

above Rs. 5,000, say Rs. 15,000 the Agency can give only

Rs. 5,000 and. the r e s t Rs. 10,000 may be given as loan

from the Bank provided the scheme i s v iab le for providing

loan. The loan amount i s refunded on instalment b a s i s . This

i s a t r i p l e benef i t schemes i . e . , the bene f i c i a r i e s , the

Bank and a lso the Agency. The Bank gets 10^ i n t e r e s t from

the loanees and the Agency gets h% i n t e r e s t from the Bank

against the money deposited by the Agency. This i s a new

di rec t ion of development s t r a t egy . There i s l e s s chance of

entering the intermediar ies under t h i s system and thereby

corruption i s also minimised.

During the course of our inves t iga t ion , i t was found

t h a t the Agency had already deposited a sum of Rs. h,UO

lakhs in to the Allahabad Bank, Medziphema for the period

of 1986-87 f inanc ia l year for Medziphema Block. This i s

the f i r s t time introduced under the Bank Credit Linkage

Programme of IRD in case of Nagaland.

6.11. The Procedure of Loaning

The persons des i r ing to obtain loan or des i r ing to

be included in any developmental sch^nes formulated by tb©

Vil lage Development Board would express h i s / h e r des i re in

the monthly meeting. Any person res iding in the v i l l a g e can

apply for a loan, furnishing the d e t a i l s regarding the

purpose of fo r which the loan i s sought, the amount of loan

273

and the period in vhich the appl icant proposes to repay

the loan with i n t e r e s t . The loanee has to accept three

important conditions such a s , (a) tha t he w i l l attend a l l

the monthly meeting of the Vil lage Development Board

without f a i l and answer questions addressed to him in the

meeting, (b) tha t he i s to offer any secur i ty to the v i l ­

lage required by the Vil lage Development Board, and (c)

to accept any penalty imposed to him by the Vil lage Council

in defaul t of any conditions of the loan. Once these condi­

t ions are f iOf i l l ed the loan i s released from the Bank to

the benef i c i a r i e s int imating the same to the Vi l lage Deve­

lopment Board.

In t h i s regard, we have come across cer ta in problems

as indicated in chapter four under the sub-headins of

' ' the r u r a l saving and indebtedness" and also the "Bank

loan deposit problems"* We have found tha t 37 farmers of

Medziphema vi3J.age, 50 farmers of Molvom v i l l a g e and 29

farmers from Nihokhu v i l l a g e of our sample v i l l ages have

taken loan from one Nagaland State Cooperative Bank Ltd.r,

Medziphema during 1976-198O, The t o t a l amount of loan taken

by these three v i l l a g e r s was amounting to Rs. 83,757 which

has not ye t recovered t i l l da te . The main reason of non-

recovery of t h i s loan was t ha t , the loans were issued in

the name of one Farmers' Cooperative Society, located a t

27h

Medziphema. The society -was then defunct a f t e r d i s t r ibu t ion

of the loan to the farmers. Moreover, such loans were given

without observing the procedures of loan as mentioned above.

We have inves t iga ted the Allahabad Bank, Medziphema

branch in order to examine the aspect of Bank loaning sys­

tem under IHDP, and the pa r t i c ipa t ion of the benef ic ia r ies

in t h i s scheme, Table 6.1 below shows about the d e t a i l s of

i t pe r ta in ing to four v i l l ages i . e . excluding Nihokhu v i l ­

l age .

Table - 6 . 1 : Village-wise Beneficiary under IRDP Scheme 1

Name of V i l l a g e

1 . M i a n s i r i p a r

2 . Diphupar

3 , Medziphema

U-. Molvom

To ta l

w^w |No. of •benef i -{ciary

3

5 1+

2

1^

I AMOUNT ! 1 Agency

Rs. 9,300

Rs.22,200

Rs. 8,800

Rs , 8,800

Rs.1+9,100

GIVEN FROM • ; Bank | 1 loan !

Rs. 9,300

Rs.22,200

Rs. 8,800

RS. 8,800

Rs.if9,100

Tota l

Rs.18,600

Rs.Mf,l+00

Rs.17,600

Rs. 17,600

Rs.98,200

Source: Allahabad Bank, Medziphema, 1987.

The Bank Credit Linkage Programme was introduced in

Nagaland only from the 1986-87 f inanc ia l year. Bierefore,

i t would be too ear ly to evaluate and give our comment in

th i s aspect . However, we hope t h a t through such i n s t i t u t i e r

275

l inkage a t l e a s t ceyta4n changes may take place to u p l i f t

the socio-economic condition of the r u r a l poor. However,

there i s p o s s i b i l i t y of creat ing mis-understanding between

the financing i n s t i t u t i o n s , the Block Development organi­

sa t ion , the funding agency and also the Vil lage Development

Board on the issue of i den t i f i ca t ion of the benef ic iary

and in overa l l a c t i v i t i e s of the programme implementation.

Hiere i s a chance of blaming each other amongst the above

menticMied organisa t ions ,

6.12. Hie Role of Vi l lage Development Board (VIB) in IBDP

( i ) I t s concept - Bie Vil lage Development Board i s a new

concept formulated in Nag aland a f t e r a long experience in

1979« I t came in to force in 1980 as an experimental venture .

This i s an innovative i n s t i t u t i o n considered as the deve­

lopmental branch within the Vi l lage Coiincil in Nag a v i l l a ­

ges. Since the Vil lage Development Board i s responsible for

the lEDP in the v i l l a g e , i t i s required to examine the

i ssues r e l a t i n g to i t and i t s ro les in IRDP.

Ci i ) Ob:|ectives - Ihe main object ives of the Vil lage Deve­

lopment a r e :

a) To draw d i r e c t p a r t l c i p a t l a i or involvement of tiie

v i l l a g e r s in the ru ra l development processes;

b) To l e t the v i l l a g e r s understand that the programmes

of r u r a l development are t h e i r programmes and

therefore ,

276

c) to i n i t i a t e t h e i r programmes according to t he i r

own wi l l s and to seek technical help and f inanc ia l

support from the government.

( i i i ) The formation of VDB - As per the delegation of powers

to the Vil lage Council (VC) to cons t i t u t e VDB, i t i s the

r e spons ib i l i t y of the VC to form the VDB by nominating i t s

members according to the t r i b a l customs. The tenure of mem­

bership i s for three years unless decided otherwise by the

VC by a reso lu t ion . The members may include members of the

VC or those who are e l i g i b l e to be chosen as or for being

m^nbers of the VC by v i r t ue of t h e i r age, t r ad i t ion and

custom. The VDB can have i t s members as many as they f ee l

l i k e as the VC so decides. In t h i s way we have found 19 mem­

bers in Diphupar v i l l a g e and nine members each in the r e -

remaining four v i l l ages under study. One woman monber of

the board was also i den t i f i ed in every v i l l age represent­

ing the wcmen of the v i l l a g e as per the exis t ing r u l e s .

The government servants can also be chosen with the

permission of the government. A member of the VDB may be

replaced by the VC through a reso lu t ion . The subordinate

off icers of the Deputy Commissiaier are not involved because

the government feels tha t t h i s would introduce bureaucracy

i n t o the system, Ihe members of the VDB i s authorised to

choose one person amcang themselves as the Secretaiy of the

Board,

277

( iv ) The function of the VDB - The functions of the VDB

are numerous. I t has to formulate d i f fe ren t schemes and

programmes of act ion for the development and progress of

t h e i r v i l l a g e as a whole or group of individuals in the Q

village, either using common funds or other funds.'' It is

the duty/responsibility of the VDB to make the village

development plans every year and implement the same as

approved by the government. The major development works to

be executed by the board include sanitation, drainage, con­

struction of foot paths and steps, village grainary etc.

The board has to function under the directives issued by

the VC and the State Government from time to time.

(v) The meetings - The board would decide a particular

date for monthly meeting. The meeting ensures that the vil­

lage plans so drawn up by the VDB will be known to all con-

cerped in the village, thus, eliminating the responsibility

of mis-utilisation of funds by the members of the VDB, The

Chairman of the Board and the Chairman of the Village Coun­

cil are informed of the date. The members of the board

would give wide publicity regarding the date to their khel

members. This meeting is opened to all the residents of

the village. Any change in the date will be effective only

after the consent of the VC and the Chairman of the Board.

In addition to the monthly meeting, the boai*d may meet

278

f requent ly , i f any member of the board gives not ice to the

Secretary. However, tbe resolut ion passed in such meetings

are not to be implemented u n t i l they are debated in the

monthly public meetings.

In the context of the functioning VDB, we have t r i ed

to know the percentage of attendance in the VDB meetings

in a l l the v i l l ages by heads of households. The r e s u l t i s

given below.

Table - 6 .2 : Level of Attendance in the VDB Meeting by RespondenTsI

How regular do you at tend the VDB meeting?

Attendance Number of v i l lage-wise { ;

respondents j Sub-; P.O. Ehansi- {DipEu- | Medzi |Mol- ffJIEo-^ tota^J r i p a r jpar I phema rvom ! khu .' {

1. Regularly

2. Occasionally

3 , Never a t tend

If, I t i s hardly held

5 . I t i s not necessary to a t tend

13

3

8

-

-

hi

13

7

3

8

16

5

1

2

1

Ik

3

wr

1

2

6

3

mm

-

mm

90

27

16

6

11

60.00

18.00

10,66

M-.OO

7.33

Total Respon- 2if 72 dents

25 20 150 100.00

Source: F ie ld work, 1986-87.

279

The above t ab le reveals tha t out of 150 persons

belonging to f ive v i l l a g e s , 90 (60^) a t tend the VDB mee­

t ings regular ly . 27 (l8^) attend occasional ly , 16 (10,66^)

never at tended, 11 (7.33^) opined tha t i t i s not necessary

to a t tend the meeting, whereas 6 (.k-%) sa id tha t the VDB

meetings were hardly held . I t was reported tha t the p a r t i ­

c ipat ion of woman's members was l e s s in every v i l l a g e .

Furthermore, we have t i l e d to draw the opinion of

the heads of households towards the funct ia i ing of the VDB

in the v i l l a g e . Their opinion on the sa t i s f ac t ion or not

s a t i s f ac t ion about the functioning of VDB in t h e i r own

v i l l a g e i s presented below.

Table 6 , 3 : Opinion of the Heads of Household Towards the Functioning of'^^Bs

YlLLAGJJJ-WlaS QpTOIgH^ Are you s a t i s - jDhansi-piphu-fied with the | r ipar 'ipar functioning of { VDB in your Village? j

Medzi-phema

[Mol- jNiho- 'Sub-»vom }khu ITotal

I

Yes 20 51 16 11 5 103 (83.33) (70.83) (6^.00)(55.00)(55.55) (68.6^,

2 11 h 8 3 28 ( 8.33) (15.77) (16 .00 ) (^ .00 ) (33 .33 ) (18.66;

2 10 5 1 1 19 ( 8.33) (13.88) (20.00)( 5.00)(11.11) (I2.66y

l o t a i Respon- S^T W 23 2o 5 '^T^ dents (100) (100) (100) (IOO) (100) (100)

(Figures within the brackets ind ica te percentage of tha t column) Source: Field work of 1986-87.

No

Cannot say

280

Ihe above table indicates that out of 150 persons,

103 (68.66^) were satisfied vith the functioning of the

VDB, but 28 (16,66^) vere not satisfied and 19 (12.66^)

could not give their judgement. Interestingly, the maximum

percentage of respondents, who are not satisfied with the

functioning VDB were foiand from Molvom, Kuki village {hOfo)

followed by the Sema village of Nihokhu 33.33^. It reveals

that due to the Chieftain landownership system in these

two communities the role of the village chiefs become too

powerful and thereby, they have a greater control over the

VDB also. It indicates that VDB is not liked by many people,

where tiiere is autocratic system of village administration

like Kuki and Sema communities.

The monthly meeting of the VDB is attended by (a) the

VDB members, (b) the loanees, (c) any other persons, who

have been asked by the board to attend. The monthly meet­

ing is presided over by the Chairman, selected by the mem­

bers for the occasion. In the meetings the decisions are

made in form of a resolution. Biese are operative in all

the villages,

(Ti) The village level planning process - The VDB may be

considered as a "Mini Planning Ccaimission" at the grass-

root level, VDB is aware of the amount of money available

for the planning of their village and also the priority

281

of schemes. Once the admiflibility of g ran t - in -a ids are

calculated by the Department of Rural Department and IRDP

basing on the fac ts received from the VDBs, the allotment

of fund i s communicated to the D i s t r i c t Planning Board

from the government per ta in ing to every v i l l a g e . The fund

allotment i s then ccxamunicated to the concerned VDB though

the EDO. Then the VDBs are informed to submit t he i r v i l ­

lage plan v i t h in a l imi ted period of time a f t e r the receipt

of the communication.

On rece ip t of the above infoimation, the VDB draws

up the v i l l a g e plan, within the l i s t of the model schemes,

giving t en ta t ive estimates such that the t o t a l of the

est imates does not exceed the admissible v i l l a g e plan s i z e .

The plan, thus , prepared i s thoroughly discussed in the

VDB meeting and the Chairman of the Vi l lage Council signs

the documents, vhich s ign i f i es the approval the VC. At

th i s s tage the v i l l a g e plan i s t rea ted as "Tentative V i l ­

lage Plan".

On rece ip t of the 'Tentat ive Vil lage Plan' from the

VDB, the BDO Intimates to the VDB, the date on -which f i e ld

s ta f f would v i s i t the v i l l a g e for making technica l estimate

The Secretary of the VDB int imates the date to the members

of the VDB/VC. On the appointed date the f i e ld s taf f v i s i t s

the v i l l a g e with a copy of the 'Tentat ive Vil lage Plan '

282

and prepares the technical est imates in the v i l l age in the

presence of the VDB and VC members. The technical estimates

in accordance with the plan s ize are f i na l i s ed on th i s

da te . The members of the VDB and VC sign in the documents

ind ica t ing t h e i r consent. On rece ip t of the f i e l d s t a f f ' s

repor t the BDO careful ly examines i t ahd gives h i s appro­

v a l . In case there i s any complaint, i t i s r e c t i f i ed again

by BDO vfith consul tat ion of the Vil lage Council or the

VDB of the concerned vjhose decision i s f i n a l ,

( v i i ) People 's p a r t i c i p a t i o n - In the process of implemen­

ta t ion of the programme, def in i t e ro l e s are l a i d dovn for

the VDB, VC, BDO, DPB and the r u r a l Development Department.

Ihese agencies are i n t e r - r e l a t e d with each other in the

mat ters of programme planning and implementation. Once the

plans are approved by the D i s t r i c t Planning Board (DEB),

the VDB s t a r t s implementing the programmes. The BDO and

h i s s t a f f go round the v i l l a g e s , ver i fy the works done by

the people. Daen the BDO submits h i s ve r i f i ca t ion repor ts

to the DPB, and a f t e r the approval of the Board, the VDB

i s fuHy authorised to draw the amount ly ing in the Bank

account. The money released by the Rural Development Depart­

ment) f i r s t goes i n t o the Bank account against the name of

VDB account book. I t has been found from expetlence tha t

for the l a s t f ive yea r s , there was considerable reduction

283

in the malpractices a t various l eve l s i . e . , a f te r i n t r o ­

duction of development s t ra tegy through Bank l inkage.

The concept of VDB and people 's pa r t i c ipa t ion in i t

s ign i f i e s the planning from dov/n to top approach method.

However, the YDB does not function independent of the peo­

p le in the planning process , because the programmes are

planned "by the people for the people and implemented by

the people themselves.

In t h i s decent ra l i sed planning process , the people ' s

pa r t i c i pa t i ons i s foimd ac t ive ly involved both in decision

making fo r planning, Implementaticxi, and sharing the bene­

f i t s out of i t . However, the monitoring and evaluation of

the programme was completely l e f t unattended which i s a

must on the p a r t of the people ' s pa r t i c ipa t i on in ru ra l

development. I t i s a s ign i f i can t experience as found in

Naga soc ie ty . I t may fur ther be noted tha t for a Naga,

ttie p r e s t i ge of the v i l l a g e i s more important than t h a t

of an ind iv idua l , t ha t a person may even make a supreme

s a c r i f i c e j u s t t o uphold h i s v i l l a g e p r e s t i g e , Ih is creates

a sense of belonging and, thereby, the soc ia l cohesiveness

i s maintained. Hie Vi l lage Council by t r a d i t i o n commands

a respect and the whole community simple follows the com­

mands of the v i l l a g e au thor i ty .

28^

( v i i i ) Limitations - Ihe Vil lage Development Board as a

c a t a l y s t agent of r u r a l development i s subject to cer ta in

l i m i t a t i o n s . This i s a body of representa t ives of d i f fe ren t

s t a tus groups. I t cannot move fur ther without the consent

of the Vil lage Council, I t i s a lso not secured from power

and author i ty c o n f l i c t s . There i s invar iab le clash and

a lso the Gaonburas of the v i l l a g e , p a r t i c u l a r l y over the

con t rac t works. Exploi ta t ion by the dominant clans and

i n f l u e n t i a l persons, who are generally r e l a t e d to p o l i t i c a l

l eaders have been found as a common problem in every v i l ­

lage under study.

Under the provisions of the present Act, the VDB i s

entrusted with a number of developmental a c t i v i t i e s with

heavy r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . I t w i l l have to msike a l l the dec i ­

sions by themselves per ta in ing to developmental works. I t

requires spec ia l exper t i se and knowledge. Yet, most of the

board members were found to be i l l i t e r a t e excepting a -very

few l i t e r a t e and capable members in Diphupar Vil lage Deve­

lopment Board, The Board members were found to be not fu l ly

conrpetent for making such i n t r i c a t e decis ions . At times i t

i s hazardous to over development works p a r t i c u l a r l y the

plcinning issues without proper knowledge and adequate expe­

r iences to the simple r u r a l folk. Very often, i t i s doubt­

fu l as to how they would be able to formulate v i l l a g e

development schemes without vis ionary ideas and technical

knowhow,

285

On the other hand, d i r e c t involvement and responsi­

b i l i t y of block l eve l experts and technicians are cut off

in the present \vorking system, i . e . , a f t e r the inception

of VDB in 1980. During the course of interview, the Exten­

sion workers expressed t h e i r unhappiness tha t t h e i r advices

and suggestions were l e f t unattended by the v i l l a g e r s .

Many a t imes, p a r t i c u l a r l y in Nihokhu and Molvom v i l l a g e s ,

the technical est imates prepared by them were turned down

by the VDB/VC. In many cases the technica l s ta f f were

forced to approve the estimates prepared by the VDB force­

f u l l y . They were a lso compelled to i ssue the completion

c e r t i f i c a t e of the work done, even without doing the works

under pressure from the v i l l a g e r s . However, the f a i l u r e

and success of such programmes are sole ly dependent on the

f imct ionar ies a t the grass- root l e v e l i . e . , the Vi l lage

Development Board, the Vil lage Council, the Area Council

and a lso the Block s ta f f - technic ians in which t h e i r coope­

ra t ion become the key for success of the schemes.

There are l o t s of discontentment and complaints from

the publ ic about the functioning of VDB, p a r t i c u l a r l y by

•Uie non-benef ic ia r ies , challenging tha t the maximum p r i v i ­

leges are enjoyed mostly by the Board monbers and t h e i r

r e l a t i v e s . The corruption and explo i ta t ions are not escaped

even in the present working system at the g rass - roo t l e v e l .

286

As a r e s u l t , the general public f a i l s to at tend in VDB

meetings and in i t s a c t i v i t i e s whole-heartedly; p a r t i c u l a r ­

ly in Sema and Kuki v i l l a g e s ( r e f e r table 6.3 above).

As per the ex i s t ing r u l e s , the monthly meetings are

to be held regular ly in order to discuss/review the a c t i ­

v i t i e s of ?IB, but i t vas noticed tha t such meetings could

not be held regular ly in every v i l l a g e under a-fcu^. They

have ignored the annual meeting which i s considered to be

more important. As a r e s u l t , they f a i l ed to make the r i gh t

decisions over the v i l l a g e development a c t i v i t i e s in the

r igh t time. Ihey could hardly fol lov the woridng d i rec t ives

being issued by the government. Most of the in s t ruc t ions

were ignored due t o lack of understanding and p r a c t i c a l

d i f f i c u l t i e s . The d i r e c t i v e s / i n s t r u c t i o n s were also not

fu l ly understood as a r e s u l t t h a t the board could not func­

t ion as i t should have been. I t has been observed that even

now many of the r u r a l res idents are not aware of the aims

and object ives of IRDP as well as the VDB and i t s function­

ing . In case of f a i l u r e of the programme, the VDB blames

the people and the Vil lage Council and a l l of t h ^ blame

the government and the re la ted agencies. Because of such

reasons, the poverty a l l ev i a t i on programmes l i k e IRDP bene­

f i t s ne i the r the receiver nor the giver ; ra ther i t c rea tes

d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n and disaffect ion a t both the ends. In t h i s

s i t u a t i o n , i t has been noted tha t c rea t ion of awareness

287

amongst the people and people ' s mobil isation are of c r u c i a l

importamt for the success of such experimental progranmes

to be implemented through loca l l eve l agencies. Due to the

conf l i c t s prevai l ing a t the grass-root l eve l among the func­

t ionar ies especia l ly for appropriat ing the government deve-

lo imai ta l a c t i v i t i e s l i k e con t r ac t s , supply and other oppor­

t u n i t i e s , they f a i l e d to implement many of the programmes

of ru ra l development. Because of such reasons, many schemes

are l e f t incomplete, leading to d i s sa t i s f ac t ion and d i s -

illusicaiments in many v i l l a g e s and drying up of the flow

of l oca l con t r ibu t ions .

Whatever the limitaticHis of the YDB may be, we find

tha t the VDB i s something appreciable through which a t l e a s t

some works have been found doing s a t i s f a c t o r i l y in every

v i l l a g e . I t was found tha t IRTflP funds are not properly u t i ­

l i s e d in maixy cases as per the reports of the respondents.

They fa i l ed to maintain proper records of the VDB accounts.

The community funds were found unaudited in a l l the v i l l a ­

ges under th i s study. I t i s to be understood tha t the suc­

cess of r u r a l development programmes depends on proper

u t i l i s a t i o n of i t s fund by the r igh t persons for the r i g h t

cause a t the r i gh t time.

288

6.13. Perfoimance of the Programme

The functioning of IRDP in Nagaland i s now 16 years

old, but the performance and i t s effect iveness i s ye t to

be proved. So far as the the IRDP i s concerned> ve have to

note t h a t i t has p o t e n t i a l of solving the socio-economic

probl^ns in r u r a l a reas , SSie answer to t i i is question i s

very f a r . In s p i t e of spending huge amount of money every

year in the name of ru ra l poor, there has been no s i g n i f i ­

cant change on the face of the country. I t proves tha t there

i s no impact of t h i s programme though there may be n e g l i ­

g ib le change in ce r t a in v i l l a g e s . I t draws the a t ten t ion

of many scholars as to how and what would be the next s tep

a f t e r the IRDP.

As a frame of reference of t h i s study, we have

examined i t s performance in one of the v i l l a g e s , Diphupar

as ind ica ted in the l a s t pa r t of chapter f ive which i s

i l l u s t r a t i v e in t h i s case. In addit ion to t h i s , the per for ­

mance of th i s programme i s re f lec ted below in table 6 . ^ .

289

Table - 6 A : Perfoimance of IRDP during the l a s t two years In four v i l l a g e s .

Name of v i l l a g e I 19»5-«6 "" 19^6^:87" pimoiint {No. of {in Rs. {benefi-

Iclaiy

Amount { No. of in Rs. { benefi-

I c iary

1. Dhansiripar

2 . CLphupar

3« Medziphaaa

h, Molvom

13,200

51,600

13,UO0

10,700

5 17

5 h

9,600

5,700

8,800

8,800

2

2

2

2

Total 88,900 31 32,900 8

Source: Block Development Office, Medziphema, I987.

The above table ind ica tes the overa l l performance of

IRDP during the l a s t two consecutive years in four v i l l a g e s .

Tbe t o t a l amount of subsidy given during these two years

was Rs. 121,800, benef i t ing 39 persons under d i f fe ren t

schemes. Of these 39 persons, 13 were under ho r t i cu l tu re

scheme, eight under animal power, fo^r dairy development,

tibree each under f i she iy , poul t ry and land developnait pro­

gramme, two each in piggeiy and goatery farming and one per ­

son was under duckery farming.

During the course of inves t iga t ion , we have iden t i f i ed

a number of defects in the programme s t r a t egy ; some of which

are the followings:

290

1) No s c i e n t i f i c surveys were ever undertaken to find

out the problems in the ru ra l system;

i i ) the programmes were implemented without any consi­

derat ion for the avai lable in f ra s t ruc tu re poss ib le ,

forward and backward linkages and the l i ke s and

d i s l i k e s of the bene f i c i a r i e s j

l i i ) the programmes were haphazardly taken up in the

whole block and l e f t the p a r t of follow up work

unattended. Thus, the iden t i f i ed farmers were badly

f rus t r a t ed even a f te r receiving ce r t a in amount of

subsidy; and i t makes the philosophy of the pro­

gramme so l i g h t ;

iv) no evaluation and monitoring work was found ever

attempted e i t h e r by the Agency, nor by any other

supp€a*"^g organisat ion throughout the h i s to ry of

the Agency in Nagaland;

v) most of the schanes were found involved in p o l i t i c a l

motivation crea t ing confusions and mal-pract ices ;

v i ) the guidel ines issued from the Central Government

and the State l eve l departments were hardly followed,

r e s u l t of which the targeted groups were not bene­

f i t ed as they should have been;

v l i ) when one examines i t s ob jec t ives , guidelines and

s t r a t eg i e s of the pinagramme and i t s procedures,

291

one fee ls convinced to observe having everything

in i t s e l f , without much p rac t i ce to f u l f i l those

projected objec t ives ;

v i i i ) most of the benef ic ia r ies do not use the subsidy

amount availed from the Agency and also the loan

received from the Bank in the r igh t d i rec t ion . Due

to such p rac t i ces no s ign i f i can t change could be

proved both a t the family l e v e l as -well as a t the

Agency l e v e l ;

i x ) the performance p a r t i c u l a r l y in the ve ter inary and

animal husbandary and industry sectors -were found

to be most discouraging, as the benef ic ia r ies use

to dispose off the animals in the market and a lso

butcher them for meat. However, they could manage

to produce death c e r t i f i c a t e of the animals. Many

animals and b i rds were found dying in the off ice of

the Block Development Officer, Medziphema before

de l iver ing the goods by the bene f i c i a r i e s . This was

due to poor qual i ty of the supply from outside and

a lso due to c l imat ic condi t ion. The kn i t t i ng and

Sewing Machines issued to the benef ic ia r ies were

a lso foijnd disposing off in the market a t cheaper

r a t e , Ihe operation of the programmes were found

to be not a t a l l in tegra ted a t any of the l eve l s as

mentioned above; and

292

x) The Agency suffers due to shortage of manpower of

i t s own. Most of the of f icers of the Agency are

deputa t ionis t s from d i f fe ren t departments. I t has

no D i s t r i c t Rural Development Agency except one

State Level Agency, The programmes are i n i t i a t e d

only by other concerned departmental s ta f f . There­

fore , the success and f a i lu re s of the Agency depends

so le ly on o t h e r ' s department.

293

REFEKBNCBS

1. Kohima and Phek blocks vere created in 1953» follov;ed

by Zunheboto, Wokha, Longkhim and Changtongya blocks

in 1955.

2. Paul, S. Manpower and Rural Development Consultant.

Rural Poverty, the Cancer and the Cure, p . 9.

3 . Monicha, A.C. O p . c l t . , pp. 209-210.

h, Ao, A.L. M.Phil Thesis, 198O, pp. 31-32.

5 . Source, Directorate of State Rural Development Agency,

Nagaland, Kohima.

6 . The D i s t r i c t Planning Board vas cons t i tu ted in Nagaland

vide Government of Nagaland Notif icat ion No. PLN-127/

71 (Pt) dated Kohima the 12th December 198O. This i s the

highest Planning Body in the D i s t r i c t l eve l -with

Deputy Commissioner on the Chair and a l l the heads of

Department in the d i s t r i c t , MLAs, Chairman of the Area

Councils, BDOs and any other co-opted persons as i t s

members.

7. The poverty l i n e has been defined in terms of annual

income of a family, A family having an annual income

of Rs, 6,lfOO/- or l e s s i s considered to be a family

below the poverty l i n e , ( r e fe r A Manual on IRDP issued

by the Department of Rural Development, Ministry of

Agricul ture , Government of India , New Delhi 23.1.86,

29^

8. Government of India, Credit for IRDP, A Compendium of

Important Instructions issued by the Ministry of Rural

Development, 198^, pp. ^1-^2, Circiaar No, 13.

9. In every Naga village there is a common fund collectea

from every household. The Government of Nagaland also

give matching grant to every village against the common

fund up to a maximum limit of Rs. 75 > 000 -with certain

limitations. The present rate of household allotment

given by the Government is Rs. 200/- per household