Rural Development for Poverty Alleviation- 1

Any attempt at poverty alleviation must give priority to tackle the problem of rural poverty, which is a feature in under developed countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. These countries have low per capita income. Unemployment is extensive. Development programs do not leave much impact in the rural areas. Here attention has to be directed towards rural development. We shall consider the framework of action for rural development.

We can clearly isolate and demarcate compact areas of 50 sq. miles each and map them in detail. Each area thus determined could be termed as Intensive Development Centre (IDC). A team of professionals will guide this centre. They will consist of management and productivity experts located in the regions and zones. Detailed programs will be prepared for each centre and targets set with reference to the estimated increase in per capita income.

The IDC will be treated as a system and the various agencies providing inputs and marketing the output will be treated as sub systems. They will have well defined objectives. Initially this will be implemented in a few selected territories on an experimental basis. Based on the progress the scheme will be extended to other areas. Simultaneous attempts will be made to decongest urban areas creating a wave of development activity towards the villages. Thus a two-pronged attack on the problem of rural poverty is envisaged.