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COVER STORY: GOVERNMENT
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M.
Venkaiah Naidu
Rural Development
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| Dreams
of a Novice |
Ministers:
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3
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Joint secretaries and above:
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11
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No. of PSUs referred:
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NA
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Budget in Rs cr (2001-2):
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12,500
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The certificate of inefficiency for this
ministry came from former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi who admitted in
the late 1980s that less than 15 paisa from every rupee spent on rural
development actually reaches the people. The rest is lost in the intricate
and elaborate maze of leakages. Union Rural Development Minister M. Venkaiah
Naidu doesn't contest this assessment. He, in fact, adds to that. More
than two lakh villages in India have no access to safe water and roads.
About 90 per cent of rural households don't have sanitation facilities.
And 40,000 villages don't have a school building. "After 53 years
of Independence, is this an achievement to be proud of?" he asks
incredulously. He should be answering these questions. But Naidu is just
10 months old in this ministry-rather in any ministry.
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| Promptness of response |
4.0 |
| Understanding of issues |
7.0 |
| Commitment to reforms |
8.0 |
| Openness to ideas |
7.0 |
| Achievements |
2.0 |
| Average score |
5.6 |
| OVERALL RANK |
4
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| All ratings are on a scale
of 10 |
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"If
companies take up projects in villages, it will change the face
of rural India."
Venkaiah Naidu
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For a person who has been associated with politics
for 24 years, this is only Naidu's first stint as a minister. He chose
rural development over other ministries that were offered. "As a
person born in a farmer's family, I know the importance of rural development,"
he claims but the fact is his ministry isn't as unimportant as it appears.
It has the second-largest share of funds in the Central budget, next only
to defence. For 2000-1, the ministry has been granted Rs 12,500 crore,
besides Rs 1,500 crore under the Prime Minister's Gramodyog Yojana (PMGY)
and Rs 5,000 crore from nabard (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development) every year.
Such largesse comes with little accountability
because it is states that spend the money. Allocated funds are not always
utilised. In many schemes, expenditure is less than 30 per cent of the
allocation. In 2000-1 Bihar spent 0.80 per cent of the funds allocated
under a rural water supply scheme. Of Rs 2,500 crore the ministry got
from the Road Development Fund in 2000-1, not even 10 per cent has yet
been spent. The quality of spending is even more dubious. By the minister's
own admission, public facilities don't last more than a few years because
of lack of maintenance.
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COST
OF NON-PERFORMANCE
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2
lakh village do not have access to potable water and roads
90% rural households do not have proper sanitation facilities
40,000 villages do not have a school building
COMMITMENTS
Potable water for all by 2003; 14 lakh women's self-help groups
by 2004.
To complete process of decentralisation of power to panchayats by
2002.
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So where is the hope for Naidu? A lot, if you
believe him. He has chalked out a three-pronged strategy to "change
the face of rural India". Naidu proposes to put up signboards in
every village detailing local development schemes. By making people aware
of what they are entitled to, Naidu hopes to put pressure on state governments.
Despite having committed to delegation to panchayats in 1993, most state
governments haven't actually done much. Naidu has now committed states
to complete the process by March 2002, failing which 20 per cent of their
allotted funds will be held back. He is betting on development through
women's empowerment and proposes to set up 14 lakh women's self-help groups
by 2004. He also wants corporate firms to pick up the tab. "India
has about six lakh companies and five lakh villages. If every company
takes up development projects, we can change the face of rural India."
Naidu's radical proposal is to divest the government's
stakes in PSUs and invest the proceeds in rural development. "That
will not only subdue opposition to disinvestment, it will also generate
funds for rural development outside the budget." A good idea, regardless
of whether it is dubbed the excitement of an innocent or the lofty promise
of a seasoned politician.
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