NEW DELHI: Children of a remote north-east village Dibrual Dehingio Gaon are now studying in nearby English medium schools, 40 people of Padamunda village in Orissa are employed in transportation business in nearby town and habitants of flood-prone regions of Bihar are no longer starving during rainy seasons; thanks to construction of rural roads under country’s flagship programme Bharat Nirman.
Better connectivity has pushed up agricultural income in rural India by 17.6% and income from non-farm activities by 12.11%, a recent Planning Commission report said. The study conducted between January 2008 and May 2010, covered 14 districts in seven states.
“Farmers are now ensured that their products reach the market on time, particularly perishable products like vegetables. Roads helped them in moving from subsistence farming of traditional crops to marketable products like horticulture and off seasonal vegetables,†Planning Commission former member Anwarul Hoda said.
The government has constructed about 18,240 kms of rural roads in 2009-10 under the flagship programme, about 76% of the target. As per the report, connectivity has increased mobility in remote areas creating opportunities for trade.
It also helped in improving their socio-economic life. Before rural roads, it was difficult to take patients to the hospitals and even the doctors in primary healthcare centres and sub centres were reluctant to join service in the unconnected habitation.
The report also pointed at better healthcare delivery due to improved connectivity. Better access to health centres pushed up the number of people availing medical facilities from 62% to nearly 94%, it said. Wherever roads were constructed, both direct and indirect employment opportunities increased by 25.29%, the report revealed. In Bihar the impact was clearly visible with employment increasing more than 70%, it added.
Connectivity also empowered rural women both economically and socially. “With increased mobility women become self-confident and can take charge of their lives. Young girls don’t stop at primary education and feel encouraged to study further. Fewer women die at childbirth thanks to institutional birthing,†said Centre of Social Research director Ranjana Kumari.
The study also uncovered many constraints and problems that were plaguing better implementation of the scheme. One of the major constraints was acquisition of land and adequate compensation to the landowners.
Other problems included use of sub standard materials for construction of the roads and delay in the work, which resulted in escalation of prices of raw materials.
The three main reasons cited for the delay were adverse weather conditions (around 37% projects, majority of them being from Assam, Bihar and Orissa), delay in acquisition of land (which affected 13.8% of the projects) and non-availability of labour and material (6.25%).
The progress under the rural road scheme has been, however, uneven, says Mr Hoda. Some states have fared much better than the other states, usually reflecting the governance in the states. Like in Assam and Kerala the increase in agriculture income was much below the national average, only 0.69% and 4.05%, respectively.