District Planning Lessons from India, Planning Guide, 1995

8/14/2019 District Planning Lessons from India, Planning Guide, 1995

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/district-planning-lessons-from-india-planning-guide-1995 1/101

District Planning :Lessons from India

Planning Guide

Lal Bahadur Shastri National

Academy of Administration,

Mussorie, India

Agricultural Policy Support Services,

Policy Assistance Division,FAO Technical Cooperation Department

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONSRome, 1995

TRAININGMATERIALS

FOR

AGRICULTURAL

PLANNING

37/1



2

FOREWORD

The current structural adjustment process in India aims at changing the roles of thegovernment and the civil society so as to promote private sector development and

concentrate public sector interventions in those areas where, (as stated in theDirectional Paper of the Eighth Plan), "private sector participation is not likely tocome forth to an adequate extent within a reasonable time perspective".

Concurrently with changes in macro-economic policies, the Government of India also brought about important Constitutional Amendments to strengthen local governmentsand decentralised planning. The Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth ConstitutionalAmendments envisage the empowerment of panchayats and municipalities by their State legislatures to prepare "plans for economic development and social justice"encompassing agriculture, small-scale industry, health, education and poverty. Thiswill place a heavy burden of decision-making upon locally elected officials as well as

the Government officers who advise them and who have to implement the ultimatedecisions.

This Manual intends to provide district functionaries with concepts and simple toolsof analysis for the preparation of district plans according to the existing planning procedures and processes of consultation with the panchayat bodies. It has been prepared through a joint collaborative effort of specialists from eight institutions inIndia, thus encompassing the experience in district planning and in training whichexist in the country.

The Manual comprises a Planning Guide and a Trainers' Guide. The Planning

Guide is a set of simple and self-contained guidelines for planning that can be used(if necessary) without prior training. The Trainers' Guide is meant to help trainers plan and run courses on district planning using the Planning Guide as the main text.

We hope that it will be useful and that it will result in more effective planning andimplementation. We also expect trainers and district functionaries to adapt it to their own context and to make it evolve over time. Although the Manual is prepared onthe basis of Indian experience and needs, the approach and methods are of wider interest to cater to the requirements of other countries embarking on decentralisationof planning. We shall appreciate receiving feedback on its use.

M. CoxDirector Policy Assistance Division

FAO

Rome, Italy

N.C. Saxena Director Lai Bahadur Shastri NationalAcademy of AdministrationMussoorie, India



0

Table of contentsForeword

Acronyms

Preface

Chapter 1:

1.1

1.2

Purpose of this Guide

Many district plans have been prepared in India

but an effective district level planning process

has not been firmly established

A better district plan has five important characteristics

Chapter 2: How to use this Guide

2.1 Introduction2.2 The layout of the Planning Guide

2.3 The presentation of material on the pages of the Guide2.4 Definitions2.5 Matrices, tables and formats2.6 How to use the Guide

Chapter 3: District Analysis

3.1 Purpose of this chapter 3.2 Layout of the chapter 3.3 Assembling a district data matrix3.4 Identifying block level disparities3.5 Constructing tables for previous years to enable

trends to be analysed3.6 Analysis of trends3.7 Preparation of district summary tables3.8 Preparation of base maps3.9 Preparation of district profile3.10 Conclusion

Chapter 4: District Objectives

4.1 Purpose of this chapter

4.2 Layout of this chapter 4.3 Identification of potentials and opportunities4.4 Identification of problems and gaps4.5 Consulting panchayat institutions in the district4.6 Cross-checking data4.7 Ranking potentials, problems and needs



1

4.8 Transmitting the rank ordered list to District

Planning Committee and/or district level Panchayat4.9 Objectives statement4.10 Conclusion

Chapter 5: Analysis of Programmes and Schemes

5.1 Purpose of this chapter 5.2 Layout of this chapter 5.3 Sources of data5.4 Analysing a programme or scheme for consistency5.5 Consistency with environmental requirements5.6 Analysis of capacity for expansion5.7 Block disparity analysis5.8 Analysis of linkage effects5.9 Adjustment in programmes and schemes5.10 Conclusion

Chapter 6: Planning New Projects

6.1 Purpose of this chapter 6.2 Project identification6.3 Prioritising project ideas6.4 Designing a new project6.5 Analysing project feasibility6.6 Financial analysis6.7 Environmental analysis6.8 Conclusion

Chapter 7: Financing the Plan

7.1 Purpose of this chapter 7.2 Layout of the chapter 7.3 The process of financing7.4 Estimation of financial resources7.5 Estimation of financial requirements7.6 Allocation of funds7.7 Conclusion

Chapter 8: Putting the Plan into Practice

8.1 Purpose of this chapter 8.2 Layout of the chapter 8.3 Operationalising the planning process8.4 Laying out the plan8.5 Negotiating and reaching an agreement on the plan8.6 Conclusion



2

Table of Formats

Chapter 3

3.1 Land and agricultural resources matrix3.2 Block disparity analysis form

3.3 Trend data table

Chapter 4

4.1 Cumulative listing of potentials, problems, needs and gaps

4.2 Proforma for statements of needs from Gram Sabhas4.3 Prioritising potentials, problems and needs4.4 Identifying objectives

Chapter 5

5.1 Consistency table layout 5.2 Checklist of environmental concerns5.3 Checklist for expansion5.4 Block disparity table5.5 Linkage table5.6 Programme adjustment table

Chapter 6

6.1 Logical framework table6.2 Cash flow table6.3 Checklist of environmental concerns6.4 Environmental impact assessment table

Chapter 7

7.1 Financial resources table7.2 Credit review7.3 Financial review7.4A Total direct requirement 7.4B Total financial requirement 7.5 Allocation of funds table7.6 Major sectoral outlay by blocks



3

Acronyms

AO

ARI

EDO

BPC

CAZRI DIG

DPC

DPCC

DRDA

DWCRA

ETA

FAO

FSS

HCM RIPA

HYV

IAY

ICAR

ICDS

IRDP

JRY

km

LBS

LQs and LQ(G)

MFC

NFE

NIRD

NSS

PAC

PHC

PWD

SC/ST

SCDC

SFC SRS

SSI(s)

STC

TRYSEM

U.P.

VLW

Approved Outlay

Average Return on Investment

Block Development Officer

Block Planning Committee

Central Arid Zone Research Institute District Industries Centre

District Planning Cell

District Planning and Coordination Council/Committee

District Rural Development Agency

Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas

Environmental Impact Assessment

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations

Farmers Service Societies

Hari Chandra Mathur Rajasthan Institute of Public Administration High Yielding Variety

Indira Awaas Yojana

Indian Council for Agricultural Research

Integrated Child Development Schemes

Integrated Rural Development Programme

Jawahar Rozgar Yojana

kilometre

Lai Bahadur Shastri Academy

Location Quotients (Growth) Municipal Planning Committee

Non-Formal Education

National Institute of Rural Development

National Sample Survey

Primary Agricultural Credit Societies

Primary Health Centre

Public Works Department

Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe

Scheduled Caste Development Corporation State Finance Commission

Sample Registration System

Small Scale Industry (ies)

State Transport Corporation

Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment

Uttar Pradesh

Village Level Worker



4

PREFACE

This Manual on District Planning has been prepared as part of a collaborative project between the

Government of India and FAO. The project arose out of a felt need for a straightforward, readable and

above all usable set of guidelines for district functionaries, planning practitioners and trainers as well

as others directly or indirectly involved in planning at the District level.

The project was conceived from the start as a participative learning process with several stages.

In the first stage expert practitioners, researchers and trainers were commissioned to prepare material

for different sections of the manual based upon [he experience of their institutions. Participants in ihis

phase were:

Dr Raj Bala and Mr Vinod Zutshi (HCM Rajasthan Institute of Public Administration, Jaipur)

Ms Aneetha Benninger (Centre for Development Studies and Activities, Pune)

Professor R.N Chattopadhyay, B.C Chattopadhyay, C.R Pathak and Dr Chandreyee Das (Indian

Institute of Technology, Kharagpur)

Dr S.P Jain (National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad)

Dr Ramachandran Pillai and Dr M.A Oomen (Institute of Management in Government,

Thiruvananthapuram)

Dr Om Prakash and Dr. J, George (National Institute of Rural Development. Hyderabad)

Professor A.K Sengupta (University of Lucknow)

The second stage brought these contributors along with trainers drawn from other institutions to a

workshop in Mussoorie in July 1994 at which the material was systematically reworked and redrafted.

After further revision three training courses for practitioners were undertaken, at the University of

Lucknow (Professor Sengupta and Dr. P.N. Sharma), at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

(Professor Chattopadhyay and Dr. Das) and at the National Institute of Rural Development Hyderabad

(Dr. Orn Prakash and Dr. Jacob George). These workshops led to the production of relevant training

materials and to useful feedback from district planners,

The final stage brought Dr. Raj Bala, Dr. Das, Dr. N. Sivanna and Mr, P. Michael Vetha Siro Mony

to Birmingham U.K where Volume I was further revised and Volume 2. the Teaching Guide was

written,

The project has been coordinated in India by Professor H. Ramachandran at LBS National Academy

of Administration. Mussoorie. Professor Ramachandran's immediate predecessor, Professor Amitabha

Mukherjee was instrumental in formulating the project and guiding its early stages. Dr J.R Watson andDr Donald Curtis (University of Birmingham, U.K) have acted as consultants to FAO on the project.

Ms Maria G. Quieti (FAO, Rome) has acted as technical supervisor throughout the project.



5

CHAPTER 1

PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE

1.1 Many district plans have been prepared in India but an effective district levelplanning process has not been firmly established

The need for decentralised planning has been recognised by Government for some time anda number of reports have been prepared to guide district planners. The most important of these is the Report of the Committee on District Planning (Hanumantha Rao Committee) of 1984. The guidelines contained in this and other reports have still to be generally adopted.

Most plans in the past have been prepared by compiling departmental and similar programmetargets for the district into a single volume, sometimes with a preface which describes the

district and the contribution government programmes will make to its development. Plans of this kind have been useful as a means of coordinating programmes across the whole rangeof sectors and as a way of monitoring achievement. But they have a number of shortcomings. The most important is that they do not for the most part attempt to identifyclear objectives for the district and tailor programmes to suit. Rather, they concentrate onthe implementation of central or State planned programmes.

Change is now in prospect. The Constitutional Amendments will mean the transfer of important responsibilities to panchayat councils and municipalities. The 73rd amendmentenvisages that panchayats may be empowered by their State legislatures to prepare "plans for economic development and social justice" which may include up to 29 subjects including

agriculture, small scale industry, health, education and poverty alleviation.

Carrying out these responsibilities will place a heavy burden of decision making upon locallyelected officials as well as the Government officers who advise them and who have toimplement the ultimate decisions.

Planning - which means deciding what is best to be done and where - will be an importantway of helping elected officials and their advisors. But if planning is to work, methods of planning need to be worked out and planners need to be trained in them. These are thereasons for this Manual which comprises two Guides: a Planning Guide and a TrainingGuide.

The first of these Guides - the Planning Guide - has been prepared by a team of specialistsfrom institutions throughout India with one simple aim: to help district functionaries to prepare a better district plan.

1.2 A better district plan has five important characteristics:

• it is simple to read and can be easily explained if necessary to many different

kinds of audience.



6

• it is logical. The reader can easily see how the planner has worked to produce proposals that are sensible in the light of the information available.

• it takes the social and economic facts of the district into account.Decision makers can see that the plan is a common sense attempt to deal withthe local situation,

o This means trying to identify what opportunities there are for development,what are the district's problems, what are its needs and what sort of gaps existin the provision of public services.

o It also means trying to plan development in a way that fills gaps in theexisting provision of services (for example, education) and also which helpsthe private sector to generate employment and incomes.

• it takes account of local felt needs. It is often said that decentralisation places power in the hands of local politicians. This may be so but it is also true that politicians must take account of the problems and wishes of the people who electthem. Consequently, a better district plan is one which depends upon localconsultation to identify people's needs and one which is approved by and gains thecommitment of local representatives.

• it is practical. Not many districts can plan with a clean slate. Planning must beginwith ongoing schemes and programmes, and adjust them where possible to fit better a district's potentials and felt needs.

This Guide is primarily aimed at those district level functionaries who are responsible for plan preparation and those who will train them.

However, it has been written as far as possible so that others, whether people'srepresentatives or the ordinary citizen, can see and understand how planning is done.Consequently, the emphasis is upon simple and practical procedures that produce usefulresults. Much reliance is placed upon the use of simple tables as a way of collecting andanalysing information. Tables suit normal government procedures and are also easilycomputerised. Complicated methods and particularly those which rely on mathematics have been avoided as far as possible.



7

CHAPTER 2

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

2.1 Introduction

The Manual as a whole has two parts: a Planning Guide and a Training Guide.

• The Planning Guide is intended for district level planners and other concernedofficers who are responsible for the production of a district plan. It is designed to bea simple and self-contained set of guidelines to planning that can be used (if necessary) without prior training.

• The Training Guide is intended for trainers from national and State levelinstitutions who will be responsible for designing and implementing short training

courses for district level staff. It is designed to help trainers to plan and run a courseand provides case study and other material in support.

2.2 The layout of the Planning Guide

The Planning Guide follows the planning cycle. The planning cycle describes the series of steps that planners go through in the production of a plan. These are:

• the collection of data about the area or people to be planned for. Some of thesedata are statistical; other kinds of information can be obtained from people themselves

or panchayat or other bodies. All types of information may be needed;

• the analysis of data to find out what are the problems, opportunities and needs of the area or people to be planned for;

• deciding upon the objectives of the plan. In other words, deciding what the planshould try to achieve;

• reviewing and adjusting where possible district level programmes to enablethe strategy to be achieved;

• identifying new projects or schemes where there are clear needs and the district has discretionary funds available;

• planning financial allocations to enable the plan to be put into operation:

• putting the plan into practice: helping concerned authorities to discuss the plan

and sanction it, breaking the plan down into action plans for annual programmes and

negotiating implementation with concerned departments.



8

Each chapter of the Planning Guide contains one or more of these steps.

The key to using the Guide is to work systematically through each step, following the

procedures in each chapter as closely as possible. Remember that each chapter contributes

to the one that follows it and it is difficult to take methods or procedures out of their context.

However, the circumstances under which plans are prepared vary widely and the planner

should be prepared to adjust his/her approach if necessary to suit the local situation.

2.3 The presentation of material on the pages of the Guide

Each chapter is laid out in the same way.

Firstly, it is divided into sections. Each section carries its own number, for example 3.3.This is to facilitate reference.

The first two sections are introductory. The first, which is called Purpose of the Chapter,

introduces the user to the particular step or steps that the chapter deals with. The secondsection, the Layout of the Chapter gives a breakdown of contents. The remaining sections present the content of the chapter. Normally all the page is used; but where a procedurewhich breaks down into a number of steps is being described, each step is shown separately,thus - Step 1:

Lists of every kind are inset with each item prefixed by the symbol ▪. Sub-lists are further

inset with each sub-item prefixed by the symbol o.

2.4 Definitions

Unavoidably, a number of technical terms have to be introduced from time to time. Whenit is not obvious from the Guide precisely what they mean, a definition is given in a box for easy reference. To illustrate this, a definition for a District Plan follows:

Definition

District Plan

A District Plan describes what a district will try to achieve' over the medium term,

often five years, and how it intends to achieve it. A Plan usually contains an analysisof the current situation of the district and particularly its needs and potentials, ft

should also contain a statement of objectives and an analysis of ongoing and new

schemes and programmes within the district's purview. It should be accompanied by

a financial plan and an action plan. These last two, which are operational plans, will

need continued updating.



9

Examples are given where practicable to illustrate the material, taken from experience drawnthroughout India. These are always prefaced by the terms for example or e.g. So, if thePlanning Guide is talking about poverty alleviation schemes, it could say:

or

for example the IRDP, TRYSEM and JRY schemes of the Central Government

e.g. IRDP

However examples are sometimes not enough, particularly where methods and techniques areinvolved. So, the accompanying Training Guide provides exercises and case studies designedto give additional practice in the techniques involved.

2.5 Matrices, tables and formats

This manual is based as far as possible upon the use of simple tables, matrices and formatsto collect and analyse information. This approach has been adopted for two reasons:

• most Government officers are familiar with them• they lend themselves easily to computerisation.

When they are first introduced, the tables or formats are given in blank form which can beeasily copied for use. These can be identified by the heading Format and a number e.g.Format 4.3

However, they are often shown used with data and in this case they will be headedIllustration. The following illustration shows how financial figures could be entered into atable of financial sources for the agriculture and allied sectors.

Illustration

Sources of funds for agriculture and allied sectors

Sources of Funds (Rs lakhs)

Sector Centre/

State

District Institutionalfinance

Localmobil-isation

Public

enterprise

Agriculture 120 60 1200 60 30

Irrigation 100 50 900 90 0

Forestry 50 25 10 10 0

Of course this is only an incomplete example and you should tucn to Chapter 7 for a

complete account.



10

2.6 How to use the Guide

This Guide is designed to produce a medium-term perspective district plan (approximatelyfive years) which can continually be updated. This perspective plan contains basic data aboutthe district, an analysis of its potentials, problems, needs and gaps, objectives in relation tothe foregoing and proposed adjustments to ongoing programmes and new schemes.

The Guide also shows how to prepare a financing plan which will take the above intoaccount. This financing plan, together with an action plan, will need to be done annually.

There are several rules to follow when using this Guide to prepare these plans:

Firstly, planning has to be done within the calendar of district operations,Consequently, it is important to try to find out when plans have to be prepared byand for whom, and work back from there to the various steps that have to befollowed.

For example, in Dehra Dun district in U.P, financial ceilings for departments are notified at the beginning of October. The old style draftdistrict plan has then to be prepared in November for submission to theState Government. If these dates were to continue, then it is clear thatthe planner must work through most of the Guide in the first half of thefinancial year to produce the district plan. Once a strategy has beenchosen and ongoing programmes analysed (see Chapters 4 and 5),financial ceilings can then be taken into account in November when preparing financing (Chapter 7) and action plans for the forthcoming year (Chapter 8).

The early steps all require statistical data or consultation with departments, panchayats or people. Arranging for the collection of data and organisingconsultation all need to be planned well in advance. Remember too thatcollecting information costs money and time can be wasted if requests for data areexcessive or respondents are asked vague or difficult to answer questions.

It is important to keep concerned functionaries and peoples' representatives atdistrict level informed about the progress of the plan. The process described inthis Guide clearly specifies when consultation is necessary: but it is also valuable toseek opinions and guidance as frequently as possible from all involved. Thisreduces the possibility that the district will treat the plan as something that has been"cooked up" by specialists without informing all concerned and in a way that isnot helpful to district concerns.

Work systematically through the steps. If data or other kinds of information are notavailable or are known to be inaccurate, it may still be possible to complete thetables or proformas and come to a reasonable conclusion.

The resulting District Plan should be laid out as clearly as possible in the formdescribed in Chapter 8. Remember that it will need to be agreed by theconcerned authorities in the district, and Chapter 8 also lays out some advice onnegotiating techniques. Annual financial and action plans should be writtenin a way that conforms with the District Plan as far as possible.



11

CHAPTER 3

DISTRICT ANALYSIS


The first task in the preparation of a district plan is the collection of information about theresources available in the district. Such an analysis is expected to show:

the current physical, economic and social situation the diversities and disparities in the district trends in the district economy

which will make it possible in a later chapter to:

assess the poverty and employment situation identify development potentials and gaps in infrastructural provision as revealed by secondary data.

Definition

Diversities and disparities

Diversities are those characteristics that help to distinguish bet\veen districts quickly

and effectively. For example a district may be differentiated by its predominant crop,

by features such as hill district, plain district and so on. Disparities refer to

inequalities between districts and are based on quantitative values, for example, high

density of population contrasted with low density or high income level contrasted with

low income level.

Definition

Infrastructure

The word infrastructure refers to facilities that contribute to development directly suchas roads, irrigation or power; or indirectly through education and health facilities.The latter are sometimes called the social infrastructure or more simply social services.



12

This chapter outlines the various steps involved in one practical and comprehensive approachto district analysis.

3.2 Layout of the chapter

Several stages are involved in carrying out a district analysis. Each stage is dealt with in thischapter by separate sections as follows:

assembling a district data matrix for the current year (section 3.3)

analysing the district data matrix for block level disparities (section 3.4) calculating trends for important variables (sections 3.5 and 3.6)

preparation of district summary tables (section 3.7)

preparation of base maps (section 3.8)

preparation of a district profile (section 3.9)

3.3 Assembling a district data matrix Data about a district is available in a wide variety of forms. One of the simplest ways of

organizing data so that it can be analysed is the matrix.

Definition

Matrix from

A matrix, (plural - matrices) is a way of defining pieces of information visually and

mathematically.

The simplest way of thinking about it is in the form of a table. A table usually has aclassification or list down the left hand side and a set of variables along the top. A

variable is the thing being measured, e.g. population, man-days of employment

generated, distance of metallic roads.

For example we could tabulate the provision of schools by block with a classification

of schools along the top (primary, secondary etc) and a list of blocks on the left hand

side. Each cell of the resulting grid contains a piece of information, e.g. block

Patnagar contains 5 primary schools and 1 secondary school. Each row describes a

block in terms of a number of variables and each column describes inter-block

variations in a particular variable. This format of information can easily be used in

calculations of different types of aggregate measures, e.g. how many primary schoolsare there in the district; how many primary schools feed a secondary school?

All of the matrices we will deal with in this section are in table form. So why not call

it a table ? The answer is that many tables will follow later as a way of analysing the

data and there is a strong case for a special term to describe the original format in

which data is collected.



13

There are several steps in preparing the district data matrix.

Step 1: collect the data necessary under four headings:

land, agricultural and allied resources

human resources infrastructure and services industry

Most of the following information can be obtained from the concerned district offices or theDistrict Statistical cell. Other information may be taken from the appropriate State leveldepartment or State corporation head office. The Census is an important source of populationdata. In addition to demographic data it gives useful information on infrastructure andservices found in the village and town directory of the District Census Handbooks.

Data should be collected not only for the current (or most recent year) but also for previousyears. Thus, one matrix will contain information relating to one point of time. Exactly how

previous years' information should be used will be discussed later.

What data should be collected ? One of the great weaknesses in the past has been thetendency of planners to collect too much information. Plans have been buried under a floodof data, much of it irrelevant to the task of deciding what to do.

There is a golden rule, sometimes called the need-to-know principle. This principle statesthat we should only collect data if:

we are reasonably certain it will be used in the analysis

we need the data in order to explain the plan to others.

Obviously, it is difficult to be exact about what is needed without actually getting involvedin the process. So, the following list is offered as a guide to start with. It shows what sortof data is needed and why it is important. District planners should treat it with flexibility,adding or omitting items from it if necessary:

heading 1 - land, agricultural and allied resources:

o land - total area of the district, net cultivated area, pasture, currentfallows, forested area, wasteland. This data will show whether there isroom for the expansion of cultivation and where.

o number of land holdings - subdivided into different size classes. Thisdata will show the degree of inequality in land distribution and averagesize of land holdings and what kind of agricultural programmes arelikely to work best.

o cropping pattern and production - gross cropped area, percentageof double/multiple cropped area, area and output of selected maincrops. This data will be used to analyse trends in production in alater section.



14

o livestock - number of buffaloes, cows, goats and pigs: quantum and valueof production, particularly dairy.

o land, water and other natural resources - adversely affected bydevelopment; area affected by salination, degraded forest, falling water table, etc. This data will be used to assess environmental problems.

heading 2 - human resources

o settlement and population - number of towns and inhabited villages.number of gram panchayats, population sub-divided into rural, urban, SC/ST population and density of population. This data will be used to identity trendsfrom which the demand for services can be estimated.

o employment - subdivided into cultivators, agricultural labourers, householdindustries, services, industrial and other workers.

o poverty distribution - subdivided into numbers beneath the poverty lineand those classified in extreme poverty. This data can be used to find outtrends in the incidence of poverty.

heading 3 - infrastructure

o drinking water supply - protected/piped water supplies, handpumps, other sources. This data can be used to identify further needs for drinking water.

o irrigation - potential groundwater resources, net irrigated area, mode of irrigation (eg number of tubewells, dugwells, tanks and length of canals). Thisdata will show the current level of irrigation and whether there is possibilityfor expansion.

o transport and communications - length of metallic, non-metallic andkutcha roads, length of railway track, number of post and telegraph offices.This data can be used to show whether there are any obvious gaps in provision.

o banking facilities - number of banks, subdivided into commercial,cooperative and regional rural banks.

o cooperatives - broken down into primary agricultural credit societies (PAC)and farmers' service societies (FSS).

o markets - regulated markets, wholesale and primary markets, mandis andhats.

o health services - district hospitals, primary health centres, subcentres anddispensaries. This data can be used to show whether there are any obviousgaps in provision.



15

o educational services - primary schools (lower and upper), secondary

schools, colleges and vocational training institutions. This data can be used toshow whether there are needs for setting up schools or other institutions.

o women's and children's services - mahila mandals, balwadis, anganwadis.

heading 4 - industry categorised by sectors. Show the number of firms in eachsector and if possible employment. This data will be used in subsequent trendanalysis. Classification into the following sectors is recommended:

o forest-based industry

o mining and quarrying

o medium and small scale industries (SSIs) including household, cottage, khadi and village handicraft industries

o construction activities

o trade including retail and wholesale enterprises o transport andcommunications including local bus and taxi operations o servicesincluding administration, banking, education, health and

sanitation.

Step 2: construct the data matrix forms. The planner will need to construct four of these,one for each data heading e.g. land and agriculture. It is wise to use large sheets, folded if necessary.

The size of each matrix varies slightly depending upon how many blocks and variables needto be accommodated.

The number of rows depends upon the number of blocks in the district. Forexample Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh has 16 blocks. Therefore allocate a titlerow, 16 block rows and a district summary row i.e. 18 rows.

The number of columns depends upon the data heading. As a guide allow thefollowing:

o matrix 1 (land, agriculture and allied activities) - up to 30 columns

o matrix 2 (human resources) - up to 20 columns

o matrix 3 (infrastructure) - up to 30 columns

o matrix 4 (industry) - up to 20 columns.

but remember that this may need to be adjusted to the requirements of the particular district.

Format 3.1 shows how the matrix should be laid out for the first five variables of the landand agriculture data matrix in the case of a small district with five blocks.



16

Format 3.1

Land and agricultural resources matrix

block name

total

area

(ha)

net

cultivated

area

(ha)

pasture

(ha)fallows

(ha)forest

(ha)waste

(ha)

district total

Step 3: enter data into the appropriate columns for each block.

In some cases this is straightforward. However in other cases it should he noted that somevariables such as population, workers in different sectors, etc. cannot be easily entered for thecurrent year. This is because a large part of this data would come from census data. Consequentlythey must be shown with the appropriate year clearly identified.

Always remember to sum district totals at the end of each column.

The outcome of this stage of the work is a series of four matrix formats which show

blockwise the most important planning data about the district.

This is the raw material upon which the district plan will he based.

3.4 Identifying block level disparities

The next stage of the analysis involves using the district matrix to identify disparities between blocks. Obviously there will always be differences between the blocks in a district: some will havehigher populations, others will be more fertile and have higher agricultural productivity.Sometimes however a block may have done badly because:

its natural resources have still to be fully exploited

it has not yet received a full range of government services

it lacks the infrastructure needed to exploit its potentials

it has lagged behind in the provision of social services, e.g. health and education.



17

The simplest approach to the measurement of disparities is to compare each block's

performance to the average for the district. If it is below the district average, then there is a case

for finding out why and whether the district plan should attempt to rectify matters. In many cases of

course there may be good reasons for the disparity, but it is important to establish the cause.

The following procedure involves the preparation of block level disparity tables for each of the

variables in the district matrix.

Step 1: prepare the forms for block level disparity tables

One of these should be prepared for each block.

The format for these (see Format 3.2) is as follows:

basic data for the block and district is headed at the top. This is here for the sake

of convenience in calculations and can be dispensed with if necessary.

one column is allocated to each of the variables of the district data matrix. Four

are shown here. These might be population or the number of primary schools within

the district.

the first row is used for the block level data for each variable, e.g. total children

enrolled in primary school in the block.

the second row is used for the district total.

the third row is used for blockwise average. The blockwise average is calculated

by dividing the district total by the number of blocks.

the fourth, fifth and sixth rows are used to calculate disparities. There are three

kinds of disparity that are relevant, and the planner must use his judgment to decidewhich to calculate. In some cases more than one measure is useful.

o the numerical disparity is the difference between the block data and the blockwise

average for variables that can be counted, e.g. area, population, number of cattle,

number of dugwells.

o the percentage disparity per unit area relates the data to the area of the district and

block respectively.

o the percentage disparity per unit population relates the data to the populations of

the district and block respectively.



18

Format 3.2Block disparity analysis form

District name Block name Number of blocks Area (ha) Area (ha)Population (lakhs)

variable 1 variable 2 variable 3 variable 4

block data

district total

blockwise

average

numerical

disparity

disparity per

unit area (%)

disparity per unit of

population (%)

Step 2: fill in the data and calculate disparities

begin by entering the appropriate block and district level area and population data.

then enter the variable names from the district data matrix.

enter the block data and then the district total from the district data matrix:

calculate the blockwise average by dividing the district total by the number of blocks.

calculate the numerical disparity by subtracting the block data from the blockwiseaverage. Show this with the appropriate plus or minus sign.

calculate the percentage disparity per unit area by the following formula:

percentage disparity per unit area =

(block data/area of the block) x 100)/(district total/area of the district)

calculate the percentage disparity per unit population by the following formula:

percentage disparity per unit population =

(block data/population of the block) x 100)/(district total/population of the

district).



19

This procedure is illustrated by an example from Bidar district, Karnataka:

Illustration

The use of Format 3.2Block disparities in public services

District name: Bidar Block name: Aurad

Number of blocks: 5 Area (ha): 1224Area (ha): 5458 Population (lakhs): 2.1

number

primary

schools

number

health

centres

number

commercial

banks

number postoffices

block data 8 8 205 43

district total 55 40 976 176

blockwise

average 11 8 195

35

numerical

disparity

-3 0 + 10 + 8

disparity per

unit area (%) 64 89 88

109

disparity per

unit

population

(%)

88 118 124 143 '

What does this table show ? The disparity indices of Aurad block imply that it lags behind

in terms of primary school facilities. However it is well above the district average in facilities

like post offices and commercial banks, particularly so when these are compared to

population size.

3.5 Constructing tables for previous years to enable trends to be analysed

Data collected over a number of years is essential for analyzing future trends in agriculture.

human resources and the development of infrastructure. Is agricultural output increasing and

where? Are more people going below poverty line ? These are the sort of questions that can

be answered through the analysis of trends.



20

Definition

Trend

A future trend is a prediction of the change in a variable, e.g. wheat output or number of

children enrolled in primary school. This is often based on information about previous years.

Using the golden principle of need-to-know we need first to decide what trends are

important. This is covered in the first step which follows:

Step 1: decide what trends need to be predicted.

Within the areas of responsibility of district level authorities (including those functions transferred

to panchayats and municipalities by the Constitutional Amendment) a number of trends seem to be of

particular importance. These are:

trends in agricultural output especially for main crops. This should be examined

both in terms of the area under each crop and actual output.

trends in the nature of industrial development.

trends in population growth. This should be divided into urban and rural

population.

trends in employment.

trends in poverty.

trends in environment.

Before working out trends however, it is important to understand some of the limitations inherentin the method and the data available.

Agricultural output: while figures for this are usually readily available, it should beremembered that estimates for some crops (notably subsistence crops) are rather unreliable. Outputfigures for any one year tend to be affected by rainfall and (sometimes) the availability of inputs. Consequently, it is wise to choose figures for years that are as "typical as possible" or arenot affected by unusual fluctuations (the concerned department will advise on this).

Remember that trends in agricultural output tend to be rather difficult to interpret, at least inthe long run. This is because:



21

unlike industrial output there are resource and technological limitations onincreases in production. Actual trends in production may well tail off and calculationscan easily over-estimate performance.

trends tend to be interactive: that is, increases in one crop ultimately have aneffect on others in that it takes over their land and labour inputs. This can actuallyemphasise trends in the long run.

Industrial structure and output: data on the number of firms in a district is usually

available with the District Industrial Centre (DIG). Many cottage, handicraft and small scale

industry firms will have received support from Government programmes or State

corporations, and data will be available. However, it is inevitable that some firms,

particularly household level ones, are not covered by the statistics.

Population trends are usually based upon the decennial Census figures. Other important sources

are the National Sample Survey (NSS) and an innovative system called the Sample Registration

System (SRS) which collects on a sample basis births and deaths,

Employment trends are difficult to measure. This is due to several reasons:

while some individuals are permanently in wage employment, others move in andout of the wage economy as opportunities permit. This movement is often seasonal.

it can be difficult to distinguish work or economic activities from householdactivities in rural areas.

There are several sources for these types of data. The DIC in the district is one. Another approach

is to use the Census and particularly the District Handbook (village and town-wise primary census

abstract). This will give employment figures by categories.

The 1971 Census used nine categories of employment pattern but these were reduced in 1981 and

expanded again in 1991. The net effect of these changes for analysis can be summarised as follows;

for the following categories, the 1981 and 1991 Census figures must be used as a

basis for trend estimation:

o cultivators (category I)

o agricultural labourers (category II)

o household industry (category Va in 1971, category III in 1981)

o marginal workers.

for the following categories, the 1971 and 1991 Census figures must be used:

o workers in forestry, livestock, fishing, hunting, plantation and allied

activities (category III)

o workers in mining and quarrying (category IV)

o workers in manufacturing other than household industry (category Vb) oconstruction workers (category VI)

o workers in trade and commerce (category VII)



22

o workers in transport, storage and communication (category VIII)o other services (category IX).

Trends in poverty in the district. The important measure of this is the number of families below the poverty line (see definition below). The District Rural Development Agency(DRDA) will normally have this information. However, much of it can be out of date

because it depends upon surveys carried out in the 1980s and subsequently added to in a piecemeal fashion. The definition of the poverty line has also been altered from time to time.It is necessary, therefore, to update this information, to start with by Rapid Rural Appraisalsusing the current definition of poverty. This is best done at village panchayat level andcollated at block level.

Definition

The poverty line

The poverty line is a measure of a consumption level of goods and services. If a personor family consume less than this level they are considered poor. In India, the poverty line isbased upon the idea of a basket of minimum needs for an individual. This basket is brokendown into food and non-food items. An individual's minimum need for food is computed onthe basis of a calorific requirement - currently 2100 kilocalories per day in the rural areas and 2400 kilocalories per day in urban areas. Non-food needs are identified with the help of NSS

data. Both food and non-food needs are then converted into a cash equivalent. This iscurrently (1995) Rs 540 per capita per month for rural and urban areas combined together.

Trends in environment in the district. A number of measures are required for accurate

identification of environmental change, whether this be soil erosion, salination of soils, agro-

chemical pollution of water courses or atmospheric change. Usually the bench-mark data arenot available. In consequence indirect assessment may have to be relied upon; otherwise

damage may reach catastrophic proportions before action is taken.

direct measures such as soil loss quantities measure the variable itself while theindirect indicator of the same variable might be a decline in crop yield. Intheabsence of records the statements of local residents or affected persons may betaken.

expert opinion from both concerned line departments and from relevant scientific

institutions or informed voluntary bodies may be consulted.



23

Step 2: prepare a table for earlier years for selected variables

The district data matrix will give us all the data we need on the current situation. However,

most methods of calculating trends require that we obtain information for earlier years. The

rate of change between those earlier years and the present provides the basis for a prediction of

the future.

Consequently, the next step is to gather these data for earlier years and plot it. Since only five

trends are involved, the amount of data required is relatively less and we can use a simple

table (see Format 3.3). One table per trend will be adequate.

Which previous years should be chosen ? Some data is only available for years widely

spaced apart for example the Census which is only taken every ten years (the last was in

1991). Consequently, it is best to use quite a wide span between the years chosen. One

recommended approach would be to prepare data matrices for about five years ago and about ten

years ago. The reason for being approximate is that it is not essential that the same years be

used for each variable - they can be mixed a little.

The layout of the table resembles the district data matrix as in section 3.4 above, that is,

blockwise on the left and variable on the top. However, it is much smaller and simpler.

Format 3.3 below is laid out for two variables (which could be staple crops, say wheat or

rice) entered for two time periods t1 and t2 (which could be 1988 and 1993 or any other two

years' recordings available). It does not matter if figures are only available for different pairs of

years (for example 1987 and 1993 for wheat, 1988 and 1993 for rice) - the trends are

calculated separately. The format is laid out for three blocks and a district total is also

entered.

Step 3: enter the data

This should be done in the same way as in the district data matrix.

Format 3.3

Trend data table

block name variable 1

for tl

variable 1

for t2

variable 2

for tl

variable 2

for t2

district total



24

3.6 Analysis of trends

A first rule is that, if a forecast has been done for the trends in question by some competent

authority, then it should be used. Examples of competent authorities include:

national level bodies, e.g. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).Central Arid Zone Research Institute (C AZRI) , National Institute of RuralDevelopment (NIRD)

universities, agricultural universities concerned State departments, e.g. agriculture, small scale industry, employment reputable research institutions.

If such forecasts are not available, the planner must do the work himself/herself.

By the end of section 3.5, the planner should have data for at least two different years for the trends under study. These figures must now be used to forecast a future date, usually fiveor ten years distant.

There are two different methods, one rather more complicated than the other, that can be

used.

forecasting by simple extrapolation (method 1)

forecasting by compound rate of growth calculation (method 2).

Method (1) Simple extrapolation

Simple extrapolation takes the rate of change between the two or more year for which data is available and projects it forward.

Say that production of wheat in a block in 1986 is W86 and in 1991 is W91. Then the

percentage rate of change over five years is given by:

(W91- W86)/W86

The same methods can be used for other variables.

Method (2) Compound rate of growth

Another method is to apply the compound rate of growth formula.

Say that the population of a district in 1981 is PS1 and the population in 1991 is Py|, r

is the annual growth rate over the period 1981-1991 and t is the number of years to be forecast.

Then P91 =P81 (1+r)10

and r in this case can be worked out by:

r = antilog ((log P91 - log Pgl)/10) - 1





26

3.7 Preparation of district summary tables

The next stage is to prepare district summary tables. These should be prepared separatelyfor:

the current district situation. The data here can he taken from the district data

matrix and should cover the following variables:

o land use: irrigated, non-irrigated, fallow, forest and waste

o agricultural and livestock production by main crop or livestock product o industrial firms by number, by size and sector o employment by sector o poverty in the district

major district trends. The data here can be taken from the trend analysis insection 3.6.

In the case of districts with large number of blocks the summary tables may becomeunwieldy. In such situations it is worthwhile to group together a number of blocks based onsimilarities in their characteristics, for example, tribals blocks, hill areas, or any other suitable characteristics.

3.8 Preparation of base maps

The purpose of the base maps is to represent basic information about the district in a waythat is simpler and easier to understand than text or tables.

Only certain kinds of information can be shown in this way. Nevertheless, the details of relief, drainage, underground water, soil types, vegetation, population distribution,distribution of infrastructure such as roads and railways can all be more effectively andefficiently represented in maps. A map shows clearly where things are and how they arerelated in terms of location, distance and distribution throughout the district. These arequestions that are bound to be raised when discussing or negotiating a plan withrepresentative bodies or concerned individuals.

There are several steps in preparing base maps.

Step 1: Obtain the right 1:50.000 map sheets for the district. These may already be presentin the district headquarters. If not, they may be obtained from the Survey of India unless

restricted areas are covered in which case special permission may need to be taken. If 1:50,000 sheets are not available, it may be possible to obtain 1:100,000 scale sheets whichcan also be used.



27

Definition

Map scales

Maps are drawn in a number of scales. Scale is the relationship between the actual distance onthe ground between two points and the representation of that distance on the map sheet. For

example the distance in a straight line between Theog and Kufri in Himachal Pradesh is about

10 km. On a 1:50,000 map sheet the measurable distance between them will be shown as 10,000

(the real distance in metres) divided by 50,000 (the map scale) which equals 20 cm.

Step 2: Decide what the base maps are going to show. Probably the most important things

from the point of view of district planning are:

relief and drainage

land use

settlement pattern

roads, railways

public services i.e schools, hospitals etc.

administrative boundaries population density areas of particular environmental vulnerability

Step 3: Construct a working map for each of these using the 1:50,000 sheet. It will be an

advantage if a technically qualified person (draughtsman, tracer) does this. Otherwise it can be

done by the planner.

Tracing paper or tracing film is the easiest way to do this. Take the 1:50,000 map as a

bottom sheet and lay an equivalent size of paper or film on top of it. Then construct working map

copies as follows:

relief and drainage - copy the boundaries of hill areas. It may be useful to use a

contour (line connecting all points of equal height) as a way of defining such areas.

Rivers and streams can be copied directly. Also include canals and other major

irrigation works.

land use - a simple breakdown into irrigated land, dry cultivated land, waste and

forest is all that is usually required. Cultivated and wooded areas can be taken from

the survey sheet but the other information should be taken from the concerned

department, usually the Department of Agriculture.

settlement pattern - may be taken from the survey map but remember that theactual survey may have been done some years ago and there has been subsequent

growth.

roads, railways and other transport facilities - may be taken from the survey sheet

and updated it" necessary.



28

public utilities and services - may be taken from the survey sheet and updated if necessary. Remember to include a wide range of facilities including:

o hospitals and clinics

o schools, colleges and non-formal education (NFE) centres

o panchayat buildings

administrative boundaries - may be taken from the survey map but should bechecked with the concerned authority. Include block boundaries if possible. The StateElection Commissions for Panchayats and Municipalities would be able to providethis.

population density - may be calculated for each block with reference to the Censusof India records. Some form of shading or cross-hatching is a useful way of representing density.

environmental vulnerability - should be identified for particular variables by

consulting concerned authorities, voluntary organisations or individual experts.

Step 4: Once working maps have been produced, these need to be reduced and printed on ausable scale so that they can be read together with the plan document. If the plan is to be foolscapin size then a single foolscap map might be the right approach. If metric sizes are to be used, A4(or possibly A3 doubled over) will be the right size. Reduction and printing of the maps can now be done by many technical departments (e.g PWD or Irrigation) or by commercial agencies.

The result of this section is a series of maps showing the main features of the district as a whole.

3.9 Preparation of district profile

Using the outputs of the previous stages, a short (three page) district profile, should bewritten.



29

Definition

District profile

A district profile is a brief but comprehensive account of a district's geography, economy and

social structure. It has two purposes:it gives readers new to the district the necessary background to enable them to understand the

district plan and the strategy and detailed proposals it containsit acts as a refresher course to readers already familiar with the district.

The layout and length recommended for this profile is:

• introduction to the district (150 words)

o location in the State

o administration

o basic physical features, e.g. hills, rivers

• natural resources (150 words) o mineral and similar resources

o water resources

o forest resources, fisheries

• human resources (200 words)

o population total and composition o patterns of

population distribution

• land and agriculture (200 words)

o land use and land ownership

o main crops o livestock if important

• industry (200 words)

o major industries

o small scale, including khadi and village industry

• infrastructure (100 words) o national highways, other highways and district roads, rail etc o educational

and health facilities

The style of a district profile will vary with authorship but a simple, readable and interesting style has muchto recommend it. The first illustration is taken from a district profile prepared for Varanasi district in U.P

and shows how the reader's interest can be captured rifht from the beginning of the profile. After

three paragraphs, the reader knows a little about the



30

history and importance of Varanasi city, the location of the district and the district's administrative

structure.

Illustration

District profile - the introductory section

Varanasi city has the pride of place in India's cultural heritage. The district was named after the capital

town Varanasi. It is one of the oldest living planned cities in the world. Varanasi epitomises the history of human settlements in the middle Ganga valley.

As the city is situated between the rivers Varuna and Assi it had been renamed as Varanasi from it earlier

name Benares. The district is located in the eastern part of U.P and is surrounded by Bihar state in theeast, district of Allahabad in the west, Mirzapur in the south and Jaunpur together with Ghazipur in the north.

The district is spread over an area of 5.091 sq. km. of which 4,962 sq. km. are rural.

Administratively the district is divided into 6 revenue sub-divisions called as tehsils and 22 development blocks. The total number of villages in the district was 4,700. The villages are organised under 2,194 gram

sabhas. There are 15 towns including the city of Varanasi.

from: Self-employment for poverty alleviation: case studies in Uttar Pradesh eds B.K Thapliyal and

Om Prakash NIRD, Hyderabad (DAG-NIRD series 5)

The second illustration on the following page is taken from a profile of Bidar district in Karnataka and

shows how a conclusion can be handled. Note how it describes in turn the potentials of the district - industry,

agriculture, minerals - and, equally important, the implications of these points for government action. The

authorities should "identify appropriate cost-effective technology for dryland agriculture"; "Governmentshould make land available ... to start new industries". These are very general policy points, but they

serve to move the reader on from thinking about the data to actions to be taken.

3.10 Conclusion

This chapter has shown how the groundwork of district planning is performed. By the end of it the planner

has:

a comprehensive district data matrix that can be updated as necessary (and can be computerised

when facilities are available).

analyses of disparities in provision between blocks for a range of important variables.



31

calculations of likely trends for five important variables including output,

employment and poverty.

a short district profile, supported by summary tables. This will be important in

explaining and negotiating the plan with the concerned authorities.

a series of base maps to support the profile.

Illustration

District profile - the concluding section

Notwithstanding various problems and constraints, Bidar district has some potentialitieswhich should be exploited through necessary policy actions. For instance, a district once declared a

"no industry district" has demonstrated considerable industrial growth over the years. In order to provide gainful employment to the people, especially in rural areas, there is need to

popularise planned development of dry land agriculture and especially through watershed programmes wherever possible. There is a lot of scope for introducing new programmes to promote

agro-forestry, silvi-pasture and to develop uncultivated lands as common property resources.

Furthermore, it is imperative for the authorities to identify appropriate cost-effective technology for

dry land agriculture and strengthening marketing infrastructure for agricultural inputs and outputs.The available resource endowments, such as agro-horticultural products and minerals, are not

adequately exploited for industrial manufacturing and there is ample scope for small scaleindustries. A cluster approach can be adopted to identify potentials in this regard. Moreimportantly, there is a demand from entrepreneurs that Government should make land available to

them at reasonable prices to start new industries (current land values are quite high).

In addition, what is most important is that there is a need to organise awareness camps since, in the

district and indeed the region as a whole, there is a lack of awareness about current programmes, poor mobilisation of socially disadvantaged groups, poor participation of women and absence of

community participation in development programmes. The need is to educate the general publicwith regard to various measures that the Government has introduced to improve living conditions

and for the all round development of the district as a whole.



32

CHAPTER 4

DISTRICT OBJECTIVES


This chapter looks at the way in which the district plan's objectives can be identified.

Definition

Objectives

A plan's objectives are the changes or developments it is trying to achieve. Typical district plan

objectives include poverty alleviation, employment, enhanced agricultural production and so on.Many of these are already national and State objectives but the district plan should be specific

about the priority it attaches to each and whether there are any additional purely local objectivesto be added. For example employment generation is important in Andhra Pradesh as elsewhere

but the plight of the unemployed handloom weavers in certain districts might justify particular

priority.

Objectives can be identified in the context of:

potentials and opportunities

problems/gaps and needs

What do these words mean?

Definitions

Potentials, opportunities, problems, gaps and needs

All districts have a particular endowment of natural resources, human resources and infrastructure. These provide potentials or opportunities for future development. For example ,

encouraging farmers to adopt new crops or set up in business to serve new markets are waysof exploiting opportunities.

People experience problems , some short lived and others of long duration. For example , lack

of drinking water in a village is a problem. Problems can be expressed as gaps in provision.Gaps emerge primarily from the analysis of the district or block situation which is often doneon the basis of information from the district analysis (Chapter 3). Problems can also be

expressed as needs. A request for a dugwell is a statement of need.



4.2 Layout of this chapter

The rest of this chapter is divided into seven sections as follows:

identification of potentials (section 4.3)

identification of problems and gaps (section 4.4) identification of local needs (section 4.5)

identifying problems, needs and gaps through consultation (section 4.6)

prioritising problems, gaps and needs (section 4.7) how to identify objectives (section 4.8)

conclusion (section 4.9)

Sections 4.3 to 4.6 are designed to help you find out what are the potentials, problems, needs and gaps of your district. A range of procedures are described to help you do this. As you identify each potential, problem etc, it should be entered into the left hand column of the most important Format in this

chapter - Format 4.1. There is also room for you to show how many blocks or panchayats actuallyexperience this particular potential, problem etc. When you draw up Format 4.1, leave a good number of rows and be prepared to add more if necessary.

Format 4.1

Cumulative listing of potentials, problems needs and gaps

Potentials, problems, needsand gaps

Number of blocks

experiencing

Number of panchayatsexperiencing

Data for the completion of the table can be obtained from three sources: the analyses recommended by Chapter 3, information from panchayat institutions and direct crosschecking from field study

4.3 Identification of potentials and opportunities

Chapter three of this manual provides instructions on how to complete a district data matrix (section3.3), block disparity tables (section 3.4), trend estimates (sections 3.5 and 3.6) and district summarytables (section 3.7).

The first step is to use the district data matrix to identify resource potentials. These are unused or underused agricultural or other resources which new developments may use. The



34

entries under heading 1 (land, agricultural and allied resources) will indicate whether there is room

for the expansion of cultivation or livestock rearing. Entries under heading 3 (infrastructure) will

indicate whether there is the possibility of expanding irrigation. Entries under heading 4 will indicate

what mineral resources are worked in the district and advice should be taken on whether there is

potential for expansion. Information should also be taken if available from the district summary tables

(3.7) and the district profile (3.9). Enter all identified potentials and opportunities into Format 4.1.Concerned departments should also be consulted.

The next step is to identify the lead sector of the district. This will give the planner a lead to those

activities that need encouragement and possibly supporting investment in the development of the

district.

Definition

Lead sector

The lead sector(s) of a district economy is that sector which either:

• dominates an economy in such a way that it provides the large pan of output and employment. For example fruit production in many pans of Himachal

Pradesh.

• is growing rapidly in such a way that it contributes more than other sectors

to the expansion of output and employment. For example , industry in districts

around Delhi like Ghaiiabad or Faridabad which has grown dramatically and

has contributed more than other sectors to employment creation and output.

The lead sector is important for two reasons.

Firstly, if it dominates the district economy, supporting investments (for example,

expansion of milk collection centres in a dairying district) will have an immediateeffect on output and employment. Care needs to be taken however that the supply of

these investments and services has not reached saturation.

Secondly, if it is the fastest growing sector in the economy, then this probablyreflects deep seated trends in the exploitation of resources, the application of technology or the growth of demand. Supporting investments in this sector willcapitalise upon these trends and give maximum return to public investment.

To identify the lead sector in the district economy, two sets of tables are needed:

the district data matrix for o land and agriculture

o industry

o human resource



35

the trend calculations

To identify the lead sectors Location Quotients (LQs) can be used. The location quotient for a

sector can be calculated to show concentration [LQ(C)] as well as to measure relative growth

[LQ(G>] as follows:

and

LQ(C) =

LQ(G) =

percent labour employed in a sector in the block

----------------------------------------------------------- percent labour employed in that sector in the district

percent growth in labour in a sector in the block -----------------------------------------------------------

percent growth in labour in that sector in the district

Thus LQ values greater than one would indicate either increasing concentration of. or growth in, thesector in question in a block.

Illustration

Location quotient calculation

Location Quotient for Concentration (LQ(C))

SectorsBlocks

agriculture and

allied activities

industry trade and

commerce

others

Garbeta 86.51 2.25 4.61 7.61

Keshpur 83.91 2.75 4.52 8.76

Midnapore block 75.67 3.40 7.93 13.00

Midnapore District 82.97 3.40 4.80 8.83

LQ (C) Garbeta 86.51/82.97 -

1.04

2,25/3.40 =

0.66

4.12/4.80 =

0.86

7.13/8.83 -

0.81

LQ (C) Keshpur 83.91/82.97 =1.01

2.75/3.40 -0.81

4.52/4.80 -0.94

8.76/8.83 -0.99

LQ (C) Midnapore

block

75.67/82.97 -

0.91

3.40/3.40 =

1.00

7.93/4.80 -

1.65

13.00/8.83 -1.47

The same methodology can be used to calculate the LQ(G). Once lead sectors have beenidentified, enter them in the potentials column in Format 4.1.





37

Step 2: identify environmental problems

Indicators of environmental problems have been recorded in the land, agriculture and natural

resources matrix (3.3) and have been analysed under trend analysis (3.5).

Environmental problems are usually side effects of productive systems such as intensive

agricultural cropping or sheep rearing.

Where an identified environmental problem is associated with the lead sector in any block, solving

this problem should be taken up as an objective for the block and district.

Check the lead sector identified for each block against the environmental problems noted for that block.

Where the lead sector is directly associated with an environmental problem this problem should be added

to Format 4.1.

Step 3: check of norms against provision

The block disparity tables will show if there are clear disparities in the provision of services (especially

roads, health, education and certain other public services). Blocks which appear to be undersupplied

should have their provision checked with reference to standard norms. Such norms have usually been

identified by Central Government.

Definition

Norms of provision

Central Government in respect of certain services has laid down minimum standards of provisionwhich State governments and district administrations should attain. Norms of provision may be found in infrastructure (e.g. drinking water), health and educational provision. For example , one

educational norm is that primary schools should be constructed so that all children live within two

kilometres' walk. Wliilst the attainment of norms will take rime, they do provide a standard by which

gaps in provision can be identified.

Disparities with reference to norms should be entered into Format 4.1.

4.5 Consulting panchayat institutions in the district

The second major source of information from which objectives can be derived are requests from

panchayat institutions in the district. Under the 73rd amendment all States and districts will be

required to take account of the needs that are being expressed through the grass roots political

decision making institutions that are established under the various State acts.



38

This section lays out a procedure for complying with the 73rd amendment and actively consultingand taking account of grass roots decision making institutions.

Consultation procedure

The following procedure is based upon the existing hierarchy of panchayats in most States (zilla

parishad, panchayat samiti and gram sabha) and their corresponding administrative officer(s)(district administration, block development office and VLW/gram sevak).

The principles underlying the procedure are:

a standard proforma (Format 4.2) is used to record gram sahha requests andopinions. Provision is made in this proforma for a village's own commitment of resources in terms of money or labour input.

gram sahha proformas are aggregated and approved (or modified) by the concerned

panchayat samiti.

consultation takes place on an agreed calendar.

administrative officers at the appropriate level are responsible for ensuring that

consultation is carried out and the completed proforma submitted to the concerned

authority.

Format 4.2

Proforma for statements of need from Gram Sabhas

District .........................................

Block .........................................

Grama Sabha .............................................

Request (scheme, project

or asset)

Estimated cost (Rs) Reason for request Resources (financial/labour)

to be committed by Grama

Sabha



39

The procedure of consultation employs the following steps:

Step 1: the district planning functionaries prepare the proformas and ensure that they are approved by the zilla parishad and that concerned district authorities are informed.

Step 2: the district planning functionaries send the proformas to block development offices. Block

development offices then ensure that they are transmitted to VLWs for communication to gramsabhas. VLWs are responsible for ensuring that proformas are completed.

Step 3: VLWs then return the completed proformas to block development offices. Block officeslist the requests by sector and submit these lists to their panchayat samiti for approval or modification.

Step 4: Block development offices then submit the sanctioned lists to district planners.

Analysing the results and listing the needs

The next stage involves analysing the results for their bearing on objectives. Remember that the proformas must be retained since village requests must be taken into consideration in the adjustmentof existing programmes and the formulation of action plans.

The procedure is: take the list as received from the panchayat samiti and enter them into thecumulative listing of potentials, problems, needs and gaps (Format 4.1).

Assume that the following requests have been received from the gram sabhas of two blocks:

Block A requests for 5 gravelled village roads (20 km), 23 handpumps for drinking water (invillages without proper supply) and measures to reduce groundwater salinity in irrigationwells

Block B requests for 3 gravelled village roads (12 km), extension of STC bus service tovillage, 12 handpumps for drinking water (in village without proper supply), provision of primary health centre (PHC) in village without proper medical facility and help withreduction of flooding during the monsoon.

These should be entered into the first column of Format 4.1.

It is useful at this stage to compare the results of the consultative procedure with needs andgaps identified by the analysis of the district data matrix. The existence of significantdifferences or anomalies (for example many requests for drinking water supply) in theanalysis of current provision or block disparities suggests that the district is already wellsupplied.

Anomalies of this kind may suggest a need for cross-checking of data at village level.

However, even without anomalies it would be advisable to cross check by a few field

visits/surveys.



40

4.6 Cross-checking data

The third source of information arises from direct consultation through field study. The procedures in sections 4.5 and 4.6 will reveal evidence of many needs, gaps or problems.The purpose of this section is to show how:

to cross-check on the validity of the data that backs this information. For example,is the apparent shortage of public drinking water supplies compensated in local practice by extensive use of private wells ?

to interpret the causes and effects underlying genuine needs. For example, is a high drop

out rate from primary schooling due to a lack of interest on the part of parents, or the

seasonal migration of families to distant places for work, or the inability of local schools

to retain adequately qualified teachers?

Cross checking should be carried out where there is reason to believe the quality of informationavailable through the census, district technical officers' returns, hospital records, etc., may be

inadequate. Reasons for inadequacy include

false or inappropriate data through weaknesses in classification (such as

smallholding migrant workers classified as landless), breakdowns in data collection

or recording, manipulations of information at any stage by interested persons, etc.

information that is technically correct (as in the above example of water supplies

and wells) but not an adequate description of the underlying situation.

Where such weaknesses are suspected, cross-checking studies should be done. Two

methods may be adopted for cross-checking:

formal survey

spot check

Cross checking method 1: formal survey

Where the information to be crosschecked is crucial to achieving the main objectives of the plan or itis politically sensitive or it is particularly difficult to check, a thorough and scientifically soundsurvey may be required. The techniques involved in a survey of this kind are outside the scope of thismanual. Consequently, the services of a reputable research institution or organisation should hesought. This may in itself require approval from the district level authorities and funds allocated for it.



41

Cross-checking method 2: spot check

Many suspected information weaknesses are best investigated on the basis of brief field visits. Such spotchecks while lacking full scientific rigour, can nevertheless provide valuable information to helpcorrect false impressions created by faulty data. The value of this information and its persuasiveness will be enhanced hy taking care to ensure that the following steps are followed;

Step 1: decide how many places to visit and in which locations. Bear in mind the need to selectlocations that adequately represent the nature of the information problem that you are addressing. Avoidroadside bias.

For example to address a problem about the adequacy of information about drinking water supplies for instance, select a number of areas in which anomalies are apparent and also visitareas in which the information does not appear problematic, so comparisons can be made.

Step 2: decide who to talk to. In most cases non-officials as well as officials may be consulted. Careshould be taken to think out who are the interested as well as the probably well informed persons.Consult all relevant categories of persons. Generally checklists will be most useful, but ensure that the

same issues are raised with each person.

Step 3: make field visits

Step 4: prepare report taking care to;

• state what information problem you have been addressing, • what steps you took to ensure that the information collected is as accurate as possible,

• what your findings have been,• how you interpret those findings and what difference this makes to the conclusionsthat you draw from the original data.

4.7 Ranking potentials, problems and needs

Having identified problems and needs and having cross-checked them it is useful to rank them so thatthe objectives of the district plan are stated to reflect those priorities. The simplest way to prioritise theneeds and problems is ranking them on the basis of number of panchayats facing a problem and/or expressing a need. These could be easily ranked and arranged in descending order of priorities

following Format 4.3.



42

Format 4.3

Prioritising potentials, problems and needs

Potentials, problems and needs faced by number

of panchayats

rank

The analysis in this chapter has identified a number of different kinds of opportunity for district development. These are expressed as potentials, problems, needs and gaps which have been ranked according to their incidence of occurrence in the district. Before they can betaken as possible objectives for policy they need to be converted into objectives.

To have an objective (see the definition on p.29) assumes that in some way an individual or

society is dissatisfied with the present situation and wants to change it into something new.

Consequently, an objective can usually be defined with reference to the current situation. For

example, if crop yield then the objective is to increase them. If there is a high dropout rate

in school, the objective must be to reduce the rate.

The easiest way to convert problems, potentials, etc. into objectives is to use Format 4.4.

This shows the problem list in the left hand column with priorities taken from Format 3. To

convert these to objectives, try to identify the opposite situation to the potential or problem

identified. This can usually be spotted by the verb doing, having, taking and its reverse. So, if

irrigation resources are available (not using), the objective must be to tap them (using). If there is a need for drinking water (not having), the objective must be to provide it

(having).

Format 4.4 is laid out for four potentials, problems, etc. in this case. The right hand column

is used for the statement of objectives.

Format 4.4

Identifying objectives

Potentials, problems, needs and gaps Expressed as objectives



43

Note two important things. Firstly, getting the objective right involves stating the problem very

carefully. If you say that the problem is not, say. polluted drinking water but the incidence of

infant diarrhoea in rural villages, you are describing a problem in two different ways and this could

produce different objectives.

Secondly, note that an objective describes a destination. What it does not do is say how to get

there; one can travel to Delhi by bus, train or plane and each alternative has different cost and time

implications. Choosing a course of action involves thinking about the resources available, the time

taken to get results, the side effects and indeed many other implications: this subject is dealt withlater in the Guide.

The following illustration for Format 4.4 shows how objectives can be defined for four five common

problems in district planning.

4.8 Transmitting the rank ordered list to District Planning Committee and/or district levelPanchayat

The rank ordered list of potentials, problems, needs and gaps, re-expressed as possible objectives,should now be taken back to the relevant democratic institutions for final prioritisation andadoption as district development objectives. This may confirm the list as it stands as an order of priority or it may lead to changes according to the views, judgements and commitments of theleadership.

Illustration

The use of Format 4.4 for identifying objectives

Potentials, problems, needs andgaps

Expressed as objectives

ground water available expansion of irrigation

135 villages lacking drinking water provision

provision of drinking water in these villagesas per norms

less girls in school undertake measures to improve attendance of girls in schools

pollution of river courses by

agrochemicals in (specified) blocks

reduce run off from farms to acceptable

proportions

poor bus service to (specified) blocks better public transport provision



4,9 Objectives Statement

After approval the final list of objectives for the District should be prepared. Each objective should beexpressed in as precise a manner as possible, with a time frame and quantitative indicators so that the performance of the district can be monitored. Typically, the statement of objectives could read as

follows:

expand tube well irrigation

expand employment creation schemes particularly in non-agricultural sector improve low cost housing provision

improve access to drinking water especially hand pump supplies

improve levels of health awareness especially regarding child care

improve availability of lady teachers in village schools.

It should be noted that some objectives will require the development of new policies or programmes,

or revision of existing programmes. How to do this is addressed in later chapters.

4.10 Conclusion

By the end of this chapter the following stages should have been completed:

analysis of the district data matrix to identify opportunities, problems, gaps and needs

consultation of panchayat bodies and requests taken account of

field checking of data and causes of problems, etc., if necessary

construction of an objectives table for the district



45

CHAPTER 5

ANALYSIS OF PROGRAMMES AND SCHEMES


The purpose of this chapter is to help you

analyse current Government programmes and schemes within the district

find out what adjustments need to be made if they are to serve district objectives better.

Government investment in a district largely depends upon departmental (sectoral) programmes and schemes. These vary from infrastructural programmes (e.g. roads, drinkingwater) to the provision of services (e.g. education, agricultural extension). Schemes targeted at particular problems or groups of beneficiaries are also important (e.g. IRDP, DWCRA). StateGovernments also invest through various programmes and schemes in a district depending

upon their resources. There are many such programmes, as for example Apna Gaon ApnaKam in Rajasthan, Girl Child cradle scheme in Tamil Nadu, Ashray scheme in Karnataka, ZalDhara in West Bengal and so on.

Programmes and schemes have several important characteristics:

they are ongoing, that is the content of each programme or scheme does not

change a great deal from year to year

they are controlled by the State or Central Government, usually in the form of a financial allocation or a delivery target (ie. x number of schools, y number of

beneficiaries) and a unit cost.

Consequently, decision making at district level depends upon the allocation of a fixed type and quantity of resources to competing areas, locations or individuals.

The decision - who benefits - is sometimes made by the application of Government fixednorms. More often, the decision about who benefits is made on political grounds or ontechnical considerations.

Therefore planning at district level really involves making relatively small changes to ongoing programmes and schemes. Central policies, norms, unit costs etc. will continue and will be a

framework within which these relatively small changes can be made.

However the room for change is likely to increase as districts and panchayats develop moreautonomy as a result of the new legislation. There is already limited room for modification(within sectors) in some States and most States have some kind of minimal localdiscretionary/untied fund. If the new legislation expands the range of choice open to thedistrict, this choice is likely to involve the ability to move funds more easily between existingirogrammes and schemes.



46

Consequently the planner needs to be able to exercise this ability, identify adjustments, get themsanctioned by the concerned authorities and ensure that they are included in annual action plans.

5.2 Layout of this chapter

This chapter is divided into the following sections:

sources of data (section 5.3)

analysing a programme/scheme for consistency (section 5.4) analysis of capacity for expansion (section 5.5)

analysis of block disparity (section 5.6)

analysis of linkage effects (section 5.7)

adjustments in programmes and schemes (section 5.8)

5.3 Sources of data

Modifying programmes and schemes successfully depends upon information about:

their objectives. These are usually Centre or State determined, often in the lightof wide ranging policies like poverty alleviation or universal primary education

current targets

physical and financial resource costs

past and current performance

Following is a list of the location and sources of various kinds of data available at district level:

programme objectives and guidelines are available with:

o the implementing agency at district level o the planning section of the concerned implementing department at State level

o with the administrative department in the State Secretariat with the concerned centralMinistry if a central scheme.

programme targets are available at the levels given above. Physical and financialtargets are also available for blocks and village panchayats from the concerned BDO and village level worker.

quarterly and annual progress reports are available at the block/district level.Compilations of reports can be found in the statistical section of each department and alsowith the concerned administrative department. Reports on central schemes can beobtained from the appropriate implementing department and the concerned centralMinistry.



47

programme reviews and evaluations are periodically conducted by planning departments

at district level as well as the concerned departments at State or Central level. An

important source of information on the difficulties faced in the implementation of the

programmes and measures initiated to overcome them would be available in the minutes of

regular review meetings held at the District, State and Central levels.

5.4 Analysing a programme or scheme for consistency

All schemes and programmes planned and implemented in the district should fit as far as possible

district objectives. They should try to meet the needs and aspirations of its people and offer

solutions to the various problems faced by the district.

This section shows how each Central, State or Public Corporation programme or scheme can be

tested for its consistency with district objectives. It also shows how to pinpoint those areas

within a programme or scheme where adjustment or modification is needed if better consistency is to

be obtained.

Definition

Consistency

A programme or scheme is consistent when its outputs - education, employment, irrigation,housing - match those identified to be locally important district objectives and unintended

environmental effects are avoided. It is difficult to imagine a situation in which any scheme or

programme would be inconsistent with broad national or State objectives but nevertheless it is still

possible for a programme to be out of step with local priorities as expressed by the district plan.

Therefore the first question is: does the programme or scheme fit district objectives?

To answer this we need to construct a table. This is done as follows using Format 5.1:

Step 1: list all the objectives of the district plan across the top of the table, and then list all the

programmes or schemes operating in the district. If the number of schemes is large, it may be

useful to construct separate tables for each sectoral area or department.

Step 2: indicate in the appropriate cell whether the programme has direct impact, indirect impact

or no effect at all on the objectives listed at the top. Use the letters D or 1 or leave the cell blank to show no impact. Deciding whether there is a link between the programme and an objective is a

matter of judgment. However it can help to find out what the programme's own objectives are

(see section 5.2 above) or discuss it with the concerned officer at district level.



Definition

Direct and indirect impact

Direct impact means that programme output and objective are the same. For example, if the

district's objective is improved drinking water supply, the Accelerated Rural Water Supply programme (Centrally sponsored) will have a direct impact.

Indirect impact means that the programme output will have a side-effect on the objective. For example, if a district objective is employment, many State agricultural schemes will have anindirect impact through their effect on the output and hence the demand for labour on farms.

Format 5.1 is set out to enable the consistency between four schemes/programmes and four

district objectives to be measured.

Format 5.1

Consistency table layout

District objectives scheme/

programme objective 1 objective 2 objective 3 objective 4

This step may be illustrated for five Central programmes (JRY, Million Wells, IAY, etc. and

five district objectives (roads, drinking water, employment, etc.) as follows:

Illustration

The use of Format 5.1

Consistency table for central rural development schemes

Objectives Scheme/

programme roads drinking

water

employment soil minor

irrigation

JRY D D D

Million

Wells

D D

IAY I

IRDP D D

DWCRA D



We end up with a listing of all the centrally sponsored programmes and schemes that have a potential direct or indirect impact on our objectives. So, if our objective is employment, we can see

from the list above mat of the Centrally sponsored schemes, JRY, Million Wells, IRDP and DWCRA

are all possibilities for expansion.

5.5 Consistency with environmental requirements

Many schemes and programmes have some unintended side effects as well as intended benefits.For example measures to increase agricultural production, such as the encouragement of

fertiliser application may have adverse effects upon the quality of water in rivers and upon fishery

production. Expansion of grazing for livestock can reduce forests cover. It is important to reviewexisting schemes in order to avoid side effects and conflicts of objectives. The following checklist

of environmental concerns (Format 5.2) may be used for this purpose (see also section 6.7). Taking

advice from the concerned departments if necessary, insert an X or make an appropriate comment

in a cell where a side effect is suspected.

Those schemes and programmes which do not have negative side effects may be taken to be

environmentally sound.

Format 5.2

Checklist of Environmental Concerns

Side effects

Scheme/ProgrammeUpon water

quality

Upon soil Upon air Upon

biomass

(forest, etc.)

5.6 Analysis of capacity for expansion

Centrally sponsored schemes are often subject to fixed district-wise allocations and norms of provision. The same may be true of State schemes. Therefore the next question is:

can identified programmes/schemes be expanded if necessary ?

To answer this question, we have to find out whether the physical and, if necessary, the financialresources exist for expansion. A series of questions in table format (Format 5.3) are used here. Thesequestions ask about the availability of resources of every kind to expand the scheme or programme.They should be answered as fully as possible within the scope of the table. Examples of how thequestions work follow and there is also an illustration of the application of Format 5.3 to primaryeducation.



50

Does the concerned department have enough operating inputs? For example arethere enough seeds, pesticides, fertiliser in the case of an agricultural scheme toexpand the programme if necessary?

Does the concerned department have manpower available (both skilled andunskilled) to expand the programme if necessary? For example, could PWDexpand an infrastructural programme without appointing an additional engineer.

Are the necessary local resources available needed to support an expanded programme ? For example an irrigation programme cannot be expanded if there isinadequate groundwater in the area in question.

Are there financial resources currently available to support expansion? For example are there unspent balances or supplementary allocations available whichcould be used or transferred to support the expansion?

Format 5.2

Checklist of Environmental Concerns

Side effects

Scheme/Programme Upon water

quality

Upon soil Upon air Upon biomass

(forest, etc.)

Illustration

The use of Format 5.3Expansion of primary education in the district

Scheme/

programme

Enough inputsavailable ?

Staff resources

available ?

Localresourcesavailable ?

Financialresourcesavailable ?

primary schoolconstruction

Construction

inputs available

No provision in budget for additional staff

Commitments of constructionlabour from panchayats

No provision in budget



51

teachingmaterialssupply programme

Can be locallyobtained

Administrativestaff onlyrequired

Not applicable Aid grantavailable

NFE centres Centres have been identified

Locally

obtainable

Not applicable Aid grantavailable

The final step in consistency analysis is to list all programmes which are:

i) consistent with district objectives

ii) environmentally sound

iii) capable of being expanded, if necessary, and if the district makes financialresources available.

The next step is to check how far the programmes identified will make a contribution to thereduction of blockwise disparities. A block disparity table is used for this purpose.

Block disparities have been identified using Chapter 4. section 4.4, step 1. These should benow entered blockwise on the left hand margin of Format 5.4. District programmesand schemes taken from the consistency analysis (section 5.5) above should be entered for each column. Then the impact of the programme upon the identified disparity for each block should be entered with an x. Finally a disparity reduction score should becalculated.

Format 5.4

Block disparity table

Block

name

Scheme/programme 1

Scheme/programme 2

Scheme/

programme 3

Scheme/programme 4etc.

disparityreductionscore



52

This is illustrated for the impact of a selection of Centrally sponsored schemes on block disparities. Schemes (IRDP, JRY, etc.) are entered in the columns and reported disparitiesfor each block in the rows. An X is inserted where a scheme is likely to have an impact upondisparity, and then the disparity reduction score calculated by addition.

In this case we see that JRY has the maximum impact upon disparity since it will helpmatters in three blocks and lead to improvement in village roads, the poverty line situationand school facility. No other scheme/programme approaches this score.

5.8 Analysis of linkage effects

When formulating a programme or scheme, its linkage with various other

programmes is generally overlooked with the result that many schemes fail to takeoff.

Illustration

The use of Format 5.4Impact of central schemes upon block disparities

Block name IRDP JRY IAY MillionWells

Acceleratedrural water

supply

block 1 less drinkingwater

X

block 2 less villageroads

X

block 3 high below poverty line

X X X

block 4 less school

facility

X

disparity reductionscore

1 3 0 1 1



53

Definition

Linkage

Programmes or schemes often depend upon inputs or services of several kinds from other

programmes: and in turn themselves contribute inputs or services to programmes.

These are sometimes called backward (from) linkages or forward (to) linkages. For example , the expansion of IRDP milk cattle in a block depends upon the availability of fodder, veterinary inputs and milk collection facilities provided by other programmes.

Without these linkages this particular IRDP scheme will fail.

This is particularly true in the case of whole blocks or districts where problems, objectives

and programmes are closely interrelated. Consequently, the nature of linkages between

ongoing programmes needs to be understood.

The following procedure is recommended:

Step 1: construct programme-to-programme linkage table

A linkage table should be constructed, following Format 5.5. This table lists all major schemes/programmes in the district along both axes:

Each programme can then be given an interconnectivity score calculated by the number of

linkages shown in the table. Those programmes with highest linkages with other programmes

should be given priority: in the illustration, supply of HYV seed and vegetable cultivation

programmes.

Format 5.5

Linkage table

Programme/

scheme 1

Programme/

scheme 2

Programme/

scheme 3

Programme/

scheme 4 etc

Programme/

scheme 1

Programme/

scheme 2

Programme/

scheme 3

Programme/

scheme 4

inter-

connectivity

score



54

The illustration shows how an interconnectivity score can be calculated for seven schemesincluding the supply of HYV seeds, lift irrigation and Indira Awaas Yojaria. Schemes areentered in both rows and columns and linkages identified by an X. In this case, we see thatthe supply of HYV seeds is linked to lift irrigation, agricultural extension, Jeewan Dhara andvegetable cultivation; conversely (and as might be expected), Indira Awaas Yojana is onlylinked to housing construction, The HYV scheme and vegetable cultivation have the highestinterconnectivity scores with lift irrigation and agricultural extension close behind.

Illustration


Programme linkage table

supply of

HYV

lift

irrigation

agr.

extension

Jeewan

Dhara

veg..

cultiv.

Indira

Awaas Yojana

housing

construction

Supply of

HYV

X X X

lift irrigation X X X

agr.

extension

X X X

Jeewan

Dhara

X X X

veg/

cultivationX X X

Indira Awaas

Yojana

X

housing

construction

X

inter-

connectivity

score

4 3 3 2 4 1 1



55

Step 2: construct sectoral linkage table

The same method and modified Format can be used to identify priority programmes within2ctor. This is of particular importance where district objectives have identified one or resectors as of absolute priority. The illustration demonstrates application of this format heagriculture and allied sector at district level:

This table demonstrates that, within the agriculture and allied sector, there is considerableinterconnectivity between several programmes with the exception of horticulture andsheep/wool.

Programmes that are similar in objective and approach have a higher chance of beingdovetailed with each other. For example, construction of a well under the Million WellScheme could be linked with the Pumpset Installation Scheme operated by the ScheduledCaste Development Corporation. This will show up on the intrasectoral linkage table.However, while dovetailing the programmes care should be taken to ensure the contents of each programme do not contradict each other.

For example, in the above illustration of linking well construction with pumpsetinstallation, a contradiction in the eligibility requirement for each programme may pose problems. The scheme of pumpset installation under SCDC programme provides maximumsubsidy per beneficiary of Rs 5,000. But this cannot be combined with subsidy under the

Illustration


Sectoral linkage table for agriculture and allied sector

crophusbandry

horticulture soil

conservation

animalhusbandry

sheep and

wool

crop

husbandry

X X X

horticulture X X

soil

conservation X X X

animalhusbandry

X X X

sheep andwool

X

inter-connectivity

score

3 2 3

3 1



56

Million Well scheme.

5.9 Adjustment in programmes and schemes

After the analysis of each programme, the next step is to assess how best adjustmentscan be made in the programmes or schemes, and how any additional funding can be bestutilised to achieve the district's objectives.

This involves the following steps:

Step I: draw up a list of those programmes or schemes that are consistent with districtobjectives and where there is capacity for expansion.

Step 2: construct adjustment table (Format 5.6) showing programme consistency, impact on block disparity and interconnectivity. These should be copied in from the appropriate tablescalculated earlier.

and the illustration shows how Format 5.6 is applied to a range of special schemes.

Format 5.6

Programme adjustment table

programme/scheme 1

programme/

scheme 2

programme/scheme 3, etc.

consistency

impact on block

disparity

interconnectivity

total



57

Illustration


Programme adjustment table

IRDP JRY IAY MWC Accelerated Rural Water

Supply

consistency 2 3 0.5 2 1

impacton block

1 3 0 1 2

disparity

inter- 4 3 2 2 2

connectivity

total 7 9 2.5 5 5

Step 3: prioritise these schemes into categories A (maximum priority), B (intermediate

priority) and C (low priority) on the basis of the following:

the degree of consistency with objectives (see section 5.4) the degree of disparity reduction available (see section 5.5) the degree of interconnectivity with other programmes (see section 5.6).

Thus, the programme adjustment table shows that: JRY is the most consistent with district

objectives and has the greatest potential impact on block disparity. On the other hand, IRDPhas the highest interconnectivity score. Taking the measures together, JRY scores best andIRDP second.

The financial and physical adjustment of programmes to suit these priorities should then be

done at the annual action plan stage (see Chapter 8).

5.10 Conclusion

In this chapter we have analysed the current programmes and schemes in the context of:

consistency with district objectives

capacity of expansion

impact of these programmes on reducing block disparity

linkages between programmes

adjustments of programmes based on the above analysis



58

CHAPTER 6

PLANNING NEW PROJECTS


Definition

Project

A project is a set of activities aimed at achieving one or more goals within a stipulated

time, with stipulated resources and in a stipulated area or region. While projects are

planned actions involving investments, programmes are a combination of interlinked

projects confirming to a specific objective.

At present districts rarely if ever design or initiate new projects. The emphasis is onimplementing standardised programmes designed by the State or Centre. This may changewith the coming of the Amendments to the Constitution. Twenty-nine rural and several urbanfunctions are to be transferred to the districts for planning and implementation. If thistransfer is accompanied by control over financial resources (whether Centre/State resourcesor locally raised revenues), districts will be in a position to start new projects. They willneed to do so where the analyses in sections 3 and 4 (or where there are felt needs of people) show that needs are unmet. What is needed is a simple planning procedure that willresult in project proposals that can be put to district authorities' proper sanction.

6.2 Project identification

Project identification is the first step in a series of steps by which a project is identified,formulated, appraised, implemented, monitored and evaluated. Project identification isessentially the generation of an idea for a project.

Definition

Project idea

A project idea is the first step in project planning. It is a statement that there is anopportunity which can be exploited or a need that can be met by a particular course of action. So, project ideas might include a new road, providing irrigation to a particular area or a new panchayat ghar. At this stage, ideas are no more than simple statements: their

feasibility, costs and returns have still to be worked out.



59

Project ideas may rise from various sources for example:

Five-Year Plan documents where the broad objectives of national planning suchas increasing productivity, reducing unemployment, alleviating poverty, correctingregional imbalances in development, growth with social justice, environmental preservation, sustainable development strategies, etc. are indicated;

the results of the district analysis carried out according to chapter 3 andcomplemented by district objectives identified by the methods in chapter 4. Thesewill indicate clear opportunities for development or points where norms of provisionremain unfulfilled;

requests from representatives of the people, e.g. members and Presidents of panchayats, Members of Legislative Assemblies, Members of Parliament, etc,;

resolutions passed by panchayats, municipalities and corporations orvoluntary organisations based on the felt needs of the people in the area;

any scarcity of essential goods and services, social facilities, etc. For example,lack of drinking water, electricity shortage, lack of firewood, lack of educationalinstitutions, hospital services, etc;

suggestions from expert groups like engineers, technical personnel, State PlanningBoards, etc;

experience in implementation of projects elsewhere and failure of past projects:

success stories of projects implemented inside or outside the country.

Illustration

One example of a success story that provided project ideas for India as a whole was the Anand model from Gujarat which affected dairy development throughout much of India. However, all over the country there are success stories at the state level which not onlyhad regional impacts but were adopted by other states. Such programmes include Mid-day Meal Schemes (Tamil Nadu), Operation Barga (West Bengal), Land ArmyCorporation (Karnataka), Antyodaya (Rajasthan), Rural Employment Guarantee Programmes (Maharashtra) among others.

6.3 Prioritising project ideas

But what projects are likely to be important? The Working Group on District Planning(see the Hanumantha Rao Report of 1984) laid down several important principles whichshould be followed in deciding which project ideas to follow up. These are:



60

the highest priority should be given to schemes that are likely to generateemployment. The first task is to study the existing occupations in the area,identify the constraints for their growth and seek the removal of such constraints.

o For example in the agricultural sector, if irrigation potential exists, theduration of employment of persons engaged in cultivation can be augmentedthrough an increase in the intensity of cropping. The planner must also ensurethat more than a proportionate share of water accrues to the poorer farmers.

the next choice are complementary and supplementary investments thatwill maximise the yield potential of past investments. Complementaryinvestments could include a small infrastructure provision like a "milk route" or those that provide the necessary forward (through outputs) or backward(through inputs) linkages to an existing key programme in the area.

o For example in the case of animal husbandry programmes, such linkagescould be in the form of fodder development, cattle feed units, chilling and processing plants for milk and dairy products and dairy marketing throughcooperatives.

Thus only after fully exploiting the stretch potential available in the existingschemes to the maximum limit and doing all that is possible to supplement the incomeof the people in their existing occupations should the search be directed towardsnew schemes.

a third kind of choice involves bringing into use resources which have beenneglected because they were believed to be unproductive- Special mention may be made of common assets usually in the hands of the Government or the panchayats.

o For example, in some districts there may be large areas of such landusually envisaged to be unproductive, including scrub or jungle under theforest department. Such lands may become the base for a fodder tree or ahorticulture programme which can be of help to poorer families through theanimal husbandry programme. Similarly, brackish waters can be planned to benefit poor fishing families. Tank renovation is another example.

choices based on the reflection of expressed needs from Panchayats (see

the procedure described in chapter 3).

6.4 Designing a new project

Once a project has been identified, the next task is to design the project plan.



61

Definition

Project plan

The project plan is a concise statement of the background to the project, what it is intended

to achieve, what the main inputs and expected outputs are, what risks if any are involved and

what benefits are expected. The project plan will aid competent authorities to make a

decision.

There are two steps in designing a new project.

Step 1: identify what needs to be done to reach the objectives of the project. This can befound out by applying a method called the logical framework to the data obtained so far or which can be obtained from the district technical departments.

Definition

Logical framework

The logical framework is a table with 3 columns. In the first column the planner lists the

project's objectives, outputs and inputs in that order; and in the second and third column

the planner describes the indicators or benchmarks of achievement that will be used for

each stage and any risks or assumptions involved.

The logical framework is useful because it helps the planner to work systematically throughfrom objectives to inputs in a way that can later be set out as a plan. Begin by drawing upa table following Format 6.1.

Format 6.1

The logical framework table

Summary Indicators Risks andassumptions

Objectives

Outputs

Inputs



62

Procedure

Beginning at the top, attempt to fill in each section as follows:

The first task is the objective(s) of the project. What the project is intended to do

must be spelled out as precisely as possible. If there are many objectives, it may beuseful to divide them into long term objectives and short term objectives.

Then fill up the indicators and risks/assumptions columns. Indicators are thosethings that can be measured to show progress in the achievement of objectives. For example, if the project is intended to improve literacy, then the most importantindicator is the percentage of literates in the target area.

Then fill up the risks and assumptions column. These are things which are notknown with certainty at present but which may affect the performance of the project.For example, our objective may be to alleviate poverty through expansion of milch

cattle under the IRDP programme. The assumption here is that beneficiaries willrequest cattle and there are many risks for example that cattle will be maintained properly.

Now move to the outputs row. In the left hand column fill in what is needed toget to the objectives. If the objective is to improve drinking water supply then thenecessary output of the project is some sort of operating water facility, either a wellor a handpump or some form of protected supply. Again, fill up the indicators andrisks sections.

Finally move to inputs. Here, technical advice may be taken. The inputs the

project are those things that are need to achieve the outputs. For example, in the caseof women's programme under DWCRA, construction is involved which will require building materials and labour (these may be provided by a contractor) and also ladyworkers must be employed. Again indicators and risks should be covered; for example, building materials not available or late sanction of project.

Now this can be illustrated with reference to the drinking water example above. Assume thata project is being designed to provide a water supply to 50 villages with Government providing materials and the villages providing labour. The logical framework for this projectwould be as per the illustration following:



63

Illustration

The use of Format 6.1A logical framework for a drinking water project

Summary Indicators Risks and

assumptions

Objectives (long term)improvement of health (short term) provision of purewater

Reduced mortalityand diseaseimprovement inwater supply

Disease is caused by polluted water All sections of village can usesupply

Outputs 50 handpumps providing water

Existence of pumps

Ground water sufficient tomaintain flow;

Maintenanceavailable

Inputs HandpumpsConcrete

Labour Drillingfacility

Inputs delivered or available

Pumps available for purchase; financesanctioned: villagerswilling to providelabour

The logical framework gives the skeleton of a project, helps to ensure that nothing is missed and provides the basis for monitoring and evaluation.

Step 2: draw up the plan. A standard project layout should he used that will help the

concerned authorities to decide whether to go ahead. Again, technical advice may be taken

if necessary.

Definition

Project layout

A project layout is the set of rules for laying out the details of a project plan. The best and simplest way is to use a layout which starts with the problem, goes on to objectives,describes the project and concludes with its benefits and justification.



64

A simple project layout is as follows. Complete every section in turn.

Background. Use the district analysis and strategy sections to describe the drinkingwater problem in general. Current government policy in regard to drinking water supply and the project area should also be described.

Objectives. These may be taken from the logical framework but can be expandedif necessary. The time frame for the project should also be given.

Components. Here may be given what the project involves, for example "training poor youths in vehicle repair" or "construction of panchayat ghar". The location, typeand number of capital investments, production units and outputs may be given.Information for this may be taken from the outputs section of the logical framework supplemented by technical advice.

Finance. Costs may be ascertained with reference to the inputs section of theframework and time frame. Unit cost figures may be available. The budget may becalculated with reference to these costs.

Risks and assumptions. These may be taken from the logical framework.

Benefits and justification. These may be compiled from the objectives sectionwith particular reference to policy and the situation prevailing in the target area.

6.5 Analysing project feasibility

Once the plan is complete, it may need to be analysed to find out whether it is:

technically feasible

financially viable

environmentally acceptable

The results of the analysis may be used to modify the project so that it works better.

The technical feasibility of the project should be referred to the concerned department.

Other questions can be dealt with by the planner using several simple techniques.

6.6 Financial analysis

Definition

Financial analysis

Financial analysis allows to assess the cash costs and benefits of participation in the

project according to the view point of the individual agents concerned.



65

The first step in financial analysis is to classify the project into two types:

production projects which aim to produce outputs which may, if offered for sale,earn profits. Production projects range from large scale industrial enterprises tohousehold assets obtained under the IRDP programme.

service projects aim (as the name implies) to provide a flow of services which mayor may not be charged for. Typical examples of service projects include health or education projects or the provision of child welfare services under the ICDS programme.

The basic difference between the two is that production projects usually aim to make a profitor at least cover their costs. Consequently, we should try to find out whether this willhappen. Service projects on the other hand do not usually try to make profits. Consequentlywe should try to find out whether they are technically feasible and a cost-effective way of providing a service.

Financial analysis of production projects

Any project involves costs while it yields benefits during its life time. Cash flow analysis

of a project is a simple technique that helps us to understand how costs go out and revenuescome in over the life span of a project, and whether at the end of a reasonable period of timethe revenues outweigh the costs (or not).

Definition

Cash flow

A cash flow shows year by year over the future life of a project all cash receipts and all cash payments. The difference between them is shown as the net benefit (or net inflow)

to the project.

There is a set of rules for constructing a cash flow for project analysis. These are:

a cash flow shows all cash receipts and payments to or from the project. Cashreceipts include revenues from sales and any grants or loans received. Cash paymentsinclude the costs of building construction or the purchase of machinery, the cost of raw materials, wage labour costs and any other inputs including power and water.

Working capital (which may cover some of these costs) may also be shown,

show the cost of any capital replacements in the appropriate year, e.g. machineryreplacement.

enter all receipts and payments in the right year. The rule is when you pay (or

receive) is when you put. Assets are not normally depreciated.



66

group receipts and payments logically. Most cash flows begin with receipts(sometimes called inflows) and then enter payments (sometimes called outflows).

do not adjust for inflation. Cash flows are usually constructed in today's priceshowever far in the future they go.

work out the flow for a number of years. A ten year period is often used. Allocatea year number for each year of the project as well as a date. This will simplifymatters if the project is delayed.

finally, subtract payments from receipts to give the net benefit for each year of the project.

One question that is often asked is: why no depreciation or adjustment for inflation when itis normal accounting practice to do both of these? The answer is that a cash flow is usedin project analysis to answer one question only: is the project worth doingFinancially? To do this we need to know exactly what are the cash movements year byyear. This is particularly true when we are dealing with local level projects when it is thecash outcome of the enterprise rather than the balance sheet value that matters to thoseinvolved.

A cash flow is normally laid out according to Format 6.2. The format is given in yearcolumns, i.e. each year is allocated to a column but the format can also be used with yearsallocated to rows. It is a matter of convenience.

Format 6.2

Cash flow table

date year of project

19... 19... 19... 19... etc

inflowsList here all cash

payments into the project. Include loanreceipts if applicable

outflows

List here all cash

payments out of the project. Include loan payment if applicable

net benefit

Subtract outflows

from inflows



67

A cash flow laid out like this serves two purposes:

it enables us to get a picture of the annual financial position of the agency

concerned based on the net benefit.

it is the basic starting point in working out several other indicators of financial performance.

In the case of most relatively small scale district level projects, the most useful indicators

are:

• the annual net benefit

• the incremental benefit of the project.

• the payback period

• the average return on investment

The annual net benefit of a project is given by the bottom line of the cash flow. It is the

annual cash gain or loss that is expected to accrue as a result of the project. Forexample a project with a typical year total inflow of Rs 4,000 and a typical year outflow of Rs 2,000 will have a net benefit of Rs 2,000. The word typical in this case refers toyears when returns have settled down and main investment costs have been met.

The advantage of the net benefit is that it shows the actual annual cash gain or lossfrom the project.

The planner should always ensure as far as possible that projects experience positive annualnet benefits (cash gains) as early as possible in their life. In the case of beneficiary-oriented projects this is particularly important since many people below the poverty line have few cash

resources to help tide them over early losses.

The incremental benefit is a measure of the difference made by the project. It iscalculated by subtracting without-project income from the net benefit. Without-projectincome is any income lost as a necessary result of entering the project. For example if a beneficiary gets an annual net benefit from a project of Rs 2,000 but has foregone anincome of Rs 500 to take up the project, the incremental benefit is (2,000 - 500), i.e. Rs1,500.

The advantage of the incremental benefit measure is that it shows the netadvantage the beneficiary gets from the project. This enables the planner to avoid

the unfortunate situation where the beneficiary is worse off as a result of joining the project.

The planner should always ensure as far as possible that projects experience positive annual incremental benefits as early as possible. Again, this is particularlyimportant with beneficiary-oriented projects.

The payback period of a project is the time (months or years) required to recover the entireinvestment cost of the project. If recovering investment costs is important (as may be the



68

case with a marginal farmer who has put his own money into the project) then, other things being equal, the shorter the payback period the better the project.

The payback period can be calculated by summing all investment costs (which are usuallyincurred in the early years of the project) and then finding out how long it will take to

accumulate this sum through net inflows. For example a project with an investment cost of Rs 10,000 and an annual net benefit of Rs 2,000 has a payback period of five years.

The advantages of calculating the payback period are:

o it gives a guide to how long a loan should last

o it shows how fast capital can be accumulated for further investment,

In general short payback periods are preferable.

The average return on investment (ARI) is the percentage return in a typical year on the

capital invested. For example the ARI for a project with an investment cost of Rs 10,000and a typical annual net benefit of 2,000 is 20%.

The advantage of the ARI is that the measure can roughly he compared with theinterest payable by a bank on a similar sum.

The planner should always compare ARI results with prevailing bank interest rates. This is particularly important with larger commercial-oriented projects. The point of the comparisonis that there is little gain in investing capital in a project if it can earn higher returns ondeposit. An illustration of the application of these methods to a typical IRDP scheme follows;

Illustration

Cash flow for an IRDP fishery scheme

Introduction

Under IRDP, a beneficiary who is a fisherman has received a loan and subsidy (50%) for

the purchase of an improved boat and diesel outboard engine. This will enable him to

increase his catch considerably. He is already engaged in fishing and gets an annual

income of about Rs 10,000.

The cash flow is constructed for ten years. Inflows include the value of the old boat, loan

receipt, subsidy and the value of fish sales. Outflows include the purchase cost of the new

boat, engine, fuel and loan repayment. Interest on the loan is calculated by the level

repayment method at 10% over the five years 1996-2000.



69

Illustration (continued)



date

year of project

1995

year 1

1996-2000

years 2 - 6

2001-2004

years 7 - 1 0

inflows sale of old boatloan receiptsubsidy value of fish sales

5,00020,00010,00040,000 40,000 40,000

outflows

boat purchaseengine purchasefuel annual loan

repayment(including interest)

10,00020,00020,000 20,000

5,676

20,000

net benefit 25,000 14,324 20,000

without-projectincome

10,000 10,000 10,000

incremental netbenefit

15,000 4,324 10,000

Illustration (continued)


As a result of this analysis we can come to the following conclusions.

The annual net benefit commences at Rs 25,000 in 1994 but drops significantly to Rs 14,324

during the next five years. This is due to loan repayment. However, once the loan has been

paid off, there is a significant increase to Rs 20,000. The incremental net benefit is

positive in every year. Once the loan has been paid off, the beneficiary's income is

doubled. The payback period is very short, just over a year, The ARI is 66% i,e

20,000/30,000. This compares well with bank interest charges which we know to be about

10%.

Consequently, the financial decision on the project is that it should go ahead.



70

Financial analysis of service projects

Service projects and schemes are those intended to offer a service for which often no charge(or a charge below cost) is made. Consequently, projects incur costs but no or few benefits.and there is no point in trying to estimate net benefits,

The approach usually adopted is to try to measure the cost-effectiveness of the project.

Definition

Cost-effectiveness

The cost-effectiveness of a project is measured by the balance of cost and achievement in

physical terms. By and large, the more that is spent on providing services the better thequality of provision but unit costs also rise. Consequently, when we look at the cost-

effectiveness of different kinds of service, we are trying to estimate what is the cost per unit

of physical achievement (or vice-versa) and how this might be reduced.

There are two ways of measuring the cost-effectiveness of different kinds of provision.

The first is a measure in terms of units of provision, or per unit costs. In schools,these would be places (seats), in hospitals beds (or bed-nights), in employmentschemes mandays of work, in municipal markets floor space or number of tradingstalls and so on. Per-unit costs should be used where the unit is a reasonably accuratemeasure of the only or main benefit of the service. For example, in a secondaryschool, the measure of benefit is the number of places (seats) it offers.

The second method of measurement is in terms of population served by a service,or per capita costs. Per capita costs should be used where the population as a whole benefits from a service: (for example a public water supply) or where per unit costswould only measure part of the benefit (for example, rural clinics where out-patientservices are as important as the number of hospital beds).

6.7 Environmental analysis

The quest for higher standards of living means deliberate modifications in the naturalenvironment in order to achieve economic goals. But projects have often inflicted irreparable

damage to the natural environment. This leads to increased costs to society in the long run.There is global awareness of these issues, not only for major projects but also for smaller rural development projects implemented at the village level. Environmental impact assessment is now mandatory before decisions are taken on many investment projects.



71

Definition

Environmental impact assessment

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is designed to predict or identify the impact of adevelopment on the natural environment and as a result man's health and well-being; and

to interpret and communicate information about the impact.

An environmental impact assessment accompanying a project proposal attempts not only to

predict the implications of the proposed development but also lists out the advantages and

disadvantages of the proposed alternative approaches if any. The objective of an EIA is to

protect the environment by anticipating problems rather than applying remedial measures

after the act. There is no point in crying over spilt milk since environmental damage is often

irreparable. Rather it is better to avoid spilling it in the first place.

The planner can carry out a simple EIA as follows:

use a checklist (Format 6.3) to find out whether the project may cause damage tothe environment

use an environmental impact assessment table (Format 6.4) to describe what thisdamage is likely to be and identify whether any action should be taken.

The planner should work through the checklist systematically. It may be necessary, for someaspects for which there are no easy answers, to commission studies and specialinvestigations. However in most cases it will be possible to identify answers locally, takingadvice from concerned departments where necessary.

Format 6.3

Checklist of environmental concerns

Question 1: what kind of area does the scheme affect?

The following areas need special consideration:

▪semi-arid areas and desert margins

▪mountainous areas

▪tropical and subtropical forest

▪coastal wetlands including mangrove swamps

▪habitats providing important resources for vulnerable groups:

▪for example, tribal populations

▪national parks, nature reserves

▪areas containing endangered species

▪areas of historical, archaeological or scientific interest

▪areas of high concentration of population or industrial activity where further

development could create significant environmental problems

(continued on following page)



72

Format 6.3 (continued)

Checklist of environmental concerns

Question 2: what sort of development does the scheme involve ?

Among the main categories of development initiatives with a significant impact on the environmentare the following;

• important policy measures like:o changes in agricultural subsidy

3 changes in industrial zoning on the outskirts of urban areas

• major changes in the use of land and renewable natural resources for example:

o forestry development o

wasteland colonisation s

resettlement o mineralsdevelopment

• major changes in water use for example:

o major irrigation projects (including small projects localed in new command areas)

3 river basin management including the storage or diversification of water ochanges in fishing practice

• infrastructure development including:

o mini-hydroelectric developments o

roads and railways

• industrial processes with toxic and hazardous waste and by-products which may

contaminate air. soil or water for example:

^ paper and pulp mills

o chemical plants

o mining and smelting

o hides, skins or leather factories

• waste management and disposal

Question 3: how could it affect the environment ?

The impact of development on the environment can be classified as following:

• land degradation. Deforestation, soil erosion, overgrazing and salinisation are some of

the consequences of uncontrolled timber exploitation, excessive abstraction of groundwater

or overgrazing.

• water pollution can follow from uncontrolled waste water or sewage discharge. Industrial

effluents are particularly dangerous. Uncontrolled human settlements, particularly where

proper services are not provided, can also contribute to water pollution,

• air pollution results from traffic and uncontrolled industrial discharges into the air.

• damage to wildlife can easily occur through forestry, resettlement or irrigation projects.

This may have unforeseen effects including changes in food cycles: for example, many birds

and animals play an important part in the control of pests.

• socio-economic impact. I-'alling living standards especially among the poor can start a

vicious circle which produces further environmental degradation. Forest cutting to obtain free

fuel, overgrazing particularly on common lands to augment the family food supply or raise

cash, soil erosion or pollution in the vicinity of urban slums are all part of this circle of

causation.



73

The answers to Format 6.3 should then be used to fill up the EJA table given in Format 6.4. Notice that the last row asks what action should be taken. In the case of the environment,actions that may be taken fall into four classes:

redesign or abandonment of the project the use of legislation or other forms of regulation to reduce environmental damage.

For example, laws on pollution can he enforced to reduce smoke emission. complementary investment to reduce the impact and duration of environmental

damage. For example, afforestation of headwaters to reduce erosion damage, compensation for those affected by the project.

What action should be taken is a matter for appropriate authorities to decide, but plannersshould be in a position to make a recommendation. Advice should also be taken, wherenecessary, from concerned departments.

Format 6.4

Environmental impact assessment table

effects during

initiation/ construction

phase

effects during early

stages of project long term effects

Are the expected

environmental effectsharmful ?

What is the scale: e.g.number of people or animals affected ?

What is the expectedintensity of impact, e.g.disaster, major, minor?

What is the expected

duration of impact?

Are the effects likely to be irreversible ?

How certain are the

effects?

Are any laws or

regulations infringed ? Are there opportunities toreduce harmful effects ?

Will the effects have adifferent impact on menand women or other

social groups?

Action that may be taken

to counter effects



74

The following illustration shows an EIA table completed for an aquaculture (prawn) project.This is a project which will clear currently forested land and construct ponds for the raisingof prawn.

Illustration


EIA table for an aquaculture (prawn) project.

effects during

initiation/

construction phase

effects during early

stages of project long term effects

Are the expected

environ menial effectsharmful ?

yes yes yes

What is the scale: e.g.number of people or

animals affected ?

20 people 100 people 100 people

What is the expectedintensity of impact egdisaster, major, minor ?

minor minor minor

What is the expectedduration of the impact ?

three months one year long term

Are the effects likely to beirreversible ?

no no no

How certain are theeffects?

certain certain certain

Are any laws or regulations infringed?

no no no

Are there opportunities toreduce harmful effects ?

yes yes yes

Will the effects have adifferent impact on men andwomen or other socialgroups ?

no no no

Action [hat may be taken

to counter effects

none reforestation invicinity of project

action on wastedisposal, i.e. prawn

remnants after cleaning

6.8 Conclusion

This chapter has shown how new projects and schemes for implementation in the district can be identified and drawn up. Simple methods for analysing the project have been discussed.



75

CHAPTER 7

FINANCING THE PLAN

7,1 Purpose of this chapter

Plans need financing if they are to be implemented; and this section deals with the steps

involved in identifying financial needs, resources and the allocation of the resources.

Normally, government programmes within a district receive financial allocations from theState's district sector budget, or through Central assistance or a combination of both. Theremay also be a local discretionary budget (this varies in size and application between States).

In the past, as we have seen, most decisions about the content and location of government programmes were taken either by the Centre or State Governments or by the departments.Districts had relatively little power to change these decisions. Consequently, the financing plan became more or less synonymous with the district plan as a whole and comprised anumber of departmental estimates for expenditure, prepared against a previously

communicated ceiling of expenditure and which would be implemented as funds becameavailable. As per the recent Constitutional Amendments, it is mandatory to create a StateFinance Commission (SFC) which would look into the financial allocations at the districtlevel.

Some changes must now be expected as a result of the Constitutional Amendments. Chapters5 and 6 have shown how ongoing programmes can be modified or new projects identifiedwhich will enable the district to implement its own strategy for development. These changesin turn will mean that a financing plan must be drawn up which shows how thesemodifications and changes will be financed. This is the purpose of this chapter. By its end,the planner should have the methods needed to draw up a financing programme which can

be put to the appropriate authorities for sanction. This programme is not an alternative tonormal departmental budgeting - instead it is a complement which enables the planner to seethe financial needs of the district plan as a whole.

The purpose of the Guide is to help the planner in producing a medium-term plan for thedistrict. It is important to be clear and consistent about long term objectives and what can be done to achieve them. Long term financial planning however rarely works. Even atnational level there is always uncertainty about the funds that will be available each year for development, even Plan expenditure. This situation is magnified at district level. The annualfinancial ceiling provides guidance for one year, but this is subject to cuts and changes.Beyond one year, prediction is very difficult and, although financial requirements can be

estimated, financial provision becomes guesswork to some extent. Consequently, this sectionof the Guide is designed to help the planner produce a one year financial plan, which willfund the programmes (together with their changes) and projects envisaged for the comingyear. This financial plan will provide the basis for the annual action plan (see Chapter 8).It will need to be repeated each year as the new financial ceiling is notified. It is also possible to produce a perspective financial plan based upon projections of the cost of ongoingschemes and new projects but this is not discussed in this Guide.



76


This chapter is divided into four sections.

• The process of financing (section 7.3)

• Estimation of financial resources (section 7.4)• Estimation of financial requirements (section 7.4)

• Allocation of funds (section 7.5)

Each section introduces its own table-based method as a way of presenting and analysing thedata.

7.3 The process of financing

The process of making financial allotments under different programmes of development,usually referred to as schemes, is a crucial one. At the district level it involves theinteraction of a multi-tier administration and evolves a multi-level plan. The DPCC or the

District Planning and Coordination Council/Committee is the decision making body. Its basic function is to finally strike a balance between the transmitted demands reflected asDepartmental, District, Block and Municipal Schemes and the fund supply from differentsources. The schematic representation is given in Diagram 1.

Diagram 1 - The Process of Financing

Departmental Schemes

District

Schemes

Block

Schemes

Municipal

Schemes

District Planning

Cell

Assigned

Funds

Internal

Resources

PublicResources

Other Funds

District Planning

Committee

InstitutionalFunds



77

The schemes or developmental programmes enter the system under primarily four heads:

Departmental Schemes District Schemes Block Schemes

Municipal Schemes (recent addition as per the 74th Amendment).

The heads of departments (like Executive Engineers, Principal Agricultural Officers) decideon the departmental programmes to be undertaken at the district level. These could he basedon directives from the higher administration or could be independently decided. Apart fromthese there are the District Schemes decided by the District Planning Cell (DPC) under theauthority of the District Planning Officer, the Block Schemes chalked out by the Block Planning Committee (BPC) under the authority of the Block Development Officer and theMunicipal Planning Committee (MFC) under the authority of the Chairman, MunicipalCorporation. The DPC formulates its own schemes as well as the other schemes and workson a tentative solution before placing it to the DPCC where the final decisions are taken up.

Each of the committees or departments also directly interact with the DPCC. The DPCCfixes up the regional and sectoral allocations and usually is assisted by the DPC in this process. These arrangements may be amended further as a result of the 74th Amendment.

7.4 Estimation of financial resources

There are several sources of funds for the district plan. These are defined as follows:

Definitions

Expected financial outlays are conveyed to the district towards the end of the previous financial year. They constitute a financial ceiling for expenditure on a particular programme or scheme within which expenditure takes place. The ceiling rises if supplementary funds are made available.

Expected local resource mobilisation includes local taxation by panchayat authorities, user charges for panchayat services including village markets like hats and bazaar charges, and any licence revenue. It also includes panchayat or individual cash contributions to local schemes or projects.

Expected investment from public enterprises comprises all schemes for capital investment in buildings, equipment or other commercial facilities in the district.

Expected institutional finance comprises the credit that will be made available byrural banks operating under the guidance of the lead bank in the district.

The first step is for the planner to obtain the necessary information as follows:



78

Expected financial outlay for the coming financial year to the district by sector or department or scheme (see also Chapter 5). This can be obtained fromthe concerned departments at district or State level when available. Allocationsshould be divided by:

o Central funds

o State sector funds

o District sector funds

expected local resource mobilisations for the coming financial year in theform of local tax revenues, charges etc. These should be obtained from the ZillaParishad authorities. They should also include if possible local resources pledged by panchayats in their request proformas (see also Chapter 4).

expected investment for the coming financial year proposed by Central or State public enterprises in the district. This should be obtained directly from theconcerned authorities.

expected institutional finance availability for the coming financial year (from thedistrict Lead Bank). This will normally have been agreed by the DistrictCredit Committee and may be set out in the District Credit Plan. Details will beavailable from the lead bank in the district. Any changes in institutional financeavailability as a result of the district plan will usually have to be agreed bythe District Credit Committee.

These data are then used to fill in the table shown in Format 7.1 below. This should be

modified or expanded to suit the district situation.

Format 7.1

Financial resources table Financial year 19..

Source of funds

Centre/

State

District Institutionalfinance

Local

mobilisation

Publicenterprises

Agricultureand alliedsector

Forestry

Irrigation

Industry

(other rowsshould beinserted asnecessary)



79

Format 7.1 is illustrated with reference to the Agriculture and Allied Activities in the district.

Illustration


Financial resources table for Agriculture and Allied ActivitiesFinancial year 1996

(all figures in Rs lakhs)

Source of funds

Centre/

State

District Institutional

finance

Localmobilisation

Public

enterprises

Agriculture 120 40 200 40 -

Animalhusbandry

80 20 120 40 -

Dairy 60 40 140 30 60

Fundsavailablefrom allsources

260 100 460 110 60

Another vital feature that has to be considered in estimating the financial resource situation

is the credit review.

The Credit Review (Format 7.2) provides the complete picture of the committed funds from

different sources and its utilisation over three time periods:

the past financial year

the current financial year during which planning is being done

the forthcoming financial year which is now being planned.

So, if planning was being undertaken during financial year 1995-96, the past year is 1994/95and the year being planned is financial year 1996/97.

While the committed and actual utilisation figures could be obtained for the past financialyear, utilisation figures for the current year would be given based on anticipation and theforthcoming year statements would be based on the knowledge of future commitments andexpectations.



80

Format 7.2

Credit Review

Period Past year Current year Forthcoming year

Source

committed actual

utilisation

committed anticipated

utilisation

already

committed

to be

identified/proposed

CentralSector

State Sector/DepartmentalAllocation

District Sector

LocalResourceMobilisation

Institutional

Finance

Public

Enterprises

Others

7.5 Estimation of financial requirements

The basis of making financial requirement estimations is based on a Financial Review whichgives an overview of the past and present allocations and achievements.

The financial allocations to different sectors under various schemes is primarily based on acomparative analysis of the financial target and achievement figures. The format for the

Financial Review is given in Format 7.3. As in the Credit Review, three time periods - die past financial year, the current year and the forthcoming year (now being planned) - areconsidered while deciding on future allocation. In past time period the target andachievement figures obtained under each sector and schemes are presented in financial terms.For the current year the target figures are incorporated while anticipated achievements areentered. However for the forthcoming year, tentative targets could be provided which are based on the knowledge of assured programmes, continuing programmes and a crudeassessment of the forthcoming programmes which are to be proposed.



81

Format 7.3

Financial review

Past year Current year Forthcomingyear

approved

outlay

actual

expenditure

approved

outlayanticipated

expenditure

proposed outlay

for continuing

and new

programmes

Sector or scheme

Sector or

scheme

Sector or

scheme, etc.

The next stage is to construct a total financial requirement table on the basis of Format 7.4A(total direct requirement) and Format 7.4B (total financial requirement). Note that thesetables are linked in that the result of 7.4A is copied into 7.4B.

Definition

Financial requirement

The total direct financial requirement is the proposed outlay by government (central,State and district sources) on a programme or sector. It includes provision for new schemes and projects. This is added to credit, institutional and local resource

mobilisation requirements to give the total financial requirement.



82

Format 7. 4 A

Total direct requirement

Programme/scheme

Anticipatedexpenditurecurrent year

plus changessanctioned bydistrict

equalscontinuingdirectrequirement

plus newschemes/ projects

equals totaldirectrequirement

Format 7.4B

Total financial requirement

Programme/scheme

Total directrequirement(from 7.4A)

plus localresources

plus institutionalfinance

total financial

requirement

Completion of Formats 7.4A and 7.4B involves the following steps:

Step 1: for each ongoing programme, ascertain current year's approved outlay andanticipated expenditure. Ascertain which is the best basis for identifying the forthcomingyear's requirement. It may be that exceptional circumstances delayed disbursement this year and approved outlay would be a better basis for estimating the forthcoming year'srequirement. Equally, anticipated expenditure may be the correct figure to carry forward.

for example assume approved outlay and anticipated expenditure in current year for Agriculture and Allied Sector are the same: Rs 120 lakhs

Step 2: adjust this for inflation for the forthcoming year.

for example assume the expected inflation rate is 10%. Then

direct financial requirement = 120 x 1.1 = Rs 132 lakhs

Step 3: then adjust continuing programmes where appropriate for:



83

the changes and modifications if any notified by the State/Central Governments

the changes and modifications agreed by the concerned District authoritiesfollowing discussion of the results of Chapter 5. In some cases programmes/schemes will be increased somewhat and others will need to bereduced.

for example assume that District authorities have agreed that governmentexpenditure on Agriculture and Allied Sector should be increased by 10% to meetthe objectives of the new district plan. These funds would be used to expand certainState schemes. Direct financial requirement should then be adjusted as follows:

direct financial requirement = Rs 132 lakhs x 110% = Rs 145.2 lakhs

Step 4: add the expected costs to be borne by government of any new programmes or schemes agreed by the concerned District authorities following discussion of the results of Chapter 6.

for example assume that it has been agreed that a new project will be started withan expected cost in the first year of Rs 10 lakhs

Then direct financial requirement — 145.2 + 10 - Rs 155.2 lakhs

Step 4: add those costs that are expected to be borne by local resources. These should matchthe figures in the sources of Funds statement.

for example assume that local resources are expected to provide Rs 20 lakhs

Total financial requirement = Rs 155.2 + 20 = Rs 175.2 lakhs

Step 5: add institutional and public enterprise contributions. Institutional funding will needto have been agreed by the District Credit Committee and should match expected outlays inthe updated District Credit Plan.

for example assume that these come to Rs 80 lakhs

Then total financial requirement = Rs 175.2 + 80 = Rs 255.2 lakhs.

7.6 Allocation of funds

The allocation exercise involves matching expected financial resources to a set of demandswhich would have to be met to the maximum possible extent. Usually the demand for funding exceeds funds available and so rationing is necessary. In theory there are ways of reaching an optimal solution but in the average district with a large number of blocks,sectors, departments and schemes there are too many pressures and interests to reach a sucha perfect solution.

Hence the approach that is taken up is participatory. The exercise described here is to beundertaken by the DPC(C) based on the outline plan prepared by the DPC and with



84

representatives from different levels like the Zilla Parishad, District Administration, Block Panchayat Samiti, the Departments, Municipalities, Experts and Bank officials.

It is a democratic process where each and every member places their views and solutions areultimately reached through, "conflict resolution" and negotiation (see Chapter 8).

Consequently, it is impossible to lay out rules for the allocation process. However, duringnegotiations, certain important principles (see below) should be kept in mind.

Principles of allocation

Priority should be given to those programmes and schemes which the district believe will help to meet agreed district objectives (see Chapter 4).

Central and State priorities should also be taken into account.

In selecting programmes and schemes for priority, attention should be given to

their consistency, their effect on disparity and their linkages with other schemesand sectors (all covered in Chapter 5)

Within this category, priority should be given to continuing programmes if possible. The existence of ongoing developmental programme in a particular block or sector definitely acts as a positive factor in allocation in favour of that block or sector. Other things being equal, it is better to continue programmesalready under way since funds have already been spent. However, bear in mindwhat is known about success or failure of continuing programmes.

Thought should also be given to new programmes or projects where it is clear that

existing ones are not completely satisfactory.

In allocating funds to blocks, bear in mind general allocation criteria (like population, area, SC/ST concentration etc.). In particular, account should betaken of the development level and of disparity reduction. A major objectiveof any planning is to increase the rate of development and reducing the extent of disparity. Hence more funds should be allocated towards blocks where disparityexists and sectors and schemes which have the potential for uplifting the level of development and reducing disparity.

Resources permitting, blockwise fund allocations should not diminish over time.

However, sectoral allocations may or may not diminish over time dependingupon priorities agreed.

After considering all these factors the final allocations are made, using Format 7.5. This

involves the following steps:



85

Step 1: allocate funds available (see 7.3) for each programme/scheme and calculate deficit.

Step 2: if the total deficit for the district is less than 10% of total requirement, reallocatefinances taking funding from other programmes/schemes. Pay particular attention to thoseschemes where expected disbursement is likely to be delayed or rates of achievement low.

Step 3: if the total deficit is expected to be greater than 10%, allocations will need to

be reviewed by the concerned authority.

Step 4: it would be judicious to further disaggregate the allocations made in the previous step

by sectors and blocks (Format 7.6).

Format 7.5

Allocation of funds table

Programme/

scheme

Direct

requirement

Local

mobilisationrequired

Instil,

financerequired

Direct

fundavailable

Local

mobilisationavailable

Instil,

financeavailable

Deficit



86

Format 7.6

Major sectoral outlay by blocks

Name of Block

Sector District

total

Totals by block and district

7.7 Conclusion

This Chapter has discussed simple procedures for laying out the financial requirements of thedistrict plan, balancing these against expected allocations and coming to an agreement on thereallocation of resources.



87

CHAPTER 8

PUTTING THE PLAN INTO PRACTICE


The final step in the planning process is to establish the conditions under which:

the district plan is capable of being implemented

the district plan is likely to be implemented, that is, all concerned functionaries andrepresentative bodies are committed to putting the plan into action.

There are important differences between these objectives. There have been good manualson planning practice written in India and abroad and good plans have been prepared. District bodies in India and abroad have declared themselves willing to implement the plan. And yet plans however good have not materialised into action. Why should this be and how mightthings be improved ?

There are several reasons why plans fail to be implemented, and this Guide has tried to takethese into account when being written. The reasons are:

they are too long, excessively technical and difficult to understand

they spend too much time on data about the district and not enough on what should be done and where

even when they discuss what should be done, they assume that a district plan startswith a completely clean slate. In reality, most programmes are ongoing and canonly be changed slowly if at all

Chapters 3 to 7 have tried to circumvent these problems by simplifying the planning process,reducing to a minimum the amount of data needed and concentrating on the practical problems of deciding how to adjust existing programmes to obvious district objectives,

But there are other reasons why district plans fail to be implemented which are not connectedwith the plan itself. These reasons are to do with the way district administration and district politics work and the effects of both of these upon planning. Many districts in India arecharacterised by:

politicians who attempt to serve their constituency (i.e. the people who electedthem) as best they can while ignoring other concerns. While there is nothing wrongwith this proper expression of democracy, it makes representative bodies into forumswhere constituency interests predominate and collective concerns are overshadowed.



88

administrators who change frequently: as a result, the administrative commitmentto have a plan prepared and see it through to implementation is disturbed by constanttransfers and new faces.

technical officers-who prefer to follow guidelines from State or Centre and are

reluctant to innovate or consider change even if district preferences have been clearlyidentified.

It is probable that this environment will change. Indeed it must if the objectives of decentralisation contained in the Constitutional Amendments are to be achieved. But it is onlyrealistic to assume that these problems will continue and that they will continue to affect planning implementation.

Therefore, the planner needs to acquire certain skills and work in ways that deal with these problems and bring the district plan closer to realisation. The skills and techniques neededto put the plan into action are:

the ability to work to a schedule that fits in well with the district's own annualcycle of operations

the ability to lay-out the plan in a readable and concise form that lends itself to the preparation of annual action plans

the ability to negotiate the implementation of the plan with all concerned parties:reconcile the different interests that are involved; and create a commitmenttoimplementation within the district as a whole.

This chapter deals with these needs.


The chapter is divided into three further sections:

operationalising the planning process. Operationalising in this contextmeans setting up a simple planning office within the district capable of producing the plan document and drawing up a calendar for work, both on anannual basis and for a medium-term perspective plan for five years.

laying out the plan document. Whilst flexibility is important, there areadvantages in a plan that is systematically and clearly laid out so that all canunderstand it.

negotiating the plan. The final section offers some advice about the task of negotiation: reconciling interests and creating a sense of commitment to the plan's proposals.



89

8.3 Operationalising the planning process

The emphasis in this Guide is that planning should be as simple and transparent a process as

possible.

Because the procedures used are simple, the planning office needs few staff and simpleequipment. A specifically appointed planning officer with relevant qualifications andexperience (for example, in administration, planning itself, economics and statistics) is anadvantage although the Planning Guide is designed to be used by those new to the subject.Additional staff to help with data collection, data analysis, touring and discussion and plan preparation are also advantageous.

The equipment needed includes simple data processing equipment (calculators) and tools for map preparation including a map table (tracing table). However, both the data specified bythis Guide and the formats it uses are designed to be computerised. All can easily be entered

into any of the currently popular spreadsheets or database packages (for example Lotus 123and dBase). This would speed up the work.

A working calendar needs to be drawn up. This Guide is designed to produce a district planfor a period of at least five years together with a one year financial plan upon which annualaction plans will be based. The plan itself is designed to be produced in the first year of thisfive year period.

Definition

Transparency

People are often suspicious of planning for two reasons:

they do not understand the procedures behind the process of planning.Complicated language, mathematical formulae, diagrams and graphs as well asexcessive length add to confusion and hence to suspicion.

became they do not understand the procedures, people often read ulterior

motives into the plan which are not there. They suspect that the plan serves special interests, whether of particular groups in society or simply theconvenience of the administrators. They find it difficult to believe that the planhas been prepared for the good of the district as a whole.

Consequently, a plan should be as transparent as possible. This means it should beclear why the plan has been prepared; what kind of data and other information (e.g.requests from panchayats) has been used; how the plan has reached its conclusions;and how and where the plan has been discussed and agreement reached.



90

Subsequent years should he used for updating the data base and monitoring implementation.An illustration of such a working calendar is given on the following page.

8.4 Laying out the plan

A single plan document is essential. Although it should be short, it should contain enoughdata and discussion to show how its conclusions have been reached (see the definition of transparency above). The following format is recommended:

introduction: describing the purpose of the plan and the broad outline of the planning process. Include sections on:

o the role of the plan in district development o very simply, how data are collected and analysed. Reference to importantmatrices help but excessive technical description will hinder understanding.o briefly, how consultation and decision making are carried out.o how the plan will be implemented via action plans.

• district summary tables and district profile together with base maps. These arediscussed in Chapter 3.

• district objectives laid out in sequence with the reasons for each. The material for this comes from Chapter 4.

• district programmes: each described briefly together with proposals for change or modification. This section is based upon Chapter 5.

• ideas for new projects. These will probably still have to be worked out indetail and introduced as the plan is revised. Procedures are described by Chapter 6.

• how the plan will be financed for the coming year based upon the summarytables in Chapter 7.

Definition

Annual action plan

Annual action plan is a document listing out the activities to be carried out toachieve the specific objectives within the coming financial year. This manual does

not deal with action plans in detail since most districts in India are familiar withtheir preparation and a common format (which combines an introduction withdepartmental and other programmes) is well understood. The main modificationwhich would be useful would be an expanded introduction which describes thedistrict plan's objectives, summarises progress so far and discusses changes this year (for example further expansion of programmes or new projects) in the action plan.



91

Illustration

Working calendar for a district

Tasks to be performed

Year 1

By July

he State Planning department indicates the

financial ceiling for the annual plan for ZillaParishads and Panchayats.

By first week of August Gram sabha identifies programmes and sends themto Panchayat Samitis.

By middle of August Panchayat Samitis send them on to Zilla Parishad

with their recommendations.

By the end of September Zilla Pafishad prepares a district plan and sends it to

the Planning department and heads of variousdepartments at the state level.

By the end of October The State Development Council tentatively finalizesthe District Plan.

By mid-November The State departments consolidate the ZillaParishad schemes and build them into sectoral

programmes.

By January-February The resultant draft annual Action Plan is sent to the

National Planning Commission which fixes theState Plan outlays and discussions are conducted

with the state officials.

By first week of March Based on the discussion, modifications, if any, aremade and state budget is presented to the

legislature.

April onwards The District Plan is implemented

Year 2 April to June

Update the District data. Monitor progress of Action Plan and commence the preparation of shelf of new projects.

By September Prepare the District Plan for second year.

Year 3

April to June

Carry out mid-term review of progress and preparemodifications to the District Plan and forward it toState Planning department.

July to September Prepare the Action Plan for the third year as per above guidelines.

Year 4

As year 2. Same as in year 2. Year 5 The updating of data base to commence in this year

and also simultaneously the plan document for the

fifth year to be prepared.

Year 6 The achievements and feedbacks are taken into

account in redrafting the District Plan for the sixthyear following the calendar of the first year.



92

8.5 Negotiating and reaching an agreement on the plan

As the opening section of this Chapter emphasised, implementation of the district plan will

depend upon successful negotiation.

Who is likely to be involved in negotiation ? The structure of decision making at districtlevel is uniform across the States and the finalised district plans must be discussed andapproved by a district body which may:

combine elected, nominated and departmental members in the District Planning

Committees

predominantly elected. The obvious example of this kind of body is the Zilla

Parishad.

The district planner is likely to have the task of presenting plan proposals to either body and

help them to come to an agreement.

There are two kinds of negotiation:

positional bargaining

interest-based bargaining.

Definition

Negotiation

Negotiation is the process by which the differences are discussed, common groundsare identified, adjustments are made and agreement is reached. A plan restsupon assumptions of common goals and ways of reaching those goals. If the plantakes as one of its objectives the provision, as rapidly as possible, of clean drinking water to every village or a push towards universal adult literacy, the assumptionis that all agree that clean water or literacy are both desirable and important enough to claim scarce resources. This will not be (he case; not all will agree.Whether at panchayat level or in the district administration, there will be stronglyexpressed opinions about whether these objectives are really of primary importanceor whether other directions should be taken. There will be competing claims for different villages or blocks. It is impossible to force a plan upon the public. Rather, the planner, working with the district administration and peoples' representatives needs to be able to secure agreement by persuasion that the planis fundamentally sound and by compromise on its details. As many interests as possible will have to be reconciled if agreement is reached.





94

work towards agreement. This involves:

o use the agreement-in-principle process (that is, come to a general level of agreement and then deal with detailed problems and differences)

o try to reduce tension and to dispel individual feelings of being exposed tocriticism or under pressure to agree

o demonstrate trust: put yourself in a position where you occasionally give waywithout reward

o listen and make sure all involved are aware that their position and interests are being carefully considered

once agreement has been reached, identify what the agreement involves, restate the

content and write it down.

But interest-based bargaining has to co-exist in the real world with positional bargaining. Itis important for the district planner to know what the latter approach entails. It has thefollowing characteristics:

the other negotiator(s) are opponents: be hard on them,

a win for one means a loss for the other

the goal is to win as much as possible

concessions are a sign of weakness

there is a right solution - mine.

This is an exaggerated description perhaps, but one that is recognisable in real life.

The positional bargainer operates in certain ways. These are:

start by asking as much as possible: this is used to identify everybody else about

what is desired or to identify how far they will have to move to reach an

acceptable settlement.

keep quiet about what will be acceptable: secretive and non-trusting behaviour

hides what the bottom line really is.

bluff if necessary: this is used to make other negotiators grant concessions based

on misinformation. make incremental concessions if one has to: these are small benefits used to bring

negotiators together.

cling to the bottom line as long as one can while making it as hard as possible for

others to push further.

The planner's task is to recognise the situations where positional bargaining of this kind istaking place, to confine it to areas where it is probably unavoidable, and to steer thenegotiation as far as possible back to the search for compromise,



95

8.6 Conclusion

In this final chapter, we have reviewed some of the tasks facing the planner once the main body of the plan is complete. In particular, the operational requirements of planning have been discussed and the complex problem of negotiation taken up.



96

TRAINING MATERIALS FOR AGRICULTURAL PLANNING

No 1 CASE STUDY - South Nyanza Sugar Project - Kenya, 1983

No 2 CASE STUDY - Dakawa Rice Farm Project - Tanzania, 1983

No 3 - CASE STUDY - Mkata Ranch Project - Tanzania, 1983

No 4 - Proceedings of the FAO/EADB In-Scrvicc Training Course on Project Analysis - 1983

No 5 - Note on Monitoring and Evaluation Terminology - 1983

No 6 CASE STUDY - Ondo State Opticom Centres - Nigeria, 1983

No 7 CASE STUDY - Waling Lift Irrigation Project - Nepal, 1983

No 8 - ETUDE DE CAS - Projet de developpemenl de la production alimenlaire en Casamance -

Senegal, 1983 (non disponible)

No 9 CASE STUDY - Waling Lift Irrigalion Project - Dasi Project Analysis - Nepal, 1983

No 10 - Schema theorique dc deroulemcnt d'une operation dc dcveloppemenl rural, 1983

No 11 CASE STUDY - Credit and Marketing Project for Small-Holders in Swaziland, 1985

No 12 Training in Policy Impact Analysis - Preliminary Plan of Action for an FAO Training

Programme, 1988

No 13 - CASE STUDY - On Credit for the Wadi Arab Dam Area - Jordan, 1988

No 14 - Policy Analysis for Food and Agricultural Development : Basic Data Scries and their Uses,

1988

No 15 - Structural Adjustment Programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1989

No 16 - Identification and Appraisal of Small-Scale Rural Energy Projects, 1989

No 17 - Design of Monitoring and Evaluation Syslems (Corum-Cankiri, Turkey), 1989

No 18 - Linkages between Policy Analysis, National Planning and Decentralized Planning for Rural

Development, 1989

No 19 - Manuel de preparation dcs micro realisations, 1988

No 20 - Preparac.ao participativa dos projcctos de dcsenvolvimenlo agricola/rural: Documento

metodologico, 1988

No 21 - Rural Area Development Planning; A Review and Synlhcsis of Approaches, 1990 (E/F)

DOCUMENTS FOR CAPPA (Computerized system for Agricultural and Population Planning Assistance

and training)



97

No 22 - CAPPA Manual, 1992 (E/F/S)

No 22/1 The use of scenarios in agricultural sector analysis - The CAPPA system and other

approaches, 1991 (E/F/S/A)

No 22/2 Setting targets for agricultural planning: From macroeconomic projections to commodity

balances: an illustration with the CAPPA system, 1991 (E/F/S/A)

No 22/3 Reference international data for CAPPA applications, 1992

No 22/4 Projection of agricultural supply in CAPPA, 1991 (E/F/S)

No 22/5 A case study of the use of the CAPPA system: Cappa - Ghana, 1993

No 22/6 Analysis of a Cappa Scenario, 1993 (E,F)

No 22/7 Population et main d'oeuvre dans CAPPA, 1994

No 23/1 Energy for Sustainable Rural Development Projects - A Reader, 1991

23/2 " " " - Case Studies, 1991

No 24 - Guide pour la formation de formateurs, 1991

No 25 Structural Adjustment and Agriculture, Report of an In-service Training Seminar for FAO

Staff, 1991

No 26 Planification r^gionale du secteur agricole: Notions et techniques economiques, 1991

No 27/1 - Rural Area Development Planning: Principles, Approaches, and Tools

27/2 of Economic Analysis. Volumes 1 and 2. 1991

No 28 Programmation et preparation de petites operations de developpement rural, 1992

No 29 Training for Decentralized Planning: Lessons from Experience, 1987 (E/F)

No 30 Economic Analysis of Agricultural Policies: A Basic Training Manual wilh Special

Reference to Price Analysis, 1992 (E/F/AJ-')

No 31 Agricultural Price Policy: Government and the Market, 1992 (E/F)

No 32 L'approche gestion des terroirs: ouvrage collectif. 1993

No 33 Trainer's Guide: Concepts, Principles, and Methods of Training with Special Reference to

Agricultural Development, 1993

No 34 - Guidelines on Social Analysis for Rural Area Development Planning, 1993

No 35 - Note de m£thodologte generale sur 1'analyse de filiere: utilisation de Panalyse de filiere pour

1'analyse economique des politiques, 1993



No 36 Analyse de filiere: application a I'analyse d'une filiere d'exportation, 1993

No 37/1 - District Planning: Lessons from India - Planning Guide, 1995

No 38/1 - Sustainability Issues in Agriculture and Rural Development Policies - A Training Package.

38/2 Volumes 1 and 2, 1994

Copies of these materials can be requested from:

Distribution and Sales Section

FAOVia delle Terme di Caracalla

00100 Rome, Italy

providing full details on title and number.

District Planning Lessons from India, Planning Guide, 1995

Documents