Community Development Programme
Community: A community is a group of people who live in a geographical area and are interested in each other for the purpose of making a living.
Development: Development connotes growth or maturation. It implies gradual and sequential phases of change and refers to upward or increasing differentiation.
Community Development: Community development refers to a process by which local communities come together to identify and address their needs, challenges, and aspirations with the goal of improving their overall well-being and quality of life. It is a collaborative and participatory approach that involves the active involvement of community members, local organizations, government agencies, and other stakeholders.
The Planning Commission has defined the community development programme in India. According to them, it is an attempt to bring about and initiate economic and social transformation in the lives of villagers through their efforts. The programme for community development only includes those economic and social reconstruction projects in the villages that are implemented with the people's cooperation.
A.R. Desia has also defined this programme as how the Five Year Plans can initiate the rural areas' economic and social life transformation. So in other words, it is a project for community development that is controlled by the community. In this programme, the community is referred to only the villages. The aims of this programme were explained in 1973 and were laid down by the Indian Government. The community development programme started in 1952 and was launched on October 2nd 1952. The major aim of this programme was to bring integrated development to rural society that covers all aspects of people's lives.
The concept of the current schemes under the Community Development Programme is based only on the old concept. So, the history of community development programmes in India has been protected, and they are still being followed. The Panchayat Samities are granted in-aid under the Social Education and General Education head. This is for those activities that lead to development in the educational field. The completion of residential buildings for staff or Blocks for the construction, along with Gram Sewak Huts, are provided with funds. These funds are also used to complete the ongoing construction of office buildings.
Importance/Significance of Community Development in India
Community development is significant in India for various reasons. It is crucial to foster inclusive and sustainable growth, empower communities, and address socio-economic challenges. Here are some key aspects highlighting the significance of community development in India:
1. Inclusive Growth: Community development initiatives empower marginalized and vulnerable sections of society, such as rural communities, women, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other disadvantaged groups. By promoting inclusive growth, community development helps reduce socio-economic disparities and ensures that the development benefits reach all population segments.
2. Poverty Alleviation: India faces persistent poverty and income inequality issues. Community development programs target poverty alleviation by creating livelihood opportunities, promoting skill development, and providing essential services to uplift the economic conditions of communities.
3. Empowerment and Participation: Community development fosters active community participation and involvement in decision-making processes. Empowering communities to take charge of their own development leads to sustainable outcomes and greater ownership of development initiatives.
4. Rural Development: A significant portion of India’s population resides in rural areas. Community development programs in rural India focus on improving infrastructure, healthcare, education, agriculture, and access to essential services, thereby enhancing the overall quality of life in rural communities.
5. Women’s Empowerment: Community development initiatives play a crucial role in promoting women’s empowerment. By providing women with access to education, skill development, and economic opportunities, these programs enhance gender equality and improve the status of women in society.
6. Environmental Conservation: Many community development projects in India emphasize sustainable practices and environmental conservation. By promoting eco-friendly initiatives and raising awareness about environmental issues, these programs contribute to a greener and more sustainable future.
7. Skill Development and Employment: Community development efforts often include skill development and vocational training programs. These initiatives equip individuals with the necessary skills to enhance their employability and contribute to local economic growth.
8. Social Cohesion: Community development fosters social cohesion and a sense of community belonging. It brings people together, promotes social harmony, and strengthens community ties, leading to a more resilient and supportive society.
9. Disaster Management and Resilience: Community development programs help build resilience in communities, especially in disaster-prone areas. These initiatives mitigate the impact of natural calamities by equipping communities with the knowledge and resources to respond to disasters effectively.
10. Government-NGO Collaboration: Community development efforts often involve collaboration between the government, NGOs, and other stakeholders. This partnership ensures effective implementation of programs, optimal resource allocation, and greater impact.
11. Sustainable Urban Development: In urban areas, community development focuses on addressing the unique challenges urban communities face. It aims to improve urban infrastructure, provide affordable housing, and enhance the overall living conditions of city dwellers.
Thus, it is crucial for fostering an inclusive and equitable society, promoting sustainable development, and empowering communities to become self-reliant. By addressing social, economic, and environmental issues at the grassroots level, community development contributes to the overall growth and well-being of the nation.
Aims and Objectives of the Community Development Programme
The main aims and objectives of the Community Development Programme are as follows:
1. The Community Development Programme is intended to promote rural welfare by improving education, public health and sanitation, medical facilities, housing, drinking water, hospitals, community centres, and sports and cultural activities.
2. To secure total development of the material and human resources in rural areas.
3. To develop local leadership and self-governing institutions.
4. To raise the living standards of the rural poor by means of rapid increase in food and agricultural produce.
5. To ensure a change in people’s mindset, instilling in them a mission for higher standards.
6. It is intended to create interest among rural people in better economic, social, and cultural life and to make them satisfy their interest through self-help.
7. It is also aimed at encouraging community thinking and collective action.
8. It is intended to increase people’s participation in developmental programmes.
Overall, the Community Development Programme is intended to improve the many-sided development of rural life.
Achievements of the Community Development Programme
The main achievements of the Community Development Programme were as follows:
1. For the first time an organised administrative set up was established at the national, state, district, block and village levels. Its developmental functions were totally different from the revenue collection functions of the existing administrative machinery.
2. Development was considered to be people-centric.
3. Due recognition was given to the importance of planning and interdisciplinary approach to development.
4. Recognition was also given to the recruiting trained personnel and introducing technical and technological Inputs.
5. It introduced modern technologies in agriculture to demonstrate that they could perform better than traditional technology.
6. It resulted in the establishment of institutions such as agriculture credit societies, primary schools, hospitals and dispensaries, maternity and child welfare centres, etc.
Impact of community development programme in rural India
The impact of community development programs on rural India has been significant, bringing about positive changes and improvements in various aspects of rural life. Here are 15 key points highlighting the impact of community development programs in rural India:
1. Improved access to basic infrastructure such as roads, electricity, and sanitation.
2. Increased agricultural productivity and adoption of modern farming practices.
3. Enhanced livelihood opportunities through skill development and income-generating activities.
4. Reduction in poverty and improvement in the economic well-being of rural households.
5. Empowerment of women through economic activities and increased decision-making roles.
6. Promotion of education and increased enrolment of children in schools.
7. Improved healthcare services and awareness of health-related issues.
8. Strengthening of community-based organizations and self-help groups.
9. Promotion of social cohesion and community bonding.
10. Increased awareness and participation in government schemes and programs.
11. Reduced migration from rural to urban areas due to improved opportunities.
12. Preservation and promotion of traditional arts, crafts, and cultural heritage.
13. Enhanced environmental conservation and awareness of eco-friendly practices.
14. Reduction in social inequalities and empowerment of marginalized communities.
15. Building resilience to cope with natural disasters and other challenges.
So, community development programs have played a vital role in uplifting rural India, creating sustainable development, and empowering communities to take charge of their own growth and well-being. These programs have contributed significantly to rural transformation and social progress.
List of community development programmes in India
1. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
2. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)
3. Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)
4. Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)
5. National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)
6. National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM)
7. National Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP)
8. National Food Security Mission (NFSM)
9. National Social Assistance Program (NSAP)
10. Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
11. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) Program
12. National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW)
13. National Skill Development Mission (NSDM)
14. National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF)
15. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
16. Digital India
17. Startup India
18. National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)
19. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
20. Green India Mission (GIM)
Characteristics of Community Development Programme
Community Development Programme exhibits several characteristics. They are as follows:
1. It promotes self-confidence among the ruralites.
2. It develops self-reliance in the individual and initiative in the village community.
3. The community development programme effects change at the psychological level of the ruralites.
4. It seeks to create new administrative machinery suited to the manifold needs of the village.
5. It is pre-eminently people-oriented.
6. Community thinking and collective action are encouraged through people’s institutions like the Panchayats, cooperative societies, Vikas Mandals, etc.
Aims of the Community Development Programme
Prof. S. C. Dube has highlighted two aims of Community Development Programme. They are-
(a) achieving substantial agricultural production and considerable progress in the sphere of communication, rural health and rural education and
(b) transforming the socio-economic life of the village through a process of integral cultural change.
The aims of the Community Development Project have been divided into two parts. They are short-term objectives and long-term objectives.
Short – term objectives:
The short-term objectives are as follows:
1. To increase agricultural production both quantitatively and qualitatively.
2. To solve the problem of rural unemployment.
3. To develop the means of transport and communication in the villages through repairing old roads and constructing new pucka roads.
4. To bring about development in the sphere of primary education, public health and recreation.
5. To assist the villagers to build good and cheap houses with the help of modern plans and new building methods.
6. To set up and encourage cottage industries and indigenous handicrafts.
Long-term objectives:
The long–term objective of community development projects refers to the holistic development of rural life through the optimum utilisation of physical and human resources. It is further oriented to providing all sorts of facilities available in a Welfare State to the ruralites. Taking care of the villagers' social, moral, and financial progress also comes within the purview of the long-term objectives of community development projects.
The Community Development Programme was inaugurated on October 2, 1952. Fifty-five community projects were launched. The programme launched in 1952 was extended to wider areas at the end of the First Five-Year Plan. Nearly one out of every three villages in India was brought within the orbit of this programme.
The Second Five-Year Plan proposed to bring every village in India under this scheme, with 40 per cent of the area being brought under a more intensive development scheme. The programme was implemented through units of blocks, each community development block comprising generally 100 villages, an area of 400-500 square km. And a population of 60 to 70 thousand.
ORGANISATION:
The Community Development Programme is broadly divided into three phases. They are- (a) the National Extension Phase, (b) the Intensive Community Development Project Phase and (c) the Post-Intensive Development Phase.
In the first phase, the areas selected are subjected to the method of providing services on the ordinary rural development pattern with an item of lesser governmental expenditure. In the intensive phase, the blocks selected are subjected to more composite and intensive development schemes with larger governmental expenditures.
In the post-intensive phase, it is presumed that the basis for self-perpetuation of the process initiated during the earlier phases has been created and the need for special government expenses reduced. Slowly, the areas are left in charge of the development departments.
An elaborate organization called the Community Project Administration has been created to implement Community Development Projects. Originally functioning under the Planning Commission, it is now under the charge of the newly created Ministry of Community Development.
The entire administration is composed of four major types: the central administration, the state administration, the district organization, and the project administration. Power and control flow from top to bottom, making it a hierarchic bureaucratic organization.
Scope of Community Development Programme
Needless to say, the Community Development Programme is a universal phenomenon practised in both developed and developing countries. However, the programme assumes vital significance in developing countries because of their low-level development in various social life segments.
Owing to its wider applicability in multifaceted fields of operation, it is not practically feasible to evolve a theoretical framework for the scope of the Community Development Programme. However, for the sake of convenience, the field of the Community Development Programme can broadly be divided into the following items.
1. Agricultural and allied fields: Under this category activities regarding following items are included, (a) reutilisation of virgin and waste lands, (b) repairing of old wells, digging new wells and provision of major/minor irrigation facilities, (c) adoption of qualitative high-yielding seeds, manures, fertilizers, use of tractors etc., (d) provision of credit facilities for the development of animal husbandry, poultry farming, fishery, soil conservation etc. and (e) growth of vegetables and plants etc.
2. Organisation: Organisation of ‘co-operative service societies’, multi-purpose cooperative societies, ‘marketing co-operatives’ and other types of people’s institutions.
3. Education: Primary education, adult education, and social education are highly valued by ruralites because they expand their mental horizons.
4. Employment: To solve the problem of rural unemployment, attempts have been made to set up small-scale and cottage industries.
5. Health Services: Provision for mobile, permanent dispensaries, arrangements for maternal care, medical aid during pregnancy, midwife service, child care etc.
6. Communication: Repairing old roads, building new roads, and arranging transportation and communication facilities.
7. Vocational training: Imparting vocational training in the field of tailoring, embroidery, carpentry etc.
8. Supply of drinking water: Attempting to provide safe drinking water by repairing or constructing new wells.
9. Social welfare: Social welfare activities include rehabilitation of old, disabled and destitute, provision for better housing, organisation of sports, promotion of cultural activities etc.
SUGGESTIONS:
A number of suggestions have been made for the successful working of the Community Development Programme. They are as follows:
i. Greater stress is called for increasing agricultural production both quantitatively and qualitatively to meet the needs of the country’s fast-multiplying rural population.
ii. Community development projects should put the utmost stress on solving problems peculiar to the locality.
iii. Only those officials with expertise in rural psychology should be appointed.
iv. Male and female workers should be selected or appointed from among the villagers. They should undergo extensive training in social work. Efforts should be made to motivate them to work in the villages with missionary zeal and a spirit of service.
v. Efforts should be made to impress upon the ruralites that the Community Development Programme is not oriented to any specific group but to the entire village. Community development work should be arranged so that cooperation between castes, classes, and parties becomes available.
vi. Efforts should be made to involve reputed voluntary agencies in Community Development Projects. A harmonious nexus between governmental and non-governmental agencies will go a long way toward making the programme a single success.
vii. The development of the village community should come substantially and essentially from the people themselves, the government being only a guide and source of the wherewithal, which the people themselves cannot provide.
viii. Balwant Rai Committee has suggested that village Panchayats and Panchayat samiti should function as veritable instruments for making the programme successful.
In fact, Community Development has started a new fire in the countryside. This fire is burning the sloth and filth inherited over centuries and purifying us for a pilgrimage to our new destination. One only hopes that this fire will be kept burning and that neither lack of people’s enthusiasm nor lack of finance will prevent us from reaching that destination in the shortest possible time.
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