The Hindu Business Line : PM for `Chinese model' of rural business hubs

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, inaugurating the Chief Ministers Conference on Poverty Alleviation and Rural Prosperity through Panchayati Raj in the Capital on Tuesday. Also seen are the Minister for Rural Development, Mr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, and the Minister for Panchayati Raj, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar (extreme left). — Kamal Narang

New Delhi , June 29

THE Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has proposed creation of rural business hubs on the lines of the Chinese model and a revamp of different rural development programmes to make agriculture an engine of growth.

"We must examine our rural development programmes afresh. Concerns that we have not been able to unlock varying resource potential of different regions and use funds optimally to make Panchayat Raj Institutions effective can perhaps be addressed by such a policy shift," Dr Singh told a Chief Ministers' conference on Panchayat Raj in the Capital on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister said that there was a need to adopt a system of providing grants to districts based on incidence of poverty in order to optimally use the about Rs 17,000-crore spent annually on different rural development schemes.

These funds need not be tied to specific schemes but linked to a holistic vision of rural development to make district plan a reality as provided by the Constitution amendment on Panchayati Raj, he said.

Stressing on the need to fulfil the Gandhian vision of decentralised production, Dr Singh said: "We need to learn from the Chinese model of rural business hubs that add value to agricultural produce within the rural area."

The Prime Minister said that the Centre would ask State finance commissions to ensure that the funds meant for Panchayats are not diverted for other uses and are released on time.

Panchayati Raj is an antidote to some of the problems faced by the rural people and there is a need to implement its provisions in letter and spirit, he said, adding that strategies for rural development must also address the challenges of rural employment.

"The key instrument for integrating economic reforms with institutional reforms in the countryside was Gandhiji's far-sighted goal of Purna Swaraj through Gram Swaraj. However, much remains to be done to empower Panchayati Raj institutions," Dr Singh said.

Stating that the issues and problems in different States were different, he said that a "uniform vision for rural development" was needed that could respond to the peculiar development situations in different States.

Over a dozen Chief Ministers, including Mr Narendra Modi (Gujarat); Capt Amarinder Singh (Punjab); Ms Uma Bharti (Madhya Pradesh); Mr Naveen Patnaik (Orissa); and Mr Om Prakash Chautala (Haryana) are attending the two-day meet.