The Hindu Business Line : Transforming Rural India, the NGO way

WITH the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) zeroing in on rural development as one of the thrust areas to square up development deficit and narrow regional imbalances, the role of voluntary organisations has assumed critical importance. "It is recognised that while conventional governmental machinery is one arm, the non-governmental organisation (NGO) has emerged as the other arm and these two can work together for the benefit of the people," says Mr L. V. Saptharishi, Director-General of CAPART, the apex NGO organisation.

Being the head of the largest voluntary organisation interacting with people at the grassroots, CAPART is working on a new vision, mission and reclassified schemes and programmes to assist the NGOs in rural development works. It organised a series of meetings with NGOs across the country last December followed by a brainstorming session under the chairmanship of the Minister of Rural Development, Dr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, who is President, CAPART. As the world, dominated by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and its countervailing forces in civil societies, increasingly becoming strident in articulating the aspirations of the poor and the dispossessed, the role and responsibility of effective voluntary organisations can hardly be repudiated.

It is in this light of strengthening the partnership between government machinery and voluntary organisations so as to be productive for the people at the ground level, particularly those caught in the crossfire of globalisation, that a national summit of NGOs on Rural India is being organised in New Delhi for three days beginning April 25.

Being inaugurated by the President, Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the three-day event would spearhead a purposive plan of action to preclude NGOs from working in isolation and proposing an all-inclusive approach, taking on board gram sabha, gram panchayat and line departments to tap the strength of each one of them. This is intended to forge development strategies so as to achieve "durable development", the CAPART Chief said.

During the three-day summit, several events are also planned. Senior CAPART officials would give presentations on the policy guidelines about the reclassified schemes and programmes such as Natural Resource Development and Management (NRDM), Rural Infrastructure Development Scheme (RIDS), Rural Industrialisation, Income Generation and Market Access (RIIMA), Technology for Rural Development and Promotion of Information Tech- nology (TRD&PIT), Schemes for Empowerment of Rural Women, and Human Resource Development Scheme.

It is also proposed to deliberate on three topics that have a direct bearing on the livelihood concerns of the millions of rural Indians. They include income-generation activities in Rural India through NGO-Self Help Groups and opportunities for their products in the national and global markets, sustainable watershed programmes for prosperity of Rural India and integrated rural development. On the final day, participants would be exposed to a discussion on rural infrastructure development and empowerment of women and other categories, dissemination of appropriate technologies in rural areas and resource mobilisation by NGOs for their various activities.

In sum, CAPART is all set to transform Rural India's daily life by seeking veritable "partners in progress" with civil societies so that the resultant benefits would include a larger number of people.

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