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Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra are among the top 10 States that have received a maximum Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) in the last three years. Interestingly these States are also among the top urbanised States in the country with a projection of the highest urban population (2011-2036).
The data presented by the Ministry of Finance to the Rajya Sabha on July 20, 2021 show that out of the top 10 States which have the highest rural population only Odisha, Bihar Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand feature among the top 10 receivers of RIDF disbursement.
Rural domination
Himachal Pradesh, which tops the list of States with rural domination with about 90 per cent of the rural population as per the 2011 census, is not among the top 10 States receiving RIDF funds. It has received ₹1, 988 crore in three years which is 2.39 per cent of the total RIDF disbursed during these three years. Also, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, which are among the top States with rural population, do not feature in the top 10 RIDF disbursements-receiving States.
Among the top 10 States that received RIDF disbursement, rapidly urbanising States including Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra together received ₹21, 247 crore which is about 26 per cent of the total RIDF disbursement of ₹83,082.29 crore.
The top 10 States which have received the highest RIDF disbursement share about 66 per cent disbursement among themselves. Odisha has received the highest RIDF disbursement of ₹7,890 crore followed by Gujarat at ₹7,863 crore.
Besides the North-Eastern States, others like Punjab, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttrakhand have received less disbursement (less than ₹2,000 crore) in three years.
Low-cost support
RIDF was instituted in Nabard for giving low-cost support to State governments and State-owned corporations for developing critical infrastructure in agriculture and allied sector, social sector and rural connectivity.
According to the information available on the Nabard website, the government of India created the RIDF in Nabard in 1995-96, with an initial corpus of ₹2,000 crore. With the allocation of ₹29,763 crore for 2020-21 under RIDF XXVI, the cumulative allocation has reached ₹3,78,022 crore, including ₹18,500 crore under Bharat Nirman.
Under the RIDF schemes, State-owned corporations are expected to complete projects related to medium and minor irrigation, soil conservation and others forms of rural infrastructure. The social infrastructure includes sewerage networks, biodigester toilets, drinking water distribution and primary health centres.
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