Towards Improved Local Level Planning for Rural Development-Lessons from some Experience

Abstract

The present volume is a documentation of three successful rural development expsriences—Sukhomajri and Dasholi in different parts of the Himalayan region and Kundrakudi in Tamil Nadu. Each ,of the three experiences analysed here has its own unique features. Some commonalities are: the availablility of extraordinary local leadership, the close and continuous involvement of a band of dedicated technicians and social workers and above all a highly motivated populace—a combination that rarely exist. These three experiences are examples of the bottom-up approach wherein the rural people plan their own development, albeit with the help of governmental and nongovernmental agencies. For purposes of planning, they have founded an institutional mechanism suited to their local circumstances : in Kundrakudi, it is the Village Planning Forum (VPF), in Sukhomajri it is the Water Users Association (WUA) and in Dasholi it is the Gram Swarajya Mandal (DGSM).