Bharat Nirman: Long on target, short on quality

Economists call it the “U without Q” (utilisation without quality) factor. The expression is now being increasingly used to describe the progress made by Bharat Nirman, considered by many as the jewel in the crown of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

Experts agree Bharat Nirman, which has completed four years, has indeed brought about significant improvements in the country’s rural infrastructure. But, most feel it’s time now to take a step forward to see whether targets are being achieved without paying adequate importance to quality and sustainability.

Planning Commission member Mihir Shah admits that “sustainability has indeed emerged as a major challenge, especially in the case of drinking water and irrigation schemes. There is a need for sustainable management plan to support such government schemes. This is not in place currently”.

The mid-term appraisal of the Planning Commission, to be presented after the Budget, will thus primarily focus on the sustainability aspects of such schemes — how and why the focus should shift from merely achieving targets or expanding the scope of the targets to creating sustainable assets and resources. That, experts say, is critical in view of the resource constraints faced by the government.

Consider the drinking water scheme, which accounted for over a quarter of the entire budgetary allocation for Bharat Nirman in 2007-08. While the targets have been fully met, the scheme has been suffering from huge quality issues. Surveys have shown while villages are being provided drinking water every year, the areas are slipping back to being dry or are being provided contaminated water.

When the scheme began in 2005, areas which went back to being dry constituted 63.36 per cent of the target. Ironically, that number has gone up to 88.21 per cent in 2009.

Groundwater constitutes 90 per cent of the nation’s drinking water needs, of which 75 per cent is met by tube wells and the balance by ground wells. The problem of slippages occurs as no planned method of recharging groundwater resources has been put in place by the government.

The situation is similar in the housing scheme, where on paper, 100 per cent targets have been met, leading many to term the scheme called Indira Awas Yojana as the most successful one. However, the reality may be different, as the scheme records only the number of projects sanctioned and does not take into account the actual work done.

These are factors that lead Planning Commission member Arun Maira to say that there is an increasing understanding within the government that “pumping in more money through the pipes is not a solution, as it increases the risk for leakages. The focus should be better utilisation by minimising the bottlenecks and thereby increase the effectiveness of the targets achieved”.

Bharat Nirman is a comprehensive scheme which covers rural housing, roads, electrification, telephone connectivity, drinking water and irrigation. Apart from the drinking water and housing schemes, the other scheme that has been termed hugely successful is the one on rural roads comprising schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.

Over 60 per cent of the target under this has been met in 2008-09. But, experts say the number of rural roads being constructed under the scheme being washed away at the first hint of rains is also increasing at a brisk pace. And therein lies the problem.