People's Participation in Rural Development: Policy Shift under Janmabhoomi Programme in Andhra Pradesh Dr. Bonagani Rama Rao* Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration and Policy Studies, #112, Kauveri Block, School of Social Sciences, Central University of Kerala, Tejaswini Hills, Periye (PO), Kasaragod (DT), Kerala, India, Pin-671316 *Corresponding Author Email: ramaraophd@gmail.com
Online published on 3 February, 2020. Abstract People's participation in rural development is by no means a new concept. It was formulated in the mid 1970s, amid growing awareness that development efforts were having little impact on poverty. A recent evaluation found that many governments, development agencies and non-governmental organisations have recognized that the "top-down" approach characteristic of traditional development strategies have largely failed to reach and benefit the rural poor. In the 1990s strategy, the concept of people's participation in rural development drastically shifted to new policy. The pivotal role of people's participation in development is now re-emerging in economic and social development thinking. One striking example of this trend comes from the world Bank. Several strategies of rural development have been tried in India since independence. Some of these programmes such as Community Development projects, Integrated Rural Development Programme. Gandhi's dream of every village being a republic has been translated in to reality, with an introduction of three-tier Panchayati Raj system to enlist people's participation in rural reconstruction. Various programmes like Area specific, group specific, employment generation and minimum need programmes implemented in most of Indian states which includes Andhra Pradesh. However, the TDP government has followed a different policy strategy for rural development. These include such as intensive poverty reduction initiative through a strategy of social mobilization of poor into self-help group approach, people's participation based strategy and provision of basic minimum services through a numerious welfare schemes. The TDP government also inspired and adopted some of the World Bank strategy of "people-centered" approach through a major Janmabhoomi programme implemented in the state. This clearly reveals a policy shift under Janmaboomi in rural development strategies. However, this paper was divided into the four parts for analysis. These were evoluation of Janmaboomi Programme, Principles and core objectives of Janmabhoomi Programme, evaluation of 19 phases of Janmabhoomi rounds, and impact of Janmabhoomi on Panchayati Raj Institutions. The conclusion has dealt the major findings of the paper. Top Keywords Participation, Janmaboomi, Policy, People, Development. Top |