Articles by Mihir Shah

The Hameed Committee has come up with recommendations that could go a long way in reinventing the Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology. It could also trigger a long overdue process of public sector reforms in rural development.

The report of the Technical Committee on Watershed Programmes (the Parthasarathy Committee) on watershed reforms recommends a reformed and expanded activity which holds the key to livelihood security. It analyses the drawbacks of the current Hariyali guidelines - a panchayat-centred watershed programme - and emphasises the major role of civil society in guiding reforms in the state sector. This article is a synoptic view of the main findings and recommendations of the report.

The Schedule of Rates that state governments currently use to value work done by labour employed in schemes needs to be substantially revised if the promise of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is to be realised. The schedules now have an inherent pro-contractor bias, encourage the use of machinery and make it virtually impossible for labourers to earn minimum wages.

This first-ever report, based on a survey in Madhya Pradesh, on the functioning of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana reveals that the scheme has made a significant contribution to the survival of families on the verge of destitution. However, with the poor outreach of the public distribution system in the tribal areas and the insufficient coverage of the AAY within each village, the yojana fails to make the difference it potentially can to the food security of the poorest of the poor. This article also evaluates the "ruchikar" (relishing) mid-day meal programme of the MP government as a result of which enrolment in schools has dramatically increased despite the poor meal quality and inadequate infrastructure. But the absence of a separate administration for meal management has placed an enormous burden on teachers, which poses a danger of further compromising the already very poor quality of primary education.

The 2004 Employment Guarantee Bill needs to be modified if its objective is to be realised. The critics and supporters of the programme should be able to reach a compromise on the identification of beneficiaries, coverage and wage rates. However, if the bill in its present form is passed by parliament, this cure could be worse than the disease.