Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai

Poverty Reduction Strategy for Madhya Pradesh

Shovan Ray1 Amita Shah2 Alok R. Chaurasia3 Rahul Banerjee4

December 2009

This study was undertaken on behalf of Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai by the scholars mentioned as part of Capacity Development in the SSPHD Project supported by the United Nations Development Programme and the Planning Commission of India. The study was coordinated by Shovan Ray at IGIDR
1 2

Professor, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Professor, Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad 3 Consultant, UNICEF, Bhopal 4 Researcher, Indore

Contents

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Introduction Overview Economic Growth Chronic Poverty and Poverty Reduction: Diagnosis and Implications Agriculture and Resource Management Elementary Education Health and Longevity Local Governance, Community Participation and Social Inclusion of Marginalised Sections

Appendix Background note on Poverty

Chapter 1: Introduction and the Storyline

This paper studies poverty in Madhya Pradesh (MP in what follows) and focuses on the last two decades or so in terms of empirical evidence and trends; and goes on to suggest strategic directions that could accelerate the poverty reduction process. The study of poverty that underlies this paper is however multi-dimensional in scope and character, and not just income poverty per se, though that remains an essential and critical part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) based poverty that is addressed here. Several MDGs are considered in the paper in assessing various dimensions of poverty in Madhya Pradesh, which then form the basis for poverty reduction strategy for the state. It must be emphasized here that this is perhaps the beginning of such an exercise and we should not fool ourselves into believing that we know all the answers to these persistent deprivations and the pitfalls that lie along our efforts to alleviate them. It is nevertheless an important milestone that we have reached in this endeavour. In our quest for identifying a set of policies, we wish to acknowledge the efforts made thus far by successive governments at the Centre and in MP, but there are also important gaps that remain in the agenda of poverty reduction. Our objective in this paper is to identify a set of policies that in our opinion would deliver on the agenda rather than to point out possible lapses that may have been committed over the decades. The overview chapter that follows this provides a thorough discussion of all the major issues and the broad policy stance, and the succeeding chapters present the arguments in their analytical details, embellished with evidence where desired and available. In the next few pages we provide a storyline that defines the contours of our strategy. At the outset a few facts about the characteristics of economic deprivation would be useful to motivate the discussion. With about 38 per cent of people living below the official poverty line during 2004-05 (61st round of NSS), MP had the third rank in terms of incidence of poverty among the major states in India. Unlike at the All India level, incidence of poverty is higher among urban (42.7%) as compared to rural areas (36.8%). Prima facie, this may suggest outflow of rural poor to urban areas in search of livelihood options. Among different social groups scheduled tribes with 57.14 percent and schedule castes with 41.21 percent of population below the poverty line were regarded as the poorest groups in the state. Poverty in Madhya Pradesh is also quite severe as reflected by the estimated poverty gap ratio. The high 3

poverty rate is perceived as the result of low growth in output and employment, skewed land ownership and pervading assetlessness among the people. Over time with population increases, natural resources particularly land become scarcer. Hence, those who are fortunate to have relatively larger land holdings with access to irrigation (and also perhaps education and other resources) could improve their economic status. The rest continue to remain where they were or suffered deterioration in their economic status. According to the estimates based on the NSSO survey (2004-05), between 55 to 63 per cent of the population in MP also suffer from `food-inadequacy. Madhya Pradesh (MP) is a predominantly rural state and most of its population is dependent on agriculture and natural resource use for their sustenance. While the contribution of agriculture in the state domestic product is less than thirty percent, nearly two-thirds of its population live on agriculture and allied activities. In our opinion it will remain the mainstay of livelihoods of people for quite sometime even if major changes are brought about in the economy. Hence it is very critical that considerable energy is devoted to its prosperity. This sector is also likely to deliver considerably on poverty reduction in the state in view of the preponderance of smallholder farmers and rural labour in MP. It so happens that the states planning documents also underline this fact, though we may not agree with all its strategic thinking on how to deliver on the agenda. While considering agriculture and rural development led prosperity as an important strand of the strategy, we wish to underline a few important issues. We would like to first and foremost emphasize that the strategy paper considers its medium and long term sustainability, and not just output growth for a few years in a transient sense. Hence we need to take on board the environmental and natural resource consequences of agro-activity in out strategic thinking. Thus we ought to worry about water availability and soil quality, and permeability of the soil and water retention for ground water recharge. This is not the line of thinking that always informs political priorities whose horizon of discourse is typically much more limited. Hence what is doled out in policy prescriptions is quite often in conflict with long term interests of agriculture. For instance, certain cropping patterns may be lucrative in the short run though they may be damaging to water availability and soil quality in a longer horizon. A similar consideration should inform irrigation policy for the state. Thus we weave the

agricultural development of the state with environmental consequences in the interest of its long term sustainability and the prosperity of its stakeholders farmers and rural labour. When we discuss forestry in the context of MP, we do not look at them merely as a natural resource, which is of paramount interest no doubt, but also those who are organically linked with them and have stakes in their sustainability. Agriculture and forests have strong links, as they complement each other, but they also have strong links with water conservation; and those who live in forests and mineral rich areas of the state are usually the least beneficiaries of the large scale and grandiose development plans that are typically fashionable. They are also chronically poor and most vulnerable of the population in the state. Thus we would not be able to devise a suitable strategy of growth and development of the state without caring for these important sections of our society if we ignore these strong connections. Whereas allocation of additional funds for strengthening the forestry sector may operate as a serious limitation, the recent development with regard to compensatory mechanisms for conservation being evolved through the 13th Finance Commission is quite promising. It is however imperative that the funds received through such mechanisms is appropriately shared between the state and the people who have jointly conserved the forests. In the same vein new opportunities under the carbon credit mechanisms need to be suitably explored and the proceeds are made to work for poverty reduction. Among different social groups scheduled tribes and schedule castes are the poorest groups. Most of these poor people live in rural areas and forests of MP with limited livelihood opportunities and quite a large section of them depend on forests and other rural activities to eke out their subsistence. These need to be woven into the strategy of development and poverty reduction, and are considered in this paper. We shall return to the issues of poverty among these major social groups in MP and disparities between them and the mainstream of society later in this section in the context of other aspects of social and economic development in the state. The contours of agriculture extend to livestock rearing and poultry also, and in the context of MP they could be important sources of supplementary income apart from full time livelihood choice for many households. In most rural parts the costs of rearing involved in diary, poultry and hatcheries are relatively modest as these farm animals do not in most cases 5

resort to stall feeding, but go out to the village commons for basic feeds. As a result their produce may be an important source of income to households, both products such as milk and eggs as well as their meat. These are important in both self-consumption and cash income to the families, though in the second case marketing of produce may be an effective constraint in rural areas with poor infrastructure. Thus, agriculture, forestry, poultry, fisheries, livestock and other sources of livelihood must be considered both as a portfolio of economic opportunities in a strategy of diversification as well as complementary in others, such as soil and moisture conservations, manure for fields and long term health of agriculture and forests as an integral strategy for both rural households and forest dwellers in MP. Many households are unable to make both ends meet in the face of deteriorating rural conditions in the state, long term damage to land and natural resources, and demographic pressure on land and other asset bases of households, and they opt to move elsewhere. Some end up as nomadic herdsmen, some as casual labour outside the state and others as manual or semi-skilled workers in low-paid jobs in urban centres in MP and elsewhere. The ensuing migration is an important fact of life in the state as partly reflected in heightened urban poverty in recent years. It is true that migration can be an important source of livelihoods, but that is not so in MP as most of these groups are endowed with low human capital and end up earning miserable livelihoods elsewhere with little or no surplus left for remittance back home for those left behind. Presently this is a major constraint to prosperity among people in MP, but this liability could be turned into an asset with correct identification of a set of policies such as quality education in the state. This is discussed later. It may be pointed out here that the legal framework for regulation of inter-state migration in place needs to effectively work in reality. Besides, those who suffer from these conditions, particularly the itinerant migrants, end up losing out considerably in terms of education and healthcare (considered later) for their families and consequently their longer term prospect of escaping from the trap of poverty. This is indeed the fate of many deprived groups belonging to SC and ST communities in the state referred to above. Considering all these aspects together there is no escape from a strategy that focuses on agriculture and rural development in MP, and one designed in an integral manner discussed in the paper.

We shall argue in this paper that the state should not harbour the illusion of large scale industrial development of the state to take care of employment of its labour force through migration from agriculture to industry in a dual economy model a la Arthur Lewis. However, a lot more mileage can be derived from value added activities from micro, small and medium enterprises and their related services in rural areas of MP. Large investments emanating from the state sector for development of PSU (central or state government) can no longer be visualized in the changed economic environment. And the competitive race to attract large private capital can be ruinous to the state coffers and damaging to both the endogenous communities and the natural resources and environment of the state, and this tendency should be closely guarded in our opinion; and this competitive race can be quite tough in comparison with the neighbours such as Maharashtra and Gujarat, which boast of very high levels of infrastructure support, industrial base and market depth. Hence it is very important to remain careful about attracting private capital for large industries in MP. Their capacity to deliver on the objective of inclusive growth and poverty reduction remains doubtful. Hence it may be wiser to focus on agriculture and relatively smaller rural industries and services development for achieving poverty reduction in MP. There has been an increasing recognition the world over of the welfare outcomes of infrastructural development. Access to infrastructure and basic amenities such as transport, electricity, housing, drinking water and sanitation, health, educational, and information services could have direct impact on quality of life and human well being, including measureable poverty reducing outcomes, besides the growth inducing impacts across the productive sectors. The states identification of infrastructure development is of critical importance in this context, both hardcore infrastructure and rural connectivity, including public provisioning for agricultural and irrigation, marketing, etc. As argued above, MP has to largely focus on agriculture and relatively small and agro-processing industries, industrial clusters of micro and small industries, etc. and all these are very dependent on public provisioning of utilities and services. The challenge in our context is to make the infrastructural agenda work directly in favour of the poor and the sectors on which they depend for their livelihoods. Selection of the nature, scale, technology, ownership, and location of the infrastructural projects therefore needs to be done by using the pro-poor lens.

Road connectivity plays a crucial role in accessing the above services at distant places and also for seeking economic activities outside the region. This would imply appropriate priority being accorded to rural roads, especially in remote areas. Markets and marketing of products of agriculture and micro and small enterprises face considerable hurdles in the absence of connectivity and other communications facilities and these get a major boost with physical infrastructure development. Provisioning of physical infrastructure for health and education is important; what is important however is to make optimal use of the existing provisions by making marginal investments, so that for instance, teachers teach in the schools that are already there. It is also important that several of the rural infrastructures such as these could be planned, developed and managed by local communities through Panchyats and community organizations, which may seek contributions in terms of labour and other resources available locally to increase the returns to investment. The same may be done for optimizing infrastructure investment for the health sector. It is very important to consider issues of institutional structure, governance and participation opportunities of the stake holders in all the changes contemplated, including rights based issues that exist in several programmes such as NREGS. A lot of rural infrastructures can be put in place with correct leadership, participation and simple technology, such as for water harvesting, soil conservation, etc. and these are important issues for governance that are well known. Tourism of different hues is a hugely important source of livelihoods and employment in the state and this has already been identified by the state. This can truly be made world class over time with judicious policy for both domestic and international tourists. For achieving this objective however quite a lot is required by way of not only infrastructure but also education, training and identification of other provisions. Turning to the health sector it is seen that MP displays one of the worst records and possibly unacceptably high infant and child mortality rates (IMR, CMR) even by Indian standards, and these need immediate attention. These are not only important MDGs and also targets set by the national planning objectives, but such lapses degenerate into major hurdles in other social and economic objectives of development. High IMR and CMR are immediately reflected in low life expectancy at birth and these are clearly seen in the 8

statistics for MP. Experience in various countries, and in several states in India show that it is possible to make considerable dents in them by simple and low cost methods even in the rural setting with some trained personnel and clean environment and low cost medicines and support. Malnutrition of mother and children also affect the outcome and these need addressing. Of course, some superstitions also exacerbate the problems along with the widespread practice of low age at marriage and child birth and these must be curbed by direct intervention by the state and effective education. All through however a central concern running through health, illness, disease, morbidity, and death is the access to good quality water for human consumption. This is a matter for serious attention by the state and the municipal authorities. It is true that education, particularly of women, can contribute to better healthcare of the household and its children, but the responsibility of the state can not be washed away in this context. Other than reflecting deplorable social statistics, major improvements in infant and child mortality rates also have major economic gains for the state as children get educated and join the work force. Combined with good quality education and training these new cohorts of the hitherto non-existent or morbid members of society will add to productivity, output and savings and bring growth and prosperity to MP the so-called demographic dividends. When they migrate their prosperous livelihoods elsewhere would be reflected in bountiful remittances, as seen in case of several other states in India like Kerala, or the Indian and Chinese diasporas around the world today. These add to the demographic dividend of turning around mortality rates in a society. Of course this ought to be combined with interventions in nutrition to children and mothers, effective education and conducive work opportunities to derive the desired benefits. Improvements in quality and quantity of education need no emphasis, and while we are aware of these now, and MP is no exception to this from its eagerness to intervene in this area, the result on the ground is not always robust. We need to remind ourselves that an improved outcome on this score would cut across virtually all dimensions and bring about significant results on multi-dimensional poverty reduction outcomes. Some generic issues relating to primary education are recounted here and an analysis with data is covered in chapter 6.

Despite quantum jumps in number for primary education several problems remain. These include the rural-urban divide, the massive gender gap that persists, the participation and achievement differences among social groups and in particular the difficulties faced by the sizeable tribal populations in these areas. Ashram schools for tribals, notwithstanding many of their inadequacies that need addressing, show their promise in the tribal context. It is also important to keep the migrant childrens educational needs in mind, especially since in many districts migration due to livelihood compulsions is a serious matter for several months in a year and acutely so among several tribal groups in the state. Enrolment at school is not a serious problem any more though there are doubts about the veracity of claims in many cases. There are however important gaps that remain in all aspects mentioned above, by area, gender, social groups, etc. Retention at school or its obverse the dropout rate, and particularly as we go up the grade levels, is a more serious problem among different categories of students. Retention is a general and genuine problem, but it is more acute in rural areas, among low income groups, among girl students and SCs and STs. Typically a girl student drops out early to help in domestic chores and sibling care and in preparation of a new life after marriage at early age, and this problem is acute in low income groups, rural areas and disadvantaged social groups. And the dropout rate assumes precipitate levels at puberty for girls. It is however not true that the situation is satisfactory for boys at that level either, though the context could be different. It is frequently the inability to support education against the competing compulsion of working for livelihoods. It is also issues of relevance of curricula, the quality and quantity of teaching material and the inadequate infrastructure that are relevant. An inadequacy that is particularly felt is the quality and commitment of teachers and their adequacy and attendance in schools, particularly in rural areas. Teacher availability and absenteeism when employed continue to remain relevant. In order to address the issue of inadequacy of teaching staff in primary schools, special emphasis may be given to recruitment of female teachers. This may open up avenues for female workers, especially those who are willing to re-enter the job market at a later stage of their reproductive phase. This may yield double dividends; one in terms of gender empowerment and another in the form of obtaining stable and committed teaching staff from the local communities. This

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group may also get themselves involved over time in the larger issues of governance with greater empowerment in the process. Community participation and endeavors are important in this context. This perhaps suggests a need to re-think over the entire issue of educational system, which may essentially require participation of the parents and community more than the involvement of the private sector for creating a parallel system for schooling and coaching classes that may create further divisions between the poor and the rest. A vigilant civil society is critical to good governance both of which continue to remain inadequate for MP. A prognosis of what actions are possible, in addition to education and political empowerment of the people that is underway, is seriously called for and some issues are raised in this context. One reason for this is the fractured nature in the composition of MP as a state and the continued domination of conservative forces in the ruling elite. Lack of an industrial culture and a docile peasantry, and the absence of a critical intelligentsia while they provide a peaceable social milieu, is not quite the fertile ground for such a civil society.

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Chapter 2: Poverty Reduction Strategy in Madhya Pradesh: An Overview 1. Introduction: With about 38 per cent of people living below the official poverty line during 200405, the state of Madhya Pradesh accounted for nearly 11 per cent of the total poor population in the country (Dev and Ravi, 2007). Of these, tribals are the most poor among social groups as found elsewhere in most parts of India. Tribal communities are the most poor among social groups as found elsewhere in most parts of India. In rural area 58.6 per cent of the tribal population was found to be poor as compared to 42.8 per cent among the (SCs). The incidence of poverty among STs and SCs in Madhya Pardesh is significantly higher than that at the All India level. Tracking the high and persistent poverty in the state thus poses a serious challenge especially in the wake of the large but stagnant agrarian economy in the state. Recent policy documents for the state have appropriately emphasized the central role for agriculture sector, engaging as it does 71 per cent of the workforce in the state, as the mainstay of the poverty reduction approach during the next 5-10 years5. It also lays specific emphasis on development as well as provisioning of economic and social infrastructure with special thrust on expansion of roads and power network in the rural areas. The target is to reduce poverty from 38 to 25 per cent during the XI plan period. Though fairly valid, the approach however may need fine tuning and further detailing in the light of the context specific scenarios pertaining to a) natural resource endowment, b) past experiences with respect to some of the major poverty reduction programmes, and above all c) socioeconomic-political dynamics influencing the nature and effectiveness of governance at various levels. At the outset it may be reiterated that Madhya Pradesh is characterized by certain special features that constrain, and at times offer, potentially facilitating environment for economic growth and poverty reduction. Some of the important facilitating factors include the states central location, rich natural resources, and relatively less conflict ridden socioeconomic political environment, whereas the major constraints seem to have been in terms of its feudal agrarian relations, absence of historical trade links, and above all the lack of a clear
5

The GoMP has prepared a Draft Annual Plan for 2009-10 (www.mp.in/sbp/annualplan/AP-200910/home9x.htm). This paper draws upon and refers to this document at various points.

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strategy for driving economic growth. While some of these factors appear similar to that found in the other neibouring states (in the `BIMARU category) such as Rajasthan on the west side and Chhatisgadh, Orissa, Bihar on the eastern side, there are a few distinct features that make MP fairly different from these states. It is essential to understand the finer aspects of these distinguishing features so as to be able to understand the genesis of persistent poverty and the dynamics of growth (or lack of that) in the state. This paper aims at identifying certain specific attributes of what could be described as `agriculture centric and human development focused strategy for poverty reduction in the light of the context specific scenarios obtaining across sectors and regions in the state. The paper is structured as follows: The next section 2 presents a brief recapitulation of macro economic environment in the state, followed by the challenges of poverty reduction and human development in section 3. Section 4 deals with sectoral thrust covering agriculture and forests; industries, mining and energy; and health and education. The next section focuses on some of the cross cutting aspects such as infrastructure development and right based approach for access to resources/amenities, employment, and information. Section 6 discusses the issues pertaining to governance in the light of the political economy of poverty reduction in the state. The last section 7 highlights major policy implications that need immediate attention. 2. Macro Economic Environment: Imperatives for Poverty Reducing and Sustainable Growth Madhya Pradesh has relatively low economic base and a fairly slow pace of growth in terms of state domestic product. In 2007-08 per capita Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) in Madhya Pradesh was Rs. 13299, which was almost 55 per cent of the all India level. During 1999-00 and 2007-08 per capita NSDP has grown 0.8 per cent per annum as compared to 4.85 at the national level. This more or less suggests a scenario of stagnancy in the state economy accompanied by fairly substantial rise in population till the recent times. The problem of low initial level of economic development is accentuated by sustained lower rate of growth in the NSDP, which grew at the moderate rate of 2.51 per cent during the same period.

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Of late the state economy has shown some degree of buoyancy registering a growth rate of 3.78 per cent per annum during the period 1999-00 to 2007-08. While a part of the buoyancy could be due to the abysmally low growth (i.e. 0.74 % per annum) during the early part of 2000, it is nevertheless important to take note of the developments that have contributed to the rise in NSDP in the period after 2003-04. The sectoral distribution of growth suggests that a large part of the increase has come from secondary sector, followed by the tertiary sector. Unpacking the sources of this growth is important for gauging its implications of poverty reduction. It seems that the recent increase in the growth rate of secondary and tertiary sectors is rooted in fresh investment coming to industrial sectors and the expansion of the Government sector. Would this help reducing poverty of the kind that persists in the state in the short or medium term? It is pertinent to address this question while discussing the poverty reduction strategy in the subsequent analysis in the paper. On the other side agriculture sector, accounting for about 28-30 per cent of the NSDP does not show significant improvement. During 2003-04 and 2007-08, the sector had grown at 0.34 per cent per annum, despite the state having experienced relatively better monsoon during most parts of this period. The pertinent questions in this context are: Why has agriculture sector failed to show any buoyancy in the recent period? And, what needs to be done in order to lift the sector from its long drawn stagnancy syndrome in a manner that helps the poor on a sustained basis? Getting a more nuanced understanding is crucial as the sector has already received the due priority in the wake of the recent policy thinking in the state. The long drawn stagnancy in the state economy has led to a sense of urgency for boosting up economic growth during the XI Five Year Plan. The target is to attain 7.9 per cent rate of growth taking a major leap from the modest rate of 3.8 per cent achieved during 2003-04 and 2007-08. The sectoral targets are set as 5, 10, and 8 per cent for primary, secondary and tertiary sectors respectively. While the urgency and hope (based on the recent upsurge of growth in secondary and tertiary sectors) is well in place, it is imperative to examine the feasibility and the strategy that may actually work on ground towards meeting the target. Apart from benefiting directly from the sector specific growth, the state also needs to boost up its economy in order to access its own resource base for investing that in various 14

priority sectors, including agriculture and infrastructure development both economic and social. In absence of this, the state is bound to continue its dependence on the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) for development in general and poverty reduction in particular. This syndrome of excessive dependence on CSS may have its own flip side especially because of the restrictions they may impose on prioritization, sequencing and continuity of such interventions. However, a relevant issue that emerges in the context of the states access to financial resources is that of its effective use. This is important because generating the requisite additional resources by boosting up economic growth within the state may take longer than 5-10 years. Meanwhile the state may continue to draw from the already existing schemes of the Central Government. In both cases the issue of `how effectively these resources have been used would remain critical, hence warrants careful introspection. It is here that the larger question of governance and the political economy shaping that comes to the centre stage of the poverty reduction strategy discussed later in the paper. 3. Multidimensional Poverty and Human Development: Interface and Challenges Extent and Nature of Poverty: While the state has achieved notable reduction in poverty since the mid seventies, the rate of poverty reduction in the more recent period (i.e. during 1999-00 and 2004-05) has come to a halt, if not undergone reversal in the direction of change. Similarly the poverty gap
and squared poverty gap (denoting depth and severity of income deprivation among the poor) indexes

also decreased during this period in the state but the rate of decrease in these indexes has also
been slower compared to the national average as well as most of the major states of the country. The

rate of poverty reduction in M.P. was 1.09 as against the national average of 1.96 per cent per annum. Similarly the poverty gap and squared poverty gap indexes also decreased during this period in the state but the rate of decrease in these indexes has also been slower compared to the
national average as well as most of the major states of the country. According the estimates by Dev

and Ravi (2007), nearly 16 per cent of the population in the state was in the category of very poor, whose expenditure level is below 75 per cent of the official poverty line. This is substantially higher than the national average of 10.3 per cent. This proportion is higher than Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Unlike the all-India average, the incidence of poverty is higher among urban (42.7%) as compared to rural areas (36.8%). Prima facie, this may suggest the outflow of rural poor to 15

urban areas in search of livelihood options (UNDP, 2007 p. 74). While one finds a similar pattern in other states like Gujarat, the situation is not quite comparable due to the fact that: a) M.P., unlike Gujarat, is a state with net out-migration; and b) the relatively urban poverty is juxtaposed against a fairly high level of overall poverty (almost double that of Gujarat) in the state. The impact of migration is further reflected by rural-urban differences across regions shown on Table 1. Close to half of the rural population in Vindhya, central and southern regions in M. P. were poor during 2004-05. In urban areas, poverty is particularly high in Northern region besides central and southern regions in the state. A comparative analysis of NSSO-regions also suggest that all the six NSSO-regions in the state were among the top 20 regions with highest incidence of poverty in the country; and that five out of the six regions (except Northern) had appeared in the list of those that were present in the three consecutive rounds of the NSSO-survey since 1987 (Shah, 2007). This suggests that in a relative sense, poverty has been more or less intractable in most parts (regions) of the state; the only other state that shows a similar pattern is Bihar. Chronicity of poverty thus becomes an important feature of Madhya Pradesh, which essentially may call for a more structural diagnosis of poverty in the state, as discussed later in this paper. Apart from poverty being persistent and severe, the sate is also caught in a trap of multidimensional poverty capturing the critical dimensions of human development. As a measure of multi-dimensional poverty, Chaurasia (2009) has estimated district wise Human Poverty Index (HPI) by incorporating the following four indicators (See the figure below): Probability of a new born not surviving to 5 years of age. Proportion of population at least 15 years old illiterate - unable to read and write with understanding. Proportion of asset less households, households having none of the following six assets - radio/transistor, television, telephone, bicycle, scooter/motorcycle/moped, and car/jeep/van. Proportion of households without access to safe drinking water.

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Figure 1: Social Categorywise Multidimensional Poverty (%) in Madhya Pradesh 2001

Two important aspects emerge from these estimates. First, unlike the HCR, which takes into account only the money metric measure, human poverty index is found to be significantly higher in rural areas than that in urban areas. Secondly, STs are the most vulnerable social groups, a large proportion of which are located in forest based regions in the state. The estimate of Human Development Index (HDI) for M.P. during the year 2001 was 0.394 as against 0.472 for all-India. The state ranked fourth from the bottom, only after Bihar, Assam and Uttar Pradesh. Among districts in the state, the HDI varies significantly from more than 0.6 in the case of districts with major urban centers like Indore, Harda, Bhopal, Gwalior, Dewas, and Ujjain to as low as 0.398 in Jhabua.

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The various evidence presented in this report reveal that poverty (measured through head count ratio, HCR) in MP is fairly widespread; it has persisted over a long period in most parts of the state; and it has also spilled over from rural to urban areas. What is also important is that the HCR and HPI depict a divergent scenario across rural and urban areas in the state. Interface between Poverty (HCR) and Human Development: A recent analysis of the typology of major states in the country indicates that Madhya Pradesh falls into the category of a `vicious cycle with low levels of economic growth, per capita income, and human development (Shah and Shiddhalingaswamy, 2009). This however may not imply that the two sets of poverty-dimensions (i.e. income and human development) are entirely independent of each other. The analysis of rank co-relation among the three indicators viz; income, education and health capabilities across districts in the state brought out two important findings: First, income and educational capability have significant positive correlation. The causation, as indicated by several studies, may by and large imply that persons endowed with higher income ends up with better educational attainment; the causation to work in reverse direction may not be so strong especially at low levels of income. And, second, attainment of health status is not significantly linked with income or education. This may suggest that higher income may be a necessary but not sufficient condition for ensuring better health status as much would depend on the effective access and quality of health services besides affordability. Together the evidence reinstates the importance of working simultaneously towards income enhancement and provisioning of health-educational services. The important point however is that improvement of these two sets of poverty indicators should take place through processes that help building close links among each other lest the improvements turn out to be short-lived. Identifying the right kind of policies that could build convergence between income and human development aspects thus poses a critical challenge, which essentially goes beyond attaining higher economic growth or creating the requisite physical infrastructure for health and educational services per se.

4. Sectoral Strategies: Salient Features This section discusses strategies for strengthening three groups of sectors viz, agriculture and forest, industry and minerals, and education and health in the context of their 18

specific roles in poverty reduction in the state. While these sectors have been given due importance in the current Five Year Plan in the state, the focus here is to present a more nuanced understanding on what kind of growth in these sectors could work for poverty reduction on a sustained basis as against promoting growth per se. a) Agriculture and Forests: Given the critical dependence of a large proportion of the rural population on agriculture and forest resources in the state, this sector has unequivocally assumed the central stage of planned development and poverty reduction policies in the state. Evolving a strategy for pro-poor and sustainable growth in agriculture and forests, however, calls for a careful scrutiny of land and water resource endowment on the one hand and access to forest resources, especially among the tribals, on the other hand. The strategy for agricultureforestry based growth therefore needs to be fine tuned in the light of the situation analyses on these aspects. The policy approach at present has laid special emphasis on expansion and utilization of irrigation potential (both-surface and ground water) along with provisioning of road and energy infrastructure to support this `irrigation driven approach for agricultural growth in the state. While the critical role of irrigation in promoting agricultural productivity in the state can not be over emphasized, it is imperative to note that such an approach may meet with limitations set by geo-hydrological features, if not access and equity issues, obtaining across different ago-climatic regions in the state. The water resources in the state are marked by certain specific geo-hydrological features that may have significant bearing on the water resource development. Madhya Pradesh is a heterogenous state situated mostly on the upper watersheds of ten river basins with poor quality soils of low soil depth and high slopes and some black soils of medium to deep soil depth with flat slopes underlain by impervious hard rock. Consequently the natural recharge is low and despite a moderate rainfall most of the state is in a physically water scarce region. Thus the state comprises the uplands of Central India forming a drainage divide between north, west and east flowing rivers. It has a semi arid upstream topography with all the major rivers flowing outward from the state and lesser potential for natural water storage.

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This constraint on water availability was sought to be overcome by providing electricity at a subsidised rate for the operation of pumps and subsidised loans to purchase these pumps and other accessories. Thus farmers could tap the water stored in the deeper confined aquifers by sinking tube wells and installing submersible pumps and also the base flow in the streams and rivers through lift irrigation at relatively small capital and operating cost to themselves. In 1993 the supply of electricity to agricultural pumps of 5 horsepower or less was made free by the government, thus further reducing the cost of water. In a situation in which this extraction cost was rendered close to zero by electricity being made free and the water, itself being a common property resource, did not have any price attached to it and neither did its depletion result in a scarcity value, all the farmers tended to use as much water as they could get, in the long run the water would be finished even if a few farmers adopted a more conservationist approach. Consequently the groundwater situation in the state has become very serious. The strategy for agricultural growth therefore needs to seriously address these issues. This essentially may imply a) moving towards a more water saving rather than water intensive crops and technologies; and b) shifting to farming systems approach to suit the agro-climatic conditions ranging from dry land to humid and forest-linked agriculture. Promotion of skill and labour intensive farm practices to partly replace use of chemical inputs may simultaneously help reducing cost and increasing the demand for productive labour in the sector. Enhancing soil moisture profile (rather than increasing the use of water per se), through development of watershed and small catchments should be given a higher priority in water resource development for promoting agriculture in the state. This should also provide impetus for generating additional bio-mass that may be required for building up soil fertility. In this context, forest-linked farming systems may deserve special attention. At the same time command area development requires special attention so as to harness the potential created through building of dams. There is urgent need to develop canal systems right up to the field channels with proper lining and also putting up drainage channels for carrying away the excess water. Land leveling of the farms within command area is very crucial for facilitating efficient use of the canal water. A legislation for participatory irrigation management is in place but its implementation needs to be 20

strengthened significantly. A large part of these activities could be undertaken through NREGS with pro-active involvement of the water users association. Overall, the need is to move in the direction of promoting skill (rather than input) intensive farming systems by providing adequate price and non-price support through proactive polices by the state. Forest Resources and Tribals Livelihood The legally notified forest area in the state is 95221 sq. kms., which is 31% of the total area of the state. Of this 61.7 % are under reserved forests, 37.4% are under protected forests and 0.9% is unclassified. The growing forest stock is estimated to be 500 lakh cubic meters and is valued at Rs 2.5 lakh crores. The government has constituted a Madhya Pradesh Minor Forest Produce Federation to oversee the collection, processing, marketing, research and extension related to these valuable resources so as to provide the maximum benefits to poor forest dwellers who are mostly Adivasis. The major challenge to forest management however is the pressure on the forests created by the livelihood needs of those residing in or near them, mainly the Adivasis. There are 6 lakh headloaders in the state who draw as much as Rs 250 crores worth of fuelwood every year. A livestock population of about two crores is also dependent on these forests for grazing. In addition 20 lakh cattle and other animals visit the state from Rajasthan every year. Apart from this there are encroachments for agriculture. There are as many as 50,000 encroachers occupying 1.43 lakh hectares of forestland. The pressure on forests tends to get aggravated because of the stagnancy in agriculture and the allied sector in the forest-based regions. It is therefore imperative to develop forest-linked farming system that generates additional bio-mass for building up of the soil fertility, thereby reducing dependence on external inputs such as chemical fertilizer and irrigation- the point already noted above. The idea is to make agriculture and forests complementary rather than substitutes for each other in providing livelihood support to the tribal communities in the region. The forests are managed by the forest department in accordance with working plans, which are drawn up every 10 years for each of the 60 forest divisions in the state. The legal authority in the hands of forest department staff has historically led to situations of 21

continuous contestations, corruption, and excessive extraction by various sources including the local communities. Of late the tribals have begun to organise themselves and demand their rights, particularly the right to a decent livelihood. The passage of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act 2006 resulted in a new situation with the rights of the forest dwellers strengthened. So far only about thirty thousand of the three and a half lakhs of claims for rights made under this Act in the state have been settled in a token manner, while for most of the others the process of verification has not even started. In many cases the claims have been rejected without due verification on the ground. This needs to be expedited. It may however, be noted that providing legal access to forests among the local communities may not necessarily result in regeneration and better management of forest resources. This is particularly important in the light of the fact that most of the land accessed by the triabls is already degraded thereby calling for additional investment for which the poor may not have any disposable funds. A lot more therefore needs to be done by way of promoting regenerative agriculture suitable to the ecology in the region. In this context, the recent moves towards payment of compensation for forest ecosystem conservation may assume special significance. What is however essential is that the forest dwellers should also receive a part of the compensation for regenerating/conserving the forests. Some of the provisions under the Climate Change framework may also be taken due advantage of. All these may call for region specific planning and strategies as has been discussed subsequently.

Credit and Market Support Access to institutional credit and marketing are equally critical for addressing the needs of the poor producers. The present set of interventions mainly in terms of Self Help Groups (SHGs) along with micro finance, and the modified Agricultural Produce Marketing Cooperatives (APMC) need fresh thinking. The experience from a large number of SHGs suggests that these institutions need to be made viable by creating federations and linking them with institutional finance. Also the SHGs need to be simultaneously dovetailed with the improvements to take place in the spheres of production and marketing. What is therefore essential is to ensure institutional support and hand holding over a longer period of time by creating dedicated organizations 22

within the Departments or NGOs or jointly by the two. The successful experiments from states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and also from parts of M.P. (e.g. promotion of SHGs by ASA) invariably suggest criticality of institutional support over a longer period of time. For rural marketing, the need is to balance between public (including cooperative) and private operators so as to ensure healthy competition for protecting the interests of both producers and consumers. The recent modification in the APMC therefore is a step in the right direction. There is however, ample scope for promoting producers organizations (including Producers Companies and Rural Business Hubs) for facilitating timely supply of inputs, processing of farm produce, and output marketing. All these, once again, will necessitate an umbrella organization for putting in place a regulating mechanism and overseeing the actual operations by different players. An umbrella organization such as this may have representatives from different segments of the market viz; the state, producers, private players, NGOs and consumers.

b) Industry, Mining and Energy: The growth experience in the secondary sector has a raised fair amount of optimism on the prospects of industrialization in the state. A closer look at the composition of the industrial sector in the state reveals that whereas the state does not have much presence in manufacturing industry (accounting for only 6 % of the NSDP), there has been an increasing thrust on promoting this sector by attracting mega projects for expansion in downstream projects and also SEZs so as to be able to keep pace with the developments elsewhere in the country. Such plans, as noted earlier, may involve longer time frame and also uncertainty about their realization, given the competitive fiscal incentives and concessions offered by already industrialized states in the proximity viz, Gujarat and Maharashtra. There are however, some new opportunities opening up with the development of the Delhi-Mumabi Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and also through the likely spill over effects of the industrial corridor in the eastern part of Gujarat. An important point in this context however is that even if these are realized in the next 5-10 years, industrialization of such type does not necessarily penetrate deeper into the hinterland, especially in the absence of dynamic agriculture sector in the periphery. Industrial growth of this type therefore may not assume special significance from the view point of poverty reduction in the present context. 23

On the other hand, the state is known for two important industrial activities. First, handloom and specialized textile-printing, and second, nature-historical tourism on the other. These two sub-sectors need special emphasis through comprehensive approach for cluster based development. Adding a special thrust of ecological conservation may hold special promise. It is imperative that promotion of traditional textiles and tourism is attained with a view to create employment/income opportunities for the local communities. These aspects are often missed out in the race of reaching out to large number of buyers/tourists from all over the world, with thrust on standardized or certified products/services to cater to high end market. The need however is to balance the sectors in such a manner that these activities may also retain their roots in local producers/entrepreneurs and buyers/customers. A similar approach may apply to mineral based industries though much of the resources have been already lost out to Chhatisgarh. Overall the industry-mining sector may be accorded relatively limited space in the context of poverty reduction in the state.

c) Health and Education: Madhya Pradesh has a dubious distinction of having the lowest expectation of life at birth in India which indicates that the health of the people of Madhya Pradesh is amongst the poorest in the country. It also reflects a comparatively high infant and child mortality rates for the state. According to the Sample Registration System, the expectation of life at birth in Madhya Pradesh was around 58 years during the period 2002-06 which was 5.5 years less than the expectation of life at birth for India as a whole (Government of India, 2008). The situation was radically different about 30 years ago, during 1971-75, when the expectation of life at birth in Madhya Pradesh was 47.6 years which was higher than the expectation of life at birth in Assam, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh (Government of India, 1984). If the trend in the expectation of life at birth is a reflection of the progress in health and well- being of the people, then the increase in the expectation of life at birth suggests that improvements in health and well-being of the people of Madhya Pradesh have been the slowest amongst the major states of India during the 30 years between 1971-75 through 2002-06. Obviously, poverty of health remains a major challenge in Madhya Pradesh. The persistence of poor health and well-being of the people of the state, incidentally, has important implications for other dimensions of poverty and hence for poverty reduction efforts. 24

The Government of Madhya Pradesh has drafted the State Health Policy quite sometime back. This policy still remains at the draft stage. It aims at addressing the issues of physical access; effectiveness and affordability of that may still remain a questionable proposition. It is however suggested that Madhya Pradesh Health Policy should focus on creating opportunities for the people of the state to adopt positive health seeking behaviour by making informed choices to ensure healthy life style for themselves, their family members and to build and sustain a healthy environment in which they live, work and play. It should be directed to achieve the following. 1) To increase the number of years of healthy life of the people of the state; 2) ensure lasting improvements in the health-related quality of life of the people of the state which reflects a personal sense of physical and mental health and ability to react to physical and social environments; and 3) eliminate health related inequalities or disparities across different segments of the population. To achieve the above goals, the action points are summarised in section 7 in bullets points. On Education front the state has performed relatively better through its massive efforts for raising the literacy level from 45 to 64 during 1991 and 2001. This seems to have been attained by expanding the network of primary schools and adult literacy centres. This involved massive recruitment of para-professionals (Shiksha Karmis) to teach in the schools. Initially a good move, the policy of para-professionals seems to have created major stumbling blocks in the delivery of educational services for the last five years. The situation is very grim as it arose out of what may be called a quick fix solution for spearheading the drive for enhancing literacy levels in the state. The para-professionals have more or less stopped attending to the schools in the wake of their pending demand - a salary hike and/or regularization of their services. What is in fact strange about this grim scenario is that no one in the villages, including the Panchayats and Shiksha Samitis, have formal platforms for voicing their demands for education in their respective villages. The situation needs immediate solution if the goal of universal primary education is to be met. The recent developments in the wake of Right to Education may help finding some solution to the basic problem of having the teachers to teach; the other issues of quality of education and facilities at the schools thus may get relegated to secondary concerns at this stage. 25

This perhaps suggests a need to re-think over the entire issue of educational system, which may essentially require participation of the parents and community rather than involvement of the private sector for creating a parallel system for schooling and coaching classes that may create further divisions between the poor and the rest. Another key concern that has emerged is the quality of education. The available evidence suggests that in terms of the quality of education, Madhya Pradesh ranks the lowest amongst the states and Union Territories of the country, although the state has done relatively better in improving the infrastructure and facilities. In this context, they need to revise their approach for teacher recruitment and teacher development. The state also needs to focus on higher and technical education also as the only way to develop human resources is through higher and technical education only. The state record in this context remains far from satisfactory. Privatisation of higher and technical education in the state has resulted in mushrooming of a large number of private institutions with grossly inadequate infrastructure and facilities and very little focus on research that contributes to improving the productivity of social and economic production system. State investment in the higher and technical education sector needs to be increased. At the same time regulatory mechanism for ensuring the quality and relevance of technical and higher education needs to be put in place. 5. Promoting Access to Infrastructure/Amenities and Rights based Approaches: Walking on Two Legs a) Access to Infrastructure/Amenities among Poor: Promoting sectoral growth with specific thrusts noted above however may necessitate support in terms of provisioning of various social and physical infrastructure and rights-based entitlements. There has been an increasing recognition of the welfare outcomes of infrastructural development world over. Access to infrastructure and basic amenities such as transport, electricity, housing, drinking water and sanitation, health, educational, and information services could have direct impact on quality of life and human well being, including measureable poverty reducing outcomes, besides the growth inducing impacts across the productive sectors. The recent Human Development Report for M.P. has highlighted the need for enhancing infrastructural facilities as a strategy for promoting economic opportunities, human development and poverty reduction. This indeed is an important break through from 26

the conventional approaches that laid major emphasis on promoting macro-economic growth for percolation to take place, which was later on followed by direct attack on poverty by way of supporting income and employment generating sectors for the poor, and subsequently provisioning of direct subsidies through social protection measures. Promoting infrastructural facilities in a state like Madhya Pradesh also assumes special significance in the sense that initiatives such as this could attract fresh flux of capital investment for which the state does not have their own resources. Given this rationale, the emphasis is likely to be more on large scale, capital intensive and perhaps growth promoting infrastructural projects such as irrigation, power generation, and road construction. The challenge in our context is to make the infrastructural agenda work directly in favour of the poor and the sectors on which they depend for their livelihood. Selection of the nature, scale, technology, ownership, and location of the infrastructural projects therefore needs to be seen by using the pro-poor lens. This would imply that: Drinking water should be given very high priority. Since much of the drinking water supply schemes depend on ground water, which has already been already over exploited, the focus should shift on harvesting and replenishing the water resources through micro level initiatives like watershed development and rain water harvesting rather than by digging more wells/bore wells and using electricity for pumping water and then transporting to distance places. Provisioning of physical infrastructure for health and education is important; what is however more important is to make the teachers teach in the schools that are already constructed. Also several of the rural infrastructures such as these could be planned, developed and managed by local communities through Panchyats and community organizations, which in turn may seek contribution in terms of labour and other resources available locally. Road connectivity plays a crucial role in accessing the above services at distant places and also for seeking economic activities outside the region. This would imply appropriate priority being accorded to rural roads, especially in remote areas. Markets and marketing of products of agriculture and micro and small enterprises face considerable hurdles in the absence of connectivity and other communications facilities and these get a major boost with physical infrastructure development. 27

Since poor in the state depend largely on agriculture and forests, electricity driven irrigation schemes may have limited scope for them given the geo-hydrological features noted earlier. Similarly, regeneration of forest ecology may not require development of large/medium irrigation schemes that lead to destruction rather than regeneration of forest resources.

Lastly, a number of schemes already exist for promoting rural housing and sanitation. The need is to work out more location specific solutions going beyond the predetermined norms of centrally/externally designed schemes. All these are not to deny the importance of some of the large scale, capital intensive

and growth inducing projects for infrastructural development. The bottom line however, is to ensure that larger projects such as these are not taken up at the cost of the pro-poor infrastructural initiatives. Balancing this is difficult, especially because creation and sustenance of pro-poor infrastructure in rural areas is far more complex than perhaps erecting a few mega projects. The complexities arise mainly because of the vast coverage, areas and beneficiaries, poor affordability, and absence of institutional mechanism at the local level for ensuring that poor have their equal share in the benefits.

b) Rights-based and Participatory Approaches Given the challenges of making the growth/development work for poor, a number of initiatives have been taken up for promoting community based participation in the process of implementation, if not so much in planning and designing. The state has taken a lead in initiating several of these initiatives such as watershed Development, NREGS, SSA, Drinking Water Mission, and joint Forest Management, credit support through Self-Help Groups and livelihood support to ST- SC populations. Also emphasis has been laid on gender equity especially in education and livelihood programmes. In fact, the policies, like in most other states and the country as a whole, consists of a number of well-intended schemes and programmes to reach out to the poor. The question is that of adequacy and more than that their effective coverage of the poor and the most marginalized among the communities and the regions. For instance, Madhya Pradesh has attained a fairly impressive track record in terms of implementation of NREGS and also for improving the school enrolment rate as well as literacy as compared to several other states. 28

While it is too early to make any judgment on the poverty reducing impacts of these initiatives, observations, though scattered, are at best mixed. Implementation of the Forest Rights Act, however is one of the weaker components in the rights based initiatives undertaken in the state. There is however immense scope for improving the efficacy of these special schemes and programmes such that they could actually make a difference on the life of the poor. Improving the effectiveness of these initiatives however, may call for corrections at both planning as well as implementation levels. The challenge is to go beyond the sectoral approach for development and evolve a more comprehensive strategy to reach out to the poor by identifying homogenous spatial clusters based on agro-ecological or social-political characteristics. While this essentially involves convergence of various sectoral schemes and rights-based programmes as envisaged by the newly crafted concept of Integrated Livelihood Progarmme6, the comprehensive approach mentioned above may go beyond horizontal convergence across the existing schemes. An important element in the comprehensive approach is systematic planning for the spatial clusters/regions based primarily on the resource endowment, socio-economic characteristics, geographical context or connectivity. An approach such as this may involve setting up of the region specific targets, priorities, resource allocation and also institutions that are suitable to the spatial clusters/regions. In doing so it may unshackle poverty reduction policies/initiates from the strait jacket approaches prescribed by Centrally Sponsored as well as Externally Funded Programmes that are presently at the forefront of poverty reduction policies in the state. Adopting such a comprehensive region specific approach would require getting back to the mode of systematic and multi-layered planning as against the present approach of floating a number of schemes (and perhaps convergence thereof) through lateral distribution of funds received through CSS or the donor agencies along with the priorities set by these agencies. The policy space created through some of the Rights-based initiatives may have greater chance of being used in favour of the relatively poorer and the marginalized among the rural communities.

These include convergence among MPRLP, DPIP, NREGS, SGSY, BRGF, IADP/DPAD, RKVY etc.

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An important aspect that needs special attention in this context is intra- and inter-state migration. Since migration is an important strategy adopted by many marginally non-poor to avert falling into poverty or by the poor to check further deepening of their poverty conditions, it is essential to factor-in migration while undertaking such planning exercises. 6. Decentralisation, Governance and Agency: Madhya Pradesh, in its present form, came into existence on November 1, 2000 following its bifurcation to create a new state of Chhattisgarh. The undivided Madhya Pradesh was founded on November 1, 1956. This occurred on the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines and whatever area remained unclaimed in the middle of the country by the dominant linguistic groups was lumped together to create the state. Consequently it is an artificially created unit, comprising of many parts which were governed as autonomous feudal states bereft of cohesive and binding forces. Thus, the most remarkable feature of the state is its huge expanse and the amalgam of numerous and diverse communities. This large spread translates into a range of socio-economic situations which in turn influence governance. Thus it is difficult to view it as one natural homogeneous entity. With the introduction of Panchayati Raj all over the country the formal democratic structures for grassroots peoples participation were set in place. More and more functions of governance and development at the local level were handed over to the panchayats by government and quasi-government agencies so as to strengthen these institutions of local governance, which provide a legal forum for the political empowerment of the poor. Madhya Pradesh has been a trendsetter in this sphere. Nevertheless the functioning of the Panchayati Raj system in the state still leaves a lot to be desired. In the absence of a vigilant civil society and comparatively low levels of educational attainment in the state the officials and other political functionaries have denied them full and effective autonomy and and have successfully coopted the elected PRI representatives into their circle. As a result misgovernance continues unabated in most cases. Consequently the third tier of democracy too continues to be controlled by and large by the bureaucracy and the Panchayat executive consisting of the Sarpanches and Panches and is riddled with corruption. What has been handed over in one hand in legal parlance is thus reigned in effectively by the other hand; this needs to be changed.

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A formal democratic structure invariably leads to the development of civil society pressure groups that bring pressure to bear on the recalcitrant bureaucrats and elected representatives for the proper functioning of the government and the administration; this is evident from the experience of democracy at the state and central levels in India over the past over half a century after independence and elsewhere in many mature democracies. So the strengthening of the Panchayati Raj system did promote the spread and growth of grassroots organisations of the poor that increased the demand for accountability from the government and administration. These initiatives, so far, has remained scattered; the formation of a consolidated force is yet to evolve in Madhya Pradesh. This is of critical importance in this society and the state. This brings us to the crucial point about the absence of agency to demand development in the state and making that pro-poor. Creation of M.P. state, as noted earlier, has subsumed a number of socio-cultural-political legacies, which perhaps made it difficult to create dominant native stake holders who would identify, articulate and exert their stakes in the processes of growth and development. As result, the state perhaps became subservient to the policy framework adopted and subsequently kept evolving at the national level. The question therefore is: who have been the important stake holders (or vested interests groups) to hold the torch of economic growth and/or poverty reduction in the state? The answer, like in several other predominantly feudal states, is the erstwhile ruling class, which soon got into the key positions as politicians, bureaucrats, professionals, traders and the urban elite. Absence of social movements and regional interest groups (otherwise reflected as relatively conflict free social-political milieu) may have led to further consolidation of their historically acquired power. Some of the recent initiatives through civil society organizations or social movements have set the stage for creating peoples agency for development. However, given the nature of the state and its polity, much of the energy of these emerging peoples agency is being spent on resisting some kind of development or the non-compliance and asymmetric implementation of the pro-poor programmes. This obviously, keeps the agenda of demanding a different kind of development unattended. While creating agency of the people to demand development is not a one-shot proposition to be achieved in the short run; however, not recognizing the absence of that may

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make the task almost unattainable. It is in this context that the importance of agency has been accorded a critical importance for developing the poverty reduction strategy for the state. An actionable point in the meanwhile is to evolve a strong `culture of independent monitoring and evaluation with the associated transparency and public debates around that. The present system of monitoring and evaluation is characterized by two extreme scenarios. On one hand there is a Departmental system of monitoring and evaluation, which generally remains influenced by the hegemony of the state with relatively limited scope for rigorous and transparent processes of evaluation; much of this is often not shared in the public domain. On the other hand, fresh space is being created for a transparent mechanism through social audits; this is also likely to remain for at least some time to come under the clutches of those with authority and power within a highly stratified and hierarchical society such as ours. Breaking away from these scenarios would necessitate putting in place a system of independent monitoring and evaluation with multi-stakeholder membership. Acknowledging the limitations in the public fora would open up a platform for more workable solutions for improvements in which both the state and the communities will have responsible roles to play. In any case, being transparent will earn credibility to the state for being on the side of the people, rather than being compelled to justify the inactions of a vast and multi-layered state machinery put in the helm of implementing a highly complex and challenging task of pro-poor governance.

7. Summing Up On the basis of the above discussions which are distilled from the detailed chapters to follow we make the following recommendations for Madhya Pradesh, which are by no means exhaustive. These are grouped by the issues covered, though they are not intended to be compartmentalized. Economic growth and Infrastructure Although income poverty has reduced, it is still fairly widespread except for one region in the state. Also the level of food inadequacy is fairly high. Therefore, promoting economic growth is inescapably an important channel for poverty reduction in the state.

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While infrastructural development plays a significant role in promotion of

economic growth in general and also for improving access to health-and educational services, that by itself may not yield the desired result as much of the growth potential in the state is linked to boosting up productive initiatives in the primary sector viz; agriculture and forestry on which large proportion of the poor depend for their livelihood. While a number of initiatives have already been taken up for promoting agricultural growth, employment and access to forest resources among the tribal communities in the state, it is imperative that these policies work in tandem with the larger goals of empowerment, which in turn may help creating/strengthening the agency of the poor to participate in the process of economic growth and human development. Agriculture and Allied Sectors Since agricultural growth is at the centre stage of poverty reduction, emphasis on technology and knowledge driven growth in productivity of crops and allied sectors is inevitable. Dissemination of the already available research findings and technologies especially for improving the seed quality and agricultural practices in dry land farming on small landholdings has to be taken up on priority. A detailed agro-climatic zone specific plan for various farming systems consisting of low external input/organic agriculture, horticulture, livestock, inland fishery and forestry will have to be drawn up and institutional support provided. Concerted efforts need to be made to process agricultural bio-mass a considerable part of which is wasted or burnt at present for conversion into fertiliser and energy. This will also reduce carbon emissions from agriculture and contribute to mitigation of climate change. Rural markets or "haats" should be developed further and provided institutionalised support in the form of greater credit and infrastructure for transforming them into agro-processing centres for post harvest processing and value addition. These should focus on various components of the farming systems. Processing and cold chaining of primary products like milk, meat and eggs for export out of the state and the country. Further development of the cooperative 33

federation and its corruption free operation so as to process and market meat and eggs in addition to milk. This will also ensure cheap nutrition for the poor. Fodder development on vast tracts of land lying barren with the forest department or in village commons through joint forest management along with institutional support to the informal rural livestock markets so as to ensure that the benefits of such markets reach the small livestock producers who are the most vulnerable.

Surface Irrigation and Soil and Water Conservation A programme of command area development must be taken up on a priority basis under which completion and renovation of canal systems, field channels and land levelling will have to be undertaken to fully realise the surface water irrigation potential already created. Once this is done, participatory irrigation management must be implemented properly and the operation of the centralised irrigation systems must be made as efficient and equitable as is possible. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme primarily and all other employment and rural development schemes should be geared to local area specific soil and water conservation activities on a large scale. Stress should be laid on mobilising the community for the construction and later maintenance of the structures. Particular attention should be given to artificial recharging of groundwater. The Central Groundwater Board has prepared a detailed district wise National Master Plan on Artificial Recharge and this needs to be implemented immediately. Forest Management A massive participatory afforestation and conservation programme has to be undertaken using NREGS funds in the head reaches of all the major rivers originating in Madhya Pradesh and especially in the Chambal basin which has become highly denuded. This may involve greater and more effective implementation of Joint Forest Management Projects in minor forest produce collection, processing and marketing. 34

A special cell should be set up to identify potential projects that can qualify for carbon credits and then follow up with implementation and earning of credits under the Clean Development Mechanism.

The settlement of land rights of forest dwellers, mostly Scheduled Tribes, under the STOFRR Act must be completed with transparency and speed to improve the livelihood situation of lakhs of tribals.

Seasonal Migration Proactive measures are necessary to ensure that the migration experience is a positive one and the poor do not lose out on their entitlements in both their residence and their destination areas because of migration. All laws and policies in this regard should be implemented and a special department set up to take care of the migrants needs as the present labour department is ill equipped and under staffed for this purpose. Health and Education Support local level collective health action by creating and sustaining community partnerships for health care delivery especially by reaching out to non-traditional partners. Create health disaster management network by involving the entire health care delivery system and the broadest possible inter-sectoral and inter-institutional collaboration and coordination to reduce the impact of emergencies and disasters on the health of the people. Revamp and expand the human resources development (education and training) network to develop a healthy workforce profile that is adequate in terms of knowledge and skills for the delivery of health care services necessary to meet the health needs of the people. It is essential to make a paradigm shift from outlays to outcome approach for improving social sector attainments. This should essentially imply that basic health services for immunization and maternal health as well as basic literacy have to be ensured. Outcome based monitoring and incentives may help in achieving the desired shift. 35

Strengthen monitoring, evaluation and analysis of health and education status at household level and at the level of the community with especial emphasis on identifying disparities in the access and effectiveness of the public service systems.

In order to address the issue of inadequacy of teaching staff in primary schools, special emphasis may be given to female teachers. This may open up avenues for female workers, especially those who are willing to re-enter the job market at a later stage of their reproductive phase. This may yield double dividends; one in terms of gender empowerment and another in the form of obtaining stable and committed teaching staff from the local communities.

Grassroots Governance The Gram Sabha and small Ward Sabhas in urban areas must be made the paramount bodies for deciding on the management of all the cultural, social, economic and political activities of the people. A massive awareness campaign must be conducted and appropriate institutional support provided to actualise the immense potential of the provisions under The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and The Right to Information Act. The administrative and infrastructural obstacles to the successful implementation of the NREGS should be addressed and resolved as quickly as is possible. Micro-finance and Micro-credit through SHGs are a viable community based solution to the serious problem of lack of access to cheap institutionalised credit for the poor. This should be promoted along with stricter regulation of usurious moneylending. These measures will especially benefit women who are normally excluded from the development process. NGOs should be involved in awareness building, training and monitoring and also in the implementation of pilot projects for communitarian development. Successful examples of communitarian development implemented in the state by NGOs should be given publicity and encouragement so that they sustain

36

themselves and also provide inspiration to others for replication on a wider scale. Rural Database Presently the rural data base is a non-participatory one and is being maintained by the Patwaris and other ground level staff in a non-transparent manner. Consequently the reality of rural deprivation and resource degradation is not adequately captured in this data base. The Gram Sabhas should be held regularly to update and validate the rural data base and make it more relevant for village level planning. Once this validation by the Gram Sabha takes place the data should be uploaded onto an online website which should then be available for all. An independent and transparent monitoring and evaluation system with multistakeholder membership to help creating a platform for moving into the direction of pro-poor Governance.

References: Chaurasia, A. (2009), Notes on Poverty in Madhya Pradesh, Background paper prepared for Madhya Pradesh Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, coordinated by Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai. CROMP (2009), Madhya Pradesh: the State of Children, Child Rights Observatory Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal. Dev, M. and Ravi, C. (2006), Poverty and Inequality: All India and States, 199832005, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 41, No.6, 509- 521. Shah, A. (2007), Patterns, Processes of Reproduction, and Policy Imperatives for poverty Reduction in Remote Rural Areas: A Case Study of Southern Orissa in India, Working Paper No. 179, Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad. UNDP (2009), Madhya Pradesh: Human Development Report, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

37

Chapter 3: Economic Growth

The importance of economic growth in poverty reduction lies in the fact that despite multi-dimensional nature of poverty, economic growth is the engine for all poverty reduction efforts. Evidence from all over the world clearly indicate that domestic policies have important effect on sustained economic growth including prudent macroeconomic management. Macroeconomic stability provides an important precondition for higher economic growth rates and also helps in preventing the resurgence of inflation and scarcity of resources for poverty reduction activities. High inflation can also stifle expansion of the economy thereby limiting the opportunity for participation in the economic and social production processes. The most commonly used approach to analyse the growth and expansion of the economy is the analysis of the domestic product of the state. The domestic product can be measured either in gross terms or in net terms which also takes into account the depreciation on the capital stock. Both the gross domestic product (GDP) and the net domestic product (NDP) are measured at current prices and at fixed prices to eliminate the effect of inflation while measuring changes over time.

Figure 1 Growth of the Economy of Madhya Pradesh

Total (Billion Rupees)
1400
GSDP(C) NSDP(C) GSDP(F)

Per Capita (Thousand Rupees)

20
GSDP(C) NSDP(C) GSDP(F) NSDP(F)

18

1200

NSDP(F)

16 1000 14 800 12

600

1999-00 2001-02 2003-04 2005-06 2000-01 2002-03 2004-05 2006-07

10 1999-00 2001-02 2003-04 2005-06 2000-01 2002-03 2004-05 2006-07

Estimates of GDP/NDP for existing Madhya Pradesh are available in two series: 1993-94 series and 1999-2000 series. The 1993-94 series provides estimates of GDP/NDP for 38

the existing Madhya Pradesh at current as well as at 1993-94 prices and relates to the period 1993-94 through 2003-04 (Government of India, 2008). The 1999-2000 series, on the other hand, provides estimates of GDP/NDP at current and 1999-2000 prices and relates to the period 1999-2000 through 2006-07. Since, different approaches are adopted in the construction of the two series, they cannot be combined into one integrated series. The discussion that follows is based on the 1999-2000 series.
Figure 2 Contribution to the Increase in Domestic Product
Real GDP Real NDP

70.12% 82.98%

4.86% 25.02%

2.08% 14.94%

Agriculture Industry Serv ices

Agriculture Industry Serv ices

According to the 1999-2000 series, the GDP at current prices in Madhya Pradesh increased from around 801 billion rupees in 1999-2000 to around 1282 billion rupees in 2006-07. This means that, at current prices, the economy of the state increased at a rate of 7.466 per cent per year during the period under reference. The NDP at current prices, on the other hand, increased from around 727 billion rupees in 1999-2000 to around 1122 billion rupees in 2006-07 which means that, after taking into consideration the depreciation on the capitals stock, the economy of the state, at current prices, grew at a rate of 6.716 per cent per year only. The situation appears to be radically different when the effect of inflation is eliminated. At 1999-2000 prices, the GDP increased at the rate of 3.325 per cent per year between 1999-2000 and 2006-07 whereas the NDP increased at a rate of just 2.840 per cent per year. In per capita terms, the growth of the economy has been even slower. In real terms, the GDP per capita increased at the rate of 1.41 per cent per year while the NDP per capita increased at a rate of 0.904 per cent per year between 1999-2000 and 2006-07 because the state population increased rapidly during this period. These growth rates suggest that the 39

growth of the economy of the state has yet to pick up the momentum and the contribution of the growth of the economy to the increase in the income of average individual has, at best, been marginal because of the rapidly growing state population. It is estimated that the population of the state increased at a rate of around 1.68 per cent per year during this period from around 58.67 million during 1999-2000 to around 67.09 million during 2006-07. In real terms, there has been no significant increase in the per capita income in the state as the per capita NDP increased from 12.834 thousand rupees during 1999-2000 to just 12.577 thousand during 2006-07. Another disturbing feature of the growth of the economy of the state is that nearly all the increase in the state domestic product has been confined to the service sector of the economy. In real terms, the GDP in the state increased by about 161 billion rupees between 1999-2000 and 2006-07 and more than 70 per cent of this increase was confined to the service sector. Similarly, the NDP in the state, in real terms, increased by about 117 billion rupees during the period under reference and almost 83 per cent of this increase was confined to the service sector of the economy. By contrast, the contribution of the agriculture and allied sector was less than 5 per cent in case of the increase in real GDP and only about 2 per cent in case of the increase in real NDP. The contribution of industry to the increase in real GDP and real NDP was 25 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. The slow to very slow economic growth in the state is also reflected in the growth of different sectors of the economy during the period under reference. The average annual growth rate of sector specific GDP or sector specific NDP at 1999-2000 prices has never been more than 4 per cent per year in any sector of the economy (Figure 3). The growth has been the slowest in the industry and in the secondary sector of the economy where the NDP at 1999-2000 prices increased at a rate of just around 1.8 and 1.3 per cent per year respectively. Growth of real NDP has been the fastest in the tertiary sector but, here too, the average annual growth rate has been around 3.5 per cent per year during this period. Another interesting, but very discerning feature of economic growth in Madhya Pradesh is the wide gap in the increase in the gross domestic product as compared to the net domestic product at current as well as at 1999-2000 prices in the secondary sector of the economy. For example, the gross domestic product at 1999-2000 prices in the secondary sector of the economy increased at an average annual rate of growth of almost 3 per cent per 40

year but the real net domestic product increased at an average annual rate of just 1.3 per cent per year. This shows that more than half of the growth in the secondary sector of the state economy has been subsumed by the depreciation on the capital stock. The very high depreciation on the capital stock in the secondary sector of the economy indicates that the capital stock is rapidly getting old and there has been little effort to replenish this stock probably and so obviously because of paucity of resources.
Figure 3 Sector Specific Growth Rates in Madhya Pradesh
Current Prices 1999-2000 prices

Primary

Primary

Secondary

Secondary

Tertiary

Tertiary

4 GSDP(C)

6 NSDP(C)

10

4 GSDP(F)

6 NSDP(F)

10

A very significant depreciation on the capital stock in the secondary sector of the economy appears to be the result of the deterioration of the manufacturing sector in the state. At the current prices, the trend growth rate of the gross product of the manufacturing sector was more than 4 per cent per year during the period under reference. However, the trend growth rate of net product of the manufacturing sector was only about 0.6 per cent per year indicating that most of the growth in this sector of the economy was subsumed by the depreciation on the capital stock. On the other hand, the trend growth rate in the net product in this sector at 1999-2000 prices has been negative (Figure 4). This suggests that the manufacturing sector in the state appears to be in a total mess and there has been little new input into this sector in real terms in recent years. It is also possible to segregate the manufacturing sector into organised and unorganised sector. This segregation suggests that it is the organised manufacturing sector that has seriously faltered in the state during the period under reference. At the 1999-2000 prices, the gross product of the organised manufacturing sector decreased, instead of 41

increasing, at an average annual rate of around 0.8 per cent per year whereas the net product decreased at the rate of more than 5 per cent per year. The consolation, however, is that the decrease in the gross product in the organised sector was compensated by the increase in the gross product in the unorganised sector but this could not happen in case of net product because of very high depreciation on the capital stock in the organised manufacturing sector.
Figure 4 Sector Specific Growth Rates in Madhya Pradesh
Current Prices
Agriculture GSDP(C) Forestry & logging Fishing Mining & quarrying Manufacturing Construction Electricity,gas and Water supply Transport,storage & communication Trade,hotels and restaurants Banking & Insurance Real estate Public administration Other services NSDP(C) Forestry & logging Fishing Mining & quarrying Manufacturing Construction Electricity,gas and Water supply Transport,storage & communication Trade,hotels and restaurants Banking & Insurance Real estate Public administration Other services GSDP(F) NSDP(F)

1999-2000 Prices
Agriculture

12

16

-4

12

The foregoing discussions clearly suggest that economic growth in Madhya Pradesh has best been skewed. Most of the economic growth in the state has been confined to the services sector of the economy while the growth of primary and secondary sectors appears to have faltered during the period under reference. Interestingly, this pattern of economic growth in the state has taken place at very low levels and little increase in per capita income and amidst faltering or stagnation in the growth of primary and secondary sector of the economy. At the same time, there appears little shift in the structure of the labour force in the state. As such, the service-sector led economic growth in the state appears to be puzzling. In fact, it has been argued that output of the services sector is perhaps overestimated because of at least three reasons (Nagraj, 2009): 1. 2. 3. The growth of the private corporate sector has been inflated. There has been a slower rise in the services deflator. The decrease in the cost of communications services has bee overestimated. The exceptional growth of the services sector of the economy has been widely attributed to technological changes in the social and economic production system and 42

economic reforms (Kochhar, et. al, 2006). There has however been very little transition in the economy of the state. The share of the primary sector has decreased only marginally whereas the share of the secondary sector has remained more or less unchanged during the period under reference in terms of gross domestic product. In terms of the net domestic product, the share of the secondary sector has somewhat declined while that of primary and tertiary sectors has increased only marginally. Obviously, transition in the economy during the period under reference has been too slow to lead to any significant restructuring of the social and economic production system which is usually associated with technological change and economic reforms. The economy of the state appears to have virtually remained stagnant during the period under reference and there has been little vibrancy in the growth. The grossly unsatisfactory growth of economy reflects this lack of vibrancy.
Figure 5 Composition of Gross Domestic Product at Current Prices
1999-2000
Primary Secondary Tertiary

2006-2007
Primary Secondary Tertiary

46.02%

46.71%

20.64% 33.34%

20.57% 32.72%

Any discussion on the economic growth in the context of poverty reduction must also consider growth of the rural economy separately from the growth of the urban economy. Unfortunately, available data do not make such a comparison possible. However, some remarks can definitely be made on the basis of growth in different sectors of the economy. The very fact that the growth of the primary sector of the economy of the state has remained stagnant, if not shrinking, makes us believe that the rural economy of the state is not in a good shape. On the other hand, more than average growth in such sectors of the economy as transport, banking and insurance, real estate and even public administration indicates that more and more of the economic growth in the state is getting concentrated in the urban areas. 43

This trend suggests that economic growth in the state is fast resulting into the impoverishment of the rural population at the cost of concentration of employment and livelihood opportunities and accumulation of wealth in the urban areas. Clearly, patterns and trends of economic growth in the state do not appear to be favourable to nearly two third of the state population living in the rural and remote areas.
Figure 6 Composition of Net Domestic Product at Current Prices
1999-2000
Primary Secondary Tertiary

2006-2007
Primary Secondary Tertiary

47.00%

48.28%

18.37% 34.63%

16.88% 34.84%

The gross or net state domestic product or the per capita gross or net domestic product provide little information about the distribution inequality that is so pervasive in Madhya Pradesh. For example, the pattern of land ownership in Madhya Pradesh is highly skewed; about 82 per cent of the households falling in small and marginal farmers category own only 25 per cent of the land. By contrast, less than 2 per cent of the households falling in large farmers category own 17 per cent of the land (National Institute of Rural Development 1999). The income- or consumption-based measures of economic growth are also insufficient to characterise economy driven development. The reason is that these measures relate to means to achieve ultimate ends rather than ends in themselves (Hulme and McKay 2005). Such ultimate ends can be conceptualised in terms of Sens capabilities framework (Sen 1985; 1990), which is later extended to distinguish instrumental and intrinsic freedom (Sen 1999). The key issue is that individuals and families differ in their ability to convert commodities and their associated characteristics into the achievement of functioning due to personal, family, social and environmental factors and upon public provision of key services. 44

Many of the limitations of the monetary measures of economic growth are widely accepted. One alternative is to focus on assets ownership. The assets that a household possesses, or to which, it has access, can be related to household income in the sense that the latter may be conceptualised as returns to these assets. In this view, a households income reflects the assets it commands and the returns, it is able to earn on these assets. At the same time, assets may be important to households in their own right. Having a sufficient level of assets also offers security; households can insure themselves against shocks and gain easier access to credit. The assets-based approach of measuring economic growth is also more suitable to address the issue of income inequality than the domestic product. Some of the information about the availability of specified assets at the household level is available through the 2001 population census. The 2001 population census also provides information about the use of banking facilities by the households. This information, given in table 13 separately for rural and urban areas as well as for the scheduled castes, scheduled tribe and non-scheduled castes and non-scheduled tribe population provides some interesting insight about the distribution inequality in Madhya Pradesh. Table 4 suggests that less than 28 per cent of the households in the state were using banking facilities whereas nearly 42 per cent of the households were having none of the specified assets at the time of 2001 population census. The rural-urban divided is also very much clear from the table. For the combined population, an urban household was more than two times as likely to use banking facility as a rural household. Similarly, an urban household was about three times less likely to have none of the specified assets as a rural household. Similarly, a Scheduled Tribe household in the rural areas of the state was more than four times less likely to use the banking facility than a non-Scheduled Castes/Tribes household in the urban areas. Similarly, a Scheduled Tribes household in the rural areas had about five times higher probability of having none of the specified assets than a non-Scheduled Castes/Tribes households in the urban areas. These disparities in the availability of specified assets as well as in the use of banking facilities clearly suggest that benefits resulting from the growth in the economy could not be shared equally by different population subgroups. Similarly, wide rural-urban gap in all population subgroups supports the observation that most of the dividends of economic growth and in Madhya Pradesh have been limited to urban areas. Even in the non Scheduled Castes/Tribes population, the proportion of urban households using a banking 45

facility was almost two times more than the proportion of rural households. Similarly, the proportion of rural households without any of the specified assets were nearly three times more than the proportion of urban households. The poor state of economy of the state is well reflected in the foregoing analysis of the economic growth and there are areas of concern. First, growth of the economy of the state has been very slow in real terms during the period under reference. Moreover, a very substantial proportion of this growth in the economy has been subsumed by the growth in population so that there has been hardly any increase in the per capita income in the state. Such a growth implies low levels of surplus and hence inadequate funds for investment and low capacity of the economy to grow at its own. A near static per capita domestic product implies inadequate capacity of the poor households to break out of their economic equilibrium by leveraging external funds and/or investments to change their situation. Such economic growth also implies low growth of employment and increasing levels of underemployment and casualisation of labour which affects the poor most as they cannot remain unemployed. Obviously, such a growth in the economy contributes little to poverty reduction. Second, whatever growth in the economy of the state has been there, it has been highly skewed. There is every evidence to suggest that the rural economy of the state, which caters most of the subsistence needs of nearly two third of the state population, has failed to grow during the period under reference. Most of the growth of the economy, in real terms, has been confined to such components of the economy as communication, transport including railways and banking and insurance. Growth of manufacturing sector in the state appears to have actually been negative in real terms while that of agriculture has been almost stagnant. Obviously, most of the state population remains devoid of the benefits of economic growth. It appears obvious from the foregoing analysis that the engine for poverty reduction efforts has faltered in the state in the recent past and cannot lead poverty reduction efforts. The implications of poor economic growth in the state are well reflected in other dimensions of poverty such as poor employment opportunities, unacceptable levels of health and low levels of education. State initiatives in accelerating the growth of the economy appear to be without clear direction and somewhat inadequate. One of the goals of the XI Five-year Development Plan 46

(2007-2012) of the state is to achieve growth of around 7.6 per cent in the gross state domestic period at current prices during the plan period. To achieve this growth rate, the state aims at a growth 5 per cent in the primary sector of the economy; 10 per cent in the secondary sector and 8 per cent in the tertiary sector of the economy (Government of Madhya Pradesh, 2007). Recognising the fact that the population of the state is projected to be growing at least around 1.6 per cent per year during the XI Plan period, the increase in the per capita gross domestic product at current prices over the five-year plan period is expected to around 5 per cent. It is obvious, the goals set in the XI Five-year Development Plan of the state, even if achieved as planned, will lead to only a marginal increase in the per capita income in real terms. Such an increase in the real income per capita is excepted to contribute little towards reducing poverty. In order to put the poverty reduction engine at full steam, Madhya Pradesh is required to do much more to accelerate economic growth through vertical and horizontal expansion of its social and economic production system as well as reducing distribution inequality across social groups. The XI Five-year Development Plan of the state, however, is silent in this regard.

Accelerating Economic Growth In the context of poverty reduction, accelerating the growth of the economy of the state remains perhaps the most important development challenge. It is also crucial in the context of poverty reduction that this growth must be pro-poor. As discussed earlier, one way to accelerate the growth of the economy is the horizontal and vertical expansion of the social and economic production system. Horizontal expansion means that the state economy needs to be diversified. Vertical expansion implies that the social and economic production system percolates down to the village and household level and is not confined to selected growth centres and large urban agglomerations. Expansion of the social and economic production system to ensure a spur in the economic growth can be arrived at through three broad approaches. The first approach is to provide economic stimulus to the existing social and economic production system so as to increase investment and hence productivity thereby accelerating growth. The second option is to build up the capacities that are necessary for the expansion of the social and economic production system. This approach is very similar to the human development approach that is currently 47

being professed as the new paradigm for development. Finally, the third approach of expanding the social and economic production system is through creating opportunities for expansion. This is an area which requires committed state intervention as leaving opportunities to market mechanism has been found to be associated with important risks that are well known and need not be repeated here. In the context of poverty reduction, it is necessary that the dividends of accelerated economic growth must be reflected in terms of: 1. increased participation of the people in the social and economic production system, 2. more equitable distribution of the surplus income accruing out of acceleration in the economy, 3. strengthening the existing and building new social and economic institutions so as to support further expansion of the social and economic production system, and 4. increased public expenditure in meeting the development and welfare needs of the people, especially the poor and deprived ones. The crux of the strategy towards accelerating economic growth in Madhya Pradesh should be directed towards building the capacity for the expansion of social and economic production system. There are two critical elements of this approach. First is the productive utilisation of the working age population. The state has a large workforce of unskilled workers whose productivity is extremely limited simply because these workers do not have necessary skills to increase their productivity. The situation can be changed significantly through a comprehensive human development programme that is directed towards converting the large unskilled workforce into skilled manpower necessary for the horizontal and vertical expansion of the social and economic production system. The second critical component of accelerating economic growth is the productive utilisation of the working age population. It may be pointed out here that with the decrease in fertility, there is a shift in the age structure of the population and an increasingly higher proportion of the population is getting concentrated in the working ages. The state can have rich dividends of this transition in the age structure of the population if productive utilisation of the working age population is ensured. This means that the state will have to create opportunities for the productive utilisation of the working age population. These opportunities are extremely limited at present. It may be emphasised here that once highly 48

skilled workforce is available and opportunities for their productive utilisation are in place, economic stimulus can contribute significantly in the expansion of social and economic production system leading to significant acceleration in the growth of the economy. It is suggested that Madhya Pradesh should first carry out a comprehensive review of the strengths and weaknesses of the prevailing social and economic production system following a SWOT analysis approach so as to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the system, the opportunities available and the potential threats that may hamper the expansion of the system. This review may then constitute the basis for developing and implementing a comprehensive plan of the expansion of social and economic production system. Such a review has never been carried out in the state. The approach towards expanding the social and economic production system in the state has always been ad hoc in nature and limited in scope. It may be emphasised here that there is not short cut for accelerating the growth of economy. Any plan for the expansion of social and economic production system must have a plan horizon of at least 10 years.

49

References Government of India (2008) State Domestic Product, 1999-2000 Series. http://mospi.nic.in/rept%20_%20pubn/ftest.asp?rept_id=nad03_1999_2000&type=NSSO accessed 10 February 2009. Government of Madhya Pradesh (2007) XI Five-year Development Plan (2007-2012) and Annual Plan (2007-2008). Bhopal, State Planning Commission. Hulme D, McKay A (2005) Identifying and measuring chronic poverty: Beyond monetary measures. Paper presented in the International Conference on The Many Dimensions of Poverty, Brasilia, Brazil. Kochhar et al (2006) Indias Pattern of Development: What Happened, What Follows? Journal of monetary Economics, Vol 53, No 5. Nagraj R (2009) Is service sector output overestimated? An enquiry. Economic and Political Weekly, January 31. National Institute of Rural Development (1999) India Rural Development Report. Hyderabad, National Institute of Rural Development. Sen AK (1985) Commodities and Capabilities. Oxford, Elsevier Science Publishers. Sen AK (1990) Development as capability expansion. Sen AK (1999) Development as Freedom. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

50

Table 1: Trends in domestic product and per capita domestic product in Madhya Pradesh.
Particulars 199920002000 2001 Current Prices 801.321 792.034 726.554 710.106 13.231 12.459 20012002 867.45 775.219 14.208 13.085 798.911 715.253 12.697 11.715 2002-2003 2003-2004 20042005 868.319 766.615 13.935 12.32 767.655 677.949 12.303 10.88 1028.386 908.706 16.19 13.465 855.305 753.999 14.306 11.87 20052006 20062007

GDP (billion Rs) NDP (billion Rs)

1072.819 1163.222 1282.016 936.899 16.576 13.693 886.226 781.011 14.476 12.068 1008.671 1112.248 17.649 14.015 923.713 810.057 15.304 12.29 19.108 14.346 962.541 843.796 16.578 12.577

Per capita GDP (thousand Rs) 13.658 Per capita NDP (thousand Rs) 13.658 GDP (billion Rs) NDP (billion Rs)

1999-2000 Prices 801.321 745.816 726.554 667.502 11.862 11.15

Per capita GDP (thousand Rs) 12.384 Per capita NDP (thousand Rs) 12.384 Source:

Government of India (2008)

Table 2:

Growth of the economy of Madhya Pradesh. (1999-2000 through 2006-2007)

Particulars

Trend growth rate (per cent) Current prices 1999-2000 prices 3.355 2.942 2.942 3.873 1.410 2.840 2.737 1.308 3.666 0.904

GDP Primary Secondary Tertiary Per capita GDP NDP Primary Secondary Tertiary Per capita NDP
Source: Authors calculations

7.466 8.437 6.930 7.037 5.338 6.716 8.220 4.812 6.503 4.707

51

Table 3:

Sector specific growth rates in Madhya Pradesh. (1999-2000 through 2006-2007)

Current prices GDP NDP 7.573 6.716 6.078 13.883 0.602 -0.797 3.355 10.407 4.289 9.527 5.338 5.971 15.488 5.971 8.654 3.977 7.251 5.866 1999-2000 prices GDP 2.840 1.613 5.022 4.081 0.501 -2.371 5.548 5.548 6.609 8.112 6.290 10.407 11.851 1.918 7.358 4.603 3.355 2.122 NDP 2.634 1.613 3.252 4.394 -2.469 -5.446 2.429 5.338 4.289 9.090 7.896 6.078 17.468 2.020 7.251 2.942 3.045 2.122

1 2 3 4 5 5.1 5.2 6 7 8 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 9 10 11 12 13

Agriculture Forestry & logging Fishing Mining & quarrying Manufacturing Manufacturing-Registered Manufacturing-Unregistered Construction Electricity, gas and Water supply Transport, storage & communication Railways Transport by other means Storage Communication Trade, hotels and restaurants Banking & Insurance Real estate, ownership of dwellings and business services Public administration Other services

7.788 6.716 8.112 12.750 4.289 2.942 7.144 10.517 8.981 10.076 7.896 10.186 13.542 5.866 8.763 7.251 7.681 5.971

Source: Authors calculations

52

Table 4: Contribution of different sectors to economic growth in Madhya Pradesh during 1999-2000 through 2006-07. Absolute increase (Billion rupees) GDP Current Fixed prices prices 112.893 5.454 7.742 1.763 1.443 0.621 29.324 6.447 33.454 2.484 18.149 -2.775 15.305 5.259 42.684 19.795 21.639 11.612 43.274 9.694 20.517 0 13.063 63.038 21.556 35.515 33.201 8.318 9.942 0 14.941 18.98 17.837 20.337 Proportional increase (Per cent) NDP GDP NDP Current Fixed Current Fixed Current prices prices prices prices prices 101.374 0.373 23.49 3.38 26.28 7.535 1.746 1.61 1.09 1.95 0.962 0.323 0.30 0.39 0.25 25.966 5.443 6.10 4.00 6.73 4.128 -12.199 6.96 1.54 1.07 -4.979 -14.738 3.78 -1.72 -1.29 9.107 2.539 3.18 3.26 2.36 40.959 18.788 8.88 12.28 10.62 9.215 5.479 4.50 7.20 2.39 33.554 5.016 20.106 0 8.433 62.934 20.613 16.398 31.112 7.963 9.768 0 13.381 19.067 16.776 10.374 9.00 2.02 4.27 0.00 2.72 13.11 4.48 7.39 20.59 5.16 6.17 0.00 9.27 11.77 11.06 12.61 6.05 8.02 100.00 8.70 1.30 5.21 0.00 2.19 16.32 5.34 4.25 5.19 10.90 100.00

1 2 3 4 5 5.1 5.2 6 7

Agriculture Forestry & logging Fishing Mining & quarrying Manufacturing Manufacturing-Registered Manufacturing-Unregistered Construction Electricity, gas and Water supply 8 Transport, storage & communication 8.1 Railways 8.2 Transport by other means 8.3 Storage 8.4 Communication 9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 10 Banking & Insurance 11 Real estate, ownership of dwellings and business services 12 Public administration 13 Other services All sectors Source: Authors calculations

Fixed prices 0.32 1.49 0.28 4.64 -10.41 -12.57 2.17 16.03 4.67 26.54 6.79 8.33 0.00 11.41 16.26 14.31 8.85 6.14 10.89 100.00

25.647 9.761 42.487 12.93 480.695 161.22

20.032 7.199 5.34 42.024 12.763 8.84 385.694 117.242 100.00

53

Table 5: Transition in the structure of the economy of Madhya Pradesh.

GDP (Current prices) 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 1 Agriculture 28.00 22.76 25.51 22.52 28.26 25.12 25.55 26.31 2 Forestry & logging 1.51 1.70 1.87 1.80 1.65 1.60 1.64 1.55 3 Fishing 0.24 0.26 0.24 0.21 0.21 0.26 0.24 0.26 4 Mining & quarrying 3.59 3.45 4.01 3.86 4.40 5.05 4.76 4.53 5 Manufacturing 12.29 12.57 11.47 10.78 9.68 10.62 10.46 10.29 5.1 Manufacturing-Registered 8.55 8.92 8.08 7.32 6.37 6.90 6.84 6.76 5.2 Manufacturing-Unregistered 3.74 3.65 3.39 3.45 3.31 3.72 3.62 3.53 6 Construction 5.80 6.37 6.03 6.68 6.58 7.19 7.20 6.95 7 Electricity, gas and Water 2.56 3.39 3.11 3.53 3.16 3.08 3.15 3.29 supply 8 Transport, storage & 5.98 6.24 6.46 6.77 6.43 6.88 7.11 7.11 communication 8.1 Railways 2.16 2.15 2.28 2.41 2.23 2.38 2.26 2.11 8.2 Transport by other means 2.68 2.89 2.88 3.03 2.88 3.08 3.28 3.27 8.3 Storage 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 8.4 Communication 1.14 1.19 1.30 1.33 1.32 1.43 1.58 1.73 9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 15.01 16.30 15.37 15.96 14.80 14.46 14.45 14.30 10 Banking & Insurance 3.42 3.79 3.89 4.67 4.31 4.02 3.96 3.82 11 Real estate, ownership of 6.81 7.47 7.51 8.04 7.23 7.26 7.20 7.03 dwellings and business services 12 Public administration 4.74 4.88 4.62 4.85 3.95 4.89 4.79 4.96 13 Other services 10.06 10.82 9.91 10.33 9.33 9.58 9.50 9.60 All sectors 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Source: Authors calculations

54

Table 6: Transition in the structure of the economy of Madhya Pradesh.

GDP (1999-2000 prices) 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 1 2 3 4 5 Agriculture Forestry & logging Fishing Mining & quarrying Manufacturing 28.00 1.51 0.24 3.59 12.29 8.55 3.74 5.80 2.56 5.98 2.16 2.68 0.00 1.14 15.01 21.58 1.74 0.25 3.50 12.76 8.95 3.81 6.58 2.95 6.60 2.34 2.89 0.00 1.37 16.48 3.95 7.68 4.93 11.01 100.00 25.04 1.92 0.23 3.44 11.67 8.08 3.59 6.21 3.06 6.75 2.43 2.84 0.00 1.49 15.75 3.82 7.46 4.60 10.07 100.00 20.94 1.88 0.21 3.72 11.09 7.41 3.68 7.04 3.31 7.36 2.58 3.02 0.00 1.77 16.35 4.59 8.08 4.84 10.58 100.00 26.34 1.70 0.23 3.62 10.18 6.61 3.57 6.84 3.15 7.32 2.46 2.94 0.00 1.91 14.91 4.13 7.59 4.07 9.92 100.00 24.22 1.62 0.27 3.81 10.81 6.93 3.88 6.82 3.24 7.70 2.51 3.05 0.00 2.14 14.61 4.37 7.74 4.85 9.95 100.00 24.21 1.58 0.25 3.64 10.66 6.90 3.76 6.95 3.33 8.09 2.59 3.18 0.00 2.31 14.72 4.54 7.78 4.64 9.60 100.00 23.88 1.44 0.26 3.66 10.49 6.83 3.66 6.88 3.33 8.43 2.66 3.26 0.00 2.50 14.46 4.70 7.78 4.96 9.72 100.00

5.1 Manufacturing-Registered 5.2 Manufacturing-Unregistered 6 7 8 Construction Electricity, gas and Water supply

Transport, storage & communication 8.1 Railways 8.2 Transport by other means 8.3 Storage 8.4 Communication 9 10 11 Trade, hotels and restaurants

Banking & Insurance 3.42 Real estate, ownership of 6.81 dwellings and business services 12 Public administration 4.74 13 Other services 10.06 All sectors 100.00 Source: Authors calculations

55

Table 7: Transition in the structure of the economy of Madhya Pradesh.

NDP (Current prices) 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 29.65 24.03 27.12 23.88 30.45 27.05 27.68 28.48 1.60 1.83 2.02 1.97 1.80 1.76 1.82 1.73 0.23 0.26 0.24 0.20 0.20 0.25 0.22 0.24 3.14 3.08 3.57 3.66 4.15 4.92 4.61 4.39 10.46 10.43 9.16 8.18 7.16 7.84 7.33 7.20 6.92 7.03 6.05 5.03 4.16 4.46 4.12 4.07 3.54 3.39 3.11 3.15 2.99 3.38 3.21 3.13 6.22 6.90 6.52 7.31 7.20 7.97 8.02 7.74 1.69 2.44 2.29 2.31 1.50 1.70 1.78 1.93 5.36 1.60 2.85 0.00 0.91 16.47 3.66 6.14 4.34 11.03 100.00 5.67 1.58 3.10 0.00 0.99 18.09 4.09 6.69 4.52 11.98 100.00 5.96 1.77 3.11 0.00 1.07 17.13 4.22 6.54 4.23 11.02 100.00 6.29 1.94 3.31 0.00 1.04 18.01 5.14 6.91 4.51 11.62 100.00 5.94 1.72 3.16 0.00 1.05 16.70 4.74 6.02 3.65 10.49 100.00 6.31 1.78 3.43 0.00 1.10 16.50 4.45 5.78 4.58 10.90 100.00 6.55 1.65 3.67 0.00 1.23 16.61 4.41 5.62 4.48 10.87 100.00 6.52 1.49 3.67 0.00 1.35 16.42 4.24 5.49 4.64 10.98 100.00

1 2 3 4 5 5.1 5.2 6 7

Agriculture Forestry & logging Fishing Mining & quarrying Manufacturing Manufacturing-Registered Manufacturing-Unregistered Construction Electricity, gas and Water supply 8 Transport, storage & communication 8.1 Railways 8.2 Transport by other means 8.3 Storage 8.4 Communication 9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 10 Banking & Insurance 11 Real estate, ownership of dwellings and business services 12 Public administration 13 Other services All sectors
Source: Authors calculations

56

Table 8: Transition in the structure of the economy of Madhya Pradesh.

1999-00 29.65 1.60 0.23 3.14 10.46 6.92 3.54 6.22 1.69 5.36 1.60 2.85 0.00 0.91 16.47 3.66 6.14 4.34 11.03 100.00 2000-01 22.69 1.87 0.25 3.11 10.63 7.06 3.57 7.15 1.92 6.05 1.77 3.09 0.00 1.18 18.33 4.34 6.90 4.55 12.21 100.00 NDP (1999-2000 prices) 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 26.52 22.05 28.26 25.84 2.07 2.06 1.86 1.77 0.22 0.20 0.22 0.25 2.93 3.50 3.25 3.50 9.43 8.51 7.61 8.10 6.09 5.10 4.31 4.50 3.34 3.41 3.30 3.60 6.71 7.71 7.49 7.48 2.24 2.05 1.42 1.94 6.26 6.95 7.02 7.46 1.90 3.06 0.00 1.30 17.53 4.20 6.53 4.19 11.17 100.00 2.09 3.29 0.00 1.57 18.46 5.13 7.00 4.48 11.91 100.00 2.03 3.23 0.00 1.76 16.85 4.62 6.45 3.76 11.18 100.00 2.10 3.37 0.00 1.99 16.52 4.89 6.51 4.53 11.22 100.00 2005-06 25.92 1.74 0.23 3.33 7.69 4.25 3.44 7.65 2.08 7.92 2.22 3.52 0.00 2.18 16.73 5.03 6.51 4.30 10.87 100.00 2006-07 25.57 1.59 0.24 3.35 7.56 4.21 3.35 7.58 2.11 8.30 2.32 3.61 0.00 2.37 16.44 5.14 6.52 4.59 11.01 100.00

Agriculture Forestry & logging Fishing Mining & quarrying Manufacturing Manufacturing-Registered Manufacturing-Unregistered Construction Electricity, gas and Water supply Transport, storage & communication 8.1 Railways 8.2 Transport by other means 8.3 Storage 8.4 Communication 9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 10 Banking & Insurance 11 Real estate, ownership of dwellings and business services 12 Public administration 13 Other services All sectors Source: Authors calculations

1 2 3 4 5 5.1 5.2 6 7 8

57

Table 9: Domestic product of Madhya Pradesh. (Billion rupees)

GDP (Current prices) 1 2 3 4 5 5.1 5.2 6 7 8 Agriculture Forestry & logging Fishing Mining & quarrying Manufacturing Manufacturing-Registered Manufacturing-Unregistered Construction Electricity, gas and Water supply Transport, storage & communication 8.1 Railways 8.2 Transport by other means 8.3 Storage 8.4 Communication 9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 10 Banking & Insurance 11 Real estate, ownership of dwellings and business services 12 Public administration 13 Other services All sectors 1999-00 224.388 12.117 1.886 28.794 98.461 68.497 29.965 46.459 20.479 47.917 17.332 21.469 0.000 9.116 120.251 27.390 54.596 37.959 80.625 801.321 2000-01 180.282 13.483 2.053 27.354 99.560 70.648 28.912 50.422 26.840 49.425 17.048 22.926 0.000 9.451 129.063 30.038 59.166 38.636 85.713 792.034 2001-02 221.320 16.188 2.092 34.798 99.497 70.091 29.406 52.296 26.973 56.037 19.792 25.010 0.000 11.235 133.306 33.743 65.165 40.083 85.953 867.450 2002-03 195.552 15.624 1.807 33.510 93.572 63.587 29.985 58.029 30.640 58.828 20.923 26.349 0.000 11.556 138.567 40.580 69.824 2003-04 290.661 16.974 2.191 45.223 99.525 65.532 33.993 67.714 32.472 66.135 22.888 29.646 0.000 13.601 152.240 44.296 74.326 2004-05 269.458 17.158 2.784 54.226 113.965 74.069 39.896 77.103 32.992 73.841 25.484 33.001 0.000 15.356 155.094 43.084 77.865 2005-06 297.219 19.029 2.773 55.317 121.642 79.527 42.115 83.730 36.609 82.761 26.255 38.130 0.000 18.376 168.127 46.015 83.777 2006-07 337.281 19.860 3.329 58.118 131.915 86.646 45.269 89.142 42.118 91.191 27.026 41.986 0.000 22.179 183.289 48.946 90.110

42.111 40.657 52.424 55.745 63.605 89.676 95.974 102.827 110.479 123.112 868.319 1028.386 1072.819 1163.222 1282.016

Source: Government of India (2008)

58

Table 10: Domestic product of Madhya Pradesh. (Billion rupees)

1999-00 224.388 12.117 1.886 28.794 98.461 68.497 29.965 46.459 20.479 47.917 17.332 21.469 0.000 9.116 120.251 27.390 54.596 37.959 80.625 801.321 2000-01 180.282 13.483 2.053 27.354 99.560 70.648 28.912 50.422 26.840 49.425 GDP (1999-2000 prices) 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 221.320 195.552 290.661 269.458 297.219 337.281 16.188 15.624 16.974 17.158 19.029 19.860 2.092 1.807 2.191 2.784 2.773 3.329 34.798 33.510 45.223 54.226 55.317 58.118 99.497 93.572 99.525 113.965 121.642 131.915 70.091 63.587 65.532 74.069 79.527 86.646 29.406 29.985 33.993 39.896 42.115 45.269 52.296 58.029 67.714 77.103 83.730 89.142 26.973 30.640 32.472 32.992 36.609 42.118 56.037 58.828 66.135 73.841 82.761 91.191

1 2 3 4 5 5.1 5.2 6 7 8

Agriculture Forestry & logging Fishing Mining & quarrying Manufacturing Manufacturing-Registered Manufacturing-Unregistered Construction Electricity, gas and Water supply Transport, storage & communication 8.1 Railways 8.2 Transport by other means 8.3 Storage 8.4 Communication 9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 10 Banking & Insurance 11 Real estate, ownership of dwellings and business services 12 Public administration 13 Other services All sectors

17.048 19.792 20.923 22.888 25.484 26.255 27.026 22.926 25.010 26.349 29.646 33.001 38.130 41.986 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 9.451 11.235 11.556 13.601 15.356 18.376 22.179 129.063 133.306 138.567 152.240 155.094 168.127 183.289 30.038 33.743 40.580 44.296 43.084 46.015 48.946 59.166 65.165 69.824 74.326 77.865 83.777 90.110 38.636 40.083 42.111 40.657 52.424 55.745 63.605 85.713 85.953 89.676 95.974 102.827 110.479 123.112 792.034 867.450 868.319 1028.386 1072.819 1163.222 1282.016

Source: Government of India (2008)

59

Table 11: Domestic product of Madhya Pradesh. (Billion rupees)

1999-00 224.388 12.117 1.886 28.794 98.461 68.497 29.965 46.459 20.479 47.917 17.332 21.469 0.000 9.116 120.251 27.390 54.596 37.959 80.625 801.321 NDP (Current prices) 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 180.282 221.320 195.552 290.661 13.483 16.188 15.624 16.974 2.053 2.092 1.807 2.191 27.354 34.798 33.510 45.223 99.560 99.497 93.572 99.525 70.648 70.091 63.587 65.532 28.912 29.406 29.985 33.993 50.422 52.296 58.029 67.714 26.840 26.973 30.640 32.472 49.425 56.037 58.828 66.135 17.048 22.926 0.000 9.451 129.063 30.038 59.166 38.636 85.713 792.034 19.792 25.010 0.000 11.235 133.306 33.743 65.165 40.083 85.953 867.450 20.923 26.349 0.000 11.556 138.567 40.580 69.824 22.888 29.646 0.000 13.601 152.240 44.296 74.326 2004-05 269.458 17.158 2.784 54.226 113.965 74.069 39.896 77.103 32.992 73.841 25.484 33.001 0.000 15.356 155.094 43.084 77.865 2005-06 297.219 19.029 2.773 55.317 121.642 79.527 42.115 83.730 36.609 82.761 26.255 38.130 0.000 18.376 168.127 46.015 83.777 2006-07 337.281 19.860 3.329 58.118 131.915 86.646 45.269 89.142 42.118 91.191 27.026 41.986 0.000 22.179 183.289 48.946 90.110

1 2 3 4 5 5.1 5.2 6 7 8

Agriculture Forestry & logging Fishing Mining & quarrying Manufacturing Manufacturing-Registered Manufacturing-Unregistered Construction Electricity, gas and Water supply Transport, storage & communication 8.1 Railways 8.2 Transport by other means 8.3 Storage 8.4 Communication 9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 10 Banking & Insurance 11 Real estate, ownership of dwellings and business services 12 Public administration 13 Other services All sectors

42.111 40.657 52.424 55.745 63.605 89.676 95.974 102.827 110.479 123.112 868.319 1028.386 1072.819 1163.222 1282.016

Source: Government of India (2008)

60

Table 12: Domestic product of Madhya Pradesh. (Billion rupees) NDP (1999-2000 prices) 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 221.320 195.552 290.661 269.458 16.188 15.624 16.974 17.158 2.092 1.807 2.191 2.784 34.798 33.510 45.223 54.226 99.497 93.572 99.525 113.965 70.091 63.587 65.532 74.069 29.406 29.985 33.993 39.896 52.296 58.029 67.714 77.103 26.973 30.640 32.472 32.992 56.037 58.828 66.135 73.841 19.792 25.010 0.000 11.235 133.306 33.743 65.165 40.083 85.953 867.450 20.923 26.349 0.000 11.556 138.567 40.580 69.824 22.888 29.646 0.000 13.601 152.240 44.296 74.326 25.484 33.001 0.000 15.356 155.094 43.084 77.865

1 2 3 4 5 5.1 5.2 6 7 8

Agriculture Forestry & logging Fishing Mining & quarrying Manufacturing Manufacturing-Registered Manufacturing-Unregistered Construction Electricity, gas and Water supply Transport, storage & communication 8.1 Railways 17.332 8.2 Transport by other means 21.469 8.3 Storage 0.000 8.4 Communication 9.116 9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 120.251 10 Banking & Insurance 27.390 11 Real estate, ownership of dwellings 54.596 and business services 12 Public administration 37.959 13 Other services 80.625 All sectors 801.321 Source: Government of India (2008)

1999-00 224.388 12.117 1.886 28.794 98.461 68.497 29.965 46.459 20.479 47.917

2000-01 180.282 13.483 2.053 27.354 99.560 70.648 28.912 50.422 26.840 49.425 17.048 22.926 0.000 9.451 129.063 30.038 59.166 38.636 85.713 792.034

2005-06 297.219 19.029 2.773 55.317 121.642 79.527 42.115 83.730 36.609 82.761 26.255 38.130 0.000 18.376 168.127 46.015 83.777

2006-07 337.281 19.860 3.329 58.118 131.915 86.646 45.269 89.142 42.118 91.191 27.026 41.986 0.000 22.179 183.289 48.946 90.110

42.111 40.657 52.424 55.745 63.605 89.676 95.974 102.827 110.479 123.112 868.319 1028.386 1072.819 1163.222 1282.016

61

Table 13: Disparities in economy driven development in Madhya Pradesh, 2001.

Population Proportion of households using banking facilities (Per cent) Total All SC ST Others 27.92 19.69 13.53 35.04 Rural 21.10 15.93 12.10 26.86 Urban 47.75 31.99 30.95 52.19

Proportion of households having none of the specified assets (Per ent) All SC ST Others
Remarks: Source:

42.15 47.11 65.66 32.81

50.46 53.38 68.09 41.38

17.99 26.61 36.03 14.85

The specified assets are: radio/transistor; television; telephone; bicycle; any two wheeler; any four wheeler. Census 2001.

62

Chapter 4: Chronic Poverty and Poverty Reduction in Madhya Pradesh: Diagnosis and Implications
1. Context: The state of Madhya Pradesh (MP) is characterized by certain special features that constrain and at times offer potentially facilitating environment for economic growth and poverty reduction. While facilitating factors may include spatially central location, rich natural resources, and relatively less conflict ridden socio-economic political environment, the major constrains may arise from feudal agrarian relations, absence of historical trade links, and above all lack of a clear strategy for driving economic growth. While some of these factors appear similar to that found in the other neibouring states (in the `BIMARU category) such as Rajasthan on the west side and Chhatisgadh, Orissa, Bihar on the eastern side, there a few distinct features that make MP fairly different from these states. It is essential to understand the finer aspects of these distinguishing features so as to be able to understand the genesis of persistent poverty and the dynamics of growth (or lack of that) in the state. It is the contention of the analysis in this paper that the perpetual absence of economic growth along with persistent poverty in the state is an outcome of a long drawn absence of an agency and the prime stake holder/s to influence the strategy for growth and poverty reduction strategy in the state. This paper attempts to address these two aspects with a special focus on identification of a poverty reduction strategy for the state. The analysis is divided in three parts. The first part highlights the poverty scenario, especially in the context of chronic poverty in the state. This is followed by a brief recapitulation of the historical context of policies for economic growth and poverty reduction in Madhya Pradesh, which then leads to discussing some of the important tenets of poverty reduction strategy for the state.

63

2. Poverty and Poverty Reduction in M.P. : Some Important Features 2.1 Incidence of Poverty: With about 38 per cent of people living below the official poverty line during 2004-05, M.P. had third rank in terms of incidence of poverty among the major states in India. Given its relatively large population, the state accounted for nearly 11 per cent of the countrys total poor population. By 2004-05 the state had nearly 33 million people living under poverty (Dev and Ravi, 2007). Tribal communities are the most poor among social groups as found elsewhere in most parts of India. In rural area 58.6 per cent of the tribal population was found to be poor as compared to 42.8 per cent among the (SCs). The incidence of poverty among STs and SCs in Madhya Pardesh is significantly higher than that at the All India level.

Incidence of Poverty in MP and India: 2004-05 Head Count Ratio (HCR) MP-Rural MP-Urban All India-Rural India-Urban 58.6 44.7 47.2 33.3 42.8 67.3 36.8 39.9 29.6 55.5 26.7 31.4 13.4 20.8 16.1 16.0 ST SC OBC Other

Source: Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India

While poverty in terms of head count ratio (HCR) has declined significantly from the level of 62 per cent during 1973-74, the state however, has remained as one of the three most poor major states in the country.

64

Spatial Pattern: Unlike that at the All India level, incidence of poverty is higher among urban (42.7%) as compared to rural areas (36.8%)7. Prima facie, this may suggest outflow of rural poor to urban areas in search of livelihood options (UNDP, 2007 p. 74). While one finds a similar pattern in other states like Gujarat, the situation is more or less non-comparable due to the fact that: a) M.P., unlike Gujarat, is a state with net out-migration; and b) the relatively urban poverty is juxtaposed against a fairly high level of overall poverty (almost double that of Gujarat) in the state. The impact of migration is further reflected by rural-urban differences across regions shown on Table 1. Close to half of the rural population in Vindhya, central and southern regions in M. P. were poor during 2004-05. In urban areas, poverty is particularly high in Northern region besides central and southern regions in the state.

Table 1: Poverty among NSSO-Regions in M.P.:2004-05

Regions Poorest Rest 10% Vindhya (231) Central (232) Malwa (233) South (234) 5.4 42.2 2.0 30.7 8.5 40.3 3.1 of Poor 31.5

Urban All Poor 34.6 48.8 32.7 47.6 Non Poor 65.4 51.2 67.4 52.4 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Total Poorest Rest 10% 4.4 9.5 2.7 6.1 of Poor 43.6 40.9 22.4 43.4

Rural All Poor 48.0 50.4 25.1 49.5 Non Poor 52.0 49.6 74.9 50.6 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Total

These estimates however, differ from that provided by Dev and Ravi (2007), who found rural poverty at the level of 38.1 5 as compared to 34.4 % in the urban areas. The difference could be due to merging of the state sample while estimating poverty by the authors.

65

South Western (235) Northern (236) Total Cut-off Point

2.0

41.7

43.7

56.3

100.0

0.6

23.2

23.8

76.1

100.0

6.8 4.4 Below Rs. 278.20

50.4 38.3 Rs. to 570.15

57.2 42.7 Rs.

42.9 57.3 Rs. and above

100.0 100.0 --

0.8 3.9 Below Rs. 194

22.0 32.9 Rs. to 327.78

22.8 36.8 Rs.

77.1 63.2 Rs. and above

100.0 100.0 --

278.01 570.15 570.16

194.01 327.78 327.79

Note: The urban poverty line for MP i.e. Rs. 570.15 and Rural poverty line i.e. Rs. 327.28 is the benchmark for calculating 10 percent among all poor, rest of poor and non-poor.

Factors Associated with High Incidence of Poverty: A Case Of South-West MP What explains persistence of high incidence of poverty in the state and the regions within that? This issue had been investigated in an earlier analysis which tried to examine factors influencing poverty reduction in M.P. and the South-West region in the state. By estimating partial multiple regression models for explaining variations in monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) among rural households, the analysis brought out the following important observations: i. Households size is found have a negative impact on MPCE under almost all the situations under analysis. This suggests a strong influence of growth in population, especially under a relatively stagnant economic scenario within the state and the region. ii. Literacy is found to have positive impact on MPCE in almost all situations except among households with relatively low MPCE categories in SWMP. Of course the direction of causality may be mixed as noted earlier.

66

(iii)

The other important factors influencing MPCE are those related to economic assets viz; land holdings and irrigation. Leasing-out also has significant negative impact on MCEP. To an extent, this might suggest reverse tenancy where households with lower income and asset base lease out their land to relatively better-off households.

(iv)

The pattern at the state level is more or less same. What is however, important is to note that occupational diversification, especially among households in low expenditure groups, exerts a significant impact on MPCE, which is not the case in SWMP region. This suggests limited economic options and stagnancy in the region as noted earlier.

(v)

Lastly sex ratio (female:male population), which has been taken as a proxy for outmigration among male members of the households, is not found to be significant. To a large extent, this might suggest that migration is mainly of distress type, where the poor have to migrate out merely for meeting their basic requirement, without having any substantial improvement, through remittances, on income (expenditure) status of the households back at home. This issue has been addressed subsequently.

Together these observations imply that as time moves and population increases, natural resources particularly, land become scarcer. Hence, those who are fortunate to have relatively larger land holdings with access to irrigation and also education could improve their economic status. The rest continued to remain where they were earlier or suffered deterioration in their economic status. 2.2 Chronic Poverty: Persistent, Severe and Multidimensional Long Duration: A comparative analysis of NSSO-regions also suggest that all the six NSSO-regions in the states were among the top 20 regions with highest incidence of poverty in the country; and that five out of the six regions (except northern) had appeared in the list of those that were present in the three consecutive rounds of the NSSO-survey since 1987 as (Shah, 2007). This suggests that in a relative sense, poverty has been more or less intractable in most parts (regions) of the state; the only other state that shows a similar pattern is Bihar. Chronicity 67

of poverty thus becomes an important feature of Madhya Pradesh, which essentially may call for a more structural diagnosis of poverty in the state. This issue will be taken up at a later stage. The above observation is further substantiated by the fact that the state has the lowest rate of poverty reduction per year during the decade since 1993-94. According the estimates by Dev and Ravi (2007) the rate of poverty reduction in M.P. was 1.09 as against the national average of 1.96 per cent per annum. According to these estimates, nearly 16 per cent of the population in the state was in the category of very poor, whose expenditure level is below 75 per cent of the official poverty line. This is substantially higher than the national average of 10.3 per cent. This proportion is higher than Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, an in-depth analysis of South-West (SW) Region in the state brought out some important features of severity of poverty in the state (Shah and Sah, 2004). The analysis, based on the NSSO-data indicated that whereas poverty had declined during 1983-93, the decline was much higher in the state as a whole (i.e. from 65.4.6 to 36.4 %) as compared to SW-region (i.e. from 74.5 to 64.6 %). It was further observed that the incidence of poverty has declined significantly in the category of very poor both in SW-region as well as in the state. In fact, the decline in poverty was found to be almost entirely concentrated in the first category. It is of course, difficult to ascertain the trajectory of the exit from two categories of poor in absence of any information capturing duration. It is likely that the movement is gradual i.e. from very poor to poor and from poor to non-poor. In that case what is concerning is the slower pace of this transition. Prima facie, limited economic development along with high rate of population growth could be responsible for the low pace of poverty reduction in the region. Some of these factors will be discussed in the next section. Severity: The recent debate on poverty estimates in India however, has pointed out the significant divergence between access to `adequate income/expenditure and the actual food intake. It has been argued that a large proportion of the officially `non-poor people do not actual consume the `required calories hence could be considered as poor (Patanaik, 2007). While we do not tend get into this highly polarized debate, it is imperative to take cognizance of the fact that a larger proportion (than what is estimated as poor) of the people actually suffer from `food-inadequacy 68

(Mishra and Shah, 2009). According to the estimates based on the NSSO-survey (2004-05), between 55 to 63 per cent of the population in M.P. suffer from `food-inadequacy. The proportion for All India is more or less same as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Shortfall in Basic Consumption as Compared to the Level of Consumption in Households within 3rd Quartile of Consumption Expenditure: 2004-05 (Rural) % Difference Consumption of Cereals Dal and Pulses Milk and Milk Products Oil and Oilseeds Sugar Vegetables Total Expenditure on Food Total Expenditure on Education and Health Total Consumption Expenditure M.P. 54.6 64.6 65.7 64.9 64.0 60.3 73.6 70.9 63.4 India 59.6 60.76 69.7 69.9 64.7 64.5 75.8 70.1 63.1

Note: The difference is worked by considering actual consumption of the households in the 3rd quartile of consumption expenditure as `adequate given the cultural norms in the state.

The food inadequacy has resulted in widespread undernourishment among children in the state. According to the estimates from National Family Health Survey (2005-06) as large as 58 per cent of the children were reported to have low weight for height; what is more important is that the proportion has increased over time (CRMP, 2009; p. 54). These are serious concerns that need urgent attention. Very poor health and nutrition status has led to a dismal scenario pertaining to child survival in the state. It is however, noted that 70 per cent of the pre-mature deaths could be prevented through appropriate and low cost medical treatments such as immunization, oral

69

dehydration therapy, mothers milk, and growth monitoring. The need is to enhance effectiveness of these already available low-cost treatments/measures (ibid; xvii).

Child Mortality According the official estimates more than 300 thousand children under 15 years die every year in the state. This is a social tragedy which no humanity or Government can or should accept (CROMP, 2009; p. 29). The incidence of childhood deaths is higher in rural as compared to urban areas. For instance rural areas account for 77 per cent of the children below the age of five years. Against this, they account for about 83-84 per cent of the total infant deaths child deaths in the state (ibid). This reinstates the importance of widening the net of rural infrastructure especially for health services and connectivity. This issue has been highlighted later in the analysis.

Multidimensional: Apart from poverty being persistent and severe, the sate is also caught in a trap of multidimensional poverty capturing the critical dimensions of human development. As a measure of multi-dimensional poverty, Chaurasia (2009) has estimated district wise Human Poverty Index (HPI) by incorporating the following four indicators (See the figure below): Probability of a new born not surviving to 5 years of age. Proportion of population at least 15 years old illiterate-unable to read and write with understanding. Proportion of asset less households, households having none of the following six assets - radio/transistor, television, telephone, bicycle, scooter/motorcycle/moped, and car/jeep/van. Proportion of households without access to safe drinking water. 70

Figure 1: Social Categorywise Multidimensional Poverty (%) in Madhya Pradesh 2001

According to this estimate, based on 2001 data, the HPI for the state as a whole is 39 per cent. The index for rural area however, is twice that for the urban areas. Similarly, more than 55 per cent of the Scheduled Tribes population in the state is estimated to be poor as compared to only about 33 per cent in the non Scheduled Castes/Tribes population. Two important aspects emerge from these estimates. First unlike the HCR, which takes into account only the money metric measure, human poverty index is found to be significantly higher than that in urban areas. 71

Second. STs are the most vulnerable social groups, a large proportion of which are located in forest based regions in the state. Similarly, estimates of Human Development Index (HDI) may throw further light on this aspect. The estimate of HDI for M.P. during the year 2001 was 0.394 as against 0.472 for the All India. The state ranked fourth from the bottom, only after Bihar, Assam and Uttar Pradesh. More recently, estimates for HDI have been prepared for district within the state. It is observed that the HDI varies from more than 0.6 in the case of districts with major urban centers like Indore, Harda, Bhopal, Gwalior, Dewas, and Ujjain to as low as 0.398 in Jhabua. The various evidence presented in this section thus reveals that poverty (measured through official estimates) in MP is fairly widespread; it has persisted over a long period in most parts of the state; and it has also spilled over from rural to urban areas. The multidimensional measures such as HPI and HDI however, present a fairly different scenario where HPI is found to be higher among rural vs. urban area, and among STs vs. SCs. There however, are significant variations in both HPI and HDI across districts in the state. The critical questions arising from the evidence are two fold: First, is there a link between different components of HDI across districts? And second, how far poverty reduction could be attributed to failure on supply-side poverty reduction measures across districts within the state? These issues have been addressed in the subsequent analyses. 3. Interface between Economic Growth, Poverty and Human Development A recent analysis of the typology of major states in the country indicates that Madhya Pradesh falls into the category of a `vicious cycle with low levels of economic growth, per capita income, and human development (Shah and Shiddhalingaswamy, 2009). Addressing the multi-dimensional nature of poverty therefore calls for a multi-pronged approach for redressing the multifold deprivation in terms of income and human development. While earlier approaches of trickle down do not seem to have worked, the emphasis has moved towards direct measures for enhancing income and also provisioning of services for strengthening human development, especially for education and health. This however may not imply that the two sets of povertydimensions (i.e. income and human development) are entirely independent of each other. 72

We have therefore tried to examine the inter-relations between the three components of HDI viz; income, education and health capabilities across districts in the state. The analysis of rank co-relation among these three indicators brings out following important aspects: First, income and educational capability have significant positive correlation. The causation, as indicated by several studies, may by and large imply that persons endowed with higher income ends up with better educational attainment; the causation to work in reverse direction may not be so strong especially at low levels of income (Shah and Shidhhalingaswamy, 2009). Second, attainment of health status is not significantly linked with income or education. This may suggest that higher income may be a necessary but not sufficient condition for ensuring better health status as much would depend on the effective access and quality of health services besides affordability. Together the evidence reinstates the importance working simultaneously towards income enhancement and provisioning of health-educational services. The important point however, is that improvement of these two sets of poverty indicators should take place through processes that help building close links among each other lest the improvements turn out to be short-lived. This aspect assumes special relevance in the context of ameliorating chronic poverty of the type of long duration. Identifying right kind of policies that could build convergence between income and human development aspects thus poses a critical challenge, which essentially goes beyond attaining higher economic growth or creating the requisite physical infrastructure for health and educational services per se. For, unless facilitated through a process of creating critical minimum mass of stakes and stake holders within the communities, especially the relatively less privileged, it is less likely that the drive for expediting economic growth on the one hand and provisioning of social infrastructure on the other picks up its momentum in a self-reinforcing manner. This in fact raises the crucial issue of the `agency for promoting pro-poor growth and provisioning of service. In this context, the recent emphasis on promoting agricultural growth and infrastructural facilities in the state is a welcome initiative. The critical issue, as argued above, is that of the `agency within the polity, government machinery, professional service providers, farmers, and 73

above all the poor who have suffered the double disadvantage emanating from a stagnant economy on the one hand and poor social infrastructure on the other.

Contextualizing Policy Formulation and Poverty Reduction in M.P. The issue of agency raised above needs to be examined in the backdrop of historical context of policies formulation for economic growth and poverty reduction in the Madhya Pradesh-the state endowed with certain strengths and also multiple constraints as noted earlier. This section tries to recapitulate some of the important strands of analyses that have tried to explain persistent poverty in the midst of economic stagnation in M.P. Let us first begin with the relative strengths or comparative advantage for promoting growth and poverty reduction. These, as already noted, include relatively better natural resource base. This refers mainly as large as 30 % of forest area; rich mineral resources; and relatively better agronomic condition with a large part of the state receiving medium rainfall under humid and sub-humid conditions; topography suitable for rain water harvesting; and fertile soil having limited exposure to chemical inputs. Another important advantage lies in its geographically central location with relatively better rail network connecting important commercial destinations in the country. The recently initiated plan for a network of national highway may provide additional advantage for making links with some of the important industrial corridors on both western and eastern sides of the state. The vast geographical spread is also a home of cultural diversity having strong links with the erstwhile princely states in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. This has left a strong imprint on the cultural heritage of the state, which combined with relatively more favourable natural ambience offers special potential for tourism, including eco-tourism in the state. Language could be another facilitating factor making it easier to make connection with the Hindi speaking belt in the north and also with neibouring states in the west. The state is known for its relatively docile local communities that have, over time received and accommodated migratory population from all the states surrounding Madhya Pradesh. After separating from Chhatisgadh the state is also more insulated from the influence of radical militancy fighting against the state for the cause of the poor. Finally the state till now, has been ruled by the parties having national stature and has by and large escaped regional factionalism. 74

Conversely the state is poised with certain constraints that may hamper the potential for growth especially in the context of the federal system of Government in the country. Strangely some of these constraints may emanate from the various strengths that the state is endowed with. For instance the rich forest and mineral resources, being treated as national wealth, tend to deprive the state of its autonomy to access and manage the resource-use; in the process the people also get alienated from these resources. In fact lack of autonomy and appropriate mechanisms for compensation for conservation/utilization of forests/minerals is by far the most important direct cause of persistent poverty among the forest based regions in the state (Shah et. al; 2009). Similarly, the relatively favourable rainfall and topography is not compatible with the mindset of building large irrigation system, which could attract investment from the central pool of resources. The geographically central location has also posed some constraints. First, it has devoid the state from the conventional trade links with outside world. More importantly, this has triggered continuous inflow of people, often rulers who eventually tend to control the productive resources on the one hand and create cultural dominance over the local population thus, hampering the process of sub-national socio-political-cultural identity for the state. One of the striking features of the state is the amalgam of numerous and diverse areas (not claimed by other lingual states) and the communities (Banerjee, 2009). Feudal agrarian structure and presence of over 300 small princely states in the un-divided M.P. state may have further accentuated this syndrome. A related aspect to this is influx of cultivators from Gujarat-Rajasthan Maharashtra that may have been brought by the princely rulers from their respective states to undertake settled agriculture such that it helps maximizing revenue for the state. This, combined with restricted access to forest resources to the local tribal communities, may have created wider gulf between the local communities and the settled agriculturists who in turn became a major source of money lending (and exploitation) often with the patronage of the state. Creation of M.P. state in the post-independence period has subsumed all these sociocultural-political legacies, which perhaps made it difficult to create dominant native stake holders who would identify, articulate and exert their stakes in the processes of growth and development hence became subservient to the policy framework being shaped up at the national 75

level. The question therefore is- who were the important stake holders (or vested interests groups) to hold the torch of economic growth and/or poverty reduction in the state. The answer, like in several other predominantly feudal states, is the erstwhile ruling class, which soon got into the key positions as politicians, bureaucrats, professionals, traders and the urban elite. There are of course a number of grass root organizations operating in different parts of the state. Most of them work towards mobilizing the tribal and other rural communities for asserting their rights with respect to forests, land and the PRIs. These movements for social mobilization, are yet grow out of its primary focus on retaining the existing claims of the tribals and the poor in the resources and the institutions; demanding a different paths of development or greater share in the ongoing process of development is yet to find the requisite space in the present context. The weakened social movements and relative absence of regional interest groups (which otherwise reflected as relatively conflict free social-political milieu) thus, may have led to further consolidation of their historically acquired power. While this is a somewhat similar scenario that one observes in other `BIMARU states, what is striking in the case of M.P. is that: a) Government sector, working in selfperpetuation, became the largest segment of the states economy; and b) the ruling class increasingly got gravitated towards the dynamics of power and professional attainment at the central rather than the state level Government machinery. It is this complex-mix of situation, which perhaps, has perpetuated the situation of `lack of agency for promoting growth and poverty reduction in the state. This is reflected in the fact that despite primary sector being the largest providers of income and livelihood to the people, there is hardly any voice from the farmers and/or forest dwellers in the state demanding specific intervention for the development in these two important sectors. Conversely the two most important sources identified for promoting economic growth and human development in the recent period refer to tourism industry and development of infrastructure with special emphasis on energy, roads and communication, urbanization and financial infrastructure. In fact development of these infrastructures is considered to be the major road map towards creating social infrastructure (for health and education) and thereby human development in the state (UNDP, 2007). While the importance of such infrastructure in 76

promoting human development and also income through employment generation is the short run could hardly be over emphasized, it is nevertheless imperative to examine how far this may work in absence of specific thrust on productive segments of the economy such as agriculture and forestry, and more importantly in absence of the agency, which in the first place is convinced and also committed to work through the trajectory of production driven livelihood enhancement and economic empowerment of the poor. The trajectories discussed in this paper for promoting primary sector based livelihood and effective governance based on peoples empowerment thus, assume special significance for evolving a Poverty Reduction Strategy in the state. 4. Implications for Future Strategy The above discussion on poverty and the policy formulation context brings home some important implications for poverty reduction strategy in the state. These are: 2. Although income poverty has reduced, it is still fairly widespread except for one region in the state. Also the level of food inadequacy is fairly high. Therefore, promoting economic growth is inescapably an important channel for poverty reduction in the state. 3. While infrastructural development plays a significant role in promotion of economic growth in general and also for improving access to health-and educational services, that by itself may not yield the desired result as much of the growth potential in the state is linked to boosting up productive activities in the primary sector viz; agriculture and forestry on which large proportion of the poor depend for their livelihood. 4. Similarly urbanization or provisioning of urban amenities per se, may not be adequate to deal with income as well as human poverty in absence of adequate stimulus for growth in employment and income through productive sectors. 5. Also effective access to social infrastructure and urban amenities at affordable price necessitates pro-poor governance and the agency thereof. 6. While a number of initiatives have already been taken up for promoting agricultural growth, employment and access to forest resources among the tribal communities in the state, it is imperative that these policies work in tandem with the larger goals of 77

empowerment, which in turn may help creating/strengthening the agency of the poor to participate in the process of economic growth and human development.

References: Chaurasia, A. (2009), Notes on Poverty in Madhya Pradesh, Background paper prepared for Madhya Pradesh Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, coordinated by Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai. CROMP (2009), Madhya Pradesh: the State of Children, Child Rights Observatory Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal. Dev, M. and Ravi, C. (2006), Poverty and Inequality: All India and States, 19983-2005, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 41, No.6, 509- 521. Mishra, R.N. and Shah, A. (2009), Redefining Poverty and Vulnerability in India: An Exploratory Analysis (draft paper), Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad. Patnaik U. (2007), Neoliberalism and Rural Poverty in India., Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 42, No. 30,pp. 3132-3150. Shah, A. (2007), Patterns, Processes of Reproduction, and Policy Imperatives for poverty Reduction in Remote Rural Areas: A Case Study of Southern Orissa in India, Working Paper No. 179, Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad. Shah, A. and Sah, D.C. (2004), Poverty among Tribals in South West Madhya Pradesh: Has Anything Changed Over Time?, Journal of Human Development, Vol. 5, No.2, 249-264. Shah, A. and Shhidhalingaswami, (2009), Status and Correlation between NSDP and Human Development: State and District Level Analyses, (Draft), Prepared for Chronic Poverty Research Centre, Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad. Shah, A., Nayak, S.K., and Das, B. (2009), Remoteness and Chronic pOvertyin a Forest Region in Southern Orissa: A Tale of Entitlement Failure and States Apathy, CPRC-IIPA Working Paper No. 34, London. UNDP (2009), Madhya Pradesh: Human Development Report, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

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Chapter 5: Poverty Reduction Strategy for Madhya Pradesh in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management 1.Introduction
Madhya Pradesh remains a predominantly rural state and most of its population is dependent on agriculture and related natural resource use for their livelihoods as is clear from the data in Tables 1 and 2 below. Table 1: Population Dynamics in Madhya Pradesh (2001)
Rural Numbers 44380878 % 73.5 Dec. Grth % 23.4 Urban Numbers 15967145 % 26.5 Dec. Grth % 26.7

Source: Census 2001 The urban decadal growth rate is only slightly more than the rural decadal growth rate which suggests that permanent rural-urban migration which is one of the major determinants of urban growth is minimal. Moreover employment data in Table 2 clearly shows that the proportion of people employed in the primary sector in rural areas in the state remains very high.

Table 2: Sectoral Distribution of Rural Employment in M.P.

Year Rural Madhya Pradesh Primary Secondary Tertiary 1983 1987-88 1993-94 1999-2000 90.7 87.9 90.4 87.5 4.8 6.8 4.5 5.8 4.6 5.3 5.1 6.9 Rural India Primary Secondary Tertiary 81.5 78.3 78.2 76.1 9.0 11.3 11.3 11.3 9.4 10.3 10.3 11.4

Source: MPHDR 2002

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6.5 10

Fig.1 Caste Breakdown (%)

21 14.5 48

ST SC OBC UC M

The distribution of population by caste shown in Fig. 1 above reinforces the importance of agriculture for the economy of the state as OBCs, SCs and STs who are mainly farmers or agricultural labourers constitute 83.5% of the population. Yet the per capita income in rural areas in 2006-07 at constant 1999-00 prices was only Rs 8879 while that in urban areas was Rs 22135. The presence of a substantial scheduled tribe population dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods also puts a premium on proper natural resource management for sustainable poverty reduction. Thus any poverty reduction strategy in Madhya Pradesh must be based on an analysis of the agriculture and related natural resources of land, water and forests. Since a prerequisite for sustainable agriculture and natural resource management is good community participation and local governance the poverty reduction strategy must also incorporate these aspects. Madhya Pradesh is a heterogenous state situated mostly on the upper watersheds of ten river basins with poor quality soils of low soil depth and high slopes and some black soils of medium to deep soil depth with flat slopes underlain by impervious hard rock as shown in Fig. 2 & 3. Consequently the natural recharge is low and despite a moderate rainfall most of the state is in a physically water scarce region. Thus the state comprises the uplands of Central India forming a drainage divide between north, west and east flowing rivers. It has a semi arid upstream topography with all the major rivers flowing outward from the state.

80

Fig 2 River Basins of Madhya Pradesh

81

Fig. 3 Soils of Madhya Pradesh This broad classification of soils camouflages the fact that most of the terrain is undulating and deforested and so the actual soil quality is lower than the overall classification and in many cases has become unproductive. The better soils cover less than 30% of the cultivable area. The considerably varying forest cover and topographical and water resource characteristics make it imperative that a diversified strategy be adopted for agricultural growth and natural resource management. Thus an effective analysis of agriculture and natural resources in the state as a prelude to the design of an appropriate and location specific poverty reduction 82

strategy can be done only by studying the different agro-climatic zones which also coincide with differing social structure and cultural practices. The eleven different agroclimatic regions of the state with their characteristics is given in Table 3 below and their location in the map in Fig 4.

2.AgroClimaticRegions
Table 3: Agro-Climatic Regions in Madhya Pradesh
S.No. CROP ZONES AGROCLIMATIC REGIONS Chhattisgarh plains Northern Hill Region of Chhattisgarh SOIL TYPE RAINFAL DISTRICTS L (Range COVERED in m.m.) 1200 to 1600 1200 to 1600 Balaghat. Shahdol,Mandla,Di ndori, Anuppur, Sidhi(Partly), Umaria Sidhi :Singroli Tehsil(Bedha n) DETAILS OF PARTLY COVERED DISTRICTS

1 Rice zone 2 -do-

3 Wheat Rice Zone

Kymore Plateau & Satpura Hills

Red & Yellow Medium Red & Yellow Medium black & skeletal (Medium/ligh t) Mixed red and black soils (Medium)

1000 to 1400

Rewa,Satna,Panna, Jabalpur, Seoni, Katni, Sidhi (except Singroli tehsil ) Narsinghpur, Hoshangabad Sehore(Partly),Rais en(Partly) Bhopal,Sagar,Dam oh,Vidisha, Raisen(except Bareli Teh.), Sehore(except Budni Teh.), Guna(Partly). Sehore :Budni Tehsil, Raisen :Bareli Tehsil Guna :Chanchoda,R aghogarh & Aron Tehsils.

4 Wheat zone

Central Narmada Valley

Deep black (deep)

1200 to 1600

5 -do-

Vindhya Plateau

Medium black & deep black (Medium/He avy)

1200 to 1400

83

6 WheatJowar

Gird Region

Alluvial (Light)

800 to 1000

Gwalior,Bhind,Mor ena, SheopurKala,Shivpuri,(exce pt Pichore, Karera, Narwar, Khaniadana Teh.), Guna (except Aron, Raghogarh, Chachoda Tehsil), Ashoknagar

7 WheatJowar

Bundelkhand

Mixed red and black(Mediu m) Shallow black (Medium) Medium black (Medium)

800 to 1400

Chhattarpur,Datia, Tikamgarh, & Shivpuri(Partly) Betul & Chhindwara Mandsaur, Neemuch, Ratlam, Ujjain,Dewas,Indor e,Shajapur, Jhabua(Partly), Rajgarh & Dhar (Partly) Khandwa, Burhanpur, Khargone, Barwani ,Harda ,Dhar (Partly) District. Jhabua District.(except Petlawad Tehsil) & Dhar (Partly)

Shivpuri :Karera,Pichh ore,Narwar & Khaniadhana Tehsils.

-do-

Satpura Plateau

1000 to 1200 800 to 1200

9 CottonJowar

Malwa Plateau

10 -do-

Nimar Plains

Medium black (Medium)

800 to 1000

Dhar :Dhar,Badnaw ar & Sardarpur, Tehsils, Jhabua :Petlawad Tehsil. Dhar :Manawar,Dh arampuri & Gandhawani Tehsil. Dhar :- Only Kukshi Tehsil.

11 -do-

Jhabua Hills

Medium black skeletal (Light/Mediu m)

800 to1000

Source: Department of Agriculture, Madhya Pradesh

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Fig. 4 Agro-Climatic Zones of Madhya Pradesh In what follows a review of some of the characteristics related to agriculture and natural resources that are common throughout the state will be carried out first and a broad poverty reduction strategy outlined on the basis of this. This will be followed by a detailed analysis of the different agroclimatic zones and specific poverty reduction strategies for them.

3.LandholdingPattern
A major area of concern is the increasing fragmentation of landholdings, which has directly affected the livelihoods of a majority of the rural population in a negative way. Table 4 gives the details of this process over the period from 1970-71 to 2000-01. The average landholding of marginal and small farmers combined in 2001 was 0.88 ha which is sub-optimal 85

in size especially considering that these are mostly of lower soil quality and higher slope. It must also be remembered that as long as a landholder is alive his heirs who might have in reality divided his land between themselves are not recorded as landholders. So the actual fragmentation is much worse than is reflected in the official data. In addition there are landless people dependent on agricultural labour alone for their livelihoods. Not surprisingly therefore both the productivity and real wages of labour in agriculture have been stagnating as shown in Table 5. Table 4: Trends in Fragmentation of Landholdings in Madhya Pradesh
Year Marginal(<1ha) % of holdings % of area 1970-71 31.8 1995-96 35.2 2000-01 38.6 3.4 6.8 8.5 Small (1-2 ha) % of holdings % of area 16.8 25.5 26.5 6.2 14.7 17.3 Others % of holdings % of area 51.4 39.2 34.9 90.5 78.4 74.2

Source: Commissioner Land Records and Settlement, GOMP. The data above also clearly show the high level of inequality in landholding with the marginal and small holdings constituting 59.1% in numbers but only 25.8% in area. Socially the Scheduled Castes who constitute 14.5% of the population control only 8.3% of the land while the Scheduled Tribes who constitute 21% of the population control 19.8% of the land. Table 5: Trends in Worker Productivity and Real Wages in Agriculture in M.P.
Worker Prod.@const.1993-94 prices(Rs) Growth rate of Worker Prod. per year(%) Real Wages @const.1985-86 prices (Rs) Growth rate of Real Wages per year (%) 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 12226 11920 11783 12119 11340 12039 11966 11893 N.A. -2.5 -1.15 2.85 -6.43 6.17 -0.61 -0.61 12.86 12.49 11.27 11.67 11.66 12.08 12.21 12.57 N.A. -2.87 -9.77 3.55 0.00 3.60 1.08 2.95

Source: Department of Economics and Statistics, GOMP.

4.OverallStatusofWaterResources
The annual surface water availability after accounting for the flow to other states at 75% dependability is 81.5 lakh hectare metres with a developed irrigation potential of 20.59 lakh hectares. In 1995, the state had a total of 4 lakh ha of water-spread area including 1.19 lakh ha of village ponds and 2.94 lakh ha covered by irrigation reservoirs. The largest water-spread was in the Ujjain division in the western part of the state. This division has the largest number of tanks and village ponds in the state (Dept of Water Resources, GOMP). However, the high annual 86

evapo-transpiration rate in the region which is on an average 2100 mm and is in most cases double the total annual precipitation results in a substantial proportion of the harvested water being lost to evaporation. The total available ground water resources in Madhya Pradesh have been estimated at 50.5 lakh hectare meters. About half of this is used for irrigation. Groundwater resource conditions vary widely across the state. Most of these are in either gneissic terrain or in old indurated sedimentary areas with low primary porosity with aquifers in fractured zones. These aquifers are often small and dispersed along the fractured zones with secondary porosity. Poor quality aquifers constitute almost 70% of the area while medium quality aquifers cover 21%. Thick alluvial beds are found in the northern part of the state and along the valleys of the major rivers. These form excellent aquifers but constitute only 9% of the area. The area under different geological formations, in the state and the quality of the aquifers is presented in Table 6 below. Table 6: Groundwater Aquifers in Madhya Pradesh
Type Alluvial Plains Deccan Trap Bagh/Lameta Gondwana Supergroup Precambrian Archean Igneous Metamorphic Quality good medium/poor medium medium/poor poor/dispersed & poor/dispersed Area (lakh hectares) 40 140 10 30 110 110

Source: Madhya Pradesh Year Book 2008, Department of Economics & Statistics, GOMP District-wise groundwater balance data indicate high levels of ground water abstraction in the western and north-western districts compared to the eastern and south-eastern districts where groundwater potential developed is only a tenth of the utilisable reserves. Dugwells, predominant in this region, often dry up in the summers leaving farmers dependent on a single crop. This may be supplemented with an un-irrigated pulse crop in the winter. The state faces droughts and crop failures almost every year in some part of the state. Since the state is situated

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in the leeward side of the western ghats, the coefficient of variability in rainfall is high and the state bears the brunt of recurrent droughts. This constraint on water availability was sought to be overcome by providing electricity at a subsidised rate for the operation of pumps and subsidised loans to purchase these pumps and other accessories. Thus farmers could tap the water stored in the deeper confined aquifers by sinking tubewells and installing submersible pumps and also the base flow in the streams and rivers through lift irrigation at relatively small capital and operating cost to themselves. In 1993 the supply of electricity to agricultural pumps of 5 horsepower or less was made free by the government thus further reducing the cost of water. While this boosted agricultural production considerably it also created what has come to be characterised in natural resource economics as a "tragedy of the commons" (Hardin, 1968). Normally in the case of a non-renewable resource the user has to trade off resource use between successive time periods to optimise production in the long run because more the resource is used the more is its extraction cost and more is its scarcity value. The water in the deep confined aquifers in dry hard rock regions is akin to a non-renewable resource because it has accumulated over thousands of years from the minimal amount of percolation into these aquifers that has taken place annually. Thus when this water is pumped out in large quantities in a particular year far in excess of the minimal recharge that is taking place, the water level goes down and in the next year the extraction cost will be greater and this will go on increasing with time. However, in a situation in which this extraction cost was rendered close to zero by electricity being made free and the water itself being a common property resource did not have any price attached to it and neither did its depletion result in a scarcity value, all the farmers tended to use as much water as they could get as in the long run the water would be finished even if a few farmers adopted a more conservationist approach. Consequently the groundwater situation in the state has become very serious. Barwani, Chhindwara, Dhar, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Neemach, Ratlam and Indore districts have been categorised as over exploited. Betul, Bhopal, Raisen, Rajgarh, Harda, Rewa, Sagar, Satna, Sehore, Dewas, Khargone, Khandwa, Shajapur, Tikamgarh and Shivpuri distructs have been categorised as critical. The almost total absence of artificial recharge has meant that 88

the available groundwater potential has been over exploited severely affecting water availability even for domestic use in the summer months. Till date seven major, 102 medium and 3237 minor dam irrigation projects have been completed with a design irrigation potential of 37,75,790 ha. and an actual potential of 25,45,970 ha. This low utilization is primarily due to the terrain situation in the state because of which it cannot make use of its share of water resources through canal irrigation from rivers without large investments. Already over Rs 100,000 crores have been spent from the beginning of the century. There is a separate department altogether called the Narmada Valley Development Authority to supervise the damming of the main rivers in the Narmada basin, which has a total catchment of about 1 lakh sqkms. The trends in irrigation development from all sources over the past two and a half decades are shown in Table 7 below Table 7: Trends in Irrigated Area in Madhya Pradesh (000 ha.)
Groundwater 1977-78 1989-90 1998-99 2004-05 878 1718 3650 4106 Canals 1025 1400 1054 1041 Tanks 147 147 142 127 Others 187 405 821 919

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP. The growth has mainly been in groundwater sources, which are mostly privately developed. It is notable that tank irrigation, which is comparatively much cheaper and is an example of sustainable insitu water conservation and use has declined as has canal irrigation from dams due to neglect of tank irrigation and non-development of canal systems of medium and major projects. The Other category has shown an increase due to greater lift irrigation by harnessing the base return flow in streams and nalas through checkdams and pumps. The public investment proposed in irrigation enhancement through major, medium and minor projects and command area development in the annual plan for 2009-10 is Rs 1271.71 crores (GOMP, 2009). However, this investment is mostly in the construction of the dams and main canals and there is an investment of only Rs 10 crores on command area development. This 89

compounds the already serious problem of inadequate command area development that afflicts the state. In most cases the canal system has been inadequately developed and is not being maintained properly. Moreover, given the fact that most of the lands in the command area have slopes and soil quality that are not suitable for flood irrigation from canals there is need for extensive land levelling work to make them suitable. Finally, when the canal systems, field channels and land are not properly developed then the management of the system suffers and there is a reluctance on the part of the water user associations to take the responsibility. Thus even though there are as many as 1687 water user associations in place who are theoretically in control of 16.92 lakh hectares (GOMP op cit.) the reality is that they are only there on paper and the management is still in the hands of the water resource department. This also results in poor recovery of water charges which are far below the costs of operation and maintenance of the dams and canal system. There is thus a need for overhaul of irrigation management.

5.Agriculture
The state has a varied agricultural production as is to be expected given the vast diversity in agro-climatic zones, soil types, landholding patterns and socio-ethnic formations. The main cereal crops are sorghum (jowar), maize, wheat, rice and various kinds of millets. The main pulses are red (tuar), black(udad), green(mung) and bengal(chana) gram. The main oilseeds are sesamum, groundnut and soyabean. The main cash crop is that of cotton. A more detailed insight into the trends in agricultural production can be gained from the trends of individual crops given in Table 8 below. Data have been taken upto 1996-97 as in 2000 the bifurcation of Madhya Pradesh into two states took place and so it would not have been possible to compare across periods with later data for the new truncated state only. While discussing the situation in the separate agro-climatic regions later in this paper the latest agricultural production data will be used.

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Table 8: Trends in Production of Individual Crops in Madhya Pradesh

Crop Rice Year 1976-77 1989-90 1996-97 1976-77 1989-90 1996-97 1976-77 1989-90 1996-97 1976-77 1989-90 1996-97 1976-77 1989-90 1996-97 1976-77 1989-90 1996-97 1976-77 1989-90 1996-97 1976-77 1989-90 1996-97 1976-77 1989-90 1996-97 1976-77 1989-90 1996-97 1976-77 1989-90 1996-97 1976-77 1989-90 1996-97 1976-77 1989-90 1996-97 1976-77 1989-90 Area000 ha. Production 000 Tonnes 4785 2797 5005 4492 5396 5979 2023 1282 1748 1737 922 792 193 124 170 134 140 136 714 738 879 1458 847 948 426 281 442 417 372 321 1330 208 1012 228 763 199 (782 irr.) 2995 2308 (2826 irr.)3283 4546 (3050 irr.)4327 7795 1954 1049 2157 1427 2513 2294 152 121 107 102 84 92 528 326 366.5 272 255 253 248 37 237 73 178 47 607 102 438 125 400 134 185 47 450 343 735 673 590 278 577 411 Yield Kgs / ha. 638 944 1167 682 994 858 641 792 978 1101 1674 1129 553 949 863 155 227 263 766 1309 1879 520 662 914 762 960 1095 627 743 994 142 312 264 157 286 334 261 768 919 236 363 Price Rs / quintal 167 589 1143 103 237 473 89 205 497 79 181 459 198 808 1300 82 204 469 126 289 579 122 577 1139 84 258 493 207 659 1253 355 1199 1663 305 955 1249 338 900 1238 447 906

Jowar

Bajra

Maize

Tur

Kodon/Kutki

Wheat

Gram

Barley

Groundnut

Sesamum

Linseed

Rapeseed & Mustard Cotton

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Crop

Year 1996-97 1976-77 1989-90 1996-97

Area000 ha. 520 61 1878 4166

Soyabean

Production 000 Tonnes 424 27 1496.5 3941

Yield Kgs / ha. 425 445 797 946

Price Rs / quintal 1734 -

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP The area under rice and wheat has increased considerably while there has been a moderate increase in the area under maize. It is also interesting to note that while in 76-77 only 26 % of the area under wheat was being irrigated this has risen phenomenally to 70 % in 1996-97 indicating a major shift from indigenous dryland varieties to hybrid irrigated varieties. This has mainly been achieved with the help of groundwater irrigation made easier due to subsidies and for a period, total waiver of the cost of electricity. Though this has benefited all farmers, it has benefited the large farmers more because of economies of scale. However, due to over extraction of ground water and the fall in the quality and quantity of electricity supply over the years the productivity is now declining. On the contrary there been a drastic reduction in the area under jowar, kodon and kutki, bajra and barley. Thus we see a clear shift in cropping patterns of cereals towards high value rice and wheat away from low value jowar, bajra and kodon and kutki. This has also adversely affected the quality and quantity of crop residue available as fodder as the high value cereals have poor fodder quality and production. Similarly the area under tur has gone down while that under gram has increased in pulses. In oilseeds too there is a reduction in the area under groundnut and sesamum and a slight increase under linseed. The area under rape and mustard seed has shown considerable increase while the area under cultivation of soyabean has increased phenomenally 68 times. This too has affected the quality and availability of fodder as the soyabean residue is not suitable for consumption by livestock. Cotton is a major cash crop and is produced profusely in the Nimar plains and parts of the Malwa plateau where it has come to be nicknamed "white gold" by the farmers for its consistently high returns. However, because of the costs and risks of production the area under cotton too has shown some stagnation. The data for cotton production from 1998-99 to 2006-07 92

for the new Madhya Pradesh are also given in Fig. 5 below. The effect of the severe drought that beset the Nimar and Malwa regions in 2000-01 is visible in the lower production.

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP Consequently soyabean has replaced cotton as the major cash crop in Madhya Pradesh primarily because of the ease of cultivation, higher yields and the high prices it commands. It has also in the process replaced coarse cereals like makka, bajra, jowar, millets and pulses like moong, udad and chawla. Thus its benefits have been mixed. Large farmers have got more cash and have also retained some land under coarse cereals and pulses for home consumption. Small and marginal farmers have not been able to do this and so they have to buy coarse cereals and pulses from the market. As the production of coarse cereals and pulses, especially that of tur, has gone down their prices have also increased to such an extent that the earnings from soyabean cultivation are increasingly not being able to cover these costs and poor households are doing without the pulses which traditionally was the main source of protein and vitamins in their food intake. The spreading mono-culture of soyabean is also reducing the agricultural bio-diversity and this too is a cause for concern. Thus there is a need to rigorously study the impact of soyabean production on the nutritional intake of the poor and on the agricultural bio-diversity.

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Despite this Madhya Pradesh is still the most important producer of Oilseeds and Pulses in the nation as shown in Table 9 below. Thus it is imperative that the agricultural productivity is increased in these crops in particular to enhance the national food security. The problem in this respect is that there is a lack of support from the Central Government in terms of subsidies, market and finance support for these crops. Table 9 : Contribution of Madhya Pradesh in National Agricultural Production
Crops Maize Gram Soyabean Lentil Niger Linseed Total Oilseeds Total Pulses Proportion of National Production (%) 12.6 46.2 60.0 20.8 16.6 20.8 22.2 22.9 Rank 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP The shift towards commercialisation of agriculture at the expense of subsistence production of indigenous varieties has become problematical in recent times because of the withdrawal of subsidies from some types of fertilisers and electricity and also the lesser availability of water for irrigation. The terms of trade in agriculture too have been internationally and nationally against farmers and over and above this they have had to bear the vicissitudes of the market in the sense that rise in prices of agricultural produce have not kept pace with the rising cost of inputs. Thus farmers' margins have been reduced and sent below zero at times. Consequently it is the traders and especially the export houses that have benefited the most and not the farmers. Some indication of the financial weakness of farmers in the state can be gained from the fact that 7.4% of the surveyed farmer households in the farmer situation survey of the NSSO 59th round were perennially indebted in 2003. Moreover, most of the increase in yields has been achieved in irrigated farms in the plains and the yields and output on dry upland farms, which constitute the majority, have either remained stagnant or declined. In fact with the turn of 94

the century the yields and production in the two main crops in the state of wheat and soyabean too have begun to stagnate or decline due to soil fatigue from overdoses of inorganic fertilisers and flood irrigation as is clear from the production and yield data for the years 2003-04 to 200506 given below in Table 10. Table 10: Production of Wheat and Soyabean (Area '000 Ha, Prod. '000 T, Yield kg/Ha)
Crop Wheat Soyabean 2003-04 Area 4091.1 4212.4 Prod. 7364.6 4652.6 Yield 1879 1106 Area 4200.3 4594.3 2004-05 Prod. 7327.4 3760.3 Yield 1821 819 Area 3692.8 4255.3 2005-06 Prod. 5957.7 4500.7 Yield 1684 1059

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP The yields of various crops in the state are generally below the national average as shown in Table 11 below apart from a few exceptions. This is in no small measure due to the fact that the average annual growth rate of fixed capital formation in agriculture in the state from public investments has been 2.33 % as compared to 6% from private investments. In fact the state has the lowest public investment in agriculture to agricultural NSDP ratio in the country. The trends in output from agriculture at 1993-94 prices are shown in Fig. 6. This shows stagnation over the last decade of the last century and a decline due to drought in 1999-2000.

Table 11: Yields of Crops in Madhya Pradesh and India (kgs/ha) 2005-06
Rice India M.P. 1990 1191 Coarse 1034 917 Jowar 852 783 Maize 1785 1585 Bajra 639 996 Wheat 2755 1823 Gram 806 908 Tuar 797 915 Cotton 226 148 Soya 1135 1062

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP.

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Source: Department of Economics and Statistics, GOMP. The major constraints to the growth of agriculture in the state are as follows 1. Large run off and soil erosion in most parts of the state resulting into water congestion due to impeded drainage in the early parts of the monsoon season and inadequate moisture in latter part when it is needed the most. 2. Nearly 72 percent of cultivated area is subject to rain fed agriculture. 3. Low cropping intensity (135 percent) due to lack of irrigation facilities. 4. Surface water based Irrigation facilities already developed are not being managed efficiently and there potential is unrealised. 5. Inadequate attention paid to research and development of indigenous crops suitable to specific regions of the state, particularly varieties matching deficient rainfall patterns and harsh topographies. 6. The overdependence on groundwater for irrigation to the point of unsustainability both in terms of water availability and electricity availability. 7. A large scheduled tribe population and other marginal and small farmers having low investment capacity for improving quality and water retention capability of lands which are mostly situated in the upper watershed regions that have been left untouched by the development of canal irrigation. 8. The ownership of better quality lowlands is largely restricted to the fewer large landholders who have benefitted from the development of canal irrigation and the spread of green revolution technologies. 96

9. Vagaries of the monsoon and frequent natural calamities. Thus there is a serious need for reorienting agricultural development policies so as to direct future public investments towards improving the productivity of dryland agriculture on suboptimal soils through labour intensive soil and water conservation strategies, greater use of bio-mass for fertilisers and energy production and a change in the cropping pattern with the promotion of indigenous land races suitable to local agro-climatic conditions and strengthening of the process of onsite breeding by farmers practising organic agriculture. However, the annual plan outlay for 2009-10 does not make any specific allotment for this and neither is there any large scale outlay by the central government.

6.Horticulture
Horticulture crop covers 2.6% of the gross cropped area in the State. The area under Horticulture in 2004-05 was 5.16 lakh Ha with an annual production of 40.6 lakh tonnes as shown in Table 12 below. However, the contribution to national production is not much apart from garlic and organges as shown in Table 13 and so there is a considerable scope for improvement. Especially in increasing the area under production, productivity and post harvest storage and processing. Table 12: Horticultural Production 2004-05 ( Area in '000 Ha, Production in Lakh Tonnes)
FRUITS VEGETABLES SPICES FLOWERS MEDICINAL/ AROMATIC GRAND TOTAL

area 47.86

prod 10.33

area 184.95

prod 26.21

area 265.81

prod 3.15

area 1.75

prod 0.01

area 15.58

prod 0.93

area 515.95

prod 40.63

Source: Directorate of Horticulture, GOMP. Table 13: Contribution of Madhya Pradesh to National Horticultural Production
Crop All India Rank G arl ic 2 Corian der 3 Chill ies 7 Tota l Spic es 7 Oran ge 2 Bana na 6 Papa ya 9 Gua va 10 Man go 13 Tot al Fru it 12 Oni on 5 Pota to 8 Total Vegeta bles 14 Total Flow ers 10

Source: Directorate of Horticulture, GOMP.

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Table 14 : Distribution of Horticultural Crops across Agroclimatic Regions

Sr.No. Name of Agroclimatic Regions Chhatisgarh PlainBalaghat District. Northern Hill Region of Chhatisgarh KymorePlateau Satpura Hills. Central NarmadaValley Vindhya Plateau
Mango,Chiku,

Horticulture Crops

Guava, Lime, Banana, Papaya,Munga, Pomegranate, Colocasia, Aonla in irrigated conditionTurmeric, Chillies,Ginger, Jack fruit, Ber, in arid condition(all type of vegetables). fruit,Coffee,Turmeric,Ginger,Tree spices, vegetables, Medicinal & Aromatic crops. other seasonal vegetables. off season

Pear,Peach,Litchi,Mango,Jack

3 4

Mango, Guava, Lime, Ber, Aonla, Chillies,Coriander and Mango,

Acidlime, Mandarin, Ber, Guava, Aonla, Papaya,Medicinal & Aromatic Plants,All type of seasonal Vegetables. Ber, Chiku, Papaya, Turmeric, Chillies, Coriander, Ajwine and all seasonal vegetables.

Mandarin, Acidlime, Mosambi, Aonla, Pomegranate, Mango

Gird Region

Mandarin and Sweet orange, Lime,under assured irrigation

and Guava, Ber, Aonla, Custardapple under rainfed condition coriender, Chillies, Garlic & seasonal vegetables. 7 8 9 Bundelkhand Satpura Plateau Malwa Plateau
Santra,

Mosambi, Acidlime, Aonla, Mango,Chiku, Karonda,Ginger, Turmeric, Dioscoria, Colocasia. Turmeric, Flower Marigold, Colecrops & other vegetables.

Santra, Mosambi, Acidlime, Mango, Guava, Ber, Chhilies, Santra, Acidlime, Mosambi, Grape, Chiku under irrigated

conditions, Ber, Guava, Pomegranate, Coriander, Fenugreek and vegetables. 10 Nimar Plains
Mango, Banana, Grape, Papaya, Chiku, Lime, Guava, and

Pomegranate in irrigated condition Turmeric, Chillies, Colocasia, Fennel and seasonal vegetables. 11 Jhabua Hills.
Lime, Mosambi, Ber,

Guava, Aonla, Custard Apple, Pomegranate, Seasonal Vegetables

Source: Directorate of Horticulture, GOMP.

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Table 15: Distribution of Flower Production in Madhya Pradesh

Type of Flower Cut Flowers Bulbous Flowers Flower Roses Gladiolus Tube Rose Marigold Chrysanthemum Glardia Aster Main Production Areas Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Dewas Bhopal, Indore, Dewas Ujjain, Bhopal, Indore Bhopal, Ujjain, Betul, Dhar Indore, Ratlam, Ujjain, Bhopal Ujjain, Bhopal, Indore, Betul Indore, Ujjain, Bhopal

Loose flowers

Source: Directorate of Horticulture, GOMP. The consumption of horticultural products is increasing at a faster pace than that of food products in Madhya Pradesh itself and there is a great potential for processing and export to other areas of the country and abroad. Thus there is a need for focussed development of this sector and especially the more high valued medicinal and floriculture plants. At present only a very minimal amount of export is taking place to the middle east from some of the Agri-export zones that have been set up. However, care must be taken to ensure that small and marginal farmers too benefit directly from these initiatives.

7.WatershedDevelopment
Centralised planning for the agricultural sector after independence and especially since the decade of the 1960s in the Narmada basin based on subsidised supply of inputs like water, power, hybrid seeds and chemical fertilisers has not only been environmentally harmful but has also led to the near total neglect of the tribal dominated dry land areas that constitute most of the basin (Shah et al, 1998). This led to the initiation in the beginning of the decade of the 1990s of watershed development through the ridge to valley approach as opposed to the treatment of land in isolated areas with the active involvement of the beneficiaries in planning, implementation and post project maintenance of the created structures as an ameliorative measure (Shah, 1993, GOI, 1994). The Government of Madhya Pradesh initiated the ambitious Rajiv Gandhi Watershed Development Mission (RGWM) in 1994 incorporating these new ideas by pooling all the funds being made available to it by the Government of India for poverty alleviation and treatment of drought prone areas under various schemes. Though the stress so far has been on using the greater availability of water for extension of external input agriculture to

99

dryland areas this can be changed and a new policy of support for organic agriculture can be put in place to ensure more sustainable use of the conserved water. This increased stress on watershed development arose because most of the terrain was undulating and due to the underlying basaltic rock structure water storage in the natural system was low. Apart from the government many NGOs too began to implement watershed development programmes along these lines. However, not all of the government water shed programmes have been equally successful and in most cases the community has not been mobilised properly to take care of the structures once the project is over and so there is a tapering off of benefits later. Neverthelss there has been an obvious positive impact of the RGWM on water availability in the upper watershed villages in the state and this can be gauged from Table 16 below. Though there has been a general increase in ground water use throughout the state, the upper watershed areas had earlier been left out of this but now with watershed development there is greater availability of ground water and soil moisture in dry areas.
Table 16 : Changes in Water Availability due to Watershed Development (%) Increase in No. of wells Increase in No. of Increase in Increase in Rabi Increase in with year round water tubewells with year Kharif Irri. Irri. Area Summer Irri. Area round water Area Madhya 68 83 36 47 85 Pradesh Source: RGWM Website

The increased return flow in streams and rivers from the recharged groundwater aquifers can be utilised through a combination of check dams and lift irrigation with lesser use of electrical energy than in wells and tubewells. This also ensures peoples participation in processes of water resource governance should be made mandatory so that more effective and less harmful solutions to the problems of water resource management can be worked out. After all the investment required in comprehensive watershed development is only around Rs 12000 per ha as opposed to the lakhs of rupees per hectare required for large dam construction and the benefits are immense as detailed below i ii iv Recharge of the natural storage provided by the groundwater aquifers. Conservation of soils and soil moisture. Greater irrigation coverage.

iii Conservation of forest, common land and agricultural biodiversity.

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v vi

Generation of energy through biomass production. Mitigation of climate change effects through greater forest cover. cheap distribution in remote rural areas.

vii The greater flow that results in the hilly streams can be harnessed for micro-hydel power generation for

8.ForestResourcesandForestry
The legally notified forest area in the state is 95221 sq. kms. which is 31% of the total area of the state. Of this 61.7 % are under reserved forests, 37.4% are under protected forests and 0.9% is unclassified. The forest cover is 75,137 sq. kms, which is 24.4 % of the area of the state. The four main forest types are tropical dry, tropical thorn, tropical moist and subtropical broad leaved. The growing forest stock is estimated to be 500 lakh cubic meters and is valued at Rs 2.5 lakh crores. The forests are managed by the forest department in accordance with working plans, which are drawn up every 10 years for each of the 60 forest divisions in the state. The major challenge to forest management is the pressure on the forests created by the livelihood needs of those residing in or near them, mainly the adivasis. There are 6 lakh headloaders in the state who draw as much as Rs 250 crores worth of fuelwood every year. A livestock population of about two crores is also dependent on these forests for grazing. In addition 20 lakh cattle and other animals visit the state from Rajasthan every year. Apart from this there are encroachments for agriculture. There are as many as 3,00,000 encroachers occupying 2.43 lakh hectares of forestland. The main tree species are teak, sal, bija, khair, tinsa, salai, saja, haldu, lendia and dhavra. The trends in the production of timber, fuelwood and bamboo have been shown in Table 17 below. The figures show a sharp fall in 1999-2000 because of the separation of Chhattisgarh state. Thereafter the production goes up once again before tapering off from 2004-05 onwards. There are also a number of minor forest produce the most important being tendu, harra and sal seed. The state is the largest producer of tendu leaf accounting for 25% of the national production. In 2001 42,216 quintals of harra and 10,880 quintals of sal seed were collected. In 1998-99 the collection of minor forest produce employed as many as 90 lakh people. The government has constituted a Madhya Pradesh Minor Forest Produce Federation to oversee the

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collection, processing, marketing, research and extension related to these valuable resources so as to provide the maximum benefits to poor forest dwellers who are mostly adivasis.

Table 17: Production of Timber, Fuelwood & Bamboo in Madhya Pradesh(lakh cu.m.)
Year 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Timber 4.89 6.74 4.88 1.59 2.15 4.63 3.92 4.15 2.65 2.68 2.08 2.45 Fuelwood 4.95 6.29 3.51 0.93 1.55 3.47 3.34 4.11 2.71 2.96 2.19 3.02 Bamboo 2.5 2.23 2.01 1.96 2.77 0.89 1.32 1.33 1.08 1.04 2.65 1.17

Source: Madhya Pradesh Forest Department. The trends in production of timber, bamboo and fuelwood show a decline over the past decade and indicate that the forests might be thinning. This is almost certainly affecting the per capita availability of forest products of the poor and especially the tribals who live in or near the forests and this needs to be corrected. The trends in revenue earned from forests are shown in Table 18 and here there is an alternate decrease and increase in the early years of the century but later there is an increase. This constitutes a substantial income for the state and so needs to be increased over time to bolster the state finances and help in overall development. Moreover, there is considerable trade in minor forest produce and especially herbs with the Forest Department having formed institutions for the collection, processing and marketing of herbal products. The Forest Department conducts herbal medicine fairs in the major cities of the state annually and these have become very popular among the people.

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Table 18: Revenue Earned from Forests

Year 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 Revenue (Rs Crore) 509.96 496.40 558.06 490.40 523.11 608.01

Source: Madhya Pradesh Forest Department. The history of forestry in the state will be dealt with in a little detail as it has an important bearing on the livelihoods of the considerable scheduled tribe population. There has been a running battle between the forestdwellers, who are mainly scheduled tribes and the forest department. The seeds of conflict were sown by the British. They disregarded the traditional community rights over forests and enacted laws for their sequestration and management by the forest department. The Indian Forest Act, 1927 gives the state government wide-ranging powers over forests. The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 goes even further and has transferred most of the authority over reserved forests from the state government to the central government. The latter act clearly says that Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force in a state, no State Government or other authority shall make, except with the prior approval of the Central Government any order directing that any reserved forest (within the meaning of the expression reserved forest in any law for the time being in force in that State) or any portion thereof, shall cease to be reserved; that any forest land or any portion thereof may be used for any non-forest purpose; that any forest land or any portion thereof may be assigned by way of lease or otherwise to any private person or to any authority, corporation, agency or any other organization not owned, managed or controlled by Government; that any forest land or any portion thereof may be cleared of trees which have grown naturally in that land or portion, for the purpose of using it for reforestation. 103

The overwhelming rights enjoyed by the forest department in such lands renders the scheduled tribes, for whom forests are the most important livelihood sources, next possibly only to agriculture, highly vulnerable. The Act is also against the spirit of the 1988 forest policy, which emphasises the involvement of people in the management of forests and their entitlements to forest products. In fact, in a number of cases, the two are found to be totally contradicting each other, but the act is legally binding (unlike the policy, which is a non-statutory advisory statement issued by the state of India, not backed by law). Thus it will be necessary to study the history of forest management in the state in detail as it has been a bone of contention between the state and the people for a long time. The first major new initiative in the post independence era was the setting up of the MP Forest Development Corporation in 1975 to encourage industrial forestry, which would yield high returns in a short time, both in terms of timber output and revenue. This displayed the Forest Departments bias towards industry, which was reflected in the large price differences between bamboo supplied to industry (54 paise per 4 meter bamboo) and to villagers (Rs 2 per bamboo). ( CSE 1986, cited in Sundar et al. 2001). Social Forestry was then developed between 1981 and 1985 but was unsuccessful in meeting peoples needs for fuel wood and fodder. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of forest policy in MP since the colonial period has been the nistar system, giving all bonafide village residents the right to take forest produce for non-commercial household use. The nistar facility was continued after independence, albeit, with some changes. In 1992, there were 2,496 nistar depots and 7,25 commercial depots (Singh, 1993, cited in Sundar et al., 2001), with different users charged different rates. The gap between demand and supply, however had led to several abuses of the system, giving forest officials arbitrary powers and leading to the sale of nistari materials in the open market (Khare 1993, cited in Sundar et al.2001). Nistar has been strongly contested in MP (Jeffery et al., 1995, cited in Sundar et al. 2001), with villagers seeing changes in the policy and the increase in rates as encroachments on their customary rights and forest officers viewing villagers overuse of nistar as the main problem. Social Forestry could not check the problem of severe forest degradation, which 104

affected both industry and villages adversely. To address these problems a scheme was started with financial help from the World Food Programme to provided employment to poor adivasis residing in forest areas so as to improve their livelihood options and reduce the conflicts between them and the forest department. The first formal resolution on JFM was passed in 1991, as mentioned earlier, which was later revised in 1995 and again in 2000. A number of amendments have been issued, indicative of the attention paid to the programme by State-level policymakers. JFM activities in Harda division set the wheel of JFM in motion and it was followed in many more forest areas of the state. Eco-development programmes were also taken up. This involved supporting village development say resources, cattle, veterinary inputs, schools, health, water and roads, through forests to elicit more effective community involvement. However, the real spurt in JFM came after the 1995 resolution and the launching of the Madhya Pradesh Forestry Project, funded by the World Bank. The Madhya Pradesh Forestry Project was launched following the realisation of the need to genuinely involve the local people in the management of forests. The project, worth US$ 67.3 million, was conceived as a part of the 10-year strategic investment plan of the World Bank and Government of India, in the forestry sector in Madhya Pradesh. The 4-year long Phase I was launched on 29th September, 1995 and closed on 31 December, 1999. The principal objective of the project was to help with the implementation of the Government of Madhya Pradesh's strategy for the development of the forestry sector, as directed by the National Forest Policy 1988, in Madhya Pradesh. The project was designed to promote forest and biodiversity conservation through peoples participation, village resource development, human resource development and technology upgradation and by catalyzing policy and systemic changes in the forestry sector. The MP Forestry Project also has a sizeable component on providing alternative development inputs to villagers to divert their livelihoods away from forest dependence. These are variously known as Eco-development (in Protected Areas) and Village Resource Development (in JFM villages). Of the cluster of legal, policy and institutional changes that accompanied the MP Forestry Project three are notable 1. A new nistar policy, which provides for the supply of nistar to FPCs and VFCs (at less than market rates) within a 5-kilometre radius of closed forest (with crown density greater than 105

40 percent). Outside the radius of 5 kilometres, the villagers would have to buy forest produce at commercial rates. 2. Removal of the need for transit permit for 31 species in order to promote farm forestry and reduce the pressure on high-valued timber trees from the forest. Under the Lok Vaniki scheme, the forest department would also assist private farmers in developing Working Plans for their private forests. 3. An end to industrial subsidies from June 30, 1997. (Sundar et al., 2001) Presently there are a total of 21,000 Forest Protection Committees / Villages Forest Committees involving 25 lakh families managing about 70000 square kilometres of forest area under the Joint Forest Management programme. The forest areas, which can be taken up under the JFM programme, include degraded forests as well as well stocked forests. There are two types of committees: VFCs and FPCs. In case of VFCs, 70 percent of the net benefits should go to the government, 15 percent to the committee fund, 10 percent to the individual members, and the remaining 5 percent shall be ploughed back in the area for its development. In case of FPCs these percentages are 90 percent, 5 percent, 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively. In its Mid-Term Review of the MP Forestry Project, the World Bank noted that in the Village Forest Committees that received its funding, control of grazing and forest fires had resulted in significant increase in regeneration. Relations between forest guards and communities had improved, and communities showed a strong sense of ownership of forests that they were protecting. However, non-project areas did not get many financial benefits of the project, and thus there was a potential for conflict. (cited in Saxena, 2002). The following specific deficiencies had also been noted A forest patch does not have a well-defined user group, and traditional nistar rights (of grazing, fuel wood and minor forest produce collection) of distant villages as well as rights of migratory graziers render JFM areas as open-access resources.

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VFCs and FPCs are ad hoc administrative creations with no legal standing. Consequently, they have no legal power to bargain with the Forest Department, nor are they eligible for credits or loans from banks or other funding agencies. The Forest Department and the Panchayat Department in MP have yet to arrive at a method for Panchayats and VFCs/FPCs to work together. The integration of JFM micro plans with Working Plans will require changes in the philosophy and content of working plans, which continue to be guided by the old principles of maximisation of timber rather than biomass for local needs. The MP Government has not issued an enabling order for this. JFM agreements do not confer any immediate benefits in real terms to communities, who already have considerable rights over forest produce under nistar agreements. The share of final harvest will go to communities only in the long term. Divisional Forest Officers have not been delegated the powers to promise the share from final produce to the communities. According to a decision taken at a meeting in 1992 presided over by the Principal Secretary, Forests, each proposal of giving a share from timber etc. was to be submitted to the State Finance Department. While all JFM Committees include women members, they have insufficient influence on decision-making. This is because of gender biases in both village society and in the Forest Department. Strategies to deal with potential conflicts, as sharing of lucrative timber and non-timber products becomes regularised, are yet to be evolved. (Saxena, op. cit.) Though MP began impressively to change the Forest Department with HRD initiatives, and the formation of spearhead teams to train staff in participatory planning and management, these teams were disbanded on conclusion of the first phase of the MP Forestry Project. (Sundar et al, 2001) The project has been criticised by a number of peoples organisations and institutions working among the tribals in different parts of the state. Responding to such criticism, the World Bank invited a number of people from these institutions to participate in a Joint Review Mission 107

including representatives of these organisations, the World Bank and of the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department (MPFD) to show in the field and jointly examine, a few cases of the violation of human rights of indigenous people and of the World Banks Operational Directives in this regard. The joint mission gave a very critical report underlining human rights violations, lack of sustainability and equity and displacement of people and concluded that there was an urgent need for staying the Madhya Pradesh Forestry Project. This led to the cancellation of the second phase of the project by the World Bank. Not surprisingly, therefore, the last decade and a half or so in the state has been marred by violent clashes between the forest department and the Scheduled Tribes. Traditionally the forest department staff used to take advantage of the strict legal provisions against intrusion into reserved forest areas to harass the adivasis who mostly live inside or near to them for the purpose of extortion of bribes. However, the scheduled tribes of late have begun to organise themselves and demand their rights, particularly the right to a decent livelihood. Initially the forest department's response was a negative one and it tried to clamp down on these movements with a heavy hand. Inevitably this proved counter productive and the whole issue of rights to forest resources catapulted on to a wider stage of economic and social rights of Scheduled Tribes. The passage of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act 2006 resulted in a new situation wherein the Scheduled Tribes were to be given land ownership and community ownership rights to the forest land that they had been cultivating or using for nistaar purposes. However, only about thirty thousand of the three and a half lakhs of claims for rights made under this Act in the state have been settled in a token manner while for most of the others the process of verification has not even started. In many cases the claims have been rejected without due verification on the ground. Thus there is tremendous scope for improvement in the area of forest management in the state especially as it has a direct bearing on the livelihoods of the Scheduled Tribes who are mostly living near or below the poverty line. The absence of ownership or usufruct rights discourages the forestdwellers from actively protecting the forests and utilising its resources. In many instances people's organisations have taken up such work on their own with great success 108

but there is a need for the forest department to replicate them on a larger scale. This has gained importance in recent times because of the tremendous benefits to be gained nationally and globally from the protection and regeneration of forests in terms of mitigation of global warming through carbon sequestration. The Thirteenth Finance Commission has made a proviso for the transfer of resources to states that have a larger forest area so as to promote further afforestation. Similarly at the global level also there is a carbon credit system in place for transfer of resources for forest protection. These will have to be availed of and the resources thus gained transferred to the empowered forest dwellers.

9.AnimalHusbandry
The State is rich in livestock resources. Livestock forms an important component of most farm households. Despite the increasing mechanisation of traction, electrification of pumps and post harvest operations draught animals still provide most of the power for farm activities for marginal and small farmers. Moreover, livestock rearing provides important supplementary incomes to resource poor households in the rural areas through meat and milk production. Livestock also constitute liquid capital for these households in times of financial stress because the rural markets for livestock are relatively well developed. However, diseases are rampant and the availability of fodder and feeds is inadequate leading to poor quality of most of the animals, which is reflected in lower production of meat and milk. Breeding is done in an indigenous manner with not much prevalence of artificial insemination with improved semen. The major native breeds and their characteristics are given in Table 19 below Table 19: Native Breeds of Madhya Pradesh
Breeds Malwi Cattle Nimari Cattle Kenkatha Cattle Jamnapari Goats Karaknath Chicken Characteristics Muscular body, black colour, sloping back, straight raunches and long tufted tails. Long body, red and white mixed colour, long head with raised forehead, straight raunches and strong hooves. Short muscular body, dark or light slatish colour, strong hooves. Long and high body,long legs, raised head, long ears and hair. Black colour, squat shape and slatish tongue Location Malwa Plateau Nimar plains Ken river valley in Bundelkhand Bhind district Jhabua district

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Source : Animal Husbandry Department, GoMP. Data for the small ruminants, pigs and poultry from 1977 have been given in Table 20 below. Table 20: Small Ruminant and Other Livestock Population in Madhya Pradesh
1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 Sheep 967668 959659 840625 835760 852372 Goat Pig Poultry 6724942 360684 7156560 7572422 473468 8382853 7729528 588795 9181718 8370034 729233 11800325 8624489 831147 13747088

Source: Department of Animal Husbandry, GOMP.

The trends in the population of large ruminants in the state as given by the five yearly livestock censuses from 1951 onwards are shown in Fig 7 below. The marketing of livestock is done through informal markets and these generally offer fair terms of trade to the sellers of livestock. There is a tradition of holding yearly fairs in specific locations where millions of animals are bought and sold. The marketing of milk and milk products takes place both in the informal markets and through organised milk cooperatives. There is a need to strengthen the informal markets through institutional support. At present rural markets are mostly being administered by panchayats and their financial needs are being met by moneylenders. Given the high demand for livestock products and the increasing entry of big players for sourcing livestock the interests of the small holder have to be protected actively. We will now review the various government initiatives in the livestock sector.

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Source: Department of Animal Husbandry, GOMP. The low level and quality of services is primarily because of the low levels of expenditure by the government on them. The budget of the department was only 0.9% of the total state budget in 2002-03. The expenditure on veterinary services and animal health was a paltry Rs 62.5 crores and that on the maintenance of hospitals and dispensaries just Rs 2.1 crores. The expenditure on development of livestock was Rs 40.9 crores and that on fodder development a laughable Rs 16.76 lakhs. Rs 4.35 crores were given as a grant to the State Dairy Federation. The trends in performance of the State Dairy Federation are given in Table 21 below and these show a steady progress over the decade. However, in recent times the cooperative dairy movement has become riddled with corruption and so farmers prefer to sell the milk or milk products themselves in the local markets instead of supplying milk to the dairy. This is a negative trend that has to be arrested especially since the availability of milk at a reasonable price as a major nutritional element in the diet of the poor is an important consideration.

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Table 21 : Trends in Performance of the Madhya Pradesh Dairy Corporation

Particulars Dairy Cooperatives Farmer Members Average Milk Procurement (Kg/Day) Local Milk Marketing (Litres/Day) No. of AI Centres No. of AI Done Balanced Cattlefeed Sale by DCSs (MT) Cattle Induction (No.) Turnover (Rs. Crore) 2001-02 4540 218617 310085 2002-03 4581 220660 291876 2003-04 4587 225745 294465 2004-05 4713 233144 394354 2005-06 4898 246283 462379 2006-07 5201 251274 442038 2007-08 5507 255589 451712

226458 545 88431 32214

243910 600 111746 34329

295521 596 115462 34503

304344 621 129637 45511

315435 585 158433 57987

340209 598 163599 64167

374942 621 170679 64508

35492 181.47

40994 190.08

66152 221.43

86296 264.61

81729 305.80

72965 354.27

84355 429.73

Source: Department of Animal Husbandry, GOMP.

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The State has a livestock policy. This starts with the absurdly fallacious assumption that livestock rearing does not make any demands on land. In this way it is able to sidetrack the single biggest problem that confronts poor livestock rearers the availability of fodder, either through grazing or from crop residues or fodder crops. Consequently there is no mention in the policy at all about fodder development. Ironically the policy speaks of encouraging stallfeeding, which is another shibboleth, but does not deem it fit to consider ways in which fodder will be availed for such stallfeeding. Given the shortage of land and unavailability of irrigation water for agricultural and horticultural production it is highly unlikely that fodder production will ever be prioritised on agricultural land. Again the policy speaks of the reduction of non descript animals without the perception that these animals have become non-descript because of being underfed through generations. The stress is on breed improvement through artificial or natural insemination and the sterilisation of non-descript animals rather than on seeking ways to improve fodder and feed availability. The most glaring deficiency of this policy is that it fails to adopt a multisectoral approach to livestock development. Proper livestock development will require coordination and planning between as diverse departments as water resources, agriculture, animal husbandry, forests, panchayati raj, tribal development, women and child welfare and watershed management. Moreover attention must be paid to, storage, processing and marketing of meat if the returns from animal husbandry are to be increased. A SWOT analysis of the sector has been done in Table 22 as it is crucial to the livelihoods of the poor in the state.

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Table 22: SWOT Analysis of Livestock Sector

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats 1. The presence of hardy 1. Quality of most of the 1. Processing and cold 1. The possibility of and potentially livestock has deteriorated chaining of primary transfer of public lands products like milk, meat within or without the productive native breeds through inbreeding. Inefficient Animal and eggs for export out forests on lease to private of bulls, cows, buffaloes, 2. for Husbandry Department of the state and the corporations goats, and chicken. commercial 2. Large land area that not able to implement its country. 2. Organisation of development, which will has the potential to laudable policies. provide fodder in good 3. Lack of coordination livestock rearers into adversely affect the quality and quantity. between the different cooperatives that can livelihoods of millions of farmers and 3. Large forest area that departments whose process and market milk, small and eggs landless people and can provide good quality policies impact on the meat production in the way further degrade their fodder grasses in plenty. livestock sector. rearing 4. Central location 4. Lack of awareness that Amul is doing in livestock practices with making it possible to among the people about Gujarat. negative cheaply supply surplus good livestock rearing 3. Fodder development consequent on the on vast tracts of land impact produce to the whole practices. country. 5. Lack of adequate lying barren with the environment. The continuing department 2. 5. A large proportion of public investment by the forest joint forest degradation of common small & marginal government in the sector. through farmers, the landless rear 6. Absence of a strong management as already lands due to excessive livestock thus providing cooperative movement of demonstrated by some pressure leading to a critical shortage of pilot schemes. a vast potential for livestock rearers. 4. Large scale watershed fodder. livestock development. programmes with a stron 3. The lack of a viable support system for the livestock focus. majority of poor livestock rearers.

10.AgriculturalMarketingandNonFarmSector
The need for the protection of farmers from being cheated by traders and also for keeping a control over marketing of agricultural produce led to the legislation of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Cooperatives (APMC) Act more than a century ago in the British era itself. However, over time the cooperative marketing boards have come to be dominated by traders and politically inclined big farmers to the detriment of small and medium farmers. Farmers generally find it difficult to get honest weighing and pricing of their produce. Moreover, with big corporate players coming into the field of agricultural sourcing and contract farming for their retail and agro-processing ventures and also the expanding and robust online trading in commodities derivatives there was pressure for the amendment of the Act. Thus the APMC Act in Madhya Pradesh has been amended to allow direct marketing, contract farming and private markets. This 114

was done despite opposition from the traders because the farmers supported this as they were gaining from selling directly to the corporate buyers. There is also pressure for the removal of the tax that is levied on transactions in the APMC markets. While this seems to be proceeding in the right direction there is still no market for organic produce because they are higher priced. Thus there is a need to develop special government institutions for this purpose. Moreover as mentioned earlier the rural markets or haats are underserved in terms of infrastructure and financial support. Most of the trading takes place in these haats and not in the APMC mandis these days and so there is a need to see how these can be better supported. The most sustainable and equitable way in which to generate additional employment and income in rural areas while at the same time reducing the population pressure on land is for the creation of non-farm activities. The newest concept for non-farm activities in rural areas is that of Rural Business Hubs. These are to capitalise on the agricultural produce of their hinterlands by further processing them locally through value addition so as to generate greater income both for the producers and for those who will be employed in the value addition entities. Setting up of such hubs requires detailed micro-level planning involving the stakeholders and has not yet got off the ground in Madhya Pradesh. Considering the tremendous potential that this concept has for the employment of the surplus labour in rural areas which is now mostly migrating or depressing the wage rates locally and also for creating a more sustainable and inclusive growth pattern in rural areas there is a need for taking it forward. In fact agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry will all be benefited tremendously as a consequence of this.

11.PovertyReductionStrategyinAgricultureandNaturalResources
Given the fact that a large section of the population still remains directly dependent on agriculture and natural resources for their livelihoods it is extremely important to devise appropriate policies for these sectors so as to bring about poverty reduction through the creation of sustainable livelihoods. Based on the foregoing discussion the broad poverty reduction strategy in the agriculture and natural resources sectors can be formulated as in Table 23 below.

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Table 23: Poverty Reduction Strategy in Agriculture and Natural Resource Sectors
Sector 1. Agriculture Poverty Reduction Strategy

1. The results of research that is already available on improving the seed quality and agricultural practices in dryland farming on small landholdings has to be actively implemented on the field. A detailed agro-climatic zone specific plan for the development of organic agriculture, certification and marketing aimed at servicing export markets will have to be drawn up and institutional support provided. 2. Development of new high yielding & disease resistant varieties of field crops as well as vegetables for the irrigated plains areas and a change in cropping pattern to a more sustainable regime. Production of nucleus and breeder seeds. Integrated nutrient management. Integrated pest management. 3. Rural markets or "haats" should be developed further and provided institutionalised support in the form of greater credit and infrastructure for transforming them into agro-processing centres for post harvest processing and value addition. Rural Business Hubs developed for value addition to agricultural produce locally and for relieving the pressure of population on land. 4. The operation of the APMC Act should be reviewed further and intitutional support should be provided to the marketing of organic produce. 5. Concerted efforts need to be made to process agricultural bio-mass a considerable part of which is wasted or burnt at present for conversion into fertiliser and energy. This will also reduce carbon emissions from agriculture and contribute to mitigation of climate change.

2. Horticulture

1. Horticulture and the processing and marketing of its products should be developed for farms better endowed with soil and water resources situated close to large urban markets or export processing zones. 2. Adequate research support in the form of better seeds and cropping techniques should be provided to the farmers. 3. Care should be taken to see that the benefits of these programmes reach the small and marginal farmers who are most in need of such help 116

through the formation of cooperative production and marketing cooperatives for these sections.
3. Surface Irrigation and Soil and Water Conservation

1. A programme of command area development must be taken up on a priority basis under which completion and renovation of canal systems, field channels and land levelling will have to be undertaken to fully realise the surface water irrigation potential already created. 2. Once this is done, participatory irrigation management must be implemented properly and the operation of the centralised irrigation systems must be made as efficient and equitable as is possible. 3. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme primarily and all other employment and rural development schemes should be geared to local area specific soil and water conservation activities on a large scale. Vast areas of the state are suffering from soil erosion and high surface runoff both of which can be effectively controlled by simple soil and water conservation techniques and overall watershed development including the rejuvenation of tanks which have become moribund. Stress should be laid on mobilising the community for the construction and later maintenance of the structures. 4. Particular attention should be given to artificial recharging of groundwater. Since in most areas of the state the underlying rock layers are poor aquifers, the fractured rock spaces should be identified and shaft recharging techniques adopted to divert the surface water into these after proper filtering. The Central Groundwater Board has prepared a detailed district wise National Master Plan on Artificial Recharge and this needs to be implemented immediately.

4. Forest Management

1. A massive participatory afforestation and conservation programme has to be undertaken using NREGS funds in the head reaches of all the major rivers originating in Madhya Pradesh and especially in the Chambal basin which has become highly denuded. This will not only help in restoring the non-monsoon base flow in these rivers but also through the Clean Development Mechanism make the state eligible for carbon credits. 2. A special cell should be set up to identify potential projects that can 117

qualify for carbon credits and then follow up with implementation and earning of credits under the Clean Development Mechanism. The transfer of resources from the centre under the new provisions of the Thirteenth Finance Commission in this regard should also be pursued. 3. The settlement of land rights of forestdwellers, mostly Scheduled Tribes, under the STOFRR Act must be completed with transparency and speed to improve the livelihood situation of lakhs of tribals. 4. Greater and more effective implementation of Joint Forest Management Projects in minor forest produce collection, processing and marketing.
5. Livestock

1. Processing and cold chaining of primary products like milk, meat and eggs for export out of the state and the country. 2. Further development of the cooperative federation and its corruption free operation so as to process and market meat and eggs in addition to milk. This will also ensure cheap nutrition for the poor. 3. Fodder development on vast tracts of land lying barren with the forest department or in village commons through joint forest management as already demonstrated by some pilot schemes. 4. Providing institutional support to the informal rural livestock markets so as to make them more efficient and effective. Ensure that the benefits of such markets reach the small livestock producers who are the most vulnerable.

6. Seasonal Migration

1. Recognising that seasonal migration is a characteristic feature for poor households arising from their low resource endowment which cannot be rectified completely through developmental efforts proactive measures are necessary to ensure that the migration experience is a positive one and the poor do not lose out on their entitlements in both their residence and their destination areas because of migration. 2. All laws and policies in this regard should be implemented and a special department set up to take care of the migrants needs as the present labour department is ill equipped and under staffed for this purpose.

7. Rural Data Base

1. Presently the rural data base is a non-participatory one and is being 118

maintained by the Patwaris and other ground level staff in a nontransparent manner. Consequently the reality of rural deprivation and resource degradation is not adequately captured in this data base. 2. The Gram Sabhas should be held regularly to update and validate the rural data base and make it more relevant for village level planning. Once this validation by the Gram Sabha takes place the data should be uploaded onto an online website which should then be available for all.

12.DetailedAgroClimaticRegionSpecificStrategies
The broad strategies described above have been detailed in accordance with the specific situation prevailing in the eleven different agro-climatic regions of the state in this section.

12.1ChhattisgarhPlains
Balaghat is the only district in this region and some of the statistics relevant for devising a poverty reduction strategy are given in Tables 24 - 26 below. Table 24: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs
Net Net Sown Irr. Area/ (Sqkm) Area Net (%) Sown Area Total Area (%) 9229 27 44.6 54 6 13 1.2 37.6 9.1 Forest Area Wastes Average Unavailable & Landholding Area for Fallows (%) (Ha) Cultivation Area (%) (%) Fertiliser Consumption Kgs/Ha Tractors Rural / 10 Pop. villages with Banking Access (%) 14.4

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP Table 25: Population Characteristics

Total Population 1497968 ST (%) 21.8 SC(%) 7.7 Density/Km 162 Decadal Growth (%) 9.7

Source: Census 2001

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Table 26: Crop Production and Yield 2005-06

Crop Paddy Kodo/Kutki Pulses Tur Maize Kharif Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 244.6 12.5 9.7 6.0 5.2 366.2 5.9 6.8 5.7 9.5 Yield (kg/Ha) 1576 471 701 954 1819 Crop Wheat Gram Linseed Rape/Must. Teora Rabi Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 26 11.5 19.2 7.4 10.6 22.1 8.5 7.9 5.5 5.8 Yield (kg/Ha) 888 735 410 746 547

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP The soil is red and yellow and of medium quality with high slopes. Consequently there is a limit to agricultural production as is evident from the low yields of the more important crops other than rice which has a medium yield. The net sown area is low and the irrigation percentage even lower. The tractor concentration as well as the access to banking too is low as is the fertiliser application. The region has a substantial tribal population with very low landholdings and a high proportion of forest area. Thus the main strategy to be adopted should focus more on forest development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor forest produce. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement in seeds and farming practices too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture is under developed in the region and this too should be a focus area. Markets are not well developed in the region and systematic efforts have to be made to improve this. Access to institutionalised credit and through it to better farm inputs also needs to be improved. The agriculture practised in the region can easily be converted to organic as the application of fertilisers is low. Already some initiatives have been taken in this regard to gain certification for organic rice cultivation by the tribals and these should be enhanced further.

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12.2NorthernHillRegionofChhattisgarh
The region encompasses the districts of Shahdol, Mandla, Dindori, Anuppur and Umaria and the statistics relevant for devising a poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 27 - 29 below. Table 27: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs
Total Area Net Net Sown Irr. Area/ (Sqkm) Area Net (%) Sown Area (%) 27298 39 4.8 33.7 9.3 18 2.0 9.2 7 Forest Area Wastes Average Unavailable & Landholding Area for Fallows (%) (Ha) Cultivation Area (%) (%) Fertiliser Consumption Kgs/Ha Tractors Rural / 10 Pop. villages with Banking Access (%) 12.6

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP Table 28: Population Characteristics (2001)

Total Population 3050269 ST (%) 52.0 SC(%) 6.3 Density/Km 115 Decadal Growth (%) 14.0

Source: Census 2001 Table 29: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)
Crop Paddy Pulses Kodo/Kutki Udad Maize Tur Kharif Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 440.4 38.5 141.6 16.5 69.9 21.5 387.2 15.3 39.5 4.5 69.1 10.7 Yield (kg/Ha) 883 399 954 261 953 517 Crop Wheat Gram Linseed Rape/Must. Masoor Peas Rabi Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 130.2 23.4 21.9 55.8 45 26.3 96.2 11 6.5 30.4 14.9 6.4 Yield (kg/Ha) 782 468 301 483 365.8 298

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP This region too has mostly red and yellow soil of medium quality and high slopes. There is some black soil but of medium to light quality and some sketeltal soils. So here too there is a limit to agricultural production and the yields are even lower in all the crops than in the first 121

region. The net sown area is low and the irrigation percentage even lower. The tractor concentration as well as the access to banking too is low as is the fertiliser application. The region has a majority tribal population with very low landholdings and proportion of forest area is once again very high. Thus the main strategy to be adopted again should focus more on forest development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor forest produce. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement in seeds and farming practices too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture is under developed in this region also and this too should be a focus area. Markets yet again are not well developed in the region and systematic efforts have to be made to improve this. As in the earlier case certified organic agriculture for export will provide an opportunity for greater incomes to the tribals and efforts should be made to set up an institutional mechanism to make this possible.

12.3KymorePlateauandSatpuraHills
The region encompasses the districts of Rewa, Satna, Panna, Jabalpur, Seoni, Katni and Sidhi and the statistics relevant for the poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 30 - 32. Table 30: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs
Total Area Net Net Sown Irr. Area/ (Sqkm) Area Net (%) Sown Area (%) 50396 45 28.8 28.3 10.7 15.7 1.8 35.4 20.1 Forest Area Wastes Average Unavailable & Landholding Area for Fallows (%) (Ha) Cultivation Area (%) (%) Fertiliser Consumption Kgs/Ha Tractors Rural / 10 Pop. villages with Banking Access (%) 18.5

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP

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Table 31: Population Characteristics (2001)

Total Population 10913098 ST (%) 20.2 SC(%) 13.9 Density/Km 231 Decadal Growth (%) 24.5

Source: Census 2001 Table 32: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)
Crop Paddy Pulses Kodo/Kutki Udad Maize Sesamum Kharif Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 699.7 155.7 91.1 68.2 59.3 34.7 660.9 64.2 26.2 24.1 80.2 11.8 Yield (kg/Ha) 968 473 313 277 1153 291 Crop Wheat Gram Linseed Rape/Must. Masoor Barley Rabi Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 745.2 429.7 55.0 23.7 156.7 39.7 837.8 315.4 18.4 12.3 69.3 30.9 Yield (kg/Ha) 974.5 718 369 534 432 804

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP This region has mixed red and black soils of medium quality with Jabalpur having good quality and deep black soils. Thus the agricultural potential is greater here. The net sown area is quite high at 45% and the irrigation percentage too is better at 28.8%. The tractor concentration as well as the access to banking and fertiliser application are higher though still well below desirable levels. The region has a fairly good tribal population with the typical very low landholdings and the proportion of forest area is also significant. Thus the main strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and horticultural development and agro-processing. Especially in Jabalpur and Katni where both the land and the connectivity with markets is very good. Jabalpur in fact was the best production area for dry land wheat before the new irrigated wheat varieties were introduced. Thus it has great potential for organic agricultural production and horticultural production. At the moment there is not much action in both these sectors. So special emphasis should be given on providing research, marketing and credit support to the development of organic agriculture and horticulture. Since Jabalpur is connected by air floriculture for export is a distinct possibility if properly supported by the administration. Forest development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor forest 123

produce too is a good supplementary strategy. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement in seeds and farming practices too will improve the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Rural markets in the interior need developing.

12.4CentralNarmadaValley
The region encompasses the districts of Narsinghpur, Hoshangabad and Sehore and the statistics relevant for devising a poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 33 - 35. Table 33: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs
Total Area Net Net Irr. Forest Sown Area/ Area Net (Sqkm) Area (%) Sown (%) Area (%) 18418 54 65.5 30.3 Area Unavailable for Cultivation (%) 6.3 Wastes Average & Landholding Fallows (Ha) Area (%) 9.7 2.7 55.0 69.3 Fertiliser Consumption Kgs/Ha Tractors Rural / 10 Pop. villages with Banking Access (%) 22.7

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP Table 34: Population Characteristics (2001)

Total Population 3120823 ST (%) 13.0 SC(%) 17.5 Density/Km 171 Decadal Growth (%) 24.1

Source: Census 2001 Table 35: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)
Crop Paddy Pulses Tur Soyabean Kharif Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 24.8 54.1 45.6 488.1 34.7 56.6 51.9 581.2 Yield (kg/Ha) 1399 958 1021 1314 Crop Wheat Gram Masoor Peas Rabi Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 378.2 249.4 32.3 20.4 835.0 271.7 20.8 12.7 Yield (kg/Ha) 2209 1104 644 518

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP 124

This region has deep black soils of very high quality and produces the highest quality and quantity of wheat of both the irrigated and the dryland variety. Sarbati wheat from Sehore is a special variety that commands a premium in the market. This area is also the highest producer of soyabean. The net sown area is quite high at 54% and the irrigation percentage too is excellent at 65.5% primarily due to canal irrigation from the Tawa dam. The tractor concentration as well as the access to banking and fertiliser application are also high indicating that farming in the region is quite well developed. However, the introduction of the soyabean - irrigated wheat monoculture has led to a decline in the diversity of crops sown and also leaching of soils due to over application of water and chemical fertilisers. The region has a relatively high scheduled caste population that is mostly landless or with marginal and small landholdings. Thus the main strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and horticulture development and agroprocessing and rejuvenation of soils. The region is well connected with national and international markets that should facilitate a shift to organic agricultural production. Agro processing, which is at a minimal level at the moment would result in greater employment for the scheduled castes. A shift to high value horticultural and medicinal crops along with processing is thus optimal. Forest development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor forest produce too is a good supplementary strategy for the scheduled tribes who inhabit areas that are comparatively less endowed in agricultural terms. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. There are a few wild life sanctuaries and national parks in the area where some friction exists between the Forest Department Staff and the tribals and this should be attended to. Development of eco-tourism combined with eco-development of the natural resource base of the tribals and providing them a stake in the tourism and development revenues will help in the process. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture has great potential in this region too because of its connectivity to national and

125

international markets through a railway line. Rural markets in the interior need to be developed as rural agro-processing hubs.

12.5VindhyaPlateau
The region encompasses the districts of Bhopal, Sagar, Damoh, Vidisha, Raisen and Guna. and the statistics relevant for the poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 36 - 38. Table 36: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs
Total Area Net Net Sown Irr. Area/ (Sqkm) Area Net (%) Sown Area (%) 36167 49.6 40.9 27 8.8 10.2 2.7 37.0 68.9 Forest Area Wastes Average Unavailable & Landholding Area for Fallows (%) (Ha) Cultivation Area (%) (%) Fertiliser Consumption Kgs/Ha Tractors Rural / 10 Pop. villages with Banking Access (%) 19.3

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP Table 37: Population Characteristics (2001)

Total Population 7289457 ST (%) 8.6 SC(%) 18.0 Density/Km 277 Decadal Growth (%) 26.7

Source: Census 2001

Table 38: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)

Crop Paddy Pulses Udad Soyabean Kharif Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 24.8 74.7 38.8 357.3 34.7 35.0 13.4 372.2 Rabi Yield (kg/Ha) 1399 469 345 1042 Crop Wheat Gram Masoor Peas Area ('000 Ha) 717.4 756.1 222.4 31.8 Prod. ('000T) 1016.4 746.3 121.1 17.8 Yield (kg/Ha) 1611 993 544 560

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP

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This region has a mixture of medium and deep black soils of moderately high quality and has an agricultural pattern similar to the central Narmada Valley. The net sown area is fairly high at 49.6% and the irrigation percentage too is good at 40.6% though it is mostly from ground water which is a cause for concern. The tractor concentration as well as the access to banking and fertiliser application are also high indicating that farming in the region is quite well developed. Here too the soyabean - irrigated wheat monoculture has led to a decline in the diversity of crops sown and also leaching of soils due to over application of water and chemical fertilisers. The region also has a relatively high scheduled caste population that is mostly landless or with marginal and small landholdings. Thus once again the main strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and horticulture development and agro-processing and rejuvenation of soils. The region is well connected with national and international markets that should facilitate a shift to organic agricultural production. Agro processing would result in greater employment for the scheduled castes. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture and especially floriculture has great potential in this region because of its connectivity to national and international markets through a railway line and also an airport in Bhopal. Rural markets in the interior need to be developed further like in the other regions.

12.6Gird
This region has the districts of Gwalior, Bhind, Morena, Sheopur-Kala, Guna and Ashoknagar; the statistics relevant for the poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 39 - 41. Table 39: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs
Total Area Net Net Sown Irr. Area/ (Sqkm) Area Net (%) Sown Area (%) 25073 57.8 45.8 12.5 18.0 11.8 2.0 46.4 91.1 Forest Area Wastes Average Unavailable & Landholding Area for Fallows (%) (Ha) Cultivation Area (%) (%) Fertiliser Consumption Kgs/Ha Tractors Rural / 10 Pop. villages with Banking Access (%) 17.8

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Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP Table 40: Population Characteristics (2001)

Total Population 6320149 ST (%) 4.4 SC(%) 19.5 Density/Km 287 Decadal Growth (%) 23.9

Source: Census 2001 Table 41: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)
Crop Paddy Pulses Udad Soyabean Bajra Kharif Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 25 46.4 28.2 210.5 132.9 55.3 24.3 13.6 251.2 232.4 Yield (kg/Ha) 2212 524 482 1193 1749 Crop Wheat Gram Masoor Rape/Mustard Rabi Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 463.0 256.5 54.0 474.8 968.4 252 34.3 624.8 Yield (kg/Ha) 2091 982 635 1316

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP This region has a light alluvial soil of moderate quality. The net sown area is high at 57.8% and the irrigation percentage too is good at 45.8%. The tractor concentration as well as the access to banking and fertiliser application are also high indicating that farming in this region is also quite well developed. The region also has a relatively high scheduled caste population that is mostly landless or with marginal and small landholdings and oppressed by feudal social relations. Thus once again the main strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and horticultural development and agro-processing. The region is well connected with national and international markets that should facilitate a shift to organic agricultural production due to both air and rail connectivity. Agro processing would result in greater employment for the scheduled castes. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture and especially floriculture has great potential in this region because of its connectivity to national and international markets through a railway line and also an airport in Gwalior. Proximity to the National Capital Region also provides great opportunities for market oriented agri-horticulture 128

and processing. Rural markets in the interior need to be developed further as rural business hubs like in the other regions.

12.7Bundelkhand
The region encompasses the districts of Chhattarpur, Datia, Tikamgarh and Shivpuri and the statistics relevant for the poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 42 - 44. Table 42: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs
Total Net Area Sown (Sqkm) Area (%) 26703 51.8 Net Irr. Forest Area/ Net Area (%) Sown Area (%) 57.3 20.0 Area Unavailable for Cultivation(%) 11.5 Wastes & Fallows Area (%) 17.3 Average Landholding (Ha) 2.3 Fertilis er Consumpti on Kgs/Ha 32.9 Rural Tracto Pop. with rs / 10 Banking villag Access es (%) 60.3 23.9

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP Table 43: Population Characteristics (2001)

Total Population 4747911 ST (%) 5.8 SC(%) 22.4 Density/Km 195 Decadal Growth (%) 26.1

Source: Census 2001 Table 44: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)
Crop Jowar Pulses Udad Soyabean Sesamum Kharif Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 31.6 32.2 125.7 39.5 98.1 29.3 141.5 123.5 62.2 24.4 Yield (kg/Ha) 1019 314 299 873 392 Crop Wheat Gram Masoor Rape/Mustard Peas Rabi Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 380.9 633.5 267.5 295.9 22.4 8.9 149.5 87 68.7 34.5 Yield (kg/Ha) 1663 1106 397 582 502

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP This region has mixed red and black soils of medium depth and moderate quality. The net sown area is high at 51.8% and the irrigation percentage too is good at 57.3%. The tractor concentration as well as the access to banking and fertiliser application are also high indicating that farming in the region is quite well developed. The region also has a relatively high scheduled caste population that is mostly landless or with marginal and small landholdings and oppressed by feudal social relations like the Gird region. Thus once again the main strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and horticulture development and agro-processing. The 129

region is well connected with national and international markets that should facilitate a shift to organic agricultural production. Agro processing would result in greater employment for the scheduled castes. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture and especially floriculture has great potential in this region because of its connectivity to national and international markets through a railway line. Proximity to the National Capital Region also provides great opportunities for market oriented agri-horticulture and processing. Rural markets in the interior need to be developed further like in the other regions.

12.8SatpuraPlateau
The region encompasses the districts of Betul & Chhindwara and the statistics relevant for the poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 45 - 47.

Table 45: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs

Total Net Area Sown (Sqkm) Area (%) 21858 40.5 Net Irr. Forest Area/ Net Area (%) Sown Area (%) 24.0 39.5 Area Unavailable for Cultivation(%) 7 Wastes & Fallows Area (%) 13.5 Average Landholding (Ha) 2.4 Fertilis er Consumpti on Kgs/Ha 37.1 Rural Tracto Pop. with rs / 10 Banking villag Access es (%) 37.0 29.5

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP Table 46: Population Characteristics (2001)

Total Population 3244458 ST (%) 36.7 SC(%) 11.2 Density/Km 145 Decadal Growth (%) 18.0

Source: Census 2001

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Table 47: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)

Crop Jowar Pulses Udad Soyabean Maize Tur Paddy Kharif Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 88.7 118.2 76.5 57.5 23.4 6.0 268.2 269.3 62.2 24.4 48.4 50.3 63.8 54.7 Yield (kg/Ha) 1333 752 256 1005 392 1039 857 Crop Wheat Gram Cotton Rabi Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 187.2 289.2 63.7 54.3 31.3 83.5 Yield (kg/Ha) 1545 852 1334

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP The soil is shallow black and of medium quality. The agricultural production is at middle level as seen from the medium yields of the crops. The net sown area is on the low side and the irrigation percentage even lower. The tractor concentration as well as the access to banking is of a medium level. The region has a substantial tribal population with very low landholdings and a high proportion of forest area. The tribals of this region have been subjected to displacement repeatedly due to the construction of dams, power plants and mining projects and the setting up of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Thus the main strategy to be adopted should focus more on forest development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor forest produce. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement in seeds and farming practices too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture is under developed in the region and this too should be a focus area. Markets are not well developed in the region and systematic efforts have to be made to improve this as well as create infrastructure for post harvest storage and processing. Access to institutionalised credit and through it to better farm inputs also needs to be improved for the tribals. Ecotourism also provides great opportunities for sustainable development in this region.

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12.9MalwaPlateau
The districts in this region are Mandsaur, Neemuch, Ratlam, Ujjain, Dewas, Indore, Shajapur and Rajgarh and the statistics relevant for poverty reduction are given in Table 48 - 50.

Table 48: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs

Total Area Net Net Sown Area (%) 44009 65.8 35.9 10.8 Irr. Forest Area (%) Area Unavailable Cultivation(%) 13.6 for Wastes & Average Fallows Area (%) Landholding (Ha) Fertilis sumpti on Kgs/Ha 11.5 2.4 44.9 55.7 Tracto villag es Rural Banking Access (%) 32.4 Sown Area/ Net er Con- rs / 10 Pop. with

(Sqkm) Area (%)

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP Table 49: Population Characteristics (2001)

Total Population 11154989 ST (%) 8.3 SC(%) 18.1 Density/Km 280 Decadal Growth (%) 25.7

Source: Census 2001 Table 50: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)
Crop Jowar Pulses Udad Soyabean Maize Kharif Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 76.7 109.1 77.5 33.8 58.0 23.9 1732.5 1749.8 216.3 393.8 Yield (kg/Ha) 1422 436 412 1010 1821 Crop Wheat Gram Cotton Rape/Mustard Rabi Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 300.4 612.4 343.9 283.9 78.7 113.9 84.4 77 Yield (kg/Ha) 2039 825 768 912

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP This region has black soils of medium depth and moderately high quality and has an agricultural pattern that is unique and the most advanced in the state. The net sown area is very high at 65.8% and the irrigation percentage too is good at 35.9% though it is mostly from ground 132

water which is a cause for concern as this region has been declared over exploited. The tractor concentration as well as the access to banking and fertiliser application are also high indicating that farming in the region is quite well developed. Here too the soyabean - irrigated wheat monoculture has led to a decline in the diversity of crops sown and also leaching of soils due to over application of water and chemical fertilisers. The region also has a relatively high scheduled caste population that is mostly landless or with marginal and small landholdings and suffering from social oppression. Thus once again the main strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and horticulture development and agro-processing and rejuvenation of soils and surface and ground water. The region is well connected with national and international markets that should facilitate a shift to organic agricultural production. There is already some agro processing, horticulture and production for export from this region which needs to be developed further. Agro processing would result in greater employment for the scheduled castes. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture and especially floriculture has great potential in this region because of its connectivity to national and international markets through a railway line and also an airport in Indore. Rural markets in the interior need to be developed further as rural business hubs like in the other regions.

12.10NimarPlains
The region encompasses the districts of Khandwa, Burhanpur, Khargone, Barwani ,Harda and Dhar and the statistics relevant for the poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 51 - 53. Table 51: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs
Total Net Area Sown (Sqkm) Area (%) 35714 Net Irr. Forest Area/ Net Area (%) Sown Area (%) 49.2 44.6 31 Area Unavailable for Cultivation(%) 11.4 Wastes & Fallows Area (%) 8.6 Average Landholding (Ha) Fertilis er Consumpti on Kgs/Ha 3.3 60.5 Tracto rs / 10 villag es Rural Pop. with Banking Access (%) 24.6 32.4

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP

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Table 52: Population Characteristics (2001)

Total Population 6538882 ST (%) 43.6 SC(%) 9.5 Density/Km 211 Decadal Growth (%) 25.9

Source: Census 2001 Table 53: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)
Crop Jowar Pulses Udad Soyabean Maize Groundnut Tur Kharif Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 179.4 161.1 104.4 36.5 27.6 6.5 480.4 452.5 133.0 162.0 37.6 26.5 36.3 21.1 Rabi Yield (kg/Ha) 898 350 236 942 1218 704 595 Crop Wheat Gram Cotton Area ('000 Ha) 186.8 58.1 462.9 Prod. ('000T) 318.5 44.7 499.1 Yield (kg/Ha) 1705 769 1078

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP This region has black soils of medium depth and moderately high quality and has an agricultural pattern that has retained the bio-diversity in the kharif crops. The net sown area is very high at 49.2% and the irrigation percentage too is good at 44.6%. In Harda it is mainly through canal irrigation from the Tawa dam but elsewhere it is mostly either from ground water or from lifts from the River Narmada. Some districts in this region have been declared over exploited in terms of ground water extraction. The tractor concentration as well as the access to banking and fertiliser application are also alright indicating that farming in the region is quite well developed among the non-tribals. The region also has a high scheduled tribe population that has marginal and small landholdings of lower quality lands. Thus the strategy to be adopted should be a mix of forest development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor forest produce and also improvement of agriculture. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horiculture is being practiced widely in the region by the non-tribals and so ways must be sought to make it possible for the tribals also. Rural markets in the interior need to be 134

developed further like in the other regions. There are considerable encroachments for agriculture into forest land by the tribals and these have been there for quite some time. However, so far very little progress has been made in settling the tribals' rights under the Forest Dwellers Recognition of Rights Act. Thus a proper strategy for involving the tribals in forest regeneration and the use of the clean development mechanism to pull in more resources for this purpose should be drawn up.

12.11JhabuaHills
This region has only the district of Jhabua and the statistics relevant for the poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 54 - 56. Table 54: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs
Total Net Area Sown (Sqkm) Area (%) 6778 Net Irr. Forest Area/ Net Area (%) Sown Area (%) 54 15.1 19 Area Unavailable for Cultivation(%) 21 Wastes & Fallows Area (%) 6 Average Landholding (Ha) Fertilis er Consumpti on Kgs/Ha 2.0 36.2 Tracto rs / 10 villag es Rural Pop. with Banking Access (%) 8.6 23.9

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP Table 55: Population Characteristics (2001)

Total Population 1394561 ST (%) 86.8 SC(%) 2.8 Density/Km 206 Decadal Growth (%) 23.4

Source: Census 2001 Table 56: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)
Crop Jowar Pulses Udad Soyabean Maize Groundnut Kharif Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 17.1 14.8 91.5 37.8 69.2 29 28.9 18.5 11.2 138.6 22.6 21.9 Yield (kg/Ha) 868 41.3 420 641 1246 969 Crop Wheat Gram Cotton Rabi Area Prod. ('000 Ha) ('000T) 27 49 20.9 12.1 36.2 32.8 Yield (kg/Ha) 1891 577 459

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP

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This region has shallow black and skeletal soils of moderate to low quality and so agricultural production is low. The net sown area is very high at 54% but the irrigation percentage is only 15.1% through ground water and lifts. The tractor concentration as well as the access to banking and fertiliser application are low indicating that the tribal dominated region is lagging in agricultural development. Thus the strategy to be adopted should be that of forest development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor forest produce and also improvement of agriculture. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Rural markets in the interior need to be developed further like in the other regions. There are considerable encroachments for agriculture into forest land by the tribals and these have been there for quite some time. However, so far very little progress has been made in settling the tribals' rights under the Forest Dwellers Recognition of Rights Act.

12.12ComprehensiveAgroClimaticRegionwiseStrategy
The poverty reduction strategies devised above based on a review of agriculture and natural resources in the different agro-climatic zones have been summarised in Table 57 below. Table 57: Agro-Climatic Zone Specific Poverty Reduction Strategies
AgroClimatic Region Chhattisgarh Plains Poverty Reduction Strategy

The main strategy to be adopted should focus more on forest development through joint

forest management and collection and processing of minor forest produce. Forest bioNorthern Hill mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture Region of are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation Chhattisgarh measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement in seeds and farming practices too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture is under developed in the region

136

and this too should be a focus area. Markets are not well developed in the region and systematic efforts have to be made to improve this. Access to institutionalised credit and through it to better farm inputs also needs to be improved. The agriculture practised in the region can easily be converted to organic as the application of fertilisers is low. Already some initiatives have been taken in this regard to gain certification for organic rice cultivation by the tribals and these should be enhanced further. Kymore The main strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and horticultural Plateau and development and agro-processing. Especially in Jabalpur and Katni where both the land Satpura Hills and the connectivity with markets is very good. Jabalpur in fact was the best production area for dry land wheat before the new irrigated wheat varieties were introduced. Thus it has great potential for organic agricultural production and horticultural production. At the moment there is not much action in both these sectors. So special emphasis should be given on providing research, marketing and credit support to the development of organic agriculture and horticulture. Since Jabalpur is connected by air floriculture for export is a distinct possibility if properly supported by the administration. Forest development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor forest produce too is a good supplementary strategy. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement in seeds and farming practices too will improve the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Rural markets in the interior need developing. Central Narmada Valley Thus the main strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and horticulture development and agro-processing and rejuvenation of soils. The region is well connected with national and international markets that should facilitate a shift to organic agricultural production. Agro processing, which is at a minimal level at the moment would result in greater employment for the scheduled castes. A shift to high value horticultural and medicinal crops along with processing is thus optimal. Forest development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor forest produce too is a good supplementary strategy for the scheduled tribes who inhabit

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areas that are comparatively less endowed in agricultural terms. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. There are a few wild life sanctuaries and national parks in the area where some friction exists between the Forest Department Staff and the tribals and this should be attended to. Development of eco-tourism combined with eco-development of the natural resource base of the tribals and providing them a stake in the tourism and development revenues will help in the process. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture has great potential in this region too because of its connectivity to national and international markets through a railway line. Rural markets in the interior need to be developed as rural agro-processing hubs. Vindhya Plateau Gird Bundelkhand The main strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and horticulture development and agro-processing and rejuvenation of soils. The region is well connected with national and international markets that should facilitate a shift to organic agricultural production. Agro processing would result in greater employment for the scheduled castes. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture and especially floriculture has great potential in this region because of its connectivity to national and international markets through a railway line and also an airport in Bhopal. Rural markets in the interior need development like in the other regions. Satpura Plateau The main strategy to be adopted should focus more on forest development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor forest produce. Forest biomass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement in seeds and farming practices too will go a long way towards improving

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the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture is under developed in the region and this too should be a focus area. Markets are not well developed in the region and systematic efforts have to be made to improve this as well as create infrastructure for post harvest storage and processing. Access to institutionalised credit and through it to better farm inputs also needs to be improved for the tribals. Ecotourism has great potential in this region. Malwa Plateau The main strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and horticulture development and agro-processing and rejuvenation of soils and surface and ground water. The region is well connected with national and international markets that should facilitate a shift to organic agricultural production. There is already some agro processing, horticulture and production for export from this region which needs to be developed further. Agro processing would result in greater employment for the scheduled castes. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture and especially floriculture has great potential in this region because of its connectivity to national and international markets through a railway line and also an airport in Indore. Rural markets in the interior need to be developed further as rural business hubs like in the other regions. Nimar Plains Jhabua Hills The strategy to be adopted should be a mix of forest development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor forest produce and also improvement of agriculture. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horiculture is being practiced widely in the region by the non-tribals and so ways must be sought to make it possible for the tribals also. Rural markets in the interior need to be developed further like in the other regions. There are considerable encroachments for agriculture into forest land by the tribals and these have been there for quite some

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time. However, so far very little progress has been made in settling the tribals' rights under the Forest Dwellers Recognition of Rights Act. Thus a proper strategy for involving the tribals in forest regeneration and the use of the clean development mechanism to pull in more resources for this purpose should be drawn up. Ecotourism has great potential in this region.

The strategies to be adopted are similar in agro-climatic zones that are rich in forest resources and also have a predominantly tribal population and centre around capitalising on their tremendous potential to earn carbon credits. The northern region of the state has great potential for agro-processing based strategies of poverty reduction. Overall agricultural development must move towards organic methods supported by adequate institutional, market and credit support. Horticulture, livestock rearing and dairying also provide good opportunities for poverty reduction through non farm employment generation. Overall the resource base of the state is bountiful enough for poverty reduction to be possible with appropriate agricultural and natural resource policies which integrate well with the NREGS.

140

References
General & Census Commissioner, India. Delhi

Census of India, 2001, Provisional Population Tables:Paper1 of 2001, Series 1. Registrar Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, 2009, Madhya Pradesh Year Book 2008, (Department of Economics and Statistics), Bhopal. Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, 2009, Annual Plan 2009-10, Bhopal. Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, 2008, Fourth Madhya Pradesh Human Development Report 2007, Bhopal. Saxena, N.C., 2002, Forests and the People: Policy Issues in Madhya Pradesh. In Jha, Praveen K. (Ed). Land Reforms in India, Vol 7; Issues of Equity in Rural Madhya Pradesh. Sundar, N., Roger, J. and Thin, N., 2001, Branching Out: Joint Forest Management in India. New Delhi. Oxford University Press. Shah, P. (1993). Participatory Watershed Management Programmes in India: Reversing Our Roles and Revising Our Theories in Rural Peoples Knowledge, Agricultural Research and Extension Practice, IIED Research Series, Vol 1 (3), IIED, London,. Shah, M et al, 1998, India's Drylands : Tribal Societies and Development through Environmental Regeneration, OUP, Delhi. TARU Leading Edge, 2001, Evaluation of Rajeev Gandhi Watershed Mission Watersheds in Madhya Pradesh, UNICEF, Bhopal, mimeo. World Bank, (2000). India. Alleviating Poverty through Forest Development. Evaluation Country Case Study Series. p 123. Washington D.C. Departments of Govt. of Madhya Pradesh : http://www.mp.gov.in/directory Rajeev Gandhi Watershed Mission : http://www.watermissionmp.com

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Chapter 6: Elementary Education

Education plays an important role in the development of the personality and building of the capacity of a child necessary to become a responsible parent and a productive adult. It is the basic yet the most important intervention through the processes of learning, knowledge accumulation and skills development. It is in this context that universalisation of education of children is one of the cherished goal of all social, economic and human development efforts. It may however, be pointed out that although, universalisation of child education is a key component of any social, economic and human development process, yet education to all children is not the explicit objective of the XI Five-year Development Plan of Madhya Pradesh. The XI Five-year Development Plan of Madhya Pradesh aims at achieving a literacy rate of 84 per cent by the year 2012 (Government of Madhya Pradesh, 2007). It may be argued here that in order to achieve a literacy rate of 84 per cent, universalisation of education of children is a necessary prerequisite. Without ensuring education to all children of the state, it is not possible to achieve a literacy rate of 84 per cent. Against the above background, this chapter examines the status of education of children in Madhya Pradesh. The focus is on education of children 7-14 years of age as this period is the most important period in the life of every child. During this period, the child enters into an era of learning, knowledge accumulation and skills development along with socialization with the rest of the world. Achievements of the child, during this period, contribute significantly in its recognition as a worthy citizen and responsible parent later in the life. The knowledge gained and skills mastered during this period decide the course of the remaining life of the child as a productive adult and its contribution to the family and the society to which the child belongs. The discussion that follows focusses on the two important aspects of child education - the level of literacy and the extent of schooling among children 7-14 years of age. Although, schooling is not a necessary condition for literacy which means ability to read and write with understanding, yet schooling is the main intervention to achieve the goal of universal education. It may however be stressed that universal literacy maybe different from universal schooling. It is

142

in this context that the chapter also elaborates upon the learning environment that prevails in the state. Two sources of information are available for measuring the progress towards universalisation of child education in Madhya Pradesh. The first source is the decennial population census which primary focuses on literacy and education. The last population census carried out in the 2001 provides information about the level of education of every individual in addition to the information related to schooling by the age of the individual. The second source of information about child education is the District Information System for Education (DISE) which was developed as part of the District Primary Education Programme launched by the Government of India in 1994. This source of information primary focuses on schooling. DISE has been developed by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) in the year 1995 with financial assistance from the United Nations Childrens Fund in recognition of the need of a sound information base of planning and monitoring of interventions under the District Primary Education Programme. It was comprehensively reviewed and updated in the year 2000-01. DISE is an school-based system of reporting educational statistics as school statistics constitutes the core of educational statistics. The system is being implemented in only those districts in India where the District Primary Education Programme is being implemented. The information available from either the population census or the DISE has some limitations. The major limitation of the information available through the population census is that the information is available at an interval of ten years. The last population census in India was carried out in 2001 and so the information available from the census is somewhat outdated for analysing and discussing the state of child education in the year 2009. On the other hand, information available through DISE is essentially the provider-based information and so this information is associated with the provider bias. Another limitation of DISE is that it does not include information related to out of school learning and education activities. A third problem is that the information available through DISE is limited to only those schools which are covered under the District Primary Education Programme. Because of these limitations, the information available from the population census and from DISE are not comparable. By contrast, 143

information available through the population census covers all type of programmes, interventions and activities directed towards educating children including public interventions, private initiatives and efforts. Information available through census covers school based activities as well as informal learning in out of school programmes and activities.

Literacy in Children 7-14 years

Information about the level of literacy in children 7-14 years of age is available through the 2001 population census. This information suggests that very close to 80 per cent of children 7-14 years of age in the state were literate in the sense that they were able to read and write with understanding. This implies that more than one fifth of children 7-14 years of age in the state were illiterate at the beginning of the present century. Reaching and educating these illiterate children is critical to achieving the goal of universal child education and a literacy rate of 84 per cent by the year 2012 as specified in the XI Five-year Development Plan of the state. Social class differentials in the literacy rate of children 7-14 years of age are remarkable for their strength. Moreover, these differentials appear to have persisted over time. First and foremost, the literacy rate is higher in male children (83.1 per cent) as compared to female children (73.6 per cent), although the gender gap in literacy among children 7-14 years of age appears to have narrowed down over time. In any case, the information available through the 2001 population census implies that there were only about 80 female literate children for every 100 male literate children of 7-14 years of age, a situation that cannot be accepted by any perspective. Similarly, there is a wide gap in the literacy of children 7-14 years of age in rural (75.4 per cent) as compared to that in urban areas (88.1 per cent) of the state and, once again, there are indications that the gap is narrowing down over time. Another important dimension of literacy among children 7-14 years of age is social class differentials which have also persisted over time. The information available through the 2001 population census suggests that, compared to average literacy of almost 80 per cent at the state level in children 7-14 years of age, the literacy rate of Scheduled Tribes children 7-14 years of age was found to be less than 60 per cent. Among the female Scheduled Tribes children 7-14 years of age, the level of literacy has been estimated to be just around 50 per cent showing wide 144

social class disparities in literacy among children despite persistent efforts during the last 50 years. Compared to Scheduled Tribes, the level of literacy in children of Scheduled Castes is relatively better but still lower than the level of literacy among non Scheduled Castes/Tribes children.
Figure 1

Literacy rate in children 7-14 years of age in Madhya Pradesh, 2001

95 90 85 80 Person 75 70 65 60 55 Male Female

10

11

12

13

14

The persistence of social class differentials in literacy, especially very low levels of literacy in Scheduled Tribes children appears to be a major stumbling block by way of universal child education in the state and realisation of the goal of a literacy rate of 84 per cent by the year 2012 as prescribed in the XI Five-year Development Plan of Madhya Pradesh. Scheduled Tribes children, it may be recalled, account for more than one fifth of the children 7-14 years of age in the state, according to the 2001 population census. Obviously, an accelerated improvement in 145

literacy of Scheduled Tribe children is critical to achieve the goal of universal education in the state.

Figue 2

Proportion (Per cent) of children 7-14 years of age not in school in Madhya Pradesh 2001

3 21

3 20

76

77

T otal

SC

42 3 83 55

3 15

ST

Non SC/ST

In sc hool

Not in s chool but literate

Illiterate

Information available through the 2001 population census also suggests that the literacy rate increases with the increase in the age. The increase is very rapid in the younger ages and after 9 years of age, the increase slows down considerably to reach the maximum at 11 years of age and decreases thereafter. The increase in literacy with age has however been found to be slower in female children as compared to male children so that the gap between literacy rates of male and female children increases with age. In children of 7 years of age, male literacy was about 7 points higher than female literacy which increases to almost 11 points in children 13 146

years of age and around 13 points in children of 14 years of age (Figure 2). In Scheduled Tribes children, this gap increases from about 8 points in children of 7 years of age to more than 20 points in children 14 years of age. The gap in the literacy of male and female children also increases with age in the Scheduled Castes and non Scheduled Castes/Tribes children.

Figure 3

Proportion (Per cent) of children not in school by age

60

50

40 Total 30 SC ST Non SC/ST 20

10

10

11

12

13

14

Children in School
Information available through the 2001 population census also suggests that about 76 per cent children of 7-14 years of age in Madhya Pradesh were found to be in school at the time of 2001 population census, studying in different grades. This implies that about one fourth of children 7-14 years of age were not in school at the 2001 population census. Out of these 24 per 147

cent children, about 3 per cent children were literate - able to read and write with understanding whereas about 21 per cent children aged 7-14 years were illiterate (Figure 2). The proportion not in school was higher in female as compared to male children and in rural as compared to urban areas (Table 1). The situation appears to be particularly alarming among Scheduled Tribes children as almost 45 per cent of the Scheduled Tribes children aged 7-14 years were found to be not in school at the time of 2001 population census. Figure 3 depicts the proportion of children not in school by the age of the child on the basis of the information available through 2001 population census. At the beginning of the learning period, the proportion of children not in school appears to be very high. With the increase in the age of the child, this proportion decreases, rather rapidly, so as to achieve a minimum during the age 9-11 years. After 11 years of age, the proportion of children not in school rises again rather steeply and increases to more than 35 per cent in case of all children combined and almost 60 per cent in case of Scheduled Tribes children. Even in the non Scheduled Castes/Tribes population, this proportion has been found to be very close to 30 per cent. It is clear from figure 3 that a very substantial proportion of children 7-14 years of age in the state remain out of the school despite all efforts of the government. Moreover, there is a very substantial drop out of school after attaining 11 years of age. The age pattern of the proportion of children not in school suggests that schooling in the state generally begins at an age older than 7 years and is at its peak in the age group 9-11 years when only about 10 per cent of the children were found to be out of the school around the year 2001. After 11 years of age, the proportion of children not in school increases again. A relatively low level of schooling in the younger ages of the childhood period is indicative of low demand for child schooling in the community. On the other hand, a decrease in schooling in the older ages of the childhood period may be because of a number of factors including the relevance of school education and a rapid increase in the drop out of girls from the school as the age increases.

148

Figure 4

Sex pattern of proportion of children not in school by age

50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 7 8 9 10 Male 11 12 Female 13 14

The decrease in schooling of children after 11 years of age appears to be the result of dropping out of both boys and girls from the school, although, the drop out appears to be more rapid in girls as compared to boys. The proportion of boys not in school in the state increased from around 11 per cent at 11 years of age to more than 26 per cent at 14 years of age whereas the proportion of girls not in school increased from around 19 per cent to more than 45 per cent according to the information available through the 2001 population census. Although, the information available through the 2001 population census is about 8 years old but it can safely be conjectured that there has not been any significant change in the situation. The dropping out of boys from the school after 11 years of age is also a significant factor in the decrease in schooling

149

Figure 5

Inter-district variations in the proportion of children 7-14 years of age not in school

during the older ages of the childhood period. There has however been little effort to reduce the drop out of boys from the school.

Inter-district Variations in Literacy

Inter-district variations in the proportion of children aged 7-14 years not in school are very significant. In two districts of the state - Jhabua and Barwani - more than half of the children 7-14 years of age were not in school at the time of 2001 population census with district Jhabua having the highest proportion of children out of school. District Jhabua, incidentally, has the highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes population in the state. In Sheopur, Sidhi and Dhar districts also, the proportion of children 7-14 years of age out of the school has been found to be 150

very high - ranging between 40-50 per cent. By contrast, in five districts - Balaghat, Seoni, Narsinghpur, Shajapur and Mandsaur - less than 20 per cent of children 7-14 years of age were found to be out of the school. In most of the districts of the state, however, the proportion of children 7-14 years of age outside the school ranged between 20 to 30 per cent around the year 2001. Although, one would expect an improvement in the situation since 2001, yet, it is appears that the goal of universal schooling of all children 7-14 years of age in the state is still elusive and in some districts of the state, such as Jhabua and Barwani, the situation appears to be grim as a substantial proportion of children 7-14 years of age, in these districts, still appear to be to be out of the school. The female-male gap in the proportion of children 7-14 years of age not in school also varies across the districts (Figure 6). For the combined (rural and urban) population and for all social classes combined, the female-male gap in the proportion of children 7-14 years of age not in school varies from a low of about 2 percentage points in district Jabalpur to a high of more than 13 percentage points in district Jhabua. Moreover, in all districts of the state, the femalemale gap in children 7-14 years of age not in school is positive which implies that the proportion of female children 7-14 years of age out of the school is larger than the proportion of male children 7-14 years of age out of school. The female-male gap in the proportion of children out of school is also positive in all districts of the state in case of Scheduled Tribes children and in all but one districts in case of Scheduled Castes children for the combined population. The only district where the female-male gap in the proportion of children not in school has been found to be negative at the 2001 population census is district Balaghat. The same pattern may also be observed in the rural areas of the state also. However, in the urban areas, the pattern appears to be different. For the combined population, the female-male gap has ben found negative in three districts - Chhindwara, Damoh and East Nimar - although difference is only marginal. In case of Scheduled Castes children, on the other hand, the female-male gap is negative in 11 districts of the state whereas in case of Scheduled Tribes Children, the female-male gap has been found to be negative in 8 districts of the state. By contrast, in case of non Scheduled Castes/Tribes population the female-male gap is found to be negative in only three districts - Chhindwara, Damoh nd Jabalpur. 151

Figure 6 Inter-district variations in female-male gap in the proportion of children 7-14 years of age not in school.

Another observation of the figure 6 is that inter-district variations in the female-male gap in the proportion of children aged 7-14 years not in school is very substantial in case of Scheduled Tribes children in urban areas. In district Datia, this ratio has been found to be extremely negative which indicates that, compared to females, a very large proportion of male Scheduled Tribes children were found to be not in school in this district at the 2001 population census. On the other hand, the female-male gap has been found to be extremely positive in Neemuch, Mandsaur, Vidisha and Damoh districts which implies that, compared to males, a very high proportion of female Scheduled Tribes children were found to be not in school in these district around the year 2001. Extreme differences in the female and male proportion of Scheduled Tribes children 7-14 years of age not in school in some of the districts of the state have implications for universalisation of schooling. 152

School Enrolment
According to the 2001 population census, about 9.45 million children of 7-14 years of age in the state were in school in the year 2001. This gives a school participation rate of around 76 per cent in the state as a whole. The school participation rate age was substantially lower in the rural areas (72 per cent) as compared to the school participation rate in the urban areas (86 per cent), although participation was not universal in either rural or urban areas. Similarly, the school participation rate was higher in male (81 per cent) as compared to female children (10 per cent). Among different social classes, the school participation rate has been estimated to be the lowest among Scheduled Tribes children (55 per cent) and the highest in the non Scheduled Castes/Tribes children (83 per cent). Schooling appears to be exceptionally poor in female Scheduled Tribes children in the rural areas as less than 47 per cent of female Scheduled Tribes children of 7-14 years of age were in school at the 2001 population census. By contrast, more than 89 per cent of male non Scheduled Castes/Tribes children in the urban areas were found to be in school at the 2001 population census. Although, the information available from the 2001 population census is outdated to some extent, yet it is clear from table 2 that social class disparities in schooling of children in the state are very wide and appear to have persisted over time. Reduction and ultimate elimination of these disparities is necessary to achieve universal the goal of schooling in Madhya Pradesh. On the other hand, gross enrolment in schools was reported to be more than 15.18 million in the year 2006-07 (NUEPA, 2008). Gross enrolment up to the primary level was around 11.27 million while the upper primary enrolment was around 3.91 million (Table 3). Enrolment of girls accounted for almost 48 per cent of the total gross enrolment in the elementary education - about 49 per cent in primary and 45 per cent in upper primary education. The enrolment sex ratio was more than 95 female children for every 100 male children up to grade three but decreases with the increase in education grade. The enrolment sex ratio was higher in the primary level (95 female children for every 100 male children) as compared to the upper primary level (82 female children for every 100 male children). In fact, the enrolment sex ratio decreases steadily from 96-98 female children for every 100 male children in grades I and II to just around 79 female children for every 100 male 153

Figure 7 Inter-district variations in primary education gross enrolment ratio, 2006-07.

children in grade VIII indicating that the drop out in girls increases at a faster rate than the increase in the drop out in boys with the increase in age. It is possible to estimate the gross enrolment ratio in different grades of primary and elementary education on the basis of the projected population of the state by age. The Government of India, National Commission on Population has projected the population of the country and the constituent states for the period 2001-2026 on the basis of the population enumerated at the 2001 population census (Government of India, 2007). According to these projections the number of children aged 7-14 years in Madhya Pradesh were approximately 12.5 154

million in the year 2006 - 7.85 million in the age group 7-11 years and 4.64 million in the age group 12-14 years. On the basis of this projected population, the primary education gross enrolment ratio in the state has been estimated to be 143.6 per cent while the upper primary education gross enrolment ratio has been estimated to be 84.2 per cent around the year 2006. Among different grades, the gross enrolment ratio for Grade I has been estimated to be the highest (164 per cent) but decreases in subsequent grades. In grade VII, the enrolment ratio has been estimated to be less than 80 per cent. Moreover, in all grades of the primary education, the gross enrolment ratio has been estimated to be more than 100 per cent but less than 100 per cent in all grades of upper primary education. The wide gap in the enrolment ratios at the primary level as compared to the gross enrolment ratio at the upper primary level suggests that there is a very high level of drop out between primary and upper primary levels. The gross enrolment ratio is defined as the ratio of total enrolment in primary (upper primary) education to the primary (upper primary)school age population. Since there is generally under-age and over-age enrolment in the primary education, the primary education gross enrolment ratio is generally found to be more than 100. A gross enrolment ratio higher than 100 implies that there is either over-aged enrolment or substantial repetition. If the number of repeaters are excluded, then the primary education gross enrolment ratio reduces to about123 per cent. This shows that there is very substantial over-aged enrolment in primary education in the state.

Inter-district Variations in School Enrolment

The District Information System for Education also provides estimates of gross enrolment ratio at the primary level and the upper primary level for the districts of the state. In all but two districts of the state, the primary education gross enrolment ratio has been estimated to be more than 100 per cent in the year 2006-07 with district Jhabua topping the list with a primary education gross enrolment ratio of more than 172 per cent. The two district where the primary education gross enrolment ratio has been estimated to be less than 100 per cent are Bhopal and Shahdol. On the other hand, the upper primary education gross enrolment ratio has been estimated to be less than 100 in all but 7 districts of the state. It appears that the information 155

available through the District Information System for Education presents a distorted picture of participation of children either in primary education or in upper primary education. Unfortunately, the District Information System for Education does not provide estimates of gross enrolment ratio for the elementary education for the state and for the districts which may provide
Figure 8 Inter-district variations in upper-primary education net enrolment ratio, 2006-07.

a more realistic picture of participation of children in schooling. In any case, estimates of primary education gross enrolment ratio in the state and in its constituent districts suggest that one of the challenge in the universalisation of primary education in the state is to reduce over-

156

aged enrolment and grade repetition in the primary education. It is also clear that reduction in over-aged enrolment and grade repetition in primary education will also contribute to improvement in the upper primary education gross enrolment ratio. Compared to the gross enrolment ratio, the net enrolment ratio, defined as the proportion of the population of the official age of a given grade who are enrolled in that grade, provides a more realistic picture of participation of children in school education. Ideally, the net enrolment ratio should be 100 per cent. The net enrolment ratio can never be more than 100 per cent. A low net enrolment ratio signals inadequacies in participation of children in school education. The District Information System for Education does not provide the estimate of primary level net enrolment ratio for the state as a whole but estimates for the districts are available. In 28 of the 45 districts of the state, the net enrolment ratio is estimated to be 100 per cent whereas in Bhopal and Shahdol districts, the net enrolment ratio has been estimated to be less than 70 per cent in the year 2006-07. By contrast, the net enrolment ratio in the upper primary education has been estimated to be very low. For the state as a whole, the net enrolment ratio has been estimated to be only about 60 per cent indicating gross deficiencies in the school education system in the state. On the other hand, the net enrolment ratio for upper primary education varies from a low of just around 32 per cent in district Shahdol to more than 80 per cent in Bhind, Morena, Indore and Katni districts. Net enrolment ratio in upper primary education has also been estimated to be very high in Gwalior and Umaria districts of the state. On the other hand, in 15 districts of the state, the upper primary education net enrolment ratio has been found to be less than 50 per cent which suggests that more than half of the children aged 12-14 years in these districts are out of upper primary education. They are either in the primary education or they are not in any school. The information available through the District Information System for Education clearly suggests that there are serious inadequacies in the context of universalisation of elementary education in the state, especially, in the 15 districts where the net enrolment ratio for upper primary education has been estimated to be very low on the basis of data available through District Information System for Education. Addressing these inadequacies is one of the development priorities of the state. 157

The Learning Environment

The prevailing levels of literacy and schooling in children aged 7-14 years are primarily influenced by the learning environment that prevails in the state. One of the key determinants of this learning environment is that children must have access to schools. Access to school includes both availability of the school and the distance at which the school is available. The Madhya Pradesh Jan Shiksha Adhiniyam that aims at universalising primary education, stipulates that there should be a primary education facility within a radius of 1 km and an upper primary education facilities within a radius of 3 kms of every habitation to ensure that all children have access to primary education (Government of Madhya Pradesh, 2002). There are two dimensions of schooling in the context of the learning environment in the school. One is the quantitative dimension while the other is the qualitative dimension. The quantitative dimension of the learning environment is related to the number of schools and the distance at which the learning facility is available. School density is thus a major factor in building the environment necessary for the universalisation of child education in the state. The most commonly used measure of this dimension is the number of schools per 1000 children 7-14 years of age or number of schools per 1000 population. The learning environment for the children of Madhya Pradesh consisted of approximately 1.26 million schools in both public and private sector and providing education from primary level up to the twelfth grade in both rural and urban areas during the year 2006-07 according to the information available from the District Information System for Education (NUEPA, 2008). The education and learning environment for children in the state is dominated by the public sector as almost 84 per cent or about 1.06 million schools in the state are public sector schools (Table 4). In the rural areas of the state, the number of schools in the public sector is more than 90 per cent but, in the urban areas, private sector schools outnumber public sector schools. In any case, the very fact that the availability of schools in the state, especially in the rural areas, is largely dependent upon the initiatives and investments of the government suggests that public sector efforts and public sector investments in schooling for children are critical to expanding the school network in the state and building the learning environment necessary for achieving the goal of universalisation of schooling among children. 158

Quality of Schooling
On the other hand, one of the necessary conditions to ensure an accepted quality of learning in the school environment is the quality of education which is determined by a minimum acceptable level of teachers, school infrastructure and facilities within the school. If this minimum acceptable level is lacking in schools, it is difficult to ensure education and learning of an acceptable quality. The quality of education is relevant from the perspective of both universal enrolment and retention of children in schools.

Figure 9

Proportion of single classroom and single teacher school in Madhya Pradesh

Primary

Primary and Upper Primary Primary, Upper Primary and Secondary Upper Primary Upper Primary and Secondary

All 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Single Clasroom

Single T eacher

One of the essential conditions to ensure an accepted level of quality of education and learning in schools is that the schools must have certain basic minimum standard in terms of 159

teachers, infrastructure and facilities. If the basic minimum standard in terms of teachers, infrastructure and facilities is missing in schools than it is difficult to ensure an accepted level of quality in education and learning that facilitates universal enrolment and cent per cent retention.

Figure 10

Infrastructure and facilities in schools in Madhya Pradesh

Pucca building Student/classroom ratio >=60 Play ground

Toilet f or girls

Electricity

Computers

Book bank 0 20 40 60 80

The District Information System for School Education provides information about the availability of infrastructure and facilities in schools covered under the system. This information presents a relatively poor scenario of infrastructure and facilities available in the schools of the state. The very fact that the quality of learning environment in the state is not up to the mark may be judged from the simple fact that more than 22 per cent of the schools in the state were single teacher schools while 10 per cent schools were single class room schools according to the 160

information available through the District Information System for Education. What is even more intriguing is the observation that there were even single classroom schools and single teacher schools in the state which were providing education up to the higher secondary level (Figure 9). Obviously, in these schools, the quality of education and learning is seriously compromised. Similarly, the observation that more than one fourth of the primary schools in the state are still single teacher schools also raises concerns about the quality of learning and education environment in the state. Information related to certain basic infrastructure and facilities in the schools of the state, as available through the District Information System for Education is presented in figure 10 which clearly shows that substantial investment in the school environment is necessary to ensure education and learning of an acceptable quality.

Education Development Index

A comprehensive assessment of the status of schooling environment in the state can be made on the basis of the education development index developed by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration as part of the District Information System for Education. The education development index is based on a set of 23 indicators grouped into four dimensions of the school environment - access to school, infrastructure and facilities in schools, availability of teachers and school outcomes (Box 1). Details regarding the construction of the Education Development Index are given elsewhere (NUEPA, 2009) and not described here. The index has been calculated separately for the primary education and the upper primary education. Separate development indexes have also been calculated for the four components of the composite education development index. However, these indexes have not been calculated for the elementary education. Rather the index has been calculated separately for the primary education and the upper primary education. Table 5 presents estimates of educational development index for the state along with the development indexes for the four component of the education development index. The table also gives the rank of Madhya Pradesh vis-a-vis other states and Union Territories of the country in

161

terms of the education development index as well as in terms of the four components of the education development index. The pathetic state of school education in Madhya Pradesh is very much evident from the table. The education development index for elementary education in the state is estimated to be 0.590 in the year 2006-07 and the state ranked 26 among the 35 states and Union Territories of the country. In case of primary education, the index is estimated to be 0.572 while it is estimated to be 0.607 in case of upper primary education. In both the cases, the state ranks 26 amongst the 35 states and Union Territories of the country. Among the four components of the education development index, Madhya Pradesh fairs relatively better in case of access index and infrastructure index as may be seen from table 5. However, in case of teacher index and outcome index, the state fairs badly with respect to other states and Union Territories of the country. The outcome index in case of upper primary education is estimated to be the lowest in the country. On the other hand, in case of primary education, the situation of the state vis-a-vis other states and Union Territories of the country is marginally better but not acceptable. It appears that Madhya Pradesh has performed relatively better in the quantitative dimension of the schooling environment, measured in terms of access and infrastructure as compared to the qualitative dimensions of schooling environment measured in terms of teacher index and outcome index. In order to achieve the cherished goal of universal education for all children in the state, it is imperative that quality dimension of the schooling environment in the state is improved substantially. The very fact that the outcome index in both primary education and upper primary education in the state is amongst the lowest in the country indicates that improvements in access and infrastructure in school education system in the state has contributed little to improvements in the quality of education and hence in the outcome of elementary education in the state. This is an area which require sincere introspection in the context of universal education for all. The foregoing discussions clearly indicate that the state has still to go a long way to ensure education for all as stipulated in the National Education Policy. It is obvious that substantive additional investments are required to improve the infrastructure and facilities in the schools of the state. It is also clear that the state cannot absolve itself from the responsibility of 162

providing basic education to all children of the state as education has now been enshrined as the fundamental right in the Constitution of India.

References
Government of India (2007) Population Projections for India based on 2001 Population Census. New Delhi, National Population Commission. Government of Madhya Pradesh (2002) Jan Shiksha Adhiniyam. Bhopal, Rajya Shiksha Kendra. Government of Madhya Pradesh (2007) XI Five-year Development Plan: 2007-2012. Bhopal, State Planning Commission. National University of Educational Planning and Administration (2008) Elementary Education in India. Progress towards UEE. New Delhi, National University of Planning and Administration. National University of Educational Planning and Administration (2009) Elementary Education in India. Where do we stand Vol I and II. New Delhi, National University of Educational Planning and Administration.

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Table 1 Proportion (per cent) of children 7-14 years of age not in schools in Madhya Pradesh, 2001.
Population Combined Rural Urban Combined Rural Urban Combined Rural Urban Combined Rural Urban
Source: Census 2001.

Person 24.24 27.59 14.13 23.18 24.42 19.31 44.79 45.69 31.41 17.44 19.97 11.91

Male Female Total Population 19.20 29.81 21.31 34.53 12.85 15.54 Scheduled Castes 17.90 29.21 18.19 31.64 16.96 21.89 Scheduled Tribes 37.83 52.25 38.48 53.41 28.18 34.91 Non Scheduled Castes/Tribes 13.21 22.11 14.23 26.30 10.99 12.94

F-M 10.61 13.22 2.69 11.31 13.45 4.93 14.42 14.93 6.73 8.9 12.07 1.95

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Table 2 School enrolment (7-14 years) in Madhya Pradesh, 2001.

Population Person Combined Male Female Person Total enrolment Total SC ST Non SC/ST 9447230 1519031 1483192 6445007 5287739 866287 864293 3557159 4159491 652744 618899 2887848 6781997 1129598 1367205 4285193 Enrolment Ratio (per cent) Total SC ST Non SC/ST 75.76 76.82 55.21 82.56 80.80 82.10 62.17 86.79 70.19 70.79 47.75 77.89 72.41 75.58 54.31 80.03 78.69 81.81 61.52 85.77 65.47 68.36 46.59 73.70 85.87 80.69 68.59 88.09 87.15 83.02 71.82 89.01 84.46 78.11 65.09 87.06 3865536 656164 801076 2408296 2916461 473434 566130 1876897 2665233 389433 115987 2159814 1422203 210123 63217 1148863 1243030 179310 52769 1010951 Rural Male Female Person Urban Male Female

Source: Census (2001)

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Table 3 School enrolment in Madhya Pradesh, 2006-07 based on the District Information System for Education.
Grade Estimated population 2006 (000) 1571 1567 1566 1571 1574 1568 1551 1524 7849 4643 12492 Total 2579593 2384735 2272961 2021964 2012048 1396016 1240124 1272846 11271301 3908986 15180287 Gross enrolment Boys 1318046 1205162 1159772 1045021 1048734 753787 681238 712652 5776735 2147677 7924412 Girls 1261547 1179573 1113189 976943 963314 642229 558886 560194 5494566 1761309 7255875 Enrolment sex ratio (F/100M) 96 98 96 93 92 85 82 79 95 82 92 Gross enrolment ratio (per cent) 164.20 152.18 145.14 128.71 127.83 89.03 79.96 83.52 143.60 84.19 121.52

I II III IV V VI VII VIII Primary Upper Primary Primary+Upp er Primary

Source: NUEPA (2008)

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Table 4 Educational institutions and enrolment in educational Institutions in Madhya Pradesh, 2006-07.
School category Total Primary only Primary and Upper Primary Primary, Upper Primary and Secondary/Higher Secondary Upper Primary only Upper Primary and Secondary/Higher Secondary All Primary only Primary and Upper Primary Primary, Upper Primary and Secondary/Higher Secondary Upper Primary only Upper Primary and Secondary/Higher Secondary All 87728 12262 2327 22525 1009 125851 69.71 9.74 1.85 17.90 0.80 100.00 Combined Public 80498 2812 360 21435 508 105613 76.22 2.66 0.34 20.30 0.48 83.92 Private Total Number of schools 7230 81034 9450 7002 1967 911 1090 501 19945 515 Rural Public 76086 2597 295 19367 355 Private 4948 4405 616 578 160 10707 46.21 41.14 5.75 5.40 1.49 9.79 Total 6694 5260 1416 2580 494 16444 40.71 31.99 8.61 15.69 3.00 100.00 Urban Public 4412 215 65 2068 153 6913 63.82 3.11 0.94 29.91 2.21 42.04 Private 2282 5045 1351 512 341 9531 24.56 52.93 14.17 5.37 3.58 57.96

20238 109407 98700 Structure of educational institutions 35.72 74.07 77.09 46.69 6.40 2.63 9.72 0.83 0.30 5.39 2.48 16.08 18.23 0.47 100.00 19.62 0.36 90.21

167

School category Total Primary only Primary and Upper Primary Primary, Upper Primary and Secondary/Higher Secondary Upper Primary only Upper Primary and Secondary/Higher Secondary All Primary only Primary and Upper Primary Primary, Upper Primary and Secondary/Higher Secondary Upper Primary only Upper Primary and Secondary/Higher Secondary All Source: Government of India. 9117891 2604782 737816 2492207 229613 15182309 104 212 317 111 228 121

Combined Public 8147644 479031 69620 2273467 95242 11065004 101 170 193 106 187 105

Total Enrolment 970247 8030737 2125751 1359147 668196 209695 218740 134371 2073854 96021

Private

Rural Public 7418847 431980 46574 1992624 56505 9946530 98 166 158 103 159 101

Private 611890 927167 163121 81230 39516 1822924 124 210 265 141 247 170

Total 1087154 1245635 528121 418353 133592 3412855 162 237 373 162 270 208

Urban Public 728797 47051 23046 280843 38737 1118474 165 219 355 136 253 162

Private 358357 1198584 505075 137510 94855 2294381 265 238 374 269 278 241

4117305 11769454 Enrolment per school 134 99 225 194 340 230 201 268 203 104 186 108

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Table 5:
Index

Education Development Index in Madhya Pradesh, 2007-08.

Primary Level Rank 26 13 15 30 29 Upper primary Level 0.607 0.694 0.764 0.501 0.451 Rank 26 19 20 32 35

Education development index Access index Infrastructure index Teacher index Outcome index
Source: NUEPA (2009)

0.572 0.554 0.721 0.446 0.546

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Chapter 7: Health and Longevity

Human capacity is one of the three key dimensions of multidimensional poverty - the other two are endowments and social opportunity. Reduction in poverty requires not only increasing endowments but also enhancing individual capacity and creating opportunities. Health and longevity is now universally recognised as the proxy for human capacity. One of the basic determinants of the productivity of an individual is his or her health which has a direct implication for longevity. Traditionally, health has been measured in terms of mortality. Transition in mortality reflects improvements in the quality of life through improvements in health and nutritional status of the population. Transition in mortality is a necessary requirement for improvements in the standards of living (United Nations, 1973). Transition in mortality also contributes to the evolution of the health policy. Ideally, there should be congruence between transition in mortality and evolution of the health policy as health policy has a direct reflection on the levels and trends in mortality. On the other hand, evolution of health policy should essentially be a response to the health status of the population as reflected in terms of changes in mortality. The most widely used indicator for analysing transition in mortality is the expectation of life at birth (Pollard, 1982). The expectation of life at birth is defined as the average number of years a new born will survive when exposed to the prevailing levels of age specific death rates. The expectation of life at birth is essentially a synthetic measure which gives the number of years, a new born is expected to survive, on average, given the prevailing age specific death rates. The expectation of life at birth takes into account the mortality experience of all ages. Madhya Pradesh has the dubious distinction of having the lowest expectation of life at birth in India which indicates that the health of the people of Madhya Pradesh is amongst the poorest in the country. According to the Sample Registration System, the expectation of life at birth in Madhya Pradesh was around 58 years during the period 2002-06 which was 5.5 years less than the expectation of life at birth for India as a whole (Government of India, 2008). The situation was radically different about 30 years ago, during 1971-75, when the expectation of life at birth in Madhya Pradesh was 47.6 years which was higher than the expectation of life at birth 170

in Assam, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh (Government of India, 1984). If the trend in the expectation of life at birth is a reflection of the progress in health and well being of the people, then, then the increase in the expectation of life at birth suggests that improvements in health and well-being of the people of Madhya Pradesh have been the slowest amongst the major states of India during the 30 years between 1971-75 through 2002-06. Obviously, poverty of health remains a major challenge in Madhya Pradesh. The persistence of poor health and well-being of the people of the state, incidentally, has important implications for other dimensions of poverty and hence for poverty reduction efforts. The increase in the expectation of life at birth in Madhya Pradesh can be characterised by comparing the actual increase in the expectation of life at birth with the global model schedules of improvements in mortality based on the increase in the expectation of life at birth developed by the United Nations (United Nations, 2004). United Nations has developed five model mortality improvement schedules on the basis of the empirical evidence about the increase in the expectation of life at birth during the period 1950 to 2005 in countries where the expectation of life at birth ranged between 50 to 85 years. These model mortality improvement schedules represent the average experience of improvements in mortality and are grouped according to 90th percentile (very fast increase), 75th percentile (fast increase), the arithmetic mean (medium increase), 25th percentile (slow increase), and 10th percentile (very slow increase). The model mortality schedules so obtained have then been extended to cover the expectation of life at birth ranging from 40 years to 92.5 years by fitting the Lee-Carter mortality model (United Nations, 2004a). Figure 1 compares the increase in the expectation of life at birth in Madhya Pradesh with the model mortality schedules developed by the United Nations during the period 1971-75 through 2001-05. It may be seen from the figure that compared to the global trends in the expectation of life at birth, the trend in the expectation of life at birth in males as well as in females has been slow to very slow during the 30 years between 1971-75 through 2001-05. Improvements in mortality appeared to be somewhat satisfactory up to 1986-90 in males and 1981-85 in females but during the 1990s, there is a clear evidence of faltering in improvements in mortality in the state. For example, the increase in the male expectation of life at birth in the state followed a trajectory between the medium and slow model mortality improvement schedule 171

of the United Nations till 1986-90 but after 1986-90, the pace of improvement in male expectation of life at birth decelerated so that by the year 2001-05, the total increase in the male expectation of life at birth was less than the increase according to the slow model mortality schedule of the United Nations. Similarly, the increase in the female expectation of life at birth in the state followed the fast model mortality schedule of United Nations till 1981-85 but the increase faltered after 1981-85 so that the total gain in the female expectation of life at birth in the state during the period 1971-75 through 2001-05 was less than the increase resulting from the slow model mortality schedule of United Nations. Figure Trends in the expectation of life at birth in Madhya Pradesh in comparison to the model mortality schedules of United Nations.

172

Figure 2 Proportion of new born expected to die by age in Madhya Pradesh.

The expectation of life at birth depicts the mortality experience of entire population. It is well known that the risk of death varies by age. A better understanding of the mortality 173

experience of the population of the state may therefore be obtained by analysing the mortality experience or, equivalently, the survival experience in the state in different age groups. This analysis is based on the trends in the probability of survival in different age groups as available through the Sample Registration System. The age specific death rates available through the Sample Registration System suggest that during the period 1971-75, almost one fourth of the new born were expected to die in the first five years of life; another about 13 per cent were expected to die during 5-45 years of age; about 14 per cent during 45-60 years of age and about 17 per cent during 60-70 years of age. As the result, only about 31 per cent of the new born were expected to survive up to 70 years of age. During the period 2001-05, more than 46 per cent of the new born were expected to reach 70 years primarily, as the result of improvements in mortality in the age group 0-5 years of age. As compared to almost one fourth of the new born dying before reaching their fifth birthday during the period 1971-75, less than 14 per cent of the new born were estimated to die before reaching the fifth birth day during the period 1996-200. However, during the period 2001-05, there was an increase in mortality in the age group 0-5.

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Figure 3 Probability of death (per 1000 live births) during infancy (<1 year) and during early childhood (1-4 years) in Madhya Pradesh.

One of the reasons for exceptionally slow increase in the expectation of life at birth in Madhya Pradesh is very high infant and child mortality, although, the risk of death during infancy and early childhood is decreasing over time. In the year 2007, the infant mortality rate in the state was 72 infant deaths per 1000 live births which was the highest in the country (Government of India, 2008). Similarly, according to the National Family Health Survey, 200506 the risk of death during the first five years of life in the state was estimated to be the second highest in the country. Persistence of high to very high risk of death during infancy and early 175

childhood in the state may be judged from the fact that Madhya Pradesh has always ranked among the poorest five states of India in terms of infant and child mortality over the last 35 years. Although, both infant and child mortality decreased during the period, yet the decrease has not been large enough to improve the rank of the state vis-a-vis other states of India. In recent years, there has also been an increase in the probability of death in 1-4 years of age. This reversing of the trend suggests a worsening rather than improvement in the health status of children 1-4 years of age.

Figure 4 Distribution of deaths by age in Madhya Pradesh.

176

The result of persistent high infant and child mortality in Madhya Pradesh is that almost 30 per cent of all deaths in the state are still confined to first five years of life (Government of India, 2008). This is in quite contrast to India as a whole where deaths in the age group 0-4 years accounted for about 20 per cent of all deaths. Moreover, even a more concerning observation is that despite reduction in infant and child mortality, there has been very little change in the distribution of deaths by age in the state. Obviously, an accelerated reduction in the risk of death during infancy and early childhood is necessary for an accelerated improvement in the health and longevity of the people in the state.

Figure 5 Trends in maternal mortality ratio in Madhya Pradesh.

Like infant and child mortality, maternal mortality in Madhya Pradesh is also amongst the highest in the country. Based on a special survey of deaths under the Sample Registration System, the Registrar General of India has estimated a maternal mortality ratio of 379 deaths for every 100 thousand live births in the state during the period 2001-03 which was well above the national average of 301 maternal deaths for every 100 thousand live births (Government of India, 2006). On the other hand, based on the information available through the National Family Health Survey, 2005-06 and using an indirect approach, Ranjan (2008) has estimated a maternal mortality ratio of 411 maternal deaths per 100 thousand live 177

births compared to the national average of 289 maternal deaths per 100 thousand live births. Because of high fertility, one in every 65 women in Madhya Pradesh face life time risk of a maternal death compared to one in every 108 women in India The life time risk in Madhya Pradesh is fourth highest in the country.

Figure 6 Proportion (per cent) of children 12-23 months of age fully immunised.

The underlying factors of unacceptably high infant and child mortality are poor efficiency of public health care services and rampant under-nutrition among children. The poor efficiency of public health care services in the state is reflected from the fact that around 40 per cent of children 12-23 months of age were found to be fully immunised at the time of National Family 178

Health Survey 2005-06 while less than 30 per cent of children below three years of age having diarrhoea during two weeks prior to the survey were found to be given oral rehydration salt to prevent deaths from dehydration during diarrhoea. Immunisation against vaccine preventable diseases and oral rehydration therapy during diarrhoea are the low cost appropriate technologies known for their effectiveness in preventing deathsduringinfancy and universal adoption of these technologies in Madhya Pradesh still remains a distant dream. early childhood even in diverse and difficult social, economic and cultural settings. However,

Figure 7 Proportion (per cent) of children with diarrhoea given oral rehydration therapy in Madhya Pradesh.

179

Nutritional status of children is another factor that plays an important role in determining the level of infant and child mortality. It is the single biggest contributor to childhood mortality. Inadequate and imbalanced diet and chronic illness are commonly associated with poor nutritional status of the children. In turn, poor nutritional status of children is one of the most serious health problems in children and the biggest contributor to childhood mortality. Under nutrition saps the growth potential of the child and its capacity to fight the environmental health hazards. Poor nutritional status combined with repeated bouts of common illnesses such as acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea, etc. constitute a vicious circle that hampers the growth and development of children and gradually push them to premature death. Breaking this vicious circle is the key to accelerated reduction in infant and child mortality. Figure 8 Proportion of children below three years of age under-nourished in Madhya Pradesh.

180

Poor Nutritional status of children of Madhya Pradesh may be judged from the fact that the information available through the National Family Health Survey suggests that an estimated 58 per cent of children in Madhya Pradesh were under-nourished in terms of low weight for age whereas almost 27 per cent were severely undernourished. Information available through different rounds of the National Family Health Survey also suggests that this proportion has shown an increasing trend in recent years which reflects a worsening of the nutrition situation in the state. Low weight for age reflects both long term nutritional imbalance and malnutrition, as well as current under-nutrition and is the result of protein-calorie deficiency. The increase in the proportion of children low weight-for-age have important implications not only for the survival of children but also for the health and longevity of the population.

Figure 9 Expectation of life at birth (years) in districts of Madhya Pradesh.

181

Based on National Family Health Survey, 2005-06 except for the expectation of life at birth which is estimated by the author on the basis of information available through 2001 population census. Another important dimension of health and longevity is regional and social class disparities that have persisted over time. More than 35 per cent of the population of Madhya Pradesh is either Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. Social class disparities, therefore, have important implications for the health status of the people. Similarly, inter-district disparities in health and longevity are also known for their strength and persistence. Reducing the social class and regional disparities has been argued to be an optimal, yet feasible way of improving the health of the people. Another disparity that has significant implications to health and longevity is the interdistrict disparity that has also persisted over time despite all Improvements in the health situation. For example, the expectation of life at birth across the districts of the state varies from more than 63 years in district Indore to less than 49 years in district Katni according to the 2001 population census. District Indore is the only district in the state which had an expectation of life at birth more than 60 years while Katni was the only district having an expectation of life at birth of less than 49 years (Figure 8). Another significant observation of figure 8 is that in most of the districts in the norther and north-eastern parts of the state, the expectation of life at birth has been estimated to be low to very low whereas in districts located in the southern and western parts of the state, the expectation of life at birth is generally on the higher side. The regional pattern in the distribution of the expectation of life at birth across the districts of the state suggests that the health status of the people in the northern and north-eastern parts of the state is poor than that in its southern and western part. In fact, four of the six districts having lowest expectation of life at birth are located in the northeastern part of the state (Figure 9). Very low level of expectation of life at birth in this part of the state indicates that the health of the people of this part of the state is a major development concern. Summary measures of inter-district variations in selected indicators of health and longevity are compiled in table 2 along with the coefficient of variation which reflects the disparity or inequality across the districts. Inter district disparity or inter-district inequality has 182

been found to be the highest in case of life time risk of a maternal death closely followed by the proportion of children 12-23 months of age fully immunised and the use of oral rehydration solution in children with diarrhoea. The risk of the life time risk of a maternal death varies from a low of 1:152 to a high of 1:19 and is the result of both inter-district variations in the risk of death due to complications of pregnancy and delivery and inter-district variations infertility. On the other hand, the proportion of children fully immunised, the coverage varies from a low of around 11 per cent to a high of more than 75 per cent. Similarly, the use of oral rehydration solution in children with diarrhoea varies from a low of just around 4 per cent to almost 60 per cent across the districts of the state. By comparison, the inter-district inequality is small in case of proportion of under-nourished children below 5 years of age and lowest in case of the expectation of life at birth. The foregoing discussions reflect the generally poor state of health of the people in Madhya Pradesh. It appears that efforts to meeting the health needs of the people of the state has somewhere fallen short of what is needed. Information available from a variety of sources clearly reveals that a large proportion of the population of the state is still devoid of even the basic minimum health care facilities and an acceptable level of nutritional status necessary for being in a state of social, mental and physical well-being and not just free from disease or infirmity. The situation appears to be compounded further by mass illiteracy, especially among women, rampant poverty and low levels of social and economic development. The state response to addressing the issues of health and longevity of the people of the state is articulate in the state health policy 2000 which still remains a draft. The vision of the state health policy is that all people living in the state of Madhya Pradesh will have the knowledge and skills required to keep themselves healthy, and have equity in access to effective and affordable health care, as close to the family as possible, that enhances their quality of life, and enables them to lead a healthy productive life (Government of Madhya Pradesh, 2000). In order to realise the aforesaid vision, the draft state health policy aims at: 1. Ensuring geographic and economic access to primary and secondary quality health care and family welfare services to all people of Madhya Pradesh within a span of five to seven years. 183

2. Prevention of disaster, to the extent possible, and preparedness for disaster management as and when necessary.Reducing the MMR to 220 by 2011 from the level of 498 (1997 level).Reducing the IMR to 62 by 2011 from the level of 97 (1997 level). 3. Total Fertility Rate to reach replacement level fertility (i.e. a TFR of 2.1 by the year 2011). 4. Stabilize the prevalence of HIV/AIDS at low level (present level) and further decrease it. 5. Address problems related to mental health and initiate action to create information base and preventive intervention for improved mental health in the state. The current levels and past trends in indicators related to health and longevity, however, indicates that it is extremely difficult to achieve the goals of the state health policy until and unless concerted multidimensional efforts are made to address the health needs of the people of the state. It is in this context that a more pragmatic framework for meeting the health and family welfare needs of the people of the state should be evolved and put in place. It may be emphasized here that health of the people is a major determinant of the productivity of the social and economic production system. At the same time levels of infant, child and maternal mortality remain perhaps most sensitive indicators of social and economic development. Any approach towards improving the health of the people of the state should be directed towards creating opportunities for the people of the state to adopt positive health seeking behaviour by making informed choices to ensure healthy life style for themselves, their family members and to build and sustain a healthy environment in which they live, work and play. It is in this context, that the state action towards meeting the health and family welfare needs of the people of the state should be based on the following lines: Any health action must begin from home and not from hospital. This means that the family and the household environment must be given due focus in any approach of improving health of the people. The ultimate responsibility of maintaining and sustaining good health must lie with the people. It must be recognised that health of an individual is closely influenced by the environment in which individuals live, work and play - the health of the community. Health of individuals cannot be separated from the health of the community. 184

Community health, in turn, is profoundly affected by the collective beliefs, attitudes and behaviours of every one who lives in the community. As such community level action for good health must be an integral part of any approach towards improving the health of the people.

It must be recognised that through appropriate interventions, people can maintain and sustain good health by practising positive health seeking behaviour. What is needed is the appropriate collective health action at the local level.

Local level collective health action can be sustained only through the initiative and active participation of the people in health related activities. Tis local level capacity building in terms of needs assessment, planning, implementation and monitoring of health related activities and programmes.

The local level collective health action cannot meet all health needs of the people because of the very nature of health needs. To be effective, local level collective health action requires support in the form of specialized health care services which can be grouped into three categories: Services that promote positive health; Services that prevent negative health conditions such as diseases, disability and impairments; and Services that treat or cure the negative health conditions so that an individual or a group of individuals in a state of negative health returns back to the state of positive health.

Existence of an efficient and effective health care delivery system is critical to sustaining local health action and making local health action effective in meeting the health needs of the people. There should be an effective regulatory system which ensures that services of an acceptable quality and at an appropriate cost are available to all the people of the state. It is important that an appropriate mix of promotive, preventive and curative health services made available to the people for maximising health.

Based on the above consideration, the following alternative strategy may be discussed and debated in the context of meeting the health needs of the people: 185

Promote local level collective health action by building the capacity of the people and their organizations to identify their health needs and initiate and sustain action to address these needs in an effective yet efficient manner.

Support local level collective health action by creating and sustaining community partnerships for health care delivery especially by reaching out to non-traditional partners.

Provide health system support to local collective health action by improving the availability, affordability and quality of specialised health care services either through the public or through the private health care delivery system.

Develop policies and institutional capacity for regulating health care service delivery either through public or through private health care delivery system. Promote determinants of health research by establishing partnerships with research centres and academic institutions from within and outside the health sector to directed towards increasing knowledge to support informed decision-making, especially at the local level.

Create health disaster management network by involving the entire health care delivery system and the broadest possible inter-sectoral and inter-institutional collaboration and coordination to reduce the impact of emergencies and disasters on the health of the people.

Revamp and expand the human resources development (education and training) network to develop a health workforce profile that is adequate in terms of knowledge and skills for the delivery of health care services necessary to meet the health needs of the people.

Strengthen monitoring, evaluation and analysis of health status at the level of the individual and at the level of the community with especial emphasis on identifying inequalities or disparities in risks and threats to healthy life style.

Some of the policy initiatives that can be taken up in order to operationalise the aforesaid strategy are outlined below. Promote local level collective health action

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Evolve peoples based health service delivery network either at the village level or at the Gram Panchayat level. Build up the capacity of village level peoples organizations such as Gram Panchayat or Gram Sabha for grass roots level health planning. Develop community skills in obstetric care service delivery through a university based graduate programme in obstetric care. Establish health communication networks at the village level to build up community awareness about pertinent health issues and to promote the use of low cost appropriate technology to address identified health issues.

Develop simple and easy to interpret indicators of monitoring health of the individual and health of the community at the local level that can be used by the people and their organizations.

Develop and introduce healthy life education programme with the help of peoples representatives to ensure a change in the health seeking behaviour of the people. Evolve a peoples based environmental sanitation programme based on low-cost appropriate technology to address factors affecting the people. Build and sustain community partnerships for health care delivery

Evolve and institutionalise a systematic approach to health improvement. Goals and objectives of any health strategy should be part of a larger, systematic approach to health improvement.

Identify health related priorities that reflect major public health concerns to the state. Relate health priorities to health policy goals and objectives. Mobilize individuals and organizations that care for the health of the people and for the health of the community into a coalition. Assess the strength and weaknesses of the coalition in meeting the health needs of the people and health needs of the community. Identify opportunities in the community that can strengthen the coalition to meet peoples health needs. Identify community level threats that may come across the coalition in meeting peoples health needs. 187

Enhance the capacity of the coalition in meeting the health needs of the people by developing and institutionalizing a capacity building programme based upon the BEAT approach:

Develop vision for the coalition directed towards improving the health of the community. Add strategies and action steps that may help the coalition in achieving the vision. Facilitate the coalition to implement the action steps. Develop community level and coalition level mechanisms for trekking the progress of implementation. Improve availability and affordability of quality specialized health care services to

support local level collective health action. Revamp public health care delivery system. a. b. c. d. e. f. Decentralize the public health care delivery system by delegating administrative and financial powers to grass roots level administrative units. Priorities government responsibilities. The government should bear the responsibility of delivery of primary health care services only. The secondary and tertiary level health care delivery institutions within the public sector should be made autonomous. The development block should be made the basic unit of planning for health services and for the delivery of health services. Create the cadre of Block Medical Officer. Build up the capacity of the Block Medical Officer and the Chief Medical and Health Officer in the critical areas of health planning and monitoring of the delivery of health care . g. h. i. j. Revamp the Rogi Kalyan Samiti model of granting functional autonomy to public hospitals. Give a professional orientation to Rogi Kalyan Samiti. Reorganize the Directorate of Health Services to make it a professional, competitive organization. Develop performance management system for the public health care delivery network. Promote health systems research to make public health services more efficient and effective. 188

k. l. m. n.

Revamp human resources development programme to improve the knowledge and skills of health services providers. Increase government budgetary allocation for health and sanitation. Enhance capacity the government in terms of health policy formulation, strategy development and policy level monitoring and impact assessment. Establish continuous quality improvement programme within the public health care delivery system.

- Reorient the private health care delivery system. a. b. c. Promote public-private partnerships in health care service delivery. Establish performance management system for private health care delivery system. Involve private health care delivery system in human resources development.

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Develop policies and institutional capacity for regulation and enforcement Establish Health Regulatory Authority to regulate both public and private health care delivery system. Establish an accrediting system for rating both public and private health care delivery institutions. Establish system for the development, monitoring and evaluation of policy decision for promoting health through a participatory process consistent with the political and economic context. Establish determinants of health research programme Establish an apex level organization to plan, coordinate and monitor determinants of health research. Create a network of research centres and academic institutions for promoting health determinants research and for impact assessment of on going health improvement programmes and activities. Develop and implement innovative solutions in health care services delivery whose impact can be measured and assessed. Create health disaster management network dentify areas exposed to different kinds of health hazards with support of expertise institutions and determine the vulnerability of key health institutions. Develop guidelines for protecting health infrastructure and water and food distribution systems in the event of disaster. Develop disaster mitigation programme as one of the integral component of public and private health care delivery system. Inform, sensitize and training those who are involved in planning, administration, operation, maintenance and use of facilities about disaster mitigation. Include disaster mitigation in the curricula of professional education and training. Carry out vulnerability analysis at regular intervals to identify weaknesses in the system. Revamp and expand human resources development system

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Establish norms for human resources necessary for meeting the health needs of the people. Make projections of human resources requirements of public and private health care delivery system. Expand the health related education and training facilities to meet the project requirement of human resources. Revamp the in-service human resources development network of public health care delivery system. Establish in-service human resources development programme for the private health care delivery system. Establish human resources development monitoring and evaluation system. Strengthen State Institute of Health Management and Communication to take up regular evaluation of the health situation and trends. Develop technology, expertise and methodologies for management, analysis and communication of information to key players in health services delivery. Develop a programme of management of vital statistics. Create and maintain database for assessing the performance of services. Develop capacity to conduct research and surveillance of epidemic outbreaks, patterns of communicable and non-communicable diseases, etc. especially at the local level. health care

Strengthen monitoring, evaluation and analysis of health status

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References Government of India (2004) SRS Based Abridged Life Tables 1970-75. New Delhi, Registrar General and Census Commissioner. Government of India (2006) Maternal Mortality Estimates: 1997-2003. Trends, Causes and Risk Factors. New Delhi, Registrar General and Census Commissioner. Government of India (2008) SRS Based Abridged Life Tables 2002-06. New Delhi, Registrar General and Census Commissioner. Government of India (2008) SRS Bulletin. Sample Registration System. New Delhi, Registrar General and Census Commissioner. Government of India (2008) Sample Registration System. Annual Report 2007. New Delhi, Registrar General and Census Commissioner. Government of Madhya Pradesh (2007) Draft Health Policy. Bhopal, Public Health and Family Welfare Department. Pollard JH (1982) The expectation of life and its relationship to mortality. Journal of the Institute of Actuaries 109(2):225-240. Ranjan Alok (2008) Maternal Mortality in India. Bhopal, Shyam Institute. United Nations (1973) The determinants and Consequences of Population Trends. New York, United Nations. United Nations (2004) World Population Projections: The 2004 Revision, Volume III: Analytical Report. New York, United Nations. United Nations (2004) World Population Prospects: The 2002 Revision. Vol III, Analytical Report. New York, United Nations.

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Table 1:

Social class differentials in selected indicators of population health.

SN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Indicator Expectation of life at birth, 2001 Infant mortality rate, 2005-06 Under-five mortality rate, 2005-06 Maternal mortality ratio, 2005-06 Life time risk of maternal death, 2005-06 Children 12-23 months fully immunised, 2005-06 Children with diarrhoea given ORS, 2005-06 Proportion of children low weight-for-age, 2005-06 Children 6-59 months anaemic, 2005-06 Women 15-49 years anaemic, 2005-06 SC 52.916 81.9 110.1 390 1:67 40.5 29.1 62.6 ST 50.267 95.6 140.7 700 1:31 22.3 26.7 71.4 79 97.6 353 1:75 41 26.9 57.8 OBC Others 58.444 66.8 79.9 na na 62.4 40.5 45.3

9 10

75.6 56.5

82.5 73.9

70.6 51.1

68.5 46.3

Table 2:

Summary measures of inter-district variations in selected indicators of health and longevity in Madhya Pradesh.
Minimum 48.95 56 76 208 1:152 11.4 4.3 35.6 Median 55.67 97 146 580 1:40 37.5 31.4 51.08 Maximum 63.81 125 195 1044 1:19 75.1 59.9 60.96 24.7 11.8 7.22 IQR 4.94 19 34 170 CV 0.06 0.14 0.17 0.29 0.49 0.43 0.38 0.1

SN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Indicator Expectation of life at birth, 2001 Infant mortality rate, 2001 Under-five mortality rate, 2001 Maternal mortality ratio, 2005-06 Life time risk of maternal death Children 12-23 months fully immunised, 200607 Children with diarrhoea given ORS, 2006-07 Proportion of children low weight-for-age, 2001

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Chapter 8: Local Governance, Community Participation and Social Inclusion of Marginalised Sections in Madhya Pradesh
The current quality of governance prevailing in a state is determined in large part by its history. Thus it is necessary to first study the history of governance and its socioeconomic bases in Madhya Pradesh to understand the current situation and the way forward. Moreover, the crucial factor in ensuring good governance at all levels is the level of empowerment of the citizens at the grassroots level. Thus the stress in this paper will be on analysing the status of local governance and community participation in the state. Madhya Pradesh, in its present form, came into existence on November 1, 2000 following its bifurcation to create a new state of Chhattisgarh. The undivided Madhya Pradesh was founded on November 1, 1956. This occurred on the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines and whatever area remained unclaimed in the middle of the country by the dominant linguistic groups was lumped together to create the state. Consequently it is an artificially created unit. Thus, the most remarkable feature of the state is its huge expanse and the amalgam of numerous and diverse communities. This large spread translates into a range of socio-economic situations which in turn influence governance. Thus it is difficult to view it as one natural homogeneous entity. That is why it has led to the breaking away of Chhattisgarh from it and this process is likely to continue with the rising demands for smaller states from other regions within the state. Madhya Pradesh occupies perhaps the oldest part of the subcontinent. Close to Bhopal at Bhimbetka are the pre-historic caves that preserve some fascinating paintings dating back to Paleolithic times. This was perhaps one of the earliest dwellings of human beings. In fact, the excavations here have revealed a cultural sequence right from the late stone age to the early historical period. During the ascendancy of the Gupta emperors the whole region came under their domain and subsequently formed part of Harshvardhan's empire. With the decline in imperial power the province was broken up into small principalities contending forever to establish their supremacy over one another. This was also the time when feudalism began to emerge in the state as the main form of governance considerably circumscribing the independence of the peasant producer.

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There were a number of dynasties like the Chandelas, followed by Pratihara and Gaharwar Rajputs dynasties which were involved in internecine wars and lavish living funded by feudal extraction of surplus. Thus they could not ultimately build up a sustainable governance system that could provide a bulwark against the expansion of Muslim power from the north. The Muslim rulers who came to dominate the region fought a running battle with the rulers of Gujarat or the commanders of the Sultan of Delhi throughout the sultanate period and this too resulted in a neglect of governance. Emperor Akbar succeeded in subduing most of them and his sterner grandson Aurangzeb broke through the last pockets of resistance in this region and only then was a stable feudal system of governance established in the region. Many of the smaller kingdoms that came into existence later after the decline of the Mughal empire trace their origins to the lands granted by the emperor at Delhi to those who had served him well. The Marathas came to control the central Indian region for a brief period and began a new process of settling of non-tribal and dalit populations from outside in an effort to boost up revenue collection from settled agriculture and trade. All through the later historical period the common people at large had to bear the burden of the rulers wars and lavish living through the payment of feudal levies and the provision of begaar or free labour. The Marathas were ousted by the British in course of time. The latter signed treaties with the princely states of the region and established paramountcy over them. The British brought about a sea change in the socio-economic conditions of the central Indian region. Having decimated their own forests to fuel industrial development and international trade, the British began to exploit the forests of India from the early nineteenth century onwards (Gadgil & Guha, 1992). This exploitation increased with the laying of rail lines, which began in western India in the 1850s. The British also decided to fund this development and the accompanying administrative costs through enhanced land revenue collection and the commercialisation of agriculture. For this purpose throughout India they embarked on a policy of displacing the shifting agriculture practising tribals and replacing them with more settled agricultural castes and substantially hiking the levels of land revenue charged. In the Madhya Pradesh region the British followed the policy of the Marathas and brought in Kanbi Patidar and Jat farmers from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan respectively and 195

settled them on the Bhil lands in the plains of western Madhya Pradesh so as to both increase the earnings from land revenue and commercial agriculture and also to tame the militant tribals who were providing stiff resistance to their policies (Luard, 1908). Similar settlements of non-tribal agriculturists and moneylender-traders were also done in the northern and eastern parts of Madhya Pradesh which were originally the home of various tribal groups especially the Gonds. The British introduced a new land settlement regime under which the earlier loose system of revenue calculation by the village heads was dispensed with and a centralised system was put in place with greatly enhanced levies on the farmers and the appointment of Malguzars or revenue collecting agents with free rein to collect as much commission as they could for themselves over and above the settlement. Taxes in the central and western Indian region increased to the level of about 65% of the production of the farmer from around 25% prevailing previously (Mishra, 1956). The British thus dismantled the older feudal system that, especially in adivasi areas, had allowed the village councils a fair level of independence and put in place a new one, also feudal, but with functionaries loyal to them that was considerably more exploitative. Even though these policies were implemented in the areas where the British ruled directly, they had a demonstration effect and the princely states too began acting in a similar manner goaded on by the Residents. All this created a serious disruption in the traditional livelihoods of the poor, especially the tribals, in the central and western Indian region (Hardiman, 1987). The rail line connected central India with the rest of the world through Mumbai. Grain and minor forest produce began to be exported. The British appointed the trader bania castes as agents for collecting excise revenue on a commission basis. This led to the increasing infiltration of these traders into interior areas. Thus the surpluses that the poor farmers used to have to tide them over the occasional years of bad monsoons were available no more and famines became the order of the day. The insistence of the British on the payment of taxes regardless of the failure of the harvest resulted in indebtedness of the poor to these traders following as the night the day (Aurora, 1972). Thus the foundations of the indebtedness of the poor, the consequent decline in investments in agriculture and the negative impact on their livelihoods were laid by the British.

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The British also created a class of bureaucrats to run their imperial system. These were essentially imports of upper caste people into the region from nearby areas. The princely states also followed this pattern and it is these classes along with the erstwhile princes that were absorbed into the independent Indian state as its bureaucrats. The political representatives too and especially the leaders came from the upper castes. Thus right from the beginning there has been a hiatus in Madhya Pradesh between the interests of the people at large and those of the bureaucrats and political leaders resulting in bad governance both at the policy formulation and the implementation levels. According to the modern definition of liberal democratic justice all social primary goods like liberty and opportunity, income and wealth and the bases of self respect are to be distributed equally unless an unequal distribution of any or all of these goods is to the advantage of the least favoured (Rawls, 1972). The Indian Constitution embodies these principals and has provisions for affirmative action for the poor and deprived. However, due to the apathy of the bureaucracy these democratic provisions have in effect remained on paper. Moreover Gandhi's conception of people centred Panchayati Raj was included in the Directive Principles of State Policy set down in Part IV of the Constitution. These provisions were non-justiciable that is unlike the fundamental rights guaranteed under Part III, these could not be enforced through the courts. Basic rights like that to free education, health and nutrition services and the means to a dignified livelihood too were included in this section. Thus provisions that could have created an aware, healthy and articulate population and provided them with an institutional structure for implementing their development according to their own genius and so curtail the power of the elected representatives and the bureaucrats were ignored totally by the governments both at the centre and the states after independence thus paving the way for the persistence of a form of internal colonialism and feudalism. Matters were compounded by the fact that fundamental rights too were not easily assured given the tremendous expenses involved in approaching the High Courts and the Supreme Court for redress. While the erstwhile princes, landlords and the capitalists often went to court to obstruct the path of justice for the poor, the latter could hardly afford to do so and so had to bear with the illegal actions of the ruling classes directly or through the organs of the state. This in effect meant that the checks and balances that form a basic 197

part of a liberal democratic set up were disturbed in favour of the executive consisting of the ministers and the bureaucracy and the upper classes from which they were drawn. The consequence of this in terms of the specific failures of governance that have proved a major hindrance in poverty alleviation are as follows 1. Land reforms have not taken place and especially in the northern regions of the state feudal forces still dominate the political economy, considerably restricting the rights and entitlements of the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and the other backward class citizens. 2. The many laws to control usurious moneylending have not been implemented leading to a flourishing informal credit market that charges exorbitant interest rates in both urban and rural areas and this has kept the poor in debt bondage restricting their chances of achieving sustainable livelihoods. 3. The running of schools, primary health centres, women's and children's health and immunisation programmes, public distribution system, social security systems and development programmes have all been riddled with corruption severely limiting the chances of poor families to rise out of poverty. 4. The attempts by the poor to get organised to demand their rights and entitlements either on their own or with the help of NGOs or through social movements have been met with repression. 5. In urban areas a considerable portion of the population began residing in slums mainly consisting of poor migrants from rural areas and they were deprived of the basic civic amenities resulting in abysmal living conditions that spawned disease and crime. However, this continuous history of bad governance led to rising discontent among the people leading to an increasing tide of protests and so eventually in 1993 the Constitution was amended and Panchayati Raj was made the third tier of governance in the country. With the compulsory introduction of Panchayati Raj all over the country the formal democratic structures for grassroots peoples participation were set in place. More and more functions of governance and development at the local level were handed over to

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the panchayats by government and quasi-government agencies so as to strengthen these institutions of local governance, which provide a legal forum for the political empowerment of the poor. Madhya Pradesh has been a trendsetter in this sphere. Problems of resource degradation and the mixed experience of addressing these through the bureaucratic approach necessitated a more transparent attitude on the part of the government towards community involvement in natural resource management (NRM) in the early 1990s. Further to this with the establishment of the Panchayati Raj institutions and Gram Sabhas, a substantial role was accorded to them in the management of local resources. Since 1993, attention has turned to the potential of Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs) to plan resource-use independently of government departments, draw down services from these, and do so in ways, which are locally accountable and protected by statutory rights. The MP Panchayati Raj Act, 1993, provides extensive powers to Gram Sabhas, to manage natural resources, regulate moneylending and trade of all kinds, regulate education and health and dispense justice. Gram Panchayats are empowered for the following functions: Preparation of annual plans for economic development and social justice. Exercise of control over local plans, resources and expenditures for such plans. Construction, repair and maintenance of public wells, ponds and tanks for supply of water for domestic use and for domestic animals. Regulation of the use of water of rivers, streams, and minor water bodies for irrigation. Management and maintenance of grazing land and other lands vesting in or under the control of Panchayats. Planning, ownership and management of water bodies up to a specified area situated within their territorial jurisdiction. Regulation of the functioning of schools and health centres through specially constituted committees for this purpose.

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 Regulation of moneylending and trade of all kinds and especially prohibit illicit sale of alcohol. Dispensing of justice through traditional systems thus obviating the need for approaching the over burdened judicial system. The PRIs have been designed as a three tier system with the Janpad Panchayat at the block level and the Zilla Panchayat at the district level. Powers and functions of 18 departments have been transferred to Panchayats at District level. Functional powers, budgets and staff have been transferred to Zilla Panchayats. Apart from this there is the Panchayat Provisions (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act which provides for special local governance for tribal areas. Thus on paper considerable decentralization of powers over management of local resources by the people themselves has taken place in the state. A formal democratic structure invariably leads to the development of civil society pressure groups that bring pressure to bear on the recalcitrant bureaucrats and elected representatives for the proper functioning of the government and the administration as is evident from the experience of democracy at the state and central levels in India over the past half a century or so after independence. So the strengthening of the Panchayati Raj system did promote the spread and growth of grassroots organisations of the poor that increased the demand for accountability from the government and administration. Nevertheless the functioning of the Panchayati Raj system in the state still leaves a lot to be desired as the bureaucrats at all levels have actively tried to discourage people's participation and have successfully coopted the elected PRI representatives into their circle of bad governance. Consequently the third tier of democracy too has been controlled by and large by the bureaucracy and the Panchayat executive consisting of the Sarpanches and Panches and is riddled with corruption. Another welcome development is community development through such projects as the Madhya Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Project being implemented by the government with funding and allied support from Department for International Development (DFID). A major area in which such community mobilisation has brought good results is that of micro-finance and SHG-Bank linked micro-credit programmes. These have increased the reach of the poor and especially women to institutionalised credit and buttressed the 200

credit cooperative movement which had become moribund with access restricted only to landholders in rural areas and to powerful political leaders in urban areas. Presently the cooperative movement in the state is reeling under a major scam. The number of SHGs functional in 2004 is given in Table 1 below. Table 1: Number of Functional SHGs in Madhya Pradesh (2004)
Total SHGs 229483 Women SHGs 131086 % share of Women SHGs 57.1 Population per SHG 281

Source: MPHDR 2007 The functioning of these SHGs in most cases is not upto the mark however because (i) (ii) the requirement of full-time specialised professional input is not available complex issues relating to repayment, adequacy of capital support, procurement and marketing linkages and profit sharing arrangements that demand serious attention both at the operational and strategic levels tend to be neglected. (RGWM/TARU, 2001) Over and above this the SHGs presently cover a miniscule proportion of the rural poor who have mainly to rely on moneylenders for their credit needs. Moreover, despite the rhetoric of people's participation, in reality little attempt has been made to actually empower the people. In most cases it has been found in the review of the Rajeev Gandhi Watershed Mission in the state (RGWM/TARU, op cit) that inadequately structured mobilisation results in the following problems that vitiate the functioning of citizens' groups (i) only select individuals are empowered and the silent majority is ignored risking the perpetuation of traditional power structures along with their less desirable traits. (ii) The terms of engagement in terms of responsibilities and obligations of various village level groups are not made clear to the members. There have been some remarkable instances of community mobilisation and participation which have overcome deprivation caused by negative external forces 201

primarily through the creation of what has come to be called the social capital local level cooperation (DSilva & Pai, 2003). But this concept of social capital which is relevant to some extent at the local level has come to be criticised because it is inadequate when it comes to the design of strategies to counter the larger political economy of bad governance arising from the policies of exclusion pursued at the state or central level (Harris, 2001). The local state and the local power centres may be successfully neutralised through the formation of social capital in one small area but such isolated successes are never allowed to replicate on a larger scale and so these too tend to wither away after some time. There are several legal and policy provisions for the protection and development of the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes in the state but the reality is that these are not being implemented as they should be once again because of the apathy of the bureaucrats. In the case of the Scheduled Tribes the most important provision is that of the Fifth Schedule in the Constitution. Theoretically it is possible for the Governor of a state, on the advice of the Tribes Advisory Council consisting of the tribal MLAs of the state, to prevent the application of or repeal such adverse colonial legislation as Indian Forest Act and the Land Acquisition Act. The most important aspect of these provisions is that the Governor may implement them so as to ensure "peace and good government" in tribal areas as the framers of the Constitution felt that this could be possible only if the tribals were allowed to develop according to their own laws and customs. Many other laws such as restoration of alienated land, prevention of land alienation, control of usury have also been enacted but these are not being implemented. In the case of the Scheduled Castes too there are protective laws, the most potent being the Prevention of Atrocities Act which is most important given the tremendous exploitation and torture that the Scheduled Castes have to face at the hands of upper castes. But as was exposed in a survey conducted by an NGO funded by UNICEF even today in many areas of the state caste discrimination continues to be practised even in such flagship programmes as the mid day meal scheme for school going children (Mekaad, 2009).

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The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme which could alleviate the problems faced by these communities to some extent is beseiged with several problems. The first is that there is a lack of awareness among the people that they have to place a demand for work to be granted work. So most people remain passive and wait for the Sarpanch and Panchayat Secretary to arrange for work. Secondly the infrastructure for carrying out the works efficiently is just not in place. There is little capability in the staff and the elected representatives of Panchayati Raj and even the Block administration to effectively plan projects for village development. After implementation the projects have to be evaluated before payments can be made and this creates another bottleneck as there are too few sub-engineers to handle the huge number of projects that have been sanctioned. Finally even after evaluation is done and the payments are sanctioned the labourers find it difficult to get their cheques encashed as the rural or cooperative bank branches do not have enough staff and infrastructure to handle so many accounts and so much cash. Thus there are inordinate delays and the labourers have to make repeated trips. Finally there is the omnipresent corruption that manages to work round all the safeguards and defalcate funds. All in all this leads to disaffection and people do not want to work in the NREGS. Consequently a large section of the poor have to migrate either seasonally or permanently to supplement their incomes. Even though there is an Inter-State Migrant Workers' Act for the protection of migrant workers, the government has not implemented its provisions. Thus not only do these people lose out on whatever development schemes and services are available at their residence they also have to suffer from a lack of services and protection in the destination areas. Given the extremely poor resource endowment of most poor people and the tremendous obstacles to the smooth functioning of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, there seems to be no option to migration as even the best implemented development schemes have not been able to achieve sustainability for them. Thus social and economic exclusion for this large section of the population is a matter of serious concern. Another aspect of this exclusion is that there are no firm and reliable data at the village level regarding the extent of this exclusion apart from the BPL lists which include only those living in extreme poverty. There are many others who are existing in slightly better conditions but are still very poor

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about whom there are no reliable data. Nor is there any reliable data regarding the extent of migration taking place. The situation of the poor in urban areas, especially the big cities of Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur and Gwalior, has become very bad due to their lack of voice in urban local governance. The elections to the urban local bodies are even more dominated by money and so the poor are excluded from participation almost totally. Consequently they are very poorly serviced in terms of housing, water supply and sanitation. Moreover with the government education and health systems in urban areas are even more inaccessible than rural areas and so there is an increasing trend of the poor having to rely on private providers. Thus projects should be initiated under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) specifically for the upgradation of slums and for better provision of services to them. Presently the JNNURM funds are being accessed only for projects related to roads, flyovers, sewerage lines, solid waste management and the like which are of a macro nature. Unless the micro-environment of the slums is improved substantially the possibility of disease and crime increasing will always be there. Another actionable point is to evolve a strong `culture of independent monitoring and evaluation with the associated transparency and public debates around that. The present system of monitoring and evaluation is characterized by two extreme scenarios. On one hand there is a Departmental system of monitoring and evaluation, which generally remains influenced by the hegemony of the state with relatively limited scope for a rigorous and transparent processes of evaluation; much of this is often not shared in the public domain. On the other hand, fresh space is being created for a transparent mechanism through social audits; this which one again is likely to remain under the clutches of those with authority and power within a highly stratified and hierarchical society such a ours. Breaking away from these scenarios would necessitate putting in place a system of independent monitoring and evaluation with multi-stakeholder membership. Acknowledging the limitations in the public fora would open up a platform for more workable solutions for improvements in which both the state and the communities will have responsible roles to play. In any case, being transparent will earn credibility to the

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state for being on the side of the people, rather than being compelled to justify the inactions of a vast and multi-layered state machinery put in the helm of implementing a highly complex and challenging task of pro-poor governance. Thus there is a need to revamp grassroots democracy with the adoption of the following remedial measures 1. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and The Right to Information Act together have empowered groups even smaller than the Gram Sabha to design, demand and implement appropriate development programmes for their local area. However, there is not enough awareness about this and the local administration and the elected representatives are generally against its proper implementation. Thus a massive awareness campaign must be conducted and appropriate institutional support provided to actualise the immense potential of these provisions. 2. The administrative and infrastructural obstacles to the successful implementation of the NREGS should be addressed and resolved as quickly as is possible. 3. Micro-finance and Micro-credit through SHGs are a viable community based solution to the serious problem of lack of access to cheap institutionalised credit for the poor. This should be promoted even further and provided training and allied support combined with greater and stricter regulation of usurious moneylending. These measures will especially benefit women who are normally excluded from the development process. 4. NGOs should be involved in awareness building, training and monitoring and also in the implementation of pilot projects for communitarian development. Successful examples of communitarian development implemented in the state by NGOs should be given publicity and encouragement so that they sustain themselves and also provide inspiration to others for replication on a wider scale. 5. The Gram Sabha and small Ward Sabhas in urban areas must be made the paramount bodies for deciding on the management of all the cultural, social, economic and political activities of the people. 6. The JNNURM funds should be accessed for improving the infrastructure in the slums and poor residential areas in urban areas with special focus on the four big cities.

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7. An independent and transparent monitoring and evaluation system with multistakeholder membership to help creating a platform for moving into the direction of pro-poor Governance. The measures to be adopted for bringing about inclusive development and removal of poverty and hunger are all known to the administrators and elected representatives of the legislature and parliament. Detailed plans too have been made for ensuring this. However, the tendency to serve narrow sectarian interests on the part of politicians and bureaucrats has resulted in the non-implementation of the excellent provisions for democratic governance that have been made in the Constitution and other supporting statutes and also the various progressive policies that have been framed. Thus the most important determinant of any poverty reduction strategy for the state will be the ensuring of good governance which encourages community participation and also empowers the people to monitor their development through public scrutiny of records and implementation at the local level.

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References Aurora, G S, 1972, Tribe-Caste-Class Encounters: Some Aspects of Folk-Urban Relations in Alirajpur Tehsil, Administrative Staff College, Hyderabad.
DSilva, E & Pai, S, 2003, Social Capital and Development Action: Development Outcomes in Forest Protection and Watershed Development, EPW, 38 : 14, Mumbai.

Government of Madhya Pradesh, 2007, Fourth Madhya Pradesh Human Development Report 2008, Bhopal. Gadgil, M &Guha, R, 1992, This Fissured Land: An Ecological History of India, OUP, Delhi. Hardiman, D, 1987, The Bhils and Sahukars of Eastern Gujarat, in R Guha (ed) Subaltern Studies V.
Harris, J, 2001, Depoliticising Development: The World Bank and Social Capital, LeftWord, Delhi.

Luard, C E, 1908, Central India Gazetteer Series: Western States (Malwa) Vol.V, British India Press. Mekaad, S, 2009, Apartheid funded by the Indian Taxpayer, Hindustan Times, Bhopal, May 5th. Mishra, DP, ed, 1956, The History of the Freedom Movement in Madhya Pradesh, Nagpur. Rawls, J, 1972, A Theory of Justice, OUP, Oxford
RGWM/TARU, 2001, Evaluation of RGWM Watersheds in Madhya Pradesh-Final Report for UNICEF, New Delhi-Hyderabad, TARU Leading Edge.

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Appendix: Background Note on Poverty

Poverty can be defined as the exclusion from ordinary living patterns, customs and activities due to lack of resources, usually measured in economic terms (Townsend 1979). Low-income or consumption has traditionally been used as a proxy for poverty. A person or household having income or consumption less than a pre-fixed level is classified as poor and the pre-fixed income or consumption level is termed as the poverty line. There are various methods of deriving poverty line. One is the food-energy intake (FEI) method which is based on calorie norm. The other is the cost of basic needs (CBN) method. Details about different methods of deriving the poverty line are given elsewhere (Ravallion 1998). In India, calorie-based norm is used for deciding poverty line. In 197374, this norm was fixed at 2400 kcal per person per day in rural areas and 2100 kcal per person per day in urban areas. Using these norms, poverty lines were drawn in the rural and urban areas by the Expert Group on the Estimation of Proportion and Number of Poor in India constituted by the Government of India in 1973. The original poverty lines have since been updated at regular interval on the basis of consumer price index for agricultural labourers in the rural areas and consumer price index for industrial workers in the urban areas. In Madhya Pradesh, the poverty line was set at Rs 327.78 per person per month in for the rural areas and Rs 570,15 per person per month in the urban areas by the Planning Commission for the year 2004-05 Once the poverty line is set, the level of poverty can be measured in a number of ways. The most commonly used method is the head-count ratio which is defined as the ratio of the number of persons or households having income or consumption below the poverty line to that total population or households. Estimates of per capita income or consumption are derived on the basis of the sample survey of household consumption expenditure conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation of the Government of India. The consumption expenditure data available through the survey are collected on the basis of two recall periods. The first one is the 30-day recall period for all the items. This approach is termed as uniform recall period (URP). The approach uses two recall periods - 365 days recall period for five infrequently purchased non-food items, namely, clothing, footwear, durable goods, education and institutional medical expenses and 30

208

days recall period for the remaining items. This approach is termed as mixed recall period (MRP). The Planning Commission has estimated poverty in 2004-05 using both the distributions and using the Expert Group methodology. Based on the above methodology, the proportion of population living below the poverty line in Madhya Pradesh has been estimated to be 38 per cent during the period 2004-05 on the basis of uniform recall period and around 32 per cent on the basis of mixed recall period (Government of India 2007). These estimates suggest that the proportion of population living below the poverty line in Madhya Pradesh has remained significantly higher the national average. For India as a whole, around 27-28 per cent of the population was estimated to be living below the poverty line circa 2004-05 on the basis of uniform recall period and around 22 per cent on the basis of the mixed recall period. In fact, Madhya Pradesh ranks amongst the 7 poorest states of India in terms of the proportion of population below the poverty line. The head-count ratio is the simplest and the most widely used measure of poverty. One advantage of this measure of poverty is that it is straightforward and can be interpreted easily. However, one major limitation of this measure is that it treats all the poor equally. More specifically, it does not take into account how poor are the poor and does not consider the inequality within the poor. In other words, it does not differentiate between the transient poverty and chronic poverty. Transient poverty is the poverty close to the poverty line whereas chronic poverty is the poverty far away from the poverty line. It is argued that any measure of poverty must be able to reflect the gap between the income (or consumption) of the poor from the poverty line. This gap can be defined in terms of depth and in terms of severity. As such, the head-count ratio or the proportion of population living below the poverty line is generally complemented with the poverty gap ratio and squared poverty gap. The poverty gap ratio measures the depth of the poverty while squared poverty gap measures the severity of poverty. Estimates of poverty gap index and squared poverty gap index for the state are available for the period 1999-2000 (Panda 2003). When compared with India as a whole, these indexes suggest that both depth or intensity, as measured by the poverty gap index, and severity of poverty, as measured by squared poverty gap index, in Madhya Pradesh is much substantially higher that in India. This implies that most of the poor in Madhya

209

Pradesh suffer from severe and long duration poverty compared to moderate and short duration poverty. Obviously, reducing poverty in Madhya Pradesh is challenging as most of the poverty in the state is not only abject but chronic aswell. Figure 1 Proportion of population below poverty line (Head Count Ratio) in Madhya Pradesh, 1973-74 through 2004-05 based on uniform recall period.

65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 1973-74

1977-78 Total

1983

1987-88

1993-94 1999-2000 2004-05 Urban

Rural

Over the years, the proportion of population below the poverty line appears to have decreased from about 62 per cent during 1973-74 to about 38 per cent during 200405 and the decrease appears to have been marginally faster in rural than in urban areas of the state (Figure 1). However, in recent years, the proportion of population living below the poverty line appears to have increased marginally from around 37 per cent in 19992000 to more than 38 per cent in 2004-05 with the increase being sharper in urban than in rural areas on the basis of the uniform recall period. However, if the discussions are to be based on the mixed recall period then there does not appear any increase in the 210

population below the poverty line in the state. In fact, the Planning Commission has emphasised that, because of different methodologies used, the estimates of the proportion of population living below the poverty line estimated in 2004-05 on the basis of uniform recall period are not comparable to the estimates of the population living below the poverty line during the period 1999-2000. They are actually comparable to poverty estimates for the year 1993-94. On the other hand 2004-05 estimates based on mixed recall period are roughly comparable to the poverty estimates for the period 1999-2000. The decrease in the proportion below poverty line in the state has however been slower than that in the country as a whole as well as in most of the major states of the country. Between 1960-61 and 1999-2000, the proportion of the population below the poverty line in the state decreased at an average annual rate of just 0.63 per cent per year (Panda 2003). If we exclude Assam where poverty increased rather than decreasing during this period, then this rate of decline is the second slowest in the country, next only to Bihar. This has been in quite contrast to Kerala where the proportion of population below the poverty line decreased at a very rapid rate of 3.3 per cent per year during the period under reference. The poverty gap and squared poverty gap indexes also decreased during this period in the state but the rate of decrease in these indexes has also been slower compared to the national average as well as most of the major states of the country. This shows that not only the decrease in the prevalence of poverty but also the transition from severe, long duration poverty to mild/moderate and short duration poverty has remained slow in the state as compared to most of the major states of the country. Poverty, in the state, continues to be chronic and largely abject. Social class differentials in poverty in the state are revealing. The proportion of population living below the poverty line in the state has always been higher in urban than in rural areas except for the period prior to 1983 with the gap being the widest during 1993-94. Latest estimates suggest that urban poverty in the state is the second highest in the country, next only to Orissa. The population below the poverty line also varies widely across social groups in both rural and urban areas and in all social classes, prevalence of poverty remains higher in urban than in rural areas. According to poverty estimates for the year 2004-05 prepared by the Government of India, more than two-third of the Scheduled Castes population in

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the urban areas of the state were living below the poverty line compared to only around 43 per cent in the rural areas. In case of other backward classes, this proportion was 56 per cent and 30 per cent respectively (Figure 2). Even among the upper castes population, the proportion of the population below the poverty line in the urban areas is estimated to be substantially higher than that in the rural areas, although the gap is narrower in comparison to Scheduled Castes and other backward classes. This pattern is in quite contrast to rural-urban differentials in the proportion of population below the poverty line. At the national level, the proportion of population living below the poverty line has always been higher in rural as compared to the urban areas (Table 1). Figure 2 Proportion of population living below the poverty line by social class in Madhya Pradesh, 200405 based on uniform recall period. 70

60

50 40

30

20 10

SC

OBC Rural

Others Urban

All

One alternative suggested to address these limitations is to focus on asset ownership given that assets capture longer term dynamics much better than a measure of 212

income at one or two points in time. For this reason having longitudinal data may be less crucial. Moreover, assets can in principle be considered in a range of different dimensions including social capital. Assets that a household possesses, or to which it has access, can be related to household income in the sense that the latter may be conceptualised as returns to these assets. In this view, income of a household reflects the assets it commands and the return it is able to earn on these assets. In addition to the return in terms of income, assets are also likely to be important to households in their own right; representing wealth and status, economic and social security and easier access to credit. Deprivation of key assets may therefore be thought of a good indicator of illbeing in its own right. Indicators of deprivation of assets aim to measure living standards directly by looking at enforced lack of a set of material goods or social activities. By enforced lack, we mean the items that a household would like to have but cannot afford because of the lack of either resources or opportunities or different choices and preferences. In this way, deprivation indicators also take into account the role of preferences and choices of the households and the individuals. The assets-based approach is closely associated with the concept of poverty in a more intuitive way than simple income or consumption measures. A household may receive low income but live in comfortable self-owned house with all standard amenities. Deprivation indicators are better placed to measure persistence of ill-being than the contemporary income or consumption based indicators. It is argued that lack of household assets and adequate housing conditions are more likely to be associated with lack of resources over a prolonged period of time than with the current income or consumption expenditure. Deprivation indicators permit to look more broadly at exclusion from life of a society either because of the lack of resources or because of the lack of opportunities or because of specific preferences and choices. Information about the availability of six households assets - bicycle, radio/transistor, telephone, television, scooter/motorcycle/moped, and car/jeep/van - are available through the 2001 population census for the state as a whole as well as at the district and below district level. One may argue whether the above assets can be used to classify households as poor or non-poor and there are reasons for this argument. First, the assets in question are consumer assets and not productive assets like land. Second, the

213

Figure 3 Proportion of households having none of the specified assets (Bicycle, Radio/Transistor, Television, Two-wheeler, Four-wheeler) in Madhya Pradesh,
70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0 Total All ST Rural SC Non SC/ST Urban

composition of assets may vary from house to house depending upon a range of factors and conditions. However, ownership of none of these assets do provides important clues to households command over resources. In fact, it has been found that there a correspondence between a classification of households based on the asset index and consumption expenditures (Filmer and Pritchett 1999). It has also been found that the mean per capita consumption expenditure for households not owning any of the above six assets is Rs 1779 while the mean per capita consumption expenditure for households owning at least one of the above assets is Rs 2770. This clearly illustrates households not owning any of the assets are markedly poorer than households owning at least one of the assets (Chandrasekhar, Ray 2005). The information available through the 2001 population census suggest, that there were slightly more than 4.6 million households or 42 per cent of the households in the

214

state which did not have any of the six specified assets at the 2001 population census. This proportion was more than 50 per cent in the rural households but only about 18 per cent among their urban counterparts. The highly inequitable distribution of the asset less household may be judged from the fact that more than 68 per cent of the Scheduled Tribes households in the rural areas of the state were not having any of the six household assets compared to less than 15 per cent in non-Scheduled Castes/Tribes households in the urban areas. An assessment of poverty in Madhya Pradesh can also be made on the basis of the survey of below poverty line families carried out by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in the year 2002-03 following the guidelines issued by the Planning Commission, although this survey is mired with a number of controversies because of the approach adopted to classify a household as a household below the poverty line. In this survey, no direct question related to household income or household consumption was asked. Rather, information related to 13 questions was collected from every household of the state and for each questions, a score ranging from 0 to 4 was given on the basis of the information provided by the household. The score given to all thirteen questions to a household were added up and households getting a score less than 14 were classified as households below the poverty line. This information, although to be interpreted with caution, suggests that about 4.4 million or about 45 per cent of the households in the rural areas of the state were classified as households below the poverty line during the period 2002-03. The number of households below the poverty line identified through the survey of below poverty line households are very close to about 4.1 million assetless households enumerated at the 2001 population census. This gives credence to using asset-based approach to analysing poverty at the household level. Any discussion on poverty in Madhya Pradesh is incomplete without a discussion on inter-district variations in poverty. Income or consumption based estimates of different indicators of poverty are not available for the districts of the state. However, some idea about inter-district variation in the levels of poverty at the district level can be made from the information on the proportion of households having none of the six specified assets bicycle, radio/transistor, television, telephone, scooter/motorcycle/moped, and

215

car/jeep/van - available through the 2001 population census which is available separately for rural and urban areas and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes households also. Figure 4 Inter-district variations in the proportion of households having none of the specified assets - bicycle, radio/transistor, telephone, scooter/motorcycle/moped, and car/jeep/van in Madhya Pradesh,

Information available through the 2001 population census suggests that the proportion of households having none of the six specified assets varied from a minimum of 14.4 per cent (district Indore) to a maximum of 73 per cent (district Dindori). Three districts of the state - Dindori, Mandla and Jhabua - may be termed as the poorest districts of the state as more than 60 per cent of the households in these districts were not having any of the six specified assets at the 2001 population census. By contrast, Indore was the only district in the state where less than 15 per cent of the households were not having any of the six specified assets. In Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur and Neemuch districts, the proportion of asset less households varied between 15 through 30 per cent. The rural

216

urban divide in the availability of the six specified assets is also very clear. In the rural areas of the state, the proportion households not having any of the six specified assets varied from a maximum of 75 per cent (district Dindori) to a minimum of almost 30 per cent (district Indore). In the urban areas, this proportion varied from 38 per cent (district Figure 5 Inter-district variations in the proportion of households having none of the six specified assets - bicycle, radio/transistor, television, telephone, scooter/motorcycle/moped, car/jeep/van - by social class in Madhya Pradesh, 2001.

Dindori) to only 8 per cent (District Indore). The availability of the six specified assets in the districts of the state varies widely by social class in both rural and urban areas. The situation appears to be appalling in case of Scheduled Tribes households in the rural areas of the state as there is no district in the state where the asset less Scheduled Tribes households accounted for less than half of the total Scheduled Tribes households in the rural areas. In district Sagar, almost 80 per cent of the rural Scheduled Tribes households were not having any of the six specified assets at the 2001 population census. In addition to district Sagar, there are five districts in the state - Morena, Damoh, East Nimar, Vidisha and Dindori - where at least three-fourth of 217

the Scheduled Tribes households in the rural areas were not having any of the six specified assets. The situation in the urban areas appears no better at least in 7 districts of the state - Sheopur, Shivpuri, Panna, Satna, Rewa, Barwani and Dindori. In these districts, more than half of the Scheduled Tribes households were not having any of the six specified assets. Although, the situation appears to be marginally better in the Scheduled Castes households, yet there exists a wide gap between Scheduled Castes/Tribes and non Scheduled Castes/Tribes households in all districts of the state either in rural or in urban areas. This shows that whatever dividends of social and economic development are there in the state, they have largely been confined to a

0.4

0.36

0.32

0.28

0.24

0.2 1973-74

1977-78

1983 Rural

1993-94

1999-2000 Urban

2004-05

specific group of the population and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have generally been devoid of the benefits of development.

218

Figure 6 The Gini index of income inequality in Madhya Pradesh

Distribution Inequality
A major determining factor of poverty is the inequality in the distribution of income and resources across different population groups or social classes. Distribution inequality implies that all sections of the population are not getting benefited equally by the dividends of social and economic development process in terms of the increase in income or accumulation of assets. As such, reducing the distribution inequality has widely been acknowledge as the most feasible yet optimal approach of reducing poverty. For example, raising the income of all individuals and households above the poverty line will not only reduce poverty but will also lead to a reduction of the distribution inequality across individuals and households. An analysis of the distribution inequality, therefore, is imperative in any analysis of poverty. Many indicators have been developed to measure the distribution inequality across population groups (Sen 1997). These inequality measures can broadly be grouped into two categories: a) measures based on individual-mean differences in income or consumption or household assets, and b) measures based on inter-individual differences in income or consumption or household assets (Gakidou, Murray, Frenk 2003). A common example of individual-mean differences is the coefficient of variation. Other example is the variance or standard deviation. On the other hand, Gini coefficient is the most well known and almost universally used example of measures of inter-individual differences of inequality (Gini 1912). Estimates of Gini coefficient of the distribution of income in Madhya Pradesh have been prepared by the Planning Commission, Government of India on the basis of income or consumption expenditure collected in different round of national sample survey beginning 1973-74. These estimates suggest that inter-individual differences in the in income or consumption expenditure appear to have marginally decreased over the years in the rural areas of the state. However, in the urban areas of the state, there are definite indications to suggest an increase in the inequality. For reducing poverty, it is important that there is a decrease in the distribution inequality of income or consumption. Unfortunately, this has not been the case in the urban areas of the state. 219

Estimates of Gini coefficients are not available at the district level to have an idea of distribution inequality in the districts of the state. However, some idea about distribution inequality within the district can be made by analysing the inequality in the proportion of asset less households by social class. This inequality can be captured through the coefficient of variation of the distribution of the proportion of asset less households by social class. Coefficient of variation is one of the many indexes developed and used to capture distribution inequality. There are at least three reasons for selecting the coefficient of variation to reflect the social class inequality in the proportion of asset less households. First, it is a measure based on variance. Second, it evaluates variation relative to average proportion of asset less households in the state as a whole or the district as a whole, thus permitting meaningful comparison of distribution inequality when the average proportion of asset less households declines. Third, coefficient of variation can be decomposed into components that reflect differential change in the composition and level. The coefficient of variation is always positive. When there is no inequality in the distribution of the proportion of asst less households across social class, the coefficient of variation is zero. On the other hand, higher values of the coefficient reflect a higher degree of distribution inequality.

220

Figure 7 Inter-district variations in social class inequality in the proportion of asset less households in Madhya Pradesh, 2001.

For the state as a whole, the coefficient of variation of the distribution of the proportion of asset less households by social class - Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and non Scheduled Castes/Tribes - has been estimated to be 0.314 which shows that there exists substantial social class inequality in household assets in the state. This inequality has been found to be higher in the urban (0.351) as compared to the rural areas (0.225) which indicates that the concentration of income and resources is more in the urban as compared to the rural areas of the state.

221

Figure 8 Relationship between social class inequality (coefficient of variation) and proportion of asset less households in Madhya Pradesh, 2001.

0.70 0.60 0.50 0.40 0.30 0.20 0.10 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Total

Rural

Urban

Across the districts of the state, the distribution of the proportion of asset less households by social class varies widely. The coefficient of variation of the distribution of asset less households by social class has been found to be the highest in district Indore closely followed by district Ratlam. In district Indore, more than 37 per cent of the Scheduled Tribes households were having none of the specified household assets. This proportion was only 10 per cent in case of non-Scheduled Castes/Tribes households. Similarly, in Ratlam, more than 65 per cent of the Scheduled Tribes households were without any of the six specified assets compared to only about 21 per cent in case of nonScheduled Castes/Tribes households. By contrast, the social class inequality has been

222

found to be the lowest in district Dindori where the difference in the proportion of asset less households by social class was very small as more than 64 per cent of the nonScheduled Castes/Tribes households in the district were without specified assets compared to 78 per cent in case of Scheduled Tribes households. Another important observation is that the distribution inequality by social class is higher in urban than in rural areas in all but three districts of the state - Ratlam, East Nimar and Seoni. It may however be pointed out here that the distribution inequality, measured in terms of the coefficient of variation, is independent of the average levels of income or consumption or average levels of household assets. It merely depicts the extent of divergence or deviation from average levels. Theoretically, distribution inequality will be zero low when the distribution of income or consumption or household assets across social classes is the same irrespective of the average level of income or consumption or average levels of household assets. By contrast, highest distribution inequality is highest in the extreme situation when all income or consumption or all household assets are concentrated in one specific population group or one specific social class of the society. Figure 8 attempts to establish the relationship between the social class inequality and the proportion of asset less households across the districts of the state. The figure shows that the social class inequality is low when the proportion of asset less households is high. However, when the proportion of asset less households are high, the social class inequality is also high. This implies that the distribution of income is more unequal in those districts of the state where average levels of income are high. Clearly, increase in income has resulted in increased concentration of income across the districts of the state. Such an increase in income may contribute little to the reduction of poverty in the state.

223

References
Appleton S, Song I (1999) Income and human development at the household level. Background paper for the World Development Report 2000/2001. Chandrasekhar S, Ray S (2005) Poverty hotspots in rural India. Mumbai, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research. National Research Programme on Growth and Human Development. Filmer D, Pritchett L (1999) Estimating wealth effects without expenditure data or Tears: An application to educational enrollments in states of India. Gakidou E, Murray CJL, Frenk J (2003) A framework for measuring health inequality. In CJL Murray, DB Evans (eds) Health Systems Performance Assessment. Debates, Methods and Empiricism. Geneva, World Health Organisation. Gini C (1912) Variabilita e mutabilita. Bologna, Tipogr. DiO. Cuppini. Government of India (2007) Poverty estimates for 2004-05. New Delhi, Press Information Bureau. Hulme D, Mckay A (2005) Identifying and measuring chronic poverty: Beyond monetary measures. Paper presented at the International Conference: Many dimensions of poverty. Brasilia, Brazil. Panda M (2003) A reassessment of Agricultures role in the poverty reduction process in India. Paper prepared for the Roles of Agriculture International Conference, 20-22 October, 2003 Rome, Italy Sen A (1997) On Economic Inequality. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Townsend P (1979) Poverty in United Kingdom. Harmondsworth, Penguin.

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Table 1:

Proportion of population below poverty line in Madhya Pradesh: The Head-count Ratio.

Period

Proportion of the population living below poverty line at current prices (per cent) Madhya Pradesh Combined Rural 62.66 62.52 48.90 41.92 40.64 37.06 36.90 Urban 57.65 58.66 53.06 47.09 48.38 38.44 42.10 Combined 54.88 51.32 44.48 38.86 35.97 26.10 27.50 India Rural 55.72 50.60 45.31 39.60 37.30 27.20 28.30 Urban 47.96 40.50 35.65 35.65 32.40 23.70 25.70

1973-74 1977-78 1983 1987-88 1993-94 1999-2000 2004-05

61.78 61.78 49.78 43.07 42.52 37.43 38.30

Source:

Planning Commission

225

Table 2:
Period

Social class differentials in poverty in Madhya Pradesh, 1999-2000.

Poverty indexes Madhya Pradesh HCR PG 7.69 9.52 8.45 12.53 6.40 1.90 na na na na na na na na na SPG 2.33 3.31 2.50 4.02 1.87 0.46 na na na na na na na na na HCR 26.98 23.44 35.89 45.82 26.96 14.98 20.09 23.82 39.83 27.52 15.07 30.03 22.59 17.32 10.62 India PG 5.26 5.15 7.22 10.59 4.93 2.60 na na na na na na na na na SPG 1.55 1.65 2.15 3.49 1.38 0.71 na na na na na na na na na

Residence Rural Urban Caste Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes Backward Classes Others Employment Status Self-employed (Agriculture) Self-employed (Non-agriculture) Labour (Agriculture) Labour (Non-agriculture) Others Land holdings < 1.0 ha 1-2 ha 2-4 ha > 4 ha 45.29 34.91 30.28 18.66 27.11 30.18 53.58 56.54 15.22 41.21 57.14 32.32 11.70 37.25 38.48

Source:

Panda (2003)

226

Table 3:

Inter-district and social class variations in the proportion of asset less households in Madhya Pradesh, 2001 - Total population.
Proportion (Per cent) of asset less households Total Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes 65.68 71.87 66.08 40.78 56.52 53.31 74.09 71.96 63.66 59.05 67.75 77.22 74.72 62.08 55.86 56.35 55.13 65.45 50.02 48.26 65.51 44.22 52.10 62.30 72.77 61.95 37.43 Non Scheduled Castes/Tribes 32.81 51.77 38.89 33.15 17.77 36.45 38.09 42.09 33.73 31.28 38.90 44.37 45.90 28.37 26.64 31.91 26.32 36.22 22.09 28.13 20.59 24.90 35.07 29.17 20.65 25.40 10.11 Coefficient of variation 0.314 0.152 0.113 0.130 0.405 0.144 0.273 0.224 0.196 0.202 0.233 0.203 0.198 0.338 0.325 0.265 0.340 0.279 0.324 0.209 0.548 0.289 0.206 0.339 0.253 0.377 0.563

State/District

Madhya Pradesh Sheopur Morena Bhind Gwalior Datia Shivpuri Guna Tikamgarh Chhatarpur Panna Sagar Damoh Satna Rewa Umanria Shahdol Sidhi Neemuch Mandsaur Ratlam Ujjain Shajapur Dewas Jhabua Dhar Indore

42.15 59.13 41.31 35.80 21.94 40.17 45.91 49.39 37.67 35.62 46.64 50.55 53.04 35.76 33.55 44.24 40.67 46.99 26.16 31.75 35.10 30.77 40.27 38.53 66.18 46.08 14.44

47.11 67.11 47.86 44.02 29.17 48.74 52.42 58.66 42.46 42.82 53.40 57.55 61.42 41.29 42.71 42.03 37.26 49.85 31.46 43.06 37.42 44.20 53.66 49.90 58.32 46.48 21.59

227

State/District

Proportion (Per cent) of asset less households Total Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes 69.11 70.24 74.77 59.53 73.51 31.48 67.19 71.22 68.80 71.24 58.53 62.30 59.85 72.09 78.37 73.34 69.95 64.97 57.11 0.128 Non Scheduled Castes/Tribes 39.28 33.53 40.40 44.88 45.55 19.21 37.37 45.43 35.06 34.25 32.32 34.67 23.65 44.36 64.21 49.18 38.73 39.17 35.07 0.298 Coefficient of variation 0.265 0.276 0.290 0.114 0.179 0.237 0.238 0.191 0.319 0.335 0.256 0.273 0.427 0.198 0.089 0.186 0.284 0.241 0.224

W Nimar Barwani E Nimar Rajgarh Vidisha Bhopal Sehore Raisen Betul Harda Hoshangabad Katni Jabalpur Narsinghpur Diindori Mandla Chhindwara Seoni Balaghat Coefficient of variation

51.72 59.01 52.23 47.96 51.01 21.94 44.43 52.09 49.00 47.38 38.90 43.31 31.66 50.62 73.46 63.15 50.35 49.76 40.44 0.275

57.40 59.60 55.25 57.35 63.40 31.98 54.76 60.87 46.81 55.16 46.87 47.35 35.48 58.58 67.66 53.07 46.51 47.84 39.51 0.217

228

Table 4:

Inter-district and social class variations in the proportion of asset less households in Madhya Pradesh, 2001 - Rural population.
Proportion (Per cent) of asset less households Total Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes 68.09 72.53 76.17 53.65 71.06 55.33 74.89 73.38 65.44 60.19 68.01 79.04 75.76 62.36 56.10 57.05 56.57 66.65 52.50 50.36 68.00 54.58 54.38 65.67 73.83 62.66 54.31 Non Scheduled Castes/Tribes 41.38 58.76 44.70 37.24 35.03 41.52 43.49 50.36 36.79 36.06 42.74 54.48 52.57 32.06 28.90 35.75 34.74 41.94 25.89 31.56 27.60 35.69 39.18 37.87 28.80 28.40 21.62 Coefficient of variation 0.225 0.105 0.087 0.100 0.249 0.106 0.224 0.159 0.175 0.156 0.194 0.139 0.150 0.289 0.288 0.216 0.219 0.217 0.284 0.175 0.410 0.193 0.170 0.247 0.155 0.310 0.400

State/District

Madhya Pradesh Sheopur Morena Bhind Gwalior Datia Shivpuri Guna Tikamgarh Chhatarpur Panna Sagar Damoh Satna Rewa Umaria Shahdol Sidhi Neemuch Mandsaur Ratlam Ujjain Shajapur Dewas Jhabua Dhar Indore

50.46 64.87 46.40 39.53 39.84 44.76 51.04 56.88 40.43 39.81 49.83 59.87 58.93 39.31 35.59 47.30 47.49 51.93 30.39 35.14 44.51 41.74 44.23 47.36 70.73 50.55 29.80

53.38 72.48 50.11 46.17 42.42 51.39 56.01 63.63 43.89 44.60 54.85 64.84 65.53 42.54 42.76 44.91 41.58 53.86 35.82 44.76 43.16 52.21 55.53 56.93 65.04 49.80 36.99

229

State/District

Proportion (Per cent) of asset less households Total Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes 70.02 70.97 76.19 61.67 76.28 67.51 69.49 73.10 70.53 72.76 62.53 63.45 69.62 74.00 78.79 74.12 72.36 65.64 58.74 0.100 Non Scheduled Castes/Tribes 44.86 41.98 50.61 49.56 52.98 48.49 43.11 50.93 43.31 41.22 42.02 41.42 43.61 49.28 68.05 55.97 46.41 42.30 37.29 0.205 Coefficient of variation 0.206 0.178 0.191 0.088 0.137 0.121 0.193 0.155 0.225 0.258 0.180 0.198 0.216 0.164 0.067 0.129 0.212 0.209 0.209

W Nimar Barwani E Nimar Rajgarh Vidisha Bhopal Sehore Raisen Betul Harda Hoshangabad Katni Jabalpur Narsinghpur Diindori Mandla Chhindwara Seoni Balaghat Coefficient of variation

56.59 64.62 61.57 52.23 58.06 52.49 49.99 57.36 56.88 54.44 48.68 49.00 52.17 55.05 75.16 67.26 57.98 52.58 42.74 0.191

60.26 63.84 61.85 59.82 68.09 60.33 58.56 64.70 57.23 60.15 56.73 50.78 52.82 60.82 69.05 58.06 53.04 49.79 42.02 0.161

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Table 5:

Inter-district and social class variations in the proportion of asset less households in Madhya Pradesh, 2001 - Urban population.
Proportion (Per cent) of asset less households Total Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes 36.19 51.39 31.13 25.87 20.32 40.67 53.75 44.71 46.94 40.03 60.79 45.78 43.81 57.97 52.76 48.58 39.53 44.99 34.26 27.83 25.24 24.20 30.86 36.74 41.01 48.94 18.44 Non Scheduled Castes/Tribes 14.84 25.40 18.46 20.19 8.26 19.64 16.00 18.83 19.33 15.82 16.68 19.66 18.76 16.09 15.55 17.86 12.93 13.41 12.29 15.25 10.80 11.09 20.22 12.05 12.87 19.41 6.24 Coefficient of variation 0.351 0.223 0.339 0.267 0.390 0.240 0.406 0.334 0.305 0.357 0.537 0.327 0.381 0.513 0.573 0.485 0.543 0.556 0.354 0.228 0.297 0.343 0.244 0.459 0.571 0.431 0.448

State/District

Madhya Pradesh Sheopur Morena Bhind Gwalior Datia Shivpuri Guna Tikamgarh Chhatarpur Panna Sagar Damoh Satna Rewa Umanria Shahdol Sidhi Neemuch Mandsaur Ratlam Ujjain Shajapur Dewas Jhabua Dhar Indore

17.99 28.22 22.32 23.50 10.31 22.25 19.35 22.39 23.07 19.23 23.02 24.19 23.69 21.17 21.58 27.13 18.64 18.79 14.13 16.65 12.28 13.49 22.50 15.63 22.35 25.05 8.11

26.61 35.36 37.40 35.62 17.88 32.18 28.93 36.10 32.73 32.32 40.00 37.01 39.65 35.34 42.31 30.79 25.97 27.11 17.66 26.82 16.99 22.05 36.10 24.53 29.78 31.89 13.39

231

State/District

Proportion (Per cent) of asset less households Total Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes 46.87 52.53 39.25 37.98 35.63 22.78 32.89 43.35 28.46 41.52 26.94 49.12 28.10 46.96 53.81 34.37 42.45 36.79 40.30 0.312 Non Scheduled Castes/Tribes 21.11 20.81 22.33 24.30 22.36 13.33 16.51 25.86 14.79 17.89 14.76 13.33 10.10 21.63 33.48 21.97 23.91 22.17 20.49 0.363 Coefficient of variation 0.328 0.451 0.179 0.243 0.237 0.217 0.268 0.180 0.228 0.334 0.245 0.613 0.436 0.356 0.225 0.168 0.222 0.195 0.298

W Nimar Barwani E Nimar Rajgarh Vidisha Bhopal Sehore Raisen Betul Harda Hoshangabad Katni Jabalpur Narsinghpur Diindori Mandla Chhindwara Seoni Balaghat Coefficient of variation

24.96 28.67 24.09 27.44 25.13 14.93 18.99 28.20 16.52 21.48 17.00 19.39 13.06 26.50 38.26 23.73 27.07 24.54 24.15 0.338

36.53 44.96 31.20 41.92 38.18 20.78 28.35 36.41 18.70 32.41 23.81 31.97 20.35 43.79 33.80 25.01 31.04 31.29 24.82 0.332

232