5(c). Write a brief note on the planning for backward areas.

INTRODUCTION:
Traditionally the backward area is an area where there is no industrial
development. But the concept of backwardness itself has undergone
change. In 1960s & 70s backwardness was measured on the basis of
techno-economic parameters but contemporary definition of
backwardness includes social and ecological aspects also.
Regional disparities have started widening because of ill-conceived
investment programmes effected under the colonial rule and also due to
lack of attention paid to the need for micro level plans. Therefore, far the
promotion of balanced regional development, it is essential to devise
suitable planning model and policies.
In India, regional development and planning began with macro-regions
and shifted, recently, to the micro-regions. Equitability of opportunity,
positive transformation, deep rooted and engulf mobilization of local
resources and general self-reliance for self-sufficiency axe matter of
focus.
CONTENTS
The biggest challenge of backward area management is how to identify
which are the backward areas for development. Even now we have not
accepted the precise definition of the backwardness. But we understand
that backwardness is a problem & India has lots of backward pockets.
The concern for regional growth and backward area development in the
country found expression only in qualitative terms in the first phase of the
planning period up to the mid-sixties. In the 1960s, planning commission
recommended setting up of small scale industries board for encouraging
industrial development in backward areas but the decisive efforts were
initiated in 1968 when on the recommendation of National Development
Council, 2 committees were set up for identifying backward areas and for
addressing backwardness.

Pande Committee:
The committees intention is to ultimately suggest a strategy whereby regionally
imbalances could be minimized or even eliminated by arranging establishment
of industries of all sizes in selected backward areas or regions through financial
and fiscal incentives. It emphasises on parameters such as-
Distance from larger cities and large industrial projects
Per-capita income
Population engaged in secondary and tertiary activities
Factory employment
Non/under-utilization of economic and natural resources

Wanchoo Committee:
It is to suggest financial and fiscal incentives in order to remove the
industrial backwardness. This Committee suggested a number of
incentives like the excise subsidy, the transport subsidy, the concessional
finance, the liberalized import and supply of scarce raw materials, etc.
All the parameters like per capita income, length of road, industrial
workers, electricity, transport etc are primarily techno-economic in
nature and there is an element of functional rigidity because it measures
backwardness on the basis of industrial development.
Backwardness measured only in terms of industrial parameters, therefore
may not be a valid concept today. The criterion of per-capita income or
its related versions as measures of backwardness/poverty do not reflect
fully the variations in socio-economic, cultural, institutional,
administrative and historical components of development.

Variables recommended by the committees for the Identification of BACKWARD

regions
Density of population per sq.km. of area.
Percentage of agricultural workers to total workers.
Percentage of literate population.
Percentage of school going children.
Total per-capita income.
Per capita income from agriculture.
Sex ratio, industry and mining.
Availability of infrastructural facilities.
Per capita consumption of electricity
Chronically drought prone areas.
Chronically flood prone areas.
Length of surfaced roads per 100 sq. km. Of area.
 Public health care system.
Safe drinking water facility.

Strategies followed under backward area development:

Addressing backwardness was primarily about encouraging industries and
industrial infrastructure. Backwardness therefore was sought to address under
economic intervention and it took sometimes before backwardness was
identified under the broader definition to include political, social and ecological
backwardness.

The main strategies followed were:

1. Industrial Licensing Policy
2. The growth pole strategy
3. Rural industrialisation under the cottage sector
4. Setting up industrial estate

One of the major reforms recommended in the industrial estates are to with
labour laws where industries have increasingly demanded more liberal policies
to the extent of hire and fire and also to limit the role of trade unions in these
estates.
National Committee on the Development of Backward Areas:
National Committee on the Development of Backward Areas (N.C.D.B.A.) under
the chairmanship of Shri B. Shivaraman was appointed by planning commission
in November, 1978, evolved an innovative method in identifying and classifying
the backward areas in the country, i.e. instead of relying upon any indicators of
development/backwardness or indexes there of (either sectoral or composite),
it settled upon recommending the following six types of problem areas as
backward:

Chronically drought-prone areas

Desert areas
Tribal areas
Hill areas
Chronically flood affected areas
Coastal areas affected by salinity

These six categories can be viewed as six types of fundamental backwardness.

In this sense, an area may suffer from the handicap of more than one type of
fundamental backwardness.

Backward area development in contemporary time:

Backwardness is more holistically defined today and includes social

backwardness like education, sex ratio, social exploitation like caste based
exploitation and also agriculture related backwardness.

The strategies of backward planning no longer include industrialisation

based development alone. Agriculture based development is increasingly
accepted as a valid strategy for agriculture resource rich regions.

Non-crop based agriculture & drought resistant agriculture are encouraged

for addressing backwardness in areas of subsistence level farming in
peninsular interiors.

Most of the backward area development programs are now subsumed

within rural development programs, agriculture modernization program,
employment generation programs & poverty alleviation programs.