GRB 605 UNIT III TOPIC 2 PLANNING FOR

GRB 605: UNIT III TOPIC 2: PLANNING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

CONTENTS A. BACKGROUND OF PLANNING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT (i) Global Context (ii) Indian Context B. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT THEORIES and their connection with INDIAN PLANNING C. PATHS OF PLANNING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT (i) Theoretical Perspectives (ii) Indian Perspectives D. MULTI-LEVEL PLANNING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA (i) National Planning with special reference to Macro Regions (ii) State/Sub-national Planning with Special Reference to Meso Regions (iii)Sub State/ District/Block Level Planning with special reference to Micro Regions E. CHALLENGES TO PLANNING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA F. REMEDIES FOR EFFECTIVE PLANNING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

A. BACKGROUND OF PLANNING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT (i) Global Context ‘Regional development began to receive attention in the Western countries in the 1930 s on welfare considerations’ (Nath, 1970, p. 247) since ensuring human welfare was considered important in Western nations during the early twentieth century. Therefore, they wanted to plan in a way such that they could get rid of: (i) ‘Mass unemployment and distress in the depressed regions’ (as seen in regions of UK). (ii) ‘Poverty and backwardness’ (as seen in regions of the US). (Nath, 1970, p. 247) Other considerations, such as development of natural resources, were added later. Off late, concerns regarding extremely complex issues pertaining to the economy, society and the environment had channeslised attention towards the large urban and industrial nodes of the nation with an urge to diffuse development from these growth centres into there peripheral zones. (Nath, 1970, p. 247) Therefore, contemporary policies that harp at initiating and expanding regional development has concentrated on both the objectives mentioned above, which is to ensure focus on both developed and less developed regions. Removing distress and poverty from the former and relieving the latter from the costs of excess development. (Nath, 1970, p. 247)

A. BACKGROUND OF PLANNING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT (ii) Indian Context • The emphasis on regional development in the context of national planning came in almost from the beginning of the Five Year Plans of development in India. • ‘Preparation of State plans and their integration with the national plan was a very important part of our planning process’ (Nath, 1970, p. 247). • ‘But the importance of State level planning has also had the effect of equating regional planning with it’ (Nath, 1970, p. 247). That is, when we say regional planning in India, we mostly mean state level planning because states are the most popularly understood regions in India. • ‘As a result, planning for regional development and preparation of development plans for regions with special problems or any other unifying factor– i. e. , backward regions, metropolitan regions, river valleys or other resource development regions have not received the attention that they deserve’ (Nath, 1970, p. 247). . • Also, the difficulties experienced by some early regional plans (for example, the Damodar Valley Corporation, an early example of special problem regional planning in India) ‘in undertaking integrated development of an inter-State, resource-rich, river valley region’ (in case of DVC), discouraged planners from preparing integrated regional development plans. (Nath, 1970, p. 248). • In India, the States behave as separate regions and therefore it is difficult to delineate a region with parts of two or more States on the basis of a problem or a resource and it is even more difficult to implement a plan on the same due to political/administrative/cultural differences. (Nath, 1970, p. 248). • However, our planners always have and still is aware of regional development problems, particularly regional disparities in development and therefore realize the need to plan for regional development in India. (Nath, 1970, p. 248).

B. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT THEORIES and their connection with INDIAN PLANNING ‘According to Friedmann and Alonso, the regional development issue is particularly important in the early stages of economic development, when the tendency for concentration of development in the core areas is strong and when the political pressures exerted by the peripheral regions for diversion of development to them create tensions. The issue becomes less important in mature industrial economies, because the spread effects of development from the core regions are strong’ (Nath, 1970, p. 250). ‘Myrdal agrees that the ‘spread’ effects are stronger than the ‘backwash’ effects in mature economies, and regional disparities in development tend to be reduced in them, but he gives greater importance to the tendency of free market forces’ (like those created by liberalization) ‘to accentuate regional disparities and emphasizes the role of public policies and programmes in reducing disparities’ (Nath, 1970, p. 250). These popular views that the problem of regional disparity is transitional, and will be solved as the economy matures, is not helpful for India, where ‘size, social and cultural diversity, and highly developed feelings of regional identity greatly add to the tensions resulting from regional disparities in development or differential growth rates’ (Nath, 1970, p. 250) ‘It is an imperative of successful planning’ in India ‘that the people of every region feel that they have adequate opportunities of participation in the planning process and that regional distribution of the benefits of the plans is equitable’ (Nath, 1970, p. 250). Our planning for regional development has to be inclusive in nature. This becomes more and more difficult if development continues to be concentrated in few regions, such as the metropolitan cities, and the disparities between them and the other regions continue to increase. (recall and connect this with the patterns ad imbalances of regional development in India through the different stages).

C. PATHS OF PLANNING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT (i) Theoretical Perspectives Planning for Developed Regions: ‘It is often thought that regional development involves a choice between regional welfare and national welfare, and the sacrifice, of national welfare for regional welfare’. This is because location of projects in backward regions only to develop them rather than in places where they can earn maximum profit reduce national welfare by slowing down economic growth. This is the logic of planning developmental projects for developed regions, say metropolitan cities or industrial complexes. (Nath, 1970, p. 253) However, critics of this theory say that development from these projects located in big cities will trickle down (spread effect) to medium/small towns may be. It will do nothing to develop villages. Planning for Less Developed Regions: Others say that projects should be located in backward regions only. This will generate employment and income and help the region develop directly and help in attracting more investments and other industries through the creation of infrastructure in due course of time. This is based on Perroux’s ‘development role concept, which emphasizes on the role of large projects’ in regional development. (Nath, 1970, p. 252) Sometimes planners begin by creating infrastructure in backward regions. This is done with the logic that, these regions are backward because they do not have good infrastructure (like proper roads, educated workers, good financial organisations like banks etc. ) and if infrastructures can be created there, then they will be able to attract projects and will be able to overcome their backwardness.

C. PATHS OF PLANNING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT (ii) Indian Perspectives • The principal planning objective for India has been balanced regional development. That is, reduction of regional disparities in development. (Nath, 1970, p. 255) • ‘The scope for action for reducing regional disparities has been limited in India because of limited resources. ’ • ‘But as development proceeds and larger resources become available the benefits of development will extend increasingly to the less developed regions’ (Nath, 1970, p. 255) • ‘The basic resource-development and social-service activities in agricultural development, community development, irrigation (major and minor), education, rural works and other employment creating programmes which are being undertaken through the Plans throughout the country will benefit the less developed regions’. (Nath, 1970, p. 255) • ‘The disadvantage of the less developed regions, particularly for location of industries, is due to lack of developed infrastructure facilities, such as power, transport and water supply’. (Nath, 1970, p. 255) • ‘This disadvantage will removed progressively’. (Nath, 1970, p. 255) • Location of large industries should be governed by considerations, such as proximity to sources of raw materials. (Nath, 1970, p. 255) • ‘Since many of the public sector industrial projects are located in backward regions because raw materials are located in them’, these regions benefitted. (Nath, 1970, p. 255) • ‘Concentration of industries in developed industrial areas should be avoided’ (Nath, 1970, p. 255) • ‘Expansion of capacity of existing industrial units located in the cities, is unavoidable; but care must be taken as far as possible to set up new units away from large cities’ (Nath, 1970, p. 255) • ‘Village and small scale industries which are spread throughout the country, also promote’ regional development. (Nath, 1970, p. 256) • Industrial estates to be located increasingly in small and medium-sized towns. (Nath, 1970, p. 256) • ‘Large projects should be thought of as nuclei of regional growth’. (Nath, 1970, p. 256)

D. MULTI-LEVEL PLANNING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA (i). NATIONAL PLANNING with special reference to MACRO REGIONS: (This is applicable when a region is made up of many states, for example, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka making up a southern region) An inventory (store of information) of the spatial and locational patterns of the key sectors of the national economy is needed. (Bhat, 1970, p. 396) ‘On the basis of the analysis of the inventory, the country may be divided into’ few macro-regions comprising groups of States. (Bhat, 1970, p. 396) ‘Contiguity (proximity or closeness of States), inter-State and intra-State relationship and the resource potential for developing distinct regional economies could be the considerations in regional delineation’ (Bhat, 1970, p. 396) ‘These would be the regions formulating a regional development strategy in National Planning’. (Bhat, 1970, p. 396) ‘For this purpose an attempt should then be made to analyse the existing spatial and locational components of the national development plans and to indicate alternative locations and areas within each of the macro-region to which the additional targets of production could be allocated’ (Bhat, 1970, p. 396) The impact of such a development policy on the goals of economic and social development of a region should further be spelt out on the basis of federating States which are the parts of the macro-regions. (Bhat, 1970, p. 396)

D. MULTI-LEVEL PLANNING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA (ii). STATE/SUB-NATIONAL PLANNING with special reference to MESO REGIONS: (This is applicable when a region is made up of smaller areas, for example, South-East Resource Region comprising of 25 contiguous Districts involving the States of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. The framework of a regional plan ‘would be more realistic in that regions with homogeneity in resource base or common problems of development can be identified and the possible goals of specialisation stated’ (Bhat, 1970, p. 397) ‘This would serve to spell out a strategy for regional planning. This is in contrast to the macro-regions comprising groups of States to be used in the formulation of a regional economic development policy in national planning’ (shown in the previous slide). (Bhat, 1970, p. 397) ‘In terms of locations too the framework of a regional plan would include a large number of growth-centres, market-towns and other service centres, in a crude (rough) hierarchy (arrangement in the form of: big towns/centres medium towns/centres - small towns/centres) that reveals the interaction between the people and the area’. (this is not possible at the macro level) (Bhat, 1970, p. 397) The framework of a regional ; plan would serve two purposes; one is to provide guidelines for the preparation of area development plans and the other purpose is to prepare a corresponding input-output table for each of the sub-region within the State for the preparation of the economic development plans of the State as a whole’ (Bhat, 1970, p. 397)

D. MULTI-LEVEL PLANNING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA (iii). SUB STATE/ DISTRICT/BLOCK LEVEL PLANNING with special reference to MICRO REGIONS: (This is applicable when a region pertains to a larger area than a village, or a Block or a District) ‘Within the broad framework of a regional plan for different regions of the State, the framework of an area development plan at the District and Block levels should portray two important spatial dimensions; one is a framework of a land-use plan (particularly of agricultural land) and another one is of the proposed integration of villages around some important settlements as the focal points’. (Bhat, 1970, p. 398) ‘These should spell out the nature of the services and amenities needed by the people in the focal point and its surrounding villages and other specialised functions such as agro-industry and ancillary industries. The cost implications and the different inputs needed for them should be indicated’. (Bhat, 1970, p. 398) ‘This spatial framework and the sub-regional plan for the State would facilitate an evaluation of the activities and services and amenities and other infrastructures of development in terms of their local and regional (i. e. pertaining to a larger area than a village, or a Block or a District) importance’ (Bhat, 1970, p. 398)

Diagram has been taken from: L. S. Bhat, 1970, p. 399 Table has been taken from: L. S. Bhat, 1970, p. 402

E. CHALLENGES TO PLANNING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA 1. Planning for Regional Development in India is no doubt a complex issue, especially ‘with political overtones’ (Bhat, 1970, p. 395) 2. The real issue of regional development and location of economic activities is often dictated by narrow regionalism in India. (Bhat, 1970, p. 395) 3. Mostly, in India, states, districts and other administrative units are used as ‘regions’ for planning purposes but they are of all sizes with heterogeneity in resource structure, and varied patterns of economies within them. (Bhat, 1970, p. 395) F. REMEDIES FOR EFFECTIVE PLANNING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT 1. ‘Identification and evaluation of the physical resource base and population’ – which shall reveal a realistic spatial or regional pattern. (Bhat, 1970, p. 395) 2. ‘Without the analysis of location advantages of different economic activities’ (that is, which economic activity can be profitably conducted in which region) ‘in relation to the resource base it is difficult to evolve any objective criteria or policy for investment allocation as related to regional development’. (Bhat, 1970, p. 395) 3. ‘Moreover, because of the large size of the country and the federal structure (division into central and state level governance) in which the plan operates, there is a need for simultaneous analysis of the problems in regional development and location of economic activities at the National and State levels according to the relative importance of resources and activities’. (Bhat, 1970, p. 395)

References: Bhat, L. S. , 1970, ‘Regional Planning in India’, Sankhyā: The Indian Journal of Statistics, Series B (1960 -2002), Vol. 32, No. ¾, p. 391 -546, published by: Indian Statistical Institute Nath, V. ‘Regional Development in Indian Planning’ , Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 5, No. 3/5, Annual Number the Seventies, p. 247+249+251+253+255+257 -260. THANK YOU * Feel free to get back with questions