Lok Sabha Question No. 387 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-20
Subject: Cluster based Approach
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Annasaheb Shankar Jolle

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 387 ANSWERED ON 20/07/2021

## CLUSTER BASED APPROACH

## 387. SHRI ANNASAHEB SHANKAR JOLLE:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether there is a scheme for developing rural areas in cluster based approach for overall development of the regions in single Constituency;
- (b) if  so,  the  detailed  guidelines  for  the  same,  if  not,  whether  such  programme  can  be designed by converging existing schemes/programmes;
- (c) whether in post-covid world, Rural development has been given fresh approach; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof, if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI)

(a)  &  (b)  Ministry  of  Rural  Development  is  implementing  Shyama  Prasad  MukherjiRurban Mission (SPMRM) which was launched by Hon'ble Prime Minister on February 21 st ,  2016  to provide catalytic  interventions  to  rural  areas  on  the  threshold  of  accelerated  growth  through  a cluster  based  approach.  Mission  strives  to  strengthen  the  rural  areas  by  providing  economic, social and infrastructure amenities, thus leading to sustainable and balanced regional development in the country.   Under the Mission, a total of 300 Rurban clusters with thematic economic growth points are to be developed across the country, with a funding support of up to 30% of the estimated investment for each Rurban cluster, given as Critical Gap Funding (CGF), while 70% or more of the funds are mobilized by the States through convergence with synergic State and Central programmes. Cluster based plans are made following decentralised planning and efficient convergence of local efforts and resources to achieve their development aspirations. The Rurban Clusters are not selected constituency-wise.   As per the guidelines /Framework of Implementation of SPMRM, a 'Rurban cluster', would be a cluster of geographically contiguous villages  with  a  population  of  about  25000  to  50000  in  plain  and  coastal  areas  and  with  a population of 5000 to 15000 in desert, hilly or tribal areas. For selection of clusters, the Ministry would  provide  a  list  of  leading  sub  districts  to  each  State,  and  within  these  sub  districts  so identified  by  the  Ministry,  the  State  Governments  would  select  the  clusters.   The  detailed guidelines  /  Framework  of  Implementation  (FOI)  of  the  Mission  may  be  seen  by  visiting  the Rurban website, i.e., https://rurban.gov.in.

(c)  &  (d)  Yes  Sir.   The  Ministry  held  detailed  consultations to  identify  the  immediate  and medium  to  long  term  impacts  of  the  pandemic  and  ensuing  lock  down  on  the  community institutions.   (Some Part Deleted in between) Considering the massive outreach of the project, National  Rural  Livelihood  Mission  (NRLM)/National  Rural  Economic  Transformation  Project (NRETP) is in a prime position to launch interventions which could positively impact the lives of millions of households. In this context, the Ministry has emphasized its focus on the following three components:

a) Community  Investment  Fund  (CIF)  -  Support  to  SHGs  and  federations  in undercapitalized areas All efforts are being made to capitalize these SHGs to the level consistent with NRLM guidelines, so that they can make loans for livelihoods activities.

b) Support for Migrant households Innovative projects are being proposed to support migrant  households  in  some  of  the  States,  viz.  Chhattisgarh,  Jharkhand,  Madhya  Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Some of key interventions (i) inclusion of migrant households in SHGs and access to CIF etc.(ii)  undertaking skill-mapping and facilitating at least one additional livelihoods source for the migrant households; (iii) access to food, basic health and nutrition support services; (iv) facilitating access to rights and entitlements, employment support; etc.

c) Implementing  Innovation/Pilot  Projects: In  order  to  build  resilience  to  future shocks and taking into account learning emerging from the current situation, NRLM/NRETP will  finance  pilot  projects  in  the  areas  of  Health  and  Nutrition,  Financial  Inclusion,  Farm Livelihoods and for returned migrant workers, which are as follows:

(i) Health  and  Pilot  Nutrition  Projects  : Building  on  lessons  from  state  level programs, such as JEEViKA (Bihar) and Umed (Maharashtra), the pilot projects will expand  these  approaches  to  key  states  -  Chhattisgarh,  Jharkhand,  Madhya  Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. focused on (i) spreading awareness about key health and nutrition aspects; (ii) behavior change communication; (iii) strengthening convergence with front line workers such as ASHA workers; and (iv) promoting dietary diversity and scaling of agri-nutri garden intervention.

(ii) Credit Risk Fund for Enterprise loans Apart from providing working capital support to enterprises as per approved guidelines, it is envisaged that NRLM/NRETP would pilot provisioning of Credit Risk Fund (CRF) for these entrepreneurs. CRF is an established  mechanism  of  financing  within  the  banking  industry  wherein  the  parties involved (the bank and the entrepreneur) share the risk.

(iii) Promotion of Integrated Farming Clusters - In order to augment the livelihoods basket  of  the  poor,  Integrated  Farming  Clusters  (IFC)  will  be  promoted  under  the project.  Each  IFC  will  comprise  of  2-3  adjoining  villages  covering  about  250-300 households  wherein  every  household  will  have  3-4  Livelihoods  (farm  and  non-farm) with  strong  backward  and  forward  linkages.  Special  emphasis  will  be  placed  on targeting landless and marginal farmers.

In  addition  to  above,  the  implementation  of  all  other  schemes,  like  MGNREGS,  PMAY-G, PMGSY, NSAP, etc., is also being monitored closely for their expeditious delivery.  It may also be  mentioned  that  the  basic  principle  behind  people's  plan  campaign  also  known  as  Gram Panchayat  Development  Plan  (GPDP)  is  evidence  based  planning  for  the  Gram  Panchayat aggregating  the  resources  available  within  the  Gram  Panchayat  including  Central  Finance Commission Grants and the Mahatma Gandhi NREG Scheme.   Ministry of Rural Development is actively participating and promoting their endeavour.

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