PLANNING FOR INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT OF 0. SIWAN DISTRICT, BIHAR

Abstract

The present thesis is an attempt towards formulating a methodology for the integrated I - I •- 4 1 1 ---------------1 - -A -- --t ' ---------------------- ueveiuprnem of rural rgtons nruugti uecemranzeo anu parncipauvc pianrung approacn. The target is to address the development issues of those regions in India that are characterized by high rural population, population density & agricultural land use, and low urbanization, industrialization & literacy. Siwan district in Bihar state has been taken as the study area for analysis and implementation of the proposed methodology. Integrated development would achieve spatial as well as functional/sectoral integration of the region, through provision of services and accessibility to service centres. Functional and spatial integrations are complementary to each other and together frame the notion of integrated development. Functional integration refers to the inter-dependence among heterogeneous order of settlements throughout the region, through the exchange of services and performance of certain functions of different sectors like agriculture, economy, industries, employment, infrastructure, etc. And spatial integration which is infact the physical connectivity between the different parts of tile region is made possible by the provision of routes and means of transportation. The methodology proposes to have plans at three levels - local level (/2anchuva/), intermediate level (CD block) and top level (district), with the lower plans being amalgamated into the upper levels. Case of a sample block is taken to demonstrate the incorporation of lower level plans into higher level plan. All these plans however, would he guided by a Vision-2027 prepared after thorough analysis of the socio-economic dynamism of the district. Each individual plan at different levels identifies the service centres and estimates the gaps in services. The proposed plan identifies service centres at four different orders in the district - Ill-order service centre at village level, Il-order service centre at panchavat level, i-order service centre at block level and growth centre at district level. The service centres are to be promoted as growth foci by concentrating here the infrastructure, services and functions of corresponding order.