Functions and Activities of the Department of Rural Development, Nagaland

INTRODUCTION:

The Department of Rural Development has been involved in the developmental activities of the rural areas of Nagaland through the implementation of various programmes and schemes with the objective of improving the economic and social living standard of the rural poor through employment generation and infrastructural development programmes. All the activities of the Department are implemented through the grass root level organization called the “Village Development Board (VDB)” which has been active since its inception in 1980.

 

OBJECTIVE:

1. To delegate powers to the Village Development Board (VDB) to plan and make decisions on all aspects of development in providing infrastructures, services and amenities to the villages including selection of schemes from funds provided under Rural Development.
2. To transform the rural areas to that of semi-urban standard by developing infrastructure and providing basic common facilities.
3. Providing employment opportunities to unemployed rural youth through income generating & economically productive activities in rural areas with a view to check migration to the towns.

MISSION:

1. To achieve total transparency in implementation of schemes and utilization of grants provided by the Govt. to the VDBs.
2. To encourage the rural people to mobilize resources through fund raising and other forms of savings.
3. To provide technical support and guidance to the VDBs in all development process.
4. To coordinate the development activities of all allied Department and adopt a common approach for meeting the requirement of the villagers.
5. To provide training to the villagers in the process of introducing them to new ideas and methods.
6. To strive to build-up confidence in the rural people through trainings and exposures outside the state
7. To learn from past mistakes and strengthen the functioning of the VDBs.
8. To incorporate income generating and economically productive Schemes in the Model Schemes of the VDBs and
9. To declare the VDBs as Non Banking Institution (NBIs) for facilitating flow of credit for funding various Self- help group (SHG) activities.

 

VISION:

1. To make each of the 1175 VDBs a vibrant, self supporting and self sufficient unit in respect of their basic needs.
2. Capable of mobilizing its internal resources for investing in various Income generating and economically productive activities.
3. To check migration of educated unemployed rural youths to town by self-employment opportunities and involving them in taking up income generating and economically productive activities in the rural areas; and
4. To gradually transform the rural areas into the standard of semi- urban areas in so far as availability of the basic common facilities are concerned.

 

ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT:

1. The following activities both under the centrally sponsored and the state sponsored schemes are implementing at present by the Department through the grass root level organization called “Village Development Boards in Nagaland”.
2. Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY)
3. Grant in Aid to VDBs (Household Allocation)
4. VDB Welfare Fund
5. Fixed Deposit (FD) & Matching Cash Grants (MCG)
6. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Schemes (MGNREGS)
7. Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF)
8. Micro-Finance (MF)
9. National Rural livelihood Mission (NRLM)

 

ACHIEVEMENT:

With the fund provided to the villages by the Department, the Village Development Boards have achieved about 70% of the target for the infrastructures and their common needs.

ANNALS OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT:
The Department of Rural Development had a humble beginning as a small cell called “Accounts & Audit Cell” attached to “The Planning & Coordination Department”, Govt. of Nagaland, headed by an Account Officer on deputation brought from the Office of the Accountant General, Shillong, from time to time. The cell dealt with all kinds of accounts matters as Budget, Appropriation Accounts, Finance Accounts, Audit Objections, Internal Audit, and Control of Expenditure
under Plan and Non-Plan of all Blocks. In the year 1978-79, the Cell was subsequently detached from the Planning & Coordination Department and was notified as a full-fledged Head of Department, “The Directorate of Rural Development Blocks” and placed under the administrative control of Special Secretary and Agricultural Production Commissioner, Nagaland assisted by a Deputy Director on deputation from the Co-operation Department with a skeleton staff.

Thereafter, the Administrative Head also functioned as the Head of Department of the Directorate as Ex-officio Director. The post of Director was created only during the year 1988. However, this post of Director continued to be manned by Nagaland Civil Service (NCS) Officers on deputation upto 1993. Thereafter Departmental Promotees has manned the post of Director.