Village-level workers : A Study of factors Influencing their Performance

In recent times, one of the key functionaries involved in the rural development efforts has become the centre of controversy. He has been, in turn, glorified as the kingpin of the community development programme on the one hand, and a boy with a herculean task on the other; a real catalyser of change on the one hund and an unwilling incompetent worker on the other. He has been accused of not being up todate in his technical competence, not motivated enough to serve the rurd masses, not changing himself fast enough to keep pace with the rapid socio technical change Testances have been reported where he has been buiflanked in knowledge of technology by the persons whom he is expected to serve. He is the village-level worker (VLW), also known in some states as the gramsevak or even by the somewhat officious-sounding designation of village development officer.

While the volume of criticism to which the VLW has been subjected has been quite profuse, he has not been deprived of his protagonists as well. Several scholars as well as lay thinkers have tried to counter the criticism in various ways. Several committees have gone into the question of raising the competence of VLWs; the suggestions have been almost as varied as the number of such sources. However, so far, there has been little systematic effort to look into the question of factors impinging on his performance before any effort is made to manipulate something to make the VLW more effective and useful. In fact, the question of performance appraisal itself has been handled so far rather superficially. The most common method of performance appraisal for VLWs is the scrutiny of the multitude of reports of quantitative achievements of targets which he is required to submit, coupled with rather subjective, and often not without personal biases, impressions carried by the superiors during their perfunctory tours of inspection.