Grass without roots: rural development under governemnt auspices

This book is the first comprehensive and critical review of the various rural development schemes initiated by the government of India since independence. It traces successive policy shifts, organisational changes and programme innovations, as also considers the impact of all this activity at the grass-roots level through field studies conducted in selected rural development blocks.
The planning, direction and implementation of rural development program mes have been concentrated in government hands. The people have no part in this process. It is therefore not surprising, the authors argue, that despite the plethora of schemes and the vast amounts of public money that have been expended on them, India's efforts at rural development have failed to generate a development process.
The authors conclude from their detailed field observations that there is a complete mismatch between ideas and the institutions created to translate the former into practice. While there are frequent shifts in official policy and direction, the government's rural development efforts have largely remained barren because they have not been able to spark off local initiative or produce a multiplier effect.
In the circumstances, the only solution democratic decentralisation. The people, say the authors, must be involved both in the design and the actual operation of rural development schemes. Without this, efforts at alleviating poverty and hunger in India's villages will remain an exercise in futility.
An important and timely book with major policy implications which is essential reading for any one interested or involved in the development process.