COMMUNITY BASED INITIATIVES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

 Dear all

Happy to update the blog with the recent publication. The paper entitled " Community Based Initiatives for Sustainable Development" has been published in Mahila Pratishtha, an International Journal (volume 6: Issue 4 of April to June 2021). Brief details of the same were presented below as: 

..............................................................................................................................

ABSTRACT

Community based initiatives works of the people, for the people, by the people and are effective and efficient in achieving their development with better growth, sustainability and quality within accessible and inclusive environment. Development has got two approaches one as People Oriented Development and other as Business Oriented Development. Development is a continuous process that creates growth, progress, positive change or the addition of physical, economic, environmental, social and demographic components. The high cost of Service Delivery System dominated by top down approaches do affect the reach to the targeted groups with marginalization forcing for wider gap, rivalry, violence, suicides, crime, unhealthy migration, poor quality of life, and lower index in growth and development particularly women.  The processes of Liberalization, Privatization and Privatization have brought development on one side and on the other side widened the gap between the urbanites/ rich and ruralites / poor as the benefits of development have not been distributed for all the people but mostly confined to smaller groups living in selected areas. At the same time, the domination of Business Oriented Development over the People Oriented Development has got low priority for the people and environment which further affected their health and wealth. Nation has got its vision of Modern India with the inclusion of Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved with specific action frame. The challenges are many and opens up several opportunities for the empowerment of Communities for better growth and sustainability where women play a key role. The initiatives taken up are effective and resulted for significant impact. The strategies, initiatives and models are simple, flexible, replicable, scalable and sustainable matching to the dynamics of the given community.     

Key Words: Community, Holistic, Growth, Development, Sustainability, Geo-Tools, Environment, Quality of Life.

Statement of the Problem

The high cost of Service Delivery System dominated by top down approaches do affect the reach to the targeted groups both quantitatively and qualitatively with marginalization forcing for wider gap, rivalry, violence, suicides, crime, unhealthy migration, poor quality of life, and lower index in growth and development.   

Introduction

Development is a continuous process that creates growth, progress, positive change or the addition of physical, economic, environmental, social and demographic components. Development has got two approaches one as People Oriented Development (POD) and other as Business Oriented Development (BOD). Nation has put its best efforts to eradicate poverty through a mission known as Remove Poverty or Poverty Alleviation (Garibi Hatao) by way of providing Roti (Food), Kapada (Clothing) and Makhan (Shelter) to all poor and vulnerable people. The processes of Liberalization, Privatization and Privatization (LPG) have brought development on one side and on the other side widened the gap between the urbanites/ rich and ruralites / poor as the benefits of development have not been distributed for all the people but mostly confined to smaller groups living in selected areas. At the same time, the domination of Business Oriented Development (BOD) over the People Oriented Development (POD) has got low priority for the people and environment which further affected their health and wealth. The efforts made by the Nation over the decades for the removal of poverty (Garibi Hatao) has not been reduced but on the other side resulted for widening the gap between poor and rich. On the lighter side, it is said that Garibi Hatao (Remove Poverty) has shifted to Garibo Ko Hatao (Remove poor People). The Service Delivery Systems (SDSs) used while working with poverty alleviation are mostly dominated with Top Down Approaches (TDAs) which are in mismatch with the needs of the targeted groups who will in turn become passive receivers. It is the known fact that the cost of service delivery systems is much higher than what the beneficiary receives.   

Conclusions

The study made is need based for better connectivity, and sustainability and the key conclusions emerged include:  

Ø  The high cost of Service Delivery System dominated by top down approaches do affect the reach to the targeted groups both quantitatively and qualitatively with marginalization forcing for wider gap, rivalry, violence, suicides, crime, unhealthy migration, poor quality of life, and lower index in growth and development.  

Ø  Development is a continuous process that creates growth, progress, positive change or the addition of physical, economic, environmental, social and demographic components.

Ø  Development has got two approaches one as People Oriented Development and the other as Business Oriented Development.

Ø  The processes of Liberalization, Privatization and Privatization have brought development on one side and on the other side widened the gap between the urbanites/ rich and ruralites / poor as the benefits of development have not been distributed for all the people but mostly confined to smaller groups living in selected areas.

Ø  At the same time, the domination of Business Oriented Development over the People Oriented Development has got low priority for the people and environment which further affected their health and wealth.

Ø  The efforts made by the Nation over the decades for the removal of poverty (Garibi Hatao) has not been reduced but on the other side resulted for widening the gap between poor and rich.

Ø  The Service Delivery Systems used while working with poverty alleviation are mostly dominated with Top Down Approaches which are in mismatch to the needs of the targeted groups who will in turn become passive receivers. It is the known fact that the cost of service delivery systems is much higher than what the beneficiary receives.  

Ø  Catering the needs of the People and Community with effective and efficient service delivery systems and its positive outputs & impact do support for their development and growth in an inclusive, accessible, healthy, eco-friendly, and empowered environment which finally results for better quality & sustainability with improved quality of life.

Ø  Community needs are dynamic and do vary from time to time depending upon its socio and economical limitations, challenges and vulnerabilities.

Ø  Community Based Initiatives will work on the concept of bottom up approaches by the people, and for the people with better belongingness as ownership and visibility. Cumulatively, CBIs do results for better outputs, and impact which will be accessible, healthy and sustainable development with growth with better acceptance.  

Ø  Achievement of SDGs does support for better Universality, Integration, & Transformation in an Integrated, and Inclusive environment or community with Sustainable Development.

Ø  The Voluntary National Review Report (2017) indicates positive and significant outputs with impact in the selected Goals & Areas.

Ø  Community Based Initiatives working on the mode of SMART; CDIME; PART; and scope for Social Auditing for making services & supports with better Availability, Accessibility & Affordability will achieve the targets and indicators of SDGs.

Ø  The cumulative impact of challenges lead for crises in a day to day needs (water, food, shelter etc.), poor quality of education, unemployment, pollution, lower production cum productivity, wide gap between rich & poor and urban & rural, etc., leading for unhealthy environments by lowering the quality of life. 

Ø  The opportunities of CBIs do support for achieving sustainable development with quality within the frame of eco-friendly environment (EFE) which finally improves the quality of life of people in general and particularly the targeted groups who are poor and marginalized.   

Ø  The proposed frame of Government, Private and CSOs working on partnership do work with several advantages and CBIs do have several opportunities to work for the development of all in an inclusive, accessible and empowered environment with improved quality of life.   

Ø  The initiatives taken up are need based and effective with improved participation, accountability, responsibility and transparency and resulted for expected outputs with significant impact in the lives the people which finally supported for health and wealth of the community and environment.

Ø  The strategies, initiatives and models are simple, flexible, replicable, scalable and sustainable matching to the dynamics of the given community or environment.

               

Recommendations

In view of the need of continuation of the study for empowering community and its contribution for the Nation’s Development, recommendations made include:

ü  To create awareness cum advocacy on the provisions of various acts, policies and processes of utilization.

ü  To encourage students to take up the study and research work with the participation of community.

ü  To support for the empowerment of Gram Panchayat and build partnership (GPC) with local Civil Society Organizations.

ü  To work for the effective transfer of technologies or models from Lab to Land with better participation, accountability, responsibility and transparency (PART).   

ü  To build rural connectivity with better access for better production, productivity, product making and marketing with higher returns.

ü  To support CSOs to work with Government, and Private (including Corporate-CSR) on partnership (GPC) basis tuning to the model of DIME with effective and efficient PART for better 3As. 

..............................................................................

Looking forward for better sharing and dissemiantion

With thanks