Interventions to tackle regional disparities being taken up by the Union Government fall into two categories. The first is to direct investments into less developed States under Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) through more favourable norms for distribution of assistance. For instance, under the Indira Awas Yojana, funds are allocated State-wise based upon the housing shortage and population below the poverty line.
However, the most important intervention of the Central Government are the special area development programmes that have a clear focus on some aspect of development in identified backward areas. These programmes are:
Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF)
Government is addressing regional economic imbalances in 272 districts through Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) and providing industrial incentive to special category states, including north-eastern region.
The Backward Region Grant Fund (2006) at the end of the Tenth Plan, was designed to redress regional imbalances in development. It aimed at catalysing development in backward areas by converging, through supplementary infrastructure and capacity building, the substantial existing development inflows into these districts as part of a well-conceived, participatory district plan.
Under the BRGF, for bridging identified critical gaps in infrastructure, participative plans are required to be prepared by each Panchayat and Regional Equality Municipality for its functional domain. These plans, which should take into account all development inflows into the area, including those other than BRGF, are then to be consolidated into district plans by the DPCs. The funds provided under BRGF are untied and can be used to meet any development gap identified by the community in its interaction with the Panchayats and Municipalities.
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Educational Development in Special Category States
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Hill Areas Development Programme/Western Ghats Development Programme (HADP/WGDP)
The HADP/WGDP has been in operation since the Fifth Five Year Plan in identified hill areas. Its main objective is to ensure ecologically sustainable socio-economic development of hill areas, keeping in view the basic needs of the people there. The main objectives of both programmes are eco-preservation and eco-restoration with a focus on sustainable use of biodiversity. They also focus on the needs and aspirations of local communities, particularly their participation in the design and implementation of the strategies for conservation of bio-diversity and sustainable livelihoods.
Border Area Development Programme (BADP)
The BADP is a 100% Centrally Funded Programme initiated in the border areas of the western region during the Seventh Five Year Plan period for ensuring balanced development through development of infrastructure and promotion of sense of security among the border population. Since then the BADP has been implemented by the GOI together with State Governments as part of a comprehensive approach to border management. The programme now covers 358 border blocks of 94 border districts of 17 States located along the international land border (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, UP, Uttarakhand and West Bengal). Under the BADP, priorities are given to the areas closer to the border.
