The Only Way to Make Development Sustainable

At PRADAN, our answer was no different. We had been investing in the villages we worked in, organising communities, and implementing developmental projects that the locals identified as important. The incomes of families had definitely increased many-fold — and it made us happy — but we soon began to realise that once PRADAN left the area, the ‘development’ work didn’t continue, and wasn’t replicated in the nearby villages or even in the same village.

We were, in a way, a barrier for the community’s ability to reach their potential; they had become dependent on us; complacent even. The general feeling was that ‘their’ nonprofit partner would look after them, tell them what to do.

I n Jharkhand — where both of us have been working for the last 20 years — we’ve seen a great deal of social mobilisation — there are several SHGs, CBOs, and federations. But most of them have come up under the guidance of nonprofits, and have followed their ‘parent’ nonprofit’s approach to mobilisation.

One reason for this is that the parent nonprofit usually operates in an area where the local administrative systems are almost absent; hence the local community-based organisations (CBOs) start relying a great deal on this ‘efficient’ new player. The second reason is that questioning the parent nonprofit’s approach can be seen as disloyal by the parent, and sometimes is even perceived as a threat.

The point was further brought home by a senior Member of Parliament who told us, “You have mobilised so many women, and they have such great social capital; but why are they then unable to raise their voices against any injustice they face? It is because they have not realised their potential. They merely operate in the way that you want them to. You haven’t helped them discover their true potential.” This set us thinking, and we asked ourselves — is there another way to engage with communities? Where ultimately, they can unlock the social capital that they have built, exercise their agency without external help, and where they themselves can decide on their development agenda.

We started looking into how this could happen

T ake for example the Panchayati Raj system in Jharkhand. It is at a very nascent stage. The state is a relatively new one in the Indian republic, and has seen only two election cycles in the last 18 years. Therefore, it hasn’t seen much negative politicking and excessive concentration of power, as yet. It also means however that the panchayat, as an entity, is not very empowered.

In some cases, though where the panchayats are somewhat effective — opening their office regularly, visiting villages, talking with the people, and understanding their issues — the CBOs are beginning to see their value, even though the concept of local government is a new one.

Over the years, CBOs had developed the language and tools to deal with block- and district-level officials, even though this wasn’t easy for them. They may have learnt how to access the officials but they are still learning how to deal with other powers at play — contractors, thekedars, rich people with connections, and are usually at their mercy.

Also, when citizens go to the block-level, the administration doesn’t consider itself accountable to the citizens. No matter how many grievances and complaints are lodged, the administration is unfazed. They might conduct some internal departmental studies, but nothing is likely to come from it. Ultimately, control remains within the hands of the administration.

On the other hand, when citizens engage with the local panchayat, they are engaging with their fellow villagers; the CBOs can ask questions and demand services. More importantly, they know that they have the power to change the gram panchayat in the next election, unlike the block officials who are non-elected bureaucrats. For citizens to be taken seriously, they therefore need access to a democratic structure — where there is a public servant at every stage.

It made us think: What if we could build on these two bodies — the CBOs and SHGs as citizen collectives, and the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) as local governments with constitutional power — in a manner that they could play a complementary role to each other?

Greater than the sum of its parts

Nonprofits can only do so much

N onprofits are limited in the manner in which they can engage with government departments — they can influence policy, demonstrate against restrictive practices, and come up with innovative solutions — but they have limited space to bargain. Panchayats on the other hand, have that legitimate space. The government has to listen to them, they are constitutionally bound to.

Once both panchayats and CBOs realise this, we have the potential to create a sustainable system — one in which citizen bodies become aware of their roles, rights, and entitlements, and panchayats become aware of their responsibilities and authority. Jointly, they can negotiate with government departments and other stakeholders to create positive development in their areas.

It’s time to move away from the traditional approach of ‘community development’

I n the old way, when we went to a village, we would help them to make maps of their village to highlight their current land-use pattern. A set of families would walk with the planner; they would say, “I was growing millets here, now I would like to grow vegetables, so what kind of investment is required?”

The government must look beyond instant results too

W e see many state-sponsored programmes that run independent of the panchayat. They don’t want to invest in panchayats, instead they build parallel structures. Their rationale is that the panchayats are not capable and they might be open to corruption. Hence, they are reluctant to invest in them because the government, like funders, needs to see immediate results. However, by doing this, one isn’t building a sustainable ecosystem.