New Delhi [India], June 1 (ANI): Reliance Foundation’s Rural Transformation Programme has shown the evidence of improvements in rural well-being in four clusters of Balangir (Odisha), Mandla (Madhya Pradesh), Adoni (Andhra Pradesh), and Radhanpur (Gujarat) over a decade with interventions on water security, sustainable agriculture, and nutrition, an Observer Research Foundation (ORF) report noted.
The program was launched in 2010-11 and covered 560 villages across 27 clusters in 12 states, focusing on land and water development, productivity enhancement, farmer collectives, and local governance. The second phase, from 2019 onwards, scaled the effort to around 3,000 villages across 26 clusters in 11 states, and placed greater emphasis on convergence with
Gram Panchayats and public schemes, strengthening community institutions and building resilience in a landscape approach
The ORF study authored by Nilanjan Ghosh, Debosmita Sarkar, Soumya Bhowmick, and Saji M Kadavil found an “upward mobility” in Balangir, Mandla, and Adoni, alongside continued vulnerability, while Radhanpur showed a “mixed pattern”, with gains in consumption coexisting with a slight increase in households classified as poor or vulnerable.
Between 2014 and 2023, the households classified as “out of poverty” rose from 64.7 to 84.8 per cent in Balangir, from 7.4 to 60.6 per cent in Mandla, and from 96.5 to 99.7 per cent in Adoni, while in Radhanpur it witnessed a slight decline from 96.4 to 93.2 per cent as the combined share of poor and vulnerable households increased, the ORF report stated.
In the four clusters, the share of food in total spending fell slightly, while the spending on health, energy, and other non-food items increased, suggesting that households were spending more overall.
Women’s self-help groups (SHGs) were widely present and associated with improvements in savings, access to credit, and livelihood diversification. Village Associations and Village Development Funds have supported community-led investments in land and water development, agriculture and education, and have improved communities’ ability to plan and access public resources.
However, the study stated that the participation in local institutions was uneven. Landless households, the poorest, and heavily migration-dependent families were often less involved.
For water security, in Balangir, more than 48 lakh cubic metres of water-harvesting capacity has been created, contributing to a 1.5-metre rise in groundwater levels and expanding irrigation across over 2,100 hectares. In Mandla, 27.6 lakh cubic metres of additional capacity has helped double cropping intensity from 90 to 195 per cent and bring around 2,000 hectares under assured irrigation.
Although the report shared positive developments in the clusters, at the same time, it noted that the poorest deciles, landless families, migration-dependent households, and some female-headed households remained vulnerable.
The study was based on focus group discussions in each village and a structured questionnaire. It studied the changes in income and consumption levels and composition, adoption of watershed works, water budgeting, and nutrition gardens, strengthening of community institutions, and linkages to social protection and markets.
On an econometric layer, it analysed the association between the intensity of programme participation and SoP transitions, after controlling for baseline endowments.
The study shows that more than a decade after the launch of the Rural Transformation Programme, the evidence suggests that integrated, community-led interventions centred on water security, sustainable agriculture, nutrition, and strong local institutions can drive meaningful improvements in rural well-being. Many households have moved from chronic poverty towards greater consumption security and resilience, with better access to water, more diversified livelihoods, improved nutrition, and stronger local organisation.
The study shows that the road to Viksit Bharat runs through Atmanirbhar Gaon: self-reliant villages rooted in strong local institutions. As India moves into the next phase of rural development, the way forward lies in deeper convergence, stronger community capability, and equity-centred design and delivery. (ANI)
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