Evaluation of border area development programme in the border districts of Rajasthan

The Department of Border Management, Ministry of Home Affairs has implemented Border Area Development Programme (BADP) in 1993–94 in the development blocks of Ganganagar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Barmer districts of Rajasthan. At present, it covers 16 development blocks of these districts located along the India-Pakistan international border. The aim of BADP is to meet the special developmental needs and to promote the well-being of people living in the remote and inaccessible areas situated near the international borders and to saturate the border areas with the essential infrastructure through a convergence of the Central/State/BADP/Local schemes and participatory approach. Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj is the nodal department for planning and implementation of BADP in the State. In Rajasthan a large proportion of border villages benefited from the creation of physical, social and security related infrastructure under BADP. However, there are several inadequacies, like lack of maintenance, low-lying roads and delay in making roads operational due to lack of funds etc. It was found that people of the border areas of Rajasthan were not satisfied with the work done under BADP. Rajasthan is low on women's participation with regard to planning and implementation process as compared to the other states. Utilisation of funds during 2010–15 ranged between 40.75% to 61.41% only. There were instances of delay in release of Central funds by Government of Rajasthan to implementing agencies, funds were diverted and no convergence of Border Area Development Programme with State and Central schemes was made. Social Audit system was also not established. Successful implementation of Border Area Development Programmes requires adequate funds, appropriate policy framework, formulation of suitable plan schemes, and effective delivery machinery. The present study is an attempt to analyze the impact of different activities implemented under the BADP on the development of border areas of the Rajasthan. The study have also highlighted the problems in implementation of the schemes at various stages and suggested ameliorative measures.