Rural Infrastructure

Rural Infrastructure

Rural Housing

House is one of the basic needs of every family. Provision of better housing facilities increases the productivity of labour. The housing problem is getting aggravated due to rapid adoptation of nuclear families. Housing does not mean provision of house alone but also proper water supply, good sanitation, proper disposal of sewage etc. The problem of housing can be tackled by the development of low cost technology in house construction, provision of adequate housing finance and provision of land sites to landless workers in rural areas.

As per the NSSO data, 38 per cent of the households lived in with one room while another 36 per cent lived with two rooms.

Rural Market

Road Market refers to the infrastructure created to buy and sell the products produced in rural areas and also to purchase the needed products and farm inputs produced in urban and other regions. The rural marketing is still defective as farmers lack bargaining power, long chain of middlemen, lack of organisation, insufficient storage facilities, poor transport facilities, absence of grading, inadequate information and poor marketing arrangements.

Rural roads in India constitute 26.50 lakh kms, of which 13.5 percent of the roads are surfaced.

India’s road network is one of the world’s largest. The road length of India increased from about 4 lakh kms in 1950-51 to 34 lakh kms at present (2018).

Rural Roads

Road transport is an important constituent of the transport system. Rural roads constitute the very life line of rural economy.

A well-constructed road network in rural area would bring several benefits including the linking of remote villages with urban centres, reduction in cost of transportation of agricultural inputs and promotion of marketing for rural produces. It helps the farmers to bring their produce to the urban markets and to have access to distant markets and other services.

Rural Electrification

Rural Electrification refers to providing electrical power to rural areas. The main aims of rural electrification are to provide electricity to agricultural operations and to enhance agricultural productivity, to increase cropped area, to promote rural industries and to lighting the villages. In order to improve this facility the supply of electricity is almost free for agricultural purpose in many states and the electricity tariff charged in rural areas is kept very low. In India 99.25% of villages were electrified at the end of March 2017. As on 31.03.2017, 100 percent electrification was achieved in villages of

20 States/UTs namely, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Daman & Diu, D & N Haveli, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andaman & Nicobar Island, Sikkim and Tripura.

The factors hindering the progress of rural electrification in India are:

1.        Lack of Funds: The generation and transmission of power involves huge expenditure and the fund allocation is low.

2.        Inter-state Disputes: As there are inter-state disputes in managing power projects, power distribution is affected.

3.        Uneven Terrain: As rural topography is uneven without proper connection, developing new lines are costlier and difficult.

4.        High Transmission Loss: Transmission loss in power distribution is almost 25 per cent in rural areas.

5.        Power Theft: Unauthorized use and diversion of power are evil practices adopted by affluent people that hinders the rural electrification process.