Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai

Poverty Reduction Strategy for Madhya Pradesh

Shovan Ray1
Amita Shah2
Alok R. Chaurasia3
Rahul Banerjee4

December 2009

This study was undertaken on behalf of Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR),
Mumbai by the scholars mentioned as part of Capacity Development in the SSPHD Project supported
by the United Nations Development Programme and the Planning Commission of India. The study
was coordinated by Shovan Ray at IGIDR

1
Professor, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai
2
Professor, Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad
3
Consultant, UNICEF, Bhopal
4
Researcher, Indore
 Contents

1 Introduction
2 Overview
3 Economic Growth
4 Chronic Poverty and Poverty Reduction: Diagnosis and
Implications
5 Agriculture and Resource Management
6 Elementary Education
7 Health and Longevity
8 Local Governance, Community Participation and Social
Inclusion of Marginalised Sections

Appendix – Background note on Poverty

2
 Chapter 1: Introduction and the Storyline
This paper studies poverty in Madhya Pradesh (MP in what follows) and focuses on
the last two decades or so in terms of empirical evidence and trends; and goes on to suggest
strategic directions that could accelerate the poverty reduction process. The study of poverty
that underlies this paper is however multi-dimensional in scope and character, and not just
income poverty per se, though that remains an essential and critical part of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) based poverty that is addressed here. Several MDGs are
considered in the paper in assessing various dimensions of poverty in Madhya Pradesh, which
then form the basis for poverty reduction strategy for the state. It must be emphasized here
that this is perhaps the beginning of such an exercise and we should not fool ourselves into
believing that we know all the answers to these persistent deprivations and the pitfalls that lie
along our efforts to alleviate them. It is nevertheless an important milestone that we have
reached in this endeavour.
In our quest for identifying a set of policies, we wish to acknowledge the efforts made
thus far by successive governments at the Centre and in MP, but there are also important gaps
that remain in the agenda of poverty reduction. Our objective in this paper is to identify a set
of policies that in our opinion would deliver on the agenda rather than to point out possible
lapses that may have been committed over the decades. The overview chapter that follows
this provides a thorough discussion of all the major issues and the broad policy stance, and
the succeeding chapters present the arguments in their analytical details, embellished with
evidence where desired and available. In the next few pages we provide a storyline that
defines the contours of our strategy.
At the outset a few facts about the characteristics of economic deprivation would be
useful to motivate the discussion. With about 38 per cent of people living below the official
poverty line during 2004-05 (61st round of NSS), MP had the third rank in terms of incidence
of poverty among the major states in India. Unlike at the All India level, incidence of poverty
is higher among urban (42.7%) as compared to rural areas (36.8%). Prima facie, this may
suggest outflow of rural poor to urban areas in search of livelihood options. Among different
social groups scheduled tribes with 57.14 percent and schedule castes with 41.21 percent of
population below the poverty line were regarded as the poorest groups in the state. Poverty in
Madhya Pradesh is also quite severe as reflected by the estimated poverty gap ratio. The high

3
poverty rate is perceived as the result of low growth in output and employment, skewed land
ownership and pervading assetlessness among the people. Over time with population
increases, natural resources particularly land become scarcer. Hence, those who are fortunate
to have relatively larger land holdings with access to irrigation (and also perhaps education
and other resources) could improve their economic status. The rest continue to remain where
they were or suffered deterioration in their economic status. According to the estimates based
on the NSSO survey (2004-05), between 55 to 63 per cent of the population in MP also suffer
from `food-inadequacy‟.
Madhya Pradesh (MP) is a predominantly rural state and most of its population is
dependent on agriculture and natural resource use for their sustenance. While the contribution
of agriculture in the state domestic product is less than thirty percent, nearly two-thirds of its
population live on agriculture and allied activities. In our opinion it will remain the mainstay
of livelihoods of people for quite sometime even if major changes are brought about in the
economy. Hence it is very critical that considerable energy is devoted to its prosperity. This
sector is also likely to deliver considerably on poverty reduction in the state in view of the
preponderance of smallholder farmers and rural labour in MP. It so happens that the state‟s
planning documents also underline this fact, though we may not agree with all its strategic
thinking on how to deliver on the agenda.
While considering agriculture and rural development led prosperity as an important
strand of the strategy, we wish to underline a few important issues. We would like to first and
foremost emphasize that the strategy paper considers its medium and long term sustainability,
and not just output growth for a few years in a transient sense. Hence we need to take on
board the environmental and natural resource consequences of agro-activity in out strategic
thinking. Thus we ought to worry about water availability and soil quality, and permeability
of the soil and water retention for ground water recharge. This is not the line of thinking that
always informs political priorities whose horizon of discourse is typically much more limited.
Hence what is doled out in policy prescriptions is quite often in conflict with long term
interests of agriculture. For instance, certain cropping patterns may be lucrative in the short
run though they may be damaging to water availability and soil quality in a longer horizon. A
similar consideration should inform irrigation policy for the state. Thus we weave the

4
agricultural development of the state with environmental consequences in the interest of its
long term sustainability and the prosperity of its stakeholders – farmers and rural labour.
When we discuss forestry in the context of MP, we do not look at them merely as a
natural resource, which is of paramount interest no doubt, but also those who are organically
linked with them and have stakes in their sustainability. Agriculture and forests have strong
links, as they complement each other, but they also have strong links with water
conservation; and those who live in forests and mineral rich areas of the state are usually the
least beneficiaries of the large scale and grandiose development plans that are typically
fashionable. They are also chronically poor and most vulnerable of the population in the state.
Thus we would not be able to devise a suitable strategy of growth and development of the
state without caring for these important sections of our society if we ignore these strong
connections.
Whereas allocation of additional funds for strengthening the forestry sector may
operate as a serious limitation, the recent development with regard to compensatory
mechanisms for conservation being evolved through the 13th Finance Commission is quite
promising. It is however imperative that the funds received through such mechanisms is
appropriately shared between the state and the people who have jointly conserved the forests.
In the same vein new opportunities under the carbon credit mechanisms need to be suitably
explored and the proceeds are made to work for poverty reduction.
Among different social groups scheduled tribes and schedule castes are the poorest
groups. Most of these poor people live in rural areas and forests of MP with limited
livelihood opportunities and quite a large section of them depend on forests and other rural
activities to eke out their subsistence. These need to be woven into the strategy of
development and poverty reduction, and are considered in this paper. We shall return to the
issues of poverty among these major social groups in MP and disparities between them and
the mainstream of society later in this section in the context of other aspects of social and
economic development in the state.
The contours of agriculture extend to livestock rearing and poultry also, and in the
context of MP they could be important sources of supplementary income apart from full time
livelihood choice for many households. In most rural parts the costs of rearing involved in
diary, poultry and hatcheries are relatively modest as these farm animals do not in most cases

5
resort to stall feeding, but go out to the village commons for basic feeds. As a result their
produce may be an important source of income to households, both products such as milk and
eggs as well as their meat. These are important in both self-consumption and cash income to
the families, though in the second case marketing of produce may be an effective constraint
in rural areas with poor infrastructure. Thus, agriculture, forestry, poultry, fisheries, livestock
and other sources of livelihood must be considered both as a portfolio of economic
opportunities in a strategy of diversification as well as complementary in others, such as soil
and moisture conservations, manure for fields and long term health of agriculture and forests
as an integral strategy for both rural households and forest dwellers in MP.
Many households are unable to make both ends meet in the face of deteriorating rural
conditions in the state, long term damage to land and natural resources, and demographic
pressure on land and other asset bases of households, and they opt to move elsewhere. Some
end up as nomadic herdsmen, some as casual labour outside the state and others as manual or
semi-skilled workers in low-paid jobs in urban centres in MP and elsewhere. The ensuing
migration is an important fact of life in the state as partly reflected in heightened urban
poverty in recent years. It is true that migration can be an important source of livelihoods, but
that is not so in MP as most of these groups are endowed with low human capital and end up
earning miserable livelihoods elsewhere with little or no surplus left for remittance back
home for those left behind. Presently this is a major constraint to prosperity among people in
MP, but this liability could be turned into an asset with correct identification of a set of
policies such as quality education in the state. This is discussed later. It may be pointed out
here that the legal framework for regulation of inter-state migration in place needs to
effectively work in reality.
Besides, those who suffer from these conditions, particularly the itinerant migrants,
end up losing out considerably in terms of education and healthcare (considered later) for
their families and consequently their longer term prospect of escaping from the trap of
poverty. This is indeed the fate of many deprived groups belonging to SC and ST
communities in the state referred to above. Considering all these aspects together there is no
escape from a strategy that focuses on agriculture and rural development in MP, and one
designed in an integral manner discussed in the paper.

6
 We shall argue in this paper that the state should not harbour the illusion of large scale
industrial development of the state to take care of employment of its labour force through
migration from agriculture to industry in a dual economy model a la Arthur Lewis. However,
a lot more mileage can be derived from value added activities from micro, small and medium
enterprises and their related services in rural areas of MP. Large investments emanating from
the state sector for development of PSU (central or state government) can no longer be
visualized in the changed economic environment. And the competitive race to attract large
private capital can be ruinous to the state coffers and damaging to both the endogenous
communities and the natural resources and environment of the state, and this tendency should
be closely guarded in our opinion; and this competitive race can be quite tough in comparison
with the neighbours such as Maharashtra and Gujarat, which boast of very high levels of
infrastructure support, industrial base and market depth. Hence it is very important to remain
careful about attracting private capital for large industries in MP. Their capacity to deliver on
the objective of inclusive growth and poverty reduction remains doubtful. Hence it may be
wiser to focus on agriculture and relatively smaller rural industries and services development
for achieving poverty reduction in MP.
There has been an increasing recognition the world over of the welfare outcomes of
infrastructural development. Access to infrastructure and basic amenities such as transport,
electricity, housing, drinking water and sanitation, health, educational, and information
services could have direct impact on quality of life and human well being, including
measureable poverty reducing outcomes, besides the growth inducing impacts across the
productive sectors. The state‟s identification of infrastructure development is of critical
importance in this context, both hardcore infrastructure and rural connectivity, including
public provisioning for agricultural and irrigation, marketing, etc. As argued above, MP has
to largely focus on agriculture and relatively small and agro-processing industries, industrial
clusters of micro and small industries, etc. and all these are very dependent on public
provisioning of utilities and services. The challenge in our context is to make the
infrastructural agenda work directly in favour of the poor and the sectors on which they
depend for their livelihoods. Selection of the nature, scale, technology, ownership, and
location of the infrastructural projects therefore needs to be done by using the pro-poor lens.

7
 Road connectivity plays a crucial role in accessing the above services at distant places
and also for seeking economic activities outside the region. This would imply appropriate
priority being accorded to rural roads, especially in remote areas. Markets and marketing of
products of agriculture and micro and small enterprises face considerable hurdles in the
absence of connectivity and other communications facilities and these get a major boost with
physical infrastructure development.
Provisioning of physical infrastructure for health and education is important; what is
important however is to make optimal use of the existing provisions by making marginal
investments, so that for instance, teachers teach in the schools that are already there. It is also
important that several of the rural infrastructures such as these could be planned, developed
and managed by local communities through Panchyats and community organizations, which
may seek contributions in terms of labour and other resources available locally to increase the
returns to investment. The same may be done for optimizing infrastructure investment for the
health sector.
It is very important to consider issues of institutional structure, governance and
participation opportunities of the stake holders in all the changes contemplated, including
rights based issues that exist in several programmes such as NREGS. A lot of rural
infrastructures can be put in place with correct leadership, participation and simple
technology, such as for water harvesting, soil conservation, etc. and these are important
issues for governance that are well known.
Tourism of different hues is a hugely important source of livelihoods and employment
in the state and this has already been identified by the state. This can truly be made world
class over time with judicious policy for both domestic and international tourists. For
achieving this objective however quite a lot is required by way of not only infrastructure but
also education, training and identification of other provisions.
Turning to the health sector it is seen that MP displays one of the worst records and
possibly unacceptably high infant and child mortality rates (IMR, CMR) even by Indian
standards, and these need immediate attention. These are not only important MDGs and also
targets set by the national planning objectives, but such lapses degenerate into major hurdles
in other social and economic objectives of development. High IMR and CMR are
immediately reflected in low life expectancy at birth and these are clearly seen in the

8
statistics for MP. Experience in various countries, and in several states in India show that it is
possible to make considerable dents in them by simple and low cost methods even in the rural
setting with some trained personnel and clean environment and low cost medicines and
support. Malnutrition of mother and children also affect the outcome and these need
addressing. Of course, some superstitions also exacerbate the problems along with the
widespread practice of low age at marriage and child birth and these must be curbed by direct
intervention by the state and effective education. All through however a central concern
running through health, illness, disease, morbidity, and death is the access to good quality
water for human consumption. This is a matter for serious attention by the state and the
municipal authorities. It is true that education, particularly of women, can contribute to better
healthcare of the household and its children, but the responsibility of the state can not be
washed away in this context.
Other than reflecting deplorable social statistics, major improvements in infant and
child mortality rates also have major economic gains for the state as children get educated
and join the work force. Combined with good quality education and training these new
cohorts of the hitherto non-existent or morbid members of society will add to productivity,
output and savings and bring growth and prosperity to MP – the so-called demographic
dividends. When they migrate their prosperous livelihoods elsewhere would be reflected in
bountiful remittances, as seen in case of several other states in India like Kerala, or the Indian
and Chinese diasporas around the world today. These add to the „demographic dividend‟ of
turning around mortality rates in a society. Of course this ought to be combined with
interventions in nutrition to children and mothers, effective education and conducive work
opportunities to derive the desired benefits.
Improvements in quality and quantity of education need no emphasis, and while we
are aware of these now, and MP is no exception to this from its eagerness to intervene in this
area, the result on the ground is not always robust. We need to remind ourselves that an
improved outcome on this score would cut across virtually all dimensions and bring about
significant results on multi-dimensional poverty reduction outcomes. Some generic issues
relating to primary education are recounted here and an analysis with data is covered in
chapter 6.

9
 Despite quantum jumps in number for primary education several problems remain. These
include the rural-urban divide, the massive gender gap that persists, the participation and
achievement differences among social groups and in particular the difficulties faced by the
sizeable tribal populations in these areas. Ashram schools for tribals, notwithstanding many
of their inadequacies that need addressing, show their promise in the tribal context. It is also
important to keep the migrant children‟s educational needs in mind, especially since in many
districts migration due to livelihood compulsions is a serious matter for several months in a
year and acutely so among several tribal groups in the state.
Enrolment at school is not a serious problem any more though there are doubts about
the veracity of claims in many cases. There are however important gaps that remain in all
aspects mentioned above, by area, gender, social groups, etc. Retention at school or its
obverse the dropout rate, and particularly as we go up the grade levels, is a more serious
problem among different categories of students. Retention is a general and genuine problem,
but it is more acute in rural areas, among low income groups, among girl students and SCs
and STs. Typically a girl student drops out early to help in domestic chores and sibling care
and in preparation of a new life after marriage at early age, and this problem is acute in low
income groups, rural areas and disadvantaged social groups. And the dropout rate assumes
precipitate levels at puberty for girls. It is however not true that the situation is satisfactory
for boys at that level either, though the context could be different. It is frequently the inability
to support education against the competing compulsion of working for livelihoods. It is also
issues of relevance of curricula, the quality and quantity of teaching material and the
inadequate infrastructure that are relevant.
An inadequacy that is particularly felt is the quality and commitment of teachers and
their adequacy and attendance in schools, particularly in rural areas. Teacher availability and
absenteeism when employed continue to remain relevant. In order to address the issue of
inadequacy of teaching staff in primary schools, special emphasis may be given to
recruitment of female teachers. This may open up avenues for female workers, especially
those who are willing to re-enter the job market at a later stage of their reproductive phase.
This may yield double dividends; one in terms of gender empowerment and another in the
form of obtaining stable and committed teaching staff from the local communities. This

10
group may also get themselves involved over time in the larger issues of governance with
greater empowerment in the process.
Community participation and endeavors are important in this context. This perhaps
suggests a need to re-think over the entire issue of educational system, which may essentially
require participation of the parents and community more than the involvement of the private
sector for creating a parallel system for schooling and coaching classes that may create
further divisions between the poor and the rest.
A vigilant civil society is critical to good governance both of which continue to
remain inadequate for MP. A prognosis of what actions are possible, in addition to education
and political empowerment of the people that is underway, is seriously called for and some
issues are raised in this context. One reason for this is the fractured nature in the composition
of MP as a state and the continued domination of conservative forces in the ruling elite. Lack
of an industrial culture and a docile peasantry, and the absence of a critical intelligentsia
while they provide a peaceable social milieu, is not quite the fertile ground for such a civil
society.

11
 Chapter 2: Poverty Reduction Strategy in Madhya Pradesh: An Overview
1. Introduction:
With about 38 per cent of people living below the official poverty line during 2004-
05, the state of Madhya Pradesh accounted for nearly 11 per cent of the total poor population
in the country (Dev and Ravi, 2007). Of these, tribals are the most poor among social groups
as found elsewhere in most parts of India. Tribal communities are the most poor among social
groups as found elsewhere in most parts of India. In rural area 58.6 per cent of the tribal
population was found to be poor as compared to 42.8 per cent among the (SCs). The
incidence of poverty among STs and SCs in Madhya Pardesh is significantly higher than that
at the All India level. Tracking the high and persistent poverty in the state thus poses a
serious challenge especially in the wake of the large but stagnant agrarian economy in the
state.
Recent policy documents for the state have appropriately emphasized the central role
for agriculture sector, engaging as it does 71 per cent of the workforce in the state, as the
mainstay of the poverty reduction approach during the next 5-10 years5. It also lays specific
emphasis on development as well as provisioning of economic and social infrastructure with
special thrust on expansion of roads and power network in the rural areas. The target is to
reduce poverty from 38 to 25 per cent during the XI plan period. Though fairly valid, the
approach however may need fine tuning and further detailing in the light of the context
specific scenarios pertaining to a) natural resource endowment, b) past experiences with
respect to some of the major poverty reduction programmes, and above all c) socio-
economic-political dynamics influencing the nature and effectiveness of governance at
various levels.
At the outset it may be reiterated that Madhya Pradesh is characterized by certain
special features that constrain, and at times offer, potentially facilitating environment for
economic growth and poverty reduction. Some of the important facilitating factors include
the state‟s central location, rich natural resources, and relatively less conflict ridden socio-
economic political environment, whereas the major constraints seem to have been in terms of
its feudal agrarian relations, absence of historical trade links, and above all the lack of a clear

5
The GoMP has prepared a Draft Annual Plan for 2009-10 (www.mp.in/sbp/annualplan/AP-2009-
10/home9x.htm). This paper draws upon and refers to this document at various points.

12
strategy for driving economic growth. While some of these factors appear similar to that
found in the other neibouring states (in the `BIMARU‟ category) such as Rajasthan on the
west side and Chhatisgadh, Orissa, Bihar on the eastern side, there are a few distinct features
that make MP fairly different from these states. It is essential to understand the finer aspects
of these distinguishing features so as to be able to understand the genesis of persistent
poverty and the dynamics of growth (or lack of that) in the state.
This paper aims at identifying certain specific attributes of what could be described as
`agriculture centric and human development focused‟ strategy for poverty reduction in the
light of the context specific scenarios obtaining across sectors and regions in the state. The
paper is structured as follows: The next section 2 presents a brief recapitulation of macro
economic environment in the state, followed by the challenges of poverty reduction and
human development in section 3. Section 4 deals with sectoral thrust covering agriculture and
forests; industries, mining and energy; and health and education. The next section focuses on
some of the cross cutting aspects such as infrastructure development and right based
approach for access to resources/amenities, employment, and information. Section 6
discusses the issues pertaining to governance in the light of the political economy of poverty
reduction in the state. The last section 7 highlights major policy implications that need
immediate attention.
2. Macro Economic Environment: Imperatives for Poverty Reducing and Sustainable
Growth
Madhya Pradesh has relatively low economic base and a fairly slow pace of growth in
terms of state domestic product. In 2007-08 per capita Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) in
Madhya Pradesh was Rs. 13299, which was almost 55 per cent of the all India level. During
1999-00 and 2007-08 per capita NSDP has grown 0.8 per cent per annum as compared to
4.85 at the national level. This more or less suggests a scenario of stagnancy in the state
economy accompanied by fairly substantial rise in population till the recent times. The
problem of low initial level of economic development is accentuated by sustained lower rate
of growth in the NSDP, which grew at the moderate rate of 2.51 per cent during the same
period.

13
 Of late the state economy has shown some degree of buoyancy registering a growth
rate of 3.78 per cent per annum during the period 1999-00 to 2007-08. While a part of the
buoyancy could be due to the abysmally low growth (i.e. 0.74 % per annum) during the early
part of 2000, it is nevertheless important to take note of the developments that have
contributed to the rise in NSDP in the period after 2003-04. The sectoral distribution of
growth suggests that a large part of the increase has come from secondary sector, followed by
the tertiary sector. Unpacking the sources of this growth is important for gauging its
implications of poverty reduction. It seems that the recent increase in the growth rate of
secondary and tertiary sectors is rooted in fresh investment coming to industrial sectors and
the expansion of the Government sector. Would this help reducing poverty of the kind that
persists in the state in the short or medium term? It is pertinent to address this question while
discussing the poverty reduction strategy in the subsequent analysis in the paper.
On the other side agriculture sector, accounting for about 28-30 per cent of the NSDP
does not show significant improvement. During 2003-04 and 2007-08, the sector had grown
at 0.34 per cent per annum, despite the state having experienced relatively better monsoon
during most parts of this period. The pertinent questions in this context are: Why has
agriculture sector failed to show any buoyancy in the recent period? And, what needs to be
done in order to lift the sector from its long drawn stagnancy syndrome in a manner that helps
the poor on a sustained basis? Getting a more nuanced understanding is crucial as the sector
has already received the due priority in the wake of the recent policy thinking in the state.
The long drawn stagnancy in the state economy has led to a sense of urgency for
boosting up economic growth during the XI Five Year Plan. The target is to attain 7.9 per
cent rate of growth taking a major leap from the modest rate of 3.8 per cent achieved during
2003-04 and 2007-08. The sectoral targets are set as 5, 10, and 8 per cent for primary,
secondary and tertiary sectors respectively. While the urgency and hope (based on the recent
upsurge of growth in secondary and tertiary sectors) is well in place, it is imperative to
examine the feasibility and the strategy that may actually work on ground towards meeting
the target.

Apart from benefiting directly from the sector specific growth, the state also needs to
boost up its economy in order to access its own resource base for investing that in various

14
priority sectors, including agriculture and infrastructure development – both economic and
social. In absence of this, the state is bound to continue its dependence on the Centrally
Sponsored Schemes (CSS) for development in general and poverty reduction in particular.
This syndrome of excessive dependence on CSS may have its own flip side especially
because of the restrictions they may impose on prioritization, sequencing and continuity of
such interventions. However, a relevant issue that emerges in the context of the state‟s access
to financial resources is that of its effective use. This is important because generating the
requisite additional resources by boosting up economic growth within the state may take
longer than 5-10 years. Meanwhile the state may continue to draw from the already existing
schemes of the Central Government. In both cases the issue of `how effectively these
resources have been used‟ would remain critical, hence warrants careful introspection.
It is here that the larger question of governance and the political economy shaping that
comes to the centre stage of the poverty reduction strategy discussed later in the paper.
3. Multidimensional Poverty and Human Development: Interface and Challenges
Extent and Nature of Poverty:
While the state has achieved notable reduction in poverty since the mid seventies, the
rate of poverty reduction in the more recent period (i.e. during 1999-00 and 2004-05) has
come to a halt, if not undergone reversal in the direction of change. Similarly the poverty gap
and squared poverty gap (denoting depth and severity of income deprivation among the poor) indexes
also decreased during this period in the state but the rate of decrease in these indexes has also
been slower compared to the national average as well as most of the major states of the country. T he
rate of poverty reduction in M.P. was 1.09 as against the national average of 1.96 per cent per
annum. Similarly t he poverty gap and squared poverty gap indexes also decreased during this
period in the state but the rate of decrease in these indexes has also been slower compared to the
national average as well as most of the major states of the country. According the estimates by Dev
and Ravi (2007), nearly 16 per cent of the population in the state was in the category of very
poor, whose expenditure level is below 75 per cent of the official poverty line. This is
substantially higher than the national average of 10.3 per cent. This proportion is higher than
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Unlike the all-India average, the incidence of poverty is higher among urban (42.7%)
as compared to rural areas (36.8%). Prima facie, this may suggest the outflow of rural poor to

15
urban areas in search of livelihood options (UNDP, 2007 p. 74). While one finds a similar
pattern in other states like Gujarat, the situation is not quite comparable due to the fact that: a)
M.P., unlike Gujarat, is a state with net out-migration; and b) the relatively urban poverty is
juxtaposed against a fairly high level of overall poverty (almost double that of Gujarat) in the
state. The impact of migration is further reflected by rural-urban differences across regions
shown on Table 1. Close to half of the rural population in Vindhya, central and southern
regions in M. P. were poor during 2004-05. In urban areas, poverty is particularly high in
Northern region besides central and southern regions in the state.
A comparative analysis of NSSO-regions also suggest that all the six NSSO-regions
in the state were among the top 20 regions with highest incidence of poverty in the country;
and that five out of the six regions (except Northern) had appeared in the list of those that
were present in the three consecutive rounds of the NSSO-survey since 1987 (Shah, 2007).
This suggests that in a relative sense, poverty has been more or less intractable in most parts
(regions) of the state; the only other state that shows a similar pattern is Bihar. Chronicity of
poverty thus becomes an important feature of Madhya Pradesh, which essentially may call for
a more structural diagnosis of poverty in the state, as discussed later in this paper.
Apart from poverty being persistent and severe, the sate is also caught in a trap of
multidimensional poverty capturing the critical dimensions of human development. As a
measure of multi-dimensional poverty, Chaurasia (2009) has estimated district wise Human
Poverty Index (HPI) by incorporating the following four indicators (See the figure below):

 Probability of a new born not surviving to 5 years of age.

 Proportion of population at least 15 years old illiterate - unable to read
and write with understanding.
 Proportion of asset less households, households having none of the
following six assets - radio/transistor, television, telephone, bicycle,
scooter/motorcycle/moped, and car/jeep/van.
 Proportion of households without access to safe drinking water.

16
Figure 1: Social Categorywise Multidimensional Poverty (%) in Madhya Pradesh 2001

Two important aspects emerge from these estimates. First, unlike the HCR, which
takes into account only the money metric measure, human poverty index is found to be
significantly higher in rural areas than that in urban areas. Secondly, STs are the most
vulnerable social groups, a large proportion of which are located in forest based regions in the
state.
The estimate of Human Development Index (HDI) for M.P. during the year 2001 was
0.394 as against 0.472 for all-India. The state ranked fourth from the bottom, only after Bihar,
Assam and Uttar Pradesh. Among districts in the state, the HDI varies significantly from
more than 0.6 in the case of districts with major urban centers like Indore, Harda, Bhopal,
Gwalior, Dewas, and Ujjain to as low as 0.398 in Jhabua.

17
 The various evidence presented in this report reveal that poverty (measured through
head count ratio, HCR) in MP is fairly widespread; it has persisted over a long period in most
parts of the state; and it has also spilled over from rural to urban areas. What is also important
is that the HCR and HPI depict a divergent scenario across rural and urban areas in the state.
Interface between Poverty (HCR) and Human Development:
A recent analysis of the typology of major states in the country indicates that Madhya
Pradesh falls into the category of a `vicious cycle‟ with low levels of economic growth, per
capita income, and human development (Shah and Shiddhalingaswamy, 2009). This however
may not imply that the two sets of poverty-dimensions (i.e. income and human development)
are entirely independent of each other. The analysis of rank co-relation among the three
indicators viz; income, education and health capabilities across districts in the state brought
out two important findings: First, income and educational capability have significant positive
correlation. The causation, as indicated by several studies, may by and large imply that
persons endowed with higher income ends up with better educational attainment; the
causation to work in reverse direction may not be so strong especially at low levels of
income. And, second, attainment of health status is not significantly linked with income or
education. This may suggest that higher income may be a necessary but not sufficient
condition for ensuring better health status as much would depend on the effective access and
quality of health services besides affordability.
Together the evidence reinstates the importance of working simultaneously towards
income enhancement and provisioning of health-educational services. The important point
however is that improvement of these two sets of poverty indicators should take place
through processes that help building close links among each other lest the improvements turn
out to be short-lived. Identifying the right kind of policies that could build convergence
between income and human development aspects thus poses a critical challenge, which
essentially goes beyond attaining higher economic growth or creating the requisite physical
infrastructure for health and educational services per se.

4. Sectoral Strategies: Salient Features

This section discusses strategies for strengthening three groups of sectors viz,
agriculture and forest, industry and minerals, and education and health in the context of their

18
specific roles in poverty reduction in the state. While these sectors have been given due
importance in the current Five Year Plan in the state, the focus here is to present a more
nuanced understanding on what kind of growth in these sectors could work for poverty
reduction on a sustained basis as against promoting growth per se.
a) Agriculture and Forests:
Given the critical dependence of a large proportion of the rural population on
agriculture and forest resources in the state, this sector has unequivocally assumed the central
stage of planned development and poverty reduction policies in the state. Evolving a strategy
for pro-poor and sustainable growth in agriculture and forests, however, calls for a careful
scrutiny of land and water resource endowment on the one hand and access to forest
resources, especially among the tribals, on the other hand. The strategy for agriculture-
forestry based growth therefore needs to be fine tuned in the light of the situation analyses on
these aspects.
The policy approach at present has laid special emphasis on expansion and utilization
of irrigation potential (both-surface and ground water) along with provisioning of road and
energy infrastructure to support this `irrigation driven‟ approach for agricultural growth in the
state. While the critical role of irrigation in promoting agricultural productivity in the state
can not be over emphasized, it is imperative to note that such an approach may meet with
limitations set by geo-hydrological features, if not access and equity issues, obtaining across
different ago-climatic regions in the state.
The water resources in the state are marked by certain specific geo-hydrological
features that may have significant bearing on the water resource development. Madhya
Pradesh is a heterogenous state situated mostly on the upper watersheds of ten river basins
with poor quality soils of low soil depth and high slopes and some black soils of medium to
deep soil depth with flat slopes underlain by impervious hard rock. Consequently the natural
recharge is low and despite a moderate rainfall most of the state is in a physically water
scarce region. Thus the state comprises the uplands of Central India forming a drainage
divide between north, west and east flowing rivers. It has a semi arid upstream topography
with all the major rivers flowing outward from the state and lesser potential for natural water
storage.

19
 This constraint on water availability was sought to be overcome by providing
electricity at a subsidised rate for the operation of pumps and subsidised loans to purchase
these pumps and other accessories. Thus farmers could tap the water stored in the deeper
confined aquifers by sinking tube wells and installing submersible pumps and also the base
flow in the streams and rivers through lift irrigation at relatively small capital and operating
cost to themselves. In 1993 the supply of electricity to agricultural pumps of 5 horsepower or
less was made free by the government, thus further reducing the cost of water. In a situation
in which this extraction cost was rendered close to zero by electricity being made free and the
water, itself being a common property resource, did not have any price attached to it and
neither did its depletion result in a scarcity value, all the farmers tended to use as much water
as they could get, in the long run the water would be finished even if a few farmers adopted a
more conservationist approach. Consequently the groundwater situation in the state has
become very serious.
The strategy for agricultural growth therefore needs to seriously address these issues.
This essentially may imply a) moving towards a more water saving rather than water
intensive crops and technologies; and b) shifting to farming systems approach to suit the
agro-climatic conditions ranging from dry land to humid and forest-linked agriculture.
Promotion of skill and labour intensive farm practices to partly replace use of chemical inputs
may simultaneously help reducing cost and increasing the demand for productive labour in
the sector.
Enhancing soil moisture profile (rather than increasing the use of water per se),
through development of watershed and small catchments should be given a higher priority in
water resource development for promoting agriculture in the state. This should also provide
impetus for generating additional bio-mass that may be required for building up soil fertility.
In this context, forest-linked farming systems may deserve special attention.
At the same time command area development requires special attention so as to
harness the potential created through building of dams. There is urgent need to develop canal
systems right up to the field channels with proper lining and also putting up drainage
channels for carrying away the excess water. Land leveling of the farms within command
area is very crucial for facilitating efficient use of the canal water. A legislation for
participatory irrigation management is in place but its implementation needs to be

20
strengthened significantly. A large part of these activities could be undertaken through
NREGS with pro-active involvement of the water user‟s association.
Overall, the need is to move in the direction of promoting skill (rather than input)
intensive farming systems by providing adequate price and non-price support through pro-
active polices by the state.
Forest Resources and Tribals’ Livelihood

The legally notified forest area in the state is 95221 sq. kms., which is 31% of the
total area of the state. Of this 61.7 % are under reserved forests, 37.4% are under protected
forests and 0.9% is unclassified. The growing forest stock is estimated to be 500 lakh cubic
meters and is valued at Rs 2.5 lakh crores. The government has constituted a Madhya Pradesh
Minor Forest Produce Federation to oversee the collection, processing, marketing, research
and extension related to these valuable resources so as to provide the maximum benefits to
poor forest dwellers who are mostly Adivasis.

The major challenge to forest management however is the pressure on the forests
created by the livelihood needs of those residing in or near them, mainly the Adivasis. There
are 6 lakh headloaders in the state who draw as much as Rs 250 crores worth of fuelwood
every year. A livestock population of about two crores is also dependent on these forests for
grazing. In addition 20 lakh cattle and other animals visit the state from Rajasthan every year.
Apart from this there are encroachments for agriculture. There are as many as 50,000
encroachers occupying 1.43 lakh hectares of forestland.

The pressure on forests tends to get aggravated because of the stagnancy in

agriculture and the allied sector in the forest-based regions. It is therefore imperative to
develop forest-linked farming system that generates additional bio-mass for building up of
the soil fertility, thereby reducing dependence on external inputs such as chemical fertilizer
and irrigation- the point already noted above. The idea is to make agriculture and forests
complementary rather than substitutes for each other in providing livelihood support to the
tribal communities in the region.

The forests are managed by the forest department in accordance with working plans,
which are drawn up every 10 years for each of the 60 forest divisions in the state. The legal
authority in the hands of forest department staff has historically led to situations of

21
continuous contestations, corruption, and excessive extraction by various sources including
the local communities. Of late the tribals have begun to organise themselves and demand
their rights, particularly the right to a decent livelihood. The passage of the Scheduled Tribes
and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act 2006 resulted in a new situation with
the rights of the forest dwellers strengthened. So far only about thirty thousand of the three
and a half lakhs of claims for rights made under this Act in the state have been settled in a
token manner, while for most of the others the process of verification has not even started. In
many cases the claims have been rejected without due verification on the ground. This needs
to be expedited.
It may however, be noted that providing legal access to forests among the local
communities may not necessarily result in regeneration and better management of forest
resources. This is particularly important in the light of the fact that most of the land accessed
by the triabls is already degraded thereby calling for additional investment for which the poor
may not have any disposable funds. A lot more therefore needs to be done by way of
promoting regenerative agriculture suitable to the ecology in the region. In this context, the
recent moves towards payment of compensation for forest ecosystem conservation may
assume special significance. What is however essential is that the forest dwellers should also
receive a part of the compensation for regenerating/conserving the forests. Some of the
provisions under the Climate Change framework may also be taken due advantage of. All
these may call for region specific planning and strategies as has been discussed subsequently.

Credit and Market Support

Access to institutional credit and marketing are equally critical for addressing the
needs of the poor producers. The present set of interventions mainly in terms of Self Help
Groups (SHGs) along with micro finance, and the modified Agricultural Produce Marketing
Cooperatives (APMC) need fresh thinking.
The experience from a large number of SHGs suggests that these institutions need to
be made viable by creating federations and linking them with institutional finance. Also the
SHGs need to be simultaneously dovetailed with the improvements to take place in the
spheres of production and marketing. What is therefore essential is to ensure institutional
support and hand holding over a longer period of time by creating dedicated organizations

22
within the Departments or NGOs or jointly by the two. The successful experiments from
states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and also from parts of M.P. (e.g. promotion of SHGs by
ASA) invariably suggest criticality of institutional support over a longer period of time.
For rural marketing, the need is to balance between public (including cooperative) and
private operators so as to ensure healthy competition for protecting the interests of both
producers and consumers. The recent modification in the APMC therefore is a step in the
right direction. There is however, ample scope for promoting producer‟s organizations
(including Producer‟s Companies and Rural Business Hubs) for facilitating timely supply of
inputs, processing of farm produce, and output marketing. All these, once again, will
necessitate an umbrella organization for putting in place a regulating mechanism and
overseeing the actual operations by different players. An umbrella organization such as this
may have representatives from different segments of the market viz; the state, producers,
private players, NGOs and consumers.

b) Industry, Mining and Energy:

The growth experience in the secondary sector has a raised fair amount of optimism
on the prospects of industrialization in the state. A closer look at the composition of the
industrial sector in the state reveals that whereas the state does not have much presence in
manufacturing industry (accounting for only 6 % of the NSDP), there has been an increasing
thrust on promoting this sector by attracting mega projects for expansion in downstream
projects and also SEZs so as to be able to keep pace with the developments elsewhere in the
country. Such plans, as noted earlier, may involve longer time frame and also uncertainty
about their realization, given the competitive fiscal incentives and concessions offered by
already industrialized states in the proximity viz, Gujarat and Maharashtra. There are
however, some new opportunities opening up with the development of the Delhi-Mumabi
Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and also through the likely spill over effects of the industrial
corridor in the eastern part of Gujarat. An important point in this context however is that even
if these are realized in the next 5-10 years, industrialization of such type does not necessarily
penetrate deeper into the hinterland, especially in the absence of dynamic agriculture sector in
the periphery. Industrial growth of this type therefore may not assume special significance
from the view point of poverty reduction in the present context.

23
 On the other hand, the state is known for two important industrial activities. First,
handloom and specialized textile-printing, and second, nature-historical tourism on the other.
These two sub-sectors need special emphasis through comprehensive approach for cluster
based development. Adding a special thrust of ecological conservation may hold special
promise. It is imperative that promotion of traditional textiles and tourism is attained with a
view to create employment/income opportunities for the local communities. These aspects are
often missed out in the race of reaching out to large number of buyers/tourists from all over
the world, with thrust on standardized or certified products/services to cater to high end
market. The need however is to balance the sectors in such a manner that these activities may
also retain their roots in local producers/entrepreneurs and buyers/customers.
A similar approach may apply to mineral based industries though much of the
resources have been already lost out to Chhatisgarh. Overall the industry-mining sector may
be accorded relatively limited space in the context of poverty reduction in the state.

c) Health and Education:

Madhya Pradesh has a dubious distinction of having the lowest expectation of life at
birth in India which indicates that the health of the people of Madhya Pradesh is amongst the
poorest in the country. It also reflects a comparatively high infant and child mortality rates for
the state. According to the Sample Registration System, the expectation of life at birth in
Madhya Pradesh was around 58 years during the period 2002-06 which was 5.5 years less
than the expectation of life at birth for India as a whole (Government of India, 2008). The
situation was radically different about 30 years ago, during 1971-75, when the expectation of
life at birth in Madhya Pradesh was 47.6 years which was higher than the expectation of life
at birth in Assam, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh (Government of India, 1984). If the trend in the
expectation of life at birth is a reflection of the progress in health and well- being of the
people, then the increase in the expectation of life at birth suggests that improvements in
health and well-being of the people of Madhya Pradesh have been the slowest amongst the
major states of India during the 30 years between 1971-75 through 2002-06. Obviously,
poverty of health remains a major challenge in Madhya Pradesh. The persistence of poor
health and well-being of the people of the state, incidentally, has important implications for
other dimensions of poverty and hence for poverty reduction efforts.

24
 The Government of Madhya Pradesh has drafted the State Health Policy quite
sometime back. This policy still remains at the draft stage. It aims at addressing the issues of
physical access; effectiveness and affordability of that may still remain a questionable
proposition. It is however suggested that Madhya Pradesh Health Policy should focus on
creating opportunities for the people of the state to adopt positive health seeking behaviour by
making informed choices to ensure healthy life style for themselves, their family members
and to build and sustain a healthy environment in which they live, work and play. It should be
directed to achieve the following.
1) To increase the number of years of healthy life of the people of the state; 2) ensure
lasting improvements in the health-related quality of life of the people of the state which
reflects a personal sense of physical and mental health and ability to react to physical and
social environments; and 3) eliminate health related inequalities or disparities across different
segments of the population. To achieve the above goals, the action points are summarised in
section 7 in bullets points.
On Education front the state has performed relatively better through its massive
efforts for raising the literacy level from 45 to 64 during 1991 and 2001. This seems to have
been attained by expanding the network of primary schools and adult literacy centres. This
involved massive recruitment of para-professionals (Shiksha Karmis) to teach in the schools.
Initially a good move, the policy of para-professionals seems to have created major stumbling
blocks in the delivery of educational services for the last five years. The situation is very grim
as it arose out of what may be called a quick fix solution for spearheading the drive for
enhancing literacy levels in the state. The para-professionals have more or less stopped
attending to the schools in the wake of their pending demand - a salary hike and/or
regularization of their services.
What is in fact strange about this grim scenario is that no one in the villages,
including the Panchayats and Shiksha Samitis, have formal platforms for voicing their
demands for education in their respective villages. The situation needs immediate solution if
the goal of universal primary education is to be met. The recent developments in the wake of
Right to Education may help finding some solution to the basic problem of having the
teachers to teach; the other issues of quality of education and facilities at the schools thus
may get relegated to secondary concerns at this stage.

25
 This perhaps suggests a need to re-think over the entire issue of educational system,
which may essentially require participation of the parents and community rather than
involvement of the private sector for creating a parallel system for schooling and coaching
classes that may create further divisions between the poor and the rest.
Another key concern that has emerged is the quality of education. The available
evidence suggests that in terms of the quality of education, Madhya Pradesh ranks the lowest
amongst the states and Union Territories of the country, although the state has done relatively
better in improving the infrastructure and facilities. In this context, they need to revise their
approach for teacher recruitment and teacher development.
The state also needs to focus on higher and technical education also as the only way to
develop human resources is through higher and technical education only. The state record in
this context remains far from satisfactory. Privatisation of higher and technical education in
the state has resulted in mushrooming of a large number of private institutions with grossly
inadequate infrastructure and facilities and very little focus on research that contributes to
improving the productivity of social and economic production system. State investment in the
higher and technical education sector needs to be increased. At the same time regulatory
mechanism for ensuring the quality and relevance of technical and higher education needs to
be put in place.
5. Promoting Access to Infrastructure/Amenities and Rights based Approaches:
Walking on Two Legs
a) Access to Infrastructure/Amenities among Poor:
Promoting sectoral growth with specific thrusts noted above however may necessitate
support in terms of provisioning of various social and physical infrastructure and rights-based
entitlements. There has been an increasing recognition of the welfare outcomes of
infrastructural development world over. Access to infrastructure and basic amenities such as
transport, electricity, housing, drinking water and sanitation, health, educational, and
information services could have direct impact on quality of life and human well being,
including measureable poverty reducing outcomes, besides the growth inducing impacts
across the productive sectors.
The recent Human Development Report for M.P. has highlighted the need for
enhancing infrastructural facilities as a strategy for promoting economic opportunities,
human development and poverty reduction. This indeed is an important break through from

26
the conventional approaches that laid major emphasis on promoting macro-economic growth
for percolation to take place, which was later on followed by direct attack on poverty by way
of supporting income and employment generating sectors for the poor, and subsequently
provisioning of direct subsidies through social protection measures.
Promoting infrastructural facilities in a state like Madhya Pradesh also assumes
special significance in the sense that initiatives such as this could attract fresh flux of capital
investment for which the state does not have their own resources. Given this rationale, the
emphasis is likely to be more on large scale, capital intensive and perhaps growth promoting
infrastructural projects such as irrigation, power generation, and road construction.
The challenge in our context is to make the infrastructural agenda work directly in
favour of the poor and the sectors on which they depend for their livelihood. Selection of the
nature, scale, technology, ownership, and location of the infrastructural projects therefore
needs to be seen by using the pro-poor lens. This would imply that:
 Drinking water should be given very high priority. Since much of the drinking water
supply schemes depend on ground water, which has already been already over
exploited, the focus should shift on harvesting and replenishing the water resources
through micro level initiatives like watershed development and rain water harvesting
rather than by digging more wells/bore wells and using electricity for pumping water
and then transporting to distance places.
 Provisioning of physical infrastructure for health and education is important; what is
however more important is to make the teachers teach in the schools that are already
constructed. Also several of the rural infrastructures such as these could be planned,
developed and managed by local communities through Panchyats and community
organizations, which in turn may seek contribution in terms of labour and other
resources available locally.
 Road connectivity plays a crucial role in accessing the above services at distant places
and also for seeking economic activities outside the region. This would imply
appropriate priority being accorded to rural roads, especially in remote areas. Markets
and marketing of products of agriculture and micro and small enterprises face
considerable hurdles in the absence of connectivity and other communications
facilities and these get a major boost with physical infrastructure development.

27
  Since poor in the state depend largely on agriculture and forests, electricity driven
irrigation schemes may have limited scope for them given the geo-hydrological
features noted earlier. Similarly, regeneration of forest ecology may not require
development of large/medium irrigation schemes that lead to destruction rather than
regeneration of forest resources.
 Lastly, a number of schemes already exist for promoting rural housing and sanitation.
The need is to work out more location specific solutions going beyond the pre-
determined norms of centrally/externally designed schemes.
All these are not to deny the importance of some of the large scale, capital intensive
and growth inducing projects for infrastructural development. The bottom line however, is to
ensure that larger projects such as these are not taken up at the cost of the pro-poor
infrastructural initiatives. Balancing this is difficult, especially because creation and
sustenance of pro-poor infrastructure in rural areas is far more complex than perhaps erecting
a few mega projects. The complexities arise mainly because of the vast coverage, areas and
beneficiaries, poor affordability, and absence of institutional mechanism at the local level for
ensuring that poor have their equal share in the benefits.

b) Rights-based and Participatory Approaches

Given the challenges of making the growth/development work for poor, a number of
initiatives have been taken up for promoting community based participation in the process of
implementation, if not so much in planning and designing. The state has taken a lead in
initiating several of these initiatives such as watershed Development, NREGS, SSA,
Drinking Water Mission, and joint Forest Management, credit support through Self-Help
Groups and livelihood support to ST- SC populations. Also emphasis has been laid on gender
equity especially in education and livelihood programmes.
In fact, the policies, like in most other states and the country as a whole, consists of a
number of well-intended schemes and programmes to reach out to the poor. The question is
that of adequacy and more than that their effective coverage of the poor and the most
marginalized among the communities and the regions. For instance, Madhya Pradesh has
attained a fairly impressive track record in terms of implementation of NREGS and also for
improving the school enrolment rate as well as literacy as compared to several other states.

28
While it is too early to make any judgment on the poverty reducing impacts of these
initiatives, observations, though scattered, are at best mixed. Implementation of the Forest
Rights Act, however is one of the weaker components in the rights based initiatives
undertaken in the state.
There is however immense scope for improving the efficacy of these special schemes
and programmes such that they could actually make a difference on the life of the poor.
Improving the effectiveness of these initiatives however, may call for corrections at both
planning as well as implementation levels. The challenge is to go beyond the sectoral
approach for development and evolve a more comprehensive strategy to reach out to the poor
by identifying homogenous spatial clusters based on agro-ecological or social-political
characteristics. While this essentially involves convergence of various sectoral schemes and
rights-based programmes as envisaged by the newly crafted concept of Integrated Livelihood
Progarmme6, the comprehensive approach mentioned above may go beyond horizontal
convergence across the existing schemes.
An important element in the comprehensive approach is systematic planning for the
spatial clusters/regions based primarily on the resource endowment, socio-economic
characteristics, geographical context or connectivity. An approach such as this may involve
setting up of the region specific targets, priorities, resource allocation and also institutions
that are suitable to the spatial clusters/regions. In doing so it may unshackle poverty reduction
policies/initiates from the strait jacket approaches prescribed by Centrally Sponsored as well
as Externally Funded Programmes that are presently at the forefront of poverty reduction
policies in the state.
Adopting such a comprehensive region specific approach would require getting back
to the mode of systematic and multi-layered planning as against the present approach of
floating a number of schemes (and perhaps convergence thereof) through lateral distribution
of funds received through CSS or the donor agencies along with the priorities set by these
agencies. The policy space created through some of the Rights-based initiatives may have
greater chance of being used in favour of the relatively poorer and the marginalized among
the rural communities.

6
These include convergence among MPRLP, DPIP, NREGS, SGSY, BRGF, IADP/DPAD, RKVY etc.

29
 An important aspect that needs special attention in this context is intra- and inter-state
migration. Since migration is an important strategy adopted by many marginally non-poor to
avert falling into poverty or by the poor to check further deepening of their poverty
conditions, it is essential to factor-in migration while undertaking such planning exercises.
6. Decentralisation, Governance and Agency:
Madhya Pradesh, in its present form, came into existence on November 1, 2000
following its bifurcation to create a new state of Chhattisgarh. The undivided Madhya
Pradesh was founded on November 1, 1956. This occurred on the reorganisation of states on
linguistic lines and whatever area remained unclaimed in the middle of the country by the
dominant linguistic groups was lumped together to create the state. Consequently it is an
artificially created unit, comprising of many parts which were governed as autonomous
feudal states bereft of cohesive and binding forces. Thus, the most remarkable feature of the
state is its huge expanse and the amalgam of numerous and diverse communities. This large
spread translates into a range of socio-economic situations which in turn influence
governance. Thus it is difficult to view it as one natural homogeneous entity.

With the introduction of Panchayati Raj all over the country the formal democratic
structures for grassroots people‟s participation were set in place. More and more functions of
governance and development at the local level were handed over to the panchayats by
government and quasi-government agencies so as to strengthen these institutions of local
governance, which provide a legal forum for the political empowerment of the poor. Madhya
Pradesh has been a trendsetter in this sphere. Nevertheless the functioning of the Panchayati
Raj system in the state still leaves a lot to be desired. In the absence of a vigilant civil society
and comparatively low levels of educational attainment in the state the officials and other
political functionaries have denied them full and effective autonomy and and have
successfully coopted the elected PRI representatives into their circle. As a result mis-
governance continues unabated in most cases. Consequently the third tier of democracy too
continues to be controlled by and large by the bureaucracy and the Panchayat executive
consisting of the Sarpanches and Panches and is riddled with corruption. What has been
handed over in one hand in legal parlance is thus reigned in effectively by the other hand; this
needs to be changed.

30
 A formal democratic structure invariably leads to the development of civil society
pressure groups that bring pressure to bear on the recalcitrant bureaucrats and elected
representatives for the proper functioning of the government and the administration; this is
evident from the experience of democracy at the state and central levels in India over the past
over half a century after independence and elsewhere in many mature democracies. So the
strengthening of the Panchayati Raj system did promote the spread and growth of grassroots
organisations of the poor that increased the demand for accountability from the government
and administration. These initiatives, so far, has remained scattered; the formation of a
consolidated force is yet to evolve in Madhya Pradesh. This is of critical importance in this
society and the state.

This brings us to the crucial point about the absence of agency to demand
development in the state and making that pro-poor. Creation of M.P. state, as noted earlier,
has subsumed a number of socio-cultural-political legacies, which perhaps made it difficult to
create dominant native stake holders who would identify, articulate and exert their stakes in
the processes of growth and development. As result, the state perhaps became subservient to
the policy framework adopted and subsequently kept evolving at the national level. The
question therefore is: who have been the important stake holders (or vested interests groups)
to hold the torch of economic growth and/or poverty reduction in the state? The answer, like
in several other predominantly feudal states, is the erstwhile ruling class, which soon got into
the key positions as politicians, bureaucrats, professionals, traders and the urban elite.
Absence of social movements and regional interest groups (otherwise reflected as relatively
conflict free social-political milieu) may have led to further consolidation of their historically
acquired power. Some of the recent initiatives through civil society organizations or social
movements have set the stage for creating people‟s agency for development. However, given
the nature of the state and its polity, much of the energy of these emerging people‟s agency is
being spent on resisting some kind of development or the non-compliance and asymmetric
implementation of the pro-poor programmes. This obviously, keeps the agenda of demanding
a different kind of development unattended.

While creating agency of the people to demand development is not a one-shot

proposition to be achieved in the short run; however, not recognizing the absence of that may

31
make the task almost unattainable. It is in this context that the importance of agency has been
accorded a critical importance for developing the poverty reduction strategy for the state.
An actionable point in the meanwhile is to evolve a strong `culture‟ of independent
monitoring and evaluation with the associated transparency and public debates around that.
The present system of monitoring and evaluation is characterized by two extreme scenarios.
On one hand there is a Departmental system of monitoring and evaluation, which generally
remains influenced by the hegemony of the state with relatively limited scope for rigorous
and transparent processes of evaluation; much of this is often not shared in the public domain.
On the other hand, fresh space is being created for a transparent mechanism through social
audits; this is also likely to remain for at least some time to come under the clutches of those
with authority and power within a highly stratified and hierarchical society such as ours.
Breaking away from these scenarios would necessitate putting in place a system of
independent monitoring and evaluation with multi-stakeholder membership. Acknowledging
the limitations in the public fora would open up a platform for more workable solutions for
improvements in which both the state and the communities will have responsible roles to
play. In any case, being transparent will earn credibility to the state for being on the side of
the people, rather than being compelled to justify the inactions of a vast and multi-layered
state machinery put in the helm of implementing a highly complex and challenging task of
pro-poor governance.

7. Summing Up
On the basis of the above discussions which are distilled from the detailed chapters to
follow we make the following recommendations for Madhya Pradesh, which are by no means
exhaustive. These are grouped by the issues covered, though they are not intended to be
compartmentalized.
Economic growth and Infrastructure
 Although income poverty has reduced, it is still fairly widespread except for
one region in the state. Also the level of food inadequacy is fairly high. Therefore,
promoting economic growth is inescapably an important channel for poverty
reduction in the state.

32
  While infrastructural development plays a significant role in promotion of
economic growth in general and also for improving access to health-and educational
services, that by itself may not yield the desired result as much of the growth potential
in the state is linked to boosting up productive initiatives in the primary sector viz;
agriculture and forestry on which large proportion of the poor depend for their
livelihood.
 While a number of initiatives have already been taken up for promoting
agricultural growth, employment and access to forest resources among the tribal
communities in the state, it is imperative that these policies work in tandem with the
larger goals of empowerment, which in turn may help creating/strengthening the
agency of the poor to participate in the process of economic growth and human
development.
Agriculture and Allied Sectors
 Since agricultural growth is at the centre stage of poverty reduction, emphasis
on technology and knowledge driven growth in productivity of crops and allied
sectors is inevitable. Dissemination of the already available research findings and
technologies especially for improving the seed quality and agricultural practices in
dry land farming on small landholdings has to be taken up on priority. A detailed
agro-climatic zone specific plan for various farming systems consisting of low
external input/organic agriculture, horticulture, livestock, inland fishery and forestry
will have to be drawn up and institutional support provided.
 Concerted efforts need to be made to process agricultural bio-mass a
considerable part of which is wasted or burnt at present for conversion into fertiliser
and energy. This will also reduce carbon emissions from agriculture and contribute to
mitigation of climate change.
 Rural markets or "haats" should be developed further and provided
institutionalised support in the form of greater credit and infrastructure for
transforming them into agro-processing centres for post harvest processing and value
addition. These should focus on various components of the farming systems.
 Processing and cold chaining of primary products like milk, meat and eggs
for export out of the state and the country. Further development of the cooperative

33
 federation and its corruption free operation so as to process and market meat and eggs
in addition to milk. This will also ensure cheap nutrition for the poor.
 Fodder development on vast tracts of land lying barren with the forest
department or in village commons through joint forest management along with
institutional support to the informal rural livestock markets so as to ensure that the
benefits of such markets reach the small livestock producers who are the most
vulnerable.

Surface Irrigation and Soil and Water Conservation

 A programme of command area development must be taken up on a priority
basis under which completion and renovation of canal systems, field channels
and land levelling will have to be undertaken to fully realise the surface water
irrigation potential already created. Once this is done, participatory irrigation
management must be implemented properly and the operation of the centralised
irrigation systems must be made as efficient and equitable as is possible.
 The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme primarily and all other
employment and rural development schemes should be geared to local area
specific soil and water conservation activities on a large scale. Stress should be
laid on mobilising the community for the construction and later maintenance of
the structures.
 Particular attention should be given to artificial recharging of groundwater. The
Central Groundwater Board has prepared a detailed district wise National
Master Plan on Artificial Recharge and this needs to be implemented
immediately.
Forest Management
 A massive participatory afforestation and conservation programme has to be
undertaken using NREGS funds in the head reaches of all the major rivers
originating in Madhya Pradesh and especially in the Chambal basin which has
become highly denuded. This may involve greater and more effective
implementation of Joint Forest Management Projects in minor forest produce
collection, processing and marketing.

34
  A special cell should be set up to identify potential projects that can qualify for
carbon credits and then follow up with implementation and earning of credits
under the Clean Development Mechanism.
 The settlement of land rights of forest dwellers, mostly Scheduled Tribes, under
the STOFRR Act must be completed with transparency and speed to improve
the livelihood situation of lakhs of tribals.

Seasonal Migration
 Proactive measures are necessary to ensure that the migration experience is a
positive one and the poor do not lose out on their entitlements in both their
residence and their destination areas because of migration. All laws and policies
in this regard should be implemented and a special department set up to take
care of the migrants needs as the present labour department is ill equipped and
under staffed for this purpose.
Health and Education
 Support local level collective health action by creating and sustaining
community partnerships for health care delivery especially by reaching out to
non-traditional partners.
 Create health disaster management network by involving the entire health care
delivery system and the broadest possible inter-sectoral and inter-institutional
collaboration and coordination to reduce the impact of emergencies and
disasters on the health of the people.
 Revamp and expand the human resources development (education and training)
network to develop a healthy workforce profile that is adequate in terms of
knowledge and skills for the delivery of health care services necessary to meet
the health needs of the people.
 It is essential to make a paradigm shift from outlays to outcome approach for
improving social sector attainments. This should essentially imply that basic
health services for immunization and maternal health as well as basic literacy
have to be ensured. Outcome based monitoring and incentives may help in
achieving the desired shift.

35
  Strengthen monitoring, evaluation and analysis of health and education status at
household level and at the level of the community with especial emphasis on
identifying disparities in the access and effectiveness of the public service
systems.
 In order to address the issue of inadequacy of teaching staff in primary schools,
special emphasis may be given to female teachers. This may open up avenues
for female workers, especially those who are willing to re-enter the job market
at a later stage of their reproductive phase. This may yield double dividends; one
in terms of gender empowerment and another in the form of obtaining stable and
committed teaching staff from the local communities.

Grassroots Governance
 The Gram Sabha and small Ward Sabhas in urban areas must be made the
paramount bodies for deciding on the management of all the cultural, social,
economic and political activities of the people.
 A massive awareness campaign must be conducted and appropriate institutional
support provided to actualise the immense potential of the provisions under The
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and The Right to Information
Act. The administrative and infrastructural obstacles to the successful
implementation of the NREGS should be addressed and resolved as quickly as is
possible.
 Micro-finance and Micro-credit through SHGs are a viable community based
solution to the serious problem of lack of access to cheap institutionalised credit
for the poor. This should be promoted along with stricter regulation of usurious
moneylending. These measures will especially benefit women who are normally
excluded from the development process.
 NGOs should be involved in awareness building, training and monitoring and
also in the implementation of pilot projects for communitarian development.
Successful examples of communitarian development implemented in the state
by NGOs should be given publicity and encouragement so that they sustain

36
 themselves and also provide inspiration to others for replication on a wider
scale.
Rural Database
 Presently the rural data base is a non-participatory one and is being maintained
by the Patwaris and other ground level staff in a non-transparent manner.
Consequently the reality of rural deprivation and resource degradation is not
adequately captured in this data base.
 The Gram Sabhas should be held regularly to update and validate the rural data
base and make it more relevant for village level planning. Once this validation
by the Gram Sabha takes place the data should be uploaded onto an online
website which should then be available for all.
 An independent and transparent monitoring and evaluation system with multi-
stakeholder membership to help creating a platform for moving into the
direction of pro-poor Governance.

References:
Chaurasia, A. (2009), Notes on Poverty in Madhya Pradesh, Background paper prepared
for Madhya Pradesh Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, coordinated by Indira Gandhi
Institute of Development Research, Mumbai.

CROMP (2009), Madhya Pradesh: the State of Children, Child Rights Observatory
Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal.

Dev, M. and Ravi, C. (2006), Poverty and Inequality: All India and States, 19983-
2005, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 41, No.6, 509- 521.

Shah, A. (2007), Patterns, Processes of Reproduction, and Policy Imperatives for

poverty Reduction in Remote Rural Areas: A Case Study of Southern Orissa in India,
Working Paper No. 179, Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad.

UNDP (2009), Madhya Pradesh: Human Development Report, Oxford University

Press, New Delhi.

37
 Chapter 3: Economic Growth

The importance of economic growth in poverty reduction lies in the fact that despite
multi-dimensional nature of poverty, economic growth is the engine for all poverty reduction
efforts. Evidence from all over the world clearly indicate that domestic policies have
important effect on sustained economic growth including prudent macroeconomic
management. Macroeconomic stability provides an important precondition for higher
economic growth rates and also helps in preventing the resurgence of inflation and scarcity of
resources for poverty reduction activities. High inflation can also stifle expansion of the
economy thereby limiting the opportunity for participation in the economic and social
production processes.
The most commonly used approach to analyse the growth and expansion of the
economy is the analysis of the domestic product of the state. The domestic product can be
measured either in gross terms or in net terms which also takes into account the depreciation
on the capital stock. Both the gross domestic product (GDP) and the net domestic product
(NDP) are measured at current prices and at fixed prices to eliminate the effect of inflation
while measuring changes over time.

Figure 1
Growth of the Economy of Madhya Pradesh

Total (Billion Rupees) Per Capita (Thousand Rupees)

1400 20
GSDP(C) GSDP(C)
NSDP(C) NSDP(C)
GSDP(F) GSDP(F)
18
1200 NSDP(F) NSDP(F)

16
1000

14

800
12

600 10
1999-00 2001-02 2003-04 2005-06 1999-00 2001-02 2003-04 2005-06
2000-01 2002-03 2004-05 2006-07 2000-01 2002-03 2004-05 2006-07

Estimates of GDP/NDP for existing Madhya Pradesh are available in two series:
1993-94 series and 1999-2000 series. The 1993-94 series provides estimates of GDP/NDP for

38
the existing Madhya Pradesh at current as well as at 1993-94 prices and relates to the period
1993-94 through 2003-04 (Government of India, 2008). The 1999-2000 series, on the other
hand, provides estimates of GDP/NDP at current and 1999-2000 prices and relates to the
period 1999-2000 through 2006-07. Since, different approaches are adopted in the
construction of the two series, they cannot be combined into one integrated series. The
discussion that follows is based on the 1999-2000 series.

Figure 2
Contribution to the Increase in Domestic Product

Real GDP Real NDP

70.12%
82.98%

4.86% 2.08%
14.94%
25.02%

Agriculture Agriculture
Industry Industry
Serv ices Serv ices

According to the 1999-2000 series, the GDP at current prices in Madhya Pradesh
increased from around 801 billion rupees in 1999-2000 to around 1282 billion rupees in
2006-07. This means that, at current prices, the economy of the state increased at a rate of
7.466 per cent per year during the period under reference. The NDP at current prices, on the
other hand, increased from around 727 billion rupees in 1999-2000 to around 1122 billion
rupees in 2006-07 which means that, after taking into consideration the depreciation on the
capitals stock, the economy of the state, at current prices, grew at a rate of 6.716 per cent per
year only. The situation appears to be radically different when the effect of inflation is
eliminated. At 1999-2000 prices, the GDP increased at the rate of 3.325 per cent per year
between 1999-2000 and 2006-07 whereas the NDP increased at a rate of just 2.840 per cent
per year. In per capita terms, the growth of the economy has been even slower. In real terms,
the GDP per capita increased at the rate of 1.41 per cent per year while the NDP per capita
increased at a rate of 0.904 per cent per year between 1999-2000 and 2006-07 because the
state population increased rapidly during this period. These growth rates suggest that the

39
growth of the economy of the state has yet to pick up the momentum and the contribution of
the growth of the economy to the increase in the income of average individual has, at best,
been marginal because of the rapidly growing state population. It is estimated that the
population of the state increased at a rate of around 1.68 per cent per year during this period -
from around 58.67 million during 1999-2000 to around 67.09 million during 2006-07. In real
terms, there has been no significant increase in the per capita income in the state as the per
capita NDP increased from 12.834 thousand rupees during 1999-2000 to just 12.577
thousand during 2006-07.
Another disturbing feature of the growth of the economy of the state is that nearly all
the increase in the state domestic product has been confined to the service sector of the
economy. In real terms, the GDP in the state increased by about 161 billion rupees between
1999-2000 and 2006-07 and more than 70 per cent of this increase was confined to the
service sector. Similarly, the NDP in the state, in real terms, increased by about 117 billion
rupees during the period under reference and almost 83 per cent of this increase was confined
to the service sector of the economy. By contrast, the contribution of the agriculture and
allied sector was less than 5 per cent in case of the increase in real GDP and only about 2 per
cent in case of the increase in real NDP. The contribution of industry to the increase in real
GDP and real NDP was 25 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
The slow to very slow economic growth in the state is also reflected in the growth of
different sectors of the economy during the period under reference. The average annual
growth rate of sector specific GDP or sector specific NDP at 1999-2000 prices has never
been more than 4 per cent per year in any sector of the economy (Figure 3). The growth has
been the slowest in the industry and in the secondary sector of the economy where the NDP
at 1999-2000 prices increased at a rate of just around 1.8 and 1.3 per cent per year
respectively. Growth of real NDP has been the fastest in the tertiary sector but, here too, the
average annual growth rate has been around 3.5 per cent per year during this period.
Another interesting, but very discerning feature of economic growth in Madhya
Pradesh is the wide gap in the increase in the gross domestic product as compared to the net
domestic product at current as well as at 1999-2000 prices in the secondary sector of the
economy. For example, the gross domestic product at 1999-2000 prices in the secondary
sector of the economy increased at an average annual rate of growth of almost 3 per cent per

40
year but the real net domestic product increased at an average annual rate of just 1.3 per cent
per year. This shows that more than half of the growth in the secondary sector of the state
economy has been subsumed by the depreciation on the capital stock. The very high
depreciation on the capital stock in the secondary sector of the economy indicates that the
capital stock is rapidly getting old and there has been little effort to replenish this stock
probably and so obviously because of paucity of resources.

Figure 3
Sector Specific Growth Rates in Madhya Pradesh

Current Prices 1999-2000 prices

Primary Primary

Secondary Secondary

Tertiary Tertiary

0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10

GSDP(C) NSDP(C) GSDP(F) NSDP(F)

A very significant depreciation on the capital stock in the secondary sector of the
economy appears to be the result of the deterioration of the manufacturing sector in the state.
At the current prices, the trend growth rate of the gross product of the manufacturing sector
was more than 4 per cent per year during the period under reference. However, the trend
growth rate of net product of the manufacturing sector was only about 0.6 per cent per year
indicating that most of the growth in this sector of the economy was subsumed by the
depreciation on the capital stock. On the other hand, the trend growth rate in the net product
in this sector at 1999-2000 prices has been negative (Figure 4). This suggests that the
manufacturing sector in the state appears to be in a total mess and there has been little new
input into this sector in real terms in recent years.
It is also possible to segregate the manufacturing sector into organised and
unorganised sector. This segregation suggests that it is the organised manufacturing sector
that has seriously faltered in the state during the period under reference. At the 1999-2000
prices, the gross product of the organised manufacturing sector decreased, instead of

41
increasing, at an average annual rate of around 0.8 per cent per year whereas the net product
decreased at the rate of more than 5 per cent per year. The consolation, however, is that the
decrease in the gross product in the organised sector was compensated by the increase in the
gross product in the unorganised sector but this could not happen in case of net product
because of very high depreciation on the capital stock in the organised manufacturing sector.

Figure 4
Sector Specific Growth Rates in Madhya Pradesh

Current Prices 1999-2000 Prices

Agriculture Agriculture
GSDP(C)
Forestry & logging Forestry & logging
NSDP(C)
Fishing Fishing

Mining & quarrying Mining & quarrying

Manufacturing Manufacturing

Construction Construction

Electricity,gas and Water supply Electricity,gas and Water supply

Transport,storage & Transport,storage &
communication communication
Trade,hotels and restaurants Trade,hotels and restaurants

Banking & Insurance Banking & Insurance

Real estate Real estate

Public administration Public administration GSDP(F)

NSDP(F)
Other services Other services

0 4 8 12 16 -4 0 4 8 12

The foregoing discussions clearly suggest that economic growth in Madhya Pradesh
has best been skewed. Most of the economic growth in the state has been confined to the
services sector of the economy while the growth of primary and secondary sectors appears to
have faltered during the period under reference. Interestingly, this pattern of economic
growth in the state has taken place at very low levels and little increase in per capita income
and amidst faltering or stagnation in the growth of primary and secondary sector of the
economy. At the same time, there appears little shift in the structure of the labour force in the
state. As such, the service-sector led economic growth in the state appears to be puzzling. In
fact, it has been argued that output of the services sector is perhaps overestimated because of
at least three reasons (Nagraj, 2009):
1. The growth of the private corporate sector has been inflated.
2. There has been a slower rise in the services deflator.
3. The decrease in the cost of communications services has bee overestimated.
The exceptional growth of the services sector of the economy has been widely
attributed to technological changes in the social and economic production system and

42
economic reforms (Kochhar, et. al, 2006). There has however been very little transition in the
economy of the state. The share of the primary sector has decreased only marginally whereas
the share of the secondary sector has remained more or less unchanged during the period
under reference in terms of gross domestic product. In terms of the net domestic product, the
share of the secondary sector has somewhat declined while that of primary and tertiary
sectors has increased only marginally. Obviously, transition in the economy during the period
under reference has been too slow to lead to any significant restructuring of the social and
economic production system which is usually associated with technological change and
economic reforms. The economy of the state appears to have virtually remained stagnant
during the period under reference and there has been little vibrancy in the growth. The
grossly unsatisfactory growth of economy reflects this lack of vibrancy.

Figure 5
Composition of Gross Domestic Product at Current Prices

1999-2000 2006-2007

Primary Primary
Secondary Secondary
Tertiary Tertiary

46.02% 46.71%

20.64% 20.57%
33.34% 32.72%

Any discussion on the economic growth in the context of poverty reduction must also
consider growth of the rural economy separately from the growth of the urban economy.
Unfortunately, available data do not make such a comparison possible. However, some
remarks can definitely be made on the basis of growth in different sectors of the economy.
The very fact that the growth of the primary sector of the economy of the state has remained
stagnant, if not shrinking, makes us believe that the rural economy of the state is not in a
good shape. On the other hand, more than average growth in such sectors of the economy as
transport, banking and insurance, real estate and even public administration indicates that
more and more of the economic growth in the state is getting concentrated in the urban areas.

43
This trend suggests that economic growth in the state is fast resulting into the
impoverishment of the rural population at the cost of concentration of employment and
livelihood opportunities and accumulation of wealth in the urban areas. Clearly, patterns and
trends of economic growth in the state do not appear to be favourable to nearly two third of
the state population living in the rural and remote areas.

Figure 6
Composition of Net Domestic Product at Current Prices

1999-2000 2006-2007

Primary Primary
Secondary Secondary
Tertiary Tertiary

47.00% 48.28%

18.37% 16.88%
34.63% 34.84%

The gross or net state domestic product or the per capita gross or net domestic product
provide little information about the distribution inequality that is so pervasive in Madhya
Pradesh. For example, the pattern of land ownership in Madhya Pradesh is highly skewed;
about 82 per cent of the households falling in small and marginal farmers‟ category own only
25 per cent of the land. By contrast, less than 2 per cent of the households falling in large
farmers‟ category own 17 per cent of the land (National Institute of Rural Development
1999).
The income- or consumption-based measures of economic growth are also insufficient
to characterise economy driven development. The reason is that these measures relate to
means to achieve ultimate ends rather than ends in themselves (Hulme and McKay 2005).
Such ultimate ends can be conceptualised in terms of Sen‟s capabilities framework (Sen
1985; 1990), which is later extended to distinguish instrumental and intrinsic freedom (Sen
1999). The key issue is that individuals and families differ in their ability to convert
commodities and their associated characteristics into the achievement of functioning due to
personal, family, social and environmental factors and upon public provision of key services.

44
 Many of the limitations of the monetary measures of economic growth are widely
accepted. One alternative is to focus on assets ownership. The assets that a household
possesses, or to which, it has access, can be related to household income in the sense that the
latter may be conceptualised as returns to these assets. In this view, a household‟s income
reflects the assets it commands and the returns, it is able to earn on these assets. At the same
time, assets may be important to households in their own right. Having a sufficient level of
assets also offers security; households can insure themselves against shocks and gain easier
access to credit. The assets-based approach of measuring economic growth is also more
suitable to address the issue of income inequality than the domestic product.
Some of the information about the availability of specified assets at the household
level is available through the 2001 population census. The 2001 population census also
provides information about the use of banking facilities by the households. This information,
given in table 13 separately for rural and urban areas as well as for the scheduled castes,
scheduled tribe and non-scheduled castes and non-scheduled tribe population provides some
interesting insight about the distribution inequality in Madhya Pradesh. Table 4 suggests that
less than 28 per cent of the households in the state were using banking facilities whereas
nearly 42 per cent of the households were having none of the specified assets at the time of
2001 population census. The rural-urban divided is also very much clear from the table. For
the combined population, an urban household was more than two times as likely to use
banking facility as a rural household. Similarly, an urban household was about three times
less likely to have none of the specified assets as a rural household. Similarly, a Scheduled
Tribe household in the rural areas of the state was more than four times less likely to use the
banking facility than a non-Scheduled Castes/Tribes household in the urban areas. Similarly,
a Scheduled Tribes household in the rural areas had about five times higher probability of
having none of the specified assets than a non-Scheduled Castes/Tribes households in the
urban areas. These disparities in the availability of specified assets as well as in the use of
banking facilities clearly suggest that benefits resulting from the growth in the economy
could not be shared equally by different population subgroups. Similarly, wide rural-urban
gap in all population subgroups supports the observation that most of the dividends of
economic growth and in Madhya Pradesh have been limited to urban areas. Even in the non
Scheduled Castes/Tribes population, the proportion of urban households using a banking

45
facility was almost two times more than the proportion of rural households. Similarly, the
proportion of rural households without any of the specified assets were nearly three times
more than the proportion of urban households.
The poor state of economy of the state is well reflected in the foregoing analysis of
the economic growth and there are areas of concern. First, growth of the economy of the state
has been very slow in real terms during the period under reference. Moreover, a very
substantial proportion of this growth in the economy has been subsumed by the growth in
population so that there has been hardly any increase in the per capita income in the state.
Such a growth implies low levels of surplus and hence inadequate funds for investment and
low capacity of the economy to grow at its own. A near static per capita domestic product
implies inadequate capacity of the poor households to break out of their economic
equilibrium by leveraging external funds and/or investments to change their situation. Such
economic growth also implies low growth of employment and increasing levels of
underemployment and casualisation of labour which affects the poor most as they cannot
remain unemployed. Obviously, such a growth in the economy contributes little to poverty
reduction.
Second, whatever growth in the economy of the state has been there, it has been
highly skewed. There is every evidence to suggest that the rural economy of the state, which
caters most of the subsistence needs of nearly two third of the state population, has failed to
grow during the period under reference. Most of the growth of the economy, in real terms,
has been confined to such components of the economy as communication, transport including
railways and banking and insurance. Growth of manufacturing sector in the state appears to
have actually been negative in real terms while that of agriculture has been almost stagnant.
Obviously, most of the state population remains devoid of the benefits of economic growth.
It appears obvious from the foregoing analysis that the engine for poverty reduction
efforts has faltered in the state in the recent past and cannot lead poverty reduction efforts.
The implications of poor economic growth in the state are well reflected in other dimensions
of poverty such as poor employment opportunities, unacceptable levels of health and low
levels of education.
State initiatives in accelerating the growth of the economy appear to be without clear
direction and somewhat inadequate. One of the goals of the XI Five-year Development Plan

46
(2007-2012) of the state is to achieve growth of around 7.6 per cent in the gross state
domestic period at current prices during the plan period. To achieve this growth rate, the state
aims at a growth 5 per cent in the primary sector of the economy; 10 per cent in the
secondary sector and 8 per cent in the tertiary sector of the economy (Government of Madhya
Pradesh, 2007). Recognising the fact that the population of the state is projected to be
growing at least around 1.6 per cent per year during the XI Plan period, the increase in the per
capita gross domestic product at current prices over the five-year plan period is expected to
around 5 per cent. It is obvious, the goals set in the XI Five-year Development Plan of the
state, even if achieved as planned, will lead to only a marginal increase in the per capita
income in real terms. Such an increase in the real income per capita is excepted to contribute
little towards reducing poverty. In order to put the poverty reduction engine at full steam,
Madhya Pradesh is required to do much more to accelerate economic growth through vertical
and horizontal expansion of its social and economic production system as well as reducing
distribution inequality across social groups. The XI Five-year Development Plan of the state,
however, is silent in this regard.

Accelerating Economic Growth

In the context of poverty reduction, accelerating the growth of the economy of the
state remains perhaps the most important development challenge. It is also crucial in the
context of poverty reduction that this growth must be pro-poor. As discussed earlier, one way
to accelerate the growth of the economy is the horizontal and vertical expansion of the social
and economic production system. Horizontal expansion means that the state economy needs
to be diversified. Vertical expansion implies that the social and economic production system
percolates down to the village and household level and is not confined to selected growth
centres and large urban agglomerations.
Expansion of the social and economic production system to ensure a spur in the economic
growth can be arrived at through three broad approaches. The first approach is to provide
economic stimulus to the existing social and economic production system so as to increase
investment and hence productivity thereby accelerating growth. The second option is to build
up the capacities that are necessary for the expansion of the social and economic production
system. This approach is very similar to the human development approach that is currently

47
being professed as the new paradigm for development. Finally, the third approach of
expanding the social and economic production system is through creating opportunities for
expansion. This is an area which requires committed state intervention as leaving
opportunities to market mechanism has been found to be associated with important risks that
are well known and need not be repeated here.
In the context of poverty reduction, it is necessary that the dividends of accelerated
economic growth must be reflected in terms of:
1. increased participation of the people in the social and economic production system,
2. more equitable distribution of the surplus income accruing out of acceleration in the
economy,
3. strengthening the existing and building new social and economic institutions so as to
support further expansion of the social and economic production system, and
4. increased public expenditure in meeting the development and welfare needs of the
people, especially the poor and deprived ones.
The crux of the strategy towards accelerating economic growth in Madhya Pradesh
should be directed towards building the capacity for the expansion of social and economic
production system. There are two critical elements of this approach. First is the productive
utilisation of the working age population. The state has a large workforce of unskilled
workers whose productivity is extremely limited simply because these workers do not have
necessary skills to increase their productivity. The situation can be changed significantly
through a comprehensive human development programme that is directed towards converting
the large unskilled workforce into skilled manpower necessary for the horizontal and vertical
expansion of the social and economic production system.
The second critical component of accelerating economic growth is the productive
utilisation of the working age population. It may be pointed out here that with the decrease in
fertility, there is a shift in the age structure of the population and an increasingly higher
proportion of the population is getting concentrated in the working ages. The state can have
rich dividends of this transition in the age structure of the population if productive utilisation
of the working age population is ensured. This means that the state will have to create
opportunities for the productive utilisation of the working age population. These
opportunities are extremely limited at present. It may be emphasised here that once highly

48
skilled workforce is available and opportunities for their productive utilisation are in place,
economic stimulus can contribute significantly in the expansion of social and economic
production system leading to significant acceleration in the growth of the economy.
It is suggested that Madhya Pradesh should first carry out a comprehensive review of the
strengths and weaknesses of the prevailing social and economic production system following
a SWOT analysis approach so as to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the system, the
opportunities available and the potential threats that may hamper the expansion of the system.
This review may then constitute the basis for developing and implementing a comprehensive
plan of the expansion of social and economic production system. Such a review has never
been carried out in the state. The approach towards expanding the social and economic
production system in the state has always been ad hoc in nature and limited in scope. It may
be emphasised here that there is not short cut for accelerating the growth of economy. Any
plan for the expansion of social and economic production system must have a plan horizon of
at least 10 years.

49
References
Government of India (2008) State Domestic Product, 1999-2000 Series.
http://mospi.nic.in/rept%20_%20pubn/ftest.asp?rept_id=nad03_1999_2000&type=NSSO
accessed 10 February 2009.
Government of Madhya Pradesh (2007) XI Five-year Development Plan (2007-2012) and
Annual Plan (2007-2008). Bhopal, State Planning Commission.
Hulme D, McKay A (2005) Identifying and measuring chronic poverty: Beyond monetary
measures. Paper presented in the International Conference on The Many Dimensions of
Poverty, Brasilia, Brazil.
Kochhar et al (2006) India‟s Pattern of Development: What Happened, What Follows? Journal
of monetary Economics, Vol 53, No 5.
Nagraj R (2009) Is service sector output overestimated? An enquiry. Economic and Political
Weekly, January 31.
National Institute of Rural Development (1999) India Rural Development Report. Hyderabad,
National Institute of Rural Development.
Sen AK (1985) Commodities and Capabilities. Oxford, Elsevier Science Publishers.
Sen AK (1990) Development as capability expansion.
Sen AK (1999) Development as Freedom. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

50
Table 1: Trends in domestic product and per capita domestic product in Madhya Pradesh.

Particulars 1999- 2000- 2001- 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004- 2005- 2006-

2000 2001 2002 2005 2006 2007
Current Prices
GDP (billion Rs) 801.321 792.034 867.45 868.319 1028.386 1072.819 1163.222 1282.016
NDP (billion Rs) 726.554 710.106 775.219 766.615 908.706 936.899 1008.671 1112.248
Per capita GDP (thousand Rs) 13.658 13.231 14.208 13.935 16.19 16.576 17.649 19.108
Per capita NDP (thousand Rs) 13.658 12.459 13.085 12.32 13.465 13.693 14.015 14.346
1999-2000 Prices
GDP (billion Rs) 801.321 745.816 798.911 767.655 855.305 886.226 923.713 962.541
NDP (billion Rs) 726.554 667.502 715.253 677.949 753.999 781.011 810.057 843.796
Per capita GDP (thousand Rs) 12.384 11.862 12.697 12.303 14.306 14.476 15.304 16.578
Per capita NDP (thousand Rs) 12.384 11.15 11.715 10.88 11.87 12.068 12.29 12.577

Source: Government of India (2008)

Table 2: Growth of the economy of Madhya Pradesh.

(1999-2000 through 2006-2007)

Particulars Trend growth rate (per cent)

Current prices 1999-2000 prices

GDP 7.466 3.355

Primary 8.437 2.942
Secondary 6.930 2.942
Tertiary 7.037 3.873
Per capita GDP 5.338 1.410
NDP 6.716 2.840
Primary 8.220 2.737
Secondary 4.812 1.308
Tertiary 6.503 3.666
Per capita NDP 4.707 0.904
Source: Author‟s calculations

51
Table 3: Sector specific growth rates in Madhya Pradesh.
(1999-2000 through 2006-2007)
Current prices 1999-2000 prices
GDP NDP GDP NDP
1 Agriculture 7.788 7.573 2.840 2.634
2 Forestry & logging 6.716 6.716 1.613 1.613
3 Fishing 8.112 6.078 5.022 3.252
4 Mining & quarrying 12.750 13.883 4.081 4.394
5 Manufacturing 4.289 0.602 0.501 -2.469
5.1 Manufacturing-Registered 2.942 -0.797 -2.371 -5.446
5.2 Manufacturing-Unregistered 7.144 3.355 5.548 2.429
6 Construction 10.517 10.407 5.548 5.338
7 Electricity, gas and Water 8.981 4.289 6.609 4.289
supply
8 Transport, storage & 10.076 9.527 8.112 9.090
communication
8.1 Railways 7.896 5.338 6.290 7.896
8.2 Transport by other means 10.186 5.971 10.407 6.078
8.3 Storage
8.4 Communication 13.542 15.488 11.851 17.468
9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 5.866 5.971 1.918 2.020
10 Banking & Insurance 8.763 8.654 7.358 7.251
11 Real estate, ownership of 7.251 3.977 4.603 2.942
dwellings and business services
12 Public administration 7.681 7.251 3.355 3.045
13 Other services 5.971 5.866 2.122 2.122
Source: Author‟s calculations

52
 Table 4: Contribution of different sectors to economic growth in Madhya Pradesh during 1999-2000
through 2006-07.
Absolute increase Proportional increase
(Billion rupees) (Per cent)
GDP NDP GDP NDP
Current Fixed Current Fixed Current Fixed Current Fixed
prices prices prices prices prices prices prices prices
1 Agriculture 112.893 5.454 101.374 0.373 23.49 3.38 26.28 0.32
2 Forestry & logging 7.742 1.763 7.535 1.746 1.61 1.09 1.95 1.49
3 Fishing 1.443 0.621 0.962 0.323 0.30 0.39 0.25 0.28
4 Mining & quarrying 29.324 6.447 25.966 5.443 6.10 4.00 6.73 4.64
5 Manufacturing 33.454 2.484 4.128 -12.199 6.96 1.54 1.07 -10.41
5.1 Manufacturing-Registered 18.149 -2.775 -4.979 -14.738 3.78 -1.72 -1.29 -12.57
5.2 Manufacturing-Unregistered 15.305 5.259 9.107 2.539 3.18 3.26 2.36 2.17
6 Construction 42.684 19.795 40.959 18.788 8.88 12.28 10.62 16.03
7 Electricity, gas and Water 21.639 11.612 9.215 5.479 4.50 7.20 2.39 4.67
supply
8 Transport, storage & 43.274 33.201 33.554 31.112 9.00 20.59 8.70 26.54
communication
8.1 Railways 9.694 8.318 5.016 7.963 2.02 5.16 1.30 6.79
8.2 Transport by other means 20.517 9.942 20.106 9.768 4.27 6.17 5.21 8.33
8.3 Storage 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
8.4 Communication 13.063 14.941 8.433 13.381 2.72 9.27 2.19 11.41
9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 63.038 18.98 62.934 19.067 13.11 11.77 16.32 16.26
10 Banking & Insurance 21.556 17.837 20.613 16.776 4.48 11.06 5.34 14.31
11 Real estate, ownership of 35.515 20.337 16.398 10.374 7.39 12.61 4.25 8.85
dwellings and business services
12 Public administration 25.647 9.761 20.032 7.199 5.34 6.05 5.19 6.14
13 Other services 42.487 12.93 42.024 12.763 8.84 8.02 10.90 10.89
All sectors 480.695 161.22 385.694 117.242 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Source: Author‟s calculations

53
 Table 5: Transition in the structure of the economy of Madhya Pradesh.
GDP (Current prices)
1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07
1 Agriculture 28.00 22.76 25.51 22.52 28.26 25.12 25.55 26.31
2 Forestry & logging 1.51 1.70 1.87 1.80 1.65 1.60 1.64 1.55
3 Fishing 0.24 0.26 0.24 0.21 0.21 0.26 0.24 0.26
4 Mining & quarrying 3.59 3.45 4.01 3.86 4.40 5.05 4.76 4.53
5 Manufacturing 12.29 12.57 11.47 10.78 9.68 10.62 10.46 10.29
5.1 Manufacturing-Registered 8.55 8.92 8.08 7.32 6.37 6.90 6.84 6.76
5.2 Manufacturing-Unregistered 3.74 3.65 3.39 3.45 3.31 3.72 3.62 3.53
6 Construction 5.80 6.37 6.03 6.68 6.58 7.19 7.20 6.95
7 Electricity, gas and Water 2.56 3.39 3.11 3.53 3.16 3.08 3.15 3.29
supply
8 Transport, storage & 5.98 6.24 6.46 6.77 6.43 6.88 7.11 7.11
communication
8.1 Railways 2.16 2.15 2.28 2.41 2.23 2.38 2.26 2.11
8.2 Transport by other means 2.68 2.89 2.88 3.03 2.88 3.08 3.28 3.27
8.3 Storage 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
8.4 Communication 1.14 1.19 1.30 1.33 1.32 1.43 1.58 1.73
9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 15.01 16.30 15.37 15.96 14.80 14.46 14.45 14.30
10 Banking & Insurance 3.42 3.79 3.89 4.67 4.31 4.02 3.96 3.82
11 Real estate, ownership of 6.81 7.47 7.51 8.04 7.23 7.26 7.20 7.03
dwellings and business
services
12 Public administration 4.74 4.88 4.62 4.85 3.95 4.89 4.79 4.96
13 Other services 10.06 10.82 9.91 10.33 9.33 9.58 9.50 9.60
All sectors 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Source: Author‟s calculations

54
 Table 6: Transition in the structure of the economy of Madhya Pradesh.
GDP (1999-2000 prices)
1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07
1 Agriculture 28.00 21.58 25.04 20.94 26.34 24.22 24.21 23.88
2 Forestry & logging 1.51 1.74 1.92 1.88 1.70 1.62 1.58 1.44
3 Fishing 0.24 0.25 0.23 0.21 0.23 0.27 0.25 0.26
4 Mining & quarrying 3.59 3.50 3.44 3.72 3.62 3.81 3.64 3.66
5 Manufacturing 12.29 12.76 11.67 11.09 10.18 10.81 10.66 10.49
5.1 Manufacturing-Registered 8.55 8.95 8.08 7.41 6.61 6.93 6.90 6.83
5.2 Manufacturing-Unregistered 3.74 3.81 3.59 3.68 3.57 3.88 3.76 3.66
6 Construction 5.80 6.58 6.21 7.04 6.84 6.82 6.95 6.88
7 Electricity, gas and Water supply 2.56 2.95 3.06 3.31 3.15 3.24 3.33 3.33
8 Transport, storage & 5.98 6.60 6.75 7.36 7.32 7.70 8.09 8.43
communication
8.1 Railways 2.16 2.34 2.43 2.58 2.46 2.51 2.59 2.66
8.2 Transport by other means 2.68 2.89 2.84 3.02 2.94 3.05 3.18 3.26
8.3 Storage 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
8.4 Communication 1.14 1.37 1.49 1.77 1.91 2.14 2.31 2.50
9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 15.01 16.48 15.75 16.35 14.91 14.61 14.72 14.46
10 Banking & Insurance 3.42 3.95 3.82 4.59 4.13 4.37 4.54 4.70
11 Real estate, ownership of 6.81 7.68 7.46 8.08 7.59 7.74 7.78 7.78
dwellings and business services
12 Public administration 4.74 4.93 4.60 4.84 4.07 4.85 4.64 4.96
13 Other services 10.06 11.01 10.07 10.58 9.92 9.95 9.60 9.72
All sectors 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Source: Author‟s calculations

55
 Table 7: Transition in the structure of the economy of Madhya Pradesh.
NDP (Current prices)
1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07
1 Agriculture 29.65 24.03 27.12 23.88 30.45 27.05 27.68 28.48
2 Forestry & logging 1.60 1.83 2.02 1.97 1.80 1.76 1.82 1.73
3 Fishing 0.23 0.26 0.24 0.20 0.20 0.25 0.22 0.24
4 Mining & quarrying 3.14 3.08 3.57 3.66 4.15 4.92 4.61 4.39
5 Manufacturing 10.46 10.43 9.16 8.18 7.16 7.84 7.33 7.20
5.1 Manufacturing-Registered 6.92 7.03 6.05 5.03 4.16 4.46 4.12 4.07
5.2 Manufacturing-Unregistered 3.54 3.39 3.11 3.15 2.99 3.38 3.21 3.13
6 Construction 6.22 6.90 6.52 7.31 7.20 7.97 8.02 7.74
7 Electricity, gas and Water 1.69 2.44 2.29 2.31 1.50 1.70 1.78 1.93
supply
8 Transport, storage & 5.36 5.67 5.96 6.29 5.94 6.31 6.55 6.52
communication
8.1 Railways 1.60 1.58 1.77 1.94 1.72 1.78 1.65 1.49
8.2 Transport by other means 2.85 3.10 3.11 3.31 3.16 3.43 3.67 3.67
8.3 Storage 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
8.4 Communication 0.91 0.99 1.07 1.04 1.05 1.10 1.23 1.35
9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 16.47 18.09 17.13 18.01 16.70 16.50 16.61 16.42
10 Banking & Insurance 3.66 4.09 4.22 5.14 4.74 4.45 4.41 4.24
11 Real estate, ownership of 6.14 6.69 6.54 6.91 6.02 5.78 5.62 5.49
dwellings and business services
12 Public administration 4.34 4.52 4.23 4.51 3.65 4.58 4.48 4.64
13 Other services 11.03 11.98 11.02 11.62 10.49 10.90 10.87 10.98
All sectors 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Source: Author‟s calculations

56
 Table 8: Transition in the structure of the economy of Madhya Pradesh.
NDP (1999-2000 prices)
1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07
1 Agriculture 29.65 22.69 26.52 22.05 28.26 25.84 25.92 25.57
2 Forestry & logging 1.60 1.87 2.07 2.06 1.86 1.77 1.74 1.59
3 Fishing 0.23 0.25 0.22 0.20 0.22 0.25 0.23 0.24
4 Mining & quarrying 3.14 3.11 2.93 3.50 3.25 3.50 3.33 3.35
5 Manufacturing 10.46 10.63 9.43 8.51 7.61 8.10 7.69 7.56
5.1 Manufacturing-Registered 6.92 7.06 6.09 5.10 4.31 4.50 4.25 4.21
5.2 Manufacturing-Unregistered 3.54 3.57 3.34 3.41 3.30 3.60 3.44 3.35
6 Construction 6.22 7.15 6.71 7.71 7.49 7.48 7.65 7.58
7 Electricity, gas and Water supply 1.69 1.92 2.24 2.05 1.42 1.94 2.08 2.11
8 Transport, storage & 5.36 6.05 6.26 6.95 7.02 7.46 7.92 8.30
communication
8.1 Railways 1.60 1.77 1.90 2.09 2.03 2.10 2.22 2.32
8.2 Transport by other means 2.85 3.09 3.06 3.29 3.23 3.37 3.52 3.61
8.3 Storage 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
8.4 Communication 0.91 1.18 1.30 1.57 1.76 1.99 2.18 2.37
9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 16.47 18.33 17.53 18.46 16.85 16.52 16.73 16.44
10 Banking & Insurance 3.66 4.34 4.20 5.13 4.62 4.89 5.03 5.14
11 Real estate, ownership of dwellings 6.14 6.90 6.53 7.00 6.45 6.51 6.51 6.52
and business services
12 Public administration 4.34 4.55 4.19 4.48 3.76 4.53 4.30 4.59
13 Other services 11.03 12.21 11.17 11.91 11.18 11.22 10.87 11.01
All sectors 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Source: Author‟s calculations

57
 Table 9: Domestic product of Madhya Pradesh. (Billion rupees)

GDP (Current prices)

1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07
1 Agriculture 224.388 180.282 221.320 195.552 290.661 269.458 297.219 337.281
2 Forestry & logging 12.117 13.483 16.188 15.624 16.974 17.158 19.029 19.860
3 Fishing 1.886 2.053 2.092 1.807 2.191 2.784 2.773 3.329
4 Mining & quarrying 28.794 27.354 34.798 33.510 45.223 54.226 55.317 58.118
5 Manufacturing 98.461 99.560 99.497 93.572 99.525 113.965 121.642 131.915
5.1 Manufacturing-Registered 68.497 70.648 70.091 63.587 65.532 74.069 79.527 86.646
5.2 Manufacturing-Unregistered 29.965 28.912 29.406 29.985 33.993 39.896 42.115 45.269
6 Construction 46.459 50.422 52.296 58.029 67.714 77.103 83.730 89.142
7 Electricity, gas and Water supply 20.479 26.840 26.973 30.640 32.472 32.992 36.609 42.118
8 Transport, storage & 47.917 49.425 56.037 58.828 66.135 73.841 82.761 91.191
communication
8.1 Railways 17.332 17.048 19.792 20.923 22.888 25.484 26.255 27.026
8.2 Transport by other means 21.469 22.926 25.010 26.349 29.646 33.001 38.130 41.986
8.3 Storage 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
8.4 Communication 9.116 9.451 11.235 11.556 13.601 15.356 18.376 22.179
9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 120.251 129.063 133.306 138.567 152.240 155.094 168.127 183.289
10 Banking & Insurance 27.390 30.038 33.743 40.580 44.296 43.084 46.015 48.946
11 Real estate, ownership of 54.596 59.166 65.165 69.824 74.326 77.865 83.777 90.110
dwellings and business services
12 Public administration 37.959 38.636 40.083 42.111 40.657 52.424 55.745 63.605
13 Other services 80.625 85.713 85.953 89.676 95.974 102.827 110.479 123.112
All sectors 801.321 792.034 867.450 868.319 1028.386 1072.819 1163.222 1282.016
Source: Government of India (2008)

58
 Table 10: Domestic product of Madhya Pradesh. (Billion rupees)

GDP (1999-2000 prices)

1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07
1 Agriculture 224.388 180.282 221.320 195.552 290.661 269.458 297.219 337.281
2 Forestry & logging 12.117 13.483 16.188 15.624 16.974 17.158 19.029 19.860
3 Fishing 1.886 2.053 2.092 1.807 2.191 2.784 2.773 3.329
4 Mining & quarrying 28.794 27.354 34.798 33.510 45.223 54.226 55.317 58.118
5 Manufacturing 98.461 99.560 99.497 93.572 99.525 113.965 121.642 131.915
5.1 Manufacturing-Registered 68.497 70.648 70.091 63.587 65.532 74.069 79.527 86.646
5.2 Manufacturing-Unregistered 29.965 28.912 29.406 29.985 33.993 39.896 42.115 45.269
6 Construction 46.459 50.422 52.296 58.029 67.714 77.103 83.730 89.142
7 Electricity, gas and Water supply 20.479 26.840 26.973 30.640 32.472 32.992 36.609 42.118
8 Transport, storage & 47.917 49.425 56.037 58.828 66.135 73.841 82.761 91.191
communication
8.1 Railways 17.332 17.048 19.792 20.923 22.888 25.484 26.255 27.026
8.2 Transport by other means 21.469 22.926 25.010 26.349 29.646 33.001 38.130 41.986
8.3 Storage 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
8.4 Communication 9.116 9.451 11.235 11.556 13.601 15.356 18.376 22.179
9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 120.251 129.063 133.306 138.567 152.240 155.094 168.127 183.289
10 Banking & Insurance 27.390 30.038 33.743 40.580 44.296 43.084 46.015 48.946
11 Real estate, ownership of 54.596 59.166 65.165 69.824 74.326 77.865 83.777 90.110
dwellings and business services
12 Public administration 37.959 38.636 40.083 42.111 40.657 52.424 55.745 63.605
13 Other services 80.625 85.713 85.953 89.676 95.974 102.827 110.479 123.112
All sectors 801.321 792.034 867.450 868.319 1028.386 1072.819 1163.222 1282.016
Source: Government of India (2008)

59
 Table 11: Domestic product of Madhya Pradesh. (Billion rupees)

NDP (Current prices)

1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07
1 Agriculture 224.388 180.282 221.320 195.552 290.661 269.458 297.219 337.281
2 Forestry & logging 12.117 13.483 16.188 15.624 16.974 17.158 19.029 19.860
3 Fishing 1.886 2.053 2.092 1.807 2.191 2.784 2.773 3.329
4 Mining & quarrying 28.794 27.354 34.798 33.510 45.223 54.226 55.317 58.118
5 Manufacturing 98.461 99.560 99.497 93.572 99.525 113.965 121.642 131.915
5.1 Manufacturing-Registered 68.497 70.648 70.091 63.587 65.532 74.069 79.527 86.646
5.2 Manufacturing-Unregistered 29.965 28.912 29.406 29.985 33.993 39.896 42.115 45.269
6 Construction 46.459 50.422 52.296 58.029 67.714 77.103 83.730 89.142
7 Electricity, gas and Water supply 20.479 26.840 26.973 30.640 32.472 32.992 36.609 42.118
8 Transport, storage & 47.917 49.425 56.037 58.828 66.135 73.841 82.761 91.191
communication
8.1 Railways 17.332 17.048 19.792 20.923 22.888 25.484 26.255 27.026
8.2 Transport by other means 21.469 22.926 25.010 26.349 29.646 33.001 38.130 41.986
8.3 Storage 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
8.4 Communication 9.116 9.451 11.235 11.556 13.601 15.356 18.376 22.179
9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 120.251 129.063 133.306 138.567 152.240 155.094 168.127 183.289
10 Banking & Insurance 27.390 30.038 33.743 40.580 44.296 43.084 46.015 48.946
11 Real estate, ownership of 54.596 59.166 65.165 69.824 74.326 77.865 83.777 90.110
dwellings and business services
12 Public administration 37.959 38.636 40.083 42.111 40.657 52.424 55.745 63.605
13 Other services 80.625 85.713 85.953 89.676 95.974 102.827 110.479 123.112
All sectors 801.321 792.034 867.450 868.319 1028.386 1072.819 1163.222 1282.016
Source: Government of India (2008)

60
 Table 12: Domestic product of Madhya Pradesh. (Billion rupees)

NDP (1999-2000 prices)

1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07
1 Agriculture 224.388 180.282 221.320 195.552 290.661 269.458 297.219 337.281
2 Forestry & logging 12.117 13.483 16.188 15.624 16.974 17.158 19.029 19.860
3 Fishing 1.886 2.053 2.092 1.807 2.191 2.784 2.773 3.329
4 Mining & quarrying 28.794 27.354 34.798 33.510 45.223 54.226 55.317 58.118
5 Manufacturing 98.461 99.560 99.497 93.572 99.525 113.965 121.642 131.915
5.1 Manufacturing-Registered 68.497 70.648 70.091 63.587 65.532 74.069 79.527 86.646
5.2 Manufacturing-Unregistered 29.965 28.912 29.406 29.985 33.993 39.896 42.115 45.269
6 Construction 46.459 50.422 52.296 58.029 67.714 77.103 83.730 89.142
7 Electricity, gas and Water supply 20.479 26.840 26.973 30.640 32.472 32.992 36.609 42.118
8 Transport, storage & 47.917 49.425 56.037 58.828 66.135 73.841 82.761 91.191
communication
8.1 Railways 17.332 17.048 19.792 20.923 22.888 25.484 26.255 27.026
8.2 Transport by other means 21.469 22.926 25.010 26.349 29.646 33.001 38.130 41.986
8.3 Storage 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
8.4 Communication 9.116 9.451 11.235 11.556 13.601 15.356 18.376 22.179
9 Trade, hotels and restaurants 120.251 129.063 133.306 138.567 152.240 155.094 168.127 183.289
10 Banking & Insurance 27.390 30.038 33.743 40.580 44.296 43.084 46.015 48.946
11 Real estate, ownership of dwellings 54.596 59.166 65.165 69.824 74.326 77.865 83.777 90.110
and business services
12 Public administration 37.959 38.636 40.083 42.111 40.657 52.424 55.745 63.605
13 Other services 80.625 85.713 85.953 89.676 95.974 102.827 110.479 123.112
All sectors 801.321 792.034 867.450 868.319 1028.386 1072.819 1163.222 1282.016
Source: Government of India (2008)

61
Table 13: Disparities in economy driven development in Madhya Pradesh, 2001.

Population Proportion of households using banking facilities

(Per cent)

Total Rural Urban

All 27.92 21.10 47.75

SC 19.69 15.93 31.99

ST 13.53 12.10 30.95

Others 35.04 26.86 52.19

Proportion of households having none of the specified assets

(Per ent)

All 42.15 50.46 17.99

SC 47.11 53.38 26.61

ST 65.66 68.09 36.03

Others 32.81 41.38 14.85

Remarks: The specified assets are: radio/transistor; television; telephone; bicycle; any two wheeler; any four
wheeler.
Source: Census 2001.

62
 Chapter 4: Chronic Poverty and Poverty Reduction in Madhya Pradesh:
Diagnosis and Implications

1. Context:
The state of Madhya Pradesh (MP) is characterized by certain special features that
constrain and at times offer potentially facilitating environment for economic growth and poverty
reduction. While facilitating factors may include spatially central location, rich natural resources,
and relatively less conflict ridden socio-economic political environment, the major constrains
may arise from feudal agrarian relations, absence of historical trade links, and above all lack of a
clear strategy for driving economic growth. While some of these factors appear similar to that
found in the other neibouring states (in the `BIMARU‟ category) such as Rajasthan on the west
side and Chhatisgadh, Orissa, Bihar on the eastern side, there a few distinct features that make
MP fairly different from these states. It is essential to understand the finer aspects of these
distinguishing features so as to be able to understand the genesis of persistent poverty and the
dynamics of growth (or lack of that) in the state.
It is the contention of the analysis in this paper that the perpetual absence of economic
growth along with persistent poverty in the state is an outcome of a long drawn absence of an
agency and the prime stake holder/s to influence the strategy for growth and poverty reduction
strategy in the state.
This paper attempts to address these two aspects with a special focus on identification of
a poverty reduction strategy for the state. The analysis is divided in three parts. The first part
highlights the poverty scenario, especially in the context of chronic poverty in the state. This is
followed by a brief recapitulation of the historical context of policies for economic growth and
poverty reduction in Madhya Pradesh, which then leads to discussing some of the important
tenets of poverty reduction strategy for the state.

63
 2. Poverty and Poverty Reduction in M.P. : Some Important Features
2.1 Incidence of Poverty:
With about 38 per cent of people living below the official poverty line during 2004-05,
M.P. had third rank in terms of incidence of poverty among the major states in India. Given its
relatively large population, the state accounted for nearly 11 per cent of the country‟s total poor
population. By 2004-05 the state had nearly 33 million people living under poverty (Dev and
Ravi, 2007). Tribal communities are the most poor among social groups as found elsewhere in
most parts of India. In rural area 58.6 per cent of the tribal population was found to be poor as
compared to 42.8 per cent among the (SCs). The incidence of poverty among STs and SCs in
Madhya Pardesh is significantly higher than that at the All India level.

Incidence of Poverty in MP and India: 2004-05

Head Count ST SC OBC Other
Ratio (HCR)
MP-Rural 58.6 42.8 29.6 13.4
MP-Urban 44.7 67.3 55.5 20.8
All India-Rural 47.2 36.8 26.7 16.1
India-Urban 33.3 39.9 31.4 16.0
Source: Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India

While poverty in terms of head count ratio (HCR) has declined significantly from the
level of 62 per cent during 1973-74, the state however, has remained as one of the three most
poor major states in the country.

64
Spatial Pattern:
Unlike that at the All India level, incidence of poverty is higher among urban (42.7%) as
compared to rural areas (36.8%)7. Prima facie, this may suggest outflow of rural poor to urban
areas in search of livelihood options (UNDP, 2007 p. 74).
While one finds a similar pattern in other states like Gujarat, the situation is more or less
non-comparable due to the fact that: a) M.P., unlike Gujarat, is a state with net out-migration;
and b) the relatively urban poverty is juxtaposed against a fairly high level of overall poverty
(almost double that of Gujarat) in the state.
The impact of migration is further reflected by rural-urban differences across regions
shown on Table 1. Close to half of the rural population in Vindhya, central and southern regions
in M. P. were poor during 2004-05. In urban areas, poverty is particularly high in Northern
region besides central and southern regions in the state.

Table 1: Poverty among NSSO-Regions in M.P.:2004-05

Regions Urban Rural

Poorest Rest All Non Total Poorest Rest All Non Total
10% of Poor Poor 10% of Poor Poor
Poor Poor
Vindhya 3.1 31.5 34.6 65.4 100.0 4.4 43.6 48.0 52.0 100.0
(231)
Central 8.5 40.3 48.8 51.2 100.0 9.5 40.9 50.4 49.6 100.0
(232)
Malwa 2.0 30.7 32.7 67.4 100.0 2.7 22.4 25.1 74.9 100.0
(233)
South 5.4 42.2 47.6 52.4 100.0 6.1 43.4 49.5 50.6 100.0
(234)

7
These estimates however, differ from that provided by Dev and Ravi (2007), who found rural poverty at the level
of 38.1 5 as compared to 34.4 % in the urban areas. The difference could be due to merging of the state sample
while estimating poverty by the authors.

65
South 2.0 41.7 43.7 56.3 100.0 0.6 23.2 23.8 76.1 100.0
Western
(235)
Northern 6.8 50.4 57.2 42.9 100.0 0.8 22.0 22.8 77.1 100.0
(236)
Total 4.4 38.3 42.7 57.3 100.0 3.9 32.9 36.8 63.2 100.0
Cut-off Below Rs. Rs. Rs. -- Below Rs. Rs. Rs. --
Point Rs. 278.01 570.15 570.16 Rs. 194.01 327.78 327.79
278.20 to and 194 to and
570.15 above 327.78 above
Note: The urban poverty line for MP i.e. Rs. 570.15 and Rural poverty line i.e. Rs. 327.28 is the benchmark for
calculating 10 percent among all poor, rest of poor and non-poor.

Factors Associated with High Incidence of Poverty: A Case Of South-West MP

What explains persistence of high incidence of poverty in the state and the regions
within that? This issue had been investigated in an earlier analysis which tried to examine factors
influencing poverty reduction in M.P. and the South-West region in the state. By estimating
partial multiple regression models for explaining variations in monthly per capita expenditure
(MPCE) among rural households, the analysis brought out the following important observations:

i. Households size is found have a negative impact on MPCE under almost all the situations
under analysis. This suggests a strong influence of growth in population, especially under
a relatively stagnant economic scenario within the state and the region.

ii. Literacy is found to have positive impact on MPCE in almost all situations except among
households with relatively low MPCE categories in SWMP. Of course the direction of
causality may be mixed as noted earlier.

66
(iii) The other important factors influencing MPCE are those related to economic assets viz;
land holdings and irrigation. Leasing-out also has significant negative impact on MCEP.
To an extent, this might suggest reverse tenancy where households with lower income
and asset base lease out their land to relatively better-off households.

(iv) The pattern at the state level is more or less same. What is however, important is to note
that occupational diversification, especially among households in low expenditure
groups, exerts a significant impact on MPCE, which is not the case in SWMP region.
This suggests limited economic options and stagnancy in the region as noted earlier.

(v) Lastly sex ratio (female:male population), which has been taken as a proxy for out-
migration among male members of the households, is not found to be significant. To a
large extent, this might suggest that migration is mainly of distress type, where the poor
have to migrate out merely for meeting their basic requirement, without having any
substantial improvement, through remittances, on income (expenditure) status of the
households back at home. This issue has been addressed subsequently.
Together these observations imply that as time moves and population increases, natural resources
particularly, land become scarcer. Hence, those who are fortunate to have relatively larger land
holdings with access to irrigation and also education could improve their economic status. The
rest continued to remain where they were earlier or suffered deterioration in their economic
status.
2.2 Chronic Poverty: Persistent, Severe and Multidimensional
Long Duration:
A comparative analysis of NSSO-regions also suggest that all the six NSSO-regions in
the states were among the top 20 regions with highest incidence of poverty in the country; and
that five out of the six regions (except northern) had appeared in the list of those that were
present in the three consecutive rounds of the NSSO-survey since 1987 as (Shah, 2007).
This suggests that in a relative sense, poverty has been more or less intractable in most
parts (regions) of the state; the only other state that shows a similar pattern is Bihar. Chronicity

67
of poverty thus becomes an important feature of Madhya Pradesh, which essentially may call for
a more structural diagnosis of poverty in the state. This issue will be taken up at a later stage.
The above observation is further substantiated by the fact that the state has the lowest rate
of poverty reduction per year during the decade since 1993-94. According the estimates by Dev
and Ravi (2007) the rate of poverty reduction in M.P. was 1.09 as against the national average of
1.96 per cent per annum. According to these estimates, nearly 16 per cent of the population in the
state was in the category of very poor, whose expenditure level is below 75 per cent of the
official poverty line. This is substantially higher than the national average of 10.3 per cent. This
proportion is higher than Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Earlier, an in-depth analysis of South-West (SW) Region in the state brought out some
important features of severity of poverty in the state (Shah and Sah, 2004). The analysis, based
on the NSSO-data indicated that whereas poverty had declined during 1983-93, the decline was
much higher in the state as a whole (i.e. from 65.4.6 to 36.4 %) as compared to SW-region (i.e.
from 74.5 to 64.6 %). It was further observed that the incidence of poverty has declined
significantly in the category of very poor both in SW-region as well as in the state. In fact, the
decline in poverty was found to be almost entirely concentrated in the first category. It is of
course, difficult to ascertain the trajectory of the exit from two categories of poor in absence of
any information capturing duration. It is likely that the movement is gradual i.e. from very poor
to poor and from poor to non-poor. In that case what is concerning is the slower pace of this
transition. Prima facie, limited economic development along with high rate of population growth
could be responsible for the low pace of poverty reduction in the region. Some of these factors
will be discussed in the next section.
Severity:
The recent debate on poverty estimates in India however, has pointed out the significant
divergence between access to `adequate‟ income/expenditure and the actual food intake. It has
been argued that a large proportion of the officially `non-poor‟ people do not actual consume the
`required‟ calories hence could be considered as poor (Patanaik, 2007). While we do not tend get
into this highly polarized debate, it is imperative to take cognizance of the fact that a larger
proportion (than what is estimated as poor) of the people actually suffer from `food-inadequacy‟

68
(Mishra and Shah, 2009). According to the estimates based on the NSSO-survey (2004-05),
between 55 to 63 per cent of the population in M.P. suffer from `food-inadequacy‟. The
proportion for All India is more or less same as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Shortfall in Basic Consumption as Compared to the Level of Consumption in

Households within 3rd Quartile of Consumption Expenditure: 2004-05 (Rural)
% Difference
Consumption of M.P. India
Cereals 54.6 59.6
Dal and Pulses 64.6 60.76
Milk and Milk Products 65.7 69.7
Oil and Oilseeds 64.9 69.9
Sugar 64.0 64.7
Vegetables 60.3 64.5
Total Expenditure on Food 73.6 75.8
Total Expenditure on Education and Health 70.9 70.1
Total Consumption Expenditure 63.4 63.1
Note: The difference is worked by considering actual consumption of the households in the 3rd quartile of
consumption expenditure as `adequate‟ given the cultural norms in the state.

The food inadequacy has resulted in widespread undernourishment among children in

the state. According to the estimates from National Family Health Survey (2005-06) as large as
58 per cent of the children were reported to have low weight for height; what is more important
is that the proportion has increased over time (CRMP, 2009; p. 54). These are serious concerns
that need urgent attention.
Very poor health and nutrition status has led to a dismal scenario pertaining to child
survival in the state. It is however, noted that 70 per cent of the pre-mature deaths could be
prevented through appropriate and low cost medical treatments such as immunization, oral

69
dehydration therapy, mother‟s milk, and growth monitoring. The need is to enhance
effectiveness of these already available low-cost treatments/measures (ibid; xvii).

Child Mortality
According the official estimates more than 300 thousand children under 15
years die every year in the state. This is a social tragedy which no
humanity or Government can or should accept (CROMP, 2009; p. 29). The
incidence of childhood deaths is higher in rural as compared to urban
areas. For instance rural areas account for 77 per cent of the children below
the age of five years. Against this, they account for about 83-84 per cent of
the total infant deaths child deaths in the state (ibid). This reinstates the
importance of widening the net of rural infrastructure especially for health
services and connectivity. This issue has been highlighted later in the
analysis.

Multidimensional:
Apart from poverty being persistent and severe, the sate is also caught in a trap of
multidimensional poverty capturing the critical dimensions of human development. As a measure
of multi-dimensional poverty, Chaurasia (2009) has estimated district wise Human Poverty Index
(HPI) by incorporating the following four indicators (See the figure below):

 Probability of a new born not surviving to 5 years of age.

 Proportion of population at least 15 years old illiterate-unable to read
and write with understanding.
 Proportion of asset less households, households having none of the
following six assets - radio/transistor, television, telephone, bicycle,
scooter/motorcycle/moped, and car/jeep/van.
 Proportion of households without access to safe drinking water.

70
Figure 1: Social Categorywise Multidimensional Poverty (%) in Madhya Pradesh 2001

According to this estimate, based on 2001 data, the HPI for the state as a whole is 39 per
cent. The index for rural area however, is twice that for the urban areas. Similarly, more than 55
per cent of the Scheduled Tribes population in the state is estimated to be poor as compared to
only about 33 per cent in the non Scheduled Castes/Tribes population. Two important aspects
emerge from these estimates. First unlike the HCR, which takes into account only the money
metric measure, human poverty index is found to be significantly higher than that in urban areas.

71
Second. STs are the most vulnerable social groups, a large proportion of which are located in
forest based regions in the state.
Similarly, estimates of Human Development Index (HDI) may throw further light on this
aspect. The estimate of HDI for M.P. during the year 2001 was 0.394 as against 0.472 for the All
India. The state ranked fourth from the bottom, only after Bihar, Assam and Uttar Pradesh. More
recently, estimates for HDI have been prepared for district within the state. It is observed that the
HDI varies from more than 0.6 in the case of districts with major urban centers like Indore,
Harda, Bhopal, Gwalior, Dewas, and Ujjain to as low as 0.398 in Jhabua.

The various evidence presented in this section thus reveals that poverty (measured
through official estimates) in MP is fairly widespread; it has persisted over a long period in most
parts of the state; and it has also spilled over from rural to urban areas. The multidimensional
measures such as HPI and HDI however, present a fairly different scenario where HPI is found
to be higher among rural vs. urban area, and among STs vs. SCs. There however, are significant
variations in both HPI and HDI across districts in the state.
The critical questions arising from the evidence are two fold: First, is there a link between
different components of HDI across districts? And second, how far poverty reduction could be
attributed to failure on supply-side poverty reduction measures across districts within the state?
These issues have been addressed in the subsequent analyses.
3. Interface between Economic Growth, Poverty and Human Development
A recent analysis of the typology of major states in the country indicates that Madhya
Pradesh falls into the category of a `vicious cycle‟ with low levels of economic growth, per
capita income, and human development (Shah and Shiddhalingaswamy, 2009). Addressing the
multi-dimensional nature of poverty therefore calls for a multi-pronged approach for redressing
the multifold deprivation in terms of income and human development. While earlier approaches
of trickle down do not seem to have worked, the emphasis has moved towards direct measures
for enhancing income and also provisioning of services for strengthening human development,
especially for education and health. This however may not imply that the two sets of poverty-
dimensions (i.e. income and human development) are entirely independent of each other.

72
 We have therefore tried to examine the inter-relations between the three components of
HDI viz; income, education and health capabilities across districts in the state. The analysis of
rank co-relation among these three indicators brings out following important aspects:
First, income and educational capability have significant positive correlation. The
causation, as indicated by several studies, may by and large imply that persons endowed with
higher income ends up with better educational attainment; the causation to work in reverse
direction may not be so strong especially at low levels of income (Shah and Shidhhalingaswamy,
2009).
Second, attainment of health status is not significantly linked with income or education.
This may suggest that higher income may be a necessary but not sufficient condition for ensuring
better health status as much would depend on the effective access and quality of health services
besides affordability.
Together the evidence reinstates the importance working simultaneously towards income
enhancement and provisioning of health-educational services. The important point however, is
that improvement of these two sets of poverty indicators should take place through processes that
help building close links among each other lest the improvements turn out to be short-lived. This
aspect assumes special relevance in the context of ameliorating chronic poverty of the type of
long duration. Identifying right kind of policies that could build convergence between income
and human development aspects thus poses a critical challenge, which essentially goes beyond
attaining higher economic growth or creating the requisite physical infrastructure for health and
educational services per se. For, unless facilitated through a process of creating critical minimum
mass of stakes and stake holders within the communities, especially the relatively less privileged,
it is less likely that the drive for expediting economic growth on the one hand and provisioning
of social infrastructure on the other picks up its momentum in a self-reinforcing manner. This in
fact raises the crucial issue of the `agency‟ for promoting pro-poor growth and provisioning of
service.
In this context, the recent emphasis on promoting agricultural growth and infrastructural
facilities in the state is a welcome initiative. The critical issue, as argued above, is that of the
`agency‟ within the polity, government machinery, professional service providers, farmers, and

73
above all the poor who have suffered the double disadvantage emanating from a stagnant
economy on the one hand and poor social infrastructure on the other.

Contextualizing Policy Formulation and Poverty Reduction in M.P.

The issue of agency raised above needs to be examined in the backdrop of historical
context of policies formulation for economic growth and poverty reduction in the Madhya
Pradesh-the state endowed with certain strengths and also multiple constraints as noted earlier.
This section tries to recapitulate some of the important strands of analyses that have tried to
explain persistent poverty in the midst of economic stagnation in M.P.
Let us first begin with the relative strengths or comparative advantage for promoting
growth and poverty reduction. These, as already noted, include relatively better natural resource
base. This refers mainly as large as 30 % of forest area; rich mineral resources; and relatively
better agronomic condition with a large part of the state receiving medium rainfall under humid
and sub-humid conditions; topography suitable for rain water harvesting; and fertile soil having
limited exposure to chemical inputs. Another important advantage lies in its geographically
central location with relatively better rail network connecting important commercial destinations
in the country. The recently initiated plan for a network of national highway may provide
additional advantage for making links with some of the important industrial corridors on both
western and eastern sides of the state. The vast geographical spread is also a home of cultural
diversity having strong links with the erstwhile princely states in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and
Uttar Pradesh. This has left a strong imprint on the cultural heritage of the state, which combined
with relatively more favourable natural ambience offers special potential for tourism, including
eco-tourism in the state. Language could be another facilitating factor making it easier to make
connection with the Hindi speaking belt in the north and also with neibouring states in the west.
The state is known for its relatively docile local communities that have, over time received and
accommodated migratory population from all the states surrounding Madhya Pradesh. After
separating from Chhatisgadh the state is also more insulated from the influence of radical
militancy fighting against the state for the cause of the poor. Finally the state till now, has been
ruled by the parties having national stature and has by and large escaped regional factionalism.

74
 Conversely the state is poised with certain constraints that may hamper the potential
for growth especially in the context of the federal system of Government in the country.
Strangely some of these constraints may emanate from the various strengths that the state is
endowed with. For instance the rich forest and mineral resources, being treated as national
wealth, tend to deprive the state of its autonomy to access and manage the resource-use; in the
process the people also get alienated from these resources. In fact lack of autonomy and
appropriate mechanisms for compensation for conservation/utilization of forests/minerals is by
far the most important direct cause of persistent poverty among the forest based regions in the
state (Shah et. al; 2009). Similarly, the relatively favourable rainfall and topography is not
compatible with the mindset of building large irrigation system, which could attract investment
from the central pool of resources.
The geographically central location has also posed some constraints. First, it has
devoid the state from the conventional trade links with outside world. More importantly, this has
triggered continuous inflow of people, often rulers who eventually tend to control the productive
resources on the one hand and create cultural dominance over the local population thus,
hampering the process of sub-national socio-political-cultural identity for the state. One of the
striking features of the state is the amalgam of numerous and diverse areas (not claimed by other
lingual states) and the communities (Banerjee, 2009). Feudal agrarian structure and presence of
over 300 small princely states in the un-divided M.P. state may have further accentuated this
syndrome. A related aspect to this is influx of cultivators from Gujarat-Rajasthan –Maharashtra
that may have been brought by the princely rulers from their respective states to undertake
settled agriculture such that it helps maximizing revenue for the state. This, combined with
restricted access to forest resources to the local tribal communities, may have created wider gulf
between the local communities and the settled agriculturists who in turn became a major source
of money lending (and exploitation) often with the patronage of the state.
Creation of M.P. state in the post-independence period has subsumed all these socio-
cultural-political legacies, which perhaps made it difficult to create dominant native stake
holders who would identify, articulate and exert their stakes in the processes of growth and
development hence became subservient to the policy framework being shaped up at the national

75
level. The question therefore is- who were the important stake holders (or vested interests
groups) to hold the torch of economic growth and/or poverty reduction in the state. The answer,
like in several other predominantly feudal states, is the erstwhile ruling class, which soon got
into the key positions as politicians, bureaucrats, professionals, traders and the urban elite. There
are of course a number of grass root organizations operating in different parts of the state. Most
of them work towards mobilizing the tribal and other rural communities for asserting their rights
with respect to forests, land and the PRIs. These movements for social mobilization, are yet grow
out of its primary focus on retaining the existing claims of the tribals and the poor in the
resources and the institutions; demanding a different paths of development or greater share in the
ongoing process of development is yet to find the requisite space in the present context. The
weakened social movements and relative absence of regional interest groups (which otherwise
reflected as relatively conflict free social-political milieu) thus, may have led to further
consolidation of their historically acquired power.
While this is a somewhat similar scenario that one observes in other `BIMARU‟
states, what is striking in the case of M.P. is that: a) Government sector, working in self-
perpetuation, became the largest segment of the state‟s economy; and b) the ruling class
increasingly got gravitated towards the dynamics of power and professional attainment at the
central rather than the state level Government machinery. It is this complex-mix of situation,
which perhaps, has perpetuated the situation of `lack of agency for promoting growth and
poverty reduction in the state. This is reflected in the fact that despite primary sector being the
largest providers of income and livelihood to the people, there is hardly any voice from the
farmers and/or forest dwellers in the state demanding specific intervention for the development
in these two important sectors.
Conversely the two most important sources identified for promoting economic growth
and human development in the recent period refer to tourism industry and development of
infrastructure with special emphasis on energy, roads and communication, urbanization and
financial infrastructure. In fact development of these infrastructures is considered to be the major
road map towards creating social infrastructure (for health and education) and thereby human
development in the state (UNDP, 2007). While the importance of such infrastructure in

76
promoting human development and also income through employment generation is the short run
could hardly be over emphasized, it is nevertheless imperative to examine how far this may work
in absence of specific thrust on productive segments of the economy such as agriculture and
forestry, and more importantly in absence of the agency, which in the first place is convinced and
also committed to work through the trajectory of production driven livelihood enhancement and
economic empowerment of the poor.
The trajectories discussed in this paper for promoting primary sector based livelihood
and effective governance based on people‟s empowerment thus, assume special significance for
evolving a Poverty Reduction Strategy in the state.
4. Implications for Future Strategy
The above discussion on poverty and the policy formulation context brings home some
important implications for poverty reduction strategy in the state. These are:

2. Although income poverty has reduced, it is still fairly widespread except for one region
in the state. Also the level of food inadequacy is fairly high. Therefore, promoting
economic growth is inescapably an important channel for poverty reduction in the state.
3. While infrastructural development plays a significant role in promotion of economic
growth in general and also for improving access to health-and educational services, that
by itself may not yield the desired result as much of the growth potential in the state is
linked to boosting up productive activities in the primary sector viz; agriculture and
forestry on which large proportion of the poor depend for their livelihood.
4. Similarly urbanization or provisioning of urban amenities per se, may not be adequate to
deal with income as well as human poverty in absence of adequate stimulus for growth in
employment and income through productive sectors.
5. Also effective access to social infrastructure and urban amenities at affordable price
necessitates pro-poor governance and the agency thereof.
6. While a number of initiatives have already been taken up for promoting agricultural
growth, employment and access to forest resources among the tribal communities in the
state, it is imperative that these policies work in tandem with the larger goals of

77
 empowerment, which in turn may help creating/strengthening the agency of the poor to
participate in the process of economic growth and human development.

References:
Chaurasia, A. (2009), Notes on Poverty in Madhya Pradesh, Background paper prepared
for Madhya Pradesh Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, coordinated by Indira Gandhi Institute of
Development Research, Mumbai.

CROMP (2009), Madhya Pradesh: the State of Children, Child Rights Observatory
Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal.

Dev, M. and Ravi, C. (2006), Poverty and Inequality: All India and States, 19983-2005,
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 41, No.6, 509- 521.

Mishra, R.N. and Shah, A. (2009), Redefining Poverty and Vulnerability in India: An
Exploratory Analysis (draft paper), Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad.

Patnaik U. (2007), “Neoliberalism and Rural Poverty in India”., Economic and Political
Weekly, Vol. 42, No. 30,pp. 3132-3150.

Shah, A. (2007), Patterns, Processes of Reproduction, and Policy Imperatives for poverty
Reduction in Remote Rural Areas: A Case Study of Southern Orissa in India, Working Paper No.
179, Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad.

Shah, A. and Sah, D.C. (2004), Poverty among Tribals in South West Madhya Pradesh:
Has Anything Changed Over Time?, Journal of Human Development, Vol. 5, No.2, 249-264.

Shah, A. and Shhidhalingaswami, (2009), Status and Correlation between NSDP and
Human Development: State and District Level Analyses, (Draft), Prepared for Chronic Poverty
Research Centre, Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad.

Shah, A., Nayak, S.K., and Das, B. (2009), Remoteness and Chronic pOvertyin a Forest
Region in Southern Orissa: A Tale of Entitlement Failure and State‟s Apathy, CPRC-IIPA
Working Paper No. 34, London.

UNDP (2009), Madhya Pradesh: Human Development Report, Oxford University Press,
New Delhi.

78
 Chapter 5: Poverty Reduction Strategy for Madhya Pradesh in
Agriculture and Natural Resource Management
1. Introduction
Madhya Pradesh remains a predominantly rural state and most of its population is
dependent on agriculture and related natural resource use for their livelihoods as is clear from the
data in Tables 1 and 2 below.

Table 1: Population Dynamics in Madhya Pradesh (2001)

Rural Urban

Numbers % Dec. Grth % Numbers % Dec. Grth %

44380878 73.5 23.4 15967145 26.5 26.7

Source: Census 2001

The urban decadal growth rate is only slightly more than the rural decadal growth rate
which suggests that permanent rural-urban migration which is one of the major determinants of
urban growth is minimal. Moreover employment data in Table 2 clearly shows that the
proportion of people employed in the primary sector in rural areas in the state remains very high.

Table 2: Sectoral Distribution of Rural Employment in M.P.

Year Rural Madhya Pradesh Rural India

Primary Secondary Tertiary Primary Secondary Tertiary

1983 90.7 4.8 4.6 81.5 9.0 9.4

1987-88 87.9 6.8 5.3 78.3 11.3 10.3

1993-94 90.4 4.5 5.1 78.2 11.3 10.3

1999-2000 87.5 5.8 6.9 76.1 11.3 11.4

Source: MPHDR 2002

79
 The distribution of population by caste shown in Fig. 1 above reinforces the importance
of agriculture for the economy of the state as OBCs, SCs and STs who are mainly farmers or
agricultural labourers constitute 83.5% of the population. Yet the per capita income in rural areas
in 2006-07 at constant 1999-00 prices was only Rs 8879 while that in urban areas was Rs 22135.
The presence of a substantial scheduled tribe population dependent on natural resources for their
livelihoods also puts a premium on proper natural resource management for sustainable poverty
reduction. Thus any poverty reduction strategy in Madhya Pradesh must be based on an analysis
of the agriculture and related natural resources of land, water and forests. Since a prerequisite for
sustainable agriculture and natural resource management is good community participation and
local governance the poverty reduction strategy must also incorporate these aspects.

Madhya Pradesh is a heterogenous state situated mostly on the upper watersheds of ten
river basins with poor quality soils of low soil depth and high slopes and some black soils of
medium to deep soil depth with flat slopes underlain by impervious hard rock as shown in Fig. 2
& 3. Consequently the natural recharge is low and despite a moderate rainfall most of the state is
in a physically water scarce region. Thus the state comprises the uplands of Central India
forming a drainage divide between north, west and east flowing rivers. It has a semi arid
upstream topography with all the major rivers flowing outward from the state.

80
Fig 2 River Basins of Madhya Pradesh

81
 Fig. 3 Soils of Madhya Pradesh

This broad classification of soils camouflages the fact that most of the terrain is
undulating and deforested and so the actual soil quality is lower than the overall classification
and in many cases has become unproductive. The better soils cover less than 30% of the
cultivable area. The considerably varying forest cover and topographical and water resource
characteristics make it imperative that a diversified strategy be adopted for agricultural growth
and natural resource management. Thus an effective analysis of agriculture and natural resources
in the state as a prelude to the design of an appropriate and location specific poverty reduction

82
strategy can be done only by studying the different agro-climatic zones which also coincide with
differing social structure and cultural practices. The eleven different agroclimatic regions of the
state with their characteristics is given in Table 3 below and their location in the map in Fig 4.

2. Agro-Climatic Regions
Table 3: Agro-Climatic Regions in Madhya Pradesh
S.No. CROP AGRO- SOIL TYPE RAINFAL DISTRICTS DETAILS
ZONES CLIMATIC L (Range COVERED OF PARTLY
REGIONS in m.m.) COVERED
DISTRICTS
1 Rice Chhattisgarh Red & 1200 to Balaghat.
zone plains Yellow 1600
Medium
2 -do- Northern Hill Red & 1200 to Shahdol,Mandla,Di Sidhi :-
Region of Yellow 1600 ndori, Anuppur, Singroli
Chhattisgarh Medium Sidhi(Partly), Tehsil(Bedha
black & Umaria n)
skeletal
(Medium/ligh
t)
3 Wheat Kymore Plateau Mixed red 1000 to Rewa,Satna,Panna,
Rice & Satpura Hills and black 1400 Jabalpur, Seoni,
Zone soils Katni, Sidhi
(Medium) (except Singroli
tehsil )

4 Wheat Central Deep black 1200 to Narsinghpur, Sehore :-

zone Narmada Valley (deep) 1600 Hoshangabad Budni Tehsil,
Sehore(Partly),Rais Raisen :-
en(Partly) Bareli Tehsil

5 -do- Vindhya Medium 1200 to Bhopal,Sagar,Dam Guna :-

Plateau black & deep 1400 oh,Vidisha, Chanchoda,R
black Raisen(except aghogarh &
(Medium/He Bareli Teh.), Aron Tehsils.
avy) Sehore(except
Budni Teh.),
Guna(Partly).

83
 6 Wheat- Gird Region Alluvial 800 to Gwalior,Bhind,Mor
Jowar (Light) 1000 ena, Sheopur-
Kala,Shivpuri,(exce
pt Pichore, Karera,
Narwar, Khania-
dana Teh.), Guna
(except Aron,
Raghogarh,
Chachoda Tehsil),
Ashoknagar

7 Wheat- Bundelkhand Mixed red 800 to Chhattarpur,Datia, Shivpuri :-

Jowar and 1400 Tikamgarh, & Karera,Pichh
black(Mediu Shivpuri(Partly) ore,Narwar &
m) Khaniadhana
Tehsils.
8 -do- Satpura Plateau Shallow 1000 to Betul &
black 1200 Chhindwara
(Medium)
9 Cotton- Malwa Plateau Medium 800 to Mandsaur, Dhar :-
Jowar black 1200 Neemuch, Ratlam, Dhar,Badnaw
(Medium) Ujjain,Dewas,Indor ar &
e,Shajapur, Sardarpur,
Jhabua(Partly), Tehsils,
Rajgarh & Dhar Jhabua :-
(Partly) Petlawad
Tehsil.
10 -do- Nimar Plains Medium 800 to Khandwa, Dhar :-
black 1000 Burhanpur, Manawar,Dh
(Medium) Khargone, Barwani arampuri &
,Harda ,Dhar Gandhawani
(Partly) District. Tehsil.

11 -do- Jhabua Hills Medium 800 Jhabua Dhar :- Only

black skeletal to1000 District.(except Kukshi
(Light/Mediu Petlawad Tehsil) & Tehsil.
m) Dhar (Partly)

Source: Department of Agriculture, Madhya Pradesh

84
 Fig. 4 Agro-Climatic Zones of Madhya Pradesh
In what follows a review of some of the characteristics related to agriculture and natural
resources that are common throughout the state will be carried out first and a broad poverty
reduction strategy outlined on the basis of this. This will be followed by a detailed analysis of the
different agroclimatic zones and specific poverty reduction strategies for them.

3. Landholding Pattern
A major area of concern is the increasing fragmentation of landholdings, which has
directly affected the livelihoods of a majority of the rural population in a negative way. Table 4
gives the details of this process over the period from 1970-71 to 2000-01. The average
landholding of marginal and small farmers combined in 2001 was 0.88 ha which is sub-optimal

85
 in size especially considering that these are mostly of lower soil quality and higher slope. It must
also be remembered that as long as a landholder is alive his heirs who might have in reality
divided his land between themselves are not recorded as landholders. So the actual fragmentation
is much worse than is reflected in the official data. In addition there are landless people
dependent on agricultural labour alone for their livelihoods. Not surprisingly therefore both the
productivity and real wages of labour in agriculture have been stagnating as shown in Table 5.

Table 4: Trends in Fragmentation of Landholdings in Madhya Pradesh

Year Marginal(<1ha) Small (1-2 ha) Others
% of holdings % of area % of holdings % of area % of holdings % of area
1970-71 31.8 3.4 16.8 6.2 51.4 90.5
1995-96 35.2 6.8 25.5 14.7 39.2 78.4
2000-01 38.6 8.5 26.5 17.3 34.9 74.2
Source: Commissioner Land Records and Settlement, GOMP.
The data above also clearly show the high level of inequality in landholding with the
marginal and small holdings constituting 59.1% in numbers but only 25.8% in area. Socially the
Scheduled Castes who constitute 14.5% of the population control only 8.3% of the land while the
Scheduled Tribes who constitute 21% of the population control 19.8% of the land.

Table 5: Trends in Worker Productivity and Real Wages in Agriculture in M.P.

1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01
Worker Prod.@const.1993-94 prices(Rs) 12226 11920 11783 12119 11340 12039 11966 11893
Growth rate of Worker Prod. per year(%) N.A. -2.5 -1.15 2.85 -6.43 6.17 -0.61 -0.61
Real Wages @const.1985-86 prices (Rs) 12.86 12.49 11.27 11.67 11.66 12.08 12.21 12.57
Growth rate of Real Wages per year (%) N.A. -2.87 -9.77 3.55 0.00 3.60 1.08 2.95
Source: Department of Economics and Statistics, GOMP.
4. Overall Status of Water Resources
The annual surface water availability after accounting for the flow to other states at 75%
dependability is 81.5 lakh hectare metres with a developed irrigation potential of 20.59 lakh
hectares. In 1995, the state had a total of 4 lakh ha of water-spread area including 1.19 lakh ha of
village ponds and 2.94 lakh ha covered by irrigation reservoirs. The largest water-spread was in
the Ujjain division in the western part of the state. This division has the largest number of tanks
and village ponds in the state (Dept of Water Resources, GOMP). However, the high annual

86
evapo-transpiration rate in the region which is on an average 2100 mm and is in most cases
double the total annual precipitation results in a substantial proportion of the harvested water
being lost to evaporation.

The total available ground water resources in Madhya Pradesh have been estimated at
50.5 lakh hectare meters. About half of this is used for irrigation. Groundwater resource
conditions vary widely across the state. Most of these are in either gneissic terrain or in old
indurated sedimentary areas with low primary porosity with aquifers in fractured zones. These
aquifers are often small and dispersed along the fractured zones with secondary porosity. Poor
quality aquifers constitute almost 70% of the area while medium quality aquifers cover 21%.
Thick alluvial beds are found in the northern part of the state and along the valleys of the major
rivers. These form excellent aquifers but constitute only 9% of the area. The area under different
geological formations, in the state and the quality of the aquifers is presented in Table 6 below.

Table 6: Groundwater Aquifers in Madhya Pradesh

Type Quality Area (lakh hectares)
Alluvial Plains good 40
Deccan Trap medium/poor 140
Bagh/Lameta medium 10
Gondwana Supergroup medium/poor 30
Precambrian poor/dispersed 110
Archean Igneous & poor/dispersed 110
Metamorphic
Source: Madhya Pradesh Year Book 2008, Department of Economics & Statistics, GOMP
District-wise groundwater balance data indicate high levels of ground water abstraction
in the western and north-western districts compared to the eastern and south-eastern districts
where groundwater potential developed is only a tenth of the utilisable reserves. Dugwells,
predominant in this region, often dry up in the summers leaving farmers dependent on a single
crop. This may be supplemented with an un-irrigated pulse crop in the winter. The state faces
droughts and crop failures almost every year in some part of the state. Since the state is situated

87
in the leeward side of the western ghats, the coefficient of variability in rainfall is high and the
state bears the brunt of recurrent droughts.

This constraint on water availability was sought to be overcome by providing electricity

at a subsidised rate for the operation of pumps and subsidised loans to purchase these pumps and
other accessories. Thus farmers could tap the water stored in the deeper confined aquifers by
sinking tubewells and installing submersible pumps and also the base flow in the streams and
rivers through lift irrigation at relatively small capital and operating cost to themselves. In 1993
the supply of electricity to agricultural pumps of 5 horsepower or less was made free by the
government thus further reducing the cost of water.

While this boosted agricultural production considerably it also created what has come to
be characterised in natural resource economics as a "tragedy of the commons" (Hardin, 1968).
Normally in the case of a non-renewable resource the user has to trade off resource use between
successive time periods to optimise production in the long run because more the resource is used
the more is its extraction cost and more is its scarcity value. The water in the deep confined
aquifers in dry hard rock regions is akin to a non-renewable resource because it has accumulated
over thousands of years from the minimal amount of percolation into these aquifers that has
taken place annually. Thus when this water is pumped out in large quantities in a particular year
far in excess of the minimal recharge that is taking place, the water level goes down and in the
next year the extraction cost will be greater and this will go on increasing with time. However, in
a situation in which this extraction cost was rendered close to zero by electricity being made free
and the water itself being a common property resource did not have any price attached to it and
neither did its depletion result in a scarcity value, all the farmers tended to use as much water as
they could get as in the long run the water would be finished even if a few farmers adopted a
more conservationist approach. Consequently the groundwater situation in the state has become
very serious. Barwani, Chhindwara, Dhar, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Neemach, Ratlam and Indore
districts have been categorised as over exploited. Betul, Bhopal, Raisen, Rajgarh, Harda, Rewa,
Sagar, Satna, Sehore, Dewas, Khargone, Khandwa, Shajapur, Tikamgarh and Shivpuri distructs
have been categorised as critical. The almost total absence of artificial recharge has meant that

88
the available groundwater potential has been over exploited severely affecting water availability
even for domestic use in the summer months.

Till date seven major, 102 medium and 3237 minor dam irrigation projects have been
completed with a design irrigation potential of 37,75,790 ha. and an actual potential of 25,45,970
ha. This low utilization is primarily due to the terrain situation in the state because of which it
cannot make use of its share of water resources through canal irrigation from rivers without large
investments. Already over Rs 100,000 crores have been spent from the beginning of the century.
There is a separate department altogether called the Narmada Valley Development Authority to
supervise the damming of the main rivers in the Narmada basin, which has a total catchment of
about 1 lakh sqkms. The trends in irrigation development from all sources over the past two and
a half decades are shown in Table 7 below -

Table 7: Trends in Irrigated Area in Madhya Pradesh (‘000 ha.)

Groundwater Canals Tanks Others
1977-78 878 1025 147 187
1989-90 1718 1400 147 405
1998-99 3650 1054 142 821
2004-05 4106 1041 127 919
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP.
The growth has mainly been in groundwater sources, which are mostly privately
developed. It is notable that tank irrigation, which is comparatively much cheaper and is an
example of sustainable insitu water conservation and use has declined as has canal irrigation
from dams due to neglect of tank irrigation and non-development of canal systems of medium
and major projects. The Other category has shown an increase due to greater lift irrigation by
harnessing the base return flow in streams and nalas through checkdams and pumps.

The public investment proposed in irrigation enhancement through major, medium and
minor projects and command area development in the annual plan for 2009-10 is Rs 1271.71
crores (GOMP, 2009). However, this investment is mostly in the construction of the dams and
main canals and there is an investment of only Rs 10 crores on command area development. This

89
compounds the already serious problem of inadequate command area development that afflicts
the state. In most cases the canal system has been inadequately developed and is not being
maintained properly. Moreover, given the fact that most of the lands in the command area have
slopes and soil quality that are not suitable for flood irrigation from canals there is need for
extensive land levelling work to make them suitable. Finally, when the canal systems, field
channels and land are not properly developed then the management of the system suffers and
there is a reluctance on the part of the water user associations to take the responsibility. Thus
even though there are as many as 1687 water user associations in place who are theoretically in
control of 16.92 lakh hectares (GOMP op cit.) the reality is that they are only there on paper and
the management is still in the hands of the water resource department. This also results in poor
recovery of water charges which are far below the costs of operation and maintenance of the
dams and canal system. There is thus a need for overhaul of irrigation management.

5. Agriculture
The state has a varied agricultural production as is to be expected given the vast diversity
in agro-climatic zones, soil types, landholding patterns and socio-ethnic formations. The main
cereal crops are sorghum (jowar), maize, wheat, rice and various kinds of millets. The main
pulses are red (tuar), black(udad), green(mung) and bengal(chana) gram. The main oilseeds are
sesamum, groundnut and soyabean. The main cash crop is that of cotton.

A more detailed insight into the trends in agricultural production can be gained from the
trends of individual crops given in Table 8 below. Data have been taken upto 1996-97 as in 2000
the bifurcation of Madhya Pradesh into two states took place and so it would not have been
possible to compare across periods with later data for the new truncated state only. While
discussing the situation in the separate agro-climatic regions later in this paper the latest
agricultural production data will be used.

90
Table 8: Trends in Production of Individual Crops in Madhya Pradesh
Crop Year Area„000 ha. Production Yield Price
„000 Tonnes Kgs / ha. Rs / quintal
Rice 1976-77 4785 2797 638 167
1989-90 5005 4492 944 589
1996-97 5396 5979 1167 1143
Jowar 1976-77 2023 1282 682 103
1989-90 1748 1737 994 237
1996-97 922 792 858 473
Bajra 1976-77 193 124 641 89
1989-90 170 134 792 205
1996-97 140 136 978 497
Maize 1976-77 714 738 1101 79
1989-90 879 1458 1674 181
1996-97 847 948 1129 459
Tur 1976-77 426 281 553 198
1989-90 442 417 949 808
1996-97 372 321 863 1300
Kodon/Kutki 1976-77 1330 208 155 82
1989-90 1012 228 227 204
1996-97 763 199 263 469
Wheat 1976-77 (782 irr.) 2995 2308 766 126
1989-90 (2826 irr.)3283 4546 1309 289
1996-97 (3050 irr.)4327 7795 1879 579
Gram 1976-77 1954 1049 520 122
1989-90 2157 1427 662 577
1996-97 2513 2294 914 1139
Barley 1976-77 152 121 762 84
1989-90 107 102 960 258
1996-97 84 92 1095 493
Groundnut 1976-77 528 326 627 207
1989-90 366.5 272 743 659
1996-97 255 253 994 1253
Sesamum 1976-77 248 37 142 355
1989-90 237 73 312 1199
1996-97 178 47 264 1663
Linseed 1976-77 607 102 157 305
1989-90 438 125 286 955
1996-97 400 134 334 1249
Rapeseed & 1976-77 185 47 261 338
Mustard 1989-90 450 343 768 900
1996-97 735 673 919 1238
Cotton 1976-77 590 278 236 447
1989-90 577 411 363 906

91
Crop Year Area„000 ha. Production Yield Price
„000 Tonnes Kgs / ha. Rs / quintal
1996-97 520 424 425 1734
Soyabean 1976-77 61 27 445 -
1989-90 1878 1496.5 797 -
1996-97 4166 3941 946 -
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
The area under rice and wheat has increased considerably while there has been a
moderate increase in the area under maize. It is also interesting to note that while in 76-77 only
26 % of the area under wheat was being irrigated this has risen phenomenally to 70 % in 1996-97
indicating a major shift from indigenous dryland varieties to hybrid irrigated varieties. This has
mainly been achieved with the help of groundwater irrigation made easier due to subsidies and
for a period, total waiver of the cost of electricity. Though this has benefited all farmers, it has
benefited the large farmers more because of economies of scale. However, due to over extraction
of ground water and the fall in the quality and quantity of electricity supply over the years the
productivity is now declining.

On the contrary there been a drastic reduction in the area under jowar, kodon and kutki,
bajra and barley. Thus we see a clear shift in cropping patterns of cereals towards high value rice
and wheat away from low value jowar, bajra and kodon and kutki. This has also adversely
affected the quality and quantity of crop residue available as fodder as the high value cereals
have poor fodder quality and production. Similarly the area under tur has gone down while that
under gram has increased in pulses. In oilseeds too there is a reduction in the area under
groundnut and sesamum and a slight increase under linseed. The area under rape and mustard
seed has shown considerable increase while the area under cultivation of soyabean has increased
phenomenally 68 times. This too has affected the quality and availability of fodder as the
soyabean residue is not suitable for consumption by livestock.

Cotton is a major cash crop and is produced profusely in the Nimar plains and parts of the
Malwa plateau where it has come to be nicknamed "white gold" by the farmers for its
consistently high returns. However, because of the costs and risks of production the area under
cotton too has shown some stagnation. The data for cotton production from 1998-99 to 2006-07

92
for the new Madhya Pradesh are also given in Fig. 5 below. The effect of the severe drought that
beset the Nimar and Malwa regions in 2000-01 is visible in the lower production.

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP

Consequently soyabean has replaced cotton as the major cash crop in Madhya Pradesh
primarily because of the ease of cultivation, higher yields and the high prices it commands. It has
also in the process replaced coarse cereals like makka, bajra, jowar, millets and pulses like
moong, udad and chawla. Thus its benefits have been mixed. Large farmers have got more cash
and have also retained some land under coarse cereals and pulses for home consumption. Small
and marginal farmers have not been able to do this and so they have to buy coarse cereals and
pulses from the market. As the production of coarse cereals and pulses, especially that of tur, has
gone down their prices have also increased to such an extent that the earnings from soyabean
cultivation are increasingly not being able to cover these costs and poor households are doing
without the pulses which traditionally was the main source of protein and vitamins in their food
intake. The spreading mono-culture of soyabean is also reducing the agricultural bio-diversity
and this too is a cause for concern. Thus there is a need to rigorously study the impact of
soyabean production on the nutritional intake of the poor and on the agricultural bio-diversity.

93
 Despite this Madhya Pradesh is still the most important producer of Oilseeds and Pulses
in the nation as shown in Table 9 below. Thus it is imperative that the agricultural productivity is
increased in these crops in particular to enhance the national food security. The problem in this
respect is that there is a lack of support from the Central Government in terms of subsidies,
market and finance support for these crops.

Table 9 : Contribution of Madhya Pradesh in National Agricultural Production

Crops Proportion of National Production (%) Rank
Maize 12.6 1
Gram 46.2 1
Soyabean 60.0 1
Lentil 20.8 2
Niger 16.6 2
Linseed 20.8 1
Total Oilseeds 22.2 1
Total Pulses 22.9 1

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP

The shift towards commercialisation of agriculture at the expense of subsistence
production of indigenous varieties has become problematical in recent times because of the
withdrawal of subsidies from some types of fertilisers and electricity and also the lesser
availability of water for irrigation. The terms of trade in agriculture too have been internationally
and nationally against farmers and over and above this they have had to bear the vicissitudes of
the market in the sense that rise in prices of agricultural produce have not kept pace with the
rising cost of inputs. Thus farmers' margins have been reduced and sent below zero at times.
Consequently it is the traders and especially the export houses that have benefited the most and
not the farmers. Some indication of the financial weakness of farmers in the state can be gained
from the fact that 7.4% of the surveyed farmer households in the farmer situation survey of the
NSSO 59th round were perennially indebted in 2003. Moreover, most of the increase in yields
has been achieved in irrigated farms in the plains and the yields and output on dry upland farms,
which constitute the majority, have either remained stagnant or declined. In fact with the turn of

94
the century the yields and production in the two main crops in the state of wheat and soyabean
too have begun to stagnate or decline due to soil fatigue from overdoses of inorganic fertilisers
and flood irrigation as is clear from the production and yield data for the years 2003-04 to 2005-
06 given below in Table 10.

Table 10: Production of Wheat and Soyabean (Area '000 Ha, Prod. '000 T, Yield kg/Ha)
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06
Crop
Area Prod. Yield Area Prod. Yield Area Prod. Yield
Wheat 4091.1 7364.6 1879 4200.3 7327.4 1821 3692.8 5957.7 1684
Soyabean 4212.4 4652.6 1106 4594.3 3760.3 819 4255.3 4500.7 1059
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
The yields of various crops in the state are generally below the national average as shown
in Table 11 below apart from a few exceptions. This is in no small measure due to the fact that
the average annual growth rate of fixed capital formation in agriculture in the state from public
investments has been –2.33 % as compared to 6% from private investments. In fact the state has
the lowest public investment in agriculture to agricultural NSDP ratio in the country. The trends
in output from agriculture at 1993-94 prices are shown in Fig. 6. This shows stagnation over the
last decade of the last century and a decline due to drought in 1999-2000.

Table 11: Yields of Crops in Madhya Pradesh and India (kgs/ha) 2005-06
Rice Coarse Jowar Maize Bajra Wheat Gram Tuar Cotton Soya
India 1990 1034 852 1785 639 2755 806 797 226 1135
M.P. 1191 917 783 1585 996 1823 908 915 148 1062
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP.

95
Source: Department of Economics and Statistics, GOMP.
The major constraints to the growth of agriculture in the state are as follows –

1. Large run off and soil erosion in most parts of the state resulting into water
congestion due to impeded drainage in the early parts of the monsoon season and
inadequate moisture in latter part when it is needed the most.

2. Nearly 72 percent of cultivated area is subject to rain fed agriculture.

3. Low cropping intensity (135 percent) due to lack of irrigation facilities.

4. Surface water based Irrigation facilities already developed are not being managed
efficiently and there potential is unrealised.

5. Inadequate attention paid to research and development of indigenous crops

suitable to specific regions of the state, particularly varieties matching deficient
rainfall patterns and harsh topographies.

6. The overdependence on groundwater for irrigation to the point of unsustainability

both in terms of water availability and electricity availability.

7. A large scheduled tribe population and other marginal and small farmers having
low investment capacity for improving quality and water retention capability of
lands which are mostly situated in the upper watershed regions that have been left
untouched by the development of canal irrigation.

8. The ownership of better quality lowlands is largely restricted to the fewer large
landholders who have benefitted from the development of canal irrigation and the
spread of green revolution technologies.

96
 9. Vagaries of the monsoon and frequent natural calamities.

Thus there is a serious need for reorienting agricultural development policies so as to

direct future public investments towards improving the productivity of dryland agriculture on
suboptimal soils through labour intensive soil and water conservation strategies, greater use of
bio-mass for fertilisers and energy production and a change in the cropping pattern with the
promotion of indigenous land races suitable to local agro-climatic conditions and strengthening
of the process of onsite breeding by farmers practising organic agriculture. However, the annual
plan outlay for 2009-10 does not make any specific allotment for this and neither is there any
large scale outlay by the central government.

6. Horticulture
Horticulture crop covers 2.6% of the gross cropped area in the State. The area under
Horticulture in 2004-05 was 5.16 lakh Ha with an annual production of 40.6 lakh tonnes as
shown in Table 12 below. However, the contribution to national production is not much apart
from garlic and organges as shown in Table 13 and so there is a considerable scope for
improvement. Especially in increasing the area under production, productivity and post harvest
storage and processing.
Table 12: Horticultural Production 2004-05 ( Area in '000 Ha, Production in Lakh Tonnes)
FRUITS VEGETABLES SPICES FLOWERS MEDICINAL/ GRAND TOTAL
AROMATIC
area prod area prod area prod area prod area prod area prod
47.86 10.33 184.95 26.21 265.81 3.15 1.75 0.01 15.58 0.93 515.95 40.63

Source: Directorate of Horticulture, GOMP.

Table 13: Contribution of Madhya Pradesh to National Horticultural Production
Tota Tot Total
G Total
Corian Chill l Oran Bana Papa Gua Man al Oni Pota Flow
Crop arl Vegeta
der ies Spic ge na ya va go Fru on to ers
ic bles
es it
All
India 2 3 7 7 2 6 9 10 13 12 5 8 14 10
Rank
Source: Directorate of Horticulture, GOMP.

97
 Table 14 : Distribution of Horticultural Crops across Agroclimatic Regions
Sr.No. Name of Horticulture Crops
Agroclimatic
Regions
1 Chhatisgarh  Mango,Chiku, Guava, Lime, Banana, Papaya,Munga,
PlainBalaghat Pomegranate, Colocasia, Aonla in irrigated
District. conditionTurmeric, Chillies,Ginger, Jack fruit, Ber, in arid
condition(all type of vegetables).
2 Northern Hill  Pear,Peach,Litchi,Mango,Jack
Region of fruit,Coffee,Turmeric,Ginger,Tree spices, off season
Chhatisgarh vegetables, Medicinal & Aromatic crops.
3 KymorePlateau  Mango, Guava, Lime, Ber, Aonla, Chillies,Coriander and
Satpura Hills. other seasonal vegetables.
4 Central  Mango, Acidlime, Mandarin, Ber, Guava, Aonla,
NarmadaValley Papaya,Medicinal & Aromatic Plants,All type of seasonal
Vegetables.
5 Vindhya Plateau  Mandarin, Acidlime, Mosambi, Aonla, Pomegranate, Mango
Ber, Chiku, Papaya, Turmeric, Chillies, Coriander, Ajwine
and all seasonal vegetables.
6 Gird Region  Mandarin and Sweet orange, Lime,under assured irrigation
and Guava, Ber, Aonla, Custardapple under rainfed
condition coriender, Chillies, Garlic & seasonal vegetables.
7 Bundelkhand  Santra, Mosambi, Acidlime, Aonla, Mango,Chiku,
Karonda,Ginger, Turmeric, Dioscoria, Colocasia.
8 Satpura Plateau  Santra, Mosambi, Acidlime, Mango, Guava, Ber, Chhilies,
Turmeric, Flower Marigold, Colecrops & other vegetables.
9 Malwa Plateau  Santra, Acidlime, Mosambi, Grape, Chiku under irrigated
conditions, Ber, Guava, Pomegranate, Coriander, Fenugreek
and vegetables.
10 Nimar Plains  Mango, Banana, Grape, Papaya, Chiku, Lime, Guava, and
Pomegranate in irrigated condition Turmeric, Chillies,
Colocasia, Fennel and seasonal vegetables.
11 Jhabua Hills.  Lime, Mosambi, Ber, Guava, Aonla, Custard Apple,
Pomegranate, Seasonal Vegetables

Source: Directorate of Horticulture, GOMP.

98
Table 15: Distribution of Flower Production in Madhya Pradesh
Type of Flower Flower Main Production Areas
Cut Flowers Roses Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Dewas
Gladiolus Bhopal, Indore, Dewas
Bulbous Flowers Tube Rose Ujjain, Bhopal, Indore
Marigold Bhopal, Ujjain, Betul, Dhar
Chrysanthemum Indore, Ratlam, Ujjain, Bhopal
Glardia Ujjain, Bhopal, Indore, Betul
Loose flowers Aster Indore, Ujjain, Bhopal
Source: Directorate of Horticulture, GOMP.
The consumption of horticultural products is increasing at a faster pace than that of food
products in Madhya Pradesh itself and there is a great potential for processing and export to other
areas of the country and abroad. Thus there is a need for focussed development of this sector and
especially the more high valued medicinal and floriculture plants. At present only a very minimal
amount of export is taking place to the middle east from some of the Agri-export zones that have
been set up. However, care must be taken to ensure that small and marginal farmers too benefit
directly from these initiatives.

7. Watershed Development
Centralised planning for the agricultural sector after independence and especially since
the decade of the 1960s in the Narmada basin based on subsidised supply of inputs like water,
power, hybrid seeds and chemical fertilisers has not only been environmentally harmful but has
also led to the near total neglect of the tribal dominated dry land areas that constitute most of the
basin (Shah et al, 1998). This led to the initiation in the beginning of the decade of the 1990s of
watershed development through the “ridge to valley” approach as opposed to the treatment of
land in isolated areas with the active involvement of the beneficiaries in planning,
implementation and post project maintenance of the created structures as an ameliorative
measure (Shah, 1993, GOI, 1994). The Government of Madhya Pradesh initiated the ambitious
Rajiv Gandhi Watershed Development Mission (RGWM) in 1994 incorporating these new ideas
by pooling all the funds being made available to it by the Government of India for poverty
alleviation and treatment of drought prone areas under various schemes. Though the stress so far
has been on using the greater availability of water for extension of external input agriculture to

99
dryland areas this can be changed and a new policy of support for organic agriculture can be put
in place to ensure more sustainable use of the conserved water.

This increased stress on watershed development arose because most of the terrain was
undulating and due to the underlying basaltic rock structure water storage in the natural system
was low. Apart from the government many NGOs too began to implement watershed
development programmes along these lines. However, not all of the government water shed
programmes have been equally successful and in most cases the community has not been
mobilised properly to take care of the structures once the project is over and so there is a tapering
off of benefits later. Neverthelss there has been an obvious positive impact of the RGWM on
water availability in the upper watershed villages in the state and this can be gauged from Table
16 below. Though there has been a general increase in ground water use throughout the state, the
upper watershed areas had earlier been left out of this but now with watershed development there
is greater availability of ground water and soil moisture in dry areas.
Table 16 : Changes in Water Availability due to Watershed Development (%)
Increase in No. of wells Increase in No. of Increase in Increase in Rabi Increase in
with year round water tubewells with year Kharif Irri. Irri. Area Summer Irri. Area
round water Area
Madhya 68 83 36 47 85
Pradesh
Source: RGWM Website
The increased return flow in streams and rivers from the recharged groundwater aquifers
can be utilised through a combination of check dams and lift irrigation with lesser use of
electrical energy than in wells and tubewells. This also ensures people‟s participation in
processes of water resource governance should be made mandatory so that more effective and
less harmful solutions to the problems of water resource management can be worked out. After
all the investment required in comprehensive watershed development is only around Rs 12000
per ha as opposed to the lakhs of rupees per hectare required for large dam construction and the
benefits are immense as detailed below -
i Recharge of the natural storage provided by the groundwater aquifers.
ii Conservation of soils and soil moisture.
iii Conservation of forest, common land and agricultural biodiversity.
iv Greater irrigation coverage.

100
 v Generation of energy through biomass production.
vi Mitigation of climate change effects through greater forest cover.
vii The greater flow that results in the hilly streams can be harnessed for micro-hydel power generation for
cheap distribution in remote rural areas.

8. Forest Resources and Forestry

The legally notified forest area in the state is 95221 sq. kms. which is 31% of the total
area of the state. Of this 61.7 % are under reserved forests, 37.4% are under protected forests and
0.9% is unclassified. The forest cover is 75,137 sq. kms, which is 24.4 % of the area of the state.
The four main forest types are tropical dry, tropical thorn, tropical moist and subtropical broad
leaved. The growing forest stock is estimated to be 500 lakh cubic meters and is valued at Rs 2.5
lakh crores. The forests are managed by the forest department in accordance with working plans,
which are drawn up every 10 years for each of the 60 forest divisions in the state.

The major challenge to forest management is the pressure on the forests created by the
livelihood needs of those residing in or near them, mainly the adivasis. There are 6 lakh
headloaders in the state who draw as much as Rs 250 crores worth of fuelwood every year. A
livestock population of about two crores is also dependent on these forests for grazing. In
addition 20 lakh cattle and other animals visit the state from Rajasthan every year. Apart from
this there are encroachments for agriculture. There are as many as 3,00,000 encroachers
occupying 2.43 lakh hectares of forestland.

The main tree species are teak, sal, bija, khair, tinsa, salai, saja, haldu, lendia and dhavra.
The trends in the production of timber, fuelwood and bamboo have been shown in Table 17
below. The figures show a sharp fall in 1999-2000 because of the separation of Chhattisgarh
state. Thereafter the production goes up once again before tapering off from 2004-05 onwards.
There are also a number of minor forest produce the most important being tendu, harra and sal
seed. The state is the largest producer of tendu leaf accounting for 25% of the national
production. In 2001 42,216 quintals of harra and 10,880 quintals of sal seed were collected. In
1998-99 the collection of minor forest produce employed as many as 90 lakh people. The
government has constituted a Madhya Pradesh Minor Forest Produce Federation to oversee the

101
collection, processing, marketing, research and extension related to these valuable resources so
as to provide the maximum benefits to poor forest dwellers who are mostly adivasis.

Table 17: Production of Timber, Fuelwood & Bamboo in Madhya Pradesh(lakh cu.m.)
Year Timber Fuelwood Bamboo
1996-97 4.89 4.95 2.5
1997-98 6.74 6.29 2.23
1998-99 4.88 3.51 2.01
1999-2000 1.59 0.93 1.96
2000-01 2.15 1.55 2.77
2001-02 4.63 3.47 0.89
2002-03 3.92 3.34 1.32
2003-04 4.15 4.11 1.33
2004-05 2.65 2.71 1.08
2005-06 2.68 2.96 1.04
2006-07 2.08 2.19 2.65
2007-08 2.45 3.02 1.17
Source: Madhya Pradesh Forest Department.
The trends in production of timber, bamboo and fuelwood show a decline over the past
decade and indicate that the forests might be thinning. This is almost certainly affecting the per
capita availability of forest products of the poor and especially the tribals who live in or near the
forests and this needs to be corrected. The trends in revenue earned from forests are shown in
Table 18 and here there is an alternate decrease and increase in the early years of the century but
later there is an increase. This constitutes a substantial income for the state and so needs to be
increased over time to bolster the state finances and help in overall development. Moreover,
there is considerable trade in minor forest produce and especially herbs with the Forest
Department having formed institutions for the collection, processing and marketing of herbal
products. The Forest Department conducts herbal medicine fairs in the major cities of the state
annually and these have become very popular among the people.

102
Table 18: Revenue Earned from Forests
Year Revenue (Rs Crore)
2002-2003 509.96
2003-2004 496.40
2004-2005 558.06
2005-2006 490.40
2006-2007 523.11
2007-2008 608.01
Source: Madhya Pradesh Forest Department.
The history of forestry in the state will be dealt with in a little detail as it has an important
bearing on the livelihoods of the considerable scheduled tribe population. There has been a
running battle between the forestdwellers, who are mainly scheduled tribes and the forest
department. The seeds of conflict were sown by the British. They disregarded the traditional
community rights over forests and enacted laws for their sequestration and management by the
forest department. The Indian Forest Act, 1927 gives the state government wide-ranging powers
over forests. The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 goes even further and has transferred most of
the authority over reserved forests from the state government to the central government. The
latter act clearly says that “Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time
being in force in a state, no State Government or other authority shall make, except with the prior
approval of the Central Government -

forest” in any law for the time being in force in that State) or any portion thereof, shall cease to
be reserved;
-forest purpose;

any private person or to any authority, corporation, agency or any other organization not owned,
managed or controlled by Government;

naturally in that land or portion, for the purpose of using it for reforestation.

103
 The overwhelming rights enjoyed by the forest department in such lands renders the
scheduled tribes, for whom forests are the most important livelihood sources, next possibly only
to agriculture, highly vulnerable. The Act is also against the spirit of the 1988 forest policy,
which emphasises the involvement of people in the management of forests and their entitlements
to forest products. In fact, in a number of cases, the two are found to be totally contradicting each
other, but the act is legally binding (unlike the policy, which is a non-statutory advisory
statement issued by the state of India, not backed by law). Thus it will be necessary to study the
history of forest management in the state in detail as it has been a bone of contention between the
state and the people for a long time.

The first major new initiative in the post independence era was the setting up of the MP
Forest Development Corporation in 1975 to encourage industrial forestry, which would yield
high returns in a short time, both in terms of timber output and revenue. This displayed the
Forest Department‟s bias towards industry, which was reflected in the large price differences
between bamboo supplied to industry (54 paise per 4 meter bamboo) and to villagers (Rs 2 per
bamboo). ( CSE 1986, cited in Sundar et al. 2001).

Social Forestry was then developed between 1981 and 1985 but was unsuccessful in
meeting people‟s needs for fuel wood and fodder. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of forest
policy in MP since the colonial period has been the nistar system, giving all bonafide village
residents the right to take forest produce for non-commercial household use. The nistar facility
was continued after independence, albeit, with some changes. In 1992, there were 2,496 nistar
depots and 7,25 commercial depots (Singh, 1993, cited in Sundar et al., 2001), with different
users charged different rates. The gap between demand and supply, however had led to several
abuses of the system, giving forest officials arbitrary powers and leading to the sale of nistari
materials in the open market (Khare 1993, cited in Sundar et al.2001).

Nistar has been strongly contested in MP (Jeffery et al., 1995, cited in Sundar et al.
2001), with villagers seeing changes in the policy and the increase in rates as encroachments on
their customary rights and forest officers viewing villagers‟ overuse of nistar as the main
problem. Social Forestry could not check the problem of severe forest degradation, which

104
affected both industry and villages adversely. To address these problems a scheme was started
with financial help from the World Food Programme to provided employment to poor adivasis
residing in forest areas so as to improve their livelihood options and reduce the conflicts between
them and the forest department. The first formal resolution on JFM was passed in 1991, as
mentioned earlier, which was later revised in 1995 and again in 2000. A number of amendments
have been issued, indicative of the attention paid to the programme by State-level policymakers.
JFM activities in Harda division set the wheel of JFM in motion and it was followed in many
more forest areas of the state. Eco-development programmes were also taken up. This involved
supporting village development – say resources, cattle, veterinary inputs, schools, health, water
and roads, through forests to elicit more effective community involvement.

However, the real spurt in JFM came after the 1995 resolution and the launching of the
Madhya Pradesh Forestry Project, funded by the World Bank. The Madhya Pradesh Forestry
Project was launched following the realisation of the need to genuinely involve the local people
in the management of forests. The project, worth US$ 67.3 million, was conceived as a part of
the 10-year strategic investment plan of the World Bank and Government of India, in the forestry
sector in Madhya Pradesh. The 4-year long Phase I was launched on 29th September, 1995 and
closed on 31 December, 1999. The principal objective of the project was to help with the
implementation of the Government of Madhya Pradesh's strategy for the development of the
forestry sector, as directed by the National Forest Policy 1988, in Madhya Pradesh. The project
was designed to promote forest and biodiversity conservation through people‟s participation,
village resource development, human resource development and technology upgradation and by
catalyzing policy and systemic changes in the forestry sector. The MP Forestry Project also has a
sizeable component on providing alternative development inputs to villagers to divert their
livelihoods away from forest – dependence. These are variously known as Eco-development (in
Protected Areas) and Village Resource Development (in JFM villages).

Of the cluster of legal, policy and institutional changes that accompanied the MP Forestry
Project three are notable -
1. A new nistar policy, which provides for the supply of nistar to FPCs and VFCs (at less
than market rates) within a 5-kilometre radius of closed forest (with crown density greater than

105
40 percent). Outside the radius of 5 kilometres, the villagers would have to buy forest produce at
commercial rates.

2. Removal of the need for transit permit for 31 species in order to promote farm forestry
and reduce the pressure on high-valued timber trees from the forest. Under the Lok Vaniki
scheme, the forest department would also assist private farmers in developing Working Plans for
their private forests.

3. An end to industrial subsidies from June 30, 1997. (Sundar et al., 2001)
Presently there are a total of 21,000 Forest Protection Committees / Villages Forest
Committees involving 25 lakh families managing about 70000 square kilometres of forest area
under the Joint Forest Management programme. The forest areas, which can be taken up under
the JFM programme, include degraded forests as well as well stocked forests. There are two
types of committees: VFCs and FPCs. In case of VFCs, 70 percent of the net benefits should go
to the government, 15 percent to the committee fund, 10 percent to the individual members, and
the remaining 5 percent shall be ploughed back in the area for its development. In case of FPCs
these percentages are 90 percent, 5 percent, 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

In its Mid-Term Review of the MP Forestry Project, the World Bank noted that in the
Village Forest Committees that received its funding, control of grazing and forest fires had
resulted in significant increase in regeneration. Relations between forest guards and communities
had improved, and communities showed a strong sense of ownership of forests that they were
protecting. However, non-project areas did not get many financial benefits of the project, and
thus there was a potential for conflict. (cited in Saxena, 2002). The following specific
deficiencies had also been noted -

have a well-defined user group, and traditional nistar rights (of

grazing, fuel wood and minor forest produce collection) of distant villages as well as rights of
migratory graziers render JFM areas as open-access resources.

106
 ad hoc administrative creations with no legal standing. Consequently,
they have no legal power to bargain with the Forest Department, nor are they eligible for credits
or loans from banks or other funding agencies.

t in MP have yet to arrive at a method

for Panchayats and VFCs/FPCs to work together.

philosophy and content of working plans, which continue to be guided by the old principles of
maximisation of timber rather than biomass for local needs. The MP Government has not issued
an enabling order for this.

already have considerable rights over forest produce under nistar agreements. The share of final
harvest will go to communities only in the long term. Divisional Forest Officers have not been
delegated the powers to promise the share from final produce to the communities. According to a
decision taken at a meeting in 1992 presided over by the Principal Secretary, Forests, each
proposal of giving a share from timber etc. was to be submitted to the State Finance Department.

decision-making. This is because of gender biases in both village society and in the Forest
Department.

tive timber and non-timber

products becomes regularised, are yet to be evolved. (Saxena, op. cit.)

the formation of spearhead teams to train staff in participatory planning and management, these
teams were disbanded on conclusion of the first phase of the MP Forestry Project. (Sundar et al,
2001)

The project has been criticised by a number of people‟s organisations and institutions
working among the tribals in different parts of the state. Responding to such criticism, the World
Bank invited a number of people from these institutions to participate in a Joint Review Mission

107
including representatives of these organisations, the World Bank and of the Madhya Pradesh
Forest Department (MPFD) to show in the field and jointly examine, a few cases of the violation
of human rights of indigenous people and of the World Bank‟s Operational Directives in this
regard. The joint mission gave a very critical report underlining human rights violations, lack of
sustainability and equity and displacement of people and concluded that there was an urgent need
for staying the Madhya Pradesh Forestry Project. This led to the cancellation of the second phase
of the project by the World Bank.

Not surprisingly, therefore, the last decade and a half or so in the state has been marred
by violent clashes between the forest department and the Scheduled Tribes. Traditionally the
forest department staff used to take advantage of the strict legal provisions against intrusion into
reserved forest areas to harass the adivasis who mostly live inside or near to them for the purpose
of extortion of bribes. However, the scheduled tribes of late have begun to organise themselves
and demand their rights, particularly the right to a decent livelihood. Initially the forest
department's response was a negative one and it tried to clamp down on these movements with a
heavy hand. Inevitably this proved counter productive and the whole issue of rights to forest
resources catapulted on to a wider stage of economic and social rights of Scheduled Tribes.

The passage of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights)
Act 2006 resulted in a new situation wherein the Scheduled Tribes were to be given land
ownership and community ownership rights to the forest land that they had been cultivating or
using for nistaar purposes. However, only about thirty thousand of the three and a half lakhs of
claims for rights made under this Act in the state have been settled in a token manner while for
most of the others the process of verification has not even started. In many cases the claims have
been rejected without due verification on the ground.

Thus there is tremendous scope for improvement in the area of forest management in the
state especially as it has a direct bearing on the livelihoods of the Scheduled Tribes who are
mostly living near or below the poverty line. The absence of ownership or usufruct rights
discourages the forestdwellers from actively protecting the forests and utilising its resources. In
many instances people's organisations have taken up such work on their own with great success

108
but there is a need for the forest department to replicate them on a larger scale. This has gained
importance in recent times because of the tremendous benefits to be gained nationally and
globally from the protection and regeneration of forests in terms of mitigation of global warming
through carbon sequestration. The Thirteenth Finance Commission has made a proviso for the
transfer of resources to states that have a larger forest area so as to promote further afforestation.
Similarly at the global level also there is a carbon credit system in place for transfer of resources
for forest protection. These will have to be availed of and the resources thus gained transferred to
the empowered forest dwellers.

9. Animal Husbandry
The State is rich in livestock resources. Livestock forms an important component of most
farm households. Despite the increasing mechanisation of traction, electrification of pumps and
post harvest operations draught animals still provide most of the power for farm activities for
marginal and small farmers. Moreover, livestock rearing provides important supplementary
incomes to resource poor households in the rural areas through meat and milk production.
Livestock also constitute liquid capital for these households in times of financial stress because
the rural markets for livestock are relatively well developed. However, diseases are rampant and
the availability of fodder and feeds is inadequate leading to poor quality of most of the animals,
which is reflected in lower production of meat and milk. Breeding is done in an indigenous
manner with not much prevalence of artificial insemination with improved semen. The major
native breeds and their characteristics are given in Table 19 below –

Table 19: Native Breeds of Madhya Pradesh

Breeds Characteristics Location
Malwi Cattle Muscular body, black colour, sloping back, Malwa Plateau
straight raunches and long tufted tails.
Nimari Cattle Long body, red and white mixed colour, long head Nimar plains
with raised forehead, straight raunches and strong
hooves.
Kenkatha Cattle Short muscular body, dark or light slatish colour, Ken river valley in
strong hooves. Bundelkhand
Jamnapari Goats Long and high body,long legs, raised head, long Bhind district
ears and hair.
Karaknath Chicken Black colour, squat shape and slatish tongue Jhabua district

109
Source : Animal Husbandry Department, GoMP.
Data for the small ruminants, pigs and poultry from 1977 have been given in Table 20 below.
Table 20: Small Ruminant and Other Livestock Population in Madhya Pradesh
Sheep Goat Pig Poultry
1977 967668 6724942 360684 7156560
1982 959659 7572422 473468 8382853
1987 840625 7729528 588795 9181718
1992 835760 8370034 729233 11800325
1997 852372 8624489 831147 13747088
Source: Department of Animal Husbandry, GOMP.
The trends in the population of large ruminants in the state as given by the five yearly livestock
censuses from 1951 onwards are shown in Fig 7 below.

The marketing of livestock is done through informal markets and these generally offer fair terms
of trade to the sellers of livestock. There is a tradition of holding yearly fairs in specific locations
where millions of animals are bought and sold. The marketing of milk and milk products takes
place both in the informal markets and through organised milk cooperatives. There is a need to
strengthen the informal markets through institutional support. At present rural markets are
mostly being administered by panchayats and their financial needs are being met by
moneylenders. Given the high demand for livestock products and the increasing entry of big
players for sourcing livestock the interests of the small holder have to be protected actively. We
will now review the various government initiatives in the livestock sector.

110
 Source: Department of Animal Husbandry, GOMP.

The low level and quality of services is primarily because of the low levels of
expenditure by the government on them. The budget of the department was only 0.9% of the
total state budget in 2002-03. The expenditure on veterinary services and animal health was a
paltry Rs 62.5 crores and that on the maintenance of hospitals and dispensaries just Rs 2.1 crores.
The expenditure on development of livestock was Rs 40.9 crores and that on fodder development
a laughable Rs 16.76 lakhs. Rs 4.35 crores were given as a grant to the State Dairy Federation.
The trends in performance of the State Dairy Federation are given in Table 21 below and these
show a steady progress over the decade. However, in recent times the cooperative dairy
movement has become riddled with corruption and so farmers prefer to sell the milk or milk
products themselves in the local markets instead of supplying milk to the dairy. This is a
negative trend that has to be arrested especially since the availability of milk at a reasonable
price as a major nutritional element in the diet of the poor is an important consideration.

111
Table 21 : Trends in Performance of the Madhya Pradesh Dairy Corporation
Particulars 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
Dairy 4540 4581 4587 4713 4898 5201 5507
Cooperatives
Farmer 218617 220660 225745 233144 246283 251274 255589
Members
Average 310085 291876 294465 394354 462379 442038 451712
Milk
Procurement
(Kg/Day)
Local Milk 226458 243910 295521 304344 315435 340209 374942
Marketing
(Litres/Day)
No. of AI 545 600 596 621 585 598 621
Centres
No. of AI 88431 111746 115462 129637 158433 163599 170679
Done
Balanced 32214 34329 34503 45511 57987 64167 64508
Cattlefeed
Sale by
DCSs (MT)
Cattle 35492 40994 66152 86296 81729 72965 84355
Induction
(No.)
Turnover 181.47 190.08 221.43 264.61 305.80 354.27 429.73
(Rs. Crore)
Source: Department of Animal Husbandry, GOMP.

112
 The State has a livestock policy. This starts with the absurdly fallacious assumption that
livestock rearing does not make any demands on land. In this way it is able to sidetrack the
single biggest problem that confronts poor livestock rearers – the availability of fodder, either
through grazing or from crop residues or fodder crops. Consequently there is no mention in the
policy at all about fodder development. Ironically the policy speaks of encouraging stallfeeding,
which is another shibboleth, but does not deem it fit to consider ways in which fodder will be
availed for such stallfeeding. Given the shortage of land and unavailability of irrigation water for
agricultural and horticultural production it is highly unlikely that fodder production will ever be
prioritised on agricultural land. Again the policy speaks of the reduction of non descript animals
without the perception that these animals have become non-descript because of being underfed
through generations. The stress is on breed improvement through artificial or natural
insemination and the sterilisation of non-descript animals rather than on seeking ways to improve
fodder and feed availability. The most glaring deficiency of this policy is that it fails to adopt a
multisectoral approach to livestock development. Proper livestock development will require
coordination and planning between as diverse departments as water resources, agriculture,
animal husbandry, forests, panchayati raj, tribal development, women and child welfare and
watershed management. Moreover attention must be paid to, storage, processing and marketing
of meat if the returns from animal husbandry are to be increased. A SWOT analysis of the sector
has been done in Table 22 as it is crucial to the livelihoods of the poor in the state.

113
Table 22: SWOT Analysis of Livestock Sector
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
1. The presence of hardy 1. Quality of most of the 1. Processing and cold 1. The possibility of
and potentially livestock has deteriorated chaining of primary transfer of public lands
productive native breeds through inbreeding. products like milk, meat within or without the
of bulls, cows, buffaloes, 2. Inefficient Animal and eggs for export out forests on lease to private
goats, and chicken. Husbandry Department of the state and the corporations for
2. Large land area that not able to implement its country. commercial
has the potential to laudable policies. 2. Organisation of development, which will
provide fodder in good 3. Lack of coordination livestock rearers into adversely affect the
quality and quantity. between the different cooperatives that can livelihoods of millions of
3. Large forest area that departments whose process and market milk, small farmers and
can provide good quality policies impact on the meat and eggs landless people and
fodder grasses in plenty. livestock sector. production in the way further degrade their
4. Central location 4. Lack of awareness that Amul is doing in livestock rearing
making it possible to among the people about Gujarat. practices with
cheaply supply surplus good livestock rearing 3. Fodder development consequent negative
produce to the whole practices. on vast tracts of land impact on the
country. 5. Lack of adequate lying barren with the environment.
5. A large proportion of public investment by the forest department 2. The continuing
small & marginal government in the sector. through joint forest degradation of common
farmers, the landless rear 6. Absence of a strong management as already lands due to excessive
livestock thus providing cooperative movement of demonstrated by some pressure leading to a
a vast potential for livestock rearers. pilot schemes. critical shortage of
livestock development. 4. Large scale watershed fodder.
programmes with a stron 3. The lack of a viable
livestock focus. support system for the
majority of poor
livestock rearers.

10. Agricultural Marketing and Non-Farm Sector

The need for the protection of farmers from being cheated by traders and also for keeping
a control over marketing of agricultural produce led to the legislation of the Agricultural Produce
Marketing Cooperatives (APMC) Act more than a century ago in the British era itself. However,
over time the cooperative marketing boards have come to be dominated by traders and politically
inclined big farmers to the detriment of small and medium farmers. Farmers generally find it
difficult to get honest weighing and pricing of their produce. Moreover, with big corporate
players coming into the field of agricultural sourcing and contract farming for their retail and
agro-processing ventures and also the expanding and robust online trading in commodities
derivatives there was pressure for the amendment of the Act. Thus the APMC Act in Madhya
Pradesh has been amended to allow direct marketing, contract farming and private markets. This

114
was done despite opposition from the traders because the farmers supported this as they were
gaining from selling directly to the corporate buyers. There is also pressure for the removal of
the tax that is levied on transactions in the APMC markets. While this seems to be proceeding in
the right direction there is still no market for organic produce because they are higher priced.
Thus there is a need to develop special government institutions for this purpose. Moreover as
mentioned earlier the rural markets or haats are underserved in terms of infrastructure and
financial support. Most of the trading takes place in these haats and not in the APMC mandis
these days and so there is a need to see how these can be better supported.

The most sustainable and equitable way in which to generate additional employment and
income in rural areas while at the same time reducing the population pressure on land is for the
creation of non-farm activities. The newest concept for non-farm activities in rural areas is that
of Rural Business Hubs. These are to capitalise on the agricultural produce of their hinterlands
by further processing them locally through value addition so as to generate greater income both
for the producers and for those who will be employed in the value addition entities. Setting up of
such hubs requires detailed micro-level planning involving the stakeholders and has not yet got
off the ground in Madhya Pradesh. Considering the tremendous potential that this concept has
for the employment of the surplus labour in rural areas which is now mostly migrating or
depressing the wage rates locally and also for creating a more sustainable and inclusive growth
pattern in rural areas there is a need for taking it forward. In fact agriculture, horticulture and
animal husbandry will all be benefited tremendously as a consequence of this.

11. Poverty Reduction Strategy in Agriculture and Natural Resources

Given the fact that a large section of the population still remains directly dependent on
agriculture and natural resources for their livelihoods it is extremely important to devise
appropriate policies for these sectors so as to bring about poverty reduction through the creation
of sustainable livelihoods. Based on the foregoing discussion the broad poverty reduction
strategy in the agriculture and natural resources sectors can be formulated as in Table 23 below.

115
Table 23: Poverty Reduction Strategy in Agriculture and Natural Resource Sectors
Sector Poverty Reduction Strategy
1. Agriculture 1. The results of research that is already available on improving the seed
quality and agricultural practices in dryland farming on small
landholdings has to be actively implemented on the field. A detailed
agro-climatic zone specific plan for the development of organic
agriculture, certification and marketing aimed at servicing export
markets will have to be drawn up and institutional support provided.

2. Development of new high yielding & disease resistant varieties of field

crops as well as vegetables for the irrigated plains areas and a change in
cropping pattern to a more sustainable regime. Production of nucleus
and breeder seeds. Integrated nutrient management. Integrated pest
management.

3. Rural markets or "haats" should be developed further and provided

institutionalised support in the form of greater credit and infrastructure
for transforming them into agro-processing centres for post harvest
processing and value addition. Rural Business Hubs developed for value
addition to agricultural produce locally and for relieving the pressure of
population on land.

4. The operation of the APMC Act should be reviewed further and

intitutional support should be provided to the marketing of organic
produce.

5. Concerted efforts need to be made to process agricultural bio-mass a

considerable part of which is wasted or burnt at present for conversion
into fertiliser and energy. This will also reduce carbon emissions from
agriculture and contribute to mitigation of climate change.

2. Horticulture 1. Horticulture and the processing and marketing of its products should be
developed for farms better endowed with soil and water resources
situated close to large urban markets or export processing zones.

2. Adequate research support in the form of better seeds and cropping

techniques should be provided to the farmers.

3. Care should be taken to see that the benefits of these programmes reach
the small and marginal farmers who are most in need of such help

116
 through the formation of cooperative production and marketing
cooperatives for these sections.

3. Surface
Irrigation and Soil
1. A programme of command area development must be taken up on a
and Water priority basis under which completion and renovation of canal systems,
Conservation field channels and land levelling will have to be undertaken to fully
realise the surface water irrigation potential already created.

2. Once this is done, participatory irrigation management must be

implemented properly and the operation of the centralised irrigation
systems must be made as efficient and equitable as is possible.

3. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme primarily and all

other employment and rural development schemes should be geared to
local area specific soil and water conservation activities on a large scale.
Vast areas of the state are suffering from soil erosion and high surface
runoff both of which can be effectively controlled by simple soil and
water conservation techniques and overall watershed development
including the rejuvenation of tanks which have become moribund. Stress
should be laid on mobilising the community for the construction and
later maintenance of the structures.

4. Particular attention should be given to artificial recharging of

groundwater. Since in most areas of the state the underlying rock layers
are poor aquifers, the fractured rock spaces should be identified and
shaft recharging techniques adopted to divert the surface water into
these after proper filtering. The Central Groundwater Board has
prepared a detailed district wise National Master Plan on Artificial
Recharge and this needs to be implemented immediately.
4. Forest
Management
1. A massive participatory afforestation and conservation programme has
to be undertaken using NREGS funds in the head reaches of all the
major rivers originating in Madhya Pradesh and especially in the
Chambal basin which has become highly denuded. This will not only
help in restoring the non-monsoon base flow in these rivers but also
through the Clean Development Mechanism make the state eligible for
carbon credits.

2. A special cell should be set up to identify potential projects that can

117
 qualify for carbon credits and then follow up with implementation and
earning of credits under the Clean Development Mechanism. The
transfer of resources from the centre under the new provisions of the
Thirteenth Finance Commission in this regard should also be pursued.

3. The settlement of land rights of forestdwellers, mostly Scheduled

Tribes, under the STOFRR Act must be completed with transparency
and speed to improve the livelihood situation of lakhs of tribals.

4. Greater and more effective implementation of Joint Forest Management

Projects in minor forest produce collection, processing and marketing.
5. Livestock
1. Processing and cold chaining of primary products like milk, meat and
eggs for export out of the state and the country.

2. Further development of the cooperative federation and its corruption

free operation so as to process and market meat and eggs in addition to
milk. This will also ensure cheap nutrition for the poor.

3. Fodder development on vast tracts of land lying barren with the forest
department or in village commons through joint forest management as
already demonstrated by some pilot schemes.
4. Providing institutional support to the informal rural livestock markets
so as to make them more efficient and effective. Ensure that the
benefits of such markets reach the small livestock producers who are
the most vulnerable.
6. Seasonal
Migration
1. Recognising that seasonal migration is a characteristic feature for poor
households arising from their low resource endowment which cannot
be rectified completely through developmental efforts proactive
measures are necessary to ensure that the migration experience is a
positive one and the poor do not lose out on their entitlements in both
their residence and their destination areas because of migration.

2. All laws and policies in this regard should be implemented and a

special department set up to take care of the migrants needs as the
present labour department is ill equipped and under staffed for this
purpose.

7. Rural Data Base

1. Presently the rural data base is a non-participatory one and is being

118
 maintained by the Patwaris and other ground level staff in a non-
transparent manner. Consequently the reality of rural deprivation and
resource degradation is not adequately captured in this data base.

2. The Gram Sabhas should be held regularly to update and validate the
rural data base and make it more relevant for village level planning.
Once this validation by the Gram Sabha takes place the data should be
uploaded onto an online website which should then be available for all.

12. Detailed Agro-Climatic Region Specific Strategies

The broad strategies described above have been detailed in accordance with the specific
situation prevailing in the eleven different agro-climatic regions of the state in this section.

12.1 Chhattisgarh Plains

Balaghat is the only district in this region and some of the statistics relevant for devising
a poverty reduction strategy are given in Tables 24 - 26 below.

Table 24: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs

Total Net Net Forest Area Wastes Average Fertiliser Tractors Rural
Area Sown Irr. Unavailable & Landholding Con- / 10 Pop.
Area
Area/ for Fallows sumption villages with
(Sqkm) Area (%) (Ha)
Net Cultivation Banking
Area Kgs/Ha
(%) Sown
(%) Access
Area (%)
(%)
(%)
9229 27 44.6 54 6 13 1.2 37.6 9.1 14.4
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
Table 25: Population Characteristics
Total Population ST (%) SC(%) Density/Km Decadal Growth (%)
1497968 21.8 7.7 162 9.7
Source: Census 2001

119
Table 26: Crop Production and Yield 2005-06
Kharif Rabi
Crop Area Prod. Yield Crop Area Prod. Yield
('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha) ('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha)
Paddy 244.6 366.2 1576 Wheat 26 22.1 888
Kodo/Kutki 12.5 5.9 471 Gram 11.5 8.5 735
Pulses 9.7 6.8 701 Linseed 19.2 7.9 410
Tur 6.0 5.7 954 Rape/Must. 7.4 5.5 746
Maize 5.2 9.5 1819 Teora 10.6 5.8 547
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
The soil is red and yellow and of medium quality with high slopes. Consequently there is
a limit to agricultural production as is evident from the low yields of the more important crops
other than rice which has a medium yield. The net sown area is low and the irrigation percentage
even lower. The tractor concentration as well as the access to banking too is low as is the
fertiliser application. The region has a substantial tribal population with very low landholdings
and a high proportion of forest area. Thus the main strategy to be adopted should focus more on
forest development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor
forest produce. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in
agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and
water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming
along with improvement in seeds and farming practices too will go a long way towards
improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture is under developed in the region
and this too should be a focus area. Markets are not well developed in the region and systematic
efforts have to be made to improve this. Access to institutionalised credit and through it to better
farm inputs also needs to be improved. The agriculture practised in the region can easily be
converted to organic as the application of fertilisers is low. Already some initiatives have been
taken in this regard to gain certification for organic rice cultivation by the tribals and these
should be enhanced further.

120
12.2 Northern Hill Region of Chhattisgarh
The region encompasses the districts of Shahdol, Mandla, Dindori, Anuppur and Umaria
and the statistics relevant for devising a poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 27 - 29
below.

Table 27: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs

Total Net Net Forest Area Wastes Average Fertiliser Tractors Rural
Area Sown Irr. Unavailable & Landholding Con- / 10 Pop.
Area
Area/ for Fallows sumption villages with
(Sqkm) Area (%) (Ha)
Net Cultivation Banking
Area Kgs/Ha
(%) Sown
(%) Access
Area (%)
(%)
(%)
27298 39 4.8 33.7 9.3 18 2.0 9.2 7 12.6
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
Table 28: Population Characteristics (2001)
Total Population ST (%) SC(%) Density/Km Decadal Growth (%)
3050269 52.0 6.3 115 14.0
Source: Census 2001
Table 29: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)
Kharif Rabi
Crop Area Prod. Yield Crop Area Prod. Yield
('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha) ('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha)
Paddy 440.4 387.2 883 Wheat 130.2 96.2 782
Pulses 38.5 15.3 399 Gram 23.4 11 468
Kodo/Kutki 141.6 39.5 954 Linseed 21.9 6.5 301
Udad 16.5 4.5 261 Rape/Must. 55.8 30.4 483
Maize 69.9 69.1 953 Masoor 45 14.9 365.8
Tur 21.5 10.7 517 Peas 26.3 6.4 298
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
This region too has mostly red and yellow soil of medium quality and high slopes. There
is some black soil but of medium to light quality and some sketeltal soils. So here too there is a
limit to agricultural production and the yields are even lower in all the crops than in the first

121
region. The net sown area is low and the irrigation percentage even lower. The tractor
concentration as well as the access to banking too is low as is the fertiliser application. The
region has a majority tribal population with very low landholdings and proportion of forest area
is once again very high. Thus the main strategy to be adopted again should focus more on forest
development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor forest
produce. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and
horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and water
conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along
with improvement in seeds and farming practices too will go a long way towards improving the
livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture is under developed in this region also and this
too should be a focus area. Markets yet again are not well developed in the region and systematic
efforts have to be made to improve this. As in the earlier case certified organic agriculture for
export will provide an opportunity for greater incomes to the tribals and efforts should be made
to set up an institutional mechanism to make this possible.

12.3 Kymore Plateau and Satpura Hills

The region encompasses the districts of Rewa, Satna, Panna, Jabalpur, Seoni, Katni and
Sidhi and the statistics relevant for the poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 30 - 32.

Table 30: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs

Total Net Net Forest Area Wastes Average Fertiliser Tractors Rural
Area Sown Irr. Unavailable & Landholding Con- / 10 Pop.
Area
Area/ for Fallows sumption villages with
(Sqkm) Area (%) (Ha)
Net Cultivation Banking
Area Kgs/Ha
(%) Sown
(%) Access
Area (%)
(%)
(%)
50396 45 28.8 28.3 10.7 15.7 1.8 35.4 20.1 18.5
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP

122
Table 31: Population Characteristics (2001)
Total Population ST (%) SC(%) Density/Km Decadal Growth (%)
10913098 20.2 13.9 231 24.5
Source: Census 2001
Table 32: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)
Kharif Rabi
Crop Area Prod. Yield Crop Area Prod. Yield
('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha) ('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha)
Paddy 699.7 660.9 968 Wheat 745.2 837.8 974.5
Pulses 155.7 64.2 473 Gram 429.7 315.4 718
Kodo/Kutki 91.1 26.2 313 Linseed 55.0 18.4 369
Udad 68.2 24.1 277 Rape/Must. 23.7 12.3 534
Maize 59.3 80.2 1153 Masoor 156.7 69.3 432
Sesamum 34.7 11.8 291 Barley 39.7 30.9 804
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
This region has mixed red and black soils of medium quality with Jabalpur having good
quality and deep black soils. Thus the agricultural potential is greater here. The net sown area is
quite high at 45% and the irrigation percentage too is better at 28.8%. The tractor concentration
as well as the access to banking and fertiliser application are higher though still well below
desirable levels. The region has a fairly good tribal population with the typical very low
landholdings and the proportion of forest area is also significant. Thus the main strategy to be
adopted should focus on agricultural and horticultural development and agro-processing.
Especially in Jabalpur and Katni where both the land and the connectivity with markets is very
good. Jabalpur in fact was the best production area for dry land wheat before the new irrigated
wheat varieties were introduced. Thus it has great potential for organic agricultural production
and horticultural production. At the moment there is not much action in both these sectors. So
special emphasis should be given on providing research, marketing and credit support to the
development of organic agriculture and horticulture. Since Jabalpur is connected by air
floriculture for export is a distinct possibility if properly supported by the administration. Forest
development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor forest

123
produce too is a good supplementary strategy. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and
compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing
incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and
promotion of organic farming along with improvement in seeds and farming practices too will
improve the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Rural markets in the interior need developing.

12.4 Central Narmada Valley

The region encompasses the districts of Narsinghpur, Hoshangabad and Sehore and the
statistics relevant for devising a poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 33 - 35.

Table 33: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs

Total Net Net Irr. Forest Area Wastes Average Fertiliser Tractors Rural
Area Sown Area/ Unavai- & Landholding Con- / 10 Pop.
Area
Net lable for Fallows sumption villages with
(Sqkm) Area (%) (Ha)
Sown Culti- Banking
Area Kgs/Ha
(%) Area vation
Access
(%)
(%) (%)
(%)
18418 54 65.5 30.3 6.3 9.7 2.7 55.0 69.3 22.7
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
Table 34: Population Characteristics (2001)
Total Population ST (%) SC(%) Density/Km Decadal Growth (%)
3120823 13.0 17.5 171 24.1
Source: Census 2001

Table 35: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)

Kharif Rabi
Crop Area Prod. Yield Crop Area Prod. Yield
('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha) ('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha)
Paddy 24.8 34.7 1399 Wheat 378.2 835.0 2209
Pulses 54.1 56.6 958 Gram 249.4 271.7 1104
Tur 45.6 51.9 1021 Masoor 32.3 20.8 644
Soyabean 488.1 581.2 1314 Peas 20.4 12.7 518
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP

124
 This region has deep black soils of very high quality and produces the highest quality and
quantity of wheat of both the irrigated and the dryland variety. Sarbati wheat from Sehore is a
special variety that commands a premium in the market. This area is also the highest producer of
soyabean. The net sown area is quite high at 54% and the irrigation percentage too is excellent at
65.5% primarily due to canal irrigation from the Tawa dam. The tractor concentration as well as
the access to banking and fertiliser application are also high indicating that farming in the region
is quite well developed. However, the introduction of the soyabean - irrigated wheat monoculture
has led to a decline in the diversity of crops sown and also leaching of soils due to over
application of water and chemical fertilisers. The region has a relatively high scheduled caste
population that is mostly landless or with marginal and small landholdings. Thus the main
strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and horticulture development and agro-
processing and rejuvenation of soils. The region is well connected with national and international
markets that should facilitate a shift to organic agricultural production. Agro processing, which is
at a minimal level at the moment would result in greater employment for the scheduled castes. A
shift to high value horticultural and medicinal crops along with processing is thus optimal.

Forest development through joint forest management and collection and processing of
minor forest produce too is a good supplementary strategy for the scheduled tribes who inhabit
areas that are comparatively less endowed in agricultural terms. Forest bio-mass based energy
generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies
for increasing incomes of the poor. There are a few wild life sanctuaries and national parks in the
area where some friction exists between the Forest Department Staff and the tribals and this
should be attended to. Development of eco-tourism combined with eco-development of the
natural resource base of the tribals and providing them a stake in the tourism and development
revenues will help in the process. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through
NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in
seeds too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region.
Horticulture has great potential in this region too because of its connectivity to national and

125
international markets through a railway line. Rural markets in the interior need to be developed
as rural agro-processing hubs.

12.5 Vindhya Plateau

The region encompasses the districts of Bhopal, Sagar, Damoh, Vidisha, Raisen and
Guna. and the statistics relevant for the poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 36 - 38.

Table 36: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs

Total Net Net Forest Area Wastes Average Fertiliser Tractors Rural
Area Sown Irr. Unavailable & Landholding Con- / 10 Pop.
Area
Area/ for Fallows sumption villages with
(Sqkm) Area (%) (Ha)
Net Cultivation Banking
Area Kgs/Ha
(%) Sown
(%) Access
Area (%)
(%)
(%)
36167 49.6 40.9 27 8.8 10.2 2.7 37.0 68.9 19.3
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP

Table 37: Population Characteristics (2001)

Total Population ST (%) SC(%) Density/Km Decadal Growth (%)
7289457 8.6 18.0 277 26.7
Source: Census 2001

Table 38: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)

Kharif Rabi
Crop Area Prod. Yield Crop Area Prod. Yield
('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha) ('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha)
Paddy 24.8 34.7 1399 Wheat 717.4 1016.4 1611
Pulses 74.7 35.0 469 Gram 756.1 746.3 993
Udad 38.8 13.4 345 Masoor 222.4 121.1 544
Soyabean 357.3 372.2 1042 Peas 31.8 17.8 560
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP

126
 This region has a mixture of medium and deep black soils of moderately high quality and
has an agricultural pattern similar to the central Narmada Valley. The net sown area is fairly high
at 49.6% and the irrigation percentage too is good at 40.6% though it is mostly from ground
water which is a cause for concern. The tractor concentration as well as the access to banking
and fertiliser application are also high indicating that farming in the region is quite well
developed. Here too the soyabean - irrigated wheat monoculture has led to a decline in the
diversity of crops sown and also leaching of soils due to over application of water and chemical
fertilisers. The region also has a relatively high scheduled caste population that is mostly landless
or with marginal and small landholdings. Thus once again the main strategy to be adopted should
focus on agricultural and horticulture development and agro-processing and rejuvenation of soils.
The region is well connected with national and international markets that should facilitate a shift
to organic agricultural production. Agro processing would result in greater employment for the
scheduled castes. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and
promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go
a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture and
especially floriculture has great potential in this region because of its connectivity to national and
international markets through a railway line and also an airport in Bhopal. Rural markets in the
interior need to be developed further like in the other regions.

12.6 Gird
This region has the districts of Gwalior, Bhind, Morena, Sheopur-Kala, Guna and
Ashoknagar; the statistics relevant for the poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 39 - 41.

Table 39: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs

Total Net Net Forest Area Wastes Average Fertiliser Tractors Rural
Area Sown Irr. Unavailable & Landholding Con- / 10 Pop.
Area
Area/ for Fallows sumption villages with
(Sqkm) Area (%) (Ha)
Net Cultivation Banking
Area Kgs/Ha
(%) Sown
(%) Access
Area (%)
(%)
(%)
25073 57.8 45.8 12.5 18.0 11.8 2.0 46.4 91.1 17.8

127
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
Table 40: Population Characteristics (2001)
Total Population ST (%) SC(%) Density/Km Decadal Growth (%)
6320149 4.4 19.5 287 23.9
Source: Census 2001
Table 41: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)
Kharif Rabi
Crop Area Prod. Yield Crop Area Prod. Yield
('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha) ('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha)
Paddy 25 55.3 2212 Wheat 463.0 968.4 2091
Pulses 46.4 24.3 524 Gram 256.5 252 982
Udad 28.2 13.6 482 Masoor 54.0 34.3 635
Soyabean 210.5 251.2 1193 Rape/Mustard 474.8 624.8 1316
Bajra 132.9 232.4 1749
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
This region has a light alluvial soil of moderate quality. The net sown area is high at
57.8% and the irrigation percentage too is good at 45.8%. The tractor concentration as well as
the access to banking and fertiliser application are also high indicating that farming in this region
is also quite well developed. The region also has a relatively high scheduled caste population that
is mostly landless or with marginal and small landholdings and oppressed by feudal social
relations. Thus once again the main strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and
horticultural development and agro-processing. The region is well connected with national and
international markets that should facilitate a shift to organic agricultural production due to both
air and rail connectivity. Agro processing would result in greater employment for the scheduled
castes. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of
organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go a long way
towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture and especially
floriculture has great potential in this region because of its connectivity to national and
international markets through a railway line and also an airport in Gwalior. Proximity to the
National Capital Region also provides great opportunities for market oriented agri-horticulture

128
and processing. Rural markets in the interior need to be developed further as rural business hubs
like in the other regions.

12.7 Bundelkhand
The region encompasses the districts of Chhattarpur, Datia, Tikamgarh and Shivpuri and
the statistics relevant for the poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 42 - 44.

Table 42: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs

Total Net Net Irr. Forest Area Wastes & Average Fertilis Rural
Tracto
Area Sown Area/ Net Area Unavai- Fallows Land- er Con- Pop. with
rs / 10
(Sqkm) Area Sown (%) lable for Area holding sumpti Banking
villag
(%) Area Culti- (%) (Ha) on Access
es
(%) vation(%) Kgs/Ha (%)
26703 51.8 57.3 20.0 11.5 17.3 2.3 32.9 60.3 23.9
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
Table 43: Population Characteristics (2001)
Total Population ST (%) SC(%) Density/Km Decadal Growth (%)
4747911 5.8 22.4 195 26.1
Source: Census 2001
Table 44: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)
Kharif Rabi
Crop Area Prod. Yield Crop Area Prod. Yield
('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha) ('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha)
Jowar 31.6 32.2 1019 Wheat 380.9 633.5 1663
Pulses 125.7 39.5 314 Gram 267.5 295.9 1106
Udad 98.1 29.3 299 Masoor 22.4 8.9 397
Soyabean 141.5 123.5 873 Rape/Mustard 149.5 87 582
Sesamum 62.2 24.4 392 Peas 68.7 34.5 502
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
This region has mixed red and black soils of medium depth and moderate quality. The net
sown area is high at 51.8% and the irrigation percentage too is good at 57.3%. The tractor
concentration as well as the access to banking and fertiliser application are also high indicating
that farming in the region is quite well developed. The region also has a relatively high
scheduled caste population that is mostly landless or with marginal and small landholdings and
oppressed by feudal social relations like the Gird region. Thus once again the main strategy to be
adopted should focus on agricultural and horticulture development and agro-processing. The

129
region is well connected with national and international markets that should facilitate a shift to
organic agricultural production. Agro processing would result in greater employment for the
scheduled castes. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and
promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go
a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture and
especially floriculture has great potential in this region because of its connectivity to national and
international markets through a railway line. Proximity to the National Capital Region also
provides great opportunities for market oriented agri-horticulture and processing. Rural markets
in the interior need to be developed further like in the other regions.

12.8 Satpura Plateau

The region encompasses the districts of Betul & Chhindwara and the statistics relevant
for the poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 45 - 47.

Table 45: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs

Total Net Net Irr. Forest Area Wastes & Average Fertilis Rural
Tracto
Area Sown Area/ Net Area Unavai- Fallows Land- er Con- Pop. with
rs / 10
(Sqkm) Area Sown (%) lable for Area holding sumpti Banking
villag
(%) Area Culti- (%) (Ha) on Access
es
(%) vation(%) Kgs/Ha (%)
21858 40.5 24.0 39.5 7 13.5 2.4 37.1 37.0 29.5
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP

Table 46: Population Characteristics (2001)

Total Population ST (%) SC(%) Density/Km Decadal Growth (%)
3244458 36.7 11.2 145 18.0
Source: Census 2001

130
Table 47: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)
Kharif Rabi
Crop Area Prod. Yield Crop Area Prod. Yield
('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha) ('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha)
Jowar 88.7 118.2 1333 Wheat 187.2 289.2 1545
Pulses 76.5 57.5 752 Gram 63.7 54.3 852
Udad 23.4 6.0 256 Cotton 31.3 83.5 1334
Soyabean 268.2 269.3 1005
Maize 62.2 24.4 392
Tur 48.4 50.3 1039
Paddy 63.8 54.7 857
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
The soil is shallow black and of medium quality. The agricultural production is at middle
level as seen from the medium yields of the crops. The net sown area is on the low side and the
irrigation percentage even lower. The tractor concentration as well as the access to banking is of
a medium level. The region has a substantial tribal population with very low landholdings and a
high proportion of forest area. The tribals of this region have been subjected to displacement
repeatedly due to the construction of dams, power plants and mining projects and the setting up
of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Thus the main strategy to be adopted should focus
more on forest development through joint forest management and collection and processing of
minor forest produce. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in
agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and
water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming
along with improvement in seeds and farming practices too will go a long way towards
improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture is under developed in the region
and this too should be a focus area. Markets are not well developed in the region and systematic
efforts have to be made to improve this as well as create infrastructure for post harvest storage
and processing. Access to institutionalised credit and through it to better farm inputs also needs
to be improved for the tribals. Ecotourism also provides great opportunities for sustainable
development in this region.

131
12.9 Malwa Plateau
The districts in this region are Mandsaur, Neemuch, Ratlam, Ujjain, Dewas, Indore,
Shajapur and Rajgarh and the statistics relevant for poverty reduction are given in Table 48 - 50.

Table 48: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs

Total Net Net Irr. Forest Area Wastes & Average Fertilis Tracto Rural
Area Sown Area/ Net Unavai- Fallows Land- er Con- rs / 10 Pop. with
Area
Sown lable for holding sumpti villag Banking
(Sqkm) Area Area
(%)
Area Culti- on es
(Ha) Access
(%) (%)
vation(%)
(%) Kgs/Ha
(%)

44009 65.8 35.9 10.8 13.6 11.5 2.4 44.9 55.7 32.4

Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP

Table 49: Population Characteristics (2001)
Total Population ST (%) SC(%) Density/Km Decadal Growth (%)
11154989 8.3 18.1 280 25.7
Source: Census 2001
Table 50: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)
Kharif Rabi
Crop Area Prod. Yield Crop Area Prod. Yield
('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha) ('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha)
Jowar 76.7 109.1 1422 Wheat 300.4 612.4 2039
Pulses 77.5 33.8 436 Gram 343.9 283.9 825
Udad 58.0 23.9 412 Cotton 78.7 113.9 768
Soyabean 1732.5 1749.8 1010 Rape/Mustard 84.4 77 912
Maize 216.3 393.8 1821
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
This region has black soils of medium depth and moderately high quality and has an
agricultural pattern that is unique and the most advanced in the state. The net sown area is very
high at 65.8% and the irrigation percentage too is good at 35.9% though it is mostly from ground

132
water which is a cause for concern as this region has been declared over exploited. The tractor
concentration as well as the access to banking and fertiliser application are also high indicating
that farming in the region is quite well developed. Here too the soyabean - irrigated wheat
monoculture has led to a decline in the diversity of crops sown and also leaching of soils due to
over application of water and chemical fertilisers. The region also has a relatively high scheduled
caste population that is mostly landless or with marginal and small landholdings and suffering
from social oppression. Thus once again the main strategy to be adopted should focus on
agricultural and horticulture development and agro-processing and rejuvenation of soils and
surface and ground water. The region is well connected with national and international markets
that should facilitate a shift to organic agricultural production. There is already some agro
processing, horticulture and production for export from this region which needs to be developed
further. Agro processing would result in greater employment for the scheduled castes. Soil and
water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming
along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go a long way towards improving
the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture and especially floriculture has great
potential in this region because of its connectivity to national and international markets through a
railway line and also an airport in Indore. Rural markets in the interior need to be developed
further as rural business hubs like in the other regions.

12.10 Nimar Plains

The region encompasses the districts of Khandwa, Burhanpur, Khargone, Barwani ,Harda
and Dhar and the statistics relevant for the poverty reduction strategy are given in Table 51 - 53.

Table 51: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs

Total Net Net Irr. Forest Area Wastes & Average Fertilis Tracto Rural
Area Sown Area/ Net Area Unavai- Fallows Land- er Con- rs / 10Pop. with
(Sqkm) Area Sown (%) lable for Area holding sumpti villag Banking
(%) Area Culti- (%) (Ha) on es Access
(%) vation(%) Kgs/Ha (%)
35714 49.2 44.6 31 11.4 8.6 3.3 60.5 24.6 32.4
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP

133
Table 52: Population Characteristics (2001)
Total Population ST (%) SC(%) Density/Km Decadal Growth (%)
6538882 43.6 9.5 211 25.9
Source: Census 2001
Table 53: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)
Kharif Rabi
Crop Area Prod. Yield Crop Area Prod. Yield
('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha) ('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha)
Jowar 179.4 161.1 898 Wheat 186.8 318.5 1705
Pulses 104.4 36.5 350 Gram 58.1 44.7 769
Udad 27.6 6.5 236 Cotton 462.9 499.1 1078
Soyabean 480.4 452.5 942
Maize 133.0 162.0 1218
Groundnut 37.6 26.5 704
Tur 36.3 21.1 595
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
This region has black soils of medium depth and moderately high quality and has an
agricultural pattern that has retained the bio-diversity in the kharif crops. The net sown area is
very high at 49.2% and the irrigation percentage too is good at 44.6%. In Harda it is mainly
through canal irrigation from the Tawa dam but elsewhere it is mostly either from ground water
or from lifts from the River Narmada. Some districts in this region have been declared over
exploited in terms of ground water extraction. The tractor concentration as well as the access to
banking and fertiliser application are also alright indicating that farming in the region is quite
well developed among the non-tribals. The region also has a high scheduled tribe population that
has marginal and small landholdings of lower quality lands. Thus the strategy to be adopted
should be a mix of forest development through joint forest management and collection and
processing of minor forest produce and also improvement of agriculture. Forest bio-mass based
energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful
strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation measures implemented
through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater
diversity in seeds too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the
region. Horiculture is being practiced widely in the region by the non-tribals and so ways must
be sought to make it possible for the tribals also. Rural markets in the interior need to be

134
developed further like in the other regions. There are considerable encroachments for agriculture
into forest land by the tribals and these have been there for quite some time. However, so far
very little progress has been made in settling the tribals' rights under the Forest Dwellers
Recognition of Rights Act. Thus a proper strategy for involving the tribals in forest regeneration
and the use of the clean development mechanism to pull in more resources for this purpose
should be drawn up.

12.11 Jhabua Hills

This region has only the district of Jhabua and the statistics relevant for the poverty
reduction strategy are given in Table 54 - 56.

Table 54: Landuse and Agricultural Inputs

Total Net Net Irr. Forest Area Wastes & Average Fertilis Tracto Rural
Area Sown Area/ Net Area Unavai- Fallows Land- er Con- rs / 10 Pop. with
(Sqkm) Area Sown (%) lable for Area holding sumpti villag Banking
(%) Area Culti- (%) (Ha) on es Access
(%) vation(%) Kgs/Ha (%)
6778 54 15.1 19 21 6 2.0 36.2 8.6 23.9
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP
Table 55: Population Characteristics (2001)
Total Population ST (%) SC(%) Density/Km Decadal Growth (%)
1394561 86.8 2.8 206 23.4
Source: Census 2001

Table 56: Crop Production and Yield (2005-06)

Kharif Rabi
Crop Area Prod. Yield Crop Area Prod. Yield
('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha) ('000 Ha) ('000T) (kg/Ha)
Jowar 17.1 14.8 868 Wheat 27 49 1891
Pulses 91.5 37.8 41.3 Gram 20.9 12.1 577
Udad 69.2 29 420 Cotton 36.2 32.8 459
Soyabean 28.9 18.5 641
Maize 11.2 138.6 1246
Groundnut 22.6 21.9 969
Source: Department of Agriculture, GOMP

135
 This region has shallow black and skeletal soils of moderate to low quality and so
agricultural production is low. The net sown area is very high at 54% but the irrigation
percentage is only 15.1% through ground water and lifts. The tractor concentration as well as the
access to banking and fertiliser application are low indicating that the tribal dominated region is
lagging in agricultural development. Thus the strategy to be adopted should be that of forest
development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor forest
produce and also improvement of agriculture. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and
compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing
incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and
promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go
a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Rural markets in the
interior need to be developed further like in the other regions. There are considerable
encroachments for agriculture into forest land by the tribals and these have been there for quite
some time. However, so far very little progress has been made in settling the tribals' rights under
the Forest Dwellers Recognition of Rights Act.

12.12 Comprehensive Agro-Climatic Region wise Strategy

The poverty reduction strategies devised above based on a review of agriculture and
natural resources in the different agro-climatic zones have been summarised in Table 57 below.

Table 57: Agro-Climatic Zone Specific Poverty Reduction Strategies

Agro- Poverty Reduction Strategy
Climatic
Region
Chhattisgarh The main strategy to be adopted should focus more on forest development through joint
Plains
forest management and collection and processing of minor forest produce. Forest bio-
Northern Hill
mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture
Region of
Chhattisgarh are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation
measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with
improvement in seeds and farming practices too will go a long way towards improving
the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture is under developed in the region

136
 and this too should be a focus area. Markets are not well developed in the region and
systematic efforts have to be made to improve this. Access to institutionalised credit and
through it to better farm inputs also needs to be improved. The agriculture practised in
the region can easily be converted to organic as the application of fertilisers is low.
Already some initiatives have been taken in this regard to gain certification for organic
rice cultivation by the tribals and these should be enhanced further.

Kymore The main strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and horticultural
Plateau and
development and agro-processing. Especially in Jabalpur and Katni where both the land
Satpura Hills
and the connectivity with markets is very good. Jabalpur in fact was the best production
area for dry land wheat before the new irrigated wheat varieties were introduced. Thus it
has great potential for organic agricultural production and horticultural production. At
the moment there is not much action in both these sectors. So special emphasis should be
given on providing research, marketing and credit support to the development of organic
agriculture and horticulture. Since Jabalpur is connected by air floriculture for export is a
distinct possibility if properly supported by the administration. Forest development
through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor forest produce
too is a good supplementary strategy. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and
compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for
increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation measures implemented
through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement in seeds and
farming practices too will improve the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Rural
markets in the interior need developing.

Central Thus the main strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and horticulture
Narmada
development and agro-processing and rejuvenation of soils. The region is well connected
Valley
with national and international markets that should facilitate a shift to organic
agricultural production. Agro processing, which is at a minimal level at the moment
would result in greater employment for the scheduled castes. A shift to high value
horticultural and medicinal crops along with processing is thus optimal. Forest
development through joint forest management and collection and processing of minor
forest produce too is a good supplementary strategy for the scheduled tribes who inhabit

137
 areas that are comparatively less endowed in agricultural terms. Forest bio-mass based
energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also
useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. There are a few wild life sanctuaries
and national parks in the area where some friction exists between the Forest Department
Staff and the tribals and this should be attended to. Development of eco-tourism
combined with eco-development of the natural resource base of the tribals and providing
them a stake in the tourism and development revenues will help in the process. Soil and
water conservation measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic
farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds too will go a long way
towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture has great
potential in this region too because of its connectivity to national and international
markets through a railway line. Rural markets in the interior need to be developed as
rural agro-processing hubs.

Vindhya The main strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and horticulture
Plateau
development and agro-processing and rejuvenation of soils. The region is well connected
Gird
with national and international markets that should facilitate a shift to organic
Bundelkhand
agricultural production. Agro processing would result in greater employment for the
scheduled castes. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS
and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds
too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region.
Horticulture and especially floriculture has great potential in this region because of its
connectivity to national and international markets through a railway line and also an
airport in Bhopal. Rural markets in the interior need development like in the other
regions.

Satpura The main strategy to be adopted should focus more on forest development through joint
Plateau
forest management and collection and processing of minor forest produce. Forest bio-
mass based energy generation and compost creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture
are also useful strategies for increasing incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation
measures implemented through NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with
improvement in seeds and farming practices too will go a long way towards improving

138
 the livelihoods of the poor in the region. Horticulture is under developed in the region
and this too should be a focus area. Markets are not well developed in the region and
systematic efforts have to be made to improve this as well as create infrastructure for
post harvest storage and processing. Access to institutionalised credit and through it to
better farm inputs also needs to be improved for the tribals. Ecotourism has great
potential in this region.

Malwa The main strategy to be adopted should focus on agricultural and horticulture
Plateau
development and agro-processing and rejuvenation of soils and surface and ground
water. The region is well connected with national and international markets that should
facilitate a shift to organic agricultural production. There is already some agro
processing, horticulture and production for export from this region which needs to be
developed further. Agro processing would result in greater employment for the
scheduled castes. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through NREGS
and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity in seeds
too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the region.
Horticulture and especially floriculture has great potential in this region because of its
connectivity to national and international markets through a railway line and also an
airport in Indore. Rural markets in the interior need to be developed further as rural
business hubs like in the other regions.

Nimar Plains The strategy to be adopted should be a mix of forest development through joint forest
Jhabua Hills management and collection and processing of minor forest produce and also
improvement of agriculture. Forest bio-mass based energy generation and compost
creation to aid in agriculture and horticulture are also useful strategies for increasing
incomes of the poor. Soil and water conservation measures implemented through
NREGS and promotion of organic farming along with improvement and greater diversity
in seeds too will go a long way towards improving the livelihoods of the poor in the
region. Horiculture is being practiced widely in the region by the non-tribals and so ways
must be sought to make it possible for the tribals also. Rural markets in the interior need
to be developed further like in the other regions. There are considerable encroachments
for agriculture into forest land by the tribals and these have been there for quite some

139
 time. However, so far very little progress has been made in settling the tribals' rights
under the Forest Dwellers Recognition of Rights Act. Thus a proper strategy for
involving the tribals in forest regeneration and the use of the clean development
mechanism to pull in more resources for this purpose should be drawn up. Ecotourism
has great potential in this region.

The strategies to be adopted are similar in agro-climatic zones that are rich in forest
resources and also have a predominantly tribal population and centre around capitalising on their
tremendous potential to earn carbon credits. The northern region of the state has great potential
for agro-processing based strategies of poverty reduction. Overall agricultural development must
move towards organic methods supported by adequate institutional, market and credit support.
Horticulture, livestock rearing and dairying also provide good opportunities for poverty
reduction through non farm employment generation. Overall the resource base of the state is
bountiful enough for poverty reduction to be possible with appropriate agricultural and natural
resource policies which integrate well with the NREGS.

140
References
Census of India, 2001, Provisional Population Tables:Paper–1 of 2001, Series 1. Registrar
General & Census Commissioner, India. Delhi
Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, 2009, Madhya Pradesh Year Book 2008, (Department of Economics
and Statistics), Bhopal.
Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, 2009, Annual Plan 2009-10, Bhopal.
Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, 2008, Fourth Madhya Pradesh Human Development Report 2007,
Bhopal.
Saxena, N.C., 2002, “Forests and the People: Policy Issues in Madhya Pradesh”. In Jha,
Praveen K. (Ed). Land Reforms in India, Vol 7; Issues of Equity in Rural Madhya Pradesh.
Sundar, N., Roger, J. and Thin, N., 2001, Branching Out: Joint Forest Management in
India. New Delhi. Oxford University Press.
Shah, P. (1993). Participatory Watershed Management Programmes in India: Reversing Our
Roles and Revising Our Theories in Rural People’s Knowledge, Agricultural Research and
Extension Practice, IIED Research Series, Vol 1 (3), IIED, London,.
Shah, M et al, 1998, India's Drylands : Tribal Societies and Development through
Environmental Regeneration, OUP, Delhi.
TARU Leading Edge, 2001, Evaluation of Rajeev Gandhi Watershed Mission Watersheds in
Madhya Pradesh, UNICEF, Bhopal, mimeo.
World Bank, (2000). India. Alleviating Poverty through Forest Development. Evaluation
Country Case Study Series. p 123. Washington D.C.
Departments of Govt. of Madhya Pradesh : http://www.mp.gov.in/directory
Rajeev Gandhi Watershed Mission : http://www.watermissionmp.com

141
 Chapter 6: Elementary Education

Education plays an important role in the development of the personality and building of
the capacity of a child necessary to become a responsible parent and a productive adult. It is the
basic yet the most important intervention through the processes of learning, knowledge
accumulation and skills development. It is in this context that universalisation of education of
children is one of the cherished goal of all social, economic and human development efforts. It
may however, be pointed out that although, universalisation of child education is a key
component of any social, economic and human development process, yet education to all
children is not the explicit objective of the XI Five-year Development Plan of Madhya Pradesh.
The XI Five-year Development Plan of Madhya Pradesh aims at achieving a literacy rate of 84
per cent by the year 2012 (Government of Madhya Pradesh, 2007). It may be argued here that in
order to achieve a literacy rate of 84 per cent, universalisation of education of children is a
necessary prerequisite. Without ensuring education to all children of the state, it is not possible to
achieve a literacy rate of 84 per cent.
Against the above background, this chapter examines the status of education of children
in Madhya Pradesh. The focus is on education of children 7-14 years of age as this period is the
most important period in the life of every child. During this period, the child enters into an era of
learning, knowledge accumulation and skills development along with socialization with the rest
of the world. Achievements of the child, during this period, contribute significantly in its
recognition as a worthy citizen and responsible parent later in the life. The knowledge gained and
skills mastered during this period decide the course of the remaining life of the child as a
productive adult and its contribution to the family and the society to which the child belongs.
The discussion that follows focusses on the two important aspects of child education - the
level of literacy and the extent of schooling among children 7-14 years of age. Although,
schooling is not a necessary condition for literacy which means ability to read and write with
understanding, yet schooling is the main intervention to achieve the goal of universal education.
It may however be stressed that universal literacy maybe different from universal schooling. It is

142
in this context that the chapter also elaborates upon the learning environment that prevails in the
state.
Two sources of information are available for measuring the progress towards
universalisation of child education in Madhya Pradesh. The first source is the decennial
population census which primary focuses on literacy and education. The last population census
carried out in the 2001 provides information about the level of education of every individual in
addition to the information related to schooling by the age of the individual.
The second source of information about child education is the District Information
System for Education (DISE) which was developed as part of the District Primary Education
Programme launched by the Government of India in 1994. This source of information primary
focuses on schooling. DISE has been developed by the National University of Educational
Planning and Administration (NUEPA) in the year 1995 with financial assistance from the
United Nations Children‟s Fund in recognition of the need of a sound information base of
planning and monitoring of interventions under the District Primary Education Programme. It
was comprehensively reviewed and updated in the year 2000-01. DISE is an school-based
system of reporting educational statistics as school statistics constitutes the core of educational
statistics. The system is being implemented in only those districts in India where the District
Primary Education Programme is being implemented.
The information available from either the population census or the DISE has some
limitations. The major limitation of the information available through the population census is
that the information is available at an interval of ten years. The last population census in India
was carried out in 2001 and so the information available from the census is somewhat outdated
for analysing and discussing the state of child education in the year 2009. On the other hand,
information available through DISE is essentially the provider-based information and so this
information is associated with the provider bias. Another limitation of DISE is that it does not
include information related to out of school learning and education activities. A third problem is
that the information available through DISE is limited to only those schools which are covered
under the District Primary Education Programme. Because of these limitations, the information
available from the population census and from DISE are not comparable. By contrast,

143
information available through the population census covers all type of programmes, interventions
and activities directed towards educating children including public interventions, private
initiatives and efforts. Information available through census covers school based activities as
well as informal learning in out of school programmes and activities.

Literacy in Children 7-14 years

Information about the level of literacy in children 7-14 years of age is available through
the 2001 population census. This information suggests that very close to 80 per cent of children
7-14 years of age in the state were literate in the sense that they were able to read and write with
understanding. This implies that more than one fifth of children 7-14 years of age in the state
were illiterate at the beginning of the present century. Reaching and educating these illiterate
children is critical to achieving the goal of universal child education and a literacy rate of 84 per
cent by the year 2012 as specified in the XI Five-year Development Plan of the state.
Social class differentials in the literacy rate of children 7-14 years of age are remarkable
for their strength. Moreover, these differentials appear to have persisted over time. First and
foremost, the literacy rate is higher in male children (83.1 per cent) as compared to female
children (73.6 per cent), although the gender gap in literacy among children 7-14 years of age
appears to have narrowed down over time. In any case, the information available through the
2001 population census implies that there were only about 80 female literate children for every
100 male literate children of 7-14 years of age, a situation that cannot be accepted by any
perspective. Similarly, there is a wide gap in the literacy of children 7-14 years of age in rural
(75.4 per cent) as compared to that in urban areas (88.1 per cent) of the state and, once again,
there are indications that the gap is narrowing down over time.
Another important dimension of literacy among children 7-14 years of age is social class
differentials which have also persisted over time. The information available through the 2001
population census suggests that, compared to average literacy of almost 80 per cent at the state
level in children 7-14 years of age, the literacy rate of Scheduled Tribes children 7-14 years of
age was found to be less than 60 per cent. Among the female Scheduled Tribes children 7-14
years of age, the level of literacy has been estimated to be just around 50 per cent showing wide

144
social class disparities in literacy among children despite persistent efforts during the last 50
years. Compared to Scheduled Tribes, the level of literacy in children of Scheduled Castes is
relatively better but still lower than the level of literacy among non Scheduled Castes/Tribes
children.
Figure 1
Literacy rate in children 7-14 years of age in Madhya Pradesh, 2001

95

90

85

80
Person
75 Male
Female
70

65

60

55
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

The persistence of social class differentials in literacy, especially very low levels of
literacy in Scheduled Tribes children appears to be a major stumbling block by way of universal
child education in the state and realisation of the goal of a literacy rate of 84 per cent by the year
2012 as prescribed in the XI Five-year Development Plan of Madhya Pradesh. Scheduled Tribes
children, it may be recalled, account for more than one fifth of the children 7-14 years of age in
the state, according to the 2001 population census. Obviously, an accelerated improvement in

145
literacy of Scheduled Tribe children is critical to achieve the goal of universal education in the
state.

Figue 2
Proportion (Per cent) of children 7-14 years of age not in school in Madhya Pradesh 2001

3 3
21 20

76 77

T otal SC

42 3
3 15

83
55

ST Non SC/ST

Not in school but

In school Illiterate
literate

Information available through the 2001 population census also suggests that the literacy
rate increases with the increase in the age. The increase is very rapid in the younger ages and
after 9 years of age, the increase slows down considerably to reach the maximum at 11 years of
age and decreases thereafter. The increase in literacy with age has however been found to be
slower in female children as compared to male children so that the gap between literacy rates of
male and female children increases with age. In children of 7 years of age, male literacy was
about 7 points higher than female literacy which increases to almost 11 points in children 13

146
years of age and around 13 points in children of 14 years of age (Figure 2). In Scheduled Tribes
children, this gap increases from about 8 points in children of 7 years of age to more than 20
points in children 14 years of age. The gap in the literacy of male and female children also
increases with age in the Scheduled Castes and non Scheduled Castes/Tribes children.

Figure 3
Proportion (Per cent) of children not in school by age

60

50

40

Total
30 SC
ST
Non SC/ST
20

10

0
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Children in School
Information available through the 2001 population census also suggests that about 76 per
cent children of 7-14 years of age in Madhya Pradesh were found to be in school at the time of
2001 population census, studying in different grades. This implies that about one fourth of
children 7-14 years of age were not in school at the 2001 population census. Out of these 24 per

147
cent children, about 3 per cent children were literate - able to read and write with understanding
whereas about 21 per cent children aged 7-14 years were illiterate (Figure 2). The proportion not
in school was higher in female as compared to male children and in rural as compared to urban
areas (Table 1). The situation appears to be particularly alarming among Scheduled Tribes
children as almost 45 per cent of the Scheduled Tribes children aged 7-14 years were found to be
not in school at the time of 2001 population census.
Figure 3 depicts the proportion of children not in school by the age of the child on the
basis of the information available through 2001 population census. At the beginning of the
learning period, the proportion of children not in school appears to be very high. With the
increase in the age of the child, this proportion decreases, rather rapidly, so as to achieve a
minimum during the age 9-11 years. After 11 years of age, the proportion of children not in
school rises again rather steeply and increases to more than 35 per cent in case of all children
combined and almost 60 per cent in case of Scheduled Tribes children. Even in the non
Scheduled Castes/Tribes population, this proportion has been found to be very close to 30 per
cent.
It is clear from figure 3 that a very substantial proportion of children 7-14 years of age in
the state remain out of the school despite all efforts of the government. Moreover, there is a very
substantial drop out of school after attaining 11 years of age. The age pattern of the proportion of
children not in school suggests that schooling in the state generally begins at an age older than 7
years and is at its peak in the age group 9-11 years when only about 10 per cent of the children
were found to be out of the school around the year 2001. After 11 years of age, the proportion of
children not in school increases again. A relatively low level of schooling in the younger ages of
the childhood period is indicative of low demand for child schooling in the community. On the
other hand, a decrease in schooling in the older ages of the childhood period may be because of a
number of factors including the relevance of school education and a rapid increase in the drop
out of girls from the school as the age increases.

148
 Figure 4
Sex pattern of proportion of children not in school by age
50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Male Female

The decrease in schooling of children after 11 years of age appears to be the result of
dropping out of both boys and girls from the school, although, the drop out appears to be more
rapid in girls as compared to boys. The proportion of boys not in school in the state increased
from around 11 per cent at 11 years of age to more than 26 per cent at 14 years of age whereas
the proportion of girls not in school increased from around 19 per cent to more than 45 per cent
according to the information available through the 2001 population census. Although, the
information available through the 2001 population census is about 8 years old but it can safely be
conjectured that there has not been any significant change in the situation. The dropping out of
boys from the school after 11 years of age is also a significant factor in the decrease in schooling

149
 Figure 5
Inter-district variations in the proportion of children 7-14 years of age not in school

during the older ages of the childhood period. There has however been little effort to reduce the
drop out of boys from the school.

Inter-district Variations in Literacy

Inter-district variations in the proportion of children aged 7-14 years not in school are
very significant. In two districts of the state - Jhabua and Barwani - more than half of the
children 7-14 years of age were not in school at the time of 2001 population census with district
Jhabua having the highest proportion of children out of school. District Jhabua, incidentally, has
the highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes population in the state. In Sheopur, Sidhi and Dhar
districts also, the proportion of children 7-14 years of age out of the school has been found to be

150
very high - ranging between 40-50 per cent. By contrast, in five districts - Balaghat, Seoni,
Narsinghpur, Shajapur and Mandsaur - less than 20 per cent of children 7-14 years of age were
found to be out of the school. In most of the districts of the state, however, the proportion of
children 7-14 years of age outside the school ranged between 20 to 30 per cent around the year
2001. Although, one would expect an improvement in the situation since 2001, yet, it is appears
that the goal of universal schooling of all children 7-14 years of age in the state is still elusive
and in some districts of the state, such as Jhabua and Barwani, the situation appears to be grim as
a substantial proportion of children 7-14 years of age, in these districts, still appear to be to be
out of the school.
The female-male gap in the proportion of children 7-14 years of age not in school also
varies across the districts (Figure 6). For the combined (rural and urban) population and for all
social classes combined, the female-male gap in the proportion of children 7-14 years of age not
in school varies from a low of about 2 percentage points in district Jabalpur to a high of more
than 13 percentage points in district Jhabua. Moreover, in all districts of the state, the female-
male gap in children 7-14 years of age not in school is positive which implies that the proportion
of female children 7-14 years of age out of the school is larger than the proportion of male
children 7-14 years of age out of school. The female-male gap in the proportion of children out
of school is also positive in all districts of the state in case of Scheduled Tribes children and in
all but one districts in case of Scheduled Castes children for the combined population. The only
district where the female-male gap in the proportion of children not in school has been found to
be negative at the 2001 population census is district Balaghat. The same pattern may also be
observed in the rural areas of the state also. However, in the urban areas, the pattern appears to
be different. For the combined population, the female-male gap has ben found negative in three
districts - Chhindwara, Damoh and East Nimar - although difference is only marginal. In case of
Scheduled Castes children, on the other hand, the female-male gap is negative in 11 districts of
the state whereas in case of Scheduled Tribes Children, the female-male gap has been found to
be negative in 8 districts of the state. By contrast, in case of non Scheduled Castes/Tribes
population the female-male gap is found to be negative in only three districts - Chhindwara,
Damoh nd Jabalpur.

151
 Figure 6
Inter-district variations in female-male gap in the proportion of children 7-14 years of age not in school.

Another observation of the figure 6 is that inter-district variations in the female-male gap
in the proportion of children aged 7-14 years not in school is very substantial in case of
Scheduled Tribes children in urban areas. In district Datia, this ratio has been found to be
extremely negative which indicates that, compared to females, a very large proportion of male
Scheduled Tribes children were found to be not in school in this district at the 2001 population
census. On the other hand, the female-male gap has been found to be extremely positive in
Neemuch, Mandsaur, Vidisha and Damoh districts which implies that, compared to males, a very
high proportion of female Scheduled Tribes children were found to be not in school in these
district around the year 2001. Extreme differences in the female and male proportion of
Scheduled Tribes children 7-14 years of age not in school in some of the districts of the state
have implications for universalisation of schooling.

152
School Enrolment
According to the 2001 population census, about 9.45 million children of 7-14 years of
age in the state were in school in the year 2001. This gives a school participation rate of around
76 per cent in the state as a whole. The school participation rate age was substantially lower in
the rural areas (72 per cent) as compared to the school participation rate in the urban areas (86
per cent), although participation was not universal in either rural or urban areas. Similarly, the
school participation rate was higher in male (81 per cent) as compared to female children (10 per
cent). Among different social classes, the school participation rate has been estimated to be the
lowest among Scheduled Tribes children (55 per cent) and the highest in the non Scheduled
Castes/Tribes children (83 per cent). Schooling appears to be exceptionally poor in female
Scheduled Tribes children in the rural areas as less than 47 per cent of female Scheduled Tribes
children of 7-14 years of age were in school at the 2001 population census. By contrast, more
than 89 per cent of male non Scheduled Castes/Tribes children in the urban areas were found to
be in school at the 2001 population census. Although, the information available from the 2001
population census is outdated to some extent, yet it is clear from table 2 that social class
disparities in schooling of children in the state are very wide and appear to have persisted over
time. Reduction and ultimate elimination of these disparities is necessary to achieve universal the
goal of schooling in Madhya Pradesh.
On the other hand, gross enrolment in schools was reported to be more than 15.18 million
in the year 2006-07 (NUEPA, 2008). Gross enrolment up to the primary level was around 11.27
million while the upper primary enrolment was around 3.91 million (Table 3). Enrolment of girls
accounted for almost 48 per cent of the total gross enrolment in the elementary education - about
49 per cent in primary and 45 per cent in upper primary education. The enrolment sex ratio was
more than 95 female children for every 100 male children up to grade three but decreases with
the increase in education grade.
The enrolment sex ratio was higher in the primary level (95 female children for every 100
male children) as compared to the upper primary level (82 female children for every 100 male
children). In fact, the enrolment sex ratio decreases steadily from 96-98 female children for every
100 male children in grades I and II to just around 79 female children for every 100 male

153
 Figure 7
Inter-district variations in primary education gross enrolment ratio, 2006-07.

children in grade VIII indicating that the drop out in girls increases at a faster rate than the
increase in the drop out in boys with the increase in age.
It is possible to estimate the gross enrolment ratio in different grades of primary and
elementary education on the basis of the projected population of the state by age. The
Government of India, National Commission on Population has projected the population of the
country and the constituent states for the period 2001-2026 on the basis of the population
enumerated at the 2001 population census (Government of India, 2007). According to these
projections the number of children aged 7-14 years in Madhya Pradesh were approximately 12.5

154
million in the year 2006 - 7.85 million in the age group 7-11 years and 4.64 million in the age
group 12-14 years. On the basis of this projected population, the primary education gross
enrolment ratio in the state has been estimated to be 143.6 per cent while the upper primary
education gross enrolment ratio has been estimated to be 84.2 per cent around the year 2006.
Among different grades, the gross enrolment ratio for Grade I has been estimated to be the
highest (164 per cent) but decreases in subsequent grades. In grade VII, the enrolment ratio has
been estimated to be less than 80 per cent. Moreover, in all grades of the primary education, the
gross enrolment ratio has been estimated to be more than 100 per cent but less than 100 per cent
in all grades of upper primary education. The wide gap in the enrolment ratios at the primary
level as compared to the gross enrolment ratio at the upper primary level suggests that there is a
very high level of drop out between primary and upper primary levels.
The gross enrolment ratio is defined as the ratio of total enrolment in primary (upper
primary) education to the primary (upper primary)school age population. Since there is generally
under-age and over-age enrolment in the primary education, the primary education gross
enrolment ratio is generally found to be more than 100. A gross enrolment ratio higher than 100
implies that there is either over-aged enrolment or substantial repetition. If the number of
repeaters are excluded, then the primary education gross enrolment ratio reduces to about123 per
cent. This shows that there is very substantial over-aged enrolment in primary education in the
state.

Inter-district Variations in School Enrolment

The District Information System for Education also provides estimates of gross
enrolment ratio at the primary level and the upper primary level for the districts of the state. In
all but two districts of the state, the primary education gross enrolment ratio has been estimated
to be more than 100 per cent in the year 2006-07 with district Jhabua topping the list with a
primary education gross enrolment ratio of more than 172 per cent. The two district where the
primary education gross enrolment ratio has been estimated to be less than 100 per cent are
Bhopal and Shahdol. On the other hand, the upper primary education gross enrolment ratio has
been estimated to be less than 100 in all but 7 districts of the state. It appears that the information

155
available through the District Information System for Education presents a distorted picture of
participation of children either in primary education or in upper primary education.
Unfortunately, the District Information System for Education does not provide estimates of gross
enrolment ratio for the elementary education for the state and for the districts which may provide

Figure 8
Inter-district variations in upper-primary education net enrolment ratio, 2006-07.

a more realistic picture of participation of children in schooling. In any case, estimates of

primary education gross enrolment ratio in the state and in its constituent districts suggest that
one of the challenge in the universalisation of primary education in the state is to reduce over-

156
aged enrolment and grade repetition in the primary education. It is also clear that reduction in
over-aged enrolment and grade repetition in primary education will also contribute to
improvement in the upper primary education gross enrolment ratio.
Compared to the gross enrolment ratio, the net enrolment ratio, defined as the proportion
of the population of the official age of a given grade who are enrolled in that grade, provides a
more realistic picture of participation of children in school education. Ideally, the net enrolment
ratio should be 100 per cent. The net enrolment ratio can never be more than 100 per cent. A low
net enrolment ratio signals inadequacies in participation of children in school education.
The District Information System for Education does not provide the estimate of primary
level net enrolment ratio for the state as a whole but estimates for the districts are available. In 28
of the 45 districts of the state, the net enrolment ratio is estimated to be 100 per cent whereas in
Bhopal and Shahdol districts, the net enrolment ratio has been estimated to be less than 70 per
cent in the year 2006-07. By contrast, the net enrolment ratio in the upper primary education has
been estimated to be very low. For the state as a whole, the net enrolment ratio has been
estimated to be only about 60 per cent indicating gross deficiencies in the school education
system in the state. On the other hand, the net enrolment ratio for upper primary education varies
from a low of just around 32 per cent in district Shahdol to more than 80 per cent in Bhind,
Morena, Indore and Katni districts. Net enrolment ratio in upper primary education has also been
estimated to be very high in Gwalior and Umaria districts of the state. On the other hand, in 15
districts of the state, the upper primary education net enrolment ratio has been found to be less
than 50 per cent which suggests that more than half of the children aged 12-14 years in these
districts are out of upper primary education. They are either in the primary education or they are
not in any school.
The information available through the District Information System for Education clearly
suggests that there are serious inadequacies in the context of universalisation of elementary
education in the state, especially, in the 15 districts where the net enrolment ratio for upper
primary education has been estimated to be very low on the basis of data available through
District Information System for Education. Addressing these inadequacies is one of the
development priorities of the state.

157
The Learning Environment
The prevailing levels of literacy and schooling in children aged 7-14 years are primarily
influenced by the learning environment that prevails in the state. One of the key determinants of
this learning environment is that children must have access to schools. Access to school includes
both availability of the school and the distance at which the school is available. The Madhya
Pradesh Jan Shiksha Adhiniyam that aims at universalising primary education, stipulates that
there should be a primary education facility within a radius of 1 km and an upper primary
education facilities within a radius of 3 kms of every habitation to ensure that all children have
access to primary education (Government of Madhya Pradesh, 2002).
There are two dimensions of schooling in the context of the learning environment in the
school. One is the quantitative dimension while the other is the qualitative dimension. The
quantitative dimension of the learning environment is related to the number of schools and the
distance at which the learning facility is available. School density is thus a major factor in
building the environment necessary for the universalisation of child education in the state. The
most commonly used measure of this dimension is the number of schools per 1000 children 7-14
years of age or number of schools per 1000 population.
The learning environment for the children of Madhya Pradesh consisted of approximately
1.26 million schools in both public and private sector and providing education from primary
level up to the twelfth grade in both rural and urban areas during the year 2006-07 according to
the information available from the District Information System for Education (NUEPA, 2008).
The education and learning environment for children in the state is dominated by the public
sector as almost 84 per cent or about 1.06 million schools in the state are public sector schools
(Table 4). In the rural areas of the state, the number of schools in the public sector is more than
90 per cent but, in the urban areas, private sector schools outnumber public sector schools. In any
case, the very fact that the availability of schools in the state, especially in the rural areas, is
largely dependent upon the initiatives and investments of the government suggests that public
sector efforts and public sector investments in schooling for children are critical to expanding the
school network in the state and building the learning environment necessary for achieving the
goal of universalisation of schooling among children.

158
Quality of Schooling
On the other hand, one of the necessary conditions to ensure an accepted quality of
learning in the school environment is the quality of education which is determined by a
minimum acceptable level of teachers, school infrastructure and facilities within the school. If
this minimum acceptable level is lacking in schools, it is difficult to ensure education and
learning of an acceptable quality. The quality of education is relevant from the perspective of
both universal enrolment and retention of children in schools.

Figure 9
Proportion of single classroom and single teacher school in Madhya Pradesh

Primary

Primary and
Upper
Primary

Primary,
Upper
Primary and
Secondary

Upper
Primary

Upper
Primary and
Secondary

All

0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Single Clasroom Single T eacher

One of the essential conditions to ensure an accepted level of quality of education and
learning in schools is that the schools must have certain basic minimum standard in terms of

159
teachers, infrastructure and facilities. If the basic minimum standard in terms of teachers,
infrastructure and facilities is missing in schools than it is difficult to ensure an accepted level of
quality in education and learning that facilitates universal enrolment and cent per cent retention.

Figure 10
Infrastructure and facilities in schools in Madhya Pradesh

Pucca building

Student/classroom ratio
>=60

Play ground

Toilet f or girls

Electricity

Computers

Book bank

0 20 40 60 80

The District Information System for School Education provides information about the
availability of infrastructure and facilities in schools covered under the system. This information
presents a relatively poor scenario of infrastructure and facilities available in the schools of the
state. The very fact that the quality of learning environment in the state is not up to the mark may
be judged from the simple fact that more than 22 per cent of the schools in the state were single
teacher schools while 10 per cent schools were single class room schools according to the

160
information available through the District Information System for Education. What is even more
intriguing is the observation that there were even single classroom schools and single teacher
schools in the state which were providing education up to the higher secondary level (Figure 9).
Obviously, in these schools, the quality of education and learning is seriously compromised.
Similarly, the observation that more than one fourth of the primary schools in the state are still
single teacher schools also raises concerns about the quality of learning and education
environment in the state.
Information related to certain basic infrastructure and facilities in the schools of the state,
as available through the District Information System for Education is presented in figure 10
which clearly shows that substantial investment in the school environment is necessary to ensure
education and learning of an acceptable quality.

Education Development Index

A comprehensive assessment of the status of schooling environment in the state can be
made on the basis of the education development index developed by the National University of
Educational Planning and Administration as part of the District Information System for
Education. The education development index is based on a set of 23 indicators grouped into four
dimensions of the school environment - access to school, infrastructure and facilities in schools,
availability of teachers and school outcomes (Box 1). Details regarding the construction of the
Education Development Index are given elsewhere (NUEPA, 2009) and not described here. The
index has been calculated separately for the primary education and the upper primary education.
Separate development indexes have also been calculated for the four components of the
composite education development index. However, these indexes have not been calculated for
the elementary education. Rather the index has been calculated separately for the primary
education and the upper primary education.
Table 5 presents estimates of educational development index for the state along with the
development indexes for the four component of the education development index. The table also
gives the rank of Madhya Pradesh vis-a-vis other states and Union Territories of the country in

161
terms of the education development index as well as in terms of the four components of the
education development index.
The pathetic state of school education in Madhya Pradesh is very much evident from the
table. The education development index for elementary education in the state is estimated to be
0.590 in the year 2006-07 and the state ranked 26 among the 35 states and Union Territories of
the country. In case of primary education, the index is estimated to be 0.572 while it is estimated
to be 0.607 in case of upper primary education. In both the cases, the state ranks 26 amongst the
35 states and Union Territories of the country. Among the four components of the education
development index, Madhya Pradesh fairs relatively better in case of access index and
infrastructure index as may be seen from table 5. However, in case of teacher index and outcome
index, the state fairs badly with respect to other states and Union Territories of the country. The
outcome index in case of upper primary education is estimated to be the lowest in the country.
On the other hand, in case of primary education, the situation of the state vis-a-vis other states
and Union Territories of the country is marginally better but not acceptable.
It appears that Madhya Pradesh has performed relatively better in the quantitative
dimension of the schooling environment, measured in terms of access and infrastructure as
compared to the qualitative dimensions of schooling environment measured in terms of teacher
index and outcome index. In order to achieve the cherished goal of universal education for all
children in the state, it is imperative that quality dimension of the schooling environment in the
state is improved substantially. The very fact that the outcome index in both primary education
and upper primary education in the state is amongst the lowest in the country indicates that
improvements in access and infrastructure in school education system in the state has contributed
little to improvements in the quality of education and hence in the outcome of elementary
education in the state. This is an area which require sincere introspection in the context of
universal education for all.
The foregoing discussions clearly indicate that the state has still to go a long way to
ensure education for all as stipulated in the National Education Policy. It is obvious that
substantive additional investments are required to improve the infrastructure and facilities in the
schools of the state. It is also clear that the state cannot absolve itself from the responsibility of

162
providing basic education to all children of the state as education has now been enshrined as the
fundamental right in the Constitution of India.

References

Government of India (2007) Population Projections for India based on 2001 Population Census.
New Delhi, National Population Commission.
Government of Madhya Pradesh (2002) Jan Shiksha Adhiniyam. Bhopal, Rajya Shiksha Kendra.
Government of Madhya Pradesh (2007) XI Five-year Development Plan: 2007-2012. Bhopal,
State Planning Commission.
National University of Educational Planning and Administration (2008) Elementary Education in
India. Progress towards UEE. New Delhi, National University of Planning and
Administration.
National University of Educational Planning and Administration (2009) Elementary Education in
India. Where do we stand Vol I and II. New Delhi, National University of Educational
Planning and Administration.

163
 Table 1
Proportion (per cent) of children 7-14 years of age not in schools in Madhya Pradesh, 2001.

Population Person Male Female F-M

Total Population
Combined 24.24 19.20 29.81 10.61
Rural 27.59 21.31 34.53 13.22
Urban 14.13 12.85 15.54 2.69
Scheduled Castes
Combined 23.18 17.90 29.21 11.31
Rural 24.42 18.19 31.64 13.45
Urban 19.31 16.96 21.89 4.93
Scheduled Tribes
Combined 44.79 37.83 52.25 14.42
Rural 45.69 38.48 53.41 14.93
Urban 31.41 28.18 34.91 6.73
Non Scheduled Castes/Tribes
Combined 17.44 13.21 22.11 8.9
Rural 19.97 14.23 26.30 12.07
Urban 11.91 10.99 12.94 1.95

Source: Census 2001.

164
 Table 2
School enrolment (7-14 years) in Madhya Pradesh, 2001.

Population Combined Rural Urban

Person Male Female Person Male Female Person Male Female

Total enrolment
Total 9447230 5287739 4159491 6781997 3865536 2916461 2665233 1422203 1243030
SC 1519031 866287 652744 1129598 656164 473434 389433 210123 179310
ST 1483192 864293 618899 1367205 801076 566130 115987 63217 52769
Non SC/ST 6445007 3557159 2887848 4285193 2408296 1876897 2159814 1148863 1010951
Enrolment Ratio
(per cent)
Total 75.76 80.80 70.19 72.41 78.69 65.47 85.87 87.15 84.46
SC 76.82 82.10 70.79 75.58 81.81 68.36 80.69 83.02 78.11
ST 55.21 62.17 47.75 54.31 61.52 46.59 68.59 71.82 65.09
Non SC/ST 82.56 86.79 77.89 80.03 85.77 73.70 88.09 89.01 87.06

Source: Census (2001)

165
 Table 3
School enrolment in Madhya Pradesh, 2006-07 based on the District Information System for
Education.

Grade Estimated Gross enrolment Enrolment Gross

population Total Boys Girls sex ratio enrolment
2006 (F/100M) ratio
(000) (per cent)
I 1571 2579593 1318046 1261547 96 164.20
II 1567 2384735 1205162 1179573 98 152.18
III 1566 2272961 1159772 1113189 96 145.14
IV 1571 2021964 1045021 976943 93 128.71
V 1574 2012048 1048734 963314 92 127.83
VI 1568 1396016 753787 642229 85 89.03
VII 1551 1240124 681238 558886 82 79.96
VIII 1524 1272846 712652 560194 79 83.52
Primary 7849 11271301 5776735 5494566 95 143.60
Upper 4643 3908986 2147677 1761309 82 84.19
Primary
Primary+Upp 12492 15180287 7924412 7255875 92 121.52
er Primary

Source: NUEPA (2008)

166
 Table 4
Educational institutions and enrolment in educational Institutions in Madhya Pradesh, 2006-07.

School category Combined Rural Urban

Total Public Private Total Public Private Total Public Private
Number of schools
Primary only 87728 80498 7230 81034 76086 4948 6694 4412 2282
Primary and Upper Primary 12262 2812 9450 7002 2597 4405 5260 215 5045
Primary, Upper Primary and 2327 360 1967 911 295 616 1416 65 1351
Secondary/Higher Secondary
Upper Primary only 22525 21435 1090 19945 19367 578 2580 2068 512
Upper Primary and 1009 508 501 515 355 160 494 153 341
Secondary/Higher Secondary
All 125851 105613 20238 109407 98700 10707 16444 6913 9531
Structure of educational institutions
Primary only 69.71 76.22 35.72 74.07 77.09 46.21 40.71 63.82 24.56
Primary and Upper Primary 9.74 2.66 46.69 6.40 2.63 41.14 31.99 3.11 52.93
Primary, Upper Primary and 1.85 0.34 9.72 0.83 0.30 5.75 8.61 0.94 14.17
Secondary/Higher Secondary
Upper Primary only 17.90 20.30 5.39 18.23 19.62 5.40 15.69 29.91 5.37
Upper Primary and 0.80 0.48 2.48 0.47 0.36 1.49 3.00 2.21 3.58
Secondary/Higher Secondary
All 100.00 83.92 16.08 100.00 90.21 9.79 100.00 42.04 57.96

167
School category Combined Rural Urban
Total Public Private Total Public Private Total Public Private
Enrolment
Primary only 9117891 8147644 970247 8030737 7418847 611890 1087154 728797 358357
Primary and Upper Primary 2604782 479031 2125751 1359147 431980 927167 1245635 47051 1198584
Primary, Upper Primary and 737816 69620 668196 209695 46574 163121 528121 23046 505075
Secondary/Higher Secondary
Upper Primary only 2492207 2273467 218740 2073854 1992624 81230 418353 280843 137510
Upper Primary and 229613 95242 134371 96021 56505 39516 133592 38737 94855
Secondary/Higher Secondary
All 15182309 11065004 4117305 11769454 9946530 1822924 3412855 1118474 2294381
Enrolment per school
Primary only 104 101 134 99 98 124 162 165 265
Primary and Upper Primary 212 170 225 194 166 210 237 219 238
Primary, Upper Primary and 317 193 340 230 158 265 373 355 374
Secondary/Higher Secondary
Upper Primary only 111 106 201 104 103 141 162 136 269
Upper Primary and 228 187 268 186 159 247 270 253 278
Secondary/Higher Secondary
All 121 105 203 108 101 170 208 162 241

Source: Government of India.

168
Table 5: Education Development Index in Madhya Pradesh, 2007-08.

Index Primary Upper primary

Level Rank Level Rank
Education development index 0.572 26 0.607 26
Access index 0.554 13 0.694 19
Infrastructure index 0.721 15 0.764 20

Teacher index 0.446 30 0.501 32

Outcome index 0.546 29 0.451 35

Source: NUEPA (2009)

169
 Chapter 7: Health and Longevity
Human capacity is one of the three key dimensions of multidimensional poverty - the
other two are endowments and social opportunity. Reduction in poverty requires not only
increasing endowments but also enhancing individual capacity and creating opportunities.
Health and longevity is now universally recognised as the proxy for human capacity. One of the
basic determinants of the productivity of an individual is his or her health which has a direct
implication for longevity. Traditionally, health has been measured in terms of mortality.
Transition in mortality reflects improvements in the quality of life through improvements in
health and nutritional status of the population. Transition in mortality is a necessary requirement
for improvements in the standards of living (United Nations, 1973). Transition in mortality also
contributes to the evolution of the health policy. Ideally, there should be congruence between
transition in mortality and evolution of the health policy as health policy has a direct reflection
on the levels and trends in mortality. On the other hand, evolution of health policy should
essentially be a response to the health status of the population as reflected in terms of changes in
mortality. The most widely used indicator for analysing transition in mortality is the expectation
of life at birth (Pollard, 1982). The expectation of life at birth is defined as the average number of
years a new born will survive when exposed to the prevailing levels of age specific death rates.
The expectation of life at birth is essentially a synthetic measure which gives the number of
years, a new born is expected to survive, on average, given the prevailing age specific death
rates. The expectation of life at birth takes into account the mortality experience of all ages.
Madhya Pradesh has the dubious distinction of having the lowest expectation of life at
birth in India which indicates that the health of the people of Madhya Pradesh is amongst the
poorest in the country. According to the Sample Registration System, the expectation of life at
birth in Madhya Pradesh was around 58 years during the period 2002-06 which was 5.5 years
less than the expectation of life at birth for India as a whole (Government of India, 2008). The
situation was radically different about 30 years ago, during 1971-75, when the expectation of life
at birth in Madhya Pradesh was 47.6 years which was higher than the expectation of life at birth
170
in Assam, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh (Government of India, 1984). If the trend in the
expectation of life at birth is a reflection of the progress in health and well being of the people,
then, then the increase in the expectation of life at birth suggests that improvements in health and
well-being of the people of Madhya Pradesh have been the slowest amongst the major states of
India during the 30 years between 1971-75 through 2002-06. Obviously, poverty of health
remains a major challenge in Madhya Pradesh. The persistence of poor health and well-being of
the people of the state, incidentally, has important implications for other dimensions of
poverty and hence for poverty reduction efforts.
The increase in the expectation of life at birth in Madhya Pradesh can be characterised by
comparing the actual increase in the expectation of life at birth with the global model schedules
of improvements in mortality based on the increase in the expectation of life at birth developed
by the United Nations (United Nations, 2004). United Nations has developed five model
mortality improvement schedules on the basis of the empirical evidence about the increase in the
expectation of life at birth during the period 1950 to 2005 in countries where the expectation of
life at birth ranged between 50 to 85 years. These model mortality improvement schedules
represent the average experience of improvements in mortality and are grouped according to 90 th
percentile (very fast increase), 75th percentile (fast increase), the arithmetic mean (medium
increase), 25th percentile (slow increase), and 10th percentile (very slow increase). The model
mortality schedules so obtained have then been extended to cover the expectation of life at birth
ranging from 40 years to 92.5 years by fitting the Lee-Carter mortality model (United Nations,
2004a).
Figure 1 compares the increase in the expectation of life at birth in Madhya Pradesh with
the model mortality schedules developed by the United Nations during the period 1971-75
through 2001-05. It may be seen from the figure that compared to the global trends in the
expectation of life at birth, the trend in the expectation of life at birth in males as well as in
females has been slow to very slow during the 30 years between 1971-75 through 2001-05.
Improvements in mortality appeared to be somewhat satisfactory up to 1986-90 in males and
1981-85 in females but during the 1990s, there is a clear evidence of faltering in improvements
in mortality in the state. For example, the increase in the male expectation of life at birth in the
state followed a trajectory between the medium and slow model mortality improvement schedule
171
of the United Nations till 1986-90 but after 1986-90, the pace of improvement in male
expectation of life at birth decelerated so that by the year 2001-05, the total increase in the male
expectation of life at birth was less than the increase according to the slow model mortality
schedule of the United Nations. Similarly, the increase in the female expectation of life at
birth in the state followed the fast model mortality schedule of United Nations till 1981-85 but
the increase faltered after 1981-85 so that the total gain in the female expectation of life at birth
in the state during the period 1971-75 through 2001-05 was less than the increase resulting
from the slow model mortality schedule of United Nations.
Figure
Trends in the expectation of life at birth in Madhya Pradesh in comparison to the model
mortality schedules of United Nations.

172
 Figure 2
Proportion of new born expected to die by age in Madhya Pradesh.

The expectation of life at birth depicts the mortality experience of entire population. It is
well known that the risk of death varies by age. A better understanding of the mortality
173
experience of the population of the state may therefore be obtained by analysing the mortality
experience or, equivalently, the survival experience in the state in different age groups. This
analysis is based on the trends in the probability of survival in different age groups as available
through the Sample Registration System.
The age specific death rates available through the Sample Registration System suggest
that during the period 1971-75, almost one fourth of the new born were expected to die in the
first five years of life; another about 13 per cent were expected to die during 5-45 years of age;
about 14 per cent during 45-60 years of age and about 17 per cent during 60-70 years of age. As
the result, only about 31 per cent of the new born were expected to survive up to 70 years of age.
During the period 2001-05, more than 46 per cent of the new born were expected to reach 70
years primarily, as the result of improvements in mortality in the age group 0-5 years of age. As
compared to almost one fourth of the new born dying before reaching their fifth birthday during
the period 1971-75, less than 14 per cent of the new born were estimated to die before reaching
the fifth birth day during the period 1996-200. However, during the period 2001-05, there was an
increase in mortality in the age group 0-5.

174
 Figure 3

Probability of death (per 1000 live births) during infancy (<1 year) and during early childhood
(1-4 years) in Madhya Pradesh.

One of the reasons for exceptionally slow increase in the expectation of life at birth in
Madhya Pradesh is very high infant and child mortality, although, the risk of death during
infancy and early childhood is decreasing over time. In the year 2007, the infant mortality rate in
the state was 72 infant deaths per 1000 live births which was the highest in the country
(Government of India, 2008). Similarly, according to the National Family Health Survey, 2005-
06 the risk of death during the first five years of life in the state was estimated to be the second
highest in the country. Persistence of high to very high risk of death during infancy and early

175
childhood in the state may be judged from the fact that Madhya Pradesh has always ranked
among the poorest five states of India in terms of infant and child mortality over the last 35
years. Although, both infant and child mortality decreased during the period, yet the decrease has
not been large enough to improve the rank of the state vis-a-vis other states of India. In recent
years, there has also been an increase in the probability of death in 1-4 years of age. This
reversing of the trend suggests a worsening rather than improvement in the health status of
children 1-4 years of age.

Figure 4
Distribution of deaths by age in Madhya Pradesh.

176
 The result of persistent high infant and child mortality in Madhya Pradesh is that almost
30 per cent of all deaths in the state are still confined to first five years of life (Government of
India, 2008). This is in quite contrast to India as a whole where deaths in the age group 0-4 years
accounted for about 20 per cent of all deaths. Moreover, even a more concerning
observation is that despite reduction in infant and child mortality, there has been very little
change in the distribution of deaths by age in the state. Obviously, an accelerated reduction in the
risk of death during infancy and early childhood is necessary for an accelerated improvement in
the health and longevity of the people in the state.

Figure 5
Trends in maternal mortality ratio in Madhya Pradesh.

Like infant and child mortality, maternal mortality in Madhya Pradesh is also
amongst the highest in the country. Based on a special survey of deaths under the Sample
Registration System, the Registrar General of India has estimated a maternal mortality ratio of
379 deaths for every 100 thousand live births in the state during the period 2001-03 which was
well above the national average of 301 maternal deaths for every 100 thousand live births
(Government of India, 2006). On the other hand, based on the information available
through the National Family Health Survey, 2005-06 and using an indirect approach, Ranjan
(2008) has estimated a maternal mortality ratio of 411 maternal deaths per 100 thousand live
177
births compared to the national average of 289 maternal deaths per 100 thousand live births.
Because of high fertility, one in every 65 women in Madhya Pradesh face life time risk of a
maternal death compared to one in every 108 women in India The life time risk in Madhya
Pradesh is fourth highest in the country.

Figure 6
Proportion (per cent) of children 12-23 months of age fully immunised.

The underlying factors of unacceptably high infant and child mortality are poor efficiency
of public health care services and rampant under-nutrition among children. The poor efficiency
of public health care services in the state is reflected from the fact that around 40 per cent of
children 12-23 months of age were found to be fully immunised at the time of National Family
178
Health Survey 2005-06 while less than 30 per cent of children below three years of age having
diarrhoea during two weeks prior to the survey were found to be given oral rehydration salt to
prevent deaths from dehydration during diarrhoea. Immunisation against vaccine preventable
diseases and oral rehydration therapy during diarrhoea are the low cost appropriate
technologies known for their effectiveness in preventing deathsduringinfancy and early
childhood even in diverse and difficult social, economic and cultural settings. However,
universal adoption of these technologies in Madhya Pradesh still remains a distant dream.

Figure 7
Proportion (per cent) of children with diarrhoea given oral rehydration therapy in Madhya
Pradesh.

179
 Nutritional status of children is another factor that plays an important role in determining
the level of infant and child mortality. It is the single biggest contributor to childhood mortality.
Inadequate and imbalanced diet and chronic illness are commonly associated with poor
nutritional status of the children. In turn, poor nutritional status of children is one of the most
serious health problems in children and the biggest contributor to childhood mortality. Under
nutrition saps the growth potential of the child and its capacity to fight the environmental health
hazards. Poor nutritional status combined with repeated bouts of common illnesses such as acute
respiratory infections, diarrhoea, etc. constitute a vicious circle that hampers the growth and
development of children and gradually push them to premature death. Breaking this vicious
circle is the key to accelerated reduction in infant and child mortality.
Figure 8
Proportion of children below three years of age under-nourished in Madhya Pradesh.

180
 Poor Nutritional status of children of Madhya Pradesh may be judged from the fact that
the information available through the National Family Health Survey suggests that an estimated
58 per cent of children in Madhya Pradesh were under-nourished in terms of low weight for age
whereas almost 27 per cent were severely undernourished. Information available through
different rounds of the National Family Health Survey also suggests that this proportion has
shown an increasing trend in recent years which reflects a worsening of the nutrition situation in
the state. Low weight for age reflects both long term nutritional imbalance and malnutrition, as
well as current under-nutrition and is the result of protein-calorie deficiency. The increase in the
proportion of children low weight-for-age have important implications not only for the survival
of children but also for the health and longevity of the population.

Figure 9
Expectation of life at birth (years) in districts of Madhya Pradesh.

181
 Based on National Family Health Survey, 2005-06 except for the expectation of life at
birth which is estimated by the author on the basis of information available through 2001
population census.
Another important dimension of health and longevity is regional and social class
disparities that have persisted over time. More than 35 per cent of the population of Madhya
Pradesh is either Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. Social class disparities, therefore, have
important implications for the health status of the people. Similarly, inter-district disparities in
health and longevity are also known for their strength and persistence. Reducing the social class
and regional disparities has been argued to be an optimal, yet feasible way of improving the
health of the people.
Another disparity that has significant implications to health and longevity is the inter-
district disparity that has also persisted over time despite all Improvements in the health
situation. For example, the expectation of life at birth across the districts of the state varies from
more than 63 years in district Indore to less than 49 years in district Katni according to the 2001
population census. District Indore is the only district in the state which had an expectation of life
at birth more than 60 years while Katni was the only district having an expectation of life at birth
of less than 49 years (Figure 8). Another significant observation of figure 8 is that in most of the
districts in the norther and north-eastern parts of the state, the expectation of life at birth has been
estimated to be low to very low whereas in districts located in the southern and western parts of
the state, the expectation of life at birth is generally on the higher side. The regional pattern in
the distribution of the expectation of life at birth across the districts of the state suggests that the
health status of the people in the northern and north-eastern parts of the state is poor than that in
its southern and western part. In fact, four of the six districts having lowest expectation of life at
birth are located in the northeastern part of the state (Figure 9). Very low level of expectation of
life at birth in this part of the state indicates that the health of the people of this part of the state is
a major development concern.
Summary measures of inter-district variations in selected indicators of health and
longevity are compiled in table 2 along with the coefficient of variation which reflects the
disparity or inequality across the districts. Inter district disparity or inter-district inequality has

182
been found to be the highest in case of life time risk of a maternal death closely followed by the
proportion of children 12-23 months of age fully immunised and the use of oral
rehydration solution in children with diarrhoea. The risk of the life time risk of a maternal death
varies from a low of 1:152 to a high of 1:19 and is the result of both inter-district variations in
the risk of death due to complications of pregnancy and delivery and inter-district variations
infertility. On the other hand, the proportion of children fully immunised, the coverage varies
from a low of around 11 per cent to a high of more than 75 per cent. Similarly, the use of oral
rehydration solution in children with diarrhoea varies from a low of just around 4 per cent to
almost 60 per cent across the districts of the state. By comparison, the inter-district inequality is
small in case of proportion of under-nourished children below 5 years of age and lowest in case
of the expectation of life at birth.
The foregoing discussions reflect the generally poor state of health of the people in
Madhya Pradesh. It appears that efforts to meeting the health needs of the people of the state has
somewhere fallen short of what is needed. Information available from a variety of sources clearly
reveals that a large proportion of the population of the state is still devoid of even the basic
minimum health care facilities and an acceptable level of nutritional status necessary for being in
a state of social, mental and physical well-being and not just free from disease or infirmity. The
situation appears to be compounded further by mass illiteracy, especially among women,
rampant poverty and low levels of social and economic development.
The state response to addressing the issues of health and longevity of the people of the
state is articulate in the state health policy 2000 which still remains a draft. The vision of the
state health policy is that all people living in the state of Madhya Pradesh will have the
knowledge and skills required to keep themselves healthy, and have equity in access to
effective and affordable health care, as close to the family as possible, that enhances their
quality of life, and enables them to lead a healthy productive life (Government of Madhya
Pradesh, 2000).
In order to realise the aforesaid vision, the draft state health policy aims at:
1. Ensuring geographic and economic access to primary and secondary quality health care
and family welfare services to all people of Madhya Pradesh within a span of five to
seven years.
183
 2. Prevention of disaster, to the extent possible, and preparedness for disaster management
as and when necessary.Reducing the MMR to 220 by 2011 from the level of 498 (1997
level).Reducing the IMR to 62 by 2011 from the level of 97 (1997 level).
3. Total Fertility Rate to reach replacement level fertility (i.e. a TFR of 2.1 by the year
2011).
4. Stabilize the prevalence of HIV/AIDS at low level (present level) and further decrease it.
5. Address problems related to mental health and initiate action to create information base
and preventive intervention for improved mental health in the state.
The current levels and past trends in indicators related to health and longevity, however,
indicates that it is extremely difficult to achieve the goals of the state health policy until and
unless concerted multidimensional efforts are made to address the health needs of the people of
the state. It is in this context that a more pragmatic framework for meeting the health and family
welfare needs of the people of the state should be evolved and put in place. It may be
emphasized here that health of the people is a major determinant of the productivity of the social
and economic production system. At the same time levels of infant, child and maternal mortality
remain perhaps most sensitive indicators of social and economic development.
Any approach towards improving the health of the people of the state should be directed
towards creating opportunities for the people of the state to adopt positive health seeking
behaviour by making informed choices to ensure healthy life style for themselves, their family
members and to build and sustain a healthy environment in which they live, work and play.
It is in this context, that the state action towards meeting the health and family welfare
needs of the people of the state should be based on the following lines:
 Any health action must begin from home and not from hospital. This means that the
family and the household environment must be given due focus in any approach of
improving health of the people.
 The ultimate responsibility of maintaining and sustaining „good health‟ must lie with the
people. It must be recognised that health of an individual is closely influenced by the
environment in which individuals live, work and play - the health of the community.
Health of individuals cannot be separated from the health of the community.

184
  Community health, in turn, is profoundly affected by the collective beliefs, attitudes and
behaviours of every one who lives in the community. As such community level action for
good health must be an integral part of any approach towards improving the health of the
people.
 It must be recognised that through appropriate interventions, people can maintain and
sustain good health by practising positive health seeking behaviour. What is needed is the
appropriate collective health action at the local level.
 Local level collective health action can be sustained only through the initiative and active
participation of the people in health related activities. Tis local level capacity building in
terms of needs assessment, planning, implementation and monitoring of health related
activities and programmes.
 The local level collective health action cannot meet all health needs of the people because
of the very nature of health needs. To be effective, local level collective health action
requires support in the form of specialized health care services which can be grouped into
three categories:
- Services that promote positive health;
- Services that prevent negative health conditions such as diseases, disability and
impairments; and
- Services that treat or cure the negative health conditions so that an individual or a
group of individuals in a state of negative health returns back to the state
of positive health.
 Existence of an efficient and effective health care delivery system is critical to sustaining
local health action and making local health action effective in meeting the health needs of
the people. There should be an effective regulatory system which ensures that services of
an acceptable quality and at an appropriate cost are available to all the people of the state.
It is important that an appropriate mix of promotive, preventive and curative health
services made available to the people for maximising health.
Based on the above consideration, the following alternative strategy may be discussed and
debated in the context of meeting the health needs of the people:

185
  Promote local level collective health action by building the capacity of the people and
their organizations to identify their health needs and initiate and sustain action to address
these needs in an effective yet efficient manner.
 Support local level collective health action by creating and sustaining community
partnerships for health care delivery especially by reaching out to non-traditional
partners.
 Provide health system support to local collective health action by improving the
availability, affordability and quality of specialised health care services either through the
public or through the private health care delivery system.
 Develop policies and institutional capacity for regulating health care service delivery
either through public or through private health care delivery system.
 Promote determinants of health research by establishing partnerships with research
centres and academic institutions from within and outside the health sector to directed
towards increasing knowledge to support informed decision-making, especially at the
local level.
 Create health disaster management network by involving the entire health care delivery
system and the broadest possible inter-sectoral and inter-institutional collaboration and
coordination to reduce the impact of emergencies and disasters on the health of the
people.
 Revamp and expand the human resources development (education and training) network
to develop a health workforce profile that is adequate in terms of knowledge and skills
for the delivery of health care services necessary to meet the health needs of the people.
 Strengthen monitoring, evaluation and analysis of health status at the level of the
individual and at the level of the community with especial emphasis on identifying
inequalities or disparities in risks and threats to healthy life style.
Some of the policy initiatives that can be taken up in order to operationalise the aforesaid
strategy are outlined below.
Promote local level collective health action

186
- Evolve people‟s based health service delivery network either at the village level or at the
Gram Panchayat level.
- Build up the capacity of village level people‟s organizations such as Gram Panchayat or
Gram Sabha for grass roots level health planning.
- Develop community skills in obstetric care service delivery through a university based
graduate programme in obstetric care.
- Establish health communication networks at the village level to build up community
awareness about pertinent health issues and to promote the use of low cost appropriate
technology to address identified health issues.
- Develop simple and easy to interpret indicators of monitoring health of the individual and
health of the community at the local level that can be used by the people and their
organizations.
- Develop and introduce healthy life education programme with the help of people‟s
representatives to ensure a change in the health seeking behaviour of the people.
- Evolve a people‟s based environmental sanitation programme based on low-cost
appropriate technology to address factors affecting the people.
Build and sustain community partnerships for health care delivery
- Evolve and institutionalise a systematic approach to health improvement. Goals and
objectives of any health strategy should be part of a larger, systematic approach to health
improvement.
- Identify health related priorities that reflect major public health concerns to the state.
Relate health priorities to health policy goals and objectives.
- Mobilize individuals and organizations that care for the health of the people and for the
health of the community into a coalition.
- Assess the strength and weaknesses of the coalition in meeting the health needs of the
people and health needs of the community.
- Identify opportunities in the community that can strengthen the coalition to meet people‟s
health needs.
- Identify community level threats that may come across the coalition in meeting people‟s
health needs.
187
 - Enhance the capacity of the coalition in meeting the health needs of the people by
developing and institutionalizing a capacity building programme based upon the BEAT
approach:
- Develop vision for the coalition directed towards improving the health of the community.
Add strategies and action steps that may help the coalition in achieving the vision.
- Facilitate the coalition to implement the action steps. Develop community level and
coalition level mechanisms for trekking the progress of implementation.
Improve availability and affordability of quality specialized health care services to
support local level collective health action.
- Revamp public health care delivery system.
a. Decentralize the public health care delivery system by delegating administrative
and financial powers to grass roots level administrative units.
b. Priorities government responsibilities. The government should bear the
responsibility of delivery of primary health care services only.
c. The secondary and tertiary level health care delivery institutions within the public
sector should be made autonomous.
d. The development block should be made the basic unit of planning for health
services and for the delivery of health services.
e. Create the cadre of Block Medical Officer.
f. Build up the capacity of the Block Medical Officer and the Chief Medical and
Health Officer in the critical areas of health planning and
monitoring of the delivery of health care .
g. Revamp the Rogi Kalyan Samiti model of granting functional autonomy to public
hospitals. Give a professional orientation to Rogi Kalyan Samiti.
h. Reorganize the Directorate of Health Services to make it a professional,
competitive organization.
i. Develop performance management system for the public health care delivery
network.
j. Promote health systems research to make public health services more efficient
and effective.
188
 k. Revamp human resources development programme to improve the knowledge
and skills of health services providers.
l. Increase government budgetary allocation for health and sanitation.
m. Enhance capacity the government in terms of health policy formulation, strategy
development and policy level monitoring and impact assessment.
n. Establish continuous quality improvement programme within the public health
care delivery system.
- Reorient the private health care delivery system.
a. Promote public-private partnerships in health care service delivery.
b. Establish performance management system for private health care delivery
system.
c. Involve private health care delivery system in human resources development.

189
Develop policies and institutional capacity for regulation and enforcement
- Establish Health Regulatory Authority to regulate both public and private health
care delivery system.
- Establish an accrediting system for rating both public and private health care
delivery institutions.
- Establish system for the development, monitoring and evaluation of policy
decision for promoting health through a participatory process consistent with the
political and economic context.
Establish determinants of health research programme
- Establish an apex level organization to plan, coordinate and monitor determinants
of health research.
- Create a network of research centres and academic institutions for promoting
health determinants research and for impact assessment of on going health
improvement programmes and activities.
- Develop and implement innovative solutions in health care services delivery
whose impact can be measured and assessed.
Create health disaster management network
- dentify areas exposed to different kinds of health hazards with support of
expertise institutions and determine the vulnerability of key health institutions.
- Develop guidelines for protecting health infrastructure and water and food
distribution systems in the event of disaster.
- Develop disaster mitigation programme as one of the integral component of
public and private health care delivery system.
- Inform, sensitize and training those who are involved in planning, administration,
operation, maintenance and use of facilities about disaster mitigation.
- Include disaster mitigation in the curricula of professional education and training.
- Carry out vulnerability analysis at regular intervals to identify weaknesses in the
system.

Revamp and expand human resources development system

190
 - Establish norms for human resources necessary for meeting the health needs of
the people.
- Make projections of human resources requirements of public and private health
care delivery system.
- Expand the health related education and training facilities to meet the project
requirement of human resources.
- Revamp the in-service human resources development network of public health
care delivery system.
- Establish in-service human resources development programme for the private
health care delivery system.
- Establish human resources development monitoring and evaluation system.
Strengthen monitoring, evaluation and analysis of health status
- Strengthen State Institute of Health Management and Communication to take up
regular evaluation of the health situation and trends.
- Develop technology, expertise and methodologies for management, analysis and
communication of information to key players in health services delivery.
- Develop a programme of management of vital statistics.
- Create and maintain database for assessing the performance of health care
services.
- Develop capacity to conduct research and surveillance of epidemic outbreaks,
patterns of communicable and non-communicable diseases, etc. especially at the
local level.

191
References

Government of India (2004) SRS Based Abridged Life Tables 1970-75. New Delhi,
Registrar General and Census Commissioner.

Government of India (2006) Maternal Mortality Estimates: 1997-2003. Trends, Causes

and Risk Factors. New Delhi, Registrar General and Census Commissioner.

Government of India (2008) SRS Based Abridged Life Tables 2002-06. New Delhi,
Registrar General and Census Commissioner.

Government of India (2008) SRS Bulletin. Sample Registration System. New Delhi,
Registrar General and Census Commissioner.

Government of India (2008) Sample Registration System. Annual Report 2007.

New Delhi, Registrar General and Census Commissioner.

Government of Madhya Pradesh (2007) Draft Health Policy. Bhopal, Public Health and
Family Welfare Department.

Pollard JH (1982) The expectation of life and its relationship to mortality.

Journal of the Institute of Actuaries 109(2):225-240.

Ranjan Alok (2008) Maternal Mortality in India. Bhopal, Shyam Institute.

United Nations (1973) The determinants and Consequences of Population Trends.

New York, United Nations.

United Nations (2004) World Population Projections: The 2004 Revision, Volume
III: Analytical Report. New York, United Nations.

United Nations (2004) World Population Prospects: The 2002 Revision. Vol III,
Analytical Report. New York, United Nations.

192
 Table 1: Social class differentials in selected indicators of population health.

SN Indicator SC ST OBC Others

1 Expectation of life at 52.916 50.267 58.444

birth, 2001
2 Infant mortality rate, 81.9 95.6 79 66.8
2005-06
3 Under-five mortality rate, 110.1 140.7 97.6 79.9
2005-06
4 Maternal mortality ratio, 390 700 353 na
2005-06
5 Life time risk of maternal 1:67 1:31 1:75 na
death, 2005-06
6 Children 12-23 months 40.5 22.3 41 62.4
fully immunised, 2005-06
7 Children with diarrhoea 29.1 26.7 26.9 40.5
given ORS, 2005-06
8 Proportion of children low 62.6 71.4 57.8 45.3
weight-for-age,
2005-06

9 Children 6-59 months 75.6 82.5 70.6 68.5

anaemic, 2005-06
10 Women 15-49 years 56.5 73.9 51.1 46.3
anaemic, 2005-06

Table 2: Summary measures of inter-district variations in selected indicators of

health and longevity in Madhya Pradesh.

SN Indicator Minimum Median Maximum IQR CV

1 Expectation of life at birth, 2001 48.95 55.67 63.81 4.94 0.06
2 Infant mortality rate, 2001 56 97 125 19 0.14
3 Under-five mortality rate, 2001 76 146 195 34 0.17
4 Maternal mortality ratio, 2005-06 208 580 1044 170 0.29
5 Life time risk of maternal death 1:152 1:40 1:19 0.49
6 Children 12-23 months fully immunised, 2006- 11.4 37.5 75.1 24.7 0.43
07
7 Children with diarrhoea given ORS, 2006-07 4.3 31.4 59.9 11.8 0.38
8 Proportion of children low weight-for-age, 35.6 51.08 60.96 7.22 0.1
2001

193
 Chapter 8: Local Governance, Community Participation and Social
Inclusion of Marginalised Sections in Madhya Pradesh

The current quality of governance prevailing in a state is determined in large part

by its history. Thus it is necessary to first study the history of governance and its socio-
economic bases in Madhya Pradesh to understand the current situation and the way
forward. Moreover, the crucial factor in ensuring good governance at all levels is the
level of empowerment of the citizens at the grassroots level. Thus the stress in this paper
will be on analysing the status of local governance and community participation in the
state.

Madhya Pradesh, in its present form, came into existence on November 1, 2000
following its bifurcation to create a new state of Chhattisgarh. The undivided Madhya
Pradesh was founded on November 1, 1956. This occurred on the reorganisation of states
on linguistic lines and whatever area remained unclaimed in the middle of the country by
the dominant linguistic groups was lumped together to create the state. Consequently it is
an artificially created unit. Thus, the most remarkable feature of the state is its huge
expanse and the amalgam of numerous and diverse communities. This large spread
translates into a range of socio-economic situations which in turn influence governance.
Thus it is difficult to view it as one natural homogeneous entity. That is why it has led to
the breaking away of Chhattisgarh from it and this process is likely to continue with the
rising demands for smaller states from other regions within the state.

Madhya Pradesh occupies perhaps the oldest part of the subcontinent. Close to
Bhopal at Bhimbetka are the pre-historic caves that preserve some fascinating paintings
dating back to Paleolithic times. This was perhaps one of the earliest dwellings of human
beings. In fact, the excavations here have revealed a cultural sequence right from the late
stone age to the early historical period. During the ascendancy of the Gupta emperors the
whole region came under their domain and subsequently formed part of Harshvardhan's
empire. With the decline in imperial power the province was broken up into small
principalities contending forever to establish their supremacy over one another. This was
also the time when feudalism began to emerge in the state as the main form of
governance considerably circumscribing the independence of the peasant producer.

194
 There were a number of dynasties like the Chandelas, followed by Pratihara and
Gaharwar Rajputs dynasties which were involved in internecine wars and lavish living
funded by feudal extraction of surplus. Thus they could not ultimately build up a
sustainable governance system that could provide a bulwark against the expansion of
Muslim power from the north. The Muslim rulers who came to dominate the region
fought a running battle with the rulers of Gujarat or the commanders of the Sultan of
Delhi throughout the sultanate period and this too resulted in a neglect of governance.
Emperor Akbar succeeded in subduing most of them and his sterner grandson Aurangzeb
broke through the last pockets of resistance in this region and only then was a stable
feudal system of governance established in the region. Many of the smaller kingdoms that
came into existence later after the decline of the Mughal empire trace their origins to the
lands granted by the emperor at Delhi to those who had served him well. The Marathas
came to control the central Indian region for a brief period and began a new process of
settling of non-tribal and dalit populations from outside in an effort to boost up revenue
collection from settled agriculture and trade. All through the later historical period the
common people at large had to bear the burden of the rulers‟ wars and lavish living
through the payment of feudal levies and the provision of begaar or free labour.

The Marathas were ousted by the British in course of time. The latter signed
treaties with the princely states of the region and established paramountcy over them. The
British brought about a sea change in the socio-economic conditions of the central Indian
region. Having decimated their own forests to fuel industrial development and
international trade, the British began to exploit the forests of India from the early
nineteenth century onwards (Gadgil & Guha, 1992). This exploitation increased with the
laying of rail lines, which began in western India in the 1850s.

The British also decided to fund this development and the accompanying
administrative costs through enhanced land revenue collection and the commercialisation
of agriculture. For this purpose throughout India they embarked on a policy of displacing
the shifting agriculture practising tribals and replacing them with more settled
agricultural castes and substantially hiking the levels of land revenue charged. In the
Madhya Pradesh region the British followed the policy of the Marathas and brought in
Kanbi Patidar and Jat farmers from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan respectively and

195
settled them on the Bhil lands in the plains of western Madhya Pradesh so as to both
increase the earnings from land revenue and commercial agriculture and also to tame the
militant tribals who were providing stiff resistance to their policies (Luard, 1908).
Similar settlements of non-tribal agriculturists and moneylender-traders were also done in
the northern and eastern parts of Madhya Pradesh which were originally the home of
various tribal groups especially the Gonds.

The British introduced a new land settlement regime under which the earlier loose
system of revenue calculation by the village heads was dispensed with and a centralised
system was put in place with greatly enhanced levies on the farmers and the appointment
of Malguzars or revenue collecting agents with free rein to collect as much commissio n
as they could for themselves over and above the settlement. Taxes in the central and
western Indian region increased to the level of about 65% of the production of the farmer
from around 25% prevailing previously (Mishra, 1956). The British thus dismantled the
older feudal system that, especially in adivasi areas, had allowed the village councils a
fair level of independence and put in place a new one, also feudal, but with functionaries
loyal to them that was considerably more exploitative. Even though these policies were
implemented in the areas where the British ruled directly, they had a demonstration effect
and the princely states too began acting in a similar manner goaded on by the Residents.

All this created a serious disruption in the traditional livelihoods of the poor,
especially the tribals, in the central and western Indian region (Hardiman, 1987). The rail
line connected central India with the rest of the world through Mumbai. Grain and minor
forest produce began to be exported. The British appointed the trader bania castes as
agents for collecting excise revenue on a commission basis. This led to the increasing
infiltration of these traders into interior areas. Thus the surpluses that the poor farmers
used to have to tide them over the occasional years of bad monsoons were available no
more and famines became the order of the day. The insistence of the British on the
payment of taxes regardless of the failure of the harvest resulted in indebtedness of the
poor to these traders following as the night the day (Aurora, 1972). Thus the foundations
of the indebtedness of the poor, the consequent decline in investments in agriculture and
the negative impact on their livelihoods were laid by the British.

196
 The British also created a class of bureaucrats to run their imperial system. These
were essentially imports of upper caste people into the region from nearby areas. The
princely states also followed this pattern and it is these classes along with the erstwhile
princes that were absorbed into the independent Indian state as its bureaucrats. The
political representatives too and especially the leaders came from the upper castes. Thus
right from the beginning there has been a hiatus in Madhya Pradesh between the interests
of the people at large and those of the bureaucrats and political leaders resulting in bad
governance both at the policy formulation and the implementation levels.

According to the modern definition of liberal democratic justice – “all social

primary goods like liberty and opportunity, income and wealth and the bases of self
respect are to be distributed equally unless an unequal distribution of any or all of these
goods is to the advantage of the least favoured” (Rawls, 1972). The Indian Constitution
embodies these principals and has provisions for affirmative action for the poor and
deprived. However, due to the apathy of the bureaucracy these democratic provisions
have in effect remained on paper. Moreover Gandhi's conception of people centred
Panchayati Raj was included in the Directive Principles of State Policy set down in Part
IV of the Constitution. These provisions were non-justiciable that is unlike the
fundamental rights guaranteed under Part III, these could not be enforced through the
courts. Basic rights like that to free education, health and nutrition services and the means
to a dignified livelihood too were included in this section. Thus provisions that could
have created an aware, healthy and articulate population and provided them with an
institutional structure for implementing their development according to their own genius
and so curtail the power of the elected representatives and the bureaucrats were ignored
totally by the governments both at the centre and the states after independence thus
paving the way for the persistence of a form of internal colonialism and feudalism.

Matters were compounded by the fact that fundamental rights too were not easily
assured given the tremendous expenses involved in approaching the High Courts and the
Supreme Court for redress. While the erstwhile princes, landlords and the capitalists often
went to court to obstruct the path of justice for the poor, the latter could hardly afford to
do so and so had to bear with the illegal actions of the ruling classes directly or through
the organs of the state. This in effect meant that the checks and balances that form a basic

197
part of a liberal democratic set up were disturbed in favour of the executive consisting of
the ministers and the bureaucracy and the upper classes from which they were drawn.

The consequence of this in terms of the specific failures of governance that have
proved a major hindrance in poverty alleviation are as follows -

1. Land reforms have not taken place and especially in the northern regions of the
state feudal forces still dominate the political economy, considerably restricting
the rights and entitlements of the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and the other
backward class citizens.

2. The many laws to control usurious moneylending have not been implemented
leading to a flourishing informal credit market that charges exorbitant interest
rates in both urban and rural areas and this has kept the poor in debt bondage
restricting their chances of achieving sustainable livelihoods.

3. The running of schools, primary health centres, women's and children's health and
immunisation programmes, public distribution system, social security systems and
development programmes have all been riddled with corruption severely limiting
the chances of poor families to rise out of poverty.

4. The attempts by the poor to get organised to demand their rights and entitlements
either on their own or with the help of NGOs or through social movements have
been met with repression.

5. In urban areas a considerable portion of the population began residing in slums

mainly consisting of poor migrants from rural areas and they were deprived of the
basic civic amenities resulting in abysmal living conditions that spawned disease
and crime.

However, this continuous history of bad governance led to rising discontent

among the people leading to an increasing tide of protests and so eventually in 1993 the
Constitution was amended and Panchayati Raj was made the third tier of governance in
the country. With the compulsory introduction of Panchayati Raj all over the country the
formal democratic structures for grassroots people‟s participation were set in place. More
and more functions of governance and development at the local level were handed over to

198
the panchayats by government and quasi-government agencies so as to strengthen these
institutions of local governance, which provide a legal forum for the political
empowerment of the poor. Madhya Pradesh has been a trendsetter in this sphere.

Problems of resource degradation and the mixed experience of addressing these

through the bureaucratic approach necessitated a more transparent attitude on the part of
the government towards community involvement in natural resource management (NRM)
in the early 1990s. Further to this with the establishment of the Panchayati Raj
institutions and Gram Sabhas, a substantial role was accorded to them in the management
of local resources.

Since 1993, attention has turned to the potential of Panchayati Raj institutions
(PRIs) to plan resource-use independently of government departments, draw down
services from these, and do so in ways, which are locally accountable and protected by
statutory rights. The MP Panchayati Raj Act, 1993, provides extensive powers to Gram
Sabhas, to manage natural resources, regulate moneylending and trade of all kinds,
regulate education and health and dispense justice. Gram Panchayats are empowered for
the following functions:

Preparation of annual plans for economic development and social justice.

Exercise of control over local plans, resources and expenditures for such plans.

Construction, repair and maintenance of public wells, ponds and tanks for supply of
water for domestic use and for domestic animals.

Regulation of the use of water of rivers, streams, and minor water bodies for
irrigation.

Management and maintenance of grazing land and other lands vesting in or under the
control of Panchayats.

ning, ownership and management of water bodies up to a specified area situated

within their territorial jurisdiction.

Regulation of the functioning of schools and health centres through specially

constituted committees for this purpose.

199
 Regulation of moneylending and trade of all kinds and especially prohibit illicit sale
of alcohol.

Dispensing of justice through traditional systems thus obviating the need for
approaching the over burdened judicial system.

The PRIs have been designed as a three tier system with the Janpad Panchayat at
the block level and the Zilla Panchayat at the district level. Powers and functions of 18
departments have been transferred to Panchayats at District level. Functional powers,
budgets and staff have been transferred to Zilla Panchayats. Apart from this there is the
Panchayat Provisions (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act which provides for special
local governance for tribal areas. Thus on paper considerable decentralization of powers
over management of local resources by the people themselves has taken place in the state.

A formal democratic structure invariably leads to the development of civil society

pressure groups that bring pressure to bear on the recalcitrant bureaucrats and elected
representatives for the proper functioning of the government and the administration as is
evident from the experience of democracy at the state and central levels in India over the
past half a century or so after independence. So the strengthening of the Panchayati Raj
system did promote the spread and growth of grassroots organisations of the poor that
increased the demand for accountability from the government and administration.

Nevertheless the functioning of the Panchayati Raj system in the state still leaves
a lot to be desired as the bureaucrats at all levels have actively tried to discourage
people's participation and have successfully coopted the elected PRI representatives into
their circle of bad governance. Consequently the third tier of democracy too has been
controlled by and large by the bureaucracy and the Panchayat executive consisting of the
Sarpanches and Panches and is riddled with corruption.

Another welcome development is community development through such projects

as the Madhya Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Project being implemented by the government
with funding and allied support from Department for International Development (DFID).
A major area in which such community mobilisation has brought good results is that of
micro-finance and SHG-Bank linked micro-credit programmes. These have increased the
reach of the poor and especially women to institutionalised credit and buttressed the

200
credit cooperative movement which had become moribund with access restricted only to
landholders in rural areas and to powerful political leaders in urban areas. Presently the
cooperative movement in the state is reeling under a major scam. The number of SHGs
functional in 2004 is given in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Number of Functional SHGs in Madhya Pradesh (2004)

Total SHGs Women SHGs % share of Women SHGs Population per SHG
229483 131086 57.1 281

Source: MPHDR 2007

The functioning of these SHGs in most cases is not upto the mark however
because -

(i) the requirement of full-time specialised professional input is not available

(ii) complex issues relating to repayment, adequacy of capital support,

procurement and marketing linkages and profit sharing arrangements that
demand serious attention both at the operational and strategic levels tend
to be neglected. (RGWM/TARU, 2001)
Over and above this the SHGs presently cover a miniscule proportion of the rural
poor who have mainly to rely on moneylenders for their credit needs.

Moreover, despite the rhetoric of people's participation, in reality little attempt has
been made to actually empower the people. In most cases it has been found in the review
of the Rajeev Gandhi Watershed Mission in the state (RGWM/TARU, op cit) that
inadequately structured mobilisation results in the following problems that vitiate the
functioning of citizens' groups -

(i) only select individuals are empowered and the silent majority is
ignored risking the perpetuation of traditional power structures along
with their less desirable traits.
(ii) The terms of engagement in terms of responsibilities and obligations
of various village level groups are not made clear to the members.
There have been some remarkable instances of community mobilisation and
participation which have overcome deprivation caused by negative external forces

201
primarily through the creation of what has come to be called the “social capital” local
level cooperation (D‟Silva & Pai, 2003). But this concept of social capital which is
relevant to some extent at the local level has come to be criticised because it is inadequate
when it comes to the design of strategies to counter the larger political economy of bad
governance arising from the policies of exclusion pursued at the state or central level
(Harris, 2001). The local state and the local power centres may be successfully
neutralised through the formation of social capital in one small area but such isolated
successes are never allowed to replicate on a larger scale and so these too tend to wither
away after some time.

There are several legal and policy provisions for the protection and development
of the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes in the state but the reality is that these are
not being implemented as they should be once again because of the apathy of the
bureaucrats. In the case of the Scheduled Tribes the most important provision is that of
the Fifth Schedule in the Constitution.

Theoretically it is possible for the Governor of a state, on the advice of the Tribes
Advisory Council consisting of the tribal MLAs of the state, to prevent the application of
or repeal such adverse colonial legislation as Indian Forest Act and the Land Acquisition
Act. The most important aspect of these provisions is that the Governor may implement
them so as to ensure "peace and good government" in tribal areas as the framers of the
Constitution felt that this could be possible only if the tribals were allowed to develop
according to their own laws and customs. Many other laws such as restoration of
alienated land, prevention of land alienation, control of usury have also been enacted but
these are not being implemented. In the case of the Scheduled Castes too there are
protective laws, the most potent being the Prevention of Atrocities Act which is most
important given the tremendous exploitation and torture that the Scheduled Castes have
to face at the hands of upper castes. But as was exposed in a survey conducted by an
NGO funded by UNICEF even today in many areas of the state caste discrimination
continues to be practised even in such flagship programmes as the mid day meal scheme
for school going children (Mekaad, 2009).

202
 The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme which could alleviate the
problems faced by these communities to some extent is beseiged with several problems.
The first is that there is a lack of awareness among the people that they have to place a
demand for work to be granted work. So most people remain passive and wait for the
Sarpanch and Panchayat Secretary to arrange for work. Secondly the infrastructure for
carrying out the works efficiently is just not in place. There is little capability in the staff
and the elected representatives of Panchayati Raj and even the Block administration to
effectively plan projects for village development. After implementation the projects have
to be evaluated before payments can be made and this creates another bottleneck as there
are too few sub-engineers to handle the huge number of projects that have been
sanctioned. Finally even after evaluation is done and the payments are sanctioned the
labourers find it difficult to get their cheques encashed as the rural or cooperative bank
branches do not have enough staff and infrastructure to handle so many accounts and so
much cash. Thus there are inordinate delays and the labourers have to make repeated
trips. Finally there is the omnipresent corruption that manages to work round all the
safeguards and defalcate funds. All in all this leads to disaffection and people do not want
to work in the NREGS.

Consequently a large section of the poor have to migrate either seasonally or

permanently to supplement their incomes. Even though there is an Inter-State Migrant
Workers' Act for the protection of migrant workers, the government has not implemented
its provisions. Thus not only do these people lose out on whatever development schemes
and services are available at their residence they also have to suffer from a lack of
services and protection in the destination areas. Given the extremely poor resource
endowment of most poor people and the tremendous obstacles to the smooth functioning
of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, there seems to be no option to
migration as even the best implemented development schemes have not been able to
achieve sustainability for them. Thus social and economic exclusion for this large section
of the population is a matter of serious concern. Another aspect of this exclusion is that
there are no firm and reliable data at the village level regarding the extent of this
exclusion apart from the BPL lists which include only those living in extreme poverty.
There are many others who are existing in slightly better conditions but are still very poor

203
about whom there are no reliable data. Nor is there any reliable data regarding the extent
of migration taking place.

The situation of the poor in urban areas, especially the big cities of Indore,
Bhopal, Jabalpur and Gwalior, has become very bad due to their lack of voice in urban
local governance. The elections to the urban local bodies are even more dominated by
money and so the poor are excluded from participation almost totally. Consequently they
are very poorly serviced in terms of housing, water supply and sanitation. Moreover with
the government education and health systems in urban areas are even more inaccessible
than rural areas and so there is an increasing trend of the poor having to rely on private
providers. Thus projects should be initiated under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban
Renewal Mission (JNNURM) specifically for the upgradation of slums and for better
provision of services to them. Presently the JNNURM funds are being accessed only for
projects related to roads, flyovers, sewerage lines, solid waste management and the like
which are of a macro nature. Unless the micro-environment of the slums is improved
substantially the possibility of disease and crime increasing will always be there.

Another actionable point is to evolve a strong `culture‟ of independent monitoring

and evaluation with the associated transparency and public debates around that. The
present system of monitoring and evaluation is characterized by two extreme scenarios.
On one hand there is a Departmental system of monitoring and evaluation, which
generally remains influenced by the hegemony of the state with relatively limited scope
for a rigorous and transparent processes of evaluation; much of this is often not shared in
the public domain. On the other hand, fresh space is being created for a transparent
mechanism through social audits; this which one again is likely to remain under the
clutches of those with authority and power within a highly stratified and hierarchical
society such a ours.

Breaking away from these scenarios would necessitate putting in place a system
of independent monitoring and evaluation with multi-stakeholder membership.
Acknowledging the limitations in the public fora would open up a platform for more
workable solutions for improvements in which both the state and the communities will
have responsible roles to play. In any case, being transparent will earn credibility to the

204
state for being on the side of the people, rather than being compelled to justify the
inactions of a vast and multi-layered state machinery put in the helm of implementing a
highly complex and challenging task of pro-poor governance.

Thus there is a need to revamp grassroots democracy with the adoption of the
following remedial measures -
1. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and The Right to Information
Act together have empowered groups even smaller than the Gram Sabha to design,
demand and implement appropriate development programmes for their local area.
However, there is not enough awareness about this and the local administration and
the elected representatives are generally against its proper implementation. Thus a
massive awareness campaign must be conducted and appropriate institutional
support provided to actualise the immense potential of these provisions.
2. The administrative and infrastructural obstacles to the successful implementation of
the NREGS should be addressed and resolved as quickly as is possible.
3. Micro-finance and Micro-credit through SHGs are a viable community based
solution to the serious problem of lack of access to cheap institutionalised credit for
the poor. This should be promoted even further and provided training and allied
support combined with greater and stricter regulation of usurious moneylending.
These measures will especially benefit women who are normally excluded from the
development process.
4. NGOs should be involved in awareness building, training and monitoring and also in
the implementation of pilot projects for communitarian development. Successful
examples of communitarian development implemented in the state by NGOs should
be given publicity and encouragement so that they sustain themselves and also
provide inspiration to others for replication on a wider scale.
5. The Gram Sabha and small Ward Sabhas in urban areas must be made the
paramount bodies for deciding on the management of all the cultural, social,
economic and political activities of the people.
6. The JNNURM funds should be accessed for improving the infrastructure in the
slums and poor residential areas in urban areas with special focus on the four big
cities.

205
 7. An independent and transparent monitoring and evaluation system with multi-
stakeholder membership to help creating a platform for moving into the direction of
pro-poor Governance.
The measures to be adopted for bringing about inclusive development and
removal of poverty and hunger are all known to the administrators and elected
representatives of the legislature and parliament. Detailed plans too have been made for
ensuring this. However, the tendency to serve narrow sectarian interests on the part of
politicians and bureaucrats has resulted in the non-implementation of the excellent
provisions for democratic governance that have been made in the Constitution and other
supporting statutes and also the various progressive policies that have been framed. Thus
the most important determinant of any poverty reduction strategy for the state will be the
ensuring of good governance which encourages community participation and also
empowers the people to monitor their development through public scrutiny of records and
implementation at the local level.

206
References
Aurora, G S, 1972, Tribe-Caste-Class Encounters: Some Aspects of Folk-Urban
Relations in Alirajpur Tehsil, Administrative Staff College, Hyderabad.
D‟Silva, E & Pai, S, 2003, Social Capital and Development Action: Development Outcomes in Forest
Protection and Watershed Development, EPW, 38 : 14, Mumbai.
Government of Madhya Pradesh, 2007, Fourth Madhya Pradesh Human Development
Report 2008, Bhopal.
Gadgil, M &Guha, R, 1992, This Fissured Land: An Ecological History of India, OUP,
Delhi.
Hardiman, D, 1987, The Bhils and Sahukars of Eastern Gujarat, in R Guha (ed) Subaltern
Studies V.
Harris, J, 2001, Depoliticising Development: The World Bank and Social Capital, LeftWord, Delhi.
Luard, C E, 1908, Central India Gazetteer Series: Western States (Malwa) Vol.V, British
India Press.
Mekaad, S, 2009, Apartheid funded by the Indian Taxpayer, Hindustan Times, Bhopal,
May 5th.
Mishra, DP, ed, 1956, The History of the Freedom Movement in Madhya Pradesh,
Nagpur.
Rawls, J, 1972, A Theory of Justice, OUP, Oxford
RGWM/TARU, 2001, Evaluation of RGWM Watersheds in Madhya Pradesh-Final Report for UNICEF,
New Delhi-Hyderabad, TARU Leading Edge.

207
 Appendix: Background Note on Poverty

Poverty can be defined as the exclusion from ordinary living patterns, customs
and activities due to lack of resources, usually measured in economic terms (Townsend
1979). Low-income or consumption has traditionally been used as a proxy for poverty. A
person or household having income or consumption less than a pre-fixed level is
classified as poor and the pre-fixed income or consumption level is termed as the poverty
line. There are various methods of deriving poverty line. One is the food-energy intake
(FEI) method which is based on calorie norm. The other is the cost of basic needs (CBN)
method. Details about different methods of deriving the poverty line are given elsewhere
(Ravallion 1998). In India, calorie-based norm is used for deciding poverty line. In 1973-
74, this norm was fixed at 2400 kcal per person per day in rural areas and 2100 kcal per
person per day in urban areas. Using these norms, poverty lines were drawn in the rural
and urban areas by the Expert Group on the Estimation of Proportion and Number of
Poor in India constituted by the Government of India in 1973. The original poverty lines
have since been updated at regular interval on the basis of consumer price index for
agricultural labourers in the rural areas and consumer price index for industrial workers
in the urban areas. In Madhya Pradesh, the poverty line was set at Rs 327.78 per person
per month in for the rural areas and Rs 570,15 per person per month in the urban areas by
the Planning Commission for the year 2004-05
Once the poverty line is set, the level of poverty can be measured in a number of
ways. The most commonly used method is the head-count ratio which is defined as the
ratio of the number of persons or households having income or consumption below the
poverty line to that total population or households. Estimates of per capita income or
consumption are derived on the basis of the sample survey of household consumption
expenditure conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation of the Government
of India. The consumption expenditure data available through the survey are collected on
the basis of two recall periods. The first one is the 30-day recall period for all the items.
This approach is termed as uniform recall period (URP). The approach uses two recall
periods - 365 days recall period for five infrequently purchased non-food items, namely,
clothing, footwear, durable goods, education and institutional medical expenses and 30

208
days recall period for the remaining items. This approach is termed as mixed recall period
(MRP). The Planning Commission has estimated poverty in 2004-05 using both the
distributions and using the Expert Group methodology.
Based on the above methodology, the proportion of population living below the
poverty line in Madhya Pradesh has been estimated to be 38 per cent during the period
2004-05 on the basis of uniform recall period and around 32 per cent on the basis of
mixed recall period (Government of India 2007). These estimates suggest that the
proportion of population living below the poverty line in Madhya Pradesh has remained
significantly higher the national average. For India as a whole, around 27-28 per cent of
the population was estimated to be living below the poverty line circa 2004-05 on the
basis of uniform recall period and around 22 per cent on the basis of the mixed recall
period. In fact, Madhya Pradesh ranks amongst the 7 poorest states of India in terms of
the proportion of population below the poverty line.
The head-count ratio is the simplest and the most widely used measure of poverty.
One advantage of this measure of poverty is that it is straightforward and can be
interpreted easily. However, one major limitation of this measure is that it treats all the
poor equally. More specifically, it does not take into account „how poor are the poor‟ and
does not consider the inequality within the poor. In other words, it does not differentiate
between the transient poverty and chronic poverty. Transient poverty is the poverty close
to the poverty line whereas chronic poverty is the poverty far away from the poverty line.
It is argued that any measure of poverty must be able to reflect the gap between the
income (or consumption) of the poor from the poverty line. This gap can be defined in
terms of depth and in terms of severity. As such, the head-count ratio or the proportion of
population living below the poverty line is generally complemented with the poverty gap
ratio and squared poverty gap. The poverty gap ratio measures the depth of the poverty
while squared poverty gap measures the severity of poverty.
Estimates of poverty gap index and squared poverty gap index for the state are
available for the period 1999-2000 (Panda 2003). When compared with India as a whole,
these indexes suggest that both depth or intensity, as measured by the poverty gap index,
and severity of poverty, as measured by squared poverty gap index, in Madhya Pradesh is
much substantially higher that in India. This implies that most of the poor in Madhya

209
Pradesh suffer from severe and long duration poverty compared to moderate and short
duration poverty. Obviously, reducing poverty in Madhya Pradesh is challenging as most
of the poverty in the state is not only abject but chronic aswell.

Figure 1
Proportion of population below poverty line (Head Count Ratio) in Madhya Pradesh, 1973-74
through 2004-05 based on uniform recall period.
65

60

55

50

45

40

35

30
19 73 -7 4 19 77 -7 8 19 83 19 87 -8 8 19 93 -9 4 19 99 -2 00 0 20 04 -0 5

T o ta l R u ral U rb an

Over the years, the proportion of population below the poverty line appears to
have decreased from about 62 per cent during 1973-74 to about 38 per cent during 2004-
05 and the decrease appears to have been marginally faster in rural than in urban areas of
the state (Figure 1). However, in recent years, the proportion of population living below
the poverty line appears to have increased marginally from around 37 per cent in 1999-
2000 to more than 38 per cent in 2004-05 with the increase being sharper in urban than in
rural areas on the basis of the uniform recall period. However, if the discussions are to be
based on the mixed recall period then there does not appear any increase in the

210
population below the poverty line in the state. In fact, the Planning Commission has
emphasised that, because of different methodologies used, the estimates of the proportion
of population living below the poverty line estimated in 2004-05 on the basis of uniform
recall period are not comparable to the estimates of the population living below the
poverty line during the period 1999-2000. They are actually comparable to poverty
estimates for the year 1993-94. On the other hand 2004-05 estimates based on mixed
recall period are roughly comparable to the poverty estimates for the period 1999-2000.
The decrease in the proportion below poverty line in the state has however been
slower than that in the country as a whole as well as in most of the major states of the
country. Between 1960-61 and 1999-2000, the proportion of the population below the
poverty line in the state decreased at an average annual rate of just 0.63 per cent per year
(Panda 2003). If we exclude Assam where poverty increased rather than decreasing
during this period, then this rate of decline is the second slowest in the country, next only
to Bihar. This has been in quite contrast to Kerala where the proportion of population
below the poverty line decreased at a very rapid rate of 3.3 per cent per year during the
period under reference. The poverty gap and squared poverty gap indexes also decreased
during this period in the state but the rate of decrease in these indexes has also been
slower compared to the national average as well as most of the major states of the
country. This shows that not only the decrease in the prevalence of poverty but also the
transition from severe, long duration poverty to mild/moderate and short duration poverty
has remained slow in the state as compared to most of the major states of the country.
Poverty, in the state, continues to be chronic and largely abject.
Social class differentials in poverty in the state are revealing. The proportion of
population living below the poverty line in the state has always been higher in urban than
in rural areas except for the period prior to 1983 with the gap being the widest during
1993-94. Latest estimates suggest that urban poverty in the state is the second highest in
the country, next only to Orissa.
The population below the poverty line also varies widely across social groups in
both rural and urban areas and in all social classes, prevalence of poverty remains higher
in urban than in rural areas. According to poverty estimates for the year 2004-05 prepared
by the Government of India, more than two-third of the Scheduled Castes population in

211
the urban areas of the state were living below the poverty line compared to only around
43 per cent in the rural areas. In case of other backward classes, this proportion was 56
per cent and 30 per cent respectively (Figure 2). Even among the upper castes population,
the proportion of the population below the poverty line in the urban areas is estimated to
be substantially higher than that in the rural areas, although the gap is narrower in
comparison to Scheduled Castes and other backward classes. This pattern is in quite
contrast to rural-urban differentials in the proportion of population below the poverty
line. At the national level, the proportion of population living below the poverty line has
always been higher in rural as compared to the urban areas (Table 1).

Figure 2
Proportion of population living below the poverty line by social class in Madhya Pradesh, 2004-
05 based on uniform recall period.
70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
SC O BC O t he rs A ll

R u ra l U r ba n

One alternative suggested to address these limitations is to focus on asset

ownership given that assets capture longer term dynamics much better than a measure of

212
income at one or two points in time. For this reason having longitudinal data may be less
crucial. Moreover, assets can in principle be considered in a range of different
dimensions including social capital. Assets that a household possesses, or to which it has
access, can be related to household income in the sense that the latter may be
conceptualised as returns to these assets. In this view, income of a household reflects the
assets it commands and the return it is able to earn on these assets. In addition to the
return in terms of income, assets are also likely to be important to households in their
own right; representing wealth and status, economic and social security and easier access
to credit. Deprivation of key assets may therefore be thought of a good indicator of ill-
being in its own right. Indicators of deprivation of assets aim to measure living standards
directly by looking at „enforced lack‟ of a set of material goods or social activities. By
enforced lack, we mean the items that a household would like to have but cannot afford
because of the lack of either resources or opportunities or different choices and
preferences. In this way, deprivation indicators also take into account the role of
preferences and choices of the households and the individuals.
The assets-based approach is closely associated with the concept of poverty in a
more intuitive way than simple income or consumption measures. A household may
receive low income but live in comfortable self-owned house with all standard amenities.
Deprivation indicators are better placed to measure „persistence‟ of ill-being than the
contemporary income or consumption based indicators. It is argued that lack of
household assets and adequate housing conditions are more likely to be associated with
lack of resources over a prolonged period of time than with the current income or
consumption expenditure. Deprivation indicators permit to look more broadly at
exclusion from life of a society either because of the lack of resources or because of the
lack of opportunities or because of specific preferences and choices.
Information about the availability of six households assets - bicycle,
radio/transistor, telephone, television, scooter/motorcycle/moped, and car/jeep/van - are
available through the 2001 population census for the state as a whole as well as at the
district and below district level. One may argue whether the above assets can be used to
classify households as poor or non-poor and there are reasons for this argument. First, the
assets in question are consumer assets and not productive assets like land. Second, the

213
 Figure 3
Proportion of households having none of the specified assets (Bicycle,
Radio/Transistor, Television, Two-wheeler, Four-wheeler) in Madhya Pradesh,
70 2001.

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Total Rural Urban

All SC
ST Non SC/ST

composition of assets may vary from house to house depending upon a range of factors
and conditions. However, ownership of none of these assets do provides important clues
to household‟s command over resources. In fact, it has been found that there a
correspondence between a classification of households based on the asset index and
consumption expenditures (Filmer and Pritchett 1999). It has also been found that the
mean per capita consumption expenditure for households not owning any of the above six
assets is Rs 1779 while the mean per capita consumption expenditure for households
owning at least one of the above assets is Rs 2770. This clearly illustrates households not
owning any of the assets are markedly poorer than households owning at least one of the
assets (Chandrasekhar, Ray 2005).
The information available through the 2001 population census suggest, that there
were slightly more than 4.6 million households or 42 per cent of the households in the

214
state which did not have any of the six specified assets at the 2001 population census.
This proportion was more than 50 per cent in the rural households but only about 18 per
cent among their urban counterparts. The highly inequitable distribution of the asset less
household may be judged from the fact that more than 68 per cent of the Scheduled
Tribes households in the rural areas of the state were not having any of the six household
assets compared to less than 15 per cent in non-Scheduled Castes/Tribes households in
the urban areas.
An assessment of poverty in Madhya Pradesh can also be made on the basis of the
survey of below poverty line families carried out by the Government of Madhya Pradesh
in the year 2002-03 following the guidelines issued by the Planning Commission,
although this survey is mired with a number of controversies because of the approach
adopted to classify a household as a household below the poverty line. In this survey, no
direct question related to household income or household consumption was asked.
Rather, information related to 13 questions was collected from every household of the
state and for each questions, a score ranging from 0 to 4 was given on the basis of the
information provided by the household. The score given to all thirteen questions to a
household were added up and households getting a score less than 14 were classified as
households below the poverty line. This information, although to be interpreted with
caution, suggests that about 4.4 million or about 45 per cent of the households in the rural
areas of the state were classified as households below the poverty line during the period
2002-03. The number of households below the poverty line identified through the survey
of below poverty line households are very close to about 4.1 million assetless households
enumerated at the 2001 population census. This gives credence to using asset-based
approach to analysing poverty at the household level.
Any discussion on poverty in Madhya Pradesh is incomplete without a discussion
on inter-district variations in poverty. Income or consumption based estimates of different
indicators of poverty are not available for the districts of the state. However, some idea
about inter-district variation in the levels of poverty at the district level can be made from
the information on the proportion of households having none of the six specified assets -
bicycle, radio/transistor, television, telephone, scooter/motorcycle/moped, and

215
car/jeep/van - available through the 2001 population census which is available separately
for rural and urban areas and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes households also.
Figure 4
Inter-district variations in the proportion of households having none of the specified assets - bicycle,
radio/transistor, telephone, scooter/motorcycle/moped, and car/jeep/van in Madhya Pradesh,
2001.

Information available through the 2001 population census suggests that the
proportion of households having none of the six specified assets varied from a minimum
of 14.4 per cent (district Indore) to a maximum of 73 per cent (district Dindori). Three
districts of the state - Dindori, Mandla and Jhabua - may be termed as the poorest districts
of the state as more than 60 per cent of the households in these districts were not having
any of the six specified assets at the 2001 population census. By contrast, Indore was the
only district in the state where less than 15 per cent of the households were not having
any of the six specified assets. In Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur and Neemuch districts, the
proportion of asset less households varied between 15 through 30 per cent. The rural

216
urban divide in the availability of the six specified assets is also very clear. In the rural
areas of the state, the proportion households not having any of the six specified assets
varied from a maximum of 75 per cent (district Dindori) to a minimum of almost 30 per
cent (district Indore). In the urban areas, this proportion varied from 38 per cent (district

Figure 5
Inter-district variations in the proportion of households having none of the six specified
assets - bicycle, radio/transistor, television, telephone, scooter/motorcycle/moped,
car/jeep/van - by social class in Madhya Pradesh, 2001.

Dindori) to only 8 per cent (District Indore).

The availability of the six specified assets in the districts of the state varies widely
by social class in both rural and urban areas. The situation appears to be appalling in case
of Scheduled Tribes households in the rural areas of the state as there is no district in the
state where the asset less Scheduled Tribes households accounted for less than half of the
total Scheduled Tribes households in the rural areas. In district Sagar, almost 80 per cent
of the rural Scheduled Tribes households were not having any of the six specified assets
at the 2001 population census. In addition to district Sagar, there are five districts in the
state - Morena, Damoh, East Nimar, Vidisha and Dindori - where at least three-fourth of

217
the Scheduled Tribes households in the rural areas were not having any of the six
specified assets. The situation in the urban areas appears no better at least in 7 districts of
the state - Sheopur, Shivpuri, Panna, Satna, Rewa, Barwani and Dindori. In these
districts, more than half of the Scheduled Tribes households were not having any of the
six specified assets. Although, the situation appears to be marginally better in the
Scheduled Castes households, yet there exists a wide gap between Scheduled
Castes/Tribes and non Scheduled Castes/Tribes households in all districts of the state
either in rural or in urban areas. This shows that whatever dividends of social and
economic development are there in the state, they have largely been confined to a

0.4

0.36

0.32

0.28

0.24

0.2
1973-74 1977-78 1983 1993-94 1999-2000 2004-05

Rural Urban

specific group of the population and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have
generally been devoid of the benefits of development.

218
 Figure 6
The Gini index of income inequality in Madhya Pradesh

Distribution Inequality
A major determining factor of poverty is the inequality in the distribution of
income and resources across different population groups or social classes. Distribution
inequality implies that all sections of the population are not getting benefited equally by
the dividends of social and economic development process in terms of the increase in
income or accumulation of assets. As such, reducing the distribution inequality has
widely been acknowledge as the most feasible yet optimal approach of reducing poverty.
For example, raising the income of all individuals and households above the poverty line
will not only reduce poverty but will also lead to a reduction of the distribution inequality
across individuals and households. An analysis of the distribution inequality, therefore, is
imperative in any analysis of poverty.
Many indicators have been developed to measure the distribution inequality
across population groups (Sen 1997). These inequality measures can broadly be grouped
into two categories: a) measures based on individual-mean differences in income or
consumption or household assets, and b) measures based on inter-individual differences
in income or consumption or household assets (Gakidou, Murray, Frenk 2003). A
common example of individual-mean differences is the coefficient of variation. Other
example is the variance or standard deviation. On the other hand, Gini coefficient is the
most well known and almost universally used example of measures of inter-individual
differences of inequality (Gini 1912).
Estimates of Gini coefficient of the distribution of income in Madhya Pradesh
have been prepared by the Planning Commission, Government of India on the basis of
income or consumption expenditure collected in different round of national sample
survey beginning 1973-74. These estimates suggest that inter-individual differences in
the in income or consumption expenditure appear to have marginally decreased over the
years in the rural areas of the state. However, in the urban areas of the state, there are
definite indications to suggest an increase in the inequality. For reducing poverty, it is
important that there is a decrease in the distribution inequality of income or consumption.
Unfortunately, this has not been the case in the urban areas of the state.

219
 Estimates of Gini coefficients are not available at the district level to have an idea
of distribution inequality in the districts of the state. However, some idea about
distribution inequality within the district can be made by analysing the inequality in the
proportion of asset less households by social class. This inequality can be captured
through the coefficient of variation of the distribution of the proportion of asset less
households by social class. Coefficient of variation is one of the many indexes developed
and used to capture distribution inequality. There are at least three reasons for selecting
the coefficient of variation to reflect the social class inequality in the proportion of asset
less households. First, it is a measure based on variance. Second, it evaluates variation
relative to average proportion of asset less households in the state as a whole or the
district as a whole, thus permitting meaningful comparison of distribution inequality
when the average proportion of asset less households declines. Third, coefficient of
variation can be decomposed into components that reflect differential change in the
composition and level. The coefficient of variation is always positive. When there is no
inequality in the distribution of the proportion of asst less households across social class,
the coefficient of variation is zero. On the other hand, higher values of the coefficient
reflect a higher degree of distribution inequality.

220
 Figure 7
Inter-district variations in social class inequality in the proportion of asset less households in
Madhya Pradesh, 2001.

For the state as a whole, the coefficient of variation of the distribution of the
proportion of asset less households by social class - Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes
and non Scheduled Castes/Tribes - has been estimated to be 0.314 which shows that there
exists substantial social class inequality in household assets in the state. This inequality
has been found to be higher in the urban (0.351) as compared to the rural areas (0.225)
which indicates that the concentration of income and resources is more in the urban as
compared to the rural areas of the state.

221
 Figure 8
Relationship between social class inequality (coefficient of variation) and proportion of asset less
households in Madhya Pradesh, 2001.

0.70

0.60

0.50

0.40

0.30

0.20

0.10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Total Rural Urban

Across the districts of the state, the distribution of the proportion of asset less
households by social class varies widely. The coefficient of variation of the distribution
of asset less households by social class has been found to be the highest in district Indore
closely followed by district Ratlam. In district Indore, more than 37 per cent of the
Scheduled Tribes households were having none of the specified household assets. This
proportion was only 10 per cent in case of non-Scheduled Castes/Tribes households.
Similarly, in Ratlam, more than 65 per cent of the Scheduled Tribes households were
without any of the six specified assets compared to only about 21 per cent in case of non-
Scheduled Castes/Tribes households. By contrast, the social class inequality has been

222
found to be the lowest in district Dindori where the difference in the proportion of asset
less households by social class was very small as more than 64 per cent of the non-
Scheduled Castes/Tribes households in the district were without specified assets
compared to 78 per cent in case of Scheduled Tribes households. Another important
observation is that the distribution inequality by social class is higher in urban than in
rural areas in all but three districts of the state - Ratlam, East Nimar and Seoni.
It may however be pointed out here that the distribution inequality, measured in
terms of the coefficient of variation, is independent of the average levels of income or
consumption or average levels of household assets. It merely depicts the extent of
divergence or deviation from average levels. Theoretically, distribution inequality will be
zero low when the distribution of income or consumption or household assets across
social classes is the same irrespective of the average level of income or consumption or
average levels of household assets. By contrast, highest distribution inequality is highest
in the extreme situation when all income or consumption or all household assets are
concentrated in one specific population group or one specific social class of the society.
Figure 8 attempts to establish the relationship between the social class inequality
and the proportion of asset less households across the districts of the state. The figure
shows that the social class inequality is low when the proportion of asset less households
is high. However, when the proportion of asset less households are high, the social class
inequality is also high. This implies that the distribution of income is more unequal in
those districts of the state where average levels of income are high. Clearly, increase in
income has resulted in increased concentration of income across the districts of the state.
Such an increase in income may contribute little to the reduction of poverty in the state.

223
References
Appleton S, Song I (1999) Income and human development at the household level.
Background paper for the World Development Report 2000/2001.
Chandrasekhar S, Ray S (2005) Poverty hotspots in rural India. Mumbai, Indira Gandhi
Institute of Development Research. National Research Programme on Growth
and Human Development.
Filmer D, Pritchett L (1999) Estimating wealth effects without expenditure data – or
Tears: An application to educational enrollments in states of India.
Gakidou E, Murray CJL, Frenk J (2003) A framework for measuring health inequality. In
CJL Murray, DB Evans (eds) Health Systems Performance Assessment. Debates,
Methods and Empiricism. Geneva, World Health Organisation.
Gini C (1912) Variabilita e mutabilita. Bologna, Tipogr. DiO. Cuppini.
Government of India (2007) Poverty estimates for 2004-05. New Delhi, Press
Information Bureau.
Hulme D, Mckay A (2005) Identifying and measuring chronic poverty: Beyond monetary
measures. Paper presented at the International Conference: Many dimensions of
poverty. Brasilia, Brazil.
Panda M (2003) A reassessment of Agriculture‟s role in the poverty reduction process in
India. Paper prepared for the Roles of Agriculture International Conference, 20-22
October, 2003 – Rome, Italy
Sen A (1997) On Economic Inequality. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Townsend P (1979) Poverty in United Kingdom. Harmondsworth, Penguin.

224
Table 1: Proportion of population below poverty line in Madhya Pradesh: The
Head-count Ratio.

Period Proportion of the population living below poverty line at current prices
(per cent)

Madhya Pradesh India

Combined Rural Urban Combined Rural Urban

1973-74 61.78 62.66 57.65 54.88 55.72 47.96

1977-78 61.78 62.52 58.66 51.32 50.60 40.50

1983 49.78 48.90 53.06 44.48 45.31 35.65

1987-88 43.07 41.92 47.09 38.86 39.60 35.65

1993-94 42.52 40.64 48.38 35.97 37.30 32.40

1999-2000 37.43 37.06 38.44 26.10 27.20 23.70

2004-05 38.30 36.90 42.10 27.50 28.30 25.70

Source: Planning Commission

225
Table 2: Social class differentials in poverty in Madhya Pradesh, 1999-2000.
Period Poverty indexes
Madhya Pradesh India
HCR PG SPG HCR PG SPG
Residence
Rural 37.25 7.69 2.33 26.98 5.26 1.55
Urban 38.48 9.52 3.31 23.44 5.15 1.65
Caste
Scheduled Castes 41.21 8.45 2.50 35.89 7.22 2.15
Scheduled Tribes 57.14 12.53 4.02 45.82 10.59 3.49
Backward Classes 32.32 6.40 1.87 26.96 4.93 1.38
Others 11.70 1.90 0.46 14.98 2.60 0.71
Employment Status
Self-employed 27.11 na na 20.09 na na
(Agriculture)
Self-employed 30.18 na na 23.82 na na
(Non-agriculture)
Labour 53.58 na na 39.83 na na
(Agriculture)
Labour 56.54 na na 27.52 na na
(Non-agriculture)
Others 15.22 na na 15.07 na na
Land holdings
< 1.0 ha 45.29 na na 30.03 na na
1-2 ha 34.91 na na 22.59 na na
2-4 ha 30.28 na na 17.32 na na
> 4 ha 18.66 na na 10.62 na na
Source: Panda (2003)

226
Table 3: Inter-district and social class variations in the proportion of asset less
households in Madhya Pradesh, 2001 - Total population.
State/District Proportion (Per cent) of asset less households

Total Scheduled Scheduled Non Scheduled Coefficient

Castes Tribes Castes/Tribes of variation

Madhya Pradesh 42.15 47.11 65.68 32.81 0.314

Sheopur 59.13 67.11 71.87 51.77 0.152
Morena 41.31 47.86 66.08 38.89 0.113
Bhind 35.80 44.02 40.78 33.15 0.130
Gwalior 21.94 29.17 56.52 17.77 0.405
Datia 40.17 48.74 53.31 36.45 0.144
Shivpuri 45.91 52.42 74.09 38.09 0.273
Guna 49.39 58.66 71.96 42.09 0.224
Tikamgarh 37.67 42.46 63.66 33.73 0.196
Chhatarpur 35.62 42.82 59.05 31.28 0.202
Panna 46.64 53.40 67.75 38.90 0.233
Sagar 50.55 57.55 77.22 44.37 0.203
Damoh 53.04 61.42 74.72 45.90 0.198
Satna 35.76 41.29 62.08 28.37 0.338
Rewa 33.55 42.71 55.86 26.64 0.325
Umanria 44.24 42.03 56.35 31.91 0.265
Shahdol 40.67 37.26 55.13 26.32 0.340
Sidhi 46.99 49.85 65.45 36.22 0.279
Neemuch 26.16 31.46 50.02 22.09 0.324
Mandsaur 31.75 43.06 48.26 28.13 0.209
Ratlam 35.10 37.42 65.51 20.59 0.548
Ujjain 30.77 44.20 44.22 24.90 0.289
Shajapur 40.27 53.66 52.10 35.07 0.206
Dewas 38.53 49.90 62.30 29.17 0.339
Jhabua 66.18 58.32 72.77 20.65 0.253
Dhar 46.08 46.48 61.95 25.40 0.377
Indore 14.44 21.59 37.43 10.11 0.563
W Nimar 51.72 57.40 69.11 39.28 0.265

227
State/District Proportion (Per cent) of asset less households

Total Scheduled Scheduled Non Scheduled Coefficient

Castes Tribes Castes/Tribes of variation

Barwani 59.01 59.60 70.24 33.53 0.276

E Nimar 52.23 55.25 74.77 40.40 0.290
Rajgarh 47.96 57.35 59.53 44.88 0.114
Vidisha 51.01 63.40 73.51 45.55 0.179
Bhopal 21.94 31.98 31.48 19.21 0.237
Sehore 44.43 54.76 67.19 37.37 0.238
Raisen 52.09 60.87 71.22 45.43 0.191
Betul 49.00 46.81 68.80 35.06 0.319
Harda 47.38 55.16 71.24 34.25 0.335
Hoshangabad 38.90 46.87 58.53 32.32 0.256
Katni 43.31 47.35 62.30 34.67 0.273
Jabalpur 31.66 35.48 59.85 23.65 0.427
Narsinghpur 50.62 58.58 72.09 44.36 0.198
Diindori 73.46 67.66 78.37 64.21 0.089
Mandla 63.15 53.07 73.34 49.18 0.186
Chhindwara 50.35 46.51 69.95 38.73 0.284
Seoni 49.76 47.84 64.97 39.17 0.241
Balaghat 40.44 39.51 57.11 35.07 0.224

Coefficient of 0.275 0.217 0.128 0.298

variation

228
Table 4: Inter-district and social class variations in the proportion of asset less
households in Madhya Pradesh, 2001 - Rural population.
State/District Proportion (Per cent) of asset less households

Total Scheduled Scheduled Non Scheduled Coefficient

Castes Tribes Castes/Tribes of variation

Madhya Pradesh 50.46 53.38 68.09 41.38 0.225

Sheopur 64.87 72.48 72.53 58.76 0.105
Morena 46.40 50.11 76.17 44.70 0.087
Bhind 39.53 46.17 53.65 37.24 0.100
Gwalior 39.84 42.42 71.06 35.03 0.249
Datia 44.76 51.39 55.33 41.52 0.106
Shivpuri 51.04 56.01 74.89 43.49 0.224
Guna 56.88 63.63 73.38 50.36 0.159
Tikamgarh 40.43 43.89 65.44 36.79 0.175
Chhatarpur 39.81 44.60 60.19 36.06 0.156
Panna 49.83 54.85 68.01 42.74 0.194
Sagar 59.87 64.84 79.04 54.48 0.139
Damoh 58.93 65.53 75.76 52.57 0.150
Satna 39.31 42.54 62.36 32.06 0.289
Rewa 35.59 42.76 56.10 28.90 0.288
Umaria 47.30 44.91 57.05 35.75 0.216
Shahdol 47.49 41.58 56.57 34.74 0.219
Sidhi 51.93 53.86 66.65 41.94 0.217
Neemuch 30.39 35.82 52.50 25.89 0.284
Mandsaur 35.14 44.76 50.36 31.56 0.175
Ratlam 44.51 43.16 68.00 27.60 0.410
Ujjain 41.74 52.21 54.58 35.69 0.193
Shajapur 44.23 55.53 54.38 39.18 0.170
Dewas 47.36 56.93 65.67 37.87 0.247
Jhabua 70.73 65.04 73.83 28.80 0.155
Dhar 50.55 49.80 62.66 28.40 0.310
Indore 29.80 36.99 54.31 21.62 0.400
W Nimar 56.59 60.26 70.02 44.86 0.206

229
State/District Proportion (Per cent) of asset less households

Total Scheduled Scheduled Non Scheduled Coefficient

Castes Tribes Castes/Tribes of variation

Barwani 64.62 63.84 70.97 41.98 0.178

E Nimar 61.57 61.85 76.19 50.61 0.191
Rajgarh 52.23 59.82 61.67 49.56 0.088
Vidisha 58.06 68.09 76.28 52.98 0.137
Bhopal 52.49 60.33 67.51 48.49 0.121
Sehore 49.99 58.56 69.49 43.11 0.193
Raisen 57.36 64.70 73.10 50.93 0.155
Betul 56.88 57.23 70.53 43.31 0.225
Harda 54.44 60.15 72.76 41.22 0.258
Hoshangabad 48.68 56.73 62.53 42.02 0.180
Katni 49.00 50.78 63.45 41.42 0.198
Jabalpur 52.17 52.82 69.62 43.61 0.216
Narsinghpur 55.05 60.82 74.00 49.28 0.164
Diindori 75.16 69.05 78.79 68.05 0.067
Mandla 67.26 58.06 74.12 55.97 0.129
Chhindwara 57.98 53.04 72.36 46.41 0.212
Seoni 52.58 49.79 65.64 42.30 0.209
Balaghat 42.74 42.02 58.74 37.29 0.209

Coefficient of 0.191 0.161 0.100 0.205

variation

230
Table 5: Inter-district and social class variations in the proportion of asset less
households in Madhya Pradesh, 2001 - Urban population.
State/District Proportion (Per cent) of asset less households

Total Scheduled Scheduled Non Scheduled Coefficient

Castes Tribes Castes/Tribes of variation

Madhya Pradesh 17.99 26.61 36.19 14.84 0.351

Sheopur 28.22 35.36 51.39 25.40 0.223
Morena 22.32 37.40 31.13 18.46 0.339
Bhind 23.50 35.62 25.87 20.19 0.267
Gwalior 10.31 17.88 20.32 8.26 0.390
Datia 22.25 32.18 40.67 19.64 0.240
Shivpuri 19.35 28.93 53.75 16.00 0.406
Guna 22.39 36.10 44.71 18.83 0.334
Tikamgarh 23.07 32.73 46.94 19.33 0.305
Chhatarpur 19.23 32.32 40.03 15.82 0.357
Panna 23.02 40.00 60.79 16.68 0.537
Sagar 24.19 37.01 45.78 19.66 0.327
Damoh 23.69 39.65 43.81 18.76 0.381
Satna 21.17 35.34 57.97 16.09 0.513
Rewa 21.58 42.31 52.76 15.55 0.573
Umanria 27.13 30.79 48.58 17.86 0.485
Shahdol 18.64 25.97 39.53 12.93 0.543
Sidhi 18.79 27.11 44.99 13.41 0.556
Neemuch 14.13 17.66 34.26 12.29 0.354
Mandsaur 16.65 26.82 27.83 15.25 0.228
Ratlam 12.28 16.99 25.24 10.80 0.297
Ujjain 13.49 22.05 24.20 11.09 0.343
Shajapur 22.50 36.10 30.86 20.22 0.244
Dewas 15.63 24.53 36.74 12.05 0.459
Jhabua 22.35 29.78 41.01 12.87 0.571
Dhar 25.05 31.89 48.94 19.41 0.431
Indore 8.11 13.39 18.44 6.24 0.448
W Nimar 24.96 36.53 46.87 21.11 0.328

231
State/District Proportion (Per cent) of asset less households

Total Scheduled Scheduled Non Scheduled Coefficient

Castes Tribes Castes/Tribes of variation

Barwani 28.67 44.96 52.53 20.81 0.451

E Nimar 24.09 31.20 39.25 22.33 0.179
Rajgarh 27.44 41.92 37.98 24.30 0.243
Vidisha 25.13 38.18 35.63 22.36 0.237
Bhopal 14.93 20.78 22.78 13.33 0.217
Sehore 18.99 28.35 32.89 16.51 0.268
Raisen 28.20 36.41 43.35 25.86 0.180
Betul 16.52 18.70 28.46 14.79 0.228
Harda 21.48 32.41 41.52 17.89 0.334
Hoshangabad 17.00 23.81 26.94 14.76 0.245
Katni 19.39 31.97 49.12 13.33 0.613
Jabalpur 13.06 20.35 28.10 10.10 0.436
Narsinghpur 26.50 43.79 46.96 21.63 0.356
Diindori 38.26 33.80 53.81 33.48 0.225
Mandla 23.73 25.01 34.37 21.97 0.168
Chhindwara 27.07 31.04 42.45 23.91 0.222
Seoni 24.54 31.29 36.79 22.17 0.195
Balaghat 24.15 24.82 40.30 20.49 0.298

Coefficient of 0.338 0.332 0.312 0.363

variation

232