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Unit 30: Implementation of Economic Policies: Role of Panchayats and Pressure Groups

gives way to bureaucratisation of programme implementation. Field inspections and result- Notes
oriented feedback in terms of number and percentage of village population crossing poverty
line should be encouraged.
6. Adoption of Package Approach : The help should be provided as a package to ensure
achievement of tangible results as seen in Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Model.
7. PRIs as Corporate Bodies : The PRIs should spend Government money yielding returns in the
form of revenue generation. We should work out the cost-benefit ratio and internal rate of
return and monitor them for all schemes per say.
8. Focus on HRD : It may be noted that human development through better education, health
nutrition and family planning at local level promotes economic growth as effectively as capital
investment in factories. The benefits arising out of mass education outweigh its negative aspects,
such as educated unemployed or social tensions.
9. Creation of Satisfactory Monitoring System to Measure and Regulate Performance during
Implementation : Programme control helps the heads of the departments at the district level to
keep the programme functioning as scheduled.
It may be noted that a participatory and result-oriented bureaucracy interacting with an aware and
educated population would interact fruitfully to produce a self-reliant village entity in the right spirit
of democratic decentralisation for rural development. Our experience has confirmed that the goals of
economic growth and poverty reduction can be and often are complementary. Hence, the 73rd
Amendment to the Constitution has outlined the country’s commitment to rural development through
democratic decentralisation system.
1. PRIs as an End and not the Means : Under the Act, the Panchayats are being treated as an
agency for implementation of rural development programmes and not as units of self-
Government. PRIs should reflect the spirit of the Constitutional amendment, which says that
Panchayats will function as institutionsof self-Government (Article 243G).
2. Autonomy of PRIs : A number of powers have given to the Government officials for inspection
and supervision of the Panchayats at different levels in the states. Thus, these bodies will not
enjoy institutional autonomy and freedom.
3. Developing able Leadership : The leadership available at grass-root level may be developed to
influence people to co-operate towards a common goal and to create a situation for collective
response. PR Organisation constitutes three important leaders as given below :
(i) First, elected leaders would derive their authority from the institution of PRI.
(ii) Second, the bureaucratic leaders derive their authority from the administrative system.
(iii) Gradually, self-appointed leaders spring up with a reformist approach by persuading people
to join them in checking the prevailing malpractice of the above two sets of leaders given.
30.2 Pressure Groups

Pressure groups are voluntary agencies which have a long history of active involvement in the
promotion of human welfare and well-being. Lord Beveridge called voluntary agencies “aprivate
enterprise for social progress”. A pressure group can be described as an organised group that does
not put up candidates for election, but seeks to influence Government policy or legislation. They can
also be described as ‘interest groups”, ‘lobby groups’ or ‘protest groups’. Some people avoid using
the term ‘pressure group’ as it can inadvertently be interpreted as meaning the groups use actual
pressure to achieve their aims, which does not necessarily happen.
The term pressure group is a very wide definition that does not clearly distinguish between the
groups that fall under the term. The aim of all pressure groups is to influence the people who actually
have the power to make decisions. Pressure groups do not look for the power of political office for
themselves, but do seek to influence the decisions made by those who do hold this political power.
Pressure groups provide a means of popular participation in national politics between elections.
They are sometimes able togather sufficient support to force Government to amend or even scrap

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