Introduction
Local development planning refers to the planning of areas at the local levels which aims to mobilize resources and technology available at the local level for the development of the rural areas for the delivery of necessary services and facilities to the local people. In other words, the most important aspect of local development planning is to mobilize local resources, use local skill and technology and to assist local people of their needs.
The Main philosophy of local development planning is to involve the local people directly in the identification, formulation, implementation and maintenance of local level projects and make the development works sustainable.
Local development planning is the planning by the people at local level. So, it is bottom up approach in development perspective.
If local development project is promoted by increasing investment in production oriented programs based on employment oriented technology to create employment opportunity at local level, this will benefit a majority of the population, thereby, help in the task of alleviating poverty.
LDP is a useful methodology to enhance an area's capacity and its resources. it is an indispensable tool for the achievement of particular objectives of the local area by enhancing and utilizing its capacity done by the participation of local people by using available resources. It is a process meant to deliver a product.
LDP respects the voice of the local people, controls the needs of local people and utilizes the skills, resources that they have. LDP is planning in spatial terms. The space may be the boundaries of village, cluster of villages, district or region etc.
LDP(planning for local development) is a new concept. After the failure of 'trickle down effects', it has only been recently put on the agenda; even now it is still not a very common practice in many countries. More often it is partial in character rather it is not being a full-fledged LDP in many countries.
Features
1. Planning by the people at local levels,
2. Emphasizes on the mobilization and proper use of local resources, local skills, local technology etc,
3. Bottom-up approach in development perspective,
4. LDP takes hard work, careful analysis, well defined goals and long term commitment of resources to achieve positive outcome,
5. It is based on the feeling of ownership. If people ownership on planning they participate anxiously,
6. LDP plans are smaller unit plans, linked with large unit plans.
Objectives
1. To stimulate development of local areas.
2. To increase overall welfare of the local people.
3. To mobilize and use local resources, skills, technology, etc.
4. To encourage participation in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation by local people.
5. Developing feeling of ownership among user's group.
6. Building quality jobs.
7. Linking employment and economic development policies and programs.
8. Improving socio-economic standers of the people.
9. The logn term concept of LDP is to implement development works in a self-sustained mechanism.
Why LDP is necessary?
Local development plans focus on the economy of village level that is why it is called local development planning.
The justification or rationale of LDP can be seen in the Following perspectives.
1. Diversified size and the nature of local economy
A large sized country of the continental dimensions is bound to have many regions with varying climate and resources differences. In such countries planning at local level for rapid economic development is of immense significance. The smallest unit, a village/a small town or a cluster of villages/towns will make for micro plans. These can be linked with plans of bigger sized areas, till these plans get meshed into a national plan.
2. For full utilization of resources
LDP enables for the full exploitation of potentials of the areas fixed for micro-plans. Such a detailed planning enables the planners to rope in local resources of local importance, whose development might have been defaulted in a sect-oral national plan.
LDP is an important constituent of democratic society.
3. For making viable planning
LDP makes planning viable not only at small area level, but also imparts strength and substance to the bigger area/national plans. Programs are such as suit local environment and top local capacity within the institutional set-up of the area. Scientific resource inventories and manpower budgeting local development plans are most likely to succeed. This in turn provides a firm basis for national plans.
4. For achieving certain specific objectives
Some important objectives at national level may be too specific, or too small in terms of the population affected that national plans may not be suitable instruments of their formulation or execution. In this case, location-population-specific plans may have to be prepared.
5. Seeking people's participation
Through local planning it is not merely that a spatial area, gets specified but not alongside the population of that area is also identified as the means and the end of the plan when resources of the area are identified, the manpower also becomes a factor to be employed.
Planning Framework for LDP/Process of LDP: In the context of UDCs (Nepal)
1. Identification of various areas: resources, natures of development program, etc.
2. Determination of plan objectives:
Objectives should represent collective needs of the people,
The objectives of the plan should be realistic and operational.
The following are the main objectives of LDP;
i) Maximizing production in agriculture
ii) Removal of unemployment and underemployment
iii) Improvement in the living-level of the basic amenities; drinking water, primary and adult education, rural roads, housing, etc.
3. Identification of target groups
The target population can be categorized in 4(Nepal)
i) Farm households possessing land holding of economic size.
ii) Farm households possessing land holding of uneconomic size.
iii) Landless agricultural laborers.
iv) Rural artisans.
4. Resources appraisal and identification of constraints on development.
5. Identification and selection of development projects criteria (general); efficiency, equity, employment and sustainability.
6. Formulation of developing project.
7. Determining optimal mix of development projects (combinations of various projects)
What are the problems and prospects of LDP in UDCs? How LDP can be made more effective in UDCs like Nepal?
Problems
1. Expected coordination has not yet been achieved between development programs and people's aspiration with clarity and effectiveness. Lack of coordination between different agencies.
2. There is no conceptual clarity between LDP and central programs. Migration of elight and riches, high population growth, social, economic programs. The role of state controversial (facilitator and enabler or implementer)
3. Misuse of resources
4. Duplication in programs.
5. Ignoring balanced development
6. Lack of appropriate methodology.
Since, center-led policies and market-led policies both have been failed in UDCs, the only one option is LDP. Importance of indigenous based, local resources based planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation by local people. The greater possibility of success of LDP found in UDCs
To make more effective LDP
In UDCs planning for local development is characterized by the lack of an appropriate methodology for both planning and implementation at the sub-national level. The following guidelines may be taken into consideration.:
i) Determine priorities of various programs proposed for the area, and identifying a catalytic program.
ii) Prepare and analyze resource inventories.
iii) Formulate programs and projects for development and establish their spatial linkages within the integrated framework.
iv) Device a plan for fuller utilization of manpower resources.
v) Assess the availability of financial resources from various sources. Improvement in planning process, methodology, domestic saving, mobilization of financial resources (suggested for UDCs)
Features
1. Planning by the people at local levels,
2. Emphasizes on the mobilization and proper use of local resources, local skills, local technology etc,
3. Bottom-up approach in development perspective,
4. LDP takes hard work, careful analysis, well defined goals and long term commitment of resources to achieve positive outcome,
5. It is based on the feeling of ownership. If people ownership on planning they participate anxiously,
6. LDP plans are smaller unit plans, linked with large unit plans.
Objectives
1. To stimulate development of local areas.
2. To increase overall welfare of the local people.
3. To mobilize and use local resources, skills, technology, etc.
4. To encourage participation in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation by local people.
5. Developing feeling of ownership among user's group.
6. Building quality jobs.
7. Linking employment and economic development policies and programs.
8. Improving socio-economic standers of the people.
9. The logn term concept of LDP is to implement development works in a self-sustained mechanism.
Why LDP is necessary?
Local development plans focus on the economy of village level that is why it is called local development planning.
The justification or rationale of LDP can be seen in the Following perspectives.
1. Diversified size and the nature of local economy
A large sized country of the continental dimensions is bound to have many regions with varying climate and resources differences. In such countries planning at local level for rapid economic development is of immense significance. The smallest unit, a village/a small town or a cluster of villages/towns will make for micro plans. These can be linked with plans of bigger sized areas, till these plans get meshed into a national plan.
2. For full utilization of resources
LDP enables for the full exploitation of potentials of the areas fixed for micro-plans. Such a detailed planning enables the planners to rope in local resources of local importance, whose development might have been defaulted in a sect-oral national plan.
LDP is an important constituent of democratic society.
3. For making viable planning
LDP makes planning viable not only at small area level, but also imparts strength and substance to the bigger area/national plans. Programs are such as suit local environment and top local capacity within the institutional set-up of the area. Scientific resource inventories and manpower budgeting local development plans are most likely to succeed. This in turn provides a firm basis for national plans.
4. For achieving certain specific objectives
Some important objectives at national level may be too specific, or too small in terms of the population affected that national plans may not be suitable instruments of their formulation or execution. In this case, location-population-specific plans may have to be prepared.
5. Seeking people's participation
Through local planning it is not merely that a spatial area, gets specified but not alongside the population of that area is also identified as the means and the end of the plan when resources of the area are identified, the manpower also becomes a factor to be employed.
Planning Framework for LDP/Process of LDP: In the context of UDCs (Nepal)
1. Identification of various areas: resources, natures of development program, etc.
2. Determination of plan objectives:
Objectives should represent collective needs of the people,
The objectives of the plan should be realistic and operational.
The following are the main objectives of LDP;
i) Maximizing production in agriculture
ii) Removal of unemployment and underemployment
iii) Improvement in the living-level of the basic amenities; drinking water, primary and adult education, rural roads, housing, etc.
3. Identification of target groups
The target population can be categorized in 4(Nepal)
i) Farm households possessing land holding of economic size.
ii) Farm households possessing land holding of uneconomic size.
iii) Landless agricultural laborers.
iv) Rural artisans.
4. Resources appraisal and identification of constraints on development.
5. Identification and selection of development projects criteria (general); efficiency, equity, employment and sustainability.
6. Formulation of developing project.
7. Determining optimal mix of development projects (combinations of various projects)
What are the problems and prospects of LDP in UDCs? How LDP can be made more effective in UDCs like Nepal?
Problems
1. Expected coordination has not yet been achieved between development programs and people's aspiration with clarity and effectiveness. Lack of coordination between different agencies.
2. There is no conceptual clarity between LDP and central programs. Migration of elight and riches, high population growth, social, economic programs. The role of state controversial (facilitator and enabler or implementer)
3. Misuse of resources
4. Duplication in programs.
5. Ignoring balanced development
6. Lack of appropriate methodology.
Since, center-led policies and market-led policies both have been failed in UDCs, the only one option is LDP. Importance of indigenous based, local resources based planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation by local people. The greater possibility of success of LDP found in UDCs
To make more effective LDP
In UDCs planning for local development is characterized by the lack of an appropriate methodology for both planning and implementation at the sub-national level. The following guidelines may be taken into consideration.:
i) Determine priorities of various programs proposed for the area, and identifying a catalytic program.
ii) Prepare and analyze resource inventories.
iii) Formulate programs and projects for development and establish their spatial linkages within the integrated framework.
iv) Device a plan for fuller utilization of manpower resources.
v) Assess the availability of financial resources from various sources. Improvement in planning process, methodology, domestic saving, mobilization of financial resources (suggested for UDCs)