A short note on Village Development Board

The Village Development Board (VDB) is a unique scheme of decentralization of planning and development from the grass root level. Since its inception at Ketsapomi village in Phek district of Nagaland in 1976 and its subsequent success, it has gone on to be implemented in all the recognized villages of Nagaland under section 12(12) of the Nagaland Village and Area council Act 1978 and VDB Model Rules act 1980.

The Village Development Board is a mechanism for decentralization of planning and development at the grass root level at its best. It includes all the permanent residents of the village as its members functioning under a management committee with a secretary. Besides women are to constitute 25% of the total of the management committee. This is a novel scheme of development as the locals understand their needs better and can effectively articulate and implement developmental activities better.

The government is implementing several welfare measures for alleviating poverty and to bring about socio-economic change in the lives of the rural poor. And also with a view to ensure grass root level participation of the people in the governance, decentralized institutions have come to play crucial roles. In this aspect the role of Village Development Boards needs special attention. Projects for construction of agri link roads, approach roads, irrigational canals, rain water harvesting etc has come to be implemented for creating infrastructure facilities of the rural areas to bring about progress and development. The primary responsibility for drawing up developmental projects and to prioritize areas for development based on local knowledge falls on the Village Development Boards therefore that makes them a very important institution of the rural villages.

Majority of the rural areas do not have adequate banking infrastructure even though credit mechanism plays an important role in fostering economic development and progress. In fostering economic development capital formation plays a decisive role as it is the catalyst for entrepreneurial activities. Lack of organized credit mechanism and its control lands the poor at the mercy of unscrupulous and opportunistic money lenders. Therefore it is very important that an effective credit control mechanism is set in place in areas without banking facilities. Towards this end the VDB’s can fill the vacuum as effective financial intermediaries with modalities for accountability and resource mobilization. This will also ensure control of the credit mechanism to the grass root level and effective flow and availability of credit to rural poor.

                 It is in these aspects that the role and importance of the Village Development Boards needs to be assessed and analyzed. It is a novel scheme for decentralization and can become an effective tool for change and all round development equally. Thus it is very important that a proper scrutiny of its role is made and loopholes of its functioning’s done so that they become instrument of change as intended. Lack of people's participation and even awareness of the welfare schemes of the government are major hurdles in it becoming real agents of development. Also the limited role in the light of the final authority resting on the government for approval of any developmental projects has come in the way for VDB's exercising as autonomous bodies. They have to act within the funds and schemes as sanctioned by the government.