The Hindu Business Line : `Stakeholders can help bridge rural-urban divide'

THE disparity between rural and urban development can be narrowed only by active participation of the stakeholders and communities through effective and coordinated planning.

Though the State and local authorities are responsible for ensuring a balanced growth between the two sectors, growing constraints of resources and declining importance to agriculture have accentuated the rural-urban divide in the country.

Calling for an integrated developmental strategy to stem large-scale migration to urban areas, speakers at a seminar said urbanisation is an inevitable phenomenon of the modern development process.

Addressing the seminar on Rural Urban Partnership Development, which was organised by St Joseph College of Business Administration (SJCBA) here on Friday, the Karnataka Minister for Municipal Administration, Mr S.R. Morey, said unplanned urbanisation is not confined to Bangalore alone and is spreading to other districts in the State.

He said there is an urgent need for rural-urban partnership among the authorities in rural and urban administration for spatial planning, sharing of water and physical infrastructure and natural resources.

Mr L.C. Jain, former Member, Planning Commission, felt there is an urgent need to prepare case studies of the problems faced by cities and rural areas with regard to the deficiencies, so that the authorities responsible could take appropriate steps.

He said students of management have a crucial role to play and they can undertake such an exercise to provide a clear picture for follow-up actions.

Mr Ravi Uppal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, ABB Ltd, said an integrated development framework based on equitable distribution of resources for creating basic and social infrastructure such as education, healthcare and telecom in the rural areas can solve the problem.

Besides, generation of employment opportunities in the rural sector through balanced industrialisation can reduce the rural-urban divide.

Fr Aveline D. Souza, S.J., Director - SJCBA, said his institution has created two chairs in Rural and Urban Management aimed at resource creation to develop a centre of excellence, which would act as a hub for all stakeholders coping with the issue in the rural and urban planning and development.