Development in Bihar: Overview, Appraisal and Approach

A G A K H A N F O U N DAT I O N ( I N D I A )
Development in Bihar
overview, appraisal and approach
j u ly 2007
AGA KHAN DEVELOPMENT NETWORK

D e v e l o p m e n t i n B i h a r o v e r v i e w, a p p r a i s a l a n d a p p r o a c h

“There are those who enter the world in such poverty that they are deprived of both the means and the
motivation to improve their circumstances. Unless they can be touched with the spark which ignites
the spirit of individual enterprise and determination, they will only sink into apathy, degradation and
despair. It is for us, who are more fortunate, to provide that spark.”
His Highness the Aga Khan

India, 1983
Cover picture: Madhubani painting
The stylized peacocks in this painting appear to be fighting over a fish. But mirrored or opposing animals are a frequent theme
in this tradition, and the peacock can be a symbol of eternity. These paired birds may recall a passage from the Upanishads
that refers to two birds, sitting on a single branch. One of them eats a delicious fig; the other simply watches. That passage is
taken to be an affirmation of the complementary nature of action and consciousness (or contemplation) -- “He whose own heart
is pure makes no judgment: there is no good or bad in what is done without desire.”

Acknowledgements
This document has been prepared by senior staff of the Aga Khan Foundation, with major support from Seyed
Faiz Hayat – a young consultant hired for the purpose, and under the direct guidance of its CEO – Mr Nicholas
Mckinlay.
The Chairman of the National Committee of the Aga Khan Foundation in India – Dr Abad Ahmad – has taken
personal interest in getting clear directives from the Board, exciting members of the National Committee to these
new initiatives and guiding the staff with patience. Members of the National Committee have always supported
the endeavour with suggestions, contacts and comments which were most valuable.
Colleagues from other Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) institutions, in particular the Chief Executive
Officers of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India) and the Aga Khan Planning and Building Services,
India – Apoorva Oza and Surekha Ghogale respectively – provided enthusiastic leadership in field appraisals.
We’ve met a whole range of experts, academics and managers from different institutions who’ve enthusiastically
explained the various nuances to the development issues of Bihar. In particular, staff from different NGOs in the
region we visited – Kanchan Seva Ashram and Grameen Samaj Kalyan Sansthan – assisted us in every way during
the intensive reconnaissance and appraisal visits.
Finally, this document would not have been possible without the insights obtained from the communities who
volunteered not just their time, but also details from their private lives. We were also treated to their generous
hospitality including fruits, snacks and even health-drinks. What makes this contribution even more remarkable is
the fact that they were always aware that our programme might not be reaching them in particular. We hope this
report is an honest reflection of the realities on the ground which is the best way to pay tribute to the indomitable
spirit of the people of Bihar.

BIHAR
200 1
PASHCHIM CHAMPARAN
PURBA CHAMPARAN
SITAMARHI
GOPALGANJ
SHEOHAR
MADHUBANI
SAUPAL KISHAN
SIWAN
MUZAFFARPUR ARARIA GANJ
DARBHANGA
SARAN MADHEPURA
SAMASTIPUR PURNIA
VAISHALI SAHARSA
BUXAR KHAGARIA
BHOJPUR PATNA KATIHAR
BEGUSARAI
NALANDA LAKHISARAI MUNGER BHAGALPUR

JEHANABAD
KAIMUR ROHTAS SHEIKHPURA
(BHABUA)
AURANGABAD NAWADA BANKA

JAMUI
GAYA

List of Acronyms
AKDN: Aga Khan Development Network NGO: Non-government organisation
AKF: Aga Khan Foundation NREGS: National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
AKPBS, I: Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, NRHM: National Rural Health Mission
India OBC: Other Backward Castes
AKRSP (India): Aga Khan Rural Support Programme PACS: Poorest Area Civil Society
(India) PHC: Primary Health Centre
ASHA: Accredited Social Health Activist PMGSY: Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
AWC: Anganwadi centre PUCL: People’s Union for Civil Liberties
BCE: Before Common Era/ Before Christian Era RHS: Rural Health Survey
BMI: Basal Metabolic Index RRB: Regional Rural Bank
BRLP: Bihar Rural Livelihoods Programme SC: Scheduled Castes
CABE: ST: Scheduled Tribes
CBSE: Central Board for Secondary Education SGSY: Swarnajayanti Gramin Swarojgar Yojana
CD ratio: Credit-deposit ration SHG: Self-help group
CSO: Civil Society Organisation SSI: Small-scale industry
DCCB: District Credit Co-operative Bank UNICEF: United Nations International Children’s
EBC: Extremely Backward Castes Education Fund
GDP: Gross Domestic Product UP: Uttar Pradesh
GoB: Government of Bihar VC: Vice Chancellor
GoI: Government of India VSS: Vidyalay Shiksha Samiti
GSDP: Gross State Domestic Product WNTA: Wada Na Todo Abhiyan
HIV: Human Immune-deficiency Virus WPR: Work Participation Rate
ICDS: Integrated Child Development Scheme
ICSE: Indian Council for Secondary Education
IMR: Infant Mortality Rate
ITI: Industrial Training Institute
JP: Jay Prakash Narayan
MDG: Millennium Development Goal
MP: Member of Parliament
NABARD: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Weights and measures
Development kg: kilogram
NACDOR: National Confederation of Dalit Organisations km: kilometres
NCDHR: National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights ha: hectares
NFHS: National Family Health Survey sq km: square kilometres

Contents
PREFACE 9
OVERVIEW OF BIHAR 13
The land, the people
Trends in Bihar ’s economy
Overview of the key economic sectors
Livelihoods scenario in Bihar
Education scenario in Bihar
Health scenario in Bihar
Muslims in Bihar
Caste dynamics in Bihar
Governance and civil society
Civil society organisations in Bihar
AREA SELECTION 35
Broad criteria for area selection
Selection of districts
Selection of areas within identified districts
Planning the appraisal
Peri-urban and urban areas
APPRAISAL OF SELECTED AREAS 47

Appraisal in select blocks of Muzaffarpur and Samastipur
Observations on elementary education
Observations on community health: services and status
Observations on rural livelihoods
Observations on civil society and governance
Appraisal of peri-urban areas and poorer areas of Patna
FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPMENT 65

Key challenges & key opportunities
Probable interventions
Potential for different programme interventions

The strategy framework

Programme initiation
REFERENCES 83
Annex I Terms of reference for the Appraisal Mission

Annex II Members of the Appraisal Mission
Annex III Itinerary of the Appraisal Mission
Annex IV Participants of the group discussions
Annex V Debriefing note

Preface
The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) focuses on health, education, culture, rural
development, institution-building and the promotion of economic development. It is dedicated to
improving living conditions and opportunities for the poor, without regard to their faith, origin or
gender. Different agencies of the AKDN operate in social and economic development as well as in
the field of culture.
While each agency pursues its own mandate, all of them work together within the overarching
framework of the Aga Khan Development Network so that their different pursuits can interact and
reinforce one another. Their common goal is to help the poor achieve a level of self-reliance whereby
they are able to plan their own livelihoods and help those even more needy than themselves. A
central feature of the AKDN’s approach to development is to design and implement strategies in
which its different agencies participate in particular settings.
Development models require time to demonstrate their effectiveness and to enable local communities
to take on full responsibility for their own future development. The AKDN agencies, therefore, make
a long-term commitment to the areas in which they work, guided by the philosophy that a humane,
sustainable environment must reflect the choices made by people themselves of how they live and
wish to improve their prospects in harmony with their environment. Sustainability is, thus, a central
consideration from the outset.
In India, programmes of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) span the states of Andhra
Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan and address a broad spectrum of
development issues in the social, economic and cultural spheres.
AKDN is now poised to expand its activities in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (UP)
where poverty is entrenched and marginalisation is an accepted way of life.
Significant political changes have taken place in both the states over the past few years that have
seen a shift in the political power towards those that represent the backward and extremely backward
communities. However, this in itself has not resulted in any major social or economic uplift of the
poor and other marginalised communities in these states. Several indicators even point to a decline,
particularly in matters related to women and child health, nutrition, skill-building and availability of
jobs. Bihar is the only state in the country where the rate of growth of population is increasing, which
adds to the urgency to intervene.

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar is home to over 250 million people, living along the fertile Gangetic plains
where civilisation dates back to over 5000 years. The chequered history of this region has left a
deep imprint on society and has influenced the development trajectory in social, political, economic
and cultural dimensions. It is imperative, therefore, that a deep and nuanced understanding be
developed within AKDN before a detailed action plan is worked out. It is also important that this
initiative of AKDN be well-coordinated, in order to establish a very positive and lasting impression
in this new terrain of operations.
Uttar Pradesh
A phased approach was undertaken to study the issues in Bihar first and then Uttar Pradesh, since
and Bihar is
the latter was about to go to the polls. A quick desk research was commissioned to familiarise with
home to over
the more important literature on development issues in Bihar (see ‘References’). The process itself
250 million
led to interaction with a range of eminent experts whose insights were most invaluable. The issues,
people, living
including specific conditions of Muslim minorities, were summarised and discussed with limited
along the
persons. Much of this information has been refined and presented in the ‘Overview’ chapter. AKF
fertile
also began to engage with the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Programme (BRLP), initiated with support
Gangetic
from the World Bank. In addition to attending workshops of the BRLP, exclusive meetings were
plains where
organised with key persons from the World Bank and its partner agencies in Bihar, such as BASIX.
civilisation
Census data and the National Sample Survey findings were used to obtain a disaggregated dates back to
understanding of the people, particularly the Scheduled Castes and Muslim minorities, in different over
administrative units of Bihar. Again, in consultation with the National Committee of AKF in India, a set 5000 years.
of criteria were developed to determine the most suitable area where implementation would begin.
While the details are provided in the ‘Area selection’ chapter, the idea was to initiate a programme
that was more amenable to successful experimentation and the lessons from which could generally
be applied to the long-term target area of operations. The overlay of the different data sets were
discussed internally as well as validated through reconnaissance visits. Opinion and comments were
also sought from intelligent and active workers associated with grassroots agencies in the region.
In order to get a better understanding of the situation and to develop an appropriate strategy, it
was decided to send a Mission to the State to carry out a ‘Rapid Appraisal’, the key findings from
which form the bulk of this report. The Mission worked on the basis of a Terms of Reference (Annex
I) and comprised of a mix of persons with diverse expertise, both in terms of the themes as well as
perspectives and was supported by senior staff from AKF, AKRSP (India) and AKPBS,I (Annex II).
The Mission worked on a very rigorous schedule (Annex III) that saw them interacting with people
at different levels and with different perspectives. In order to enhance the quality of interactions,
several knowledgeable people in the State were invited to group discussions that were held around
livelihoods, health, education and civil society. A list of the participants to the group discussions is
provided at Annex IV. De-briefing notes were prepared by all the members of the Appraisal Mission
and formed the basis of this report. In order to reflect some of the nuanced understanding from field-
level observations, a sample is provided at Annex V.
In the first meeting of the appraisal team, two blocks each in two districts in Bihar, viz., Dholi and
Sakra blocks in Muzaffarpur district and Tajpur and Pusa blocks in Samastipur district, and the
peri-urban area around Patna, were selected as potential locations for study and interventions. An
elaborate visit to these areas in different groups was followed by group discussions where many
of the questions arising from field observations were examined. The final two days were spent in
synthesising the key observations, drawing a few specific conclusions and proposing some concrete
action points for each sector. An external economist was engaged in these discussions in order to
help think through some of these issues with greater clarity.
10 AGA KHAN DEVELOPMENT NETWORK

p r e fa c e
Debriefing notes from different members of the Appraisal Mission were first compiled by persons
specifically engaged to provide sector reports on livelihoods, health, education, civil society and
water management. These sector reports were then synthesised by the Mission Coordinator to
produce the first draft of this report.
Senior staff from AKF has then reworked this report to provide a broad outline of possible AKDN
interventions, available in the ‘Approach’ section. This report will now be reviewed by at least three
independent external experts and then discussed in a meeting of different key AKDN agencies in
India. The objective is to forge a consensus on an integrated area development programme that
could be piloted in the State of Bihar with a degree of confidence and ownership. The same would
then be submitted to the Board for approval.
AGA KHAN DEVELOPMENT NETWORK 11


Overview of Bihar
Bihar, from the Sanskrit word vihara meaning abode, used to be one of the most important places
on earth in history. It’s capital, Patna, then called Pataliputra, was the capital of the Mauryan Empire
(321 – 184 BCE) “which ruled over much of the Indian subcontinent and extended as far as Iran and
Afghanistan to the West. Emperor Ashoka, one of the greatest monarchs in the history of the world,
who ruled between 273 BCE and 232 BCE was the most famous ruler of the Mauryan dynasty.”
The Buddha’s enlightenment was centered around the realization that the universe is characterized by
impermanence (called annicha in Pali) and change, that nothing abides eternally. That event occurred
when he was intensely meditating under a tree 2,500 years ago in a grove. Bihar is associated with
not just Buddhism. Mahavira, the 24th and the last Tirthankara of Jainism, was born in Bihar. He
attained moksha in Bihar as well. Bihar lays claim to being the birthplace of Sita, the wife of Hindu
god Ram. She was the daughter of King Janaka of the Mithila kingdom. Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th
guru of the Sikhs, was born in Patna.
One cannot refer to learning and scholarship in the ancient world without mentioning Vikramshila
and Nalanda universities. Nalanda was the equivalent of today’s Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge,
Berkeley and Stanford, all rolled into one. At its peak, Nalanda used to house 10,000 students and
2,000 teachers.
It’s all gone now.1
The aura of its ancient glory makes the present decadence of Bihar stand out in stark relief.
Nearly half of its people are poor, less than half can read or write and its per-capita income is a third
of the Indian average. It is India’s most lawless state - a murder takes place every two hours, a rape
is committed every six and a bank is looted every day, according to police records. Kidnapping for
ransom is a flourishing industry - police say someone is abducted every six hours.2
So why do development and law and order not seem to matter to the 86 million people of
Bihar? Political scientists say the entrenched caste system is the bane of development and law
in Bihar.
1
http://www.deeshaa.org/2007/05/31/bihar-part-1
2
BBC News, 19 February 2005

BIHAR’S WOES
• Bihar’s per capita income is $94 a year against India’s average of $255
• A total of 42.6 percent live below the poverty line against India’s average of 26.1 percent
• A total of 47.5 percent are literate against India’s 65.38 percent
• There were 32,600 kidnappings from 1992 to September 2004, and more than 1,000 political
workers have been murdered since 1990
• An estimated 37 percent of area of the State or 22 out of 38 districts and 5000 villages are
under the grip of severe flood every year
life is a constant struggle for survival and , if possible , escape to S O M E distant cit y.
The l a nd
A part of Bihar was separated and formed into a new state Jharkhand on November 15, 2000.
Situated in the vast Gangetic plain, Bihar is a land-locked state between West Bengal on the east,
Uttar Pradesh on the west, Jharkhand on the south and Nepal (international border) on the north,
covering an area of 94,163 sq km.
Bihar experiences extreme temperatures, plenty of floods and occasional earthquakes. The Ganga,
which acts as the master drain for most of the state, flows in an easterly direction and stretches

overview
432 kilometers across Bihar, bisecting the state. Almost a million hectares are permanently water-
logged while another seven million are flood prone affecting the livelihoods of 6-20 million people,
mostly in North Bihar.
North Bihar is almost entirely a level tract (a mere 76.5 metres over 550 km tract), while the south
Lateral
is wooded and hilly. It is interspersed with eight major river basins: the Ghaghra, the Gandak, the
movements
Burhi Gandak, the Bagmati, the Adhwara group of rivers, the Kamala, the Kosi, and the Mahananda
of rivers
that normally carry 10-20 times more water during the monsoon season (June – September). If the
cause erosion
rainfall intensity in the catchment area is higher, the discharge could be as high as 100 times. Of the
and loss of
total volume of water that flows through North Bihar, only 10 percent comes from rainfall within the
land.
State while for Ganga it is a mere 3 percent. Snow, rainfall and topography of Nepal, therefore, plays
a major role in determining the hydrological conditions of North Bihar.
Himalayan rivers contain large amounts of sediment during the monsoon. The heavy downpours
in the mountains scour the slopes and turn the swift waters into a muddy brew. As they reach the
plains and lose momentum, the rivers deposit their loads and begin to meander. Rivers like the Kosi
have been notorious for changing course. Available records suggest that the river was flowing about
160 kilometers east of its present course some 200 years ago. The lateral movements of rivers cause
erosion and loss of land. At the same time new land is also continuously formed. However, these
new chaurs are low-lying and remain waterlogged for years before they become productive.
South Bihar is drained by the Karmanasa, Sone, Punpun, Harohar, Kiul, Badua and Chandan, all
of which are north flowing tributaries of the Ganga, originating from southern plateau and carrying
very little water during the non-monsoon months. The right bank of the Ganga rises beyond Patna
and acts as a natural embankment to block drainage and create waterlogging. There is a series of
water bodies, the more prominent being the Fatuha Tal (lake), Bakhtiyarpur Tal, Barh Tal, More Tal,
Mokamma Tal, Barhaiya Tal and Sighaul Tal. The backwaters of the Ganga also find their way into
these lakes. About 100,000 hectares of submerged land emerge briefly only for the winter cropping
season. Such land is prized because it is very fertile.
T he pe ople
The state is the third most populous in the country (after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra) and has the
second highest population density (after West Bengal) among the larger states.
The birth rate in Bihar is not only higher than the national average (Table 1), but it is the only state in Bihar is the
the country where the fertility rate is increasing. This increasing rate of growth of the population has only state in
serious implications, not only in terms of urgent systems of care, but also addressing a sense of the country
hopelessness. It is not about bridging a gap in the pace of development with respect to other states, where the
but about stemming the slide of Bihar into despair. fertility rate is
Hindi is commonly known by the people throughout the state and is seen to be increasingly increasing.
dominating other indigenous languages. Bhojpuri, Magahi and Maithili are the major languages
spoken by the people of different regions of the state. Among these, Maithili is the only language
recognized by the national Sahitya Academy and included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution
of India. Angika and Bajjika are variants of Maithili which have lately started claiming independent
status. Urdu is confined mostly to the towns. Bhojpuri and Maithili are spoken by more than 20
percent of the people in Nepal as well. It is because of this linguistic confusion that the question of
mother tongue as the medium of instruction at the primary school level has always been problematic
in the state.
Bihar shares the major north Indian festivals like Dussehra (also, Vijayadashami), Diwali and Holi.
Chhath is observed on the sixth day from Diwali when offerings are made to the sun god during

Table 1 : D emographic profile of B ihar , compared with I ndia
I ndia B ihar
Total Population (in million) 1027.3 82.9
- percent urbanised 27.78 10.47
Crude Birth Rate* 23.4 30.4
Crude Death Rate* 8.1 7.6
Decadal growth rate (percent) 21.34 28.43
Density of population (sq km) 324 880
Sex ratio (per 1000 males) 933 921
(Source: Census of India, 2001); *SRS, 2005
sunset (and the following sunrise), usually in the Ganga. Most of the festivals are clustered after
the monsoon season, when the harvest is brought in. The chief Muslim festivals in Bihar are the
Muharram, the two Ids and shah-i-barat.
The social structure of Bihar is deeply fractured around caste3 considerations. Brahman, Bhumihar, The social
Rajput and Kayastha constitute the “forward” castes. Kayasthas are the two important caste groups structure
in the cities and towns, the former being prominent in all modern professional occupations and the of Bihar is
latter dominating trade and commerce. Members of all these caste groups have occupied prominent deeply
positions in the educational and political life of the state. fractured
around caste
Ahirs (Yadavas), Kurmis and Koiris in the plains of Bihar are prominent “backward” caste groups
consider-
who are either settled cultivators or cattle-herders or both. Many Koiris are prosperous cultivators,
ations.
particularly of cash crops and vegetables in the neighbourhood of large towns. The most notable
...Only
among the “scheduled” castes are Bhumij, Chamar (Mochi), Dhobi, Dom, Dusadh, Musahar, Nat and
around
Pasi, most of them still surviving through hard manual, and often menial, labour.
10 percent
of the
Tr end s in B ihar ’ s econ o m y population
is Urban...
Trend in the growth rate of Bihar’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) during the Tenth Plan
...yet, the
(2002-2006) has been volatile, mainly because of the dominance of the agricultural sector. During
density is a
this period, against an average growth rate of 7 percent for the Indian economy, Bihar’s average
whopping
annual growth rate was 4.01 percent. During the Tenth Plan, Bihar’s economy grew at a rate
880 persons/
that was marginally higher than its growth rate in the Ninth Plan period and even its per capita
sq km...
income just crept up (Table 2). However, the state’s growth rates have been low compared to the
following
national average.
West Bengal.
Agriculture and allied sector has grown at around 5 percent since 2001, as compared to less than
2 percent at the national level, indicating that agricultural growth is sustaining the economy. The
contribution of the manufacturing sector to the state GDP is low and the benefits from any growth
in this sector has been largely offset by the bifurcation of Bihar, since Jharkhand is more rich in
minerals and has a much greater advantage in this sector. Moreover, registered manufacturing has
shown a negative trend in the recent past. In Bihar, growth in the secondary sector has been primarily
triggered by the burgeoning construction sector limited to urban and semi-urban areas.
3
Caste systems are traditional, hereditary systems of social restriction and social stratification, enforced by law or
common practice.

overview
Table 2 : T rends in B ihar ’ s G ross S tate D omestic P roduct
Year S tate D omestic P roduct C hange over P revious Year A nnual A verage G rowth R ate
( lakh R s . ) (%) ( constant 1 9 9 3 - 9 4 )
prices ( % )
1997-1998 25,92,076 (-) 3.85 3.25
1998-1999 27,88,792 7.59 4.10
1999-2000 28,91,397 3.68 4.03
2000-2001 34,50,098 19.32 6.09
2001-2002 31,25,936 (-) 9.40 4.02
2002-2003 36,15,961 15.68 5.25
2003-2004 (P) 32,90,950 (-) 8.98 3.73
2004-2005 (Q) 36,88,196 12.07 4.46
2005-2006 (A) 36,19,819 (-) 1.85 3.92
(Note: P : Provisional, Q : Quick Estimate, A : Advanced Estimate)
The services sector has grown consistently, chiefly through communication, banking and insurance.
This growth is perhaps facilitated by urban economy rather than the rural economy where such
services are available at a much lower scale.
The
It is interesting to analyse the relative contribution of the different sectors in the overall economic economy is
growth of the state. The share of primary sector has fallen from 48.8 percent to 42.0 percent while witnessing a
the secondary sector has remained nearly stagnant at 9.0 percent. The share of tertiary sector has shift towards
increased from 41.3 to 49.0 percent. Thus, the economy is witnessing a shift towards services, much services,
before industrialisation, mostly driven by the urban economy. much before
Since the agricultural sector still significantly contributes to the state economy, the livelihood industrialisa-
patterns and Work Participation Rates (WPR) in Bihar are different from the normal national picture. tion, mostly
Both male and female WPR is lower in Bihar as compared to national average, as the traditional driven by
economy offers less opportunity. Moreover, the WPR for both males and females is lower for urban the urban
areas in comparison to rural areas, indicating less opportunity in the urban areas. The sectoral economy.
distribution of main workers is again very different in Bihar. Although the proportion of cultivators in
Bihar and India stands at 29.3 and 31.7 percent respectively, the corresponding percentage of main
workers engaged as agricultural labourers is 48.0 and 25.6 percent.
Table 3 : G rowth in income and G S D P : B ihar vs I ndia
Ninth Plan T e n t h P l a n A c c o r d i n g t o P l a n n i n g C o mm i s s i o n
C A G R 3 Years ( 2 0 0 1 - 0 2 to 2 0 0 4 - 0 5 )
I ndia B ihar I ndia B ihar I ndia B ihar
Per capita GDP growth rate 4.00 1.00 5.50 2.00 NA NA
Growth in GDP of which 5.50 2.90 7.00 4.01 6.45 5.67
(a) Agriculture 2.00 (-) 1.14 1.80 0.96 1.03 5.01
(b) Industry 4.60 7.53 8.00 9.80 6.96 10.58
(c) Services 8.10 6.37 8.90 5.08 8.64 5.12

This signifies high dependence on agriculture and no real movement of workers into secondary
and tertiary sectors. The critical factor to the development of Bihar is creation of opportunities in
secondary and tertiary sectors resulting in shift from agriculture.
A n o ve rv ie w of th e k ey e co n o mi c s e c tors
a g r i c u lt u r e
Agriculture continues to be the mainstay of the population and the cropping intensity is high.
Although very fertile, the productivity of its main crops is among the lowest in the country. One of
the major reasons cited for low productivity is non-availability of good quality seeds and low seed
replacement rate.
Inequitable land distribution and perverse land tenure relations – hallmarks of semi-feudal agrarian
structure – remain intractable problems. Among all Indian states, land reforms have been the worst
failure in Bihar, even though it took the first initiative in this direction by abolishing the zamindari
system in 1953.
The flood prone area in the State is over 73 percent of its total geographical area, being more
severe in the northern plains of Bihar. This affects the livelihoods of the people in the rural areas
considerably.
Irrigated area of the state is around 57 percent of the gross cropped area. This is mainly supplied
through tube-well irrigation (63 percent) followed by canal (30 percent). Because of drastic shortage
of electricity, most tube-wells are operated by diesel engines, leading to high costs.
Fertiliser consumption in the state has steadily increased over the years. The consumption of
fertilisers has increased from 85 kg/ha to 110 kg/ha in 2005-06. However, even this is lower than the
national average.
Without increasing productivity in the agricultural sector, development in Bihar cannot pick up required
momentum. But there is scope of increase in productivity and shift to more remunerative crops, such
as vegetables.
Bihar has
industries
the potential
The size of industrial sector in Bihar in terms of income is only 3.2 percent of GSDP as against to produce
the national average of 20.1 percent. Infrastructural bottlenecks, especially roads and electricity about
continue to plague the industrial sector and investments in the same are required at the state level 5-6 percent
to boost the secondary sector. of the total
agro-based
The overall industrial sector in the State is dominated by the unregistered units, which account for
industrial
more than half of its total income. As per the third all-India Census of SSI units (2001-02), there are
products
only 72632 permanently registered small-scale units in Bihar, out of which 52107 units are working.
in India.
The percentage of tiny units among SSI was 99.95 percent, in which output and employment
potential are much lower.
Bihar has the potential to produce about 5-6 percent of the total agro-based industrial products in
India, and this will enable the industrial sector in the State to become one and a half times of its
present size. Tea and dairy have been two recent successes in the industrial sector of the State.
Other potential industries are sugar, makhana, leather, textile and handloom, which have not been
explored to its full potential.

overview
infrastructure
The state is serviced by 2,318 km of national highways,

4,192 km of state highways, 12,579 km of district roads
and over 69,000 km of other roads. Nearly half the road
network is unpaved, while floods pose a continuous
challenge to the expansion of high quality roads in
the state.
Attempts to modernize roads include the national Golden

Quadrilateral as well as the East West Corridor Project.
The World Bank has provided supplementary funds for the
PMGSY roads in 4-5 districts. The Naxals in Bihar have
often halted the developmental work in rural areas of the
State by serving extortion notices to petty construction
workers engaged in building roads and bridges.
Farakka to Buxar in the river Ganges has been declared

as National Water Ways No.1. It is presently operative
from Haldia to Patna. This provides access to Calcutta
Seaport (417 km) and Haldia (517 km).
A mere 6 percent of the households in the state have

been provided with electric connection compared to 35
percent at the national level. Only 40 percent villages are
electrified as opposed to 80 percent at the national level
and, given the fact that Bihar accounts for one-twelfth
of the country’s villages, affects the national average.
The installed capacity is under 600 MW, compared to
nearly 8000 MW for Maharashtra. As expected, the
per capita energy consumption is less than half the floods pose a continuous challenge to the
national average. expansion & M A I N T E N C E of infrastructure .
financial sector
The market size in Bihar is estimated to be Rs. 1,036,000 million, or 4.8 percent of the market size of
all India. This is more than that of Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana or Delhi and little less than that
of Rajasthan, Karnataka or Gujarat. However, the performance of the commercial banking systems
in Bihar is far from encouraging. Priority sector target by the commercial banks is being met but the
stipulated 10 percent of the same to weaker sections is not being fulfilled. Banks have not been able
to provide necessary credit to the weaker sections and people seeking small loans. The CD ratio of
Bihar is pegged at 32 percent in 2005-06 but has started improving over the last few years (up from
21 percent in 2001-02). Still, the CD ratio is among the lowest in the country.
Recovery is quite low at 47 percent in March 2006. According to the Annual Focus Paper of NABARD,
the commercial banks accounts for 68 percent of the formal sector loan and is also the largest lender
of agricultural loan followed by RRBs (20.7 percent) and Cooperative banks (10.8 percent). The new
generation private commercial banks are to yet to penetrate the rural financial sector in Bihar. The
cooperative banking systems is almost defunct in the state. Although there are 37 districts in the
state, the number of DCCBs functioning in the state is 26. The number of PACS in the state is 7057,
out of which about 50 percent make profits.

micro-finance in bihar
In comparison to other states, the micro-finance activity is in a rudimentary stage in Bihar. The
cumulative SHGs linked to the banking systems is 46,221, lower than states like Assam (56,449)
and Orissa (180,896) and lagging way behind leaders such as Andhra Pradesh (587,238). However,
there has been a thrust on micro-finance in the state with the SHG bank linkage growing consistently
over 50 percent in the last three years. This growth is also skewed, the highest (9,361) being in West
Champaran, followed by Gaya (6,720). Out of 37 districts, 15 districts have less than 500 SHGs Most farmers
linked with banks. Among the institutions and programs, the Women’s Development Corporation have small,
has been instrumental in promoting good quality SHGs in the state. skewed and
dispersed
Thus the overall picture of Bihar is quite dismal, with slow development of the secondary and tertiary
land holdings.
sectors and high dependence on agriculture. The disconcerting situation is the poor infrastructure
inhibiting development in the state, especially in the manufacturing sector. Moreover, the financial
sector’s performance is also far from satisfactory and is one of the main factors limiting growth
and development.
Li v e l ihoo d s s c e n ario i n B ihar
Bihar is characterised by a very low rate of urbanisation (only 10.5 percent of the population is
urban), and a high degree of dependence on agriculture as a means of livelihood.
However, agriculture suffers from a fundamental constraint – small, skewed and dispersed land
holdings (at least a third of the population is landless – up to 70 percent in some districts – and yet
the average size of landholding in Bihar is about 0.75 hectares, second lowest in the country after
Kerala). This implies that there is a high degree of expropriation in the form of rents, collected at
different levels, leaving little incentive for the actual tiller to improve productivity. The productivity of
rice and wheat – the two most widely cultivated crops – are 20-25 percent below the India average
and less than half of that obtained in Punjab, which is otherwise comparable in terms of natural
endowment of land, water and labour resources. Scattered land holding is also a big constraint Fruits and
for modernisation. vegetables,
This has led to grossly inadequate investments in infrastructure, services (extension, credit etc.) which occupy
and human development (health care, education, sanitation etc.). Chronic floods, and improper only 10
measures undertaken on the basis of inadequate understanding, add to the problem in the form of percent of the
water-logging and poor drainage. total cropping
area, account
There has been little diversification from cereal crops, reflecting the subsistence nature of farming for nearly
in the state. Interestingly, fruits and vegetables, which occupy only 10 percent of the total cropping 50 percent
area, account for nearly 50 percent of the total value of the agricultural output. Bihar ranks third in of the total
vegetable (potato, okra, tomato, brinjal) production and sixth in fruit (mangoes, litchis, bananas, value of the
guavas and pineapples) production in the country. agricultural
At 2.7 percent per annum, the growth in agriculture is amongst the highest in the country, although output.
highly unstable and with significant year to year variations. The most rapid growth occurred in the
fisheries sub-sector (8 percent), albeit from a smaller base. This is significant because nearly 4.6
million rural households (about 40 percent of rural households in north Bihar) are engaged in fishing,
which is one of the highest proportions in India.
Milk production is growing at 5.5 percent, again from a lower base (following the recent bifurcation
of the State), providing supplementary income, employment and nutrition to thousands of small

overview
rural households. About 35 percent of rural households in Bihar reported owning cattle, 20 percent
buffaloes and 15 percent sheep and goat (concentrated more among landless and marginal rural
households).
The non-farm sector accounts for about 40 percent of the total household incomes in Bihar,
across all income levels but more so for the poorer households. However, while agriculture
wage labour accounts for half of this income in the poorest brackets, regular employment accounts
for two-thirds of this income in the highest bracket. The rest is accounted through self-
At 48 percent
employment.
literacy in
Cane sugar is the chief agro-based industry in Bihar, engaging an estimated 500,000 farmers Bihar is the
in cultivation and another 50,000 skilled and unskilled workers in the factories. From producing lowest in the
a quarter of the country’s sugar during independence (1947), Bihar today barely accounts for 3 country
percent. Denial of gate prices has been chiefly responsible for this. The government of Bihar has
taken some steps to revive the sugar industry through a package of incentives to both the industries
as well as the cultivators.
E d u c atio n s c e n ario in B ihar
At 48 percent (Table 4), literacy in Bihar is the lowest in the country and significantly less than the
national average of 65 percent. Women are considerably worse with a literacy gap of 26 percent and
enrolment gap of 14 percent.
Table 4 : L iterac y in B ihar ( percent )
There is also a wide disparity in the literacy levels in Bihar.
Year P ersons M ales F emales
More than three-fourth of urban males are literate whereas
literate men are in a minority in rural Bihar (despite the fact 1951 13.49 22.68 4.22
that only 18 percent of women are literate there). Literacy 1961 21.95 35.85 8.11
levels are particularly low among various communities
1971 23.17 35.86 9.86
of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, such as
Musahars and Bhuinyas. 1981 32.32 47.11 16.61
1991 37.49 51.37 21.99
2001 47.53 60.32 33.57

e l e m e n ta ry e d u c at i o n
According to Seventh All India Education Survey in 2002 the population of children of school going
The growth in
age (between 6 years and 14 years) was about 20.5 million (10.8 million boys and 9.6 million girls).
the number
Given the high fertility rate in Bihar, the number of younger people is higher, and growing. According
of children
to the same survey, there were 13.1 million children between 6 and 11 years (of which 6.2 million
is in sharp
were girls). It should also be noted that, of this total, the population of rural children was about
contrast
ninety percent.
to the
The growth in the number of children is in sharp contrast to the availability of schools (Tables 5, 6 availability of
& 7) and teachers. Between 1993 and 2002, Bihar showed a 10.4 percent increase in the number schools.
of primary schools, as against the national increase of 12.9 percent. In the case of upper primary
schools, however, the increase was a meagre 1.1 percent, in sharp contrast to the 50.6 percent
increase at the national level.
Most schools lack basic infrastructure in terms of adequate classrooms, toilet facilities, equipment
etc., causing difficulties in accommodating the required number of children, as well as in ensuring
retention, especially of girls, in the absence of appropriate toilet facilities.

Table 5 : C omparative profile of N umber of P rimar y & U pper P rimar y schools
M anagement P rimar y Pr + Pr + U pper U pper N o A ll

U pper P r U p. P r + P rimar y P rimar y + response schools
S ec / H sec only S ec / H . sec
Dept of Education 40332 8959 403 361 1015 64 51134
Tribal Welfare Dept 66 37 9 0 5 1 118
Local body 78 37 12 1 6 3 137
Private aided 105 131 79 14 25 0 354
Private Unaided 21 4 3 0 4 0 32
Others 6 5 5 2 5 1 24
No response 48 11 2 1 3 338 403
State Total 40656 9184 513 379 1063 407 52202
DISE Report 2003-04
Table 6 : T he number of government secondar y Table 7: T he number of government senior

schools is 2 9 6 9 with the following break up : secondar y schools / colleges is as below :
Government schools 63 + 2 schools 89
Nationalised schools 2534 Recognised Inter colleges 350
Minority schools 73 Constituent colleges 231
Sanskrit schools 206 Degree affiliated 96
Madrasa schools 93 Madrasa schools 55
Total 2969 CBSE schools 200
I.C.S.E. schools 35
Total 969
It is not just that the total number of primary and middle schools in the State remained constant
at around 59,000 over the past quarter century, but the teacher student ratio of 1:122 has been
appalling (reduced from 1:90 a decade ago).
Teacher absenteeism – estimated to be as high as 26 percent – has been an endemic problem. Bihar has
Factors such as lack of monitoring of teachers’ performance and involvement of teachers in a the highest
different government duties account for their poor attendance. According to a UNICEF estimate, if number of
official work and holidays are taken together, a teacher gets to spend only about two months of the out of school
year in a classroom. children in
India.
Delayed supply of text books is another problem compounding the difficulties faced by the students.
Although the academic session begins in March, textbooks often do not reach the schools before
August, sometimes it is November.
According to the Social and Rural Research Institute, Bihar has the dubious distinction of having
the highest number of out of school children in India, surpassing even Uttar Pradesh. Of the total
estimated 13.5 million out of school children in India, Bihar alone accounts for nearly a quarter
(23.4 percent), i.e. over 3 million.

overview
Importantly, 82.6 percent of these are never enrolled in school (as against 68.3 percent at the
national level). Strikingly, Bihar is the only state in India where primary enrolment has fallen by 2
percent during the late ‘90s. The quality of school education is also indicated by the high drop-out
rate of over 65 percent (as against the national average of about 50 percent) which means that for
every 100 pupils enrolled in Class I in Bihar, only 13 manage to reach Class VIII.
e d u c at i o n o f d i s a d va n ta g e d a n d m a r g i n a l i s e d c o m m u n i t i e s
For every
40 percent of out of school children belong to the backward castes, while the scheduled castes and 100 pupils
Muslims account for 35 and 20 percent respectively. enrolled in

Class I in
Children from poor households do get enrolled in schools but the drop-out rate is high, primarily Bihar, only
because they get drawn into some form of work, either at home (for girls) or outside (for both boys 13 manage
and girls). The curriculum, clearly, has an urban middle-class orientation and is largely irrelevant to reach
to the lives of these people. Working children and street children, both in Bihar and as migrants Class VIII.
elsewhere, have little opportunity to attend any school. Use of legal instruments and transfer of
such children to juvenile homes is hardly a solution, given the lack of capacity in such institutions.
Release of child labour is never linked with much needed provision of special care.
Among the school going children in Bihar a substantial proportion are first generation learners
who are unlikely to have any family support for their academic enterprise. Many such children are
not able to attend regular schools, and hence are covered by alternative and innovative education
programmes, under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Vidyalaya Chalo Kendras, Prayas Kendras or Utkarsh
Kendras etc. Again, different types of schools are run by the Welfare department (residential schools
for children from dalit families) or the Labour department (schools for freed child labour). While there
is a need for some kind of transitional educational arrangement, with distinctive curricula, many
such children are placed under the charge of less experienced and less qualified teachers.
The situation in madrasas is more complex. Education in madrasas combines general education
with religious instruction, with general education subjects introduced at a different stage, or missing
altogether, as compared to regular schools. In many cases, students transiting from a madrasa to a
regular school face difficulties in language and in certain specific subjects such as social science,
general science, etc. Again, if children are educated solely in madrasas, the process runs contrary
to the principle of an inclusive, common education system.
a substantial proportion of school - going children are first generation learners .

v o c at i o n a l e d u c at i o n
With regard to vocational education even the national scenario is not promising, but the state scenario
is even more dismal. Few Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) that exist in different districts are short
of staff and run courses designed decades back, with little relevance now. New institutions have
not been created in the state sector, while private sector institutions often lack standardization or
credibility. At the senior secondary level only a handful of vocational subjects have been introduced,
but there are hardly any arrangements made for the teaching of even these limited numbers of
subjects.
The earlier “Basic School” education system used to provide some training in crafts including
spinning, weaving, carpentry etc., but these schools are also not functioning at present, for want of
adequate staff or resources or environment. While some of the trades taught in these schools might
not be still relevant, this system was a significant innovation pioneered in Bihar, and it is unfortunate
that little thought is spared to redesign and revitalize these institutions.
c i v i l s o c i e t y a n d s c h o o l e d u c at i o n
While there are notable examples of civil society engaging with the state on different policy issues,
their involvement in elementary education is either low or problematic. At the state level there were
several critiques of the proposed version of the bill on right to education in terms article 21A of the
constitution, in seminars and meetings organized by various groups. In addition an alternative bill
was also drafted as a civil society initiative which was discussed at the CABE meetings and at other
centres in the country. However there are very few NGOs working consistently in the field with élan
and effectiveness.
If panchayats are viewed as civil society organizations, rather than mere implementing agency of the
government, their involvement is very low. PRIs even generally are not working in a satisfactory manner
for want of clear guidelines or real devolution of authority, absence of proper training, bureaucratic
apathy etc. Vidyalaya Shiksha Samitis (VSSs) are involved to a degree but their functioning depends
much on the choice of members, especially adhyaksha and sachiva. They can be both asset and
liability, but their potential contribution remains unrealized. In many places the power structure,
domination, conflicts and problems of the villages are transmitted into the VSS. In the last one year
panchayats have been given the authority to appoint additional teachers to government schools, but
again there has been little effort at building capacity of the panchayats in assessing the quality of the
candidates and in reviewing the quality of education.
Bihar has
the highest
H e a l th s c e n ario in B ihar
population of
The information on health statistics is week but indicates that the MDG targets for infant mortality, malnourished
child malnutrition and access to safe drinking water will be reached. However, the State attainments children in
will fall short of target against two key indicators of attended birth and sanitation. Even as per the the country.
official data, the infant mortality and maternal mortality rates are worse than the national levels.
Bihar has the highest population of malnourished children in the country and the prevalence of
marriage of minor girls (median age of marriage is 15.1 years) is very high. Although intensity of
immunisation has improved (still 20 percent as against 42 percent at the national level), cases of
polio are still reported. There is also a large-scale prevalence of tuberculosis in the State. With acute
shortage of health-care facilities and attendants, it can be said that the system of State delivery of
health care has collapsed.

overview
Though the land can produce wide varieties of cereals, pulses, oils, fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs,
medicinal plants and that too in plenty, the nutritional status of people are far from satisfactory.
Unequal distribution of land, high levels of poverty, loss of faith in time-tested traditional varieties
and changing food & cropping pattern, as well as poor sanitation practices, have contributed to the
burden of disease through its vicious poverty-malnutrition-disease-poverty cycle.
Social and economic factors, especially competitive pressures on livelihoods have led to development
of disrupted and nuclear families, and loss of community togetherness, further leading to a loss of a There has
social safety net that existed in earlier times. The poor economic development, migration and social also been a
upheavals and conflict have also led to deterioration in health-oriented behaviour and approaches corresponding
to health as a whole. increase
in the
percentage of
H e a l th stat u s
“underweight”
The health status of the population continues to be poor. Though there have been improvements on children
some of the many health indicators between NFHS 2 to 3, however the overall status compared to below
other states in the country is not very encouraging. The State has actually regressed with regard to three years.
certain key indicators for maternal and child health (Table 8).
Table 8 : K e y health indicators in B ihar
B ihar NFHS -2 (1998-99) NFHS-3 (2005-06)
Total Fertility Rate (children per woman) 3.7 4.0
Infant Mortality Rate (per thousand) 78 62
Use of any modern family planning method ( percent) 21.6 28.8
Total unmet need for Family Planning ( percent) 25.7 23.1
Mothers who had at least 3 Ante-Natal Care visits ( percent) 15.9 16.9
Institutional deliveries ( percent) 14.8 22
Children in 12-23 months Received complete immunization ( percent) 11.6 32.8
Children under 3 years breastfed within one hour of birth ( percent) 5.4 4.0
Children under age 3 stunted ( percent) 55 42
Children under age 3 underweight ( percent) 54.3 58.4
Women whose body mass index is below normal ( percent) 39.1 43
Children age 6-35 months who are anaemic ( percent) 81.1 87.6
Ever married women age 15-49 years who are anaemic ( percent) 60.4 68.3
Pregnant women aged 15-49 years who are anaemic ( percent) 46.4 60.2
Women who had heard about HIV ( percent) 10.5 35.2
According to the National Family Health Survey 2005-06 (NFHS 3), Bihar has shown an increase
in the fertility rate (from 3.7 in 1998-99 to 4 in 2005-06) even though the rates are decreasing in
the rest of the country. While the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has decreased, neonatal deaths still
contribute about 60 percent deaths among infants. There has also been a corresponding increase in
the percentage of “underweight” children below three years.

Maternal health care has made no improvements, with only 17 percent pregnant women having
received ante-natal care and 22 percent deliveries reported at health facilities. Breastfeeding within
the first hour of birth continues to be abysmally low due to prevailing cultural practices and myths
among the community, with children being given honey and water at birth, and waiting for information
from the family priest on the auspicious time for beginning breast-feeding. The problem of anaemia
has become more severe impacting both children and adults, particularly women.
The drop in IMR in Bihar is also being linked to increased vaccination rates. Till 1999, with Bihar’s There is a
health system completely out of gear, only 12 per cent of children were being fully vaccinated. NFHS huge shortfall
3 has seen a three-fold increase in vaccinations. Now almost 33 per cent infants (as compared to 44 of health
percent at the national level) between two to 23 months receive all recommended vaccinations. infrastructure
at the primary
The gender divide in health status and awareness is also revealing. As per NHFS-3, 28.7 percent of
care level...
men have BMI below normal, compared to 43 percent for women. Similarly, 70 percent of men have
also existing
heard about HIV, against 35.2 percent for women. With regard to use of condoms to reduce risk of
health
HIV, 58.4 percent men are aware of the fact, as against 22.4 percent for the women. 32.6 percent of
facilities
ever-married men are anaemic as compared to 68.3 percent among ever-married women.
are sub-
standard..
h e a lt h i n f r a s t r u c t u r e a n d g o v e r n m e n t p r o g r a m m e s
The government system of health service delivery is at three levels: (1) primary care, in the form of out-reach
services at village level, sub-centre at cluster level and Primary Health Centres (PHCs) till sub-block levels;
(2) secondary care, in the form of referrals at Community Health Centre, First Referral Units and District
Hospitals; and (3) tertiary care, in the form of Medical Colleges and Super Speciality Centres. The
primary and secondary care is the responsibility of the state health department. The tertiary care
is delivered by autonomous bodies having state/central support. The various health systems being
practised are primarily allopathic, homoeopathic, ayurvedic and unani, though at the primary and
secondary levels the most common one is allopathy.
However, according to the Government of India estimates provided in Table 9, there is a huge
shortfall of health infrastructure at the primary care level. There is also growing evidence to suggest
that existing health facilities are sub-standard. The buildings are dilapidated or damaged and there is
an acute shortage of beds. Thirteen referral hospitals constructed between 1991 and 2000 were not
operational due to non-availability of medical and paramedical staff and equipment. The situation
has become worse with limited capacity of the state to turn out graduates to fill vacant posts.
Table 9 : G ap in healthcare infrastructure
H ealth I nstitution R equired I n P osition S hortfall
Sub-centre 14959 8858 6101
Primary Health Centre 2489 1641 848
Community Health Centre 622 70 522
RHS Bulletin, March 2006, M/O Health & F.W., GOI
The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), a community-based child development

programme, which aims at holistic development of children (0-6 years) and expectant & nursing
mothers from disadvantaged sections has not been able to fulfil its mandate. There is a serious

overview
shortfall in the number of ICDS centres. The network consists of 393 projects, covering nearly
72 percent of the state and the services are being provided through 60,587 Anganwadi Centres.
Wherever the AWCs exist, the performance is far from satisfactory. However, the state is in the
process of opening of more ICDS centres in areas not reached by this programme. A mid-day meal
programme is also being run in all government managed primary schools of the state to address
nutritional needs of the children.
Poor sanitation infrastructure and hygiene practices contribute to increasing disease burden. Only
Only about
about 19 percent of the households in rural Bihar have access to a sanitary toilet, while the rest
19 percent
defecate in the open. While this poses significant health risks, the issues of dignity, convenience
of the
and safety affect women and girls. While drinking water is accessible through hand pumps and dug/
households
open wells, in places contamination of iron or arsenic is reported.
in rural Bihar
have access
the social dimensions to a sanitary
toilet.
Traditionally women are responsible for the health of all family members, but limited education
and ignorance drive them to many traditional beliefs and superstitions that are often detrimental to
health. The old are socially disadvantaged and are mainly dependent on the mercy of their offspring.
General awareness levels regarding health and health seeking behaviour also are at a low level. In
many parts of the state, communities still depend on priests and local “vaids” for advice on food and
medicine, and the overall nutritional status, especially of women and children, is poor.
The food pattern which earlier had a wide variety of cereals and pulses has now become more
restricted, with mono-cropping being practised in most areas, and food crops grown keeping in
mind economic returns rather than food security and nutrition. Because increased yields focus on
high dosage of fertiliser and pesticide, quality of food is also often compromised.
The needs of adolescents are rarely addressed and queries on sex are not encouraged. Myths
and misconceptions thrive, affecting their sexual behaviour. Pre-marital and extra-marital sexual
relations tend to be on the rise, though not acceptable in public, where girls and women tend to be
the ones punished the most. Lack of education and livelihood opportunities has a strong bearing on
the youth, who are often misled and take refuge in drugs and others addictions.
Migration has affected the family units, leading, in many cases, to abandonment of women and
children in the villages and marrying and settling down with new partners in the urban areas. Even
otherwise, migration means that women have a
disproportionately higher work load in looking
after the family – doing all house-hold chores and
bringing up the children. A major task is to collect
fire wood and cow-dung for fuel – itself a tiring
exercise – and then burning it under unhygienic and
smoky conditions that lead to respiratory diseases
and other health effects.
M us li ms in B ihar
Muslims in Bihar constitute nearly 16.5 percent of

the population or 13.7 million, accounting for nearly
10 percent of the total Muslim population of the
country (2001). It is mostly rural (87 percent) and
largely to the north of the river Ganges. The impact modernisation of madrasas will be important.

of overall stagnant rural economy has been particularly severe for Muslims, since over three-fourth
depend largely on farm-based labour for their livelihood. Migration, both to small towns in the State
and cities outside the State, is largely as unskilled labourers employed in informal small household
enterprises, petty trade and small industries.
Low-wage agriculture labour provides about 40 percent of the household income of rural Muslim
families in Bihar, while remittances (nearly 25 percent) and self-employment (nearly 20 percent) are
also important.
Migration
While about 36 percent of Muslim households in rural Bihar own any land (over 92 percent of this in and from
landholding is less than 2 acres, much below the economically viable unit of 5 acres), less than 29 Bihar is
percent are actual tillers, the rest leasing out their land to tillers with comparatively larger holding. widespread
There is also a slow trend in land alienation, revealed in the comparatively higher selling of land and
during the past decade, as compared to buying. About 56 percent of Muslim households in rural continuous.
Bihar own some form of livestock, poultry, goat and cattle in that order.
In the non-farm sector, barely 2 percent of the Muslim households in rural Bihar are artisans
(weavers, potters etc.), compared to over 4 percent in urban areas. It appears that a large number
of workers are being forced out of skill-based activities in the face of competition from the modern
manufacturing sector, leading to de-skilling and conversion of this workforce into wage labourers.
The death of the Bhagalpur silk industry, once employing 25-30,000 boon-kers (weavers), mostly
comprising of Muslim Ansaris, is a case in point. In terms of employment opportunities, however,
urban Muslim artisan households appear to be better off than their rural counterparts, simply
because of access to markets. Less than 1 percent of the Muslim households in urban areas were
engaged in manufacturing activities.
Over 23 percent of Muslim households in rural Bihar are engaged in other self-employed activities
such as retail trade, bidi (local tobacco roll) making, tailoring, rickshaw-pulling and mechanics for
various machineries, the last two being undertaken mostly in nearby towns. The average annual
income from such self-employment activities is substantially higher than those earned by artisans
and also generally higher than those earned by small/ marginal cultivators.
Nearly 35 percent of the male working population is in the age group of 15-29 years. Also, relatively
high worker participation is seen in the age group above 60 years, which indicate economic stress
on the community and lack of social security. Overall participation of Muslim women is on the lower
side, contributing largely to home-based livestock related activities. 31 percent of women workers
are engaged in the tobacco industry (bidi making) in rural areas (15 percent in urban areas) and
nearly 25 percent are engaged as domestic help in urban areas. Over 41
Migration in and from Bihar is widespread and continuous since 1971. The high population density percent
in the State implies very low land-man ratios in rural areas while the urbanisation levels are also very of Muslim
low implying very limited non-farm employment. Over 20 percent of Muslims among the households households
migrating within the State choose the urban centres of Patna, Gopalgunj and Hajipur. Two out of in rural
every three Muslim households in rural Bihar send at least one each of their working members Bihar are
outside Bihar to earn. A quarter of the Muslim households migrate outside Bihar from the urban indebted.
centres of the State. Gulf countries are a favoured destination outside Bihar and 8-12 percent of
the migrant workers make it. Over 70 percent of the migrant workers send remittances, which is a
significant source of income to the households.
Over 41 percent of Muslim households in rural Bihar are indebted, and the amount exceeds 57
percent of their average annual income. The average amount of outstanding loan per indebted
household is Rs 16.38 thousand, less than a fifth of which is from institutional sources. The village

overview
money-lenders provide about 40 percent of the consumption loans, the rest being made available by
family and friends. In urban areas, the proportion of indebted households is lower (about 25 percent)
but the average amount of outstanding loan is higher at about Rs 20.00 thousand. The pattern of
credit sources is similar to the rural areas. About 30 percent of Muslim households have a bank
account, which might be to facilitate remittances rather than hold savings. About 9 percent of rural
Muslim households and around 16 percent of urban Muslim households have any insurance, which
again might be an indication of insecure livelihoods.
Schooling
In rural Bihar, the housing conditions of Muslim households are comparatively better with more pucca
for Muslim
dwellings (25 percent as against 10 percent in general), separate kitchen (nearly 50 percent), drinking
children in
water facility from tube-wells (nearly 93 percent as against 74 percent in general) and toilet facilities
Bihar aged
(33 percent as against 10 percent in general). In urban areas, however, the municipal services like
2-16 years
drinking water, electricity and sewerage are comparatively poorer for Muslim households. However,
is the
Muslim households continue to fare much better in terms of toilet facilities within households (82
second
percent as against 66 percent in general).
lowest in
Muslims in India suffer from double disadvantage of low level of education and lower quality of India at
education. In Bihar poor economic conditions aggravate the situation by forcing children to enter the 2.07 years.
work force early. With a literacy rate of only 42 percent, Muslims are below the general literacy levels
in Bihar (47 percent) and considerably so compared to the nation as a whole (nearly 65 percent).
The mean duration of schooling for Muslim children in Bihar aged 2-16 years is the second lowest
in India at 2.07 years. Nearly a third of Muslim children never go to school in Bihar and only two
out of five children in the State are able to complete primary education. Only 16 percent are able
to complete secondary (matriculation) education and, among these, only a little over 5 percent are
girls. Access to higher and good quality education, particularly for girls, is a major challenge. It is
estimated that there is a dearth of nearly 1100 schools in Muslim dominated villages in Bihar and
establishing these will involve an estimated investment of nearly Rs 700 crores.
Madrasas in Bihar cater to over 2.5 lakh students, including 1.1 lakh girls, which is the second
highest in India after UP. There are 1118 government Madrasas, including 32 which are exclusively
for girls. Contrary to popular perceptions, most Madrasas impart modern education and, due to
community ownership, are often better managed and more affordable than the local government
schools. However, modernisation of Madrasas will be important for enhancing the quality of education
imparted to Muslims students in Bihar.
Muslims in Bihar share the general problem of chronic poverty and absence of a health service
infrastructure. Yet, the medium and larger villages with over 40 percent Muslim population are seen
to be worse off in terms of access to health infrastructure. The total fertility rate among
Muslims in Bihar is 4.4, higher than the general population in Bihar (3.5) and much
higher than the national average (2.9). The child sex ratio is better than the general
population but an overwhelming majority (90 percent) of the births occur at home.
This is reflected in the birth rate and death rate among Muslims, which is higher than
other socio-religious groups.
Cast e dyn ami cs in B ihar
The social scenario in Bihar is complex, with a legacy of caste ridden social hierarchy,
coupled with the power struggles between the earlier dominant castes and the emerging ‘other
backward castes’ (OBCs), and lately the ‘extremely backward castes’ (EBCs) and dalits as
well. Bihar has traditionally had a feudal social structure, with caste as the basis for division of

work and status. While existing earlier, the system of zamindari became stronger during the British
rule, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. Under this system, the upper castes (Brahmins,
Bhumihars, Rajputs and Kayasthas) continued as dominant groups and their monopoly over landed
property and economic power created a large gap between the upper and lower castes. This gap
continued even after independence, in spite of efforts at social reform.
The struggle between the upper castes and others initiated by Lohia in the sixties gained momentum
in the 1980s, with the emergence of OBCs as power centres, leading to violent conflicts between 30 out of
the upper castes and others causing even more oppression of the EBCs and dalits. However, in the 38 districts
recent past, the EBCs and dalits also have become involved in the struggle for power, as can be of Bihar
seen from the recent clashes. According to reports by Government of Bihar, 30 out of 38 districts are under
of Bihar are under the grip of the violent Naxalite movement. The worst affected area is the region the grip of
known as Central Bihar. the violent
This period of struggle also saw the law and order situation deteriorate, though not to the same Naxalite
degree in all parts of the state. It is interesting to note that communal relations between Muslims and movement.
Hindus remained largely unaffected by this polarisation and conflict, and has been characterised by
harmony more than conflict. However, Muslims themselves have not been a homogeneous group,
but are divided along caste lines, with sheikhs being generally more advanced and richer, and many
other groups – bakhos, rayins, nats etc. being backward termed the “Pasmanda” Muslims. The
Pasmanda Muslims generally have poorer access to Government services as compared to the more
advanced groups, have lower education levels and are economically more backward.
caste and politics
No caste census has been done since 1931 and only estimates, based on statistical interpolation,
of the relative composition can be made. Muslims constitute 16.5 percent of the population
while Yadavs account for another 12 percent, a combination that was successfully exploited by
Lalu Prasad Yadav to remain in power for a decade and half. The “backward castes” make up 35
percent of the population but consist of two major groups – the backward and extremely backward.
The present Chief Minister is from the Kurmi caste that forms nearly 8 percent of the population
(along with Koeris). Brahmins constitute less than 5 percent of the population.
Analysts agree that Mr Yadav’s rise to power ended years of political dominance by upper-caste
leaders and parties. But this has happened at the expense of development - Bihar is backward
in roads, schools and hospitals and there has been a breakdown in law and order. Voting along
caste lines has given rise to a violent political culture where most political parties field candidates
with criminal records, and mercenary private caste gangs intimidate and kill rivals. More
than 1,000 political workers and leaders have been killed in the state since 1990, according to
police records.
Caste plays
“Caste plays a central role in Bihar elections,” says social scientist Shaibal Gupta of the Patna-based a central
Asian Development Research Institute. “People might talk about crime, corruption, development or role in Bihar
other local issues but ultimately they vote on caste lines.”4 elections.
Nitish Kumar is the current Chief Minister of Bihar after his alliance of Janata Dal (United) and the
Bharatiya Janata Party was elected in November 2005. He is aware that his predecessor’s focus
on political empowerment of the backward communities was not sufficiently backed with good
governance and development. His first attention is on law and order while his second priority is to
4
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4276379.stm

overview
replace social confrontation with social harmony. The third priority of his government is development,
both of basic infrastructure as well as implementation of existing schemes.5
Go ve rna nce and civ il so c i e t y
Among all institutions operating in the lives of the people of Bihar, the government assumes the most
pervasive and critical role, particularly for the socially and economically disadvantaged sections. It
occupies a substantial space in the sphere of service-delivery and remains the principal guarantor The
of social justice, affirmative action and fundamental rights. As of today, the government has its government
presence across a large number of sectors and interventions, and has the deepest penetration assumes
amongst all institutions in the lives of the marginalized communities in particular. the most
pervasive
Administratively, the state is divided in 9 divisions, 38 districts, 534 blocks, 8,471 Panchayats, 45,103 and critical
revenue villages, and 130 towns6. The number of towns actually decreased from the 1991 census – 8 role.
towns of 1991 census were declassified in 2001 as they did not fulfil the criteria any longer.
local governance in bihar
In Bihar, the degree of decentralization in the sphere of governance is relatively limited. Bihar is
one of the very few states in the country where no recommendations of successive State Finance
Commissions have come into effect (contrary to the provision of Article 243-i of the constitution)
relating to devolution of finances to Panchayati Raj institutions. The administrative bureaucracy
has acquired a dominant influence over development processes and the role of Panchayati Raj
institutions is grossly marginalized. There are also examples of co-option of Panchayats by the
dominant communities.
Bihar has witnessed two terms of Panchayati Raj since promulgation of the 73rd and 74th
amendments to the constitution of India, and a substantial number of women representatives
(backed by reservations to the tune of 50 percent) were elected to PRIs in 2006. Panchayati Raj
institutions have been a significant axle of social mobilization, and the most prominent expressions The
of dissent and social activism in the recent past revolved exclusively around issues of governance. panchayat
functioning is
After the panchayat elections last year, some effort is being made to delegate responsibilities to the
still unclear.
panchayat, but in the absence of adequate financial power and flexibility, the effectiveness of the
panchayat functioning is still unclear. While there is role overload among the panchayat functionaries,
there is little effort to build their capacities to handle various subjects devolved on them for their
implementation. Bihar has devolved 25 functions to the panchayats whereas functionaries have
been provided only for 8. Interestingly, there is no financial devolution for any of the functions.
Encouragingly, the state has constituted District Plan Committees. This offers an interesting
opportunity to make the panchayats more functional with adequate capacity and financial powers.
The potential for involvement of civil society organizations in improving the access and
governance of vital development needs of marginalized communities stems mainly from
deficiencies in the reach, quality and sustainability of government-provided entitlements,
services and opportunities. While CSOs cannot replace the state, they have a role in
holding the state accountable for lapses in performance of vital roles, and in plugging
gaps in service-delivery in effective and sustainable ways.
5
http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/nov/23bpoll1.htm
6
Bihar Government website, http://gov.bih.nic.in

Ci v i l S o c i ety O rga n i z atio n s i n B ihar
The universe of civil society organizations in Bihar includes a wide variety of organizations, ranging
from service-delivering NGOs and community based organizations to networks and alliances of
organizations.
n o n - g o v e r n m e n ta l o r g a n i z at i o n s
The genesis of NGOs in Bihar can be traced to three distinct phases: the earliest dates back to
the neo-democratic phase of the 1950s and 1960s, when several organizations and movements
came into being with the intent of contributing to nation-building and in revival of rural economies.
One of the earliest organizations – ‘Shramabharati’ (founded in Jamui district in 1952 by Dhirendra
Mazumdar) came into being with the objective of building a self-reliant violence-free social order
in India, by facilitating local action towards enhancement of agricultural productivity, health care
and rural development. This formative phase of genesis of NGOs in Bihar also coincided with the
Sarvodaya and Bhoodan movements of Acharya Vinoba Bhave, and large-scale emergence of Khadi
Gramodyog Kendras. Leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), who were greatly inspired by the
concept of Sarvodaya gave leadership to many local initiatives for change. JP himself set up an
Ashram in 1954 in Bihar, and dedicated himself to upliftment of rural societies.
The second distinct phase of emergence of NGOs in Bihar dates back to the late seventies and
early eighties, when many protagonists of the JP-led ‘Sampoorna Kranti (total revolution)’ and
Sangharsh Vahinis in Bihar initiated their own platforms for responding to developmental issues.
However, the growth of NGOs in the state reached a peak in the late nineties and the new millennium
(phase 3), when the emergence of several donor organizations and integrated development
programmes brought about the genesis of a new crop of NGOs delivering a range of sectoral
services.
activist groups
The genesis of activist organizations in Bihar, bearing an influence of the leftist upheavals in
neighbouring West Bengal in the late sixties and early seventies, dates back to the early seventies
when leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan were at the pivot of several social movements envisioning to
bring about a ‘Samatamoolak Samaj (an equitable
society). A large number of activist groups came
into being around that time, and have been active
in Bihar in protest against acute disparities in
distribution of critical resources and instances of
injustice and exploitation. Activist organizations
believing in non-violent mode of assertion and
include agencies like Ekta Parishad, Lok Samiti,
Sangharsh Vahini and Deshkaal Society; many of
which, like Ekta Parishad, have district-specific units
operating across chosen clusters of panchayats.
The relative level of the inclusion of the socially

disadvantaged sections is relatively higher in
such groups, and the choice of interventions
revolve around issues relating to denial of critical non - violent activist groups fight for basic rights and
entitlements like land, employment and basic entitlements of the poor.

overview
services. Led and managed mostly by people having a history of struggles and mass-movements,
such groups have actively endeavoured to take up issues of the poor, have staged demonstrations
and have achieved occasional successes in their pursuits. However, the initiatives of such groups
have been sporadic in nature and the inability of form synergistic associations with other agencies
sharing similar interests have in many cases undermined the potential of success. Some of the
groups have also endeavoured to address issues relating to the relative status of women, through
campaigns to highlight the productive role of women. Many activist groups have confronted the
state through overt, community-led processes, and have included socially disadvantaged sections They do
at the forefront. not have
continuing
interventions
v o l u n ta ry b o d i e s amongst
poor rural
Several organizations operate in Bihar with the charitable orientation of helping the needy in times of communities.
distress. Prominent organizations in this category include the Rotary Club, the Marwari Yuva Manch
and the Lion’s Club.
Such organizations typically look at the destitute communities as ‘beneficiaries of relief or assistance’,
often from a caste-neutral perspective. With negligible inclusion of socially disadvantaged
communities within their organizational structures, such bodies do reach out to a wide variety of
disadvantaged communities in times of crises, with the aid of interventions that are mostly ‘safe’,
‘non-confrontationist’ and contributing to enhancement of their identity.
Key strengths of such organizations include their promptness in responding to crises and strong-
networks. While they dexterously respond to crises stemming from disasters, they do not have
continuing interventions amongst poor rural communities of Bihar. During the floods of 2004, a large
number of such organizations were involved in distributing relief supplies, independently as well as
in collaboration with government agencies.
community/caste-specific groups
Musahars, one of the most disadvantaged social groups amongst Scheduled Castes, have an
exclusive, community-led forum called ‘Musahar Vikas Manch’ working for securing critical
entitlements like land and employment. The Manch, coordinated at the district level by Shri Basudev
Das, has a strong presence in select villages (e.g. Teetra, Bakhri, Dholi, Nenapur and Kumhra in
Muraul block) of Muzaffarpur district and operates through point persons identified in each Musahar
habitation. The Forum is networked well with several cadre-based organizations (e.g. Ekta Parishad) The raison
and bodies like Akhil Bharatiya Bhuiyan Musahar Seva Sangh. Originally part of a state level d’être of
forum of Musahar (Musahar Vikas Mandal) headed by Shri Jeetan Ram Manjhi (Minister in Govt. of most of such
Bihar), the Musahar Vikas Manch came into being about a year back after an internal conflict within alliances is
the Mandal. vote-bank
consolidation.
In addition, several active caste-alliances exist in Bihar, including a good number of them belonging
to other backward castes, e.g. Koeris, Kurmis, Nais and Telis. However, the raison d’être of most of
such alliances is vote-bank consolidation and rarely have they addressed the pressing development
needs of respective communities. Amongst the Muslims, the Pasmandas form a disadvantaged
community, which is organized in the form of a mahaj headed by Shri Ali Anwar, a Rajya Sabha MP.
The mahaj has been spearheading active advocacy work to press for inclusion of the Pasmandas as
beneficiaries of affirmative action policies of the government.

c o m m u n i t y - b a s e d o r g a n i z at i o n s
Self-help groups have emerged on a substantial scale in most areas of Bihar, thanks to the provision
of subsidies and the availability of grant assistance from agencies like NABARD to promoting
NGOs for each group formed and linked with banks. SHGs promoted to get the benefits of SGSY
(Swarnajayanthi Gramin Swarojgar Yojana) have generally tended to be focused only on getting
the subsidy, and not on empowerment of people. As such, most of these have either disbanded
or remain dormant once the subsidy has been received and distributed. On the other hand, SHGs SHGs have
promoted by many NGOs have been focusing on empowerment as a whole, including links to generally
financial institutions, but not limited to them alone. These SHGs have been more dynamic and have tended to be
shown signs of progress. focused only
on getting
The existence of community-based organizations in rural Bihar, other than self-help groups formed
the subsidy,
by various NGOs, is limited mostly to community institutions promoted under various government
and not on
programmes. These include forums like Vidyalaya Shiksha Samitis, Mata Samitis and Prabandh
empowerment
Samitis formed under the provision of education services, or Rogi Kalyan Samitis formed under the
of people.
provision of National Rural Health Mission.
While cooperative societies have a long history in Bihar, a large number of societies have become
defunct during the last decade due to non-availability of continuous support in the form of agricultural
support services. Most of the cooperative have been co-opted by dominant groups, and have been
used mainly as a medium to retain political influence.
gram sabhas/nigrani samitis
While Panchayati Raj Institutions are substantially inclusive of socially disadvantaged sections in
terms of numerical representation (due to reservations in particular), Gram Sabhas haven’t been
allowed to emerge as effective forums of accountability and governance in line with the mandate
provided for in the constitution. Meetings are convened on a minimal basis, only on the statutorily
required dates, and are mostly manipulated by the dominant sections of a village with limited
participation of the disadvantaged groups. Gram Sabhas in Bihar are rarely consulted in critical
decisions like selection of the beneficiaries of government schemes or formulation of Below Poverty Most of the
Line list. In the current state, Gram Sabhas have been reduced merely to compliance-oriented cooperative
forums, and similar is the state of Nigrani Samitis (citizen’s vigilance committee) provided for in the have been
Bihar Panchayati Raj Act; which in most cases hasn’t been formed. co-opted by
dominant
groups, and
networks and alliances
have been
Several networks and alliances of civil society organizations have active presence in the state, used mainly
including confederations like NACDOR (National Confederation of Dalit Organizations), NCDHR as a medium
(National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights), Jal Biradari, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, and to retain
Wada na Todo Abhiyan. Most of these formulations work primarily on advocacy of key issues of political
specific themes/ constituencies (e.g. NACDOR and NCDHR on issues of dalit communities, WNTA influence.
on holding the state accountable to deliver vis-à-vis its promises, Jal Biradari on issues relating to
water management, PUCL on issues relating to denial of rights of the marginalized communities etc.
and have a strong base of constituent organizations in the state.

Area selection
Where should one initiate a development programme in Bihar? It is indeed challenging to select
an area where a programme could initially be implemented with reasonable chances of creating a
successful model.
In order to address this issue, we needed to understand the overall objectives, view it through the
prism of our institutional mandate and filter it through the core competencies available and then scan
the area to find the best fit. The exercise helped us to (i) lay down a set of criteria for selection of area,
and (ii) apply this to the information already available to us about the state in general.
The criteria were discussed intensively with senior staff in the organisation and then commented
upon by members in the governing system. Each and every criterion was discussed in terms of its
rationale, relative weight and assessment method.
The outcome of a desk research on Bihar was already compiled as a report – ‘Development Status
in Bihar with special reference to Muslim minorities’. This report, along with some primary data, was
used to map out the state on the basis of the criteria laid down. The result was an amazing mosaic, the
patterns of which shifted somewhat with the level of administrative unit we chose to work with – the
districts, blocks or even cluster of villages. Nevertheless, some broad conclusions could be drawn.
The broad criteria for area selection can be summarized as follows:
1. Areas with substantial population of Muslim minorities, preferably living with people from other
communities;
2. Regions with high incidence of poverty and general economic backwardness;
3. Regions with poor social outcome indicators;
4. Accessibility from the state capital (Patna);
5. Areas with relatively stable socio-political environment;
6. Potential for success.
It is important to mention that while the first three criteria form the basis of our long-term interventions,
the rest of the criteria is set to explicitly ensure success at the initial stages.
Criteria 1: Areas with substantial Muslim population
Since the focus of programme is primarily on Muslim minorities, the first level of elimination was
on the basis of the population data available for the different districts. Districts were ranked on the

basis of the absolute population of Muslims and considered along with the data on Muslims as a
proportion of the total population (Table 10).
The district of Katihar has the highest number of Muslims (over 1 million), followed by Purnia, Araria
and Kishanganj (all over 850,000). Even in terms of the proportion of the total population, these
districts are distinctly way above the rest with over double the state average for Muslim population.
In fact, nearly 70 percent of the total population in the district Kishanganj happen to be Muslims.
There are six other districts with a Muslim population of over 500,000 and eleven districts where
the proportion of Muslims to the total population is over 15 percent. An attempt has been made to
cluster these districts on the basis of prevalence of Muslim population (Table 10).
Table 1 0 : D istricts in B ihar with over 1 0 percent M uslim population
Stat e / D i s t r i c t T o ta l P o p u l at i o n M u s l i m P o p u l at i o n P e r c e n ta g e D i s t r i c t r a n k
Bihar 82998509 13722048 16.5
Kishanganj 1296348 876105 67.6 4
Katihar 2392638 1017495 42.5 1
Araria 2158608 887972 41.1 3
Purnia 2543942 935239 36.8 2
Darbhanga 3295789 748971 22.7 6
Pashchim Champaran 3043466 646597 21.2 7
Sitamarhi 2682720 568992 21.2 10
Purba Champaran 3939773 755005 19.2 5
Siwan 2714349 494176 18.2 11
Madhubani 3575281 641579 17.9 8
Bhagalpur 2423172 423246 17.5 12
Supaul * 1732578 302120 17.4 19
Gopalganj 2152638 367219 17.1 14
Sheohar * 515961 80076 15.5 33
Muzaffarpur 3746714 573951 15.3 9
Saharsa 1508182 217922 14.4 22
Begusarai 2349366 313713 13.4 18
Jamui * 1398796 170334 12.2 27
Banka * 1608773 190051 11.8 25
Gaya 3473428 403439 11.6 13
Madhepura 1526646 173605 11.4 26
Nawada 1809696 204457 11.3 23
Samastipur 3394793 355897 10.5 16
Saran 3248701 337767 10.4 17
Khagaria 1280354 131441 10.3 30
Rohtas 2450748 246760 10.1 21
Source: Census 2001

Area selection
It is interesting to note that except for the district of

Bhagalpur, all the districts with appreciable concentration of
Muslims are on the northern side of the state (Map 1). If we
use this map, along with the data available in Table 8, it is
possible to delineate a cluster of districts and analyse these
accordingly (Map 2). The picture that emerges is as follows:
i) north-eastern region of Bihar bordering West Bengal and

comprising the districts of Kishanganj, Araria, Purnia
and Katihar has the highest concentration of Muslims
in the State. Together this region has over 27 percent
Muslim population of entire Bihar.
Map
Map :: Popul
Popul ationation (toMus
(to tal & tallim
& s)Mus lim s)
ii) northern region bordering Nepal and comprising of
districts of Paschim Champaran, Purba Champaran,
Sitamarhi and Madhubani has over 19 percent of the
total Muslim population.
(iii) north-central region comprising the districts of

Muzaffarpur, Samastipur and Darbhanga, along with
Patna, account for nearly 15 percent of Muslims in
Bihar. Although in terms of the proportion, Muslims in
Patna constitute less than 8 percent of the population,
in absolute numbers, the absolute numbers are over
350,000 and growing.
(iv) north-western region comprising the districts of Siwan,

Gopalganj and Saran account for nearly 9 percent of the
Muslim population of the state.
It is interesting to note that in terms of the urban concentration,

Muslims are more in the towns of south Bihar.
Ma p : Re gion al concent ration of Mu slim s

Criteria 2: Regions with high incidence of poverty
Poverty and economic backwardness in Bihar is more or less uniform. Within the state, the Muslims
in general suffer from extreme socio-economic backwardness and chronic poverty, lagging
behind other socio-religious groups (with the possible exception of SCs and STs) in terms of their
development status. However, it would be interesting to apply the different poverty estimates and
information on productive assets – particularly agricultural land – to the different regions delineated
above.
An estimated 59.6 percent of rural Muslim household in Bihar is below the poverty line and for urban
areas this figure is 54.8 percent. Of these, 19.2 percent of rural and 16.1 percent of urban Muslim
households are acutely poor. The average annual household income for rural and urban areas was
found to be Rs. 31.55 thousand (US $ 730) and 43.64 thousand (US$ 1,000 approx) respectively or
just a few cents per person per day!
The condition of Muslims in rural Bihar is relatively better in the north-western region (Siwan and
Gopalganj) due to remittances from migrant family members. The district of West Champaran in the
northern region is also relatively prosperous, thanks to its agriculture. The rest of the districts in the
northern region are very poor. However, the districts with severe rural poverty are Kishanganj and
Katihar in the north-eastern region.

In urban areas, Muslims are relatively better off in the district of Gopalganj and worst off in
Darbhanga.
An overwhelming majority of Muslims in Bihar (87 percent) live in rural areas where land and land
related endowments are crucial to employment and income generation. However, only about 36
percent of Muslim households have cultivable land, while less than 29 percent actually work on this.
Therefore, nearly three-fourth of the Muslim population in rural Bihar is dependent on wage labour
in the agriculture sector or small employment outside the farm sector.
Nearly three-
Average land-holding per household is relatively better in the district of West Champran but it is fourth of
very low in Samastipur. Muslims in Bihar generally have better access to irrigation facilities, with the the Muslim
exception of the north-eastern districts of Kishanganj and Katihar. population in
An estimated 60.9 percent of Muslim households in rural Bihar own some livestock. In the districts rural Bihar is
of Katihar and Kishanganj, nearly 70 percent Muslim households have livestock resources and are dependent
on wage
engaged mainly in poultry and goat rearing. In Siwan and Gopalganj Districts, selling of milk and milk
labour in the
products is an important source of income.
agriculture
Criteria 3: Regions with poor social outcome indicators sector
or small
On major social outcome indicators like literacy, health and gender, Muslims in Bihar fare very badly. employment
The literacy level for Muslims (42 percent) is lower than State average (47 percent). The north- outside the
eastern region has the lowest literacy rates with less than 30 percent for all the districts. The districts farm sector.
of Sitamarhi and Madhubani in the northern region has a literacy rate of just above 30 percent, while
Paschim Champaran, along with the districts of Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga have a relatively better
literacy rate with figures above 40 percent.
Though Muslims score higher on some health indicators, they lag behind other socio-religious groups
in terms of access to health facilities. Villages with over 40 percent Muslim concentration have less
availability of medical facilities in Bihar. Among these, only about 28 percent of the large villages, 12
percent of the medium villages and 8 percent of small villages have medical facility. In comparison
the corresponding figures are 35 percent, 18 percent and 8 percent for the general population. An
overwhelming majority (90 percent) of births in rural Muslims and nearly 80 percent in urban Muslims
occur at home indicating lack of access to hospital facility.
Acute gender disparity in Muslim community in Bihar is mirrored in wide gap in the literacy level of
Muslim female, which is lowest in the districts of the north-eastern region with all figures below 20
percent. Literacy rate for Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur and Pashchim Champaran are relatively higher Muslims
where the corresponding figures all are above 30 percent. lag behind
other socio-
Criteria 4: Accessibility from the state capital religious
groups in
Accessibility is a key issue for successful management and implementation of field based programmes.
terms of
Patna is not only the state capital but also perhaps the only functional urban centre in the Bihar.
access
Effective coordination and management of the programme means that the field implementation
to health
sites, at least in the initial stages, are conveniently located and easily accessible.
facilities.
The districts in the north-eastern region are not only far from Patna but also very poorly connected
by both rail and road transport. Travelling to these areas can often be quite tortuous even if one is
willing to spare the time. Air link does not exist. Similarly the districts in the northern region are also
relatively less accessible by both rail and road. The north-central region is closer to the state capital
and is connected by both road and rail, particularly road. The town of Muzaffarpur in the same
district is perhaps only next to the state capital in terms of the available infrastructure and services.
It is also widely seen as the gateway to north Bihar.

Area selection
Criteria 5: Stable socio-political environment
The districts in the north-eastern region, though the most backward and with high Muslim
concentration, are known to be politically highly sensitive and volatile. It may not, therefore, be
advisable for an external agency to immediately jump into this area. There is a major problem of
human trafficking across the two international borders (Nepal and Bangladesh), which has kept
the social harmony of the region on the brink. The region is also sharply polarised along religious
identities, which manifests in the local political arena as well. Initiating work in such environment
can be fraught with long-term uncertainties and risk. Also, the extremely poor status of social and
economic standards will ensure that any visible gain would come only in the long run, which may not
be desirable for a new agency entering the state.
The districts in the northern region also face the same problems related to political stability and
trans-border human trafficking. This region also shares the international border with Nepal and is
known for cross border smuggling. In relative terms, the law and order situation in the region is not
satisfactory for safe operation of programme activities, at least in the initial stages.
In sharp contrast, the districts of the north-central region are relatively safe and politically stable.
Many local agencies are based in Muzaffarpur who have indicated an overall conducive environment
for launching developmental programmes. The presence of a large international agency would give
a major boost to the on-going efforts towards an active cooperation between civil society and the
government.
Criteria 6: Potential for success
In order to earn a lasting credibility in a society, an external agency will need to show immediate and
quick results. Once the reputation is established, the agency could deal with more complicated and
long-term issues. The potential for success, therefore, is a key consideration at this stage.
The districts of the north-central region are not only better connected with roads and telecommunication
network, but also have a certain threshold level of human development and intervention of civil
society organisations. It is perhaps possible to convert this initial threshold level into a ‘critical mass’
for initiating collective actions in the region.
S e l e c tio n of d istri c ts
The discussions in the preceding section are summarized in Table 11 below.
Table 1 1 : S ummar y representation of the criteria and its application in different region *
C riteria / R egion north - eastern northern north - central north - western
Proportion of Muslims very high high moderately high high
Poverty (relative) very high moderately high high low
Social outcome very weak weak weak stronger
Accessibility very poor poor good satisfactory
Socio-political environment absent satisfactory good satisfactory
Potential for success very low moderate high low
* Assessment is relative between the regions and is based on current information available from secondary sources

By all counts, it is evident that our ultimate aim would be to intervene in the north-eastern region
of the state and the northern region in general. High proportion of Muslims in the total population
in these regions, coupled with chronic and endemic poverty, provides the raison-de-etre for the
presence of the Aga Khan Development Network in the state.
However, it is important for a new, and outside, agency to establish its credibility quickly among
the local communities, learn its lessons fast and develop a few successful models. Therefore, in
balance, it is proposed to bias our initial interventions towards the potential opportunities, before It is proposed
we move on to addressing the ultimate challenges in development. to bias
The districts in the north-central region – Muzaffarpur and Samastipur (along with Patna) – appear to our initial
be the most suited for initiating the programme. It may be noted that all these three districts were interventions
covered under the pilot phase of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) of the towards the
Government of India. Although the overall concentration of Muslims is relatively lower, there would potential
invariably be pockets of higher Muslim concentration. Moreover, in keeping with the pluralistic opportunities,
outlook and inclusive approach of AKDN, it might be more appropriate to select areas within these before we
districts where Muslims live in populations of mixed communities. move on to
addressing
the ultimate
S e l e c tio n o f ar e as i n M u z a f f ar p u r an d challenges in
S a m asti p u r d istri c ts development.
While the basic premise of the area selection criteria hold true even at the lower levels, three important
considerations were employed after discussions among colleagues. These included identification
of (1) regions with significant Muslim concentration among mixed populations; (2) areas chronically
affected by severe floods; and (3) contiguous blocks for creating an implementation cluster with a
visible impact. Information of local criminal activities is also important, particularly for the district of
Patna.
For the purpose of the present analysis, 10-20 percent Muslim concentration at the block level can
be considered as blocks with significant Muslim concentration among mixed populations. Table 12
below also considers blocks that are particularly flood-prone.
Accessibility in the districts of Muzaffarpur and Samastipur is good along the national highways.
Even the state highways are reasonably usable and are likely to improve. Accessibility decreases
rapidly as one moves away from the road networks and relative poverty tends to increase in these
regions. However, the gross scenario in both the districts seems to be manageable.
The flood-prone zone in both the districts of Muzaffarpur

and Samastipur have been identified and excluded from
the initial set of blocks that are being considered (see also
Map ). However, it is important to deal with the floods
in the long-term and therefore a peripheral presence
may provide better insights into this deep and critical
problem.
If mixed populations with significant proportion of

Muslims are considered along with contiguity of blocks,
the following regions emerge as potential areas:
In Muzaffarpur
(a) Kurhani and Dholi in the south-east; and

Area selection
Table 1 2 : B lock - level analy sis of threat from floods and concentration of M uslims
B locks in district M u z affarpur T hreat of F loods M uslim C oncentration L ocation
Kurhani low 16.3 South
Sakra Significant 20.8 South-east
Musahari High 16.5 Central
Dholi (Moraul) Low 10.0 South-east
Bandra High 13.2 South-east
Gaighat High 7.9 East
Katra High 23.3 North-east
Aurai High 14.6 North
Bochaha High 15 North-central
Minapur High 10.6 North
Sahebganj Low 12.2 North-west
Baruraj (Motipur) Low 14.9 North-west
Paroo Low 13.5 South-west
Saraiya Low 11.4 South
Marwan Low 19.3 Central
Kanti Low 21.0 Central
Kalyanpur High 10.7 North
Warisnagar High 19.9 North
Shivaji Nagar High 2.3 North-east
Khanpur High 9.0 Central
Samastipur Low 13.9 Central
Pusa Significant 12.0 North-west
Tajpur Low 26.8 West
Morwa Low 6.4 West
Patori Low 4.6 South-west
Mohanpur Low 1.2 South
Mohiuddinagar High 8.1 South
Sarairanjan Low 10.4 Central
Vidyapati Nagar Low 8.7 South-east
Dalsinghsarai Low 11.7 South-east
Ujiarpur Low 8.5 Central
Bhibutpur Significant 5.2 South-east
Rosera Significant 9.5 East
Singhia High 14.2 East
Hasanpur High 10.6 East
Bithan High 15.0 East

(b) Sahebganj, Baruraj (Motipur), Paroo, Saraiya, Marwana and Kanti in the west and central regions
of the district.
In Samastipur
(a) Samastipur, Tajpur, Sarairanjan and Dalsinghsarai in the west and southwest region of the
district. It should be noted that the rivers Gandak and Baghmati are responsible for recurrent
floods in most other parts of Samastipur district.
The blocks
If a single contiguous area is to be identified that span the districts of Muzaffarpur and Samastipur, of Dholi and
the blocks of Dholi and Sakra in Muzaffarpur and Pusa and Tajpur in Samastipur appear to be Sakra in
suitable for programmatic interventions. Muzaffarpur
and Pusa
and Tajpur in
P la nni n g th e a p p raisa l
Samastipur
For identification of village clusters that a Mission could appraise, extensive consultations were held appear to be
with key NGOs, local government, and representatives of the local community, along with a review suitable for
of important publications at the local level1. Based on the information generated from these visits, programmatic
following clusters have emerged as potential for further exploration by Appraisal Mission. The idea interventions.
here is to provide viable options to the Mission in terms of area selection without restricting the
choice available.
dholi and sakra blocks, muzaffarpur district
Dholi and Sakra Blocks are in the south-eastern part of Muzaffarpur district, adjoining the district of
Samastipur. This region is rich in agriculture, particularly cash crops like tobacco, vegetables and
maize. Land holdings in general are very small and fragmented. Land endowment with Muslims and
SCs is very low and a majority of them are engaged as agriculture labourers. Threat of floods in this
region is relatively low though the entire region was devastated by floods in the year 2004.
These blocks have a mixed population, with overall Muslim concentration above 10 percent (Table 13). The
region is socio-politically stable with record of social harmony between different communities.
Muslims in these blocks migrate to different parts of India like Kolkata, Punjab, Delhi and Haryana
and few also migrate to the countries in the middle-east. Muslims in some clusters are significantly
engaged in household industries such as lac bangles. SC communities mainly comprise of Paswan,
Kushwaha, and Kumhar. Yadavs are significant in number.
This region has significantly less coverage of NGOs compared to the northern regions of Muzaffarpur.
Many villages were observed to have benefited from Government housing scheme of Indira Awaas
Yojana. Literacy attainment, particularly with Muslims, is very low with only about 25 percent boys
and 15 percent girls enrolled in school.
1
Discussion with Shri Anil Sharma and team of Center Direct, working on rural development programs in Samastipur
Discussion with Mr. Vinod and team of Nirdesh, working in rural development programs in Muzarffarpur District
Discussion with Mr. Ravi Ranjan Bhardwaj, Secretary, Gramin Samaj Kalyan Sansthan, Samastipur
Discussion with Mr. R. R. Kalyan, Regional Coordinator, Rashtriya Grameen Vikas Nidhi, Patna
Jha, Sanjay (2005) Naxalite Movement in Bihar and Jharkhand. Website: http://www.asthabharati.org/
Dia_Apr05/Sanjay.htm#_ftn1
Chandran, S and Gupta, A. K. (2002). India: Caste Violence and Class in Bihar: The Ranvir Sena. Searching for Peace in
Central and South Asia
Bhatia, B (2005). The Naxalite Movement in Central Bihar. Economic and Political Weekly. April 2005.

Area selection
Table 1 3 : M uslims and other communities in select villages in D holi and S akra B locks *
V illage M uslims ( % ) O thers ( % )
Dholi Block
Harsinghpur Leotan 10 Paswan (30); Kushwaha (20); Yadav (20)
Chandanpatti 50 Kushwaha/ Yadav/ Chamar (40)
Majhaulia 50 Kushwaha/ Yadav/ Chamar (40)
Muraul 30 Kushwaha (20); Yadav (50)
Janghipur Low
Sarmaspur 20
Machhi 30
Sakra Block
Sakara 50
Itaha Low
Mohaddipur Low
Maniari 25
Murliachak 25
Satpura 40
*Based on information provided by local community
p u s a a n d ta j p u r b l o c k s , s a m a s t i p u r d i s t r i c t
These blocks share their boundaries with Sakra block of Muzaffarpur District. Pusa is famous for its
Rajendra Agriculture University, a premier national institution for agriculture education and
research. The demographic and economic feature of this region is much similar to Dholi
and Sakra Blocks. This region is again rich in cash crops and significant trade linkages
exist with eastern Indian cities like Kolkata. However the Human Development Index (HDI)
of this area is among the lowest in Bihar. The presence of NGOs is also not very significant
in this region. Unlike the rest of Samastipur district, this region does not fall under severe
flood zone.
D espite relatively descent infrastructure , the qualit y of school education remains far from desirable .

Table 1 4 : M uslims and other communities in select villages in P usa and Tajpur B locks *
P ancha y at V illages H ouseholds M uslims ( % ) SCs (%) OBC (%)
Pusa Block
Harpur Narayanpur, Harpur, Bhuskoul 100 6 10 80
Dighra Dighra, Kalyanpur, Gaura, 110 9 40 20

Birauli, Nawachak
Koari Koari, Rajwa 1340 70 25
Waini Waini, Kaji, Repura 125 9 38 38

Gangapur Rampur, Ayodhya, 70 7 40 33
Gangapur, Khairiram
Thahra Thahra, Gopalpur 125 9 20 56

Tajpur Block
Tajpur Tajpur, Motipur 278 14 49 35

Fatehpur Murgiachak, Fatehpur 133 6 19 75
Shahpur Shahpur, Baghouni, 1202 74 16 10
Baghouni Fazilpur
Rajwa Mohiuddinpur Rajwa, Baso 352 28 25 47

Kubouli, Chak Bangari,
Chak Mansoor, Chaksultan
Harishankarpur Sirsia, Sabaudpur 403 33 26 34

Baghouni
Dighra Dighra, Kalyanpur, Gaura, 33 9 41 20

Birauli, Nawachak
Rahimabad Murgiachak, Bahelia, Bela 898 64 15 22
p e r i - u r b a n a n d u r b a n a r e a s i n pat n a d i s t r i c t
Patna is not only the state capital, but the only worthwhile urban centre in the state today. Although
the overall proportion of Muslims in the district of Patna is less than 8 percent, there are pockets of
concentration both in the city as well as in the peri-urban areas.
If urban linkages are vital for rural development, the peri-urban areas of Patna city will provide for
possibilities of experimentation in this regard. The poorer areas of Patna city itself will provide for at
least an understanding of the problem of rural to urban migration, if not some experiments.
The threat from floods is minimal in the district of Patna. However, the general law and order condition
is a critical issue in this district. There seems to be significant influence of Naxalites in a number
of blocks of rural Patna, which makes it undesirable for programmatic intervention of civil society
agency, at least at the initial stages. A preliminary assessment of different blocks of the district is
provided in Table 15.
Most of the blocks in Patna district have Muslim concentration below ten percent. However, it
was evident that sizeable Muslim population existed even in low Muslim concentration areas like
Bakhtiarpur, Khusrupur and Fatwah.

Area selection
Table 1 5 : B lock level analy sis of threats and proportion of M uslim population
B locks T hreat from N axalites M uslims ( % ) L ocation
Maner High 3.7 North

Dinapur-cum-Khagaul High (From very high crime rate) 7.3 North
Patna Rural (a & b) Low (But significant crime rate) 12.3 North
Sampatchak Significant 0.5 Central
Phulwari Low 21.8 Central
Bihta High 7.0 West
Naubatpur High 5.2 West
Bikram Low 4.2 West
Dulhin Bazar Significant 9.1 South-west
Paliganj n/a* 8.4 South
Masaurhi High 6.5 South
Dhanarua High 1.8 South
Punpun High 1.7 Central
Fatwah Low 2.5 East
Daniawan Low 0.5 East
Khusrupur Low 4.8 East
Bakhtiarpur Low 3.5 East
Athmalgola Significant 2.4 East
Belchhi High 0.5 East
Barh High 5.1 East
Pandarak n/a 1.7 East
Ghoswari n/a 0.1 East
Mokameh High 4.2 East
*Information not available
A proper appreciation of the different criteria suggests Rural Patna and Phulwari as potential
blocks. The Appraisal Mission may explore these blocks for their suitability as program
areas.
Phulwari block is about 18 km from Patna and situated in the northern side of
the city. The rapid expansion of the Patna city has resulted in the urbanization
of southern parts of Phulwari block. Overall the block is part rural, due to the
predominance of land based occupations, and part peri-urban due to significant
percentage of population engaged in occupations providing services to Patna
city. Phulwari block has both rural and urban centers, where the proportion of
Muslims is 8 percent and 57 percent respectively.
Phulwari Rural can be considered as high potential for further exploration by the Mission Team.
Interaction with local community, PRI members and NGOs working in the area indicate that rural
Phulwari is socially-politically stable with a long history of social harmony. Ekta Parishad and Prayas
are two main NGOs working in the area. Being close to Patna it is highly accessible both by rail
and road.

Table 1 6 : M uslims and other communities in select villages in rural P hulwari *
V illage P ancha y at M uslims ( % ) SC (%)
Naharpura Koriawan 10
Janipur Sohrampur and Koriawan 40 (Mahtar, Nat) 33 (Mushar, Paswan, Chamar, Pasi)
Adhpa Sohrampur and Koriawan 10 (Chudihara) 80 (Mushahar, Pasi, Chamar)
Sohrampur Sohrampur Very less 80 (Koeri, Kahar and Musahar)
Murgiachak Sohrampur 50 40
Nehura Koriawan 50 30
Naharpura Koriawan 10 40
Gondpura Koriawan 20 Mushahar, Dusadh, Kurmi
Bhusaula 30
Nizampur 10 (Chudihara)
muslims live in populations of mixed communities sharing , and contributing to the backwardness of the
region.

Appraisal of the selected areas
…vegetable cultivation was felt to have high potential (particularly for the Muslims), but the farmers
were exploited by the traders at the mandi (local market)… Most (Tatis) do not cultivate their land
because the incomes are so low that it is not worthwhile, and costs for watching are too high for such
small landholdings… the Chamars are fully dependent on agricultural labour, living on land owned by
the landlord, causing even more uncertainty and limiting migration – people do not want to risk losing
their houses… collectivisation for any joint occupation was difficult as people tended to disagree
when money was involved…
Ram Bhat (Coordinator, Appraisal Mission)
…there are five languages – Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Hindi and English – right from the primary
stage… science is introduced at grade VI, while social science is missing in the curriculum (in the
Madrasa)… medium of instruction becomes a serious problem particularly in transition from Madrasa
to government school…
Vinay K Kantha (Expert, Education, Appraisal Mission)
…(Mohammed Hasim) mentioned that education was a priority for all… his grandson Zahir was being
coached by a private tutor (along with 5-6 other Muslim children). The private tutor normally charges
Rs.60-70/month/child and is usually an unemployed graduate from the village. Zahir also studied in
the new Ideal School, a private school which had higher fees but a better reputation.
…to compensate for the poor power (supply), private enterprise had stepped in… there was a supplier
who, with a common generator, provided single phase power supply to about 400 households in the
village at Rs.1/hour/bulb from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
Apoorva Oza (CEO, AKRSP – India)
Health is at the mercy of God! People do not feel that they are responsible for their health. They do
not talk about health, and neither has the state discussed the same with them. Poor health seeking
behaviour cuts across caste and classes, however the situation gets worse for those at the bottom...
There is a silence on issues related to sex. Autonomy of women relating to sexual rights is negligible.
Personal hygiene is not a concern. Habits for hand washing, nail cleaning, bathing, examination of
the body (most have not seen their complete body in a mirror) are poor and there is a comfort in
using hands all the time.
Dr Dinesh Singh (Expert, Health, Appraisal Mission)

…discrimination to girl child is very much prevalent here due to dowry (usually Rs 10-25,000). Women
are forced to go for ultrasound for termination of their pregnancy of female foetus due to pressure
from family members.
Alka Mehta (AKRSP – India)
…poor and marginal households manage a portfolio of activities, not by choice but as a survival
mechanism. The households do not have enough incentive or wherewithal to carry out activities at an
optimal level due to want of resources or even access to the same. The present coping mechanisms at
the household level is aimed towards managing food and shelter but is not geared towards managing
individual or household risk.
…the overall picture is quite dismal with slow development of the secondary and tertiary sectors
and high dependence on agriculture. The disconcerting situation is the poor infrastructure inhibiting
development in the state, especially in the manufacturing sector. Moreover, the financial sector’s
performance is also far from satisfactory and is one of the main factors limiting growth and
development.
Sourindra Bhattacharyya (Expert, Livelihoods, Appraisal Mission)
…migration of people from Bihar in search of seasonal work is not a recent phenomenon. Bihar
has provided nearly every state in India with an inexpensive work force. But the increased level of
migration, growing competition for limited jobs, and political tensions in many parts of the country
often combine to make them easy targets in these host states. Recent incidents in Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh and Assam are markers that show that the market for manual workers outside Bihar
is shrinking. If this safety valve is shut, it will have very serious implications for Bihar.
Dinesh Mishra (Expert, Water management, Appraisal Mission)
…livelihoods opportunity for the SC and Muslim poor and women are limited and constricted. All
the asset base including natural, physical and financial are cornered by the dominant communities
and the state’s affirmative actions have offered little to ensure that they are available to the poor. The
institutions are either co-opted or difficult to accommodate the interest of the poor…
Rajeshwar Mishra (Expert, Appraisal Mission)
…dependence on the state has become a habit… everyone wants to be in the BPL (below poverty line)
list.
Naga and Vahora (AKRSP – India)
…a small agency like Grameen Samaj Kalyan Sansthan (Samastipur) has demonstrated exemplary
courage in the recent past to use the Right to Information Act to hold the district administration
to account for the delays and the arbitrariness in identifying NGOs for a particular SGSY initiative.
The same NGO also has people from socially marginalized sections in its Governing Board, and has
chosen to self-finance its interventions out of proceeds from various professional services delivered
by it, including a personality development course, an NGO-facilitation centre and computer-literacy
courses for youth.
Anindo Banerjee (Expert, Civil Society, Appraisal Mission)
One thing was very evident that people have nearly lost their hope in the system. Every one complained
about the system rather (than) coming out with any suggestions. There are opportunities for villages
to grow, but they hardly think of it. They have pre-conceived notions that it can not happen. I believe
this is a terrible condition which has made people to only complain about each other.
R R Kalyan (Expert, Microfinance, Appraisal Mission)

Appraisal
The permanent construction in all three villages seemed to have been constructed about two decades
ago by the parents of the present adult occupants as per their account. They all seem to be enjoying
the benefits of the efforts made by the previous generation and display a sense of despondency
as far as their efforts for bettering their lot is concerned, be it their living environment or general
progress in life.
Surekha Ghogale (CEO, AKPBS,I)
In this situation, first agenda for the poor of Bihar is improvement in production and productivity, -
not distribution... The poor people of Bihar have exhibited their industriousness in the tedious tasks
of constructing the Narmada dam… Although looking listless due to poverty and absence of welfare
programmes, the people have the will to sustain... I consider this region the most appropriate area
for establishing a network of cottage industrial units for food processing... The method of developing
any region by keeping the women in the centre will make development sustainable.
C A Priyadarshi (Expert, community dynamics, Appraisal Mission)
A sample de-briefing report is provided at Annex V to provide a flavour of the observations made
during the Appraisal Mission.
A p p raisa l i n selec t b l o c ks of M u z a f f ar p u r an d
S a m asti p u r
o b s e r vat i o n s o n e l e m e n ta ry e d u c at i o n
The Government schooling system consists of primary schools in most villages, and high schools in
only a few of the larger villages – in the whole Pusa block, for instance, there are six high schools,
including a Kasturba Balika Vidyalaya (residential) and a Central school within the Agricultural
University. In other blocks the situation was worse, with Muraul (Dholi) block having only one high
school. Primary schools are present in almost every village.
C ommunit y members are interested in sending their children to school , including high school .

In some villages, there are “Basic schools” – traditional schools providing a combination of academic,
vocational and value-based education, a system pioneered in Bihar, based on Gandhian principles.
However, these schools are not classified under the formal schooling system in the state, and do
not qualify for assistance in providing either teachers or infrastructure. But the community itself
appears to be interested in such schools, as seen by the fact that in Dighra village the community
has contributed to building of six extra classrooms, with some help from Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
(SSA) for two more rooms, and helping appoint temporary teachers.
Teachers
In the past one year there has been an attempt at increasing the number of teachers, by having the
conduct
panchayats appoint them (panchayat shiksha mitras), so that (a) they are not on the government
private
payroll, and (b) they can be (technically) answerable to the panchayat. A large number of such
coaching
appointments have been made, but many have been ad hoc, based on their proximity to the
classes in the
panchayat members. The new teachers (and a number of the earlier ones) have had no pedagogical
evening.
training, with teaching mainly by rote. At the panchayat level, quality of education is supposed to
be monitored by the Vidyalaya Shiksha Samiti (VSS). However, in most cases the VSS members
are drawn from people close to the sarpanch, who choose its key members – the adhyaksha and
sachiva. Not surprisingly, the power structure, domination, conflicts and problems of the villages are
transmitted into the VSS in most cases.
In most of the schools visited, there was a shortage of rooms, and lack of toilets. Girls’ toilets, in
particular, were not available/ functional in any of the schools visited. In some schools, there are
toilets but these are either not used properly for lack of water or kept locked and used only by the
teachers.
A major problem expressed by the teachers was that textbooks, supplied by the Government alone,
are not usually available till November, and in some cases till February, though the academic session
starts in August. This handicaps the teacher as well as the student.
According to some teachers, they are often given additional work and responsibilities not related
to teaching – such as verification of the BPL list, surveys under SSA, etc., which take them away
from school for days on end. Many schools are grossly under-staffed, and this combined with the
additional work means that teachers are more often absent at schools than present and teaching. This
in turn affects the morale of the children and the parents, who see the system as worthless. However,
in the last year there has been a specific Government order that teachers are not to be used for
any non-teaching work, except in case of disasters, and even then with the specific consent of the
state Government. It was also observed that some teachers conduct private coaching classes in the
evening, and tended to give greater importance to these classes than the formal school classes.
Attendance at high school levels is much lower, partly because the schools are distant (socially
girls are not encouraged to travel far outside their own village) or because children at that age
get drawn into regular work to augment family income (this is more applicable for boys). While
community members are interested in sending children to high school as well, they do not perceive
commensurate benefits. It was seen that most of the children attending high school were from the
upper castes and OBCs, with few Muslims and SCs. Among these, interestingly, there were more SC
girls attending high school than Muslim girls, mainly due to social factors.
The mid-day meal scheme was said to be operational in most schools, though in the current financial
year, off-take of grains was delayed as allotments from the state had not been completed. Usually
at the beginning of the financial year, there is a delay in allotting grain to schools, and as such
they receive grain for cooking food two months late. This lag continues throughout the year, with
the result that at the end of the year about two months of grain go unconsumed, and this cannot
be carried forward to the next year. The scheme provides a nutrition supplement to the children,

Appraisal
and this has been one of the factors influencing greater enrolment in schools. The scheme is to be
managed by the Mother-Teacher Association (MTA), but there are some complaints that the attention
to the quality and quantity of food in the scheme is not fully satisfactory. However, in some cases
SHGs have been entrusted with preparation of meals as an entrepreneurial venture, and this is said
to be working satisfactorily.
While overtly there is no discrimination against the SCs or Muslims, the fact that most of the educated
people eligible for appointment as teachers are from the upper castes or OBCs has meant that, in
Transition
practice some form of subtle discrimination persists, at least in the form of stereotyped perceptions
from
about the backward groups among SCs and Muslims. For instance, while the state has a provision
madrasa to
of stipends for every child from the SC/ST community attending school, very few of the SC children
government
in school were getting any stipend, and many were not even aware of it. In some cases, the child
school is
had received a stipend for a period of one year, after which it was stopped, but the family does not
difficult
know why the stipend was discontinued. Given the fact that most children from poorer communities
because
get drawn into some work or the other, attendance at school becomes the first casualty for these
of the
communities.
differences
In all the blocks visited, almost all Muslim children at primary school age, including girls, are going in the
to madrasas. While some of them later join government schools at higher level, a handful stay on for curriculum.
memorizing and mastering Quran. A few children go to private schools, while many drop at different
stages. It was seen that girls tended to drop out far more than boys, especially if the high school
was some distance away. In the makhtabs, focus is first on religious teaching, but attention is also
given to teaching of Urdu, arithmetic etc. In the larger madrasas, the curriculum, choice of subjects The timings
and quality are generally different from that of regular schools. There are five languages, namely, of the
Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Hindi and English right from primary stage, while science is introduced rather madrasa or
late at grade VI, and social science is missing in the curriculum. This difference, and the fact that makhtab was
the medium of instruction also is different, often results in a difficult transition from madrasa to adjusted to
government school is difficult because of the differences in the curriculum. allow children
There are also a number of private schools that have been set up, whose sole advantage is that the to attend
teachers are present all the time during school hours who pay attention to students. These schools regular
are perceived to be able to coach students better, especially for high school examinations, and are schools.
therefore able to attract students. However, the quality of these schools is no better than that of
the Government schools, with many having buildings and classrooms worse than the Government
schools. Some schools have in fact been changing addresses year to year, as they have had to
shift to different premises. In a few cases, the school closes down and the same promoters open a
school nearby in another name, with the same teachers, but with new recognition. Often schools are
started by local unemployed youth as a means of livelihood, because they see an opportunity
in running a private school, and as such, the quality of education is a concern only to
the extent of attracting sufficient students. As the Government schooling system is not
satisfactory, most get students anyway, and so pay less attention to the finer aspects of
pedagogy and quality education.
Most families in the villages visited were aware of the need for education, and were
interested in sending children to school, provided the education was useful later in life.
In recent years, children from both Muslim and SC communities have been attending
primary schools in increased numbers. Attendance at primary schools has increased,
according to the people themselves, thanks largely due to the mid-day meal scheme,
which, though not without complaints, is working satisfactorily to a fair degree. A pointer
to the importance given to regular school education was the fact that, in all villages, the
timings of the madrasa or makhtab was adjusted to allow children to attend regular schools.

One concern expressed by many was that regular school did not offer any advantage as far as
finding employment was concerned – no vocational skills were taught, and children who completed
their secondary education were reluctant to do “manual work”, and only looked for desk jobs. The
general perception was that most educated youth hankered for government jobs.
It was also seen that civil society involvement in the schools is either low or problematic. Though
there were a number of NGOs (Gramin Samaj Kalyan Sansthan in Samastipur or Kanchan Seva
Ashram or Nirdesh in Muzaffarpur) working with communities in the villages, and some with SCs Most
and Muslims, in the blocks visited, none of them were involved in any aspect of education, whether educated
it be actual running of schools, or in influencing the panchayat for better monitoring of schools, or youth
in policy advocacy. hankered for
government
r e c e n t i n i t i at i v e s i n e d u c at i o n jobs.
Primary education was provided a boost through several central government projects – the Bihar
Education Project, District Primary Education Project, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and the Mid-day Meal
scheme –largely through the introduction of Village Education Committees and Mahila Samakhyas.
However, the state government has not been able to ensure proper utilisation of these central grants,
tied as they were to performance and local co-finance.
While the general scenario is gloomy, a number of initiatives in the state recently include recruitment
of about 100,000 teachers in one go (likely to exceed 200,000 soon), drafting a State Curriculum
Framework and in-principle decision to introduce the Common School System (CSS). The state
has also has constituted an Expert Committee on Education, which has submitted four reports,
three of which were on school education. Further, new syllabi for schools have been drafted after
a gap of sixteen year. The state has also launched a massive programme for bringing out of school
children to the schools, and is planning to increase the number of schools, both at elementary and
secondary levels. It is a matter of concern, however, that the institutional framework is weak in terms
of availability or capacity.
o b s e r vat i o n s o n c o m m u n i t y h e a lt h : s e r v i c e s a n d s tat u s
The situation in the selected blocks is depressing with poor availability and quality of government
health services. An example of the poor functioning is the situation at Pusa, where, for administrative
reasons, the Pusa and Tajpur blocks have been combined and have one main primary health centre
(PHC) at Pusa. As this is very close to the civil hospital, the PHC has become just an administrative
The gap
office, with two rooms allotted in the block office complex, and these also are used mainly as store
between the
rooms for stationery.
demand and
Most of the additional primary health centres and many of sub-centres are in rented buildings. In the the supply
blocks visited, it was also seen that the rent itself was also not paid for a long time at some centres, is just too
with the risk of having to move out and find alternate locations if a conflict arose. While some large to be
essential equipment and instruments are being procured under the NRHM programme, there is no bridged.
system for maintenance. The essential supplies of medicines and other consumables are inconsistent
and there are frequent stock outs. These centres rely on services from private entrepreneurs for
electricity (through generators), ambulance services, x-ray and lab facilities, cleanliness including
maintenance of bed and pillow covers, and provision of food to inpatients. With grossly inadequate
facilities, over-crowding at OPD and pharmacy is a norm. The disadvantaged groups, for whom
these are the only options, suffer the most. While some new structures are being constructed, the
gap between the demand and the supply is just too large to be bridged.

Appraisal
The mindset of providers is not oriented

towards safety or informed choice of
health seekers. The community-provider
interactions are not satisfactory and
especially privacy and confidentiality along
with expression of opinion is not honoured.
Though a cadre of health managers has
been created at state and district levels
under the NRHM, it is beset with weak
management systems and processes.
Human resources, logistics, procurement
and inventory, finances, data, etc. are
very weak both at the state and district
levels. The health personnel themselves
are treated with apathy and disregard
by the state administration. Policies and
systems for people management do not
exist, with salaries not being provided on
time, and promotions hardly forthcoming. the timings of the madrasa or makhtab was adjusted to allow
c h i l d r e n t o att e n d r e gu l a r s c h o o l s .
All this has led to severe loss of morale
for most of the doctors and auxiliary staff in the hospitals visited. Astonishingly, a person joining as
a medical doctor retires in the same cadre, assuming higher responsibilities and designation over
time, without commensurate compensation. There is no system to redress any grievances.
A majority of the people tend to go to private practitioners for all types of problems (OPD/IPD),
even though high poverty levels result in low affordability for health services utilisation. A high
proportion of these private health providers are non-qualified practitioners, but have good rapport
and acceptability among the community. Most registered allopathic private practitioners are located
in the nearby kasba, town or district head quarters. While the demand for private health services
is quite high, private nursing homes and hospitals tend to be exploitative and have no regulations.
Maternity services, the most common demand, are being provided mainly by trained mid wives. The
paramedics are often hands-on trained.
The other category are registered and (mostly) non-registered medical practitioners who have
obtained degrees/certificates from unauthorised institutions or have experience of working with a
qualified practitioner in their clinics or nursing homes. These providers practice mixed streams of
medicine, and are usually the first contact for health services of the rural masses, especially the
poor. They are easily accessible and often do the follow ups at home. Such providers are available
in almost all villages, and tend to charge for the medicines and not for consultations. Often they
accept delayed payments as part of their rapport building with the community. While they carry out
the first treatment, they do send patients to registered facilities if the case becomes serious, though
no formal system of referral exists.
Information and preventive services at the HSCs and the PHCs are practically absent. In terms
of programmes, government outreach is restricted to pulse polio campaign, routine immunisation
and distribution of TB drugs. As a result, the other outreach services are suffering compromising
maternal health and child health, and prevention and management of vector borne diseases. With
high migration, incidence of HIV/AIDS is a threat, and while the government has a testing and
counselling programme at the block level, there is no awareness programme conducted by the
government in this regard.

The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) – meant to provide nutritional and health services in reproductive and
child health – is also in bad shape, with ICDS centres either being used as private store rooms by the panchayat members,
or, where actually in use, for children to come and play, In some centres, the nutritional supplement has been converted
into a single chocolate or toffee. Supplementary nutrition in the form of “khichdi” was reported to be distributed on irregular
intervals. The existing centres are beset by endemic quality problems and the programme is being run by workers without
effective supervision by seniors in the Department. Weighing machine, growth monitoring charts, teaching learning material
were not found/ used in the ICDS centres visited. Household visits by ICDS workers are practically non existent.
The power of recruitment of ICDS workers has been delegated to panchayats. What has happened as a result is that the
anganwadi workers chosen are relatives of the sarpanches or other powerful groups/ individuals in the village. As a result,
community members support her rather than complain about lack of services, as they neither have the requisite awareness
of their rights for the services and their importance, nor are they willing to risk the wrath of the powerful members of the
village. The ICDS centres were also affected by the caste relations in the village. Where the AWC is from a lower caste such
as SC, the higher community children do not attend such centres.
In fact, a senior official in Muzaffarpur admitted that the ICDS programme was a colossal waste and was being run only
because the Supreme Court has made it mandatory for the district administration to continue the programme.
As expected from these conditions, the general health status, especially of the vulnerable sections
(women and children) is poor. Pregnancy registration and complete ante-natal care is very low,
though there is now an emphasis on institutional deliveries at block level health facilities, as a
part of meeting relevant MDGs. The increase in women coming for institutional deliveries is mainly
due to the incentives provided under the Janani scheme – Rs 1,400 to the mother. The health
workers – called ASHA – who motivate and support this process also receive an incentive of Rs.
600 (Rs. 200 for transportation, Rs. 300 as honorarium, Rs. 100 for BCG vaccination). Even with
this emphasis on institutional deliveries, most births are at home, and deliveries are conducted by
untrained birth attendants. Post natal care is almost non existent. Neonatal mortality is reported
to be high, contributing to infant mortality. Child health problems reported are Acute Respiratory
Infection (ARI), diarrhoea, skin infections, and worm infestation. Anaemia and malnutrition are high,
given the poverty situation, poor availability of food and poor hygiene practices.
Adolescents and young people do not have any authentic source of reproductive and sexual health
information and services. Given the high migration (within the state and outside) for livelihoods, HIV/
AIDS incidence and its prevalence have been continuously increasing. RTI/ STI prevalence among
women is reported to be very high, which however is considered a normal phenomenon. As a result, Culturally
health seeking for such problems is very poor. Men however access services and prevalence of STI having a
is said to be much lower. However, the treatment of partner is not a norm. toilet near
the house, let
There is a high prevalence of TB and kala azar in the blocks in Muzaffarpur and Samastipur, where
alone inside,
prevalence of filaria and malaria was also reported. Frequent drop-outs were reported for both
is considered
TB and kala azar cases leading to many cases of TB becoming drug resistant, due to incomplete
bad practice.
treatment. Irregular availability of DOTS providers (i.e., ICDS workers and ANMs) and feeling of
improvement of health status among patients were the main reasons cited for such drop-outs.
Health education and preventive measures were reported to be weak.
Hygiene is poor, partly due to poor awareness and partly due to non-availability of adequate sanitation
facilities. Most houses are so small that there is no place for toilets, and culturally having a toilet near
the house, let alone inside, is considered bad practice. Seasonal diseases such as gastro-intestinal
infections are common. Women are especially prone to reproductive tract infections, again mainly

Appraisal
due to inadequate personal hygiene, and this usually is neither discussed nor treated. The personal
hygiene is not a concern. Habits for hand washing, nail cleaning, bathing, examination of the body
(most have not seen their complete body in mirror) are poor and there is a comfort in using hands
all the time.
There has been steady erosion in the traditional knowledge on health, nutrition and remedies.
Nutrition and balanced food awareness is lacking. The food habits have changed for the worse.
Quality of food produced is compromised for want of financial gains. The earlier practised and Women
successful home remedies are being lost. People are looking for quick fix solutions. They are not and child
satisfied till they pay. deaths are as
It was also observed that general awareness on health and hygiene was low, with much more reliance on acceptable
superstitious beliefs and practices that lead to poor health behaviours and lifestyles. A woman who has as death
given birth is not allowed to meet other members of the house and the community for the first seven days. after
Practice of not feeding the colostrum to the newborn child, giving pre-lacteal feed, belief in bad old age.
spirits for the occurrence of illness in the family, and witchcraft are common. Poor awareness also
leads to various traditional treatments, based on superstitions or other beliefs, often leading to
complications, at times even resulting in death.
Poor health seeking behaviour cuts across caste and class divides, but the situation is worse for
those at the bottom of the pyramid. Health is at the mercy of God! People do not feel that they
are responsible for their health, and do not normally talk about it. There is a clear communication
gap amongst men and women. Autonomy of women relating to sexual rights is negligible. Even in
families there is a silence on issues related to sex. Men are not aware of women’s problems. Women
keep suffering and access services only when situation worsens. Men have relatively easy access.
Adolescent boys and young men with no financial access also suffer.
Preventive health and adoption of a healthy life style does not seem to be important. Physical illness
– wherein it becomes difficult to perform routine functions and is coupled by suffering and pain – is
considered a condition of ill health. In most circumstances, people postpone or delay care seeking
until the problem aggravates or becomes a health emergency. People go to their first contact for
health problems, who invariably advises for an allopathic solution. Women and child deaths are as
acceptable as death after old age.
In terms of civil society involvement at the block level, some NGOs are providing outreach services
such as awareness generation, mobilisation for camps and counselling services. The geographical
coverage is limited and often last till the period of the project. Many organisations are also providing
services for a cost especially related to family planning and contraception. They also market ORS
and Iron Folic Acid Tablets.
r e c e n t d e v e l o p m e n t s i n t h e h e a lt h s e c t o r
In the past one year, the state seems to be committed to programmes that meet the millennium
development goals. The National Rural Health Mission is being implemented in the state since
2006. Political commitment is visible in public messages of provision of healthcare and drugs
through the public system to the masses. Providing access to institutional delivery through 24x7
facilities at each block (0.2-0.3 million populations) is a key initiative. The state is also responding
to legal obligations and has strengthened surveillance for prenatal sex determination. Under the
Total Sanitation Campaign, the state is promoting construction of sanitary latrines for BPL families
providing an incentive of Rs1200 upon receiving Rs 300 contribution from the family in the form of
labour or material for construction.

There are plans to upgrade facilities at hospitals and PHCs under the NRHM. The recently formed
‘Health Societies’ at the state and district level under the same central government scheme is to
oversee the implementation and management of all health programmes except HIV/AIDS. These
societies are to interface with the community at the village level through the village health and
sanitation committee and at the health facility level through the Rogi Kalyan Samitis. Capacity,
however, remains a serious issue.
However, despite considerable financial aid, many programmes are non-starters, and in other cases,
the utilisation of budget itself is incomplete. At the same time, poor resources in the public system
have led to re-allocation of the limited resources up to the block levels, and the concept of public-
private partnership is being proposed as the only viable alternative to improve health services at
the primary level. Services like pathology and maintenance are being outsourced, but the quality
remains poor and little effort is being made to improve these. Committees set up for the purpose
remain inactive and ineffective.
Further, instead of focusing on all-round improvement in primary health services, the emphasis has
been on vertical programmes focusing on few diseases. For instance, the reproductive and child
health programme, as planned by the International Conference on Population and Development,
was a programme to ensure quality services and reproductive and sexual rights, in a frame work
of a health seeking community, having rights of information, access, dignity, comfort, privacy and
confidentiality, safety, informed choice and, most importantly, participation in decision making. During
implementation, the whole programme was reduced to immunisation and antenatal activities.
A matter of concern is the division of various services impacting health, among different departments.
Thus the safe drinking water and sanitation programme come under the rural development, the food
and drug safety comes under the domain of public health department, while the women and child
department is responsible for the ICDS – it has further delegated the recruitment of anganwadi
workers and sewikas to the panchayats. The disaster programme on the other hand is run by relief
department and takes care of the human, livestock and crops damage and losses. Such division
often leads to non-coordinated functioning, and awareness creation among the community becomes
piecemeal or fractured. In such situations, there generally is a lack of communication of various
programmes of the health department, both within the department and with other departments.
Further, the planning of various programmes is mainly done at the state level, with no participation
of the community. Though a bottom-up approach has been adopted in principle, in reality
there is little interaction with the community. The community is never involved in monitoring
or review of the programmes. Similarly, field level providers and managers are also not
consulted. Since the programme is target oriented, supervision and review tends to focus
only on quantitative aspects. The fact that health service providers themselves need
additional awareness and information, as well as desires for career growth, has not been
taken into account.
At the same time, some action by civil society is noticed, in terms of forming forums and alliances
at state level and district level, comprising of NGO representatives, activists and individuals, who
are deliberating and advocating on health issues. Some NGOs are also involved in outreach
services, especially at the district and block levels. However, these programmes are usually
time-bound, and depend on the funding provided.
o b s e r vat i o n s o n r u r a l l i v e l i h o o d s
Overall, it can be said that the poor in the concerned blocks face high risks in livelihoods. One factor
is the possibility of loss of crop, due to untimely rains, delayed rains, etc. High costs of irrigation

Appraisal
make the situation more difficult. Poor health is another area of risk, because illness reduces the
number of wage days, and for the poor, already faced with malnutrition, poor awareness about
hygiene and health practices, the risk is all the higher. Given the prevalence of TB, kala azar and the
rise of HIV (almost unnoticed, but present), these risks are significant in terms of impoverishment.
Debts for treatment add to the problem.
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy in these areas. Most families are either landless or
own very little land (most own less than 0.5 bigha, or 0.2 acre). There are a small number of large
land holders, but in many cases these are absentee landlords, giving their land on lease or on
sharecropping. Among those who own land, multiple cropping is the norm, with at least two crops
being raised. The cropping pattern is mainly paddy in the kharif season, wheat, tobacco and potato
in the rabi season, and moong, maize and vegetables in the summer season.
Some farmers are producing vegetables throughout the year in small plots. Of the three seasons,
the output from the kharif season is uncertain due to prevalence of floods (although this was not
observed in the last two years). Moreover, the low lying lands are often submerged and farmers
are unable to cultivate during the kharif season. Farmers try to reap maximum benefit from the rabi
and summer season. Agricultural productivity, in terms of yield per acre, is generally lower than the
national average, except for maize, where it is said to be higher.
A number of problems are seen to be present in agriculture. Prominent among them are:
• poor quality of seeds, especially for vegetables, potato and paddy due to low seed
replacement
• irrigation is limited to large farmers and cost of water as an input is high
• new crops or alternate technology in existing crops has not been disseminated from either the
University or the State Agricultural department
• poor infrastructure facilities in form of cold storage facilities and supply of electricity for irrigation
is another major bottleneck
• investment in agriculture is low due to low surplus generation
• no processing facility for most of the agricultural produce in the district.
Pusa has a well established Agricultural University, aimed at providing support to farmers in North Bihar
as a whole. While there are a number of (conceptually) well thought out programmes for upgrading
agriculture in the area, its link with the local communities was seen to be poor or ineffective. Seeds
developed by Pusa are not available in the market, and farmers depend on private seed traders,
where the quality has been suspect from time to time. Other initiatives, such as recommendations
on multiple or inter-cropping, bee-keeping, “zero-tillage” farming, development of fishery, promotion
of organic farming, etc., also have not reached the local population, especially the poor. However,
the potential for the use of these programmes is substantial, if appropriate outreach efforts can be
coordinated. It is also to be kept in mind that efforts at outreach are not the responsibility of the
University alone, which has a limited budget and staff for the purpose.
Horticulture is another occupation, more as an added one, for most farmers. The major horticultural
crops include mangoes and litchis (especially in Muzaffarpur). Both mangoes and litchis are grown
on orchards (average size 1.8 ha) as well as homestead crops by small land holders. Most farmers
tend to auction the trees to contractors, who take the risk in yields, make arrangements for picking
and transport, and in the process take away the major proportion of the price of the fruit. While
Muzaffarpur has one processing unit for litchis, no facilities for processing mango or other products
was observed.

Dairy is a significant occupation, with about 60,000 farmers in 800 villages, in Muzaffarpur and
Samastipur districts engaged in supplying milk to TIMUL dairy. The milk co-operatives have been
able to provide limited support to the dairy farmers through supply of fodder, insurance and feed as
well as technical advice. Among SCs and Muslims, however, dairy is hardly seen as an occupation,
because many cannot get adequate fodder, and often owning a single milch animal is not economic,
as yields are seasonal and costs need to be borne the year round. Households cannot afford to
maintain larger number of cattle because of lack of capital and space. For farmers who do own
cattle, it is seen that low milk yields are common, because local breeds are used – introduction of Given the
high yielding cattle from other pats of the country has failed, and the cross breeding programme is fairly rigid
not really functional. Poor availability of fodder, poor road connectivity to the dairy, and lack of credit caste system,
were mentioned as other problems. It is also seen that veterinary services are not easily available. occupation
Because of the combination of these factors, animal husbandry is not considered as a livelihood is still largely
option by the poor. by caste.
Poultry and goat keeping are next best alternative activities observed but not seen on a commercial
scale. The reasons for the same are primarily lack of space of a household, absence of grazing
lands, leading to possible conflicts if goats grazed on others’ land.
Fishing is an alternative for some of the people, but again none among the SCs and Muslims seem
to be involved. For water bodies controlled by the government (stretches of rivers, ponds in common
land, etc.), the government auctions rights for fishing, and the poor usually are not able to afford
these amounts. SHGs in the area also have not so far looked at this as an option, possibly because
fishing is not their traditional occupation. Given the fairly rigid caste system, occupation is still
largely by caste, and other castes usually do not take on fishing. Exceptions can be seen in parts of
Madhubani, where Sakhi has been involved in getting women to take up fishing through SHGs and
federations.
Because a majority of the poor (including among the target groups of Muslims and SCs) are landless,
and land holdings are small in the case of most others, labour and especially agricultural labour,
are the mainstay of most people. However, the wage rate for both men and women is much lower
than in other parts of the country, with men getting Rs. 40 (with food) to Rs. 50 (without food), and
women getting Rs. 25-30 per day (the working hours are usually from 6 in the morning to 1 in the
afternoon). This is not due to just the large labour force available, but also to the uneconomical land
holdings, which do not allow the farmers to pay any higher wages. Thus even if some of the surplus
labour is provided opportunities in other trades or occupations, wage rates for agricultural labour
would not show any appreciable increase. Thus there is clearly a need to improve farming practices,
and reduce costs for farming, though only a small minority would benefit directly from this in terms
of increased farm income.
There is practically no non-farm economic activity in the villages in the four blocks. In the block
headquarters one can see some tea stalls, grocery store etc., but at the village level the purchasing
power and the demand is not enough to justify these activities. In the towns one can also see some
service sector units, such as pump repair, motor mechanic etc., but again, in small numbers. The
poor infrastructure – roads, electricity, etc. – has also meant that there is little by way of industry
in the area. Though there is scope for food processing, especially potatoes and maize, no food
processing is seen, except at small household levels in production of sattu, but mainly for home
consumption. While sattu is available in shops, most of it comes from outside the districts.
As the villages in these blocks, especially Pusa, are significant producers of vegetables and grains,
there are a number of small and medium sized “mandis”, i.e., local markets where foodgrains and
vegetables are sold and transported to other locations, both in the state and outside. However,
the mandis are generally controlled by the local leaders/ merchants, (and at times by larger traders

Appraisal
from outside the state as well) so people in general get lower prices for their
produce. Sales at mandis need to be completed the same day, as no facility
for preservation is available – especially for vegetables and other perishables,
and hence sales in the latter half of the day tend to become distress sales, and this
fact is exploited by many traders.
Small examples of self-employment or micro-enterprise are seen among some SHGs in the
two blocks, it is worth noting that all these examples relate to women from OBCs than from the
SCs or Muslims. In one case, women were taking loans as working capital for carpentry work
being done by their respective husbands, and in a solitary instance, credit was being used for
farming inputs (water, seeds, fertiliser etc.). In the SHGs as well, some women had taken loans
individually to engage in such work, but marketing was left to either the men in the household,
or to contractors who provided the raw materials and paid a piece rate for production. Though the
Government implements the Swarnajayanthi Gramin Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) for SHGs, in terms of
providing credit plus grant, very few SHGs have availed of money under this scheme in these two
districts (50 SHGs have availed of funds in the entire Pusa block from 1999 to 2007, according to
the BDO). It was also seen that there were very few SHGs among the SC community, and a few more
among Muslims, though logically these communities are the ones who need this type of support
most.
Traditionally some cluster based activities have been practised in the area. In Muzaffarpur district,
clusters are involved in zari work, lac bangle making etc., but in small numbers. Handlooms used
to be an important economic activity of the area earlier, but with the advent of power-looms the
handlooms became uncompetitive and were driven out of business. Most weavers, generally from
the Muslims community, have either migrated or are finding it difficult to eke out a livelihood. Most
of the power-looms have died down because of frequent power shut down and chronic power
shortage.
A key factor affecting both non-farm livelihoods and migration is the lack of good quality vocational
skills among the concerned people. Most people who have learnt any skill have done it as
apprentices in informal trade, on the job. They neither have any formal qualifications, nor have they
any recognition for their skills, even though at times it might be of a high order. In both districts, the
availability of vocational training is very low, with the one government ITI in Muzaffarpur and a few
private ones either providing out of date training, or incomplete.
In terms of credit support from scheduled banks or other financial institutions, there is hardly any People
interaction between the institutions and the beneficiaries. While there are some Gramin Banks, meant see the
specifically for the rural community and the poor, most do not respond positively to the credit needs moneylenders
of the people. The poor are mainly dependent on local moneylenders for consumption, production as an
and emergency needs, the interest rate varied between 5-10 % per month. Though the interest rates essential
are very high, people see the moneylenders as an essential support system for their life. support
system for
Micro-finance as an alternative is growing, though slowly, in the area. A number of self-help groups
their life.
have been formed, primarily as the channel for credit and linkage to other institutions to draw in
more capital. Most of the SHGs formed have received additional loans either from the NGOs or local
banks, with the help of the NGOs. Where the NGO itself has provided loans, it has in turn taken
loans from RGVN, RMK, or has received grants from donors for setting up revolving funds. However,
most SHGs are formed among the upper castes and OBCs, and while there are a few SHGs among
Muslims, hardly any SHG was seen in the SC communities in all the blocks. At the same time, there
are a few NGOs who have shown better capability, such as NIDAN in Muzaffarpur district.

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) has been in operation in the two districts, but employment
has not been provided in most villages. Where work has been provided, payment has been delayed in many a cases,
causing difficulties for those who have asked for work. While names have been registered in almost all villages and job
cards have been given, there have been irregularities in the registration process, with the names of many families not in the
BPL list also getting registered. On the other hand, many families who are poor have not been included, and this is more
prevalent in the SC hamlets, especially Dusadhs and Musahars. Though the job cards have brief description of the process
on the back cover, most people who have cards are not aware that they must apply to the panchayat for work. Instead, they
wait for the “mukhiya” to inform them that work is available, and then fill up forms given by him or her. As such, a majority
of the card holders do not avail of the guarantee process. (The Act specifies that the card holders must apply for work to
be allotted, and the panchayat is obliged to provide work within 15 days of such application, else pay compensation as per
norms prescribed.) Among those who have got work, there are complaints that the quantum of work specified to qualify
for the wage, is too unreasonable, and most people have not been able to complete the quantity of earth work specified.
This point has been taken into account by the state administration, and some limits have been changed recently, but most
panchayats are not aware of the changes made, nor that there are different quantities prescribed for men and women, and
for different types of soil.
Traditionally in other parts of the country co-operatives have also been an alternative source of
credit. However, in the two districts, no co-operatives were found to be present.
As incomes from agriculture are low for both landholders and the landless, migration for work is
seen in almost every family. In discussions, it was mentioned that 1-3 persons from almost every
household has been migrating to nearby, i.e., district headquarters and Patna, or to distant places Migration for
– Kolkata, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, Mumbai etc. The average monthly remittance from migration work is seen
ranges between Rs. 500-1000 but in some cases, the remittances are as high as Rs. 2,500 every in almost
month. Among the SCs, migrants are engaged mainly as agricultural labour in Punjab, Haryana every family.
etc., or as unskilled labourers in towns and cities, as porters / hamals, construction labourers etc.,
while among Muslims a larger number is engaged in semi-skilled or skilled trades and small self-
employment ventures, such as carpentry, steel work (both construction and fabrication), tyre re-
treading, tailoring, small shops etc. Among the Muslims the sheikhs, the more advanced group,
tends to be somewhat better educated and engaged in more skilled ventures, bringing in higher
incomes, as compared to the other groups. In many cases, migration is more or less permanent, with
the migrant returning only for holidays or festivals. It was observed that in most villages, remittances
were the main income for over 50% of the Muslim households.
In some of the villages one could see instances of deserted or destitute women, either because the
husband had died, or had formed a liaison elsewhere (where he had migrated). From the discussions
it appeared that such cases were present in small numbers in many villages. The women concerned Remittances
usually had no occupation, depending initially on relatives in the village, but later being abandoned were the
by them as well, and dependant on begging. main income
for over 50%
In recent years there has been a trend of reverse migration, because of either political pressure (as
of the Muslim
in Mumbai for Maharashtrians), falling yields in Punjab and Haryana, and increased competition from
households.
other migrants (as in Kolkata from Bangladeshi and N-E migrants), banning of rickshaws in Kolkata
and Delhi, etc. As a consequence, not only is there additional surplus labour in the villages, but there
is also a much greater feeling of uncertainty and risk, leading to many of the poor feeling that their
very existence is threatened. This is contributing to an atmosphere of despair and hopelessness,
and much greater mistrust. Though the process is not yet affecting a significant proportion of the
population, the trend is increasing, and can assume alarming proportions if left unattended. The need
to intervene in this sector is therefore of paramount importance. On the positive side, some migrants

Appraisal
have returned with better awareness and knowledge about good practices and technologies in
agriculture, and have put it into use in the villages, such as carpentry. This provides an opportunity
to look at similar possibilities for the villages in question.
o b s e r vat i o n s o n c i v i l s o c i e t y a n d g o v e r n a n c e
The presence of civil society organizations amongst communities of Scheduled Castes and Muslims
(referred to as the ‘reference group’ hereafter) in rural areas of Muzaffarpur and Samastipur seems
relatively limited in terms of concentration of interventions seeking to address their critical needs,
e.g. relating to access to basic services, livelihoods and other long term strategic interests. However,
a good number of organizations have sought to deliver services like micro-finance, including those
targeted at communities from the reference group to a relatively limited extent.
NGOs do have a substantial presence in Muzaffarpur and a good number of them operate in Muraul
and Sakra blocks as well. Key organizations that operate in these blocks include Kanchan Sewa
Ashram, The Leprosy Mission (in Muraul), CENCORED (implements the Param Shakti programme
of UNDP across all blocks) and Mahila Samakhya (has a presence in Sakra). In addition, these
blocks also have the presence of Musahar Vikas Manch, an eleven-month old forum of the Musahar
community, which has active relations with cadre-based activist organizations like Ekta Parishad.
In addition, the district of Muzaffarpur happens to be the operational base of organizations like
Nirdesh, Nidan, Mahila Development Centre, Sewayatan, IDF, Indian People’s Theatre Association
(IPTA) and Usha Silai Bunai Kendra.
Pusa and Tajpur blocks of Samastipur have relatively fewer NGOs. However, several organizations,
even without having operational bases in these blocks operate from Samastipur and implement their
interventions in these blocks. Some of the prominent NGOs in Samastipur include Grameen Samaj
Kalyan Sansthan (based in Kashipur, Samastipur), Grameen Vikas Sanstha (based in Kuvauli, Tajpur),
JP Saraisa Sevashram (based in Manora), Millat Education Society (based in Samastipur, focuses on
issues of education and health), Sunvai (based in Supaul, has operations in Samastipur), Samuday
(based in Rosera, led by Shri Shubh Murti, associated with Sarvodaya movement), Vanchit Manav
Utthan Samiti (based in Kashipur, Samastipur), Lohia Jayprakash Khadi Gramodyog Sanstha (based
in Baghra Rasauli), Lok Samiti (operates in Patori, Manoharpur, Vidyapatinagar) and Nari Shishu
Jagruti Kendra (associated with Ekta Parishad, operates in Varisnagar, and Sarairanjan blocks).
NGOs in Samastipur can be divided into three broad categories: agencies involved in direct service
delivery, agencies involved in facilitating self-help groups and promotion of micro-finance activities,
and agencies inspired by Gandhian beliefs and focused in promoting local enterprise.
Most NGOs assessed during the rapid appraisal implement a range of interventions on a variety Micro-finance
appears
of themes (e.g. micro-finance, micro-enterprises, women’s empowerment, strengthening of PRIs,
to be the
issues related to HIV and trafficking etc.). Micro-finance appears to be the predominant intervention
of NGOs in the state. While the intervention focused on women from the lower and middle classes predominant
of the rural communities, the inclusion of poor households from scheduled castes and Muslim intervention
communities was found to be relatively limited and not purposively planned for. There did not of NGOs in
appear to be any strategic effort to help the poor with their entitlements from various government the state.
programmes, though there are a few instances of NGOs working on the Right to Information Act, on
capacity building of PRIs etc.
Several of the agencies visited during the appraisal mission were found promising in terms of their
orientation and capacities. For instance, a small agency like Grameen Samaj Kalyan Sansthan
(Samastipur) has demonstrated exemplary courage in the recent past to use the Right to Information
Act to hold the district administration to account for the delays and the arbitrariness in identifying

NGOs for a particular SGSY initiative. The same NGO also has people from socially marginalized
sections in its Governing Board, and has chosen to self-finance its interventions out of proceeds from
various professional services delivered by it, including a personality development course, an NGO-
facilitation centre and computer-literacy courses for the youth. Similarly, an agency like Kanchan
Seva Ashram (Muzaffarpur) has been successfully managing a diverse portfolio of interventions (ref.
Box 3) and offers the potential for partnering in multi-sectoral interventions.
Kanchan Seva Ashram in Muzaffarpur
Key Organizational Features
• Works across five blocks of Muzaffarpur: Bochahi, Minapur, Sakra, Muraul and Kurhani, with support from HDFC, SIDBI,
RGVN, RMK and the local RRB.
• Also works in Sadar block of Darbhanga on a ‘Childline’ project with SDC; in three panchayats of Sakra block with
support from AIF; in 6 panchayats of Muraul (Youth Information Centre on HIV related issues, with support from DFID-
Challenge Fund), and in 8 panchayats (4 blocks) of Muzaffarpur with support from PACS.
• Has promoted livelihood enterprises (broom making in Bakhri panchayat, carpentry and lac-bangle making – with
NABARD support under REDP programme) in Muzaffarpur.
• Supports Flood Preparedness activities in 2 panchayats of Minapur panchayat; the activities have included formation of
tola committees, formulation of a resource directory, construction of shelters with support from agencies like SDTT and
construction of folding sheds where many people could together take refuge in a wake of a flood.
• Women’s empowerment is a priority area of work, integrated with its work on SHG promotion.
• Part of ‘Mamata-Srijan’ network, officiating as Zonal coordinator
• Has 72 employees, including ex-Bank employees, MSWs, Rural Development graduates and alumni of universities like
Shanti Niketan in key responsibilities.
Choice of interventions, in case of NGOs in particular, isn’t determined solely on the basis of the
criticality of the needs of the reference group, but is often based on the availability of financial
support from donor agencies. Most NGOs, except some prominent ones, have a dearth of technical
and managerial competencies, and the propensity to assert against governance-issues seems very
limited, with most NGOs implementing government-supported interventions.
Mahila Samakhya in Muzaffarpur
‘Mahila Samakhya’ was initiated as an integral component of the Bihar Education Project in 1992, and the district of
Muzaffarpur was included in its operations in the year 1993. The programme has a women-centred and process oriented
approach and purposively organizes poor marginalized women from SCs, OBCs and Muslims communities into Samoohs
(groups), bringing about awareness and undertaking local actions relating to issues of education, health, hygiene and
sanitation. Issues related to gender discrimination and violence against women are also raised at the community level, and
women organized in Mahila Samakhya Samoohs are oriented to address social issues like caste /class discrimination, child
labour, dowry, child marriage, alcoholism etc., at family, village and community level, using their collective strength as a
pressure group. In some communities, Mahila Samakhya has contributed significantly to empowerment of women.

Appraisal
According to Sudhanshu Pandey, the Chairperson of Muraul Panchayat Samiti, only about 5 SHGs
can be found to be functioning properly, out of about a thousand groups formed in Maraol block.
Most groups that are formed due to the efforts of NGOs lack a clear vision of growth as an institution
and the necessary capacity for self-management. While the level of inclusion of the most marginalized
groups, e.g. Muslims and Scheduled Castes is very low, few groups that do include members from
disadvantaged communities have very little ideas about the end-uses of their savings. In Rajwa
village of Tajpur block of Samastipur, SC women found it difficult to even identify the promoting
agency that had initiated a savings project in their community. Only about 5
SHGs can be
Attempts at developing SHGs as vibrant civil society organisations have, as mentioned above,
found to be
focused only on savings and credit activities, and in many cases, even after three to four years of
functioning
existence, the members of the SHGs do not have the confidence to manage the affairs of the group
properly, out
on their own. In one case the NGO which promoted the SHG was giving loans directly to individual
of about a
members from its revolving fund, at interest rates fixed by the NGO itself, thus negating the primary
thousand
concept of facilitating the group to make decisions on their own. In other cases, where the group
groups
had actually availed of a bank loan, women in the group did not have a clear picture of the total
formed in
money available with them, and the money outstanding – these are the basic levels of capacity
Maraol block.
building, which have not happened, even though the group is over 4 years old. In this sense, women
have remained choice-takers, rather than become choice-makers.
However, self-help groups that include members from the socially disadvantaged sections do
provide an important platform for the people to assemble together and can be tapped as an entry
platform to reach out to such communities. Members of a good number of self-help groups in Bihar
were elected to the panchayat elections in 2006, particularly when supported by good NGOs. The
experiences of agencies like CENCORED in Muzaffarpur and Mahila Vikas Samiti in Nawada are
good pointers to this effect, who extended significant support to competent SHG leaders to contest
and win panchayat seats. Another example is that of Mahila Samakhya, which has had significant
successes.
In most such institutions, the dominant sections of the society are found to have a stronger influence
and the inclusion of disadvantaged sections is largely tokenism. While such groups are mainly oriented
to ensure compliance with government norms and often get co-opted due to rigid procedures, these
are visible community-based institutions that can be tapped for development activities.
The degeneration of a cooperative society for the last seven years was strongly lamented by farmers
of Rajwa village. Such societies have very limited or tokenistic representation of marginalized
communities and couldn’t acquire necessary capacities to sustain over time. While the existence of
most societies has been oriented to the key purpose of availing subsidies and other forms of support,
their direct engagement with issues of governance, including the governance of cooperative bodies
in the state, has been minimal.
A p p raisa l o f p e ri - u rba n ar e as an d p oor e r

ar e as o f Pat n a
The peri-urban area around Patna was also considered as a potential location for intervention by
AKF. Accordingly, some villages around Patna (in the Phulwari block) were appraised, as well as
some poorer localities within the Patna urban limits.
Most families in the peri-urban areas had settled here more than a hundred years ago, and were
permanent residents. In the slums, one could see a progression from older slums to newer ones,
with migration and settlement at different times.

there is a feeling of uncertainly and risk , leading the poor to believe that their ver y existence
i s t h r e at e n e d
In the peri-urban area, multiple activities were seen in most households, combining agriculture/
floriculture with non-farm employment in the city. Agriculture was practised by most households, but
with land taken on lease. One community, the malis (gardeners) were engaged in growing flowers
for sale in the city. However, in most cases, marketing of the produce was in the hands of bigger
traders in the city. Thus the malis were compelled to sell to the traders at prices fixed by the latter. If
a mali tried to find a place in the flower bazaar, he tended to be chased out by the existing traders,
who have formed a strong cartel. Thus returns of floriculture are low, but as this is a traditional
occupation, the community continues practising it. Costs for agriculture are also rising, mainly
because land is becoming more and more scarce (being used for construction or being held vacant
in the expectation of being used for residential or business construction later).
The proximity to the city meant that higher opportunities for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled work
were available. In all houses, work in the city was a major contributor to the overall income. At least
15 days of work was available per month for all categories of people, whether unskilled, semi-skilled
or skilled, with average wages of Rs. 60-70 per day for semi-skilled labour. Better skilled people
could get more days of employment. There is a surge in construction in Patna, and as such jobs
in the construction sector were available in good number. Usually jobs were found with the help of
community networks, but with a commission (Rs. 10 per day of work) given to the one who provided
the reference or helped get the job. A number of secondary occupations - vending, repair shops
and services were common in the villages. However, competition was also high, with the result that
prices for services were quite low. Women generally were seen to be occupied only in agricultural
activity.
In the slums, a variety of activities could be seen. Wage labour was the predominant source of
income, but others included tempo or auto driving, auto repairs, electrical repairs, small trading, The daily
etc., were also prevalent in fairly large numbers. Muslims are seen to work as autorickshaw/ tempo rental took
drivers, in auto repair shops, and in various constructions related trades – mason, barber, electrician, away a good
plumber etc. SCs are more often seen in unskilled construction work, haulage in mandis etc. Women part of the
in some areas were engaged in occupations like beedi rolling, bangle making etc., employed on piece total earning.
rate basis by contractors. Actual incomes from these activities were lower than the wages for men.
In newer settlements, with larger proportion of temporary migrants, occupations were on a slightly
lower scale of income – rickshaw driving, luggage-cart pulling, working as porters etc. In most
cases, rickshaws or luggage carts were hired and the daily rental took away a good part of the
total earning. Access to credit was again from moneylenders only, with no links to formal credit
institutions. SHGs were also not so much in evidence.

Framework for development
Poverty in North Bihar is related to the management, and transformation, of its production systems.
The deep social stratification meant that the production systems (read, vast tracts of highly
productive lands) were traditionally controlled by a few, typically belonging to the higher castes.
Members of other castes survived on the diversified opportunities provided by an agrarian economy
that supplied bumper harvests, but was also unstable, thanks to the seasonal floods and changes of
river courses.
Before Independence, layers of entrenched zamindars demanded usurious taxes from the peasants
– ensuring their deep poverty – while the expropriated amounts were used to maintain the hold of the
zamindars on the land and satisfy their whims. The exploits of the Darbhanga Maharaja had reached
folklore proportions.
After Independence, the process of industrial development was spurred by the central government
(which focused on the mineral rich areas to the south that is presently Jharkhand), while the state
governments dealt with land and irrigation. The meagre resources of the state government were
invested in embankments of the rivers – nearly 3000 km of embankments were built till 1990,
attempting to stabilise the production systems. In fact, temporary stabilisation did take place during
the ‘60s and the ‘70s when the promise of a booming agriculture actually sucked in labour from
different vocations, (arguably) leading to rapid loss of diverse traditional skills.
According to the assessment of the Second Irrigation Commission of Bihar in 1994, the flood-
prone area had increased to 6.88 million hectares in 1993 from 2.5 million hectares in 1952. If the
Ganga Stem is excluded, 3.75 million hectares of North Bihar, which is nearly 83 percent of the total
drainage area of different tributaries of the Ganga in the state from the north, is now flood-prone.
Clearly, embankments failed to ensure steady growth of agriculture.
Agriculture had become an even more ‘high gain – high risk’ phenomenon, since the frequency of
flooding had reduced and its intensity had increased. Uncertain productivity, and unclear ownership
of land, ensured that rents collected from share-cropping were invested elsewhere – transport buses,
or even higher education. Reducing productivity was, therefore, harming the tiller/ share-cropper
more than the landlord (who spread his risk through large landholdings and diversified investments).
In fact, the process of impoverishment of the tiller reduced his capacities to claim his rights on the
asset that he worked on, which helped the landlord to focus elsewhere while retaining control over
land.

At the community level, peasants were thus dealing with economic exclusion from landed assets,
social discrimination on the basis of caste (which identified him with his occupation), and political
marginalisation through non-representation. At the individual level, they were dealing with an
overwhelming dependence on labour (an asset that is prone to excessive risks), loss of other
assets (houses were often washed away during the floods), and loss of any other opportunity to
invest. Moreover, in the past few decades, they were coping with an altered scenario where the
floods were more devastating, governance was weak and they themselves were more impoverished
and marginalised. Where survival is the only issue, confidence and self-esteem invariably take a
backseat.
Governance in the state of Bihar shifted gears during the ‘80s, when the democratic processes
finally shattered the entrenched social stratification in the political arena and representatives of the
backward castes came to power. The new dispensation worked to dismantle the existing systems
and structures that were perceived to be in favour of the forward castes, particularly the bureaucracy
(and even the judiciary to some extent). Provision of assets (chiefly land, but also some houses) to
the hitherto dispossessed backward and scheduled castes was attempted but soon became ad hoc
and unsustainable due to the lack of credible and efficient systems of delivery. Somehow, it didn’t
seem to matter.
Empowerment, rather than development, was the official credo. It was time for the backward and
scheduled castes to assert their rights, protest against social discrimination and aspire for a share of
the political power. Creating opportunities for industrial and urban growth was perceived to be ceding
control of the new production systems to the same upper castes that have just been dislodged from
political power. In effect, governance and infrastructure, the drivers of growth and development,
were precisely the two areas that were allowed to decay during this period.
The process of empowerment of the backward communities, thus, was happening at a time when the
markets were rapidly shrinking and economic opportunities were eroding. Agriculture – the mainstay
of the masses – was becoming less remunerative, while any attempt towards mechanisation and
external linkage was thwarted by lack of infrastructure. The decay of infrastructure was hastened by
the floods in north Bihar, while lack of governance was abetted by an upsurge of naxals in many parts
(Naxalism had emerged during the early ‘70s as a backlash on partisan governance). The limited
empowerment of a section of the backward communities has, therefore, come at a cost – shrinking
of opportunities for all sections of society.
Viewed in the context of a rapid economic growth in the country, the development gap in Bihar is
truly astounding. The per capita income in the state is Rs 1,010 per month (compared to the richest
state Maharashtra with Rs 4,853 per month) – almost only a fifth. What is even more disconcerting is
the fact that while the country has consistently grown at 6-8 per cent for over a decade now, Bihar
has recorded a much slower rate, even negative in some years. Bihar is also the only state in the
country with a rising fertility rate and declining health for mothers and children.
Migration, therefore, is a foregone conclusion for all sections of society. Bihar provides the rest of the
country with inexpensive labour – be it the agriculture fields of Punjab or Assam, the construction
zones of the National Capital Region or the rickshaw-pullers and coolies in Kolkata. Those who can
afford, send their children to Delhi and other cities for education and employment. Some people
have estimated that there are at least a million students studying outside Bihar and spending about
Rs 2,400 crores each year (over US$ 500 million). Even if the estimates seem inflated, it is a pointer
to the fact that increasingly, education is being seen as a passport to migration with dignity but, more
importantly, is a major drain on any capital formation in the state. The chief aspirations are to enter
government service for its perceived powers and income stability. In case it does not materialise,

Approach
education enables survival in a distant city through some other forms of employment. Enterprise is
seldom seen.
While it is very unlikely that Bihar will regress into the earlier power equations, the task of development
is gargantuan given the low base of human development, absence of an enabling environment in the
form of a credible and effective governance and basic infrastructure.
Key c ha l l e n g e s
1. Agriculture is the mainstay of Bihar’s economy,

but is in the grip of a vicious cycle in which
there is little incentive, and even less capacity,
to raise production. To add to the woes, the cost
of inputs to agriculture is generally high while
the quality of supplies is suspect. Therefore,
although the land is inherently fertile (and is
able to produce a lot if due care is taken, such
as with many cash crops), the productivity of
major crops (such as cereals) is low.
2. Low production and high demand for food

ensure low marketable surplus, leading to low
monetisation. North Bihar, including the areas
appraised, is characterised by a subsistence the cost of inputs to agriculture is generally high while
economy, with little capital formation. the qualit y of supplies is suspect.
3. The very low surplus economy leads to lack of demand for various services, shrinking markets
and deterring the development of entrepreneurs, forcing people to either migrate to different
cities or seek wage employment, preferably with the government. It is amazing to note that even
with high population densities, urbanisation in Bihar has not just lagged but receded.
4. The government, from a welfare perspective, seeks to fill the gap by providing a range of public
services and facilitating private exchanges and transactions. In the process, it becomes the
only entity that is able to reach out to different sections at the same time. This entrenchment of
government reduces consumer choice, quality of services and induces continuous formulation
of retrogressive rules to entrench dependence, eliminate competition and allow favouritism.
5. Civil society is deeply fractured along caste lines and rules governing social organisation are
extremely partisan in nature. A vast section of the people are not just marginalised and subdued
but they also seem to accept their fate, which is linked to their birth, as a cultural trait. Deprivation,
hopelessness, mistrust and cynicism are well entrenched in the collective psyche of the vast
majority of the disadvantaged communities, particularly the extremely backward castes.
6. Being part of the government structure puts a person in a vantage position in terms of access.
Political power and government jobs are therefore highly sought after, which is where the
creative efforts of the people are focused. Lack of entrepreneurship, tendency for elite capture
in all positions of power and attempts to perpetuate it on the basis of social discrimination
ensures an entrenchment of a deeply fractured and hierarchical society with little scope for
mobility.
7. Law and order is a key concern at all level and is the present government’s top priority. In a state
where kidnapping for ransom is an organised industry, prisons are stormed by armed insurgents

and under-trials are blinded by the police, this is indeed a key challenge. A number of criminals
have been apprehended, but they seem to operate from inside their cells and the justice system
is far too inadequate.
8. Severe infrastructure bottlenecks exist in the entire state. And it is not just a question of money.
There are construction mafias that provide bad goods and services at high costs; there are the
floods that need special design and quality inputs that are seldom considered; and there are the
naxal areas where infrastructure is akin to interference of government and strongly opposed.
Worse, there appears to be a well-entrenched nexus that perpetuates the scenario.
9. Malnutrition, vector-borne and communicable diseases seem to be on the rise. The resurgence
of kala azar, rapid spread of HIV/ AIDS, and entrenchment of tuberculosis has huge implications,
particularly when seen in the light of complete dependence on labour and migration for livelihoods
and the prevalence of human trafficking.
10. In particular, the plight of women seems to be worsening in general. Female foeticide, malnutrition,
lack of education, hygiene, sexual awareness, anaemia and repeated child births are common.
Hard labour, both in the fields as well as at home is the norm but the wage rates are about half
those of men. Mental agony of separation from a migrated husband, and even rejection at times,
lead to considerable stress and even destitution. Women are also the prime victims of human
trafficking.
11. The number of children is steadily increasing, but they are born with the handicap of malnutrition
(physical under-development) and generally grow up with a set of rote learning that do not equip
them for real-life problem-solving. Worse, the huge efforts being made by the parents to educate
their children is being frustrated by a complete lack of opportunities for quality education at all
levels.
K ey o p p ort u n iti e s
1. Recently, Bihar seems to have turned a corner. The new government seems to be more
purposive, and is beefing up the law and order situation. Development is high on the agenda
and several bold decisions are being taken to improve infrastructure and develop markets.
Different agencies are being invited to invest, both in terms of money as well as knowledge,
and the initial response is extremely encouraging. The World Bank is piloting the Bihar Rural
Livelihoods Programme in six districts of the state. ADB, Ford Foundation and several Indian
Trusts are interested in improving conditions in the state.
2. The Aga Khan Development Network is new to the state of Bihar. Of the many implications,
it offers AKDN the freedom to choose its intervention approach since there would be no
preconceived expectation. In other words, it is also an opportunity for AKDN to define its own
approach of an integrated area development plan.
3. The most important opportunity seems to lie with the people themselves. People are politically
aware, willing to go to any length to get their children a decent education and realise the
importance of working together. They are also aware that only a neutral external facilitation can
possibly help bridge the deep fissures in their society and help them move ahead.
4. Migration has not only helped with remittances, but also provided a much-needed link of the
people with the outside world. People who return after a period of working in Kolkata or Mumbai
sometimes set up small skill-based enterprises within the village – carpentry, electrical fittings,
repairs of consumer durables, etc. – which help in developing new skills in these areas.

Approach
5. Labourers who migrate from the state usually opt for tough jobs that pay well. Families mostly
choose to stay behind. The availability of male labour force in the local farms is limited and
women are able to enter, albeit at a lower wage rate. Cheap labour, lack of mechanisation and
round-the-year farming ensure a relatively free market for the labour force.
6. While the infrastructure in the state is almost in shambles, it is heartening to note that tele-
communications have penetrated quite deep and wireless telephony is rapidly expanding. This
needs to be taken advantage of while any service delivery system is being worked out.
Probab l e i n t e r v e n tio n s to assist th e

m argi n a l is e d i n p ro p os e d p ro j e c t ar e as
The development issues faced by the marginalised and other extremely backward communities are
both numerous and linked to the larger societal context in complex ways. Based on an understanding
of the key development challenges as well as taking into account the key opportunities, a set of
issues have been identified and some probable interventions considered. However, the choice of
interventions will have implications as well, and needs to be considered in designing the programme
strategy. An overview is provided in the table below:
B road issues P robable interventions Im p l i c at i o n s
limited • provision of productive assets, e.g. land, • individual asset creation effective only
ownership cattle, house etc through loan subsidies and bundling of
of/ access to • provision of irrigation devices, other tools/ machines services
‘productive to increase productivity • scope of providing community assets
assets’ • build grassroots institutions to manage common limited, but needs to be explored in the
facilities provided interest of stronger CBOs
• advocacy for reforms in distribution of vital assets, • politically volatile and socially divisive;
like land, irrigation systems etc may be explored at a later stage
low skills; poor • create awareness • need a comprehensive programme for skill
services; few • create opportunities for skill enhancement/ development & service provision
opportunities vocational training • tie-up with corporate entities/ service
• create accessible services providers and collect user charges
• build database & facilitate employment • tie-ups needed for testing and certification
low wages from • improve yields through better agronomic practices, • need to tie-up with Agriculture University
agricultural introduction of high-yielding varieties, irrigation and/ or Corporate entities in agriculture
employment facilities, integrated pest management • will impact the local economy and
• diversify, to include cash crops, horticulture, help create cash-surplus over the
vermiculture, dairy, goat rearing, fishery, medium term
makhana etc • will only indirectly impact wage rates, that
• provide opportunities for value-addition through too uncertain
storage, processing & other post-harvest
technologies
• aggregate input supplies and marketing of
produce
limited access • train local NGOs to provide different financial • every choice has a different implication for
to institutional services the long term and needs to be assessed
financial services • link institution building efforts of the programme carefully
with a Bank of choice
• village-banking through a revolving fund

poor delivery of • improve quality through training of all available local • there is a need to do all, in different cross-
health services service providers cutting combinations
• improve accountability through institutional linkages • tele-medicine seem desirable and feasible
• create models of alternative systems for service • opportunities in improving the existing
delivery financial incentive schemes
• seek financial entitlement for basic health needs as
a right
• create database to track key indicators
hygiene and • create awareness, institutional mechanisms and • usually low-cost, high-impact
environmental capacity • effectively bundled during programme
sanitation • provide opportunities (and incentives) for individual initiation
households to improve
poor quality • create models of education service delivery • need to link up with vocational education
of elementary through civil society, including bridge schools, • need to dovetail health and nutrition in
education ‘internet-in-a-box’, working with government early stages of growth of child
schools etc • opportunities in improving the existing
• provide special care for early childhood non-financial (mid-day meal) schemes
development as well as introduce financial incentive
• help parents believe in their ability to educate their schemes
children
• seek financial entitlement as a basic right of a child
• create role models in society
• create database to track individual development
poor local • empower issue-focused common interest groups to • need to be done in tandem with improved
governance of benchmark service quality and demand the same capacity of service providers
basic services • create federations of different common interest • simultaneous training of panchayat
groups at the village level to participate in local members and advocacy for greater
governance (e.g. sub-committees of the village autonomy and resource mobilisation for
panchayat) panchayats
• strengthen gram sabhas as platforms to demand
accountability of local governance
inclusion of • empower marginalised communities through • the model has been successfully tested by
marginalised exclusive group formation and sustained AKRSP (India) with the Siddi community in
groups in key development inputs Gujarat
institutions • simultaneously work with other community
groups to sensitise them to the needs of the
marginalised
• train panchayats and other important institutions to
honour constitutional values of inclusiveness
low self-esteem • provide assets (e.g. houses) • very important

and lack of • provide choice (e.g. education vouchers) • needs to be integrated carefully into the
hope among the • provide opportunities (e.g. conditional cash overall programme plan
marginalised transfers) • restoration of cultural heritage has
• provide dignity (e.g. toilets) widespread benefits and there are ample
• provide icons (e.g. restore culture heritage) opportunities in Bihar
Pot e n tia l f or d i f f e r e n t p rogra m m e

i n t e r v e n tio n s
The different probable programme interventions listed in the table above is intended to provide a
broad overview only. A number of questions would, nevertheless, be thrown up in each of the major
areas. There have been some thoughts and discussions on these, which are presented here.

Approach
v o c at i o n a l t r a i n i n g
As migration and remittances will still be the

mainstay for some time to come, a key opportunity
is in upgrading skills of migrant workers so that
their incomes at their present locations also can
increase. In this, opportunities are significant in the
following sectors:
• The construction industry – masonry, steel

work, carpentry, machine operation (tippers,
dozers, pneumatic hammers, and others) etc.,
both outside the state as well as in Bihar itself.
Carpenters, steel workers, masons are in high
demand in the metros and smaller towns, with traditional earthen tiles are back in demand as cheap roof
companies are providing crèches, makeshift construction material for the impoverished communit y.
schools, basic medical care etc. to lure workers. Employment in the construction and
infrastructure sector (roads, airports, etc. also), is expected to provide 9 crore new jobs by 2012
– 6 crores unskilled and 2.5 crores skilled/ semi-skilled, according to a report by ASSOCHAM.
Wages for semi-skilled work – gardening, packing, loading etc. has gone up to 200 per day in
these areas, and in fact some migrants from Bihar are already shifting to these occupations
instead of the traditional agricultural ones in Punjab, Haryana etc.
• Mechanics for automobile repairs is yet another emerging vocation where interests and
opportunities lie. Many young men are presently learning on the job and working in various
cities across India. The growth of automobiles in India – even in the rural areas thanks to the
rapidly expanding road networks, higher disposable incomes and improved financing options
– will see an increased demand for mechanics. As major automobile companies seek to provide
after-sales services, the need for trained manpower would increase. It is possible, therefore, to
tie up with a major automobile manufacturer to facilitate appropriate training programmes.
• Retail – across the country the demand for people in retail is rising rapidly. Youth trained in
retail do not necessarily need proficiency in English, which can be learnt later. Here again,
opportunities are present both in Bihar (mainly Patna initially) and outside, in the urban areas.
The recently announced Bihar Green initiative of the Bihar Government to set up marts in Patna
for women to sell vegetables also can work better if the sellers are well trained in retail, and
the Government itself has planned to provide training in communication, hygiene and shop
arrangement.
• Overall, the world today is moving towards a knowledge based economy, going beyond the
industrial one. While traditional efforts in Bihar are to move from an agricultural economy to
an industrial one, this still leaves the state behind others in the knowledge sector. As such,
some effort, at least as a pilot, and in the longer term, is essential in helping the poor leap-
frog from the first Age (agriculture) to the third Age (Knowledge). To this end, an initiative to
train young boys and girls in not just computer operation, but also in using the Internet as a
knowledge source, and in English, would be worth looking at. A typical set-up would include
a number of computers, a broadband connection using a VSAT terminal (connected to VSNL
or other provider), a printer, all powered with a solar panel bank with batteries (say for 5 KW).
All these facilities already exist today, and at a cost comparable to that of other interventions.
Such an intervention would also open up job opportunities in the tertiary sector – banking,
communications, IT etc.

At the community level, training programmes can be organised in the blocks concerned, especially
in the case of training for construction and retail. For more advanced courses, a smaller number
of candidates could be provided sponsorship to get trained at recognised premier institutions. In
the long term, AKDN might think of promoting a self-employment training institute on the lines of
RUDSETI (Rural Development & Self-Employment Training Institutes) set up by Canara Bank and
Syndicate Bank, and having 22 branches in the country. NABARD proposes to support setting up
of such institutes in every district in India, through any bank, and some banks – Vijaya Bank, Bank
of Maharashtra – have initiated processes to set up such institutes in other parts. Such an institute
can also be opened by an organisation other than banks as well, but they would need to explore
other sources of funding. For training in construction and retail, many of the major industries in
the sector are looking to train people, and some have set up / plan to set up training institutes
themselves. Efforts could be made to draw in Reliance for training on retail businesses, and many
developers (Sobha Developers, Gera Constructions etc.) for construction related training. NICMAR
(www.nicmar.ac.in) at a national level has organised courses, developed curricula for construction
training. Similarly, Lafarge India (www.lafarge.com) has been training rural youth as masons in its
plants in India.
At the state level, there is a strong need for revitalising the state ITIs. The Central Government is
developing 500 ITIs as Centres of Excellence, and has announced a scheme for upgradation of the
balance 1,396 ITIs across the country, under a public-private partnership initiative. Along with this,
there is a move to develop appropriate mechanisms for training in the informal sector, also under
a similar public-private partnership. Though the announcement has been made, actual progress
on these aspects will need considerable advocacy, identifying appropriate partners, etc. While the
Bihar Government has proposed setting up of various educational institutions under PPP, vocational
training has not been included, and this also needs to be taken up at an early stage.
i n c o m e g e n e r at i o n a n d a s s e t b u i l d i n g
It is felt that some programme of employment generation within the village, either in collaboration
with Government or other donors, needs to be taken up. One area that has potential in the short
term is building houses for the poor – this provides a fair degree of employment locally, and the
savings can help increase capital. In addition, ownership of a house creates a far greater feeling of
security among the poor, which in turn is necessary for any effort at group building. HUDCO in India,
and ADER, a French INGO, are possible agencies who can collaborate in this regard (both provide
soft loans on long term basis, and can be repaid over 20 years. This is in addition to the Indira
Awas Yojana, which calls for some contribution from the beneficiaries). Again, by use of appropriate
building materials, e.g., bamboo etc., there can be some savings in the total cost of the house,
providing some relief to the owner in terms of his / her own investment. As in IAY, the house title
could be in the name of the woman or jointly in the name of the couple, to initiate a sense of gender
equity. It must be emphasised that while some contribution in the form of labour can be expected,
the family must get some wages in the process, both to survive and to help develop savings.
Housing and habitat could also be used to provide appropriate work spaces within the home or
providing adequate storage space for raw materials, food grains or other items of utility. Appropriate
options would be considered, such as those which are not power intensive due to the acute shortage
of electricity. This could be combined with training on masonry and construction, so that at the end
of the process the individual has an additional skill to be used for livelihoods.
House building, along with other aids for the house, such as a solar lantern/ light, smokeless chulha,
can also act as entry point activities for social mobilisation and formation of CBOs.

Approach
A key issue of immediate interest is better access to various entitlements, for the poor, such as
NREGS, PDS, etc., which will require working with the PRIs. However, for this to work effectively,
there will need to be an additional effort at the state Government level, in terms of ensuring that
panchayats get appropriate devolution of finances etc. While this is really the domain of existing
NGO networks, such networking can be supported by providing an administrative platform, which
provides secretariat support, support for newsletters and communication, and trains NGOs in
collaborative rather than confrontationist approaches.
In the long term, excavation of tanks, i.e., desilting of ponds filled up in the last flood provides a good
opportunity. This again calls for a large amount of labour, and can be taken up as part of NREGS by
many panchayats. The ponds so developed can become sources for fishery development in the next
stage. The issue needs to be looked in the context of the dominant community taking over the asset,
and hence needs to be addressed at the panchayat level as well. As such, this approach should best
be taken up once the SHGs/ CIGs are strong enough to influence the larger community.
a g r i c u lt u r e
The support can be divided into three sub-categories – diversification, appropriate practices, and
inputs. In the short run, the focus needs to be more on providing individual farmers with support in
terms of:
• Better seeds – a stronger collaboration with Pusa University is possible, but other options also
can be explored. Many private sector seed companies would be interested in the seed village
concept.
• Better access to irrigation – at present, cost for irrigation is high because of diesel use. An
alternative is to install solar pumps at the well head. However, as most wells are with the richer
people, this will only benefit such people, unless additional bore wells are also provided in
suitable places. An alternate is to look at a “mobile” pump, with the solar panel, the battery
and the pump mounted on a trailer with anti-vibrator mounts. Efforts at providing recharging of
bore-wells can help reverse the trend of lowering of the water table in the summer season.
• Improved practices are a need, as most farmers use traditional practices, based on
experience alone. While many such practices are very good, it is necessary to explore
the use of other practices to improve productivity, reduce pest infestation etc. Crop
diversification or introduction of different crop combinations can also be tried to
increase overall income. As cost reduction is a key concern, possibilities of LEISA
(Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture), which tends to reduce costs for fertiliser,
pesticide, etc., and to some extent increases the wage component of total cost,
can be envisaged. This will help not only the farmers who cultivate their own
land, but also the sharecroppers/ those farming on land taken on lease.
• Potential for different cash crops can also be explored, since the surplus
generated could also meet the nutritional requirements of the community.
• As a much later intervention, the question of rationalisation of land holdings can be

considered. Given the existing land ownership and the caste structure, this would be
a difficult task, to be approached with great caution.
• In all these initiatives, the support of the Rajendra Agricultural University at Pusa will be important
and useful, as a means of bridging the gap between the institution and the community. Another
organisation which has had some success in outreach in Bihar is TIFAC (www.tifac.org.in), which
has worked to improve productivity of rice in Paliganj by a factor of 2.5, and has carried out

similar projects in different parts of the country. TIFAC has also worked with women on pickle
production, with fishing communities for fish processing etc.
off-farm and non-farm activities
The possibility of improving dairy, goat rearing and poultry look attractive at first sight. However, this
needs to be studied in greater depth, with regard to fodder availability, veterinary services, improving
the breed etc. In the short run, given the lack of space and land for grazing or fodder, this might
not be beneficial. With development of SHGs, a few women tend to start some small ventures, in
trading, small services, and this can be encouraged. However, as local purchasing power is limited,
any larger venture will need to tackle external markets, which imply larger scale, and consequently
focus on collective ventures. Given the perception of collectives as not being possible, development
of such collectives will take more time. Larger collective activities can be taken up only after the
groups attain sufficient maturity and cohesion. If that is achieved, there are some options possible:
• Joint ownership of cattle to form a larger dairy (similar to a co-operative, but not necessarily
with the same legal structure), with land on lease for fodder. The exact modalities need to be
worked out in depth, and the initiative can be quite complex
• Development of fisheries in the chaurs / low lying land seasonally. As the land belongs to many
people, this process is not possible without collectivisation. The situation for leasing out ponds
and water bodies owned by the Government/ panchayat also requires similar group formation
and development. But the potential for fishery is high, as even today most of the fish consumed
in Bihar comes from Andhra, and this is an area where there is a replacement market available,
without worrying about lack of purchasing power. This again entails support from the panchayat,
which in itself can be a complex and difficult process.
• Development of vegetable growing groups among women, as an extension of SHG development.

Women are already engaged in all aspects of vegetable growing and selling, but are restricted
to the local mandis, where they have poor control over prices. An integrated approach helping
improve cultivation and lowering costs, reaching out to the next link in the market directly
(buyers in Kolkata, other cities, where produce is even now being transported daily by train, but
by the traders), will help women considerably. An even better option would be to link up with a
major retail chain emerging in the region, such as PEPSI.
• Processing of vegetables, in the form of cleaning, packing, and even further into conversion into
other products (chips, slices for potato, cornmeal and sattu from maize / rice/ pulses, pickles
from mango, ginger, etc.) are additional possibilities to be explored at the next stage, once the
collectivisation has started working on basic trade.
• In the absence of electricity, many possible ventures become non-starters. However, this
situation can be looked at as an opportunity to focus on renewable energy power generation
units, which can be developed from micro (up to 100KW) to larger medium size units, using
biomass gasifiers (Sri Lanka has set up plants of 8MW each with this technology). In India TERI
has been working on biomass gasifiers for electricity production, and the technology is therefore
available in the country. Energy plantations, using Pongamia or Glyceridia, can grow quite fast in
the climate and soil conditions of Bihar, and can offer an alternative means of livelihood. Power
generation in turn can be used for a variety of other enterprises, and the leaves from these
trees, which do not get used in the gasifier, can be used for fodder in animal husbandry. It might
be interesting to try out a small micro unit at first, and then look at upscaling. Biomass-based
briquettes that burn in special smoke-less stoves is another opportunity. A SHG-based retail
model is being developed in Tamil Nadu by the Rural Innovations Network in Chennai.

Approach
financial services
The outreach through the formal banking system, as well as through microfinance activities, is
poor in Bihar as compared to other states. The situation is further compounded by high level of
indebtedness among the poor who do not have access to formal financial institutions such as
Commercial Banks, RRBs or the Financial Co-operatives. In addition, MFIs are new to the state and
do not have widespread presence in the state.
In lieu of the above, financial services required by the poor could be enhanced through increased in
micro-finance activity. The strategy could be multi-fold. Institutional innovation such as SHG Bank
Branch, often seen in South India could be started as a pilot in collaboration with Lead Bank in the
district. AKF can provide some of the capacity building costs in promotion of SHGs and linkage by
such specialized branches.
One of the new circular approved by Reserve Bank of India is ‘Business Correspondent Model’
wherein an NGO/Society/Trust could be a taken as an agent to do business for the parent financial
institution, say a bank. The objective of such approach is greater financial inclusion. This would help
in greater outreach of the banks, especially in less developed and inaccessible areas, where such
institutions operate. Moreover, these institutions could also leverage the grassroots organizations
developed by them. AKDN could promote such models with such institutions they would be
collaborating in the state.
Instead of retail lending, the Approach to Wholesale Lending through NGO-MFIs could be promoted.
The NGOs have outreach but do not the required skills to manage MF program. Support for capacity
building of these NGOs to manage MF operations, especially for system design and product
development could be supported through grant fund along with some seed capital for initiation of
the MF business. The idea is build revolving fund through such support and leverage the same for
linkage with formal financial institutions in period of three-five years.
The other significant approach is direct Capacity Building of the SHGs and the Promoting Organization.
The lessons from program such as WDC could be taken to upscale SHG program in the state and
this would perhaps help in increased access of the poor to financial services. Networking with
financial institutions and programs would be helpful.
AKF could also liaison with formal financial

institutions, especially new generation private
financial institutions and establish linkage with
grass root institutions supported by them. The
objective is to provide multiple but need based
financial services through product and process
innovations. A Risk Fund could be apportioned
to undertake such new activities and streamlining
operations under such support.
h e a lt h s e r v i c e s
The initial focus should be on social mobilisation,

developing appropriate community-based
organisations (CBOs), and building linkages with credible , reliable and affordable health services is a
major need , particularly for poor women .

the service delivery system. The next level of strategies focus upon capacity building of providers/
staff, strengthening public and private systems/ processes, to improve service quality and system
performance; enhancing inter-sector collaboration and interface with communities and PRIs, and
strengthening resource/ information centres. Research, information sharing, documentation and
advocacy at various levels cut across all sectors and all stages of the programme. The specific
elements of the strategy are:
• Orient/ sensitize CBOs on issues of personal hygiene, nutrition, women and child health,
disease management and environmental health gradually over time. Showcase opportunities
and build linkages of these groups with ongoing government programmes/schemes such as the
ICDS, ANMs, schools, rural banks etc., so that they promote, advocate, implement and support
activities for self, group and community development
• Build awareness on health and hygiene aspects, to bring about behaviour change in the
community, with the help of service providers on health. The process would involve prioritising
health problem/issues, generating awareness and following up to monitor actual change in
behaviour/ practices. Special attention would be needed to develop home based care
component for children.
• Integrate health, hygiene and nutrition education for children/ adolescents through peers in
formal and non formal schools. Adolescents life skills development including health (RSH),
hygiene and nutrition - mobilisation, information sharing, and facilitate service provision through
schools and in community settings.
• In addition, facilitate selection of community workers/ volunteers to promote, implement and

monitor programmes/ activities for early childhood development, adolescent/ youth reproductive
health, and other community health activities. This includes regular visit of government ANMs,
enabling pregnant women and children to access services in maternal and child health care,
improving quality of ICDS programme, etc.
• Strengthen PRIs (broad-basing) at all levels, starting at the village level, to enable them plan, co-
ordinate and monitor development activities. To enable representation of the poorest, women
and minorities, the Gram Sabha would need to be activated and strengthened. With this, one
can focus on developing the health and sanitation committees under constitution in the NRHM.
On a larger plane, health societies and committees at the district and state levels can also be
strengthened, using a network approach. Capacity building of Panchayat would also enable
them to define criteria and make better selection of ICDS workers, ASHA and others community
workers.
At the macro level, there is a need for overall coordination, especially in terms of facilitating
development of decentralised integrated health plans from village level upwards through community
participatory approaches. Integrated plans need to be developed at village, block and district level,
and as this is in contrast to the present approach, considerable advocacy is needed in this regard.
Second, there is a need to strengthen state level resource institutions, so that they can support
and strengthen on-going initiatives. Tele-medicine approaches need to be explored seriously. Third,
there is a need conduct an assessment, with the aim of improving systems, of public and private
systems in areas such as capacity building of providers, developing and instituting management
sub-systems such as MIS, inventory management, quality assurance, accreditation, public-private
partnership, and others.
Any advocacy can be effective only if it is backed by evidence based research. Hence it is essential
to advocate and promote evidence based practices/ models for replication at scale by government

Approach
and NGOs. Research on contemporary issues

is needed to feed into the on-going multi-sector
programming, test and promote new approaches
and models such as social franchising, public/
private-private partnership, document and advocate
widely for policy changes. This would include
development of relevant linkages and networking
for information exchange, experience sharing
and advocacy among the different stakeholder
organisations at the state level.
e d u c at i o n s e r v i c e s
Given the history of feudalism and discrimination,

education for the disadvantaged is a fundamental
t h e r e i s n e e d t o m e a s u r e t h e e d u c at i o n a l atta i n m e n t o f
need for ensuring long-term development. However, school - going children since both the demands as well
the Government school system has not been as the investments are quite high .
effective both in providing access to education and ensuring quality of education, while the
private schooling system caters mainly to the economically better classes, which in Bihar is often
synonymous with the upper castes.
Education is yet another mode of empowering civil society, along with support for health, incomes
and housing. Organising communities to demand quality education is something that has been
done both by the government as well as by other agencies. However, in order to be really effective,
there is need to provide more tangible opportunities to the communities to measure the levels of
educational attainments of their wards as well as provide platforms for interaction with teachers.
Finally, institutional systems to integrate the role of civil society in education will happen through
appropriate mechanisms within the PRIs, backed with financial entitlements.
The biggest challenge would be to create a model school improvement programme that uses an
appropriate pedagogy, a flexible curriculum and optimises the use of human and technological
resources. Options such as the “internet-in-a-box” (www.widernet.org) could be tested in remote
locations where reliable telecommunications connectivity is possible. Teacher training modules such
as those developed by Bodh Shiksha Samity (a partner of AKF in the earlier PESLE programme)
could be introduced. The Professional Development Centres created through earlier programmes
could provide institutional support to such endeavours.
Individual skill building and enterprise development would be a key area of intervention. However,
this needs to be delivered on demand, through customised services and at full cost recovery in
order to be sustainable. Services such as career counselling, access to information (both general
as well as focused such as scholarships and opportunities) and access to a variety of training
programmes would form some of the key components. Over time, more complex modules such as
Business Development Services linked to specific vocational courses could be introduced, maybe
even with financial services. Human resource databases, linked to job opportunities, are some other
possibilities. In fact, the very mode of open, customised services open up a range of opportunities
that are difficult to predict from the very outset.
r e s t o r at i o n o f c u lt u r a l h e r i ta g e
Bihar offers a veritable goldmine in terms of cultural heritage sites. The ones that might be of

interest in the current context include the tomb of Sher Shah Suri at Sasaram and his fort complex
in Rohtas.
The S trat e g y Fra m e work
It is important to conceptualise a framework for a strategy that takes into cognisance the enormous
challenges in development, prioritises the long list of options on a rational basis and sequences the
actions for maximum impact.
The broad framework includes an Integrated Area Development Programme that is implemented in
an identified field area to create a model along with a Civil Society Programme that is aimed towards
creation of an enabling environment with a stronger civil society.
The implementation of an integrated area development programme would focus on activities that
lead to development of target communities in different villages through the formation of different
groups – community based organisations (CBOs) – while at the same time provide opportunities to
individuals to access information and develop skills through institutional resource centres located
strategically to cater to a cluster of villages and managed as social enterprises. In addition, there Focusing on
would be a set of targeted public programmes that would be integrated with either the community women, at
development programme or the individual development programme or both. least in the
initial period
community development through cbos will have
considerable
From all the observations, one clear theme that emerges is that any initiative at the micro-level payoffs in
must begin with social mobilisation and creating hope. People need to believe that they have a different
chance to improve their lives. The process of promoting SHGs and various common interest groups fronts.
(farmers’ group, masons’ group, weavers’ group etc.) as the medium of empowerment has been
tested elsewhere in Bihar and has been successful, and this again would probably be the central
theme here as well. Development of strong and cohesive SHGs and CIGs (together called CBOs)
will, with the help of the programme intervention, plan and implement activities – such as savings,
income enhancement, personal hygiene, local sanitation or development of their children – that have
a direct impact on their own families.
Focusing on women, at least in the
initial period will have considerable
payoffs in different fronts. First, women COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
need the support most, particularly to (VILLAGE LEVEL)
cope with a situation where women

E N V I R O N M E N TA L S A N I TAT I O N ; H Y G I E N E &
and children tend to stay behind (and
H E A LT H - S E E K I N G ; ( AT H O M E ; I N T H E
often fend for themselves) while male NEIGHBOURHOOD; IN SCHOOL)
members struggle for jobs elsewhere. SAVINGS AND CREDITS
Second, working with women will help

to address intimate issues related to
C H I L D R E N ’ S E D U C AT I O N :
health and development during early AT H O M E ; I N S C H O O L
childhood. Linked to this is also the
WOMEN
fact that household and neighbourhood SHGS
cleanliness could be managed best EXPLORE LIVLIHOOD ENHANCEMENT OPTIONS,
P A R T I C U L A R LY I N V E G E T A B L E S : S K I L - B A S E D
through women which would provide
GROUP ENTERPRISES (LAC BANGLES, FOOD
rich pay-offs, Third, it has been PROCESSING,FISHERIES ETC.)
established that savings programmes

work best through women who can,

Approach
over a period of time, even become more entrepreneurial and use credit. Fourth, the vicious caste
divide is expected to reveal its presence less aggressively and hence, more manageably.
Development of strong CBOs is possible only when they are able to bring about a tangible
improvement in the quality of services – be it in health, livelihoods or education – that they depend
upon and monitor as a group. It is necessary, therefore, to simultaneously influence the capacity
and perspective of key service providers, while clearly defining their accountability to the CBOs.
While any women’s CBO should be able to hold any of the health service providers (ANMs, ASHA,
Anganwadi workers) accountable, CBOs such as the Mothers’ Committees should be able to hold
the education service providers (primary school teachers) accountable. SHGs and other CBOs with
a common interest in savings, credits or income enhancement activities could, likewise, hold micro-
finance service providers and any other suppliers or traders accountable for their quality of products
and services.
The next step would be to engage with the panchayats. In the institutional mechanisms that provide
for accountability, the local panchayats and its various sub-committees would also play a key role.
The process, however, must begin with sensitising and strengthening the Panchayat Raj Institutions
(PRIs) to work with the poor. While PRI representatives in the selected villages of operation could
be trained to understand their powers, rights and responsibilities in ensuring quality and equity in
the delivery of key services, they could also be oriented to remain accountable through forums like
the gram sabha.
The SHGs and other common interest groups would be federated appropriately to enable them
to deal with issues that offer different opportunities at higher orders, such as secondary levels
of services as well as larger and more organised market options. These federations would also
be appropriately empowered to deal with, and hold accountable, service providers at this level.
Simultaneously, institutional methods for redressing grievances and other governance systems
would also be strengthened at higher levels of the PRIs.
skill development through institutional resource centres
The greatest potential resource in Bihar is human resource, which needs a concerted and focused
attention from all different quarters. Without specific skills and abilities, the same human resource
can quickly degenerate into a massive liability (population is still considered to be a problem by
many in India). Skill development, however, tends to be a highly individualised effort that need to
match the varied aptitudes and interests of different people. The gains from higher skills also tend
to accrue at an individual level.
The proposed institutional resource centre, therefore, will function on the following principles:
• It will be set up in a prominent location where people from 5-10 target villages could access
easily. A distance of 10-15 km, with the quality of roads in the proposed project areas could
qualify as a commutable distance, even on a bicycle;
• It will provide information and training on a variety of subjects, particularly those that are
deemed to be most relevant to the livelihoods of the disadvantaged and marginalised
communities. In a way, the services offered would be a process of self-selecting the target
communities;
• All services will be priced, but the idea is only to meet the operations and maintenance costs
rather than book profits. The model, therefore, would be of a social enterprise where there was
an incentive to remain flexible, improve quality of services and scale up;

• Each of the services would be sourced from the best provider, which means that the core task
of the resource centre would be facilitation, rather than direct service provision;
• Each service would be explained fully and regular feedback would be obtained to monitor and
improve the services. Efforts will be made to have an independent testing and certification
mechanism for each of the programmes conducted.
LIVLIHOOD SKILLS:
T H R O U G H C O R P O R AT E T I E - U P S ;
C E RT I F I C AT I O N , T H R O U G H A F F I L I AT I O N ;
CAREER COUNSELLING OPTIONS
TECNOLOGY INFUSION:
SOLAR PUMPS; SOLAR LIGHTS
ACCESS HIGHER NETWORKED

ORDERS OF SERVICES RESOURCE CENTRE
TRAINING:
COMPUTERS; ENGLISH;
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
E N T E R P R I S E I N C U B AT I O N :
FOOD/ AGRO-PROCESSING
( S AT T U , C H I P S , P I C K L E S , M A I Z E )
ta r g e t e d p u b l i c p r o g r a m m e s
A set of targeted programmes would be designed to utilise the established community organisations
in the villages or the institutional resource centre at the cluster to deliver results in different domains.
Some of these are as follows:
Hygiene and village sanitation programme
Maternal and child health care programme
Early childhood development programme
School improvement programme
Agriculture enhancement programme
Vocational training programme
Enterprise development programmes
Restoration of cultural heritage programme

Approach
Progra m m e i n itiatio n
The initial set of interventions (and our selection of beneficiaries) will define the image of AKDN in a
substantive way and is therefore best done through a unified command structure on the ground.
These activities will, therefore, strive to demonstrate the key principles of AKDN such as community-
centricity, inclusiveness, compassion, commitment and quality of services. These initial interventions
also need to be successful within a reasonable time to establish credibility. It implies that change
should be visible and appreciable, both by the direct beneficiaries as well as others.
The people of Bihar have seen enough foundation stones to become sceptical of promised
development efforts. It is plausible that this cynicism could either drive AKDN to assume the role of
yet another “provider” or be clubbed with agencies whose delivery is not perceived to be adequate.
It is important that the approach of self-help, participation and community approaches are not just
articulated properly but also demonstrated adequately in a time-bound fashion.
There would also be pressures to conform – to set ideas and notions – both from the government
as well as from other agencies, till AKDN is established in the region, which will stifle innovation. It
is important that openness be actively promoted, through different programmatic and partnership
measures.
The entrenched caste system pervades every aspect of life in Bihar and there is a strong correlation
between poverty and caste. There are several organisations that specifically work for scheduled
castes, such as the Musahars. It is important that AKDN refrains from any public reference to any
caste in its programmes, which will help establish its inclusive approach.
Partnerships – both with civil society organisations as well as corporate entities – would be inevitable
in dealing with the entrenched problems of the state. However, a very careful selection on the basis
of strategic partnerships would be required by AKDN.
The suggested approach for programme initiation will strive to establish the vehicles for development
– CBOs at the hamlet/ village levels and resource centres at cluster/ block levels. A detailed profiling
of the community, local infrastructure, institutional base and demands would be surveyed in the field
to understand, inter alia:
• demographic composition
• distribution of key resources and amenities
• existing livelihood choices of marginalized sections and related issues
• state of delivery of basic services and related issues
• existing institutions, their interventions and related issues
• issues relating to social and gender relations
This would provide for both a mechanism to choose the right mix of the public services, calibrate the
actual delivery as well as monitor and measure the impact of programme activities.


References
Ahmad, A. (1993): Muslims in India- Bihar. Inter India Publication, New Delhi.
Asian Development Research Institute (2006): Socio-economic and Educational Status of Muslims in Bihar.
Study sponsored by: Bihar State Minority Commission, Patna (Unpublished).
Compact Data Discs of Census of India (1991 & 2001): Office of Registrar General of India. New Delhi.
Economic Intelligence Unit (2000): Profiles of Districts. CMIE, Mumbai.
Government of Bihar (2007): Bihar: Vision 2020. Department of Planning, Government of Bihar (Unpublished).
Government of Bihar (2006): White Paper on Finance and Development of Bihar. Department of Finance,
Government of Bihar, Patna.
Government of India (2006): Socio, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India.
Report by Prime Minister’s High Level Committee, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, New Delhi.
National Council of Applied Economic Research (2004): East India Human Development Report. Oxford
University Press, Mumbai.
PRAXIS (2006): An Alternate White Paper on Status of Development and Governance. PRAXIS, Patna.
Website of Government of Bihar: www.bihar.nic.in
World Bank (2005): Bihar: Towards a Development Strategy: A World Bank Report. World Bank,
Washington D.C.
World Bank (2006): Bihar Agriculture: Building on Emerging Models of Success. World Bank Report
(Unpublished).


Development in Bihar: Overview, Appraisal and Approach

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A G A K H A N F O U N DAT I O N ( I N D I A )

AGA KHAN DEVELOPMENT NETWORK 

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His Highness the Aga Khan

Cover picture: Madhubani painting

AGA KHAN DEVELOPMENT NETWORK 

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NALANDA LAKHISARAI MUNGER BHAGALPUR

AURANGABAD NAWADA BANKA

AGA KHAN DEVELOPMENT NETWORK 

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APPRAISAL OF SELECTED AREAS 47

FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPMENT 65

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The strategy framework

Annex I Terms of reference for the Appraisal Mission

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It’s all gone now.1

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Table 1 : D emographic profile of B ihar , compared with I ndia

Total Population (in million) 1027.3 82.9

- percent urbanised 27.78 10.47

Crude Birth Rate* 23.4 30.4

Crude Death Rate* 8.1 7.6

Decadal growth rate (percent) 21.34 28.43

Density of population (sq km) 324 880

Sex ratio (per 1000 males) 933 921

(Source: Census of India, 2001); *SRS, 2005

16 AGA KHAN DEVELOPMENT NETWORK

Table 2 : T rends in B ihar ’ s G ross S tate D omestic P roduct

1997-1998 25,92,076 (-) 3.85 3.25

1998-1999 27,88,792 7.59 4.10

1999-2000 28,91,397 3.68 4.03

2000-2001 34,50,098 19.32 6.09

2001-2002 31,25,936 (-) 9.40 4.02

2002-2003 36,15,961 15.68 5.25

2003-2004 (P) 32,90,950 (-) 8.98 3.73

2004-2005 (Q) 36,88,196 12.07 4.46

2005-2006 (A) 36,19,819 (-) 1.85 3.92

(Note: P : Provisional, Q : Quick Estimate, A : Advanced Estimate)

Table 3 : G rowth in income and G S D P : B ihar vs I ndia

I ndia B ihar I ndia B ihar I ndia B ihar

Per capita GDP growth rate 4.00 1.00 5.50 2.00 NA NA

Growth in GDP of which 5.50 2.90 7.00 4.01 6.45 5.67

(a) Agriculture 2.00 (-) 1.14 1.80 0.96 1.03 5.01

(b) Industry 4.60 7.53 8.00 9.80 6.96 10.58

(c) Services 8.10 6.37 8.90 5.08 8.64 5.12

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The state is serviced by 2,318 km of national highways,

Attempts to modernize roads include the national Golden

Farakka to Buxar in the river Ganges has been declared

A mere 6 percent of the households in the state have

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Li v e l ihoo d s s c e n ario i n B ihar

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E d u c atio n s c e n ario in B ihar

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