Abstract:
India is an agrarian economy and majority of its population (68.84%) lives in rural
areas. Developing rural areas has always been a priority of any planning
initiative. In view of providing all weather roads and hence increase employment
opportunities for rural areas the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana was
launched in the year 2000 by the Central Government. With such huge
investments in rural infrastructure, especially rural road development, there is a
need to study whether developing roads contributes to rural development.
This study aims to assess the impact of transport network on rural development
in a tehsil, where rural development is measured with the help of selected
indicators like Economic, Health, Education and recreation that are quantified
based on parameters (facilities).The study is based on the hypothesis that
transport plays an important role in rural development. The objectives of the
study are to understand and develop rural development indicators and to assess
the degree of relation between transport network and rural development.
The scoring for different development parameters for a village is done on the
basis of distance of the corresponding facility from the village while the score for
road connectivity is given on the basis of hierarchy of roads and the distance of
the village from the nearest road. The data for this has been collected through
secondary sources. The concept of correlation has been applied to establish
degree of linkage between roads and various other facilities. Certain direct and
indirect impacts on rural development which may not be possible to measure are
beyond the scope of the study though changes reflected in the spatial and
economic parameters in the villages have been taken into account.
The results of the study suggested that there is a positive link between road
connectivity and other facilities in rural areas necessary for development. The
final outcome has identified gaps in existing infrastructure and located areas that
need immediate attention as far as provision of infrastructure is concerned. In the
end, the study helped strengthen the hypothesis and suggests that investments
in rural road infrastructure indeed help to some extent in achieving overall
development of villages.
