Evaluation of socio-economic impact of the Western Hills Road

Evaluation covers the period 1979-11/83 and is based on data from government offices and interviews with beneficiaries. The road has clearly become important to the social and economic development of the hill area which it serves; follow-on construction of feeder roads to adjacent remote areas (already underway, financed by the Asian Development Bank) will further affect development. Specifically, (1) prices of essential commodities imported by the hill population have dropped, and those received for exports have increased; (2) the amount of land devoted to foodgrain production has risen impressively, due in part to agricultural inputs provided by the Mahakali Integrated Rural Development Project (even so, agricultural productivity in general has suffered due to migration from the hills and depletion of flatland areas); (3) school enrollment (especially of boys) has increased (apparently attributable to higher expectations, as transportation costs remains high); (4) more people are using public and private health facilities, and medicines are more readily available at better prices (attitudes about family planning have not changed substantially, however); and (7) a pilot financial procedure has contributed positively to efficient operation of the project. However, industrial growth has been negligible, and, while road construction has offered off-season employment, the road has also displaced some traditional porterage laborers. There has been an excessive lag between road completion and the development of other job opportunities in the Western Hills. The central problem is to ensure that effective institutional and management structures accompany the development processes brought about by the road. Lack of an efficient marketing system, for example, has hindered expansion of agriculture into high value crops, especially in the far western area. The need to keep the road operational year-round to protect consumers from shortages, sustain rural income, and permit the orderly operation of industrial enterprises is of paramount importance. The project shows the importance of an interdisciplinary, multisectoral approach when planning major interventions of this type. In this regard, there has been an overemphasis on technical solutions at the expense of social and institutional factors. Other government agencies should have been involved from the initial planning stages in order to address such issues as population migration, increased expectations among the rural poor, and the need for additional job opportunities and environmental protection measures. (Adapted from ANE Executive Summary, PD-AAT-669, pp. 68-69)