Village Development Strategies: The Road to Self-Reliance

Abstract

In India, the heavy reliance on government bodies to meet various needs is placing significant strain on the country's governance systems. The government issues guidelines aimed at addressing a range of social, economic, and environmental challenges, with substantial budget allocations made each year for policy implementation. At the village level, the Ministry of Rural Development, India, along with other organizations, works actively to address rural issues and holds decision-making power on various aspects. However, the main beneficiaries rural communities often remain excluded from accessing essential services. A contextualized approach could benefit both the recipients and the implementing agencies. This can be achieved by adopting a well-structured methodology as a baseline guideline for addressing basic needs and developmental projects. This paper focuses on water management, evaluating the current system through an experimental analysis of a randomly selected village and its progress toward sustainable solutions