DRDA Full Form

The DRDA works for the development and implementation of the programs set by the ministry of rural development to prevent poverty in the country. During the initial days of its formation, The main function of it was to implement the integrated rural development program IRDP. However a different DRDA administration was introduced from April 1999. The new introduction was done to handle the administrative costs along with the aim of making the DRDA better in professionalism and strengthening it’s working. It works to manage the anti-poverty programs and also links the ministry with the district level authorities.

Working of the DRDA 

The rural development and poverty controlling programs which need to be looked after by the DRDA are mainly implemented by decentralization. Method. The factors which need to be looked after are

• Geographical areas
• Administrative requirements
• Involvement of grassroots level officials
• The community targeted the implementation of the programs

The ministry of rural areas and employment works on the central level to implement these programmes. They look after the funds, formulate the policies , provide the required guidance , supervision and evaluation of the programme.

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Members 

The DRDA has members of the parliament, members of legislative assembly, bankers, NGOs, district-level development officers and some members from the weaker sections of the society. Although it is not mandatory, usually the district collector is the one who is the chairman of the  governing body. The governing body gives the necessary advice and direction to the DRDA working. The implementation in the real world is done by the body which is headed by the additional district collector.

Functions of DRDA

Some of the functions of DRDA are-

• The modification and review of the various schemes for supporting rural development
• Identifying the requirements of the rural people and then to resolve them forming an appropriate scheme
• Disbursement of the funds for fulfilling these schemes
•  Providing managerial and Technical Support required by the people to set up these games

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Decentralization

It is the process which distributes or assigns some activity away from the central authority or group. The activities of the organization can be either planning or decision making. The decentralization of the government organisations help the economy development along with social justice. There have been some mergers of DRDA and district panchayats under the devolution of functionaries section. This section was mainly for the merger of district panchayats and the role of DRDA to be re-conceived. However this meant the DRDA provided the panchayat with technical expertise and guidance at every given level. The results of the merger don’t seem to be so satisfactory after all. Only Kerala and Karnataka had complete mergers. 

The current condition of DRDA

There are 10 states or Union territories which are still separated. In these cases the connection is that the president of the Zilla Parishad is the chairperson of the DRDA. Some of the states are Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Lakshadweep etc. Whereas in 9 states it is that the collector becomes the chairperson or any other manage arrangement is made in the matter. Some of these states of Jharkhand, Pondicherry, Manipur etc. In some other states such as Maharashtra the president of Zilla Parishad is the chairperson of the DRDA and the CEO of the Zilla Parishad becomes the executive chair pro chairman in the management committee.

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Conclusion 

The government can mostly formulate and create schemes for the development of rural areas but they need a dedicated organization to look after the proceedings in depth. The DRDA does exactly that, since it is a district level organization it can look at the problems people face in the rural areas and figure out the solution. Political leaders like MLA’s and MP’s are also part of the organisation’s governing body. Moreover the link-up between the DRDA and the panchayat can help the people from the root cause. Although the mergers are not full-fledged in most cases, it can help in formulating schemes in more detail. Till now only 2 states have full mergers and some are still working in a coordinated manner. Whatever the outcome is, it should be in the benefit of rural development.