New development guidelines to transform rural India

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has revised the Rural Area Development Plan Formulation and Implementation (RADPFI) Guidelines, 2017.

Context

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has revised the Rural Area Development Plan Formulation and Implementation (RADPFI) Guidelines, 2017.

About the initiative

• The revised RADPFI guidelines would serve as the basis for rural transformation and enable effective Land use planning in rural areas.
• The release of RADPFI guidelines would supplement the efforts of the Centre such as the 
• SVAMITVA scheme of Ministry of Panchayati Raj 
• RURBAN Mission of Ministry of Rural Development
• It would also facilitate better utilisation of Geospatial information.

What is the need of the initiative?

• Although many spatial development initiatives have been implemented in India especially in urban areas, there has been no comprehensive exercise for rural spatial planning of panchayats/villages. 
• In recent times, there has been large growth in rural areas but this unplanned growth has led to inefficient utilization of geospatial potential in rural areas. 
• Thus, spatial planning specially for the villages located in the vicinity of the urban centers and those, along the major road corridors, becomes necessary, as various permissible and non-permissible land-use activities need to be decided for optimum growth.