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by J. S. Ameresekere, former Director Planning, Ministry of Transport and Highways

Studies that have been carried out over several years have examined the impact of improved transport infrastructure and services on socio-economic development of developing countries, and recognised the close relationship between economic development and the prevalence of an efficient transport system. This is true of transport systems in both urban-metropolitan and rural areas.

Tragedies of development

However, one of the tragedies of development planning in our own country has been the failure to consider rural transport as a separate sector or subsector and give it the attention that it requires. Another is the tardiness shown in appreciating the different yet specific and urgent needs of the rural population as regards transport infrastructure and services. While in urban areas, authorities are more concerned with providing better road surfaces, managing traffic, ensuring reasonable rates of traffic flow during peak hours and the like, the requirements of the rural areas are more basic.

Push bicycles - an Intermediate Mode of Transport

As has often been quoted, around 75% of the population live in rural areas. They require a system of transport that would provide them with such basic needs as access to schools and hospitals, means of taking their produce to market, meeting their consumer needs and attending social activities in their areas. It is unfortunate, however that the present system has proved to be inadequate in supplying even these basic needs.

As far as the writer is aware, the last declared policy statement on rural transport was publicised in 1996 by the Ministry of Transport, Environment and Women's Affairs. On inquiry, present ministry sources stated that no public policy declaration has been made since then. The relevant section reads as follows :

Rural transport

Government will promote the development of appropriate technology to meet the need of transport facilities of the rural community, such as, non-motorised improved vehicles etc. Government shall encourage labour intensive methods to improve the rural transport infrastructure"

Appropriate Technology has been translated into practice to include not only "non-motorised vehicles" such as bicycles, bicycle trailers and the extended bicycles but all forms or modes of transport between walking and highly motorised transport (i.e. 4 wheeled motorised vehicles). These vehicles are termed "Intermediate Modes of Transport" (IMT) and the government has promoted the use of these vehicles both directly and indirectly with the support of non-governmental organizations and the private sector, in pursuance of its declared policy.

In March 1998, an international seminar was organised in Galle on Intermediate Modes of Transport by the Lanka Forum for Rural Transport Development (LFRTD). Participants from India, Pakistan, The Philippines, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Uganda presented papers.

In our country, the most commonly used IMTs are bicycles, extended bicycles, motorcycles with sidecars, bullock carts and of course three wheelers. From the range of IMTs used in the rural areas of India and Pakistan it appears that their economic levels are lower than those of our own rural people. However, it must be kept in mind that the uneven terrain and sometimes social acceptance (e.g. women do not ride bicycles in rural Pakistan) are constraints which prevent the use of more sophisticated vehicles.

The seminar was preceded by a parade at which several locally made IMTs were exhibited. Both the parade and the seminar were inaugurated by the Minister of Transport and Highways. A year later, an awareness programme to popularise IMTs in rural areas was carried out in nine selected districts by the National Transport Commission (NTC) under a Rs. 10m. project funded by the government. The encouragement given to IMTs helped to harness the high level of innovative skills of small scale entrepreneurs.

Living in the same locality of the users of IMTs, these manufacturers who shared almost the same social and economic environment, were able to "better understand problems of users, the conditions under which the vehicles are used and the needs of the users."( Contribution of small scale manufacturers in the development of IMTs - De Silva, Ranjit 1998). However, this admirable and partially successful implementation of declared policy fell short in that the government did not provide the facilities to make IMTs a sustainable means of transport. It failed to make arrangements to assist manufacturers by providing loans for the purchase of their tools and equipment and for engaging in research and development.

Rural transport infrastructure

It is clear from the foregoing that a concerted effort was made to implement the government's declared policy as regards the promotion of appropriate technology from 1998 onwards. However, the picture changed considerably when it came to giving effect to the second part of the policy viz. "labour intensive methods to improve the rural transport infrastructure".

During the IMT awareness programme, the rural population in most of the nine districts demanded improvements in the infrastructure saying that development of IMTs served no purpose if the roads were not fit for their use. Secondly, the government itself admitted in 1998 that, "at the local and the provincial level, the improvement of the road network is long overdue" (Central Bank Report 1998 P.81) The report cites "resource constraints" as a major problem for this failure.

In the same Report, the total road length in Sri Lanka is quoted as 100,000 km In a study carried out in 1993, it had been estimated that about 50,000 km. or 50% of the road network consists of local roads and a further 15,000 km constitute provincial roads. However, in an article in a recent publication, the length of roads handled by the Provincial Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas (mostly rural gravel roads) has been quoted as 16,000 km and 75,000 km respectively. With such a large proportion of roads categorised as provincial and rural, the failure to rehabilitate them because of resource constraints appears to be a serious lapse.

The situation had changed to some extent in 2003 where it is reported that " the central government allocated Rs. 1363 m. to Provincial Councils for development and maintenance of C and D class roads" and that under a programme focusing on improving rural roads to motorable conditions "72 rural roads with a total length of approximately 2470 km. have been completed at a cost of Rs. 58 m." Here we find that, unlike in 1998, funds have been allocated for both provincial and rural roads.

However, when one takes into account that of the total sum of Rs. 13,232 m spent on A and B class roads, provincial roads and rural roads (excluding special projects) only Rs. 58 m or 0.4% has been the expenditure for rural roads, one is able to gauge the enormity of the problem of funding for the rural road network which, as mentioned earlier is around 5,000 km (LMD) in length. (All quotes and figures unless otherwise stated are from the Central Bank Report 2003)

Transport services

Although the declared policy of 1996 did not include it, the government has been granting subsidies to peoplised companies (now Cluster companies) that provide bus services on unremunerative routes in rural areas since the early nineteen nineties, based on a policy decision made at the time. A committee that studied Rural Transport Services (Report of the Second Committee on Uneconomic Bus Routes 1987) had identified a large number of bus routes (2168 in 1997) as necessary to meet the needs of rural communities throughout the island.

Since it was found that bus services on these routes did not bring sufficient income to operators to even cover costs, the government introduced a scheme to meet 85% of the losses incurred by operators through a subsidy. This scheme is operated through the National Transport Commission. These services are provided with the purely social objective of meeting the transport needs of the people. In 1997 a grant of Rs. 212 m was made by the government for this purpose. In 2003, this sum has been raised to Rs. 255 m for 2186 routes.

Assessment

In the light of the information given above, several factors emerge as contributing to the failure to provide an adequate rural transport system. First among these is the failure to co-ordinate the facilities for the improvement of rural transport by providing the infrastructure required for the regular use of IMTs and the running of the rural transport (bus) services. Next is the failure to see to the sustainability of IMTs.

Finally and most importantly, the government has stated both directly and indirectly that financial constraints are a major reason for the inability to develop and maintain rural roads. Since whatever funds allocated by the centre are not likely to be adequate (as seen in the CB Reports), there is no alternative but to seek them elsewhere.

It is the writer's view that this situation has presented an opportunity to local level organizations to harness resources in their area to a great extent to meet this need and that this is the direction we should be moving towards.. It follows then that future policy regarding rural transport must necessarily be local area oriented. However, there appear to be some serious constraints which stand in the way of such an approach, which have to be addressed without delay. The LMD article quoted above sets them out as follows: "Provincial Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas have their own issues. While the former are allocated annual rehabilitation and maintenance funds by the government, the latter have had to raise their own funds. Their taxation systems are frequently in disarray and they make regular appeals for central government funds... Some Provincial Councils, meanwhile, return allocated funds at the end of each fiscal year, signifying inability to implement their responsibilities"

If what is stated here is factually correct, we have a situation where Pradeshiya Sabhas responsible for around 75,000 km of roads being unable to carry out their tasks due to an enormous shortage of funds - a clear instance of responsibility without power, while the Provincial Councils are not using money granted to them for roadwork but merely acting as custodians of it for a year! Thus the problem of allocation of funds has to be solved possibly through a major policy change. Once this has been done, the maintenance and development of rural roads should be handled at the local level with local resources to supplement whatever the government grants annually.

The objectives of a local level project to improve rural transport could be listed as - 1) To improve rural transport infrastructure at low cost; 2) To facilitate the provision of low cost IMTs to rural areas; 3) To ensure the sustainability of infrastructure and IMTs; 4) To bring economic benefits to the rural community; and 5) To ensure people's participation in all aspects of improvement of rural transport. Since resources have to be found at local level at low cost, the participation of the people is paramount in the implementation of the project.

Participatory approach

It has been found that conventional transport planning, policy making and project implementation in developing countries tend to ignore the needs of the people. As a result, there has often been a gap between what has been supplied in the form of investment and the real travel and transport needs of the people. This phenomenon has been observed as most common at rural levels. The general awareness of this shortcoming has led to the development of an alternative approach- that of community participation.

While such participation is a way of empowerment and of building beneficiary capacity, it also promotes effectiveness and efficiency, enables cost sharing and gives the people an opportunity to take part in initiating action, consultation and decision making. It is suggested therefore that a rural transport policy be formulated without delay taking into account that a multi-faceted approach involving the improvement of infrastructure and provision of IMTs with arrangements to ensure their sustainability. Such a policy should also include an annual grant directly to the Pradeshiya Sabhas and the continuity of the subsidy for uneconomic routes as long as it is necessary. The responsibility for local level road improvement programmes could be vested in the Pradeshiya Sabha which could harness the resources of organisations at local level (including labour in the form of Shramadana) and liaise with the RDA, NGOs etc. The formation of a committee which could include representatives of the relevant organizations with the chairman of the PS as its head is suggested.

Identification of roads which need repair and rehabilitation, pooling of resources at district and divisional level, obtaining the assistance of technical personnel are some of the functions the Pradeshiya Sabha would be performing in its capacity as the dominant local level authority. It is hoped that a clear action oriented policy would be declared soon for a sector which has for a long period received little attention.

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