Rural development and crime-containment

President Mahinda Rajapaksa is on record that it would be his endeavour to take development to the farthest reaches of Sri Lanka and this is highly encouraging news for those having the best interests of this country at heart. This is as it should be because in the absence of equitably generated and distributed wealth there would be no development worth speaking of.

Needless to say, the entirety of state development schemes, including Divi Neguma, aims at equity or the equal empowerment of the people and we cannot help but observe that these ventures need to be persisted with very energetically if they are to bear fruit. However, when going ahead with development, it is extremely important that the state addresses the realities ‘on the ground’ and it is only those who are closely associated with rural life or are ‘insiders’ to the village scene, so to speak, who would be best positioned to speak authoritatively on rural advancement.

Besides, the development schemes which have thus far got off the ground need to be closely monitored for the purpose of ascertaining whether the outcomes expected of them are being yielded. That is, monitoring of development programmes is as important as launching them. Hopefully, fool-proof monitoring mechanisms are already in place to ensure that the considerable funds expended on development are indeed well spent.

There was this observation by Ven. Aturaliye Ratana Thera, MP recently which points to some of the complex issues in rural development. He was quoted as saying that the mere delivery of lectures or the conduct of awareness-raising programmes on illicit liquour and connected ills would be of little or no avail. What is needed is rural development in the truest sense of the word. The material advancement of rural areas and the provinces in general would, among other things, help also in the steady upkeep of village temples and this will result in the temple discharging its responsibilities increasingly effectively.

Analyzed closely, it could be found that empowering persons and families is indeed one of the most effective ways of providing them with an incentive to enhance the quality of their lives. Substantial earnings are one of the most important factors in upward social mobility and the latter is instrumental in weaning persons away from social ills, such as, illicit liquor consumption and gambling.

It is quite some time since the observation was made by economists that improving the life prospects of people is one of the surest means of giving them hope and in inducing in them behaviour that is accountable, socially-beneficial and exemplary.

Accordingly, it is development, understood as personal and group empowerment, that matters and these insights, we hope, would further energize the state in its efforts at ushering progressive economic prosperity in Sri Lanka. But this does not mean that rural infrastructure development should be given second place in our development effort. These activities must continue apace but we need to place the correct construct on development and structure our programmes accordingly.

It also needs to be borne in mind that the fostering of law and order is a must for further overall material advancement.

Unfortunately, it has come to be perceived that some legislators are instrumental in the crumbling of the law and order situation in some areas. The law of the land cannot be sustained if some law-makers are themselves perceived as being entangled with lawless elements. This scandalous state of affairs must be halted forthwith if development in the truest sense is to be realized.

We also need to minimize and see an end to regional inequalities in development. It is reported that our rural areas are emerging as centres of dynamic growth and this development should be welcomed. But it should be ensured that growth does not centre on any specific provinces only. The Northern and Eastern Provinces too must be constant stakeholders in development.