In an unprecedented move, the DFID, UK government's Department for International Development, has recently stopped its Civil Society Support Programme (CSSP) in West Bengal 14 months before it was scheduled to be ended.
The decision was taken after finding the progress of the work unsatisfactory. "As a result of findings from a recent independent review, PRIA's (the nodal agency) documentation, and from field visits, ourassessment of the three-year period is that overall delivery of CSSP has been slow, that results are limited and difficult to attribute to project interventions, and that the project is unlikely to achieve its objectives," observed Ian Shapiro, Head of Maturing States and Partnerships Team, DFID India.
The programme was launched with much fanfare in 2006 and around Rs 40 crore was committed to it. It was stopped on October 31, 2009. This is the first time that DFID, which is working in India for quite some time and engaged in projects in collaboration with central and several state governments aiming to reduce poverty in India, had to pull out of a project.
The preliminary findings which led to DFID to withdraw from the project also raise a serious question whether the funds allocated for it was being properly utilised. The failure of this civil society support programme has apparently created quite a furore in DFID London and questions are being asked as to how to identify the reasons and persons responsible for this. For that, Rebecca Trafford, a senior adviser, was sent to Kolkata and Delhi on a fact finding mission. The urgency of this is evident as the DFID has just launched its Poorest Area Civil Society(PACS)- 2 Programme (£25 million).
The programme (2009-2014) will support civil society organisations to work in the areas of education, health, nutrition, water and sanitation and livelihoods, by promoting policies, programmes and institutions that are more inclusive at the local, district and state level. PACS-2 aims to reach out to 5 million people and their households in 120 districts across the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal. "We want to ensure that it does not happen again," said an official of DFID. Earlier, DFID's PACS-1 (£27 million, 2001-07) in six states - Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh - covering 108 districts. It was the first anti-poverty civil society initiative created on such a large scale, affecting 20,000 villages and eventually reaching more than 6 million poor and marginalised people.
DFID's largest country programme and its largest country office are in India. According to its official website, in 2002-07, DFID gave more than £1 billion to India, and from 2008 to 2011, they will be investing another £825 million, up to £500 million of which will be spent on health and education.
More From This Section
While admitting that the sudden pull out of civil society support programme might have caused some dismay at the local level, DFID officials hasten to reiterate that their commitment to West Bengal is in no way going to be diluted by this experience. Ian Shapiro explains: The PACS programme started in June 2009 and is being rolled out in a phased manner starting with Bihar and Jharkhand. It is expected to roll out in West Bengal in early 2010. The first call for proposals for Bengal is most likely to be advertised in Jan 2010. I-First, a consortium led by Christian Aid,will manage the programme. 7 districts of West Bengal willbe covered under the PACS programme.
Incidentally, DFID is spending around Rs.200 crore annually in West Bengal. One of its ongoing project is in restructuring the state own public sector enterprises. In Phase-I, DFID provided £27 million to the Government of West Bengal towards restructuring the loss-making units. Out of the 34 units that were taken up for restructuring, 21 units were closed down for structural unavailability, 4 units were retained by the Government after business and financial restructuring and 3 units were converted into joint venturesincluding Great Eastern Hotel. The decisions on closure or restructuring were made after conducting optimisation and business viability studies by independent consultants. Identification of units, final decision on the respective units and consultations with the trade unions were handled by government of West Bengal.
According to DFID, around 6000 employees were retrenched in phase-I. DFID provided 87% of the funds for the Early Retirement Scheme support and 13% was provided by the state government.
The retrenched employees were also provided medical insurance support by state. Under this programme DFID also provided funds for training support to the retrenched employees or their wards, including logistics costs for attending the training.
It is estimated that the annual savings to the Government of West Bengal as a result of PSE phase-I restructuring is around Rs 75 crore per annum. Additional savingshave been generated through the sale of equity in joint venture companies, amounting to approximately Rs 56 crore.
In the phase-II, DFID has allocated £23 million for PSE Phase-II. PSE-II is a 3 year programme which started in April 2008. Apart from the restructuring of 28 units, PSE Phase II also covers power sector reforms. Through independent consultants, 28 units have been categorised. In phase II, only 2 units are up for closure due to structural unavailability.
The remainder are to be restructured and retained by the Government or transformed to joint ventures with strategic partners. As of now only 1 unit has been closed down. Further business optimisation studies for 14 units are presently underway.