Development and Welfare Schemes Towards SDGS: Case Study of Emped Village, Telangana, India

Abstract

Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a gigantic task given its 17 goals and 169 targets cutting across many areas. These have to be achieved in synergistic manner by central, state and local governments. Although, state and central level departments work in silos, their actual implementation at village level needs to be integrated to explore synergies. Keeping this in view, this paper examined the different government schemes working at village level which are linked to specific SDGs. The paper examined how many are benefiting, what was the extent of benefit from each scheme and at aggregate level. The study was done in Emped village of Telangana by collecting data on all schemes and from all 287 households in the village to get holistic picture. The average income of the households were Rs.73,345 in the village. Although, more than 50 schemes are working in Telangana, the study examined a total of 29 schemes from which at least one household benefited. The average aggregate benefit from all government schemes is about Rs.58,095 per household. If we include double-bed-room housing scheme and Chief Minister Relief Fund, the aggregate support reached Rs.1,06,006 per household. Some schemes are benefiting landholding class more, while some are pro-poor and pro-socially backward classes. Majority of the households benefited from schemes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Rs.4000 input support per acre, MGNREGA, loan weaver, seed and fertilizer subsidy, mid-day-meal scheme but in modest amount. Schemes addressed to women like KCR Kits and Shadi Mubharak are working well. But very few are benefited from double-bed room housing scheme, Chief Minister Relief Fund but in huge sums. Overall, these schemes are helping to achieve different targets of SDGs, but needs more focus on identification of right beneficiary, reduction of leakages and inordinate delays in implementation.