Aspirational Districts Programme: Development Progress in Vidarbha’s Backwards Regions

thenewsdirt
Apr 28
6 min read

The Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) was introduced in January 2018 as an ambitious government initiative to accelerate the development of India’s least developed districts.

The programme aims to fast-track improvements in key sectors like health, education, agriculture, financial inclusion, and infrastructure. Its framework rests on a data-driven approach, fostering competition between districts through real-time monitoring and ranking systems.

The effort is designed to channel the focus of multiple ministries toward regions with structural gaps in human development.

Within Maharashtra, the Vidarbha region is home to some of the state's most economically and socially challenged districts. Washim and Gadchiroli were officially included in the ADP list, while Yavatmal has been regarded as an aspirational district at the state level, although not formally listed by NITI Aayog.

These districts have consistently faced issues such as agrarian distress, lack of healthcare facilities, poor connectivity, and underdeveloped infrastructure. The ADP was expected to address these challenges by enhancing coordination across schemes and focusing on measurable outcomes.

Development Indicators and Sectoral Progress

The ADP identifies five key themes for development, allocating weightage across 49 indicators. Health and nutrition and education each hold 30 percent of the ranking weight, agriculture and water resources account for 20 percent, while financial inclusion, skill development, and basic infrastructure share the remaining 20 percent.

In the Vidarbha districts, the health and nutrition sector has shown visible progress. Gadchiroli, a tribal and Left-Wing Extremism-affected district, became one of the significant examples where focused health interventions yielded measurable success.

The district administration initiated a malnutrition recovery programme in October 2021, targeting severely and moderately malnourished children along with severely underweight cases. By April 2022, of the 1,017 children identified with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), 513, amounting to 50.1 percent, were reported to have recovered.

Among the 6,094 children suffering from Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM), 3,281, or 52.8 percent, recovered. Similarly, of the 2,141 severely underweight children, 789, or 36.8 percent, were released from the programme after improvement.

This programme's results have been highlighted by health officials as a key achievement under the ADP framework in Gadchiroli. Nutrient-dense, ready-to-eat meals were distributed alongside targeted health monitoring. Although similar interventions were carried out in Washim, data from the district have not been reported as comprehensively.

The education sector, which focuses on school enrolment, learning outcomes, and retention rates, was given equal priority under the programme.

The initiative encouraged the expansion of mid-day meal coverage, improved school infrastructure, and the deployment of bridge classes to reduce dropout rates. While specific district-level data for education progress in Washim and Gadchiroli is limited, national patterns show that Aspirational Districts have experienced improvements in student retention and examination performance, although these remain incremental.

The agriculture and water resources sector, given 20 percent weight in ADP evaluations, plays a central role in Vidarbha's economy, particularly in districts like Yavatmal and Washim where cotton cultivation dominates.

The programme focused on expanding irrigation coverage, encouraging credit linkages, and promoting diversification. Data from the NITI Aayog dashboard highlighted incremental increases in irrigated land area in Washim, driven by the construction of farm ponds and small irrigation projects.

The number of Kisan Credit Cards issued also rose across these districts, which helped improve access to formal credit for smallholder farmers. Despite these efforts, broader challenges in market access and the impact of erratic rainfall on crop yields have remained issues, especially for cotton farmers.

Financial inclusion and skill development received direct attention through government schemes such as Jan Dhan Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.

The UNDP evaluation of the ADP reported that Aspirational Districts, on average, recorded 1,580 more Jan Dhan accounts opened per 100,000 people when compared to other districts.

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) enrollments were higher by 847 per 100,000 people, while Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) life insurance signups saw an increase of 406 per 100,000 people in these districts.

In Washim and Gadchiroli, such schemes expanded formal financial coverage significantly. Local records indicated that the number of Jan Dhan account holders increased steadily between 2019 and 2021. Additionally, skill development centres under the Kaushal Vikas Yojana were established to offer vocational training, although specific employment outcomes remain undocumented.

The infrastructure component of the programme focused on rural road construction, electrification, water supply, sanitation, and housing.

Both Washim and Gadchiroli benefited from schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and Saubhagya Yojana.

Household electrification neared completion under these schemes, with national data showing that rural electrification targets were largely met across aspirational districts by 2020.

However, on-the-ground reports highlighted that several areas in Gadchiroli continued to face connectivity challenges, especially in remote tribal belts where all-weather roads and bridges remain incomplete.

Seasonal floods in the district regularly disrupt transportation, exposing the limitations of infrastructure development despite the programme’s focus.

In Washim, the completion of the Samruddhi Expressway enhanced regional connectivity, but benefits have not been evenly distributed. Industrial development in MIDC zones remained below expectations, and several planned facilities, including a new medical college, faced delays.

Successes and Ongoing Gaps

The ADP framework has contributed to several measurable improvements across Vidarbha’s aspirational districts. Health and nutrition initiatives in Gadchiroli remain among the most notable examples of success.

The focused effort on reducing malnutrition and expanding healthcare access has been widely recognised within government assessments. Financial inclusion has also progressed significantly, supported by the programme’s emphasis on expanding bank accounts and insurance coverage.

The monthly delta ranking system under the ADP encouraged district administrations to prioritise performance in key indicators. Washim and Gadchiroli featured periodically among the better-performing districts in Maharashtra on specific schemes like Ujjwala Yojana for LPG connections and Swachh Bharat Mission targets for sanitation coverage.

Despite these positive developments, the programme’s implementation faced several limitations. Coordination between state departments and the central government remained inconsistent in certain sectors. Local officials in Gadchiroli reported difficulties in fund release and operational delays.

The unique geographical challenges of the district, with 70 percent of its area classified as reserved forest, complicate infrastructure projects. Road construction and industrial activities were restricted by forest clearance norms, which affected progress timelines.

The Samruddhi Expressway in Washim, while improving transport corridors, did not lead to the anticipated industrial growth in the adjoining regions. Farmers and small traders continued to report difficulties in accessing markets for their produce.

The expansion of irrigation facilities also showed progress in terms of coverage, but the overall impact on agricultural income levels remains moderate due to continued dependency on rain-fed cultivation and price fluctuations.

A consistent challenge throughout the programme has been the reliability and frequency of data reporting.

The ADP’s success relies heavily on the monthly submission of progress indicators by district administrations. Instances of irregular data entry or outdated baselines were noted in independent evaluations, raising questions about the accuracy of ranking systems in reflecting actual ground realities.

The UNDP assessment recommended revising indicators like household electrification, where saturation levels had been reached early on, making these measures less effective for ongoing evaluation.

Uneven progress across sectors and among communities also presented a challenge. While averages showed improvements, the hardest-to-reach populations, particularly in tribal hamlets and remote villages, often remained outside the direct benefits of these interventions.

The delta improvement rankings, focusing on percentage change, may not always capture persisting gaps in absolute service coverage.

Periodic assessments by independent bodies such as the UNDP highlighted both the achievements and the shortcomings of the programme. The data confirms that aspirational districts, on average, performed better than their non-aspirational counterparts in several key indicators. However, the same evaluations pointed to the need for continuous recalibration of targets, more consistent data management, and deeper engagement with the last-mile communities.

The experience of Washim and Gadchiroli under the ADP demonstrates that focused government initiatives, when aligned with local needs and implemented effectively, can create a meaningful impact.

At the same time, the journey toward comprehensive development remains shaped by structural factors that require sustained attention.