Salient feature

  • With an outlay of Rs. 5142.08 crore, the Rurban Mission will develop clusters of smart villages which have a potential for holistic growth. These clusters will be developed by encouraging economic activities, local entrepreneurship and creation of infrastructure.
  • By 2019-20, the government will set up 300 such clusters across the nation. The funding will be through different schemes of the Government converged into the cluster.
  • Fourteen components have been suggested as desirable for a cluster to ensure optimum development: skill development training linked to economic activities, Agro Processing or Agri Services/Storage and Warehousing, Digital Literacy, Sanitation, etc.
  • To select the clusters, the Ministry of Rural Development is using a scientific method, which involves an objective analysis of demography, economy, tourism and pilgrimage significance and transportation corridor impact. This will be done at the District, Sub-District and Village levels.
  • Integrated Cluster Action Plans will be prepared by the States for Rurban Clusters. These will be detailed plan documents that will lay out the strategy for the cluster, desired results for the cluster under the mission, along with the converged resources under Central sector, schemes sponsored by Centre and State Sector, and the Critical Gap Funding (CGF) needed for the cluster.
  • Along with CGF, major steps have been taken to ensure the success of the programme with proper budget provisions to support the State Government towards project development, capacity building and other institutional arrangements at the state level.
  • The programme will provide an additional funding support of up to 30 per cent of the project cost per cluster as CGF as Central Share so as to enable development of Rurban clusters.
  • For smooth implementation of the Mission, both State and Centre will make institutional arrangements. An Innovation budget towards facilitating research, development and capacity building has also been allotted.
  • The clusters will have geographically proximity to Gram Panchayats with a population of about 25,000 to 50,000 in plain and coastal areas, and a population of 5,000 to 15,000 in desert, hilly or tribal areas.
  • A separate approach of selection will be at work to select clusters in Tribal and Non-Tribal Districts.