PROVISION OF URBAN AMENITIES IN RURAL AREAS (PURA)

Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India has re-launched the scheme “Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas” (PURA) as a Central Sector scheme during remaining period of the XI Plan. MoRD with support from Department of Economic Affairs and the technical assistance of Asian Development Bank intends to implement the PURA scheme under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework between Gram Panchayat(s) and private sector partners. The scheme envisages twinning of rural infrastructure development with economic re-generation activities and is the first attempt at delivering a basket of infrastructure and amenities through PPP in the rural areas. It is an effort to provide a different framework for the implementation of rural
infrastructure development schemes and harness private sector efficiencies in the management of assets and delivery of services.

The scope of the scheme is to select private partners to develop livelihood opportunities, urban amenities and infrastructure facilities to prescribed service levels and to be responsible for maintenance of the same for a period of ten years in select Panchayats/cluster of Panchayats. Private sector entities having experience in development and management of community-oriented infrastructure projects shall be selected through an open competitive bidding process based on rigorous qualifications and evaluation criteria. The selected private partners would be required to provide amenities like water supply and sewerage, roads, drainage, solid waste management, street lighting and power distribution and undertake some economic and skill development activity as part of the PURA project. The private partners may also provide ‘add-on’ revenue-earning facilities such as village linked tourism,
integrated rural hub, rural market, agri-common services centre and warehousing etc. in addition to the abovementioned amenities. Where the PURA project spans several Panchayats in a cluster, the private partner would propose sub-projects with the PURA elements for each of the Panchayats.
The leveraging of public funds with private capital and management expertise for creation and maintenance of rural infrastructure is the essence of the PURA scheme, which is envisioned to act as the catalyst not only for convergence between different infrastructure development schemes but also for the new model for the management of urbanisation of rural areas.

Lack of livelihood opportunities, modern amenities and services for decent living in rural
areas lead to migration of people to urban areas. There are wide gaps in the availability of physical
and social infrastructure between rural and urban areas. To address these issues, the President of
India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam highlighted a vision of transformation of rural India through launching a mega mission for Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA). During his address to the nation on eve of Republic Day 2003, Dr. Kalam visualized
providing four connectivities: physical connectivity, electronic connectivity, knowledge connectivity
leading to economic connectivity of rural areas. PURA was envisaged as a self-sustainable and viable
model of service delivery to be managed through an implementation framework between local people,
public authorities and the private sector. The Government support would be in the form of finding
the right type of management structure to develop and maintain rural infrastructure, empowering such management structure and providing initial economic
support. Subsequently, Prime Minister of India also announced implementation of PURA scheme in his Independence Day speech on 15th August 2003.

Seven pilot projects were implemented during the 10th Five Year Plan in Basmath (Maharashtra),
Bharthana (Uttar Pradesh), Gohpur (Assam), Kujanga (Orissa), Motipur (Bihar), Rayadurg (Andhra
Pradesh) and Shahpura (Rajasthan). An evaluation study of these pilot projects by National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) identified the necessity of community and private sector participation,
need for factoring infrastructure development with lead economic activities and livelihoods creation,
requirement of project site selection on the basis of growth potential and need for convergence with other schemes of rural development or other Departments. Based on the findings of the evaluation study by NIRD, comments of various Ministries/Departments, feedback received during consultations with private sector representatives and officials of State Governments,
and the recommendations of the consulting team of Asian Development Bank (ADB), the scheme of PURA has been restructured for implementation on pilot basis during 11th Five Year Plan as a Central Sector scheme.

Mission and Objectives of the PURA Scheme:

Mission:
Holistic and accelerated development of compact areas around a potential growth centre in
a Gram Panchayat (or a group of Gram Panchayats) through Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework for providing livelihood opportunities and urban amenities to improve the quality of life in rural areas.
Objectives:
The primary objectives of the scheme are the provision of livelihood opportunities
and urban amenities in rural areas to bridge the rural – urban divide.

Strategy:

Public Private Partnership (PPP) – the Distinguishing Feature: The objectives of PURA
are proposed to be achieved under the framework of PPP between Gram Panchayats and private sector partner. Core funding shall be sourced from the Central Sector scheme of PURA and complemented by additional support through convergence of different Central Government schemes. The private sector shall also bring on board it’s share of investment besides operational expertise. The scheme would be implemented and managed by the private sector on considerations of economic viability but designed in a manner whereby it is fully aligned with the overall
objective of rural development. To attract the private sector, there is a need to design the scheme that
would be ‘project based’ with well defined risks, identified measures for risk mitigation and risks
sharing among the sponsoring authority (Gram Panchayat), Government of India, State Government
and the Private Partner.

Pilot-testing and Upscaling:

Through the implementation of proposed pilot projects, the unique features of this scheme would be tested on the ground that will provide lessons for upscaling in the future. Besides, the entire process shall help strengthen the institutional ability of a Gram Panchayat to undertake PPP and help pilot-test the viability of PPPs in rural infrastructure development. Based on the experience
of the pilots, the scheme would be suitably modified for scaling up in future.