| Author | Manandhar, Madan K. |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.HS-82-13 |
| Subject(s) | Rural development--Nepal--Birendranagar
|
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Engineering and Technology |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Regional development thinking and planning has relied heavily on the role of growth poles ever since Perroux and Boudeville put forward their views on the spatial aspects of the development process. In many countries, the growth pole approach has received wide attention in the past two deceases or so as a vital tool for regional development. Nepal has been no exception. In planning of economic development, Nepal has adopted a growth centre (rather than growth pole) strategy to supplement the general policy of national economic development for reducing regional disparities in the country.
The present study investigates how successful this approach has been in Nepal as a strategy to develop the rural hinterland by analysing and evaluation some socio-economic impacts of Birendranagar, the growth centre for the Mid Western Region, on the rural areas of Surkhet. The analysis is divided into three parts. The first part attempts to assess the growth of birendranagar subsequent to it being designated as a growth centre. The second part analyses changes in income, employment, occupation, purchasing and selling patterns and other economic services while the last part deals with the use of social services like education, health, recreation, by the people in the surrounding rural hinterland and their attitude towards Birendranagar as a growth centre. As a part of the findings, some important indicators of change were identified.
This study showed that Birendranagar growth centre had a negligible multiplier effect of income employment in its rural hinterland although the growth centre itself has benefitted in many ways. The large domestic and foreign investment in the growth centre which was expected to generate growth and development in the region has not yet shown any signs of achieving these results. The expected trickle down effects have not taken place and instead there has been a siphoning off effect which leaves the surrounding people relatively poorer and more frustrated. This is due mainly to the inability of the rural people to benefit from the growth of Birendranagar. There is reason to believe that unemployment, underemployment and food shortage still continue in the rural hinterland and the quality of life is deteriorating. This raises strong doubts about the usefulness of the growth centre strategy to develop the lagging areas of Nepal.
So, the development of growth centres like Birendranagar is becoming risky, particularly for hinterland people. The risk in Surkhet is that people may lose their capability to co-exist with their resource base: that is to say, survive and enjoy living, unless more efforts are put into developing the rural areas themselves and integrating them more closely with the growth centre.
Finally, some recommendations are presented that would enable the rural hinterland to benefit more effectively from the development of the growth centre. |
| Year | 1982 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology |
| Department | Department of Civil and Infrastucture Engineering (DCIE) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Human Settlement (HS) |
| Chairperson(s) | Dias, Hiran D. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Kammeier, Hans Detlef ;Iwami, Toshikatsu
|
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA) |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1982 |