Assessment of Poverty Alleviation Programmes in Nagaon District of Assam

Abstract

Poverty emerges as the key factors for underdevelopment and it is enormously linked with various social issues. Government of India design and implement a number of poverty alleviation Programmes but most of the programmes left the perceptions of ultimate target population and often wrong beneficiary selection procedure fail to capture the policy prescriptions. It is against this background that the present study was entrusted to assess the Poverty Alleviation Programmes using Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA) in Nagaon District, Assam. The ultimate aim of this study is to see things from the point of view of the common man.  Besides a sample study of poor households, we have documented the several governmental programmes being implemented in the village, their linkages, and the perceptions of different sections of society regarding these programmes. The study reveals that most part of the programmes funds are used in non Productive purpose. A positive linkage is observed among social capital, asset generation and literacy rate. This paper suggested that for successful implementation of programmes, two indicators: educational development and social capital formation should be widely enclosed in programme design.