[sustran] fwd: Seminar on accessibility and rural development planning

[SUSTRAN Resource Centre]

SEMINAR ON ACCESSIBILITY AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
AT BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE  BITS PILANI 
November 25-26, 2000

Supported by
INTERNATIONAL FORUM FOR RURAL TRANSPORT AND DEVELOPMENT, UK

Introduction

The conventional approach of road network planning in India is primarily
based on criteria such as density of roads or distance of the villages of
given population from all-weather roads. It has been possible to connect
nearly 53 percent of about 6 lakh villages in the country in the last  50
years or so through the road development plans. While acknowledging the
need for a minimum basic road network in the country, it is becoming
increasingly apparent that the provision of connectivity does not always
increase the accessibility and response to the needs of the majority of the
population. For example, very often the special transportation needs of
women, aged and disabled are neglected and the roles of non-motorized
transport modes ignored. Based on research carried out mainly in the Less
Developed Countries (LDCs) of Africa and Asia since the beginning of 1980s,
it has been observed that a need-based approach of providing accessibility
to services and facilities is more effective than the provision of
connectivity to the villages. Attempts have also been made to integrate
road planning with the multi-sectoral rural development programme. As a
result, a new methodology known as Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning
(IRAP) has been developed. Recently developed tools such as GIS and Remote
Sensing have also been applied in a few studies in this area. These efforts
highlight the need to explore the great potential of these methodologies
and techniques for application to present rural development context in India.

Objective and Topics

Various government departments, researchers, academicians and NGOs in India
have been working in different aspects of rural development planning and
applications. The main objective of the seminar is to bring together all
the stakeholders on a common platform to share their experiences, throw
more light on the advances in integrated rural accessibility and
development planning and examine the possibilities of application of
recently developed tools.

The seminar will include but not limited to the following topics:

· Rural road network planning;
· Labour-based road construction and maintenance;
· Integrated rural accessibility and development planning tools for local
level planners;
· Utility of non-motorized transport modes in rural areas;
· Gender and rural transport;
· Economic and social impact assessments of alternative solutions in
muti-sectoral planning;
· Application of GIS, Remote Sensing and IT in rural development planning;
· Special rural accessibility problems in desert, mountainous and
flood-prone regions.

Call for papers

Original and high quality research papers are invited for presentation at
the seminar on the topics as mentioned. The prospective authors are
requested to send 2 copies of abstract prepared on A-4 sheets, not
exceeding 500 words, indicating clearly the objectives and conclusions
latest by 20 September, 2000. Decision regarding acceptance will be
intimated by 10 October, 2000.

All correspondence may please be addressed to:

Prof. Ashoke K. Sarkar 	 	 
Civil Engineering Group   	 
BITS Pilani, 333 031
Rajasthan, India 		 
Email : 	asarkar at bits-pilani.ac.in                 
Phone: 01596 - 45073 (Ext) 254 (O)    44113 (R)

Dr. Motilal Dash
Humanistic Studies Group
BITS Pilani, 333 031 	
Rajasthan, India
Email : dash at bits-pilani.ac.in
Phone: 01596 - 45073 (Ext) 334 (O)    45209 (R)
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Our website: http//www.bits-pilani.ac.in