Memorial lecture: Why Pakistan has not been able to replicate the success of the Comilla model

"There are nine RSPs which cover roughly two-thirds of the country," says Tasneem Siddiqui.

ISLAMABAD:

At the annual Akhtar Hameed Khan Memorial Lecture held at the National Language Authority on Wednesday, the groundbreaking achievements of the social scientist were celebrated and ways discussed to replicate the development model.

Late Akhtar Hameed Khan started a rural development project on a 100-square mile administrative unit in Comilla district in present-day Bangladesh, a half century ago. The project, which later became known as the Comilla Model, helped develop social and physical infrastructure in the area by establishing a training centre and increasing agricultural productivity through the use of water management.

“Even after 65 years Pakistan’s basic problems of poverty, lack of social development and infrastructure remain unaddressed,” said keynote speaker Tasneem Siddiqui, a renowned development expert. “If Akhtar Hameed Khan could achieve a solution for Comilla back in the ‘60s, it means it is doable.”

“Our development problems will only be solved when the government follows up on the good work done by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and rural support programmes (RSPs) and makes rural development a part of policy,” Siddiqui added.

There are nine RSPs which cover roughly two-thirds of the country, Siddiqui said. The RSPs get a majority of their funding from the government but are usually private non-profit entities incorporated under the Companies Ordinance, 1984. Siddiqui stated there is a lack of co-ordination not only among government institutions working in the same field but also among NGOs, RSPs and the government.

Khan’s pilot project, which was supported by the Pakistan government, was later replicated in 400 administrative units and got international recognition as a model for rural development. Khan, a social scientist par excellence, was invited to the west wing by then field marshal Ayub Khan to carry out a similar exercise here, but the bureaucracy hindered his rural development plans. He formed a two-tiered co-operative so locals could manage and maintain the infrastructure themselves, which Khan believed would be a long-term solution.

At the end of the lecture, the Akhtar Hameed Khan Memorial Award for 2010 was given to Arif Hasan for his book, “Participatory Development.” The Rs50000 award is given by the Council of Social Sciences to the best book by a Pakistani author in the field. The award is funded by the National Rural Support Programme.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2012.