Assessment of Users' Priority for Rural Road Development Work
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Journal of Research in Infrastructure Designing Volume 2 Issue 3 Assessment of Users’ Priority for Rural Road Development Work: A Case Study on Tangail District Arna Nishita Nithila1*, Md. Musleh Uddin Hasan2, Rafsun Mashraky3, Uttama Barua4 1Graduated from Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 3Transportation Planner at Champaign County Regional Planning Commission, Illinois, United States. 4Assistant Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh. *Corresponding Author Email Id:[email protected] ABSTRACT In Bangladesh, there is no such provision for assessment of users’ priority in rural road development works. This study attempts to show the significance of this issue by assessing users’ priority for different types of rural road development works. Users’ priority varies from socio- economic characteristics of rural areas. Due to this variation, priority assessment is not the same for all upazilas which should be an important consideration in rural road development projects. In other Asian countries like India, Nepal, users’ participation in rural road development projects is regarded as a crucial part. But in Bangladesh, there are no such initiatives for users’ participation in planning, implementing and monitoring rural road development projects. For this reason, rural road development projects are not properly assessed the users’ demand .This study explores such issues through the assessment of users’ priorities which should be considered for sustaining the rural road development works and thus helping them to contribute a lot in the rural economy. Keywords:-Rural road, user group, population, development INTRODUCTION serve this huge population. But Rural roads are one of the most important unfortunately it is acknowledged in the 7th infrastructures for economic growth of the Five Year Plan (quoted by Ministry of rural areas. According to ‘Planning Local Government and Rural Guidelines for Rural Road Master Plan Development) that 14.5% of Upazila 2010’, rural roads are the virtual lifelines Road, 58.5% of Union Road and 82.1% of for the vast multitude residing in rural Village Road which constitute rural roads areas. They contribute significantly to are unpaved in condition [7; 6]. In generating increased agricultural incomes addition, above 50% of Union and Village and productive employment opportunities, roads are in poor conditions which have an promoting access to economic and social adverse effect in the rural economy of services. By providing rural access, they Bangladesh. As rural roads serve a huge contribute to poverty alleviation [5]. In population, the rural economy has a Bangladesh, about 76% of the total significant dependency on them. So, to population lives in the rural areas and rural foster the rural economy, rural road roads of about 3, 21,462 km which development works should be in prime constitute almost 93% of the total roads consideration. HBRP Publication Page 1-18 2019. All Rights Reserved Page 1 Journal of Research in Infrastructure Designing Volume 2 Issue 3 According to the approach titled ‘Strategy planning, implementing and monitoring of for Rural Road Development 1984’, rural rural road development projects whereas roads are considered as one of three user participation in priority assessment is primary infrastructural elements in the a decisive part in the rural road rural development projects initiated by the development works. Therefore, the study Govt. of Bangladesh. All the rural roads in focuses on the assessment of users’ Bangladesh are under the authorization of priority for rural road development works. Local Government Engineering This assessment is based on some Department (LGED), so all the rural road influencing factors; such as, socio- development works are authorized by this economic class of the user groups, nature department. Although LGED spends a of different rural road development works, considerable amount of resources for the geographical features of the rural areas. improvement of rural roads, the selection Subsequently, it attempts to identify of roads from a large number of candidate particular users’ priorities and issues roads is not undertaken through a rational which may remain unassessed by the selection process. Consequently, many authorities. So, this study firstly identifies roads of higher priority often remain the user group of the rural roads and then neglected while roads of lower priority are assesses their priorities in a concise allocated resources for development and/or manner. upgrading [6]. Beside these, geographical characteristics of rural areas and users’ METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY assessment should also be considered with To conduct this study, all the upazilas of importance which remains unassessed. Tangail district are selected purposively as Sometimes lack of assessment of priority the study area because there have been issues becomes the underlying cause for recently conducted rural road development the failure of the rural road development works which help to fulfil the purpose of projects. In the developing countries like assessing the users’ priority. In each India, Nepal, participatory approach is a upazila, 3 roads were selected purposively crucial part in the policy framework of by the LGED engineers and the criteria their rural road development works in behind the selection are based on three which users are involved in decision category of rural road development work: making, policy formulation and investment improvement work (change in surface related issues [8; 4]. So, for the effective from earthening to Bituminous Carpeting utilization of available resources, (BC) or Herring-Bone-Bond (HBB) to assessment of users’ priorities is a dire BC), further improvement (change in need for planning, implementing and surface from HBB to BC) and the last one monitoring the rural road development is periodic maintenance (which was works which further helps in sustaining the conducted about six months ago). All these projects and achieving their goals [8]. This roads were in the category of Village road issue is also recommended in the study A, B and Union road. Upazila Roads were titled ‘Bangladesh Rural Infrastructure not considered because the assessment is Strategy Study, 1996’ which was based only on the low traffic volume. Prior conducted by jointly GoB and the World to this, review of relevant literatures, Bank in 1996 [7]. project documentation are conducted to identify and discuss some particular issues But in the current practice of LGED, there which are common for the study and the is no standardized methodology for other issues which are seemed to be prioritization of rural roads and no important and should be focused in this provision for user participation in study. Relevant literature review helps to HBRP Publication Page 1-18 2019. All Rights Reserved Page 2 Journal of Research in Infrastructure Designing Volume 2 Issue 3 find out those particular issues assessed by district is surrounded by Jamalpur district the user group which have an impact on on the north, Dhaka and Manikganj rural road development works and to districts on the south, Mymensingh and explore the variation of methodologies Gazipur on the east, and the Jamuna River which are applied to assess those priorities on the west .The district is crisscrossed by in rural road development works. Checklist roads. National Highway 4 (NH 4), which was formulated to identify the connected connects Dhaka with North-west and adjacent villages of the rural roads to Bangladesh through Jamuna Bridge passes determine the threshold population served through this district. There are 12 Upazilas by the different category of rural roads. (sub-districts) and nine paurashavas Both primary and secondary data are used (municipalities) within the district. Ghatail in this study. Local people in total of 200 is the largest upazila in terms of area and categorized by age and occupation group Tangail Sadar is the largest upazila in from 140 villages of all upazilas who are terms of population size [6]. the users of the rural roads were surveyed to get information about the impact and Demographic Information priority assessment of rural road Tangail district covers about 3,414.28 sq. development works. A systematic random km. The density of population is 1,056 per sampling technique was used for this sq. km. Total population of Tangail surveying. From the meeting with LGED District is 36, 05,083 where the urban officials, information about recent rural population is 5, 43,785 and the rural road development work based on those population is 30, 61,298 which is about three categories were collected. Population 85% of the total population. In case of and Housing Census 2015, Economic rural population the total number of male is 14, 84,420 and total number of female is Census of Tangail District 2013, Planning 15, 76,878 where female population is Guideline for Rural Road Master Plan higher than male population [2]. 2010 were used to estimate the threshold population of the study roads and to gather Socio-Economic Information information on socio-economic status The total population in rural areas engaged within the upazilas of Tangail district and in economic activities is 75.82% of the other relevant information