A STUDY OF POVERTY IN MIZORAM WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MAMIT AND LAWNGTLAI DISTRICTS. THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ECONOMICS By P.L.RAMLIANA (Regn.No. MZU/Ph.D/57/ 18.10.2005) UNDER SUPERVISION OF PROF. A.K.AGARWAL TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND INFORMATION SCIENCE MIZORAM UNIVERSITY AIZAWL 2009 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. Fir st of all I express my sincere thankfulness to the almighty God who gave me the opportunity and many wonderful blessings which are needed to do this research work. I am deeply indebted to Prof. A.K.Agarwal, my supervisor who no t only gave me many important pieces of advice but a lso went through my work by lighting a candle even when power supply did fail. Such is his commitment and devotion for the success of this work. I am happy with the faculty of Economics Department of the Mizoram University. I am indebted to the entire existing faculty for their cooperation because I have the privilege of being an alumnus. I am indebted to Dr. S.R.Zonunthara, my senior colleague now Regional Director of IGNOU who supported me a lo t; and also to B.I.Laskar, my colleague and all other staff in the college. I am also deeply thankful to Prof. David Minton of the UK, visiting professor of the Academy of Integrated Christian Studies (AICS) for his suggestion and assistance to th e proof read in g of Chapter-I and Chapter -II. I am also very thankful to my friends Bogbono Kumar, Hanan, Sena and Sanjeev of Lawng tlai district for assisting me. I deeply thank my friends in Mamit district for their support. I also thank Dr . Sangkima, the Principal of Govt. Aizawl West College for h is encouragement and willing support. I sincerely thank my parents, my brothers and sisters, my k ids and my wife, my relatives, Pu Dengzika Zadeng, Deputy Director of Economics& Statistics and the people of the church who pray for me and encourage me to complete the work. (P.L.RAMLIANA) ii DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS A.K.AGARWAL MIZORAM UNIVERSITY (Professor) Tanhril, Aizawl-796009 CERTIFICATE This is to certify that Mr. P.L.Ramliana has done a research for PhD under my supervision and successfully completed his thesis entitled “A study of Poverty in Mizoram with Special Reference to Mamit and Lawngtlai Districts” The present work is the outcome of the candidate’s own endeavor and investigation. To the best of my Knowledge, the work as a whole or part has not been submitted elsewhere to confer any degree. The study in my opinion has qualified for submission and consideration for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics of the Mizoram University. Place: Aizawl. ( A.K.Agarwal ) Date: 28th February 2009. Supervisor Professor, Department of Economics iii iii DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION SCIENCE MIZORAM UNIVERSITY AIZAWL FEBRUARY, 2009 DECLARATION I, P.L. Ramliana , do hereby declare that the thesis entitled ‘ A study of Poverty in Mizoram with Special Refe rence to Mam it and Lawngtlai Districts’ being submitted to the Mizoram Unive rsity for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics, is the outcome of my own research work, and that no degree has been conferred on the basis of this thesis to me or to the best of my knowledge to any body else, and that the thesis has not been submitted by me for any research degree in any other University or Institute. (P.L.Ramliana) Candidate iv iv LIST OF TABLES T able 1.1: Minimum Needs Per Capita Per Month (in Rs). Table 1.2: Nominal and Real NSDP at 1999 -2000 Prices (Rs la kh) and NSDP Deflators ( D i ). Table 1.3: Least Square Table of NSDP Deflators, 1999 -200 5. T able 2.1: Population Trend in Mi zora m 1901 -2001. Table 2.2: Percentage of Population, Density and Sex Ratio of Districts in Mizoram. Table 2.3: District -wise number of Households and Population Table 2.4: Percentage Distribution of Total Workers Table 2.5: Net State Domestic Product at Factor Cost by Industry of Origin at Current Prices (1999 -2000 series ). T able 2.6 : Sectoral Share of NSDP in Percentage . T able 2.7 : No. of Educational Institutions, Teacher & Students in Mizoram. Table 2.8: C la ss-wise Number of Students (Below degree level) . T able 2.9 : Vital Rate of District: Based on Event Registered During 20 03 . Table 2.10: No. of Births & Deaths registered in Mizoram Table 2.11: Number of Registered Medical and Para Medical Personnel in Mizoram. T able 2.12 : Poverty Es timate for Mizoram: Head Count Ratio(HCR) Table 2.13: District wise number of RD Blocks and Number of Poor Families in Mizoram Table 4.1: Rural-Urban Incidence of Poverty in India . v Table 4.2: Indices of Poverty by Occupation Groups. Table 4.3: Health Status Indicators -Comparison between the poorest and Richest Quintiles Table 4.4: Physical and Financial Achievements of IAY in Mizoram. Table 4.5: Physical and Financial Achievements of SGSY in Mizoram. Table 4.6: Physical and Financial Achievements of EAS/ SGRY - I and SGRY -II in Mizoram. Table 4.7: Financial Position/ Grants Received under NREGS Table 4.8: Physical Achievement of NREGS in Mizoram Table 4.9: Growth of food Subsidy in India (other than sugar) Table 4.10: Quantity of Commodit ies lifted by FCS&CA for PDS. Table 4.11: District -wise food grain distribution under subsidized rate during 2006 -07. Table 5.1: Annual Income (Rs), Sources and Percentage Contribution . Table 5.2: Distribution of Households by Main Occupation Groups in Mamit district. Table 5.3: Distribution of Households by Main Occupation Groups in Lawngtlai district. Table 5.4: Distribution of the Per Capita Annual Income within Households among samples. Table 5.5: Statistical Dimensions of Income Ine quality. Table 5.6: Statistical Results of Poverty Gaps, Intensity and HCR. Table 5.7: Results of the Severity Measures of Poverty Table 5.8: Monthly Consumption Expenditure of sample . vi Table 5.9: The Distribution of Housing Costs among samples . T able 5 .10: The Distribution of PCME in Mamit and Lawngtlai. Table 5.11: Results of poverty Measures with PCME. Table 5.12: Results of Severity Measures with PCME Table 5.13: Age and Sex Composition, Household Sizes among samples. Table 5.14: Male and female illiteracy among Sample Table 5.15: Causes of illiteracy among the poor in Mamit and Lawngtlai districts. Table 5.16: Types of Toilets and No.of users among the Poor Table 5.17: Electrification of Houses owned by the Poor Table 5.18: Sources of Drink ing Water among sample Households in Mamit and Lawngtlai districts. Table 5.19: No.and cases of Diseases related to Poverty, and Ages of the Victims. Table 6.1: Annual Household income and Per -worker Income of Jhum farmers (main occupation). T able 6.2: Number of annual employment days among different occupations . Table 6.3: Per -worker annual income of various occupation among the sample households in Mamit district. Table 6.4: Per -worker annual income of various occupation among the samp le households in Mamit district. Table 6.5: Decadal Variation of Population and Change in Density (1901 -2001). Table 6.6: Land Use statistics in Mizoram. Table 6.7: Rural-Urban Relation and mobility of the Poor . vii LIST OF ACRONYMS AAY - Antyodaya Anna Yojana AM- Arithmetic Mean APL- Above Poverty Line ARI- Acute Respiratory Infection BAFFACOS-Bamboo Flowering and Famine Combat Scheme . BDO- Block Development Officer BPL- Below Poverty Line CADP - Command Area Development Programme CAG- Comptroller and Auditor General CD- Community Development CDP - Community Development Programme CIP - Central Issue Price CPIAL- Consumer Index for Agricultural Labour CSO- Central Statistical Organisation CSO-Consortium of Civil Society Organisation CV- Coefficient of Variation DDC - Drug Distribution Centre. Di- Defla tor DPAP - Drought Prone Area Development Programme DWCRA- Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas EAS- Employment Assurance Scheme viii EGA- Employment Guarantee Assistant FCI- Food Corporation of India FCS&CA- Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Affairs FGT - Foster, Greer, Thorbecke FPS- Fair Price Shop GDDP - Gross District Domestic Product Gi- Gini Coefficient GNP - Gross National Product GOI - Government of India GOM - Government of Mizoram HCR- Head Count Ratio HDI - Human Development Index HYVP - High Yielding Varieties Programme IAAP - Intensive Agricultural Area Programme IADP - Intensive Agricultural District Programme ICDS- Integrated Child Development Service ICMR- Indian Council of Medical Research IGR- Income Gap Ratio IRDP - Integrated Rural Development Programme JCB- Digging Machine JGSY- Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana JRY- Jawahar Rojgar Yojana MFAL- Marginal Farmers and Agricultural Labourers MNF- Mizo National Front MPCE- Monthly Per Capita Expenditure MRPM- Mixed Reference Period Method MWS- Million Wells Scheme ix N.A – Not Available NDDP - Net District Domestic Product NFFWP - National Food for Work Programme NFHS- National Family Health Survey NGO - Non-Government Organisation NOAPS- National Old Age Pension Scheme NPAG- Nutritional Programme for Adolescent Girls NREGA- National Rural Employment Guarantee Act NREGS- National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme NREP - National Rural Employment Programme NRHM - National Rural Health Mission NSDP - Net State Domestic Product NSS- National Sample Survey OBC- Other Backward Classes PC- Planning Commission PDS- Public Distribution System PGR- Poverty Gap ratio Ph.D- Doctor of Philosophy PMGSY- Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana PPP- Purchasing Power Parity PPV- Progressive Protected Village PRI- Panchayati Raj Institution