Rural Multidimensional Deprivation in Chhattisgarh: A Data-driven Analysis 2024

The RDI combines two components, a ‘headcount ratio’ (measures the proportion of villages deprived) and an ‘intensity ratio’ (measures the average extent of deprivation among multidimensionally deprived villages). These together capture the depth and breadth of deprivation. As per the Index, a village is classified as multidimensionally deprived if it is deprived of at least five out of the 22 key indicators. The indicators selected under each dimension represent the starkest levels of deprivation. For example, a village is considered to be deprived of banks only if there is no bank present within a radius of 10 kilometres from the village boundary.

Out of 32 states and union territories of India, Chhattisgarh ranks 13th in terms of RDI (15th in terms of headcount ratio and 9th in terms of intensity ratio). A higher rank indicates higher deprivation.

Chhattisgarh’s overall RDI score of 0.195 is higher than the national average of 0.179, the report notes. This indicates that the average village in the state experiences higher levels of deprivation compared to the average village in India. The overall headcount ratio of 0.487 indicates that nearly half (48.7%) of the villages in Chhattisgarh are multidimensionally deprived. Similarly, the intensity ratio of 0.40 indicates that the average multidimensionally deprived village lacks around 40 per cent of the indicators.

The report looks at the spatial distribution of rural deprivation across Indian states. Its findings indicate that states in central and north-eastern India have high levels of deprivation, while states in the south are less deprived.

Intra-state disparity within Chhattisgarh is significant, with tribal and forested districts of the Bastar division recording the highest RDI figures in the state (over 0.6). Whereas districts in Durg and Raipur show the lowest RDI, of less than 0.05. Nearly all sub-districts in Bijapur are classified as multidimensionally deprived, with villages in any taluka lacking around 65 per cent of the indicators. In contrast, only about a quarter of sub-districts in Durg are multidimensionally deprived, with no village recording deprivation of more than 25 per cent of the indicators.

The report finds that deprivation in the state stems from all three dimensions – infrastructure, health and education – though the degree of contribution varies across indicators. While all contribute to deprivation, the report notes that specific indicators call for more attention including building drainage facilities and sanitary toilets, building SSC schools and vocational training centres, providing internet, bank and ATM facilities as well as public transport.

Chhattisgarh performs worse in terms of the intensity ratio than the headcount ratio, indicating that the state needs to prioritise reducing the depth of deprivation. The significant disparities in the availability of public services across the state contributes to the high level of intensity ratio. Therefore, the report holds that a critical first step towards achieving better development outcomes, would be to provide basic public amenities in Bastar region, particularly to the districts of Bijapur, Sukma and Narayanpur.

Another finding of the report is that indicators which contribute least to multidimensional deprivation are typically those linked to existing government programmes or policies. For instance, accessibility to primary schools, i.e. having a school within a radius of 10kms from the village, is likely due to the mandated Right to Education. This highlights the significance of government mandated policies in reducing deprivation. In contrast, areas like vocational training, drainage facilities or internet connections lack focused government programmes, which might be leading to greater deprivation in these areas. The study holds that a combination of state policy mandating certain amenities, with strong grassroot level governance can effectively address specific challenges in particular regions.

The report shows that villages in the state experience the highest level of deprivation in infrastructure, followed by health and education. On average, a village is deprived of 3 out of 11 infrastructure indicators, 1.5 out of 6 health indicators, and 1 out of 5 education indicators. Bijapur district records the highest level of infrastructure deprivation, with the district being deprived on about 8 out of the 11 indicators.

Focus and Factoids by Maitreyi Jha.

PARI Library's health archive project is part of an initiative supported by the Azim Premji University to develop a free-access repository of health-related reports relevant to rural India.