RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN HARYANA 45 potential could not be fully exploited. The arid parts of Haryana were to be irrigated by the Sutlej-Yamuna Link project which could not be completed due to intcr-state dispute. Total loans advanced by cooperatives reached a level of Rs 122.70 crores in 1979-80 from a meagre sum ofRs 10.31 crores in 1967-68. But 90 per cent of the loans advanced to the agricultural sector were short-term loans and only 8 per cent of the total short term loans were disbursed in favour of small farmers in Haryana as against 31 per cent in India as a whole in 12 states during the year 1976-77.10 This was an important factor limiting the more productive use of these loans. In the industrial sector, about 17 per cent of industrial cooperative societies were reported to be sick or closed by the end of the year 1979-80.ll Thus we see that although the number and membership of cooperatives, except in farming, have increased, yet this concept has not been imprinted in the minds of the people. Tarlok Singh suggests a three-way test for the evaluation of agricultural policy.12 As shown in Tables II and III, Haryana has made rapid progress in production and productivity, yet these have never been steady. It may partly be explained in terms of the dependence of about 38.9 per cent of net area sown on the mercy of the monsoons. Targets for food and raw materials in general and for cotton, sugarcanc and oilseeds, in particular, could not be fulfilled. Moreover, the cost of production is also showing an increasing trend.13 Thus, it may be concluded from the above observations that our agricultural policy has been only partially successful. The performance of various area-based and beneficiary-based programmes has been dismal because the benefits from these programmes have been partly ad hoc and have failed to make a big dent on economic problems of large sections of rural society.14 Rural development agencies set up for the uplift of the rural people living below the poverty line have recently completed a survey of such families. But their poverty eradication programme suffers from a complexity of procedures and rampnant corruption. No working capital assistance^ TABLE IIPRODUCTION Of CROPS IN HARYANA (in lakh tonnes/bales) Item 1961 T »-Foodgrains Sugarcanc -Oilseeds Cotton 23.70 6.00 0.76 2.99 25.93 5.10 0.92 2.88 44.0 8.0 1.30 4.25 38.32 5.96 0.61 '4.50 61.0 8.40 1.30 6.04 53.4 8.97 1.5 4.64 SOURCE: Draft Five Year Plans, Haryana. NOTE: T: target A: Actual