A thesis report submitted in partial fulfillment of t he requirements for the degree of Master of Science

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1987

Nakorn Ratchasima is a pilot province for implementing a Basic Minimum Needs <BMN) development strategy under the Karat Pattana Project <KPP). From the scores of BMN data survey in 1986 it was found that level of development was different amongst the various areas of the province. The objectives of this study therefore aim to find out what factors cause some areas to be lagging in development by comparing the operational process between progressive and lagging areas; to search whether the KPP through the BMN approach reflects the standard of living of the people; and to investigate whether the KPP distributes advantage equally to all areas and all group of people. The findings have shown that the bottlenecks for development were firstly, the officials in lagging areas neglected their responsibility in follow-up of the project, seldom visiting those areas. Secondly, poor accessibility to lagging areas precluded the officials from visiting the villagers frequently. Thirdly, poor economic status of most villagers in lagging areas caused them to be able only rarely to participate in community development. Lastly, poor and physical environment in lagging areas such as lack of water and salty soil were a constraint on the people following the recommendations of the project. In relation to the impact of KPP on standard of living of the people, in general after KPP most people had a better quality of life than before on almost all indicators especially in improving the cleanliness and tidiness of the villages. However, the KPP failed in implementation in terms of distribution of advantage to the people because it provided benefit to the better off people more than the poor particularly where projects required financial outlay, for example, water storage jars and toilets; here the better off tended to possess them more than the poor. The policy makers of the KPP should realize these problems and improve the effectiveness of the officials who take responsibility in lagging areas as well as paying more attention to these areas. Moreover, in the production sector which people considered to be the most serious problem, so far the KPP has not addressed this main issues. The BMN can not be possible without consideration of income generation strategies.