Rural Development Department:

Rural Development aims to mobilise local dormant man-power for a concerted and co-ordinated effort at raising the level of rural life as a whole. More than 80% of the population in Mizoram lives in the rural areas whose main occupation is agriculture and allied activities. Rural Development Department strives to inject all round development of the rural population in general and uplift rural poor in particular.

The origin of the Rural Development Department in Mizoram may be traced back when India gained independence in 1947. Mr S.K. Dey (1905-1989), who piloted and steered the course of community development in the challenging, formative period of India’s independence as Cabinet Minister of Cooperation and Panchayati Raj under the prime ministership of Jawaharlal Nehru, stressed that democracy cannot be practiced by a "galaxy of Government servants through long-distance control", and called for a democracy "traveling from the Parliament to the Panchayat.". The vitality of Dey prompted Jawaharlal Nehru to put him at the helm of Rural Development of independent India. He framed the Community Development Programme which culminated in the birth of Community Development Blocks all over the country in 1953.
In this year, 9 (nine) Community Development (CD) Blocks came into existence in Mizoram, then known as the Lushai Hills District which was a part of the State of Assam. These Blocks were at Aizawl, Lunglei, Champhai, Kolasib, Hnahthial, Mamit, Lawngtlai, Saitual and Serchhip. Each CD Block was headed by a Project Executive Officer. These CD Blocks were engaged in a wide range of developmental works and the ‘Community Development’ programmes envisaged development in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, public health, social education, co-operation, communications etc. in selected areas.

In 1972, when Mizoram attained the status of Union Territory, another 11 (eleven) CD Blocks were created thus totalling 20 (twenty) CD Blocks. They were Aizawl Tlangnuam, Thingdawl, Thingsulthliah, Reiek, Aibawk, West Phaileng, Zawlnuam, Serchhip, Khawzawl, Darlawn, Ngopa, E. Lungdar, Lunglei , Lungsen, Bunghmun, Hnahthial, Sangau, Lawngtlai, Tuipang and Chawngte Blocks. This period also saw many works under Community Development Project being re-allocated amongst newly created Departments. Community Development Project, then under the administrative control of the Deputy Commissioner was also placed under a new Directorate of Community Development. In 1983-1984, the name was changed to Rural Development Department.

Today, the Department is headed by a senior Cabinet Minister and is supported by a Parliamentary Secretary. There is a Secretary to the Government of Mizoram as the head of the Administrative Department i.e. the Secretariat. State Level Monitoring Cell and Internal Audit Cell is part and parcel of the Secretariat engaged in monitoring of all works under Rural Development Department. The Directorate is headed by a Director and executes functions as the apex line department at the State level. State Institute of Rural Development has been established at Kolasib. At the districts, there are the District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) whose governing board is chaired by the Deputy Commissioner and has a full-time Project Director. At the Block level, there is Block Development Officer and presently, there are 26 RD Blocks.