Rural Areas Redefinition

Abstract

Rural development is the development of agriculture and non-agricultural employment in rural areas, increasing and differentiating incomes, taking measures to increase the education and entrepreneurship level of women and young people. The state, on the other hand, makes arrangements for rural development programs, projects and activities to achieve this and takes measures to ensure coordination between public institutions. In order to better manage rural areas and not to cause confusion in practice by the services brought by the institutions, the distinction of rural areas and the powers in these areas should be well defined. For this purpose; it is important to make the definition of rural areas effective in a way that does not cause problems in practice. The Law No. 6360 dated 12.11.2012 on the Establishment of the Metropolitan Municipality and Twenty-Seven Districts in Fourteen Provinces and the Amendment of Certain Laws and Statutory Decrees has been prepared by foreseeing that it will bring significant changes in rural area administrations. While the confusion about delivering services to rural areas in metropolitan municipalities continued after the local elections on 30.03.2014; tax, fee, drinking, wastewater use and obligations on some issues were put into effect after 5 years. On 16.10.2020, the regulation introduced by the Law No. 7254 on the Amendment of the Law on Public Finance Management and Control and Certain Laws could not fully clarify the issues such as rural neighborhood and rural residential area. And Then, In the Official Gazette dated 15.04.2021 and numbered 31455, it was thought that the Regulation on Rural Neighborhood and Rural Residential Area would solve the problems in practice. In this study, the issues of confusing rural area definitions, service delivery to rural areas and rural area regulations have been examined and suggestions have been put forward.