Inside a PACS nursery for NGOs

Total grant Rs 192 crore

Total districts 94

Villages 19,467

Funds for Bihar Rs 15 cr

Districts covered 24

Villages covered 2,900

Funds for Nalanda: Rs 1.25 cr

Villages covered: 286

"Earlier, we did not know about our rights. Also, we did not participate in the gram sabha. But now we make sure that we attend the gram sabha and raise issues," said Ashok Saheb from Madhopur village, a block-level committee member, Dalit Sangharsh Morcha.

Ashok dreams of taking the morcha to the state level. However, he has no idea how he will do so as the PACS programme is over and there is no access to the DFID funds.

Funding apart, lack of integrated approach is another hurdle. Saheb, who does not even know how Dalits are organising themselves outside his block, or elsewhere in the state blames the delay in the initiation of the project for this. "The project began in December 2005. And now the morcha is in a nascent stage. It is like you teach a child to walk and withdraw your hands the very first time he stands," he said.

Agrees Inderdev Paswan, president, Dalit Sangharsh Morcha, Gopibigha village, "We have not thought about how to manage funds for the movement now. The PACS project should continue. It has encouraged us to take our issues to the administration".

Almost 30 km away in Islampur block, Binoba Arogya Evam Lok Shikshan Kendra implemented PACS projects on livelihood in five panchayats covering 24 villages here. The project started in September 2005.

"During the period, we made 168 savings groups, which comprise 1,800 members. Of this, 58 per cent were from Scheduled Castes. In about 130 groups of extremely poor members, the savings is just Rs 1 to Rs 2 per person per week. Some groups belonging to the Backward Classes used to pay Rs 5-10 per week per person," said Pancham Kumar Bangi, a PACS project coordinator.

The groups now have cumulative savings of around Rs 4 lakh. The groups earn by interloaning at an interest rate of 24 per cent.

The money has been taken on loan mostly for consumption needs ranging from healthcare to education.

Bangi is confident about the post-PACS sustainability of the initiative. "We will procure loan at 9 per cent and give it to the volunteers at 12 per cent. The volunteers will loan it to self-help groups (SHGs) at 18 per cent, the differential being his commission. The SHGs interloan the money at 24 per cent. So we will earn a profit of three per cent," said Bangi.

The Centre for Livelihood Promoting Society, Nav Bharat Jagriti Kendra, and ICICI bank have evinced interest in micro finance activities.

The organisation has also, in collaboration with Birla Sun Life insurance, done micro insurance for women. About 265 women have been given a death insurance coverage of Rs 5,000 for three years at a premium of Rs 50. At the end of the tenure, the premium amount will be returned with an interest of 10 per cent.

All this has come from a minimum support of Rs 50,000 from PACS for each village. But since the funds go to one organisation dealing with several villages, the activities are managed by the NGOs.

Ashok Khosla who supervised the programme for five years is now trying to keep it alive. However, DFID has kept the second phase for new partners.

Asked if the programme actually helped remove poverty in the 94 districts, he says that it was about empowering NGOs in the areas and which was expected to lead to the empowerment of people.