'Over 50,000 BPL women benefited from NRLM in Himachal Pradesh'

Around 50,000 women from Below Poverty line (BPL) have benefited under the Centre's National Rural Livelihood Mission in Himachal Pradesh since 2013-14.

About 50,000 poor families have been brought into the mainstream through 9,146 Self Help Groups (SHG) and an additional 11,000 SHG groups have been formed since 2013-14, an official spokesman here said.

A strong Human Resource capital has also been developed by identifying about 300 active women. Going through rigorous protocol, these women have transitioned to become community resource persons.

During 2015-16,52 village organisations were formed which availed community investment funds to the tune of Rs 1.05 crore in 5 intensive blocks.

In the current financial year (2016-17), each district would have an intensive block so that the SHS groups function in a sustained manner, thus adding to the income of women, the spokesman said.

National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) has been made operational in the state in order to strengthen and provide greater financial support to poor families to achieve the goal of poverty alleviation, he said.

It had been made a portfolio of sustainable livelihoods, made operational through social mobilisation, institutions and capacity building, financial inclusion, saturation approach and skill generation.

Five blocks: Kandagaht, Mandi Sadar, Nurpur, Haroli and Basantpur, have been selected as 'Intensive Blocks' whereas the remaining 'Non-Intensive Blocks' would be covered in a phased manner in the next four years.

The Centre has approved Rs 14.92 crore since inception of the programme for the state out of which Rs 3.33 crore is the state share.

NRLM would cover all the BPL families in the state initially and later all poor and also families which are marginally above poverty line would be selected through the process of participatory identification by organising them into SHGs. These groups have been linked with banks for micro-financing.

Under the programme, banks would provide a loan of Rs 2-3 lakh on 7% interest to each SHG for initially starting its venture which would be repeated upto Rs 10 lakh depending on the performance of the SHG.

In Shimla and Mandi districts, banks will provide loan to all women SHGs upto Rs 3 lakh at 7% interest and these SHGs will also get additional interest subvention of 3% on regular repayment of loan, reducing the effective rate of interest to 4%, the spokesman said.

This interest subvention is being provided by the Centre and for coordinating and smoothening of the SHG bank linkages and delivery of interest subvention, a sub committee of State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) has been constituted.

6,345 SHGs have been linked with banks providing them credit of Rs 59.09 crore against target of Rs 148 crore while Rs 2.97 crore have been distributed through revolving fund amongst the groups by the department, he said.

In the current fiscal, focus is being laid on capacity building and institutionalisation of SHGs.

All the active women of intensive block, identified amongst SHGs members would be trained in such a manner so that they are able to take responsibility of internal Community Resource Persons (CRPs) and for providing necessary support to the SHGs and village organisations, the spokesman added.