World Bank and UK-based Department For International Development (DFID) funded rural livelihood programmes are under strain in the state, as government agencies are waiting for the launch of National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) has already impacted rural livelihood projects like, District Poverty Initiative Project (DPIP) after they have been shifted to finance mode from grant mode.
The state, as part of preparation for NRLM, has identified three districts namely Ujjain, Sagar and Mandla for implementing it. As regards poverty reduction strategy, the state has selected its World Bank funded DPIP scheme to take lead for implementation of NRLM.
Besides, a DFID funded scheme Madhya Pradesh Rural Livelihood Project is also operational in nine tribal districts not much to avail. The DPIP is operational in 14 districts with a faulty wealth ranking process. The DPIP has entered its second phase and will last till 2012.
“How can you expect a poor in rural area who was being fed by grant driven DPIP scheme or NREGS, all of a sudden you introduce a micro-finance institute and ask the poor to take a loan for livelihood. It becomes little difficult to implement in such difficulties,” a well-placed source associated with the schemes told Business Standard.
Once NRLM comes, all schemes will work in sync in the poverty-stricken areas. Madhya Pradesh has 21 percent of tribal population with 1.5 crore people living in extreme poverty. “We have selected Ujjain, Mandla and Sagar district for NRLM on pilot basis, we waiting for further guidelines from centre for the scheme. We will replicate the strategy adopted for district poverty initiative project in NRLM,” R Parsuram, principal secretary rural development department said.
Under the DPIP project a total of 63,405 households have been covered in the SHG fold. Total group savings mobilized up to the March 2010 is '97.61 lakh.
The World Bank has sanctioned a soft loan of US$ 110 million against which US$ 10 million is to be contributed by the state government in the second phase wherein an extension approach is adopted by the project and is implementing its activities in about 5,000 villages of same 14 districts including those supported in first phase.