Big boost to rural livelihood in Madhya Pradesh

By Muslim Saleem

Bhopal, February 17, 2012

Through the National Rural Livelihood Mission is sponsored the Union Government and Department for International Development of the British Government, its effective implementation in Madhya Pradesh under the guidance of Chief Minister Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan has made it a great success in the state, reports SMS News & Features.

It it may be mentioned here that the second phase of National Rural Livelihood Mission will start functioning in Madhya Pradesh from April 1, 2012. It has been decided to include 40 development blocks of ten districts of the state in its first phase. Later, the mission will be implemented in rest of the districts in a phased manner. The National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) would be implemented from April 1 in ten districts of the state including Mandla, Dindori, Balaghat, Shahdol, Anuppur, Sheopur, Dhar Jhabua, Barwani and Alirajpur. The first phase will cover two development blocks of Balaghat district. Except Balaghat district, Rural Livelihood Project of DFID scheme of British government is being implemented in rest of these 9 districts, whose duration will end before June 30, 2012.

The experience of successful implementation of Rural Livelihood Project will benefit implementation of National Rural Livelihood Mission in the state. Due to this, new sources of livelihood will be made available to people of villages covered under this Mission and their economic development will be strengthened.

A joint team of Government of India and World Bank recently reviewed the preliminary preparations for the implementation of the mission during their state visit recently. At a meeting with Principal Secretary Panchayats & Rural Development Mrs Aruna Sharma, the team members discussed the strategy to be adopted for the Mission’s implementation.

The team members also held talks with Mission’s Project Coordinator Mr M.L. Belwal, experts and advisors of Rural Livelihood Mission band District Poverty Initiative Project and shared experiences and achievements with them.

During the talks, World Bank representatives Mr Kevin John Crockford, Mr Sitaranchandra Machiraju, and Miss Papiya Bhattacharya, Director National Rural Livelihood Mission Miss Priti Kumar, Miss Niti Kejriwal of Government of India, Mr Kamlesh Prasad and human resource development expert Mr Hitendra Singh also put forth important suggestions about the mission’s preparations in the state.

The team members also visited rural areas of Jhabua and Dhar districts, interacted with the beneficiaries of Rural Livelihood Mission projects and members of self-help groups. They were informed about the successes achieved in economic upliftment and women’s empowerment in the state.