NRLM: Opportunities and Challenges

Ek jungle mein do sher reh sakte hain kya? Can an NGO exist in an area where a government programme is working intensively?

Recognizing their shared vision and mission, PRADAN and NRLM need to work in alignment with each other, to realize their goal of development, agency and self-reliance

N ational Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), popularly known as Aajeevika, aims to reach out to all the poor, rural families or those who live Below the Poverty Line (BPL), and to link them to sustainable livelihoods opportunities. The idea is to nurture them to break free of poverty and enjoy a decent quality of life.

At the same time, PRADAN, with its core competency in the area of sustainable livelihoods, seeks to help poor, rural families live a life of dignity.

Can an NGO like PRADAN and a major government programme such as NRLM work amicably together, in an area that is the resource block for the programme?

NRLM’s key features include partnering NGOs and strengthening the collectives promoted by them. Its working at the ground-level, however, has not been clearly defined anywhere, and thus, needs critical analysis.

Can NGOs work with the government to create a synergy, facilitate a more holistic development and, at the same time, avoid the struggle for turf?

PRADAN works in Jaisinghnagar, an NRLM-intensive area. If you look closely, however, it could have been any NGO and any government programme and the situation would still not be very different.