OTELP Plus Consortium in Koraput: An Experiment in Collaboration

Partnering with other NGOs and forming a Consortium is proving to be beneficial and efficient for PRADAN because it holds the promise of participating organizations influencing policy-makers to design and implement programmes that benefit the rural population

Prologue

P RADAN’s tryst with development in the hinterlands of Koraput, one of the southernmost districts of Odisha and a Maoist hotbed, began in 2010. Located at an altitude of 3,000 ft, Koraput, with its moderate climate, its pollution-free atmosphere and pristine beauty, is a perfect place to live. However, it has its own share of suffering. It is far from any town or city and is devoid of basic amenities. Moreover, lack of awareness among the inhabitants and an apathetic attitude of the administration have turned the area into one of abject poverty and a breeding ground for Maoists. In addition, lately, industrial moguls have entered the area, to exploit the vast amounts of bauxite ore in the region, increasing the suffering of the local population and signalling an ominous future for the tribals of Koraput.

It was difficult for PRADAN to initiate work in the area because there were already thousands of international, national and state-level NGOs as well as several local voluntary agencies working there. The mind-boggling lack of development has attracted a limitless inflow of developmental funds.

Koraput was quite different from the places PRADAN had engaged with earlier. Wherever PRADAN had started work thus far, it was an empty canvas on which PRADAN painted whatever it wanted. In Koraput, more than 16,000 SHGs had already been formed. The canvas there was full of paintings; PRADAN had to find a different way of working in order to change the picture noticeably for its contribution to be discernible.