Social Mobilization through the Special SGSY Project in Dumka

Laying a strong foundation of SHGs and Clusters, introducing poverty alleviation projects under Special SGSY, and hand-holding the community as it ventures into new areas of cultivation and agricultural practices is bringing about slow yet steady transformation in the lives of the marginalized and the poor

Background

T he Special Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) project in Dumka district, built on the edifice of the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and UNDPsupported Community Based Pro-Poor Initiative (CBPPI) and social mobilization around Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM), introduced poverty alleviation projects under which 350 SHGs were formed and nurtured in four blocks. The objective was to provide means of dignified living to the indigent populace by augmenting their income and ensuring round-the-year food security. This project targeted around 5,000 poor families belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC), the Scheduled Tribes (ST), and other socially and economically backward population.

During the first phase, the main focus was to promote new SHGs, build solidarity through the formation of Clusters, link these groups with banks through credit linkage programmes, pilot arhar cultivation, undertake tasar host-tree plantation and initiate tasar reeling activities. Around 4,500 women from more than 350 SHGs were familiarized with the various modules of social mobilization and livelihoods. Largescale credit linkages with banks were established successfully. SHGs repaid loans and interests to the tune of Rs 50 lakhs every year. Schemes under Micro Economic Social Organization (MESO) and watersheds were mobilized; crop productivity improvement trials were conducted and new activities such as poultry farming, manufacturing vermi-compost and spinning were introduced.