CHANGLANG, SEP 15:
The first District Level Steering Committee (DLSC) meeting on the Lakhpati Didi Initiative for Changlang district was held at the Deputy Commissioner’s Conference Hall here on Tuesday to strengthen women-led livelihoods, entrepreneurship and convergence among government departments.
The meeting was chaired by Changlang Deputy Commissioner RD Thungon, with District Mission Manager, District Mission Management Unit (DMMU), Khonsa-Tirap-Changlang-Longding, Arunachal State Rural Livelihoods Mission (ArSRLM) Raju Tamang Ghising as member secretary.
Members of the Zilla Parishad Council (ZPC), Zilla Parishad Members (ZPMs), administrative officers and representatives from agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, veterinary, industries, textiles and handicrafts, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), ArSRLM and other line departments attended the meeting, along with Community-Level Federation (CLF) leaders, Community Resource Persons-Enterprise Promotion (CRP-EP) and LoKOS resource persons.
Ghising, in his opening remarks, highlighted the objective of the Lakhpati Didi Initiative to empower women, particularly members of Self-Help Groups (SHGs), through diversified livelihoods and micro-enterprises. He stressed convergence with various line departments and stakeholders to enable SHG households to undertake multiple livelihood activities linked to identified value chains.
Thungon emphasised inter-departmental coordination and convergence for effective implementation of the initiative. He urged departments to leverage available government schemes and resources and encouraged SHGs to pursue diversified livelihood activities to achieve the Lakhpati Didi target.
The Deputy Commissioner also stressed timely follow-up on decisions taken during the meeting and assured necessary support for implementation. He urged agriculture and allied departments and other resource departments to work closely with ArSRLM and Panchayati Raj institutions.
Changlang Zilla Parishad Chairperson Remjung Jugli called for stronger coordination among line departments, Panchayati Raj institutions and ArSRLM, including better information sharing and optimal utilisation of available resources. He assured full cooperation through Panchayats in creating livelihood opportunities for SHG women.
Changlang ADC-cum-District Panchayat Development Officer Marpe Riba highlighted convergence as a key component of development and stressed timely integration of the Village Panchayat Resource Plan (VPRP), Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) and Zilla Panchayat Development Plan (ZPDP). He said development plans should be prepared and submitted through Mahila Sabha and Gram Sabha.
Riba also urged SHG, Primary-Level Federation (PLF) and CLF leaders to actively participate in Gram Sabha meetings and place their priorities through the VPRP process. He highlighted the availability of resources with various departments and Panchayats that could be leveraged for SHG beneficiaries.
District Horticulture Officer, District Agriculture Officer and District Fisheries Development Officer discussed the Atma Nirbhar schemes, including Atma Nirbhar Krishi Yojana (ANKY), Atma Nirbhar Bagwani Yojana (ANBY) and Atma Nirbhar Matsya Yojana (ANMPY), and informed the committee that the schemes had already been implemented in the district. They said SHG members would be encouraged to benefit from the schemes to expand livelihood opportunities.
The District Deputy Director of Industries highlighted the Prime Minister’s Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme and the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative, noting that SHGs could access these programmes for livelihood enhancement.
The Assistant Director of Textiles and Handicrafts said SHGs could be provided space to display and sell handicraft and other non-farm products.
Five SHG members were felicitated with Certificates of Appreciation by the Deputy Commissioner and Zilla Parishad Chairperson in recognition of their contributions to self-reliant livelihoods. The beneficiaries also shared their experiences, achievements and challenges associated with SHG-led livelihood activities under ArSRLM.
The ZPMs assured the committee of collaborative efforts to promote the initiative in their respective blocks and the district as a whole.
The SBI Changlang Branch Manager stressed the importance of credit linkages for SHG women to expand livelihood activities. He assured that necessary support and handholding would be extended on a priority basis to facilitate access to banking benefits. (DIPR)
