October - December 2012 - National Institute of Rural Development

500 Edakkandi Meethal RejiSocial Mobilisation Through SHGsThe SHG movement in Odisha is a directresult of the vibrant NGO sector in the State.The NGO sector in Odisha that gainedmomentum during the early 1980s, took aproactive role in promoting people’sorganisations and community centreddevelopment activities such as grain banks,seed banks, community fund, establishmentof village health committees and joint forestmanagement committees etc. NGOs playeda major role in addressing women issuesthrough mobilising them into Mahila Mandalsand facilitating savings in the form of kindand cash. Gradually, the SHGs movement hasbecome more popular during 1990 with theinitiative of National Bank for Agriculture andRural Development (NABARD) through itsSHG-Bank linkage programme. The entry ofNABARD in Odisha to support SHG activitiesin mid-nineties did encourage the bankersand NGOs to strengthen their SHGprogrammes. Soon after, the SHGs becamepopular in the State as a cost-effective creditdelivery system to the poor. Inspired by theSHG initiatives by the NABARD, a variety ofinstitutions involving Commercial Banks (CBs),Cooperatives, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) andNGOs took initiatives for SHG formation,training and capacity building and linkingthem with formal financial institutions in theState. SHGs emerged as a viable means forsocio-economic development of the ruralpoor, especially the women. Some of thenotable NGOs, like Adhikar in Khurda, DarbarSahitya Sansad in Puri, Antyodaya andParivartan in Kalahandi, Vikalpa in Bolangir,Sundargarh Zilla Mahila Parishad inSundargarh; MASS (Manav Adhikar SevaSamiti) in Sambalpur, Dhakota Yubak Sanghain Keonjhar, Samuha Vikash and Gania SishuRaija in Nayagarh took up SHG promotionseriously and linked them with banks. Apartfrom that, major donor agencies like UnitedNations Development Programme (UNDP),Department of International Development(DFID), World Food Programme (WFP) andInternational Non-Government Organisationslike CARE, IGSSS (Indo German Social ServiceSociety), Action-Aid etc. are implementingprojects through the support of the localNGOs for promotion and strengthening ofSHGs.One of the early efforts in large scalemobilisation of poor women into self-helpgroups in the State was initiated by Centrefor Development Research and Training(CENDERET), Bhubaneswar in the year 2000.The intervention was based on a study carriedout by CENDERET in the year 1997 on statusof women in Odisha to identify andunderstand the problems of women in theState. The study revealed that about 67 percent women depend on their family membersfor livelihood, only 17 per cent women ownland and 32 per cent have control over land;around 74 per cent women do not get wagesat par with males; 83 per cent were deprivedof getting education; 83 per cent women donot have freedom to go outside without thepermission of male family members; about42 per cent of the married women aretortured by their in-laws' family because ofnot fulfilling the demand of dowry etc.(CENDERET, 2004). The findings of the studyare the key issues for empowerment ofwomen in the State, which drew CENDERETinto some strategic plan of action for bringingperceptible changes in the living style andthinking process of women in Odisha throughan intervention ‘Women Empowermentthrough Self Help’. The programme covered12 districts and formed 2949 SHGs with amembership of 39245 women from poorfamilies.Till recently, the SHG movement in theState remained only as part of the NGOinitiatives. However, the SHG movement inthe State gathered momentum during earlyJournal of Rural Development, Vol. 31, No. 4, October - December : 2012