Summary of Expansion Workshop 10-14 feb 2015, Jaipur The main objectives of the workshop were:
Bridge knowledge gaps between staff.
Finalize the deepening and saturation strategy of the resource blocks.
To chalk out block expansion strategy
Day 1: 10th February 2015 major highlights were ;
Minister of rural development and Panchayti Raj (Government of Rajasthan) Mr. Surendra Goyal ensured government support towards the Rajeevika Project.
State Mission Director, Secretary of Rural development Mr Rajeev Singh Thakur set the tone of the workshop and set out the objectives in his address and also gave an overview of all the programmes running in Raajevika.
Mr. Avinash Kalla emphasized upon proper communication between State and ground level work force i.e ;
Major issue that came out was the improper dissemination of information along the lines so importance of a Bottom-Up system was stressed upon that would not only ensure better information flow but would also reinforce vision in employees.
He also stressed upon the extensive use of social media to promote and create a branding of the Project.
Sh.Rakesh Malhotra, Consultant (NMMU) explained about Model Resource Block Strategy, the rationale behind it and the expected outcome. He also emphasized on Capacity Building of community cadres, and stated it as a low cost poverty elimination model. He stated the requirements for the ground preparation for both deepening and expansion. He laid out the highlights of the ongoing expansion plan in Chhattisgarh.
Project Director Mr. Hardeep Chopra laid out the session plan; He reinstated the expansion plan, its details and explained about the expectations from the staff regarding the expansion plan. For deepening and saturation plan he discussed the features of a model block and the status of community cadre in it. He also discussed about replacement of Active women by V.O. sub committees for saturation. To sort out the issues of un clarity of roles and responsibilities of field staff he discussed individual roles and responsibilities of PRP, PFT, Cluster nodal and state nodal officers.
Sh. Somdutt Dixit, DGM (HR&T) presented on the structure of Raajevika and new proposed structures for DPMU and BPMU. Several issues were raised by the staff ;that included; o Timely salary delivery and TA/DA settlement o Communication allowance o Increment policy For addressing these issues he discussed the restructuring policies that are in pipeline that included; Fixed local travelling allowance (FLTA), 8% increment, permissible leave and communication allowance components. He also ensured to settle down the TA/DA and Salary issues.
Sh. R.K Aggarwal (DPM,Resource Cell,Udaipur) and sh. Danesh (IB&CB , Manager) presented on institutional building and capacity building ; They charted out the institutional structure that has to be in place in a block. Discussed the main task in building capacities along the vertical and horizontal of the intuitional structure formed. They listed out the various policies of Community cadre along with eligibility for iCRPs.
Sh. Anil Singh, SPM (FI) gave a presentation on Financial Inclusion. He focused on rational behind the policies and decisions. He explained about per Capita Loan accessed by SHG Members year wise and individual growth cycle that would lead to poverty proofing. Discussed the strategies covering how and why aspect of poverty proofing; Community investment Support , bank Linkage and highlighted the importance of MCLP cadre as a peer based prioritization support for the SHG members.
10th February and 11th Februray panel wise presentations were held;
Day 2 (11. February.2015); during the deepening presentations of the districts, following observations / Suggestions were recorded by the panelist in regards with the presentations; Panel
Districts
Observations
Suggestions for improvement
Covered 1
Dungarpur 10.Feb.2015
o Lack
of
clarity
bookkeeper
regarding
policy
unified
&
its
implementation.
o Panel discussed the requirement of CC
and
suggested
to
make
changes accordingly.
o The target households were very less
o Panel suggested taking 56% of the
(around 40% of the total households) .
total Households from the BPL
o In subsequent years the no. of SHGs
census data as target for the
formed
by
Active
women
was
decreasing
programme coverage o Panel suggested them to reduce the
o Confusion about whether households
no of CRP rounds and increase the
covered under the co-opted SHGs to be
SHGs to be formed by Active
taken as a part of the target households
women
of the cluster. Jhalawar 11.Feb.2015
o Unfamiliarity of field staff with V.O Formation and its concept.
o Panel informed that in a round maximum 2 V.O.s can be formed
o Also the no of villages to be covered in
so for the saturation the numbers
one CRP round for saturation were as
of Sr. CRP rounds have to be
high as seven-eight. The reason being
increased.
that the villages were very small.
o Panel suggested making a road
o The target households taken were only 40% of total households.
map of the remaining target’s parameters using both AW and CRPs. o Panel suggested to take it as 56% of total households and rework their saturation plan accordingly.
2
Udaipur 10.Feb.2015
o Bank A/c opening was lagging behind,
o Panel suggested them to scale up
hence the subsequent processes of the
the a/c opening process so as to
SHG life cycle.
maintain SHG life cycle.
o The number of villages left to be covered in the block is quite high.
o Panel suggested increasing the number of cluster and planning for saturation accordingly.
Baran 11.Feb.2015
o Lack of internalization among the staff over
community
institution
and
deepening/saturation process. o Cadre’s and iCRP handholding plan was not in place.
o Panel
suggested
a
grievance
redressal mechanism in place at both DPMU and BPMU level to ensure staff internalization. o Mentoring & training of staff at DPMU/BPMU level for clarity.
3
Kota 10.Feb.2015
o The panel appreciated the male female
o Suggestion was given to them for
breakage of the cadre, inclusion of
reworking
various social communities in the SHGs,
villages.
but plan for coverage of very small village was not there. o Phasing of the deepening/ saturation was not there.
the
plan
left
out
o Panel suggested them to break their saturation plan year/ quarter wise.
Bhilwara 11.Feb.2015
o Presentation was made only with the target and current status of the cluster
o Panel
suggested
presenting
a
breakup of the target according to
o Complete information of the cadre and its role/function was missing.
financial year/quarter. o Panel suggested making plans for coverage of the left out households through community cadre.
4
Rajsamand 10.Feb.2015
o The
data
presented
was
not
in
o Panel suggested correlating the
proportion/linked with the Performance
data presented with that updated in
Appraisal system,
PAS.
o Timeline was not mentioned clearly.
o Panel suggested them to rework
Backup option for iCRP who is going to
their plan and include timeline and
get deployed was not clear.
also plan for the backup for iCRP.
o Targets and achievements were not matching . o DPMU wrote for norms relaxation for AW .
o Panel
suggested
village
wise
horizontal and vertical plan to justify the target. o They suggested creating backward structure to fill the vacuum before expansion.
Churu 11.Feb.2015
o Villages were not defined in the CRP round, o Staff was unfamiliar with the PA system and its importance. o Mismatch between the data in PAS and records. o Organized a meeting of selected CC on 23rd Jan 2015.
o Panel suggested holding meetings at district level for knowing the status of AW once in a month and preparation
of
Qualitative
&
quantitative deepening plan. o Suggestion was given to them for holding
a
Computer
training
programme for the office bearers at block & district level for more familiarity with the PA system. o Panel suggested nurturing plan for
cluster, block and district level. o Suggestion for PFT wise and village
wise
action
plan
(handholding & nurturing ) o Develop proper life cycle of SHGs o Develop need based strategy for clusters o Suggested replacement plan for AW and BK before expansion o Suggested visits for PFT/PRP, BPM, DPM in 8,15,30 days respectively .
5
Banswara
o Some SHGs that were formed by CRP
10.Feb.2015
Tonk 11.Feb.2015
o Panel suggested them to include
(Warangal) were being neglected by the
all
SHGs
and
monitor
PRPs.
progress for saturation.
their
o Various parameters of SHG life cycle in
o Panel suggested them to rework
the saturation plan weren’t in sync with
their plan maintaining a uniform
each other.
timeline.
o
Significant difference seen in number
o Panel made suggestions to work in
of book keepers in proportion to the
the area and rework in the plan
number of SHGs.
accordingly.
o Assessment of Community cadre in lieu of expansion was missing, unclarity of field staff over managing the gap created by the ICRPs.
o Panel suggested having a monthly CC work review plan in place.
Panel suggestions: Focus over MCLP preparations, as they are lagging behind. Equal focus should be given both to expansion and deepening/saturation of clusters. Prioritization was not clearly defined; a clear cut idea of social inclusion needs to be in place among the staff. Blocks should relate the number of poor Households with the SHGs and the V.O. to be formed and plan accordingly. A huge gap was observed in the number of AW identified and deployed which is the crux of the project, more focus should be given to the issue to avoid backlog. The guidelines for the deployment of Bank mitras, Pashu sakhis and Krishi sakhi should be followed according to the need and requirement of the respective cluster/block. The co-opted SHGs under the aegis of RGVAP should also be given handholding by the field staff; also a revival plan should be in place for defunct SHGs. Cluster/ block data should be integrated with MIS data in place to make it more accurate and universal. Timeline of ICRP team which is to be deployed should be prepared beforehand. Y.P’s should be used in the project in more constructive manner.
Another thematic presentation on Livelihood Activities was given by Sh. Manoj Gupta, he discussed about various livelihood interventions under RGVAP for increasing income through farm based or nonfarm based activity also the activity based clusters. For knowledge transfer at grass root level he discussed about the importance of pashu sakhi and krishi sakhi. He also emphasized over the significance of Community institutions in carrying forward the interventions.
Sh. Mahesh Kumawat (GM Sakhdarpan) & Dr. Manoj Kumar Gupta (Manager, ME&L) discussed the PA system and the importance of it; they also sorted the entry related issues of the staff for the Key Performance indicators.
They emphasized on the linkage of PA system with the expansion plan and for monitoring of Community Cadre.
Another thematic presentation was on policies regarding Finance, where Sh. Sitaram (GM, finance) discussed the policy, he also emphasized on transactions through banks. Also for the budget related issues where staff asked if they can get an amount in advance for a month, he suggested to follow the timeline existing for the budget proposal. Even the internal and external audits were thoroughly discussed.
Day 3 (12th February 2015) Presentation on Policy for Procurement was delivered by Mr.Sushil Sharma (Mgr. Procurement) various issues came up regarding the tender filling for procuring various items . Another query was regarding procurement of furniture for V.O. and involvement of DPMU in it which was clarified later as the decision that has to taken by V.O. EC. Day 4 (13th February 2015) Expansion presentations were taken by the panel districts wise, where the panel suggested changes majorly concerning; The target to be taken, the saturation of those new blocks along with staff in charged with handholding of the iCRP teams for each cluster and presentations were modified accordingly. Day 5 (14th February 2015) Address by T.Vijaykumar (National mission director,Add.Sec.,MoRD) Thrust areas spelt out were; 1. Increase involvement of community cadre; The expansion as well as saturation plan should be made in consensus with the community cadre, field staff at DPMU, BPMU level. Development of a standardized work measurement, remuneration system for the community cadre.
Focus should be on communitization at different level of CBOs as it would lead to sustainability. 2. HR mechanism; For ensuring proper monitoring, develop service standards at DPMU level and a proper MIS. Develop a system that could help in floating of HR issues online. Mission staff plays a catalytic role in the program, so efforts should be made towards keeping them motivated, committed for the programme and developing their ownership towards the project. Right Induction is the key to have a good HR and a quicker communication is required for a more viable programme. 3.Expansion: Intensive involvement of district level administrators in the project, to increase the ownership of the district in the project. If possible CRP debriefing should take place in presence of districts level/block level administrators. The quality and eligibility/training criteria for the community cadre shouldn’t be diluted rather the criteria bar should be raised, through rationalizing the scaling up criteria. Also it was proposed to develop a readiness filter for resource block for expansion along with their grading system in place. Ensuring ground preparation in the new block well in advance including timely induction and immersion of the support staff to be employed there before CRP deployment. 4. Shaping of the role of Y.Ps Resource Block should act as quality resource pool, a training centre for community cadre to be set up at block level whose management & monitoring is to be entrusted to Y.Ps.
Different thematic interventions pertaining to Gender, Health, agriculture, livestock, enterprise is to be started at resource block and YPs should lead any one of the thematic heads as per their interest. Y.Ps are also expected to look for various skilling possibilities in the rural youth. 5. Community Institution strengthening: The community institutions self sufficiency has to be kept in mind such that later the community cadre would be accountable to those CBOs. Introduction of concept of community auditors and their accountability to CBOs. Various other interventions like Livelihood, etc, could be implemented through community institutions for poverty proofing and could be scaled by piloting in few clusters. For proper monitoring and evaluation of the project measure the block specific assumptions regarding savings and loaning pattern against the standard results.
An open house discussion was held that included Mr. T. Vijaykumar(NMD, Add.Sec.,MoRD),
Mr.
Hardeep
Chopra(Project
Director)
and
Mr.
Rakesh
Malhotra(Consultant, NMMU) in the panel where they addressed several queries from the staff. Major issues raised were: Lack of clarity over CCL and TL in the staff. Credit Linkage to the SHGs having members whose family members are voluntary/involuntary loan defaulters. Internalization of concept of SHG /V.O./CLF/ALF in staff. Vision behind CMSA activities and creation of Krishi sakhi and pashu sakhi, their roles.
