Efforts must be made to bring the poor out of poverty: Sonia Gandhi(Update)

Banswara (Rajasthan), June 3 (ANI): Asserting that the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) is a scheme of the poor, for the poor and by the poor, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today said that it would enable the vulnerable sections of the society to cope with the challenges in an organized manner with the support of self help groups and the institutions under its framework.

Gandhi, who unveiled the mission document of NRLM here today, also underlined the need to involve the women in carrying out the social audit so that the involvement and participation of the people is ensured for effective implementation of the program.

"The success of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA has opened up new opportunities for those who have been benefited and we should try to encourage the beneficiaries to move ahead for sustainable livelihood," she said.

Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Vilasrao Deshmukh, who was also present on the occasion, called upon the people to join hands with the government in giving an impetus to the pro people and pro poor welfare programs under the Ministry Of Rural Development.

"The focus of the Mission is on making the rural poor self reliant especially the women, who can act as a catalyst of growth in the rural areas," said Deshmukh and emphasized that the new initiative would lead to empowerment of the women in the villages as they come together to form Self Help Groups and try to resolve their problems with the support of Government agencies and other institutions such as the banks.

NRLM has been mandated to ensure adequate coverage of vulnerable sections of the society such that 50 percent of the beneficiaries are SC/STs, 15 percent are minorities and three percent are persons with disability, while keeping in view the ultimate target of 100 percent coverage of BPL families.

A unique feature of the new initiative is that it would be led by the poor themselves. NRLM would utilize the services of Community Resource Persons (CRPs), who are women who have themselves come out of poverty through being a part of the Self Help Group.

They will spread the concept of NRLM from one village to another and from one district to another making NRLM a people's movement. NRLM is based on large-scale successes in states such as Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh where social mobilization and building strong institutions of the poor have led to significant reduction in poverty and empowerment of the poor. (ANI)