State ignores instruction, SHGs shown the door
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, August 29 2013:
Even though the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India has instructed for sending Self Help Groups (SHGs) of the State to participate in the SARAS Fair, 2013-14 to be held in different parts of the country, the State Government has ignored the instruction, thus, depriving the SHGs from participating in the fair.
The SARAS fair aims at facilitating the beneficiaries of SHGs of SGSY and National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) to exhibit and sell their products and provide them with opportunities for additional income, exposure and interaction on a large scale.
However, the SHGs of the State have been deprived of all these benefits as the State Government has remained silent over the issue of sending them to participate in the fair.
Earlier, the expenditures to be borne towards TA/DA of SHGs for participating in the SARAS Fairs were provided by the respective DRDAs from their training and capacity building funds.
But as the funds are not being directly released from this year, the Ministry of Rural Development had advised the SRLMs to meet the expenditures towards the TA/DA of SHGs, for participating in the SARAS Fair, out of their consolidated training and capacity building funds.
However, since the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Government of Manipur has not made any arrangement for providing the required funds, SHGs of the State have not been able to go and participate in the SARAS Fair which has already started from July 28 last.
For the year 2013-14, the first SARAS Fair was held at Chamba in Himachal Pradesh from July 28 to August 8.The fair will be held in 17 other States including Manipur on different dates.
In Manipur, it would be held from October 24 to November 4, 2013 .
When Hueiyen Lanpao investigated to find the reasons for not sending the SHGs of the State to participate in the fair, it was found that the funds sanctioned by the Ministry at the State level has been kept reserved for implementing NRLM programmes.
As such, the funds for TA/DA of SHGs under NRLM have not been released.