SHG from Birbhum bags 1st prize from Ministry of Rural Dev
KOLKATA: A Cluster-Level Federation (CLF), based at Labhpur in Birbhum district of Bengal, has been conferred with the first prize under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) National Awards by the Ministry of Rural Development on the occasion of Women's Day at New Delhi on Tuesday. Bengal's score has been 99.3, which is much higher than Karnataka and Kerala, which secured the second and third position respectively with a little over 70 per cent score. Five women from the CLF received the prize at Vigyan Bhavan.
The CLF named Jamna Nityasangha Mahila Self Help Group Cooperative Society Ltd of Labhpur that bagged the best performing awards started its journey in 2017 under the Anandadhara project with 260 Self Help Groups (SHG). 2586 women enrolled in this CLF are involved in livelihood generation through sewing, rearing of domestic animals, vegetable production, mushroom cultivation, fish cultivation, food processing etc.
The CLF that started with an assistance of Rs 3 lakh presently has a capital of Rs 2.7 crore. The yearly transaction is to the tune of Rs 8 crore. The CLF boasts of assets like its own laboratory, shed house, factory, tailoring unit etc. About 20 per cent of the profit earned by the CLF is stored as capital and the rest is disbursed for salary and increment purpose that are equally distributed when applicable. Loan assistance to the members is also provided from the capital."We do not need to depend on our husbands or any other family member. We earn our livelihood," said a woman working under the CLF. The CLF has been providing Rs 5000 every year to each of the needy and meritorious students so that they can continue their higher studies. During Durga Puja, 100 needy families were given assistance of Rs 1000 each. The CLF also works to create awareness against prevention of child marriage and other superstitions. NRLM National Awards are intended to provide public recognition to the outstanding performance of the community institutions- self-Help Groups and village organisations promoted. About 13 CLFs from various states were selected for the awards
