Puri: As part of Mission Shakti convention, which was attended by over 50,000 women here, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Saturday announced interest-free loans of up to `3 lakh for women self-help groups (SHGs) ahead of polls.
“I am glad to let you know that you (SHGs) will be getting loans at zero per cent interest,’’ the Chief Minister said, adding the initiative would benefit about 70 lakh women.
The announcement came hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Baripada in Mayurbhanj district to launch a slew of Central projects worth `4,500 crore.
Patnaik has decided to skip the Prime Minister’s programme, sources in the CMO said.
Mission Shakti project launched in 2001 is meant to empower women by organising them into self help groups and there are 6 lakh SHGs across the state who will benefit from the interest waiver. Every women SHGs in Odisha is eligible to take loan up to `3 lakh at zero per cent interest, he said.
The Chief Minister launched a scheme to distribute seed money of `15,000 per group to three lakh new SHGs. He also handed over a revolving fund of `25 lakh to 338 block federations.
The Chief Minister announced incentives of `500 per month for anganwadi workers and `200 for helpers. He also transferred `30 crore digitally to the bank accounts of 31,000 SHGs at the event.
The CM said the state has decided to build mission shakti gruhas in each of the 6800 panchayats under Ama Gaon Ama Bikash programme, These houses will be used as SHG meeting points. “We recently passed a resolution of providing 33 per cent seat reservation for women in assemblies which was supported by several national parties,” he said.
Mission Shakti commissioner-cum-director Sujata Kartikeyan later told reporters that there are 70 lakh women who are part of 6 lakh SHGs across Odisha who began as small savings units, but today they have big business portfolios and investment profiles.
The seed money is an early investment by women SHGs meant to generate fund to support collective income generating activities, she said. Under this, a `22 crore programme will benefit 14,648 women SHGs in Puri district alone and 3 lakh groups will get the support with `450 crore, she added.
In order to strengthen Block Level Federation (BLF) each of the BLFs will be given a reviving fund of `25 lakh. In Puri districts 12 BLFs will get an assistance of `3crore. The total budgetary provision for these schemes would be `700crore.
In Puri district, Anganwadi workers and helpers have received incentives amounting to `87 lakh and the statewide incentives will amount to `20.09 crore. On the occasion, women fish farmers were given subsidy of `90,000 for raising fish in their own ponds.
Meanwhile, as a security measure ahead of Patnaik’s visit to Puri, police took Jagannath Sena convenor Priyadarshan Patnaik into preventive custody.
Several women belonging to Milita Odisha Nisha Nibaran Abhijan tried to draw the attention of the Chief Minister showing placards and demanding total prohibition under Orissa Prohibition Act 1956, when superintendent of police Sarthak Sarangi and BJD women leader Sulata Deo tried to pacify the activists.
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