Kudumbashree Project - An Overview

Transcription

1 Chapter 3 Kudumbashree Project - An Overview Kudumbashree is an innovative initiative towards engendering development in Kerala and is formed with a view to help the poverty-stricken people to take initiative for a practical solution to poverty 1. It is a multi-sectoral poverty alleviation programme initiated by the Government of Kerala in 1998 to eradicate absolute poverty from the State within a period of ten years by empowering women through collective action 2. It is a community initiative using women s agency with legal backing, implemented as part of Panchayati Raj System 3. Kudumbashree literally means prosperity of the family 4. The Government of Kerala launched the programme with the active support of the Government of India and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and it is being implemented by the State Poverty Eradication Mission of the Government of Kerala since 1999 under the leadership of Local Self Governments, formed and empowered in 1992 by the 73 rd and 74 th constitutional amendments 5. It is a participatory, women oriented poverty reduction programme, which is being implemented in Kerala with the specific objective of wiping out all the visible manifestations of absolute poverty from the State by AD 2008 and the strategy slogan of the Mission is reaching families through women and reaching the community through families 6. It also aims at women empowerment, increase in income of women, fellowship, upliftment of women and children, planned social development, self reliance, decentralization of power, attaining a proper system of organizing the poor etc 7. Kudumbashree is a novel scheme of poverty alleviation based on microcredit and Self-Help Groups and it aims at improving the living levels of the poor women in rural and urban areas. Organisation through neighbourhood groups, participation of Local Self Government Institutions, integration of poverty alleviation programmes, possibilities of coordination between Regional planning and Grama Sabhas etc. distinguish Kudumbashree from other Self-Help Groups in India 8. It has, in fact, adopted a strategy of women empowerment for poverty eradication. It claims to overcome the limitations of all the schemes implemented by the government so far in bringing gender equality and empowerment of

2 51 women 9. Under the project, the poor themselves design and implement development initiatives required for them. It is an organizational innovation overcoming the barriers of government beaurocracy to reach the benefits of various government programmes and resources to the poor and is a multisectoral women centered participatory poverty eradication movement which aims at the economic empowerment of the poor through development and nurture of thrift and credit societies and micro enterprises and also social and political empowerment of socio economic disadvantaged section of the society by acting as a collective social action domain and by creating avenues for the political participation 10.The project aims at the all-round development of the people below poverty line 11. The Mission Statement of the project is To eradicate absolute poverty in ten years through concerted community action under the leadership of Local Self Governments, by facilitating organisation of the poor for combining self-help with demand led convergence of available services and resources to tackle the multiple dimensions and manifestations of poverty holistically 12. The Kudumbashree was registered in 1998 as the State Poverty Eradication Mission under the Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act 13. It is a successful Government Oriented Non-governmental Organization (GONGO) and gives prime importance for the economic empowerment of the poor, especially the women, in Kerala 14. This multifaceted women-based participatory poverty eradication programme is implemented through the three-tier Community Based Organisations (CBOs) of poor women in co-operation with Panachayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) 15. Women empowerment through economic empowerment that facilitates poverty eradication is the core of Kudumbashree. However Kudumbashree views women empowerment as a means to an end; not an end in itself. The Kudumbashree programme of Kerala is a globally acknowledged model of poverty eradication and women empowerment at grass root level with the gender, environment and democratic process components intersecting with each other successfully 16. The programme is built on the facilitation and volunteer work of:

3 52 (a) (b) Kudumbashree officials and Volunteers working at NHG, ADS and CDS levels along with the support of local governmental officials 17. Kudumbashree is a strong organization in terms of participation and it can be viewed as a social security scheme which incorporates both the protective and promotional elements of the conventional social security schemes. However its scope and reach is far wider than any conventional social security schemes currently underway in the State. It is a unique programme through which Kerala is witnessing a silent revolution, spawning women power, possibly restoring to the state its lost matriarchal legacy, where the women enjoyed pre-eminence, safety, security and respect, including self-respect. The important aspects which made the Kudumbashree and its structure a unique programme are: (i) Contrary to most welfare or social security schemes, in principle, the decision making authority rests with the elected representatives, who are poor women themselves rather than bureaucrats or politicians (ii) It has a dual advantage, which no other existing welfare programmes can boast of: a functional dynamism which is found among the non-governmental organization as well as stronger interaction with, and backing from, local self-governments and thereby gaining a legitimacy and (iii) Besides carrying out its activities to address the risk factors, it also conducts regularly a range of programmes with specific objectives, such as awareness and educational programmes as female empowerment, and entrepreneurship programmes. Historical Background and Evolution The Kudumbashree programme for poverty eradication is the perfected form of the accomplished social programmes rendered during the 7 th and 8 th Five Year Plans for the development of slums in urban areas such as Urban Basic Services, Urban Basic Services for the Poor and Urban Poverty Alleviation 18. These programmes were successfully fulfilled in the selected areas through the three-tier organizational structure of the poor women of Alappuzha town and Malappuram district.

4 53 Alappuzha Model: In 1992 seven wards in Alappuzha town were selected for implementing the UNICEF assisted Community Based Nutrition Programme (CBNP)and the Urban Basic Service Programme(UBSP). In implementing these two schemes, 2003 poor families were identified from the selected wards through a transparent process using the nine non-economic criteria 19 viz. 1) Kutcha house 2) No access to safe drinking water 3) No access to sanitary latrine 4) Illiterate adult member in the family 5) Family having not more than one earning member 6) Family getting barely two meals a day or less 7) Presence of children below the age of five in the family 8) Alcoholic or drug addict in the family and 9) Scheduled caste or Scheduled tribe family. If any four or more of the above risks factors are positive in a family, such a family is treated as a risk family. Incorporating one adult woman each from the families so identified formed subsequently 88 Neighbourhood Groups, each having a total of members. As the next phase, unifying the NHGs, seven ward wise Area Development Societies were formed. In February 1993, the apex council of this community based women organisations called Alappuzha Community Development Society got registered under the Charitable Societies Act. The CDS, formed on an experimental basis, promptly convinced to be a strong movement for unifying and executing the various poverty eradication activities effectively, resulting in the extension of its activities to 29 additional wards of Alappuzha town. The community based poverty eradication movement attained a new dimension on getting re-finance of Rs. 40 Lakhs from NABARD for various income generating activities commenced under it. The Alappuzha CDS came to be known as the best model to be followed throughout the world for the poverty eradication activities and it gained international recognition by receiving We the People Award in Malappuram Model: Following the success of the participatory system of poverty alleviation in Alleppy municipality, a Community Based Nutrition Programme and Poverty Alleviation Project (CBNP&PAP) with assistance of UNICEF was initiated in the entire area of Malappuram district on 11 th November The major objective of the programme was to reach out to the unreached and the strategy adopted for the purpose was convergent community action together with

5 54 the Government to fulfil their basic needs such as drinking water, primary health care, basic education, safe environment and food security. As in Alappuzha Model, it was implemented through community development societies of women, who belonged to high-risk families. The risk index adopted in Alappuzha Model was however slightly modified to suit the regional peculiarities of Malappuram District. The modified risk indicators were 20 : 1) Families with sub standard houses and huts 2) Families with no sanitary latrine 3) Families having no safe drinking water supply within at least 300 meters.4) Families having more than six members 5) Families with only one earning member 6) Families belonging to SC/ST 7) Families having illiterate members 8) Families having only two meals or less a day 9) Families having alcoholics, widows and divorcees. Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) acknowledged Malappuram experiment for its best practices in service to the public with Gold Medal Award from among 119 entries in Spread of the CDS system in Urban Areas The success of Urban Based Services (UBS)/ Urban Basic Services for the Poor (UBSP) in Alappuzha town and Malappuram district persuaded the State Government to extend the project to all the Urban Local Bodies of Kerala. On 26 th December 1994, the State Government issued a special order to extend UBSP style of activities to all the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and directed them to set up Urban Poverty Alleviation Cells to implement poverty alleviation programmes with community participation as done in Alappuzha and Malappuram. Through this act, the Community Development Society System was practically implemented in all Urban Local Bodies of the state and the State government recognized the CDS as a legitimate body of poor women, empowered to implement poverty eradication programmes and mobilize resources, including loans from financial institutions and other agencies. A special Urban Poverty Alleviation Cell (UPA Cell) at the State level was also set up to coordinate and strengthen the women oriented participatory approach for community development and poverty eradication. The working of the UPA Cell attracted global attention and international recognition. On 5 th October 1998 (World Habitat Day) UNCHS recognized the CDS system of Kerala implemented by the UPA Cell as one of the

6 55 best practices of the world. In a span of two years from the inauguration of the CDS system in Alappuzha in February 1993, it has been extended to the entire municipal towns of the State, besides the panchayat areas of the Malappuram district. Emergence of Kudumbashree Project in the State of Kerala Enthused by the phenomenal success of the Alappuzha and Malappuram models of participatory development with the active involvement of the stakeholders, the Government of Kerala resolved to extend the participatory women based programme to the entire state of Kerala in 1998 under the name Kudumbashree. It was based on a master plan prepared jointly by State UPA Cell, Kerala State Planning Board and Thiruvananthapuram Regional Office of NABARD 21. At the inception, the activities of Kudumbashree were confined to the urban areas and urban and rural areas of Malappuram district where the antipoverty programmes have been attempted through community based structures as envisaged in Kudumbashree. Gradually its activities were extended to the entire rural areas in a phased manner and at first during June 2000, 262 Grama panchayats were brought under Kudumbashree Project. Subsequently during November 2001, 338 Grama Panchayats and in March 2002 the remaining 291 Grama Panchayats were covered under Kudumbashree. The districtwise number of panchayats brought under Kudumbashree at different phases is given in Table 3.1.

7 56 Table 3.1 : District- wise number of panchayats brought under Kudumbashree at different phases Sl. No District Thiruvananthapuram Kollam Pathanamthitta Alappuzha Kottayam Idukki Ernakulam Thrissur Palakkad Malappuram Kozhikkode Wayanad Kannur Kasargode Prior to Phase-I No. of Panchayats Phase-I Phase-II Phase-III Total Total Source: Compiled and computed from the publications of Kerala State poverty Eradication Mission, Thiruvananthapuram. Key Features of the Kudumbashree Project The programme covers every family below the poverty line. 2. A woman, a paradigm shift from the a priori male-centric model of poverty alleviation programmes, represents each family. Women have imparted a new dimension to the project in terms of feedback on poverty indicators, sensitivity to problems of the poor, commitment to poverty alleviation, and special attention to gender concerns. 3. The whole system is democratic and encourages full participation through periodic discussions and rotation of volunteers every two years. 4. The volunteers have ample opportunity to hone their leadership qualities through regular capacity building initiatives. 5. The democratic hierarchy of the organisation facilitates interventions at different stages of the local development planning process.

8 57 6. The representative character of the organisation enables it to be a powerful interest group representing per cent of the population. 7. Since discussions are taken based on analysis of the field situation and through the medium of regular discussions, the plans represent the felt needs and priorities of the community. 8. The hierarchical organisation with the higher levels nesting the representatives of the lower level affords good channels for quick and effective communication. The Vision of Kudumbashree The principal aim of the Kudumbashree programme, mentioned in its Mission Statement is to eradicate absolute poverty in ten years 23. Poverty as recognized by Kudumbashree went beyond lack of income and have multidimensional characteristics and causes. According to the Kudumbashree mission; poverty is not merely a financial scarcity but it also concerns lack of a proper house, lack of fresh water, insufficient hygiene facilities, lack of nutritional food, insufficient educational facilities, lack of opportunities for expressing the opinions, insufficient medical facilities, problems of unemployment etc. Hence, in order to get the above- mentioned problems solved, effective and many-sided activities have to be conducted by Kudumbashree. Women empowerment through micro finance, micro enterprise and convergent community action is the core activity of Kudumbashree, which is an organization of women from below the poverty line. Kudumbashree CBOs converges the schemes, ideas, concepts and resources of various governmental and non-governmental agencies and line departments working in poverty reduction and social sectors. The Mission takes up the problem of poverty holistically and deals with other issues related to poverty like shelter, self-reliance, education and communication. The project has adopted a different methodology in wiping out absolute poverty by organizing the poor into Community Based Organisations. The methodology adopted by the Mission is to build community structures of women drawn from poverty-stricken families and utilize their collective energy to build income-generating assets with the help of Government and NABARD and facilitate them to overcome the tide of poverty through social and economic

9 58 empowerment. The Mission follows a process approach rather than a project approach 24. The spirit of self-help is the guiding principle in this process. The areas of concentration of the Kudumbashree are housing, safe drinking water, sanitation and entrepreneurship development. The specific objectives of Kudumbashree are 25 : 1. Facilitating self-determination of the poor families through a transparent risk index composed of socially accepted indicators of poverty through a participatory survey. 2. Empowering the women among the poor to improve their individual and collective capabilities by organizing them into neighbourhood groups (NHGs) at the local level, area development societies at the ward level (ADSs) and community development societies (CDSs) at the local selfgovernment level. 3. Encouraging thrift and investment through credit by developing CDSs to work as informal banks for the poor. 4. Improving incomes of the poor through upgradation of vocational and managerial skills and creation of opportunities for self-employment and wage employment. 5. Ensuring better health and nutrition for all poor families. 6. Ensuring access to basic amenities like safe drinking water, sanitary latrines, improved shelter and healthy living environment. 7. Ensuring zero dropouts in schools for all children belonging to the poor families. 8. Promoting functional literacy among the poor and supporting continuing education. 9. Enabling the poor to participate in the decentralization process through the CDSs as sub-systems of the local government. 10. Helping the poor to fight social evils like alcoholism, smoking and drug abuse, dowry, discrimination based on gender, religion, caste, etc. 11. Providing a mechanism for convergence of all resources and services meant for alleviation of poverty in the state. 12. Collaborating with the government and non-government institutions and agencies in all activities related to improving the quality of life of the poor.

10 59 The key elements of Kudumbashree are 26 :- (1) Community- based identification of the poor on the basis of transparent criteria; (2) all inclusive organization of the poor through women; (3) linkages with panchayats (4) building confidence to access entitlements; (5) building capacity to access economic opportunities; (6) social security through mutual thrift and mutual help; (7) social capital building through regular meetings and interactions; (8) participatory planning for poverty reduction; (9) tackling multiple dimensions of poverty; (10) demand based convergence of services (11) excellent outreach and feedback mechanism; and (12) potential for expansion to cover children, youth and old. The Kudumbashree system facilitates micro level interventions to reduce poverty and accurately monitor poverty reduction initiatives. The Focus Kudumbashree Mission focuses on: 1. Training for change 2. Education 3. Share and care 4. Community health care 5. Environmental sanitation 6. The poor women s bank, and 7. Community financial Management. The Strategies Kudumbashree aims at empowerment of women to become the active leaders rather than passive recipients. The strategies thus consist of: (a) Formation of women collectives (b) Information and training (c) Skill upgradation (d) Thrift-Credit operations (e) Infrastructure development (f) Micro enterprise development (g) Power to the people, and (h) Leadership

11 60 Community Based Organizational Structure of Kudumbashree Kudumbashree has a three-tire hierarchal system of organization. The structure of Kudumbashree is based on nesting principle -NHGs at the grassroots, ADSs at the ward level, and CDS at the Panchayat level 27. The grass root level organisations of Kudumbashree system are the Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs) comprising of adult women members, each from a distinct family of the area concerned. These Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs) are integrated in ward level as Area Development Society (ADS) and in Corporation/Municipal/ Panchayat level as Community Development Society (CDS). Under the system, the NHGs are at the lowest level and the highest level is the community Development Society (CDS). In between these two levels, the Area Development society (ADS) functions. The three- tier organizational system of the poor women is an effective platform for converging various anti-poverty programmes of the State and Central Governments. These community based organisations i.e. Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs), Area Development Societies (ADSs) and Community Development Societies (CDSs) are the life blood 28 of Kudumbashree. The Community Based Organisations of the Kudumbashree promote self-help and mutual help and it provides opportunities for public action. The administrative power of these organisations functioning in three level systems is vested in the hands of women chosen democratically from the poor families. An important component of the Kudumbashree structure is its association with, and backing from, local selfgovernments and bureaucracy both at the ADS and CDS levels. 29 Neighbourhood Group (NHG) Neighbourhood Group, the grass root level organisations and the building block of the Kudumbashree Community Based Organizational structure, is an association of women members, each belonging to a distinct risk family. The membership in Neighbourhood Group (NHG) is based on the rule of one family, one member. Identification of the poor is one of the prime requisites for the formation of Neighbourhood Groups and Kudumbashree uses a multi-dimensional concept to gauge poverty rather than just judging via a shortfall in income or consumption of a family. The nine parameters adopted initially by Kudumbashree

12 61 for identifying the poor households have undergone changes and separate indices have evolved for rural and urban areas. If four or more of the indicators are positive in a family, Kudumbashree considers it as a risk family. The revised non-economic risk indicators used in rural areas are 30 : 1. No land/less than 10 cents of land 2. No house/dilapidated house 3. No sanitary latrine 4. No access to safe drinking water within 300 meters 5. Women-headed household/presence of a widow, divorcee/abandoned lady/unwed mother 6. No regularly employed person in the family 7. Socially disadvantaged Groups (SC/ST) 8.Presence of mentally or physically challenged person/ chronically ill member in the family. 9. Families with an illiterate adult member. The present poverty index of urban areas are 31 : 1.No land/ Less than 5 cents of Land 2. No house/dilapidated house 3. No sanitary latrine 4.No access to safe drinking water within 150 meters 5.Women headed household/presence of a widow, divorcee/abandoned lady/unwed mother 6.No regularly employed person in the family 7. Socially disadvantaged groups (SC/ST) 8.Presence of mentally or physically challenged person/chronically ill member in the family 9. Families without colour TV Administrative Set up of Neighbourhood Groups Each Neighbourhood Group functions through a five-member volunteer committee, democratically elected from among its members, consisting 32 of a president, secretary, a community health volunteer, an income generating activity volunteer and infrastructure volunteer. They coordinate and lead the various activities of the NHGs. Each member of the committee is assigned with specific responsibilities, viz., 1. The president has to preside over the weekly meetings and to impart necessary leadership and guidance to the group members. 2. The secretary is expected to record the proceedings of the meeting and is responsible for necessary follow up including motivation and team building.

13 62 3. The community health volunteer is bound to look after various health related issues of the group members, particularly among children, women and the aged, and is responsible for the convergence of various programmes undertaken by the health and social welfare departments. 4. The volunteer for Income generation activity is entrusted with the duty of collection, consolidation and maintenance of books, accounts and registers in connection with thrift mobilization. She is also responsible for promoting self-employment and income generation activities among the members of the neighbourhood groups. 5. The Infrastructure volunteer has the responsibility of acting as a catalyst for local development and to work as a liaison with the local bodies. She is in charge of the basic infrastructure needs of NHG-such as housing, sanitation, drinking water, drainage etc. Infrastructure backwardness of the group should be tackled with the help of various ongoing governmental programmes under the leadership of this volunteer. The President and the secretary have not only to ensure the smooth functioning of the group but also to serve as a medium of integration with concerned Area Development Society, in which the NHG is federated. The way in which these leaders function is shown in the following chart.

14 63 Chart 1. Components chart of NHG NHG Health Volunteer Infrastructure Volunteer Income Generation Volunteer Secretary President The important activities of the NHGs 34 include credit and thrift programme, awareness on health, women and child development activities, activities on basic infrastructure, income generating activities, active participation in Grama Sabha (Village Assembly), micro plan preparation, operating Joint bank account, account keeping, reporting etc. Resource Mobilization and Utilization by Kudumbashree NHGs The Kudumbashree NHGs mobilizes resources from different sources like weekly savings, bank loans, Government assistance by way of revolving fund, matching grant etc. and also by way of fines and penalties for non-attendance in meetings and default in paying monthly savings and principal repayments. The groups are then involved in inter-loaning activities for consumption and productive purposes. The income generated through productive economic activities are then used for repaying the loan amount and for spending on basic health, education etc. The mobilization of corpus fund of NHGs and their utilization are shown in the following chart.

15 64 Chart 2. Resource mobilization and utilisation by NHGs THRIFT & INTEREST ON LOANS GOVT. BANKS Corpus of NHG Inter Group Loaning Consumption Process Production/ Income Activities Employment Opportunities Income Generation Repayment as per the time schedule Profitability Area Development Society (ADS) Expenditure on Education, Health, Hygiene, etc. Area Development Society (ADS), the second level of the community based organizational structure of Kudumbashree, is a cluster formed by networking Neighbourhood Groups existing at the ward level of the village Panchayat or municipality, normally 10 to 15 in number. The ADS functions through two distinct bodies viz. General Body and Governing Body. The general body consists of a president, secretary and three sectoral volunteers-infrastructure, health and income generation- from all the NHGs federated to the respective Area Development Society (ADS). The elected president, secretary and five members to the Committee from the general body constitute the governing body of the Area Development Society. The Anganwadi worker and the officer in charge will be exofficio members of the ADS. Besides, the respective ward member is the patron of the concerned ADS in rural areas and a separate Monitoring and Advisory Committee is formed under the chairmanship of the ward councilor concerned in the urban areas. The ADS meet monthly and it evaluates the performance of NHGs

16 65 and set guidelines for them. It works in association with local self-government of that area. The duties and responsibilities of the ADSs include conducting monthly meetings, monitoring NHGs, monitoring credit and thrift, kinking NHGs and Grama Sabha (Village Assembly), initiating micro enterprises, organizing training in accounting, micro-plan, leadership, micro- enterprise, etc. The formation of ADS from NHGs in a particular locality is shown in the flow chart below. Chart 3. Components of ADS NHG - 3 NHG - 4 NHG - 2 NHG - 5 NHG - 1 NHG - 6 ADS Community Development Society (CDS) It is the apex body of the three-tiered system of Kudumbashree, formed at Local Self Government (LSG) level. This is a federation of all the Area Development Societies (ADSs) in the respective local body and is a registered nongovernment organization. As it is formed at LSG level, there is only one CDS for each of the grama panchayats and urban local bodies with the exception of Cochin corporation, which is having two CDSs. CDS works for the removal of risk factors, which are the basic causes, as well as effect of poverty. CDSs at the local body levels facilitate autonomy and linkage with local self-governments. It monitors the programmes undertaken by the ADSs on monthly basis and takes steps to improve the implementation of the programmes. The general body meeting of the CDS will be convened once in every three months to evaluate all activities done in Panchayat / Municipality level under Kudumbashree.

17 66 Each CDS under the Kudumbashree project is an independent entity registered under the Travancore Cochin Literary Scientific and Charitable Societies Act of 1955, which facilitates autonomy and flexibility to the functioning of the community-based organization. Such a registration enables the Community Development Society (CDS) to gain the leverage of NGO so as to channelise resources from various sources. The CDS has a general body and a governing body to carry out its functions. The general body of the CDS consists of all the members of the Governing body of ADSs in the respective local body along with representatives of resource persons and officers of the local government who are involved in implementing various poverty alleviation and women empowerment programmes. The Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and seven other members elected from the General body of Community Development Society and the member secretary constitute its Governing Body 37. The secretary of the CDS will be a government official nominated by the local self-government while the chairperson is elected from among the representatives of ADSs. At the rural level, the president of the Village Panchayaat is the patron of the CDS. The Standing committee chairperson (welfare), all women members of the panchayats, secretary of the grama panchyats and block panachayat member of the respective division are exofficio members of the CDS. The welfare Standing Committee directly monitors the functioning of the CDS. In the urban set up a monitoring and Advisory Committee headed by the Mayor/ the Municipal Chairperson, is constituted. The municipal Secretary is the Convener of the committee and the project officer of UPA is the Joint Convener. The duties and responsibilities of CDS are 38 the following: 1. Conduct general body meetings once in three months and governing body meetings once in every month. 2. Monitor Kudumbashree activities of the panchayat 3. Monitor credit and thrift 4. Report on NHGs to the officer in charge 5. Explore government and other schemes 6. Organize trainings and seminars

18 67 7. Provide guidelines to the panchayat for poverty eradication programme (PEP) through NHGs. 8. Project consolidation on PEP 9. Operate joint account of chairperson & officer in-charge The formation of local self-government level CDS is shown in the following flow chart. Chart 4. Components of CDS ADS - 3 ADS - 4 ADS - 2 ADS - 5 ADS - 1 ADS - 6 CDS Structure of Local Self Government Level CDS The CDS general body that comprises the members of the governing body of all the ADSs of the local self-government concerned constitutes the 9-member governing body of the CDS. The general body of each ADS in turn consists of the 5-member volunteer committee of all the NHGs that existed in the respective wards. The structure of the local self-government level CDS is shown in the following chart.

19 68 Chart 5. Formation of local self government level community development society Coverage of Kudumbashree Project in Kerala The Kudumbashree has become a massive movement encompassing Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs) of women members, as on 31 st March 2007, who have been federated into Ward level Area Development Societies

20 69 and 1058 Local Self Government Level Community Development Societies (CDSs). The cumulative status of Kudumbashree Community Based Organisations in Kerala is depicted in Table 3.2. Table 3. 2 : Year-wise cumulative status of Kudumbashree CBOs in Kerala (As on 31 st March) (A)Urban: Total No. of NHGs Total No.ADSs Total No. of CDSs Average No. of NHGs per ADS Average No. of NHGs per CDS (B)Rural: Total No. of NHGs Total No.ADSs Total No. of CDSs Average No. of NHGs per ADS Average No. of NHGs per CDS (C)Total: ( A+B) Total No. of NHGs Total No. ADSs Total No. of CDSs Average No. of NHGs per ADS Average No. of NHGs per CDS Source: Compiled and Computed from the monthly status report of Kerala State Poverty Eradication Mission, Thiruvananthapuram From the data provided in the above table, it is evident that the total number of Kudumbashree NHGs increased from in to in showing a cumulative growth of 54.65% in 4 years. The table also indicates that though the programme was conceived in all local self-government levels by the

21 70 end of 31 st March 2002, a significant number of wards were left out of coverage of Kudumbashree programme as on that date. The number of ADSs had increased by 23.37% during in comparison with the number of ADSs in As all the then urban and rural local self government bodies were brought under the Kudumbashree project by the end of 31 st March 2002, the number of CDSs remains the same through out the periods under review except during the year During this period the number of CDSs increased to 1058 due to the formation of new panchayats. The average number of NHGs per ADS increased from 9 to 11 during the period and the average number of NHGs per CDS increased from 111 to 171. Sector-wise (rural-urban) comparison of the status of Kudumbashree Community Based Organisations revealed that out of a total of NHGs as on 31 st March 2007, 93.12% represent rural and the remaining 6.88% urban. The total number of ADSs and CDSs as on 31 st March 2007 was 1005 and 59 respectively in the urban areas as against ADS and 999 CDS in the rural sector. The average number of NHGs per CDS has increased from 133 to 211 in urban areas and from 110 to 168 in rural areas indicating the formation of new ADSs and new NHGs during the period. Membership of the Project The size of the membership has an influence on the economic viability of the project. A larger size is economically more viable and hence all the efforts were made by Kudumbashree Mission to bring the eligible families under the project. The Mission has succeeded in mobilizing families in the State under the project up to 31 st March 2007.The details of families covered under the project during the periods from to are shown in Table 3.3.

22 71 Table 3.3: Year-wise cumulative coverage of families under the Kudumbashree project in Kerala (As on 31 st March) (A)Urban: Total No. of Families covered Average No. of Families per NHG Average No. of Families per ADS Average No. of Families per CDS (B)Rural: Total No. of Families covered Average No. of Families per NHG Average No. of Families per ADS Average No. of Families per CDS ( C ) Total: (A+B) Total No. of Families covered Average No. of Families per NHG Average No. of Families per ADS Average No. of Families per CDS Source: Compiled and Computed from the monthly Status Report of Kerala State Poverty Eradication Mission, Thiruvananthapuram From the table it can be noticed that the membership in NHGs had increased by % during in relation to The rural urban proportion of membership is about 6.31:1as on 31 st March 2007 as against 8.43:1.in , indicating relatively higher progress in the membership mobilization in urban sector. During the year the families covered under the project in urban sector has increased by % in comparison with that of in the previous year. It also indicates that a large number of poor families were kept outside the project for many years in spite of the fact that Kudumbashree project had started functioning in urban areas since The average number of families per NHG,ADS and CDS had increased by 35.48%,29.47% and % respectively in urban areas during in comparison with that of in There is no change in the average number of families per NHG in rural areas

23 72 while the average number of families per ADS and CDS had increased by 28.57% and % respectively during the period. Sector-wise analysis indicates wider disparity in the average number of families per NHG in the rural and urban sectors. The average number was 19 in rural areas and 42 in urban areas while the state average comprising of both rural and urban stood at 21 as on 31 st March The average number of families per ADS and CDS in rural areas were 207 and 3264 respectively as against 514 and 8758 in urban areas. The District-wise status of Kudumbashree Community Based Organisations in rural areas are given in Table 3.4. Table 3. 4 : District-wise status of rural Kudumbashree community based organisations Sl.No. District No.of NHGs Thiruvananthapuram Kollam Pathanamthitta Alappuzha Kottayam Idukki Ernakulam Thrissur Palakkad Malappuram Kozhikkode Wayanad Kannur Kasargode No.of ADSs No. of NHGs per ADS No. of CDSs No. of NHGs per CDS Total Source: Compiled and Computed from the monthly Status Report of Kerala State Poverty Eradication Mission, Thiruvananthapuram With regard to the number of Kudumbashree NHGs in rural Kerala as on 31 st March 2007, it can be observed from Table 3.4 that Palakkad district ranks the top with NHGs while Kasargode district stood at the bottom with 5583

24 73 NHGs. ADS wise analysis shows that the average number of NHGs is the highest in Wayanad district i.e. 16 and lowest in Malappuram district i.e. 7. The number of NHGs per CDS ranges from 121 in Pathanamthitta district to 293 in Wayanadu district. The major operations undertaken by the Kudumbashree project are presented below:- Micro Finance & Linkage Banking Kudumbashree of Kerala is an outgrowth of the broad microfinance initiative in the country 40. Micro finance has been recognized and accepted by Government of Kerala as one of the new development paradigms for alleviating poverty through social and economic empowerment of the poor. Experiences of different anti-poverty and other welfare programmes have shown that the key to success lies in the evolution and participation of community based organisations at the grass root level. People s participation in credit delivery and recovery and linking of formal credit institutions to borrowers through group approach have been considered as a supplementary mechanism for providing credit support to the poor. The Kudumbashree program in Kerala comes under the SHG-Bank Linkage model where the social intermediary is a state government entity (Kudumbashree) 41. NHGs, the grassroots level units of the poor women under the project, act as an effective Micro Finance Institution (MFI) 42. Kudumbashree Model of Microfinance The different stages involved in the Kudumbashree model of microfinance are 43 : a. Thrift mobilization b. Sanctioning credit c. Repayment and monitoring of credit d. Grading of NHGs e. Linking with banks f. Development of micro enterprises by availing loan from NHG g. Training

25 74 h. Market development i. Generation of income and repayment of loan to NHG j. Repayment of bank loan by NHG. 1. Thrift and Credit Operations Kudumbashree NHGs act as the Thrift-Credit Societies and facilitates the poor to save and provide them with cost effective and easy credit. The members bring in small sums as weekly savings, pool them together, form a corpus and take loans to meet their immediate needs. The thrift and credit operations also necessitate a formal bank account that is operated jointly by the President and the Secretary. The most striking aspects of thrift and credit societies of Kudumbashree viz., thrift collection, internal lending, accounts keeping etc. are done by the poor women themselves. They are the depositors, borrowers, managers and cashiers of thrift-credit societies. Thrift-credit societies promoted by Kudumbashree are fast growing as Informal Banks of the Poor Women at their doorsteps. Up to 31 st March 2007, Kudumbashree NHGs had collected thrift of Rs crores and this has been circulated as loan amounting to Rs crores. (a) Thrift Mobilisation Thrift constitutes an important source of funds for the NHGs. The prosperity of the NHGs depends considerably on its capacity to mobilize thrift. The NHG thrift has become a community asset and hence the women in the BPL families can use it as security for availing loans. The cumulative amount of thrift mobilized as on 31 st March 2007 stood at Rs crores. The cumulative thrift mobilizations under the project for different periods are shown in Table 3.5

26 75 Table 3.5 : Year-wise cumulative thrift mobilizations under the Kudumbashree project in Kerala (As on 31 st March) (A)Urban: Cumulative thrift (Rs.in Lakhs) Average thrift per Family(Rs.) Average thrift per NHG(Rs.) Average thrift per ADS (Rs.) Average thrift per CDS(Rs.) (B)Rural: Cumulative thrift(rs.inlakhs) Average thrift per Family(Rs.) Average thrift per NHG(Rs.) Average thrift per ADS (Rs.) Average thrift per CDS(Rs.) ( C ) Total: (A+B) Cumulative thrift(rs.inlakhs) Average thrift per Family(Rs.) Average thrift per NHG(Rs.) Average thrift per ADS (Rs.) Average thrift per CDS(Rs.) Source: Compiled and Computed from the monthly status report of Kerala State Poverty Eradication Mission, Thiruvananthapuram

27 76 The thrift mobilized, an index of the progress of Kudumbashree project, has recorded phenomenal rates of growth as could be seen from the Table 3.5. The thrift mobilized increased from crores as at the end of 31 st March, 2003 to crores at the end of , registering a growth rate of %. Sector-wise analysis reveals that rural Kudumbashree NHGs have mobilized Rs crores upto 31 st March 2007 that constitutes 94.35% of the total thrift mobilized under the project in Kerala. The remaining % is mobilized by urban Kudumbashree NHGs. The average thrift per family in urban areas is Rs.919 as against Rs.2435 in rural areas. The average thrift per NHG and ADS in rural areas is 1.23 and 1.06 times as that of urban areas as on 31 st March 2007.It also shows that thrift per CDS is higher in urban areas, which is 1.01 times as that of rural CDS. (b) Internal Lending: Internal lending has become an important activity of Kudumbashree NHGs and it is considered as another important criterion for measuring the progress of the Kudumbashree project. The savings collected through Kudumbashree Community Based Organisations are used for internal lending among the members for different purposes ranging from consumption loans to income generation loans. The repayment is collected weekly during the routine NHG meetings and the interest from savings is generally accumulated in the Group s savings account and is used for re-loaning to its members. The accumulated amount of internal loan disbursed by Kudumbashree NHGs in Kerala as on 31 st march 2007 stood at Rs crores. The year-wise details of internal loans disbursed under Kudumbashree project for five years ending 31st March 2007 are given in Table 3.6

28 77 Table 3.6 Year-wise cumulative amount of internal loan disbursed under the Kudumbashree project in Kerala (As on 31 st March) (A)Urban: Cumulative Loan (Rs.in Lakhs) Average Loan per Family(Rs.) Average Loan per NHG(Rs.) Average Loan per ADS (Rs.) Average Loan per CDS(Rs.) (B)Rural: Cumulative Loan(Rs.inLakhs) Average Loan per Family(Rs.) Average Loan per NHG(Rs.) Average Loan per ADS (Rs.) Average Loan per CDS(Rs.) ( C ) Total: (A+B) Cumulative Loan(Rs.inLakhs) Average Loan per Family(Rs.) Average Loan per NHG(Rs.) Average Loan per ADS (Rs.) Average Loan per CDS(Rs.) Source: Compiled and Computed from the monthly status report of Kerala State Poverty Eradication Mission, Thiruvananthapuram Table 3.6 indicates that the volume of thrift loan distributed by Kudumbashree NHGs had increased by % during a period of four years from to The distribution of loans during this period in the urban sector had increased by % and in the rural sector by %. The average loan per family in urban sector was Rs as on 31 st March 2007 as against Rs in the rural sector. The state average was Rs.5639.The analysis further reveals that the average loan per NHG in the rural sector is 2.84 times as that of

29 78 urban sector; the average loan per ADS in the rural sector is 2.45 times as that of urban sector and the average loan per CDS in the rural sector is 2.27 times as that of urban sector. (c)velocity of Internal Lending (VIL): VIL is an index of the sustainable thrift and credit operations of the Kudumbashree Neighbourhood Groups. It is arrived at by dividing the credit by thrift mobilized 44. A lending rate of more than one is considered as a symbol of sustainable thrift credit operations. The details of cumulative velocity of internal lending of Kudumbashree NHGs for different years are given in Table 3.7. Table 3.7: Year-wise cumulative velocity of internal lending of Kudumbashree NHGs in Kerala (As on 31 st March) (A) Urban Cumulative Thrift (Rs. in Lakhs) Cumulative Loan (Rs. in Lakhs) VIL (B) Rural Cumulative Thrift (Rs. in Lakhs) Cumulative Loan (Rs. in Lakhs) VIL (C) Total(A+B) Cumulative Thrift (Rs. in Lakhs) Cumulative Loan (Rs. in Lakhs) VIL Source: Compiled and Computed from the Monthly Status Report of Kerala State Poverty Eradication Mission, Thiruvananthapuram It can be observed from the table that the overall velocity of internal lending of Kudumbashree NHGs as on 31 st March 2007 was Sector wise

30 79 analysis shows that the VIL of the Kudumbashree NHGs in rural sector is 2.61 while it is only 1.14 in the case of urban sector. The VIL of Kudumbashree NHGs in rural and urban sectors had increased from 1.21 to 2.61 and 1.05 to 1.14 respectively during the period from to The rate of growth of VIL in urban areas is very insignificant and even decreased during 2004 and 2006 in comparison with that of in the previous years. But there are significant increases in the VIL in rural areas registering a growth rate of nearly 116% over the period of evaluation. (ii) Linkage Banking Kudumbashree launched the linkage-banking programme during subject to the grading of the NHGs as per NABARD norms 45. Up to 31 st March 2006, NHGs were linked with banks and a sum of Rs lakhs has been made available to the NHGs as loan. The progress of bank-linkage programme over a period of three years is shown in Table 3.8. Table 3.8 : Progress of bank linkage programme under Kudumbashree project Year Total No. of NHGs NHGs Linked Percentage Cumulative) (Cumulative) Linkage(Cumulative) Source: Compiled from the Monthly Status Report of Kerala State Poverty Eradication Mission, Thiruvananthapuram The table indicates that NHGs were linked to banks for availing credit till 31 st March 2003, which accounts for only % of the total NHGs as on that date; though the corresponding percentage as on 31 st March 2006 was It should be an eye opener to the fact that % of the total NHGs remains unlinked with banks for credit as at the end of Many Kudumbashree NHGs have not approached banks for availing credit due to various reasons like insufficient savings to meet their requirements, location of banks in far away places, NHGs are too young to access bank loans, poor functioning of NHGs, fear