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Regional Project Implementation Plan

June, 2012

North East Rural Livelihood Project

(NERLP) Ministry of DoNER, Govt. of India

Project Implementation Plan (PIP)


CONTENTS

1 CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND ........................................................................................ 9

1.1 Background .............................................................................................................. 9

1.2 NE Regional Context and Problem Analysis .......................................................... 9

1.3 Poverty Scenario .................................................................................................... 11

1.4 Regional Development Strategies ......................................................................... 15

2 CHAPTER 2: STATE CONTEXTS ................................................................................ 17

2.1 Mizoram................................................................................................................. 17

2.2 Nagaland ................................................................................................................ 18

2.3 Sikkim .................................................................................................................... 19

2.4 Tripura ................................................................................................................... 19

3 CHAPTER 3: PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND STRATEGY ....................................... 21

3.1 Project Objective ................................................................................................... 21

3.2 Project Guiding Principles ..................................................................................... 21

3.3 Project duration and area ....................................................................................... 22

3.4 Beneficiary Targeting and Selection ..................................................................... 23

3.5 Project Approach ................................................................................................... 23

3.5.1 Social Empowerment ......................................................................................... 23

3.5.2 Economic Empowerment ................................................................................... 24

3.5.3 Partnership Development ................................................................................... 25

3.6 Project Strategies ................................................................................................... 25

3.6.1 Community Based Institutions ........................................................................... 25

3.6.2 Forming Community Cadres: ............................................................................ 36

3.6.3 Capacity Building of Community Institutions ................................................... 37

3.6.4 Community Investment Support ........................................................................ 38

3.6.5 Skill Development and Employment ................................................................. 39

3.6.6 Partnerships and linkages ................................................................................... 40

3.6.7 Convergence ...................................................................................................... 40

3.6.8 Natural Resource Management .......................................................................... 41

3.7 Project Implementation Phase ............................................................................... 44

3.7.1 Pre Project Phase (Phase 0)................................................................................ 44

3.7.2 Phase I (0-6 months) .......................................................................................... 44

3.7.3 Phase II (7-12 months) ....................................................................................... 44


3.7.4 Phase III (13-18 months) ................................................................................... 45

3.7.5 Phase IV (19-48 months) ................................................................................... 45

3.7.6 Phase V – Consolidation (49-60 months) .......................................................... 46

3.8 Community Insitutions Building Outputs.............................................................. 46

4 CHAPTER 4: PROJECT COMPONENTS ..................................................................... 47

4.1 Social Empowerment ............................................................................................. 48

4.1.1 Support to Project Facilitation Team ................................................................. 48

4.1.2 Community Mobilisation and Institution Building ............................................ 48

4.2 Economic Empowerment ...................................................................................... 49

4.2.1 SHG and SHG Federation Investment Support ................................................. 50

4.2.2 Community Development Support .................................................................... 51

4.2.3 Producer Organization Investment Support ....................................................... 53

4.2.4 Skill Development and Placement ..................................................................... 54

4.2.5 Innovation Support............................................................................................. 54

4.3 Partnership Development ...................................................................................... 58

4.3.1 Financial Support Linkages ............................................................................... 58

4.3.2 Technical Support Linkage ................................................................................ 58

4.3.3 Marketing Support Linkages.............................................................................. 60

4.4 Project Management .............................................................................................. 61

4.4.1 Project Management .......................................................................................... 61

4.4.2 Monitoring and Evaluation ................................................................................ 61

4.4.3 Technical Assistance .......................................................................................... 64

4.5 Expected Project outcomes from the Components: ............................................... 64

5 CHAPER 5: IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS ............................................... 66

5.1 Ministry of DONER .............................................................................................. 66

5.2 Regional Society (NELPS) .................................................................................... 66

5.3 Regional Project Management Unit (RPMU) ....................................................... 67

5.4 State Project Coordinator....................................................................................... 67

5.5 District Project Management Units (DPMU) ........................................................ 68

5.6 Project Facilitation Team (PFT) ............................................................................ 68

6 CHAPTER 6: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ............................................... 74

6.1 Human Resource Strategy ..................................................................................... 74

6.2 Developing Learning Mechanism in the Project ................................................... 76

7 CHAPTER 7: FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ............................................................... 78

7.1 Key Role and Responsibility ................................................................................. 78

7.1.1 RPMU ................................................................................................................ 78

7.1.2 DPMU ................................................................................................................ 79


7.1.3 PFT ..................................................................................................................... 79

7.2 Fund Flow .............................................................................................................. 80

7.3 Capacity building for financial management......................................................... 80

7.4 Computerised Accounting System ........................................................................ 81

7.5 Audit Arrangement ................................................................................................ 81

7.5.1 Internal Audit ..................................................................................................... 81

7.5.2 External/Statutary Audit .................................................................................... 81

7.5.3 Social Audit ....................................................................................................... 82

8 CHAPTER 8: PROCUREMENT .................................................................................... 83

8.1 Procurement Arrangement ..................................................................................... 83

8.2 Procurement Process.............................................................................................. 84

8.3 Modes of Procurement at the Project Office level ................................................ 84

8.4 Community Based Procurement ............................................................................ 84

9 Chapter 9: GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY .............................................. 85

9.1 Governance Management .......................................................................................... 85

9.2 Measures for Effective Governance Management………………………………….86

9.3 Governance and Accountability Action Plan for NERLP (GAAP) .………………90

9.4 Social Accountability System………………………………………………………98

10 CHAPER 10: PROJECT ANALYSIS ........................................................................... 100

10.1 Sustainability of Project Interventions ................................................................ 100

10.2 Economic and Financial Analysis of Proposed Interventions ............................. 103

10.3 Critical Risks and Possible Controversial aspects ............................................... 103

10.3.1 Risks .................................................................................................................... 103

10.3.2 Possible controversial aspects .......................................................................... 106

10.3.3 Risk framework and Mitigation Measures ....................................................... 107

10.4 Exit Strategy ........................................................................................................ 110

11 CHAPER 11: SAFEGAURD MANAGEMENT ........................................................... 112

11.1 Environment Safeguard Management ................................................................. 112

11.1.1 Check list for ensuring environment safeguards…………………………….112

11.1.1 Environment Safeguard …………………………………………………….113

11.2 Social Safeguard Management ............................................................................ 114

11.2.1 Social Safegurd ……………………………………………………………..114

12 CHPTER 12: TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK ………………………..116


13 NERLP RESULT FRAMEWORK …………………………………………………….122

13.1 Project Outcome …………………………………………………………………….122

13.2 Outcome Indicators and Targets …………………………………………………….124

14. Annexures …………………………………………………………………..………… 130

14.1 Annexure - I : Profile of Livelihood activities ……………………..………… 130

14.2 Annexure – II: Block wise phasing ..................................................................... 132

14.3 Annexure – III: Potential agencies for partnerships ............................................ 134

List of Tables

Table 1-1: State development indicators .................................................................................. 10

Table 1-2: Comparative Natural Resources of NER, 2000-01 ................................................ 10

Table 1-3: Production of Major Crops in four states of NER (Quintal per hectare) ............... 12 Table 1-4: Distribution of Usually Employed by Category of Employment [Rural] .............. 12 Table 1-5: Small Scale Industries and employment ................................................................ 13 Table 1-6: Credit Deposit Ratios ............................................................................................. 13 Table 1-7: Area wise Distribution of Scheduled Commercial Bank Branches ....................... 13

Table 1-8: Unemployment Rate among the Youth (15-29 years), Rural (Per cent) ................ 14 Table 1-9: Dropout Rates, Classes I-X .................................................................................... 14

Table 1-10: Basic Amenities poverty ...................................................................................... 15 Table 3-1: Project Area ............................................................................................................ 22

Table 3-2: Key Roles and Responsibilities of Community Institutions .................................. 34 Table 3-3: CSP roles and output matrix ................................................................................... 36

Table 3-4: Capacity Building of Community Org. .................................................................. 37 Table 3-5: Phasing of Community Institution Building .......................................................... 46

Table 4-1: Project Components ............................................................................................... 47 Table 4-2: Project support to community based organizations ................................................ 56 Table 4-3: Expected Project Outcomes.................................................................................... 64

Table 5-1: Key Roles and Responsibilities of Project Units.................................................... 72 Table 6-1: Capacity Building Plan ........................................................................................... 76

Table 9-1: Governance and Accountability Aciton Plan (Matrix)........................................... 92 Table 10-1: Sustainability of project rating ........................................................................... 102 Table 10-2: Economic and Financial Analysis ...................................................................... 103

Table 11-1: Environment safeguard checklist ....................................................................... 112 Table 11-2: Environment Safegaurd Activities ..................................................................... 113

Table 11-3: Social safeguards ................................................................................................ 114

Table 12-1:Tribal Development Framework - Key Actions ……………………………..117

Table 13-1: Project outcome framework ............................................................................... 122 Table 13-2: Project outcome indicators and targets .............................................................. 124


List of Figures

Figure 1: Community Institutional Structure ........................................................................... 26 Figure 2: Village Project Cycle................................................................................................ 43

Figure 3: Overview of the Organization .................................................................................. 70 Figure 4: Detailed Organogram ............................................................................................... 71 Figure 5: Fund Flow Chart ....................................................................................................... 80


Glossary of Terms

AWPB Annual Work Plan and Budget

BRGF Backward Region Grant Fund

CDG Community development group

COM Community Operational Manual

CRP Community Resource Persons

DPMU District Project Management Unit

EC Executive Committee

FEC Federation Executive Committee

FWWB Friends and World Women Banking

FSF Food Security fund

GB General Body

GOI Government of India

GSDP Gross State Domestic Product

HEF Health Emergency Fund

HH Household

HR Human Resources

IG Income Generation

IGA Income Generating Activity

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development

IWDP Integrated Watershed Development Programme

MFI Micro Finance Institution

MGNERGA Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

Min DONER Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region

MIS Management Information System

NABARD National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development

NE North East

NEC North-Eastern Council

NERCORMP North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project

for Upland Areas

NERLP North East Rural Development Project

NEDFI North East Development Finance Institution

PFT Non Government Organization

NREGA National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

NREGS National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

NRLM National Rural Livelihood Mission

NRM Natural Resource Management

NTFP Non Timber Forest Produce

PFT Project Facilitation Team

PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal

PRI Panchayati Raj Institutions

RGVN Rashtriya Gramin Vikas Nidhi

RPMU Regional Project Management Unit

RRA Rural Rapid Appraisal

RTI Right to Information

SDP State Domestic Product

SHG Self Help Group

SIDBI Small Industries Development Bank of India

SPSU State Project Support Unit


SSO Sector Support Organization

TA Technical Assistance

CDP Community Development Plan

WOT Work and Oversight Team

YG Youth Group


1 CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND

1.1 Background

North East (NE) region in India are one of the most isolated regions in the country. It

comprises of eight states, including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya,

Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. With a total population of 39 million (2001), the

region accounts for about 3.9% of India’s total population; it covers 7.9% of its total

geographical area. The economy of the NE region is still pre-dominantly agrarian with the

share of agriculture in total State Domestic Product (SDP) above the national average.

The region has better than average Human Development Indices but the poverty and

unemployment is widespread in rural and urban areas leading to many social issues and

according to some feeding the insurgency.

Government of India has approached the World Bank for support for a Livelihood

Project across four States in the region viz. Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. This

document details the Project Implementation Plan (PIP) for the North East Rural Livelihood

Project (NERLP) in these four States.

1.2 NE Regional Context and Problem Analysis

India’s North Eastern region is a melting pot of various tribes and communities with

extraordinarily diverse and colourful customs traditions. The vast majority of the region’s

population lives in rural areas, accounting for 85% of the total population as against the

national average of 72% (2001). As such the region is also known for its rich cultural

heritage and ethnic diversity by being the home of 145 tribal groups (out of which 78 with

populations exceeding 5,000 people)1, representing about 12% of the total tribal population of

India. In fact, tribal populations represent the majority of the total population in four States,

including Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram, while representing a

significant minority in the other States. Each of the state has its own history and the tribal

groups in the states have their own culture, tradition and governance systems.

The significant linguistic, ethnic and

cultural diversity, not only among the

people of different states but also

within each state in the region, is an

important feature that needs to be

taken into account in designing

programmes and policies.

Human development indicators

of the region’s population are

relatively favorable (Table 1.1). The

1 Irshad Ali and Indranoshee Das (2003). “

Tribal Situation in North-East India.” Studies of Tribes and Tribals, 1(2): 141-148.


region has a relatively educated population with state-wise literacy rates and gross enrolment

ratios for grades 1 to 8 above the national average in six out of eight NE States. The female

literacy rate of the region is significantly above the national average. According to the 2001

Census, the total literacy rate in the region was 68.5 per cent, while the female literacy was

61.5 per cent. State-wise infant mortality rates for all NE States, except Assam, are well

below the national average (2005).

Table 1-1: State development indicators

Sta

te

Are

a (s

q K

m)

20

01

Po

pu

lati

on

(lak

h p

erso

ns)

Den

sity

(N

o

of

peo

ple

p

er

sq k

m)

Lit

erac

y r

ate

(% )

Infa

nt

mo

rtal

ity

rat

e

Po

ver

ty

Rat

io

bas

ed o

n M

RP

con

sum

pti

on

20

04

-05

Per

ca

pit

a

GS

DP

(R

s )

20

04

-05

Fo

rest

Co

ver

age

(5)

20

04

-05

Per

ca

pit

a

elec

tric

ity

con

sum

pti

on

(kw

h)2

00

4-0

5

Mizoram 21,087 8.89 42 88.8 34 9.5 30,357 75.71 133.7

Nagaland 16,579 19.90 120 66.6 38 16.5 26,129 52.05 87.2

Sikkim 7,098 5.41 86 68.8 34 15.2 26,215 82.29 397.7

Tripura 10,486 31.99 304 73.2 34 14.4 24,984 60.01 113.1

NER

States

262,179 389.84 68.5 45 13.9 18,032 54.52 110.4

India 32,87,240 10,287.37 324 64.8 57 23.6 25,944 23.57 411.1

Source: NER vision 2020

The region also has a strong advantage in forest based activities and biodiversity, which

is attributed by the high percentage of forest land (52%) compared to the Indian average of

23% (Table 1-2). The land to person ration is also higher at 0.68 hectors per person than the

national average of 0.32 (hectors/person). The region is known for its rich and abundant

natural resources with recognized global importance and is part of the Indo-Burma Hotspot,

which ranks 6th

among the 25 biodiversity hotspots of the world. The region is a treasure

house of exceptional natural beauty, floral and faunal bio-diversity and abundant mineral,

water and forest resources. It has 60,000 megawatts of potential hydro-power.

Table 1-2: Comparative Natural Resources of NER, 2000-01

Sta

tes

Fo

rest

/lan

d

(%

)

Net

are

a so

wn/L

and

(%)

Net

Are

a so

wn/t

ota

l

cro

pped

are

a, (

%)

Cu

ltiv

able

was

te

lan

d/l

and

, (%

)

Per

man

ent

pas

ture

& o

ther

gra

zing

lan

ds/

lan

d (

%)

Lan

d u

nder

mis

.

Tre

es &

gro

ves

no

t in

cluded

un

der

net

are

a

sow

n/l

and, (%

)

Fal

low

lan

d o

ther

than

curr

ent

fall

ow

s/ l

and, (%

)

Cu

rren

t fa

llow

s

.lan

d, (%

)

Mizoram 88.0 4.0 100.0 6.0 1.1 1.5 8.4 1.8

Nagaland 54.0 19.0 96.0 4.1 - 8.9 5.0 5.8

Sikkim 36.0 13.0 85.0 0.1 9.8 0.8 1.3 0.6

Tripura 58.0 28.0 65.0 0.1 - 2.6 0.1 0.1

India 23.0 46.0 85.0 4.5 3.6 1.1 3.3 4.8

Source: Statistical Abstract of India 2003-04 as figuring in NER Vision document 2020

It would be erroneous to consider the region as a homogeneous entity. The significant

linguistic, ethnic and cultural diversity, not only among the people of different states but also


within each state in the region, is an important feature that needs to be taken into account in

formulating policies and programmes. 1.3 Poverty Scenario

Though the human development indicators are relatively favorable, yet the region has

not been able to build on these strengths and capture its potential. The standard of living of

people in this region, as measured by per capita Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), has

lagged significantly behind the rest of the country. Also the divergence in per capita income

between the country and the region shows a steady increase over the years. In 2004-05 it was

less than the all state average of Rs 25,968 by 31 %. Average per capita income in the region

is less than 70% of the national average (2001-02), while 35% of its population lives below

the poverty line as compared to the national average of about 26% (2000-01).

With growth below the national average and no apparent signs of picking up, the region

and its people seem to be increasingly excluded from India’s current economic success. The

most dynamic segment of the region’s economy appears to be mainly associated with the

growth in the government sector and ancillary trade and service sectors, while leaving the

vast majority of the rural population untouched.

Widely recognized impediments for development of the region include: (i) high

degree of isolation from the rest of India and severe limitations on cross-border trade, (ii)

poor internal infrastructure and services that hamper access to markets and credit, and (iii)

low level of business confidence and difficult investment climate caused by the impact of

armed violence (currently there are 72 insurgent groups in the North East Region (2004)2).

Insurgency in the region has strong roots in the quest for self-governance, large-scale

unemployment of (educated) youth, and concerns over identity and culture.

Broadly the poverty of North East Region can be divided into:

a) Economic Poverty

b) Human Poverty

c) Nutritional Poverty and

d) Basic Amenities Poverty (NER Vision 2020)

a) Economic Poverty:

The region is probably the country’s richest in terms of natural resources, with an

immense endowment of water, forests, biodiversity, and minerals, yet it remains poor and

lags behind the rest of the country. The growth in the region is slower than that of the rest of

the country and this is reflected in the average per capita income of the region, which is

approximately 30 percent lower than the national average.

Agriculture plays a key role in determining poverty level. In most of India’s rapidly

growing states the agricultural sector is in relative decline, with growth in the service and

manufacturing sectors accelerating. However, in the Northeast there is little evidence of

economic diversification. Agriculture remains the backbone of the economy and is dominated

in the hill states by jhumming or shifting cultivation.

2 Turner, M. and B. Nepram, (2004). The impact of armed violence in Northeast India. Centre for International

Cooperation and Security.


The contribution of agriculture to net state domestic product is much higher in this

region which was close to 30 percent in 2003, but the total production of food grain is

alarmingly lower than the national level average as agriculture system remains predominantly

traditional. On the other hand, shifting cultivation (jhum) is very much a dominant system of

cultivation in this area. Despite covering 8.8% of the total geographical area of the country,

North East India produces only 1.5% of country’s total food grain production. As a result, NE

remains a major net importer of the food grains with a high score in dependency index. The

overall production picture of the various main crops of the region can be seen in Table 1-3.

Table 1-3: Production of Major Crops in four states of NER (Quintal per hectare)

Crop Mizoram Nagaland Sikkim Tripura

Rice 0.92 0.66 0.69 1.04

Maize 0.95 0.73 0.76 0.44

Total Cereals 0.96 0.70 0.72 1.09

Total pulses 1.38 1.30 1.50 0.95

Total Oilseeds 0.56 1.00 0.70 0.67

Banana 0.12 0.71 - 0.50

Sugarcane 0.04 0.81 - 0.73

Ginger 1.82 3.85 -1.40 0.25

Pineapple 0.16 0.93 - 1.30

Turmeric - 1.39 0.87 0.77

Source: NER Vision Document 2020

From the information given above, it can be noticed that there is a similar demand and

production pattern across the region and though all the states produce almost all the products

in some quantity or the other, yet, same is not sufficient to meet the demand of the respective

states. With a high rate of dependency, North East India remains the major importer of food

grains.

Agriculture also remains the major employment providing sector. The composition of

the poor people shows that self employment in the agriculture sector constitutes the bulk of

the poor. Table 1-4.

Table 1-4: Distribution of Usually Employed by Category of Employment [Rural]

(Per cent of total workers)

States 1999-2000 2004-05

Principal and Subsidiary Status Principal and Subsidiary Status

Self

Employed

Regular

Employed

Casual

Labour

Self

Employed

Regular

Employed

Casual

Labour

Mizoram 89.0 8.4 2.6 91.4 6.7 1.8

Nagaland 82.1 16.6 1.3 88.3 11.0 0.7

Sikkim 62.0 26.1 11.9 67.8 25.2 7.0

Tripura 47.2 11.1 41.7 52.8 10.2 37.0

India 55.8 6.8 37.4 60.2 7.1 32.8

Source: NER vision 2020

Small Scale Industries is a segment which contributes significantly to the economic

development of the region in relation to GDP, export and employment generation. The

development rate of the small and medium scale industries is relatively poor in the North East

region. Only 3 percent of the small scale units of the country are located in this region.


Sikkim has the least numbers. This is a major area of concern which contributes to the

economic poverty of the region. Table 1-5.

Table 1-5: Small Scale Industries and employment

States Registered

SSI

Unregistered

SSI

Total SSIs Percent of

NE

Percent of

SSI in all

India

Percent of

total

employment

Mizoram 2,733 8,383 11,116 3.5 0.11 0.10

Nagaland 568 13,293 13,861 4.4 0.13 0.23

Sikkim 174 194 386 0.1 0.00 0.01

Tripura 959 23,393 24,352 7.7 0.23 0.23

NER 25,680 290,167 315,847 100.00 3.00 3.11

India 13,74,974 91,46,216 1,05,21,19

0

- 100 100

Source: Third Census, Small scale industry, 2001-02.

A key area where focus is needed, in North Eastern States is banking sector where

the credit deposit ratio (Table 1-6) is much less than the all India level .In states like

Nagaland the ratio is as low as 23 as compared to all India level of 66.

Table 1-6: Credit Deposit Ratios

State 1997-98 2000-01 2004-05

Mizoram 23 26 51

Nagaland 18 14 23

Sikkim 34 23 29

Tripura 21 16 30

NER 30 28 35

India 56 59 66 Source: NER vision 2020

In addition, density of bank branches is much lower as compared to rest of country,

the lowest number of banks being in Sikkim (49) and the highest in Tripura (179). The

population covered per branch is also low. Table 1-7.

Table 1-7: Area wise Distribution of Scheduled Commercial Bank Branches

(as in Mar 2004)

State

Rural

Semi-

Urban

Urban

Total

Average Population (in

thousand)

per bank branch

Mizoram 60 9 9 78 11

Nagaland 36 33 - 69 28

Sikkim 36 13 - 49 11

Tripura 119 29 31 179 18

Source: Basic Statistics of NER 2006b. Human poverty:

This is related to the access to the human resources. The human poverty level is high in both

rural and urban areas. The poverty disparities between these two are considerable. The


following diagram shows the rural and urban poverty percentage of the four North Eastern

states in comparison to the national scenario.

Figure -2

Rural Poverty

Mizoram, 37.40%

Sikkim, 28.60%

Tripura , 43.80%

India rural, 36.30%

Nagaland, 39.80%

Human poverty is vastly influenced by lack of skills among the poor. While the

literacy rate is high, the skill development is low. The rate of unemployment in the region is

also very alarming and as youth unemployment dominates with 40% of the total

unemployment, this is becoming a serious and disturbing factor. (Table 1-8)

Table 1-8: Unemployment Rate among the Youth (15-29 years), Rural (Per cent)

States Unemployment Rate in 2004-05

Male Female Total

15-19 20-24 25-29 15-29 15-19 20-24 25-29 15-29 15-19 20-24 25-29 15-29

Mizoram 0.7 2.4 2.2 2 0 0.4 0 0.3 0.5 1.5 1.4 1.3

Nagaland 8.2 26.9 19.2 20.8 8.1 15 4.1 9.5 7.8 20.1 12.4 14.9

Sikkim 10.3 13 3.5 8.6 0 6.4 3.7 4 7.1 10.7 3.6 7

Tripura 33.6 31.2 13.1 25.7 65.7 67.1 45.2 60.8 40.9 39.1 18.5 33

India 7.9 6.2 2.3 5.2 6.7 9.3 5.2 7 7.5 7 3.3 5.7 Source: NER vision 2020

The unemployment factor is contributed a lot by the high percentage of the school

dropouts which is higher than the all India level. In Nagaland the percentage is 77.5% while

the all India figure is 62.6%. The high percentage of dropouts in all the north eastern states

coupled with lack of skills attributes much to the problems in the social sector. (Table 1-9)

Table 1-9: Dropout Rates, Classes I-X

States

2002-03

Boys Girls Total

Mizoram 77.1 74.1 75.7

Nagaland 77.1 77.9 77.5

Sikkim 76.9 73.1 75.1

Tripura 74.2 74.3 74.3

India 60.7 65.0 62.6

Source: NER Vision 2020

Urban Poverty

Mizoram, 5.20%

Nagaland, 17.70%

Sikkim, 7.50%Tripura , 15.20%

India urban ,

16.80%


c. Nutritional poverty: The nutritional poverty in terms of calorie gap in rural areas is lower than all India

level (30.6%) in the states of Mizoram (27.3%) and Nagaland (24%). The gap is, however,

higher in Tripura (43.9%), and Sikkim (41.4%). The gap in urban areas is lower than all India

level (33.4%). In Mizoram it is 30.2%, Nagaland 14.7%, Sikkim 30.2% and Tripura 22.7%.

d. Basic Amenities Poverty (BAP):

This relates to having access to proper houses, sanitation, safe drinking water,

electricity etc. Access to basic requirements is very much important for any improvement in

the quality of life. The admittance of overall percentage of the households to safe drinking

water facility is lower than the all India average. In Mizoram the number of households

having access to safe drinking water is only 36% whereas the all India level figure is 77.9%. .

It is also notable that a large percentage of households fetch water from far away in the North

East (37.92% in Mizoram) whereas the all India percentage is 19.54% .The number of house

holds without proper sanitation facility is less than the all India average. (Table 1-10)

Table 1-10: Basic Amenities poverty

States HH fetching

water from far

away (%)

HH access to Safe Drinking Water: Tap, Hand

pump, tube well etc. 2001(SDW) (%)

HH with no

latrines

(%) Rural(SDW) Urban(SDW) Total(SDW)

Mizoram 37.92 23.8 47.8 36 20.26

Nagaland 33.45 47.5 42.3 46.5 35.36

Sikkim 20.87 67 97.1 70.7 40.65

Tripura 31.42 45.0 85.8 52.5 22.07

India 19.54 73.2 90.0 77.9 78.08

1.4 Regional Development Strategies

In order to deal with and overcome these constraints, Government of India has been

providing massive support to the Region for infrastructure development as well as substantive

incentives for private sector investment. As part of the Special Development Package for the

Region, specific schemes and programs for various sectors earmark 10% of their total outlay

to the Region. All NE States are classified as “special category states” and receive assistance

from the Planning Commission in the form of 90% grants and 10% loans. Besides these

resource transfers, Govt of India has attempted to strengthen the institutional framework for

development in the Region by creating the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region

(Ministry of DONER) in 2004 as well as upgrading the role and responsibilities of the North-

Eastern Council (NEC).

Despite these efforts, NE States continue to rank at the bottom of state-wise rankings

as far as infrastructure development is concerned3. Similarly, the notion that support has not

generated expected impacts on the ground is reflected in the very low and in fact worsening,

index of fiscal self-reliance for the respective States which are far below the national average.

The reasons for failing to achieve positive change on a substantive scale are numerous

including allegations of widespread corruption, as regularly reported in the media, as one of

3 Infrastructure Index (Ranking)Tripura: 54.60 (19); Assam: 53.84 (20); Sikkim: 52.88 (21); Nagaland: 51.02 (23);

Meghalaya: 46.88 (25); Mizoram: 46.75 (26); Manipur: 37.29 (27); Arunachal Pradesh 32.08 (28).


them. The challenging law and order situation in the Region is another. Last, but not least, it

is recognized that one of the root causes of this failure has been the prescriptive approach that

has been followed and which is generally believed to have ignored the social-cultural

complexity of the people.

As there are multiple deprivations associated with poverty and in order to address

them effectively, North East Council has mentioned a five fold programme of development

perspective in its Vision Document 2020. It includes Economic Development Perspective

(EDP), Institutional Development Perspective (IDP), Participatory Development Perspective

(PDP), Human Resource Development Perspective (HRDP) and Infrastructure Development

Perspective (Infr.DP)

Since agriculture and allied activities are the backbone of peoples’ livelihood, it is

evident that initiatives towards setting the stage for broad-based growth and reducing poverty

need to have a strong focus on increasing productivity and income-generating potential of the

sector, while carefully taking into account the diverse agro-ecological conditions in the

Region as well as the complex social fabric of its people.

To address the issues of rural poverty and creation of sustainable livelihood for the

rural poor particularly for women, the Government of India (GoI) through the Ministry of

Development of North Eastern Region (DONER) and the North Eastern Council (NEC) with

support from the World Bank proposes to implement the North East Rural Livelihood Project

(NERLP). This project builds on the strengths of the IFAD supported North Eastern Region

Community Resource Management Project for Upland Areas (NERCORMP) and relevant

experiences in the region and outside (Andhra Pradesh, M.P, Bihar etc.)

The basic thrust of the NERCORMP was to demonstrate a new approach to

development by adopting a genuine partnership approach with all relevant stakeholders under

which interventions are truly demand-driven and client-oriented; in line with indigenous

knowledge and capabilities of the people and implemented with clear transparency and

accountability. Evaluation results have indicated that the project was a notably successful

development intervention4, despite the very difficult environment in which it was

implemented, with a marked positive change in the condition of both direct and indirect

beneficiaries.

The eight North Eastern states have adopted the North Eastern Region (NER) Vision

2020 on May 2008. The Vision Statement was signed by all the eight Governors and Chief

Ministers, apart from the Minister of DoNER and the Chairman NEC. The legitimacy of the

Vision springs not only due to its endorsement by all the eight participating states, but by the

elaborate consultations which preceded its drafting. NER Vision 2020 is sharply focused on

the aspirations of the people of the Region to find improved livelihood opportunities, seek

local empowerment and aim for sustainable management of the natural resource base. In line

with the Vision 2020 which aims at putting communities and the needs of the poor at the

centre of development and in view of the positive achievements of NERCORMP, Govt of

India has approached the World Bank to support scaling-up of its livelihood program in the

Region, while at the same time, strengthening the access of the poor to financial services and

input/output markets by forming sustainable institutions of poor.

4 IFAD (2006). North-Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project for Upland Areas – Interim Evaluation.


2 CHAPTER 2: STATE CONTEXTS

The North East Rural Livelihood Project would cover four States of the North East

viz. Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. The context of each of these states is given in

brief below.

2.1 Mizoram

With a geographical area of 21,087 square kilometres Mizoram probably has the most

difficult terrain. Over 80% of the total geographical area of the state is covered with steep

hills. The percentage of rural population is 50.36 of which 20.56 % are poor. Broadly, the

persistence of rural poverty is a result of inadequate access to natural resources, over

dependence on land, low productivity due to inadequate use of technology, deficit

infrastructure, unemployment and underemployment, inability of rural people engaged in

traditional occupational crafts to upgrade their skill, inaccessibility to basic social

infrastructure and physical infrastructure, access to agricultural land by rural poor, limited

livelihood opportunities and the lack of active participation of rural poor in development

process.

While 60.60% of population comprises of cultivators, agriculture & allied sectors

contribute only 16.7% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).This share is declining

over the years. Though agriculture is the mainstay of the state, only 5% of the total area is

under cultivation, of which only 11% is irrigated. The high dependence for livelihood on this

sector, with limited irrigation potential resulting only in single crop in major portions of the

land, suggests the need to explore options for income earning potential from this sector.

The economy of Mizoram is very much dominated by the cultivation practice of

Jhum, which constitutes 63% of the total cultivable land in the state.

Virtual absence of credit facilities in the rural areas, lack of capacity building and

training due to inadequate institutional infrastructure, entry level barriers, high costs and

distant locations, absence of risk coverage for the beneficiaries etc. are the key livelihood

issues in Mizoram.

Ongoing Development Progarmmes:

The ongoing rural development programs being implemented by the Rural

Development Department are MGNREGA, Indira Awas Yojana, Swarnajayanti Gram

Swarozgar Yojona, Integrated Wasteland Development Programme, Border Area

Development Progarmme and Backward Region Grant Fund.

Apart from above mentioned schemes, Mizoram Government has also formulated

various policies to combat the developmental issues. One key strategy is the introduction of a

New Land Use Policy to address the issue of jhum cultivation. Under the Jhum parctice the

common land belonging to the village is given out by the Village Council for cultivation. The

New Land Use Policy would provide individual entitlments to the land so that they tend and

develop the land with longer term perspective. Another major policy being the Bamboo

Policy, which has been formulated to fully tap the ecological and economic potentials of the

bamboo resource in the State. Industrial Policy is another measure evolved with a view to

engineer rapid growth in the State through sustainable industrial development. Besides, a


power policy is also in place for providing a greater thrust on the overall development and

promotion of renewable energy technologies in the State.

Mizoram has a system of elected Village Council akin to panchyats in other places.

Women self help groups have been formed under SGSY scheme of the government. These

groups have been invariably formed to take benefit of the scheme, but many continue with

saving and credit activity though not regularly.

2.2 Nagaland

Nagaland is a hilly state covering a geographical area of 16, 579 Square Kilometres.

One of the major reasons for rural poverty in Nagaland is related to the difficult terrain of the

state with inadequate development and poor infrastructure. Almost every sector – agriculture,

animal husbandry, industry, rural development, health, education, social welfare, etc. have

been handicapped by the lack of infrastructural support. Most of the rural population is

dependent on subsistence agriculture where the state governments’ extension machineries

have been challenged to intervene.

Jhum cultivation practice is a matter of concern for the state. The land use

management system is palpable and the land development for agricultural use is meagre with

inadequate irrigation facility. This is further amplified by the prolonged dry spells during the

winter. The poor level of infrastructure has also limited the opportunities for the rural

enterprises, employment and income generation. The food (grain) security provided by the

jhum cultivation practices is hardly for four to five months a year.

The state is also confronted with one of the most critical problems related with youth

and unemployment and unhealthy lifestyles, both in rural and urban areas. The problem of

youth is a matter of social concern. Added to this is the insurgency problem and violence

which has affected the state and its population in general and the youth in particular.


Nagaland Government is implementing several rural development programmes,

namely, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Indira

Awas Yojana (IAY) and Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) with active participation of

communities. The Nagaland Bamboo Mission (NBM) has also offered a platform for

employment of the rural population for alternative livelihood options since its inception in

2004. Like wise, the Nagaland Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM) with its activities in

livelihood options in apiculture and the Nagaland Bio resource Mission (NBRM) with its

activities focused on the conservation and sustainable development of bio-resources, are also

playing a critical role in addressing poverty reduction in small pockets of rural Nagaland.

Nagaland Empowerment of People through Economic Development (NEPED) is a an

organization which has been playing a crucial role in addressing the issues of poverty

reduction and environment.

Nagaland has a structure of Village Development Council. A separate Village

Development Boards (VDBs) with Chairman of Council as its Chairman too for carrying out

development activities in the village. Many government schemes are implemented by the

Boards. To promote microfinance Nagaland has launched a pilot project to create corpus fund

with each VDB that can be used to provide credit to the rural people.


2.3 Sikkim

This thumb-shaped state is characterized by wholly mountainous terrain. Almost the

entire state is hilly, with an elevation ranging from 280 metres (920 ft) to 8,585 metres

(28,000 ft). Ninety percent of the State population is rural and agriculture is the primary

source of livelihood for the villagers. However, the contribution of agriculture to the state

GSDP has been showing a declining trend, indicating a stagnation and reduction in income

due to reduction in productivity and production of the major cash crops, namely, ginger, large

cardamom and orange which are also facing pathological problems leading to low income

levels in the villages. The sectoral contribution of agriculture to the GSDP has declined from

52% (1980-81) to 21% (2004-09). Dairy activities, contract works, construction, hydel -

power development and tourism are the other main sources of income in the villages.

One of the major constrains in the development of the state is the average size of land

holding of 1.3 hectares coupled with the irrigation problem. Out of the total cultivated land of

109,963 hectares only 11% is irrigated. Dry land constitutes 58% of the total cultivable land.

Limited irrigation coverage, mostly rain fed farming, high percentage of wasteland, coupled

with reduction in production and productivity of horticulture crops has resulted in stagnation

in farm income which further leads to the decline in contribution of agriculture to GSDP. The

poverty belt of Sikkim is essentially the rain shadow area in the south.


To combat these problems, Government of Sikkim has initiated various

developmental programmes, namely, MGNREGA, Swarna Jayanta Gram Swarojghar

Yozana, Integrated Rural Energy Programme, Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yozana (JGSY),

Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yozana (SGRY), Community Development and Panchayat

Scheme, Rural Water Supply & Sanitation Scheme, Rural Roads and Bridges Scheme and

Rural Housing Scheme.

2.4 Tripura

Tripura has a total area 10.492 Square Kilometres. The main reasons of poverty in the

state are the high percentage of educated unemployed youth, surplus agricultural and jhumia

labourers, inadequate scope for non-farming / non-agriculture based livelihoods and lack of

primary and secondary employment opportunities. The crucial challenges are the weak

infrastructure and lack of skills on the part of poverty- ridden people.

Whereas the maximum numbers of people are engaged in agriculture sector, due to

sparse irrigation coverage, a good part of cultivable land gives only single crop. Hence

engagement of agriculture labourer round the year is uncertain. In addition, workers in small

workshops, general shops, peddlers, vendors, etc. are living with acute financial hardships as

there is no certainty of service and regular earning in the un-organized sector.

The issue of the marginal farmers is another factor which has adversely affected the

development process. Maximum poor farmers are having plots of the size of only 0.20 to 0.50

acres, the production from which rarely meets the annual food requirement of the household,

thus resulting into overall food insecurity. Another vulnerable sector is the practice of jhum

cultivation. The cultivators have not adopted the scientific jhum cultivation methods.


Moreover, due to scarcity of dense forests, coupled with reduction in jhum cycle, the

agricultural production has come down drastically. Most of the jhum cultivators are tribals

with a semi-nomadic lifestyle.

Ongoing Development Programmes:

Apart from the central sponsored schemes like MGNERGA , SGRY, IAY etc,

Government of Tripura has taken a new initiative called Peoples plan of Tripura with the

objective to give a clear direction to policy formulation and planning process for all round

development. Among other initiatives the State Government is giving emphasis on the tribal

welfare plans having packages for education, economic infrastructure, socio-cultural

development and health services. The three tier panchyati raj systems is very strong in

Tripura and many development schemes specially MGNEREGA is implemented by it.

Tripura is first among the states of India in utilization of MGNEREGA scheme essentially

because of good functioning of panchayats. Within Tripura the less accessible tribal villages

have higher relative poverty.


3 CHAPTER 3: PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND STRATEGY

The main issue which hampers the developmental process of the North East region is

multidimensional and complex involving the inability to satisfy basic needs, lack of control

over resources, lack of education and skills, poor access to water and sanitation etc. Based on

this North East Rural Livelihood Project (NERLP), is aiming at the livelihood promotion by

reducing the rural poverty.

3.1 Project Objective

The Project Development Objective would be “To improve rural livelihoods especially that

of women, unemployed youth and the most disadvantaged, in four North Eastern States”.

Following from the above, the specific project objectives are to:

a. Create sustainable community institutions around women Self-Help Groups

(SHGs), youth groups of men and women (YG) and Community Development

Groups (CDG).

b. Build capacity of community institutions for self governance, bottom up planning,

democratic functioning with transparency and accountability.

c. Increase economic and livelihood opportunities by

Managing natural resources and improving agriculture for food security

and income enhancement from farming and allied activities

Skill development of youth for employability and establishment of

self and/or group managed enterprises

Establishing backward and forward linkages for economic enterprises

Creating access to finance through linkages with banks and other financial

institutions

Creating critical infrastructures

d. Develop partnership of community institutions for natural resource management,

microfinance, market linkages, and sectoral economic services.

3.2 Project Guiding Principles

The project would adopt the core guiding principles which would be communicated

and reinforced across the organization. Project would have monitoring mechanism to see if

these are being institutionalized across the project including in the community structures.

These guiding principles are discussed below.

Most disadvantaged people first approach and empathy with community – providing

livelihood opportunities for the most disadvantaged is the priority. The most

disadvantaged people include women led households, physically handicapped, tribal

community, poorest of the poor, etc. The project staff and other stakeholders would be

sensitive to community’s needs, wants, customs and traditions.

Democratic, participatory and bottom up approach and decision making – At the

community level the decision would be taken up by discussing the same in a


participatory approach. The people at the grassroots would decide what is best for

them. The participatory processes would delay the decision making initially but once

the decisions are taken, these would be implemented with a sense of urgency and in a

time bound manner.

Time bound performance with sense of urgency – The decisions once taken by the

community would then be implemented forthright.

Transparency and accountability at all levels –The project would promote

transparency by putting maximum information about various projects and investments

on the web-site of RPMU and would follow all disclosure norms as prescribed by

Right to Information Act (RTI). At the community level also transparency and

accountability will be ensured.

Recognition for outstanding performance – The project would develop a culture and

core value of high performance. The performance parameters would be clearly laid

out for people, teams and institutions at different levels.

Learning orientation –The project would encourage new things and innovation in the

process of doing things, in activities and products etc. and create avenues and forums

for sharing and learning from each other.

Holistic Development – The project would aim at holistic development of the

community for ensuring attainment of well-being. It would encourage the empowered

communities to access other government supports in health, education etc.

3.3 Project duration and area

The project is for a period of five years. It covers two districts each in Mizoram,

Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The districts are:

Mizoram - Aizawl and Lunglei

Nagaland - Peren and Tuensang

Sikkim - South, West and 15 Panchayat wards of East District

Tripura - West and North Districts

The project will cover nearly 300,000 households in 1624 villages of 58 blocks

falling in 8 districts of the 4 states. The details are given in the table below:

Table 3-1: Project Area

State District Nos. of

blocks Block Name

Mizoram Aizawl 5 Phullen, Aibawk, Darlawn, Thingsulthliah, Tlangnuam

Lunglei 4 Lungsen, Bunghmun, Lunglei, Hnahthial

Nagaland

Peren 3 Tenning, Peren, Jalukie

Tuensang 8 Longkhim, Chare, Noksen, Sangsangyu, Shamator,

Chessore, Noklak, Thonoknyu

Sikkim

South 8 Namchi, Jorethang, Namthang, Ravongla, Yangang,

Temi- Tarku, Sumbuk, Sikkip

West 6 Gyalshing, Soreng, Yuksom, Dentam, Kaluk, Daramdin

15 poorest

Panchayat

wards of

Ben, Thasa, Upper Lingtam, Dhanbari, Lower Samlik,

Mamring (Amba Mamring Gumpa), Premlakha,

Singaneybas, Lower Tarpin, Dokchin, East Machong,


East

district

Namrang (Tumin Karma Choling Gumpa), Simik

(Simik Daduling Gumpa), Kutitar, Namin

Tripura

West

16 Khatalia, Melaghar, Boxanagar, Bishalgarh, Jampuijala,

Dukli, Hezamara, Mohanpur, Jirania, Mandwai,

Mungiakami, Teliamura, Kalyanpur, Khowai,

Tulashikhar, Padmabill

North 8 Kumarghat, Gaurnagar, Kadamtala, Panisagar,

Dhamchhara, Pecharthal, Dasda, Jampuihill

4 8 58

3.4 Beneficiary Targeting and Selection

Initially villages and communities will be identified based on poverty data, including

below poverty line (BPL) figures. Villages that have worse human development, food

security and health vulnerbility indicators would be taken up early on priority. The target

population will be finally determined on the basis of participatory wealth ranking, using

participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques.

The project would adopt a saturation approach at the village level. Under saturation

approach project would endeavour to reach to 70% of the poorer households in the village.

However, the project proposes to target the poorest of the poor on priority so that they have

more time for project support. These would specifically include more disadvantaged groups

like women-led households, physically challenged and under privileged.

While proposing to undertake a saturation approach, the project will make a beginning

with two carefully selected blocks in each district after taking into account risk management

factors in order to ensure that replicable models are created around successful interventions.

3.5 Project Approach

Though there are several rural development programs underway in the region, still

there are major challenges and gaps in the poverty and livelihood sector. The project would

have three pronged approach to livelihood strengthening in view of the above guidling

prinicples and experiences of achieving sustainable developmemnt. These are:

Social empowerment

Economic empowerment

Partnership and linkages

Under each of these approaches the project would seek to achieve the following.

3.5.1 Social Empowerment

Empower the most disadvantaged5 people in the community – women and the youth

5 Most disadvantaged as decided through Poverty Wealth Ranking and would include, Poor, Widow,

handicapped, households in remote/inaccessible location,food insecure houeholds, landless, tribal people

(including primitive and minor subtribes), scheduled castes and other backward castes (OBC),

households/hamlets with food and nutritional security issues and comparatively lower health, morbidity and


in particular – through building coalitions and their insitutions to participate more

effectively in the developmental process supported by the project and to increase their

access and control over assets and services,

Enable the target group to take full advantage of the poverty reduction programme of

government and other agencies through effective convergent action with local

government, line departments and technical agencies,

Achieve increased participation of women in local institutions and in the decision-

making process,

Promote bottom-up participatory planning approach at all levels.

Enhance saving capacity of the SHGs and increase their access to sources of credit

through linkages with banks and other financial institutions,

Involve the youth to participate in social developmental activities and

Scale up the innovative approaches for poverty reduction and increased food security

as successfully demonstrated in the NERCORM Project.

Ensure social, economic, environmental and gender equity by developing effective

institutional mechanism.

3.5.2 Economic Empowerment

Enhance capacities of the communities in terms of knowledge, skill and input

involved in implementing the economic development programmes,

Increase productivity and profitability of disadvantaged farming households and

generation of multiple livelihood opportunities through diversification and integration

of production system with agriculture including crop, animal husbandry, fisheries,

forestry, agro-forestry and agri-business by making appropriate value chain analysis

and have synchronization among production-processing-marketing.

Provide linkage to the communities for credit, extension, insurance, market with

financial institution, government organization, line department and private bodies.

Provide opportunity to improve food security through interventions in farm activities

by disseminating ecologically benign technology based on effective natural resource

management along with generation of skilled and market driven non-farm

employment opportunities.

Promote business with ecologically sound and sustainable farming practices and

making production system economically rewarding by bringing productivity

revolution, income and livelihood generation and market evolution through

economies of scale,

Provide skill development programmes/vocational trainings to village youth (men and

women) for gainful employment,

Develop value chain relationship. Assess value addition needs and facilitate the same.

at community level for ensuring more profit.

Create micro and small scale businesses around value addition activities and establish

effective market linkages for better price realization,

Develop enterprise around market demands, especially with youth groups

Asset enhancement strategies built around SHGs and Producer Groups.

mortality indicators, HIV/AIDS in the household, unemployed or underemployed youth; presence of bonded,

child and migrant labor, chronic illness, etc.


3.5.3 Partnership Development

Develop linkage with banks and financial institutions (government and/or privately

owned) for credit access to members of groups and their economic organizations,

Build synergy and develop linkage with government departments for accessing and

co-implementing various schemes and programmes of the government,

Facilitate market based interventions for improving agricultural productivity and

profitability through production of critical mass,

Strengthen such tie ups into sustainable business partnerships,

Work with service providers to access various professional services related to

accounts and finance, legal rights, technology, markets, etc.

Develop linkages with research institutions and technology providers,

Develop partnerships with input suppliers and other value chain participants including

value chain stakeholders and

Assess capabilities & infrastructural gaps and look for point of convergence at local

levels to avoid crowded playing field 3.6 Project Strategies

3.6.3 Community Based Institutions

It is always seen that the benefits of broad economic growth trickle down very slowly

when the poor have little access to key physical, social and financial endowments and there is

a top down approach. To overcome highly unequal distribution of these endowments and

achieve rapid pro-poor growth, poor people need new opportunities to organize, generate

business and to link with mainstream development activities. Forming community institutions

of the poor as opposed to institutions for the poor thus becomes a central and crucial strategy

of effective social and livelihood development. So the main strategy in developing the

community institutions is to provide the poor section of the society the “voice” and the scale

required to more effectively engage themselves in the decision making process and to address

their needs of economic empowerment. The project would develop and support inclusive,

self-reliant, self-managed and sustainable community organizations and their higher

aggregated for livelihood improvement.

The "groups" of the poor and disadvantaged are expected to act as a bulwark against

social inequalities. The consequent social capital generated out of such effort will be the only

capital that the poor can rely on and use as a hedge against their resource deficient condition

and powerlessness. This is mainly because by working in groups, rather than as individuals,

the rural poor are able to combine and make best use of their skills and resources. A group

has more bargaining power than an individual.

The project will bank on the community structure at the village level where

Community Development Groups (CDGs) will be formed which will plan for the overall

development of the village. There could be more than one CDG in a village depending on the

spread and number of households in the village.

Another important community institution where the project would lay lot of emphasis

is Self Help Groups (SHGs) comprising of women. These would be the building block of

organizing poor and disadvantaged households in the community. The primary level SHGs

would be federated at the village by forming the SHG Federations.


The youth that comprise of sigzable segment in the North East would be organizaed

into Youth Groups at the village level.

The members from various community insitutions formed and are involved in sector

based livelihood activities would be encouraged to form Producer organizations for

collectivizing and achieving economies of scale by pooling for marketing, input procurement,

knowledge/technology access, etc.

The SHGs, Federations, CDGs, Youth Groups supported under the project will work

in synergy with the village level planning and development structures and processes. Their

will be operational crosslinkages between the project supported structures and the existing

village governenace structures through membership, leadership positions, participation in

PRA, livelihood and community planning processes, and and most importantly through

convergence on various village level ivelihood schemes on NREGA, SGRY, IAY etc.

The community groups and obviously coming from the overall consitutional structure

of gram sabhas that consisting of all the households in a village. The gram sabhas elect

village bodies viz. gram panchayats (Sikkim and Tripura) and Village Development Councils

in Nagaland (also village development board) and Mizoram.

Figure 1: Community Institutional Structure


3.6.1.1 Community Development Group (CDG)

The strategy behind forming the Community Groups is to involve the community

members in the process of defining and transforming social problems and empower them to

address their own need and problems and plan for development. In the tribal communities,

the formal and traditional village institutions are very strong. It is important for the project to

ensure their acceptance as well as to utilize their hold in the community in order to reach to

the larger deprived communities of that village.

One of the first institutions that would be formed would preferably consist of entire

village and would be called Community Development Group (CDG)6. It would consist of

three members from each household viz. husband, wife and adult child (preferably female)

and would constitute the General Body of CDGs. The formal and traditional chiefs and/or

ward members would be co-opted in the CDGs. In case of large villages or spread out in

hamlets more than one CDG can be formed. Sub-village level CDGs would have about 70 to

100 households. This would ensure participation of all households in decision making and

planning. Coordination mechanism would be established between sub-village CDGs so that

they cooperate and work in tandem. CDGs would be a sub-committee of the Village

Panchayat/Council.

Though CDG will be an inclusive body for the project and will take the full

responsibility to implement the project at the village level, PRIs/Village Council will be

involved in the development planning, guidance, providing overall direction & monitoring of

the development activities taken under CDGs.

The general body of the CDG would elect an Executive Committee (EC). The

Committee consists of nine representatives out of which four member will be women and at

least one member from the Panchayat/ Village Council. It would also ensure representation

from tribal and other vulnerable groups. EC would be a village planning & Monitoring body

for various task that would be taken up under the project that involve the entire village or

sizable segment of the village. It would prepare the various investment proposal in

consultation with the general body of CDG and submit it to DPMU.

One of the major task of the CDG is to make Community Development Plans (CDPs).

CDPs would try to address the livelihood infrastructre gaps of the CDG members.investments

in CDPs should benefit at least 50% of the CDG members. CDPs would also draw upon

various government scheme funds like MNREGA and as far as possible use the project funds

for activities that can not be covered under any scheme.

The EC would constitute Work and Oversight Teams (WOT) that would implement

specific tasks and activities that CDGs decide to take. WOTs would have to be approved by

the CDGs and the CDG would have power to ask for withdrawal of WOT members and

constitute a new one instead. WOT would have one member from the EC and two to three

members drawn from CDG (depending on the activity). It is expected that WOT would be

formed for natural resource management, community enterprise promotion, infrastructure

development projects, etc. WOT would be disbanded once the activity/task for which it is

constituted is over.

6 The CDG structure could vary from one state to other as different states in North East have their unique

methods and arrangements to ensure participation and involvement of community in the planning and decision making.


WOT would formally report progress on activities to the EC. The EC would

coordinate the functioning of the WOT and provide overall guidance and linkages with

government and other departments. EC would monitor the performance of WOTs and ensure

that the various tasks taken up by WOT are done effectively and efficiently. EC would

present the progress report and get feedback on the performance of WOT in the monthly

meeting of CDG.

3.6.3.2 Self Help Groups (SHGs)

The project will give emphasis on formation of sustainable and vibrant primary

institutions of the poor based on the principle of the thrift and credit in the form of Self Help

Groups (SHGs). This is mainly because by working in groups, rather than as individuals, the

rural poor are able to combine and make best use of their skills and resources. They can

exchange views and ideas and choose the best options. Working together makes work lighter

and easier. Most important of all, a group has more bargaining power than an individual. SHGs are the basic units of people’s participation. SHG is an informal association of affinity

(social, locational, livelihood) group of 10 to 20 persons. Since, the project is women focused

the members are women.

In each village, as many SHGs as possible, would be formed so as to saturate

7 it. In

the first year, the SHG members would necessarily meet once a week for savings and credit

disbursement to members in the first six months of formation. The weekly meetings would

increase interaction among the members and they would have accelerated experience of

dealing, confronting and coalescing with each other. By lending and recovering the loans

from the members they would develop the requisite confidence in the group processes. The

meeting duration can be changed to suit the requirement of the members after three to six

months. It could remain weekly or changed to fortnightly or monthly at the most.

The core principles and processes that would be followed for the formation and

development of SHGs are as under:

Project Facilitating Team (PFT) would carry out Wealth Ranking (WR) in the

village with a view to identify the poorer and disadvantaged segments in the

village. SHGs of poorer households (HHs) would be formed first. Lower three

fourths of all the households in a village in poverty ranking would be covered

progressively.

Women would self select members of a particular group. There would not be any

thrusting of membership from outside.

Each group would have minimum of three leaders – President, Vice President and

a Secretary. The leaders would rotate on yearly basis so that everyone feels

equally responsible and empowered in the group.

All decision like norms for savings, lending, penalties, etc. would be decided in

the group meetings only.

Minute book, account books, member pass books, etc. would be maintained by

each SHG and would be updated in each meeting itself. These would be available

to all members. If members cannot read themselves they would be allowed to

show the same to another person who is able to read.

7 Seventy percent of the poorer households. Functional SHGs groups formed before the project would be taken

up under the project provided they meet the project criteria.


The members would be encouraged to save in the SHG both as recurring compulsory

savings and also as special savings. Members would also be encouraged to save in other

formal saving instruments like account in banks and post offices, insurance policies, etc. All

SHG members would be provided rights based education and on financial literacy.

Along with formation of new self help groups, strengthening of existing self help

groups will be a major part of the community

institution building. However, the pre-existing

SHGs in the village would not be integrated

outright. The basic premise of the groups is self

help and bonding as a community and they

continuing to function as a democratic group

providing equal access to various social and

economic opportunities. Existing SHGs formed

by the government under various schemes

would be invariably attuned to availing scheme

funds and their internal democratic working and

norms may not have developed adequately.

Such groups would be appraised and

progressively integrated with the project as they begin to follow the norms set up by the

project.

The existing groups would be integrated after assessment by the Project Facilitating

Teams (PFT) that would be formed by the project in all the blocks. The assessment would be

based on internal working norms of democratic decision making, financial discipline of

saving, lending, repayments, attendance and interest of the members in the Project. Based on

the SHG stages a set of indicators would be formulated and incorporated in the COM

(Community operational manual). The PFT would put numerical value (score) for each

indicator. The summation of the score would have to clear the minimum benchmark for the

SHG to have cleared for integration with the project.

The first assessment / grading of the SHG will be carried out after six months from

formation. RPMU will develop a simple rating tool for the grading process which is

described in Community Operational Manual (COM). The SHG which qualifies with the

minimum marks will be considered to be mature enough to qualify for the seed support from

the project.

The second grading of all SHGs would be done after three to six months to a year

after the first capital assistance. This would be more stringent grading and if successful the

SHGs would be eligible for higher capital assistance which would be based on the SHG

livelihood plan of all the members. The SHG Livelihood plan will include Investment plans

prepared by individual households and their consolidation at SHG level. It will include plans

for investment on asset creation for income generation and household need investments. The

process of Livelihood Plan preparation will be an integral part of the financial management

process of the SHG and the members will be sensitized about the process and facilitated

properly to prepare the Investment Plan. The SHG Livelihood plan would be vetted by the

PFT and sanctioned by the DPMU.

ASSESSMENT OF EXISTING SHGS

1. Understanding of SHG objectives and

knowledge about rules and regulations;

2. Homogeneity and conflict resolutions

among members;

3. Average attendance and regularity in

savings in the last six months;

4. Repayment of loans

5. Maintenance of books of accounts;

6. Productive loan from commercial banks.

7. Timely and fair elections


The existing SHGs in the project areas are formed by different agencies and they exist

in different stages of maturity. Depending on the stage and the kind of assistance SHGs may

have received, they would be entitled to the project assistance. The SHGs that having passed

the 1st gradation (under SGSY or NABARD scheme) and have received revolving fund,

would not be given the Seed Grant from the project. They would be provided with all the

necessary training support to build their capacity. These groups would be eligible for

assistance under Livelihood Grant once they qualify as per project norms.

SHGs would be a source of individual/household finance under the project. They

would link up with the project and with banks for accessing higher amounts of credit for

individual/family needs and purposes.

3.6.3.3 SHG Village Federations

SHGs in a village would come together to form a village Federations. The vision

behind establishing a SHG federation is to promote a self-reliant and a collective women

force which will work towards financial independence and social empowerment in a

sustainable fashion. Federations not only help SHGs become institutionally and financially

sustainable because they provide the economies of scale that reduce transaction costs and

make the provision of these services viable. SHG federations can act as financial

intermediaries and service providers facilitating linkage of groups with the banks.

The Federations would work as a service provider, business entity and valued client of

the formal banking system. Such community organizations would also partner a variety of

organizations for providing back end services to different market institutions, such as,

correspondents for banks and insurance companies, procurement franchises for private sector

corporations and delivery mechanisms for a variety of government programmes. Federation

would also take up social issues that affect the members.

There would be two members from the SHG that would represent in the SHG Village

Federation. The SHG representatives would be decided by the SHG and at least one of them

would be either of the two current leaders in the SHG. They can be changed at the discretion

of the SHG members. One member would, however, necessarily be changed after one year,

on rotational basis. All the SHG representatives would constitute the General Body of the

Federation. The GB of the Federation would elect a SHG Village Federation Executive

Committee (FEC) of five members.

SHG Village Federation would provide book keeping services to the SHGs. The

SHGs would provide service charges to the SHG Village Federation either as a lump-sum

amount or on the basis of number of members. The amount would be decided by the SHGs

and Federations. This would ensure proper book keeping and timely reporting. Over a period

of time, the accounts would be tracked using computerized software. Till the formation of the

SHG Village Federation the PFT staff engaged in community mobilization would hold the

meeting and keep the books of accounts. The books would be written in the meeting itself.

The SHG Village Federation would also conduct social audit by forming Social Audit

Committee. The Committee will be answerable to the federation in respect of any findings.

The members of the federation themselves will form the committee. Details regarding role


and responsibilities of such committee would be elaborated in the Community Operational

Manual (COM).

The surplus income created at the Federation level by levying various fees and

interest charges would form their capital. It would be invested as loans in SHGs for

individual lending.

After the formation of SHG Village Federations, the SHG Livelihood plans would be

vetted and recommended to the DPMU for sanction through the Federations. It would get a

service charge of 3% of the amount routed through it for fund management purposes. The

Federations would also monitor proper utilization of funds. Sufficient capacity building

inputs would be given to the members, leaders of SHGs and Federation, so that they are able

to manage the funds diligently and are able to ensure growth of various economic

investments.

The amount given as seed capital to SHGs/ Village Federation from the Project would

be given as grant. However, the SHGs Village Federation would give it to members as loan.

Thus the process would lead to capital formation at the SHG level. The capital would help the

SHGs to leverage greater amounts of loan from other formal sources like the banks, etc.

Surplus amount with the SHGs would be pooled in the Village Federation, which would in

turn lend to other groups that have deficit. The Federations would pay interest charges

(equivalent to that earned in saving accounts of banks) to the SHGs that pool their money in

the Village Federation.

3.6.3.4 Youth Groups (YG)

There is sizable segment of young people in all the NE States. They often have school

level or primary education. Many discontinue studies either after failing in the public

examination at the 5th

, 8th

or 12th

class level or due to poverty and non-availability of

educational facilities. They form nearly 25% of village population. As the scope for public

sector employment is getting reduced, rural areas are having large number of young persons

with some education but with little skills suitable for employment. The youth energy has

remained under utilized and can be channelized for livelihoods through skill building.

All the young men and women in the age group of 18-35 would be eligible to become

members of the Youth Groups. It would have a core committee of five persons with one

President and a Vice President from among the Core Committee.

Developing skills for employability of young men and women would be a significant

activity under the Project. The project will identify the special sectors of skill development

for the youth with the help of industry for trends and possibilities of employment and will

provide the support to youth by funding up to eighty percent of the course fees. Should it be

required, the Project would facilitate youth to take bank loans for meeting remaining fee cost.

If a family member is also part of SHG youth may access loan for the balance fee from the

group. The loan would be repaid later after getting employed. The YGs would also undertake

various social and recreational activities.


3.6.3.5 Producer Organizations

The social capital developed and strengthened through the above process of formation

and capacity building of SHGs, YGs and CDGs will serve as the foundation and building

block for planning and implementing common livelihood activities. Viable business activities

will be identified and linked with a wider market to provide the poor with sustainable

opportunities for increasing their household income. The project will also facilitate SHG

members, youth group members, members of CDGs, in forming economic organizations,

like, producer organizations (producer-companies/cooperatives/associations, mutual benefit

trusts, etc.)8 to access higher level services by leveraging on economies of scale for

procurement of inputs, marketing, finance, services, knowledge access, developing and

managing common facilities and infrastructure, and for accessing higher value in the value

chain, etc. They would be able to access wider markets and make collective investments in

value addition. The producer Group would be formed at the village level. It could be

coterminus with the village federation if all or most of the members of the federation desire to

undertake or are engaged in same economic activity. The POs can be formed over a number

of villages if the members thereof are engaged in same secotral activity and it makes

economic good to undertake collective activity. In such cases, the POs from these many

villages can pool together their support from the project to make larger investment in the

activity. The POs can thus be at the block level too. Thus, the members of SHGs or any

individual who have similar livelihood based activity will form groups i.e. ‘Producer

Organization’ at neighbourhood, village, cluster/block and district level. The objective is to

increase the share of SHG households in the value chain activities of key commodities or

products where, few major sub-sectors would be identified in the project districts based on

the opportunities. The sub project would be developed on a cluster approach that makes

business sense and supports economic viability parameters for that identified sub-sector. The

strategy of forming Producer Organization by SHGs/SHG members/ any individual engaged

in the common livelihoods activity will facilitate to leverage on economics of scale to access

wider markets and make collective investments in value addition.

While Producer Group at village level is an informal group, the Producer/Service

organization would be a formal organization. This would be registered as Association (as a

mutual benefit Trust), as cooperative or as producer company under the Companies Act.

These Organizations could be at the Block level or at the District level. To avail benefits

under the project the Producer organizations must have at least 50 members if it is a block

level organization or 250 members if it is district level organization.

In situations where the economic organizations take the form of either Producer

Companies or Cooperative Societies, as the case may be, the individual SHGs engaged in

specific livelihoods will become shareholders and members of the livelihood organization.

The producer organization would have their own internal working arrangements with

distribution of work, tasks, responsibilities, etc. They would, if necessary, hire outside

professionals for various technical and specialist tasks. They shall have the people’s voice

through Board of Directors and will have a professionally qualified staff comprising of Chief

8 As per the Companies Act 1956, amended in 2002 or Mutually Aided Cooperative Societies Act -1999 or such other

available instruments.


Executive Officer, Production Managers, Marketing Officer, Accounts Officer and other such

functionaries, as and when required. These professionals will be hired by the organization.

The Board and members of producer organizations will be trained on the formation,

process, legal procedures, business and marketing, financial and procurement issues and other

issues related to the companies. All the stated trainings will be provided by the project staff and

specially hired agencies and experts on the related subjects.

If such SHGs doing a particular viable economic activity may form higher order

Producer Organization (PO) at block or district level to benefit others too, then they can be

considered for support. The PO would be provided necessary capacity building and financial

assistance as per norms of assitance to them.

The SHGs, Federations, CDGs, Youth Groups supported under the project will work

in synergy with the village level planning and development structures and processes. Their

will be operational crosslinkages between the project supported structures and the existing

village governenace structures through membership, leadership positions, participation in

PRA, livelihood and community planning processes, and and most importantly through

convergence on various village level ivelihood schemes on NREGA, SGRY, IAY etc.


Table 3-2: Key Roles and Responsibilities of Community Institutions

Community

Level

Organization

Key Functions Membership & Office Bearers

Project Inputs

Self Help Groups Will do thrift and revolve their

internal savings for providing credit to

each other.

Provide additonal loans to members

from seed and activity loans sourced

from the project.

Participate in SHG Village Federation

activities.

Membership: Women from poor and

disadvantaged households will be mobilised

to form affinity and activity groups known as

SHGs. The group membership will be of

minimum 10 households.

Office Bearers: A President, vice President

and a Secretary.

SHGs will be provided support in developing

group norms, financial management capacity,

development of solidarity and aceess skills,

credit and services from a variety of service

providers. These Self help groups will be

provided support to be federated at the cluster

level.

SHG Village

Federation

SHG Village federation is the key

community financial insitution

It would provide support to the SHGs

in maintenance of accounts and other

books

It would link up with the banks for

leveraging more loan amount

It would provide other financial

services as required by the SHGs.

Take up collectively social issues

affecting the member(s)

Membership: There would be two

representatives from each SHG. These would

form the General Body of the SHG Village

Federation.

Office bearers: The General Body would

elect an Executive Committee consiting of

five members including a President and Vice

President and a Secretary.

SHG Federation would be provided

handholding support initially. It would ween

out gradually as the Federation is able to

manage its activities. The SHG Federation

staff would be trained to mange accounts of

SHGs.

Community

Development

Group (CDGs)

Work for development of common

village social and economic assets

including natural resources, agriculture

and horticulture.

Plan & implement activities that

support the livelihood activities of SHG

members and village in general.

Take-up specific social and

Membership: All the families in the village

would have husband, wife and one adult

child (preferably girl child) as member of

General Body of CDG.

Office Bearers: Will have nine members

Executive Committee with minimum of four

women as members.

CDGs will be formed by the project &

provided technical support for various NRM

and infrastructure activities that it would carry

out.

The CDG will be faciliated to take up

devlopment activities that would benefit the

entire village or majority of poor households.


development activities requiring

collective action.

Youth Groups Identify training needs of the members

and support members in training.

Carry out various recreational and

innovative activities.

Support members in taking up

economic activities.

Membership:All young people, male/female,

in the age group of 18-35 wanting to be

members would form the youth group

Office Bearers: Will elect 5 members to form

core committee which would have a

President and Vice President.

Provide mobilization support and some early

activity support.

Provide training support to members wanting

to undergo training.

Producer’s,

Organizations

Purchase or procurement of inputs for

production

Storage of inputs and outputs

Local processing and value addition of

member produce

Marketing and selling of produce

Establishing commercial and direct

relationships with private, cooperative

and public sector agencies for facilitating

the enterprise of members.

Membership:Members will come from

different SHGs, CDG and YGs and will

receive technical and financial support in

areas of input and output procurement,

extension services, technical assistance

services and marketing services.

OfficeBearers: Board of Directors, partner in

a firm, Trustees, etc. as per legal structure.

The project will promote livelihood based

activity groups and federations of members

who have similar livelihoods in sectors such as

agriculture, Non Timber Forest Product

(NTFP), piggery, fisheries, handicrafts, etc.


3.6.4 Forming Community Cadres:

The Project aims to create a cadre of resource persons called Community Service

Providers (CSPs) at the village level in order to sustain the services required by various

community groups formed even after the completion of the project. The community groups

formed would be encouraged to pay’ service charges’ for various services they need. In the

initial stage when the revenues of groups are slight, the project would provide financial support

to the CSPs directly through the PFT and later through the community groups, when they are

formed and in a position to do so. In the final stages of the project the federations and other

community groups would begin to pay for services from their internal resources. This would

ensure that only those CSPs that are able to deliver value would be retained by the groups.

The potential areas where CSPs are required are the following:

For mobilisation of community for institution building and support in their

management.

As book keepers and accountants in SHG, CDG, Federation and Producer

organisations

As knowledge expert in agriculture, horticulture, apiculture, pisciculture, etc.

As para-veterinary service providers to support animal husbandry

As work measurement technician for land work and technical support

As technical support in watershed /spring shed development

In supporting the bank linkage of SHGs, federations, Producer organizations

Thus the specific CSPs supported by the project are as under:

a. SHG Facilitators (SFs)

b. Village Para-professionals (VPP) – in various technical areas

c. Bank Facilitators (BF)

These CSPs would be formed based on their need in a particular area.

The eligibility roles and responsibilities and outputs of CSPs are as under.

Table 3-3: CSP roles and output matrix

Name of

CSP

Eligibility criteria to be

the CSP

Roles and responsibilities Project output

SHG

Facilitator

(SFs)

Min 8th standard pass

and be able to write

minutes of meetings.

Preferably women

From the same

village.

Should have good

communication skill.

Motivate the community

to form SHGs

Attend all the meetings of

SHGs

Ensure proper

maintenance of books and

records.

Conflict resolution in the

group.

Facilitate preparation of

SHG livelihood plan.

Update the M&E formats

Look after 10 SHGs on

average

Internal facilitation leads

to more social acceptance.

Smooth functioning of the

groups.

Confidence building

within the group due to

good record keeping

Sustainability of project

interventions.


Village

Para-

Professio

nals

(VPPs)

Should be able to read

and write.

Has aptitude for the

specified area of

expertise.

Should be from the

same village.

Promote the concept and

guide the community on

the technical aspects of

the related field

Monitor the progress of

adoption of the

technology

Submit regular progress

reports to the SHG

Village Federation

Smooth transfer of

technology

Reduce transmission loss

in knowledge transfer

Sustainable project

intervention.

Employment generation

Bank

Facilitator

s

(BFs)

At least Class Xth

pass.

Have good

communication skill

Computer literacy

would be an added

advantage.

Facilitate the bank

transactions of the rural

people.

Support community

leaders in bank

documentation

Educate members of bank

procedures

Promote bank linkage

Lubricate the interface

between the banks and

the community.

Encourage sustainable

and bankable community

institutions.

3.6.3 Capacity Building of Community Institutions

The building blocks of NERLP are the community institutions at the grass root level.

Adequate capacity of community institutions needs to be built for proper bottom up processes

to take place and for sustainability of these institutions. Capacity building of community

institution will help in utilizing the skills, abilities and resources of the community as well as

will guide the community in addressing issues of value, attitudes, motivations and conditions

in order to ensure sustainable development.

The capacity building would be primarily done by the Project Facilitation Teams

(PFT’s) through initial communication, training, etc. The leaders of these institutions would

be sent on exposure visits to other places where similar work has been done. One of the most

important empowering processes for women is to organize events where all women can

assemble together for show of strength. A number of such solidarity events would be

organized during a year.

Trainings would be imparted on financial and legal literacy to the group members.

The leaders of various community institutions (SHGs, SHG federations, CDGs and producer

organization) would be provided higher training in accounts and financial management so

that they are able to understand financial statements and products. Habit of regular meetings

and punctuality would be inculcated.

Table 3-4: Capacity Building of Community Org.

Sl.

No

Community

Organization

Recepient of

training

Trainings content

1. SHG SHG

Facilitators Roles and responsibities

Facilitating SHG meetings

Keeping of record of meetings

Account book keeping


2. SHG SHG Leaders SHG norms

Roles and responsibilities

Government entitlements

Functional literacy

3. SHG Members Role and functions of SHGs and their

responsibilities as members

Roles and responsibilities of their leaders

To sign their names in case they are illiterate

[These inputs would be given as part of the SHG

mobilization and in meetings. No separate training

expenses are incurred.]

4. Federations Federation

leaders Roles and responsibilities as federation leaders

Exposure to other locations having mature

leadership

Functional literacy

5. Federation Bank

facilitators Banking procedure

Preparation of file for bank linkage for loans

Presentation skills for facilitating relationship with

bankers

6. Producer

groups

Leaders of

Producer

groups

Functions in a producer organization and

distribution of roles and responsibilies

Functional and financial literacy

Market exposure

Books and record keeping

7. Producer

groups

Para profess-

ionals &

community

service

provides

Techical training in the areas of their support

Refresher training after six months to reinfoce the technical knowedge and experience over the period

8. Youth groups Leaders Leadership workshops

Function and roles in an organization

Minutes and record keeping

9 CDG Leaders Inputs about the project – its core principles and

operating procedures

Inputs on project inputs and financial support can be

leveraged from other sources.

Inputs on how dovetail other government

programmes with the project

Inputs in livelihood planning – with environment

safegaurds, NRM livelihood planning

3.6.4 Community Investment Support

Support to CDGs: The project will support the CDG to carry out common activities

that would help SHG members in their livelihood activities. Each CDG would prepare an

Community Development Plan (CDP). The plan would mainly concentrate on investment in

common community resources, common natural resource and water management activities,

small village infrastructure that directly enhances the local livelihood activities undertaken by


the SHG members. Given the context of north east, it is expected that most investment by

CDGs would be in natural resource management.

The plan should benefit a minimum of 40 household for each activity proposed by

CDG. These plans would be prepared in consultation and support of the PFT, which would

also check its technical feasibility. The plans would be submitted on recommendation of PFT

to Project District Units for financial support. Village plan and investment funds are the key

methods for kick starting the local economic activities of the poor.

Support to SHGs: The SHGs would be given an initial seed grant and later on

livelihood grant for the livelihood Plan. Project would give the seed grant directly to the

SHGs. The SHG would use the amount to give loan to members, who would repay to SHGS.

Support to Village SHG Federation: SHG fund would be routed through the

federation once the federation will be in place. Apart from that federation will also provide

training support and will see for linkages with financial institution.

Support to Producer Organisations: The producer organizations would be supported

with ‘Establishment support and handholding’ on approval of its business plan. If a bank

approves the plan, the project would support the Producer Organization by providing margin

money support. The extent of support for block and district level producer organization

would vary as also the number of people who would benefit from its activities.

3.6.5 Skill Development and Employment

Developing skills for employability of young men and women would be a significant

activity. Specific sectors would be identified with the help of industry for trends and

possibilities of employment. One of the key trainings to be imparted to the youth would be

“life skills” which would include self awareness, interpersonal skills, critical thinking,

decision skill, etc.

Studies would be conducted at community level to assess the existing level of skill or

interest and correlate them with the market potential to finally select and develop skill

development plan. YG would identify the members that would take up different skill building

courses as per their aptitude and interest. The request for training would be consolidated and

collaborating training institutions advised to develop such courses or induct the selected

youth into relevant existing courses.

Private sector participation would be encouraged in providing skills. Good training

institutions would be identified with whom necessary arrangements for conducting trainings

would be made. NGOs and non-for-profit organizations would be encouraged to set up

training and coaching centers in the district and block towns. An MOU would be signed with

the selected Training Institutes. The agencies providing training would be expected to also

provide placement of the trained youth. The training agencies that are able to make placement

would be provided additional incentives.

The project would facilitate young people to undergo employable skill trainings by

providing them up to 80% of the training cost.


3.6.6 Partnerships and linkages

3.6.6.1 Linkages with Financial Institutions

Financial linkage is extremely important for the sustainability of community

institutions. Developing linkage with various financial institutions especially with banks is an

important partnership development strategy. Such linkage will not only be for the SHG but

also for SHG Village Federation and other community institutions. The linkage is expected to

be with nationalized banks, apex development financial institutions like NABARD and

SIDBI and specialized funding agencies like NEDFI. Second tier MFIs like RGVN and

FWWB would also be encouraged to provide loans directly to the SHG Village Federations

for onward lending to the SHGs and members in turn.

3.6.6.2 Linkages with Market

It is necessary to establish market linkages so that producer organizations and

individual producers are able to get good returns for their produce sustainably. The market

linkage would also provide feedback on products for improvement, technical know-how and

also give suggesitons for other linkages in the value chain. The feedback would help the

producers align to the market requirement.

3.6.6.3 Linkages for Technical Support

The project would tie up with technical resource organizations like the Agricultural

Universities, ICAR Research Laboratories, CSIR research stations, private /corporate

agencies and NGOs, to provide knowledge resources to the community. The project would

also tie up with specific sector organizations for long term association and linkage with the

project so that they also provide hand-holding to the community groups.

The project would hire the services of organizations that have proven expertise of a

sector that Community Institutions may want to take up. They would be called Sector

Support Organizations (SSO) as they would be providing assistance and support across the

value chain in the sector. These could be the NGOs that have acquired expertise in various

sectors that they have been promoting or even private organizations if they have expertise and

can work with the producer/service organizations to provide comprehensive support in

technology, procurements, setting up value chain units and marketing of the produce/service.

SSOs would be provided resources for their support by the project.

3.6.7 Convergence

There are significant amount of resources with the governemnt for various

development programmes like the MGNERGA, IWDP, BRGF, National Rural Livelihood

Mission (NRLM), etc. One of the important development issues is lack of information and

control over its deployment at the community level. Further being schematic funds they often

leave out critical things that are needed to be done for the success of the programme. Since,

the project investment are flexible and are linked to the requirement of the community, they

can be effectively utilised to fill the gaps that are left in the government schemes and

programmes.


The key convergence principle of the Project is to support the systems and institutions

that will enable more effective use of existing funds, both in project villages and in other

parts of the state where project developed planning and implementation systems can be

replicated. The project will therefore develop and support systems for fund convergence as a

priority item. This means developing complementary and mutually reinforcing use of funds

rather than duplication between project funds and those funds available through other

government schemes. It will give better implementation outcomes.

Under the Project, SHGs formation as a measure for institution building for social

empowerment and subsequent finance in the form of Seed Grant and Livelihood grant can be

converged with funds under NRLM. Various awareness campaigns among SHGs will be

given importance as a means of social empowerment which will help the rural people in

getting to know the developmental schemes implemented. This will create behavioural

change among the people towards monitoring of implementation of such schemes and

thereby empower themselves as a strong grassroots level monitoring body.

The livelihood activities to be taken up under the project can be complimented by

implementation of MGREGA Scheme. Under MGREGA, afforestation, conservation of

water and land development are the prioritized permissible works and by converging with

MGREGA, the much needed support for farmers with requirement of upfront capital as well

as management of natural resources in the form of water conservation and forest protection

can be successfully achieved. Moreover, the much needed finance for seed grant and

livelihood grant due to lack of micro finance can be easily met under this project by

channelizing the funds to this. The CDGs / SHG Village Federations can play a crucial role in

MGNREGA planning. For instance:

CDGs/SHG Village Federations can influence the PRIs/VDC to prepare area based

development plans including MGREGA works,

CDGs/Federations can be involved in planning of works at household level on

common land,

CDGs/Federations can be used in generation of awareness about MGREGA works,

CDGs/Federations can be involved in supervision of works under MGREGA

and in ensuring quality,

Assets created under MGREGA can be used for further value addition by providing

loan/ assistance under NERLP and

In MGREGA, the payment of wages to beneficiaries is done through bank accounts

opened in the name of beneficiaries. This is likely to generate savings which may

provide financial cushion for grading loans by the banks under NERLP.

3.6.8 Natural Resource Management

North East region is the biodiversity hotspot which ranks 5th

in the world. But in the

recent years the region’s forests are experiencing an extensive process of forest

fragmentation, degradation, and outright deforestation and forest conversion. The

management of the forest has suffered in the recent past due to pressure on land, the

decreasing cycle of shifting cultivation, exploitation of forest for timber, and lack of scientific

management strategy. Shifting cultivation has been an important factor responsible for much

of the forest being classified as “open forest”, especially in states like Mizoram, and


Nagaland, where much of the land designated as “unclassified” forest is a part of the jhum

where shifting cultivation is practiced.

If the rich biodiversity wealth is to be maintained and developed to the benefit of the

region’s citizens, a strategic planning need to be developed. This includes the focus on

protected area management plans. Many protected areas do not have management plans, or

their effectiveness is very limited. Besides strengthening the existing systems, working on the

participatory natural resource management has many advantages. Throughout the

Northeastern Region Community forest management (CFM) systems have existed in diverse

forms for centuries and continue to be the primary mode of forest conservation and protection

in that region. Community forest protection has been a key mechanism in guarding the

region’s immense biodiversity.

The project will involve the community in forest management. Empowering and

enabling traditional institutions and building modern management capacities within them,

will be a part of project strategy and a major part of Community Development plan will be

based on natural resource related issues. The communities will be able to develop new

resource management plans that address forest conservation and livelihood issues, and also

protecting biodiversity in a manner that respects indigenous rights to natural resources and

livelihood needs.

Given the population increase in the Northeastern Region it will be important to

support community efforts to intensify land productivity, especially on sites where terracing

and irrigation are possible. Agro forestry systems with a mix of commercial products,

including timber, fibre, spice, and medicinal plant would also help to generate income,

taking pressure off steeper slopes and allowing for longer fallow periods in areas of jhum

(shifting cultivation). Another important subject that will be addressed under this strategy is

development of water resources, both surface and groundwater resources, like the springs,

ponds, natural flows, managing watersheds, etc.


Contact with village Headman/Council

Motivation for Formation of

CDG

Social acceptance by village

Headman/Council

PRA (Social Mapping, Resource Mapping Wealth

ranking)

Transfer of Project fund – Yr 1

Transfer of Capital to CDG

Entry point activity by PFT

Grading of CDG

Utilization of fund by CDG

Submission of 2nd

year Action

Plan

Submission of 1st Year Action

Plan

by CDG

Formation of CDG, A/c opening

Formation of new SHG

Assessment of old

SHGs

Seed grant to SHG

1st Grading of SHG

(after 6 months)

Livelihood grant to SHG

Training on preparing

Community Development Plan

Second grading of SHGs

Motivation for Formation of

SHG

Formation of Village SHG

Federation

NB: Producer Organisations (Block level and District level) would be formed by individuals from CDGs, SHGs

and Youth Groups

Identification of old

SHGs

If no support received

under other schemes

Figure 2: Village Project Cycle


3.7 Project Implementation Phase

The project will have a pre-project phase which is basically a project preparatory

stage. The project would be of 5 years duration and will be implemented in 5 phases.

3.7.1 Pre Project Phase (Phase 0)

Setting up of Regional Project Management Unit (RPMU) under the Project

Director including appointment of core officers & staff for RPMU.

Preparation of Project Implementation Plan, Community Operational

Manual, Procurement Manual, Finance Manual and Human Resources Manual.

Conduct of studies - Livelihood, Social and Environmental assessments by

external consultants.

Appointment of District Project Managers in all the eight districts.

Setting up of DPMU offices.

Exposure visits/training/capacity building of RPMU officers.

Conduct of baseline surveys by the states

3.7.2 Phase I (0-6 months)

Establishing District Project Management Units (DPMU) after appointing

requisite staff.

Orientation workshops for DPMU staff.

Exposure visits of RPMU/DPMU staff to successful livelihood interventions.

Engagement of PFTs- or hiring through direct recruitment.

Capacity building of DPMU and PFT staff.

State Level Inception Workshops.

Setting up preliminary MIS system

3.7.3 Phase II (7-12 months)

Identification of villages for phasing of the intervention and establishment of

contact with the formal and informal authorities in the identified villages.

Establishing rapport with the people.

Social mobilization and forming CDGs, SHGs and Youth Groups etc


Entry Point Activity.

Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) and preparation of Benchmark Analysis Report.

Wealth ranking of all the households in the village.

Identification and assessment of existing SHGs and other groups.

Formulation and execution of a CDG capacity building plan.

Training of SHG members and leaders and Youth Group leaders.

Identification of technical training and skill building needs of the youth.

3.7.4 Phase III (13-18 months)

Continuation of community mobilization and formation of groups.

Continuation of capacity building of leaders of SHG and other groups and

organize technical training in association with line departments.

Identification by the community of potential Community Service Provider (CSP)

that can be groomed.

Identification of the training institutions including the private sector for

imparting skill to rural youth. Assessment of their capacities and preparation of

plan for them for up-gradation and expansion depending on the skill building needs

of the YG members

Formation of higher level of organization viz. SHG Village Federation

First remittance from the project to CDGs.

3.7.5 Phase IV (19-48 months)

Building the capacity of CDG for planning and preparation of annual action plan

Selection and intensive training of the Community Service Providers

Preparation of Livelihood and NRM Plans by the groups, vetting by

technical agencies and helping groups to take up livelihood activities

Monitoring of periodic repayment of credit and maintenance of their records

Close liaison with external agencies

Formation of higher level organization viz. SHG Village Federation,

Producer groups, etc.

All CDGs to be in place in the scheduled villages by the close of this phase.


3.7.6 Phase V – Consolidation (49-60 months)

Ensuring that activities taken up are completed

Monitoring of the groups and continued mentoring support

Formation of larger federations or cooperative of SHGs and producer cum

marketing groups

Conduct of Impact Assessment Studies through PRA

Executing the Project's Strategy.

As far as possible the project intervention would be started in all the project villages

by the third year so that these villages get some time to roll out the project components. In the

villages selected in the later phases, the above stages would be expedited. It would be

possible to do so as there would be demonstration effect in the region.

3.8 Community Insitutions Building Outputs

The year wise community insitutions buidling outputs are given in the table below.

Table 3-5: Phasing of Community Institution Building

*NB: The Project will be piloted in 2 blocks of each of the 8 districts in the first year

PARTICULARS 1st

Year

2nd

Year

3rd

Year

4th

Year

5th

Year

Total

Block selection 16 42

Establishment of PFT 16 42 - - - 58

Village Entry 500 1124 1624

Formation of CDG 500 1000 3500 - - 5000

SHG Formation (New & revival of

dormant/defunct ones)

2000 10500 13500 0 0 26000

Village level SHG Federation formation 200 1050 1350 0 2600

Producer federation /association 200 1050 1350 2600


4 CHAPTER 4: PROJECT COMPONENTS

The project would focus on improving livelihoods of the most disadvantaged people in

the project area. The project components are designed in a manner that they complement and

supplement each other. The core of the model is building strong grassroots institutions of the

poor i.e. SHGs, SHG Village Federations, Youth Groups, Community Development Groups and

Producer Organizations. Funds will be made available for empowering the poor. Similarly

investments will be made for increasing the capacity of the SHGs, project staff and other

stakeholders. It would also develop the skill base of young people to increase their employability

in various sectors.

The following are the four components designed to cover every aspect of the project to

achieve the objectives:

1. Social Empowerment;

2. Economic Empowerment;

3. Partnership Development and

4. Project Management.

The components with the sub-components are given in the Table below.

Table 4-1: Project Components

SL

NO

COMPONEN

TS

SUB-COMPONENTS % OF PROJECT

FUND

1 Social

Empowerment

Support to Project Facilitation Teams (PFTs)

Community Mobilization, Capacity and

Institution Building

20%

2 Economic

Empowerment

SHG Investment Support

Community Development Investment Support

Support to Producer Organizations

Skill Development and Placement

Innovation Support

60%

3 Partnership

Development

Microfinance and capacity building

Value chain interventions

Technical Training

Market Linkages

10%

4 Project

Management

Governance Management

Project Management

Monitoring and Evaluation

Technical Assistance

10%


4.1 Social Empowerment

The objective of this component is to empower the rural communities, create their

sustainable institutions so that they manage common activities around microfinance,

livelihoods and natural resource management. The component will consist of the following

two sub-components:

Support to Project Facilitation Teams (PFTs)

Community Mobilization and Institution Building and

4.1.1 Support to Project Facilitation Team

The sub-component will cover cost of establishment and operations of field based

project units called Project Facilitation Teams (PFTs). The PFTs will provide support to the

initial social mobilization and wealth ranking processes in the villages and subsequently

intensive, hand-holding support to the various community based groups throughout the

process of the latter’s formation. PFTs would nurture the community organizations so that

they become sustainable institutions and they continue to address the social and economic

needs of its members, even after the project comes to an end, or it withdraws to work in other

regions.

The project will provide all PFT team members with orientation training at the onset, as

well as thematic and subject matter trainings in subsequent years. Orientation and induction

would be conducted upon joining the Project. Project documents such as the Community

Operations Manual, Financial Manual, Procurement Manual, Social and Environmental

Framework would be used as basic training material. In addition, exposure trips will be

organized to enable them to share experiences across districts to further enhance their skills and

performances. Selected PFT members will also participate in study tours to other states in India,

as well as other countries. Technical training would be provided to the concerned personnel

depending on the requirement. Specialist agencies would also be engaged to impart technical

training. The project will finance training and exposure costs.

Project will also provide administrative overhead costs including establishment of office,

office infrastructure, necessary equipments, recurring expenses including salary and travelling

expenses of PFT personnel.

The project would provide support for ‘entry point activity’ in order to establish rapport

with the villagers. The entry point activity could be some activity that can involve entire village

like holding a medical camp, veterinary camp, cultural activity, etc. The PFTs would decide the

nature of entry point activity after dicussion with the community. However, the PFT would

make attempt to garner community participation in terms of labour also for the entry point

activity so as to give early message that the community should have ownership of the project

processes and activities and that the project would strengthen their plans and aspirations as long

as they are focussed on addressing poverty of the poorest first.

4.1.2 Community Mobilisation and Institution Building

The objective of investing in this component is to mobilize the village communities

into membership based community institutions, organizing them into self help groups and

higher level federations and to further strengthen these institutions to implement the project.


This sub-component will support community level activities related to the formation and

institution building of community organizations. The strategy to promote CDG, SHG,

Federations and POs is to ensure their sustainability and further for these organizations to link

with mainstream financial institutions for future financial needs. This will cover expenditures

related to community mobilization, situation analysis of villages, participatory rural appraisal

exercises, project communication, hand-holding supports, financial literacy and all such

trainings, etc.

It would also support community capacity building, collecive action on social inclusion

and empowerment, and social safegaurds, particularly of tribal people.

Investments under this component will be geared towards intensive and long-term

training efforts to strengthen and build institutions of the poor (e.g. self-help groups,

community development groups, youth groups, economic activity-based groups, producer

groups and natural resource management-based groups), establish leadership, protect

vulnerable sections of communities, strengthen cultural heritage and identities and conduct

participatory planning processes. In addition, support will be provided to federate

community based groups into higher level associations.

The project would support creation and initial nurturing and support to Community

Service providers, viz. Community Facilitators, , Para Professional, local knowledge experts,

etc. that are likely to remain in the community and continue to provide services to community

organizations against payment for the services. The Project would provide for the following.

i. Training and skill development support of CSPs as Service Providers/para-professionals,

so that they are able to provide support to community institutions formed. Project will

build sufficient capacity in them to perform their activities professionally. These service

providers will work with CDG, SHG, federations, economic groups and supplement the

activities of PFTs.

ii. Compensation Support: The project would provide initial support in form of fixed

compensation for some time. It would be gradually phased out as CSPs begin to take

service charges from the groups. It is expected that over a period, the CSPs would be

able to sustain themselves completely from the service charges paid by the various

community organizations and other clients.

4.2 Economic Empowerment

The objective of this component is to develop the capacity of the above groups to plan

and provide funds to them to undertake various economic initiatives and common public-

good activities. The component will have five subcomponents, each aligned along a specific

function and community group. This will include the following:

SHG and SHG Federation Investment Support

Community Development Investment Support

Producer Organizations Investment Support

Skill Development and Placement Support

Innovation Support


4.2.1 SHG and SHG Federation Investment Support

The support to SHGs and Federations would consist of seed grants, and livelihood

grants to the SHGs,.

4.2.1.1 SHG Seed Grant

SHG Seed Grant Support will be given to SHGs, as an initial grant that capitalizes

them and smoothens their linkage for credit through MFIs/commercial banks. The seed grant

is envisaged as a method of providing capital to the poor who constitute the primary

membership of the SHGs.

Under this component, SHGs will receive a seed grant when they reach a certain level

of maturity, as measured by a predefined milestone. A new group should have had saving and

inter-lending experience of at least six months, before they become eligible for seed grant.

Before providing any amount SHG rating (1st Grading) would be carried out and only those

who achieve minimum qualifying marks would be considered for assistance. The SHG not

qualifying the grading would be considered again eligible for rating after three months

provided they show improvement.

In case of pre-existing groups, they too would be subjected to same grading before

release of Seed Grant. However, if the group has already received such grants under bank

linkage programme of NABARD or under SGSY scheme or any other programme of the

government they would not be considered for Seed Grant.

The amount provided under Seed Grant is Rs 10,000 per eligible and successfully

graded SHG. The amount would be directly provided into the account of the SHG by the

project. The Seed Grant would be given as loan to the members. The SHG would decide the

priority of members in lending to them. The terms of lending to members from seed grant

would be no different from that of their own savings. The seed grant may also be used by the

SHG to leverage (as margin money) more loans from banks and/or other government sources.

4.2.1.2 SHG Livelihood Grant

Under this component, the project would support the SHGs with direct infusion of

grants funds for livelihood activities of the members. The SHG would prepare a livelihood

plan consisting of individual plans of all its members. The Livelihood plan would be

scrutinized by the PFT and recommended to the District Project Management Unit (DPMU)

on the SHG passing the 2nd

grading and resonableness of the Livelihood Plan. The second

grading would be on predetermined parameters and more stringent than the first.

The members would be eligible to take loans from the SHG Livelihood grant as per

the terms fixed by the SHG. The SHG would have to prioritise the loans of individual

members. The Livelihood Plan could also be for collective activity that the group would like

to take up together provided it benefits all the members. The purpose of the sub-component is

also to prepare the members to treat the capital as scarce resource to be utilised deligently and

repaid. This would prepare them to source and utilise the mainstream bank funds.

The Livelihood grant amount would be Rs 80,000 per SHG which would be given in

two tranches of Rs 40,000 each with a gap of three to six months. In case of collective


activity by the group (where no individual loans are given) the amount has to be repaid by the

group to the village Federation if already in place or when the same is formed. The

Federation would determine the terms of loans including interest rate and repayment

schedule. Same terms of repayment would apply to all the SHGs in the federation.

4.2.2 Community Development Support

Under this sub-component, funds will be provided to CDGs to undertake village level

activities such as development of common natural resource (land development, water

management, forest, etc.), small village infrastructure that directly enhance local livelihood

activities such as storage, grading, testing and collection centres, etc. that enhance community

assets and infrastructure. Natural resources management, with special emphasis on

community-based forestry management, Non Timber Forest Produce storage and processing,

preservation of riverine fishes, water harvesting and recharging of ground/surface water, etc.

are some of the activities that could be taken up.

The second tranche would be released on proper utilization of the first tracnche and

beginning of repayment by the members that got loan from the first tranche.

CDGs would have to make Community Development Plans (CDP) for the purpose

and would be the basis of providing community investments. A major objective of CDP will

be to convergence with other Government schemes and leverage resources that would help

the livelihood activities taken up by women.

CDP planning process will include community needs assessment and prioritization

through participatory methods. CDPs will be focus on the most urgent and tangible livelihood

priority of the targeted beneficiaries. The CDP planning, appraisal, sanctioning and approval

process is provided in the COM. CDPs would include either new proposed projects, not

covered under any other scheme, or support projects which are already included in the shelf

of projects identified thorugh any village partcipaory planning exercise in Sikkim, visioning

exercise in Nagaland, NREGA village planning in Tripura. The State PIPs will elaborate

further on this linkage.

The CDP would seek to align with the activities of the SHG members as indicated in

the SHG Livelihood plan. For example, if most of the members are seeking to carry out

activities around NRM, the CDP would focus on investing in development of common NRM

resources. Similarly, if SHG members are focusing on horticulture, CDP would focus on

investment in common infrastructure that would ensure better services or returns to the

members.

The CDP should benefit significant number of people in the village and make their

livelihood activities more viable. PFTs would provide technical guidance and support to the

CDG in preparing the plan after detailed consultation with SHG and YG members. The CDPs

would have to be submitted to the DPMU on recommendation of PFT for sanction and

release of the amount. The funds will be released subject to CDGs passing the grading test,

based on pre-defined criteria.

In the first round of community investment, the Project would provide Rs 50,000 for

the village investment provided the CDP has also leveraged equivalent amount from some

government scheme(s). In the second round of community investment a year later, the Project

would provide Rs 1,00,000 for community investments, provided the CDG has carried out the

first CDP successfully including benefiting the minimum number of households as projected


in the plan. Second CDP would seek convergent funding from government of twice the

amount being provided by the Project. The first CDP would benefit a minimum of 40

households whereas the second CDP would benefit at least 60 households.

In the context of North East some of the common activities under the CDP are the

following.

Natural resource management including catchments area treatment, watershed

development etc.

In most of the project blocks jhum system of agriculture is in practice. However, it

is found to be inadequate to address food security. Therefore, improving the jhum

system of agriculture could be a significant activity. Addressing the issues of Jhum

cultivation practices like jhum modification, jhum intensification, jhum fellow

management etc.

Land development including horticultural development for the whole village

Social infrastructure at the village level that would facilitate the common interest

of the community and village, e.g. storage, testing and collection centers, market

shed, etc.

Water harvesting and harnessing infrastructure for untapped water sources.

Development of spring catchments, groundwater resources, watershed

management, etc.

Essential common services that reduce drudgery of women in the village. It would

consist of community-based infrastructure with emphasis on upgrading of small

agricultural link roads, micro hydro-power schemes, wind cum solar mills, market

development, etc.

CDPs will be screened for their potential to cause any adverse social and

environmental impacts, as well as for enhancing their social, economic and environmental

impacts. All the projects which are taken under the CDPs would follow the EMF and Social

safe guard. The negative list of activities that would not be taken under CDG is given in the

box below.

Negative List

i. Buildings for public administration, political facilities, religious buildings etc, which do not

directly improve the economic status, quality of life of the village community.

ii. Activities, which will adversely affect the environmental conditions of the village. Embankment

/ check dam exceeding 3 meters in height,Activities involving discharge into any water body

any industrial waste, sewerage or other polluting substance, Clearing, kindling fire, damaging

trees (felling, girdling, lopping, topping, burning, stripping bark and leaves), quarrying stone,

etc., in reserved and protected forests etc

iii. Purchase or releasing of land, rehabilitation or construction on private land, or improvement of

private property.

iv. Activities requiring sophisticated technical support, spare parts and other supports not readily

available locally.

v. To repay existing liabilities of the Village, to meet the operational and maintenance expenses of

existing infrastructure etc.


4.2.3 Producer Organization Investment Support

As the name suggests this investment support would be provided to formal Producer

Organizations (PO) registered as a cooperative, mutual benefit trust, society, or a company.

PO would be a collective enterprise in farm and/or non-farm sector that is based on the

livelihood activities of the members drawn from mainly from SHGs. Youth Group members

would also be part of PO. It would provide greater access and benefit to the members.

The producer group or company would be formed at the village level. It could be

coterminus with the village federation if all or most of the members of the federation desire to

undertake or are engaged in same economic activity. The POs can be formed over a number

of villages if the members thereof are engaged in same secotral activity and it makes

economic good to undertake collective activity. In such cases, the POs from these many

villages can pool together their support from the project to make larger investment in the

activity. The POs can thus be at the block level too. Thus, the members of SHGs or any

individual who have similar livelihood based activity will form groups i.e. ‘Producer

Organization’ at neighbourhood, village, cluster/block and district level. The objective is to

increase the share of SHG households in the value chain activities of key commodities or

products where, few major sub-sectors would be identified in the project districts based on

the opportunities. The sub project would be developed on a cluster approach that makes

business sense and supports economic viability parameters for that identified sub-sector. The

strategy of forming Producer Organization by SHGs/SHG members/ any individual engaged

in the common livelihoods activity will facilitate to leverage on economics of scale to access

wider markets and make collective investments in value addition.

Under Producer Organization Investment support, the Project would provide assistance

for i) Establishing and handholding support and ii) Working capital and value chain investment

support. These are discussed in the following.

4.2.3.1 Establishment and handholding support

The Project would provide expenses associated with the formulation and registration of

the PO. The Handholding support fund is meant for the hiring of consultants/expert help, for

initial three years. In the case of producer companies the expenses of formation could be

substantial. The assistance would be provided if there is clear business plan and alignment

with the member livelihood activities. Till the formation of the PO the financial amount

would be provided through the SHG Federation. Once the PO is registered and has a bank

account the assistance would be given by the DPMU directly into PO account.

4.2.3.2 Working Capital and Value Chain Investment support

The producer organization would be formed at the block level to address critical

bottlenecks in the value chain. They can also be established at the district level if the scale of

aggregation required has to be high enough for economics of activity and market penetration. To

be eligible for support by the Project the block level and district level PO should directly benefit

minimum of 50 and 250 households (members) respectively.

The project would facilitate the PO in leveraging funds from the mainstream banks and

other financial institutions for investment in working capital and value chain investments by

providing grant support. .


However, the assistance would be based on clear business plan and the acceptance of the

same by the financing institution such as commercial banks, financial institutions and/or

convergence with some government scheme or programme. There would be scope for public

private partnership in the enterprise, where private sector would bring expertise which is

otherwise not available as also finance for the same. The PFTs would support the POs in making

specific business plans in simple activities. However, for activity across number of villages, the

Project would seek collaboration and partnership of specialist organization having such technical

expertise. (This has been futher detailed in the section of Partnership Development.)

4.2.4 Skill Development and Placement

The objective of this subcomponent is to enable the youth in the project areas to

capture new employment opportunities arising out of the overall growth of the regional and

national economy and set up small enterprises in their local areas based on market potential

as well. The project is expected to cover about 20000 youth both men and women in equal

proportion.

At the community end, the project would facilitate young people to develop their

skills by providing 80% of cost of training. The candidate is expected to contribute 20%

towards such cost. However, if necessary, the candidate would be able to take loans from

SHGs if either he/she or someone from the household is a member of SHG.

The youth would be also encouraged to start their own enterprises based on the skills

developed or upgraded to contemporary context and requirement. The youth would be

provided facilitation for loans from the banks for starting their enterprises or look for

convergence with government schemes if any, in that area of expertise.

The various types of investments under this subcomponent would be:

Study of market demand for skills and potential employment possibilities

Study of training need analysis of the youth on a market demand and

employment potential.

80% cost of training to the member of YG undergoing specific skill training to

a maximum of Rs 6000 per training.

Incentive to training institute for placement to the extent of 10% of the

training course fees or Rs 1000 per trained and placed recommended person,

whichever is less.

4.2.5 Innovation Support

The project will support innovative pilot activities that have potential for scaling-up

and replication. Over the period of implementation in the project many opportunities will

arise that have the potential for being integrated into the project. Potential innovations from

elsewhere can also be analysed for adoption in the Project. Specific social security projects

that address the needs of the SHG members like the health emergencies and food security can

also be taken up under innovation fund. The main objective of the Innovative Seed Fund is to

pilot by means of Projects innovative ideas which require time for experimentation, study and

maturity and which are structurally replicable.


RPMU will invite proposals from various agencies like Private Sector, NGOs,

Community organizations, Local Government Agencies, Research Institutions etc related to

designed to support the community and their organizations by exploring new approaches

which help fulfill of development needs. The innovative idea should provide direct benefits to

the community. It should be culturally acceptable, suitable and gender responsive. The

proposals will be scrutinized at RPMU level by a committee specially formed for the

purpose. Once the committee recommends, a proposal shall be taken up for implementation.

The main criteria for selection of innovations are that they

Should be a new concept/ideas but acceptable by the community

Should enhance rural livelihoods

Should have measurable outcomes and impacts

Should have potential for being sustainable

Should have potential of scaling up

Should have technology and know how that can be easily transferred to the

communities.

The processes behind selection of innovative are detailed in the COM.


Table 4.2: Project support to community based organizations

Sl.

No

Name of fund Objective Manage

d by

Utilis

ed by

Conditions for availing Limits

1 SHG Seed fund - To support SHGs to have initial

capital for urgent requirement of

members and experience of managing

fund

DPMU-

PFT

SHG Group having no assistance from any other

source

Completed 6 months of savings and inter

lending

Passed 1st grading

Rs 10,000

2 SHG Livelihood

Plan fund -

Tranche1

- To support SHG members in taking

up individual level livelihood

activities

DPMU-

PFT

SHG After 6 months of seed capital

Passed the 2nd

grading

Preparation of livelihood plan

Rs 40,000 per

group

3 SHG Livelihood

Plan fund -

Tranche2

- To support SHG members in taking

up individual level livelihood

activities

DPMU-

PFT

SHG After 3months of 1st tranche

Proper utilization of the money

Repayment by other members started

Rs 40,000 per

group

4 Community

development plan –

1

- To support the village in filling gaps

in the village plan – 1st

time – year 2

DPMU-

PFT

CDG After achieving minimum marks in grading

Village planning excise by CDG

Should be able to leverage money from

other Govt schemes in a ratio of 1:1

Should at least benefit at least 40 HHs

Should be in aligned with the SHG plan

Up to Rs 50,000

5 Community

development plan -

2

- To support the village in filling gaps

in the village plan – year 3 or 4

DPMU-

PFT

CDG After achieving minimum marks in 2nd

grading

Village planning excise

Should be able to leverage money from

other Govt schemes in a ratio of 1:2

Should at least benefit at least 60 HHs

Should be in aligned with the SHG plan

Up to Rs 1,00,000

6 Producer

organization startup

support

- To meet the initial start up \expenses DPMU-

PFT

Produ

cer

Org.

Registration with the project

Clear business plan

Rs 1,00,000


Sl.

No

Name of fund Objective Manage

d by

Utilis

ed by

Conditions for availing Limits

7 Producer

organization

working capital +

investment support

- To leverage working capital and

assets from financial institutions

DPMU-

PFT

Produ

cer

Org.

Organization should be formally registered

with the project

Proper business plan

Acceptance of business plan for financing

by a bank or financial institution

Rs 2,00,000

8 Youth group

member - To support the young people to

acquire employable skills and provide

them gainful engagement

DPMU Trg.

Org. Recommended by Youth Group for

particular training

Youth depositing 20% of the fees upfront in

the training institute.

80% of training cost

or maximum of Rs

6000 per trainee

whichever is less.


Project Implementation Plan

4.3 Partnership Development

The Project would partner with various service providers, resource institutions and

public and private sector organizations to bring various resources from finance to knowledge

in the project so that the community groups and organizations are able to take advantage and

improve their livelihoods.

Project would hire services of organizations that have proven expertise of a sector that

the community may want to take up. Partnerships with private and public organizations that

have expertise and can work with the community to provide comprehensive support in

technology, procurements, setting up value chain units and marketing of the produce/service

would be sustainable linkages even after the project is over. The Project would work in a way

to create relationship of mutuality and win-win situations for community organizations and

service provider.

The subcomponent will support technical assistance for major livelihood activities

such as agriculture and livestock/dairy through strategic public-private partnerships through

contracted services with research organizations, private sector and technically competent civil

society organizations.

The Project would develop partnerships for i) Finance, ii) Technology and iii)

Marketing and any other areas that may be required.

4.3.1 Financial Support Linkages

The project would bear the cost of establishing the linkages with financial institutions

for funds to the SHGs, federations and producer organizations. Thus the bankers would be

sent on exposure visit to other states that have achieved good linkage. Project would partner

with NABARD and SIDBI and other specialized financial institutions. It would also partner

with second tier MFIs for microfinance and livelihood finance e.g.RGVN, Basix, TMN,

Bandhan etc. The Project would provide risk coverage to private sector second tier MFIs to

lend to SHGs, Federations and Producer organizations. It would also invite such

organizations from outside the region and provide financial support to them to set up

operations in the North East. Entry of private organizations in financing the community

groups would spur the banks and mainstream financial institutions to lend to the poor. The

project would also support efforts of MFIs for financial inclusion under ‘Business

correspondent and facilitator’ model being suggested by the Reserve Bank of India.

4.3.2 Technical Support Linkage

The project would form linkages with technical insitutions for providing training and

expertise in various sectors like in agriculture including floriculture, horticulture, and allied

activities like animal husbandry, natural resource management, handicraft and handloom,

food processing, eco-tourism, etc. to community organizations and para-workers. [See

Annexure III for potential list of organizations.]

The duration of engagement with various technical support organizations would be short,

medium and long term as per the demand of the activity. Similarly, these engagements could

be for single and specific activity or for the entire value chain. The organizations that are



engaged on the long term for entire range of activities in the value chain would be called

Sector Support Organizations (SSO). SSO would provide technical know-how, critical

market linkages and capacity building support to community organizations mobilized and

formed by the project . The various fileds that will be supported by SSO are -Capacity

building of community groups, Technical knowhow and linkage for value chain investment,

Technical support in training in agriculture, dairy, handicrafts, etc. to community

organizations and CRPs, Natural Resource Management and Livelihoods, Rural

Infrastructure etc.

Various kind of support services and linkages that will be established with the

available agencies/organizations/institutions etc are described below:

Training: Support will be taken from the institutions like State Institute of Rural

Development of respective states, NIRD, IIBM, NERIWALM and other agencies on matters

associated with natural resource management, marketing, financial, social aspects etc. The

training will be taken by the project officials as well as by project facilitators as per the need

assessment which to be done at project level in advance.

Socio-technical Support: As social and technical support services during the

implementation period are vital, necessary support from various competent agencies available

in the region would be taken.

Action Research support: The project may take up theme and need based Action

Research Programme on rural livelihood issue with assistance from research institutions.

Thematic Study: Conduct of thematic study is one of the core strategies of the

project through different processes involved in project implementation will be evaluated, and

case/success stories will be documented or analysed.

Issue based Workshop/Seminar: As a policy of exchange of learning or

dissemination of project experiences, seminars and workshop will be organized by

collaborating with like minded institutions and organizations.

Post-harvest technology support – The post harvest technology will be strengthened

to add value to the farm produce and to fetch better market. Following are ways through

which this issue will be addressed - Introducing the concept of collectivity of farm produce

and Primary value addition.

The sub-component would provide resources for engaging these technical and sector

support organizations and holding any events, workshops and seminars, trainings, studies,

visits and travels, etc. related to providing technical support and linkages. Various agencies

with whom the possibel linkages can happen are - Myrada, PRADAN, NERCORMP, Sa-

Dhan, APMAS, TMN, ITC, Indian Grameen Services, Amul, Druk, CBTC, NEHHDC,

People’s Science Institute (PSI) Dehradun, ICIMOD, food/Fruit processing organizations like

CFTRI, RRL, BAIF, NERMC, ICIMOD, ATREE, AFPRO, etc.



4.3.3 Marketing Support Linkages

Marketing is the crux of economic activity promotion. The project would establish

market linakges for adequate buyback arrangement with POs. The sub-component would

provide resource to engage the marketing support organizations. The project would also

provide resources for other activities related to such support. Following strategies are

proposed for marketing and for establishing marketing linkages around them.

Support for Cluster development: As per the feasibility of the geographical location

and other naturally favourable situation, selected items are produced on a large scale in a

geographical vicinity to be called a cluster. A cluster develops plethora of critical linkages for

inputs, outputs, support services, technology, finance, etc. so that it is easy for new

entreprenures enter and exist the cluster activity. Partnerships would be developed with

agencies that can promote and support cluster approachs in different products and services.

Support for collective marketing: The community based organizations will be

strengthened for collective marketing. The objective of collective marketing is to achieve

competitive advantage over the market and to ensure adequate bargaining capacity.

Collaboration with be establised with agencies that can support collective marketing efforts

of the community groups till the time the community institutions themselves are able to

handle collective marketing.

Support for market infrastructure development: There are a number of

government initiatives that not only provide marketing outlets but also develop community

infrastructure for marketing. The agriculture, fruit, animal products, madis and market places

would be developed with support and collaboration with Directorate of Marketing and

Information (DMI), State Marketing Boards, Mandi Parishads, etc.

Support for market Intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination: The

market intelligence and information will be gathered as per the need, type of product and

place. The marketing organizations would very importantly provide the market information to

the production so that the POs are able to change according to market demands.

Value chain analysis and linkage support: The value chain relationship for the

items identified already will be established and value addition at different stages will be

ensured to get better price and more profit to the farmers.

Public-Private Partnership: Developing public-private partnership is very crucial in

order to give commercial orientation to farm and non farm sector. The Project would partner

with various private and public sector organizations for providing fair marketing support and

linkages to the producer organizations and primary group members who market their

produce.

Linkage with nodal agencies: SFAC, SAMB, NABARD, NEDFI, NERAMAC,

NEHHDC: project will liaise and develop adequate partnership with these nodal agencies for

facilitating adequate marketing.



4.4 Project Management

The component will facilitate various governance, implementation, coordination,

learning and quality enhancement efforts in the project. It will consist of the following four

sub-components: (i) Project Management; (ii) Monitoring and Evaluation and (iii) Technical

Assistance.

4.4.1 Project Management

The objective of this sub-component would be to establish an efficient, effective and

responsive management framework to implement the project. Project management would

involve the following:

Establishment and operational costs of RPMU and DPMU.

Remuneration & other pre-agreed costs of State Coordinator.

Cost of preparation of various project manuals.

Cost of various studies & surveys at RPMU level.

Capacity building, training, exposure visit, for RPMU, SPSU and DPMU staffs

Need based training & exposure for various stakeholders to be decided at RPMU

Organizing Project launching workshop, events, meetings, etc by RPMU, DPMU

Purchase & maintenance of office equipment, movement and transport, logistic

support, office expenses, advertisement cost, communication, other operating

expenses, overheads, etc. at RPMU & DPMU level.

4.4.2 Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring and Evaluation would be an inherent activity throughout the project cycle

for feed-back on performance of the project processes and activities. This involves taking

timely corrective measures to address the short comings and deviations. M&E system would

provide realistic, real-time, adequately summarized and easily interpretable information on

various aspects of the project which would be helpful in its proper implementation.

Objectives of this sub-component are:

4.5 To track the project input/output based on the project management matrix.

4.6 Collection and dissemination of information at the various levels for better planning &

implementation.

The Monitoring & Evaluation system of NERLP would cover the following broad

activities:

Progress monitoring of project inputs and outputs.

Performance monitoring of community institutions, investments and project

processes.

Internal learning, feedback and social accountability measures

Baseline and impact assessment

The progress monitoring refers to the project input and output with quantitative data

which depicts the achievement in specific measurable outcomes, where as the performance

monitoring refers to the process aspect especially where the process related to the

management as well as the project component is measured through qualitative information

and validated for further improvement.



A Computerized Web Based Management Information System (MIS) will be the main

instrument for tracking physical progress against the quarterly, annual and cumulative

targets/activities of the project. The MIS would capture information related to activities (its

immediate results or outputs) that are conducted under each of the four project components.

A consultancy firm would be hired to develop and maintain the MIS system of the project.

This sub-component will support project monitoring and learning activities, including

computerized Web-based MIS, baseline or end-line studies, mid-term review and impact

studies.

The Monitoring and Evaluation system would monitor Processes, Results and Impact

of various project initiatives.

Process and Result Monitoring:

The Process Monitoring would be undertaken to help the project management and others

involved in the project to understand factors responsible for deviation in the implementation

process and actions necessary to increase management effectiveness. Process Monitoring

would, therefore, verify the quality and performances of the project implementation on a

continuous basis and give inputs for correction. The monitorable processes on which project

needs qualitative assessment can be broadly divided into two categories –

i. Field Implementation related processes

ii. Project Management and organizational development related processes.

The processes would be identified on the basis of their critical importance in the

project. Some examples under these two categories are given below:

(i) Field implementation related processes that can be monitored are:

Process of formation and development of Community Based Institutions.

Community Development plan and SHG livelihood plan preparation process.

Producer Organization project proposal preparing process.

Training and capacity building processes

Inclusiveness in planning, execution and benefits sharing

Performance of community institutions

Development and Livelihood plan implementation

Utilization of infrastructure created by the project, etc.

Compliance to the social and environmental safeguards

Intermediate impacts of project activities/inputs

Convergence and linkage of Community Based Institutions with government, private

sectors including financial institutions etc.

(ii) Project Management and Organizational development related issues

Staff recruitment and capacity building process

Relationship between different levels of project management units

Role clarity of staff



Process of procurement of goods, works and services

Village and beneficiary selection process

Adherence to the COM

Community development plan, SHG livelihood plan, Value chain proposal appraisal

process, etc.

Fund disbursal process to the Community Based Institutions

Process of social accountability/information disclosure plan

Performance of MIS and internal learning system, etc.

Adherence to the business standards

Coordination among various stakeholders at the field level, etc.

Performance of communication system of the project

Impact Assessments

Impact assessment would involve comparing qualitative and quantitative outcomes

before and after the project. The outcome and output indicators would be the point of

reference to establish the net effect of the project. The impact evaluation would consider

major assumptions to establish causal relationship between activities, outputs and outcomes.

The net impact of the project will be analysed by comparing the parameters with non-project

areas (control) so as to neutralize the impact of other factors affecting development in the

region.

The impact evaluation study would require rigorous methodology and quality

analysis. Two impact evaluations are planned during the project period. The mid-term

evaluation would be commissioned at the end of 3rd

year of project intervention, while the

final impact study would be conducted at the end of the project period.

Institutional Arrangements for M&E system

Organisational Structure Positions ResponsibleRoles and Responsibilities

PM(M&E ) & MIS Consultants Consolidation of data,Analysis, Reports

Information generation and dissemination

Coordinator ( M&E) Consolidation of data, Analysis, Reports

Block Coordinator, MIS Asstt Verify data and feed into M&E system

Area Coordinators(AC) Train Community, Collect filled formats And submit to MIS Asstt.

Community Level CDG Book Keeper SHG Facilitator Filling up of M&E formats

RPMU

DPMU

PFT



4.4.3 Technical Assistance

The sub-component will provide specific Technical Assistance (TA) to the project to

enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation of their programs related to

rural development that are being implemented state wide. The TA will support capacity

building for strengthening systems of management and project management structure. It

would support training and exposure visits of officials and preparation of new guidelines and

manuals that enhance the effectiveness of the project. Various consultancies and engagements

that provide technical assistance to the project would be covered under this component.

Technical assistance will be in various fields like sustainable livelihood, capacity

building and marketing. The project would form linkages with technical insitutions for

providing training and expertise in various sectors like in agriculture including floriculture,

horticulture, and allied activities like animal husbandry and fisheries, natural resource

management, handicraft and handloom, food processing, eco-tourism, etc. to community

organizations and para-worker trainings. Technical assistance will include technical know-

how, capacity building support to community organizations mobilized and formed by the

project, critical market linkages, etc.

4.5 Expected Project outcomes from the Components:

Table 4-3: Expected Project Outcomes

Project

Component

Project outcomes

Social

Empowerment

At least 50% of women in project area who were not formerly in SHGs become

members of Project-supported SHGs

At least 90% of previously-established SHGs receiving project loans repay them

regularly

At least 60% of the Project SHGs achieve “A” Grade.

At least 50% of institutions created are sustainable

At least 5% of positions in traditional and formal village institutions are held by

members of the most disadvantaged households.

Of the total community service provider , at least 30% are women

At least 40% of Community Institutions have Representation of Tribal

Communities (Sikkim & Tripura)

At least 30% of Community Service Providers (CSP) and Community leaders

are tribal (Sikkim & Tripura)

Economic

Empowerment

A minimum of 60% of SHG women members have taken at least one loan

At least 70% of the disadvantaged project HH diversified or up-scaled their

income-generating activities

50% of women SHG members increase their savings and investments by at least

50% above their Year 1 levels.

At least 50% village youths (women and men) trained under the project are

gainfully employed .

At least 50% of households adopt improved farm and non-farm technologies promoted by the project

At least 40% of Tribal households are benefited by the Project Investment

Support

By end of Project, at least 15% of project village level investments come from



Partnership

Development

government and quasi government sources.

At least 30% of the women SHG members, youth and most disadvantaged HHs

access credit from formal institutions

Partnership is established with at least eight Technical Support Institutes

Partnership is established between at least 50% of SHG/Federations with

Government/commercial organizations for forward and backward linkages

Project

Management

Quarterly IUFR is submitted to the Ministry of DoNER and CAAA as per

timeline agreed upon for reimbursement.

Project management has conducted statutory audit in time and satisfactorily

addressed the audit findings according to FMM.

Statutory audit reports are submitted to the Ministry of DoNER and World

Bank as per time line agreed upon.

Project management takes and records all necessary actions related to findings

of regular monitoring and evaluation reports that it receives in a timely manner,

as per PIP business and transparency standards.

All the complaints received by the Complaints Handling unit in the RPMU have

been addressed, according to agreed NERLP PIP/COM standards.



5 CHAPER 5: IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS

The project’s institutional arrangement is designed to plan, implement and monitor

the project right from the community level to the Regional level and includes Ministry of

DONER at the Govt. of India level. The project organization will have basically four levels

namely, the Ministry of DONER, Regional level covering four project states, District level

covering the individual project districts and Block level covering individual blocks.

Additionally there will be a State level Project Support unit for convergence with the

corresponding government development programmes.

5.1 Ministry of DONER

The project is under the overall governance of Ministry of DONER. Ministry of

DONER would constitute a Project Governance Committee (GC) consisting of Secretary

DONER, representative from Planning Commission, Ministry of Finance, Rural

Development, and Chief Secretaries of respective States. The Joint Secretary (JS) DONER

would be the Member Secretary of this Committee. The Member Secretary would be assisted

by a small secretariat consisting of a professional consultant hired on contractual basis.

The Project Governance Committee would meet twice a year to review the project

and take up policy issues affecting the project. It would also advise convergence of various

government schemes at the level of community.

5.2 Regional Society (NELPS)

The project would be implemented by the autonomous regional level Society

registered and established by the Ministry of DONER, under the name North East Livelihood

Promotion Society (NELPS). It is chaired by the Secretary, NEC and represented in the

general body by all participating state governments as well as important institutions working

in the region.

The Executive Committee of NELPS consists of 7 members in which Secretary, NEC

is the Chairman, the Joint Secretary, DONER is the Vice-Chairperson, the Project Director,

NERLP is the Member Secretary and Nodal officers of the four project states are the

members. From Tripura, Commissioner, Rural Development, from Nagaland Commissioner

& Secretary Planning and Coordination, from Mizoram, Director, Rural Development and

from Sikkim, Project Director, Sikkim Rural Development Agency are the members.

The structure for implementation is visualized as a long term investment in promoting

rural livelihoods in the region, beyond just the scope of the proposed NERLP project. The

NELPS is headquartered in Guwahati. The World Bank supported NERLP would be

implemented by a separate Regional Project Management Unit (RPMU) headed by a Project

Director.

The RPMU will implement the project through establishment of eight District Project

Management Units (DPMUs) and district teams that will manage the field level



implementation through the Project Facilitation Teams (PFTs) set up covering cluster of

villages. The project implementation in each of the four states will be supported by a small

State Project Support Unit (SPSU), housed within the respective state governments.

5.3 Regional Project Management Unit (RPMU)

RPMU would have the overall responsibility for management and implementation

ofthe project. It will be headed by the Project Director. S/he will be the operational and

managerial in charge of the project and head the organizational structure established at the

district and lower levels for implementing the program. The Project Director will be

supported by team of Managers, Assistant Managers and support staffs for different functions

for managing and implementing the Project.

RPMU would consist of following key personnel to support the Project Director:

i. Project Manager (Livelihoods and Rural Marketing)

a. Assistant Project Manager (Livelihoods and Rural Marketing)

b. Assistant Project Manager (Skill Development and Placement) ii. Project Manager (Social, Gender and Community mobilization).

a. Assistant Project Manager (Social, Gender and Community

Mobilization)

iii. Project Manager (NRM and Environment)

a. Assistant Project Manager(NRM and Environment)

iv. Project Manager (Microfinance)

a. Assistant Project Manager (Micro Finance).

v. Project Manager (Monitoring & Evaluation)

vi. Project Manager (Administration)

vii. Assistant Project Manager (Human Resource)

viii. Project Manager (Procurement)

ix. Project Manager - Finance and Accounts

a. Assistant Project Manager - Finance & Accounts

x. Assistant Project Manager (Communications)

Support Staff

o M&E Assistant (1)

o Accounts Clerk (2)

o Office Assistant (2)

o Office Attendant (2)

o Driver (1)

There would be phasing of staff recruitment with assistant staff hired as the project

grows and expands its operations. The MIS design, uploading, maintenance and updating will

be outsourced. Besides, RPMU would hire the services of subject matter specialists, viz. in

NRM, agriculture, dairy, etc. as and when found necessary to increase effectiveness of the

project.

5.4 State Coordination Unit

In each Project states there will be a State Coordination Unit (SCU) to be headed by



State Nodal Officer. . The concerned State Nodal Department shall designate/appoint a

State Project Coordinator purely on contractual/temporary basis to assist the State Nodal

Officer . SCU will ensure full involvement in project preparation and extend help to

RPMU in design of Project. The major role of the State Coordination Unit would be in

achieving convergence with various government schemes. The SCU will further maintain

close liaison & effective communication between relevant departments of the State

Government, Commercial banks, RRBs, Development Agencies & Project Office.

5.5 District Project Management Units (DPMU)

District Project Management Units (DPMU) would be set up in all the eight district

headquarters of the selected districts in the four States.

There will be a District Project Advisory Committee (DPAC) established jointly by

the NELPS and the state government for oversight, monitoring and convergence with other

programmes at the district level. DPAC would be chaired by the Deputy Commissioner and

would have other district officers from line departments and banks, etc.

The DPMU would be headed by the District Project Manager and would have

following officers & support staff:

Coordinator Social, Gender and Community mobilization

Coordinator Microfinance

Coordinator Livelihoods and Marketing

Coordinator NRM and Environment

Coordinator M& E

Accounts Officer

Support Staffs:

Accountant

MIS operator

Office Assistant

Office Attendant

Driver

Besides, DPMU would also hire technical experts in sectors for which expertise is not

available locally, e.g. horticulture, agriculture, animal husbandry, etc.

5.6 Project Facilitation Team (PFT)

Project Facilitation Teams (PFT) would be working at the cutting edge at the interface

of the project and the community. PFT is one of the most important units in the project

implementation. All other institutional arrangements would help the PFT to work effectively

and achieve the desired outcomes of the project.

The PFT would be directly recruited by the project or alternatively the services of NGOs

would be taken for them to set up the PFTs. The selection of NGO would be based on

detailed criteria as spelt out in the Community Operations Manual.

The PFTs will operate at the block level. The block will be sub-divided into six

clusters of average of five villages. The PFTs will be headed by a Block Project Coordinator



(BPC) who will be responsible for all the project villages of the block. Below the BPC there

will be six Area Coordinators (ACs) (1 for each of the 6 clusters).

Structure of PFT

Block Project Coordinator

Area Coordinators - (6 Nos)

Accountant

Support Staff

MIS Assistant

Office Assistant

PFTs would be forming the community organizations envisaged viz. CDGs, SHGs,

SHG village Federations and Producer Organizations.



Governance Committee

Chaired by Secretary (DONER)

Member Secretary Joint Secretary (DONER)

Executive Committee Chaired by Secretary NEC

Vice Chair Joint Secretary (DONER)

Member Secretary Project Director (RPMU)

Regional Project Management Unit (RPMU) Project Director

Project Managers (Sectoral Heads)

Assistant Project Managers

Support Staffs

District Project Management Unit (DPMU) District Project Manager

Thematic Managers

Support Staffs

Project Facilitation Team (PFT) at Block level Block Project Coordinator

Area Coordinators (6 Nos)

Support Staffs

State Coordination Unit

(SCU)

Figure 3: Overview of the Organization



Project Manager Administration

Project Manager Finance &

Accounts

Project Manager [Livelihood &

Rural Marketing ]

Project Manager [Monitoring &

Evaluation]

Project Manager [Microfinance]

Project Manager [NRM& Environment]

Assistant Project Manager [ HR ]

Assistant Manager Finance & Accounts ]

Assistant Project Manager [L & RM]

Assistant Project Manager

[Skill Dev & Placement]

MIS Support Team (to

be outsourc

ed)

Assistant Project Manager [Microfinance]

Assistant Project Manager [Social

,Gender & Com Mob]

Personal Secretary

to PD

Accounts Clerk [1]

District Project Manager

Office Assistant

[1]

Coordinator [ L & RM ]

Coordinator [Social,

Gender &

Com Mobi]

Coordinat

or [M & E}

Accounts Officer [1]

District Project Advisory Commitee

Accountant [1]

Office Assistant

[1] Accounts Clerk [1]

Project Manager Procurement

APM (NRM & enironment)

Project Manager [Social, Gender & Community Mobilization]

APM Com-munication

Office Assistant –[1] Office Attendant [2]

Driver [1]

State Coordination Unit Project Director

Governance Committee Headed by Secretary, Ministry of DoNER

Executive Committee, NELPS

Coordinator [ NRM & Enviro]

Coordinator

[Microfinance]

M&E Assistant (1)

Figure 4: Detailed Organogram


72

The key roles and responsibilities of the Project units are given in the Table below.

Table 5-1: Key Roles and Responsibilities of Project Units

Regional

Project

Manageme

nt Unit

(RPMU)

Implement the programme as per PIP and COM

Recruit, orient and train the project staff

Hire technical assistance and other people/agencies for specific purpose, tasks,

activities, etc.

Guide the Districts to work in accordance with the spirit and principles of

NERLP

Ensure speedy arrangement and disbursement of funds.

Monitor the work being done in the field

Establish norms for partnership with NGOs and other agencies.

Ensure timely release of funds for project activities and to various institutions

Ensure timely reporting of state level activities

Coordinate with WB, GOI and States for smooth functioning of the Project

Redressal of grievances.

Establish a platform for information exchange within the project

Work with the state government for convergence with government schemes

State

Project Co-

ordinator

Providing strategic support to DPMU.

Identify the gaps and facilitating the process to plug the gaps.

Ensure convergence with various government schemes.

Coordinate with heads of line departments, district administration for necessary

areas with District Project Management Unit.

District

Project

Manageme

nt Unit

(DPMU)

Prepare Annual District Plan

Coordination with District Administration, Concerned line departments, local

government and banks.

Administrative and guidance to the PFTs

Support to PFTs in the relevant subjects/sectors like land development and NRM,

agriculture development, livestock development, business development for higher

level linkages.

Monitor the work being done in the field.

Maintenance of records and MIS

Ensure speedy disbursement of funds, both for village level implementation, as

well as for administrative purposes

Ensure need based training to Community Institutions, Community Service

Providers and Project staff.

Ensure timely reporting of district level activities to RPMU


Project

Facilitation

Teams

(PFTs)

Village entry and mobilization in villages

Conducting PRA exercise - Social &Resource Mapping, Wealth Ranking. etc.

Identification of existing SHGs and other groups in the village

Formation of CDGs

Training and capacity building of CDG, Executive Committee and Work and

Oversight Committees

Sensitization for formation of SHGs

Capacity building of SHGs.

Grading of SHGs and CDGs


73

Reviving and training of dormant SHGs

Formation of Youth Groups (YGs)

Support to CDG for developing annual Community Development Plan and

budget

Strengthening of SHGs and CDGs.

Facilitation and support to CDGs and SHGs for implementation of activities.

Identification and selection of Community Service Providers

Facilitation and support for skill mapping of job seekers.

Maintaining databank of youth seeking training and their placement

Arranging training of youth – linking with DPMU for the purpose

Sensitization of Primary Producers for federating in a Producer/Service

Organizations/Associations

Support of formation of Producer/Service Organizations/Associations

Ensure timely reporting of PFT level activities.

Coordinating with local authorities and banks.

Marketing and linkage support to the community.

Maintenance of records and MIS.



74

6 CHAPTER 6: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

6.1 Human Resource Strategy

The HR manual aims to nurture an environment where the human resources employed

remain motivated to excel in their performance and contribute towards achieving the overall

goals of NELPS by laying down principles , guidelines, and rules/norms to ensure smooth

functioning of the Project. For managing a huge and ambitious project like NERLP

successfully, an excellent team consisting of dedicated professionals are required for

managing, guiding and supervising. It is essential that a robust system in terms of human

resource policy should be well in place.

Realizing the dearth of skilled human resources and fast changing work environment,

NELPS reiterates the need to revisit and constantly renew its HRD manual to achieve its

objective. Thus, the HR Manual would be a dynamic document subject to review and

redesign with changing times.

The Human resource strategy of the project will be guided by a comprehensive HR

manual with the following salient features:

Organisational structure, roles and responsibilities

Process of recruitment

Job descriptions

Staff contract policy

Training and capacity building

Compensation package, incentives and reward

Rules and regulations (Travel rules &daily allowances, leave, working hrs&

attendance etc.)

Performance appraisal system

Code of conduct and Disciplinary control system

Grievance redressal mechanism

The successful implementation and achievement of the objectives of project needs a

competent, dedicated and motivated human resource. Hence, the project’s human resource

recruitment and development strategy would aspire to achieve the following objectives. These

would be consistent with the project core values.

Identifying and enrolling best available human resources in project.

Imparting timely induction as well as regular orientation inputs for staff.

Ensuring shared vision and ownership of project among all staff.

Bringing clarity among staff about their role and creating an enabling environment

where they can attain required service standards.

Fostering team building approach in all decisions.

Capacity building of staff for continuous enrichment of human resource.

Adhering to participatory appraisal system for performance of staff and extending

rewards as well as incentives accordingly.


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Putting in place a functional mechanism for identification of grievances and their

timely redress.

Bringing competitive remuneration package for staff i.e. similar or better than the

package offered in the state for development sector.

Addressing professional and personal dilemmas being faced by staff while performing

duties through face to face and group counselling.

Recruitment of Staff for management and supporting implementation of NERLP: Project

intends to build a team of best available human resources in development sector. Hence it

becomes imperative to design recruitment process in a very professional way and offer

competitive working conditions and remuneration package. For the purpose rigorous staff

selection process will be adopted by project. The project would recruit staff from various

government departments and open market. However,an independent HR Agency will carry out

formulation of HR Policies, norms/standard of recruitment. The services of professional HR

Agency for recruitment at various levels will also be utilized as per the felt requirement of the

project

The project would ensure a comprehensive induction process for all those joining

project. The induction process would familiarise all information related to project and

Organisation to newly recruited employees. It would also lay foundation among staff for sharing

organizational vision and inculcating sense of ownership for the project. This is an ongoing

process.

The induction programme will include the following:

Information about NERLP project and Organisation.

Develop understanding about target community of the project.

Understanding the functioning of the project structure.

Understanding Community Institution structure.

Information about the concept of rural productivity and value chain system

Information about Human Resource Policy, Service Rules, Administrative,

Financial and Procurement guidelines.

Project Implementation plan.

The project would also meet the capacity needs of project management and facilitating

agencies like RPMU, DPMU and PFTs. The capacity building activities would be designed to

build the capacities of various service providers, specialized agencies and those who would be

associated with the project.

The Capacity building would enhance the knowledge base and skill and influence the

attitudes of all project stakeholders at different levels, so that they are able to perform

effectively the roles and responsibilities vested on them. Specilised trainings for disclosure

under the Right to Information Act would be an integrated part of trainings.Capacity building

programme for NELPS staff would lay emphasis in the areas of:

Developing knowledge

Skill enhancement

Attitudinal change and Behavioral development


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6.2 Developing Learning Mechanism in the Project

The project would be doing the following to promote learning.

Promoting cross learning within organization through scheduled staff meeting at all

level, encouraging informal project related discussions among staff, writing case

studies of best practices in project and sharing of the same, documenting learning

and disseminating them on different project forum and establishing system for

information flow among staff. This would be facilitated and monitored by the

communication unit at RPMU.

Organizing exposure visit of staff and community from one project district to another

district for sharing of knowledge and learning from each other.

Promoting cross learning with other program/project – This would be encouraged

among staff to allow them attending relevant workshops, seminars and other events,

sharing reports of attended events with other project staff and organizing exposure

program for staff.

Systematizing review process at all levels of project. This would focus on input and

output review, process review with special reference to draw learning in project

implementation. The monitoring unit would work closely for this.

Counselling for staff would be very important in effective functioning of learning

system within Society. The key staff would organize counselling for staff as and

when required. The functional head at DPMU and PFT will also be delegated

authority of counselling their respective staff.

Organizing Annual Colloquium on NERLP achievement – An annual event for

dissemination of learning of NERLP and also for knowing best work on livelihood

by other similar agencies would be planned. Such event would help in improving

staff learning through exposure of great work on a single forum.

Inviting management trainees (from both national and international institutions,

colleges and universities) would help project to have external academic perspective

of its work.

The project staffs would participate in the knowledge sharing platforms.

Table 6-1: Capacity Building Plan

S.

No

Programs Participants Key Contents Tools

1. Sensitization

Programs

Community, PFTs and

district level stakeholders.

Innovative project approaches and

Key Project principles

Workshops, Campaigns

2. Orientation/

Induction

Programs

Newly recruited all Project

Staff (Regional, District and

PFT team members)

About organisation,Project

principles,Community

OperationalManual, Participatory

methodologies, SHG formation,

Livelihood plan process.

In-housetraining

programme alongwith

exposure visit to

successful livelihood

project within as well as

outside region.

3 Village

Immersion

Newly recruited project staff

(Regional, District level &

PFTs)

To be familiar with village

life,prospects and problems and to

gain a better understanding of the

communities

Stay in the selected

project villages for a few

days(10-15 days)


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4. Awareness

Programs

Empanelled appraisers

outsourced technical

service providers,

resource agencies,

partners, bankers etc.

Key Project Principles, project

institutional model, project

processes

Workshops and Field

visits.

5. Thematic/

Training

Programs

For representative staff

from all Project levels-

RPMU, DPIU & PFT

team members

Thematic workshop and seminars

within the project on –Social

mobilization, livelihood planning,

marketing, micro finance,

entrepreneurship, Administration

,procurement, Accounts,

Monitoring,MIS, NRM, Gender

concern, Convergence with Govt

programme.

Separate modules on

each thematic

areas.Attending thematic

seminars and workshops

organised by reputed

institutions within

Region/Country/Outside

country.

6. Skill

Building

Programs

Community, Project

Staff, PFT

Accounting and monitoring,

planning, community monitoring

and reporting, conflict resolution,

joint appraisal mechanisms,

negotiation skills, operation

maintenance,Leadership and

managerial skills.

Work shops, Class room

training,On the job

training, field based

training

7. Training on

attitudinal

change and

Organisation

al behavior

All levels of project staff-

RPMU, DPMU & PFT

team members

From time to time training on

realising oneself and esteema as

well as developing positive

attitude to correspond the demand

of the Organisation.

External resource

persons will be hired.

8. Training of

trainers

All concerned project

staff

Developing skill to impart training

programmes to communities as

well as project staff

National level training

institute will be hired

9.. External

seminars &

workshops

All levels of project staff-

RPMU, DPIU & PFT

team members

Ongoing process related to project

activities and to be familiar with

the latest information and to keep

pace with the rapid developmental

changes

Attending seminars and

workshops organised by

reputed institutions

within State/ Country/

Abroad

10. Exposure

visit

For all project staff To gain first hand knowledge and

experience of other similar

successful projects

Within

region/Country/Outside

Country


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7. CHAPTER 7: FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

The success of project mostly depends on the effective and robust financial management.

The financial management system for the project would be designed to ensure effective and

efficient management and utilization of resources. The financial management includes

simplified arrangements to ensure transparency and accountability at all implementation levels.

The financial management arrangement would be adequate to account for and to

report sources and uses of project resources and requirements subject to compliance to the

financial management framework detailed in the Financial Management Manual. The

assessment on the adequacy of financial management arrangements for the proposed project

is based on the project designs and components for successful implementation.

The project would maintain the books of accounts on Cash basis following the double

entry principle of accounting at Regional Project Management Unit (RPMU), District Project

Management Unit (DPMU) and Project Facilitation Team (PFT). The project would use a

standard off the shelf accounting package at RPMU and eight DPMUs. PFTs would maintain

manual accounts as expenditure at this level will be minimal and therefore installation of

hardware and software at PFT will not prove to be cost effective.

A Financial Management Manual would be developed for the project which details

the financial management processes such as accounting policy, budgeting, funds flow,

internal control framework, accounting, financial reporting and audit arrangement of the

project.

Budgeting Process:

The project’s planning and budgeting would follow a bottom up approach i.e. it would

be based on SHG livelihood plans, Community Development Plan (CDP) and funding

proposals from Producer Organisations and would be consolidated at the respective PFT.

Based on such plans each Community Development Group and Self Help Group /SHG

Federation would seek financing from the project (DPMU) through the PFT. The annual

work plan of each DPMU will be determined by the quantum of such plans, activities to be

implemented by Community Development Group, Self Help Group, SHG Federation,

Producer Organization, PFT and the DPMU’s own expenditure. This will eventually be

consolidated with the work plan of RPMU at the Regional level. The details of the budgeting

process are elaborated in the Financial Management Manual.

7.1 Key Role and Responsibility

The roles and responsibilities of various units are given below.

7.1.1 RPMU

Compile annual budget of Project based on annual action plan

Monitoring and developing the mechanism for timely flow of funds to

different project implementing agencies

Develop mechanism for proper accounting and auditing of utilization of

project fund


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Maintain accounting information database

Submit regular re-imbursement claims and financial monitoring reports to

the Ministry of DoNER and World Bank.

Appoint internal and statutory auditors for the project, including

procurement review and sample internal audit of community based

organizations.

Follow-up on internal and external audit reports.

Timely completion of audit and place the audit report before the EC and

General body of the Society and filing annual returns with the Registrar of

Societies.

7.1.2 DPMU

Compile annual budget and procurement plan for the district and submit

the same to the RPMU in time.

Review SHG-Livelihood Plan and Village Development Plan.

Submit request to RPMU for release of funds

Release of financial assistance to CDG, SHG etc.

Release of funds to PFTs for its own operational expenses.

Preparation of monthly, quarterly and annually financial statements and

submission thereof to RPMU

Track fund releases to CDGs, SHG, etc. & ensure timely submission of

utilization certificate.

Maintain database on fund releases and UC submitted by CDG, SHG, etc..

Ensure regular and timely completion of audit for district and PFT level.

7.1.3 PFT

Facilitate in preparation of annual action plan of the Community

institutions within the block and its compilation at block level.

Submit request to DPMU for release of funds.

Submit monthly statement of expenditure (SOE) of its own operational

expenses to the DPMU.

Collection of fund released statements from the DPMU against various

grant releases to the CDG/SHG/SHG Fed/PO.

Regular field visit to monitor the proper utilisation of grants and to help in

writing of various accounts books.

Ensure that the utilisation certificates are submitted by CDG/SHG/SHG

Fed/PO in time and make compilation thereof.

Submission of compiled utilisation certificates to the DPMU.

Any mis-utilisation of grants are to be reported as soon as possible to the

DPMU.


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7.2 Fund Flow

The proposed fund flow chart is given below:

7.3 Capacity building for financial management

RPMU, DPMU & PFT: The accounts staff of RPMU, DPMUs & PFTs would be

trained in the requirements of accounting and reporting under the project by hiring the service of

any agency or by Resource Person(s). Project Manager (Finance and Account) would have the

overall responsibility for preparation of the module and schedule for building capacity of all

staff.

Community Institutions: The Project Manager, Social Gender and Community

Mobilization at the RPMU would have overall responsibility for developing a training strategy

and plan to ensure that the Village Resource Persons and group leaders are adequately trained to

manage funds and book-keeping. The District Accounts Officer along with the PFTs would

provide support to this task.

Ministry of

DoNER, GOI

Regional Project

Management Unit

Project

Facilitation

Team

District Project

Management Unit

SHG Village

Federation Community

Development

Group

Producer

Organisation

Self Help

Groups

Figure 5: Fund Flow Chart


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The PFT with the help of DPMU should take the key responsibility in building the

capacity of the Book Keeper at the community institution level and also to constantly give hand

holding support to them. Development of standard training modules will be done at district level

and training of trainers will be conducted at PFT level.

7.4 Computerised Accounting System

The accounts would be maintained in the Tally accounting software at RPMU and

DPMUs. The DPMUs would prepare financial statement every month & quarter and should

submit to the RPMU. Maintenance of accounts in tally software will bring cent percent

accuracy and reliable accounting system for efficient fund management as opposed to the

manual system. Thus it is expected to give complete control over financial operations and

also to reduce the time required for preparation of monthly, quarterly and annual reports. All

the accounts staff of RPMU and DPMUs would be given training in “Tally Software”.

7.5 Audit Arrangement

7.5.1 Internal Audit

The Project would have quarterly internal audits by a firm of Chartered Accountant engaged

by RPMU. The overall objectives of Internal Audit is to provide the project management with

independent assurance (i) that the internal controls established by management are designed

appropriately and (ii) whether the overall financial management and arrangements including

the system of internal controls as documented in the Project Implementation Plan (PIP),

Financial Management Manual (FMM), Community Operations Manual (COM) are in

practice working effectively. In addition, it is expected that internal audit should play a role

in assisting management in bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and

improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes.

The Internal Audit of the project shall cover the RPMU, DPMU, PFT and a sample of

the CBOs (SHGFs/GDG/POs). The internal auditor shall be different from the external

auditor. The RPMU will review the observations in the report and take action to ensure

compliance with the recommendations.

7.5.2 External Audit

The external audit of the annual project financial statements (PFS) will be conducted

by the CAG of India through their offices in the North Eastern States as per the terms of

reference agreed with the Bank and included in the FM Manual. The PFS will comprise the

full set of the IFRs for the final quarter of the financial year and this would include: i)

statement of sources and uses of funds; ii) statement of uses of funds by project

components/sub-components; iii) summery sheet for expenditure by components; and iv)

aggregate details of grant funds to beneficiary institutions. The audit report will comprise a

management letter and an audit opinion and will be made available to the bank within 6 (six)

months of the close of the financial year. The external audit will cover the expenditures at the

level of the NELPS/RPMU, the DPMUs, and a sample of PFT and beneficiary institutions.


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7.5.3 Social Audit

Social Auditing is an independent and continuous evaluation of all the activities of the

project for ensuring compliance with NERLP Principles and Values. It will auidts the

process , output and the outcome.

The Social auditing activity will be undertaken by an independent Social Audit

Committee appointed by CDG with facilitation from PFT, by the Social Audit Committee

appointed by CDG. Social Audit Committee consists of 5 members but could be up to 7

members in larger CDGs. At least 3 out of 5 members shall be women. At least 3 out of 5

members are from poorest and poor families and at least 2 members are youth. The members

of Social Audit Committee shall not be members in EC of CDG or any other Committee. In

villages/CDGs, where there are different ethnic groups, the members shall be selected to

represent them all.

The basic elements of social audit are:

Raising awareness of rights, entitlements and obligations under the project

Ensuring all relevant information is accessible, displayed and read out.

Ensuring that the decision making process is transparent, participatory and, as

far as possible, carried out in the presence of the affected persons

Ensuring that all decisions, and their rationale, are made public as soon as they

are made.

Ensuring that the findings of social audits are immediately acted upon.

Also ensuring that these findings result in the required systemic changes.


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8. CHAPTER 8: PROCUREMENT

Procurement has an important role to play in successful implementation of a project.

The procurement guidelines would ensure that necessary supplies are available for the project

at right time, in right quantity, of right quality, at the right place, and at the right cost. Thus

the procurement arrangement of the project would be adequate to systematic and timely

procurement of goods, works and consultancy as outlined in the Annual Work Plan and

Budget for uses of project resources and requirements subject to the compliance with the

Procurement Manual as agreed upon with the World Bank.

North East Rural Livelihood Project places a high priority on procurement of goods &

services, works and effective management of supply chain for successful implementation of

the Project. The procurement of goods, works and services will be handled by a variety of

functionaries—the Regional Project Management Unit, District Project Management Unit,

Project Facilitating Team and Community Institutions. To this effect the Procurement Manual

will elaborate the procedures, methods, reporting requirements and guidelines for

procurement of goods, works and consultancy services.

The procurement system would strive for ensuring the four important considerations

of procurement, namely, economy, efficiency, transparency and fairness. The assessment on

the adequacy of procurement arrangements for the proposed project is based on the project

designs and components for successful implementation.

8.1 Procurement Arrangement

Procurement of all goods, works and services under the project will be undertaken in

accordance with the World Bank “Guidelines: (Guidelines for Procurement under IBRD loans

and IDA credits-May 2004, revised October, 2006) for procurement: and “Guidelines for

selection and employment of consultants by the World Bank Borrowers” dated May-2004

revised October, 2006 and the agreed procedures described in the legal documents. All goods,

works and services would be procured using India-specific Bank’s model documents.

In the event of any ambiguity between the Manual and the Bank Procurement

Guidelines- Procurement under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits (May 2004) revised October

2006 and May 2010 for Works and Goods and Selection and Employment of Consultants by

World Bank Borrower, (May 2004) revised October 2006 and May 2010, the Bank

Guidelines shall prevail.

However for specific use of the project, a Procurement Manual has been prepared

which has details of the procurement processes, such as, methods, types of contract,

procurement plan and timeline. The Manual is intended for the use of project functionaries

and communities while procuring goods, works and services. The items that would come

under procurement are procurement of works, goods and consultancy services. Standard

procedures for same will be elaborated in the manual. DGS &D rate contract method, which

can be used for procuring goods under shopping only, has been also described.


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The manual will also provide the essential information and step-by-step procurement

procedures. The procurement policy would be to achieve the uniform system of procurement

in all the States. The resources needed to carry out the activity are procured with due

attention to economy and efficiency (lower cost, best quality and timely availability);

The procurement policy is also intended to guide the RPMU, DPMU, PFT and Community

Institutions to understand the procedures to be followed for procurement.

8.2 Procurement Process

The procurement process typically consists of identification of requirements,

developing specifications, identifying suppliers/ service providers, inviting bids/ proposals,

evaluating and awarding contracts, contract management, receipt and certification of goods/

services, evaluation and closure of contract. To ensure quality and value for money of goods

and services to be procured, a purchase committee will be constituted as part of the

procurement process at Regional level and also at District level.

8.3 Modes of Procurement at the Project Office level

The different methods to be followed for procuring Goods and Civil Works at the

project offices have been described in the Procurement Manual.

Consulting services refers to services of a professional nature provided by consultants

using their skills to study, design, organize, and manage projects; advice Borrowers when

required and to build needed capacity. The step by step method for selection of Consultants

will be covered in the Manual.

8.4 Community Based Procurement

Community based procurement varies in view of the actors involved and assets

generated within each project. A separate section covering Community Based Procurement

with an emphasis on the use of Force Account, Shopping and Direct Contracting as the most

commonly used procurement procedures at community level is being provided in the

manual.

The threshold limit for procurement of goods, works and consultancy at different levels

have been elaborated in the Procurement Manual. These thresholds are subject to periodic

review and revision as needed during project implementation based on forthcoming actions

and client capacity.


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9. CHAPTER 9: GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY

9.1 Governance Management

The project will be implemented in a decentralized manner by developing effective

institutional arrangement from regional level to community level involving state, district and

block level institutional bodies. The stakeholders involved will ensure effective

implementation for bringing meaningful outcome in letter and spirit unless proven otherwise

through retroactive accountability. The project implementing agency will develop genuine

partnership with community for successful implementation. The project will effectively

address transparency, frequent communication and feedback mechanism.

The Governance management of the project will build upon existing good governance

policies and constitutional provisions for ensuring people’s participation, establishing prompt

communication flow, maintenance of greater transparency in all activities, strengthening risk

management and accountability mechanisms and tackling corruption in the project areas by

ensuring enforcement of constitutional provisions and rule of law. The principles of the

effective governance managemnet is as follows:

Establishing project specific actions that support transparent systems and processes for

procurement, financial management and reporting;

Establish institutional framework for participatory bottom-up planning for developing

demand driven and client oriented community development plans and thus ensuring

transparency and accountability at the grass root levels.

Ensuring systems and processes for free and wider access to information and oversight by

all stakeholders, project beneficiaries and civil society; and establishing a monitoring

system which will ensure that the agreed project principles and implementation of the

project activities takes place as per procedure.

The objective of establishing good governance and accountability system is to strengthen overall

governance of the project to minimize risks related to deviation in processes and mis-utilization

of project funds. It will ensure

Transparency in all decision making processes related to implementation of project

component activities.

Ensuring participation of all stakeholders in decision making process

Transparency with regard to project fund use and business processes,

Proper and speedy response to grievances related to project implementation.

Preparation of a Governance and Accountability Action Plan (GAAP) to provide basic

framework for all the actions required

Dissemination of information to project beneficiaries, general public, Govt. and Non

Govt. organizations in accordance with the project requirements and in conformity

with the Right to Information Act, 2005.

Prompt monitoring and evaluation system inside the project for control and direction

of project implementation processes and mid course corrections.

Promoting team work and accountability

Ensuring information sharing at all levels in a regular way.


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9.2 Measures for Effective Governance Management

Participatory Approach: The project will ensure participatory bottom-up planning

approach for developing demand driven, client oriented and location specific

livelihood development plans. Communities will be empowered for decentralized

planning and they will be major stakeholders in planning, implementing and

monitoring activities. In order to facilitate inclusiveness in institution building and

development process, poor and disadvantaged sections will be included in decision

making. The Community Based Organizations (CBOs) will be empowered to take up

the task of micro planning and project implementation. They will be evaluated from

time to time with the help of standard grading criteria.

Multi Stakeholder Institutional Arrangement: Appropriate institutional

arrangement has been outlined in the PIP for functioning at regional, district and

block level. The stakeholders include Ministry of DoNER at the apex level supported

by RPMU at regional level, DPMU at District level and PFT at Block level. The

project structure is as follows:

a. It will be under the overall governance of Ministry of DoNER which will have

a Project Governance Committee and will have representatives from Ministry

of DoNER, Finance, Rural Development, Planning Comission and respective

State Government. The Project Governance Committee would meet twice a

year to review the project and take policy decisions.

b. In addition to that there will be an Executive Committee at Regional level

consisting of the representatives from NEC, DoNER and respective project

states.

c. At District level, there will be District Project Advisory Committee which will

have Deputy Commissioner as Chairman and District Officers of Line

Departments and the committee will look for oversight, monitoring and

convergence with other programmes at the District level.

d. At community level, institutions like SHGs, Federations, CDGs, Youth

Groups, POs supported under the project will work in synergy with the village

level planning and development structures and processes.

e. The community based organizations (CBOs) created under the project will

work closely with the traditional institutions through membership, leadership

positions, participation in PRA, livelihood and community planning

processes, and by facilitating linkages and convergence on various ongoing

village level development activities.

f. The rules of business pertaining to use of administrative and financial powers

will be laid down. This stakeholdership will be extended to line departments,

financial institutions and technical resource agencies. The project will also

have detailed and clear cut withdrawal plan so as to achieve post project

sustainability of the institutions and project interventions.

Transparency and Disclosure: The project will maintain transparency at all levels

about the decisions taken, ongoing implementation processes and information on the

progress. Decisions related to project activities will be disclosed regularly and there

will be a proactive disclosure system for the public.

The Right to Information Act (RTI) will be one of the main tools through which

transparency and disclosure will be ensured. The project will notify the Officers


87

responsible for the implementation of the Act at the Regional, District and Block

levels. Further, to keep people posted about the project activities, fund status, major

decisions, display boards will be fixed at all the offices. At community level, locally

available and suitable disclosure processes will be displayed through locally suited

multi-media campaign regarding project activities and benefits.

The project will also have its own yearly/half yearly/quarterly publications/newsletters

containing case studies, best practices, news reports which will be posted in web site.

These publications will be shared and disseminated to various organizations. All

project related documents, manuals, safeguard policies, review reports, annual reports,

etc. will be also made available through Project website. Research and thematic studies

will be undertaken with the help of outside agencies and the research output will be

widely disseminated. The transparency in the project will be further strengthened

through participatory monitoring and social audit followed by regular sittings for

participatory review meeting. The social audit will be undertaken by the community to

monitor the utilization of funds, operational efficiency and accountability, and related

monthly reports would be displayed prominently on CDG notice boards for community

information and discussion. Display of information on disbursement of funds to

various implementation entities and community groups in the website would be at the

project level.

Project Documents: The project is preparing various detailed operational manuals like

Community Operational Manual (COM), Procurement Manual, Financial Management

Manual and safeguard policies related to social and environmental aspects, which would

outline the rules of business for project implementation and monitoring of outcomes.

Monitoring and Evaluation: The monitoring and evaluation exercises particularly

the Process Monitoring will give a learning platform for information sharing and

dissemination. The process monitoring or systematization exercises will give scope

for mid-course correction in the approach and strategies of project implementation

processes.

The Management Information System (MIS) will be the basic tool with the help of which

field data will be processed and analytical framework of output and outcome of project will

be presented for interpretation to be done by all stakeholders. Apart from this, project would

be reviewed by a specially contracted independent individual or agency who will conduct

research and thematic studies on specific issues, processes and activities. These studies will

capture the good practices, case studies, lesson learnt etc and these will be published and

hosted in the public domain for wider dissemination of information. Selective members of

PFT and DPMU would form the Peer Review Team which would visit PFT operational area

of another district and review the project on pre-decided parameters and methodologies. This

exercise will also include the some parameters of the GAAP:

Timely assessment of CBOs

Timely transfer of funds

Proper display of information

Utilization of funds for intended purpose.

Timely disposal of complaints and RTI applications.

Record keeping

Proper maintenance of progress


88

Grievance and Complaint Handling System : A nodal person from within the team

at the regional, district and block levels would be identified for receiving the

complains and grievances. He will be nominated by the Project Director. A Grievance

Redressal Committee comprising of three members to be constituted by the PD would

be formed at regional, district and block level which will be known as Regional

Grivence Re-dressal Committee ,District Grievance Redressal Committee and Block

Grievance Redressal Committee respectively. At least one person in each of the

committees would be a woman. Each of the committees would maintain a grievance

lodging register which would be kept with the concerned nodal person. According to

the nature and seriousness of the complaints, a priority list will be prepared. Suitable

acknowledgement of the lodged grievance would be issued. There should be a

separate minute’s book with each of the committees where all proceedings of meeting

would be recorded. The concerned committee would look into the complains and

grievances with all seriosness. Decision will be taken based on merit and the same will

be communicated to the complainant.

A complaint registration and coding system will be developed at all the levels. Online

complaints registration system will be introduced on project website. In the event of

delay, manual system for registering, tracking and monitoring of complaints will be

resorted to.

The person lodging a grievance shall have to provide all the details of the same to the

nodal person. This could be done through a letter, email or any written

communication. In case of complains of urgent nature, contacts could be made over

phone, but same will have to be followed by a written communication, .

The community level institutional building processes will include complaints handling

and conflict management issues at the SHGs and CBO level. The ways for conflict

resolution will be included in the training module of the CBOs for effective functioning

of it.

Financial Control: The project will follow standard accounting system as per

Financial Manual. The proposed financial management system is to ensure that funds

are used only for the intended purposes in a transparent way. The development fund

will be directly released to CBOs and access to books and all records will be made

available to all members in the interest of transparency and accountability. Necessary

financial information including funds released to SHGs, CDGs, SHG Federation, YGs

and Producer Organizations; and annual audit report of the project will be made

available in public domain through the project’s website.

A community based process monitoring system including social accountability tool

like social audit will be also established for making all project related informations

transparent. The project will also ensure the establishment of a comprehensive

internal as well as external audit mechanism. These audit reports will also be

disclosed for public view on the Bank’s external website as per the new Access to

Information Policy.

Procurement Process: The procurement guidelines would ensure that supplies are

available at right time, in right quantity, of right quality, at right place, and at right


89

cost and in compliance of the Procurement Manual. The procurement system would

strive for ensuring four important considerations of procurement, namely, economy,

efficiency, transparency and fairness. The project will follow a Procurement Manual

which will have details of different procurement processes. The manual would

provide essential information and step-by-step procurement procedures. The idea is to

have a uniform system of procurement in all the States.

All procurement notices and contract awards, works and consulting services will be

publicized. The procurement policy is also intended to guide the RPMU, DPMU, PFT

and Community Institutions to understand the procedures to be followed. The

eligibility criteria for bidders and quality standards for bidders and service providers

will be laid out. Bidders who engage in misinterpretation of facts or fraudulent or

corrupt practices will be notified and disqualified. In addition, a separate Community

Procurement Guideline would be made for effective and efficient procurement at the

community level.

Human Resource Management and Capacity Building of Stakeholders: A

comprehensive HR Manual has been developed that elaborates the overall HR

strategy of the project. It includes process of recruitment, compensation packages,

incentives and reward, staff contract policy, training and capacity building, grievance

redressal system, disciplinary control system etc. The project will have recruitment

plan of staff and the recruited staff will have clear cut job description. Performance

Appraisal System will be in place. There will be performance-based incentive for the

staff to boost their morale. The project will plan for timely recruitment of staff by a

committee to be constituted by the competent authority. NELPS reiterates the need to

revisit and constantly renew its HRD Manual to achieve its objectives. Thus, the HR

Manual would be a dynamic document subject to review and redesign with changing

needs. The Manual proposes relevant policy frameworks aimed to attract and retain

good human resources in the Society and provide them opportunities to learn,

improve professional skills and develop an experience which will be valued across the

development sector. However, an independent HR Agency will carry out formulation

of HR Policies, norms/standard of recruitment. The services of professional HR

Agency for recruitment at various levels will also be utilized as per the felt

requirement of the project.

NERLPS will arrange orientation/ training as per need by way of engaging experts,

allowing the employees to attend training courses/ workshop / seminar inside and

outside the country in reputed institutions and deputing the employees for exposure

visits. The Orientation and Training will be shaped keeping the following objectives

in view:

Skill Up gradation

Capacity Building

Team Building

Leadership

Motivation

Sensitization


90

Enforcement of Constitutional Provisions and Acts: The Governance strategy

recognizes that mitigating and tackling mismanagement and misuse in the project will

be governed and dealt with as per the existing policies and constitutional provisions.

In this context, the Right to Information Act and the Prevention of Corruption Act,

1988 will ensure control and guidance. In addition, constitutional provisions related to

fraud and corruption as appropriate and as per the law of the Union of India will be

adopted by the project. The policy and legal enforcement provisions as mentioned

above for mitigating and tackling fraud and corruption will cover all the stakeholders

including project implementation agencies and community institutions either

individually or institutionally.

The Right to Information Act, 2005 is an Act to provide for setting up the

practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information

under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and

accountability in the working of every public authority. In the project and as per the

provision in the act information sought should be provided within thirty (30) days on

receipt of a request and on payment of requisite fees, if any. However, if the request is

rejected, the PIO (of the project) shall communicate to the person making request the

reasons for rejection. The Act has provisions of penalty in case of willful hiding of

information or otherwise misleading or giving information which will be suitably

complied by the project authority. Further, if the person seeking information is not

satisfied he may appeal to higher authority as designated by the project and to the

State Information Commission.

At RPMU, Project Manager (Administration ) will act as Public Information Officer

(PIO) and Assistant Project Manager (Communication) will act as an Assistant Public

Information Officer (APIO). The Project Director will be the first Appellate

Authority. At the DPMU, the District Project Manager of the respective headquarters

shall be the PIO and District Accounts Officer will be the APIO. For this level, again

the Project Director will be the first Appellate Authority. At the Block level , Block

Project Coordinator will be the PIO. For him, the DPM will be the first Appellate

Authority. There will be training on RTI for staff, office bearers of SHG/Federations

and other beneficiaries on the system and processes of RTI Act provisions. A detailed

database on updated complaint received and action taken will be made available for

people.

9.3 Governance and Accountability Action Plan for NERLP (GAAP)

The Governance and Accountability Action plan (GAAP) is a corruption proofing

component which directly focuses on supporting the implementation of the ‘Right to

Information’ legislation within the project and strengthening preventive vigilance and

enforcement system both at the level of project and at the levels of Management Units.

The objective of GAAP is to strengthen governance through enhanced transparency,

accountability and reducing corruption arising out of asymmetric information flows. In

addition, it will be the endeavour of the project to implement the provisions of the

Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The mechanism will be developed for regular

monitoring of the functioning of GAAP at different levels of functioning.


91

The Governance and Accountability Action Plan (GAAP) for the project builds for

initiating transparent and efficient project management system, prompt and effective

information flow process having mechanism for tackling corruption. The idea is to have a

proper control over the project, mitigate the risks of corruption and fraud and to ensure

that project objectives are achieved.

The GAAP will therefore comprise of (i) project specific actions that support transparent

systems and processes for procurement, financial management and reporting as well as

support to better quality assurance and (ii) support overall reforms in the governance

system of the project at different level to create an enabling environment for preventive

vigilance and enforcement system.

The GAAP seeks to demonstrate the seriousness of the project authority and respective

state governments including Ministry of DONER to strengthen efficiency, effectiveness,

transparency and integrity in the project planning and implementation process by

transparent and accountable means. Thus GAAP will explain a clear cut action plan

involving (i) mapping of potential risks arising from the fragile project governance and

accountability environment, (ii) presenting mechanisms integrated into the PIP to address

these risks, and (iii) designating responsibility for implementing these mechanisms to

particular project units.

Accordingly, the responsibility also lies with RPMU, DPMU and PFT for

effective implementation of each and every measures of good governance system. Thus

the facilitating agencies like RPMU, DPMU and PFT at the top level and implementing

bodies like SHG, Federations, CDG, PO at the bottom level along with traditional

institutions, NGOs, line department will be the main project partners who will look for

good governance. Each and every institutional set up, stakeholders and officials will be

responsible for delivery of the measures and/or mechanism which will ensure transparent

and accountable project governance system.

The project will form a review committee comprising the Project

Director,RPMU, State Nodal Officer of the respective states, Project Manager

(Adminstration), Project Manager (M &E) and Project Manager ( F &A) at regional level

that will meet at least bi-annually or as and when required to review the progress and status

of pending enquiries. This committee will review cases and agree on ways to dispose them

off. This will be of tremendous support in reducing backlog and also sending strong

messages about the efficiency of the implementation mechanisms that enforce integrity

within the project. This sub component will support various measures related to the

overall governance of the project to ensure transparency, particiaption of all stakeholders,

team work and accountability and regular information sharing at all levels.


92

Table 9.1: Governance and Accountability Aciton Plan (Matrix)

Risk

parameters

Associated Risk Risk

level

Mitigation

Mechanism

Actions Actors Levels

Governance

System and

Structures

Poor governance

system

Weak implementation

arrangement

affecting project

processes and results

Poor accountability

Delayed project

implementation

Implementation of

anti corruption

strategy

Loss of control on

project

High Business

Processes and

Service

Standard

All guidelines/manuals on procurement, financial

management and reporting, record keeping, complaints

handling and M & E with provisions for review are to

be prepared and periodically reviewed by project team

and be included in the PIP

TORs have been prepared delineating the roles and

responsibilities for all project units and key project

officials/functionaries

Undertake comprehensive analysis of potential areas

that may give rise to corruption and devise effective

safeguards to preempt or address such contingencies.

Project Implementation Plan (PIP), Community

Operational Manual, Procurement Manual and

Financial Management Manual with clear guidelines

are formulated and finalized.

Finalization of project MIS design as well as

monitoring and review arrangement. The data base

should be linked to on line reporting arrangement for

quick review and follow up action.

Ensuring implementation of constitutional provision

and legal act mainly ‘The Right to Information Act

2005’ and ‘The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988’

Project Regional/

States/Dis

trict

People’s

Participation,

Team work and

accountability

Lack of participation

of community

Weak institution at

ground

Poor understanding

among all

stakeholders of

project at different

level

High Participation

and Capacity

Building

Participatory bottom up planning and implementation

approach will be the main principle

Developing vibrant, democratic inclusive CBOs during

project implementation stage.

Regular grading of community institution

Grant agreement between project authority and CBOs

will be done

Multi stakeholder governing committee will be

developed

Project Regional

State/Dist

rict/PFT


93

Risk

parameters


level

Mitigation

Mechanism


Repeated training on financial management,

procurement and governance practice will be a regular

practice

Institutional

preparedness

for project

implementation

Weak functioning of

the units and

institutions at

regional, state,

district and block

level

Lack of co-ordination

among all

stakeholders

Medium Multi

stakeholder

Institutional

arrangement

Institutional arrangement at Regional, State, District

and Block level have been completed and recruitment

of all project staff will be done by using objective and

transparent methods

Lay down rules of business pertaining to use of

administrative and financial powers by institutions at

Block, District, State and Regional level

Strengthening multi stakeholder coordination

arrangement including line department, financial

institutions and technical resource agencies at block ,

district, state and regional level

Ensure timely flow of fund to the beneficiaries

mobilizing internal and external resources

Human resource strategy for capacity building plan for

all staff is incorporated in PIP

Terms and conditions and procedure for engaging

service provider will be completed

Finalization of registration, terms and conditions and

working procedures for federation, producer

organization and other CBOs

Prepare withdrawal plan in advance and strengthen

capacity of SHGs and Federation for resource

mobilization, business development, portfolio

management, book keeping, accounting, audit and

sustaining operations beyond project cycle.

Project Regional/

State/Dist

rict

Exclusion and

Equity Issues

Weak institution

Non fullfillment of

project objectives

High Multi

stakeholder

Institutional

arrangement

The project will ensure participation of all

stakeholders. Decisions taken would follow a

participatory process and there would be no

imposition at any level. Participatory management


94

Risk

parameters


level

Mitigation

Mechanism


of SHGs will ensure that the poor and socially

excluded are represented at all levels of the

decision making process. Transparency

and Information

flow

Lack of transparency

in project operation

Lack of

accountability of the

project stakeholders

and project

functionaries

High Disclosure

and

Transparency

An independent website will be designed for the project

to disseminate information

A public disclosure system will be developed and all

information will be available to public on demand.

Record of key meeting, decisions, accounts, finance,

procurement etc. to be made public by web site

declaration or through other media.

The project will develop organizational arrangement to

implement all provisions as outlined in Right to

Information Act with adequate system and procedures

to implement RTI through web site, News Letter,

Transparency Boards, Wall Writings etc.

At Community level locally appropriate disclosure

processes and transparency mechanism will be

displayed through locally suitable multi media

campaign regarding project activities and benefits.

Strengthening participatory audit and monitoring

exercises to track problem areas

Action Plan for participatory review meetings at

different levels

Commissioning of periodic impact assessment studies

Peer Review exercises

Display boards, Posters will be fixed at Region,

District and Block levels. The media will be also

briefed from time to time by organizing press meet,

field visit by press people. The project will also have

its own yearly/half yearly / quarterly publications /

newsletters containing case studies, best practices,

news reports which will be posted in web site.

Organizing Radio and TV program from time to time

Project Regional

State/Dist

rict/PFT/

Communi

ty


95

Risk

parameters


level

Mitigation

Mechanism


on the project activities, progress, case studies etc.

Tender and contract award notices will be displayed on

project website

Human

Resource and

implementation

strategy

Unavailability of

sufficient number of

manpower

Unavailability of

competent human

resources in the

region

Delay in recruitment

and induction process

of staff

Decline in the morale

of staff in absence of

appropriate appraisal

and reward policy

and thus decrease in

quality output

Medium HR Policy A comprehensive HR Manual will be developed that

elaborates the overall HR strategy of the project. It

includes process of recruitment, compensation

packages, incentives and reward, staff contract policy,

training and capacity building, grievance redressal

system, disciplinary control system etc.

HR Strategy that includes provisions to attract the best

possible human resources from different sources

The project will plan for systematic and timely

recruitment of staff. All staff of different project units

will be recruited as per the demand of the work and

they will have clear cut job description

The staff performance appraisal system will be installed

which will be transparent and will have the provision

of self appraisal based on performance indicator. There

will be performance based incentive for the staff to

boost the morale.

The project will plan for systematic, transparent and

timely recruitment of staff. Recruitment will be done

by core committee to be formed by competent

authority. There will provision of Recruitment Audit in

the process of HR recruitment as and when necessary.

An independent HR Agency will carry out formulation

of HR Policies, norms/standard of recruitment. The

services of professional HR Agency for recruitment at

various levels will also be utilized as per the felt

requirement of the project

Project

Regional/

District

Efficiency of

Procurement

arrangement


Loss of competitive

advantage of lowest

Low Procurement

Policy

A transparent procurement policy is proposed for the

project which is clearly reflected in the Procurement

Manual. There will be guideline for community

Project Regional

/ District/

PFT /


96

Risk

parameters


level

Mitigation

Mechanism


cost of service and

product

procurement. Prospective procurement plan will be

published in project website,

All procurement notices and contract awards, works

and consulting services will be publicized,

Eligibility criteria for bidders and product quality

standards for bidders and service providers will be laid

out.

Bidders who engage in misinterpretation of facts or

fraudulent or corrupt practices will be notified and

disqualified

Ex-post review of procurement

Communi

ty

Priority on

financial

management

plan


Corruption and

misuse of project

fund

Mistrust among the

CBOs and weakening

of institution

Low Financial

Control

A financial management system is proposed to ensure

that funds are used only for the intended purposes in a

transparent way, approval of project financing plans

and fund disbursement and audited financial reports

and detailed financial expenditure reports are proposed

Deviation if any, will be explained in a stipulated

timeframe

Regional team, District team and block team will

enforce safeguards at respective level and generate

financial progress reports in prescribed format.

Direct fund release to CBOs. Monitoring of fund

utilization at village level. Application of Social Audit.

Statutory Audit of CBO’s Books of Accounts.

Application of standard accounting system as per

Financial Manual

Practice of external and internal audit system in the

project

Application of process monitoring and use of social

accountability tool like social audit.

Feedback received from participatory monitoring

exercises on financial matters should be incorporated in

the financial reviews at quarterly level.

Project Regional

/ District/

PFT /

CBOs


97

Risk

parameters


level

Mitigation

Mechanism


Adherence to

RTI information

Poor

accountability

Medium Disclosure

Policy

A disclosure policy will be formulated with reference

to RTI Act, systems and procedures to implement

Designated personnel will be appointed as PIO and

APIO by the project at different level for RTI

management.

Training on RTI for staff, office bearers of SHGs

/Federations and beneficiaries will be carried out

Maintain proper and updated complaint database and

public disclosures of actions taken

Project Regional/

State/Dis

trict

Delay in

Decision

Making / Risk

of Service

Obsolescence

Lack of clear

complaint handling

mechanism

Lack of capacity to

handle complaints

Reputational risk of

Project (NERLP),

Ministry of DONER

Medium Complaints

and grievance

redressal

mechanism

Computerized on line system for filing complaints by

anyone, investigation by sub-committee and reporting

to high level State/regional committee for follow up,

actions and responding to complaints

Delay in commissioning online computerized system,

adoption of manual system for registering, tracking and

monitoring of complaints

Complaints will be segregated in response to priority

against set out criteria and steps to give as per the

seriousness of the complaint and to report within

timeframe

All guidelines and documentation including bidding

instruction will carry the details of complaints

management system

During supervision mission regular review of progress

in handling complaints will be undertaken.

Project Regional/

State/

District/P

FT/Com

munity

Delayed project

implementation

Loss of track on

project progress

Low Business

Process and

standard

Annual, quarterly and monthly action plan will be

formulated

On line Project Monitoring system

Progress will be reviewed through process monitoring,

delays and deviations will be addressed

Project Regional/

State/Dist

rict/PFT


98

9.4 Social Accountability System: The philosophy behind social accountability centers on

the role of empowerment and information in enhancing commitment and service delivery of

project authority. The project is developing genuine partnership with the community adhering

to the principle of participatory planning, implementation and monitoring and thus the sense

of social accountability and ownership on the project will be possible at the level of CBOs.

Increasing community engagement is central to social accountability, which includes a broad

range of tools and processes to hold project officials and community leaders accountable.

Thus, developing appropriate Social Accountability tools will be a critical step in the

initiation of a Social Accountability System. Simple, flexible and yet useful tools and

processes like Community Score Cards, Social Audit mechanisms by the CBOs would be

developed to enable the beneficiaries to enhance their participations in project monitoring. A

community score card (CSC) plays the dual role of being a citizen’s report card at the

community level as well as being a social auditing process.

Project will ensure that social audit undertaken by the community will monitor the

status of fund release, utilization of funds, operational efficiency, transparency and

accountability. The monthly financial reports would be displayed prominently on CDG and

other CBO’s notice boards. It is envisaged that strengthening the beneficiaries’ participation

in various CBOs will empower communities by developing social capital and thus enhance

demand side of local governance by better participation in formal PRI. The project will be

developing a detailed Social Accountability System with a clear implementation strategy

during the first year of project implementation. With such a system in place, project will

make information accessible to all which would mean more transparency, wider and

spontaneous community participation and more effective decision-making. In a World Bank

Paper (No. 76) on ‘Participation and Civic engagement’, it has been said that ‘Social

Accountability’ mechanisms can contribute to improved governance, increased development

effectiveness through better service delivery and empowerment. In this line, the various

mechanism which is going to be adopted in NERLP for establishing a vibrant social

accountability system is being depicted in the following Flow Diagram.


99

Social Accountability

Development

Effectiveness

Governance Empowerment Score

Card

Peer

Review

CDP

CBOs Participatory

Budgeting

GCH

T&D

Project

Document Participatory

Monitoring

Process

Monitoring

Constitutional

Provision & Legal

Act

GAAP

HR Policy

Capacity Building of

Stakeholders

Participatory

Planning CSP

Multi

stakeholdership

Financial

Control

Procurement

Policy

GAAP: Governance and Accountability Plan; GCH: Grievance and Complaint Handling System ; T & D: Transparency and Disclosure; CSP: Community Service Provider; CBOs: Community based Organizations; CDP: Community Development Plan

Figure 6: Process and Effect of Social Accountability in NERLP


100

10. CHAPER 10: PROJECT ANALYSIS

10.1 Sustainability of Project Interventions

The project interventions at the implementation level would ensure the following, but

not necessarily in the listed order of preference. The areas of concern would be as follows:

Mobilization of Financial Resources: The project would capitalize various

community level organizations so that they are able to leverage financial resources

from various formal sources like the banks.

The RPMU, DPMU and PFT would identify sources and means of indigenous as well

as other formal/informal financial resources through participatory approaches and

case studies. Studies will be made with regard to such systems and database will be

maintained for future reference. It is expected that after the NERLP’s term expires,

these systems of indigenous financing will take over and continue with objectives of

the NERLP. This shall also be a part of the project exit strategy.

Mobilization of Indigenous Human Resources: Emphasis will be laid on the

identification and development of indigenous human resources for implementing the

livelihood projects. This does not mean that outside resources, both human and

capital, will be ignored, but priority will be given to indigenous resources, which will,

in the long term, be more sustainable and acceptable to the local conditions. Due

stress shall be accorded to mobilization of locally based entrepreneurship

development and enterprise models.

Demand, Market and Customer Orientation: The RPMU and DPMU will lay

stress on the demand/market/customer orientation of the projects, as these forces are

crucial for sustenance of project. In the past, a lot of projects for livelihood

enhancement have been undertaken by various agencies; however, none except few

have been able to sustain the pace. This is primarily because more emphasis was laid

on the production than on marketing.

Develop and make use of Village-based cooperative approach: One can draw

inspiration from the spirit of cooperation and bonhomie effectively reflected in jhum

cultivation practices. Such type of traditional institutions can be easily developed for

identifying and sustaining livelihood projects.

Ensure short-term secure incremental income: Most of the target groups under the

NERLP are poor. It is important that short-term benefits with commensurate incomes

are visible in any project that is undertaken. Further, to build the confidence of the

target group it is necessary that short term-incremental gains are adequately reflected .

This would provide impetus for sustainability.

Cost-effectiveness: This is self explanatory. However, the District units will assist the

target group to self analyse cost-effectiveness of their respective projects through use

of simple accounting tools and inherent economy principles.


101

Imbibe professionalism in approaches and implementation: In all sub-projects

professionalism will be emphasized. As projects expand and grow, other means of

incorporating professionalism will be introduced.

Risk management: Detailed risk management strategies have been worked out in

section 8.3, which are applicable to the RPMU/DPMU as well as projects for the

target groups.

Garner and develop upon available local/ indigenous technology: The District

Units will maintain a database of all available local/indigenous technology. This

database will be built upon the data already collected by various agencies, which

have done extensive studies in various pockets of the state/region. The Project

Management will also conduct its own case studies pertaining to specific areas for

updating its database from time to time.

Maintain transparency through maintenance of books of accounts not necessarily

formal but in locally practiced form and improve upon the same and also ensure

community auditing.

Develop locally accepted and available leaders in respective areas of

interventions: It is felt important that locally acceptable leaders will be the most

important drivers in terms of change management, wherever the need arises.

Traditional leadership of the charismatic type are accepted in most of the villages.

Ensure simplicity of project organization: Since the target groups are not expected

to have formal qualifications, but they are simple yet hardworking people, simplicity

in project organization will be emphasized at every stage, without surrendering its

effectiveness. This can be achieved by developing a good rapport with the villagers.

Proactive legal security to be imbibed in all Project Interventions by legalizing

agreements, terms of use/reference, ownership, etc.: The special article of the

Constitution of India, i.e., Article 371 A which is applicable to some of the project

states, with regard to land and its resources will be taken into due consideration before

any agreement is entered into not forgetting other Acts of the Government such as the

Forest Act, etc.

Ease/complexity of Audit: In order to ensure transparency, auditing of accounts will

be made simple by ensuring that the system of maintaining books of accounts is as per

traditionally accepted methods. Wherever required, improvements will made.

However, modern accounting systems will also be introduced as the project matures.

The following table is proposed for carrying out the analysis of sustainability of

project interventions. This table will be used for every project at the DPMU and target

group levels. This is more of a comparison table between various projects than a ready made

solution to choosing a single project. The Rating is from 1 to 5, where 1 means the lowest and

5 is the highest in terms of favourability.


102

Table 10.1: Sustainability of project rating

Sl. Indicator Rating9

(1 to 5)

Activities Responsible

parties

1 2 3 4 5

1 Mobilization of indigenous

financial resources

4 -Bank & Financial Institution

Linkage

-Convergence

DPMU & PFT

2 Mobilization of indigenous

human resource

4 -Capacity build up

-Creation of community cadres

DPMU & PFT

3 Demand, market and

customer orientation

3 -Partnerships

-Market studies

RPMU &

DPMU

4 Village-based cooperative

approach

5 -SHG

-SHG Federation

-Producer Organisation

DPMU & PFT

5 Short-term secure

incremental income

4 -Livelihood activities DPMU & PFT

6 Cost-effectiveness 5 -Procurement policy RPMU DPMU

& community

7 Professionalism 5 -Time bound performance

-Process and performance

monitoring.

-

RPMU DPMU

& PFT

8 Risk management 3 -Involvement of the existing local

institutions & community

-Continuous adoption to

Changes.

-Participatory decision making

DPMU PFT&

community

9 Availability of local

technology

4 -Identification of Indigenous

Technology and Knowledge

(ITK)

-Scientific adoption of best

practices

DPMU & PFT

10 Transparency 5 - Audit –Social & financial

-Uploading information on

Website

RPMU DPMU

PFT&

community

11 Leadership

5 -Capacity building (Management

& community level)

-Rotational leadership at

community level

RPMU DPMU

&PFT

12 Simplicity of project

organization

5 -Flat organisation

RPMU &

DPMU

13 Legal security 5 -Adhere to existing law

RPMU &

DPMU

14 Audit 5 Regular social & financial audit RPMU DPMU

PFT&

community

9 Tentative


103

10.2 Economic and Financial Analysis of Proposed Interventions

It is proposed to utilize the following table for the purpose of economic and financial analysis

of the proposed interventions/projects. Rating is from 1 to 5, where 1 means the lowest and 5

is the highest in terms of favourability.

Table 10-2: Economic and Financial Analysis

Sl. Indicator Particular Sustainabil

ity rating10

Remarks

1 2 3 4 5

1 Initial source of

fund

Project fund 5

2 Availability of

Indigenous

financial resources

Banks, Fis, MFIs 4 National and regional banks,

microfinance institutions,

Financial Institutions existing in

the region.

3 Demand for

produce/products

Market linkage

Market

development

3 Build market linkage with both

local and far off Domestic market.

Exports to be considered for

potential products

4 Type of market -Rural market

-Wholesale market

-Retail market

3 Seasonal, weekly, daily

5 Availability of

working capital

-Project

-Bank & other FIs

3 Accessible

6 Income

diversification

-Farm & non farm

activities

4 Diversification means addition of

more sources of income.

7 Income distribution Equitable 5 Whether it is expected for positive

change?

8 Access to services -partnership

-Community cadres

4 Whether access to services

hitherto not possible is expected?

9 Change in crop

yield

-Adoptable

scientific

technology

3 Positive change means more

favourable.

10 Value addition to

existing production

system.

-Post harvest

technology

-Packaging

4 -Technological interventions

11 Resilience and

ability to cope with

natural and political

shocks

-

-Community

empowerment

3 Natural shocks could be droughts,

pest attacks, etc. Political could be

removal of subsidies, market

protection, etc.

10.3 Critical Risks and Possible Controversial aspects

10.3.1 Risks

For any new projects/ programmes certain risks are involved. However, the impact of

each risk and the mitigating measures available can change the prospect of a project. In this

section an analysis of the critical risks, its impact and possible mitigating measures are listed

as far as the Project Interventions are concerned.

10

Needs further study before assigning any rating


104

The basic principles followed by the RPMU in Risk management will be:

1. To create value in project approach and implementing processes,

2. Make the Risk Management an integral part of organizational processes and decision

making, explicitly address uncertainty,

3. Be systematic and structured.

4. It will be based on the best available information,

5. Tailored to each need.

6. Take into account human factors,

7. Transparent, inclusive and dynamic.

8. Iterative and responsive to change and to make it a system which will be capable of

continual improvement and enhancement.

The Risk factors presently anticipated are:

Table 10-3: Risk analysis

Sl. Risk

factors

Rating11

(1 to 5)

Risk management

strategies/Mitigating measures Remarks

1 2 3 4 5

1

Drought

and its

effect on

acceptabili

ty of the

project.

3

District units shall study and will

assist the farmers in finding

alternative methods for irrigation by

way of a collective approach and

create a win-win situation for all

concerned.

Conservation farming in upland

drought situation may be an

apprpriate solution.

Crop varities suitable or resistant to

drought condition may be

prescribed.

It is expected that the present

drought like conditions

created owing to the late

arrivals of the rains in many

parts of the country may

have left most of the farmers,

who are dependent on the

same, with low expectancy

on rain-fed based activities.

2

Pest’s

attacks

and

aversion

of people

to depend

on crops

which

attracts

pests,

especially

rats.

3

Promote conservation of predators,

study into predictability of

pestilence and other phenomena,

species selection

Recent pests attacks on crops

specially in bamboo

flowering areas of Peren

3 Over-

production 1

NERLP will assist the units in

identifying new markets and

establishing new contacts through

use of modern technology and also

in transportation of goods and

services to the markets so identified.

Crop zoning and production clusters

shall ensure marketable production.

It is expected that with the

project interventions,

production levels will

increase phenomenally. This

is expected to create

temporary problems of over-

production, spoilage,

inventory problems and

11

Tentative, based on current perception and experience


105

Sl. Risk

factors

Rating11

(1 to 5)

Risk management


1 2 3 4 5

Production of marketable surplus of

high value low volume crop will

encouraged in order to avoid risk of

damage of perishable produce.

marketing problems

including price fluctuations.

4 Knowledg

e Risks 1

The RPMU will coordinate with

other existing agencies who have

already acquired a fair amount of

data/information on the

traditional/best practices of the local

populace and also NERLP will

conduct its own specific case studies

for adding to the knowledge bank.

When deficient knowledge is

applied to a situation, a

knowledge risk materializes.

And in the present case it

may be related to insufficient

knowledge of traditional

practices, etc.

5 Relationsh

ip risk 2

The project will emphasize on

traditional cooperative systems and

social capital to build upon these

systems for the proposed Project

interventions.

Relationship risk appears

when ineffective

collaboration occurs and

such risks directly reduce the

productivity of knowledge

workers, decrease cost

effectiveness, profitability,

service, quality, reputation,

brand value, and earnings

quality.

6

Breakdow

n of road

connectivit

y

hampering

transportat

ion of

products

4

Such breakdowns can be anticipated

as these are regular features in most

parts of the state. Alternative routes

can be projected through village

participation. Wherever, no proper

roads exist, short approach/link

roads can be undertaken under

infrastructure development.

Increasing shelf life through value

addition

Road connectivity breaks

down mostly due to mud-

slide and land slides during

the rainy seasons. Further,

many of the agri-fields/

project areas may be devoid

of roads.

7

Political/G

overnment

Policies

2

The project being housed in the

Ministry of DoNER would be able

to influence the state policies. The

Project would proactively do policy

advocary so that poor benefit.

Under normal conditions,

policies of the Government

do not necessarily have

adverse affects on the

farmers, except for price

policies, pollution policies,

etc.

9 Land

disputes 1

Traditional system of land

settlement will be employed in case

disputes arise. However, emphasis

will be made on ensuring that land

ownership issues are addressed first

with the involvement of the Village

Councils and authorities before

projects are taken up.

Land disputes are quite often

in many places, especially

with regard to inter-village

boundaries.

10

Communal

/factional

clashes

1

Steps will be taken to ensure that

idle time is reduced by engaging the

people in constructive or productive

activities during the lean seasons.

Communal/factional clashes

though rare, occur from time

to time. This is particularly

true with regard to inter and


106

Sl. Risk

factors

Rating11

(1 to 5)

Risk management


1 2 3 4 5

The Administration also will be

taken into confidence while project

implementations are on so that

clashes on the basis of projects do

not occur. Maybe even introduce

Rabi cash crops, cottage industries

intra tribal

misunderstandings. During

such clashes properties can

be damaged or destroyed.

However, past experiences

have shown that these

clashes are seasonal and

occur mostly in between post

harvest and before the next

sowing, when people are

fairly idle.

10.3.2 Possible controversial aspects

The following table will be used to analyze the possible controversial aspects with

regard to project interventions, through participatory approaches as the target group will be

the best judge on this issue.

(Probability may be rated from 0 to 5, and needs further micro level studies in each village

before assessing probability levels)

Table 10.4: Controversial aspects

Sl. Activities Issues Mitigating measures

1 2 3 4

1 Introduction of

new crops

Intra-village conflict on

ownership of land

Land ownership issues will be decided prior

to implementation of any intervention

through a collective approach.

Intrusion into village

gennas (norms or taboo

practices)/ loss of TKS

and TEK

All such introductions will be carried out

through participatory approach involving all

stake holders.

Legitimacy of

product/services such as

GM/ displacement of agro

bio diversity (land races)

Technical studies may be conducted to

ensure safety.

2 Formation of

SHGs

Social conflict in the form

of adversely affecting the

social fabric and structure

of the family.

All the interventions to be decided and

implemented in participatory mode through

involvement of village level committees,

Village council members. Family members

will also be taken into confidence.

Leadership All SHGs will be formed through a common

consensus and leadership may be rotated on

periodic basis.

3 New techniques

of production/

cropping

Possible Intrusion into

village gennas

To be decided through participatory

approaches.

4

Foray into new

products/service

s

Affect the market share of

other players in the

market.

Implement federation system through mutual

understanding.


107

Sl. Activities Issues Mitigating measures

1 2 3 4

Possible Intrusion into

village gennas

To be decided through participatory

approaches.

10.3.3 Risk framework and Mitigation Measures

Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks

followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and

control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events. The strategies to manage risk

include transferring the risk to another party, avoiding the risk, reducing the negative effect of

the risk, and accepting some or all of the consequences of a particular risk. Costs are involved

in all of these.

The following table is proposed to be used for risk management of projects under NERLP.

This table will be filled up for every sub project proposed and analyzed.

Table 10.5: Risk mitigation

Activity/Is

sue

Potential Risks Proposed Mitigation Measures Responsible

Parties

Estimated

Cost (INR)

1 2 3 4 5

Activities

of the

RPMU/

DPMU

Service

obsolescence

The NERLP will continuously adapt

itself to changing needs of

District/Block Units by way of

assessment through regular meetings

among the PMU members and also

with the district/block units.

RPMU and

DPMU

Possibility of a

one solution to

all areas

/problems

approach

Involvement of all stake holders and

utilizing participatory approaches.

Knowledge Risk When deficient knowledge is applied

to a situation, a knowledge risk

materializes. And in the present case

it may be related to insufficient

knowledge of traditional practices,

regions, local practices, etc. The

RPMU will coordinate with other

existing agencies who have already

acquired a fair amount of

data/information on the

traditional/best practices of the local

populace and also District units will

conduct its own specific case studies

for adding to the knowledge bank.

Further, since participatory approach

will be employed, this risk may be

avoided most of the time.


108

Activity/Is

sue


Parties

Estimated

Cost (INR)

1 2 3 4 5

Governanc

e system

and

structure

Poor governance

system resulting

in weak

implementation

arrangement

Strict adherence to all

guideline/manual/documents

preparaed for effective procurement,

financial management, monitoring &

evaluation, implementation guideline

etc. for RPMU/DPMU and

community will facilitate to establish

a transparent and effective

governance system.

RPMU

/DPMU and

CBOs

Weak

Institutiona

l set up at

ground

i. Exclusion of

poor from the

project’s benefit

due to undue

pressure

ii. Elite member

putting pressure

on CDG/SHG

iii. Violation of

rules for

identification

and selection of

Village Resource

Person and other

office bearer.

iv. Manipulatio

n of grading /

performance

report of CBOs.

i. Participatory bottom-up

planning and implementtaion

approach through CBOs.

ii. Capacity Building

iii. Regular monitoring,

participatory monitoring

process and period review by

all stakeholders

RPMU

/DPMU and

CBOs

Transparen

cy

Lack of

transparency and

accountability

among the

stakeholders

i. A public disclosure system

including community level

appropriate disclosure

mechanism will be in place.

ii. A public grievence redressal

system will be effective

iii. All provision of RTI Act will

be implemented

iv. Participatory planning,

implementation, monitoring and

audit will facilitate for greater

transparency.

RPMU

/DPMU and

CBOs

HR policy i. Unavailability

of competent

HR in the

market

ii. Decline in

staff morale

due to absence

of appropritae

appraisal and

reward policy

A comprehensive HR Policy stating

process of recruitment, package,

incentives and rewards, staff contract

policy, training and capacity

building, performance appraisal

system, disciplinary control system

stc.

RPMU

/DPMU and

CBOs


109

Activity/Is

sue


Parties

Estimated

Cost (INR)

1 2 3 4 5

iii. Sudden /

frequent

changes of

project

leadership at

different level

iv. Limited

implementat

ion capacity

in newly

recruited

staff for the

project.

Procureme

nt

procedures

and

community

procureme

nt

processes

i. Lack of

efficient,

transparent

and fair

procurement

processes or

systems

ii. Limited

knowledge

and in

adequate

information

A Procurement Manual is

formulated to implement transparent

procurement policy. There will be

guideline for community

procurement and provisions of

capacity building of community on

procurement issues.

RPMU

/DPMU and

CBOs

Financial

Manageme

nt

i. Inadequate

capacity of

project staff

/ community

on sound

financial

management

policies and

practices

ii. Undue delay

in release of

fund

iii. Misuse of

fund

iv. Lack of

transparency

A mechanism is proposed for

efficient, transpareny and prompt

financial management system so that

fund are release on time, expenditure

are done for the intended purpose,

monitoring of expenditure pattern

are done by way of social audit or

process monitoring and practice of

external and internal audit system

works effectively.

RPMU

/DPMU and

CBOs

Partnership

among

stakeholder

s

Poor

coordination /

networking with

line department ,

PRI

Stregthening multi stakeholder

coordination arrangment including

line department, financial

institutions and technical resource

agencies at block, district, sttae and

regional level.

RPMU

/DPMU and

CBOs

Transportat

ion of

products

Break down of

road

communication

Alternative routes can be identified

and developed. Stocking of goods

before hand is another option by way

Government/

RPMU and

DPMU and


110

Activity/Is

sue


Parties

Estimated

Cost (INR)

1 2 3 4 5

and

services to

the markets

and of raw

materials

and

processing

units,

machinery

to the

villages

of developing infrastructure for

storage systems.

Pershability of agri-horti

commodities may be a serious factor

which leads to heavy loss.

Village units.

With regard to

raw materials

and machineries

Maintenance of buffer stocks.

Procurement during dry seasons.

Land

disputes

arising due

to

developme

nt of new

areas for

cultivation

or setting

up of new

projects.

Land ownership

issues

Traditional system of land settlement

will be employed in case disputes

arise. However, emphasis will be

made on ensuring that land

ownership issues are addressed first

with the involvement of the Gram

Panchayats, Village Councils and

Khel authorities before projects are

taken up, through participatory

approach.

RPMU/DPM

U and

Village

Councils.

Channelling of

Irrigation

systems and

issues of

trespassing,

diversion, etc.

Involvement of Gram Panchayats,

Village Councils and clans, use of

traditional systems of justice.

Participatory approaches will be

used for identifying potential

conflicts/issues

Introductio

n of new

techniques

and or

crops

Government

policies

The project will conduct prior

studies in all such cases and give

necessary advice to the target

groups.

RPMU/DPM

U

Village gennas

The Decision to introduce new

things will be made through

participatory after making a detailed

study on the possibilities of

infringement upon gennas.

This list will be updated as the project progresses.

10.4 Exit Strategy

As mentioned at para 3.7.6, there is a need to execute an exit strategy by the Project. Exit

strategy is to be formulated in such a way so as to ensure the sustainability and continuity of

activities in project areas. The project will exit from the villages where self reliant SHGs are

formed and linked for further finance to financial institutions to take up livelihood activities.

The exit strategy of NERLP will ensure that communities can move on or even grow further

so that there is vertical and horizontal up-scaling of the activities being undertaken through

interventions in project and non-project areas. This will mainly be designed for attaining

social, institutional and economic & financial sustainability in the post-project period. Once


111

they are linked to the market and financial institutitons, the livelihood activities will be self

sustainable.

As part of the strategy, the project will develop the concept of sustainability of village

institutions to address their own issues and undertake activities through capacity building and

securing successful transfer of decision-making to the lower administrative levels in the

villages in line with decentralized policy. The social and institutional sustainability will be

attained by ensuring continuity of the institutions; role play or service delivery of a high

standard towards the end or in post project period; credit linkages with banks, financial

institutions, MFIs; linkages with govt. or technical or resource agencies for knowledge, skill,

extension, insurance, market etc. The capacity building processes will make community’s

vibrancy even more focused and thus there will be continuous community participation,

commitments and accountability.

The economic activity of SHG based on the livelihood plan and the business plan of Producer

Organizers (PO) encompassing input procurement plan, production plan, value chain plan,

marketing plan will strengthen the economic base of the communities and further scaling up

of activities will lead to economic and financial sustainability. The project will facilitate the

PO in leveraging funds from banks for their business plan in developing these institutions

into a professional profit making body that can sustain their business led livelihood activities

in the post project period. The Community Development Plan (CDP) will be a continuous

process through which CDG will facilitate convergence with Govt. programme and leverage

resources that will be aligned with the activities of SHGs and their Federation. The

Federation will take a lead role in getting continuous support in terms of credit from financial

institutions, training and technical inputs from resource agencies which will be required to

percolate down to SHGs and their members. For this, Federation would partner with

organizations for providing back end services to different market institutions. Further, the

Community Service Provider (CSP) like SHG Facilitator, Community Mobilizer, Bank

Facilitator etc. will ensure regular service delivery to communities even after the project

period. The Sector Support Organizations (SSO) who will be providing assistance and

support across the value chain during the project period will continue to support in terms of

technology, procurements, value chain plan, marketing, etc. The project visualizes at

capacitating the communities to such a level that they can come forward and build institutions

and expand their activities and thus undertake social, institutional, economic and business

activities in the post project period.


112

11 CHAPER 11: SAFEGAURD MANAGEMENT 11.1 Environment Safeguard Management

11.1.1 Check list for ensuring environment safeguards

Table 11-1: Environment safeguard checklist

Sl. Issues Implementation

Construction Operation

A. Hydrology, Hydrogeology and water quality

1. Source of water

2.Is there any use of water

3. Is there any effluent/waste water generation

4. How is waste water is discharged

5. Is there any ground water contamination

B. Landform, Geology, Solid and Geotechnical

1. Will the activity damage top soil

2. Will the activity cause soil erosion

C. Meteorology and Air Quality

1. Is there any dust generation

2. Is there any air pollution

3. Is there any problem related to ventilation

D. Noise

1. Sources of noise pollution

2. Is there any affect because of noise

E. Estuarine environment

1. Is there any change of estuarine population

2.

F. Flora and Fauna

1. Is there any visual change

2. Illegal trade of threatened species

3. Pharmaceutical use of flora/fauna

G. Traffic and Transportation

1.

H. Landscape and Visual

1. Is there any landscape change over time because of

interventions

2. Is there any extinction of valuable species

I. Hazards and Risks

1. Fire

2. Chemical

3.Others


113

11.1.2 Environment Safeguard

Activities, Issues, Impact and Mitigation measures12

Table 11-2: Environment Safegaurd Activities

Activities Issues Impact

(Give weight

between 1 to 5) 5

being highest13

Mitigation measures (for

negative impacts)

Positive Negative

Jhum

Cultivation

Deforestation 3 Reforestation efforts through line

departments or provision of

incentives and saplings.

Promoting enriched fallow areas

with agro-forestry system.

Jungle burning Fire line protection to be followed

in the community level

Soil erosion Chek dam or vegetative barrier to

check soil & nutrient loss.

Tree felling Clear the plot according to family

strength.

Deterioration of

water quality due to

excessive use of agro

chemicals

Organic farming, or environment

friendly chemicals to be applied.

Promotion of

high yielding

crops

Impact of

agrochemical

fertilizers

1 Measures like balanced use of

fertilizers and others would be

implemented through field

applications and training. In most

cases, Nagaland is considered

“organic by default” and the

project shall draw from this.

Promotion of Integrated Pest

Management and Integrated

Nutrient Management will reduce

this risk.

Livestock

rearing

Degradation of

pastureland & Forest

Practice stall feeding

Scarcity of Fodder Chop fodder and use feed through

to prevent wastage of fodder

Poor hyegine leading

to spread of disease

Always store fodder in clean and

dry places.

Practise fodder treatment

Dispose animal carcasses by

burning/burial .

Non Timber

Forest

Produce(NTFP)

Illegal harvesting of

NTFPs

Sustainable harvesting.

Community conserved area of

fallow or secondary forest area.

12

Illustrative only. May be used as a tool


114

Destructive

harvesting of NTFPs

Sustainable harvesting

Fishery Unsustainable

fisheing practice

leading to stock

depletion and

biodiversity loss.

Donot fish in the breeding

season.

Do not use the fishing net with

mesh size smaller than

permissible size.

Do not use poison and blasting

materials for fishing activity.

Conservation of indigenous fish

species.

Forest &

Wildlife

Hunting of wild

animals

Ban on hunting

Imposition of fine as per rules

and community norms.

Tree felling Prior departmental permission

need to be obtained.

Infrastructure Construction of road

etc.

Approval from concerned

department necessary so that no

encroachment takes place in the

forest/reserved forest areas.

Design from qualified engineer

Construction of

irrigation canal

The forest land to be diverted as

per guidelines of Forest

Department.

Renewable power

development

Compensatory afforestation

Establishment of

market/collection

centre

Approval from concerned

department

11.2 Social Safeguard Management14

11.2.1 Social Safeguard-

Activities, Issues, Impact and Mitigation measures

Table 11-3: Social safeguards

Activities Issues Impact (Give

weightage between 1

to 5) 5 being highest

Mitigation measures (for

negative impacts)

Positive Negative

(E.g.): Jhum

Cultivation

Land dispute 3 Involve Village Councils and apex

bodies for resolving disputes

14

Illustrative only


115

Increased in income

levels, all round

employment and

nutritional security

3

More dependence on

external resources

2 Establish linkages with financial

institutions and encourage back

integration of production system.

Indigenous techniques may be

improved through innovations.

Promotion of

high yielding

crops

Improvement in

social status through

empowerment

specially of women

4

Social Conflict 1 All the interventions to be decided

and implemented in participatory

mode through involvement of

village level committees, Village

Council members

SHG formation Enhancement in

knowledge based

activities for higher

income and self

dependence

4

Training of rural

youths and

farmer groups

for

entrepreneurship

development


116

12 CHAPER 12 : TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

The issues of tribal development focusing on the poorest and socially excluded sections

among the tribal population are integral to the project design. Out of four project States,

Mizoram & Nagaland are tribal majority states. Therefore, no separate component or plan is

envisaged for these States. However, in case of Tripura and Sikkim where tribal population is

marginal, a separate strategy is considered necessary so as to ensure that tribal segments are

not left out from the purview of project benefits. The finding of Social Assessment Study is

the basis to develop a strategy for tribal development.

12.1 Objectives and Core Principles:

Social Assessment of NERLP has highlighted the presence of tribal in the state of Tripura &

Sikkim. The main tribal communities present in the districts of Tripura are Reang, Chakma,

Tripuri, Jamatia and Halam. In Sikkim, Lepchas, Bhutias, Limbu and Tamang are prominent

tribal communities. These communities are more vulnerable compared to the non-tribal

groups and need enhanced and targeted project outreach and other safeguard measures to

ensure benefits from project interventions accrue to the tribal households in a socially and

culturally compatible manner and improve their livelihoods. Based on the findings of the

social assessment and the stakeholder consultations, a Tribal Development Framework (TDF)

would be prepared for implementation in Tripura and Sikkim. The objectives and key

principles of the TDF are:

To safeguard the overall interests of the tribal beneficiaries and ensure that the

tribal households are not excluded from the community driven developmental

process.

To reach out, support and empower tribal households in project villages in

accessing project services and benefit from opportunities for livelihoods

improvement.

Development of economic skills and entrepreneurship among tribal

community.

To support social and economic empowerment of the tribal in the project area

with targeted inclusion strategy

To protect indigenous knowledge and practices

The TDF will address the needs of the tribal communities in the State with respect to

information on government programmes on livelihoods, collective leadership and action for

realizing rights and entitlements with ability to participate in village level planning and

decision making.

The Overall Tribal Strategy of NERLP Includes

Prioritization of remote villages with high concentration of scheduled tribes.

Prioritized selection and targeting of remote habitations, shifting cultivators

(Jhumias), and vulnerable tribal and non-tribal groups during PRA.

Participatory assessments and PRA exercises to fully include and profile tribal

households.

Formal Consultations with ALL social, ethnic, and tribal groups held and documented

during village entry.


117

Selection of Village entry activities based on consultations with tribal households.

Communication and Consultations with tribal communities held in locally understood

language.

Mobilization and Inclusion of Tribal men and women in community institutions

(SHGs, CDGs, YGs and PO).

Flexible adaptation of group functioning norms in tribal areas.

Representation of tribes in Community Institutions.

Consultations on livelihood plans, community development plans (CDPs) and NRM

plans.

Periodic Consultations during project implementation, Monitoring and Review.

The TDF also provides for capacity building of tribal village level organizations and its

leadership to plan, prioritize and place demands on the project services and resources;

allocation of resources or benefits for the welfare and development of tribes at all levels and

capacity building of Tribal people in general and youths in particular in their adaptive

livelihood choices.

Implementation of the TDF will ensure targeted outreach, informed consultations, sustained

community mobilisation and handholding assistance in planning and implementation of

livelihood and community infrastructure subprojects, and prioritized livelihood assistance in

the tribal villages.

The key actions under the TDF are summarized in the table below.

Table 12.1 Tribal Development Framework - Key Actions

Sub

Components

Key Actions Implementation

Responsibility

Supported

by

Component 1 – Social Empowerment

Support to

Project

Facilitation

Teams (PFTs)

1. PFT staff engages tribal youth,

especially in tribal blocks/clusters

2. Entry point activities selected on the

basis of consolations with tribal

communities and leaders

3. Training programme of PFTs

involves special module on identify,

culture, inclusion, empowerment,

entitlements and and development of

tribal households

DPMU RPMU

Community

Mobilization,

Capacity and

Institution

Building

4. Priority selection of villages with

high population of tribal, specially

Reangs or other primitive tribes

5. Documentation of key natural

resource, social services,

infrastructure and livelihood

priorities and opportunities for tribal

PFTs DPMU

Social Staff

and

External

agencies (as

required)


118

and non-tribal households, as part of

PRA exercises

6. Participatory wealth grouping and

other exercises conducted with full

attendance, participation and

understanding of the tribal and non-

tribal participants, with sufficient

advance notice

7. Project communication activities use

local resources, media and

community institutions,

8. Formal consultations with village

councils, panchayats and tribal

leaders held and their broad

community support documented

9. Group formation and functioning

norms adapted to geographical and

socioeconomic conditions, including

preexisting customary institutions

and informal savings and credit

groups

10. Mobilization of men and women

from all tribal households in the

villages, specially the Reangs,

included as beneficiaries

11. Exclusive tribal community

institutions promoted based on pre-

existing affinity and local demand

12. Tribal households represented in all

office bearing positions and

executive committees of the

community institutions;

13. Tribal subcommittees formed in the

CDGs, YGs, POs, NRMGs EAGs,

and federations

14. Community capacity building

activities cover rights and

entitlements, legal empowerment

particularly of tribal people.

15. Preference to tribal youth as


119

community service providers

16. Capacity building of CSPs to include

tribal development and

empowerment.

17. PFTs provide intensive handholding

support to tribal community

institutions

Component 2 –Economic Empowerment

SHG

Investment

Support

18. Targeted allocation of SHG seed

grants and livelihood grants to SHGs

with majority tribal members

19. Handholding assistance provided to

prepare SHG livelihood plans,

CDPs, NRMPs;

20. SHG livelihood plans, CDPs,

NRMPs are prepared following

social impact screening and

mitigation guidelines and are

endorsed by tribal groups

21. Special assistance provided to

prepare collective livelihood plans

22. PFTs conduct social impact

screening of the SHG livelihood

plans, along with the environment

screening

PFTs, CRPs DPMU

Social Staff

and

External

agencies (as

required)

Community

Development

Investment

Support

23. Targeted assistance provided for

preparation of CDPs that address

livelihood priorities of the tribal

households

24. Planning and need assessment for

CDPs involves full and documented

participation and feedback of all

tribal and non-tribal households,

community leaders, village council,

youth clubs and gram panchayat

25. CDPs to benefit majority of the tribal

households in the project villages

26. CDPs to have convergence linkages

with government programmes

PFTs, CRPs DPMU

Social Staff

and

External

agencies (as

required)


120

targeting tribal households

27. All CDPs screened for potential

adverse impacts on private land,

customary rights, concessions,

entitlements, existing resource

usage, and any required mitigation

measures are formally adopted and

supported by all CDG members

through a transparent, participatory

and voluntary process.

Producer

Organizations

Investment

Support

28. Producer Organizations and value

chains address the livelihood

constraints of the tribal households

PFTs, CRPs DPMU

Social Staff

and

External

agencies (as

required)

Youth Skill

Development

and Placement

Support

29. Consultations with existing youth

groups, informal associations and

NGOs in tribal villages

30. Allocation for support to tribal

youth, both men and women, from

project villages

PFTs, CRPs DPMU

Social Staff

and

External

agencies (as

required)

Innovation

Support

31. Innovation proposals focusing on

meeting the most tangible social,

livelihood, health, and food security

needs of tribal communities given

priority.

32. Proposals to be based on direct

consultations and feedback from

tribal communities

DPMU Social

Staff

DPMs,

BPFTs,

State

Coordinator

Component 3 - Partnerships

33. Support to financial institutions that

focus on enhancing financial

inclusion and credit linkages in tribal

areas

34. Piloting of ‘Business correspondent

and facilitator’ model in tribal areas

35. Engagement of technical institutions

for providing provide technical

know-how, critical market linkages

and capacity building support for

RPMU Social

Staff

DPMU

Social Staff

and

External

agencies (as

required)


121

livelihoods in tribal blocks

36. Engagement of specialized agencies

for training, sociotechnical support,

action research, thematic studies,

workshops etc on social and legal

empowerment and livelihood

development in tribal blocks

37. Engagement of marketing support

agencies for promoting tribal

livelihoods

Component 4 - Project Management

Monitoring and

Evaluation

38. Tribal focused monitoring indicators

and reporting provisions integrated

in the monitoring, evaluation and

reporting framework

39. External audit of implementation of

the TDF conducted in second year

40. Process monitoring includes

feedback from tribal beneficiaries

and community organizations

41. Project reporting, includes reporting

on implementation of the TDF.

RPMU Social

Staff

DPMU

Social Staff

and

External

agencies (as

required)

Technical

Assistance

42. Training, exposure visits, guidelines

and manuals and consultancies also

cover specific priorities and themes

of tribal livelihoods, inclusion and

empowerment.

RPMU Social

Staff

DPMU

Social Staff

and

External

agencies (as

required)


122

13 NERLP RESULTS FRAMEWORK 13.1 Project outcomes

Project Development Objective: “To improve rural livelihoods especially that of women,

unemployed youth and the most disadvantaged, in four North Eastern States”.

Table 13-1: Project outcome framework

Project

Development

Objective

Project Outcome Indicators Use of Project Outcome

Information

To improve rural

livelihoods

especially that of

women,

unemployed youths

and the most

disadvantaged

households in four

North East states.

Indicator one: At least 60% of women SHG members

achieve a minimum of 30% increased income in real

terms by end of project

Indicator Two: At least 30% of project-benefited

unemployed youths are employed.

Indicator Three: At least 50% of the disadvantaged

households achieve a minimum of 30% improvement

in livelihood indices from entry into the project .

At Mid Term Review (MTR),

the overall strategy will be

reviewed against the indicators

and baseline. Interventions and

funds will be re-aligned

according to the findings

regarding project performance.

Intermediate

Outcomes

Intermediate Outcome Indicators Use of Intermediate Outcome

Monitoring

Component 1:

Social

empowerment

through Community

mobilization and

institution building

1.1 At least 50% of women in project area who were not

formerly in SHGs become members of Project-

supported SHGs

1.2 At least 90% of previously-established SHGs

receiving project loans repay them regularly

1.3 At least 60% of the community institutions are “A”

Grade.

1.4 At least 50% of institutions created are sustainable

(are able to meet entire operating expenses from

internal revenues)

1.5 At least 5% of positions in traditional and formal

village institutions are held by members of the most

disadvantaged households.

1.6 Of the totalCommunity Service Providers (CSP) at

least 30% are woman

1.7 At least 40% of Community Institutions have Representation of Tribal Communities (Sikkim & Tripura)

1.8 At least 30% of Community Service Providers (CSP)

and Community leaders are tribal (Sikkim &

Tripura)

Under-achievement in the

indicators, if any, would be

analyzed for improving

community mobilization and

capacity building strategy.

Component 2:

Economic

empowerment

through Community

Investment support

and increased access

to employment

opportunities in the

project area.

2.1 A minimum of 60% of SHG women members have

taken at least one loan

2.2 At least 70% of the disadvantaged project HH

diversified or up-scaled their income-generating

activities

2.3 50% of women SHG members increase their savings

and investments by at least 50% above their Year 1

levels.

2.4 At least 50% village youths (women and men) trained

under the project are gainfully employed .

2.5 At least 50% of households adopt improved farm

and non-farm technologies promoted by the



analyzed for improving

livelihood planning at

CDG/SHGs and business

planning of the

producer/service

associations/companies.


123

project

2.6 At least 40% of Tribal households are benefited by

the Project Investment Support

Component 3:

Partnership

development

3.1 By end of Project, at least 15% of project village

level investments come from government and quasi

government sources.

3.2 At least 30% of the women SHG members, youth and

most disadvantaged HHs access credit from formal

institutions

3.3 Partnership is established with at least eight Technical

Support Institutes

3.4 Partnership is established between at least 50% of

SHG/Federations with Government/commercial

organizations for forward and backward linkages



analyzed for improving the

project’s partnership

development strategies.

Component 4:

Project management

4.1 Project management has satisfactorily addressed

statutory audit findings according to agreed NERLP

PIP and COM standards

4.2 Statutory audit reports are submitted to the Ministry

of DoNER and World Bank as required .

4.3 Project management acts on findings of M&E and

social audit reports, following NERLP PIP business

standards.

4.4 Complaints received by the Complaints Handling unit

are addressed following NERLP PIP standards.

Experiences and learning from

the project are factored into

management decision-making

for improving subsequent

project performance


124

13.2 Outcome Indicators and Targets

Table 13-2: Project outcome indicators and targets

Project Development Objective (PDO): To improve rural livelihoods especially that of women, unemployed youths and the most vulnerable households in four North East states.

PDO Level Results

Indicators*

Co

re

Unit of

Measure

Baseline

Cumulative Target Values** Frequency

Data Source/

Methodology

Responsibility

for Data Collection

Description

(indicator definition

etc.) YR 1 YR 2 YR 3 YR 4 YR5

Indicator One: At least 60% of

women SHG members

achieve a minimum of

30% increased income

in real terms by end of

project

% of women

SHG

members

Estimated

average

annual

income

per HH is

Rs.16,500

0

0

20% of

HH

report

10%

income

increase

40% HH

report

20%

income

increase

60% HH

report

30%

income

increase

At

Baseline,

MTR (Y3)

and EOP (end of

project, Yr

5)

Survey of

women SHG

members

External

agency

“Income‟ means net cash income of the women SHG member.

Indicator Two: At least 30% of project-benefited unemployed youths

are employed13

.

% of

unemployed

youth

10%

0

5% of

benefited

youths

10% of

benefited

youths

20% of

benefited

youths

30% of

benefited

youths

Annually

Survey of

participating

youth

Internal

Project,

DPMU

„Unemployed‟ means those not currently employed but seeking

employment. „Youth‟ means male or female,

age 18-35. „Employed‟ includes wage and self-

employment, part and

full-time, seasonal and

all-year round.

13 The data collected for this indicator will be gender disaggregated in the project‟s MIS so as to assess differences among gender lines.


125

Indicator Three: At

least 50% of the most

disadvantaged

households achieve a

minimum of 30%

improvement in

livelihood indices.

% HH

Baseline

data on

livelihood indices

yet to be

collected.

0

0

10% of

HHs

achieve

10%

improv

ement

in

liveliho

od

indices

30% of

HHs

achieve

15%

improve

ment in

livelihoo

d indices

50% of

HHs

achieve

30%

improve

ment in

livelihoo

d indices

At

Baseline,

MTR (Y3)

and EOP

(End of

project,

Yr 5)

Survey of

participating

HHs

External

agency

a..”The most

disadvantaged” means the lowest 40% of

households, ranked by

village-level

Participatory Wealth

Ranking). They

typically include:

female-headed

households, Scheduled

Castes, Scheduled

Tribes, the physically-

challenged, etc. ;

„Livelihood indices‟ means weighted average increases in

(i) total household

cash income, (ii) days

of employment per

year of household

members 15 years and

above, (iii)

household‟s productive assets and (iv) four months of

food grain

reserves/buffer stocks

per year.

Indicator Four:

At least 70% of the SHGs supported by the project are institutionally

sustainable14

% of SHGs

20% of

existing SHGs are

sustainable

e15

40%

50%

60%

70%

70%

Annual

SHG self- scoring and

PFT

facilitated

institutiona

l

assessment

CRPs/ PFTs

An SHG‟s ability to continue to meet and inter-loan among

members reduces

external dependence.

15. Sustainability is defined as being active (i.e. regular attendance at meetings), financially viable (i.e. taking and repaying loans) and a governance structure that ensures independence and representation.


126

INTERMEDIATE RESULTS

14 Intermediate Result (Component One): Social Empowerment

1.1 At least 50% of

women in project

area who were not

formerly in SHGs

become members of

Project- supported

SHGs

% women

who are members of

Project SHGs

40% of

women

belong to

existing

SHGs

10%

30%

50%

50%

50%

Annually

PFT Reports

Internal-

DPMU

1.2 At least 90% of

previously- established SHGs

receiving project

loans repay them

regularly

% of SHGs

25% of

existing

SHGs

repay loan

regularly

0

20%

40%

60%

90%

Annually

PFT Reports

Internal -

DPMU

„Previously-established

SHGs‟ mean those established before the

project and achieving A

Grade status.

1.3 At least 60% of the Project SHGs

achieve “A” Grade.

% of SHGs

25% of existing

SHGs are

in “A” Grade

0

0

20%

40%

60%

Annually

PFT Reports

Internal-

DPMU

„ Criteria for ‘A’ Grade has

been given in detail in

COM.

1.4 At least 50% of

institutions created

are sustainable

% of

institutions

Not yet due

0

0

10%

30%

50%

At Baseline,

MTR (Y3)

and EOP

(End of

project,

Yr 5)

SHG,

Federation,

PO records

Internal –

DPMU‟s M&E

Coordinator

„Institutions‟ mean SHGs, SHG Federations and POs.

„Sustainable‟ means that

they meet their entire operating & maintenance expenses from internal

revenues.

1.5 At least 5% of

positions in traditional and formal village institutions are held by members of the most disadvantaged

households16

.

% of

positions

1%

15 0

16 1%

2%

17 3%

5%

18 Annually

Village

institution

records

Internal– DPMUs/PFT

1.6 At least 30% of

CSP are women.

% of para

professional

5%

5%

10%

20%

30%

30%

Annually

Block level re

cords

Internal – DPMUs/PFT

16 During the first year of implementation, some concrete indicators and mechanisms by which to measure the empowerment aspects of the proposed project will be developed.


127

PDO Level Results

Indicators* Co

re

Unit of

Measure

Baseline

Cumulative Target Values** Frequency

Data Source/

Methodology

Responsibility

for Data

Collection

Description

(indicator definition

etc.) YR 1 YR 2 YR 3 YR 4 YR5

1.7 At least 40% of Community Institutions have Representation of Tribal Communities

(Sikkim & Tripura)

% of Community Instituions

5% 25% 40% - - - Annually Records PFT Tribal Community

means perple

covered under TDF

1.8 At least 30% of Community Service Providers (CSP) and Community leaders are tribal (Sikkim & Tripura)

% of CSP and

community leaders

10% 20% 30% - - - Annually Records PFT CSP means resource

persons at village

level in order to

sustain the services

required by CBOs

Intermediate Result (Component Two): Economic Empowerment

2.1 A minimum of 60% of SHG women

members have

taken at least one

loan

% of SHG

women

members

30%

0%

15%

30%

45%

60%

Annually

SHG records

Internal – PFT

„Loans‟ can be from Financial institutions, Banks or inter-loaning.

2.2 At least 70% of the HH diversified or

up-scaled their

income-generating

activities

% of HH

Not yet

due

0

20%

40%

60%

70%

Annually

SHG records

Internal – DPMUs/ PFT

2.3 50% of women

SHG members

increase their

savings and

investments by at

least 50% above

their Year 1 levels.

% of SHG

women

members

Not yet

due

0

10%

20%

30%

50%

At MTR (Y3)

and EOP (end

of project)

SHG records


2.4 At least 50% village youths (women

and men) trained

under the project

are gainfully

employed .

% of youth

10%

0

20%

30%

40%

50%

At MTR (Y3)

and EOP (end

of project)



128

2.5 At least 50% of

households adopt

improved farm

and non-farm

technologies

promoted by the

project

% of HH

15%

0

20%

30%

40%

50%

Annually

Records of

Area

Coordinators

(under PFTs)


2.6 At least 40% of Tribal households are benefited by the Project Investment Support

% of Tribal Households

10% 20% 30% 40% - - Annually Records

PFT/DPMU

Intermediate Result (Component Three): Partnership Development 3.1 By end of Project,

at least 15% of project village level investments come from government and quasi government

sources.

% of village

investments

Not yet

due

0

0%

5%

10%

15%

Annually

Block

Development

Officer

Internal-

RPMU

3.2 At least 30% of the

women SHG

members, youth

and most

disadvantaged

HHs access credit

from formal

institutions

% of target

groups

accessing

credit

10%

0

0%

10%

20%

30%

Annually

Survey of

respondents

Internal-

DPMU/PFT/

Area

Coordinators

„Formal institutions‟ means Banks, Post Offices, MFIs.

3.3 Partnership is established with at

least eight

Technical Support

Institutes

# of TSIs

0

0

2

4

6

8

Annually

Survey

Internal-

DPMU

„Technical Support Institutes mean SIRD, NIRD, OKD, etc


129

3.4 Partnership is established

between at least

50% of

SHG/Federations

with Government/

commercial

organizations for

forward and

backward linkages

% of SHG/

Federations

0

0

20%

30%

40%

50%

Annually

SHG/

Federations

Internal-

DPMU/PFT

„Government

organizations‟ include APEDA, NERAMAC,

NEDFI, Seed

Corporation, etc

Intermediate Result (Component Four): Project Management 4.1 Project

management has

satisfactorily

addressed statutory

audit findings

according to

agreed NERLP

PIP and COM

standards

% of audit

findings

addressed

Not yet

due

70%

80%

90%

100%

100%

Annually

Action taken

report

Internal-

RPMU

4.2 Statutory audit reports are submitted to the Ministry of DoNER and World Bank as required

All reports

submitted

Not yet

due

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Annually

Action taken

report

Internal- -

RPMU

4.3 Project management acts on findings of M&E and social audit reports, following NERLP PIP business standards.

% of findings acted upon

Not yet due

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Annually

Action taken report

Internal-Project – RPMU

4.4 Complaints received by the Complaints Handling unit are addressed following NERLP PIP standards.

% of complaints

Not yet due

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Annually

Action taken report

Internal & External


130

14. ANNEXURE 14.1 Annexure – I: Profile of Livelihood Activities

The profile of some of the activities from different States is given in the Table below. However,

the activities are just indicative and not restrictive.

State Organization List of Activities

Tripura SHG Incense stick making, Bamboo-shoot production,

Floriculture, Pineapple, Piggery, Fishery, Puffed-rice

preparation, Piggery, Poultry, Rubber plantation, milk

production, etc

CDG Handicrafts, Bamboo plantation, Rubber plantation,

YG Vocational training for self employment in different trades

for entrepreneurship development, agriculture and

horticulture products processing plants

Federation Marketing of products of SHGs, Support Service,

Management & wider enabling of environment (State

level policies & processes in accordance with the

principles of good inter-project collaboration)

Mizoram SHG Livestock rearing ( Including Piggery, Poultry,

Sheep/Goat, Dairy Cows), Fish farming, Silkworm

rearing, Bee keeping, Ginger Passion fruit cultivation,

Mandarin Orange cultivation (Inter crop with banana),

Hartkora cultivation (Intercrop with Banana), Aloe Vera

plantation ( Intercrop with banana), Pineapple, Incense

stick making, Floriculture, Handicrafts, Bamboo

plantation, Rubber plantation, Red Oil Palm plantation,

mushroom cultivation, food processing, etc.

CDG Construction of Agriculture Link Roads, Rainwater

Harvesting structures, Rural Godowns, Irrigation canals,

Rural Market buildings, Cold Storages, etc.

YG Vocational training for self employment in different

trades, entrepreneurship development

Federation Marketing, Support Service, Management & wider

enabling of environmental preservation and protection,

procurement of Fish and Animal feeds, Marketing of

products of SHGs, development of SHGs, etc.

Nagaland

SHG Animal husbandry, backyard piggery, backyard poultry,

fishery, improved land management practices, perennial

cash crops, homestead garden, horticulture, sericulture

and silk handloom production


131

CDG Infrastructure development (renewable power and link

roads), appropriate technology for value addition,

environmental governance

YG Providing seed capital and tools for trade,

entrepreneurship, para techs, post harvest technology,

market chain analysis, operation of micro-macro business

plans, establishing market cell, establishment of collection

centre

Federation Marketing, providing support services to village market

committee, establish collection centre, villages cluster

formation, collaboration with SEZ and business partners,

rural godown, cold storage, Do it yourself training center

Sikkim SHG Small holder dairy farming, piggery, poultry, village

tourism, land development, horticulture (large cardamom,

ginger, fruit plants, floriculture (rose, cymbidium),

offseason vegetable, bee keeping, handicrafts, fodder

development, floriculture

CDG Spring-shed development, water storage tanks, stream

shed development

YG Vocational trainings, entrepreneurship seed funds,

placement support

Federation Marketing, village tourism promotion, value addition

plants, para technicians, bulk procurement of raw

material, rural godowns, cold storage


132

14.2 Annexure – II: Block wise phasing

The shaded areas indicate the operation of the project:

STATE

DISTRICT

Block

1st Year 2

nd to 5

th Year

T

R

I

P

U

R

A

W

E

S

T

Khatalia

Melaghar

Boxanagar

Bishalgarh

Jampuijala

Dukli

Hezamara

Mohanpur

Jirania

Mandwai

Mungiakami

Teliamura

Kalyanpur

Khowai

Tulashikhar

Padmabill

N

O

R

T

H

Kumarghat

Gaurnagar

Kadamtala

Panisagar

Dhamchhara

Pecharthal

Dasda

Jampuihill

N

A

G

A

L

A

N

D

P

E

R

E

N

Tenning

Peren

Jalukie

T

U

E

N

S

A

N

Longkhim

Chare

Noksen

Sangsangyu

Shamator

Chessore


133

G Noklak

Thonoknyu

M

I

Z

O

R

A

M

A I Z A W L

Phullen

Aibawk

Darlawn

Thingsulthliah

Tlangnuam

L U N G L E I

Lungsen

Bunghmun

Lunglei

Hnahthial

S I K K I

M

S O U T H

Namchi

Jorethang

Namthang

Ravongla

Yangang

Temi tarku

Sumbuk

Sikkip

W E S T

Gyalshing

Soreng

Yuksom

Dentam

Kaluk

Daramdin

E A S T

15 Panchayat Wards


134

14.3 Annexure – III: Potential agencies for partnerships

Potential Agencies for partnerships

Providing Microfinance:

Commercial Banks, NEDFI, SIDBI, NABARD, RGVN, Basix, TMN

Capacity building of community groups:

IFC-SEDF, RGVN, Myrada, PRADAN, NERCORMP, APMAS, Sa-Dhan, and

freelance experts in this field

Technical knowhow and linkage for value chain investment: ITC, Indian Grameen

Services, PRADAN, Amul, Druk, etc.

Technical support in training in agriculture, dairy, handicrafts, etc. to community

organizations and CRPs:

CBTC, NEHHDC, People’s Science Institute (PSI) Dehradun, ICIMOD, food/Fruit

processing organizations like CFTRI, RRL, BAIF, Amul, Training institutions like

IHM etc. It should be possible to similarly link up with government departments and

government supported autonomous institutions.

Market linkages for sustainable buyback of producer organization products:

NDDB, NEHHDC, DMI, NERAMAC, IFC-SEDF, State Marketing Boards, CBTC,

MART, GTZ-Nepal, private companies, FINER, Fair Trade organization, etc.

Natural Resource Management and Livelihoods:

ICIMOD, PRADAN, ATREE, Organic Farmers Association, various government and

semi-government organizations.

Rural Infrastructure:

Government departments implementing rural development schemes, agencies dealing

in renewable energy sources, electricity boards, mobile telephony and internet service

providers, etc.

Tourism:

Indian Association of Tour & Travel Operators, Travel Agents Association of India,

SOTC, Jungle Travels, Hotel Management Institutes, Tourism Departments of four

states, Rural Tourism operators etc.


135