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Dimapur, Aug. 11 (EMN): In a first of its kind in the state, a three-day physical training of trainers (ToT) on Village Poverty Reduction Plan (VPRP), organised by the Nagaland State Rural Livelihoods Mission (NSRLM), got underway on August 9 at Hotel Ura, Kohima.
According to an update from NSRLM, participants of the training included representatives from the Directorate of Rural Development, State Institute for Rural Development and assistant district program managers, district functional specialists (livelihoods) and thematic managers from NSRLM.
Resource persons are from Kudumbashree National Resource Organisation and TRIF Delhi.
“A key highlight of the ToT will be focused on digitalization of VPRP to be integrated to different ministries and departments. The mobile-based App will be managed by the community cadres after receiving training on the App and its usages,” it stated.
The joint secretary of MoRD, Nita Kejrewal, who joined the inaugural session online, spoke on the importance of understanding concepts, components and processes of VPRP and understanding roles of stakeholders both within the SRLM and in convergence with other line departments.
Kejrewal emphasised on providing support in training, preparation and integration of plans while informing that advisories were issued by MoRD and MoPR in 2018 about the preparation of VPRP plans by the SHG network. She further highlighted that 30 SRLMs have undertaken the exercise and submitted VPRPs in 1.2 lakh GPs in 2021-22, it stated.
Addressing the participants, the joint secretary and mission director of NSRLM, Imtimenla said, “The demands and plans in the VPRP can benefit the individual households and the community as it covers the entitlement demands, livelihoods demand and plans and also the public goods and services which will lead to social development.”
She stressed that the exercise has met with a series of challenges and underscored the need to ensure all plans are realized with the convergence efforts provided by the departments, the village councils and the SHG Federation.
She also expressed hope that with the introduction of the new App for VPRP, tracking and monitoring of the field level activities and plans would be more effectively managed. She further remarked that more proactive roles need to be carried out to make integration of the VPRP into GPDP more realistic with support from the nodal and line departments to ensure the grassroots village level plans brings about real development in the rural villages.
It stated that the resource persons would be taking the participants through intensive sessions on concept seeding and relevance of VPRP; comprehensive livelihood planning; introduction to an App specifically for VPRP with practice sessions; roles of community institutions; roles and responsibilities of stakeholders among others.
It mentioned that VPRP is a comprehensive demand plan prepared by the self help group (SHG) networks and their federations for projecting their demands and local area development, which would be integrated with the gram panchayat development plan (GPDP). It is a platform for community to present their aspirations and needs to be incorporated into the overall development plan of the village.