- Self Help Groups across the country being geared up to prepare the Village Poverty Reduction Plan for integration with the Gram Panchayat Development Plans.
- The Article 243G of the Constitution intended to empower the Gram Panchayats (GPs) by enabling the State Governments
- to devolve powers and authority in respect of all 29 Subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule
- For local planning and implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice.
- The local bodies (GPs) play a significant role in the effective implementation of flagship schemes on subjects of national importance, for transformation of rural India.
- In 2015, the Fourteenth Finance Commission grants were devolved to GPs that provided them with an enormous opportunity to plan for their development themselves.
- Since then, local bodies, across the country are expected to prepare context specific, need based Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDP).
- Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) brings together both the citizens and their elected representatives in the decentralized planning processes.
- GPDP is conducted from 2nd October to 31st December, every year across the country, under the People’s Plan Campaign (PPC).
- Since last two years, the PPC guidelines and the joint advisory issued by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ministry of Rural Development,
- has mandated Self Help Groups and their federations under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)
- To participate in the annual GPDP planning process and prepare the Village Poverty Reduction Plan (VPRP).
- VPRP is a comprehensive demand plan prepared by the Self Help Group (SHG) network and their federations
- For projecting their demands and local area development which needs to be integrated with the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).
- The VPRP is presented in the Gram Sabha meetings from Oct. to Dec. every year.
Objectives of VPRP are three-fold
- Prepare a comprehensive and an inclusive demand plan of the community for local development
- Facilitate an interface between the SHG federation and Panchayati Raj institutions for development of demand plan
- Strengthen the community based organisations and their leadership for active participation in poverty reduction activities
Components of VPRP
Demands under VPRP are categorized into five major components:
- Social inclusion – plan for inclusion of vulnerable people/household into SHGs under NRLM
- Entitlement – demand for various schemes such as MGNREGS, SBM, NSAP, PMAY, Ujjwala, Ration card etc.
- Livelihoods – specific demand for enhancing livelihood through developing agriculture, animal husbandry, production and service enterprises and skilled training for placement etc.
- Public Goods and Services – demand for necessary basic infrastructure, for renovation of the existing infrastructure and for better service delivery
- Resource Development – demand for protection and development of natural resources like land, water, forest and other locally available resources
- Social Development – plans prepared for addressing specific social development issues of a village under the low cost no cost component of GPDP