State attracts study teams from outside

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even when Kerala is groping in the dark about the future of its Centrally- sponsored schemes in view of the trifurcation of the Local Self Goverment Department, it is still the hottest destination for other states when it comes to learning the basics of community enterprises and rural development.A team from Maharastra would be the latest to arrive the state to learn about the Kudumbashree model, its functions, structure, enterprises it runs, self-help groups and its various initiatives. The exposure visit is part of implementing National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) in Maharastra. The 20-member team will visit select places in the state where Kudumbashree has scripted success stories in various enterprises, including, garment-making, food production and agriculture. The team will arrive on June 5 and will meet the Panchayats Minister and other officials during their four-day visit. The team includes 12 chief executive officers of the Zilla Parishads in Maharastra, 12 Project Directors of DRDAs, some  NGOs and NRLM core team members from Maharastra. It is not for the first time that Kudumbashree and Kerala model community development and women empowerment initiatives have attracted interest from outside the state. The Society for Elimination of Poverty, Andhra Pradesh had visited the state a few months ago and visited the Asraya projects of Kudumbashree in four districts. A team from Chattisgarh, led by its Chief Secretary, had visited Kerala recently to take a first-hand look at the units run by Kudumbashree. A team, led by World Bank representative Narendar Kante, also had come to the state to learn about micro-finance and women empowerment schemes of Kudumbashree. A team, led by Pradhan, a NGO, which had members from Jharkhand, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, had also visited the state as part of their NRLM study. And so had a team from UNDP which had expressed interest in the MIS facility and Sree Sakthi portal of Kudumbashree. While exposure visits were made by teams from South Africa and Uttaranchal, a team from Madhya Pradesh, is leart to  be preparing for a visit for similar reasons. Meanwhile, the state is yet to restructure its framework as per the demands of the new trifurcated situation. Though the internal talks have begun, the framework would take at least two weeks to be finalised, the officials said.