PACS Programme stories of self help, empowerment, initiatives against poverty.

PACS Programme stories of self help, empowerment, initiatives against poverty.

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NREGS implementation: CSOs urged to use legal remedies
At an NREGS Bundelkhand cluster-level workshop, held in October 2008, participants felt that the time has come to think of using legal remedies to ensure proper implementation of the scheme in Uttar Pradesh.

Payment delays negate NREGS objectives
While wells may be constructed on private land, under the NREGS, delayed wage payments have driven beneficiaries to debt. This was one of the key issues that emerged from cluster workshops held in Madhya Pradesh under the third phase of the PACS Programme's NREGS Campaign 2008.

NREGS helps prevent migration, but suffers due to indifferent administration
NREGS can reduce migration if local administrations take a proactive approach. This was one of the key points that emerged from a cluster level advocacy workshop held in Nagpur in October 2008.

NREGS does not help poor families escape poverty trap
The NREGS only helps poor families survive, without them having to migrate for work; the minimum wage provided does not help families plan for a better life. This point was forcefully made at a regional workshop held in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, on October 17, 2008.

Incomplete well construction in MP wastes NREGS money
Many wells built under the NREGS on private farmlands in Madhya Pradesh were left incomplete before the monsoons and have since collapsed. As a result, potential beneficiaries have suffered in more ways than one

NREGS helps halt migration in UP village
Under the leadership of a public-spirited pradhan, guided by a PACS Programme CSO, a small village in Banda district has shown how the NREGS can meet its lofty goals.

Villagers in MP demand 150 days of employment under NREGS
Helped by the gramdhoot network, five villages in Saunsar tehsil, in Chhindwara district, have passed resolutions demanding 150 days of work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, to offset the rise in prices.

Women denied NREGS benefits in several ways
Poor women are denied NREGS benefits in several subtle and explicit ways. Women who are organised and widows often suffer the most.

Unhelpful officials hamper NREGS implementation in MP

The first phase of the PACS Programme's NREGS Campaign 2008 in Madhya Pradesh showed that local functionaries are reluctant to help people receive their entitlements.

NREGS in Bihar: A view from the ground
Amidst widespread ignorance and official apathy, there were some positive outcomes from the first phase of the PACS Programme's NREGS Campaign 2008.

"NREGA has improved the quality of life of wage-earners"
Manoj Kumar Singh, Commissioner, Department of Rural Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh, speaks to us on implementation of the NREGS in the state.

Poor implementation of NREGS in Bihar
The first phase of the PACS Programmes NREGS Campaign 2008 in Bihar found tremendous lack of awareness among people and disinterest on the part of poorly trained staff.

Village campaign reveals low awareness of NREGS in Chhattisgarh
The first phase of the PACS Programmes NREGS Campaign in Chhattisgarh revealed extremely low awareness levels on key provisions of the scheme.

Village meetings discuss MREGS issues
In the second phase of the PACS Programmes NREGS Campaign in Maharashtra, village-level meetings were organised from August 5 to 26, 2008, in 97 villages.

"We have roped in SHGs to help create awareness"
S M Raju, Special Secretary, Rural Development Department, Bihar, speaks to us on implementation of the NREGS in his state.

MREGS brings benefits to remote tribal village
The Maharashtra Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has helped raise the living standards of tribal families in remote Mahur block, in Nanded district.

Middlemen, institutional lacunae key areas of concern in Jharkhand NREGS
Middlemen, inadequate institutional arrangements and new methods of corruption are major hindrances in implementation of the Jharkhand Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Systematic denial of NREGS benefits in UP
The first phase of NREGS Campaign 2008 uncovered and resolved several systematic forms of denial of benefits promised under the scheme, in Uttar Pradesh.

MREGS picks up in Hingoli
After a poor start, the Maharashtra Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MREGS) has picked up tempo in Hingoli district of Marathwada, due to efforts of a proactive administration and a PACS Programme CSO network.

PACS Programme CSOs to monitor major tree plantation drive
CSOs working in seven districts of UP Bundelkhand are helping monitor a major tree plantation drive being implemented under the NREGS.

Bihar government support for PACS Programme's NREGS campaign
District-level officials in Bihar have been instructed to support PACS Programme CSOs in various activities related to NREGS Campaign 2008.

MREGS faces unique challenges in Marathwada
Even when implemented by proactive panchayats, the MREGS does not benefit everyone in Marathwada.

NREGS: Nanded shows the way
A partnership between civil society organisations and district authorities has resulted in smooth and effective implementation of the Maharashtra Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Nanded.

Will maibaap sarkar hear me?
With gram sevaks openly opposed to the NREGS, landless people in dry areas of Maharashtra are being driven to desperation.

NREGS campaign spurs people, officials to action
A PACS Programme campaign mobilised people and officials into action under the NREGS in several parts of Maharashtra.

Village campaigns expose poor state of MREGS
A PACS Programme campaign shows that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is being poorly implemented in many parts of Maharashtra.

PACS Programme among 50 pioneers of change
The PACS Programme has been selected by India Today magazine as one of 50 pioneers of change in India.

PACS Programme launches NREGS awareness and advocacy campaign
An intensive campaign to increase the reach and effectiveness of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) has been launched in the six PACS Programme states.

Working with Bihar’s Muslims
While initiating change in the Bihar’s largely rural and backward Muslim community is a big challenge, some PACS Programme efforts show promising directions

Unions of agricultural labourers bring multiple benefits in Marathwada
Rural unions formed or strengthened under the PACS Programme have improved livelihood security and empowered members.

Gaon sabha campaign across backward regions of Maharashtra
The PACS Programme facilitated 1,053 village meetings in 2007-08, across Marathwada and Vidarbha, to articulate development-related demands of poor and marginalised people.

Chingari sanghatan trains spotlight on Madhoupur
A village-level people’s advocacy forum in Madhoupur, Banda, has put sustained pressure on the administration and captured the attention of the media and key political leaders.

Huge rally of marginalised groups in Marathwada
Over 15,000 people from marginalised groups like dalits, adivasis and ‘denotified’ tribes participated in a rally organised with PACS Programme support in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, on January 27, 2008.

Gender challenges in Bundelkhand
A veteran women’s activist from Bundelkhand feels working with adolescent girls and sensistising men should be priorities in this largest backward region of the country.

Rural women discuss empowerment issues
Women from some of the poorest parts of India raised fundamental questions about empowerment at the ‘What it takes to eradicate poverty’ conference organised by the PACS Programme in Delhi on December 4-6, 2007.

CSOs decry powerlessness of gram sabhas
There is a fundamental clash of interest between the State and local self-governance bodies, said speakers at the PACS Programme’s national poverty conference.

Spirit and practice of PACS Programme will continue
DFID announced its resolve to support a second phase of the PACS Programme at the national poverty conference held in Delhi on December 4-6, 2007.

GoI invites civil society support for Eleventh Five-Year Plan implementation
A key Eleventh Five-Year-Plan goal can be achieved only by CSOs, declared Union Rural Development Minister Dr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh at the PACS Programme’s national poverty conference held in Delhi on December 4-6, 2007.

PACS Programme CSOs urged to aim for higher targets
The chairman of the PACS Programme’s National Advisory Board and its chief advisor urged CSOs to work for higher entitlement realisation and poverty eradication targets at the valedictory session of the national poverty conference held on December 6, 2007.

DFID to lay emphasis on social inclusion
Issues such as women getting lower wages and dalit children being made to do menial tasks in schools would be addressed in the second phase of the PACS Programme

A platform for marginalised folk artistes
With support from the PACS Programme, non-professional folk singers and dancers from poor and backward communities in Bundelkhand now have a platform to showcase their talent.

Monitoring the NREGS in Gadchiroli
A PACS Programme partner was recently involved in training people to conduct NREGS social audits and carry out these audits in 40 gram panchayats of Maharashtra’s remote Gadchiroli district.

Keeping track of NREGS in Nawada
A PACS Programme CSO conducted a series of surveys over a year to track implementation of the NREGS in 20 villages in Rajauli block, Nawada, Bihar.

Advocacy initiatives in Maharashtra
Several advocacy initiatives have been launched recently in Maharashtra on the issues of trafficking of women and children, child rights, drought, dalit land rights, and joint forest management policies.

Children address policymakers in Mumbai
At a unique state-level children’s convention, organised under the aegis of the PACS Programme in Mumbai, on October 4, 2007, the children did most of the talking, and the policymakers had to listen.

PACS Programme partners bag prestigious awards in Bihar
Initiatives undertaken under the PACS Programme won three of the five top prizes for innovation in rural livelihood interventions in Bihar, in a competition organised by a World Bank-supported forum.

Development for the people, by the people
Community-based groups in Dakor block, Jalaun district, Uttar Pradesh, prioritise and initiate action on pressing development issues in their villages.

The challenge of working with Lalitpur’s Sahariya widows
Improving the livelihood security of largely illiterate Sahariya women whose husbands have died working in stone quarries in Lalitpur (UP) is a formidable challenge.

Grain banks provide food security in Betul
A PACS Programme CSO working in the tribal belt of southern Madhya Pradesh has improved the food security of people and helped them break the vicious cycle of debt, by promoting grain banks.

Unemployed youth try their hand at cooperative farming
An initiative by a group of unemployed rural youth in Maharashtra’s Buldhana district could provide a platform for active promotion of joint farming in the state.

Girl groups become agents of change
A PACS Programme CSO in Uttar Pradesh’s backward Hardoi district gives adolescent girls an education, and much more.

Social audit reveals blatant fraud in UP NREGS
A social audit of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), carried out in Chitrakut district, Uttar Pradesh, in June 2007, revealed blatant fraud and misappropriation of funds.

A lifetime of living on one meal a day
Isolated politically and socially, the Musahars of eastern Uttar Pradesh are among the world’s most food-insecure communities. It will take years of sustained effort to ensure that they enjoy a life of dignity, with food security and prospects for a brighter future.

Gaya’s Musahars get legal rights to shelter
In Bihar’s Gaya district, a PACS Programme CSO and its partners are helping the marginalised Musahars get homestead documents.

PACS Programme adds value to World Bank project
A PACS Programme partner in Madhya Pradesh has successfully converged its programme project with the World Bank-supported Madhya Pradesh District Poverty Initiative Programme.

Rampant overuse of groundwater in drought-prone parts of Maharashtra
A study of data collected by Maharashtra drought forum partners from 804 villages in drought-prone parts of the state shows that rich farmers openly flout legal provisions to prevent overuse of precious groundwater resources.

Systematic struggle kick-starts NREGS in remote Manpur
After an 18-month struggle led by PACS Programme CSOs and community-based organisations, people in the remote Manpur block in Chhattisgarh have got substantial entitlements under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA).

Giving manual scavengers back their dignity
A PACS Programme CSO in Mau has had some success in creating alternative livelihood opportunities for the extremely excluded community of manual scavengers.

In a land not so alien
A PACS Programme partner faces severe challenges in its efforts to bring a community of East Bengal refugees living in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district into the mainstream.

Fighting fear and eviction in Jyuti
A remote region in Maharashtra is full of stories of non-tribals grabbing tribal land. Restoring land rights by legal means is only half the challenge. The bigger challenge is giving tribals the courage to resist re-eviction.

Marginalised Musahars dialogue with political parties
The socially and politically isolated Musahar community in eastern Uttar Pradesh took a giant step when members of the community interacted with political party candidates for state assembly elections, and put forward a charter of demands.

Ramgarh’s women fight for water
The women of Ramgarh village in drought-affected Bundelkhand have battled administrative apathy and the non-cooperative attitude of elected representatives to find a solution to the severe water problem they face.

Moving from traditional craft to commercial art
A PACS Programme partner in Maharashtra is helping a nomadic community develop its traditional craft of weaving blankets into a commercially viable art.

38,000 families get work under NREGS in UP’s PACS Programme districts
Despite adverse circumstances, PACS Programme partners have been quite successful in promoting the NREGS in Uttar Pradesh.

In a land of locked homes…
Battered by a third consecutive year of drought, thousands of families in Tikamgarh district in Madhya Pradesh have been torn apart by forced migration.

Turning barren land green
A PACS Programme partner is helping dalits in Marathwada turn their barren plots of land into green, productive assets.

Elderly get a voice in MP’s panchayats
A PACS Programme partner has successfully advocated for a government order to include issues concerning the elderly in the agendas of gram sabha or panchayat meetings, in Madhya Pradesh.

Pani Morcha resolves 30-year struggle for water
A Jharkhand-based CSO has demonstrated how morchas, or people-based platforms organised around a particular issue, can yield tangible results.

Women fight for development in Hamirpur
Women belonging to a pressure group in Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh, lobbied the district administration until it provided teachers for local schools and responded to other important demands.

‘Soochna praharis’ spread RTI awareness in rural Bihar
In Bihar’s Madhubani district, volunteers known as ‘soochna praharis’ are helping rural people use their right to information

SHGs cash in on organic farming
Self-help groups (SHGs) in Betul, Madhya Pradesh, are realising the benefits of using and selling organic fertiliser, with the help of a PACS Programme partner.

Adivasis involved in Gandhian struggle to reclaim land
A hundred Santhal families in Giridih, Jharkhand, are involved in a non-violent struggle to reclaim 24 acres of land illegally claimed by a landlord.

SHGs: A recipe for long-term success
A Bihar-based PACS Programme resource organisation has shown that self-help groups that set low savings targets have better chances of survival and growth than groups that seek to build a large corpus of funds quickly.

Innovative women literacy programme launched
The PACS Programme has launched an innovative programme to make 50,000 self-help group women members literate across five PACS Programme states by December 2007

Mahila dalans help poor get quick justice in Nawada
Women’s groups known as mahila dalans, set up in several villages in Bihar’s Nawada district, solve local disputes easily and quickly.

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