D. Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala, formally inaugurated 5,001 self-help groups (SHG) at Kotnoor Mutt on the outskirts of the Kalaburagi city on Wednesday.
Addressing the inaugural function of Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP), Mr. Heggade emphasised on the need for women’s empowerment to strengthen and provide greater financial support to their families with a goal of poverty alleviation through social mobilisation for achieving sustainable livelihoods.
The aim of the SKDRDP is to create a platform for empowering women through training programmes, Mr.Heggade said. Supervisors and volunteers appointed at each hobli level will help SHG members know the benefits and proper utilisation of various government schemes, besides training them to use advanced agricultural technologies to increase production and generate additional income.
Expressing displeasure over myriad problems in rural parts such as poor wages, distress migration, malnutrition and lack of quality healthcare and education facilities, Mr. Heggade said SHGs will help improve economic condition of the members and instil self-confidence in the women.
The SHGs have been linked with banks for micro financing. Under the SDRDP programme, banks will provide a loan of Rs. 50,000 to SHG for initially starting its venture. The funding could increase up to Rs. 3 lakh depending on the performance of the SHG.
Since February, the SKDRDP has set up 5,000 SHGs with 55,300 members in Kalaburagi. Mr. Heggade added that the Rural Development Project had helped over 3.5 lakh SHGs across the state. In the last 30 years, SKDRDP had helped SHGs in getting financial assistance of more than Rs. 5,000 crore to take up self-employment with the help of Banks.
Murugarajendra Swami of Mugulkod Jidga Mutt, Basavaraj Patil Sedam,MP, and H.L.Manjunath, SKDRDP executive director were present.
