Bhubaneswar: A few hours after Patnaik announced interest-free loans to women self-help groups (SHGs) under Mission Shakti, BJP leader Aparajita Sarangi raised doubts about the loans and distribution of seed money by the CM.
The former IAS officer, in her tweet Saturday, said the Women and Child Development department had asked Collectors to provide seed money to women SHGs October 15, 2018.
Why did the government wait till January? “Isn’t that a clear link between seed money and vote banking?” Sarangi asked.
She also said Nabard figures clearly showed that the average number of SHGs linked to bank finance in a year is 72,000. If six lakh SHGs actually exist in state and 72,000 are bank-linked, it reveals the absence of micro-enterprises and bankable activities.
ନାବାର୍ଡର ତଥ୍ୟ ସ୍ପଷ୍ଟ କରୁଛି ବାର୍ଷିକ ହାରାହାରି ୭୨ ହଜାର ମହିଳା ସ୍ୱୟଂ ସହାୟକ ଗୋଷ୍ଠି ବ୍ୟାଙ୍କ୍ ଋଣ ପାଉଛନ୍ତି । ଯଦି ୬ ଲକ୍ଷ ଗୋଷ୍ଠି ଅଛି ଏବଂ ଏଥିରୁ ମାତ୍ର ୭୨ ହଜାର ବ୍ୟାଙ୍କ ଋଣ ପାଉଛନ୍ତି ତାହାହେଲେ ଏହା ସ୍ପଷ୍ଟ କରୁଛି କ୍ଷୁଦ୍ର ଉଦ୍ୟୋଗ ଓ ବ୍ୟାଙ୍କ ସହାୟତାରେ କାର୍ଯ୍ୟକ୍ରମ ବହୁତ କମ ।
— Aparajita Sarangi ( Modi Ka Parivar) (@AprajitaSarangi) January 5, 2019
Justifying her argument, Sarangi said that in 2013-14, the state had 5.23 lakh women SHGs, and now the government claims three lakh new SHGs were set up after April 2017.
Taking this into account the total number of SHGs should be 8.23 lakh, but government figures show it as six lakh. The government should provide details about the remaining 2.23 lakh SHGs, she said.
“Anyone who paints a rosy picture of Odisha SHGs should come with me on a random tour to interact with members. I have seen despondency, lack of direction and guidance in initiating women SHGs into micro-enterprises,” Sarangi said.