IFAD launches second phase Tribal livelihood programme

Bhubaneswar, Mar 27 (UNI) The International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) today launched its second phase Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihood Programme (OTELP) in three tribal districts.

The programme would ensure food and security to the tribals in the three districts- Rayagada, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur, which are also naxal dominated areas.

Prior to the launch of the programme, IFAD President Lennart Bage told newsmen that the programme was successfully implemented in Koraput, Kalahandi, Kandhmal and Gajapati districts in the first phase.

He said while in the first phase 396 villages were covered in the four distructs with a project outlay of 8.9 million US Dollars, the second phase would cover about nearly 75,000 households spread over 804 villages in the three districts with an investment of 30 million US Dollar.

Mr Bage said he along with the IFAD team visited some of the villages covered under the first phase and were satisfied with the success of the programme, which aimed at improving the overall quality of life through more efficient natural resource management.

He said at least 12 NGOs would be involved in the project to make the tribals manage their own development for capacity building, social security and livelihood income.

The tribals to be covered under the programme would have the access to the land for which the government would provide the land pass book.

Mr Bage also said the IFAD would only act as facilitator and the tribals would have their own development plan on watershed management for higher income generation.

However, he ruled out that there would be any problem in the implementation of the programme due to the presence of naxals saying that these were programmes prepared by the tribals and the entire money would be in the village account to be monitored by the Village Level Development Committee.

He said such programmes were also implemented smoothly in the naxalite prone Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand.

Official sources said the OTELP would have the total outlay of 91 million US Dollar over a period of ten years of which 22 per cent would be contributed by the IFAD, 44 per cent by the DFID, 12.3 per cent by the World Food Programme and the rest 11 per cent by the state government.

While the first phase of the programme was commissioned in 2004 the second phase would be completed by 2011.

UNI