THE ATMASHAKTI TIMES

D A TE : D E C E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 1

Hope your christmas was joyous and full of festive fervor !! Wishing you a happy new year and praying that you are blessed with peace and prosperity around the year. We at Atmashakti are happy to share with you that in the last quarter, the entire Atmashakti team has worked very hard to bring a smile on the faces of our less fortunate brothers and sisters in Orissa (now Odisha) who were faced first with shortage of rainfall and then had to battle with floods!

STATUS UPDATE
The last quarter was a hectic one with travel to 8 of the 10 districts where we are working. Unfortunately all is not well in the state of Odisha and when we reflect on our field observations the situation appears rather grim. Some of the major issues identified are 1. The primary unit for implementation of MGNREGA is the gram(village) panchayat but practically all of the panchayat offices remain locked most of the time opening for a couple of days on a completely ad hoc basis. 2. A change in the job demand system makes it mandatory for individuals to fill something called a C-1 form. The total availability of these forms is only about 20% of the total number we need for our LOCKED PANCHAYAT limited intervention! 3. The panchayat/block work plans for the current year are well short of the estimated demand as we expect that more than 300,000 families will apply for work by December 11. 4. Delayed payments continue to be widespread leading to profound disinterest in taking MGNREGA work even though the alternatives in local areas provide wages
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which are 40% less than the MGNREGA wage of Rs. 125/- per day. Unfortunately many villages and remote hamlets continue to be left out of coverage of ICDS and do not have schools. So we have to go miles before we sleep.

ACTION TAKEN
1) We are focusing a great deal of our energies in intensively engaging with government officials starting with the very top(Panchayati Raj Secretary cum Commisioner) to the District collectors, Block Development Officers(BDOs) and Panchayat level functionaries. The response has been mixed and despite assurances the impact at the ground level is still to be felt. 2) We have taken a decision to THE WRITING ON THE WALL print/photocopy the C1 forms and recover the cost from families who are interested in work. 3) In some areas orders have been issued for the panchayat offices to be opened at least two days a week. 4) We have run an intensive campaign to clear all pending payments done in the period till June, and have met with considerable success on this score. 5) We have provided over 300 panchayats with estimates of the labour budget required for the current fiscal year so that sufficient work can be planned/provided. 6) We have put up wall paintings in over 2000 villages highlighting the provisions of MGNREGA with emphasis on the potential to earn Rs. 12,500/- by March 31st 12. On the issue of Food Security and inclusion in the BPL list, many successful rallies were conducted by peoples
OUR JANSATHIS
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organizations in many blocks with the highlight being the huge rally at Nayagarh on the issue of inclusion in the BPL list and addressing irregularities in PDS. We are planning to step up the campaign on food security with a number of public events and advocacy initiatives being planned in the next quarter to make sure that peoples voices are heard while the Food Security Bill is introduced in the parliament as well as when the poor of the country are counted again ! We are aiming not only to get near universal coverage to the poor under the Public Distribution System in Orissa but also increase the items that are available under PDS to include nutritious food like pulses.

OUR COVERAGE
We are happy to share that work has started in many blocks where Atmashakti has a presence but at this stage this is the veritable tip of the iceberg in terms of where we should be! We now have around 115 jansathis in place in the field and expect to gradually increase this number to around 150 by March12.We are not adding any new districts this year but expanding into new areas within the districts we are already covering. On a happy note, I would like to share with you that we have found a capacious office cum guest house in Bhubaneshwar at a very reasonable rent of Rs. 10,000/- p.m. We have also recruited two young and enthusiastic Programme Executives to be based in Odisha taking our strength to three. We would like to welcome Alip Oliver Pradhan and Bishwajeet Dash in to the Atmashakti fold. We hope that they contribute and grow our work and are also enriched in the process!

FINANCES
Against a total expenditure of just over Rs. 52 lakhs (5.2 million) last year, the first half of this year has seen an expenditure in excess of Rs. 45 lakhs. The second half will be higher on account of increased number of Jansathis, our personnel and an increase in honorariums from Oct 1st 11. On the resource mobilization front, Oxfam India has disbursed Rs.20 lakhs and we have been pledged support amounting to a little over Rs.8 lakhs from HDFC. Caring Friends (Mumbai) have been extremely generous and have bailed us out on more than one occasion when our bank balances were close to zero! As is obvious we continue to depend on your generous contribution and support as our needs are growing with expansion of both our work and our team.

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AS ALWAYS
Funds continue to be a problem and unfortunately, the situation doesnt seem to be getting any better. Once again thanks for your invaluable support and now that weve got some numbers to display please try and garner support from your friends and associates. We look forward to your continuing support, as also spreading the word and assisting us in garnering additional resources for this venture. Donation details are outlined at the end of the report. With best wishes, M.M. (Koko) Singh

APPEAL FOR DONATIONS

You are requested to support one or more such workers each of whom will cost only Rs.6,000/- per month. We will provide regular updates that fully account for your donations and detail the work that has been executed through various means such as the website, emails, social networks etc. Cheques can be made out to Atmashakti Trust Please pass this on to friends who may be interested in supporting us. Donations enjoy exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act

CONTACT DETAILS
Koko Singh The Atmashakti Trust 101A Friends Colony New Delhi 110065 Ph.: +91-11-41627576 Email: atmashaktitrust@gmail.com Web: www.atmashaktitrust.com

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