By Faizan Ahmad
PATNA: Chief minister Nitish Kumar stressed
the need for giving more representation to women in the primary
agriculture credit societies (PACS). Reservation could be a way but other
options are also being discussed to increase their representation, which is at
present 15% only, he said on Saturday while inaugurating the women's
cooperative conference for developing women cooperative movement in Bihar.
"The public distribution system (PDS)
shops will be given to PACS and self-help groups (SHGs) on priority
basis," he announced.
Pleased with the successful implementation of
various schemes for women empowerment and visibly impressed with the working of
women elected to various rural and urban bodies, the CM recalled his meeting
with Urmila Devi, a woman associated with a self-help group (SHG) in Kaimur.
During his seva yatra in Kaimur last month,
Urmila had met the CM and told him about the fraud committed by a bank in
releasing the loan of Rs 1.25 lakh to her under a scheme wherein each
beneficiary was to get a sum of Rs 1.25 lakh from the state government also.
She told him in detail how the bank denied her the government's share and also
fixed interest on the bank loan. "Nobody ever told me about this but for
that woman. I raised the issue with the bankers during the state-level bankers
committee meeting last week," CM said, praising the woman for pointing out
with clarity such a glaring irregularity.
He said women have carved out ways for their
financial uplift through SHGs and PACS. "Through these initiatives, women
are showing their power (nari shakti)," he said.
Stating that the Mahila Akshar Anchal scheme
of the state government was a huge success with over 32 lakh women made
literate, Nitish announced to launch a similar scheme exclusively for the
Mahadalit women whose literacy rate was abysmally low. He said, in census 2011, Bihar
topped in the decadal growth in women literacy.
The CM took a dig at his arch-rival Lalu
Prasad, without taking his name, for advocating presence of the husbands of
elected women representatives in panchayats. "The interference of MPs
(mukhiya pati) and SPs (sarpanch pati) has been checked. Still, some incidents
are reported. We have decided to take action against them," he said.
Commenting on the participation of a large
number of women associated with PACS and SHGs from rural areas in the
conference, deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi said this was the biggest
congregation of women at one function. He said the target was to help
constitute 10 lakh SHGs in the state.
Cooperative minister Ramadhar Singh said
Mahila cooperative banks would be opened in Patna and Nalanda and a haat would
be established in Patna, on the pattern of the one existing in Delhi, for
providing market for the products of the cooperative societies.
Adviser to Gender Programme International
Cooperative Alliance, Asia Pacific, Savitri Singh, president of Astha Mahila
Nagrik Sahkari Bank, Bhopal, Arti Bisaria, and retired IAS official S Jalja
highlighted women's role in cooperative movement.
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