Community Empowerment > Leadership development among bonded laborers and landless dalits and adivasis to reduce distress migration by ensuring proper implementation of government schemes in Odisha

Leadership development among bonded laborers and landless dalits and adivasis to reduce distress migration by ensuring proper implementation of government schemes
State: Odisha
NGO: Gram Pragati Parivesh Vikas Pratisthan

Summary:
Through this project, Gram Pragati Parivesh Vikas Pratisthan (GPPVP) is developing leadership across the districts of Bargarh, Balangir, Kalahandi, Nuapada and Sundargarh in Western Odisha among landless and bonded laborers, most of whom are either adviasis or dalits. Various activities are being arranged to make people aware of government laws and schemes, including but not limited to PDS, MGNREGA and FRA. The focus is on ensuring that people obtain ownership of land in order to reduce incidents of distress migration and bonded labor.

Details:​​​​

• To date, GPPVP has rescued over 500 bonded laborers, re-enrolled over 150 children whose education was interrupted by migration in school, and helped over 100 families obtain homestead land and pucca housing. The organization has also helped secure over 4000 acres of land under the forest rights act for over 1000 families.
  
• Workshops are being organized in each district to make participants aware of government laws and schemes. Interfacing with Sub District Level Committee, Forest Department, Revenue Department and ST & SC Welfare Department is being facilitated. Program Facilitators are being trained in each district to ensure people continue to follow up even when government bureaucracy makes success difficult. 
  
• Interfacing with other movement is being done to learn how livelihoods can be developed on the newly obtained land.