Tamil Nadu Puthu Vazhvu Project : Project Goal and Objectives

The overall goal of the project is to support Government of Tamil Nadu's strategy of reducing rural poverty with special focus on the poorest of the poor through support for productive activities and investments, using the Community-driven Development (CDD) approach.

The specific project objectives are to improve the livelihoods and empower the target rural poor in Tamil Nadu (particularly women and other disadvantaged groups) through:

1. Developing and strengthening pro-poor local institutions/groups (including village panchayats);
   
2. Building skills and capacities of the poor; and
   
3. Financing productive demand-driven subproject investments.

Project Outcomes and Key Monitoring Indicators

The main project outcomes include:

• Empowerment of rural poor enhanced largely through formation of self-sufficient and self-managed community-based organizations (Self-help Groups, Economic Activity Groups, Panchayat Level Federations, EAG Federations and Vulnerability and Solidarity Groups, Cluster/Block Federations, Block Disability Federations) servicing the needs of the poor
  
• Household income of the poor increased and/or income sources diversified.
  
• Increased access to the livelihood options, institutions, access to credit at flexible terms, services, reduced indebtedness and community based rehabilitation for the vulnerable and disabled.
  
• Local Governments are more inclusive and responsive to the needs of the poor.

The Key Monitoring indicators are:

• Increase in incremental income by 20% against base year for 50 % of the target households by end of project (EOP)
  
• At least 50% of target households have entered the non-farm sector and have diversified income sources.
  
• At least 70% of project induced CBOs (VPRCs and EAGs) have accessed funds as per project rules
  
• At least 70% of SHGs / EAGs have accessed funds through linkage with banks and other financial resources
  
• Performance of atleast 70% of CBOs supported by project are independently rated as good in a classification of good, average and poor.

Project Strategies

1. Developing and strengthening pro-poor local institutions/groups - Nurturing Institutions of the poor by supporting formation, strengthening and empowering self-managed community organizations:

• The project will facilitate identification of poor and poorest especially women, disabled and vulnerable and mobilize them to form into self-managed community organizations like Self-help Groups (SHGs), Village Poverty Reduction Committees (VPRCs) etc.,
  
• Sensitizing the Gram Panchayat (GP) towards becoming pro-poor by building their capacities as well as providing incentive fund. Similarly, other line departments will also be sensitized.

2. Building skills and capacities of the poor

• The skills and capacities of the poorest and poor including Disabled and Most Vulnerable, their representatives, and community service providers need to be developed so that they manage their institutions and influence the local organizations to be inclusive and responsive to the needs of the poor.
  
• Enhancing the livelihoods of the target population by imparting/ enhancing their skills.

3. Financing productive demand-driven subproject investments

• Community (rural poor - women, Disabled and Most Vulnerable) themselves with the support and facilitation help from the project and other service providers will identify potential ideas, develop village livelihood plans and proposals for enhancing their livelihoods.
  
• The project will provide technical support for the preparation of village livelihood plans and proposals by building the capacities of the service providers identified by the poor from within the community, sensitizing the Line Departments and Bankers, developing forward and backward linkages and identifying and establishing partnerships
  
• The project proposals, which meet the basic principles and guidelines of the project, will be financed. The project finance is seen as a leverage fund so as to access credit from banks and other sources.
  
• The project will also support innovations in livelihoods enhancement and the successful results of the innovation projects will be disseminated to the communities constantly.

Project Scope

It is envisaged that the project will cover around 350,000 target families (1.75 million populations out of the total population of 6.67 million including SC/ST population of 2.0 million) in 2300 Gram Panchayats comprising 12185 habitations in 70 backward blocks spread over 15 districts (click here to see the map of project districts). The target population under this project will primarily be:

• Very poor and poor households.
  
• Most vulnerable, destitute, widows, aged.
  
• Marginalized communities and sections.
  
• Differently-abled (disabled).

The targeting will be based on participatory identification of poor. The list will contain separately the destitute, vulnerable and disabled, and these poor will be specifically targeted first in this project.