Bareilly: District Magistrate Avinash Singh chaired a meeting of the District-Level Coordination Committee at the Collectorate auditorium on Saturday to review the progress of the Lakhpati Mahila Programme and the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) in Bareilly district.
During the meeting, the Deputy Commissioner, NRLM, informed the District Magistrate that Bareilly has been assigned a target of improving the incomes of 123,762 women members of self-help groups (SHGs) under the Lakhpati Mahila Programme. The initiative aims to economically empower women by enhancing their technical skills and promoting sustainable livelihoods through both agricultural and non-agricultural activities.
The Deputy Commissioner further informed the meeting that the district has been given a target of forming 26,883 new self-help groups during the financial year 2026-27. Taking serious note of the target, the District Magistrate directed all Block Development Officers (BDOs) to prepare monthly action plans and ensure progress in accordance with the assigned targets.
He also instructed officials to conduct regular reviews of the performance of village-level secretaries and take action against those found consistently underperforming.
The District Magistrate directed the Deputy Commissioner, NRLM, to regularly review the performance of all blocks and involve Panchayat Assistants, fair-price shop dealers, village secretaries and Assistant Development Officers (ADOs) in the campaign to accelerate the formation of self-help groups.
He further ordered daily monitoring of Block Mission Managers (BMMs) and directed that appropriate action be taken against personnel showing poor performance.
The meeting also reviewed delays in opening bank accounts for new and existing self-help groups. A large number of pending cases were reported in Bhadpura and Mirganj blocks. The District Magistrate directed the concerned BDOs and bank representatives to improve coordination and resolve the pending cases at the earliest.
He also instructed officials to organise special camps in every block to address banking-related problems faced by self-help groups and ensure that beneficiaries do not face unnecessary difficulties in accessing financial services.
During the review of the identification of potential Lakhpati Didis, officials informed the meeting that 55,489 potential beneficiaries had so far been identified across the district.
The District Magistrate directed officials to complete the remaining identification process at the earliest. He emphasised that the objective should not be limited to creating Lakhpati Didis but should also be to help women progress towards becoming “Crorepati Didis”.
For this, he called for the development of innovative livelihood models and directed officials to encourage and motivate community resource persons and sector-level officers involved in the programme.
The meeting was attended by the District Development Officer, Project Director of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Chief Veterinary Officer, District Panchayati Raj Officer, all Block Development Officers and representatives of various banks.
Report: Akhilesh Chandra Saxena, Bareilly
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