Government of Nagaland (GoN) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tata Trusts to collaborate towards sustainable development and improvement of the overall quality of life of 10,000 households of eight blocks in three districts- Phek, Kiphire and Tuensang.
The MoU was signed by chief secretary, Pankaj Kumar, GoN and Burzis S. Taraporevala, Tata Trusts which shall be effective for a period of five years. The total outlay of the programme is Rs. 134 Crores.
Tata Trusts, through its associate organisation, the North East Initiative Development Agency (NEIDA) will implement the programme in Nagaland. NEIDA in co-ordination with the GoN will strive to reduce poverty for low income rural households in the state. The Trust will give a grant amount of Rs. 30 crores to NEIDA for implementing the programme. The remaining funds will be raised from various sources including the community and through credit linkages for the farmers.
“Through promotion of household level piggery enterprises, forest based livelihoods and conservation initiatives, market oriented agriculture and horticulture production activities we look forward to enabling each household to earn an income of Rs 1.5 lakhs per annum. Other pilot projects that are in the pipeline will focus on education, health, youth skill development, drinking water & sanitation to help improve the overall quality of life of the households in Nagaland.” said Deputy Development Manager, Tata Trusts & Executive Director, NEIDA, Ratno Dharani,.
The Tata Trusts will be the lead resource organization by providing technical and management support for the programme. It will design the implementation strategy and ensure an overall governance of the initiative, including financial due diligence.
GoN will synchronize actions of concerned government departments and agencies so that project objectives were successfully executed. Funding from the GoN will be expected in terms of co-financing the various programme activities through its schemes such as NSRLM, MGNREGA, RKVY and key development projects.
It may be noted that Tata Trusts has been supporting development initiatives in the state since 2009. They have funded community development projects through its local partners like the Nagaland Empowerment of People through Economic Development (NEPED), Nagaland Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM), Prodigals Home, Eleutheros Christian Society (ECS), Entrepreneurs Associate, Rongmei Baptist Association, Christian Institute of Health Sciences & Research, Agency for Porcine Foundation and Development of Nagaland.
Chief secretary, Pankaj Kumar welcomed the initiative taken by the Tata Trusts and assured that the state Government will lend all possible support towards achieving the target for the programme in the state.
“To review the progress of this collaboration as well as provide direction for future work, a State Level Steering Committee (SLSC) would be constituted under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, GoN. District Level Coordination Committees (DLCC) will be formed in relevant districts under the Chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) to assess the progress of the initiatives falling under this MoU and to discuss and resolve all outstanding issues,” said Mission Director, Nagaland State Rural Livelihoods Mission, Motsuthung Lotha.
Retired chief secretary and vice chairperson of NEIDA, Alemtemshi Jamir and officers of various line departments attended the MoU signing event held at the Conference Hall of the Chief Secretary’s Office.
NEIDA operates in three states and has its offices in Kohima, Aizawal and Papumpare. NEIDA will partner with select local NGOs and village level Project Management Committees (PMC).