Cuttack: Dispute over restructuring of Mission Shakti has intensified in the Orissa high court with the number of petitions challenging the new guidelines issued by the state govt going up to 40.The legal challenge first came after the Mission Shakti department issued new restructuring guidelines to district collectors on Jan 22, with a four-month implementation deadline. On April 17, the HC partially halted the restructuring process by issuing a stay order on two provisions — clauses 5.10 and 5.11 — in the new guidelines after a Mission Shalti federation from Keonjhar district filed a petition alleging that the two provisions were “arbitrary and illegal”. When the hearing was taken up on Thursday, the court found that 39 more Mission Shakti federations from different districts had filed petitions seeking intervention against the two provisions.Accordingly, the bench of Justice Sashikanta Mishra scheduled the petitions for analogous hearing on July 4 and extended till then the stay order on the two provisions. The bench also directed the state govt to file respective counter affidavits to the petitions by then. Clause 5.10 states that “no member can be an office-bearer (OB) for two consecutive terms”. As per Clause 5.11, “in any executive committee (EC) at any community institution level (CLF, GPLF, BLF and DLF), only one member from a family shall be eligible to become the member of EC. Other family members, members of extended families or close relatives of such family shall not be eligible to become EC members of the same community institution”. President of Nikhila Odisha Jeebika Mission EC Sangha, Jayanta Das, said, “The outcome of the petitions assume significance as it involves the interest of 12 lakh women working in self-help groups (SHGs).”Mission Shakti serves rural women through SHGs across the state, focusing on microfinance, livelihood generation and community welfare activities. In reply to the first petition, the state govt in a counter affidavit placed before the court on Thursday claimed that the planned Mission Shakti restructuring process would lead to 1.24 million new office-bearers at the SHG level and 1.15 million executive committee members at the CLF level assuming leadership positions. Overall, more than 3.5 million women members across various institutional levels will get the opportunity to hold leadership roles in SHGs and their federations, the guidelines stated.