Cuttack: Orissa high court has partially halted the restructuring of Mission Shakti by staying two provisions in the new guidelines. The provisions that were partially blocked by Justice Sashikanta Mishra in his April 17 order were Clause 5.10 and Clause 5.11.
Clause 5.10 states that “No member can be an Office Bearer (OB) for two consecutive terms”, while 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 member of the same Community Institution.”
Mission Shakti serves seven million rural women through self-help groups (SHGs) across the state, focusing on microfinance, livelihood generation and community welfare activities.
The legal challenge came after the Mission Shakti department issued new restructuring guidelines to district collectors on Jan 22, with a four-month implementation deadline. Baitarani Mission Shakti Federation from Keonjhar district filed the petition on April 15, arguing that the provisions were “arbitrary and illegal”.
The court has sought a counter-affidavit from the govt and scheduled the next hearing for May 15. The govt’s restructuring plan is aimed at creating leadership opportunities for 3.5 million women across various institutional levels, including 1.24 million new office-bearers at the SHG level.