Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (JKRLM) on Sunday launched a three-day Union Territory-level training programme on the Village Poverty Reduction Plan (VPRP) to strengthen community-led rural development and improve the participation of rural women in local planning.
The programme aims to train resource persons, district teams and block mission coordinators to prepare community-based plans and incorporate the needs of vulnerable households into the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).
The VPRP is a grassroots planning exercise led by Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and their federations under the guidelines of the Ministries of Panchayati Raj and Rural Development. It seeks to ensure that community priorities are reflected in local development agendas.
The plans cover social entitlements, livelihoods, social development, public services and resource development. Once finalised, they will be integrated into the GPDPs and presented before Gram Sabhas for consideration.
The training programme includes practical sessions on digital mapping, consolidation of community demands and presentation of plans before Gram Sabhas. Professionals from the National Mission Management Unit (NMMU) and state resource persons are facilitating the sessions through workshops, demonstrations and peer-learning activities.
JKRLM Mission Director Dr Shubhra Sharma said the initiative aimed to strengthen grassroots democracy by enabling rural women and SHG federations to identify local needs and participate in development planning.
The programme is expected to conclude with frameworks for submitting community demand plans and integrating them into forthcoming Gram Panchayat Development Plans.
