Govt's push for OPELIP-II with a loan component raises posers

THE state government is pushing for the second phase of Odisha PVTG Empowerment and Livelihoods Improvement Programme (OPELIP-II) with International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) support.

- HEMANT KUMAR ROUT @Bhubaneswar

The ST and SC Development department has proposed to implement OPELIP-II with an estimated ₹2,422.13 crore from IFAD which includes a loan component of ₹734.86 crore.

However, the government decision to use a loan from the international agency even when the Centre has two important schemes - PM-JANMAN Mission for PVTG development and PM Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan -for saturation of existing schemes in all tribal villages with a combined allocation of over ₹1 lakh crore for the country has baffled many.

Stakeholders, including economists and tribal activists have flagged concerns about the lack of accountability and duplication of efforts as they claim the second phase is planned without proper evaluation of outcome of the first.