The Kudumbashree Story

Women Empowerment

Ashraya

Ashraya is an integrated project aimed at identification and rehabilitation of destitute families. Started in 2002 as a follow up of the Kudumbashree initiative to identify the families that had been left out even from the outreach of decentralised planning and poverty alleviation programmes.

The scheme requires every Grama Panchayat to prepare separate micro-projects for each destitute household identified. These micro projects are then integrated with the annual plans of the Grama Panchayats. The scheme is financed by combining plan funds of the Grama Panchayats, contributions by Block and District Panchayats, centrally sponsored schemes, and State government funds.

During the first year of implementation, 101 Grama Panchayats in the State came up with projects, involving rehabilitating 8233 destitute families. The Grama Panchayats had been able to ensure institutional systems for the simultaneous implementation of multiple micro plans in the field.