[special_heading title=”Odisha Shramajeebee Mancha (OSM)” animated=”no” font=”secondary” margin_bottom=”30″]

Odisha Shramjeebee Mancha (OSM) is a state level people’s collective formed in November 2012. The State level Sangathan took shape after regular discussion and consultation with 11 regional level Jan Sangathan’s of 10 districts from Central, Western and Southern parts of Odisha. Prior to forming state level sangathan with the help and guidance from Delhi based trust called Atmashakti Trust 11 regional level sangathans were formed. There were multiple reasons for forming peoples collective which will be managed by common people itself which are as follows:-

• Odisha has failed to make it out of the three bottom ranked states on criterion such as per capita income or Human Development Index (HDI) ranking.
• Around 85 percent of the population resides in rural areas.
• Agriculture is the mainstay but over 70 percent of the land is rain fed, single crop land and the forest cover in the state is over 30 percent.
• Adivasis constitute 22 percent while Dalits are 16 percent of the State population. Most of them are below poverty line and are deprived.

The initial Intervention started in Odisha with awareness generation on flagship right based act called MGNREGA. There were several challenges, Panchayat offices which are executing agencies were not operating, job demand forms were not available, machines were being used to do work instead of human labour, high rate of delayed payment etc.   Initially we printed MGNREGA application forms and circulated among the labourers through our grass root level workers, but soon it was realised that it’s not a sustainable process. To make the implementation smooth, we decided to prepare the beneficiaries for the larger battle. People have been suppressed for several years and they have seen several organisations and development schemes coming, doing things and leaving without any significant change in the lives of people. Things have not changed much at the ground level. Hence, mobilising and organising the masses into Sangathan to take collective action was the biggest challenge at that stage. It is from this vantage point that the involvement has begun.  We organised several rallies, dharna’s, protests, demonstrations, had discussions with government authorities, submitted memorandum, sent post cards through our regional as well as state level sangathan to make changes in the operational guidelines of act to make the act beneficiary friendly. Another very important Act on which OSM worked consistently was National Food Security Act. Prior to the enactment of act in the year 2013, we started campaigning along with other civil society organisations forgetting the Act sanctioned. After the implementation of Act in Odisha, we continuously spread awareness about the Act among the masses in our operational area through village meetings and by distributing pamphlets. Series of talks with state as well as local level government officials were held to put forward the grievances of people and make the ration card issuing process transparent and smooth.  Various rallies, dharnas and protests were organised to make government set exclusion and inclusion criteria so that real beneficiaries are included under the Act. To make available drinking water to each household the sangathan has worked at the grass roots to spread awareness about the schemes related to safe drinking water like 14^th Finance Commission and 4^th state finance commission, the role of panchayats, role of block etc. We organised post card campaign, rallies, Padyatra, cycle yatra and motor cycle yatra to put pressure on government so that it can form effective legislation to address drinking water issues. We also focused on small health kit and Herbal garden intervention in Kandhamal and organic farming intervention in Boudh.

Broadly speaking, for the past 9 years the People’s collective has been working in Odisha for the following:-

1. Creating awareness amongst the most marginalised and oppressed communities about their rights and entitlements.
2. Assisting these communities in accessing these entitlements.
3. Forming community based organisations at village, panchayat, block and district level, which over a period be empowered to tackle issues and obtain entitlements with minimal external influence.

In July 2009, with 48 field activists, the intervention began in 5 districts of Odisha with the support of following sangathans Adima Adivasi Ekta Manch and Satakoshia Padmatola Boudh, Jeebika Suraksha Mancha in Kandhamal, Loka Mukti Sangathan in Jharsuguda, Sangram Samiti in Sundargarh and Sambalpur. The operations in other areas extended during the course of intervention of seven years. Today in Odisha, the intervention is spread over 14 districts covering 57 blocks with an outreach to 1071-gram panchayats, where it has emerged as a catalyst and merged its identity as a civil society organisation with the movement.

Strategy of Intervention:

We work with an innovative strategy called “Activist Intervention Strategy’, where the interventions are neither based on a project nor are spontaneous .It is a strategy where marginalised and oppressed people from grass-roots are identified to build their capacities and perspective on right based struggle. As a part of this process, the main focus is on the development of village based activists as Jansathis. These people are capacitated to form village level collectives (sangathan) through identifying and creating leadership from every village. These sangathans are then strengthened to mobilise the marginalised and oppressed masses to not only demand proper execution of government schemes and entitlements but also to bring policy level changes. Through this strategy, we have identified many grass root leaders over the years that are fighting for the rights of the people of their own community. We have been able to build numerous villages, panchayat and block committees and have trained hundreds of leaders to run these sangathans.

OSM is working with 14 District Level Jan Sangathan, these are:-

• Jeebika Suraksha Manch-Kandhamal District
• Jeebika Suraksha Mancha-Nayagarh District
• Adima Adivasi Ekta Manch-Boudh
• Shramjeebee Ekta Abhiyaan-Gajapati
• Jan Kalyan Sangthan-Deogarh
• Lok Bikash Manch-Koraput
• Sangram Samiti-Jharsuguda
• Lokmukti Sangthan- Sambalpur
• Jan Sangharsh Samiti-Sambalpur
• Shramjeebi Sangthan- Malkangiri
• Mahila Sangram Samiti-Sundargarh
• Jan Jagruti Manch- Mayurbhanj
• Shramajeebi Bikash Manch- Nuapada
• Lok Unnati Sangthan-Kalahandi
• Jan Jagrana Manch-Rayagada

Vision:

To work towards political, social and economic empowerment of marginalised and under privileged communities residing in both urban and rural areas of Odisha.

Mission:

Enabling the life with dignity for 3 million marginalised and under privileged families residing in rural and urban areas of Odisha through right based approach to access constitutional rights and other entitlements.

Objectives:

     Social Objective:

• To create an enabling environment that facilitates access to decent standard of living and the opportunity essential for a long, healthy and resourceful society in each context.
• It refers to an arrangement that society makes for education, health care, risk, reduction and so on, which influences that excluded marginalised vulnerable population substantive freedom to live a better

Political Objective:

• To facilitate creation of sustainable peoples collective and strengthening them to enable them accessing constitutional rights and entitlements.
• To promote awareness generation among our targeted people, community leaders, sangthan workers about civil and political rights to access justice under PESA, Prevention of Atrocities Act, Regulation-3 1956, Forest Right Act, MGNREGA, Right to Information and others.
• To capacitate Panchayati Raj Institutions, community based organisations, service delivery schemes (PDS, ICDS, and MDM) to work effectively and advocate policy change wherever required as per the need of people.

Economic Objective:

• To ensure self-supporting financial systems like membership fee, solidarity fund and other sources to be explored for sustainability of Political Objective.
• To strengthen SHGs/Cooperative through procuring, producing, marketing and ensuring minimum support price(MSP) by different existing government agencies such as TDCC, TRIFED, NAFED and setting up cottage industries based on NTFP along with agricultural produces for economic empowerment.
• Policy research and analysis on state and central government policies on livelihood and entitlements to advocate for policy changes to include need of the people.
• To understand political economy and promote financial literacy among 15 lakh household within 5 years.
• To promote diversified off season crops among 15 lakh Household traditional crops.
• To create 500 model villages like Sarda by converging and implementing all schemes in the village.
• To facilitate people for promotion of individual income generating assets.