CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has extended the stay order on implementation of two provisions in the new guidelines issued for restructuring of Mission Shakti till July 4.
The department of Mission Shakti had issued the new guidelines to all district collectors on January 22, 2025. The collectors were asked to carry out the restructuring process in their respective districts and complete it within four months.
Initially, Baitarani Mission Shakti Federation of Keonjhar filed a petition challenging the legal validity of two provisions (5.10 and 5.11) of the guidelines on April 15. Acting on it, the court issued the stay order on the two provisions on April 17.
Subsequently, as many as 39 more petitions were filed by Mission Shakti federations in different districts and were listed when the matter was taken up for hearing on Thursday.
While a counter affidavit to the first petition was filed by the state government, the single judge bench of Justice Sashikanta Mishra posted all the 40 petitions to July 4 for analogous hearing and extended till then the stay order on the two provisions of the new guidelines.
The provision 5.10 says, “No member can be an office-bearer (OB) for two consecutive terms.” The provision 5.11 reads, “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.”
In the counter affidavit filed on Thursday, the state government claimed that the comprehensive restructuring process would lead to 1.24 million new office-bearers at the SHG level and 1.15 million executive committee members at the CLF level assuming leadership positions. Overall, more than 3.5 million women members across various institutional levels will get the opportunity to hold leadership roles in SHGs and their federations, the government claimed.