Telangana prioritises MEPMA overhaul ahead of SERP integration

The Telangana government has decided to first strengthen the Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) and address its internal issues before moving ahead with its proposed merger with the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP). Although a government order (GO) was issued in March last year to bring MEPMA’s self-help groups (SHGs) under SERP’s administrative control, the move has reportedly met with resistance from MEPMA staff, including senior officials, as well as SHG leaders.

As part of efforts to consolidate and strengthen the system, Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening programmes are being conducted for SHG members, Executive Committee (EC) members, and office bearers of Area Level Federations (ALFs) across Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).

MEPMA Mission Director and SERP CEO Divya Devarajan said training had recently been provided to 4,592 members across 568 SHGs, along with EC members and office-bearers of 28 ALFs in Madhira municipality, Khammam district. “We are also preparing to cover the remaining 6,930 ALFs (EC & OB) and Resource Persons across all ULBs, including those falling under the newly formed municipal corporations carved out of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation,” she said.

She added that 357 field staff will undergo specialised training through NI-MSME on policy frameworks from March for strengthening SHGs and promoting livelihoods and entrepreneurship among urban SHGs.

Meanwhile, ₹120.98 crore under the Vaddi Leni Runalu scheme has been released to 32,027 SHGs in 103 ULBs for livelihood support covering the period from December 2023 to March 2025.

Honorarium arrears to Resource Persons (RPs), pending since August 2025, have also been cleared. The government released ₹20.20 crore to 5,612 RPs towards honorarium for the period between August 2025 and January 2026, acknowledging their contribution to community development.

Saree distribution began this January across 75 ULBs, with 5.50 lakh sarees already distributed to women beneficiaries. An additional 33 lakh sarees will be distributed from March 1 to 10, in the second phase.

Two Entrepreneurship Development Programme training sessions were organised in collaboration with ISB, Hyderabad, benefiting 80 SHG entrepreneurs by enhancing their business and enterprise management skills.

Presently, Telangana has a network of 65 lakh SHG women, comprising 47.40 lakh rural women in 4.37 lakh SHGs under SERP and 17.60 lakh urban women in 1.73 lakh SHGs under MEPMA. These SHGs operate through structured tiers such as Village Organisations, Mandal Mahila Samakhyas and Town-Level Federations.