The 60 villages have a total of 7495 households and 32416 population. In these proejct villages more than 6000 families belong to poor and very poor categories. They are the direct beneficiaries of the project and will be empowered to access their rights for poverty reduction. In the 3 selected districts in KBK region out of total population of 320300 more than 500000 radio listeners belonging to marginalized communities will get aware about the various pro-poor policies, laws, programs and schemes and access their rights.  

ABOUT KBK REGION OF ORISSA, INDIA

Orissa is the poorest state of India while the KBK (undivided Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput districts) is the poorest region inside Orissa. Despite the region's huge natural resources like forests, water and land, and consistent focus on the region's development it remains poor. After the reorganization of districts in Orissa in the year 1993, the three most backward districts – Kalahandi, Bolangair and Koraput (KBK) were divided into eight districts, i.e. Kalahandi, Nuapada, Bolangir, Sonepur, Malkangiri, Koraput, Raygada and Nabarangpur. These eight districts comprise of 14 Sub- divisions and account for 19.72% population over 30.59% geographical area of the State. KBK has 37 Tahsils, 80 CD Blocks, 1,437 Gram Panchayats and 12,104 villages. Total area of these districts are 47.646 thousand square kilometer; the total population is of 72,49,691; and among all the 80 revenue blocks, there is only one block which is developed, three blocks are developing, 28 blocks are backward and 49 blocks are declared as most backward. 89.89% people of this region still live in villages.  Lower population density (152 persons / sq.km) in comparison to 236 for Orissa indicates difficult living conditions and an undeveloped economy.  Tribal communities dominate this region. 38.72% people of these districts belong to the Scheduled Tribes (ST) communities. 16.63% population belongs to the Scheduled Castes (SC) communities.  Total 55.35% of population belongs to tribal and dalit communities.

The percentage of families living below the poverty line (BPL) has shown an increasing trend. According to a Planning Commission report the BPL figure in those districts have gone up from 72% to a whopping 89.14% during past ten years.  Various ongoing welfare and development measures, including the Revised Long-Term Action Plan (RLTAP), have failed to improve the socio-economic conditions of the people. The eight districts are the bottom eight districts in the state human development index. In its recent report the New Delhi based Institute of Applied Manpower and Research, which is entrusted by the Union government to review the KBK program revealed that despite of the Central aid of Rs.4544 Crore under the KBK head (1995-96 to 2005-06), it has not really changed the living condition of the people. Consequently, the Governor of Orissa recently observed that despite a huge chunk of money has been spent; it has not really changed the situation what it was in early 1990s. 

In KBK region around 93 percent people depend on agriculture and forest for survival. But these two important economic factors are in high stage of degradation. Agriculture production is coming down very fast due to lack of irrigation and loss of soil fertility. Similarly due to deforestation the access to forest has also come down, besides the restrictive forest policies that don't allow people to access forest for survival and the incidence of displacements in name of development projects and mining activities further restricted the livelihoods options.  Employment opportunities continue to be limited. The region has been witnessing large-scale distress migration. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) is facing an acid test in KBK. Consumption of unhealthy food and lack of access to health care facilities are common. Malnutrition among children, which is widely prevalent in these districts, is the underlying cause of the high rate of infant mortality in KBK.

The literacy rate at 36.58% is much lower than the State average of 63.61%.  The female literacy rate 24.72% also compares unfavorably with the State average of 50.97%. Road connectivity remains a major constraint, making access to markets, health care and educational institutions difficult. More than 60 per cent of the girls in the region marry below the age of 18 as against the national average of 36.80 per cent. Majority of children are out of schools and engaged in different activities as child labor. The population suffers from high morbidity on account of under-nutrition as well as endemic malaria and other localized diseases.

During last 60 years the structural changes in Adivasi society and economy have destroyed the food security and sources of livelihoods in KBK. More recently, the crisis of Adivasi survival has been further deepened by the structural adjustment policies adopted in India. The lack of purchasing power to buy food even at the PDS rates and the distress sale of whatever food surpluses exist are the main reasons for starvation deaths in the KBK region. The KBK region has close to one million people chronic poor.State's 56% ST/SC population are in the KBK districts.

Bolangir, Nuapada and Kalahandi in Orissa are categorized as poorest districts in India with recurring drought, and fast depleting resources and community assets creating serious human misery. Income poverty is more than 80%, illiteracy 52.36% , IMR 105/1000. There exist many of the social problems associated with serious poverty - bonded labour, gender inequality, caste system, child labour and marriage, huge families, alcoholism, violence, migration and debt bondage - all of which help perpetuate the region's cycle of poverty.  Due to high rates of illiteracy and exclusion on many levels (social, economic, political, cultural and linguistic) the poor have little access to government offices and institutions, and little awareness of their rights and entitlements, and are ill-equipped to participate in and influence government policy, programs & governance. In spite of Govt. policy, the nexus between landlords, contractors, politicians and bureaucrats is powerful, and corruption and malpractice deny to the poorest their basic rights and entitlements. Due to very poor implementation of NREGS, many people migrate for work. The poorest have the weakest voices and little input into the media which is largely controlled by government and commerical groups, rarely addressing the needs and interests of the poor.  EMCOR is filling this gap and empowering the real poor to have their say and claim rights for poverty reduction.