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Poverty Alleviation


Rajasthan launches new housing policy for the poor

Tuesday, 29 December 2009 02:34 administrator
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The Hindu 29.12.2009

Rajasthan launches new housing policy for the poor

Special Correspondent

Houses to be allotted at a cost of Rs.2.40 lakh to 3 lakh

 

1.25 lakh houses to be constructed in the next five years

Slum areas to be regularised by August 15, 2010

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Government on Monday launched an affordable housing policy for the poor, low-income and economically weaker sections of society with the target of constructing 1.25 lakh dwelling units for them during the next five years.

Unveiling the new policy, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said it was aimed at meeting the housing shortage for low-income groups in the State with encouragement for private sector participation. The Rajasthan Housing Board, Urban Improvement Trusts, Jaipur Development Authority and urban local bodies will actively work for ensuring success of the new policy.

Mr. Gehlot pointed out that the Congress-led government had announced the policy in this year’s State Budget and had been working since July this year for giving it a final shape. The applicants under the economically weaker and low-income categories will be allotted houses at a cost of Rs.2.40 lakh to Rs.3 lakh under the scheme.

Along with the new policy’s execution, the slum areas in the desert State will be regularised by August 15 next year. Mr. Gehlot said his government had decided to regularise all slum colonies with this year’s Independence Day as the cut-off date for occupancy under the Centre’s ambitious Rajiv Gandhi Housing Scheme.

The Chief Minister affirmed that Rajasthan would be the “frontline State” for execution of the scheme aimed at making the entire country slum-free. A survey will be started shortly for identifying the slum areas where brick houses are to be constructed to replace huts, sheds and ramshackle structures.

Mr. Gehlot said his government would also launch a new drive, “Prashasan Shahron Ke Sang” (Administration with towns), across the State from January 26 to resolve the grievances of the residents of urban areas.

Urban Development Minister Shanti Dhariwal said the State Government had initiated several projects for making Jaipur a world-class city. “These works will achieve new horizons and set high standards for urban local bodies,” he said, adding that the work for constructing 4,000 houses will start in Kota next month.

Principal Urban Development Secretary G. S. Sandhu, describing the salient features of the affordable housing policy, said it would be executed in five models.

The Government had approved 21 of 55 proposals submitted by developers for constructing houses on private land where about 10,000 dwelling units would be built, he added.

State Water Resources Minister Mahipal Maderna, Tourism Minister Bina Kak, Minister of State for Rural Development Ameen Khan, Jaipur Mayor Jyoti Khandelwal, Rajasthan Housing Board chairman Lalit Kothari, JDA Commissioner Sudhansh Pant and Housing Commissioner P. K. Goyal were present on the occasion.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 29 December 2009 02:35
 

New norms for redrawing urban, rural poverty lines

Saturday, 12 December 2009 04:36 administrator
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The Business Line 12.12.2009

New norms for redrawing urban, rural poverty lines

G. Srinivasan

New Delhi, Dec. 11

The Tendulkar Committee report on poverty estimate is yet another bid by the aam aadmi government to pin down the level of rural and urban poverty in the country so that the various poor-friendly programmes the UPA government has been undertaking could be scaled up, even as the urban-rural divide in terms of per capita income continues to widen, as revealed by the Committee.

The latest Committee report presented to the Plan panel on December 8 and subsequently put on the official Web site on Thursday, has suggested a new methodology to arrive at State-wise and all-India rural and urban poverty lines for 2004-05, the latest available major National Sample Survey (NSS) round on household consumer expenditure that provides the data base for the calculation of poverty estimates by the Plan panel.

Whereas the 61st round of NSS estimates state that 27.5 per cent people in the country were living below the poverty line (BPL) with the rural area poverty at 28.3 per cent and urban areas at 25.7 per cent, the new methodology has raised the all-India poverty headcount ratio to 37.2 per cent of the population — with the rural area poverty at a sharper 41.8 per cent and urban area poverty at 25.7 per cent.

Worrying factors

The point to ponder upon is that while the all-India poverty ratio has edged up from a level 27.5 per cent to 37.2 per cent for the year 2004-05, the urban area poverty stays put at 25.7 per cent in both the estimates. The worrisome feature is, however, the rural area poverty, which has shot up sharply from a level of 28.3 per cent to 41.8 per cent, reflecting the inescapable point that even the UPA's gradualist economic reforms have bypassed the vast swathe of rural India.

Bimaru distresses

The distressing aspect to the rural scenario continues to be the parlous state of affairs in the so-called Bimaru State comprising Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh where rural poverty is at its worst at 55.7 per cent, 53.6 per cent, 35.8 per cent and 42.7 per cent respectively, with some modicum of relief only in Rajasthan. For Bihar, the urban poverty is 43.7 per cent while its aggregate poverty level is at 54.4 per cent, the second in the list of home to maximum percentage of poor people. The worst hit State remains Orissa, whose rural poverty is 60.8 per cent, urban poverty is 37.6 per cent and aggregate percentage of poverty is 57.2 per cent, earning the dismal distinction of being the number one State at an all-India level for being home to the highest percentage of people below the poverty line.

Education, health

It is also interesting to note that even as the new methodology has moved away from the calorie intake norms, the new poverty lines have been arrived at after assessing the adequacy of private household expenditure on education and health — the two crucial aspects of well-being — that the earlier calorie-anchored poverty lines did not explicitly account for.

This is also the reason why as the Chairman of the Expert Group, Dr Suresh Tendulkar, told Business Line that the new estimates could not be compared to the earlier announced official headcount using the earlier official poverty lines and out-dated price indices.

Be that as it may, any assessment of the extent of poverty beyond the latest period of 2004-05 needs to reckon the subsequent measures the UPA government took, including National Rural Health Mission, Bharat Nirman and National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, in its earlier dispensation, which are being continued and scaled up.

At the same time, it cannot be gainsaid that despite the accent being on rural development, inclusive growth and raft benign welfare schemes specifically tailed to address the rural areas, the percentage of people continuing to eke out their lives on the edges of existence, with health and education concerns not duly factored in, show the vast ground that remains to be covered.

Policy analysts contend the fact that close to 42 per cent of the rural population in the country is trapped in poverty needs to be reckoned so that effective intervention measures are mooted and implemented on a war footing, even as India is striving to become a developed country from its emerging economy status before long.

Last Updated on Saturday, 12 December 2009 04:38
 

National health insurance plan to be in city soon

Tuesday, 29 September 2009 06:05 administrator
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The Times of India 29.09.2009

National health insurance plan to be in city soon

Aditya Dev, TNN 29 September 2009, 04:53am IST
CHANDIGARH: The Central government’s health scheme Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) would be launched shortly in the city. Around 9,000 below-poverty-line (BPL) families would benefit from the scheme.
Under the scheme, BPL families would get free medical treatment for more than 700 in-patient medical procedures with a cost of up to Rs 30,000 per annum for a nominal registration fee of Rs 30.
The objective of RSBY is to provide insurance cover to BPL households from major health shocks that involve hospitalization. In the city, medical facilities would be provided at Government Multispeciality Hospital, Sector 16, Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, community health centres of Manimajra and Sector 22, besides three private clinics.
Most importantly, pre-existing medical conditions would also be covered and there is no age limit. The coverage extends up to five members of a family including the head of household, spouse and up to three dependents.
It has been learnt that all hospital have started gearing up to provide facilities at the earliest. Counters will be set up to receive patients and awareness materials like posters and boards are being put up at strategic place.
Though the scheme would be formally inaugurated by the UT administrator later, medical facilities have been provided to patients visiting GMH-16 with smart cards. At GMCH, a dry run would commence from Tuesday to check the technical modalities of the programme. UT Red Cross Society, the nodal agency of the scheme, is issuing the cards.
The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on August 15, 2007. While 75% expenses are being provided by the government of India, the remainder will be paid by the state governments.
 

Summit vision: Cities need alternative development plan

Friday, 25 September 2009 11:28 administrator
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Indian Express 25.09.2009

Summit vision: Cities need alternative development plan

Development

More than 300 students and professionals from across the country turned up for day one of the Urban Habitat Summit, a multilayered initiative jointly hosted by the India Habitat Centre and the Urban Habitats Forum.

Termed as the largest urban development summit and a platform to initiate dialogue on best urban practices, the event saw balanced participation between civil society groups and the government — M Ramachandran, Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Arun Maira, member of Planning Commission and Rakesh Mehta, Delhi Chief Secretary, addressed different discussion groups.

Ramachandran delivered the keynote address in an afternoon session themed “Alternative Urban Features for India,” where he called for greater co-ordination between national, state and local bodies as well as the civil society “to create sustainable and safer cities”.

With rapid infrastructural development taking place across the nation, Ramachandran outlined a broad framework for sustainable urbanisation. He highlighted the fact that the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) has funded 467 projects worth Rs 50,339 crore since its inception nearly four years ago.

According to Ramachandran, it is imperative to make “masterplans that are more dynamic and requirement-centric.” He also focussed on the need to improve sanitation facilities in cities and linking financial assistance to reforms.

Ramachandran also spoke briefly on the various policies initiated by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), such as the National Mission on Sustainable Habitat and the National Urban Sanitation Policy. The MoUD is expecting deliverables from 14 centres of excellence it has helped develop in various institutes across the country, including a few IITs. These centres of excellence will study capacity building for urban development, he added. With over 65 speakers from diverse fields, the three-day summit will address various subjects related to urban planning, such as transport, infrastructure development and water.

Last Updated on Friday, 25 September 2009 11:31
 

Slumdwellers get APL cards instead of Antyodaya benefits

Wednesday, 23 September 2009 11:17 administrator
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Indian Express 23.09.2009

Slumdwellers get APL cards instead of Antyodaya benefits

Slum dwellers and homeless beggars evacuated from their original settlements and shifted to new areas in Ahmedabad ‘no longer live below poverty line’, if their ration cards and government records are to be believed, which show belonging to the Above Poverty Line (APL) category.

Consider these: Shaligram and Jhumar Tayde are an old homeless beggar couple who live under a tree at Piplag in Ahmedabad, after they were driven out from Khodiyarnagar. But the government gave them an APL ration card.

Fatema Sheikh (85), a vagrant, homeless widow, sleeps beside a tea stall at night and begs in the day. She was shifted from Santoshnagar to Khodiyarnagar and then to Piplag. Despite being entitled for a card under the Antyodaya Ann Yojana (AAY), due to her extremely poor condition, she has an APL card.

They are not alone. Many of the 2,500 to 3,000 people relocated from Khodiyarnagar, Kankaria, Dhor Bazar, Danilimbda, Kalupur, Paldi, Gulbai Tekra, Mangal Talavdi and the Shah Alam slum areas are poorer after their re-settlement, but have been given only APL cards. The rest do not have any card.

Besides, at a time when the state government is moving towards Mobile Ration Cards for poor migrants, the slum dwellers evacuated to suit the city’s growth plans are refused ration at ration stores.

Constant shuffling denies these poor families foodgrains and other items available on ration rates. The Tayde family, for instance, makes around Rs 50 a day from begging and gets only kerosene with their APL card. Shaligram said: “My wife goes begging everyday and in the evening we manage a meal with whatever she earns. Before we were evacuated from Khodiyarnagar, we used to get ration with our BPL card. But now, with this APL card, we get only kerosene. Many a times we survive on leftovers dumped in the nearby areas.”

Many evacuees in Piplag have now left their traditional occupations to engage in manual labour. They earn about Rs 100 a day; have no pucca house, land, or other things which can qualify them for APL; but for the government they fall in the APL category.

Besides, the Antyodaya category meant for the poorest lot — widows, disabled, ones without family and others— are not issued AAY cards easily. Fatema Sheikh, who had applied for an AAY card, has been waiting for one for the last 15 years. She was asked to get a double stamp on the BPL card to come under the AAY category. But after she was shifted to Piplag, she was told she no longer belonged to the BPL category.

The state government records show 7,133 people in the AAY category, 78,722 in the BPL category and 218,811 in the APL category.

Explaining how their cards change, Mazhar Pathan from Gomtipur Chapra said: “We were first evacuated from Gulbai Tekra to Odhav and then to Sorainagar. We were denied ration at stores in Sorainagar and were asked to go to the old PDS store and fill a form for renewing the cards. We got a card six months after filling the form (sogandnamu), but when we went to use it, we were told that we have been shifted to the APL category and are entitled to get only kerosene.”

Many others driven out of their original hutments and shifted to other settlements have the same story to tell.

The situation worsens for evacuees as ration stores in new areas refuse to accept their new APL cards. Manecklal Navkar from Piplag said: “We travel thrice a week to Khodiyarnagar and others go to Danilimda or Behrampura, nearly 20 to 25 kms away, to get day-to-day commodities from ration stores. We are refused ration at stores in the neighborhood areas and are asked to go to PDS stores in our previous settlements. It costs us Rs 300 to 500 every month. Piplag, which is an industrial area, has no ration store anyway.”

Municipal Commissioner I P Gautam said he had no clue about this. “When we shifted them, we also got their ration stores transferred. But if the people are not getting ration from the stores, I will ask the Deputy Municipal Commissioner to look into the matter.”

Hareet Shukla, Collector, Ahmedabad, said he cannot comment on the discrepancies and only the Food and Supplies Department can fix the problem.

According to the Central government regulations, BPL families are entitled to 9 kg wheat, 3.5 kg rice, 1 kg sugar, and 10 litre kerosene.

Baburam Patel, a BPL card holder said, the ration stores give far less than the quantity fixed, and also refuse to give them the bills of purchase.

“Even with the BPL cards, we used to get only 7.5 kg wheat instead of 9 kg, 1 kg rice instead of 3.5 kg and 6 to 7 litre kerosene instead of the quantity allotted to us. When we demanded ration on the quantity fixed by the government we were threatened that we won’t get any.”

Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 September 2009 11:22
 
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