Indian Express 09.12.2010
BMC plans four more Adhar Kendras
sharvaripatwa Tags : Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, BMC, Adhar Kendras Posted: Thu Dec 09 2010, 00:57 hrs
Mumbai: Even though the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Adhar Kendras have not taken off, the civic body is planning to set up four more such centres in the next few months. Adhar Kendras were set up to provide training in vocational courses to unemployed youths and women.“We are yet to decide on the location and details of its structure and facilities, but we will soon putforth the proposal for approval from various committees,” said Jyoti Pandya, Chief Community Development officer, Urban Poverty Eradication cell of the BMC.
The BMC now runs two Adhar Kendras in Vile Parle and Andheri on a pilot basis. The Adhar Kendras were set up to bring together unemployed persons with skills like carpentry, plumbing, electricians and whose services could be utilised by people. “A directory for the same was supposed to be published, but we have been unable to do so as there is severe shortage of staff in the department,” said Pandya.
“Also, these people are hesitant to give their addresses and photo identity for making ID cards,” said an official. So far, the Adhar Kendras have collected a database of as many as 160 skilled and semi-skilled persons but have not been able to compile it in a directory. According to officials, “The BMC was supposed to provide identity cards to the workers of the Adhar Kendra to avoid any kind of suspicion. All security measures were to be put in place to ensure safety of the citizens as the workers would be visiting their homes.” To avail the services of Aadhar Kendra, it was proposed that citizens could either visit these centres or call up to ask for the required service.
The Adhar Kendras so far have trained over 200 people in vocational courses. “We have successfully managed to train and provide employment to a lot of people and although sometimes they move on to individual jobs, enabling them to do so is a big win for us,” said Pandya. “After training, youths have managed to get jobs at various corporates,” she added.
The Adhar Kendras have also provided a platform for self help groups (SHGs) to market products manufactured by women in BPL families. Products worth Rs 6.9 lakh were sold through Adhar Kendras since February 2009. These Aadhar kendras also run Citizens Facilitation Center (CFC) for the payment of civic bills like property tax, water and other services. So far the kendras have generated about Rs 9 crore from collection of various bills through its CFC.
These centres will also stock items prepared by the urban poor women and serve as a platform to sell their items. While the BMC has provided their welfare centres and other machinery for these kendras, they are run by community development societies that work for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in each ward. There are 16 such societies in the city registered with the charity commissioner who work for 27,966 BPL families. While BMC will not have any share in the profits made by these kendras,10 per cent of the revenue earned will be given to these societies.
