Policies and Institutional Structure for Social Protection in Urban India

1. Policies and Institutional Structure for Social Protection in Urban India Darshini Mahadevia CEPT University Paper Presented At The Research Meeting On Social Protection Policies In South Asia, 18-19 March 2010, New Delhi Organized By ICSSR And UNESCO

2. Social Protection Concepts • Promotional • Protectional • Transformational

3. Policies, Programmes and Schemes - 1 Promotional Social Protection • 1 Water Supply and Sanitation Programmes/ Schemes • JNNURM – Two components, but Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP) • Low Cost sanitation • Slum Development • National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy • BSUP and Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) • City specific slum improvement and upgradation programmes such as the Slum Networking Programme (SNP), extension of individual Household level services under 90:10 scheme or similar ones, schemes of slum upgradation funded by international development agencies such as DFID, World Bank, etc. • Rajiv Awaas Yojana – Affordable housing and land tenure

4. Policies, Programmes and Schemes - 2 • Transport programmes – Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in some cities, however, it is not affordable to the bottom 30 per cent of urban population; and National Urban Transport Policy • Health care – No specific urban programme unless the National Urban Health Mission comes (This has privatisation thrust and hence reach deabtable) • Education • Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan • State level programmes if any • NGO led programmes for special groups • Social Security • Building and Other Construction Workers Act, 1996; • NGO led insurance programmes, e.g. Vimo SEWA • Employment • Swarna Jayanti Shehri Rojgar Yojana • Individual state level scheems such as Umeed in Gujarat

5. Policies, Programmes and Schemes - 3 Transformational Social Protection • Land Tenure regularization – Only in two states, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan • De facto land tenure extension – In Gujarat through SNP and all states through cut-off dates • Micro finance programmes of the NGOs

6. Increasing Vulnerabilities • Increased demolitions and displacements in large cities • Displacements of hawkers and livelihood disruptions • Privatization of basic services • Pushing out of the poor to the periphery of the city and lack of affordable transport options • Unwillingness of the ULBs to extend de facto tenure security as urban land has become very valuable • Increase in urban violence • Flooding and inundation every monsoon and damage and destruction of habitats

7. Institutional Issues • Defining urban entity, its boundaries and jurisdictions of ULBs • Changing urban boundaries • Multiplicity of governance institutions • Multiplicity of service delivery institutions and lack of coordination among them • Lack of powers (financial and legislative) for performing social development and security functions • Lack of institutions for social development and social security • Large presence of Non-state Actors, their coordination among themselves and with the State, accountability and transperancy

8. Urban Citizenship • Who is urban citizen • Urban citizenship defined by: • Legality of dwelling unit – defined by town planning legislation and municipal bye-laws • Cut-off dates and ID Cards based on the cut-off dates for the informal housing settlements • ULB notifications • Administrative tools such as property tax bills • Welfare measures extensions such as water supply & sanitation • Voter ID Card

9. Issues • Need for flexible and inclusive definition of urban citizenship • Right to basic shelter, universal access to water and sanitation irrespective of land tenure • Process of giving de facto land tenure • Urban Local Body (ULB) to be converted to Urban Local Government (ULG) with all functions, (not just physical planning and four basic services provision) – water supply, sewerage, storm water drain, solid waste management and footpaths and roads), to be vested with it. • All the social development and social security funds to be vested with the ULG then