Think India Foundation

RAY of hope: Slum dwellers to get houses in Bangalore

BANGALORE: If everything goes as planned, the slum dwellers who are aspiring to own a house across the State will not have to wait for 15 years to get the ownership title (Occupancy certificates) as the State government is planning to reduce the waiting period to five years.

The Union Government launched Rajiv Gandhi Awaas Yojana (RAY) as part of ‘Slum free India’ campaign. In this scheme, all the slums whether declared or undeclared, will be taken up for redevelopment. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Housing conundrum: FICCI report on urban infrastructure reveals uncomfortable truths

In 2001, about 286 million persons were living in urban areas of India and it was the second largest urban population in the world. According to the Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India, the urban population in India over the next 25 years is expected to grow 38 per cent and become 534 million in 2026. Furthermore, as per the Census of India, 2001, 640 cities/towns in 26 States/Union territories have reported slum populations. 

Andhra Pradesh has the largest number of towns (77) reporting slums followed by Uttar Pradesh (69), Tamil Nadu (63) and Maharashtra (61). As many as 42.6 million people lived in slums in 2001. This constitutes 15 percent of the total urban population of the country and 22.6 percent of the urban population of the states/union territories reporting slums. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

A sustainable makeover for NCR

Delhi : Germany, India pledge funds for environmental urban infrastructure development

The agreement with Germany will help towards a better NCR. Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

To boost the environmental sustainability of fast-growing towns in India's National Capital Region (NCR), the German Government-owned development bank KfW has signed a loan agreement worth 100 million euros (approximately Rs. 700 crore) and a financing agreement for project development and capacity building grant of 1 million euro (approximately Rs. 7 crore) with the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB).

The Agreement was signed in New Delhi by Naini Jayaseelan, Member Secretary, NCRPB and Mr. Uwe Ohls, Director General Europe and Asia of KfW, in the presence of Prabodh Saxena, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Cord Meier-Klodt, acting Ambassador of Germany to India. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

SECC awareness programme held at Longleng

Dimapur (MExN): An awareness programme on Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 was held on February 10 at PPC hall Longleng. The Deputy Commissioner, Longleng K. Libanthung Lotha chaired the programme. The main resources person included Petevilie Khatsu, Assistant Director, Directorate of Urban Development, Nagaland and Dr. Juthshutho Phoji, Sr. Lecturer, State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD) Nagaland.

A press release issued by the DC Longleng said that a detailed and through explanation on SECC was made during the programme. Various functions and queries were raised during the program and those were being clearly clarified by the resource persons. A good number of village council chairman, Enumerators, Supervisors, Charge officers, master trainers attended the program beside the officials of Phom Student Conference led by its president Chaupong Phom and PPC officials. Chongphe Phom Finance Secretary, ENSF and Chuyalo Kath Census Nodal officer Longleng in-charge also attended the programme. Read more

Source : morungexpress.com

Haryana to launch State Urban Health Mission

Chandigarh (PTI) : Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today announced a State Urban Health Mission would be launched to provide comprehensive health services particularly targeting the slum areas. The Chief Minister also announced that under the Indira Bal Swasthya Yojna (IBSY), free treatment would henceforth be provided to all children.

Earlier, free treatment was being provided to only children hailing from Below Poverty Line families, an official release said here. Hooda announced these decision while presiding over a meeting with senior officers of Health Department here. The State Urban Health Mission will seek to set up Urban Health Centres over a population of one lakh which would provide curative, promotive and preventive health services. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

No tax hike for next 5 yrs: Cong manifesto

Pune : The alliance of Congress, Republican Party of India (Kawade group) and Dalit Panther released its 25-point manifesto on Thursday with promise of improving public transport and traffic conditions in the city. The manifesto also promised not to increase taxes in the next five years and a plan to start a transport service in Mula-Mutha river.

The manifesto was released at Congress Bhavan by Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chairman Manikrao Thakre and general secretary of All India Congress Committee Mohan Prakash. Like the Nationalist Congress Party, the Congress too has promised to start the Metro rail. The Congress manifesto, however, is silent on whether it will be underground or elevated. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Right to drinking water covered by Constitution: Activists in HC

Mumbai : Contending that the right to drinking water is covered by the constitutional right to life, Pani Haq Samiti, on behalf of slum-dwellers from various parts of the city, has moved the Bombay High Court challenging the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) move to stop their water supply.

According to the petition, a circular was issued by the Department of Urban Development stopping supply of drinking water to people residing in slum areas that came into existence after 1995. In August 2002, the BMC’s water charge rules came into force denying water to these slums, they contended. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Govt orders 6 hospitals to treat poor for free

NEW DELHI: The ministry of urban development has said in a recent order that charitable societies and trusts which got land at concessional rates to set up hospitals will have to provide free treatment to poor patients. 

The six hospitals named in the order include Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, St Stephen's Hospital, VIMHANS, Moolchand Hospital, Primus Ortho Hospital and Jessa Ram Hospital. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Entrepreneurship can solve poverty, says Narayana Murthy

Kochi : India can solve its poverty only through entrepreneurship, said Infosys founder and mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy here on Tuesday.

N.R. Narayana Murthy.

He was speaking at a function, organised by DC Books on the occasion of the release of the Malayalam translation of his book ‘Better India, Better World.’ Read more

Source : deccanchronicle.com

In Delhi, Leaders Call for Sustainable Action Today, Not Promises for Tomorrow

As I traveled through Mumbai and Delhi over the past few days, I’ve been awed by the rapid growth taking place in Indian cities. Statistics about urbanization abound, but experiencing the dynamic, jammed-packed streets firsthand is much more revealing.

India’s leaders are committed to helping cities keep pace with this growth, but many do not stop there. They are also working to ensure that cities grow as sustainably as possible. Read more

Source : switchboard.nrdc.org

Project Uthaan changes life of slum dwellers, other residents

BHOPAL: The residents of Nehru Nagar near Naya Basera in the city are now a relieved lot after the slum in the area was developed with better living conditions and proper civic amenities. Until the slum in Nehru Nagar was taken up along with 24 other slums in the city under the Project Uthaan for development, the residents in its proximity had a harrowing time due to the unhygienic surroundings.

"The kids from this slum used to play on the main roads all the time especially in the evening. They wandered along the road, increasing the chances of accidents. Besides, the surroundings were also bad," SN Singh, a resident of Nehru Nagar, told TOI. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Bhubaneswar city dwellers stall culling operations

BHUBANESWAR: Culling operations were affected in slums here after residents refused to part with their poultry birds on Monday, while the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) silently suffered the loss of its entire stock of fowls used for research.

"We are not able to cull birds in certain slums and residential localities as the people did not cooperate with us," said an officer engaged in culling in parts of the state capital to prevent spread of bird flu. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Slum-free India our mission

TIRUPATI: Union minister of culture, housing and urban poverty alleviation Kumari Selja said the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is committed to making the country slum-free. She visited Gandhipuram slum here on Sunday and interacted with the locals, who complained to her about their grievances.

After inspecting the poor sanitation, unsafe drinking water and poorly maintained drainage lines, the Union minister expressed shock and was unhappy with the civic officials. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Master plan aims to make City Beautiful slum-free

In order to make Chandigarh a slum-free city, the Chandigarh Administration has proposed to make it “mandatory for all private houses and industrial plots of one kanal and above, who engage servants or labour to make available suitable accommodation for them within their premises”.

A view of the slums at Colony No. 5 in Chandigarh

This has been stated by the Chandigarh Administration in its voluminous report submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The 177 page report was submitted to the High Court last week during the resumed hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to Administration to prepare a master plan for the city. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Deathly friendship of bacteria and virus: TB-HIV co-infection

The clinical course and opportunistic infections of HIV vary from patient to patient and country to country. In India TB is a major opportunistic infection in people living with HIV (PLHIV), with over 35% PLHIV co-infected with TB-HIV. There is an estimated 3.52% faster progression to death if a PLHIV suffers from TB also.

Even today in India, two deaths occur every three minutes from TB. Major challenges to control TB in India include poor primary health-care infrastructure especially in rural areas; unregulated private health care leading to widespread irrational use of first-line and second-line anti-TB drugs, poverty, social stigma and lack of political will. Read more

Source : asiantribune.com

No room for poor on government land

HYDERABAD : Luxurious quarters for IAS officers to come up on 113 acres of land across four prime areas

Demolished Governments Quarters at Erramanzil Colony, where the state government, proposed to construct a multi-storied residential complex for IAS and IPS Officers, in Hyderabad on Friday. Photo: Nagara Gopal

While the government has been claiming paucity of land within the city to rehabilitate its poor; it has decided to construct luxurious quarters for IAS officers on its 113 acres of land across four prime areas in the city. The poor, however, have found no place on them yet. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

We are now looking at NREGA 2.0

As minister for rural development, Jairam Ramesh oversees the largest spending in the social sector by the government. This includes the marquee Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) that was pioneered by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance in 2006. The minister, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is known for his forthrightness. In a typically candid interview to Mint on the eve of the sixth anniversary of MGNREGS, Ramesh conceded that there were legitimate concerns about the programme. Ruling out any chance of a rollback of the entitlement programme, he said the ministry was ironing out the faults and that a revamped version would be launched before the presentation of the next Union budget in March. Edited excerpts:

It is the sixth anniversary of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employee Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). How do you rate the success of the programme? What are the metrics you would use to rate it? Read more

Source : livemint.com

Sensible food choices

What's on your plate? Photo: Special Arrangement

Giving healthy food to their children is a constant concern for parents no matter what social status they belong to. But not all parents are aware of what constitutes healthy nutritious food. The Human Development Report (2009) prepared by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reported high rates of malnutrition among children in slums, and the urban elite. Malnutrition among slum children is not a surprise as they do not have access to nutritious food. This report highlighted the co-emergence of malnutrition and overnutrition where rich urban children eat excessive calorie rich but nutrient empty food (devoid of minerals and vitamins). Intake of palatably tasty but nutritiously poor fast foods, aerated drinks, foods high in trans fat, saturated fats and sugar (such as pizzas, burgers, sodas and colas, cakes and pastries, samosa, French fries) do not provide the necessary minerals and vitamins required for daily intake although they may provide the necessary calories. Obesity with micronutrient deficiency and protein energy malnutrition is on the rise among children and adolescents in urban India. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Dalit union demands house allotment under BSUP scheme

GUWAHATI: Disappointed with inordinate delay in the distribution of houses constructed for the urban poor, the Harijan Mazdoor Union of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) on Monday staged a dharna in front of the GMC office at Panbazar in the city. The protesters demanded immediate allotment of houses to the members of the union as per the Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme, which falls under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

The union members submitted a memorandum to the GMC commissioner demanding allotment of houses constructed for the poor under the BSUP scheme. "In the last three years, seven people from our community have died due to the unhygienic condition of the sheds in which they are living in Fatasil, Morakhali and Adabari areas of the city. The houses they used to live in earlier, in Fatasil and Morakhali, were demolished in 2009 for the construction of apartments by the GMC for the urban poor. The GMC authorities assured us that those displaced would get possession of the new apartments within 18 months. Construction is now complete under the BSUP scheme, but the house allotment process has been delayed," said general secretary of the union TB Demudu Rao. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

A RAY of hope for slum dwellers

VISAKHAPATNAM : 10,000 housing units to be built in the first phase

A total of 10,000 housing units are proposed to be constructed under the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) in 131 slums during the first year.

Under RAY, unlike in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, there is no need for contribution from the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Urgent challenge to create 600 m jobs over next decade, says ILO

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) recently warned there is an “urgent challenge” to create 600 million jobs over the world in the next decade as one in three workers worldwide are either unemployed or living in poverty.

According to the annual report on global employment by the ILO, the world faces the “urgent challenge” of creating 600 million productive jobs over the next decade in order to generate sustainable growth and maintain social cohesion. Read more

Source : deccanherald.com

VMC to finish 5 projects

Vijayawada : The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) hastened development works under the JNNURM as the project tenure will conclude by March 2012. The VMC so far spent Rs.904 crore for the development of infrastructure and construction of houses in the city since 2004. The VMC has designed 20 projects at a cost of Rs.1,422.67 crore from 2004 to 2012 March. The civic body completed nine projects and is trying to complete another five projects by the end of March 2012. Two housing projects are unlikely to be grounded due to land acquisition problem.

In all, 12 projects were taken up under the Urban Infrastructure Governance (UIG) at a cost of Rs. 679 crore and eight projects planned at a cost of Rs. 743.31 crore under the Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP) for the development of slums. JNNURM works started in 2004-05. Government of India’s share is Rs. 414 crore and state government’s share is Rs. 158 crore of the total cost. Read more

Source : deccanchronicle.com

Hunger and riches coexist in India

A national daily presented the other day two contrasting pictures of India. On its front page were the findings of a research indicating the extent of hunger and malnourishment in the country and in one of the inside pages was a report on the explosion on its roads with millions of private vehicles causing traffic jams in its urban centres. One wonders whether these contrasting pictures in a single edition of a daily have caught the attention of those who frame and implement the country’s economic policies. They show, if anything, the growing economic inequality in the country, which can directly be attributed to the policies pursued since economic liberalisation. The government has taken some initiatives to deal with the pervasive hunger and malnutrition but the measures that have been taken seem to have failed to yield the desired results. Read more

Source : groundreport.com

Time ripe for financial institutions to invest in housing: Selja

New Delhi: Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja Monday said time was appropriate for the banking sector and other financial institutions to play a greater role, along with the government, to provide affordable housing to the poor.

Delivering the keynote address here at an international seminar on "Growth and stability in Affordable Housing Markets", Selja said there has been a steady growth in the housing finance companies in India who are serving as dedicated outlets for the housing credit delivery. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

Vijayawada to be free of Malaria by 2014

VIJAYAWADA: The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) has declared a war against malaria, one of the major communicable diseases affecting the mankind. With an aim to eradicate malaria completely from the city by 2014, the VMC has embarked on a mission, in association with Cinergy Company, a Mumbai-based nonprofit organisation.

For the effective implementation of the mission, the VMC has decided to seek the help of NGOs and citizens of the city. Vijayawada with a population of 11 lakh, has 111 slums. Many of the slums are on the banks of Bandar Canal, Eluru Canal and Ryves Canal and on hill slopes. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Finding the innovation key to million problems

From cars to vaccines, companies are busy introducing a slew of cost-effective products

India’s image in the eyes of the world undergoes a major shift in every 30 years or so. From Independence to the import of PL-480 wheat, it was one of abject poverty and utter helplessness — of a nation unable to feed itself. Read more

Source : mydigitalfc.com

Affordable Southern remedies for better health

When can a baby girl born in Madhya Pradesh expect to live as long and healthy as a baby girl born in Kerala, overcoming the six-fold higher risk of dying before her first birthday? When will a rural Indian have the same level of satisfaction about the healthcare he or she receives, as a foreign medical tourist featured in the brochures of corporate hospitals? Will the 40 million Indians, who are annually pushed into poverty because of unaffordable healthcare costs, be relieved of the crushing burden of catastrophic health expenditures in a country where private, out-of-pocket spending accounts for 71 per cent of all health financing?

Kerala and Tamil Nadu can teach the rest of the country about good health at low cost.

While the Indian media is currently concerned over the fluctuating growth rates of the economy, it is the health indicators which should cause considerable concern. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Illegal activities in Sec-43 slum pose security threat

Gurgaon : Apart from being an eyesore, slums in Huda Sector 43 have also turned into a hub of illegal activities, causing nuisance for the public. 

Residents of neighbourhood localities allege that slum dwellers are involved in illicit sale of liquor and drugs with police and officials of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) failing to take any action despite complaints. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Patkar rally for urban poor

PATNA: Social activist Medha Patkar has said the urban poor and homeless would be forced to launch a larger movement if the Bihar government does not pay heed to their pleas.

Addressing a gathering of the city's urban poor and homeless people at Kargil Chowk on Friday, Patkar said these people came to cities after they faced problems in villages. "But if they continue to face problems in the city, where will they go?" she asked. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Bharat craves for innovation

Attempts for rural technology incubations have been small and somewhat sporadic so far 

As the Indian economy grew rapidly over the past 20 years, it generated wealth for its citizens. However, the rapid economic rise has been accompanied by high differential growth in prosperity of the people — as incomes of certain sections have grown much faster compared with others. Read more

Source : mydigitalfc.com

Task force formed to make Odisha slum free

BHUBANESWAR : With the objective to make the State slum-free, the State Government has constituted Odisha Slum Development Task Force under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik.

According to official sources, OSDTF would help in resource mobilisation through multilateral and bilateral funding agencies and promotion of convergence by removing interdepartmental and interagency bottlenecks. Read more

Source : mail.dailypioneer.com

Medha Patkar criticises Bihar govt for creating displacement

Patna (PTI) : Narmada Bachao Andolan leader and social activist Medha Patekar today hit out at Nitish Kumar government in Bihar accusing it of increasing displacement in the name of development. "Displacement of people is increasing in the name of development in Bihar", Patekar alleged when she was stopped at Hartali Chowk while leading a delegation to meet Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. She also castigated the NDA government in the state for its alleged faulty and discriminatory Bihar Slums Development Policy 2011 and accused the government of "overlooking" the displacement of the poor in urban areas.

Patkar alleged that though she wanted to raise these issues during her meeting with the chief minister, she was denied an appointment on the plea that Kumar was preoccupied. "I also wanted to raise the issues of exploitation, and atrocities taking place in Bihar during the meeting", she said. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Tamil Nadu Slum board plans houses in new areas

COIMBATORE: In a significant move, Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) has dropped its earlier plan to build 9,600 houses at Ukkadam to rehabilitate urban poor and those living in slums. 

As per the new plan, the board has identified fifteen locations in various parts of the city to build houses for them. The aim is to protect their livelihood as well, while undertaking rehabilitation. Though tenders were floated for the construction of houses, they were cancelled later, considering the initial areas identified were not suitable for the project, a senior official source at TNSCB said. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Ramdas’ call to join hands to make Mysore no 1

Mysore : 200 heritage buildings recognised in the city will be developed

Keeping aside the differences between political parties we work for, let us join hands to get our 104 years of historical city Mysore to place one in all aspects, said medical education minister and district in-charge S A Ramdas, after hoisting the tri-colour at Chamundi Vihar Stadium, here on Thursday.

Addressing the gathering at the 63rd Republic Day celebration in the city, Ramdas said, with the 200 heritage buildings recognised in the city, residences of Sir M Visvesvaraya and R K Narayan will soon be turned into museums. Suggestions will be invited from the public very soon regarding the comprehensive development plan 2030 to make Mysore a ‘mahanagara’. Read more

Source : deccanherald.com

New BPL list survey to start this month in Bengal

KOLKATA: A survey for drawing up a new list for people below the poverty line will start in the state this month. The survey would be completed by April, Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh said in Kolkata on Wednesday, after touring the Maoist-hit districts of Purulia and Bankura, and also South 24-Parganas.

Explaining the reasons to go for a new BPL list, he said Bengal being a "highly politicized state", political considerations had crept in while drawing up the list in the past. The BPL list should not exclude beneficiaries on political considerations. Blaming it on the "34-year tyrannical rule" of the Left Front, Ramesh also took a dig at ally Trinamool Congress, saying "a new tyranny should not replace it". Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

An organizational problem

Child malnutrition makes headlines but unless grass-roots practices are reordered, it’ll remain a persistent problem

With the release of new malnutrition statistics and the Food Security Bill gaining ground, I am tempted to ask the following question to all those working on the issue including the chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC):

“Have you ever spent a day at an anganwadi?”

Photo by Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint.

Anganwadis, or crèches, are the backbone of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme initiated in 1975. ICDS targets infant children and pregnant mothers to tackle the problem of malnutrition, infant and maternal mortality and immunization. And yes, like any other mega social welfare scheme, millions of rupees are doled out every year for fortified grains, oil, fruit, etc., to be made available to poor young children and their mothers. Read more

Source : livemint.com

Some home truths

Urban homeless people lead hard lives with no shelter or social protection even while sustaining cities with their cheap labour. Inhabiting city footpaths, public parks, hume pipes, or the courtyards of shrines, they are invisible to the State, because they lack a formal address, and also even the elementary markers of citizenship of poor people in India, like ration cards and voters’ identity cards. We estimate that at least 1% of the population of cities is homeless, making the numbers of urban homeless persons at least around 3 million.

My colleagues and I studied for the Planning Commission the social, economic and nutritional situation of urban homeless people in four cities — Delhi, Chennai, Madurai and Patna. We found that life on the streets involves surviving continuously and precariously at the edge, in a physically brutalised and challenging environment. Elementary public services and healthy food are denied. The challenges of this bleak and often lonely existence are aggravated by a hostile State, which illegalises and even criminalises their self-help efforts for shelter and livelihoods. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

How do you plan to accommodate migrants, Mr Chidambaram?

New Delhi: Cities test your resilience. Surrender is oblivion. Courage is life.

The Economic Survey of Delhi 2007-2008 put the annual migrant influx into Delhi at 2.5 lakh. Almost an equal number is added by birth per year, says the survey. Reuters

It is courage which makes Shabnam, 49, carry on with her life at Lal Bagh area in East Delhi. Bulldozers have razed her shanty, thrice, in the last eight years. On all three occasions, she claims, the occupants of 200 odd slums were given two hours to evict. The first demolition taught her a lesson. She never made a pukka structure again. Her shanty, around five feet in height, is made of straw, tin, raxene and asbestos. Read more

Source : firstpost.com

Asia to contribute more than half in gas emissions

Islamabad—The Asian Development Bank (ADB) revelled that Asian cities were likely to contribute more than half the rise in greenhouse gas emissions over the next 20 years. 

According to The Asian Development Bank data most Asian cities do not have effective wastewater treatment systems - only 10 per cent ofwastewater is treated in the Philippines while in Indonesia it is 14 per cent Viet Nam 4 and India 9 per cent. Read more

Source : pakobserver.net

Experts discuss urban poverty

PATNA: Bihar urban development minister Prem Kumar has said the government is on the job to address the issue of urban poverty in the state.

Speaking at a UGC-sponsored national seminar on "Urban poverty: issues and challenges" at Patna Women's College on Tuesday, Kumar said the state government has approved Bihar State Slum Policy-2011 which would help it ensure empowerment of the urban poor. It would also address the issues concerning housing, water supply, sewerage and toilets for the poor. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

 

Mumbai slum makeover finally comes

THE Dharavi slum, a dense sprawl of ramshackle shanties and sweatshops in the heart of Mumbai, presents a stark contrast with the better-off bits of India's richest city and its growing number of swanky business centres and luxury residences.

Asia's biggest slum, made famous by the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, is a bustling town in itself where more than one million people live and work to generate annual turnover of about $1 billion. Read more

Source : main.omanobserver.om

Now job opportunities for nearly 100 million urban poor

NEW DELHI: After launching employment schemes for rural India, the Centre now plans to create job opportunities for the nearly 100 million urban poor. 

The UPA-II has proposed a National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) to address issues related to urban poverty like skill upgradation, entrepreneurship development and providing credit at affordable rates. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Republic of contradictions

"Over half of the world’s most polluted cities are in India. Because of the poor quality of air, 18,000 premature deaths occur each year in its metropolises."

Sixty three years ago, Dr B.R. Ambedkar spoke of the “life of contradictions” into which the Indian Republic would enter on January 26, 1950. He underlined the need for eliminating, at the earliest, the contradictions in the social and economic sphere lest they should imperil our political freedom and democracy. Were he to come alive today, he would be appalled to see the extent to which the contradictions have deepened and, that too during the period when the Republic saw one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

A report by the Naadi Foundation on Hunger and Malnutrition, which was released by the Prime Minister on January 11, 2012, has brought out that “59 per cent of the Indian children, between the age group of 0-5 years, have stunted growth, 42 per cent are underweight and 11 per cent suffer from wasting disease”. Every year, 13 lakh children die before reaching their first birthday, and about 55,000 women lose their life consequent upon birth-related complications. Read more

Source : asianage.com

How Megacities Are Changing The Way We Live

Amid a clutter of 24-hour arc lights, gigantic cranes and dumper trucks, a behemoth is rising out of a field of churned mud on the outskirts of Chengdu in south-west China. Commuters skirt its vast perimeter fence on their way to the new metro link that cuts under the city. They barely glance at what looks like just another huge construction project in a cityscape that changes every month.

This project, though, is different. When finished later this year, its developers proudly boast, it will be the world’s largest standalone building. The New Century Global Centre is a leisure complex that will house two 1,000-room five-star hotels, an ice rink, a luxury Imax cinema, vast shopping malls and a 20,000-capacity indoor swimming pool with 400 metres of “coastline” and a fake beach the size of 10 football pitches complete with its own seaside village. Alongside will be another massive and futuristic structure, a contemporary arts centre designed by the award-winning Iraqi-born architect, Zaha Hadid. Read more

Source : psfk.com

Tamil Nadu to get 1.8 lakh housing units in the next five years

1.43 lakh units for economically weaker sections: R.Vaithilingam

One of the stalls at the exhibition at Municipalika that got under way on Monday in Chennai. Photo: S.S.Kumar.

The State will get an additional 1.85 lakh housing units in the next five years at a cost of Rs.17,230 crore. Of these, 1.43 lakh units would be for the economically weaker sections, R.Vaithilingam, Minister for Housing and Urban Development said on Monday.

Speaking at the inauguration of Municipalika, ‘10 international conference and exhibition on good urban governance for safe, healthy, green, inclusive and smart cities', he said 39,000 units were for other income groups divided into low, medium and high. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Civic amenities, connectivity elude industrial hub of 8 lakh residents

K West, the most-populated ward is a hub of commercial and industrial activities. While part of the ward is dotted with glass-tinted multi-storey offices of major corporates, the industrial hub MIDC-SEEPZ, Saki Naka industrial belt, slums and SRA projects cover up the rest.

The ward covers 23.5 square kilometres, with a population of over 8 lakh and an additional day-time floating population of two lakh. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Rice to cost KBK creamy-layer dear

BHUBANESWAR: In a significant move, the State Government has decided to drop certain ‘privileged’ families __ in above poverty line (APL) category __ from its flagship Rs 2-a-kg-rice scheme in the KBK region.

Effecting a modification to its last year order, the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department has identified four categories of APL families who will not be eligible for the subsidised rice anymore. Income Tax (IT) payers, Government employees, four-wheeler owners and pension-holders will be excluded. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

“Implement national policy in slum dwellers' issue”

VISAKHAPATNAM : People for India-Visakhapatnam Forum president and former Vice Chancellor of Andhra University K.V. Ramana has observed that the GVMC officials were only to blame for the clash that ensued while they tried to shift slum dwellers in the city recently.

Addressing a round table organised by PFI on Saturday, Prof. Ramana said it was not right to drive away slum dwellers from the city while several traders and political leaders indulged in land grabbing in the city. In fact, the role of slum dwellers in the development of the city was crucial, he said. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

CPI promises schemes for urban poor

The Communist Party of India(CPI), in its manifesto for UP Assembly polls, claimed credit for NREGS and RTI Act, saying the UPA, in its first term, brought them under pressure of the Left.

The manifesto says that UPA-I, under the pressure of the Left, on one side brought schemes like Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (also called NREGS) and enacted laws like Right to Information (RTI), on the other side, inflation remained under control and corruption could not flourish. While the UPA-II, which is supported by SP and BSP, created new records in corruption and inflation, the manifesto says. Read more

Source : expressindia.com

Soon,Govt to serve up Food Security Act

Union Minister for Commerce, Industry & Textiles Anand Sharma said that the UPA Government is planning to implement the Right to Food Security Act after the tremendous response to the Right to Education and Right to Information, which have been “successfully implemented”.

Sharma said the industrial package for hill States of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir will be revised and likely to be introduced again next year. Read more

Source : dailypioneer.com