Urban News

The Hindu - Bihar 14.08.2009

Bihar formulates schemes for Central package

Patna: In a bid to secure Central assistance to the tune of over Rs.12,500 crore, Bihar has formulated several schemes with thrust on key sectors like gratuitous relief, employment generation, drinking water, irrigation and storage of foodgrains for 26 drought-hit districts.

Several schemes have been formulated for the purpose of reaching relief and succour to over 1.26 crore families living in 26 districts declared as drought-hit by the State’s NDA Government, State Disaster Management principal secretary Vyasji said on Thursday.

On delay in submission of the memorandum to the Centre seeking the special financial package for drought-hit areas, he said that after intensive review of the situation and formulation of the scheme, it came to the State Government’s notice that it would require, apart from the resources it has in hands, not less than Rs.12,500 crore from the Centre.

“The memorandum is now in the final stages of preparation in keeping with the financial needs of the key departments like agriculture, health, energy, food and civil supplies and animal resources to step up relief operations in the affected districts,” Mr. Vyasji said.

“We hope that the memorandum after being vetted by the State Government will be sent to the Centre within a day or two,” he added.

Mr. Vyasji said rescheduling of cooperative loans, collection of land rent, cess, irrigation taxes and electricity surchage related to agriculture will be postponed for the fiscal 2009-10.

State Cabinet Secretary Girish Shankar said a crisis management group under Chief Secretary Anup Mukherjee would review the situation regularly with assistance from the district-level task force formed to implement the schemes in the affected districts.

Cash dole

The State Government has also proposed providing cash dole with plan to distribute roughly around Rs.100 crore within a period of three months, besides distributing 1.26 crore quintal of foodgrains for a month, official sources said.

“We also plan to raise over 1200 make-shift camps for protecting cattle heads, besides arranging for fodder and medicines,” they said.

The future strategies also included seeking assistance in diesel subsidy for irrigation for Rabi, ensuring credit to all Kisan Credit Card holders and seed subsidy at 50 per cent for Kharif and Rabi, sources added.

Installation of new hand pumps, deepening existing ones and providing mini piped water supply schemes in villages, supplying water through tankers, were among other plans for the drought-hit population, sources said.

Among the districts declared drought-hit are: Patna, Nalanda, Bhojpur, Buxar, Rohtas, Kaimur, Gaya, Jehanabad, Nawada, Arwal, Aurangabad, Munger, Sheikhpura, Lakhisarai, Jamui, Bhagalpur, Banka, Saran, Siwan, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Begusarai, Madhepura, Kishanganj, Katihar and Vaishali.

The paddy sowing in Bihar dropped by 59 per cent to 15 lakh hectares against the targeted 35.50 lakh hectares in the current crop season. During the last crop season, the sowing was 34.50 lakh hectares.

State Agriculture Department deputy director (statistics) Sanjay Singh said rainfall was 42 per cent deficient at 331 mm between June 1 and August 7, 2009. --PTI

The Hindu - Delhi 14.08.2009

Suvidha Kendras taking the schemes and benefits within the reach of the urban poor

Urvashi Sarkar

NEW DELHI: Sixty-two-year-old Jhinkan Prasad has come to Mahila Vikas Sansthan, a Naraina-based non-government organisation here in the Capital, to apply for old age pension.

The NGO has been demarcated as a Suvidha Kendra and a Gender Resource Centre by the Delhi Government as part of its Mission Convergence programme launched in 2008.

“As a Suvidha Kendra, it is a site of single-window clearance where the poor can apply for schemes and benefits they are entitled to. A Gender Resource Centre is where women below the poverty line come for courses in vocational training, legal aid, knowledge on nutrition and health care, formation of self-help groups and non-formal education free of cost,” says Shyamala Shiveshwarkar, consultant with the Centre for Advocacy and Research.

Those who finish the courses receive diplomas awarded by the Union Government.

The Mission Convergence programme was launched to place schemes and benefits within the reach of the urban poor in the Capital.

“For this purpose, the Delhi Government enlisted 70 NGOs which sent their outreach workers to survey areas of the Capital door-to-door. The NGOs came up with a list of 40 lakh individuals who were classified as below poverty line.” says Ms. Shiveshwarkar.

The classification took place on the basis of place of residence, people who are socially vulnerable and those who are occupationally vulnerable.

“The outreach workers explained to the people the concept of GRCs and SKs and told them about the single form to be filled even if they were entitled to benefits from several schemes. The people were informed about GRCs in their neighbourhoods,” adds Ms. Shiveshwarkar.

Individuals like Jhinkan Prasad learnt about GRCs from people who visited his house during the survey.

He displays a piece of paper with his details on it and also the name of the survey worker who met him.

Mission Convergence director Rashmi Singh says: “The BPL classification has been expanded to include vulnerable categories instead of limiting it to classification based on income. The programme is still in a transitional stage, services have to be directly carried to the people and there may be objections to change in the traditional systems of delivery mechanisms. Five lakh women have already benefited from GRCs.”

Girja Kumari Sahu, who works with the District Resource Centre, South, adds: “At present GRCs are equipped to help individuals in applying for five-seven specific schemes as decided by those in charge of Mission Convergence. The aim is to enable GRCs to deliver the benefits of above 40 schemes.”

The programme also aims to provide those who have been identified in the survey with biometric cards. These cards will serve multiple functions including identity proof. The 78 operational GRCs-SKs, which are being pitched as the face of the Government at the community level, are the main interface between the two.

Dr. Gyanendra Kumar, executive director of Mahila Vikas Sansthan, says: “When people come to the SK to apply for schemes they are entitled to, they have to submit the self-attested application form, details of their bank account and statement, affidavit and residence proof. These forms are then sent to the District Resource Centre and finally the Department of Social Welfare.”