Situational Analysis of the National Urban Livelihood

Mission and

Study of Community Engagement Platforms

Final Report September 2017

All photographs are by UMC unless otherwise mentioned. Data from

this document may be used and quoted with due acknowledgement to

the organization.

September 2017

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Cover Photo: Meeting with ALF members at Berhampur, Odisha

Situational Analysis of the National Urban Livelihood

Mission (NULM) and

Study of Community Engagement Platforms

Final Report

September 2017

Prepared by

Urban Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

For more details, contact:

Manvita Baradi

A 202, GCP Business Centre

Opposite Memnagar Fire Station, Navrangpura

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Disclaimer

The report refers information discussed with different partners of the project including Bill and Melinda

Gates Foundation, Public Affairs Centre and the National Urban Livelihood Mission of the Ministry of

Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

During the course of the discussion, we were provided with both written and verbal information. Nothing

has come to our attention to cause us to believe that the data or maps provided by various sources are

not true or not correct. We believe this information to be authentic and therefore have not conducted an

independent audit of the same. No investigations of the title of the tangible and intangible assets have

been made and matters of a legal nature relating to the title of the assets have not been considered.

Nothing contained herein, to the contrary and in no event shall UMC or any of its staff or any of its

contractors be liable for any loss of profit or revenues and any direct, incidental, consequential

damages incurred by any user of this document. In case this document is to be made available or

disclosed to any third party, this disclaimer must be issued to the concerned party.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Shri Sanjay Kumar, IAS, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

(MoHUA), Archana Mittal, Director-NULM and their National Mission Management Unit team comprising

Dr. Savita Jain, Damodar Mishra, R M Ravi, Mayank Mohan Mishra and John Devasundaram for their

valuable insights and experience in urban livelihood in India. We take this opportunity to thank Dr.

Siddharth Patel, Gujarat Urban Livelihood Mission, for helping us understand the frameworks and

implementation of NULM in Gujarat.

This study would not have been possible without the support of the Managers and experts in the SMMU

and CMMU/ DMMUs in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, as well as

the contributions of all the experts beyond the selected/ identified organizations, who shared their

experiences in implementing NULM/ NRLM and/ or other poverty reduction initiatives. All the people we

met patiently responded to our queries. The UMC Team thanks the representatives of Skills Training

Providers and several resource organizations (MAVIM - Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahamandal in

Maharashtra; Mission, Paribartan, SWATI, Niyatee Foundation and others in Odisha) and NGOs who

frankly shared their experiences and challenges in implementing the NULM.

Santosh Poonia, Mahesh Gajera, and Priyanka Jain of Aajeevika Bureau; Rajendra Joshi, Niraj Jani,

Devuben, Kunal Patel and Sandip Panchal of Saath; I A Mohan, V Murugesh Kumar and others at

SPMS; K. Rama Prabha, K. Ram Kumar, and others at Dhan Foundation; Swapnil Chaturvedi, Jitendra

and Bachat Sakhis of Samagra Empowerment Foundation; Aparna Susarla of SWaCH and a team of

entrepreneurs dealing in waste; Pratima Joshi and the field team of Shelter Associates; and Seema

Shah, and Noopur Chaturvedi of Sadhna contributed immensely to the study. They not only gave us

insights into their vision and factors that have driven community engagement in their organizations but

also patiently responded to our queries.

We are especially grateful to the members of the Self Help Groups, Area/ Slum Level and City/ Town

Level Federations and small enterprises who elaborated on how membership of small groups, small

savings on a regular basis and exposure to potential for changing their lives contributed to major

positive changes in their lives.

Lastly, UMC would like to thank Madhu Krishna, Sakshi Gudwani, Narender Kande and Priyanka

Thompson from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in trusting us with the study.

We thank Dr. Meena Nair, Dr. Satyajeet J Nanda and Ms. Devika Kannan from Public Affairs Centre

India (PAC) for offering us their insights on the main elements of this study.

Thanks to Dr. Sharadbala Joshi for anchoring the study from UMC and providing valuable insights to

the process.

i

Government of India has intensified its technical and financial support for achieving poverty reduction. One

of the means for reducing poverty is to institutionalize effective approaches, techniques, and programmes

that result in bringing quality benefits to more urban residents more quickly and more permanently. It has

recognized the need for enabling the poor to be self-sufficient, and has introduced several schemes

focusing on community development and basic services provision.

The first pilot Urban Community Development (UCD) Project that was started in India in 1958 was designed

to cover a population of 50,000 split into approximately 8 area-level committees with a population of 6,000

each, to be further subdivided into 12 primary units consisting of a small population of 500. Each

neighborhood was to have its own Neighborhood Committee consisting of representatives of different

sections of the neighborhood. The scheme provided a specific staffing pattern of a Project Officer and 8

Community Organizers (COs) supported by some voluntary workers (Chandra, 1972). The community-

focused approach was continued subsequently under various „social and infrastructure development‟

schemes of the Government. All the initiatives had a component of “Community Development‟, and

required participation of communities.

In early 1980s, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) started promoting Self

Help Groups (SHGs) in the rural areas on a large scale. The concept was soon introduced in urban areas

and has been promoted thereafter through several Government schemes, the latest being the Deendayal

Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM). Moving from the concept of savings and

credit, the Government aims to achieve universal mobilization of women and other common interest groups

into self-help groups, and support for improved livelihoods at a time when several new opportunities for

entrepreneurship and livelihoods are coming up under other schemes of the Government. In the 4th year

after the launch of NULM, this study was undertaken at the initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban

Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The objective of the study is to identify challenges in

implementation of NULM and to study good practices in community engagement so that it can contribute to

the aim of bringing about convergence of NULM with the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and the National

Urban Health Mission (NUHM). The study of good practices in the areas of livelihoods and sanitation, and

of NULM implementation in 15 urban areas across the States of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,

Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Odisha are presented in this Report.

The Report is divided in 6 Chapters. Chapter I provides an overview of the context of NULM, specifically a

brief description of poverty reduction programmes in urban areas of India to highlight the fact that NULM

Guidelines incorporate lessons learned from previous schemes. This Chapter also provides details of the

NULM and its sub-components, including the organizational structure and capacity building support for

Mission staff. Chapter 2 includes a brief review of literature to highlight the varied scope of „community

engagement‟ and introduces the good practices that have been studied. Chapter 3 introduces our

approach and the methodology for this study. Chapter 4 comprises of the findings from field visits to the

study areas during the period April to July 2017. The findings are presented by State and urban local

bodies. The key observations and recommendations from each State are listed at the end of the description

of each sub-section. Chapter 5 provides a summary of the study findings, and lists possible actions that

can address the challenges faced in implementing NULM. This is followed by the references and all the

Annexures.

SUMMARY

iii

Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................ i

Summary ...................................................................................................................................................... ii

Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................... iii

List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................ v

List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... vi

List of Boxes ................................................................................................................................................. vi

List of Photos ............................................................................................................................................... vii

Acronyms and Glossary .............................................................................................................................. viii

Table of Contents

1 Context of NULM ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Poverty Reduction Approaches and Schemes .................................................................... 1

SJSRY and Implementation Challenges ...................................................................................... 1 1.2 The NULM ............................................................................................................................ 2

NULM Administration and Implementation Structure ................................................................... 2

2 Community Engagement, Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship ...................... 7 2.1 Communities ........................................................................................................................ 7 2.2 Community Participation ...................................................................................................... 8 2.3 Community Engagement, Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship .................................. 8 2.4 SHGs as means for empowering women ............................................................................ 9

3 The Study: ..................................................................................................................... 11 3.1 The Study ........................................................................................................................... 11

Approach to conducting the situational assessment and study of good practices ..................... 12 Good Practices .......................................................................................................................... 12 Study Areas and their Urban Poverty Approaches .................................................................... 13 Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 14 Selection of Cities for the Study ................................................................................................. 15

4 Findings ......................................................................................................................... 17 4.1 Odisha ................................................................................................................................ 20

NULM Implementation ............................................................................................................... 21 Bhubaneshwar ........................................................................................................................... 26 Berhampur .............................................................................................................................. 28 Dhenkanal .............................................................................................................................. 32 Key Observations and Learnings ............................................................................................... 36

4.2 Tamil Nadu ......................................................................................................................... 40 SHG Movement in Tamil Nadu .................................................................................................. 41 NULM Implementation ............................................................................................................... 43 Chennai 47 Madurai District .......................................................................................................................... 52 Cuddalore District ...................................................................................................................... 57 Key Observations and Learnings ............................................................................................... 59

4.3 Andhra Pradesh ................................................................................................................. 62 Approach to Urban Poverty Projects .......................................................................................... 63 Vishakhapatnam ........................................................................................................................ 68 Vijayawada73 Ongole 74 Key Observations and Learnings ............................................................................................... 78

4.4 Maharashtra ....................................................................................................................... 82 NULM Implementation ............................................................................................................... 83 SMMU .............................................................................................................................. 84 Pune .............................................................................................................................. 87 Nashik .............................................................................................................................. 90 Wai .............................................................................................................................. 93 Key Observations and Learnings ............................................................................................... 94

4.5 Rajasthan ......................................................................................................................... 100 SMMU ............................................................................................................................ 101 Jaipur ............................................................................................................................ 103 Kota ............................................................................................................................ 108 Udaipur ............................................................................................................................ 112 Key Observations and Learnings ............................................................................................. 115

5 Overall Findings and Recommendation ................................................................... 119 5.1 Incorporating long-term perspective for monitoring NULM .............................................. 119

Identifying the poor .................................................................................................................. 119 Comprehensive database ........................................................................................................ 120 MMUs: Organizational Structure for NULM Implementation .................................................... 120

5.2 Capacity building of experts facilitating effective implementation of NULM ..................... 120 5.3 Social Mobilization and Universal Coverage of all the poor ............................................. 122 5.4 Bank Linkage ................................................................................................................... 123 5.5 Entrepreneurship Development for Sustainable Livelihoods ........................................... 123 5.6 Shelter for the Urban Homeless ....................................................................................... 125 5.7 Street Vendors and Vending Zones ................................................................................. 125 5.8 Good Practices: Lessons for the NULM SMI&D and EST&P components ...................... 126

References ......................................................................................................................... 130 Annexure I: The NULM Components ......................................................................................... 134 Annexure II: Ongoing GoI Missions and Schemes for Urban Areas .......................................... 141 Annexure III: Dhenkanal, Odisha MISSION Website ................................................................ 142 Annexure IV: Tamil Nadu ........................................................................................................... 146 Annexure V: Andhra Pradesh .................................................................................................... 150 Annexure VI: Rajasthan: Kota .................................................................................................... 153 Annexure VII: List of People and Organisations met ................................................................ 155

v

List of Tables

Table 1: Types of Community Engagement .................................................................................. 8

Table 2: Indicators for Assessment of Community Engagement Platforms ................................ 12

Table 3: No. and % of BPL Population by States - 2011-12 (Tendulkar Methodology)** ........... 14

Table 4: State-Wise Percentage of Population Below Poverty Line by Social Groups ............... 14

Table 5: NULM Study Areas by Population ................................................................................. 15

Table 6: State level approach to NULM implementation ............................................................. 17

Table 7: SHG formation, ALF formation, Bank Accounts, Revolving Fund ................................. 29

Table 8: Performance of SM&ID activities till July 2017 .............................................................. 33

Table 9: SEP –I Status ................................................................................................................ 34

Table 10: SEP – G Status ........................................................................................................... 34

Table 11: SEP-Bank Linkage Status ........................................................................................... 34

Table 13: Areas where Street Vendors Survey completed in Greater Chennai Corporation ...... 50

Table 14: MEPMA R6.3 Capital Infusion Report 9/14/2017 ........................................................ 64

Table 15: Ongole – Progress in Implementation of NULM during 2016-17 ................................ 75

Table 16: Shelter for Urban Homeless ........................................................................................ 89

Table 17 Loan application status in SEP component under NULM at Jaipur ........................... 104

Table 18 RSLDC trainees in Jaipur ........................................................................................... 104

Table 19: RSLDC - Details of Trainees in Kota ......................................................................... 110

Table 20: Year wise details of formation of SHGs..................................................................... 112

Table 21: Training plans for different community cadres .......................................................... 113

Table 22: Details of persons trained under NULM .................................................................... 114

Table 23: Year wise number of beneficiaries in SEP component under NULM ........................ 114

Table 24: Approved Number of Technical Experts for the States ............................................. 120

Table 25: MIS Data on SMMU and CMMU Trainings ............................................................... 122

Table 26: Trades/ Enterprises and Training Courses ............................................................... 124

List of Figures

Figure 1: SJSRY: Three-Tier Structure ......................................................................................... 1

Figure 2: Components of NULM .................................................................................................... 4

Figure 3: Organizational Structure under NULM ........................................................................... 5

Figure 4: Responsibilities of Mission Management Units under NULM ........................................ 5

Figure 5: States considered for landscape study ........................................................................ 13

Figure 6: Odisha Study Areas ..................................................................................................... 20

Figure 7: BMC Administrative Structure ...................................................................................... 26

Figure 8: Berhampur Administrative Structure for NULM ............................................................ 28

Figure 9: Dhenkanal Administrative Structure ............................................................................. 32

Figure 10: Tamil Nadu Study Areas ............................................................................................ 40

Figure 11: Greater Chennai Corporation Administrative Structure ............................................. 47

Figure 12: TNWDC Administrative structure in Cuddalore .......................................................... 57

Figure 14: Visakhapatnam UCD department Administrative structure........................................ 68

Figure 15: MEPMA 3-Tier Community Structure ......................................................................... 69

Figure 16: Vijayawada UCD Department Structure..................................................................... 73

Figure 17: Ongole UCD department structure ............................................................................. 74

Figure 18: Maharashtra Study Areas .......................................................................................... 82

Figure 19: PMC UCD Department ............................................................................................... 87

Figure 20: NMC UCD Department............................................................................................... 90

Figure 21: WAI Administrative Structure ..................................................................................... 93

Figure 22: Rajasthan Study Areas ............................................................................................ 100

Figure 23: Jaipur DMMU Structure ............................................................................................ 103

Figure 24: Kota DMMU Structure .............................................................................................. 108

Figure 25: Process followed in Kota for SHG Formation .......................................................... 108

Figure 26: Mobilization process for skill development in EST&P component under NULM ..... 110

Figure 27: Udaipur DMMU Structure ......................................................................................... 112

List of Boxes

Box 1: People‟s Participation and Urban Community Development ............................................. 1

Box 2: Identifying the Poor ............................................................................................................ 2

Box 3: NRLM list of areas where convergence can be achieved ................................................ 11

Box 4: SHG-Bank Linkage – Procedure for Interest Subsidy .................................................... 135

vii

List of Photos

Photo 1: Berhampur Municipal Corporation ................................................................................ 29

Photo 2: ULB Resource Map prepared by resource organization ............................................... 30

Photo 3: SEP –G enterprise: Preparing baby food...................................................................... 31

Photo 4: Area Level Federation Meeting at Berhampur .............................................................. 31

Photo 5: Meeting with COs and resource organizations, Berhampur ......................................... 32

Photo 6: Dhenkanal Municipality ................................................................................................. 33

Photo 7: ALF Meeting in Dhenkanal ............................................................................................ 33

Photo 8: Group Activities, Dhenkanal .......................................................................................... 34

Photo 9: Training on making of cleaning consumables) ............................................................. 35

Photo 11: SHG produce, Dhenkanal ........................................................................................... 36

Photo 12: Chennai City Mission Management Unit ..................................................................... 47

Photo 14: Members of federation of waste pickers in Chennai Corporation. .............................. 51

Photo 17: Papad making enterprise at the CLC in Zone 4, Madurai........................................... 53

Photo 20: Bakery Unit run by ALF, CLC, Madurai ....................................................................... 55

Photo 22: A tailoring enterprise, Madurai .................................................................................... 56

Photo 23: SHG meeting at Cuddalore TNCWD Office ................................................................ 57

Photo 26: SHG formed by DHAN foundation .............................................................................. 70

Photo 27: Survey training at NAC................................................................................................ 70

Photo 28: Street vending zone on the beach (Left) Identity card of a street vendor (Right) ....... 70

Photo 29: NAC Regional Training Centre at Visakhapatnam ..................................................... 72

Photo 30: Lakshmi interacting with the UMC team and PD, UCD .............................................. 72

Photo 31: A SHE Auto driver, Vijaywada .................................................................................... 74

Photo 32: A small shop set up by SHG member, Ongole ........................................................... 76

Photo 34: Snack making enterprise, Ongole ............................................................................... 77

Photo 36: Shelter for street children, Pune ................................................................................. 89

Photo 37: Satya Mahila Bachat Gat describing Mid-Day Meals enterprise ................................ 92

Photo 38: Pamphlet of STP ......................................................................................................... 92

Photo 39: Discussion at new STP center .................................................................................... 92

Photo 40: Women preparing midday meals ................................................................................ 94

Photo 41: Schedule of the meals provided .................................................................................. 94

Photo 42 Shelter near railway station, Jaipur ............................................................................ 105

Photo 43 Temporary vending zone in Jaipur ............................................................................. 105

Photo 44: SHG made items displayed at CLC Jaipur ............................................................... 106

Photo 45 Food products and idols prepared by SHGs .............................................................. 109

Photo 46: An interactive session with trainees in RSETI .......................................................... 109

Photo 47: Cloth Making Enterprise, Udaipur ............................................................................. 115

Photo 48: SWaCH - Waste-pickers sorting the day‟s waste at the Recycling Point ................. 129

Acronyms and Abbreviations

ALF/ SLF Area Level Federation/ Slum Level Federation

APD Assistant Project Director

APO Assistant Project Officer

ASHA Accredited Social Health Activists (part of National Urban/ Rural Health Mission)

BeMC Berhampur Municipal Corporation

BK Book Keeper

BPL Below Poverty Line

CB&T Capacity Building and Training

CBCs Community Bank Coordinators

CBOs Community Based Organizations

CC Cluster Coordinator

CDOs Community Development Officers

CDS Community Development Societies

CED Centre for Environment and Development

CIGs Common Interest Groups

CLCs City Livelihood Centers

CLF/ TLF City Level Federation/ Town Level Federation

CMA Commissionerate of Municipal Administration

CMMU City Mission Management Unit

COs Community Organizers

CRPs Community Resource Persons

DA Dearness Allowance

DAY Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana

DCC District Coordination Committee

DGET Directorate General of Employment and Training

DMMU District Mission Management Unit

DPO Deputy Project Officer

EDP Entrepreneurship Development Programme

EST&P Employment through Skills Training and Placement

GoI Government of India

GoO Government of Odisha

GVMC Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation

HR Human Resource

ICDS Integrated Child Development Services

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development Scheme

IT & ITES Information Technology and Information Technology Enabled Services

MAS Mahila Arogya Samitis

MAVIM Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahamandal

MEPMA Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas

ix

MIS Management Information System

MoHUA Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (previously MoHUPA -- Ministry of Housing

and Urban Poverty Alleviation)

MSME Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises

MSSDS Maharashtra State Skill Development Society

MUDRA Bank Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Bank

MYRADA Mysore Resettlement and Development Authority

NABARD National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development

NAC National Academy of Construction

NFSA National Food Security Act

NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations

NHCs Neighborhood Committees

NHGs Neighborhood Groups

NMC Nashik Municipal Corporation

NMMU National Mission Management Unit

NPAs Non-Performing Assets

NRLM National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)

NSQF National Skills Qualifying Framework

NUHM National Urban Health Mission

NULM National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM)

PAC Public Affairs Centre

PD Project Director

PIP Participatory identification of Poor

PMC Pune Municipal Corporation

PO Project Officer

RBI Reserve Bank of India

RSETI Rural Self-Employment Training

SBM Swachh Bharat Mission

SCs Scheduled Castes

SECC Socio Economic and Caste Census

SEP Self-Employment Programme

SEP-G Self-Employment Programme – Group

SEP-I Self-Employment Programme - Individual

SEP-SHG Self-Employment Programme - SHG

SERP Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty

SGSY Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana

SHGs Self Help Groups

SJSRY Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana

SLBC State Level Bankers Committee

SLF Slum Level Federation

SM&ID Social Mobilization and Institution Development

SMMU State Mission Management Unit

STP Skill Training Provider

STs Scheduled Tribes

SUDA State Urban Development Authority

SUH Scheme of Shelter for Urban Homeless

SULM State Urban Livelihoods Mission

SUSV Support to Urban Street Vendors

TA Travel Allowance

TNCDW Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women

TNULM Tamil Nadu Urban Livelihoods Mission

UCD Urban Community Development

UCs Utilization Certificates

ULBs Urban Local Bodies

UMC Urban Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

VMC Vijayawada Municipal Corporation

VO Village Organization

VRF Vulnerability Reduction Fund

VTP Vocational Training Provider

WASH Water, Sanitation And Hygiene

Glossary

bachat gat Savings Group

badi Nuggets of seasoned dal/ split pulses, asafoetida, black pepper, etc.

chhatua A powdered and ready to eat mix of various lentils, rice, wheat, groundnut

etc.

murukku A snack made of rice and gram flour with sesame seeds etc.

palishree melas Fairs showcasing local products and crafts

panch sutra Five Principles

papad A long lasting snack made from split black gram that is either roasted or

fried

1

1 Context of NULM

With the total urban population below poverty line estimated at 531.25 lakhs in India (Commission,

2014), the successful implementation of schemes for the poor, such as the NULM, the Swachh Bharat

Mission (SBM) and the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) can have a sustainable impact in the

lives of the poor. Over the years, the Government of India (GoI) has implemented several schemes for

improving the lives of the poor. These included schemes in the areas of health, basic education, mother

and childcare, slum improvement for access to community level water supply and toilets, vocational

training, employment generation, etc. Hence, the NULM is not unique in terms of its components and

sub-components but in terms of the focus on universal financial inclusion and livelihoods related skills

enhancement in a "mission mode". The following Chapter provides a brief overview of GoI initiatives

aimed at improving the living conditions and livelihoods off the poor in urban areas.

1.1 Poverty Reduction Approaches and Schemes

Urban poverty being multi-dimensional, the various vulnerabilities faced by the poor need to be

addressed simultaneously in a comprehensive and integrated manner. The dimensions of urban

poverty can be categorized in terms of residential (access to land, shelter, basic services, etc.), social

(deprivations related to factors like gender, age and social stratification, lack of social protection,

inadequate voice and participation, etc.) and occupational (precarious livelihoods, dependence on

informal sector for employment/ earnings, lack of job security, etc.) vulnerabilities. Currently, NULM is

one GoI schemes that is addressing the social and occupational vulnerabilities of the poor.

Starting with the first pilot Urban Community Development (UCD) Project in 1958, GoI has over the

years continued to support schemes in urban areas that entailed involvement of communities through

mohalla committees or vikas mandal or mahila mandals and youth groups. Subsequently, under the

Urban Basic Services for the Poor (UBSP) scheme launched in 1991-92, community organization,

mobilization and empowerment was promoted through Neighborhood Groups (NHGs), Neighborhood

Committees (NHCs), and Community Development Societies (CDS) with the objective of achieving

social sector goals. Although the UBSP target was to cover 70 lakh urban poor beneficiaries in 500

towns by 1996-97, 70 lakh beneficiaries in 350 towns were covered by 31.03.1997 (Chandra, 2004).

The Prime Minister's Integrated Urban Poverty Eradication Programme (PM IUPEP), which was

launched in November 1995 for urban agglomerations with a population ranging between 50,000 and 1

lakh, also promoted NHGs, NHCs, and thrift and credit societies.

Box 1: People’s Participation and Urban Community Development

“The concept of people's participation is central to the approach of urban

community development. The entire process of urban community development is

geared around people's involvement and participation in efforts to improve their

level of living with as much reliance on their own initiative. Project programmes

have been conceived as mere instruments of initiating and enthusing the

community for self-help through effective utilization of their own resources and

mobilization of outside resources which often lie well within their reach but go

begging for want of coordinated efforts.”

Source: Chandra 1972

In December 1997, following a review of centrally sponsored schemes for poverty alleviation and

employment generation (Committee, 1997), the NRY, PMIUPEP and UBSP were phased out and the

Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) was launched. The objective of SJSRY was to provide

gainful employment to the urban unemployed or underemployed poor by encouraging the setting up of

CONTEXT OF THE NATIONAL URBAN LIVELIHOOD

MISSION 1

2

self-employment ventures or provision of wage employment. The SGSY for rural areas and SJSRY for

urban areas covered various aspects of self-employment such as organization of the poor into SHGs,

their training, credit, technology, infrastructure and marketing. The SJSRY required the setting-up of

NHGs, NHCs and CDS based on the UBSP pattern. The CDS, federations of different community

based organizations, were expected to be the focal point for identification of beneficiaries, preparation

of applications, monitoring of recovery and for other handholding support.

The SJSRY was applicable to all urban towns in India, and most significantly, it was implemented by the

ULBs on a whole town basis with special emphasis on urban poor living Below Poverty Line (BPL). The

SJSRY required identifying of the eligible urban poor using seven non-economic parameters related to

living conditions1 along with the economic criteria for under SJSRY (GoI, 1997). However, there was

criticism about the methodology used, especially because it resulted in the exclusion of very vulnerable

households from the wide range of development and welfare schemes that are meant for BPL

households (Deaton & Dreze, 2002). The extent of the problem was highlighted by a study (F Ram, et

al., 2009) in 2009 which revealed that of the 27.3% households in India that possessed BPL cards, 44%

(270 lakhs) BPL cards were distributed to non-poor households while about 60% of households living in

abject poverty did not possess BPL cards (See Box 2 for details).

Box 2: Identifying the Poor

Three nationwide BPL surveys have been conducted in India (1992, 1997 and 2002) using different methodologies.

The BPL survey conducted in 1992 used the household income criteria with a limit of Rs 11,000 annually. The 1997

BPL survey aimed to exclude the “visibly non-poor” families using the exclusion criteria based on any five variables,

namely, ownership of a pucca house, annual family income of more than Rs 20,000, ownership of more than two

hectares of land, ownership of consumer durables such as a television, refrigerator, ceiling fan, motorcycle/

scooter, three-wheeler and ownership of farm equipment such as a tractor, power tiller, or combined threshers/

harvester.

The 2002 BPL survey used score-based ranking with a score ranging from 0 to 4. A set of 13 socio-economic

indicators (size of the operational landholding, type of house, availability of clothes, food security, sanitation,

ownership of consumer durables, literacy status, status of household labor force, means of livelihood, status of

school-going children, type of indebtedness, reason of migration and preference of assistance) were used for

identifying the poor. The States were given flexibility of deciding the cut-off points the BPL population. However, the

2002 BPL lists were operationalized after February 2006 due to a petitioner alleging that the new methodology

would reduce the number of persons identified as BPL and in a large number of poor families losing their

entitlements.

A study using data of the National Family and Health Survey-3 (conducted during 2005-06 under very scientific

sampling design and survey procedures and covering more than 99% of the country‟s population), estimated that

about 27.3% households in India possessed BPL cards. Of these, 44% of the BPL cards (270 lakhs) were

distributed to non-poor households and about 60% of households living in abject poverty did not possess BPL

cards. The state-level analysis showed that the percentage of households possessing a BPL card was the highest

in Andhra Pradesh (65%) followed by Karnataka (46.8%) and Orissa (47.8%). It also showed that a sizeable

proportion of non-poor households in Andhra Pradesh (58.9%), Karnataka (37%), Kerala (30%), Orissa (29.7%),

and Bihar (23.3%) possessed a BPL card. Overall, Tamil Nadu not only had the lowest percentage of households

having BPL cards (7.8%) but also had the lowest percentage of non-poor households (4.8%) possessing BPL

cards. The study clearly indicated that the welfare schemes meant for the poorest were probably not reaching

those who most needed welfare support (F Ram, et al., 2009).

1 (i) roof of dwelling unit, (ii) floor of dwelling unit, (iii) access to water, (iv) access to sanitation, (v) education level, (vi) type of

employment, and (vii) status of children in household.

1

A community organizer (CO), appointed for

about 2000 identified families was to be the

facilitator at the community level (GoI, 1997). At

the town level, an Urban Poverty Eradication

Cell in the ULB was to be headed by a Project

Officer who was responsible for coordinating

the activities of all the CDSs and COs. At the

district level, the State Government constituted

a District Urban Development Agency (DUDA)

with an officer designated as the District Project

Officer and at the State level; a State Urban

Development Authority (SUDA) was designated

as the State Nodal Agency for urban poverty

alleviation programmes.

Figure 1: SJSRY: Three-Tier Structure

SJSRY and Implementation Challenges

In 2009, the SJSRY was revised to incorporate support for training, market oriented skill development

and programmes, and for further empowering communities to tackle urban poverty issues through the

self-managed community structures. The revised guidelines also targeted towns with a population

above 500,000 persons as per the 1991 census.

Two reviews of the SJSRY (HUDCO, 2008), (Access Development Services, n.d.) also indicated that

there was lack of awareness about the scheme, a lack of staff to implement the scheme and a

reluctance of bank officials to extend loans for micro-enterprises under the scheme (Steering

Committee on Urbanization, 2011). The reviews also indicated the following:

i. Need for convergence with schemes being implemented by other ministries/ departments. For

example, although GoI schemes for affordable housing and basic services provision were being

implemented at the time, there was notional integration with livelihood issues.

ii. Targeting of beneficiaries under the scheme relied on state BPL lists that were neither uniform nor

comparable across states.

iii. Identification of courses and trades and the classification of beneficiaries according to need were

not undertaken. Only in a few states, training courses offered were synchronized with the

investigation of job opportunities by sector, the demand for skills, training linkages with industry, as

well as the aspirations of the beneficiaries.

iv. Although the SJSRY institutionalized community structures and participation, cities had a top down

approach to community structures. The only States where the community-centered approach was

successfully implemented were Kerala (Kudumbashree) and Andhra Pradesh (MEPMA), and to

some extent in Gujarat (Umeed). The success in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh was due to strong

institutionalization and integration of community structures at the city level and strong involvement

of government-level functionaries with the community.

v. The skill-upgrading component of SJSRY had not taken off since the implementation focus was on

providing „employment‟ to the unskilled workers under the UWEP component of SJSRY rather than

on promotion of skill upgrading that would sustain self/ wage employment in the long term.

vi. Lack of sustained financial linkages for self-employment ventures. The scheme was unable to

galvanize finances for self- employment ventures. The roadblocks for access to financial linkages

from the bankers as well as

vii. The bankers found the loan proposals poorly thought through and presented. In addition, the

subsidy amount of 20 per cent as government contribution was seen as too low an amount for the

comfort/ buffer preferred by banks as a guarantee of loans for micro-enterprises. Additionally,

lending to this sector is not seen as attractive. A major hurdle for the beneficiaries was their

inability to produce proof of identity and a credit history.

2

GoI remodeled the SJSRY as the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) with a greater focus on

community engagement and skills development. At the time the NULM was launched in October 2013,

SJSRY had laid the grounds for its implementation in terms of setting a successful precedent for the

involvement of communities as an integral part of a scheme for urban livelihoods as well as for

identification of families living below poverty line using the BPL lists. Subsequently, the Mission was

renamed as the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM but

referred to in this report as NULM.

1.2 The NULM

The aim of the NULM is “to reduce poverty and vulnerability of the urban poor households by enabling

them to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities, resulting in an

appreciable improvement in their livelihoods on a sustainable basis, through building strong grassroots

level institutions of the poor” (MoHUPA, 2013). In addition, the Mission is to provide shelters equipped

with essential services for the urban homeless, and address livelihood concerns of street vendors by

facilitating access to vending areas, institutional credit, social security and skills for accessing emerging

market opportunities.

The core belief of NULM is that “the poor are entrepreneurial and have an innate desire to come out of

poverty … and that livelihood promotion programmes can be scaled up in time bound manner only if

driven by the poor and their institutions”. This is because of the recognition that “Such strong

institutional platforms support the poor in building up their own human, social, financial, and other

assets. …and enables them access to rights, entitlements, opportunities and services from the public

and private sectors, while enhancing their solidarity, voice and bargaining power” (MoHUA 2013).

Overall, the NULM’s implementation rests on community engagement and women empowerment

through Self Help Groups (SHGs), Area Level Federations (ALFs) and City Level Federations (CLFs) to

reduce poverty and vulnerability of the urban poor.

Government of India (GoI) has adopted a multi-pronged approach to achieve the NULM objectives, and

has identified seven components (Figure 2) as follows:

i. Social Mobilization and Institution Development (SM&ID)

ii. Capacity Building and Training (CB&T)

iii. Employment through Skills Training and Placement (EST&P)

iv. Self-Employment Programme (SEP)

v. Support to Urban Street Vendors (SUSV)

vi. Scheme of Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH)

vii. Innovative and Special Projects.

The NULM Mission Document, besides the Vision, Mission etc., provides information about NULM

Administration and Mission Structure, as well as about administration, information, education and

communication expenses. Annexure I presents details on all sub components of the NULM in detail.

NULM Administration and Implementation Structure

The NULM has adopted a three-tiered operational structure with the objective of providing timely and

high quality technical assistance for implementing NULM at Central, State and City levels. At the

national level, the National Mission Management Unit (NMMU) is to ensure effective coordination with

the States/ UTs and provide them with hand holding support as required. The NMMU is to be staffed

with ten technical specialists having expertise the areas of social mobilization and institution

development, social infrastructure, skills and livelihoods, financial inclusion & micro enterprises, housing

for homeless, finance, Management Information System (MIS), monitoring and evaluation, HR,

communications and knowledge management etc.

In order to provide support to States and cities, provision has been made under NULM for creation of

SMMUs and CMMUs with livelihood and programme management professionals. The funding support

for SMMU and CMMUs will be available from NULM only for five years. In every State/ UT, a State

Urban Livelihoods Mission (SULM) is to be established as a registered society that is responsible for

implementation of NULM. Alternatively, if here is an autonomous body already working in the field of

3

poverty alleviation and livelihoods (such as the State Poverty Eradication Mission – Kudumbashree in

Kerala2 and the MEPMA

3 in Andhra Pradesh), it can be designated as the SULM. The State

Government appoints a State Mission Director to manage the SULM and appoints others government

officials in the areas of finance and accounts, establishment matters etc. to assist the State Mission

Director.

2 Kudumbashree, , the Kerala State Poverty Eradication Mission was conceived as a joint programme of the Government of

Kerala and NABARD. It is formally registered as the "State Poverty Eradication Mission" (SPEM) – a society, and was launched on 17 May 1998. Kudumbashree perceives poverty not just as the deprivation of money, but also as the deprivation of basic rights. The poor need to find a collective voice to help claim these rights. Kudumbashree has a state mission with a field officer in each district. (Source: http://www.kudumbashree.org/pages/7).

3 The MEPMA is a Government of AP Society that is part of the Department of Municipal Administration & Urban Development. It

was launched on 1 September 2007 for formulating strategies to implement poverty reduction programmes in urban areas. The Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration is the Chairperson of MEPMA‟s Executive Committee. The MEPMA Mission Director and her team implement all the urban poverty alleviation schemes. The district units are headed by Projects Directors (Source: http://www.apmepma.gov.in/getInfo.do?dt=1&oId=21).

4

Figure 2: Components of NULM

5

A State Mission Management Unit (SMMU) is established at the state level to support the State Mission

Director, SULM in the implementation and monitoring of NULM. The SMMU is to have dedicated

technical specialists having expertise in in the areas of poverty alleviation, social mobilization, financial

inclusion, livelihoods promotion, human resources etc. A maximum of six technical experts at the

SMMU level are funded by the NULM. The responsibilities of the SMMU include preparation of Urban

Poverty Reduction Strategy/ Livelihoods Development Plan for the state, to support cities in preparation

of City Livelihoods Development Plans and to coordinate and develop convergence with other Missions

and programmes in the State. The SMMU is also responsible for organizing state level capacity building

programmes, workshops, seminars, cross-learning exposure visits etc. for key government staff and

technical experts involved in implementation of NULM at DMMU and CMMU levels. The most important

responsibility of the SMMU is to coordinate with various departments of the state and central

governments, banks and other organizations to facilitate implementation of NULM at the state level.

Figure 3: Organizational Structure under NULM

The DMMUs and CMMUs are staffed with technical specialists having expertise in the various fields

and are funded under NULM. In addition, the State Government/ ULBs appoint other officials to deal

with finance and accounts, establishment matters and other such support services. At the district level,

the DMMU is headed by a District Project Officer (DPO) appointed by state government/ ULB. Funding

under NULM is provided for a maximum of four technical experts in a DMMU if a district has more than

3 ULBs. The remaining districts are to be staffed with three technical experts.

Figure 4: Responsibilities of Mission Management Units under NULM

6

At the city level, the NULM activities are to be implemented through CMMUs located in the ULB headed

by a City Project Officer (CPO) appointed by state government/ ULB. The CMMU is to be staffed with

technical specialists. NULM provides funding for a maximum of four technical experts for cities having

more than 5 lakh population, three technical experts for cities with population of 3 to 5 lakh population

and two technical experts for cities having less than 3 lakh population.

At the field level, either COs or resource organizations (which could be autonomous registered

agencies set up by State or Central Government, or well established and long-standing federations of

SHGs, or non-government organizations), are responsible for formation of the SHGs and their

federations as well as bank linkages. There is provision for the resource organizations to engage

Community Resource Persons (CRPs) on their team for the formation of SHGs and their development,

bank-linkages etc. under NULM. The CRPs are members of a mature SHG, who have good knowledge

and experience of SHG concepts, group management norms, SHG meeting process, book-keeping,

agenda fixation etc. They have the ability and skills to motivate the poor, and conduct trainings by

drawing lessons from their personal experiences and the best practices of their SHGs. CRPs act as

guides and role models for other poor individuals.

The Operational Guidelines for each NULM component provide details of financing, the processes to be

followed, the capacity building and monitoring requirements as well as formats for letters, reports etc.

GoI, with the objective of facilitating implementation of NULM, has amended the NULM Operational

Guidelines three times (August 2015; August 2016 and August 2017) since its launch.

The funds required for NMMU are allocated to the Mission Directorate and those for State Mission

Management Unit (SMMU) and City Mission Management Units (CMMUs)/ District Mission

Management Units (DMMU) are released to State Missions. The Central share of the NULM

expenditure is released to States/ UTs in two instalments directly to the account of the SMMU. The

central share is released to States/ UTs only after they fulfil the prescribed criteria regarding submission

of Utilization Certificates (UCs) in accordance with the relevant General Financial Rules as well as

release of matching State share for the past releases. After retaining the State component, the

remaining amount is released by the SMMU to CMMUs/ DMMUs in accordance with targets set/

projects received. In order to promote better utilization of funds under NULM, the idle funds at the

central level, which could not be released to the States/ UTs not fulfilling the prescribed criteria, may be

diverted to better performing States/ UTs (or to centrally administered components) in the 4th quarter of

a given financial year. Further, the indicative component-wise allocation of central share is intimated by

the Mission Directorate, NULM to the States/ UTs from time to time to ensure balanced coverage of all

components under NULM as well as better utilization of available funds. The States may change the

inter-se allocation between the components of the Scheme depending on their need with the approval

of Mission Directorate.

Administration and Other Expenses (A&OE): 2 percent of the allocation under NULM can be utilized at

the Centre/ State/ City levels for administration and other expenses, including monitoring, development

and maintenance of database, MIS, e-tracking, evaluation and other activities. 3 percent of the

allocation under NULM that can be utilized at the Centre/ State/ City levels for the purpose of

information, education and communication.

At the time of the launch, the GoI planned to implement NULM from 2012 to 2017 (the 12th Five Year

Plan)4 in 791 cities across the country covering all district headquarter towns and cities with a

population of 100,000 or more as per the 2011 Census. Now all the States and Union Territories have

been empowered to implement NULM in all the 4,041 statutory ULBs are covered under NULM. As the

most urbanized State, Tamil Nadu has the highest number of towns at 681 (40), followed by Uttar

Pradesh-566 (82), Madhya Pradesh-310 (54), Maharashtra-213 (53), Karnataka-186 (34), Gujarat-160

(35), Rajasthan-145/40, Chattisgarh-140/28, Punjab-118/25, Bihar-97/42, Andhra Pradesh and

Telangana-78 (47), Odisha-74 (33), West Bengal-66 (63), Jammu & Kashmir-64 (22), Uttarakhand-58

(16), Haryana-58 (22), Himachal Pradesh-46 (10), Kerala-45 (14) and in Goa-12 new towns (2) (PIB,

2016).

4 Until 2014, India‟s national development policies and programme contents were decided during formulation of Five Year Plans.

7

2 Community Engagement, Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship

The strategy and components of the NULM are rooted in the strong belief that the poor are entrepreneurial

and have innate desire to come out of poverty. The NULM, as a livelihood promotion programme, aims to

unleash the capabilities of the poor to gain access to rights, entitlements, opportunities and services from

the public and private sectors and generate sustainable livelihoods.

For a majority of the NULM components, community participation is inherent in the operating structure.

Despite earlier attempts at introducing the three-tiered structure to promote community participation, the

structures have not been successfully mainstreamed. NULM aims to build community engagement

platforms for inclusion of the poor through mobilization of women and other interest groups, followed by

formation of SHGs, that is, through community engagement or community participation.

NULM believes that any good practice can be scaled up in a time bound manner only if driven by the poor

and their institutions. Such strong institutional platforms support the poor in building up their own human,

social, financial, and other assets. This in turn, enables them, while enhancing their solidarity, voice and

bargaining power.

In order to assess community engagement platforms, an understanding of the concept of community

engagement is required. This short literature review compiles definitions and different understanding of the

levels of community engagement.

2.1 Communities

Communities are „identified‟ largely by shared traditions and values, and may accommodate multiple and

sometimes conflicting interpretations of their own traditions and values. Community can be defined

variously in terms of:

People, including children, young people and adult women and men living in a specific geographic

area, such as in the city, neighborhood, ward, street or housing area. However, it is now also

accepted that people living in close proximity do not necessarily constitute a community, especially in

urban areas since they may differ with respect to cultural characteristics and value systems.

A community of interest or identity. Some researchers argue that the defining feature of a community

is the common identity shared by its members (Campbell, 2000) Hence, individuals may

simultaneously belong to different religious, ethnic or vocational communities. They may also be living

in the same geographical area. Communities of interest or identity may include:

o People who identify themselves or are identified by society, by demographic or other characteristics, such as women, youth, older people, minority groups, income groups, educational and skills levels etc., or people with a shared socio-cultural background. In India, such community groups are recognized for financial other pro-equality support under Government schemes and programs,

o People with a shared or similar interest, for example, in rainwater harvesting, local area development, etc.

o People with a similar or the same occupation or place of work such as street vendors, masons, electricians, waste-pickers, sanitation and other municipal workers, plumbers, council workers etc.

In urban areas, the gaps between programmes, policies and projects, and their implementation for

achieving appropriate outcomes has over the years resulted in a general acknowledgement that the „top-

down‟ and blue-print approach was not sustainable (Choguill 2002; Hjorth 2003). By the late1990s, many

organizations and individuals started propagating the need for involving the poor in making decisions

related to planning and implementation of initiatives that aimed to benefit them. Subsequently, community

engagement or community participation has been recognized as an integral aspect of all strategies and

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND INCLUSION,

A LITERATURE REVIEW 2

8

initiatives that focus on equity in access to resources, basic services and opportunities, and sustainable

development.

2.2 Community Participation

Participation was promoted to enable the poor to express themselves, identify their needs and appropriate

solutions, plan, and act to change their situations in their own context (Chambers 1994; Choguill 1994). As

participation was incorporated in Government and donor funded social development interventions in both

rural and urban areas, it needed the involvement of Governments, together with the political will for

implementing change and for adjusting organizational functioning (Rahardjo 2000). This required changes

in conventional municipal practices (Amos 1989) for addressing issues related to procedural and

prescriptive characteristics of municipalities, and of stakeholders interested in maintaining the status quo

(UNCHS 1993). It led to the acceptance that local institutions require flexibility in management, building of

capacities for problem solving, and needed facilitators and capacity building institution to be responsive to

actual capacity building needs (Rahardjo 2000).

The National Standards for Community Engagement (2005) developed by the Scottish Community

Development Centre defines „community‟ as a group of people united by at least one common

characteristic including geography, identity and shared interests.

The type of community participation can be interpreted through the eight levels Arnstein‟s (1969) “Ladder of

Citizens Participation”5 in terms of “non-participatory” interactions, tokenism, and partnerships that enables

communities to negotiate and engage with the power-holders. However, while participation refers to

stakeholders making their voices heard before decision-makers, there is no universally accepted definition

of community engagement. It has been defined as a deliberative process where citizens influence decisions

that result in action (Julnes, 2011) and as “people working collaboratively, through inspired action and

learning, to create and realize a bold vision for their common future” (Born, 2012) (Milnar, 2014). Bowen et

al (2010) identify three fields of community engagement as transactional engagement that refers to a

one-way sharing process, transitional engagement as a two-way dialogue between stakeholders and

transformational engagement wherein the community takes a leadership role in framing problems and

managing solutions with support from a facilitating organization. Transformational engagement requires

listening, consciously developing a common language, and establishing trust. It is resource intensive, and

requires hands on facilitation and deeply committed individuals, and offers shared accountability, joint

learning, and ownership of the solution (Bowen et al., 2010; Milnar, 2013).

Table 1: Types of Community Engagement

Inform Consult Involve Collaborate Empower

Passive, one-way communication where public is informed and information is disseminated. The aim is to create an informed citizenry.

Feedback is obtained from the community. The recommendations from the community may or may not be incorporated in the final decision

Work directly with the community throughout the process to ensure that their aspirations are understood and considered

Partnership with the public in all aspects of decision making, including development of alternatives and identification of solutions.

Recommendations are incorporated as far as possible

Final decision making with the public

Transactional Engagement Transitional Engagement Transformational Engagement

One-way sharing Two-way dialogue between stakeholders Community takes a „supported leadership‟ role in framing problems and managing solutions

Based on Bowen, 2010

2.3 Community Engagement, Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship

In the context of the NULM, community engagement is aimed at transformational engagement that enables

the SHGs and their federations get into the habit of saving, get micro-finance and participate in income

generating activities. The group-based micro finance approach of SHGs is expected to contribute to poverty

eradication, empowerment of SHG members, awareness amongst members about issues related to health,

5 http://www.participatorymethods.org/sites/participatorymethods.org/files/Arnstein%20ladder%201969.pdf

9

education, nutrition, social development etc. and to asset building. Thus, the group movement is

advantageous for the individual group members as well as their respective families. It is also expected that

SHG members will take a leadership role in framing their economic problems, in identifying/ scaling up and

managing their economic activities, and become successful producers of valuable goods/ services. This

model of the SHG movement is popularly known in India as the „SHG-Bank Linkage Model‟. The

assumption is that social mobilization of the poor, especially the women, into SHGs is a sustainable way of

empowering women and reducing poverty.

Recognizing the deficiency of finance in the formal financial system, NABARD initiated a major initiative in

1986-87 to reach the financial needs of poor by granting of Rs.10 lakh to Mysore Resettlement and

Development Authority (MYRADA)6. An evaluation of this project in 1988-1989 showed positive outcomes

of the rural saving and credit process, and led to a pilot project of linking 500 SHGs with banks in

partnership with NGOs. This led to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issuing a circular that highlighted the

background and achievements under the NABARD supported SHG Bank Linkage pilot project, and asked

the commercial banks to extend credit to the SHGs that were formed under NABARD project. In 1996, the

RBI issued another circular wherein lending to SHGs was taken as a mainstream activity under their priority

sector portfolio7.

2.4 SHGs as means for empowering women

SHGs, which are platforms for women to engage with other women and stakeholders, have had a

substantial impact on their lives, especially in the lives of the most vulnerable as well as those living within

traditional cultural milieu that does not enable them to interact beyond their immediate families and groups.

Anecdotal evidence shows that women, who become active in development activities even to a small

extent, gradually build up confidence and respect for their ability to interact with „outsider‟ and decision-

makers as well as for the knowledge they gain.

However, as under SJSRY, SHGs do not always mature and become sustainable to the extent that the

lives of the members are transformed. Since the NULM builds on the experiences of the early SHG

movement, it is important to revisit the features that undermined the strength and effectiveness of the SHG

movement despite the focused financial support and visible benefits. According to MYRADA, the SHGs

were collapsing because of their poor quality (Fernandez, 2007) which came about because of:

1. The government thrust to expand the initiative rapidly made it vulnerable to requirements of high targets,

predetermined criteria for beneficiary identification and SHG formation without considering affinity

amongst the members.

2. Inadequate capacity building of SHG members, primarily because budget was used either to train only

the SHG leaders or for organizing large gatherings.

3. The need for performance assessment of SHGs was recognized and incorporated under the SGSY.

Subsequently although an assessment format for such assessment was published by NABARD, it did

not become an integral part of the SGSY.

4. The function of SHGs is largely viewed as financial provision and management. This has reduced the

SHG potential for empowerment.

5. The target approach of forming SHGs and providing subsidies/ grants under government schemes led to

rapid increase in numbers of SHGs. This led to limited capacity building and mentoring of SHGs over

two years and resulted in collapse of many SHGs.

6. Banks are reluctant to adopt the linkage programme.

7. The undue importance on credit provision has resulted in ineffective use of credit to improve livelihoods

in a sustained manner.

6 MYRADA is an NGO that has had extensive experience in incubating, developing and managing savings and credit programmes in

Southern India. MYRADA experimented with many local institutional arrangements in providing credit delivery systems to the very poor. These included local cooperatives, rural bank branches, voluntary development agencies etc. In most of these earlier models, the entire target community formed a group of 15-20 members, that is of SHGs.

7 RPCD.No.Plan.BC.13/PL-09.22/91/92 dated 24 July 1991 on „Improving Access of Rural Poor to Banking - Role of Intervening

Agencies - Self Help Groups‟ and RPCD.No.PL. BC.120/04.09.22/95-96 dated 2 April 1996 on „Linking of Self Help Groups with Banks- Working Group on NGOs and SHGs- Recommendations-Follow up‟.

RBI Master Circular on Micro Credit, RBI/ 2010-11/407; RPCD. FID. BC.No. 53 / 12.01.001/ 2010-11 dated February 14, 2011. Accessed from https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_CircularIndexDisplay.aspx?Id=6266

10

Keeping these in mind, the study includes a study of good practices where the community or SHGs that

were formed have gained momentum and further influenced the lives of many other women. The good

practices are in the areas of livelihoods and sanitation to provide references to how processes, a

methodology or interventions have evolved locally for bringing sustainable socio-economic changes in the

lives of the poor.

19

ODISHA

39

TAMIL NADU

51

Photo 14: Members of federation of waste pickers responsible for DTD waste collection activity in Chennai Corporation.

Photo 15: Amma Canteen operated by SHG members, Chennai

61

ANDHRA PRADESH

77

Photo 33: Generic Medical Store operated by Town level federation, Ongole

Production center of snacks

A SHG runs a snack making enterprise. They produce 25 kilos of snacks every day and sell it at Rs.20 per

packet, which has 20 pieces. The production cost per packet is Rs.7-8. The profit per day comes around

Rs.2000. The snacks is made of rice, black gram flour, maida and food color. It is sold to nearby shops.

The enterprise has a machine that is used to mix the dough for which Rs.30,000 was taken through internal

lending. Additionally, a loan of 5 lakhs was taken to make improvements in the shop.

Photo 34: Snack making enterprise, Ongole

Shelter maintained and operated by TLF

The shelter is operated by the TLF and it is more like an old age home. It is 2 years old and built by the

corporation. The corporation has given the maintenance contract to the TLF. There are 15 women beds

and 10 women are currently staying there for on a permanent basis. There is separate section for men

which has 28 beds and 10 men are staying on a permanent basis.

Photo 35: Shelter for the homeless, Ongole

81

MAHARASHTRA

92

Easy Solutions Academy: Trainings in Tourism

The Easy Solutions Academy is the only training center in Maharashtra to provide trainings in the travel and

tourism sector. The courses offered are for tour assistants and tour guide. There are 3 batches under

NULM. 2 batches of 30 trainees and 1 batch of 20 trainees. The Academy has centers in Kalyan, Ratnagiri

and Nashik. 300 hours of training is compulsory which includes 180 hours for spoken English training.

Before NULM, the VTP conducted trainings under the Pramod Mahajan Kaushalya and Udhyojakta scheme

of the state government.

The minimum salary that any trainee receives after the training is in the range of Rs.6,000-7,000 per month.

Showrooms and hotel industry give a salary in the range of Rs.8,000-10,000 per month. The cost

reimbursed to the VTP is Rs.27.50 per trainee per hour and this is given in three instalments. The Academy

is also entering into collaboration with bankers and Chartered Accountants for financial training to teach

students about MUDRA loans and other similar schemes. It is planning to start new courses like aqua and

agro-tourism in tribal areas, Kazwa (fire flies) festival in Bhandardara, Logistics Park in Malegaon and tribal

food promotion.

Photo 39: Discussion at new STP center Photo 38: Pamphlet of STP

Photo 37: Satya Mahila Bachat Gat describing Mid-Day Meals enterprise

99

RAJASTHAN

133

ANNEXURES

Draft Progress Report

Technical Support to the National Urban Livelihood Mission for

Landscaping Community Engagement Platforms

Urban Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

A 202, GCP Business Centre Opposite Memnagar Fire Station, Navrangpura

Ahmedabad – 380009; Gujarat +91 79 26400306;

www.umcasia.org; info@umcasia.org