National Consultation on Urban Poverty Issues, Challenges and Opportunities

2011 census has indicated a growing urban population and continued migration from rural to urban areas. Urban centers are bursting to their seams, with lack of planning and services for its inhabitants. These urban centers are facing a huge problem, where a high proportion of the population lives in informal settlements lacking basic infrastructure and services. The institutions of urban governance are constantly battling with this challenge as rising urbanization is also leading to increasing ‘urbanization of the poverty’. Urban poverty poses the problems of housing and shelter, water-sanitation, health, education, social security and livelihood along with special needs of vulnerable groups like women, children and aged people. Over-crowded slums, without access to these basic civic amenities and social welfare nets, and with constant uncertainty associated with evictions and loss of livelihoods imposes considerable drags on the productivity and opportunities available to its residents besides constraining economic growth.

In light of the above, to discuss some of these crucial issues, PRIA in collaboration with SPARC and Forum of Informal Urban Poor Workers (FIUPW) organised a national consultation on ‘Urban Poverty: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities’ on June 20-21, 2013 at Amaltas Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. A total of 121 participants including community leaders, Civil Society leaders, members and leaders of federations and associations, elected representatives and bureaucrats from all over the country attended the consultation, which aimed at:

• Bringing together different stakeholders from the local to the national level, who play a crucial role in the governance and management of cities as well as those who are engaged on issues of urban governance, especially urban poverty.

• Coming up with some key policy recommendations for policy advocacy.

Accordingly, with these broad objectives, the first day (20th June) of the consultation revolved around three broad themes, i.e. Redefining Urban Poverty, Municipal Governance and Urban Poverty, Schemes and Services for the Urban Poor.

Under the first theme of Redefining Urban Poverty various dimensions of urban poverty including livelihood issues, social and political exclusion, tenure insecurity and issues of identity and dignity were highlighted emphasizing the role of civil society and how these challenges can be met effectively through greater collaboration and coordination amongst the various stakeholders. The session on Municipal Governance and Urban Poverty raised the challenges and limitations of municipal governance like the role and capacity of municipalities, the implementation of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, community participation in municipal governance, role of the civil society and the contribution of urban poor to the city’s economy. The final session was on ‘Schemes and Services for the Urban Poor: Issues and Challenges’, which endeavored to explicate complex and complicated phenomenon of urban poverty in the light of schemes and services for the lower strata of urban society and all the issues and challenges associated to it. The session brought out some important key recommendations like community participation in planning and implementation of schemes and policies for the urban poor as well as the participation of youth and urban non-poor in poverty alleviation programmes.

Day two of the consultation focused on consolidating the discussions held on the first day and putting forward some key policy recommendations, which were shared with the Secretary of the Planning Commission, Ms. Sindhushree Khullar. Some of them were as follows:

• Structural and systemic changes at the level of local governance so that ULBs become more vibrant and effective.

• Urban Development (issues of urban poverty and governance) needs to be prioritized by the Central and State Governments. Planning Commission should have a member to take care of urban development issues separately.

• Contribution of the urban poor (informal workforce) to the economy of the cities should be recognized and studied/researched.