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APPROACHING EQUITYCivil Society Inputs for the Approach Paper— 12th Five Year Plan

A WNTA publication, with support from UNDP.United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, India)WADA NA TODO ABHIYANNational SecretariatC-1/E (Second Floor)Green Park ExtensionNew Delhi - 110016Tel: + 91 11 46082371Fax: +91 11 46082372www.wadanatodo.netPhoto credit: Michael Cannon

APPROACHINGEQUITYCIVIL SOCIETY INPUTS FORTHE APPROACH PAPER— 12 TH FIVE YEAR PLAN1

ContentsACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3FOREWORD 5PREAMBLE 7RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHALLENGES1. Enhancing the capacity for growth 132. Enhancing skills and faster generation of employment 213. Managing the environment 334. Markets for efficiency and inclusion 435. Decentralisation, empowerment and information 476. Technology and innovation 697. Securing the energy future of india 758. Accelerated development of transport infrastructure 799. Rural transformation and sustained growth of agriculture 8310. Managing urbanisation 9111. Improved access to quality education 9912. Better preventive and curative health care 111OTHER RECOMMENDATIONSUrban poor 127THEMATIC INPUTS from others1. Maternal health 1332. Land rights 1353. Food and nutrition security in the 12th Five Year Plan 1381

4. Health 1405. Water 1426. Right to Education and key challenges 1447. Resourcing the transparency regime in India 1458. Inclusive growth ensuring distributive justice from a labour rights perspective 1489. Climate change 15010. Energy 15311. Improving access to quality education 15512. Mining 16413. Budget 16614. Review of the Central Social Welfare Board 17115. Voluntary sector and government: partners in development 17216. Governance, institutions and the planning process 17317. Need for peace and equity audit as a parameter for development planning 175SUMMARY REPORTS1. Dalits 1792. Adolescents 1873. Muslims 1914. Elderly 1955. Migrants 1996. Advasis 2057. Youth 2108. North-east 2129. Children 21710. Conflict 224APPENDIX1. Strategy Challenges 2292. List of CSOs, Individuals and Media in the 12th Five Year Plan Consultations 2010-11 2313. Abbreviations 2422

AcknowledgementsWada No Todo Abhiyan, are grateful to allWe, the organizations, networks, campaigns andindividuals that participated in the consultation processand contributed their invaluable inputs. This publicationhas been made possible by their support, participation,and contribution of inputs, time, energy, knowledge, anddedication.We also would like to acknowledge the effort, energyand commitment of following organizations that anchoredthe consultations around each subgroup:1. North East – North East Network,2. Youth – JOSH, The Tehelka Foundation, Pravah,IYCN, YP Foundation and Liberal Youth Forum3. Women – Women Power Connect, JAGORI, UNWomen, CBGA, NAWO, EKTA4. Children – IACR, Plan4Children Collective, MCF,CRY, HAQ, SCF, NCDHR, JWP, Plan India, CRT,Mobile Creches, KCRO, WVI, Young Lives, CINI5. Dalits – NCDHR, NACDOR, NDF, NFDW6. Adivasis – Ekta Parishad7. Transgenders – UNDP8. Migrants – International Organization for Migration,UNDP9. Conflict – COVA, Ekta Parishad, SANSAD, PUCAAR,ASHA Parivar10. Urban Poor – Hazards Centre, Swaasthya, IGSSS,Green Flag, Action Aid11. Muslims – TPMS, NACDOR12. People with Disability – VSO, Aarth Astha India13. Elderly – HelpAge India, TISS14. Adolescents – Swaasthya, CHETNA, Smile Foundation15. PLHIV – UNDP, Indian Network of People Livingwith HIV16. Decentralization – Decentralization Community,Solution Exchange, UNDPThematic Papers1. Maternal Health – National Alliance for MaternalHealth and Human Rights2. Land Rights – Ekta Parishad3. Food and Nutrition Security in 12th Five Year Plan –Dipa Sinha, Right to Food Campaign4. Health – Indranil, Research Scholar, JNU5. Water – Romit Sen, CSE6. Right to Education and Key Challenges – SandeepMishra, NCE7. Resourcing the Transparency Regime in India –Venkatesh Nayak, CHRI8. Inclusive Growth Ensuring Distributive Justice from aLabour Rights Perspective – J John, CEC9. Climate Change – Aditi Kapoor10. Energy – Vinuta Gopal, Greenpeace11. Improving Access to Quality Education – Anjela Taneja,Oxfam India12. Mining – R Sreedhar, Convenor, Mines, Minerals andPeople13. Budget – Centre for Budget and GovernanceAccountability14. Central Social Welfare Board – Kalyani Menon-Sen15. Voluntary Sector – VANI16. Policies and Programmes for the Older Persons in India:A Background Paper – Prof. S Siva Raju, TISS17. Governance, Institutions and the Planning Process –National Social Watch Coalition18. Need for Peace and Equity Audit as a Parameter forDevelopment Planning – Mazher Hussain, COVA19. Inputs for the Child Health Approach Paper 12th FiveYear Plan – Dr. Rajiv Tandon, Save the ChildrenA full list of civil society organisations, individuals andmedia organisation can be found in Appendix 2.We are very grateful to UNDP for supporting theseconsultations.3

ForewordHistorically, civil society groups have engaged with thePlanning Commission by both constructively critiquing itas well as engaging with it to either develop plans, and/orby serving as advisors. As a result of the sustained, longstandingeffort to have civil society perspectives informplanning and make it a people-oriented process, the PlanningCommission has, in a pathbreaking move, approached civilsociety organisations to engage with them openly, formallyand systemically and opened up the process for inputs intothe approach paper (instead of sharing and seeking inputsafter the draft approach paper is ready).Civil society groups feel this move is a key window ofopportunity to actualise the shift of the planning process toa people-led one, make the 12 th Five Year Plan inclusive, andcreate spaces for the most marginalized. There is also a needto institutionalize this process into a formal, systemic one.While the primary objective is to ensure that the planningprocess in India includes both civil society groups andcitizens, the emphasis is to include the most marginalizedgroups. The other – equally important – objective is toensure that all groups retain their autonomy.On 26 October 2010, a planning meeting wasorganized at Teen Murti Bhavan, New Delhi, in which DrSyeda Hamid (Planning Commission Member responsiblefor civil society interface) and Mr Arun Maira (PlanningCommission Member and anchor for the 12 th Five YearPlan process) participated and shared the process and theirexpectation. More than 60 civil society groups representinga diversity of groups, including children, youth, women, theelderly, education, and health participated in the meeting.The Planning Commission expressed its keenness to getcivil society inputs at all stages of the 12 th Five Year Plan,with particular emphasis on the preparation of the approachpaper. The Planning Commission also shared a list of 12challenges around which they would like to prepare theapproach paper.It was decided that national consultations around 16social groups would be held before the approach paper isprepared, and an attempt would be made to get regionalinputs by spreading national consultations geographically.Different civil society groups representing these communitiesand working with them would lead the process, where theattempt would be to reach out further to all the actorsworking with the same social groups across the country. Itwas also decided that the Planning Commission memberswould be invited to these consultations (to which theyagreed). WNTA facilitated these consultations.These consultations were to be completed before 15December 2010, and their summary and report sent directlyto the Planning Commission. As committed, PlanningCommission Members attended these consultations, inorder to benefit directly from the deliberations, and take thevoices back to the approach paper.This publication is a culmination of these consultationsand contains all the recommendations made by the differentsocial groups.Wada Na Todo Abhiyan5

PreambleNon-governmental organizations and civil societyorganizations from across the country, representing variousconstituencies and theoretical approaches, collectivelywelcome the effort of the Planning Commission of Indiato make the planning process more responsive to citizens’concerns for the 12 th Five Year Plan Approach Paper.We have seized this opportunity to make this 12 th FiveYear Plan process further participatory, and somewhatrepresentative of public opinion. Government planningis one of the few sites that lend itself to participation bycivil society and non-government experts. In addressingthe emerging Plan Approach, we have undertaken widerangingconsultations to identify and reflect the insights andaspirations of the public in whose best interests the Stateshould seek to govern.These principles have already been enshrined in thePreamble to the Indian Constitution – Justice – social,economic, and political – and should be kept in mind ifthe State is to deliver the people’s rights and entitlements.The Directive Principles are declared as “fundamental to thegovernance of the country”. Article 37 imposes an obligationon the State to apply them. Since the Constitution emphasisesthe positive duty of the State to promote the welfare of thepeople by affirming social, economic and political justice,as well as to fight income inequality and ensure individualdignity, the question arises for each Five Year Plan: why isthe State not more attentive to this obligation, and whatshould the next Plan reflect?Our recommended inputs are aimed to strengthenthe Indian State’s provisions and commitments and ensurethrough special measures and safeguards these rights anduniversal entitlements for the most marginalised andvulnerable people residing within the jurisdiction of theIndian State. All planning and development processesshould be inclusive of all vulnerable groups, irrespectiveof the area of concern, i.e. markets, agriculture, economy,industries, etc.The draft listing of priorities for the Plan Approach couldgain from reaffirming these mandates. Basic rights must beconsciously examined against any listing of challenges andtargets identified for the Plan. It cannot be assumed thatthey will be addressed. Much less can it be assumed thatthey are optional in the drive for sustainable and equitabledevelopment!Who is to be served and empowered by development?The concept of “inclusion” in the planning process shouldbe centred on mobilising the excluded as active agents oftheir own development; their participation should be madeessential to the very design of the development process;and they themselves must not simply be welfare targets ofdevelopment programmes. Our proposals envisage bringingto the forefront the full agency of these excluded groups inplanning. The processes of development planning deservereview.We believe that those who are affected by any challengeor problem have the right to be directly involved inevolving measures through discussion and participationto address and solve that particular problem, whether itis in local committees, councils or in developing policiesor programmes. This is not to say that others need notbe included in this process, but that the views, needs anddesires of the affected groups must be foregrounded.We have deliberately moved away from the languageof ‘recipients’ and ‘beneficiaries’, whether it be of planningprocesses, programmes, and schemes or in terms of accessto resources, and of ownership and entitlements, and theright to claim or reclaim them. Our recommendations also7

underline the safety and protection measures needed for thisprocess of reclamation and the inclusion of voices, desires,and needs of all those who are full and active stakeholdersand constituents in every governance and investmentprocess.Certain groups and communities face social andeconomic “exclusion” and political marginalisation due totheir caste, class, gender, age, religious affiliation, region,sexuality, disability, marital status, education, or livingwith HIV and/or other stigmatised health conditions.Consequently, our primary attempt has been to focus ondeveloping plans, policies, and schemes to address this gap.All our thematic papers and inputs adopt approaches thatspecifically take into account the needs and desires of thesesocially, culturally, and economically marginalised groupsand communities and attempt to work towards mitigatingthe effects of this marginalisation/exclusion to ensure socialand distributive justice. In our view, these groups have sofar been regarded as “not quite citizens” and certainly notfull citizens.A case in point is the faulty categorisation of keyunder-served groups. For example, take the categories of‘women’ and ‘children’. The practice of clubbing womenalong with children in a separate chapter of the current11th Plan document has served neither the woman nor thechild. Not only does this reduce women and children toexclusive reproductive and dependent roles, but also takesaway from their productive and social potential. This cannotqualify as any kind of human resource development for thepublic good. Similar examples can be given for all the otherexcluded and marginalised groups with whom we have beenengaged.Therefore, we have adopted a perspective of planningthat uses the concerns of the most marginalised as anoverarching, cross-cutting concern, with the primaryobjective of promoting growth with justice and inclusion ofall citizens in development. We stand by this.Illustrative examples of how rights to essentialentitlements actually play out demonstrate what we mean.Everyone has a right to all the essential entitlements for theirsurvival, development, dignity, and happiness and should beprovided these. Among these are protection of life; food andnutrition security; safe, clean and regular supply of drinkingwater; affordable and clean sanitation facilities; securehousing; equal and affordable quality education; sustainableand safe livelihood options; quality public health services;access to natural resources; social security provisions; cheaptransportation; infrastructure; safety and protection, allof which are easily accessible from where they live. TheGovernment, in our view, has a duty to provide these to all.Is there sufficient and conscious State investment inensuring this? Only this can end the continued cycle ofvicious poverty and exclusion and move India towardseconomic prosperity for all. Our proposals for the Planapproach are therefore deeply rooted in this belief and allsuggestions to strengthen existing schemes and plans as wellas suggestions for new measures have been formulated fromthis perspective.We further believe that all groups and citizens of ourcountry have equal rights as citizens, stakeholders and ownersof all the resources available to them and their communities.All processes that affect these resources affect them and theirlivelihoods. We believe it is necessary to empower all citizens,especially the socially and economically excluded, with theright to monitor all schemes and programmes as owners andparticipants of all development and governance processes intheir areas of residence. This further ensures decentralisationof all planning, implementation, and monitoring processes.Such an approach would ensure that all plans and schemeswill be owned and developed by the people and will bemeaningful and structured to address the gaps in their needsand desires.Concern for India’s environment and commitment tounderstanding and addressing such a concern must be apillar of this and future Plans. Our inputs emphasise that thecrucial need to move to more aware and informed planningand action to ensure climate justice and the sustainability ofthe environment cannot be postponed to a future Plan. A coreconcern is the issue of the ownership, control, management,and utilisation of all natural resources and national assetsthat are in the interest of the people. We believe that social,economic, and environmental marginalisation are at the rootof a great deal of engineered violence and conflict, much ofit promoted by state agencies, that may be easily addressedby making planned efforts to ensure justice.We invite a re-examination of the assumption that it ispopulation pressure alone that imperils the environmentalbalance of resources, renewability, and the common people’suse or expectation of land, water, and forests. It is necessaryto recognise the impacts of market-influenced decisions onuse and exploitation of natural resources. These not onlyupset and diminish positive conservation traditions but alsomove benefits out of the people’s hands.8

Overall, the case for market-led growth should notgo unquestioned. Our process has sought to analyse whatmakes a “people’s Plan” authentic. If the core developmentobjective is to better the lot and brighten the prospects ofthe common citizen, it must be argued that the nationalresolve should be for markets to serve and secure the hopesand happiness of the people rather than for the people –and the use of their energies and talents – to be geared tobenefit the market. The seedbeds of a prosperous republic,which deserve recognition rather than replacement inIndia’s quest for genuine growth, are the little economies ofneighbourhoods and communities that draw upon local skillsand resources and cater to local requirements. This does notat all imply shutting the door on access to new technologiesand products. We believe that advocating privatisationof resources will lead to the further marginalisation anddisempowerment of large sections of society.With the utilisation of this livelihood approach, wetherefore reiterate that people own and have a right tothe commons and common resources – and to chart theirown course towards a destination of holistic developmenttrue to the country’s ideals. By this, we mean for examplethat planning should be livelihood-based, people-centric,pro-poor, and owned by the people themselves, as this inturn warrants that any developmental scheme and plan isenvironmentally sustainable.It is regularly argued – and explained – that a Five-YearPlan is an economic plan, about intentions to spend. If theseare its confines, India’s planners must reveal the ideologyand the development manifesto to which it relates. It is inthis endeavour that the voluntary sector and civil societyhave the responsibility to seek, and find, and understandwhat the people really aspire for – and to strive to make ita reality.These are for us the key principles for our inputs.We believe that respect for them will facilitate and builda prosperous India while simultaneously securing redistributive,economic and social justice. This will furtherresult in “growth” for all rather than for a select few. In orderto ensure this, the forthcoming Approach Paper to the 12 thFive-Year Plan needs to address the following key concernsand recommendations:1. GDP growth alone as a goal of planning is rejectedby all the civil society groups. We suggest insteadthat a comprehensive real-time database on themarginalisation of and violence against the poor andvulnerable must first be created in order to enablemore realistic and just planning.2. This database should be analysed to identify alllivelihood generation possibilities that are peoplecentredand, therefore, require minimal investments,and will, in turn, contribute to national prosperityrather than waiting endlessly for growth at the top totrickle down to the bottom.3. Another key concern that has been expressed by diversegroups, namely the Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, peopleliving with HIV, people with disability, transgenders,the elderly, the youth and, especially, women andchildren, is to provide access to essential entitlementsand development opportunities to the marginalised.To achieve this, they suggest that the governmentshould increase investments in public services such ashealth, education, skill development, training andin infrastructure building instead of curtailing themin favour of private parties, which will only result inthe further alienation of the marginalised sections.4. Investments for the poor should be increased andprogrammes like the Public Distribution System,Mahatma Gandhi National Rural EmploymentGuarantee Scheme, Swarn Jayanti Gram SwarozgarYojana, Swarn Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana etcshould be strengthened and broadened to include alsoforthcoming governmental programmes, such as theNational Livelihoods Mission.5. A persistent problem for the poor in this country isthe lack of access to institutional financial services ingeneral and cheap credit in particular. Special stepsneed to be taken to make cheap credit and otherfinancial services available to the poor who are atpresent largely unbanked.6. Transparency, accountability, and monitoring have toincrease and mechanisms for people’s participation inmonitoring should be established. We believe that thisis the only way in which public services can ensuredelivery, as financial allocations alone will not be ableto achieve this due to rampant corruption.7. Laws should be strictly followed, especially labourlaws, and protection laws enacted for children, Dalits,Adivasis, women, people with disability, and Muslims.Violence and atrocities against these vulnerablesections is a key cause of concern, especially in areasof conflict and where the state machinery has failedmiserably to prevent this.8. Displacement and environmental damage, includingthe looming climate change crisis caused by projects,especially mining, are a major concern and a key cause9

of internal displacement and out-migration. Justicehas to be ensured through proper rehabilitation andresettlement for those being voluntarily displaced.Projects should be dropped if it becomes clear duringa transparently conducted preliminary assessmentitself that the social and environmental costs are goingto be unacceptably high to the affected communities.9. Migration – both internal and overseas – has become amajor socio-economic phenomenon and migrants aremostly without rights and entitlements in destinationareas. Proper registration and enumeration of themigrants, portability of their entitlements, and securityof their rights has to be ensured. The proliferation ofthe urban poor in the city, their unhygienic and unsafeliving conditions, and lack of access to clean drinkingwater and sanitation call for immediate and multiprongedinterventions.10. Agricultural distress has also been pointed out by manyof the groups and this phenomenon is once againlinked to out-migration. A sustainable agriculturalpolicy along with practicable post-productionmanagement and marketing is urgently required.11. The poor status of local governance is anotherimportant area of concern across all the groups –and our suggestion is that Information Educationand Communication campaigns along with properdevolution (namely the 3 Fs – Funds, Functionsand Functionaries), institutional mechanisms, andfinancial and administrative support is needed tomake local governance truly inclusive.12. An increased investment in decentralised productionand distribution of renewable non-conventionalenergy is also a common concern for us all.10

Recommendationsfor Challenges11

1Enhancingthe Capacityfor GrowthINPUTS FOR THIS CHALLENGE HAVE COME FROM THEDISCUSSION GROUPS RELATED TO CHILDREN, YOUTH,DALITS, NORTH EAST, CONFLICT, ADOLESCENTS, ADIVASIS,TRANSGENDERS, MIGRANTS, WOMEN, PEOPLE LIVING WITHHIV, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY AND MUSLIMS13

Enhancing the Capacity for GrowthSection ContentsContext 15Dalits 15Youth 15North East 16Children 16Conflict 16Reform of the subsidy regime 16Specific Recommendations 18Dalits 18Children 18North East 19Conflict 19Youth 19Muslims 19People with Disability 2014

1. Contexti. DalitsA primary challenge in approaches to economic growthis the need to ensure Dalits, Adivasis and other minorityand marginalized groups are partners in determiningthe priorities of the growth sectors which have made oureconomy one of the fastest growing economies in the world.Dalit, Adivasi and other minority perspectives, interestsand development do not seem to be evident in the currentplanning model. India has had to continuously mobilizeforeign resources to meet its domestic needs. This foreigninvestment has, however, been focused on priority sectorssuch as infrastructure development, energy and powersectors, irrigation, roads, and urban development. Thesesectors are planned such that they seem to be out of thepurview of Dalits and Adivasis. The benefits may trickledown, but the focus seems to be on other sections of society.Given the new image of a developed nation for India,and the high spending in defence and nuclear power, severalcountries have wanted to curtail aid to India. However,strategies have not emerged as yet to increase state socialsector spending.The Public Private Partnership (PPP) model has beenlooked at as an alternative to increased government spendingon public sector services. To encourage private sectorinvestment and cut government costs, this then encouragesthe deployment of user fees to access the said services. Thelargest values of contracts are in ports, followed by urbandevelopment, energy, roads and airports, 1 and a fairly smallvolume is devoted to education. Maharashtra, AndhraPradesh and Karnataka have the highest PPP projects. Ananalysis of where the Dalits are and what stakes they have inPPP projects, will depict their abysmal participation levels.The disaggregated data on these aspects is not maintained.Clearly, having the private sector finance public sectorservices has resulted in heavy investment in airports, ports,roads and health and education in urban areas. There is nomonitoring or assessment of whether health and educationalservices are being provided as per the needs of Dalits,Adivasis and minorities. Plan outlays on health, educationor social sector are currently less than the expected rates ofallocation of GDP. It was 4.3 per cent of total GDP forhealth, education, drinking water and sanitation. Expectedlevel for education alone was 6 per cent and 5 per cent asstipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO)for health expenditure. Social sector spending on Dalits,Adivasis and minorities has also been reduced considerablyafter the initial three years of planning last year.ii. YouthThere is a need to understand and define ‘growth’ beyondGross Domestic Product (GDP) and economic terms.Enhancing the capacity for the growth of the economy isthe ‘means’ to an end. This is the holistic development ofthe nation. Economic growth as a measure can be quite1 http://www.pppinindia.com/database.php15

distracting on its own and would remain incompletewithout the indicators of socio-political development. Everycitizen in India should benefit from economic growth,and its positive effects on development should be felt andexperienced across the nation. Especially, growth has tocater to the needs of the youth of the country. The growthof the country’s economy should lead to more opportunitiesand avenues for the youth and their development.iii. North EastThe ‘one size fits all’ approach of development schemesdoes not serve the intended beneficiaries because of thediverse social and geographic settings in the North East.Plan schemes should be prepared in the context of theregion, its peoples and the current situation of some statesthat are burdened with unrest and political turmoil.iv. ChildrenThe magnitude of the ‘Child Budget’ within theUnion Budget, i.e. the aggregate outlay for child-specificschemes as a proportion of total budget outlay of the UnionGovernment increased to 4.1 per cent in 2010-11 (BudgetEstimate) from 3.7 per cent in 2009-10 (Revised Estimate).However, if the allocations earmarked for the children inthe whole period from 2007-08 to 2010-11 are considered,the increase is miniscule in 2010-11 (Budget Estimate).The major flagship programmes for the welfare of children– Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), SarvaShiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the immunisation programmes– depend heavily on external funds. In 2008 – 09, externalaid as a proportion of the Child Budget was as much as 13per cent. These programmes also leave many children out,especially the most vulnerable.The infrastructure for child survival, development andprotection remains weak and inadequate. Buildings, staff,and supplies meant for delivery of services are inadequateand it is always a case of trying to get more for less. Withrespect to children, sectoral schemes are formulated withlittle attention to the multidisciplinary needs of the childas a person. Also, a life cycle perspective, catering to agesprecific needs, is found missing even in integrated childdevelopment programmes.v. ConflictArbitrary and unequal resource allocations and incomedisparities have generated conflicts like Adivasi unrest, casteconflagrations, armed struggles, urban agitations, interstateand interregional disputes. The growth and developmentof the marginalised communities like Adivasis, dalits,minorities, women and the rural and urban poor are badlyaffected as a result. Consequently, growth in the monetarysense is not enough. Growth must come with equity andproduction with distributive justice.2. Reform of the subsidy regimei. DalitsA general problem with the subsidy regime is that it tends to heavily favour large corporations, infrastructure companies andintermediaries rather than small traders, consumers and producers. These corporations and intermediaries are also out of the reachof Dalits, Adivasis and minorities, and hence social exclusion is reinforced. The ‘inefficiencies’ of the subsidy regime followed in thepast by India have been heavily criticised, specifically by multilateral lending agencies like the World Bank. These institutions haverecommended a reduction in subsidies in order to accelerate growth and remove market distortions. Nevertheless, food subsidieshave continued to increase. Food price inflation also continues.Narrow targeting through the Public Distribution System (PDS) has weakened it. A large section of the population still has to buy foodfrom the market, particularly the Dalits, who are landless. Nevertheless, there has been a huge wastage of food stocks rotting in theopen in Food Corporation of India godowns. Moreover, black marketing has made the system prone to leakage. Starvation deathsand malnutrition are on the rise as the food needs of the increasing numbers of the poor are still not being met.Casteism heavily dominates the PDS and the Dalits are not only denied access to food but are also made to pay more. Of thetotal 521 villages surveyed in five states - Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh - almost 40 per cent16

eported that the Dalits were found to be receiving lesser quantities for the same price as compared to the upper castes. There isalso a preponderance of the dominant castes among the PDS dealers and a paucity of Dalit dealers. The targeted system requiresidentification of the poor and this is done by the village headmen who belong to the dominant castes.ii. ChildrenThe supply of food through the PDS is ridden with the problems of corruption, poor quality grains, irregular supply and nonavailabilityof food commodities in areas where the need is the highest. Slackness in the monitoring and oversight of delivery persistsat the cost of fulfilling the rights and entitlements of the poor. The responsibility of the central government definitely extends beyondtransfer of funds to states for various schemes and programmes etc. Each such fund transfer needs to be followed upon to determineits capital efficiency in terms of benefits for the poor and marginalized, especially children.iii. North EastGovernment subsidies to industries in the North East Region must be re-evaluated and conditional subsidies should be imposed. Theymust be based on certain criteria, including the employment of local human resources and without environmental degratdation.Corporate recipients of government subsidies should be given social development targets to fulfil. Subsidies should not be given tothe mining sector in the region. However, air transport subsidy should be given for all agricultural, handicraft and weaving productsfrom the North East states being sent for sale to metropolitan cities.iv. ConflictThe withdrawal of subsistence subsidies to the poor and allocation of resources at subsidized prices to the rich in the name of growthshould be avoided. This generates a class divide and leads to struggles for subsistence leading to conflict. The state should notbecome a mere regulator instead of being a provider of basic services in sectors like health, education, infrastructure, livelihoods, etc.Most subsidies fail to benefit the intended beneficiaries. Fertilizer subsidies, for example, go disproportionately to fertilizer producersand well-off farmers. Thus, there is a need for better targeting of subsidies.17

3. SpecificRecommendationsi. Dalits1. Foreign direct investment, aid and borrowing forinfrastructure projects, power and other projectscreating loss of livelihoods and assets of the poor andcausing environmental damage should be avoided. Aproper impact and needs assessment should be doneto see to what extent such projects are essential. Theyneed to be linked to the Special Component Planfor Scheduled Castes (SCP) and the Tribal Sub Plan(TSP). The institutions not able to design divisibleprogrammes for the Dalits and Adivasis should givethe SCP/TSP proportion of their budget to the NodalMinistry/Department for the divisible programmes.2. Greater focus needs to be given on the inclusionof communities from SC/ST background asrepresentatives in decision making, the setting ofpriorities and in assessing the impacts of programmeson health, education, water, etc. The indicators thatmeasure the inclusion of the excluded castes and addressthe issues of exclusion of access to civic amenities shouldbe clearly devised and regularly tracked. Care needs tobe taken in promoting Dalits, Adivasis and minoritiesnot just as the passive recipients of largesse but alsoas the active partners in the execution of projects, ascontractors and as other active stakeholders.3. Greater thrust needs to be given for PPPs to servethe Dalits, Adivasis and the most marginalised. Usercharges should not be levied on from these sections.Therefore, a different incentive policy for private sectorparticipation needs to be thought of, as otherwisethe sole dependence on PPPs to provide health andeducation services may exclude a large number ofpeople. PPPs should always have a proportion of shareholding from excluded communities like ScheduledCastes, Scheduled Tribes and women (not less than 10per cent). The PPPs need to be linked to the SCP andTSP and clear monitoring practices have to be evolvedto increase the stakes in development of the Dalits,Adivasis and minorities.4. There should be special allocation under the PDS forDalits. On the whole, subsidies, if planned and targetedwell, can ensure distributive justice and better resourceallocation. The PDS should be used to target the reallevels of poverty in the country. Leakage in fair priceshops and Food Corporation of India godowns shouldbe checked. The food coupon system should be strictlyavoided as it shifts all powers of provisioning to privatetraders. Community-run hamlet-level systems can beformed for storage of excess food grains. There shouldbe marketing and procurement cooperative societies ofDalits/Adivasis at the block level.ii. Children5. The overall allocation for child-specific schemes mustbe stepped up in the Union Budget during the 12 thPlan to universalize the delivery of quality services to allchildren in the country from birth until the attainmentof the age of 18 years.6. The issue is aggravated by the responsibility for thedevelopment of children being split between differentministries and there being no focus on transitionplanning. This must be addressed through schemesand plans that address children from birth till theyreach the age of 18.7. Dependence on external resources must be reduced andnational resources must be mobilised. It is imperativethat commitments to children’s development are notsacrificed to the vagaries of changes in global fundingpriorities and the resulting conditionalities of suchassistance.8. The allocations for children in state budgets need tobe increased to bridge the gap between planning andactual implementation.9. Greater clarity on targeting and a stronger commitmentto the decentralized delivery of services is needed. Alsoneeded are the greater involvement of Panchayat RajInstitutions (PRI) and urban local councils in theidentification of target groups and the delivery ofservices in an open and transparent manner.10. The Prime Minister’s recent meeting on nutritionstressed on the need for a review of targetingmethodologies. The nutritional values of foodcommodities have to be re-examined and new measuresto reach vulnerable families have to be formulated. Thegoal of reducing malnutrition among children of allages requires special attention to be paid to the mostvulnerable age-groups (0–3 years and adolescents).18

11. Sustaining subsidies through the ongoing programmesof ICDS and Midday Meals is inadequate as these donot guarantee food security to children. The FoodSecurity Act should focus on making protein-richfoods such as milk and eggs available, especially toyoung children.12. The adoption of a holistic approach and the removal ofthe condition that the child or beneficiary must provideproof of residence to access the services provided (inthe case of a child, his/her birth certificate) would bebeneficial.13. The stress should be on consolidation rather thanproliferation. The conclusions of several studies andthe Mid Term Review of the 11 th Plan should beeffectively utilised for the integration and streamliningof schemes.14. There must be a conscious and proactive focus on allage groups of children (0-18 years).15. The criteria for the choice of programmes and schemesshould be well-defined and targets set for coverageshould be based on such criteria.16. Local plans and implementation should be need-basedwith built-in flexibility to respond to the special needsof the area or beneficiary groups such as the childrenof nomadic families.iii. North East17. The population criteria for sanction of grants andschemes does not fit in with some states like ArunachalPradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur becauseof sparse settlements in a radius of 50 km from eachother. Thus, the schemes should be need based. Suchremote areas also require investment in projectsrelating to roads, health units, educational centres andPDS outlets.18. Proper implementation is required of a mining policythat would ensure that a percentage of the profitsfrom mining are ploughed back into the communitylocated in the mining areas. A specific mechanismfor the benefit of resident populations focused onskill upgradation and capacity building should bedeveloped.iv. Conflict19. Redistribution of income and economic justice shouldbe focused on. Providing benefits to only one sectionof the society may lead to growth but cannot bringabout equitable development.20. Resource allocations should reach the people. Forexample, huge allocations are being made in Kashmirfor hydel and other infrastructure projects but onlya fraction of these resources and benefits from theseprojects are reaching the local people.21. Efforts should be made to increase the mobilization ofresources to ensure evenly distributed development.22. Corporate tax contribution to the GDP should bemore. In foreign nations the contribution of corporatetax is far higher than what it is in India. The reasonsfor this needs to be studied and understood.v. Youth23. Make Gross National Happiness (GNH) the metricof growth in preference to GDP. Gross NationalHappiness recognizes sustainable development,cultural values, natural environment and goodgovernance as the four pillars of development, and willmake young people less anxious and more purposefuland hopeful.vi. Muslims24. Increase the budgetary allocation for minoritiesin proportion to their population in the country.(Though there has been a significant percentageincrease in the budget of the ministry of minorityaffairs since it started, in absolute terms, it is waybehind the percentage population of the minorities).25. The effective participation of Muslims in the nationalmainstream should be ensured through affirmativeaction in the sphere of education and employment.Through the Special Component Plan of Rs. 25,000crores, an annual budget of Rs. 15,000 crores maybe created to modernise madrassas and to open neweducational institutions for Muslims.26. On the lines of the Schedule Cost ComponentPlan and Tribal Sub Plan, the government shouldhave a Minority Component Plan which should bemandatory for all ministries.27. The fund utilisation under different schemes of theMinistry of Minority affairs has been way below thetargets. There should be a mechanism to monitor theutilisation of the budget so that the allocated funds areutilised.19

28. Reasons for under-utilisation may also be becausethe schemes are not addressing the key needs of theminorities. Hence, the government should review itsschemes for minorities from this viewpoint.29. It is necessary to form a cell to oversee the use of fundsallotted and prevent misuse.30. Drafting of grassroots micro-plans is necessary tounderstand the actual need of the community.31. The 11th Five Year Plan had clubbed all marginalisedsocial sections together in one chapter and theimportance given to all the marginalised social sections(including minorities, SCs, STs, etc) was negligiblecompared to the overall plan. The 12th Plan shouldhave full separate chapters in the Plan document andminorities should be given due importance in the12th Plan.32. Compiling and making available data on socioeconomicconditions and participation in governmentwelfare programmes as suggested by the SacharCommittee through the creation of a National DataBank (NDB) for planning.vii. People with Disability33. Reform the subsidy regime – ensure that the reformshave a direct impact (meaningful, positive, measuredchanges in quality of life) in the lives of people withdisabilities.34. Ensure that in this mechanism the matter ofaccessibility (universal) is given due importancewith active participation of appropriate bodies(say for instance, the National Institute of UrbanDevelopment).35. In the matter of improving efficiency of plannedexpenditure there have to be mechanisms of inclusivestrategies in proliferation.36. Concurrent impact evaluation – The impact(monitoring) evaluation mechanism must havecomponents related to inclusion of People WithDisabilities – it has to be part of all reportingmechanism – then only one would consider it duringimpact assessment (the impact assessment strategiesand bodies should comprise PWDs/or such) – theplanned allotment for expenditure for particularsectors (say, disability) needs to have a mechanism oftransparency and accountability (includes the statesand local bodies).20

2EnhancingSkills and FasterGeneration ofEmploymentINPUTS FOR THIS CHALLENGE HAVE COME FROM THEDISCUSSION GROUPS RELATED TO CHILDREN, YOUTH,DALITS, NORTH EAST, CONFLICT, ADOLESCENTS, ADIVASIS,TRANSGENDERS, MIGRANTS, WOMEN, PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV,PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY AND MUSLIMS21

1. Contexti. WomenWomen’s labour is getting casualised and there isincreasing feminisation of poverty. With traditionaloccupations eroded and wiped out, women are now beingforced to enter new markets, where labour laws are notenforced. Mushrooming of Special Economic Zones andFree Trade Zones are live examples of what is happening tothe labour market. This is the result of the neo-liberal policiesthat have only helped in widening the gap between the richand the poor, with the poorest of the poor being women.While there is little hope of reversal of these policies, whatcan be expected is to ensure that further marginalisation ofwomen does not take place. There should be mechanisms topromote asset-building for women, including land. Wagedisparities should be removed and proper implementationof both the Minimum Wages Act as well as the EqualRemuneration Act should be ensured.There is a need to upgrade women’s skills and equipthem to face the changing times. Women constitute a majorproportion of the agricultural workforce and yet they arenot considered farmers. They do not have right to assetsand control over natural resources, though women arethe conservers of resources. With increasing migration ofwomen and out-migration of men, there are more womenheadedhouseholds and the burden of both economic andsocial responsibility is borne by women. The informal sectoris widening and labour laws are not implemented. Thus,women are exploited and denied benefits which the formalsector workers get.Recurrent disasters, both natural and human-made, haveresulted in destroying traditional livelihoods, where womenplayed a key role. These need to be revived and upgradedso that women’s indigenous knowledge and experience inthese areas can contribute to the nation’s productive growth.Even in the formal sector, there is a glass ceiling that doesnot allow women in high-level decision-making positions.ii. YouthThere exists at present unequal access to skill buildingopportunities and huge disparities within the educationsystem for young people across regions, caste, class, andgender. The social group determines the type of skills theylearn and the professions they are permitted to practise. Forexample, Dalits have traditionally worked as sweepers whileboys are not encouraged to go in for nursing or psychology.The education system lacks practical orientation. It also doesnot encourage experimentation or experiential learning. Thepressure of getting certificates for secure mainstream jobsdoes not allow young people to explore their interests andtalents, discover their passions, take risks and start theirown enterprises. Instead, they are forced by their parents toenter socially recognized professions such as law, banking,medicine, engineering and the civil service. There is nofocus at present on building entrepreneurial skills in youngpeople. The education system also has an urban bias and23

does not value labour or local skills and knowledge. Ruralknowledge and skills are neglected and are dying out. Mostyoung people do not want to acquire skills that may be indemand but are not socially valued or upwardly mobile,for example, plumbing, carpentry, electric work, mechanicwork, etc. There is a devaluation of the dignity of labourand a lack of social status for these professions.iii. DalitsThe generation of employment has not been linked witheducation programmes. Nor have education programmesfocused on livelihoods which provide upward mobility forDalits and opportunities for wealth creation. Employmenthas not been viewed as a right. Hence, there is a lack ofadequate safeguards and policies for the provision andprotection of employment. There has been a lack of emphasisin generating skills for SCs in school education. Along withthis, skill upgradation practices have not been catering to thecurrent market needs. The employment generation strategyof the 11th Five Year Plan was based on the reduction ofunderemployment and movement of the surplus labourin the agriculture sector to higher-wage and more gainfulemployment in the non-agriculture sector. However, thishas led to the problem of lack of jobs for Dalits and badworking conditions of a large number of workers in theinformal sector. Poverty alleviation programmes such as theMahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment GuaranteeScheme (MGNREGS), Swarna Jayanti Shahari RozgarYojana (SJSRY) and the Swarna Jayanti Gram SwarozgarYojana (SGSY) are unable to provide long-term sustainableemployment opportunities for beneficiaries or cater to thegrowing market needs. The employment of Dalits in servicesectors, requiring high levels of education and skills throughimproving their current levels of education and skill training,remains a challenge.Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) areconsidered currently to be the main providers of employmentin the economy. However, the number of SCs engaged insuch enterprises has shown a declining trend. It is crucial toenhance market access and institutional credit and providespecific support to SCs for them to be able to compete in ahighly competitive scenario. In spite of the encouragementgiven to MSMEs, over the years, there has been a declineof SC owners and entrepreneurs of MSMEs. The state isgiving increased attention to promoting enterprises as seenin the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Act of 2006.However, Dalits are unable to access the provisions of thisAct, given their low investment levels, inaccessibility tocredit, inaccessibility to technical skills or other supportto start enterprises. In addition, caste discrimination isreported from the smallest to the bigger Dalit entrepreneurs(DEEP, 2010).There is considerable disparity in the average dailyearnings across different social groups for women andmen, showing stark inequality particularly in urbanareas compared to rural areas and in regular employmentcompared to casual employment. The NSSO data shows thedisparity being Rs.93.56 for urban Dalit women comparedto Rs.197.36 for non SC/ST women and Rs.147.95 forurban Dalit men compared to Rs.240.04 for non SC/STmen (Government of India, Employment Report, 2010).Inter-district and inter-state migration has also increasedwith large proportions of these vulnerable workers comingfrom Dalit communities. Children continue to be in theworkforce instead of in schools.Caste-based discrimination in hiring practices andrecruitment in the private sector has been reported instudies (Thorat and others, 2007). In 2006, there was a callfrom the Prime Minister to promote inclusion in the privatesector. The distress due to lack of employment and povertyis sought to be addressed through the various employmentgeneration schemes currently being implemented under theMGNREGS. Most schemes targeted at Dalits are for nonliterateor semi literate persons and up gradation of skillsin traditional occupations. This does not provide them theskills to enter the current and emerging professions. Theseexisting schemes do not open up spaces for the growingsection of educated Dalit youth.While women on the whole face barriers in employment,rate of unemployment among Dalit women continues tobe higher than that of other women (NSS data). They faceseveral barriers in continuing education and as new entrantsinto the workforce. As high a proportiion as 42 per cent oftrained Dalit women are out of the workforce. Dalits are amajor human resource for economic growth as they comprisethe overwhelming number of landless and casual wagelabour. They work as construction workers, unorganizedsector workers, environment and hygiene workers and wastemanagement workers of cities. However they continue tosuffer from poor income and poverty levels.24

iv. ChildrenThe household economic and social condition is highlyimportant for ensuring food security. The freedom fromhunger is essential for fulfilment of child potentialities.In crisis situations like drought and famine, the childrenof poor families are more vulnerable to child marriage,bonded labour and exploitation. Poor access to employmentopportunities forces the poor to be trapped in intergenerationallow-paying occupations and exploitativeworking conditions.v. AdivasisThe loss of dignity and respect associated withtraditional knowledge and skills is a major problem forAdivasis. This leads to stagnation in learning processesand disinterest amongst the youth as economic returnsare way below the effort. The spread of consumerism andaggressive mainstreaming has further contributed to the lossof skills and knowledge. There are threats to their traditionalintellectual property rights from commercial agencies wherethese are valuable to the modern system.of bondage through advance payment, irregularworking hours and poor working conditions.• Lack of legal support to migrant workers.• Discrimination and conflict between local people andmigrant workers in the destination area.vii. North EastThe North East of India is a special region and specialinstitutions have been created to cater to its needs. Theseinstitutions, like the North Eastern Council (NEC), haveto consider the varying degrees of prevailing disparitieswithin the region and make interventions to fit the people’sdiffering needs in the various states. Development shouldnot be measured only in terms of the GDP model of growthbut within a human development framework that is alsoenvironment friendly.vi. MigrantsThe major problem for migrant workers is that theyare not being counted in census and below poverty line(BPL) surveys. Consequently, migrants and their familiesalso miss out on access to government schemes and servicesat the source as well as the destination areas. There is alsopolitical exclusion of migrant workers as large numbers ofmigrants are not able to vote at the time of elections. Thelack of a valid identity proof increases their vulnerabilityas they suffer police harassment. Women migrants suffersexual harassment and there is also trafficking of theirchildren. They are also unable to register births and deathsat destination due to complicated processes and languagebarriers. All this leads to bad working and living conditionsand specific problems, described below.• The lack of access to banking and financial inclusionand the carrying of large amounts of money.• The vulnerability of the children of the migrantsleading to child labour and child trafficking.• Labour rights violations like termination withoutnotice, non-payment of wages, the exploitative system25

2. SpecificRecommendationsi. Women1. Provision of funds for Women’s Resource Centres atvillage, Panchayat and cluster levels to ensure women’saccess to information, rights, livelihoods, counseling,etc.2. Skill training, literacy, education, access to informationand technology with the perspective of employmentand addressing all forms of marginalisation.3. All government programmes should invest 30 per centfunds in women’s capacity building as defined above.4. Existing women’s institutions, NGOs etc should beinvolved by the government in capacity buildingprocesses.5. It should be mandatory for technical institutions toearmark funds for training women for promotionof indigenous and modern skills that are contextappropriateand viable.6. Government should provide appropriate subsidiesand institutional spaces for women in production andmarketing.7. Work-specific tools, spaces, markets, etc should beprovided to women according to their needs.8. Women’s security related infrastructure and servicesshould also be provided (shelter, sanitation, streetlighting,transport, post office, police, etc).9. Government functioning should be made moreefficient and not privatised.10. A comprehensive framework of rights to employment,resources, and equal and decent work needs tobe adopted for women’s right to livelihoods andmicrocredit should not be the sole strategy.11. Protection should be provided to women thrown intothe labour market without any social security due tochanges in the economy, especially those in difficultsituations due to loss of livelihoods.12. Protection from privatisation and environmentaldegradation should be provided.13. Common property resources should be managed bypeople’s committees with not less than 50 per centrepresentation of women.14. A Status Report on Women and Livelihoods shouldbe prepared with an emphasis on re-examiningmicrocredit as the only strategy.15. Individual entitlements for food and employmentschemes should be separately provided to women e.g.separate ration cards, bank accounts and MGNREGSJob Cards (with 100 days of work for each individualabove 18 years as promised by the government).16. Women should be considered as separate units andnot treated as constituting a unit with men within thehousehold.17. Women’s concerns with respect to the recent negativefallout of the activities of micro-finance institutionsshould be taken into account.18. Employment should be provided to stop migration;increased migration leaves women managing not justthe home but also the entire agricultural work, whereearlier the men folk would do some of it.19. Migration is also pushing women into work thatexploits them sexually and economically. This shouldbe prevented.20. A lot of women migrating out of their area in searchof work end up as domestic workers working underexploitative conditions with little legal protection.21. Economic rights should include national incomeaccounting for care work.22. Pension should be ensured to all old aged women,widows, women with disability and single womenheading families and this should be indexed toinflation.23. Economic and livelihood support programmes shouldbe introduced in conflict-affected areas taking intoaccount the special vulnerabilities of women andyouth.ii. Youth24. Introduce career counselling in educational institutionswhich enables young people to explore their interestsand choose a career that matches their worldview.25. Introduce opportunities for internships and jobshadowing so that young people get a first-handexposure to the professions they are interested inpursuing.26. Protect and promote traditional rural livelihoods sothat they are recognized and valued.26

27. Work with grassroots organizations to identifyout-of-school youth, map their aspirations andthe existing skill levels of young people in theircommunity, design and run relevant skill training andfind appropriate and fair employment opportunities.28. Train youth facilitators to co-create a safe, youthfriendlyspaces that are conducive to experimentalreflection and learning. These spaces could be runby young people and be used for connecting withpeers and mentors for learning new skills, discussingcontemporary social issues and also for planning andinitiating their own action projects or enterprises.29. Create a regulatory and financial environment thatwill enable young people to start their own enterprises.30. Reduce entry barriers for youth to start their ownenterprises. This would involve removing therequirement of bank account and address for startingan enterprise, simplification of rules, disseminationinformation on government schemes for the informalsector and provision of seed funding.31. Open cells at the workplace to organize informalworkers so that they can get their grievances redressed.Improve safety at workplaces, especially in the informalsector.iii. Dalits32. Technical skill upgradation and enhancement shouldbe according to the current market needs.33. However, skill development should not lead to thelarger admission of SCs into Industrial TrainingInstitutes (ITI) and Polytechnics at the cost of theiradmission to higher education. The ratio of SCs in therelevant age group in higher education should be atpar with the general ratio.34. Dalit girls should be given priority for absorption intoregular employment.35. Special skill training programmes have to be conductedcatering to the needs of different categories like nonliterate(bonded labour, landless workers, constructionworkers, domestic workers, daily wage workers etc),literate, educated and higher educated.36. Minimum wage payment, dignified workingconditions and social security coverage must beensured.37. The labour standards conforming to fundamentalprinciples and gender rights should be prescribed inthe labour policy for the protection of Dalit womenin the workforce,38. Schemes such as MGNREGS, SGSY, SJSRY shouldbe better designed and linked to the skills, capital,information and technologies required for therequirements for inclusive growth.39. Concessions to the private sector should be linked withmeasures for promoting employment of marginalizedsections in their enterprises through affirmative actionand a policy of reservations.40. The Ministry of MSME should allocate funds toSCP and special protection measures and marketsupport should be given to SCs initiating enterprises.The participation of SC/ST communities in themain sectors driving the growth of the economylike information technology, services, transport,communication and finance needs to be enhancedand procedures simplified.41. The distribution of land as a productive asset to poorDalit households needs to be implemented moreaggressively. Land should be allocated on a long leasebasis to SCs along Golden Quadrilateral highways andother national and state highways. Allotment of sideplotsto SCs for entrepreneurial ventures like motels,petrol pumps, service stations, truck terminals, etc.should be implemented and closely monitored withadequate redressal systems in place.42. Reservation quotas for SCs in PSUs should be filled bySC youth and appropriate training should be given toSC youth to remove their skill gap so that these vacantquotas in PSUs and other government institutions arefilled.43. Quality training and education should be given toDalits by government in all occupations. The place orsource of earning (e.g. ponds, yards, industrial shedsetc.) should be either in government possession orshould be leased to Dalit groups.iv. Children44. Revise curricula of schools to include vocational skillsprogrammes for adolescents to be able to engagein sustainable livelihoods based on demands of themarket.45. Upgrade vocational training programmes andintroduce new skills education in schools using theexperience from existing programmes and institutions.27

state-level missions for vocational education shouldbe set up to secure children’s right to a sustainablelivelihood when they reach adulthood.46. Build coordination between the National Council ofVocational Training (NCVT) and the State Councilsof Vocational Training (SCVT). Clear demarcationneeds to be made of the areas of functioning of theDirectorate General of Employment and Training(DGET), NCVTs and SCVTs and an effectivecoordination mechanism needs to be developed.47. The government must set up special concessionalmarkets within easy access for the poor.48. Strengthening of labour laws is one way of protectingfamilies from vulnerability.49. The State has to set the highest standards for theenforcement of labour laws and strengthening ofagencies to ensure justice for the labouring poor.50. Make sustainable livelihood a right of every parentso that wage security for adults will act as a strongcounter-measure to child labour.51. Integrate child labour and bonded labour preventionstrategies with poverty eradication programmes.Livelihood and development initiatives should bedeveloped so as to ensure safeguards for keeping olderchildren in school.52. Integrate child labour prohibition and regulation withthe Right to Free and Compulsory Education andstrictly enforce the ban on all child labour for childrenunder 14 years of age.53. The MGNREGS should be made flexible by makingspecial provisions applicable to displaced children andcommunities.54. Increased access to affordable credit (for instancethrough self-help groups or rural banks) wouldhelp reduce the extent of unsustainable debt whichstrangulates the earnings of the poor.55. When a disaster is about to strike or in the earlystages after a disaster has struck, a special MGNREGSshould be implemented in order to assist those whoselives will be or have been affected.56. The government must ensure special concessionalmarkets with easy access for the poor.57. Strengthening labour laws is one way of protectingfamilies from vulnerability. The state has to set thehighest standards for enforcement of laws, especiallylabour laws.58. Conduct impact assessment of all developmentschemes with focus also on livelihoods and safety oflocal populations.59. Provide institutional support/creches for child carefor working parents at the work site as an integralcomponent of employment/livelihood strategies.v. Adolescents60. Adolescent Resource Centres should be set up atthe Panchayat level. These will function as the hubsfor innovative ideas and provide comprehensivecounselling services ranging from health related issuesto career counselling, offer vocational skills-buildingprogrammes and life skills building-programmesfor out of school adolescents. The vocational skillsdevelopment programmes should be linked to marketsand therefore to employment security. These centreswill also provide adolescent-friendly information.vi. Adivasis61. Creation of Gramin Gyan Kendras to serve as banksof local knowledge and prevent the patenting ofknowledge and products by outsiders.62. Planning should be done at the gram sabha level basedon local knowledge and resources.63. ITIs that are being opened in Adivasi areas shouldoffer courses that enhance local skills such as bamboocraft, iron smithy etc.64. Inclusion of people with traditional knowledge in thestate and district planning boards should be mademandatory.65. Establish institutional power for conservation ofcommon property resources through women’scollectives by setting up full time environmentprotection committees at the Panchayat level.66. Promotion of the plantation of traditional plants (likemahua, char, sarai, khamhar etc.) in forestry projectsalong with the security of Nistar Rights of the localcommunity.67. Enactment of a Minimum Land Holding Act for denotifiednomadic tribes, pastoral and semi-pastoralcommunities for sustaining their livelihood.28

vii. Transgenders68. There is a government order from the Andhra PradeshMinority Welfare Department which states that hijrasare to be considered a minority and welfare schemesare to be devised for them. A recent newpaper clippingalso states that all adult eunuchs in Delhi, India will begiven pensions of Rs. 1000 per month in recognitionof their low status by the local government. There isan urgent need for more such social protection andwelfare schemes for needy transgenders and hijras.69. Adequate outreach and communication is requiredto enable these welfare services to reach the mostmarginalized and vulnerable. The National SkillsMission and other concerned authorities should bedirected to open up existing schemes to transgendersand put in requisite safe guards to ensure inclusionand full participation of these groups.70. Development agencies must provide new opportunitiesfor transgender–hijras in their programmes as thiswill in the true sense contribute to the 12th Five YearPlan’s goal of inclusive and sustainable growth.viii. Migrants71. Set up an institutional mechanism for registration ofmigrant workers at the Panchayat/Urban Local Bodylevel at the source and the destination areas.72. Create a computerized database of migrant workersbased on the data obtained from the above registrationprocess.73. The Inter-State Migrant Workers Act should beamended to accord with prevailing realities with clearguidelines for implementation at the local level.74. The Unique Identity (UID) Authority should integrateits project with organizations working with migrantworkers across the country to ensure that migrantworkers are fully covered.75. The UID should be linked to provision of services likeeducation, banking for savings, credit and remittances,health and PDS.76. Benefits of unorganized sector welfare boards and/orschemes should be made available to migrant workersalso in the destination areas.77. Enable voting in elections for migrant workers.78. The Census enumeration should be made moresensitive to increased mobility of rural populations.79. Interstate validity of identity and entitlementdocuments such as ration cards or other valid IDsshould be ensured so that migrant workers can accesssocial benefit schemes in destination states.80. Formalise the payment of wages to migrant workersthrough banks to address payment-related issues andimplementation of programmes for financial inclusionof migrant workers.81. A migrant workers relief fund should be set up to coverall sectors of unorganized work, both at the nationaland the state level.82. There should be an urban employment guaranteescheme on the lines of the MG NREGS for migrantworkers.83. The living and working conditions of migrant workersshould be monitored by the government, trade unions,the media and NGOs.84. Assistance/information centres for migrants and theirfamilies should be established.85. A National Migrant Labour helpline on the lines ofthe Child Line should be established.86. Appropriate amendments where necessary andeffective implementation of the following acts isrequired–Minimum Wages Act, 1948, Inter StateMigrant Workman (Regulation of Employment andConditions of Service) Act 1979, Building and otherConstruction Workers (Regulation of Employment)Act 1996, Building & Other Construction WorkersWelfare Cess Act 1996, Contract Labour (Regulationand Abolition) Act 1970, Emigration Act 1983 andEmigration (Amendment) Rules 2009.87. Benefits of the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana(RSBY) should be made portable and made availableto migrant labour.88. Establish a National Overseas Manpower Corporationto handle recruitment processes in a safe manner foroverseas migrants.89. Establish a Labour Attaché at Indian Embassies atdestination countries.90. In order to overcome lack of awareness, the demandletter, power of attorney and the terms of contractshould be made available in the local language tomigrants going overseas.91. There should be a mechanism for timely redressal ofgrievances.29

92. Bilateral and multilateral agreements should benegotiated with destination countries to ensure safetyof overseas migrants.93. Migrant Resource Centres should be established in allstates.94. There should be resettlement and re-integrationprogrammes for returnees from work overseas.ix. North East95. The social capital of the region should be taken intoaccount while planning for employment generation.In Nagaland it is in the sphere of community health.Similarly, other parts of the region should invest inappropriate, people driven schemes.96. Promotion of ethno-tourism would enhance theearning capacities of the local people and alsocontribute to the preservation and promotion ofethnic cultures.97. There has to be professional skills building of the localpopulace in management of the entertainment andhospitality industry and various facets of eco-tourismlike popularising ethnic cuisines, publishing travelbooklets and folk and general histories of the area inorder to attract inter-state and foreign tourists.98. Investing in the development of locally managedareas like river banks and environmentally green areasin the foothills as well as the hills and consolidatingthe region’s territorial integrity with India. ArunachalPradesh is a case in point. The NEC had in September2004 at Shillong emphasized the potential of ethnotourismin a discussion between the Chief Secretariesof the north eastern states and the Secretary of theMinistry of Development of the North EasternRegion.x. Conflict99. Skill training should be an integral part of the schooleducation system. The PPP model has the potential toachieve this even in rural areas. This would ensure thatstudents who are not able to pursue their educationafter the 8th standard that is mandated according tothe RTE should be able to find some skilled workwhich can help them in their sustenance.100. The curricula need to be revised and should bemade more relevant to help in opening up more jobopportunities. The existing curricula needs to bechecked from time to time for its relevance and thechanges should be incorporated quickly before theybecome outdated again.101. Communication and soft skills training is requiredby the retailing/service sectors that are booming.Appropriate investments in these fields will makerural areas competent to connect with global markets.102. Further training to workers who already have someskills would lead to greater productivity.103. Increased allocations should be made to promotedistance education programmes, use of moderntraining technologies, e-learning, web based learningetc. This can prevent migration from rural to urbanareas and also bring education and skill enhancementopportunities to a larger number of people, especiallythe marginalized.104. Capacity building should be done in rural areas as well.The focus should not only remain on building of IITsand IIMs but also on developing ITIs and institutionsoriented to training in agriculture, horticulture andrural livelihoods. It is equally important to nurture theabundant rural talent lying untapped.105. The traditional employments should be focused onand efforts be made to expand and promote them.Agro-based employment opportunities should bepromoted. This shall also help in decreasing themigration from rural to urban areas.106. Provisions should be made to promote institutionsand mechanisms that respect and promote local andtraditional knowledge systems.107. There is an urgent need to review the character ofand support for ITIs, polytechnics and rural-basedinstitutions.108. There should be adequate provisions for scholarships,stipends and hostel facilities for students of all suchinstitutions in both urban and rural areas.109. Special provisions should be made for impartingEnglish language and computer skills at all suchinstitutions.110. Provisions should also be made for facilities andinfrastructure at all these institutions in both rural andurban areas to enable them to deliver competencies30

in line with nationally and internationally recognizedstandards as in the case of IITs and IIMs.111. Increasingly people are getting work much belowtheir education or skills. This not only leads tounderemployment but generates frustration andcould result in socially undesirable results. Thus,there should be provision of appropriate and gainfulemployment or compensation in lieu thereof for everyadult who is willing to work.112. Greater reliance on self-employment andentrepreneurship needs to be planned and providedfor.113. The variety of jobs must be increased and focus shouldalso be given on promoting new emerging occupations.This will lead to more employment opportunities.114. Placement and post-placement help should beprovided to people.115. Dignity and equality of labour should be consideredwhile planning employment programmes. Duerecognition, status and appropriate remunerationshould be accorded for manual work.116. Minimum wages need to be revised and revisitedand the Planning Commission should ensure dueobservance of stipulated minimum wage rates andbasic social security norms, particularly in the case ofoutsourced and informal sector employment.117. Economic and livelihood support programmes shouldbe introduced in conflict-affected areas with specialregard to the vulnerabilities of women and youth.118. Psycho-social support should be provided to theemployees of the outsourced and informal sectors. Jobsafety, working environment, pay scale and terminalbenefits are a matter of concern for employees in thesesectors. Exploitation of people employed in both thesesectors needs to be checked.119. The planning authorities also needs to look into theissue of lop sided development. People migrate tothe cities, often unwillingly, for survival. Becauseof lack of employment opportunities they have nooption but to migrate. Schemes like the MGNREGSshould be implemented throughout the countryand employment should be provided throughoutthe year. Migration should be understood as a classphenomenon and lower-class people should beprovided housing.xi. Muslims120. Appropriate directions should be given to theconcerned authorities to provide employment toMuslims proportionate to their size in the populationof the area under the rural employment andentrepreneurhsip programmes.121. Credit should be given to Muslims from financialinstitutions, banks and various corporations for selfemployment,micro-enterprises and small and mediumscale industries. Measures may, therefore, be takenfor enhancing credit to Muslims in Priority SectorAdvances. Any shortfall in achievement of targetedamount in minority-specific programmes should beparked with National Minorities Development andthe Finance Corporation. Specific programmes shouldbe funded with this amount. Separate co-operativesocieties and co-operative banks should be started forvarious Muslim artisanal groups especially for women.Formalities for registration for all theses institutionsand allotments of necessary funds to support theseinstitutions should be made easier.122. More branches of banks should be opened in Muslimconcentrationareas.123. A policy to enhance the participation of minoritiesin the micro-credit schemes of the National Bankfor Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)should be laid down. This policy should spell out theintervention required by NABARD through a mix oftarget and incentive schemes based on the populationpercentage of Muslims in the village to enhance theparticipation of Muslims in micro-credit.124. Introduce a social security system for self-employedpersons in the informal sector, especially home-basedworkers.125. Policies to increase representation of Muslims on theboards of directors of public financial institutions,insurance companies and public sector units shouldbe put in place.126. Special schemes to ensure housing for poorer sectionsof the Muslim community may be started. Specialschemes may also be formulated for allotment ofshops, PDS outlets, petrol pumps and gas agencies toMuslim youth.127. Industries should be set up and opportunities for workcreated in areas of Muslim concentration to enablethem to get employment.31

128. The Small Industries Development Bank of India(SIDBI) should set aside a dedicated fund for trainingof minorities under its Entrepreneurial DevelopmentProgramme.129. Comprehensive human resource developmentinitiatives and policies should be formulated in a timebound manner.130. Sensitisation and training of local government officialsfor the allocation of government schemes in anunbiased manner.131. Increase budgetary allocation to ensure properdevelopment of the 90 Muslim concentration districtsthat have been identified.132. Include rural skilled activity under the MGNREGS toprovide employment opportunity to Muslims. Mostrural Muslims are traditionally involved in skilledactivity.133. Under the Food Security Act, include all Muslimsalong with Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes asbeneficiaries.xii. PLHIV134. The PLHIV as well as affected family membersincluding children should be provided a specialstatus. This special status will provide priority andwaiver of administrative requirements for availingstate- and centre-sponsored social welfare schemesand entitlements. Experience suggests that lack ofknowledge and information at both the beneficiaryand provider levels a big problem and this shouldbe rectified through information, education andcommunication campaigns.135. Special schemes and entitlements can be madeavailable nationally, following examples fromRajasthan, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. For example,conditional cash transfers to support travel to accesshealthcare, OVC funds etc.136. Ensure priority and access to women living with HIV inboth urban and rural settings with regard to economicopportunities, poverty alleviation programmes, accessto credit, employment, development of skills andleadership. The priority should be given to makingavailable existing opportunities as well as developingspecial ones.xiii. People with Disability137. People with Disability (PWD) should be engaged inMGNREGS work and there should be a separate jobidentification for them.138. The list of jobs for PWDs under MGNREGS hasto be reviewed (as followed in Andhra Pradesh).MGNREGS-related work should be made barrierfree.139. There should be increased access for skilled workersunder the MGNREGS.140. The coverage has to be increased and funds meant forPWDs should not be diverted.141. There is lack of representation of PWD in the bodiesrelated to decision making (right from the PanchayatRaj Institutions)142. The infrastructure being built through MGNREGSshould be accessible to PWD.143. The National Rural Livelihoods Mission should bemade PWD-friendly.144. Reasonable accommodation should be provided toPWD.145. There should be a special focus on skill developmentfor PWD in the mainstream set up.146. Involvement of family members in skill developmentshould be encouraged and incentives given to parentsto take disabled children to their workplace.147. Employment and skill development in nonconventional fields like film-making, mediatechnology, art and culture etc. should be explored.32

3Managing theEnvironmentINPUTS FOR THIS CHALLENGE HAVE COME FROM THEDISCUSSION GROUPS RELATED TO CHILDREN, YOUTH,DALITS, NORTH EAST, CONFLICT, ADOLESCENTS,ADIVASIS, AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY.33

Managing the EnvironmentSection ContentsContext 35Children 35Youth 35Dalits 36Adivasis 36Adolescents 37Specific Recommendations 38Youth 38Children 39Adolescents 39Dalits 40Adivasis 40North East 40Conflict 41People with Disability 4134

1. Contexti. ChildrenThe Preamble to the Constitution of India ensuresrights to all citizens to a clean environment. Due to theglobal economic slowdown, attention and political willfor tackling climate change and managing environmentalissues like land, minerals, forests, water, waste and pollutionand water has flagged dangerously. As the world’s averagetemperature rises year on year, the sea level also rises and thenumber of natural disasters increases. The poorest and mostmarginalised continue to suffer the brunt of these adversechanges in climate. A global ‘Green Revolution’ is requiredwith individual states taking long term decisions to ensurethat future generations live in a clean and safe environment.Children must be central to all strategies which affect theenvironment because they are the ones who will face theconsequences of policy decisions made today. Unless wemake dramatic changes in how we use energy, water, landand forests, we will lose the development gains of the pastand risk our own children’s future.ii. YouthThere is rampant abuse of nature on which the survivalof human beings depends and especially of the youth(irrespective of position, community, region). Consideringthe fact that the Right to Life gets precedence over the Rightto Development, our economic policies (and all industrialproject proposals) should adhere to environmental laws andregulations before even being considered for discussion orimplementation. We take this stand because human survivalis not dependent on industries of the modern world andalternative ways to give jobs to youth and create value in theeconomy can still be promoted.The inhabitants of areas in natural settings (includinganimals, birds, etc.) and their rights are not consideredbefore imposing economic decisions of urban human beingson them. Natural areas also contribute to the economythrough ecological balance and tourism. This imposition ofthe economic will of a few urban people on the vast majorityof rural people is not a symbol of a progressive society.Communities have always been identified by theirculture arising out of their interaction with their naturalsurroundings. Natural resources must not be viewedseparately from the rights of communities livingharmoniously with them. Economic and social planningfor the country must start with this premise. Repeateddisplacement and migration due to various factors willgive rise to a populace with little connection with theenvironment as it is not their own, thus making it evenmore difficult in the future to regulate their behaviour.There is a refusal to acknowledge and use traditionalknowledge and practices which can provide alternatives toproducts, services and professions and reduce environmentaldegradation. Even if there are alternatives, there is a lack ofpromotion of and awareness about these.35

The education system we have inherited from the pre-Independence era has created several problems for the culture.In the context of the environment, this system does notencourage rural/semi-urban students to choose professionsthat involve direct interaction with the environment suchas farming, pottery and poultry. It also does not give themdignity in being who they are and creates unsustainableaspirations of becoming city-dwellers. Urban students alsodo not have any motivation to take up such professions orreadily consider nature conservation as a preference.Indian environmental legislation, already inadequateand lacunae-ridden, is ignored to accommodate industrialinterests. Industry and enterprise must be promoted buttheir scale, impact and tendency to benefit a few individualsat the expense of society and the environment must be keptin check. A particular stratum of society can create value forthe country only for a limited time. In the long term interestof the nation, other strata should also be given their share.The elite stratum is consuming more than their share dueto the lack of disincentives and of redistribution of wealththrough appropriate mechanisms.We have been defensive and reactive in our approach toclimate change even though sustainable means of living thatcan create economic value have always been present in India.The growing energy and food crisis can only be compoundedby climate change. The recent World Energy Outlook reporthas clearly stated that world oil production had peakedin 2006. But our oil imports continue to increase residlyand unsustainably. This will have a major influence on ourtransport industry that runs on a fast depleting resource andan even bigger impact on food production which dependsheavily on pesticides and fertilizers derived from fossil fuels.Some of the most progressive plans of the Indian governmenthave not been very successful in their implementation at thegrassroots. Rampant corruption and flawed business modelshave to be tackled effectively by strengthened communitiesin addition to the direct intervention of the government.iii. DalitsDiscussions in the recent Copenhagen and the earlierRio summits of the United Nations Framework Conventionon Climate Change have clearly brought out the threat tothe livelihoods of vulnerable communities across the world.India has greater responsibility and should evolve longtermplans with adequate budget allocations to protectits vulnerable communities. Instead of this the laws andpolicies being followed by the Government of India areexposing millions of Dalits and Advasis to environmentaldisasters. Whether it is the Wildlife Protection Act or theEnvironment Protection Act or the Forest Rights Act or theWetlands Conservation Act, Dalits have no right over theecosystems in which they have been living for generations.The shifts in the rainfall pattern have increased the debtburden on these communities. Whether it is floods ordrought, people are not only experiencing the price increasein essential commodities but also several other difficulties.These are the additional costs of rebuilding houses, the lostdays of work and schooling, the increasing difficulty of thecollection of fuel-wood by women, the difficulty of survivalin severe droughts or floods and migration in search oflivelihoods. It is a known fact that farmers get compensationfrom the government after a flood or drought whereasagriculture labourers, who are mostly Dalits, are abandonedto fend for themselves. The planning process should be ableto estimate these additional burdens while making plans. Itshould dynamically change and enable Dalits to meet thechallenges of nature. Science and technology should predictnatural disasters, estimate losses, estimate the requirementof basic needs and ensure that these are met. The planningprocess for emergency relief should have wider consultationswith vulnerable communities.Communities which are dwelling in national parks andsanctuaries for centuries are being evicted. Anthropologicalevidence show that these communities have been livingin the same habitat as a part and not as a threat. Hence,instead of evicting communities from these areas, the 12thFive Year Plan should try to encourage them to be part ofthe environmental protection process. Government shouldinvest 60 per cent of the profits from the marketing of naturalproducts to improve their livelihoods. If such measures areinitiated in the 12th Five Year Plan, the communities livingin national parks and sanctuaries will become their foremostprotectors.iv. AdivasisThe non-implementation of the Panchayat Extensionto Scheduled Areas Act (rules for which have not beenformulated in most states), the rapid depletion of resourcescritical to their livelihoods due to industrialization andmining and the poor implementation of the ScheduledTribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognitionof Rights) Act are the glaring problems with regard tothe situation of Adivasis which adversely impacts the36

environment also. Harassment and evictions by the forestdepartment which operates without adequate checks andbalances and the diversion of agriculture and forest land fornon-agriculture and non-forest use and large scale denial ofcommunity rights constitutes another problem area. Thishas led to increasing conflict compounded by the poorfunctioning of the Adivasi Development Departments inthe states and poor utilisation of Tribal Sub Plan allocations.v. AdolescentsThere is a dearth of initiatives to promote theinvolvement of adolescents in managing the environment.There are very few sensitization programmes for adolescentsrelating to the environment.37

2. SpecificRecommendationsi. Youth1. Environmental sensitivity needs to be internalised inthe daily operations of lakhs of corporations in thecountry.2. Environmental compliance should be made part ofcompany law with verification through annual reportsubmission and huge penalties for non-compliance.3. Companies must submit proposals to start a newfactory, product or service with environmentalconcerns embedded in the project plan. Theseproposals must be evaluated with environment as thefirst criteria followed by their value addition to societyas a whole.4. Industries and commercial establishments should beasked to pay sufficiently for groundwater use and thistoo should be restricted to a specified depth suitable tolocal conditions.5. Water is recognized as the next on the list of scarceresources after coal and oil. Water, being a state subject,should be made mandatory by state governments toharvest rainwater in urban, rural and industrial areas.6. People’s ownership over local resources should beacknowledged and whenever the government orindustry proposes a change in resource use, they mustbe consulted. Allocation of land and other resourcesto development projects must be done only withadequate explanation to the people on the absolutenecessity of the project. Public hearings should beheld for each project with video documentation. Plansfor alternate residence, civic amenities, and livelihoodsfor the displaced should be drawn up before hand.7. Research and development must be promoted in thefield of environment-friendly technologies as well asto enhance and adapt existing methodologies to thechanging times.8. Government support must also be given to longstandingpractices in agriculture, forestry, peoplefriendlyurban management, fooding, clothing, etc.9. The age-old way of life in India that is beingincreasingly eroded needs attention at the highest levelas India’s traditional economy and ethics are based onthat. The education system needs to be aligned tobring in harmonious living and professional choicesin young and entrepreneurial minds. The NationalCurriculum Framework 2005 also aims to meet thisobjective and should be implemented.10. The gaps in the implementation of environmental lawsand rules cost the country in various ways and giveaway the country’s wealth on a platter for the shorttermbenefit of a limited few. These gaps should beidentified and best practices adopted from successfulcountries for their elimination. Enforcement must becombined with incentives to ensure compliance.11. The money collected through taxes and part of therevenue from PSVs should be utilised to provideaccessible, affordable, and safe resources (such as air,water, shelter and public transport) to each personin the country. This should be along with a cap onmaximum utilisation per household to avoid misuse ofessential resources and services such as water, cookingfuel, health, wood, shelter, etc.12. Redistribution of wealth through carbon tax or othermechanisms should be done for equitable carbonfootprint.13. India has taken a progressive step through its NationalAction Plan on Climate Change but more needs tobe done in addressing the existential issues of foodand energy in a resource depleting environment.Mitigation and adaptation strategies should bestrengthened through R&D in crop yield, impactsof climate change, organic farming, backyard androoftop farming for local food production.14. Improvement of the public transport system withinduction of clean energy vehicles so as to reduce theburden on non-renewable fossil fuels.15. Renewable energy options should be promoted in adecentralised manner in all states for all residentialand commercial set-ups with Gram Sabha or ResidentWelfare Associations as stakeholders.16. The capacity of local communities, women andyouth should be developed to ensure transparencyand effectiveness of the government’s environmentpolicies. Environmental Impact Assessment is crucialfor people’s involvement in project evaluation andoften the task is handled by consultants. However,building capacity of local youth and women toperform their own basic EIA can go a long way in38

developing an understanding of natural resources andimpacts. Other tools like Right to Information Act,local schools for clean and efficient energy, etc. cansupport communities in meeting their needs.ii. Children17. All curricula beginning from the primary to the highereducation level must include environmental educationrelated to the conservation of water, the use of naturalresources, pollution, the need to limit consumptionand mitigation of and adaptation to climate change.18. The village committees, Panchayat Raj Institutions,Gram Sabhas and district development authoritiesshould play a critical role in the decision makingprocesses relating to climate change action. They mustbe empowered to develop mitigation and adaptionprogrammes and policies and then carry out theirimplementation.19. The existing disaster management framework,including the Disaster Management Act must beimplemented immediately with specific interventionsfor children.20. India and its neighbours, particularly Bangladesh,Sri Lanka and the Maldives, must collaborate at theinternational and national level to develop relocationand rehabilitation plans to cope with the growingnumber of environmental refugees. Particular focusshould be put on children and their need for stability,education, health and protection.21. The Right to Life as enshrined in the IndianConstitution is directly related to clean water andsanitation and with 400,000 children dying ofdiarrhoea every year, action is needed immediatelyto stop these preventable deaths. An infrastructureproject on the scale of our road building project forimproving water resources and providing all childrenwith clean water in a time bound period of two yearsshould be implemented. Water and sanitation shouldbe considered a fundamental human right and thisshould be reflected in comprehensive legislation at thenational and state levels.22. Replacing mixed forests (capable of sustaining Adivasilivelihoods) with single product-farming should beavoided as evidence shows that this increases foodinsecurity, child-stunting malnutrition and infant andchild mortality.23. Children’s right to a clean environment and healthare severely impaired by the lack of institutional wastemanagement systems and the increase in pollutionand untreated hazardous waste that industrialisationhas brought with it.24. The government should fund mass general awarenesscampaigns to reduce pollution caused by wrongfulwaste disposal. These campaigns should have a strongfocus on children as they are the future of the countryand are capable of bringing about change.25. The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Actmust be implemented and those employing children inwaste management should be punished under the law.26. The millions of unorganised sector workers involvedin collecting and selling waste should be employedby government agencies and the waste managementsystem should be institutionalised. Furthermore,an integrated approach towards waste managementshould be adopted so as to ensure that hazardouswaste does not pollute rivers, ground water and theenvironment.27. All children, no matter whether they are Adivasichildren from the forests of Jharkhand, Dalit childrenfrom rural Rajasthan or children from conflict-riddenareas like the North East or Chhattisgarh, who havebeen forced into child labour in mines should berescued and provided with proper environmentalhabitats and facilities. The government should endforced displacement by revising the Land AcquisitionAmendment Bill 2007 by taking into considerationchild rights. There is also a need to adequately define‘public purpose’ and the provisions for grievanceredressal.28. Sustainable food security is a major challenge if hungerand malnutrition are to be overcome. Food securityinvolves strengthening the livelihood security of allmembers of a household by ensuring both physicaland economic access to a balanced diet. The foodshould originate from efficient and environmentallyfriendlyproduction technologies that conserve andenhance the natural resource base of crops, farmanimals, forestry and inland and marine fisheries.iii. Adolescents29. Adolescents need to be sensitized towards theenvironmental issues and involved in actions like39

preservation of forest, water management and so on.This can be integrated into the Life Skills Educationmodules and be implemented through curriculumfor school-going adolescents and through adolescentresource centres for out-of-school adolescents.iv. Dalits30. Protection and conservation of the environment,forests and natural resources should be done with theactive participation of indigenous people.31. Displacement and alienation of land, forest and theresources of indigenous people should be avoided.32. Disaster mitigation should be through environmentalprotection involving indigenous people and theirmethods33. Mining of minor minerals should be entrusted toindigenous people.34. The land that is taken for development projects ormining should be taken only on lease for 30 years or amaximum of 50 years and must to be returned to thepeople in a cultivable condition.35. A comprehensive rehabilitation and resettlementpolicy ensuring life and livelihood of indigenouspeople should be drawn up before embarking on adevelopment project.36. The traditional rights of the indigenous people overland, forests and natural resources should be respectedand protected through comprehensive laws andguidelines of the Planning Commission.37. The indigenous people have to be taken as co-investorsin development projects and ensured of royalty fromall production and profit because land and naturalresources are their primary assets.v. Adivasis38. Rules for the PESA Act and its implementation shouldbe formulated by all states. Allocation of central fundsto states that fail to do so should be withheld.39. A White Paper should be released on the status ofimplementation of the PESA Act as reported by thegovernors of states.40. Time-bound implementation of the Scheduled Tribesand Other Traditional Forestdwellers (Recognition ofRights) Act (2006) (FRA) should be ensured under thesole legal authority of the Adivasi Welfare Department(currently, the interference of the Forest Departmentis misleading the settlement process).41. Withdrawal of false cases of forest offences registeredagainst Adivasi people in the light of the FRAsettlement process.42. Minimum Support Prices must be stipulated for allforest produce and rural marketing institutions inAdivasi areas must be strengthened.43. The responsibility for determining and awardingcompensation for acquired common property landsand forest lands should be given to the Gram Sabhainstead of the Revenue Department (as practisedcurrently).44. Central Water Commission guidelines for the use ofwater should be reviewed and then enforced (creationof appropriate mechanism for compliance to waterusage rules).45. Sharing of 26 per cent profit from mining and industry(proposed under the new Mining Policy) should beadopted. A mechanism that allows the Gram Sabhasto use the money for community work should be putin place.46. Conversion of Gram Panchyat into UrbanMunicipalities in 5th Schedule areas is illegal andshould be banned. A paper on the current status inthis regard should be prepared and guidelines for thefuture should be laid out.47. There should be a ban on the conversion of agriculturalland for non-agricultural purposes (like Jatrophaplantation, urbanization etc).vi. North East48. There should be a plan for creation of WildernessZones to promote bio-diversity of the region.49. Technical assistance should be given for achievingoptimal utilization of river navigation (especially fordredging specific channels of the Brahmaputra Riverwhich is designated as National Waterway No 2).This will promote river-based, environment-friendlyand cost-effective bulk transportation that will benefitriver bank communities by spurring local economies.50. Sustainable water management by popularizingrainwater harvesting should be encouraged.40

51. A critical study of the region’s carrying capacity hasto be carried out before any further mega projects areundertaken. Current mega dam projects should bestopped in the region untill then.52. Alternative sources of renewable energy like minihydel projects should be considered.53. Community forest rights have to be respected.54. All existing laws enacted by the Government/State Government/autonomous councils/traditionalinstitutions for the protection of lands, forests andwater resources should be monitored strictly andimplemented fully. Scope for review should be givenin this process to civil society organizations andstakeholders living in the neighbouring areas.vii. Conflict55. The parameters of ownership of natural resourcesand their access, control and management have to bereviewed. Natural resources such as forests, mineralsand water are limited in nature. Hence, allocation andutilization of land and land-based scarce resourcesshould be planned only on a social basis and not asprivately owned resources.56. In all cases where natural resources are the very basisof the sustenance of communities, these should notbe treated as marketed goods and they should not beacquired through compensation computed throughthe usual method of ‘market’ value.57. The land mafia should be prevented from growing.58. The Forest Department should release land held bythem to the Gram Sabhas immediately.59. The acquisition of Adivasi and rural lands underthe Land Acquisition Act 1894, particularly afterIndependence under the pretext of ‘public purpose’,has in many cases been a clear abuse of the Act. Muchof the land thus acquired has been usurped for privateuse, indirectly as in the case of urban colonies and evendirectly for private profiteering such as in the case ofprivate industries, mining by private companies, andcommercial complexes. This should be avoided.60. Ownership of land should remain with the farmersand not with the state or any other intermediary; thisshall provide them with a sense of security needed fora happy and protected living61. Land which is lying idle should be put to constructiveuse.viii. People with Disability62. Land, mining and forest rights – these are counteringeach other (say mining and land/forest rights)– land/forest rights should also include that of disabledcitizens.63. Rehabilitation strategies should not overlook thespecific needs of PWD affecting their livelihoods(especially as there are many PWD whose livelihoodslike those of others are based on the forest).64. Due to existing inequities and disparities, PWD facea disproportionate impact from climate change. Theycould participate in strategies to conserve the climateand to mitigate climate change.65. PWD and their families need adaptation and copingstrategies and robust systems and mechanisms thatcan mitigate and minimise the harmful effects ofclimate change, and promote sustainable access tobasic necessities, secure livelihoods, health care, andsocial and civic participation.41

4Markets forEfficiency andInclusionINPUTS FOR THIS CHALLENGE HAVE COME FROM THEDISCUSSION GROUPS RELATED TO CHILDREN, DALITSAND THE NORTH EAST43

Markets for Efficiency and InclusionSection ContentsContext 45Dalits 45Specific Recommendations 46Dalits 46Children 46North East 4644

1. Contexti. DalitsThe liberalisation reforms initiated in 1991 were aimedat increasing market efficiency to increase employment andeconomic growth. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in thecapital and consumer goods sectors as well as generationand provision of international and national services weresought to be encouraged. The 10th Five Year Plan broughtabout a substantial increase in overall growth of GDP at7.74 per cent per annum with 9.2 per cent industrial and9.3 per cent service sector growth rates (Mid Term Review,2010). However, inequalities between Dalits and non-Dalitscontinue. In 2004-05, 48 per cent Dalits were employed ascasual workers and only12 per cent Dalits were regularlyemployed as against 24 per cent in the non SC/ST/OBCcastes (Annual Report on Employment, Government ofIndia, 2010). Liberalisation has resulted in a drastic reductionin the growth of government employment, undermining thecurrent reservation policy that ensures social justice. There isconsiderable resistance to the introduction of reservation inthe private sector.employment being in low productivity activity in ‘uncertainand oppressive’ working conditions (Chandrasekhar andGhosh, 2007). The majority of Dalits fall in this category.There have not been adequate efforts to create capitalassets to promote the market participation of Dalits. Specificcommunities among Dalits like safai karmachari, musaharcommunity and other specific groups are particularlydisadvantaged in both employment and economic terms.Current market approach and the tardy implementationof schemes and programmes of entitlements and provisionshave not given space and strength to emerging SCentrepreneurs, marginal workers, farm and non-farmlabours, educated rural and urban SCs, youth and women.The demographic dividend among SCs has to be harnessedthrough various safeguards and affirmative action forparticipation in the labour market and contribution to thecountry’s economic development.Post- liberalisation industrial policies at the national andstate levels have led to the dismantling of many of the labourprovisions associated with decent work and human rights.Employers are resorting to ‘flexible solutions’. Economistshave argued that growth has not resulted in sufficientnumber of opportunities for ‘decent work’ with the bulk of45

2. SpecificRecommendationsi. Dalits1. Recognise and address discrimination in the market:the social frame of caste based discrimination isreflected in both organized and unorganized marketsof land, agriculture, housing and services. Theseneed to be addressed through awareness-buildingamong workers, promoting human and labour rightseducation and setting up bodies within industries toaddress caste-based discrimination.2. Affirmative action in the private sector should be mademandatory. The private sector depends on natural andpublic resources contributed by the citizens at large.Given the barriers for Dalits to engage and benefit fromthe emerging private market, reservation and otheraffirmative measures should be implemented in theprivate sector market. Marketing outlets at the village,panchayat, block and district should be reserved forSCs/STs in proportion to their population. Thereshould be reservation in marketing boards to promoteparticipation of Dalit businessmen/entrepreneurs ateach level.3. Outsourcing and contractual work has increasedmanifold, replacing regular employment in both theprivate and public sector. Dalits should be supportedand trained to undertake such contractual andoutsourced work both from the public and the privatesector. The strategy of establishing marketing andprocurement cooperative societies of Dalits/Adivasisat the block level should be adopted as to makemarkets more inclusive and efficient.4. Given the great diversity in market employment interms of remuneration, social security and labourwelfare, common national and state-level standardsfor the above should be evolved and instituted acrossthe market for all workers.5. Special support systems to access capital must be set upfor Dalits. The definition of entrepreneurs should bewidened to include many other businesses where SCsare involved. The National Scheduled Castes Financeand Development Corporation and the National SafaiKarmchari Finance Development Corporation shouldbe revamped with targeted interventions and properaccountability measures. Employment exchangesshould provide market information and supportin curbing discrimination etc. Creating spaces andplaces such as Ambedkar Town Hall etc. in each cityas a facilitation and resource centre for Dalit/Adivasientrepreneurs.6. Establish an Equal Opportunity Commission asalready recommended by the expert committee.ii. Children7. Steps need to be taken to prevent migration. Theseshould include steps to ensure that local markets donot get undermined by government and commercialenterprises. Instead, the locals need to be encouragedto take up local skills and products and turn theirtrade into viable business opportunities.8. Children being the cheapest and least demandingworkers are more susceptible to exploitation than allothers. Labour laws need to be strengthened to ensurechild protection and equitable wages for their parents.Labour laws also need to be made more effective ingeneral because for every labourer exploited, thechildren in his/her family are bound to suffer theconsequences.9. The recent trend of high-end products replacing themarket of products and services that are more affordableand intrinsic to the needs of the larger segment ofthe population has restricted the accessibility of thepoor consumer to his/her most basic needs. The stateneeds to take steps to control this radical makeoverof the Indian consumer market and instead promotebusinesses that rely on economies of scale at the locallevel to generate profits.10. It is strongly recommended that all services aimed atfulfilling children’s rights should be dispensed solelyby the government and the PPP model should not bemade use of here because it is the state that can ensurethat fulfilment of children’s rights remains the firstpriority of the service as against a usually indifferentthird-party service provider.iii. North East11. Cold storages have to be set up in large numbersfor perishable agricultural and horticultural itemsproduced in abundance in the region and propermarketing and air transport support provided for theirexport to the rest of India and abroad.46

5Decentralisation,Empowermentand InformationINPUTS FOR THIS CHALLENGE HAVE COME FROM THEDISCUSSION GROUPS RELATED TO CHILDREN, DALITS,THE NORTH EAST, YOUTH, ADIVASIS, ADOLESCENTS,TRANSGENDERS, CONFLICT, MUSLIMS, WOMEN,ELDERLY, MIGRANTS, PLHIV, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITYAND DECENTRALISATION COMMUNITY47

Decentralisation, Empowerment andInformationSection ContentsContext 49Decentralisation Community 49Women 49Youth 50Dalits 50Adivasis 51North East 51Specific Recommendations 52Decentralisation Community 52Women 54Youth 56Dalits 57Adivasis 58North East 59Children 60Transgenders 62Conflicts 64Adolescents 64Migrants 65Elderly 65Migrants 66PLHIV 67People with Disabilities 6848

1. Contexti. Decentralisation CommunityDecentralized governance should form the basis for theoverall approach of the 12th Five Year Plan. The structureand status of decentralized governance is not uniform andhomogenous across the country. Recommendations inthe relevant chapters of the 2nd Administrative ReformsCommission (ARC) and the Commission on Centre-StateRelations should be the basis for implementation of uniformdecentralised governance. The roles of various players andinstitutions in decentralized governance including that ofthe state and Central governments has to be made clear.Local governments should be treated as governmentsand not as agencies of development. Urban governancerequires immediate focus considering the huge increase inurbanisation. The PESA needs to be revisited, restructuredand implemented in letter and spirit. Efforts to study thediversities and strengthen decentralized and democraticgovernance in the North-Eastern region, which itself is nothomogenous, is required.A roadmap for ensuring devolution and effectivedecentralized governance has to be prepared andimplemented, jointly with the state governments. By theend of the 12th Plan, every local government should havein place an organizational structure, with office, staff andwell defined systems. Mandatory taxation powers andother resource mobilization powers have to be given tothe local governments. This also includes the completionand implementation of activity mapping, a detailedfunctional mapping, review of the status of conformingand contradictory legislations at the state and Centrallevels etc. This roadmap should also focus on social justiceand local economic development as key mandates oflocal governments. It is here that institutions like NyayaPanchayats, missions/programmes on health, livelihoods,food security, employment etc should be integrated with thelocal government processes. Through all these, inclusion ofthe excluded can be addressed which in turn will build avibrant grassroots democracy. The Planning Commissionhas to oversee the implementation of this roadmap. Thereshould be some simple, minimum, measurable indicators ofdecentralized governance. The role of the state governmentsin all these processes should not be undermined.Ensuring social justice is one of the objectives of the73rd Constitutional Amendment Act. However, a lot needsto be done to achieve this objective. The local governmentshave to be facilitated to make them oriented towards socialjustice.ii. WomenThe report of the Committee on the Status of Womenin India set up by the Government of India in 1974 statedthat women are not adequately represented in decisionmakingpositions and so there is a need to consideraffirmative action that provide women an opportunity to49

enter critical leadership positions. This demand translatedinto reservations introduced in local governing bodieswith the enactment of the 73rd and 74th ConstitutionalAmendments. But it has not been easy for women aselected leaders, with a backlash from powerful local leaders,corruption, and criminalisation of politics. They are facingtremendous challenges to be effective leaders. Women donot have access to and control over resources and this makestheir position vulnerable.The Women’s Bill for reservation in the upper echelonsof political governance has still not become a reality despitethe struggle of the past 14 years. It has only been passed inthe Rajya Sabha, but unless both Houses pass it, it cannotbecome an Act. This clearly shows the lack of political willto give women the power and the space to govern so that thepolitical climate and policies governing people’s life can beengendered with women’s perspective. They are seen as votebanks and not as a significant political resource. Womencontinue to face various obstacles in the political sphere atall levels.Statistics from across the country show that violenceagainst women is on the increase, both in the public andprivate sphere. The forms of violence are also changing withthe changing socio-economic and political climate. Violencein conflict-ridden regions is increasing and is not beinggiven the attention it deserves, as the focus is on the largerpolitical dynamics. In such situations, women and childrenbecome the worst targets of all forms of violence. Violenceis not just physical, it is also mental; it is discriminationand denial in different forms. It is a threat to survival, anda violation of women’s rights. Commodification of womenand other impediments infringe on their right to live withdignity and equality.Women are not a homogenous group and therefore aresubjected to caste, ethnic and other forms of discrimination.They face different forms of violence due to thecommunalisation of politics. Patriarchal and feudal controlscontinue to chain women and it is not easy for them to bepublic leaders in the absence of an enabling environmentwithin the family, society and community. To ensure andpromote women’s effective participation and leadership indecision making positions and as elected representatives,there is a need to address a range of issues.The approach taken by the Planning Commission withregard to the PPP model needs to be reviewed. Essentialservices remain the fundamental responsibility of thegovernment as these are ‘essential entitlements’ and pertainto issues of human security, safety and access to basicservices (housing, water, sanitiation, etc.) as well as legalservices. The essential services/basic amenities come underthe purview of local and urban governance, which is to betransparent and accountable to the people’s constituency(Gram Sabha) and ensure the participation of women at alllevels in local governance.iii. YouthPanchayats and other local government institutionsare lacking in representation and participation of youth.Information about youth is not treated as a basic resourcefor planning. What little information gathering anddissemination are done have a ‘top down’ approach lackingyouth perspective. There is a lack of access to relevantinformation at different levels for youth There is also a lackof empowerment and capacity-building of youth for themto be able to make critical interventions in governance andother democratic processes. Poor quality of public servicesand limited access to these for youth is another problem.Youth in conflict-affected areas are specially targeted bylaw enforcing agencies and this inhibits their development.The majority of migrant youth are unaware of the existenceof the Inter State Migrant Workmen Act 1979 and theprovisions enshrined therein. The rights based approach todevelopment has been supereded by an agitational demandmentality amongst youth because of responsibility andparticipation in development.iv. DalitsPanchayati Raj legislation has been enacted in allstates; yet, panchayats have not graduated into becomingeffective instruments of economic development andsocial justice. Due to incomplete devolution of functions,powers and resources to the local level, the governance anddevelopment potential of panchayats has not been fullyrealised. There continues to be major weaknesses in thecurrent interpretation and implementation of reservationsin Panchayati Raj. Broader strategies to transform the casteclass-genderdiscrimination pervasive in Indian society toohave been largely ineffective. Reservations alone do notensure greater equality and additional measures are requiredto facilitate Dalits in participating in effective governance.Factors of caste and political party pressures tend todominate development decisions at all panchayat levels,50

leading to most resources and development benefits beingchanneled to dominant caste communities. There is alsoan insufficient emphasis on participation and there aresignificant barriers of entry in gram sabhas and panchayatsfor Dalits. Participation is greatly diluted in panchayats andbetter planning, implementation and audits are neededfor the same. Focus needs to be given on every section orgroup at hamlet and village levels to include women andall sections of society in local governance. Dalit sarpanchesusually come to power with the help of other leaders andhence they often act as puppets or are coopted. Actualempowerment needs to be realized for Dalits to fully realisetheir powers and govern in these offices.Dalit women sarpanches have been subjected to severediscrimination and have not been included in decisionmaking processes. There continue to be social barriers incalling women for gram sabha meetings. Reinforcementof discriminatory norms of caste, class and gender, lack ofenabling environments and capture of power by dominantcaste members have often prevented Dalit women and menfrom taking up practical and strategic gender, caste andclass issues. There has been a repeated failure of the statemachinery in addressing gross violations of rights of Dalitwomen and men participating in panchayats. Exclusion anddiscrimination continue in access to health and basic civicservices at the panchayat level. For example, while the qualityof public services like water is emphasised, the locationof such services or access to Dalits is not. Furthermore,a village oriented model is used to look at public serviceoutreach rather than hamlet oriented models. Several SChamlets tend to get neglected by major public services dueto residential segregation. Dalit hamlets of migrant workershave no sanitary facilities, common property resources,village ponds, drinking water, electricity, playgrounds,schools, community centres, etc. There is a higher incidenceof disabilities among Dalits due to lack of access to welfareservices and discrimination in healthcare and education.put in place to make public services accessible and availableto them. Despite the pronouncement of a spurt of policiesand provisions for PWD, their access to public services inthe areas of education, health and civic amenities have beenlimited.v. AdivasisPeople involved in peace-building initiatives in Adivasiareas are branded Maoists and denied basic human rights.Inappropriate use of force by police and armed forces,abuse of the Jan Sunwai process and use of force forobtaining No Objection Certificates should be avoided. Thesuspension of administration and development activitiesand a large numbers of internally displaced persons furtherdisadvantages Adivasis. The youth lack opportunity. Fundsallocated to development schemes are un-utilised and lapse.The absence of accountability shrinks the democratic space.vi. North EastHuman resources development is obstructed whenstates experience turmoil and conflict. Internationally, theCentral government denies situations of around conflict,internally, it considers them insurrections. Governmentofficers use such situations as an excuse for structurallydeficient implementation systems. Conflict situations areapproached from a national security perspective and notfrom a human security viewpoint. Policies or programmesare not directly aimed at addressing the fallout of the variousconflict situations.Poor information flow and accountability mechanismswithin departments on schemes for SC/STs and especiallyon SCP and TSP is another challenge. Except in Kerala,SCP/TSP allocations have not reached panchayats. Thisprevents the full realisation of SCP/TSP schemes by Dalitsand Adivasis. On the other hand, at the level of expenditure,there is evidence of gross diversion of these funds to other,unintended infrastructure projects.Economic growth has also led to the emergence of alarge migrant population serving the needs of the economy.However adequate structures and institutions have not been51

2. SpecificRecommendationsi. Decentralisation Community1. The number of centrally sponsored (CSS) andstate sponsored schemes (SSS) should be reduced,especially in activities where the subsidiarity principlecould be applied. Thus, more untied funds should betransferred to local governments with broad guidelinesin accordance with national and state goals. The 12thPlan should earmark funds for local governments tooas has been done by the 13th Finance Commission,with states taken into confidence. CSS and SSSshould be flexible to the local context and localgovernments should have the key role in the planning,implementation and monitoring.2. The 12th Plan should focus on strengthening gramsabhas and defining their roles, responsibilities andpowers in planning, implementing and monitoringmost local interventions by all tiers of government.These should ensure inclusion of all sections of thesociety. This Plan will also have to focus on thepotential of youth in local governance. Various subcommitteesof the local governments also requireclarification of role.3. Capacity-building is to be strategized on the basisof technological and institutional interventions. Itshould be broadbased, addressing not only the electedrepresentatives but also other functionaries and thegram sabha. Elected representatives of women and ofother disadvantaged groups should be focussed on.This should be considered an ongoing process andinclude issues of social justice, discrimination etc aswell as skill development on local governance. StateInstitutes of Rural Development and AdministrativeTraining Institutes alone will not be able to cater tothis massive demand and hence there is a need tohave other institutions, civil society organizationsand academic institutions working jointly and in acoordinated manner. Such a mix of strategies is allthe more important for decentralizing the entire planprocess.4. Capacities of training organizations also need to beenhanced as well as untied financial support providedto them for self-development. Support to initiatecollectives of elected representatives at various levelsand groups will empower the Panchayati Raj processin the long run.5. Plans at all levels have to evolve from the villagethrough local government plans. This approach willhelp include the excluded in the plan process. All levelsof plans are to be based on the human developmentapproach. It requires the publication of state, districtand sub district Human Development Reports.6. Gender planning and budgeting has to be introducedat all levels and the TSP and SCP should be subjectedto gender budgeting. The potential of the widenetwork of self help groups, especially that of womenand various disadvantaged sections, should be tappedfor this process. Overall, there is also the need toincentivise decentralized planning and monitoring.7. Reliable local level data disaggregated to the Panchayatlevel should be collated and made available includingthe downward information flow regarding nationaland state plans, schemes and funds. The key to goodlocal planning is advance information regarding theresource envelope.8. The District Plan has to be comprehensive and notin separate compartments, compiled by differentdepartments and missions. Departmental and localgovernment plans have to be integrated with thedistrict plan. This requires the strengthening ofthe District Planning Committees (DPC). DPCsshould be constituted in every district; their rolesand structure including the membership and statusshould be defined clearly. Technical support systems,secretarial assistance and resources for planning haveto be provided to all the DPCs by the beginning ofthe 12 th Plan. These are necessary at the sub districtlevels too.9. As far as possible parallel bodies and programmes likeMP/MLALADS should either be done away with orminimised. Where there is a need, the role of theseparallel bodies and missions should be defined vis-avisthe role of the local governments. The variouscommittees of the local governments and the gramsabha should be entrusted with all functions, powersand responsibilities.10. Inequality should be measured through an inequalityindex on the lines of the global one, adapted to thelocal government context. Local governments shouldbe trained to do this and to understand and work insocial justice areas. Performance indicators should bedeveloped at the local level and those should include52

issues of disadvantaged groups, social justice andequitable sharing of resources.11. All organs/institutes/officials of the state and theirfunctionaries including government officials, police,prison officials, public prosecutors, legal serviceauthorities and legal aid providers must be sensitizedon laws and issues relating to vulnerable groups as wellas on the potential and role of local government inthese.12. Guidelines should be formulated to strengthen gramsabhas for better representation in decision-makingand to sensitise them to issues related to marginalizedpeople.13. The 12th Plan should ensure the launch of NyayaPanchayats, which in a way could address manyaspects of social justice. Various issues like dowry,child protection, atrocities against women, etc couldbe addressed by local governments if they are givenresponsibilities and are made accountable. This mayrequire incentives and disincentives.14. Budgetary allocation in plans at district, block andvillage level for SCs, STs, women, old people, childrenand minorities should be increased. Engendering plansat various levels should be the 12th Plan approach.Social Justice Committees and Social Justice Fundsshould be created in each village with members takenfrom the excluded groups.15. There is a need to streamline the ManagementInformation System with regard to excluded categoriesand have gram panchayat-level data on them. BPLlist and associated issues can be addressed by localgovernments with specific guidelines and a soundmonitoring system.16. Local governments should be given the responsibilityto ensure access to service delivery and there is theneed to have Citizen Charters at all levels.17. The PESA needs to be revisited, restructured andproperly implemented and could be one of the keytools in addressing challenges in social justice in Adivasiareas. Possibility of organizing the marginalized (onlines of the SHG movement) at the panchayat levelhave to be explored.18. Land rights issues should be addressed in the gramsabha. These issues vary across states, areas, societiesand cultures and each has to be addressed separately asin the case of people in conflict areas, migrants, Dalits,Adivasis, fisherfolk etc.19. The 12th Plan should be dedicated to social justiceas envisaged in the 73rd Amendment and should beachieved through decentralized governance.20. Universalization of access to public services must beensured. Instead of setting targets, the focus should beon actual delivery and its quality. The quality of servicesneeds to be defined. Strong monitoring of outcomesand analysis of bottlenecks in implementation anddelivery of services is critical. Studies should beundertaken to analyse the bottlenecks and crosssectoralgovernance issues in implementation ofgovernment programmes.21. Redeployment, ‘rightsizing’ and staffing wouldassist in improving quality of services. Many of thefrontline service delivery institutions require adequateinfrastructure for effective service delivery. Basicinfrastructure, adequate space, provision of computersand other items crucial to service delivery must be putin place.22. The setting up of a performance managementframework developed in a participatory manner andassessment of performance against the set standardswould aid in bringing a positive orientation in serviceculture. Online monitoring systems should be setup for tracking category-wise and sector-wise fundallocation and utilization.23. The gram sabha should be the platform for ensuringaccountability at the lowest tier. Steps should betaken to institutionalize social audit across all tiersof government. The regular internal audit shouldreinforce the social audit.24. Information technology must be leveraged for localgovernance through computerised village kiosks,mobile-based information sharing, reporting andtracking and web SWAN connectivity for improvingthe quality of service delivery. Some other uses couldbe single window service delivery systems, onlinerecord keeping and grievance handling systems.25. There is a need for creating awareness among citizensfor using the media for disclosure of information.The governments, including local governments, alsoshould collaborate with media to share developmentchallenges and success stories. Acts/laws pertaining toinformation availability to citizens need to be collectedand disseminated to local bodies.26. Steps must be taken for implementation of the RTIAct in letter and spirit, especially the public disclosure53

clause. Training must also be provided to electedrepresentatives on RTI stipulations.27. Relevant documents relating to government orders,circulars, statutes etc. should be collated, indexedand made available through public libraries at theblock and panchayat offices. There has to be a systemensuring regular flow of information on fund flow andschemes of the panchayats.28. A National Data Bank should be created forcollecting, preserving, disseminating and sharing vitalinformation (particularly relating to the prevailingbest practices in the field of local level planning anddevelopment) from the local communities and localgovernments for democratising information.29. Frontline service delivery workers such as ICDSworkers, primary school teachers as well as civil societyorganisations may be utilised to provide informationto each household on benefits available to the poorfrom the panchayats and block offices and how toaccess them. This would require convergence betweensome departments at the district level.30. Folk media, nukkad nataks and community radio/television should be used extensively to provideinformation to citizens.ii. Women31. Local governing units should reserve 33 per cent ofhouses/flats/industrial units/market spaces for women.32. Fifty per cent of any development fund should bespent specifically for women, especially focusing onthe marginalised.33. Programmes to promote gender planning andbudgeting in PRIs should be introduced.34. Provision of funds to enable women to contestelections and also to help create women’s collectivesto help and support elected women’s representatives(EWR) to function effectively in the PRIs.35. Proper functioning of PRIs with devolution of funds,provision of functionaries and clarification of EWRs,roles needs appropriate support.36. Rural and urban governing committees should bemade to function properly. Social justice committeesand Gram Nyalayas must be directed to function asmandated wherever they have been constituted andmust be set up wherever they have not been yet.37. Institutional mechanisms should be strengthened toensure participation of women in scheduled Adivasiareas in the decision-making process as the PESA Actis gender-blind.38. Land and house title deeds should be made in thename of both spouses/partners.39. Enhance honorarium for elected women’srepresentatives of local governments and ensurefacilities for their mobility. It should also be ensuredthat their loss of wages while attending meetings iscompensated.40. There should be no preset conditions for womento contest elections like the two child norm orrequirement of toilets etc.41. There should be regular social audits of the Women’sComponent Plan and of all development programmesincluding programmes for minority and marginalisedgroups.42. Mandate involvement of civil society members ingender and social audits.43. Promote participation of women in the planningprocess and make mandatory at least 33 percent women’s participation in District PlanningCommittees.44. Allocations should be made for marginalised women(SC/ST, minorities) as an inbuilt component of anybudgeting.45. Compilation of gender disaggregated data acrosssectors/departments with support of statisticsdepartment.46. Make attendance of 50 per cent women mandatory ingram sabhas and any public hearing.47. Funds of parallel programmes should be integratedto ensure optimal utilisation of resources andavoid replication of beneficiaries. This calls forcomputerisation of the data of benefactors of all theschemes.48. Enable women to assert their rights as stakeholders inall aspects of tourism development.49. Capacity building programmes should be aimed atcapacitating SHGs to take up social initiatives forempowering women beyond credit activities.50. Provisions should be made for capacity-buildingof EWRs and government functionaries on genderbudgeting.54

51. Training should be imparted on adult education,awareness of PRI and the election process, withspecial focus on the political participation of minoritywomen.52. Gender sensitisation of elected male representatives,with special emphasis on gender budgeting. Suchinitiatives should incorporate concerns about thedemographic profile.53. Gender education for all political parties.54. Democratisation of information through the use ofcommunity radio, newsletters, etc.55. Ensure that the principles of Convention for theElimination of Discrimination Against Women(CEDAW) are followed and the Government of Indiacommitments and the Beijing Platform for Action areimplemented.56. State wise research studies should be conducted toidentify emerging patterns and dynamics of violenceagainst women in different sectors, with segregateddata for violence based at home, the workplace andpublic places.57. There should be comprehensive legislation forprotection of women working in formal and informalsectors separately. The Sexual Harassment at WorkPlace Bill, which will become an Act, is a novellegislation, which should include the whole spectrumof informal sector workers, including domesticworkers, who it has left out.58. Introduce strict advertising standards to stopobjectification of women as a commodity forconsumption and portraying women as exotic, eroticand sexually available.59. Ensure effective implementation of the Protection ofWomen Against Domestic Violence Act.60. Take measures to prevent violence against women andon other vulnerable sections.61. Awareness generation and sensitisation programmesfor men to check gender-based violence.62. Legal awareness building for and provision of legal aidto women.63. Safety measures in public places by establishing restingplaces and toilets for transgenders, the differentlyabled and women.64. The government needs to go beyond conventionalpolices to identify and prevent women-insensitivepractices like coercive Adivasi marriages.65. Effective implementation of shelter home schemes foroppressed and tortured women.66. Provision for education of the children of prisoninmates should be a priority based on where the childresides–with the mother or with the family.67. District Committees should be set up to monitorshelter homes.68. A board in shelter home premises should display therights of the inmates.69. The word rape should be replaced by sexual assault.Justice, relief and rehabilitation should be providedfrom the right perspective. (The practice of marryingthe assaulted person to the assaulter is not the rightperspective.)70. HIV-infected and-affected women should be providedspecial care and given property rights.71. The pending legislation on HIV should be passed asit concerns not just the HIV-infected but also thoseaffected. The legislation shall prevent further spread ofthe disease by increasing awareness and informationand dissolving the stigma attached to it.72. Women should not be used as medical guinea pigs forpregnancy control medicines as it impacts their reproductivehealth adversely and violates reproductiverights.73. Mother’s committees should be formed for femalewards (adolescents) to discuss problems regardingsexual identity and sexual harassment, especially inschools, hostels or shelter homes.74. Ration cards should be provided to single women as itis the basis for availing the benefits of all governmentschemes.75. Special attention should be given to the protection ofwomen’s rights in conflict zones (J&K and North Eastand Naxal-affected regions).76. Conflict situations have internally displaced numbersof people in the North East. Many of them aredisplaced for over a decade while several others getdisplaced periodically. This calls for a comprehensivedisplacement policy conforming to the existinginternational standards to be introduced. Before such apolicy is formulated and implemented, compensationpackages must be introduced for families andindividuals affected by conflict irrespective of whetherthe perpetrators of violence are state or non-stateactors.55

77. Economic and social support for conflict-hitwomen should be ensured by providing reliefand rehabilitation to widows, ‘half-widows’ anddependents of disappeared people.78. Ban adverse gender roles that are endorsed by culturalpractices which adversely affect women’s abilityto fully participate in public life. The PRI modelof women’s representation should be replicated intraditional institutions/village councils and strictlyimplemented in urban decision making bodies underthe 6th Schedule in the North East.79. Capacity building of women in leadership skillsshould be provided to have adequate representationof women in traditional councils, judiciary, police,administration, development councils and in peaceprocesses.80. Collection of gender-disaggregated data should beundertaken to assess the impact of conflict situationson women, particularly in cases of disappearance andsexual violence by state and non-state actors.81. The healthcare system must respond to the needsof conflict-affected families and provide traumacounselling services to women and children.82. Most importantly, strong monitoring systems shouldbe introduced and accountability of implementingagencies must be ensured. For instance, the 11th Planrecommended setting up of a task force on VAW inconflict areas which is yet to materialise.iii. Youth83. Development of a separate Youth Policy havingspecial focus on employment, equal access toeducation, disadvantaged groups of youth, creation ofvolunteerism and spaces for youth.84. Social audit mechanisms should be institutionalizedfor all public services and youth should be includedfor monitoring of access and quality of different publicservices.85. Sharing of information on entitlements, budgetarydetails etc. of different public services should be mademandatory, specially at different service points forcitizens to be able to monitor them.86. There should be standing instructions to ensure thatall law-enforcing agencies will deal with youth withspecial compassion and tolerance.87. Special fact-finding and youth teams to be sent toconflict-affected areas to set up dialogue with youth inthese areas.88. Introduce a formal structure by creating a databasefor migrants, issue them identity cards and providemigrant services like vocational training, etc.89. Mandatory representation and inclusion of youth inpanchayats and other local government institutions90. Suo motu disclosure of information like functioningand budgetary details and other youth relevantinformation, should be made in all educationalinstitutions.91. Information sharing centres should be developedwhere youth have access to relevant information.92. Develop curriculum for both school and collegelevel, which should include lessons of laws, policiesand provisions like RTI Act, MGNREGS, DomesticViolence Act, Juvenile Justice Act, and others, whichwill help them to make meaningful contributions ascitizens.93. Democratic platforms should be promoted forinteraction amongst youth across all sections of thesociety.94. Simplification of procedures for starting and runningbusinesses is a must, especially small and medium sizebusinesses.95. Promote skill development and develop trainingsystems which encourages hands-on training onentrepreneurial initiatives.96. Provide special incentives to ventures promotingindigenous skills and products.97. Establish proper information-sharing systems andeffective redressal mechanisms which will ensuretransparency and accountability.98. There is need for widespread use of technology to bridgethe information gap and also to develop informationsystems which can be used effectively by citizens.99. There is a need for creating an autonomy approachin which communities own, plan and design theirdevelopment with the state aiding this approach.Such an approach can create emancipatory modelsof citizenship that are not just rights-demanding butare also responsibility-owning, accountable, caringand nurturing. This brings a sense of self worth anddignity in young people, that they are not askingsomeone else for their development but are leading itthemselves. This approach has the ability to end thesense of alienation among the youth and provide them56

meaningful leadership roles.100. Local and regional planning must get precedence overcentralized planning. Local voices and knowledgeshould lead a completely decentralised planningprocess. This will give more opportunities for ruralyouth to become central in the local planning andgovernance systems and spur their imagination andparticipation in nation building.iv. Dalits101. There is a lot of unfair practices existing in the electionprocess and therefore there is a need for social audit ofthe same.102. Proper information is not made available toDalit Sarpanches on schemes, budgets, plans andprogrammes and hence there should be effectiveinformation dissemination to Dalit Sarpanches.Action should be taken against officials who do notcooperate with Dalit Sarpanches.103. Training for Sarpanches should be organised at thecluster level.104. A lot of funds has been made available throughcentrally sponsored schemes like the MGNREGS, butthese are not properly distributed. Rather than givingfunds at Panchayat level, it should be given to eachDalit family which will also prevent out-migrationof these families. Sustainable livelihoods need to belinked with MGNREGS plans. A proper plan foremployment needs to be developed at the Panchayatlevel involving participatory planning. CurrentlyPanchayats are only implementers.105. There is corruption in both higher and lower stratahowever, there is discrimination in action taken onthe same. Dalit Sarpanches are targeted more thanBrahmin and non-Dalit Sarpanches who are engagedin corruption as well. The same action on corruptionshould be taken on Dalit and non-Dalit Sarpanches.Accountability and audit mechanisms should be putin place for Sarpanches.106. Gram sabhas are currently not incorporating allcommunity concerns in their decision making,therefore care should be taken in planning processesthat every community participates in the process.107. The reservation policy has to be effectively enforcedat all levels by ensuring the rights of Dalits to freelyand safely vote and stand for election and to exercisetheir full mandate if elected to their reserved seats.This includes adequate policies and governmentmonitoring and protection of Dalit candidates as wellas elected representatives. Reservation quotas shouldbe instituted in the lower-level bureaucracy for SCwomen and men, ST women and men to ensurethat government officials, especially the Block ChiefExecutive Officers, are representative of these sectionsof the population.108. Devolution of powers can only happen if budgetallocations, related functions and functionaries aredelegated to the panchayats so that they have effectivepolitical and economic power for the discharge oftheir duties. Greater and sufficient budgets need to bemade available to panchayats to ensure their properfunctioning. This includes lessening bureaucraticcontrols over panchayat programmes and makingbureaucrats more accountable to the panchayats.109. Several bureaucratic hurdles exist that preventdevolution. The 29 subjects reserved for panchayatinstitutions haven’t been fully handed over and defacto powers have remained at the district level instead.It should be ensured that all 29 subjects are dealt bygram panchayats.110. District budgeting and panchayat budgetingpractices need to be emphasized in order to ensureflow of allocated funds and schemes to reservedpanchayats. Greater linkages are needed between thethree panchayat tiers and between the panchayatsand government departments in charge of ruraldevelopment schemes with regular meetings andcoordination.111. Implementation of schemes need the participation ofthe community as well as civil society organisationswho have a proven track record. It should be mandatedthat in all government contracts related to commonproperties, they should not only benefit Dalits butshould also be executed by Dalits as contract holders,at least in proportion to their population.112. All capacity building and training programmes shouldinclude the gender and caste perspective and legalsanctions should apply against those who block Dalitwomen and men’s participation. Stress should be laidon the establishment of Mahila Sabhas to facilitatewomen’s concerns and priorities. Dalit organizationsshould train Dalit functionaries.113. SCP planning should be done with SC communities57

and should be implemented by Dalit people’s groupsand organizations and not the Panchayats.114. A national perspective plan needs to be developedwith overall short and long term goals for overalldevelopment of Dalit women with fixed time boundtargets. Civil society participation should be includedto conduct awareness on SCP/TSP plans allocations,schemes, etc.115. Streamlined information relevant to SCs should beavailable through a single window system and strictaccountability measures should be put in place toensure implementation. Public services should bemade available at the hamlet level.116. The RTI Act has to be strengthened and morecommitment given to making information availableto appellants and mechanisms put in place tosafeguard the appellants are not harassed for seekinginformation.117. Along with a quantum increase of facilities, moreemphasis needs to be given on improving awarenessof the disabled about their rights and entitlements.118. A national programme for migrant labourers mustbe launched to provide mobile ration cards, castecertificates and other identity related papers targetingSC, ST and OBC migrants so they have access topublic services.v. Adivasis119. Support a voluntary process of building leadershipamongst the youth.120. The PESA should be implemented within a given timeframe.121. The Land Acquisition Act, Mines and Minerals Act,Central Coal Bearing Area Act etc. should be amendedand mandatory powers should be given to the Adivasicouncil with reference to the sanction of industrial,mining and other development projects in Adivasiareas.122. Fast track court must be established for timely disposalof cases filed against Adivasi leaders.123. There must be a time-bound land regularizationprocess for people who have been temporarily settledin Salwa Judum camps.124. Fast track courts must be established for addressingthe issues of atrocities against Adivasi women in allconflict zones.125. There should be a ban on appointment of ad hocSpecial Police Officers in conflict zones.126. A peaceful dialogue process must be initiated andsupported for reducing the risks of violence in Adivasiareas.127. The Special Area Security Acts imposed for harassingthe leadership in Adivasi areas should be repealed.128. A White Paper should be released on the status ofinternally displaced persons (IDPs).129. A separate ministry (both at the Central as well as atstate level) should be created to exclusively deal withissues arising in conflict zones.130. The D Bandopadhyay Committee Report on ExtremistAffected Areas (2006, Planning Commission) shouldbe accepted and its recommendations followed.131. The Adivasi Advisory Councils and other Adivasiinstitutions must be involved in any budgetary process(both at the state as well as at Central level).132. A high level permanent Judicial Commission shouldbe set up for enquiry into and reddressal of violationsof Adivasi rights.133. Paramilitary forces deployed in conflict zones shouldbe withdrawn in a phased manner for reducing socialdamage and promoting peace efforts.134. The Adivasi Welfare Ministry and other relatedorganisations/institutions should be reconstituted.Powerlessness of the ministry in the face of thecurrent challenges resulting from weak and defunctorganisations and institutions and lack of adequatehuman resources has to be reversed so as to effectivelytackle problems arising out of mining, industrializationetc.135. Recognising the history, culture and identity of Adivasipeople as distinct and valuable, a new National AdivasiPolicy should be formulated.136. A single window system for handling the grievances ofAdivasi people should be set up.137. Make the Adivasi Advisory Councils more effectiveand strengthen the scheduled Tribes Commission inview of the challenges arising from violence and lossof livelihoods, habitats and resources.138. Release White Papers based on the state governors’reports on implementation of the PESA.58

139. Restructuring of Adivasi Development Authority bysharing powers with community Adivasi leaders.140. A comprehensive institutional review is needed forre-classification and inclusion of other eligible castes/sub castes in the list of Scheduled Tribes (the Sahariyasare recognised as a primitive tribe in Madhya Pradesh,whereas in Uttar Pradesh they are treated as Dalits;originally the Musahar community were categorizedas Forest Dwellers but now they are treated as a Dalitcommunity in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and the Saurain Eastern Orissa are not registered as ScheduledTribes).141. The budgetary process for Tribal Sub Plan Areas mustbe prepared and monitored in association with localAdivasi institutions and councils.142. Set up special fast track courts for resolving thedisputes under Adivasi Land Alienation Act andAdivasi (Prevention of) Atrocity Act.vi. North East143. Implementation of the Panchayat Extension toScheduled Areas Act (PESA) to facilitate women’srepresentation in local governance.144. The Autonomous Councils must become catalystsfor economic transformation and not merely belegislative, regulatory and administrative agencies.They will however need to adopt a more participatoryapproach in order to effectively assume a centralrole in local development. In this context, it may bedesirable to consider the approach adopted in theFifth Schedule areas, where democratic elections,(based on adult franchise and reservations for womenin elected seats) and leadership positions have beenapplied without reducing the importance of Adivasicustoms and traditions.145. Provide all forms of communication in the locallanguage. Support TV/radio/print InformationEducation Communication campaigns in locallanguages at all levels. Fund community radio tofacilitate knowledge disseminatiion for the institutionsof grassroots governance.146. Internally Displaced Persons (development, disasterand conflict-induced) should be recognized as aseparate category. Conflict situations have createdunprecedented numbers of internally displaced peoplewithin the North East and many of them are displacedfor over a decade while several others get displacedperiodically. A comprehensive rehabilitation policy isneeded and existing international standards should beadhered to.147. Policies and social programmes need to be formulatedtaking into account India’s commitment to theBeijing Platform for Action and the Convention onElimination of Discrimination Against Women. Allefforts should be made to remove negative genderstereotyping. Witch hunting has spread in severalparts of Assam and a legislative provision has to beinitiated.148. Translate gender commitments into budgetaryallocations.149. Disability should be an inclusive human rights issuecutting across all sectors and support should not beprovided only on the basis of economic criteria suchas the BPL cards.150. Education of persons with disability should beexclusively under the Ministry of Human ResourceDevelopment.151. Social audit of implementation of all schemes isnecessary with the inclusion of civil society and therelevant stakeholders.152. Ensure access to and transparency in availability ofgovernment funding for civil society organsiations.153. Health care system must respond to the needs of thoseaffected by conflict in the North East, especially fortrauma counseling service for women and children.154. The state must recognize the realities of those affectedby the various conflict situations in the North East byadopting appropriate policies and livelihood supportprogrammes. In addition, compensation packages forfamilies and individuals affected by conflict shouldbe introduced. Similarly, central schemes for thoseaffected by communal and terrorist violence shouldbe extended to families affected by state and non-stateviolence.155. There is a need to recognize the direct and indirectimpact of conflict on women. India should adopt andimplement United Nations Resolutions such as 1325,1820, 1888, 1889, related to impact of conflict onwomen and 1814, related to children.156. Increase women’s representation and participation inpeace building processes, especially in formal ones.Poor and disproportionate representation of women59

in different political bodies does have an indirectimpact on peace negotiations.157. Strong monitoring systems and accountabilityof implementing agencies must be ensured. Forinstance, the 11th Five Year Plan recommended thesetting up of a task force on Violence Against Womenin conflict areas which is yet to be materialise. TheVision 2020 document recommended a monitoringand review mechanism for all projects costing aboveRs 5 crore. This needs to be built into policy and lawif such recommendations are to be honoured and notto remain on paper.158. The history, culture and language of the indigenouspeoples of Tripura have been stunted by theirmarginalization and must be revived and preservedthrough special funding by the Centre.vii. Children159. The potential of PRIs should be realised in ensuringconcrete benefits to children at the local level. Localgovernance bodies at every level should be supportedto prepare child rights plans and to monitor thequality of public services for children.160. A system to provide information of schemes andprogrammes for children, the authorities responsiblefor implementation of those schemes and allocatedamounts should be in place at all levels of government.161. Well-informed and well-trained Child WelfareCommittees must exist in all states throughout thecountry.162. PRIs with the 3 Fs (Functionary, Functions and Fund)can be instrumental not just in the delivery of servicesand monitoring but in birth registration, stopping ofchild marriage and child trafficking.163. The allocated funds must be transferred to the grampanchayat directly for implementing its needs andpriorities and no external restriction should be placedon its spending. Reform of budget allocation anddisbursement procedures to minimise the time gapshould be given urgent attention so that expenditureon children reaches on time.164. Participation of children starting from village/ward levels in planning, monitoring and assessingprogrammes and schemes for children and raisingtheir awareness should be promoted in all states.165. The capacities and competencies of elected publicrepresentatives, officials and staff need to bestrengthened to meet the needs, ensure the rightsof all children and to understand child-centreddevelopment.166. The literacy level of elected representatives in PRIsvaries and women representatives are often noteducated. Regular training and enhancement of theirskills on innovative and easy record keeping should beundertaken.167. The feasibility of setting up District Resource Centresshould be examined for providing technical training,planning and implementation on decentralisedgovernance and development programmes speciallyfor children.168. The state must invest in and deliver the core servicesand child rights should not be up for privatization.169. It is not justified to expect benefits of better maternaland child health outreach and care just throughan ASHA as the need is for more Auxiliary NurseMidwives, Multipurpose Health Workerss and LadyHealth Visitors.170. The Government of India must set up better servicestandards, provide for actual key service activities,inspire greater energy and honest activity by lowerlevel staff and stimulate closer convergence andcoordination among programmes at the place ofdelivery of services.171. Institutional mechanisms need to be developed for theplanning and implementation of block and districtplans of action for children.172. It is supremely important that plan objectives arefocused around reducing inequalities between groups.A key test as to whether policies are promoting inclusivegrowth is how they deliver for more marginalizedgroups such as SCs, STs and minorities.173. All regional, linguistic, rural-urban and caste-classdisparities and their impact on children shouldbe taken into account while making the Five YearPlan. Provisions for children of families affected bymigration, urbanization, drought and residence inremote areas should be prioritised.174. The reservation vs. privatization dilemma should beviewed from the perspective of long-term growth anddevelopment. Children will be further discriminatedif reservation is removed and basic entitlements areprivatized.60

175. In view of the prevailing nutritional deficiency,provisions of required nutrition should be ensured onsustainable basis to all children and especially childrenof Dalits, Adivasis, minorities, migrants etc.176. Common school standards should be followed forDalits, Adivasis and other excluded and marginalisedgroups.177. The government should take special measures toremove discrimination and segregation of children inclassrooms, cultural and social activities on the basis oftheir class, caste, ethnicity and religion. Sensitisationof service providers for handling children vulnerableto discrimination is needed. All programmes forchildren must safeguard against malpractices that leadto social and economic exploitation of Dalit children.178. All development and protection measures mustrecognise that all aspects of the child’s life and thereforethe full spectrum of necessary services have to be seenas interconnected and interdependent.179. The government should initiate an intensivecommunity awareness campaign across the countryagainst child labour, child marriage and genderdiscrimination in order to make these practicesunacceptable socially and culturally.180. The Integrated Child Protection Scheme will needto be implemented in letter and spirit across thecountry. It has the potential to sensitise and empowercommunity groups to address rights violations ofchildren through establishment of community-basedchild protection mechanisms.181. Economic growth should be aimed at protectingchildren from vulnerability to abuse and exploitation.Children who are at risk in an unprotectedenvironment are children of farmers, peasants,families working in manufacturing and familiesengagedformal and informal labour. Children who areinfected and affected by HIV/AIDs, abused, exploitedand trafficked children, forced into prostitution andsex tourism, victims of violence and unrest, orphansdue to disasters and many more should all be givenspecial attention.182. Children of the 14-18 age group should be cateredfor separately. Many programmes do not address theirissues. This is also the age group which is increasinglybecoming the target of trafficking, sexual abuse, childlabour and crime.183. For every scheme pertaining to children, a specificproportion of the funds should be dedicated toimproving transparency, monitoring and evaluation.184. Data on migrant children should be collected andupdated regularly through a special migrant cell setup jointly by the Ministry of Women and ChildDevelopment and the ministry of Labour.185. Special efforts should be initiated for registration ofmigrants and ensure portability of their identity cardsto provide access to services in destination areas.186. Information in appropriate accessible formats shouldbe made available to children with disabilities. Allbodies and service providers should be encouraged toprovide information which they provide to the generalpublic to children with disabilities, in accessibleformats.187. To make growth inclusive there is a need to ensurethat all facilities, services and systems, public orprivate, including consumer goods, housing services,sanitation, communication services, legal andhealthcare services offered in the community are alsoavailable to children with disabilities.188. Vocational training within the general educationsystem needs to be integrated to generate employmentopportunities for children with disabilities.189. Holistic assessments of all schemes relating to children,including poverty alleviation programmes, should beundertaken on a regular basis to measure the impact ofsuch programmes in terms of survival, development,protection of children and their participation in theirrespective communities. The findings must be widelypublicized for information and accountability ofconcerned government departments and PRIs/wardcouncils.190. A results-based framework must be established foreach department and dispersal of funds should bebased on clear accountability standards adopted.191. An MIS system should to be established for alldomains.192. Mid-Term Appraisals and evaluations of National FiveYear Plans should aim to make the status of childrenas a critical indicator in tracking assessment ofdevelopment planning, financing and implementation.A beginning can be made in the 12 th Plan.193. Review of the responsibilities of field-based staff at alllevels and increase the number of such functionariescommensurate with the needs of service delivery andconvergence of services.61

194. Gap analysis of capacities at various levels must beundertaken e.g. with RTE Act being implemented,there is a shortfall of 12 lakh teachers and there arefew institutions to train so many teachers. We mustalso explore the use of ICT in capacity building sincethis has immense potential.195. Institute on-site continuous training for childdevelopment and other schemes through itineranttrainers drawn from staff with training aptitude andexperience.196. Create mechanisms for apprenticeships as preparationfor responsibilities for learning from best practices.197. Ensure that every district has a mobile training unitequipped with materials and competent trainers andthis would provide itinerant training which is essentialfor increasing competence and quality of servicedelivery.198. Allocations for rural health and educationinfrastructure for Adivasis must be adequate so thatAdivasi children and other socially excluded groupshave access to culturally sensitive health and qualityeducation services.viii. Transgenders199. A progressive revision of laws must be initiated toeradicate the social prejudices against transgenderpersons. The International Bill of Gender Rightsadopted by the International Conference onTransgender (TG) Law and Employment Policy inTexas, United States, in 1995 provides an ideal courseto follow while considering legal reforms. It lays downthat all human beings have the right to define their owngender identity, secure and retain employment andreceive just compensation, control and change one’sown body, enjoy competent medical and professionalcare, have freedom of sexual expression, formcommitted, loving relationships and enter into maritalcontracts and conceive, bear and adopt children andexercise parental capacity. The Yogyakarta Principles –a set of international legal principles on the applicationof international law to human rights violations on thebasis of sexual orientation and gender identity – alsobring greater clarity and coherence to the human rightsobligations of states. The principles were drafted bya distinguished group of international human rightsexperts at a meeting held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia,from November 6 to 9, 2006. These principlesrecognize that sexual orientation and gender identityare integral to every person’s dignity and humanityand must not be the basis for discrimination or abuse.It also views critically the policing of sexuality, whichremains a potent force behind the continuing genderbasedviolence and gender inequality.200. The Planning Commission should fund the NationalLegal Services Authority (NALSA) to take up theissues of transgenders under Social Justice Litigationand seek legal redressal for them.201. Steps toward taking a position on legal recognitionof the gender identity of Hijras/TG need to betaken in consultation with Hijras/TG and other keystakeholders. Getting legal recognition 2 and avoidingambiguities in the current procedures that issueidentity documents to Hijras/TG are a must as theyare connected to basic civil entitlements such as accessto health and public services, right to vote, right tocontest elections, right to education, inheritancerights and marriage and child adoption. For e.g. InFebruary 2003, the Madhya Pradesh High Courtstruck down the election of Kamala Jaan as the Mayorof the Municipal Corporation of Katni. The court’slogic was that since Kamala Jaan was not a woman,she could not contest the seat, which was reserved forwomen.202. In 2005, India’s Central government introduced acategory ‘E’ in passport application forms where ‘E’stands for “eunuch.” Transgender people would likethis to be changed. The term “eunuch” bears a lot ofhistorical stigma and transgender people do not wantto be addressed thus. Additionally, other countriesdo not recognise the eunuch identity and this causesdifficulties during international travel. This was atypical case of a government making a policy withoutconsulting the population that is affected. Thegovernment may choose to review these terms anduse culturally appropriate terminology and identitiesbased on international best practices with regards totransgender-transsexual identity documents for traveletc.203. Recognize that every person must have the right todecide their gender expression and identity, includingtransgenders and hijras. They should also have the right2 National Legal Services Authority has proposed to provide free legal aidto transgender people and to initiate legal literacy classes on the rights oftransgender people in January 2011.62

to freely express their gender identity. This includesthe demand for transgenders-hijras to be consideredfemale as well as a third sex. e.g. A direction from theElection Commission (EC) in September 1994 statedthat hijras can be registered in the electoral roles eitheras male or female depending on their statement atthe time of enrolment. This direction was given bythe EC after Shabnam, a hijra candidate from theSihagpur Assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh,wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner enquiringabout the gender category in which hijras were to beclassified.204. A welfare board that has been set up by the TamilNadu government enables transgenders and hijras tosecure their entitlements such as social security andcitizenship rights. The Department of Social Welfarein Tamil Nadu passed a government order (GO) inDecember 2006 with recommendations to improvethe living conditions of Aravanis 3 . The GO stronglyfavours counseling as a means to deter families fromdisowning a transgender child. It also recommendscounselling for children with behaviour changes inschools, for which teachers need to be specially trained.The GO is clear that there should be no discriminationagainst admitting transgender persons in schools andcolleges. The GO, however, is yet to be implementedand the welfare board presents an opportunity to putthese steps into practice. Thus, it is recommended thata national working committee be set up to look intothe issues of transgenders-hijras and the central andstate ministries develop programmes like that of theTamil Nadu welfare board.205. In Karnataka, the government has issued an order toimplement a reservation quota for TG. Transgendershave been included in the 2A category of the BackwardClass Commission. As a result of this decision, theywill be eligible to avail of the 15 per cent reservationin government employment and other schemes.Similar provisions should be made throughout India.206. There has been no enumeration of the transgenderpopulation in India and this has left a huge gap indata on its socio-economic status. The current 2011Census is an opportunity that could have beentapped to enumerate this population segment, it3 Aravanis and ‘Thirunangi’: Hijras in Tamil Nadu identify as “Aravani”. TamilNadu Aravanigal Welfare Board, a state government initiative under theDepartment of Social Welfare, defines Aravanis as biological males who selfidentifythemselves as women trapped in male bodies. Some Aravani activistswant the public and media to use the term ‘Thirunangi’ to refer to Aravanis.is recommended that a plan of action be preparedwith community groups and national developmentpartners to map the transgender – hijra populationacross the Indian states, so as to provide an estimatefor legal, social and economic interventions.207. Ensure coverage of the UID/Aadhaar scheme to theTG community. This is a 12-digit unique numberwhich the Unique Identification Authority of India(UIDAI) will issue for all Indian residents. Thenumber will be stored in a centralised database andlinked to the basic demographic and biometricinformation – photograph, ten fingerprints and iris– of each individual. The UID project is primarilyaimed at ensuing inclusive growth by providing a formof identity to those who do not have any identity. Itseeks to provide Aadhaar numbers to the marginalizedsections of society and this would strengthen equity.Apart from providing identity, the Aadhaar numberwill enable better delivery of services and effectivegovernance.208. Gross violations of rights of TGs have often beenreported like abduction, arbitrary arrests, detention,beatings and gang rape by the law enforcing agenciesand local thugs. Particularly transgenders, Hijras andother ‘effeminate’ males are often vulnerable to theseforms of violence. There are also extensive reports ofphysical and psychological molestation of ‘effeminate’males in academic institutions and workplaces. Lawenforcement and judicial authorities should set upspecial cells to look into human rights abuse. TheMinistry of Law should broaden the inclusion criteriaof existing legal redressal mechanisms like that of freelegal aid by NALSA and its decentralized units andlok adalats and similar systems of non formal systemsof justice.209. The Home Ministry should strengthen training ofthe police force at all levels on the importance ofHIV/AIDS prevention and the life-saving efforts ofHIV/AIDS outreach workers. The ministry shouldalso monitor conditions of detention particularlyof women in prostitution and men who have sexwith men. It should ensure accountability of policeofficers and wardens who engage in sexual abuse, aswell as other violations of national and internationalstandards for conditions of detention.210. A civilian review board or civilian ombudsmancommittee comprising judges and lawyers should beestablished to monitor police stations and ensure that63

Supreme Court guidelines on treatment of persons incustody, as established in DK Basu vs. State of WestBengal, are strictly enforced.211. Continue efforts with the police force on Section377 Indian Penal Code. While impressive gains havebeen made in the steps to repeal Section 377, thereis continuing need to educate the police departmenton the judgment against Section 377 and hence itsapplication to the TG community.ix. Conflict212. Capacity building of the masses with a ruralorientation and not just of the elite or governmentstaff in undertaking of planning, implementationand evaluation of all development plans, policies andprogrammes should be done.213. Social audit of government schemes should be donefrom the grassroots onwards. Mechanisms should beevolved to ensure that all schemes that are being runfor the welfare of the people, especially those involvinghuge investments should be checked for their resultsand relevance by the people at all levels.214. The allocations are 80 per cent tied and determined atthe cental and state levels and so there is little scopefor people at the grass root level to get involved in thedecision making process. This needs to be changed.State control over the resources and the planningprocess needs to be reduced to ensure that differentgroups are not excluded and the planning processbecomes truly decentralized.215. Adoption of decentralised and participative planningprocess should be followed by introduction of gram/tehsil/district level planning boards. District and gramplanning needs to be enforced and implemented so asto ensure development at the grass root levels216. Local groups apparently do not have the capacityto plan. Efforts should be made to empower themfurther in the decision making processes.217. Before implementation of a new policy or programme,consensus from all possible stakeholders should beobtained218. Need for institutional reforms is felt specially tocontrol corruption in order to have a proper utilisationof resources. Past experience shows that corporatehouses indulge in corrupt practices and violate theenvironment and other laws for their own benefit.This again can create conflict as seen in cases suchas Niyamgiri, POSCO and other big infrastructurerelated projects. So strict action must be taken againstcorporate corruption.219. There have been enough talks on the decentralizationof power and decision making but focus shouldalso be on the corruption prevalent in the GramPanchayats and other local bodies. Transparency inthe functioning of the governing bodies should bevisible from the very bottom level so as to ensure fairdevelopment.220. Collective responsibility should be promoted. Thiswould mean less corruption, more transparency andproper representation being given to all sections ofsociety.221. Efforts need to be made to ensure that politics doesnot result in creation of backward regions in thecounty.222. Emergence of a few dominant classes in society shouldbe stopped as this leads to exploitation and conflicts.223. Control of resources should be made broad based andshould be people centric.224. Subsistence level services should be provided to all asa matter of right and demands for basic subsistencefacilities should not be branded as ‘criminal’ andrepressed using police and other para-military forces.225. Avenues for resistance and protests against unjustdevelopment planning should be provided and theprotesters should not be branded as naxalites, terroristsand anti-nationals and pushed out of normal society.226. A perception has gained ground amongst the publicthat the government and the state are there only forthe benefit of the rich. Drastic action and reforms ingovernance and regulatory frameworks are neededimmediately to reinforce people’s faith in governmentand the benevolent character of the state.x. Adolescents227. Instead of piece meal references to adolescents aseparate section needs to be dedicated to adolescentsin the 12th Plan.228. The adolescent constituency, while recognized asan important subcategory of the population, doesnot have its own Department or Ministry. Given itssignificant size and potential it has to be given its ownseparate ministry.64

229. The 12th Plan should take an incremental approachto planning. This calls for commitments made in theprevious plan to be taken forward in the 12th Plan.An example being commitments made with respectto adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health andAdolescent Friendly Health Services made under the11th Plan. The moving forward should be based onevidence. It would entail a commitment in the 12thPlan to identifying and ensuring that gaps in effectiveimplementation are addressed. The non utilization ofadolescent friendly services must not be interpreted asa lack of demand for these services. Instead it should beseen as a rejection of the services because of a possiblea flaw in implementation design and approach.230. A commitment should be made to track expendituresand results for assessing performance rather thanrolling out new ‘schemes‘. Under the 11th Plana varied number of schemes and programmes foradolescents were envisaged. The Mid Term Appraisalof the 11th Plan focuses only on whether or not thesame were rolled out.231. The performance tracking should be on a continuoustimeline and for that the Plan should set out thedetailed timeline rather than leaving it open for a fiveyear period.232. There is no information with beneficiary groupsregarding even the rolling out of schemes. Forexample most of the CSOs that were present at theconsultation from across 12 states were not aware ofthe SABLA scheme for adolescent girls or updatedon its status. Another case in point being the ‘YuvaShakti Yojana’, that none of the participants had evenheard of. This is an undesirable gap in informationand needs to be filled.233. Mobile telephony with its wide outreach andpenetration and a medium popular with adolescentsshould be used to announce widely the launching ofschemes for adolescents.234. Adolescents are of an age that has enormous potentialand the same has been acknowledged and recognisedin a wide range of policy documents including the11th Plan. In spite of that they have been excludedfrom governance. This plan has to ensure participationof adolescents in ‘governance’. Kishore/KishoriPanchaayats should be developed and integrated intovillage panchaayats. This could be in the form of anominated adolescent committee with an equal malefemale ratio. That will ensure adolescents’ inclusion ingovernance as well as help develop leadership qualitiesin them. These panchaayats could be connected to theadolescent resource centres. The adolescent panchayatscould be given responsibility for managing them. Theadolescent panchayats should undertake social auditsof schemes for adolescents.xi. Migrants235. A disaggregated database on interstate andinternational migration should be set up.236. The vulnerability of women migrants should bereduced by ensuring sanitation facilities, providingmaternity leave, crèche and prenatal and postnatalcare.237. Sexual harassment committees as per the ‘VishakaJudgment’ of the Supreme Court should be set up byEmployer/Welfare Boards.238. The Government of India should sign and ratifythe International Labour Organisation Conventionon Domestic Workers and the United NationsConvention on Migrants.239. There should be Implementation of the Equal WagesAct.240. Action should be taken against exploitativeprogrammes such as Sumangali Thittam in TamilNadu 4241. The implementation of the CEDAW/GR-26 shouldbe ensured 55.242. Proper implementation of resettlement andrehabilitation strategies for Adivasis/displacedpopulation so that they are not forced to migrate.xii. Elderly243. Setup helpline at taluka and district level for elderlycounseling and prevention of elder abuse.244. Create a National Association of Older Persons to dealwith ageing issues in a more coordinated manner.245. Establishment of a separate Commissionerate/Directorate for elderly issues.246. Sensitisation of the police to ageing issues, especiallyfor the elderly living alone.4 http://www.hindu.com/2010/05/28/stories/2010052858300600.htm5 http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/recommendations/recommendations-26.htm65

247. Establishment of Institute of Gerontology at thenational level.248. The creation of a welfare fund for the elderly by levy ofan appropriate cess.249. Framing of an age-sensitive 12th Plan/approach paper.250. A uniform social pension scheme in all states for allsenior citizens from the unorganised sector must beset up under Indira Gandhi National Old Age PensionScheme (IGNOAP) and budgetary support shouldbe given for people above 60 years of age. Existingmodels in Goa and Delhi should be scaled up.The recommended amount should be Rs.500 permonth each from the Centre and the State.251. Pension should be delivered through banks/postoffices/smart card.252. The rate of interest on bank deposits of elderly shouldbe increased by 2 per cent over existing rates fornormal citizens.253. Senior citizen issues should be included in the thrustareas of CSR of companies and banks.254. Concessions in income tax should be given to the caregivers of the elderly and those co-residing with theirparents.255. Pension reforms should be undertaken at regularpoints of time by taking into consideration inflation,cost of living and other indices.256. Old age homes, atleast one each at taluka and districtlevel should get budgetary support.257. Establishment of day care centres, to be run by SeniorCitizens Associations/NGOs.258. As a special consideration 80+ year old elderly andwidows should be given pension irrespective of thesocio economic segment they belong to.xiii. Muslims259. Training programmes for Muslims should be startedto build their confidence and facilitate their inclusionin governance from the panchayat to the parliamentlevel.260. Formation of information cells at block level toprovide information on various government welfareschemes.261. Revision of BPL policy for proper distribution of BPLcards.262. Orientation/sensitization of government officials.263. The appointment of a Monitoring Officer in eachministry or mandating the Ministry of MinorityAffairs to ask for status report on quarterly basis of theadherence to the 15 per cent spending for minorities(10 per cent exclusively for Muslims)264. Progress of the Prime Minister’s much talked about15 point programme for minorities should betransparently shared with the nation on a half yearlybasis.265. Equity and inclusion in a pluralistic society like Indiawill only be possible when the importance of Muslimsas an essential part of the diverse Indian social mosaicis squarely recognised. Therefore, as recommendedby the Sachar Committee, an Equal OpportunityCommission (EOC) to look into the grievances of thedeprived groups, especially Muslims should be set up.266. To increase participation of Muslims in the democraticinstitutions such as Parliament, state legislatures,local self government and co-operative institutions,the commission should formulate and implement aspecial programme.267. One place where Muslims are over-represented isprisons. Barring Assam, the proportion of Muslimsin prison is considerably higher than their share inthe population. Anti-Muslim discrimination hasintensified in recent years. This is reflected in the harshapplication of discriminatory measures to Muslims. Allthis amounts to systematic exclusion, discriminationand institutionalised prejudice. Establish a standingmachinery to periodically review the anti Muslim biasin the performance of the law enforcement machinery.268. Police reforms should be accomplished according tothe Law Commission recommendations.269. Establish minority cells in police and other departmentsfor oversight and rendering of help to minorities.270. The Minority Commission should be given morepowers and a greater role of oversight with power topunish.271. Setting up of government institutes to promotevocational training initiatives for underprivilegedMuslim women.272. Increase budgetary allocation for the empowerment ofMuslim women and allocate more funds for Muslimwomen in the Ministry for Women and Childdevelopment.66

273. Ensure Central and state responsibility to provide forthe development of Muslim women.274. Ensure Muslims women’s inclusion in differentgovernment schemes like ASHA worker andAanganwari.275. Development of Muslim women should not belimited to leadership development schemes and somescholarships to girl students only. The 12th Planshould include Muslim women as an individual partfor each development beneficiary. Special budgetaryallocation with a monitoring body can be created tolook after the development of Muslim women.276. A suitable law needs to be passed by the Parliamentfor the protection of minorities by covering atrocitiesagainst them under a criminal statute on par with theSC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. This will ensurethat harassment and profiling of minorities is notdone. In cases of riots, blasts and terrorist activities,even before the preliminary investigations are done,some Muslim names are flashed in the media, whichnot only affects the investigations, but creates avery negative perception about Muslims in society.Similarly, in cases of riots, strict punishment to thoseresponsible should be given and they should also beasked to pay compensation to the victims, (Rs. 25 lacsand jobs to the dependents of the victims). This willstop any riots in future.277. A communal violence prevention law that makesofficials accountable for their omission andcommission should be enacted.278. Civil society should be given a role in monitoringduring communal riots.279. Police reforms should be implemented andsensitisation of the Police towards the needs of theminority should be done.280. Minority representation in the police force/securityagencies should be in proportion to their population.281. Education should be ensured to the children affectedby communal riots apart from providing alternativehousing and employment.xiv. PLHIV282. Keeping the PLHIV at the centre and with theguiding principle of Greater Involvement of PeopleLiving with HIV and AIDS (GIPA) functionalprocesses and mechanisms need to be establishedor strengthened at district, state and national levelsto promote community involvement in planning,implementation and monitoring of programmes.GIPA should be incorporated into the national policyas a key prevention strategy. The programmes shouldnot only be limited to HIV but should encompass otherdomains such as education, welfare, NRHM, NUHMetc. and everywhere meaningful representation of thePLHIV should be ensured.283. The PLHIV community also consists of individualsbelonging to marginalised populations such as SexWorkers, Injecting Drug Users, Men who have sex withmen, Transgenders and Hijras. This diversity shouldbe recognised and the means of their involvementestablished. Issues of gender need to be imbibedin every step of the planning and implementationprocess.284. The PLHIV community needs support and capacitybuildingfor their meaningful involvement. Thisneeds to be accounted for in the planning to includesupport to functioning of PLHIV networks andother associations, technical inputs in the form oftrainings and mentoring, state and national platformsfor dialogue, meaningful representation at executingbodies e.g. State AIDS Control Societies, PanchayatiRaj Institutions, village health committees etc.285. Concrete steps need to be taken for the reduction anderadication of HIV related stigma and episodes ofenacted stigma at all places and services with specialfocus on health care, employment, law enforcementand the judiciary. Stigma is not only a consequence ofHIV or the fear of it but also results from predisposingfactors such as social norms, caste, religion, race,sexuality, economic and gender disparities. Recognisingthe factors that promote stigma a programme for itseradication has to be developed and implementedusing a comprehensive framework.286. All workplace environments should have an HIV andAIDS work place policy in place.287. All sections within the private and public domainshould ensure a stigma free environment as amandate. Health care settings in the country need tomake a resolve to provide a stigma free environmentand services of the highest quality achievable to thePLHIV.288. There is also a need for accessible and fastermechanisms to resolve grievances including legalaction with priority given to women and children.67

289. Support mechanisms for the PLHIV to enable themto counter self stigma need to be established.290. Development and strengthening of communitymechanisms such as PLHIV welfare boards at the statelevel to bridge the gap between the community andthe state and national Governments and the serviceproviders. State and national forums for interactionand learning need to be established, especially in thecase of marginalised communities.291. Establishment of a single window system of accessat the district and state level for People Living andaffected by HIV, for receiving services, entitlementsand social welfare schemes such as MGNREGS work,BPL cards, widow pension plans, insurance etc. Themodel developed by the Delhi State Governmentcould be replicated for this.292. Establishing platforms and mechanisms at the district,state and national levels for effective feedback,advocacy and monitoring by the PLHIV communityof implementation of the programmes.xv. People with Disabilities293. Disability to be included in all statutes, policies,policy guidelines, implementation and monitoringmechanisms – explicitly NOT implicitly.294. People with Disability (PWD) and their organisationsfrom rural and urban areas to included in planning,implementation, monitoring – with caste, region andgender balance.295. Disability sensitivity component should be part of allHR curriculum of all statutory bodies, the judiciary,executive corporations and local bodies with adequatetime and resources and with public and private sectorpartnerships.296. All the unutilised funds in disability area shouldbe carried forward to next term and should not bediverted to other sectors.297. A transparent information mechanism should be putin place.298. Orientation and sensitisation of all stakeholderson disability – Panchayat Raj Institutions, electedrepresentatives and members of the PlanningCommission.299. The constitution of a separate ministry with adequateallocation of budget for PWD.300. Key positions should be reserved for PWDs in projectimplementation.301. There should be strict, transparent and accountablemonitoring mechanisms with representation of PWD.302. The allocated budget for each ministry should bespent in consultation with civil society and PWDorganisations.303. Women with disabilities have to be a part & parcel ofthe planning and programmes of each ministry andbudget should be earmarked for implementation ofthis inclusion policy.304. Important commissions like Women’s Commissionand Human Rights Commission should have inclusivepolicies including representation for Women withDisability (WWD).305. Specific Policy and budget allocation for generatingdata and information on WWD in all kinds ofstatistics used for development planning and policies.306. Women with Disability (WWD) should be partand parcel of all the gender mainstreaming andempowerment programme and policies at all levels.307. There should be budget allocation for making allpublic service delivery gender sensitive and equippedto cater to the specific need of WWD.308. The WWD should be a part of the rural and urbandevelopment planning process for their growth anddevelopment.309. The High Support Groups (people with mentalhealth disability and disability facing multiplemarginalisation) should be specially catered for in allplanning. There should be an information, educationand communication campaign to sensitise people tothe problems of these people.310. All spaces meant for public use should be accessible toall.68

6Technology andInnovationINPUTS FOR THIS CHALLENGE HAVE COME FROMTHE DISCUSSION GROUPS RELATED TO CHILDREN,ADOLESCENTS, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND DALITS.69

Technology and InnovationSection ContentsContext 71Children 71Dalits 71People with Disability 71Specific Recommendations 72Children 72Dalits 72Adolescents 73People with Disability 7370

1. Contexti. ChildrenThe proportion of children is about 40 per cent of thepopulation and so to ensure that children have access toequitable opportunities, technology and innovation have toplay a crucial role. Technology and innovation are meansfor ensuring addressing challenges for children, particularlyin areas such as health, education and skill development.India’s spending on research and development remains amere 0.8 per cent of the GDP – much lower than otherAsian countries. Particular emphasis has to be given tothe development of agriculture, forestry, fishing, space,industrial development and health. Consequently, thereare not enough creative solutions being generated toaddress some of the biggest problems children face – lackof basic healthcare, high levels of malnutrition, poor qualityof teaching etc. These can easily be addressed throughinnovation and technology.ii. DalitsThere is hardly any inclusion of the concerns of the Dalitsin policies related to science and technology. Institutions forscience and technology tend to cater only to the privilegedsections rather than those from marginalized sections. Verylittle investment is made on technologies required by Dalitcommunities and this should be corrected. There continuesto be an upper-caste dominance in professions, business,culture and the world of information technology. Dalits andAdivasis, specifically the poorer sections, live in vulnerableand hazard-prone areas since these areas are cheaper. Therehave been no investments made to mitigate these risksthrough technological innovations which will provide safeand clean living and working conditions for them.iii. People with DisabilityMost often, people with disabilities cannot accessweb content or operate educational software because of itsinaccessible design. People with disability do not receive thebenefits of technology. The use of information technologyis widespread in schools and employment settings. It hasthe potential to maximize the independence, participation,and productivity of people with disabilities. However,this potential can only be reached if all people withdisabilities can use IT independently and effectively. Thisrequires that people with disabilities be provided with theassistive technology they need and that schools, places ofemployment, public offices etc procure, develop, and useaccessible IT applications.71

2. SpecificRecommendationsi. Children1. The 12th Plan should pay specific attention to thepromotion of innovation not just for ‘commercialmarkets’ but with an explicit focus on reducingpoverty through ‘inclusive innovation’. These shouldnot be restricted to new products, but must alsoinclude innovation in public service system delivery,monitoring and development of new organizationalmodels. It is necessary to reorient our approach andrethink how technology can be used to improve theway government agencies interact, deliver servicesand connect with citizens. In other words, technologyshould be viewed as a tool that can transform anddemocratise government.2. The 12 th Plan must establish a results-based frameworkfor ensuring accountability, coordination andtransparency by harnessing the benefits of technology.Information and communication technology (ICT)must be utilised to improve and expand the deliveryof services and empower citizens.3. Establish a platform to address ‘innovations in deliveryof public services’ focusing on maternal and childhealth, education, skill development, teacher trainingetc. This realm lies outside the conventional industrialconcept of innovation with an emphasis on R&D labsand patents.4. Increased support should be provided for grassrootsinnovators for impacting the lives of children throughthe National Innovation Foundation. A GovernmentFund to provide seed money and early-stage assistanceto develop innovations that will produce socially usefuloutcomes for marginalized children must be provided.5. Funding must be provided for research on assistivetechnology, i.e. any kind of technology that canenhance the functional independence of children withdisability.6. Computer-assisted technology must be used toenhance teaching and learning processes and the focusmust be on bridging the digital divide that existsbetween rich and poor children. Online learning offersthe possibility of delivering rich curricula to studentswho do not have access to a wide course selection.7. Importance must be given to reducing infant andchild mortality through telemedicine, which allowschildren and adults, particularly those in rural orunderserved areas, to receive high-quality healthcarefrom a distance. Telemedicine is a tool that can ensurethat the underprivileged obtain care they wouldotherwise face great difficulty in accessing.8. Technology, particularly EduSat, must be utilized toprovide pre and in-service teacher training in orderto meet the requirement of the 1.2 million trainedteachers currently needed to implement the Right toEducation.9. Technology must be provided through innovativemeans to impart skill development to young adultsready to enter the job market.ii. Dalits10. Science and technology continue to be influenced bya limited group of people. There is an urgent needto democratise science and technology. Therefore, themain focus of the12th Plan should be on exploringthe goals for science and technology with the people.The transparent sharing of investments and allocationsshould be ensured through participatory mechanismsthat bring in diverse stakeholders into decisionmaking.11. Incentives should be provided to the public and privatesectors to conduct research and find technologicalsolutions to problems of work and living conditions,hazardous occupations, discharge of industrial anddomestic waste in widely used rivers, groundwatercontamination, survival and reproduction of fishspecies in river ecosystems, housing, urban wastemanagement, hazardous or disaster prone areas,availability of cooking fuel for women, energy forremote areas, rural and urban small scale enterprises.12. Several Dalits are engaged in crucial occupations suchas waste management of cities, hygiene, scavengingof leather, etc. However, very little technologicalinvestment and research is done for improving theirworking conditions. Technologies need to be broughtin to mitigate occupational hazards, improve workingconditions incorporating the labour and knowledgeof these communities. The investments in science,technology and innovation for this purpose should bemade publicly available for scrutiny among differentstakeholders and be reported to Parliament.72

13. There is also a need to incorporate the participation ofDalits in other consultations on science, technologyand innovation besides discussions on sanitation,toilets, etc. This is crucial to ensure that the intendedbenefits of technological advancement and innovationtouch all sections of society and spheres of life andcreate opportunities for all.14. India has attained self-sufficiency in foodgrainsproduction. To feed the large population in the comingdecades, extensive efforts are being made in differentfields of agricultural science and biotechnology tofurther increase the food production of the country.In the current context of climate change, researchcould look closely at the weather-resilient crops andfarming practices being followed by small farmers byincluding them as stakeholders and innovators ratherthan just depending on private and academic researchinstitutions. Participatory research initiatives andexperiments should be taken up on a broader scalefor all important decisions on science and technologythat impact the market. Thus, there is a greater needto look at traditional varieties of crops which cantake moisture stress, are easily available and can bemaintained by farmers with less input costs.15. Institutions engaged in scientific research musthave representatives from the most marginalizedcommunities to balance research interests in favour ofthe Dalits.iii. Adolescents16. ‘Innovation Hubs’ should be set up for adolescents.These could be integrated into recommended ‘resourcecentres’ at the Panchayat/ward level. This wouldenhance the possibility of diversity in innovation asthey would be context-specific and would minimizethe rural-urban divide.iv. People with Disability17. Assistive technology (AT), such as a text-to-speechapplication, can help a person with disability operate acomputer. Grammar checkers, alternative keyboards,hands-free interfaces are all facilitated by AT and thisshould be provided to all PWD along with computers.18. Information technology (IT) includes computers,software, Web sites, telephones, CDs, videotapes,calculators and other electronic devices. Many ITapplications, like Web sites, are not designed to beaccessible to PWD, even with AT. Special efforts mustbe made to make the Web accessible to PWD.19. Universal design refers to the design of products andenvironments so that they are usable by everyone,to the greatest extent possible. A teacher is applyinguniversal design when he purchases an instructionalvideotape that includes captions for children whoare deaf, even though he does not currently have astudent who is deaf in his class. The manager of acomputer lab is applying universal design when hepurchases adjustable tables for students who aresmaller or larger than usual or who use wheelchairs.Such universal design principles friendly to PWDmust be incorporated in all technology acquisition.Promoting universal design is a powerful way toget one’s message across. Just as ramps installed forpeople who use wheelchairs also benefit those whoare pushing delivery carts or baby strollers, accessibleIT benefits individuals with and without disabilities.For example, captioning on videotapes can benefitstudents whose first language is not English andindividuals who are learning to read.20. Accessible information technology is created whenproducers consider the needs of PWD in the processof designing IT applications and products. Moreaccessible products minimise the need for AT; theyare also compatible with existing AT products. Thismust be incentivised. AT and accessible informationtechnology work together to allow everyone to accessall product features and also allow PWD to participateside-by-side with their peers to complete assignments,access information, and engage in collaborations,simulations, jobs and tutorials.21. Building accessible information systems requiresthe concerted effort of policy makers, IT specialists,AT specialists, teachers, and other decision-makers.A good place to start is district-wide policy thatclearly states a commitment to the purchase and useof accessible products, including IT products. Forthis, clear guidelines regarding accessible IT can beestablished. Procedures should ensure that accessibilityis considered at all stages of technology planning andsupport. Creating accessible information systemsrequires close collaboration between those who servePWD and those who make IT decisions, approvepurchases, and provide technical support. As with allsystemic change initiatives, persistence of advocatesand cooperation among stakeholders is the key.73

7Securing theEnergy Future ofIndiaINPUTS FOR THIS CHALLENGE HAVE COME FROM THEDISCUSSION GROUPS RELATED TO THE NORTH EAST,ADIVASIS AND DALITS75

Securing the Energy Future of IndiaSection ContentsContext 77Adivasis 77Dalits 77Specific Recommendations 78Adivasis 78Dalits 78North East 7876

1. Contexti. AdivasisMega energy projects have adversely impacted the livesand livelihoods of Adivasis; yet, Adivasi areas are still largelywithout regular and adequate electricity. Thus, energysecurity and the security of the lives and livelihoods of theAdivasis have to be linked to each other so that the latter isnot sacrificed for the former.ii. DalitsEnergy security has been so far denied to deprivedpeople living in rural and remote areas, especially theSCs and STs. There has been a stress on electricity beinggenerated and distributed through conventional systemsdependent on dams, coal, oil or gas; these have failed toreach unconnected villages, especially in Adivasi areas andsegregated habitations of scheduled castes. More than thequantum of generation, what matters is the problem ofdistribution of power to all. The government has adoptedthe wrong approach in non-conventional energy also, bysetting up large solar power plants similar to conventionalpower production. This will result in the lack of power tothe powerless yet again!Small investors from SC/ST communities could have beeneasily introduced into this vital infrastructure sector. Afterall, the total requirement for the investment could easilyhave come from Indian credit institutions, besides the WorldBank and the Asian Development Bank, who are zealous inhelping only the rich in solar investment. The conventionalsources of energy cannot cater to the marginalised sections.Investment in these will only help big industrialists, citydwellers and similar people who already enjoying almost80 per cent of the power produced while about 30-40 percent of people are bereft of power. Unfortunately, there isa disproportionate emphasis on power generation usingoil and gas through privatisation. This is directly helping aselect few multi-millionaires to strengthen their strangleholdover political and bureaucratic governance in the countrybesides making them rich at the cost of the common man.The common man is made to pay a higher tariff for thepower produced by the private sector who invest only onthe condition that a higher tariff will be ensured for theirprofiteering.Moreover, by bundling power prices, the poor andthe common man are being made to pay for high-capacitygeneration being offered to the rich by the government.77

2. SpecificRecommendationsi. Adivasis1. Increase technical and financial support fordecentralised non-conventional energy sources so asto meet the needs of the Adivasi communities.2. Revisit the energy projects located in Adivasiareas which cause large scale displacement andenvironmental degradation and allow only thosewhich do not affect the lives and livelihoods of thepeople and the environment.3. Reframe the energy policy (especially the dependenceon thermal power projects) in the light of climatechange because unregulated coal mining has alsocreated ecological damage in Adivasi areas.4. Recognise the coping mechanisms adopted byprimitive tribes in areas, such as the development ofdrought-resistant crops, where climate change is veryvisible.5. Provide support for the use of solar energy as well asexpand research that makes its use cost-effective.6. Set up rural polytechnics for enhancing the skills oflocal youth in the use of non-conventional energyresources.7. The energy projects must be based on ‘IntergenerationalEquity Analysis’ that allows the next generation a safeenvironment and future. All polluting energy projectsmust be made to pay for environmental as well ashuman damage.8. The pollution-bearing capacity of an area must bedetermined before any energy project is sanctioned.The Damodar Valley alone has more than 1200industrial projects that have caused severe damage.ii. Dalits9. Solar energy could be produced from solarphotovoltaic (SPV) units of up to 1 kW capacity forlocal decentralised distribution.10. All the energy generation through non-conventionalmethods should be small-scale so that indigenouspeople can participate in their distribution anduse. Thus, the promotion of private investment inconventional power projects (like hydel, coal, oiland gas) should be avoided since this will only meanhigher tariffs for the people and will be antithetic tothe energy security of the poor.11. Investments in conventional power generationand distribution should be made only by publicundertakings of the Government of India and thestates.12. Private investment should be allowed only if it isinclusive. This could be done by making it obligatorythat at least 5-10 per cent of the equity should bereserved for SCs and STs and provided on loan bythe government. They should be represented in thegoverning bodies and one of the key managementpersonnel at the directorial level should be from thesecommunities.13. While conventional power does not yield to smallergeneration capacities, renewable energy immenselyprovides the scope for small generation. Theinvestment in a 100kW SPV power plant wouldhardly come to only Rs. 1 crore. There are thousandsof SCs in this country who can singly or jointly investthis amount with credit and grant support from thegovernment. Solar power generation, therefore, isan ideal technology for ensuring inclusive growththrough inclusive financial and credit planning.14. The allocation for non-conventional energy does notexceed 23 per cent of the total power budget and thisshould be done under the SCSP and TSP.15. The energy security of the poor should also beensured by providing not less than 50 per cent ofdistributorships/retailerships of petrol, diesel, keroseneand LPG to SCs/STs. The government should set up atask force headed by an inclusive thinker from the SC/ST community assisted by experts in energy for thispurpose.iii. North East16. Rationalise the demand for energy with theenvironmental and social costs associated with energygeneration.17. In remote and low population rural areas in theNortheast, emphasis should be on providingsubsidised renewable lighting systems like solar LEDhome lighting systems.78

8AcceleratedDevelopmentof TransportInfrastructureINPUTS FOR THIS CHALLENGE HAVE COME FROM THEDISCUSSION GROUPS ON CHILDREN, YOUTH ANDNORTH EAST79

Accelerated Development of TransportInfrastructureSection ContentsContext 81Children 81Specific Recommendations 82Children 82North East 82Youth 8280

1. Contexti. ChildrenChildren’s access to support and opportunity are limitedby insufficient and unaffordable transportation. The poorestand most isolated are the worst affected. Transportation plansmust consciously address the communication and mobilityneeds of the poor. Poor connectivity and lack of road andtransport development limits people’s access to essentialservices, markets and development opportunities. Ruralconnectivity needs must be better addressed, so that ‘remote’areas do not remain isolated and cut off from development.Transportation sector investments can transform access tohealthcare, nutrition, education, skills, and employmentof parents. Long distances and unsafe routes to schoolsignificantly undermine education access, especially forgirls and the disabled. One consequence of rural underdevelopmentdue to remoteness is the increasing incidenceof urban migration. In urban settings also, families oftenfind themselves living in even more precarious situationswith lack of proper transport facilities. Policy and planningmust also take into account the fact that a large portionof India’s population cannot afford private motorisedforms of transportation and still rely on slower, lower-costmeans, some of which are being pushed off the roads byfaster traffic. As disadvantaged communities increasinglyfind themselves pushed out of city centres and relegated tosettlements on the outskirts of urban areas, affordable andaccessible public transportation is becoming even moreimportant. Public investment in transport infrastructure isbeing overshadowed by private investment and this trendmust be corrected in the 12th Plan.81

2. SpecificRecommendationsi. Children1. Ensure priority for transportation development inrural, remote and under-served areas.2. Prohibit all forms of child labour in the constructionand maintenance of transport infrastructure.3. Assess the impact of existing and proposed transport onchildren and disadvantaged communities, especiallywith regard to affordability and the connectivity toemployment opportunities.4. Increase investment in public transport by crosssubsidisingit through the levy of higher taxes onpersonal transport.5. Ensure establishment and vigilant application of roadand transport safety standards.6. All transportation infrastructure must abide by theIndian Disability Act.7. Special attention must be focused on improving roadsafety in areas near parks, playgrounds, schools andother areas frequented by children.8. Address overlapping responsibilities and thefragmentation of funds between agencies formaintenance and development of roads.9. Provide for capacity building and empowerment ofPRIs in the planning, building and maintenance oftransportation infrastructure.ii. North East10. Far-flung areas in the North East must be connectedwith all-weather roads. The process of road buildingshould include communities residing in the respectivelocations and funds for regular and proper maintenanceshould be made available.iii. Youth11. Only 20 per cent of trips in cities are made by cars butall roads are designed only for private vehicles, andthe needs of pedestrians, cyclists, buses, and all otherpara-transit modes are being ignored. This should bereversed and more attention paid to promoting publictransport, cycling and walking.82

9RuralTransformationand SustainedGrowth ofAgricultureINPUTS FOR THIS CHALLENGE HAVE COME FROM THEDISCUSSION GROUPS ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, DALITS,ADIVASIS, MIGRANTS, NORTH EAST, WOMEN ANDCONFLICT-RIDDEN AREAS83

Rural Transformation and Sustained Growthof AgricultureSection ContentsContext 85Adivasis 85Youth 85Dalits 85Specific Recommendations 86Adivasis 86Youth 86Women 87Dalits 87Children 88Migrants 88North East 88Conflict-Ridden Areas 8984

1. Contexti. AdivasisThe diversion of agricultural land for industry andmining is the major concern for Adivasi areas. Traditionalsubsistence agriculture on small landholdings requiresmassive research and funding support. In its absence,and due to diminishing returns from agriculture and theinability of farmers to access development schemes andprogrammes, there is massive migration from Adivasi areas.The lack of irrigation facilities and other technology, lackof institutional finance and the exploitation by middlemenfurther handicap the agriculture of the Adivasis.ii. YouthThe focus on national food security has led toagricultural production policies that have contributed tolarge distortions in rural society. There is no special budgetfor agriculture, unlike for the railways. Thus, agricultureloses out in terms of focus and importance. A major localproblem is that landholdings are getting smaller by the year.Dryland farming has been utterly neglected, and there isan unsustainable race for water for irrigation. Sustainablefarming practices based on local knowledge have beencompletely discarded. Instead, unsustainable, externalinput-dependent technology is being vigorously pursued.The highly-centralized planning in food and agriculturehas taken a toll on local institutions and innovations. Thus,young rural people feel completely marginalized. A generalair of despair has enveloped the agrarian landscape, which inturn makes rural youth feel totally aimless and abandoned.Climate change and global warming are looming as apotential for havoc on our agriculture.iii. DalitsPlanning should enable small and marginal Dalitfarmers to cultivate indigenous crop varieties throughorganic techniques, rather than exotic crops, and increasetheir marketability. Similarly, small and marginal farmerswho contribute 70 per cent of India’s agricultural produceshould be protected from the vagaries of nature by theprovision of crop insurance. All sorts of absentee landlordsand corporate agriculture should be discouraged bycharging additional taxes and by providing incentives toenvironment-friendly community living with affirmativeprogrammes and schemes.85

2. SpecificRecommendationsi. Adivasis1. Direct subsidies should be given to farmers similar tothose given to industry.2. Support, guidance and credit should be given forpromotion of traditional farming (organic farming).3. Value addition through local post-farm industriesprocessing agricultural and minor forest produceshould be promoted.4. A white paper should be released on status of landdiversion/allocation for Jatropha plantations.5. There should be registration of middlemen involvedin buying and selling of forest produce.6. Give recognition to traditional knowledge and skillsin organic agriculture and herbal medicine.7. Skills training in traditional livelihoods for valueaddition and marketing.8. Multinational corporations should be banned fromthe retail marketing of agricultural products andinstead opportunities must be created for marketingof Adivasi agricultural and forest products.9. Release a White Paper on farmer suicides and preparea comprehensive plan for revitalising agriculture inconsultation with farmers’ movements.10. Restructure the agricultural extension system forsupporting the small and marginal farmers withassured input facilities.11. Reframe the agriculture policy for promoting andconserving millets and coarse grains.12. Extend irrigation facilities to the lands of small andmarginal Adivasi farmers.13. Extend financial and technical support for conservationand rejuvenation of traditional water harvestingsystems in Adivasi areas (like bamboo check damand Jhiriya of Chhattisgarh, Katta-Munda method ofwestern Orissa, Path Pani of Western Madhya Pradeshetc.)ii. Youth14. Pursue community food sovereignty in place ofnational food security. The food sovereignty paradigmis deeply transformative in its vision, policies andpractices. It comprehensively addresses the issues ofland reforms, peasant agriculture, local production,sustainable food systems and livelihood productionwithin an ecological framework all of which are soforward looking that they cannot but inspire youth toengage in its realisation.15. A special agricultural budget should be instituted onthe lines of the Railway Budget. Such a budget shouldaccord a special role for the youth considering theirpotential to contribute substantially to ecologicalregeneration of agriculture and food sovereignty.16. Refocus on land distribution and give it priority. Ifwomen and youth are treated as the beneficiaries ofthe new land reforms, it can play a major stabilizingrole for young people and prevent a lot of distress outmigrationfrom villages to cities.17. Recognise that dryland farming sans irrigation hasenormous capacity to offer solutions to our food,fodder, nutrition, ecological and livelihood problemsall of which are so critical for the next generation.Therefore, un-irrigated dryland agriculture must bepursued vigorously. On a rough estimate, drylandagriculture on 100 million hectares in the country canprovide a minimum of 50 million livelihood years.This can be a huge support for young people in ruralareas. Proper investment must be made in sustainingagricultural livelihoods through rejuvenating drylandsoils.18. Promotion of local knowledge-based biodiverseecological farming systems can infuse fresh life intothe rural landscape. Therefore, this must become thegrowth engine in rural and agricultural planning.Such farming systems use internal inputs and providea perfect energy balance. By cutting farming expenses,they can halt rural farmer suicides. This will enhancethe youth’s respect for and dependence on their owncommunity knowledge systems and help them to leada self-reliant and satisfying life.19. Support should be provided for dryland millet-basedfarming which can be a lasting solution for climatechange.86

iii. Women20. Recognise women as farmers. Provide subsidies andloan for women and women’s collectives to buy landfor agriculture and then cultivate it.21. All agricultural land should be in the name of bothwomen and rules should be made to this effect.22. Women-friendly tools for agriculture and thetraditional sector should be developed.23. Natural resource management should include womenin all planning and implementation initiatives.24. Water Users’ Associations should include womenagriculture labourers as members with full votingpowers and ownership of land should be removed as acriterion of membership as women do not own landin most cases.iv. Dalits25. Most of the initiatives in rural transformation havebeen promoted through private sector companies andthe PPP model. Contracts for making available urbaninfrastructure in villages for instance have benefitedlarge companies. For real inclusive growth, this shouldhave been done with the help of groups of cooperativesand societies formed by Dalits living in the villages sothat they could benefit from such policies.26. Barren land should be made fertile and available fordistribution to landless farmers.27. Localised models innovated and owned by peoplethemselves should be followed for rural electrificationand irrigation needs such as construction of tube wellsand wells in Dalit hamlets and subsidy should begiven for construction of minor irrigation structuresto the people.28. Loans are hardly being made accessible to SCs foragricultural and village-level enterprises. There arenumerous stories and a long list of rejection ofloan applications from SCs by banks due to castediscrimination. It should be made mandatory thatall banks allocate up to 25 per cent of loans to SCbeneficiaries.29. According to studies conducted on major dams andpower projects, it has been found that out of 56million people involuntarily displaced by major dams,as high a proportion as 62 per cent is of SCs and STs.The benefits of irrigation and electricity, however,have routinely bypassed the dam affected (WCD,India Study). Given the high capital cost, long-termgestation period and environmental and social costs,hydropower generation is not a preferred option forpower generation. Smaller models run by people withsmall grants or subsidies to them should be explored.30. Narrow targeting of the PDS has weakened the PDSsystem; its role of price stabilization has becomeineffective. Since a huge part of the population buysfrom the market, particularly Dalits who are landless,there is huge wastage of food stocks rotting in FCIgodowns. Hoarding has made the system prone toleakage. Starvation deaths, malnutrition and foodneeds of the rising number of the poor still have to bemet and there should be no cuts in food subsidies.31. In agriculture, several Dalits are cultivators butnot owners of the land; hence, loans, subsidies andbenefits should be accessible to cultivators also whomay not have land titles but are engaged in agriculturalproduction on leased land. Broadbasing land reformsby ensuring the provision of at least 5 acres of landto each peasant and access to traditional means offisheries should be followed.32. Timely supply of quality seeds from governmentchannels to peasants should be ensured andcompensation given to farmers who receiveunproductive seeds. The authorities responsible fordelay in supply of quality seeds should be taken totask. Organic farming and research on local practices/indigenous knowledge of the Dalit farmers should beencouraged.33. An Agricultural Land Ceiling Act should beimplemented immediately and all planning shouldstart from the level of land available to Dalits.Collective farming among Dalits should be promotedand encouraged. The State should reserve landresources for Dalits/Adivasis. Lands allotted toDalits/Adivasis should be non-transferable under anycircumstances to persons belonging to non-Dalit/non-Adivasi communities.34. Programmes such as the Bharat Nirman need toensure that all benefits planned for rural areas reachDalits. The approaches should look at minimisingsegregation and increasing access to services andintegration within Dalit society.87

v. Children35. Children from rural areas need special provisions toensure their rights are safeguarded and plans mustbe developed that specifically target their protection,health and education.36. The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Actneeds to amended to prohibit all forms of labour forchildren aged 14 and below with agriculture beingrecognised as a hazardous form of labour.37. Programmes such as the Bharat Nirman should beexpanded to meet the rights of all children.38. The MGNREGS should be used for developing basicand sustainable infrastructure in rural areas.39. Involve private investment as a supplement topublic investment through forms of PPP. This canbe done to acquire financial capacities as well as forimplementation.40. Poor design of monitoring and service deliverymechanism, resulting in poor utilisation and leadingto continued high prevalence of malnutrition. Thelocal governance infrastructure is not utilised to mapout services required for children.41. Scheme/service coverage for children under threeyears of age remains inadequate. Reliance on the takeawayratio in ICDS for children under three involvesthe risk that it goes into the family pot and does notreach the child. Nutritional anaemia has increased inthe age group of 0-3 (NFHS-III). Action has to betaken to correct this.42. Ensure access to insurance in the agricultural sector toreduce the impact of environmental shocks.43. Make and monitor interconnections betweensustainable livelihoods and child survival, developmentand protection and include this as an indicatorfor concurrent impact evaluation of livelihood/employment schemes.44. Pro-poor agricultural and forest development toforestall migration and destitution should be planned.45. Skill training should be provided to agriculturists/landless people for multiple options in their areas.46. Changing land-use patterns (reliance on single cashcrops, for example) are leading to lower availability offood from household production and this has to beaddressed.47. Most often, children who fail to receive protection inrural settings end up in even worse settings in urbancentres due to forced or induced migration. Therefore,the status of child protection should be adopted as anindicator of poverty and used in planning and policyformulation exercises as a measure of success of variousdevelopment programmes.48. The rights of Adivasis and other socially excluded groupsshould be respected and upheld by the law so thatland cannot be sold to non-Adivasis for commercialpurposes without strong agreement from all parties.vi. Migrants49. Comprehensive disaggregated data should becollected in the cases of mass displacement and theimplementation of resettlement and rehabilitationprogrammes should be tracked.50. Consultations with the local population underconditions suitable for the affected population mustbe undertaken. Although provisions for public hearingexist, they are currently not enforced or implemented.Public hearing must be done in the same place wherethe project (building of plants, constructions of dams,etc.) is to be implemented and with the people whowould be affected.51. In the case of natural disasters/calamities, the entirecommunity must be resettled in one common place.52. Adivasis must be given opportunities and thepreference to be employed in forest departments andmust be allowed to collect the natural products fromthe forest for their livelihood.vii. North East53. Irrigation is almost non-existent in the region. Withclimate change and unpredictable rains, irrigationfacilities will become critical. Promote indigenousmethods of irrigation such as terraced rice fields anduse of rainwater for lowland paddy cultivation. Thesecan be improved and supported through state financialinterventions including micro-credit.54. Promote the use of indigenous farming methods andindigenous crops. Higher purchase price should beset for indigenous crops and subsidies provided tothose using traditional methods and crops. Milletshave a great potential in the North East and must bepromoted.88

55. There should be a platform for marketing goods fromremote villages with a process that includes storage(including cold storage for food products) and foodprocessing.56. Subsidy should be given for animal feed as the NorthEast is highly dependent on animal husbandry forboth food and cash.viii. Conflict-Ridden Areas57. Dams and roads require large-scale land acquisitionand so these projects have created immense discontentdue to forced displacement and human rightsviolations. What is needed is a more democratic andtransparent policy that includes a proper debate notjust on resettlement and rehabilitation but on what ismeant by “development” and who it is for.58. Mechanization of agriculture should be prevented, asthis leads to more unemployment.59. No agricultural land should be used for setting upindustries. Fertile land should be most appropriatelyused for production of food grains only. Grabbingof lands by MNCs should be stopped. Acquisitionof agricultural land needs to be discouraged. Adivasiand other agricultural land should not be taken awayforcefully. Eviction of farmers from their land results inmigration to the cities, which needs to be discouraged.60. Dams and mines should not take away agriculturalland. Big dams for major irrigation should bediscouraged and stopped forthwith. Minor ecofriendlysmall irrigation dams should be encouragedin every village.61. An Irrigation Guarantee Scheme should be set up.Under this, all agricultural areas should be providedwith irrigation facilities to minimise the effectsof drought or floods in any area and also to ensureguaranteed production of food grains.62. Local seed banks should be set up as they are absolutelynecessary for improving productivity. Geneticallymodified seeds should be banned.63. Biogas plants and other village-based sources of energyshould be revitalized.64. The village, its culture and economy should beprotected, preserved, promoted and propagated by allmeans.65. Agriculture and rural industry is the backboneof a village and the nation. Currently, we neglectboth and so there is an acute unemployment in thevillages. Consequently, there is migration of youth inlarge numbers from villages to the cities in search ofemployment. This is a serious matter threatening theexistence of both villages and cities.66. Agriculture and agro-based small scale and cottageindustries in the villages should be promoted to absorbthe youths by providing employment opportunities toprevent migration.67. Hence, it is imperative to follow an integratedrural development plan involving development ofagriculture and related activities, rural industriesand rural infrastructure so as to develop a fairly selfreliantand continually growing complementary ruraleconomy.68. Farming should contribute more to the GDP, sinceIndia is primarily an agrarian economy. Even thoughwe are moving towards higher productivity in theindustrial and service sector, we should remain awarethat self-sufficiency in the matter of food grains is amust for self reliance and sovereignty.69. Provision should be made for a separate agriculturalbudget on the lines of the Railway Budget.70. The pattern of planning should not be bureaucraticand decisions should not be made only in Delhi andimposed on villages. Proportional representationshould be given to farmers in matters of policyformulation at all levels.71. Protection of small and marginalised farmers shouldbe given importance. Big landowners are still able tomake their way through in the times of crisis but thesmall and marginal farmers suffer the most.72. More storage facilities should be given to farmers.73. More agricultural institutes and universities shouldbe set up. The Planning Commission shouldtake initiatives to establish a strong collaborativerelationship between agriculture universities, KrishiVigyan Kendras and NGOs to expedite the process ofsustainable growth of agriculture in the villages.89

10ManagingUrbanisationINPUTS FOR THIS CHALLENGE HAVECOME FROM THE DISCUSSION GROUPS ONCHILDREN, YOUTH, DALITS, ADOLESCENTS,TRANSGENDERS, NORTH EAST AND CONFLICT-RIDDEN AREAS91

Managing UrbanisationSection ContentsContext 93Youth 93Children 93Specific Recommendations 94Youth 94Children 94Adolescents 95Dalits 95Transgenders 96North East 96Conflict-Ridden Areas 9692

1. Contexti. YouthThe major problems facing youth in urban areas arethe lack of employment opportunities, the poor quality ofeducational facilities, the absence of proof of identity amongstthe poorer classes in the informal sector, homelessness,drug abuse and harassment faced by street children and thelarger issues of urban renewal and eviction of the workingpoor. The formal organised sector in cities is being replacedby the informal unorganised sector by design, as oldermanufacturing units are being shut down and service unitsare coming in, giving rise to widespread unemploymentand under employment. In the name of ‘reforms’ and‘efficiency’, the state’s role in providing welfare services isbeing reduced and the private sector is being invited toundertake the task, thereby increasing costs with no visiblesigns of better quality. As the organised sector is dismantled,the problems of proof of identity and residence have beenemerging, since the informal sector provides neither securityof tenure nor residential accommodation. All this has driventhe youth into antisocial activities. The dream of the ‘worldclass’ city is being used to evict poor people, rendering moreand more youth jobless and homeless – all for the sake ofinfrastructural development for private gain.The average 9 per cent “growth” in GDP that is beingachieved conceals the fact that 20 per cent Indians werebeing encouraged by deliberate planning to achieve 40 percent “growth” (as in the case of investments in informationtechnology and real estate, or mutual funds, or the PayCommission, or salaries for Members of Parliament) whilethe remaining 80 per cent were being consigned to just over1 per cent “growth”. The real income of this huge majorityis going down due to inflation and wage squeeze beingimposed to ensure more profits for the privileged few. Eventhe few remaining instruments for protecting the urbanpoor – such as the Urban Land Ceiling Act, labour laws andthe entitlements to housing and basic services – are beingsteadily done away with.ii. ChildrenIndia is a country of daunting numbers. It is estimatedthat nearly 140 million people will move to cities by 2020and 700 million by 2050. Each state has urbanised in its ownway, resulting in the coexistence of multiple urbanizationmodels. Most of our cities are extremely crowded— 5 ofthe 20 most densely populated cities globally are Indian.While urbanization has fuelled economic growth in ourcities, it has also resulted in a huge strain on existingphysical infrastructure. Overcrowding, rampant growth ofslums, disparities in living conditions and lack of equity inaccess to health services and community centres are seriousproblems. There is a shortage of land for Anganwadi centres,primary schools, primary health care centres and shelter.In most cities the critical infrastructure is now woefullyinadequate, technologically outdated, increasingly fragileand incapable of meeting even the current needs of all itsresidents. Children’s rights to life, dignity, opportunity,health, education, and a safe, healthy environment wherethey can grow and develop to actively contribute to thebuilding of a progressive and prosperous India are heavilycurtailed. Further problems relate to a lack of identity proofand data gaps, which lead to denial of entitlements. There isa lack of convergence and appropriate governance structuresto deal with these vast challenges.93

2. SpecificRecommendationsi. Youth1. The needs of the 80 per cent of urban citizens whoseneeds are ignored should be brought to the notice ofthe planners through quantitative surveys, studies andqualitative field data.2. Facilitate the mobilisation and organisation of this 80per cent so that they can assert their right to the cityand to decentralised urban planning and governance.3. Demonstrate that it is only by addressing the needsand aspirations of this 80 per cent that rationalresource use and social justice can be achieved.4. The youth expect the Planning Commission to makepolicy and financial provisions in the 12th Plan toincorporate this bottom-up perspective.ii. Children5. Planners must account for the thousands of “invisible”families in growing cities and their children’s rightsand create provisions for adequate basic services.6. When building and developing cities, it is criticalthat children are planned for, with schools and areasfor play being allocated as a priority to ensure child’srights to overall development.7. Children migrate to urban centres as environmentalrefugees from Bangladesh, as children affected byconflict and as economic migrants with their families.Plans must be developed to integrate them intourban communities and to ensure that disruptionto education is limited and their rights to health,protection and participation are addressed.8. Local governance has to be strengthened ifdecentralisation is to be implemented in its true sense.Provision of services for children should be based onpopulation density and not geographical area.9. Capacity building of urban local government officialsis needed so that they are able to understand childrights and the importance of child centric policyformulation.10. Under the Constitution, children are guaranteedthe right to life, a clean environment and education.Building on this framework, the Government ofIndia must develop national and state plans that leadto investing in a universal public health system andpublic education system that has world-class publicinfrastructure. Ensuring that children have access toclean and safe drinking water, sanitation and a cleanenvironment with a waste management system thatprotects children from pollution requires massiveinvestment in public infrastructure.11. Based on the Right to Free and Compulsory EducationAct, schools should see sustained infrastructureinvestment. All marginalised groups of children mustbe able to claim their right to quality and inclusiveeducation. This should take place in safe buildingswith safe play areas which promote holistic childdevelopment. Efficient maintenance and monitoringof infrastructure should take place on a timely basisand electricity and a broadband Internet connectionshould reach all schools through a time-boundambitious framework, similar to the way in whichroad expansion plans are developed.12. Spaces where children are safe to play and developlike playgrounds, gardens, community halls should bemaintained and invested in.13. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) allow theuse and analysis of spatial information in conjunctionwith relevant socio-economic information, and thisshould be the basis for planning.14. According to the Tendulkar Committee, 35 per centof the country lives in poverty and, in all likelihood,need shelter. A national housing policy has to bedeveloped and a legal framework for shelter should becreated to ensure equal rights to all basic entitlements.Special provisions should be made and special plansshould be developed to ensure that children livingin slums and street children can access their rights toeducation, health, and a safe environment. Proceduresfor establishing identity must be developed andproviding shelter to street children and their familiesshould be given high priority.15. Other states should adopt the Madhya Pradesh modelwhere 20-25 per cent of development land as per thepopulation distribution is reserved for economicallyweaker sections who are given awasi patta.16. During allotment of plots or flats under variousschemes, the size of households should be taken intoconsideration.94

17. Unauthorised colonies should be regularised andprovided with basic civic facilities.18. National, state, and ward level monitoring committeeshave to be formed to ensure accountability andtransparency.19. When improving the lives of people living in slums,it is critical that quality schools are constructed thatallow children to have access to education. This shouldbe a priority to ensure children’s rights to overalldevelopment. Further, the adequate health servicesaccessible from slum areas must be provided.20. Development schemes have to be employment-centricto provide for secure livelihoods with mandatory fairwages, so that children are less likely to be forced intochild labour which has a severe impact on their socialdevelopment.21. This may be achieved by stopping contractual workin government schemes, implementation of existinglabour laws in all urban areas without exception(including Special Economic Zones), and givingpriority to those development works that generatemaximum employment.22. In addition, the poor residents of unauthorisedcolonies should be covered under the Swarn JayantiShahari Rozgar Yojana. The credit level for selfemploymentshould be raised to Rs 30,000 andplanned linkages have to be made between urban andrural employment schemes.23. A comprehensive budget for the expansion andintegration of formal and informal sectors has to beprepared that recognises the link between livelihoodsand shelter and provides for universal identity andsocial security.24. In order to maintain the integrity of these schemesthere has to be a provision for their “social audit” linkedto the Right to Information and explicit mention ofall subsidies – concealed or otherwise. A ManagementInformation System (MIS) for children is required tofacilitate effective monitoring of these schemes.25. Slum children, street children, migrant children andabandoned children should participate in urbanplanning so that special accessible secure spaces arecreated for their play and development and they areprotected and able to access their right to education.26. For those children living in institutional care homes,monitoring by an independent organisation must beundertaken to ensure their rights are protected.27. A review of urban policies on per capita allocationsfor basic services and land allocation for shelter, healthand education services should be undertaken.iii. Adolescents28. The lack of inclusion of adolescents in planningslum improvement has to be addressed. Adolescents’committees should be engaged in slum improvement.There should be an interface with communityrepresentatives, and it must ensure equal space foradolescent girls to voice their concerns related to slumimprovement. Toilet facilities that are safe and friendlyfor adolescent girls must receive adequate attention.29. More attention should be given to livelihood optionsat the local level in rural settings so that urbanmigration is reduced.iv. Dalits30. Despite a clear trend of urbanization, little has beendone to ensure protection and safeguards for thoseshifting from agriculture to industrial work or ruralto-urbanwork. The focus of the plan, thus, has tobe on measures through which Dalits may eitherseek out opportunities or be able to ensure sustainedlivelihoods for themselves.31. Cities have not been able to cater to the needs ofinfrastructure, civic amenities, food, clothing, shelterand protection for the poor, women and childrenliving in urban areas. While the urban poor andDalits provide a vast number of services for urbandevelopment, such as construction work, domestichelp, care giving, waste management, sanitationand hygiene, loading and unloading of goodsand commodities and hospitality services in mallsand shopping complexes, the basic rights of thesecommunities are not addressed. Instead of slumimprovement, the focus has been on slum removal.The emphasis has not been towards the bettermentof housing needs for the homeless and poor but ontheir demolition and shifting to the margins. So, citieshave not been able to show any example of inclusivegrowth. To ensure focus on inclusive growth, stressneeds to be laid on the livelihoods, skills, resourceavailability and opportunities available for Dalits whoare unemployed among the urban poor. The 12th95

Plan could actually focus on demonstrating initiativeson inclusive growth in cities.32. Cities have also become destination points oftrafficking and continue to inflict violence on women,Dalits and Adivasis. Thus, a focus needs to be there onthe kind of protection being made available in citiesand the provisioning of safe, clean, healthy workingand living conditions for all.33. Urban planning remains concentrated onspatial planning, planning of goods and servicesand infrastructure for further growth, seldomincorporating within its purview the needs of theurban poor. Investments in urban infrastructurealso remain skewed in favour of the rich and elite.Flyovers, roads and smooth water pipelines, etc tendto get concentrated in the pockets of the affluent.For instance, SCP/TSP funds in Delhi were used forinfrastructure development such as building roads,hospitals, and other infrastructure in the businesshubs or elite pockets of the city, while most Dalitswho live in slums were left high and dry. Stringentsafeguards need to be in place to balance the interestsof the market and that of basic needs.34. The main urban poverty alleviation programme is theSJSRY. However, several more innovative ideas canbe brought within this programme, such as makingavailable desktops and laptops and imparting skills thatwill enhance their employability and entrepreneurialacumen. Schemes such as Dalit Basti Yojana should beenhanced for Dalits in cities.35. Most Dalits and Adivasis do not have identitycards in the city; as a result, they are not able toparticipate effectively in local urban governance.Effective mechanisms need to be found to ensure thatevery resident in the city is able to be part of urbanparticipation and local governance programmes,irrespective of their migrant status.v. Transgenders36. Many transgenders and gender non-conformingindividuals have no access to bathrooms/toilets andpublic spaces in urban areas. Some are told to usethe bathroom/toilet that does not correspond totheir gender identity. For transgender and gendernon-conforming people, the lack of access to safebathroom/restroom, public spaces is “the mostfrequent form of discrimination faced but the leastacknowledged by policy makers”. Trangenders andhijras face similar problems in prisons, hospitals andother spaces, where the administration is often notable to deal with their gender in a sensitive manner;for example, they put transgenders and hijras in maleprisons during incarceration or in male wards duringhospitalisation. It is therefore recommended that thegovernment articulate and enforce guidelines for nondiscriminatorypractices allowing transgenders andhijras to safely access public and private facilities oftheir choicevi. North East37. Infrastructure for PWD should be provided in allpublic places.38. Initiate programmes to deal with homelessnessand destitution and provide shelters and facilities,particularly for women and children who are morevulnerable.39. There is a need for capacity building of electedrepresentatives in urban governance on issues relatingto civics, ecology, solid waste management, etc.40. Training should be provided for unemployed youthliving in urban areas in manufacturing, construction oflow-cost sanitation products, computer and technicalskills.41. Promotion of digital libraries and easy access to theirusers.vii. Conflict-Ridden Areas42. Redevelopment schemes in cities are getting more andmore importance as new land is not available. Whileimplementing various developmental schemes, itneeds to be seen that the poor and deprived sectionsof the society are not thrown out.43. Most of the mega-cities are not in a position tocope with increasing population. Infrastructure andservices are collapsing and the poor and the marginalcommunities suffer the most. It is difficult for themto sustain themselves in an adverse scenario. Basicfacilities like medical services, water and electricityshould be made available at reasonable rates.96

44. Plans should be adopted to develop at least 1000smaller cities and towns rather than focusing only onthe metros. These satellite cities/towns should be madeto develop at a distance of about 200 km at least, sothat people do not commute from one city to anotheron a daily basis but shift entirely to the new place.45. Urbanization has led to ghettoisation of communities.This leads to misunderstanding about othercommunities and in turn becomes a fertile groundfor conflict. Mixed localities that have the potential toavert possible conflict need to be set up.46. A housing quota system with compulsory reservationfor all communities in housing societies should bemade mandatory in order to promote increasedinteraction and integration between communities.47. The process of urbanization should be stemmed bydeveloping the rural areas.97

11ImprovedAccess toQualityEducationINPUTS FOR THIS CHALLENGE HAVE COMEFROM THE DISCUSSION GROUPS ON CHILDREN,YOUTH, DALITS, ADOLESCENTS, ADIVASIS,ELDERLY, NORTH EAST, MUSLIMS, PEOPLE WITHDISABILITY, WOMEN AND MIGRANTS99

Improved Access to Quality EducationSection ContentsContext 101Youth 101Children 101Adolescents 102Dalits 102Adivasis 103Migrants 103Specific Recommendations 104Youth 104Children 104Adolescents 105Dalits 106Women 107Adivasis 107Migrants 107North East 108Elderly 108Muslims 108People with Disabilities 109100

1. Contexti. YouthThe neglect of the pre-school segment affects all stagesof further education as it is the foundational stage. Theyouth of today are cognisant of this gap in the educationsystem which has affected many of them in later life. Theelementary schooling sector is now governed by the Rightto Education (RTE) Act, which seeks to fundamentally alterthe quality of education in this segment as well as universaliseit. The focus should be on its proper implementation. Theconcerns of the youth also relate to the bottlenecks relatedto teacher training and quality as well as accountability andgrievance redressal.The secondary and high school levels are bound byrigidity in terms of the courses offered, which is a constraintfor many youth who are compelled to follow limited streamsof learning. The lack of good opportunities that could buildtalents and skills of youth in non-conventional areas and alack of transparency in budget allocations in the educationsystem also act as hurdles.The lack of technical colleges and institutes outsidethe metros combined with the lack of opportunities forcommunity service, which could inculcate in the youth thevalues of good citizenship and allow them to develop a senseof responsibility to the society in which they live constrainthe development of the youth in rural areas. There is asevere lack of opportunities for youth from disadvantagedbackgrounds, such as those marginalised on the basis ofcaste/ethnicity, religion, class, dis/ability, sexuality andgender identity (transgender). The disruption of educationin areas of conflict is another cause for concern. Adolescenteducation programmes are informed by judgmental andsuperficial approaches to adolescence, gender and sexualitythat are not in harmony with the lived realities and needs ofadolescents.ii. ChildrenTotal school enrolment has improved; nevertheless,high dropout rates, absenteeism and low learningachievement persist. The education system lacks quality.The lack of effective monitoring and supervision, alongwith poor teacher training, continues to adversely impactstandards. Access to secondary education remains extremelyinequitable for girls, the poor and the marginalised.Location also affects accessibility and quality. Vulnerableand marginalised children stand to gain the most fromhigh quality formal education and yet they continue to facemultiple and reinforcing barriers to obtaining it. The Rightto Free Compulsory Education Act 2009 entitles the mostmarginalised children including street children and childkabariwalas to be immediately withdrawn from labour andenrolled into a system of quality and inclusive education,and this has to be the focus of planning.101

iii. AdolescentsThere is a wide disparity in terms of infrastructureand quality of education between government schoolsand private schools. The low salary of the large number ofpara-teachers is a de-motivating factor for them to delivereffective services. Therefore, teachers are more interested inprivate tuitions than in regular teaching in school. Thereis a lack of information and course content regarding lifeskills and vocational skills. The high schools are situated atplaces far from villages. Adivasis and Dalits have very pooraccess to education. The dropout rate is significant after the5th standard and is higher amongst girls. Discrimination isfaced by HIV-positive students in schools. There is a lack ofsexuality education in the school curriculum. There is lackof support and sensitivity towards cases of sexual abuse.iv. DalitsEnrolment rates continue to grow simultaneously withdropout rates (both reported and unreported). A substantialproportion of young people are not accessing educationthat can spur them to workforce participation and skillenhancement. While the gross enrolment ratio (GER) forupper primary schools is 72.8 per cent, it is only 5 per centfor SC when it comes to higher education. Various practicesand traditions like manual scavenging, devdasi system,bonded labour and child labour take a heavy toll on Dalitchildren, forcing them out of schools into the labour marketor onto the streets. Caste- and gender-based discriminationcontinues to haunt educational institutions from pre-schoolto centres of excellence, and Dalit communities and childrenwho aspire for equality and equal treatment often pay aheavy price – sometimes with their lives – as reported fromschools and professional colleges. Inadequate and insensitiveimplementation of entitlements and provisions hurt thedignity and negatively impact the personal developmentof Dalit children and youth. Poor infrastructure andunequal state provisions in infrastructure and services toDalit habitations prevent Dalit children and youth fromaccessing education at all levels, from pre-school to highereducation. The lack of information, guidance and supporton available resources and modes of accessing them alsolimit Dalit children’s choices and opportunities. Reducedemployment opportunities in government services withoutmeasures to promote their employment in the private sectoror in entrepreneurship has also become a dampener to Dalitfamilies for higher investment in education. The largerenvironment of increasing poverty and inequality, shrinkingemployment opportunities and precarious livelihoods ofDalit parents has a negative impact on the education anddevelopment of their children. Dalits aspire for dignity,social and economic mobility, increased employment andlivelihood opportunities and inclusion through education.The diametrically opposite trends in the enrolmentratios of SCs in the school sector and in higher educationwill have to be addressed. Data from the Government ofTamil Nadu’s Ministry of Human Resources reveals thatthe enrolment ratio of SCs in schools from 1st standard to12th standard is uniform and at least 2 percentage pointshigher than that of the enrolment ratio for the generalstudents. This reveals a remarkable resilience and tenacityamongst SCs to pursue education, in spite of all socioeconomic,demographic and geographic hurdles. Thus, SCsare immensely qualified to pursue higher education, whichunfortunately is denied them on false grounds. To reducethe rate of illiteracy among SCs/STs, an innovative thrustshould be given to quality upgradation of SCs in schools bygiving greater inputs than what others enjoy.The thrust on education should be at all levels andnot just confined to lateral expansion of foundational,elementary and literacy levels alone. No productive thoughtemerged in the minds of education planners during any ofthe past 11 Five Year Plans nor the required money budgetedfor nurturing SCs in higher education. However, several ofthe policies brought in have acted against the interests ofSCs, such as privatization, commercialization of education,establishment of deemed universities, charging of capitationfees, foreign investment in education and cessation of grantsto aided institutions, aborting the expansion of governmentinstitutions, providing autonomy to vested groups inschools of excellences, etc. This has resulted in the reversalof SC representation in higher education. For example, inTamil Nadu, the percentage of SCs in engineering collegeshas slid from over 20 per cent in the 1980s to a measly 6 percent now.Caste- and gender-based discrimination are majordeterrents to Dalit children and youth accessing education.Personal stories, media highlights, studies and reports ofvarious committees have highlighted this issue. We arecurrently also aware that the traditional caste mindset amongteachers, education administrators and larger civil societyseverely impacts Dalit children’s opportunities. Whilevarious policies speak of the elimination of untouchabilityand caste-based discrimination, it continues to hold swayin educational institutions. India is also a signatory to theUnited Nations Convention against Discrimination in102

Education, one of the first UN Conventions. Thus, nondiscriminationhas to be included as an objective andmonitorable indicator at all levels of education. Indicatorsand standards for its implementation should be included inthe routine school reporting formats. Teachers at all levelsand administrators must be made aware of norms andstandards in non-discrimination and made sensitive to nondiscriminationto Dalit girls and boys.Thus, a seamless system of education from pre-school tohigher education should be the approach of planning, ratherthan piecemeal attention on primary or secondary education.The equal and equitable access to quality education at preschool,school, technical and higher education levels for allsections of society should be the focus of the plan.v. AdivasisThe Adivasi youth are faced with a loss of self-beliefand self-respect, poor implementation of plans andprogrammes, poor economic returns from traditionaltrades, loss of resources such as land, forest and water due toindustrialisation, mining and other development projects,a limited local market for forest/agro products along withlack of skills required for marketing, high dropout rates afterClass 5 due to being first-generation learners, limited localemployment/self employment opportunities along with lackof appropriate support and training, malnutrition amongchildren and adults, the ravages of diseases like malaria,tuberculosis, leprosy and diarrhoea, lack of appropriate andadequate health services, a mismatch between skills andaspirations and a lack of opportunities for learning newskills.vi. MigrantsLanguage is a significant barrier for migrant childrento access education in the destination site. The scarcity oftrained teachers, inadequate infrastructure and the lack ofa clear-cut policy to deal with children of migrant workersare the major problems. Consequently, migrant childrenfind it difficult to get admission in government schools.There is also limited or no access to crèche facilities andpre-school education in the destination site. Matters arecompounded by the lack of awareness among the parents onthe importance of children’s education.103

2. SpecificRecommendationsi. Youth1. Pre-school education must be made part of theeducation department’s responsibility.2. Suo motu disclosure of information about workplans and budgets should be done in all educationalinstitutions through boards and websites.3. Social audit should be institutionalised and youthprovided opportunities to volunteer in socialmonitoring exercises.4. Diversify the courses that are offered at high schooland college level.5. Issues related to youth from marginalised backgroundsmust form part of the BEd and other teacher trainingcurricula. Expert working groups must be constitutedto ensure that realities and concerns related to youthfrom disadvantaged backgrounds are integrated intoschool and university curricula. Such working groupsshould engage in consultative processes with youthfrom these backgrounds.6. Indicators related to inclusion and equity must beincluded in the evaluation frameworks of educationalprogrammes.7. All educational institutions must be made free ofpolice and armed forces interference.8. A consultative process should be undertaken withadolescents in order to ascertain their learning needs.These in turn should inform a curriculum frameworkfor adolescence education.9. This framework should also guide the design ofrelevant content and pedagogy for integration into theBEd and other teacher training curricula.10. These processes should also ensure that the realitiesand concerns of adolescents from disadvantagedbackgrounds are addressed.11. Integrate active citizenship and entrepreneurial skillsin school and college curricula to build the followingcompetencies in young people: a) understandingthe self: self awareness, self esteem, critical thinking,reflection, risk taking, creativity, decision-making andentrepreneurial skills; b) ability to develop effectiverelationships through respect and empathy, effectivecommunication, negotiation, conflict resolution andteam work; and c) ability to impact society throughsystems thinking, diagnosis of problems, planning,implementation and evaluation.ii. Children12. The implementation of the Right to EducationAct must be ensured. India must realise the goal ofuniversal primary and secondary education, whichwill lead to a greatly increased proportion of skilledand employable workers.13. Children at pre-school, primary and secondary levelscan be taught the need for conservation and adultsmust act as role models to positively influence them.This aspect of education should also be reflected in theteacher-training syllabi.14. All children, without any distinction, should haveaccess to formal high quality education with earlylearning opportunities below the age of three andformal education beyond the 6-14 age group.15. The total expenditure on education should be increasedto 6 per cent of GDP with 3.7 per cent of GDP forprimary education. 6 There must be an emphasis oninnovation and quality improvement.16. Increase the demand for education among marginalisedpopulations (incentives, attendance scholarships andawareness campaigns can help increase demand).17. Relevant, inclusive, appropriate and high-qualitycurricula, textbooks and learning materials inchildren’s native language should be prepared. Theseshould be comprehensive including life skills, healthand nutrition, environmental education, humanrights, moral values, unified arts education and medialiteracy.18. Address significant data deficiencies throughconsistent collection of reliable and robust data tomonitor progress across the nation and specifically formarginalised children.19. Professional development and recruitment of adequatenumber of teachers and administrators should beundertaken to meet the mandated pupil-to-teacher6 National Convention on Union Budget 2011-12 organised by People’s BudgetInitiative, New Delhi104

atio through intensive capacity building. There mustbe an emphasis on hiring of qualified, local and femaleteachers.20. Extend compulsory education beyond the 6-14 yearold age group to eventually include children from the14-18 year old age group.21. Allow for flexible school registration.22. Special plans and provisions should be made to ensurethat in conflict-affected districts, school infrastructureis secure and sufficient.23. Schools must be located close to where studentslive. Existing schools must be given support formaintenance and upgrading. Schools must be safeand inclusive. Suitable and safe transportation shouldbe provided if its absence prevents children fromattending school or otherwise inconveniences them.24. Free supply of uniforms, textbooks learning, materialsetc should be ensured.25. Objective assessments and requisite modificationsof centrally funded (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan andMidday Meal) and state schemes should be doneand convergence built with ICDS and secondaryeducation reforms.26. Engagement and support of families and localcommunities and the empowerment of PRIs andschool management committees to monitor, mentorand support quality reforms should be encouraged.Children must be allowed to participate in schoolplanning including school development plans.27. Child labour must be abolished. The Child LabourProhibition and Regulation Act must be implementedin line with the RTE Act so that children aged 6-14are not involved in any form of labour.28. Universalisation of secondary education with focus onspecial provisions for poorly resourced districts.29. Vocationalisation of education through developmentof appropriate curricula with vocational educationand training responding to market needs.30. An accreditation system should be established forvocational education.31. Private investment, including PPP in educationshould be facilitated.32. A regulatory framework is needed for all privateeducation institutions.33. Develop standards for early child care and development(ECCD), with a specific emphasis on urban slums andother children that are disadvantaged on the basis oftheir location.34. The radical change of approach in ECCD is theinclusion of “care” as an essential componentfor delivery of services through multiple models.Planning for the 0-6 age group should be done underthe Department of Women and Child Development.35. Universalise maternity entitlements to enable “care” ofchildren.36. A clear preschool policy is needed including planningfor human resources, training, status and regulation ofthe private sector.37. Planning should be done for the entire age group of0-6 years (rather than 0-3 years and 3-6 years).38. The electrification and development of a broadbandInternet connection should target rural areas andprovide services to rural children who are entitled tothe same rights and opportunities as those more easilyavailable in better-off urban contexts.iii. Adolescents39. More attention should be paid towards ensuringuniversal quality of education. There is a need todevelop peoples’ watch groups to look after thequality of education at the ground level. There is alsoa need to revise the salary structure of the teachers.More attention has to be paid on capacity buildingprogrammes for the teachers.40. Life Skills Education (LSE) should be included inthe curriculum from the pre-adolescent age grouponwards.41. Counselling sessions should be held with the parentsfor them to be able to understand the importance ofalternate careers and to get their support for LSE andsexuality education.42. The 12th Plan needs to ensure a firm commitment tosexuality education. There is a crying need amongstadolescents for information, support and counsellingin the area of sexuality and transition to adulthood.This cannot be denied. The denial, in fact, can be illafforded. There is adequate evidence supporting sucha case.43. Sexual harassment committees should be set up ineducational institutions.105

iv. Dalits44. High-quality hostel accommodation should beprovided for secondary and above classes under strictmonitoring by a Dalit committee.45. Dalit students should not be made to pay fees upfrontand instead the fees should be adjusted againstthe scholarship released by the government to theinstitution.46. Opportunity to study in private education institutionsof choice including the opportunity to live in hostelsshould be provided to Dalits and the costs borne bythe state.47. Entrance examination for higher education andcentres of excellence should be removed and thehigher secondary marks should be the basis for alladmissions.48. Education abroad should be promoted and supportedand made fully free for Dalit students that qualify andgain such admissions.49. Provide quality support to Dalits for all competitiveexaminations.50. Reservation for Dalits in private educationalinstitutions must be made mandatory.51. The Planning Commission should undertake amassive public education campaign against castebaseddiscrimination and promote understandingamong all social groups regarding the rationale andjustification for special measures for Dalit students.52. Human rights education should be part of the schoolcurriculum.53. Grievance redressal mechanisms against caste-baseddiscrimination should be set up at the school anddistrict levels.54. Dalit community members should be part of themonitoring body in schools.55. Sensitisation of teachers and administrators to theDalits should be included under the teacher trainingcurricula.56. The implementation of RTE should be stressed in the12th Plan, taking it beyond secondary school to thehigher secondary school level. Quality education tothe level of Kendriya Vidyalaya standards should beensured in all government schools. The informationand communication technology (ICT) educationcomponent to be strengthened and made accessible toDalit students.57. The current practice of notional allocation andexpenditure of SCP should be changed. The SCPshould not become part of the common pool foreducation expenditure. It should be maintained asa separate fund available for additional support toenhance the capacity and human resources of Dalitstudents. This money should be tracked separately.In addition to providing direct support to students,the SCP should also be made available to Dalit peoplewho would like to start schools and colleges underthe public-private-community-partnership (PPCP)model. The Ministry of Huma Resource Developmentshould elect a minister to monitor the SCP budget.58. Dalit children and youth are entitled to variousprovisions of the state such as scholarships at thepre- and post- secondary levels, residential hostels,free textbooks, additional tutoring, etc. However,the implementation is inadequate and depressing.The Plan should review these provisions in terms ofuniversal reach, price parity, timeliness, quality ofprovision, sensitivity to the dignity of the students etc.59. Even within Dalit communities, some communities orsections face additional discrimination and challengesowing to their occupation or other traditional practices.Children from manual scavenging communities,children of devdasi women and children who arebonded labour fall in this category. In addition, thereare communities that are specifically disadvantagedin a state or local context. The 12th Plan shouldcreate mechanisms within the education system tospecially track them and provide additional measuresto promote equitable opportunities and benefits forthem in education. This should be in the form ofneed-based incentives and additional provisions.60. Dalits are perceived as beneficiaries of the educationsystem rather than as partners. While this is trueoverall, there are examples of Dalits providingeducation at the school and higher education levels instates like Uttar Pradesh and a few other places. Dalitequity should be promoted through the PPCP modelby facilitating them to become providers of education,which would create models of non-discrimination,inclusion and equity.61. The additional barriers at the intersection of the castegenderexclusion on Dalit girl children and youngwomen needs to be recognised and special attention106

paid to ensure that they are able to equitably accesseducation and employment provisions. The modelin Andhra Pradesh, where a quota within the overallquota has been provided to girls and women, can bethought of in this area.62. The lack of implementation has been a major handicapto Dalit education and development. A monitoringmechanism at the highest level under the Ministry ofHuman Resource Development should be set up toperiodically review and monitor the implementationof schemes and provisions. The Dalit communityshould be engaged in all monitoring mechanismsfrom the community to the state and national levels.As there are various hurdles in representing the realissues, special opportunities and platforms to discussthe constraints must be built into the monitoringmechanisms at the highest levels. A Dalit status reportof education and human resource development shouldbe published on an annual basis by the ministry atthe state and national levels to facilitate correctivemeasures.63. The 12th Plan should put special emphasis on earlychild hood care and development which is currentlybeing undertaken through the ICDS.64. Laptops could be provided to rural SC childrenin elementary schools (in contrast to the supplyof television, cycle, gas and stoves). Urban tours,contests in creative art, sports events, and televisionappearances should be organised for them.v. Women65. Promote universal education and desist from furtherprivatisation of education.66. Saakshar Bharat Programme implementation shouldbe speeded up in the 12th Plan.67. Interstate migrant labour children should beaccompanied by two teachers conversant in theirmother tongue to impart them education for sixmonths.68. Expansion of secondary education with vocationalalternatives.69. Skill training through PRIs.70. There should be gender education at the school level.71. Admissions in private schools and hostel facilitiesshould be provided to HIV/AIDS affected children.72. Education to mentally retarded people should begiven priority.73. Women should be considered as workers and haveaccess to care for their children irrespective of theirearning status.74. Crèche services should be arranged for unorganisedworkers, women with HIV/AIDS, women in sex workand migrant labourers.75. Universal maternity entitlements at prevailingminimum wages and other benefits should be providedto unorganised sector workers.76. The number of children should not to be a criterionto exclude remote unserved areas from getting ICDScentres.vi. Adivasis77. The infrastructure and services available for educationshould be improved with more and better qualityteachers and learning materials.78. Review the content of education given so as to includeAdivasi history and culture (to restore dignity andbelief) as well as provide opportunities for developingvocational skills linked to the usage of locally availableresources.79. A special Adivasi youth policy should be formulated aspart of a national youth policy.80. Organise events that allow learning about Adivasihistory and its heroes, traditional practices and arts,etc.81. Provide opportunities for the preservation oftraditional and experience based knowledge alongwith recognition of this knowledge so that the youngare motivated in learning it.82. The Ekal Vidyalaya (school with only one teacher)should be enhanced by deputing more teachers andextending the educational services to areas whereprimitive Adivasi groups live.vii. Migrants83. Special programmes like bridge and transit schools forchildren of migrant workers should be started.84. Education in their own mother tongue for children ofmigrants should be ensured.107

85. Recruit trained teachers and develop the modalitiesfor teaching children of migrant workers with the helpof the National Centre for Educational Research andTraining and state centres.86. Explore the possibility of setting up residential schoolsfor children of migrant workers at source.87. Mass awareness programmes should be conductedamong parents/migrant workers on the importance ofeducation.88. Set up a facilitation centre for children’s educationneeds at the destination areas.89. Provide vocational training for migrants through theDepartment of Labour, Employment and Training.90. Increase awareness on modular employable skillsamong the migrants.91. Develop appropriate trainings and accreditation formigrant workers.viii. North East92. Ensure the right to quality education instead of theright to education, especially in rural areas.93. Vocational courses should be made relevant to thelocal context.94. Life skills should also be incorporated at the secondarylevel.95. Gender studies as a separate discipline should beintroduced at the graduate and post-graduate levels.96. Hostels should be provided for rural school childrenwho attend bridge courses in urban areas. This isnecessary to sustain the students through these coursesand also ensure their safety in towns.97. A course on the North East should be included in thenational educational curriculum both at the schoolas well as the university levels. This will enhance theknowledge of students who, currently, have poorknowledge of the region and its diversity.98. Knowledge books should be made available invernacular languages for young people in states in theNorth East.ix. Elderly99. An institute should be set up to research into diseasesand conditions of the ageing.100. The school curriculum to include value educationconcerning aging-related issues.101. Establish a national institute of gerontology.102. Promotion of research and training in gerontologyand geriatrics.x. Muslims103. The setting up of an independent/autonomousgovernment agency for educational empowerment forMuslims.104. Location of schools/banks/colleges/universities is animportant factor in access to them; therefore, enoughsuch institutions should be set up where Muslims canaccess them.105. Diploma courses in technical education should bemade available in Muslim-populated areas so thatgirls can be educated because the parents of poor girlchildren are not in a position to send them far foreducation.106. Production of caste certificate should not berequired for receiving scholarships in schools becausescholarships are given to minorities, not to anyparticular caste. The student’s and parents’ namesshow that the child belongs to a minority.107. The information about the different schemes forminorities should not only be published in theHindi and Urdu newspapers but also be given to thedifferent organisations working for the minorities.The information will thus be disseminated to a largermass.108. Exclusive schools for girls, particularly for Standards9-12, should be started as this would facilitate higherparticipation of Muslim girls in school education.109. More women teachers should be appointed in coeducationschools.110. Skill development opportunities should be providedthrough Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) andpolytechnics in sectors that have high growth potentialand in which the Muslim population is concentrated.111. Establish vocational schools and ITIs in talukas havingsubstantial populations of Muslims.112. The University Grants Commission (UGC) shouldevolve a system whereby a part of the fund allocationto colleges and universities is linked to the strength ofMuslim students in the student population.108

113. Create hostel facilities at reasonable costs for Muslimstudents especially for girls in cities of all sizes toensure that girls would continue their education(beyond secondary/college education) as they wouldnot have to commute on a daily basis from their placeof residence.114. Accommodate Urdu in schools of the Hindi regionunder the Three Language Formula and provide aregular Urdu teacher.115. Introduce Urdu as an optional subject in allgovernment and government-aided schools in stateshaving a substantial Urdu-speaking population.116. Facilitate the establishment of professional collegesand private universities by the Muslims under Article30 of the Constitution.117. Full-fledged campuses of Aligarh Muslim Universityand Jamia Millia Islamia should be started in Muslimmajoritydistricts of the country.118. Provision of subsidised education specifically forMuslim men and women should be ensured in the12th Five Year Plan in the areas of concern India-wide.119. Employment assistance should be provided toeducated Muslim men and women who are in need ofemployment and have the requisite qualifications butdo not have proper directions.120. Planning should ensure that the Muslim literacy ratebecomes equal to the national average.121. One school should be opened per every 5000population in Muslim-dominated areas.122. Ensure more incentives to Muslim girl students.123. The common school system should be implemented.124. Madrasas should be given the status of basic schools.125. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan should be modifiedaccording to regional and community needs.126. The widespread perception of discrimination amongthe Muslim community needs to be addressed.Denying the existence of discrimination and prejudiceagainst the community and continuing their presentsocial and economic exclusion will not only worsenthe condition of the community but will also threatenthe emergence of a composite and cohesive Indiansociety with all its natural diversity. An awarenesscampaign to sensitise the non-Muslims to this issueshould be started.xi. People with Disbalities127. Education for all children with disability (CWD)should be provided and the schematic and projectmethod to be discarded.128. Education of ALL children should be the onus ofthe Ministry of Human Resources Development(MoHRD).129. All levels of teacher training courses should havediversity as a generic component (in all subjectslike child development, child psychology, learningpedagogy, teaching learning methodology anduniversal curriculum). These courses should be takenwithin a given time frame by all existing faculty at alllevels and this project should be owned, implementedand monitored by the MoHRD.130. There should be special schools to progressively movetowards inclusive strategies.131. Disability rights should be included in the curriculum.132. A national institute for universal design should beset up as an autonomous body for making the builtenvironment and transportation PWD-friendly.Research should be conducted on assistive technologyfor all products to be used by all. Sign language andvernacular languages should be further developed.133. Minimum national standards for PWD friendlydesignshould be set down and five districts developedas models of universal design.109

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12BetterPreventiveand CurativeHealthcareINPUTS FOR THIS CHALLENGE HAVECOME FROM THE DISCUSSION GROUPS ONCHILDREN, YOUTH, DALITS, ADOLESCENTS,TRANSGENDERS, THE NORTH EAST, ADIVASIS,THE ELDERLY, MUSLIMS, PLHIV, PEOPLE WITHDISABILITY, WOMEN AND MIGRANTS111

Better Preventive and Curative HealthcareSection ContentsContext 113Dalits 113Children 113Adolescents 114Youth 114Migrants 114PLHIV 114Specific Recommendations 116Dalits 116Women 116Children 117Adolscents 118Youth 119Adivasis 119Transgenders 119Migrants 120North East 120Elderly 121Muslims 121PLHIV 122People with Disability 122112

1. Contexti. DalitsPublic spending on health continues to be abysmallylow, at about 1 per cent of the GDP, despite the UnitedProgressive Alliance government’s commitment in itsNational Common Minimum Programme to raise it to 2-3per cent of the GDP. Health expenditure has not increasedduring the 11th Plan period. 7 Data from the NationalFamily Health Survey-III (2005-06) clearly highlightsthe caste differential in health, which includes reducedaccess to maternal and child healthcare, stunting, wasting,underweight and anaemia in children and adults. Similarly,neonatal, post-natal, infant, child and under-five statisticsclearly show a higher mortality among the SCs and STs.Problems in accessing health care are higher among SCs andthis situation is not very different from 1998-99. Studies aswell as anecdotal stories further reveal that there is extensivediscrimination and exclusion against SC communitieswhen they access health services. This is experienced in thehospital premises, during treatment, during nursing careand provisioning of health aids, etc.Studies reveal that health expenditure is the secondbiggest cause for rural indebtedness. This applies particularlyto the SC/ST and Muslim communities, the poorest.7 http://www.cbgaindia.org/fi les/budget_responses/How%20did%20the%20UPA%20spend%20our%20money.pdfAdditionally, due to their unhealthy living conditions, theirprobability of contracting communicable diseases is higher.While the National Rural Health Mission seeks to ensureprovisioning of public health infrastructure and servicesparticularly in rural areas, it needs to build in adequatestrategies to include SC/STs and Muslims. There continuesto be a shortage of medical professionals, infrastructure andmedical facilities in rural areas. This has specific implicationsfor marginalised communities, as they have to go toinformal practitioners as they cannot afford the services of aprofessional private practitioner.It is also a proven fact that malnourishment inchildren and mothers can be addressed through the qualityprovisioning of local food at ICDS centres. Studies haveshown that ICDS centres are used mostly by children frommarginalised communities. However there continues to bethe challenge of poor implementation, insensitivity to issuesof communities from deprived sections and a lack of focuson the urban poor in the ICDS system.ii. ChildrenIndia currently has the highest number of child andmaternal deaths of any country in the world and a highincidence of malnutrition and certain diseases like HIV, TBand malaria. Every newborn child and mother has a rightto life and for this to be realised, the Government of Indianeeds to radically reform the health system. There has to be113

universal access to public health in both rural and urbansettings. To ensure the newborn and child’s right to survival,the Indian health system needs immediate overhauling.Its infrastructure has to be strengthened and the focusmust shift from curative to preventative care. Investing innewborn and child health would ensure the human capitalfor India’s continuing growth story. Only 1 per cent ofGDP is currently being spent on public health despiteprevious commitments of increasing it to 3 per cent by2012. To develop a universal public health system whichfocuses on prevention and ensures the universal right tohealth, holistic legislation and a convergent policy backedup by large scale investment is urgently required. Drinkingwater should be seen as a Fundamental Right. Every personshould have access to clean drinking water. The lack ofdrinking water can cause extreme harm to children and bea cause for various diseases. With 400,000 children dyingof diarrhoea every year, action is needed immediately tostop these preventable deaths. Improving water resourcesand providing all children with clean water in a timeboundperiod of two years would require an infrastructureproject on the scale of our road building project. Waterand sanitation should be considered a human right andthis should be reflected in comprehensive legislation atthe national and state levels. Children’s right to food andnutrition is not secure. The challenge of malnutrition is wellknown. Indeed, the Prime Minister declared it a “nationalshame”. The National Nutrition Mission and Council existand the National Plan of Action has to be monitored by thePrime Minister’s Office. However, this has not resulted in avisible impact on children’s hunger.iii. AdolescentsDrug abuse is on the rise among adolescents. Yet, there isno mention of it in plans for services for adolescents. A largenumber of girls below 18 is sexually abused. Sexual abusehas huge impacts on children’s mental and emotional stateas they grow. A significant proportion of mental illnessesstarts during adolescence but mental health does notreceive adequate attention from the public health system.Poor infrastructure, the negligence of service providers andinadequate supplies dog the public health system. There is alack of effort in promoting health-seeking behaviour amongstadolescents. Adolescents’ access to reproductive and sexualhealth information, services and materials is compromised,especially in the case of out-of-school adolescents.iv. YouthThe public health system is not suited to the health needsof diverse groups. Its inadequacies force people to accesshigh-cost private health services. There has been insufficientpublic investment in building health systems, infrastructureand capacities. There is a lack of awareness about the healthneeds of disabled youth, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,queer and intersex (LGBTQI) youth and young people livingwith HIV-AIDS (YPLHA). The problem of malnutritionamongst young women has reached serious proportions.Early marriages are still prevalent in large numbers givingrise to specific health problems which too are not beingaddressed. There is considerable violence within and outsidemarital relationships leading to health problems which tooare not being addressed.v. MigrantsIncreased incidence of HIV/AIDS/STDs/RTIs amongspouses both at source and destination is a major problem formigrant populations. Vulnerability of mental health arisingfrom stress is another area of concern. Malnutrition amongthe children of migrant labour and lack of access to healthcarefacilities for adults and children combined with low levelsof awareness among migrant workers regarding existinghealth services compounds matters. There are also languageand cultural barriers and the question of affordability. Themigrant’s health is affected by lack of shelter, sanitation andwater supply and exposure to occupational hazards. Thereis no provision for periodic medical check-ups, medicalbenefits, sick leave etc by employers or contractors.vi. PLHIVThe HIV epidemic in India has caused irreplaceableloss to human life and capital in the country since the mid-1980s. The latest evidence suggests significant success of thecombined efforts of the Indian Government, civil societyand United Nations and bilateral agencies in curtailingthe epidemic under the much celebrated National AIDSControl Programme, currently in its third phase. Thepersistence and selfless contribution of people living withHIV (PLHIV) deserves special mention and applause. ThePLHIV community in India has come together, synergisedthe work of all stakeholders and successfully influencednational and international policies. The issues of HIV-114

infected and -affected adults and children, families, sexualminorities and diverse groups have been brought into focusand appropriately addressed. The HIV epidemic has evolvedwith new dimensions and facets added every year. We havelearnt and built on our experiences with this evolution. Oneclear strategy that has emerged is the need for multisectoralresponses with the core guiding principles of inclusionand participation, human rights, comprehensiveness,convergence, accountability and a strong gender focus. ThePLHIV community will play a central and important rolegoing forward.115

2. SpecificRecommendationsi. Dalits1. The Union and State Budgets need to be augmentedsubstantially to fully realise health outcomes. For thisthe health sector must be provided not less than 6 percent of GDP. The NRHM budget should be increased.2. Dalits should have the right to access quality-freehealthcare in private institutions based on choice, thecost for which should be borne by the government.Access to Dalits should be given in all private hospitalsacross the country and free health insurance providedto all Dalits. The criterion of income should beremoved while providing health services for Dalits.3. Support should be provided to Dalit doctors/professionals to set up private hospitals and medicalcolleges.4. A separate policy of inclusion enumerating specificstrategies targeted to realising health rights of SC/STs, Muslims and migrant workers must be drawnup under the NRHM. While considerable attemptshave already been made on factoring in socialexclusion in the Mission’s work, such as communitybasedmonitoring, there is a need to locate strategieswhich will universalise this, ensuring that servicesare available to every Dalit person. Sex, caste andseasonal disaggregation and hunger mapping mustbe conducted to be able to provide for communitieswhich face different levels of vulnerability.5. A larger number of SCs should be given specialsupport in pursuing medical education and goingoverseas to enhance their skills. Reservation in medicalinstitutions has been defined in the narrowest wayswhere SC/ST candidates are given admission onlyunder the SC/ST category even if they qualify underthe general category. This has to be taken note of andan advice must be issued to medical institutions inthis regard. The reservation for SC/ST students is foradditional support and not to curtail the commonspace.6. It is crucial to bring Dai practitioners (traditionalbirth attendants) within the health policy fold soas to address a lot of gaps in child survival andmaternal mortality at the local levels. Thus, separatepolicies should be drawn up for the recognition andenhancement of indigenous medical practices.7. Adequate provisioning of rural infrastructure fordisabled populations, early detection and therapyclinics, and research and training is needed.8. Greater participation from Dalit communities inplanning, monitoring and implementation of ICDSand mid-day meal schemes should be encouraged.Care should be taken that a hamlet-level strategyin provisioning of ICDS for SC communities isput in place. Further care should also be taken thatthere is a fair representation of SC communities andcommunities living in remote areas among workers inthe ICDS system.9. Kitchen gardening, collective farms, and grainbanks (in kind) can help to bring in sustained foodsecurity to combat malnutrition. It could also goa long way in supporting communities to tide overfood insecurity. Besides being an indicator of poorhealth, malnourishment also indicates indebtedness,loss of land, displacement, unemployment, poorwork conditions and social discrimination. So, it isimportant to find complementary strategies besidesjust food schemes.10. The committees formed under the NRHM haverepresentation from Dalit and Adivasi communitiesbut in effect they remain invisible and nonparticipatorydue to various reasons. There is need toensure full and meaningful participation of sociallyexcluded communities in these committees to includetheir concerns and healthcare needs at the district andstate levels.ii. Women11. Entitlements should not be linked to domicile. Thereshould be no conditionality for access to healthservices.12. The public healthcare system should be strengthenedto check privatisation of healthcare.13. Family planning policies should shift the focus fromwomen to men to promote parental responsibility.14. Free and subsidised medication should be providedfor HIV-infected and physically challenged terminallyill persons.116

15. Women’s healthcare should be seen in a holisticmanner rather than only their reproductive healthfocussed on. Special attention should be given totreating anaemia resulting from malnutrition, undernutrition,early motherhood etc.16. Mental healthcare for women should be providedat district and sub-district level hospitals as part ofcomprehensive health care.17. Toilets for both girls and boys in adequate numberswith proper water and sanitation facilities should beprovided in every school. This is essential to preventgirls from dropping out.18. There should be provision of more safe and functionaltoilet facilities in public spaces for women.19. De-addiction centres should be set up in one of everyfour panchayats.20. Special infrastructure facilities should be provided forphysically challenged people.21. The PDS needs to be strengthened further beyondfocusing on providing essential food items to the BPLfamilies – it should also have reasonably priced foodfor other groups.iii. Children22. The National Rural Health Mission’s linkage tonutrition is unclear. No ministry is focally responsiblefor nutrition of all children. The Integrated ChildDevelopment Scheme (ICDS) and the Mid DayMeal scheme are not enough, as they leave out manychildren. Further plans need to be developed withhigh-level buy-in from political leaders to eradicatemalnutrition.23. The poverty-hunger-malnutrition-death nexus needsto be addressed and overcome. The figures of nutritionprogrammes focus on coverage but do not give thestatus of children.24. The present staffing of ICDS is inadequate foroutreach services. Accountability frameworks needto be developed that reward good practice andattendance of staff and highlights mass absenteeismthat puts children’s lives and health rights at risk.25. Huge investment in the public health system isnecessary to universalise it. The allocation to thechildren’s health budget needs to be increased to meetthe needs of the currently unreached 41 per cent of thecountry’s total population of children. The state needsto clearly indicate health and nutrition as political andprogrammatic priorities at all levels (national, state,district and block) with a commensurate budgetaryallocation of at least 5 per cent of GDP for theseessential interventions to catalyse a dramatic changein the country’s health status.26. Establish more meaningful targets, especially relatedto maternal, newborn and child (MNC) healthoutcomes, and move the monitoring and evaluationfocus to outcomes rather than process measures.27. Decentralise and democratise information byincreasing local involvement in planning, monitoringand supporting behaviour change efforts, such asthrough Village Health and Nutrition Days in PRIs.The gram sabhas and the female workers (ANMsand ASHAs) role should be augmented in holdinggovernment programmes accountable for providingmandated services.28. Formulation of a comprehensive legislation whichcovers the universal right to health instead of standaloneschemes and programmes. An evidence-basedcomprehensive newborn and child survival policyand operational package would ensure that criticalprogrammes and missions collaborate, especiallylinking health, education, nutrition, environmentalsanitation, hygiene, safe drinking water, food securityand food safety.29. Ensure that appropriate regulatory frameworks andsafeguards are set up to ensure that public privatepartnerships support public facilities and make themmore efficient. Creating such ‘institutional safeguards’would prevent any conflict of interests and alsocontrol the entry of commercial foods and productsinto government programmes.30. Standardise a specific set of rules and instructions forproviding quality healthcare (for health practitionersto follow) particularly for marginalised children(especially those living in underserved areas, found inboth rural and urban settings). This would ensure thatmarket parities are maintained and undue monopoliesare not encouraged, thus making private healthcaremore affordable, given the reality of out-of-pocketexpenditure on health.31. Make ‘good governance’ an explicit objective at alllevels (national, state, district, block and local). Selectand replicate successful model efforts to improvegovernance. Set efficiency/good governance targets117

and measure and publicly share progress towards goodgovernance targets (link outlays to outcomes).32. Specific plans should be made to ensure that childrenin conflict areas and from marginalised groups likeDalits, Adivasis and street children can access theirrights to health.33. A strategic shift to a universal preventive publichealthcare system rather than one that focusesprimarily on curative health care is required.34. Universal nutrition and food security at the householdand individual level are minimum requirements thatthe state needs to fulfil.35. Place special focus on addressing equity and genderissues and improving girls’ and women’s health andnutritional status.36. Create stronger coordination and accountabilitymechanisms at all levels to ensure that existinggovernment missions and programmes focus onhealth and nutrition and collaborate with each otherto achieve specific outcomes through district andblock convergence forums and monthly coordinationmeetings at all levels.37. Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) isthe prerogative of every child. All sets of services forchildren should be planned in such a way that thisright is fulfilled.38. The importance of the 0-2 age group rests on the factthat over 90 percent of a child’s development occursin this period (some experts maintain that it is 95per cent). At the later stages of childhood, a coupleof growth spurts occur but they are only marginallyincremental. There is a need to strategise optimal waysof enhancing the nutritional and health status of thisage group. Investing in newborn and child health andeducation will pay back huge dividends for India byensuring economic and social growth.39. The key to preventing child malnutrition lies inimproving three indicators – low birth weight, poornutritional status (even in the first few months oflife) and prevalence of underweight children undertwo years old. Thus, all emphasis must be laid onimproving these indicators.40. Information and services promoting healthy spacingand timing of births should be made available.41. Essential newborn care through “newborn corners” atall primary health care centres and “special newborncare units” at community health centres must beprovided.42. Timely initiation of breastfeeding and exclusivebreastfeeding during the first six months of life andno other foods or fluids, not even water, should beensured.43. Timely introduction of complementary foods atsix months, while breastfeeding continues until24 months and beyond should be ensured. Ageappropriate complementary feeding, adequate interms of quality, quantity and frequency for childrenof 6-24 months should be ensured.44. Safe handling of complementary foods and hygieniccomplementary feeding practices, including washingcaregivers’ and children’s hands, using clean utensilsand avoiding feeding bottles must be ensured.45. Bi-annual vitamin A supplementation with deworming,routine immunization in the first yearand bi-annual vitamin A supplementation and dewormingtwice yearly during the first five years of life(6-59 months) must be ensured.46. Frequent, appropriate and active feeding for childrenduring and after illness, including oral rehydrationwith zinc supplementation during diarrhoea must beensured.47. Timely and quality therapeutic feeding and care forall children with severe acute malnutrition, preferablybefore the development of medical complications,must be ensured.iv. Adolescents48. The design of strategies for services for adolescentsshould be rooted in available empirical evidence.There are tested pilots in the country that should beacknowledged and taken to scale. Untested innovativeideas with potential should be put through a pilotphase and then scaled up. It is also important, in theinterest of evidence-based planning, that a simplisticapproach to successful pilots be resisted. They mustnot be seen as ‘stories’ that need to be replicated but asa set of successful strategies and approaches that needto be identified based on critical analysis and study ofthe pilot.49. Secondly, evidence-based planning implies thatevidence should be gathered on ongoing programmes118

to ensure the desired results are being achieved andmid-course corrections should be undertaken as andwhen necessary. Civil society could be useful partnersin this.50. The 12th Plan should make a commitment toparticipatory approach and ensure inclusion ofadolescents in planning processes.51. The importance of participatory planning isadequately brought out in the way adolescent-friendlyhealth services were implemented in response to thecommitments made under the previous Plan. Besidesother reasons, inadequate participation and inclusionof adolescents in designing adolescent-friendly servicesis also perhaps an important reason for non-utilisationof these services where they have been offered, thoughsparingly so.52. The Government of India developed a set ofoperational guidelines for managers of service deliveryunits to implement adolescent-friendly health services.While it was a strong step with enormous potential,it did not yield the desired result. There should bea commitment under the 12th Plan to study theguidelines to understand the constraints or difficultiesof service providers and/or managers in using theseand address such difficulties.53. To ensure adolescents’ effective participation indesigning plans/programmes/solutions, an interfaceshould be set up with adolescents through civil societyorganizations. Given that adolescents constitute aheterogeneous group, the interface should take intoaccount the heterogeneity and diversity of the group.Such an interface can then serve as a mechanism forcapacity building in planning and programming.54. The 12th Plan needs to allocate resources for demandgeneration activities in tandem with service delivery.55. Programmes are required for promoting healthseekingbehaviour amongst adolescents and theirparents and other key influencers at the communitylevel. This would ensure optimal utilisation of healthservices provided to adolescents.56. The 12th Plan needs to commit to comprehensiverather than fragmented adolescent-friendly healthservices. These need to address, amongst other issues,substance abuse prevention counselling and supportservices, child sexual abuse prevention and supportservices and mental health services for adolescentsintegrated into an adolescent-friendly health service.v. Youth57. The principles of choice and competition embeddedin the Rashtriya Swastha Bima Yojana (RSBY) shouldbe extended to other health schemes whereby the poorget cashless service at a hospital of their choice (publicor private) based on subsidised premia.58. The health infrastructure should also enableconfidentiality and privacy.59. Further expand the choice for the rural and urbanpoor to attend private hospitals by making mandatoryfree services for better treatment. The tax revenueshould follow the patients and should not end upbeing an excuse for the employment of governmenthealth workers.60. Train all health functionaries to cater to adolescentsand young people, sex workers, disabilities, peopleliving with HIV and LGBTQI. The training shouldinclude technical knowledge which should coverinformation and skills (confidential, sensitive, nonjudgmental,value-based, client-oriented, serviceoriented,non-corrupt and rights-based).61. Schemes like Chiranjeevi in Gujarat which leveragethe private sector to provide maternity vouchers in acost-effective manner and use competition to push upservice quality should be encouraged in other statesand at the national level.62. Promoting non-violence as a preventive measure andproviding counselling and rehabilitation to victims.63. Provide exclusive health and safety stations for womenin every district.vi. Adivasis64. Traditional medical workers (like Dais in villages)must be registered, recognised and provided withsupport for further developing their skills.65. Traditional healers and their knowledge of herbalmedicines should be promoted and conserved.66. The health services should include traditional healingpractices and practitioners.vii. Transgenders67. Address the gaps in the National AIDS ControlProgramme Phase 3 (NACP-III) by establishing119

and increasing the HIV sentinel sero-surveillancesites for hijras/transgenders at strategic locations.Conduct operations research to design and fine tunea culturally relevant package of HIV prevention andcare interventions for hijras/transgenders 8 . Providefinancial support for the formation of communitybasedorganisations run by hijras/transgenders.Build the capacity of CBOs to implement effectiveprogrammes.68. According to the two main diagnostic systems usedin the Indian medical establishment, transsexualismis defined as a “gender identity disorder”. The doctorsusually prescribe sexual reassignment surgery (SRS),which currently resorts to hormone therapy andsurgical reconstruction and may include electrolysis,speech therapy and counselling. Surgical constructioncould include the removal of male sex organs andthe construction of female ones. Since governmenthospitals and qualified private practitioners do notusually perform SRS, many hijras go to quacks,thus placing themselves at serious risk. Neither theIndian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) northe Medical Council of India (MCI) has formulatedany guidelines to be followed in SRS. Presently, evencastration is a criminal offence under the Indian PenalCode. The Planning Commission may direct theMinistry of Health through the MCI and ICMR toclarify the ambiguous legal status of SRS and providefree gender transition and SRS services (with properpre- and post-operation/transition counselling) inpublic hospitals in various parts of India. Tamil Naduis the only state where these surgeries are being donefree of cost since 2008 in government hospitals. Basedon this experience, the ICMR/MCI could requestthe World Health Organization and allied healthorganisations to develop standard medical proceduresfor SRS.69. Sensitise and educate healthcare providers onthe current state of research in and knowledge oftransgenders and the need to take an adequate sexualhistory. These efforts should start in medical school butmust also be a part of continuing medical education.70. Sensitise and educate healthcare providers to8 Recently, UNDP-India has commissioned the preparation of Hijras/TGspecifictargeted HIV intervention guidelines. These guidelines are beingdeveloped to be culturally specific to various intervention settings. UNDP withDFID intends to develop guidelines based on this model for the national AIDScontrol programme(NACP)recognise the physical and psychological needs of theirtransgender patients.71. Encourage physicians, medical schools, hospitals, andclinics to broaden any non-discriminatory statementmade to patients, healthcare workers, or employees toinclude “sexual orientation, sex, or gender identity”.viii. Migrants72. Establish adequate crèche/baby care centre/ICDSfacilities at worksite/place of stay.73. Increase awareness of healthcare facilities for migrantsregarding health issues and existing schemes byinvolving NGOs, CSOs, migrant worker unions etc.74. Increase proximity of healthcare facility/PHCs/PHUsto migrants.75. State Welfare Boards for migrant workers withrepresentative units in the District Panchayats in ruralareas and Urban Local Bodies in urban areas shouldalso help workers address healthcare needs.76. Facilitate the inclusion of migrant workers in existingsocial schemes such as the RSBY. In districts wheresuch schemes do not exist, formulate and implementschemes on the lines of the Employees State Insurancescheme for migrant workers.77. Evaluate and scale up pilot programmes such as SocialSecurity Benefits for Unorganised Workers (SSBK)being implemented in Karnataka.78. Inclusion of the issues of migrants’ health in medicalcurricula to orient health workers on migrant-specificissues.79. Better follow-up and monitoring of the Pravasi BimaYojana to ensure benefits reach the emigrants workingabroad.80. Abolition of mandatory testing for emigrants as itviolates the fundamental rights of the emigrant.ix. North East81. The healthcare system must respond to the needs ofthose affected by conflict in the North East, especiallythe provision of trauma counselling for women andchildren. This includes a large segment of childrenworking in the coal mines of some North East states.Provision of accessible, affordable and quality healthservices should be ensured.120

82. The population policy of the government shouldbe reformulated and made to conform to therecommendations of the International Conferenceon Population and Development (ICPD). Especiallyto counter the persistently high infant mortality andmaternal mortality rates, a gender-sensitive approachcutting across all projects/programmes and schemesmust be adopted.83. Community monitoring of NRHM and healthfacilities to be extended to all the districts as theclaims of state reports showing high success of theprogramme may be exaggerated, especially in Assam.84. There is a high incidence of parent-to-childtransmission of HIV in the North East. Prevention ofparent-to-child transmission (PPTCT) centres shouldbe expanded in the North East along with appropriateinformation dissemination on the issue. Preventivemedicine for children should be made available topregnant HIV-positive women.85. Women living with HIV find it extremely difficultto secure bank loans. Financial assistance for HIVpositiveSHG members must be provided by thegovernment so that they will have the means forimproving their economic conditions and becomeproductive members of the community;86. Orphaned children living with HIV/AIDS needspecial attention due to the prevailing stigma aroundHIV/AIDS. The government must ensure their safetyand provide them with food, nutrition, medicines andshelter.87. To address working HIV-infected and -affectedwomen’s concerns regarding their children, thegovernment should set up day care centres for theirchildren.88. Recognise the growing incidence of mental illnessand the lack of facilities and services for the mentallyill and focus on the entire North East, where suchservices and infrastructure are very poor.89. All ICDS projects have to be strictly monitored as itsaccountability in the North East is dismal. This hasresulted in lack of motivation amongst the workforceon the one hand and high scale of malnutritionamongst the children, especially in areas that areremote.x. Elderly90. Frame senior citizen-friendly health insuranceschemes with separate focus on BPL and APL families.The Arogyasri Model from Andhra Pradesh can bereplicated.91. The recommendations of the Sastri CommitteeReport of the Insurance Regulatory and DevelopmentAuthority of India, which is with the Ministry ofFinance, should be implemented.92. Geriatric wards and geriatric outpatient departmentsshould be established in all major hospitals located attaluka and district levels.93. Strengthening public health centres by providingmore staff, adequate medicines and infrastructuralfacilities to treat old persons.94. Extend the Mid Day Meal scheme to providenutritional support to the elderly through day carecentres.95. Promotion of a mental health programme for theelderly.96. Free distribution of technology and assistive devices tothe elderly should be ensured.97. Inclusion of elderly health issues in ongoingprogrammes of the National Rural Health Mission(NRHM) and National Urban Health Mission(NUHM) and the creation of an age-friendly publichealth system.98. Training in geriatrics should be provided to doctors,nurses, para-medical staff and care givers.xi. Muslims99. Provision of health facilities like public hospitals,PHCs and clinics in designated Muslim areas.100. Diploma holders in Unani and Ayurvedic medicineshould be given recognition in the second schedule ofthe Central Council of Indian Medicine Act of 1970.101. Reservation should be given to Muslim students ingetting seats in state and Central medical colleges.102. The Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) indifferent village areas should include Muslim womenappointed by the Chief District Medical Officer.103. Under the Rajiv Gandhi Swasthya Bima Yojana,proper representation should be given to Muslims.121

104. Two Muslim members should be nominated by theChief District Medical Officer in Jilaa Swasthya Sewa.105. The financial allocation to meet the budget by thegovernment should be done in consultation withMuslim civil society.xii. PLHIV106. A healthy and balanced focus on HIV prevention,care, support and treatment for the National AIDSControl Plan.107. Encourage and apply innovative approaches to currentprogrammes not limited to HIV, that will inform andmobilize communities to access entitlements andservices108. Development and implementation of focusedprogrammes for HIV-affected and infected womenand children.109. Protect the right to health of PLHIV by ensuringcontinuous availability of treatment – bothantiretroviral therapy and treatment for opportunisticinfections. Future needs and advances in effectivetherapy, i.e. Hepatitis C medication, 2nd line and 3rdline therapy for adults and children and oral substitutetherapy (OST) should also be made universallyavailable and accessible in the country. To improveaccess and adherence, one-stop HIV health servicesshould be provided for PLHIV.110. The PLHIV community is concerned about the threatto universal access and sustainability of treatment withregards to India’s stand on Trade Related IntellectualProperty Rights (TRIPS) under the World TradeOrganisation negotiations. The Government of Indiashould make sure that public health interests informIndia’s stand on these negotiations.111. The infrastructure and technical capacity will need tobe scaled up to provide quality healthcare. The serviceshave to consider the diversity, be sensitive to the needsof marginalised communities and keep special focuson women and children. Facilities that improve accessand sustain adherence to therapy, such as temporaryshelters and care homes, should be promoted.xiii. People with Disability112. Include disability as part and parcel of ICDS policyguidelines.113. Disability should be included as a generic componentof the training curriculum of ICDS including inclusiveimplementation strategies.114. Reasonable accommodation should be provided toCWDs as part of the curriculum and practice in ICDScentres.115. CWDs should be absorbed as ICDS workers in theproportion of 6:1.116. Implementation and monitoring should includerepresentation of PWD in all health-related planningand monitoring structures at all levels.117. Sensitisation of health officials and personnel ondisability in the health department in the existingcurriculum.118. There should be budget allocation for medicines at thePHC level for health conditions like epilepsy, mentalhealth and other such conditions.119. There should be budget allocation for disabilitycertification at the PHC level.120. Health department to take the responsibility ofproviding medical rehabilitation, assistive devices(including maintenance) and surgical post-operativecare.121. ASHAs to be given separate incentive for supportingchildren and persons with disabilities.122. IEC campaigns should focus on disability andintegrate disability in health awareness at the primarycare level.123. Develop computerised MIS to document data onnumber and types of disability at the PHC level.124. Presently doctors have a very short orientation onidentification of disability, so special courses shouldbe designed for them regarding this subject.125. Social advertising should be done through the Ministryof Information and Broadcasting by allocating 20 percent of the budget for disability-related work.126. Schools of mass communication and journalismshould create IEC programmes as a part of theirtraining, covering the sector as a whole including allcross-disability issues.127. The opportunities of all vulnerable groups includingstreet children should be equalised.128. Disability specific cell should be there in every districthospital and ECCD facilities (e.g. Anganwadi) onsimilar lines as for HIV programmes.122

129. All residential set-ups meant for minority groupsshould be disability inclusive.130. Course design should incorporate prevention,promotion, appropriate intervention as well as longterm interventions for PWD with a life-span approach.131. Capacity building should be done at the grassroots andfunds should be given for civil society organisations,Panchayats, SHGs and all community care providers(parents, PWDs), parent associations, day care andrespite care providers) involved in such work.132. There should be cross-sectoral planning. A specifiedpercentage of funds from every ministry shouldbe earmarked for making programmes disabilityinclusivee.g. the construction of a universal designhospital.133. Universality of health coverage can be achieved bybringing the health system to the school system andincluding all children.134. Fiscal cross-subsidisation policies should be followedto fund disability-inclusive planning.123

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OtherRecommendations125

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Urban PoorConsultation on Urban Poor forthe Approach to the 12th Five YearPlanSwaasthya, IGSSS, Green Flag, Action Aid, and HazardsCentre had taken the responsibility to organise the NationalConsultation on the Urban Poor to make recommendationsfor the Approach Paper to the 12th Five Year Plan. This wassuccessfully organised at the Vanamati venue in Nagpuron 28th November 2010. Unfortunately, because of theextremely short notice, many groups who were keen tocome could not attend because of non-availability of ticketson trains and our inability to pay air fare. Even among theco-anchors, only the IGSSS and Hazards Centre couldattend and so the responsibility for administrative and othermatters mainly fell on the Hazards Centre. However, thelocal organisation was done very ably by the INSAF group.The participants were mainly from cities and townsin Maharashtra such as Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik,Nanded and Malegaon. There was also some representationfrom Delhi and Vishakhapatnam. Hence, it was decided thatthe proceedings of the consultation would be disseminatedwidely amongst the many other groups working withthe urban poor in other cities and towns in order that aconsensus could be reached with respect to the expectationsof this constituency from the 12th Five Year Plan. HarshaSrivastava represented the Planning Commission at theconsultation, and he also had the opportunity to interactwith some slum groups of Nagpur in the evening. Later,inputs were received from urban groups in Andhra, Orissa,Chhattisgarh, Delhi and West Bengal and these have alsobeen incorporated into the issues and recommendationsgiven below.The proceedings began with a welcome on behalf ofall the co-anchors and an introduction to the consultationby Dunu Roy of the Hazards Centre. At the request ofthe participants, he also briefly presented a review of theplanning process, the results of the Mid-Term Appraisalof the 11th Five Year Plan, and the challenges proposedfor the 12th Five Year Plan by the Planning Commission.Harsha Srivastava also spoke about the process that hadbeen set in motion by the Planning Commission to makethe 12th Five Year Plan more participatory and presentedthe expectations of the Commission from this consultation.This was followed by self-introduction by all the presentgroups and a summary of their experiences along with ananimated discussion on the (lack of) linkage between theprevious mid-term appraisal and the proposed challenges.Subsequently, it was agreed that four working groups shouldbe formed on the themes of governance, livelihoods, shelter,and basic services. These groups spent almost three hoursdiscussing their themes and then assembled in the plenaryto present their conclusions. These are listed below.1. Governance• Local governance has to be strengthened ifdecentralisation is to be implemented in its truesense. For this, it is important to constitutionallyintroduce a tier of governance at the local Sabhalevel where the population should not be morethan 5000.• The development agencies should be accountableto these local bodies and training has to beimparted to the officials and the Nagar Sewaks tobe responsive to the needs of the urban poor.• There should be increased investment in smalland medium-sized towns and this investmentshould not be for higher profits but for betterservices.• These basic services should be provided to allwithout discriminatory terms and conditions127

and the provisions/norms for the poor shouldbe in relation to their proportion in the urbanpopulation.• A database of all small and medium-sized townsmust be made available online to allow the peopleto participate in the process of decision making.• Gender planning and gender budgeting mustbe prioritised in the allocation of funds. Thepriorities and issues of women and men differ inthe process of planning.• District Planning Committees (DPC) must andshould be set up with immediate effect in therespective states where there is no DPC.• An empowered convergence structure is neededat the state level to bring together basic services,health services, urban planning and children’sprogrammes for integrated action.2. Livelihoods• Development schemes have to be employmentcentricto provide for security of employmentopportunities with mandatory fair wages andchallenging the myth of the “growth rate”.• Employment generation schemes cannot reachtheir target unless labour-intensive industries andworking sectors develop in numbers.• This may be partially achieved by stoppingcontractual work in government schemes,implementation of existing labour laws in allurban areas without exception (including SpecialEconomic Zones) and giving priority to thosedevelopment works that generate maximumemployment.• In addition, the poor and the residents ofunauthorised colonies should be covered underthe Swarn Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana. Thecredit level for self-employment should be raisedto Rs. 30,000, planned linkages have to be madebetween urban and rural employment schemes,and there has to be large scale setting up ofvocational training institutions.• A comprehensive budget for the expansion andintegration of formal and informal sectors hasto be prepared that recognises the link betweenlivelihoods and shelter and provides for universalidentity and social security.• In order to maintain the integrity of theseschemes there has to be a provision for “socialaudit” of all schemes linked to access throughRight to Information and explicit mention of allsubsidies – concealed or otherwise.3. Basic Services3.1 Health• Identification of entitlement and universalaccess• Health education through public sector• Increased budget allocation• Improved quality of services including aftercare• Increased provision for mental healthcareand non-communicable diseases• Development of an occupational hazardspolicy• Review policies to integrate basic services forthe most marginalised• Multiple models to be used to address theissue of childcare• Reliable data on maternal health and youngchildren in slums to be collated for accurateplanning3.2 Education• Education fees should be regulated• No privatisation in education• Provide basic facilities and quality in alleducational institutions• Desirable student-teacher proportions to bemade mandatory• Vishaka Judgment guidelines to be madecompulsory• Appointment of school counsellors• No discrimination among students• Proper maintenance and monitoring• Mid Day Meals and tiffin to be nutritious• Migrant children should be brought withinthe ambit of SSA and extension services128

3.3 Electricity• Electricity unit rate should be affordable• Illegal connections to be stopped• No privatisation of electricity generation anddistribution• Connection rate should be less expensive3.4 Water• Equal distribution of water and all services• No privatisation of water through 24X7programmes• Drinking water to all as per Central PublicHealth Engineering Department norms• Proper waste water disposal management3.5 Transport• Provision of well-constructed roads• No privatisation in transport sector• Increase in the number of buses and busstops• Ensure strict regulation and traffic discipline• Sustainable and low investment publictransportation to be encouraged3.6 Sanitation• Increase the number of public toilets andprovide for maintenance• Appropriate low-cost waste managementprocess/techniques with segregation atsource and appropriate healthcare for trashcollectors• Judicious use of pesticides, medicines,cleaning solvents etc to prevent pollution3.7 Public Distribution Services• Stop corruption in the PDS from top tobottom• Proper information to be provided to thebeneficiaries3.8 Public services• Provision of pro-poor markets, playgrounds,gardens, burial grounds and communityhalls4. Shelter• The Tendulkar Committee has estimated theBPL population to be 35 per cent. This figure ora re-survey should form the basis for determiningthe need for shelter.• A national housing policy has to be framed inconsonance with United Nations guidelines forshelter with equal rights to all basic services.• Until all the basic facilities are made availableat the resettlement plots/flats, slums should notbe evicted and they should be covered under theValmiki Ambedkar Awaas Yojana or Master Plans.• Labour colonies to be constructed by thegovernment like those for government servantsand given on rent or lease for 99 years or withownership (Malki Patta).• Plot size should be fixed between 500-600 sq ftand there should be no cut-off date for eligibility.It should also be remembered that high-risehousing is not pro-poor.• Houses/flats under Maharashtra Housingand Area Development Authority should begiven permanently instead of for 30 years andmaintenance provided.• Other states should adopt the Madhya Pradeshmodel where 12 per cent area in residentialcolonies is reserved for EWS/Awasi patta as perthe population distribution.• During allotment of SRA /JNNURM plots/flats,size of household/family members to be takencare of.• Unauthorised colonies should be regularised andprovided with basic civic facilities.• National, state, and ward level monitoringcommittees have to be formed to ensureaccountability and transparency.5. Final RecommendationsAt the plenary, the group suggestions were debated andthe following recommendations arrived at throughconsensus, with respect to the 10 challenges posed bythe Planning Commission:1. Growth is not an indicator of hunger-free India,where growth is increasing while the condition ofthe poor is declining.129

2. Reject the GDP-centred economic growth modeland markets as mechanisms for inclusion andefficiency and emphasise alternative planningaround livelihood-focused development.3. The identity of workers, including migrants,through registration is crucial to ensure access togovernment welfare programmes.4. Implement labour laws (Building and OtherConstruction Workers’ Act, Tea and PlantationWorkers Act, Migrant Workers Act, MinimumWages Act, Child Marriage Act and Child LabourAct, etc) universally to ensure a living wage andabolish contractual and casual work.5. Estimate the housing deficit and provide tenured,affordable and liveable shelter near work placesfor all.6. Provide for innovative people’s housing andregularise all ‘illegal’ – but affordable and liveable– housing.7. Universal and equal access to all state-managedwelfare services without any privatisationwhatsoever.8. Recognise the environmental benefits of low-costand low-resource-use pro-poor livelihoods andshelter with provisions for value addition.9. Decentralised governance at the mohalla level(population 5,000) with building skills forparticipating in alternative planning.10. Social audits of all implementation throughstrengthening existing participation andtransparency laws and the use of accessible media.11. Build linkages between rural and urban livelihoodsand, therefore, of integrated employment-centricplanning with provisions for voluntary migration.130

Thematic Inputs from OthersSection Contents1. Maternal health 1332. Land rights 1353. Food and nutrition security in the 12 th Five Year Plan 1384. Health 1405. Water 1426. Right to education and Key Challenges 1447. Resourcing the transparency regime in India 1458. Inclusive growth ensuring distributive justicefrom a labour rights perspective 1489. Climate change 15010. Energy 15311. Improving access to quality education 15512. Mining 16413. Budget 16614. Review of the Central Social Welfare Board 17115. Voluntary sector and government:partners in development 17216. Governance, institutions and the planning process 17317. Need for peace and equity audit as a parameter fordevelopment planning 175132

1. Maternal HealthNational Alliance for Maternal Health and Human RightsChallenges addressed in thispaper1. Enhancing the Capacity for Growth2. Decentralisation, Empowerment and Information3. Rural Transformation and Sustained Growth ofAgriculture4. Better Preventive and Curative HealthcareThe 1994 Cairo Programme of Action of the InternationalConference on Population and Development stated:Reproductive rights embrace certain human rights that arealready recognised in national laws, international humanrights documents and other relevant United Nations consensusdocuments. These rights rest on the recognition of the basicright of all couples and individuals to decide freely andresponsibly the number, spacing and timing of their childrenand to have the information and means to do so, and theright to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductivehealth. It also includes the right of all to make decisionsconcerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion andviolence as expressed in human rights documents. In theexercise of this right, they should take into account the needsof their living and future children and their responsibilitiestowards the community.... Implicit in this is the right of accessto healthcare services that will enable women to go safelythrough pregnancy and childbirth. All countries are calledupon to strive to make reproductive health accessible throughthe primary healthcare system to all individuals of appropriateage.Maternal mortality in India is a grave issue, with70-80,000 women 1 dying each year due to pregnancyrelated causes. Moreover, it is undoubtedly an issue of socialinequity, as it is faced by the most marginal communitiesand women in vulnerable situations. It has been seenthat the prevalence of poor maternal health is higher inmarginalised Dalit communities and other lower caste andAdivasi communities. Maternal mortality is also the onepointindicator of the quality of primary health services.Maternal health is affected by many social determinants,including gender discrimination, social exclusion anddiscrimination, displacement, violence, conflict and the lackof basic necessities such as nutrition, livelihoods, safe waterand sanitation.We affirm the need for strong rights-based strategiesto ensure greater accountability for these thousands ofpreventable deaths among women in India. To strengthensuch a rights-based approach, we need to position ourselvesin the real situation of the primary rights-holders who are stillstruggling to access their entitlements despite having severalnormative ‘rights’. At the same time, we have to understandthe roles and constraints of health service providers,especially at the field-level. This would involve a broaderunderstanding of social exclusion and its consequences atvarious levels and in all its dimensions, resulting in a strongpolitical will to bring about the desired change.Universalisation of rights is necessary for the furtheringof a rights-based approach. We should be moving towardsa participatory regulation of the entire health sector withina framework of a publicly managed and funded universalaccess system with no targeting at all.1 Estimates range from 65,000 to 100,000; an unacceptable number for anycountry and more so for India.133

Next, we want to state that it is the responsibility of thegovernment to provide basic and good quality health servicesto all the citizens of the country without any discriminationon the lines of caste, class, religion, gender, etc. At thispoint, then, what is required is the fulfilment of the electionpromise of greater fund allocation 2 to the health budgetthrough a massive infusion of resources, along with clearindicators for accountability and monitoring (governance,human resource, grievance redress, community-basedmonitoring, etc).With regard to health policies in the country, we stronglyadvocate that there needs to be an objective re-examinationof the role of “incentives” in reducing maternal deaths.Instead, the quality orientation of services should be trackedby monitoring maternal, foetal and neo-natal survival,and the extent of infection prevention or management ofobstetric or post-partum complications.The lack of accountability with regard to maternalmortality is a serious issue that acts as an obstacle tomoving forward and addressing the qualitative nuancesof the problem. Given the vast number of women dying,the government must assume greater accountability foreach case. Currently, the focus is on inputs like the JananiSuraksha Yojana (JSY), and outputs like the number ofwomen who have received JSY benefits, or the number whohave attended institutions during childbirth. In order tomeet the 11th Plan goals, more attention must be paid toexamining maternal health outcomes (such as the numberof maternal deaths within 42 days, number of deliveries thathad safe outcomes for both mother and baby, records ofpostpartum complications, or any other adverse outcomes).should provide domiciliary care during childbirth and in thepost-partum stage if the mother is not reaching the hospital.Those women who develop any dangerous complicationsmust be visited at home by the Primary Health Centre(PHC) doctors and, if needed, transported to the appropriatefacility for further treatment.The JSY focus should be expanded from institutionaldelivery to continual care. For this, all treatment for obstetricor post-partum/ante-partum complications must be freewith adequate follow-up at home, based on a protocol.Moreover, malnutrition, which is a major cause of anaemiaand consequent maternal deaths, needs to be addressedthrough effective implementation of food and nutritionsupport programmes. The most effective method would beto ensure that all women who become pregnant are paid asingle-instalment, unconditional maternity benefit, equal toand not less than the minimum wages for three months ofwork in their state.Finally, we recommend that all women delivering inprivate, public or NGO hospitals should be legally entitledto adequate information, dignity, privacy, informed consent,access to medical records, non-discrimination, free beds intrust hospitals, etc. This will enable them to receive betterquality access to maternal healthcare. To ensure this, the rulesfor the recently passed National Clinical Establishments(Registration and Regulation) Act should explicitly includethe protection of patients’ rights.The policy discussion on maternal health in the presentscenario, has become limited to institutional delivery,without looking at the continuum of maternal care. Thesocio-economic determinants of health such as poverty,social exclusion, access to food are also neglected. Weneed to urgently reconsider how safe motherhood may beensured for the significant proportion of pregnant womenstill not reaching hospitals. It is not adequate to talk ofonly institutional delivery and the focus should be on safedelivery 3 , even if it occurs at home. The first and secondAuxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANM) posted in the sub-centres2 India’s current ratio of 0.89 per cent of GDP spent on health is lower thanmany developing countries - Sri Lanka’s ratio is 2 per cent, Costa Rica’s is 5.3per cent, Cuba’s is 7.1 per cent, and both Malaysia and China’s is 1.9 per cent.3 The Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report on the National RuralHealth Mission (NRHM) shows the gaps in JSY records, meaning that theregistration of women cannot be always equated with either institutionaldelivery or safe delivery.134

2. Land RightsRamesh Sharma, Ekta ParishadA New Vision of Land ReformsThe urgency of land reforms in India stems from thecritical role of land ownership in sustaining basic humanneeds. Since Independence, land reforms have occupiedcentrestage in the nation’s economic policy and development.At the current juncture, the sustainability and success ofIndia’s economic development is being critically observedaround the world. A serious revision and reassessment ofland policy is necessary if our country hopes to realise thepossibilities of broad-based economic growth. This newvision of land reforms is based on our Constitution, whichpromises people a decent living standard and a dignifiedmeans of livelihood.The insufficient land reform laws have failed to provideland to the landless. Moreover, in states where they havehad some initial success, they are being “rolled back” andrepealed. This regression of land reform laws reveals that thecritical issues of social equity, empowerment and povertyreduction have not been comprehensively addressed.Abandoned and ignored by the state, the marginalisedare compelled into social violence and armed activities toexpress their disillusionment with democratic processesand institutions. This rural distress has further led to highlevels of land alienation/eviction and indebtedness. Theextent of poverty caused by landlessness reaches beyondrural areas. Migration to cities is another inescapable resultof rural poverty and it further exacerbates the problems ofinfrastructure, food and shelter for the urban working poor.The Central government must convince the states to enactand implement appropriate land reform laws if it wants toensure equity in economic growth.The key components of this new vision of land reformare:• Initiate a time-bound programme for immediateland regularisation and distribution includingidentification of surplus and ceiling land and genuinelandless persons to ensure livelihood security.• Guarantee land rights and entitlements to themarginalised poor, while respecting the principles ofsocial equity, empowerment and inclusion.• Arrest the process of pauperisation of marginal andsmall farmers by addressing issues such as debt burden,mortgaging and distressed selling of land and theprovision of an adequate support base for sustainingagriculture.• Recognise that the combination of globalisation,liberalisation and privatisation has initiated a reversalof land reforms through a systematic dismantling ofprevious legislation and policy. The upward revision ofland ceiling, liberalisation of tenancy law, increasingcorporatisation of agriculture, opening up of primeagricultural lands, wastelands, mines, water and othernatural resources to multinationals and corporateentities are causing serious damage to the socioeconomyof rural India and should be immediatelystopped.Policy Implications1. Land Identification, Regularisation andDistribution of Land to the Landless PoorThis entails identification of surplus land, availableceiling land and other revenue land and ensuringthe proper distribution (through regularisation) andallotment (through physical possession) to the needycommunities taking into account tenancy rights.Provision of homestead land as well as joint title issignificant for women in this process. Individual andcollective ownership or long-term lease for 99 yearsfor the landless poor are means to enable families tohold on to land resources.135

2. Regularisation of Adivasi LandRegularisation includes survey, allotment, physicalpossession and safeguarding of lands of the ScheduledTribes. Preventing land alienation (because ofprotected areas, industrialisation and infrastructuralprojects) ought to be the norm. Wherever displacementbecomes inevitable, the scheduled Adivasi familyshould remain the owner of the land benefiting froma lease agreement. Where there is no benefit, theScheduled Tribes should be guaranteed rehabilitationand resettlement.3. Preventing loss of farmland particularly that ownedby small and marginal farmersThe loss of farmland occurs due to land consolidationand contract farming, lack of access to ruralinstitutional credit and adverse agricultural pricing,and this has led to a high degree of distress saleand suicides. Those that become landless are forcedto struggle for a limited number of employmentopportunities and livelihood options. To mitigate thisvarious urgent measures must be taken including:• Under the Right to Property Act, all allotted landmust be updated as joint entitlement.• Promulgation and implementation of a DebtRelief Act including one time remission of thecumulative institutional and non-institutionaldebt burden of marginal and small farmers.4. Land and WomenWomen need to be provided with land that gives themindependent or joint title and greater decision-makingpower over the land plot. Special attention needs tobe given to widows and single women. In addition,women who are managing small farms should begiven incentives for remaining on the farm. Collectivefarming should be encouraged through self-helpgroups (SHGs) particularly among women who haveno land resources. Women should be recognised asfarmers and given that status in any subsidy, creditscheme and agricultural extension programme.Institutional MechanismI. National Task Force on Forest Rights Act (FRA)and PESA ActA National Task Force should be formed and givenstatutory powers to direct state governments andother line departments for carrying out a time-boundimplementation of the FRA and the PESA. It shouldbe accorded the institutional power to coordinate withstate departments and ministries.II.Suggested FunctionsThe National Task Force will be responsible formonitoring of State performance and preparation ofa time-bound action plan and issuance of guidelinesfor effective implementation of the PESA and ForestRights Act.National Land Reforms CouncilA National Land Reforms Council should be set upand given statutory powers to direct state governmentsand other agencies to carry out a comprehensive landreform agenda. It should be accorded the power tocoordinate with other ministries and departments.Suggested Functions• Providing a clear picture of land utilisation inIndia based on updated state land records.• Ensure proper implementation of land andhousing rights through allocation of governmentland, Bhudan land, temple and trust lands andcommon lands.• Prioritise implementation of land reform laws inareas with agrarian violence and unrest, such asthose in Naxalite dominated areas.• Identify available land for redistribution with thehelp of State governments and their concerneddepartments.• Strengthen various pro-poor laws related to landand livelihood resources like the Land CeilingAct, Panchayat Extension to Scheduled AreasAct, Tenancy Act, etc.• Shield vulnerable sections from the adverse effectsof the Indian Forest Act, Forest ConservationAct, Wildlife Act and Land Acquisition Act.• Maintain a reliable database on lands available forredistribution to landless, lands distributed butnot in possession of the beneficiaries, wastelands,136

temple and trust lands, Bhudan lands andforestland.III. Fast Track Courts on Land DisputesFast Track Courts need to be constituted in orderto deal with the long delays in acquiring land title,adjudicating in land disputes and in minimisingharassment and expense. Adjudication of rights of thetiller with respect of land under absentee landlordsshould also be expedited. Also, cases against ScheduledTribes should be given special cognisance.Suggested Functions• The first basic task should be to clear the backlogof cases related to land disputes from the lower tothe highest courts. The services of retired judgesand social activists could be used over a periodof years. There are thousands of disputes amongthe farmers and in many cases between farmersand labourers or tillers that need to be resolvedquickly.• Reduce the time, energy and cost that peoplehave to expend in litigation.IV.One Window System for Land DistributionA one-window system needs to be constituted at thesub-division level to deal with issues of land allotment,mutation, demarcation and giving of physicalpossession over land.Suggested Functions• Farmers and labourers should be able to accessthis system for land-related grievances at thetehsil level so as to reduce time and cost.• Sensitive and efficient officers need to beappointed and provided with the advisorycontributions of social activists.137

3. Food and Nutrition Security inthe TFYPDipa Sinha, Right to Food CampaignWhile the 11 th Five Year Plan set ambitious targetstowards achieving a 50 per cent reduction in malnutrition,it does not seem like we are anywhere close to achieving this.In this context it is important that the 12 th Five Year Planreiterates a commitment towards reduction of malnutritionand ensures that some of the recommendations of the 11 thFive Year Plan are taken forward along with the necessaryfinancial backing.In this context, the following are some of the points thatshould be included in the 12 th Five Year Plan:1. Integrated Child Development Services forproviding benefits to children under six, pregnantand lactating mothers, adolescent girls (ICDS):1. There is no national system of nutritionmonitoring, mapping and surveillance in thecountry. District level disaggregated data are notavailable from the National Nutrition MonitoringBureau and the National Family Health Surveys.An independent nutrition surveillance systemmust be set up so that we are able to monitorthe progress made on malnutrition at least oncein two years at the district level, along the linesof the District Level Household Survey (DLHS).This would be important even for the PlanningCommission to monitor its targets.2. The effective implementation of ICDS andrelated interventions requires a high-leveloverseeing authority, serving as a technical bodyand providing strategic oversight, that centrallymonitors both health and nutrition outcomesof children under six. This overseeing authorityshould be linked directly with the PrimeMinister’s Office and the Planning Commission.It should have a balanced composition, includingsome representation of civil society organisationsbut excluding commercial interests.3. All interventions for universalisation with qualityof the ICDS must be put in place.4. Ensure focus on children under two years of agethrough the appointment of a second anganwadiworker and start anganwadi-cum-crèches in atleast 10 per cent of anganwadis (as proposed inthe 11 th Five Year Plan).5. The maternity benefit scheme has been startedin a pilot manner in 200 districts. The 12 th Planshould include provisions for universalising thematernity benefit scheme and also to increase theamount of the benefit given to each woman to atleast Rs. 6000.6. Similarly, SABLA (the Rajiv Gandhi Schemefor Empowerment of Adolescent Girls) foradolescent girls should also be universalised.7. A budget must be provided for breastfeedingcounselling and promotion in every district.8. All contributions towards nutrition supportshould be inflation-indexed.9. Provide a roadmap for identification and treatmentof severely malnourished children (especiallysevere acute malnutrition) including the settingup of Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs).10. Special interventions for anaemia such as nutritioncounselling and the universal availability ofpaediatric doses of iron supplements should beintroduced.138

2. Public Distribution System (PDS)1. The leakages in the PDS should be pluggedthrough the end-to-end automation of the entirePDS chain, introduction of GPS tracking andthe activation of vigilance committees.2. The PDS should be expanded to includepulses, millets and oils as a necessary nutritionintervention.3. Others1. Introduce a programme for feeding of destitutes.2. Run community kitchens in urban areas.139

4. HealthIndranil, Research Scholar, JNU1. The 12 th Five Year Plan is an opportunity to investin health infrastructure. One of the major reasonsfor the deterioration in the quality of health servicesis lack of capital investment in health services for aprolonged period. It has been observed that thegreater share of plan funds is being spent for revenuepurposes. The Planning Commission should takeinitiatives to provide substantial plan assistance to thestates so that infrastructural requirements to ensureuniversal access to health are met within the 12 th FiveYear Plan period. This would mean:• Upgrading existing Primary Health Centres(PHC) and Community Health Centres (CHC)to Indian Public Health Standards norms andbuild new PHCs to these norms.• District hospitals should be developed in a waythat they serve as the highest referral units. Thiswould mean developing district hospitals asmedical colleges. Medical education being thejoint responsibility of the states and the Centre,the 12 th Five Year Plan funds should be transferredto the states to create necessary infrastructure tobuild medical colleges.• Given huge vacancies in posts of doctors, nursesand paramedics, the 12 th Five Year Plan shouldfocus on creating infrastructure for these teachinginstitutions.• States severely lack infrastructure for ancillaryservices like drug storage and ware housing,medical waste management, surveillance andcold chain management. The 12 th Five Year Planfunds should be devoted towards creation of suchfacilities at the district level to start with.2. Strengthening district level planning: One of theimportant bottlenecks in proper implementation ofthe NRHM is the lack of capacity at the district leveland below to plan for health programmes. The 12 thFive Year Plan should take up special initiatives to:• Train district and block-level health administratorson planning.• Help the states to develop special work forceswith abilities to plan properly.• Engage with Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) anddevelop their capacities and use their grassrootsknowledge to plan in a more meaningful way.• Effective planning would also require generationof extensive data at the village level. Hugeinvestment would be required to develop skillsand infrastructure to conduct surveys, collate thedata, computerise it and upload it onto a webenabledMIS.3. Urban Health: In the 11 th Five Year Plan, the NationalUrban Health Mission (NUHM) was talked aboutbut nothing substantial has happened since then.Lack of basic amenities like proper drinking water,sanitation facilities, Primary Health Centres, alongwith congested settlements, lack of proper food andother social security benefits make the urban poorespecially vulnerable to diseases. The main approachof the NUHM seems to depend upon an insurancebasedmodel where there would be higher dependenceon the private sector. In the context of the previousplans having failed to deliver their promise to providebasic health and sanitation facilities to the urban poor,it is high time that the 12 th Plan should ensure:• All urban settlements are provided with subcentres,ICDS centres and PHCs based on therequirement.140

• Proper sanitation and water supply to allhouseholds in urban areas. Commercialisationof water supply under the Jawaharlal NehruNational Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)should be resisted under the 12 th Plan.• There should be proper evaluation of insurancebasedschemes like Rashtriya Swasthya BimaYojana before jumping into a major insurancedrive. Existing evidence suggests that suchschemes have failed badly in providing requisiteservices to the poor and instead they are subjectedto exploitation.4. The issue of human resources: There has been a generaltendency to fulfil human resource vacancies throughPlan schemes. Given the very nature of Plan schemes,all these recruitments are done on a contractual basis.This is so rampant that almost half the recruitmentof doctors in the public sector is contractual (RuralHealth Statistics, 2008). There is ample evidencenow that these recruitments lead to deteriorationin services because of a lack of commitment andhigh attrition of staff. According to the CAG, morethan half the contractual staff does not completetheir entire tenure. It is high time that the PlanningCommission stops promoting contractualisationthrough its programmes. It would be wiser if theCommission stops the business of recruitment andinstead focuses on developing capacities at the statelevel to create a greater pool of human resources andcapacities for training. The issue of recruitment shouldbe dealt at the state level. If required, special fundsshould be provided to states (may be through FinanceCommission transfers) to deal with the issue.5. Maternal and Child Health: The entire approach ofsafe motherhood programmes is based on institutionaldelivery, whereby conditional cash transfer schemeslike JSY are being aggressively pushed. The NRHMCommon Review Mission findings and CAG reportsclearly suggest that the quality of healthcare in thePHCs and CHCs have so far failed to live up to theincreasing demand on these institutions for delivery.The JSY is also marred with delayed payments,harassment of women and increase in informalpayments. Evidence also suggests that Ante NatalCare (ANC) and immunisation are being neglecteddue to the overemphasis on JSY. The 12 th Plan shouldfocus on the following:• Cash benefits under the JSY should be increasedadequately, payment should be made in multipleinstalments and most of the money should bedisbursed before delivery.• Regressive conditions like linking the benefitsto the number of children should be done awaywith. However, it is important that transfers arelinked to ANC and Post Natal Care (PNC).• Special drives should be taken to step up ANCcoverage.• Given the poor state of affairs of RoutineImmunisation, its allocation should be steppedup and the implementation mechanism bestrengthened.• Issues like developing Emergency ObstetricCare Units, Neonatal Care Units, IntegratedManagement of Neo-natal and ChildhoodIllnesses should be integrated with overalldevelopment of CHCs and District Hospitals.• Production and effective supply of vaccines.6. Hunger and malnourishment: The main cause of thefailure of the Indian state to tackle the issue of risinghunger and malnourishment is its limited approach.Hunger and malnourishment cannot be curbed untiland unless there is a universalisation of the PDS,ICDS and, specifically, the Supplementary NutritionProgramme. One thing that is universal among thesetargeted programmes is their utter failure to deliver tothe poor and vulnerable. Special emphasis should betaken under the 12 th Five Year Plan to universalise thePDS and ICDS.7. Research: Planned investment on health research,especially in the aspects that are important fordeveloping countries should be taken up widely. TheCommission should reject the myth that the privatesector would play a major role in health research andpave the way for state leadership in this field.141

5. WaterRomit Sen, Centre for Science and Environment1. A hydrological approach to water managementThe Planning Commission in its mid-term review(MTR) of the 12 th Five Year Plan rightfully mentionsthat the problems with regard to water management,usage and distribution cannot be tackled until we doaway with the current compartmentalisation of wateracross various ministries and departments. The MTRacknowledges that water management has to lookat the entire hydrological cycle holistically. This isthe basic premise upon which the 12 th Plan needs toproceed.The biggest challenge with regard to the water sectoris the unregulated exploitation of groundwater. In theperiod from 1995 to 2004, the proportion of districtswhere groundwater exploitation has reached semicritical,critical and overexploited stages has grownfrom 9 per cent to 31 per cent. With 40 per cent ofirrigation water and 85 per cent of drinking watercoming from groundwater sources, the future scenariois bleak. Groundwater extraction for irrigation usingtube wells is the major cause for depleting sources,which have impacted drinking water supply in ruralareas. As per Information available with the CentralGround Water Board, there are 27,500 tube wellsin the country. However, there is no information onthe number of private tube wells in the country. TheEconomic Survey of Delhi estimates 22 lakh privatetube wells in the city. A mechanism to monitorthe number of private tube wells in the countrywill be essential for any measure of groundwaterregulation. The problem of groundwater exploitationis compounded by the populist measure of free orhighly subsidised electricity to farmers, which leavesno incentive for conservation.The Government of India’s Model Groundwater Billdrafted in 2005 is for the states to adopt. However,the fundamental problem of limiting extraction ofgroundwater is not addressed in the Bill; it merelyproposes a restriction on digging of new wells in areaswhere the lowering of water tables has been observed.The states need to adopt the Bill with mechanismsto monitor and regulate uncontrolled extraction ofgroundwater.2. Drinking Water ManagementThe National Rural Drinking Water Programme(NRDWP, earlier known as ARWSP) has missedmany deadlines of attaining universal coverage. Thelatest target set by the Department of Drinking Waterand Sanitation is March 31, 2012, which coincideswith the completion of the 11 th Five Year Plan. Themid-term assessment, while pointing out to theconstant slippages, raises the concern that despitespending Rs. 72,000 crores since the initiation of theFive Year Plans, coverage remains a problem. Attaininguniversal coverage by the stipulated deadline willremain a challenge with over a lakh habitations havinghousehold access to water as of September 30, 2010– less than 25 per cent. Water quality is deterioratingacross the country with 203 districts affected byfluoride, 206 by iron, 137 by salinity, 109 districts bynitrate and 35 by arsenic contamination. Apart fromthe chemical, bacteriological contamination is addingto the disease burden with increased infant mortality,maternal health and other disorders.The new guidelines for drinking water supply reflectmajor changes in the policy and programme approachwith focus on sustaining the sources, community142

ownership and management of water supply schemesand water quality management. The preparation ofvillage water security plans is mandatory. However,there are challenges in implementing the guidelinesthat need to be addressed. The first and foremostchallenge is the availability of data for preparingvillage plans by an informed group of people in thevillage. Collation and analysis of data on aspectslike rainfall, groundwater availability, hydrogeology,present demand especially for irrigation are some ofthe aspects which will require attention.The need for the line departments to facilitate thisprocess is also outlined in the guidelines. In reality,there is opposition amongst the line departmentsto give away power to the PRIs. The principle ofempowering the village communities will also entailthe disempowerment of the line department officials.A method of change management has to be adoptedto move away from government-led delivery of watersupply programmes. Solving the problems of waterscarcity will necessitate reviving traditional waterharvesting systems and incentives for rainwaterharvesting across the country including rural areas.143

6. Right to Education and KeyChallengesSandeep Mishra, National Coalition for EducationChildren’s Right to Free and Compulsory Education wasenforced on April 1, 2010, through the Right to EducationAct 2009. The key challenge is to implement this Act in thefullest manner. On the one hand, the Government of Indiahas made education a Fundamental Right and on the otherhand, it is allowing private sector investment. This can proveto be counterproductive for the poor children of India. Theprivate institutions would invest in primary education fortheir own vested interests rather than for the bettermentof poor children. We have already seen cases of increasedtuition fees in private schools in the recent past.The Planning Commission’s initiative to seek inputsfrom CSOs for developing the approach paper for the 12 thFive Year Plan is commendable. There are certain areas of coreconcern, which should be kept in mind while developingthe approach paper for the forthcoming 12 th Five Year Plan.Though the Planning Commission also has identified certainbullet points as key challenges for education, yet the processshould contain a few more challenges that are pertinent tothe approach paper.Even after eight months of its enforcement, certain stateshave still not been able to draft there model rules under theRTE Act 2009. The proper and effective implementationof the RTE Act needs many financial provisions for itsrealisation. For improving access to quality education thefollowing points should also be taken into consideration.1. The Primary Shiksha Kosh (PSK) is a welcome steptaken by the government that should be continued.2. The PPP model should be re-worked, as it is seeminglyoriented towards opening the doors for privatisation ofeducation. The tax benefits being given to the privateplayers seem unjustified, as this can reduce, at leastpartly, the resources available for improving access toquality education.3. The 13th Finance Commission’s recommendationsin terms of fund requirement for the RTE’simplementation and its approval in cabinet shouldbe welcomed and the PPP model should be denied,especially when it is being pursued by corporatessolely for making profits.4. Resources should be allocated for updated trainingmodules for teachers and School ManagementCommittees (SMCs).5. Conditional cash transfer should be discouraged.6. Resources should be allocated for research to enumeratethe number of out-of-school children in the countryso that inclusion can be ensured and policies can bechalked out with the correct numbers.7. A nodal authority should be in place to take cognisanceof issues related to the violation of the RTE. Thenodal agency should take care of inter-ministerialcoordination and victims should not face harassmentin getting their rights realised.8. Centre-state shares of expenditure should be reworkedkeeping in mind states that have inadequateresources for fulfilling the education criterion.144

7. Resourcing the TransparencyRegime in IndiaVenkatesh Nayak, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi1. BackgroundWay back in 2002, the 10th Five Year Plan documentrecognised that “the task of the development administrationwould become easier if steps are taken to make availableinformation, as a matter of right, to the citizens.” (Vol. 1,Chap. 6, p. 182). While the statutory framework in theform of the Freedom of Information Act, 2002 was notimplemented at all, the Planning Commission made theRight to Information central to the development agendafor the entire country. The linkage, between transparencyand its popular vehicle – the right to information – andgood governance as a prerequisite for the success of plannedsocio-economic development, was reiterated in the 11thFive Year Plan as follows: “The government at all levelsmust be accountable and transparent. Closely related toaccountability is the need to eliminate corruption, whichis widely seen as a major deficiency in governance.” (Vol.1, Chap. 10, p. 223)Further, emphasising the role of the non-governmentalsector in monitoring the implementation of the Plan agenda,the 11th Five Year Plan document states: “Space must beprovided to VOs [voluntary organisations] for developingcitizen initiatives, acting as a watchdog on governmentsystems and strengthening group initiatives. This can only bedone if full transparency is assured.” (Vol. 1, Chap. 10, p.225). The Right to Information Act (RTI Act) was enactedby Parliament in 2005 to establish a uniform regime oftransparency at all levels of administration. The experienceof implementation of this seminal law over the past fiveyears calls for urgent attention and resource investment inthe following areas during the next five years.Problem Area 1: The transparency regime is hampered bypoor records management.An efficient system of records management is the sinequa non of any transparency regime. If records are noteasily accessible to officers designated under the RTI Act,they will not be able to make decisions on people’s requestspromptly. According to the Second Administrative ReformsCommission, “the weakest link in our information system isthe total neglect of record keeping… In many subordinateoffices/ agencies of GOI and State Governments, recordkeeping procedures often do not exist. And where theyexist, they are rarely followed. In most cases record keepingprocedures have not been revised for decades. Mostsignificantly the practice of cataloguing, indexing andorderly storage is singularly absent. Even when recordsare stored, retrieval of intelligible information is virtuallyimpossible.” (SARC, First Report, 2006, p. 31)This Commission recommended that 1 per cent ofall flagship development programmes be set aside forimproving records management. However, the Governmentof India diluted this suggestion and advised its departmentsto make their own budgetary provisions for this purpose.The imperative of records management spelt out in Section4(1)(a) of the RTI Act has remained a dead letter becausethis obligation is subject to the availability of resources.Recommendation:The 12 th Five Year Plan may identify improvinginformation management as a priority area across all levels ofthe administration and recommend allocation of resourcesfor:a) improving the system of records maintenance ingovernment in a phased manner starting with officesthat have a high degree of public interface; andb) resourcing administrative training institutions toundertake training for public authorities to modernisetheir record-keeping practices.145

Problem Area 2: Inadequate levels of voluntary disclosureby public authoritiesThe primary intention of the RTI Act as spelt out inSection 4(2) is to require all public authorities to disseminatemore information about their working so that people’s needto obtain information by making formal applications isreduced. Proactive disclosure of 16 categories of informationunder Section 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act is a much neglectedarea. As a result, people are compelled to file applicationsfor information that should have been made publicautomatically, such as the guidelines, performance reportsand evaluation of various welfare schemes and flagshipdevelopment programmes, amongst others. In areas whereresource extraction takes place on a large scale, residentshave little information about the value contributed to theGDP by such activities. Little data is publicly availableabout the extent to which the area is benefiting from thewealth created. Despite the President of India giving anassurance that the Government of India would put all nonstrategicinformation in the public domain (Address to JointSession of Parliament in June 2009), not much progress hasbeen made. If information is prepared in a reader-friendlymanner in the local official language and made available topeople through print and electronic means, the number offormal RTI applications is likely to come down. This wouldconsiderably reduce the work burden of public authorities.Recommendation:The 12 th Five Year Plan may identify voluntary disclosureof development-related information as a strategic area acrossall levels of the administration and recommend allocation ofresources for:a) developing the capacity of public authorities especiallyat the district and sub-district level to disseminatecrucial information through print and electronicmedia. The experience of dealing with RTI applicationsin each public authority during the past five yearsshould serve a guide for identifying what categoriesof information may be disseminated voluntarily inaddition to the requirement under Section 4(1)(b) ofthe RTI Act; andb) equipping public authorities in districts most plaguedby corruption, especially where natural resources areexploited in the form of mining and other formsof resource extraction, to publish through printand electronic media the volumes of output, itsmonetary value, the revenue/royalty earned by theadministration and the extent to which the wealthso created is invested back in development-relatedactivities in the same region.Problem Area 3: Poor levels of awareness about and usageof RTI Act and PAISThe Planning Commission popularised the idea ofestablishing Public Accountability Information Systems(PAIS) as a means of ensuring people’s participation in theimplementation, evaluation and social audit of flagshipdevelopment programmes (see A. Virmani, ‘Planning forResults: The Public Accountability Information System’,Working Papers Series No.1/2007-PC, 2007). TheGovernment of India recognises its importance (EconomicSurvey 2008-09, p. 268), but Internet-based PAIS hasremained a non-starter for several reasons. Most people,including CSOs and VOs, are not computer/internetliterate enough to use PAIS as a resource. The PAIS hasremained ineffective as there is no popular pressure on theimplementing authorities to regularly upload informationabout the progress of flagship development programmes onthe Management Information Systems (MIS). For example,few CSOs working in rural areas are aware of and knowhow to use the PAIS of the MGNREGS Portal. Similarly,adequate investment has not been made for spreadingawareness about procedures for obtaining informationunder the RTI Act in the regional languages. This is astatutory obligation under the RTI Act but it is subject tothe availability of resources.Recommendation:The 12 th Five Year Plan may identify as focus areas andrecommend investment of resources for:a) establishing Internet-based PAIS for all Centralandstate- sponsored development programmes andbuilding the capacity of CSOs and VOs to makeeffective use of these systems to combat corruption;andb) educating people with a particular focus ondisadvantaged groups about their rights andentitlements under the RTI Act.Problem Area 4: Poorly-resourced InformationCommissionsWith the operationalisation of the RTI Act, the trafficof information requests to public authorities has increasedmanifold. A variety of reasons has contributed to the pilingup of information access disputes under the RTI Act before28 Information Commissions around the country (plus one146

newly established in Jammu and Kashmir under that State’sRTI Act). These bodies are poorly resourced and staffed,affecting their case disposal performance. They have fewresources to monitor the performance of public authoritiesin terms of voluntary disclosure and records managementobligations. Well-resourced Information Commissions canbe of great assistance in improving transparency at variouslevels of the administration throughout the country.Recommendation:The 12 th Five Year Plan may identify the strengtheningof Information Commissions established under the RTI Actas a priority area and recommend allocation of resources tosupport infrastructure and staffing requirements.147

8. Inclusive Growth EnsuringDistributive Justice from aLabour Rights PerspectiveJ John1. EmploymentEmployment generation is one of the most importantgoals of economic growth. Accelerating economicactivities towards the generation of productive andgainful employment has been reiterated by thePlanning Commission. The feedback for the approachpaper to the 12 th Five Year Plan from a labourperspective is that:1.1 The assured days of employment under theMGNREGS should be a minimum of 200 days.1.2 The Employment Guarantee Scheme should beextended to urban areas.2. Quality of Employment – Decent WorkEmployment alone is not sufficient. There has to bean emphasis on decent work. Implementation of theprincipal of decent work should be ensured by thegovernment.2.1 Right to organise and take part in collectivebargaining should be given to all workers.2.2 Child labour should be eliminated. Childrenbelow the age of 18 should not be allowed towork.2.3 Stringent measures should be taken against forcedlabour.2.4 Non-discrimination at workplace should beensured.2.5 All workers should be paid a living wage.3. Labour administrationLabour administration should be strengthened.Further liberalisation of labour laws should not beconsidered, instead the increasing contractualisationand other labour market flexibilities that are againstIndia’s commitment of rights of labour under theconstitution should be checked.3.1 The ratio of labour inspectors to workers should besuch that labour laws are properly implemented.3.2 There should be stringent punishment forviolators.3.3 Accountability of labour administrators shouldbe ensured.4. Recruitment practices4.1 There should be strict norms for recruitment ofworkers.4.2 Recruiting agencies need to be regulated.4.3 Creation of a regulatory authority for this purposeis required.5. Internal Migrant WorkersThe Interstate Migrant Workmen’s Act (ISMW) inits present form is non-implementable. Most of themigration that takes place is single migration andcontractors are not involved.5.1 Identification and registration of all internalmigrant workers should be made a priority. Allworkers should be given identity cards.5.2 Housing facilities should be given to all migrantworkers. There should be hostels for workingmen and women in all industrial clusters.5.3 Sanitation facilities, access to clean drinkingwater and toilets should be given to all migrantworkers.5.4 Health, education and crèche facilities should beprovided.148

5.5 Banking facilities should be simplified and madeaccessible to ensure safe transfer of remittances.6. Emigrant WorkersMigrant workers going out of India for employmentshould be protected by the government.6.1 Registration of all Indians going abroad for workshould be ensured.6.2 Counselling services should be strengthened.6.3 There should be a labour attaché in all Embassiesand High Commissions of India.6.4 Ensure portability of social security benefits.7. Social Security/Welfare7.1 Remove the distinction between Above PovertyLine (APL) and Below Poverty Line (BPL)families.7.2 All workers should be registered, particularlyunorganised sector workers.7.3 Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) shouldbe extended to all workers.7.4 The RSBY should be extended through theEmployees State Insurance system and publicinsurance.7.5 Extend old age pension to all workers. Theamount should not be less than 50 percent of thewage of the lowest grade government employee.7.6 Extend maternity benefits to all women workers.7.7 Unemployment benefits and livelihood losscompensation should be provided to all workers.8. Wages8.1 The minimum wage should be recalculatedbased on the 15th Indian Labour Conference1957 recommendations and the Sixth PayCommission’s recommendations.8.2 A national floor wage should be set whichshould be applicable to all states/industry andoccupations8.3 Non-payment of minimum wage should be madea criminal offence.8.4 The wage should approximate a living wage.149

9. Climate ChangeAditi KapoorI. Key Strategy Challenges1. Enhancing the Capacity for Growth• Additional budgets for climate adaptation arerequired. Current approach is business-asusualwherein ongoing ‘development-focused’agriculture/drought programmes are identifiedas ‘adaptation’ programmes without firstascertaining the additional changes in thesesectors that climate change is inducing and whatadditional costs these programmes – and perhapsnew programmes – would entail to becomeadaptive programmes. Enough investment mustbe made in adaptation.• Financial institutions to ensure environmentalaudits through loan agreements.• Environmental audit of plan expenditure toensure that environmental sustainability is builtinto planned expenditure at every level.• Climate-friendly shelter and transport needs ofthe poor in the rural areas to be addressed.2. Enhancing Skills and Faster Generation ofEmployment• Homes and schools must be flood-resilient andcyclone-resilient using higher plinth/appropriatebuilding materials to avoid disruption inschooling during climate-induced frequentnatural disasters.• Capacity building should be done in disaster riskreduction for village gram sabha/PRIs and in theschool curriculum, in collaboration with localNGOs and community groups. Several on-thegroundexamples exist for emulation.• Adaptation measures and development work mustcomplement each other to ensure sustainablelivelihoods for poverty alleviation.3. Managing the Environment• User groups, with gender equity, to have a centralrole in governing common property resources(water for irrigation, community forests, villagepastureland, etc) to ensure sustainable livelihoodsfor poverty alleviation.• Socio-economic auditing of adaptationprogrammes/schemes to ensure that poor andsocially marginalised people benefit from theseprogrammes and budgets.• Integrate poor people’s livelihood options intodecentralised renewable energy generation as partof a mitigation strategy.• Environmental audits of mining activities tobe made integral to operations and to involveparticipation of local communities.• Waste management to be declared a climatefriendlyindustry with incentives and protectionof rag-pickers’ livelihoods.4. Markets for Efficiency and Inclusion• Environmental audit of market-based solutionsfor public service delivery in climate-sensitivesectors like power and water supply.• The aim of ‘making markets accessible andinstruments of inclusion’ should be seen from theperspective of ensuring sustainable livelihoodsfor the poor and socially marginalised producers.This is because climate change threatens todeepen economic and social divides, as the poorhave the least capacity to cope with unpredictablechanges.150

5. Decentralisation, Empowerment and Information• Inclusion of user groups as part of decisionmakingstructures for common propertymanagement.• Ensuring gender equity and representation ofmarginalised sections of society in panchayatcommittees/user groups at decision-makinglevels.• Using information technology tools such asmobile phones, radios and web-based portalsfor sharing information, getting feedback andresponding to inputs from user groups.• Encouraging e-governance and providingrequisite infrastructure from the panchayat levelupwards.6. Technology and Innovation• Making adaptation and mitigation technologygender-responsive.• Giving traditional knowledge and local adaptationpractices their rightful place, integrating theseinto adaptation programmes and spreadingawareness through farmer-to-farmer measures toinclude both men and women famers, fisherfolk,forest produce gatherers, livestock rearers, etc.• Linking agriculture research to women and menfarmers.• Building capacities of farmers to collect climatedata on their fields and integrate these intoplanning decisions and link with the Indianmeteorological and agricultural researchinstitutions. For example, training womenfarmers on installing and operating rain gauges.• Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for communityknowledge (e.g. women’s knowledge aboutbiodiversity of minor forest produce) have to besafeguarded and this needs more work in the legalsphere.II. Key Sectoral Challenges1. Securing the Energy Future for India• Bring non-fossil fuel energy sources into greaterconsideration for ensuring energy security.• Bring small agricultural equipment like small liftirrigation pumps of 1 to 3 HP into the fold ofenergy efficiency.• Ensure renewable energy is focused on generatinglivelihoods and meeting agricultural needs withlighting being an additional benefit, rather thanthe other way around.• Work with local NGOs and community groupsto tailor renewable energy products to people’sneeds with adequate training and capacitybuildingin managing and maintaining thedecentralised system(s).• Give incentives to decentralised, livelihoodslinkedrenewable energy projects.• Encourage trading of energy by small, even standalone,home-based renewable energy systems toensure growth, sustainable livelihoods and energysecurity.2. Accelerated Development of TransportInfrastructure• Provide low-carbon public transport to rural andsemi-urban areas. The focus of the Mission onSustainable Habitat is urban India.• Cross-subsidise low-carbon fossil-fuel transportto promote low-carbon mass and privatetransport.• Change government and corporate policies, asalso lending policies of financial institutions,which promote the ownership of private transportover usage of public transport.3. Rural Transformation and Sustained Growth ofAgriculture• Ensure soil fertility and retention of soil moisture,especially by promoting low-chemical agriculture.• Ensure production and marketing of coarsecereals suited to different agro-climatic zones,rather than growing wheat and rice everywhereand supplying just these two cereals through thePDS.• Promote climate-resilient livestock species, oftenlocal species, better suited to local agro-climaticzones.• Promote crop diversity and seed diversity toensure food security at the household level.• Give incentives to sustainable farming systemsrather than subsidies to manufacturers offertilisers and pesticides that lead to greater151

emissions. Sustainable farming systems lead tolower emissions as they re-cycle crop waste andlivestock waste.• Promote traditional crop varieties that useless water in drought-prone areas and spreadagriculture technologies that use less water andpromote retention of soil moisture.• Recognise women as farmers through extensionservices, gender-responsive agriculturetechnologies, representation in decisionmakingbodies like irrigation user groups and asagriculture experts and repositories of agricultureknowledge.4. Managing Urbanization• Gender representation in local urban governanceinstitutions.• Incentives to use of renewable energy for waterand lighting needs at household/colony/housingsociety level.• Encourage flexi-timings and work–from-homepolicies to reduce unnecessary travelling.5. Improved Access to Quality Education• Environmental studies and action to be anintegral part of the school curriculum.6. Better Preventive and Curative Health Care• Additional adaptation budget needed forascertaining, preventing and curing climatechange induced diseases like malaria. Surveillanceis needed for longer periods due to highertemperatures/humidity in certain parts of thecountry, including Delhi.152

10. EnergyVinuta Gopal, GreenpeaceOn energy accessIndia today has a massive electricity shortage – 78million households that do not even have access toelectricity. This amounts to nearly 60 per cent of India’srural population. A report titled “Still Waiting: A reporton energy injustice” examines and highlights the issues ofenergy access and energy injustice in India. The findings ofthis report clearly shows that the current, centralised energydelivery system has failed to deliver electricity services tomillions of Indians in villages and small towns. This systemcaters largely to large cities and industry who get priorityaccess over everyone else.Given this scenario, and the fact that India’s flagshiprural electrification programme, the Rajiv Gandhi GraminVidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) is under review for the 12 thPlan, we believe this needs a proper and transparent reviewprocess. Providing quality energy access in rural India needsto be a priority for the next Plan:1. We believe that the RGGVY’s mandate of ‘electricityfor all’ is currently not being delivered even in areaswhere the Yojana has been successfully implemented.Therefore, the definition of village electrification(currently 10 per cent household electrification)should be replaced to be inclusive and cover 100 percent households.2. The centralised grid has not been able to providequality power to rural areas (15-16 hrs of continuoussupply). Therefore, there is a need for incorporatingdistributed generation through renewable energyto meet the energy shortage and it should be a keycomponent of RGGVY in the 12 th Plan.3. Small-scale renewable energy systems have beenquite successful in providing quality power invillages particularly energy-starved states like Bihar.Mainstreaming such systems can be done by settinga target for small-scale renewable energy generation(off-grid) infrastructure development (non-remoteplaces) in the 12 th Plan period.4. There is an urgent need to directly facilitate powerrequirement for agriculture and rural small-scaleindustry through a Central government scheme(either under the RGGVY or a separate scheme withsufficient fund allocation).On Coal Mining: Go and No-GoZonesOne of the biggest challenges that the country faces isthat it has reached a point where the rights of communitiesand the environment are being perceived to be in conflictwith “growth” plans of the country. This challenge can onlybe addressed if there is proper integrated planning. Thecurrent discourse on coal mining is dominated by the viewthat India has to not only fast-track access to coal in thecountry but also provide mining access to all coal-bearingregions. This is in clear conflict with the communities inthese regions and is also in danger of wiping out significantportions of our last remaining “forests”.We recommend that the Ministry of Environment andForests’s initiative to classify areas as No-Go Zones for coalmining should be accepted as a step in the direction ofprotecting India’s forests and forest-dependent communities.This process needs to be further enhanced by ensuring thedemocratic participation of affected parties and civil society.We also suggest the following:1. Initiate a process to declare No-Go Zones formining for all forest areas across India based on their153

importance to forest-dependent communities and towildlife and biodiversity.2. Ensure that attempts to fast-track mining proposalsdo not violate or in any way weaken the provisionsof the Forest Rights Act, Environment Protection Actand Forest Conservation Act, or the need to secure theprior informed consent of affected communities.3. Initiate a process of public and expert consultation toenhance participation in the decision-making processand ensure that environmental and social concernsare truly reflected in all government decisions on thisissue.4. Initiate a remediation process for the negativeenvironmental and social impacts that past or ongoingcoal mining has had or is having across India.Energy EfficiencyAn increase in economic activity and a growingpopulation does not necessarily have to result in an equivalentincrease in energy demand. There is still a large potential forexploiting energy efficiency measures. For example, PrayasEnergy Group has estimated that the use of energy-efficienthome appliances like fans, air conditioners, televisions, tubelights and refrigerators in the country can help save about 55billion kiloWatt hours of electricity by 2013. It would deferthe need for generating 20,000 MW power over a period offive years or setting up one ultra-mega power plant per year.The Government of India, through the Bureau of EnergyEfficiency, should1. phase out all subsidies and other measures thatencourage inefficient energy use;2. set stringent and ever-improving efficiency andemission standards for appliances, buildings, powerplants and vehicles; and3. mandate energy efficiency norms to ensure thatmanufacturers and users are moving in a concertedeffort towards efficient energy use.Increase the share of renewableenergyEnergy supply has become a subject of major universalconcern. Volatile oil and gas prices, threats to a secure andstable supply and, not least, climate change have all pushedit high up on the international agenda. Renewable energyshouldn’t merely be viewed as a climate mitigation stepbut as a sustainable and secure solution for the country’senergy needs. India has the unique opportunity to make theshift when our infrastructure is still being developed. Wecould well be the nation that leads in the energy solutionsof the future. This would need a concerted effort from theGovernment, especially the Planning Commission.Renewable energy, combined with the smart use ofenergy, can deliver at least half of the world’s energy needsby 2050. The report ‘Energy [R]evolution: A SustainableIndia Energy Outlook’ shows that a massive investmentrenewable energy sources will be economically beneficialand by 2030 about 35 per cent of India’s electricity couldcome from renewable energy sources. The measures thatneed to be taken to maximise the potential for renewableenergy in the Indian energy mix are the following.1. Establish legally defined targets for all forms ofrenewable energy (not only for solar energy).2. Nationally fixed minimum rates for PPAs or feed-insupport.3. Nationally fixed minimum Renewable PortfolioObligation and Renewable Energy Certificationstandards with strict penalty clauses.4. Coordinated and transparent regulatory frameworkfor off-grid power (including incentive for minigrids).5. Harmonised rules for captive power generation.6. Clear responsibilities for implementation and strongenforcement mechanisms to achieve the target.7. Investment in research and development.8. Encouraging innovation and small entrepreneurship.9. Provision of training and education infrastructure tobuild a new work force for green energy solutions.154

11. IMPROVING ACCESS TOQUALITY EDUCATION 4Anjela Taneja, Oxfam IndiaEducation is a tool for empowerment, a FundamentalRight of each Indian citizen and a tool to obtain otherrights. At the same time, research has consistently shownthat an investment in strengthening the education systemmakes sound development sense and constitutes hardeconomic sense. An investment in education constitutes afoundational investment whereby India can take advantageof the demographic dividend that its relatively youngpopulation offers. The poor and traditionally marginalisedgroups are the ones that are also most likely to lack accessto education. The present document looks at the challengesfor universalisation with quality of the full Education forAll agenda, instead of restricting ourselves to particularage groups. This entails a closer look at Early ChildhoodEducation and Post Secondary Education than provided forunder the Planning Commission Challenges.Right to Education (UniversalElementary 5 Education)The Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act,2009 provides a framework for the provision of eight yearsof elementary (not just primary) education to all children.The delays in the implementation of the Act’s provisions andthe duration of the present strategy period means that mostimplementation challenges will have to be addresses duringthe next strategy period. Therefore, the recommendationswith regard to better implementation are as follows.IssuesAvailabilityDespite consistent commitment, 6 per cent ofGDP has not been allotted, resulting in limitedimprovement of school quality.Not all areas have schools within thestatutory distance, especially in remote/sparsely populated areas. There are fewerupper primary schools resulting in dropouts,especially of girls, after Class V. Many schoolsthat exist need to be upgraded up to RTEstandards.RecommendationThe total expenditure on education should be increased to a minimum of 6 per centof GDP and 3.7 per cent of GDP needs to be spent on elementary schooling alone ifuniversal education with uniform quality is to be ensured. 6Identify areas needing additional school construction, especially for the upper primaryschools and in the States still requiring additional construction overall. Schemes thatprovide support for the creation of infrastructure must also address the maintenanceand upgrading needs of schools. The number of upper primary schools is dramaticallylower than that of primary schools. This is a critical challenge that pushes manychildren out of school. The complete elementary school cycle needs to be provided.4. Prepared by Anjela Taneja, Oxfam India, drawing heavily on the discussion papers of the various social group consultations, inputs from the Right to Education Forumand based on an ongoing discourse with civil society.5. The Planning Commission’s original challenge spoke of Primary Education alone. This refers to Class V whereas Article 21A speaks of the Right to Education till age14, which is Class VIII. It is assumed that restricting the challenge to Grade V has been an oversight on the part of the Commission.6. As articulated by the National Convention on Union Budget 2011-12 organised by People’s Budget Initiative on 19 -20 November 2010 in New Delhi and is basedon the KV norms.155

Little emphasis has been given to adequatelypreparing the 5.2 million elementary levelteachers 7 to meet the needs of an increasinglydiverse school population. In rural areas, over75 per cent of rural schools are multi-grade 8and 9.71 per cent of primary schools are singleteacher schools 9 , hampering teachers’ abilityto provide quality education. This issue iscompounded by the fact that 12.93 per cent oftotal teachers are para-teachers and only 78.21per cent of government elementary teachersare professionally trained. 10While the RTE Act outlaws levying fees ingovernment schools, the practice has notended in reality. Furthermore, except for a fewstates, there is limited scope for regulation offees of private providers.Many schools are remote and children lackmeans of accessing the same due to absence oftransportation facilities.AccessibilityDiscrimination against marginalised childrencontinues with impunity despite provisionsprohibiting it in law and policy.Discrimination within schools persists. Limitedsensitivity and respect for cultural diversity inschools.Frequent delay in release of scholarshipsand other financial support to economicallymarginalised families. Excessivebureaucratisation in the same.All vacancies to be filled at the earliest to ensure that the pupil-teacher ratios are asper the provisions of the RTE Act in all schools and not just as an aggregate figure in ablock or district. Investment in setting up of many more teacher training institutions,especially in remote areas, to enable the shortage of teachers to be met. End adhoc appointments in Adivasi areas; instead, train and appoint local youth. Prioritisethe hiring of local, especially women, teachers. Given the emphasis on improvingenrolment of girls, which is critically dependent upon the presence of female teachers,the existing gender gap of more than 10 per cent in recruitment of teachers needs to begiven special attention. End the practice of hiring of para-teachers by states as a costcutting measure. The skills of existing para-teachers within the education system areto be enhanced by the state through an effective and quality training system to bringthem at par with the standards laid down under the new Curriculum Framework forTeacher Education.The levying of additional fees including those related to the purchasing of textbooks,uniforms and other learning materials that can serve as a barrier to education shouldend in government schools. Central legislation, as in Tamil Nadu, to be introduced toregulate the fees of private providers.Suitable and safe transportation to be provided if its absence prevents children fromattending school or otherwise puts them in harm. Rationalise timings of publictransport in rural areas to enable teachers and children to reach on time. Makeprovision in remote areas to escort children (especially older girls) using the experienceof Bihar which has introduced this for Mahadalits.Standards of security related to everyday running of schools to be codified and enforcedregularly and not just as a response to specific acute problems or events. Grievanceredressal mechanisms should be set up in schools with clear lines going to the upperlevels against discrimination and violence in schools. Sensitisation of teachers and theadministration to be undertaken to specific issues of marginalised groups. Additionally,teachers to be oriented on usage of non violent teaching.Education of a common standard to be provided across the country. Substandardprovisions in remote areas impact the education of marginalised groups the most. Enddiscrimination and segregation in classrooms, cultural and social activities. Citizenshipeducation and diversity to find mention in the curriculum. Teacher training to bestrengthened on these aspects.Specific focus on the most marginalised within the marginalised groups, e.g. primitiveAdivasi groups, manual scavengers, bonded child labour. Ensure timely release ofscholarships, education fee reimbursements and other monetary help being extendedto marginalised communities. Peg scholarship amount to the current rate of inflation.Simplify processes for application, like requirement for excessive documentation. Theseare usually lacking with poor, neoliterate families.7. DISE, 20088. District Information System For Education (DI SE), 20079. District Information System For Education, 200810. DISE, 2008156

Supplemental programmes for successfultransition to formal education, learningachievement.All children to be given support needed to become successful learners. More bridgecourses needed commensurate with the number of children out of school. Residentialfacilities (hostels, etc.) need to be provided to ensure retention of children and theirsafety.Issues of Specific Social GroupsDalitsEducation of the public on caste discrimination for understanding of rationale and justification for specialmeasures for Dalit students and community. Sensitisation of teachers to issues of caste and the need forproactive hiring of Dalit teachers. Appoint Dalits as cooks for the Mid Day Meal scheme as a measure to endcaste discrimination. Conduct activities directly focusing on Dalits out of the SC Special Component Plan insteadof making notional allocation of resources.AdivasisEducation should be provided in the mother tongue. This entails hiring of teachers conversant with the Adivasilanguage through strengthening teacher training institutions in Adivasi dominated areas and working out abridge to the dominant state language in a phased manner over a period of a few years. Adivasi Ashrams andResidential Schools: Strengthen monitoring systems for these as gross abuses of child rights have been knownto happen in the absence of community or government oversight. Strengthen and enforce minimum norms.MuslimsAddress issues of discrimination against Muslim learners in classrooms and schools. Education facilities to bestrengthened in Muslim-dominated areas.Saffronisation of the curriculum continues to happen in several states. Secular values in education need to beupheld in the curriculum, textbooks and lesson transactions. Modernisation of the madrasa education systemto be further strengthened.GirlsExtend the network of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, which has ensured quality education for girls. Takemeasures to ensure safety of girls in the schools. Implement the Vishaka Guidelines.Child LabourMinimum age for all employment to be set down. Child Labour Act to be congruent with the RTE Act in notproviding for simultaneous regulation and prohibition of labour by children under 14. Drastically extendnetwork of bridge courses with clear linkages to schools for children out of school who are potential childlabourers. Mechanisms for identification of children at risk of trafficking for child labour/commercial sex workneed to be set up in endemic areas and prevention should be strengthened at source. Improvement of thenational child labour project: The National Child Labour Project (NCLP) was founded in 1998 to rehabilitateworking children released from hazardous sectors. However, this project is inadequate; of the estimated2 million children working in hazardous sectors, the NCLP has mainstreamed only 0.48 million workingchildren into regular education to date. Furthermore, it provides only day schooling and of a standard not incongruence with the new RTE Act norms; rescued children often require residential schooling.Child MigrantsFlexible policies and support programmes needed for child migrants are flexible school admissions, seasonalhostel facilities, residential schools at source and destination location, coaching classes equipping schools toreceive returning children and bridge courses for dropouts. These policies should be extended to cover thescale of population needing these services. Teaching practices, curriculum content and language of instructionshould be sensitive to migrant children in “receiving” states. This implies mapping the requirements and thenhiring the right teachers, orienting the existing teachers and getting the right textbooks.Children in areasaffected by civil unrest;internally displaced andrefugee childrenAll refugee children, without any distinction, must have access to primary education (UNHCR, 1994, p. 111). Inthe event that a school is damaged or destroyed as a result of armed conflict, the government should takeimmediate steps to repair or rebuild the school. Education should be provided while repairs are under way.Occupation of schools by security forces to end immediately as per standing Supreme Court orders. If voluntaryrepatriation remains feasible, curriculum should be based on that of the curriculum in the country of origin.If voluntary repatriation is unlikely to occur in the foreseeable future, the curriculum should incorporateelements of the curriculum used in the country in which they have sought asylum (UNHCR, 1994, p. 113). Peaceeducation: Conflict resolution and tolerance should be taught to children who are victims of armed conflict(UNHCR, 1994, p. 113). Within the Constitution of India the parameters of peace education for areas of conflictas prescribed by the NCERT can be built upon.157

EmergenciesChildren living with andaffected by HIV/AIDSChildren with disabilityAcceptabilityImprove standards ofschools. Increased timespent learning in school.School leadershipRelevant, inclusive, skilllevel-appropriate andhigh quality curricula,textbooks and learningmaterials.Long-term occupation of schools in emergency situations to be avoided to free schools for instruction.Furthermore, structural safety of school buildings to be ensured through compliance with the NationalBuilding Code for all new school buildings and retro-fitting to be done of the old ones. Child-Centred DisasterRisk Reduction strategies to be introduced in consistency with the Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA 2005-2015),mainstreaming issues of children in disaster management planning, school safety initiatives and disasterresilienthomes, schools and livelihoods. Issues of school safety to be introduced within the curriculum.Prevent discrimination based on HIV status or status of relatives. All educational institutes (government,aided or private) must be directed not to refuse admission to any children affected by HIV or bar any suchchild from attending school on grounds of HIV status. Priority for accessing government schemes and waiverof administrative requirements for accessing schemes for children in families affected or infected by HIV/AIDS,including and especially AIDS orphans.Universal Design: Ensure that infrastructure is accessible by children with disability. This needs to go beyondthe existence of a mere ramp at the gate of the school and can include railings in the classroom and toilets,and even the availability of a teacher who can handle children with disability. Teacher training, sensitisationof teachers: There is an acute shortage of special educators in the country. This needs to be overcome. At thesame time, all teachers need to be trained to handle children with disability in their own classrooms. ClusterResource Centres or Block Resource Centres to be strengthened as resources for education and rehabilitation ofchildren with disability in their own areas. Special vs. inclusive schools: In a majority of cases, children withdisability can be taught in mainstream schools. Necessary adaptation would be required to accommodatethem. This includes the availability of teaching and learning material in classrooms. Home-schooling ofchildren with disability should be discouraged as it fails to comply with the minimum standards of educationunder the RTE Act. Education of children with disability should be addressed under the same ministry as otherchildren. Consequently, education of children with disability should be transferred to the Ministry of HumanResource Development from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.Restructure Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan with the clear goal of providing quality of education equivalent to thatof the Kendriya Vidyalayas for all schools as mentioned in the 11th Five Year Plan. Free teachers from nonteachingand clerical work. Appointment of clerical staff in larger schools and in part-time capacity in smallerschools to free teachers from non-academic, school related, but non-teaching work. ICT based solutionsshould be looked at. Urgent provision of electricity and Internet connectivity in all schools. Strengthen teachertraining through both in-service and on-site support to teachers to enable them to plan more meaningfulactivities.Monitoring systems of teacher attendance to be strengthened and relevant incentives and disincentives needto be planned.Appointment of head teachers in all schools. If an existing teacher is appointed as acting headmaster, capacitybuilding should be done to enable him/her to play the role. A new budget line for capacity building ofheadmasters should be introduced to enable them to provide local leadership to their teachersStudents must be able to make connections to what they are reading.The quality of textbooks in several states needs to be improved.School libraries should be improved and the children introduced to the idea of reading clubs. A link betweenvillage and school libraries should be built. Incorporate components of health and nutrition, environmentaleducation, human rights, moral values, unified arts, media literacy in the curriculum. A truly inclusiveeducational environment is sensitive to the diverse needs and learning styles of students. Assessments shouldreflect this Content transacted in classrooms to be made relevant to the learners and supplementary materialshould be sourced. Schools can consult with children on what additional material and processes wouldenhance their learning.11. Teacher Development and Management, February 2009158

Strengthen teacher training and onsite support.Lack of consistency between pre- and inserviceteacher training and weak linkagesbetween education departments and decisionmakers at different levels of governance. 11 Thispublication also reported that ‘there is a greaterneed to change the government teacher’sself-image to… a respected and significantprofessional in the local community and thewider society’ to address issues of absenteeismand low motivation.Child Participation in theEducation ProcessMidday MealSchool HealthProgrammeAdaptabilityLanguage of instruction(instruction in mothertongue, support forsecond languagelearners)Recognition of localculture and history inthe curriculumEnabling Conditions for the aboveData collection, researchand evidence basedplanningSet up enough teacher training institutes to ensure availability of trained teachers inthe areas where they are needed. Build capacities of CRCs and BRCs to extend needbasedsupport to teachers in their areas. The availability of CRCs and Resource Teachersas per commitments of the 11th FYP to be ensured. The focus on academic aspects tobe strengthened, instead of using the CRC as a conduit for information flow. In-servicetraining to be need-based rather than Centrally predetermined. Considerably betterinvestment of thought and finances into the processes need to be made than is beingdone now. Strengthen and empower District Institutes of Educational Training to enablethem to play the role of pedagogical renewal in their District. Strengthen their link withCRCs/BRCs as promised in the 11th Plan. Provide a clear career path for teachers includingstudy leave, etc. Implement the new National Curriculum Framework for TeacherEducation. Reform National Scheme for Teacher Training as per recommendationsof its review. Incentivise rural postings for teachers. As a bare minimum, makeavailable quarters for female teachers in rural areas. Strengthen school inspection andmechanisms for monitoring teacher performance.Provide spaces for children’s voices. This includes space for children in the School Management Committees,etc. Recommendations of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights on setting up of childrights clubs to be considered in the SSA and orders passed in the relevant state societies.Warm, nutritious, locally cooked food to be provided, prepared through a process whereby teachers arenot forced to compromise on teaching work. Review including feedback of children should be fed intoimprovements.Revive the School Health Programme. Add aspects of body hygiene, menstrual hygiene reproductive healthand HIV. Disseminate and replicate existing best practices.All children should be able to learn in the native tongue, especially in early grades. The three-languageformula needs to be implemented in accordance with its intent. Allow children speaking languages otherthan the state language to start education on sound footing. Make teaching learning materials (especially,textbooks) available in multiple languages. English language may need to be introduced in line with buildingcommunity demand. Skills of teachers to be built to enable them to teach the same.All learning materials must reflect India’s diversity. Local geography and history should be included.Importance to be given to Adivasi and Dalit history. The neglect of the North East in Indian history textbooks tobe redressed.Reliable and robust data should be consistently collected to monitor progress across the nation. Significantdata deficiencies have continued (e,g. a reliable measurement of out-of-school children) which can beovercome if government data collection is made more transparent and communities and CSOs are allowedto participate. The data generated to be used as basis for planning. A People Information System on thefunctioning of the education system needs to be maintained supplemented by regular social audits.Strengthen capacity of the NCPCR and SCPCRs as monitoring bodies for the RTE Act by bringing in professionalexpertise, empowerment of structures and revitalising their functioning to enable them to play the role.Strengthen inter-departmental synergy with the MHRD being made the nodal ministry for overseeing deliveryof school education. Education provisions under the MSJE, Labour, Adivasi Department, etc to be delegated toMHRD.159

Engagement of localcommunities andempowerment of PRIs.Community involvement in decision-making, implementation and accountability to be reinforced. Existingstructures like the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) or the new RTE-based structure of SMCs and VillageEducation Committee (VEC) should be strengthened. Empowerment and support, both financial and throughcapacity building, is needed for PRIs. While the number of days of training of SMCs has been increased, themechanism for groups to receive ongoing onsite support to function effectively needs to be set up. Strengthenongoing processes of community-based planning through SMCs and PRIs. Convergence with existing PRIand urban local government-based planning processes under the 73rd and 74th Amendment needs to bestrengthened.Community efforts to monitor student enrolment and attendance can decrease dropout, increase retention,monitor teacher performance and attendance and improve learning achievement.Expansion of SecondaryEducation with VocationalAlternativesThe Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan waslaunched during the 11th Five Year Plan to address the lacunaein secondary education. However, the implementation ofthe same has been slow to start. It is hoped that the focuson secondary education would strengthen in the comingPlan period, without lowering the existing attention onelementary education. Access to secondary educationremains extremely inequitable across gender, location,income and social groups. Many of the issues affectingelementary education are likewise applicable to secondaryeducation. Such issues have not been mentioned in the tablebelow if the recommendations for both age groups are thesame.IssueCombined secondary & uppersecondary enrolment is low at 40 percent (2004-5), but growing rapidly at5.4 per cent per year. However, only65 per cent villages have secondaryschools within 5 km which is thegovernment norm. There are 1.69 lakhsecondary schools of which 63 per centare under private management. Theshare of private unaided secondaryschools increased from 15 per cent in1993-94 to 35 per cent in 2006-07. Thisis at a time when secondary schoolattendance of SC, ST, Muslims is 80 percent lower than that of the generalcategory.Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayashave proven to be extremely goodvehicles of education. However, theydo not take girls up to Class 12.The shortage of teachers, especiallyif universalisation is to be ensured,needs to be met.RecommendationPlan for expansion of the government school system to ensure supply commensurate withemerging demand to move towards the goal of universalising secondary education, reinforcedby a legal right, and not at the rate of one school per district or even block. Prioritise openingof secondary schools in remote and rural areas which have been grossly underserved till now.In urban areas too, more secondary schools are needed in localities serving the urban poorcommunities. Currently, 75 per cent of school enrolment is in the 40 per cent of secondaryschools that are in the government sector. This highlights the need for systematic investmentin strengthening the infrastructure of government schools, especially for poor families whoare unable to afford the fees charged by private schools in rural areas where the shortage ofsecondary schools is undeniably acute.Needless to say, infrastructure of the secondary schools needs to be also upgraded. Shortage ofgirls’ toilets is one obvious issue that needs to be addressed for retention of girls at this levelas well. Regulation and rationalisation of the fees levied by private schools to minimise abuse.Expand Open Schooling opportunities for older out-of-school adolescents to enable them toreturn to schooling and obtain requisite academic skills. Hostel facilities to be expanded withspecial focus on marginalised groups at the secondary level and above.Expanding the KGBVs to provide higher secondary education would be an extremely desirablestep towards ensuring retention of girls at post secondary education levels. Formal schoolingshould be given a thrust and pilots initiated on girl-friendly schools.More trained teachers eligible for secondary education and specifically for science and maths to berecruited.This would require considerable expansion of teacher training institutions and enhancing of thecapacity of existing ones. The process of accreditation from National Council of Technical Educationto be simplified and monitoring of institutes to be enhanced. Mechanisms for in-service traininglikewise need to be strengthened.160

CurriculumIncentives and scholarshipsCounselling and sexual andreproductive health educationSchool governanceInclusionThe EFYP envisaged expansion ofvocational education coverage to20,000 schools with an intake capacityof 25 lakh by 2011-12.Need for convergence of multiple state boards with the National Curriculum Framework.Textbooks to be revised. Rigidity in terms of courses offered is a constraint for many youth whoare compelled to follow limited streams of learning. Provide opportunities for preservation oftraditional, experience based knowledge.Timely release of scholarships to be ensuredAppoint counsellors in schools to provide counselling to students and parents, ideally fromelementary school. This is especially important in adolescence.Career guidance efforts should be initiated through curriculum from Class 7 onwards. Access tosexual and reproductive health education: A child above the age of 12 should have the right toconfidential access to information on sexual and reproductive health including HIV. Such servicesand policies should ensure education and empowerment of girls. The existing AdolescenceEducation Programme (Life Skills Education) should begin from Class 8 and not Class 9 consideringthe dropout rate at the secondary stage.Strengthen role of PTAs and local self-government in monitoring the functioning of schools.Involvement of the community in planning, monitoring and auditing to be strengthened and theprocesses enhanced overall.Data Management System to be strengthened.Children with disability form the group that is most excluded from secondary education andspecial priority needs to be given to them. Children in institutional and alternate care must beprovided vocational and professional training at the secondary stage.The lack of social recognition, inflexible curricula and duration, the lack of need-based coursesand trained teachers, poor vertical mobility and linkage with industry and the absence of anational accreditation system have to be addressed for vocational education to succeed.Vocational education needs to be congruent with the local context. A focus on reviving Adivasiskills could also be part of this.Early Childhood EducationThe foundations of child development are laidduring the early childhood years. The absence of effectiveearly childhood education programs, other than the yet-tobe-universalisedICDS, is manifest in the poor quality of theworkforce. Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)that could wonderfully prepare children for school is nota priority in the education process in India. As a result,when children, particularly from the socio-economicallymarginalised communities, transit from Anganwadis toformal schools, they face pressure and become overwhelmed,culminating in most of them dropping out between Classes5-7. Furthermore, the lack of quality care facilities pusheslarge numbers of older girls out of school. The following arethe recommendations in this regard.IssuesLegal rightChildren under3/crèches for allRecommendationsMove towards inclusion of Early Childhood Care and Education as a right to citizens. This would entail planning to set upappropriate systems for the same. Clear preschool policy needed including planning for human resources and trainingand regulation of the private sector.Universal models of quality day care, especially in urban areas, are urgently needed for improvement in survival,growth and development of children, the release of the girl child for education and safety and protection of youngchildren, particularly girls, from sex abuse, drug peddling and alcohol related violence. Systems for early identificationand stimulation for children with disability to be introduced. Universalisation of crèches at MGNREGS worksite andconvergence with ICDS is needed.The scope and reach of the Rajiv Gandhi Crèche Scheme to be enhanced.Universalise maternity entitlements to enable ‘care’.161

Pre-schoolcomponent ofICDSPreschool sectionin schoolsHuman resourcesUniversalise ICDS with quality as per standing government commitment.Every study for decades has pointed at the preschool component as the weakest of services under ICDS. Identifiedgaps need addressing. Implement previous commitments of the EFYP including appointment of the second worker inAnganwadi centres, strengthen the training process and enhance the availability of teaching learning materials.One year of preschool education for children entering elementary education in accordance with the pre-existingcommitments under the EFYP.The network of teacher training institutes needs to be expanded to ensure availability of adequate number of equippedand certified teachers to teach children of this age group.Tertiary, Adult and Continuous EducationIssuesTertiary EducationScholarships for highereducation for Dalits, Adivasis,Children Living with HIV/AidsThe lack of technical colleges,institutes outside metros.Few teacher training collegesin rural areas. Limited intakeof marginalised groups.Youth VolunteerismAdult and Continuous EducationLack of vocational andlife skill (communication,negotiation and socialintegration skills) trainingamong adult and youthmigrants.RecommendationsScholarship schemes provided for adolescents under ST/SC/OBC category should be extended to childrenaffected by HIV/AIDS. Adolescents affected by HIV to be granted waiver of tuition fee for higher and technicaleducation at government institutes. Support for competitive exams for students from the marginalisedsections of society. Provision of laptops to scholars from marginalised groups in higher education.Prioritise setting up of higher education institutions in rural areas, especially those headed by people frommarginalised groups (eg Dalits).Prioritise intake from SCs/STs in private colleges. Enforcement to be strengthened. Rationalise andstrengthen regulation of private providers to ensure compliance with government norms and standardsof quality. Link existing students with job placement portals or alumni associations and replicate successstories such as CAP (Children and Police in Hyderabad). Develop the capacities of distance learning schoolsand colleges. Gender studies as separate discipline to be included at graduate and PG levels.Nehru Yuvak Kendras and NSS have been the largest government initiatives to mobilise youth volunteerism.These need to be revitalised to mobilise youth in support of school education; being fresh graduates, theyouth have an immediate interest in the system.According to the 60th round of the National Sample Survey, only 3 per cent of rural youth and 6 per centof urban youth have undergone vocational training. Availability of vocational educational opportunities,the difference in status associated with the same and the uncreative content in vocational educationalprogrammes keep the youth out. There needs to be a complete rethink of the model to ensure greaterattractiveness of courses offered, quality of training imparted and clearer links between the training andvocational opportunities. Modular vocational training giving space to upgrade skills on the job on anongoing basis should be provided. There is a special need for vocational training and accreditation formigrant workers that has to be prioritised.Institutions of Excellence whichare Truly World ClassIt is unclear as to which institutions other than theones above (i.e. institutions ranging from schools to adulteducation institutes, going by the original sub-challenges)the Planning Commission refers to. All institutions that theState runs or otherwise supports need to be world class ifIndia is to hope to compete at the international stage.Facilitating Private Investment,including PPP in EducationEnsuring delivery of the Right to Education for allchildren from birth to the age of 18 (taking the age range ofthe United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child(UNCRC) that India is signatory to) is unequivocally theresponsibility of the State. It is, furthermore, its responsibilityto find the resources to do so. However, if additionalresources may be leveraged from the corporate sector, this162

could be done provided it forms part of the overall (andstrengthened and rationalised) planning process. The groupfirmly believes that entry into PPPs with for-profit entitieswould not deliver an equitable quality education for allthe nation’s citizens, especially those from the marginalisedsections of society and who constitute the majority of thenation’s population. Having said so, an exception to therule may be made for vocational education, where there isreason to expect that vocational training would be enhancedthrough a clear linkage with the eventual employers.Entering into partnership with such agencies will formalisethis relationship. Firm and rational regulation of such apartnership will, however, be necessary to ensure mutualaccountability.163

do this, effort must be made to identify economicopportunities that are not dependent on mining.We must recognise that the minerals will be ours foreverif we restrain mining, but the wealth of the soil and otherbiota will be lost forever if we mine the minerals belowthem. Economic valuations like that done by the net presentvalue method do not reflect the true long-term value of theecosystem services that the terrain and the plant and animalresources provide. The 12 th Five Year Plan must incorporatethese important elements in the design of the approachpaper and these should also be reflected in the programmeof action. The mines, minerals and PEOPLE alliance wouldlike to assist in this process.165

13. BudgetCentre for Budget and Governance Accountability1. Inputs on ChildrenThe 12 th Plan must adopt a holistic approach to childrights, keeping in mind the heterogeneity of childrenregarding their age, gender, ability, religious and ethnicstatus. The 12 th Plan must take adequate initiatives tofulfil India’s commitments to its children as laid out inthe Constitution of India, the UNCRC, the NationalPolicy for Children 1974, the National Plan of Actionfor Children, 2005 and the Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs).• Overall Plan allocation for child-specific schemesmust be stepped up. Within various sub-sectors(education, health, development and protection)specific to children, allocation of funds shouldbe in proportion to child population under thatdomain. Allocation for child protection andICDS should be enhanced without cutting downallocations made for other sectors.• In each sector, a specific percentage should be setaside for monitoring and governance and also forCSOs for effective implementation of schemes.• For improving the quality of service, increasedallocations are warranted, especially undereducation and health. Within education andhealth, special preference should be given to theBIMARU (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa)states.• Malnutrition of women and children shouldbe addressed as a special issue and separateallocations made.• Children with disability, street children,vulnerable children should be grouped togetherand should get separate allocations under eachscheme.• Separate allocations should be put in place toprovide mobile cards to the children of migrantfamilies so that they can be used by parents toavail the benefits wherever they go.• Special allocation of funds should be made forcreating a strong database on all aspects of childdevelopment and for fostering research on childspecificissues.• In the North Eastern Region, the North EasternCouncil (NEC) and Ministry for Developmentof the North Eastern Region (DONER) havebeen formed for balanced growth of the regionand they should start allocating funds for childdevelopment in this region.• Special allocation of funds is necessary fordetecting and addressing early childhooddisorders to prevent potential disability and thepermanent liability of continual medical care.• There should be allocation of funds to create aspecial cell in PRIs to periodically monitor andevaluate child-related schemes/programmes.Allocations for the necessary infrastructure,including human resources, should also be made.• Allocations should be made for universalmaternity entitlement with six months ofminimum wages for all female workers.• Special allocation should be made for fosteringsports and extracurricular activity for ensuringoverall personality development of children.Vocational training, disaster managementtraining, life skills education should form part ofchildren’s education.166

2. Inputs on Education• There is a need to step up government spendingon education. A long-overdue promise ofspending 6 per cent of the GDP on educationis yet to be fulfilled. At present, the country isspending about 3.23 percent of the GDP oneducation, which is way below the benchmarkfixed more than 40 years ago.• The Central government’s move to fund increasesin the budget support to education with educationcess is a matter of concern. Further, in the light ofthe fiscal crunch faced by most of the states, it isnecessary that the Central government increasesits share in financing education.• The Right to Education (RTE) Act has beenpassed and it is proposed to be operationalisedthrough the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). Thescheme outlays need to be stepped up significantlyfor this to be possible. In this regard, estimatingthe funds that would be needed to provide freeschooling to all using Kendriya Vidyalaya as anorm for quality reveals that Rs.12.83 lakh crores(at current prices) would be needed to implementthe RTE, spread over the 12 th Five Year Plan(2011-12 to 2015-16). This would amount toRs.2.56 lakh crores for the Union Budget 2011-12, which is approximately 3.71 percent of theGDP. This would imply that the governmentspending at the elementary education level shouldbe 3.71 percent of GDP; it is currently around1.4 percent of GDP (2006). Consequently, thegovernment proposal of spending just Rs.1.82lakh crores spread over the five years works out toan inadequate Rs.0.36 lakh crores a year.• Specifically with regard to SSA, the componentsrelating to ensuring the quality of education,i.e. outlays towards teacher training, BRC/CRCand maintenance, require attention. Further,the existing unit costs (salary to para-teachers,training costs, building costs) need to be revisedto make them more realistic and to ensureeffective scheme implementation.• To ensure that the disadvantaged sections of thepopulation are able to access quality educationat all levels, earmarked spending on educationof SCs and STs should reach at least Rs 1500per SC/ST child from the present Rs 1073 perSC/ST child in the Union Budget 2011-12.Similarly, earmarked spending on education ofthe girl child should reach at least Rs 1500 pergirl child from the present Rs 1297 per girl childin the Union Budget 2011-12.• The allocations under Rashtriya MadhyamikShiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) as the primary vehicleto ensure increased public spending at thesecondary level must be stepped up by increasingthe unit costs for specific components, such asmaintenance, school annual grant and in-servicetraining of teachers. Provision for sanctioning ofteachers posts at the secondary level must also beincluded.• Constraints with regard to implementation ofgovernment schemes in education such as SSA,MDM, RMSA, etc. needs to be addressed toensure that funds allocated are effectively spentand utilised.• The last Education Commission was constitutedmore than 40 years ago. It is time that the Centralgovernment sets up another commission withclear terms of reference.• The increasing trend towards encouraging privatesector participation through different modes(PPP, vouchers) needs to be checked as evidencefrom developed countries clearly shows that inthe interest of a strong and vibrant citizenship,financing education is primarily the government’sresponsibility and cannot be left to market forces.3. Inputs on Food Security and Public Distribution• Food and nutrition security to all the citizens ofthe country must be seen as an entitlement, whichcalls for provision of sufficient Plan resources toensure such entitlements.• Existing Plan programmes and schemes aimedat ensuring food and nutrition security of thecountry at present needs to be transferred to thenon-Plan heads of expenditure. There is a needfor broadening its base as well as geographicalcoverage. For instance, the PDS should beexpanded to foodgrains such as millets, pulsesand cooking oils.• To ensure better nutrition, Plan programmes/schemes for the targeted sections of the communityduring the 12 th Plan may be introduced.167

• There is an urgent need to universalise the PDSin the country with unconditional additionalPlan support to the states.• Appropriate changes need to be made withregard to the unit of beneficiaries from familyto individuals. In other words, the unit ofdistribution of foodgrains should target theindividual rather than the family and distributeat least 7 kg of cereals per month to each adultmember of the family while ensuring minimumquality of foodgrains.• Special provisions should be made in the PDS fordisaster- and drought-prone areas of the country.4. Governance and Institutions• Special monitoring mechanisms need to beinstitutionalised within the ambit of thePlanning Commission’s monitoring frameworkto ensure transparency in the operation of allPlan programmes and schemes relating to foodand nutrition security.• Transparency and accountability in the PDSneeds to be taken into account while financialresources are being allocated. Related to this is theneed to establish and strengthen anti-corruptionunits as an integral part of the Plan programmesto check diversion of food articles meant forpublic distribution and any corruption therein.• Social audit should be incorporated and mademandatory within the programme guidelines forPDS.• Budgetary allocation for building ruralinfrastructure, especially for strengthening ruralconnectivity, godowns, market infrastructure andcold storages, are critical for an effective deliverymechanism.• Related to this is the issue of facilitating andempowering local governance institutions,particularly grassroots Panchayats, for procuringand distributing essential commodities to reduceeconomic costs.5. Inputs on Health• With regard to ensuring priority for health inthe overall spending of the government, publicinvestment on health needs to be at least to thetune of 3 percent of GDP. The states should alsoincrease their investment on health and take it upas a priority.• There is a pressing concern with regard toincreasing investment on ‘human resources forhealth’.• Training of frontline health service providers atregular intervals should be taken up on a prioritybasis. Remuneration for frontline staff should berevised regularly in keeping with the increasingcost of living as well as to ensure that the amountis realistic.• In an attempt to reduce maternal and infantmortality, the implementation of Janani SurakshaYojana (JSY) and Indira Gandhi Matritva SahyogYojana (IGMSY) must be made more effective.Careful monitoring of both JSY and IGMSYwould also ensure effective implementation.• Another related concern is improving the CivilRegistration System and District Health Profiles.• With regard to primary health, facilities must beupgraded and strengthened to provide qualityhealth facilities for all.• Regulation of private sector in provisioning ofhealth services is critical. This is also importantto curtail out of pocket expenses in the healthsector. Equity, quality and regulation should beemphasised.• A shift in the paradigm to viewing health as abasic right of every person needs to be made anda necessary corollary to this is the enactment ofan effective and sound legislation on the Right toHealth.• Regular supply of essential medicines throughthe public health system is another critical factorin ensuring that health services are available toall. All essential drugs need to be brought underprice control.• The Department of Ayurveda, Yoga andNaturopathy, Unani, Siddha and HomoeopathySystems (AYUSH), presently neglected by thegovernment in terms of budget allocations, mustbe mainstreamed.• Greater attention on tuberculosis and malariain terms of the intra-budgetary priority ofthe Ministry of Health and Family Welfare isrecommended.168

• Greater focus on child health in general, and onpromotion, protection and support to the Infantand Young Child Feeding (IYCF) programme inparticular, is suggested given the poor outcomeswith regard to child health in the country.6. Inputs on Water and Sanitation• Water quality and sustainability of supply shouldbe given prime focus.• An integrated approach should be used to dealwith the issue of trained human resources in thesector.• Convergence of water and sanitation withdepartments such as Health and Educationshould be done.• Regular and focused training should be providedto Public Health and Engineering staff and PRImembers engaged in water and sanitation.• Serious efforts are needed to encourage andmake available alternative dignified employmentopportunities for the manual scavengers. TheIntegrated Low Cost Sanitation Programmeshould be given greater priority.• Effective and sufficient monitoring is required forwater and sanitation programmes.• The National Urban Sanitation Policy needs tobe operationalised.• Treatment of wastewater, rainwater harvestingand solid waste management should be givenincreased priority.• Behavioural change and communication shouldbe emphasised to bring about greater usage ofwater and sanitation facilities.• A gendered perspective should be adopted whileframing schemes for water and sanitation.7. Inputs on Women7.1 Engendering the Planning ProcessIt is imperative that the process of conceptualisingand implementing schemes is engendered. Propermonitoring mechanisms should be put in placeto track the implementation of programmes/schemes. This should be adopted across all sectors– the so-called traditionally women-related aswell as mainstream sectors. Furthermore, theexercise of social audits must be institutionalisedacross the board. Special attention must be paidtowards ensuring women’s participation in allthese processes.Separate guidelines should be formulated forwomen from the most marginalised sections andother vulnerable groups at the time of preparationof the Project Implementation Plans (PIPs) bystates.7.2 Women’s Participation in the Economy(a) Moving Beyond the SHG Model ofEconomic EmpowermentThe predominant approach of the governmenttowards addressing women’s rights stillseems to be driven by SHGs despite the factthat several women’s groups have broughtout the limitations of such an approach.Therefore, alternative models of economicempowerment need to be considered. Toinitiate this process, a thorough review of theSHG model needs to be conducted.(b) Enabling Structures for Working WomenIt is crucial that enabling structures such ascrèches or day care centres are provided forworking women. Presently, the Rajiv GandhiNational Crèche Scheme for Children ofWorking Mothers is operational. However,data pertaining to the number of crèchesand the quality of services being given is notavailable. Therefore, a review of the schemeshould be undertaken. Moreover, no user feeshould be charged for these services.The draft Bill on Protection of Women fromSexual Harassment at the Workplace, 2010is in place. However, some women’s groupshave raised important concerns regarding thedraft, particularly the exclusion of domesticworkers from its ambit. The PlanningCommission should take steps to ensurethat these concerns are addressed and therevised draft submitted to the Parliament forconsideration and approval.Taking a cue from women’s organisations,strong efforts have to be made to ensure asafe and secure environment for women.This will entail specific safeguards for womenespecially those with late hours of work.169

7.3 Addressing multiple layers of marginalisation(a) Scheme for Women with DisabilityA special scheme for women with disabilityshould be devised to address their specificvulnerabilities.(b) Evaluation of Schemes Aimed at ProvidingSupport Services to Women in DistressSchemes such as Swadhar and ShortStay Homes among others have been inexistence for a long time; however, nocomprehensive evaluation has been done.A detailed assessment is urgently requiredso that corrective measures can be taken. Inaddition, this evaluation should also lookat the feasibility of devising an integratedprogramme to address the varied concerns ofwomen in distress.170

14. Review of the Central SocialWelfare BoardKalyani Menon-SenThe Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) was setup in 1953 as an autonomous body under the Ministryof Women and Child Development (MoWCD), GoI. Itis now registered as a non-profit company under Section25 of the Companies Act. The CSWB had a budgetallocation of Rs 16,275 lakhs for 2010-11 and funds NGOsfor implementation of eight key schemes for women andchildren (short-stay homes, family counselling centres,condensed courses of education, awareness programmeson women’s rights, working women’s hostels, vocationaltraining programmes and crèches for children of workingmothers).Apart from the structural deficits and inadequaciesin the schemes themselves, a CAG audit in 2002highlighted several serious irregularities and shortcomingsin the functioning of the CSWB. The exposure in 2009 ofcorruption and financial irregularities committed by theCSWB in sanctioning funds to NGOs under the RajivGandhi Crèche Scheme of the MoWCD suggests that theCAG’s observations have not been acted upon.Despite recent claims of restructuring and revamping,the functioning of the CSWB continues to be nontransparentand unprofessional. Pre-funding appraisal doesnot include any assessment of the substantive capacitiesof applicants and monitoring is primarily through deskreviews. A pilot project for hands-on field monitoring wasinitiated in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh but the resultshave not been made public. There are several instances ofcontinued funding to non-performing recipients, whilegenuine NGOs have complained of being sidelined. Thereare no mechanisms for addressing complaints and grievancesof NGOs who have been denied funds.Annual reports contain only statements of financialallocations and a few anecdotal “case-studies” of so-calledsuccessful projects. There are serious concerns about theskewed regional distribution of schemes; for instance, nota single short-stay home has been sanctioned in HimachalPradesh, Goa, Lakshadweep, Meghalaya and Mizoram in2009-10. The numbers of short-stay homes sanctionedin Delhi (2), Gujarat (2), Punjab (4), Haryana (6) andRajasthan (8) are completely inadequate in view of the sizeof the population and the steep increase in reported cases ofviolence against women in these states.The governance structure of the board is undemocraticand non-representative. The 56-member General Body isdominated by officials and heads of State Social WelfareBoards. There are only eight seats for representatives of civilsociety and three seats for elected representatives.In an environment of increasing economic and socialmarginalisation and exclusion of women, there is a need fora radical restructuring of the overall mechanism of fundingto women’s programmes. It is unacceptable that scarceresources are routed through undemocratic, inefficient andunreliable institutions.An independent professional review of the functioningof the CSWB (including its financial procedures andgovernance mechanisms), as well as an independent impactevaluations of schemes implemented by the CSWB, shouldbe undertaken without delay. This is the first step towards aradical restructuring.Independent impact assessments of schemesimplemented by the CSWB have not been carried out.171

15. Voluntary Sector andGovernment: Partners inDevelopmentVoluntary Action Network IndiaThe Voluntary Action Network India, being an apexbody of voluntary organisations in the country, wouldlike to suggest ways for better partnership in developmentbetween the voluntary sector and the Government.a) Planning Target and MDG Targets to achieveThe 12 th Five Year Plans should prepare and define itstargets, which we think should be similar to or matchingthe targets set in the Millennium Development Goalsby the United Nations. Voluntary organisationscould engage with the Government by carrying outresearch-based analysis and policy advocacy on theNational Schemes and Targets under the 12 th FiveYear Plan and the Millennium Development Goals.Voluntary organisations could also engage in midtermappraisals of the targets and oversee the processof implementation.b) Awareness Building on Planning TargetsVoluntary organisations in partnership with theGovernment in the 12 th Five Year Plan could runawareness campaigns among the general masses andthe target groups, informing them of the variousschemes and targets of the government under thePlan. The national schemes on health, education,etc. introduced during the Plan period would also bebrought under the awareness campaign so that there ismaximum participation of people under the schemesand the schemes become successful.c) Implementation PartnershipVoluntary organisations look towards building therelationship of partnership with the government andnot being mere implementers or an extended hand ofline departments. This relationship could be furtherstrengthened by engaging voluntary organisations inthe skill areas and development plans.d) Support of InnovationUnder the 12 th Five Year Plan Framework, theGovernment should support various innovations onvarious issues developed by Voluntary organisationsat the micro-level in both rural and urban areas andlater upscale them to the macro-level with theseorganisations’ help.e) Developing a Shared PlatformUnder the 12 th Five Year Plan partnership, therecould be the development of a shared platform where,besides the voluntary sector and the government,the corporate sector could also be used as a thirdpartner. These days, the corporate sector through itscorporate social responsibility programmes is alsotrying to contribute to the upliftment of the poorand marginalised communities in the field of health,education, etc. Thus, their role is also importantin nation building. Every partner – the voluntarysector, the government and the corporate sector –would be able to contribute their expertise to theachievements of the targets specified by the 12th FiveYear Plan. Thus, we feel that our engagement shouldbe considered that of an equal partner in the processesor stages of development.ConclusionIt is very evident that the Planning Commission wantsto work with voluntary organisations and ensure that theirvoices are represented in the process, particularly in thecontext of the marginalised sections of society.172

16. Governance, Institutionsand the Planning ProcessNational Social Watch CoalitionDemocracy and development require the deepening ofthe process of popular participation on the one hand andeffectiveness of institutions of governance on the other.While the first brings in the sense of belongingness andparticipation on the part of the citizenry, the second instilsa sense of responsibility and urgency about the achievementof the overall development objectives. It is important toboth widen and deepen the two processes so that they coverthe whole of society and no section and region remainsuntouched by the processes of democracy and development.Institutions play a pivotal role in actualising the objectiveand their effectiveness is extremely important.The biggest challenge for democracies is to see theentire journey of public policy from formulation toimplementation through. The failure of democracies todeliver in such cases often leads to the theory of “democraticdeficits” (often seen at the level of demand-side and supplysidedeficits), where democracy is seen as a process whichfails to carry governance forward. This is, however, just oneend of the entire development-democracy continuum. Onehas to go beyond this point of analysis and suggest a deeperanalysis of institutions. This is necessary because institutionsare the tools /agencies by which the democracies carry theirgovernance agenda forward.In this light, Social Watch organised a NationalConsultation on Governance, Institutions and the PlanningProcess. The following issues emerged from the consultation.• Greater empowerment of institutions of localgovernance at the grassroots, as grassroots institutionsand local people have a better understanding oflocal issues and context; so they can manage localdevelopment better and make development inclusive.• The establishment of District Planning Committeeshas to be done constitutionally with membershiprepresentation as outlined in the constitution. It hasbeen noted that almost all DPCs have ministers as theirchairpersons. This severely vitiates the participativegrassroots nature of the planning process. PlanningCommission should push towards energising theDPCs.• In order to improve outcomes in areas like educationand health, it is necessary—but not sufficient—toimprove the state’s access to funds. Instead of unionfunds being allotted by the Planning Commission astransfers, the share of the states in vertical devolutionshould be increased. This will both improve theavailability of funds at the state level and also permitflexibility that is completely lacking today.• State Finance Commissions are not yet fully establishedand operational at the state level. Since this Act cameinto force on April 24, 1993, all the states which werein existence at that time should have had by nowreports by three finance commissions with the fourthone in the process of finalising its report. However, thestates have not strictly complied with this mandatoryprovision. In fact, the first finance commission wasset up within the mandated period only by ten states,as a result of which the cycle originally envisaged hasbeen substantially disturbed. It would be pertinent toensure the full operation of state finance commissionsto make the implementation of the plan more effective.• The input data available for the State FinanceCommissions is not available in systemic form. Dataat local government levels is either non-existent or verypoor in quality. It makes the task of the SFCs morecomplex as they have to first generate data and thenanalyse it to make suitable recommendations. Thiscould be unrealistic for financially and functionallyconstrained SFCs.173

• There is a need to institutionalize citizens’ monitoringmechanisms in the implementation of the plan in theform of various schemes which would supplementand feed in the monitoring process of the PlanningCommission itself.174

17. Need for Peace and EquityAudit as a Parameter forDevelopment PlanningMazher Hussain, COVAThe objective of planning should be to securedevelopment and progress for all. But it is seen thatdevelopment initiatives in India are leading to exclusion oflarge sections, increase in income disparities, intensificationof social tensions and onset of conflicts between differentcommunities/groups and even between the people and theState.Though liberalization seems to have accelerated theannual growth of GDP of India to an average of 9 per cent,it has contributed to the prosperity of only some sections,while the condition of the majority of the populace seemsto be worsening, as is evident from the downward slide inthe performance of India on Human Development Index(HDI) from 128 and 127 in 2000 and 2005 respectivelyto 134th position in 2009. While a handful are reapingbenefits and entering the billionaires’ club, millions are beingdisplaced from their lands, livelihoods and habitations andforced into deprivation and disempowerment—an unusualphenomenon of continuing poverty and marginalization inthe midst of galloping plenty.Before the onset of liberalization, the State functionedas a custodian of all natural and national resources like land,water, minerals, forests, infrastructure etc that were held intrust as national assets. But the ill-regulated and unbridledprivatization of all these resources by the State (as if it is the“owner” and not just a custodian of these resources) is resultingin humongous appropriations of these national assets by afew individuals and communities at unprecedented scalesand at unimaginably low prices. As most such transactions aswell as access to opportunities in the fields of employment,entrepreneurship and access to credit are based on politicaldiscretion guided by community considerations andaffiliations, only those sections and groups that have accessto the power of the State are cornering all the benefits, whileexcluding most others, who are already marginalized. This isleading to further enhancement of inequitable distributionof resources and increase in discrimination in all spheres onthe basis of religion, caste, gender, community, region etc.resulting in accentuation of social fault lines — and in manycases — creation of new tensions between different groupsand communities and also between the people and the state.Conflicts: A Product of Inequityand MarginalisationThe deprivation, marginalization and exploitation ofthe millions of poor seems to be turning them against thesystem, as they find themselves more and more excludedfrom the benevolent and protective character of the State.This disenchantment and exclusion of the masses is gettingtranslated into a variety of social and political conflicts thatare manifested as agitations, riots, resistance, militancy andeven terrorism. The major forms of conflict that seem to beincreasing/emerging as a result of the present trajectories ofuneven and discriminatory socio-economic developmentare the social conflicts (covering communal, caste, regional,ethnic conflicts etc), conflicts over resources (leading todisplacements, migration, resistance, inter- state and interregionaldisputes) and political conflicts (around issuesof governance, accountability, inclusion policies, peoplesaspirations etc). Most regions of the country seem to beaffected by one or other form of these conflicts and theirspread and intensity seems to be on the rise.If left unaddressed, all these conflicts have the potentialof bringing down the legitimacy of the state, leading toviolence between groups and causing irreversible damage tosocial integrity and the national polity. Hence, it is imperativethat any planning process of the State should also focuson deliberations on how development in different spheresis contributing to generation/enhancement of conflicts175

and explore the possibility of using the Five Year Plans formitigation of conflicts rather than provide conditions fortheir accentuation as seems to be the case now.Peace and Equity AuditEvery development plan, policy or programme can affectdifferent stakeholders in different ways and some of themnegatively also. Further, by providing unequal benefits tosome and/or affecting the exclusion of some other sections,the process of development could lead to the generation/enhancement of conflicts. Once such conflicts set in, itis difficult to reverse or contain them and over time, theyextract heavy economic, social and political costs apart fromcreating an atmosphere of constant insecurity.Hence every development plan, policy or programmeshould be reviewed through a “Peace and Equity Audit”to evaluate if it is equitable to all sections and will notlead to any conflict. If the result from the audit is in thenegative, then it should be modified suitably to ensure thatdevelopment is always a vehicle for promoting equity, socialjustice and peace in society rather than contributing toinequality, marginalisation and generation of conflict.Parameters and procedures for Peace and EquityAudit should be formulated and employed by all agenciesand bodies – government or private – that are engaged indevelopment work of any kind. Appropriate mechanismsshould be established to discourage and disallow all suchdevelopment initiatives that do not clear the Peace andEquity Audit.12th Five Year Plan through theParadigm of Peace and EquityThough the country has progressed substantially in thepast 63 years — thanks in large measures to the Five YearPlans format that was adopted — development that has beenachieved is not without its share of inequity and conflicts.Standing at the threshold of preparing the Approach Paperfor the 12th Five Year Plan, the Planning Commission ofIndia should seriously analyse the generation/enhancementof conflicts as a result of the development processes initiatedthrough the Five Year Plans and evolve parameters andprocedures to factor in the possibility of mitigation andredress of the ongoing conflicts through the 12th Five YearPlan that is being formulated.It is heartening to note that the Planning Commissionof India is seeking suggestions for addressing the challengesrelated to decentralization, empowerment and informationto be included in the Approach Paper to the 12th FiveYear Plan. The Approach Paper would focus on howthese challenges impact various sections of society in thedevelopment context. This could transform the planningprocess from being a predominantly economic exercise toalso include the concerns and perspectives of the people andthereby ensure increased equitability in development andreduction in conflicts —provided appropriate parametersand procedures for a Peace and Equity Audit are evolvedand adopted for the formulation and finalization of the 12thFive Year Plan for India.Presently, there seems to be a tendency to measuredevelopment mainly by focusing on the growth of the GDP.But we have seen that accelerated growth of GDP could alsolead to increasing disparities and actually take the countrydown on the Human Development Index (HDI). Hence,an appropriate procedure for assessment of developmentcould be a combination of both the growth of GDP andHDI. Only such development initiatives that could scorepositively on both the HDI and the GDP should beendorsed and encouraged.176

SummaryReports177

Summary ReportsSection Contents1. Dalits 1792. Adolescents 1873. Muslims 1914. Elderly 1955. Migrants 1996. Advasis 2057. Youth 2108. North-east 2129. Children 21710. Conflict 224178

1. DalitsIntroductionThe National Dalit Consultation was jointly organisedon the 8 December 2010 in New Delhi by the four majornational Dalit platforms – National Campaign on DalitHuman Rights (NCDHR), National Confederation of DalitOrganisations (NACDOR), National Dalit Forum (NDF)and National Federation of Dalit Women (NFDW). Thiswas part of a process to make the approach paper to the 12 thFive Year Plan inclusive of the perspectives of the vulnerableand marginalised groups, who have been long excluded.This consultation was one of the 13 consultations with civilsociety organisations (CSO) platforms working with women,youth, children, people with disability (PWD), lesbian, gay,bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) people,people belonging to conflict-ridden areas, displaced people,Dalits and adivasis, the urban poor and other marginalisedgroups across the country. The consultation had participationof Dalit activists and CSOs from different states of thecountry, namely Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, HimachalPradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar,Orissa, Rajasthan and Jharkhand (participant list annexed).The consultation aimed at providing critical inputsto the Planning Commission of India on the core themesidentified as sectors where Dalits have been systematicallyexcluded all these years. It is very important to influencethe approach paper at the time of its preparation becausethe framework of planning is decided in this approachpaper and later approved by the Cabinet and the NationalDevelopment Council. Following the approval from thecentre, schemes and allocations are prepared based on theapproach paper. The Planning Commission of India has forthe first time opened up the process of setting directives forthe 12 th Five Year Plan through a series of consultations withCSOs who have whole-heartedly welcomed the initiative.This report will present the proceedings of the NationalDalit Consultation, wherein important measures weresuggested and recommendations emerged for ensuring the12 th Five Year Plan reflects the concerns of the Dalits.Dalit CSO leaders welcomed the opportunity asa crucial one to articulate to the government the cleardemands that they had on behalf of Dalit groups andcommunities. The practice followed in the planning processuntil the 11th Five Year Plan has been of including civilsociety members in working groups. This is the first timethey are being consulted for the preparation of the approachpaper. Planning so far has always been dominated by anupper-caste mindset. The Planning Commission has hadminimal representation from the Dalit community. It hasbeen economics-centric and has hardly incorporated otherdisciplines within its fold. Though there were some attemptsto include civil society in planning in the 1960s and 1980s,the planning process has not only failed to address Dalitissues, but has also failed to be people-centred in general.It was recommended that the Planning Commission needsto consult directly with Dalits beyond CSO participationin the future. Though not articulated separately in thepapers, it can be presumed that the measures and directivesproposed for planning should be equally applicable to Dalitsfrom different religious backgrounds.The ContextThe process of preparation of the 12 th Five Year Plan hasstarted and this time, the Planning Commission has openedup the process for broader consultations with CSOs. TheDalit organisations were invited to facilitate the voice of thepeople, especially the marginalised, to ensure their concernswere reflected in the approach paper. The process was set179

in motion with a meeting on 1 October 2010, chaired byMember Dr Syeda Hameed and attended by Members ArunMaira, Mihir Shah and Abhijit Sen and Principal AdviserPronab Sen. Wada Na Todo Abhiyan (WNTA) took thelead to facilitate a diverse spectrum of CSOs to amplify thevoices of the excluded so that their concerns could find aplace in the 12 th Five Year Plan approach paper. A meetingof CSOs was organised on the 26 October 2010 in NewDelhi to engage with the Planning Commission. Dr SayedaHameed, Member, Planning Commission, who anchors thecivil society work of the Commission and Mr Arun Maira,Member, Planning Commission, who is in charge of the12 th Plan process, participated in this meeting, in which over60 networks/organisations from various constituencies andthematic areas were present.It was in this meeting that the decision was taken toorganise national consultations with representatives ofthe various thematic sectors and platforms of the variousmarginalised communities and groups. Following mutualdeliberations, the organising group decided to have thenational consultation on 8 December 2010 in the IndianSocial Institute, Delhi. Around 120 participants comprisingactivists and academics representing most of the statesfrom all the regions were a part of this important event tovoice their views and concerns for Dalits in the challengesidentified and put forward by the Planning Commission.The challenges identified are listed below.1. Enhancing the capacity for growth2. Enhancing skills and faster generation of employment3. Managing the environment4. Markets for efficiency and inclusion5. Decentralisation, empowerment and information6. Technology and innovation7. Securing an energy future for India8. Accelerated development of transport infrastructure9. Rural transformation and sustained growth foragriculture10. Managing urbanisation11. Improved access to quality education12. Better preventive and curative healthcareThe Purpose ofConsultationAll these years, the planning process has alwaysbeen dominated by economics, and the participationof sociologists and political scientists were limited to anacademic exercise. As a result, the Plans that emerged fromthis kind of planning were focused only on the economicgrowth of the country. In this rush for economic growth,India has left its primary responsibility of social change,social transformation and social justice somewhere in thedark. Loud political promises made were restricted topolitical manifestos only and never found their way intothe planning process. By the time people’s concerns andissues reach the planning process, most political promisesare converted into complex technical and economic issues.In the past 60 years, civil society has felt a huge hiatus ontwo counts, viz. the way in which the planning process hasevolved, and what it has actually been able to deliver tothe people and the level of participation and inclusion ofpeople’s voices. In the 1960s and 1980s, there were a feworganised initiatives from some CSOs, which tried to giveinputs to the planning process. However, they somehowcould not be sustained.Immediate learning should be drawn from the people’splan in Kerala, which was a remarkable achievement for itwas able to give to the state planning board a people’s planformulated at the gram panchayat level. This inspired CSOsto think about turning the planning process upside down,giving it a bottom-up approach. CSOs must target makingthe 13th Five Year Plan – if not the 12 th Five Year Plan –the People’s Plan. This process of giving inputs should betransformed into a campaign to achieve this target of the 13thFive Year Plan. With this motive, WNTA raised the concernthat at least the monitoring of the implementation of plansshould be done externally, if the Planning Commissioncontinues to do the planning and evaluation. Hence, thepeople’s mid-term appraisal of the 11th Five Year Plan wasdone by WNTA. Initially the Planning Commission wasvery tentative and anxious about how the process wouldunfold, but once they started looking at the process, theywere open to engage with it. There were 10 state-levelconsultations and five regional consultations attended bythe members of the Planning Commission, and thereafterthey realised the need to take inputs from civil society intothe planning process.180

It is very important to influence the approach paper atthe time of its making, because it articulates the fundamentalpillars of planning. Once the approach paper is approvedby the government, the schemes and budgets follow. Thisis a yearlong process in which all ministries engage, andthis is then vetted by the National Development Council.The Planning Commission identified 12 challenges forthe 12 th Five Year Plan, which it thought the most crucialchallenges for the country. CSOs need to design theirapproach paper around these 12 challenges and submit theirrecommendations to the Planning Commission. All this ispart of a much broader process towards making social justicethe universal goal. It is also very important to think of whatwould follow this approach paper. There needs to be enoughspace for CSOs’ critique of the final approach paper; if needbe, a shadow approach paper would also be prepared. Therehas to be an alternative for the approach paper, and whatkinds of schemes are required with corresponding budgetaryallocations needed for implementing the schemes. The CSOshave to make the Planning Commission heed its concernsfor Dalits in an organised manner.Approaches In TheEarlier Five Year Plans:An OverviewIt is well understood that the planning process in Indiahas always been dominated by the economic and dominantcasteperspectives. There was never a representation fromDalit sections in the Planning Commission until the VPSingh regime. The dire need now is to include the Dalitperspective into the planning process of the PlanningCommission. The various approaches substantiate howthere have been caste biases in the planning process untilnow. Civil society also hardly took up Dalit concerns in theplanning process with the same intensity as it did on otherrights. Therefore, it is important for Dalit organisations toshoulder this responsibility and move ahead. In 2001, theCentre for Alternative Dalit Media created the NationalConfederation of Dalit Organisations, which in the contextof the 10th Five Year Plan had analysed the schemes andthe set of budgetary allocations. A consultation was alsoorganised on the 10th Five Year Plan’s approach paper, andthe report was submitted to the Planning Commission.Hence, CSO engagement with the Planning Commissiondates back a decade.The shift in the government and the PlanningCommission’s approach can be seen to span five phases.The first phase began in March 1950, when the governmentadopted a resolution and declared the constitution ofthe Planning Commission. In forming the PlanningCommission, India’s founding fathers intended to providefor social, economic and political justice for all; adequatemeans of livelihood to citizens, both men and women;people’s welfare; people’s ownership and control over thecountry’s material resources; and equitable distribution ofthe material wealth for subserving the common good. Thishas not happened in the past 60 years.In the 1st Five Year Plan, Dalits were given Rs 5 croresout of Rs 490 crores. No Five Year Plan until now has beenpeople-centric, leave alone focussed on Dalits. Peoplecentrednesshave been projected as one of the objectives inthe 12 th Five Year Plan. At Independence, 60 per cent ofthe population was below the poverty line and yet until the4th Five Year Plan (including three Annual Plans between)people were not the prime beneficiaries. By the time of the5th Five Year Plan (and the end of the 1st phase), bankswere being nationalised. Indira Gandhi had written to thegovernment saying the benefits of the FYPs did not “trickledown” to the Dalits and Adivasis.In the 5th Five Year Plan (second phase), theGovernment of India thought of introducing the TribalSub Plan (TSP), in proportion to the adivasi populationin India, who were the most backward and marginalised.The Special Component Plan (SCP), initially called theScheduled Caste Sub Component Plan, also was born onaccount of a similar recommendation of the government inthe 6th Five Year Plan. These were introduced to addressthe large-scale backwardness of the Adivasis and Dalits.However, no mechanisms were created by the bureaucracyto implement the SCP and TSP. There were no plans as towhich ministry would take the responsibility to plan theutilisation of funds allocated for Dalits and Adivasis. Noplans for these communities were visualised and placedbefore the Planning Commission in the Five Year Plans.This continued until the 11th Five Year Plan, for there areno schemes created under the SCP and TSP still and thesystem is devoid of any mechanism to check the utilisationof budgetary allocations. Even the Ministry of Social Justiceand Empowerment (MoSJ&E) lacks any such monitoringmechanism.The third phase began with the 8th Five Year Plan, wherethe Indian government actively began promoting a marketbasedeconomy and the neoliberal economy shaped up. The181

government had shifted its focus from being a welfare state(until the 7th Five Year Plan) to being a neoliberal state, andeverything was left over to the market forces. So much sothat, in the 10th Five Year Plan the government declared thatit must reduce recruitment in Class 3 and Class 4 categoriesat the rate of 3 per cent every year. Thus, in the 8th FiveYear Plan, the government emphasised on investment in theprivate sector and privatisation of national industries andthe initiation of public-private-partnerships.In the 12 th Five Year Plan also, the Government haschosen (twelve) themes which have never been inclusiveof the people, the Dalits. Therefore, the 12 th Five Year Planshould be made people-centric. The Government speaksof the rationalisation of programmes along with otherconcerns in the 12 th Five Year Plan, which could also meana reduction or even closure of certain programmes for Dalitsand Adivasis. Though women, children and ScheduledCastes and Tribes have been featured as one subject, whatthe Planning Commission would like to address specificallyin this category is not known. Components of humanresources are listed out in the 12 th Five Year Plan but nothingabout developing the country’s human resources is clearlyspelt out.In all the FYPs, the SCs, Adivasis and BackwardCastes put together have been allotted less than 2 percent of the total government’s budget. Therefore, a Plancentral to the development of SCs, STs, minorities andhuman development and other marginalised people hasto be demanded. It has been proposed to the PlanningCommission that they should dialogue with the Dalitsdirectly even beyond civil society facilitation and alsofund these consultations and help reduce civil society’sdependence on donor organisations.The Process OfFormation Of GroupsAfter a comprehensive review of the earlier Five YearPlans, six groups were formed to devote their discussionson the 12 key challenges. The twelve challenges werepaired up for discussion by these six groups. Accordingly,each group with about 15 participants had two challengesto be discussed. Discussion notes were circulated to eachgroup, which facilitated the further brainstorming on thechallenges allotted to each group for reflection.Group 1 – Growth + EmploymentGroup 2 – Skills and Employment + UrbanizationGroup 3 – Environment + EnergyGroup 4 – Decentralization and Empowerment + TransportinfrastructureGroup 5 – Technology & Innovation + Rural transformationand AgricultureGroup 6 – Education + HealthChallenges AndSuggestions For The 12 thFive Year Plan ApproachPaperFor programmes with entitlements for Dalits suchas enhancing skills, employment generation, health andeducation provisioning, the focus on dignity with antidiscriminatorymeasures and equal opportunity componentsemerged as a dominant unanimous concern in all grouppresentations. It was stressed that social justice will continueto be a delusion without a rights-based approach. Some keyrecommendations and additions on each paper (annexed tothis report) were discussed in the concluding plenary. In thePlenary Session, presentations on each paper were openedup to the larger group for suggestions and recommendationsfollowed by closing remarks by Planning Commissionmembers. The conclusive elements that emerged fromthe sub-group discussions on each of the challenges andsuggestions for the approach paper were as follows.• To incorporate a comprehensive inclusive agenda inplanning, it must be ensured that every ministry inthe government works equally towards the benefits ofSC/STs and Muslims and not the Ministry of SocialJustice and Empowerment alone. This isolation has hada dubious impact on the empowerment of Dalits andworked against ensuring inclusion of excluded groups.• In the overall approach to planning, there needs tobe a stress on rights and entitlements and inclusionof excluded groups in several growth sectors. Forexample, in the infrastructure sector, the approachshould be employment-linked infrastructure growthwhere the contribution of Dalits to these sectors isrecognised and due benefits distributed among them.• Emphasis was recommended on specific measures forinclusion within the policies in the market that ensure182

edistribution of productive resources to Dalits,through land reforms, implementation of AgriculturalCeiling Acts, special allocation of outlets, shops andestablishments for Dalits and collective farmingmodels, along with policies of affirmative action indifferent spheres of activity in the market.• For approaches on energy security and theenvironment, the focus recommended was on smallscaleinvestment, participatory approaches encouragingpeople’s ownership of these projects, emphasis onprotection, and conservation by people and on smallscaleinvestments with Dalit communities and groupson renewable energy as a means to achieving energysecurity.• Decentralisation means envisaging roles forPanchayats beyond that of implementers. To achieveempowerment and decentralisation, the approachesneed to look at the 3 Fs: devolving Functions,Functionaries and Funds. This should be in tandemwith reclaiming the agenda of social justice in thefunctioning of Panchayats. Gram Sabhas need toadopt section-wise/community-wise and hamlet-wiseapproaches (including women sabhas) in meetingsand processes for inclusive governance. Special focusneeds to be given to information availability anddissemination and empowerment of women DalitSarpanches.• Stress was laid on evolving audit mechanisms,accountability procedures, regulation and evaluationssystems which are participatory for allocations andfunds in plans.• Special Component Plans must be planned andimplemented by Dalit communities and groupsthemselves. A common thread running throughall the challenges was the importance of SCP andTSP to meet the needs of SC/ST communitiesfor which approaches need to concentrate onimproved implementation, fund allocation andutilisation, monitoring, accountability and evaluationmechanisms.• In the case of provisioning of healthcare andeducation services, special focus on inclusive, antidiscriminatory,free and quality services for Dalitswas recommended. The 12 th Plan thus needs to lookat issues of equity, revised norms in entitlements,and inclusion and participation of Dalits in decisionmakingcommittees. Besides this, adopting anapproach of ‘additional support’ over and above thenormal earmarking of scholarships and schemes wasalso recommended through the SCP.• A suggestion was made to provision some extra fundsunder the SCP to the panchayats as is done for theMP Local Area Development Fund to make themeconomically and politically empowered to performtheir functions effectively. The suggestion emanatedfrom the case whereby 3-4 panchayats in Tamil Naduwere not allowed to initiate the election process byother people, due to which there were no elections.Extra funds at the panchayats’ disposal would givethem some power. The demand for providing extrafunds to panchayats was accepted as doable once allpanchayats in the country became operational. Thepresent state of affairs is Panchayati Raj Institutionshave not developed at all in many states. Theimplementation of PRI varies from state to state.Thus, this demand could be pushed forward wheneverPRIs are fully functional.• It was suggested that in all plans made for Dalits,specific programmes for Dalit women should alsobe introduced for they are the most vulnerable, anddoubly discriminated for their gender and for beingDalits. The suggestion was well received by theMember, Planning Commission.• With regard to the diversion of SCP fund for theCommonwealth Games, and similar diversions takingplace in other states, it was suggested that checks andbalances should be imposed on authorities to tracksuch diversions.• It was suggested that the government should reopencases of a serious nature and get the guilty convicted,even if the complainants have the case compoundedunder coercion.• It was suggested to have subject- and section-wiseplanning with the members of the SC community,considering their priorities and participation inimplementation of plans, with adequate effectivemeans of monitoring mechanisms. The feudalmindset and systems, which are still pervasive, need tobe removed by getting SCs into planning.183

Feedback From ThePlanning CommissionMembersThe critical difference to be brought about and thatwhich has clearly emerged from the suggestions is that theCSOs and the communities should have control over theimplementation of the provisions of the plan, with full accessto resources and entitlements. In the absence of entitlementscreated by the government as suggested by the PlanningCommission, especially the ones linked to fund allocation,social justice will continue to be a mirage. In this approachpaper, the thrust should be on giving the 12 th Five YearPlan a rights-based approach for creating entitlements forthose who have been excluded and continue to be excludedin the economic sector. In most of the sectors identifiedas challenges by the Planning Commission, there is verylittle being done on the aspect of inclusion. A cursory lookat the policy paper on skills brought out by the ministryalso reflects the sheer absence of innovation. For the entireinfrastructure created for the Commonwealth Games, atleast 2 lakh labourers were brought into Delhi from otherstates and adjoining areas for even tasks like welding. Is itnot possible to link such jobs in infrastructure created withaspects of employment in growing sectors of the budget?Today, this stands as one major challenge for the Dalitorganisations. Dalit organisations want to associate with thePlanning Commission in not just the making of the 12 thFive Year Plan’s approach paper but also want to partake inthe entire planning process, influence the plan documentand monitor its implementation.Mr Arun Maira, Member, Planning Commission of IndiaThe Planning Commission had various ways of planningthis approach paper to the 12 th Five Year Plan, but it choseto make this approach inclusive and participatory of theCSOs, and specifically the Dalit organisations, to ensure theinclusion of the Dalit perspective. As it has been suggestedand agreed even by the Planning Commission, the planningprocess should take off from the village level itself; however,it is not feasible or efficient. That is why a mechanismwas required by which civil society could share the factsand needs of the people with the Planning Commission.It was thus proposed to the representatives of the Dalitorganisations to converge on a common platform and shareall their concerns collectively in the form of one document,with possible solutions to the challenges identified, with thePlanning Commission.It is not just about making plans but also about theirimplementation. In addition, the people for whom it isbeing made should be its monitors. The intention is tobenefit the people who have been historically subjugated andvulnerable. The Dalits should monitor the implementationof plans from their perspective. The rights-based approachepitomises the right to govern and change this country forthe better from one’s perspective, and that would be thegreatest success of planning. Still, not all this will happenover one Plan and one approach. The consultative processhas just begun and efforts are being made this time forcoming out with this kind of plan. Consultations are beingheld with different groups on thematic areas like womenand children, people with disability, etc. and all put togetherwill lay the plan, which will cater to all sections of societyand especially the most vulnerable and marginalised groups,the Dalits. The process has begun in the direction of makingpeople partners of implementation and not just partners inplanning.Dr Narendra Jadhav, Member, Planning Commission ofIndiaMaximum participation from the people has beenensured to integrate all concerns and suggestions fromthe Dalit perspective into the 12 th Five Year Plan. Theseconsultations have been invited for preparing the Approachpaper to the 12 th Five Year Plan and three months from now,a proper document on the 12 th Five Year Plan Schemes,starting from 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2017, would beworked on. This time the Planning Commission has ensuredto have the Plan document released along with the initiationof the Plan, which is not usually done. The CSOs would beinvited to assist in preparing the Plan document also and,through different media, efforts would be made to integratesuggestions and thoughts from CSOs in the Plan documentas well.After 35 years, the implementation of SCP and TSPalso is found to be unconstitutional. Diversion of thesefunds has been done by many states. During the midtermappraisal of the 11th Five Year Plan, groups wereconstituted in the Planning Commission and for the firsttime, Dalit organisations of the country were invited to talkon Dalit issues before the commission. There are guidelinesfor departments that are supposed to earmark funds incertain proportion to the population of SCs and STs, and184

these departments have always been instructed to makeallocations under separate sub-heads for SCP (789) and TSP(796) minor heads.In these 35 years, only one ministry out of the 68ministries has created its own sub-head for SCP, i.e. theMoSJ&E. Because of this diversion of money becomes easy,and became simple during the Commonwealth Games.With respect to the states, notional expenditures are madeand the rest is diverted to other works. Moreover, manystates have utilised 16 per cent SCP funds for cloud ceiling.The Prime Minister has formed a Task Force onImplementation of SCP and TSP. Regional consultationshave been held with regard to changing the guidelines. Thecentral part of the consultation report has already beensubmitted to the government, while the state portion issoon to be submitted and also presented to the PlanningCommission. Strong recommendations and Dalit concernshave been raised in the government by the Commission.The Commission is ensuring 16.2 per cent for SCs and8.2 per cent for STs out of the total Central Sector Planfor 2010-11, which is Rs 2,80,000 crores. For achievingand ensuring the fulfilment of this demand, the report ofchanges required in the guidelines has been submitted andaccepted by the Planning Commission and it is awaitingthe Cabinet’s endorsement. The Planning Commission mayalso suggest penal actions against those contravening justapplication and implementation of the SCP and STP fundsin the 12 th Five Year Plan. Even 16.2 per cent and 8.2 percent allocation would be insufficient, as it would widen theexisting social inequality by making it perpetual. If at allthis social inequality has to be eliminated, the SCs and STsshould get allocations more than the proportion of theirpopulation. These thoughts should be pushed ahead anddemanded by the Planning Commission and CSOs.The issue of scholarship to SCs is a sensitive one. Thesescholarships are given by the department of SJ&E whosebudget was Rs 2100-2500 crores until 2009. There was nochange in the budget of the department for six years. For thefirst time after six years, 80 per cent increase from Rs 2500crores to Rs 4500 crores was granted in the last budget, thattoo with a consideration from the finance minister that itcould be further revised upwards for it was long overdue.SC and ST scholarship rates were not revised from 1998 and2000 respectively. This has been revised now and the processis on. In fact, the scholarship for Dalit children to pursueeducation abroad should also be promoted widely.Questions & AnswersIt was stated that the Planning Commission has dilutedits own formal decision of not having any divisible andnon-divisible component in the allocation of SCP andTSP, by exempting the departments dealing with megaprojects and infrastructure projects from earmarking SCPallocation. In Gujarat Rs 30,000 crores have been spenton the Sardar Sarovar project and now the government isgoing to spend thousands of crores of rupees on anotherbig dam scheme, which is a very dubious one. What rolewould be expected of the Planning Commission in theabsence of any allocation for SCs from these exempteddepartments?The query fetched a response from the member ofthe Planning Commission that, under the SC SpecialComponent Plan, there are schemes which are identifiedas beneficiary-oriented for 40 per cent of the SCs and STsand that criterion has also been generalised in the revisedguidelines. As long as the allocated share for SCs and STsis reaching them, the question of the source (department)of this allocation is insignificant. Earlier, it was mademandatory for each ministry to earmark funds for SC andSTs and not all of them followed this. Some ministries arecapable of allocating 16 per cent funds to SCs and someare not capable of it, while few are capable of allocatingmore than 16 per cent . The defence department has alsobeen exempted, though it would be appreciated if theydo allocate, but they are released of any constitutionalaccountability. The ultimate idea is of ensuring a totalamount of 16.2 per cent for the total population of SCs.The Planning Commission has made a recommendationto the Central government to create a special fund for SCsand STs in case even the required allocation fails to reachthem, and the recommendation is yet to be vetted by thePM. (The recommendation paper may be downloaded fromthe Planning Commission’s website.)There were questions that in Uttar Pradesh, amidst manyproblems, one major issue was of non-issuance of castecertificates to students, for which the past 50 years recordis asked of them. Consequently, children face obstructionsin pursuing higher/university education.With regard to the query related to caste certificates, theMember, Planning Commission, stated that even thoughthe issue did not fall within the ambit of the Commission,yet it should be taken up at the national level. NACDORhas already taken up the issue of caste certificates posing ahurdle in education of children with the Prime Minister.185

The concern of funds not reaching the state under theCentral Special Assistance (CSA) due to late submissionof proposals by the states was articulated, in conjunctionwith the misappropriation of the Member of ParliamentLocal Area Development Fund. The money under MPLocal Area Development Fund is never used for thedevelopment of the Dalit localities, as has been clearlyspelt in the government rules.The Member of the Planning Commission respondedthat the commission has no authority to instruct the statesto submit their proposals under the CSA to the centre,for the subject falls outside its jurisdiction. However, thesocial organisations should be vigilant on these mattersand raise them in public. In relation to the inappropriateusage of funds, the Planning Commission has been writingperiodically to the Chief Ministers of states enquiring aboutthe utilisation of the SCP and TSP funds, and disclosure ofthe inappropriate utilisation of funds can lead to politicalembarrassment for the government, and so they feelpressurised. By exerting pressure on the governments insuch manner, improvements are likely to take place.It was pointed out that in the 11th Five Year Plan fundsfor youth development came in the name of the NehruYuva Kendra Sangathan. But experience has revealedthat the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan whose work isto bring about personality enhancement in the youthand develop sports activities etc, has culminated into apolitical organisation. Its allocations and activities havealso become political in nature. Its vision and objectivesare getting diluted. In the name of Nehru Yuva KendraSangathan, all funds are being used for political activities.This needs to be questioned. Secondly, if Nehru Kendra isfor males, then there need to be similar centres for girlsalso, to not allow perpetuation of a patriarchal mindset.These two components are very vital to youth developmentand should be carefully looked into.The Member, Planning Commission, responded thatthe institution of Nehru Yuva Kendra has been narrowlyunderstood for youth (yuva) encapsulates both boys (yuvak)and girls (yuvati). However, de facto it is found that therepresentation of boys in the institution outdoes femalerepresentation, which needs to be increased.The question of reduction of investment in Post DoctoralFellowship (PDF) scheme despite an increase in the budgetfor MoSJ&E from Rs 2500 crores to Rs 4000 crores wasvoiced. PDF allocation has been reduced to Rs 4 croresfrom last year’s budget of Rs 7 crores.The Member, Planning Commission, responded thatthere must be a much larger scheme for foreign education,which would come forth. As far as the allocation for highereducation was concerned, it was informed by him that it isRs 11,000 crores in the 11th Five Year Plan, which is ninetimes that of the 10th Five Year Plan.The question pertaining to non-opening of the codes 789(for SCP) and 796 (for TSP) in Madhya Pradesh wasvoiced.The response received was that many states have notoperationalised the respective codes. At the Central level,the Centre is supposed to earmark in proportion to nationalshare of the SCs and ST population, and at the state level,each state is supposed to earmark funds in proportion tothe population of SCs and STs in that state. The states donot make provision in the separate account as the centre.They only make a technical provision, which is wrong. Theydo not make provision in the minor sub-head and becauseof this diversion becomes possible. This has to be checked.Then, it is clearly laid down that SCP and TSP should notbe lapsed and yet it gets lapsed also. Even the provision thatthe states make, which is less than the proportion of thepopulation of SCs and STs in that state, is not actually spent;part of it is spent and the rest is either diverted or lapsed. Allthis should be plugged and for this, all social organisationsshould be very active to keep a watch, and use the tool ofRTI to extract information to challenge the government. Thecentral sector outlay alone exclusive of states’ fund transferwas Rs. 68,000 crores. It should be checked by CSOs as tohow much is allocated and how much is sent to the states,and the quantum reaching the SCs and STs.ConclusionThis was a most widely participated consultation for itwas for the first time in Indian history that CSOs were givenan opportunity to participate in the planning process of theapproach paper to a Five Year Plan. They represented theconcerns and voices of the people in various sectors. It wasa big prospect for the Dalit civil society, which has beenworking for the concerns of the people for many years. Itwas also the opportunity to tell the government as to whatand how much has been achieved through the past Five YearPlans and what was needed of the 12 th Five Year Plan toensure inclusion of Dalit concerns and priorities.186

2. AdolescentsNational Consultation on Adolescents, 30 November 2010PreambleThis preamble attempts to present some of civil society’shopes and fears linked to the consultation process called forby the Planning Commission. The Planning Commissionof India has decided to engage with CSOs for developingan approach paper for the 12 th Five Year Plan. The same hasbeen received by CSOs with a lot of enthusiasm and it is alsobeing seen as an opportunity to ensure the inclusion of voicesof the socially excluded groups. At the same time, there arefears and scepticism – fears of being co-opted, scepticismabout whether or not the recommendations and voices willactually find their way into the approach paper and thenceto the 12 th Five Year Plan. Civil society organisations,during this process, also raised concerns about the planningparadigm itself and asked for a paradigm shift. There wasdifficulty comprehending the 12 challenges presented bythe Planning Commission and a session to ‘integrate thetwo languages’ was organised on 11 November 2010 tounderstand these. This meeting provided an opportunity tothe CSOs anchoring the constituency-based consultationsto look beyond submission of civil society approach papers.Clearly, the vision that civil society is pursuing is one of a‘people’s plan’. Also, there is hope, therefore, of a continuingengagement with the Planning Commission up until the12 th Plan is formulated and even beyond that.The national civil society consultation on the adolescentconstituency for the 12 th Five Year Plan was held on 30November 2010, under the aegis of Swaasthya, CHETNAand Smile Foundation. There was a clear-cut diversityrepresented in the adolescent consultation. The consultationcovered diversity – geographically, thematically and in termsof the composition of participants (layering of participants:technical experts as panellists, CSO representatives andadolescents themselves). Geographical diversity was capturedthrough CSOs coming from different states of India. Twelvestates, namely Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh,Haryana, Delhi, Bihar, UP, Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa,Gujarat, and West Bengal, were present in person and threeother states had sent their inputs on adolescent concernsand expectations. Most of the states who were present hadconducted consultations in their respective states and hadalso selected one adolescent leader to join the national-levelconsultation. Among participants, there were panellistswho have expertise in different thematic areas relatingto adolescents. Moreover, two distinguished PlanningCommission Members, Mr RK Gupta and Ms DeepikaSrivasthava, were also present.The introductory plenary had set a general backgroundfor civil society engagement in the adolescent consultation.The session also provided a technical touch with Dr GeetaSodhi’s review of the 11th Five Year Plan and Mid TermAppraisal Report. In the introductory note, Mr Guptaemphasised that for the first time in the history of thePlanning Commission, civil society has been involved in theprocess of planning. He said that the 12 th Plan looks forwardto have more inclusiveness in its planning. The commissionhas identified 12 major challenges for constituency-basedconsultations to reflect on.Immediately after Mr Gupta’s discussion, Dr GeetaSodhi made an objective review of the 11th Plan, accordingto which adolescents were not considered as a separateconstituency. There were a few mentions in the planregarding adolescents, but clubbed with other categorieslike women, youth and children. In order to be objectiveand unbiased, Dr Geeta Sodhi preferred not to interpret thebroader implications of 11th Plan with respect to adolescentsas she felt that her opinion might influence discussions ofsmall groups.187

Following the introductory session, due to an enthusiasticresponse, the second session initiated (from 11.30am-12.00 noon), where a few states shared their experience onstate level consultations and findings. CEDPA presentedan overview of the state consultation, which was held inJharkhand with other 20 organisations belonging to thestate. The state representation emphasised the need of betteropportunities for higher education, health and employmentopportunities, along with sensitisation of gender equity.On behalf of Masoom, Ms Pallavi presented the stateconsultation results of Maharashtra. This representationemphasised the need for better educational opportunities forthe adolescents in adivasi areas, and demanded that girls beencouraged to go for higher education by making availablebasic infrastructure and transportation facilities. The thirdstate consultation representation was from Sahyog, whichwas presented by Mr Sunil and demanded that the rightto education be extended to 18 years and the provision ofcareer counselling and guidance.After the three states’ presentations, participants weredivided into three sub-groups with each group assigned fourof the challenges identified by the Planning Commission.They were asked to identify concerns and expectations ofadolescents. The presentation made by each groups at theplenary was followed by open discussion.Group WorkGroup 1The group was provided the checklist, and a set of fourchallenges (1-4). They were also circulated the reviewedreport of the 11th Five Year Plan and the Mid Term AppraisalReport. Initially, there was confusion among members inrelating with the applicability of challenges to concerns ofadolescents. However, subsequently they came up with thefollowing concerns and expectations.IssuesRural-urban disparity, lack of equitable growth,nutritional concern, gender inequality, sexual harassment,government and private school disparity in terms ofinfrastructure and self-esteem, disability, lack of focus inpolicy and programmes, marginalised groups (HIV+),lack of vocational training, migration and trafficking, lackof market integration, lack of education and informationregarding health, inadequate life skills and other schemes,poor implementation of schemes/programmes, lack ofparental support, lack of integration, referral and linkages,lack of convergence with industry.ExpectationsThe schemes related with rural youth/adolescentsshould have equal focus on urban adolescents, programmesfor adolescent boys should be designed along with girls’programmes, community-based youth resource centres,resources allocation for youth/adolescents, involvement ofmedia, proper dissemination of newly launched schemesand others, strengthening of government services, inclusionof life skills education in school programmes, vocationaltraining with proper linkages and market and it should beintegrated in school programmes, effective communitybasedmonitoring and discussion on global harmony issues.Group 2The group was provided the checklist, a draft of thereview of the 11th Plan and MTAR and a set of 4 challenges(5-8). The objective of the group work was explained indetail to this group. The groups discussed the followingconcerns of adolescents and their expectations.ConcernsParents are not supportive of girls, girls are notallowed to make decisions, adolescent girls as well as CSOrepresentatives are not aware of the different schemeslaunched, education system has to be more supportiveespecially to minority groups (girls), drug abuse is notgetting the required attention, more counselling sessionswith the parents are needed for them be able to understandthe importance of alternate careers and inadequate resourcesand tokenism in the launching of the Sabla scheme.ExpectationsCSOs engagement, involvement of youth, effectiveimplementation and monitoring of schemes.RecommendationsCreation of an enabling environment for adolescents,especially girls; education system for minority groups tobe supportive by way of using community radio; ICT fordevelopment (mobile, broadband) and ensuring access toadolescents; drug abuse prevention (focus should be ondrug abuse prevention which is not the case now); as theprogrammes are aimed at treatment only, the dropoutsneed to be tracked and the reason for the same should be188

known to be able to decide the strategies and motivationalsessions for adolescents for them to be able to pursue thecareers they wish to; mainstreaming adolescent educationin schools and effective implementation and monitoring ofthe schemes launched. Monitoring is essentially to be doneby a third party. There should be no discrimination againsthomosexuals/transgenders and they should be able to accesstheir rights, especially property rights. Increased access tohealth care by provision of infrastructure and transportfacilities, adolescent friendly counselling at the PHCs andyouth-friendly centres at the village level.Group 3The group was provided the checklist and a set of fourchallenges (9-12). The group discussed these concerns ofadolescents and their expectations mentioned below.ConcernsDropout rate is very high after the 5th standard andit happens more among girls; unavailability of HigherSecondary schools and inaccessibility of High Schools foradolescent girls (due to distance and transportation issue);lack of exposure of adolescents in rural areas and socialinsecurity. Health education should be provided for HIVpositivepeople’s adolescent children, care home for HIVpositivepeople’s children, lack of sexual education in coursecurriculum, substance abuse, stigma and discriminationwith HIV-positive students in schools.Overarching issuesLack of proper implementation of government policiesor schemes (gaps at field level, corruption at all levels),scholarships, teachers, high migration of adolescents,mainly engaged in labour work, lack of benefits for migrantadolescents (education, health services, etc.), trafficking ofgirls is an issue in Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal.ExpectationsImprove governance with respect to education andhealth issues; youth involvement in monitoring committees,eg. social audit of the programmes; 50 per cent reservationfor women in local Panchayats; strengthen the ICDS;regularisation of access to services by HIV positive students(without disclosing their status); sex education in school,regularisation of funding for HIV positive care centres,counsellors should be appointed at school level, an interstatemigration policy.Panel DiscussionThe panel was chaired by Ms Poonam Mutreja.In response to all the presentations, four distinguishedpanellists made their comments and discussed a certainpertinent theme relating to adolescents.1. Ms Aparajita Gigoy insisted on the need for aframework for the implementation of plans andsaid that there should be a good system to monitorand track the progress of implementation. She alsoadded that there should be a separate section for theadolescents in the Five Year Plan. Another observationwas to include the parents in decision making andalso educating the parents on the issues related to theadolescents. She suggested that the language should beused properly to ensure better effect, referring to theneed for sex education among the adolescents.2. Mr Joy Elamon commented that the whole issue has tobe looked upon with a view on the future as adolescentsbecome adults soon. In addition, it was necessary tohave a dream and a vision while formulating policiesfor the adolescents.3. Ms Sunayana noted that the vocational trainingavailable at present is obsolete and has no market value.It has to be linked directly to the need of the market,as that will ensure employability for adolescents.She also maintained that the programmes should bemonitored and audited with involvement of society.4. Ms Anuja demanded the need for includingprogrammes to check child sexual abuse and incest. Shesaid that 52 per cent of girl children and adolescentsin the Indian society are subjected to some kind ofsexual abuse by very close relatives in the family.5. After the panellists’ presentations, Dr Vikram Patel’s(in absentia) presentation on the mental health ofadolescents was presented by Dr Geeta Sodhi. Thepresentation focused on several aspects of the mentalhealth of adolescents.Way ForwardLastly, there was a session on the ‘Way Forward’(between 4.15-5.00 pm), where the possible future for theentire advocacy network on adolescents was discussed. Atthe outset, a consensus was built to take the advocacy forumforward to engage with the Planning Commission and the189

Government of India, even after the approach paper. Aneed was felt by almost all participants to build a pressuregroup, and it was also mentioned by a few participants thatadvocacy should be done at the state level. Ms Anuja fromRahi reiterated that there is a need to build capacity to leadsome issues pertaining to adolescents. It was also mentionedthat (by Ms Sunayana and Dr Geeta Sodhi) there is a need tofollow a specific strategy and a framework towards buildinga broader and greater advocacy forum in future. Ms Veenitafrom Ford Foundation also announced funds to facilitateone of the future meetings. The session ended with a lot ofhope.190

3. MuslimsNational Consultation for Muslim Civil Society Engagement with thePlanning Process For the 12 th Five Year PlanMr Sardar Anwar, President, Tehereek-e-PasmandaMuslim Samaj (TPMS), opened the consultation bydescribing the sorry state of the Muslim community.He underlined the fact that benefits of progress in thecountry have remained limited only to a small privilegedgroup of the population of about 15 per cent. The Muslimpopulation is mostly not part of this elite. The countrymight have progressed but the Muslim community appearsto have been pushed into the most marginalized sections ofthe population.The Sachar Commission has described the plight ofMuslims in the country very accurately and has givenmeaningful suggestions for their progress and incorporationin the mainstream. Sadly, implementation has lackedpolitical will despite lip service by the politicians. Muslimsare deprived of jobs, healthcare and education. They form asubstantial proportion among rickshaw drivers and in thelines in front of the charity hospitals.This deprivation has put them in a depressed mindset.Citing comments from the builder community, Mr Anwarcontrasted the mindset of Muslims and non-Muslims:when a non-Muslim customer approaches a builder, he firstinquires about the facilities and amenities in the plan suchas width of roads and then asks for the price; in contrast,when a Muslim visits a builder he only asks for the priceand hardly cares for other facilities – he is happy as long asthe roads are wide enough for a funeral possession. What adepressive mindset to have fallen into after six decades ofindependence! Is this progress?Mr Ashok Bharti, Chairman, National Conferenceof Dalit Organisations, emphasised the importance ofpublic consultation. He informed the audience that publicconsultation was never followed by the government sinceIndependence until recently.Mr Irfan Engineer mentioned that although thegovernment has drawn up a fifteen-point plan for theMuslims and has initiated development schemes, the fundallocation is inadequate. The worst part is that even thisfund is not utilised. Civil society groups and communityleaders are unhappy because funds do not reach them. Thebureaucracy, on the other hand, says that it has funds butcannot find people to entrust the funds with. It is a tragicomicsituation. Mr Irfan Engineer also underscored the fact thatthe bureaucrats put obstacles in the implementation ofschemes, distribution of loans, and award of scholarships.He mentioned that application forms of various schemesrequire attestation by a Gazetted Officer, and asked, “Fromwhere will the Muslims get their forms signed by GazettedOfficers?” Due to such obstacles, utilisation of allocatedfunds is very poor.Mr Irfan Engineer suggested that (1) the rules be madesimpler, (2) since bureaucrats do not show interest or takeinitiative, they should be given incentives and targets, (3)there is a need for an oversight committee for Muslimminorities, and (4) more schools should be set up in theMuslim-dominant areas.Mr Amitabh Behar spoke of economists’ dominancein the planning process since Independence and howsociologists were never involved in the process. In theinitial years after Independence, Vinoba Bhave and EMSNamboodiripad were asked to prepare parallel plans.Vinoba Bhave had said that he would undertake a longmarch during which the plan would be ready. Such isolatedincidents are the only examples of public consultation andthere has been no organised way to involve the public inthe planning consultations. Mr Behar praised the exampleof Kerala, which initiated public consultation in the late1990s, when people were asked to submit plans throughlocal governing bodies. He mentioned that it inspired191

people across the country. He mentioned that a midtermplan appraisal by people was also suggested to the PlanningCommission. Mr Behar also said that the planning processinvolves three steps: (1) the first step is preparation of theapproach paper giving the broad plan; (2) then this plan isconverted into schemes along with fund requirements by therespective ministries; and (3) finally, it is sent for approvaland passage. For the 12 th Plan, 15 national level meetingshave been planned.Ms Shabnam Hashmi emphatically said that Muslimsmust be mainly seen from the political angle. She notedwith sadness how “Muslims” get pushed into the classof “minority” and then from “minority” get confined to“minority bastis”. She felt that Muslims are no longer firstgrade citizens in India and feel oppressed. Ms ShabnamHashmi also criticised the practice of using funds earmarkedfor upliftment of the Muslim community for general tasks.She further stated that biased bureaucrats put obstacles inthe implementation of schemes designed for Muslims. Shestrongly felt the need to include Muslims in the planningprocess. She focused on building more schools and hospitalsfor the Muslim community. She also suggested that thePlanning Commission should pressurise the government forpolitical upliftment of the Muslim community.Mr Ashok Bharti supported Ms Hashmi’s assertionthat Muslims live under deplorable conditions and thatbureaucrats fool people. He cited an incident. The sorrystate of a Badarpur Khadar village, which is predominantlyinhabited by Muslims, became an issue of debate in theDelhi Assembly. Clever bureaucrats showed pictures ofanother village, called Badarpur, to prove that everything isall right with Badarpur Khadar!Mr Mazhar Hussain described the awful state ofMuslims by describing them as “non-citizens” in India.He said there are three challenges concerning the Muslimcommunity: (1) political transformation from the status of“non-citizens” to “citizens”, (2) their economic development,and (3) how to change their mindset of feeling victimised oroppressed.Mr Hussain suggested six points for consideration bythe Planning Commission.(1) The issue of high child labour had to be addressed bypromoting education. He felt that the communitycould also assist by using the RTI Act for finding facts.(2) Promote small scale and cottage industry amongMuslim women.(3) Focus on the lower middle class youth who quiteducation after Class 10 or 12 due to financialproblems and become unemployable.(4) Focus on improving the civic amenities in Muslimbastis.(5) Give 20 per cent or more reservation in governmenthousing schemes to eliminate ghettoisation of thecommunity.(6) Improve their participation/representation ingovernance at all levels through various measures.Dr Shoukat Hayat emphasised the need for havinga vibrant grassroots democracy ensuring participatoryinvolvement of women and their capacity building. Hestressed the need for social justice, access and equality,reducing gender disparity, reaching out to the marginalisedgroups (widows, divorcees, old age, handicapped, singlewomen, etc) and their social empowerment. He also stressedthe need for improving civic amenities and implementingslum improvement plans. Dr Hayat also spoke aboutdemocratisation and dissemination of information onwelfare schemes. Citing the example of Bangladesh, hesuggested promoting technology such as community radiofor propagating information on schemes and local issues. Fortackling poverty, Dr Hayat suggested promotion of microcreditschemes to generate self-employment, training inspecific trades, enhancing skills for employability, upgradingand certifying the skills of self-skilled people (their skills arenot recognised and hence they cannot grow further).Mr Hilal made an interesting point at the outset. He saidit is not security but removal of their “sense of insecurity” thatis the major challenge for Muslims. This sense of insecuritycoupled with other social and political issues is forcing theminto ghettos. They feel frustrated and really do not knowwhen, how and whom to approach for their problems. Ontop of that, non-issues are politically imposed upon them. Healso suggested that after the sense of insecurity, educationalbackwardness is the second major challenge for the Muslimcommunity. Mr Hilal mentioned that the backwardness isarea-based – areas with high density of Muslim populationhave fewer civic facilities and amenities compared with areaswith low Muslim populations. Thus, he emphasised theneed for infrastructural development in Muslim-dominantareas (ghettos). Citing statistics, he showed that the literacyrate is far too low in Muslim Concentration Districts(MCDs) compared to non-MCD districts. Population-wise,more than half the total Muslim population lives in fourstates: WB, UP, Bihar and Assam. These states drag down192

the overall literacy rate of the community. Hence, they needmore attention. In the opinion of Mr Hilal, the governmenthas little understanding of the Muslim community’sissues, requirement, priorities, and their temperament,etc. Therefore, its schemes and the way they are beingimplemented create further confusion and frustration in thecommunity. He attributed bureaucratic hurdles and rigidrules for the failure of most government schemes. He alsoblamed different norms for Muslim applications comparedwith SC/ST for benefits of government schemes for poorutilisation of funds.Citing the example of scholarships, Mr Hilal pointedout the ridiculous nature of implementation: applicantshave to spend Rs 1500 to get a benefit of Rs 500. Besides,there are far fewer scholarships than eligible scholars. Hehighlighted the distorted perception of bureaucrats aboutthe schemes targeting Muslims. Citing statistics from theAssam MCDs, he pointed out that most (in some cases100 per cent) of the funds were diverted to the Indira AwasYojana.Mr Hilal’s expectations from the 12 th Plan are as follows.(1) Give topmost priority to education(2) All scholarship schemes should be at par with SC/STscholarship norms(3) Increase the welfare budget by at least 10 times(4) The Ministry of Minority Affairs should concentrateonly on minority issues(5) Include urban welfare schemes also in the 15 pointplan for Muslims(6) Ensure Muslim community participation in publicprivate-partnershipprojects(7) Revise the cut-off population percentage to 15 percent for MCD classification(8) Activate monitoring mechanisms as suggested in theSachar ReportSpecific Suggestionswere Received afterGroup Discussions in theFollowing Six Groups:Group LeaderGroup Topic1. Muktar Ahmed Fardeen Poverty2. Yusuf Ansari Education3. S Umer Health4. Irfan Engineer Security5. Shaista Amber Women’s empowerment6. Shameem Baig Planning and resourceallocation1. PovertyMr Muktar Ahmed Fardeen• Increase the number of BPL cards to at least 12.5crores.• Post secular bureaucrats and administrators inMCD and other districts with a high Muslimpopulation.• Allocate the minority budget in proportion to thepopulation.• Implement the Sachar Commissionrecommendations properly.• Stop spending on propaganda of schemes andutilise the funds for poverty alleviation.• Revise the definition of poverty line to make itmore realistic.2. EducationMr Yusuf Ansari• Bring the Muslim literacy rate up to the nationalaverage and aim to have 1 primary school per 3000population and a teacher-to-student ratio of 1:40.• Give incentives for girls’ education.• Plan for uniform syllabus throughout the country.• Madrasas should be run like schools and should bemanaged by trusts/societies.• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan infrastructure should be193

utilised efficiently based on local conditions.• A special task force should be set up to plan theabove for the Muslim community.• Simplify the rules for scholarship applications andintroduce a punitive action clause for discipliningerring bureaucrats.• Increase involvement of NGOs for betterimplementation. They can play a significant role inmonitoring.• Provide for open information centres and campsat the grassroots level to popularise governmentschemes.• To reduce centre-state conflict in theimplementation of schemes, make statesresponsible and accountable.• Introduce a student tracking system to monitorhow students are doing after completion of theirstudies.• All scheme expenditures should be regularlyupdated on the respective websites and should alsobe published in the national and local newspapers.3. HealthDr S Umer• There is a danger of derecognition of 74000 doctors(trained in Yunani and Ayurvedic medicine)practising for decades due to a 1970 rule of theIndian Medical Council. This needs attention.• More healthcare centres are needed in Muslimdominated areas and reservations should beprovided for Muslims in medical colleges.• Give incentives to Muslim women so that theycan also become Accredited Social Health Activists(ASHA).• Increase Muslim representation in local bodiesoverseeing healthcare.4. SecurityMr Irfan Engineer• There should be no racial profiling of Muslims bylaw enforcement agencies.• Representation in police/security forces as perpopulation.• Action against all accused involved in riots.• Harsh acts like the Maharashtra Control ofCriminal Activities Act and Armed Forces SpecialPowers Act should be repealed.• Strengthen human rights protection, particularlyin Jammu and Kashmir.• Allocate funds for rehabilitation of riot victims.• Legislation for prevention of communal violenceand atrocities against Muslims should be enacted.• Initiate police reforms.• Sensitise the police and security forces aboutminority sentiments.• Create a minority cell in the police department.• Give more powers to the Minority Commission.5. Women’s EmpowermentMs Shaista Amber• Enhance government accountability towardsminorities.• Make Mahila Kalyan Yojanas more effective.• Promote small-scale home industries.• Bring out more housing schemes for minorities.• Increase representation of Pasmanda womenamong Anganwadi workers.• Create minority committees at local levels.6. Planning and ResourceAllocationMr Shamim Baig• Create a national Muslim watch cell.• Promote a culture of bottom-up planning andinclude NGOs in the process.• Reserve 20 per cent plan funds for Muslims.• Training programmes at all levels to enhanceminority participation.• Set up a chain of information cells with totalinfrastructural support from the government.• Revise the BPL card policy and ensure properdistribution.• Plan for orientation and sensitisation of governmentpersonnel towards minority communities.194

4. ElderlyPrefaceThe Planning Commission, Government of India hasembarked upon the formulation of the 12 th Five Year Plan,and it is commendable that it is engaging civil society in theplanning process in general and for the formulation of theapproach paper to the 12 th Five Year Plan in particular. Inthis context, meetings were held on 1 October 2010 and 26October 2010 at Delhi, which were attended by networks/organisations from various constituencies and thematicareas. It was felt that different citizen groups need to be inthe consultations and there is a need to organise meetingswith senior citizens associations for getting the inputs for theapproach paper for the 12 th Five Year Plan (2012 to 2017).Towards this, HelpAge India in association with TataInstitute of Social Sciences (TISS) organised a meetingon 7 December 2010 at TISS, Mumbai. Altogether, 26representatives from various Senior Citizens Associationsattended the meeting. The participants were divided intogroups and they discussed at length the various ageing issuesespecially in the areas of financial security, health care andnutrition, education, welfare, protection of life and propertyand shelter and family. The in-depth discussion resulted ina set of recommendations for 12 th Five Year Plan approachpaper. The report presents the proceedings of the meetingfor submission to the Planning Commission, New Delhi.Inaugural SessionThe HelpAge India-TISS Consultation Meeting forRecommendations on Senior Citizen Issues for the 12 th FiveYear Plan revealed several core issues, which were prioritisedfor the Planning Commission to review. Dr Parasuraman,Director of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), in hisinaugural address set the context within which the meetingwas conducted. He highlighted India’s growing economy,the impending population replacement level, the projectedincrease in the population of the elderly, particularly ofwomen due to higher life expectancy, all accompanied by astrong productive population. Against this background, Dr.Parasuraman suggested looking at policies and frameworksin two ways: 1) an analysis of how and where the elderly arelocated, 2) review of the state policies in place to meet theirneeds.Mr Mathew Cherian, CEO of HelpAge India, detailedthe various areas of concern that require attention in the 12 thFive Year Plan. He stressed upon the need for the PlanningCommission to consult the public for more inclusive growthand drew attention to core issues. Mr Cherian asserted thatresource allocation and utilisation requires attention, as fromthe 11th Five Year Plan’s allocation of Rs 400 crores, only Rs44 crores was allocated towards senior citizens; only Rs 20crores of this have been spent to date. He also mentionedthe lack of implementation of the health insuranceschemes for which the IRDA appointed commission gaverecommendations, of the Maintenance Law that providesfor one old-age home in every district, and of the 11th FiveYear Plan’s old age pension contribution scheme that reachesonly 16 million people. Mr Cherian strongly suggested thata National Commission and State Commissions be set up tofacilitate implementation.The Planning Commission’s role at the conference, asstated by Professor Abhijit Sen, was to listen to the voicesof the elderly for a more inclusive approach to the 12 th FiveYear Plan. Prof Sen highlighted that the listening processwas a structured effort undertaken with the help of NGOs,which is necessary for inclusivity. Such efforts, he detailed,include an interactive site to collect diverse views as theelderly have problems beyond merely age that need to be195

taken into account during the planning process. Prof Senmentioned that the problems of the elderly will be relativelyimportant in a Plan which thinks about the future of India.By 2020, the transition to a young workforce will falsifythe assumption that old age issues will automatically takecare of themselves. Instead, planners need to see how wellthe demographic dividend can be used to place the young– either in productive sectors or social/care-giving sectors –for an acceptable social security level.Group DiscussionsThe meeting proceeded as a platform for everyparticipant from different senior citizen organizations andassociations working on rural/urban elderly issues andbelonging to different socio-economic strata to voice theirconcerns. Each expressed their views and expectations fromthe approach paper of the 12 th Five Year Plan to be preparedby the Planning Commission. The issues raised in themeeting are summarized as follows.a) PoliciesThe following issues need to be considered forinclusion in policies.1. Terminology and Classifications: The term “seniorcitizens” should replace “older persons”; age criteriashould be made consistent; dementia should beconsidered a disability; and classification of BelowPoverty Line (BPL) definition for senior citizensshould be reviewed, as it is unclear.2. Family Structure: While family structures havebroken down, they have not completelydisintegrated – physical space may not be shared,but there is a common income pool. Incentivessuch as income tax deduction should be given toassist the family and to encourage the joint familystructure.3. The Pension Index should be made uniform acrossthe country and be indexed to inflation.4. Inclusion of the elderly: Schemes like theMahatma Gandhi National Rural EmploymentGuarantee Scheme should make special provisionsfor including the elderly.5. Corporate Social Responsibility: Reservation ofsome percent of profits for senior citizens.6. Micro-finance: National Bank for Agricultureand Rural Development (NABARD) has onlyvery recently started giving the elderly credit. ThePlanning Commission can enhance such efforts.7. A gero-sensitive city plan: Cities shouldaccommodate elderly needs such as ramps etc.b) ImplementationA common consensus emerged that the 11th FiveYear Plan had numerous suitable provisions for seniorcitizens; however, few were being implemented. Thefollowing suggestions were made for the PlanningCommission to facilitate quick implementation:1. Unique ID (UID) be given on a priority basis to allsenior citizens.2. Organizations and senior citizens need tocollaborate to further the cause of senior citizenissues.3. Review of the 1999 policy to be accompanied byanalysis of implementation issues.4. Provide Panchayats with the power for speedyimplementation of various policies. This is in thecontext of the lack of state-centre co-ordination forexpeditious implementation of plans.5. Establish an all-India civil society body to voiceelderly needs objectively.6. A review/monitoring body should be set up toassess the implementation progress of schemes.c) HealthcareIn the light of increasing costs of healthcare andthe lack of affordable health insurance schemes andadequate services for senior citizens, several areas werehighlighted as requiring immediate attention.1. Cost-effective health insurance: A fund set upwith individual and government contributions cansupport such a scheme. For example, the AndhraPradesh scheme or the Rashtriya Swasthya BimaYojana can be used as models but must includeboth BPL and APL citizens.2. Healthcare measures: These must accommodatepeople moving from villages to towns for healthcaretreatment. Health check-up camp, mentalhealthcare programmes and geriatric facilities in allmedical colleges are also necessary. In addition, 75per cent of healthcare centres need better resourcessuch as staff, medicines etc.196

3. Outreach services: Rural areas have different needsfrom urban areas and must be taken into accountwhen planning. As elderly lack easy mobility,and Primary Health Centres are located at largedistances between each other, palliative careshould be looked into. Also, health posts, whichare geographically closer, can be considered.4. Institutional care: Institutions with geriatricfacilities to be expanded to place staff trained inthe field. Also, institutions must provide for thosewith mental illnesses, as families are looking forsuch options, being unable to cope themselves.5. Nutrition programmes: Provision of nutritionsupplements is important, given the high numberof anaemia cases in Mumbai.d) FinanceA number of suggestions were made on pensions,financial incentives and interest rates:1. Income tax exemptions: Should be provided toencourage home support to the elderly.2. Pension: Eligibility requires analysis, as someelderly may have children who have crossed 60years of age, but are not eligible for pension.Distribution is also an issue as it is difficult to claimpension from the bank especially in rural areas,due to conditions such as stroke, arthritis, etc. LICpensions have been blocked by the government,while central government employees get medicalschemes.3. Bureaucracy: Many government departments tendto call the elderly to fill out various forms severaltimes, which is difficult if one does not have familyto help. In addition, elderly schemes requiredocumentation to avail them and often names donot appear on the list of the elderly in villages, andmany are misrepresented.4. Interest rates: Senior citizens should get anadditional interest rate of at least 2 per cent.e) TransportInter-state concessions: Concessions shouldaccommodate inter-state movement. Similarly, seatsreserved for senior citizens should be uniform acrossstates.f) Old Age Homes/DaycareCentresThese were considered a priority area by many in themeeting. The needs of such centres were diverse.1. Implementation/Regulation: Policy provisionsaccommodate the construction of old age homesbut it requires implementation. In addition,there is no licensing authority available to countthe number of old age homes or to monitor theirquality. So a registration policy is required tocontrol the living conditions of these homes.2. Daycare centre: These need to be established forcommunity, entertainment and refuge. In slums,many of the elderly have alcoholic children whotake their money away from them. The daycarecentres can alleviate their struggle by offering aplace of refuge. In addition, such centres can beused not only for recreation but also for utilisationof the knowledge and experience of senior citizensand to encourage them to participate in the largercommunity.g) Feminisation of ageingDue to the increasing longevity of women, the sexratio of senior citizens tends to be tilted towards thewomen and this requires extra attention, as their needsare different from men.1. Women senior citizens: Their issues require study,as their problems are different from men seniorcitizens and cannot be accommodated under asingle model. In addition, their health status isespecially low and thus deserves special attention.2. Elderly widows: The population of this group isprojected to rise and requires attention. There isno record of elderly widows, especially if they shiftstates, and this becomes a problem with regard topension allocation.h) Education/AwarenessThe current database on ageing is insufficient. Aseducation is a tool of awareness of such issues, thefollowing measures need to be put into place.1. School curriculum: Senior citizen issues mustbe incorporated in school curricula for moreawareness197

2. Multi-disciplinary focus of courses required: TataInstitute of Social Sceince’s diploma in gerontology,which is an evening course, is a focused one-yearprogramme that looks at ageing from an interdisciplinaryperspective. Such an approach is vitalto the study of ageing and should be replicatedwidely.3. Existing literature and gaps: Research on ageingis at a very peripheral stage, with hardly anyinterdisciplinary focus. In addition, we lacknational level data on senior citizens, and microleveldata is not sufficient. The 12 th Five Year Plancan help build a knowledge base on ageing issues.4. Research institutes: Provisions made in the 12 thFive Year Plan for two research institutes on ageingwere not implemented and therefore this remainsto be followed up.i) National/State InstitutionsThe need for separate institutional machinery to caterparticularly to senior citizens was felt to be importantunanimously.1. Separate senior citizens department: The Ministryof Social Justice deals with drug addicts, beggars,destitutes and elderly and so their attention is splitamongst these groups, while women and childrenhave their own separate departments. Therefore, aseparate department for the elderly should be setup, as their number is substantial and growing.2. Tribunal: Elder abuse/neglect happens especially infamilies struggling economically. Awareness has tobe increased through, say, a campaign against theprevention of abuse of the elderly. While acts suchas the Maintenance and Welfare of Senior Citizens’Act do exist, there is no tribunal in place forredressal in case the act is not being implemented– cases sometimes take one year or more.Concluding SessionProf Abhijit Sen concluded the session by offering hisobservations from the meeting and his suggestions regardinghow best to focus senior citizens’ needs for review by thePlanning Commission. He stated that as an economistand planner, he has to point out that old age cuts acrosssociety. In such a scenario, inequalities are much largeramongst the older population than the younger, as thosewho were deprived in the past are particularly distraught intheir old age. Thus, history and mobility become central todetermining senior citizens’ welfare across society. Prof Sennoted two broad implications of his observation.a) Savings: While a large amount of money cannot bespent on social security, correct incentives have to beput into place to encourage the young to take care oftheir parents and to save for old age, rather than thereverse.b) Inequality: The inequality that exists requires theCommission to aim at certain minimum requirements.He stressed the need to ensure that even the Rs 400pension (which is too little) should be received bythose in need. Prof Sen urged that while there aremany things that are expensive, there are actions thatrequire little money. The divide across society shouldbe bridged by emphasising common issues amongstthe diverse senior citizen population.Prof Sen’s final suggestion was to look for such minimumrequirements for senior citizens across all strata, to be putforth as recommendations to the Planning Commission forconsideration.198

5. MigrantsBackground andIntroductionInternal mobility is critical to the livelihoods of Adivasigroups/socially deprived people and people from resourcepoorareas. While some attention has been paid to thisfeature, in terms of the Inter State Migrant Workman(ISMW) Act 1979, the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 andthe Contract Labour Act, 1970, there is a need to revisitthe ISMW Act and provide additional safeguards for allmigrants. Some data on population (and not worker)mobility in India can be found in the Census and theNational Sample Survey. However, these underestimatethe flow of seasonal and temporary (labour) migration.Migration in India is predominantly short-distance; onlyabout 20 per cent move across state boundaries. Given thegrowing trend in seasonal migration, there is a strong needto provide a greater priority to all aspects of migration bypolicy makers and NGO programmes.Facts about MigrationMigration and commuting are part of routine livelihoodstrategies and not simply a response to shocks. Peoplemigrate to take advantage of new economic opportunities,acquire new skills and escape the caste system. Manyadivasis from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtramigrate to work in construction, tile factories, brick kilnsand crop harvesting. Some migrate individually andothers as household units. Family migration is prevalent insugarcane cutting, construction and brick kilns, as it is moreeconomical for employers. Some 40,000 females from Keralamigrate annually in order to work in the fishery industry.In the domestic work sector, there is a huge increase inindependent female migration. The share of northern statesis very large in male migration, whereas the southern stateshave a comparatively larger share of female migrants.• During the 2001 Census period, 14.4 million peoplemigrated within the country for work purposes toeither cities or areas with higher expected economicgains.• The 2001 Census has recorded about 53.3 millionrural-to-rural migration within the country. Accordingto the National Commission on Rural Labour(NCRL), a large number of migrants are employedin cultivation and plantations, brick-kilns, quarries,construction sites and fish processing.• The NCRL estimates the number of internal labourmigrants in rural areas in India alone at around 10million (including roughly 4.5 million inter-statemigrants and 6 million intra-state migrants).• A large number of migrants works in the urbaninformal manufacturing construction, services ortransport sectors as casual labourers, head loaders,rickshaw pullers, vendors and hawkers.• In the case of most intra-state and inter-state unskilledand semi-skilled migrants, migrant labourers runa high risk of exploitation, for they are exposed touncertainties and lack access to information andknowledge. This makes it very difficult for them toswitch jobs in case of dissatisfaction with the currentemployer. Because of their choice-less situation, theselabourers lack bargaining power and thereby failto negotiate reasonable pay scales and fair workingconditions with the contractors.• Most migrants live in open spaces, makeshiftshelters or illegal settlements, which lack the basicinfrastructure and access to civic amenities. They199

have no local ration cards, which can provide themtheir food at subsidised rates through the PDS. Theyare highly prone to occupational health hazards andvulnerable to epidemics including HIV/AIDS.• Since migrants are mobile, their children have nocrèche facilities or access to schooling. They donot come under the purview of either the localgovernment or NGO programmes for they do notbelong to that particular region. So, citing the problemof monitoring, most agencies leave them outside thescope of development intervention.• In India, labour migrants are largely found workingin the developed states, which are the traditionalmigrant-receiving states. Typically, they come fromunderdeveloped regions of the country and consistprimarily of the most marginalised sections of society,namely the Adivasis and the Scheduled Castes (SCs).These migrants are entirely without legal protectionor social security. They are “invisible”; they are notacknowledged and are denied access even to basicamenities in most cases. They have no identity in theplaces where they live and no voice in the places theyhave left behind.• Overseas migrants are vulnerable to trafficking andsmuggling. Migrants might opt of their own freewill to being smuggled and so end up in a traffickedsituation. They are prone to suffer abuse at the handsof their smugglers. Even migrant workers who are partof legally sanctioned labour migration schemes maybe exploited by their employers. India is a countryof origin, transit and destination. In the citationindex, India is ranked high as a country of originand destination and is ranked medium as a countryof transit (Trafficking in Persons - Global Patterns,United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime).Domestic servitude, bonded labour, and indenturedservitude is also widespread alongside cross-bordertrafficking, internal trafficking of women, childrenand men for purposes of sexual exploitation.• In addition to internal migration, external migration isalso a significant feature for India. India continued tobe the largest recipient of remittances, with the figurerising from $49.6 billion in 2009 to $55 billion in2010. However, many problems remain unaddressedfor safe migration at all stages.Given the above context, the International Organisationfor Migration, along with the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme and Wada Na Todo Abhiyan, organised aconsultation with migrants on 13-14 December 2010, inorder to bring their voices into the planning process, as aproposed input for the Planning Commission in developingthe 12 th Five Year Plan. The consultation focused on theproblems of migrants in terms of their source, transit,destination and return/reintegration conditions and policyinterventions to promote safe migration. The discussionsin the consultation brought out key challenges andrecommendations on six thematic areas, and the conclusionsof the consultative process are summarised below.1. Identity/Documentation/Accessto Government Schemes andLivelihoods(Addresses Planning Commission’s key challenges ofenhancing skills and faster generation of employment,rural transformation and sustained growth of agriculture)Challenges• Migrant workers increasingly missed in census andBPL surveys• Migrants and their families miss out on access togovernment schemes at source• Political exclusion of migrant workers – a largenumber of migrants is not able to vote• Lack of an ID proof increases vulnerability to policeharassment, sexual harassment, especially of womenmigrants, and trafficking of children• Lack of access to basic services at destination, such asshelter, sanitation, health services, Integrated ChildDevelopment Scheme (ICDS), education, bankingand financial services, and PDS• Unable to register birth and death at destination dueto complicated process and language barriersRecommendations• Develop a mechanism for registration of migrantworkers at source and destination, at Panchayat/Urban Local Body level, by creating a computeriseddatabase for migrant workers, aggregating thisinformation at the block level and above, strictlyimplementing proposed amendments to ISMWAat local levels, and sensitising local panchayats forregistration of all migrant workers200

• UID to integrate its project with organisationsworking with migrant workers across the country,e.g. MoU of UID Authority of India with theNational Coalition of Organisations for Security ofMigrant Workers (a coalition of non-governmentalorganisations working on migration issues)• Linking of UID for migrant workers to servicessuch as education, banking (savings, credit andremittances), health services, and mobile PDS (e.g.Disha, Nashik - http://dishafoundation.wordpress.com/)• Benefits of unorganised sector welfare boards and/orschemes to be made available to migrant workers• Enable voting for migrant workers – more researchcould be taken up on the subject• Make census counting more sensitive to increasedmobility of rural populations• Interstate portability of identity documents suchas ration cards or other valid IDs, so that migrantworkers can access social benefit schemes indestination states2. Education – Children/Adults(Addresses Planning Commission’s key challenge ofimproving access to quality education)Challenges• Language is a barrier to access education in thedestination site• Scarcity of trained teachers, inadequateinfrastructure, lack of clear-cut policy to deal withchildren of migrant workers• Admission in government schools is difficult• Limited/no access crèche facilities and pre-schooleducation in the destination site• Lack of awareness among the parents on importanceof education• Lack of vocational and life skills (communication,negotiation and social integration skills) trainingamong adult and youth migrantsRecommendations• Special programmes, such as bridge and transitschools for children of migrant workers to provideeducation in their own mother tongue for migrantsand provision of TLM by recruiting trained teachersand developing modalities for teaching children ofmigrant workers• NCERT and SCERT to take up a study onappropriate models• Explore the possibility of setting up residentialschools for children of migrant workers at source• Mass awareness programmes among parents/migrantworkers on the importance of education• Set up a facilitation centre for children’s educationneeds at the destination• Drive to provide vocational training under theMES for migrants of the Department of Labour,Employment and Training• Increase awareness on modular employable skills• Develop appropriate trainings and accreditation formigrant workers• Increase budget allocation – Wada Na Todo Abhiyan,Nine is Mine3. Gender and Migration(Addresses Planning Commission’s key challenge ofdecentralisation, empowerment and information)Challenges• Lack of disaggregated data on women migrants• Increased vulnerability of women migrants:• Lack of safety/security and sexual harassment atwork site/place of stay• Poor access to adolescent and reproductivehealth• Exploitation of women through schemes, e.g.the Sumangali Thittam in Tamil Nadu• Exploitation of domestic workers• Increased incidence of HIV/STDs• Trafficking for sexual and labour exploitation• Violence against women• Discrimination of women migrants• Payment of wages – no payment, lower wages• No compensatory mechanism – occupationalsafety and health• Absence of crèche facilities• Cap on age for emigration201

• Lack of recognition and protection irregularmigrants, especially women• Increased incidence of forced displacement ofwomen due to climate change, developmentproject-induced migration and natural disastersRecommendations:• Disaggregated database on interstate andinternational migration• Reduction of vulnerability of women migrants• Ensure sanitation facilities• Provision of maternity leave and need for crècheand provision of prenatal and postnatal care• Formation of sexual harassment committee as perthe Vishaka Judgment by employer/welfare boards• Sign and ratify ILO Convention on DomesticWorkers and UN Convention on Migrants• Increased awareness on HIV/AIDS• Elimination of discrimination• Implementation of Equal Wages Act• Action against exploitative programs such asSumangali Thittam in Tamil Nadu 1• Increased implementation of CEDAW/GR-26(http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/recommendations/recommendations-26.htm)• Strengthening the anti-trafficking initiatives andcapacity building of service providers• Irregular women migrant workers should be treatedas victims not as offenders4. Migration and Health(Addresses Planning Commission’s key challenge of betterpreventive and curative healthcare)Challenges• Increased incidence of HIV/AIDS/STDs/RTIsamong spouses both at source and destination• Vulnerability to mental health issues• Malnutrition among the children of migrant labour• Access to healthcare facilities for adults and children• Low level of awareness among migrant workersregarding existing health services• Language and cultural barriers• Affordability• Service availability, location, hours of operation• Procedural difficulties• Migrant health is affected by• poor shelter, sanitation, and water supply• exposure to occupational hazards• No provision for periodic medical check-ups,medical benefits, sick leave etc., at employer /contractor levelRecommendations• Establish adequate crèche/baby care centre/ICDSfacilities at work site/place of stay• Increase awareness of healthcare facilities for migrantsregarding health issues and existing schemes byinvolving NGOs, CSOs, migrant worker unions,etc.• Increase proximity of healthcare facility/PHCs/PHUs to migrants• State Welfare Boards for migrant workers withrepresentative units in the District Panchayat inrural areas and Urban Local Bodies in urban areasthat also help workers address healthcare needs• Facilitate the inclusion of migrant workers inexisting social schemes such as RSBY or Janata BimaYojana; in districts where such schemes do not exist,formulate and implement schemes on the lines ofESI (for migrant workers)• Evaluation and scale up of pilot programs such asSocial Security Benefits for Unorganised Worker inKarnataka (SSBK)• Inclusion of the issues of migrant health medicalcurriculum to orient health workers on migrantspecificissues• Better follow up and monitoring of the Pravasi BimaYojana to ensure benefits reach the emigrants• Abolition of mandatory testing for emigrants as itviolates their Fundamental Rights1 http://www.hindu.com/2010/05/28/stories/2010052858300600.htm202

5. Protection Mechanisms forInternal and External Migrants(Addresses Planning Commission’s key challenge ofmarkets for efficiency and inclusion and decentralisation,empowerment and information)Challenges• Lack of access to banking and financial inclusion,which carries the risk due to carrying large amountsof money• Vulnerability of children of migrants to child labour,child trafficking and sexual exploitation• Labour rights violation• Termination without notice• Non-payment, holding back of wages, etc.• Exploitative system of advance paymentresulting in bonded labour• Irregular working hours• Poor working conditions• Lack of legal support to migrant workers• Discrimination/conflict between local people andmigrant workers in the destination area• Poor information and awareness of schemes formigrant workersRecommendations• Formalise payment of wages to migrant workersthrough banks to address payment related issues• Evaluation and upscaling of pilot programmesfor financial inclusion, especially for migrantworkers• Dialogue with Indian Banks Association toexplore appropriate mechanisms for bankaccount opening, operations and remittancesfor migrant workers• Portability of benefits beyond source area of migrantworker• Activation of child welfare centres, child protectionservices and child helpline at the district level• Migrant workers relief fund to cover all sectors ofunorganised work, both at the national and the statelevel• Wages in tune with WPI (Wholesale Price Index)• An urban employment guarantee scheme on thelines of MGNREGS for migrant workers• Allocation under poverty alleviation programmesfor migrant workers• Living and working conditions to be monitored bythe government, trade unions, media and NGOs• Enforcement of labour legislation• Migrant assistance/information centres for bothmigrants and their families should be established• Creation of a National Labour Helpline on thelines of Child Line• Effective implementation of the following acts:• Minimum Wages Act, 1948• Inter State Migrant Workman (Regulation ofEmployment and Conditions of Service) Act1979• Building and Other Construction Workers(Regulation of Employment) Act 1996• Building and Other Construction WorkersWelfare Cess Act, 1996• Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition)Act 1970• Emigration Act, 1983 and Emigration(Amendment) Rules, 2009• Benefits of the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana(RSBY) should be made portable and made availableto contract labour• Establish National Overseas Manpower Corporationto handle recruitment processes in a safe manner• Establish Labour Attaché at Indian embassies atdestination places• In order to overcome lack of awareness, at least, thedemand letter, power of attorney and the terms ofcontract should be made available in local language• Mechanism for timely redressal of grievances• Bilateral and multi-lateral agreements with receivingcountries• Migrant Resource Centres should be established inall states• Resettlement and re-integration programs forreturnees• Helpline for migrant workers in each state in allIndian languages203

6. Internally DisplacedPopulation /Forced Labour(Addresses Planning Commission’s key challenge of ruraltransformation and sustained growth of agriculture andmanaging urbanization)Challenges• Forced displacement in urban, rural and forest areasdue to:• loss of traditional means of livelihood fordisplaced tribes• land acquisition for mining and dam projects• disasters/calamities• Invisibility – lack of disaggregated data• Poor implementation of resettlement andrehabilitation strategies for adivasis/displacedpopulation• Vulnerability to trafficking due to loss of traditionallivelihood options• Adivasis must be given opportunities and preferenceto be employed in forest departments and must beallowed to collect the natural products from theforest for their livelihoodConclusionParticipants generally were of the opinion thatthe problems faced by migrants are multi-faceted, andsatisfactory redressal of these issues involves coordinationbetween multiple ministries/departments/agencies. It wasstrongly urged that the Government should explore thepossibility of setting up a National Policy/Commission/Mission for Migrant Workers. This would enable provisionof appropriate priority and budgetary allocations for migrantworkers.Recommendations:• Comprehensive disaggregated data to be collected inthe cases of mass displacement• Tracking resettlement and rehabilitation measures• Consultations with the local population underconditions suitable for affected population mustbe undertaken. Although provisions for publichearing exist, they are currently not enforced orimplemented. Public hearing must be done in thesame place where the project (building of plants,constructions of dams, etc) is to be implemented andwith the people who would be affected immediately.• In the case of forced displacement due to• development projects (dams, widening of roads,building of mass transportation, mining),alternative housing and livelihood facilitiesmust be prepared in advance of displacementand the enforcement monitored• natural disasters/calamities, the entirecommunity must be resettled in one commonplace• Adivasi rights to be considered while implementingforest and animal protection laws204

6. AdivasisPreambleThe total population of Scheduled Tribes is 84,326,240as per the 2001 Census, 8.2 per cent of the total populationof the country. A majority of the Scheduled Tribe populationlives in rural areas and their population is 10.4 per centof the total rural population of the country. The share ofthe Scheduled Tribe population in urban areas is a meagre2.4 per cent. Large populations of Scheduled Tribes live inMadhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Gujarat, Rajasthan,Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengaland Karnataka. These states account for 83.2 per cent of thetotal Scheduled Tribe population of the country. Another15.3 per cent of the total Scheduled Tribe populationlive in Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir,Tripura, Mizoram, Bihar, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh andTamil Nadu. There are 105,295 villages and 57 towns inthe country where Scheduled Tribes make up more than 50per cent of the population. Of the total ST population, 52per cent lives below the poverty line. Estimates show that25 per cent live in severe poverty. Two-thirds of the bondedlabourers (essentially chronically poor with likelihood ofintergenerational transmission of poverty) identified in thecountry are from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.The De-Notified and Nomadic Tribes make up about60 million of India’s population (however the data is merelya conjecture, as there has been no census of this population).There are 313 Nomadic Tribes and 198 De-notified Tribes.According to the Indian Confederation of Indigenous andAdivasi People, 80 per cent of this population lives belowthe poverty line. In the context of planning for thesepopulations, the following concerns emerged from theconsultation at Tilde, Chhattisgarh.The term ‘development’ needs to be redefined sothat people and not profit becomes the core of planning.Development must be in terms of well-being and justice.Interest of the few cannot be to the detriment of others.‘National Interest’ is a good idea but what is nationalinterest? Is it the destruction of the identity of many forsome? Is the destruction of natural resources for industrialgrowth ‘national interest? Are Adivasis anti-national ifthey wish to protect their land and forests from industrialencroachment? This term needs to be redefined.‘Mainstreaming’: Who or what is the mainstream?What about pluralism? Why should the Adivasis give uptheir identity, culture and livelihoods in order to become‘mainstream’? How is it that a tiny group of people hasdecided that they are mainstream and all others must follow?Self-reliance vs Dependency: The Indian state isforcing people to become dependent through its variousschemes and programmes. Why should people stand inqueues to prove their identity and give up all self-respect?The vision of the state should be that people strive for selfrelianceand dignity. The Adivasi people have always hadhigh self-respect but now they are being forced to beg fortheir mere existence. The police and forest departmenthave overwhelming power over the adivasi people and theirdignity and self-respect is constantly under threat; eviction,abuse and exploitation have become their lot in life.Survival or Death is the choice that Adivasi peopleface. Their struggle is a struggle for survival in the face ofgrowing violence in their lands and loss of livelihoods linkedto land forest and water. Rapid industrialisation, miningand ‘development’ projects along with wildlife protectionprojects and sanctuaries are forcing these people off theirlands and homes. Failure to implement laws such as thePESA Act and the failure of institutions such as AdivasiDevelopment Authorities are ensuring the end of their lives,traditions and culture.205

Conflict Zone: Most Adivasi areas have been turnedinto conflict zones. Why are the lands and homes of thesepeople the site of violence? This question must be asked.Is it because these lands are rich in minerals and resourcesessential for ‘growth’? Why are Adivasis being denied theright to democratic space? The Indian state must realisethat destruction of democratic processes and reduction ofthis space will only aggravate the situation. Peace initiativesand people who believe in peace should be respected andallowed to work in these areas. The Adivasi population isentitled to the Fundamental Rights enshrined in the IndianConstitution and these cannot be denied through theprocess of creating conflict zones.The whole consultation focused on certain issuessuggested by the Planning Commission of India (GoI).Some relevant issues have also been incorporated by the EktaParishad for broad basing the larger concerns around adivasidevelopment and rights. The participants were divided intoseven groups for the discussions.Group 1• Growth opportunities for the adivasi youth• Opportunities for better education• Possibilities for better health• Development of human capacities for the growth ofAdivasi societyContextThe problematic issues are• Five to eight crore Adivasi youth• Loss of self belief and self respect• Poor implementation of plans and programmes• Poor economic returns from traditional trades• Loss of resources such as land, forest and water dueto industrialisation, mining and other developmentprojects• Limited market for forest/agro products along with lackof skills required for marketing, high dropout rates afterClass 5• Large numbers are first-generation learners and thereforerequire additional support/facilities for continuation ofeducation• Limited local employment/self-employmentopportunities along with lack of appropriate supportand training• Malnutrition among children and adults, malaria,tuberculosis, leprosy and diarrhoea, lack of appropriateand adequate health services• Mismatch between skills and aspirations along with lackof opportunities for learning new skillsRecommendations• Improvement in the infrastructure and services availablefor education – more and better quality teachers (doaway with single-teacher schools)• Review the content of education to include adivasihistory and culture (restore self respect and belief) aswell as provide opportunities for developing vocationalskills linked to the usage of locally available resources.• Formulate a adivasi youth policy as part of a nationalyouth policy• Develop more opportunities in areas such as forestproduce marketing and processing, traditional organicagriculture and traditional health practices and herbalmedicines• Improve and extend health services including recognitionof traditional healing practices and practitioners• Organise events that allow learning about adivasi historyand its heroes, traditional practices and arts, etc.• Provide opportunities for the preservation of traditionaland experience based knowledge along with recognitionof this knowledge so that the young are motivated inlearning itGroup 2• Issues in the rights and entitlements to water, forestand land resources• Environmental rights – protection and managementContextThe problems are listed below.• Non-compliance of PESA Act (rules not formulated inmost states)• Rapid depletion of resources critical to their livelihood• Loss of land and forests due to rapid industrialisationand mining• Poor implementation of Forest Rights Act• Harassment and evictions by the forest department• Existence of a forest department without adequatechecks and balances206

• Diversion of agriculture and forest land for noagricultureand forest use• Increasing conflict and creation of conflict zones• Poor functioning of Adivasi Development Authority• Poor utilisation of Tribal Sub Plan allocations• Large scale denial of community rights (village forest)Recommendations• Time-bound land settlement in adivasi areas by AdivasiDevelopment Authority (involvement of forest andrevenue departments should be done away with)• Ensuring formulation of rules for PESA Act and itsimplementation – stop allocation of central funds tostates that fail to do so• White paper on the status of implementation of PESAAct (based on reports by the state governors)• The powers for determination of compensation foracquired lands/forest land (of gram panchayats) shouldbe given to the Gram Panchayats and not the Collector(as practised currently)• Central Water Commission guidelines for the use ofwater to be reviewed and enforced (create appropriatemechanism)• Sharing of 26 per cent profit from mining/industryand determination of the mechanism that allows GramSabhas to use the money• Conversion of Gram Panchayats into Urban Areas inscheduled Adivasi areas – release a paper on the currentstatus and form guidelines for future• Ensure that the Adivasi Development Authority becomesdynamic and functionalGroup 3• Possibilities of agricultural extension anddevelopment• Better opportunities of self-employment and skillsdevelopment/enhancement• Market opportunities and challenges in adivasi areasContextThe problems are listed below.• Diversion of agricultural land for industry and mining• Traditional agricultural practices• Small landholdings/subsistence farming• Large scale migration of people in agriculture• Diminishing returns from agriculture• Inability of farmers to access schemes and programmesaimed at agricultural development (administrativeinertia and corruption along with lack of awareness ofprocesses)• Lack of irrigation facilities and other technology• Exploitative middlemen• Diminishing non-timber forest products (NTFP) due toover harvesting, environmental changes and diversion ofland• Low economic returns from traditional sources ofemployment• Lack of skills for enhancing (value addition) existingopportunities• Lack of skills for new employment (say mining andindustry)Recommendations• Direct subsidies to farmers (similar to those given toindustry)• Support, guidance and credit for traditional farming(organic farming)• Growth in employment opportunities from agricultureand forest (value addition processes)• Release white paper on status of land diversion/allocationfor Jatropha plantations• Minimum Support Price for NTFPs (as for certaincrops)• Registration and certification of middlemen (involvedin buying and selling of NTFPs)• Recognition of traditional knowledge and skills (organicagriculture and herbal medicinal plants and practices)• Skills training in traditional livelihoods (for valueaddition and marketing)• Ban on entry of MNCs in retailing and insteadopportunities for marketing of adivasi agro and forestproducts by adivasi federations should be explored• Release a White Paper on farmer suicidesGroup 4• Development of new techno capacities• Opportunities for energy conservation207

ContextThe problems are listed below.• Mega energy projects impacting adivasi lives andlivelihoods• Adivasi areas still largely without regular and adequateelectricity• Mining for raw materials largely at the cost of adivasilivelihoods; however, the benefit to adivasis is minimal(for example, example electricity, water for irrigationand money from sale of product)• Energy production is also linked to environmentalchangesRecommendations• Increase support for non-conventional energy sources• Recognize traditional water harvesting systems and theknowledge and skills associated with them, provideincentives and support for their revival and use• Recognize the knowledge and skills of nomadic tribesand provide opportunities for enhancing its value• Provide training/skills that add value to traditionalskills/crafts and enable creation of products that sell inthe market• Provide support for use of solar energy as well as expandresearch that makes the use cost-effectiveGroup 5• Self-rule in violence affected areasContextThe problems are listed below.• People involved in peace building initiatives are alsobranded as Maoists and Naxals• Denial of basic human rights of the people living in thearea• Inappropriate use of force by police and armed forces• Abuse of the public hearing process and use of force forobtaining no objection certificates• Suspension of administration and related developmentactivities• Large numbers of internally displaced persons,• Absence of opportunities for the youth• Lapsed allocations• Absence of accountability• Shrinking democratic spaces• Misuse of democratic processes and institutionsRecommendations• Begin a process of building leadership amongst theyouth• Assess the use/abuse of Special Area Security Acts• Release a white paper on the status of internally displacedpersons (IDPs)• The functioning of the Compensatory AfforestationFund Management and Planning Authority and theMGNREGS should be evaluated and audited (socialaudit)• Creation of a ministry exclusively for dealing with issuesarising in conflict zones• D Bandopadhyay Committee Report should be seenand its recommendations followedGroup 6• Reconstruction of Adivasi Welfare Ministry andother related organisations/institutions• Decentralization of informationContextThe problems are listed below.• Powerlessness of the ministry in view of the challenges• Weak and/or defunct organisations and institutions• Lack of adequate human resources• Ineffectiveness in view of current challenges such asmining, industrialization, etc• Lack of awareness among the people (rights, entitlements,schemes, programmes)Recommendations• Recognise the history, culture and identity of adivasipeople as distinct and valued• Formulation of National Adivasi Policy• Creation of a single window system for the adivasipeople• Revive the Adivasi Advisory Committees and strengthenthe Scheduled Tribes Commission in view of the currentchallenges like violence and loss of livelihoods andresources• Release of white papers based on governors reports208

Group 7• Local knowledge based opportunities for growthContextThe problems are listed below.• Loss of dignity and respect associated with traditionalknowledge/skills• Stagnation in learning processes• Disinterest amongst the youth as returns are way belowthe efforts• Spread of consumerism• Aggressive mainstreaming• Loss of skills and knowledge due to lack of conservationand threats such as ipr• Loss of traditional institutions and systemsRecommendations• Planning priorities need to be redefined (planning atgram sabha level based on local knowledge and resources)• Traditional systems of organisation and governance needto be recognised• Industrial Training Institutes that are being opened inadivasi areas should offer courses that enhance localskills such as bamboo craft, iron smithy, etc.• Recognition should be given to traditional healers andtheir knowledge of herbal medicines• Creation of Gramin Gyan Kendras to serve as banks oflocal knowledge and prevent patenting of knowledgeand products by outsiders• Include people with traditional knowledge in the stateand district planning boards209

7. YouthBrief Report on National Youth Consultation: Approach Paper to the12 th Five Year PlanExecutive SummaryThe National Youth Consultation on the approachpaper to the 12 th Five Year Plan was held on 5 December2010 in Delhi and was organised by Youth Alliance forPlanning (YAP). The consultation was attended by over 150youth participants from around 70 organisations workingon different issues in both rural and urban areas across 13states.The consultation was held as part of the processinitiated by the Planning Commission to engage with civilsociety organisations to get their inputs on different issuesfor preparation of the approach paper to the 12 th Five YearPlan. The National Youth Consultation aimed at discussingand raising the concerns faced by the youth from across thecountry along different key issues. The consultation beganwith Mr Arun Maira, Member, Planning Commissionand Mr Amitabh Behar, WNTA setting the context. Afterthis, the participants formed groups to discuss problems,possible solutions and specific recommendations. The mainissues taken up by the participating organisations wereeducation, health, decentralisation and democratisation ofinformation, environment, enhancing capacity for growthand markets for inclusion, skill development, urbanisationand rural transformation and sustained agriculture growth.The discussions on these issues were facilitated by Mr DunuRoy, Mr PV Sateesh, Mr Nikhil Dey, Ms Malika Vardi, MsKiran Bhatty, Mr Madhavan, Ms Randeep Kaur and others.The main issues taken up by the participatingorganisations were decentralisation and democratisationof information, rural transformation and sustainableagriculture growth, education, managing environment, skilldevelopment, enhancing capacity for growth and marketsfor inclusion, health and urbanisation.The following are the main recommendations across allthe discussions.• The need for a National Youth Commission to addressall issues related to youth.• The need for a National Youth Policy to draw upschemes and programmes for youth development andfor greater engagement of youth across all sections ofsociety.• Ensure participation and representation of youth indifferent governance structures by making mandatoryprovisions for their representation.• Make systems more transparent and accountableto the citizen by institutionalising social audits inimplementation of all programs and schemes. Involveyouth in monitoring of various government programsand schemes.• Equal access to education is a right. Right to Educationshould not be only for primary and upper primarybut should be extended to secondary and highereducation.• Education requires a practical curriculum thatpromotes indigenous skills and traditional knowledge.Modules on different Acts and Provisions shouldbe included in regular school/college curricula ascapacity building of youth will help in ensuring activecitizenship, social justice and equity.• Paradigm shift from a rights-based approach to anautonomy approach, in which the community isempowered to plan and manage their own resources.This will enable the youth to take responsibility fortheir growth and will help instilling in them a senseof dignity and self worth thus ending their sense ofalienation.210

• Focus on youth for overall planning instead of treatingthem only as a specific sector.• Need for a holistic approach to health services andspecial attention to be given to education on sexualand reproductive health for youth.211

8. North-EastTHE NORTH EAST CONSULTATION ON THE APPROACH PAPER TO 12 TH FIVEYEAR PLANIntroductionThe two days (6-7 December 2010) of the North EastRegion (NER) Consultation on the Approach Paper forthe12 th Five Year Plan was organised by the North EastNetwork (NEN) in Shillong, Meghalaya. Sixty participantsattended it from different states of the North East Region,with the exception of Sikkim. It is however to be noted thata meeting did take place in Gangtok amongst members ofNGOs a few days after the Shillong Consultation, and severalpoints were incorporated into the main NER Consultationinputs for the approach paper, which were sent to WNTAon 21 December 2010.The Shillong Consultation on 6 December 2010 startedwith a welcome address by Ms Anurita Hazarika, followedby a brief historical background of the consultations inthe region during the 9th, 10th and 11th Plan processesby Dr Monisha Behal, the Chairperson, NEN. Dr. Behalalso highlighted the following major objectives of theconsultation.• Get inputs/concerns from the participants• Discuss these issues and concerns• Chalk out the recommendations so that are acceptedat the planning/policy levelThis was followed by a self-introduction by theparticipants. The main agenda of the pre-lunch session wasa panel discussion where Ms Jennifer Liang, Ms PatriciaMukhim, Ms Gita Bhattacharjee, Mr Amiya Sharma andMs Rosemary Dzuvichu were the panellists.Ms Jennifer Liang specifically underlined the mainproblems of the region that undermine good governance,especially in the state of Assam. The first one is the “OnionSkin Syndrome”, i.e. how unwilling/hesitant people are atthe micro level to complain about wrongdoing. This, shepointed out, is because our (NE) society is a closed one andpeople know one another and therefore they do not wish tohurt one another. Officers (local) are not able to get workdone by their juniors as they share a ‘cosy’ non-hierarchicalrelationship with them. Militancy is often projected as alegitimate excuse for under-performance. On the otherhand, many officers who are deputed in the region withan objective of bringing in positive changes consider this apunishment posting. As a result, these officers perceive theirwork in a negative manner, often being resentful against thepeople and the place, thus adversely affecting governance.Indifference towards the problems of the people (withspecial reference to flesh trade among the internally displacedwomen) is another serious problem. The special statusgranted to the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD)under the Sixth Schedule has enhanced the developmentprocess in the area. However, the absence of ‘systematicaccountability’ is missing in the area and owing to thisleakages take place (with special reference to the 99.9 percent leakage in NREGA scheme in the BTAD). It is difficultto investigate such leakages by people working in CBOs.Not only this, the absence of ‘systematic accountability’ hashelped spawn a smooth coalition of peace-militancy–leakagethat will continue to function in these areas.Ms Patricia Mukhim, activist and columnist, speakingon the issue of ensuring transparency in Sixth ScheduleAreas lamented the poor functioning of the AutonomousDistrict Councils (ADC) in Meghalaya. She pointed outhow the councillors who were elected with the objectiveof safeguarding the traditional rights of the communities(under the Scheduled Areas) are indulging in rampantcorruption. She further said that most of the membersof the Council (District Council) do not understand theactual objectives of safeguarding the tribal tradition and212

forests, promoting education and health, issuing tradinglicences to non-Adivasis, regulating trade and markets, andappointing headmen and heads of traditional institutions.The councillors have abdicated all of the above duties inpractice.Besides these, she also highlighted a gamut of otherissues like environmental degradation, increasing rate ofprivatisation of land in the North East, politicisation of theappointment of chiefs and headmen. Mukhim concludedby proposing that the funds allocated to the ADCs shouldbe audited by the CAG and at the same be made publicfor social auditing. This is the only way to deal with theabove-mentioned problems. Her other suggestions includedreforming and remodelling provisions in ADCs in such amanner that they can do away with the present problems.Ms Gita Bhattacharjee’s presentation centred aroundissues concerning education and health in rural areas ofAssam. Recollecting some of her field experiences, Ms.Bhattacharjee pointed out the irregularity of schoolteacherscoupled with absence of community monitoring systems.She described the following major challenges faced by theeducation and health sectors in the rural areas.• Communities’ indifference regarding the issue ofirregular teachers due to the political patronage thatthese teachers enjoy• The services of the teachers are not evaluated on thebasis of their performance• There are many single teacher schools in the NERwhere the same teacher is responsible for all affairs ofthe school and this is adversely affecting the quality ofeducation• Health schemes like janani suraksha yojana lackpragmatismMs Bhattacharjee concluded by suggesting that theGovernment should come up with an alternative to targetcentric self-evaluation. A monitoring mechanism needs tobe put in place and skill development is necessary for thosegovernment functionaries who implement programmes andsupport services.Speaking on the issues of the NER, Mr Amiya Sharmapointed out that most of the NGOs working in the regionare dealing with non-economic concerns. He also lamentedthe inability of the organisations of the region to makeappropriate approaches to the concerned departments/ministries that are well-funded, such as the Ministry forDevelopment of North Eastern Region (DoNER). He alsopointed out that the delay in the release of funds by theCentre results in its non-utilisation and this cycle of delayedrelease followed by under-utilisation has continued over theyears. He also aired his doubts about the NER industrialpolicy, saying that though the industries in the regionreap all the benefits in the form of tax holidays, etc., theyshow no concern towards the issue of sustainable resourcemanagement, environmental protection or any other socialresponsibility.Ms Rosemary Dzuvichu presented her views onthe representation of women. She pointed out how theimplementation of the Nagaland Municipal AmendmentAct 2006, which ensured reservation for women in themunicipal elections, has been delayed. The Act wasformalised within six months but its implementation hasnot started yet. In 2008, soon after the reserved wards wereidentified, there were protests against its implementation.Two main arguments were that since women do not ownland, they should be denied the right to represent wards.Secondly, there are some sections in society who believed thatimplementation of women’s reservation would jeopardisethe peace process in Nagaland. She further pointed out thereasons behind non representation of women as ignoranceabout their own rights and lack of organisational unity. MsDzuvichu also proposed that since conflict is an importantissue concerning the NER, it should not be camouflaged.It should be discussed and be made a central point in thecentres of power as well.Mr Sanat Chakraborty reiterated that inputs ofimportant consultations of the past have not really beenhonoured by the Centre and doubted whether the currentone for the 12 th Five Year Plan would be a worthwhileexercise. He added that the Vision 2020 document has mostof the priorities of the NER well-represented. On this, MrSanjoy Hazarika briefed the participants on Vision 2020,suggesting that prioritisation of some of the challenges,which are crucial from the viewpoint of the region, wouldbe helpful in coming up with workable ideas. He furthersaid that it was now high time to act and not merely plan.The next session commenced with the participantsforming into three groups, which came up with suggestions,which had not found a place in the Vision 2020 planscrafted for the NER. The three groups were asked to discussand make their presentation the following day.On 7 December 2010, the 2nd day, the programmewas introduced by Ms Seno Tsuhah of NEN, Nagaland. MrSaumitra Chaudhuri, Member of the Planning Commission213

was present and Mr F Kharkhongor, Commissioner ofAgriculture, Government of Meghalaya attended theconsultation. Ms Caitlin from UNDP could not come forthe programme and instead two other UNDP officials,Mr Sashi Sudhir and Mr Tushi Imlong, attended theconsultation. The day’s programme began with a brief recapof the events of the 1st day by Ms Jennifer Liang. This wasfollowed by the presentations by each of the three groups,formed and assigned to come up with their strategies oncertain specific key challenges. Ms Liang recapitulated theprevious day’s session followed by presentations from thegroups.Accordingly, Mr Rajiv Handique representing Group1 pointed out the following suggestions under the keystrategy challenge point: enhancing the capacity for growth.Ms Rosemary Dzuvichu and Ms Linda Chhahchhuak,representatives of Group 2, pointed out some issues on thekey strategy challenges: managing the environment anddecentralisation, empowerment and information. Group 3was represented by Ms Monrina and the group highlightedsome suggestions around rural transformation and sustainedgrowth of agriculture, improved access to quality educationand better preventive and curative healthcare.Following the presentations of all the three groups,Mr Saumitra Chaudhuri, Member, Planning Commission,made some observations. The suggestions should haveconsistencies, and should not overlap with the constitutionalschemes. For instance, a participant talked about therepresentation of women in the District Councils, thoughcertain indigenous people have traditional customarypowers that cannot be encroached upon. At the same time,there were suggestions that PESA should be extendedto District Councils in tribal areas. It is well known thatone of the reasons why we do not have Panchayat Systemin many parts of the NER is that in the traditional systemof governance, the headman or gaonbura, is elected on thebasis of customary laws. Another observation made by himwas regarding the feasibility of micro hydel projects. Hepointed out that in micro hydel projects, every little streamand waterfall are utilised which results in bringing aboutecological imbalances in the process, affecting communitiesalong those areas. After Mr Chaudhuri’s speech, Mr FKharkongor, Commissioner of Agriculture, Government ofMeghalaya gave a brief explanation on the strategies relatedto agriculture being implemented in Meghalaya.DiscussionsParticipants were asked to bring out their points andthere were varied ones, which are mentioned below in brief.Ms Rosemary Dzivechu of Nagaland spoke ongovernance. There are many places in the NER wherethey have Village Councils, especially in those areas whichthey do not have PRI. There is absolutely no women’srepresentation in such councils. Therefore, strategies shouldbe developed, such as the provision of incentives to thosetraditional councils that encourage adequate representationof women in the councils, as most of these councilsdepend on government funds and schemes. On the issue ofeducation, she said that the NER has eight universities Themajor concern is that of corruption in these universities. e.g.NEHU and Nagaland University have had Central Bureauof Investigation enquiries, and yet no action has been taken.As a result of applications made under the RTI Act, there isalso proof of money having been siphoned off. Therefore,intervention of the Planning Commission is required tolook into these issues and seek new directions for fundingthese universities.Another issue in the education system is that mostof the schools in villages have a committee called VillageEducation Council (VEC) manned by people who haveno idea about education or are themselves illiterate. Theycontrol the whole school and so the whole education systemis fractured. Transfer and selection of teachers are alsopoliticised.There is no cooperation from the government with thecommunity. For instance, the collection of electricity billsis done by an individual from among the residents of thelocality. He does this by travelling to and fro for a coupleof hours without being paid by the government. Theseproblems should be addressed by the state to promoteparticipation of the community.Taking the example of the success of the educationsystems of South East Asian countries, Ms Darilyn ofMeghalaya pointed out that gender studies should beintroduced at the graduate and postgraduate levels.SuggestionsMr Chaudhuri suggested that the local people shoulddo the assessment and evaluation as they are on the groundand not wait for Delhi to do the needful.214

Ms Sunita and Ms Meena Debbarma of Tripura spokestrongly about the absence of Tripura’s indigenous languageand the denial of portraying the popular cultures that belongto the state. These and the indigenous histories of Tripurahave not been promoted by the state government. Therefore,they requested the Planning Commission Member tohelp with this issue. Mr Anthony Debbarma said that theindigenous people are being deprived of education and thedropout rate is as high as 80 per cent. He appealed thatthe Tribal communities in Tripura need adequate attentionfrom the state and the Centre, without which there wouldbe no progress despite its being known as a ‘stable’ state.SuggestionsMr Chaudhuri suggested that as the NER comprisesso many groups and a variety of languages with beautifulcultures, they should come together, make a list of whatshould be projected about the NER and make the people inthe rest of the country know about this.Ms Grace Jajo of Manipur said that Jhum has to berecognised, respected and supported as a way of life of thetribal people. She said that 70 per cent of the people of theNER depend on Jhum, which is suited to the topographyof the region. Most of the people are rice eaters and it wasfeared that cash crops would result in the decline of riceproduction. She said that instead of doing away with Jhum,we should look for value added support for Jhum.Mr Anthony Debarrma of Tripura spoke of the highmortality rate in his state due to viral fever and meningitisin July and August 2010. About 27 children had died ofviral fever. He said that hospitals of national standards haveto be set up.Carmo Norhona of Meghalaya stated that people withdisability should have a place in society as they have beendenied many rights for years. Attention should be given inthis consultation to this segment of people and those livingwith HIV, with specific indicators. Of the people withdisability in the NER, 90 per cent are in rural areas andthe problem is that when it comes to reservation for thesepeople in the Poverty Reservation Scheme, very few of themaccept it due to fear of being ostracised.Ms Jaya Joram of Arunachal talked at length aboutthe corruption within the state agencies, an example beingthe PDS scandal. She even talked about the ICDS andthe denial of fresh mid day meals in several centres. Inaddition, she spoke of remote areas of Arunachal with sparsehouseholds that had no access to roads, health care andelectricity. It is therefore important that building of roadsand infrastructure should not be determined by populationin Arunachal but only on the needs of small communitieswhich deserve attention and development. Finally she spokeof the clubbing of several departments under the fold of theDepartment of Social Welfare which has created gaps inimplementation of programmes and schemes.Mr Saumitra Choudhuri did agree that there wasa problem with the Food Corporation of India and theGovernment of Arunachal Pradesh on PDS. With regard tothe ICDS, delivery of food items to some districts throughfair price shops has been a problem in the rainy months.There are some border areas that are very far away, but stillefforts are being made to cover these areas.Ms Gita Bhattacharjee of Assam said that parts of Assampractise witch hunting. This is a violation of women’s humanrights. CEDAW has clearly talked of such discriminationand the issue has to be highlighted in the approach paper toinitiate a process of state intervention.Sister Judith of Meghalaya said that being a memberof the Child Committee, she wanted to speak about socialjustice for all. She said that the Social Welfare Department,Government of Meghalaya has identified certain homesto rehabilitate children and provide them with some skilltraining. She suggested the Centre transfer funds directlyto service providers and not route it through the stategovernment. She also complained about the late release offunds from the Central government.Ms Annie Sohtun of Meghalaya said that under theDomestic Violence Act, the District Social Welfare Officersare also the Protection Officers. When NGOs approachthem they usually decline to help saying that the additionalrole of being Protection Officers is heavy and it is difficultfor them to look after other schemes. Thought has to begiven to this problem.Ms Sheetal Sharma of Assam asked about the relationshipbetween the Centre and the State Planning Boards in thecontext of programming and implementation of schemes.Mr Chaudhuri said that some State Planning Boards (SPB)are very active and some are not. He suggested that if it isfound that an SPB is not sufficiently active then an issueshould be made of this and action taken.Ms Grace Jajo of Manipur spoke on the subject ofeducation and brought out the issue of teachers in schools ofrural areas. A system of sub-contracting of teachers has been215

going on in Manipur where a ‘teacher’ gets a substitute to dohis work in the school. The concern is that these contracted‘teachers’ have hardly any qualification. There are also someteachers who are absent for many years from schools andnothing can be done as they are related, or have some link,to bureaucrats and politicians. At the same time the villagerscannot complain as they fear that the schemes and fundswill be diverted to some other areas. She also said that someschools are as small as a paan shop and this is a total mockeryof the education system in this country. All these and morehave snatched away the potential values that are expected tobe inculcated in young children.Mr Amiya Sharma of Assam said that an India Todayranking of states is not based only on per capita income butalso on environment and governance issues. Therefore, wemust not look only at the issue of per capita income but at allareas – agriculture, forest and governance. He was emphaticthe North Eastern Council (NEC) should be strengthenedso that the people do not have to go to Delhi to air theirproblems. There should be a role change and at the sametime, CSOs need to play their role in approaching the NECabout development of the region. He thanked everyone fortheir effort and dedication. He said that only the NER ishaving a regional consultation because it has unique issuesand unique statistics while all the others – Tribals, Dalits,water – are subject specific. The organisations in the NERhave a unique position in being able to look at the questionsof development from the point of view of the users or thebeneficiaries. He said that we must look at the issues witha specialised view when we structure a problem. All of usshould speak on the area we are specialised in and thenput them together so that the overall suggestions becomeconcrete and comprehensive. He also suggested that we mustdocument all the issues, the findings and facts; it will be ofgreat value as it represents our learning from ground-levelevidence. He finally said that all the information and inputsprovided by us would be very important for the PlanningCommission. The post-lunch session was followed bycomments on the views expressed after which a draft of theinputs was prepared. The session ended with the finalisationof the points, which would be included in the suggestionsfor the approach paper from the region.216

9. ChildrenCountry Focus Meeting to Position Child Rights in the 12 th Five YearPlanFocus Presentation on Positioning the Child in National Development,Razia Ismail AbbasiThe 12 th Five Year Plan’s mandate is rightfully centredon children. Their survival, security and well-being areclearly positioned as Fundamental Rights and nationalpriorities in the Constitution of India. The State mustrecognise how pivotal they are to genuine national progress,and focus its attention and investments accordingly. It isneither logical nor ethical to assume that benefits to theyoung will automatically find their way through age-blindprogramming and investment. Facts on the ground, fromPlan to Plan, show that they do not.Even when child-specific goals are set, they do not seemto be pursued as priorities. Both the 10th and 11th Five YearPlans missed targets which could have changed children’srealities, and so did previous plans. Such pledges carry overfrom one Plan to the next, and many may now move to the12 th Plan. Can India afford to postpone such foundationalinvestment? The price is paid not merely in children’s lives,but in national progress. All children have equal rights tolife, dignity, opportunity, health, education, participationand a safe, caring and healthy environment where they cangrow and develop to actively contribute to the building ofa progressive and prosperous society and nation. The Stateis slow to understand that a young population is a resource,and that children are assets – not liabilities. Poor investmentis no way to treat or nurture an asset. The 12 key challengesset out by the Planning Commission do not express such anunderstanding.Formal recognition of rights makes implementationan obligation. Substantive action to secure the survival,development, protection, dignity and inclusion of everychild in India is long overdue. This is the core non-negotiablefor the immediate future and the longer term to achievegenuine national progress.Shifting focus to the youngest citizen – the ‘aam baccha’– is not charity but economic commonsense. Childrenmake up 41 per cent of India’s people. They carry thepotential of yielding the richest dividend on economic andsocial investment. The pursuit of growth must go beyondmacroeconomic indicators, and see equal emphasis andpolitical will to address human development indices withspecific focus on them.The 12 th Plan marks a critical opportunity to bringabout breakthrough change for children by infusing a rightsbasedapproach to building human resources. This calls fortransition to a comprehensive holistic perspective on childsurvival and development. Planning must transcend schemebasedand limited sectoral approaches and individualministerial portfolios to address all rights of all children –before and after birth – and throughout the period of growthand development to the age of 18 years. The National Policyfor Children gave paramount importance to this 36 yearsago. India must act now.Eleven Five Year Plans have not assured children ofsimple survival, and basic development still eludes too many.This is not human resource development. Thus children’ssurvival, and the quality of that survival, emerges as the firstimperative. There are 12 key challenges – and this one ranksfirst.ChallengesSurvival remains the primary and persistent challenge.Most critical at the start of life, it remains a risk throughoutchildhood. Life-saving, life-sustaining and protectivemeasures must be in place to combat these. These includeadequate nutrition, psycho-social stimulation, health217

care, clean drinking water, sanitation and security. Childdevelopment begins from conception, and the first threeyears are the critical foundational period for cognitive,intellectual, physical and social development, with life-longimpact. Neglect of these puts at risk children’s capacity toreach their full potential and contribute to India’s growthstory.• Hunger is distinct among un-met challenges. TheNFHS reports reveal worsening of under-nutritionin the 0-3 age group, and persisting nutrition deficitsin children across the childhood years. The under-fedteenage girl pushed into early childbearing is a dramaticexample. Malnutrition has been declared a “nationalshame” by the Prime Minister, but declarations arenot enough. Nutrition is a non-negotiable priority.Families cutting their diets in the face of rising pricescannot tackle it on their own; the State must assist.• Survivors of a bad start remain vulnerable throughoutchildhood. Plans must address the needs of each stageof growth through the 18 years.• Identity is an accompanying challenge; children overallare not seen as India’s richest national asset, deservingof investment. Children are also denied deservedattention and deprived of entitlements because of whothey are and where they come from.• Data provides clear proof of persisting, unacceptabledisparities. The State must adequately address socialexclusion, and provide dignity to all children fromsocially marginalised backgrounds to grow equitablyand become the true national capital.• Locational insecurity or transience of location cannotjustify exclusion from basic supports. Migrant andtransient populations cannot produce fixed addresses;this must not debar them from services and attention.• Essential learning and development rights mustbe accessible to all children, and the least endowedmust not have to make do with inferior ‘alternative’services. Education is the child’s principal hope for abetter future.• Child exploitation, abuse and violence continueunabated. A weak protective environment negativelyaffects the other rights of the child and threatens anormal development trajectory. Children in conflictsituations must get priority in protection and targetedattention.India’s effort to achieve national progress calls for bothlong-term vision and goals and more immediate targets,with constant tracking of their implementation. Thepersisting realities of children’s status and condition demandthat their survival, security, and well-being are positioned asthe key indicators of whether or not development decisionsand outcomes are on track. If these are primary objectives,implementation and impact can be measured by creatingand utilising a child development index.Critical indicators for a child development indexmust include neonatal, infant and child mortality, undernutritionand learning outcomes at various stages of a child’sdevelopment. The age of marriage of the girl child and ageat which the first child is born must also be seen as criticalsocial child indicators. The growing incidence of foeticidethreatens the demographic balance and viability in terms ofgender and age-related populations. Indicators must includechild sex ratio for girl child survival, reduced incidence ofabuse, exploitation, labour and violence.A conscious effort is needed to base programmetargeting and delivery on updated information; officialplans and commitments cannot rest on data that is alreadyfive years old or older. The time gaps in information flow arenot justifiable. What happened to the nic.net connectionsforged by the Technology Missions? Why is monitoringso weak and lax and field findings left unattended? TheGovernment must become serious about the knowledgebase it uses.How will this focusing change present thinking onthe planning process and its outcomes? New thinking,methodology, planning, convergence, implementation andevaluation are essential.An integrated and convergent approach based on rightswould commit to the following.• Every child’s right of access to the State’s attention,supports and protections and services beyond thecoverage, design and outreach of existing schemes,with new or enhanced programming to meet actualentitlement• Priority targeting for children’s benefit in budgetingand investment allocation across all sectors• Attention to the full spectrum of age, from ante-natalprotection, to the tackling of mortality, morbidity,malnutrition and security risks of the first monthand first year, to the universalisation of survival anddevelopmental, protection and participation (basedon the evolving capacity of a child) rights of everychild through every year of childhood218

• Every child’s equal right to recognition, dignity,worth, self-expression and choice; and the child asa whole person and an individual in his or her ownright, without distinction of any kind based on anyfactor of identity, origin or social placement, or anysituation of alienation• Manpower development and deployment to equipand energise the development sectors• The removal of barriers to any service or scheme thatmakes access conditional on the child or beneficiaryproviding proof of settled location to benefit• Planned investment in execution of existing laws forchild protection; every child’s right to be universallycovered under all forms of laws and policies applicableto them in line with constitutional provisions• New strategies and mechanisms which establishconnectedness and convergence both as a strategy andas a desired outcome, and a mission mode approach• Improved and enhanced public education andcommunity outreach to promote and bring aboutfamily/community attitudinal and behaviouralchanges with regular evaluation and modification, asneeded• Fact-based programming, with greater attention to thegeneration of reliable data and indicators on children,and use of an up to date knowledge base; priorityattention to investigating causes and challenges of theunderdevelopment of children• Translation of all outcomes into critical indicators of achild development indexAttention and Resources(i)FiscalThe size of the “Child Budget” within the UnionBudget (the aggregate outlay for child-specific schemesas a proportion of total budget outlay) is shamefullylow. It grew to 4.1 percent in 2010-11 (BudgetEstimate) from 3.7 percent in 2009-10 (RevisedEstimate). But a look at the allocations earmarked forchildren in the whole period from 2007 – 08 to 2010-11 shows a miniscule increase in 2010-11 (BE). Themajor flagship programmes for the welfare of children– ICDS, SSA and immunisation – depend heavily onexternal funding. In 2008-09, external aid was 13 percent of the “Child Budget”. These programmes alsoleave many children out, especially the neediest, andnotably many of the older ones.(ii) HumanOne key challenge is ‘enhancing the capacity forgrowth’, which flags a ‘massive effort to expandeducation and skills to reap the demographicdividend’. What is this supposed to mean? Whatare the skills needed for social development and thefundamental elements of public good at community,household and individual base? The new Plan shouldaim to develop and deploy a manpower resource in keysectors that can achieve direct and genuine benefits tothe common people. This must correct what the 11thPlan approach identified as the aim of education andskill development.(iii) Democratising InformationCommunity education, communication training forworkers and information outreach are essential to theknowledge transfer needed to energise and mobilisesocial and economic change and cultural integration.If children’s status and condition are to be recognisedas the indicator of progress at every level, extensioneducation and knowledge access are critical. This callsfor people – providers and public alike, and childrenincluded – to have genuine rights to information. Italso calls for an attentive governance infrastructureready to hear the people’s voices and respond.(iv) Social JusticeThis demands official and political commitment toequal rights. The State cannot wait for social change;it must galvanise it and be answerable for it. Thetreatment of children of the disadvantaged is a litmustest of such attention. It is supremely importantthat Plan objectives are focused around reducinginequalities between groups. A key test for policiespromoting inclusive growth is how they deliverfor more marginalised groups such as SCs, STs andminorities.Sensitisation of service providers on all issues ofcaste, ethnicity and religions, notable for handlingchildren vulnerable to discrimination is urgent. Allprogrammes for children must focus to safeguardagainst the malpractices leading to social andeconomic exploitation of such children, in all settingsand situations of risk or deprivation.219

Summary of ConclusionsConcluding RemarksMr Arun Maira (Member, PlanningCommission)• What are the main differences between the humanrights and welfare approaches? Let those ‘differences’come out in your submissions to the Commission.• How do you justify your recommendation on havinga child budget for all ministries? Would every ministrybe able to make a meaningful investment?• Rather than criticising the amount of money investedin programmes and schemes for children, you shouldbe adopting the results-oriented approach as evendouble investments may not lead to the desiredresults.• It would be useful to submit 3-4 key recommendationsto the Commission on each challenge.Points of PresentationChallenge 1: Enhancing theCapacity for Growth(Ms Sreelakshmi Gururaja, Karnataka ChildRights Observatory)• Resource mobilisation must undergo a shift in the12 th Plan – overall allocation of child-specific schemesmust be stepped up in the Union as well as statebudgets, and it should be ensured that all needs ofchildren from the time before they are born till theyattain the age of 18 are provided for• The State must invest and deliver all their core andprimary responsibilities to children• The focus should be on consolidation rather thanproliferation of schemes to develop an integratedsafety net for all children• What about capacity building of personnel who areexpected to carry out the State’s obligation towardschildren?• Impact evaluation of all programmes and schemesneeds to be conducted regularlyChallenge 2: Enhancing Skills andFaster Generation of Employment(Ms Sreelakshmi Gururaja, Karnataka ChildRights Observatory)• The implementation of the Right to Education mustbe ensured – India must realise the goals of universalelementary, primary and secondary education• It is the State’s responsibility to strengthen theimplementation of labour laws to ensure open and fairaccess of poor families to labour markets• Monitor interconnections between sustainablelivelihoods and child survival, development andprotection• Provide institutional mechanisms like daycare etc. forworking parents at the work siteChallenge 3: Managing theEnvironment(Mr John Butler and Mr Sudhir Sundaresan,Save the Children)• Disaster Management Act should be implementedimmediately with specific interventions for children• The Right to Life guaranteed by the IndianConstitution is directly related to clean water andsanitation, yet 400000 children die of diarrhoea everyyear; clearly, these are deaths that can be prevented• The rights of Adivasis and other socially excludedcommunities must be protected by the State• An institutional waste management system is urgentlyrequired• Suggestions on possible mitigation strategies forclimate change – environmental education should beincluded in school curriculum as well as personneltraining, etc.Challenge 4: Markets forEfficiency and Inclusion(Mr Deepak Bose, IACR)• Services meant for fulfilling children’s rights shouldbe dispensed solely by the Government and notbe included in public private partnerships; a child220

impact assessment should be conducted for every suchservice• Steps need to be taken to prevent the displacement ofwork forces from home regions• Labour laws need to be strengthened to ensure childprotection and equitable wages• Sustainable food security is a major challenge thatneeds to be overcome if hunger and malnutrition areto be eradicated• To ensure the optimal utilization of funds transferred(in terms of benefits for the poor and marginalized),the Central Government should follow up on thefunds transferred to State GovernmentsChallenge 5: Decentralisation,Empowerment and Information(Ms Sreelakshmi Gururaja, Karnataka ChildRights Observatory and J B Oli, IACR)• We must explore the potential of Panchayati RajInstitutions (PRIs) in extending benefits to children;when used with the 3Fs (Functionaries, Functionsand Funds), PRIs can be instrumental in bringingmany positive changes in the lives of children• Child participation in planning and monitoringshould be encouraged• Plan objectives should focus around reducinginequalities between groups• Nutrition for children belonging to the sociallyexcluded classes should be a primary concern• All development and protection measures mustrecognise that all aspects of the child’s life should becovered and thus, the full spectrum of necessary childrelatedservices has to be seen as interconnected andinterdependent• Protection of children in the age group 14-18 shouldbe given special attention as this age group is mostvulnerable to trafficking, sexual abuse, etc.Challenge 6: Technology andInnovation(Ms Renu Singh, Young Lives)alleviation through ‘inclusive innovation’. This shouldinclude innovation in public service system delivery,monitoring and developing new organisational models• There should be increased support for grassrootsinnovators whose innovations impact the lives ofchildrenChallenge 7 : Securing the EnergyFuture for India(Ms Padmini, Child Rights Trust)• Market prices should include cross-subsidy patterns• Current levels of pollution affect children much morethan adults• Children need to be taught to be energy-efficient –leading by example, making energy saving fun, etc.• In terms of energy, we must universalise access• We need to focus on “good” fuel• Currently, there is no accountability; we must educateconsumers on more sustainable forms of energy andmust also teach children to be energy-efficientChallenge 8: TransportInfrastructure( Ms Padmini, Child Rights Trust)• Our focus needs to undergo change; so far, we havebeen following the failed American model• When talking about transportation, you must consideraccess, safety (e.g. traffic accident) and health (e.g. thedetrimental impact of pollution)• Common problems include poor infrastructure,insufficient footpaths, poor maintenance, inadequateor unsafe spaces for play, and pollution• We need better roads, playgrounds and parks,crosswalks and sidewalksChallenge 9: RuralTransformation and SustainedGrowth of Agriculture• The 12 th Plan must not only promote innovationfor ‘commercial purposes’ but also promote poverty221

Challenge 10: ManagingUrbanization(Ms Devika Singh, Mobile Crèches and MsKanupriya J Chatterjee, IACR)Challenges 9 and 10 are interconnected.• It is not possible to segregate children’s rights fromtheir communities• In today’s economy, the way we are getting affectedby urbanization, rural and urban linkages cannot besegregated• Interdependence of urban and rural areas• Rural households are always trying to adopturban lifestyles• Urban industries are moving to rural areas• Urban communities consume rural communities’resources• It is an anachronism that the State is still segregatingpolicies between urban and rural areas• There is lack of any sort of targeted data for childrenunder six.• Urban policies that need urgent review are• Per capita norms• Programmes for the child who is not reached byany services• DaycareChallenge 11: Education(Ms Renu Singh, Young Lives and Ms KateLockwood, IACR)• Early childhood education must be accessible to allchildren; early childhood education (especially 6-14years) is a critical area that needs attention• ICDS has not been universalised so far• The 11th Plan emphasizes elementary education• Even though there is a no-detention policy, studentsare still dropping out because they are not ready forschools and/or schools are not ready for children• Secondary education is a problem even in states thatare otherwise doing very well• How does one define quality when talking about‘quality education’?• The implementation of the Right to Education needsto be investigated; the way in which children are beingtaught is just as or more important than the numberof teachers availableChallenge 12: Health(Mr Rajiv Tandon, Save the Children and MsSwati Malik, IACR)• Improving the quality of maternal, newborn and otherchildren’s health and nutrition services (MNCHN) iscrucial• The state needs to make improving MNCHN anational priority and adopt measures like adopting theright to health as the fundamental right of all citizensand providing a special focus on addressing equity andgender issues, etc.• Primary healthcare and nutrition interventions mustfollow an evidence-based approach – scaling upproven low-cost, high-impact interventions• Coordination between services across ministries needsto be promoted• Monitoring and governance need to be improvedby establishing more meaningful targets, holdingmonthly reviews of progress of health and nutritionindicators, etc.Comments(Mr K B Saxena, Council for SocialDevelopment)• Children cannot be separated from their familiesand so, when the State takes decisions for children,it is bound to affect their families (in many instances,make the families more vulnerable)• The resources reserved for poor people must not beallocated by the Government to any other head• Protection cannot be separated from development andstrategy. Today, there is almost no implementationof labour laws leading to an almost complete devaluationof labour machinery. One of the reasonsmay be the large number of informal vocations beingpursued that are not within the ambit of any labourlaw. There is an urgent need to bring in uncoveredvocations into labour laws.222

• People are being pushed to migrant labour whichoften is quite like bonded labour; access of migrantsto State services is very poor.• Status of land, water resources etc. needs to beprotected. The previous definition of land for ‘publicpurpose’ was much better than the present one. Theworst part of this definition is that now land can bedirectly acquired by corporates.• Decentralisation has been stymied by the State.Decentralisation is not only about implementation. Ifthe local government units are not empowered enoughto make decisions, they literally have no power. Thispretence of decentralisation needs to be changed toactual decentralisation.• Scheduled Castes face tremendous social exclusion.There must be ways devised to ensure that suchtendencies can be removed.• India needs a climate change mitigation strategy.Questions/Comments• We must focus on maternal health. Thirteen millionchildren do not eat adequate food during the first 6months of life and 70 per cent of brain developmentoccurs during the first year of life. Another schemeis not going to solve this problem. (Dr. Arun Gupta,BPNI)• We need to focus on food security. (Ms Padmini,Child Rights Trust)• We should ask for every department and ministry tohave a child budget just as there is a gender budget.Child participation is a necessary area of investment.(Ms Bharti Ali, HAQ: Centre for Child Rights)• The Government makes plans, schemes, and budgets,but how far are they monitored? Children should beable to participate in the monitoring. (Ms MinaxiShukla, CHETNA, Ahmedabad)• Children must not be thought of in isolation fromtheir families or communities (Mr PS Krishnan,Activist, Inclusive Development)• There must be a radical change – the ‘care’ componentshould be included, maternity entitlements must beaddressed. We need to evaluate the impact of marketoriented policies and PPP on children.• When discussing transportation, we need to notoverlook the importance of accessibility for pregnantwomen. (Mr Satya Dey, CRY)223

10. ConflictNational Consultation on Orienting the 12 th Five Year Plan for ConflictMitigation and Redress, 16-17 December 2010, New DelhiObservations/Recommendations/SuggestionsThe objective of planning should be to securedevelopment and progress for all. Nevertheless, it is seenthat development initiatives could also lead to exclusion,social tensions and conflicts. The consultation focused ondeliberating on how development in different spheres iscontributing to generation/enhancement of conflict andsuggested possibilities of using the 12 th Five Year Planprocess for mitigation and redress of conflicts.Discussions were structured around social conflicts(covering communal, caste, regional, ethnic conflicts,etc.), conflicts over resources (leading to displacements,migration, resistance, inter-state and inter-regionaldisputes, insurgencies) and political conflicts (around issuesof governance, accountability, inclusion policies, peoplesaspirations, etc).The Planning Commission of India has identified 12key challenges for the formulation of the approach paper forthe 12 th Five Year Plan. The two-day consultation focusedon six of the 12 key challenges, along with deliberationson challenges and perspectives not being covered by theproposed format of the 12 th Five Year Plan.The six key challenges covered are listed below.1. Enhancing the capacity for growth2. Managing the environment3. Rural transformation and sustained growth ofagriculture4. Enhancing skills and fostering generation ofemployment5. Decentralisation, empowerment and information6. Managing urbanisationSpeakers and PanellistsDr Syeda Hameed, Dr Rajesh Tandon, Mr PV Rajagopal(MP), John Dayal, Harsh Mander, Rahul Jalali (J&K),Ashok Choudhury (UP), Chunni Bhai Vaid (Gujarat),Hindu Singh Sodha (Rajasthan), Hem Bhai (Assam),Ram Puniyani (Mumbai), Jatin Desai (Mumbai), KavitaSrivastava (Rajasthan), S Sen (CII), Kodand Ram (AP),Satinath Chaudhury, Ashok Bharti, SDJM Prasad (AP),Alice Morris (Gujarat), Jamal Kidwai, Kamal Faruqui, AnilChoudhury, Anil Singh, Dunu Roy, Amitabh Behar, LalitKumar, Sohail Razzack, Balaji Singh, Richa Singh, KrishanBir Singh, Mazher Hussain and others.This consultation was organised by COVA incollaboration with Ekta Parishad, SANSAD, PUCAAR,ASHA Parivar and WNTA.Observation on theFramework, Processesand Limitations of thePlanning Commission• The GDP growth-obsessed development modelshould be questioned. Growth should not be allowed224

at the cost of the poor but should be people-centredand equity-based. The measure for growth should notbe just the GDP but also the Human DevelopmentIndex (HDI). A high score on GDP but low ranking onthe HDI is indicative of unequal growth and providesthe necessary condition for breeding of conflictsand social tensions that would be detrimental to theoverall national interest. Hence, there is a need to gobeyond the framework of the Planning Commissionthat is focusing predominantly on economic growth toincorporate equitable distribution and social justice asessential parameters for the evaluation of development.• Increasing growth has witnessed increasing inequality,which is breeding conflict. The challenge is thereconciliation of the imperative of growth with theimperative of equality. In view of the enhancementof marginalisation and conflicts because of theaccelerated growth of the GDP, and in the absenceof a proper mechanism to ensure equitable growth, itappears prudent to consider a reduction in the growthrate of 8-9 per cent, as we are unable to keep pace withthe requirements of equality.• We need to ponder the fact that despite social spendinghaving gone up almost three times, India’s positionin terms of HDI has not improved. The fact thatdemocratisation and shift of power has resulted in asmall section of society gaining dominance cannot beignored. Planning should thus keep all these aspects inmind.• Reaching out to all sections of the society is indeeda challenge and requires special efforts to promoteequality and justice. Hence, parameters should beformulated and resources should be allocated togovern the interest of both growth and equality.Development indicators should be evolved with theinvolvement of the people and should not be fixedaccording to the understanding of the ‘developmentconcept’ of the State. The State needs to assess theneed and requirements of the people before setting upa project• In the present scenario, resources are not going to thepeople but to the corporates and the rich. Additionally,the people are being excluded from access to naturalresources and national assets, leading to enhancementof socio-economic inequality and generation ofconflict situations. The transformation of the role ofthe State from being a “trustee” to an “auctioneer” ofthese assets and resources is fraught with dangers andmust be questioned.• The ownership of all the people over all natural resourcesand national assets should be non-negotiable. It isnecessary to redefine the paradigms for the ownership,control, management and utilisation of all natural andnational resources and assets that will be in the interestof the people and posterity.• It must be recognised that today India is facing greaterdanger from internal conflicts than from externalthreats. This is primarily due to inequitable distributionof resources, deprivation and marginalisation of largesections of the people. This issue has to be takenseriously and addressed immediately in the interestof the progress, prosperity and integrity of thecountry. Hence, there is a need to review all existingprogrammes in accordance with values of social justiceand equality.• That planning in India has not pursued the right pathis proven by the relative levels of deprivation anddisparities existing in Indian society are no less or areeven higher after nearly six decades of planning. Thisis the primary cause of the various forms of alienationand conflicts that are today plaguing Indian societyand the nation.• All kinds of conflict, be it conflict as resistance oroppression, or conflict between people, or communalconflict, can be attributed to the government ina number of ways. These conflicts do not exist bythemselves and are mostly induced.• The relationship between the state and conflict andthe role of the state in creation/encouragement ofconflict needs to be examined and exposed. Laws areneeded to hold the state accountable and there shouldbe provision for criminal action for injustice andinequality against individuals, groups and the state.• The most pertinent questions that need to be answeredare why India still ranks 135 on HDI despite the over8 per cent growth rate and why the people of thoseregions where natural resources are in abundance aresuffering the most.• The existing planning model needs a thorough andcritical review. It considers the average growth rate,which hides the inequality prevailing among thepeople. It believes in the trickle-down ideology, whichcould reap results – mostly diluted – after the lapse225

of a lot of time. Moreover, the budgetary allocationsare not balanced and do not contribute to equitablegrowth.• Though the role of the Planning Commission is notpolitical, it needs to find ways for development andgrowth that are not detrimental to any section of thesociety and benefit one and all.Finally, the efforts of the Planning Commission toreach out to civil society groups to seek their inputs for thepreparation of the 12 th Five Year Plan are commendable.However, the process of consultations should go beyondcivil society to include the people at all levels. Civil societyshould only be a facilitator in this process, and not thenegotiator.226

Appendices227

228

Appendix 1Strategy ChallengesBased on an intensive process within the PlanningCommission, the following “Twelve Strategy Challenges”have been identified to initiate the consultations(http://12thplan.gov.in/displayforum_list.php).The “strategy challenges” refer to some core areas thatrequire new approaches to produce the desired results.Enhancing the Capacity forGrowthToday, India can sustain a GDP growth of 8 per centa year. Increasing this to 9 or 10 per cent will need moremobilization of investment resources; better allocationof these resources through more efficient capital markets;higher investment in infrastructure through both public andPPP routes; and more efficient use of public resources.Enhancing Skills and FasterGeneration of EmploymentIt is believed that India’s economic growth is notgenerating enough jobs or livelihood opportunities. Atthe same time, many sectors face manpower shortages. Toaddress both, we need to improve our education and trainingsystems; create efficient and accessible labour markets for allskill categories; and encourage the faster growth of small andmicro enterprises.Managing the EnvironmentEnvironmental and ecological degradation has seriousglobal and local implications, especially for the mostvulnerable citizens of our country. How can we encourageresponsible behaviour without compromising on ourdevelopmental needs?Markets for Efficiency andInclusionOpen, integrated, and well-regulated markets for land,labour, and capital and for goods and services are essential forgrowth, inclusion, and sustainability. We have many sectorswere markets are non-existent or incomplete, especiallythose which are dominated by public provisioning. How dowe create or improve markets in all sectorsDecentralisation, Empowermentand InformationGreater and more informed participation of all citizensin decision-making, enforcing accountability, exercisingtheir rights and entitlements; and determining the courseof their lives is central to faster growth, inclusion, andsustainability. How can we best promote the capabilities ofall Indians, especially the most disadvantaged, to achievethis end?Technology and InnovationTechnological and organizational innovation is the keyto higher productivity and competitiveness. How can weencourage and incentivize innovation and their diffusionin academia and government as well as in enterprises of allsizes.Securing the Energy Future forIndiaFaster and more inclusive growth will require a rapidincrease in energy consumption. Since we have limited229

domestic resources, how can we meet this need equitablyand affordably without compromising on our environment?Accelerated Development ofTransport InfrastructureOur inadequate transport infrastructure results in lowerefficiency and productivity; higher transaction costs; andinsufficient access to our large national market. How canwe create an efficient and widespread multi-modal transportnetwork?Rural Transformation andSustained Growth of AgricultureRural India suffers from poor infrastructure andinadequate amenities. Low agricultural growth perpetuatesfood and nutritional insecurities, which also reduces ruralincomes. How can we encourage and support our villagesin improving their living and livelihood conditions ininnovative ways?Improved Access to QualityEducationEducational and training facilities have been increasingrapidly. However, access, affordability, and quality remainserious concerns. Employability is also an issue. How can weimprove the quality and the utility of our education, whileensuring equity and affordability?Better Preventive and CurativeHealthcareIndia’s health indicators are not improving as fastas other socio-economic indicators. Good healthcare isperceived to be either unavailable or unaffordable. Howcan we improve healthcare conditions, both curative andpreventive, especially relating to women and children?Managing UrbanizationMost of our metros and cities are under severe stresswith inadequate social and physical infrastructure coupledwith worsening pollution. Migration pressures are likely toincrease. How do we make our cities more liveable? Whatcan we do today to ensure that smaller cities and towns arenot similarly overwhelmed tomorrow?230

Appendix 2CSOs, Individuals and Mediain the 12th Five Year PlanConsultations 2010-11Sl/No. CS Organisation/Govt. Institutions1 All India Bank Retirees Federation2 All India Retired Reserve Bank EmployeeAssociation3 Brihan Mumbai Pensioners Association4 All India Federation General InsurancePensioners5 Harmony for Silvers Foundation6 Indian Federation of Ageing7 Jeevan Adhar Sewa Sanstha8 Shree Ramanugrah Trust9 1298 Senior Citizens Helpline10 All India Central Government PensionersAssociation11 All India Retired Insurance EmployeesFederation12 Brihan Mumbai Retired Employees Association13 NCC-USW14 Cross Cultural Solution (CCS)15 Aaagaz16 AAAS, Nagpur17 Aarth Astha India18 Aawaz-E-Niswaan19 Abhas – Action Beyond Help and Support20 Abhivyakti21 Accountability Initiative22 Act Now for Harmony and Democracy(ANHAD)23 Action Aid24 Action for Ability Development of Inclusion(AADI)25 Action for Autism (AFA)26 Action India27 Action Reseach and Traning for Health (ARTH)28 Adivasi Banihar Sakti Sangthan29 Adivasi Bigu Vikas Utthan Samiti Mandal30 Adivasi Mahila Surakhya Mandal31 Adivasi Vikas Utthan Samiti32 Advancement for Social Action (AFSA)33 Agragramee34 Agrocrats Society for Rural Development35 AICC - AICU36 Aid et Action37 AIMUF38 All India Senior Citizens’ Confederation(AISCCON)39 Ajeevika Bearue40 Akhil Bharti Sadbhavna Trust41 Alankar Welfare Society42 Alfa43 Al-Jamat Hawarin44 All India Bank Retirees Federation45 All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch(AIDMAM)46 All India Kabadi Mazdoor Sansthan47 All India Mass Movement (AIMM)231

48 Alliance for Dalit Rights (ADR)49 Amai Mauza Gorkha Village50 Aman Ishaara51 Aman Trust52 Amau53 Ambedkar Mission of Orissa54 Ambedkar Vichar Manch55 Ambedkar Vichar Manch, Jharkhand56 AMI57 AMSC58 Annamalai University59 ANT60 Anweshi Dalit Woman Documentation61 Anweshi Women’s Counselling Centre62 Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Welfare Society(APWWS)63 Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society ofIndia (ARDSI)64 Arman Foundation65 ARTD66 Arthar Sarang67 Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Welfare Society68 ASHA Parivar69 Ashadeep70 Assam Mahila Samata Society71 Association for Community Development(ACD)72 Association for Stimulating Knowhow (ASK)73 ASSS74 Astha Sansthan75 Astitva76 ATIMA77 Aund78 AVM Thondu Nirvanam79 Awadh People Forum80 BAA, Haryana81 Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Bihar82 Baha’I, New Delhi83 Bailancho Saad Goa84 Bal Vikas Dhara85 Bandhan86 Banwari87 Banwasi Sewa Ashram88 Bazm-e-Adalat89 Bazm-e-Khawateen90 Beghar Mazdoor Sangharsh Samiti91 Bethany Society92 BEWR Development Society93 Bharathidasan University94 Bharati Trust95 Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan96 Bhartiya Adivasi Vanwasi Kalyan Samiti97 Bhimrao Jagruk Vikas Samiti, UP98 Bhoruka Public Welfare Trust99 Bhumihin Kisan Majdoor Seva Sansthan100 BMS101 BOAW102 Borok People’s Human Rights Organisation(BPHRO)103 Breast Feeding Promotion Network of India(BPNI)104 Brihan Mumbai Pension Association105 Brispatin106 Bundelkhand Vidhas Samiti107 C & Rd. Govt. of Meghalaya108 C & S (Agriculture), Meghalaya109 CADAM Advancement of Minority110 CAFYA Campaign111 CARE India112 C-Cerp113 CDS, Tamil Nadu114 Centre for Development and PopulationActivities (CEDPA)115 Center for Lifelong Learning - TISS116 Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR)117 Centre for Budget and GovernanceAccountability (CBGA)118 Centre for Dalit Rights (CDR)119 Centre for Development Studies & Activities(CDSA)120 Centre for Health Education, Training andNutrition Awareness (CHETNA)121 Centre for Human Rights Initiative, Trainingand Research Association (CHITRA)122 Centre for People’s Education123 Centre for Rural Management232

124 Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion (CSEI)125 Centre for Social Justice (CSJ)126 Centre for Social Recontruction127 Centre for South Asia Studies (CSAS)128 Centre for Study of Society and Secularism129 Centre for Women Development and Research130 Centre for Women’s Studies131 The Center for Experiencing Socio-CulturalInteraction (CESCI)132 CG Gramin Vikas Avam Kalyan Samaj SewaSansthan133 Chetna Sangh Bhakhwadi Khurd134 Chetna, Ahmedabad135 Chhattisgarh Gramin Sewa Samiti136 Chhattisgarh Yuvak Samaj137 Child in Need Institute (CINI)138 Child Rights & You, New Delhi (CRY)139 Child Rights Trust (Bangalore)140 Cultural Himalaya Rural Action Group(CHIRAG)141 Christian Aid142 Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA)143 Civil Society Institute (CSI)144 Cloning Coom145 CMSON-CBO146 C-NES147 Community Support Initiative (CSI)148 Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)149 Confederation of Voluntary Associations(COVA)150 Constitution Club of India151 Council for Social Development, New Delhi(CSD)152 Counterpart International153 CPDL154 Credibility Alliance155 Centre for Research in Rural and IndustrialDevelopment (CRRID)156 CRT157 Civil Society Women’s Organization, Meghalaya(CSWO)158 DACE-NEHU159 Dactrust160 DAGAR, Rajasthan161 Dalit Adhikar Manch Wiham Patna162 Dalit Adivasi Manch (DAM)163 Dalit Arthik Adhikar Andolan (DAAA)164 Dalit Development Society (DDS)165 Dalit Hak Rakshak Mandal166 Dalit Muslim Samaj167 DAPPU168 Dastak169 DCINM170 Deafway171 Decentralization Community, SolutionExchange, UNDP172 Deepalaya173 Dept. of Social Work, Bundelkhand University174 Dept. of Sociology, Jamia Millia Islamia175 Deputy CEPW176 Dhikshantar177 Dhriti178 Diaspora Foundation, Hyderabad179 Dibrugarh University180 Disha Foundation181 Disha Uttarakhand182 District Harijan Adivasi DevelopmentOrganization183 Diya Samaj Sevi Sanstha184 DMM, Rajasthan185 Don Bosco Yar Forum, New Delhi186 Doosra Dashak187 Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University,Hyedrabad188 Drishti189 Dukhut190 DWDS191 EKTA192 Ekta Parishad193 Ekta Samaj Sewa Sansthan194 Equations, Bangalore195 Federation of Senior Citizens OrganisationsMaharashtra (FESCOM)196 FFLL197 FORCES198 Ford Foundation199 Forums on the Global South, India233

200 GAIN201 Gandhi Peace Foundation, Madras202 Gandhi Vikas Samiti Tamdiya Chaksu203 Gandhigram Rural University204 Gaurav Gramin Mahila Vikas Manch205 General Insurance Pensioners Association206 Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale (GIZ)207 GLI208 Global Gandhi Forum209 Gouran210 Gram Mitra211 Gram Vikas Manch212 Grameen Development Society213 Gramin Evam Nagar Vikas Parishad214 Gramin Vikas & Shiksha Sansthan215 Gramin Vikas Pratisthan216 Grassroots Options, Meghalaya217 Green Flag218 GSNP+219 Gujarat Vidgaram220 GVP221 GVSS222 Gyan Gargo Tori223 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, New Delhi224 Harsh Samaj Sewa Sansthan225 Hazards Centre226 HelpAge India227 Helpline Social Worker228 Hemy Martyn Institute229 Himachal Pradesh Voluntary Health Association(HPVHA)230 Himalaya Niti Abhiyan231 Holy Cross232 Human Development & EducationOrganization233 Human Rights Council234 Human Rights Law Network, New Delhi(HRLN)235 IAP, New Delhi236 International Baby Food Action Network(IBFAN)237 Idrisya Madarsaa238 IHES239 IIM, Shillong240 IKP241 Impulse242 India Alliance for Child Rights (IACR)243 India HIV/AIDS Alliance244 Indian Committee of Youth Organizations(ICYO)245 Indian Institute of Community Development246 Indian Institute of Development Studies (IIDS)247 Indian Institute of Human Settlement (IIHS)248 Indian Maritime University249 Indian National Trust for Art and CulturalHeritage (INTACH)250 Indian Network of People Living with HIV251 Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF)252 Indian Social Institute (ISI)253 Indian Special Engineer Centre254 Indian Water Rights Coalition (IWRC)255 Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN)256 Indo Global Social Service Society (IGSSS)257 Initiative for Social Upliftment258 Insight Foundation259 Inspector General of Police, Special Enquiry,Lucknow260 Institute of Health Management Pachod(IHMP)261 Institute of Human Rights Education262 Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA)263 Institute of Social and Economic Change264 Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi (ISS)265 International Longevity Center266 International Organization for Migration(IOM)267 International Union Against Tuberculosis andYoung Distance (IUATLD)268 India People’s Theatre Association (IPTA)269 ISSUE270 Izad271 JAEAR272 JAGORI273 Jagriti Seva Sanstha274 Jamia Millia Islamia275 Jan Jagriti276 JAN SAHAS234

277 Jan Sakha Parishad (JSP)278 Jan Sewa Sanstha (JSS)279 Jan Vikas Jagriti280 Janhit Chhattisgarh Vikas Samiti281 Jashpur Samaj Seva Samiti282 Jeevika283 Jirimiya Sena Majhi284 Joint Action Committee of Senior Citizens285 Joint Operation for Social Help, Delhi (JOSH)286 Joint Women’s Programme, New Delhi (JWP)287 Judav288 Jugaru289 Julab290 JVBU291 JVM292 Kabir Society293 Karnataka Child Rights Observatory294 Kashmir Foundation for Organization Research& Development295 Kasturba Sewa Kendra296 KCRO, Bangalore297 KDS298 KFORI299 Khoj300 Kinnar Kasturi301 Kisan Ki Awaaz302 KJP Assembly, Meghalaya303 Krishak Sahay Sansthan, MP304 Kshitiz Samaj Sewa Sansthan305 Ladies Wing FKMA306 Lahar Samaj Sevi Sansthan307 Law Trust308 LCD309 Liberal Youth Forum310 Lok Astha311 LTMG Hospital312 LYF313 M.K. Gandhi Foundation314 Macarthur Foundation India315 MACT India316 Madari Organization317 Madhusudan Gaware318 Maharashtra Bahujan Manjil Hakk Parisad,Nasik319 Mahatma Gandhi Adivasi Vikas Mandal320 Mahatma Gandhi Seva Ashram321 Mahila Kalpana Sakti322 Mahila Rajsatta Andolan (MRA)323 Mahila Samakhya,Kerala324 Mahila Samakhya, Karnataka325 Mahila Samatha, Andhra Pradesh326 Malwa Mazdoor Kisan Sangathan (MMKS)327 Manav Adhikar Forum328 Manbha Foundation329 Manipur University330 Margadarshak Samaj Sewa Sanstha331 MARPU332 Marudhar Ganga Society333 Masoom334 Matrica Foundation335 Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS)336 MCF337 MDW338 Media Centre for DevelopmentCommunication339 Mehattar340 Migrant Forum341 Mizoram Central University342 Mobile Creches, New Delhi343 Money Life Foundation344 Mountain Children’s Foundation345 Mountain Dalit Right Himachal Pradesh346 Maharshi Patanjali Vidya Mandir (MPVM)347 MSS Institute of Social Work, Nagpur348 Nadhi Bachoo Abhiyan (NBA)349 Naga Women’s Hoho Dimapur350 Nagpur Municipal Corporation Plumber Union351 Nahind352 National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)353 Nandani354 National Alliance for Land Rights (NALR)355 National Alliance for People’s Movement(NAPM)356 National Alliance for Women Organization235

357 National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights(NCDHR)358 National Centre for Advocacy Study (NCAS)359 National Confederation of Dalit Organisations(NACDOR)360 National Dalit Forum361 National Federation of Dalit Women (NFDW)362 National Foundation for India363 National Skills Mission364 National Social Watch Coalition, Delhi365 Nav Jagriti Vikas Salahkar Samithi366 Nava Jeevan Trust367 Naveen Bharati Sewa Samit368 Navjagrit Vikas Salahkar Samiti369 Navjyot370 Navrachna Samaj Sewa Sansthan371 Navsarjan372 National Alliance of Women’s Organizations(NAWO)373 NAZ Foundation374 NDF, Madhya Pradesh375 NDW376 NDW-Swadhikar377 NEED378 NEHU, Meghalaya379 NEICORD380 NFFFWF381 NIDAN382 NIRANTAR383 NIRD384 Nirman385 NMC Employees Union, Nagpur386 NMML387 NMPS388 North East Hill University389 North East Network (NEN)390 North East Social Trust391 North Eastern Social Research Centre392 MGNREGS Watch393 OXFAM India394 PSS395 Pahal Foundation396 Parivan Sewa, Delhi397 Parivar Sewa398 Pasmad Mushlim Mahaz399 Pasmanda Samaj Sansthan400 Patang401 Path402 PCA403 Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Changeand Development, OKDISCD404 Peace Trust405 People for Peace406 Plan India, New Delhi407 Plan4Children Collective408 Population Foundation of India (PFI)409 Power Finance Corporation410 PPUS411 Prabhar Niketan Prenabharti412 Prabodhi413 PRADAN414 Pradeepan415 Pragati416 Pragati Sansthan417 Pratigya418 Pravah419 Prayas, Pune420 Prayog421 Prerana422 PRIA423 PSS424 Public Health India425 PUCAAR426 Pukmatiya427 Punjab Committee Chandigarh428 Purva Bharti Turst429 Purvanchal Dalit Adhikar Manch430 PVCL431 Positive Women’s Network (PWN)432 Recovering and Healing from Incest (RAHI)433 Rajasthan Mahila Kamgar Union, Jaipur434 Rashtriya Dalit Mahila Andolan435 Rashtriya Grameen Vikas Nidhi, Assam436 Rashtriya Mahila Andolan437 Rastriya Jagriti Sewa Samiti438 Rati236

439 RDT440 REEDS441 Refa Samaj Sewa442 Refah Samajik Sangathan443 Republican Youth Students Forum444 RGVN445 Right to Food Campaign446 RNBA, Manipur447 Rohidas Mahila Kalyan Samiti448 Rongmei Naga Baptist Association, Manipur449 Rooh Mamta Bachao Jan Andolan450 Rural Development Institute451 Rural Women Association452 SFAC, Meghalaya453 Saathi Mumbai454 Saathii455 Sadhanki456 SAFED457 Sahabhagi Sanstha458 Sahayog459 Sahjivan Bahuuddeshiv Vikas Mandal460 Sahyogita Vikas Sansthan, Chattarpur461 Sakhi Charchowghi462 Sakshi Human Rights463 Salam Balak Trust464 SAMA465 Samadhan, Ranchi466 Samajik Seva Sadan467 Samarth Shiksha Prasasanik Mandal468 Samarthan469 Sampari Hukumu Bodoi470 Sampari Hukumu Bodol, Tripura471 Sampark, Nagpur472 Samyak Shiksha Eavam Manviya VikasSansthan473 Sanchar474 Sangama475 Sangharsh Yuva Manch, Nashik476 Sanjeevani Creations477 South Asia Network for Social & AgriculturalDevelopment (SANSAD)478 Santoshi479 SAPA480 SAUP481 Saurashtra Dalit Sansthan482 Save Interschool India483 Save the Children, India (SCF)484 SBT485 SCFD486 School Bachao Abhiyan487 Schotastica488 Score489 Swiss Agency for Development andCooperation (SDC)490 SDYM491 Seba Jagat492 Secular Forum493 Senior Citizens Organization, Nerul494 Sense International India495 SEPVS, Jodhpur496 Seva Mandal,Udaipur497 Sewa Mandir498 SEWAK499 SFAC Meghalaya500 SGVV501 Shanti Sadhana Ashram502 SHED503 Shive Sukh Nawoyank Mandal Paldi Parsi504 Shri Chetna Sangh505 Shri Gandhi Seva Ashram506 Shristi507 SIDA Foundation508 Siga Community Service Guild509 Siksha Shodh Avam Vikas Sansthan & DalitSetu510 Silver Innings511 Sir Syed Muslim Foundation512 The State Institute for Rural Development(SIRD)513 SKA514 SKRS515 Smile Foundation516 Sneha517 SNS Foundation518 Social Justice Alliance519 Social Uplift Through Rural Action (SUTRA)237

520 Social Watch Tamilnadu Chennai521 Society for Development Action, Patna522 Solidarity Centre523 SOS Children’s Villages of India524 South Asia Peace Alliance525 South Vihar Welfare Society for Tribal526 SPAN527 Spoorthi528 SPYM529 Sri Auro Vision530 SS Arhvan Basli the Gmmirahati531 State Law Commission, Meghalaya532 Stella Maris College533 STEP534 Student Forum535 Sujagrati Samaj Sewa Sansthan536 Sumfeemi537 Surguja Gramin Vikas Manda538 Swaasthya539 Swabhlambi540 SWATI541 Swavlambi542 Synjuk ki Rangbah Shnong543 Talking about Reproductive and Sexual HealthIssues (TARSHI)544 Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)545 TDWF546 Tehreek-E-Pasmanda Muslim Samaj (TPMS)547 Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC)548 The Deef way Foundation549 The Family Welfare Agency550 The International Center for Research onWomen (ICRW)551 The Tehelka Foundation552 The United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF)553 TNSIC Guindy554 TOWF555 Toxics Link556 Transgender Rights Association557 Tribal Society558 Tripude College of Social Work, Nagpur559 Tripura University560 TTF561 TYPE562 Udyem563 Ugniyawas Jagriti Kendra Sansthan564 UN Women565 UNAIDS566 United Nations Development Programme(UNDP)567 United Reform Organisation568 UNNATI569 Unorganized Workers Federation570 UPVM571 Ural Samity572 Urdu Association573 Urdu Journalist Association574 Urmul575 Urmul Setu576 Urmul Simant577 Utthan578 Vadharc579 Vidyasagar Samajik Suraksha Seva Evam ShodhSansthan (VSSSSS)580 Vikalp Samaj Sewa Sanstha581 Vikas Samvad582 Vistirn Samajik Sangathan583 Voluntary Service Oversees (VSO)584 VSS585 We Care Social Service Society586 WFDW587 WGLNR, Manipur588 White Lotus589 WISE590 WNTAM591 Women Power Connect (WPC)592 Women’s Collective, Tamil Nadu593 Women’s Front, Tamil Nadu594 Women’s Coalition Trust595 World Vision India (WVI)596 YAAR597 Vanangana598 YCDA599 Yes for Peace600 Young at Risk India Forum238

601 Young Lives, Delhi602 Youth Coalition603 Youth for Policy and Dialogue604 Youth Parliament605 Yugantar, Hyderabad606 Yuva Chetna Manch607 Yuva Rural - Nagpur608 Yuva, MumbaiIndividuals1 Ajara Bai2 Amrit Lal Joshi3 Anand Tirkey4 Anil Bhai5 Anjor Singh6 Anju Soni7 Annu8 Ama Lal9 Amar Singh Choudhary10 Arun Sahu11 Arun Singh12 Ashok Choudhary13 Ashok Kumar14 Ashok Meshram15 Ashwani Verma16 Augdus Ekka17 Baisakhin Bai18 Baisakhu Ram19 Bal Singh20 Bali Ram21 Balsingh22 Banmali Prasad Gouraha23 Basant Kr. Rautray24 Basant Yadav25 Bhadali Bai26 Bhanu Patel27 Bharat Bhushan Thakur28 Bhola Bhai29 Bhuneshwar Sahu30 Bibinika Pradhan31 Bipin32 Birohin33 Bishnu Nishad34 Bishram35 Boloram36 Budhari37 Budhram Yadav38 Carmela Ekka39 Chaitram40 Chandan Singh41 Chandrahas Patel42 Chandramani43 Chandrawati Korwa44 Dropati Sahu45 D. Vishwatma46 Dayaram Bhoi47 Deme Oram48 Dev Prasad Sahu49 G.S.N. Sharma50 Ganesh Prasad51 Gangaram52 Garbhin Bai53 Durga Patel54 Durpati55 Gayatri Panchal56 Geeta Singh57 Ghari Ram58 Gregory Kerketta59 Gwal Singh60 Hem Singh61 Hemant62 Ishwar Prasad63 Jagat Ram64 Jagdish65 Jageshwar66 Jaidev Mohurle67 Jaisingh Jadon68 Jacob Nellithanam69 Janaki70 Jethu Ram71 Jhalak Ram Yadu72 Jhul Singh Dhruw73 Jasmani Baa74 Kanhu Mohanty75 Karam Singh76 Kartik77 Kashi Ram239

78 L. Kindo79 Keshav Choubey80 Khalia Sabar81 Khelan Ram Dadsena82 Mahulal83 Manhgu Lal84 Manish Rajput85 Mannu Lal86 Maya Ram87 Meena88 Meena Sahu89 Mehataru Singh90 Mohammad Khan91 Mohar Singh92 Renuka Ekka93 Santo Bai94 Saraswami Uekey95 Nicolas Barla96 Nilesh Choubey97 Nohar Singh98 Padum Lal Singh99 Pardeshi Ram100 Parwati Yadu101 Pati Ram102 Patiya Bai103 Paul Pradhan104 Prashant Kumar P.V.105 Prerana Bharti106 Priti Tiwari107 Prof. J. Parikshita108 Rajkali Patel109 Pushpika Tirky110 Raghuvir Pradhan111 Rajnish Gupta112 Rajpati Bai113 Rakesh Ratan Singh114 Ram Gulam Sinha115 Ram Lal116 Abdul117 Sr. Khristi Lakada118 Sr. Ursula Khalkho119 Sitaram Sonwani120 Skolastica Barla121 Tijiya Bai122 Tikam Singh123 Umabai Pradhan124 Umesh Hrishi125 V.B. Chandra Shekhar126 Valentin Kiro127 William Henej128 Sujan Singh Verma129 Sagan Bai130 Sahdev Ram131 Salimuddin132 Samaru Ram133 Samaru Singh134 Samee Kerana135 Sanat Ram136 Sani Ram137 Santoshi Bai138 Santu Ram139 Shakuntala Kashyap140 Shani Ram141 Sheeba142 Shiba Dungdung143 Shikari Baiga144 Dhirendra145 Devendra Baghel146 Sidharth147 Shushil148 Shyambati149 Murali Das Sant150 Gloriya151 Mangal152 Diwakar153 Sachin R. Mandavi154 Meghaiya Bai155 K.K Abraham156 Manoj Pardesi157 Saroja Puthran158 G. Karunanidhi159 Laxman J Meena160 Joseph Mathew161 B . Jeevan162 Tarit Chakraborty163 Geeta Chitroda240

164 Naresh Yadav165 Anil Dalvi166 Farzana Begum167 P.Nagarajan168 Azad Shaikh169 Agui Daimie170 K Mukesh171 Salam Irene172 Linda Chhahchhuak173 Rajib Handique174 Phul Singh175 Shabeena Francis176 Palanithurai177 Raghunandan178 Meenakshisundaram179 Nelly Rodriques180 Chhavi Rajawat181 Haneef Balkhi182 Mathur R S183 Sharad Behar184 Nirmala Buch185 Amitabh Singh186 Rashmi Sharma187 Sudha Pillai188 Caitlin Wiesen189 Dhirendra Krishna190 Paramjit Kaur Gill191 Jayanta Chaudhuri192 Lily Kujur193 Muraleedharan BMedia1 All India Urdu Mass Communication Societyfor Peace2 Budha Sakthi Telugu daily3 Channel one News4 UNN5 India Mail6 NETV7 News Live8 Voice9 The Meghalaya Times10 Urdu Daily, Hyderabad11 Press Trust of India (PTI)Special thanks to the people who facilitated theconsultations and to those who made this publication.1 Amitabh Behar2 Radha Khan3 Anup Kumar Srivastava4 Leander Toppo5 Geeta Kaim6 Naresh Kumar7 Gulshan Kumar8 Suman Dasgupta9 Binu Sebestian10 Saswati Swetlena11 Rahul Banerjee12 Anil Singh241

AbbreviationsADCAutonomous District CouncilsICMRIndian Council for Medical ResearchANCANMAPLARCASHAATBPLBTADCAGCEDAWCHCCSACSOCSSCSWBCWDDGETDLHSDONERDPCECCDECCEEOCFDIFRAGDPGERGIPAGISGNHGOHDIHFAICDSAnte Natal CareAuxiliary Nurse MidwivesAbove Poverty LineAdministrative Reforms CommissionAccredited Social Health Activistassistive technologyBelow Poverty LineBodoland Territorial Area DistrictsComptroller and Auditor GeneralConvention for the Elimination ofDiscrimination Against WomenCommunity Health CentresCentral Special AssistanceCivil Society OrganisationsCentrally Sponsored SchemesCentral Social Welfare BoardChildren with DisabilityDirectorate General of Employment andTrainingDistrict Level Household SurveyDevelopment of North Eastern RegionDistrict Planning CommitteesEarly Childhood Care and DevelopmentEarly Childhood Care and EducationEqual Opportunity CommissionForeign Direct InvestmentForest Rights ActGross Domestic ProductGross Enrolment RatioGreater Involvement of People Livingwith HIV and AIDSGeographical Information SystemsGross National HappinessGovernment OrderHuman Development IndexHyogo Framework of ActionIntegrated Child Development SchemeICPDICTIDPsIGMSYIGNOAPIPRISMWITITIIYCFJNNURMJSYLGBTQILSEMCDsMCIMDGsMGNREGSMISMNCMNCHNMoHRDMoSJ&EMoWCDMSMEMTRNABARDInternational Conference on Populationand DevelopmentInformation and CommunicationTechnologyInternally Displaced PersonsIndira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog YojanaIndira Gandhi National Old Age PensionSchemeIntellectual Property RightsInter State Migrant WorkmanInformation TechnologyIndustrial Training InstitutesInfant and Young Child FeedingJawaharlal Nehru National UrbanRenewal MissionJanani Suraksha YojanaLesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queerand IntersexLife Skills EducationMuslim Concentration DistrictsMedical Council of IndiaMillennium Development GoalsMahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Guarantee SchemeManagement Information SystemMaternal, Newborn and ChildMaternal, Newborn and Other Children’sHealth and Nutrition ServicesMinistry of Human ResourcesDevelopmentMinistry of Social Justice andEmpowermentMinistry of Women and ChildDevelopmentMicro, small and medium enterprisesMid-Term ReviewNational Bank for Agriculture and RuralDevelopment242

NACDORNational Confederation of DalitOrganisationsRGGVYRajiv Gandhi Gramin VidyutikaranYojanaNACPNational AIDS Control ProgrammeRMSARashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha AbhiyanNACP-IIINALSANCDHRNCLPNCRLNCVTNDBNDFNECNENNERNFDWNRCsNRDWPNRHMNTFPNUHMOSTPAISPDFPDSPESAPHCPLHIVPNCPPCPPPPPPTCTPRIPSKPTAPWDNational AIDS Control ProgrammePhase 3National Legal Services AuthorityNational Campaign on Dalit HumanRightsNational Child Labour ProjectNational Commission on Rural LabourNational Council of Vocational TrainingNational Data BankNational Dalit ForumNorth Eastern CouncilNorth East NetworkNorth East RegionNational Federation of Dalit WomenNutrition Rehabilitation CentresNational Rural Drinking WaterProgrammeNational Rural Health MissionNon-Timber Forest ProductsNational Urban Health MissionOral Substitute TherapyPublic Accountability InformationSystemsPost Doctoral FellowshipPublic Distribution SystemPanchayat Extension to Scheduled AreasActPrimary Health CentrePeople Living with HIVPost Natal CarePublic-Private-Community PartnershipPublic-Private-PartnershipPrevention of Parent-to-ChildTransmissionPanchayati Raj InstitutionsPrimary Shiksha KoshParents Teachers AssociationPeople with DisabilityRSBYRTERTISCPSCsSCVTSGSYSHGsSIDBISJSRYSMCsSPBSPVSRSSSASSBKSSSTGTISSTPMSTRIPSTSPUGCUIDUIDAIUNCRCVECVECWHOWNTAWWDYAPYPLHARashtriya Swastha Bima YojanaRight to EducationRight to Information (Act)Special Component PlanScheduled CastesState Councils of Vocational TrainingSwarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojanaself-help groupsSmall Industries Development Bank ofIndiaSwarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar YojanaSchool Management CommitteesState Planning Boardssolar photovoltaicSexual Reassignment SurgerySarva Shiksha AbhiyanSocial Security Benefits for UnorganisedWorker in KarnatakaState Sponsored SchemesTransgenderTata Institute of Social SciencesTehereek-e-Pasmanda Muslim SamajTrade Related Intellectual Property RightsTribal Sub PlanUniversity Grants CommissionUnique IdentityUnique Identification Authority of IndiaUnited Nations Convention on the Rightsof the ChildVillage Education CommitteeVillage Education CouncilWorld Health OrganizationWada Na Todo AbhiyanWomen with DisabilityYouth Alliance for PlanningYouth and Young People Living withHIV-AIDS243

WADA NA TODO ABHIYANWada Na Todo Abhiyan (WNTA) is a national campaign. It envisages “holding the government accountable to itspromise to end poverty, social exclusion, and discrimination”.At the World Social Forum 2004, Mumbai, human rights activists and social action groups agreed on the need for aforceful, focused, and concerted effort to make a difference to the fact that one-fourth of the world’s poor live in India,and continue to experience intense deprivation of opportunities to learn, live, and work in dignity. WNTA emergedfrom this consensus.WNTA aims to make a difference by monitoring the promises made by the Government of India to meet the objectivesset in the UN Millennium Declaration (2000), the National Development Goals, and the promises of the UPA IIgovernment with a special focus on the Right to Livelihood, Health, Education and Exclusion.WNTA works to ensure that the concerns and aspirations of Dalits, Adivasis, nomadic tribes, women, children, youth,people with disability and people living with HIV-AIDS are mainstreamed across programmes, policies, and developmentgoals of the Central and state governments.WNTA is a coalition of over 4000 rights action groups across 28 states and three Union Territories of India to linkindividuals and social groups and engage policy-makers on issues of strategic relevance.WNTA is also an affiliate of the UN Millennium Campaign (UNMC) and the Global Call to Action against Poverty(GCAP).A Campaign Coordination Group consisting of more than 130 organizations governs Wada Na Todo Abhiyan. Anelected Convenor leads the Group. The Campaign Steering Group functions as WNTA’s executive committee andcomprises 21 elected representatives from the Campaign Co-ordination Group. The National Campaign Coordinator isthe Member-Secretary of the Campaign Steering Group.The Campaign Secretariat is based in New Delhi. It implements the daily operations of WNTA and supports thefunctioning of the different groups and bodies formed through the Campaign Coordination Group under the leadershipof the National Campaign Coordinator.Some WNTA Initiatives• All India People’s Manifesto: Developed charter of demands in more than 300 parliamentary constituencies acrossthe country just before the 2009 general election• The first-ever People’s Mid-term Appraisal of the 11th Five Year Plan• Annual Civil Society Review of the UPA II’s promises• Women’s Tribunal against Poverty III: Women’s tribunals are being organized in 10 states, followed by a NationalTribunal in Delhi• Various activities around UN Millennium Development Goals• “Nine is Mine” campaign to demand the allocation of 9 per cent of the GDP to health and education measures• Bimonthly radio programme “Haq Hamara Wada Tumhara” on AIR 102.6

Our effort is to make this 12 th Five Year Plan inclusiveand to create enabling spaces, where the viewpoints of themost marginalised, disadvantaged and poorest of the poorgroups/citizens of our country can be voiced and heard.Our inputs to the Plan approach are formulated keepinghuman rights and social justice principles in mind.