went for the panel discussion on NURM:Problems and Prospects.
only slight reference to connections with foreign investment, Model
minicipal law etc.were made and issues deregulation, implications of
abandoning/ignoring lawful solutions did not feature in the discussion.
This was a discussion where 'grassroot organisations' pitched for national
role in NURM, academicians lamented lack of empirical evidence and ex-civil
servants talked about lack of experience in making and implementing policies
and the 'brain behind NURM' (as stated by the chairperson) and evaluator of
the NURM (reforms and CDP component) defending the mission and the
chairperson having not seen the document. see detailed report below:
Chairperson CP Thakur said that he has not seen the document but he has some
questions like criteria for selection of cities, what will be the delivery
mechanism, whether mission will provide direct/indirect employment
oppurtunities and whether it will solve the crisis of governance.
Introducing the panel he said OP Mathur is the brainchild of NURM (slip of
tongue by the chairperson) , renana understands some part of urban reality,
from A.Kundu he still keeps learning and KC Sivaramakrishnan is the
doyen of all this and has vintage wisdom.
OP Mathur, reluctant to start first, hailed NURM as the single largest
central government initiative covering 63 cities which will cover 42%
population and 80% of urban GDP. It is different because it will be
sustainable due to conditionalities. NURM
purpose is to provide a mechanism to universalise services .while he is
aware of the concerns about JNNURM; armtwisting by the centre, intervention
in legitimate state subjects, anti-poor, anti-small cities, and
not adequately participatory. He considers that due to economic
restructuring centre has large stake in large cities and NURM is the
instrument which can provide efficient delivery mechanism.
A.Kundu argued that conditionalities have not been empirically looked into
and there is not enough evidence to suggest that these will improve
efficiency and imporve financial conditions. According to him these
conditionalities are not new, but what is new is the big carrot with it but
it is not pro-poor since covers only 12% of BPL in these cities as compared
to 26% BPL in other cities (did not give other data on poverty ). It has
been reported that $60000m investment will be attracted so NURM is a facade
to sanitise cities and make it capital and labour friendly. Criteria for
judging a pro poor plan is missing and 10-20 research organisations have
come up to prepare these plans and finally what is the guarantee that more
funds will not be given to these cities.
Renana Jhabwala praised NURM for taking care of basic infrastructure
comprehensively but mechanism is left to CDP. eg. cities are wary of giving
rights to slums like laying legal pipelines. She also talked about Mumbai
model which as mentioned by her , Jaipal Reddy, UDM, had talked about in the
morning as in Tehkhand where half land is given to private builders for sale
and slum housing is built on the other half. According to her suggestion
mumbai model should not be made applicable all over Delhi as Mr. Reddy
mentioned but selectively and rest of the settlements should be given basic
infrastructure (so according to her rights of slum dwellers are selective
use of Mumbai model and not forgetting provision of basic infrastructure to
slums) and finally issue of livelihood is not addressed in NURM and she told
the audience, that SC has ordered clearance of all street vendors in Delhi
and Delhi should not have mixed use (both are incorrect). some other
suggestions were issue of displacement of slums should also be dealt with in
NURM and in the assessment/monitoring committee at national level there
should be voices of the people representatives.
KC Sivaramakrishan was roused by the title of the conference, tackling
exclusions, so he was philosophical and started on how cities are product of
exclusion and that "liberty does not descent to people but people must rise
to it". According to him atleast with JNNURM, Ministry now deserves its
letterhead otherwise they were busy with Gandhi's statue at Indiagate and
now they are doing something which is urban and development and national.
Real questions are process questions on which he decided to focus on. He
wondered whether we are actually looking at solution or are satisfied with
redefining a problem as solution. At certain political levels dangers of
empowerment are realised and they have come up with clever ways of diluting.
Kept referring to CDPs as City Development Strategies (CDS) (term used by
international agencies) He also wondered whose business it is to govern is
unclear. There is a tussle going on between courts-ULBs, ULBs-community,
community-NGOs, NGOs-political class. He admitted that we have been
struggling todevise a programme for the poor but we still are struggling and
do not have much experience in designing, running these programmes for the
poor. CDS pits designers, dreamers, idealogies against market place. There
is a contest, arguementation and debate and for society to be the umpire we
need structures?? paradigm shift has not taken place but the JNURM provides
the platform for that paradigm shift.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gita Dewan Verma" <mpisgplanner@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <mpisgmedia@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 12:03 AM
Subject: [mpisgmedia] IHC 1-3 June: Tackling Exclusions: Inttl Conf
(withsameexclusive lot!)
By Centre for Development Alternatives (Ahmedabad),
Institute for Human Development (New Delhi), Centre
for Environmental Planning & Technology University
(Ahmedabad) and Institute of Social Studies (The
Hague).
Starring Jaipal Reddy & Kumari Selja (inaugural) and
YK Alagh, Shabana Azmi & Sheila Dikshit (Valedictory)
and Jagmohan & Sandeep Dikshit & Ors (panel discussion
on day2) and top organized-civ-soc and
civ-soc-friendly-expert stars and starlets.
Schedule at:
http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/2006-May/000833.html
if anyone goes, do post account. esp about how Jamal
Ansari chairs the one on Development Dynamics
(14:00-16:00, 1 June) and what Renana Jhabwala has to
say about JNNURM (16:00-18:30, 1 June). And, of
course, the Delhi-Delights that are slotted on June 2
afternoon:
14.00 - 15.45 SESSION VI - Inclusions and Exclusions
in Delhi
Chair
Dinesh Rai, Vice Chairperson, Delhi Development
Authority
Presentations
Dr. Debolina Kundu Independent Researcher & Prof.
Amitabh Kundu, Dean School of Social Sciences, New
Delhi- Urban Land Market, Tenurial Security and the
Poor: An overview of Policies with special reference
to Delhi
Mr. Lalit Batra, Hazards Centre, New Delhi - Politics
of Slum Evictions in Neo-Liberal Delhi
Dr. Shipra Maitra, Faculty, IHD, New Delhi - Financing
Urban Development in Delhi
Discussant
Dr. Dupont Veronique, Director, Centre de Sciences,
Humaines, New Delhi
16.00 to 16.30 Tea
16.30-19.00 SESSION VII : Panel Discussion on
Governance in Delhi: Trading between Equity and
Efficiency
Chair:
Panellist
Mr Jagmohan, Former Union Minister
Prof. Neera Chandhoke, University of Delhi
Sandeep Dixit, Member of Parliament
Dunu Roy, Social Activist
======
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only slight reference to connections with foreign investment, Model
minicipal law etc.were made and issues deregulation, implications of
abandoning/ignoring lawful solutions did not feature in the discussion.
This was a discussion where 'grassroot organisations' pitched for national
role in NURM, academicians lamented lack of empirical evidence and ex-civil
servants talked about lack of experience in making and implementing policies
and the 'brain behind NURM' (as stated by the chairperson) and evaluator of
the NURM (reforms and CDP component) defending the mission and the
chairperson having not seen the document. see detailed report below:
Chairperson CP Thakur said that he has not seen the document but he has some
questions like criteria for selection of cities, what will be the delivery
mechanism, whether mission will provide direct/indirect employment
oppurtunities and whether it will solve the crisis of governance.
Introducing the panel he said OP Mathur is the brainchild of NURM (slip of
tongue by the chairperson) , renana understands some part of urban reality,
from A.Kundu he still keeps learning and KC Sivaramakrishnan is the
doyen of all this and has vintage wisdom.
OP Mathur, reluctant to start first, hailed NURM as the single largest
central government initiative covering 63 cities which will cover 42%
population and 80% of urban GDP. It is different because it will be
sustainable due to conditionalities. NURM
purpose is to provide a mechanism to universalise services .while he is
aware of the concerns about JNNURM; armtwisting by the centre, intervention
in legitimate state subjects, anti-poor, anti-small cities, and
not adequately participatory. He considers that due to economic
restructuring centre has large stake in large cities and NURM is the
instrument which can provide efficient delivery mechanism.
A.Kundu argued that conditionalities have not been empirically looked into
and there is not enough evidence to suggest that these will improve
efficiency and imporve financial conditions. According to him these
conditionalities are not new, but what is new is the big carrot with it but
it is not pro-poor since covers only 12% of BPL in these cities as compared
to 26% BPL in other cities (did not give other data on poverty ). It has
been reported that $60000m investment will be attracted so NURM is a facade
to sanitise cities and make it capital and labour friendly. Criteria for
judging a pro poor plan is missing and 10-20 research organisations have
come up to prepare these plans and finally what is the guarantee that more
funds will not be given to these cities.
Renana Jhabwala praised NURM for taking care of basic infrastructure
comprehensively but mechanism is left to CDP. eg. cities are wary of giving
rights to slums like laying legal pipelines. She also talked about Mumbai
model which as mentioned by her , Jaipal Reddy, UDM, had talked about in the
morning as in Tehkhand where half land is given to private builders for sale
and slum housing is built on the other half. According to her suggestion
mumbai model should not be made applicable all over Delhi as Mr. Reddy
mentioned but selectively and rest of the settlements should be given basic
infrastructure (so according to her rights of slum dwellers are selective
use of Mumbai model and not forgetting provision of basic infrastructure to
slums) and finally issue of livelihood is not addressed in NURM and she told
the audience, that SC has ordered clearance of all street vendors in Delhi
and Delhi should not have mixed use (both are incorrect). some other
suggestions were issue of displacement of slums should also be dealt with in
NURM and in the assessment/monitoring committee at national level there
should be voices of the people representatives.
KC Sivaramakrishan was roused by the title of the conference, tackling
exclusions, so he was philosophical and started on how cities are product of
exclusion and that "liberty does not descent to people but people must rise
to it". According to him atleast with JNNURM, Ministry now deserves its
letterhead otherwise they were busy with Gandhi's statue at Indiagate and
now they are doing something which is urban and development and national.
Real questions are process questions on which he decided to focus on. He
wondered whether we are actually looking at solution or are satisfied with
redefining a problem as solution. At certain political levels dangers of
empowerment are realised and they have come up with clever ways of diluting.
Kept referring to CDPs as City Development Strategies (CDS) (term used by
international agencies) He also wondered whose business it is to govern is
unclear. There is a tussle going on between courts-ULBs, ULBs-community,
community-NGOs, NGOs-political class. He admitted that we have been
struggling todevise a programme for the poor but we still are struggling and
do not have much experience in designing, running these programmes for the
poor. CDS pits designers, dreamers, idealogies against market place. There
is a contest, arguementation and debate and for society to be the umpire we
need structures?? paradigm shift has not taken place but the JNURM provides
the platform for that paradigm shift.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gita Dewan Verma" <mpisgplanner@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <mpisgmedia@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 12:03 AM
Subject: [mpisgmedia] IHC 1-3 June: Tackling Exclusions: Inttl Conf
(withsameexclusive lot!)
By Centre for Development Alternatives (Ahmedabad),
Institute for Human Development (New Delhi), Centre
for Environmental Planning & Technology University
(Ahmedabad) and Institute of Social Studies (The
Hague).
Starring Jaipal Reddy & Kumari Selja (inaugural) and
YK Alagh, Shabana Azmi & Sheila Dikshit (Valedictory)
and Jagmohan & Sandeep Dikshit & Ors (panel discussion
on day2) and top organized-civ-soc and
civ-soc-friendly-expert stars and starlets.
Schedule at:
http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/2006-May/000833.html
if anyone goes, do post account. esp about how Jamal
Ansari chairs the one on Development Dynamics
(14:00-16:00, 1 June) and what Renana Jhabwala has to
say about JNNURM (16:00-18:30, 1 June). And, of
course, the Delhi-Delights that are slotted on June 2
afternoon:
14.00 - 15.45 SESSION VI - Inclusions and Exclusions
in Delhi
Chair
Dinesh Rai, Vice Chairperson, Delhi Development
Authority
Presentations
Dr. Debolina Kundu Independent Researcher & Prof.
Amitabh Kundu, Dean School of Social Sciences, New
Delhi- Urban Land Market, Tenurial Security and the
Poor: An overview of Policies with special reference
to Delhi
Mr. Lalit Batra, Hazards Centre, New Delhi - Politics
of Slum Evictions in Neo-Liberal Delhi
Dr. Shipra Maitra, Faculty, IHD, New Delhi - Financing
Urban Development in Delhi
Discussant
Dr. Dupont Veronique, Director, Centre de Sciences,
Humaines, New Delhi
16.00 to 16.30 Tea
16.30-19.00 SESSION VII : Panel Discussion on
Governance in Delhi: Trading between Equity and
Efficiency
Chair:
Panellist
Mr Jagmohan, Former Union Minister
Prof. Neera Chandhoke, University of Delhi
Sandeep Dixit, Member of Parliament
Dunu Roy, Social Activist
======
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
_______________________________________________
mpisgmedia mailing list
http://mail.architexturez.net/mailman/listinfo/mpisgmedia + Planning
collaborative at http://plan.architexturez.org/
--
Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.1/343 - Release Date: 5/18/06
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.8.1/354 - Release Date: 6/1/06