chapter iv overall profile of ngos in socio-economic and...
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144
Chapter IV
Overall Profile of NGOs in Socio-economic and
Demographic Perspectives of Meerut Region
In view of the symbiotic relationship between men & environment, it would be
worthwhile to present the overall profile of the NGOs working in the Meerut region – the
region selected for the study - in the perspectives of its topography , socio-economic
environment, ethnography & strategic location Accordingly , this chapter is divided in two
main sections, viz. the first section will present a sketch of the geographic position , socio-
Economic and demographic perspectives of the Meerut Region while the second section will
focus on the overall profile of the NGOs working in the region and their symbiotic relations
with topography , socio-economic empowerment, ethnography & strategic location of the
region. In conclusion , the Chapter will make an attempt to establish how the geographic ,
demographic and socio-economic features of the region influences the objectives , location
and functional areas, ownership and management pattern , target groups and the fashion of
discharging their role and responsibilities of the NGOs working in the region.
I. Socio-economic and Demographic Perspectives of Meerut Region
Meerut Division is named after the headquarters city, the name of which is divided
from its ancient time name, Mayarashtra . Its origin is ascribed , by one tradition, to Maya, the
father-in-law of Ravana (the Rakshas king of Lanka) and by another to Maya-asura, the
superb architect who lived in the times of the Pandava king Yudhishthira . Another
traditional name of the city is Mai-dant-ka Khera (the city of Maya the Rakashasa) .1 The
beginning of the history of civilization in the region covered by the present district of
Meerut , which lies in the upper Ganga- Yamuna Doab & Lies between latitude 28032 &
29018’ north & longitude 770 7 & 780 14 east, goes back to times considerably anterior to
the advent of the Aryans and the risk of Vedic Culture . Archaeological excavations (
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undertaken in 1950- 52 ) of the mound ( locally know as Ulta Khera - or upturned
habitation - and also as Vidura - ka tila or the mound of Vidura ) at Hastinapur (about five
miles west of the Ganga, in tahsil of Mawana of this district )2 revealed various antiquities
which are taken as evidence of a succession of culture periods which this site enjoyed
during the past four thousand years or so. The Ganga and Yamuna ( which respectively
from the eastern and the western boundaries of the region) are among the rivers mentioned
in the Rigveda3 and the region lying between then is covered by expanse of country
reflected in its hymns. 4
According to the Jain tradition Hastinapur ( or Gajapura ) was one of the earliest
Indian cities , it being founded in the time of Rishabhadev ( the first tirthankara ) whose
grandson, Somaprabhats was its first rural , that the kings, kuru and Hastina , were his
decendants and Shantinatha , Kunthunatha and Arahantha ( his sixteen , seventeenth,
and eighteenth, thithakara respectively ) were born in and ruled from his city . According
to the Buddhistist it was the capital of kuru-rattam , so named because in the day of
manadhata, the emperor of Jambu-dvipa, the inhabitants of Uttara Kuru had come and
settled here .5 The early history of this region , as gleaned from the Mahabharat and the
Puranas, covers the period from Dushyanta and Bharata to the destruction of Hastinapur
a few generation after the Mahabhrata war. 6 It appears that the Bharatas , one of the most
important of the Regvedic tribes, were the earlist Aryan people to be associated with this
region.7
In 1844 W.H Sleeman visited the district and he has observed in his memories,”
The Country between Delhi and Meerut is well cultivated and rich in the latent power of its
soil : but there is here , as everywhere else in the upper Provinces, a lamentable want of
gradations in society from the eternal sub-division of property in land , and want
Of….. Concentration of capital in commerce and manufactures ”8 This phrase aptly
described the culture of the region prevailing even today.
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In shape it’s roughly rectangular , its length from north to south between 48 & 36
miles. On the north it is bounded by the south west by the National capital of the country-
called NCT of Delhi . The Gang forms its natural boundary on the east & separates it from
the district of Bijnor Moradabad . Most of its western boundary is marked by the Yamuna
which separates the region from the Rohtak & Karnal districts of present day Haryana.
The total area of the district, at present, is 2,323 square miles.The district is almost a
level alluvial plain with a slight slope from north to south or south to east. The average
gradient is about two in the mile & is almost uniform throughout. The whole of the
region is a well cultured plain, & there is no uneven ground except in the area of the
ravines near the river valleys and the scattered bhur ridges in the upland tract. On the
whole, the region is a tract of extraordinarily fertile soil. In the north –west and middle (
including the districts of Bagpat, Meerut and Ghaziabad ) and lying to the west of kali
Nadi, the soil is more fertile than in the east ) , where the bhur soil from small ridges
extends irregularly across the plain.
The Meerut region at present comprises of five districts , indicated and named as
below in Figure 4.1 with their sub-divisions.
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Figure 4.1
Meerut
It is a Part of the National Capital Region of India. It is the 16th largest
metropolitan area in India and the 25th largest city in India. 9 It ranked 292 in 2006 and 242
in 2020 in the list of largest cities and urban areas in the world. Meerut is the 63rd fastest
growing urban area in the world. 10 It is also the fastest developing city of Uttar Pradesh after
Noida and Ghaziabad. It has one of the biggest army garrison/cantonments in this part of
the country.
The city is famous for its scissors, Handloom Cloths, Gold Jewellery, sports goods
(especially cricket goods). Gazak and Rewri ; and is sometimes called the city of scissor or the
sports capital of India. Most of all, the city is famous for the Indian Mutiny of 1857,
which began here. With the cheap availability of a land as compared to Delhi, and being in
Meerut Division
Meerut Bagpat
Ghaziabad Bulandshahar
Meerut
Sardhana
Bagpat
Baraut
Modinagar
Ghaziabad
Bulandshahr
Sikandrabad
Gautam Budh Nagar
Mawana
Khekra
Hapur
GharMukateshwar
Anupshahr
Khurja
Dadri
Jewar
Sadar
148
the proximity of Delhi, the city is fast developing as an industrial and education hub in
Western Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh State Industries Development Corporation (UPSIDC)
already has two industrial estates in Meerut, namely Partapur and Udyog Puram.
Mohakampur indusrrial area is a private initiative. Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd
already have unrestricted power at Partapur , Udyogpuram and Mokhampur industrial areas.
Bhur Baral, Gagol and Shatabti Nagar have been identified by UPSIDC as the
upcoming industrial areas of the region. According to the Income Tax department, Meerut
contributed a handsome Rs.10,089 crore to the National Exchequer in 2007-08,
outperforming Lucknow, Jaipur, Bhopal Kochi and Bhubaneshwar. The Branded
Companies like Aircel, The Mobile Store, Hotspots, Spencer, Pantloons (Big Bazaar)
started operations in Meerut. It is becoming an important media centre, as journalists from
all over Uttar Pradesh and other Indian states are working in Meerut.Recently a lot of news
channels have also been commenced in the region...
According to the 2001 census , the city ranks in terms of population and 6th in
terms of population density in Uttar Pradesh. The city also ranks 2nd in terms of population
in NCR . Males constitute 53.43% of the population and female 46.56%. The city has an
average literacy rate of 83.96% , higher than the national average of 59.8% (Table 4.1).
Male literacy rate is 86.31% , and female literacy is 82.12% .16.66% of the population in under
6 years of age. Meerut has one of the largest Muslim populations among the cities of India
(close to 32.5%)
Table 4.1 : District Population (2001 Census)11
District Male Female Total
Urban 77,670 677,313 1,451,983
Rural 826,908 718,313 1,545,378
Total 1,601,578 1,395,783 2997,361
Literacy 76.31% 54.12% 65.6%
Bulandshahr
The District of Bulandshar located between Ganga and Yamuna rivers. This is situated
between 28.40 and 28.00 north latitude and between 77.00 and 78.00 East longitudes .12 The
history of Bulandshahr begins even before BC 1200. This region is close to the capital of the
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pandavas- Indraprastha and Hastinapur . After the decline of Hastinapur , Ahar which is
situated in the north-east of Bulanshahr District, became an important place for, the the
Pandavas. King Ahivarn or Ahibaran was a Kshatriya and a Suryavanshi. He was the 21st
decendant of Samrat (Emperor) Mandhata the rural of Ayodhya . As per Mahalakshmi Varat
Katha, it was in Emperor Mandhatas lineage that at one stage son of king Vallabh Agrasen
was born and at another stage son of king Parmaal Ahivarn was born; both of whom
further started their own clans: Agrawal (or Aarwal) and Varnwal (or Barnwal). In 1192 AD
when Muhammad Ghauri conquered parts of India, his Senapati, Qutubbudin surrounded
Fort Barn and, with the help of traitors, was able to kill King Chandrasen Dor and in the
process take control of the Barn kingdom. After the fall of Barb-sahar, the Baranwal
community lost leadership and direction and in the process scattered to different part of
India, mostly to the Gangetic plains of India, and started living under the various family
names of Verma, Lala, Modi, Goyal, Bakshi, pawaria (bilsuri} Choudhary, Patwari, Gupta’s,
Parsariya, Simriya, Nagar, Arya, Shah.
According to Gazetteer District Bulandshahr (1980) has 4 sub-division and six
town13 are depicted below in Figure 4.2 and 4.3 . All religion and castes of people live with
their traditions, rituals etc. Unlike Meerut, this is a city wherein people of all regions coexist
with peace and harmony, may be due to fact that people of different religions are
scattered away from the city in rural areas. Banking and other financial institutions
especially agricultural cooperative societies are widely spread in the district. The area is
known for its dominant agricultural based economy.
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Sub-Division of Bulandshahr
Figure:4.2
Towns of Bulandshahr
Figure: 4.3
Ghazaibad
The town of Ghaziabad is the administrative headquarters of the District. It lies around 1.5 km
away from river Hindon. The main rivers that flow through the Ghaziabad district are
Hindon, Ganga and Yamuna.15 Besides these main rivers, there are several other small
rivers, the most remarkable among them is the river Kali. It is basically a rain-fed river.
Added to this, the district uses water from the Ganga Canal for the Purpose of irrigation.
Khurja
Sikandarab-ad
Dibai
Anupshahr
Jahagirabad
Bulandshahr
Bulandshahr
Bulands-hahr
(tahsil)
Anupshahr (tahsil)
Sikandar-abad
(tahsil)
Khurja (tahsil)
Bulands-hahr
(tahsil)
151
The geographical dimensions of the district are 72 X 37 km with total district area of
approximately 2590.0sqkms16 . The district has four sub-divisions17 depicted along with
their blocks below in Figure 4.4 :
Figure: 4.4
District has five town areas which is – Patla , Niwari , Faridnagar , Dasana ,
Babugarh. District has six Municipal Crops , 74 Nyay Panchayts , 405 Gram Sabha , 22
Police Station , 567 Villages. According to the census 2001 the population of the sistrict
was 33,14,070, the social composition of which is given below18
Ghaziabad
Modinagar Ghaziabad Hapur Garh Mukteshwar
Bhojpur
Murad Nagar
Rajapur
Loni
Dhaulana
Loni
Simbhawali
Garh Mukteshwar
152
S.N DESCRIPTION VALUES
1 Male Population 17,81,674
2. Female Population 15,32,396
3 Rural Population 14,97,665
4 Urban Population 18,16,415
5 SC Population 5,99,539
6 ST Population 207
7 Male Literates 11,67,067
8 Female Literates 7,35,036
The district with the boundary with National Capital has its special significance that it
served as one the satellite town to Delhi providing residential units to those working in
Delhi and has both forward and backward economic and demographic linkages with the
Delhi region. As a result, the residents of the district headquarters enjoys almost similar
amenities as in Delhi and therefore it has become a one of the major sources of meeting
demand of both skilled and unskilled labor in Delhi region.
Gautam Budha Nagar
Gautam Budha Nagar district has been newly formed district, created in 1997 , withdrawing
certain adjoining areas from the districts Ghaziabad and Bulandshahr.The district at present
comprises of three sub-division and four blocks, as depicted in figurre 4.5 and 4.6 below,
spreading over the area of 1456 sq.km19
Sub-division of Gautm Buddha Nagar
153
Figure 4.5
Blocks of Gautam Buddha Nagar
Figure 4.6
The Gautam Buddha Nagar is one of the most popular industrial town off the Uttar Pradesh
contributing highest share in total tax and non-tax revenue of the State amongst the
districts. Like Ghaziabad, this is also one of the satellite town of National Capital of Delhi.
However, unlike any other satellite towns, it has become a very prized location for both
manufacturing and servicing national and multinational corporations. Most of the popular
companies now prefer to have their offices in NOIDA town of the district as result of
which it has become a hub of servicing and manufacturing centre of the country. The
development of district as a hub of business activity has a very strong centripetal force of
attracting the both skilled and unskilled labor as well as the capital from other parts of the
country. The pattern of development of the area has provided very strong both forward and
backward linkages for development the basic education and health facilities resulting
upcoming of many big universities, educational institutions and hospitals in the region.
Well developed road, rail, and telecom connectivity with NCT of Delhi has made it a
Gautam Buddha Nagar
Dadri Jewar Sadar
Gautam Buddha Nagar
Bisrakh Dadri
Dankaur
Jewar
154
destination for middle and upper middle class of the northern region of the country. The
strong forces of wide spread urbanization in the district has significant influenced the
type and nature of NGOs upcoming in the district in diverse areas.
Baghpat
Bagpat which was a erstwhile sub division of Meerut district has now become one
of the 71 independent districts of the state. It was originally know as ‘Vyagprastha’-
Land of Tigers ( because of the population of tigers prevailing almost a century ago.) Later
on it was renamed as Bagpat.20 Baghpat town is located on the banks of river Yamuna at
28O57’ North latitude and 77O13’ East Longitude. It is 52 KM from Meerut City and is on
the main Delhi – Daharanpur Highway around 40 KM from Delhi. In the north of the
district Bagpat is another district Muzaffarnagar , in the south district it has adjoining
Ghaziabad, in the west it has river Yamuna separating it from district Rohtak of Harayana.
The shape of the district Bagpat is recutangular which area is more in the north to south than
east to west. It is very closely located to (around 40 KM) the national capital New Delhi.
This district covers an area of 1321 km.The district has a population of 1,163,991.21
The district has three sub-divisions which are, along with their blocks, are depicted
in figure 4.7 as below22 :
Bagpat
Bagpat
Barut
Khekra
155
Figure 4.7: Sub Division and Blocks of Bagpat
District has three tahsil and six blocks 237 Gram Sabha, 46 number of Nyay
Panchyat, 112 post office, and 10 police stations
Unlike G B Nagar, it is largely domination by the rural areas.. All the three Sub-
division of the district- Bagpat, Khekra and Baraut – are largely dominated by rural areas.
Even the district headquarter itself may be characterized as town, the activity of which is
influenced by the surrounding rural areas. With a very alluvial and fertile soil, proximity
with NCT Delhi, Meerut and Ghaziabad, the district has become a major supplier with
needs of agricultural and diary products in the region. Being dominated by the rural areas,
even small towns which came up in the district over the period, largely cater the need of the
rural people. Therefore, the pattern of development of the district has also influenced the
nature and functions of the NGOs which came up in the district during the period of the study.
IA. Socio-economic Indicators of the State and the Region depicting the
State of Women
General Trends in Major Indicators
According to 2001 Census in Uttar Pradesh 36.5 million women are still illiterate
and has highest maternal mortality rate at 70.7 per thousand . Offical statistics reveal that
Uttar Pradesh recorded 2059 dowry deaths during 2000 which is the highest and 30 percent
of reported cases across the country. On the positive side, in the last decade Uttar Pradesh
recorded a healthy growth in female literacy and recent encouraging tend in female to
male ratio in the population. Women, have benefited from the expansion of higher
education and made their mark in cultural, education and administrative fields. A
significant development has been the networking of women’s groups. Issues of domestic
violence , livelihood, caste oppression, and communal division have been raised in
Bagpat
Pilani
Binauli
Chhaprauli
Baraut
Khekra
156
women activeness . Increased participation of women in Panchayats has also rasied hope in
them.
Poverty Ration
Uttar Pradesh however continues to belong to the category of high poverty States.
In 1993-94 the State ranked 11th out the 14 major States of India in poverty levels with
41 Per Cent of persons below the poverty line. The relative position has not significantly
change even as per the estimates of poverty ration available for 2004-05 as although the
poverty rati had declined to about 26% but it remained amongst top 10 states having the
poverty ratio above 20 per cent during the year. One striking feature of poverty in the State
has been that urban poverty ration have remained above the rural poverty ratio expect in
1993-94, though the majority of the poor live in the rural areas. During the period, poverty
levels remained high in UP both in the rural and the urban areas, though year –to- year
fluctuations were observed . Subsequently , poverty levels have slowly declined, although at
a slightly lower rate compared to that at the All India level (Table 4.2)
Table 4.2: Poverty in UP’s Regions
1993-94 in 1999-2000
Region/Sector Poverty
Ratio
Depth of
poverty
(Poverty gap
ratio)
Intensity of
poverty
squared
poverty gap
Share of
poor (%)
Contribution
to total
poverty
Rural-Western 29.6 20.4 1.8 22.3 16.7
Urban-Western 31.0 24.7 2.7 39.9 39.1
Source: Dutta and Sharma , 2000
As a result, there is now a greater concentration of the country’s poor in Uttar
Pradesh. In general, the Western regions show much lower levels of poverty ( Table 4.3) .
Poverty of Uttar Pradesh in western region of rural areas is lower than urban areas.
Table 4.3 Incidence of poverty in Region of Uttar Pradesh in 1999-2000
Region Urban Rural Overall
Official Corrected Official Corrected
Western 30.0 30.5 21.7 22.5 23.9
157
Source : World Bank 2002, p-35
Gender Disparities ; the GDI and the GEM
The Human Development Reports of UNDP have evolved since 1995 two
indicators i.e. Gender Related Development Index (GDI ) and Gender Empowerment
Measure (GEM ) to quantify gender disparities . The GDI focuses on the inequalities in
basic capabilities , that is health, education and access to resources. The HDI is discounted
downwards or adjusted for gender inequality , so that a high GDI value indicates lesser
inequality while a low GDI value would mean lower achievement levels for women in the
three basic sectors mentioned above. The Gender Empowerment Measure seeks to measure the
degree to which women and men command economic, professional and political power. This
is measured by three indicators: per capita incomes, share in professional , technical,
managerical and administrative jobs and share in parliamentary seats. However , caste ,
community, access to fuel and fodder , control over land other assets, inheritance rights,
and violence and the threat of violence also have a direct bearing on women’s status, but do
not get reflected in the GEM.
A comparison of HDI and GDI reveal that in Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, West
Bengal and Rajsthan development has been iniquitous and women did not get equal share
in the development…For Uttar Pradesh, which has the lowest HDI rank as well as the lowest
CDI rank, the challenge is to see how from men and women can move from being equal partners
in slow development to partners in dynamic growth.
In UP, Kanpur (Nagar), Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Meerut and Jhasi have the highest
GDI values. In these districts women have better facilities in health and education
However, in terms of the third component of gender development , namely , the estimated
earned income of women, these districts feature rather low. Lucknow, the State capital , for
instance, has the third highest GDI rank, is placed second on the education index and
score high in health attainments, but ranks eighteenth on the estimates of women’s earned
income. The districts lowest on the GDI ranking order are distributed almost equally in all
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the regions of the State, and are Siddharthnagar, Hardoi, Bahraich, Shahjahanpur, and
Budaun. These districts fare very poorly in all component dimensions of the GDI (
Table 4.4 )
Table 4.4: The HDI, Per Capita Net District Domestic Product, and GDI of districts*
HDI PC NDDP GDI
Districts Rank Value Rank Value Rank Value
Agra 14 0.58 14 1863 16 0.493
Aligarh 30 0.53 20 1669 18 0.488
Bareilly 43 0.49 15 1802 48 0.390
Bijinor 25 0.54 8 1802 48 0.390
Badaun 63 0.40 38 1276 54 0.315
Bulandshahr 18 0.57 10 2078 12 0.509
Etah 50 0.48 27 1467 38 0.423
Etawah 29 0.54 36 1303 44 0.410
Farukhabad 32 0.52 39 1275 35 0.440
Firozabad 34 0.52 27 1293 47 0.400
Ghaziabad 4 0.65 1 3734 2 0.616
Manipuri 27 0.54 34 1350 39 0.420
Mathura 16 0.57 11 2006 13 0.504
Meerut 11 0.60 3 2521 4 0.562
Moradabad 46 0.49 18 1700 41 0.413
Muzaffarnagar 21 0.56 5 2243 10 0.517
Pilibhit 48 0.49 13 1940 40 0.417
Rampur 55 0.47 19 1683 46 0.485
Saharanpur 20 0.56 7 2221 20 0.485
Shajahanpur 57 0.46 17 1721 53 0.324
Barabanki 49 0.48 30 1427 33 0.447
Fatehpur 35 0.51 32 1422 17 0.492
Hardoi 60 0.44 43 1135 51 0.366
Kanpur(Dehat) 22 0.55 26 1497 19 0.487
Kanpur (Nagar) 2 0.69 4 2288 1 0.626
Kheri 42 0.49 22 1616 42 0.1410
Lucknow 6 0.63 6 2236 3 0.595
Rai Bareli 52 0.47 40 1245 34 0.441
Sitapur 56 0.47 33 1352 49 0.389
Unnao 47 0.49 42 1215 29 0.453
159
Banda 40 0.50 31 1425 24 0.469
Hamirpur 36 0.51 16 1726 21 0.484
Jalaun 26 0.54 23 1538 11 0.510
Jhansi 15 0.57 9 2097 5 0.550
Lalitpur 53 0.47 21 1661 32 0.448
Allahabad 38 0.050 29 1431 22 0.474
Azamghar 44 0.49 46 1066 28 0.458
Bahairch 62 0.40 49 991 52 0.364
Ballia 17 0.57 51 944 7 0.53
Basti 54 0.47 52 934 37 0.431
Deoria 45 0.49 48 1034 30 0.452
Faziabad 33 0.52 45 1072 26 0.467
Ghaziapur 28 0.54 47 1044 14 0.499
Goanda 58 0.45 25 1501 45 0.405
Gorakhopur 31 0.53 44 1090 15 0.493
Janupur 39 0.50 53 922 27 0.458
Maharajpur 59 0.45 41 1228 43 0.410
Mau 23 0.55 35 1315 9 0.527
Mirzapur 37 0.50 28 1446 23 0.474
Pratapgarh 51 0.48 50 946 36 0.438
Siddharthnagar 61 0.42 54 758 50 0.386
Sonbhadra 24 0.55 2 3445 8 0.529
Sultanpur 41 0.50 24 1534 31 0.452
Varansai 19 0.56 12 1983 6 0.533
*Excluding the hill district that are now in Uttaranchal
Source : UPHDR
Performance on HDI and GDI
The HDI of a district indicates the level of well-being but this well-being may not
be the same for men and women of the district. There may be large gender disparities.
These gender disparities in human development exist in every district. The higher HDI
values compared to the GDI values of each district. Districts with a high HDI rank but low
GDI rank would show that although the relative level of well being is high, there are large
disparities on the basis of gender. On the other hand, a low HDI rank, but high GDI rank
would indicate that although there is little differential on the basis of gender , achievements
in development of human capabilities are low. The GDI rank is lower than the HDI rank in
160
17 districts of UP. The districts with highest disparity in ranks, Etawah, Firozabad,
Manipuri, Bareilly , and Farukhabad lie in the economically better developed Western
region of the State. This suggests that whatever achievements have been made in human
development have not been equally distributed between men and women.
In 37 districts the GDI rank is either the same as, or higher than the HDI rank,
indicating a relatively equitable development of human capabilities. Eighteen of the 37
districts are in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. This number in the Eastern region, indicate that
greater gender equality in human development does not depend on income level or the
stage of development.
Income levels and GDI
Per Capita Net Districts Domestic Product (PC NDDP ) and GDI do not appear to
move together at all. 29 districts did not fare well with GDI, compared to their rank on the
income scale. 18 of these districts are in the prosperous Western region. The greatest
disvergence is in Shahjahanpur , Bareilly , Pilibhit , Rampur, and Moradabad . These districts
have to ensure that the higher income levels also get translated into socio economic
betterment of women.
In Meerut region , three districts ranking high in terms of per capita income have
also reflected low values of GDI are shown in Figure 4.8 below reflect the fact that high
incomes are not equitable shared by males and females in the region.
Figure 4.8
10 912
1 2 2
7 6 6
0
5
10
15
PC NDDP HDI Rank GDI Rank
Ghaziabad
Bulandshah
r
Ghaziabad Ranked by PC NDDP, HDI and GDI :Districts with higest ranked PC NDDP
161
Female-Male Ratio (FMR)
One of the most discouraging findings of the 1991 Census had been that the proportion of
female in India’s population has declined. In Uttar Pradesh, the Female Male Ratio has been
consistently below the national average and the latest Census shows that this trend
continues. Even throug , there has been a fairly marked improvement with the FMR rising
to 898 from 879 in the 1991 census . Provisional results of the Census for 2001 show
deterioration in the number of girls per 1000 boys in the 0-6 year’s age group This trend
was observed in the nineties in many States i.e. Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Assam, West
Bengal, Orissa , Maharashrta, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
Uttar Pradesh with one of the lowest FMRs in the world and third lowest among
the major States in India need to address several issues of concern as follows:
Infant mortality rates and death rates are much higher in Uttar Pradesh than at the
national level , showing poorer health status ( Figure 4.9)
Figure:4.9
63 64
81 83
0
20
40
60
80
100
Male Female
India
Uttar Pradesh
Infant Mortality Rates , UP and
India , 2000
162
Uttar Pradesh has the highest female death rate in the country . It has the highest
urban female death rate and the third highest rural female death rate (after MP and
Chhattisgarh).
Nationally, male death rates exceed female death rates. Only in Bihar, Uttar
Pradesh and Rajasthan is the opposite true , i.e.., female death rates surpassing male
death trates.
The female infant mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh is third highest in the country with
MP and Orissa surpassing it.
The male female gap in IMR’s and death rates is wider in Uttar Pradesh showing
Greater discriminatory practices.
Infant mortality rates are lower in urban areas compared to rural areas . It is
surprising that the gender gap is higher ( a gap of 19.6 points ) in urden areas
compared to rural areas (gap of 13.4 points) .
Inter-district comparison of FMRs
The figure 4.10 and 4.11 depicts the inter-districts comparison on the basis of
FMR’s in all age groups.
Figure 4.10
1025 1021 1003 984 983 980 978 977 974 961852 851 848 847 847 843 842 841 841 838
0200400600800
10001200
Azamgarh Deoria PratapgarhSant Kabir NagarGhazaipur Hamirpur Bagpat JalaunGautam Buddha NagarMathura
Districts with the highest & lowest female male ratio ( All ages -2001)
163
Figure 4.11
Figure 4.10 and 4.11 reveals that in five district of the Meerut region , FMR is amongst
the lowest varying from 847 in Baghpat to 868 in Bulandshahar ,while in the eastern districts
of the state it is much favorable indicating the fact that gender discrimination especially at
the birth stage is highest in the western UP as compared to its eastern part.
Women and Work Participation rates
According to Census , 2001 , only 16.3 Percent of women , as opposed to 47.3
Percent of men in UP in 2001 were reported as workers. This is because work is one of the
most elusive and complex concepts to grapple .How work is measured depends on how it is
defined, and in the system of National Accounts it is defined and consequently measured
are valued in a way that is patently disadvantageous to women . In the Census ‘work’ has
been defined as ‘participation in any economically productive activity’, this largely , through
not exclusively , includes production for the market. Thus , women’s participation rates are
low because of the definition used to measure work and because of enumeration biases.
Unlike male work participation rates which show only a small spread across districts,
female work participation rates vary dramatically; a miniscule 1.6 Percent in Shahjanhanpur
in Western UP to 16 Percent in CHitrakoot in Bulandshahr (Figure 4.12 ). It is interesting
that the ten districts showing lowest female work participation rates are in the developed
Western region and eight of the ten districts exhibiting high rates lie in the less developed
Eastern and Bundelkhand regions . This is because with prosperity women are withdrawn
977 968 964 963 962 961 960 958 953 952
872 868 866 865 857 855 854 851 849 847
750
800
850
900
950
1000
Districts with the highest & lowest female male ratio (All ages), 2001)
164
from the labour force as a mark of increased status . However, despite district level
differences , female work participation rates are lower than male participation rates . In
UP they are lower than the national average.
Figure 4.12
Even within the agriculture where percentage of female workers is high (84%) as
compared to male workers (72%), according to NSSO data , a larger proportion of women
as compared to men work as agricultural laborers rather than as cultivators . Not only are
earning meager but also with threshers, harvesters and crushers substituting human labour.
Availability of work is declining. This means loss of livelihoods and increased poverty.
Men have the option , albeit a very difficult one , of migrating to find work . Moreover ,
women agriculture workers have to bear the brunt of sexual exploitation at the hands of
feudal , generally upper caste , employers .
In urban Uttar Pradesh , the proportion of women workers in the secondary and
tertiary sectors is roughly the same as men, but within these sectors , the majority ,work in
household industry and the informal sector ,which is characterized by endless work hours,
no holidays , no social interaction, little or no payment, and no recognition . Only 9 percent
of all employees in the organized sector in 1998 were women compared to 91 Percent men .
41.346.3
36.9
43.6 42.3 40.2
46.542.3
3337.9
16.212.7 12 11.8 11.7 10.8 10.5 9.9 9.8 9.7
05
101520253035404550
Male WPR
Female WPR
Districts with highest work participation rates , 2001 (main worker)
165
Conversely , the majority of men engaged in the secondary sector are in non-household
industry.
Informal Sector
Women are in large numbers in the informal sector in UP. Particularly in the
development urban pockets in cities such as Ghaziabad, Lucknow , Kanpur, and Agra. Women are
engaged in all kinds of jobs; construction workers, petty shopkeepers, domestic helpers, beedi
workers and other low-paid workers. The labour market is fiercely competitive, work hours
are long, wages barely allow for subsistence and there is no job security.
Nothwithstanding the emergence of some women in new , non-traditional occupations , the
vast majority of women are still trapped in very traditional stereotypical jobs. There is no
reason , for instance , why women cannot be tempo drivers or bus conductors in UP. In the
industrial category of Trade and Commerce, there were just about 0.7 lakh women workers
in the State compared to about 25 lakh male workers. Similarly in the Transport, Storage
and Communication category there were just 0.07 lakh women, while men were more than
108 times that number.
Female work participation rates for SC/STs are higher than female work
participation rates for other caste groups. The gap between male and female work
participation, is smaller among SC/ST group than in other non-scheduled groups, showing
that more women in these categories go to work. The gap between SC/ST work
Participation rates and those for ‘other’ persists across rural and urban areas, indicating
that the situation in urban areas is not much better. In UP female work participation rates
are lower than the female work participation rate at the national level across all social
groups (except ST urban areas ) and across rural and urban areas.
Organized sector
In the formal sector, women find themselves marginalized, as they comprise only a
small fraction of total employees. The results of the 1991 Census show that the percentage
of women in these relatively better off occupations does not differ greatly across districts-
it only varies from low to very low. The recent estimates of women’s employment in the
organized sector are obtained from the Directorate of Employment and training which
166
collects data for employment in all public establishments. In Uttar Pradesh, women
constitute just about 9 Percent of all employees in the organized sector, which is lower than
the national average of about 16 percent. The most industrialized districts of Kanpur,
Lucknow, and Ghaziabad also show the highest number of women in the organized sector,
while the numbers are very low in the industrially backward districts such as Mahoba, Sant
Ravidas Nagar, and Ambedkar Nagar. The districts with larger number of women in
organized sector are given in Table 4.5.
Table 4.5: Districts With the Largest Numbers of Women in the Organized Sector
1998
Women Employees Women as % all employees
Public
Sector
Private
Sector
Organized
Sector
Public
Sector
Private
Sector
Organized
Sector
Uttar Pradesh 156763 49353 20616 8.63 10.08 8.94
Kanpur Nagar 12727 5983 18710 8.87 11.47 9.56
Lucknow 12002 4346 16348 6.6 21.73 8.1
Ghaziabad 3961 8851 12812 9.25 11.35 10.61
Allahabad 8851 3010 11861 6.53 13.33 7.5
Meerut 5308 2555 7863 9.92 11.2 10.3
Varanasi 5341 1873 7214 6.87 8.07 7.15
Agra 4638 2406 7044 8.76 16.52 10.43
Moradabad 4969 1566 6535 7.28 12.96 8.13
Bareilly 5037 1163 6200 8.78 9.96 8.98
Gorakhpur 4616 1290 5906 8.11 10.9 8.59
Sources: Directorate of Employment & Training , Lucknow
Political Participation
In Uttar Pradesh, the first Legislative Assembly had 13 women, this increased to 29
in 1957 and 30 women in 1985. Their numbers reached a low of 10 in 1991 , but rose to 14
in 1993. The Assembly Elections of 1996 saw only 19 women in the State which remain
almost static thereafter. An intriguing feature of women’s participation in polities is that it
does not appear to be correlated with literacy or other indicators of a women’s status. In
the wake of pervasive marginalization of women, the 73rd Amendment giving reservation
to women in Panchyati Raj institutions offers hope. As a result of this legislation, 33
Percent of the seats at all the three levels─ village, block and district─ of local self-
governance have been reserved for women. In Uttar Pradesh in recent months, Panchyats
167
have been vested with enormous financial and administrative powers, strengthening their
control on schools, health care centers, and infrastructure development and so on. If
Panchayats function effectively, that is, if they can improve the functioning of schools so
that attendance of girls rises, improve access to credit, target vulnerable women for grant of
patta (surplus) land, implement minimum wage legislation and enhance employment
opportunities, they can go a long way in empowering rural women . Panchayats can also
reduce crimes against women.
However, a reservation in Panchayats is a device , not a long term solution. Without
fundamental changes in society , a women sarpanch may not be able to guarantee reform.
Panchayats functioning as massive vested interests and for their function efficiently, public
pressure and awareness is must. The Panchayat elections of June 2000 saw unprecedented
violence. The meaningful participation of women will take place only if crimes are checked
and law and order functions work effectively. Additionally, many of the women elected
lack of education and basic skills and are unaware of government schemes. There have
been disconcerting reports where the deputy pradhans made illiterate women pradhans put
their thumb impression on fraudulent documents. A proper education and training
programme should be launched for women.
The Community
In a deeply stratified caste-defined society like Uttar Pradesh women become pawns of
community and caste honor. The State has the largest population of Scheduled Castes in
the country. Under the category Crimes against weaker sections, NCRB, data for 2000
show that 7330 crimes were registered, which was the highest for the weaker section was
registered each month during 2000. Of the 1865 recorded cases of rape in 2000, 379 (or 20
Percent) were of women from SC/ST’s. Uttar Pradesh has also witnessed served communal
clashes since Independence. Women are often the worst sufferers of such clashes and ritos.
These are time of great crimes against women.
The Family
168
Child sexual abuse, mental torture , beating, perverse sex, denial of food, burning and
murder are among the many sordid forms that violence takes in the home. NCRB data for
2000 show that in Uttar Pradesh, among the crimes against women, the maximum number
of cases (6021) was recorded under the category “Cruelty by husbands and relatives”.
Sexual harassment recorded the highest jump of 40 Percent between 1999-00. Within the
State the highest incidence of cases are recorded in the relatively developed Western
region. The largest number of cases of dowry deaths in the country during 2000 were
reported from UP. This constituted 31.8 Percent of all cases at the national level. Statistics
show that the incidence of dowry deaths has increased between 1999-00 and increase in
Uttar Pradesh was sharper compared to the national level. The highest incidence of
violence against women has been recorded in the developed Western region showing that
economic development has fostered class consumerism, viz.
The rate (crimes per lakh population) and incidence of crime (total number of cases
recorded ) varies sharply across districts and regions. The rate of crime is highest in
the Central and Western regions and lowest in the economically poorer Easter and
Bundelkhand regions.
Correlations between per capita Net District Domestic Product and the total of all
crimes against women at the districts level, showed a negative correlation but this
was not significant at any level.
Low incidence of crimes against women appears to be associated with high female
male ratios. This is so whether we take female male rations for all age groups or only
for the age group 0-14 years . It appears that where women’s status is higher, crimes
against them are lower.
169
High crime rate are associated with the high child mortality rates, both male and
female. Children’s health status, which is also a reflection of women’s health
status, will be favorable where women feel secure and the law order situation is under
control.
Further evidence of the courtship between women’s status and women’s security
shows up in the significant negative correlation between female work participation
rates and rates of crime against women.
An interesting result is that each of the separate crimes that constitute crimes
against women are strongly correlated with each other. So in a district where the
incidence of say, dowry deaths is high, the incidence of sexual harassment or rape is
also likely to be high.
In therefore needs to be stressed that while most other indicators of well being seem to
improve with development, security and more particularly, women’s security do not. This
suggests that relying on development may not achieve one of the most basic human
freedoms, the freedom from fear.
II. Profile of NGOs working in Meerut Region
The Planning Commission, Government of India is a Nodal Organization with
regard to the national policy in the voluntary sector. They have created a portal called
“NGO-Partnership System” and invited all the NGOs irrespective of their location and
areas of operation and registration anywhere in the country under Society Registration Act.
1860 or any other such Act to register on this portal. As per the information available
from the website of the Planning Commission (http://www.planningcommission.nic.in),ve
169 NGOs from the Meerut region have registered on this portal. A list of these 169 NGOs
is given in the Appendix of this Chapter . District –wise spread of these 169 NGOs is given
in the Table 4.6 :
Table 4.6 Location-wise Distribution of the NGOs
170
District Table No. of
NGOs
Of the Col (2), Number of
Functional
NGOs
Non-functional
NGOs
Meerut 50 44 06
Bulandshahr 15 15 0
Ghaziabad 74 59 15
Gautam Budh Nagar 28 22 06 Bagpat 02 02 0
Total 169 142 27
Is was observed that quite a large number of NGOs (i.e 16 percent of the total)
were found to be no-functional or the contact addresses posted by them on the portal were
incorrect. The distribution of functional NGOs across the districts reveals a very significant
observation that, NGOs prefer to function or are functioning in the urban areas as the
districts having relatively large city areas and municipal towns and/or having closer
proximity of NCT of Delhi (Ghaziabad and GB Nagar ) have more number of NGOs. This
pattern is probable due to the fact that in these two districts, although the NGOs have the
offices located in these cities but their actual operational areas might be the NCT of Delhi.
This evident from the fact that, as stated above, Baghpat which is dominated primarily by
The rural areas, probably do not have NGO culture as only two NGOs have come to register
themselves on NGO-PS portal.
Functional classification of NGOs
Like anywhere else in India, when a NGOs is registered under the Society
Registration Act, 1960, in its Memorandum of Association, it is attempted to indicate as
many areas as possible as their operational areas irrespective of their capacity to work in so
many areas in term human and financial resources. This tendency could be on account of
the fact that the particular NGO at the time of its formation itself is not clear in its
functional or focus areas and therefore they attempt to indicate all areas related or similar
to their prime objectives. This phenomenon was observed in these 169 NGOs while
analyzing their MOUs to carve out their exclusively focus areas.
171
District-wise distribution of the functional areas of 169 NGOs registered on the
NGO-PS portal of the Planning Commission is given in Table 4.7 and also presented
graphically in Figure 4.13. The functional distribution given in the table reveals the
following observations:
The functional areas of the NGOs across the districts in order of priority are
education (102), Children (89), health (85), Women Education (78), Vocational
training ( 66), Women’s Education (63) and Environment (62). This implies that
46% (545) of the total sum of functional areas of 169 NGOs focus on these 7 areas.
Table 4.7: District-wise Distribution of Functional Areas of the NGOs
172
S.
No
Issues No. of NGOs mentioned in their MOUs as one of the Functional Areas
listed in Col (2)
Meerut Buland-
shahr
Ghaziaba
d
GB
Nagar
Baghpat Total
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 Education 33 14 38 16 01 102
2 Children 30 09 34 16 01 89
3 Women’s Education 19 11 19 13 0 63
4 Women’s Empowerment 19 11 36 10 01 78
5 Health 22 09 36 16 02 85
6 Minority Women 04 03 16 0 02 23
7 Dalit Up-Liftment 10 06 16 2 0 34
8 Employment 06 07 8 2 0 23
9 Micro Finance (SHGs) 05 06 18 5 0 34
10 Vocational Training 20 08 27 10 01 66
11 Rural Development 12 12 23 8 01 56
12 Motivation & Awareness 10 01 16 2 01 30
13 Youth Affairs 12 02 12 5 01 32
14 Micro, Small & Medium
Enterprises
02 05 5 1 01 14
15 Natural Disaster 05 05 9 6 0 25
16 Poverty 05 10 21 6 01 43
17 Drinking Water 09 12 15 1 01 38
18 ICTs 19 10 8 14 02 53
19 Human Rights 09 04 13 4 01 31
20 Seminar & Workshops 13 01 13 1 28
21 Special Needs of
Handicapped/deaf & dump
02 0 6 3 0 11
22 HIV/AIDS 16 10 19 8 02 55
23 Environments 17 09 29 6 01 62
24 Religious Activists 03 01 4 3 0 11
25 Aged/elder 11 07 10 6 01 35
26 Population 05 06 5 6 01 23
27 Child Labor 08 03 11 8 01 31
326 182 467 178 22 1175
173
Figure 4.13
The pattern turns out to be almost the same even if one looks at the distribution of
functional areas of NGOs in a district, as indicated in the Table 4.8 below :
Table 4.7: District-wise Distribution of Functional Areas of the NGOs
S.
No
Issues No. of NGOs mentioned in their MOUs as one of the Functional Areas
listed in Col (2)
Meerut Buland-
shahr
Ghaziaba
d
GB
Nagar
Baghpat Total
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 Education 33
(20.62%)
14
(19.72%) 38
(17.35%)
16
(20.78%)
01
(10.0%) 102
(18.72%)
2 Children 30
(18.75)
09
(12.68%) 34
(15.52%)
16
(20.78%)
0
(0.0%) 89
(16.33%)
3 Women’s Education 19
(11.89%)
11
(15.49%) 19
(8.67%)
13
(16.88%)
01
(10.0%) 63
(11.56%)
4 Women’s Empowerment 19
(11.89^)
11
(15.49%) 36
(16.44%)
10
(12.99%)
02
(20.0%)
(46.38%)78
5 Health 22
(13.75%)
09
(12.68%) 36
(16.44%)
16
(20.78%)
02
(20.0%) 85
(15.59%)
6 Vocational Training 20
(12.58%)
08
(11.27) 27
(12.33%)
10
(12.99%)
01
(10.0%) 66
(12.11%)
7 Environments 17
(10.62)
09
(12.68%) 29
(13.24%)
6
(7.79%)
01
(10.0%) 62
(11.38%)
Total 160
(49.05)
71
(39.01%)
219
(43.41%)
77
(43.25%)
10
(43.41%)
545
(46.38%)
10187
6478 82
2234
2232
6955
32 2915
27
43 37
56
31 2814
61 62
11
3523
31
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Edu
cati
on
Wo
men
's E
du
cati
on
Hea
lth
Dal
it U
p-l
iftm
en
t
Mic
ro-F
inan
ce
Ru
ral
De
velo
pm
en
t
You
th A
ffai
rs
Nat
ura
l D
isas
ter
Dri
nki
ng
Wat
er
Hu
man
Rig
ht
Spe
cial
Han
dic
app
ed
Emp
ow
erm
ent
Age
d/O
lder
Pe
rso
ns
Ch
ild L
abo
ur
NGOs IN MEERUT REGION
174
The trends in Table- clearly indicates that NGOs in all the five districts have given
relatively more weightage to these five functional areas, viz. Expert in
Bulandshahr, in all other districts, these seven areas are being given more than
40% of the weightage to these areas. In all the districts priority flows down from
education, health, women’s education, women’s empowerment, vocational training and
environmental issues. Only in case of children, no priority seems to be attached
in Baghpat district by two NGOs.
The priority given to these seven areas, particularly to education including women’s
education is that NGOs registered under the Registration of Societies Act, 1860,
instead of providing free and qualitative services to the society are in fact engaged in
flourishing business of public schools in the emerging city areas in these districts.
Getting registered under the said Act make them eligible for seeking expemption
from income tax under the relevant sections of Income Tax Act. This phenomenon
explain MOUs at the time of registration.
Another startling observation is that most deserving areas requiring intervention
by the voluntary sector are help to persons with disabilities, older/aged persons,
drinking water and sanitation, upliftment of marginalized groups like scheduled
castes, violation of human rights, eradication of child labour are not adequately
focused in the regions as majority of the NGOs have not indicated the intervention
in these areas as their functional areas. Even those have included these areas in their
MOU are actually not working in these areas.
It is observed that NGOs indicating ‘rural development’, ‘poverty’, ‘vocational
training’ ‘micro credit’ and ‘employment’ are in fact engaged in the mobilization of
the people especially women for forming the self help group to take the advantage
of the concessional loans under various rural development and poverty alleviation
programmes. During my field work, I did not come across any one NGO who
intends to undertake social audit or evaluation of the poverty alleviation
175
Programmes or in generating the awareness amongst the masses about these
programmes.
The trends in socio-economic indicators especially those reflecting the positing of
women reveals the trends that despite the fact that western region of the State is
economically resourceful in terms of land and labor productivity, per capita income etc but
the indicators reflecting the women status are not only relatively poor as compared to its
eastern part put even lower than the national average. The pattern of functional areas
indicated by the NGOs in their MOU is selected five districts of the Meerut region reflects
the fact they are primarily interested in the area of education in the urban cities where
public schools are in high demand and it turns out to be very profitable venture. The trends
also reveal a clear indication os urban preference by the NGOs while actual need of their
intervention is in rural and small town areas. Moreover , the areas which are most deserving
for the intervention by the NGOs in public-private partnership (PPP) mode remain
unattractive for the NGOs including the issues relating to women empowerment. A detailed
analysis of the functioning of selected NGOs in the next Chapter would further strengthen
the trends emerged from the analysis of overall profile of the NGOs in the selected districts
within the framework of their socio-economic and demographic perspectives.
176
REFERANCE
1. Cf. Atkinson, E.T : Statistical Descriptive and Historical Account of the North
Western Provinces of India, vol.III. Meerut Division, Allahabad, 1897, p.413
Fuhrer, A. – The Monumental Antiquities and inscriptions in the North-Western
Province and Oudh (Allahabad,1891), p.10 …
2. Lal, B.B : “Excavation at Hastinapur and other Explorations in the Upper Ganga
and Sutlej Basins 1950-1952” – Ancient India (Bulletin of Archeological Survey of
India, nos. 10 and 1 1, 1954 and 1955, pp.8-9
3 Lal, B.B, “ The History and Culture of the Indian people, Vol. I ,(Delhi,1955),
p-242
4 Ibid.., p-244
5 Jaw, B.C : Tribes in ancient India, p-23 and Geography of early Buddhism, p-17;
Jain, I.P. , op.cit.., pp.4, 16.
6 Cf. pargiter, F.F : Ancient Indian Historical Tradition ( Lodan 1922) and The
Purana text of the Dynasties of Kali Age, (Oxford, 1913)
7 The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I (Delhi,1955), pp.105, 274;
Tripathi , R.S : History of Ancient India, (Delhi, 1960), p.29; The History and
Culture of the Indian People, Vol. I, p.245
8 Sleeman, W.H, : Rambles and Recollections of an Indian official, edited by Vincent
A. Smith, (Oxford, 1915), p.571
9 http://www.citymayors.com/statistics/urban_az3mr.html
10 Census of India 2001
11 http://www.bulandshahr.nic.in
12 Baghal, Amar Singh : “U.P District Gazetteers, Bulandshahr” ; Pub. By Govt.
of U.P., Lucknow, Aishbag,1980. 13 Ibid, p-61
14 Ibid., p-63
15 http://www.ghaziabad.nic.in
16 encyclopedia of ghaziabad
17 http://www.ghaziabad.nic.in
18 encyclopedia of ghaziabad
19 http://www.gbnagar.nic
20 Ibid
21 Ibid
22 Census 2001
177