Programmes of Ministry of Urban Development at national and state levels . Urban housing schemes in Kerala . Programmes of urban cooperative banks in Kerala.

Bheemraj Ponnappan2nd year MSWRCSS

Ministry of Urban Development at national and state levels

100 Days Agenda of Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation

Rajiv Awas YojanaThe Ministry will formulate Rajiv Awas Yojana for the slum

dwellers and the urban poor in an effort to promote a slum-free India in five years. The scheme will focus on according property rights to slum dwellers/urban poor by States/UTs, providing basic amenities such as water supply, sewerage, drainage, internal and approach roads, street lighting and social infrastructure facilities in slums and low income settlements adopting a ‘whole city’ approach and enabling the construction of houses by the slum-dweller/urban poor through access to subsidized credit.

Inclusion of more cities under JNNURM

When JNNURM was launched on 3rd December 2005, emphasis was laid on cities with population of 10 lakhs and more as per 2001 Census. Now an effort will be made to include cities with population of 5 lakhs and more under JNNURM.

Social Audit of JNNURM (BSUP & IHSDP)

Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) and Integrated Housing & Slum Development Programmed (IHSDP) deal with the human face of JNNURM. Under these, more than 14.5 lakh houses have been sanctioned for the poor all over the country under about 1300 projects. These projects involve an outlay of more than Rs 33,706 cores and Additional Central Assistance (Grant) commitment of Rs.18,384 cores. To ensure that the benefits of projects under JNNURM reach the 3 intended poor beneficiaries and that the projects are implemented in a participatory manner involving the poor, independent social audit will be launched for BSUP and IHSDP projects.

Affordable Housing for AllFollowing the National Urban Housing & Habitat Policy 2007 and

Repot of the High Level Task Force on Affordable Housing for All, headed by Shri Deepak Parekh, the Ministry will set up two committees for i. working out the parameters for estimating the number of households under three categories of ‘affordability’ – Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Low Income Group (LIG) and Lower Middle Income Group (LMIG)

ii. promotion of housing micro finance company which may be

permitted to take household savings as deposits.

A dialogue will be initiated with all stakeholders to prepare model bill for regulating the real estate sector.

Skill Development of the Urban Poor

Skill development programme for employment promotion for the urban poor will be launched to enable them to access wage employment offered by the market or undertake self-employment. The target will be 10 lakhs over the next 5 years, starting with 2 lakhs in 2009-10. Focus will be on imparting quality training and skill certification through reputed institutions or skills training providers so that the urban poor 4 youth will be enabled to enhance their income and improve their living conditions. At least 30% of the trainees shall be women.

Capacity Building to Address Issues of Slums & Poverty

States/UTs would be supported to catalyze State and City

Resource Centers (covering cities with population of 1 lakh or more) to serve as resources for the urban poor for employment-related information, market assessment, skill development, training, placement, etc. These centers will also promote measures to improve transparency, Right to information, accountability, responsiveness, community participation and sensitivity to the issues faced by the poor including slum-dwellers. The objective is to create/enhance human resource and institutional capacity to implement programmes for the urban poor who need support of the Government the most.

KERALA STATE HOUSING POLICY 2011IntroductionSafe and secure shelter is one of the basic needs of human being and right to shelter has been recognized as a fundamental human right in international covenants. The International Covenant of United Nations on economic, social and cultural rights, to which India is a signatory, upholds the right to adequate housing as a human right. Article 21 of the Constitution of India which defines the protection of life and personal property encompasses the right to shelter and right to livelihood also which are integral to the dignified living of the individual.

Need for New PolicyTaking stock of experiences from the housing programmes as well as focusing on the

growth trends of the socio-economic fabric of the society, the following aspects necessitate a new policy in

1) Recognizing the housing needs as a rights based demand of the citizen;

2) Intensifying efforts for meeting the housing needs of the marginalized sections of the society especially SCs and STs, fishermen, the landless, destitute, women-headed households and the poorest of the poor;

3) Intervening effectively in meeting the housing stock gap of 12 lakhs during the 12th

Five Year Plan;

4) Realizing the specific features of the rural urban continuum pattern development of

Kerala, coupled with the shift of the population to the urban areas and expansion of

informal labor market;

5) Demand for regional development plan, taking care of supply of quality basic services and creation of the social infrastructure;

6) Design of development plan integrating the concerns for ecology, environment,

climatic change etc in a habitat mode approach;

Conti….7) Integration of livelihood support mechanism with the housing programmes;

8) Creation of regulatory structure to arrest the unhealthy trends and resolve issues of

dispute in the housing sector;

9) Redefining the role of the State in the capacity as a Facilitator, Catalyst, Builder and Regulator.

VISIONIn short, the policy envisages the promotion of sustainable development of the habitat with the objective to ensure adequate and affordable housing for all, ensuring supply of quality basic services with integrated livelihood mechanisms and special focus on the needs of the poor, marginalized and disadvantaged on a rights based framework for the accomplishment of “Adequate and Affordable Housing for All” in sustainable habitat mode, facilitating inclusive growth.

Housing Scenario in the State

Population and Urban ScenarioAs per census 2011 the population of Kerala is 3,33,87,677, the rural and urban population split up being 1,74,55,506 and 15932171, respectively. In other words, the rural population constitutes 52.28%, and urban 47.72% of the entire population. The decadal percentage of urban population has increased from 29.96% in 2001 to 47.72% in 2011. This shows the high rate of urbanization taking place in Kerala which is the third among the States in India having the highest share of urban population.

Housing Profile in Kerala

As per 2001 census, the numerical shortage of housing in 2001 was estimated as 63,000 units, excluding the number of dilapidated houses. The total number of dilapidated houses as per the 2001 census was 5.38 lakhs and another 4.5 lakh residential units were required for accommodating the newly formed households. According to the census figures of 2001, while 51.8% of households lived in permanent houses and 30% in semi-permanent houses at the all India level, corresponding figures in the State were 68% and 21.60% respectively. The projected requirement for the next five years was 10 lakhs.

Housing Programmes and Implementing Agencies

At present, the major State government aided housing schemes for the economically weaker sections are the EMS Total Housing Scheme, Tribal Housing Scheme, New Suraksha Housing Scheme, schemes of SC & ST departments, Fishermen Housing Scheme, Bhavanasree, Asraya and MN Lakshamveedu Punar Nirmana Padhathi. Centrally sponsored housing schemes such as Indira Awas Yojana, Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY), Integrated Housing and Slum Development Project (IHSDP), Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP), National Fishermen Welfare Fund (NFWF), Interest Subsidy scheme for Housing the Urban Poor (ISHUP), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) etc. are also aimed at providing financial assistance for constructing houses to the poor and Economically Weaker Sections in the State. Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission targets, acceleration of supply of land, shelter and infrastructure with special attention to provision of basic service to urban poor and upgradation of slums. The newly introduced scheme of Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) also focuses on resolving the emerging needs of poor people in slums due to urbanization.

The aims of the Kerala State Housing Policy 2011(i) Creation of adequate and affordable housing stock on ownership and

rental basis on a right based framework.

(ii) Meeting the special needs of SC/ST/disabled/fishermen/traditionally employ slum dwellers, elderly women, street vendors and other weaker and vulnerable sections of the society.

(iii) Facilitating accelerated supply of serviced land and housing with particular focus to EWS and LIG categories

(iv) Facilitating up gradation of existing decaying housing stock and extending the shelf life of the house.

(v) Facilitating all dwelling units to have easy accessibility to basic services of sanitation, drinking water, power, waste disposal and social infrastructural

facilities like education, health and transport.

Cont….(vi) Adopting participatory approach in the design of public housing programmes taking into account end-user concerns.

(vii) Promotion of larger flow of funds to meet the revenue requirements of housing and infrastructure

(viii) Forging strong partnerships between private, public and cooperative sectors to enhance the capacity of the construction industry to participate in every sphere of housing and infrastructure

(ix) Promoting cost effective, environment friendly technologies for modernizing the housing sector to increase efficiency, productivity, energy efficiency and quality

CONT…xii) Skill up gradation programmes enabling the workers to move up the wage chain in

employment.

(xiii) Removing legal, financial and administrative barriers for facilitating access to

tenure, land, finance and technology.

(xiv) Facilitating, restructuring and empowering the Institutions at State and Local

Governments to mobilize land, planning and financing for housing and basic

amenities.

(xv) Providing disaster resistant technology, protecting housing and habitat

CONCLUSION

The Government will promote and foster activities towards the creation of an environment, enabling all stakeholders in the housing sector to contribute for the growth of the sector. The State Government targets to launch housing schemes to ensure adequate and affordable housing to all, on a sustainable habitat development mode, integrated with livelihood support systems and special focus on the needs of the poor and economically weaker sections of the society on rights based approach. The Government will attempt to overhaul the legal, financial and institutional framework so that the development is facilitated with contributions from public, private, co-operatives, NGOs etc. The ultimate objective of the policy is to ensure “adequate and affordable housing for all leading to sustainable development of human settlement, providing livelihood support programmes

CO- OPERATIVE BANKS IN KERALA –AN OVERVIEW In Kerala

The Co-operative movement has spread its wings in almost all walks of life. The spread and growth of co-operatives in different sectors were nurtured under development plans with government initiative and government finance.

The word “Co-Operation” is derived from the Latin word ‘Co-operaie’, which means ‘work together’. In the ordinary sense, co-operation means ‘working together jointly’. The term co-operation implies a common endeavor with a common end.

Cont….The Indian Co-operative Societies Act of 1912 Section 4(c) considers a co-operative society as “a society which has the object, the promotion of the economic interests of its members in accordance with co-operative principles Co-operative Movement in Kerala Co-operative Movement in Kerala started even before the formation of Kerala state. There were three administrative units in the erstwhile Kerala-Travancore, Cochin and Malabar. In 1949, Travancore and Cochin merged in to a single state known as Travancore- Cochin State. Kerala state was formed in 1956 by merging all the three units.

Co-operative Movement in Travancore

In Travancore the first co-operative society registered under the Travancoe Co-operative Societies Act, 1914 was Trivandrum Central Co-operative Bank. Then it was formed as the present Kerala State Co-operative Bank

Then the liability of the societies was changed in to ‘limited’ from 1918 onwards. Land Mortgage Bank was formed in 1932 to provide long-term loans for a period of 10 to 20 years on the security of land. In 1963 it was renamed as Land Development Bank.

Co-operative Movement in CochinThe Cochin Co-operative Societies Act was enacted in 1913. The first co-operative society registered under this Act was ‘Advanced Co-operative Society’. It was a credit society with unlimited liability. The Cochin Central Co-operative Bank was formed in 1918; it was based on British co-operative movement. The long term loans were supplied by Cochin Central Co-operative and Mortgage Bank. The area of operation was limited to Cochin.

Co-operative Movement in MalabarMalabar district and Kasrgod Taluk was governed by Madras Co-operative Societies Act of 1932. In Malabar, there were producers and consumers co-operative societies having large share capital. The Malabar Co-operative Central 83 Bank registered in 1917 at Calicut rendered much service in providing loans to primary co-operatives

Primary Credit SocietiesThe organization of primary agricultural credit societies dates back to 1904 when the Indian Co-operative society’s Act was passed. These societies were formed to provide cheap credit to the agriculturists with a view to make them free from the clutches of moneylenders

Central cooperative banksAll India Rural Credit Survey Committee recommended that there should be only one Central Bank in a district, so it is also called District Co-operative Banks (DCB).At the end of March 2005 there were 365 Central Co-operative Banks in India whereas in Kerala there were 14 Central Co-operatives Banks. Membership of a Central Co-operative Bank generally consists of primary co-operative credit societies and other types of primary societies working in the area of its operation.

Primary Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Banks. (PCARDB) (Land Development Banks)

A Primary Agricultural and Rural Development Bank is a co-operative institution advancing long term loans to the agriculturists who were members, on the security of landed assets. Before 1963 they were known as Land mortgage banks. It has a two-tier structure - Primary Land Development Banks in each subdivision and State Co-operative Land Development Bank at the State level. In Kerala, they are called Primary Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (PCARDB) and State Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (SCARDB) respectively.

Kerala State Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (SCARDB). (Central Land Development Bank

The Kerala State Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Bank is a federation of agricultural development banks in the state. It is an Apex Bank and also the financing bank of the Primary Development Banks. The main aim of the bank is to raise long term funds by the issue of debentures and to finance Primary Agricultural Development Banks affiliated to it .The policy of the government is to 88 establish one State Agricultural Development Bank for every state. The area of operation of the bank extends to the whole of the state. The membership of the bank is open to all Primary Agricultural Development Banks in the state. Apart from these, the State Government and the Kerala State Electricity Board have also become members in the bank.

Non-Agricultural Credit SocietiesCredit is needed not only by rural agriculturists, but also by all urban poor also. They may be labourers or workers having fixed income. For meeting their financial requirements, Co-operative Non-agricultural Credit Societies are formed. Co-operative Urban Banks and Employee’s Credit Societies come under non-agricultural credit societies

Urban Co-operative BanksUrban Co-operative Banks are primary credit societies working in the urban areas. Non-agriculturists such as small merchants, traders, artisans, wage earners and professionals are admitted as members. An Urban Bank provides short term and medium term loans to its members for non-agricultural purposes. They also accept deposits of various types and work in the style of commercial banks. The Reserve Bank has the right to inspect and supervise these banks as they come under the purview of the Banking Regulation Act of 1949

Self Help Groups (SHGs)

An important development in the state under peoples planning programme is the rapid growth of Self Help Groups. (SHGs) SHG is defined as “a small, economically homogeneous and cohesive group of poor people who voluntarily come together to save small amounts, mutually agreeing to contribute to a common fund, to meet their emergency needs on mutual help basis, to have collective decision making, to provide collateral free loans and get collective bank loans for productive and profitable work”. They have been promoted by “Ayalkootams” and “Gramasabhas”, the products of local level planning

Kudumbasree ProjectsKudumbasree is a poverty eradication project officially launched in the state in May 1988. The state Government and NABARD jointly implemented this project through local bodies. The project emphasizes the empowerment of women through their co-operation and mobilization of their small savings and utilization of their savings for starting micro enterprises. The Neighbor Hood Groups (NHG) will collect small savings from its members and act as an informal rural bank. It also acts as a rural marketing network for marketing their own products and products of other NHGs. There is a three-tier system for the implementation of the project at the bottom level there are NHGs formed by 15-40 adult women,

Micro CreditMicro Credit can be defined as provision of thrift, credit and other financial services and products of very small amount to the poor in rural, semi-urban and urban areas with the sole aim to enable them to raise their income level and standard of living through Self Help Groups