A Comfed Zone
In Lalooland
Bihar today is a synonym for all things bad. From economy to education and governance to social degradation-everything is at its nadir. Most of all, the economy. In a depressing scenario where a total of 54 state-owned corporations are helplessly swimming in an ocean of red, a lone cooperative federation is quietly spearheading the state's white revolution and actually making a tidy profit.
Comfed, or the Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation Ltd, is Bihar's only cash cow. Its "Sudha" brand milk and products are already the flavour of the state. The federation's annual turnover of Rs 300 crore accounts for almost 10 per cent of the state's gross domestic product of Rs 3,200 crore, easily outstripping any other state unit in performance.
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70
p.c. slum dwellers from UP, Bihar
Source:
The Hindu SEPT. 21,2002
An
internal sample survey carried out by the Slum Department
of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has revealed a large
number of interesting and at times surprising facts about
the Capital's slum dwellers.
Carried out last month as part of the MCD drive to relocate
more than 75,000 jhuggis from the Yamuna Pushta, the survey
gives details about various aspects of the slum dweller's
life including their place of origin, duration of stay in
the Capital, average family size, education, age-profile,
occupation, distance from place of work, pattern of expenditure
and savings.
Contrary to the recent reports of the National Capital
Regional Planning Board (NCRPB), the survey concludes that
more than 70 per cent of the slum dwellers are from Uttar
Pradesh (42.2 per cent) and Bihar (29.2 per cent).
The NCRPB survey on migration had put Rajasthan and
Haryana above Bihar. Only 4.8 per cent of the slum dwellers
are from Rajasthan and 1.4 from Haryana. Nearly 10 per cent
of these come from West Bengal. Surprisingly, 4.6 per cent
of the inhabitants of Delhi live in slum clusters.
The survey, which will help the city planners to have a
clear-cut policy for slum dwellers, also indicates that
over the past five years there has not only been a decline
in migration but there has also not been a substantial increase
in their population. As per the survey, more than 96 per
cent of the slum dwellers have been staying here for more
than six years. Of these 33.2 per cent has been living for
over 15 years.
Well aware that election identity card is a must for them
to prove their credentials in the Capital, nearly 98 per
cent of them possess the card. As against the declining
sex ratio of the Capital, it is almost equal in the slum
clusters, the report says.
On the education front, a vast majority of slum dwellers
are illiterate, a little over 40 per cent left their studies
before Class X, only 4.5 per cent are matriculate and a
mere one per cent have passed the Class XII examination.
Given their age profile, it seems there is no scope for
senior citizens in the slums as after they become non-productive,
the people go back to their States. But at the same time,
nearly one-third of the slum population is below the age
of ten. And if the population between 10-20 years of age
is taken into consideration, over 55 per cent have not crossed
the adolescent stage. Only 10 per cent of the slum population
cross the age of 40 years.
Over two-thirds of earning members are between the age
group of 20 to 40. While the average size of a family in
a
slum is five, in nearly three-fourth of the families there
is only one earning member. Nearly one-third of them are
unskilled labourers, and more than one-fourth do jobs in
private companies. While, 13 per cent of them are petty
vendors, 14 per cent skilled labourers, 4.6 per cent rickshaw
pullers, 3.2 per cent kabaris and 3.3 per cent drivers.The
revelation that nearly 90 per cent of the slum dwellers
stay within less than 8 km of their place of work reflects
why the relocation policy of the administration has failed
to take off and explains why they sell their plots at the
resettlement sites and come back again near their work place.While
the average per capita income per annum comes to Rs. 7,368,
one-third of them earn between Rs. 18,000 and 24,000. Only
two per cent of
slum dwellers have an annual income of more than Rs.
60,000 per annum. Still with this meagre income, these
people are able to save some money as their average
expenditure is Rs. 561 per month. The survey revealed that
the entertainment expenditure for the majority of them was
less than Rs. 50 per month per family. However, over two-thirds
possess a television set and one-third a
room-cooler.
Also, 90 per cent of them pay up to Rs. 200 per month as
electricity charges to the local power mafia and nearly
half of them own a bicycle.
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Meagre
allocations upset Childline NGOs
SOURCE:TOI,
26 Sep, 2002
Children
from Bihar and Jharkhand form the largest number of runaway children
who have to be repatriated back to their states, according to
a Childline Delhi report released recently at the National Childline
Directors meet in Goa.
In Patna, some 12,337 individuals dialled the number 1098. Over
the last fiscal, 132 children were given emergency medical help,
135 shelter, 87 lost or runaway children were re-united with families,
and 18 were rescued from abuse in Patna alone.
While the ministry of social justice and empowerment (MoSJ&E)
showcases Childline - the 24 hour emergency service for children
in distress as one of its success stories, the NGOs who run the
programme, are none too pleased - especially those in Bihar, UP
and Delhi. For, shoe-string allocations and an increasing mandate
to Childline are encroaching on the NGOs circle of activities.
Childline is a statutory body as per the Juvenile Justice Act
2000, which is a partnership of the Childline India Foundation
(CIF) and the Government of India on the one hand and 125 NGOs
on the other. These NGOs run Childline, with a staff of volunteers
funded by the MoSJ&E.
At the fifth Childline National Directors’ meet, Patna Childline
Director Sanat Sinha protested the unreasonable shoe-string budget
allocation, and questioned the ministry’s viewpoint that it was
only able to give support and that partner NGOs should raise their
own resources.
According to Sinha and other directors, the success of Childline
is largely due to the personal credibility of NGOs, and if the
government wanted to take all the credit, it had better come up
with realistic funds as well. MoSJ&E joint secretary Jayati Chandra
told Childline directors at the Goa meet that the funds allocated
to Childline Partners were the highest paid out to NGOs, and as
such, the funds were all about support and not meant to cover
all expenses.
“If
the Ministry was able to do everything, then why would we need
NGOs? NGOs should generate their own resources as well. It is
all about partnership, and we do think that things have worked
out fairly well.”
Even in a B grade city like Patna, the budget is a major hurdle
for Childline. “We are in need of a support agency for Childline,
but bodies in the field of emergency care are reluctant to come
forward, just because of the unreasonable honorariums we are supposed
to pay phone counsellors and staff. For example, the director
of a reputed hospital was shocked at the Rs 700 salary for phone
counsellors.
She said, our sweepers take home almost Rs 5,000 a month, do you
expect us to recruit educated counsellors for such a sum?” said
Sinha. The allocation for medical expenses for the children in
distress is about Rs 12,000 per annum.
Said Christina Alexander from a Patna NGO, “We just had a case
of a child with multiple fracture referred from interior Sasaram.
The operation, and therapy, with all the concessions and goodwill
still cost us Rs 16,000. We are a resource organisation for Childline
but are not too keen on being elevated to resource centre. The
reason is, why should we get involved with tonnes of paper work
and government interference, when the entire medical allocation
for the city cannot address a single emergency case?”
Free
legal aid for rights fight
01 October 2002, Jamshedpur, India
Source: The Telegraph India
Victim I: Thirty-five-year old Pratibha Rao was regularly tortured
for dowry. The housewife from Kanchan Nagar in Burmamines wanted
to file a complaint against her in-laws with the National Human
Rights Commission.
But she backed out considering the expenses involved in the procedure.
Victim II: For Malati Sahay, her only son had become a nightmare.
He worked in a local computer firm and had been torturing his
mother ever since his father died in a road accident three years
ago. When the pain became unbearable, Malati thought of moving
the NHRC as a last resort.But there was no one to guide the elderly
widow as to how to register a complaint with the commission.
Like Pratibha and Malati, several women in distress think of approaching
the NHRC but ultimately back out either because they do not know
the procedure or fear the expenses involved, as the commission’s
headquarter
is in New Delhi. But now help would be available at their doorstep.
The All-India Victims’ Assistance Group (AIVAG), an affiliate
of the National Human Rights Commission, began operating from
the city on Sunday alarmed by the rising cases of atrocity against
women and violation of Child Labour Act.
Victims of physical or mental torture can approach the assistance
group to
lodge a written or verbal complaint at the AIVAG office on Kalimati
Road.
President of All-India Victims’ Assistance Group Motilal
Choudhary said the objective behind opening the office was to
take care of the complaints by women, senior citizens, children
and bonded labourers. "The office would remain open for 24
hours and provide necessary help to persons from all sections
of the society, whenever they are in need," Choudhary said.
Government schools on road to information highway
Source:
The Telegraph India,01
October 2002, Jamshedpur
Students
surfing the Net in computer labs is a common sight in private
schools but their counterparts in Government-aided schools can
only
dream of such facilities.
But the days are not far off when Government high schools in the
State
would be provided with computer sets, thanks to the Vidya Vahini
project.
The State Government plans to launch the project in association
with the
Union human resources development ministry, under which 10 computer
sets will be given away to high schools in select districts. The
Centre would
bear the expenses of the scheme. The project entails comprehensive
job-oriented computer education for high school students in at
least 10
districts of the State. Under the project computer labs would
be set up in
select district high schools with necessary infrastructure including
e-mail
and Internet facilities and a host of other software applications.
Sources in
the state education department said the Union human resources
development ministry is all set to implement the project throughout
the
country within a few months. In Jharkhand, it would select at
least 10
districts. The selected schools would be connected to the World
Wide Web,
which would keep the students updated about latest developments.
According to Minister of State for education Sudarshan Bhagat,
the State
Government was yet to select the districts where the project would
be
implemented. The Centre plans to select those schools, which have
a
good performance record. "Implementation of the project would
mean
moving a step ahead in our ongoing education reforms. It is an
ambitious
project and we are thinking seriously about implementing it as
the scheme
would not only improve the academic standard of high schools but
also
help the students pursue their career in IT after they pass out,"
the Minister
said.
Sources told The Telegraph that the State education department
has
already held two rounds of discussion with the HRD Ministry for
effective
implementation of the scheme in the State.
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