My brief experience documenting ‘Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction’ practices

The first South-South Citizenry Based Development Academy on Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) was organized in the Bhuj city of Kutch district of Gujarat in India from 26-30 January, 2010 by All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI). The participants were from 11 South & South-East Asian counties and 9 different states of India. I was fortunate to be a part of the academy. At 21, I was the youngest participant in the academy.

I wrote this post more than 5 years ago and re-posting it without any edits, so please excuse a few grammatical errors. Re-posting (as-it-is) my brief experience of around Eight months documenting CBDRR cases in Gujarat and Bihar while interning with the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) in Ahmedabad. With the recently concluded World Conference on ‘Disaster Risk Reduction’ in Sendai, Japan by UNISDR, recollecting one of the many experiences in Kutch, Gujarat and why CBDRR should be promoted and facilitated.

The recovery of the people of Kutch after the devastating earthquake had been remarkable. The communities in Kutch not only recovered from the disaster but also made themselves resilient against any such future calamity. It was the citizens of Kutch who led the recovery and not the Government or an NGO.

“Only after you lose everything, you are free to become anything” and the people of Kutch achieved everything by their resilience and community-participation. They stood for each other and faced all the hard-ships with unity. Their love and passion for their mother-land is immense.

The NRIs belonging to Kutch came for help immediately and are still taking care of their villages in many different ways. One of the NRI residing in New York tried to replicate the model of a New York village in his own village in Bhuj by making certain modifications.

The resilience is within the communities of Kutch. The communities were not greedy about the relief materials. They acted very responsibly and helped the other communities which were in more need than themselves. We have an example of Nagor village where the communities were self-sufficient and hence denied all the help that was extended towards them. They not only denied the help but guided the agencies about the villages which were in more need.

The Government provided such an environment which enabled excellent co-ordination between NGOs, Donor agencies, Media as well as the Communities. The SOS Village for children happily accepted 2500 children during the time of earthquake and then gradually found their families and released them. The children whose families were not found are still being taken care of.

The communities are taking care of the interests of children, women, dalits and even cattles. They keep a stock of food-grains and fodder for the cattle for entire year. Women are having good representation on Panchayats and many SHGs are working exceptionally well, helping in building schools and various other important activities.

The communities of Kutch are of enterprising nature and had faced the disaster and recovered with dignity exhibiting excellent confidence and courage which is the symbol of Kutch and its people. The recovery was not only on physical structure but also reliving the social-fabric.

Role of Urban Poor in Participatory Budgeting in Pune

-By Naim Keruwala

“If liberty and equality, as is thought by some are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost.” – Aristotle

According to Schedule XII of the Constitution of India (74th Constitutional Amendment), urban local bodies are responsible for urban poverty-alleviation. A budget reflects the efficiency and priorities of a government. Municipal budgets play a crucial role in reducing poverty and facilitating the social and economic development of the poor and the marginalised.

Pune has a population of 3.5 million people (excluding the twin city of Pimpri-Chinchwad), 40% of whom live in slums. Responding to this reality, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) claims to ‘allocate/budget’ 40% of its budget expenditure towards the urban poor. The Pune Municipal Corporation’s budget has substantially increased in the past decade, from a mere Rs 487.37 crore in 2001-02 to Rs 2,962 crore in 2012-13.

While allocation towards the urban poor has correspondingly increased, the methodology to calculate this allocation remains flawed. Code ‘P’ has been assigned by the PMC to works targeted at the urban poor, and a separate sheet is presented in budget documents under the head ‘P Budget’. In the fiscal year 2013-14, the PMC allocated Rs 1,666.67 crore to the urban poor; the amount decreased to Rs 1,633.83 crore in the current fiscal. These figures include the following:

Sr. No	Particulars	Percentage share
1	BSUP	100% allocation treated as ‘P’ Budget
2	Primary Education	100% allocation treated as ‘P’ Budget
3	Secondary Education	100% allocation treated as ‘P’ Budget
4	Clinics & Hospitals	100% allocation treated as ‘P’ Budget
5	Roads & Electricity	75% of allocation towards roads & electricity treated as ‘P’ budget
6	Road Sweeping	75% of the allocation towards roads sweeping & cleaning treated as ‘P’ budget
7	Cultural Centers	40% of the total allocation towards cultural centers treated as ‘P’ budget
8	Solid Waste Management	40% of the total allocation under SWM is treated as ‘P’ budget
9	JNNURM	15% of the total allocation for JNNURM is treated as ‘P’ budget
10	Roads	15% of the roads department budget treated as ‘P’ budget

Thus, instead of targeted programmes and a long-term vision for poverty-alleviation, a percentage of the overall budgets for city services is treated as allocation for the urban poor. This oversimplification has not helped much. In the current budget year (2014-15), of the Rs 1,633.83 crore claimed to be targeted at the urban poor, almost 1/4th is towards roads!

The biggest problem lies in assessing the impact of such programmes, as actual expenditure is not published separately and one has to go through every line of the 600-page document and mark every item under code ‘P’. Moreover, it has been the general observation across various ULBs that most of the projects not directly targeted at the urban poor are notional in nature. A road constructed to connect the central business district to the airport might pass through a slum and the cost of that entire stretch along the slum may be treated as part of the ‘P Budget’.

Participatory budgeting

This makes participation of the urban poor in envisioning, planning and budget-making crucial. Participatory governance is about getting citizens to participate in the decision-making processes that only officials and politicians are otherwise involved in. In recent times, participatory budgeting has become one of the most important tools of civic engagement.

Participatory budgeting is a democratic process of deliberation by citizens, civic officials and elected representatives on issues that need attention and collective decision-making on inclusion in the budget of the government. This process helps citizens voice their opinions and decide how to allocate part of a municipal or public budget towards the improvement of their neighbourhoods. Participatory budgeting empowers citizens to present their demands and priorities for improvement, and influence through discussion and negotiation, budget allocations made by their municipalities. It is an opportunity for citizens to decide on the allocation and distribution of public expenditure in their area or region.

The New York City Participatory Budgeting website defines participatory budgeting thus: “Participatory budgeting lets the whole community participate in decision-making. It’s a year-long process of public meetings, to make sure that people have the time and resources to make wise decisions. Community members discuss local needs and develop proposals to meet these needs. Through a public vote, residents then decide which proposals to fund.”

It’s been 24 years since the concept originated, but only a few cities in India — Bangalore, Mysore and Pune — have experimented with participatory budgeting. In 2001, Bangalore became the first Indian city to implement participatory budgeting, thanks to the local NGO, Janaagraha. The campaign resulted in citizens’ budget priorities being approved in over 20% of the city’s wards. As time passed, however, the concept lost ground in Bangalore. In 2006, Pune implemented participatory budgeting for the first time and got a massive response from citizens as well as city-based NGOs Janwani, National Society for Clean Cities (NSCC), Centre for Environment Education (CEE) and Nagrik Chetna Manch, amongst others.

Pune has always been a city with an active citizenry. A public meeting of the PROOF (Public Records Of Operations and Finance) programme organised by Janaagraha in Bangalore was attended by Dr Nitin Kareer, then municipal commissioner of the Pune Municipal Corporation. In 2006, Kareer discussed the idea of citizens’ involvement in budgeting with PMC Standing Committee members, but the idea was not accepted; one of the members even termed the proposal the ‘death of democracy’. Multiple public meetings were conducted, with one by NSCC in October 2005 drawing over 100 participants. Following this meeting, citizens and organised groups gave their requests for budget works to their ward offices, marking the commencement of citizen participation in Pune’s budgeting process.

However, when elections were announced and the general body dissolved, the new general body opposed participatory budgeting. It later accepted the process following the efforts of civil society organisations.

Under participatory budgeting, each prabhag (comprising two electoral wards) in Pune is allocated a budget of Rs 5 million, with the maximum limit of a single project not exceeding Rs 500,000. There are 76 prabhags in Pune; each prabhag can implement any number of projects but the total amount cannot exceed Rs 5 million and the cost of each project cannot exceed Rs 500,000. Hence, an upper limit of Rs 38 crore has been set on allocation towards participatory budgeting.

New York City’s annual budget is approximately $ 50 billion and the allocation towards participatory budgeting is $ 10 million, whereas the Pune Municipal Corporation’s annual budget is Rs 4,000 crore and the allocation towards participatory budgeting is Rs 38 crore, a much higher proportion than New York City. Even though New York City allocates a much smaller share of its budget towards participatory budgeting, the proportion of participation by citizens is much higher than in Pune and knowledge management on the process and results is commendable.

Process of participatory budgeting in Pune

The PMC publishes an advertisement in the local newspapers inviting suggestions from the people by July/August each year. Citizens submit their suggestions at respective ward offices; these are compiled and sent to the prabhag samiti. It is the prabhag samiti that has the authority to approve or reject suggestions on the basis of public necessity and feasibility. Approved suggestions are forwarded to the accounts department which scrutinises and prepares the final list of works suggested for incorporation in the budget.

While the initial years saw a lot of enthusiasm among citizens, the participation graph has seen a sharp decline in the recent past. This recovered due to the intervention of local organisations such as Janwani and CEE. Participatory budgeting for the year 2012-13 in Pune witnessed only 600 suggestions from citizens, in a city with a population of over 3.5 million people. The number increased to 3,300 in 2013-14 and 6,000 in 2014-15. While citizens’ participation has seen a recovery, allocation towards participatory budgeting by the authorities hasn’t.

Allocation made by PMC for Participatory Budgeting (PB)
Year	Total Budget (in Rs Crores)	Allocation for PB (in Rs Crores)	Percentage of PB against Total Budget
2007-2008	1713.04	17.62	1.02
2008-2009	1575.31	27.27	1.73
2009-2010	2031.64	35.00	1.72
2010-2011	2335.23	30.16	1.29
2011-2012	2776.56	34.73	1.25
2012-2013	2962.11	26.24	0.88
2013-2014	4167.48*	29.52	0.71
2014-2015	4180.02*	35.56	0.85

*Budgeted amount |Source: PMC Budget

The allocation, which was 1.73% of the total budget in 2008-09, fell to 0.71% of the total budget in 2013-14. Owing to waning enthusiasm and participation of citizens, the PMC had hinted at withdrawing the practice of participatory budgeting. But a number of workshops and seminars, and media coverage, revived the lost spirit of the citizens, as a result of which the number of works suggested by citizens increased almost three times during the period 2012-13 to 2014-15.

The way ahead

One of the weakest links in participatory budgeting in Pune is low participation by women, the urban poor and dalits in the city. Women constitute almost half of Pune’s population but their participation in the process of governance remains extremely low. There is no study to substantiate this but it has been a general observation that more than 70% of suggestions submitted under participatory budgeting are from the upper-middle class, and men.

Low participation from the marginalised sections is also reflected in the allocations made under participatory budgeting. In the current fiscal year, of the Rs 35.52 crore under participatory budgeting, 34% has been allocated towards roads whereas slum improvement has the second lowest share after water.

It is the responsibility of civil society to ensure greater participation of the urban poor in participatory budgeting so as to advance their interests. Local area meetings should be held where problems faced by the urban poor are discussed, major areas of intervention prioritised, funds aligned towards these areas, and projects monitored by local communities. A similar exercise was successfully done in the Bavdhan area of Pune with a group of senior citizens. This should be replicated across the city with local groups of urban poor. Greater participation by the urban poor could ensure that allocation towards slum improvement, water, sanitation and drainage are made priorities.

This article originally appeared in the October 2014 issue of ‘Agenda’ by Infochange media: http://infochangeindia.org/agenda/urban-poverty/participatory-budgeting.html 

Pune’s Achilles heel

Lack of urban planning & deficient governance system in Pune

The recently launched ‘Annual Survey of India’s City Systems’ report by Janaagraha, a Bangalore based NGO placed Pune on 8^th rank among the 21 cities assessed. The report assesses the quality of life in 21 Indian cities through the four broad parameters of Urban Planning & Design, Urban Capacities & Resources, Empowered & Legitimate Political Representation and Transparency, Accountability & Participation.

Since the past decade, Pune has been consistently striving to outpace rest of urban India in terms of growth across a wide spectrum of industries, infrastructure development and population. At Rs 1.50 lakh (2012-13), the per capita income of Pune is the third highest in Maharashtra. It contributes a GDP of $48 billion and is most likely to top the country in per capita GDP by 2025. Pune Municipal Corporation has substantially increased in the past decade, from a mere 487.37 Crores in 2001-02 to 2962 Crores in 2012-13.

Pune is doing much better than rest of its urban counterparts on parameters of economic growth, but it doesn’t really match-up with the parameters of ‘Quality of life’.

Pune Municipal Corporation has took some innovative measures in past few years; it generates highest percentage of own revenue to total expenditure among all cities in India. It is 96% after including state compensation in lieu of octroi. It is the only city that implements Participatory Budgeting and consistently since 2007, it has published a separate citizen’s budget. However such initiatives have ceased to mere public service delivery (with limited success) and not translated into long-term planning and policymaking.

ASICS 2014 ranks Pune on the 18^th place in terms of Urban Planning & Design, just three places above Raipur, Ranchi and Chandigarh. Pune follows the archaic Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 that does not have provisions for a State Spatial Planning Board.  Delhi emerges as the only city in India that has implemented ward level spatial development plans. Janwani, a city based NGO did a pilot project in Pune and created Local Area Plans (LAPs) for Deccan, Shaniwarpeth and Narayanpeth in the core city. This should be replicated across the city and each prabhag) should prepare a LAP with community participation, align budget towards these goals and measure outcomes at regular intervals.

Pune does not have a functional PMRDA in-place and once the 34 villages are merged in PMC, it will be the largest ULB in the state. The development plan of Pune which was scheduled to be implemented from 2007 onwards is still in draft stage. In the absence of proper implementation of Town planning schemes and Local area plans, the already chaotic scenario can turn into a nightmare for the city.

Lack of Transparency & Accountability in the governance of the city emerges as second biggest challenge. ASICS 2014 ranks Pune on 8^th under this parameter. Pune Municipal Corporation should be lauded for consistently publishing its annual budget and making it accessible to the citizens unlike a number of other municipal corporations in the city. However, the budget document’s structure and language makes it extremely difficult for the citizens to decipher it. The main heads of receipts and expenditure of revenue budget of PMC do not match or corresponding with each other, neither numerically (44 versus 58) nor functionally. There is no existence of capital income in the budget which is definitely not true for PMC. All the capital income has been camouflaged under the revenue income. Moreover, it is a daunting task if a citizen of a particular prabhag wants to know the per capita allocation for his/her prabhag of major works allocated in their neighbourhood.

In 2008, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) installed 67 citizen facilitation centres (CFC) kiosks across the city to provide easier access to civic services and facilitate convenient payment of property tax. An excellent initiative with an equally worrisome implementation. Almost a million rupees are spent by PMC every month on these CFCs but these are barely being used. Public toilets are built but not maintained. Roads are built but we see pot holes after every monsoon. Lack of Accountability has lead to a sub-standard quality of urban services.

Lack of urban planning & deficient governance system has emerged as Pune’s Achilles heel. Pune needs a radical change in urban governance where planning and civic participation are at the centre stage. A vision document being prepared for the city by the newly elected Lok sabha MP with participation of the citizens is a welcome step.

Suggestions according to ASICS 2014:

• Local area plans for every prabhag – Eg: Delhi
• Local body ombudsman to fight corruption at the lowest level– Eg: Trivandrum
• Longer tenure of Mayor – Eg: KolKata

Full ASICS 2014 Report: http://janaagraha.org/asics/images/Annual-Survey-of-Indias-City-Systems-2014.pdf

Community Water Projects Monitoring and Management Model: Sustainable access to water for millions of Rural poor in Nigeria

-By Okafor Akachukwu Nnaemeka

The sole purpose of every development effort is to reduce poverty and hunger and to improve living standards through improvement of health care, educational systems and provision of basic needs including safe water, sanitation, and decent shelter.

It quite unfortunate that about 780 million of rural and urban poor in developing countries are yet to have access to safe drinking water and sanitation even as we area close to the 2015 deadline for meeting the Millennium Development Goals. This situation has seriously impacted on the wellbeing of affected population and negatively impacted on the attainment of the entire MDGs.

In Nigeria the provision of safe drinking water for the rural poor is being hindered by lots of factors which include corruption, poor water project design and implementation mechanisms. At the heart of the challenge the sector faces is the systemic lack of sustainability policy framework for water projects executed especially by the government. Today about 66 million Nigerians are still unserved with safe drinking water.

Rural Water & Sanitation Initiative, RWASI is a nonprofit that works to provide safe water and sanitation in Nigeria. Its main programmatic approach of meeting its goals is based on a water sustainability model which it developed to solve the sustainability problem of the sector. The Model called Community Water Projects Monitoring and Management Model (CWPMMM) is designed to:

1. Improve the design and implementation of water projects.
2. Increase community participation in project design and execution, to help improve community ownership of projects and maintenance culture.
3. Increase assistance to funding partners, community or government to maintain and manage water projects for an initial 2-3 years period after completion before final handover to host communities.
4. Transfer basic technical skills of operation, repairs and maintenance to the host communities.
5. Set up a support and monitoring center for project monitoring and support to communities.
6. Establish women or a youth cooperative society / group in the community to manage and maintain the water project.

This model is being implemented in a few rural and peri-urban communities. For more sustainable institutional scaled up and impact, RWASI is engaging all levels of government especially at the federal policy making level and other program implementing development organizations such as the European Union, African Development Bank, UNICEF, Japanese International Corporation Agency on this model.

It is interesting to know that achieving sustainable universal access to water and sanitation has come up as one of the universal goals and national targets for the Post 2015 as proposed in ‘A New Global Partnership’ – The Report of The High Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. CWPMMM as being implemented and if and sustained will help drive this new development agenda and will most importantly help Nigeria provide safe drinking water to millions of its rural and urban poor.

Okafor Akachukwu is an International Development Consultant and the Head of Programmes at Rural Water and Sanitation Initiative (RWASI) in Nigeria. He Worked on Youth version of 2012 UNESCO EFA Report and has previously as the Director, Programs and Strategy at ‘Pauline and Wilson Foundation’ and Advisory Board Member & Development Program Director of ‘African International Model United Nations’. He has also served as the 4th Vice-Chairperson (Special Political and Decolonization), Global Model United Nations 2009 organized by at the United Nations Department of Public Information in Geneva, Switzerland. He leads and volunteers on a number of local and international nonprofit initiatives. He can be reached on twitter: @akachukwu

Bhungroo: Manna from Heaven to end water woes

-By Biplab Ketan Paul

Sami Taluka in Patan district of Gujarat witnesses a nature’s bizarre phenomenon. Though it is considered to be a semi-arid region, strangely, large patches of land here remain submerged in water. However, this water is of no use for farming let alone drinking due to its salinity. The water, however, becomes salty due to salinity in land which does not allow it to percolate. Farmers here can’t take-up a monsoon crop and have to depend on the winter crop unreasonably.

In Sami, only the rich farmers have the control on groundwater due to its high cost. The farmers lend water to smaller farmers with 1/3^rd or more of the crop as payment. The farmers as a result get burdened with debt or migrate to cities for miscellaneous labour work. All of this, if unchecked, would reduce perfectly cultivable land into barren wasteland. Already in India, more than 6.72 million ha of land is affected by salinity and water logging and nearly 5 million small and marginal farmers have to bear its brunt.

Bhungroo, at a basic level, addresses the threefold problem of the absence of year-round irrigation, lack of women’s empowerment, and low crop-productivity.

“Bhungroo” in Gujarati means a “straw” but in local dialect it means a “Straw” through which the Earth can sip in water inside as well as can give water to its children for lifelong. This name was given by the poor women members who worked for the Bhungroo development.

The Bhungroo is an innovative application of the principle used in groundwater recharge wells. It is a filtered injection method that causes the gathered water to percolate in the ground. A bug natural underground water reservoir enables the farmers to store the rainwater and avail dual cropping during monsoon and winter. This massive underground reservoir can hold as much as 40 million litres of rain water. It harvests water for just about 10 days per year and can supply water for as long as seven months. Artificially recharging aquifers by adding rainwater to underground water reservoirs through induced infiltration enables the communities to continue farming over seven to eight months in a year. The non-saline water brings down the salinity of the ground water making it fit for agricultural use. This prevents water logging and the existing trapped moisture in the soil is sufficient for the monsoon crop. In winters, the farmers can lift the injected water and use it for irrigation.

Plots, which were perennially unproductive for decades due to water logging, produce atleast 2 crops from the very first year due to installation of Bhungroo. It also helped in retaining soil moisture and reduced the salt deposition and thereby controlling desertification.

I have not patented the Bhungroo technology but I have a non-negotiable principle- the technology should benefit the poor. My objective is to make it accessible to the lowest denominator of rural society. Those who worked as labourers in their own farmers, the below poverty line, widowed, illiterate, debt ridden women of the village were my focus group.

The challenge was to make this technology so simple and small-scale, that technology-phobic women become independent and confident. First and foremost, the Bhungroo was given out on joint ownership between five households and not to individuals. Also, it was issued in the name of the women in the family and widows were given preference. An equity-based system was developed by the women themselves to ensure transparency and proper functioning of the Bhungroo. They mutually decide what crops to be taken, sequence of watering, maintenance of the bhungroo and division of labour. It was decided that no service shall be free or even subsidized for any of the members. But the price of the service can be paid after the harvest. Also, as farmers rarely have access to hard cash; the payments are made in crop produce. This also minimizes the risk of market fluctuations.

In the third year after setting up a Bhungroo, the agro value-added services were raised adding to the income of the farmers. The women in the village Self Help Groups (SHG) were by Lokvikas to construct and maintain Bhungroo. Th some cases, the SHGs were converted into franchise centres. After five years of setting-up Bhungroo, farm gate pick-up of the produce is ranged and farmers are paid on the spot. In the seventh year, the full ownership and operation of the Bhungroo is handed over to a group of five women benefitting from it.

Magic of Bhungroo:

• One time investment of Bhungroo is INR 500,000
• Covers minimum 20 acres of land for winter and monsoon crops
• Guaranteed Food security for at least 25 BPL members
• Annual family income rise from INR 10,000 to INR 120,000 within 24 months
• With one time per acre investment on INR 25000, it gives return of INR 40,000 per acre for next 25 years
• Reverse migration from bonded labour to own land cultivator
• Poor rural people are saved from flash floods
• Reduces threat to hygiene and health
• Impetus to local agro input market
• Schooling of children
• Capturing desertification
• Reduction in soil salinity

Till date 132 Bhungroos have been installed getting a total of 780 acres of land rid of water logging and is injecting approximately 1800000 litres of fresh water ever year. More than 2000 women are empowered due to the initiative and 300 farming families have food security.

Bhungroo Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=s_k0FJyb3Eg

Note: This article was originally published in Gujarat Ecology Commission and The World Bank’s report titled “Towards Green Gujarat”. This is a revised version of the original article by the author.

Biplab Ketan Paul holds a post graduate degree in Economics from Jadavpur University and has worked as a Mentor for a NGO called Lokvikas. His company, Naireeta Services Pvt. Ltd., where he works as Honorary Director borrows loans to install Bhungroos. He has won many prestigious awards such as World Bank IDM 2007 Award, Ambassador for Peace Award from United Peace Foundation in 2009, Anil Shah Gram Vikas Paritoshik for best innovative work in ecological sustenance in 2011, Jal Star award by Dainik Bhaskar Group for best work in water section in 2012, Ashoka Change Maker in 2011. He was also selected as Ashoka Globalizer in 2012 by Ashoka.

Participatory Budgeting in India -The Pune Experiment

Submitted to: National Foundation for India, New Delhi

Published: Fifth Edition of ‘The Budget Bulletin’ published quarterly by National Foundation for India- http://www.nfi.org.in

-By Naim Keruwala

The World Bank coined the word ‘good governance’ in 1992 and embedded it in a discourse of political accountability that emphasised efficiency and effectiveness in how countries, states and cities are governed. Since then, a number of researchers have studied what constitutes good governance, and one of the most crucial concepts that have emerged from these studies is the importance of an aware and engaged citizenry. Civic engagement is one of the most important tenants of good governance.

The two countries that initially introduced civic engagement in the process of governance were Brazil and Ghana. Ghana introduced the concept of civic engagement in its constitution and implemented it through its legislature; whereas Brazil used its evolving social and political strengths to embed a culture of civic engagement. Porte Alegre in Brazil introduced the world to the concept of Participatory Budgeting in 1989. Participatory Budgeting in Porte Alegre was a part of various innovative, reformist programmes undertaken by the local administration to reduce socio-economic inequalities in Brazilian society. The statistics show that the local government of Porto Alegre spends about $ 200 million per year on construction and services through its annual participatory budgeting exercise. Around 50,000 residents of the city out of 1.5 million total population take part in the process of participatory budgeting, which is indeed, a sign of remarkable success.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK:

Participatory Budgeting is a democratic process of deliberation by citizens, civic officials and elected representatives on the issues that need attention and collectively arriving at decisions that would directly be included in the budget of the government. This process helps citizens to voice their opinions and decide on how to allocate part of a municipal or public budget for betterment of their neighbourhoods. Participatory budgeting empowers the citizens to present their demands and priorities for improvement, and influence through discussions and negotiations the budget allocations made by their municipalities. It is an opportunity in which the common citizens can decide about the allocation and distribution of public expenditure in their areas or regions.

The New York City Participatory Budgeting website defines Participatory Budgeting as:
“Participatory Budgeting lets the whole community participate in decision-making. It’s a yearlong process of public meetings, to make sure that people have the time and resources to make wise decisions. Community members discuss local needs and develop proposals to meet these needs. Through a public vote, residents then decide which proposals to fund.”

According to Cabannes (2004) over 250 cities are currently implementing participatory budgeting methods. The majority of these are in Brazil, where it began in Porto Alegre but participatory budgeting initiatives have been taken up in recent years in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and other Latin American countries as well as in New York and some European cities.

PROCESS OF PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING IN NEW YORK CITY:

Through participatory budgeting, residents of eight Council Districts in New York City directly decide how to spend at least $10 million of public money on civic amenities and services. From September 2012 to April 2013, community members exchange ideas, work together to turn those ideas into project proposals, and vote to decide which proposals should get funded.

Participatory Budgeting in New York City

THE INDIAN EXPERIENCE:

It has been over 24 years since the concept of Participatory Budgeting first originated but its appeal in India has been limited. Only a few cities in India namely Bangalore, Mysore and Pune have experimented with participatory budgeting. In 2001, Bangalore became the first city in India to implement participatory budgeting due to efforts by a local NGO, Janaagraha. The campaign resulted in citizens’ budget priorities being approved in over 20% of the city’s wards but as time passed, the concept lost its ground in the city. In 2006, Pune implemented Participatory Budgeting for the first time in the city and attracted a massive response from the citizens as well as the city-based NGOs –Janwani, NSCC, C.E.E, Nagrik Chetna Manch amongst others.

The 74th Constitutional Amendment and specifically the Model Nagar Raj Bill directs state governments and urban local bodies to form ward committees, comprising of citizens of the locality and preparing the ward-level budgets in consultation with them. But these initiatives have not been implemented, with the result that are were few channels for citizens to participate in local governance.

There has been a lot of enthusiasm amongst the civil society organizations but the most basic requirement for successful implementation of Participatory Budgeting is the political will that is lacking in India. Pune has taken some positive steps towards this direction and it has gained its due attention within the administrative and executive circles but nationally; Participatory Budgeting remains an alien concept to most cities.

PUNE’S EXPERIENCES WITH PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING:

Participatory budgeting was initiated in Pune in the year 2006 under the leadership of Dr. Nitin Kareer, the then commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation. Currently under participatory budgeting in Pune, each prabhag (comprising of two electoral wards) is allocated a budget of 50 lacs with the maximum limit of a single project not exceeding Rs. 5 lacs. Each prabhag can implement any number of projects but the total amount cannot exceed Rs. 50 lacs and cost of each of the project cannot exceed Rs. 5 lacs. A total of 38 crores was allocated for 76 prabhags towards participatory budgeting.

It is to be noted that New York City’s annual budget is approximately $ 50 billion and the allocation towards participatory budgeting is $ 10 million; whereas Pune Municipal Corporation’s annual budget is Rs 4,167.5 crore and the allocation towards participatory budgeting is 38 crores, a much higher proportion than New York City. Even though New York City allocates a much lesser share of its budget towards participatory budgeting, the proportion of participation by the citizens is much higher than Pune and knowledge management on the process and results is commendable.

PROCESS OF PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING IN PUNE:

 While the initial years saw a lot of enthusiasm among citizens, the participation graph has been declining since the past few years. Participatory budgeting for the year 2012-13 in Pune witnessed only 600 suggestions from the citizens, for a city with a population of over 3.5 million people. With the purpose of engaging citizens in the participatory budgeting process for 2013-14, Janwani, the social wing of Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries & Agriculture, took the initiative to promote and facilitate the process with the support and guidance of Pune Municipal Corporation.

• Janwani conducted 20 training workshops on participatory budgeting for various stakeholder groups at 18 different locations in the city covering over 1,000 residents of the city. Most of these workshops were organized at The Federation of senior citizen’s organizations in Maharashtra (FESCOM) and SuPrabhat Mahila Mandal (SPMM) centres across the city.

• An online application for Participatory budgeting was developed with the help of KPIT Cummins, through which citizens could suggest civil works for their locality with a click of the mouse. Over 335 suggestions were received via these online applications.

• A training kit on participatory budgeting was prepared by Janwani in association with Centre for Environment Education (C.E.E) and Mrs. Nilima Kirane (author of ‘Jan Je Vanchil’). The training kit was sent to all the ward officers, senior citizens’ organizations, SHG leaders and participating NGOs.

• An appeal letter from Janwani- MCCIA was sent to all the party leaders and Prabhag Samiti presidents requesting their support to the participatory budgeting process and keeping the Prabhag Samiti meetings on participatory budgeting ‘open to the public’.

CURRENT SCENARIO:

Post-Janwani’s intervention, the participatory budgeting exercise witnessed an increased participation of the citizens of Pune, as indicated by the leap in the receipt of suggestions from a mere 600 in 2012-2013 to an encouraging 3300 this year. Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Commissioner’s budget showed a significant increase towards participatory budget allocation, from 26.24 crores in 2012-2013 to 36.9 crores in 2013-2014, an increase of a whopping 10.66 crores within a span of one year. The six major items of expenditure are towards roads, electricity, buildings, slum-improvement, water supply and drainage. Allocations towards each of these sectors, without exception, have increased from the previous year.

With an increase in allocation of funds, people have much to look forward to in terms of quality infrastructure and other facilities in the coming year. We are working with the students and professors of Symbiosis School of Economics on ward-wise analysis of participatory budgeting in Pune and preparing a training manual on participatory budgeting that can used by urban local bodies across India to promote and facilitate participatory budgeting.

SPILL-OVER EFFECTS AND WAY AHEAD:

With the success of the participatory budgeting exercise in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, the fifth-most populated city of Maharashtra, has decided to implement participatory budgeting in the current year. Janwani would be promoting and facilitating the process for Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation by partnering with various corporate companies, civil society organizations, self-help groups, citizens’ groups and colleges to ensure maximum participation of citizens in the process.

With the proposed training manual on participatory budgeting, Janwani aims at reaching out to most of the ULBs across India; especially Maharashtra and ensure civic engagement in city-level governance that leads to transparency and accountability of urban local bodies.

REFERENCES:

• http://pbnyc.org/content/about-participatory-budgeting
• http://www.participatorybudgeting.org/about-participatory-budgeting/faq/
• http://www.nyc.gov/html/omb/downloads/pdf/sum5_13.pdf
• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/40132
• http://urbanindia.nic.in/programme/lsg/74th_CAA.pdf
• http://www.unh.edu/democracy/conference2009/pdf/PRIA-CommunityParticipationLaw.pdf
• Participatory Budgeting in New York City: http://www.pbnyc.org

Mr. Naim Keruwala, author of this article is also the moderator of this blog. He facilitated the Participatory Budgeting in Pune city for 2012. He will promote and facilitate Participatory Budgeting for Pune in 2013, and also replicate the same in the city of Pimpri-Chinchwad. Pune Metropolitan region; comprising of Pune Municipal Corporation and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has a combined population of over 5.2 million people.

The Hypocrisy of the Romanian Government -Why the Rosia Montana project must be stopped

– By Raluca Besliu

Whilst in opposition to the then liberal government, current Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta and his Social Liberal Union (USL), an alliance of several political parties, vehemently protested against the Rosia Montana mining project, which was supported by President Traian Basescu and his Democratic Liberal Party (PDL). According to Gabriel Resources Ltd., the Canadian company behind the scheme, the plan for the project is to dig up the estimated 800-4,000 tons of gold squirreled away in Rosia Montana using an astonishing amount of 40 tons of cyanide per day.

Gold cyanidation is a highly controversial practice used to leach gold from extracted material that has been banned in various countries as a result of the fact that even small amounts of cyanide are poisonous for the environment and human health. The enormous daily quantity of cyanide to be used during the Rosia Montana mining project would produce an irreversible environmental destruction in area. Exploiting the mine would mean destroying four forested mountains, contaminating multiple rivers, devastating several fragile ecosystems and destroying over 900 buildings.

On the 5^th of September 2011, in a blog post entitled “Rosia Montana-USL’s position,” the then opposition leader Ponta shared 7 key points why the Coalition was against the Canadian project in its proposed format and called for additional safeguards. These included the needs to make public and transparent the clauses of the agreement signed with RMGC, to respect the right to property and ensure that no one gets expropriated in Rosia Montana. Ponta explicitly stated in his blog post that Gabriel Resources had “spread erroneous and constantly changing public messages.”

Since gaining power, the Prime Minister and USL have radically changed their position.  At the present moment, Prime Minister Ponta and his fellow USL members seem to be even more willing than the previous government to bend the law of Romania, including on many of the issues that they once considered inviolable, in order ensure the project goes ahead.

Dominating in the Parliament and presiding over the government, USL has taken multiple measures to demonstrate its lack of political consistency on the matter. The first sign after the election that the new government intended to pursue the project was its decision to divide up Minvest SA Deva, a state-owned company specializing in mining, extraction, processing, and export of gold-silver and copper, and create a new part, called Minvest Rosia Montana, to handle the Rosia Montana project and manage its afferent patrimony.

The Romanian state will be a direct shareholder in the newly-created company. However, Gabriel Resources would obtain 80 percent of the profits, with the Romanian government getting only 20 percent. Rosia Montana is the largest known gold deposit in Europe and the third largest in the world. Its value is estimated to be around at around $20.8 billion. Even if Minvest Rosia Montana starts renegotiating the profit percentage, it is unlikely that the Canadian company, which has to satisfy its stakeholders, will allow the Romanian government a substantially larger share of the profit.

Apart from creating Minvest Rosia Montana, the Romanian government has not released any public information about its intentions at Rosia Montana since the beginning of 2013, maintaining the same level of secrecy as the previous government. The Committee for Technical Analysis, responsible for assessing the environmental impact of the Canadian project, restarted its operations in April 2013 for the first time since November 2011 but the Ministry of the Environment failed to publicly announce this development. The information only became available because Gabriel Resources published the information in a report for its investors.

Similarly, the Romanian government has apparently demanded additional financial guarantees from the company for the post-exploitation environmental restoration process in order to demonstrate their conformity to existing EU standards, but has not made any information on these demands available to the general public. Even if these unknown guarantees were to be accepted, restoration is but a euphemism in this case given the fact that the environmental damage caused to the Rosia Montana region would be irreversible.

While both the current and previous Romanian governments do not seem to mind their country being ripped off, the Romanian public has expressed its vehement opposition to the project. The Rosia Montana protest movement has grown to be the largest in Romania since the fall of Communism, taking place at the local, national and international level. During the January-February 2012 protests organized throughout the country, many Romanian protesters demanded that the Rosia Montana project be ceased.

The opponents of the Rosia Montana project are leading a historic battle that will play a decisive role in shaping not only the prospects for Romania and the extraction of its natural resources, but of all countries’ relations with international corporations and the future of international mining. In the context of the overwhelming general public and civil society opposition and its 2011 own position on the Rosia Montana project, the current government must desist from its plans for Rosia Montana.

Ms. Raluca Besliu is a Journalist, Writer, a Refugee & Human Rights advocate and founder of the ‘Save South Kordofan’ initiative. She holds a Masters degree in Refugees and Forced Migration Studies from the University of Oxford, UK and Bachelor’s degree from Vassar College, New York State, in International Studies. Being originally from Romania, she  extensively writes on Romanian and Eastern European politics as well as global politics, peace, education and post-conflict reconstruction.

Twitter: @Raluca_Besliu | Web: http://www.freewebs.com/southkordofan/

Town Planning Schemes, where art thou? : A case of Pune, India

-By Shruti Vaishampayan

When the Urban Development Department of Government of Maharashtra recently proposed merging of 28 more villages making the area of Pune Municipal Corporation more than almost 450 sq km, one couldn’t help wondering how Pune Municipal Corporation plans to provide services and infrastructure to such a large expanse. Currently Pune covers an area of 243.84 sq km with the already merged 23 villages in 1997. While water shortage, unplanned development and chaotic traffic are making the headlines in the local newspapers every day, it is rather mind boggling to know that Pune could soon be 1.8 times its current size.  Luckily to our relief, this move didn’t materialize since Pune Municipal Corporation gave only a conditional nod to this proposal requesting the State to assist completely with the water supply and other infrastructure provisions such as roads etc if 28 more villages were to be merged. Soon the State decided to keep most of Pune’s boundaries the same except for adding one village towards South of Pune.

As of today, Pune’s 1987 development plan for the main city remains implemented to a meager 22% with only 134 of 609 reservations implemented. The major hurdles in front of the municipal corporation in implementing the DP are balancing interests for various stakeholders, and device a suitable mechanism for acquiring land for public purpose reservations and financing the development of infrastructure. Acquiring land for public purposes has been a painstakingly cumbersome process as the “just compensation” paid to the land owners is always the bone of contention.  So what is the key to successful implementation of the development plans?

Perhaps the DP-TP formula that works in Ahmedabad may be the effective way to manage growth in Pune as well. Under the GTPUD (Gujrat Town Planning and Urban Development) Act, the city planners in Ahmedabad have been using this very effective mechanism of Town Planning Schemes to implement the DP. The TP schemes are a classic example of proactive planning.

In Maharashtra, TP Schemes were implemented before 1985, but later the procedural delays almost killed this process. After successfully implementing a few TPS including Shivaji Nagar, Parvati, Yerawda etc, for many years, TPS could not be carried out in Pune since the DP was always in the process of approval. As per the recent amendments of the MRTP Act 1966, now TP Schemes may be taken up without the final approval of the Development Plan.

TPS can be looked at as small customized master plans for a specific area. Typically smaller areas/ villages may be planned through TPS of 1 or 2 sq km each. After the TPS is notified, area under each TPS is surveyed and an accurate base map is prepared. Bonafide ownerships and boundaries of each plot are established. An accurate base map of ‘original plots’ is created. Road network is then planned and plots for a variety of public purposes including schools, hospitals, parks, playgrounds etc are demarcated. Total plot area used up for public purposes and roads is then deducted in an equal proportion from each plot and a base map with ‘final plots’ is created. This process is called “reconstitution”. Values of final plots are worked out based on future prospects. In this process, the value of plots increases significantly and thus a betterment levy is charged to the owners- making this process pay for itself. In addition to the basic plot reconstitution, there is an opportunity for planners and urban designers to exercise the development control/ urban design guidelines.

TP Schemes ensure a win-win situation for both the land owners and the planning authority. The land owners benefit from the appreciation in value of the final plots due to the infrastructural development; and the planning authority is benefited as the cost of infrastructural development is borne by the land owners through betterment levy. In some cases, amenities such as shopping etc also generate revenue for the planning authority. The draft scheme is published inviting suggestions/ objections and landowners’ meetings are held to build consensus regarding proposals in the draft TPS. A quasi-judicial “town planning officer” is appointed to facilitate the process of hearing the landowners and modify the draft TPS as required.

Given the problems that Pune and the newly merged villages have faced in implementing the proposals in the 1987 Development Plan, it is now opportune to plan for the future with this fair, equitable, participatory, self-sustaining solution of TP Schemes.

References:

1. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-11-10/pune/35033285_1_city-improvement-committee-dp-development-plan
2. http://agraredco.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/The-Town-Planning-Mechanism-in-Gujarat-India-by-Shirley-Ballaney.pdf
3. https://www.maharashtra.gov.in/Site/Common/governmentResolutions.aspx
4. http://www.slideshare.net/transportsdufutur/ahmedabad-14863493
5. http://www.hcp.co.in/file_manager/publications/IIR2009–24_Research-Paper.pdf

Shruti Vaishampayan holds a Masters degree in Urban and Environmental Planning from Arizona State University, USA and a graduate degree in Architecture from Pune University.  Her work experience as an architect-planner of over five years includes working with renowned companies such as Greater Phoenix Economic Council (Phoenix, AZ, USA), HCP Design and Project Management in Ahmedabad, and Sustainability Initiatives (SI) in Pune. Presently, she contributes as a project consultant to the focus areas of City Structure, Traffic & Transportation and Environment at Janwani, MCCIA and as a visiting faculty at Dr. Bhanuben Navavati College of Architecture for Women, Pune (BNCA)

 

Email: shrutiv@janwani.org 

Regeneration and Improvement of Urban Core Areas of Mumbai and Pune through Cluster Development

-By Komal Potdar

Cluster development is the grouping of a particular development’s residential structures on portion of the available land, reserving a significant amount of the site as protected open space. This type of development is an alternative to the conventional zoning and subdivision development process that preserves open space and provides other environmental, societal and economic benefits. It is a tool for better land use as more land is required to meet a growing community’s residential housing needs.

The following are the primary objectives of Cluster development:

1. To promote planned urban regeneration of decaying urban areas, improve roads and public transport, provide adequate RG/PG and social amenities and restore degraded environment
2. To  focus on urban design to facilitate well spaced buildings with adequate light and ventilation, fire safety and aesthetic values
3. To arrest abuse of redevelopment incentives by private builders-   by setting out priorities for redevelopment of areas with most dilapidated buildings.

The urban core areas in any city are areas the oldest areas, where a mixed land use and occupations and specific characteristics are found. These areas are high in heritage value in terms of architecture, has a predominant historic and cultural religious influence and very vibrant communities of different backgrounds. The buildings which are of heritage value tend to become dilapidated. Most of the buildings are under the Rent Control Act, which renders it to be underutilized and under maintained, degenerating the face of the core areas.The existing infrastructure owing to the old, dilapidated structures, narrow street patterns and the dense population, is deficient to meet the needs of the population.

Mumbai has announced a redevelopment of the very old Bhindi Bazaar, Byculla. This project is the community’s initiative under Development Control Regulation No. 33(9), inviting local participation in the creation of a new and more relevant city. It is stated to be one of the largest urban renewal projects in the country. The redevelopment will cover 6.5 Ha (1.7 lakh sq.m.) comprising 3200 homes in 250 existing buildings; 1250 businesses and will impact lives of 20,000 people.This project is an exception to the provision in the DCR, which states that the minimum area for cluster development should be 1,000 sq.m.

Owing to the large number privately and publicly owned sites and amalgamation of plots is more convenient and beneficial to produce a holistic design meet the needs of the required infrastructure for the rehabilitated community and provision of large open spaces is possible.

The much talked about core city area in Mumbai for redevelopment (Ward B, C, D) have an extremely rich heritage and a vibrant culture and a mish-mash or religions living in harmony. This social aspect of redevelopment is the quintessential factor while proposing the new building to house these people, who may have a completely different lifestyle. The question still lies- will an urban planning exercise to redevelop without considering the social aspects of the society be an answer to the inhabitants?

Cluster development is the answer to the required micro planning of areas, catering to the minute requirements of a pedestrian crossing the streets, to providing amenity spaces for the residents and establishing a network of infrastructure facilitating the residents in terms of feasible transportation, good environment and basic daily necessities. It helps in catering the demands of the pedestrian, the commercial users, the floating population, the informal settlements and the residents in that particular region.

The strategies to design cluster housing should be devised to benefit the redevelopment. The current provision in the draft D.P. of Pune allows for areas with minimum 1000 sq.m. and an FSI of 3. This provision will have redevelopments schemes springing up at every corner of the road, reducing the possible and the much required amenity space in the city. Also, the designs are compromised owing to the lack of space and to utilise to the fullest the available FSI. Block-like buildings with the same height leave no space for natural air to pass between buildings. Podium development for the first two floors and then, staggering the upper floors a little behind, will help, the study says. This will also allow natural light inside the buildings. Staggering of parking strips will make more space for parking. Amalgamation of plots and re-planning the road network and working out the FSI for individual plots can work in the benefit of the land owners and the city’s urban fabric too.

Pune also has an urban core area rich in heritage and architecture, with a characteristic dense fabric in the Peth areas. The recently released Draft Development Plan of Pune also has provisions for Cluster Development .However, it is important to understand the social and the housing demands of the existing and the future population. In view of various infrastructure proposals in Pune, amenities and public spaces are the key factors to be given priority to device cluster regeneration. Owing to the large number privately and publicly owned sites and amalgamation of plots is more convenient and beneficial to produce a holistic design meet the needs of the required infrastructure for the rehabilitated community. Urban design of an area should be used as a tool to design individual houses and not vice-versa, for regeneration and a facelift for the core area.

The following are suggestions for proposing cluster development:

1. Characterize clusters (TOD, Heritage, institutional, commercial, residential, gaothan, bazzars, mixed, green, Government)
2. Assign land use zoning norms and building regulations for clusters based on set parameters
   1. Sub divide, if necessary into sub clusters for planning buildings and construction
   2. Assign density, FSI, RG, PG, PGA norms for clusters
   3. Assign height, light, ventilation, open spaces, parking norms
   4. Devise urban design guidelines and urban design index system

In this regard, the role of integrated regional and urban planning, strategy to facilitate housing and infrastructure development could be of critical importance. Thus, the planning and development of urban infrastructure and services could play a significant role in shaping the urban landscape and managing cities effectively.

Sources:

1. Research on Cluster Development-Concept and Advantages, Mumbai Tansformation Support Unit (MTSU).
2. The Saifee Burhani Upliftment Project (SBU Trust), Mumbai.
3. The Hindu- Business line
4. Study of Laxmi Road,BNCA published in Sakal times (30th April 2013)
5. Pune properties real estate blogspot
6. Center for Good Goverenance- Managing Urban Growth using the Town Planning Schemes in Andhra Pradesh
7. IMG Source: http://dawoodi-bohras.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4666&start=240

Komal Potdar is a practising Architect anchoring the ‘City Structure & Architecture’ focus area at Janwani, MCCIA facilitating projects based on sustainable and equitable development towards City planning of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. Komal holds a bachelors degree in Architecture from Sir J. J College of Architecture, Mumbai. She has worked on Sustainable designs in Goa, Auroville , Mumbai and Pune and has keen interest on Architectural & Heritage conservation. 

 

Email: ar.komalpotdar@gmail.com | Twitter: @komalpotdar

A post-2015 youth perspective: It’s make-or-break time for education

Submitted to: UNESCO’s World Education Blog

Published: http://efareport.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/a-post-2015-youth-perspective-its-make-or-break-time-for-education/

-By Naim Keruwala

I came across this picture on my Facebook timeline a couple of days ago. It captures very well the state of education in many countries, where government schools providing free education are inadequate and quality of education is extremely poor.

In India, where I live, the government is going berserk to enrol children in schools and higher education institutes but quality has suffered badly, according to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012 published by Pratham, a non-government organization. The enrolment rate has risen but so has the dropout rate. Over 75.2% of all children enrolled in Standard 5 in government schools could not do simple division problems.

Globally, 61 million primary school age children are still out of school. More than 56 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa aged 15-24 have not completed primary school. In Tanzania, of 48 schools assessed, not even a single student could pass the primary school exam.

Primary education is vital for the inclusive growth of a country – and the individual. If you haven’t got primary education – because there were no schools or you went to a school that was dreadful – you don’t have an initial platform to stand on. It is the chief source of social mobility but it is not accessible to astonishingly large proportion of the poor.

Education, one of the basic rights of an individual, has become a distant dream for many; “quality education” has become a niche product accessible only by the elite. This has resulted in an extremely high skill deficit especially in developing countries, creating social malaise.

The OECD projects that India will produce 24 million graduates by the end of this decade, however:

• an earlier survey by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) found that only 39.5% of all graduates in India were viewed as employable
• only 10% of graduates from business schools in India manage to get hired
• a study by Aspiring Minds showed that India produces more than 500,000 engineering graduates a year, but barely 3% of an assessed 55,000 graduates were viewed as ready to be employed without extra training.

The problem is not just in India or developing countries; Harvard Business Review estimates that by 2020, the worldwide shortage of highly skilled, college-educated workers could reach 40 million.. “Even America is neither producing enough college graduates to sustain a robust workforce, nor fulfilling its national promise of economic opportunity for all,” writes Daniel Greenstein.

There are more youth in the world now than ever before, and most of them are concentrated in developing countries. With less than two years to achieve the Education for All goals and the Millennium Development Goals, now is the time to start planning for Education Post 2015. The focus needs to switch to quality of education and skills training for youth that can lead to meaningful employment.

Two major steps are required post-2015:

1. By 2030, all children and youth should complete primary and lower secondary education which enables them to meet measurable learning standards and acquire relevant skills so they may become responsible, productive members of society.
2. Corporations should conduct an inventory of skills and create a detailed estimate of the kinds and amounts of skills they require. Based on these needs, they should conduct skills training programs, and diploma and certificate courses in partnership with government agencies.

Public-private partnerships and participation of youth in policy decisions regarding education and skills development should be the mantras for education post-2015. I agree with Pauline Rose that “Education needs its Bill Gates” but I would add that “Education also needs its Martin Luther King Jr” – education needs funds and equity.