'Shehri Samridhi Utsav' Focusing On Urban Livelihoods From 1st-15th Feb

Minister of State (I/C) for Housing and Urban Affairs, has informed that a fortnight of events named ‘Shehri Samridhi Utsav’, focusing on urban livelihoods is being organised by his Ministry, from 1^st -15^th February 2019.  The event aims at extending the outreach of National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) to the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable, showcase its initiatives and facilitate access of SHG members to the other government schemes.

The Minister informed the gathering that Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana DAY-NULM addresses multiple dimensions of urban poverty by developing strong community-based organizations, providing placement oriented skill training, providing subsidized loans for self-employment ventures, supporting street vendors’ livelihoods and establishing shelter for the homeless. Elaborating further, he said the Mission has made significant progress on all these fronts –

1. Over 34 lakh urban poor women have been organized into Self Help Groups and their federations.
2. Over 8.9 lakh candidates have been skill trained and certified with over 4.6 lakh provided placement,
3. Over 8.5 lakh individuals and groups have been supported to access subsidized loans.
4. 1,098 shelters have been made functional creating capacity for more than 60,000 urban homeless.
5. 16 lakh street vendors have been identified through survey in 2,430 cities and half of them have been given identity cards.

The city level activities planned during the event include -  

• A survey named ‘Safety Net Survey’ is being conducted to identify eligible SHG members not covered by government programs viz. SBM(U), PMAY(U), Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Surakhsa Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana and National Nutrition Mission. The necessary formalities will be completed by 31^st January 2019 and the sanction letters/benefits are planned to be distributed during the pakhwada.
• SHG members across cities will participate in a rally to spread awareness about DAY-NULM. Revolving Funds will be provided to all eligible SHGs.
• A drive to form new SHGs, especially for vulnerable sections such as informal sanitation workers, manual scavengers, and waste pickers, will be taken up.
• A new platform called Shehri Sahabhagita Manch has been proposed for regular meetings of ULB officials with SHG federations. This would increase participation of these collectives of the urban poor in resolution of local issues and create a mechanism for ULBs to identify gaps in provision of basic services in urban poor settlements.
• Loan camps would be organized by banks close to the urban poor colonies, to facilitate access to credit for micro-enterprises of the urban poor. Further, all pending loan applications are proposed to be disposed by 31^stJanuary 2019.
• Shelters for the urban homeless under DAY-NULM would be adopted by colleges located nearby. This would create a healthy interactive environment for shelter residents and a good learning experience for college students.

The State Level Activities will include -

• Job Melas will be organized by the State in all the cities having more than 5,00,000 population. It would cover recruitment for wage employment as well as apprenticeship programs.
• Melas for exhibition and sale of SHG products would also be organized at the State Capitals and major cities.
• Identity Cards will be provided to all eligible street vendors. Street food festivals to celebrate the local street food culture and cuisine would be organized at the State Capitals to support the street food vendors. Training of street food vendors by FSSAI with a focus on health and hygiene is also proposed to be conducted.

Similalrly, the National Level Events will have the following components -

• DAY-NULM Swachhata Excellence Awards have been instituted to recognize the ALFs, CLFs and ULBs working towards achieving sanitation outcomes in their communities and promoting dignified livelihoods in the sanitation sector. During Shehri Samridhi Utsav, a National Workshop will be organized on sanitation-based livelihoods with active participation from the States, ULBs, and federations of SHGs from across the country, wherein the Swachhata Excellence Awards would be distributed.
• A National Conference on Street Vending will also be held to discuss issues and seek a way forward to support livelihoods of street vendors.
• National Exhibition cum sale of SHG products is being organized in New Delhi from 8^th – 17^th Feb 2019 along with a National Street Food Festival which will start on 14^th Feb. These events will give a prominent platform and exposure to women microentrepreneurs and food vendors from all over the country.