This Blog is written By Mr. Anubhav Kumar Student of Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies & Mr. Dushyant Mittal Student of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi
Abstract
The constitution of India has framed in such a the manner that the vision of independence was just not confined to the goal of
emancipation from the imperialist rule in India but the principal architect of the Indian constitution tried
tirelessly for the social upliftment of the depressed classes of the society
and advocate equal rights for them. He believed that homogeneity in social
order will bring about unity and integrity of the nation and promote fraternity
amongst them.
Introduction
United Nation states “Poverty
is a denial of choices and opportunities a violation of human dignity. It means
lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society.”
Poverty
alleviation refers to the set of measures and government interventions both,
economic & humanitarian to lift people out of the vicious circle of
poverty. It is the prerogative of the government of a country to ensure the
well-being of its citizens by providing them opportunities to emerge out of
poverty. This can be done by fostering economic growth, which, in turn, will
generate employment; thereby reducing poverty. Hence, a country needs to have a
comprehensive poverty-reduction strategy. In India, governments since
Independence, have been
trying to implement schemes and strategies for employment generation and poverty
reduction. We will cover a few important ones in this article. But before that,
let us first understand the concept of poverty.
What is the meaning of Poverty?
1. Absolute poverty:
was defined as a condition characterized
by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking
water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education, and information. It
depends not only on income but also on access to services.
2. Relative Poverty: It
is defined from the social perspective that is living standard compared to the
economic standards of the population living in surroundings. Hence it is a measure
of income inequality. For example, a family can be considered poor if it cannot
afford vacations, or cannot buy presents for children at Christmas, or cannot
send its young to the university. Usually,
relative poverty is measured as the percentage of the population with income
less than some fixed proportion of median income. It is a widely used measure
to ascertain poverty rates in wealthy developed nations
In the European Union the "relative poverty measure
is the most prominent and most–quoted of the EU social inclusion
indicators".
Legislation
for Poverty Alleviation and Employment Generation in India
The legal
framework in relation to tackling poverty and unemployment arising out in India
can be interpreted from the major legislations-
The
Constitution of India
The National
Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution proposed a constitutional obligation on the State to provide to the citizens ‘Rural Wage
Labour’ as a Fundamental Right and proposed the introduction of a new Art. 21B
for this purpose.
Building upon Article 21, the judiciary has adopted an expansive interpretation
bringing within its ambit almost all facets of poverty whether direct or
indirect.
The judiciary has stated in Basheshar Nath v. Commissioner of Income Tax
Delhi,that
“The easiest way of depriving a person of his right to life would be to deprive
him of his means of livelihood to the point of abrogation… Any person… can
challenge the deprivation as offending the right to life conferred by Art 21.”
Then again,
the same was emphasized in Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation,
that “the country had so far not found it feasible to incorporate the right to
livelihood as a fundamental right in the Constitution because it had so far not
attained the capacity to guarantee it, and not because it considered it any the
less fundamental to life. Therefore, it has been placed in the chapter of
Directive Principles
under Art 41, which enjoins upon the State to make effective provisions for
securing the same “within the limits of its economic capacity and development,
make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education, and to
public assistance in cases of unemployment”.
The Article
16
guarantees equality of opportunity when it comes to public employment. The
first two clauses of the Article elucidate the fact that no citizens of India
shall face discrimination in respect of employment. These two clauses lay the
foundation for an equal employment opportunity and eliminate compartmentalization
in the name of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, or any other.
As the
Supreme Court verdict in M. Nagaraj v. Union of India
made it compulsory for the government to demonstrate the backwardness of SC/ST
beneficiaries every time reservations were provided for promotion, it took
another stand, which was heavily criticized for lacking constitutional merit.
In its judgment, the apex court had observed that individuals “in the ‘creamy
layer’ of OBCs” don’t have the right to be the beneficiaries of the reservation
policy. However, the court held that no such exclusion would be applicable for
SCs/STs.
What Initiatives have been taken by the Government to
battle poverty and generate employment?
The government is following of focus approach
through various flagship schemes in the areas of poverty alleviation and
employment generation to achieve development.
1. The
full form of NREGA is the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005.
After the act was passed, at the time of its launch, it was renamed as MGNREGA
full form of which is Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
The scheme was introduced as a social measure that guarantees “the right to
work” in rural areas of India. The key tenet of this social measure and labor
law is that the local government will have to legally provide at least 100 days
of wage employment in rural India to enhance their quality of life.
2.
Deendayal Antyodaya
Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) is a
new name given to Aajeevika – NRLM in November 2015. The initiative to move
towards a demand-driven strategy enabling the states to formulate their own
livelihoods-based poverty reduction action plan is at the core of the mission.
3.
The Swarna Jayanti
Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) shall seek to provide
gainful employment to the urban unemployed or underemployed poor through
encouraging the setting up of self-employment ventures or provision of wage employment.
This program will rely on the creation of suitable community structures on the
UBSP pattern and delivery of inputs under this program shall be through the
medium of urban local bodies and such community structures. The Swarna Jayanti
Shahari Rozgar Yojana shall be funded on a 75:25 basis between the Centre and
the States.
How effectively the policies have worked?
On review of all the poverty alleviation programs,
one gets the impression that these programs are not benefiting the poor in terms
of increasing their income. For instance, the Public Distribution System (PDS)
is plagued with seepage, corruption, high administrative cost, and targeting
errors. The wage employment program is caught in red-tapism and administrative
delays leading to poor utilization of the allocated funds. The wage employment
program was not very successful in terms of utilizing the allocated resources
and generating additional employment for the BPL. But this program has
created village level assets and infrastructure in terms of schools, health
centers, roads, and ponds.
The MGNREGA scheme was introduced in 200
districts during the financial year 2006-07 and 130 districts during the financial
year 2007-08. In April 2008 NREGA expanded to the entire rural area of the country
covering 34 States and Union Territories, 614 Districts, 6,096 Blocks and 2.65
lakhs Gram Panchayat. The scheme now covers 648 Districts, 6,849 Blocks and
2,50,441 Gram Panchayats in the financial year 2015-16.
Conclusion
Poverty is more of social marginalization of an
individual, household, or group in the community/society rather than the inadequacy
of income to fulfill the basic needs. There has been an ongoing debate about how
effectively the policies framed by the government work on ground zero, with
dissenting views by both the government officials and the general public or the
Social activists.
Indeed, inadequate income is one of the factors of
marginalization, but not the sole factor. The poverty alleviation programs
should not aim merely to increase the income level of individual, household or
group, but mainstreaming marginalized in the development process of the
country.
Also, the involvement of the local communities is key to
the success of poverty alleviation programs. In the absence of community
involvement, the programs are plagued with bureaucratic muddle and corruption
at every level.
Comments
Post a Comment