To,
Shri.Arun Jaitlyji
The Hon’ble Union Finance
Minister,
Government of India
New Delhi 110001
.
Dear Shri Arun Jaitlyji,
On behalf of several NGO’s &
TRUST organisations, we would like to place before you the concerns of lakhs of
women, & minorities most of whom belong to the poorest sections of the
society. We feel that it is extremely important to take into consideration the
opinion of women’s organisations in pre-budget consultations so that the gender
component of the Union Budget could be enhanced and strengthened. We request
you to take into account the following suggestions and demands while finalizing
the budget proposal for the current year.
GENDER BUDGETTING----Much more effort is needed as far as gender
budgeting is concerned. The Mid Term Appraisal Committee of the Tenth Five Year
Plan recommendation advising 30% of all allocations within all ministries to
reach women is far from being implemented. Misleading computations have
artificially exaggerated the amount actually being spent on women. For instance,
the entire budgets for ICDS or the Ministry for Social Justice and even items
like Fashion Designing are regularly shown as women specific expenditure. The
ambit of gender budgeting should include gender audit and gender outcome
assessment in all Ministries and departments at Central and State levels. There
must be a greater transparency, and accountability of the Centre and the States
regarding the actual disaggregated expenditure, as compared to the allocation
of funds, in the final statement. Further, it should extend beyond expenditure
policies to cover the gender-differentiated implications of tax policies as
well.
In particular, we suggest:
1. Allocations
should be provided to the gender budget cells located in the different
ministries to strengthen their functioning.
2. The
recommendation made in the midterm appraisal of the 10th Plan allocating 30%
expenditure for women should be implemented rigorously.
3. Sex-disaggregated
data must be made available as far as possible to enable assessment of the expenditure
and outcomes in gender terms.
The notion of bringing all
schemes for children etc. automatically under the gender component is
patriarchal and discriminatory, and should be discontinued. Child related
expenditure should be placed under a different head, or indicated separately.
CONTROLLING PRICE ESCALATION; ENSURING FOOD SECURITY---The
continuous and steep rise in prices of essential commodities is a matter of
concern for women. The budget must ensure that strict measures are taken to
ensure price stability and prevent speculation in essential commodities. We
regret that the government has recently lifted the ban on forward trading of
wheat and rice. We urge you to re-impose it and extend it to cover all
essential commodities. Food insecurity affects women and girl children first
and has emerged as a major problem across the country. The latest NFHS-3
highlights the poor nutritional status of women and children, and the girl
child in particular. The promised National Food Security Act lowers the grain
entitlement of all ration cardholders including the most vulnerable BPL and
Antyodaya sections from 35 kgs to 25 kgs. This is a step backward, rather than
a strengthening of the system. It is even more surprising in the present
situation when government has successfully procured adequate stocks that are
lying unutilized in government warehouses. Targeting has undermined the PDS and
has led to unfair exclusions, depriving a large section of the poor, including
widows, single women, tribal and Dalits the right to access cheaper food grain,
and many other welfare measures as well. We suggest:
1. Return
to a universal system of distribution under the PDS, rather than the present-targeted
system, at Antyodaya prices.
2. Ensuring
sufficient quantities of supply in the PDS system across all states to both BPL
as well as APL households. Earlier quotas must be restored. The allocations
must take into account spiraling prices, and the need to assure all citizens a
minimum food security.
3. Substantial
increase in allocations for the Food Corporation of India to facilitate
procurement and ensure safe storage of items; and for the PDS to ensure its
extension to all habitations in the country.
4. The
Essential Commodities Act should be revoked and items removed from its scope
should be brought back under it. The Act must be used effectively to curb
speculation and hoarding.
3. ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF
WOMEN/MEN FARMERS--The agrarian crisis continues to be extensive, with
rising input costs rendering farming an unviable proposition. Women of rural
households have been particularly adversely affected. Women play a crucial role
in the agricultural sector, and their identity as farmers should be
acknowledged, and supported through the budget measures. Although credit to agriculture has increased,
women cultivators continue to be denied access to institutional credit because
of the absence of land titles and other collateral in their name. We therefore
suggest:
1. Special
measures to ensure that women cultivators not holding land titles but cultivating
household land or as tenants get access to institutional credit up to Rs.
1,50,000, as per RBI guidelines.
2. Devising
of a comprehensive debt relief package for farmers to address indebtedness, and
explicit recognition of the needs of indebted women cultivators as a separate
entity. The half-hearted measures to provide region-specific relief packages
and token interest subvention need to be replaced by debt write-offs for small
and marginal farmers across the country. This should include non- institutional
debts as well. Ensure availability and accessibility of interest free farm
loans to women. In any case, the interest rate should not exceed 4%.
3. Ensure
fair and remunerative prices to farmers for their produce.
4. Relief
must be provided for families of farmers who have committed suicide. Women
should be recognized as farmers in this respect by all state governments, and
relief packages should note the specific difficulties faced by widows in
subsequent cultivation. The educational needs of children and particularly
daughters should be taken into account. All suicide affected households must be
eligible for an Antyodaya card (until such time as a universal system is in
place.)
4. WOMEN WORKERS--Women form a large bulk of the unorganized work
force, especially in the home based and domestic work segments. They have not
been recognized as employees, and are not paid minimum wages even under Govt.
schemes where they are employed in significant numbers. The Unorganized Workers’
Social Security Act 2008 has been passed, but is restricted to BPL workers, and
it fails to provide for any funds to cover the proposed schemes. The lakhs of
women who opt for work under NREGS are often denied minimum wages due to gender
insensitive work norms. The absences of adequate opportunities for productive
employment are also one of the major problems facing women. We therefore
suggest:
·
Adequate funding of the NREGS, and proper
mechanism to ensure that funds reach the districts in time so that works are
not held up, and wages are not delayed. .
·
Financial provision for time and motion studies
within NREGA to ensure proper work norms that will ensure that women earn the
statutory minimum wage after a day’s work. Ensuring the provision of childcare
facilities, rest and shade and other facilities as specified in the guidelines,
with separate financial provision.
·
Extension of the employment guarantee to urban
areas
·
Anganwadi workers, mid day meal workers and
health workers in the public system who perform crucial social functions should
be paid minimum wages.
·
Provision for public child care facilities for
all working women, particularly from the unorganized sector. Maternity Benefit
Allowance to cover the costs of nutrition and care ( in addition to JSY) be
raised to Rs. 6000/-
·
Provisions for providing hostels to workers
should be increased.
·
Remove BPL criterion for extending social
security measures to unorganized sector workers. Provide for a Grievance
Redressal Machinery to address their complaints.
·
The economic contribution of unpaid family
workers should be recognized by extending social security provision to them as
well.
·
Recognize migrant workers as a special category
with special needs, and make provision in the budget for this vulnerable section
to access the PDS, health and educational facilities, etc. even when they are
on the move.
5. HEALTH--There has been a
decline in per capita public expenditure on health. The latest NFHS points to
very poor performance in basic health indicators, including child immunization.
Serious issues of under-financing of major schemes such as the creation and up
gradation of public health infrastructure, the provision of emergency ambulance
services, the provision of essential drugs and supplies, and the failure to
create institutional frameworks for programmes have to be overcome. The ICDS
programme has to guarantee universal coverage with minimum quality services, as
per the Supreme Court mandate. In this context, we suggest:
·
Public expenditure on health must be increased
to at least 5 per cent of GDP.
·
The primary health care system should be
revitalized with adequate infrastructure.
·
Issuing Health card free for senior citizens,
disabled, widows, people with below poverty line.
·
Increase outlays for the provision of drinking
water, universal sanitation and food security as part of the commitment to
safeguarding the health of the people.
·
Set up the 14-lakh anganwadi centres required to
universalize the ICDS as per the latest Supreme Court orders. Increase provision
for all child specific schemes including ICDS to at least Rs. 12,000 crores.
Iron supplementation to be assured for women suffering from anemia, across all
age spans.
·
Increased outlays for nurse training to be
provided in the budget.
6. EDUCATION---To achieve
the goal of universal, equitable, quality education for all children, up to 14
years of age, the budgetary allocation must be increased to at least 6% of the
GDP. The Right to Education Bill
Amendment must not permit privatization of education, and must extend the
provision of free and universal education to the 3-6 age groups as well.
Significant increases in central government programmes on both literacy and
education are required, and special allocations must be made to ensure greater
access to women. We suggest:
The programme for eradication of
female illiteracy must be adequately funded.
·
Expenditure on SSA must be increased to ensure
universal access, and “Education Centres” must be upgraded to proper schools to
provide all children with good quality schooling
·
Primary schools to be set up within 1 km radius
of all habitations.
·
Increase in secondary school spending; ensure
provision of proper secondary schools within 3 km of all habitations to enable
girl students to attend school.
·
Framing rules for capitation fees, deposits at
admissions, ban on donation.
·
Allocation of special funds to ensure separate
and functional toilets (with water provision) for girls in all schools.
Provision for building compound walls in schools to upgrade security.
·
Enhanced scholarship scheme for girls in
secondary school, with special emphasis on girls from educationally deprived
categories.
·
Construction of Hostels, for minorities
especially Muslims, Dalits, tribal's etc.
·
Increase allocation for vocational, job oriented
training and non-stereotyped skills development.
7. OTHER ISSUES---SHGs:
Increase of allocations for self-help groups; more funds should be made
available for credit at interest rates not exceeding 4% per annum; health
insurance and social security for their members and training and marketing
support for the groups to become economically productive. Strengthening of the
Rashtriya Mahila Kosh in order to play a supportive role for SHGs. Minority
Women: Provision for adequate budgetary outlay for implementation of the Sachar
committee recommendations with allocation towards a subcomponent plan, which
includes Muslim women who are amongst the most deprived and marginalized
sections of society today. The provision of Urdu language teaching in schools,
and better amenities in the local schools and madrassas should be budgeted for.
Special allocations for hostels and sanitation in schools should be
provided. Tribal and Dalit Women: In tribal areas, a special focus to ensure
electrification of all tribal areas, PHCs, drinking water, and hostels for
tribal girls with all required facilities, needs to be budgeted for. There
should be a separate monitoring mechanism to ensure that this special fund is
effectively utilized. Provision should be made to ensure that these
entitlements reach Dalit habitations as well.
Welfare Schemes for Women: There is a need for a major step up in
outlays for welfare and social security schemes for women and children, with
special provision for single women and women headed households. In particular, widow pension schemes,
shelters for women in distress situations, hostels for single workers with or
without children, shelters for children without adult protection, shelters for
senior citizens, need to be provided support to expand and improve quality of
services. The allocation for social welfare schemes must be increased for
individuals covered under them as well as for administrative expenses. The
restriction on widows with sons losing their eligibility for receiving the widow
pension should be removed. Special allocation for addressing the needs of
senior citizens needs to be made.
PWDV Act: Since the funds required implementing the Domestic
Violence Act have not been provided for at the central level, institutional
mechanisms for implementing the Act are not in place. As a result, many women
are facing difficulties in utilizing the Act. There has to be a budgetary
allocation to ensure that the institutional mechanisms required for the proper
implementation of the Act are properly operational zed.
Waqaf Development Corpus Fund—Allocation of development funds for
waqaf properties.
Physically and Mentally
Challenged Women: There should be special schemes and allocations for
addressing the needs of physically and mentally challenged women.
Thanking you in anticipation,
No comments:
Post a Comment