குடிசை மாற்று வாரியம் மூலம் சமுதாயத்தில் பின் தங்கிய மக்களுக்கு திமுக செய்த உதவிகள் பகுதி (4)

குடிசை மாற்று வாரியம் மூலம்
சமுதாயத்தில் பின் தங்கிய மக்களுக்கு திமுக செய்த உதவிகள் பகுதி (4)

Welfare Schemes for the Economically Under-Privileged
The slogan of the D.M.K. especially of Anna was "one in see God, in the
smiles of the poor". True to this slogan, the D.M.K. implemented many schemes
to remove the tears of the poor.

The social policies implemented or the
financially underprivileged are to be studied under five major schemes (a) The
Slum Clearance Programme,

(b) Implementation of Beggar's Rehabilitation
Programme;

 (c) Free health services for the underprivileged;


(d) welfare of the handicapped;

and (e) Loans for the economically under
privileged.


குடிசை மாற்று வாரியம்


A. The Slum Clearance Programme
Slums are a source of major social problems through out the world. Social
studies reveal that 50% of the world population lives in the slums, especially in
cities like Bombay, Delhi, Culcutta and Madras. In Madras they are called
'Cheris' in Tamil.

The Tamil Nadu Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act
of 1971, defines a slum as "any predominatly residential area where dwellings
reek of dilapidation, overcrowding faulty arrangement, lack of , ventilation, light
or sanitary facilities or any combination of these factors to safety, health or
morals of the people inhabiting these residences.


 The slum is taken
to mean hutting areas, with huts erected in a haphazard manner,
without proper access, without protected water supply and drainage arrangements
and so congested as to allow of little free flow of air to get in.
.
The formation of slums can be attributed to the flow of population from
the rural to urban areas, untrained in any vocational skills and unemployed in the
village.

 They are lured by bright lights of the city and hopes of employment. The
industrial and commercial establishments and Governmental offices are found
in the urban areas, and they serve as a powerful incentive to the people.

 The
migrating people belong to the working classes. Some manage to get
employment. Many do not. Still they continue to live in the city. They manage
to stay with relatives already residing in slums and continue living with them
even after securing employment, because it is more economical.

 They do not
mind the inconveniences caused by over crowding. If they do not have any
relations due to the difficulty of securing accommodation within their means, the
labourers squat on open spaces, near their working place and put up huts.

Many
of them are employed in construction sites as casual labourers and also as
domestic servants. Due to the casual nature of employment the employers do not
care to supply the needs of their employees. Due to haphazard housing, the
slums present the most ugly, unhygienic and nauseating scene.

 During rains the
slums are flooded, pathways become swampy and provide a breeding place for
mosquitoes. Further, damages to personal health owing to lack of basic
amenities, and absence of minimum needs and comforts are the horrors prevalent in slum areas. Further, the huts are built of cheap building materials, which are
prone to fire accidents in summer and crumbling walls during monsoon seasons,
both calamities resulting in loss of life.

 These slums encroach on highways and
platform, so are a hindrance to the flow or traffic, especially when they cannot
find private of poramboke lands. The road are converted in to play fields and
road margins are converted into public lavatories.75
In Madras, the first slums were formed by fishermen along the sea coast;
these were followed by Municipal scavengers, labourers in Madras Harbour.


With the influx of rural people into the city, the number of slums has been fast
increasing. The records of 1931, show the presence of 181 slums, they increased
to 306 in 1953. The Census records of 1961 show that the slums numbered
348.


 The survey of planning records conducted in 1971 show the presence of
1201 slums, of them 454 are in North Madras, and 748 are in South Madras. The
higher number of slums in South Madras can be explained by the presence of
larger tracts of open space there when compare to North Madras, which is
predominantly an industrial area.

 The non availability of vacantland in North
Madras leads to the workers building their huts on Corporation dumping
grounds, and even over drainage and sewage pipe lines. Slums occupy 6% of the
total city area of 128.83 km.


 The number of families listed in the slums range from 1000-1500. There
are about 1,63,804 families with a population 7,37,531 residing in the slums of
Madras City in 1971 as against 97,851 families with a population of 4,12,168 in
1961.


Based on the study of the Socio-Economic condition of Madras Slums conducted by the
planning and Investigation cell of the Tamil Nadu Slum clearance Board in 1971.


Phase 1

phase 1 was mrant for 4,750 families in multi-storeyed tenements at a total estimated cost
of Rs-8,059 crores. The Phase scheme could be implemented immediately
due to availability of lands belonging to public works Department. Here 2094
tenements were proposed to be constructed at a cost of Rs.2,094 crores.

Phase II
consisted of implementation of housing policy by acquiring lands from private
owners. In this phase 5,693 tenements were to be constructed at a cost of
Rs.5.693 crores.

Implementation of slum clearance

1971 – 72 : The Tamil Nadu government sanctioned 47 schemes under which
14,193 tenements at an estimated cost of Rs.1152.70 lakhs would be built. But
only 2,842 had been constructed in the various parts of Madras.

1972-73: 21 Slum Clearance Schemes of 7,098 tenements at an estimated cost of
Rs.756.10 lakhs were sanctioned but only 4,724 tenements had been constructed.

Further the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board got sanction from the
government of India for Rs.258.152 lakhs to provide basic amenities under 13
phases covering over 109 slums in the city of Madras, benefiting 2.52 lakhs of
people. This had been implemented.


1973 - 74 : 10 schemes comprising of 1696 tenements at an estimated cost of
Rs.161.93 lakhs were sanctioned and 4,768 tenements were constructed in
various slums in Madras City.


அடிப்படை வசதிகள்

Further a sum of Rs.150.190 lakhs benefiting 1.36 lakhs of people was
sanctioned by the Board to provide basic amenities. The very same year, the
preliminary work was also done.

1974 - 75: 19 Slum Clearance Schemes consisting of 4,528 tenements at an
estimated cost of Rs.490.90 lakhs and 1654 tenements were sanctioned during
this year span.

1975 - 76: Only one scheme costing Rs.485 lakhs benefiting a slum population
of 665 was sanctioned by the Board.

1976 - 77: 2,554 tenements were constructed in various slums in Madras. The
Slum Clearance Board undertook the work of providing basic amenities to 185
slums benefiting 19,169 slum families in the city
The number of completed tenements from 1970 - 75 is given in the following

Table No. V.99
TABLE – V
YEAR
1970
to
1971
1971 to
1972
1972 to
1973
1973 to
1974
1974 to
1975
1975 to
1976 Total
Completed
Tenements. 712 2,560 4,910 4,768 3,734 2,317 19,001


The Government offered certain percentage of tenements to the low paid
Government and Quasi-Government employees who were living in the slum, and also to other slum dwellers who were prepared to pay the cost of the tenements in
installments on hire purchase basis


The Slum Clearance Board- considered several proposals reduce the
financial strain, due to heavy subsidy of monthly rents. One among them is the
Remunerative enterprise Scheme.


 This scheme includes construction of rental
buildings like shops, show rooms, restaurants, office accommodations, bachelors'
Quarters, godowns and allowing firms to put up neon signs for commercial
purpose, on top of some of the Board's buildings on an annual rental basis. The
objective of the Remunerative Enterprise Scheme is to vail the resources
advanced by the various financial institutions, to create assets for the Board
which will fletch more revenue to subsidies the rent for the tenements, on
clearing the loan, also to relieve the financial burden of the government, and to
provide job opportunities for the slum dwellers and to provide social
upliftment and education.


The capital for these various aims was obtained on
long term basis from commercial banks and from HUDCO, a Government of
India organisation. After the repayment of such loans from the income derived
from the Remunerative Enterprise Schemes in 10 to 20 years, the building would
be a permanent source of revenue to the Board.

 During the D.M.K. rule, eleven
Remunerative Enterprise Schemes were commenced.


The Central Government also took interest in the welfare of slum
dwellers. It introduced the 'Environmental Improvement Scheme1
 in the year
1972, to provide basic amenities to the slum dwellers in slums which had not
been taken for immediate clearance. Financial help for this scheme was given by
the Central Government only upto 1973-74. However the State Government
continued this scheme with its own financial resources.




100% grant, the Government decided in June 1975, that the entire assistance so
far given to the Slum Clearance Board would be considered a 100% grant. The
government also decided that the funds provided for the slum clearance schemes
in the state budget be treated as subsidy from the year 1975-76 onwards.

 Apart
from the funds provided by the Government, the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance
Board gets financial assistance from commercial institutions, the HUDCO and
the World Bank as long term loans


Social Welfare Activities in the Slums
A new Residents' Welfare Trust was founded with the permission of
Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board and sponsored jointly by the Madras
Christian Council and Social Service and Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board, the
"New Residents' Welfare Trust11 was registered on December 30, 1971, with
Rt. Rev. L. Newbigin as Chairman with the object of providing expert social
service and advice to the New Residents' Welfare Trust of the Tamil Nadu Slum
Clearance Board Housing Project.


This New Residents' Welfare Trust employs 14 Postgraduate trained
social workers as Resident Welfare Officers who would act as friends,
philosophers and guides for the slum


The aims of these social workers were
1. Training people in leadership skills;
2. Training people in organisation;
3. Training people in the process of thinking and acting together in
problem solving.
4. Assisting people to use avail able resources;
5. Helping people to organise new projects or service on a self-help
basis, and
6. Starting new groups or strengthening existing ones.
The slum dwellers were taught to maintain clean surroundings. The
Resident Welfare Officer using methods such as meeting of block
representatives, exhibitions, posters, pamphlets, film shows, individual contacts,
dramas-and puppet shows .tried to spread the message of maintaining the areas
clean. Further, youth clubs were started for Gleaning campaigns.


A Medical Wing consisting of 2 Medical Officers, a Community Nurse
and Health Visitors was set up In collaboration with Kalyani Hospital, Voluntary
Health Services, Indian Medical Association,and Lenin Clinic. The Residents
Welfare Officers arrange for medical care of the people living in tenements. This dispensary took care of community health, by not only giving treatment for
diseases but also by methods of prevention. The more serious cases were
referred to Kalyani Hospital, Government Royapettah Hospital and Institute of
Child Health, Madras-8. The health of children living in the tenements was taken
care of and a complete record of their health was maintained.

 Usually children
were inoculated against small pox, cholera, typhoid, and B.C.L, T.B., Polio and
D.P.T. immunisation were administered. With the aid of the German Leoprosy
Relief Association, the Leoprosy diagnosis and treatment was done in two
colonies as an experimental measure.


Further, mini health centres were formed, with a community health Nurse,
a team of Nurse and Health Visitors who visited each tenement and maintained
family folders and child welfare records. The objectives of these mini health
centres were :-

1. To raise the nutritional status of the children;
2. Reduce the percentage of people affected by communicable
diseases,
3. Raise the percentage of immunised population; and
4. Lower the birth rate and other such action as well and promote
community health.
Within this period to make the community more health conscious and
involve them in healthy living and make them realise the advantages of good health and clean surroundings, the department of Special Welfare and CARE had
initiated a joint Nutrition Education project. A project nutritionist aided by local
girls educated in Nutrition programmes, took care of projects involving infant
feeding.


Daycare centres were created.108
Accommodation, water supply and Electricity were provided to these Day
Care Centres. A trained teacher on a Salary of Rs.100/- each and a grant of 20
paise per child per day for Nutritious Mid Day Meal expenses were also
provided. The New Residents’ Welfare Trust provided Kitchen equipments,
conducted monthly medical check-up, immunization, monthly weight record of
each child and conducted meeting of mothers to educate them on child rearing.

 In the Housing Projects, Adult Education and literacy classes were
conducted, Night schools were operated for children, and they were helped in
their studies. Women were trained on how to maintain ‘Happiness in Homes’
and leadership training programmes were held. Saving schemes were conducted
with the co-operation of National Savings organisations.110
Income Supplementing Schemes
Local women were trained in special skills like tailoring and basic work,
to make extra income for the family by the social welfare Department. Some of the areas chosen for this training were Srinivasapuram, Nochi Nagar, M.S.Nagar,
West Cemetry Road and 12 other areas. After training, efforts were made to find
empolyment for them.


 They were trained in leather batik and the products of
their labour were exported to Sweden, Denmark, United Kingdom and United
States of America. This organisation had been registered as an Industrial Co-
operative Society under the Department of Industries and Commerce, Tamil
Nadu. It will be quite Interesting to know that small waste bits of cloth, worth
nothing are utilised to earn appreciable amount of 'foreign exchange through this
Trust. Such waste bits were collected by the Trust and arrangements were made
for ; stitching garments with the help of trained women in the Board's Housing
Estate. These waste bits of cloth were cut and stitched in the shape of flowers,
which were later arranged and stitched as Bed spreads and Table Cloth. About
300 women had been trained in this work, and these had a great demand in
Australia, U.K., U.S.A. and Germany.111
Recreation
Boys were trained in indoor and outdoor games through Youth Clubs,
histrionic talents of girls and boys were Utilised for conducting dramas of
educational value. Women and children were given chances to participate in
Radio Programmes.

தொடரும்