Gender and Development

India

Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environmental Management Project, 1999

No longer can urban development programs restrict themselves to issues of infrastructure and urban planning, without addressing issues such as the need for community participation and the complex linkages between poverty alleviation, environmental management and the urban built environment.

There is also a growing recognition of the need to consider gender, and in particular, the different roles, needs and perceptions of women and men in urban development and housing projects. This is particularly important as women are typically the primary collectors of water and managers of sanitation, waste disposal and environmental management. Women also bear a primary responsibility in household chores, so new or improved housing designs should incorporate women's views on structure, lighting, ventilation and heating. Furthermore, women and children are most vulnerable to violence and sexual assault, and so need to be considered as among the primary beneficiaries of street lighting and safe public transportation systems. At times this requires the inclusion of gender-specific strategies, which not only address the separate needs and demands placed on women, but also provide culturally-sensitive arenas for women to participate in the project as beneficiaries and decision makers.

India's Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environmental Management Project is one such project. As well as addressing water supply, waste management, drainage, land use and slum improvement, it also targets poverty reduction, employment generation, and community participation. In doing so, it also addresses the complex issues of gender and poverty, and women's limited participation in decision making.

Background to the Project

Urban and industrial growth in the state of Karnataka is concentrated along the narrow coastal strip that measures approximately 300 kilometers from Mangalore in the south to Karwar in the north. Urban growth in the coastal districts has far exceeded the capacity of existing infrastructure and services. Problems include the rapid depletion of ground water and the need for safe and potable treated water supplies; inadequate sewerage and sanitation facilities; poor solid waste management; inadequate drainage; uncontrolled industrial pollution and deforestration. These adversely affect human health and welfare, as well as economic growth and the natural environment.

Based on the socioeconomic survey conducted as part of the PPTA, more than 30 percent of the project beneficiaries are poor, with incomes below the official urban poverty line for the state of Karnataka, that is, RS 23,124 per annum for a household of five persons. Another 10 to 20 percent can be described as near poor with incomes ranging from RS 23,000 - RS 30,000 per annum. Households headed by women constitute approximately one third of all households; these households are among the poorest and most vulnerable.

Most of the urban poor in the project towns are migrants from rural areas, who are particularly vulnerable because they are 'outsiders' and from low castes. Low-income households are seriously disadvantaged in terms of access to education, health, employment and infrastructure. Most are caught up in a cycle of unemployment and underemployment, and have high levels of indebtedness to private money lenders. Men are employed mainly in fishing and fisheries-related occupations. Women are mainly employed in the informal sector, as cleaners or home workers, engaged in cigarette rolling for example. There is a high prevalence of child labor, and the project management unit will ensure that no child labor is employed on project activities. Several of the low-income settlements in the project towns are comprised of municipal employees, mainly scavengers and street sweepers. These workers are predominantly women and employed on temporary contracts. The houses of the poor, migrant workers and the temporary municipal employees are mostly 'sari houses', a local term used to describe fragile abodes made of mud, leaves, plastic and cloth. Some settlements, such as in Mangalore, are situated near garbage dumps. Most do not have toilet facilities.

The social assessment conducted during the PPTA identified that women and children are most adversely affected by poor living conditions and poor access to basic urban facilities. Their health is negatively affected by a lack of safe drinking water and smoky and unsanitary living conditions at home. Children in particular are highly vulnerable to water- and vector-borne diseases. Women and girls in households without piped connections spend as much as one hour per day collecting water. Women and girls living in slums and low-income neighborhoods are particularly affected by a lack of security and privacy.

Project Design

The overall objective of the project is to optimize social and economic development in ten towns along the west coast of Karnataka by supporting investments in urban infrastructure and the delivery of basic municipal services. The project has six components:

• capacity building for local government staff, community participation through a community awareness and participation program (CAPP), and slum improvement program designed to reduce poverty

• water supply rehabilitation and expansion

• urban environmental improvements through wastewater management, storm water drainage and solid waste management

• street and bridge improvements

• coastal environmental management

• project management and logistical support

The capacity building component for local government staff covers training in the areas of resource mobilization, cost recover, operation and maintenance (O&M), service delivery, community participation, land use planning, financial management and accounting, transport planning, benefit monitoring and evaluation, and municipal administration.

Community participation and involvement will be encouraged during the design, implementation and ongoing O&M phases to ensure local ownership of the project and equitable access to project benefits. The community awareness and participation program (CAPP) will be based on a partnership with selected NGOs. It is designed to promote community awareness, participation and education with respect to the design and implementation of the project. These NGOs will also be involved in the slum improvement program and poverty reduction. As a comprehensive urban development project, the project also targets poverty reduction and employment generation. NGOs in cooperation with community-based organizations will design and deliver both poverty reduction programs (such as savings and credit activities, training in skills development and entrepreneurship, etc.) and slum improvement projects (such as potable water, sanitation, solid waste management, drainage, pathway improvement, etc.).

Water supply rehabilitation and expansion, wastewater management, storm water drainage, solid waste management, street and bridge improvements, and coastal environmental management will be carried out in those areas with the greatest need or with the greatest return on investment in terms of environmental health. Of the total urban population in the ten towns - estimated to be more than 1.2 million in 2006 - 85 percent will benefit from improved water supply; approximately 50 percent will benefit from improved solid waste management; about 40 percent from better sewerage facilities, and about 25 percent from improved drainage. Slum improvements will substantially improve the health and living conditions of 30,000 residents. There will also be indirect benefits from improved streets and municipal facilities such as markets. Here the project will rehabilitate and construct new markets in each of the towns, including the provision of public toilets, drainage and waste collection.

Gender Inclusive Design

Improved hygiene, sanitation and infrastructure investments in the project will greatly benefit women's health, safety and productivity. The project's slum improvement program will lead to healthier lifestyles and increased privacy and security for women and girls. In addition, new infrastructure such as expanded water supply will reduce their household work load and increase time available for work as well as leisure.

In addition to these general benefits accruing to women from improved urban infrastructure, the project design includes specific measures to combat women's poverty and to promote women's active participation in the project.

Savings and Credit, Skills Development, Employment and Entrepreneurship

Poor women will also benefit from group savings and credit activities, skills development and entrepreneurship training, as well as employment opportunities provided by construction projects funded by the project.

• Community groups will be linked with the Government of India's Shahari Rozgar Yojana, an urban employment generation program that is primarily geared toward poor women. It is based upon the self-help concept, including group formation, savings and credit, and the development of enterprises for the poor.

• To ensure that women get equal benefits, such activities will be monitored by local NGOs and community-based organizations.

• To support market-oriented activities for women, the project will encourage local governments to reserve 30 percent of commercial space in new markets for female vendors.

Community Participation

The project will also empower women in the project area by increasing women's opportunity to participate in community and local government decision-making forums.

• The community awareness and participation program (CAPP) component will encourage women to participate in all project activities, including design, implementation, operation and maintenance, monitoring and evaluation through awareness raising and feedback mechanisms.

• To support women's participation in decision making, CAPP will establish a network of women leaders to provide additional input to project activities. This network will include female municipal council members and chairpersons, women's NGOs and female community.

• CAPP will also provide training and awareness activities, including women-in-development training to increase the opportunities of poor women to participate in public. In this way, the project will build women's social capital, thus empowering them to participate more generally in decision making and power sharing at the community level.