Mr. K.T. Rama Rao, the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister, wrote to Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Finance Minister.
Dated on the 27th of January, Thursday, Mr. K.T. Rama Rao asked Ms. Sitharaman to bring the National Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme (NUEGS) on the lines of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme l ike scheme to benefit the urban poor and to strengthen social security measures in urban areas. The letter read, “The nature of urban poverty poses distinct challenges for housing, water, sanitation, health, education, social security, livelihoods; the special needs of vulnerable groups such as women, children and the aging. Urban poor, both migrants from far off and intra-State, find the living conditions quite different and difficult in urban areas.” It further added, “The pandemic and the resultant lockdowns have impacted the urban poor, especially the migrant labour more than any other segment in terms of loss of livelihoods.”
Highlighting the need of the MGNREGS scheme for urban poor, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) minister said, urbanisation is now a global trend, as absence of livelihood in rural areas results in urban poverty, as majority of people settle down in urban regions.
According to the 2011 Census, 31% of the population, or about 380 million people, live in urban areas. This is a six fold increase from a mere 62 million in 1951. This number is estimated to increase to about 600 million by 2030, by which time 40 percent of the population would live in urban areas.
Mr. Rao said that States, like Telangana, were witnessing even faster pace of urbanisation and the urban population in these States was poised to cross the 50% mark in near future.
KTR further justified his request, citing the Wuhan virus pandemic, which has brought to the fore sufferings of urban poor, especially the migrant labour.
According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), unemployment rate in urban India is 9.4%and among the urban youth of 15-29 year age group, it has risen to 19.2% and 21.1% respectively in the pre lockdown periods of October-December, 2019 and January-March 2021 respectively.
Mr. Rama Rao concluded his letter asking Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman to consider the request. The letter addressed to the Union Finance Minister came ahead of the upcoming Union Budget Session 2022-2023, starting from the 31st of January.
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