urban basic service prog

URBAN BASIC SERVICES FOR THE POOR (UBSP)


The Urban Basic Services (UBS)
Programme in India was initiated during the
VII Five Year Plan period for urban poverty
alleviation. Based on the experience of implementing the
UBS Programme and the recommendations of the
National Commission on Urbanisation, the Government
revised it as “Urban Basic Services for the Poor”
(UBSP) (1991) and integrated it with other urban
poverty alleviation programmes, namely Environmental
Improvement of Urban Slums (EIUS), Nehru Rozgar
Yojana (NRY) and Low Cost Sanitation (LCS).


The objective of UBSP is to
create participatory community based
structures through which community participate in
identifying normativd felt needs, prioritize them and
play a major role in planning, implementing,
maintaining services and monitoring progress.


SALIENT FEATURES


One of the important features is
to provide social services and physical amenities
through convergence of various ongoing schemes of
Ministry of Urban Affairs & Employment and
various specialist departments like Health, Family
Welfare, Women & Child Development, Education,
Welfare, Labour, Small Scale Industry,
Non-Conventional Energy Sources and Science and
Technology. Such a convergent approach will lead to
optimum utilisation of scarce resources and help in
successful implementation of various
sectoral programmes thereby providing social services
and physical amenities to the urban poor.


TARGET GROUP


The urban poor residing in low
income Neighbourhoods are the target groups for
provision of social services under the Scheme and
physical amenities to be provided under the
Environmental Improvement of Urban Slums (EIUS) Scheme.
Urban poor residing contiguous to low income
neighbourhoods/slums would also be able to avail of
the social services provided under the Scheme.
Special emphasis is given to women and child beneficiaries.


NGOS


NGOs are increasingly becoming
critical element in the UBSP programme. Within the
UBSP programme, NGOs are involved as Field
Training Institutes for city level training. At city
level, NGOs conduct collaborative activities
including community mobilization, basic education,
women’s income generating and thrift societies
and community nutrition etc.





FINANCIAL OUTLAY


The Programme stands approved for implementation till the end of
Eighth Five Year Plani.e. upto 31.3.1997. From 1992-93
onwards, the expenditure of this Programme is
shared on a 60:40 basis between the Central Govt.
and the States. A total outlay of Rs. 82.45 crores
has been provided for the scheme for the Eighth Plan
Period. A sum of Rs. 18.00 crores has been
earmarked for the Programme as Central Share for
the year 1996-97 (out of which a sum of Rs. 7.77
crores has already been released to the States as on
31.12.1996).


ACHIEVEMENTS


As on 30th November, 1996, over
8061 Neighbourhood Development
Committees comprising primarily of urban poor women
have been set up in around 319 towns taken up for
provision of basic services all over the country.
This represents community based structures
covering around 75 lakhlow income women & children.
3877 Mini Plans have already been prepared and 574
Community Organisers are in teh field
working as catalysts for enriching community
participation. 558 Community Development Societies have been
formed in 4690 slum pockets selected for
coverage with 70854 Resident Community Volunteers.


TARGET


A target of ten lakh new
beneficiaries was set to be covered under the Programme
during 1996-97. The Programme has achieved over and
above the set target of 70 lakhs beneficlares
during the VIII Five Year Plan period touching 75 lakh
urban poor beneficiaries, from 64 lakh
beneficiaries by the end of the year 1995-96. For the year
1997-98. UBSP aims to achieve an additional target of 15.
Iakh beneficiaries.