Movement for People’s Rights to
Employment, Food Security, Health Care, Quality Education and Pension: (Andhra
Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka)
AN NGO COALITION OF RIGHTS IS BORN:
It
is very rare that NGOs from three States ( Andhra, Karnataka, and Telengana )
come together to discuss how one of the States has managed to get the
Government to establish a GO/NGO partnership called APNA. It is even more rare
that in Andhra, through this partnership, the NGOs have been made responsible
to organise Gram Panchayat Samakhyas ( GPS, which literally means an
organisation at the Gram Panchayat level) of MGNREGA job card holders.
Here is the most unique point of this partnership, as it is through these GPS
monthly meetings the NGOs work with MGNREGA workers to demand and receive
their rights.
Yet,
this meeting between NGOs from these three States did happen in Andhra on the
30 – 31st of May 2015, organised by APVVU, PRAXIS, and YIP. The meeting
resulted in a revolutionary decision, to make each GPS a Rights Based GPS.
Through these Rights Based GPSs, NGOs will help MGNREGA workers access all
rights legislated for them, including right to work, health and education.
Furthermore, this movement would be promoted across all the three States.
In
this recent posting we share the main points from the meeting and what actions
we hope to take forward as NGOs who believe in ensuring that rights are not
just legislated for the rural poor, but that they are able to access and
benefit from these rights.
MAIN ISSUES DISCUSSED ON 30th
AND 31st MAY MEETING AT Young Indian Project (YIP) CENTRE ANANTAPUR
DIST.
1
Eight NGOs from Telangana, 4
from Karnataka, 8 from Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Raj Sekhar from Action Aid, and Mr.
Anandam, APD MGNREGA , Kadapa met for two days to discuss how to replicate in
Karnataka and Telengana what NGOs have done in Andhra Pradesh making the Govt
create an active partnership of Govt and NGOs called Andhra Pradesh NGO Alliance
(APNA), and through APNA organise MGNREGA job card holders into Gram Panchayat
Samakhyas (GPS ) and enable them to access all rights given them by the Act.
2
Because of success of APNA/GPS thanks
to APNA and the Community Resource Persons(CRPs) appointed for each mandal by
the NGOs, Andhra Pradesh has become the best State in implementing MGNREGA, and
the only State in which Workers are organised by NGOS
into GPSs to demand and receive their rights. At present the government
used to pay Community Resource Persons Rs. 3500/ per month for their work. This amount is grossly insufficient for the
CRPs who have to travel to all the villages, conduct meetings and look after
their family needs. Increasing their salaries would mean taking away from
MGNREGA budget. This would result in
cutting down working days of the people.
To remedy this some representative of the NGOs from Andhra Pradesh met
the Principal Secretary RD and made some recommendations. According to the recommendation Andhra Pradesh
Vyavasaya Vrittidara Union (APVVU), Young India Project and others have decided
to make APNA and the GPS responsible for all rights and benefits of the MGNREGA
families (more than 51 % are women, and between 50 to 60 % are dalits). The job card holder families will have to pay
Rs. 5/ per month or Rs. 60 per year to their respective GPS to pay for the
services of the two CRPs who are now being paid by APNA. This proposal has been
submitted to Mr. Tucker (Principal Sec. Planning and R.D.), and to Mr
Ramanjanyelu CRD, and both have responded
positively. Over the next four months we will have to develop a Government Order
(GO) with the help of Mr. Chiranjivi (Planning),and Mr. Narayan Reddy Secretary APNA ,to enable our proposal to be
implemented. APVVU and YIP will be responsible for this. In addition APVVU and
YIP will do the following:
1. a) Hold a meeting with
6 NGOs per district from Chittoor,Nellore (Raja Reddy will be responsible for
selecting them), Kadapa (Shiva Reddy will select them), Kurnool and Anantapur (YIP
will be responsible for selecting them).
b) All NGO CRPs should
start a signature campaign with their GPSs asking for all rights and benefits
to be accessed through their GPSs and their willingness to pay Rs 60 per year
per job card to support their CRPs.
c) APVVU and YIP will work with the Govt to
develop the GO.
2. Anandam, APD MGNREGA
Kadapa offered to host the meeting for 40 participants, this will include food
and lodging, and if possible travel. Bedi will write to Mr. Balasubramaniam, PD
Kadapa. The meeting will be from lunch on the 4th of July to after
lunch on the 5th of July at Kadapa . Mr. Anandam will communicate to us about the
venue.
3. The Karnataka participants made the following
decisions : a) Alex and Shantha will talk to Vimochna and an NGO headed by Prabhavati, to adopt 4 Gram
Panchayats in Kolar district and with the help of YIP start forming GPSs with 200
job card holders per GPS. B) Edwin said he will talk to the activists he has
worked with and organise a meeting to discuss which of them would be interested
in working with MGNREGA workers. Praxis, APVVU, and YIP will be invited to the
meeting.
4. Telengana made two decisions : a)They will
try to get NGOs from Telengana State NGO’s Association ( TSNA ) to join the
movement, and b)They will train their own
groups in our way of working and get them into TSNA. Charles Wesley and Nilaiah will be
responsible for Telangana.
5. It was decided that this rights movement
promotion group will meet every three
months to review the progress made in each of the three States.
6. It was also decided that a training and
guidance cell be formed to respond to any request from any of the three States.
The cell will comprise of Alex Tuscano, Mamtha, Ganesh, and Narendar Bedi.
7. The meeting was concluded with thanks to
the three hosts: APVVU, PRAXIS, and YIP.
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