suggest one idea for employment generation in urban india
Answers
In 2007, the ILO Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (ROAP) and the Employment Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP-ASIST AP) initiated work on employment creation through community infrastructure works in low-income urban settlements, with the purpose of developing tools and guidelines for an urban employment strategy. The emphasis was on the use of local resources in settlement upgrading such as labour, materials, skills and contractors. The initiative consisted of the implementation of a number of pilot projects in urban areas in Cambodia and the Philippines and the preparation of a generic Guide for use in the Asia Pacific region1 .
A diverse team of experts provided the necessary inputs to the first version of this guide based on the different experiences. The team produced the designs, contracts and other materials for the pilot projects in cooperation with local government and the benefiting communities. The consultants also documented the experiences gained during the process. These project reports have formed the basis of the project descriptions and results reproduced in the first version of the Guide.
This proposal aims to take the process further both in terms of linking the strategy of creating employment through community infrastructure works to other urban development initiatives of the ILO (Local Economic Development in Nepal, Emergency Employment Creation in Timor Leste and Urban Green Jobs in the Philippines) and expanding on the existing Guide through additional pilot action programmes in partnerships with local administrations.
Investments in infrastructure have the potential to create jobs, reduce poverty and boost local economic development. The proposed activities will build on the 2007 experiences to further develop a generic tool to use public and private investments in infrastructure (and related services) to create urban jobs and reduce urban poverty in the Asia Pacific region. The proposed activities will also demonstrate the capacity ILO has developed in this field in the context of other development initiatives. In Nepal, activities will be implemented within the framework of the Dutch-funded EmpLED project which demonstrates integrated local economic development approaches for the creation of pro-poor and inclusive productive employment and economic opportunities. The proposed pilot area is Janakpur Municipality in Dhanusha District. The proposed activities will complement the RBSA activities in central Philippines by implementing interventions in an urban municipality to create green jobs as part of strengthening disaster preparedness of local governments in typhoon prone areas. The proposed area is in Albay province. In Timor Leste activities will be implemented in the low-income settlements in the capital Dili to support and strengthen the urban component of ILO’s current programme to support reconciliation and the peace process in the country through short-term emergency employment creation.
All activities will be planned and implemented with the beneficiaries following the principles set out in the first version of the Guide. The proposed projects will add value in terms of improving living and working conditions and generate income and create urban employment. The consultants working on this proposed project will document the process and lessons learned, keep track and record the process (activities, achievements and progress, challenges, methods etc.) as this will be used to elaborate on the current Guide and develop a second version of it. In line with earlier work, the focus will be on participatory planning with communities and local authorities, technical options and design solutions, implementation through partnerships and contracting, employment creation and management, operation and maintenance. Sub-projects will be implemented both in a poverty reduction and crisis context.
The proportion of poor people in Asia has fallen in recent decades but the region still accounts for two-thirds of the world’s poor, of whom 250 million are in urban areas. Recent economic growth has largely bypassed the urban poor as the benefits of growth do not always trickle down very fast. Special policies and programmes are needed to tackle urban unemployment and poverty.
Investments in infrastructure delivery can have important implications for employment creation. The direct results of investments include the generation of jobs, incomes and business opportunities, particularly if local resource-based methods are applied for the development, maintenance and operations of infrastructure of public and community interest. Longer lasting impacts such as improved access to goods and services, and larger production and productivity gains can contribute to sustainable poverty reduction and local development.