The Tura Municipal Board undertakes responsibility for construction and maintenance of Public Utilities like roads, drainage system, public conveniences, community halls, etc. for all the areas under its jurisdiction. The expenditure is met from various heads like Intensive Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP), Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY), Government Grant-in-Aid and from the Board’s own fund.

Roads and Drains:
As all the major roads in the city are constructed and maintained by the State Public Works Department (PWD), the Board constructs and maintains minor roads, lanes, bye-lanes and footpaths. The roads constructed by the Municipal Board are generally cement concrete roads.

The Board undertakes, cleaning and maintenance of all the drains in the town on a regular basis.

Public Conveniences:
The Tura Municipal Board also constructs public conveniences in the form of pay-and-use toilets at selected places all around the city. These not only provide conveniences to the general public but also provide employment to local unemployed youths as collectors.

Community Halls:
Various localities in the city have their community halls built by the Tura Municipal Board or built with financial aid from the Tura Municipal Board.

Special Urban Works Programme (SUWP):
The Special Urban Works Programme (SUWP) is a programme introduced by the Government of Meghalaya for implementation of development schemes Assembly-Constituency wise, with the active cooperation and participation of the people. Through this scheme, the M.L.A of the area identifies the development works to be taken for a certain year and the Board implements them in accordance with availability of funds.

Government Grant-in-Aid:
In addition to the above, the State Government also provides the Board with a yearly Grant-in-Aid to implement the various development works not included in any of the above mentioned schemes. The Board also under take Development work through its own resources subject to availability of funds.

Solid Waste management Project
Establishment of a proper solid waste management system and its subsequent successful operation and maintenance in a sustainable way is very essential for all towns. Uncontrolled dumping, rotting garbage and the hazards of environmental pollution are the resultant effects of a poorly managed solid waste management system. Admittedly, the Board is constrained by the absence of a scientific waste disposal system. Therefore, to meet the compliance requirement of the Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules 2000, a study of the solid waste generation of Tura Town has been made by M/s Anderson Biotech, Shillong. Based on the study report, a proposal to set up Scientific Solid Waste Management Project for Tura Town has been submitted to the Government in the Urban Affairs Department and is likely to be implemented soon.

Integrated Low Cost Sanitation Schemes (ILCS)
Govt. of India has launched a programme under the name and style of Integrated Low Cost Sanitation Schemes, nowadays operated through Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation in those areas where no latrines in EWS houses are available and people belonging to these areas are forced to defecate in open place. The main objectives of the scheme envisages conversion of existing dry latrines into water sealed toilets with super structure and construction of new ones to household belonging to EWS category, who have no latrines in Urban area.

In order to cope with massive unhygienic living condition and sanitation problems, which have emerged as a result of fragmentation of old houses into small ones, disintegration of joint family system and rapid urban growth, a coherent policy for eradication of dry latrines from Urban Areas is needed at an All Town Coverage basis.

Thus the scheme has two missions, firstly to eradicate inhuman scavenging system and secondly to provide hygienic condition to inhabitants of such identified urban areas.

Town are to be selected from the various States and Union Territories irrespective of their population criteria and also persons belonging to EWS house holds who have no latrines and defecate in the open in urban areas. Depending upon the prevalence of dry latrines targets will be fixed. Priority is to be given to those towns which have a predominance of dry latrines. Scheme will be applicable to all towns where dry units exist or for persons who have no latrines and defecate in the open.

The scheme is on ‘All Town’ coverage basis. The proposal can be submitted by the local body or organizations duly authorized by the State Government to the State Urban Development Authority for undertaking the programme. After implementation the concerned urban local body / organization has to give an undertaking prohibiting dry latrines in the towns thereafter. Selection of beneficiaries is to be done on the basis of Biometric Survey conducted and there after appraisal of the survey report by the District Urban affairs Unit (DUAU) from its own sources, the DUAU will finalize the beneficiary list.

URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION SCHEMES

National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP)
The Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution of India enjoin upon the State to undertake within its means a number of welfare measures. These are intended to secure for the citizens adequate means of livelihood, raise the standard of living, improve public health, provide free and compulsory education for children etc. In particular, Article 41 of the Constitution of India directs the State to provide public assistance to its citizens in case of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement and in other cases of undeserved want within the limit of its economic capacity and development. It is in accordance with these noble principles that the Government of India on 15th August 1995 included the National Social Assistance Programme in the Central Budget for 1995-96. The Prime Minister in his broadcast to the Nation on 28th July 1995 announced that the programme will come into effect from 15th August 1995.

The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) comprise of National Old Age Pension Scheme (now called Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme), National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) and National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS). These programmes were meant for providing social assistance benefit to the aged, the BPL households in the case of death of the primary breadwinner and for maternity. These programmes were aimed to ensure minimum national standards in addition to the benefits that the States were then providing or would provide in future.
 

The scale of benefit and eligibility for various schemes of NSAP when first started were as follows:

1. National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS): Rs 200/- per month is provided per beneficiary for destitute above 65 years. The scheme covered destitute having little or no regular means of subsistence from his / her own sources of income or through financial support from family members or other sources.

2. National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS): A grant of Rs 10,000/-* in case of death due to natural causes and case of accidental death of the “primary breadwinner” is provided to the bereaved household under this scheme. The primary breadwinner as specified in the scheme, whether male or female, had to be a member of the household whose earning contributed substantially to the total household income. The death of such a primary breadwinner occurring whilst he or she is in the age group of 18 to 64 years i.e., more than 18 years of age and less than 65 years of age, makes the family eligible to receive grants under the scheme.

*[In 1998, the amount of benefit under NFBS was raised to Rs 10,000/- in case of death due to natural causes as well as accidental causes.]

Features of the Schemes

Some of the other important features of the schemes are as follows:

1. Selection: The Gram Panchayat / Municipalities are expected to play an active role in the identification of the beneficiaries under the three schemes.

2. Disbursement: Apart from the disbursal of benefits through the accounts of the beneficiaries in Banks or in Post Office Savings Banks or through Postal Money Order the assistance under NOAPS, may also be disbursed in public meetings such as Gram Sabha meetings in rural areas and by neighbourhood / mohalla committees in urban areas.

3. Monitoring: They States have to designate a Nodal Secretary at the State level to report the progress of implementation by coordinating with different departments concerned with the implementation of the schemes. The progress of implementation of the schemes is to be reported through quarterly reports in a given monitoring format by the 15th of month of the following quarter. Non-reporting of the physical and financial progress reports is construed as lack of progress and therefore, may result in the non-release of additional central assistance for the last quarter of the financial year. Since the ACA allocations for the schemes lapse at the end of the financial year, the installments cannot be released during the next financial year, even if a State Govt. reports progress subsequent to the cut-off dates fixed as above.
   State Level and District Level Committees have been constituted for the purpose of the monitoring and evaluation of the schemes. The State Level Committee is headed by the Chief Secretary and District Level Committee is headed by the Deputy Commissioner.
    

Enhancement of Pension amount under NOAPS during 2006-07

Finance Minister in his Budget Speech for the year 2006-07 had announced as follows:-

National Social Assistance Programme
29. “Old age pensions are granted under the National Social Assistance Programme(NSAP) to destitute persons above the age of 65 years at Rs.75 per month. This is woefully inadequate. I propose to increase the pension to Rs.200 per month. I have provided Rs.1,430 crore for 2006-07 and additional funds, if required, will be provided during the course of the year. I would urge State Governments to make an equal contribution from their resources so that a destitute pensioner would get at least Rs.400 per month. I also propose to work with the Department of Posts and the banks to establish, within two years, a system under which the pension will be credited directly to the account of the beneficiary in a post office or a bank.”
Hence, all States and UTs barring a few started disbursing at least Rs.200/- per month per beneficiary in 2006-07 under NOAPS.

SWARNA JAYANTI SHAHARI ROZGAR YOJANA (SJSRY)

All the three Urban Poverty Alleviation schemes, namely, Urban Basic Services for the Poor (UBSP), Nehru Rozgar Yojana (NRY) and Prime Minister’s Integrated Urban Poverty Eradication Programme (PMI-UPEP) stand subsumed in a new scheme Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) with effect from 1 December 1997. The SJSRY seeks to provide gainful employment to the urban unemployed or under-employed through encouraging the setting up of self-employment ventures or provision of wage employment. This programme relies on creation of suitable community structures. The Yojana is funded on a 75:25 basis by the Centre and the States. The scheme consists of two special programmes:

1. the Urban Self-Employment Programme (USEP), and

2. the Urban Wage Employment Programme (UWEP).

URBAN SELF-EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME (USEP)
This programme has three components;

• Assistance to individual urban poor beneficiaries for setting up gainful self-employment ventures,

• Assistance to groups of urban poor women for setting up gainful self-employment ventures. This sub-scheme has been titled “The Scheme for Development of Women and Children in the Urban Areas (DWCUA)”; and

• Training of beneficiaries, potential beneficiaries and other persons associated with the urban employment programme for up gradation and acquisition of vocational and entrepreneurial skills.

Gainful self-employment ventures:

Self employment programme encourages the underemployed or unemployed youths to set up small enterprises relating to servicing petty business and manufacturing for there are a lot of potentialities in Urban area. To avoid duplication with the ongoing PMRY, the component is confined to below poverty line beneficiaries who have got educational qualification up to tenth standard. The maximum unit cost will be Rs.50,000/- and the maximum allowable subsidy will be 15% of the project cost, subject to a limit of Rs.7500/-. Beneficiary contribution required to the scheme is 5% of the project cost as margin money.
The programme is applicable to all urban towns in India and implemented on a whole-town basis with special emphasis on urban poor clusters. The programme targets the urban poor, defined as those living below the urban poverty-line. The percentage of women beneficiaries under this programme shall not be less than 30 per cent. The SCs and STs must be benefited in proportion to their strength in local population. A provision of three per cent shall be reserved, for the disabled under this programme. There is no minimum educational qualification for beneficiaries under this programme. However this scheme is not applied to beneficiaries educated beyond the IX standard. Women beneficiaries belonging to worn headed households, viz., widows, divorcees, single women, or house: where women are the sole earners, are ranked higher in priority.

Development of Women and Children in Urban Areas (DWCUA):

Development of Women and Children in Urban Areas (DWCUA) programme aims at helping groups of urban poor women in taking up self-employment ventures. The group may consist of at least 10 women. The ceiling of subsidy under the scheme is Rs 1.25 lakh or 50 per cent of the cost of the project whichever is less.
Where the group sets itself up as Thrift and Credit Society, in addition to its self-employment venture, it will be eligible for an additional grant of Rs 25,000 as revolving fund at the rate of Rs. 1000/- maximum per member. The fund is meant for purposes like purchase of raw materials and marketing, infrastructure support, one-time expense on child care activity, expenses up to Rs.500/- on travel cost of group members to bank, payment of insurance premium for self/spouse/child by maintaining saving for different periods by a member and any other expense allowed by the State in groups interest. The revolving fund can be availed by a group only after one year of its formation.

Training:

Skill development through appropriate training is another element of this programme. Training includes variety of services and manufacturing trades as well as in local skills and local crafts so that they can setup self employment ventures to secure salaried employment with enhanced remuneration.

URBAN WAGE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME (UWEP)

This programme seeks to provide wage employment to beneficiaries living below the poverty-line within the jurisdiction of urban local bodies by utilising their labour for constructing of socially and economically useful public assets like low cost water supply, poor flush community latrines, drainage related earthworks, community facilities, etc. There are no restrictions on educational qualification. The programme applies to urban local bodies, having a population of less than five lakh as per the 1991 census. The material/labour ratio for works under this programme is to be maintained at 60:40. The prevailing minimum wage rate, as notified from time to time for each area, has to be paid to beneficiaries under this programme. The programme is dovetailed with the state sector Environmental Improvement of Urban Slums (EIUS) scheme as well as the National Slum Development Programme (NSDP). This programme is not designed to either replace or substitute the EIUS, the NSDP, or any other state sector scheme.

SJSRY GUIDELINES 2009 : SALIENT FEATURES

Objectives:

1. Addressing urban poverty alleviation through gainful employment to the urban unemployed or under employed poor by encouraging them to set up self-employment ventures (individual or group), with support for their sustainability or undertake wage employment.

2. Supporting skill development and training programmes to enable the urban poor have access to employment opportunities opened up by the market or undertake self-employment.

3. Empowering the community to tackle the issues of urban poverty through suitable self-managed community structures like Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs), Neighbourhood Committees (NHCs), Community Development societies (CDS), etc.

Scheme Components:

1. Urban Self Employment Programme (USEP)

2. Urban women Self-Help Programme (UWSP)

3. Skill Training for Employment Promotion amongst Urban Poor (STEP-UP)

4. Urban Wage Employment Programme (UWEP)

5. Urban Community Development Network (UCDN)

Target Groups : USEP & STEP-UP

• Special attention to be given to women, Scheduled Castes (SC)/Scheduled Tribes (ST), Differently-abled Persons

• Percentage of women beneficiaries shall not be less than 30 per cent

• SCs and STs must be benefited at least to the extent of proportion of their strength in the city/town population

• Special provision of 3 percent to be reserved for the differently-abled persons

• Under the Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities, 15 percent of the physical and financial targets regarding assistance for micro enterprises and skill training under SJSRY have to be earmarked for the minority communities
   

Delivery Mechanism

Delivery if inputs through to be through the medium of Urban Local bodies and Community Structures, NHGs (Neighbourhood Committee), NHCs and CDs

Urban Self Employment Programme (USEP)

• USEP to focus on assistance to individual urban poor beneficiaries for setting up gainful self-employment ventures – micro enterprises

• No educational qualification is prescribed for the selection of beneficiaries

• Project cost ceiling for individual enterprises for self-employment is enhanced to Rs. 2 lakhs from Rs. 50,000/- with subsidy component increased to 25% of the project cost or Rs. 50,000/- whichever is less.

• Infrastructure component provides for the setting up of Micro-business Centres (MBCs), housing common facilities and providing small enterprises business services to be managed by the beneficiaries themselves in collaboration with other stake holders on PPP mode.

• An average of Rs. 80/- lakhs to be provided for the MBCs (one time capital grant of Rs. 60 lakhs + Rs.20 lakhs for the running cost for three years on a tapered scale).

• Support for Nagarpalika Seva/Suvidha Kendras, Service Centres at Community level & Common Facility Centres at Cluster Level.

• Provision of Small Enterprises Advisory Services to Micro-entrepreneurs through Experts in the areas of Community Mobilisation, Skill & Entrepreneurship, business Development, Finance & Credit & Marketing.

Urban Women Self Help Programme

• UWSP Group to undertake thrift and credit function as Self Help Group (SHG) / undertake Group Enterprises / promote Local Social and Economic Development Agenda

• UWSP (Loan and Subsidy) UWSP Group entitled to a subsidy of Rs.3,00,000/- or 35% of the cost of the project or Rs.60,000/- per member of the group whichever is less

• UWSP Revolving fund : UWSP Group entitled to a lump sum grant of Rs. 25,000/- as Revolving Fund @ Rs.2000/- maximum per member based on prescribed criteria of performance

• Groups will be encouraged to undertake social security and other measures for the benefit of the members – Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana, Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, National Social Assistance Programme, etc.

List of Self Help Groups (SHG) Registered with Tura Municipal Board

Role of Community Organiser

• Act as main link between the urban poor community (represented through Community Development Society) & town Urban Poverty Alleviation (UPA) Cell.

Responsibilities of Community Organiser

• Facilitate and promote voluntarism, Self-Help & Mutual Help

• Organise community Groups, Structures & Federations: NHG/SHG, NHC, CDS, etc.

• Guide and assist the community in assessing needs organizing and developing vision and formulating Community Development Action Plan

• Co-ordinate Slum, Household and Livelihood Surveys and maintain database

• Work with the community to implement and monitor SJSRY and other programmes – ensure convergence at the local level

• Assess skill needs of the urban poor and facilitate skill development training and post training hand holding

• Liaise with sectoral departments for tapping synergy between SJSRY & other programmes

• Liaise with Banks for availability of credit for Self Employment, assist bankers in loan recovery and provide support to Micro-entrepreneurs /Group Enterprises (Courtesy : MOHUPA, New Delhi)

Integrated Housing & Slum Development Programme (IHSDP)

Under the schemes of Integrated Housing & Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the Central Government provides assistance to States/UTs for development of urban slums through provision of physical amenities and basic services. It would be ensured that the benefits of these programmes flow equitably to members of the minority communities and to cities/slums, predominantly inhabited by minority communities.