Winter this year could be less agonising for the homeless in Bengaluru if all goes as per the plans of an independent impartial committee for urban homeless, constituted at the State-level as per the Supreme Court directions.
The committee, set up seven months ago, had its first meeting recently, in which it recommended to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to set up at least 10 shelters in the city for urban homeless in the next three months.
According to officials who attended the meeting, they suggested to the BBMP to set up the shelters near busy places such as K.R. Market and the city railway station at Majestic, to begin with.
- There are 8,872 urban homeless in 35 cities with more than one lakh population in the State
- In Bengaluru, there are an estimated 13,000 homeless people
This recommendation comes in the wake of an acute shortage of shelters for the homeless in the city. In 2010, the Supreme Court had directed all State governments to set up shelters in cities with a population of more than one lakh. However, in Bengaluru, which has a population of over a crore, there are only six such shelters, in place of the requisite 100.
According to a survey conducted under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) last year, there are 8,872 urban homeless in 35 cities with more than one lakh population in the State. In Bengaluru, there are an estimated 13,000 homeless people. The committee, set up under the chairmanship of the former Chief Secretary Subhash Chandra Khuntia to review the progress of the functioning of these shelters under the Deen Dayal Anthyodaya Yojana – NULM, is expected to hold regular meetings and report the findings to the Centre. The members include officials from the Urban Development Department, Department of Skill Development, and activists working for the cause.
As per the guidelines under the NULM, the civic body can make use of government buildings to house the homeless, in the absence of which, it can rent out private buildings.
“If there is no private building available, then the civic body should construct a shelter,” an official said.
The committee has also recommended that those managing the centres tie-up with nearby Indira canteens to provide food to the residents and to coordinate with local Health Department officials to conduct health camps and provide counselling for those living in these shelters.
They are struggling to survive
At a time when the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been asked to set up more shelters for the homeless, existing shelters are struggling to survive. The BBMP has neither paid dues to the NGOs running these shelters for years nor has it paid salaries to the guards and those appointed to manage the shelters.
One such shelter is at Jambusavari Dinne in Bommanahalli zone. City-based NGO Surabhi Trust, which is running the place for the past eight years, has to get dues from the last four years at the rate of ₹4,05,300 a year, said A.S. Patil, managing director of the Surabhi Foundation Trust.
The BBMP had tied up with ISKCON to provide food for those staying in these shelters. This, however, has been stopped since the civic body has not paid to ISKCON, the staff at the shelter said. Recently, the BBMP asked them to tie up with food points provided for pourakarmikas, but this has failed to work as the food provided is barely sufficient for pourakarmikas themselves.
The employees here said they have provided shelters to at least 900 people in the last eight years, including 30 families which eventually moved to rented spaces. While the shelter at present hosts 16 individuals, most of them being senior citizens, they felt they were unable to reach out to homeless families as the current infrastructure is more suitable for individuals than families. “There was a talk from the government’s end on establishing small rooms to accommodate families, but this idea did not see any progress,” an employee said.
R. Gopinath, activist working for the cause of urban homeless and a member of the independent impartial committee set up as per directions of the Supreme Court, said the situation would remain a challenge until the BBMP worked in coordination with the NULM. As per the apex court directions, the BBMP has to set up a district-level committee to look into the management of these shelters, he said.
