Govt. keen on 50% reservation for women in urban local bodies

Feb 16: The Minister of Urban Development and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the central government is working on mandating 50% reservation for women in all the urban local bodies (ULBs) of the country, to promote their participation in urban policy making for developing ‘engendered cities’. He spoke of the need for imparting gender perspective to designing urban policies and programmes while inaugurating a two day ‘International Conference on Gender and Urban Poverty’. The Conference is jointly organised by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and the Department For International Development (DFID) of UK. Naidu further said that his ministry has already held consultations with states on 50% reservation for women in urban local bodies through an amendment to the Constitution. Speaking about the need for reservation for women in the Parliament and state legislatures, the Minister said that the central government is seeking to build a consensus in this regard. Stating that ‘women are more vulnerable to the harshness of urban inequities and they struggle more in terms of job security, pay parity, access to credit, suitability of working conditions, access to safe water, education and healthcare, housing etc., ‘ he stressed on the need for urban policies to be guided by women’s perspectives. The Minister said that ‘gender sensitivity is all about acknowledging and being responsive to the different roles of women and men in the development of human settlements and their differential needs and addressing them through policy and institutional mechanisms’. Speaking about the central government’s gender sensitive initiatives, Naidu said that under the Housing for All scheme, joint ownership of houses to be built will be promoted besides giving overriding preference to women-headed households and single women under different components like credit-linked subsidy, rental housing etc. Voicing concern over safety of women in urban areas, the Minister said that the government is focusing on promoting quality and reliable public transport under various schemes. He said that over one crore household toilets will be constructed in urban areas under the Swachh Bharat Mission, which, on a conservative estimate, will benefit over two crore women daily. Naidu further said that the Government is keen to promote ‘engendered cities’ with the objective of welfare of women through their participation. Nandita Chatterjee, Secretary (HUPA) said that urban women are susceptible to residential, occupational and social vulnerabilities and an effort is being made to improve the skill and asset base of urban women to improve their livelihood opportunities.