By Ananya Singh
As winter approaches, the Supreme Court lambasted the state governments for their apathy and inaction towards the homeless, directing them to build shelters for people living on the streets. Despite making funds available for night shelters to be constructed as a refuge from the harsh winters, no progress has been made on this front. The SC plans to institute a committee to ensure implementation of its directives to build permanent shelters across cities.
Sufficient funds but no shelters
National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM), a scheme introduced by the Centre in 2013, aims to provide shelters to the homeless in urban regions. Since its inauguration, over Rs. 2000 crores have been sanctioned for the objective. Despite sufficiency of funds, shelters are scarce and the homeless continue to suffer the onslaught of winter winds while living on streets.
Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta constituted a bench that criticised the Centre’s insensitivity to the unfortunate plight of homeless citizens. The SC advised the Centre to even dispense with the mission as the needy were not benefitting from the scheme. Instead, the funds allocated were being drained away by the state governments. The bench stated, “All money granted by Centre is going in drain. Why don’t you scrap the scheme? You would save thousands of crores which could be used for other purposes. It is a waste of tax-payers money.“
A housing and poverty alleviation ministry official clarified that the Centre shared 75% of the total cost of construction and maintenance for a period of five years. While states have begun taking steps towards the development of night shelters for the homeless, the efforts are still inadequate at best and have only surfaced post the SC rebuking concerned authorities.
National Urban Livelihoods Mission
The SC directed the housing ministry to conduct meetings with state governments and prepare plans of action for achieving the mission’s objectives. The SC’s directives on shelter homes state that all cities as mentioned under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), with population over 5 lakhs must have one “24-hour, 365-days-a-year homeless shelter with a capacity of 100 persons for every one lac population.” Basic amenities must be provided including mattresses, drinking water, latrines and de-addiction facilities among others. The SC directs that 30% of these must be special shelters “for women, old and infirm, and recovery shelters.“
As mentioned in the 2014 National Report on The Status of Shelters For Urban Home less, the SC further directed in its order dated September 20, 2011 that all state governments and union territories must inform the public of the availability of shelters via print and electronic media. Without being informed, the poor will be unable to avail the facilities.
90% urban homeless without shelter
The SC appointed a three-member panel in 2014 to determine the status of night shelters in various states and whether they conform to NULM guidelines. As per the panel’s findings, almost 90% of homeless in urban areas continue to endure the harsh winters on city streets. According to the 2011 census, homeless in the country number at 17.73 lakh, out of which 10 lakh reside in urban regions. There has been an increase in the homeless population by 20.51% between 2001 and 2011.
As per government data, 601 shelters have been sanctioned under Shelter for Urban Home less (SUH)”. However, only 226 of these were functional at the time of survey. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Kerala and Punjab have not completed a single homeless center. States with a comparatively better record include Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The homeless remain neglected by state governments
SC has decided to monitor the issue state-wise. It had asked state governments of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to file affidavits and furbish reports on the status of night shelters. Once submitted, the SC found the affidavits to be inadequate as no details were provided on construction of shelters. Two weeks were given to UP and West Bengal to file fresh reports, whereas Chief Secretary of Haryana was requested to appear in person to answer for the inadequate governmental efforts to provide for the homeless.
Work on shelters in Haryana began in 2014. Back then, 6,107 shelters existed in the state. However, the SC noted that post three years, the state government submitted the same figures again. Consequently, the Centre has not sanctioned funds for shelters in Haryana this year owing to non-submittion of the certificate of utilisation to show where the funds have been used.
The Centre had allocated funds to the tune of Rs. 178 crore for constructing shelters in West Bengal. However, according to the SC only 10% of the money was directly benefiting the needy, while 80% was being pocketed by government officials. The SC has further criticised the Central government for not taking accounts of funds released under NULM. You cannot wash away your hands by saying that you have released money. There should be some accounts. You cannot let the money go into the drain, the SC bench said.
Right to life
On January 9, 2012 the SC stated the importance of homeless shelters in keeping with the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The search for employment opportunities leads to a high rate of inter-state migration as rural and semi-urban population move to metropolitan cities to find jobs.
This leads to a rise in numbers of urban homeless as well as citizens deprived of basic necessities to sustain livelihood. The state governments have done little to alleviate the growing problem of homelessness in cities. Efforts made fall short of meeting even 30% of the SC’s orders. Now, the SC wants an account of governmental efforts to ensure the homeless are no longer neglected.
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