Magazine 2017
International Peer-Reviewed Journal
RESEARCH HORIZONS, VOL. 7 SEPT. 2017
SAFE CITIES AND GENDER BUDGETING
*Vibhuti Patel
ABSTRACT
In market driven economy, the construction lobby, land mafia, contractors and the corporate houses
have taken centre-stage in the urbanization proce s and recent discourse on SMART CITY. The studies
on urban development have revealed that physical development divides cities socially and spatially. The
focus of the urban planners in terms of SMART CITY remains on attracting business and creating
infrastructure to facilitate business activities such as starred hotels, conference centres, multiplexes,
theaters, car parking, flyovers, etc. Pedestrians don’t get footpath as they are sacrificed for road widening
for smooth flow of vehicles. Hawkers, street vendors are thrown out of the streets and lonely roads with
continuous flow of vehicles make the streets fertile ground for anti social elements and predators. As the
city-line gets dotted with these beautiful structures, the poor residents or those living in slums continue
to struggle to get even minimum facilities of sanitation, drainage or potable water. As the central locations
are highjacked by the rich, the others are doomed to live homeless, without a roof over their heads
perhaps forever as they fall victim to the false promises of affordable housing in near future. Urbanisation
often goes hand in hand with a rise in urban violence and crime that manifests in terms of street harassment
of women and girls, stalking, sexual violence, blackmailing and extortion rackets. Children and women
are seen as soft spots who can be victimized by predators. It is very important for the urban planner to
focus on safety issues from gender lens and ensure gender responsive budgeting to make our cities
gender friendly.
Keywords : Smart City, Safe city, Gender budget, urban planning, violence against women, elected
women representatives, economic- welfare- social services
Introduction
In market driven economy, the construction lobby, land mafia, contractors and the corporate houses have
taken centrestage in the urbanization process and recent discourse on SMART CITY. The studies on urban
development have revealed that physical development divides cities socially and spatially. The focus of the
urban planners in terms of SMART CITY remains on attracting business and creating infrastructure to facilitate
business activities such as starred hotels, conference centres, multiplexes, theaters, car parking, flyovers, etc.
Pedestrians don’t get footpath as they are sacrificed for road widening for smooth flow of vehicles. Hawkers,
street vendors are thrown out of the streets and lonely roads with continuous flow of vehicles make the streets
fertile ground for anti social elements and predators. As the city-line gets dotted with these beautiful structures,
the poor residents or those living in slums continue to struggle to get even minimum facilities of sanitation,
drainage or potable water. As the central locations are highjacked by the rich, the others are doomed to live
homeless, without a roof over their heads perhaps forever as they fall victim to the false promises of affordable
housing in near future (Ojha, 2015).
Urbanisation often goes hand in hand with a rise in urban violence and crime that manifests in terms of street
harassment of women and girls, stalking, sexual violence, blackmailing and extortion rackets. Children and
women are seen as soft spots who can be victimized by predators (Website:1, 2, 3, 4). One such incident in the
city is enough and the feeling of insecurity is spread like wild fire. It not only frightens girls and women, it
controls every act they consider doing then onwards. Now, let us shift our attention to SAFE CITY.
Smart cities have to be safe cities:
Town planners, policy makers and budget experts need to do gender budgeting incorporating facets such as
women-friendly civic infrastructure- water, sanitation, health care, safe transport, public toilets, helplines, skill
development for crisis management and, safety at work place (Virmani, 1999). While making budgets for
social defense services, consideration must be given to safety of girls and women in schools and colleges in
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RESEARCH HORIZONS, VOL. 7 SEPT. 2017
terms of prevention of child sexual abuse through public education and counselling facilities, separate toilets
for girls and boys in schools, legal literacy on POCSO Act, 2012 and Prevention of Sexual Harassment Workplace
Act, 2013, special cells in the police department to take action against display of pornographic images, SMS
messages, cybercrimes that victimize young girls at public places, in public transport- buses, local trains,
rickshaws and taxis. Installation of panic buttons for customers in rickshaws and taxis need to be made mandatory
in all cities. Women vendors and child workers, women employees working in the night shifts are highly exposed
to unwanted sexual advances and petty harassment. Hence, budgetary allocation for referral centres /information
desks should be provided in markets and public places. This will also reduce trafficking of children and women
separated from their family members and sleeping at night at railway stations, bus stations and footpaths (UN
Women. 2015).
Law and Order Situation and Street Harassment
Conflicts in the city make women unsafe. Hostility between rival groups is played on bodies of women and girls
in the form of rape, sexual harassment, provocation for physical assaults. Insular existence harms community
spirit. Fear psychosis about safety of girls also increases incidences of child marriages. More budget allocation
is needed for efficient running of Police Helplines -103, 1091 with the help of professional counsellors. To run
One-stop crisis centres with in public hospitals for women survivors of violence, there needs to make financial
provision for salaries for doctors, counselling, emergency shelter and legal aid. Along with financial allocation,
transparent guidelines for post trauma care, counseling, rehabilitation, compensation need to be provided so
that funds can be used judiciously.
Urban Infrastructure and Safety of Women
From the point of view of macroeconomic policy, gender friendly infrastructure plays pivotal role in creating
gender friendly cities. City planners need to make budgetary provision for safe housing and night shelter for
homeless women, half way homes for elderly women, information desk for women and children at railway
stations/buses.
Road widening for 4 wheelers and heavy vehicles have taken toll of pavements. Mass of women who have to
walk on the streets get harassed by men in moving two-wheelers, three wheelers, four wheelers and trucks.
Proper foot paths for pedestrians, vendors, hawkers whose presence ensures safety must be given as much
importance as construction of bridges and flyovers. Budgetary allocation for installation of CCTV cameras must
be made at all public places, highways and streets in the business hubs. Proper street lighting in the peripheral
areas of the city is vital for safety of citizens, especially women, children and senior citizens. Regular safety
audit by citizen’s forum is important to identify unsafe areas. Safe, clean and free toilets for women at railway
stations, bus stops, markets, public places are urgently required in the cities. Budgetary allocation for gender
sensitization workshops for police personnel is important to change the mindset of ‘victim-blaming’ among
them.
Advantages of safety for women
Feeling safe is to feel protected. It is a feeling of well-being which can envelop a family, a community, a
neighbourhood and a city. Its composition is hard to decipher, but it is an all -encompassing feeling of calm
which is often as invisible as clean unpolluted air and, inversely, when fear and anxiety take its place, that
feeling is as palpable as though it was a physical reality. Safe cities ensure more freedom, less confinement &
control and enhance women’s opportunities to travel, to attain education-job-career.
Gender Budgeting in Urban Local Self-Government Bodies (ULBs)
With this perspective in mind, Urban Local Self Government Bodies have to work for gender budgeting. Striving
for ‘Gender friendly’ cities have become a strategic objective of the urban planners, policy makers and
practitioners. Citizens’ fora, community based organizers and NGOs are publicly debating the issues concerning
revenue generation and public expenditure of the urban bodies with gender lens. Right to information has
proved to be an important tool in the hands of civil society for transparency in public expenditure (UNDP. 2001).
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International Peer-Reviewed Journal
Municipal Budgets
RESEARCH HORIZONS, VOL. 7 SEPT. 2017
In municipality, the Accounts Superintendent tables statement for income and expenditure in December. Also
he/she gives estimates of income and expenditure for the financial year end and seeks rresponses from Municipal
commissioner, president of Municipality, and standing committee. Portion for committed fund can’t be changed
by councillors at the time of final approval. Revision of property tax takes place once in 4 years. We need to
integrate safety of women as a major concern in flagship centrally sponsored schemes such as JNNURM,
PMSSY, NUHM are supposed to have 30% of funds as Women’s Component.
There are three Sources of Income for Municipal councils/corporations:
1.
2.
3.
State & Central government’s Allocation, State and Centrally sponsored schemes
Revenues obtained through’ local taxes-water, electricity, road, etc.
Funds obtained from the Finance Commissions
Gender Concerns
For past 15 years, gender economists and women’s groups are making efforts to answer the following questions:
•
•
•
How to enable women to direct economy through designing and constructing fiscal policy?
How to link economic governance to political governance?
How to enable elected women representatives (EWRs) to participate in the budget-making efforts?
They have used methods of Participatory Appraisal (PA) and Focus Group discussion (FGD) to identify gender
concerns.
Macro-economic Policies and Gender Audit of Municipal Budgets
Trend analysis of allocation to social sector in the pre (before 1991) and post (after 1991) structural Adjustment
Programme (SAP) phase has revealed that poor women have suffered the most due to drastic budgetary cuts
in PDS and public health, safe public transport & child care facilities, food security, drinking water and
sanitation. There is no gender mainstreaming with respect to safety of women in the budgets of ULBs.
Gender sensitive budget
demands re-prioratisation of financial allocations by municipal bodies in favour of
•
•
•
•
•
Working women’s hostels, crèches, cheap eating facilities, public toilets
Women friendly and SAFE public transport- local trains, Metro, buses
Housing- subsidized for single/ deserted/ divorced/ widowed women
Nutrition- strengthening PDS, mid-day meals
Health- Abolition of user fees for BPL population, one stop crisis centre in public hospital for women/girls
survivors of violence linked with shelter homes
•
•
•
•
Skill training centres for women and tailor made courses
Safe, efficient and cheap public Transport-bus, train, metro
Water- Safe drinking water in the community centres
Waste Management- Technological upgradation- Occupational health & safety of recycling workers/rag
pickers
•
•
Proper electrification in the communities
Multipurpose Community centres, half way homes for elderly and mentally disturbed women
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Method of Revenue Generation
RESEARCH HORIZONS, VOL. 7 SEPT. 2017
Sevaral state governments have sent GR regarding allocation of 5% of total revenues for women and children.
This should be increased to 10%. Kerala has done this. Moreover, urban local self-government (LSGs) bodies
can raise revenues by heavy taxes on Tobacco, alcohol, private vehicles and entertainment industry. Portion of
fine collected for causing damage to environment (introduction of Green Tax), high speed driving, wrong
parking and breaking rules can be used for welfare of women and children.
Surcharge, earmarked charge for specific purpose such as Education Cess-2 % of salary, income tax for disaster
management has raised revenues for urban LSG. In Maharashtra, transport cess at the time of Bangladesh war
in 1971, later on was diverted to EGS kitty.
Meetings with the stake holders
Urban LSGs should organize discussion on needs identified by EWRs with GOs, NGOs and SHGs. They should
be made aware of Socio-economic Profile of the Municipality. The ward officers should ensure scrutiny of
needs and perceived problems by impartial experts who can also suggest methods to fulfil needs (Labour,
land, services). Financial aspects of programmes and projects should be discussed in a transparent manner.
Tasks of Citizens Association
Civil society groups must be allowed to give their opinions on suitable budgetary allocations and generation of
revenues from local sources. They can verify/cross check collected data and results of the surveys/interactive
workshops and prepare a vision document. Sub-committees can work out details of different budget heads
and it must have all stake groups of the ward. Presentation of reports of these sub-committees should be made
through’ EWRs to the municipal authorities. Currently women’s groups are lobbying for reprioritization of
allocation to reflect women’s interests. E.g. Financial allocation for implementation of DV act, PCPNDT Act,
utilisation of funds earmarked for Swadhar scheme for women in difficult circumstances and working women’s
hostels in urban centres.
Activity Mapping
Women’s groups are discussing of micro economics involved in dealing with problems faced by women at
ward levels such as drinking water, health centers, garbage-disposal and are moving beyond grievance redressal.
Women’s groups such as Anandi (Ahmedabad), Alochana (Pune), Stree Mukti Sangathana (Mumbai), National
alliance of women’s Organisations (Bhubaneshwar), Sagamma Srinivas Foundation (Bangalore), Action India
(
Delhi) are organizing workshops for awareness about technicalities of budget, building knowledge about
programmes, schemes, projects under different departments, gathering procedural information about critical
issues/felt needs, skills of proposal writing. Stack groups in support of EWRs are Self Help Groups, gender
sensitive administrators, corporators /councilors, individuals within political parties, NGOs and Women in the
communities. They make efforts to seek allocation under appropriate budget heads to identify streams of
revenue, available revenue and the required expenditure.
Some unresolved Issues
Decision-makers in the urban LSG bodies need to address the following issues demanding urgent attention:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
How to bridge the gap between notional allocation and actual allocation?
Accounting, auditing and record keeping of gender disaggregated data & allocation
How to achieve physical and performance/ achievement targets?
Implementation of maternity benefits, Tribal Sub Plan, Scheduled Caste Plan for the urban poor
Major departments claiming indivisibilities of allocation of resources
Notional allocation projected as real allocation
Absence of uniform guidelines & procedures
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RESEARCH HORIZONS, VOL. 7 SEPT. 2017
Challenges before Gender budgeting in Urban LSG Bodies
Process of gender budgeting demands special programmes targeting women based on enumeration of
ddifferential impact of expenditures across all sectors and services-gender disaggregated impact on literacy,
school drop outs, mortality, morbidity, malnutrition, illnesses, safety & security. Hence, they need to ensure the
review of equal opportunity policies and opportunities in the public sector-jobs, school education, wages,
health care, skills, technical training, and computer education.
Allocation and expenses of resources for women in Panchayat Budgets:
NIPFP has recommended the following classification of financial allocation on schemes and programmes for
gender audit as well as gender budgeting.
Ø
Ø
Ø
Ø
Women specific schemes where 100 % of the allocation is required to be spent on women ttargeted 100%
to women by Ministry of women and Child Development (MWCD).
Pro-women schemes where at least 30% of allocation and benefits flow to women. E.g. all anti-poverty
programmes.
Gender Neutral Schemes meant for community as a whole (Employment generation programmes, Jawaharlal
Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)
Residual schemes for disaster management
All India Institute of Local Self Government, AIILSG gives details of all schemes under these 4 categories
through its publications, workshops and training programmes. Moreover, it also teaches the elected
representatives the efficient ways of programme implementation through budgeting from below:
Enhanced budgetary allocation for Protective and Welfare Services
These are the schemes directly benefiting women for crisis management of situations arising out of economic
and socio-cultural subordination and dehumanisation of women such as shelter homes, short stay homes and
rehabilitation schemes for women survivors of violence, pensions for widows and destitute women, help lines
for women survivors of violence.
Increase in budgetary allocation for Social Services Expenditure for capacity building, reduction of
domestic drudgery and better quality of life for girls and women
primary, secondary and higher education and vocational training for school/college dropout girls, overall
health needs of girls and women from womb to tomb, Crèche, Working women’s hostels, Housing, Nutrition,
Water supply, Sanitation-toilets, drainage, fuel, waste management and safe public transport.
Quantum leap in budgetary allocation for Economic Services to provide economic opportunities to
women
•
•
•
•
•
SHGs-credit, loans to self-employed women
Training programmes-Vocational training in Sunrise sectors. E.g. Biotechnology, IT, etc.
Physical infrastructure-transport, energy
Urban housing-10 % reserved flats/tenements for single women
Marketing facilities for women entrepreneurs & self-employed women- 10% of shops reserved for
businesswomen, women vendors/traders in municipal markets, women’s haats /bazars
•
•
Public Toilets for women without user fees
Safe and efficient transport for working women and women vendors
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RESEARCH HORIZONS, VOL. 7 SEPT. 2017
Budgetary allocation for Regulatory Services to put in place institutional structures and mechanisms
•
•
•
State Commission for Women/ Municipal Commission for Women
Women Development Cell in municipal bodies
Budgetary allocation and space for ward-wise WDC for prevention of sexual harassment of women in the
organised and unorganised sectors
•
•
Women’s cell at the police stations, LSG bodies’ offices, municipal hospital & schools
Awareness generation programmes on women’s legal rights and gender sensitization of government
employees, officers, law and order machinery and citizens
•
Implementation of Pre Conception and Pre Natal Diagnostic (Regulation) Act (2002), Prevention of Domestic
Violence Act (2005), Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (2012), Prevention of sexual harassment
of women at Workplaces Act (2013)
Need of the Hour
State governments must devolve substantive powers, funds, functions and functionaries upon urban LSG bodies
(
Patel 2002). The central government should strive for ssimplifications of programme guidelines by central
ministries and departments regarding women specific schemes- Swadhar, working women’s hostels, maternity
benefits for BPL, etc. Moreover, ccentrally sponsored Schemes must be recast to empower municipal bodies.
PRIs must get untied funds to formulate plans according to their needs and priorities. Structures and mechanisms
for RTI Act must be put in place to sort out pproblems concerning utilisation of funds allocated for area
development. To avoid urban unrest and guarantee socio-economic justice, aat least 100 days of employment
at minimum wages must be provided under EGS in all urban centres.
Financial Matters and PRIs:
Elected representatives, ward officials and NGOs working in the area should act as facilitators in preparation of
the plan for area development and social justice. The UN system has supported allocation of resources for
women in PRIs, right from the beginning. “The evidence on gender and decentralisation in India thus suggests
that while women have played a positive role in addressing, or attempting to address, a range of practical
gender needs, their impact on strategic gender needs is not remarkable.” Hence, WERs deserve to be empowered
to address the strategic gender needs (Patel, 2003 a).
There is a need for provisions in the composite programmes under education, health and skill development to
target them specifically at girls/women as the principal beneficiaries and disaggregated within the total allocation.
It may also be necessary to place restrictions on their re-appropriation for other purposes (Patel, 2003 b).
Conclusion
Budgets garner resources through the taxation policies and allocate resources to different sections of the
economy. Budget is an important tool in the hands of state for affirmative action for improvement of gender
relations through reduction of gender gap in the development process. It can help to reduce economic
inequalities, between men and women as well as between the rich and the poor. Hence, the budgetary policies
need to keep into considerations the gender dynamics operating in the economy and in the civil society. There
is a need to highlight participatory approaches to pro-poor budgeting, bottom up budget, child budget, SC
budget, ST budget, green budgeting, budgeting for differently abled people, local and global implications of
pro-poor and pro-women budgeting, alternative macro scenarios emerging out of alternative budgets and
inter-linkages between gender-sensitive budgeting and women’s empowerment. Serious examining of budgets
calls for greater transparency at the level of international economics to local processes of empowerment. There
is a need to provide training and capacity building workshops for decision-makers in the government structures,
municipal bodies, parliamentarians and audio-visual (Patel, 2004).
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RESEARCH HORIZONS, VOL. 7 SEPT. 2017
Gender Commitments concerning safety of women and girls must be translated into Budgetary Commitment.
By using our Right to Information, transparency /accountability for revenue generation & public expenditure
can be ensured. For Reprioritisation in public spending we must prepare our ‘bottom up budgets’ and lobby
for its realisation in collaboration with the elected representatives. Gender economists must lift the veil of
statistical invisibility of the unpaid ‘care economy’ managed by poor women and highlight its equality &
efficiency dimension and transform macro-policies so that they become women friendly.
References :
Ojha, Arun (2015) Editorial, Jaipur: Journal of Development Management and Communication,
Volume II Number 3 July-September. P. ii
Patel, V. (2002), “Gendering the Budget at State and National Level and Gender Audit of the Union Budget-
A critical Approach”, Urdhva Mula, Mumbai, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp.30-57.
Patel, V. (2003 a) “Gender Budget Initiatives in India”, paper presented at Workshop on “Gender Budget
Initiatives in Orissa” organised by School of Women’s Studies, Utkal University, Bhubaneshwar, Orissa on
nd th
2 to 24 September 2003.
2
Patel, V (2003 b) “Gender Budget- A Case Study of India”, Centre for Advanced Study in Economics,
Economics, Department of Economics, University of Mumbai, Working Paper UDE (CAS) 7(7)/2003, also
published in Vikalpa, Vol. XI, No.1, 2003 published by Vikas Adhyayan Kendra, Mumbai.
Patel, V. (2004) “Gender Budget: Media Concerns and Policy for India” in Kiran Prasad (Ed) Communication
and Empowerment of Women: Strategies and Policy Insights from India, The Women Press, Delhi.
UNDP (2001), Decentralisation in India- Challenges and Opportunities, United Nations development
programme, New Delhi.
UN Women (2015) ‘Creating Safe Public Spaces’ http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-
against-women/creating-safe-public-spaces
Virmani, S. (1999), “Social Mapping, Modeling and Other Participatory Methods”, All India Institute of
Local Self Government, Mumbai.
Websites:
At least 2 women sexually assaulted every day in posh Delhi localities/HT:24.6.15
http://www.hindustantimes.com/newdelhi/at-least-2-women-sexually-assaulted-every-day-in-poshsouth-delhi-
neighbourhoods/article1-1362114.aspx
Delhi budget: Steps to make women secure/TOI:26.6.15
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Delhi-budget-Steps-to-make-womensecure/
articleshow/47822738.cms
App soon on frequency, routes, arrival time of buses in Delhi/TOI:28.6.15
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/App-soon-on-frequency-routes-arrival-time-of-buses-in-Delhi/
articleshow/47849505.cms
Power your ride with app, travel safeb/TOI:29.6.15
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Power-your-ride-with-app-travelsafeb/
articleshow/47858263.cms
*
Advanced Centre for Women’s Studies, School of Development Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences,
Deonar, Mumbai-400088. Email: [email protected], [email protected]
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