Improving basic service delivery to urban poor by local environmental management : a study of a poor community (Thoria Sahi) in Cuttack City, Orissa, India | |
| Author | Mohanty, Choudhury Mihir Charan |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.UE-05-06 |
| Subject(s) | Urban ecology--India Environmental management--India |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Cuttack, the biggest and most populous urban agglomerations of Orissa has experiencing population pressure and the impact of urbanization. Growing population, coupled with meager resources, increasingly stresses the urban utilities and services making the urban environmental worse. The study conducted survey questionnaire, informal discussions, and observations for compiling information and collecting data as well as from published and unpublished documents. The Thoria Sahi slum community in the middle of the city depends on the Municipality for getting access to basic services. The traditional top-down approach in service delivery deprived them to get adequate services for their quality living. Even illegal status did not allow them to get other essential services like electricity. In the absence of adequate toilets people as well as children use the road side for defecation that border the house. Even the existing ones sulabh sauchalaya is not maintained properly and in sanitary due to lack of adequate water taps and maintenance. The responsibility is not clearly defined by the Municipality. There is a high rate of educational deprivation and health contingencies. Lack of adequate health care, over crowding further exacerbates the health environment. Sign of under nourishment, under weight children, gastro enteritis, amoebasis, diarrhea, jaundice, malaria and skin diseases are routine illness for most of these people. Further, low economic condition often mired them to live in a better living environment and more access to urban services. This study aims to study the urban service delivery situation and its consequences on urban poors quality of life. The study explores the socio-economic conditions of poor people. I t also looks at the physical as well as environmental conditions of the slum. It finds that there is an inadequacy of urban services in the poor settlements and thus the urban environment has got polluted which affects their overall well being and decency in living. It implies that urban health in poor settlements is at risk due to the deteriorating living environment in the study area. Dwellers priority for service improvement, willingness to pay for urban services and their participation to service improvement project was also examined in this study. The study identifies that the poor specific programs rendered by urban institutions are very limited. The majority of the programs are aimed at the population regardless of individual and income groups. Factors like shortage of skilled man power, resource constraints, the dependency on donors and central government, top-down policy, lack of co-ordination and cooperation among the institutions, lack of interaction between policy makers and service providers, lack of participation of community people and NGOs/CBOs in urban service delivery programs and lack of public-private partnership are the main bottlenecks for providing urban services to the poor settlements. Finally, the study concludes that for the improvement of service delivery there is a need for active community participation at the local government level as well as local level institutional development capable for working with other urban basic service delivering agencies including NGOs and CBOs of low income communities. It recommends a change in the existing organizational approach of the various service rendering authorities and the municipal authority. Lessons from the Cuttack Urban service Improvement Project for poor (CUSIP), Community participation and partnership development with local authority should be incorporated in the work of these agencies and programs should be launched for city wide implementation of CUSIP mechanisms of service delivery in general and community active involvement through partnership in particular. |
| Year | 2005 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Urban Environmental and Management (UE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Amin, T. M. Nurul |
| Examination Committee(s) | Nowarat Coowanitwong;Vilas Nitivattananon |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Government of Netherlands |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2005 |