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Study on Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance .... Institute for Social and Environmental Transition ...... I&ph, Indira. Gandhi. Medical. College,. Directorate of environment health ...... 1994: In Bengaluru city, the water supply and sewerage is managed by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewer-.
Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

Study on Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance Commissioned by Study Commissioned to

UNICEF, New Delhi Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group (GEAG)

Study conducted by

Mr Shiraz A Wajih Ms Nivedita Mani

Photo credits GEAG Supported by

UNICEF, New Delhi



This study attempts to review and assess the linkages between Urban Climate Change Resilience and Urban Governance. This aims at identifying the existing gaps and evolving recommendations towards developing an enabling environment for implementation of urban climate change resilience strategies in a participatory manner addressing the poor and vulnerable population, especially children.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to UNICEF, India, in particular Mr Lars Bernd, Chief, Disaster Risk Reduction Section and Mr Sarbjit Singh Sahota, Emergency Specialist Disaster Risk Reduction Section for giving us this learning opportunity and extending their support and guidance from time to time, which has resulted in the development of this report. We express our sincere gratitude to the Study Advisory Group members—TERI, ICLEI, FXB India Suraksha, TARU, NIUA, UN-Habitat, India for their valuable inputs and support during the course of the study. We are thankful to all the government departments in the five cities—Shimla, Panjim, Gorakhpur, Indore and Guwahati for sparing their valuable time and providing enriching information to the study. We would also like to thank the urban poor communities in all the five cities and the children who participated with us in the study and shared the ground realities with us. Lastly, we would like to thank Mr Amit Mitra for his quick comments and inputs on the report.



Any part of this publication may be cited, copied or translated without prior permission from GEAG and UNICEF, provided that the source is clearly acknowledged.

Layout and Design

Aspire Design, New Delhi

Citation

Wajih, Shiraz A. and Nivedita Mani, Study on Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance, supported by United Nations Children’s Fund, India, 2016.

March 2016

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

Contents Abbreviationsv Executive Summary

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1. Background

1

2. The research study

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3. Case study cities

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Shimla14 Indore24 Gorakhpur32 Panjim40 Guwahati 

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4. The Resilience-Governance nexus 

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5. Study inferences 

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Sectoral vulnerabilities and cooordination mechanisms 

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Different segments of vulnerable children 

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Peri-urban-Urban connect – Role of ecosystems 

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Participation 

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Missing: Children in mainstream policies and programmes 

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Compliance of 74th CAA in Case Study Cities 

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6. Making children climate resilient: The good practices 

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Conclusions 

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References 

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Abbreviations

ACCCRN

Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network

AES

Acute Encephalitis Syndrome

ANC

Ante Natal Checkup

ANM

Auxiliary Nurse Midwife

ASAPCC

Assam State Action Plan on Climate Change

AUWS&SB

Assam Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board

CAA

Constitutional Amendment Act

CCP

City Corporation of Panaji

CCF

Charles Correa Foundation

CDP

City Development Plan

CM

Chief Minister

CMO

Chief Medical Officer

CRS

City Resilience Strategy

CRZ

Coastal Regulation Zone

CSO

Civil Society Organization

DDMA

District Disaster Management Authority

DDMP

District Disaster Management Plan

DEWATS

Decentralized Wastewater Treatment System

DM

Disaster Management

DPC

District Planning Committee

DUDA

District Urban Development Authority

FGD

Focused Group Discussion

GDA

Gorakhpur Development Authority

GEAG

Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group

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GIZ

Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit

GMC

Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation

GMC

Guwahati Municipal Corporation

GMDA

Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority

GSAPCC

Goa State Action Plan on Climate Change

HPSAPCC

Himachal Pradesh State Action Plan on Climate Change

ICDS

Integrated Child Development Scheme

ICLEI

International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives

IDA

Indore Development Authority

IDSP

Integrated Diseases Surveillance Project

IMC

Indore Municipal Corporation

IMD

Indian Meteorological Department

IPCC

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

I&PH

Irrigation and Public Health Department

IRADe

Integrated Research for Action and Development

ISET

Institute for Social and Environmental Transition

JnNURM

Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission

KAVAL

Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Agra, and Lucknow

LPCD

Liter Per Capita Per Day

MC

Municipal Corporation

MDGs

Millennium Development Goals

MoUD

Ministry of Urban Development

MPC

Metropolitan Planning Committee

MPLAD

Member of Parliament Local Area Development

MPSAPCC

Madhya Pradesh State Action Plan on Climate Change

NAPCC

National Action Plan on Climate Change

NGO

Non Government Organization

NGPDA

North Goa Planning and Development Authority

NIUA

National Institute of Urban Affairs

NPC

National Policy for Children

OPD

Out Patient Department

PRIA

Participatory Research in Asia

PTA

Parent Teachers Association

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

PWD

Public Works Department

RTE

Right to Education

RWA

Resident Welfare Association

RWH

Rain Water Harvesting

SAPCC

State Action Plan on Climate Change

SDMA

State Disaster Management Authority

SDMP

State Disaster Management Plan

SEHB

Shimla Environmental Heritage Conservation and Beautification

SFC

State Finance Commission

SSLBs

Standardized Service Level Benchmarks

SLDs

Shared Learning Dialogues

SMC

Shimla Municipal Corporation

SOP

Standard Operating Procedures

SSA

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

STP

Sewage Treatment Plant

SWM

Solid Waste Management

TCP

Town and Country Planning

TERI

The Energy and Resources Institute

UCCR

Urban Climate Change Resilience

UDA

Urban Development Authority

UDD

Urban Development Department

UIDSSMT

Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small & Medium Towns

ULBs

Urban Local Bodies

UNCRC

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children

UNICEF

United Nations Children's Fund

UP

Uttar Pradesh

UPSAPCC

Uttar Pradesh State Action Plan on Climate Change

UPUP&D

Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development

UTSAH

Universal Team for Social Action and Help

WCD

Women and Child Development Department

WCs

Ward Committees

WRD

Water Resource Department

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Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

Executive summary Rapidly expanding urban settlements in the developing world are and will continue to face severe climatic risks in the light of climate change. Urban populations will increasingly be forced to cope with increased incidents of flooding, air and water pollution, heat stress and water/vector-borne diseases.

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The urban population in India is increasing at a very rapid pace and it is expected that in a few decades from now the urban population will almost be the same as rural. Indian cities, particularly the secondary cities, are at particular risk due to their high density populations, constrained basic services, expansive informal settlements and urban expansion onto risky sites. Though no one will be immune to climate change impacts, urban poor children are the first victims as they lack safeguards and adequate care. Children’s still evolving development makes them physiologically and metabolically less able than adults to cope with high exposure to hazards. Failure to address climate change and build resilience against it will lead to increased risks that undermine children’s development. Urban local governments have critical roles in building climate change resilience and they need a supportive institutional, regulatory and financial framework for functioning. Local governments are responsible for the decisions and actions that determine the provisioning of services to its citizens. One of the most direct influences that local governments on the poor is the provision of water, sanitation, drainage, solid waste collection, public health and housing construction and improvement. These are also the sectors which have direct bearing on the health and well-being of children and are linked to climate change vulnerabilities. The vertical and horizontal coordination mechanisms between various levels – Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), Para-statal and State government play a vital role in establishing linkages with city development processes and providing basic services and hence strengthening the enabling environment required for implementing such resilience measures. Climate change resilience being a cross sectoral issue, also needs a multiagency and inter-departmental approach in addressing this and one of the main limiting factors responsible for this has been the existing urban governance and coordination structures which usually work in silos. Municipalities play a vital role in establishing linkages with city development processes and providing basic services and hence strengthening the enabling environment required for implementing such resilience measures. The level of adoption of 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA), 1992 in different cities/states is also relevant in this direction. Also, the participation of vulnerable communities in planning and implementation of adaptation and governance is emerging as a crucial factor in urban climate change resilience. This study, undertaken by the Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group (GEAG) with the support of UNICEF, India on urban climate resilience and governance in the context of children assesses the coordination mechanisms and the institutional set-up in different states (and cities) and in different geoclimatic and hazard situations towards addressing the rights and well-being of children in the context of changing climate. The methodological framework for this study followed a set of key steps in order to provide a comparable means of assessing governance mechanisms in different cities which catalyse/obstruct the process of building resilience against climate change in the context of children’s issues. This included detailed literature review, formation of study advisory group, city sampling, field studies, Shared Learning Dialogues (SLDs) and key informant interviews, and causal loop diagramming. In order to understand the different vulnerabilities among urban poor children in the context of climate change in all the five cities, the study assessed the key domains of children’s development, i.e. health, education and physical safety and protection and the specific impacts of climate change on these domains in those particular cities. Moreover, the coordination and convergence mechanisms among related urban departments were also studied in the cities.

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The study inferred that climate change and the implications that it is posing on vulnerable communities especially children is adding new challenges to the formal and informal institutions working in cities and also revealing new levels of uncertainty because of which the Resilience-Governance Nexus becomes complicated to comprehend. The first and foremost thing that the government and development agencies need to understand is that this nexus is directly related to addressing vulnerabilities of communities, most specifically that of children and eventually reducing urban poverty. The study looked at the resilience-governance nexus in a framework that entails development planning and design and mitigation (at the System level), efficient service delivery for adaptation (for Agents) with the synergy of scientific knowledge and local wisdom, recognising the important role of peri-urban-urban connect towards holistic urban resilient governance (at the Institutional level). While analysing the sectoral vulnerabilities which are exacerbated by climate change impacts, it was found that the efficiency of any urban system depends on the availability of infrastructure and services to support its population. But, almost all the Indian cities today are facing serious deficiencies in infrastructure and life line services. The most affected by such deficiencies are lower-income households which enhances the vulnerability of children in these households. Moreover, in most states infrastructure development is in the hands of para-statal development authorities and state departments who also control the resource base of the city. The fragmented and overlapping (functional and geographical jurisdiction) roles in managing the services of the city and poor resource base cause an inefficient situation in terms of providing the services to citizens. The priorities of poor and ‘not so powerful’ groups like children are largely missed out and ignored. The study also looked at different segments of children getting adversely impacted by climate change. The large influx of rural population—including children—in urban areas, their settlement in slums, slum like areas and dejected situation make them vulnerable. There has been increase in number of children coming to urban areas (Shimla Childline, Utsah NGO, Guwahati), the children living on pavements, railway stations, low lying areas (Gorakhpur, Guwahati), trafficked children (Panjim Childline, Guwahati Childline), children at work places (Jewellery and Bag making, Indore Childline) within the range of 8–18 years. These children lack access to basic facilities like drinking water, health, education, and so on. Living in extremely poor conditions and congested settlements has an impact on their overall development and often these children are indulged in child labour activities, petty crimes and abuse. The urban resilience cannot be achieved in isolation as the flow of goods and services—including the natural continuous — connect the urban areas with peri-urban areas. Both in water excess and deficient areas these areas provide buffering capacity. However, in practice the urban peripheries are not adequately considered in urban planning and governance and hence the urban resilience. Land tenures in peri-urban areas are uncertain. The infrastructure is poor, incomes are low and there is no formal recognition of these areas. These are also the spaces which provide easy access to the poor migrating from rural areas in search of livelihoods. The resilience of children in urban and peri-urban areas (especially economically weaker sections) cannot be addressed adequately unless this peri-urban connect and role of ecosystem services—contributing to disaster and climate change resilience are appropriately considered. The safe habitats & health, food, water, fuel, waste decomposition, playing grounds, clean air etc. are linked to ecosystem services. In moving towards a participatory governance and devolution of governance structures, as envisaged in 73rd and 74th CAA, 1992, one of the major obstacle in urban areas is lack of essential ‘rooting’ — an organic connect between citizens and the government where people have no mechanism to participate in

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decision making, object on wrong actions of citizens and governments, and contribute to development. The situation of poor communities, women and children is worse in this context where their participation in planning and governance is almost non-existent. There are good number of examples from cities where citizens’ participation have helped in bottom-up approaches of development and fiscal improvement. Such initiatives have proven that good urban governance need to involve poor and marginalized groups in decision–making and this also characterizes the intent of the city to improve the conditions for those living in informal settlements. Improving the well–being of children is not only a moral duty but is also a legal and political obligation. Globally, governments including India have signed up to numerous international human rights conventions and political declarations (most notably, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the UN Millennium Declaration) that require them to uphold children’s rights. In India too, there are various policies and programmes for improving the status and well-being of children but limited progress has been made in delivering children’s rights which represents a collective failure of political will on the part of governments and lack of strong mechanisms to enable this effectively. Inclusion of children’s issues in the climate and disaster management related policies and programmes are important measures, however, what is required is a complete re-examination of the legal framework for children as whole, identification of gaps and reconciliation of existing anomalies within the law and the implementation of policies, programmes and schemes meant for children. The study reviewed the status of compliance of 74th CAA in all the five cities which was an important initiative of the Government of India to strengthen municipal governance. As it was evident in the study that the responsibilities/powers of the sectoral departments linked with climate change resilience are rested under various governance structures like ULBs, Para–statal bodies, state government and private agencies. The inter-coordination and lack of effective linkages between these structures, many a times, hinders the process of addressing resilience against climate change. To summarize, it has been largely observed that the existence of para–statal authorities, be the water boards or Development Authorities, are an obstacle in the devolution of municipal functions to ULBs. Similarly, state departments continuing to serve the functional areas of municipal corporations are also an obstacle in the process of devolution of municipal functions. Besides the obstacles in the formal governance process, the cities have also embarked upon some informal mechanisms to address the climate resilience issues. These practices are being effective in bridging the governance gaps and providing better services to the citizens. These practices are also playing a catalytic role in addressing the vulnerable communities especially children’s issues, thereby becoming models of good governance. Based on the study, following conclusions have been made which could be helpful in addressing children’s vulnerabilities in the context of climate change by ensuring good governance. 1. Recognition and Mainstreaming: Children’s issues need to be recognized and mainstreamed in climate change and disaster related policies and programmes. 2. Participation: Children’s participation is crucial in addressing basic issues related to them like water, sewage, sanitation, education, health, playground, etc. Linking their priorities and suggested actions at local level with allocation of resources will be important.

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3. Accountable and Transparent: Reducing the gap between the service providers and the end-users of those services by various means which results in bi-lateral communication leading to better understanding and resolving of issues. 4. Vertical and Horizontal Coordination: Effective coordination increases the capacity of the system to control many actors within the policy area in a city. Vertical and horizontal coordination mechanisms are imperative to have resilient governance. Moreover, in general, urban governance is talked for devolution of power and decentralization. This study has experienced that the intra-institutional, inter-sectoral and urban–peri-urban/rural coordination are very crucial for building urban climate change resilience and should be seen in a holistic manner. 5. Ecosystem based Resilience: Well-functioning ecosystems enhance natural resilience to the adverse impacts of climate change and reduce the vulnerability of people, especially children. The city systems are needed to be strengthened at both built infrastructure and green infrastructure. 6. Governance Issues: Duplication and fragmentation of roles between different institutions in control of resources, management of infrastructure and services currently constrain the urban governance system. These roles are unevenly spread across ULBs, para-statal organizations and the state governments resulting in inability of any agency to manage even simple services autonomously. Coherent action among policy makers, regulators and implementers and other stakeholders is a crucial issue limiting the good governance for climate resilience. 7. Enforcement of Rules and Laws: The city development authorities need to work towards strict enforcement of rules and laws pertaining to increasing encroachment, illegal construction on green and open areas, informal settlements in river basin and low lying fragile areas, etc. The close collaboration of Development Authorities (Planning) and Municipalities (Execution) is urgently needed to be institutionalized. 8. Equitable and Inclusive: Coordination of informal institutions present in the cities like informed citizenry, community–based organizations, academicians, business-people, professionals and politicians also helps in facilitating good governance. Ownership of resources, ecosystems and services by the urban citizens helps in building resilience and ensures good governance. 9. Delineation of Wards: The conceptualization and delineation of wards should be on a geo-physical basis rather than on an administrative basis in the context of climate change and efficient service delivery. 10. School Curriculum: The school curriculum for children should include functional knowledge on urban climate change resilience and awareness on ecosystems around them, etc. 11. Temporary Schools: In areas impacted severely by climate change and disasters, which are mostly the unnerved areas too, there should be provision of temporary schools so that children of these areas too can get access to educational facilities. 12. Third Party Impact: In order to address the third party impacts on issues related to water, sanitation, sewerage, etc., zone as a unit (made on geo–physical) should be considered for planning rather than a ward. The solution for one area should not become problem for another area. 13. Ward Autonomy and Physical Location: Bringing governance at the door step of people through decentralization processes helps in improving effectiveness and efficiency of delivery of work and gives physical proximity to governance. Ward Corporators’ offices at Ward level itself is one of the mechanisms to be closely connected with the citizens.

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14. Use of Science and Technology in Improving Governance: Use of technology is crucial and should be adopted at planning, designing and monitoring levels for any development intervention. Any action on these conclusion can only be achieved with adequate financing for which budgets need to be allocated and spent in a timely manner. In specific locales and domains, like health or science and technology, partnerships with the private sector could be forged. In a nutshell, to address the issues of climate resilience for children through good governance, the discourse needs to shift from governance and children to governance for and with children, in a framework of child rights. Needless to say, this resilience cannot be developed if resilience to poverty, ill health, lack of nutrition and incomes, education, protection and safety are not developed.

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Chapter 1

Background

Indian cities, particularly the secondary cities, are facing increasing climate change impacts and increasingly, children are the first victims. Children who lack appropriate safeguards and adequate care are vulnerable to heatwaves, sea-level rise, seasonal flooding and extreme weather events. Yet very little is understood about the realties that children face, in particular the specific climate risks that impact their right to life, survival and development.

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Children’s still evolving development makes them physiologically and metabolically less able than adults to cope with high exposure to hazards (Akachi, et al., 2009; Costello, et al., 2009). Furthermore, such exposure also threatens all other aspects of their well-being including their psychological health, education, safety and protection, and recreation. Living in cities can present further hazards for those children living in urban poverty, in precarious situations with respect to housing, land, basic water and waste management systems, healthcare and emergency services (Dodman, et al., 2013). Failure to address climate change and build resilience against it will lead to increased risks that undermine children’s development.

Children – victims of urban poverty

In cities, the urban local governments play vital roles in building climate change resilience and require a supportive institutional, regulatory and financial framework for functioning. Local governments are responsible for the decisions and actions that determine the provisioning of services to its citizens. One of the most direct influences that local governments have on the poor is the provision of basic services such as water, sanitation, drainage, solid waste collection, public health and housing construction and improvement. These are also the sectors which have direct bearing on the health and well-being of children. Recognizing the need to integrate climate adaptation aspects into routine planning and administration, several agencies are implementing measures to proactively reduce vulnerability and build resilience in the Indian cities. Various initiatives are being taken in different capacities, using new and varied approaches and there has been limited success in effectively implementing resilience measures addressing the poor and other vulnerable population like children and women. Climate change resilience being a cross sectoral issue, this also needs a multiagency and inter-departmental approach in addressing this and one of the main limiting factors responsible for this has been the existing urban governance and coordination structures which usually work in silos. Municipalities play a vital role in establishing linkages with city development processes and providing basic services and hence strengthening the enabling environment required for implementing such resilience measures. The level of adoption of 74th CAA in different cities/ states is also relevant in this direction. Also, the participation of vulnerable communities in planning and implementation of adaptation and governance is emerging as a crucial factor in urban climate change resilience.

Climate Change and Urban Poor Children UN Habitat (2014) estimates that 45 per cent of the urban population in developing countries live in slums and informal settlements, defined as ‘a group of individuals living under the same roof lacking one or more of the following conditions: access to improved water, access to improved sanitation facilities, sufficient living area that is not overcrowded, safe structural quality and durability of dwellings, and security of tenure’. These conditions represent the five deprivations that negatively affect the lives

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of slum dwellers. Such conditions violate several of the rights of children as enshrined in the UNCRC, such as: the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for his or her physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development (Article 27); the right of every child to reach the highest attainable level of health not only through access to healthcare but also through healthful living environments (Article 24); the child’s right to play, recreation, rest and leisure through allocation of leisure time and provision of safe and appropriate spaces for play and recreation (Article 31); and so on. As insufficient attention is paid to improve the living environments of children in urban poverty in relation to the scale of the problem, millions of children across the world and particularly in low-income countries of the global South live in ‘life and health threatening’ housing conditions (Hardoy, et al., 1990) that pose great risks to their life and well-being. In any urban context, the gains made in child health and well-being will be undermined and the vulnerabilities of people living in urban poverty exacerbated due to the impacts of climate change in developing countries, unless the core issues of inadequate living environments are addressed in policy and practice. Research shows that climate change presents particularly strong challenges to children in the global South. More than 700 million children below the age of 15 years comprising 40 per cent or more of the population live in the 20 countries deemed at ‘extreme risk’ from climate change, mainly in the belt around and immediately north of the equator (Maplecroft, 2014). These countries are some of the fastesturbanising in the world, many of them Asian, with some of the world’s largest and most populated cities located on the floodplains of major rivers and in cyclone-prone coastal areas, making them susceptible to significant climate change impacts. Asia accommodates half of the world’s urban population, 30 per cent of whom live in slums in Asia’s cities (UN Habitat, 2013). Although coastal zones account for only 2 per cent of the world’s total land area, approximately 13 per cent of the world’s urban population live in these zones, with Asia having a higher concentration (UN Habitat, 2011). A large proportion of the population in Asia self-evidently are infants, children and adolescents. Yet few urban adaptation and resilience-building programmes in Asia focus on them, particularly those who live in low-lying coastal cities. Research on child-centred adaptation in urban communities, particularly in the global South, is rare. Thus, it is unclear whether urban programmes run by child-led organizations are systematically building children’s resilience to the specific challenges that climate change will bring to their lives. Despite their disproportionate vulnerability children need not be mere the victims of climate change. With adequate support and protection, children can also be extraordinarily resilient in the face of stresses and shocks. There are many documented examples of the benefits of involving older children actively engaging “in responding to the challenges in their lives, not only for their own learning and development, but for the energy, resourcefulness and knowledge that they can bring to local issues (Bartlett, 2008; Chatterjee, 2015). Talking specifically of India, the climatic changes are significantly altering the health of humans and natural ecosystems. Increasing temperatures and projected changes in the hydrological cycle is leading to an increase in temperature-related illnesses, vector-borne diseases, health impacts related to extreme weather events (particularly, floods and droughts), and health effects due to food insecurity. Increase in coastal water temperatures and subsequent drinking water contamination is posing a serious disease threat. The phase of rapid and uncertain natural disasters has already begun (with India facing one of the hardest drought in past 83 years) (Sharma, A., n.d.) and climate change impacts will lead to an increased frequency of hot days, heat waves, droughts (declining water tables, crop failures, etc.) and natural disasters. The types of climate risks confronting children are diverse, ranging from direct physical impacts, such as cyclones, storm surges and extreme temperatures, to impacts on their education, psychological stress

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and nutritional challenges. Higher temperatures are linked to increased rates of malnutrition, cholera, diarrhoeal disease and vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria. Yet children’s underdeveloped immune systems put them at far greater risk of contracting these diseases and succumbing to their complications. Even moderate climate change impacts could have profound long-term consequences on children’s overall development, threatening achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). More specifically, urban children living in poverty face multiple deprivations rendering them vulnerable in fast Indian urbanising cities. They are frequently exposed to physical hazards, such as polluted water; open sewer systems; inadequate public transport; lack of local safe play areas or cultural facilities; toxic local environments; and overcrowding. The dangers severely restrict children’s independent mobility and opportunities for play and recreation while increasing their exposure to hazards, violence and unintentional injuries. The cumulative effect of such risks severely undermines the adaptive capacities of children to climate change. Understanding these risks is important, as policies that lessen pressures on resources, manage environmental threats and increase the welfare of the poorest members of society can simultaneously advance sustainable development goals, enhance adaptive capacity and reduce vulnerability to climate change and other risks. It is clear that the adaptation agendas need formulation not only with the urban poor in mind but sharply focussing on the children of these communities. The present study shows that a lot of effort needs to be put in this direction.

Urban Climate Change Resilience Building urban climate change resilience entails • Strengthening systems to reduce their fragility in the face of climate impacts and the risk of cascading failures. • Building the capacities of social agents to anticipate and develop adaptive responses, as well as access and maintain supportive urban systems. • Addressing the institutional factors that limit effective responses to system fragility or undermine the ability of agents to take action.

The concept of resilience has been useful in addressing climate risks and unexpected events, and in enhancing efforts to survive and thrive in the context of climate change.1 Urban climate change resilience (UCCR) embraces climate change adaptation, mitigation actions, and disaster risk reduction while recognizing the complexity of rapidly growing urban areas and the uncertainty associated with climate change. This approach places greater emphasis on considering cities as dynamic systems capable of evolving and adapting to survive and even thrive in the face of volatile shocks or stresses.

UCCR is a dynamic process and cannot be effective and sustainable unless it is addressed in its holistic context involving all the three basic components, i.e., Systems, Agents and Institutions and also addressing the interlinkages amongst them (see Figure 1). The needed strengthening of systems is possible through active engagement of citizens and capacity of stakeholders and the enabling policies and rules. A participatory governance mechanism which can support various components of UCCR is therefore crucial.

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Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN). 2013. ACCCRN City Projects. ACCCRN – A Rockefeller Foundation’s initiative which focused on strengthening the capacities in cities to plan, finance and implement urban climate change resilience (UCCR) strategies and actions in 10 cities across India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

Figure 1: Climate Resilience Framework (Source: Moench, M., Tyler, S., Lage, J., 2011)

Urban Governance System in India Municipal Governance in India exists since 1687 with the formation of Madras Municipal Corporation and then Calcutta and Bombay Municipal Corporation in 1726. In early part of the 19th century almost all towns in India had experienced some form of Municipal Governance. In 1882, Lord Ripon’s resolution of local self-government laid the democratic forms of Municipal Governance in India. In 1919, Government of India act incorporated the need of the resolution and the powers of democratically elected government were formulated. In 1935, Government of India act brought local government under the purview of the state or provincial government and specific powers were given. However, decentralization through the 74th, CAA, 1992, which came into force in June 1993, is considered to be a watershed development in urban policy initiatives in India. This is due to the fact that for the first time in the history of urban governance, the municipal bodies were provided the Constitutional Status of the third tier of government. The ULBs were guaranteed constitutional right to operate, conduct regular elections, make reservations for women and weaker sections, and constitute the State Finance Commissions (SFCs) every five years. The main provisions include constitution of ward committees, reservation of seats, duration of municipalities, powers and functions, finances, constitution of a finance commission, elections, district and metropolitan planning committees, etc. The 74th CAA expects ULBs to assume responsibilities for urban planning, water supply, social and economic planning, slum upgradation, public health, etc.

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The institutional arrangement for urban governance and service delivery also comprises a large number of institutions at the state and city levels associated with governing cities and towns. At the state level, they include, departments of urban administration, housing, water supply, public health, environment, welfare, education, health, home, planning, etc. SFC and the State Election Commission are the other state-level institutions which have a role in the formation and financing of ULBs. At the city level, these institutions include ULBs, city police force, pollution control boards, fire stations, etc. Para–statal agencies include institutions, such as Jal Sansthans, development authorities, housing boards, etc. The para–statals are utility boards or development authorities set up by the state government. They are not under the purview of ULBs. These are statutory bodies set up in order to ensure the delivery of services and access to basic amenities and infrastructure within a city or state. It is however, well known that the local governments in India are confronted with poor finances, state control over local governance and multiplicity of agencies—often with overlapping functional and geographical jurisdictions. With the increase in responsibilities as a result of the devolution of 18 functions mentioned in the 12th Schedule of the 74th CAA, empowerment of the ULBs became inevitable. Moreover, the decline in the budgetary support from the higher tiers of government, as a result of the second generation of reforms that aimed at reducing state fiscal deficits, made devolution of powers to ULBs imperative. It took nearly two decades for decentralisation initiative after the second generation of reforms triggered during the early nineties (Bagchi and Chattopadhyay, 2004). Still, some of the states have not devolved all the functions to the ULBs.

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Chapter 2

The research study Experiences have shown that the climate change risks influence and configure the drivers of urban poverty and hence needs to be observed and addressed towards the larger goal of UCCR. To make this meaningful, strong institutional capacity of the local governments is required to live up to the aspirations of local communities. People’s participation also becomes imperative in strengthening fiscal strength of local government through generation of revenue and efficient allocation of the locally raised resources to various development and climate resilience initiatives.

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Urban local governments have critical roles in building climate change resilience and they need a supportive institutional, regulatory and financial framework for functioning. Local governments are responsible for the decisions and actions that determine the provisioning of services to its citizens. One of the most direct influences that local governments have on the poor is the provision of water, sanitation, drainage, solid waste collection, public health and housing construction and improvement. These are also the sectors which have direct bearing on the health and well–being of children. The vertical and horizontal coordination mechanisms between various levels – ULBs, Para–statal and State government play a vital role in establishing linkages with city development processes and providing basic services and hence strengthening the enabling environment required for implementing such resilience measures. In order to further assess this, GEAG undertook a study with the support of UNICEF, India on urban climate resilience and governance in the context of children. GEAG’s long-standing experience of working on UCCR issues have inferred that the participation of vulnerable communities in planning and implementation of adaptation is a crucial factor while building climate resilience. In this regard, various resilience activities to be operationalized at ground level need inter-sectoral coordination and concerted efforts. The governance and institutional mechanisms in different cities/states play a vital role in this direction. The vulnerability assessments and resilience strategies developed in various cities indicate that such coordination gaps adversely affect pro–active (and reactive) adaptation. At the same time there are some unique mechanisms in some cities which have helped in this direction. The variation in level of adoption of 74th CAA in different cities/states is also relevant in this direction. This study aimed to assess the coordination mechanisms and the institutional set-up in different states (and cities) towards addressing the rights and well being of children in the context of changing climate. The key objectives of the study were as below: 1. To review the literature and compile experiences on linkages of governance and climate change resilience in the urban context of India. 2. To assess the status of level of convergence and coordination mechanisms between departments in different states and scope for planning and implementation of climate resilience measures, particularly addressing the vulnerable groups. 3. To analyse the needed changes, if any, in the institutional mechanisms and urban governance models for SMART and climate resilient cities. 4. To identify a list of city cases with description of their good practices in coordination and governance particularly using provision and compliance needs of 74th CAA and utilizing opportunities under flagship programmes of government in promoting UCCR.

The Methodology The methodological framework for this study followed a set of key steps in order to provide a comparable means of assessing governance mechanisms in different cities which catalyse/obstruct the process of building resilience against climate change in the context of children’s issues.

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Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

Literature review The first step was to assess the current literature linking urbanization, climate change, urban poverty and the status of children in such conditions. This drew heavily upon recent commissioned research into these areas. Further, researches and reports related to urban governance mechanisms were sourced and reviewed. The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC). Disaster Management Act (DM Act, 2005), State Disaster Management Plans (SDMP), District Disaster Management Plans (DDMP), United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children (UNCRC), National Policy for Children, Municipal Acts, Vulnerability Assessment Reports, City Resilience Strategies (CRS), etc. were also reviewed to understand the issues of children’s climate vulnerabilities and mechanisms to address them in the governance structure. To mention, this research relied largely on the findings from the Vulnerability Assessments done in the cities and the CRS those were prepared and submitted to the city governments. Literature related to review of governance mechanisms in India and the adoption of 74th CAA was also reviewed. This helped inform both the analytical framework and the general analysis of study inputs.

Formation of Study Advisory Group The study initiation process began with establishing contacts with organizations with expertise on urban climate change resilience, children’s issues and governance. An Advisory Group was then constituted for the study with the aim of getting support and expert inputs on the study from time to time. The Advisory Group members constituted representatives from TERI, ICLEI, UN-Habitat, FXB India Suraksha, NIUA, ISET and IRADe.

Selection of case study cities The selection of five cities was based on a range of factors covering population, agro-ecological zones and climate change impacts. Secondary cities were selected considering the rapid-pace of urbanization taking place in these cities adding to its climate vulnerabilities and thereby deteriorating the conditions of urban poor communities, especially women and children. The cities were also chosen to represent the geographical spread and the different agro-ecological zones in India which covered coastline, hills, Indo-Gangetic, north-east and arid. Two more important criteria that were followed for selection of cities was an existing vulnerability assessment and resilience strategies in the cities and the cities with variable adoption of 74th CAA. It was envisaged that this study would build

Figure 2: Map of India showing the five case study cities.

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

9

upon the vulnerability assessment reports and hence those cities were selected where this exercise was already completed. The variable adoption of 74th CAA in cities helped in understanding the decentralized coordination mechanisms that have either facilitated or obstructed the process of building resilience in cities. Support from various stakeholders in the cities like the Municipal Corporations, Para-statal agencies, State government departments and other organizations working on issues related to climate change, children’s protection and well-being was solicited in the study.

Shared Learning Dialogues and Key Informant Interviews SLDs and Key Informant Interviews were conducted with various groups in the five cities to source information. SLDs were held with city officials and other stakeholders primarily on climate vulnerability (population groups, priority sectors for resilience), programmes and schemes helpful in addressing priority resilience issues of the city, the responsible institutions, institutional mechanisms and coordination, major challenges in terms of UCCR framework related to systems, agents and institutions. Discussions and key informant interviews were also held with civil society organizations in the cities working on children’s issues such as Childline India, FXB India Suraksha, Utsah, etc. and organizations working on urban climate resilience. SLDs were also held with various community groups consisting of children from different groups such as children living in slums, streets and in urban poverty situations.

Causal Loop Diagram Causal Loop Diagram tool was one of the most important tools used in this study which aided in visualizing how different variables in a system are inter-related. The diagram consists of a set of nodes and edges. Nodes represent the variables and edges are the links that represent a connection or a relation between the two variables. A link marked positive indicates a positive relation and a link marked negative indicates a negative relation. A positive causal link means the two nodes change in the same direction, i.e., if the node in which the link starts decreases, the other node also decreases. Similarly, if the node in which the link starts increases, the other node increases as well. A negative causal link means the two nodes change in opposite directions, i.e., if the node in which the link starts increases, the other node decreases and vice versa. Several linked causes to a particular problem related to children was analysed through this tool.

The framework to study urban poor children’s vulnerabilities Children, especially young children, are in a stage of rapid development and are less well-equipped on many fronts to deal with deprivation and stress. Their exposure to various climate risks is also more likely than with adults to have long-term repercussions. Urban children are generally better off than their rural counterparts, but this is not true for those hundreds of millions living in urban poverty. Without adequate planning and good governance, poor urban areas are even more life-threatening environments. The

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Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

'urban advantage' does not come into play in terms of health, education and life opportunities for most of these living in urban poverty. In order to understand the different vulnerabilities among urban poor children in the context of climate change, it was advised by the Study Advisory Group Members that the study should look at the main domains of children’s development, i.e., health, education and physical safety and protection and the impacts of climate change on these domains. Moreover, the coordination and convergence mechanisms among related urban departments should also be studied. Therefore, these domains became the primary lenses through which vulnerabilities of urban poor children were assessed. •

Health: Children’s health is primarily determined by the socio-economic and physical conditions of the environment in which they live and are nurtured. In the context of climate change, the situation of these children residing in the fragile fringes of the city with poor basic facilities which gets aggravated in times of extreme weather events becomes even more precarious. Health is closely inter-linked with livelihoods and income, nutrition, and water and sanitation facilities. During the study, these aspects were closely studied in order to understand the issues of health amongst children living in different situations.



Education: Proper schooling and education is closely linked with the elusive triangle of its access, equity and quality for these urban poor children. In the wake of changing weather patterns, this is influenced by declining livelihood opportunities, migration, inaccessibility to schools, health, etc.



Physical Safety and Protection: Children living in slums grow up in a volatile environment where safety is always in question. During extreme temperatures and rainfall, physical safety becomes a problem for the children. These slum children and also those living on the streets face extreme vulnerability and deprivation of basic entitlements. Lack of proper upbringing due to various reasons makes them vulnerable to drug abuse, sexual abuse, substance abuse, trafficking, gambling, etc. Climate change and disasters cause large scale dislocation of poor people from rural to urban areas or even within the urban areas. Eviction drives in the informal settlements and slums in the cities hamper the physical safety and protection of children, leaving them in a traumatic situation.

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Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

Chapter 3

Case study cities

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City-1: Shimla Shimla is the capital of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The city was the ‘summer capital’ of India under the British rule, situated in the south-western ranges of the Himalayas. Located on hilly terrain at an average elevation of 2206 meters above sea level, Shimla enjoys a sub-tropical highland climate which is an ideal vacation destination for Indian and international tourism. Key sources of local employment are government and tourism. The population of the city was 169,578 as of the 2011 census, and there is an additional floating population of around 76,000 workers during peak summer tourist periods to cope with the demand of over 4 million tourists per year. The city spread in 378 square kilometre area is under the jurisdiction of Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC), including New Shimla, Totu and Dhalli.

(Source: City Sanitation Plan, Shimla)

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Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

City at a glance no. of wards height above mean sea level

25 2,206m

demographics total population

169,578

male female

93,152/74,426

f/m ratio (per 1000)

820

household size

3.66

population density

4,798

slum population

3,303

employment rates (%)

41.87

main worker population

62,899

marginal worker population

8,100

nature of occupation occupation pattern (in%)

(Source: Census, 2011)

tourism, education, govt. services and horticulture Primary 5.70 Secondary 2.74 Tertiary 91.55 Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

15

Current Climate Change Impacts and Projections The city is vulnerable to several shocks and stresses due to its location, topography and economy. Shimla, along with the rest of the State, lies in an active seismic zone V. The region frequently experiences earthquakes; some of which lead to infrastructure damage, landslides and subsistence. Besides loss to buildings and human life, landslides often cause severe disruption to city transport corridors, which consist of networks of narrow roads along steep terrains. The frequency and impact of landslides is increasing as unplanned building activity reduces green cover to make way for high density, unregulated buildings on steep slopes.

Past Climate Scenario Annual Maximum Temperature: The analysis of annual maximum temperature for the period of 1992 to 2004 plotted against time shows a fluctuating trend. The maximum temperature during the study period varied from approx. 26.8 to 21.78 0C. The analysis of annual maximum temperature for the period of 2001 to 2012 plotted against time shows a fluctuating trend. The maximum temperature during the study period varied from approx. 14.9 to 21.4 0C (Urban Vulnerability Assessment Report, Shimla). Annual Minimum Temperature: The analysis of annual minimum temperature for the period of 1992 to 2004 plotted against time observed a declining trend. The minimum temperature during the study period ranged between approx –0.1 to 5.51 0C. The analysis of annual minimum temperature for the period of 2001 to 2012 plotted against time observed that the minimum temperature showed a declining trend. The minimum temperature during the study period ranged between approximately –0.5 to 1.2 0C (Urban Vulnerability Assessment Report, Shimla). Average Annual Rainfall: Monthly rainfall data from 1992 to 2004 (16 years) was analysed to understand the trends in rainfall over the study period. The average annual rainfall showed low variability with exception of a couple of years. The trend analysis for rainfall data showed an increase in average annual rainfall over the period (Urban Vulnerability Assessment Report, Shimla).

Future Climate Projections Precipitation Change: There is a high probability of an increase in average annual rainfall in the range of 60 to 206 mm in the Himalayan Region by the year 2030. The projected change of an increase of 5 to 13 per cent is expected to show an average increase of 12 mm rainfall in June, July, August and September; an increase on an average by 5 mm in January and February; and a minimum increase in rainfall in October, November and December (Urban Vulnerability Assessment Report, Shimla). Temperature Change: There is a high probability of a rise in average annual temperatures by 1.7 to 2.2 °C in the Himalayan Region by the year 2030. The projected change is expected for all seasons, except October, November and December showing a decrease by 2.6 °C (Urban Vulnerability Assessment Report, Shimla).

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Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

Vulnerability Assessment of Shimla The Vulnerability Assessment of Shimla city was done by ICLEI using the ICLEI-ACCCRN Process which helped in identifying the key vulnerabilities of each of the fragile urban system and its impact on the vulnerable population in the context of changing climate. Some of the major vulnerabilities observed in Shimla in the Vulnerability Assessment Report which tend to exacerbate due to projected climate change variability are as follows: Water supply: Increased precipitation and frozen water in the pipelines disrupts and damages water supply infrastructure and hampers supply of safe drinking water to the residents. It further affects the functioning of sewerage management. This degrades the quality of sanitation in the city, creating health issues, especially in children. It also causes shortage of potable water supply leading to usage of water from open sources of questionable quality which impacts the health adversely. Freezing of water in the pipelines causes disruption of water supply and will therefore have an adverse impact on the tourism and economy. Transport: Impact on road systems due to increased precipitation in turn, causes traffic congestion and increases the chances of road accidents and loss of life and livelihood. Increased precipitation can cut off the city from rest of the area leading to shortage of food supply. This can lead to malnutrition of the urban poor children. Tourism: Increase in temperature in surrounding areas is leading to increased tourism, causing stress on urban services. This would further increase the demand for parking spaces and congestion on roads. It would cause financial burden on the municipal corporation. Shimla is a classic example of unique as well as natural ecosystem. It is also one of the largest inhabitations on the hills. The urban forests add value to Shimla by providing environmental buffer for the city, absorbing storm water, improving air quality and adding to water supply. The famous Mall Road of the city is situated on a watershed, the drainage from which, on the one side flows into the Sutlej and so into Arabian Sea, and on the other into the Yamuna on its way to the Bay of Bengal. Inhabitants of Shimla depend on these ecosystem services for a decent, healthy, and secure life as these provide for most of the resources like water, food, fibre, and genetic resources. In the face of climate change, these ecosystems which are the pillars of human well-being are declining with the poor and vulnerable sections getting the most adversely affected. The two major climate change impacts as witnessed by the residents are increase in average temperature and decrease in rainfall days. The snowfall has also reduced in its intensity and duration, both. Recharge of groundwater becomes a problem as the intensity of rains in lesser number of days leads to run-off. This clubbed with lesser amount of snowfall is leading to huge problem of water scarcity in the city which is affecting the poor and marginalised the most. The water supply system is one of the most fragile urban systems in Shimla. It is quite unique and old which was originally executed in the year 1875 during the British Rule by bringing water through gravity in the Dhalli Catchment area for a population of 16,000 persons. Augmentations were then made from time to time in 1980 and recently in 1992. In 2005, a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) was set up at the mouth of the drinking water source. The mixing of raw sewage water with the drinking water happens quite frequently which is leading to outbreak of Hepatatis E and Jaundice, leading to several deaths every year.

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The Irrigation and Public Health Department (I&PH) sells drinking water to the Municipal Corporation at a cost and the latter supplies it to the inhabitants after water quality testing and due diligence but there is no effective coordination between the two agencies.

Climate Change: Vulnerabilities of Children in Shimla The climate change vulnerabilities of children in the city of Shimla were assessed on the following development pillars:

Health There is an increasing trend of mainly waterborne diseases in children. The slum colonies and low-income settlements draw water from unsafe sources which are contaminated and use for drinking and cooking purposes. The centralized water supply system by SMC was also recently found contaminated which led to a massive outbreak of jaundice in the city. Every alternate year, the city has been witnessing huge number of jaundice cases. Besides, 1.5 tonnes of solid waste is being dumped in the open drains which blocks the Children drinking water from an unsafe source flow of water in the drains and causes huge health implications. Shimla has a total sewer line of 35.34 km and 2/3rd of the area is covered by the main sewer line whereas the rest 1/3rd are connected to soakpit tanks. Open defecation practices are also high in some of these settlements which cause E.coli contamination in drinking water. Incidences of skin disease among children are also high. Scrub Typhus is a fatal disease of mites which spreads in humans through rats and leads to multi-organ failure. Poor children are especially susceptible to this disease as their bodies are more exposed without clothes most of the time. This health related vulnerabilities are expected to increase as a result of impacts of climate change. Lesser rainfall, lesser snowfall and increasing temperatures clubbed with an ancient water supply system will cause acute water shortage in the city forcing people to

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Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

News coverage on jaundice spread due to lack of coordination between different departments responsible for provision of safe drinking water

source water from questionable sources and thereby, leading to many water-borne diseases among children. The solid waste is dumped in many slum areas and during rains, it pollutes the groundwater and also leads to unhygienic living conditions for the children. During heavy monsoons, incidence of wild rats increase in the forests which people have encroached and their children become susceptible to diseases like Scrub Typhus.

Education There are adequate number of schools and educational facilities in Shimla, in The park is not fact, surplus than the requirements, run by the State Education Department. yet opened for The condition of government-run schools is dismal and they do not provide us to play. Where quality education. The citizens prefer to get better educational facilities and hence enrol their children in private schools. The government schools have should we go? mostly remained for citizens belonging to lower income groups, daily wage Ankur, 13 years, Shimla earners and the like. The government schools also provide mid-day meals to the children and most of the times; this is the prime reason for citizens to send their children to government schools. During peak orchard season like harvesting time of apples, children are engaged in many activities like plucking, segregating and selling, etc. which results in temporary drop-outs from schools. Heavy snowfall limits the access to school for the children. Prolonged illness due to intake of contaminated water and related water-borne diseases leads to absenteeism from the schools. Shimla falls in the Seismic Zone V and the school buildings are old and vulnerable from the angle of earth safety. This is also recognized as a major vulnerability related to children’s education in the city although it is not directly linked with climate change.

Physical Safety and Protection The population of Shimla is 169,578 as per the Census, 2011 and the city is one of the famous tourist destinations which attract approximately 2.5 lakh tourists every year. This also leads to influx of people from adjoining areas and even other states for earning wages and livelihoods. These form the temporary floating population of the city and often reside in unsafe settlements which are debarred from basic services of safe drinking water, toilets, etc. A large number of children also come to Shimla either as a result of agricultural failures or for roaming around, who engage in odd jobs like working in dhabas, hotels, temporary shops, selling envelopes, support the fruit vendors. These children, when found, are given spaces in temporary shelters or permanent shelters (as the case may be) which are run by the Women and Child Department (WCD). It was also found that the incidences of child beggars are quite high in the city especially during Navratri festival melas, near temples, etc. Dalit children get into wrong habits of drinking alcohol from as early as 8–10 years of age. The alcohol is available for R 10 and it is an easy buy for them. In the event of snowfall and erratic rains, these children do not get safe places to live. These types of changes in the climate affect the agricultural and horticulture crops in the adjoining areas due to which children are sent to the cities for earning wages where their physical safety and protection lies at stake.

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

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Table 1: Specifically vulnerable children and the responsible factors in Shimla. Identified vulnerabilities of children

Special categories of affected children

Responsible factors

Involved Departments

Health Education Child Labour Child Beggars Illegal practices (drinking alcohol, intoxications, etc.)

Children in slum areas, Children in low-income settlements, Floating population of children, Children residing in unsafe localities

Fragile, inadequate and unsafe water supply system

I&PH, Municipal Corporation, Non Government Organizations (NGOs), Private Tankers

Lack of proper sewerage network causing contamination

Municipal Corporation, NGOs

Improper water quality testing facilities

Municipal Corporation, I&PH

Lack of solid waste management

Municipal Corporation, NGOs, Citizens

Health issues

I&PH, Municipal Corporation, NGOs, Health Department

Education issues

Education Department, Anganwadis

Child labour/child beggars during tourist season/inmigrants due to agricultural losses

Labour Department, Police, Childline, WCD, Child Welfare Committees

Water source declared as unsafe but no alternate arrangements made

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Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

Governance Structure and Mechanisms The Municipal Corporation was first introduced in Shimla in December, 1851 under the provision of the Act XXVI of 1850. SMC is one of the oldest municipalities in India. The Himachal Pradesh government changed its status as Municipal Corporation in 1970. There was common Act of the Municipalities of the State, i.e. HP Municipal Committee Act, 1968 and the first Municipal Corporation Act came into existence in the year 1979. At present the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1994 is in existence. Elected Body: The political set of the Municipal Corporation consists of 28 Councillors out of which 25 Councillors are elected and three are nominated by the Government of Himachal Pradesh amongst the prominent citizens of the town who excel in the field of Lack of proper playgrounds for children social service, academics and other activities. The tenure of the corporation is five years. The Hon’ble Mayor and Hon’ble Deputy Mayor are elected by the public directly. Administrative Set-up: The Commissioner SMC is the administrative head of the corporation. All executive and administrative powers for the purpose of carrying out day to day functions are vested in him. He is appointed by the state government for a particular period of time. He is assisted by a joint/ assistant commissioner who is also appointed by the state government. The Municipal Corporation has the following departments under their control: 5. Tax Department – responsible for assessment and collection of municipal taxes as per procedure laid down in Chapter-VIII of the HP Municipal Corporation Act, 1994. 6. Water & Sewerage Department – responsible for supply of quality drinking water to the city and sewerage management. 7. Health Department – responsible for management of municipal solid waste, bio-medical waste, public health laboratory, control of stray animals, etc. 8. Road & Building Department – responsible for looking after the roads & buildings activities in Municipal Areas and provide basic amenities to the general public. In the city there are motorable roads, ambulance roads & paths which are being maintained by this department.

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

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Table 2: Multi-level agencies involved in addressing vulnerabilities in Shimla

22

Vulnerabilities

ULB

Water supply system (Probable solutions: implementation of safe drinking water 24x7 supply; extension of pipelines to uncovered areas; patrolling of areas to take immediate action on freezing of water pipes; developing and implementing rain water harvesting strategy)

Water Supply and Sewerage Department of SMC

I&PH, State Agriculture Department

Sewerage network (Probable solutions: decentralised wastewater treatment systems, maintenance of sewerage lines, Septage and STP’s sludge management)

Water Supply and Sewerage Department of SMC

I&PH, Pollution Control Board

Solid waste management (Probable solutions: proper collection of waste door to door, cover uncovered areas)

Municipal Health Office of SMC

Water quality testing (Probable solutions: water testing laboratories to be equipped with latest technology, capacity building to be done for the lab in-charge)

SMC

I&PH, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Directorate of Environment

Health (Probable solutions: clear snow, address water contamination of drinking water, awareness)

SMC

Urban Health Department

Education (Probable solutions: Renovation of government school buildings, improvement in the quality of education)

SMC

Education Department

Child labour/child beggars, illegal practices (Probable solutions: provision of basic services, care and protection)

SMC

Labour Department, Police, WCD

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

Para–statal/ Development Authority

State Agency

Private sector/ NGOs

Citizens, Shimla Environment Heritage Conservation and Beautification Society (SEHB Society)

Childline, NGOs

As illustrated in the above table, there are multiple agencies responsible for addressing climate related vulnerabilities and the inter-coordination between these agencies is crucial. The SMC has only some of the functions under its control but the citizens approach them for any development related problems in the city as they are the ‘face’ of basic services for citizens. The facilitation role is well played by the Municipal Corporation which is because of proactive champions in the city—the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, who are knowledgeable, development-oriented and people-friendly. The Municipal Corporation has also taken innovative steps to deal with some of the problems. For example, in order to manage the solid waste, the Corporation has constituted SEHB Society which is a registered NGO and takes care of all the garbage collection, segregation and processing activities. The society is financially self-sustainable. Active monitoring mechanisms by formation of WhatsApp Groups between citizens and the Corporation officials is in place for proper management of solid waste. The water quality testing is done at the Municipal Corporation level every day on two parameters – E-coli and residual chlorine and the results are uploaded on the website on an every-day basis.

Existing Inter-Departmental Linkages on Sectors identified for Resilience Building Causing Water Deficiency

Agriculture Department

Forest Department

Water Supply and Sewerage Department

Town and Country Planning UDD grants, Schemes

Environment Directorate STP ing

Pollution Control Board

g tin rT es

ut

ll Po

Procure/ Purchase Water

W at e

ion

st Te

Department of Environment and S&T

IPH (Streams) Lab for testing of water at destination

m ble n Pro ma ets hair Toil Clubs C s d m n WM, Eco lu S a S yor a M Toilets Dy.

SMC

I.G. Medical College

Lab

Water testing at destination

Municipal Health Office

SWM

Social Justice & Empowerment

Disaster Management Cell

Water Quality

Water Supply and Sewerage Department

SDMA IMD Early Warming

SEHB Solid Waste Collection & Management

School

Education Department State Centre for Climate Change

Drainage, Roads and Building Department

WCD

Drainage Solid Waste

Silt

Fire Health Department

Figure 3: Existing inter-departmental linkages between sectors identified for resilience building in Shimla

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

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CITY-2: Indore Indore is the most prominent city of Madhya Pradesh State and the district headquarters of the district. It is situated on the western part of the Malwa (Deccan plateau) on the banks of two small rivers, the Khan and the Saraswati. Indore is 17th among the 23 million plus cites of India enumerated in the 2001 Census. The city is situated on fertile Malwa plateau located at 220 43’N latitude and 760 42’E longitude. The city is located at an average altitude of 550 m above mean sea level. The city has a municipal area of 134 sq. km and lies in Khan river basin. The river and its tributaries traverse through the densely populated areas of the city.

(Source: Indore Municipal Corporation)

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Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

City

at a glance no. of wards height above mean sea level

85 553 m

demographics total population

1,992,422

male female

1,034,915/957,507

f/m ratio (per 1000)

925

household size

4.92

population density

11,558

slum population

590,257

employment rates (%)

36.37

main worker population

677,077

marginal worker population

47,557

nature of occupation occupation pattern (in%)

(Source: Census, 2011)

commercial centre for goods and services Primary 2.24 Secondary 4.37 Tertiary 93.39 Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

25

Current Climate Change Impacts and Projections Indore has a transitional climate between a tropical wet and dry and a humid sub-tropical climate. Three distinct seasons are observed, summer, monsoon and winter. Summers start in mid-March and can be extremely hot in April and May. The highest temperature recorded was 48 °C in 1994. Average summer temperature may go as high as 42–44 °C but humidity is very low except during rainy seasons. Due to Indore’s location on the southern edge of the Malwa Plateau, a cool breeze (also referred to as Shab-e-Malwa) in the evenings makes summer nights quite pleasant. The monsoon season starts in late June, with temperatures averaging around 26 °C (79 °F), with sustained, torrential rainfall and high humidity. The average rainfall is 900 mm with high coefficient of variability. Winters start in mid-November and are dry, mild and sunny. Night temperatures average about 4–15 °C (40–59 °F), but can fall close to freezing on some nights. In summer, temperature can be sometimes as high as 45–48 °C and in winters it can be as low as 2–3 °C. Off late it has been observed that the summer season is extended for couple of weeks and the pleasant cool breeze in the evenings has faded over. The city is also witnessing sudden downpours leading to floods and waterlogging in the city.

Future Climate Projections Temperature: There is expected to be an increase in both the minimum and maximum temperature across all seasons with the maximum increase being around the winter and minimum increase during the monsoons. This may likely lead to increased rate of survivability among the disease causing pathogens, for example malaria, well into the winters leading to possible increase in the health issues among the people. The increases in temperature are also likely to affect the winter cropping pattern (only those crops that are sensitive to the temperature). This possible scenario may lead to an increase in production cost or decrease in yield. Precipitation: The future precipitation is expected to increase on an average of 2 mm daily. This may lead to an overall annual increase in precipitation of around 300 mm as per projections. The future estimation also suggests a shift in the rainy season. In Indore the rainy season is expected to commence early in May and would extend till late November.

Vulnerability Assessment of Indore The Vulnerability Assessment of Indore city was done by TARU to understand different facets of risks and quantify the components of vulnerability in the city. Waterlogging and Floods: The city of Indore is located near the watershed boundary between Narmada and Chambal. It is covered by black cotton soils with low permeability. Two small reservoirs, Yashwant Sagar and Bilavali tank are located upstream of the city. Extreme rainfall events lasting few days have become common in the last two decades. Three events of floods (2002, 2005, and 2009) with increasing intensities have also taken place. The waterlogging continues for three days in many places and several weeks in some areas even after the cessation of rains. This is happening largely due to new roads and blockage of drainage channels. A bout of dengue fever has been reported across the city for several weeks during times of waterlogging and flood.

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Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

With the projected increases in precipitation as well as reduction in rainy days and dominance of heavy rainfall events, the pluvial flooding and waterlogging is likely to increase, unless a climate-proof hardened storm drainage network is laid and maintained. Solid waste collection system is poorly managed in Indore resulting in clogging of storm water drainage from uncollected garbage, which worsens the waterlogging further. Water Scarcity: Indore will face larger variability in rainfall conditions which would mean recurrent droughts, with local sources like Yashwant Sagar and Bilawali tank able to provide lesser water during droughts. Moreover, Indore faces an additional growth which is due to the push migration from underdeveloped rural hinterland. The impact of push migration into Indore is also due to steadily decreasing land holdings, deepening of water tables due to overexploitation, and possible increasing water demands for irrigation in the future due to rise in temperatures. Also shift of monsoon from June to July may further erode the agricultural productivity. Since Indore is the only major city in the western Madhya Pradesh, it is the preferred destination for significant proportion of rural out migrants from neighbouring regions. With the large immigration, water scarcity is likely to continue despite investments on Narmada Phase III. Discomfort, Health Risks and Livelihoods: The elderly citizens of the city recall the Shab-e-Malwa meaning pleasant evening even during peak summers in Malwa plateau. During last two decades, this phenomenon has changed to high temperatures reaching up to 45 °C with warmer evenings. The increases in summer maximum temperatures are likely to reduce the comfort index, and result in increased energy consumption for cooling. Further, this increase in temperature during early and late winter months are likely to contribute to the increase in viability period of disease vectors like mosquitoes. Loss of Livelihoods: While flood risk is an issue affecting people for a few days once in two to three years and causing loss of livelihoods, increase in droughts may result in push migration from complex diverse risk-prone rural hinterlands, which are already strained by unviable land holdings. In Madhya Pradesh, about 25 per cent of the farmers are small and marginal landholders with only part of the livelihoods met from agriculture and rest from doing part-time jobs in the neighbouring cities. Distressed migration into cities eventually increases vulnerability of people with severe impacts on children which worsens when coupled with climate change impacts.

Climate Change: Vulnerabilities of Children in Indore The climate change vulnerabilities of children in the city of Indore were assessed on the following development pillars:

Health The children of urban poor communities in Indore suffer from a range of health problems which occurs because of sewage contamination in drinking water leading to water-borne diseases. Water scarcity raises issues of competing demands especially during extreme summers and drought years. Water scarcity combined with lack of sewerage is reportedly the reason for jaundice outbreaks in summer, also in upper and middle income groups. Vector-borne diseases like Malaria, Dengue and Chikungunia are also on a rise in the city due to waterlogging as well as increase in temperature.

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

27

With the increasing impacts of climate change which will result in floods and extended periods of waterlogging, the incidences of water-borne and vector-borne diseases will also increase. Waterlogging will increase breeding areas for the vectors, while temperature increase is likely to extend the viability period into winters, which otherwise is not conducive for mosquito breeding. The vulnerabilities of children in such situations are going to be increased. The current health system is poor and accessibility by poor communities is an issue. As informed by the community, Fragile settlements in Indore, which bear the brunt of climate impacts blood banks are not networked properly and during outbreaks of dengue, this becomes a major hurdle in saving lives. Improving disease tracking and preventive measures are necessary which needs to include reducing waterlogging periods, tracking the diseases and improving healthcare access to poor.

Education Despite Indore being an education hub with a range of educational institutions from primary schools to higher education institutes, children from low-income settlements and slums are hardly able to get access to schools and quality education. Schools are far away at a distance of 3/5 km which the poor are unable to access. Even Anganwadis are also at a distance many a times and hence parents do not send their children. For instance, in the Rahul Gandhi Nagar colony, which has been there since 17 years and more than 800 families reside, there is no government school and Anganwadi in the vicinity of 4 km. Some children go to private schools and approximately 20 per cent children don’t go to schools. The lowlying settlement areas which are more vulnerable and water stagnates for days together, in such areas also, children’s access to schools become a problem. Increased incidences of Jaundice, Dengue, Malaria and Chikungunia also lead to temporary drop-outs from the schools. In some of the Muslim slums, it was observed that the children are not sent for education, especially girls due to various social reasons. The increase in extreme weather events like rainfall leading to floods and waterlogging and increase in temperatures will further worsen the access of children to schools because of physical and health reasons, both.

Physical Safety and Protection Physical safety and protection issues came out to be a huge concern in the city of Indore. The number of children either coming on their own or being trafficked and brought in the city is alarming. Children from nearby areas and other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bahraich and Bangladesh come to Indore and settle themselves in the fringes or in un-safe places such as across nallas, etc. They drink contaminated water and defecate in the open and have no access to better basic services. The increasing losses in agriculture and hence look-out for livelihoods is one of the major reasons for them to come to

28

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

cities like Indore and do odd jobs and earn money. They are often used as cheap labourers in gas welding works, jewellery making, bag manufacturing, and working as servants, etc. and are exploited. Children are also engaged in begging activities in the city especially during times of festivals and even rag pickers consist of good number of children. Reportedly, large numbers of children are into illegal practices such as intoxications, etc. The children are rescued and housed in temporary shelters where the conditions are no better in any sense. The city also sees maximum cases of child sexual abuse.

Indore city has huge number of child labour and abuse cases. Their tender hands are used for jewellery making and children are highly exploited at these places. Mr Waseem Iqbal, Childline, Indore

On the other hand, the slums and low-income settlements are congested with hardly any open space for playgrounds for children. Eventually the children play on the roads and run the risk of accidents. Cases of accidents and deaths were reported by the communities. In the event of changing climate and its direct and indirect impacts, the physical safety and protection of children especially residing in slums and unsafe areas is going to be questionable. Table 3: Specifically vulnerable children and responsible factors in Indore Identified vulnerabilities of children

Special categories of affected children

Responsible factors

Involved Departments

Health Education Child Labour Child Beggars Illegal practices (intoxication) Child sexual abuse

Children in slum areas, Children in low-income settlements, Migrants Trafficked children

Waterlogging and floods

Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC)

Water scarcity

Public Health Engineering Department, IMC, NGOs

Lack of sewerage management

IMC, MoUD, Urban Administration, Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board

Lack of drainage management

IMC

Lack of solid waste management

IMC

Health issues: No coordination between blood banks

Health Department, government and private blood banks

Education issues

IMC

Child labour/child beggars/child sexual abuse

Labour Department, Police, WCD, NGOs

Governance Structure and Mechanisms The city of Indore had the first municipality in 1870. Trade and commerce were given leverage to strengthen the city economy to ensure a positive growth. A series of efforts were taken up in terms of mapping, energy generation, master planning till it was declared as a municipality. In the year 1956, it was declared as a Municipal Corporation. The functioning of the IMC is governed by the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1956. The organization set up of IMC compromises of a Political

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

29

Wing (Deliberative) and Executive Wing. The Deliberative Wing is an elected body of Councillors from different wards in the city and is headed by the Mayor. The Executive Wing is headed by the Municipal Commissioner and looks after the functioning of the corporation and assists the Deliberative Wing in the decision making process. The Deliberative Wing of IMC is headed by the Mayor and overall functioning of the corporation is governed by Mayor-in-Council and the Departmental Advisory Committees constituted by the speaker from amongst the Councillors other than the members If the Mayor-in-Council. The organizational structure of the Deliberative Wing and Executive Wing is presented below: Public Sphere of Bhopal

Municipal Commissioner

Mayor

Additional Commissioner

Additional Commissioner

Chair Person

Deputy Commissioner

Mayor in Council

Appeal Committee

Advisory Committee

Deputy Commissioner

Departmental Heads

Deputy Commissioner

Divisional Officers (OSD)

Ward Committee

Zonal Officers

Departments of MIC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Housing, Environment and Public Works Department Water Works Department Health and Medial Department Market Department Education Department Women & Child Welfare Department Food & Civil Supplies Department Rehabilitation and Employment Department Revenue Department Law & General Administration Department

Public Works Department Health & Sanitation Department Water Supply Department Finance & Accounts Department General Administration Department Revenue & Tax Department Public Relation & Library Department Fire Brigade & Workshop Department Law Section & Legal Cell Department Planning & Development Department Garden & Parks Department

Technical Staffs

Non Technical Staffs

Ward Officers

Deliberative Wing Executive Wing Figure 4: Organizational structure of Deliberative Wing and Executive Wing of IMC For the purpose of better administration and delivery of services to the public, the area within the IMC is divided into 14 zones managed by a Zonal Officer. The Zone Office performs the following functions (Health and Sanitation, Water Supply, Property Tax assessments and collection of Taxes, Lighting and General Administration).

Indore Development Authority In order to assist the municipal body in its developmental activities, Indore Development. Authority was formed in 1973 under the Town and Country Planning Act of the State (1973). Primarily Indore Development Authority (IDA) develops new residential areas and developing of basic infrastructure. Once a sizeable number of plots are sold, the area is formally handed over to IMC. IDA also takes up a number of development schemes like construction of major roads, traffic squares, public gardens, lake development etc. The Commissioner of IMC is the ex-officio member on the board of IDA. Other key departments include:

30



Madhya Pradesh Public Works Department



Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board



Madhya Pradesh Housing Board

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance



Public Health Engineering Department



Indore Development Fund Ltd.



District Urban Development Authority



Madhya Pradesh Town and Country Planning Department



Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti, Indore



Indore City Transport Services Ltd.

Table 4: Multi-level agencies involved in addressing vulnerabilities in Indore. Vulnerabilities

ULB

Water scarcity

Water Works Department of IMC, Ward Corporators

Solid waste management

IMC

Lack of sewerage management

IMC, Urban Administration

Lack of drainage management

IMC

Health Education Child labour/child beggar/child sexual abuse

Para–statal/ Development Authority IDA

State Agency

Private sector/ NGOs

Public Health Engineering Department, Chief Minister (CM) Helpline Consultants, NGOs, Resident Welfare Associations (RWA) MoUD RWAs Health Department

IMC Labour Department, Police, WCD

Childline, NGOs

As illustrated in the table above, there are multiple agencies responsible for addressing climate related vulnerabilities of children in Indore and a coordination mechanism between them is crucial towards building resilience. The state government of Madhya Pradesh has been a pioneer in terms of progress on decentralization. Since the passing of the 74th CAA in 1992, the State passed the conformity legislation in 1993, conducted three rounds of elections to the local governments and has been the front runner to constitute and implement the recommendations of the SFCs. The 74th CAA gave the local bodies a constitutional status and assigned them a large number of functions, ensured more stability, provided a framework for function with greater freedom and also made institutional arrangements for devolution of financial resources. This has been materialised to an extent and still there are problems of coordination and convergence between the Mayor-in-Council, Advisory Committees/General Body and Wards Committee. It is worthwhile to mention that IMC has embarked upon a modernization plan with extensive citizen participation, to increase revenues and improve urban services since a decade. Development interventions such as construction of roads, drains, etc. are done with a substantial community contribution.

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

31

City-3: Gorakhpur Geographically, the city of Gorakhpur is situated at the latitude of 26° 46' N and longitude 83° 22' E on the confluence of River Rapti and Rohin and their left bank at the north eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. It is the second largest city of eastern Uttar Pradesh after Varanasi in terms of population growth. At present the Gorakhpur city is extended up to an area of 147 sq.km. As Gorakhpur city is located in the plain area, hence the nature of the surface of the city is plain or smooth. It is evident from the contour and the flow of the rivers that normal slope of the city is from north to south. The slope is decreasing from north to the middle part of the city and again from middle towards east and west sides. The average height of the city from mean sea level is between 75 to 85 m. The western part is much higher than eastern area. Its proximate eastern part is lower in height than it. The Gorudhoia Nala/drain flowing through this region from north to south joins lake 'Ramgarh Tal'. The Rohin river flowing in conformity with the slope from north to south meets with River Rapti in south west border of the city.

(Source: Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation) 32

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

City

at a glance no. of wards height above mean sea level

70 84 m

demographics total population

673,446

male female

353,907/319,539

f/m ratio (per 1000)

903

household size

6.0

population density

4,776

slum population

49,268

employment rates (%)

30.96

main worker population

157,624

marginal worker population

50,931

occupation pattern (in%)

(Source: Census, 2011)

Primary 6.39 Secondary 6.50 Tertiary 87.07

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

33

Current Climate Change Impacts and Projections Historically, Gorakhpur and the surrounding areas had a pleasant climate. However, in the last few years there has been rapid alteration and unexpected changes in climate. Its average temperature is 25.68 0C, average maximum temperature is 31.95 0C where as average lowest temperature is above 19.57 0C and the city receives an annual rainfall above 119.2 cm.

Future Climate Scenarios From the analysis of different studies, it is predicted that the maximum temperatures are likely to increase in all four seasons. Further, the oscillation of temperature will be most pronounced in summer and winter months. This is expected to be high uncertainly about rainfall in future. It is projected that in each season, the rainfall may increase or decrease. The fluctuation in temperature and its potential impact on precipitation could have significant impact on urban water management for Gorakhpur while increased temperature, per se, can change the pattern of occurrence and incidences of water and vector born diseases. Gorakhpur being situated in the Terai of foothills of Himalayas, slop gradient is low and there are plenty of low lying areas. Waterlogging during the monsoon is rampant in the city. From the community consultation and vulnerability analysis it is concluded that if the present trend of development process continues, the situation of waterlogging would be chronic due to changing climate conditions. The city is naturally vulnerable due to it physical attributes. Due to frequent meandering of River Rapti in the past, the topography of the city was badly affected. Some parts of south and south east of the city became lower than-the river bed of Rapti during monsoon. Currently, there are 110 slum dwellings in the city with approximately 7 per cent of city population living in slum like situation. Majority of population (approximately 50 per cent) earns its livelihood through business with a large population depending on household based activities like petty dealers, shop keepers, handloom workers etc.

Vulnerability Assessment of Gorakhpur The city being flood prone with large low lying areas is quite vulnerable due to climate change impacts. Unplanned development, lack of sewerage and solid waste management systems, reduced buffering capacity due to encroachment on open land and ecosystems, degeneration of peri-urban agriculture, large dependence on household based incomes, low literacy levels and behavioural issues are some of the factors which exacerbate the impacts of climate change. A detailed vulnerability assessment of the city was conducted by GEAG under the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) programme. Some of the major risks and vulnerabilities of the city due to climate change are as follows: Waterlogging: The intervening impact of poor sewerage and solid waste management is escalating waterlogging in the city. During last few decades the problem is becoming more chronic and horrible. It was found that 31 wards (out of 70) of the city are facing waterlogging problem of various magnitude. The Municipal Corporation of Gorakhpur has identified 59 waterlogged points in the city.

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Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

Drainage and Sewerage: Currently, only 22 per cent of the city is provided with underground sewer network with a total length of 55 km. There is no sewer treatment plant in the city. The sullage is directly ejected in the river or in the water reservoirs of the city. Due to improper maintenance most of open drains are clogged and the grey water overflows in nearby areas. The change in rain fall patterns with more intense precipitation tends to make the open sewer drains overflow. Solid Waste: The lack of collection of garbage at source and its primary disposal on road sides cause siltation of open drains. With expected enhancement in the intensity of rainfall, the solid waste will make the problems of waterlogging, sewage over flows and contamination of fresh water bodies more intense. Household based traditional livelihoods: The increasing trends of rainfall variability and changes in temperature and humidity on one hand has increased the possibility of inundation of houses and hence loss of raw materials as a large city population, specially the weaker economic groups, are engaged in unorganized business storing raw materials at home. At the same time the work within the households due to increased temperature and humidity makes the livelihood more challenging. Drinking Water: The high groundwater table, contamination due to sewerage water, lack of effective implementation of rain water harvesting and contamination of water bodies are the factors which affect the quality of water. This problem is expected to intensify due to climate change impacts. Urban Planning: In spite of the Master Planning (currently Master Plan 2021 is operational) the specified green and open areas are being encroached due to lack of political support and adequate enforcement. Also, the water bodies have shrunk from 103 in 1970 to 18 as of now. The loss of peri-urban agriculture and ecosystems in these areas has reduced the water buffering capacity and hence the vulnerability of the city in the events of flash floods and waterlogged.

Climate Change: Vulnerabilities of Children in Gorakhpur The climate change vulnerabilities of children in the city of Gorakhpur were assessed on the following development pillars:

Health The poor hygienic conditions, low economic profile of significant chunk of population, prone-ness to floods and waterlogging, increasing humidity and temperature extremes makes the city vulnerable for health of children. The water and vector borne diseases are high in children. Cases of diarrhoea, hepatitis, malaria, skin and respiratory diseases are quite common amongst children. Japanese Encephalitis is a serious problem which is not so acute in the urban areas but children are affected in the

Unhygienic living conditions for children in Gorakhpur

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

35

peri-urban areas and the vulnerability is high due to contamination of ground water with sewage (Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES)), soak pits and open defecation. Quality of drinking water is a serious issue as a majority of population still depend on shallow private hand pumps. The increasing waterlogging, contamination of water due to sewage and stagnated water, inadequate treatment and filtration facilities are some of the factors which contaminates drinking water thereby causing health problem. Poor awareness in citizens and inadequate health services add to the problem of health in children. The inhabited locations of economically weaker groups are largely exposed to water logging, open sewage drains and solid waste dumping increasing vulnerability particularly of children.

Figure 5: Causal loop diagram on availability of safe drinking water in Gorakhpur

Education Government schools are available in the city but the parents generally like their children to go in private schools for better quality education. However, children living in slums and belonging to lower economic groups are not regular in schools. There are good number of children living on fringe of city, in guava orchards and other low lying and river side areas where schools are not available in vicinity. The children have also to remain out–of–schools to work and assist their parents in the household based business activities or caring for siblings when parents go for work. Monsoon and post monsoon months are the worst period when the rains and waterlogging disrupts regular schooling as the water enters the houses, access to schools get blocked and at times schools also get water inundation. Over a period of time, the level of roads has gone high and the schools have come to lower levels than roads causing inundation of school premises. The diseases amongst children, fear of getting drowned, fear of snake bites are some of the factors which

36

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

hinder the regularity in schools. Crossing of roads are also a problem in some areas where schools are located on other side of busy roads (generally across high ways).

Physical Safety and Protection The city having a high population of economically weaker groups and prone to a range of physiographic vulnerabilities have problems of safety and protection as well. During various Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) with Childline, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working street and rescued children, the children in slums and waterlogging affected areas, following vulnerabilities were identified: •

Due to recurring disasters and climate variability and its adverse impact on agriculture and allied activities in rural areas people migrate to Gorakhpur city as labourers, rickshaw pullers, rag pickers etc. and they live in slums and other areas without basic facilities of drinking water, toilets etc. Gorakhpur being the only urban centre in the region it becomes a preferred migration destination of rural population even from parts of adjoining state of Bihar.



There are good number of children migrating to city in Renu, 10 years, Gorakhpur search of work and better lives. Some of them get rescued but largely they work as child labour and get addicted to alcohol, drugs and other toxicants—leading to indulgence in petty crimes.



There are reports of trafficking and abduction of children especially during foggy days. Girls are vulnerable to such incidences when they go to toilets.

I help my parents in making alcohol at home which we sell and get money. This is the main source of income. I have been doing this since early age. There is no school nearby where I can go.

Table 5: Specically vulnerable children and responsible factors in Gorakhpur Identified Vulnerabilities of Children

Special Categories affected of Children

Responsible Factors

Involved Departments

• Vector–borne diseases

• Children living in slums

Waterlogging

• Snake bites

• Children living at fringe of city, peri urban areas and flood plains

Gorakhpur Development Authority (GDA), GMC, DDMA, Irrigation Department, Urban Planning and Development

In adequate Sewage water disposal and groundwater contamination

GMC, Urban Development Department, Jal Nigam, Pollution Control Board, Urban Planning and Development

Availability of safe drinking water

GMC, Jal Nigam, Ground Water Department, GDA

• Work as child labour

Vulnerable habitation and Housing

GDA/Town & Country Planning, GMC, DUDA

• Trafficking

Lack of Ecosystem Management - adding to floods and waterlogging impacts

GMC, GDA, Jal Nigam, Irrigation Department, Builder Association, NGOs, District Administration

Health: Exposure to vector and water borne diseases

GMC, District Health Department, NGOs, Community Groups, DDMA

• Health problem due to contaminated water • Disrupted access to school

• Children in low lying and waterlogged area

• Lack of schools

• Addicted children

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

37

Governance Structure and Mechanisms The Uttar Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1959 is for the whole state of Uttar Pradesh and initially all the KAVAL (Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Agra and Lucknow) towns were covered by this act. Subsequently, under Section 8-AA (1) (b), Nagar Mahapalikas were also constituted in Gorakhpur, Meerut and Bareilly. The Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation (GMC), according to the act, has 70 wards with 70 Corporators (Sabhasad) and one Mayor directly elected by the citizens. Municipal Commissioner is the Chief Executive performing for various functions with his team of officials. Looking at the vulnerabilities of children in the city and the needed actions at planning, designing, services and capacities of involved functionaries’ level, it becomes clear that for resilience of the city and its population effective coordination mechanism are needed at various levels. The same is being briefed in the following table: Table 6: Multi-level agencies involved in addressing vulnerabilities in Gorakhpur

Vulnerabilities

ULB

Waterlogging/ Inundation

- Builders to - Every year GMC has to - Communities settled -Communities are follow the settling in the flood address and face the in low lying areas norms and plains of Rapti. (e.g. Rasoolpur in problem respect green/ Irrigation Department Bhatta area), No - Rescue and relief open area is the responsible body stopped it. It measure to be adopted provisions agency for regulation was to be regulated by GMC by Development -Rain Water Municipal Corporation - Inundation occurs in Authority harvesting to be with technical team peri urban areas and of the Jal Nigam popularized and flood plains also which - Also in Master Plan: enforced to revisit Urban area specified and are not in Municipal Infrastructure to be maintained as area but the humane Development Scheme Flood Plains have angle and law and for Small & Medium been inhabited order problem forces Towns (UIDSSMT) this. - Maps of houses for disintegration and colonies not be - Removal of of sewer and storm approved/regulated encroachment on water in low lying areas, drain lines to be without adequate enforced with Distt drainage provisions Administration and without water harvesting mechanisms

A. Communities settled in low lying areas and flood plains B. Inadequate Drainage C. Encroachments and lack of enforcement of land use plans

Health/ Drinking Water

- Quality monitoring of water at source and destination (Setting A. The existing lines up of high quality lab are old and not equipped with modern effective testing instruments, B. India-II pumps trained personnel, and are non– financial allocation for functional conducting sample C. Contamination of surveys for water groundwater quality testing in a professional manner. - Regular assessment of aquifers

38

Para-statal/ Development Authority

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

- Groundwater recharge and rain water harvesting to be enforced by GDA (mandatory for new houses)

State Agency

- Technical assistance from GWD- execution and coordination by Jal Nigam for management, planning and conservation of groundwater - Aquifer Assessment by Municipal Corporation of gorakhpur and Groundwater Board - Efficient maintenance of India -II handpumps

Private/NGOs

Awareness on safe drinking water and not using shallow hand pumps for drinking purposes

Sewage & Drainage

- Revisit the drainage (storm water drainage) project sanctioned A. Open drains and under UIDSSMT to obsolete sewage allow for disintegration system catering points and channels to only 18 per cent ensure disintegration of city developed of storm water in 1954 for 2 drains appropriately lakh population. with the new sewer It was also not drains when they are scientific and sanctioned for. technically - Conduct a feasibility correct analysis for a B. Mixing of centralized dual sewage and system storm water and - City goes for contamination decentralized of surface and systems- DEWATS Groundwater at level of residential sources units/wards - Strict action on encroachment of drains

- 3 STPs costing 445 cr awaiting sanction (under Namami Gange-Central/state govt) to be followed

Shrinking Ecosystem and Flood Buffering Capacity

- Pollution Control Board to be involved

A. Conservation of water bodies and open land B. Peri-Urban Agriculture to be protected and supported

- Groundwater Board - Pollution Control Board to be involved

- Mapping and - Green areas demarcation of green specified in Master areas and water bodies Plan 2021 to be in the city to regulate strictly followed and encroachment and no construction is reclamation (study by regulated Gorakhpur University - Water bodies in on water bodies can the city and peribe utilized for this) Urban areas to be demarcated and - Pollution abatement: protected Regular cleaning and maintenance of drains and parks/ playgrounds. Regulating solid waste disposal in water bodies/ green areas - Market Place for periurban bio farmers

Health

- Collaboration of Jal Nigam in feasibility Analysis

- GMC (Health Department) takes up preventive health measures on sanitation and hygiene esp in vulnerable areas in organized manner and data maintenance

- Builders and RWAs to collaborate - Awareness by NGOs. - Media to be involved

- Provision for preparation of Flood Management Plan under Disaster Management Act, 2005 and 74th CAA to be taken up by DDMA for the city

- Citizen Groups, Service Clubs, Schools, Media to be oriented on the role of green areas and ecosystems and involved in protection and conservation of Ecosystems

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for epidemics prepared under the provisions of Disaster Management Act, 2005 by SDMA - CMO to collaborate

Awareness on preventive health, Sanitation and hygiene specially during monsoon and post monsoon months

- Master Plan and Model Zoning Regulations under the provision of UPUP&D Act, 1973 to be followed

- Health surveillance system (Reporting, Preparedness and response mechanism) to be adopted by Health Department of GMC in collaboration with Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and maintenance of data - Rain Basera to be maintained in winters

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

39

CITY-4: Panjim The city of Panjim is located along the west coast of India along the Arabian Sea and is a part of the Tiswadi Taluka in the northern part of the State of Goa. The city is bound by the Arabian Sea along the south west, Mandovi river along the north and west and Zuari river towards the south east. The city also has 2 Creeks: Querem Creek on the east and St. Inez Creek along the west. The city has a rich wealth of mangroves on the backwaters entering the Querem Creek, St. Inez Creek, Mandovi river and Zuari river. Goa receives an average annual rainfall of 2932 mm, largely spread over the monsoon months (June to September). The main occupation in the city is tourism and agriculture. The state is famous nationally and internationally for coastal tourism. The key crops grown in Goa are paddy, cereals (millets/pulses and oil seeds), sugarcane, coconut, areca nut and cashew nut. Irrigation is largely through surface flow irrigation (3972 ha), dug wells (1867.91 ha) and Canals (1149.40 ha). The map below provides a quick overview of the city of Panaji.

(Source: Corporation of City of Panjim)

40

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

City

at a glance no. of wards height above mean sea level

30 60 m

demographics total population

70,991

male female

35,988/35,003

f/m ratio (per 1000)

972

household size

3.98

population density

1,322

slum population

No slum population

employment rates (%)

46.10

main worker population

30,220

marginal worker population

2, 511

nature of occupation

mostly tourism

occupation pattern (in%)

(Source: Census, 2011)

Primary 1.26 Secondary 1.40 Tertiary 97.34 Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

41

Current Climate Change Impacts and Projections In order to understand the climate change trends observed in Panaji, basic analysis of meteorological data from Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) was undertaken. Annual temperature and rainfall data from 1901 to 1913 and from 1964 to 2000 was available. Due to the large data gap, time series data from 1964 to 2000 was used for the purpose of trend analysis (Urban Vulnerability Assessment Report, 2013) The consolidated analysis of the weather trends in terms of annual minimum and maximum temperatures as well as average annual rainfall shows that both temperature and rainfall has changed in the 36 year period (1964 to 2000).

Future Climate Projections Precipitation Change: There is a high probability of an increase in Average Annual Rainfall in the range of 69 to 109 mm in the Western Coastal Region by the year 2030. The projected change of an increase of 6 to 8 per cent, is expected to show an average increase of 8 mm rainfall in June, July and August; a decrease on an average by 19 mm in January and February; and a decrease in rainfall in March, April and May. Temperature Change: There is a high probability of a rise in Average Annual Temperatures by 1.5 to 2.2 °C in the Western Coastal Region by the year 2030. The projected change is expected for all seasons, with the rainfall period of June, July, August and September showing the minimum rise amongst all seasons. The projected climate trends broadly match the assessment of the past weather data as well as the general perceptions of the stakeholders: temperatures are increasing and are expected to increase in the near future; though rainfall has become erratic, there has not been a significant change in the amount of rainfall in the past and in the near future a significant increase is not expected. Sea level rise is not perceived as a threat to the city of Panaji so far (Urban Vulnerability Assessment Report, Panjim, 2013). The city having a small population of about 60,000 receives outside tourists almost 6 times of its own population and manages providing facilities of water, sewage, solid waste management etc. during the tourist season. There is direct and indirect impact of the tourism on children of the city. There is also temporary influx of children along with their parents during the tourist season for taking up various income earning services like petty dealers, balloon selling, helpers on ‘thela’ shops and some even go for work like beer selling, massaging, and objects for nude watching.

Vulnerability Assessment of Panjim Corporation of City of Panaji, in collaboration with ICLEI and GIZ conducted vulnerability analysis of the city in the year 2013. Panjim is unique in the sense that most of sewage from the adjoining areas traverse through the city to be dumped in the sea as a viscous soup with high population of E.coli. With inadequate clearing of drains and deposition of solid waste the capacity of drains are also affected causing the water streams filled with filth, sewage and waterlogging thereby affecting the health and

42

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

hygiene of children living in the close vicinity. The increase in incidences of epidemics, population of mosquitoes, malaria, dengue etc. is some of the examples of the impacts of such situations. There is a strong connect of city of Panjim and the adjoining per-urban areas. The ecology of adjoining areas play an important role in the resilience of the city. The water bodies and marsh areas at the city fringes are being encroached at a fast rate, Mala lake being a classic examples (having earlier provided the water buffering) of which almost 75 per cent has been encroached and built. The DDMP of Panjim has not adequately addressed the urban part of the district. Some of the major observed vulnerabilities of the city of Panjim, tend to be exacerbated due to projected climate variability, as identified in the city vulnerability report are as follows: •

Salt Water Intrusion: which may be affected by unregulated water extraction in the situation of increasing temperature and sea level rise.



Formation of Beaches: on querem and St. Inez which may block water flow of st. Inez creek into the Mandovi river resulting in flooding in the adjoining areas.



Loss of Mangroves: which have an established role in reducing risks and vulnerabilities in situation of storms, sea level rise etc.



Land Reclamation: large part of coastline of Goa is made on reclaimed marsh land and this area becomes waterlogged in the rainy season. In the events of intense rain fall, these areas will be more waterlooged and will need pumping out the water.



High Water Table: causing ineffectiveness of soak-pits and pollution of water sources. This increases groundwater pollution and salt water ingress.



Loss of Sand Dunes : providing a protective buffer increases vulnerability.



Lack of Sewerage Network: tend to cause impact on health and availability of safe drinking water in climate change impact situation.



Siltation of Storm Water Drains: the old drains have reduced capacity and tend to increase flooding in the city.

Climate Change: Vulnerabilities of Children in Panjim The specific vulnerability of the city is due to its situation in the coastal area and large number of tourists coming to city round the year creating pressure on natural resources and competition of basic services. To make the city more attractive for the tourists, new beaches are being created damaging the marshy lands and mangrove plantation as well as natural topography of the city. Whereas, good number of poor population stays in the city in ‘slum like areas’, there are migrant population coming from adjoining areas in search of jobs and wages especially during the tourist season. The FGDs conducted with slum dwellers, citizens and officials revealed following vulnerabilities of children in the coastal city.

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

43

Health There is an increasing trend of health problems in children in the city. The cumulative impact of factors like increasing population of mosquitoes due to additional spaces being affected by waterlogging, water stagnation and sewage water in open drains are causing escalation in cases of malaria and other vector–borne diseases in children—as explained by communities and citizens. The pollution of surface water has also adversely affected the population of natural predators. Dengue cases have been also reported from the city. The availability of safe drinking water is also an issue linked to health and nutrition of children. The increasing water table in some areas and pollution of groundwater are also contributing to health problems. In such state of art situation, the climate change impacts like increased temperature, rainfall variability, sea level rise etc. are expected to pose newer challenges related to health and well being of children in and around the city. The health services are available in city government hospitals and private nursing homes. The data related to health and diseases are maintained by State Health Department. The Health Department also organizes ‘outreach services’ providing health check-ups and advise at building construction sites and slums under Urban health mission. Currently, this one per month service is being proposed to be increased to one per week frequency.

I go with my father to sell balloons and fruits on the beach. We live beside the creek. Solid waste is not picked by the Municipal Corporation in our locality. The creek is full of garbage. It is dirty everywhere. John, 10 years, Panjim

Education There is adequate number of schools in the city run by State Education Department. However, citizens prefer the private schools for better education facilities. Mid-day meal is also provided in government schools which are being coordinated by WCD. The children from slum like areas are vulnerable as they leave schools periodically for earning wages and helping petty vendors during peak tourist seasons. The families coming to city from adjoining villages are not registered in Goa and hence they cannot access the schools. Registration is a mandatory norm in Goa and Education Department also helps the migrants getting registered. The increasing waterlogging disrupts the access to schools in the monsoon months Increasing vector–borne diseases in children, health problems due to contaminated drinking water are some of the other climate change linked issues affecting mostly the vulnerable population like labourer communities, population living in slum/slum like areas, in-migrants, families coming for shorter duration to city in search of jobs etc.

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Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

Children residing in slum-like areas in Panjim

Physical Safety and Protection A city receiving almost 6 times of its population as tourists every year has obvious influence on the city and its life. This also attracts a significant number of people from adjoining areas for earning livelihoods. Such population resides temporarily on government land in temporary shelters without access to basic services like safe drinking water, toilet facilities etc. There is good number of children also with this floating population. Children are largely engaged as helpers in temporary shops, support to petty vendors, selling balloons, looking after young siblings when parents to for earning etc. However, there are also reports of child abuse cases like engaging children as sex objects (nude watching), selling beer, child begging etc. Such abuses significantly increase in tourist season (October to March). The salt water intrusion, flooding of agricultural land, increasing waterlogging, groundwater pollution and salt water ingress are some of climate change linked issues which increase the vulnerability of population dependent on agriculture and related activities thereby causing a push factor on economically weaker communities to temporarily/permanently migrate to city of Panjim searching for jobs and wage earning opportunities as construction labourers and earning during tourist season. Table 7: Specically vulnerable children and responsible factors in Panjim Identified Vulnerabilities of Children • Health • Education • Sex Abuse • Child Labour • Child Begging

Special Categories affected of Children • Children in 'Slum like’ areas

Responsible Factors

Involved Departments

Salt water intrusion

Public Works Department (PWD), Corporation of City of Panaji (CCP), Disaster Management Units, NGOs

• Children in localities at fringe of city/low High water table lying areas

Builders, Government Bodies, CCP, Water Resource Department (WRD)

• Begging Children (October-March)

Lack of adequate sewerage network

CCP, PWD, Village Panchayat, Pollution Control Board

• Floating Children (Migratory)

Health aspects

CCP, Urban Health Department, PWD (Waterworks Department) Education Department

Education aspects

Education Department, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), Labour Department, CCP, Parent Teachers Association (PTA)

Child Abuse/ Labour during tourist influx, in-migrants due to agricultural losses

Labour Department, CCP, Police, Childline

Governance Structure and Mechanisms The Goa, city of Panaji Corporation Act, 2002 is the basic governing tool for city of Panjim according to which CCP is recognized. According to this Act, the city has 30 Councillors elected in the corporation besides the Mayor, Deputy Mayor.

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

45

The State government nominates 5 Councillors, with special knowledge, to help in governance of the city. The Municipal Commissioner plays central role in governance of the city and running of corporation. The Act also provides a provision of 3 consultative committees, constituted by councillors. The tenure of these consultative committees is one year: •

Public Works Committee for issues like road building, lighting, public parks, gardens etc.



Public Health & Market Committee for issues related to Health, Sanitation, Vaccination, disposal of rubbish etc.



Hospital Committee to deal with issues related to hospitals, medical and health administration etc.



Considering the current vulnerabilities of children in the city of Panjim and the anticipated escalation in this situation, the effective coordination is crucial amongst various sectors/departments. The following table represents examples of such collaboration needed amongst ULB, Para-statal agencies, the state government departments, private sector and NGOs/civil society organizations:

Table 8: Multi-level agencies involved in addressing vulnerabilities in Panjim Para-statal/ Development Authority

State Agency

Private/ NGOs

Vulnerabilities

ULB

Salt Water Intrusion (Probable solutions: installing pumping station, plantation alongside creeks and coast areas)

CCP

DDMA, Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)

PWD, Central Ground water board

NGO Builders

High Water table (Probable solutions: De-siltation, addressing soakpits affected due to water table, waterbodies to be conserved

CCP

North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA)

Pollution Control Board, PWD, IMD

Citizen Forum, Academic Institutions

Sewage disposal (Probable solutions: areas to be covered, maintenance, clearing of drains, STP installation)

CCP

NGPDA

PWD, Pollution Control Board

RWAs, NGOs

Health (Probable solutions: avoid waterlogging, better health facilities, awareness, addressing contamination of drinking water)

CCP

Urban Health Dept, PWD, Education Department, WCD

NGOs, PTAs

Education (Probable solutions: enrolment and year round retention in schools, protection from involvement as wage earners during tourist season, special attention on migratory children)

CCP

Child Labour/ Child Abuse (Probable solutions: protection, awareness, basics services) Children are engaged in practices like massaging, Beer selling, nude watching subjects etc.

CCP

DDMA

Education/SSA, PTAs, WCD, PWD, NGOs Health Department

Labour Department, Police

Childline

As evident from the above table, inter-agency collaboration is crucial in addressing the climate change related vulnerabilities and urban climate change resilience. Although CCP is answerable to citizens, it has limited spaces in dealing with climate change impacts and related vulnerabilities of children without the support of other agencies under state government and private sector/NGOs. At the same time, it is also a fact that the role of CCP is most important for coordination and facilitation towards resilience of its citizens.

46

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

To facilitate the coordination and convergence, the CCP has taken a unique initiative in establishing a ‘Stakeholders Group’ involving different departments and representatives from citizen groups. This Stakeholders Group has played a very important role in dealing with various issues which require interagency collaboration and engagement of multi-stakeholders and in mobilizing other sectors in dealing with issues related to well–being of citizens of Panjim. Various programmes, schemes and plans are also put in this group for consideration, needed improvement, guidance and monitoring.

IMD

DDMA

School Safety

Pre-monsoon Cleanliness drive

EDUCATION Mid-day Meal Apna Ghar CCH

NGOs

ra Sta st ff ru ct ur e In f

SWM Children Enrollment (SSA)

Child Line Rehab

Drinking Water

CCF, IP

e ag er ew S , n er oo at ns ks W o g c i m he eink Pr pe C Dr Pi

PWD

ANC, ANM Immunization

Vector-borne Monitoring

Birth Certificate

Sulabh

Peri Urban Sewerage (PRI)

HEALTH

Health check-up

Health Cards, Fogging

WCD

Advocacy Mangrove, Sand Dam

Sanitary Preparation

Supplies, Pre-monsoon Planning Control Room

Licensing Housing

CCP

CRZ

Coastal area clearance (Section 44) Sand Dunes Mangrove

City Planning

Building designs

NGPDA

Play Ground

Regional Plan ZOZ

Sewerage

Water Resources

SWM Drains Cleaning

SWM Plant (Big Hospitals Trdae Licence)

Groundwater Pollution STP

Goa Pollution Control Board

Figure 6: Existing inter-departmental linkages between sectors identified for resilience building in Panjim

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

47

city-5: Guwahati The population of Assam according to the 2011 census stands at about 31 million, making it the 14th most populated state in India. The state is spread over an area of about 78000 sq. km. making it the 16th largest state in the country in terms of area. Guwahati is the capital city of Assam and the largest city in the north east region. Guwahati is situated at 260 10' N latitude and 920 49' E longitude. Located on the banks of the Brahmaputra river, it is the largest commercial, industrial and educational centre of the north east region. The city is located towards the south-eastern side of Kamrup district, surrounded by Nalbari district in the north, Darrang and Marigaon districts in the east, Meghalaya State in the south and Goalpara and Barpeta districts in the west. The total population of Guwahati UA/Metropolitan region is 957,352. The city is governed by Municipal Corporation and is situated in Guwahati Urban Region. The city is situated on an undulating plain with varying altitudes of 49.5 to 55.5 m above mean sea level. The southern and eastern sides of the city are surrounded by hillocks. Apart from the hilly tracts, swamps, marshes, water bodies like Deepor Beel, Silpukhuri, Dighali Pukhuri, Borsola Beel and Silsakoo Beel etc. also cover the city (City Development Plan (CDP), Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM)). Being located on the banks of River Brahmaputra, several of its tributaries pass through the city and nurture great biodiversity. Urban growth in the city of Guwahati has been rapid, unplanned and organic. Change in land use pattern of the city due to uncontrolled development activities is said to have done a lot of harm to the ecology and environment of the city. The city also surrounds one of the Ramsar Notified wetlands, the Deepor Beel which is under threat due to the encroachment and unplanned urban development of the city. The city is prone to floods and landslides and is located on the earthquake prone belt. The preparedness to deal with disasters and combat its impacts is not up to the mark which has made the city and its residents quite vulnerable.

(Source: Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation) 48

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

City at a glance no. of wards height above mean sea level

30 60 m

demographics total population

957,352

male female

495,362/461,990

f/m ratio (per 1000)

931

household size

4.29

population density

1980.14

slum population

25,739

employment rates (%)

39.0

main worker population

146,944

marginal worker population

22,392

nature of occupation

commerce, trade and service

occupation pattern (in%)

(Source: Census, 2011)

Primary 1.50 Secondary 2.21 Tertiary 96.27 Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

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Current Climate Change Impacts and Projections Urban growth in the city of Guwahati has been rapid, unplanned and organic. Rapid population growth, high migration rates and change in land use pattern of the city due to uncontrolled development activities is said to have done a lot of harm to the ecology and environment of the city. Illegal construction on hills has been one of the major causes for landslides. Uncontrolled urban development, particularly construction activities in and around the city is a major threat to this city on high seismic activity zone.

Temperature Trends Data for the past 14 years (1997–2011) obtained from the Regional Meteorological Centre, Guwahati was analysed to understand the trend in temperature and precipitation for Guwahati region. Data for both maximum and minimum temperature shows an increasing trend over the city of Guwahati. For minimum temperatures barring 1997 and 2011, all the years show a clear increasing trend. Similarly, except for a couple of years between 2003 and 2005, values for the maximum temperature also show an increasing trend. The extreme temperature values as seen from the 14 year data has been recorded as high as 40 oC in 1999 and as low as 6.4 oC in 2007 (TERI, 2013).

Rainfall Trends The rainfall over Guwahati occurs throughout the year with majority occurring during monsoon months. A decreasing trend of seasonal as well as annual rainfall over the city has been observed. The number of rainy days for July, August and September show a very slight decreasing trend barring June, however, the overall trend for rainy days is not significant for the period of 1982–2011. Rainfall events equal or greater than 150 mm/day are termed as very heavy rain events. The data for the extreme rainfall events for the 29 year period shows that 12 out of 29 years have experienced heavy rainfall events of which 3 years viz. 1985, 1991, and 2011 have witnessed very heavy rainfall events. It was also observed that although there has been a decreasing trend in the overall seasonal rainfall as compared to the long-term average but there has also been an increase in extreme rainfall events resulting in more rainfall in short duration. This is one of the attributing factors for urban flooding in the city.

Vulnerability Assessment of Guwahati The risk and vulnerability assessment of Guwahati city was done by TERI. As per the risk analysis and hazard assessment during this process, following sectors were identified as the key sectors to understand the present and future vulnerability of the city in the context of climate change impacts. Water Supply •

50

Gaps in Water Supply Network: The water supply network of Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) covers about 20 per cent of the municipal area. This system was developed in the 1950s and is facing a lot structural, pressure and quality issues due to wear and tear and lack of maintenance. The supply is also intermittent. The Master Plan informs that the yield of the shallow tube wells is not significant and that possibility of groundwater extraction is remote due to the hard rock surface of the city. Thus, the

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

River Brahmaputra is the main source of water for the city. The water supply duration is as slow as 3 hours during a day. The system of Assam Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board (AUWS&SB) covers about 5-10 per cent of the city. It is relatively new system and is metered. However, the supply is intermittent and the meters do not work as the pressure is very low. The rest of the city is using water either extracted through private borewells or from the municipal tankers. •

Inefficiency in Water Supply: CDP informs that the water treatment plants are running below their capacities, currently at an average of 50 per cent their capacity. The transmission losses are estimated to be as high as 40 per cent. The CDP notes that the city is not able to update its efficiency, to be able to supply as per the stipulated norms of 150 Liter Per Capita Per Day (LPCD) (MoUD SSLBs) and a 24X7 supply. The CDP also identifies inadequate human resource development and training in modern utility operations as one of the gaps that leads to inefficient water supply situation in the city.



Water Quality: The water quality of the River Brahmaputra has low organic pollution and mineral contents are optimum. However, the water quality is poor along its flow within the city. Also in the absence of sewage system at place in the city, the municipal waste and waste from the oil refinery is discharged directly into the Brahmaputra river leading to high turbidity and high faecal contamination. The rivers like Bharalu and Dipor Bil (RAMSAR site2) are under the threat of degradation due to this. The groundwater sources are also said to be unsuitable for drinking. It is found that the ground water is inflicted by high fluoride and arsenic content.



Lack of Sewerage: The city does not have a sewerage system at place. The city is dependent on the septic tank system and the effluent is released untreated into the nearby drains and low-lying areas. The industrial waste water is also being released in the river and its tributaries untreated. The undulating and bowl shaped topography makes it all the more important to have proper drainage, sewerage and storm water system at place to avoid accumulation of water and associated hazards. The subsoil water table is very high in many areas in the city, leading to non-functional soak pits.

Drainage: •

Inadequate Capacity of Existing Drains: The smaller drains built along the roads do not cater to the drainage requirement of the city which is prone to heavy rainfall and flooding. Moreover, the drains have been encroached upon further decreasing their capacity to drain storm water. The silt coming from the hills and inadequate section of the outfall channel contribute to blocking of drains and overflow of water within the city, leading to floods and waterlogging within the city.



Built up on the Natural Drainage Pattern: A lot of built-up has emerged in the low lying areas of the city, blocking the drainage pattern. This is typically the case in the most densely populated areas of the city and poses health problems and loss to property. Many areas of the city remain waterlogged during monsoon months and effective drainage system is a pre-requisite to ensure a solution. Garbage dumping has resulted into blockages in the natural drainage pattern.



Topographical Features: Since most of the drains fall in the upstream side of the River Bharalu, they are rendered ineffective because of the higher level of the river to that of the drains. The River Bharalu is exposed to heavy siltation and a lot of encroachment has come up on the catchment of River Bharalu endangering the entire natural drainage system of the city.

2

The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value.

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

51



Encroachment of Swamps and Natural Water Reservoirs: The original swamps and natural water reservoirs are being filled up for development purposes leading to floods and stagnant water at several places within the city.



Lack of Robust Water Drainage Schemes: Guwahati Metropolitan Area Storm Water Drainage Scheme and the schemes prepared by the Town and Country Planning Organization have not taken up as they were envisaged. The Master Plan argues that not enough time was provided to make a scientific evaluation of the storm water drainage system requirement in the city. These schemes instead of focusing on major projects to deal with severe flooding have turned out to be piecemeal efforts leading to construction of a few drains alongside the roads.

Solid Waste Management The waste is stored in community bins, and one can easily find piles of waste on streets, roads, in the drains and in the river. At present there is no organized collection system at place. Street sweeping is one way by which the waste lying on roads is being picked up. Frequency of waste removal is regular along the main roads but is very irregular in other areas. A private initiative is present at the outskirts of the city which carries out vermin composting, but its capacity and reach is not known. Right now waste is unscientifically dumped at allocation called Sachhal. The hospitals also do not have proper solid waste management facility and the waste from hospitals is getting mixed with the domestic waste. Health •

High Susceptibility to Water & Vector–Borne Diseases: Based on the observations of the total cases for Presumptive Surveillance in Guwahati city reported under the Integrated Diseases Surveillance Project (IDSP), on an average, about 10 per cent of the total Out Patient Department (OPD) attendance was for water and vector-borne diseases. Another major share in incidence of diseases is that of respiratory problems which account for about 11 per cent of the total OPD attendance. The data shows a definite seasonality of diseases, with an inclination towards the monsoon and postmonsoon months. Even the respiratory infections tend to increase in the post monsoon months.



Shortage of Doctors: There is an acute shortage of doctors and paramedical staff in the government hospitals. As per the figures reported for IDSP in September, 2012, there are only 107 doctors (1:9000 persons) and 293 paramedical staff members (1:3300 persons) in these hospitals. In such a scenario, the city is largely dependent on the private sector for healthcare facilities. As a result, it becomes difficult for middle and low income groups to bear the treatment costs incurred here, making them mostly unaffordable and inaccessible to the poor. The situation is aggravated by the fact that Guwahati city is a major urban centre and state capital and a lot of patients from all over the state come to the city for availing health facilities.

The city of Guwahati is the commercial hub of the north-east which attracts a large population of migrants from nearby areas in search of jobs. Poverty and illiteracy forces them to settle in slums and fragile areas which add to the vulnerability of the city. Specifically, the situation of children in these slums and informal settlements is pathetic with absolutely no access to any kind of basic services. These communities and areas are the ones which are most affected in case of disasters. Due to lack of basic infrastructural assets and basic amenities these slum pockets are more exposed and sensitive to disasters. Presence of unhygienic living conditions pose serious health hazards, especially for the children which get aggravated in case of hazards such as urban flooding.

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Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

According to a survey conducted by GMC in 2012, there are 217 slums. Most of these slums are located in chronically and occasionally flooded areas. Many of these lie near the flood plains of Bharalu river. Some of these are also near to the locations prone to landslides. Many of these slums are also located along the railway tracks in the city. These slums are mainly located in the core areas of the city such as near Pan Bazaar and Paltan Bazaar. The living conditions of the people, especially children in these slums are pathetic and they are completely devoid of any basic services like water, sanitation, etc.

Climate Change: Vulnerabilities of Children in Guwahati The climate change vulnerabilities of children in the city of Guwahati were assessed on the following development pillars:

Health Unsafe and unhygienic living conditions in the slum colonies and low–income settlements give rise to water and vector-borne diseases in Guwahati. The children are severely under-nourished posing threat to their growth and survival. Due to the complete absence of water and sanitation facilities, children often become victims of some kind of illness mostly ring worms, scabies, jaundice and diarrhoea. Stunted growth in children has been reported as a result Unhygienic living conditions for children in Guwahati of severe malnutrition. Incidences of skin disease among children are also high. The girl children I have been living in this are even more vulnerable to health issues as they have no colony along the railway options for safe sanitation. This health related vulnerabilities are expected to increase as a result of impacts of climate change. Extreme rainfall events lead to urban flooding situations where the storm water and sewage water mixes resulting in many health hazards, especially for the families and children residing along the canals. Large number of people lives near the solid waste dumping sites in Boragaon, which during the rains, become worse and poses many health problems in children.

track since my childhood. We do not have any basic facilities here like water and toilets. It is very difficult to go out and find privacy for defecation. Sita, Age-14 years, Guwahati

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

53

Education The condition of educational infrastructures and facilities in the government schools is dismal in the city. The government schools and SSA initiatives have mostly remained for citizens belonging to lower income groups, daily wage earners, and the like. The children are unable to get quality education because of lack of proper facilities in the schools and qualified teachers. Under the ICDS, the Anganwadi Workers are employed but not paid for months together due to which the running of the centre suffers. The government schools also provide mid-day meals to the children and most of the times; this is the prime reason for citizens to send their children to government schools. School drop-outs are on a rise for a variety of reasons. Survival becomes more important than education for those residing in slums and hence, children are dropped-out from schools to work as labourers for earning livelihood. At the times of flood and acute waterlogging, the children find it very difficult to access their schools. Long periods of waterlogging result in longer absence from schools which results in drop outs as well. Rise in the incidences of diseases during floods also affects the education of children. Children of in migrants coming into the city from the neighboring areas as a result of losses in agricultural livelihoods and settling themselves in the slum areas do not get access to education in the city.

Physical Safety and Protection Assam has a history of ethnic conflicts which has led and is continuing to lead to large amounts of displacement. The conflicts in the surrounding villages result in large scale migration into the city of Guwahati with an aspiration to earn better livelihoods. These people have no houses and settle themselves in the fragile areas of the city which are debarred from basic services of safe drinking water, toilets, etc. A large number of children are engaged in child labour activities like working as housemaids, in shops, hotels, etc. The Guwahati city has huge number of children engaged in sexual abuse and substance abuse. They live in extremely unsafe and unprotected environments where there is no protection from strange intrusions. The girls are engaged into forced prostitution businesses to support the livelihoods of their family. In the event of climate change where large scale losses are being resulted in agriculture leading to migration, the children become the utmost sufferers in the whole process. Table 9: Specifically vulnerable children and responsible factors in Guwahati Identified vulnerabilities of children Housing Health Education Child Labour Illegal practices (child sexual abuse, substance abuse, etc.)

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Special categories of affected children Children in slum areas, Children in low-income settlements, Children residing in unsafe localities

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

Responsible factors

Involved Departments

No proper housing for slums/low-income settlements

Guwahati Development Department, Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA)

Inadequate supply of safe drinking water forcing people to draw water from extremely unsafe sources which are contaminated

GMC, AUWS&SB, Central Groundwater Board, Assam Public Health and Engineering Department

Identified vulnerabilities of children

Special categories of affected children

Responsible factors

Involved Departments

Absence of sewerage network causing contamination Lack of proper storm water drainage

Guwahati Municipal Development Authority, GMC, Town & Country Planning

Improper water quality testing facilities

GMC, Central Groundwater Board

Lack of proper solid waste management

Municipal Corporation

Health issues

GMC, Health Department

Education issues

GMC, Education Department, SSA, WCD-ICDS

Child labour, Child Abuse

Labour Department, Police, Childline, WCD, Child Welfare Committees

Governance Structure and Mechanisms The GMC was created under the Guwahati Municipal Corporation Act, 1971. The Corporation was duly constituted in 1974 in the first meeting of the elected councillors as per provision of Section 45 of this Act. The city of Guwahati had 60 wards but in the year 2014, they have been grouped into 31 wards. The Corporation is headed by a council of 60 elected ward commissioners. The council is headed by a Mayor and a Deputy Mayor. There are five standing committees of the council to supervise various works. The Commissioner is the executive head of the Corporation. He is assisted by Additional Commissioner and Joint Commissioner. The GMC is responsible for governing, developing and managing the city including grant of building permissions, provision and maintenance of urban infrastructure and services. For areas that do not fall under jurisdiction of GMC in the Guwahati Metropolitan Area, the GMDA is the nodal agency for Master Planning, planning and provision of services (water supply, sewerage/drainage facilities) and infrastructure (roads, street lighting), and housing. However, Guwahati being the state capital, a nodal department for coordination urban planning and development activities in the city— Guwahati Development Department – has also been constituted. The Municipal Corporation has 32 departments under their control including water works, public works, health/sanitation, solid waste management, electricity, etc.

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

55

Table 10: Multi-level agencies involved in addressing vulnerabilities in Guwahati Vulnerabilities

ULB

Housing (Probable solutions: Regulations for not allowing settlements in fragile areas and provisioning alternate arrangements, safe housing construction considering floods and climatic conditions)

Para–statal/ Development Authority

State Agency

Private sector/NGOs

Guwahati Development Department, GMDA

Assam State Housing Board

Private companies

Tankers

Water Supply (Probable solutions: Implementation of safe drinking water 24x7 supply; extension of pipelines to uncovered areas; rain water harvesting)

GMC

AUWS&SB

Assam Public Health and Engineering Department, Central Groundwater Board

Storm water drainage (Probable solutions: Construction of drains according to gradient, regular cleaning)

GMC

GMDA

Town & Country Planning

Water quality testing (Probable solutions: Water testing laboratories to be equipped with latest technology, capacity building to be done for the lab in-charge)

GMC

Central Groundwater Board

Health (Probable solutions: Address water contamination of drinking water, generate awareness)

GMC

Health Department

Education (Probable solutions: Schools to be equipped with modern teaching facilities, government school buildings to be renovated, improvement in the quality of education)

GMC

Education Department, SSA, WCD-ICDS

Child labour/Child abuse (Probable solutions: Provision of basic services, care and protection)

GMC

Labour Department, Childline Police, WCD

As illustrated in the above table, there are multiple agencies responsible for addressing climate related vulnerabilities and the inter-coordination between these agencies is crucial. The GMC was almost in a dead stage 4-5 years back and is gradually reviving itself now. The GMDA and the GMC are under the control of GDA. There are lack of coordination issues between the GMDA and GMC. Despite, there are several good mechanisms in Guwahati which is helping in decentralised governance. Area Sabhas have been formed in all the 31 wards of Guwahati and each ward has a Councillor and 3 Area Members. The ward development fund to the tune of R 60 lakhs per year is allocated to each ward and the area sabha members also get 3-5 lakhs per year for development of their respective wards. This is an effective mechanism to solve people’s problems in a decentralised way. The GMC has set up a helpline number for addressing grievances related to solid waste management. Another toll free number has been formed for addressing flood related complaints. Other technology like Whatsapp Groups and Facebook pages are also initiatives taken by the Corporation to remain in close contact with the masses and solve their problems.

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Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

Chapter 4

The ResilienceGovernance nexus

Climate resilient pathways are development trajectories that combine mitigation and adaptation to realize the goal of sustainable development. Climate Resilient pathways include strategies, choices and actions (IPCC, 2014). The linkage of mitigation, adaptation and development is important towards developing resilience so that risk management and adaptation can be implemented. Further, a strong and efficient governance approach is imperative for addressing the developmental vulnerabilities caused as a result of climate change impacts and ensuring its sustenance in the longer term.

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Climate change and the implications that it is posing on vulnerable communities especially children is adding new challenges to the formal and informal institutions working in cities and also revealing new levels of uncertainty because of which the Resilience-Governance Nexus becomes complicated to comprehend. The first and foremost thing that the government and development agencies need to understand is that this nexus is directly related to addressing vulnerabilities of communities, most specifically that of children and eventually reducing urban poverty. The State of Governance Report of Government of India, 2009 outlines three key realizations implicit in the governance approach. Firstly, it signals a conscious shift from technocratic and apolitical development paradigm to one which is dynamic and inherently political. Secondly, it recognizes that good governance is more than good government. It involves the articulation between the state (at all levels) and other stakeholders within the broader society. Thirdly, governance goes beyond the ‘management’ doctrine by attempting to address institutional issues.  It was observed in the sample cities, as explained in the city cases, that climate change is posing threats to child on issues pertaining to survival, food security, health, as well as access to water and sanitation, education and protection (Forgotten Voices, Save the Children, 2015). The current study looked at the Resilience-Governance Nexus in a framework that entails development planning and design, mitigation, efficient service delivery for adaptation with the synergy of scientific knowledge and local wisdom, recognising the important role of peri-urban-urban connect towards holistic urban resilient governance.

Developmental Planning and Design One of the main aspects responsible for increasing vulnerability of children due to climate change impacts is the lack of effective mechanisms to develop the city and its infrastructure in a way that it mitigates the impacts of climate change rather than exacerbating these. The situations like disruptions of drainage, shrinking flood buffering capacity of city, storm water-sewage mixing, unorganized development etc. are the issues related to planning and designing of the urban system and infrastructure. Flexibility and diversity, redundancy and modularity and possibilities of safe failures may be key criteria in designing and planning of urban systems and infrastructure. A forward looking design and locally appropriate development can lead to reduction of vulnerabilities while the ill planned and mal-designed development may cause mal-adaptation and enhanced problems. Therefore governance related to designing, planning and development is crucial in terms of reducing climate change vulnerabilities of urban poor children. The need of community and children’s participation in developmental planning, decentralized bottom up planning mechanisms, coordination amongst planners-service providers-users, scientific and informed planning, effective regulatory provisions, finances are only few of the governing principles recognized as crucial.

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The Resilience-Governance Nexus Addressing System Agent Institution

Water Supply & Sewrage Sanitation Health & Nutrition Education Habitat/Physical Safety

Adaptation

Local Knowledge

Science & Technology

Cloud Burst Humidity

Infrastucture & Natural System Surface & Ground Water Land use & Habitat

Extreme Tempratures Rainfall Variabilities

Development

Cyclones Salt Water Ingression

PLANNING AND DESIGN

Peri Urban

HAZARD MITIGATION

Mitigation

Rural

Figure 7: The Resilience-Governance Nexus

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Hazard Mitigation The environmental phenomena that affect the urban children are important in the context of urban climate change resilience. Heat and cold waves, cloud bursts, increasing humidity, cyclones, temperature and rainfall variability (flood and droughts) are affecting the life of children in cities. Besides a resilient urban development which helps in mitigating the impacts of climate change, it is also important that mitigation measures are adopted to address the causes of such hazards and environmental factors. Urban governance facilitating mangrove plantation and protection, maintenance of green spaces and water bodies, green energy, ecological and soil conservation, plantation and other such mitigation measures are important towards urban climate change resilience and reducing vulnerabilities of children.

Adaptation Measures Adaptation to adverse effects of climate change is vital in order to respond to impacts of climate changes that are happening. Poor and marginalized are the most affected due to such extreme weather events. Besides the mitigation measures it is important that the mechanisms are evolved for developing the adaptive capacities of vulnerable population—children being one of such priority group. The efficiency of urban basic services helping the adaptive capacities of urban children need special attention on sectors like water supply and sewerage, sanitation, health and nutrition, education and housing and physical safety. Responsiveness, resourcefulness and capacity to learn are the key capacities of Agents to be developed in terms of efficient and effective governance of services. Urban development and its governance have been largely conceptualized and operationalized in silos. This is being gradually recognized that urban and rural spheres are quite connected specifically in the context of life and livelihood of poor and vulnerable population. During various studies conducted under ACCCRN it has been established that this rural-urban continuum is crucial especially for the secondary cities which are growing at a rapid space. Food, energy, labour, job, transport, health and several other such factors contributing to urban climate change resilience are influenced by this rural-urban connect with peri-urban spaces playing an important role. The urban governance need to recognize this rural-peri urban–urban connect. Science and technology plays an important role in addressing climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience. At the same time, the local traditional knowledge and people’s wisdom have been also proved valuable and it is important that the synergy of the science and local knowledge is given due consideration in the governance procedure for resilience. It is imperative that the different components of this resilient governance are mainstreamed at the institutional level towards evolving rules, provisions and allocating resources in the developmental policies and programmes related to mitigation, adaptation and resilience for urban poor children.

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Chapter 5

Study inferences It is projected that by 2040–50, urban India will be half the total population of the country. The share of urban India will grow to 75 per cent by 2030. Though the share of the country’s urban population to its total population is still at 31 per cent (Census, 2011), urban India has grown five fold since 1961 in terms of population. India is going through a crucial phase of transition, from being a predominantly rural country to one where a majority of the people aspire to live in cities. For the first time in history, Census, 2011 highlighted that the net decadal addition to the population during 2001–2011 was more in urban than in the rural areas, thus marking the beginning of a demographic transition. This trend will be an ongoing process with 600 million people expected to reside in urban areas by 2030 as compared to 377 million in 2011 ((Forgotten Voices, Save the Children, 2015:10).

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This urbanization has been accompanied by an alarming rise in urban poverty. Around 76 million urban people are estimated to be poor. The Census, 2011 reported 13.7 million slum households in India living without adequate amenities, poor health conditions and insufficient and uncertain incomes. Slums are located across urban areas in the country, with 63 per cent of statutory home to these dwellings. Indian cities are overcrowded; over 53 million+ cities account for 13 per cent of the population but occupy just 0.2 per cent of the land. Around half of the urban migrants are among the poorest in terms of consumption expenditure. This is not surprising as most of these migrants have had to come to the cities due to acute agro-climatic distress. In fact many of them are climate change refugees (Mitra and Singh, 2011). Over the last four decades, the total headcount of the poor in the share of urban poverty has gone up from 18.7 to 26.8 per cent. While it may be a bit early to call it the ‘urbanisation of poverty’, there is a definite shift that must be acknowledged and addressed in a planned manner in the official discourse (Forgotten Voices, Save the Children, 2015, ibid). Moreover, nearly a third of these urbanites (120 million) are children below 18, 10 per cent (36.5 million) being below six years. More than eight million children below six live in slums (ibid). Despite this, the official discourse on children does not distinguish much between rural and urban children nor clearly focus on poor urban children and their needs. These children as said in UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children, 2012 remain invisible. Despite the overall development of urban infrastructure in many cities, especially roads, flyovers and so on children from disadvantaged sections—slum as well as street children, orphans, and people with disabilities are susceptible to scenarios such as ill-health, poor access to water and sanitation, insufficient education, urban disasters and child protection and safety concerns. Climate change and disasters exacerbate these conditions. This underscores the importance of designing the right governance structures, investing adequately to facilitate the urban growth and ensuring inclusive growth. A child friendly city is one that has a system of local governance, and is committed to fulfilling children’s rights, which include influencing decisions about the city, expressing their opinion, participating in social life, receiving basic services, walking and playing safely, living in an unpolluted environment and being an equal citizen (Forgotten Voices, Save the Children, 2015, ibid). In a nutshell, this study shows that in the cities examined do not pay sufficient attention to issues related to children’s health, education, growth, safety and participation. The phenomenon of climate change, its causalities and impacts on poverty or on children or even the impacts of localised atmospheric pollution are yet to be grasped by ground-level administrators or corporators. Indeed ‘governance’ too is little understood beyond the structures and hierarchies of power and bureaucracy where children do not figure. The situation remains what Bartlett described in 2005. One of the hallmarks of ‘good governance’ is its inclusiveness and attention to enquiry and participation for all groups. But even progressive governments that refer carefully in their policies to ‘women and men’ may express an unwitting bias against children. This is not unique to government. This bias can run deep in many quarters. Even in discussions among committed development professionals who are fully aware of the benefits of taking gender into account, it is not uncommon for interest to fade if the topic of children comes up. The unspoken message is that bringing children into the discussion is a not-quite-relevant tangent—that surely their needs are met if their parents’ needs are met. To some degree, this is true. But it is also true that boys and girls of different ages experience the world in particular ways, and maybe

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affected in particular ways (sometimes profound and long lasting) by a range of decisions and actions.” (Bartlett, 2005).

Thanks to the rights based approach to development, we have seen a growing understanding emerge that children’s rights cannot and will not be significantly achieved without taking into consideration the governance systems in which they are implemented. The issue is of governance for children. What do we mean by this? It is about the capacity of duty bearers to respond to children’s rights, both at an individual and organizational state level. And it is about creating an environment that enables these capacities to flourish. Governance for children therefore implies examining actions of the State, through a child rights lens. Governance rests on a series of principles including: transparency, responsibility, accountability, participation and responsiveness to the needs of children. The benchmark that we are talking about here involves a combination of approaches and initiatives. Child-centered policies and laws are only as effective as the capacities of duty bearers at different levels of governance to implement and enforce these policies and laws. So what we need are effective institutions, equitable services and adequate resources, combined with political will and accountable leadership. Accountability can be defined as “the ability of the governed to hold to account those who govern". Karin Hulshoff, Country Representative, UNICEF, India (HAQ, 2012)

Indeed, the discourse needs to shift from governance and children to governance for and with children, in a framework of child rights if climate change resilience has to be built up. Needless to say, this resilience cannot be developed if resilience to poverty, ill health, lack of nutrition and incomes, education, protection and safety are not developed. Despite sounding repetitive, the impacts of climate change increase the vulnerabilities of the already vulnerable. In the light of the above, the study has drawn some important inferences which are discussed as below:

Sectoral vulnerabilities and coordination mechanisms With the long history of control of state governments over ULBs these are generally weak in terms of technical and financial capacity and the functional autonomy. The fragmentation and duplication of roles amongst various agencies limits the effectiveness of ULBs which also has to deal with newer challenges like expansion and climate change impacts. In spite of the adoption of 74th CAA with prevailing diversity in terms of status of devolution of power in different states, the resource base of ULBs and needed mechanisms have not improved which limits its capacities to deal with over growing demands and emerging challenges. The efficiency of any urban system depends on the availability of infrastructure and services to support its population. But, almost all the Indian cities today are facing serious deficiencies in infrastructure and life line services. In 2011, only 70.6 per cent urban households had access to tap water and only 60.6 per cent had access to tap water from treated sources (Bhat, et al., 2013). Sewerage, toilets, sanitation, drainage, electricity and transport are severely deficient for the poor. The most affected by such deficiencies are lower-income households which enhances the vulnerability of children in these households (Chatterjee, 2015; Bartlett, 2008).

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THEN and NOW It is ironical that such overlaps and confusions have generally not improved during the last more than 20 years. 1994: In Bengaluru city, the water supply and sewerage is managed by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (a Para-statal Agency), while the storm water drainage is managed by the ULB. With the result, storm water and sewerage gets mixed up and causing the natural drainage carrying the sewerage during normal periods while during rainy seasons, the sewerage system overflows into the streets with storm water. Also, this results in the sewage treatment plants not getting sufficient load to treat waste water. Similar cases are reported from many other cities across the country. (TARU analysis, 1994) 2016: A similar confusion caused hepatitis outbreak in the city of Shimla every alternate year- the latest being in January 2016 claiming even few deaths in the city. The reason of the problem being lack of effective mechanism of monitoring at source and supply of safe drinking water primarily due to lack of effective communication, coordination and control of Municipal Corporation on the water supply (Irrigation and Public Health) agency.

In most states infrastructure development is in hands of para-statal development authorities and state departments who also control the resource base of the city. The fragmented and overlapping (functional and geographical jurisdiction) roles in managing the services of the city and poor resource base cause an inefficient situation in terms of providing the services to citizens. The priorities of poor and ‘not so powerful’ groups like children are largely missed out and ignored. The identified sectors which influence the vulnerability of urban children in the context of climate change and the related governance structure on these sectors were explored in the present study. A brief summary of the overlaps and problems of coordination among different agencies are summarized here.

Drinking Water Water is the most important sector affecting the vulnerability of children with the problems getting worse due to climate change impacts. It is reported that child mortality can reduce by 25 per 1000 children due to access and use of safe drinking water (Forgotten Voices, Save the Children, 2015). While the burden of unreliable water supply is felt by all sections of the society, it is more pronounced among the lower-income households and coping costs for water supply is highest for the urban poor. Safe drinking water is recognized as the most serious issue across the studied cities. Table 11: Various agencies involved in different aspects of drinking water supply in the five case studies cities Issues

Gorakhpur

Quality & Quantity

Lower economic Contamination groups of groundwater depending on -- Avoiding water unsafe hand logging pumps -- Storm water -- India-II Hand drains to be pumps to be de-silted maintained (Jal -- Groundwater Nigam, GMC) recharge -- Groundwater (CCP, Pollution contamination Control Board, due to mixing PWD, Builders of sewage to collaborate). water and water

Source, transmission and destination level

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Panjim

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

Shimla

Indore

Guwahati

Source level contaminated due to drying of up streams and mixing up of polluted water in supply of drinking water (coordination amongst SMC, Irrigation & Public Health, Agriculture Department).

Faecal contamination in drinking water due to lack of effective toilet technology (IMC, Health Department, Water testing lab, NGOs, Sewerage Department).

Inefficient water supply (GMC, GMDA) Facecal contamination in water due to lack of sewerage system AUWS&SB issues

Issues

Gorakhpur

Panjim

Shimla

Indore

Guwahati

Salt water Efforts to -- Regular water stagnation conserve water: testing at (GMC, Pollution Intrusion source and Control Board, -- Over use of - Property tax destination Ground Water ground water and user level (SMC, Department). charges to be to be reduced IPH, Private (CCP, Ground made at par for -- Groundwater Tankers, Water Board, fixing charges recharge and Medical according to Builders, long-term College) NGPDA/CRZ to house size, management collaborate). economic -- Freezing of and planning status (IMC, water pipes missing (GMC, Public Health GDA, RWAs). (SMC, IPH, Engineering Private Tankers) -- Awareness on Department). vulnerability of shallow hand pumps (GMC, Jal Nigam, NGOs, Citizen Groups, Media)

While inter-agency coordination is needed at planning and designing of drinking water supply, it is also important that peri-urban areas are protected and water exploitation is reduced (Shimla, Indore). Increased waterlogging due to enhanced intensity of rainfall and unregulated inhabitation patterns are also causing groundwater contamination which affects population depending on shallow borewells (Gorakhpur, Panaji, Guwahati). Gorakhpur is particularly vulnerable to Japanese Encephalitis, claiming hundreds of lives of children every year due to AES, caused by contaminated water. In Guwahati, drinking water is sourced from the River Brahmaputra after treatment but the water treatment plants are running below their capacities leading to inefficient water supply in the city. Assam, accounts for more than 50 per cent children without access to drinking water facilities in schools (Forgotten Voices, Save the Children, 2015). There is a lack of clarity in areas where the Guwahati Municipal Corporation and GMDA supply water, respectively and absence of a coordinated effort is leading to un-optimum supply of water in the city. The lack of coordination between water supply agency and water distribution agency (IPH and SMC respectively in Shimla) caused recurring hepatitis in city claiming several lives during every alternate year since 2005. There was an epidemic this year and schools had to be closed for some days due to unavailability of water. Also, the regular water quality analysis and its awareness amongst citizens are important both at source and destination level. Salt water ingress and high water table is a major issue in coastal zones (Panjim) which needs coordination amongst regulatory authorities and Municipal Corporation with awareness amongst citizens as well as orientation of builders to check percolation of sewage and safe recharge of groundwater. Lack of funds for services like water supply has a direct implication on urban children (Forgotten Voices, Save the Children, 2015).

Sewerage and Sanitation The underserved and un-served urban areas are inhabited by the poor of the cities where insufficient water supply and sanitation coverage combined with overcrowding tend to maximize possibility of faecal contamination. To top it all, complete absence of sewerage systems and sewage treatment plant in the cities (Guwahati) further intensifies the problem. Open defecation in Indian urban areas is still quite high (12.6 per cent; Census, 2011). Open defecation is still larger in smaller cities. Madhya Pradesh (25.78 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (16.89 per cent) have higher number of urban households without toilets whereas Goa is comparatively better (14.75 per cent) in this regard (Forgotten Voices, Save the Children, 2015).

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Discharge of untreated sewage is one of the main causes for surface and groundwater pollution. The population living in low lying areas, slums, waterlogged, peri urban areas are particularly vulnerable as these are generally on or near the sewage dumping location (CRS, Gorakhpur). Drainage of sewage and storm water is a challenge in cities with more intense rainfall and shrinking water bodies. Because of shrinking open and un-cemented spaces that help groundwater percolation, water logging is increasing every year. In Gorakhpur, Panjim and Indore the inundated areas are increasing after every monsoon as is the duration of waterlogging. This leads to the mixing of sewerage with drinking/ domestic water as well as groundwater contamination. Mosquitoes rampantly breed and vector–borne diseases are on the rise, with children, especially the poor, being affected disproportionately. Guwahati is increasingly facing problems of artificial flood and acute waterlogging in the city because of poor drainage infrastructure. Children, not covered fully with adequate clothing and living in unhygienic habitations, are more vulnerable in such conditions. In India annually 45,000 deaths are due to diarrhoea alone (88 per cent being children below 5) sewerage and sanitation are crucial sectors that need urgent attention as the climate change will aggravate the situation. The lack of proper solid waste management systems further clog open drains adding to problem of water flows. Table 12: Various agencies involved in different aspects of sewerage and sanitation in the five case study cities Sector

Gorakhpur

Panaji

Shimla

Indore

Guwahati

Sewerage and Sanitation

Inadequate drains and obsolete sewage system and mixing of storm water and sewage polluting ground water (GMC, Jal Nigam, GDA, Groundwater board, Pollution Control Board) STPs to be installedfollow-ups on project report and installation to be more organized (Central/State Govt, Experts, Jal Nigam, GMC)

Inadequate sewerage network, and lack of maintenance and clearing of drains (Addressing soak pits affected due to high water table)

Lack of proper sewerage network causing contamination (Decentralised wastewater treatment systems, maintenance of sewerage lines, Septage and STPs sludge management (SMC)

Pollution from decentralized septic tank system from un-served old peripheries enclave villages

Completed absence of sewerage system No Sewage Treatment Plant (AUWS&SB)

De-siltation of drains (PWD, CCP, DDMA, NGOs)

Groundwater recharging to be increased Inhabitation in flood and ecosystems plains and low lying conserved areas tobe checked (NGPDA, CRZ, (GMC, GDA, DDMA, CCP) Irrigation Department Conservation of water bodies (GMC, GDA, Revenue Department).

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Direct discharge to waterbodies Lack of rules to prevent polluted water discharge from houses and for peripheral development (IMC, Pollution Control Board) Sewer and storm water lines clogged (IMC- Water Supply Department, Health & Sanitation, Public Works).

Inadequacy of drains and sewer lines are uniform in all cities. The dual system for disposal of sewage and storm water is a crucial need to check the increasing contamination of domestic/drinking water and groundwater pollution. Increasing waterlogging due to rainfall variability is a pressing reason for addressing this urgently. Discharge of contaminated water in water bodies, peri-urban areas and other low lying ecosystem need to be checked through centralized/decentralized sewage treatment system particularly to cover the poor inhabitations as polluted water/sewerage is often discharged in their localities. The inhabitation in flood plains, protected green areas and low lying areas needs a coordinated mechanism for effective policies and implementation. Irrigation of vegetables and other leafy crops by sewage in peri-urban areas is important to be addressed urgently as that leads to several health hazards, especially in children (Prajapati and Singh, 2013). This can be addressed through inter-departmental mechanisms. Promotion of water resilient/tolerant varieties is needed particularly in the peripheral areas of cities to address increasing water shortage due to changing pattern of rain fall—particularly in hilly and drought prone areas.

Health Health outcomes are shaped not just by biological factors but also by the social, economic and cultural environment. Hence climate change variability and disaster impacts enhance the vulnerability of children, especially the poor. Deficiencies in water supply and sanitation, poor housing fabric with poor ventilation and density of homes, spread of infectious diseases and respiratory illness are only a few of environmental challenges affected due to changing extreme climate conditions like rainfall, humidity, temperature. The health of urban children living in spaces like waterlogged and low lying areas, city peripheries, slums, and dense localities etc. are particularly vulnerable due to exposure of hazards and inadequate health facilities. There are three broad institutional patterns that delineate governmental responsibilities in healthcare provisioning (74th CAA, 12th Five Year Plan, 2012) •

Healthcare entirely by state department of health (example: Indore, Guwahati).



Minority of care provisions under ULB (example: Gorakhpur).



Most of health care under the ULB.

Safe drinking water is the most crucial issue in this regard which mainly gets affected at source level due to lack of coordination amongst various agencies. The sources are mostly out of city boundaries: •

Directly in control of Municipal Corporation (through Public Health Engineering Department/ Narmada Water Supply project in Indore).



Without any control of Municipal Corporation (provided by Irrigation and Public Health Department in Shimla, AUWS&SB in Guwahati).



From within the city (groundwater through shallow and deep wells/ hand pumps) and Municipal Corporation having limited control only on its own source (Gorakhpur, Guwahati).

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Absence of minimum water and sanitation facilities, urban poor children often become victims of some kind of illness mostly ring worms, scabies, jaundice and diarrhoea. Stunted growth in children has been reported as a result of severe malnutrition. Incidences of skin disease among children are also high. The girl children are even more vulnerable to health issues as they have no options for safe sanitation. Unsafe drinking water is a major cause of ill-health especially in the situation of climate change induced situations, the sudden changes in weather and weather extremes (heat, cold wave) are increasing morbidity rates. The increased duration of humidity and sewage/polluted water stagnation creates a favourable mix for the breeding of mosquitoes and enhancing vector–borne diseases. Poor public health infrastructure in cities and difficult access of poor communities in such situations obviously has negative impacts. In the situations where literacy and awareness on preventive aspects of public health is quite low in poor communities, the climate change impacts easily enhances the vulnerabilities. The lack of effective surveillance, organized and time bound preventive measures and maintenance of data are other areas where coordination and convergence of various agencies of ULB, para-statal and state government are needed. The inadequate access of public health services by vulnerable urban children, pre-emptive control through extensive use of real time monitoring, early diagnosis and control and environmental control to reduce disease incidences are some of the priority areas identified during the study needing coordination of various departments within Municipal corporation and other state government departments and collaboration of NGOs, RWAs, Citizen Groups, and Media etc.

Education In spite of children’s rights to free and compulsory education guaranteed by the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, there are a large number of out-of-school urban children. The growing vulnerabilities due to disasters and climate change are expected to affect the enrolment and retention of children in schools. According to the State of World Children Report (UNICEF, 2012) “the experience of childhood is increasingly urban...more than a billion children now live in cities and towns and too many are denied such essentials”. There is large rural to urban migration due to deceleration in agricultural productivity, increasing climate variability adversely impacting agricultural production along with incidences of disasters and escalating input costs in agriculture in all the geo-climatic settings covered under this study (flood, hills, coastal, drought). Such urban migration is also with families—the children of the family being most vulnerable due to such dislocations and parents getting engaged in earning the livelihood. Settlement in slums and low lying and unhygienic areas and urban fringes affects access to education by children. The factors which were identified to affect children’s education in the context of climate change and the needed coordination issues towards their enrolment and retention may be summarized as follows: •

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Floating Population: Large number of migrants to cities are temporary for limited duration due to causes like agricultural loss due to climate vulnerability (2015 is one of the worst in UP in recent memory), lean agricultural season, low food production due to floods/droughts/cyclones and seasonal labour demand due to tourists influx. In most cases males migrate to cities alone but a large number of families also move to cities with children. These families take temporary shelter in slums and other locations without basic needs like water and sanitation. The children, like elders, have no

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

identification documents or birth certificates and are away from schools. Although, governments have taken initiative to issue birth certificate/identity merely by providing self–affidavits (Panaji) but such information and services have limited reach to target communities because of lack of awareness. A related problem is that of inter-state migration (Karnataka to Panaji). Due to lack of grade based learning compatibility enrolment of migrant children becomes problematic. •

Dislocations: This was specifically seen in Guwahati. Distressed migration in the city from the neighbouring rural areas due to losses in agriculture and malnutrition is huge where people come with an aspiration to earn better livelihoods. These people have no houses and settle themselves in the fragile areas of the city with no access to schools. A large number of children are engaged in child labour activities like working as house-maids, in shops, hotels, etc. Survival becomes more important than education for those residing in these slums and hence, children are not sent to schools.



Unsafe Settlements: Children settled in different locations like waterlogged, low lying areas, slum/ slum like situations, road side or construction sites have no access to schools. There are no government schools in such areas which are not cleared for residential purposes. The increasing waterlogging and water stagnation in residential areas, the fear of security of girl children in foggy days, schools being on other side of busy roads are a few examples which hinder the access of schools. The coordination of Municipal Corporation, SSA/Education Department, WCD, NGOs are helpful in reaching to such children. The children who are rescued from child labour, begging, addiction, petty crimes need special attention in such efforts. The Child Welfare Committees need revamping, finances and re-orientation.



Disruptions: The climate change impacts are causing intense weather conditions like floods, inundation, fog, heat intensities, cold wave which disrupts the schools. Increasing diseases, especially in vulnerable locations, cause breaks in schools attendance sometimes leading to drop–outs. The recent hepatitis outbreak in Shimla, malaria and Japanese Encephalitis in Gorakhpur, drinking water related illness in peripheral Panjim and Guwahati are some of such examples which cause negative effect on children’s education.



Behavioral: There are communities who hesitate to send children to schools. Muslim communities in Khajrana locality in Indore, climate refugees in Gorakhpur and slum dwellers in Panjim and other such groups expressed that they are not keen to educate the children as they do not feel safe in sending girl children to schools or the boys will be able to earn better if they learn some other skills and at the same time they will also contribute to family income. Caste and gender based discrimination is common. The lack of functional toilets with water is also another cause for adolescent girls to drop out–of–school.

Climate Change Impacts: Education

Increase in Migration

Shelter in Challenging Location

Identity School not present in non-residential area Access to schools difficult Increasing Epidemics Disease/temporary breaks

Lower Economic Class

Children devoid of quality education

Survival more important than education Labour pressure Child Sexual Abuse, Substance Abuse Behavioural Issues

Figure 8: Climate change impacts on education

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Different segments of vulnerable children Weather related disasters have more than tripled over the last 30 years and are on a constant rise worldwide.3 Climate change poses serious threat to child rights pertaining to survival, food security, health, access to water and sanitation, education and protection. The children are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. The effect of children is on both: •

The villages and peri-urban areas—due to agricultural and livelihood losses because of which people migrate to cities.



The Urban areas—according to the living conditions, access to basic services and the resilience capacities.

The lives in the cities are getting more challenging and competitive due to degeneration of ecosystems and natural environment affecting the lives of people largely dependent on these resources. The large influx of rural population-including children—in urban areas, their settlement in slums, slum like areas and dejected situation make them vulnerable. There has been increase in number of children coming to urban areas (Shimla Childline, Utsah NGO, Guwahati), the children living on pavements, railway stations, low lying areas (Gorakhpur, Guwahati), trafficked children (Panjim Childline, Guwahati Childline), children at work places (Jewellery and Bag making, Indore Childline) within the range of 8–18 years. Efforts were made to understand the especially vulnerable groups in cities vis-à-vis climate change impacts and the beyond economic factors which help or deteriorate their vulnerabilities. Table 13: Identified groups of vulnerable children and the resilience options Identified Groups

Specific Vulnerabilities restricting resilience

Resilience options and governance linkages

Children settled in slum/slum like areas

• Lack of access to basic services like water, sanitation, health

• Participation in governance

• Temporary/incomplete shelter not suitable for harsh climate (plinth level, ventilation, heat, cold)

• Community institutions

• Housing Schemes • Creating open spaces/playground

• Psycho-social aspects related to security • No control over land and resources • Lack of open spaces/play ground Minorities/ Communities living in challenged areas

• Congested settlements

• Security measures

• Behavioural issue – conservation

• Behavioural change

• Illiteracy and dependence on religious education

• Special attention on quality of basic services

• High drop-outs particularly in girls

• Involvement of NGOs • Capacity building

3

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Weather related catastrophes on the rise in Asia Pacific, 2011. Accessed 6 November 2013 from www.munichre.com/en/media_relations/company_news/2011/201111-11_company_news.aspx

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

Identified Groups

Specific Vulnerabilities restricting resilience

Resilience options and governance linkages

Low Income Settlements

• Frequent inundation, loss of stored food, raw materials for income generation

• Rehabilitation

• Difficult fragile settlements

• Real time information and warning system

• Dumping area for solid waste and sewage

• Regulation provisions on flood pump

• Open drains

• Basic services–special attention

• Access to school, health services

• Solid waste and sewage management

• Peri-urban areas getting depletion in natural ecosystems

• Coordination amongst planners, basic service providers

• Indulging in making country liquor, beer selling etc.

• Identity to rag pickers, in-migrants

• Addiction (glue, polish, iodex, tire water, etc.)

• Access to schools

Children indulged in illegal activities/ abused (Addict, Abused, Beggars)

• Petty crimes

• Health Surveillance

• Coordinated monitoring • Involvement of NGOs

• Psycho-social impacts

• Child protection norms to be strictly followed

• Identity

• Effective functioning of shelter homes

• Exploited as sex objects Children • Transit cities are zones and destination trafficked from (Gorakhpur) for trafficked children (Indodifferent places Nepal, Bangladesh–India, inter-states, rural– and living on urban) streets and • Forced prostitution platforms

• Anti-trafficking rules • Strengthening livelihood • Opportunities at source level. • Surveillance & monitoring

Peri–urban–Urban Connect – Role of Ecosystems Climate change is expected to exacerbate the hazards and overall further degrade agriculture yield jeopardizing the lives and livelihoods of those living in urban and peri-urban areas. This study inferred that the peri urban areas and ecosystems in urban areas strengthen the climate resilience of vulnerable communities by helping in water conservation, drainage, water infiltration into the soil leading to decreased run-off, keeping the areas flooding free and diversifying food and income sources. The urban resilience cannot be achieved in isolation as the flow of goods and services - including the natural continuous—connect the urban areas with peri-urban areas. Both in water excess and deficient areas these areas provide buffering capacity (Gorakhpur, Indore and Guwahati). In hilly areas (Shimla) the availability of drinking water is largely dependent on upstream peri-urban areas. In coastal zones (Panjim) the peri urban areas play a very important role in checking salt water intrusion and bio shields for protection of coast. However, in practice the urban peripheries are not adequately considered in urban planning and governance and hence the urban resilience. Land tenures in peri-urban areas are uncertain. The infrastructure is poor, incomes low and there is no formal recognition of these areas (Prakash, 2012). Typified by mixed agriculture and non-agricultural land use and flows of goods and services and services between village and urban centres and a perpetually changing heterogenous social population that lead to specific environmental and natural resources problem beyond the scope of urban and rural governments individually, peri-urban areas need attention and innovate approaches (Allen, 2003; Narain, 2010; Prakash, 2012; Mitra, et al., 2015).

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These are also the spaces which provide easy access to the poor migrating from rural areas in search of jobs and livelihoods. The resilience of children in urban and peri–urban areas (especially economically weaker sections) cannot be addressed adequately unless this peri–urban connect and role of ecosystem services are appropriately considered. The safe habitats & health, food, water, fuel, waste decomposition playing grounds, clean air etc. are linked to ecosystem services which can be briefly represented as follows. It was observed in all the cities covered in the current study that peri-urban ecosystems are crucial in terms of producing safe food, water, inhabitation and other essential services for climate change resilience. The degeneration of peri–urban ecosystems has caused severe problems especially for the urban children. The mis-management of upstream ecosystems in Shimla is one example which caused severe hepatitis outbreak affecting large number of children. The coordinated governance of these ecosystems involving citizens, irrigation and public health, Municipal Corporation, agriculture and horticulture department can play significantly positive role in maintenance of ecosystem services towards sustained urban resilience. Likewise, the contamination of groundwater in Panjim and degeneration of waterbodies in Figure 9: Ecosystem for Resilience Gorakhpur have shown a negative trend for urban resilience where coordinated effort of development authorities NGPDA, GDA, Planners (T&C Planning), regulatory authorities CRZ, citizen groups, academic institutions, Groundwater board is crucial. Rapidly expanding Guwahati with concrete infrastructures is already witnessing severe artificial flooding conditions are in fact deteriorating the situation further and the Guwahati Development Department along with the Municipal Corporation and GMDA will have to have a climate smart forward looking plan to deal with climate change impacts.

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Participation Towards a participatory governance and devolution of governance structures, as envisaged in 73rd and 74th CCAs, one of the major obstacle in urban areas is lack of essential ‘rooting’ — an organic connect between citizens and the government where people have no mechanism to participate in decision making, object on wrong actions of citizens and governments, contribute to development etc (Ramanathan, 2007). There is lack of ownership of assets and resources and the service delivery is generally a one way process flowing from service provider to the user. The situation of poor communities, women and children is worse in this context where their participation in planning and governance is almost non-existent. Ownership of local development initiatives also ensures in effective and successful implementation of development (PRIA, n.d.). Participation in local governance can be of any shape depending on length of engagement and depth of participation. It is important that poor and vulnerable (slum dwellers, women, children) participate in decisions about the development of the city so that the cities are a better and secured place of living for them. Community Participation Law was a mandatory reform in JnNURM and it referred to making needed provision in state municipalities acts for a three/four tiered structure with specific aims of institutionalizing citizens’ participation, introducing the concept of Area Sabha, and involving citizens in municipal functions like setting priorities, budgeting and enforcement of regulations. The TERI (2010) paper on ‘Enhancing public participation for effective functioning of ward committees’ developed for Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India expressed concern over slow progress on ward committees and recommended need of strengthening ward committees and Area Sabhas and devolution of a core set of functions from the 18 functions. The recommended core functions include all the sectors identified in this study which makes urban children vulnerable due to climate change impacts. Whereas Ward Committees are generally non–existent and/or non–functional in all the studied cities except Guwahati, it was observed that instances of even partial and event specific participation of citizens have shown good results in terms of ownership and support (Shimla, Panaji) and even resource contribution (Indore, Gorakhpur). However, participation of children in such processes of planning, development, monitoring etc. was not observed as an institutional process in any of the city. As explained in the 'Missing' section of this study, children are not considered as an entity to be involved in such processes in policy and guidelines. People’s participation also contributes to fiscal strength of local governments through generation of local government revenue and allocation of resources according to needs and priorities of the community. There are experiences where such participation in different forms has helped on ground, some such examples: Gorakhpur: A ward level micro-resilience planning was initiated in collaboration with Municipal Corporation. The priorities of the planning and pilot intervention were set on the basis of participatory vulnerability assessment. The priority sectors like waterlogging, drinking water, health, agriculture and livelihood included education of children. The ward Mahewa being one of the most waterlogged and poverty affected area, the local population had their priorities mostly in form of improvement in public services (toilet, drinking water sources, drainage, protection from solid waste and sewage dumping etc. with need of a school in the area. The intervention resulted in building of a school which is being managed by local community with about 200 children in school for the last three years of which 50 per cent are girl children. The poor community organized and mobilized resources Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) and other government programmes for the improvement in services and even contributed in form of labour, materials and money in construction of roads and drains.

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Indore: IMC has made some efforts in involving local people in planning and monitoring of roads and drains. The RWAs and local communities have come forward and contributed construction materials in such interventions and at the same time monitored quality work. The IMC, though their Jan Sunwayis initiative have made efforts to involve children in planning, for instance, the children suggested that good parks and playgrounds should be there in the cities which was included in the Smart City proposal. Panjim: The unique process of Stakeholders Group by Panjim Municipal Commissioner has helped in involving various citizen groups in discussing, planning and even approving the developmental projects. This has mobilized ownership of the citizens to a great extent and at the same time Corporation is benefited by the technical and sectoral inputs from academic institutions and other citizen groups. The planning and proposal development of Smart City was also through the inputs and approval of this group. Guwahati: In Guwahati, every Ward has a Ward Councillor and three Area Sabha members which together form the Ward Committee. The Ward Committee works in close collaboration with the citizens of its ward to implement and monitor developmental activities such as construction of roads, cleaning of drains, etc.

Besides these examples, there are good number of examples from other cities of India where citizens’ participation have helped in bottom-up approaches of development and fiscal improvement. ‘Janaagrah’ is a well documented case study where in year 2002–2003, out of 65 wards of Bangalore city, citizens came forward in big number in 32 wards actively negotiating with their corporators and Bangalore Mahanagara Palike administration and 22 wards being satisfied with final work list and spending of about Rs 10 crores as planned by citizens (Ramanathan, 2007).

The Nagar Nigam is responsible for cleaning drains in our locality but it is not done. Solid waste is thrown here and there which blocks the drains and contaminates water. It is our responsibility also that we stop our neighbours from throwing garbage on the streets. Surya Prakash, Age-11 years, Gorakhpur

Such initiatives have proven that good urban governance need to involve poor and marginalized groups in decision making and this also characterizes the intent of the city to improve the conditions for those living in informal settlements. Having said this, such participation and ownership also depends on the traditional setting of the city, the behavioral landscape and the available political spaces. However, the involvement of children in such priority setting of city agenda and the decisions accordingly is a rare phenomenon-although there are examples where issues related to child rights and welfare and well– being of children were considered through other routes (community, women, schools, programmes etc).

Missing: Children in mainstream policies and programmes Improving the well-being of children is not only a moral duty but is also a legal and political obligation. Globally, governments including India have signed up to numerous international human rights conventions and political declarations (most notably, the UNCRC and the UN Millennium Declaration) that require them to uphold children’s rights. The UNCRC asserts that every child is entitled to an adequate

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standard of living, and the right to survive and develop to their full potential. All eight MDGs arising from the Millennium Declaration, agreed in 2000, are directly or indirectly relevant to children. At the national level, the Government of India has formulated the National Policy for Children (NPC), 2013 to reiterate the commitment to the rights based approach for children. There is also the National Charter for Children which briefly recaps the issues that children face and the duty of the state towards these children. The National Plan of Action for Children, 2005 is by far the most comprehensive planning document concerning children which clearly outlines goals, objectives, and strategies to achieve the objectives outlined and recognize the needs of all children up to the age of eighteen. It is divided into four basic child right categories as per the UNCRC: Child survival (Health), Child development (Education), Child protection (Physical Safety and Protection) and Child participation. Apart from such policies and programmes present in the country for improving the status and well-being of children, limited progress has been made in delivering children’s rights which represents a collective failure of political will on the part of governments and lack of strong mechanisms to enable this effectively. It also represents a vast waste of human potential and a block to economic and social development. This study attempted to analyse the various policies and programmes related to climate change, disaster management and children, separately to assess the provisions laid therein to address the differential vulnerabilities of children in the climate change and disaster contexts. Below are some of the reflections from the assessment:

Disaster Management Act, 2005 The Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DM Act, 2005) is an important milestone in the evolution of a legal framework for disaster management in India. For the first time a comprehensive law on disaster management at the national level was enacted with the passage of the Disaster Management Act in December 2005, although a few States had enacted their own disaster management laws earlier, and several legislations already existed in regard to environmental damage, building structure safety and fire hazards. A review of the DM Act, 2005 revealed that there are no specific provisions which address the differential vulnerabilities and needs of children. The report of the Task Force which was constituted in 2010 to review the DM Act, 2005 has also found a huge gap in the Act where the concerns of children are completely missing. In its recommendations to the Government of India, the report emphasises on inclusion of children’s issues in the Act. It says there should be a specific mention of protection of the interests of women, children, the disabled, and the weaker sections so that they receive special attention during relief and rehabilitation in the context of disasters.

National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) Children are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change but unfortunately, the NAPCC does not take this concern into account. In the whole Action Plan, the word – ‘children’ is found to be missing. This is a major lacuna in the report which clearly shows the limited understanding of the government on the issues of climate change impacts on children and that they need to be addressed differently. Of course, the implementations on the ground cannot be blamed as children are a ‘missing’ entity in the policy itself.

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State Action Plans on Climate Change (Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Guwahati and Goa) Under the Uttar Pradesh State Action Plan on Climate Change (UPSAPCC), the government has recognized the poor health conditions of the slum dwellers and inadequacy of health services for the urban poor inhabitations. The Uttar Pradesh state government has formulated its own policy level mandate related to issues of mother and child health. The state of Uttar Pradesh, which is facing very clear impacts of climate change so regularly, does not have any considerations for children to address their specific vulnerabilities. The Madhya Pradesh State Action Plan on Climate Change (MPSAPCC) recognizes children as weaker sections of the society and vulnerable to climate change impacts which needs to be addressed in a focused manner and recommends a need for focused research on this subject based on which the policies and programmes are envisaged to be designed. This clearly is a very sketchy statement in the Action Plan with no clarity of addressing the children’s vulnerability due to climate change. The Assam State Action Plan on Climate Change (ASAPCC) has not recognized the issues of children vis-à-vis climate change. It has only outlined to conduct studies to assess the linkages between climate change and possible malnutrition in the state especially amongst children. The state of Assam where the clear impacts of climate change are being felt, especially through the sufferings of the urban poor children does not have clear mandate to address these issues. The Himachal Pradesh State Action Plan on Climate Change (HPSAPCC) has not covered the vulnerabilities of children induced by climate change. It talks about the vulnerability in general and not recognized the children as vulnerable group. As per the guiding principle, women, landless and nomads has been recognized as vulnerable groups in the action plan but not children. Again, the lack of knowledge that persists at the government level on these issues is a clear hindrance in mainstreaming these into the state policies and programmes. The Goa State Action Plan on Climate Change (GSAPCC) does not talk about the children as special groups in the face of climate change and only emphasizes on creating mass awareness on the subject of climate change and specific consequences among students community.

State/District Disaster Management Plans (Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Goa) The Madhya Pradesh State Disaster Management Plan (MPSDMP) has given due importance regarding the protection of children as they are the most vulnerable stakeholder to any types of disasters. However, the plan does not talk about the impacts of climate change on children and the different segments of children that need to be addressed. The SDMP recognizes the problems being caused due to rapid urbanization leading to a rise in the number of slum dwellers with extremely poor sanitation and drinking water facilities, very poor health awareness and increasing risk of water-borne diseases, from endemic to non-endemic areas. However, the plan does not specifically mention any action steps against this. The Indore DDMP is not in public domain.

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The Assam State Disaster Management Plan (ASDMP) recognizes children as vulnerable groups but does not see the vulnerabilities of urban children in particular and that too, as results of climate change impacts. The plan has considered that substantial increases in the urban population increases the vulnerability within those areas but again, no specific action steps have been laid out to address these. The Uttar Pradesh State Disaster Management Plan (UPSDMP) is not a consolidated one. For each disaster there is a separate plan. The reviews of different plans indicate that children have been recognized as the most vulnerable group and there is a need to examine their vulnerability so that preparedness measures can be appropriately planned. No specific provisions have been made for urban children and that too as a result of climate change impacts. The Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Plan (HPSDMP) outlines that 60 per cent of the total education institutions in the state are located in very high earthquake risk zone. The population of age group from 5 to 15 is also very high in high risk areas. Vulnerability of these children and the risk involved is high in the event of an earthquake. The city disaster management plan indicates that the school children, government functionaries should be given hands-on training to handle fire-fighting equipment. Human trafficking is a common phenomenon of the aftermaths of disaster. To combat it the Department of Women Empowerment and Child Development shall set-up monitoring and coordination mechanisms in the affected areas for prevention of human trafficking of women and children. The Goa State Disaster Management Plan (GSDMP) recognizes children below 5 years as vulnerable groups and need to be addressed on priority at times of disaster. However, the plan does not specifically outline provision for urban children impacted by climate change.

Vulnerability Assessment Reports and City Resilience Strategies (Gorakhpur, Indore, Panjim, Shimla and Guwahati) The Vulnerability Assessment of these five study cities were done by different civil society organizations which was followed by development of CRS for each of these cities. The Strategy document was submitted to the respective ULBs in the cities for further take up and action. An assessment of the Vulnerability Assessment Reports and CRS of all five cities was done and found that in Gorakhpur, children’s vulnerabilities related to education and health were highlighted and recommendations were given for addressing these in the resilience strategies. The vulnerabilities included children’s access to schools during times of waterlogging, their engagement in child labour activities and incidences of Japanese Encephalitis and other water-borne diseases which impact them. The Urban Vulnerability Assessment Report of Panjim also takes into account the vulnerabilities of children caused due to salt water intrusion, contamination of river water, etc. and suggests mechanisms to build resilience against these issues. The Vulnerability Assessment Report and Resilience Strategy of Indore, Guwahati and Shimla do not recognize children as vulnerable groups and their vulnerabilities are neither analysed nor have any suggestions been made for building resilience.

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United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children (UNCRC) The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is a legally-binding international agreement setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of every child, regardless of their race, religion or abilities. Although it does not mention climate change more because in 1989 when the UNCRC was formulated climate change was not on the development agenda, it offers the framework for child centric interventions and uphold their rights. As our research shows, ignoring the negative impacts of climate change on children is violation of their rights.

National Policy for Children (NPC), 2013 The study also looked at the mainstream policies developed for children in India. The NPC in India was formulated in 2013. It mentions that the Constitution of India guarantees Fundamental Rights to all children in the country and empowers the state to make special provisions for children. Though the plan has talked about the protection of children from disasters (very generally) but it has not mentioned anything specific to climate change. This review infers that the understanding of children’s issues in the context of climate change is a policy issue as they are a ‘missing entity’. Moreover, even if some of the programmes have covered their challenges, there are institutional problems owing to lack of capacities, deficiency of funds and poor administration. Inclusion of children’s issues in the climate and disaster management related policies and programmes are important measures, however, what is required is a complete re-examination of the legal framework for children as whole, identification of gaps and reconciliation of existing anomalies within the law and the implementation of policies, programmes and schemes meant for children. Only a recognition of children as individuals with rights can pave the way for future action. In the absence of this, all efforts will be sporadic, addressing only some symptoms and not the root cause of the problems that affect the children from climate change impacts.

Compliance of 74th caa in case study cities An important initiative of the Government of India to strengthen municipal governance was the enactment of the 74th CAA in 1992. Through this initiative, an attempt was being made to improve the performance ability of municipalities, so that they are able to discharge their duties efficiently. The 74th CAA introduced the Twelfth Schedule which lists the functions of the ULBs, covering planning, regulation and developmental aspects. The other important provisions specified in the Act include constitution of three types of municipalities, devolution of greater functional responsibilities and financial powers to municipalities, adequate representation of weaker sections and women, regular and fair conduct of municipal elections, and constitution of Wards Committees (WCs), District Planning Committees (DPCs), Metropolitan Planning Committees (MPCs) and State Finance Commissions (SFCs). The 74th CAA, 1992 provisions, thus, provides a basis for the State Legislatures to guide the state governments in the assignment of various responsibilities to municipalities and in strengthening

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municipal governance. Accordingly, several state governments have amended their Municipal Acts/Laws/ Legislations so as to bring these in conformity with the Constitutional provisions. Several municipalities are also confronted with a number of problems, despite the amendments in the State Municipal Acts and the implementation of the 74th CAA provisions. There is also an influence of various social, economic and political factors on the functioning of municipalities in India. According to a research study conducted by National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) on the Impact of 74th CAA on the Working of ULBs, sponsored by the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India in 2005, the performance of different state governments on the compliance/implementation of the Act provisions were assessed. The table below gives the state-wise compliance of the 74th CAA provisions in the five case study cities that were chosen for this research. Some important provisions of the Act have been included in the table, viz. constitution of ULBs; reservation of seats in ULBs, regular conduct of elections, constitution of WCs, DPCs, MPCs and SFCs. Twelfth Schedule of the Constitution of India 1. Urban planning, including town planning 2. Regulation of land use and construction of buildings 3. Planning for economic and social development 4. Roads and bridges 5. Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes 6. Public health, sanitation conservancy and solid waste management 7. Fire services 8. Urban forestry, protection of environment and promotion of ecological aspects 9. Safeguarding the interests of weaker sections of society, including the disabled and mentally retarded 10. Slum improvement and upgrading 11. Urban poverty alleviation 12. Provision of urban amenities and facilities such as parks, gardens, playgrounds 13. Promotion of cultural, educational, and aesthetic aspects 14. Burials and burial grounds, cremations, cremation grounds, and electric crematoriums 15. Cattle pounds; prevention of cruelty to animals 16. Vital statistics including registration of births and deaths 17. Public amenities including street lighting, parking lots, bus stops, and public conveniences 18. Regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries

Table 14: State-wise Compliance of the 74th CAA Provisions Sl. State/UT No.

Constitution of ULBs

Reservation of seats

Regular conduct of elections

Constitution of WCs

Constitution of DPCs

x

Constitution of MPCs

Constitution of SFCs

1

Assam

x

x

x

2

Goa

x

x

x

x

3

Himachal Pradesh

x

x

x

x

4

Madhya Pradesh

x

x

x

5

Uttar Pradesh

x

x

x

x

x

x

x x

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An important observation is that while there has been full compliance in respect of select provisions, such as constitution of three types of ULBs, reservation of seats, conduct of elections and Constitution of SFCs, others, namely Constitution of WCs, DPCs, and MPCs have not been adopted to the fullest extent. Taking lead from the above, the study further investigated the decentralization processes in each of the five cities to understand the level of coordination between them. Presented below is the status: Table 15: Decentralization process under the 74th CAA in the five case study cities.

City

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Sectoral departments linked to climate change resilience

Under Municipal Corporation

Shimla

Water Supply and Sewerage, SEHB Society, Irrigation & Public Health, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Directorate of Environment, Pollution Control Board, Tankers, NGOs, Corporation Health Office, Urban Health, Education, Anganwadis, Labour, Police, Childline, WCD

Water Supply and Sewerage, SEHB Society, Tankers, Corporation Health Office

Indore

Water Works Department, Public Health Engineering Department, Ward Corporators, Health (Solid Waste Management), Education, Health, Sewerage, Indore Development Authority, Pollution Control Board, NGOs, Consultants, Resident Welfare Associations, Labour, Police, WCD, Childline

Water Works Department, Ward Corporators, Health (Solid Waste Management), Sewerage,

Gorakhpur

GDA/Town and Country GMC, District Planning, GMC, DDMA, Health Irrigation Department, Department Urban Planning and Development, Jal Nigam, Pollution Control Board, Groundwater Department, District Urban Development Authority (DUDA), Builder Association, NGOs, District Administration, District Health Department, Community Groups, Media

Climate Change Resilience for Children and Urban Governance

As Parastatal bodies

Under State Government

Private

Irrigation & Public Health, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Directorate of Environment, Pollution Control Board, Urban Health, Education, Labour, Police, WCD, Anganwadis

NGOs, Childline, Tankers

IDA

Public Health Engineering Department, Health, Education, Pollution Control Board, Labour, Police, WCD

NGOs, Consultants, RWAs, Childline

GDA/Town and Country Planning, DDMA, DUDA

Irrigation Deptartment, Urban Planning and Development, Jal Nigam, Pollution Control Board, Groundwater Department, District Administration

Community Groups, Media

City

Sectoral departments linked to climate change resilience

Under Municipal Corporation

As Parastatal bodies

Under State Government

Private

Panjim

CCP CCP, DDMA,CRZ, NGPDA, DDMA, PWD, Central Groundwater Board, Pollution Control Board, IMD, Urban Health Dept, Education Department/SSA, WCD, Labour Department Police, NGOs, Builders, Citizen Forum, Acad. Institution, RWAs, PTAs, Chidline

DDMA, CRZ, NGPDA

PWD, Central Groundwater Board, Pollution Control Board, IMD, Urban Health Department, Education Department/SSA, WCD, Labour, Police

NGOs, Builders, Citizen Forum, Academic Institution, RWAs, PTAs, Chidline

Guwahati

GMC, GMDA, Guwahati Development Department, AUWS&SB, Central Groundwater Board, Assam Public Health and Engineering Department, SSA, Education Department, Health Department, WCDICDS, Labour Department, Police, Childline, NGOs

GMDA, Guwahati Development Department, AUWS&SB

Central Ground Water Board, Assam Public Health and Engineering Department, SSA, Education Department, Health Department, WCD-ICDS, Labour Department, Police

Childline, NGOs

GMC

As evident from the above table that in a city, the responsibilities/powers of the sectoral departments linked with climate change resilience are rested under various governance structures like ULBs, Parastatal bodies, state government and private agencies. The inter-coordination and lack of effective linkages between these structures, many a times, hinders the process of addressing resilience against climate change. To illustrate, in Shimla, the management of water streams is the responsibility of I&PH which comes under the state government whereas the distribution of water to the citizens lies in the hands of the SMC and due to ineffective coordination between the two, the issues related to supply of quality drinking water in adequate quantity to the citizens of Shimla gets affected. In fact, SMC has undergone retrogressive metamorphosis where it held more number of functions and powers under its control before the 74th CAA came into picture. For instance, the Forest Department was under the control of Municipal Corporation before 74th CAA and today, it is under the control of the state government. On the other hand, the same process is a bit smoother in Indore where the Water Works Department of IMC takes care of sourcing water from the rivers and supplying it to the citizens. In a nutshell, it has been largely observed that the existence of para-statal authorities, be they water boards or Development Authorities, are an obstacle in the devolution of municipal functions to urban local bodies. Similarly, state departments continuing to serve the functional areas of municipal corporations are also an obstacle in the process of devolution of municipal functions (Ministry of Housing and Poverty Alleviation, Government of India, 2014). The 73rd and 74th CAA in 1992, for rural and urban areas respectively, called for creating units of local self government at the rural and urban levels. While Panchayati Raj Institutions for the rural areas, created after great and prolonged struggle, have given rural dwellers their self-governance structures and a fair degree of empowerment, nothing similar has been done for urban dwellers. Participatory involvement of

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citizens in and accountability of local self-governance structures are almost totally absent in urban areas. The representation ratio between citizens and their elected representatives in these five cities is much larger than what it mostly is in the rural areas (Ramanathan, 2007). Table 16: The ratio of citizens for one elected representative in the five case study cities. Cities

Citizens : Elected Representative Ratio

Shimla

6790:1

Indore

23106:1

Gorakhpur

9620:1

Panjim

1968:1

Guwahati

13992:1

The above table well indicates that close interaction and leadership at the bottom level in the cities is lacking in urban decentralization. Urban dwellers are finding themselves in a governance vacuum because of disconnect between them and their elected representative. The urban areas have the concept of the ward committees, which are meant to be constituted for the city corporations but they are fatally hampered by the combination of a debatable nomination process, limited citizen representation and an ambiguous mandate. The above table infers the maximum number of citizens vis-à-vis one elected representative in Indore. Despite this, Indore has been able to manage this in a fair manner by going a step forward and decentralizing it further by forming Zonal Committees which is manned by a Zonal Officer. The 85 wards in Indore are divided into 19 such zones and zone-wise responsibilities are given. This is a good mechanism for the citizens to have better and quick approach and access to zonal officers for resolving issues related to basic services. Mohalla Committees are also formed in Indore comprising 100 households which works closely with the local bodies to advise them about the interests of Mohalla and its residents, help in the formulation of suitable policy measures, which will enhance the quality of life of the residents living in that Mohalla, supervise the maintenance and repair and replacement of common area facilities etc., monitor works relating to sanitation, road, drain, water supply, streetlight and solid waste and create public awareness to safeguard against environmental pollution. The RWAs in Panjim and Indore also work as constructive critiques of ULBs and help them in resolving issues with a bottomup approach.

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Chapter 6

Making children climate resilient: The good practices The current research study looked into some of the good practices that the cities have adopted through informal mechanisms to address the climate resilience issues. These practices are being effective in bridging the governance gaps and providing better services to the citizens. These practices are also playing a catalytic role in addressing the vulnerable communities especially children’s issues, thereby becoming models of good governance.

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Two of the key aspects of good governance are the responsive nature of the urban bodies which results in effective and efficient delivery of services and participation at all levels. In the context of climate change, quick response and action on citizen’s issues become even more imperative to build resilience. With diverse range of actors involved in providing services, e.g., the ULBs, para-statal agencies, state departments, NGOs and the civil society, the inter-coordination between these actors becomes a huge problem leading to governance gaps. Therefore, for effective coordination for better provision of services to address resilience issues of urban poor people, use of technology is the need of the hour. Health surveillance systems in Surat, real-time information systems at times of flood in Bangkok and other similar experiences have shown great results in addressing vulnerabilities. On the other hand, participation at all levels is crucial in building good governance. Though community participation is seen in a few cities in various mechanisms which are strengthening the governance process, children participation is yet to be ensured. The good practices mentioned herein are those that are addressing the vulnerabilities of children and building resilience in the context of climate change, either directly or indirectly. However, the study also infers that such good practices can uphold child rights if the mechanisms and institutions involved therein can be child sensitive and ensure child participation. The few such technological innovations and other mechanisms that the cities have adopted as the research inferred are as below: 1. Use of Technology for Communication and Redressal: The SMC has a well-defined complaint redressal system for proper management of municipal solid waste. Apart from this system, a WhatsApp Group has been set up for quick communication and resolution of issues. People from different tier of governance like the Deputy Mayor, Corporation Health Officer, elected representatives and citizens are part of this group and the citizens post problems with photographs on which immediate actions are taken. This is an excellent mechanism of decentralized governance through a bottom-up approach which is helping in building climate resilience. 2. Transparency: Another good initiative of the SMC is that the water quality testing is done at the destination level by the Corporation Health Department on an everyday basis and the test results are uploaded on the Corporation’s website on an the same day. This is available in public domain and citizens have an open access to it. This process not only reduces the communication gap between the Municipal Corporation and the citizens but also enhances answerability/accountability of the Corporation towards its citizens. The water quality testing reports act as awareness tool for the people. 3. Weather Advisory—Capacity Development: In the face of climate change, agricultural profits of periurban farmers are not as important as is the reduction in losses caused due to weather events leading to disasters. The food and nutritional security of such families and specifically that of children, becomes at stake when climate change impacts hit agricultural produce. The SMS-based weather advisory system being implemented in Gorakhpur in the peri-urban areas has helped the farmers to reduce losses and save costs on irrigation, manure, raising nurseries of crops and storage of produce. The Climate Cells established in Gorakhpur and Indore are also serving towards vetting development activities through a climate lens. 4. Multi-tier Accountability: Madhya Pradesh has been the pioneer state to launch CM Helpline Toll Free Number 181 for quick and efficient redressal of issues of its citizens. The CM Helpline has been very well adopted by the IMC and strict monitoring mechanisms have been embedded to solve the problems that are registered through the Helpline. The call centre is housed in the Municipal Corporation and there are four levels through which a registered complaint passes. At the Level-1,

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the complaint is attended by a Second Class Officer, at the Level-2, it is seen by the Head of the Departments, at the Level-3, the Commissioner looks into it and tries to probe the reasons for it not been solved and if the complaint is unresolved till Level-4, it is directly intervened by the State government. The 4-tier system in itself is a system that increases accountability and answerability of the service providers and adds to good governance mechanisms. 5. Open Forums: One more mechanism that is helping to bridge the governance gaps is the concept of Jan Sunwayis or Public Hearing in the city of Indore. Jan Sunwayis, held weekly on Tuesdays, is a process by which people who are affected by a particular action or decision have the opportunity to ask questions, make submissions or register objections to a panel of experts. The panel comprises elected representatives, government officials, non-government organizations, experts from the field, media, etc. It is a formal meeting designed to provide the public with an opportunity to express their support or opposition for any project or scheme in an open forum. Such hearings are especially useful for people living in low income settlements and peri-urban areas. It gives them a platform to voice their concerns and provides for speedy justice and instant resolution. The Jan Sunwayis has become sort of a culture in Indore and has been adopted at various levels such as the Municipal Corporation, State government, academic institutions, etc. 6. Participation: Active participation of the communities in planning and implementation of services in a city is another feature of good governance as discussed previously. Successful examples of this were seen in Indore and Gorakhpur cities. In Indore, upto 30 per cent of community contribution is taken from the citizens in construction of roads, parks, improving drainage, etc. Maintenance of orchards and parks are also done by communities by employing a gardener, etc. On the other hand in Gorakhpur, community-led actions were very successful in demonstrating that involvement of communities has not only helped in planning and improving the provision of basic services in low income settlements but also motivated them for resource contributions. The formation of community institutions on various thematic issues impacted by climate change has helped in improving the governance of that area and is giving indications of sustainability of the efforts. Ecosystem services are very important and the city level citizen’s campaign called as the Mahanagar Paryavaran Manch in saving Ramgarh lake in Gorakhpur city and conserving green areas and water bodies, are a few examples demonstrating efforts taken in recognising the role of ecosystem in building resilience of the city. It also shows people’s ownership on the natural resources which helps in adding to resilience of the city. 7. Multi-Stakeholder Engagement: The informal mechanism of holding stakeholder consultations by the CCP in Panjim is yet another mechanism of good governance. The CCP calls upon stakeholders who comprise different departments, academicians, civil society organization and informed citizens to hold consultations to solicit feedback and suggestions on development projects. So, even if the 74th CAA has not been adopted in Panjim, this style of functioning ensures participation from all development departments and also increases accountability of CCP. 8. Champions: The champions in cities like Shimla have been instrumental in addressing the climate related development issues and ensuring good governance for the people by remaining closely connected with the masses. 9. Incentivizing Resilience: In Indore, the elected Mayor in the year 2000 had come up with an order to give 6 per cent rebate in property taxes for people who adopted rain water harvesting system. This was a good initiative from the climate resilience perspective which continued for five years until 2005. The interest of the people for adopting Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) has fallen down since then. Therefore, such good practices need to be managed in a way that they sustain in the long-term.

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Conclusions The literature review and city assessments point to rapid urbanization exacerbating climate risks, creating new ones and heightening human vulnerabilities, particularly those of children to these risks. These include risks and vulnerabilities associated with pressures on natural or historical waterways and drainage systems and the rapid increase in informal settlements and substandard housing. The exposure of these conditions and human-induced vulnerabilities is providing motivation for integrating climate adaptation into city planning, though a degree of awareness seems to be evident, real progress is severely limited in most of the cities studied.

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Investigating cities’ experiences of dealing with climate change within their governance framework provides a useful starting point for further exposing the links between urban governance and climate resilience and assessing the potential for good urban governance to deliver climate resilience outcomes. Deeper investigation and analysis are required to understand the extent to which good urban governance and climate resilient urban planning and development can be linked to deliver pro-poor climate adaptation for the most vulnerable populations, especially children. Governance arrangements must be able to address infrastructure, services and housing provisions for marginalised communities and in-migrant populations in the cities and therefore, must form a core component of any climate resilience governance framework. The rapid assessments done in this study concludes that integrating climate change aspects into city development plans or by the Municipal Corporations in provisioning of services is influenced by levels of awareness and understanding of climate risks and levels of motivation among elected representatives and government departments. Access to resources is also significant particularly in those cities with substantial financial autonomy. Accountability mechanisms in city planning and the participation of citizens in planning processes provide further indicators of the city’s capacity to implement meaningful and pro-poor climate adaptation programmes. In the light of this and the experiences generated from this study, following conclusions are being made which could be helpful in building children’s resilience to climate change in the urban settings: 1. Recognition and Mainstreaming: Children’s issues need to be recognized and mainstreamed in climate change and disaster related policies and programmes. It is important to understand the disaggregated vulnerabilities of different groups of children based on their religion, caste, sex, region, and occupation of parents, residential location, educational status etc. and the need of specific action to address these vulnerabilities in the context of climate change impacts. Further, this merely will not go any further in improving the conditions of children in the face of climate change until the actual realization of the policies and programmes happen on the ground. 2. Participation: Children’s participation is crucial in addressing basic issues related to them like water, sewage, sanitation, education, health, playground, etc. Their involvement at ward, zone and city levels of planning system should be ensured. Linking their priorities and suggested actions at local level with allocation of resources will be important. 3. Accountable and Transparent: Reducing the gap between the service providers and the end-users of those services by various means should be done. This results in bi-lateral communication leading to better understanding and resolving of issues. This increases the accountability of the city officials towards its citizens. Also, quick and real time response to problems by the city government is the key to address problems related to climate change. 4. Vertical and Horizontal Coordination: Coordination is connected both to the vertical and horizontal dimensions of governance. Effective coordination increases the capacity of the system to control the many actors within the policy area in a city. On the vertical dimension, coordination deals with hierarchical governance such as top-down and bottom-up approaches, national-state-city-wardneighbourhood coordination and decentralization, while on the horizontal dimension, coordination provides for bottom-up endeavours and co-governance. Hence, the vertical and horizontal coordination mechanism is imperative to having resilient governance. Moreover, in general, urban governance is talked for devolution of power and decentralization. This study has experienced that the intra-institutional, inter-sectoral and urban, peri-urban/rural coordination are very crucial for building urban climate change resilience and should be seen in a holistic manner.

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5. Ecosystem based resilience: Healthy, well-functioning ecosystems enhance natural resilience to the adverse impacts of climate change and reduce the vulnerability of people, especially children. The city systems are needed to be strengthened at both built infrastructure and green infrastructure. Ecosystem-based resilience building should be encouraged which uses biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall adaptation strategy to help people and communities adapt to the negative effects of climate change at local levels. The ecosystem services should include conservation of waterbodies, increasing the flood buffering capacity of the cities, conservation of open and green spaces, groundwater recharging mechanisms, inhibiting contamination of groundwater thereby maintaining a close link between the peri-urban and urban areas. 6. Governance issues: Duplication and fragmentation of roles between different institutions in control of resources, management of infrastructure and services currently constrain the urban governance system. These roles are unevenly spread across ULBs, para-statal organizations and the state governments resulting in inability of any agency to manage even simple services autonomously. Coherent action among policy makers, regulators and implementers and other stakeholders is a crucial issue limiting the good governance for climate resilience. The duplication and overlaps in these agencies can be resolved if the policies are formulated in way that the para-statal agencies operate under the guidance of the Municipal Corporations, especially on over-arching issues/sectors vulnerable to climate change. 7. Enforcement of Rules and Laws: The city development authorities need to work towards strict enforcement of rules and laws pertaining to increasing encroachment, illegal construction on green and open areas, informal settlements in river basin and low lying fragile areas, etc. Further, to promote adoption of resilient practices like adoption of rainwater harvesting systems, etc. the city government should implement attractive schemes which will work as motivation for the citizens to adopt such practices. The close collaboration of Development Authorities (Planning) and Municipalities (Execution) is urgently needed to be institutionalized. The Master Plans to be evolved with people’s participation and be made a public document for easy access by all. 8. Equitable and Inclusive: Coordination of informal institutions present in the cities like informed citizenry, community-based organizations, academicians, business-people, professionals and politicians also helps in facilitating good governance. Ownership of resources, ecosystems and services by the urban citizens helps in building resilience and ensures good governance. 9. Delineation of Wards: The conceptualization and delineation of wards should be on a geo-physical basis rather than on an administrative basis in the context of climate change and efficient service delivery. This can be treated as a long-term recommendation. 10. School curriculum: The school curriculum for children should include functional knowledge on urban climate change resilience and awareness on ecosystems around them, etc. It is also important that children are educated on local environmental issues so that they are part of environmental protection and contribute in strengthening green infrastructure of the city for enhancing resilience capacity. 11. Temporary schools: In areas impacted severely by climate change and disasters, which are mostly the unnerved areas too, there should be provision of temporary schools so that children of these areas too can get access to educational facilities. 12. Third Party Impact: In order to address the third party impacts on issues related to water, sanitation, sewerage, etc., zone as a unit (made on geo–physical) should be considered for planning rather than a ward. The solution for one area should not become problem for another area.

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13. Ward Autonomy and Physical location: Bringing governance at the door step of people through decentralization processes helps in improving effectiveness and efficiency of delivery of work and gives physical proximity to governance. Ward Corporators’ offices at Ward level itself is one of the mechanisms to be closely connected with the citizens. Area Sabhas and Ward Committees are needed to be strengthened on an urgent basis as per the spirit of 74th CAA and Community Participation Law. The formation of ward committees to be considered on a ward basis rather on a cluster of ward basis. In the longer term, neighbourhood level, ward level, zonal level and city level resource-linked planning should be initiated. 14. Use of science and technology in enhancing governance: Use of technology is crucial and should be adopted at planning, designing and monitoring levels for any development intervention. For instance, drainage planning on the basis of gradients, ward planning on the basis of climate threshold, mobilebased technology for monitoring, etc. has shown fruitful results and should be encouraged. It is important to flag here that any action on these conclusions can only be achieved with adequate financing for which budgets need to be allocated and spent in a timely manner. In specific locales and domains, like health or science and technology, partnerships with the private sector could be forged.

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Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group (GEAG) HIG 1/4, Siddharthpuram Taramandal Road Gorakhpur – 273 016 (U.P), India Phone: 0551-2230004, Fax: 0551-2230005 Email: [email protected], [email protected]

United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF House, 73 Lodi Estate New Delhi - 110003