Looking beyond the obvious, by Archana Sudheer


- Archana Sudheer

‘Oil on boil’ read the title of a newspaper article that caught my eye as I opened the paper early in the morning. Another write-up screamed, ‘Inflation on a 13-year high.’ Nothing unusual, right? All we hear these days are discussions on how to tackle the ever-increasing price-rise and how to survive on a fairly decent salary. But have we ever pondered how persons in the informal sector, especially those at the entry level, cope with these issues?

For instance, does anyone know that a cobbler in Amritsar (northern India) has to pay Rs 1,000 just to obtain just a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Municipal Town Planners?  And a dhaba (food court) owner in the same city has to procure an NOC from his neighbours as well as from the departments of Municipal Town Planner (MTP), the Fire Brigade, House Tax and Water Supply and Sewerage Department before he can even apply for a license? Coming to Thiruvananthapuram in the South, an interesting fact found is that although there is an existing plan, the renewal fees for most informal trades, and the licence fees for some, depend upon the annual income of shop!

Such details, not really known to the public, was brought to light by the Law, Liberty and Livelihood project, a study conducted by Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) and Centre for Civil Society (CCS). The project, which was aimed at documenting the livelihood regulations and entry level barriers in the informal sector, was conducted in 63 cities across India with the help of young interns. The study was funded by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), Mumbai.

The purpose of the study aimed at unveiling laws applicable to entry-level professions like cycle-rickshaw pullers, mobile and stationery street vendors, butchers, vegetable-sellers, and to document them with the effort to create public attention to issues faced by them.

Gone are the days when oblivion ruled the roost. It’s the age when information technology is at its best. There is the urge to know and understand more about the way we live and our role in the society. This study aimed to enlighten people on these informal sectors. The result of this study is an easy-to-access website that provides all required details on these sectors.

The internet, being an extremely accessible channel of information, is the means to get any message across to the people, especially the youth. Instead of going to government offices or shuttling through laws and by-laws to find out how these sectors function, all one needs to do is log on to our website for the same. The website will be launched soon.
The most important link in this project was the interns, who worked hard and studies these professions, thus fulfilling the purpose of the project. CPPR advertised this project and called for interns to help with it. The response was encouraging. From students to working persons, a large number of persons joined CPPR in their endeavour.

To stay focussed and output-oriented, CPPR gave the interns a list of informal sectors in their respective cities to choose from. Each intern was asked to provide details on five sectors. The interns worked in teams or individually, as suited those best. They contacted their respective Municipal/Cooperative office and collected copies of regulatory Acts, Laws, and Rules relevant to the identified sectors. They also assembled necessary documents related to legal procedures of the same.  Another important tool used by the interns was the Right to Information Act. Although some of them faced hurdles here as several government offices were not really responsive, it was a major success.

In short, the Law, Liberty and Livelihood project has been a successful endeavour that brings to light several facts that were hidden, or brushed aside, so that oblivion doesn’t lead to ignorance.

Archana is a Team Member of CPPR

-Posted on 14 Sep 2008