[Urbanstudy] making the urban poor poorer

[Bharati]

Dear All, 
 
A few of you may know about Chintan's work-we've been advocating for
inclusive waste management policies in India. By inclusive, we mean planning
for the participation of the informal recycling sector-wastepickers, kabaris
etc. It's not a small number-some data suggests that it comprises 1% of the
population of a city in the developing world.  Our central argument has been
that if they were well formulated, such policies could effectively address
both environemental sustainability and poverty alleviation in an
increasingly Urban India. Our report, "Wasting Our Local Resources" fleshes
out this argument with fascinating new global case studies. In a nutshell,
it argues that not only is economically and environmentally desirable, but
it's been done with success elsewhere. 
 
One reason why this report is particularly relevant is that we're seeing the
opposite take place all over India. From Delhi to Haridwar to Ajmer, waste
is being taken out of the hands of small entrepreurs and being handed over
through a series of ludicrous contracts (which demand nothing of knowledge
or expereince of the issue) to large companies who can control and invest
substantial capital. We believe that even Reliance has jumped into the
bandwagon! Me and my colleagues from other organzations and me have been
tracking this trend and are concerned about the impunity with which the
public interest has been overidden by the favours to a few private players. 
 
You can find the report on our home page, (our site is www.chintan-india.org
). If you'd like to be on our mailing list, let me know. If you'd like to be
engaged with the issue more actively, I'd be happy to put you in the loop of
what we do. It's urgent that we find a way to act decisively, because after
all, it's your waste that's been used to enhance environmental injustice. 
 
Best, 
 
Bharati 
 
 
 
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