Street vendors rehabilitated under NULM

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Sep 9, 2015 ;  According to reports, MCC Community Affairs Officer Malini Rodrigues said Mangaluru City Corporation is putting in effort to rehabilitate street vendors in the city limits under National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM). Accordingly, under the NULM of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA), the MCC has identified 208 street vendors in the city.

Identity cards were issued to at least 165 street vendors. The remaining  vendors  failed to furnish details of their family and address. Hence, there has been delay in issuing the ID cards to all the identified street vendors. The street vendors were identified after conducting a survey. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation provides financial help to the street vendors to take up self-employment. The scheme also provides skill development and self-employment training to BPL’s those below the poverty line and will also aid in the formation of regional or city-level federations within city corporation limits.


Mayor Jacintha Vijaya Alfred said that as per the direction of the Supreme Court, in the first phase ID cards had been issued to the street vendors by identifying them. In the next phase, a place will be identified for the street vendors to carry out their business.    The NULM is actually an improved version of the earlier poverty alleviation programme for the urban poor titled SJSRT - Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana.  Under the revised programme, the urban poor especially women, will be organised into self-help groups (SHGs), while infrastructure and trained manpower will be provided to upgrade their skills in keeping with the requirements of the market. In addition, beneficiaries will be helped to avail loans if anybody wants to set up his or her own enterprises.

Women in cities were organised into credit-based SHGs to meet their financial and social needs. The concept has been borrowed from the rural areas where this experiment has been proved to be extremely beneficial, Jacintha said.  The SHGs are small groups of 10-20 women. These groups are an effective mechanism to improve the livelihood by saving money. They are also engaged in lending loans to the members in case of emergency. They are a support system for women to increase self empowerment. In Mangaluru, 66 SHGs were formed during last year and 50 SHGs during the financial year. 

Under the NULM, also  skill development training is imparted to selected beneficiaries hailing from marginalised  family. The target for 2015-16 is 550 beneficiaries. The Directorate of Municipal Administration is to issue guidelines. Last year, 995 beneficiaries were imparted training in vehicle driving, fashion designing, foundation for jewellery, baking and processed food making, beautician, manufacture of envelopes, donnas, plates, hand embroidery/zardoshi work, accounting and tally, computer fundamentals, MD office, DTP, soft skills, spoken English and communication skills and so on.