NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN IN KARNATAKA AN OVERVIEW

Transcription

1 Chapter IV NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN IN KARNATAKA AN OVERVIEW The preceding chapter deals with the performance of NGOs in India, the present chapter analyses the NGOs and development of women in the State of Karnataka. The analysis starts with the category index of NGOs in Karnataka. 4.1 Introduction The profile of government-voluntary organization partnership followed much the same path in Karnataka. The recognition of the role of voluntary agencies in partnering government initiatives by the centre may have had some influence in the initiatives taken by the Government of Karnataka by bring several Non Governmental Organizations into major government sponsored programmes. Though this experience has been a mixed one, there is ample evidence that, on the whole, this collaboration between the public and voluntary (Non Governmental Organizations) sectors in development has helped to raise the ownership of people of these programmes and the quality of people s institutions that subsequently emerged. Karnataka enjoys the distinction of fostering a healthy relationship between the government and Non Governmental Organizations. Such partnerships are established in the hope of greater synergy and even though they may bring conflicts in their wake, Karnataka has chosen to manage these tensions, rather than abandoning Non Governmental Organizations partnerships altogether. Non Governmental Organizations are usually categorized according to their main activity. However, the history of Non Governmental Organizations shows that many Non Governmental Organizations start with a particular activity, but broaden their portfolio as they progressively respond to people s concerns, which are not compartmentalized. Most Non Governmental Organizations however, are mobilisers 142

2 of people and providers of services. From this basis, they move to catalyzing social and economic change and influencing gender relations. An analysis of the Directory of Voluntary Organisations in Karnataka, which brought out profiles of 530 Non Governmental Organizations, indicates that of the 530 Non Governmental Organizations surveyed, the largest numbers are engaged in development, followed by social service and health. Table 4.1 presents the data about the category index of Non Governmental Organizations in Karnataka. As per table 4.1 we may say that 530 NGOs are functioning mainly for development of the rural community. Table 4.1 Category Index of Non Governmental Organizations in Karnataka Main Category No. of Non Governmental Organizations Development 154 Social Service 118 Health and Rehabilitation 97 Law and Advocacy 47 Education 44 Environment 28 Support Organizations 27 Religion 1 Total 530 Source: Karnataka Human Development Report 2012,GOK. Graph 4.1 Category Index of Non Governmental Organizations in Karnataka 9% 5% 5% 0% 30% 9% 19% 23% Development Social Service Health and Rehabilitation Law and Advocacy Education Environment Support Organizations Religion Source : Table

3 In Karnataka the profile of government voluntary organization partnership followed much the same path. The recognition of the role of voluntary agencies in partnering government initiatives by the centre may have had some influence in the initiatives taken by the Govt. of Karnataka to bring several Non Governmental Organizations into major government sponsored programmes. Though this experience has been a mixed one, there is sample evidence that, on the whole, this collaboration between the public and voluntary (Non Governmental Organizations) sector in development has helped to raise the ownership of people of these programmes and the quality of people s institutions that subsequently emerged. One interesting feature of this process is that the government itself has promoted a number of Non Governmental Organizations registered under the Societies Registration Act. These institutions registered under the Societies Act. Almost all of these government sponsored societies have been promoted in the context of bilaterally and multilaterally funded programmes. Such organizations tend to further blur the profit of a voluntary organization. In reality, they are part of the implementing structure of government. It we add to these organizations set up by government, other charitable societies and trusts set up by business houses as well as educational institutions and hospitals, the character of a voluntary organization becomes further indeterminate. As a result, several of the problems that Non Governmental Organizations as commonly understood continue to face, arise from decision taken by government relating to taxation and other forms of control that are actually more appropriate to profit making societies like certain hospitals and educational institutions, but which by default, extend to all institutions, since they all fall under the umbrella category of registered societies. 4.2 The Government Approach to Non Governmental Organizations The Government of Karnataka s approach to voluntary agencies is conditioned very much by the position taken by the central government, mainly in the plan documents. Most of the plans focus on a board spectrum of voluntary 144

4 involvement. The Sixth Fiver Year Plan was the first to include a reference to the voluntary sector, even if it was only in the context of distinguishing such organizations from cooperatives and Panchayat Raj institutions, which are government sponsored. In the Tenth Plan Non Governmental Organizations are described as intermediary, not-for-profit institutions but they are referred to only twice; the space and attention given to the voluntary sector and really minimal. If is only in the 7 th Plan that there is an extensive discussion of the voluntary sector and Non Governmental Organizations which are generally understood to be notfor-profit, professional intermediary institutions which manage programmes in the area of economic and social development, engage in advocacy, welfare, rehabilitation and training. There Non Governmental Organizations are generally not membership institutions. They form one set of institutions, which are part of a broader portfolio, which include institutions like trade unions professional associations which are largely membership institutions. There is another category of institutions generally called community based organizations. Many Non Governmental Organizations are involved in building these community based institutions. Non-government is part of the long tradition of voluntarism in the country. Many voluntary organization received grants from the central and state governments to run orphanages homes for destitute women, hostels for working women s, primary and secondary schools and colleges. The focus of government of voluntary agency partnership was the management of institutions. 1 The recognition of the role of voluntary agencies in partnering government initiatives by the centre may have had some influence in the initiatives taken by the government of Karnataka to bring several Non Governmental Organizations into major government sponsored programmes. The details of the status of defaulting NGOs in Karnataka are presented in table

5 Sl. No Table 4.2 Status of Defaulting Non Governmental Organizations in Karnataka (as on May, 2013) Name of the NGOs B.R.Patil Education Society R.Gound gaon Bhagya Jyothi Rural Development Society Chinthalu Education And Rural Development Society Grama Vikas Society (GVS) Shri Sharanabasaveshwara Vidya Varddaka Sangha Society for Healt Activities & Development of Education(SAADE) Sri Ramakrishna Parama Hamsa Education Society Suray Rural Development Society Source: NABARD. Amount Released No. of Beneficiaries Repayment Status (as on ) Overdue Amount Rs.2,25,000/- 15 Rs.33,000/-(13.71) Rs.2,07,785/- Rs.2,25,000/- 15 Nil Rs.2,54,522/- Rs.5,00,000/- 20 Nil Rs.5,58,928/- Rs.4,40,000/- 30 Rs.39,000/-(7.94%) Rs.4,51,955/- Rs.5,00,000/- 20 Rs.83,751/- (15.03%) Rs.4,73,403/- Rs.2,00,000/- 10 Rs.10,000/-(4.57%) Rs.2,08,891/- Rs.1,00,000/- 10 Rs.10,000/(8.85%) Rs.1,02,958/- Rs.50,000/- 5 Nil Rs.55,838/- Over the years there have been many significant changes in the spectrum of Non Governmental Organizations activities. Their traditional roles in welfare and service programmes are being strongly supplemented with many developmental activities. However, there are some apparent shortcomings evident in the Non Governmental Organizations strategies. The challenges are, therefore, to identify these shortcomings that would enable one to bridge the gap between the current crisis and sustainable development. The details of country-wise foreign contribution received by NGOs in Karnataka during are presented in table 4.3. During NGOs in Karnataka received Rs. 13, lakhs from different countries. Out of this the major share received from United States of America. i.e., Rs lakhs followed by Germany Rs lakhs. 146

6 Table 4.3 Country wise Foreign Contribution Receied by Non Governmental Organizations in Karnataka During Country Amount (in lakhs) India United States of America Germany Netherlands United Arab Emirates Italy Indonesia United Kingdom Canada France Spain Hong Kong Switzerland Austria Sweden Australia Others (Tibet) Netherlands Antilles Chile Singapore Taiwan Liechtenstein Ireland Denmark Hungary Nigeria Swaziland Bangladesh Belgium Philippines 9.39 Portugal 7.47 Finland

7 Kenya 4.96 Kuwait 3.40 Barbados 2.80 Japan 1.94 Thailand 1.89 New Zealand 1.71 Afghanistan 1.17 Mauritius 0.99 Malaysia 0.81 Brazil 0.58 Bhutan 0.56 Saudi Arabia 0.48 China 0.45 Norway 0.39 Jamaica 0.13 Qatar 0.05 Poland 0.05 Total 13, Source: Karnataka Human Development Report,GOK. 4.3 Social Marketing and Types of Non Governmental Organizations Social marketing is a relatively new discipline that is still evolving. It deals with the application of marketing principles and practices to social development issues involving behavioural changes among communities towards better health and improved economic status. The origins of social marketing can be traced to 1969, when marketing scholars, notably Philip Kotler and Sidney Levy, conceived the idea of applying commercial marketing principles to non-commercial organizations. Prior to this, marketing was perceived as a pure economic activity, which provided goods and services to consumers for generating profit. However, it also led to some confusion regarding the true identity of marketing. While one school of thought represented by Kotler and Levy defined marketing as a technology, others defined it in terms of the class of behaviour towards which it was directed (Luck & Bartels1974). 148

8 This broadened view of marketing was termed by Kotler (1972) as Consciousness, to describe the progression of marketing to a field that included an organization s relationship with all its stakeholders and not just its consumers. Kotler described consciousness 1 as a view of marketing that was restricted to market transactions as a business subject and Consciousness 2 as a slightly broader view that perceived marketing as comprising non-monetary organization-client transactions. The coinage of the term social marketing was suggested by Kotler and Gerald Zaltman (1971), when they examined the possibility of applying the technology of marketing to social issues. At the same time, Kotler and Levy, who first conceived the idea, proposed doing away with the term market altogether, on the grounds that there had been a furthering, rather than a broadening of the field. However, the idea of furthering did not catch on in marketing academic circles and the term social marketing came to be accepted without much debate. Social marketing has gained popularity ever since has been widely researched and taught, especially in the west. Social marketing has been carried out by commercial and non-profit organizations alike. In recent years, Non Governmental Organizations have grown not only in numbers, but also in terms of the sheer54diversity of activities in which they are involved. Different criteria for classifying Non Governmental Organizations have been suggested by researchers and scholars Grassroots Non Governmental Organizations As the name suggests, grassroots Non Governmental Organizations are those that work closely with sections of society. They vary both in size and geographical spread and may cover a single programmes location, or multiple programmes locations at the district, state or regional level. Based on their orientation, grassroots Non Governmental Organizations in turn may be divided into the following sub categories. These sub categories are similar to the types of Non Governmental Organizations suggested by Cousins William. a) Charity and welfare Non Governmental Organizations include those that provide food, clothing, medicine, etc. to the poor, education, health 149

9 and drinking water facilities and relief work during natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes. b) Development Non Governmental Organizations are those that are involved in providing development services such as micro credit, fertilizers and technical knowhow. c) Social action groups are Non Governmental Organizations that focus on mobilizing and increasing the awareness of marginalized sections regarding various social, political and economic issues. For example, the Young India Programmes in Andhra Pradesh is involved in mobilizing agricultural labourers for the effective implementation of land reforms. d) Empowerment Non Governmental Organizations are similar to social action groups, except that they also undertake development activities such as provision of savings and credit for the empowerment of the poorer sections of society. For example, MYRADA utilizes credit management groups for social and political empowerment. Grama, a Karnataka based Non Governmental Organizations provides savings and credit, and enables the people they work with to obtain resources from the government. It also mobilizes them around issues such as antiarrack. While the first two sub categories of Non Governmental Organizations receive the full support of the government, the last two namely, the social action groups and the empowerment Non Governmental Organizations do not. This is because their efforts to mobilize underprivileged groups and enable them to assert their rights by raising their awareness of social and political issues sometimes do not synchronize with the aims and policies of the government Globalization and Non Governmental Organizations The advent of globalization has triggered the worldwide growth of civil society organizations in general and Non Governmental Organizations in particular (Brown, David et al, 2000). However, their impact in different countries 150

10 has not been uniform and has been influenced to a large extent by the degree of openness to globalization and its implications. International Non Governmental Organizations and civil society alliances have been actively involved in disaster relief, service delivery and policy analysis. They have also been playing an increasing role in international policy debates that affect the institutions for international governance. Omana, Julius (2005) 4 has emphasized the importance of the role played by Non Governmental Organizations in an environment of conflict where traditional systems such as the government break down. He cites the case study of civil society organizations in war-ravaged Gulu District of Northern Uganda. He argues that the situation in Northern Uganda is representative of war torn environments in other developing countries, notably Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia and Congo. He points to the failure of the government as well as the private sector in such environments in providing services to the people and to the potential of the third sector to fill the breach. Omana visualizes a role for civil society organizations, including Non Governmental Organizations in such environments, in three major areas a) In providing essential goods and services b) In restoring peace and in advocating human rights and c) in developing infrastructure. Civil society organizations, according to him, are more visible than the government, due to their participatory methods of intervention. This approach implies working closely with beneficiaries, building trust, creating transparency and making Non Governmental Organizations more recipient-friendly. Omana calls upon governments in such conflict environments to support the efforts of Non Governmental Organizations and to create a favorable policy environment that will facilitate their growth. At the same time, civil society organizations need to strengthen themselves by building cooperation and partnerships among themselves and with the government. 151

11 The table 4.4 depicts the member of SHGs formed by selected NGOs in Karnataka from to During NGOs formed 713 SHGs, after it has been gradually increased 2420 SHGs in Karnataka. At present there are 9243 SHGs formed by NGOs. Table- 4.4 Number of SHGs formed by Selected NGOs (in Nos.) District Total Average Belgaum Bijapur Chickmagalur Chitradurga Davangere Dharwad Haveri Koppal Shimoga Total Source: NABARD, Bangalore Graph 4.2 Number of SHGs formed by Selected NGOs (Average) y = -5.4x R² = Average Linear (Average) Source : Table Non Governmental Organizations and Social Capital Non Governmental Organizations are an important part of the social capital of any community. Non Governmental Organizations are primarily engaged in 152

12 community driven development, which involves working closely with the poor and empowering them with a view to facilitate poverty reduction. According to Poteete, Amy (2003), community driven development brings about empowerment by building effective social institutions, which form the social capital of the community. Poteete, Amy (2003) uses the term social capital to refer to dimensions of social organization that generate multiple horizontal linkages and foster the development of social trust, collective reciprocity and tolerance. High levels of social capital are expected to facilitate provision of public goods and services and contribute to community well being. 4.7 Non Governmental Organizations in Micro Finance Micro finance operations of Indian Non Governmental Organizations began in a small way and later grew into a large-scale operation. Initially, only the savings of members of the Self Help Groups were used to meet the credit requirements of the other members. Since this was sufficient only to meet consumption credit needs, the Non Governmental Organizations gradually began to raise funds from outside donors through agencies such as NABARD. With the SHG linkage programme introduced in 1992, the Non Governmental Organizations sector has been recognised as a crucial partner. Recognising the strengths of the Non Governmental Organizations in organising the community and the potential in savings and credit programmes, NABARD also started associating with them increasingly. Micro finance programmes, introduced and extended by Non Governmental Organizations in several parts of India have the potential to minimize the problems of inadequate access to the poor. The Indian government formulated several schemes to support micro finance programs initiated by Non Governmental Organizations through NABARD, Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) and SIDBI. The Non Governmental Organizations became prominent, especially after 1970s. This was because of the limited success in development policies pursued by the government. After independence, a change in the perception on development and also the role of Non Governmental 153

13 Organizations in rural development took place. In 1950s and 1960s, it was assumed that the economic growth through state investment in social sector was the answer to poverty. This was accompanied by welfare programme for poor people. Non Governmental Organizations were approached by different state governments and aid agencies to assist in the implementation of these community development and welfare programmes, especially in the rural areas.during the 1960s, it was found that economic growth combined with welfare activities at the micro level was not adequate to alleviate poverty. Hence, the Indian government initiated small and marginal farmer development programmes with a view to alleviate poverty. The government wanted to enlist support of the local population for these programmes and called up many Non Governmental Organizations. By 1990s, significant developments started taking place in India and across the world. Non Governmental Organizations have become popular with government and aid agencies in response to certain developments in socio- economic and political Non Governmental Organizations Participation in SHG-Bank Linkage in Karnataka In Karnataka Non Governmental Organizations are playing predominant role in promoting SHGs. Non Governmental Organizations helping SHGs bygiving proper traing to the SHG members regarding account maintenance conducting meetings, framing by laws and bank linkage etc. The details of NGOs participation in SHG Bank Linkage in Karnataka are presented in Table 4.5. Table 4.5 Non Governmental Organizations Participation in SHG-Bank Linkage in Karnataka (in Percentage) Name of District the NGOs Outreach Bagaltot Scord Bangalore Urban Dhan Foundation Bangalore Rural RDS Belgaum Sahayog Bidar NAFARD Bijapur IDMPS Chamarajnagar Navodaya Chikkaballapure

14 Help & Gram Chitradurga GVS Dhavanagere IDS Dharwad SKDRDP D.Kannada & Udapi Parvathi Gadag NKRDS Gulbarga Prachodana Hassan Parivarthana Haveri Prachodana Kodagu SIRDS Kolar Olekar Koppal Vikarana Mandya Prerana Raichur Parivarthana Shivamoga BAIF, BIRDS, Total Source: NABARD, Bangalore. Graph 4.3 Non Governmental Organizations Participation in SHG-Bank Linkage in Karnataka (in Percentage for the Year 2013) y = 0.108x R² = Outreach Scord Dhan Foundation RDS Sahayog NAFARD IDMPS Navodaya Help & Gram GVS IDS SKDRDP Parvathi NKRDS Prachodana Parivarthana Prachodana SIRDS Olekar Vikarana Prerana Parivarthana BAIF, BIRDS, Linear ( ) Source : Table 4.5 As per the above table 4.4 from the majority of Non Governmental Organizations are concentrated in Dakshina Kannada that is 58 Percent in , 57 percent in and 24 percent in respectively. This is efficient work of resource Non Governmental Organizations namly SKDRDP (Sri Kshetra Dharmastala Rural Development Programme). Apart from 155

15 D.Kannada such as Hassan, Mandya, Mysore, Tumkur and Shivamoga also have achieved good progress in Karnataka, hence the percentageof Non Governmental Organizations were decreased from 58 to Percent in the year 2003 to Non Governmental Organizations Poverty Alleviation Strategies Indian Non Governmental Organizations have been playing a prominent role in the empowerment of poor women, livelihood security and capacity building. However, the efforts of Indian Non Governmental Organizations to reduce poverty have had limited success, since they have been unable to tackle the root causes of poverty, namely lack of assets and unemployment. The same is true of local organizations, such as schools, banks, co-operatives and gram panchayats. A study by Rajasekhar, D (2004) revealed the constraints within which Non Governmental Organizations have had to work - lack of technical and political capacity, managerial expertise, trained staff and infrastructure. It was also found that the main obstacle faced by Non Governmental Organizations in their efforts to alleviate poverty was the fact that they have had to work in isolation, due to weak support from local organizations. Non Governmental Organizations have been successful in persuading members of the SHGs to take up creative activities, supported by micro credit. However, they have not been able to derive the benefits because of poor marketing effort. For example, one Non Governmental Organizations in Karnataka encouraged its members to take up basket making, with the objective of getting them to market the finished products. This affected their incomes from the activity and their ability to repay their loans. 6 Rajasekhar, D (2000) has listed out the advantages and disadvantages of Non Governmental Organizations. Empowerment and development Non Governmental Organizations undertake activities based on studies to determine who the poorer sections are, the reasons for poverty and the strategies to be adopted to reduce poverty. Based on these studies, they help the poor to articulate their concerns and address their problems. They are also more flexible in terms of their functioning, methods and 156

16 practices, since they are small in size and have local coverage. A few surveys among Karnataka based Non Governmental Organizations revealed that a majority of them covered only one or two taluks in a district (Rajasekhar, D, 2000). This makes it easier for them to implement and monitor their programs, respond quickly to local needs and change their working styles according to the needs of the local community. The small staff strength also enables better coordination. Empowerment and development Non Governmental Organizations use innovative and participatory approaches, whereby they involve the local communities with which they work. A good example is that of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, whose innovative credit program is implemented by both developed and developing countries. Another example worthy of mention is the Credit Management Program of MYRADA, whose innovative approach inspired other Non Governmental Organizations, as well as the NABARD to introduce similar programs. Similarly, MYRADA and the Centre for Appropriate Technology (CAT), based in Tamil Nadu also adopted innovative approaches to watershed and dry land development. Regarding the use of participatory approaches, several Non Governmental Organizations have successfully adapted participatory methods such as Participatory Rural Appraisal and Participatory Learning and Action and used them for their own benefit. As a result of people s participation, they have been able to make their programs more cost effective. Development and empowerment Non Governmental Organizations enjoy greater autonomy than other Non Governmental Organizations, since they have independent governing boards. People s participation in their programs also makes the development and implementation of their programs independent of the local power structures. 7 According to Rajasekhar (2000), Non Governmental Organizations have comparative advantages over the government and government agencies. For example, they have shown their potential to reach out more effectively to the poorer sections, compared to government programs. They have been especially successful in increasing the productivity of assets and labor, creating greater marketing opportunities for milk, handicrafts and other products and providing greater access to basic amenities such as food, water, health and education facilities. 157

17 Rajasekhar diagnoses that Non Governmental Organizations are more motivated and committed than most government agencies. His view is based on a comparative study of programs undertaken by the government and an Non Governmental Organizations to benefit small farmers in Mangalore district in Karnataka (Kothai, 1994). The Non Governmental Organizations program scored over the government program in terms of problem definition, design, implementation and evaluation, training given to farmers, coordination and follow up activities. Other similar comparative studies in Karnataka have also led to the same conclusion The Karnataka Watershed Development Programmes (KWDP) The Karnataka Watershed Development Programmes (KWDP), known locally as Sujala, ran from , and was implemented in seven districts of Karnataka at cost of $US79m of which $US4.1m was funded through Non Governmental Organizations to develop SHGs. The programmes covered 516,000 hectares of land spread over 77 sub-watersheds, 1270 villages benefiting nearly 400,000 households. The programmes objective was to improve the productive potential of selected watersheds and their associated natural resource base. It is also to strengthen community and institutional arrangements, promote participatory involvement of primary stakeholders/beneficiaries and offer assistance to women, landless and other vulnerable groups by supporting investments in income generation activities to accelerate their entry and expand their participation (Milne 2007; World Bank 2009). 8 There were 53 Non Governmental Organizations used as implementing partners, responsible for the local community mobilizing of SHGs and also ensuring that some of the local infrastructure work was completed on schedule. This work typically involved arranging community meetings to agree on work plans and most importantly the payment of labour costs to communities on the completion of work. Given that the programmes, though ostensibly participatory, was planned with very tight output schedules and plans, for which Non Governmental Organizations were paid against (World Bank 2009), these Non Governmental Organizations were under much pressure to meet targets and provide detailed reports on output. 158

18 The programmes also had an accelerated implementation schedule between each of the three phases over the life of the programmes. As the volume of work expected to be undertaken increased with the second phase of the programmes, tensions emerged with the Karnataka government, who felt that they should have closer control of the process. The result was a dispute in which many of the Non Governmental Organizations were not reimbursed for the work undertaken. For some this was up to a year while they covered the staff costs pending reimbursement. In 2009 many of the 53 Non Governmental Organizations were still owed money for the staff and other costs they had incurred. While the World Bank saw the performance-based contracting system as a success (World Bank 2009), the local Non Governmental Organizations were the main losers. The reason for the dispute, which had adversely affected many Non Governmental Organizations, can be explained in terms of the institutional politics of these loan programmess whereby funds are lent to the central government, which are then lent on to the state government. As these programmess are loan programmess for a social or environmental purpose, and will not generate direct revenue that can be used to repay the loans themselves, the government has to find the funds for repayment from other sources. As there is no financial benefit, the incentive then is for the government to gain political capital from these programmess in the form of control and prestige. This, however, may not accord with sustainability and equity goals underpinning the programmess, or most importantly, having Non Governmental Organizations involvement in them (Fernandez 2004). Non Governmental Organizations, many of whom had a tradition of community consultation and longer-term approaches, could therefore be put under pressure from either the World Bank or the government to meet unrealistic expenditure and output targets that have limited outcomes, certainly in the short term, with poorer communities. For example, in the KWDP, while the original objective was for 70 per cent of the beneficiaries to be poor and marginal farmers, at programmes completion the figure was less than half that (World Bank 2009). 159

19 These poorly planned donor requirements created conflict for the Non Governmental Organizations concerned, particularly with their values and the aid recipients, and ultimately it soured the relationships Non Governmental Organizations had, both with the World Bank and the partner governments. The effect of these fundamental institutional changes being faced by Indian Non Governmental Organizations was that their role changed from that of being development organizations supported by Non Governmental Organizations with a more hands-off approach, to being social welfare agents for the government where the Non Governmental Organizations were expected to be implementers of government programmes on more or less a fee-for-service basis with high levels of government control (Baruah 2007). While the demands of INon Governmental Organizations to some extent involved compromises or small shifts in local Non Governmental Organizations values, the domestic government programmes presented much greater challenges. While there were still opportunities for local activities and rights-based work or work aimed at the very poor, the resourcing of these programmes required a greater level of innovation and skills that was beyond the capacity of many local Non Governmental Organizations. 9 Karnataka, located in southern India, in 2005 had a population of 53 million and, along with its neighbouring states, is where most of the dynamic growth of India is located. There had been substantial changes in the social indicators for India as a whole, and Karnataka and Southern India in particular, since the 1990s. The figure for poverty in 2005 for Karnataka was 25 per cent, which was below the national average of 27.5 per cent, and the poverty level for rural areas was 21 per cent (Planning Commission 2007a). This level of poverty represented a sharp fall from a high of 30 per cent in the mid 1990s (Census Commissioner 2002; Chelliah and Sudarshan 1999). This shift in the level of poverty also represented a shift in the poverty demographic from rural areas to urban areas. It should be noted, though, that the urban poverty line was at the time 65 per cent higher than the rural poverty line, and there was some debate about the relevant price movements and calculation of the indices that were used to validate that result (Murgai et al. 2003). Regardless of these debates, two-thirds of the 160

20 population was in rural areas and this was where most of the poor were until the early 2000s. The sharp fall in the poverty levels can, however, hide higher levels of poverty among certain groups in rural areas, and a relatively high level of inequality and depth of poverty across the state. For example, the income level of the average poor person was a full 8 per cent below the poverty line, a statistic that points to a high level of marginalization and poor prospects of many of the poor that were coming out of poverty, without focused interventions (Directorate of Economics and Statistics 2009). Dalits and agricultural labourers were the largest groups of rural poor, and represented 25 per cent of the poor in rural areas. The poverty figure for dalits in rural Karnataka showed the effect of marginalization and caste, with poverty levels for dalits being around double those of the general population when their share of the overall population was taken into account. On top of this 20 per cent of the rural population did not have access to safe water, and 54 per cent of children were undernourished (Chelliah and Sudarshan 1999; Das 2005; Filmer et al. 1998; PRIA 2005). Women in Karnataka, as in the rest of India, were significantly disadvantaged relative to men on any measure of poverty or marginalization. Women had a low workforce participation rate of 35 per cent (Das 2005) and were found largely in unskilled low-end jobs such as agricultural labour, where they constituted 60 per cent of the agricultural labour force, but only 30 per cent of cultivators (that is, being able to own the harvest either as a farmer or sharecropper) (Das 2005). In agriculture there had been a feminization of agricultural labour, with casual labour (mainly undertaken by women) rising from 39 per cent in 1994 to 45 per cent in The Indian government had for some time recognized that women were a particularly disadvantaged group and had been targeting them through government programmes since the 1970s and 1980s, focusing on the underlying causes of women s disadvantage (Viswanath 1993). Taking a lead from government at that time, Non Governmental Organizations also started to focus more on women s programmes, and in the 1980s and 1990s 161

21 women s empowerment programmes sponsored and supported by Non Governmental Organizations emerged Non Governmental Organizations and Wide Range of Activities Karnataka has an active and heterogeneous voluntary sector that is involved in a wide range of activities. It also has a large number of rural development oriented Non Governmental Organizations. As of1995, the number of active Non Governmental Organizations engaged in rural development was estimated to be around 500 (Rajasekhar, ). One of these, the Mysore Resettlement and Development Agency(MYRADA) is one of the largest rural development Non Governmental Organizations in India with an estimated budget of around Rs. 200 million and staff strength of According to the Planning Commission Non Governmental Organizations Database, Karnataka also has a large number of Non Governmental Organizations that work in the areas of social justice and empowerment and a number of NGO headquarters and urban oriented Non Governmental Organizations, based mostly in Bangalore. A number of international donors also have their regional offices in Bangalore. Some Non Governmental Organizations are part of State and District level networks, both formal and informal. According to Non Governmental Organizations Database during 2004, Planning Commission, Government of India, 33%of the total numbers of Non Governmental Organizations in Karnataka were involved in rural development, followed by30% in social justice and empowerment, as of December With the decentralization of government and greater power given to the Panchayati Raj in Karnataka, Non Governmental Organizations relationship with the government has changed. During the Panchayati Raj elections in 2003, Non Governmental Organizations in Karnataka were actively involved in spreading information about the Panchayati Raj system, voter education, encouraging their beneficiaries to vote in the elections and training PR functionaries. The details of state funded NGO distribution by sector in Karnataka and India are presented in table

22 142 Rural Development Table 4.6 State Funded NGOs Distribution by Sector, Karnataka and India Human Resource & Development Social Justice & Empowerment 2012 Karnataka Health & Family Welfare Environment & Forests Youth Affairs & Sports State & UT funding Tribal Affairs NABARD Others TOTAL Total Number Percent of Total India Total Number 6,467 2,074 2,944 1, ,445 Percent of Total Karnataka Total Number Percent of Total India Total Number 6,541 2,074 2, ,797 Percent of Total Source: NGO Database, Planning Commission,Government of India, Notes: 1. Includes NGOs funded by the state. Not preclude organizations receiving funding from several sources, including foreign donors 2. "Others" includes Labour, Nonconventional Energy production, Textiles, Science and technology, Agriculture, Road Transport and Highways, Statistics and Program Implementation in February By December 2004, it included three other categories: small scale industries, computer & IT. 163

23 The profile of government-voluntary organization partnership followed much the same path in Karnataka. The recognition of the role of voluntary agencies in partnering government initiatives by the centre may have had some influence in the initiatives taken by the Government of Karnataka by bring several Non Governmental Organizations into major government sponsored programmes. Though this experience has been a mixed one, there is ample evidence that, on the whole, this collaboration between the public and voluntary (NGO) sectors in development has helped to raise the ownership of people of these programmes and the Karnataka enjoys the distinction of fostering a healthy relationship between the government and Non Governmental Organizations. Such partnerships are established in the hope of greater synergy and even though they may bring conflicts in their wake, Karnataka has chosen to manage these tensions, rather than abandoning NGO partnerships altogether. Non Governmental Organizations are usually categorized according to their main activity. However, the history of Non Governmental Organizations shows that many Non Governmental Organizations start with a particular activity, but broaden their portfolio as they progressively respond to people s concerns, which are not compartmentalized. Most Non Governmental Organizations however, are mobilisers of people and providers of services. From this basis, they move to catalyzing social and economic change and influencing gender relations. An analysis of the Directory of Voluntary Organisations in Karnataka, which brought out profiles of 530 Non Governmental Organizations, indicates that of the 530 Non Governmental Organizations surveyed, the largest numbers are engaged in development, followed by social service and health. The some of the main Non Governmental Organizations in Karnataka are; 4.12 Chinyard Chinyard (Chaitanya Institute for Youth and Rural Development) was established in 1990 and by 2008 it was working with 2537 active SHGs with 48,000 members (CARE 2009), with new groups being added each year. In the 1990s the support for Chinyard s establishment came first from another local Non Governmental Organization, Indian Development Service, and then the Hyderabad office of an InternationalNGO with offices in India provided funding 164

24 to support Chinyard being reorganized and registered under the FCRA to receive foreign funds. Despite the success of its earlier work, Chinyard had to deal with a number of institutional setbacks in the early 2000s, which are to do with the problem that many small locally based Non Governmental Organizations have, and that is their dependency on one funding source for their core costs and the high level of vulnerability this can bring. In this case the sole INGO funder ceased funding Chinyard in 2000 as a result of a policy to move its work to concentrate on the poorer northern states of India. This left Chinyard having to seek other supporters. The effect on the staff was devastating, with staff numbers falling from a high of 30 permanent staff in 2000 to seven in 2005, as the organization struggled with one-off support from donors over many years, as well as involvement in the Karnataka Watershed Development Programmes and the institutional vulnerability that brought. It was not until Chinyard met the requirements for microfinance accreditation in 2007 that staff numbers were able to increase, to the point when there was 25 staff in As a result of Chinyard s loss of international donors to support its work, from 2000 it adopted a strategy of increasing its microfinance work and diversifying its funding sources. In 2002 Chinyard became a partner in the KWDP, with its role programmes being to expand its SHG programme and engage them in specific income generation and watershed management activities. At the peak of the Programmes work there were 40 staff working for Chinyard, but due to the change in policy of the Karnataka government in working with Non Governmental Organizations and its failure to reimburse the programme after the change, the programme collapsed as far as Non Governmental Organizations were concerned, and Chinyard was still owed Rs 800,000 (US$20,000) in As a result Chinyard accelerated its application for microfinance registration and was registered as a microfinance institution in This enabled it to lend to self-help groups as an agent to the State Bank of India, which was different from its previous work where it facilitated the links with banks rather than act as an agent for them. 165

25 The advantage of registration was that it was able to increase the scale of the work considerably, and receive a commission for managing the loans. The loan disbursement rates for Chinyard managed funds grew quite quickly, going from Rs.395,000 (US$8,000) in 2006 when they had only provisional accreditation, to Rs.3.2m (US$64,000) in 2008 when they were fully accredited. By 2009 they had agreements to manage more than Rs.20m (US$0.4m) over three years from the State Bank of India, and were expected to receive over time further Rs.200m (US$4m) from the Department of Women and Children to lend for microenterprise programmess for women. Details of NGOs own funds let to SHGs from to are presented in table-4.7. During NGOs lent funds of Rs lakhs to SHGs in Karnataka. After NGOs funds to SHGs are gradually increased up to As on the amount of funds lent by NGOs is Rs lakhs. Districts Table- 4.7 Non Governmental Organizations Own Funds Lent to SHGs (Rs. in lakhs) Total Average Belgaum Bijapur Chickmagalur Chitradurga Davangere Dharwad Haveri Koppal Shimoga Total Source: NGOs Accounting. 166

26 Graph 4.4 Non Governmental Organizations Own Funds Lent to SHGs (Average) y = x R² = Average Linear (Average) Source: Table-4.7 For the SHG programme, the criteria Chinyard had for recipients of the microfinance programme was for a strong poverty focus, with a requirement that SHG members be categorized as below the poverty line (BPL) in order to qualify for assistance. In 2009 Chinyard had lent to Rs 15m to 257 SHGs, with Rs 500,000 being repaid and a repayment rate of 95 per cent. While Chinyard had an established set of procedures for loan recovery, and up to 2009 this had worked quite well with none of its loan portfolio classed as at risk in 2008 (CARE 2009), this type of operation still had considerable risks as any default had to be covered by the NGO. The margin that Chinyard receives to cover their operational costs from the Bank is 3 per cent on the loan with another 1 percent allowed as an administration fee. This represented a very tight margin for which even a 5 percent default rate would not be sustainable over time. In order to cover the institutional costs to transform itself into a microfinance institution, Chinyard received Rural Non Governmental Organizations 53 institutional support from a US Foundation focused on India that supported entrepreneurship. Chinyard had also set up a number of village forest committees as a part of community-based management of natural resources and several vermin (worm based) compost units as a part of its sustainable agriculture programme (Wiserearth 2005). They had also applied for support for a small-scale (irrigation) tank rehabilitation 167

27 programme where they hoped to be able to tap into the village SHG resources, to provide labour as a complement to their microfinance programme. Up to the 2000s the work of Chinyard dealt primarily with microfinance and resource management, total health, violence against women and micro-enterprise development, with the largest programme by far being microfinance through the SHGs. The challenge it had for the future was that as external funding had dried up it had to secure a stable programme and avoid the institutional disruptions that occurred in the early 2000s, which saw it both losing its main donors and being involved in the rather insecure World Bank funded Karnataka Watershed Development Programmes. This period saw staff numbers rise and then fall very sharply, leading to a very insecure institutional environment. The other critical issue was the role a single donor can play in programme development and programme strategy for a small Non Governmental Organizations. While there is a place for donors in having a strong dialogue and establishing joint priorities, the power relationship that funding brought at that time left Chinyard in a weak bargaining position, with the feeling that it had to take up the programmes of the donor India Development Service (IDS) IDS located in Dharwad, it was started in 1974 by non-resident Indians living in Chicago, USA to fundraise to support development work in India. In 1977 two members of IDS from Chicago, S. R. Hiremath and his wife Shyamala, visited India to identify suitable programme areas, with the intention of developing their own operations rather than funding other Non Governmental Organizations, which they had been doing up to that time. They decided that Dharwad would be suitable and settled there in 1979, registering IDS in India in the same year. Over the following twenty years they built up IDS into a strong local Non Governmental Organization, but then started to withdraw from the day-to-day operations in the late 1990s to take on predominantly a governance role. The goal of IDS has remained a commitment to the economic and social development of India through the development of people. In 2009 IDS had a highly committed and experienced staff complement of 43, somewhat down from the peak of