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Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We, at South Goa Public Interest Action Group (SGPIAG) a registered NGO based in Margao,Salcete, South Goa District ,with jurisdiction, at present, over the entire South Goa District, wish to invite the kind attention of all NGO's and well meaning citizens of Goa India to a "Draft National Rural Housing and Habitat Policy 2006 " a proposal to be put up to the Government of India Facilitated by South Asia Regional Knowledge Platform. The draft was earlier developed at the workshop held at New Delhi on 23rd February 2006 ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT A house with basic amenities of water, sanitation and domestic energy, offering a sense of privacy, safety and dignity is the right of every individual in society. Facilities of education, health and child care, and special opportunities for income generation are essential to the growth and well being of a productive society, and form a part of human habitat. It is the responsibility of a society to ensure that basic human rights and equity of opportunities for growth are available to all citizens. As a nation, we give our selves policies to create conditions that cause the realisation of rights and equitable access to opportunities for all. The National Habitat Policy over the decades, has sought to achieve the aim of adequate habitat (shelter) for all. It has undergone many revisions to suit national priorities and changing macro - social and economic conditions. The last National Habitat Policy of 1998, although comprehensive, could not provide adequate direction especially to rural areas in the absence of a focus on the distinct concerns and needs of these areas. The new Draft National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy attempts to tackle urban habitat issues. The country now needs a Rural Housing and Habitat Policy based on the special character, priorities and potential of rural India in order that Rural Habitat concerns are adequately and realistically addressed. Considering its backward forward linkages to the overall economy, it is essential that rural habitat development be seen in the context of rural poverty alleviation. The Bharat Nirman Program and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) are steps in this direction. In order that positive movements are reinforced and peoples investments are harnessed towards an integrated rural development process, it is essential that we give ourselves a National Rural Habitat Policy that will promote conditions to facilitate the creation of sustainable habitat and livelihood in rural areas. basin-South Asia Regional Knowledge Platform (basin-SA) has undertaken a small initiative to bring together ideas, opinions and successful methodologies of different stakeholders to inform the development of the National Rural Housing and Habitat Policy. The dialogue was triggered by research and documentation supported by the Building and Social Housing Foundation, UK and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. In this process, intensive research and consultations with practitioners and policy makers across the country were carried out to form an understanding of rural conditions, strengths, needs and potential for large scale development of habitat and livelihoods in rural areas. The process resulted in the development of a Framework for a Rural Habitat Policy for India and has further motivated basin-SA to initiate a country wide process of engaging different stakeholders for developing a ---draft of the Rural Habitat Policy as it should be and proposing it to the Government of India. As a first step, a consultation was organised on 23rd February 2006 in New Delhi by Akhil Bhartiya Samaj Sewa Sansthan, facilitated by basin-SA and supported by DFIDs Poorest Areas Civil Society Program. The consultation brought together NGOs, bankers and government functionaries to discuss, debate and propose clauses for the policy document This document is the first draft of the policy developed through this process to serve as a trigger for discussion on policy clauses and provisions with a wider audience. It draws heavily from the Draft National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy (2005) and attempts to connect the policy on urban areas with rural areas. The process of policy development is now being taken to all the States in the country for consultation. Inputs from each State Level Consultation will be incorporated at each step as the process continues, to culminate as Final Draft of the Rural Habitat Policy for India - a proposal to the Government by the people of India. Goa was represented by our NGO at the third meet (earlier two were held in Jarkhand and Orrisa the next will be held in MP and final document prepared by April 2007 ) seminar held at Y B Chavan Institute Baner Road Pune on 9th September, 2006 by our two representatives Mr Godfrey Gonsalves and Mr L Fernandes. The "gaunkary" system as prevalent in Goa was discussed as a viable model to form rural communities besides several other suggestions were made and well received by the participants who came from Maharashtra and Daman and Diu and evinced keen interests in these institutions (gunkaries). Book written by Dr Olivinho Gomes on the gaunkaries (Communidades) was also circulted to the various delegates. Interestingly the Director, Ministry of Rural Development, Govt of India, Mr V L V S S Subba Rao I.E.S who interacted with our representatives was presented a summary document of the "gaunkaries" and he evinced keen interest in the same and would depute an official to Goa to study the same. We at SGPIAG now desire to make available the Draft "Draft National Rural Housing and Habitat Policy 2006 " to all those desirous, on request via email or post or hand delivery readers, NGOs and other well meaning citizens to criticise, comment and propose changes or additions to this document, and share the same with us or mail your valued views directly to basin-SA [EMAIL PROTECTED] Let us use this process to help the government develop a Rural Housing and Habitat Policy that we feel should be. For SOUTH GOA PUBLIC INTEREST ACTION GROUP Regd No 171/GOA/2000 dt 12.12.2000 sd/- TERENCE MAZARELO PRESIDENT (SGPIAG) 1st Flr Benlix Bldg Opp Fatima Convent Margao Goa India [EMAIL PROTECTED] weblink http://mumbai.sancharnet.in/manojnd FAX +91 832 2712430 HELPLINE (24 hrs) 9822158584 Tel +91 832 2731373 (O) TO LEARN MORE ABOUT GOA/INDIA visit:www.goidirectory.nic.in,www.goagovt.nic.in __________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Answers: Share what you know. Learn something new http://in.answers.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list Goanet@lists.goanet.org http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org