Urgent need for collaboration to tackle urban begging: World Bank economist

Because they are so complicated and they need to be so tailored to each individual, governments end up often implementing those programmes through non-governmental organisations, Benedicte Leroy noted

World Bank Lead Economist Benedicte Leroy De La Briere on Friday said there is an urgent need for multi-sectoral collaboration and robust systems to address the intricate challenges surrounding urban begging and street homelessness.

Addressing the 'Hard to Reach Population SMILE (Beggary)' seminar, she said there is a need for tailor-made solution to the issue.

Because they are so complicated and they need to be so tailored to each individual, governments end up often implementing those programmes through non-governmental organisations, she noted.

The cost of providing comprehensive care, including health support, identification services, skill development, and rehabilitation, is high, De La Briere added.

 

They end up per beneficiary being quite expensive, she added at the seminar held by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in partnership with the World Bank.

De La Briere said despite their visibility, people who beg remain hard to reach due to multiple systemic barriers such as lack of a permanent address and a mobile lifestyle that disqualifies them from many place-based social welfare programmes.

Jobs are the key to prosperity. But when we see beggars, it tells us squarely that some part of the social contract is not working, she said.

Begging, she said, was a pretty bad job that "often pays poorly" and comes with significant health and safety risks.

The seminar also saw comments from Ajay Srivastava, Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, who gave a presentation at the seminar on the government's flagship SMILE scheme (Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise), which aims to provide a structured pathway from street begging to reintegration.

The scheme, which began implementation in 2023, now operates in 181 cities across India and focuses on surveying, counselling, providing shelter, skilling and eventually rehabilitating beggars through convergence with existing government programmes.

Srivastava emphasised the need for inter-ministerial collaboration.

We work in silos. There is an urgent need for integration between ministrieswomen and child development, disability affairs, housing, and morebecause the issues are interrelated, he said.