Bengaluru’s ‘pleasant weather’ tag has taken a hit as the city saw extreme heat waves in the summer, followed by torrential rains that flooded various parts of the city. The effects of these erratic conditions are disproportionate for the most vulnerable groups, like gig workers and street vendors, who face a loss of income, life and livelihood.
For instance, reports indicate gig workers are blocked from platforms for being absent because of climatic hazards. Another study conducted in Delhi highlighted the disastrous effects of heatwaves on workers in the informal sector. Against this backdrop, ensuring the safety and health of these groups against extreme climatic conditions becomes a matter of right.
The concept of urban capital conglomerations—cities—has been a spawn of industrial capitalism since time immemorial. The continuing relevance of this idea and the infrastructural design of cities still cater to the economic sensibilities of capitalistic enterprises as opposed to the social needs of residents. An ideological shift is needed to view cities not as centres of profit alone but also as habitats for people.
Liveability of cities has emerged as a post-materialist concept that encompasses several fields of planning such as transportation, community development, resilience, etc. However, in the 21st century, greater challenges must be braved to account for the liveability of cities, such as adverse climates. The magnitude of the issue has surpassed mere drastic changes in weather patterns. What this means is that such cities are unliveable for eco-precariat workers.
‘Eco-precariat’ is a term for workers employed in environmental and climate-related sectors without proper pay, job security, or employment benefits. People employed as gig workers and street vendors, among others, fall under this category. Climate resilience for such workers is not only to ensure their liveability but to protect their climate-vulnerable livelihoods.
Street vendors are exposed to considerable climate risks such as heatwaves, pollution and waterlogging, which lead to health issues, shorter working hours and loss of perishable goods and income that can plunge their families into cyclical poverty. This situation, along with a lack of legislation for the protection of gig workers and inconsistent implementation of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, has left them in a climate-vulnerable lurch.
Currently, no regulatory framework effectively addresses the impact of climate disasters on vulnerable communities in Karnataka. In the case of gig workers, although Karnataka has released a draft law to offer protections, there has been no conversation about the impact of climate change. In the case of street vendors, although there is a legal framework to regulate the activities of street vendors, it does not integrate any climate-related risks.
While Bengaluru has a climate action plan and Karnataka has a state heat action plan, they do not account for preparedness for vulnerable groups disproportionately exposed to extreme climatic conditions. Even though the government releases ad-hoc advisories at the onset of heatwaves and floods, workers face a brutal choice—risk their jobs by staying at home or risk their lives by exposing themselves to extreme climatic conditions.
Although the ideological shift required to build a liveable and climate-resilient city would ideally be a long-drawn process, the state can still look to protect the most vulnerable individuals in the city. It needs ideation in developing innovative micro-finance solutions such as the extreme heat income micro-insurance, which is a partnership of an organisation of informal workers known as the Self-Employed Women’s Association, an insurance technology firm (Blue Marble) and a non-profit (the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation) in Gujarat.
The pilot programme was designed to dole out compensation triggered by an algorithm based on satellite-assessed temperature data over three days. For example, a minimum three-day temperature record of 44 degrees would call for a payout to compensate for some of the lost income incurred during said period.
Without a consistent umbrella climate legislation, Karnataka can ideally classify eco-precariat workers mainly as climate-vulnerable workers by bringing a climate micro-insurance law for their benefit. It would then act as a safety net that can be legislated under entry 23 of the Concurrent List of the Constitution. It could insure the lives of the workers or go on to insure their perishable goods or income.
However, there is a flip side to this model, as constant payouts in the face of escalating climate risks could prove unsustainable unless governments implement preemptive strategies or devolve other financial innovations to constantly augment revenue flow. That is possible by imposing a heat cess on entities that contribute to excess heat, such as the top five emitters in the vicinity.
Thus, deeper thought is needed to foray into alleviating the social implications of climate change for the climate vulnerable. In this case, the workers must unite against the common enemy of climate change, the most challenging woe of our time.
Prathiksha Ullal
Research Fellow at Vidhi
Sneha Priya Yanappa
Senior Resident Fellow and team lead, Vidhi Karnataka
(Views are personal)
