Beyond evictions in a global city

Beyond evictions in a global city: people managed resettlement in Mumbai

Debayan DebNidhi Choudhary

Arun TomarSonna Ravi Kiran

I. INTRODUCTION

• resettlement of 60,000 low-income people from beside the railway tracks in Mumbai

• To allow a faster, more regular rail service

• resettlement scheme was unusual on three counts:

o it did not impoverish those who moved

o the actual move was voluntaryo the resettled people were involved in designing, planning and implementing the resettlement program.

• the resettlement programme avoided the extremely negative consequences that most large-scale resettlement programmes have had for those who are resettled

• Mumbai has a very large low-income population that needs to remain in the city, close to employment or income sources

• yet there is also a need to improve conditions

• paper describes the resettlement and rehabilitation program for the households that had illegally occupied land immediately adjacent to the railway tracks and built their homes there

• Low-income households were attracted to these sites because they were cheap and very well located in relation to sources of income

II. THE RAILWAY SETTLEMENTS

• MUMBAI RELIES PRIMARILY on its extensive suburban railway system to get its workforce in and out of the central city

• The railway’s capacity is also kept down by the illegal railway settlements that crowd each side of the tracks

• Indian Railways, which owns the land, has never allowed the municipal corporation to provide basic amenities to these settlements for fear that this would legitimate their land occupation and encourage them to consolidate the dwellings

• These illegal settlements, squeezed each side of the tracks, also restricted the speed of the trains

• This greatly cut the frequency of trains and the number of passengers who could be transported. When commuters did not reach their places of work on time, the productivity of all those establishments was affected, as was the economy of the city as a whole

• A report prepared by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority estimated that the reduction in the speed of trains through the slum areas caused a 40 per cent reduction in the number of daily trips.

III. THE MUMBAI URBAN TRANSPORT PROJECT (MUTP)

• THE MUMBAI URBAN Transport Project (MUTP) was designed to improve the city’s traffic and transportation system

• It involves many agencies, including the government of Maharashtra and the Indian Railways (a national government agency) who share the cost between them, the municipal corporation of Greater Mumbai and the Brihan Mumbai Electric Supply Undertaking

• The project is underway and includes the laying of new railway lines

• the extension of station platforms (to allow longer trains)

• the removal of road crossings

• station improvements and the resettlement of households living within 10 metres (30 feet) of the tracks

• Steps through which the resettlement proceeds:

The task force and administrative arrangements

The resettlement and rehabilitation policy was formulated by a task force appointed by the state government, which recommended that each “project-affected family” should get a 225-square foot (20.8 square metre) flat/apartment free of cost.

Civil society representation

The World Bank has clear guidelines developed over the last 20 years forthe resettlement of those who are displaced by the projects it helps fund.They are intended to protect those who are to be resettled

IV. PRE-CURSORS TO THE RESETTLEMENT; COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION AND PRECEDENTSETTING

• LONG BEFORE THIS project to improve the railways and resettle people from along the tracks was developed, the Railway Slum Dwellers Federation had collected data about the settlements along the tracks, mapped them, set up women’s savings and credit groups and supported the formation of housing cooperative societies

• The Alliance of SPARC, the National Slum Dwellers Federation and Mahila Milan had already been involved in resettlement programmes:

o Jan Kalyan in 1989

o 900 families in 1999

V. THE FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 EVICTIONS

• the Alliance had to cope with an unexpected eviction: the Indian Railways demolished over 2,000 huts along the Harbor railway line

• against state government policy and against the stipulations of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project

• The Federation responded by mobilizing thousands of its members to shut down the city's railway system

• It took five days before the demolitions could be halted

• The next day the state government decreed that all demolitions must stop.

• There was the immediate need to find accommodation for the 2,000 evicted families

• The Alliance offered to build the houses at two-thirds the cost estimated by the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority, making the offer attractive both to the Bank and to MMRDA

• After protracted discussions with the World Bank, both in New Delhi and in Washington DC, an agreement was reached which allowed the Alliance to build transit accommodation

• it was part, the danger of large scale forced evictions was not removed. The English-language media in Mumbai had for years been demanding the removal of slums in general and railway slums in particular.

• This media campaign put pressure on the Indian Railways to act but, in addition, an ostensibly “public interest” litigation had been filed in the High Court by a local NGO which called itself the Citizens for a Just Society

• However, the state government assured the Court that a time bound program of resettlement and rehabilitation would be implemented and the Court consented

•There around 6000 low-income people who are living beside the railway tracks resettled with out any municipal or police force

•It is not possible to have permanent accomm odation ready for all those who moved

•As in 1999 resettlements sites where developed which had permanent buildings

•17 seven story apartment blocks and 21 such blocks are purchased

THE RESETTLEMENT

•Now on the either side of the railway track there is a clear zone up to 30 feet each side

•The 60,000 people are moved to live in secure better quality accommodation

•Travelling time is reduced and rail way system’s performance improved

•One of the most important achievement of these is house holds are well organized before the move

•The first step was baseline survey for the population that had to move

•This base line survey provides information base for allocation of accommodation on the resettlements

•This base line survey contain hut counting, rough mapping, numbering, cadastral survey(plot),house hold survey, settlement profiles and the forming and reforming groups

HOUSE COUNT:•National slum dwellers federation and mahila milan introducing them self's

• marking the houses with a piece of chalk

•Volunteer make sure that no one is left•ROUGH MAPPING :•Hut counting is followed by the preparation of rough maps

•This map will help both surveyors and communities to understand what surveys represent

•This map will help both surveyors and communities to understand what serveys represent

•This also helps to completion of slum profile including the details of toilets, water taps, services etc

•NUMBERING:

•In this each house is renumbered with a permanent paint on the chalk number

•Communities are informed that government and city officials are will be checking on this process

•CADASTRAL SURVEY:•With house numbers in place the surveyors can mark and measure the site

•NSDF/SPARC workers from the area normally accompany the surveyors

•THE HOUSEHOLD SURVEY AND SETTLEMENT PROFILE :•The survey is started in this stage and the painted house numbers are used for house hold identification

•This information is fed into computers and draft registers and returned to communities to check again fill the missing this how information is up dated

GROUP FORMATION :•In group formation the registers are used and house holds are grouped into unites of 50 and another round of dada check is under taken

•During the meeting charts and registers having comprehensive information about the settlements and the particular group are prepared and given to the group for study

REGROUPING :•Even though house holds are grouped by no and given houses next to each other and each resident has a freedom to move from one place to another

•When they are relocated they will live next to each other and there naturally they will become more closer and they assistted to do together

RE SETTLEMENTS OF SLUMS

MUMBAI SLUM – DHARAVIhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtkvsNUVF5Y

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PROBLEMS FACED BY THE PEOPLE

Households wanted their friends and chosen neighbours close by in the new site, which did not happened after the resettlement.

Conditions forced to adopt new home and neighborhood.

Mankhurd, 4 stations away from previous location.

Extra cost in time and railway fares for those who commute daily to work in locations that are close to their former homes.

Fewer work opportunities for women in resettlement site. Since, previously employed in the nearby middle-class area near railway slums as maids, street hawkers.

Schools in Mankhurd were unable to expand to cope with the number of increased children. So, children went to their previous school which was now 4 stations away, causing increased cost in both time and fares.

Problem in accessing hospitals, postal services.

Irregular garbage collection from the municipal authorities.

Problems in accessing ration shops in Mankhurd. Previously kerosene and basic food staples ere available at a subsidized rates.

Force on paying high electricity charges by the private company since communal meters were installed.

PROBLEMS IN HOUSING

Political pressure in building up to seven storey apartment blocks. Which were difficult to maintain.

Political pressure in household distribution in transit accommodation and permanent buildings.

Political pressure to get extra people more than the capacity.

CHANGES Mahila Milan scheme gave a up to Rs. 50 lakhs worth loans to support income generation in the area. Also to address the loss of employment due to the resettlement move.

Transfer of names on electoral roll and change in addresses on ration cards.

Provision of bus for school children who still go to schools close to their previous homes.

Organization of committees by women in maintaining utilities like water, sanitation and garbage in the area.

Organization of committees on building level and central level for each settlements.

Better provisions for water sanitation and electricity.

The above raised the independency level among the people.

Participation Decentralization Bottom-up approach

CONCLUSIONS 6

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