SLUM REHABILITATION- AS A RELIEF MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUE

"Slum" was originally used mainly in the phrase "back slum," meaning a back room and
later "back alley".The origin of this word is thought to come from the Irish phrase 'S lom
é (pron. s'lum ae) meaning 'exposed vulnerable place'

A slum, as defined by the United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a

city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security.
According to the United Nations, the proportion of urban dwellers living in slums
decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the developing world between 1990 and 2005.
However, due to rising population, the number of slum dwellers is rising. One billion
people worldwide live in slums and the figure will likely grow to 2 billion by 2030.[5]

The term has traditionally referred to housing areas that were once respectable but which
deteriorated as the original dwellers moved on to newer and better parts of the city, but
has come to include the vast informal settlements found in cities in the developing world.

Many shack dwellers vigorously oppose the description of their communities as 'slums'
arguing that this results in them being pathologised and then, often, subject to threats of
evictions. Many academics have vigorously criticized UN-Habitat and the World Bank
arguing that their 'Cities Without Slums' Campaign has led directly to a massive increase
in forced evictions.

Although their characteristics vary between geographic regions, they are usually
inhabited by the very poor or socially disadvantaged. Slum buildings vary from simple
shacks to permanent and well-maintained structures. Most slums lack clean water,
electricity, sanitation and other basic services.

What is a slum? Zopadpattis

Since it first appeared in the 1820s, the word slum has been used to identify the poorest
quality housing, and the most unsanitary conditions; a refuge for marginal activities
including crime, ‘vice’ and drug abuse; a likely source for many epidemics that ravaged
urban areas; a place apart from all that was decent and wholesome. Today, the catchall
term “slum” is loose and deprecatory. It has many connotations and meanings and is
seldom used by the more sensitive, politically correct, and academically rigorous. But in
developing countries, the word lacks the pejorative and divisive original connotation, and
simply refers to lower quality or informal housing.
(World Population in Billions)
The term “slum” is used in the Report to describe a wide range of low-income
settlements and poor human living conditions. A simple definition of a slum would be “a
heavily populated urban area characterised by substandard housing and squalor”. This
straightforward description reflects the essential physical and social features of slums, but
more meat needs to be put on these bones.
Slums in the traditional sense are housing areas that were once respectable – even
desirable – but which deteriorated after the original dwellers moved on to new and better
parts of the city. The condition of the old homes declined as they were progressively
subdivided and rented out to lower income people.
Today, slums have come to include the vast informal settlements that are quickly
becoming the most visible manifestation of urban poverty in developing world cities.
Such settlements are known by many different names and are characterized by a variety
of tenure arrangements. In all cases, however, the buildings found there vary from the
simplest shack to permanent and sometimes surprisingly well-maintained structures, but
what most slums share in common is a lack of clean water, electricity, sanitation and
other basic services.
Slums can be divided into two broad types: “slums of hope” and “slums of despair”. The
first are settlements on an upward trend, largely made up of newer, usually self-built
structures, and that are in or have recently been through a process of development,
consolidation and improvement. The second group comprise “declining” neighbourhoods
in which environmental conditions and services are in a process of seemingly inevitable
decay. Unfortunately, the history of slums in Europe, North America and Australia has
demonstrated that, without appropriate interventions, slums of hope can all too easily
yield to despair, a self-reinforcing condition that can continue for a very long time.
A UN Expert Group recently recommended to policy makers and international bodies
what they consider to be a more “operational definition” of a slum, one that is intended to
enable better targeting of improvement programmes aimed primarily at resolving the
physical and legal problems faced by slum dwellers. According to these experts, a slum is
an area that combines to various extents the following characteristics:
• Inadequate access to safe water; • Inadequate access to sanitation and other
infrastructure; • Poor structural quality of housing; • Overcrowding; and • Insecure
residential status.
These characteristics are being proposed because they are largely quantifiable and can be
used to measure progress toward the Millennium Development Goal to significantly
improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.

The Early History of Slums

Late in the 17th century, Gerald Aungier tried to attract traders and artisans to Bombay.
As a result, the population grew six-fold in the fourteen years between 1661 and 1675.
Some of the more prosperous traders built houses inside the British fort. The rest lived in
crowded "native-towns" around the walls. These were probably the first slums to grow in
Bombay.

The problem of overcrowding certainly remained through the 18th century. A count made
in 1794 found 1000 houses inside the fort walls and 6500 immediately outside.

All over the world, the 19th century saw the growth of slums give the lie to the idea of
progress brought on by large-scale industrialisation and the understanding and control of
diseases. Bombay was no exception. The cotton boom, followed by the rapid growth of
mills and shipping drew a large population from the rest of the country into a city ill-
equipped to deal with them. In the middle of the 19th century slums grew around the
mills and other places of employment.

The Birth of Slums

Historically, slums have grown in Bombay as a response to a growth of population far

beyond the capacity of existing housing. Migrants are normally drawn to the city by the
huge disparity between urban and rural income levels. Usually the residents of these
densely populated enclaves live close to their place of work. The residential area itself
does not provide employment.

Bombay knows another reason for the formation of slums. As the city grew, it took over
land that was traditionally used for other purposes. The Koli fishermen were displaced
during the development of the harbour and port. Those driven out of the fishing villages
improvised living space that was often far shabbier than before. This process continues
even now, at the end of the 20th century.

On the other hand, some villages were encysted by the city growing around them.
Dharavi, originally a village with a small tanning industry, has become a slum in this
fashion. Many of the older slums in Byculla and Khar were initially separate villages,
with their own traditional industries.

Early Slums

Before 1950 slums were predominantly found around the

mills, on the western part of the island, predominantly in an
area called Byculla. They were mostly industrial workers in
one room tenements. Health and provisions to these areas
were issues that were ignored by the head policy makers.
Instead of going away, the slums have just spread. From
1950 to1968 the amount of slums increased 18%, in the
1970s they had a huge surge and by 1980 slum dwellers
were half of the entire city's population. All this despite the
fact that the city underwent slum clearance, implemented by
the Municipal Corporation in 1954.

Migration of slums:

In the last two decades, migration from villages and small towns to metropolitan areas
has increased tremendously in India. This leads to the degradation of urban
environmental quality and sustainable development especially in the metropolitan cities.
The problems faced by the people living in the urban areas
of India have become major concerns for the government over the last two decades.
Slums are considered to be the major issue within many urban areas; particularly
problems related to transportation, population, health and safety. India is one of the
fastest developing countries with many metropolitan cities (e.g.Mumbai, Pune,
Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi and Chennai). To explore the effect of rehabilitation of
slumson urban sustainability, part of Mumbai was selected as a case study. Compared to
the other metropolitan cities in India, Mumbai is one of the biggest metropolitan regions
and capital of the state of Maharashtra with many slums varying in sizes. In addition,
every year millions of rupees are being spent to resettle and rehabilitate slums to make
Mumbai sustainable. It is reported that around 6 percent of the total land
holds nearly 60 percent of the total Mumbai population (CBC, 2006). From 1980
onwards, the rate of migration and the sprawling nature of slums into the city has become
an major issue, although many organizations are working towards development of
Mumbai, the conditions are not conducive to achieving urban sustainable environment as
most of the organizations are not working on a united front. Also, various researchers
have reported that to maintain the pace of sustainable urbanization, a holistic approach to
Sustainable development needs to be considered. Considering today’s poor urban
environmental quality in Mumbai, there are many projects under development and
execution to improve the poor conditions. Also, the World Bank has funded many
projects with the primary aim of improving the city’s land transport, health and education
which affect thousands of families. the majority of families affected by urban
development projects are located in slum areas which are under consideration for
resettlement and/ or rehabilitation. The aim of this research is to examine slum areas and
their effects on sustainable urban development. To accomplish the above aim, a case
study based approach, engaging a series of face-to-face interviews, was used. As a part of
this research, an urban development project funded by the World Bank to achieve urban
sustainability in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) was explored. Also, several visits
to other slums and rehabilitated areas were conducted to identify the quality of life in
slums and rehabilitated areas. The data collected during the face-to-face
Interviews, was used for descriptive analysis considering various aspects (i.e. social,
educational) of urban sustainability. Through this research, the reasons for slums and
problems related to slums were explored. During the research, it is revealed that some
people still think that urbanization is responsible for unsustainable development and they
are not in favour of resettlement and rehabilitation. This suggests that to achieve
successful urban sustainability, other issues such as employment, education and general
awareness are also required along with low-cost mass housing

Introduction

Slums are often defined as, “buildings and areas that are environmentally and structurally
deficient. A result of multiple deprivations such as; illegal land tenure, deficient
environment and inadequate shelter and are the result of the gap between the demand and
the legal and formal supply in the housing market” (Chauhan, 1996). Mumbai, formerly
known as Bombay, India’s financial capital, attracts people from all over the country. Te
United Nations (UN) reported that Mumbai is the seventh largest city in the world, has
the fifth fastest rate of population growth and is the sixth most populous city in the world
(O'Hare et al., 1998). But, behind Mumbai’s glitz,glamour and attraction there are
different realities; the city landscape is dominated by massive, sprawling slums. In
Mumbai some of the slums are the biggest in the world (Jha, 2008) and their origin can
be seen from the late 17th century (Dalvi, 1997). Te outcome of consumer expenditure
data survey, conducted by National Sample Survey (NSS) of India, reveals that 15
percent of the total urban population of the country are living in slums (Dhingra et al.,
2008). Alex, 2005 reported that, eight million out of the twelve million people in Mumbai
are living in slums; and one in every three people in the world could be living in slums by
2030. Mumbai is not alone; slums are global problems, accommodating a billion people
(Alex, 2005) In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) various organizations are
working towards upgrading slums in order to improve the urban environmental quality of
Mumbai. Some examples are:

MMR-Development Authority (MMRDA) and City and Industrial Development

Corporation (CIDCO), which are regional planning authorities;

The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) a planning entity for the
industrial estate developed under the control of state government.

In addition to these, Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), Slum RehabilitationSociety

(SRS),
Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA),
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), etc. are also working towards the
improvement of slums in Mumbai. In 2006, it was reported that there are more than 60
registered non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) working towards the development of
Mumbai slums to make it a goodhabitable place (Karmayog, 2006). Also, the long-term
vision of SRA is, "to make Mumbai slumfree by the year 2015” (Dutt, 2004). Most of
these organisations are funded by various sourcessuch as World Bank, central
government, state government, and corporations.

Recently, World Bank has invested 32000 million in Indian National Rupee (INR) to
improve the urban environmental quality of Mumbai. Tis is the largest urban resettlement
project ever undertaken in India (Dutt, 2004). Other than World Bank several
organisations have already invested millions and billions (INR 5000 million in 2003 and
INR 160 billion in 2008 by local government) of rupees towards the development of
Mumbai slums. Te local municipal authority reported that every
year a billion rupees are spent before monsoon season preparing for the rains (Allen,
2008) As mentioned in literature, a significant amount of money is already invested and
is set aside to be invested in the future (Pandey, 2007); however, Mumbai still seems to
be far away from a sustainable urban development. Tere are many key problems such as
slums, population and unregulated growth in the way of sustainable urban development.
Tese problems are discussed in this paper. One of the key reasons for Mumbai being far
from sustainable urban development is that most of the above mentioned and presently
active organisations (governmental and non-governmental) are working individually with
a lack of proper central control and coordination.
Inadequate initiatives and improper procedures taken at this stage will augment the future
impactof slums on urbanisation making them impossible to ignore.

Study aim, objectives and methodology

The primary aim of this research is to explore slums to understand their impact on
sustainable
urban development. To achieve the above aim the following objectives were formulated.
1. To explore existing slums and understand how slum rehabilitation and resettlement
projects work.
2. To explore one of the major projects at the execution stage involving rehabilitation to
achieve sustainability in Mumbai.
3. To understand the attitude of slum dwellers towards urban sustainability.
4. To examine why rehabilitation and resettlement projects are not achieving
considerable success.
5. To understand the gap between families shifting from slums to rehabilitated buildings.
To achieve the above objectives, a case study based methodology, which involved face-
to-face interviews and literature review were employed. Te main purpose of conducting a
case study was to know the ground realities related to the project; slums and urban
sustainability. Also, to accomplish the aim and objectives of this study, several visits and
observation were made to slums located in different pockets of the MMR. As discussed
before, Mumbai was selected as it is one of the biggest metropolitan regions in the
world, which has many large scale slums (Nijman, 2008).
In Mumbai there are ‘Eastern’, and ‘Western’ express highways, which run parallel in a
North-South direction along the length of the suburbs. Also, when the existing plan of the
city is studied, one can see that there are very few road links connecting the East and
West. Hence, several projects in Mumbai are under development and are at the execution
stage related to roads connecting the city in the East-West direction. In this research, one
of the five proposed major link roads connecting ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ express
highways passing through part of an existing hutment in Mumbai was selected. Tis is
discussed further in Section 5. Te research was guided by a set of questions related to
origin, history, impact, and future development related to slums.
Several observations were made during a number of site visits to various slums. Te
collected data were used to analyse the slums and their impacts on the sustainable
development of Mumbai which are presented at the end of the paper

Existing slums and there impacts in Mumbai

On looking at Mumbai from an aerial view, one can see many small and large scale
black spots, so called slums and hutments sitting in the different pockets of the city. As
mentioned before, while slum pockets cover a mere 6 percent of the land in Mumbai,
they hold about 60 percent of the total population (CBC, 2006). All the slums in Mumbai
are not merely residential, but have many commercial units such as, shops and small
scale industries. However, in Mumbai a high rate of migration to the city from the rest of
India resulted in the growth of slums. e development of low-cost housing could not
accommodate all the migrants (Dalvi, 1997; Giridharadas, 2008). Slum growth started
about a half century back. From the literature, some developments (for example,
ports and harbours), which took place in the past are identified as a reason for increasing
the slums. During such developments a group of people were displaced from certain
locations without provision of alternative housing and other facilities, which resulted into
the some of the existing slums today. In some studies it is found that the gap created by
the supply of 17,600 housing against the need for 46,000 houses in the 1960s and the
supply of 20,600 housing against the need for 60,000 housing in the 1970s also
augmented the growth of slums (Shetty, 2007). At the same time, though several
organisations are working, lots of efforts are made and investment spent to control the
growth of slums; still sustainable urban development is far from a considerable level. It
is reported that 55 percent of the total population is living in more than 2,500 slums
located in different parts of Mumbai (O'Hare et al., 1998). About 50 percent of these
slums are spread on private land, 25 percent on state government land, 20 percent on
municipal land and the remaining 5 percent on Central government and housing board
land (Dalvi, 1997). It is reported that there are 5 million slum dwellers, 1.2 million slum
families eligible for rehabilitation in Mumbai; and ‘‘rehabilitating all of them will cost
over INR 210,000 million,’’(Iyer, 2005)

Table 1: Slum Population in Municipal Urban Area of MMR (2001)

(MMRDA, 2001)
Sr. No Urban Area (Municipal Slum population Total
Corporation /Councils) in 000’s population
in 000’s
01 Greater Mumbai 5823.51 11914.40
02 Thane 420.27 1261.52
03 Kalyan-Dombivali 34.85 1193.27
04 Navi Mumbai 138.62 703.93
05 Bhiwandi 111.30 598.70

06 Mira Bhayander 37.24 520.30

07 Ulhasnagar 53.72 472.94

However, rehabilitations of slums put pressure on middle-class people resulting in paying

more taxes to the governments (UN-Habitat, 2003). Moreover, the available and reserved
money for the improvement of urban areas is utilized for development of existing slums
which results in an overall undeveloped urban area. A study by Davis, in 2004, reported
that, populations in the slums are often undercounted. Also, slums which exist on the
maps; where a census has been done,exists a variation in population between the census
and the actual population. In another study by Nijman, 2008, it is argued that, often, there
is a variation in the actual boundary, location and population of the slums. Moreover,
some slums in Mumbai do not exist on any maps, thus formal surveys and census have
never been done with these slums (Nijman, 2008). Also, it was found that there was a
significant difference in slum location and size population count in the actual census
recorded by Greater Mumbai and in the field. e outcome of this above mentioned
study
reported that slums population and size are far more than the actual numbers mentioned
in the census records

Slums Today

Today slum dwellers make up 60% of Mumbai's population, that is approximately 7

million people. The eventually spread into the areas neighboring Byculla, such as: Mahim
Creek, Parel, Dadar and Matunga and whereever else they can find space, even in roads.
The conditions in the slums are terrible. Slum inhabitants constantly have to deal with
issues such as, constant migration, lack of water, no sewage or solid waste facilities, lack
of public transit, pollution and housing shortages. Infant mortality is as high as it is in
rural India where there are no amenities. General Hospitals in the Greater Mumbai region
are overcrowded and underresourced. In fact, most people rely on private doctors, many
of which do not have any qualifications or official training. The World Bank has funded
development of 176 Primary Care Dispensaries, but they are finding that those efforts are
underused and the water supplies to the area are problematic. It seems that the water
supply is always to much or too little, for when monsoon season hits some slums are
submerged knee deep in water.

In 1985, the government tried to rectify the problem by passing the Slum Upgradation
Project. It offered secure long-term legal plot tenure to slum households on the basis that
they would invest in their housing. By giving people an interest in their housing and by
guaranteeing home ownership, they hoped to oblitterate slums. Unfortunately the
program targeted only 10-12% of the slum population, those who were capable of
upgrading their homes. It disregarded those who did not have homes at all.

Despite all the attempts to remedy the slum problem of Mumbai, slums are still growing.
The slum growth rate is actually greater than the general urban growth rate. In fact, the
city is gaining the name "Slumbay."

Characteristics
The characteristics associated with slums vary from place to place. Slums are usually
characterized by urban decay, high rates of poverty, and unemployment. They are
commonly seen as "breeding grounds" for social problems such as crime, drug addiction,
alcoholism, high rates of mental illness, and suicide. In many poor countries they exhibit
high rates of disease due to unsanitary conditions, malnutrition, and lack of basic health
care.

A UN Expert Group has created an operational definition of a slum as an area that

combines to various extents the following characteristics: inadequate access to safe
water; inadequate access to sanitation and other infrastructure; poor structural quality of
housing; overcrowding; and insecure residential status.[6] A more complete definition of
these can be found in the 2003 UN report titled "Slums of the World: The face of urban
poverty in the new millennium?".[15] The report also lists various attributes and names that
are given by individual countries which are somewhat different than these UN
characteristics of a slum.

Low socioeconomic status of its residents is another common characteristic given for a
slum.[16]

In many slums, especially in poor countries, many live in very narrow alleys that do not
allow vehicles (like ambulances and fire trucks) to pass. The lack of services such as
routine garbage collection allows rubbish to accumulate in huge quantities. The lack of
infrastructure is caused by the informal nature of settlement and no planning for the poor
by government officials. Additionally, informal settlements often face the brunt of natural
and man-made disasters, such as landslides, as well as earthquakes and tropical storms.
Fires are often a serious problem.[17]

Many slum dwellers employ themselves in the informal economy. This can include street
vending, drug dealing, domestic work, and prostitution. In some slums people even
recycle trash of different kinds (from household garbage to electronics) for a living -
selling either the odd usable goods or stripping broken goods for parts or raw materials.

Some of the largest slums in the world, sorted by population

Here is a look at some Mumbai stats and facts.

1. Almost 54 per cent of Mumbaikars live in slums today.

2. Another 25 to 30 per cent live in chawls and footpaths.

3. Remaining 10 to 15 per cent, live in buildings, bungalows or high-rises.

Why do slums exist?

However slums are defined, the question remains “why do they exist?” Slums come
about because of, and are perpetuated by, a number of forces. Among these are rapid
rural-to-urban migration, increasing urban poverty and inequality, insecure tenure, and
globalisation – all contribute to the creation and continuation of slums.

Rapid rural-urban migration – Since 1950, the proportion of people working in

developing country agriculture has declined by 20 to 30 per cent. The immigrant urban
poor have largely moved from the countryside to the cities voluntarily, in order to exploit
actual or perceived economic opportunities. Opportunities manifest in part, due to the
growing urban informal sector, which is most spectacularly visible in the many growing
and large-sale informal and squatter settlements in urban centres. In many cities the
informal sector accounts for as much as 60 per cent of employment of the urban
population and may well serve the needs of an equally high proportion of citizens through
the provision of goods and services.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, 78 per cent of non-agricultural employment is in the informal
sector making up 42 per cent of GDP. More than 90 per cent of the additional jobs in
urban areas that will be created in the next decade will be in small-scale enterprises in the
informal sector. All this is taking place during a period when the formal urban labour
market is barely rising or even shrinking in most developing countries. The resulting
explosive growth in the informal sector has been accompanied by poverty and the rapid
growth of slums.
Political conflict also drives urban migration, not only within countries, but across
borders as well. In Angola and Mozambique, urbanization has been driven largely by
civil conflict which forced many rural residents to flee to relatively safe urban areas.
About 4.5 million Mozambicans were displaced to urban areas during the 1980s.
UN-HABITAT’s projections show that by 2030, Africa will cease to be a rural continent,
as more than half of its population will be in cities in towns – this in a matter of one
generation.
But spiralling rural to urban migration is not limited to Africa alone. Over the last 40
years, Latin America has experienced such a rapid rate of urbanisation that today, 75 per
cent of the population lives in urban areas. Asia, which is home to 80 per cent of
humanity, is also urbanising and currently 36 per cent of Asians live in cities. Some of
the world’s largest cities, such as Mumbai, Calcutta and Bangkok, have over 10 million
people and between onethird and one-half of them live in slums.
The rapidity and enormous volume of this rural-to-urban migration intensifies slum
formation. City planning and management systems are unable to adequately cope with
the massive population influx.
While there are no reliable global estimates of urban poverty, it is generally presumed
that there is currently less poverty in urban areas than in rural areas. However, the rate of
growth of the world’s urban population living in poverty is now considerably higher than
that in rural areas. Urban poverty has been increasing in most developing countries
subjected to structural adjustment programmes – programmes that often have had a
negative impact on urban economic growth and formal employment opportunities. The
absolute number of poor and undernourished in urban areas is increasing, as is the share
of urban areas in overall poverty and malnutrition. In general, the locus of poverty is
moving to cities, a process now recognised as the “urbanization of poverty”.

Insecure tenure – The lack of secure tenure is a primary reason why slums persist.
Without secure tenure, slumdwellers have few ways and little incentive to improve their
surroundings. Secure tenure is often a precondition for access to other economic and
social opportunities, including credit, public services, and livelihood opportunities. Study
after study confirms that, in slums where residents enjoy secure tenure to land and
housing – whether formal or informal – community-led slum improvement initiatives are
much more likely to be undertaken and, in fact, succeed.

Globalisation – Slum formation is closely linked to economic cycles, trends in national

income distribution, and in more recent years, to national economic development
policies. The Report finds that the cyclical nature of capitalism, increased demand for
skilled versus unskilled labour, and the negative effects of globalisation – in particular,
global economic booms and busts that ratchet up inequality and distribute new wealth
unevenly – contribute to the enormous growth of slums.
The Report notes that, in the past, the global economic cycles were responsible for
creating the famous slum areas of major cities in today’s developed world and they are
very likely to do the same again in the developing world.

54% of Mumbai lives in slums: World Bank

While there are conflicting views on whether slums will completely overtake Mumbai's
landscape by 2025, as projected by the World Bank, the general consensus is that
rehabilitation of slum-dwellers is the only feasible solution

More than half of Mumbai's population now lives in its slums, according to latest
statistics from the World Bank (WB), one of the world's largest financial institutions.
While almost 54% of the metro's inhabitants live in shanties, another 25-30% live in
chawls and on footpaths, with just 10-15% living in apartment buildings, bungalows or
high-rises. However, experts rubbish the claim that from being the slum capital of India,
Mumbai is now set to become the slum capital of the world.

Projections are that in 20 years, due to factors like a halt in the city's controversial slum
demolition scheme, unchecked migration into the city by people in search of jobs,
antiquated housing laws and skyrocketing real estate prices, slums will overtake the
Mumbai landscape. The WB estimates that 22.5 million people will be living in slums in
Mumbai by 2025.

Professor R N Sharma, head of the urban studies unit at the Tata Institute of Social
Sciences, Mumbai, agrees that the city is being overrun by slums. "Thanks to migration,
the city's population is rising rapidly. Already 67% of the city work in the informal
sector. If the World Bank estimate of the city reaching a population of 2.25 crore by 2025
is true, slums will be everywhere."

It is estimated that 100-300 new families come to Mumbai every day; most land up in
slum colonies or erect shanties on the nearest available footpath. In fact, Business World
magazine's recently-released WhiteBook of Marketing 2005 clearly debunks the popular
perception that Mumbai houses the largest proportion of the country's elite (the top socio-
economic class) population. Mumbai's A-class measures only 14.8%, compared to the
national capital Delhi's 25.4% and Chennai's 16.3%.

A Jockin of SPARC, a non-governmental organisation that works with the issue of urban
slums, says rehabilitation is the only solution. "This talk about Mumbai having
predominantly slums is rubbish. Already 67% of slums on railway land have been
resettled. The airport project and the rehabilitation near the Mithi river are also happening
at a good pace. These figures of the slum population rising are not true."
Both the current Congress-led coalition government and the former Shiv Sena
government came to power in Maharashtra on the strength of their slum rehabilitation
schemes. The Sena's scheme envisaged free housing for 40 lakh (400,000) of Mumbai's
slum-dwellers, a goal it failed to meet.

Former Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority chief and housing expert
Chandrashekhar Prabhu says that every government has tried to impose a slum scheme.
"They have never been given an option of choosing from different slum schemes. They
have had to choose from one scheme at a time, and all have got their disadvantages."

General observations related to slums in Mumbai

Following are the general observation made during the research. Slums do not have:
1. Basic municipal services such as water, sanitation, waste collection, storm drainage,
street
lighting, paved footpaths and roads for emergency access.
2. Sufficient play areas, schools and medical facilities for children.
3. Sufficient community places to socialise and to celebrate festivals.
4. Healthy, hygienic conditions for families.
5. Visible differences amongst the slums and richer neighbourhoods which could be
responsible for social tensions in slums
6. Sufficient conventional places because of unplanned and unregulated growth of
settlements.
Due to lack of the above facilities, the slums not only have impact on the hutments but
also responsible for the overall unsustainable urban environment. After conducting the
case study, literature review and observations during various site visits, it is concluded
that to achieve sustainability in an urban area, segregated projects related to
transportations, link roads etc. are not enough in Mumbai. ere is a need to; study pre
and post project impacts, different employment opportunities, and spread general
awareness about urbanisation along with sustainability. Rehabilitation and resettlement
projects will not work if people living in the slums are relocated far away, where there
are no employment opportunities. However, in this scenario families will relocate
themselves, where work is available resulting in the formation of new slums or promotion
of existing slums. For the success of any resettlement, rehabilitation and slum
improvement, project location is an important component. In most of the cases people
living in the slums do not get a chance to give their opinion about the proposed
development. If any of the components of urban area can not satisfy the sustainability
criteria and growth is unregulated and not predicated then the urban area cannot achieve
sustainability. Moreover, urban sustainability cannot be achieved without the support
from the people living in the slums; as they play a major role towards the success of the
resettlement and rehabilitation of projects. Often, only one or few of the organisations
are working to achieve sustainable development in an urban context and not in
collaboration to the rest of the organizations. Because of this, several projects in Mumbai
always get delayed and often there are price escalation and obstruction from other
organisation or society
Land tenure

When we studied existing land tenure and how people manage to build their slums, the
following interesting facts came into the picture. About ownership of the land, slums and
their working is very different (not standard) when compared with the rest of Mumbai.
Most of the settlement, so called hutments consists of a number of ‘chawls’. Often, a
chawl will contend 10-20 small attached units (houses) measuring approximately 100-
200 square feet each, which are given on rent by a slumlord (landlord). Also, a number of
slumlords own small portions of the land in the settlement.
The portion of the land owned by the slumlords is then given on rent with some initial
deposit, where the tenant needs to construct their own house and has to pay rent for using
the land and not for the house. In the local language this system is known as the “pagadi
system” and is widely practiced in many slums in the MMR. Also, this system works
very well, as most of the time tenants do not have to vacate their house and keep on
paying rent for the small piece of land only, as they are available on long lease

Hygiene

After visiting the slums in different parts of Mumbai, a few of them located in Greater
Mumbai (Dharavi, Mahalaxmi, etc.) and in the suburbs (Jogeshwari, Vikhroli, etc), the
following conclusions are made based on the observations.
Slums which are located in Greater Mumbai are more unhygienic compared to the slums
located in the suburbs. It was observed that the slums which are located in the suburbs,
collect and throw their garbage on the periphery (if there is an unoccupied land), cleaning
internal alleys, galli’s (streets) and neighbourhood; ended up surrounding hutment by the
piles of garbage. Whereas slums in the city do not have any open spaces on the periphery,
resulting in collection of their garbage within their internal streets and neighbourhoods
only. However, in both the areas hygiene is below standard

Transportation and emergency

As resettlement areas are neatly planned, demarcated in the development plan of the city,
it is easy to have planned public transport services. In most of the cases bus stops are
located near the resettlement areas. Exact known density and details about the people
make it easy to provide all possible public services such as schools, public bus services,
ambulances, etc. Also, all of the resettlement areas are approachable by the ambulance
and fire fighting vehicles during emergencies. Whereas in the case of slums, all above
factors such as density, public profile and their requirements are unknown, making them
difficult to plan any activities such as public transport services and other facilities to be
used during emergencies. Also, slums don’t often have any boundaries and are spread to
maximum limits, some time even occupy footpaths, this makes it difficult to locate any
common facilities, such as bus stops for public transport and access for emergency
vehicles
A recommendation for slum

The task force has developed a concrete blueprint to fight urban poverty. Its
recommendations include:
Countries need to recognize that the urban poor are active agents and not just
beneficiaries of development. Local authorities and national governments should
collaborate with the organizations of the urban poor in upgrading slums and providing
alternatives to slum formation.
Managing cities requires local solutions. Local authorities need to be empowered with
financial and human resources to deliver services and infrastructure to the urban poor.
Cities should draw up local long-term strategies for improving the lives of slum dwellers.
Following consultation with both slum dwellers and national authorities, local governing
bodies should pass legislation to prevent forced evictions and provide “security of tenure”
to residents of slum communities.
Local governments should develop strategies to prevent the formation of new slums.
These should include access to affordable land, reasonably priced materials, employment
opportunities, and basic infrastructure and social service
Public investments must focus on providing access to basic services and infrastructure.
Working with the urban poor, cities need to invest in housing, water, sanitation, energy,
and urban services, such as garbage disposal. These services and infrastructure must
reach the poor living in informal settlements.
The transportation needs and safety concerns of a city’s poorest residents should be a
high priority in planning urban transportation systems, which can expand the choices
people have regarding where to live and work.
Building codes and regulations should be realistic and enforceable and reflect the
lifestyle and needs of the local community. This means, for example, that they may have
to be flexible enough to allow for housing that is built incrementally, out of low-cost
materials and on small plots of land.
To create jobs, cities should encourage the private sector by improving infrastructure and
facilitating the transition from the informal into the formal economy. Foreign direct
investment can play an important catalytic role in promoting urban manufacturing and
service-based enterprises.
What is slum rehabilitation?

The Slum Rehabilitation Act 1995 was passed by the government of the Indian state
Maharashtra to protect the rights of slum dwellers and promote the development of slum
areas. The Act protected from eviction anyone who could produce a document proving
they lived in the city of Mumbai before January 1995, regardless if they lived on the
pavement or other kinds of municipal land. The ACT was the result of policy
development that included grassroots slum dweller organizations, particularly SPARC.

Through the Act pavement dwellers were for the first time into the classification of
households that are entitled to land for relocation. Following the enactment of this
legislation, the government of Maharashtra and the Municipal Corporation of Greater
Mumbai set out a special policy for planning the relocation of the 20,000 households,
using the information from a census Mahila Milan and NSDF completed in 1995.

Slum Rehabilitation in the context of urban sustainability

While understanding slum rehabilitation, the key reason for studying this is to
understand; why slum rehabilitation is required? What is the relationship between slum
rehabilitation and urban sustainability?
Urban sustainability is defined as "Improving the quality of life in a city, including
ecological, cultural, political, institutional, social and economic components without
leaving a burden on the future generations” (Urban21, 2000). Whereas, Sustainable
Urban Development Association (SUDA) has define unsustainable urban development as
“often it is urban sprawl. Sprawl is low density suburban development, usually consisting
of subdivisions of detached and semi-detached, single-family houses, and scattered low-
density commercial/industrial uses”. In the long-term, unsustainable urban development
can harm the health of urban dwellers (Huang et al., 1998). The first ever systematic
effort to improve slums was made in the early 20th century, after consequences of the
plague epidemics in the 1896. However, to rehabilitate crowded living areas and slums
‘The City Improvement Trust’ was formed on the 9th of December 1898 in Mumbai
(Dalvi, 1997). It is said that, presently Maharashtra is the only state in India to propose
and carry out a massive slum rehabilitation programme. Also, the state government has
come-up with an autonomous and a fully IT-based state-of-the-art “Slum Rehabilitation
Authority” (SRA) to implement various schemes related to resettlement, rehabilitation
and improvement of the slums in Mumbai. As mentioned earlier, large amounts of
money have been invested and set aside by various organisations and governments
(central, state and local) to achieve urban sustainability. Several projects initiated, funded
or invested by the governments to improve the slums fall under the following categories,
slums eradication and relocation, improvement, up-gradation and redevelopment and
rehabilitation. From time-to-time the concerned government conduct several
amendments in the regulations to improve slum conditions (SPARC, 2003; Mukherjee,
2008). But, it is reported that though there is incremental change in living conditions the
slums are growing continuously
How the slums rehabilitation projects work?
Slum Rehabilitation Society (SRS) is one of the oldest and active nongovernmental
organizations (NGO) in Mumbai and working with a different approach to slum
rehabilitation. Its strategy to improve slums is by promoting the "self-development"
approach to prohibit the profiteering by an
individual or organisation. e main beneficiaries of self development approach are both
the
occupants and the city. A slum rehabilitation scheme can be taken up on the plots that
are
notified, categorised and approved as a slum by the local government. If any of the plots
covered
by a slum is reserved for non-buildable reservation, then during the resettlement and
rehabilitation the plot area should be more than 500 m2 and minimum ground coverage
should
not exceed 25 percent by the slum rehabilitation. With self development approach, slum
dwellers
get an opportunity to appoint a developer for execution of proposal. Slum rehabilitation
and self
development in Mumbai is financed by ‘re-housing the slum dwellers’ in multi-storeyed
buildings
on one part of the land and selling the other part at commercial rates in the city. Also, 70
percent
of the eligible slum dwellers from hutments can come together to form a society to
implement the
slum rehabilitation scheme. If the area is too dense and difficult to get a satisfactory sale
component (as declared by local government), then the rights for developing the
commercial area
can be transferred to the northern suburbs under the scheme called Transferable
Development
Rights (TDR). e Floor Space Index (FSI) permissible for a scheme depends on the
number of
slum dwellers to be rehabilitated, but should not exceed 2.5. Also, after providing low
cost
housing, ex-slum dwellers living in an apartment receive help in the form of subsidies;
tax
reductions over a 20-year period and concession for an apartment maintenance. e
tenement assigned to a slum dweller is for a minimum period of 10 years from the date of
allotment and
cannot be sold during that period.
Every slum structure existing on or before 1st January 1995 are eligible for
rehabilitation and
cheap housing. All the eligible residential slum structures are provided with an
alternative
tenement admeasuring 225 square feet preferably at the same side, irrespective of the area
of their
slum structure. However, tenements can be transferred to a legal beneficiary if approved
by the
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SRA. A onetime sum of INR 20,000 per tenement is
recovered
from the developer for subsidising the monthly maintenance of the building. Flats are
allocated by
an open lottery system and in rare cases family do get a chance to choose flats depending
on
individual circumstances (handicap, old age, etc)

Modern Efforts at Slum Rehabilitation

During the early years of this century, in the aftermath of the plague epidemics, the first
systematic efforts were made to rehabilitate crowded living areas and slums. The City
Improvement Trust was set up with this mandate. However as Bombay continued to draw
migrants the growth of slums could not be checked even with the development of low-
cost housing. Post-independence efforts at providing better standards of living to this
section of the population are documented elsewhere.

Re-housing and Resettlement

During the case study it was observed that Pratap Nagar slums are not entirely affected
by the
project (JVLR). Different parts of Pratap Nagar which were getting affected because of
the project
were considered for rehabilitation and resettlemen

Social and Economic Conditions

In slums:
1. e majority were Hindu families, much less Muslim families and a few catholic
families
who speak English were found in those particular areas
2. e population is a mixed, one in terms of financial status.
3. High level of social interaction and social security is achieved due to the dense living
conditions.
4. Complex and functional use of the small amount of space allocated for living and
working
(i.e. residential, commercial) in many cases.

In rehabilitated areas:
1. As most of the flats are allocated on a lottery system, a mixed culture is observed.
2. ough population is mixed in terms of financial status, facilities and amenities are
same for
all.
3. High level of privacy, security and places for social interactions because of regulated
growth.
4. Some level of segregation of areas (kitchen and living) within the flats and at the
society level
(commercial, residential and play areas

Environment and Maintenance

e people living in the Pratap Nagar slums were very much concerned about the
cleanliness.
ey not only take care of their individual dwellings but also of their neighbourhood up
to some
extent. It was observed that all the people living in the slums contribute some money
monthly for
the maintenance of their slum areas. We can see this difference at the border areas where
garbage
is thrown, which is never cleared. Drainage systems in the hutment areas are
comparatively good.
Wherever possible the inhabitants have tried to close the drains. We often found the
drains on both sides of the streets. However, as the drainage and garbage is collected on
the periphery of the
hutments, overall quality of the slum areas are below an acceptable limit and unhealthy.
To maintain the hygiene in resettlement areas, SRA took initiative. ey are trying to
help groups
of buildings by forming societies and choosing a concern person who will take care of
issues
related to buildings (such as cleaning, collecting and throwing away garbage). e SRA
helps them
to build a common area, where everybody can dump their garbage and it will be sent
from there to
a dumping ground and/ or for recycling

Opinion about resettlement area

During the interviews, when asked about their personal opinion towards the resettlement
schemes, the following positive and negative observations were obtained

1 Positive feedback
1. People living in the resettlement area observed a significant increase in the amount of
day light,
ventilation and privacy; whereas most of these things are least in the slums.
2. Considerable increase in available number of facilities such as toilets, water, parking,
school,
public transport, roads, etc.
3. Resettlement provides more work opportunity and increase in monthly income.
4. Because of the regulated growth and upgradation in living standards they have good
neighbourhood and friends.
5. e availability of the public bus services near the resettlement area reduces their
travel time to
work

2 Negative feedback
1. Before the opening of the lottery to allocate their flats, they were not allowed to visit
the flats.
2. Families, where only one person is earning, were scared to relocate, as this might
increase their
monthly expenses because of the additional facilities which are not there in the slums.
3. As every family will be getting 225 square feet each, irrespective of their slum areas in
Pratap
Nagar; those who are getting less than their previous area in slum were disappointed.
4. Many of them were reluctant to shift, because they will be moving to a 7-storey
building (high
rise) from the low rise slums.
5. ose who were supposed to shift their commercial units (shops) were unhappy as they
might
observe a drop in their business.
Also, other than the above mentioned reasons, it was found that public opinions regarding
relocating themselves differed based on the following reasons.

4.4.3 Traditional v/s unorthodox

When compared, individuals, especially females, in orthodox families were not eager to
move into
a building, as one from a liberal family. is is because in orthodox families the women
are confined to the houses and have a very limited social life. ey feel that moving into a
building will
add to their isolation from the world. Hence, they were highly reluctant to move into
apartments.

4.4.4 Financial security v/s poverty

From the interviews it was revealed that economically stable families had no problems
moving
into buildings compared to the economically unstable family. When asked, the
economical reasons
such as better lifestyle and regulated growth were given by the different part of the
society

5 Education v/s illiteracy

Observations made during the interviews revealed that people who are educated and more
futuristic were keen to move. Education broadens their perspective and makes them want
an
apparently better lifestyle and environmental quality. On the other hand, people who are
less
educated and their life revolves around their small community prefer not to be isolated
from their
slum by moving. Also, we observed that some of the students, who are at school level,
were keen
on moving as there is provision of schools in the rehabilitated area, because they
expecting good
(educated) friends and better neighbourhood

'Political interference hinders slum rehabilitation'

mumbai: the biggest obstacle in the path of successful rehabilitation
of slum-dwellers in the city is the growing tendency to politicise the process, feel social
activists.
``politicians have repeatedly opted for a myopic approach by stalling demolition of slums
to garner votes instead of working for long-term rehabilitation,'' says national slum
dwellers federation (nsdf) president a. jockin.
a magsaysay award recipient for public service in 2000, mr jockin, is currently in the
midst of resettling 2,116 families residing in rafique nagar, a slum on the periphery of the
chhatrapati shivaji airport, to their one-room-kitchen flats in santosh nagar, goregaon (e).
rafique nagar is the only slum among 82 others poised on airport land which is being
rehabilitated so far.
thousands of slum-dwellers residing in slums like sanjay gandhi nagar, samrat ashok
nagar, ambevadi nagar, sambhaji nagar and ambedkar nagar, which were demolished last
week, have been left homeless. expressing concern about their fate mr jockin adds,
``now, they'll only create another slum elsewhere.''
the hutments surrounding the airport have always been viewed as a security threat to key
installations. giving in to mounting pressure from the centre in the wake of the sept. 11
terrorist attack in america some of the slums were finally demolished on dec. 21.
however, what has irked social workers is that local politicians resorted to ``cheap
gimmicks'' like getting the deadline extended instead of pressing for rehabilitation.
``the rehabilitation of rafique nagar residents too, had its fair share of hurdles,'' says nsdf
co-ordinator m.g. shekhar. initially the local politicians instigated the residents not to
agree to the resettlement agreement as they feared losing their vote bank, he says. ``we
held numerous meetings with the residents, personally visited each family to convince
them,'' he adds.
the easier part, say activists, was convincing the airports authority of india (aai) to give rs
1.25 lakh per family for rehabilitation and getting the state government to sanction the
land under the shivshahi punarvasan prakalp limited scheme. ``once the project came
through each politician wanted to stake their claim. we were repeatedly pressurised to add
a few families or delete the names of others,'' alleges mr shekhar.
rafique nagar residents, however, are breathing easy today as thousands of others like
them in neighbouring slums are left without a roof over their heads. their new homes
overlooking the film city in goregaon (e) comprise 225 sq feet one-room-kitchen
apartments with running water, electricity, cable and phone connection. there are 27
buildings of seven-storey each with ten flats on each floor.
anticipating the transformation in the lives of the slum-dwellers nsdf has asked each
family to open a savings account of rs 20,000. the interest will help pay for the upkeep of
the society, salaries of watchmen and liftmen. individual societies have been formed to
look after daily affairs and to ensure that no flats are sold to any outsider.
``it is a myth that slum-dwellers are averse to leaving their shanties,'' mr jockin states.
``given a choice, who wouldn't want to move to a better life''.

So profitable is resettlement that one local developer, Akruti Nirman, has built its
entire business around slums, and it is expected to raise $100 million next year in a
stock offering that has attracted overseas investors…the moves reflect a surge of
enthusiasm for Indian real estate, which was closed to foreign capital until last year.
Hundreds of millions of dollars are pouring in from firms like Goldman Sachs to build
new malls, apartments and offices, and many stock offerings are planned for next year.

Schemes for Slum rehabilation

National Slum Development Programme (NSDP)

National Slum Development Programme (NSDP) was introduced in the Eight Five Year
Plan during 1996-97 with the specific objective of providing basic amenities to slum
dwellers in the field of physical & social amenities, community infrastructure etc.. NSDP
is a centrally sponsored scheme meant for the improvement of slums :

The components of this scheme would include :

• Provision of physical amenities like water supply, storm water drains, community
baths, widening and paving of existing taxes, sewers, community latrines, street
lights etc.
• Community infrastructure : Provision of community centres to be used for pre
school education, non formal education, adult education, recreational activities
etc.
• Community primary health care centre buildings can be provided (It is proposed
that after creation of infrastructure facilities the concerned Municipalities will
seek the support of Registered Medical Practitioners/Government Doctors in the
State/NGOs) CBO/Philanthropic Associations to man these centres.
• Social amenities like pre school education, non-formal education, adult education,
maternity, child health and primary health care including etc.
• The scheme will attempt to bring about convergence between schemes being
implemented by different line departments and may also provide missing links, if
required.
 • Provision for shelter : The Scheme must have a component of shelter upgardation
or construction of houses (incl. EWS) as may be regd. This is a necessity if
genuine slum improvement is to be done. Not less than 10% of the allocation to
States under this assistance shall be utilised for constn. and up gradation of houses
for the urban poor.
• States may work out state specific schemes for housing construction/up gradation
under this component subject to the provision that the scheme shall not be an
entirely subsidy based scheme but the funding shall contain a loan component as
well, the state scheme shall be first got sanctioned in a state level project
committee which shall be set up for this purpose by the state govt. concerned and
which shall have one representative from the department of UEPA, which is the
nodal Department for this scheme in the GOI.

Yearly provision under this scheme shall be indicated by the Planning Commission at
the beginning of each financial year. Inter re allocation between states shall be made on
the basis of the slum populations of the states.

The scheme shall be implemented at the grass root level by the neighborhood
committees and community development societies.

The urban local body shall report progress under this scheme periodically to the
DUDA/SUDA. At the state level, the programme is regularly monitored by the Manipur
Urban Dev. Agency (MUDA) which issues necessary guidance as well as instructions to
the ULBs.

HDIL gets nod for Mumbai slum project

The real estate developer Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) got
the government approval for the coveted Mumbai airport slum rehabilitation programme
today. HDIL had earlier bagged the project from the Mumbai International Airport
(MIAL).

The tenement limit has been increased to 270 sq ft from 225 sq ft. As the size of the
tenement has gone up, the transfer of development rights will increase accordingly by
about 20 per cent more," said HDIL Managing Director Sarang Wadhawan.

According to HDIL, of the 276 acres, 180 acres would be used for airport development
and 96 acres for commercial development. HDIL will take 4 and half years to complete
the entire slum rehabilitation. Some of the slum dwellers will be moved to to a 50 acre
plot at Gorai and Malwni, located close to Malad.

According to the ongoing survey, there are about 85,000 families to be rehabilitated on
the 276 acres of airport land.
The HDIL stock spurted to Rs 846, up 9.59 per cent from Rs 772 a share on news that the
realty major had received approval for the airport slum rehabilitation project.

The stock touched a high of Rs 860.7 a share and a low of Rs 772 a share in intraday
trades.

A credible low-income housing policy is actually within reach

The Mumbai Municipal Corporation has had a busy few weeks, demolishing thousands
of slum dwellings. Media reports captured the standard responses: middle-class angst
against illegal squatters, versus the outrage of the displaced about the inequity in treating
those who form the underbelly of Mumbai’s economy. The slum demolition is being
framed in the context of Mumbai — the country’s commercial capital — losing its
eminence. However, the story needs to be understood against a larger tapestry of two
other developments: one, the increasing urbanisation of India, with a projected 600
million residents by 2030; and two, the booming housing finance market, which has gone
from a Rs 10,000 crore industry barely five years ago to one that is touching Rs 100,000
crore.

The reality: urban land is all about money.

The situation in Mumbai actually requires some reflection about why the poor are
squatting. India has an abysmal story to tell on urban poor housing. NSSO’s Survey in
2002 is revealing: 52,000 slums hold eight million urban households, representing 14%
of the total urban population, and only half the poor — the others live on the streets.
About 65% of the slums were built on public land owned mostly by local bodies, state
governments, etc. Infrastructure facilities are atrocious: only 15% of these households
have drinking water, electricity and latrines in their premises. Less than 25% of them
have sanitation systems. The housing stock shortage in India is around 20 million, of
which 50% is urban; of this, 70%-80% is in the low-income segment.

This is not just about “slum demolition drives”; it requires a coherent low-income
housing policy. Two questions could help in directing the discussions. The first: “Can the
housing needs of the urban poor be served by market forces? If so, what needs to be
done?”

After all, the boom in housing finance has happened due to market forces. So it is logical
to ask why banks are not lending to the low-income group, and why real estate
developers are not building for this gigantic eight million-strong market. To provide
some perspective, HDFC has financed a total of 2.5 million homes over 25 years. The
NSSO survey shows that the urban poor spend close to Rs 1 lakh of their own money on
housing: the nesting instinct is universal. Housing finance companies and large banks
don’t service the low-income market for a variety of reasons
Stop free slum rehabilitation'

f the state wants to provide housing to almost 60% of the city's population living in
slums, it needs to do away with free rehabilitation, urban-planning experts said on the
concluding day of Megamorphosis, a conference on Mumbai's resurgence, on
Wednesday.

With property prices varying wildly across the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR),
incentives should be linked with slum rehabilitation projects in locations with lower
property prices, and vice-versa, to ensure that such projects are economically viable.

Senior housing officials said Suresh Joshi, housing secretary in 2004 and now the chief
information commissioner, had proposed a similar scheme under which builders could
avail of a higher developable space as incentive. The scheme did not take off as the base
floor space index (FSI) in the suburbs was not raised from 1 to 1.33. This was done in
2008.

"For example, a developer in Bandra saw no profit if he had to use the balance FSI
beyond Andheri, where property rates are Rs4,000 a sq ft against Rs9,000 at Bandra," an
official said. "If this scheme is implemented now, it would work well as both TDR and
property rates are rising."

The planners agreed that the current slum redevelopment scheme alone cannot address
the demand for rehabilitation and sought subsidy in the form of low housing finance and
increasing capital assistance.

They also urged greater government participation in ensuring land allocation for
affordable housing. "Singapore has used its power to transfer land to the Housing and
Development Board --- similar to Mhada --- for public housing," said Shirish Patel, urban
planner and social activist. "California has active zoning policies whereby developers can
construct up to 20% additional area than permitted as per the local development plan as
an incentive to create affordable housing units."

Sitaram Kunte, principal secretary (housing), said the Centre has already taken steps to
promote inclusive housing by mandating that new developments will have to reserve 25%
to 30% of the space for low-income groups.

increase the floor space index

The state government is all set to increase the floor space index (FSI) for slum
rehabilitation projects across the city from 2.5 to a whopping 4.

In simple terms, this means that if a builder in a slum rehab scheme could construct a
five-storey building with FSI 2.5, he could now go up to 15 floors. (FSI is the ratio of the
permissible built-up area vis-a-vis the size of the plot.) An increase in the FSI would
allow developers additional construction on slum land, which would give them windfall
profits under the free sale component. Town planners fear this will further burden an
already creaking infrastructure and increase human density on such plots.
The government’s proposal comes barely days after the chief minister’s office cleared
an enhanced floor space index of 4 for the Mumbai-based developer HDIL for rehousing
80,000 slum families encroaching on airport land.

Sources told TOI that since the airport slum clearance was a ‘public-interest project’,
HDIL’s proposal for an FSI of 4 was sanctioned in a record two weeks after it was put up
for approval by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). The file was put up on June 6
and the government order was out on June 20.

Since then, more slum redevelopers have started lobbying with the government to hike
the FSI for slum schemes across the city.

UPSIDE TOWN

1. Under the SRA scheme, assume ten acres house approximately 10,000 slum dwellers

2. With an FSI of 2.5, builders could construct a maximum of up to five storeys,

with very little open space between the buildings
3. With an FSI of 4, the buildings can now rise up to a minimum of 15-16 storeys in
mega redevelopment schemes anywhere in the city or suburbs
4. The decision will result in a bonanza for builders

Increased FSI in slums windfall for Cong man

Sources told TOI that one of the biggest beneficiaries of the increase in slum rehab FSI is
a top Congress party functionary who has a stake in at least three dozen slum rehab
schemes, including three big ones in Santa Cruz, Golibar and Worli.
On June 23, the SRA issued a notification inviting objections and suggestions from the
public regarding the proposed hike in FSI from 2.5 to 4. It’s learnt that only high-density
slums—those which have 650 tenements per hectare—will be entitled to an FSI of 4. “All
such proposals will have to be cleared by the urban development department, which is
headed by chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh,’’ said sources. However, slums with a
lower density will be entitled to FSI 3, which can be sanctioned by the SRA itself.
A majority of the slums in the city falls into the “high density’’ category. What makes the
scheme so lucrative for builders is that the entire FSI of 4 can be used on the plot where
slumdwellers will be rehoused.

So far, only an FSI of 2.5 was permitted on a slum rehab plot and anything above that
could be used as transfer of development rights (TDR), to be utilised for construction
purposes anywhere north of that plot. With TDR no longer as lurcative as it used to be,
the utilisation of FSI 4 on the same plot means a huge windfall.

The government has justified the higher FSI because the size of each free tenement for
slum dwellers has been increased from 225 sq ft to 269 sq ft. “Once HDIL’s proposal for
FSI 4 was approved, it was a matter of time before the government sanctioned it for other
slum schemes as well,’’ said a Mantralaya official.
In fact, for HDIL’s airport slum clearance project, the state has relaxed the norm of
reserving 25% of a slum rehab plot for a recreation ground. The government order has
reduced it to a meagre 8%.

REHAB SCHEME

The slum rehab scheme was introduced over a decade ago by the then Shiv Sena-BJP
government. Builders were required to get the consent of at least 70% of slum dwellers in
a settlement before rehousing them in new buildings. Each family was to be given a 269
sq-ft tenement, free of cost. In return, the developers would get extra FSI to build
residential towers or commercial space on a portion of the plot.

Slum Redevelopment scheme way behind schedule

The Rs32,000-crore Slum Redevelopment Authority scheme was introduced in 1995,

only 1.5 lakh houses are constructed over the past 14 years against the targeted 8 lakh

Maharashtra government’s initiative of making Mumbai a slum-free city by 2015 is way

behind the schedule with hardly 1.5 lakh houses constructed over the past 14 years
against the targeted 8 lakh.

“So far, we have made 1.5 lakh units and 2.5 lakh units are still under construction. We
need to develop 5 lakh more units,” State Housing Department secretary Sitaram Kunte
said.

The Rs32,000-crore Slum Redevelopment Authority (SRA) scheme was introduced in

1995 by the then Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government with a view to
rehabilitate millions of slum-dwellers in the city.

The global economic downturn resulted in an overall slowdown in several redevelopment

projects of the state government, including the SRA scheme and the Dharavi
Development Project, Kunte said.
However, he declined to give further information on the Rs5,600-crore Dharavi project—
the world’s largest slum rehabilitation programme.

“The private developers were not too keen during the economic slump (to take up
projects) and hence the slow progress. It was even considered unviable in some of the
suburbs as the sale rates were less than Rs2,000 per sq ft,” Kunte said.

”However, the department is hopeful that with the economy showing signs of recovery,
more private developers will come forward,“ Kunte said, adding the government is only a
facilitator and more public-private-partnership is required for the execution of the
projects.

Under the SRA, every slum structure existing as on 1 January 1995, or before is eligible
to benefit from the rehabilitation scheme.

Also, nearly 70% of the residents of any slum should agree before a developer can
redevelop their plot by constructing seven-storey buildings where each family will get a
flat measuring 225 sq ft free, he said.

The remaining land can be used to build commercial or residential spaces for sale. Out of
the total project amount, Mumbai alone will require nearly Rs16,000-crore.

“To further facilitate the project, the government should modify the existing rules and
increase the Floor Space Index (FSI) to 4 from the existing 2.5, which the developers do
not find viable,” he added.

DISNEY DHARAVI

The word ‘holiday’ conjures up an image of sun-kissed beaches, slopes lush with
greenery, historical backdrops and other picture postcard images. Ask any old
Mumbaikar if the city has anything to offer the curious tourist and the answer would most
likely be a resounding no: head for Goa or head for the hills will be their rejoinder. That
is until Dharavi became the unlikely tourist attraction.

Yes, Asia's biggest slum has a lot going for it with the recent trend of "reality tourism".

Evidence of its popularity is the growing success of Reality Tours & Travels with
conducting trips that promise a unique way to experience the "real" Mumbai. The agency
was started in January this year in collaboration between Chris Way, a citizen of UK and
Mumbaikar Krishna Pujari. With an investment of 13 lakh rupees they have so far played
guides to an odd assortment of tourists that have included foreigners, journalists and even
locals.

Eighty per cent of the agency's profit after tax goes to a local NGO called Modern
Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation that runs nursery schools for under-
privileged children in the slums. The remaining 20 per cent is used to pay off loans or
ploughed right back into the business.

The tours are conducted through, and their frequency is an indication of its popularity,
even as the agency is not keen to make Dharavi a spectator sport. The tours are conducted
in groups of not more than five in an effort not to rob residents of their privacy.

It is the heart of small scale industries in Mumbai." This is evident from the manner in
which the tour guides attempt to educate the tourists with Dharavi trivia.

Did you know that Dharavi is spread across 443 acres of land housing more than a
million people hard at work in more than 10,000 varied small scale units? This is where
Dharavi stands out when compared to other slums in India, or the world. Richard, a
lawyer from UK, remarks that while holidaying in countries such as Brazil, Thailand and
South Africa where guided slum tours are well established, he come across this kind of
productivity. "No one is holding out any begging bowl here and that's what I like. This
level of enterprise is astounding," he says.

One comes across businesses ranging from bakeries to units recycling plastic and metal
to leather tanning and clay pot making. All this apparently translates into an eye brow
raising annual turnover of approximately Rs 3000 crore.

The tour threads through a school that is operating in the heart of the slum, where more
than 50 children of two separate grades share a single room. Cliff, a UK citizen and
lawyer by profession, is moved and says, "It's heartening to see the children all decked
out in clean uniforms with their well thumbed school books. It's certainly the inspiration
and the hope for the future for the people of Dharavi."

Slum Rehabilitation Authority

Dharavi Redevelopment Project

1. Introduction:
Dharavi is the largest and highly populated slum pocket in Asia. Govt. of Maharashtra
has accepted the proposal submitted by Architect, Mr. Mukesh Mehta for the
redevelopment of Dharavi which, after suitable modifications, will be implemented
through the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), according to the norms of S. R. Act of
1971.

2. Development Plan:
According to SRA norms, the slum dweller whose name appear in the voters list as on
01.01.1995 & who is actual occupant of the hutment is eligible for rehabilitation. Each
family will be allotted a self contained house of 225 sq.ft. carpet area free of cost. The
eligible slum dwellers appearing in Annexure II certified by the Competent Authority
will be included in the Rehabilitation scheme. Eligible slum dwellers will be given rehab
tenement in Dharavi.

3. Transit Tenements:
During the implementation of this project, Dharavi residents will be provided with transit
tenements, in close proximity of Dharavi or in Dharavi itself. The developer will bear the
cost on account of rent of the transit tenements but the cost of expenditure of
consumables like water, electricity, telephone etc. will have to be borne by the slum
dwellers.

4. Sustainable Development:
The development plan for Dharavi has many amenities in it; viz. wider roads, electricity,
ample water supply, playgrounds, schools, colleges, medical centers, socio-cultural
centers etc. For proper implementation, Dharavi has been divided into 10 sectors and
sectors will be developed by different developers. The total duration of this project is
excepted to be of 5 to 7 years. Rehabilitation building will be of 7 storeys.

5. Development Procedure:
After considering the redevelopment plan, a detailed plane table survey has been carried
out to know the ground realities. Also, consent of the slum dwellers to join this project is
being obtained. After obtaining suggestions & objectives from the public for the revised
development plan, the same will be finalized by Govt. For each sector a detailed sectoral
plan will be prepared by the selected developer in consultation with SRA.This will be
placed before the public for suggestion/objectives and then finalized after due
amendments.

6. Appointment of the Developer:

Global tenders will be invited from developers for this project. The developer will be
evaluated technically and financially by a Committee headed by the Chief Secretary of
Government of Maharashtra. Each developer is required to explain his development
strategy in his sector and obtain objectives & suggestions from the residents before
starting the development process.

7. Development of local Industrial units:

Taking into consideration the various industrial units in Dharavi, it is being proposed
that, non-polluting industrial / businesses will be retained in Dharavi itself. All the
established businesses and manufacturing units will be encouraged and will be provided
with modern technical and economical strategies for sustainable development.
FAQs

1. What does Dharavi Redevelopment Project mean and what are its benefits ? The
eligible Slum dwellers of Dharavi will be provided with a free of cost pakka house of 225
Sq.ft. carpet area with attached toilet & bathroom.

2. Who will benefit from this project ? The slum dweller whose name appears in the
voters list as on 01.01.1995 & who is actual occupant of the hut will benefit from the
scheme.

3. How will a slum dweller get to know that his name is registered in the Government
records ? If your name appears in the electoral roll of 01.01.1995 and you are occupying
the said hut as on today, you are entitled for rehab tenement.

4. Who will decide the eligibility of slum dwellers under the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme
? Following Competent Authorities on the basis of ownership of land covered by
hutments will decide the eligibility.

Land Owner / Authority

1. Government owned land Deputy Collector (Encroachments)
2. MCGM Concerned Ward Officer/Assistant Commissioner
3. MHADA Chief Officer-Mumbai Housing & Area Development Board
4. Privately owned land Deputy Collector (Encroachments)

5. What does Annexure II mean?

Annexure II means the list of slum dwellers who are entitled to benefit from the Slum
Rehabilitation Scheme, it also includes the measurements of land.

6. What is the importance of Annexure II?

A person can get rehabilitation tenements only if his name is include in Annexure II.

7. What is the duration of Dharavi project?

The total duration of Dharavi project is approximately 5 to 7 years.

8. If two families are staying in the same house, would they be given two separate
houses?
No, only one house will be allotted to such family.

9. What will be the arrangements for the transit tenements?

Transit tenements will be either in Dharavi or in the vicinity of Dharavi.

10. Who will bear the expenditure for the transit tenements?
The developer will bear the rent for the transit tenements, however, other expenditure
such as water charges, electricity charges, telephone charges will be borne by the slum
dwellers themselves.
11. How will the developers be appointed for Dharavi development Project?
The Government will call for global tenders. These tenders will be evaluated technically
and financially be the committee under the chairmanship of the chief secretary of the
Government. The eligible developer is required to explain his development strategy in his
sector & seek their suggestions/objections from the residents before starting the
development process.

12. Can an NGO or slum dwellers’ co-operative housing society bid for a sector?
An NGO/Co. Op housing society who qualifies with the technical and financial criteria of
the tenders being called by Government, can bid for development of a sector.

13. What will be the maintenance and Municipal taxes per month after the formation of
Housing Societies?
The residents have to pay maintenance and Municipal taxes per month in accordance
with the existing slum rehabilitation scheme, being implemented in Dharavi.

14. How many storeys will each building have?

Normally, each building will have 7 storeys. However developer can construct rehab
building of more than 7 floors in consultation will the concerned Co. op. Housing society
of slum dwellers.

15. When will the co-operatives be formed for the slum dwellers?
The Co-op. society of slum dwellers will be formed, after the commencement certificate
is issued.

16. Do the slum dwellers have to pay any amount towards the project?
No.

17. If the name of the slum dweller is not registered in the electoral list before 01.01.1995
and he is staying in the same structure prior to 01.01.1995, will he be eligible under S. R.
Scheme?
In such a situation this slum dwellers can appeal to the S.R.A. he will be given a heating
and his eligibility will be decided based on evidence produced by him.

18. If my hutment is falling under a proposed road or any other public purpose project,
am I entitle for the rehab tenement?
If your hutment is situated on the land reserved for public purpose and if it is constructed
before 01.01.1995 then you will be entitled to receive a rehab tenement. If it is not
possible to rehabilitate at the same place, then the rehabilitation will be done in the near
vicinity.

19. What are the various plans for the industrial sector?
Government intends to legalize the industrial units conforming to the Government norms
& Development control Regulations.
20. What provisions are made for the cottage industries?
Businesses falling under this category will be protected, provided they obtain legal
document or necessary licenses for running the business.

Salient features of Dharavi Slum Redevelopment Project: .

The five year Dharavi Redevelopment Project worth Rs 8,600 crores was drawn up on
February 4, 2004 in view of the dense combination of commercial and residential
structures.

The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) had come up with a Rs 6,380 crore plan for
redeveloping Dharavi slums by 2010.

The center, state and HUDCO are to jointly finance the plan. Global tenders to be floated
and project to be implemented by private builders.

Original slumdwellers living prior to January 1, 1995 to be relocated in newly built

buildings with 225 sq ft free tenement.

Plan envisages plush residential and commercial complexes, hospitals, schools and
colleges.

15 percent of the land is to be reserved for open green spaces and playgrounds.

Private builders to get 4 FSI as incentive for commercial exploitation of remaining land.

Spread over 174 hectares of land Dharavi billed as Asia's largest slum connects the Island
city with suburban Mumbai.

Connects East-West Express Highways also Western, Eastern and Harbour lines of the
suburban railway network.

Close to 6 lakh people and 71,000 families live in the slum. Houses about 5,000 small
scale units producing intermediary goods, houses leather tanneries. SSI units here
generate Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 crore turnover annually.

Former PM AB Vajpayee had granted Rs 500 crores for developing infrastructure like
roads, drainage systems by the BMC.
Blueprint for a new Dharavi

The Slum Rehabilitation Authority’s (SRA) tender inviting bids for the ‘Redevelopment
of Dharavi’ project which began on June 1, 2007, has drawn a huge response. Leading
international developers from 40 cities across the world including the US-based Hynes,
Far East-based Capitaland, Ascendas, Ayala, the UAE-based Emaar, Nakheel and
Limitless have started lobbying strongly with local developers such as Hiranandani
Constructions, Rahejas, Kalpataru, Lokhandwala Infrastructure, Akruti Nirman to form
joint ventures for bidding jointly. By July 15, 2007, international developers will submit
their JV patterns to SRA, followed by the final bidding process by July-end 2007.

The key question is: will these international builders in association with local developers
be successful in bringing about necessary redevelopment within Dharavi (where 55% of
its residents live in the squalid slums and over 57,000 families are squeezed into an area
of 535 acres) necessitating structural changes at the entry and exit levels of Dharavi.

According to Ghulam Zia, National Director of Research and Advisory Services, Knight
Frank, “Builders will have to plan and develop high-rise buildings within the periphery of
Dharavi in a manner that should enhance the value of the real estate property on the
outskirts of the Dharavi also. Otherwise, the redevelopment of the Dharavi project will
place a burden on existing infrastructure such as railways, water supply, sewage
treatment at the entry and exit points.”

Under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, all the eligible slum dwellers whose names
are incorporated in the electoral roll of 1995 and whose structures are existing on site will
be rehabilitated free of cost in a self contained pucca tenement with a carpet area of 225
sq ft through the developers to be appointed by the government of Maharashtra. Besides,
additional amenities like school, an ITI, colleges, municipal hospitals, police stations and
post office will be developed and these facilities will be available to slum dwellers.

Iqbal Chahal, the chief executive officer of Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) who
has been recently appointed as vice president and chief executive officer for the Dharavi
Redevelopment Project told FE, “For this, the quantum of amenity requirements is now
increased to 10% from the earlier limit of 5%.”

Of the 557 acres, the actual redevelopment of Dharavi will span 360 acres, which the
state government has divided into five sectors. With the total redevelopment cost of Rs
9,200 crore, Dharavi will be redeveloped as an integrated township with modern
amenities that will be financially viable and self-sustaining. It is envisaged to provide the
infrastructure along five points dubbed HIKES where H stands for Health: State of Art
Health Care Centre; I for Income: Income generation through supporting the craftsmen
working in leather, pottery, food processing, garment manufacturing, gems and jewellery
industries. K for Knowledge: Through education to achieve 100% literacy, and, S for
Socio – cultural development.
Hemant Shah, chairman, Akruti Nirman says, “Looking at the dynamism of this project,
the cost of the project may exceed over Rs 20,000 crore over a period of time from the
current estimated cost of Rs 9,300 crore. This is because every aspect of the Dharavi
Rehabilitation project is positive as it has gained wide publicity in 40 cities across the
world whereby many international builders are looking at bidding for this project.”

As per the tender issued by SRA, Dharavi’s proximity to Mumbai’s business district,
railways and airport provide the strategic advantage of leveraging Dharavi’s
improvement costs with free sale buildable areas. Given an appropriate scale of
operation, one large and continuous free sale area can be developed into a high-rise
garden city complex, with completely modern infrastructure and amenities for the local
residents and all of Mumbai.

Ashutosh Limaye, head—urban development of TrammellCrow Megharaj (now Jones

Lang LaSalle Meghraj), opines, “Prior to the Dharavi redevelopment, one of the biggest
challenges for the SRA authorities as well as builders will be to eradicate the ongoing
illegal commercial activities there.”

Mumbai-based Ali Lokhandwala, director, Lokhandwala Infrastructure who has shown

keen interest in bidding for the project cautions builders on the resistance which they will
have to face from the slum dwellers since everybody has so far been used to living on the
ground level. He adds, “There will be political agenda by politicians who will try to meet
during the redevelopment process. In such circumstances, the state government will have
to be firm in terms of standing by the redevelopment plan of Dharavi so that judiciary
also supports the state government.”

Since the residential buildings will command a selling price of Rs 10,000 per sq ft is
similar to the prices on the Western Express Highway, Dharavi will see a population pull
from Western and Central suburbs. But redevelopment of Dharavi is being considered
good from a urban regeneration point of view since Dharavi has always been a permanent
eyesore to foreign travellers flying to India apart from slums adding pollution to the Mithi
river.

Niranjan Hiranandani, managing director, Hiranandani Construction says, “With Dharavi

getting redeveloped, I feel great. Although the state government is not doing anything to
remove the Urban Land Ceiling Act (ULCA), at least an effort is being made by them
instead of doing away with the slums in Dharavi.”

Hafeez Contractor—a renowned architect from Mumbai told FE, “The redevelopment of
Dharavi seems to be good and I am looking forward to it as there will be many office
buildings and residential complexes.”

Although it is understood that the temporary accommodation of slum dwellers will be

done at the transit camp by the developers within Dharavi itself, speculations are rife that
the same slum dwellers may not go for the upcoming flats. However, Chahal denies any
such bottleneck and affirms that the redevelopment project will benefit the slum dwellers
and beautify Mumbai.

Dharavi rehabilitation

About 57,000 families with about 340,000 people and hundreds of small businesses
currently occupy the 535-acre stretch in mostly illegal structures that have multiplied
over decades.

For the Dharavi rehabilitation, 26 consortia comprising 78 companies have filed

preliminary bids. The project's total cost is estimated at Rs. 9,250 crore ($2.3 billion),
covering housing, civic infrastructure and amenities. It will be distributed across five
contracts valued at between Rs. 1,000 crore ($250 million) and Rs. 2,500 crore ($625
million) each. Winning bidders will pay a "premium" to the government in exchange for
the development rights. Mehta says the state government could collect premiums totaling
as much as Rs. 4,000 crore ($1 billion), which will come out of the developers' profits.

Mehta says bidders that meet prequalification criteria will be short-listed by the end of
September, and then asked to submit detailed proposals. By early December, he expects
to announce the successful bidders, and ground should be broken by January of next year.

Public-Private Partnerships

Mehta's model is designed to cross-subsidize free housing and infrastructure with for-sale
housing and commercial space. Under the plan, developers will provide free housing of
225 sq. ft. to each of 57,000 families. These would be one-room studio apartments with
an attached bath and kitchen, plus related utilities and amenities including schools,
colleges, hospitals and parks. The developers will offset their costs with for-sale housing
and commercial space at market rates. Some of that will come from the market prices
residents and commercial establishments like shops will be required to pay for space
greater than 225-sq.-ft. A portion of the developers' revenues from these for-sale
properties will accrue to the government as a premium.

"All the world's eyes are on Dharavi," says Mehta about the bidding interest the project
has generated so far. The bidders include many of India's major industrial groups such as
Reliance; engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro; and real estate developers
DLF, Hiranandani Constructions, the K. Raheja Group, Tata Housing and Mahindra
Gesco. Several foreign companies have also shown interest in bidding, including real
estate developer Hines of Houston, Tex.; Ascendas and Capitaland of Singapore; and
Emaar Properties of Dubai.
Mehta acknowledges that the project's schedule could be thrown off course by legal
squabbles, bureaucratic delays, disputes between and with slum dwellers, and any
opposition from local politicians, underworld slumlords and other interested parties. He
says that the project's very economic and social logic will hopefully overwhelm critics,
and he routinely addresses local meetings to garner support. He adds that the courts
should play a supportive role, because they "have understood the slum rehabilitation
scheme and are aware that this has been going on for 10 years."

A City within a City

Mumbai's slums hold 55% of the city's 12 million residents, or 1.2 million families in
1,126 slum pockets, as a survey by Mehta's firm revealed. Dharavi is the most high
profile for a variety of reasons, including its prime location straddling the city's eastern
and western corridors, flourishing small and medium businesses, a reputation for
spawning crime, and chronic unsanitary conditions on which the city's municipality
appears to have given up.

"This is now my life's work," says Mehta, 56, who was born into a wealthy family that
ran steel mills and other businesses in India's Gujarat state. Dharavi was far from his
mind when he graduated with a degree in architecture in India and then left the country to
obtain his master's degree at the Pratt Institute in New York City in 1984. While in the
U.S., he developed expensive, custom homes in Long Island's affluent Nassau County.
Until 1997, he shuttled between the U.S. and India while running a few businesses, but
eventually closed them all down to focus on his Dharavi project.

Mehta literally stumbled upon Dharavi when he returned from the U.S. He says he was
galvanized by the combination of filth, squalor, poverty, enterprise and the locked
potential of the slum's prime location, and began to work on a rehabilitation plan. He set
up his offices in Dharavi "to understand who I am dealing with, and interact at the
grassroots level with the slum dwellers."

Perversely, Dharavi is also emblematic of the survival instincts of Mumbai's continually

expanding population in the face of infrastructure unable to keep pace. About 300 new
immigrant families are said to enter the city as permanent residents every day.
Meanwhile, the slum residents have started hundreds of small businesses in pottery,
leather craft, plastics and metal recycling, cottage-industry electronics and garments.
"Show me a single beggar in Dharavi," says Mehta, underscoring his point that the
suburb has the potential to transform itself from an eyesore into an economic engine for
the city.

Government Planning Shortcomings

Over the years, successive governments have attempted to rehabilitate Dharavi's slum
dwellers, and it became one of the first targets of non-government organizations looking
for suitable projects. Mehta felt many of these went about the task in a piecemeal fashion.
He drafted an alternative plan that he pitched to the state government in 1997.
Mehta says the government's plan at that time was "brilliant," in that it sought to use
public-private partnerships to extract value from the land on which the slum dwellers
resided, by allowing for-sale development options. But it suffered from some
fundamental shortcomings, he notes. Most important of all was the failure to recognize
the organic and haphazard ways in which slums proliferate into every available area:
Lacking contiguous settlements or rectangular plots, they don't allow for conventional
master planning.

Dharavi's redevelopment occurred only in those pockets where developers were able to
secure the required consent from residents in any slum (70%). But because these pockets
were typically mapped out in irregular plots and in what continued to be a slum
neighborhood, the for-sale housing went for low prices. The government, for the most
part, kept a hands-off approach after laying down project specifications.

The poorly staffed government machinery was unable to enforce the project
specifications on construction quality, and rampant corruption made things worse, says
Mehta. The roughly 100,000 homes that have been built in this manner so far "will
become vertical slums," he says. Moreover, he adds, development under the government's
plan is not sustainable. "Unless I improve the ability of the slum dwellers to generate
income and live the modified lifestyle, they cannot maintain their new housing."

Mehta proposed a master plan for the entire slum -- an integrated, sustainable
development approach called HIKES (health, income, knowledge, environment and
socio-cultural development). Mehta says the HIKES approach allows slum dwellers "to
maximize their opportunities and be respected for who they are" in terms of their own
achievements. The government gave the plan enthusiastic support.

"With HIKES, the chance of [slum residents] leading a sustainable, improved life is
greater than you would get by providing just housing," says Mehta. "This is the mistake
that all the developing countries are making -- China, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa,
Turkey and Malaysia. They are thinking of slum rehabilitation as a housing issue.
Housing is only one part of it; the larger part is human resources."

Leveraging Location

Dharavi has several advantages in terms of its location. It is the only Mumbai suburb with
connections to all three of the city's commuter rail corridors (Western, Central and
Harbor lines). It is also less than two miles from the airport, and a third of a mile from the
new Bandra-Kurla commercial complex.

The integrated development approach and the prospect of a slum-free suburb emerging in
Dharavi made it easier to market the project to businesses, academic establishments and
professional associations. Mehta lists a string of collaborations that have been struck so
far:
 • A collaboration with the All India Association of Day Surgeons ensures that in
exchange for space to house day surgery polyclinics, its member doctors would
provide free or subsidized services to slum residents.

• Alliances with primary and secondary schools to set up facilities in Dharavi. For
every free school an educational institution puts up, it will get space for a full fee-
paying school, provided the quality of education is the same at both schools.

• An agreement with the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad to allow

for Dharavi's leather crafts and pottery industries to turn out designer brands. "So
far they are only imitating the Guccis and the Pierre Cardins and the Christian
Diors of the world," says Mehta. "NID has agreed to upgrade the skills of the
leather craftsmen and make ceramists of the potters." A few brand-name retail
chains like Metro Shoes and Hi-Design have agreed to market the leather crafts
produced through such ventures. Mehta sees similar possibilities in a range of
other industries, from garments to toys and food products.

• A provisional agreement with the Gems & Jewelry Export Promotion Council for
its members to set up 300 factories and hire 250 people for each, creating a total
of 75,000 jobs with an average annual income of Rs. 100,000 ($2,500). Mehta
says this would be a big income generator even if only a third of those employees
are hired from Dharavi. He says this initiative is estimated to generate exports
worth $1.5 billion annually.

A project to create a golf driving range in the middle of Dharavi has gotten traction
among some big businesses such as the Reliance Group, says Mehta, who argues it would
prevent encroachment of vacant land and draw the wealthy into Dharavi. Another of
Mehta's ideas is to set up a cricket museum in the suburb. He sees both possibilities as
efforts to help integrate the slum population with mainstream middle- and upper-income
groups.

Mehta claims the revised regulations for sewerage, storm water drainage and other
utilities are in line with international standards. "We have looked at eco-housing criteria.
We're talking about alternative sources of energy, solid waste recycling and management,
recycling water, rain water harvesting, energy conservation and even issues related to
global warming, at the infrastructure level," he says.

Further, Mehta's firm has also rewritten much of the earlier regulations that he felt held
site planning and construction norms to low compliance requirements. The mandatory
space required between two buildings has been doubled from the earlier level to 20 ft.;
similarly, open space requirements, as a proportion of construction area, was increased
from 8% to 15% of the developed area.

Under the earlier regime, homes could not get "even light and air ventilation properly,"
Mehta says. Some developers "cheated on the 8% open space norm by providing 1%
here, 3% somewhere else and 4% in a third place, with the result that you don't even get
one maidan [Hindi for "playground"]," he adds. Slum dwellers needed more open space
than others, he argues, "because their per-capita housing space is less and the density is
higher."

Will people used to the ways of a slum adopt a new outlook about upkeep and keep their
surroundings clean? Mehta isn't taking chances: Deals are in place for all providers of
utilities and services, including plumbing, elevators and exterior paint to maintain and
undertake repairs free of charge for the first 15 years. Developers, too, will be required to
maintain the buildings they erect for 15 years.

Mehta doesn't see slum proliferation through encroachment as a recurring problem in the
areas that will be developed. The residents, as owners of their new dwellings, will
prevent that, he says. "If it is your fiefdom or your area you will not let anybody come
in." The resettled families will have an initial 30-year lease, with automatic renewal for
another 30 years. For each home they build, developers will put Rs. 20,000 ($400) in an
escrow account to finance its upkeep; the homeowner will meet costs beyond that. All
that comes with a caveat: residents cannot sell their homes for the first 10 years.

Mehta says his firm's responsibility for managing the project runs "until the last slum
dweller is re-housed." That may take about seven years from now, he says. His firm
currently has 68 employees; he expects that to grow to more than 350 by the time
construction starts in December.

Dharavi project gets an expert panel

An expert committee has been set up to advise the Government on planning, management
and implementation of the Dharavi makeover project. The 11-member committee
comprising architects, city planners, activists and former bureaucrats has been approved
by Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.

The panel includes former chief secretary D M Sukhtankar, former IAS officer Sunder
Burra, urban planner Vidyadhar Phatak, architect Shirish Patel, housing expert
Chandrashekhar Prabhu, architects Arvind and Neera Adarkar, director of the Kamla
Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture Aniruddh Paul, Society for the Promotion of
Area Research Centres (SPARC) Director Sheela Patel and SPARC founder and National
Slum Dwellers Federation convener Jockin Arputham.

The convener of the committee will be Gautam Chatterjee, officer on special duty for the
Rs 15,000-cr Dharavi Redevelopment Project.

The panel will advise the state government on aspects like setting up of transit camps,
layout of rehabilitation tenements, facilities to be provided to such buildings, the civic
infrastructure to be provided to the five sectors planned in the project and how it would
be linked to the infrastructure in the city.

The committee will also advise the government on ensuring environmental sustainability
of the project, besides aspects like the baseline social and economic surveys, laying down
eligibility criteria for rehabilitation, complaint redressal, legal and commercial matters,
setting up of co-operative housing societies for the rehabilitated buildings and a
federation of such institutions, laying down responsibilities and ensuring co-ordination
between various state government agencies during the execution of the project. The panel
would also advise the government on measures to be taken to protect and maintain living
standards of locals.

SLUM MAKEOVER

In a bid to prevent corrupt practices in the Dharavi mega makeover

project, officials of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) will be using
state-of-the-art techniques like satellite imaging and biometric surveys.
While satellite imaging will give exact measurements of the structures,
biometric surveys will store fingerprints of the slum dwellers so that
ineligible persons do not usurp the flats which will be given free under the
makeover project. DRP may finetune the biometric surveys to even image
retinas so that there is absolutely no scope for bogus allotments and
resales.

A senior official of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project said, "The

biometric survey will cover heads of families in whose name the hutments or
shops stand. In most rehabilitation schemes, slum dwellers have sold the
flats allotted to them and relocated in new slums. We don't want this to
happen in Dharavi. Given Dharavi's prime location, there will be a huge
demand for flats in the erstwhile slum colony. Our surveys are also aimed at
preventing builders from creating bogus tenants in an attempt to widen their
profit margins.''

The DRP's officer on special duty, T Chandrashekhar, said, "We have

invited bids from firms and NGOs to do a GIS-based Biometric Base Line
socio-economic survey which involves collecting information at the micro
level. On the basis of this survey, smart I-cards will be issued to eligible
allottees. This survey will be completed in three months from the award of
the contract.''

In many other projects undertaken by builders under SRA, there have been
malpractices. Builders in tandem with SRA officials create bogus tenancies
and sell off the excess flats. The biometric system will curb this.

Chandrashekhar said the socioeconomic survey will help assess their

needs during reconstruction. "We will also ask them questions about their
income, health conditions, number of children, source of income, education
and other related issues which will give us a fair picture,'' said
Chandrashekhar. Indications are that household and small industries will not
be disturbed.
 The Dharavi makeover project was first mooted on the eve of the 2004
assembly elections by the then chief minister Sushilkumar Shinde. It was
endorsed by chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh this year. Deshmukh has
hand-picked Chandrashekar for the project given his track record in
effecting the makeovers of Thane and Nagpur.

DRP has received 26 bids from developers from the world over for the Rs
9,250-crore venture. Several top builders of Mumbai are also eyeing the
project.

The development plan includes wider and better roads, steady electric
supply, ample water, playgrounds, schools, colleges, medical centres etc.
For proper implementation, Dharavi has been divided into 10 sectors and
these will be developed by different developers. The project is likely to be
completed in seven years.

A windfall awaits Dharavi developers

They will make Rs25,000 cr from the project, while the state government will be
richer by Rs12,000 cr
Keen to ensure that the global economic slowdown does not stall its ambitious Dharavi
Redevelopment Project (DRP), the state government has decided to offer a slew of
incentives to the developers who will win the bids for the project. The government will
finalise five consortiums from the 14 that have submitted bids for the project on July 20.
Each developer will then be given a zone to develop.

The government is expected to earn roughly Rs7,000-Rs12,000 crore from the project,
while the successful developers are expected to make a windfall of up to Rs25,000 crore
after completing the project.

The government has drastically reduced the security deposit and performance security the
successful bidders will have to pay. The financial bid conditions earlier said the
successful bidders will have to pay 1% of the project cost as security deposit and 10% of
the project cost as performance security.

But, as per the reworked master plan, the project cost will be calculated by taking into
account the costs of rehabilitation, infrastructure and free sale. "The government will now
take the rehab and infrastructure cost into account while computing the security deposit
and performance guarantee," a senior government official said.
That means the maximum security deposit the government will get will not exceed Rs20
crore for each zone, a drop from the Rs50 crore it would have earned as per the earlier
norms. Similarly, the maximum performance security the government will get will not
exceed Rs175 crore from each zone, as against Rs500-Rs700 crore as per the earlier
policy.

The bidders who will be awarded the project will be allowed to pay the 10% premium in
two instalments. While 5% has to be paid within 30 days of receiving the offer letter, the
balance has to be paid within 30 days after that.

The government hopes that the concessions will encourage many developers to bid for
the project. However, a developer said he was not sure if his consortium will be able to
submit the bid by July 20. "It will take time for us to do the financial calculations based
on the amendments the government has made in the master plan, which states we will
have to give more area to the slum-dwellers being rehabilitated. Our agreements with
foreign partners are in place, but it will take us some time to raise the finances required,"
the developer said.

Social activists have denounced the government's decision. Terming the latest master
plan "Machiavellian", the activists said that the move will deprive 1 lakh families of their
traditional livelihood. The reworked master plan will benefit the developers, they said.

A committee of experts set up by the government under retired chief secretary DM

Sukhtankar to assist in planning the Dharavi project had also raised many objections to
the plan in a letter to chief minister Ashok Chavan.

The Dharavi renewal plan gives freebies to both builders and slumdwellers

As Mumbai waits for the biggest ever transformation of its embedded slum township of
Dharavi to begin, crucial questions about the pattern of urban development have begun to
be raised. Questions about the viability and necessity of the project have been raised by
members of an expert committee set up by the government to help plan the project.

At stake are differing views of how Mumbai and other Indian cities ought to develop. The
government, backed by the builders who profit from such schemes, has pursued a slum
rehabilitation policy that involves building free housing for residents of city slums by
builders, who then get free land to build premium flats for sale to the upper middle class.
Slum dwellers exchange their occupation of the land for a free 225 sq ft flat. For the
builder the cost of land is the cost of building the free flats for the slum people. This is
much less than the cost of such land in most parts of the city.

Such a policy can only work where land prices are high enough. By pampering slum
dwellers with a free house and builders with a low land cost, the city is deprived of more
affordable housing, and a pattern has been set which is difficult to break. It is also about
time that slum dwellers began to pay for the construction of new homes and that banks
are induced to give them loans at lower rates of interest. They cannot be pampered with
freebies any more but at the same time should be given the chance to live with the dignity
of having a legal title to their homes.

A 225 sq ft flat would possibly cost around Rs2.5 lakh to build. According to estimates,
some 80 per cent of slum families earn over Rs7,500 a month and can therefore afford a
bank loan to pay for the construction of their flat. Because a builder does not have to pay
for reconstruction of such slums, since the slum dwellers will be paying their own way,
the government can demand that affordable homes are also simultaneously built on the
available free area.

In the slum rehabilitation policy now being attempted in Dharavi on a grand scale, the
families that live or work in some 57,000 huts are to be re-housed in 300 sq ft tenements.
Apart from this there are 15,000 to 25,000 families that live as tenants on the first floors
of the huts. They have not been taken into account while preparing the plan and their fate
and possible opposition is not yet known.

The total cost of the project is said to be Rs15,000 crore but its break up is something of a
mystery. Around 60,000 tenements of 300 sq ft each would cost around Rs2,000 crore to
build at the rate of around Rs1,200 per sq ft. Of the balance commercial or residential
area of total FSI (floor space index) of 1.33, the reconstruction area would cost around
Rs4,800 crore at Rs2,000 a sq ft. If sold at Rs15,000 a sq ft, this would give the builders
and the government Rs 36,000 crore or five times the reconstruction cost of the hutments
and the new offices/upmarket residences.

With prospective bidders not very confident about the market for office space in the
Dharavi area, more residences would further crowd the already very high population
densities. While a worthwhile innovation in the current plan is that people could continue
to work near their homes in shops or galas (work spaces that could double as industrial
spaces) in the ground floors of their residential buildings, it is galling that the winners
would depend on how high they bid, with all the money going to the government.

The expert committee has instead proposed that the land be leased out to slum dwellers to
construct their homes. Such self help has never worked in the past and to think it would
do so now is utopian. With the state government being broke and no longer building
homes for the lower income groups, there is no way builders can be dispensed with. They
are businessmen and like to make a profit. It is for an elected government to ensure that
social goals are also being met.

For instance if the bids were based not on how much the builder is willing to pay the
government but on how little extra FSI he would be content with (this regularly happens
in infrastructure projects when the bid is chosen based on the shortest period for which
tolls will be collected), the overcrowding would be reduced.

The government has also to move away from a policy of free housing, a policy that can
never work on the scale needed to meet demand. But this would require a political
consensus, difficult enough when competing populism dominates politics and impossible
when state assembly elections are around the corner.

A Different Set of Challenges

The public-private partnership model is also a key driver at the other big slum
resettlement project on Mehta's plate, near the city's international airport. At an estimated
cost of Rs.7,200 crore ($1.75 billion), the expansion and upgrade of Mumbai's
international airport is among the largest private-sector infrastructure projects underway
in the country. Plans are to double both annual passenger capacity to 40 million annually
and cargo capacity to 1 million tons.

But to make way for that expansion, the project's promoter -- Mumbai International
Airport Pvt. Ltd. (MIAL) -- has to clear 276 acres in the airport's vicinity. That stretch
includes a slum that houses between 60,000 and 80,000 families. The plans are to resettle
them into new housing at another location within a six-mile radius. "They have their
social and financial sustenance in this locality, so there would be huge resistance if we try
to move them too far out," says Sanjay Reddy, CEO of MIAL, whose family-run GVK
Group is a 74% joint venture partner with the public sector Airports Authority of India
(26%).

Reddy's firm has already identified the lots where it plans to build the new housing, and
is in the process of selecting a developer. "We took over the airport's operations about a
year ago and are doing many things in parallel," he says. "The first is to continue running
the existing facility. Second, we are simultaneously working on improving the operations.
The third leg of the project is to redevelop the slum land in the airport area."

But Mehta notes that having to move people out of the area will likely make for a more
challenging project. "Slums are really a vote bank for the political parties," he says.
"Even if you can convince the slum dwellers to move and give them a better lifestyle, the
political parties obstruct it because they lose their votes. Local politicians don't want to
see a vote base they have cultivated for many years suddenly vanish."
Reddy says MIAL has so far been successful in persuading politicians to cooperate. "We
have gotten a lot of support form political, bureaucratic and government officials," he
says. "We cannot do anything without them." However, he adds that securing records
related to the land and its dwellers has been "a messy affair."

The airport slum resettlement project shares many of the features of the Dharavi model.
Mehta says the effort here is also to have an integrated, sustainable development
approach with public-private partnerships. "Here, too, we would work for a similar kind
of township approach, and maybe even generate opportunities for income generation with
skill development and capacity building," he says.

Tenants fight for self-redevelopment of chawl

Balkrishnan Nagvekar, a former BEST employee, is almost as old as theDatta Prasad

complex, an early 20th century residential enclave comprising 297 tenements behind
Bhatia Hospital at Grant Road. The seven ageing chawls, which are part of the sprawling
complex, have had local builders and politicians salivating at its huge development
potential.

But Nagvekar and a majority of the tenants have been fending them off for years now—
most of the tenants deciding that they rather redevelop the entire property themselves,
without the aid of a builder and with the assistance of the state housing authority, Mhada.

he 78-year-old resident, who is the chief promoter of the proposed society, finally got a
taste of the high stakes involved—he was manhandled by a local Shiv Sena shakha
pramukh inside the complex, in front of dozens of other tenants, who watched helplessly.

“Let them fight the battle legally instead of resorting to strong-arm tactics,’’ he said,
sitting inside his 280-sq-ft flat as others nod in agreement. The Sena activist, who is also
a tenant, wants everyone in Datta Prasad to opt out of the self-redevelopment scheme and
allow a private builder to step in. An FIR has been registered against him.

At the heart of the conflict is a little-known provision of the Maharashtra Housing and
Area Development Authority (Mhada) Act, which allows tenants of pre-1940 cessed
properties to become owners by paying the landlord 100 months’ rent and pave the way
for Mhada to acquire the entire property. The scheme has to be initiated by at least 70%
of the tenants, who must form a cooperative society, collect money and redevelop the
property themselves.

Commonly known as Chapter 8A of the Mhada Act, it was introduced about two decades
ago. But its implementation has been stayed by the Supreme Court for over a decade after
city landlords challenged it. The case was first heard by a division bench in the apex
court. It was subsequently referred to a five-judge constitutional bench, which, in turn,
passed it on to a seven- judge bench.
The matter was then referred to a nine-judge bench, which is yet to decide on the
case. Like the Datta Prasad tenants, about 1,000 other old buildings in the island city have
applied to Mhada under Chapter 8A for self-redevelopment. So far, only one building in
Kalbadevi has been redeveloped under this scheme.

In the Datta Prasad chawls case, a few tenants recently filed a special leave petition
(SLP), urging the apex court to allow them to get out of the scheme and invite a private
developer instead. The builder-driven scheme, commonly known as 33(7), stipulates that
developers rehouse existing tenants free of cost in new buildings and then exploit a
portion of the land to cover the expenses and make profits.

Nagvekar, however, said the tenants who filed the SLP had no locus standi and that they
misrepresented the facts. A property once acquired by Mhada under Chapter 8A cannot
be de-acquired. “It is admitted that the issue regarding the constitutional validity of
Chapter 8A of the Mhada Act is to be decided by the full bench. Unless it decides on this
issue, it would not be proper to pass an order on the said application as that would
amount to preempting the future judgment,’’ Nagvekar said in his affidavit, challenging
the SLP.

In 1996, the Datta Prasad complex was in the centre of a raging controversy when the
then Shiv Sena housing minister, Chandrakant Khaire, stayed Mhada’s acquisition of the
property under pressure from the chawls’ landlord. The Bombay high court subsequently
quashed Khaire’s stay order and passed strictures against him.

The court had noted that the stay was “totally unwarranted and uncalled for’’ and said
the minister “ought not to have passed the order of stay on the acquisition proceedings’’.

Meanwhile, inside the old chawls, residents wait for the Supreme Court to take a
decision. After all, it’s been almost 15 years that the matter has been caught in litigation.

WHAT IS CHAPTER 8A?

Chapter 8A of the Mhada Act, popularly referred to as the tenant ownership scheme, has
been largely ineffective in its aim to grant ownership rights to tenants of the city’s 19,000
cessed structures. The scheme has been challenged by landlords in the Supreme Court on
the question of appropriate compensation. The scheme provides for a one-time
compensation of 100 months’ rent from each tenant to the landlord in return for
ownership rights. Tenants’ activists have argued that the scheme offers the best solution
to the city’s vexed rent and tenancy problems. However, under Chapter 8A, a tenant who
becomes an owner cannot sell, lease or mortgage the property in perpetuity. TNN
SOCIAL NETWORK IN SLUM AND REHABILITATION SITES : A STUDY IN

MUMBAI(INDIA)

INTRODUCTION

The emerging globalization processes, including liberalization, deregulation and

privatization along with the social-economic deprivations in villages, have affected the
livelihood and housing rights of marginalized in the urban settings. More than half the
population of the city of Mumbai lives in these slums; the people who live in these slums
are domestic workers, industrial workers, class III and IV employees of the Municipal
Corporation of Greater Mumbai (formerly Bombay Municipal Corporation), of Judiciary
department, lower-level police personnel, taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers and so on.
Considering the services slum dwellers provide to the city, without them Mumbai’s
existence would fall apart.
This paper is an attempt to examine the contemporary situation of urban poor in Mumbai.
The microscopic analysis of slum dwellers and their day to day existence in dealing with
poverty and vulnerability through social networks is examined. This paper further tries to
understand and analyze the impact of development and role of state especially on the dalit
and other marginalized communities that are living in Mumbai. Slum dwellers form an
integral part of Mumbai city. Most of the slum dwellers belong to the lower socio-
economic strata of Indian society. Dalits, the ex-untouchables form the major chunk of
2
slum population in Mumbai as they belong to the lowest social and economic hierarchy
of Indian society.
1 Research Objectives
The rationale for the research is to understand the developmental phase in Mumbai that
are affecting slum populations. The issues of livelihood, access to amenities, dislocation,
and its impact on social lives were studied. The role of state and civil society in
implementing the urban policies affecting the urban poor has been critically examined.
The objective of the paper is to compare the social networks of urban poor in slums and
rehabilitation sites. These social networks are studied to understand the possible
segmentation that is based on caste, religion, gender and language.
2 Research Methodology
This paper is based on qualitative research. The data was collected through socio-
anthropological method such as observation, focused group discussions, and interviews.
This study was conducted in the slums which are located in the major parts of Mumbai’s
suburbs. The slums that were studied are Milind Nagar (Santa Cruz), Buddha colony
(Kurla), Ambedkar Nagar (Matunga Road) and Anna Bhau Sathe Nagar (Mankhurd-
Chembur link road). And two rehabilitated sites that have Project Affected Persons
(PAPs) were randomly selected. They are located at Mankhurd and Vashi
Naka(Chembur) in Mumbai. Six focused groups discussions were conducted at these
mentioned slums and rehabilitated colonies. These focused group discussion broadly
consisted of discussion points on the issues of socio- historical background of slum
dwellers, issues of infrastructure-communication and livelihood at resettlement sites,
3
impact of development on families and role of gender in building coping mechanism. The
role of the state and civil society in dealing with participatory development process was
discussed. Eight personal interviews were conducted amongst women from the above
slums and rehabilitated colonies. The interviews were focused on open ended questions
on their life experiences and day to day struggles. The research paper also highlights the
important details through the field observations and field notes.

URBANISATION, SOCIAL NETWORKS AND EVOLUTION OF SLUMS:

The urban government sponsored housing in the western world has served to integrate the
workers into the values and ethos of capitalism. But in India, the majority of population
which comprised of lower social economic status has been profitably used for production
purposes. This population is largely neglected from access to housing to the urban poor.
The social order created by this system is contrary to the modernization theory. This
theory argues that progressive society can be achieved by urbanization, industrialization,
migration from enclosed worlds of rural societies, marked by ascriptive privileges and
codes of conduct. These social economic aspects are crucial determinants in urban
mobility of deprived population from rural regions (Chandhoke, 1993; Schenk, 1986).
It is pertinent to understand the role of caste system in grading the human beings on the
basis of birth. This shows that the social networks in slums are largely developed on the
basis of the caste. Caste is the basic foundation for the social networks of slum dwellers.

Buddha Colony is a multi-ethnic slum, as it has Mahars, Charmkars, Wadar, Kunchi-

Korwe, Maratha, Muslims and Dhors. The slum has clear segregation and different
neighborhood that are divided by physical segregation such as walls, temples, and
mosques.

Kurla residents have alleged that a prominent builder is coercing them into enrolling for
a slum rehabilitation scheme which will enable the company to get 20-acres of prime
land near the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) for development. The company, Dheeraj
Builders, also known as the Dewan group, has denied the allegation. "Why would we
want to evict them? We want to rehabilitate them," said Josef Pattathu, a director of the
company. He said that the group had no definite plans for the area, but agreed that they
are interested in developing it. "It is an opportunity which would be explored at the
appropriate time," he told DNA. He added that people in the area were approaching the
group voluntarily.

The residents, however, claim the builder has been consistently warning them since the
past couple of years that the Kismat Nagar and Chhatrapati Shivaji Kutir Mandal
settlements in Kurla are in danger of demolition by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region
Development Authority (MMRDA) and their only hope of rehabilitation is to agree to a
slum rehabilitation scheme, said Raj Awasthi, a member of the United Shop-owners'
Association which is opposing the builder. Mumtaz Qureishi, a local hotelier and member
of the association, said the builder has already managed to get the consent of 200 people
of the approximately 1,200 people living in these two settlements.

If 70 per cent of the people agree to a Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme,
Dewan builders could build mass housing for them on a part of the land and
commercially develop the remaining at immense profits.

At first sight, the land seems lacklustre, but is strategically located, close to BKC and
Sion and Kurla stations, making it valuable. Also, the Santa cruz-Chembur link road,
which will be widened under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project, passes through the
area. At a rough estimate, a residential buyer would have to pay Rs 7,000 per square foot
for a house in the area. A commercial buyer would have to shell out Rs 10,000, said a
reputed builder.

But the area's residents say they have well-established business ventures spread over a
roughly 1000-square feet area. An SRA scheme would fetch them homes of 250 square
feet, and they doubt the builder's assurances of commercial spaces in the scheme.

2. URBANISATION, SOCIAL NETWORKS AND EVOLUTION OF SLUMS:

The urban government sponsored housing in the western world has served to integrate the
workers into the values and ethos of capitalism. But in India, the majority of population
which comprised of lower social economic status has been profitably used for production
purposes. This population is largely neglected from access to housing to the urban poor.
The social order created by this system is contrary to the modernization theory. This
theory argues that progressive society can be achieved by urbanization, industrialization,
migration from enclosed worlds of rural societies, marked by ascriptive privileges and
codes of conduct. These social economic aspects are crucial determinants in urban
mobility of deprived population from rural regions (Chandhoke, 1993; Schenk, 1986).
It is pertinent to understand the role of caste system in grading the human beings on the
basis of birth. This shows that the social networks in slums are largely developed on the
basis of the caste. Caste is the basic foundation for the social networks of slum dwellers.
5
Hindu caste system has created a section of sub-human beings in this country in the form
of Dalits1, whose human rights have been trampled systematically for ages. According to
Ambedkar2(Jeffrelot,2005, pp.34) Purusha Sukta establishes a unique system because,
‘No other society has an official gradation laid down, fixed and permanent, with an
ascending scale of reverence and a descending scale of contempt’. According to Hindu
religious philosophy Bramha is a Hindu god from whom human evolution started.
Purusha Sukta explains this evolution, ‘his mouth became the priest (Brahmin)/the
warrior (Kshatriya) was the product of his arms/his thighs were the Artisan
(Vaishya)/from his feet were born the Servant (Shudra) (Jeffrelot, 2005, pp.34 ; see
Figure 1). Dalits or ‘Untouchables’ is the fifth lowest social category under this system.

Mahatma Gandhi’s supported the Hindu caste system. He said in 1920, “I consider the
four divisions to be fundamental, natural and essential”. Weekly journal started by Mr.
Gandhi on October, 1921, he states, ‘Hinduism does most emphatically discourage
interdining and intermarriage between divisions… Prohibition against intermarriage and
interdining is essential for the rapid evolution of the soul’. He emphasized on the rural
caste based economy (Bose, 1948).
After analyzing these social- cultural environment in India, Architect of Indian
Constitution Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on 21st February 1939 in the constituent assembly
debates argued that “the salvation of the whole of India lies in greater urbanization: in
reviving our towns, in building our industries, in removing as much population as we
possibly can from our villages to the towns. What is there in villages? After all, our
village folks have no capital to run their agriculture in the best way in which agriculture
ought to be run. Population is increasing every decade, and land is being fragmented
every time a man and heirs come on the spot” (Ambedkar, n.d.).
Ambedkar was skeptical of Gandhi’s concept of each village becoming a republic. He
was afraid of the despotism of upper castes and moneyed men. He said village is a
‘cesspool, a den of ignorance, narrow-mindedness, and communalism.’ Dr.Ambedkar’s
visualised greater independence and freedom for oppressed Dalits in urban settlements
(Ghosh, 2002). The continued untouchablity practice against 250 millions Dalits is
observed in the extensive ActionAid research in 565 villages of 11 states of India (Shah,
Mander, Thorat, Deshpande and Baviskar, 2006). Adding to the severity of the dalit
conditions in rural India after India’s Independence is being observed increasing urban
migration which gave them more space for opportunities and freedom to improve
socialeconomic
status. The economic development in the cities was also one of the major
sources of livelihood opportunity to the deprived rural populations. Dalits and backward
castes communities along with some religious minority group have remained most
vulnerable to access adequate housing in urban region. Historical oppression, lack of
opportunities in villages and caste based atrocities has motivated dalits to migrate to
cities.
Through, their “personal ties” rural dalits move into the slums where their point of
contact usually lives. These ties grow into strong bonds and getting more number of
community members to the city. It is also noticed that in slums there are homogenous
clusters and dense spatial neighborhoods that belong to communities that have same
place of origin, region, caste, language and livelihood. These homogenous clusters hardly
allow ‘outsiders’ to be part of their intimate spaces in slums. Crow (2004) states the
strongest bonds are found where there is clear demarcation between insiders and
outsiders and where this demarcation line can be policed effectively to restrict admittance
to the group. He stresses that the insider group that is bonded together have clear
understanding of what sets them apart from the outsiders. They have shared strong
identities to demarcate themselves from others. Similarly, in the slums of Mumbai, slum
dwellers have their sense of communities, they possess strong identities that usually come
from same caste, religion, region, language backgrounds and they also restrict an
outsider’s entry into their spaces.

3. CONCEPT OF SLUMS - HOUSING CHALLENGES IN MUMBAI

3.1 Defining slums and rehabilitation sites of Mumbai
The survey of the Bombay Municipal Corporation in late fifties (cited in Desai and Pillai:
1972) adopted a three –fold classification of slums, which have been adopted by the state
government for its policy decisions till now:
1. Chawls: Areas with permanent multi-storey buildings built long ago according to
the standards prevailing then, but are today in a deteriorated condition.
2. Partrachawls: Areas with semi permanent structures both authorized and
unauthorized often built of corrugated iron-sheets and commonly known as
‘patrachawls’,
patra meaning tin sheets or some such materials.
3. Zopadpattis: Areas commonly referred to as squatter settlements, shanty towns or
hutment colonies, consisting of hovels made of variety of hard and soft materials like
pieces of wood, rag, tin – sheets, mud, brick and any such thing that comes in handy.
In 1990, the Law Commission of India took it upon itself to “examine the
problem pertaining to the plight of slums and pavement dwellers facing eviction at the
hands of local authorities.” “The magnitude of the problem”, the chairperson wrote to the
minister of law and justice, “can be gauged from the fact that nearly 350 millions citizen
of India lives in slums and pavements of metropolitan cities…..Quite often their huts are
razed to the ground and they are evicted by the local authorities without offering them
any alternative facilities. The plight of these unfortunate evictees comprising women and
children is indescribable. Some legislation needs to be provided to them to ensure that
they are not evicted without offering them an alternative facility unless it is virtually
impossible to do so.” (Law Commission Report, 1990)
There were further continuing efforts to describe slums by Planning Commission of
India. Ramanathan (2004) discussed the observation of the Working group on Slums
which submitted its report to the Planning Commission in May 1998, are known by
different names in different cities, but the characteristics remain the same i. e. dilapidated
and informal housing structures, acute overcrowding, faulty alignment of streets, poor
ventilation, inadequate lighting, paucity of drinking water, water- logging during rains,
absence of toilet facilities and non-availability of basic physical and social services.”
There are, in effect, three kinds of ‘Slums’ that may be identified:
• Declared Slums- where a competent authority under the 1956 Act has notified an
area to be a slum.
• Undeclared slums- where they are de facto recognized as slums, but, not having
been notified, the benign provisions of the 1956 Act, particularly those that relate
to provision of services may not be extended to them.
• Planned slums- the replicating of high density and poor, or non- existent, services
at the resettlement site, and the impoverishment that results from demolition and
de-housing most often makes slums, within the definition, of resettlement sites.
These may, with reason, be seen as ‘planned slums’.
Resettlement and rehabilitation sites consist of medium rise building constructed for the
project affected families. These sites offer a permanent housing structure (a tenement of
225 sq.ft) to the project affected families (IBRD and IDA, 2006).

Table 1: Distribution of Slums by Land Ownership

The Tokyo Model of Urban Development

Memo concerning the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) to the attention of the
Slum
Rehabilitation Authority (SRA).

An urban setting that allows for different economic activities to have a legitimate space –
big
businesses, small enterprises, small home-based manufacturing and processing units and
informal
economic activities. In many areas, such a setting allows for a co-existence of residential
and work
spaces.
The Tokyo model is also characterized by locally initiated residential and commercial
development,
alongside centralized infrastructure planning – involving roads, water-supply and
drainage.
1. Overview: From Tokyo slum to Tokyo future city
a. Destruction & Reconstruction:
 A fter the Second World War, half of Tokyo was destroyed (equivalent to New York
City area).
However, pressing economic redevelopment & need of shelter didn't allow central
planners to
create the new/modern city that they had planned.
Thus, the pre-war layout served as the basis for reconstruction: In other words, the city
was
rebuilt on its ruins.
The government focused on infrastructure re-development to support the economy.
The residential reconstruction was left to local actors.
Slum-type housing, that evolved from village habitats, dominated most areas until
1960s.
Interestingly, the slum-type urban typology and street patterns exist even in present-
day
residential neighborhoods. (The urban typology of most residential neighborhoods in
Tokyo is
similar to that of Dharavi)
Images: A slum-typology predominates
the urbanism of residential
neighborhoods in Tokyo.

b. A collection of villages:
In Tokyo, small lots of farming land were gradually converted to
residential/commercial/industrial activities – (like the Koli village in Dharavi).
At the time of great urban growth, planning intervention from the government in
residential
neighborhoods was mainly limited to modern water supply and railway transport system.
(In
Dharavi, there was little, if any, investment done in these matters).
In Tokyo, traditional urban development & management strategies are still practiced at
the
neighborhood level.
There is a tradition of local autonomy and self-reliance. The “Chonaikai”, literally the
association from within the neighborhood (equivalent of the Indian Mohalla), is central to
neighborhood life and organization in Japan. This type of organization, which is spatially
based,
rather than activity or cause based, is uniquely Asian. (In Dharavi too there are many
local
organizations that are involved in day-to-day relief and support activities).
Residential neighborhoods of Tokyo exult a "village-like quality replete with song
birds and
small alleys, (the roji), never appears to be far from even the city’s most important
roadways
and intersections.” (Rowe 2005). (Even among the high-density squalor of Dharavi you
can see
the traces of village like structures. In fact these exist in many parts of Mumbai –
including
Khotachiwadi).

c. The Anko-Gawa model: soft-core, hard-edge.

The Japanese urban fabric is often composed of a "soft" residential core, characterized by
lowrise
and densely built houses, surrounded by a "hard" shell of taller and larger structures
along
wide roads or railways. (In Mumbai too, many neighbourhoods – even middle-class ones
show
low-rise high-density patterns. Charles Correa has talked about this in the context of
Khotachiwadi, Matharpakhadi and other old Mumbai neighbourhoods).
Within the residential core the same soft-core, hard-edge pattern is repeated on a
smaller scale
(almost in a fractal-way).
The neighborhood life is organized along the long lane (roji), where small shops and
restaurants can be found. (Dharavi too shows this pattern).
These lanes can barely be accessed by cars. They are by and large pedestrian (Like
many
Mumbai slums).
The lanes are crossed by smaller streets (tori) leading to groups of houses.
The smaller streets are not purely public nor private, but are used exclusively by
people
residing alongside. (again the same pattern can be found in Dharavi, where very narrow
streets
lead to a cluster of houses around a common open space (promoting to strong
neighborhood
ties)).
d. Mixed-use zoning
Zoning in Japan is (by default) mixed-use, despite some attempts by central planners to
organize the city along functional lines. (This is because like many Asian cities, including
in
India, a large part of the populations live and work in their own localities).
Many positive outcomes mixed-use have been acknowledged - such as safety and
continuing
liveliness of central city areas. (This is clearly the case in Dharavi as well as many writers
–
including Kalpana Sharma in ‘Re-discovering Dharavi’ – have pointed out).
In spite of being the largest metropolitan area in the world (32 million people), Tokyo
is also one
of the safest city. (And in spite of being the largest slum in Asia, Dharavi is safe to walk
through, even for an outsider, unlike most South American slums or Western ghettos).
Mixed use in residential neighborhoods promotes local commercial activity. Small
scale
industrial activity, such as printing, wood work, textile manufacturing, can been seen in
Tokyo's
neighborhoods. (In Dharavi, as many study reports (KRVIA) have shown, we too find a
range of
similar activities).
This leniency towards mixed-use has permitted to preserve small-scale family type
businesses
in one of the most advanced economy in the world. (Preserving these types of businesses
also
means preserving traditions and culture. Small-scale, family-type businesses largely
predominate in Dharavi, operating mostly from or near to residential spaces).
This also avoids a high degree of residential segregation along income lines as one
finds in the
US. (This mixed form in which rich hand poor live next to each other is also one of the
main
characteristics of Mumbai’s urban fabric, it should not be overlooked as an important
way of
maintaining some degree of social cohesion).
e. A recent case study: rebuilding Kobe after the 1995 earthquake
Joint housing:
o Collective use of land value for reconstruction help to avoid displacement.
o City subsidized design cost and common areas.
Land readjustment:
o Consolidate property rights and rearrange land parcels.
o Buy out those who want to leave and use their land.
o Provides for clustering allowing construction of infrastructure and creation of public
spaces.
Renter's rights: Renters retain a property right during the readjustment/reconstruction
process.
Government funded community planners:
o Assist residents in planning and financing construction.
o Help maintain a sense of community among displaced residents.
o Provided an opportunity to develop creative strategies for neighborhood improvement.
o Provided communication links between residents and the government.

2. Lessons for Dharavi

1. We have to look at Dharavi from the point of view of the city as a whole. We have
seen how
slums have reproduced themselves on a large scale all over the city – especially from the
eighties onwards - and are not confined to Dharavi. The density level in Dharavi is in all
likelihood one of the highest in the world. Any viable plan to cross subsidize new
housing
for the poor would mean that anything between 1 and 2 lakhs of the current residents
(amongst the most vulnerable such new comers, renters, young people, large families,
etc)
would be forced out and cut from their source of livelihood. The will create Mumbai’s
new
slums. The DRP would therefore be responsible for the emergence of slums in the city.
2. The Tokyo model suggests that it is possible to upgrade Dharavi in situ, by focusing on
infrastructure development and relying on community self-determination. This model is
the
most sustainable at the level of the city since it will minimize the “slum spill-over effect”
that
the current plan would generate (i.e.: creating new slum pockets elsewhere in the city).
The
Tokyo case suggests that a master plan is needed for infrastructure development (roads,
water, electricity, sewage), but that local development would be better done at the local
level of existing communities and nagars.
3. The first step towards a sound plan for Dharavi is a Dharavi-wide survey and
enumeration
by an independent NGO, which has the trust of the residents, such as SPARC for
instance.
This survey would be the basis for the self-recognition of existing communities and nagar
boundaries by residents themselves. Once this is mapped out, independent planners could
help communities i) determine themselves according to the Dharavi-wide infrastructure
plan, ii) make a local plan according to their specific needs, iii) and maintain the
connection
between local residents and the SRA.
4. To Western observers used to rationally, top-down planned cities, Tokyo’s first
appears as
an incoherent city, an urban mess. However, this Western centric vision fails to
acknowledge the special character of Tokyo as a “lived” city, which is malleable,
changing,
heteroclite, and temporary. The adaptability and softness of Tokyo, together with its
mixeduse
zoning is what makes it highly functional at the individual and collective levels. Despite
being over twice as large as New York in terms of population, the metropolitan area of
Tokyo is incomparably better organized and sustainable both ecologically and socially.
Dharavi, shares many characteristics with Tokyo. A tabula raza approach consisting of
destroying everything that was built, in plus of being an economic and cultural disaster
for
Dharavi and Mumbai would also be a fundamentally wrong from an urban development
perspective. As hard as it is to conceive for outsiders, in urban terms, Dharavi is not a
mess, but quite on the contrary a highly sophisticated and efficient urban organism.
5. The formalization of the situation in Dharavi could generate revenue to the government
in
the forms of taxes and service charge. Currently Dharavi residents who have access to
water, through informal pipeline have to pay high fees to “thug plumbers” for bad service
and polluted water. Most people would be happy paying the government for good service
instead.
6. The government has the duty of protecting Dharavi residents, as well as other
Mumbaikars
who will be affected by the spill over effects of the plan from the vested interests of the
builder lobby who are not thinking in a holistic urban manner and are putting their own
interest above the interest of the people who’s life will be affected.
Conclusion: The urban typology is strickingly similar. This tells as much about the
history of Tokyo as a slum as
about the potential of Dharavi if it is allowed to develop incrementally.

The case study

A Joegeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) is part of the Mumbai Urban Transport

Project
(MUTP) to improve traffic and transportation in the MMR (MMRDA, 2001). e Eastern
and
Western express highways connect the suburbs and Greater Mumbai. e JVLR, with
length 10.8
km is one of the five major links proposed to connect the “Eastern” and “Western”
express
highways (Iyer, 2005). is project is funded by the World Bank. To implement this
project it was
estimated around 300 slums and 70 commercial units would be rehabilitated from slum
areas
(MMRDA, 2005). Pratap Nagar and Durga Nagar are situated at Jogeshvari in Mumbai
on either
sides of the JVLR as shown in Figure 1. However, the slums are situated in the Pratap
Nagar; and
rehabilitated buildings are situated in the Durga Nagar. During the case study, a plan for
the
resettlement was developed and was partly finished and partly under execution for the
residential
and commercial units. Considering the stage of the project, this particular area was
selected for
the case study.
Around 25 face-to-face interviews were conducted in 2006. Half of the interviews were
conducted
in the Pratap Nagar and rest in the Durga Nagar. e basic information collected during
the
interviews in both the areas was related to family profile including origin, amenities,
space
occupation, social life, monthly expenses and opinions related to the slums as well as
rehabilitated
areas. In the slum areas, the information collected during the interviews was only related
to slums
whereas in the rehabilitated buildings data was collected related to the rehabilitated
buildings as
well as slums
the intention behind conducting this case study was to explore part of the ongoing
project. the
slums and their impact on the sustainable development were considered during the case
study.
e reason behind this resettlement is not just to relocate the people affected by the
Mumbai
Urban Transport Project (MUTP). the aim of this project was to rehabilitate an unlooked
section
of the society; slums, and take a step towards improving the quality of life in the urban
environment. there are various issues involved in this process of rehabilitation. Based on
our site
visits and interviews in the Pratap and Durga Nagar the following issues are discussed,
relevant to
those particular areas

Summary and conclusion

e research was guided by certain (key) questions, such as 1. What are the factors
keeping slums
against sustainable urban development? 2. How do slums originate and develop?
Slum inhabitants go through many problems; such as lack of water, healthy air, sewage,
solid waste
facilities and public transport, migration, pollutions, and shelter shortages. ey also face
poor
ventilation, due to the lack of windows and electricity. Most of the times they tend to
establish
slums on unused, uncontrolled or reserved lands. As discussed, there are many reasons
for the
origin of slums and there characteristics make them one of the key players against
sustainable
development in an urban area (Husock, 2009).
Another reason which leaves a huge chunk of slums untouched by private builders and
developers
is because the present slum rehabilitation schemes are not financially attractive to them.
It is even
unviable in some of the suburbs as the selling rate is less than INR 2,000 per square feet"
(Dalvi,
1997). Both the above mentioned reasons are the main reasons for the low number of
provisions
of low cost houses (Iyer, 2005).
e research attempts to explore the slum rehabilitation project in the context of urban
sustainability, which is part of the JVLR project funded by World Bank. During the
research, it was
revealed that to execute any project and to achieve urban sustainability and rehabilitate
slums,
opinions of people living in the slums need to be considered. In Mumbai, most of the
people are
living in the slums and it will be difficult to achieve urban sustainability if the slums and
employment opportunities are not considered in Mumbai. To achieve considerable
sustainability
in an urban environment, concerned organisations (governmental and non-governmental)
should
come together and work in the same line and not individually.

BIBLOGRAPHY:

1. theory.tifr.res.in/bombay/history/slums.html

2. Dream house for Dharavi. Project monitor.

http://www.projectsmonitor.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=7741

3. http://www.karmayog.com/lists/slumorg.htm