SEMINAR PAPER

FOR INDIAN

ADMINISTRATION & GOOD

GOVERNANCE

URBAN GOVERNANCE AND SLUMS

Submitted by:

ATUL AGARWAL
#1558 5 YEAR, B.A., LL.B. (HONS.)
TH

XIII TRIMESTER

TABLE

OF

CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................................................3 II. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................................................5 A. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES................................................................................................................................................5 B. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS..............................................................................................................................................5 C. HYPOTHESIS...............................................................................................................................................................5 C. RESEARCH QUESTIONS.................................................................................................................................................5 D. CHAPTERISATION........................................................................................................................................................6 E. MODE OF CITATION.....................................................................................................................................................6 F. SOURCES OF DATA......................................................................................................................................................6 G. STYLE OF WRITING.....................................................................................................................................................6 III. SLUM GOVERNANCE PROGRAMMES IN INDIA..............................................................................................6 A. THE NINTH FIVE-YEAR PLAN......................................................................................................................................6 B. IMPACT OF NINTH-FIVE YEAR PLAN AND ASSOCIATED POLICIES.......................................................................................8 C. FAILURE OF THE RELOCATION POLICY............................................................................................................................9 D. THE JAWAHARLAL NEHRU URBAN RENEWAL MISSION (JNNURM)..............................................................................11 TABLE 1. ADMISSIBLE SECTORS AND PROJECTS FOR ASSISTANCE UNDER JNNURM...............................................................12 IV. SLUM UPGRADATION PROGRAMME: SUCCESS OR FAILURE?...............................................................13 A. BANGALORE URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAM.................................................................................................14 B. PARIVARTAN SLUM UPGRADATION PROGRAMME ..........................................................................................................18 FIG 1. COMPARISON OF LITERACY OF THE RESIDENTS IN BABALABLABINAGAR (%).................................................................20 TABLE 2. COMPARISON OF LITERACY RATE AMONG SCHOOL GOING CHILDREN IN PARIVARTAN AND NON-PARIVARTAN SLUMS (%) ...................................................................................................................................................................................20 FIG 2. INCREASE IN AVERAGE NUMBER OF WORKING HOURS IN BABALABLABINAGAR................................................................21 ..................................................................................................................................................................................21 FIG 3. COMPARISON OF AVERAGE NUMBER OF WORKING HOURS IN PARIVARTAN AND NON-PARIVARTAN SLUMS..........................21 FIG 4. INCOME BEFORE AND AFTER PARIVARTAN IN BABALABLABINAGAR (%).......................................................................22 FIG 5. INCOME IN PARIVARTAN AND NON-PARIVARTAN SLUMS (%)....................................................................................22 TABLE 3. TYPES OF ILLNESS AND THEIR PREVALENCE IN BABALABLABINAGAR BEFORE AND AFTER PARIVARTAN (%)...................23 TABLE 4. COMPARISON OF TYPE OF ILLNESS IN RESIDENTS OF PARIVARTAN AND NON-PARIVARTAN SLUMS AMONG THOSE WHO REPORTED ILLNESS (%) ................................................................................................................................................24 V. CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................................................24 VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY.........................................................................................................................................................26 PRIMARY SOURCES........................................................................................................................................................26 SECONDARY SOURCES....................................................................................................................................................27

I. INTRODUCTION
Urban poverty is one of the oldest and worst problems that the society has faced. It is sad result of a combination of economic, demographic, political and cultural factors working against the weaker sections and the resource less. A number of efforts are on in the developing economies to combat or at least reduce the extent of poverty. A host of developmental and welfare measures are undertaken by them to improve the conditions of the underprivileged conditions. The scope of these measures vary from a top down approach of allocating funds to specific sectors and providing houses to a bottom down approach of participatory governance whereby efforts to improve the conditions of existing slums and slum dwellers are undertaken.1 The paper seeks to provide an analysis of these measures as adopted by the Indian government and its people. The fundamental difficulty in providing civic services to the urban poor can be traced to the augment in the number of slum dwellers and their continuing deplorable housing and related services.2 The slums are the biggest eye sore in the development of the city and thus a two solution to this problem was found by way of demolition of their slums and relocation of their colonies to other areas consisting of government built houses with all basic amenities. Since the slums are occupied on unauthorized lands there has been questions regarding the right of these slum dwellers to ask for any kind of associated benefits.3 It must, however, be remembered that the slums dwellers like any citizen of the country have been granted the right to livelihood, the right to housing, sanitation and other rights such as that to a fair and just procedure of demolition.4 Hence,
1

Some of these are: The Slum Areas Improvement and Clearance Programme in 1956, National Housing Policy in 1988, Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (UWS&S) Scheme in 1961, Special Nutrition Programme (SNP) in 1970, Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns (IDSMT) in 1979, The Urban Basic Services (UBS) Programme in 1990, National Slum Development Programme (NSDP) in 1996, Valmiki Ambedkar Malin Basti Awas Yojana (VAMBAY) in 2001 and many more. See Nakula Kumar and Ruchira Sen, Urban Poverty Alleviation Initiatives & The JNNURM: A Critical Assessment, National Institute of Urban Affairs 1 (November 2006) at 7-13. 2 Ardhendu Bhattacharya, Problems of Urban Slums and Possible Solutions, 28(3), Nagarlok 13 (1999) at 14. 3 Darshini Mahadevia, Urban Poors Access to Land and Basic Services: Rhetoric, Reality and Dilemmas, 33(1), Nagarlok 66 (2002) at 71. 4 This aspect of slums and urban planning was discussed in the case of Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation of India, AIR 1986 SC 180. The Supreme Court held that everyone has a right to life and an associated right to livelihood. Thus, clearing slums and encroached pavements would definitely result in deprivation of these rights. However, the Court held that the Municipal Corporation had every right to clear slums and pavements in order to facilitate the publics right of way. Also In Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation v. Nawab Khan Gulab Khan (1997) 11 SCC 121 the Court held that encroachment on pavements or footpaths are a source of unhygienic ecology, traffic hazards and risk to the life of pedestrians. The Court also held that no person has a right to encroach and erect structures on a footpath, pavement or public streets or any other places declared for a public purpose. In P.G. Gupta

they cannot be removed from their place without providing them with adequate services in other areas. The question that is required to be asked at this juncture is whether this practice of removal and relocation offers a proper course of action with respect to solving the problem of slums in India. The Indian government has been following a top down approach with the conventional method of allocation of funds to specific sectors and there consequent usage. The method, however, has not yielded desired result so far. A new step in this direction is the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) which plans to eradicate urban poverty by focussing on the specific needs of each city.5 The method of working of this programme differs from what has been implemented so far as it focuses on slum improvement and thus deals with giving equal importance to infrastructure development and basic services like water supply and not just focuses on housing needs of these people. The paper will analyse the impact of this programme in order to entail the proper strategy for tackling with the slum issue. Slums are in hands of local economies which are often at clash with corporate economies. Because of the level of informal connection the corporate houses have with the government they get immune to government at the local levels. Thus, they are not bothered by the local government and the problem that is caused to the local economies due to development measures which is not accounted for.6 The involvement of the local government and other local agencies like NGOSs along with the participation of the slum people themselves can be a better way of resolving this conflict. This participatory approach with a bottom line approach will also take into account the socio-economic conditions of the slum dwellers.7 Factors such as health, education and employment will be properly addressed which is essential in order to figure out a permanent
v. State of Gujarat 1995 Supp (2) SCC 182, the Supreme Court said that the right to residence and settlement is a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(e) and is considered to be an inseparable and meaningful facet of right to life under Article 21. In the context of upliftment of poor, Dalits and members of Scheduled Tribes, the Court in Chameli Singh v. State of U.P. (1996) 2 SCC 549, said that to bring poor people into the mainstream of national life, it was necessary to provide them with civic amenities required to lead a comfortable life in a city. Finally, in K. Chandru v. State of T.N. AIR 1986 SC 204, the Court held that great care and caution ought to be applied before any Municipality orders clearance of any slum and even after eviction of the residents of the slum, their rehabilitation is essential. 5 Infra section III. D at 11. 6 Kamal Siddiqui, Decentralisation and Local Governance: Major Governance Issues for Poverty Reduction in South Asia (New Delhi: Orient Longman Pvt. Ltd., 2005) at 43. 7 Supra note 2 at 18.

solution to this problem. Two of such programmes- Bangalore Urban Poverty Alleviation Program (BUPP) and Parivartan Slum Upgradation Programme- will be studied in order to see if such participatory approach is beneficial to the system.

II. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The present paper aims to study the problem of slums in India and the efforts of Indian government to tackle this problem. The objective is to find the best strategy to solve the problem of slums in the context of urban governance. B. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS The scope of the paper extends to studying the issues related to proper slum governance by analyzing the approaches of the Indian government to tackle this issue and spelling out their respective achievements and constraints. The strategies adopted by Indian government at various time periods like the relocation and rehabilitation programme and the slum improvement programme will be studied. In this regard the ninth five year plan and the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) will form the focus of the study. Also, the efforts of other parties than the Indian government employing a more participatory approach like Bangalore Urban Poverty Alleviation Program (BUPP) and Parivartan Slum Upgradation Programme will be studied and analysed. A big limitation has been the unavailability of data with respect to the performance of the JNNURM scheme since it is a rather new scheme with the official evaluation to take place in 2012. Also, with respect to the Parivartan scheme the researcher could not visit the slums himself and has to rely upon the field study and data of secondary sources. C. HYPOTHESIS Slum improvement by following a more participatory approach and taking into account the socioeconomic conditions of the slum-dwellers, inter alia, is a more practical and efficient way of dealing with the problem of slums rather than mere relocation or rehabilitation. C. RESEARCH QUESTIONS How do slums fit in the process of urban governance? What has been the general outlook of government towards slums while framing policies? What are the major constraints operating in the field of slums?

Why has the relocation policy of government failed? How is JNNURM different from other government policies? How successful has it been? How has the bottom down approach worked with respect to BUPP? Does following a participatory means of governance help? How successful has been Parivartan Slum Upgradation Programme?

D. CHAPTERISATION The paper has been divided into two parts. In the first part the policies of the Indian government has been analysed. In this respect the ninth five year plan has been discussed and reasons for its failure and the corresponding demise of the relocation policy has been analysed. The new strategy with respect to slum improvement called JNNURM has also been discussed and its impact has been studied. In the second chapter other strategies like the participatory approach and the bottom down approach by taking the examples of BUPP and the Parivartan Slum Upgradation Programme have been studied. E. MODE OF CITATION A uniform mode of citation has been followed throughout the paper. F. SOURCES OF DATA Both primary sources like cases and government reports and secondary sources like books and articles have been utilized in this paper. G. STYLE OF WRITING The style of writing adopted is both descriptive as well as analytical.

III. SLUM GOVERNANCE PROGRAMMES

IN

INDIA

The Central Government has undertaken numerous Urban Poverty Alleviation Schemes. Urban poverty has become a big problem, and it was only through the Ninth Five Year Plan that this problem was finally addressed. A. THE NINTH FIVE-YEAR PLAN In the ninth five-year plan the central government went about this through a three wave process, all three waves co-existing today. The first wave had its main focus as Housing, the aim being to

construct or repair houses for industrial workers and to provide houses to slum dwellers by giving them credit at subsidized rates.8 The second wave focused on welfare urban poverty alleviation schemes providing physical and social infrastructure. Various schemes were brought out to feed children, and thereafter the focus shifted to women and unemployed youth. These schemes aimed at providing health, education and training. The most positive aspect of this was that slums were recognized as centres of economic activity and therefore investments were made to improve the condition of slums.9 Also, by virtue of the fact that the Constitution was amended to encourage decentralized form of government, urban local bodies had more of a role to play in poverty alleviation programmes. The third wave focused essentially on Credit and Employment schemes. Schemes were introduced to provide subsidized credit to the poor. Other schemes were also introduced to provide skills training and to provide employment opportunities to the urban poor.10 While all these urban poverty alleviation schemes were a positive effort on the part of the government to resolve the problems of the urban poor, they did suffer from numerous defects. These schemes did not have an empowerment approach, which is a fundamental flaw as unless empowered, the same problems will keep cropping up. The government also failed to understand the economics of urban poverty.11 They also made the mistake of treating the urban poor as a homogenous group. Apart from this, a little too much focus was placed on housing, which is definitely not the biggest problem of the urban poor. Politicians preferred to introduce new schemes rather than see old ones through to their end.12 The government also prioritized alleviation of rural poverty over alleviation of urban poverty. Apart from this NGOs were not given a big enough role to play. Involving them more would yield better results. Whatever training was provided was not enough to prepare the urban poor for self-employment, which is of utmost importance. With regard to the implementation of these schemes, allocated budgets were not spent, results fell short of expectations, there were faults in processes of planning and budgeting, and too many schemes were introduced, which created confusion and caused a number of problems.13
8

Supriti, Sharon M. Barnhardt, Ramesh Ramanathan, Urban Poverty Alleviation in India, (Bangalore: Ramanathan Foundation, 2002) at 145. 9 Ibid at 147. 10 Supra note 8 at 151. 11 Anonymous, Urban Growth, at <http://urbanindia.nic.in/mud-final-site/urbscene/index.htm> 12 Philip Amis, Thinking about chronic urban poverty <http://www.devstud.org.uk/publications/papers/conf01/conf01amis.doc> 13 Supra note 11.

B. IMPACT OF NINTH-FIVE YEAR PLAN AND ASSOCIATED POLICIES The failure of the policies of the government is evident from the following data which reflect upon the existing socio-economic situations in the existing slums. In terms of health scenario the condition of slums is dismal in India. It is reported that less than 50% of the slums had a government hospital within one kilometer in India. Child mortality rates have doubled in Indias slums over 1990-2001 and are twice as high as the national rural average. In terms of malnourishment the condition of all slums is pathetic out of which Delhi is worst which has 35.4% stunted, 15.5% wasted and 33.1% underweight children under the age of three.14 Poor sanitation is endemic in urban India and exacts a heavy toll on public health. It is estimated that 17% of the urban population has no access to sanitation facilities while 50-80% of waste water is disposed off without any treatment.15 In terms of roads within the slum, 71% of the notified slums have a pucca road while the figure is only 37% for the non-notified slums. 86% (27%) of the notified slums (non-notified slums) have pucca road access to them. According to NSSO Reports, 2002 only 1% of the notified slums and about 16% of the non-notified ones did not have electricity, but this was inclusive of the slums where only street light was available inside or at the boundary. About 36% of the notified slums and 54% of the non-notified slums experienced water logging in the last decade.16 Lack of basic amenities gives another ghastly dimension to the slum problem. According to NSSO survey, 2002, only 15 per cent of urban slum dwellers had access to drinking water and toilets. Drinking water is also more of a farce in many cases since it is foul tasting and untreated. In 84% of the notified slums tap is the main water source.17 Slums now account for about 25% of all housing in our cities and approximately 26% of households in India's cities don't have access to sanitation facilities. Many have to defecate in the
14 15

Anonymous, Rights and Development, 1(16), Centre for Development and Human Rights 1 (2010) at 25. Over the last fifty years, the Indian government has funded various sanitation initiatives for the urban slums but with little success. The Environmental Improvement of Urban Slums programme was initiated in 1972 for providing drinking water and sanitation. The Urban Low Cost Sanitation Programme, launched in 1980-81 to convert dry latrines into low-cost pour flush latrines, made very little progress. The National Slum Development Programme (NSDP), initiated in 1996 with substantial fund allocation for providing drinking water and community toilets, was discontinued after spending close to Rs. 3100 crore in nine years though it was estimated that 46 million slum dwellers benefited from it. See Supra note 1 at 12-14. 16 Supra note 14 at 27. 17 Supra note 14 at 28.

open and have no choice but to drink and bathe in contaminated water. The percentage of notified and non-notified alums without toilets is 17% and 51% respectively. In case of septic toilets, the availability is 66% and 35%.18 The majority of slum dwellers in cities earn their living from low-paying occupations such as informal jobs in factories or by becoming domestic servants, construction workers, street vendors, sex workers, and piece rate workers. The informal sector is the dominant source of livelihood in slums. According to the 2001 Census of India, 84% of the slum dwellers in India were classified as other workers with only 4% household industry workers, 0.84% cultivators, 2% agricultural labourers and 10% marginal workers.19 This occupational mapping clearly reveals the opportunities that manifest for slum dwellers in the informal economy. Further, there has been growing informalisation with net growth of employment during 1999- 00 to 2004-05 being largely of an informal kind.20 There is widespread unemployment in the slums across the country which is evident from the example that about 34 per cent of the labour force in Kolkata slums is actively searching for jobs. The income of high earning slum dwellers range between Rs 1500 - 6000, while people earning between Rs 800-2300 a month are in the medium category. Those whose earnings fall between Rs. 500 to 1500 monthly are in the low category. About 80 per cent of all households have been found to be earning between Rs 500 and Rs 1700 per month. 21 This shows that with an average family size of 5-6, more than 70-80 per cent of slum families live below the poverty line. C. FAILURE OF THE RELOCATION POLICY The government has so far adopted a policy of relocation of the slum dwellers to a different place in order to clear the city and give them a better place to live. However, most of the relocated colonies are in themselves planned slums, with sufficient potable water supply, working system of drainage, garbage removal and an adequate system of toilets and safe-excreta disposal, all essential aspects for public health, being evidently absent. These colonies, in most cases, are mainly located at the fringe of the city or on cheaper low-lying waste lands, often along drains and ditches, with the lowering of standard for housing plot size, for the quality and quantity of basic

18 19

Supra note 1 at 20. Supra note 14 at 31. 20 Supra note 14 at 32. 21 Supra note 1 at 22.

amenities such as latrines, drainage and water supply being chiefly responsible for the existing state of affairs.22 Interplay of factors has led to the building of such planned slums. The state machinery and the scientific technological systems have not been to oppose social pressures acting against the interests of public health and the poor.23 Constraints of resource allocation and land shortages have been the chief reasons given for lowering standards. The funding of housing for the poor has always been seen as a major problem. The building of houses for poor families, covered by the definition of a slum must be subsidized by the Government or by the local authorities concerned. Each householder is given a long term lease for the plot. This eases one of the slum-dwellers major problems, i.e., the constant fear of evacuation. However, the experience of previous slum clearance and re-housing schemes are indicative of the fact that the better-off among the citys poor tend to displace the poorest among the resettled. Out of economic necessity, the poorest often sell the plot and are forced to move back into a slums cluster somewhere while the better-off among the poor inhabit the resettlement colony.24 These transactions often have worse implications as the land racketeers with good financial resources and political backing come in a big way to displace the real allottees. The general principle is that, after slum clearance the land should be developed back in the same area so that their economic and social life is least disrupted. However, on the appeal of scarcity of funding for such schemes, the cleared slum land is usually converted into commercial areas or residential colonies for the better-off. This planned development has thus failed to provide basic amenities effectively and adequately to the city as a whole. The impact of this inadequacy has been

22

It is observed that the re-housing colonies should be integrated with a larger neighborhood where there is a mixture of social and income groups and the houses should be provided as far as possible near their work-places keeping in view the fact that they belong to a class of persons who have no means to secure housing accommodation by themselves. The prominence should therefore be on the provision of community facilities like cheap transport, water supply and sewerage and a drainage system. It is in this field that the knowledge of modern sciences and technology needs to be applied to make available the basic amenities at minimum cost. See P.Uma Shankar, Housing Urban Poor: Problems and Prospects, 32 (1), Nagarlok, 1 (2001) at 5. 23 Sumit Roy, Globalisation, Structural Change and Poverty, 13 (16), Economic and Political Weekly 435 (1997) at 437. 24 Ritu Priya, Town Planning, Public Health and Urban Poor, 28(17) Economic and Political Weekly 831 (1993) at 836.

10

felt by all but more so by the poorer sections. Thus a mechanism by which those among the slumdwellers who can afford it has to be enacted.25 D. THE JAWAHARLAL NEHRU URBAN RENEWAL MISSION (JNNURM) The Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission is the latest attempt of the Indian government towards improving the lives of the Indian slum dwellers. The duration of the Mission is of a period of six years beginning from December 2005-06 up to end 2011. During this period it aims to encourage reforms and fast track planned development of identified cities. The JNNURM comprises two submissions that cover 65 large mission cities. The first one is for Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) and another for Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP). 26 Water supply, sanitation, sewerage and drainage are featured both in the UIG and BSUP lists. Urban renewal is vaguely defined as redevelopment of inner city areas, shifting of industrial and commercial establishments, replacement of old water supply, sewerage and drainage pipes etc. as a UIG component. Convergence of health, education and social security schemes for the urban poor is specifically listed as an item in the BSUP but health and education projects are also declared inadmissible for JNNURM funding.27 Thus, even though the mission seeks to improve the slums it fails to take into account the socio-economic conditions of the people in the area. Inevitably, the JNNURM funds have flowed to those activities more commonly understood as urban facilities such as water supply, drainage, sanitation and roads.

25

Improving conditions where the slums are instead of shifting them somewhere elsewhere should be the basic approach. Provision of electricity, building of public toilets, water supply and medical care are also things that should be major components of the package that the Government offers, in addition to security tenure to the residents over the land that they occupy. This is because demolition and clearance can be undertaken by the authorities whenever the land is to be developed for some other so called better use. Supra note 24 at 837. 26 Anonymous, Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission: An Overview, Ministry of Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation at 11-13. 27 Supra note 26 at 14.

11

Table 1. Admissible Sectors and Projects for assistance under JNNURM28 The Government of India committed Rs. 50,000 crore for seven years under the JNNURM and an additional package of Rs 16,085 crore was added recently. The funds are channeled through statelevel agencies, where grants from the Central and State governments are pooled and passed on as grants or soft loans to cities provided that they have prepared city development plans (CDP) and that the investments identified fit within these strategies.29 This is particularly helpful as unlike earlier initiatives the heterogeneity among the states is observed and thus the States can devise strategies specific to them. The programme has been a mixed bag with variations existing in the utilization of funds. By 2012, the JNNURM plans to build 1.5 million houses for the poor but by May 2009, only 100,000 had been built. While Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh utilized over 90% of the funds released till September 2009, Bihar utilized only 17%. Nearly 4 years after the mission started, only 48 projects under the UIG have been completed.30 Even for BSUP there have been delays in timing of release of first installments of some projects. For example, in Delhi as late as September 2009, the release

28 29

Tanvi Kulkarni, JNNURM: Works, Achievements and Problems in Pune Centre for Civil Society (2008) at 11. KC Sivaramakrishnan, The JNNURM Story, Centre for Policy Research (2010) at 12. 30 Supra note 28 at 13.

12

of sanctioned funds has been delayed by 625 days. Even then, since the JNNURM is a recent programme, it is too early to evaluate its impact on slum removal.31 In regard to the BSUP sub-mission, since a large part of the allocation is for construction of low income houses atleast here it should be possible to indicate the outcome in physical terms. According to a report of the HUPA Ministry, as of December 2009, 10.09 lakh houses were sanctioned under BSUP and another 4.66 lakh under IHSDP (Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme) making a total of 14.75 lakh housing units.32 In the report the number of houses completed as well as under construction is presented together. Out of the total of 14.75 lakhs units, 6.36 lakh units are stated to be completed/under construction. The report does not indicate how many housing units have been completed and when these have been allotted and occupied by the intended beneficiaries. It may also be noted that under the BSUP sub-mission, 63% of the total approved costs is for housing and the rest for various infrastructure services. 33 There is very little information on the progress of the infrastructure component for shelter schemes. An analysis of September 2010 indicates out of 515 UIG projects, the largest number of 147 pertains to water supply, another 108 to sewerage and 70 to drainage. Roads, flyovers and bridges covered another 95 projects. In terms of cost, water supply accounts for nearly 33.5% of the total cost of all approved projects amounting to Rs. 19,416 crores. If sewerage and storm water drainage are added, then the share rises to 71.3%. Bridges and roads account for another 13.1%.34 The information confirms the position that the Missions main thrust has been to get projects of basic urban infrastructure like water supply, sanitation and roads, prepared and sanctioned as quickly as possible.

IV. SLUM UPGRADATION PROGRAMME: SUCCESS

OR

FAILURE?

The notion of citizen or community participation has become an important and popular aspect of development strategy both at the formal and informal levels of designing or implementing programmes for the people. This section will assess the significance of citizen participation at the
31 32

Supra note 26 at 16. Supra note 29 at 12. 33 Supra note 28 at 15. 34 Abhay Kantak, Impact of JNNURM: On Water and Waste Management Financing, Indian Infrastructure, 54 (February 2010) at 56.

13

local governance level and importance of giving importance to the socio-economic needs of the people in the territory. A. BANGALORE URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAM Bangalore Urban Poverty Alleviation Program is part of projects aimed at targeting the disadvantaged in the selected communities with proposals in assisting them to identify a need and to participate in the process of achieving the desired goals. Participation as a policy proposition is a bottom up approach to development where citizens have control and are actively involved in the development process, unlike a top down approach where citizens are less involved.35 An advantage associated with participation is the sense of ownership and belongingness to the development agenda by citizens, because projects may have their inputs. However, there are also present community level issues such as lack of appropriate community organization, lack of organizational skills, poor communication facilities, corruption, factionalism and differing economic interests in communities. Sometimes citizen participation becomes window dressing by local agents to fulfil donor, central government, constitutional and some other requirements. Also, there is capture by local elites and some other actors who have become cliques serving their own interests to achieve personal political ambitions or some similar purposes. In this light the researcher would like to examine citizen participation using the example of one such project. 1. Overview of BUPP A small but rather ambitious program, the Bangalore Urban Poverty Alleviation Program (BUPP), was implemented between 1993 and 1999 in Bangalore. The program was financially supported by The Netherlands and aimed on the one hand to alleviate poverty by empowering the poor, and, on the other, to develop and test an innovative institutional model of participatory urban poverty alleviation. A new institutional structure with related guidelines and monitoring systems was set up comprising an executive Steering Committee (SC) and a Program Support Unit for day-to-day management. New Slum Development Teams (SDTs) with elected male/female members were created for decentralized, bottom up planning and implementation of slum activities. The program aimed to bring about a partnership between Bangalore government agencies, NGOs and
35

Participation may also be seen in two spheres first as a means in terms of efficiency, ownership, sustainability, cost saving, efficiency and effectiveness of projects and policies such as election of representatives, representation on advisory boards, inputs in decision making and offering labour services in development projects. Secondly, as an end in itself linking to matters such as empowerment, democracy, accountability, poverty reduction and development. See Ruby Saakor Tetteh, Citizen Participation in Local Governance: The cases of the Bangalore Urban Poverty Alleviation Programme and the Angolan Citizens Participation Initiative, Institute of Social Studies 1 (2009) at 7.

14

Community Based Organizations. A key program ideal was convergence, or the linking of various urban poverty reduction programs from governmental agencies, local NGOs and foreign donors.36 2. Implementation Structure The figure below displays the structure of BUPP and how it worked during actual implementation. BUPP Steering Committee

NGOs and CBOs

Bangalore Government Agencies (UDD, KSCB, BCC, BDA, WCWD, DC, HUDCO) Programme Support Unit Social Unit Habitat Unit Income Generation Unit Administration Unit

SD T

SD T

SD T

SD T

SD T

SD T

SD T

Slum Development Teams in BUPP slums At the start of the program, discussions between government agencies, NGOs and communitybased organizations (CBOs) representatives in the programs SC were lively and constructive. However, the general practice of transferring officials frequently affected program continuity, as new officials had to be briefed about BUPP philosophy and approaches time and again.37 In
36

http://www.ihs.nl/downloads/sinpa%20publications/sinpa_downloads_pdf/2000%20Bangalore%20SINPA %20research%20report.pdf. 37 Supra note 35 at 14.

15

contrast, the four NGO members have personally participated through the program duration. NGOs were charged with the following tasks: to help set up SDTs and monitor their performance and functioning at the slum level, and to take up a management and decision making role. Whereas the latter task was carried out well, there were problems at the slum level. Bangalore NGOs appeared to be most experienced in community organizational work (advocacy tasks), and less so in other areas such as providing basic physical services and employment/income generation opportunities. The NGOs did not always have sufficient capacity to become deeply involved in BUPP, and there was certain reluctance on the part of NGOs to work together.38 The most significant aspect was the role of the slum dwellers themselves. In all Bangalore slums one or more slum leaders were active. They were the mediators between poor, often illiterate slum inhabitants on the one hand, and important actor(s) such as government officials, employers, politicians, and the police on the other. The power basis of leaders could be political (leading a local organization/faction allied to a political party); economic (plot transactions, money lending, job-brokerage); social (intervention in conflicts, solving police problems) or religious (organizing and playing a key role in religious slum festivals).39 It is not so surprising that in BUPP slums members of the new SDTs were often the former leaders of pre-existing organizations. Sometimes they were unhelpful or even destructive. In other BUPP slums, established leaders proved to be of great help, being effective, well connected, respected by their communities and reliable. 3. Benefits BUPP was more effective in its poverty reduction strategies at the slum level than in institutional development. By the time it was completed in 1999, the program worked in 14 slums and directly or indirectly touched the lives of about 13,000 slum inhabitants. Seven (illegal, and/or privately owned) slums were legalized through the program, contributing to increased security and assets among the poor. An analysis of BUPP spells out its benefits in the following fields. 1. Infrastructure: Basic infrastructure such as drinking water taps, public toilets, construction or rehabilitation of community halls, pavement of feeder roads, drainage paths, clinics, subsidized electricity and individual self-help and participatory housing projects were constructed.40
38 39

Supra note 36. Supra note 35 at 16. 40 Supra note 35 at 34.

16

2. Financial Scheme: There was an establishment and management of a successful savings and credit scheme called BEMBALA. It had over a thousand members with women comprising about 73% with savings of 500,000 rupees and one million rupees re-lent as loans to members. This resulted in employment and income generation activities for the urban poor and it is still operational.41 3. Empowerment: There were standardized indicators to measure empowerment but in 1997 the Review Mission had some kind of measurements which showed that BUPP had resulted in enhancing empowerment among SDT members but this did not tally with the views of individual SDT members. Nonetheless, the workshops, exposure visits, contacts between people from different slums raised awareness on legal issues, programmes relevant to slum poor etc. Also, the credit scheme contributed to increased confidence in people.42 4. Institutional Structure: BUPP established and experimented with a new and ambitious institutional structure namely the SC, PSU and the SDTs. Besides it succeeded in learning by doing approach and gradually developed an institutional structure in enabling all stakeholders to relate well. But, these units could not function as expected by the end of the project. For example the SC could not continue to play its intended policy role while the PSU was unable to play its facilitating role between governmental agencies and NGOs due to lack of capacity.43 4. Constraints BUPP had its share of constraints as well which brings into light the weaknesses of the participatory model of governance. 1. Implementing Model: The issue of participatory development, bottom up planning and task transfer to communities proved difficult as officials and agencies were used to a top down approach to development. Initially this approach proved challenging as well as the key role which was given to NGOs.44 2. Slum Policy: In Bangalore under its Slum Act some slums were legalized while others were not. BUPP selected slums in both categories but the illegal ones had to be legalized

41 42

Supra note 35 at 34. Supra note 35 at 35. 43 Supra note 35 at 35. 44 Supra note 35 at 38.

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which delayed the programme and frustrated especially slum dwellers, NGOs and government agencies.45 3. PSU Staff Turnover: There were difficulties in employing well qualified PSU staff specifically at the senior and management level. This could be attributed to a lack of specialists in a new field such as urban poverty alleviation in India. Another crucial reason was the low level of salaries of PSU employees contrary to the proposition of the project document. The argument was that salaries ought to be moderate so the programme would be sustainable if Dutch Government funds were to cease.46 B. PARIVARTAN SLUM UPGRADATION PROGRAMME The Parivartan Programme which was launched in Ahmadabad city in 1995 is based on the premises that slum upgradation, rather than slum eradication or removal, is a more practical and effective way of alleviating urban poverty. The programme of slum upgradation is a part of the City Development Strategy (CDS) which essentially is an action plan for equitable growth in a city, developed and sustained through public participation to improve the quality of life for all citizens. The CDS is based on the belief that an adequate and timely mix of public, private and civil society initiatives can change the path of the city development. The City Development Strategy seeks to find ways with which to improve a citys competitiveness, livability, management and financial solvency. It is a process that requires the coalition of local leaders to improve the cities strategies, reviewing its opportunities and challenges.47 One of the integral parts of CDS is the City Without Slums (CWS) Action Plan which was developed in July 1999 and launched by Nelson Mandela at the inaugural meeting of the CA in December. Though the main purpose of the CWS initiatives is to eradicate slums by up grading them, it also attempts to bring about better social, economic, environmental and governance conditions within poor urban communities.48 The CWS looks beyond shelter provision and addresses other causes of poverty in the slums. It attempts to i) stimulate economic regeneration in order to create employment and income generation ii) promote social development and improve systems of governance and empowerment in poor, urban communities. iii) Link local infrastructure
45 46

Supra note 36 Supra note 36. 47 Report on Cities Without Slums: Analysis of the Situation & Proposal of Intervention Strategies, Republic of Mozambique, Ministry for Coordination of Environmental Affairs at 3. 48 Supra note 1 at 23.

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and services to wider strategic networks and iv) assist in creating a more skilled and productive community through improved public health, education and welfare services. The Parivartan Programme was set along similar lines.49 1. Overview of Parivartan Parivartan programme was launched in 1995 by the Ahmadabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), in partnership with two city-based NGOs, corporate sector and slum residents. Self Employed Womens Association (SEWA) Bank also participated as a community finance institution. The NGOs, SAATH and Gujarat Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHT), were involved in community mobilisation, building community-AMC linkages, facilitating implementation and capacity building of community members for monitoring service delivery. After the basic infrastructure under Parivartan was provided, SEWA came in to start the development programmes such as health, literacy, occupational skills and financial services of banking and insurance. Additionally MHT, being technically equipped also trains community members in technical matters so that they can monitor and ensure that better quality of services are provided, during the implementation phase.50 A package of physical infrastructure of the individual household level is provided on an equitable cost sharing basis between the AMC, the private sector and the slum dwellers, each of whom pay 1/3rd of the total onsite capital cost of the services provided. To improve the overall quality of life of the slum dwellers, the community development component was introduced. Community development was considered essential for involving slum dwellers in the project by way of sharing of costs, making decisions and in being responsible for the maintenance of the services, as well as ensuring public accountability. The MHT has an important role to play in identifying the slum areas based on their eligibility for the programme in accordance with the status of land. It also deals with the prioritization of areas for the implementation of the programme based on the demand.51

2. Assessment of the Programme The programme was present in eleven slums in the city. The basic infrastructure development had taken place in most of these slums due to the efforts of Parivartan. The improvement in other spheres like education was also seen. As for example one of such slums, Babalablabinagar
49

Supra note 47 at 5. Anonymous, Parivartan and Its Impact: A Partnership Programme of Infrastructure Development in Slums of Ahmadabad City SEWA Academy 1 (January 2002) at 2-3. 51 Supra note 50 at 10.
50

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witnessed a mild increase in the literacy rate of the residents. The increase is primarily due to the increase in the number of school going children at primary level.

Fig 1. Comparison of Literacy of the residents in Babalablabinagar (%)52 In another slum called Sinheshwarinagar, the literacy rate had shown improvement after Parivartan was implemented. This was evident from the sharp contrast in literacy of this slum with another slum, Madrasi Ni Chali, where Parivartan has not yet been implemented. Both these slums are adjoining but still major difference was found in these slums.

Table 2. Comparison of Literacy rate among school going children in Parivartan and Non-Parivartan Slums (%)53 The major reason for this rise has been the availability of clean drinking water and toilet facilities at homes due to which the household women do not have to stand in the long queues on the public water stand. The availability of water and sanitation at home had also affected their productivity which increased by an hour in Babalablabinagar and shows comparative improvement in Sinheshwarinagar as against Madrasi Ni Chali.

52 53

Supra note 50 at 20. Supra note 50 at 21.

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Fig 2. Increase in average number of working hours in Babalablabinagar54

Fig 3. Comparison of average number of working hours in Parivartan and NonParivartan Slums55 The income of the residents of these slums also changed drastically. While the average monthly income person in Babalablabinagar before Parivartan was implemented was 288, it rose to 318 after its implementation. Also it marked a shift in the proportion in which the low and middle income groups were constituted as shown in the figure below.

54 55

Supra note 50 at 23. Supra note 50 at 24.

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Fig 4. Income before and after Parivartan in Babalablabinagar (%)56 Thus, as is evident from this figure, there has been a significant decrease in the proportion of very low income group (Rs. 1000 per month) and corresponding increase in the middle income group (between Rs. 1000 to 2000). Thus the major impact of Parivartan is on the very low income group. A similar pattern is found in Sinheshwarinagar with Parivartan programme, which had higher income levels than Madrasi Ni Chali which is a non-Parivartan slum, particularly in case of very low income groups.

Fig 5. Income in Parivartan and Non-Parivartan Slums (%)57

56 57

Supra note 50 at 27. Supra note 50 at 28.

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The middle income and the low income group, thus, witnessed a sharp change due to Parivartan. The two adjoining slums differ in respect of their average income as well. While the average monthly income per person in the non-Parivartan Madras Ni Chali was 398, it was 417 in case of Sinheshwarinagar. The level of personal hygiene and health had also improved in these slums. Due to availability of clean water in sufficient quantity and a well connected drainage system most of these people take care of their daily hygiene requirements. There has been a marked improvement in the level of health awareness and consequently improved personal habits. The regular medical check-ups and corresponding counseling on the matter has definitely helped the dwellers in taking better care of their health. The average monthly expenditure towards health before Parivartan was Rs. 131 and after Parivartan it was reduced to Rs. 74 which is a reduction of nearly 56%. Dramatic reduction has come with respect to water borne diseases like diahorrea, fever, gastro-enteritis etc. here as well as Sinheshwarinagar. The detailed reports on this matter with respect to both the slums are given below.

Table 3. Types of Illness and their prevalence in Babalablabinagar before and after Parivartan (%)58

58

Supra note 50 at 35.

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Table 4. Comparison of Type of Illness in Residents of Parivartan and NonParivartan Slums among Those Who Reported Illness (%)59

Apart from these material changes, the people in these slums, especially women saw a marked improvement in their social status as well as general well being. All this can be attributed to the kind of changes that Parivartan had resulted by way of improving the slums and not merely finding easy ways like relocation and rehabilitation. It is crucial to mention here that even though these figures may not depict the most accurate description of these small slums, it is definitely enough to show the marked improvement that Parivartan brought to the place. It thus is a proof to the fact local governance and participatory approach with specific goals towards providing basic amenities and improving the socio-economic conditions will yield the desired results towards solving the problem of slum in a much better and effective way.

V. CONCLUSION
It was seen that slums form an important part in the process of urban governance. The slum dwellers have rights with respect to their habitation and basic services and thus the government is obligated to provide the same to them. The policies of the government have, however, not given the results it aimed for. The problem here is deeper than what it appears. The concern of the matter here is with respect to the general outlook of the government towards dealing with this problem. As it appears from the development strategies of Indian government slums are seen as a problem rather
59

Supra note 50 at 36.

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than the victim. The existence of such a state of affairs is also indicative of the mind-set of the planners that the poor must develop for the sake of the city rather than that the city must develop to cater to the needs of the poor. As such the most common approach of the planning bodies and Municipal Corporations is to evict the residents of slums and clear all encroachments. This is at best an attempt to treat the symptoms and not the cause itself, at worst a callous exercise of police power on the most underprivileged and vulnerable sections of urban society. The question now is where the slum dwellers will and encroachers go if they had no legitimate place to stay in the first place and were therefore forced to live in every nook and cranny they could find? Do they also not have a place in the master plan of the city? The researcher agrees to the fact that housing and infrastructure are serious issues with respect to solving the problem of slums but they are not the only issues. The government has laid far too much stress on these aspects thereby ignoring other crucial issues like employment, education, sanitation, clean drinking water and other basic services to the slum dwellers. The JNNURM is a commendable step towards this aspect which allows every city to formulate plans and implement them according to its own specific needs. The plan seeks to upgrade the slums by providing them with all the basic services. This shows that the central town planning practice has come to accept slum improvement rather than slum clearance as the most practical and economical way of dealing with the quandary of unhygienic conditions of slums. However, a few of the socioeconomic aspects like the education and employment opportunities dont form a part of this scheme. This reflects upon the outlook of the government who still consider the infrastructure development a more pressing issue than education or employment. The idea might be true but the government should bear in mind that in order to find a permanent solution to this problem these socio-economic aspects have to be given weight. The slum upgradation programme as employed in Bangalore and Ahmadabad has proved to be a success guide. Both these programmes were a part of the bottom up approach as against the top down approach as has been practiced by the Indian government. The programmes included the participation from various NGOs, local government and the people from the slums themselves. The result of such participatory approach was that the issues were properly spelled out and the implementation was quick and to the required point. The programmes gave importance to

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employment, credit finance, education and health related issues along with providing the basic services like infrastructure, housing, sanitation and clean drinking water. Such an inclusive approach, thus, proved out to be a success. The constraints in this regard were with respect to certain governance issues which could be sufficiently tackled if the central and state governments lend their full support to these initiatives. Hence, the hypothesis of this paper has been successfully proved as the relocation strategy of the government has failed in the past and the participatory strategy of slum upgradation by taking into account the socio-economic factors, among other things, is the need of the hour.

VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY
PRIMARY SOURCES Cases Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation v. Nawab Khan Gulab Khan (1997) 11 SCC 121. Chameli Singh v. State of U.P. (1996) 2 SCC 549. K. Chandru v. State of T.N. AIR 1986 SC 204. Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation of India, AIR 1986 SC 180. P.G. Gupta v. State of Gujarat 1995 Supp (2) SCC 182.

Miscellaneous Report on Cities Without Slums: Analysis of the Situation & Proposal of Intervention Strategies, Republic of Mozambique, Ministry for Coordination of Environmental Affairs.

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SECONDARY SOURCES Books Abdal Aziz, Poverty Alleviation in India: Policies and Programmes, (New Delhi: Ashish Publishing House, 1994). Kamal Siddiqui, Decentralisation and Local Governance: Major Governance Issues for Poverty Reduction in South Asia (New Delhi: Orient Longman Pvt. Ltd., 2005) Supriti, Sharon M. Barnhardt, Ramesh Ramanathan, Urban Poverty Alleviation in India, (Bangalore: Ramanathan Foundation, 2002) Articles Abhay Kantak, Impact of JNNURM: On Water and Waste Management Financing, Indian Infrastructure, 54 (February 2010). Anonymous, Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission: An Overview, Ministry of Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation. Anonymous, Parivartan and Its Impact: A Partnership Programme of Infrastructure Development in Slums of Ahmadabad City SEWA Academy 1 (January 2002). Anonymous, Rights and Development, 1(16), Centre for Development and Human Rights 1 (2010) at 25. Anonymous, Urban Growth, at <http://urbanindia.nic.in/mud-finalsite/urbscene/index.htm> Ardhendu Bhattacharya, Problems of Urban Slums and Possible Solutions, 28(3), Nagarlok 13 (1999). Darshini Mahadevia, Urban Poors Access to Land and Basic Services: Rhetoric, Reality and Dilemmas, 33(1), Nagarlok 66 (2002).

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http://www.ihs.nl/downloads/sinpa %20publications/sinpa_downloads_pdf/2000%20Bangalore%20SINPA%20research %20report.pdf.

KC Sivaramakrishnan, The JNNURM Story, Centre for Policy Research (2010). Nakula Kumar and Ruchira Sen, Urban Poverty Alleviation Initiatives & The JNNURM: A Critical Assessment, National Institute of Urban Affairs 1 (November 2006).

P.Uma Shankar, Housing Urban Poor: Problems and Prospects, 32 (1), Nagarlok, 1 (2001).

Philip Amis, Thinking about chronic urban poverty http://www.devstud.org.uk/publications/papers/conf01/conf01amis.doc

Ritu Priya, Town Planning, Public Health and Urban Poor, 28(17) Economic and Political Weekly 831 (1993).

Ruby Saakor Tetteh, Citizen Participation in Local Governance: The cases of the Bangalore Urban Poverty Alleviation Programme and the Angolan Citizens Participation Initiative, Institute of Social Studies 1 (2009).

Sumit Roy, Globalisation, Structural Change and Poverty, 13 (16), Economic and Political Weekly 435 (1997).

Tanvi Kulkarni, JNNURM: Works, Achievements and Problems in Pune Centre for Civil Society (2008).

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