When the government starts talking about measures to avoid creation of slums rather than merely making cities ‘slum-free’, there should be reason to cheer for those of us who have been watching with frustration the increasingly haphazard and inequitable way Indian cities are growing.
Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja and Delhi’s Chief Minister went into a huddle a few days ago, along with a number of key officials, to decide on measures to implement in Delhi the ambitious Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) that envisages a slum-free India.
The group seems to have established the need for reforms to adopt inclusive urban planning and a need to coordinate the efforts of Delhi’s multiple planning and implementing agencies. The group also prioritized the provision of basic services, schools and health facilities in slums and, perhaps for the first time, lent an urgency to the discussion around creating large-scale rental housing stock like dormitory housing and housing on hire/purchase to increase housing supply for low income groups. With a clear cut agenda to increase the supply of affordable housing and redeveloping slums (the shelter board has apparently been given three months to put up pilot projects!), this seems prima-facie to be an about turn from Delhi’s policy of moving slums out to flats in resettlement colonies on the fringes of the city.
So, does this mean the slum is no longer the unsightly pariah or does it still mean slum populations will be temporarily placated but ultimately moved away?
Confusing though the governments motivations and decisions are, the move away from eradication of slums to working towards preventing their creation in the long-term is a welcome one, if indeed that is what can be read into these recent developments.
In fact, providing viable housing options to low income groups is vital to Delhi’s survival. The first tranche of data to come of the 2011 Census shows the Delhi is losing its growth momentum to neighbouring satellite cities like Gurgaon, Noida and Faridabad. Delhi grew only 21% this past decade from 2001-2011 as opposed to 47% in the decade 1991-2011. The city centre has emptied in the past decade, with New Delhi’s growth falling by 25.35% and the central districts depleting of people by 10.48%. This means not only a falling rate of migration into the city, but also a rapid rate of out-migration to the suburbs. A corresponding increasing in suburban population seems to support this (Gurgaon grew by 74% and Noida by 51% in this past decade). Rising crime rates, falling quality of life, congestion and lack of affordable housing options are perceived to be the major reasons that Delhi could be appearing as a less attractive destination for people to live in.
Policy makers needs to read these figures as alarm bells to plan for a city that is far more inclusive, offering employment and housing opportunities to all the income groups and categories of people that contribute towards making Delhi a viable place to live and do business in. In this context, the question of housing the urban poor is brought sharply into focus. A city that has no place for the people who form its sweat and blood is indeed doomed. If the measures initiated by the Union and Chief Minister do take shape, though, a more sustainable future can be hoped for.
Mukta Naik, Apr 8, 2011
