HOT TOPICS
SPOTLIGHT AGENCIES
Houses for slum dwellers by Dec 2010
murali772 - 5 February, 2010 | Bangalore | urban development | Urban Poor | Media Reports | housing | Others | Everything else
Speaking after laying the foundation stone for construction of 1,500 houses in the Ragigudda slum at JP Nagar 2nd phase, the Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said, “All 570 slums in the City will be rehabilitated under the JNNURM-BSUP scheme by Dec 2010 to make Bangalore a slum-free City". Jayanagar MLA B N Vijayakumar said the dwellers in the 30-year old Ragigudda slum will be rehabilitated in a three-storey housing block.
Nearly 10 lakh people continue to reside in slums. Yeddyurappa further said that title deeds would be given for nearly 15,000 people who reside on Government land.
For the full text in the Deccan Herald, click here
The Indian Express report had also quoted Minister Ashoka as having stated that "in the next phase, people residing in slums that are not notified will be given title deeds".
Now that the BBMP elections are postponed, and the code of conduct does not apply any longer, I guess, it's time again to make all kinds of promises, whether there's intent to keep them or not. While a roof over one's head is undoubtedly a necessity for all, the questions that arise are:
- The figure (for living people in slums in the city) is supposedly 10 lakhs today. By the time you have rehabilitated them, how many more will have been added to it? Are you going to be providing for them also?
- Further, even if JNNURM funds are available, has the government made provosions (or, is making provisions) in the budget for matching funds from the state?
- Also, if the answer to all of the above is a yes, will it then not lead to increased rate of migration to the city? Does the government have a plan to address that?
- And, equally important, are the design and execution going to be entrusted with the PWD, who don't carry much of a reputation for competence or aesthetics?
And, as for "issuing of title deeds to people residing in slums that are not notified", is it not going to be encouraging the slum lords to grab vacant lands?
So, even as the government goes about executing the announced programmes, would it like to share with the citizens as to how it's going to be addressing the above concerns.
Muralidhar Rao
COMMENTS
Read these articles on
vaishvittal - 5 February, 2010 - 10:13
Read these articles on Citizen Matters
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/1725-of-urban-poor-and-reform-policies
and
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/1508-bengaluru-rajiv-gandhi-nagar-slum
Pitiable tale of Slum Rehabs
Naveen - 5 February, 2010 - 10:54
Thanks Vaishnavi Vittal,
These two are very well written articles on Citizem matters. The second article (about Rajiv gandhi nagar slum) appears to have been written after a good amount of research & on-site visits.
Pitiable as their woes are, I noticed in China that temporary quarters for workers at construction sites & during rehab were provided in 40-ft long containers that were housing some 20 or more people each, with just two toilets! I guess this is the same story everywhere in Asia & better methods need to be found than accomodate them in these ways.
its a racket..
srinidhi - 5 February, 2010 - 16:52
the slum dwellers are just a vote bank..and the politicians use them for winning elections!
the plan to provide them title deeds for the 10X10 land they live on is ridiculous..these dwellings lack everything..instead of giving them title deeds for the land govt should build multi storeyed dwellings for them!
and guess what these slum dwellers do then? they will rent out that house and start another slum for their own living!
Why this disparity?
vaishvittal - 8 February, 2010 - 05:11
Thank you, Naveen. Yes, the report on the Rajiv Gandhi Nagar slum did involve a lot of research. Actually, it's even more complex and I do not think my report did full justice to it. But I tried.
When I spoke to Urban Development Minister S Suresh Kumar about why the poor are not given proper housing, he seemed to be in agreement that there is indeed a gap in delivering basic amenities to the poor.
Why then do they not actually build houses for them I do not understand. To just say 'apathy' and leave it at that, doesn't make complete sense to me. And Suresh Kumar added to all that saying 'voters are not all that sophisticated'.
Been to KSCB website?
silkboard - 8 February, 2010 - 13:14
On related note, I have notcied a few tenders from Karnataka slum clearance board recently. Have not read much on this subject, but will be a good idea to get familiarized, it helps that they have a website.
See http://kscb.org.in
Yep, have added this website to our government search engine, which btw has a decent list of Karnataka govt sites by now :)
PRAJA.IN COMMENT GUIDELINES
Posting Guidelines apply for comments as well. No foul language, hate mongering or personal attacks. If criticizing third person or an authority, you must be fact based, as constructive as possible, and use gentle words. Avoid going off-topic no matter how nice your comment is. Moderators reserve the right to either edit or simply delete comments that don't meet these guidelines. If you are nice enough to realize you violated the guidelines, please save Moderators some time by editing and fixing yourself. Thanks!