Slums in Delhi

According to Government under Section 3(I) of the Slums Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, India, 1956, defines slums as areas where buildings in that area

i) are in any respect unfit for human habitation;

ii) or are by reason of dilapidation, over crowding, faulty arrangement and design of such buildings, narrowness of faulty arrangement of streets, lack of ventilation, light or sanitation facilities, or common combination of these factors, are detrimental to safety, health and morals.

In determining whether a building is unfit for human habitation for the purposes of this Act, is to say (a) repair; (b) stability; (c) freedom from damp; (d) natural light and air; (e) water supply; (f) drainage and sanitary conveniences; (g) facilities for storage, preparation and cooking of food and for the disposal of waste water; and the building shall be deemed to be unfit as aforesaid if and only if it is so far defective in one or more of the said matters that it is not reasonably suitable for occupation in that condition. Declaration of slum areas (Section 3(1)): Where the competent authority upon report from any of its officers or other information in its possession that any area or buildings in that area is unfit for human habitation by notification in the Official Gazette, declare such area to be a slum area. In Delhi it is the Commissioner of MCD who as the administrator has the power to appoint by notification in the Official Gazette the Competent Authority to notify or de notify slums. In case of Delhi the competent authority for the purpose of this Act is the Director (TP) of the Slum & JJ Department. The Slum Act provide for the improvement and clearance of slum areas in the city and for the protection of tenants (under Section 19(1)) in such areas from eviction.

Slum Improvement (Section 4(1) Power to competent authority to require improvement of buildings unfit for human habitation.

Work of improvement includes in relation to any building in a slum area the execution of any one or more of the following works, namely: (i) necessary repairs; (ii) structural alterations; (iii) provision of light points, water taps and bathing places; (iv) construction of drains, open or covered; (v) provision of latrines, including conversion of dry latrines into water-borne latrines; (vi) provision of additional or improved fixtures or fittings; (vii) opening up or paving of courtyards; (viii) removal of rubbish; and (ix) any other work including the demolition of any building or any part thereof which in the opinion of the competent authority is necessary for executing any of the works specified above.

Restriction on building, etc., in slum areas (Section 6A(1) The competent authority may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that no person shall erect any building in a slum area except with the previous permission in writing of the competent authority.

Power of competent authority to order demolition of buildings unfit for human habitation (Section 7)

Power to declare any slum area to be a clearance area (Section 9.(1) Where the competent authority upon a report from any of its officers or other information in its possession is satisfied as respects any slum area that the most satisfactory method of dealing with the conditions in the area is the demolition of all the buildings in the area, the authority shall by an order notified in the Official Gazette declare the area to be a clearance area, that is to say, an area to be cleared of all buildings in accordance with the provisions of this Act: Provided that any building in the area which is not unfit for human habitation or dangerous or injurious to health may be excluded from the declaration if the authority considers it necessary.

Power to remove offensive or dangerous trades from slum areas (Section 29). The competent authority may, by order in writing, direct any person carrying on any dangerous or offensive trade in a slum area to remove the trade from that area within such time as may be specified in the order: Provided that no order under this section shall be made unless the person carrying on the trade has been afforded a reasonable opportunity of showing cause as to why the order should not be made

Legal or Notified Slum Areas (i.e., the areas notified as slums in Delhi under the given Act) Walled city (Wards I-X), Walled city extension (Wards XI- XX), Parts of East Delhi including Shahdara

Last notification by Slum & JJ Department was done on 28 April 1994 and the following areas were notified as slums 1.) Ambedkar Basti, Ghonda, Shahadra 2.) Indira colony, Krishan Nagar 3.) Bander walli Kuin, Ramesh Nagar In 1997 Khilonia wala Bagh, Pumbari Road, New Delhi was notified as slum area by the Slum & JJ Department but such notification was quashed by Hon’ble High Court on 1 August 2003. Last de-notification by Slum & JJ Department was done in 2004. Some portions of Paharganj were de-notified. In the Walled City and its extension about one lakh katras/properties have been identified as Slum. There are two types of Property in Walled City and its extension Private Property (97% of total property) i.e. about 97000 katras/properties Evacuee property (3%) i.e. about 3000 katras/properties which are under the Slum and JJ Department. At present in case of private property in Notified slum area whose percentage is more than 95 % the Slum and JJ Department only provides certificates to these private properties stating whether these properties are in slum notified areas or not. This information is important as it provides protection to tenants. As on date there is no scheme or policy for private notified property (97%of total notified slums) in Delhi.

Photographs of Katras in Walled city notified as Slum

Profile of Notified Private Katra in Ward VIII Settlement level Plan of Ward VIII

Settlement level Plan of Ward VIII

Settlement Details of Ward No. VIII: 360 years old settlement, area 100 acres with population of 75000 people, 5000 properties in the ward with large number of families (at times 15 to 20 families) living in one property.

Majority of the houses in this settlement are in the advanced state of decay. (As per the estimates provided by Slum and JJ department at least 52 percent of the structures in this ward are in very poor condition)

During monsoon quite a number of houses collapse but inspite of warnings from the minicipal corporation the occupants continue to live in unsafe structure because there are not many places for them to shift.

At times these families are shifted in community halls untill some alternative arrangements are made. Many of the families are still living in these community centres as no alternate arrangements could be made for them.

A large number of dwellings have undergone radical transformation including addition and alteration which have made them more unlivable.

About 62 per cent of the households do not have a kitchen, 45 per cent have no bathroom, 35 percent have verandah and 31 percent had no courtyards or any open space left within the dwellings.

Dry latrines still predominate and in most areas the drains are uncovered and open defecation is not an uncommon sight.

Incompatible type of uses have penetrated even in better residential “mohallas“ i.e. many houses have been converted into workshops and factories.

It is a pucca settlement in which 90 percent of the buildings are three storied, plot sizes varies from 50 to 500 sq yards.

The dwellings are mostly overcrowded with large number of people staying in one property and per person share in the total area works out to less than 2 sq m.

There are no open spaces, no parking facility, and four wheeler cannot enter the settlement. In case of fire there is no space even for the fire tender to enter.

The houses have no setbacks. All of them have courtyards which in most cases with the passage of time are covered by residents and are now being used for living purpose. Hence there is no natural light and ventilation in the houses as a result all the houses have the problem of dampness.

The houses also have termite problem and in some properties bats are seen hanging from the ceilings.

The overall house condition is extremely poor and dilapidated and these houses are unfit to live in.

Inspite of problems of overcrowding, light, ventilation, unhygenic conditions the residents of these katras do not want to move out of thier current location. The reason being

a) most of the residents are poor and engaged in menial jobs in the markets there,

b) they live near to their workplace this saves them lot of money and time as they do not have to travel long distances,

c) the rent which they pay is very little from Rs 8 to Rs 10/- which at times they don‘t even pay ( landlord is also not interested) and there is no property tax (i.e., they are paying almost nothing for the accomodation).

Thus one of the important findings of the survey is that people living in these katras of the walled city do not want to move out of thier present accomodation despite all the difficulties.

All that they want is some renovation of these delapidated structures.

Land ownership:

Mostly private, freehold, but tenants are staying in these properties since decades paying almost nothing to landlord.

Section 19 of the SAIC Act which provides protection to the tenants the landlord cannot easily gets his property evicted from tenants. As a result the owner has no incentive to carry out structural repairs in these buildings.

The tenants also are not allowed to carry out any improvement in the condition of the building.

As a result the structures are getting dilapidated day by day and have over the years become unsafe to stay.

Details of Property No. 2785: (Private property)

The area of the property is 549 sq m. and houses 18 families. In all around 108 individuals live here.

The structure is two storied high and is in a dilapidated state and is structurally unsafe to stay.

The room sizes are small with no natural light and ventilation.

Leakage from the roof is a problem leading to dampness in the house

The property has only four toilets (which are pour flush latrines) to cater to the needs of 108 people. Each household/family has individual electricity meter. They have hand pump (provided by MCD) for water.

The garbage is collected daily from each house and they have to pay Rs 25/- per month for garbage collection.

Infrastructure condition of the property

Leakage from the roof is a major problem leading to dampness in the house.

There is one toilet for 125 people (which is a pour flush latrines) where the sewerage goes into the public sewer.

Each family has individual electricity meter. They have hand pump (MCD) for water.

The area of the property is approximately 244.86 sq m and it houses 25 families. Around 125 people live here

The structure is three storied high and is in a dilapidated state and structurally unsafe to stay.

The room sizes are very small varying from 2.30 X 2.8 to a maximum 2.3 X 4.7 m with no natural light and ventilation

Details of Property No. 1594: (Evacuee Property)

Details of Evacuee Property No. 1485: (evacuee property) Most people in Katras are poor, big family sizes, dwelling unit size is small, 6-8 people staying in 10’X10’ room, all activities from cooking-eating of food, washing of clothes and utensils, bathing to washing, sitting to sleeping all in that small area, as a result no privacy more of fighting. Since the structure is in dilapidated state, roof is sagging and people on upper floors are in the process of adding new floors, people on ground floor are in constant fear of structural failure. As no byelaws are applicable people construct at their own will without considering interest of other people

Entrance to the property

Photographs of Property No. 1485

GOVERNMENT POLICIES FOR NOTIFIED SLUMS

1. Tenement Housing for all properties identified (private and others) under Slum Clearance and Improvement Scheme for Notified Slums (39 Schemes were implemented from 1957-1984 under which 30,000 built-up flats were given to affected families). Few were Andha Mughal, Ajmeri Gate, Sweeper tenements, Turkman Gate, Sarai Phoos.

Under Slum clearance & improvement scheme relocating properties under private ownerships was discontinued in 1984 as once the tenants were evicted and relocated by the government the actual owners who were unable to evict the tenants would come and stake claim on the property. Hence, Central Government stopped providing funds under this scheme.

In this scheme the properties/katras which have been declared dangerous were demolished and the affected families were allotted built up flats.

Few were built in same place others were relocated in nearby areas and on the demolished portion buildings of community interest were built like open air theater, barat ghar etc in accordance with the zonal plan of the area.

Photographs of Tenement Housing at Turkman Gate

2. Structural Improvement and Rehabilitation of Slum Property (Katras): (Ongoing Scheme) (cover 30-40 evacuee property every year) ( total 3000 evacuee property with Slum & JJ Department) • Out of 1 lakh properties which were notified as slum areas, about 3000 evacuee properties/kartras are with the Slum & JJ Department who maintains these properties under the scheme of Structural Improvement and Rehabilitation of Slum Property (Katras) • The main objective of the scheme is to provide repairs in slum/ properties/buildings including repairable dangerous properties under the control of Slum & JJ Department. • Under the scheme, the structural repairs are undertaken only in those Katras (slums) where cost of structural repairs does not exceed Rs. 1,700 per sq. meters. • Further, it is to be carried out in only those Katras (slums) where the per capita habitable space after structural improvement does not fall below 3 sq. meters. • The role of the department is confined only to management of these evacuee Properties and to keep them structurally safe by providing repairs. • Repairs had been extended in so far about 1800 dangerous repairable katras/ properties. • If the tenants staying in the Evacuee Katras/Properties are given ownership rights which is right now under the control of Slum & J.J. Department, then it is beneficial for the government as they will be able to collect house tax from such properties. Additionally crores of rupees spent annually on the repair and maintenance of these properties will be saved. The engineering department which carries out all the repair and maintenance work will have surplus manpower which can be used for other purposes. The tenants will also benefit from the security of tenure.

Recommendations 1. Government should do structural improvement of existing katras for all evacuee and private properties.

2. Detailed survey of existing families of Walled City and its extension with their house hold size, occupation pattern, income pattern, education level, vocational skills, health problems, and their aspiration in life.

3. Change in Slum Act

4. Reintroduction to tenement housing

5. Give priority to talented people doing Hastkari work, they are our resource preference should be given to re-house likeminded people together, if they need workshop provide them with that.

6. Special programmes for education of their children, even if they are involved in informal sector some sought of education will give them confidence and can handle their work wisely.

7. Muslim community is dominating society here, small documentary on family planning and education of girl child and discussion on health related problems will enhance their awareness and give aspiration for better living style in life.

8. I am not saying that they are not spending contended life, but they are just passing life fighting for basic needs of life, they have saturated themselves in their small rooms and have isolated from rest of city, they don’t want to explore new life because they are scared of poverty, they know in Delhi there is no place which can provide them with shelter.

9. Mission Convergence under the Government of NCT Delhi carried out a survey of households (Phase II) in Delhi during 2008-09. The focus of the survey was the vulnerable groups in the city. They have not covered Notified Slum areas; their focus was on JJ cluster, Resettlement colony, Unauthorized colonies, homeless.

10. Master Plan keep it as Special Area where as lakhs of people are living in pathetic conditions, along with heritage protection, people staying there need attention.

11. At present there is only one scheme for Notified slum area i.e. Structural Improvement & Rehabilitation of Katras that to only for 3000 evacuee properties not for private property which are around 1 lakhs in Walled City. At present all subsidy for housing is for JJ dwellers that are maximum 30-40 years old but nothing for the people who are staying in Walled city since generations for almost 350 years.

Urban Villages • In early 1980’s, 44 villages were notified as slum areas under Slum Clearance and Improvement Act 1956 due to the poor conditions prevailing in these villages. • But all were de-notified in 1985. (i.e., within 2-3 years of their notification as slum areas) • Initially the land owners thought that such notification was in their favour as under the Act upgradation of infrastructure and community facilities will be carried out by the government agencies. • But they soon realized that the Act favoured the tenants as tenants cannot be easily evicted (u/s 19(1)). • The land owners in these villages, whose main source of income is from rent, got the villages de-notified. • Few were Kotla Mubarakpur, Chirag Delhi, Khirki ,Zamrud Pur ,Tikri Kalan, Rajokri etc Urban Villages are “Unplanned, low-service, densely built and densely populated pockets distributed within the planned city.”

These pockets provide low-cost shelter close to employment centers.

Accommodate secondary and tertiary trades and services – giving employment/as well as shelter.

Enjoy good access to public transport, education, health services of the adjacent developed area.

Urban villages today provide affordable opportunities for many sections of our society to provide services to and enjoy economic gains from growing urban economy of Delhi (original residents; migrant skilled & unskilled and service population; workers, middle-level professionals; specialized trades & commerce)

Photographs of Khirki Village in Delhi

Photographs of Khirki Village in Delhi

Unauthorized Colonies. During the decade 1941-51, Delhi’s population became more than double in size due to arrival of refuges after the partition of country. Delhi was not prepared for this sudden growth. As a result, Delhi started sprawling in a most disorganized way in whatever direction it could expand. During this period some colonizers purchased large areas of agriculture land at the fringe of the city, mostly outside the urban limits and after subdividing it, sold it to all willing buyers who could not afford to buy developed land. These are those colonies where the settlers have legal title to the land but the subdivision of the land and construction of the houses are undertaken without the permission of the competent authority. Most of these colonies are constructed on undeveloped and semi-developed land without provision of infrastructure facilities. These unauthorized colonies violate all the existing provisions of Municipal Laws with regard to the development of land and building plans. The residential area, where the built up area emerged up in a very haphazard manner, with a result that it has become very difficult and in some cases almost impossible to provide municipal services, particularly roads and sewerage. Also there is not enough land in most of these colonies to meet requirements of basic amenities, such as open spaces, recreation grounds, community buildings, schools, hospitals, etc.

Unauthorised Colony In the Notified Slum list there are 38 unauthorized colony which were notified as Slum in the year 1957 but at present only 3 such colonies are notified as Slum while the remaining were denotified in 1987 and 1995 after the regularization plan was made on paper for these colonies. Though on the regularization plan roads are shown to be wider, open spaces are earmarked, but the ground reality is quite different. The regularization plan is only on paper while in reality there is no change in the living conditions in these colonies. There is no difference in the situation before and after regularization. The only difference after regularization is that now they have status of an unauthorized regularized colony and there is no fear of eviction but the living conditions have not undergone any change at all and is the same as before. The following gives the list of slum notified unauthorized colonies in 1957 which were denotified in 1987. Few Slum Notified Unauthorized colonies were in Sarai Rohilla Complex, Ranjit Nagar Complex, Kotla Mubarakpur Complex, Karol Bagh etc

Detailed study of unauthorized colony Baljeet Nagar in the Walled City Extension Plan Land ownership: The land is under private ownership and is freehold. Most of the houses are rented. Rentals of one room with toilet is from Rs 3000/- to 4000/- per month. House prices varies in Baljeet Nagar varies from from Rs. 5 lakh for one room house to Rs.15 lakh for a three room house. With the coming of Metro the property and rental value of this area have increased significantly in recent years. In order to maximise their rental income the landowners constructed innumerable storeys without paying any attention to light and ventillation. As a result no natural light and ventilation in most housesmost of the houses dampness problem. Majority of streets are extremely narrow, people have encroched in all directions without considering interest of the society at large. Street width varies from 0.8 m to 2m and only is some places it is 3-4m. They don‘t follow any building byelaws, no rules and regulations. Houses have no open spaces and no setbacks. There is no parking facility and fourwheelers cannot enter the settlement as their is no space. The locality so so conjested that in case of fire there is no space for the fire tender to move. It is a pucca settlement in which 90 percent of the buildings are four storied. Here the plot sizes varies from 25 sq m to 100 sq m. The dwellings are mostly overcroweded with large number of people staying in one house. Mostly the area used per person is less then 4 sq foot. People have contructed 4 storied buildings on streets which are only 0.9 m wide.

Layout Plan of Baljeet Nagar

Narrow Streets of Baljeet Nagar

People have encroached in all direction leaving no space for public

Access to basic Infrastructure services: All houses have individual household water connection but

the major problem is the quantity and quality of water.

Water supply distribution is inadequate, as population has also increased tremendously.

As regards the quality of water it was seen at the time of survey that the drinking water was

contaminated by sewerage.

This was due to the fact that the drinking water pipe got broken and sewerage water had entered into it.

The drinking water supplied in the colony was black in colour and had a foul smell. The residents were

very upset by the quality of water in the lcoality.

There are no public sewer and rain water drain is used as for carrying sewerage from houses.

At some places there are closed drains but in most parts of the locality there are open drains.

As the sewerage flows into the drins the entire area had a punget smell.

Every house has individual connection for electricity. There are street lights in the loality.

The garbage is collected from house from house and the houeholds pay for garbage collection.

There is only one primary school for whole settlement, and one small dispensary catering to 150,000

people.

There is one community centre and an old age home.

According to the residents the major problem in their locality is the lack of adequate health

facilities and schools and the quality water supply.

House No.1256

Occupation – Labour, No. of Family Member-6

Area of House - 12 sq.m, Height of ceiling - 10’

No of rooms – 1,Area per person- 2 sq.m

Street width in front of house is 0.7m

No of Floor- 4.

No natural light and ventilation in the house, Bedroom,

kitchen, washing utensils & clothes all in same room

The surveyed person is owner of ground floor

Recently bought this house for Rs 6.5 lakh .

Water Supply- Individual water connection,

Pour flush Latrine, individual electricity connection,

drainage through open drains

House No. – C/ 1136

Name of House Owner: Raju, Age- 32years,

Occupation – Labour, No. of Family Member-4

Area of house- 16, Height of ceiling- 8’

Area per person- 4 sq.m, No of rooms - 2

No natural light and ventilation.

Water Supply : Individual water connection,

Pour flush Latrine,

individual electricity connection,

drainage through open drains.