On the 28^th of July 2010, the General Assembly of the United Nations, recognized access to clean water and sanitation as a human right, with a recorded vote of 121 nations voting for the resolution, with none voting against, along with 41 abstentions.

India voted for water as a human right.

Meanwhile in Mumbai, as per the Maharashtra government and BMC rules, there is no need to supply clean water to slums that have been built after January 1, 1995. And where the government refuses to take responsibility for its own people, a private mafia has filled its shoes with a profit-motive that ensures that the U.N resolution is nothing but a faraway fantasy for millions of people.

This has left people in slum communities across Mumbai to spend hours walking kilometers to fill 35 litre drums with water, that may or may not be clean, for Rs.5 or Rs.30, depending on availability or source. Families that can barely make ends meet, have to pay exorbitant prices due to shortages of water, and women and children lose out on work and school, as sometimes water is only available between 12pm and 4pm.

Read the full story by Javed Iqbal here.

On March 4 and 5, Deonar in Mumbai played host to a Jan Sansad, also known as a ‘People’s Parliament’.

Organised by the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) and Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan, the Jan Sansad consisted of two days of deliberations on the rights of slum dwellers and various sections of Mumbai’s workforce. Over a 1,000 people from various slums attended the event, which was presided over by a sabhapati mandal, consisting of leaders of movements, activists and people of social standing such as retired Judges Rajendra Sachar and H. Suresh, Swami Agnivesh, BD Sharma, Vidya Bal, Gabriele Dietrich, Banwarilal Sharme, Bhai Vaidya and Medha Patkar.

The issues

Over the two days, there were debates on issues of:

• Urbanisation and slum rehabilitation
• Hawkers, traders and mill workers
• Coastal regulations and fishermen
• Accessibility to resources like education, health, water and food
• Politics and corruption

On the issue of Mumbai’s urbanisation, NAPM activist Simpreet Singh said, “In the last five years, 3,00,000 people have lost their homes and 1,00,000 mill workers have lost their jobs. Mumbai is also now the place for a people’s resistance.”

Speaking about the ongoing slum rehabilitation in Mumbai, lawyer Shakeel Ahmad said, “These are some of the demands we need to make to the government:

1)      Slum rehabilitation is offered only to residents of slums built before 1995. We want this cut-off year to be removed.

2)      Each society can decide if they want to opt for the scheme, but the builder is the one that chooses the representatives of the society. This needs to change.

3)      The government must have full and authentic details about the construction company, its credentials, registration etc.

4)      The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) should give a 15-year guarantee for every building it authorises, or it will be answerable.

5)      It has to be specified how big each transit camp will be and each dwelling in the camp should be 250 sq ft in size with all facilities.

6)      Ownership is supposed to be shared, but this is not mentioned anywhere in the deeds. This must change.”

Call to action

After two days of such deliberations, the Jan Sansad renewed its commitment to bring out the Lokpal Bill, Jan Bhagidari Bill and Development Planning Act which will pave the way for greater political participation of the common man.

The Jan Sansad has called for a massive rally, Jan Chetavani Morcha, in Mumbai on March 22, where hundreds of thousands of people from all the slums in Mumbai will gather to challenge the authority of the State to take over their houses and land.

Emphasising the fact that though India gained political freedom in 1947, social and economic freedom still eludes the vast majority of Indians, the Jan Sansad ended with a call for Azadi or freedom.

Also see resolutions and press release.

— A.S

Slum tourism turns poverty into entertainment, something that can be momentarily experienced and then escaped from, says Kennedy Odede, the executive director of Shining Hope for Communities, a social services organization, that works in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum.

Read his op-ed piece in The New York Times

Shabana Azmi and NGO Nivara Hakk have built homes for 40,000 people in Chandivli, reportedly the largest single rehab project in Asia. It was a tripartite agreement with the state government and a private builder.

“The government was planning to oust three lakh people settled in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivli. We took the matter to the Supreme Court that recognised the rights of 40, 000 slum dwellers to receive alternate accommodation,” Azmi informs.

The authorities wanted to pack them off to Kalyan and Shindoh. “My colleagues, Gurbir Singh and P K Das, faced bulldozers and lathi charges by the demolition squads. The late Anna Kurien was jailed. We were finally able to convince Sharad Pawar and Vilasrao Deshmukh to give us the Chandivli project. This is the first time that slum dwellers have been moved towards South Mumbai to improve their chances of employment,” says Azmi.

Four thousand of these 225-square foot homes with attached baths were handed over in 2007 and 12,000, more recently. The township is far superior to any other Slum Rehabilitation Association projects.

Azmi points out that slum dwellers will pay more for water and electricity: “They work in our homes and factories. We can’t have a one-way relationship. Housing is not just brick and mortar, it’s a social issue which brings into play all the contradictions of community living.”

Hindustan Times

In a recent inspection carried out by the forest department, out of over 3,000 tenements allotted to those evicted from Sanjay Gandhi National Park, only 2,227 were found to be occupied by original allottees. Others were illegally sold, leased out or turned into commercial premises, says the affidavit filed by Dr Pandurang Munde, director of SGNP, before the Bombay High Court.

Janhit Manch, an NGO, has filed a PIL alleging the rehabilitated slum-dwellers were selling off their tenements. Under Slum Rehabilitation Authority rules, these cannot be sold or leased for at least 10 years. The affidavit filed by Dr Munde affirms the allegations made in the PIL.

– Mumbai Mirror