The Hindu : New Delhi News : Slum dwellers rally for a fair deal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 27, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Slum dwellers rally for a fair deal

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 26. Slum and pavement dwellers and homeless persons from across the country would converge in New Delhi on October 1 demanding workable solutions to their miseries from the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government in accordance with the Common Minimum Programme.

Among those who would rally for a fair deal would be the victims and soft targets of land grabbers in the country who occupy their lands in the name of development at extremely subsidised rates or gain huge direct or indirect profits. There will also be the unorganised workers who are treated as secondary citizens by continuously being dragged out of the city on untenable and undeveloped lands on the pretext of city beautification or urban renewal.

"We are the driving force of the cities' economy and we contribute at least 62 per cent of economic product and form more than 85 per cent of the employment. Unfortunately we are dragged out of the city away from locations without access to employment, our enterprises are deemed as illegal, demolished deprived and our productivity for enhancing the cities' infrastructure is undermined,'' says a draft memorandum prepared on their behalf by the National Coalition of Land and Housing Rights for the Urban Poor, spearheaded by a network of agencies working for their upliftment.

The memorandum points out that the urban poor are not creating slums in cities but slum like situations are created due to unjust and inequitable landholding. "Proliferation of slums are the consequences of failed policies, bad governance, uncontrolled looting markets and wrong priorities leaving out the housing needs of the majority of the population and facilitating the profiteers to occupy more and more urban space for their limited and selfish greed.''

Among the common basic demands to be put forth by them are reservation of 30 per cent land in all residential land-use areas (public or private) in urban and semi-urban cities for meeting the habitat needs of the unorganised sector workers within the city limits.

"The Centre must ensure that the urban poor inhabitants must not be forcedly evicted and care must be taken that the unorganised sector workers are provided housing near their place of occupation and livelihood as promised under the CMP,'' the memorandum said.

An appeal for Constitution amendment to incorporate "Right to Housing'' as a fundamental right to all citizens of the country would also go up through the memorandum. The draft National Slum Policy introduced by the NDA government in 1999 has been recommended for further amendments/modifications in line with the CMP and should be placed for public debate and then tabled before Parliament.

The memorandum also points out that access to land for housing for the urban poor near their place of occupation and livelihood will be feasible when urban land and property is not controlled and concentrated in the hands of few. "And hence we appeal the UPA Government to reintroduce the Urban Land & Ceiling Act (1976) with clear pro-poor provisions,'' it says.

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