Access to Civic Amenities in Slums of Mumbai.pdf - Urban Design ...

246image credit_ Karin Ann SchierholdAccess to CivicAmenities in Slumsof Mumbai_Grace Bahalen Mundu & R.B. BhagatUrbanisation has been takingpace significantly in developing countriesand India is no exception. In India, the urbanpopulation increased by almost ten timesbetween the years 1901 to 2001 and numberof urban settlements increased by two andhalf times from 1,916 urban centres in 1901to 5,161 in 2001. Although small towns arenumerous, the 400 odd class I cities (100thousand and more) harbour about twothirdof India’s urban population (68.48percent). These urban centers offering diverseemployment opportunities and means oflivelihood are the main centers of attractionfor migration, despite the fact that physicalinfrastructure in terms of housing, drinkingwater supply and drainage are inadequate. (1)Also, unchecked land prices and unaffordablehousing forced the poor to search for informalsolutions resulting in mushrooming of slumsand squatter settlements. (2) Slums develop onperipheral and marginal lands on the outskirtsof city, on hills, slopes and low lying areas, andalso on the land which has little use to the ownerin near future. They also developed on theland left unused by public bodies like Railways,Municipal Corporations, and Port Trusts etc. (3)The problem of slums has been faced at somepoint of time by almost all the major citiesthroughout the developing world. Today 3 billionpeople, nearly half of the World’s populationlives in cities. One-third of them are slumdwellers. Moreover, four out of ten inhabitantsin the developing world are living in informalshelters. They experience manifold deprivations;not only houses unfit for habitation but alsolack of adequate food, education, health andbasic services. As such, slum improvement isnot only a goal for a better quality of life, butalso provides a positive impact on the healthburden and the economic development ofa country. Slums in the world are the face ofurban poverty in the new millennium. (4)Millennium Development Goal declares“Ensure Environmental Sustainability” as oneof the eight goals; by 2015 it targets to halvethe proportion of the population withoutsustainable access to safe drinking water andbasic sanitation and by 2020 to have achieveda significant improvement in the lives of atleast 100 million slum dwellers. (5) Achievingthe goals set in Millennium DevelopmentGoals is not possible if the health conditionsof slum dwellers are not improved. (6)The phenomenon of slums is worldwide,although the definition and type varies fromplace to place. As the capitalist mode ofproduction started in 18 th century, poverty,unemployment, lack of employment in ruralareas and over population are the factorsresponsible for the existence of slumseverywhere. No nation has ever been ableto prevent the emergence of slums. (7)In United States slums are associated withethnicity. Majority of Blacks in urban Americahave been from the beginning living in slums.Besides them, the early slums in UnitedStates were created by poor Europeanimmigrants who came in search of work. (8)Slums are characterised by high concentrationsof population, heterogeneous and ethnicallymulti-racial, largely inhabited by poor andsocially weaker sections of society. Localadministrations always failed to provideurban civic amenities and sewage facilities.Slums in Mumbai:Some of the worst slums in the world canbe found in Indian cities. Due to the lack ofinfrastructure and planning in the cities, theyare helpless of accommodating the increasingAMENITY | 247

AMENITY | 248flow of migrants from the rural areas. (9) Slums arelinked with the British rule in India. A majority ofthe rural migrants, displaced in the process ofcolonial development, migrated to large citiesfor seeking employment. The industries and cityadministration were not concerned to provideadequate shelters to these migrants. In somecities, particularly in the states of Maharashtraand Gujarat, industrialists tried to attract andretain them by providing small tenements ormulti storied row houses in the pattern of armybarracks, called ‘Chawls’, mostly built in 19 thcentury. Over time, due to lack of maintenance,dilapidation etc. most of the chawls havebecome extremely poor in terms of quality oflife. (10) Poverty is the main reason behind theslums and slums breed hopelessness and crime.The key reason is the slow economic progress.By mid sixties in India; Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi &all other large cities were dotted with slums. (11)The main reason behind the origin of Bombay’sslums can be traced to its development as animportant political and economic centre of thecountry. It fascinated a large number of peoplefrom the rural and small town areas. After theSecond World War there was a subsequentrise in population due to economic upheaval.Private enterprise constructed houses with amaximum profit motive which gave birth tobuildings known as chawls. These chawls consistof number of tenements, usually one small roomfor each family and served by water-closetsand water taps for all families. Some of themare even five to six storied. Due to lack of townplanning and satisfactory standards laid downby law in respect to minimum accommodationand sanitation, the growth of Mumbai wenthaphazard. And the gradual decay andneglecting of chawls made them unfit for humanliving. Later on these chawls got overcrowdedand congested, lack of hygiene and sanitationconverted them to slums. Slums can be groupedinto: chawls, semi permanent residentialstructure and unauthorised huts put up onvacant lands. Various wards of Bombay reportedslums before the Second World War. Populationand urban growth has taken place at such arapid pace that the housing sector has not beenable to deal with this problem resulting intodevelopment of numerous slums in the city. (12)The biggest slum of Asia, Dharavi is situatedin G ward of Mumbai city, comprising ofsmall fishermen villages and low lying marshyland. After the post-war period there wasa gradual rise in population and resultingshortage of housing. These migrants chosethe so called slum area for their huts, madeup of pieces of old tin, bamboo etc. Thesehuts are characterised by lack of openspace between the huts and waste waterfrom the huts without the proper drainagefacility resulting into dampness. (13)As awareness and utilisation of loan facilityin almost all slum areas was very low, thisresulted into almost no utilisation of availablecredit facility. Study shows that in orderto improve the life of slum dwellers majorinitiatives are required at all fronts. It includesprovision of basic amenities, educationand vocational training, health care andpromotion of income generating activities. (14)In the earlier studies due to the lack ofdata not much work has been done onthe slum population of metropolitan cities.Comprehensive information on the slums isessential for the formulation of an effectivepolicy for their improvement and rehabilitationas they have not received due attentionin urban planning and have remained anarea of neglect. So there is a need to studythe characteristics of slum population. Themain objective of this paper is to study theconditions of slum households in Mumbai ata ward level in term of access to electricity,tap water, toilet and sewer facility.Data:Both published and unpublished data from the2001 Census have been used in this study. Inthe 2001 Census, for the first time, an attemptwas made to collect detailed demographic dataabout slums across the country, particularly, incities and towns having population of 50,000or above (as of 1991). The information ondifferent characteristics of the slum dwellershas been collected through the same censusquestionnaire of household schedule, whichwas canvassed for the population enumerationin the country at the 2001 census. Slumpopulation has been reported from 640 citiesand towns of 26 States/Union Territories (UT).More than 72,000 enumeration blocks havebeen identified as slum enumeration blocks inthese cities/towns which constitute nearly 22%of the total enumeration blocks in urban areas.In the remaining 9 States/Union Territoriesthere were no identified slums. While censushas published demographic characteristics ofslums, the information about basic amenitieswas available in unpublished form until recently.We have been provided the data by the Censusoffice on number of slums ward wise, numberof slum households, length of paved roadsin slums, number of tap water connections,number of latrines (private and community), typeof sewerage system (sewerage, open surfacedrains) and method of disposal of night soil.This study utilises this data and presentsward wise distribution of population inslums, distribution of tap water facility,electricity connections, toilet facility,and sewerage system in both notifiedand non-notified slums in Mumbai.Definitions and Concept of SlumsAccording to Census of India 2001, thedefinition of slums is as follows --i. All specified areas in a town orcity notified as ‘slum’ by State, UTAdministration or Local Governmentunder any Act including a ‘Slum Act’.ii. All areas recognised as ‘slum’ by State, UTAdministration or Local Government, Housingand Slum Boards, which may have not beenformally notified as slum under any act;iii. A compact area of at least 300 populationor about 60-70 households of poorlybuilt congested tenements, in unhygienicenvironment usually with inadequateinfrastructure and lacking in propersanitation and drinking water facility.Table1: Size and Growth of Populationin Greater Mumbai, 1981-2000.YearGreaterMumbai(M. Corp.)GreaterMumbai(U.A)GreaterMumbai(M. Corp.)GreaterMumbai(U.A)Population Annual Growth Rate (%)1981 8,243,405 9,421,962 - -1991 9,925,891 12,596,243 1.86 2.902001 11,914,398 16,434,386 1.83 2.65Note. U.A. – Urban AgglomerationM. Corp. -Municipal CorporationSource: Registrar General and Census Commissioner,2001, Census of India: Maharashtra Population Datawith Slum Population in Urban Units, MumbaiTable 1 presents the population size and growthrate of Greater Mumbai (Municipal Corporation andUrban Agglomeration) for the year 1981 to 2001. Thetable shows that the population of Greater Mumbaiincreased more in Mumbai Urban Agglomerationarea compared to the city area within the MumbaiMunicipal Corporation. On the other hand, thegrowth rate in Mumbai Municipal Corporationremained almost stable of 1.86 to 1.83 percent perannum, whereas the growth rate in Mumbai UrbanAgglomeration has declined from 2.90 percentper annum during 1981-1991 to 2.65 percentduring 1991-2001. This paper aims to present theconditions of slum dwellers in Mumbai city (M. Corp)with regard to their access to tap water, electricity,toilet facility and sewerage at the ward level.AMENITY | 249

AMENITY | 254Table 4: Ward Wise Distribution of Sewerage System in Slums of MumbaiNo. of Name of WardsSewerage SystemWardsS OSD S/OSD1 (Ward A) Colaba Area S - -2 (Ward B) Sandhurst Rd. S - -3 (Ward C) Marine Lines There is no Slums within the Ward Limits4 (Ward D) Grant Road S - -5 (Ward E) Byculla S - -6 (Ward F/S)Parel - OSD -7 (Ward F/N) Matunga - OSD -8 (Ward G/N) Dadar S - -9 (Ward G/S) Elphinstone Rd. S - -10 (Ward H/W) Bandra S - -11 (Ward H/E) Khar Santacruz S - -12 (Ward K/E) Andheri (E) OSD -13 (Ward K/W) Andheri (W) S - -14 (Ward P/S) Goregaon - S/OSD15 (Ward P/N) Malad S -16 (Ward R/S) Kandivali - - S/OSD17 (Ward R/C) Dahisar - OSD -18 (Ward R/N) Borivali - OSD -19 (Ward L) Kurla - OSD -20 (Ward M/W) Chembur (W) - OSD -21 (Ward M/E) Chembur (E) - OSD -22 (Ward N) Ghatkopar - - S/OSD23 (Ward S) Bhandup - OSD -24 (Ward T) Mulund - OSD -AMENITY | 255Total 24 Wards 10 10 3NoteS= Covered SewerOSD=Open Surface DrainsS/OSD= Covered Sewer/Open Surface DrainsSource: Census of India 2001 unpublished dataFigure 2Table 4 presents ward wise distribution of sewerage system i.e., households have some facilityof water outlet connected to some form of drainage system to carry away the watse-watergenerated by them. at the ward level, the table shows that ten wards like Colabe, SandhurstRd., Grant Rd., Byculla, Dadar, Elphinstone Rd., Bandra, Khar, Santacruz, Andheri (W) and Maladreported to have sewerage system.

AMENITY | 256Table 5: Distribution of Notified Slums in Mumbai City, Census of India, 2001No. ofWardsName of Wards Number of Notified Slums Percentage of Notified Slums1 (Ward A) Colaba 0 02 (Ward B) Sandhurst Rd. 0 03 (Ward C) Marine Lines There is no Slums within the Ward Limits4 (Ward D) Grant Road 18 1005 (Ward E) Byulla 11 1006 (Ward F/S)Parel 48 1007 (Ward F/N) Matunga 0 08 (Ward G/N) Dadar 74 1009 (Ward G/S) Elphinstone Rd. 71 10010 (Ward H/W) Bandra 3 9.3811 (Ward H/E) Khar Santacruz 18 90.0012 (Ward K/E) Andheri (E) 1 10013 (Ward K/W) Andheri (W) 2 40.0014 (Ward P/S) Goregaon 3 10015 (Ward P/N) Malad 6 10016 (Ward R/S) Kandivali 2 8.0017 (Ward R/C) Dahisar 82 10018 (Ward R/N) Borivali 30 10019 (Ward L) Kurla 232 10020 (Ward M/W) Chembur (W) 33 10021 (Ward M/E) Chembur (E) 39 10022 (Ward N) Ghatkopar 22 37.2923 (Ward S) Bhandup 188 10024 (Ward T) Mulund 65 81.25AMENITY | 257Total 24 Wards 948 85.87Table 5 presents ward wise percent distribution of notified slums in Mumbai city. Most of the slums arehundred percent notified in fourteen wards which are situated in Grant Road, Parel, Byculla, ElphinstoneRd., Dadar, Goregaon, Malad, Borivali, Dahisar, Chembur (E), Chembur (W) and Bhandup.Figure 3

AMENITY | 258Notified Slums: Some areas such as Colaba,Sandhurst and Matunga have no notifiedslums. Notified means, they are declaredas slums by the Government or MunicipalAuthority and they deserve the basic minimumrequirements of shelter (see Table 5).Slum Rehabilitation Policy in Mumbai:Since independence there have been someefforts at rehabilitating the population of slumsand improving their conditions of living. In 1985,the government tried to rectify the problemby launching the Slum Upgradation Project.It offered secure long-term legal plot to slumhouseholds on the basis that they would investin their housing. By generating an interest in thehousing and by guaranteeing home ownershipto the slum households, it is hoped to obliterateslums. Unfortunately the program targetedonly 10-12 percent of the slum households i.e.,those who were capable of upgrading theirhomes. It disregarded those who did not havehomes at all. Slum Rehabilitation Act 1995 waspassed by Govt. of Maharashtra to protectthe rights of slum dwellers and promote thedevelopment of slum areas. The Act protectedfrom eviction anyone who could produce adocument providing they lived in the city beforeJanuary 1995, regardless if they lived on thepavement or other kinds of municipal land.The free housing scheme for slum-dwellerswas severely criticised as the slum policy reliesonly on the participation of builders. However,the scheme is good because it envisages thatinstead of resettlement of slum dwellers toanother place it is better to upgrade theseslums by providing better housing, drinkingwater facility, electricity, toilet facility and properdrainage systems at their own locations.Concluding Remark:A large number of slum people are migrants;most of them belong to the lower socioeconomic group and come from differentparts of the country. The majority of the slumpopulation is concentrated in core areas of thecity because they want to live nearer to theirworking places and contribute significantlyto the economic activity of the city. Most ofplaces where slum dwellers live are unhygienic.In rainy season they are more vulnerable tothe diseases because most of the slums arein the low lying areas especially in the coastalcities like Mumbai. These slums are not onlycongested places, but also have open sewerageand lack private toilets. Wherever communitytoilets are available they are not properlymaintained and as a result people resort toopen defecation. This is a big problem inMumbai which warrants immediate attention.AMENITY | 259_______________________________________________________________________________References1. Registrar General, India, (2001), AnalyticalReport on Housing Amenities, Series I,Census of India, Delhi.2. Retnaraj, D., (2001), “Fast Growing Cities,Spurt in Land Prices and Urban Slums: TheKerala Experience.” IASSI Quarterly Vol 20,No. 2, Pages 123-133.3. Nangia, Parveen and Gupta, Kamla, (1993-94), Morphology of Slums in Thane. ReportSeries, No 6, International Institute forPopulation Sciences, Mumbai, India.4. United Nations Human settlementsProgramme (UN-HABITAT), (2003), Slumsof the World: The face of urban povertyin the new millennium? Working 1 Paper.accessed on 18 May 2009 available athttp://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/getPage.asp?page=book View&book=20575. United Nations Human SettlementsProgramme (UN-HABITAT), State of WorldCities 2006/07, accessed on 18 May 2009available at http://www.unhabitat.org/downloads/docs/5636 _27492_SOWCR%2022.pdf6. Agarwal, S., A. Satyavada, S. Kaushik, andR. Kumar, (2007),” Urbanization, UrbanPoverty and Health of the Urban Poor:Status, Challenges and the Way Forward”,Demography India, Vol 36 No 1, pages 121-134.7. Abrams, Charles, (1970), “Slums”, in (editors)Desai, A. R. and S. Devadas Pillai Slums andUrbanization, Popular Prakashan, Bombay,pages 9-14.8. Grodzins, Morton, (1970), “The New Shameof The Cities,” in (editors) Desai, A. R. andS. Devadas Pillai, Slums and Urbanization,Popular Prakashan, Bombay, pages 77-81.9. Desai, A. R., and S. D. Pillai, (1970), Slums andUrbanization, Popular Prakashan, Bombaypages, 149-152.10. Kundu, A., (2007), “Stigmatization of UrbanProcesses in India: An Analysis of Terminologywith Special Reference to Slum Situations”Working Paper No 4, December 1999,accessed on 24 August 2007, available atwww.unesco.org/shs/most.html.11. South Asian Analysis Group, (2006),“Poverty and Slums in India: Impact ofChanging Economic Landscape,” PaperNo 1769, by Sud, Hari, accessed on 25August 2007 available at http://www.southasiananalysis,org/%5C paper18%5Cpaper1769.html.12. Bombay Municipal Corporation, (1956-57),“Slums in Bombay,” Reprinted from BriefReport on the Survey of Old Buildings inCity (1956-57), in (editors) A. R. Desai andS. Devadas Pillai, Slums and Urbanization,Bombay Popular Prakashan, Bombay, pages153-160.13. See reference 12, Bombay MunicipalCorporation, (1956-57), “Slums in Bombay.”14. Operational Research Group, (1989),“Accessibility to Basic Services in Slums ofFive Urban Centres,” Baroda.image credit_ Rajesh Vora