Skip to main content

You promised 50 lakh houses, give us one: Ahmedabad migrant women's plea to Modi

Women display letters containing rakhi for PM  
By Hirabhai Solanki, Bhartiben Dantani, Ramesh Shrivastav* 
Poor labouring families, including seasonal or long-term migrants of nearly 15 squatter settlements -- working as construction and casual workers and petty vendors, providing cheap but critically important labour for Ahmedabad city, living under plastic sheetings -- have reminded the Gujarat and Central Governments about the promise made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of building 50 lakh dwellings, wherein every pavement dweller and homeless would be given a decent home by the end of 2022.
Holding a meeting in Ahmedabad under the aegis of the Majur Adhikaar Manch, they also referred to the appeal of the Prime Minister to poor and labouring women, seeking his support as brother by sending rakhis to protect their humble basti dwellings and provide them with decent housing, which is secure for them and their families. So far, about 300 women have posted rakhis to the Prime Minister along with a letter making the plea.
Many among those who live in the squatter settlements are poor tribal families from the eastern Gujarat districts and Madhya Pradesh. Then there are others who belong to the Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes and Nomadic and Denotified Tribes (NT-DNTs). All of them are forced to live on city footpaths, along rail-tracks and under bridges, for they cannot afford expensive rental accommodation for their families in Ahmedabad.
They have been living in sub-human conditions and have nearly no access to basic public utilities like water, sanitation and electricity, and access no services of ICDS, schooling or healthcare. Worse, these squatter slums face regular eviction threats of demolition by the authorities of the Indian Railways, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), and the Gujarat government.
In May and June 2022, Indian Railways and AMC authorities demolished several such bastis without any or with incomplete notices to squatters living in Arjun Ashram, Nirnay Nagar and Umiya Hall areas. They live along the Ahmedabad-Botad rail-line. A similar fate befell the Amul Garden squatter slum living along the rail line to Rajkot.
These basti residents have been residing in these areas for the last nearly two decades. Currently, a petition filed in the matter is pending in the Gujarat High Court. They were exposed to record breaking hot climate in June and torrential rains in July.
Demolition of a squatter settlement 
It is not just a question of three or four squatter settlements. The Majur Adhikar Manch, which has taken up their cause, has listed 40 such squatter settlements in Ahmedabad. It has represented and made appeals to the authorities, including the Indian Railways, the AMC and the state government, but to no avail.
The National Rehabilitation Policy, as also several High Court and Supreme Court orders, have from time to time directed the authorities to facilitate proper rehabilitation before eviction. In 2020, after the migrant labour crisis during the lockdown, affordable rental housing policy and schemes were announced. Unfortunately, all these remain on paper and lack clear implemention guideline.
A survey of urban homeless was undertaken in 28 cities of Gujarat after a rap from the Supreme Court in 2018. The Apex Court asked the authorities to facilitate accommodating to such persons along with their families in 24x7 shelters, but the order remains unimplemented. Nor are there any clear guidelines for the implementation of the order in Ahmedabad. Also, the outdated Gujarat Rehabilitation Policy, 2013, and lack of any rehabilitation policy with the Indian Railways, has forced the urban poor labouring families to live in insecure homelessness.
Keeping these critical issues in view, the Majur Adhikar Manch has demanded from the concerned authorities the following:
  1. Survey all squatter slums on any kind of land in the city, and register their presence in the Municipal Corporation, create their unique identity, and list all resident families as eligible for decent housing.
  2. Provide basic Utilities and Public Services to all such squatter slums with immediate effect.
  3. Update the Gujarat’s Rehabilitation Policy 2013, and reform the cut off date to Dec. 2018, and also expand the PMAY, and other relevant housing schemes to provide low-cost housing, or plots, or affordable rentals with priority to the urban homeless in squatter slums.
  4. The requirement of several ID and address proofs must be managed by the governments, and issued by the relevant authorities easily.
---
*Respectively: President, Vice President, General Secretary, Majur Adhikar Manch, Gujarat

Comments

TRENDING

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam* RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

Delhi HC rules in favour of retired Air Force officer 'overcharged' for Covid treatment

By Rosamma Thomas*  In a decision of May 22, 2023, the Delhi High Court ruled in favour of petitioner Group Captain Suresh Khanna who was under treatment at CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram, between April 28 and May 5, 2021, for a period of eight days, for Covid-19 pneumonia. The petitioner had to pay Rs 3,55,286 as treatment costs, but the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) only reimbursed him for Rs 1,83,748, on the basis of government-approved rates. 

'Enough evidence' in Indian tradition to support legal basis for same-sex marriage

By Iyce Malhotra, Joseph Mathai, Sandeep Chachra*  The ongoing hearing in the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage provides space for much-needed conversations on issues that have hitherto remained “invisible” or engaged with patriarchal locker room humour. We must recognize that people with diverse sexualities and complex gender identities have faced discrimination, stigma and decades of oppression. Their issues have mainly remained buried in dominant social discourse, and many view them with deep insecurities.

Religious divide 'kept alive' with low intensity communalism in Gujarat's cultural capital

By Rajiv Shah  A fact-finding report, prepared by the Mumbai-based non-profit, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS), has cited the Vadodara Ram Navami violence of March 30 as yet another example of how, after the BJP consolidating its hold on political power in Gujarat post-2002 riots and at the Centre in 2014, the nature of communal riots has changed, underlining, as opposed to high-intensity violence earlier, now riots have become “more sub-radar and at a smaller scale, more localized”.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Caste, impact on Ayodhya area 'halting' BJP rulers to act against Brij Bhushan Singh

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Finally, the #WrestlersProtest has got international attention. The United World Wrestling (UWW),  condemning the treatment and detention of wrestlers and expressing its disappointment over the lack of results of the investigations against Brij Bhushan Singh, accused of sexually harassing women wrestlers, has urged the "relevant authorities to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation."

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

76% Odisha govt school infrastructure in dilapidated state, 'undermine' RTE norms

By Our Representative  As many as 75.86% (5,421) elementary schools in Odisha do not possess a playground, depriving students of physical activity opportunities. Also, 75.68% (5,408) of schools require minor or major repairing, undermining the norms and standards stipulated in the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

Can India's water management infrastructure address gender vulnerability issues?

By Monami Bhattacharya, Megha Gupta, Mansee Bal Bhargava*  The climatic pattern of the earth is evolving and changing for a very long time, but in the recent times spanning this century, the change has been drastic which has raised serious concerns to all. Climate criss is also clearly manifested as gender crisis where women are more vulnerable besides being more voiceless to raise the issue. India is marked as a highly climate-vulnerable nation. In addition, the gender disparity in the patriarchal society seems deeply and naturally ingrained among all.