The Hindu 21.07.2011
Urban local bodies to ensure slum-free cities
The Centre has directed all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the State to form Urban Poverty Alleviation (UPA) cells, also to be called the ‘Rajiv Awas Yojana' (RAY) cells with well-organised community mobilisation and development structures.
Issuing comprehensive guidelines for implementing the ambitious RAY for developing ‘slum-free cities' throughout the country, it has given three options for taking up a complete survey of the notified and non-notified slums under an urban area to map the available civic infrastructure as also the socio-economic profiles.
Municipal corporations, municipalities and other urban local bodies were given the option of taking up surveys with the help of the proposed RAY cell or with the help of a professional agency in association with a city level Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO). Third option is to allow the local NGO to take it up.
NGOs should use the service of the community-based organisations of the respective slums to facilitate participation of the slum-dwellers. To sensitise citizens, elected representatives, community leaders and others about the survey, an introductory workshop should be conducted.
Ideal unit
Smaller meetings can be held at slums so that there is involvement of stakeholders from the weaker sections. About 200 to 300 householders constitute an ideal unit and one investigator is to be in charge of 30/40 households. These people are to be drawn from the marginalised sections to allay fears of slum dwellers.
To begin with, the list of slums has to be prepared and boundaries clearly demarcated. Number of tenements, households, facilities like schools, health centres, community work spaces, halls, title deeds and ownership details are to be recorded.
Vacant lands are to be identified for resettlement and redevelopment plans to be made based on the master plan. Water supply lines, toilets, sewerage lines, power connections, roads, provision of waste disposal, etc details have to be collected. The entire information being collated should be put on the base city map with the help of experts in the RAY cell or the local NGO.
It has suggested numbering the tenements and also paint them once the rough numbering is matched with maps for establishing credibility.
Demographic profile, occupational status, coverage of welfare schemes and so on are also to be taken during the study.
The Centre for Good Governance (CGG) has already prepared a MIS e-tool for computerising the data. Slums are to be divided into non-tenable, semi-tenable and tenable on the basis of infrastructure deficiency and poverty indicators.
Project reports
They are to be prioritised for redevelopment for preparing of detailed project reports once the survey is complete.
Plans are be put up before the community for approval along with a dispute resolution mechanism for resolving grievances. Only those plans obtaining 70 per cent approval by the community concerned would be taken up. Housing societies are to be formed for maintenance along with working out a revenue model for financing the new units.
