Rehabilitating Slums in Mumbai
Around 30% of the available land in Mumbai is occupied by slums. Also, about 60% of Mumbai’s population dwell in slums. However, there are certain key challenges in rehabilitating slums.
Process for slum rehabilitation
Slum rehabilitation normally goes through the following process.
1) A slum rehabilitation project starts with minimum 70% of the eligible slum dwellers in a slum pocket showing their willingness to opt for the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme (SRS), and come together to form a cooperative housing society.
2) With a resolution, a chief promoter and other members of the housing society are elected. They collect the information of the proposed slum dwellers/members and fill an annexure and send a request to the SRA/collector-town planning division for surveying the plot, showing the slum structures.
3) A competent developer is then identified. The chosen developer has to appoint an architect to prepare the development plans of the slum area under provisions of DCR 33 (10).
4) The next important step is to get the annexure issued by the additional collector of encroachment. This confirms the eligibility of the slum dwellers and any reasons for non-eligibility. Non-eligible slum dwellers can appeal before the secretary of SRA for settling their eligibility.
5) Meanwhile, the developer applies to the SRA for the Letter of Intent (LOI). The LOI gives details of the conditions to be met before asking for the Intent of Approval (IOA). Once compliance with these conditions is verified, the IOA is issued and the process of relocating slum dwellers is initiated. The residents are moved to a rental/transit accommodation.
The time to execute an SRA project varies, depending on various factors such as the plot size, number of slum dwellers to be rehabilitated, receipt of timely permissions from SRA and the municipal corporation, identifying phases of the construction of rehab and free sale buildings. It can take anywhere between 3-10 years depending on the size of the slum.
Challenges for slum rehabilitation
1) One of the key challenges is the lack of trust between slum dwellers and developers. Some challenges faced by developers include illegal slum tenements claiming the right for rehabilitation, illegal commercial users claiming resettlement rights, dealing with extortionist demands from slum lords and delays in approvals.
2) There is also no central body that maintains uniform records of slum dwellers. It is difficult to establish since when the residents are living in the area. Their status needs to be verified by diverse and conflicting records provided by ration cards, shop licenses, electricity bills, property tax records and voter ID.
3) Approval processes for SRS projects are very complex. The number of tenants required to be resettled is large. The slum dwellers are not aware of the legalities and need to be handled more patiently. They see rehabilitation as an opportunity of money making than looking for an opportunity for a better life. Hence, the entire process takes longer than other regular redevelopment projects.
Steps for better rehabilitation process
There are certain steps that can be employed to make rehabilitation simpler.
1) Trust deficit between builders and slum dwellers can be bridged to a significant extent by the developer’s track record and its vision of providing quality free housing.
2) The SRA is an organization created by the state government for resolving issues that developers face during the entire redevelopment process. However, in Mumbai, there are several slums in the jurisdiction of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). The government should look for better policies for redeveloping slums in these areas. This will aid in creating better spaces for slum dwellers while boosting supply of homes in Mumbai.
3) The state government should lay out eligibility norms in detail in order to put SRS on the fast track. The government should also encourage Public Private Partnership (PPP) models in SRA to bring more transparency.
