Sonia Faleiro

 
 
 
 
Thousands of Mumbai slum-dwellers have been rendered homeless after their houses were demolished as part of the Mithi river clean-up project. Sonia Faleiro reports on a depressingly familiar saga: many who are legally entitled to full and proper rehabilitation have been left without a roof over their heads.

A ribbon of space separates one of the two-dozen mustard-coloured buildings from another, but it is enough for the lemon-yellow monsoon light to permeate, illuminating the raw sewage floating in an open drain.

Mosquitoes hover hungrily over the cloudy green water. The stench rises, wafting past a group of playing children, a string of fruit sellers resolutely slicing, spicing, and selling their wares, and upwards to the tightly closed windows of Areefa Qureishi's 225 sq. feet two room-house and mutton store, which she shares with her family of 13, four meat cleavers, and, currently, two shanks of meat hanging from bloodied metal hooks on a wall. This is Tunga Village on Mumbai'’s Saki-Vihar road.

An estimated 4,055 settlements have been displaced as a result of the Mithi River Development and Protection Authority's (MRDPA) plan to clean-up and rejuvenate the Mithi river. Along with open plots in Mandala in Mankhurd, and buildings constructed by the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) and the Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP), Tunga Village is one of the sites where the displaced Project Affected Persons (PAPs) have been relocated.

The project was conceived in August 2005, after the July 26 floods devastated the city, exposing government agencies'’ inability to protect people and property during such occurrences. The project, scheduled to be completed in two phases--— by June, 2006 and July, 2007--at the cost of Rs 130 crore, has an ambitious agenda. This includes channelling the river, beautifying the banks, and removing and rehabilitating residential and commercial establishments whose activities adversely impact the Mithi. The banks of the river, which starts at Powai and flows through Saki Naka, Kalina and Kurla, meeting the Arabian Sea at Mahim Bay, are littered with the byproducts of this ambition. Stores without fronts, slum dwellers trawling for their possessions from under chunks of concrete, furniture abandoned in the Mithi whose troubled waters flow sullen, heavy with garbage and untreated effluent.

On April 25, Fatima and her son Qadir Sheikh, a welder, were eating their lunch of chappatis, chopped onion and dal, when the bulldozers of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) announced their presence along with policemen and MMRDA officials. No notice period --not even the minimum 24 hours--announcing the demolition, had been given to Sheikh and her neighbours in the Jari Mari slum of Andheri East. “"Kutte ki tarah unhone mujhe kheencha. Mera poora khana bhi gaya," ”she says, bitterly. (They pushed me like a dog. I even lost my meal.) Since then, the Sheikhs have been living with relatives, moving every two weeks, and making the rounds of the MMRDA offices in Chembur and Bandra. PAPS who had purchased their property prior to January 1, 2000, and have the paperwork to prove it, are eligible for rehabilitation. Yet, Fatima and Qadir are homeless, the house which they purchased for Rs 1.5 lakh, a small mountain of rubble, indistinguishable from the dozens that flank it.

This kind of treatment meted out to hapless slum-dwellers has scarred the rehabilitation drive. In fact, the core premise of MRDPA'’s action-plan, that slum-dwellers and small scrap and recycling industrial units were primarily responsible for the flood, because of encroachment and polluting of the river, is being contested by environmentalists like Girish Raut. He points out, "“Of the 800 million litres of sewage dumped into the Mithi daily, 2 million is from the slums and the remainder from the big industries. Big industries have never taken the issue of waste management seriously. So the most downtrodden people start businesses of managing the waste, recycling it --essentially doing the work of the industries in Dharavi and Kurla, the biggest waste-management areas in Asia. As for encroachment, many slum-dwellers work as labourers in the industries. They aren'’t provided accommodation by their employers and settle closest to their work, the banks of the Mithi."

The demolitions are being seen as the easiest solution the MRDPA could think of in the name of preventing future floods. However, since the 1970s urban planners have manipulated the course of the Mithi, and reclaimed over 700 acres of mangroves swamps in the Mahim creek, the only outlet of the river into the Arabian Sea, for the construction of high-profile projects. These include the Bandra Kurla Complex, the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the MMRDA Head Office, and the ongoing Bandra-Worli Sea Link, all of which have been constructed on the original course of the river. As a result, the mouth of the Mithi has constricted to a third of its original width. On July 26, the Bandra Kurla area experienced the worst flooding and slowest drainage in the city.

While there appears little point in demanding the demolition of the NSE and surrounding buildings, Raut argues that the land which is currently fallow should be returned to the river. It is also not too late to prevent the destruction of remaining tracts of mangroves, of which 40 per cent have been destroyed in the past decade, to make way for housing construction, slum dwellings and treatment plants. Says Bittu Sehgal, editor of Sanctuary Asia, "“Mangroves help to stabilise climate by moderating temperature, humidity, wind and even waves. They are flood buffers, and protect the land from the impact of the sea."

The manner in which the concretisation of Mumbai is being carried out appears to be of little concern to the Government, unlike the demolition of slum dwellings. This has led Raj Awasthi, an activist who is also the joint secretary of the United Shop Owners Association, to suggest that a nexus between builders and political interests exists. He points out that slum-dwellers due for rehabilitation are encouraged to sell their land to builders, who in turn use it to construct high-rises. Therefore the land, which is cleared of slums in the name of encroachment or river widening exercises doesn'’t remain clear. Hence, the problem remains unsolved. "A builder will buy this land for between Rs 700 and Rs 1,500 a square foot," says Awasthi, "and resell it for upwards of Rs 25,000 a square foot. The Mithi river expansion is a boon for corrupt builders, whose nexus with politicians is well known."

If a settlement is an encroachment or if it is legal but is situated within 30 metres of land on either side of the Mithi, it will be demolished. But the fact that only select portions on the banks of the Mithi, slums between buildings, rather than both slums and buildings, are being demolished, clearly suggests that the criteria for demolition is open to debate.

Nevertheless, some people are benefiting from the project, which ensures the rehabilitation of PAPs. Mandala near Mankhurd is one of the rehabilitation colonies earmarked for PAPs. On May 9, a police force of over 500 demolished 5,000 houses in Mandala’s Indira Nagar and Janata Nagar with bulldozers. The slum-dwellers were already part of a demolished community, having been moved there after their homes were torn down in the demolition drive of December 2004-January 2005. Their second displacement, contends Maju Varghese, an activist who works with Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action, was to make way for land for owners of godowns from the Bandra Kurla area. Even among those displaced, he points out, some are more favoured than the others. Such was the anguish of the twice-displaced that they refused to leave without a fight. As a result, 40 slum-dwellers were injured in a police lathicharge, and eight people were arrested. Mohammed Farooqh lost his recycling plant and house, valued at Rs 5,000 a square foot, in the demolition. He now pays Rs 4,000 a month for a one-room home for his family of five.

Points out Varghese, "“After the slums were first demolished, the state government agreed to legalise all settlements built until 2000. While the slums were demolished again, right opposite the river, falling within the 30-metre distance, the Bandra Kurla complex didn'’t lose an inch of land. Meanwhile, not only has the land been dug up, but no rehabilitation has been planned for the displaced dwellers."

One of the former slum-dwellers is Muneera Sheikh who now carries her seven-month-old baby girl and many of her belongings in her arms as she walks through Tunga Village, searching for a place to squat. She hasn't slept for more than a few hours since the demolition, and when it rains she seeks refuge in a store or a bus stop. "“I was told by the MMRDA office in Bandra that my name would come up for rehabilitation in their list tomorrow," she says, hopefully. Then she adds, "“But I was told that yesterday, and the day before."” Awasthi points out, "“Mandala was set on fire and filled with sludge to prevent slum-dwellers from returning. It'’s also been demarcated as a Coastal Regulation Zone I and II where building is prohibited. How can they hope to resettle people there?"

The flaws in the rehabilitation process are also evident in the actions of those provided with housing. Zafarulla Khan of Kismat Nagar, Kalina, was given an apartment in Tunga Village after his paper-recycling unit was demolished. There are no problems with the house, he says. There's 24-hour water and electricity supply. But Khan wouldn'’t know, for as he points out himself, he has given the house to his sister’s family since they were paying Rs 1,000 a month in rent for their home in Kurla. Khan says he will continue living on the exact spot where his unit was demolished, and will move only if the second phase of the expansion forces him to.

Like him, other slum-dwellers who have been provided with new homes, continue living among the debris in makeshift housing, undermining the purpose of the demolition drive. Some are doing so to earn rent. Others find the distance between their work-area and new home too far to cover on a daily basis. Meanwhile, many prosperous businessmen whose properties were demolished refuse to end their vigil at the site because they haven'’t been allotted adequate amount of land for reconstruction. All large commercial enterprises are being offered vacant plots in Mandala where they can rebuild their factories. "The maximum I would get would be 1,000 square feet," says Ishtifaq Khan, who suffered damages of Rs 15 lakh after his storefront and a piece of machinery was torn down. "“My recycling plant occupies 6,000 square feet. And even if I did move, it would take time for me to build my plant without any guarantee that there wouldn't be a repetition of May 9. So I prefer to wait here and watch what happens next."

It isn'’t just former occupants who continue to remain by the Mithi. In their anxiety to meet the deadline, the MMRDA hasn't cleaned up after itself. The demolition debris as well as the estimated five-lakh cubic metres of silt that was removed from the river is still lying along its banks and is as much of a sight for sore eyes as were the interloping constructions themselves. Raut points out, "“Even if the MMRDA were to transfer the debris and the silt to the dumping ground eventually, it would reach the river and its tributaries, and then Mahim Creek, because of the rains. Even if the river is desilted of the 800 million litres of silt which settles there every day, it won'’t solve the problem because the larger issues are being ignored."”

Also unwilling to move are occupants who purchased pre-2000 plots or houses, post 2000. In the MMRDA'’s road-widening project, this combination was considered legitimate. But in the ongoing river widening project, however old the shop, residence or plot, if it was purchased after 2000, it doesn'’t entitle the owner to Government rehabilitation. While the occupants are considered PAP's in both cases, they are not entitled to any benefits in the latter case. Tej Ali from Kismat Nagar, Kalina, bought his one room home for Rs 1.5 lakh in 2004. "I'’ve been asked by different people for Rs 15,000, Rs 30,000, even Rs 50,000 to receive the (fake) paperwork which will entitle me to new housing. But where will I get that kind of money? I want to tell the Government, I have all the paperwork; I bought this house with my own money; the last owner won'’t give me a refund because of the demolition. All I want is to keep what is mine,"” he says.

Meanwhile, in Tunga Village, Areefa Qureishi says her life hasn'’t changed for the worse except for the incessant stench from the sewer below her window. Once a week, a truck carrying a stock of meat arrives in Mumbai's Municipal slaughterhouse in Deonar, from Aurangabad. The meat is sliced by a butcher, and transported by Qureishi's husband Rauq in his van to their new home where Areefa weighs, paper-wraps and sometimes hand delivers a single kilo for Rs 50 to customers in the buildings. She'’s so afraid of offending vegetarians that the windows and doors of her home are kept closed, infusing it with the smell of raw meat and metal, blood and bones. "“I don't notice it,"” she smiles. "And even if I did, this is such a nice, new house I wouldn'’t want to complain about something so small."

An edited version of this appears in Tehelka, June 24.
All photos, Sonia Faleiro. 

A very fine, meticulously researched piece of journalism. I hope your writing creates the impact it deserves to.

Thanks for making it accessible on your blog - Tehelka is not readily available everywhere.

Numbing eye-opener. Thank you for your brilliant work.

That was very good. Having stayed in Kurla since my birth, I am well aware of the ground realities, and laudably, most of them are well-covered. I know of people whose homes and shops have been demolished and they are now running pillar to post to get the promised rehabilitation. The biggest irony is the authorities chose to widen the river where at spots where it was already quite wide, and completely ignored areas where it has become a nullah. So also, a prominent builder, hand-in-glove with a leading politician, is demolishing structures at the bank of the river in the garb of the river widening project, only to usurp the land for his gains. But then, these people don't have a voice, do they?

and also linking up to you in my post. Thanks again.

i been a regular visitor to mumbai had crossed kurla and kalva often and i had wittnessed those habitait area.

does mumbai really look so bad?........ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
http://virtuously.blogspot.com/

Srikanth, Bombay Addict, and Ideastic: Thank you for your kind words.
I'd driven past the Bandra Kurla area last night, after the heavy rains and storming had continued in Bombay for the second day, and the place already looked perilously close to being flooded.

I am happy to read this! kindly continue to the updated story of mithiriver projects, i am lining in Jarimari, peoples are always confused fpr thrir future plan, we need the guidlines and transparancy but not possible because of the politicians. remark for the above request. Regards,
Santosh Joshi
Jarimari, Mumbai-72

Hi, my name is Michael and I come from New Zealand. My fellow classmates and I are trying to clean up our local river. It would be great if you could visit my blog and that of my friends and leave a comment!

A very interesting read! Espacially since I will be examining the Mithi river between august the 23th and october the 19th for my thesis.

After my analysis I will propose an urban design for the mithi river, so every type of information on the subject is more than welcome!

on www.feysinmumbai.blogspot.com there will be pictures and small updates (in dutch) of my progress.

'Experts' on the matter of the Mithi River: dont hesitate to contact me!

Hi.. I am Gauri, a landscape Architecture student from Cal Poly Pomona University In California... I found the article very interesting. I was thinking of working on mithi river as my thesis project... I seriously wish to work on this project..as it's very important issue in Mumbai. I have born and brought up in mumbai and I would love to find out some solutions for this misshaping.
I am open to all kind of information and suggestions on the topic.. \My email id is gaujoshi20@gmail.com