Resettling the displaced is an unprecedented exercise to improve the lives of the urban poor – The Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) aims to carry out badly-needed improvements to Mumbai’s urban transport infrastructure - the lifeline of commerce and industry in this major metropolis. Laying new railway tracks and widening key roads in a densely populated city like Mumbai invariably requires the displacement of large numbers of people. Under the MUTP, some 18,500 families are being resettled in various locations. This makes it the first attempt in India to resettle such a large number of people in an urban area. The resettlement process itself has become a pioneering exercise in improving the lives of the urban poor and has yielded many lessons that will be useful in future projects in India and the world. Read More
This is the story of a few of the people who have benefited from this project:
Jyothi Pujari, former resident of a one-roomed tin shack a hair’s breadth away from the railway tracks in Mumbai.
“ In the slum, the children used to fall ill frequently and had to miss school often. Now they are doing better, and school buses come to my neighborhood. ”
Sitting in her new 225 square foot apartment in Mankhurd in the eastern suburb of the city where she and her neighbors from the Mumbai slum have been resettled, 37 year old Jyothi Pujari recounts all that’s changed. “There is peace now, and a huge sense of security,” she says. “We don’t have to face the horrific accidents, and I am no longer afraid. We can sleep peacefully at night.”
> For the first time in their lives, the resettled slum-dwellers now legally own their own homes in Mumbai, after decades of living in constant fear of eviction because of illegal occupation of government land. The new brick and mortar apartments are also a huge improvement from the makeshift slum dwellings, especially during Mumbai’s fierce monsoon rains. (Read More)
“ When we lived in the slum, women didn’t venture too far from the small inner lanes. But, after moving here, girls and women have begun to go out to work. ”
Madhavi Shinde, resident of the Majaz resettlement site
Much has changed in Madhavi Shinde’s life since she moved into her new apartment in the Majaz resettlement site. Ever since she can remember, this soft-spoken thirty three year old has always depended on the men in her family to support her. Married at the age of sixteen, and widowed two years later, she and her one-year-old son moved in with her brother’s traditional joint family, all sustained by income from two small grocery shops.
When the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli road was being widened, the family exchanged one of the shops for a small 225 sq. ft. flat for Madhavi and her now sixteen year old son. While still in the transit camp, Madhavi learnt catering and sewing from an NGO working on the displaced families’ resettlement. Now, she takes in small sewing assignments and caters for ten hot lunches a day.
> “When we lived in the slum, women didn’t venture too far from the small inner lanes. But, after moving here, girls and women have begun to go out to work. Looking at them has given others the confidence to do so, too. I never worked either. Now, I earn about Rs7,500 a month, enough to sustain the two of us well.”
Madhavi’s home has a TV, fridge, washing machine and music system. “My mother and brother helped me to get some of these things,” she says, “and I bought the rest.”
“I’ve also been chosen to be the president of the women’s group – Mahila Mandal – of our building. It feels good to be spoken to with respect – I like it when people address me as ‘Madam’,” she says. “I now want to save for my son’s education. I want him, too, to be able to stand on his own two feet.”
Rubina Shaufat, resident of the Majaz resettlement site.
“ I want to take up a design course after I finish school. Knowing how to use a computer will always be helpful in future. ”
Recently married Sandhya Ojha is learning the basics of working on the computer by paying as little as Rs.100 for four months training. The spanking new computer centre with ten latest computers has been set up by a local charitable trust. The courses offered are very popular, and classes are fully booked throughout the day.
> “Once I finish my training, I hope to be able to earn about Rs.7000 a month working in a printing press owned by my brother-in-law,” says Sandhya. Sitting next to her is 17 year old Rubina Shaufat, a commerce student in Class 12. “I want to take up a design course after I finish school. Knowing how to use a computer will always be helpful in future,” says Rubina. The new computer skills will help them to command a better salary in the job market.
“ Now that I have earned a name for myself, I want to take a bank loan to expand my business. ”
Nirmala Ninave, resident of the Mankhurd resettlement site.
Nirmala Ninave is proud of the small beauty parlor she runs in her ground floor home in the Mankhurd resettlement complex. “I earn Rs.7000 each month,” says Nirmala. “With this money I am able to support my old mother who used to be a domestic worker, and my five younger brothers and sisters.”
> Before the family moved to their new 225 sq.ft. apartment from near the railway tracks, Nirmala had a low paying job that brought in just Rs.3000 a month. Then, when the NGO that facilitated their move to the new settlement offered to teach the residents fresh skills as part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project, Nirmala chose to learn the beauty business. “Now that I have earned a name for myself, I want to take a bank loan to expand my business and buy a regular shop.”
RSS