QUESTION : Slums are a natural development of India’s economic and political structure. Do you agree. Comment. Also discuss why the various slum development strategies in India have not delivered the required results
Topic- SMOOTHERING THE HOUSING RIGHTS OF THE URBAN POOR
WHAT ?
Judiciary And Housing Rights of Urban Poor
WHY IN NEWS ?
Supreme Court of India on 31 August 2020 ordered the removal of about 48,000 slum dwellings situated along the railway tracks in Delhi within three months.
The hearing was based on a report filed by the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA), which said Railways is not following the Solid Waste Management Rules.
OTHER DIRECTIVES OF SC ORDER :
- The court declared no interference, political or otherwise, should be there against their removal.
- It said any order of interim stay passed by any court against the removal of these encroachment shall be deemed ineffective.
- The court further directed the Railways and local authorities in Delhi to remove plastic waste, garbage, etc, piled up alongside the tracks within three months.
CRITICISM OF THE SC ORDER :
- Court ignores the specific issues of Pollution raised in PIL & proceeds on a tangential topic
- o The order was passed in the long-running case, M.C. Mehta vs. Union of India & Ors., regarding pollution in Delhi and related report filed by EPCA
o However, neither this case nor the report concerns itself with the legality of informal settlements.
o Still, the Court made an unconvincing connection between the piling of garbage and the presence of slums and gave an eviction order.
- Court has ignored principles of natural justice
- o The order violates principles of natural justice and due process since it decided on the removal of jhuggi jhopris without hearing the affected party, the jhuggi dwellers.
- Court ignores judicial precedents on the right to shelter
- o In Olga Tellis & Ors vs. Bombay Municipal Corporation & Ors. (1985), five-judge bench SC held that the right to life also includes the “right to livelihood” and that no eviction shall take place without notice and hearing those affected
o In Chameli Singh vs. State Of U.P. (1995), the Supreme Court recognised the “right to shelter” as a component of the right to life under Article 21 and freedom of movement under Article 19(1)(e).
o In Ajay Maken & Ors. vs Union Of India & Ors. (2019), a case concerning the demolition of Shakur Basti on railway land, the Delhi High Court invoked the idea of the “Right to the City” to uphold the housing rights of slum dwellers.
- Court has also ignored state policies governing evictions.
- o In Sudama Singh & Others vs Government Of Delhi & Anr. (2010), the High Court of Delhi held that prior to any eviction, a survey must be conducted and those evicted should have a right to “meaningful engagement” with the relocation plans.
o The procedure laid down in this judgment formed the basis for the Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015, which has not been referred by the court.
- Order considered insensitive in the time of Pandemic
o The pandemic makes urban informal livelihoods more vulnerable and Supreme Court order threatens to leave lakhs of people homeless amid a health and economic emergency
CONCERNS :
- The Supreme Court order that threatens to leave lakhs of people homeless amid a pandemic is callous and unconscionable.
- Under the premise of environmental protection, the courts have played an active role in such demolition drives.
- The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing has called on member-states to declare an end to forced evictions.
- In certain cases, PIL jurisprudence takes a dangerous turn whereby its procedural relaxations are used to deny principles of natural justice to the most marginalised groups.
WHAT ARE SLUMS ?
- Slums are illegal urban settlements on public land and usually grow over a period of time in a constant and irregular manner. Despite this fact. Slums are considered as an integral part of urbanization and as a manifestation of the overall socioeconomic policies and planning in the urban sector. The existence and rapid growth of slums have been noted as a general urban phenomena common prevalent throughout the globe.
- According to the United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, a slum is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and poverty and lacking in tenure security. However, due to rising population, the number of slum dwellers is rising day by day.
- Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi, lies on prime property right in the middle of Mumbai (Neza, in Mexico, is the world’s largest slum).
- Half-a-million people or so, live in the 230 hectares that is Dharavi.
- It was founded in 1882 at the time of British Raj. During the 18th century, unplanned localities started to grow when the process of urbanization of Mumbai was going on.
CAUSES FOR GROWING SLUMS :
1) Rural-Urban Migration:
Many people migrate from rural to urban areas in search of employment as employment opportunities is less in rural area as compared to urban areas. Also, many migrants want better facilities and education for their children so that in future their children could support them and their families.
2) Urbanisation :
Urbanisation creates slums because local governments are unable to manage urbanisation and migrant workers without an affordable place to live in. In the situation of large gap between people’s low income and the high land price some people have to look for cheap informal settlements, which are known as slums in urban areas.
3) Poor Housing Planning :
The gap between growing demand for affordable urban housing and insufficient supply has encouraged the formation of slums. Whenever the demand surplus is not met by formal sectors, this gap is typically filled by an informal dwelling such as a slum. While a slum is better than nothing, housing that is safe, clean, and secure is obviously preferred. The challenges that both the market supply and demand sides are facing have prevented sufficient affordable housing for the urban poor, stimulating slum formation.
4) Informal Economy:
Slums grow because of growing informal economy which creates demand for workers, and as demand increases more people migrate from rural area and settle down in slums as the only left option.
5) Lack of Available Urban Land :
In the past 15 years, India’s urban population density has increased 45%. With increasingly densified urban population, there exists a huge demand for land. However, excess control over land development creates an artificial urban land shortage, as this could lead to urban sprawl and corruption in land licensing.
6) Regulatory Constraints:
Development projects in urban areas are subject to a long approval process regarding different aspects from both state and central level, which brings about postponement in tasks. In fact, India is ranked 183 out of 189 economies in dealing with construction permits by the World Bank, which shows the challenges real estate developers face in India.
7) Natural Disasters:
Major natural disasters in poor nations often lead to migration of disaster-affected families from areas crippled by the disaster to unaffected areas, the creation of tent city and slums, or expansion of existing slums. These slums tend to become permanent because the residents don’t want to leave from there.
ISSUES ARISING FROM NEGLECTING SLUM DEVELOPMENT :
- Slums act as a magnet for the rural poor by attracting them towards city life. This it does by partially blinding them from the hardships that accompany life in the city.
- People living in slum areas are also prone to suffer from waterborne diseases such as typhoid and cholera, as well as from more fatal ones like cancer and HIV/AIDS.
- Also, women and children living in slums are prone to become victims of social evils like prostitution, beggary and child trafficking. Slum dwellers in general and regardless of gender, often become victims of such social evils.
- Slum areas are also commonly believed to be places that generate a high incidence of crime. This is due to official neglect towards education, law and order, and government services in slum areas.
- Then, the majority of slum dwellers in a developing country earn their living from the informal sector which neither provides them with financial security nor with enough earnings for a decent living, keeping them firmly within the vicious cycle of poverty.
- Lastly, hunger, malnourishment, lack of quality education, high infant mortality, child marriage, child labour are some of the other social problems prevalent in slums.
TO IMPROVE URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE,THE GOVT. HAS TAKEN STEPS :
- Smart City Mission (to create smart cities) to focus on basic amenities, education, health services, IT accessibility, digitization, e-governance, sustainable development, safety, and security.
- Housing for all by 2022 for constructing houses for slum dwellers under the slum-rehabilitation scheme and providing loans at subsidized rates for the economically weaker sections.
- AMRUT: Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation to build a gap between infrastructural necessity and their accessibility.
- HRIDAY: National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana to preserve and holistically develop the heritage cities of India.
- Swachh Bharat Mission for improving cleanliness and sanitation.
FAILED SOLUTIONS :
- Slum removal – It made slum inhabitants homeless.
- Slum relocation – It moved poor people further away from their workplaces
CONCLUSION :
- The affected residents would now need to employ a combination of political and legal strategies to protect their housing rights and ensure that no eviction or rehabilitation is conducted without their prior informed consent.
WAY FORWARD :
- Slum upgrading. It improved slum’s living conditions. But it does not address poverty and low wages of the informal economy.
- Organized urbanization – Planning & Modifying urban areas to accommodate newcomers.
- Legitimizing slums instead of driving them out of their homes.
- Improving job opportunities in rural as well as urban areas.
- Planning rural development along with urban development.
- Economic development.
- Better transport facilities.
- Affordable housing in urban areas.
QUESTION : Discuss the factors for the recent India – China LAC standoff. What options India have to diffuse the tension?
Topic- GLIMMER OF HOPE
WHAT ?
Indo-China LAC Dispute
WHY IN INDIA ?
The “five-point consensus” reached by the Foreign Ministers of India and China in Moscow on Thursday provides a glimmer(ray) of hope of a diplomatic solution, while thousands of troops from both countries remain deployed along the border.
The move came after the talks between India’s External Affairs Minister and his Chinese counterpart, on the margins of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Russia.
KEY POINTS
5 POINTS COURSE OF ACTION :
- Following the consensus between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping to not allow differences to become disputes.
- Disengaging quickly to ease tensions.
- Abiding by the existing India-China border protocols and avoiding escalatory action.
- Continuing the dialogue between the Special Representatives, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Mr. Wang, as well as the other mechanisms.
- Working towards new confidence-building measures (CBMs).
SIGNIFICANCE :
- Although divergences remain, the joint statement invoked the consensus among the leaders of the two countries developed since the June 2017 meeting in Astana between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and reiterated at the two informal summits in Wuhan and Mahabalipuram.
REASONS FOR TALK :
o Initially, China appeared to have convinced itself that India had no option but to accept its new claims at LAC.
- This confidence was reflected in China’s refusal to pull back its forces from LAC and its dismissive diplomatic tone.
o India’s repeated demand for restoration of the status quo ante on the frontier was not heeded, until the Indian army ramped up its mobilisation and boldly seized some high ground to challenge Chinese military positions.
- These moves on the frontier also came along with a series of economic measures against China, such as banning 100s of Chinese applications and specifying country of origin on imports.
o India’s demonstration of the political resolve to escalate the conflict and the military capability to back it may have probably convinced China that it needs to rethink its approach to the current crisis.
ISSUES INVOLVED :
o The joint statement of India and China tries to reduce the tension at LAC, however the separate explanatory comments from both the countries reveal the challenges ahead.
- India insists that the objective of the talks is to “restore” the status quo ante, however there is no explicit Chinese commitment to that goal.
- China wants to separate the border conflict from the rest of the relationship, however India says the two are inextricably interlinked.
o These deep differences continue to complicate the path towards comprehensive military disengagement and de-escalation.
WAY FORWARD :
The five point plan between both the countries is a welcome step, however India must not blindly trust China amidst the surprise aggression during April-May by the People’s Liberation Army. This is not the first time in the last few months that China has promised to stand down. However, it raised the expectations only to dash them quick de-escalation.
CONCLUSION :
Although the change in China’s political tone is welcome, deep differences that continue to complicate the path towards comprehensive military disengagement and de-escalation persist.
हिन्दी