Abstract
It is a widely accepted fact that sustainable development cannot be achieved without sustainable human settlements. Cities cannot be made sustainable without ensuring access to adequate and affordable housing to all and improving informal settlements. According to the Census of India (2011), 13.75 million urban households, that is, 65–70 million people live in informal settlements and about 1.77 million people were homeless in India. The goal of sustainable cities cannot be fulfilled with such a large number of populations still being deprived of their basic right to adequate housing. Chandigarh is one of the first planned cities of modern India and has the second highest percentage (89.8%) of urban population to its total population among all the states and union territories in India. This article endeavours to analyse the adequacy and affordability of public housing for urban poor in the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
Introduction
As per the United Nation’s World Urbanization Prospects Report, 2018, around 34 per cent of India’s population lives in urban areas and, by 2050, is expected to increase to 52.8 per cent of India’s population (United Nations DESA, 2018). The concentration of poor people is moving from the rural areas to cities. Slums are its obvious manifestation, generally, because of individual circumstances and institutional failures. Slum dwellers are subject to greater abuse (by the various institutions of the State such as police) and constantly live under the threat of demolition of their houses, which is a violation of their land and housing rights (Das, 2003). In India, many flagship programmes have been introduced in the twenty-first century with specific emphasis on making cities smart, sustainable as well as inclusive, and to increase the access of urban poor to land and basic services like the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) policy of 2005 and the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana of 2015 (Mahadevia, 2002). Despite these efforts, the number of urban homeless people and population living in slums has continuously increased. As per the report of the Technical Group on Estimation of Urban Housing Shortage of 2012, there has been a huge shortage of urban housing in India. The Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Low-Income Group (LIG) account for 96 per cent (about 17.96 million dwelling units) of the total housing shortage in India (Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, 2012). Thus, the housing shortage is, in fact, a reflection of the number of households located in slums and squalor conditions (Nallathiga, 2006).
The slum rehabilitation process is an institutional process that involves the shifting of an entire informal or illegally built environment to a formal housing structure (Nijaman, 2008). In the urban areas of the developing countries, a large number of people have inadequate access to basic requirements like water supply, housing, health, education, sanitation and transportation because these are either unaffordable due to people’s lack of income or the government does not make efficient efforts to provide these (Mahadevia, 2002).
The lack of affordable housing largely impacts household budget, constraining people to spending less on food, utilities, transportation to work, health and childcare expenditures, as well as reducing savings for pursuing higher education, emergencies, retirement and other opportunities. These challenges may result in a lower overall standard of living for the poor (Anacker, 2019). Inadequate slum rehabilitation policies generate forced mobility, as some slum dwellers might be unable to face additional expenditures on legal electricity, maintenance, taxes or have unfavourable new living conditions (household size or economic activities). That is why some households are forced to rent/sell their new accommodation and move back to the slums, while others manage to stay (Restrepo, 2010). Due to the cut-off date for eligibility of rehabilitation, the ineligible population is left with no option but to stay in unauthorized slums or to move to a new slum after the former one is demolished by the government (Zhang, 2016). There is a denial of people’s right to participation in the planning process, in terms of determining the location and nature of development projects, their size and the distribution of their costs and benefits within procedures of rehabilitation (Das, 2003).
Chandigarh is one of the first planned cities of modern India and is among the cities selected in the second round of the smart city challenge under the Government of India’s Smart Cities Mission—which carries the provision of housing facilities for all as one of its core objectives. As this city is a hub of educational and health facilities, people from different states of India settled here gradually. The highest decadal growth rate in the population of the city was witnessed in the Census 1971 (Table 1). Most of the poor people who came to the city for the sake of livelihood found their shelter in unauthorized settlements. As the city started facing haphazard encroachments over government land, the Chandigarh Administration took initiatives to rehabilitate people staying in different notified slums of Chandigarh by providing affordable housing and basic services. Initial target groups were those who had come to the city prior to 1996. However, rehabilitation is only one step towards ensuring inclusiveness. It is pertinent to analyse how effective that rehabilitation has been in ensuring the right to adequate housing to those who were rehabilitated. The following section will study the urban public housing policy adopted by the Chandigarh Administration to rehabilitate urban poor from the notified slum areas to rehabilitation colonies, and this will be followed by an analysis of the facilities provided in these rehabilitation colonies.
Public Housing Schemes in Chandigarh
Chandigarh was established in 1966 and designed by French architect, Le Corbusier. It was the first planned city of India post-independence. Known as ‘City beautiful’, it was planned for a population of 500,000 (Redefining Chandigarh, n.d.). As Table 1 shows, the population growth rate of the city exceeded 40 per cent during the period between 1981–1991 and 1991–2001, and the city has crossed the million plus mark in 2011 with the decadal growth rate of 17 per cent (Director of Census Operations Chandigarh, 2011).
Demography of Chandigarh (1961–2011)
Among all the states and union territories, Chandigarh has the second highest percentage (89.8%) of urban population to its total population in India after the National Capital Territory of Delhi (93%) (Census Provisional Population Totals, 2011). With the limited area of 114 sq. km, there is a huge pressure on infrastructure, which was not visualized at the time of the conception of the city. The population pressure and increased socio-economic and housing needs have led to unplanned and uncontrolled land-use patterns, as well as changes in city infrastructure. A large number of people migrate to Chandigarh in search of job opportunities and for better living facilities. According to 2011 census, the city’s population was 1,055,000, out of which 623,000 (59.08%) were migrants from different states (The Hindustan Times, 2019). Most of those who settled in informal settlements were from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan (Sharma, 2017). The absence of any planned settlements in the city plan for construction workers and the lack of affordable housing resulted in the emergence of unauthorized settlements in the outskirts, mainly in the southern and eastern parts of the city. In 2011, the city had a total slum population of 95,135, residing in unauthorized notified slums (Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, 2013). There were 18 unauthorized colonies in the city in 2006, such as Colony No. 4, Colony no. 5, Pandit Colony, Kuldeep Colony, Kajherhi Colony, Nehru Colony, etc. As the city administration razed eight of them, the city still has 10 unauthorized notified slums. To avert the rise of new unapproved settlements, the Chandigarh Administration has adopted the basic services to Urban Poor Policy under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Misssion of 2005 that mandates that 15 per cent of the dwelling units in all housing projects must be for urban poor (Housing in Chandigarh, n.d.).
The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) was established in the year 1976 with the aim of building affordable dwelling units for different socio-economic categories of the city’s residents (Chandigarh Housing Board, n.d.). Till March 2019, the CHB has constructed 67,565 dwelling units for different income groups, out of which, 50.12 per cent units were EWS units. EWS units are affordable homes available to EWS groups under different housing schemes. These typically comprise one room with a size up to the carpet area of 25 sq. m with basic facilities and infrastructure such as toilet, water, sewerage, road connectivity, electricity, etc. The Small Flats Scheme of 2006 was initiated by the Chandigarh Administration, in order to make Chandigarh slum-free by constructing 25,728 small flats for rehabilitating all the residents of unauthorized settlements as per the biometric survey conducted in 2006 under BSUP (Housing in Chandigarh, n.d.). As Table 2 shows, CHB has completed the Construction of 17,696 Small Flats under Slum Rehabilitation scheme till March 2019.
Rehabilitation of Slum Dwellers in Small Flats Under BSUP Programme in Chandigarh (March 2019)
The study has been carried out to examine the adequacy and habitability of the three rehabilitation colonies of Chandigarh, that is, Dhanas, Sector 38 (W), Sector 49. As Figure 1 shows, Dhanas Rehabilitation Colony and Sector 38 (W) rehabilitation colonies are located on the western edge of the city, while rehabilitation colony of Sector 49 is located on the southern edge of the city. All the three colonies are based on the same design principles. There are 32 small flats in a four-storey block, with two blocks placed on either side, accommodating 64 families. These double-blocks are placed closely together to optimize land use and create high population densities of more than 100,000 people per sq. km (Valeur, 2013). Each small flat has one room with an attached kitchen, washroom and toilet, and a total constructed area of 22.6 sq. m along with a narrow balcony. A family of up to 12 members can live in one unit.
Dhanas Rehabilitation Colony is one of the biggest rehabilitation colonies of Chandigarh with 8,448 families (approximately 51,000 people) residing in 131 double-blocks. This colony lies between Dhanas village and Milkmen Colony. Rehabilitation colony of Sector 38 (W) is also known as DaduMajra Colony. It is a small colony where 1,120 families (about 6,200 people) live in 17 and a half double blocks. This colony lies between the village of DaduMajra and Sector 38 (W), near the city’s landfill site and sewage treatment plant. Rehabilitation Colony of Sector 49 is also a small rehabilitation colony and is home to 1,024 families (around 6,500 people), living in 16 double-blocks. This colony lies between low- and middle-income group housing societies and the Gurudwara of Sector 49.
Research Methodology
The aim of this research is to examine the living conditions of people in the rehabilitation colonies. To accomplish this, a survey was carried out in three rehabilitation colonies of Chandigarh that lie in Dhanas, Sector 38(W) and Sector 49. As Table 3 shows, the data were generated from a total sample size of 500 respondents who were residents of the three rehabilitation colonies mentioned earlier, using a structured questionnaire and random sampling technique. The observation method has also been used to gauge the ground reality. In addition, data have also been collected through face-to-face interviews with teachers, doctors and police officials working in the three rehabilitation colonies for descriptive analysis, considering various aspects (i.e. educational, health, safety and social) of urban sustainability. Informal interviews were also carried out with the officials of Municipal Corporation and Department of Electricity. The officials of CHB were interviewed to understand the perception of the government regarding the issues highlighted by the inhabitants of the selected colonies.
Sample Size in the Selected Rehabilitation Colonies
Analysing the Adequacy of Various Elements of Right to Adequate Housing
The right to adequate housing is not only limited to the right to having a roof over one’s head or the right to shelter, but it should be considered as the right to have a place where people may live in peace, dignity and security. The General Comment No. 4 on Article 11 (1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) identifies seven core elements, which must be fulfilled in order to declare a housing to be adequate: legal security of tenure; availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure; affordability; habitability; accessibility; location; and cultural adequacy (United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights [UNCESCR], 1991). This article will evaluate the adequacy and efficacy of public housing policies in ensuring the accessibility of adequate housing for people staying in slum rehabilitation colonies of Chandigarh on the following parameters:
The term ‘affordable housing’ relates to the financial affordability of housing with respect to an occupant’s income as well as ensuring security of tenure. The respondents from the Sector 38 (W) and Sector 49 rehabilitation colonies were rehabilitated from slums across the city by the Chandigarh Administration in the year 2009 and 2012, and in Dhanas rehabilitation colony, in the year 2013. They were provided with affordable housing and all other basic necessities, which were not available to them in the slums. The small flats under the Small Flats Scheme (of 2006) were allotted to them on a license basis, for which they had to pay monthly instalments for up to 20 years. The amount of these instalments increases every 5 years. The initial monthly instalment was of ₹800 per month; after 5 years, it increased to ₹960 per month and to ₹1,152 per month after 10 years. The inhabitants were entitled to ownership rights of the house only after completing 20 years of stay in rehabilitation colonies, after the payments of all instalments. The policy also mandated that the small flats allotted to people cannot be sold and bought for 20 years from the date of allotment. In order to promote gender equality, allotments have legally been made under the joint name of both the husband and the wife.
The members in each household ranged from 4 to 12, with an average of 5 members per family. A total of 88 per cent of respondent households had one or two earning members. The findings of the study revealed that 34 per cent out of the total respondents from all three rehabilitation colonies were working as casual labourers with no regular source of reiterated income. A total of 42 per cent of the respondents were unemployed, which mostly included women and youth. The monthly household income of 67 per cent of the respondents was ₹8,000–10,000. Only 15 per cent of respondents were found to be having a monthly household income of ₹20,000. The survey revealed that on an average, 9–12 per cent of monthly household income of the respondents goes into paying monthly instalments of the house. A total of 36 per cent of respondents revealed that they were unable to pay the monthly instalments of the house due to their poor economic condition.
The same was verified by the officials of the CHB. The concerned official stated that in August 2019, CHB had issued cancellation orders of small flats to 69, 32 and 29 allottees from Dhanas, Sector 49 and Sector 38 (W) rehabilitation colonies, respectively, as they failed to deposit their pending dues/equal monthly instalments (EMIs). The CHB had already cancelled the allotment of nine allottees from Dhanas rehabilitation colony. The official informed the researchers that a list of defaulters was published online on the official website of CHB, and the defaulters were given time to deposit their dues. As Table 4 shows, there were many allottees from the surveyed colonies who have not paid their EMIs. The defaulters, when interacted with, revealed that their financial condition is so bad that they are not able to pay the EMIs on time, and their income is mostly spent to procure basic needs, such as food, clothing and other basic services. They stated that they have no place else to go if their house allotment would be cancelled. They further asserted that the future of their family lies in the dark. Hence, it can be stated that although, on the one hand, legal security of tenure was ensured by the administration and locked to a period of 20 years, the inability of rehabilitants to pay their monthly instalments due to their poor economic condition has led to a lack of security.
List of Defaulters from the Sampled Rehabilitation Colonies (As on 16 June 2019)
For a house to be regarded as adequate, it must ensure availability and accessibility of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure essential for nutrition, health, security and comfort of human beings. This includes sustainable access to natural resources; safe drinking water; adequate sanitation facilities; accessibility to refuse bins; public transport services as well as proximity to educational, healthcare, drainage and other vital facilities (UNCESCR, 1991). The adequacy of these services in the sampled housing colonies has been analysed as follows:
Provision of safe drinking water
All households in the rehabilitation colonies had access to tap water. Having access to a private water connection avoided the tensions between respondents and their neighbours that usually arise from sharing a common public tap in slums. The respondents were satisfied with the quantity of water supplied; however, those living on the top floors asserted that sometimes the water pressure was too low, meaning that water did not always reach at the top floor. Though respondents from Sector 38 (W) and Sector 49 rehabilitation colonies were satisfied with the quality of water supplied, respondents from Dhanas Rehabilitation Colony complained that the freshwater supplied in their area has often been found to be unclean and not fit for drinking. They further stated that the reason for this is that water is supplied from a ground tube well in their area, which is not cleaned regularly. The survey revealed that 11 per cent of respondents out of a total 250 respondents from Dhanas Rehabilitation Colony were found to be boiling water before consuming it, and another 16 per cent were using water filters. The rest of them stated that they have no other option than drinking the dirty water. However, in the case of Sector 38(W) and Sector 49 rehabilitation colonies, 7 per cent and 4 per cent respondents, respectively, out of the total 125 respondents, each said that they boiled water before drinking. The percentage of respondents using water filters in Sector 38(W) and 49 rehabilitation colonies were 9 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively.
Human waste disposal system and accessibility to refuse bins
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has provided green and blue dustbins to all the households in Chandigarh to segregate their wet and dry waste under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. However, in the study areas, only 16 per cent of the total respondents were found to be using both green and blue dustbins for segregating dry and wet waste. About 69 per cent of the respondents were using only one dustbin, as many of them asserted that they do not feel the need of segregation as the amount of waste generated is too little. Others complained that they were segregating the waste when they first received dustbins; however, the dustbins soon broke as they were not of good quality, after which they stopped segregating the waste. The leftover 15 per cent respondents revealed that they do not use dustbins at all. Instead, they put their household waste in a plastic bag and throw it into the municipal corporation garbage containers or in an open space. As per the norms of Municipal Corporation, garbage collection has been outsourced to private contractors who take monthly charges of ₹100 from each household to collect garbage. However, the survey in all the three colonies revealed that door-to-door garbage collectors were not coming regularly; often only twice a week. Hence, the respondents started throwing waste materials in public spaces (Figure 2). This has led to huge amounts of trash in open spaces. Municipal Corporation officials claim that the trash from open spaces is collected every alternate day in all the three colonies. However, as the people litter too much in the open, open spaces in these areas look shabby and ill maintained. Awareness about sustainable waste management practices was found to be missing in these colonies.
Access to drainage and sewerage system
Fifty-nine per cent of the respondents from all the three rehabilitation colonies stated that they were dissatisfied with the accommodation. The prime reason for this was found to be the lack of proper drainage and sewage facilities. A total of 62 per cent of the respondents from all the three rehabilitation colonies alleged that the rainwater pipes in the balconies of their houses are very small and have not been connected to a main pipe. The direction of these small pipes is such that rainwater during heavy rains or wastewater from the other houses comes inside their houses. It also creates dampness in the walls of the buildings (Figure 3). Further, this is an issue that leads to tension and conflicts among neighbours, since when any household washes their clothes in their balconies, the water gets into the balconies of the houses on the lower floor. Due to this, 34 per cent respondents of total respondents had made some alterations in their balconies by constructing a cemented wall or installing tin or fibre sheets on the side of the balconies of their houses, to ensure water does not come inside their homes. A total of 14 per cent of the respondents rectified this problem by joining their balcony pipes with a main pipe, which they paid for from their own pocket. It was further revealed that there is an overflow from gutters, especially in the rainy season due to poor maintenance and blockage by waste materials. Hence, the drainage and sewage system in all the three colonies was found to be inadequate
Maintenance of public parks and spaces
The access to parks, green spaces and public areas is essential to the well-being of urban communities. During the numerous visits to the colonies, the researchers observed that public places and parks in and around the rehabilitation colonies were in a pathetic condition. Garbage was scattered all around the parks. The respondents stated that there is no regular gardener to maintain the parks in the colonies. One of the respondents further asserted that the authorities are not very concerned about the maintenance of the parks in their area. The officials from the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation when contacted stated that they endeavour to maintain the parks of rehabilitation colonies in the same manner as the rest of the city. However, since people staying nearby throw their garbage in the parks, they, hence, seem ill maintained.
Public transport services
Bus was the cheapest mode of transport in the city, with a monthly pass of ₹350 for the general public to travel within the city. A total of 21 per cent of respondents in all three sampled rehabilitation colonies were relying on bus to get at their places of work, while others were using cycles, autorickshaws and two wheelers. These rehabilitation colonies were found to be connected with all the major sectors of the city through the buses of Chandigarh Transport Undertaking. Those using bus as a mode of transport asserted that the number of buses plying on some routes were not sufficient in number. As they all have to go to work at the same time in the morning, most of the buses were so congested that they do not get a place to sit. They further stated that they often have to change their buses once or twice to reach their destination. Hence, they might hire an autorickshaw to reach their workplace which, while saving much time, is heavy on their pockets. Those using two wheelers were found to be people who had a fixed monthly income of more than ₹10,000 and could afford to spend ₹1,000–1,200 monthly on fuel and maintenance of the vehicle. A total of 34 per cent of respondents revealed that their place of work is not fixed, as they are daily wage labourers, and they have to do labour in and around the city. They asserted that before getting rehabilitated, they were staying in unauthorized slums within the heart of the city. Hence, it was easy for them to reach their workplaces. Since the rehabilitated colonies are located at the outskirts of the city, they become dependent on public transport to reach their workplace. This argument seems to support the current debate on the in situ rehabilitation of slum dwellers.
Educational and healthcare facilities
It is very important for people to have schools and healthcare facilities near their habitation. There were schools with adequate infrastructure in all the rehabilitation colonies. The primary health centres/civil dispensaries were established in the area of all sampled rehabilitation colonies where ‘Outpatient Department’ (OPD) services were provided to the people. However, to the surprise of the researchers, the primary health centre of Dhanas Rehabilitation Colony was established in the small houses meant for the beneficiaries of Small Flats Scheme. This is because there was no provision of healthcare infrastructure planned in the initial development planning of this colony. The infrastructure of this primary health centre was unpleasant and had poorly maintained rooms, with broken windows and poor hygiene conditions.
Adequate housing must be habitable, in terms of providing inhabitants with adequate space and protecting them from heat, cold, rain, damp, wind or other threats to health and structural hazards (UNCESCR, 1991). In the overall satisfaction level scale of accommodation, 28 per cent of respondents in the survey were satisfied with their current accommodation, as they had a place to sleep and keep their family safe. They revealed that they used to live in shacks before moving here. There was no proper roof and cemented house, and hence, they were also deprived of all the basic facilities. However, 37 per cent of the respondents were indecisive and were found to be neutral as far as their satisfaction with their housing was concerned. The remaining 35 per cent of the respondents showed their dissatisfaction with the accommodation. They asserted that their living conditions were better in the slums. They noted out many shortcomings in their present accommodation, some of these have been discussed below:
Shortage of space
The EWS flats constructed by the CHB for the rehabilitation of slum dwellers were one room tenements. The size of the flat was 10 x 15 ft with a 3 x 5 ft bathroom and a toilet, along with a 4.5 ft balcony. As 83 per cent of the rehabilitated households had 5–8 members in the family, the respondents living in joint families were facing the problem of lack of space in the accommodation. A total of 52 per cent of the respondents stated that the accommodation was not very spacious, which resulted in the lack of privacy and dignity for inhabitants. The remaining 48 per cent of the households who had nuclear families were satisfied with the size of the flat. They stated that the sizes of the flats were adequate for their small family. The shortage of space was witnessed in the kitchen area too. All EWS units had a kitchen alcove with a single water tap and no shelf to place the utensils and gas. All the beneficiaries had constructed the kitchen shelves by themselves. Some of the families had converted their balconies into kitchens so that they can use the kitchen area for living. Hence, it can be stated that there was lack of adequate space in the houses constructed in rehabilitation colonies. These accommodations are neither sustainable for future generations nor do they protect family privacy.
Leakage, cracked walls and mould problem
Fifty-five per cent respondents stated that there is a problem of leakage in the ceiling and walls of their flats. Most of them were those who were living on the top floor of the building (Figure 4). The researchers observed that polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or sewer pipes fitted in the buildings were such that they pass directly through the kitchen and toilet. The respondents stated that PVC pipes often get blocked due to inappropriate installation and use of low-quality materials, which led to leakage, and dampness in the walls and ceiling. It also led to a foul smell in the kitchen, bathroom and toilet. They stated that the problem becomes particularly acute in the rainy and winter season. They alleged that inferior-quality building materials have been used in the construction of buildings, leading to lots of cracks in the walls and floors of the accommodation.
Size and condition of toilet and bathroom
Each EWS units had one bathroom and one toilet. Both the toilet and bathroom were separately constructed, covering an area of 3 x 5 ft in each unit of the slum rehabilitation colonies. A total of 79 per cent of the respondents from all the three colonies were found to be contented as they felt that, while they were in the slum, they had to go to open area for defecation. The toilets in their homes have made their life easy. However, 21 per cent of the respondents alleged that the size of these toilets and bathrooms was too small, and dampness in the walls and ceiling of toilet and bathroom was even worse (Figure 4). The use of these Indian toilets was difficult for differently abled, aged and persons with persistent medical problems.
Need-based changes in the housing structure
During interactions with the researchers, the officials of the CHB stated that the flats were allotted to families with a policy that no amendments could be made in the structure in the future; otherwise, the allotment would be cancelled. However, 72 per cent out of the total respondents had made some kind of alteration to the original housing structure in these three rehabilitation colonies. A total of 46 per cent of respondents had divided the one-room tenement by creating a cemented wall in the middle. This mostly includes those respondents who had more than five members in the family and were living with their parents and teenage children. They also made wardrobes and shelves to store things. Overall, 34 per cent respondents had wholly or partially enclosed their balconies through the construction of cemented walls, addition of iron window grills or by creating side walls on the balconies (Figure 5). 27 per cent of respondents had constructed sheds on the balconies of their houses. The officials of the CHB admitted that the violations occurred due to the paucity of space in the houses. Considering this, the CHB has allowed need-based changes at the rate of ₹200/sq. ft, after a long-pending demand of the beneficiaries. The board also fixed ₹20,000 as the minimum amount to be paid for violations.
Housing must be in a location where people can easily access employment opportunities and other social facilities. Places of work must be near to the residential areas to avoid financial and temporal costs. Similarly, housing should not be built on polluted and dangerous areas or near to pollution sources (UNCESCR, 1991). The adequacy of these parameters in rehabilitated colonies in Chandigarh has been discussed below:
Access to employment opportunities
From all the three colonies, 42 per cent of respondents were unemployed. This includes 28 per cent of the respondents from the Dhanas Rehabilitation Colony, 9 per cent from the Sector 38 (W) Rehabilitation Colony and 5 per cent from the Sector 49 Rehabilitation Colony. Those who are working were mostly daily wage labourers and shopkeepers who had opened small shops outside their houses. The respondents from Sector 38(W) and Sector 49 said that their colony is still located near the city; hence, they do not face many problems in finding daily work, nor commuting to their workplace. However, the female respondents from the Dhanas Rehabilitation Colony asserted that they had become unemployed because there are no job opportunities near the rehabilitated location. While they used to get work in private houses as helpers of nearby sectors when living in Colony no.5, since being shifted to the outskirts of city, it has become difficult to find a job. A total of 19 per cent of the respondents alleged that expenditure on transportation to reach workplaces put more burdens on their pockets.
Safety of the area
Twenty-seven per cent of the respondents felt safe in their current residential areas as compared to the slums they used to live in. The other 29 per cent found these rehabilitation colonies a little unsafe. The remaining 44 per cent of the respondents said that their current residential areas were highly unsafe, especially during night. Respondents alleged that they were constantly concerned about the safety of their children as there were cases of kidnapping, eve teasing and molestation in their area. Theft of vehicles and other public property was found to be common in these areas. The survey revealed that police stations have been established in or near rehabilitation colonies to control criminal activities. Police patrolling is done during night-time. A total of 19 per cent out of the total respondents from all the three rehabilitation colonies had experienced crime and assault in these areas. These include 11 per cent of respondents from Dhanas Rehabilitation Colony, 6 per cent from Sector 49 Rehabilitation Colony and 2 per cent from Sector 38 (W) Rehabilitation Colony.
Conclusion
This article provides a critique of key features of slum housing policies as manifested in their implementation in the context of the right to adequate housing for the urban poor in Chandigarh. In order to make Chandigarh safe and clean city, the Chandigarh Administration has initiated the process of rehabilitating the urban poor from slums. During the research, it was revealed that, while some aspects of the right to adequate housing have been met, others have been totally ignored. The situation was found to be the similar across all the three sampled rehabilitation colonies, with few exceptions.
The architectural design of Chandigarh rehabilitation colonies’ buildings is far better as compared to the case of slum rehabilitation at Natvar Parekh Compound in Mumbai. The lack of space between buildings and restricted airflow there forces residents to switch on the lights during the day, due to lack of daylight in the houses (Debnath et al., 2019). However, most of the people in the survey were found to be dissatisfied with the housing and sanitation conditions in the rehabilitation colonies. The right to live with dignity, peace and privacy was hindered as there was only one room to accommodate families of 6–8 persons. This is one of the prime reasons why some of the rehabilitated families move back to illegal establishments in other areas, while renting out their rehabilitated houses. The full possession of houses to the beneficiaries is not given by the authorities on the premise that it might lead to the sale of houses to other people for the sake of money and the creation of new slums. It was difficult for the researchers to find out the exact numbers of people who have rented out their accommodation, as giving accommodation on rent was illegal. It was also revealed during informal discussions that tenants did not openly disclose their identity. Few tenants were disguised as relatives of allottees because they knew that in case they were caught, it could lead to a cancellation of the allotments. It was further revealed that few allottees have rented their accommodation and were living in their own built houses somewhere else in the city.
The findings of the study clearly indicate that though there was adequate provision of various amenities in the rehabilitated colonies, long-term planning was missing while constructing these houses. Despite best efforts, the situation of slums is not seeing the improvement that was expected out of the programmes. A good measure of habitable conditions in a housing unit is the number of rooms per person, which is reflected in the number of rooms per household and the household size (Nallathiga, 2006). The houses could have been more habitable and sustainable if they would have been more spacious, with adequate kitchen space and better design of bathroom, toilet and balcony, as well as with better quality of construction material used. Besides this, there were some obvious designing errors in the sampled colonies, such as open pipes passing through the kitchen, bathroom and toilet; lack of proper drainage mechanism, etc. Open spaces around the newly constructed houses have turned into garbage dumps due to poor maintenance by the city administration as well as lack of sensitivity about their surroundings on the part of the inhabitants of the colonies. Hence, there should be regular maintenance of public spaces, and awareness on sustainable waste management, hygiene and cleanliness needs to be generated among the households.
In the rehabilitation colonies, a large percentage of youth and women were found to be unemployed. There is a need for serious policy intervention to ensure a regular source of income for the urban poor so that they can pay their monthly instalments on time without adversely affecting their expenditure for basic day-to-day necessities. The government can set up a skill training centre for the empowerment of poor communities in the rehabilitation colonies. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can play a proactive role in supporting women to become socially, psychologically and economically independent. The numbers of buses should be increased on the routes connecting the rehabilitation colonies to the main location of Chandigarh. There is an urgent need to improve the educational and health infrastructure and services in these rehabilitation colonies (especially the primary health centre of Dhanas Rehabilitation Colony). Awareness programmes on adult education and drug- and alcohol-related addiction should be frequently conducted to maintain health and hygienic conditions in the rehabilitation colonies. The field evidence reveals the inconsistencies in the conception, planning and implementation in the core elements of the right to adequate housing in recently conceived policies. This further hampers the local administrators’ ability to deliver on the ambitious aim of providing affordable housing in required numbers.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.