From Delhi, Thursday, May 18, 2006

PLEASE SEND ON

In the last issue of CDDB, we reported on two major points at which convergence might take shape in India, with respect to the continuing massive displacement in rural areas and sudden re-emergence of massive evictions and demolitions in urban areas (a meeting in Mumbai on May 17 and a National Day of Action announced by the NBA on May 26). This is now being followed immediately by a third major opportunity, the 5th National Biennial Convention of National Alliance of People's Movements, in Bangalore on May 31-June 1. (Item 1.) The agenda each has laid out is impressive, but even as we wait for a report from the Mumbai meeting, we must ask : Are those who are meeting going to be willing to see the larger picture, and with this in mind, set aside their differences and come together to build a movement that can truly challenge what is happening all around ?

In the meanwhile, fire-fighting of the gravest kind continues in Mumbai and in Delhi. (Items 4, 5, and 6.) What is happening in these two cities today also started to happen in Mumbai in 1981, best known through the famous ‘Pavement Dwellers’ Case’, and where the demolitions and evictions that started there, and the resistance to that, was one of the flashpoints in the country that ultimately led to the formation of the National Campaign for Housing Rights (NCHR) in 1986 and, crucially, to its demand that ‘housing’ (wrong term – should have been ‘dwelling’) in the sense of a place to live in, in security and dignity, is a fundamental right of all, and must be made a Constitutional Right. Not that the NCHR’s campaign alone led to this (even though this quickly became a major all-India coalition on this issue, there were still many other independent struggles also going on), but evictions and displacements subsided for some years, and more importantly, fragments of a different mindset started emerging, both in resistance and also in political society. (By 1989, four of the major national political parties included a ‘fundamental right to housing’ in their election manifestos, the Minister in charge was defensive as to why the government could not make housing a fundamental right, and the 1992 draft national housing policy embraced some if not all of the NCHR’s proposal.) But this required stepping back from particular issues and personal agendas, and developing a larger and a longer-term common vision – and a larger common political vision. The inability to sustain this was the failure of the NCHR, which imploded in 1991-93, tragically leaving that whole effort over five long years high and dry - and overcoming this is what so urgently seems necessary again today.

In the case of the Narmada struggle, if there was any face left on the government’s skull to be unmasked, that has now taken place. (Item 3.)

From Delhi, this issue of CDDB also contains the latest update from the Sajha Manch, hot out of the Inbox (item 6), and a small report on a revealing step that URJA (the other urban coalition in Delhi that we reported on in the last issue of CDDB) has now taken (item 7). Both items tell us a lot about emerging urban politics in India, including as the two streams begin to cross paths..

Though it is unlikely that this can happen around a housing rights statute alone, we await feedback from the Hazards Centre as to how it is acting on the feedback it got on the draft Right to Housing in Urban Areas Bill they circulated in early May (see CDDB 30, item 4).

And some news from South Africa, to tell us that the struggle is essentially the same, everywhere. (Item 8.)

Finally, the good (and the bad) news on the Narmada and Bhopal fronts comes from AID, in the latest issue of their journal Dishaa (‘direction’, or ‘vision’) ! (Item 2.)

Jai Sen, for CACIM

Note : The CDDB (CACIM Delhi Demos Bulletin) is a digest of material on the struggles that have been going on for twenty and more years, and have recently intensified, in Bhopal, the Narmada valley, and Delhi, for a place to live in security and dignity – and everything that goes with that. The CDDB series started during late March and April 2006, when all three movements were holding protests in Delhi, and with the Bhopal and Narmada movements on ‘dharna’ (sit-down strike) simultaneously at a place called ‘Jantar Mantar’ in the city. See CDDB 1 and 2 for more details on Jantar Mantar and the demos. All back issues of this Bulletin (the CACIM Delhi Demos Bulletin), number 0 onwards, are available @ : http://www.cacim.net/twiki/tiki-view_articles.php?type=article&topic=1

Disclaimer : The views of the author/s of the articles featured here are not necessarily those of this Bulletin (and vice versa). You may copy and print extracts from this Bulletin for your own personal and non-commercial use only.

Some sites for more information : Go to www.cacim.net and see ‘Newsclippings’ and ‘Links’.

---

[1] 5th NATIONAL Biennial Convention of NAPM - National Alliance of People's Movements

On 18.5.06 2:31 pm, "Pervin Jehangir" wrote:
A wing, 1st floor, Haji Habib Bldg, Naigaon Cross Road, Dadar (E), Mumbai – 400 014.

Ph: 022 – 24150529
Email:

_ An Invitation :
5th National Biennial Convention of National Alliance of People's Movements

Dear Friends

Zindabad!

The 5th Bi-Annual? Convention of National Alliance of People’s Movements will be held in Bangalore, Karnataka from May 30, 2006 to June 1, 2006

Amidst grave socio-economic political crisis faced by India, the looming threat of global terrorists attacking one country after another in the name of democracy and peace when a majority of our country's population loosing its life and livelihoods, this convention is to be fully utilised. To strengthen our ties, build wider alliance, debate and refine our ideological position, exchange our informative analysis and redefine our strategies, we all must start immediately to prepare for the convention in every way.

When so much has happened, the movements have progressed but have faced blows and when there is continuous challenge from the market, the capitalist investors where Adivasis, Dalit farmers and labourers are under fatal attacks, we need to come together and bring all our associates and supporter to draw our future plans for countering the vicious and atrocious power but also to come up with alternatives in technology, economy and politics. The convention can surely be made and used as a platform and occasion to come together and evolve as a collective force to confront the anti-people forces and to accentuate our collective struggle.

Please do join the convention and be present all the three days. Please book your tickets in such a manner that you reach Bangalore on 30th morning and do not leave the place till late evening on the 1st June 2006. You are welcome to put up any exhibition, photo documentation relevant to the issues.

Convention Dates:

– 30 May 31st May & 1st June 2006

Venue: Workers Centre, 5, Nandi Durga Road, Jai Mahal Extension
Near Cantonment Railway Station, Bangalore

Contact: Sister Celia Phone: 09945716052
Gururaja: 09448849343

The convention will include discussion on relevant issues from social, economic to political issues and alternative through lecture by experts, panel discussion and group presentation. It will also include film shows. Most importantly it will focus on collective strategy building and future action plan apart from the election of the office bearers of NAPM.

Looking forward to your participation in the convention …

Sincerely yours

Sanjay M.G. / Medha Patkar / Mukta Srivastava & others

PS- NAPM volunteer will be there to guide you with the directions at the Cantonment Railway Station on May 29 morning, till May 30 Afternoon.

The programme schedule for three days :
Day I: 30th May ’06
11.00 a.m.- 2.00 p.m. Inauguration Reporting Review of the last two years programme
2.00 p.m. - 3.30 p.m. Lunch
3.30 p.m. – 6.00 p.m. Group Discussion
6.00 p.m. – 6.30 p. m Tea
6.30 p.m. – 8.00 p.m. Guest lecture on: Rising fascism and Fundamentalisms and the role of state – P. Sainath (proposed)
8.00 p.m. - 9.00 p.m. Dinner
9.00 p.m. onwards Cultural Activities
Day II: 31st May ‘06
9.00 a.m. – 12 noon Panel discussion on Alternative Policy Perspectives General overview- by L.C. Jain,
Specific issues – Land- water- forest, Agriculture, Fisheries, housing and education

12.00 noon – 2.00 p.m. Presentation by the Groups on various issues and problems.
Those identified are:
Water – Large dams and Alternatives, Interlinking of Rivers, privatisation,
Agriculture – Land, water management, agriculture policy, way out of farmers suicides, issues of non-sustainability etc.
Industrialisation and industrial labour and resource use and Livelihoods and unorganised working class people– The choice of Industry, environmental issues, land and other resource acquisition, choice of technology and injustice involved, Labour laws to SEZs, export- import policy and implication, the industry of our vision. Also Forest bill, EGA.
Urban Development and Urban Poor– The policies and economies of space, the migration and slum issues, the development and renewal priorities, involvement towards usurpations of resources and privatisation for profit, the urban decay and future strategy.
Social Services– The policies and reforms in the sectors of health, education, sanitation, infrastructure and transport, The technological dilemma and equitable planning, universalisation vs privatisation, PDS, Energy and poverty line issues, the institution and process alternative.
Nuclear Agenda– Whose towards what ends? Nuclear weaponisation and peace process, policies of ‘disarmament and democracy’ in Asia and beyond, nuclear energy and “agreements”.
World Bank, Asia Dev. Bank, WTO and IMF- Their agenda and policy, their investment and returns, influencing polity and economy, role and strategies of People’s Movements and our vision of world without this capitalist centre of powers.
Kashmir, North-East? and Arms Forces Special Power Act- The grave militarisation within India, the border issues and related struggles displacement and democratic solution.
Electoral Reforms: The degrading policies, the electoral structures and processes, reservation for women, and the new proposal by chief election commissioner on funding etc. Dalit Women and globalisation

2.00 p.m. – 3.30 p.m. Lunch
3.30 p.m. – 5.30 p.m. Lecture on: Alternative politics Experiences of Latin America –Ajit Jha
5.30p.m-6 .00 p.m. Tea
6.00 p.m. – 9.00p.m. Strategies for Future plan and Alliance building
9.00 Dinner

Day III- 1st June ’06
8.30 a.m. – 10.00 a.m. Election of NAPM convenors. Three election officers: Bal Krishna / Gopal Krishna and S. G. Vombatkere
10.00 a.m.- 2.00 p.m. Strategies and future Alliance building to continue..
2.00 p.m. – 3.30 p.m. Lunch
4.00 p.m. onwards Mass action / field visit as per the local organisations plan

Sudhir Vombatkere , , Sandeep-Arundhati? , Thomas Kocherry

---

[2] MAY 2006 DISHAA: THE NARMADA/BHOPAL EDITION

http://publications.aidindia.org/content/view/293/102/ On 18.5.06 11:54 pm, "priya" wrote:

Donate to AID : Newsletters http://publications.aidindia.org/content/section/3/ -
Dishaa http://publications.aidindia.org/content/category/3/71/102/

In this issue:

Editorial: When people lead, the leaders will follow
http://publications.aidindia.org/content/view/294/102/

The FAQ: Narmada unplugged
http://publications.aidindia.org/content/view/298/102/

The FAQ: Bhopal on our minds
http://publications.aidindia.org/content/view/296/102/

Narmada in Delhi
http://publications.aidindia.org/content/view/298/102/

The Bhopalis march into Delhi
http://publications.aidindia.org/content/view/297/102/

What our volunteers say
http://publications.aidindia.org/content/view/299/102/

How you helped Bhopal
http://publications.aidindia.org/content/view/300/102/

How you helped Narmada
http://publications.aidindia.org/content/view/301/102/

May 2006 Dishaa printable pdf
http://publications.aidindia.org/component/option,com_docman/task,doc_download/gid,171/

Editors: Brunda Kattekola & Arun Sripati
http://publications.aidindia.org

[Cartoon]

"We managed to locate the village alright, but we're still looking for the people to rehabilitate!" (Illustration by Saurabh Panjwani)

Aid-awareness mailing list

Aid-awareness@aidindia.org
http://lists.aidindia.org/mailman/listinfo/aid-awareness

---

[3] NARMADA: MADHYA PRADESH GOVERNMENT’S LIES UNMASKED

REHABILITATION ONLY ON PAPER

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main18.asp?filename=ts052006Rehabilitation_only.asp

In Tehelka, May 20, 2006 issue :

Nine families are still waiting for cultivable land in return for homes that will be submerged. We broke the story on Star News. Here now is Etmad A. Khan’s detailed report from the wronged valley

Mohansingh Gulsingh. Dhulsingh Gulsingh. Revsingh Gulsingh. Ordinary names who would have continued to live ordinary but content lives. Unlike other families in the Narmada Valley, these residents of village Bhitada in Madhya Pradesh’s Jhabua district never once had to migrate and find work as labourers. They had enough water and were able to eat two meals a day.

Their lives changed some years after the Sardar Sarovar Dam project, when the decision to raise the height of the dam to 121.92 metres was taken. Bhitada will soon be submerged and so will the lives of Mohansingh, Dhulsingh, Revsingh and six other members of the Gulsingh family. All nine are entitled to two hectares each, a house plot for accommodation and transportation cost.

Want to read more.. This story is available to subscribers only.Please !!Subscribe now.

(We apologise for not being able to give you the full report here, but this is the journal’s policy, on the web, and where we ourselves cannot afford the asked-for subscription price !)

---

[4]

On 16.5.06 6:55 pm, "Eviction Watch" wrote:

Mandala to Azad Maidan. We march on May 17th, 2006

STOP DEMOLITIONS NOW!

Thousands of people from Mandala, Mankhurd whose houses were demolished and set on fire will march to Mantralaya to start an indefinite dharna demanding immediate stoppage of demolitions and right to shelter.

About 45 were injured in the lathi charge unleashed during and after the demolition of about 5000 houses at Mandala on May 9th. Police have arrested 10 people under false charges of attempt to murder ˆ a non-bailable offence. People are also being intimidated by the police and they keep searching for activists under the guise of a false case which charges 40 unknown people, with attempt to murder. Men, women and children whose houses were destroyed in the fire and demolition are now living in the open, exposed to the scorching heat of the sun, with out any roof over their heads.

The land at Mandala according to the affidavit by the Government of Maharashtra in the Relief Road Housing Society Association Vs State of Maharashtra and Others have clearly stated the allocation of 55 acres under Survey No. 80 at Mandala (Turbe) for providing accommodation to those whose families that have been staying there before 2000 and were demolished during the 2004-‚05 demolition drive.

The demolitions that continue in Mandala and other places in the city is in violation of the constitutional right to right to life and livelihood as enshrined in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and the UPA governments Common Minimum Program which promises stopping of forced eviction and demolition of slums.

We demand complete stoppage of demolitions and to evolve a permanent solution to the housing problems in Mumbai by providing security of tenure and developing affordable housing policies for the poor.

The demolition is completely illegal and we demand that the land be given back to the residents of the present demolition, till such time as a long term policy to provide permanent solution to the problem of slum dwellers is brought in place by the High Court of Mumbai.

WE DEMAND
* Stop slum demolitions immediately
* Declare demolition of Mandala illegal
* Provide security of tenure and evolve affordable housing for the poor
* Withdraw false cases against activists and stop police atrocities
* Compensate the loss of houses burnt at Mandala

Simpreet Singh Mohan Chavan Arif Kadari Nazreen Banu Santosh Torad

Contact No: 9869708076

---

[5]

On 18.5.06 3:44 pm, "Shivani Chaudhry" wrote:

Urgent Action Appeal

5,000 HOUSES DEMOLISHED IN MUMBAI, SLUMS SET ON FIRE

AND FORCED EVICTION OF THOUSANDS

MULTIPLE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

Case IND-FE 150506

The Coordination Office of the Housing and Land Rights Network of Habitat International Coalition (HIC-HLRN) and its regional South Asia office in Delhi request your URGENT intervention in the following situation in India.

Brief description of the situation

YUVA, a partner of HIC-HLRN in Mumbai, has informed us of a brutal demolition in which 5000 houses were destroyed in Mandala, Mankurd in Mumbai, and an entire slum was set on fire by authorities on 9 May 2006.

A police force of around 500–700 along with Mumbai Collectorate officials and 6-7 bulldozers demolished about 5000 houses in the slum communities of Indira Nagar and Janata Nagar in Mandala, near Mankurd in Mumbai.

The police came to the site around noon and were confronted by women and men. All of a sudden, people saw smoke at the back of the site and rushed there in an attempt to quell the fire. During this, the police easily gained entry into the slum and demolished the entire community. Those houses which were not demolished, were set on fire. The fire continued burning for several hours while fire brigade personnel stood as passive viewers to the blaze, doing nothing to extinguish the fire.

Furthermore, police engaged in a massive brutal “lathi charge” in Mandala in which they beat people, dragged them from the demolished site, and destroyed their cooking utensils and personal belongings. Police officials also put water in the food being cooked in the community kitchen and confiscated food grains.

Three people were badly injured and admitted to the Satabti hospital. One of them is still in hospital. Shamin Banu who had a miscarriage after women police hit her in the stomach is recovering in the Sion hospital. She lost consciousness after being beaten up and suffered severe bleeding. In all, forty persons received injuries during the demolition and fire. The police, however, ordered the nearby government hospitals, including Satabti hospital, not to admit anyone from the slum, nor to give them case papers as these medical records might be used against the police as a proof of injury due to violence. The lack of cooperation from hospital staff only reveals the tyranny of the police.

While the residents of Indira Nagar were only given a 12-hour notice of the demolition, those living in Janata Nagar had no prior information of the demolition and were taken completely unawares.

In its wave of oppressive action, the police arrested 5 men and 3 women from the site. Aisha Bi, an activist from Mandala, was arrested from inside her house. The police took the activists to the Govandi Police station where they abused and beat them, while handcuffing some of them. The activists have been charged with attempt to murder under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code, which is a non-bailable offence, and are currently in jail.

A delegation of 15 people from social movements, people’s organisations and concerned citizens finally managed to arrange a meeting with the Deputy Collector, Mr. Jhande, on 12 May. In front of the deputy collector, police denied the lathi charge or use of violence against people in the slum. An independent team from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), however, has first hand evidence of the events and will be releasing its report shortly.

Police officials are also roaming in nearby slums and threatening people not to give food or shelter to the evicted people. Instances of abuse by intoxicated policemen at night have also been reported.

A large police force is still present at the site and people face constant threats of arrest and further eviction. People are out in the open with the belongings that they managed to salvage from the demolished site. From latest reports received, the police are fencing the demolition site with barbed wire, and have removed all those people who had set up temporary structures for shade. Women and children are now sitting under the scorching sun with no place to go and no provision for shelter. The authorities have still not provided any resettlement options to the evicted.

It is being reported that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is planning to resettle people whose houses were demolished as part of the Mithi River Development plan in Mandala. This attempt to pitch the poor and displaced against one another is highly condemnable. The demolition is completely illegal, as the government has clearly stated in its affidavit to the High Court that Mandala is reserved for people whose homes were demolished during the 2004 - 2005 drive. Apart from this a Special Committee under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary of Maharashtra appointed by the High Court is still working on how affordable housing can be provided to all the slum dwellers without any reference to a cut-off date.

Background

In May 2004, the Congress Party, in its Manifesto, promised to regularise slums in Mumbai city built before the year 2000. However, in contravention of its Manifesto, the Mumbai government engaged in a massive demolition drive between November 2004 and March 2005 and destroyed an estimated 92,000 homes in 44 areas. A survey undertaken in order to identify those individuals and families who had settled prior to 2000, who are therefore eligible for protection in the event of future demolitions, has been abandoned half-way, while a government notification legalising slums prior to the year 2000 has yet to materialise.

Moreover, the government has embarked on a new urban renewal initiative known as “Operation Makeover,” which aims to free up public spaces for infrastructure projects including shopping malls and entertainment complexes. An estimated 5000 homes have been razed so far, with demolitions at present being undertaken in all 24 of Mumbai’s civic wards. This is part of the government’s goal to reduce the slum population of Mumbai from 60% to 20% as mentioned in the McKinsey? report for Bombay First (a coalition of builders, industrialists and city planners). The sacrifice of human rights of the poor for luxury schemes for the rich reflects a perverse and distorted paradigm of development. In the last two months, Mumbai has witnessed a fresh spate of brutal demolitions, generally accompanied by police violence and the use of force against residents. Until now, the city government has not provided any rehabilitation or alternative housing to any of the evicted. Mandala, the site of the present demolitions was earmarked as a rehabilitation site for those evicted in 2004 – ’05 but ironically, instead it has also become a site of eviction.

National and International Human Rights Law Violations

The demolition in Mandala is a blatant violation of the human right to adequate housing. These forced evictions without adequate rehabilitation violate the affected people’s fundamental right to life and livelihood as enshrined in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Reaffirming the principle of indivisibility of all human rights, the fundamental right to life encompasses the right to live with human dignity. Furthermore, Article 14 of the Constitution of India guarantees equal protection under law.

The demolition also contradicts the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s Common Minimum Programme (CMP), proposed in May 2004. The CMP specifically states: “Forced eviction and demolition of slums will be stopped and, while undertaking urban renewal, care will be taken to see that the urban and semi-urban poor are provided housing near their place of occupation.”

Besides contradicting the Common Minimum Programme, the actions against the people of Mandala constitute a violation of their basic human rights to life; security; health; work; and adequate housing; i.e., the right of all women, men and children to gain and sustain a secure place to live in peace and dignity. The authorities have especially violated people’s entitlements to security of tenure and freedom from forced evictions; access to, and benefit from public goods and services; information, capacity and capacity-building; participation and self-expression; rights to resettlement and adequate compensation for violations and losses; and physical security and privacy. All are elements of the human right to adequate housing as recognized in international law.

By these evictions, the Indian authorities, including the local authorities, have breached their treaty obligations under, inter alia, Articles 2, 11, 12, 13 and 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), to which India acceded in 1979. The State has been derelict in its obligations as elaborated in the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comments No. 4 on the right to adequate housing and No. 7 on forced evictions. The State of India also has contravened its obligations under Articles 16, 27 and 39 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which it acceded on 11 December 1992, and Article 14 of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which it ratified on 9 July 1993. The evictions also constitute a gross violation of the new Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing of the UN Commission on Human Rights.

Action Requested:

Please write to the authorities in India, urging them to respect their obligations under national and international law to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the human right to adequate housing by:

• Ending police terror in Mandala, and withdrawing police forces from the site immediately
  
• Instituting an independent enquiry committee to look into police atrocities
  
• Dropping all false charges against the arrested activists and releasing them immediately
  
• Stopping all demolitions till the committee adopted by the High Court on affordable housing comes out with a comprehensive housing policy
  
• Compensating people for the destruction of their homes and loss of their material and non-material goods
  
• Providing adequate alternative housing in the same area.
  

PLEASE SEND YOUR COMMUNICATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING RESPONSIBLE PARTIES:

Home Minister of Maharashtra

Mr. R.R. Patil
Telephone: +91 (0) 22 -2202-2401, 2202-5014
Fax: + (91) (0) 22- 2202- 4873
Email: DeputyChiefMinister@maharashtra.gov.in
mailto:DeputyChiefMinister@maharashtra.gov.in

Chief Minister of Maharashtra

Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh

Fax: +91 (0)22- 2202-9214 / 2363-1446
Phone: +91 (0) 22- 2363 4950
Email: chiefminister@maharashtra.gov.in
mailto:chiefminister@maharashtra.gov.in

Prime Minister of India
Shri Manmohan Singh
7, Race Course Road
New Delhi 110 001

Fax: +91 (0)11 2301-6857 / 9545 (PM Office)
Tel: +91 (0)11 2301-8668 / 2312 / 8939 (Office);

+91 (0)11 2301-6996 (Joint Secretary); +91 (0)11 2301-8939 (Personal Secretary)
Email: manmohan@sansad.nic.in mailto:manmohan@sansad.nic.in pmosb@pmo.nic.in mailto:pmosb@pmo.nic.in

President of India
Mr. APJ Abdul Kalam Azad
Rashtrapati Bhawan
New Delhi 110001
Fax: +91 (0)11 2301-7290; +91 (0)11 2301-7824

Private Secretary of the President: Tel: +91-11- 2301- 3172, Fax: 2301-1689

Tel: +91 (0)11 2301-4930; Ext 4211, 4400, 4260 (Secretary of the President)

Email: presidentofindia@rb.nic.in mailto:presidentofindia@rb.nic.in

President of Congress Party

Mrs. Sonia Gandhi
10, Janpath
New Delhi – 110 001
Fax : +91 (0)11 2301-8651
Tel: +91 (0)11 2301-9080 / 2379-2263
Email: soniagandhi@sansad.nic.in mailto:soniagandhi@sansad.nic.in

Minister for Urban Development
Mr. Jaipal Reddy
Nirman Bhawan
New Delhi 110001
Fax: +91 (0)11 2306-2089
Tel: +91 (0)11 2306-1162

Please see the attached sample letter. Kindly inform HIC-HLRN at urgentactions@hlrn.org mailto:urgentactions@hlrn.org and schaudhry@hic-sarp.org mailto:schaudhry@hic-sarp.org of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal. Thank you.

• 
  

Sample Letter

Dear Madam/ Sir:

Habitat International Coalition - Housing and Land Rights Network (HIC-HLRN) has informed us that, on the morning of 9 May 2006, police along with local government authorities brutally demolished and set fire to 5000 houses in Mandala in Mumbai.

A police force of around 500 – 700 along with Mumbai Collectorate officials and 6-7 bulldozers demolished about 5000 houses in the slum communities of Indira Nagar and Janata Nagar in Mandala, near Mankurd in Mumbai. Those houses which were not demolished, were set on fire. What is horrifying is that the fire continued burning for several hours while most fire brigade personnel stood as passive viewers to the blaze, doing nothing to extinguish the fire. We are shocked to learn that police engaged in a massive and brutal “lathi charge” in Mandala in which people were beaten and dragged from the demolished site, and their cooking utensils and personal belongings were destroyed. Three people were badly injured and admitted to the Satabti hospital. Shamin Banu who had a miscarriage after policewomen hit her in the stomach, is recovering in the Sion hospital. She lost consciousness after being beaten up and suffered severe bleeding. In all, forty people sustained injuries in the demolition and fire.

What is equally disturbing are reports that police ordered the nearby government hospitals, including Satabti hospital, not to admit anyone from the slum, nor to give them case papers as these medical records could be used against the police as a proof of injury due to violence. The lack of cooperation from hospital staff only reveals the tyranny of the police.

While the residents of Indira Nagar were only given a 12-hour notice of the demolition, those living in Janata Nagar had no prior notification or information of the demolition and were taken completely unaware.

In its wave of oppressive action, the police arrested 5 men and 3 women from the site. Aisha Bi, an activist from Mandala, was arrested from inside her house. The police took the activists to the Govandi Police station where they abused and beat them, while handcuffing some of them. The activists have been charged with attempt to murder under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code, which is a non-bailable offence, and are currently in jail.

Police officials are also roaming in nearby slums and threatening people not to give food or shelter to the evicted people. Instances of abuse by intoxicated policemen at night have also been reported.

A large police force is still present at the site and people face constant threats of arrest and further eviction. People are out in the open with their belongings that they managed to salvage from the demolished site. From latest reports received, the police are fencing the demolition site with barbed wire, and have removed all those people who had set up temporary structures for shade. Women and children are now sitting under the scorching sun with no place to go and no provision for alternate housing. The authorities have still not provided any resettlement options to the evicted. The demolition is completely illegal as the government has clearly stated in its affidavit to the High Court that Mandala is reserved for people whose homes were demolished during the 2004 - 2005 drive. Apart from this, a Special Committee under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary of Maharashtra appointed by the High Court is still working on how affordable housing can be provided to all the slum dwellers without any reference to a cut-off date. The irony is that the houses burnt down and demolished were situated on land allotted for rehabilitation of those evicted in prior demolitions by the Government of Maharashtra.

National and International Human Rights Law Violations

The demolition in Mandala is a blatant violation of the human right to adequate housing. These forced evictions without adequate rehabilitation violate the affected people’s fundamental right to life and livelihood as enshrined in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Reaffirming the principle of indivisibility of all human rights, the fundamental right to life encompasses the right to live with human dignity. Furthermore, Article 14 of the Constitution of India guarantees equal protection under law.[1] mhtml:mid://00000362/#_ftn1

The demolition also contradicts the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of May 2004. The CMP specifically states: “Forced eviction and demolition of slums will be stopped and, while undertaking urban renewal, care will be taken to see that the urban and semi-urban poor are provided housing near their place of occupation.”

Besides contradicting the Common Minimum Programme, the actions against the people of Mandala constitute a violation of their basic human rights to life; security; health; work; and adequate housing; i.e., the right of all women, men and children to gain and sustain a secure place to live in peace and dignity. The authorities have especially violated people’s entitlements to security of tenure and freedom from forced evictions; access to, and benefit from public goods and services; information, capacity and capacity-building; participation and self-expression; rights to resettlement and adequate compensation for violations and losses; and physical security and privacy. All are elements of the human right to adequate housing as recognized in international law.

By these evictions, the Indian authorities, including the local authorities, have breached their treaty obligations under, inter alia, Articles 2, 11, 12, 13 and 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), to which India acceded in 1979. The State has been derelict in its obligations as elaborated in the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comments No. 4 on the right to adequate housing and No. 7 on forced evictions. The State of India also has contravened its obligations under Articles 16, 27 and 39 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which it acceded on 11 December 1992, and Article 14 of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which it ratified on 9 July 1993. The evictions also constitute a gross violation of the new Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing of the UN Commission on Human Rights.

We are deeply concerned about the plight of the evicted families who are currently on the streets without any adequate housing and nowhere to go. We await your humane and timely intervention to restore the violated human rights of the affected.

We urge you to respect India’s obligations under national and international law to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the human right to adequate housing by:

• Ending police terror in Mandala, and withdrawing police forces from the site immediately
  
• Instituting an independent enquiry committee to look into police atrocities
  
• Dropping all false charges against the arrested and releasing them immediately
  
• Stopping all demolitions till the committee adopted by the High Court on affordable housing comes out with a comprehensive housing policy
  
• Compensating people for the destruction of their homes and loss of their material and non-material goods
  
• Providing adequate alternative housing in the same area
  

Thank you in advance for your attention to this serious matter. We look forward to hearing from you about your remedial actions in response.

Respectfully,

[Signed]

Name and Organisation

Location

---

[1] mhtml:mid://00000362/#_ftnref1 The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or equal protection of the laws within India.

---

[6]

On 19.5.06 12:20 pm, "Hazards Centre" wrote:
Here is Sajha Manch update (4) :

SAJHA MANCH UPDATE (4)

Evictions

The last update (3) of April 24 had given some news of the unsuccessful efforts by the Manch to stave off demolitions in various parts of Delhi. Since then, the two settlements in Vikaspuri have been demolished on May 4. On May 2, there was a pause when a petition filed on behalf of the Nagla Machi residents by Prashant Bhushan managed to obtain a stay order from the Supreme Court on the grounds of inadequate resettlement facilities, but this petition was subsequently dismissed on May 9. Prashant Bhushan meanwhile filed another petition on behalf of Sajha Manch on May 8 and this came up for hearing on May 12, which was also dismissed without any reason being given by the four Judges on the Bench. The heartening news is the militant struggle launched by the residents of Kalkaji Transit Camp, who were successful in sending the bulldozers back twice with the assistance of the activists of the Lok Raj Sangathan, on May 9 and May 16. While the sword of eviction still looms large over the settlement, these people have shown how to resist demolitions on the ground.

Sajha Manch continues to pursue its various efforts. A recent listing indicates that as many as 150 slum clusters may have been demolished in the last five years in Delhi, affecting almost 1 lakh families. Members of the Manch have been regularly documenting the appalling conditions in the demolished areas and the resettlement colonies of Banuwal Nagar, Bhatti Mines, Vikaspuri, Yamuna Pushta, and Bawana. Some of these surveys have been used to pressure the authorities into providing some of the basic minimum facilities. On May 4, the evicted residents of Mandawli laid siege to the DDA office from 11 in the morning until 7.30 in the evening to finally obtain the demand letters. A joint appeal made by the Lok Chetna Manch and the Sajha Manch to the Registrar of the National Human Rights Commission on May 16 has only been met with the bland assurance that the matter will be put before the next meeting of the full Commission.

The other development is that the UPA Government has finally introduced a Bill in Parliament on May 12 seeking a moratorium on demolitions for a year until the new Master Plan is in place with mixed land use provisions. While this Bill has mainly been the outcome of the agitation by traders and shopkeepers, it also contains provisions for the protection of slums and vendors and hawkers. This has clearly been in response to the sustained pressure by organisations representing these sections, including the Sajha Manch. This is indicated by the fact that the Government itself has begun using the arguments advanced by the Manch for some years now, regarding the failure of the authorities to provide the required space for shelter, commercial and manufacturing activities, and the informal sector. However, there are several shortcomings in the Bill with regard to slums on land required for public projects still being vulnerable, relocation in multi-storied buildings, zoning of vendors and hawkers, and unwarranted references to migration and the shortage of land. The Manch has written to the Ministry protesting against these provisions.

Policy

As reported earlier, the Sajha Manch had been invited by the Minister of Urban Development to suggest another Bill on the Right to Shelter. A draft has been prepared by Hazards Centre and it was circulated widely for comments at the end of April. Several comments have been received and the draft is being revised. A proposed National Campaign on this Bill should, therefore, not only address the concerns of the Delhi slums, but of urban and rural settlements facing eviction everywhere.

The Manch also deposed before the Tejinder Khanna Committee on April 30 providing arguments about how the poor were being victimised for the failure of the government agencies. This argument was received very well and the Khanna Committee is likely to ask for a revision of the Draft Master Plan 2021 with much greater public participation. Thus, the Plan will now be open to public hearings once again. NIUA has already been asked to review the Plan and the Manch is now preparing to submit its comments and objections afresh to NIUA. However, we shall have to wait for the Committee report to be made public to give more detailed comments because what has been revealed in the media so far only concerns the categorisation of land-use provisions in the built-up colonies.

In this context it is also important to note that the NIUA has been coordinating a UNDP project on Strategising for Livelihoods for the Urban Poor, and the Sajha Manch is one of the partners in this project. For over one year now the Manch has been trying to persuade the NIUA as well as the partner NGOs that the project is not one of service delivery (as implemented by the Delhi Government and NIUA) but of developing adequate policy instruments. This effort finally yielded some success when at the Coordinating Committee meeting (this Committee was also set up at the initiative of the Manch) on May 1, the policy argument was accepted and the Manch has now taken up the responsibility of guiding the research component in the project. In addition, at its monthly meeting on May 13, the Manch decided to focus on a rehabilitation policy for Bawana, where many of the evicted people have been relocated.

Middle-class Activism

There is no end to the activities of the Courts in leading the charge against the poor. The recent judgement in the Narmada case once again reinforces this view. At a very well attended public meeting called by the Hazards Centre at ISI on May17, attended by several organisations in the city, it was decided to plan for a protest against the Court’s attitude, to launch a signature campaign, and coordinate mass actions in different locations across the city.

An interesting development though, that has come about is that the Supreme Court has now asked the DDA to notify the nine missing Zonal Plans – a demand that the Manch raised over a year ago. The Court, of course, has issued the direction in pursuit of its objective to make the agencies conform to the land use provisions of the 2001 Master Plan, while the Government wants to orient the Zonal Plans to the mixed-use provisions of the 2021 Draft Master Plan. However, this provides an opportunity to enlarge the debate on the planning of the city and the role of the courts.

That this debate is broadening is clearly evident from different activities in the last few weeks. Thus, the WWF organised an animated discussion with students on the Commonwealth Games on April 21. The NGOs associated with the UNDP project have also begun debating the merits of the planning process, and its anti-poor bias. At a discussion on public participation in planning organised by the DUAC on May 3, there was aggressive hostility to the concerns of the poor displayed by a couple of RWA representatives, but they were shouted down by a very large section of the (middle-class) audience. Similar appreciation and concerns were evident at the Breakfast Cub meeting at the IHC on May 6, as well as at a public meeting on evictions organised by Jagori on May 9, and a seminar organised by Centre for Civil Society at IIC on May 15. There is, therefore, a greater need to intensify the efforts to build larger alliances with all sections of society to oppose this era of a global attack on democracy.

Sajha Manch

---

[7] URJA SUPPORTS STUDENTS’ DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST OBC RESERVATIONS

[Explanatory note, CACIM, for those not so familiar with conditions in Delhi or India : This posting is further to the posting on URJA in the last issue of CDDB, 36, as further information on URJA (United Residents' Joint Action, a body in Delhi that is bringing together RWAs (Resident Welfare Associations) from all over Delhi. See CDDB 36 for some more detail.

[As perhaps everyone knows, India still deeply suffers from casteism and caste-based discrimination. To offset this massive structural disadvantage, post-independence India has a long tradition of a ‘reservations’ policy, or affirmative action / positive discrimination towards dalits (‘Scheduled Castes’), Adivasis (‘Scheduled Tribes’), and more recently also the OBCs (Other Backward Castes). The government of India has recently introduced a new amendment to existing laws, to reserve a certain proportion of places in ‘premier universities’ and other institutions under central government-managed professional institutions) for OBCs. This follows implementation of the Mandal Commission’s Report back in 1989, which was when reservations for OBCs was first recommended – and which was militantly resisted by middle- and upper caste youth. Now, 17 years later, certain sections of the middle- and upper castes, at this point led by medical students, have again come out strongly against this new policy. The relevance of this posting for CDDB is that it tells us something more about URJA since it – or at least, its Convenor - has now come out in support of the students’ demonstration. This action, the combination of civil entities that are coming together on this action, and the announcement of support to this agitation by the RWAs and this major emerging urban coalition, is significant :]

On 19.5.06 6:37am, "promodchawla" wrote:
Do not rest until you have forwarded this to at least 50 people please!
Major request. Above all, please show solidarity and be there.
Let's walk the talk.

You can reach US at
unitedstudents.india@gmail.com or call :
Aditya Raj 9873297834; Dhruv 9818291909; Anchal 9899942321; Ambuj 9313117010; Devika Malik 9891222630; Honey Arun 9818562417; Karan 9871807378; Shikha 9891333730; Aaditya 9810215675
~~---~~--~--~-~~----~

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "URJA DELHI" group. To post to this group, send email to urjadelhi@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to urjadelhi-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/urjadelhi

---

[7] NEWS FROM SOUTH AFRICA : SMASH THE SHACKS TO SAVE US FROM THE PLAGUE

On 18.5.06 5:38 pm, "Richard Pithouse" wrote:

Two articles from yesterday's Daily News are pasted in below. In the first one the spokesperson for the eThekwini council, Vernon Mchunu, says that rats are carrying terrible diseases in Cato Manor, including the plague, and that council will respond by teaching shack dwellers how to be clean and by clearing slums. Of course this discourse is precisely, and I do mean precisely, the same as that used under apartheid and colonialism to justify previous state attacks on Umkumbane (Cato Manor). Of course the reason why settlements are dangerously unhealthy spaces is because the council refuses to provide decent sanitation and water or any refuse collection. This strategy of forcing people into dangerous squalor by withholding, and even withdrawing basic services, shooting at them when they ask for decent services, then blaming them for the unhygenic conditions, and then violently destroying their homes and communities to 'get rid of unhygenic conditions', seems to have a long term political utility.....

And then, below that, is a press release run as an article, in which Shackdwellers' International and its new attempt at a simulated social movement FedUp? are presented as the good 'civil society' partner (as opposed to Abahlali of course). Shackdwellers' International has an interesting history. In Robert Neuwirth's new book on shack settlements, Shadow Cities, he explains that it began as a radical movement in Bombay in the 70s (blocking roads, locking municipal officials in the toilets they expect shack dwellers to use etc) but then become an authoritarian top down rich global NGO that works with the UN's Habitat to offer the illusion of legitimacy to governments. It has, no doubt in exchange for its generous funding, provided this service to governments looking to have a civil partner to legitimate forced removals all over the world. Earlier this year it issued a statement lauding the eThekwini Municipality's policy and practice on shack settlements. Habitat is no better. It's plush headquarters are in Nairobi, far from the horendous and rapidly worsening conditions in Kibira settlement and Habitat's pilot project in Soweto Village, Kibira has been a total disaster. The eThekwini officials are aways going to Nairobi to be trained. The results, thus far, are a constantly escalating oppression of shack dwellers and an increasingly militaristic discourse around getting their own red ants to 'clear the slums' by 2010.

I'm only a third of the way through Mike Davis' new book, Planet of the Slums, so I might have to eat my words if he pulls something out of the hat further on, but so far he uncritically lauds Habitat. What kind of pseudo leftist declares that there is no left in the slums and then lauds Habitat (which works to produce co-opted pseudo movements to legitimate repressive governments and so shut out real poor people's movements of which there are many in settlements around the world) as being the inheritor of the tradition begun by Engles.....? Sectarianism is stupid but allowing people like Davis to present this kind of crap as 'left' is even more stupid. Since when do leftists draw their conclusions on World Bank and UN studies without reference to what people resisting the UN and World Bank and the governments they work with think....?

Richard

Rats infest Cato Manor

By Bongani Mthembu http://www.dailynews.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=500&fArticleId=3249682

A recent study conducted by the eThekwini municipality's communicable diseases unit has revealed that rats in Durban's Cato Manor settlement have two potentially fatal diseases which are easily transmitted to humans.

The findings of the Natural Sciences Museum's research are not being taken lightly. According to the head of the communicable diseases unit, Dr Ayo Olowolagba, plague, leptospirosis and poxoplasmosis were the three diseases that were usually found in rats.

He said, however, that only leptospirosis and poxoplasmosis were detected during the research. Olowolagba said it was extremely difficult to diagnose the three diseases as their symptoms were similar to those of the flu and needed to be tested in a special laboratory in order to be detected.

The findings of the study have prompted council to distribute rat traps to residents in areas identified as being prone to rat infestation before the problem spreads to other parts of Durban.

"We are very concerned about the problem because many rats that we caught had the diseases. The good news is that people who were found with the diseases have never been sick. We believe those who came into contact with the rats had immune systems that were strong enough to quell any infections," said Olowolagba.

Council spokesman Vernon Mchunu said the extent of the health problem caused by the rats had raised serious challenges for the municipality which wants to curb the problem before it escalates.

"Council officials' visits to the area have resulted in the development of the Cato Manor beautification campaign which is comprised of various elements such as sensitising residents about the need to keep the community clean," he said. Mchunu added that council also wanted to ensure that wild cats which fed on rats were prevented from coming into contact with humans.

"One of the identified causes for the prevalence and increase in the number of rats in the area is the amount of litter and rubbish dumps. We want to make sure the whole area is cleaned and that we continue to clear slums so that rats will not have dirty places to breed," he said.

Mchunu said an educational door-to-door campaign dealing with environmental health, waste disposal, sanitation, rats and remedies to deal with related problems would be launched soon. Mchunu said 20 people had been recruited from the area to assist in the campaign.

Shack dwellers are Fed up

Published on the web by Daily News on May 17, 2006 : http://www.dailynews.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=500&fArticleId=3249978

Rose Molokoane knows the plight of shack dwellers and is fed up. It's not that she is disgruntled with life.
In fact, as an activist of Fedup (short for Federation of the Urban Poor) she's quite optimistic about the future as long as we have proper plans.

Molokoane is one of those involved in the organisation of the International Slumdwellers Conference being hosted by the Shackdwellers International network and sponsored by the Department of Housing.

Starting in Cape Town on May 19, the conference will bring together 200 slumdwellers, government officials and NGO staff from 15 countries and the United Nations.

The keynote address at this gathering of residents of slums and informal settlements, as well as delegates from Africa, Asia and Latin America, will be Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.

Molokoane, a recipient of the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour, said in most countries slums or informal settlements and slumdwellers were regarded as problems to be dealt with as part of top-down urban planning and housing delivery.

"We are not seen as citizens of the city. Slumdwellers' own ideas and capacities are ignored, and our survival strategies are criminalised. Governments tend to try to deal with us via local politicians such as councillors, who often have divided interests.

"But we slumdwellers have our own organisations, such as Fedup, that provide a way to interact with us more effectively. As long as government is willing to form real partnerships with us, listen to us, and incorporate our ideas and capacities into the development of cities, then problems like we have seen in SA can be avoided and we slumdwellers can get the cities we want and need."

The purpose of the conference, she said, was to showcase examples of such partnerships between organised slumdwellers and governments in the developing world.

One such example is the Municipal Urban Transport Programme of Mumbai, India, where the National Slumdwellers Federation of India and the government of Mumbai and Maharashtra state formed a partnership to relocate and house tens of thousands of slumdwellers from areas to be affected by new transport routes. The importance of the event is shown by the fact that housing ministers and senior government officials from Argentina. Brazil, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe will attend.

http://www.ukzn.ac.za/ccs
Please find our disclaimer at http://www.ukzn.ac.za/disclaimer
DEBATE mailing list
DEBATE@lists.kabissa.org
http://lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/debate