Slum Resettlement to the Margins: Increasing the Deprivation of the Poor and Impeding the Resilience of the City

Abstract

Any involuntary movement of people entails a variety of impoverishment risks for the displaced population. This includes landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, marginalisation, increased morbidity, food insecurity, loss of access to common property, and social disarticulation (Cernea in Economic and Political Weekly 35(41):3659–3678, 2000). Displacement of people in Indian cities has been likened to a type of “cosmetic surgery” (some aspect of the city life looks ugly; remove it!) and not as an instrument of positive change. Even now “resettlement ” is often a euphemism for relocation in various policy documents. Especially in the case of displacement in Indian cities, removal of people from the project area is seen as the end of the resettlement exercise. No attempts are made to include the displaced communities into the mainstream population. This is an impediment to the growth of resilient cities. Resettlement in Delhi has always been in areas of deprivation . To understand this is the task of the present study. For analysis and fostering understanding, a chronological history of resettlement in Delhi is also traced. The study used an empirical approach to the problem, and questionnaire-based field surveys were undertaken at three resettlement colonies: Bawana, Bhalsawa, and Tikri Khurd. In addition, focus-group discussions and timeline studies were also undertaken. Various secondary sources, such as Slum Wing, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Reports, and Census of India Reports, were also studied. This study brings forth the multitude of deprivations faced by the resettled population because of slum displacement . It also further reiterates the fact that resettlement has been to marginal locations that have disadvantages because they are located in vulnerable locations.