Dalit Slum Dwellers Have Been Integral to the History of Noida
by Johny K D
The proliferation of slums was generally tolerated throughout the 20th century, as slums provided a low-cost solution to the housing needs of the city’s growing industrial workforce (Census 2011). India’s major cities constitute a majority share of total slums in the global south (UN Habitat Report 2003). However, what is less often discussed is that the identity of the informal proletariat in these slums has a link to caste as well as class. Here, I will attempt trace the history of slum dwellers, their contribution to the city of Noida and challenges before them today.
Noida city is part of the National Capital Region (NCR) of India and is less than 25 km from New Delhi the national capital. The majority of the population of Noida’s slums are Dalits, (Thorat 2009). In fact, as per Centre Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and other peoples’ groups working here, the Dalit population could be more than 70% of the total slum population. Many of these people are migrated workers from states around Delhi like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand. Many came here as early as the year 1976, when Noida city was established.
Originally, Noida was created as a planned industrial town housing small-scale industries. The city planners in Delhi hoped to outskirt these industries and direct migrant populations of workers away from Delhi. Today, many of these migrant workers are employed in food textiles, timber paper, chemicals, automotive and metal industries in Noida.
Noida today is a rich city. It collects a revenue of around 40–50 billion INR or 530 million USD, every year. Its considered one of the best cities to live in and ABP News even ranked it “Best City for Housing” in 2015.
But how does Noida come into so much wealth? A huge reason for this development has been the cheap labour provided by Dalit slum dwellers that have helped industries here earn and maintain their high profit margins. It is because the slum settlements are located near the factories, the labour prices are low. In other words, if Noida didn’t allow these slum localities to be established, then the labour would have been expensive for the factories. Labourers might have to travel from villages up to 25 km away everyday to fill these roles. As a result, profits for the companies could have remained limited and subsequent taxes to the government could have also remained low. So the prosperity that Noida city earned in these 3–4 decades should be accrued to the cheap labour provided by Dalit slum dwellers in the region.
Seeing how crucial their contribution to the region has been, Dalit slum dwellers deserve better treatment. Instead, they are seen as illegal occupiers. Indeed, as the city moves towards further development, the state begins to consider shifting the slum population. The original lands in which they settled have now become prime industrial lands. And so a full plan for displacement of these peoples is underway, (under the name rehabilitation) in which Dalit slum dwellers have to leave their lands and move to tiny, cheaply built, matchbox apartments farther away.
As per the 2011 census, Noida’s slums are home to nearly 11,500 households . However, in the last 10 years, the slum household number has increased quite a bit. As per CITU and other peoples’ groups, the number of households in Noida slums, at present, could be well over 30,000 households. Noida city as part of its rehabilitation scheme is shifting slum households to 31 sq. metres 1 bedroom apartments.
Several important points are missed by Noida city while formulating the rehabilitation scheme. No other factors like, increasing education levels and skills, access to proper health services, ensuring livelihood, or ensuring a living wage were taken into account. In fact, Noida has chosen to take an altogether ignorant approach toward the socio-economic needs of the slum dwellers.
Mohan, a Dalit resident in Noida slum, says:
“Slum residents actually have to give around INR 700,000 (USD 9300) to the Noida Authority to get the 1 bedroom flat at a location which is around 10 km away from the present location of our slums. As part of the scheme, the person has to pay around INR 1,10,000 (USD 1460) as the initial amount to do the formalities of registration and pay other official fees. The rest is to be paid in instalments. In addition to this amount, at least INR 30,000 to 40,000 (USD 390–530) would also be required to renovate the flats. The renovation is required because these flats were built around 10–12 years ago and are in extremely poor condition. Please consider that our current wage levels are as low as INR 7000 /month (USD 93). With this amount we have to cover the expenses of food, health, education and others for our families. With such income levels, a person can survive in a slum locality only. How can poor people like us pay these amounts that are asked of us?”
Sunil, a Dalit worker who has been “rehabilitated” quoted with pain:
“Adjusting in a 31 sq. metre 1 bedroom flat is difficult for a family of around 10 members. In these 3–4 decades of stay, many slum dwellers have extended their families to 2–3 generations. Hence, the majority of households in slums have more than 10 family members. On the plot of land in a slum locality, they could even build 2–3 storey accommodation. Thus they could adjust on a small patch of land which could be as small as 20–25 sq. metres. Now it is unfair to expect that these 10–15 member families can adjust in 2 small rooms. They will not have an option to build multiple storey rooms as they are not being given a plot of land. In Indian tradition, the father-in-law is not expected to sleep near the daughter-in-law. It would be difficult for them to adjust in 2 small rooms where people from all 3 generations will be living. Many elderly slum dwellers will not have any other option but to live on rent or the streets. This may increase the number of elderly destitute.” Sunil adds “don’t forget, the material used in the construction of the building is of extremely poor quality too””.
But slum-dwellers are relatively well-organized and continuee fight back against these forms of exploitation. In one people’s group meeting attended a list of demands was drawn up and it included the following:
- Government should make the slum dwellers of Noida, a stakeholder in preparing a rehabilitation scheme for the slum dwellers. This way the government will get real insights into the needs of the slum dwellers.
- Refunding the whole amount that the slum dwellers have paid for the allotted flat. Moreover, the government should not take the monthly instalment of ₹2000 to 2500 from slum dwellers, which the slum dwellers are required to pay for 20 years.
- A plot of land should be given to the slum dwellers on the same site. If due to valid reasons, a plot of land cannot be given on the slum settlement site, then the government should pay equivalent compensation to the slum dwellers. This will help them build decent houses for themselves
Along with fulfilling the above demands, Noida’s Rehabilitation scheme could be made meaningful to slum dwellers by bringing several changes in the scheme, like -
1) Legitimate Status over the land in a slum area — The Slum Improvement Programme (1972) was an important step for the reason that it recognized, for the first time, that the slum dweller had a legitimate status i.e. right to acquire land in slum areas (Chatterji 2005).
2) Residential structures on the same site — in this direction Prime Minister’s Grant Project (PMGP) 1985 was the first scheme that considered the construction of new residential structures on the same site where they had squatted (Chatterji 2005). Further PMGP allowed housing societies of the slum communities to appoint their architects who would be accountable to them.
3) Ensuring at least 50 % of the jobs to slum dwellers in the upcoming development projects at the new sites where slums are situated would ensure decent living for thousands of households in slum settlements. In 2007, the CM of Maharashtra announced that one member from each worker’s family would be ensured employment in the new businesses opened on the site (Weinstein and Xuefei 2009). Along the same lines, jobs can be ensured for each household in the slums of Noida.
Finally, it can be said that in cities, across India, it is the slum population whose labour is used by cities till the time of need. Once that is over, it seems, the people providing them are seen as disposable. After realising that slum land has become a highly valued land, these people are thrown into some inhumanely built structures or given cheaper land at faraway places where they face several problems. Slum-dwellers have to organise, come together and assert their demands on the government. Without voicing their needs and demands, the poor have very less scope for getting justice. Hence, I would like to end this article with Babasaheb Ambedkar’s popular commandment which is perfectly relevant for the slum dwellers of Noida — “Educate, Organize and Agitate”.
Johny K D is a Project Monitoring Unit Official at the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, GoI and based in Delhi/NCR region. His research interests are Labour, Dalits, Slums, Education and Public Policy
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