* DOCUMENT : 9

Beyond the Beaten Track

THE MUMBAI URBAN Transport Project (MUTP) was designed toimprove Mumbai’s traffic and transportation system. It involves many agencies,including the government of Maharashtra and the Indian Railways (a national government agency) who share the cost between them, the municipal corporation of Greater Mumbai and the Brihan Mumbai Electric Supply Undertaking. The project cost is over Rs 7,000 crores (around US$ 175 million) and includes funding from a World Bank loan of Rs 2,300 crores (around US$ 57.5 million).

The project is underway and includes the laying of new railway lines, the extension of station platforms (to allow longer trains), the removal of road crossings, station improvements and the resettlement of households living within 10 metres (30 feet) of the tracks. This should allow an increase in rail capacity of up to 35 per cent (through higher train frequency during peak hours), a reduction in journey times and improvements in the flow of passengers and vehicles in and around selected stations. These measures are also far cheaper than laying new tracks. However, to achieve this, some 15,000 households living along the tracks and some 4,000 living around the stations first had to be moved.

LONG BEFORE THIS project to improve the railways and resettle people from along the tracks was developed, the Railway Slum Dwellers Federation had collected data about the settlements along the tracks, mapped them, set up women’s savings and credit groups and supported the formation of housing cooperative societies. This was not just to collect data but also as a means of community mobilization.

The Alliance also managed the resettling of some 900 families in 1999 when the Indian Railways wanted a piece of land cleared urgently. The families were resettled to Kanjur Marg in temporary one-room (120 square foot/11.1 square metre) dwellings with electricity and communal provision for water and sanitation, while permanent apartments measuring 225 square feet (20.9 square metres) in multi-storey buildings were to be constructed. Again, the resettlement was greatly facilitated by the fact that those who were moved already had strong well-established community organizations.

IN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001, the Alliance had to cope with an unexpected eviction: the Indian Railways demolished over 2,000 huts along the Harbour railway line – which was against state government policy and against the stipulations of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project. The Federation responded by mobilizing thousands of its members to shut down the city's railway system. The Railways claimed that they were clearing illegal structures that had been built after January 1, 1995 – as a state law decrees that no slum dwelling constructed before this date may be demolished without alternative land being provided. It took five days before the demolitionscould be halted. Staff from the National Slum Dwellers Federation and SPARC had tried to stop the demolitions by being present on site, but

the Indian Railways simply concentrated on demolitions wherever and whenever Federation leaders or government officials were absent. The next day, at an emergency meeting convened by the state chief secretary, the state government decreed that all demolitions must stop. Land sites were identified to accommodate the evicted households and the National Slum Dwellers Federation was given the responsibility for managing the resettlement and overseeing the construction of formal housing.

AROUND 60,000 PEOPLE were resettled in just over a year without any municipal or police force, although the need for rapid implementation meant that it was not possible to have permanent accommodation ready for all those who moved. The 60,000 people who moved now live in secure, better-quality accommodation with provision for piped water, sanitation and electricity. As a consequence of the resettlement, more trains are running on the same tracks and at greater speeds. Travelling times have been reduced and the rail system’s performance improved.