Nearly 15 per cent of the population of Odisha lives in urban areas which is the lowest among the major States in the country. With growing urbanization people from rural areas are migrating to cities in search of livelihood. Every year their number has been increasing which demand habitations with basic infrastructure. The increasing urban homelessness, poverty and poor quality of living of people in slums have been a matter of concern for inclusive urban development.
The special commissioner on homeless appointed by the Supreme Court in its report estimated that at least one per cent of the population of cities is homeless. There are people living in temporary structures without roof and wall under plastic sheets, tarpaulins and thatched roofs in railway stations, bus stands, garbage-dumping yards and at the extreme end of the colonies by waste pits and nalas in the city.
Natural calamities like cyclone and heavy rain often batter the structures and temporary houses in slums. About 162 slums in Brahmapur were devastated by Phailin which made thousands of families homeless.lack of proper shelter further worsens the condition of the poor by affecting their livelihood, health and security of women, children and elders. The urban poor constitute one fourth of the total poor of the country and the number has been increasing. House is a fundamental need of human being, but the poor always struggle to get it. The people of lower income group and economically weaker section always struggle to have a house in the absence of land and finance. The land price is very high in urban areas as well as the cost of building materials which is just impossible for urban poor household with an average income of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) defines economically weaker section (EWS), and lower Income Group (lIG) in the range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 per month. The Government of Odisha in its scheme for affordable urban housing in 2012 has resolved the income criteria as Rs 7,500 per month for EWS category and between Rs 7,501 to Rs 15,000 per month under lIG category.
The urban population of the State lives in three municipal corporations, 37 municipalities and 63 NACs. About 26 per cent of the urban population lives in the three corporations and 50 per cent live in municipalities and 24 per cent in NACs.
As per Census, 2011, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has a population of more than eight lakhs, out of which more than three lakh people are living in slums. It has 67 wards and 46 revenue villages having homestead land less families. The State Housing and Urban Development department report on urban sanitation strategy, 2011 says 40 per cent of the urban household does not have access to toilets and the situation is worse in slums. Socially disadvantageous groups have poorer access; 67 per cent of SC and 73per cent of ST households do not have access to toilets. The people from economically weaker section are mostly self- employed and engaged as service providers in city. They do the most necessary job every day at a lowest wage in comparison to the others salary groups in the city.
The Safai karmacharies, domestic helpers, people in saloons and laundries, transporters, pavement vendors and many others are part of an urban life. The Safai karmacharies are in the lowest ladder of sanitary management who keep the city clean and healthy. Ambedker Safai Karmachari Sangha, Bhubaneswar, has a membership of 800 sanitary workers which include sweepers, sweepresses and anti-larva workers who are directly employed by BMC and there are about 5,000 Safai karmacharies engaged by private contractors in sanitary work of the city. Their working conditions, occupational health hazards, safety, working hour, wage, social security issues and housing needs have not been addressed adequately by the urban authority.
Many years back, they had migrated from different areas like Nayagarh, Cuttack, Khurda and Jagatsinghpur to provide service to the urban people and settled here since generations without a permanent house.
They get a daily wage of Rs170 from the BMC. Which has been further reduced due to privatization. At Kedarpalli, PHD and Jharanabasti slums in word no 53, about 7,000 scavenger population has been residing for last fifty years but the land has not been recorded in the name of the inhabitants. They have been living with the threat of eviction. Similarly in places like Jharapada, Patharbandha, Patia, Kapileswar, Nayapalli and Sundarpada, the number of sanitary workers living in temporary thatched houses is high. A majority of them are illiterate and engaged in the occupation since generations. They cannot purchase land and construct house with their minimum income which is also otherwise just insufficient to live a life in the city.
The urban poor cannot compete in the housing market controlled by builders. No bank is willing to lend a housing loan to the poor who cannot mortgage asset or submit a regular income and salary certificate as guaranty. Therefore, they are in need of Government support to build their house for a dignified life.
Right to housing/shelter is human right as recognized by Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 11(1) of International Covenants on Civil, Economic and Socio –cultural Rights. The Constitution speaks about housing rights. Many State Governments have enacted laws in this regard. The National Rights to Homestead land Bill-1913 is about to be tabled in Parliament. Right to Shelter is a fundamental right, which springs from the Constitutional guarantee of the right to residence contained in Article-19(1) (e) which clearly lays down that one has the right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India. In PC Gupta V State of Gujarat, a bench of three Judges of Supreme Court held that right to residence and settlement is a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(e) and protection of life guaranteed by Article 21 encompasses within its ambit right to shelter to enjoy a meaningful right to life. Adequate housing is the right of every child, woman and man- everywhere.
Article 25.1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights thus proclaims: ‘‘Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”
The National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy 2007 made provisions of land reservation of 20 to 25per cent of developed land for the EWS and lIG in urban areas and the national shelter fund to help the poor for construction of house. It emphasizes on role of Government in social housing for people lacking affordability and helplessly kept out of urban land market. It further emphasizes for special effort to cater to the housing need of the SC, ST, OBC, minority, PWD, slum dwellers, street venders and other informal sector workers, women headed household, single women, working women and women in difficult circumstances. The policy guideline says that the State Government has to prepare a special action plan for urban poor and socially marginalized groups, who should not be geographically and socially segregated.
The MoHUPA has schemes like Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) earlier in the name of Valmiki-Ambedker Awas Yojana to ensure house for the urban poor in slums and provide them all basic amenities like drinking water, sanitation and all other facilities by integrating with other urban poverty alleviation and employment generating schemes. This has been implemented in six cities including Bhubaneswar, Brahmapur, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Cuttack and Puri at a very slow space. In spite of policy guidelines, schemes and programmes, the urban poor have been deprived up their fundamental rights due to lack of administrative and political commitment in the State and absence of organization of urban poor to raise the issue. In the last general elections, not a single political party had promised anything for urban poor in terms of housing.
(The writer is a rights activist, who can be contacted at ojaabbsr@gmail.com)