THE LAUNCH OF THE UNITED NATIONS CENTRE FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENTS (Habitat) GLOBAL CAMPAIGN FOR SECURE TENURE
MUMBAI, INDIA, 16-18 JULY 2000
1.0 Summary
The inaugural launch of the Global Campaign for Secure Tenure was held in Mumbai, India on Sunday 16 July, 2000. Superbly organized by the National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF), all three levels of Government were represented at senior levels. In addition to 3,000 slum dwellers from 23 Indian towns and cities, and slum dwellers from nine countries in Asia and Africa, these events were witnessed by representatives of the diplomatic community and international agencies.
The launch itself was followed by a two-day workshop which designed strategies to consolidate the launch and promote the Campaign in India, as well as in Southern and East Africa and South East Asia. A programme of launches is currently under preparation, signaling the beginning of Campaign activities around the world.
2.0 The National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF)
As has been reported previously, a preparatory meeting in Mumbai in April had identified a number of focal points for the Campaign in different parts of the world. The National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF) was identified as the focal point for India. Representing slum dwellers that are organised sectorally, such as pavement dwellers and railway dwellers, the NSDF organises its constituents around the principles and practice of mobilising savings, and the subsequent federating of networks.
The NSDF had undertaken to organise the first launch in Mumbai, a city of 12 million where 55% of the population lives in slums. In central Mumbai people live on the pavements and, more worryingly, along the railways lines "..within a handshake of the trains". The World Bank is currently financing the second phase of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project, known popularly as MUTP II, and had made clear that financing was conditional upon a rehabilitation programme for those living on the edge of the tracks. It was the Indian Railways decision to demolish some of these slums that lead to a confrontation in February 2000, which was resolved through the intervention of the NSDF, the Mumbai Slum Rehabiltation Authority (SRA) and state Government of Maharashtra.
Through these interventions, the railway slum dwellers organised by the NSDF voluntarily dismantled their own shacks, and moved to a transit area pending resettlement. For UNCHS, the actions undertaken by the NSDF and the state of Maharashtra were a very powerful and symbolic embodiment of how much progress could be achieved through negotiations, and contrasts so strongly with the consistently negative consequences of forced evictions.
It should be noted that Indian Railways have signaled their intention of returning to forced evictions to clear slums alongside the tracks, and that this case is still being heard in the courts. The hearing of 19 July was postponed to 26 July.
3.0 The Launch Ceremonies: Sunday 16 July
The Campaign was launched through three integrated ceremonies, all of which were designed and executed by the members of the National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF).
3.1 Inauguration of the Campaign: Azad Maidan, Mumbai.
The first ceremony was an open-air event in the centre of Mumbai, consisting of a platform, sound system and seating for approximately 2000 persons. As it happened, the crowd swelled to well over 3000, as hundreds of slum dwellers arrived from different parts of India in coaches covered with banners proclaiming the launch and the activities.
With Sundar Burra of SPARC acting as Master of Ceremonies, the uniqueness of this event was captured by the fact that represented on the stage were:
The Urban Poor: President of the Slum Dwellers
The Local Authority: Municipal Commissioner, Greater Mumbai
The State Government: Chief Minister, Mahrashtra (and other dignitaries)
The National Government: Union Minister for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation
Regional Partners: General Secretary, Asian Coalition for Housing Rights
International Partners: President, South African Homeless Peoples Federation
Multilateral Partners: UNCHS
With partnership being one of the fundamental themes of the Habitat Agenda and of the Campaign, a very clear message was on display, made all the more powerful that the event had been designed, organised and managed by the Slum Dwellers themselves, with logistical support from their local partners, SPARC and Mahila Milan .
In the audience were diplomatic representatives from Norway, Kenya, Thailand, Korea and Japan, as well as representatives of the World Bank, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the UNCHS Asia office. The focal point for the Campaign in Europe, FEANTSA, was also represented through its President.
The meeting was also greatly strengthened by delegations of slum dwellers from 23 cities and towns in India, as well as from Cambodia, Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, South Africa, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and an NGO from Indonesia.
In his inaugural address, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Vilasroa Deshmukh, committed his Government to the introduction of legislation to provide secure tenure to all slum dwellers that registered prior to 1 January 1995. His Government is still finding ways of addressing those that fall outside of this category. Addresses were also made by the Union Minister, Shri Bandura Dattatraya, who undertook to investigate mechanisms to release additional land, the Municipal Commissioner, who made commitments about the provision of essential services, especially water; the General Secretary of ACHR, who highlighted the significance of the partnerships that were emerging in Mumbai, and the Acting Head of the Shelter Branch (UNCHS), who made an address on behalf of the Acting Executive Director, Dr Klaus Toepfer.
The President of the NSDF, A Jockin, then addressed the gathering, identifying daily-savings as the bedrock of the organisational strength of the slum dwellers, and the importance of the role of women, while making clear to the government that the organised urban poor were not demanding hand-outs, but the opportunity to be involved as active partners in sustainable urban development. The ceremony was concluded with the symbolic awarding of keys to pavement dwellers who had been resettled, sometimes after 35 years of living in slums. The names of the beneficiaries illustrated the diversity of the people that live in Mumbai's slums: Shetty, Fernandes, Pinto, Khan.
a.. Inauguration of Apartments: Mankhurd
The next ceremony took place at Mankhurd, the site of the resettlement of many of the railway slum dwellers who had voluntarily removed their shacks from the railway lines. Mankhurd is approximately 30 kilometres from the centre of Mumbai, but next to a railway line for access to the city. The slum dwellers have been rehoused in a series of apartment blocks, a number of which were formally inaugurated as part of the ceremony.
There was a crowd of some 2000 waiting for the delegates to arrive from Mumbai. The event was graced through the appearance of another three Ministers from the Maharashtra Government, including Shri Nawab Mallick who had been unable to attend the morning session, and who has taken a keen interest in the plight of the pavement dwellers. Presentations were also made by slum dwellers from Kenya, Nepal, South Africa, Thailand and Cambodia
b.. Signing of Memorandum of Understanding: Mumbai.
The final ceremony took place at the KC College Hall in Mumbai, where presentations were made by UNCHS, ACHR, FEANTSA and Slum Dwellers International (SDI). () The highlight of this short ceremony was the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between UNCHS and the NSDF, in terms of which NSDF will promote the Campaign in partnership with all levels of Government in India. The NSDF was represented by its President, A Jockin.
Workshop On The Campaign And Slum-Upgrading
YB CHAVAN CENTRE, MUMBAI
MONDAY AND TUESDAY, 17 AND 18 JULY 2000
After the success of the public launch, a two-day workshop was held to examine the lessons form the Mumbai launch, and to identify ways in which the Campaign could be used to promote slum upgrading and successful shelter policies in different parts of the world. The workshop was co-ordinated and managed by NSDF and the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres, (SPARC) lead by its Director Sheela Patel, and Assistant Director Celine d'Cruz.
17 July: Morning session
The workshop was officially opened by the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, and a key player in ensuring the success of the launch, Shri Bongirwar. He outlined the Government of Maharashtra's plans for extending tenure and promoting slum upgrading, and indicated that one of the greatest concerns was the seeming inability of the city's existing capacity to deal with the growing numbers of the urban poor. He welcomed the signing of the memorandum of Understanding between UNCHS and NSDF, indicating that the seven organising principles contained in the Agreement were entirely consistent with the approach of the Government of Maharashtra.
After the inaugural session, which included a number of other introductory addresses, including a succinct input from the Chairman of Hudco, Mr V Suresh, the plenary was concluded. The workshop then commenced with participants breaking up into national delegations, so that each country could focus on their own assessment of the Mumbai launch, and identify their own plans for the Campaign. In addition, the international agencies met as a group to examine the implications for bilateral and multilateral assistance to the processes unfolding in Mumbai, Asia and Africa.
Simultaneously, the Indian slum dwellers met in a variety of groups, to examine how to take the momentum of Mumbai to other towns and cities throughout India. In addition, discussions were held with members of the senior delegation of Hudco, lead by its Chairman, Mr V Suresh, to examine ways in which credit might be extended with the granting of secure tenure.
These activities continued through the afternoon of the 17th, with various reports back, and were concluded by lunchtime on the 18th July.
The following is a summary of the lessons learned from the launch itself:
a.. The importance of partnership between the organised urban poor and all levels of government as a basic point of departure was stressed, underlining the need to have an inclusive approach in promoting the Campaign;
b.. All parties recognised the need to have the support of the local authority and state government but, most importantly, the involvement and active support of national government is essential, especially insofar as the development of new policy frameworks and legislative changes may be necessary;
c.. The strength of savings, especially daily savings for the very poor, as a mobilising tool was highlighted as central to the strength of the urban poor - not only did it improve the economic options open to the poor, but signals the developmental and organisational abilities of the urban poor. Savings are seen as the key to success;
d.. The need for the international development community to develop new mechanisms for supporting the initiatives of the urban poor, and the partnerships created with government, but in a supportive and non-controlling manner;
e.. The importance of the poor learning from each other, and the success of the process of horizontal learning, and people-to-people exchanges, which has become strengthened through the establishment of Slum Dwellers International;
f.. The importance of the active involvement of women, not just as active participants but also in positions of leadership;
g.. The importance for the development process to move away from a deadline and donor-driven project-approach, but rather respond to the developmental cycles developed between the urban poor and city managers; and
h.. The significance of the United Nations involvement through the Campaign is vital in creating space for the urban poor to develop partnerships with Government, and emerge as developmental actors in their own right.
All delegations were very vocal in expressing their admiration and respect for the extraordinary levels of organisational discipline and capacity demonstrated by the National Slum Dwellers Federation, and the extent to which they had provided the most visible example of their emergence as a positive force for urban development.
On the morning of the 18th, and at the request of the national delegations, the remaining international agencies were requested to present their own perspectives on how to support the Campaign and to promote slum upgrading. In a session chaired by Pat Wakeley of the DPU,() the World Bank, DFID and Habitat all made presentations, as well as the Urban Management Programme. During these discussions, the Cities Alliance emerged as the most appropriate vehicle to provide co-ordinated international support to the Government of India, the slum dwellers and other partners involved in tackling urban poverty and shelter provision. ()
Conclusions
Overall, the workshop itself was a major success, and had the desired impact of consolidating the launch overall, and identifying a programme of action. At the time of writing, some national delegations are still elaborating their plans, but the following are the immediate concrete outcomes from the workshop:
Launches are currently being planned by Slum Dwellers in South Africa, Philippines, Cambodia and Thailand. In order to follow up in India the National Slum Dwellers Federation is designing a programme to launch the Campaign in 30 cities.
In addition, the representatives of the World Bank, USAID and UNCHS present in Mumbai were all supportive of a DFID (India) proposal to investigate the possibility of holding a workshop under the auspices of the Cities Alliance (of which all are members) within the next two to three months to coordinate international policy and operational support that could be offered to the Government of India and its local partners in respect of pro-poor urban strategies. NSDF and its partners will formulate a substantial slum-upgrading programme for consideration by the Cities Alliance.
GREAT NEWS FROM NAMIBIA
June 28, 2000
The Minister of Housing handed over N$1million to the Federation last week. This was a result of a promise made last year during a house model and information announcement event., which was also attended by South Africans and Zimbabweans. The noise made by the Federations during the Africities made sure that he could not forget them!!