The residents of Rafique Nagar are in the process of moving to buildings in Goregaon and away from the airport runway.

There are over 60,000 households living around Mumbai's Chatrapatti Shivaji International Airport (earlier called Santa Cruz airport) and its domestic terminal. For over 25 years these settlements have coexisted with the airport. The land on which they live belongs to the national Airport Authority of India (AAI), which is a Government of India public sector undertaking. This means that the state Government of Maharashtra and the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai cannot provide amenities and services to these households without the permission of the AAI. As a result of this stand off, both the airport and the communities have suffered. For instance, because garbage is not cleared, hoards of birds are attracted to the settlement. This results in bird hits on planes.

Also, the communities lived in constant fear of their settlement being demolished. Fortunately, the Maharashtra government's policy of resettling all those slumdwellers who were living in a particular slum before January 1, 1995 came to the rescue of these communities.

The NSDF federated these slums and brought them into the fold in 1987 when they began the survey of the slums on airport lands. As is often the case, communities worked out solution that would benefit all sides. The airport needs lands around the airport for expansion of facilities and to guarantee the security of the place. The slums cannot be removed through evictions because people would not move if they had nowhere to go. So negotiating a solution that worked for both was the only way out.

Between 1990 and 2000 there have been many discussions and meetings to explore a range of options. Most fell apart because the Airport Authority personnel in Bombay have to go through a very long chain of command to get clearance for any scheme. Often, by the time they respond, the officials in the state government would have changed. As a result, the whole process would have to start again. The only constant factor was the NSDF team and SPARC and Mahila Milan.

Rafique Nagar, which is part of an area called Jari-Mari, was selected by both the federation and the airport authority to be the pilot test case. It abuts the runway and as a result forces aircraft to make a U turn before they can take off. According to one calculation, the delay this costs in terms of additional fuel used and the hazards it entails equals more than would be needed for the relocation of the slums. This is precisely the argument that was used for the negotiations. The NSDF survey revealed that there were 2160 structures within the boundary lines demarcated by the AAI.

Since 1996 SPARC, Mahila Milan and NSDF have been working with the Government of Maharashtra on the relocation of slums along the railway track. All work that the alliance has done until this time informed the inputs that it provided to the task force on Relocating and Rehabilitation for the World Bank Financed project of MUTPII ( Mumbai Urban Transport Project). That project sharpened the articulation of how the process should be operationalised, and demarcated the role and contribution that communities can possibly make in such projects and how to cost their contribution in financial terms. It also set up clear and defined roles of various state and other agencies. But only when the actual relocation of the 12,000 and more households began to take place that this community driven approach began to get everyone's attention. In this instance, the National Airport Authority of India (NAAI) was the Project Implementation Authority (PIA) with the government of Maharashtra's housing department was responsible for the arbitration.

To cut the long story short, between 2000 and 2002 this whole process was finalized. The Slum Rehabilitation Authority set up by the Government of Maharashtra ( which is a part of the Housing Department, and Shivshahi Purnawasan Prakalp Limited (SPPL) which is the construction company set up to expedite slum rehabilitation, facilitated this process of dialogue between the NAAI and the Communities. The formulation that was finally agreed upon was that the NAAI would provide to Government of Maharashtra the funds to purchase these apartments, SPARC would facilitate the community process and together they would clear that land for the airport of Mumbai. There have been many hiccups in the finalization of lists and working out of protocols for moving. In addition, the September 11 events and those of December 13 in India after the attack on Parliament added an element of urgency.

Finally, on March 20, 2002, in a ceremony presided over by the Chief minister of Maharashtra , its two housing ministers and the Union Civil Aviation Minster and many others, the first phase of the relocation process was launched with a ceremonial handing over of 10 keys to residents. In the next month, the 2000 plus households will leave their homes next to the runway and move to Dindhoshi, which is about 4 KM away from the airport, into apartment blocks. The Communities have formed savings groups, have set up proposed societies, visited the relocated slum dwellers from the railway track in their buildings and begun to comprehend the changes this will mean to their lives.

And next? That remains to be seen. The SPARC, Mahila Milan and NSDF alliance would like to explore the possibility of the next 20,000 households still living around the airport and see if they can find a similar solution. Now that this initial activity has smoothened the way, helped each of the actors involved to understand the roles and relationships that need to be in place to make this change happen, numbers need not worry anyone anymore. The key to success is to create solutions that work for everyone.

On 5^th March a group of 5 people came to spend a morning with SPARC Mahila Milan and National Slum Dweller's Federation. This group calls itself leaders quest, and was founded by two women Lindsey and Sue in the Uk, as a means to create exchanges between leaders of various sectors in the UK and those internationally. ( This is how much we know about them at the moment anyway) Lindesy called us to inform me that she was bringing this team of leaders ( list) and we agreed to explore where this would take us. A much larger group had come to India, and that morning they visited three organisations of whom we were one.

The Visit: (as told by a member of SPARC)

We had three and a half hours so we drove from the Taj where we met to Dharavi from the back roads so that they could see parts of Mumbai that tourists ususally don't see, the porst areas, the textile mills, the chawls, and pavement slums. We then took a round of the bandra Kurla Complex and then went to Dharavi, where they met with Muthu and Shanmugan of the Dharavi Vikas Samittee.

Muthi walked them through his association with National Slum Dweller's Federation, the historical evolution of Dharavi, his own relationship with Jockin and National Slum Dweller's Federation and how the Orime Minster's Grant project in 1985 ( when Prime Minster Rajeev Ghandhi gave 100 crores to imporve Mumbai as part of the congress centanary celebratuions) and how it impacted Dharavi. He told them about Markandeya soeiety and now Rajeev- Indira.

Shanmugan, talked about his community of 52 and how they developed this strategy with National Slum Dweller's Federation's assistance and walked them though the whole building, and to the terrace where he showed them the parts of Dharavi that were developed and which are still as they were for many years.

We then walked through the poonawana chalws and to the toilet that is bing built there and again shared why sanitatin is a vital issue fo rthe alliance and how this project is reformulating roles an drelatinships between individuals, and their communities, communities and organised networks like DVs and National Slum Dweller's Federation and hwo the alliance works with the Municipality state and internaional aid.

Since the group was from Uk, they were intrested to know about who in the Uk do welink to and we spoke fo the relatioship with Homeless International, the Housing Associations in the UK and DFID. Someof them had associations with Action Aid, and wante dto know what we thought of them, and we spoke briefly about our exploration on seeking modest funds to start work in Delhi with Action aid to see how this will go ahead.

These business leaders were also meeting other business community leaders in the city and they asked us about our relationships with industry and their foundations. We shared what we thought about them, that by and large the business trusts are more familiar and confortable delaing with issue sof rural development and poverty and working in cities has in the past been mainly addressing issues of welfare, health and education.

Since we were meeting for the first time, we asked each other whether each group would repeat this again next time? From our side the response was that we always explore a possibility the first time, however the next time it would have to fulfill more expectations. We would nee dto examine closely how this relationship works for the benefit of the alliance: Does it help link us to any section of actors that help extend what we do, think or wish to explore? Can linking then to our network expand our outreach for locating support systems fo rthe alliance? Will they help us in examining issues and attitidues of the private sector which is a challenge at the moment? Can they link us to similar people in the Uk and India so that that relationship is more useful?

At the end of the day, relationships have to work both ways. So over time we will know. Soon after a field visits emotions are high, people get infected with energy and enterpreunral activity that they see, which changes their perceptions of the poor as active drivers of development. So in that we were able to se ethe impact on the visitors. However oonly time will tell whether this moves into a loger term relationship or not.

We have linked them to Ruth McLeaod of Homeless International and written to Action Aid about our discussions. Now we wait and watch.

LEADERS QUEST

LEADERS QUEST TO INDIA MARCH 2002

PROFILES OF U.K. PARTICIPANTS

SEAN BLAIR www.nowheregroup.com
Sean Blair is co-founder of the Nowhere Group which works with major clients across several sectors to develop innovation in organisations. Sean’s background includes training as a designer and then setting up his own product design company, and 4 years as a Director of The Design Council .

JOHN BURNES www.quinteksystems.co.uk
John Burness is Managing Director and co-founder of Quintek Systems Ltd a software and services company based in Wokingham, Berkshire. The company designs and implements enterprise wide electronic point of sale, inventory and management information systems for its clients in the retail and leisure industries.

STEVEN CAIN
Steven Cain is currently a Management Buy In CEO, working with a number of private equity firms targeting turn around or growth opportunities in the retail, leisure and media sectors. Until 2000 he was the CEO of Carlton Communications, having become the youngest CEO of a FTSE 100 company – at 34 years old - when he took on the role.

SUE CHESHIRE (Tour Leader and co-founder of Leaders Quest)www.chiefexecutive.com www.leadersquest.co.uk
Sue is the Managing Director of The Academy for Chief Executives which currently has over 300 CEO members in the UK coming together in groups for a full day each month to develop their leadership skills. In 2001 she founded Leaders Quest together with Lindsay Levin. Sue is a regular speaker and writer on Leadership and performance coaching.

BRIAN CHERNETT www.chiefexecutive.com
Brian is the founder and Chairman of The Academy for Chief Executives , which currently has over 300 CEO members in the UK coming together in groups for a full day each month to develop their leadership skills. Brian has 25 years' experience as Managing Director and/or Chairman of private and public companies and as an entrepreneur.

GARETH CHICK www.prologic.net
Gareth Chick is an outstanding business coach with a wide ranging business background and a passion for valuing and developing people in the workplace. He currently has a portfolio of business interests – including working as a coach to Chief Executives and the role of Chairman of Prologic, a European software company.

JOHN FRENCH www.brandid.co.uk www.imagik.com
John is a serial entrepreneur with a variety of business interests in the technology, security and music industry sectors. His principal role is as founder and Chairman of the BrandID group of companies – a group of three businesses each exploiting new technologies in the development of brands and knowledge systems.

DAVID GRAYSON
David is a Director of Business in the Community and of the public affairs consultancy EPPA. He has led several public institutions concerned with small business, disability and business development. He is the co-author of “Everybody’s Business” which is a practical handbook on corporate social responsibility .

KATHRYN HODNETT www.whitesgroup.co.uk www.leadersquest.co.uk
Kathryn is Human Resources Director of The Whites Group and is also part of the Leaders Quest team. Kathryn is an experienced business and management development coach who has worked across the public and private sectors, and across a wide range of industries; she also has extensive experience in the voluntary sector.

NICK HEWSON
Nick is currently executive chairman of Grantchester Holdings PLC, one of the most active developers of out of town retail selling space in the UK. Nick co-founded Grantchester in 1990 with capital of £25,000 and has, with his colleagues, grown it into a listed UK PLC with a market capitalisation in excess of £180m, even after repaying £140m to shareholders last year.

JANIE LIGON
Janie Ligon is currently an independent consultant with a background in marketing, finance, sales and product production for wholesale/retail clothing and consumer products businesses. Prior to that she spent 19 years with Levi Strauss in the US, European and Asian markets; including the role of Head of Global Retail and Internet businesses at Levi until late 1999.

DAVID LEVIN www.psion.com
David is Chief Executive of Psion PLC which designs wireless software and devices. He is also a Director of Symbian Ltd, Psion’s 28% owned Joint Venture with Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola and Panasonic. His career has included major roles – and making large acquisitions - in international publishing, engineering and manufacturing .

LINDSAY LEVIN (Tour Leader and co-founder of Leaders Quest) www.whitesgroup.co.uk , www.leadersquest.co.uk , www.on-market.net
Lindsay is an entrepreneur with a variety of business interests across motor retail, property, manufacturing and B2B technology. She has a passion for developing leadership skills in company leaders and for integrating personal values into the workplace. In 2001 she founded Leaders Quest together with Sue Cheshire.

MARY MACLEOD
Mary Macleod is Managing Director of Macleod and Co, her own consulting firm which she launched recently after 11 years experience as a management consultant with Accenture specialising in Change Management and Human Performance. Prior to that she worked as a Policy Advisor to The Queen in the Queen’s private office.

CHRIS MATHIAS
Chris is an entrepreneur whose track record includes start ups, acquisitions and turnarounds culminating most recently in the sale in 1999 of a company he started in 93 and sold as the UK’s largest internet consulting company. Today he is an investor and non Executive Director in various companies and is also supporting various not for profit development projects in India.

PAS RUGGIERO
Pas is an entrepreneur with a background in the office automation industry. His experience includes mergers, acquisitions and disposals in the sector. He is currently the CEO of Anglia Telecoms, a company he bought out in 1998, one of the largest Siemens HiCom solutions providers in the UK.

ANDREW SIDDALL
Andrew is CEO of Siddall and Hilton Ltd, a Group of Manufacturing companies largely focussed on furniture for hospitals and nursing homes - based in Yorkshire and Lancashire, and including Joint Ventures overseas and a world wide customer base.

JOHN STUDZINSKI www.morganstanley.com
John Studzinski is Deputy Chairman of Morgan Stanley International. He has over 20 years of Securities Industry experience that includes management, origination and execution of Mergers & Acquisitions, Equity and Fixed Income Financing and a broad range of Restructuring Projects as well as consumer financial services. John is also involved in a wide range of charities and initiatives in the Arts and for the homeless.

CHRIS UNDERHILL www.basicneeds.org.uk
Chris Underhill's working life has been devoted to assisting marginalized people either in the UK or overseas. He has started up or managed charities specialising in championing new ideas and innovations. He also has a passionate interest in developing leaders across sectors and has developed and pioneered a number of his own approaches to teaching and growing leadership.

MARTYN WEBSTER Martin co-founded Integralis in 1988 and as CFO and Commercial Director went on to build the group up to the successful sale of various businesses within it and the flotation of the core business on the German NeuerMarkt last year. Martin has recently retired from an active role in the business and is working out what he wants to do next whilst spending time with his family.

FIELDS WICKER-MIURIN www.vestacapital.com
Fields Wicker-Miurin has over 20 years experience in the US and European media and financial services industries and is currently a Director of Vesta Capital Advisors, an investment firm focused on investing in and building new technology businesses in Europe. Prior to that she was the Chief Financial Officer and Director of Strategy of the London Stock Exchange from 1994 to 97.

YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR WINNER – JON WRIGHT
Jon Wright has won a place on our tour, sponsored by Shell and the UK Department of Trade and Industry as winner of the Shell Livewire Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition. Jon is co-founder of Innocent Ltd, a manufacturer of little tasty drinks.