RACE TO REHABILITATE

Every sixth urban Indian lives in slums. With housing-for-all being a key national target, states across the country have taken steps to redevelop slums.

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Down To Earth travels to three cities to find the initiatives at different stages of implementation and success-in Mumbai's Dharavi, the process is just starting; at Kathputli Colony of Delhi, the rehabilitation is midway; and in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, a new land rights-based approach to redevelop slums has been used with considerable success.

A report by Zumbish from Mumbai and Delhi, and Shagun from Bhubaneswar, with Rajneesh Sareen and Mitashi Singh in Delhi

There is an air of unease in Dharavi. Even as people go about their business, murmurs of an impending survey are never too distant. The reason is the residents’ wait for a process that will decide their fate. “Newspapers say the developer will conduct a survey in February. We are in the second week of the month, but there is no sign of the survey. We are unsure what will happen to us,” says Anil, a social activist and resident of Dharavi since the 1990s.