Dharavi.. too simplistic?

For some reason I got thinking about the Dharavi SRA project. I visited the website and found some simplistic information which suggests that the detailed process or plans need not be displayed for public scrutiny.. This is the link .. http://www.sra.gov.in/htmlpages/Dharavi.htm

This is the brief project outline which tells us more or less nothing about the response of the slumdwellers nor does it have any humane aspect attached to it. There is no thought being given to their existing lives or communities not to their means of livelihood which will be completely disrupted during the development. Putting these people in 225 sq. ft. rooms is the solutions that the SRA has come up with. What's new with that? That's the standard solution they have applied everywhere before this and it has failed. If just a little thought is given to this, we will know why it has failed..

• People living in any slum area form their communities and work their lives around this. Giving them random flat allotments based on a lottery system is not going to work. Uprooting people from a familiar environment, making them live in confusion for 5 - 7 years while the 'development' is carried out and then giving them homes in 7-storey buildings with random neighbours will never work. For this project to work, an effort will have to be made to reconstruct communities during and after the development.
• New urbanism, not builder development, is the solution. A holistic master plan has to be prepared which takes into account all existing industry and residential requirements and 'work close to home' solutions have to be provided to these people. They will not live at one end of the development and work in another. they are used to a different life and instead of dictating changes, it would be better to adapt the design solution such that it gets built and used.
• The urban landscape of Mumbai is a mess. Random construction is creating an ugly, haphazard skyline. Just driving over the bridge to Mahalaxmi station one can see multiple constructions of all shapes and sizes coming up. There is no thought giving to urban aesthetics. Developing an area of the size of Daharavi, the developing body must ensure that the aesthetics are uniform and not jarring. This is the one opportunity to beautify the skyline. Sion is lovely with the old low buildings. The development must follow these lines so that the area looks liveable and not monstrous with multi-storey towers. This may sound simplistic and it may sound like this is not the solution to our habitation needs but it is. It is, however, not an answer to the greed of the developers and the development authorities.
• There is no mention of green design or renewable energy anywhere in this proposal. Considering that the environment has to be the primary concern in any development, this is the most surprising thing. No mention of solar water heaters, no mention of solar energy, passive solar design for buildings, nothing.. no guidelines in place either.

If we want to rehabilitate these people, we must do it in a more humane manner rather than try to cram familes with upto 10 members in a 225 sq. ft. flat in a 7-storey building.. That is not the answer. This is not to say that slums are good and slum-dwellers deserve to get lavish homes that most middle-class people can't afford. However, we have chosen to accept them, to legalise their slums and to provide them with alternative habitat. Let's do that in a more humane manner and at the same time beautify the city rather than providing a mechanical solution that we already know does not work.

Let's give them homes that they can live in and prosper in; not homes that they hate and want to sell off at the drop of a hat and move to newer slums..

Let's bring in new urbanism and give the city a new lease of life.. We have approximately 200 hectares of land to do that..  For once, let's look at a lasting future instead of short-term greed..

Not cool

I think that Rahul Gandhi going out to Orissa and trying to gain mileage out of the whole Vedanta project being stopped for the environment and tribals bit was not cool.

I thought and hoped that Rahul Gandhi would be the new face of politics; the kind that does the work and doesn't need to resort to gimmicks like these to get his voe-banks in place. If he's been visiting the tribal areas and understanding problems and making sure those problems are solved, then people at the grassroots already know who has been working for them. Holding public rallies and claiming to be their soldier is not needed.

He may have got some extra votes but this gimmickry will cause him to lose respect of the people who hoped for change in the political scenario; who wanted intellectuals and hardworking individuals who focus on results to come into the political landscape and change it for the better. I feel that the reverse is happening. Once such people enter politics, they change and become like all other politicians spewing platitudes and making false promises, defending indefensible actions and basically plotting and scheming to remain in the game and on the top with no concern towards governance or results.

I heard Sachin Pilot on an NDTV program today defending Rahul Gandhi's visit to Orissa. There were many other concerns raised by the panelists like environmental degradation in states other than Orisa where the environment ministry ought to intervene as well but all he had to say was how wonderful and iconic Rahul Gandhi is and despite being the heir and part of such an illustrious family, he goes out into rural areas to understand real problems.. He sounded just like a seasoned politician who avoids answering relevant questions but talks so much that you can't get a serious word in edge-ways..

The young generation of politicians is taking after all their predecessors; no wonder nothing is about to change.. Not cool, I say..

Do we need to facilitate migration and brain drain?

The US president has signed the H1-B bill escalating the fee for a work visa to the US from $320 to $2000 for anyone migrating there to work for companies that have more than 50% foreign workforce.

In response, India has said that it doesn't approve as this is discriminatory.

I have multiple problems with this.

1. Do we need to tell another country what policies they must or must not follow when our own house is not in order?
2. Do we have a right to question the policies of another democratic country which has the freedom to make its own choices?
3. Do we WANT some of our brightest youngsters to migrate to the US? Why are we asking for migration to be facilitated?

India is a growing economic power with the ability to create job opportunities for its own talent. Why do we need the US to create jobs for our people?

I think the appropriate response would have been to not respond at all or to laud this move saying that we welcome it as it'll encourage our youngsters to stay at home and find work here. We claim that Indians run America. How about getting some of them to stay here and run India..

I think it's good move. America needs to protect jobs for the people there. they are going through a crisis. And if some company desperately needs outsiders, $2000 is not a high price to pay..

My new blog..

Got a new blog on http://www.meghna-likes.blogspot.com/..

It's more light-hearted and is about things that i like or don't like in everyday life.. movies, food, books, places to visit.. and such..

Go see it if you feel like..