While we bask in the glory of our country’s achievements in various sectors, where are we on the progress of the common man of India, somebody earning from day-to-day? Slum Rehabilitation projects are the need of the hour.
Living in a condition deprived of basic sanitation of clean water to drink and maintain personal hygiene, clean space to live and breathe, basic ventilation for a healthier lifestyle, electricity for day-to-day needs, and in general, an environment suitable to raise children is what one may define as ‘life in a slum’. People usually housing here is anybody whose income can range from a meager Rs. 1500 to Rs. 3000; they are mostly rickshaw drivers, housemaids, sex workers, small vendors, or someone earning day-to-day wages. While our country progresses to reach the moon and stars, there is still a significant percentage of India that struggles daily to fulfill the most basic needs of everyday survival.
How do we tackle the situation?
Slum Rehabilitation Act in 1995 was passed to protect the rights of slum dwellers and promote land improvement with better housing solutions. The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) was thus formed as a regulator to see through the proper completion of all such projects. As part of our honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision since 2015, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) was conceptualized with one goal in mind- to build 20 million affordable houses by March 2022. Projects under SRA, today, run in unison with the PMAY.
So, what is the current state of India and its slum rehabilitation?
India is currently at the center of attraction as the fastest growing economy in the world with a growth rate of 8.2% in the first quarter of 2018-2019. While this glorious side of India exhibits to the world, there are still 63.67 million urban and rural households across the country who are still in need of adequate housing. The government on its part is diligently trying to accelerate the process, as recently as increasing the offered carpet area from 269 sq.ft. to 322 sq.ft. for slum redevelopment projects or even the implementation of ease of business for SRA project approvals- earlier cited as one of the major hindrances to its development.
Now, where are we on developments of Slum Rehabilitation, particularly in Maharashtra?
Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, private sector developers like Pune’s leading Naiknavare Developers have seen a slew of developments under the ‘In-situ Slum Redevelopment’ vertical that avails private developers to incentivize through land occupied by slums in two ways- one, rehabilitate existing slum dwellers with an augmented civic infrastructure; and two, market the viable space for cross-subsidizing.
But what is Naiknavare Developers’ progress up till now?
Starting from the pilot project Prathama in Ramtekdi that helped turn 15 acres of land into a beautiful society of 1300 families, to the recent news of June on the rehabilitation of Dandekar Bridge slums where the first 192 flats out of a total of 600 plus 7 shops were handed over- Naiknavare Developers are striving hard to commit and deliver the projects on time. Moving ahead, they have also started the plan to enter the Mumbai market with the proposed project in Vakola that aims to transform 48,370 sq.mts. land area to a livable home.
As being the second-most populous country in the world, poverty eradication has become a top priority and slum rehabilitation is an essential tool to achieve complete success. Developers from all corners are seen to be joining hands to reach our Prime Minister’s vision of 2022 and hopefully, with determination, it surely seems to be an achievable target.