HURDLES ON THE GROUND

THEY’VE FORGOTTEN IT’S THEIR PROJECT: BUILDER

BENEFICIARIES MUST PAY FOR SULIKUNTE FLATS

‘I PAID Rs 15,000 BUT WHERE IS MY HOUSE?’

‘NOT HOUSING, BUT AN ISSUE OF CITIZENSHIP’

BENGALURU: After living in shanties that encroached footpaths for over five years in the wake of the demolition of his tenement in Ejipura in the heart of Bengaluru, Ameer Jan, 80, has now shifted to quarters in Sulikunte , over 25km from the city.Ameer has been displaced several times. Even now, he is a squatter, just like some 400-odd families who are all unauthorized occupants of the apartments built by the Slum Development Board (SDB) in Sulikunte. The apartments were built to rehabilitate about 900 families that stayed in the 1,512 units in Ejipura EWS Quarters, which was bulldozed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in January 2013.Affixed to the main door of Ameer's flat in Sulikunte is a copy of an identity certificate issued by the BBMP. It states that he is a resident of the EWS Quarters built by the local self-government in 1993-94 at Ejipura, a shantytown sandwiched between tony Koramangala and defence enclaves abutting MG Road.“No water, no electricity, no work,” Ameer says of his new quarters. “All that we have now is a roof over our heads. The government has not allotted the flat to me yet. There is a court case going on it seems,” he says.Long before the BBMP stepped in, many of the original allottees of the quarters in Ejipura had left, fearing that the dilapidated structure would crumble. Others simply rented out their premises.As the bulldozers reduced their ramshackle dwellings to dust and debris, hundreds of residents, many of them tenants, were literally thrown on the streets. The BBMP entered into a PPP envisaging a 13-floor swanky shopping mall and residential apartment for the 1,512 original allottees on the 15.6-acre prime land. The government though, later changed its mind and decided to rehabilitate the tenants at the proposed Sulikunte apartment complex.The Sulikunte apartment complex is now ready, but the BBMP is yet to identify beneficiaries who were living on rent in EWS Quarters and share the list with SDB. However, over 400 families have either started living in the flats in Sulikunte, or have taken possession of the property and locked up their flats since they lack water and electricity and they are yet to get occupancy certificates.Back in Ejipura, the EWS Quarters redevelopment that was to happen in two years is still in the initial stages. All that the original allottees have is an assurance that a flat in a gentrified location will be theirs, sometime in the future. The only achievement of the entire saga seems to be, as Uday Garudachar of Maverick Holdings private limited which is the partner in the redeveloping project, put it, “We have removed a slum from the city.” Garudachar, incidentally, is also the contractor who built the Sulikunte apartment.Ejipura EWS Quarters is a classic example of how a well-meaning public scheme for housing the poor is distorted and systematically dismantled when the government imbibes the predatory instincts of the realty sector and forgets that housing is not about asset creation but primarily an instrument of habitation that is both financially and geographically accessible. It is also a story of how substandard work — a euphemism for corruption — gnaws away at ambitious public schemes from their inception.Years ago, the allottees in the 42 blocks of EWS Quarters, a ‘slum’ in the heart of the city, had paid Rs 16,000 in two instalments to buy flats. Mostly daily wage labourers and domestic helps working in and around Koramangala, the allottees immediately realised that the flats were of poor quality and rented them out while they themselves moved to places in neighbouring areas. Some even sold their flats to third parties under general power of attorney. Their fears were realized when 13 of the 42 blocks collapsed on November 9, 2003. Several other blocks required immediate evacuation.In 2005, BBMP decided to construct a residential complex and allot flats to all those residing in the EWS Quarters, whether or not they were original allottees. In June 2007, it issued identity cards to the residents. But one of the buildings collapsed on November 9, 2007, killing two children. After that, the BBMP demolished all the blocks and constructed tin sheds, assuring the residents that they would all be given houses in the same spot.Meanwhile, the original allottees petitioned the Karnataka high court seeking construction of houses for them and the court in 2008 directed the Palike to mobilise funds and construct houses.As there was no development on the ground, another group of original allottees again petitioned the high court in 2011 and sought release of funds for the construction of houses.The BBMP entered into a PPP with Maverick Holdings Private Limited on January 2, 2012. The agreement included the construction of a 14-storey commercial complex, behind which the private partner was to build a 14-story apartment with 1,512 flats for the original allottees. The writ petitions were disposed of and the BBMP was directed to clear the EWS land. The government later took a decision to construct flats for 900 rented families of EWS Quarters at Sulikunte under Rajiv Avas Yojana.On January 18, 2013, the sheds were cleared during a three-day drive. Earthmovers razed everything — utensils, TV sets, documents and belongings dear to the residents. Many residents protested but they were beaten up. No rehabilitation was provided and thousands of families lived on footpaths for years. Some children stopped going to school as their families were pushed into penury. There were at least three deliveries on the footpaths, public health activists confirm.“I was beaten on my legs when I tried to save my belongings and I still can’t walk easily,” said Shabina Riyaz, 36, who lives near Ejipura. “What was our fault? Life was disrupted and it still is without an anchor. Many have moved to Sulikunte recently. I too have locked up one house there, but have not shifted as my daughters are studying in a school near Koramangala.”Most of the displaced shifted to houses in nearby areas of Anepalya, Viveknagar and ST Bed, paying high rents (Rs 5,000-8,000 per month). Those who could not afford the rent returned to the footpaths of Ejipura and set up tents. Moving away from the area has not been easy as most of them work in and around Koramangala as domestic helps and labourers.J Suganthi, who was raised in Ejipura, thinks life has been nothing but “full loss” since 2013. Suganthi moved to a slum near Kaikondrahalli in 2013. “We are waiting for the government to give us an occupancy certificate to live in the Sulikunte complex,” says Suganthi, who claims her family has paid Rs 15,000 to the government. She works as a housekeeping staff in a private hospital near Sarjapur.However, there are many like plumber Elangovan P who refuse to shift to Sulikunte as his daughter is studying in a college in Koramangala. “The flats in Sulikunte have no electricity and water and is too far from the city. It will be tough for my daughter to commute,” he said.An activist, who has worked for the rights of EWS residents after quitting his job, wonder why the government has given away land meant for the poor for the construction of a mall. “Why did the government fail to construct houses for all the dwellers of EWS at the same place? We have failed to get answers to these questions even in our legal battles. It’s a planned move to evict the poor from the heart of the city. At Sulikunte, there are no schools, hospitals or job opportunities. It is a battle of housing and land rights for the poor that we lost.”After five years of delay, the Ejipura project has run into several obstacles. A hightension line overarches the plot, while an old map of the revenue department has a major drain cutting through the plot. The Lokayukta has also been constantly reviewing the progress of the project.“One by one the obstacles are being removed,” said Prasad BS, chief engineer, East Zone, BBMP and nodal officer of the project. “Electric lines over the plot will be shifted shortly by KPTCL. It is a Rs 400-crore project (Rs 200 crore for the housing project and Rs 200 crore for the commercial complex) and the BBMP is not spending a paise.”According to Uday Garudachar, the project has been bogged down by red tape. “Work is now on,” he said, adding that he battled for 11 years to remove the slum from the area. “But certain sanctions are pending. Officials seem to have forgotten that it is BBMP’s own project.”Asked about residents being banished to a locality more than 25km away, he said, “The shanties they lived in earlier were not protecting them from rain. Now at least they have good houses.”“It is nothing but unauthorised occupancy,”PK Ravi Kumar, deputy chief engineer, Slum Development Board, said, when asked about Sulikunte residents’ plight. The intended beneficiaries have now filed a petition before the high court seeking allotment of the houses in their names.“The beneficiaries have to pay 25% (about Rs 10.2 crore) of the project cost. The BBMP is supposed to pay the money either on behalf of the beneficiaries or by collecting it from them. But they are yet to respond,” said another senior officer.Chinnamma, 70, moved to a shanty on a neighbouring footpath after her EWS Quarters house was demolished in 2013. The senior citizen lives alone and flaunts the ink mark on her index finger to prove she voted in the recent assembly election.“None came to my hut seeking a vote, but I voted,” she said. “I live on the footpath, but I have all the documents to my house in EWS Quarters. I paid local leaders Rs 15,000 to buy a house in Sulikunte. I am alone. I can’t work now. I used to make flower garlands earlier in front of a temple,” said Chinnamma, who has to walk 500 metres just to access the nearest public toilet. “When it rains, my roof gives me no protection,” she said, the dread of the unravelling monsoon reflecting in her shaky voice.Rajendra Prabhakar, an activist who works on urban land rights, says the issue is not related to urban housing alone. “That’s how the government is misleading everyone,” he said. “The fact remains that it is an issue of citizenship. This is the first case in Karnataka where slum dwellers have been evicted, a slum cleared and the government partnering with a private builder. What has been happening in Mumbai is now creeping into Karnataka too.”Prabhakar claims the judiciary has been of little help. For him, the solution to urban land rights issues lies in bringing about a new Act that focuses on citizenship, adequate representation from economically and socially marginalised communities and equal access to urban resources particularly land.“During the previous Congress government, we looked at amending the Karnataka Slum Development Board Act 1973,” he said. “But experts from a premium law school opined that the Act cannot be repaired or amended. A new law has to be framed. Slum dwellers are not poor, but are deprived. Their socio-economic conditions have not improved over the years through similar displacements.”He warns that the fate which befell EWS Ejipura — “the first victim” — could easily befall other slums in the state too, unless the government wakes up to problem of the livelihood, citizenship, dignity and equality of slum dwellers.