Over the past two decades, the state government has formulated Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) housing projects in Mumbai — in-situ rehousing projects which take place on the same site of informal settlements (Anand, & Rademacher, 2011). In-situ SRA projects require developers to provide residents with new and free apartments which must consist of a living room, kitchen or alcove, bedroom, bath and WC in a designated high-rise building. It was thus granted development concessions that enabled considerable profits (Anand, & Rademacher, 2011).
However, only settlers who can prove continuous occupation of their settlement since 1995 are eligible for these in-situ rehabilitation projects (Anand, & Rademacher, 2011). In addition, “qualifying” settlers can be evicted from their homes to free cost ex-situ housing at the city’s margins if the land is required by the government for any “public purpose” such as airports, roads, or railway projects (Anand, & Rademacher, 2011). Under the SRA, there are about 50,000 in-situ and 80,000 ex-situ tenements that have been successfully registered in 2008.
Many slum dwellers are unable to qualify for SRA housing, leading them to negotiate with developers and politicians to “engage in a ‘politics of compensation’ that suggests important disjunctures between equality and inclusion in Mumbai” as power is further given to developers and often result in a monopolized situation (Anand, & Rademacher, 2011). Finally, it is important to note that the SRA is a western structured solution to housing, thus it is crucial to realize a solution based on local geographical knowledge.
Reference
Anand, N., & Rademacher, A. (2011). Housing in the Urban Age: Inequality and Aspiration in Mumbai. Antipode, 43(5), 1748-1772. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8330.2011.00887.x
Mukhiga.V,(2015). Mumbai’s Slum Redevelopment: The Question of Consent. [image]. Available at: http://global.luskin.ucla.edu/mumbais-slum-redevelopment-the-question-of-consent-2/ [Accessed 30 Mar. 2017].