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Journalism of Courage
For Suresh More, hopes were high to provide a better life for his family when he was shifted from a hut to a Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) building in Pune, but it was short lived. “I was very happy when the slums where I resided near Dandekar Bridge were demolished and we were given concrete houses in SRA buildings. I thought it would provide my family a respectful and better life to live in the city,” he said. More’s family was shifted to the fourth floor of the building.
The builder provided basic amenities of water, electricity, drainage and lift in the building. The SRA constituted a cooperative housing society of the residents of the building so that the building maintenance is managed by residents, he said. “Things were initially good, but then members of the society stopped paying maintenance charges due to their limited source of earning. This led to problems in maintaining the condition of the building and the old habits of citizens further added to the troubles,” said More.
Shaila Jagtap, a housewife staying in the SRA building, said the residents are not used to behaviour like privately developed housing societies where either housekeeping agency or door-to-door waste collection is done. The residents living in the building can’t afford private services, nor would they walk down every time a garbage collection vehicle arrives near the building. So they prefer to throw waste from their apartments on top floor,” she said.
The waste then gets piled up and is cleared by the civic staff once in a while, she said, adding it is the habit of residents that need to be changed which can come only through proper education and better economic condition.
Sanitation supervisor Vinod Khule said the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) does not carry out cleanliness work in a private property but clears it if the garbage is dumped at a nearby public place. “The civic body garbage collection vehicle stands outside the SRA building every day and citizens are supposed to deposit their segregated waste in the vehicle. If they want door-to-door services, then they can seek the private agency services by paying the charges,” he said.
Former PMC corporator Siddarth Dhende said that it is a fact that the buildings constructed under Slum Rehabilitation Authority and its surroundings are full of garbage and poorly maintained.
“The SRA buildings are merely vertical slums to replace the horizontal slums. The intention should be improving the socio-economic condition of slum dwellers when they are relocated from huts to buildings,” he said.
Unfortunately, the SRA buildings are only seen as a real estate project, Dhende said.
“One has to understand that the mentality of the slum dweller needs to be changed. Those living in slums have the mentality of getting everything for free; be it water, electricity, drainage, or cleanliness which they were able to get when living in horizontal structures. But when they are relocated to SRA buildings the mentality remains the same. They think that the government will provide them civic services for free, which does not happen and their living condition worsens with unhygienic surroundings due to damaged drainage, and garbage dumping,” Dhende explained.
Experts pointed out that efforts should be made to improve the economic condition and social status of slum dwellers if their living conditions need to be bettered.
Dhende said the slum dwellers continue to earn their livelihood through domestic work or daily wages keeping their economic status as it is. “The children of SRA building continue to go to government-run schools where no fees is charged. “The thinking of the children while living in slums or SRA buildings doesn’t change and they continue to behave as they used to in huts,” said Dhende, adding there has to be public awareness among the residents of SRA buildings on hygienic conditions.
