Making room in Andhra for people living on the fringes

When ‘Sneham’, a Community Based Organisation working for men who have sex with men...

When ‘Sneham’, a Community Based Organisation (CBO) working for men who have sex with men (MSM), approached the Anantapur district administration in Andhra Pradesh for land pattas, their plea was simple.

“We are from the community of MSMs. Some of our people, who are HIV positive, are facing some problem. They do not have any work to support themselves since they cannot be commercial sex workers anymore. They do not have any houses to live in. They cannot afford their house rents due to lack of income. Please give them some Government land to build their own houses,” their petition said.

The petition, undersigned by five MSMs, was submitted to the Mandal Revenue Officer, Anantapur, Venkateswaralu, in July.

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Two months later, the applicants were granted land pattas of 2.5 cents each in Nandamuri Nagar of Anantapur through an official communication saying the plots were to be sold to them and the beneficiaries to live on houses built on the land.

But Sneham’s struggle for its five members did not end there. The CBO, formed in December 2006 “of, by and for MSMs”, realised that the affected among them did not have the funds to build the houses. “Later, the CBO approached the Government for housing finance. Around 1,200 persons visited the Collectorate in the form of a mass rally to press for their demand,” says M S Swamy, project director of the Centre for Rural Action (CERA), an NGO.

Swamy adds that the Government agreed to sanction them brick and mortar and Rs 10,000 as assistance to build houses last month.

Sneham, associated with CERA, has grown to 850 members since its formation last year as a co-operative society registered with the district registry, and is fast gaining acceptance both among the public and district administration despite Section 377 (ban on unnatural sex) of the IPC.

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NGOs working in the area feel the positive response has been because of the initiative taken by Sneham, like participation in pulse polio programmes, installation of drinking water facilities in public places, etc.

“Through these initiatives, we are not only working for our own community, but for public at large. People now look at us as human beings capable of good work,” said an MSM community member, on condition of anonymity.

The Government machinery in the district is equally positive. For example, last year, the general body meeting of Sneham was held at the district police station complex, which was attended by around 1,000 MSMs. The District Magistrate was the chief guest.

The NACO Phase 3, which is yet to be rolled into action, notably includes an important component on the health of MSM community in the country.

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“Now the administration tells us that we are doing a good job of condom promotion,” says another MSM worker. Sneham is the only CBO functioning in Anantapur, which, along with coastal districts in the state, host a large number of AIDS cases.

Sneham’s initiative has also resulted in five MSM weddings in last month at Peddavadaguru mandal which has broken many shackles.