CONSOLIDATED SUMMARY OF PROJECT

FOR

“Sanitation Beyond Sewers”: Water bodies and their

linkages with the informal settlements (Contract No. 83190839)

For

by

Forum For Organised Resource Conservation and Enhancement

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The project ‘ Sanitation Beyond Sewers’ has been a tremendous learning experience for

us at FORCE. It has brought to the forefront seemingly environmentally unsound and

discriminatory aspects of urban poor habitation planning that seems to have escaped

the attention of urban planners so far.

The FORCE team would like to thank GIZ GmbH for having given us this priceless

opportunity to enhance our knowledge. In particular, we would like to thank Ms Aparna

Das for her focused guidance and support throughout the project. A special thanks also

to the GIZ team members under the leadership of Mr Frank Samol, who had shared their

valuable insights during the interim presentation made by FORCE at the GIZ office.

The project reports are the result of the intelligent analysis and hard work of the project

team members. The FORCE team would like to specially thank Ms Ana Norman

Bermudez and Mr Rajiv Reddy Pandala – interns at GIZ – who worked as a part of the

Project team. Their commitment and hard work was exemplary. We also thank Mr

Shubham Mishr – the GIS and urban planning expert for the project – for sharing his

vision and using his knowledge and experience to add value to the project.

Last but not the least, we are grateful to the officials of Delhi Development Authority

(DDA), Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and Delhi

Parks and Gardens Society ( Deptt of Environment, Government of NCT of Delhi) for

sharing information regarding Water Bodies and Resettlement colonies. We also thank

the residents of the Resettlement Colonies– specially those in Madanpur Khadar block B2

– for the openness with which they shared their sanitation situation.

Regards

Jyoti Shoarma, President, FORCE

CONTENTS

1 Introduction to the study: ...........................................................................................4

1.1 Relocating the Habitations of the urban poor..........................................4

1.2 Jhuggis and Resettlement Colonies ..........................................................5

1.3 Water Bodies.....................................................................................................6

1.4 The Project ........................................................................................................6

2 Research objectives .....................................................................................................7

3 Design of the Study ......................................................................................................7

4 Limitations of the Project......................................................................................... 10

5 Summary of Project Findings .........................................................................................11

5.1 Sanitation in Resettlements .................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

5.2 Water Bodies .................................................................................................. 13

5.3 Water bodies & the impact of Resettlements on them .....……………… 14

6 Conclusions and Recommendations .................................................................. 16

7 The Way Forward…….……………………………………………………….17

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY:

Since November 2014, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (M/o

HUPA) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) are jointly

implementing the “Inclusive Cities Partnership Programme” (ICPP) in the framework of

Indo-German Technical Cooperation. With a duration of three years, the programme

supports the agenda of Government of India (GoI) in making affordable housing

available to the urban poor, with a focus on the improvement of housing and living

conditions in slum settlement. The program makes an effort in synergizing with other

relevant urban development programs of GoI so as to contribute in making Indian cities

more inclusive.

1.1 RELOCATING THE HABITATIONS OF THE URBAN POOR

With India’s rapid urbanisation, cities play a vital role in the economic development of

the country. Delhi being the capital of the country has experienced this growth and also

attracts an immense, constant inflow of migrants as it is also the largest commercial

centre in Northern India. In the last decade the population of Delhi has grown from 13.8

million to 16.8 million. Although the urban population growth rate of Delhi has declined,

yet, in absolute terms, the city continues to grow at the average rate of 1000 persons

per day.

This growth places a great deal of pressure on the city’s infrastructural development. As

a result much of this development is haphazard and unplanned, leading to serious

consequences on Delhi’s environmental conditions and the quality of life of its

inhabitants, particularly the poor. Currently only 25 per cent of people live in planned

settlements while the rest live in substandard housing. 49 per cent live in slums and

unauthorised colonies, whilst around 18 per cent live in resettlement colonies.

Most often than not such informal settlements of urban poor, known as JJ Clusters and

Slum designated areas as well as the resettlement colonies, do not have adequate

sanitation infrastructure. The residents resort to ad-hoc/unscientific sanitation

practices, thus polluting the ground water, water bodies or the river itself.

In order to upgrade the living conditions of the slum dwellers of Delhi and also to

prohibit further pollution and damage to the water resources of the city, the State

Government has taken up slum relocation as a practice since the late 1960’s. However,

the locations of the resettlement colonies to which the slum residents were being

rehabilitated also did not have access to basic services such as sanitation and clean

water. They also seem to be in low lying areas.

This poses the question of how the city creates habitations for its poor particularly with

reference to the sanitation provisions being made. Also, how such settlements interact

with its water bodies, and thereby the possible environmental impact and how the slum

settlements can be better accommodated.

1.2 JHUGGIS AND RESETTLEMENT COLONIES

According the DUSIB Act, 2010 “jhuggi” means a structure whether temporary or pucca,

of whatever material made, with the following characteristics, namely:- (i) it is built for

residential purpose; (ii) its location is not in conformity with the land use of the Delhi

Master Plan; (iii) it is not duly authorized by the local authority having jurisdiction; and

(iv) it is included in a jhuggi jhopri basti declared as such by the Board, by notification.

Resettlement colonies concept in Delhi was started in 1962 after the cabinet approval of

the Juggi Jhompri Resettlement Scheme (JJR). In this scheme, no slums were to be

removed without first enabling alternative housing for those being displaced.

‘Resettlement colonies’ were built to house residents evicted from Jhuggi Jhopri clusters

(JJC). As a result of that scheme (and its modifications) at present there are 86

resettlement colonies in Delhi.

1.3 WATER BODIES

Water Bodies in Delhi (and other urban areas) are rapidly deteriorating. This fact has

been brought to the notice of the government several times by environmentalists. On

the basis of a PIL filed by a Delhi based NGO, the Honble High Court of Delhi had given

orders that all water bodies in Delhi were to be protected. Infact, the Honble. High

Court of Delhi has been monitoring the progressive improvement of the water bodies

since May, 2011 and has ordered the GNCT to prepare an action plan to conserve them.

1.4 THE PROJECT - “Sanitation Beyond Sewers”: Water Bodies and their linkages with

Informal Settlements

This study, was conducted by Forum for Organised Resource Conservation and

Enhancement (FORCE), funded by GIZ as a part of its ICPP program. The main purpose of

the study is to find out the status of sanitation in resettlement colonies, the status of

water bodies in Delhi and to explore the linkages between water bodies and Planned

Resettlement Colonies.

This report will give a summary of the findings, conclusions and recommendations of

the entire project. Detailed reports for each sub-section and each deliverable of the

project are being submitted along with this Summary.

2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

There are three main objectives of the whole study:

1. To understand the condition of sanitation in a typical resettlement colony with

special reference to the gender sensitivity of the provisions made

2. To understand the status of water bodies in Delhi

3. To understand the linkages between planned habitations for the poor in Delhi

with the city’s water bodies.

Based on the above, recommendations for better protection of water bodies; for

sanitation provisions in resettlement colonies and for an integrated approach to

planning for water bodies and resettlements will be made.

3. DESIGN OF THE STUDY

In view of the above objectives, the study was broken into two sections.

Section A – This part of the study was a Macro analysis of Water Bodies and their

relationship with Resettlement colonies in the city with special reference to Sanitation.

GIS mapping was used extensively as an analytical tool in this section. The GIS analysis

was supplemented by detailed observations of 6 resettlements studied as examples for

sanitation and its link with water bodies.

The key outputs of this section were:

No. Deliverable as per contract Description

A1 GIS based documentation of

water bodies and river, overlaid

with mapping of planned

resettlement colonies.

Delhi’s water bodies and resettlement

colonies along with descriptors such

as size, location, current status etc

have been mapped using GIS. The

(Submitted as CD: “GIS

Mapping Water Bodies and

Resettlements)”

resulting maps have been analyzed to

arrive at conclusions regarding the

reason for their current status, their

inter-relationships and

recommendations for planners

A2 Report on evolution of planned

resettlement colonies in Delhi

around water bodies (up to six

case studies).

(Our Report: “FORCE report on

Resettlements and Water

Bodies”)

A Report that captures the findings,

conclusions and recommendations of

the above study has been made. The

report also includes in-depth analysis

of 6 resettlement colonies to further

explore the relationship between

water bodies and sanitation.

A3 Product for mass distribution

combining the map of the

settlements and water bodies

with brief background on the

selected planned resettlement

colonies

(Submitted as CD: “GIS

Mapping Water Bodies and

Resettlements)”

Link to web:

This is a web based map of water

bodies and resettlements that will be

uploaded and hosted on the FORCE

webpage and Social media pages. The

objective is to allow community and

other stakeholders to study the map,

the characteristics of water bodies

and resettlements that have been

captured there. We hope to use that

map in the coming months as an

agent of positive change for water

bodies and resettlements.

Section B – This part of the study was a Micro Analysis of the sanitation conditions in a

typical resettlement. Madanpur Khadar B2 block was taken as an example for the study.

The study not just listed the sanitation conditions but, also tried to identify the factors

that help improve the sanitation conditions in an area .

The key outputs of this section were:

No. Deliverable as per contract Description

B2 Concept note on documentation

methods.

(Our Report:“Documentation

Concept Note”

A brief note was presented to clarify

how we would collect and present the

information about Madanpur Khadar

sanitation conditions

B1 Documentation of Sanitation

Conditions in B2 Block Madanpur

Khadar

(Our Report: “Sanitation Status

Report”

This is a Report on the Sanitation

Conditions in B2 block of Madanpur

Khadar with a special focus on the

gender perspective.

B3 Audio-visual documentation of

Madanpur Khadar’s sanitation

conditions, from a gender

perspective including interviews of

the locals.

(DVD: “GIZ Sanitation Film”

This is a film that shows that it is

possible to improve the sanitation

conditions of even those areas where

there are no sewers.

B4 Photo essay on Madanpur Khadar.

(Our Report: “Madanpur Khadar

Photo Essay”)

Based on photographs taken by children

and community members as a part of

project activities, this photo essay gives

an insight into the life on an average

resettlement colony resident.

B5 Documentation on children’s

community involvement project

(Our Report : Report on Community

Events)

This report lists down the activities

conducted with children of Madanpur

Khadar as a part of this project.

4. LIMITATIONS OF THE PROJECT

The key limitation of the project was the limited time available for carrying out the

study. Also availability of validated data was a challenge since government records on

the topic are sketchy. Even where data was available, accessing it from the government

sources was difficult.

The time limitation also limited the scope of the project. The study details, as per the

defined deliverables, opened windows into many more relevant issues for further study.

However, owing to the lack of time, it was not possible to expand the scope as required.

This study is therefore, more of a preliminary study. A larger study with greater scope

for in-depth exploration of the issues raised, is needed to do justice to the issues

highlighted by this study.

5. SUMMARY OF PROJECT FINDINGS

5.1 SANITATION IN RESETTLEMENTS

( Details in: “Sanitation Status Report “ and ‘MadanpurKhadar – Photo Essay”. Also

some references in “FORCE report on Resettlements and Water Bodies”)

The study echoed the observations voiced by Non profits – that sanitation conditions in

Resettlement Colonies are not substantially better than those in unauthorized slums.

The alarming fact revealed by the study is that prima facie, it seems that the poor

sanitation condition has a far more basic genesis than was earlier assumed.

So far, social workers have assumed that the poor sanitation conditions are because of a

lack of co-ordination between the multiple authorities involved in rehabilitation of the

poor. Delhi has a unique problem in this respect owing to the duality in its governance

by both the central and state governments. Our detailed case studies verified this fact.

They revealed that it took a minimum of 10 years upto 26 years from the time of

construction to bring sewer lines into a resettlement colony! Organised garbage disposal

systems seemed to be last on the priority list of the planners since it is not present even

after 26 years in some areas. This means that for atleast 10 years, the residents of a

resettlement colony live without any access to sewage and garbage disposal systems.

The resultant unscientific, unplanned and unhygienic coping up methods followed by

residents are largely responsible for the horrible state of sanitation in these areas.

Women suffer the most because of poorly planned sanitation. They face humiliation,

health problems and inconvenience because of lack of easily accessible, adequate and

well maintained toilets. This also leads to sporadic open defection when children and

women urinate and defecate in open drains near their houses during night or early

morning or in emergency situations when going to the community toilet complex is

difficult.

The study also shows that the size of the resettlement plots has been going down

consistently since 1962. The design of resettlement houses that have been allotted in

the last phase does not include a toilet. The obvious conclusion is that sanitation

provisions within the house have been given least priority by the government.

On the other hand, our interactions with the residents of the resettlements showed that

a toilet within the household was high on their priority list even when sewage disposal

options were not there. Women act as major influencers in the family decision of

making the toilet. In many homes, the women use the home toilet while the men still

use the community toilet or defecate in the open. The toilet is usually made to protect

the dignity of the women of the household. Infact, in the older resettlements, many

households had already made toilets. The leach pits were made under the floor of their

bedrooms or in the lanes in-front of their homes. In many cases, the toilet waste was

emptied directly into the open drains flowing in-front of their houses.

Our study showed that the provision of sewers and the presence of privately managed

or government managed house to house garbage collections systems were the most

critical determinants of the state of sanitation of an area. Unfortunately, what we also

saw was that over time, unauthorised slums came up in the open spaces and around the

resettlement colonies. Thus, even where sewer lines and garbage dumps were finally

provided, there were pockets of filth unconnected to these provisions.

The most critical revelation of our study was, however, that the Resettlement colonies

were doomed to be plagued by sanitation problems from the day they were

conceptualized. Our study has revealed a clear tendency of Resettlements to be located

within the core catchment of one or more water bodies. 90% water bodies are located

either within the boundaries of the resettlements or within a 1 km buffer zone. The land

selected for the resettlements was topographically placed in a depressed zone. As a

result there was an inherent tendency of the area to be waterlogged – an observation

that was verified by the residents of those areas. More importantly, the reverse slopes

would make it difficult to link the area’s internal sewerage and drainage with the trunk

lines.

The fact that after 1990, there seems to be a clear trend towards locating the

resettlements in the northern peripheral wards of Delhi, further writes the obituary of

sanitation. Being the outermost, least developed parts of Delhi, there are no sewer

trunk lines or garbage disposal points in the vicinity of any of the new resettlements.

Hence, even if internal sewer lines are laid, there is no planned outfall for the sewage.

The high water table in these areas makes the situation worse, as it not only makes

sewage disposal difficult but also makes the groundwater more susceptible to

contamination.

5.2 WATER BODIES

( Details in : “FORCE report on Resettlements and Water Bodies”)

Government records reveal that there are more than 1000 Water Bodies in Delhi - a city

considered a ‘Dry’ city. On the GIS map made for the project, the marked water bodies

seem like they are jostling for space – a sight to delight the thirsty eyes of an average

Delhite. Yet, when you search for them on ground, you barely find any and the few you

find are in a pitiable state.

On one hand, our study showed a success of judicial activism. The Delhi High Court’s

order ‘To Preserve Water Bodies as Water Bodies’ seems to have had some success. The

government has made an effort to locate, mark and record the status of the water

bodies of Delhi. It has also tried to protect them by constructing boundary walls and de-

silting them. On the other hand, our study revealed a complete absence of a planned,

integrated approach to preventing deterioration in the condition of water bodies. This is

the reason why 80% of water bodies are either encroached or sewage filled or bone dry.

The study also revealed that the water bodies status varied across districts. Also that

different land owning agencies had different track records in maintaining the water

bodies. It was also seen that there was a positive correlation between the density of

population in a district and the level of encroachment of its water bodies and that water

bodies in villages seemed to fare much better than those in urban parts of Delhi. Several

patterns emerged which need to be explored further because they can give insights into

the pattern of deterioration of water bodies. These studies can help put in place

institutional mechanisms to safeguard water bodies during critical phases as the

catchment around them evolves.

Overall the picture that emerged was that of a callous neglect of the rainwater

reservoirs of the city. There is a clear pattern of deterioration as the land use of the

water body’s catchment changes from village to urban development. There is no

attempt to integrate habitation construction with the protection and productive

utilization of water bodies. No effort is made to stop contaminating influences around

the water bodies. The water bodies are largely seen as a useless piece of land and hence

are the target of encroachers. The only role they seem to be playing is that of

convenient garbage and sewage dumps or as reclaimed land sold off illegally.

5.3 WATER BODIES AND THE IMPACT OF RESETTLEMENTS ON THEM

( Details in : “FORCE report on Resettlements and Water Bodies”)

The tragedy unfolded by the study is the institutionalization of the neglect of Water

Bodies. It has shown a deliberate act of the government in choosing to make

resettlement colonies within the core catchments of water bodies. Not only is this

disastrous in terms of sanitation provisions for the resettlements, it sounds the death

knell for water bodies too. This was proven both by the GIS analysis and also by the case

studies done in our study .

All our case studies show that the water bodies near the resettlement are either

untraceable or filled with sewage. In resettlements where there is no sewerage system,

the water body is the sewage outfall point. In resettlements where a sewage network

exists and is connected to a trunk sewer, the water bodies are either untraceable or

have become the receptacles for sewage of the slum areas that have grown within and

around the resettlement.

It is also important to note that most of the resettlements (and the surrounding slums)

are fully or partially dependent on groundwater. Hence, the percolation of sewage into

groundwater is contaminating the drinking water source of these areas.

6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The key conclusion that emerges from this study is that the policies governing

Resettlement Planning need to be re-examined in view of the finding that the choice of

location and the sanitation planning is flawed. The choice of location makes the

resettlements vulnerable to failure of water and sewage disposal systems. The badly,

highly delayed design and implementation of the sewage disposal systems further

makes it impossible for these areas to have good sanitation conditions. Water Bodies

too suffer because of this flawed choice. They get encroached upon or become the

outfall for all the sewage of the area. Even those water bodies that are not near the

resettlements are either dry or encroached or sewage filled. It clearly shows that these

environmental assets have not been protected by the authorities.

Based on the conclusions the key recommendations are:

1) That a conscious effort should be made by the government to avoid making

resettlement colonies near water bodies.

2) That sanitation systems in resettlements should be in place BEFORE residents

shift in. These should be connected to trunk networks or sewage treatment

plants and regularly cleaned garbage dumps.

3) That government may consider making a two step sanitation plan – an interim

plan in which temporary sewage and garbage treatment arrangements may be

made for the first few years when residents are slowly moving into the colony –

and a final plan designed to take the full load of the colony

4) That, every home should have a toilet connected to the sewage disposal system.

5) That the sanitation systems should be planned for at least two times the capacity

of the resettlement in view of the fact that additional families move into the

resettlement areas in the existing plots and as unauthorized slums.

6) That water bodies need to be given a definitive, visible role. This will make their

protection a priority for the communities living there and the administration.

Some of the possible roles are that of Groundwater recharge points (hence all

rainwater runoff from the area must be diverted to the water body) or that of a

Wetland based Sewage Treatment and Storage Site.

7) That a buffer zone around water bodies should be kept free of any construction

8) That a strict policy of not allowing untreated sewage to enter the water bodies

should be made

9) That further studies be done to analyze the factors contributing to the

deterioration of water bodies and a Water Body lifespan protection plan be

made accordingly.

7. THE WAY FORWARD

The study, through visually compelling GIS maps, films, photo essays and through

analytically sound reports, has revealed the disastrous nature of urban poor settlements

and the state of the water bodies of the city. It has revealed trends in urban planning

that spell the death knell for water bodies and condemn resettled populations to a

lifetime of sanitation problems.

In the coming months, FORCE will be sharing the results of the study with relevant

government departments, urban planners and with community groups. The objective is

to build a body of opinion against the environmentally harmful and sanitation unfriendly

practices being followed currently. The aim is also to start a debate about the pragmatic

approaches that need to be taken if we are to save the water bodies of the city and to

address the question of whether we are forcing the poor to live in densely packed

pockets placed on topographically unsuitable lands rejected by the city’s rich.

We also hope to get additional support for further studies that will help us find answers

to the questions raised by this study. As has been mentioned earlier, due to paucity of

time and resources, this study’s scope had to be kept limited. However, it has revealed

some trends that bear further investigation to help us derive lessons for future planning.

These further studies gain importance in view of the fact that there is an increasing

simultaneous need to protect water bodies (as water sources and ecological buffers)

and provide dignified habitats for the increasing numbers of the displaced urban poor.

In the current scenario, habitats seem to be growing at the expense of water bodies. If

this trend is to be reversed then we need to understand the reasons behind the

correlations and trends observed in this study. Those reasons will hold the cues for

planners to help them better align water body protection with habitat growth and

sanitation needs of the growing population.

Report prepared by

Forum For Organised Resource Conservation and Enhancement (FORCE)

C-8/8035, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi – 110070. Web: www.force.org.in

For more details:

Jyoti Shoarma, President, FORCE. Ph: 8745017926, email: jyoti@force.org.in

Sanjiv Sharma, Director, Projects, FORCE. Ph: 8745017933, email: sanjiv@force.org.in