Demolition State: Urban India in Transition for Welfare?

 Between 2019 and 2025, India has witnessed a significant increase in the demolition of houses and slums, often under the guise of urban development, encroachment removal, or city beautification. These actions have disproportionately affected marginalized communities, including Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis, and migrant workers. These demolition drives have raised significant legal and human rights concerns, particularly regarding the lack of proper rehabilitation and compensation for displaced individuals. Many affected communities have reported inadequate notice periods and insufficient support systems post-eviction

 

Notable Demolition Drives (2019–2025)

• Delhi (2023): Ahead of the G20 summit, over 1,600 homes were demolished, and 3,000 eviction notices were served. Many residents were displaced without rehabilitation or compensation. thehindu.com+1hindustantimes.com+1
• Mumbai (2024): Residents of the Saibaba Rehvasi Seva Sangh slum in Kandivali faced repeated demolitions, with many families left in limbo due to unclear rehabilitation policies. hindustantimes.com+1indianexpress.com+1
• Mumbai (2024): In Panchasheel Nagar, Govandi, approximately 250 tenements were demolished without proper documentation, leaving residents struggling to prove their eligibility for compensation. hindustantimes.com
• Kolkata (2025): The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority initiated a plan to demolish unauthorized shanties under several canal bridges to prevent safety hazards, with an estimated budget of Rs 50 lakh. timesofindia.indiatimes.com
• Mumbai (2025): Proposals have emerged to reclassify land occupied by slums in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park area as non-forest to prevent the relocation of around 80,000 households. timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The sudden rise reminds many for great demolition prior to National emergency - 1972-74 in metropolitan cities. The idea of SMART cities and AMRUT, has done away with inclusive development strategies adopted during the last 12th five year plan by Planning Commission (changed to NITI Aayog in 2015). The million plus households have suffered because of lack of alternative offered, accessible or eligible for new schemes proposed by the Central and State governments. 

In the era of welfare state why do people have to be at mercy of the state? The right to shelter, seeking fundamental protection from the state is difficult to achieve.  Many from the minority community (particularly Muslims) had been the first target but subsequently the poorest of the poor are removed from the streets and localities. The 'Slum being cancer to society' phenomenon of 1980s is back to haunt the poor being thrown out of city society and space. 

 

CONTRIBUTION INVITED FROM SOCIAL SCIENTISTS/PLANNERS AND OTHERS

 

Green Eminent - Research Centre, invites contributions in form of project briefs, papers and data for its upcoming publications on the Public Social Development Reports of states of India (2025 AD). Likely to be published in January 2026. Authors are request to submit the papers (to be taken as chapter in edited book) and reports concerning their areas of study in typed format with resumes. Selected contributors for the reports would be paid a token remuneration for their contribution. Please note the following dates;

25th Novembers 2024- Abstracts (150-200 words)

10th December 2024 - Intimation to Authors

15th February 2025- Full Paper

30th March-2025-Peer Review (Register your self as reviewers by sending resume)

15th November 2025-Draft Publication (online)

31st January 2026 - Final Publication (Free Public Access)

Note: All Papers and communication can be done through this mail to gercbrd@gmail.com

Area of Interest: Rural Development, Regional Development, Urban Planning, Geoinformatics, Industrial Growth, Decentralised Planning, Sustainable development, Climate Change, Environmental Status, Peoples Participation etc..

Mind our business -Technology Glitch and Modern Cities

 

    The artificial intelligence are believed to have threatened the human life process, as warned by the people who created it during last lock down period between 2019 to 2022 to open new world of search and answer the questions concerning the data already available on the web space. Google knows all and CHAT tools delivers it at your door steps (alas desktop word/excel or ppt). The life of the students struggling to find the answers to the questions so rudimental to getting decent passing marks are hooked to new boy in the town. The teachers and tutors frown at them citing plagiarism, but how teaching had been original, we all have referred books and guides to get our answers to score some marks. 

"You have the control of power switch, use your wisdom!"

    The cities, life moves on to the delivery glitches due to poor addresses and google sans the responsibility across the globe. The AI steps in to correct the algorithm to guide our delivery agents to right place. Some may look at the intrusion of the privacy and know all threatening technology. However, we all must look into the positives of technology and try to find the best way use to ease our space and settlement management. Cities and regions are marred with ills of toxic chemicals, plastics, domestic wastes etc polluting our rivers, ponds and other water bodies. Cleaning them or monitoring had been a long headache to administrators, while expecting the technologies to monitor, response and alert the authorities on time. 

There is obvious opposition to technologies in view of lowering down of human errors or inefficiencies. There is absolute concern by the designers and service providers who on the basis of their secret knowledge ( which is no more true) where with technology its about know more. The threat of AI is multifaceted with humans like earlier tech evolution credited with taking more human jobs. But the earlier concerns were thrown out when IT and tech industry created a highly effective job profile for the youth learning to become computer buff within a time span of decade. The evolution of automation, robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence would take over operations no doubt, but it would also help humans to relive and connect with nature. 

    Unfortunately, inefficient systems of production and consumption, business of information walls and block knowledge for the disadvantageous groups have created corrupt and violent societies. We all hope some where the new tech would be concern with the ill effects and must not look down upon as somebody taking their biological role as humans. The aggression, love and compassion of humans would be transferred into the automation more smarter way down the line however, there would be enough opportunist to take it down.

    The governments would be regulating the automation to a large extent for the security purposes, but there would always be counter intelligence to beat one another. The functional system would be threatened by the new tech and operations of currencies (digital or virtual), transections and payment systems. The low tech nations with deliberate disconnect or forced offline societies would be saved from the tech glitch and someone may find it attractive to stay away from the connected societies. Most of the rich and famous would like to remain anonymous in the web world and enjoy the freedoms. The citizens in the urban areas might want the web world to stop exploring the gaze beyond the working hours and early mornings. The laws to manage or control the tech devices would be setup and operated by the AI tools only with smart way would be to save your privacy. 

    Cities of tomorrow may be technology friendly but you would still know the traffic jams, walking around in rains without your tech tools and swim around with flow of wind and water. The blossom of the flowers, morning sunshine and evening mood would still set the affairs of the world into an orderly disorder. 

Get back if you want to comment on this to me. Thanks 

Thinking, Doing and Sharing - Key to 4IR and Geospatial Industry

Enabling geospatial policy for a sustainable ecosystem needs the government and industry to working together in a rapidly changing and evolving technology landscape. The digital world is trying to capture everything that happens somewhere, using the data collection systems, processing, representing and disseminating the information.  These are desirable systems now fed with data which have now used sporadically with little less trust worthiness. The speed of data collection, dynamic platforms and varied user interfaces leaves little chance to verify its accuracy. The multitude of the data sources may be government or private or individuals is lagging behind in ensuring its authenticity and more used for its trust. 

The spatial content through cloud and open sources in data have led to large volumes of unprocessed or under processed information. The concept of truthing or validation needs more data repository for the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) to be able to utilize the artificial intelligence or machine learning. The logical reasoning when fed with incorrect data can lead to disastrous or faulty decision making in the automated world. The human nature to make irrational decisions and system over ride limitations of systems would lead to chaotic outcomes. 

Whether commonly enabled, free or open technology would exist due to its cost effectiveness, or lead to opening scope for startups? The future societies might need to relieve intellectual properties (IP) for the development of technologies needed for societies growth. The establishment of society-industry linkages in spatial applications is needed with user interfaces (UI) open to public access. The innovators or thinkers for future tech world would carry responsibility of leveraging on open source, open data and open access to connect all. The organizations would attempt to integrate the sustainable development goals (SDG) more with data capturing and analytical systems. 

The digital ecosystem for performing the geospatial functions in analysis particularly in content and services would lead to diverse ecosystem. The tech giants dealing with innovation functions would need support of policy, market and technology support to fulfill the 4IR goals of nations. Whether the current education system supports the shifting technology through multi-disciplinary approach? Capacity building for the young tech , science and geospatial graduates is needed to understand the integration of data science with process engineering. The problem solving approach of the social sciences needed to update the community about the issues of people, resources and economy which needs technological interventions.

The physical asset tabulations, changing natural order and long lasting impacts on the climate and environments needs significant transformation studied across the continents. The pressure of population (both increasing  or diminishing), resource exploitation and automation may enhance the vulnerability of nature and human. Startup innovation support systems or cooperation framework would be needed not only at the transnational level but also at the regional and local levels. The data should now also include not only the data but specifically spatial data for its accuracy and temporal demands. The static and dynamic data content might to lead to stagnation or intelligent systems. The stakeholders, i.e., government, industry and academia needs more collaborations than ever to overcome the speed of project implementation.