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. 

 

Dream Merchants: Dharavi Unmarked

Dharavi represents the class conflicts and the lust for the land grabber with slew of promises to the slum dwellers, during the last ten years scores of architects and planners have landed in Dharavi each promising them better life than another. The state government going with the wind pledged investment to the tune of 15000 crores just to see the face of Dharavi lifted from being 'Slum' to an 'elite' areas with all the modern amenities and lifestyle. Rather than listning to what the learned professionals were saying and people in the slum tend to believe in themselves have rejected the lure by the developers. The people who had planned heavens for them are lingering again to adjust their plan as per the peoples wishes, but there is not a end to their desires.

The urban elitists who would otherwise have shunned the slum dwellers are vying for their precious land, just to justify their investments. The combination of professionals makes them deadly in the sense that they have counted themselves as 'stakeholders' and have forgotten about the people. The numerous design awards for the space design had really place excitment over the place but counter arguments and so called stakeholders veto the decisions. Thus there is hangover of the desingers looming large over the space and people repeatdly confronting them of the why and how. May be the manner in which the Slum Rehabilitation Schemes have progressed in Mumbai where in the developers and builders have chance to grab the land and give some peanuts to the people. The people who they have termed illigal and unwanting on not so precious at another site and place here they have been cajoled to shall out the peice of land for the neo-rich where they agree to stay with providing identical settings for the slum dwellers.

Mr. Architect, turned back from US now, looks for green pastures outside the Dharavi, where to go now, ten years of wait has made the life of his firm on backseat with state governments not promising any action, these dream merchant is now selling spree on other parts of country. Here comes the big stakeholders, do you know what slum rehabilitation is like...just a peice of concrete and nothing more. The image of city, without Dharavi will be no diffrent there are fifty more in making...some more thought making your city 'Slum free' just ignore them!

AMC on Demolition Spree: Building Cities-Destroying Homes

This time again the demolition of hutments along the Sabarmati River Front project highlights the priority of the Gujarat government and Ahmadabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). The displacement of over 50000 persons overnight in the city causes serious violation of human rights and plight is politcised to gain the development of the city. The ruthless attempt by the AMC to throw away whosoever comes on the way of clean city, making it 'slum free'. The high ideals set by the judiciary in coming to support the slum dwellers in what is called as their homes, stands nullified amidst the urgency of the local body. The series is similar to what has been observed in most part of the country including Jharkand, Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Karnataka and others, wherein the homes made out of temporary materials are demolished along with the hopes of the people. The city administrative makes it hard for the poor to survive given its preference to rich dwellers where they escape demolition by paying the much legalized 'impact fees'.

The nature of conflicts invited by the local bodies calls for utmost serious thought on the governance and right to justice for the affected people. The dance of terror on the daily life of poor is inflicted by the administration and police who were supposed to protect them in time of dire needs. There is ample legal scope to save the poor from ultimate humiliation and apathy given the judgements made in past for the people and against the demolition. The high handedness of the administration emerges from the lack of awareness and system in place even after 65 years of independence. The dominance of the class over the others mixed with fair amount of greed for land and unjust planning forces the poor to accept the fate in the event like what has happened in Ahmadabad recently.

Hopes of the people in the city specially the poor and unprotected is running dry for any acceptance from the society where they can seek justice. The repeated acquisition of land for the development projects also adds more slum dwellers in the city in absence of seeking job and shelter. The insufficient compensation and high cost of living in the cities makes the task of poor households very difficult to survive. Only when the development projects further targets them to make way for another giant project which might be luxury for some group of society. The selective target of the people based on class and creed is humilating and defeating for the very purpose of Indian democracy. The lack of stringent legal backing and support system leaves people little choice in accepting the fate without protest. The reaction of the homeless group if turns violent is just to have another day to mute protest is high expectation from the administration. The immediate attention of the people and leaders is called to stop the savage practice in the name of urban development and beautification.

Being Voice of Poor - A Fugutive in his own Nation

A frail looking figure and abundence of vision, a desire to serve the poor and will of steel to take on establishment, thats what I can describe Avinash Kulkarni. On the face of it he seems to be associated with the organisation whoes movement associated with alleged violent actions in parts of central India. He is democratic voice of the peoples movement, like him many sympathisers of the banned organisation continue to propogate the ideas without indulging in violence. The Gujarat state has never experience violence from the those who belived to be associated with peoples movement against the present governence. Like him many are opposed to present system, take for instance the recent outbrust of Baba Ramdev in public broadcast. But he remains unquestioned as supporter of ideologies related to dissatisfaction with the present governance. The protests and refutal of a system is enshrined in the constitutional rights of citizen, yet the government seems to act, like its erstwhile colonial masters to eradicate the radicals and opponents. The society though watches it silently may not be absorbing all without having reflections on the actions of present governments against the intellectual supporters of ideology. Rather, with the arrest of the soft sympatherisers like Avinash- the government of India has invited other intellectual to come in open discussion. There are wrongs done by people who adhere to violence as a means to meet the end to the present system of governence. We need to condemn and restrict the violence while forcing the change in system of governence. I keept asking these questions to our interactions with intellectuals, elders and mass leaders of similar ideologies for peoples movement. The distrust and total illusion with the present system is responsible for promotion of this situation in most of India. Globally, leaders of people movement is never trusted by the popular governments, either elected democratically or by manupulation of systems and people. Governments are responsible for encouraging the powerful and rich to exploit the poor and downtrodden. The focal policies of governence have benefited the rich more than the poor. How can rational mind remain silent on such a system of exploitation of resources? Example are plenty in forestry, mining, power, telecom, cement, textile and media. These are run by powerful rich and people have no chance to take capital benefits. Every person is consumer and bound to be in debt either here or in America. The powerful financial controllers manupulate the system so that people do not become free from debt. They remain under huge stress and debt in order to supply money to the billionares club. Employment, housing, and security has still remain ellusive to most of people in the world.

More reactions from the government against the sympatisers of the peoples movement is yet to come. Its my appeal to both the sides of present conflict to adhere to peace and come to negotiation terms for the benefit of nation. Governments may crush the activists but it would be difficult win the heart of masses. Jai Hind

Housing for Poor: Serving the Rich

Under the current JNNURM and IHSDP scheme, the Government of India has initiated a huge task of providing housing for the poor by the way giving the houses at the susidised rate with contribution from the central, state and local funds. At the start of the scheme in 2006 it was assumed a significant step towards attaining the goal and changes were observed in the attitude of the state and local government. But now experts like Amitabh Kundu (Professor, JNU) and Krishnamurty (Director, Centre for Policy research) have questioned the ideological bankrupcy of the thinkers in changing the norms for the sake of serving the target groups from EWS/LIG to MIG/HIG householders. The price range for the house with loan components have been increased from Rs. 90,000 to Rs. 1,50,000 in most of the schemes and subsequently to Rs. 3.0 to 5.0 lakhs in the schemes running in the metropolitan cities of country. This high cost of the housing would not be able to target the income group it was intending to serve. Secondly the lobbying by the builders and developers inorder to take hold of prime land are forcing the schemes to be removed from the current locations to the outskirts of the city in the pretext of providing housing for the poor. Are we serious?

This shift in outlook and retroric of 'slum free India' is changing the basic ideologies and approach needs to be adopted for the housing for the poor. By these projects housing stock in the cities might be increased but it would be difficult to provide housing for the poor. It was not right on the part with the governments to play in the hands of private parties and forget the larger interests of the urban poor. Urban improvement and renewal if it can be taken 'in situ' should be encouraged, particiaption by the community concerned should be made mandatory in the project (construction and services), local bodies should involve themselves directly to the projects rather then engaging the contractors and developers for the projects.

ULCRA (land Ceiling) does not harm the poor, this should not be tinkered in the pretext of releasing land for the poor, instead the land should be released by the districts immediatly for the projects. Not more than 5 % of land would be required for the housing for the poor in the city. It would not be difficult to accomodate them in the current schemes and plan for action regarding housing for them.

Lets not be in haste in acheiving the targets under the schemes, people are not the objects for the scheme rather these are the subjects and requires sensitive handling.