[Reader-list] Home Truths: Providing Shelter to Millions on the Street

[SPACE]

The Times of India, February 2, 2005

Home Truths: Providing Shelter to Millions on the Street

by Bharat Dogra

No one remembers them during grand occasions like
Republic Day. They are the homeless - people
stretched on footpaths under torn blankets or
less, on remorselessly cold and foggy nights.
Discussions on improving urban infrastructure
altogether negate their existence. Perhaps, their
only consolation under this framework is to eke
out a space below the flyovers littering the city
landscape. They are taken note of only as
undesirable elements that need to be weeded out
of the city in order to improve its 'social
infrastructure'. The Emergency happened only 30
years back, but today a Turkman Gate happens
virtually each day all over the country without a
murmur of disapproval. Have we really evolved as
a strong, proud Republic?

Ironically, the callous neglect is visible in the
very city that hosts the Republic Day parade.
Despite the recent emphasis on poverty
alleviation schemes, the existing night shelters
in Delhi accommodate less than 5% of the city's
1,00,000 homeless, or 3,000 people. If the
homeless go through hell in winter in Delhi, they
face high water in the monsoon in Mumbai. The
situation in smaller towns, away from public and
policy focus, can well be imagined. It is an
indication of the extent to which the urban
homeless have been ignored that reliable
estimates of their number are just not available.
Census estimates have left out a big chunk of the
homeless as they can only be contacted at night
and not very easily.

Sporadic estimates suggest that the number of
homeless is not less than three million, or about
1% of the urban population. The figures will rise
if we include those who are precariously housed,
or on the margin of homelessness. Some people are
'resettled' so far away from their place of work
that they prefer to sleep in the open near the
worksite despite the existence of a house or hut
miles away. Shouldn't we consider them homeless?

Several studies have shown that it makes sense
for the government to provide housing sites and
basic services close to the place of livelihood.
If only a few dwellings pose a problem - for
example, to make way for a road or a drain -
organisations of slum dwellers can help to find
an alternative site nearby for these few. This
was demons-trated by the Asha Abhiyan project in
Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh).

Notwithstanding these facts, nearly three lakh
people have been rendered homeless by a slum
demolition drive in Mumbai in recent weeks. Chief
minister Vilasrao Deshmukh stands committed to
changing the face of Mumbai, no matter what the
human cost.

A two-pronged approach is needed to provide
shelter on a large scale. The programme of
creating night shelters should be stepped up
significantly. Appeals should be made to make
available buildings that are unused at night, so
that these can provide shelter to the homeless,
particularly in extremely cold weather. Such
buildings can include religious and philanthropic
places, schools and colleges. A means would have
to be devised to link the organisations and
people willing to donate space to those who
actually need it. Voluntary organisations and
citizens' groups can play an important role in
establishing this link and ensuring that the
homeless enter and leave buildings in an orderly
way so that their day-use is not disturbed.

Ordinary citizens can play a more positive role.
Their concerns at present only find limited
expression - such as donation of an occasional
blanket - due to lack of avenues to reach out to
the homeless. However, if organisations dedicated
to meeting many-faceted needs of the homeless
emerge, these can facilitate a much more
broad-based participation of citizens.

The Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan in Delhi has made an
effort in this direction. It engages people in
the needs of the homeless and provides spaces for
them to link up with welfare activities. Many
students have offered their voluntary services;
some educational institutions have allowed their
premises to be used as shelters at night; and
commercial establishments as well as individuals
have come up with job and training offers.

A move is afoot in Delhi and Chennai to provide
the homeless with a voters' identity card. This
would empower the unfortunate lakhs in their
interactions with hafta -hungry policemen and
hospital staff, while also bringing them into the
reckoning when the government announces welfare
measures.

The Tenth Plan document refers to according
voluntary organisations a greater role in
managing night shelters. The document emphasises
building night shelters for women and children,
who have suffered glaring neglect in the past.

Night shelter programmes should learn from
earlier mistakes. The low occupancy at night
shelters is explained not only by the unhygienic
conditions, but also by the fact that the needs
of special occupational groups are often
overlooked. Rickshaw and cart-pullers need a
place to keep their cycles and carts - their
means of livelihood - securely before they can
sleep peacefully in a shelter. Hence, a close
interaction with the target group is needed so
that the funds are well spent. Along with an
increase in the budget for night shelters,
greater transparency in funds use will go a long
way in ensuring the best results. In sum, it
makes more sense to provide for the homeless than
to pursue policies which increase their number in
the name of beautification and infrastructure
creation. Only then can we say Saare jahan se
achcha .