NOVEMBER 4, 2019

SLUM CLEARANCE
Alwin Sebastian
Johns Johny
 Slum Clearance
Introduction
Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy
used to transform low income settlements with poor reputation into another
type of development or housing.
Reasons
Slum clearance is still practiced today in a number of different situations. During
major international events like conferences and sporting competitions,
governments have been known to forcefully clear low income housing areas, as
a strategy to impress the international attention in an attempt to reduce the
visibility of the host city's apparent poverty.Other attempts at slum clearance
have been subject to other motivations, such as repressing political opposition
or attempts to keep certain communities in check. Zimbabwe's Operation
Murambatsvina was widely criticized by the international community, including
a scathing report from the UN which noted human rights abuses alongside poor
design of the program, which was estimated to displace at least 700,000 slum
dwellers.
Consequences
Critics argue that slum removal by force tends to ignore the social problems that
cause slums. Poor families, often including children and working adults, need a
place to live when adequate low income housing is not providing otherwise.
Moreover, slums are frequently sites of informal economies that provide jobs,
services, and livelihoods not otherwise available in the community. Slum
clearance removes the slum, but it does not remove the causes that create and
maintain the slum. Similarly, plans to remove slums in a number of non-Western
contexts have proven ineffective without sufficient housing and other support
for the displaced communities; for example academics describing such
strategies as detrimental in Nigeria, where the slum destruction puts further
stress on already short housing stock, in some cases create new slums in other
parts of the community.
Alternatives
Some communities have opted for slum upgrading, as an alternative solution:
improving the quality of services and infrastructure to match the community
developed in the slum.
THE SLUM AREAS (IMPROVEMENT AND CLEARANCE) ACT, 1956 ACT NO. 96
OF 1956 [29th December, 1956.]
An Act to provide for the improvement and clearance of slum areas in certain
Union territories and for the protection of tenants in such areas from eviction.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Seventh Year of the Republic of India.
“slum clearance” means the clearance of any slum area by the demolition and
removal of buildings therefrom.
Power to declare any slum area to be a clearance area.
(1) Where the competent authority upon a report from any of its officers or
other information in its possession is satisfied as respects any slum area
that the most satisfactory method of dealing with the conditions in the
area is the demolition of all the buildings in the area, the authority shall
by an order notified in the Official Gazette declare the area to be a
clearance area, that is to say, an area to be cleared of all buildings in
accordance with the provisions of this Act: Provided that any building in
the area which is not unfit for human habitation or dangerous or injurious
to health may be excluded from the declaration if the authority considers
it necessary.
(2) The competent authority shall forthwith transmit to the Administrator a
copy of the declaration under this section together with a statement of
the number of persons who on a date specified in the statement were
occupying buildings comprised in the clearance area.
Slum clearance order.
(1) As soon as may be after the competent authority has declared any slum
area to be a clearance area, it shall make a slum clearance order in relation
to that area ordering the demolition of each of the buildings specified
therein and requiring each such building to be vacated within such time
as may be specified in the order and submit the order to the Administrator
for confirmation.
 (2) The Administrator may either confirm the order in to or subject to such
variations as he considers necessary or reject the order.
(3) If the Administrator confirms the order, the order shall become operative
from the date of such confirmation.
(4) When a slum clearance order has become operative, the owners of
buildings to which the order applies shall demolish the buildings before
the expiration of six weeks from the date on which the buildings are
required by the order to be vacated or before the expiration of such
longer period as in the circumstances of the case the competent authority
may deem reasonable.
(5) If the buildings are not demolished before the expiration of the period
mentioned in sub-section (4) the competent authority shall enter and
demolish the buildings and sell the materials thereof.
(6) Any expenses incurred by the competent authority in demolishing any
building shall, if not satisfied out of the proceeds of sale of materials
thereof, be recoverable by the competent authority as arrears of land
revenue.
(7) Subject to the provisions of this Act, where a slum clearance order has
become operative, the owner of the land to which the order applies may
re-develop the land in accordance with plans approved by the competent
authority and subject to such restrictions and conditions (including a
condition with regard to the time within which the re-development shall
be completed), if any, as that authority may think fit to impose: Provided
that an owner who is aggrieved by a restriction or condition so imposed
on the user of his land or by a subsequent refusal of the competent
authority to cancel or modify any such restriction or condition may, within
such time as may be prescribed, appeal to the Administrator and the
Administrator shall make such order in the matter as he thinks proper and
his decision shall be final.
(8) No person shall commence or cause to be commenced any work in
contravention of a plan approved or a restriction or condition imposed
under sub-section (7).
Power of competent authority to re-develop clearance area.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (7) of section 10, the
competent authority may at any time after the land has been cleared of
the buildings in accordance with a slum clearance order but before the
work of re-development of that land has been commenced by the owner,
 by order, determine to re-develop the land if that authority is satisfied
that it is necessary in the public interest to do so.
(2) Where land has been cleared of the buildings in accordance with a slum
clearance order, the competent authority, if it is satisfied that the land
has been, or is being, re-developed by the owner thereof in contravention
of plans approved by the authority or any restrictions or conditions
imposed under sub-section (7) of section 10 or has not been re-
developed within the time, if any, specified under such conditions, may,
by order, determine to re-develop the land: Provided that before passing
such order, the owner shall be given a reasonable opportunity to show
cause why the order should not be passed.

Case Study- Rajkot, Gujarat-Raiyadhar slum.

Introduction
Government of Gujarat, through its PPP Policy and Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana
2013 has prepared guidelines for In-situ Rehabilitation of Slum Dwellers.
Decentralized Decision Making
Under this policy, the decision making for the Slum Rehabilitation Projects is
decentralized. At City Level, a prescribed authority for Slum Rehabilitation is
formed which examines the issues in meeting. The Committee has 9 members,
including the following:
• Municipal Commissioner- Chairman
• District Collector- Member
• Dy. Municipal Commissioner, Central Zone, RMC
• CEO of Urban Development Authority- Member
• Town Planning Officer of Urban Development Authority- Member
• Town Planning Officer of Municipal Corporation- Member
• Representative from NGO- Member
• Representative from Builders Association- Member
Project Development Process
• The City Engineer of the Municipal Corporation along with his team
prepares the project and presents the same to the committee for their
views. The suggestions and modifications if any are recorded and
 incorporated; and the tender is floated for selection of PPP Developer or
Contractor.
• The tender document is drafted in such a way that the same tender
document allows the bidders to either quote a premium to the ULB or ask
for a Lump-sum amount for undertaking the project on turn-key mode.
• The identification of Slums is undertaken as follows: The slums are
identified and after thorough discussion in prescribed authority, the
details are published in government gazette. All such slums identified are
covered under SFCPoA (slum free city plan of action) and are categorized
into three groups- Slums on Government land, Slums of Municipal
Corporation land and Slums on Private Land. Initially, the slums of
Government land and Corporation land are identified for calling of
tenders.
• The due diligence is carried out by the internal team of Rajkot Municipal
Corporation; and based on information like Land Value, Number of Slum
Households to be rehabilitated, the market potential of the land, etc the
project is structured.
• After tender is published, a pre-bid meeting is arranged and the issues if
any from the developer side are discussed. The site visits are also made
available for the developers who wishes to participate.
• The bidder have to quote the lump sum amount as the land premium they
wish to pay to RMC as against the free hold land remain with them for
free sale development. Once the developer is finalized by the prescribed
authority after proper technical evaluation of the offers received, the
slum dwellers are served with the notice to evacuate the slum.
Outcomes
• The decision making is fast and the slum dwellers have developed faith in
the system. Many slum dwellers themselves got their houses demolished
to make way for the project; the underlying reason was that they wanted
to re-use some the Building Material or sell it in the market.
• Rajkot Municipal Corporation has till date signed 10 Contracts; and for 2
more projects the tender has been floated.
• RMC has rehabilitated about 3000 slum households, received about Rs.
400 Crores as premium and also got land area of about Rs. 100 Crore
freed. This is because where there is extra land, the Municipal
Corporation ensures that where there is land in access of what is required
 to make the project viable, is returned to Municipal Corporation after
clearance.
• The slum dwellers get the house at free of cost in addition to the rent for
their transit accommodation.
• The redevelopment project has also the components of provision of play
house, common areas for recreation, enough parking space etc.