Jockin Arputham founded the National Slum Dwellers Federation in India and is president of Slum/Shack Dwellers International (SDI). This paper describes Jockin's life and work and the many different methods he has used to fi ght eviction and get government support for people-centred development over the last 40 years. This includes the long fi ght to protect Janata colony in Mumbai from eviction, working with Bangladeshi refugees, and the formation of the federation of slum dwellers, fi rst in Mumbai and then for all of India.
This is the third in a series of papers chronicling the evolution of negotiations on plans to redevelop Dharavi, Mumbai's vast informal settlement, from the perspective of practitioners supporting Dharavi's residents in their struggle for inclusive development. This paper highlights progress that took place during 2008, including the completion of a baseline survey, constructive engagement with the government and positive amendments to the plan that emerged from this dialogue. The paper also highlights continuing challenges that residents and civil society face in working with the state to ensure that development benefi ts Dharavi's residents and enterprises.
This paper describes and discusses the changes in the government's plans to redevelop Dharavi in Mumbai in response to pressure and protest by Dharavi residents, grassroots organizations and a local group of eminent citizens (Concerned Citizens for Dharavi), and as a result of international pressure.
The fi rst part of this paper, by Sheela Patel, provides a backdrop to Jockin's letter about the current government plans to redevelop Dharavi, a large inner-city township within Mumbai with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants and tens of thousands of enterprises. The second part is the text of an open letter by Jockin Arputham from the National Slum Dwellers Federation to the government and private developers that was released to the press in June 2007 and that received widespread coverage in newspapers and other media around the world. This open letter is an offer of partnership in such redevelopments from the organizations and federations of slum dwellers in Mumbai and elsewhere to government agencies and developers. But it is also a warning of the disruptions that the slum dwellers will bring if they are not involved in the planning and implementation of such redevelopments.
This is the fourth in a series of papers chronicling the negotiations over plans to redevelop Dharavi, Mumbai’s vast informal settlement. It also describes current plans to redevelop land beside Mumbai’s international airport, where more than 85,000 households live on a 110-hectare (275 acres) site. In both these settlements, each with populations equivalent to a sizeable city, the government plans appear to be driven more by an intent to support commercial developments than to address the needs of their residents.
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