Years before in-situ (in the same location) slum rehabilitation became the buzz word, Pune-based social worker, the late Narayan Kharkar, had suggested the idea to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in 1992.
Years before in-situ (in the same location) slum rehabilitation became the buzz word, Pune-based social worker, the late Narayan Kharkar, had suggested the idea to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in 1992.
Kharkar, a retired sugar factory general manager, had carried out a detailed study of the Dias plot slums near Gultekdi, with the help of students from the slums. Kharkar had recommended in-situ rehabilitation of slums to the then municipal commissioner in
September 1992.
Kharkar, whose birth centenary was observed by his family on February 24 this year, did not taste success with his suggestions during his lifetime. Kharkar’s son, Lt Col (retd) Vijay Kharkar, told DNA his father’s suggestions had fallen on deaf ears.
“My father was disappointed that his ideas were not accepted. However, he did not give up till the end. He kept the issue alive by writing letters to newspapers and PMC officials,” Vijay said.
In fact, Kharkar even wrote to former PMC commissioner, Nitin Kareer, in August 2005, just a few months before his death, referring to his interaction with the PMC in 1992 and reiterating the need for in-situ slum rehabilitation in Pune.
For the Dias plot slums, Kharkar recommended that a building be constructed on the site of the present slums. He had suggested construction of 1,000 one-room tenements, 500 toilets, 300 bathrooms and 100 shops, 15 rooms for a kindergarten school and a community hall at the same site.
Kharkar had even documented the hurdles that the PMC could face in the implementation of the project. He had said that there could be objections from land owners, instigation by slumlords and politicians, objections from illegal businesses and paucity
of funds.
Kharkar’s foresight was confirmed by Sharad Mahajan, architect and founder of Mashal (Maharashtra Social Housing and Action League). Mashal is one of the three non-governmental organisations (NGO) that is presently constructing a total of 4,000 in-situ homes in the slums of Pune.
Mahajan said, “Kharkar was obviously a man way ahead of his times. Way back in 1992, he had identified all the right obstacles and problem areas that slum rehabilitation could face.”
According to Mahajan, appendix ‘T’ of the PMC’s development control rules (DCR), which allows private investment in slum rehabilitation, came up only in 1997 and the state government issued the government resolution for setting up of the slum rehabilitation authority (SRA) as recently as in 2003.
Mahajan emphasised the fact that in-situ homes were the best method of slum rehabilitation. He rued the fact that the blueprint for the Government of India’s Rajiv Awas Yojana had no place for the in-situ slum rehabilitation.
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