Name & Location : Insitu Slum Rehabilitation Project for Urban Poor under BSUP, JNNURM Scheme

Cost of Project: (INR) Rs. 22,50,00,000

Built-up area: 22500 sq. mt
(In case of Public Building minimum built-up area should be 1000 sq. meter)

Description of Project :

Approximately 17% of the world’s slum population resides in India. With increasing rates of migration into cities, slums are constant reminders of rapid urbanization that we see as an unwanted corollary to our cities. Thus in order to achieve the vision of a “sustainable slum less city’ we must look at the urban poor as partners rather than adversaries in addressing this challenge.

We must accept and acknowledge their leadership in a spirit of collaboration. Adopting this approach of collaborative and participatory design Prasanna Desai architects accompanied by various NGO’s such as Society for the promotion of Area Resource Centers (SPARC), Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF) international, and Mahila Milan and with the aid of the government of India, undertook the up gradation of 7 existing slums in Yerwada, Pune. The project was a part of the unique opportunity called Basic Servies FOR THE URABN POOR (BSUP), offered by JNNURM under which 4000 housing units would be upgraded. Each house would be given a housing subsidy of Rs. 3,00,000 per unit of which 90% would be funded by the Government of India at various levels, and 10% would be beard by the beneficiary / slum dweller himself. Out of the 30 slums identified by the Pune Municipal Corporation, the 7 slums of Yerawada were assigned to PDA for up gradation.

As mentioned earlier, the design approach was based strongly on the contribution, participation and consent of the community involved. By involving the community one could ensure, that the assets created would be maintained and nurtured in the future. An attempt was made to preserve the existing fabric of the slum, in term of its patterns that have evolved over time and by respecting the existing social networks.

PROCESS/ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Each of the various agencies that were involved in the process of up gradation had a vital role to play. The central and state governments provided 50% and 30% funding respectively, whereas the local government body ( Pune Municipal Corporation), besides providing 10% funding, also took the responsibility of identifying the NGO’s that could aid this process. The NGO’s appointed were responsible for releasing funds as per- stage wise development, sanctioning the project at individual slum level and supervising work during construction and infrastructure development. They were further responsible for appointing the architects, consultants, quality control team, project management team and surveyors.

The first phase of implementation dealt with exhaustive surveys mainly the plain table survey; socio economic survey and biometric survey that helped identify vital characteristics of the existing slum fabric. Kutcha and pucca structures were mapped, Street patterns, open spaces, community spaces were studied and local skilled laborers were identified. These included people like masons, carpenters etc whose services could be employed in this process giving them a source of income and further increasing their involvement in the project.

The architectural team verified the data that was collected, based on which, it designed feasible building typologies for the entire slum. These were then discussed with the beneficiaries and modified accordingly. This process that went back and forth between design and community input led to specific customized designs for each dwelling. Mass community meetings that were held during this stage were termed as Janata Janardhan meetings whose agenda was to describe the project to the people, and present design possibilities. They were key in incorporating the apprehensions and concerns of the beneficiaries into the design.

This process of effective communication of the design was further strengthened by the use of architectural models. Also, mock models made of bamboo and cloth at a scale of 1:1 helped the beneficiaries visualize the design better.

DESIGN DEVELOPEMENT

The site plan of the slum has been redesigned in a manner such that the user has easy accessibility to his residential unit, and keeps in minds basic requirements such as ample natural light, good ventilation, better location of amenities and better sanitation. This would achieve better living conditions not only at the individual unit level but also in the overall settlement thus resulting in the effective up gradation of the slum. Each beneficiary was entitled to an area of 270 sq.ft which was then designed into two typologies depending on the area of existing footprint of the kutcha house. It was endured that the design was contained within the footprint of the kutcha house.

Type A: INDIVIDUAL HOUSE – In this option, the footprint of each individual house is retained and a new ground + 1 (G+1) house is designed on the existing footprint with 135 sq.ft carpet area on each level. After detailed discussion with the people, balconies and an underground water tank were included. The verandah thus created added a semi private entrance porch in front of each house

Type B: CLUSTER House / apartmENT TYPE – These were proposed wherever the existing footprint was too small and individual houses could not be accommodated. The entire area of 270 sq. ft per house is provided on a single level. For example, the footprint area of three houses of 100 sq. ft each was designed as a ground + 2 (G+2) building type with common overhead and underground water tanks and staircase for three houses. As seen in type B, it was possible to return a considerable amount of ground space to the community for its social and religious activities. the design of the slum keeps in mid hierarchy of public private spaces transitioning from the most public community spaces to the verandah of each house and finally into the private space of each dwelling.

CONCLUSION

This approach to design proved to be an extremely enriching one, intertwined with various layers of public participation and negotiations, as a result of which, no two houses are the same. It involved understanding the needs, problems and psyche of the beneficiaries that enabled a part to whole process, generating tailor made dwellings that led to unique clusters and finally and entire upgraded neighborhood. Thus rather than the conventional strategy of imposing a foreign living environment, the beneficiaries were given a chance to generate their own tailor made neighborhood that would prove to be more sustainable and long lasting for years to come.