Marching Against Imposed Death

Marching against Imposed Death

Anita Dhole

Women in Resistance

The Research Collective February 2020 The Research Collective, of the Programme for Social Action (PSA), facilitates research around the theoretical framework and practical aspects of development, sustainable alternatives, equitable growth, natural resources, community and people’s rights. Cutting across subjects of economics, law, politics, environment and social sciences, the work bases itself on people’s experiences and community perspectives. Our work aims to reflect ground realities, challenge conventional growth paradigms and generate informed discussions on social, economic, political, environmental and cultural problems.

Women in Resistance: Anita Dhole Put together by: Savita Vijayakumar and Kaveri Choudhury Cover Design and Layout: Media Collective (Nikhil Koshy)

Published by The Research Collective- PSA February 2020

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For copies: Programme for Social Action G-46 (First Floor), Green Park (Main) New Delhi-110016 Phone Number: +91-11-26561556 Email: trc@psa-india.net Stories, Reflections and Dreams of Women in Resistance Women have always been part of movements and resistance struggles, and historically been instrumental in shaping and strengthening them. In spite of this, often they are seen as mass cadre or witnesses in the struggles, and not as leaders, in most cases. Understanding the why and the how of this scenario is crucial in today’s socio-political context, with the rise of conservative forces across India, trying to assert their power over women who stand up against authority. Within struggles, often a systematic practice can be observed, in which separate women’s groups/wings have been formed with women leading them, be it within trade unions or political parties. However, the fact of the matter is that this makes the participation and leadership of women confined or restricted to a separate wing of the group, rather than the head of its core movements, thereby diluting the role of women in strategising and decision making. This can be a convenient arrangement for the men in leadership positions, as several important issues of gender discrimination such as domestic labour, sexual exploitation, and unequal wages can thus be easily avoided in the core leadership discussions and spaces, mostly benefitting the larger capitalist and patriarchal forces. However women have always resisted these practices, exposing these hypocrisies and shredding them into pieces. Every woman who has stepped out of her traditional confines to join the struggle in the ‘public sphere’ had to first struggle in the private domain to manage housework, convince or defy the husband or father and speak up on many such issues. It is quite common to see that, for women, the struggle of the private domain travels through to the public domain as well; once the struggle in the public domain is over, the woman is expected to revert to her roles of mother, wife and daughter. Hence, there is a three-phased struggle that almost every woman in public life goes through – the struggle alongside men against the oppressive and exploitative system, the struggle within their organisation or union against male domination, and the struggle in the private domain: of the family, of domestic labour, of reproduction and sexuality. Over the past several years, we have witnessed an overwhelming and reassuring uprising of the marginalised and suppressed communities, be it women, Dalits, Adivasis or people in conflict zones. One of the key strengths of these movements and struggles has been that they are led by collectives of people instead of having individual leaders, and women have played significant roles, promoting strong collective leadership models. ‘Women Leadership in Resistance’ was the theme of Jashn-e-Sangharsh, a celebration of resistance, of Programme for Social Action held at Chaibasa,

3 Jharkhand in April 2017. The event deliberated on the role of women as witness, participants and leaders of struggles across India, and reiterated the need to acknowledge, celebrate and strengthen the importance of women in leadership positions. The Research Collective (TRC) brought out a pre-publication copy of Women in Resistance in 2017 for the gathering in Chaibasa. The publication was a collection of conversations on the journey of nine inspiring women who have been part of struggles and movements. It highlighted the way in which these women resisted the patriarchal forces and maintained and developed the question of women’s leadership through their action. This series, ‘Women in Resistance’, aims to continue to nourish and draw out those conversations, to understand the subtle and blatant ways through which patriarchy operates in the minds of the women, and of those around them, and how they have learned to unlearn those patterns of thought. We hope that these stories can also reach readers in vernacular languages and would be open to any collaboration in translation. We hope that these lives inspire, educate and reassure readers to rethink and rekindle our own life struggles and to support and encourage the women leaders we know in our own lives. In this issue, we bring to you, Anita Dhole and the struggles of residents of the Mahul rehabilitation colony, Mumbai. Resettled on the grounds of beautification and threat to security from the slums along the Tansa pipeline in Mumbai, the people who live in Mahul have been victims of fatal health issues ranging from respiratory, skin and gynecological conditions. Anita’s narration applies for all the urban poor working class who suffers extreme conditions to keep the cities alive and thriving but are always denied fundamental rights and human rights.

Aashima Subberwal Aswathy Senan General Secretary, PSA Coordinator, TRC

4 In 2009, the Bombay High Court ordered the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation1 to demolish all “illegal hutments”, within 10 metres of both sides of the Tansa pipeline2 in Vidyavihar, Mumbai. This was in response to the Public Interest Litigation (PIL 140/2006) filed by an NGO called Janhit Manch that raised concerns of ‘leakage and theft’ and ‘safety and security of the pipeline against possible terror activities’3 to the chief water supply channel of Mumbai. The 6-page expert committee report that came out after three years of survey and research under the directive of the Bombay HC recommended that 15,789 houses be demolished that fall within 10 m of the pipeline on either side. In three phases, the authorities demolished around 8000 houses along the pipelines by 2017, in spite of heavy protests from the residents. The families displaced from Vidyanagar in this process were relocated to Mahul, under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority’s – Project Affected Persons (PAP) though they resisted this move for the longest. Mahul is a small fishing town almost 15 kms away from Vidyavihar despite the provisions within the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy 20074 which states that people rehabilitated should be given accommodation within 3 km radius of their original homes. Mahul is considered as a ‘Critically Polluted Area’ by the National Green Tribunal as the village is surrounded by three refineries and 16 chemical factories. For the last three years, people living here have reported several health issues: short-breathlessness, tuberculosis, high blood pressure, cancer and skin diseases. This is being attributed to the massive pollution that is emitted from the factories area, including dangerous levels of Toluene Diisocynate (TDI) in the air, which is considered a human carcinogen. The people rehabilitated in Mahul have been fighting for fair compensation and right to healthy life evoking Article 21 of the Indian Constitution which enshrines them the Right to Life and Liberty. Based on these ideals the Jivan Bachao Andolan was formed in October 2018. The movement is a part of a larger people’s movement named Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan. On 9 January 2020, around 500 residents from Mahul staged a dharna at Azad Maidan demanding the implementation of the High Court order to rehabilitate them to a safer place fit for human habitation and withdrawal of the Supreme Court stay order. The housing minister Jitendra Ahwad called them for a meeting and assured in

1 The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai also known as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is the governing civic body of Mumbai. It is India’s richest municipal corporation. 2 Tansa Pipeline is a 160 km water pipeline which is a major supply for water in Mumbai. In the last fifty years, many settlements have come up near the pipeline. 3 The petitioners claimed that the possible contamination of water in the Tansa pipeline could pose grave danger to millions of people living in Mumbai. 4 The National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy 2007 is a national policy that lays down the process by which people can be compensated while displaced by land acquisition or any other involuntary displacement.

5 the positive. But no action has been taken till now. In this interview taken in November 2019, Anita Dhole, a 42-year-old specially- abled5 activist associated with Jivan Bachao Andolan and one of those rehabilitated to Mahul details the stages of displacement and how insignificant the poor and vulnerable are to those in power. Anita while speaking about the plight of the residents of Mahul highlights how in the name of beautification of the city, sports and religious events, infrastructure and development projects, smart city projects and security reasons, the government uproots people at the cost of their lives and livelihoods.

5 She survived poliomyelitis, an infectious viral disease that affects the nervous system which could cause temporary or permanent paralysis.

6 In any organized society, right to live as a human being is not ensured by meeting only the animal needs of man. It is secured only when he is assured of all facilities to develop himself and is freed from restriction which inhabit his growth. All human rights are designed to achieve this object. Right to live guaranteed in any civilized society implies the right to food, water, decent environment, education, medical care and shelter. These are basic human rights known to any civilized society. All civil, political, social and cultural rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Convention or under the Constitution of India cannot be exercised without these basic human rights. Shelter for a human being therefore, is not a mere protection of his life and limb. It is home where he has opportunities to grow physically, mentally, intellectually and spiritually. Right to shelter, therefore, includes adequate living space, safe and decent structure, clean and decent surroundings, sufficient light, pure air and water, electricity, sanitation and other civil amenities like roads etc. so as to have easy access to his daily avocation. The right to shelter, therefore, does not mean a mere right to a roof over one’s head but right to all the infrastructure necessary to enable them to live and develop as a human being. Right to shelter when used as an essential requisite to the right to live should be deemed to have been guaranteed as a fundamental right. As is enjoined in the Directive Principles, the State should be deemed to be under an obligation to secure it for its citizens of course subject to its economic budgeting. In a democratic society as a member of the organized civil community one should have permanent shelter so as to physically, mentally and intellectually equip oneself to improve his excellence as a useful citizen as enjoined in the Fundamental Duties and to be a useful citizen and equal participant in democracy. The ultimate object of making a man equipped with a right to dignity of person and equality of status is to enable him to develop himself into a cultured being. Want of decent residence, therefore, frustrates the very object of the constitutional animation of right to equality, economic justice, fundamental right to residence, dignity of person and right to live itself. -Paragraph 8 from Supreme Court order in Chameli Singh & Ors. Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh (1996)

7 You have been fighting in Mumbai for housing rights for years now. Have you always lived in Mumbai or did you relocate there from somewhere else? If yes, what were the reasons behind it?

I came to Mahul when we were rehabilitated from Tansa Pipeline, Vidyavihar. I have spent my entire childhood in Vidyavihar, Mumbai where I lived with my parents and grandparents. When I was growing up, my life was very easy. I was my parents’ only child and my parents worked hard to give me a good lifestyle; I ate and lived well. I remember even when I was a kid, I was very stubborn and rebellious. I used to get into fights and take stand for issues which I found were right. When I was the class monitor in school, I often used to take lead in many things. Back then too, I was known for my union-giri (unionising skills). However, my parents came to Mumbai from Ahmadnagar which is near Pune. We had to come to the city because there was no livelihood. There were no rains; we were affected by drought for almost four years. There was no yield from our land and crops could hardly grow. In our district, there was no water for four years. Now there is water in the village, but even now crops like jowar that we used to grow have not grown properly. My parents are farmers, but we could barely survive in the village. There were so many effects of a changed harsh climate that it became impossible for us to live in the village. Whom do we hold responsible for the destruction of life and environment? Till the time the people are engaged in occupation like farming to sustain themselves, they wouldn’t destroy sources of clean water and fertile soil. It is their lives and homes. I had a good childhood. I never had to fight for my life. But in the recent years, I have realised how important one’s house is. I never knew that our homes are our castle of dreams. When we came to Mumbai, our right to live was stripped of us again. We are not allowed to survive in the village and neither in the city. The poor is stunted of their growth in every corner. How was your personal life? What kind of trials and tribulations did you have to go through? I was married at a very early age, but I never wanted to get married so early. I wished to build my career first and then get married. When I did marry, I was harassed for being disabled by my in-laws. However, I never disrespected the needs of my husband or his family. My in-laws wanted to stay in the village, but I wanted to move to the city, where I had grown up. My husband was interested in selling the land in my village and gaining more wealth but he forced me to stay in the village and take care of the household. At my in-laws’ house, I had to do many chores like making cow-dung cakes which made me very uncomfortable since I had never done them in my childhood. I

8 never wanted to do any of it. There is a maryada (limit) to harassment. I knew the day I had reached mine and decided to leave my husband. I came back to the city. He still asks me to come and live with him and his parents in the village, but my mind has changed now. My family had no problem in my participation in the struggle and neither did anyone in my society. But if I go to live with my husband, I won’t be able to be a part of the movement. Now that I have seen the sufferings of society and I have been resisting along with my people, I won’t be able to go back and live that life. Sometimes, I even forget my family in the midst of this. What does the movement Jivan Bachao Andolan mean? Jivan Bachao Andolan is a movement that fights for everyone’s right to live. The Constitution grants all of us the ‘Right to Life’6 which includes right to breathe clean air and drink clean water. But the poor are often denied this right. Is this because the poor have lesser rights? Are we not citizens of this country? The environment in Mahul, the deadly air and water has breached our right to life. Everyone dreams of their dream house. Everyone wants to have a good house. We aren’t even asking for that. We are just asking for clean environment where we are not scared of dying of breathlessness and cancer! They have sent us to Mahul to die. But we are fighting to save our basic right to life, which is the right of every citizen. That is why we have named the movement ‘Jivan Bachao Andolan’ which translates as ‘Save Life Movement.’ This P.I.L.Raises many important questions which concern the health and security of the citizens and the security of the city of Mumbai and the environment...... Now, in order to protect the pipelines, remove the hutments and ensure that the water, which is used by the citizens of Mumbai, is safe, and to ensure that these pipelines do not become a target for persons to attack the citizens of Mumbai, we feel that it needs concerted effort and a well thought over policy by various agencies, including the Government of Maharashtra. - Bombay High Court Order dated 29 July 2009 in Janhit Manch & Ors. Vs. M.C.G.M.& Ors.

6 Article 21 of the Indian Constitution reads as: “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to a procedure established by law.” India, Culture. “The Constitution of India.” (1949).

9 What is the ideology and demands of the movement? Housing is a basic human right. Everyone deserves a right to live in an environment which is free of pollutants. The government rejects us of this right by calling us ‘encroachers’. How can we be encroachers when we are citizens of this country? The Constitution has ensured us the Right to Life. We believe the government should ensure that no citizen will be stripped of that right. When the government makes policies for a city, the poor are hardly a part of it. There should be equity and justice when development projects are made. Housing plans should include everyone. There is a lot of corruption when it comes to allocating land. Government gives them to the companies without taking into consideration the plight of the poor, the slum dwellers. Even when it comes to rehabilitating these people, there is mismanagement and inconsideration in this process. Based on this ideology, Jivan Bachao Andolan demands that residents of Mahul be relocated to a different area. We also demand the removal of the stay order by the Supreme Court on the Bombay High Court order that directed the state governments to give ₹15,000 rent and a deposit of ₹45,000 to the residents of Mahul. We believe that the slum dwellings, where the poor live, should not be seen as ‘encroachments’ rather as service guilds. We are also an integral part of the city and make vital contributions to the running and existence of the city. We should be involved in equitable and inclusive urban planning of the city. You became part of the movement when the authorities decided to move the people from their homes around the Tansa pipeline. Could you tell us a bit about the relocation? The move happened in two phases. First on 28 December 2016, Devendra Fadnavis,7 the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra ordered around 400 people to be evicted. They were moved a kilometre away from where they were staying. The next day, their homes were demolished without notice. These people were our neighbours with whom we stayed for years. The second move happened on 13 May 2018, although we were promised that we won’t be sent to Mahul. On this day, around 1300 houses were broken in Vidyavihar and 5500 families were relocated to Mahul. Our home was one among them. Our entire house, a home that my parents build together and lived for 40 years was demolished to the ground in one single blow; we had nowhere to go. We realised that if we don’t go to Mahul, we would be on the streets. We had no option but to go to Mahul. In Mahul, we found there were no civic amenities, no schools, hospitals, or public 7 Devendra Fadnavis served as the 18th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 31 October 2014 to 12 November 2019 and was the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra from Bharatiya Janata Party.

10 transport. The nearest railway station is around 12 kms away. Schools are around 50 kms away. Even though the High Court declared Mahul unfit for people, after studies by IIT8 and NGT,9 the government made the decision for relocation to that gas chamber. Earlier, when we were still in Vidyavihar, we struggled to stop the displacement plans they had made for us. The BJP leader, Prakash Mehta10 who was the housing minister at that time assured us that this would not happen. He trapped us into voting for him but in the end, his promises were all empty. Thirty-five years went by in talks and negotiations and his promises were all in vain.

Force eviction: The permanent or temporary removal against the will of individuals, families or communities from their homes or land, which they occupy, without the provision of, and access to, appropriate forms of legal or other protection. -United Nations (UN) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1997)

How were things in Mahul before coming of the companies and how is Mahul now? Mahul is a small fishing village that is surrounded by thick mangroves, and has been traditionally home to fishing communities. However, in the 1950s, many refineries such as Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Cooporation Limited (BPCL), and Rashtriya Chemical and Fertilizers Limited and private industrial units such as Tata Power’s Thermal Power Plant, Sealord Containers and Aegis Logistics established their factories here owing to less population. The water, land and air in Mahul are extremely polluted 8 In March 2019, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay came out with a report on situation at the resettlement site as per the direction of Maharashtra state urban development department through the Bombay High Court. The report concluded that Mahul residents were prone to serious diseases such as inter alia tuberculosis and cancer and recommended that they be shifted out of the colony to safer location and directed that no people be allotted there further. 9 According to the judgment M.A. No.55/2015 passed by the National Green Tribunal (Western Zone) Bench, Pune, it was observed that there is a persisting problem of air pollution in Mahul, which is correlated to the adverse health effects on the surrounding population. It also referred to the KEM Hospital Survey of respiratory morbidity of 2013 that highlighted that 67.1% of the people in Mahul and Ampabada complained of breathlessness more than thrice in a month, eye irritation (86.6%), history of choking sensations (84.5%), frequent sneezing complaints (40.2%) and most complained being bothered by the strong smell from the factories (80.4%). 10 Prakash Mehta was the State Cabinet Minister for the Housing Department of Government of Maharashtra during the relocation of Mahul residents. Six times MLA from Ghatkopar District in Mumbai, Prakash Mehta is known for his ‘beautification’ works in Mumbai: making gardens in Ghatkopar and along with the relocation of Mahul residents. He is also responsible for relocating residents of around 30-40 slums, around 1 lakh people.

11 due to the petrochemical industries situated here. The toxic chemicals stored, processed and released here have slowly destroyed Mahul. Today Mahul is practically inhabitable. Our colony is located only 200-300 metres away from the industrial cluster. The colony known as the ‘Eversmile Layout’ is built by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) which comprises of 72 buildings and 17,200 flats. There are many health problems linked to the prevailing toxicity around the area. From skin problems, difficulties in breathing, cancer and tuberculosis in new born infants, people here are dying slow and painful deaths. I personally suffer from skin problems and high blood pressure. This is worsened by poor livelihood prospects where people earn an average of ₹10,000 but the expenses, a major chunk of which goes to medical expenses, are around ₹15,000. All these are completely against our fundamental right to live. After moving to Mahul and experiencing the horrifying conditions, how did the residents decide to organise against the unlawful rehabilitation? After almost one year of living in Mahul and witnessing over 50 deaths in our neighbourhood during that period, we realised that we have to come out of this hellhole. It was all useless to rely on the words of the ministers and it was not going to make our demands come true. We started discussing how we can form a movement. This was the time when we thought about calling Medha Patkar11 and asking for her guidance. We had heard about the resistance of the people in Narmada valley and we were very inspired by them. When we contacted her, she put us in touch with Bilal Khan,12 an activist fighting for housing rights of people. Ever since Medhatai and Bilalbhai have been associated with our movement, both of them have become like farishtas (saints) for us. Gradually, we started coordinating in legal matters. On March 2018, we moved the Bombay High Court to take action against this unjust and lethal rehabilitation. By July 2018, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) presented a plan of Rs.29 crore for development of Mahul. But we rejected this offer on grounds that developing the polluted inhabitable area is a loss of money and demanded rehabilitation to another location. After this, Bombay High Court gave an order to move us out of Mahul until a solution was found. Things were moving very fast in court, but on 8 August 2018, something happened which changed our understanding of the gravity of danger the factories posed to the people living in Mahul. There was a big explosion at 11 Medha Patkar is a social activist associated with various anti-development resistance movements in the country such as Narmada Bachao Andolan. She has also been working on issues of slum rehabilitation since 2005 under the banner of Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan. One of the major demands of this movement is fair housing rights and justice for people who have been cheated by builders in rehabilitation and development projects. 12 Bilal Khan is an activist associated with Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan.

12 one of the units at Bharat Petroleum’s Mumbai Refinery (BPCL) injuring several workers.13 This is when we realized that if we don’t fight, we would be killed soon. We decided that we should leave Mahul immediately. We left Mahul and started sleeping on the pavements near Vidyavihar as a form of protest. If this blast would have happened somewhere near Mumbai, the whole city would have been against the government, but nobody spoke for us. Nobody speaks for the poor. On 28 October, 2018 our Andolan finally got a name: Jivan Bachao Andolan, evoking our fight towards right to life. From here on, our movement started taking a structure. In December 2018, when housing minister Prakash Mehta’s promise of moving us to Kurla in East Mumbai was dismissed by CM Devendra Fadnavis, we protested in Azad Maidan. Thousands of residents participated demanding that the CM give us in writing how many days will take to relocate us to a safe location. The police asked us to leave Azad Maidan after the protest since the Bombay High Court had restricted protests in the night at Azad Maidan. But we refused to move from there. After a lot of cajoling, we left from there, but slept on the railway platform nearby. This was difficult for the women amongst us, especially women with children.

Any decision relating to evictions should be announced in writing in the local language to all individuals concerned, sufficiently in advance. The eviction notice should contain a detailed justification for the decision, including on: (a) absence of reasonable alternatives; (b) the full details of the proposed alternative; and (c) where no alternatives exist, all measures taken and foreseen to minimize the adverse effects of evictions. - UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement

What were the promises given by the Government of Maharashtra before the rehabilitation? All the promises given to us were empty. When Mahanagar Palika elections14 were happening in 2016, Prakash Mehta gave us many promises that they will relocate us to a better space, if we vote for the BJP candidate Parag Shah. 13 On 8 August 2018, a boiler blast in the refinery of Bharat Petroleum in Mumbai’s Chembur injuring more than 45 workers. The residents of Mahul protested after this incident demanding their immediate relocation to safer place considering they stay within 500 m away from the refinery. 14 Mahanagar Palika elections or Corporation elections are elections at the Municipal Corporation which is a local government meant to administer urban areas with population more than one million.

13 But when he came to power, our earlier rehabilitation plans were changed. We were supposed to relocate to a kilometre away from Vidyanagar, but we were sent to Mahul. Devendra Fadnavis, the then Chief Minister, was aware of all that we have gone through, then why isn’t anything being done? We are living literally in gutters and the politicians seem to be in no mood to address these problems. Whatever has to be done must be done as soon as possible, but the politicians don’t seem too keen to take it beyond paper or speeches. Why is it that these things never come to fruition? Around 40,000 people are going to die in Mahul. What will happen to the younger generation? Where is the development or prosperity? And for whom? Why should the poor suffer because of the rich? We say we are moving towards development, but in reality, we have come four generations behind. When did the hearings in the Supreme Court start? What was the response from the movement in the wake of the hearings? The High Court has been hearing our petitions15 ever since we started protesting. We moved the High Court to take action in March 2018. In August 2018, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA)16 promised that at least 300 households will be relocated to other areas like Dharavi.17 These decisions were, however, never implemented. They had a committee which included all the CEOs of MHADA, the municipal commissioner and the head of environment department. We objected to this formation since there were no representatives from the residents in this body. The BMC tries all ways possible to get away from paying or relocating us. Following our protests in Azad Maidan, the government began relocating us out of Mahul. In April 2019, we had a big success when the Bombay High Court ordered the State Government of Maharashtra to pay a monthly rent of Rs 15,000 along with a refundable deposit of Rs 45,000 to each family who were affected by the rehabilitation. The High Court also said that no more people should be shifted to Mahul. This was a big success for us. But the BMC attempted to back away from paying the residents their rent. Further, they filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) to the Supreme Court. They put false and outdated documents to show an incorrect picture of Mahul. So

15 Since 2018, around 4000 families from Mahul have filed petitions which comes up to around 1600 petitions. 16 The Maharashtra Housing & Area Development Authority (MHADA) was established by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Act in 1976. It started being implemented since 5 December 1977. The Maharashtra Slum Improvement Board was constituted into it from 1974. It was made with the intention to provide basic amenities, such as water taps, drainage, pathways, latrines and street lights in slums. 17 Dharavi is the largest slum area in Mumbai with population of over 700,000. It was founded by the British government in 1884.

14 the joy of the High Court order was short lived as the Supreme Court put a stay order on it. This order took away the small success that we had and we started losing hope. But we knew we had to keep fighting. It has been more than 300 days and we are still fighting for our rights. Today, we sleep on the streets, we have no roof on our heads; but at least we are not breathing poisonous air and not drinking water laced with poison and oil!

We have considered several factors before arriving at reasonable amount which should be paid to the PAPs. Day in and day out, we are dealing with the matters of slum rehabilitation schemes wherein developers pay rent amount to eligible slum dwellers to acquire temporary transit accommodation. In our view, a sum of Rs.15,000/ pm will be a very reasonable amount though it was argued that in the city of Mumbai, at the said rate, it will not be possible to get a self contained premise having an area of 225 sq. feet of carpet area even in slum areas. As per the normal practice which prevails in the City, license fee or rent payable for three to four months will have to be paid by way of deposit for securing the premises. We, therefore, propose to direct the State Government to pay a sum of Rs.45,000/ towards the deposit. -Bombay High Court order dated 2nd and 3rd April 2019

How does the government see your movement and what is their attitude towards it? It is very evident how the government sees the condition that we are in. This is the level of hypocrisy of the government. In Maharashtra, they are making a Rs.3500 crore statue of Shivaji in the Arabian Sea but have no money to spend on housings for the poor who they have relocated to build cycle lanes and metro lines! When the Bombay High Court ordered the BMC to pay us Rs 15,000 per month, they said they will pay Rs 834 to each household per month. We asked which house can we get for Rs 834 in Mumbai for a month! This is the kind of nonsense we have to deal with! They have no concern for the people dying in Mahul. They only want to mint more money out of our suffering. And it is very clear that the government is also with them in the whole thing. They keep dismissing our demands. We have met the CM four times, but they always give us flimsy promises which never get fulfilled. The police attack our protests regularly. They unleash their forces on us and

15 pressurise us to budge. I told you earlier how we were pushed out of Azad Maidan when we were protesting there. After it was over we were handled very brutally by the police. They have no sympathy for even peaceful protests. All of our protests are policed heavily. They keep asking us when we will stop the movement. All they want to know is when will we stop this; when will we give up! But we will fight as long as we live! What kind of problems do you face while mobilising the people and organising protests? There are so many problems in organising even small things like putting up a tent for people to have a dharna (strike) in. The renters keep asking us again and again when we will pay them. We tell them that we will pay each and every paisa we owe them, when we get our own house. These small things are also part of the Andolan where we have to negotiate each day on the smallest of things. I go to the police station almost every week. They keep asking, “When will your Andolan stop?” The Government is always pushing the Police Department to trouble us, to derail our movement. There are many slum rehabilitations happening around the country at the behest of the government. Why do you think the state is doing this? The government has many plans of ‘development’, of ‘beautification’, of making the cities ‘smart’! But they know they can do this only if they hide its realities. They push people living in the slums into the periphery of the city to die and build parks and malls out of the area taken. For them, beauty and cleanliness of a city or of the country means cleaning out the slums. The current BJP government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan18 is also a pack of lies; its only agenda of ‘cleaning’ the city is clearing off slums. These are all empty policies meant to divert the actual development of the people living in cities. They have these policies on paper like ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’,19 but there is no actual development. They talk about Smart Cities20 and Make in India,21 but have you seen any change in the way things are? The state of Maharashtra has not seen any kind of development. They send the people in buildings made

18 ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ is a Government of India Initiative started in 2014 to clean the streets, roads and infrastructure of India’s towns, cities, urban and rural areas. It also aimed to build toilets all over the county to stop open defecation and ensure clean drinking water everywhere. 19 ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padao’ yojana is an initiative by the current ruling government to generate awareness and provide efficiency for girl child in India. It is aimed to counter female foeticide prevalent in many states of India. 20 Smart Cities are an urban renewal and retrofitting programme began by the current government to build 100 smart cities across the country by making them citizen friendly and sustainable. 21 ‘Make in India’ is an initiative to encourage companies to manufacture their products in India. It is supposed to give boost to entrepreneurship and generate jobs in the 25 sectors of the economy.

16 out of cement walls and in some places they don’t even have houses made of cement; they are just fly ash! Some of their projects are so bizzare too! In Vidyavihar, they are now planning to build cycle lanes22 and parks. Who is going to use them? Will poor people be allowed to enter these parks? If you look at the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s official website, you find photos of how Vidyavihar will be transformed. These are all for the rich. Nobody thinks about the poor. How did the women of the neighbourhood come together for the movement? Today, there are around 20,000 people from the neighbourhood who are part of this Andolan. And most of these are women. A sisterhood emerged between these women as they know how much work each one of them do to even survive in Mahul. They have to take care of the household, take their children to school and cook food. With an ailing body caused by persisting pollution, how can she do all this? Even the women who were not part of the movement earlier are beginning to understand that they deserve better lives, and they can attain it. They are beginning to understand that our coming generation should be healthy and progressive. I have trust in these women and I depend on them for my strength. Without them, the movement would come to a standstill. I don’t have any qualms against women who are not educated. I don’t believe that a woman is perfect only when she is educated. Every woman is perfect in her own way. The women that I work with do not back away from the fight. For six months, we have slept on the footpath. In the pandal (temporary shed especially used for public meetings) the women handled everything including cooking food for around 1000 people. They are very active; they are always ready to go anywhere for the Andolan work. It would be untrue, if I say I was the one who brought them together because these women came themselves together when they saw their entire lives being destroyed in Mahul. These women are not afraid of anything. And why should they be? Working with lawyers, going to the government offices, etc. involves a lot of networking, talking and manoeuvring. These women handle the media, talk to lawyers and handle our cases. It just needs one woman to stand up. I believe that if one woman stands up, she becomes the role model for others and others will start standing after her.

22 In September 2017, the authorities proposed building a 39 kilometer cycling and jogging track which runs in two sections: from Mulund in the north-east to Dharavi in the centre, and Ghatkopar in the east to Sion in the south. This was intended to open up the space for public and provide an environmentally friendly and healthy route across the city.

17 What do these women who are involved with Jivan Bacho Andolan do otherwise? How does the struggle entangle with their everyday personal lives?

Most of the women in Vidyavihar used to work near their houses. Now, in Mahul, they have to travel more than 5 kms to reach their place of work. At home, they have several other odd jobs which require their efforts. The health of these women is deteriorating each day. Their menstrual health is also compromised and their monthly periods are never on time, which is a direct impact of the pollution and toxins. We live in a patriarchal society where the women have to take care of the entire household. In an environment like Mahul where they experience several reproductive health problems, how will they survive? They are doubly impacted by the situation in Mahul and in their families, yet they reach for protests before any of us. I believe this is a form of shakti’ (strength) that all women have. What kind of change have you experienced before and after being a part of the movement? What changes have come into your own thought processes? My struggle began way back in 2007 when the government of Maharashtra declared families who are ineligible to continue staying in Vidyavihar. These were baseless claims to move us out. When they finally succeeded in throwing us out of there, I lost all hope. It was almost as if I had nothing left to look forward to. But in the last two years, our fight has intensified. When we decided to come together and started organising the people, it was very hard. Dealing with the government on a daily basis became our life. When I became involved with this daily fight, I started realising how important is the environment to the people, and how important it is for people to have a house in the city. Now I am aware of the situation of slums in the city. It was the movement that has made me engage with issues around the country and about the current government. Earlier, I had no reasons to do it, but the movement has carved me into a person who cares for suffering of others also. Daily problems like having no food to eat affect me. When someone comes to my house complaining about having no rice and pulses to eat, it breaks my heart. I am also a petitioner in the case against BMC. This would have been unimaginable for me some years ago. But I am doing it; for our living rights, for our children, the new generation. Because if we die, who will be the new generation?

18 How do you engage with this struggle personally? I am a woman who is disabled. My challenges are different. In my personal life, I was harassed for being disabled, but I refused to continue to take such comments to heart. I believe everyone has the right to live their life on their terms. I am fighting to fulfil my dreams. But living a life with polio is not easy. Since we live in the streets now, I have to cook food in a place that is infested with a lot of flies and occasionally rats too. I live in a makeshift houseand during the rains it becomes very difficult. The struggle has a deep mental impact also. When you get to hear that four people have died in your locality within a week, you tend to lose hope. We carry photos of all the people we have lost. I don’t think we can ever overcome that pain. Sometimes, I feel very overwhelmed. I used to cry while talking about all this when teams from other places visit us. The tears through these years have left my eyes dry. I can’t even cry anymore. Sometimes I feel I have lost all hope in the Andolan… But I know that the struggle must go on. I have realised that if I don’t fight, tomorrow our photos will also be hanged, among the dead. I don’t wish to die in this hell, and I don’t want any of our people to die here. I also don’t want our next generation to suffer this. I want to take back my right and the rights of my people.

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