90,000 will be displaced for Amaravati: MSI

Montfort Social Institute proposes action plan for the ‘Zero Eviction’ month for urban and rural areas

Instead of introducing market-driven schemes, the state should work towards a national law on adequate housing for rural and urban India. In order to increase global respect and strengthen its presence on the international stage, India needs to fulfil its national and international human rights commitments”.

Post the World Habitat Day occasion, Montfort Social Institute (MSI) along with Campaign for Housing and Tenurial Rights (CHATRI) and Human Rights Forum (HRF) has proposed to the Indian government at central, state and local level to adopt stronger human rights and social justice approach to housing and habitat issues in the country.

The international community marks October as ‘Zero-Eviction’ month. In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the events are celebrated with programmes including awareness campaigns, workshops and meetings. India faces a national shortage of 18.78 million homes in urban areas and 40 million in rural areas; about 95 per cent of this is for economically weaker sections. Over two million people are estimated to be homeless.

Forced evictions, demolitions of low income settlements, forceful land acquisition, and displacement in urban and rural areas further exacerbate poverty, inequality, and the housing deficit. MSI estimates that around 90,000 people will be displaced in the process of the construction of Amaravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh. Around 35,000 of them are landless dalits, tribals, fisher-folk and other most vulnerable people.

There are threats of eviction of thousands of other similar people in the newly formed state of Telangana and the residual state of Andhra Pradesh in the name of development. In a meeting held at MSI premises on Wednesday, Brother Varghese Theckanath, Executive Director, MSI, and Convenor, CHATRI said, “In order to achieve the commendable goal of ‘housing for all by 2022,’ as proposed by the Prime Minister, the government should adopt the human rights framework of adequate housing; identify the most marginalised constituencies; set annual targets for delivery; prevent evictions and real estate speculation; develop rights-based indicators to assess progress; and incorporate principles of gender equality, non-discrimination, and sustainability.

“Instead of introducing market-driven schemes, the state should work towards a national law on adequate housing for rural and urban India. In order to increase global respect and strengthen its presence on the international stage, India needs to fulfil its national and international human rights commitments,” he highlighted.

He opined that the promise made by TRS in Telangana to provide two-bedroom housing for all should follow the law (that needs to be prepared). “It is laudable that the government in the state has launched the pilot project at IDH Colony in Hyderabad. But if it is to be realised at the state level, much more needs to be done in terms of planning and budget allocation.

“Similarly, the ruling party in Andhra Pradesh had promised to make the state ‘hutment free’ in its manifesto. But it is regrettable that no steps have been taken in this direction. Instead, thousands of poor people are threatened with displacement,” pointed out the ED. India is being monitored internationally on its housing and land commitments.

The recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which India is mandated to implement, include targets on reducing inequality, eliminating poverty, and making human settlements inclusive, safe, and sustainable. With its multiple commitments and with the world watching closely, it is important that the Indian government adopts strong measures to improve housing and living conditions across the country.

“State accountability, transparency, financial monitoring, and active participation of people, are required. For durable solutions, urban and rural issues need to be viewed along the same continuum and policy response developed accordingly. “The human right to adequate housing is upheld in international law and has been interpreted by the Supreme Court of India as an integral part of the right to life.

World Habitat Day is an occasion for India to reaffirm its commitment and take concerted action towards the realisation of the human rights to adequate housing and land for all. Let India take the lead, this World Habitat Day, in meeting its obligations to its people and to the international community,” concluded Brother Varghese Theckanath. Co-convenor of CHATRI Md Ashwaq, legal advisor Narender Reddy, project coordinator of MSI Maria Soosai and city coordinator Kiran Kumar attended the meet.