In 1995, AMC initiated the Slum Networking Project (SNP) through a unique partnership between Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), NGOs and the slum communities. The objective of the project was to transform the urban environment by providing basic infrastructure services at the household and slum level in an affordable and sustainable way. By taking a sites and services approach, the SNP was able to ensure lasting improvement in slum areas, as well as free up valuable land by taking a participatory approach.
The services include household connections for water supply and drainage, individual toilets, and slum level storm water drainage, paving of internal roads and street lighting. All partners contributed towards implementation of this partnership project. AMC bore about eighty percent of the cost of the physical infrastructure. The remaining twenty percent was contributed by the households participating in the project.
The NGOs were involved to mobilize the community, facilitate community contribution collection, and implement community development activities in the area.
The slum community was assured that they will not be evicted for a period of 10 years following the implementation of the project. It provided a strong incentive for residents to invest in improving their living conditions.
The key elements that made this programme sustainable are: Long Term Commitment: AMC established a cell for implementing the programme. It provided the residents a written assurance that they will not be evicted for 10 years if they join the scheme. Community Involvement: Complete involvement of the slum community at all the stages of the programme, was ensured by setting up neighbourhood groups which were duly registered with the help of NGOs. The cost sharing by the community instilled a sense of ownership in the slum dwellers. Demand based innovations: with demand from the community, individual toilets at the household level were included in the programme.
Financial Viability: Following an amendment in the Municipal Corporations Act, AMC has been regularly spending up to 10% of funds from its own revenues towards improvement of services in the slums. Until the introduction of the SNP, slums were being treated as an isolate entity, devoid of linkages with the city level services. SNP brought a complete transformation of the slum to integrate into the mainstream of the society.
The lessons learnt through implementation of the SNP in Ahmedabad have been incorporated in the Gujarat State Urban Slums Policy.
References:
Jaga Mission, Department of Housing and urban Development, Government of Odisha, http://www.urbanodisha.gov.in/pdf/SOP-Slum-Upgradation.pdf, accessed on 15h September 2021
17 Slum Networking Department, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, https://ahmedabadcity.gov.in/portal/jsp/Static_pages/slum_ntwk_project.jsp, accessed on 20th September 2021
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