Towards a Slum-free City ? Delhi and the unfinished story of Kathputli Colony

ISBN : 978-93-6973-169-5

The challenge to achieve inclusive cities and sustainable habitat for all raises urgent questions about the place of slums in megacities of the Global South. Towards a Slum-free City ? explores this through a detailed study of the treatment meted out to slums and their inhabitants in Delhi. Questioning Delhi’s path towards an (illusive) slum-free city, the authors ask : Do implemented slum policies alleviate the shortage of decent housing for the urban poor, and/or to what extent do they also aggravate their situation ?
In Delhi, the Kathputli Colony slum redevelopment project has been emblematic as a pioneer in situ rehabilitation project under public-private partnership. Its importance lies also in the sheer size of the affected population : close to 20,000 people were displaced between 2014 and 2017, most of whom were temporarily resettled in a transit camp, where they still await their final rehabilitation.
The book examines urban policies, key socio-political episodes and economic reforms, the role of government actors and private developers in the shaping of urban strategies, and the intervention of the courts of justice in urban governance. Through rich ethnographic insights, it highlights the vulnerability of displaced communities, the creation of ‘illegal’ residents, and equally, their struggle to voice their concerns and negotiate their rights.

Offering a sensitive understanding of the socio-spatial dynamics of large Indian metropolises, this important and empathetic volume will interest scholars of urban studies, urban sociology, development studies, public policy, as well as NGOs and concerned citizens.