Law On Paper, Ash On The Ground: Rethinking Design In India’s Slum Rehabilitation Regime
- IJLLR Journal
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Vanshika, West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences
ABSTRACT
Do inadequate policies harm the people they are made for or is it the lackadaisical implementation of those policies that are the problem? When does the law become inadequate and how does one gauge that gap so that the law actually delivers? The Supreme Court made “housing” a fundamental right under Article 21’s broad “right to life” ambit and recognised that evictions without guaranteed rehabilitation is in violation the same. Olga Tellis talked about the necessity of the implementation of “SUP” or Slum Upgradation Programme but that has largely been ignored in institutional executive frameworks.
In this paper, I argue that several such gaps on part of the government and policy making bodies have resulted in significant breaches of human dignity. This paper also argues that existing policies regarding rehabilitation are inadequate and collapse as soon as minor loop holes are presented as obstacles. Further, a proposition of a uniform yet alterable-according-to- state-specific-demands policy at a central level is presented.
Emphasis is given on the Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015 to explain and argue against policies that fall short of necessary implementation, especially in cases of fire. This paper draws on the structural framework created by landmark cases like Ajay Maken v. Union of India, NAGAR v. State of Maharashtra, and Sudama Singh v. Government of Delhi; various state policies for slum rehabilitation in force in India; and the Disaster Management Act, 2005 to examine, analyse, and put forth the paper’s findings, solutions, and conclusions.
The paper’s novelty rests on two grounds: First, proposing the evidentiary burden from individual residents to the State itself, and second, recommending an interim rehabilitation policy in cases of displacement factors, like fires and forced evictions, in-line with reasonable environmental concerns and statutory obligations. The paper concludes that without covering the gaps in housing law, the constitutional guarantee of land and housing rights to the slum-residing poor remains unfulfilled.
