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The Pune Slum Census: Creating a Socio-Economic and Spatial
Information base on a GIS for integrated and inclusive city
development
3. The need for information
A central hindrance to inclusive urban planning and development stems from a situation where, to other
denizens of Pune (often the educated and vocal middle class), slum dwellers are typically either invisible
or an eyesore (wherever they are visible) or considered invalid urban residents. Thus the first objective of
this project is to actually create a census of the Pune slum dwellers. Creating a census immediately
provides the data to support the estimate that over 40% of Pune’s population lives in slums. The census
also serves to validate the existence of slum dwellers in the city, by providing concrete information about
their residence in and contribution to the city. The second objective is raise awareness about slums and
slum dwellers. It increases the visibility of the urban poor, not just as settlements, but as visible viable
communities to work with. The role of the poor in the city as contributors to Pune’s vibrant economy has
to be accepted by municipal authorities. A change in attitude towards slum dwellers is a first stage
towards a recognition that poor women and men cannot be excluded from urban resources to which other
residents have access, such as allocation of land, security of tenure and credit for housing.
Attempting to challenge deep-rooted assumptions and to change attitudes is ambitious. Information is
essential, especially since most assumptions about slum settlements are not based on any concrete
information, and reflect a failure to realise that the profile and aspirations of the poor are changing just as
those of the middle class. Uncomfortable or unwelcome statements, or negotiations, supported by up-to-date
and comprehensive information are harder to dismiss.
The Pune Slum Census covers all people living in slum settlements. This Census on a map gives every
slum family a unique identity: each household is recognised by their place of stay. By clicking on a house
in the GIS, one immediately sees information, which gives evidence that that these family members are
legitimate citizens. Since the Municipal Corporation funds this project, it is difficult for municipal
officials to challenge the data. Assumptions about how to deal with slum dwellers can now be replaced
with real figures and real plans. That makes the Pune Slum Census a strong negotiating tool for the poor.
The proportion of Pune’s population, which lives in slums, is high. According to the Municipal
Corporation's estimates, 750,000 people live in Pune's slum settlements. This is a conservative estimate;
the census project so far enables us to estimate a current slum population of at least 1 million. Thus the
slums house over 40% of the city's population.
Slums are located in all areas of Pune. Slums are also an integral part of Pune in term of space. A
'snapshot' of a GIS map of Pune (see MAP 1: Pune City Slums) shows in a glance that slum settlements
are located all over the city. While the proportion of the urban area used by slums is extremely small, the
location of slums across the city means that it is more efficient to include slums into planning networks
than to avoid them. For example, where a sewage or water line is intended to supply a ‘regular’
neighbourhood, it can also supply slum settlements located along the route. This can also work the other
way round. If water lines need to be extended to a slum settlement then that line can also service
surrounding regular areas. Integrating slum settlement development into Pune’s city development is then
the most logical way of city planning, and of prioritising investments to ensure efficient municipal
expenditurev
Information vs. myths
Pervasive myths about slum dwellers tend to dominate any discussion about slum settlements among
municipal authorities, or other citizens of Pune vi . These myths result from an absence of information, but
are believed without question. Ironically, this city is known for citizen interest in local affairs and for
social reforms, particularly for the backward classes and for women. It is a city with over 400 grassroots
NGOs working on different aspects of health, education and social and legal problems among the poor.
Despite this, Pune’s slum dwellers still get a raw deal regarding official recognition of their residence,
their services, and housing conditions. As long as people are considered to be a charity case, compassion
pervades and a fillip is given to ‘uplift’ them. When it comes to asserting their rights as citizens, this
compassion swiftly vanishes.
It is typical for people who do not live in slums, including local municipal officials, to dismiss slum
dwellers as an ‘undeserving’ group of people, who steal land in cities, and exploit the best of both rural
and urban worlds. Slum dwellers are accused of living off taxpayers and the city services, of being
unemployed, continually in debt, with no desire to save, and slums are seen as dens of ‘vice’, drugs and
drink, prostitution, rape, and social violence. These are strong statements and a combination of even two
or three of these characteristics gives cities ample reason not to spend money on housing or basic services
in slums.
The Pune Slum Census may not change attitudes radically, but it puts down hard facts about slums. It
raises questions. It creates transparencies. ( Examples in Section 4). It helps to break myths such as:
- Slum dwellers do not work. Our statistics show thatwork done by slum people contributes to all the
construction and service industries. In Kothrud, 39% of earning men work in the construction
industry at different levels and 23% work in service industries. (The total population of the Kothrud
slum dwellers is 52740.)
- They are nomadic and not permanent citizens. They are not a transient population living between the
city and villages, trying to get the best of both worlds free. In Kothrud the average number of years
that a household has lived in Pune is 21. 26% have stayed in Pune for 30 years or more
- They can easily go back to their villages. Many slum dwellers have lived here for two generations or
more, and cannot return to their native land for work as is popularly believed; in fact a large number
came from drought-prone areas in Maharashtra. In Kothrud, 42% of households who originate in
areas of Maharashtra outside Pune are from drought-prone districts.
- 40% of slum dwellers live on land, which is defined as marginal or ‘unbuildable’, that is land along
hill slopes, river sides, depressions, along railway tracks etc. That challenges the idea that slum
dwellers take up valuable land for their housing. These are statistics, which are continuously being
quoted by the Pune Municipal Corporation.
- 5% of the cities’ ‘buildable’ land is used by the remaining 60% of the slum dwellers. If we now say
that there are more than a million slum dwellers in Pune, then we can estimate that half the city’s
population live on just 10% of the city’s land, and therefore, only 5% of the city’s “buildable land” is
occupied by them.
- Slum family sizes are much larger than normal families in Pune. When we studied a sample of over
211 settlements spread across the city of Pune the results indicated an average family size of 4.45.
- Slum people like living in squalor. In Yerawada , where there are 109308 slum dwellers living in 63
slums (some of them being the largest and the densest in the city), the average toilet to person ratio is
still 1:71. Also, with an average of 5 common taps per settlement, the toilets may not have sufficient
water for cleaning.
The impact of information on planning
We have suggested above that a failure to plan equitably and efficiently can stem from a lack of
information on which to base decisions. Decisions are also often made on the basis of political motives,
connections and influence. This is especially the case when decisions are made about the allocation of
scarce resources such as land. If information about slum settlements is available to all, then some
pressure can be exerted on decision-makers to take decisions accountably. This was particularly evident
in the case of one slum, Kamgar Putla where information, which belonged to the people, could bring in
changes in policies.
Case Study of Kamgar Putla
In 1997, Pune faced one of its worst floods since 1961. The State Government was exerting pressure on
the local government to plan out a re-settlement project for people affected by disasters and Development
City works. The PMC asked SA to carry out detailed surveys of 6 slum pockets along the river. Kamgar
Putla was the largest settlement and the worst hit. 372 houses here were submerged in water for over 15
days. 150 houses were totally destroyed.
Picture 1
The PMC drew a High Flood Line across the settlement. That was the first time we did a complete
detailed map and survey of settlements and processed the information on a GIS. We could demonstrate to
the PMC exactly how many houses would get affected every time the river flooded. Simultaneously SA
and Baandhani started working on a re-settlement plan for the 372 flood-affected people to an alternate
site.
Picture 2
By then the Mutha River Improvement Committee ( see Section 2) proposed a plan of building a
“submersible road “,in the riverbed. In the process we found that 559 families were getting affected. The
re-settlement plan was getting larger.
Picture 3
We submitted a second set of designs, and then learnt that the Railway Bridge running over Kamgar Putla
was also going to be widened by 20 meters. Now a total of 793 families out of 1014 needed to be re-located.
The PMC suggested that perhaps the entire settlement should now move. The project had grown
to three times its original size.
Ironically, as these plans were being discussed and drawn up by SA, Baandhani in consultation with the
PMC, another department of the PMC was constructing two large community toilet blocks within the area
of the high flood line. It was also building a large community centre along the bridge, which would have
to be demolished for the bridge widening. It was the first time, a high-up official in the PMC actually
“saw” on a map, the impact of uncoordinated planning decisions. Such investments in settlements are
happening all the time. Kamgar Putla is not a single, isolated incident.
Picture 4
Now the third set of designs was submitted. The Building Department of the PMC suddenly realised that
a part of the existing settlement had been reserved for in-situ re-development of affected people of
Kamgar Putla. The triangular plot on the map is where the in-situ development is to take place. Once
again, we were back at the negotiating table saying that the entire land for in-situ development decreased
to half, because this plot spilled out into the bridge widening area, the submersible road and the high flood
area.
Now a fourth set of plan needs to be submitted.
It has to be emphasized that the community was involved in each part of the decision-making.
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