21 Apr 2005

Could I Encash My IOU Now, Please

From Tehelka, 23 April issue.
2005. Bombay. ... More than 90,000 homes bulldozed by the Congress-NCP regime, under pressure by the big builders' lobby, tacitly backed by the BJP/Shiv Sena. Almost 4,00,000 people homeless, the living, exiled in cremation grounds among the remains of dead, near garbage dumps, scorched by the sun.
This by a government supposedly elected on a pro-poor plank. It is a callous act. There must have been a better way of doing it, even if it was absolutely essential that it be done. Like providing sufficient time and alternate housing. But that would be too much to expect I suppose.

Reading the above column I was struck by the number of homeless - four lakhs. And I was reminded of another recent tragedy - the tsunami. The latter was marked by the large amounts of aid that ordinary people from all round the world contributed. So why not start a relief fund for the displaced? Why depend on the government, why not take humanity into our own hands? The money from the relief fund could be used to construct low-cost flats for the people who lost their homes. The Indian middle class is widely estimated to be 200 million strong - 20 crore. If each person contributes ten rupees, that would be 200 crore rupees. That is a big amount. I'm sure the government would at least donate land on the outskirts from where it would still be easy to commute into the city. And I'm sure there would be NGOs ready to take up the task of overseeing the construction.

That would be much better than turning a dairy farm and a blind school into more luxury apartments as suggested here. Even New York City has its green patches.

As for the government, it would not be too surprising if it had in fact buckled under pressure from the builders. IOUs being cashed, that's all. The demolitions were stopped by the UPA chairperson eventually. But it was too late by then, at least for the 4,00,000 homeless.

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