Pratima Joshi, director of Shelter Associates who coordinated the project has submitted copies of the 100-page study to the Pune Municipal Corporation and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority. Shelter Associates has access to survey data on 211 Pune slum pockets, which together with the information from the PMC, covers sufficient information to feed into slum redevelopment for more than 60 per cent of the city.

SRA and the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) are considered to be the key players in mitigating the increasing housing gap in the city. On March 27, the State Government published the new guidelines for the SRA in Pune. But since they specified several conditions, which were seen as objectionable in light of recent municipal election promises, they have again been withdrawn and will be reviewed by the chief minister.

The study exhorts that there should not be varying policies for rehabilitating the poor in the city. Under JNNURM, the beneficiaries are expected to contribute 10-12 per cent to the cost of constructing their house whereas under SRA the houses are provided to the poor completely free.

Under JNNURM schemes, it is mandatory to involve the beneficiaries in the entire process of rehabilitation whereas for SRA the beneficiaries’ consent is not necessary. Also, there is no provision in the rules to mandate their participation. The State could draw up a policy of compensating landowners by using TDR just as it does for acquiring reservation land or land which is needed for road widening.

Joshi pointed out that three slums: in Zone A — Lohiya Nagar, Bhavani Peth, in Zone B — Dandekar Pul Survey No. 130, Parvati and in Zone C — Kasturba Gandhi Vasahat located in Aundh area were studied. “These three slums that have been detailed out give an insight regarding SRA and how it would impact these settlements. It is fairly clear that average land costs and densities across the zones are probably not going to make every project viable,” says Joshi.

According to Joshi, this scheme will lead to a high-rise, high-density kind of development. “Due to very high tenement densities, it is not possible to accommodate all the existing tenements in stilt +3 structures. Though the SRA regulations prescribe no elevators up to six-storied structures, it is practically very difficult for families to negotiate this height — especially the old and the children.

Before any SRA scheme gets cleared, a master plan of the whole city needs to be drawn up which has been stated in the SRA rules. This would give clarity regarding location and spread of slums across the city zones, with land ownership, densities, vulnerable slums which probably need to be relocated.