The demolition of illegal slums is an annual feature of life in Mumbai. The collector decides a certain number of slums have encroached upon government land, which has been lying unused for decades. He then sets a cut-off date and tells the hutment dwellers that those who provide proof of residence before the cut-off date will be eligible for rehabilitation. Usually, less than half the strength of the colony under scrutiny is eligible for rehabilitation.

Then, one fine morning, bull-dozers roll in.After the demolition, the real action begins. A host of leaders swarm over the site, assuring the slumdwellers that not only will justice be sought, it will be fought for. The agitationbegins... until lorries come in to clear the debris. At which time, the leaders do the disappearing act, one after the other.

For the fifth time in the last ten years, over 1000 huts in Ambedkar Nagar were razed last week. Earlier, a major fire in 1996 destroyed nearly all houses declared illegal by the government, rousing suspicions that the fire had been started by the demolition squad itself. The embers of doubt haven't died down yet.

Immediately after the demolitions on May 18, 19 and 20, the local MLA Ashok Dhatrak sat in a dharna in support of the slumdwellers. On May 22, after consultations with government officials, he withdrew from the strike, claiming the allotment of land to rehabilitate the dispossessed would begin from May 25. Not one resident has been rehabilitated till date. The residents, many of whom still support Dhatrak, wonder why he hasn't come back since the day he called off his dharna.

The area's corporator, Puran Doshi, is one person whom the residents vouch for. Hevisits them every day, oversees progress of the work, and exhorts people to remain calm and trust him. But he's also getting used to having harsh words flung at him. ``The ration office is demanding Rs 2,000 for a card. Your letter of reference means nothing,'' complains a resident.

Assumptions that the corporator is trying to consolidate his base apart, people still look up to him. But his stock of answers to queries about when the residents will get the promised land is drying up.

Then there's the Nivara Hakka Suraksha Samiti, an organisation made famous by Shabana Azmi. Its workers have made regular visits to the spot, providing legal and financial help to residents. Though not well-known among the residents, they're considered helpful. Interestingly, the residents have organised themselves into committees. The colony of nearly 1200 hutments is divided into four committees, led by Sunil Kamble, Ashok Salvi, Kisha and Rajesh. While Kamble and Salvi are Congress workers having a support base mainlyamong Maharashtrians, Kisha leads a Banjara community called Yedi, while Rajesh heads various communities from states like Gujarat, UP, Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

These committees do the running around for their respective segments. They collect documents, take photo-copies, meet officials at the collectorate and keep political leaders informed about what's going on. They bargain for the benefit of their segment, and this has undermined anti-demolition protests. The Kamble and Salvi committees have allegedly reached an agreement with the government regarding over 300 houses under them. They've nothing to lose, for the proposed alternative site is at the same place where their slums stood. The Yedi community was quiet until now, but news that a survey file containing information on over 50 of their houses has been lost, has jolted them into action. But the over 500 houses under the Rajesh committee have run into trouble. With hardly any political support forthcoming other than that of the Nivara Hakk Samiti,they're in danger of being evicted and having to live in a hostile neighbourhood.

The government has declared those who're eligible will be given alternative accommodation. But what about those who are not. ``They'll have to go somewhere else. We'll evict them from the new place after some years,'' says Vishwas Deshmukh, additional collector (encroachments). A candid admission that eviction isn't the final solution.

It seems an unending cycle. What does it finally lead to? A mass of impoverished men and women roaming the streets seeking a vacant spot to set up shelter. Children whose emaciated bodies are covered with rash and boils due to intense heat. The city is a macabre stage with a cast of millions playing out Newton's third law - for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. Evict people from one area, and they land up in another. But as soon as encroachers become voters, their trespassing is legalised.
(Sandeep KM is a reporter with The Indian Express.)