Urban Housing

Ghunghutipada Slum in Sambalpur district of Odisha – How Temple project discriminates against the Landless Dalit

The Ghunghutipada slum in ward no.17 of Sambalpur Municipal Corporation is home to more than 200 households belonging to scheduled castes (SCs). About 400 years back the then king Rajabalaram Deo had engaged their forefathers to beat drums during temple rituals and also to maintain the cleanliness of the temple premises. Since then they have been staying over the land[Read More...]

India–Why Efforts for the Homeless Need A Big Boost

If the homeless people faced a difficult time earlier in heat wave conditions, they are now suffering due to heavy rain in many places. Yet concerns relating to them hardly ever become a leading concern, except perhaps for a very few days in a year in a few places where deaths on footpaths caused by cold wave are reported. The[Read More...]

Thousands of Poorest and Most Vulnerable People Threatened by Demolitions in Ambala and Chandigarh

  In recent times urban poor households have faced great difficulties due to the pandemic as well as loss of livelihoods and income. In such times they need help and certainly nothing should be done which will increase their difficulties. So it is really very disturbing to know that thousands of hut and slum dwellers have been recently threatened by[Read More...]

DDA betrays 4,000 families including 42 families of  Leprosy community residing at Kathputli Colony

New Delhi, November 18, 2021: A Press Conference was organized by The National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) at Press Club today on the betrayal of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in allotting houses to the families who were residing at Kathputli Colony. Kathputli Colony is majorly a colony of artists of national and international reputation. Around 4,000 families were living[Read More...]

Capture of Public Land in Mumbai

The Piramals are the in-laws of the Mukesh Ambani family. This article has for its reference point a new high rise luxury building recently built by the Piramals in Mumbai. The capture of textile mill land by capitalists and throwing out thousands of workers from central area in Mumbai is one of the biggest land scandals in modern India. I[Read More...]

The Rehabilitation Policy for Khori Gaon is not ready, The orders of Supreme Court are not being followed

In Khori Gaon, hundreds of families have been displaced and thousands of houses are being brutally demolished each day. After the completion of the demolition drive, the destitute working-class residents are being forced to live without any shelter. They are also being immediately and forcibly removed from the area and being threatened with police action. Despite the order of the[Read More...]

Dalit families targeted in Demolition Drive Undertaken by Bangalore Development Authority

Dalit families targeted in Demolition Drive Undertaken by Bangalore Development Authority in Doddabettahalli   (Yelahanka Hobli, Bangalore North)  In a most shocking development, officials of the Bangalore Development Authority, backed by Bangalore Police, destroyed about 10 houses of villagers of Doddabettahalli. Each and every one of the families affected were from Dalit communities.

Khori Gaon residents: Victims not ‘encroachers’

Since 14th July, the Haryana Government has been brutally demolishing houses built by Khori Gaon residents who have been living on this land for decades. Along with the bulldozers the residents have also been dealing with police violence and harassment simultaneously. The Municipal Corporation of Faridabad framed a draft policy for rehabilitation of Khori Gaon residents 5 weeks after the[Read More...]

Khori Gaon Demolitions Public Hearing: Panel alarmed at human rights violations

20th July, 2021: This public hearing was organised to hear the affected citizens of Khorigaon and understand the status of implementation of the Supreme Court’s order of 7 June 2021. The Jury members included Environmentalist Ashish Kothari, Environmentalist Claude Alvares, Social Activist Ms. Anjali Bhardwaj, Adv. Tripti Poddar, Housing Right Activist, Prof. Amita Bhide from TISS, Mumbai and Prof. Bittu K.[Read More...]

India must halt mass eviction that threatens to leave 100,000 homeless – UN experts

GENEVA (16 July 2021) – UN human rights experts* today called on India to halt evictions of some 100,000 people – including 20,000 children – that began this week in the midst of monsoon rains. Demolition of homes began on Wednesday, 14 July, in a village in Haryana State built on protected forest land, even though the forest was actually[Read More...]