Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board News Items. DUSIB. 2

Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board News Items
DUSIB is in news often. Below please find links to news items on the same spanning a few months. Suit yourself. This is the second in series of posts on lists of news items on DUSIB. DUSIB stands for Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board.

Some tags are Portable Toilets, Chemical Toilets, Night Shelters, Community Toilets, Relocation, East Delhi, West Delhi, North Delhi, South Delhi, Homeless, Jhuggi Jhompri, Land Parcel, Land Pockets, ODF, Open Defecation Free, Slums, Open To Sky, Homeless, Mobile Toilets, Rehabilitation, Unoccupied Flats.

- Portable toilet cubicles with inbuilt biodegradable chemical treatment mechanism for liquid sewage
A flush mechanism initiates the segregation of liquid and solid waste and treatment of the latter with chemicals
-- -- --
“How chemical toilets change habit in Delhi slums”
“A mud path, with potholes filled with water and stones, leads to a black granite platform at the far end of a cluster of huts made of plastic, bamboo and metal sheets. Located at Yamuna Khadar, on the floodplains, these huts house 500 people. The cluster is visible from the Mayur Vihar phase-I metro station. On top of this platform, accessible by stairs and a ramp with steel railings, stand 12 units of portable toilet cubicles in two rows. These have an inbuilt biodegradable chemical treatment mechanism for liquid sewage. A solar panel charges the LEDs installed inside. Open a door and you find an Indian toilet unit with a sink and taps and a flush mechanism that initiates the segregation of solid and liquid waste and treatment of the latter with biochemicals.
This model, based on similar units in European countries like Italy, is Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board’s (DUSIB) solution for slums where there is neither sewerage, nor water supply. So, permanent toilet complexes, pre-fabricated toilet units and mobile toilet vans have been ruled out.
Twenty more — 10 each in two clusters — have been installed at Shalimar Bagh by YLDA India Private Limited, the company hired by DUSIB, on a build-operate-transfer-maintain basis for a two-year period. On the success of these toilets hangs the fate of 600 more that will be put up at 25 similar locations across the city. The slums around Okhla, Bhatti Mines and Vasant Kunj are some of the areas. The government hopes that this will help it achieve its target of making slum clusters free of open defecation.
But the numbers are far from adequate. It’s a welcome relief for the residents of Yamuna Khadar, particularly women, but obviously far short of what’s needed for 500 people, even if you go by the DUSIB formula of one seat for 30. DUSIB says the headcount was about 250 when these people were removed from the road along the highway and relocated here since construction work on road and metro projects had started. ..”
“.. According to the slum-dwellers, the toilet's key function of treating liquid sewage through biodegradable chemicals is getting impaired by shortage of water and large number of users.
Compared to a regular toilet which uses three to nine litres of water for flushing, this one uses only 0.1 litre. Every time the flush is used, the solid and liquid wastes get segregated in two chambers. After each cycle of 100 users, the liquid is automatically treated by biodegradable chemicals replenished regularly by the maintenance agency. The water thus treated can be used for flushing. The solid waste collects in a tank from where it is mechanically sucked out daily. .. ”
-- -- --
This is from September 2017.


- Homeless population seeks refuge in subways owing to insufficient numbers of night shelters
Area around AIIMS and Kashmere Gate have large nos of homeless.
-- -- --
“Not enough night shelters in Delhi; subway shut, homeless near AIIMS stranded in cold”
“.. however, hundreds of homeless people who have made the streets outside AIIMS their home found the subway locked ever since winter started.
“The subway was in no way an ideal ‘home’ but it protected us from the rain and the chilly wind. When it rained on Monday, I took cover at the bus stop as did several other people. The night shelters set up here are packed every night. Most people who sleep there are drunk or drug addicts, so I don’t feel safe sleeping there. Also, the shelters are right above a drain and it smells very bad. The subway gave us protection from the cold as well as cars,” ..”
“.. ordered that subways in areas with a dense homeless population, such as AIIMS and Kashmere Gate, be opened for the homeless during winter — providing some respite from the cold for those sleeping outside AIIMS. ..”
“.. the subway served people in the winter months. It’s closure has hit the homeless hard. .. The shelters in the area set up by the government are not in great condition either. The tents that have come up do not have any facility for toilets. A provision for those should be made. Also, wherever there is a concentration of homeless people, subways and a part of the Metro stations should be opened during winters,” ..”
“.. a 20 per cent gap between demand and supply,” ..”
-- -- --
This is from December 2017.


- Community Toilets to make city open defecation free
DUSIB opened 810 community toilets spread over 21 complexes in the city in June 2017, it says over 10,000 constructed by agency from Feb 2015 to June 2017.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed to make all slum clusters in the Capital open defecation-free by March 31, 2018.
-- -- --
“.. inauguration of the community toilet complexes constructed by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) at a slum cluster in south Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar, the .. government would construct similar facilities in all slums by the end of this financial year. ..”
“.. the opening of new community toilet complexes at slums was an important step for women’s safety as women residents were earlier forced to defecate in the open.
Women’s safety ..”
“.. DUSIB opened 810 community toilets spread over 21 complexes in the city, ..”
“.. toilets at the slum cluster near the railway line at Jal Vihar in Lajpat Nagar were made after the Railways gave permission.
To make the slum, which has 1,310 jhuggies, open defecation-free, the DUSIB had set up a 110-seater prefab toilet complex.
Till now, the residents of the slum were forced to relieve themselves near the railway track.”
“Among the other locations where new toilet complexes were inaugurated .. are Okhla DTC Depot, Sudhir Camp in Kalkaji, Kalander Colony near Bhalswa Dairy, Dalit Camp in Dakshinpuri, K-Block Manglopuri, slum cluster at B-Block Paschim Vihar and Kamla Nehru Camp at Kirti Nagar. ”
-- -- --
This is from June 2017.


- Relocation of JJ Colony in East Delhi’s Vinod Nagar - rehabilitation of 400 people
NHAI National Highways Authority of India has sought the land to widen the Delhi-Meerut highway. About 400 people will have to be rehabilitated.
-- -- --
“.. Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board .. approved relocation of the JJ colony in east Delhi’s Vinod Nagar near NH-24. ..”
“.. Slum and Jhuggi Jhonpri Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy 2015. ..”
“.. 400 JJ dwellers will be allotted flats at Baprola. ..”
“.. approved Rs 891 crore budget for DUSIB.
Of this, Rs.373.65 crore will be spent in the execution of plan works in JJ colonies to improve the living conditions there.”
-- -- --
This is from September 2016.


- Towards a slum free city, garnering revenue for same
There are over 1,000 land pockets available with DUSIB and within them are plots of 800 square feet. They cannot be used for commercial purposes. There are 80 of them and they can fetch Rs. 100 Crores. And the money will be used for public welfare.
DUSIB plans to auction around 7000 square metre of land in West Delhi’s Rajouri Garden for construction of hotel.
It’s the government’s suggestion that land can be used for commercial purpose.
DUSIB is not able to earn much from freehold policy of JJ plots and has also incurred losses for allotting lands at inter-departmental rates to various agencies instead of circle rates.
-- -- --
“.. To fund the slum-free city project, the Delhi government has proposed to sell off land lying unused for years. ..”
“.. aim to fetch at least R 400 crore from it. Most of our revenue comes from the land given on lease and for years we have land lying unused resulting into losses. .. The land in west and outer Delhi will be used for the construction of 27,000 flats .. other land will be used for commercial purposes ..”
“.. DUSIB had also invited tender for allotment of open ground Raja Garden for ten months for the purpose of marriages, Social or cultural event. .. also exploring option to use land as parking site and earn revenue. .. ”
-- -- --
This is from April 2017.
AND assumes
- Plots ‘within’ pockets are to be sold off. Accessibility for these plots then?, Easement Rights. Right?


- Delhi slums were to get over 8000 new toilets by 2017 year end.
Eradicating open defecation in 675 notified clusters
The Delhi government planned to declare the clusters open defecation-free before the end of financial year. Slums were to have new toilet complexes.
As per DUSIB records, 10,583 toilet seats were either constructed or renovated from February 14, 2015 till June 30 2017. 8,400 toilets were either under construction or renovation. All of these were to be finished by December 2017.
-- -- --
“.. From February 14, 2015, to March 31, 2016, the government built a total of 4,119 toilets, of which 1,287 were new and 2,832 renovated. In financial year 2016-2017, as many as 4,716 toilet seats were added, with 1,996 being new constructions and 2,800 being old toilets that were renovated. ..”
“.. Depending on the project, each toilet seat or cubicle costs the DUSIB ₹80,000 to ₹1.25 lakh to construct. In some slums, sewer lines are being extended so that the houses can have their own toilets, ..”
“.. Since these slums are located on land owned by various agencies, getting no-objection certificates (NOCs) .. had been a challenge. However, .. Swachh Bharat Mission in 2014, .. Railways and the Delhi Development Authority, have been issuing NOCs faster. ..”
“.. In areas where land has not been secured, temporary toilets in the form of porta cabins will be constructed, so that the residents do not relieve themselves in the open. However, with around 3 lakh households in slums, the task of giving each resident access to a clean toilet is unlikely ..”
-- -- --
This is from July 2017.


- DUSIB to provide sanitation, toilet facilities in slums
DUSIB has taken over community toilets from municipal corporations and will upgrade them. Many slums have no toilets. Board also planned to provide 67 mobile toilet vans with bio-digesters in 53 JJ clusters where there is space constraint. An advisory committee to suggest sanitation strategies for slums, comprising NGOs and experts was to be constituted.
-- -- --
“.. is the mandate of DUSIB to rehabilitate slum (jhuggi- jhopri) dwellers and provide toilets facilities in jhuggi- jhopri (JJ) clusters, ..”
“.. DUSIB and other government agencies have provided toilet facilities in 685 JJ clusters, which are standing on land owned by various state and central government agencies. ..”
-- -- --
This is from August 2014.


- Open to Sky Shelters hold some advantages over Night Shelters
The Yamuna embankment in North Delhi’s Kashmere Gate has one of national capital’s open-to-the-sky shelters for homeless workers who have not been able to find a place in one of Delhi government’s many night shelters. There is actually little place to sleep in night shelters. And then there are thefts. Plus there is bias, there is prejudice - typical human, societal frailties at play.
Official from NGO Centre for Holistic Development says that as per National Urban Livelihood Mission guidelines at least 50 sq ft should be given to every person in the night shelters, and that Delhi night shelters are over crowded and yield only 10-12 sq ft area per jana.
-- -- -
“.. More people trickle in, armed with blankets and shawls, ready to spend the night under the open sky — because they don’t have a choice.
The Yamuna riverbed where the migrants have chosen to be is choc-a-bloc with animal waste, with its attendant foul smell to which is added that of the putrid river water. ..”
“.. six nearby night shelters .. were found to be over-crowded. ..”
“The Delhi government’s Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), while announcing its Winter Action Plan on December 15, 2017, said it runs 251 shelters — 83 of them housed in permanent buildings and 113 operating out of porta-cabins. FIfty-five temporary shelters in tents have also been put up for the winter season.
Although the Board claims that the night shelters can accommodate close to 20,000 people, only about 10,000 homeless people are using them. ..”
“.. “Rain Basera” mobile application. ..”
“.. According to a 2014 DUSIB survey, the number of homeless in Delhi is 16,000, while various NGOs estimate that the number may run up to 100,000 or more. ..”
-- -- --
This is from January 2018.


- Mobile Toilets at 156 locations - Delhi will be ODF.
19000 new toilets will come up in 165 locations.
DUSIB proposes mobile toilets (pilot project and first time in country) at 165 locations in capital towards making Delhi free of open defecation. The board’s ‘Delhi Slums Open Defecation-free Plan, 2016-17’ also includes a new model of mobile toilets installed on cycle-rickshaws. An Australian manufacturer has two toilet designs to offer - western portable and squatting tank. DUSIB selects the second. The mobile toilets are made of high-density polyethylene and weigh 20 kg. Each unit will also include a hand-wash basin. There will be no construction cost, no laying of sewage pipelines. In some places toilets will be placed on ground and not mounted on cycle rickshaw.
-- -- --
“.. conducted surveys across JJ clusters .. there was no place to construct them in congested slums .. thought of using the cycle-rickshaw mounted toilet model .. tested at 30 night shelters last winter ..”
“.. “Each unit will be good for about 70 to 80 uses. Certain chemicals used to treat the waste will remove odour. After use, the waste can be discharged into the nearest manhole,” ..”
“.. Last year, the DUSIB had prepared a slum-free city action plan (SFCAP) for the implementation of the Centre’s Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY). .. Centre scrapped RAY and replaced it with the housing-for-all scheme. However, based on the surveys conducted prior to the SFCAP, the DUSIB stated that 22 per cent of the population in Delhi’s slums did not have access to a toilet.
The SFCAP showed that members of 56,980 households in the city’s slums still defecated in the open. A DUSIB official said, “Earlier, the ratio for building new toilets was 1:50. Under the new plan, the ratio is one toilet per 30 people.” ..”
-- -- --
This is from July 2016.


- 26,288 Flats Built for Slum-Dwellers Are Still Lying Empty
This is on policy making and implementation. Rehabilitation has become a tedious process. 
Successive Delhi governments have failed miserably with relocating city’s slum-dwellers.
-- -- --
“.. a considerable number of flats have been constructed for these disenfranchised groups. But the lion’s share of these constructions are still lying unoccupied and unattended. ..”
“..
Snapshot
In 2010, Delhi government with the Centre’s help built 27,344 flats for people living in slums.
Currently, 26,288 flats are yet to be occupied.
Flats have been constructed in Bawana, Baprola, Ghoga and Dwarka.
Only 4,000 ex-slum dwellers have been shifted so far.
The Quint managed to document 16,000 of these unoccupied shelters.
 ..”
“.. proposal found support in some of the central government schemes like the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and the Rajiv Awas Yojna (RAY). .. flats were complete with parks, playgrounds and even marriage halls. .. 27,344 flats could not be allotted. .. did not facilitate systematic distribution, and while some flats were allotted, people were never shifted into them. One government followed the other, but the mission never witnessed successful implementation.
“.. the added lack of a structured allotment plan. ..”
“.. (DUSIB) has alleged that the right to allotment was only accorded to them in 2015. ..”
“..
Current Conditions of Slum-Dwellers in Delhi
49% of Delhi’s population resides in slums.
According to latest statistics, there are 4,20,000 slums in the city.
205 of these slums are near sewage drains, which are a cause of diseases like dengue and malaria.
One-fourth of these slums do not have bathrooms.
 ..”
-- -- --
This is from June 2016.

So this is/was the Second Post on news items on DUSIB. The first Post on same is at First Post On News Items On DUSIB .
All news items on DUSIB will not be mentioned. If they come within the gamut of AND Project then they will. Link to next Post on DUSIB news items will arrive here some time.
Plus, some news items on DUSIB may be stand alone - in their own dedicated Posts.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)