Local Initiatives in Relocation: The State and NGOs as Partners?: From Research to Action - Hardcover

Van Eerd, Maartje

 
9788173047343: Local Initiatives in Relocation: The State and NGOs as Partners?: From Research to Action

Synopsis

Relocation projects, resulting from infrastructural developments incity centres have affected millions in India. People who wererelocated have to reorganise their lives almost from scratch,although more formal housing programmes are sometimes offered tothem. This book analyses the impact of relocation on 2,640 poorurban households who were re-located from the city centre to theoutskirts of Chennai in the 1990s. It describes a relocationprogramme of the government and the role of NGOs in the area. Themain focus is on the local initiatives taken by the relocatees intrying to rebuild their lives in the absence of services andemployment. Prior to the relocation, the families depended onemployment in the city centre, and although the government promisedthat alternative employment would be provided, this was not done.As a result many of the relocatees illegally sold their plots andreturned to the city centre. Planning of the site was unsuitableand not adapted to local needs. Due to the relocation socialnetworks were destroyed which led to many fights and instabilityamongst the different communities. Finally, NGOs imposed theirprogrammes on the community without consultation and involvementand without linking up with local initiatives, and needs andpriorities. This book concludes with an investigation of whetherand how government and NGO policies and programmes can be betterlinked to local initiatives, needs and priorities so thatrelocatees are able to build-up their assets in cases whererelocation is unavoidable.

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