Institutionalising Voices of Marginalised Children in Urban
Planning in India
Rethinking Urbanisation and Equity in Asia: Harnessing the Potential of Urban Living for All Children
9-10 June 2014
Pradeep NarayananDirector, Research, Praxis Institute for Participatory
Practices
Session B1: Growth, Governance and Inclusion Presentation: 4
Praxis
Indian not-for-profit organisation
Established in 1997
Promoting democratisation of development processes through active participation of the poor communities. Focus Area: Equity and Governance
A large part of this presentation is based on our work with the Bernard van Leer
Foundation and with support from the Humara Bachpan Campaign
The Concerns Children, among urban poor, face greater degree of marginalisation
Urban poor face resettlement options that do not take into account their needs or demands
Urban poor get marginalised, uprooted and evicted by the process of ‘development’
Participatory Video by Children
No dearth of Schemes….
Water Sewerage
Solid Waste management
Drainage Transport Roads Housing Toilets BathsStreet lights
Health
Civic amenities/social infrastructure
JNNURM
Sub-Mission for Urban Infrastructure and Governance
(including preservation of water bodies)
Sub-Mission for Basic Services to the Urban Poor*
(community)
(communit
y)
(community
halls, child care centres)
IHSDP
(community)
(communit
y)Yes
(Primary Health care
centre buildings)
(community
centres for pre-school, non-
formal education)
UIDSSMT (including
preservation of water bodies)
Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY)*
(including
transit housing,
dormitory)
(community
halls, child care centres, informal markets, livelihood centre)
VAMBAY
(community)
Schemes/Policies/Missions
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓✓✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓
✓ ✓ ✓✓
✓✓✓✓✓✓✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓
✓ ✓
✓
✓ ✓
Water Sewerage
Solid Waste management
Drainage Transport Roads Housing Toilets Baths Street lights Health
Civic amenities/social infrastructure
North Eastern Region Urban Development Programme (NERUDP)
National Urban Sanitation Policy
Integrated Low Cost Sanitation (ILCS)
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓
✓
Process with girls in Hyderabad, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and
Maharashtra
Participatory research
Children in Delhi
Participatory video process
Learnings from the field – Unsafe Spaces
Open spaces for defecation
DrainsRoads
Wine shop Seashore
Police station
GirlsHome
Playground/ParksMakeshift bathing spaceCommunity water points Garbage dumping ground
Provision storeToilets in schools
Under-construction sitesBus and Bus stop
Market Public toilets/Sulabhs
Movie theatreSchools at a distance
Boys
Government housing:Absence of railings on staircases Broken stairsLow parapet wallsLack of ventillationPoor quality construction materials usedLow hanging electric wires
Housing
Kuccha housesSmall spaces Leaking roofs Poor ventilationOpen live wiresLow hanging electric wiresFire accidents
Toilets and Bathrooms
Open defecation Defecate mostly behind bushes, near large drains and sea shore Fear of being watchedFear of falling into the drainFear of snake bite
Bathing space Makeshift bathing space Fear of being watched when bathing
Menstrual hygiene No option for safe disposal of menstrual cloth or sanitary pads
Toilets by government Small toilet spaces and no provision for bathing space
Community toiletsUnused due to poor maintenancePay and use toiletsLocked during nights
Housing – An alternate vision by children
Housing – A practical alternative from children
Terrace Store Two separate rooms
for parents and children
Bathroom and toilet with proper ventilation
Kitchen Water tank Ventilation for the
rooms Greenery around Space outside the
house where the family can sit and enjoy the winter sun
Drainage
Large open drains posed a danger for community members especially children, some of who slipped and fell into the drains while playing
During rains, the large drains overflow and the drain water enters the homes in the slums
There were no drains for the water to flow into and this led to stagnant water that bred mosquitoes
Absence of, or littered sidewalks
Narrow roads that made it difficult for pedestrians to use roads during heavy traffic and increased the chances of road accidents
Absence of traffic lights at all crossings Inadequate zebra crossings and speed breakers
Non-adherence to traffic rules also caused road accidents and increased difficulty in crossing roads - “Traffic Police need to be stationed at the crossing”
Girls eve-teased on the road
The streets get slushy during the rains
Boys harass girls at bus stops and in the buses
Roads and transportation
Roads and Transportation – An alternate vision from children
Clean roads Footpaths Foot over-bridge Zebra crossings at
relevant places Traffic signals Proper buses Covered drains Covered and well-lit
garbage dumps
Boys played in the parks that were not usurped by elders Girls do not have any space to play
Girls did not play in the park due to what they called “ganda mahaul” (unsafe environment) - Men and boys take drugs, gamble and often harass girls
Children from colonies do not allow children from basti (slum) to play in their parks inside the colonies
Playground/Parks
Parks had been turned into garbage dumping yards
Parks were littered and the swing broken
Children usually ended up playing on the busy roads and could only play games like kho-kho, catch and catch
School
Absence of toilet facility
Absence of water facility in the toilets - “We feel embarrassed when we have to go and fetch water from outside to go to the toilet”
Absence of safe drinking water
Broken steps
Absence of, or broken swings in the schools playground
Absence of a library
Absence of walls
Girls were teased and harassed by boys who stood near/around the school, making it difficult for girls to go to school
Other SpacesWaterChildren, mostly girls, had to spend hours to stand in the queue to fill water There were also cases of physical fights over waterSometimes children had to get up very early in the morning to fetch water
Health CentrePrimary Health Centres did not have doctors and medicines were also not available For urgent medical needs the people had to travel as far as 25 km
NeighbourhoodAbsence of community hall – “Community hall has been converted into police station”Absence of parking spaceAbsence of space for children to playAbsence of garbage binsChildren were scared of drunken men during the eveningsGirls are harassed by boys - “Difficult to go to the market as many a times we are teased by men and boys on the way to the market. We are whistled at and sometimes called names. Stones and vegetables are thrown at us to catch our attention.”
Police StationChildren were scared of being caught by police and taken away while working at construction sites as substitutes for their ailing parents
Parks and schools – An alternate vision from children
Separate parks for boys and girls
See-saws, swings in good condition so that little children did not get hurt
Schools should have facility for water in toilets
There should be dust bins so that cleanliness is maintained
There should be classrooms so that children don’t roam outside
Classrooms should have fans and lights
Shrinking Spaces
compared to five years ago!
Community ToiletsPast Very few community toilets and they were far from most houses Most people defecated in the open especially children Girls and women got up early in the morning During the day girls and women used neighbours’ toilet or were
accompanied by a female to defecate in the open
Present More community toilets and most use them Unclean facilities Lack of or inadequate water facility Inadequate number of toilet seats Damaged doors Cost for using the facility Absence of special provisions for the disabled
and old Spaces of abuse
IdealCommunity toilets with adequate number of toilet seatsMaintenance of toilets and no user chargesToilets to be clean with sufficient water facilityBrightly lit toilets and good quality doors Streetlights on the way to the toiletSpecial provisions for disabled and old such as western style toiletsSeparate entrances for males and femalesProvision of soap for hand wash
Past An open space existed but was filthy Children preferred playing outside their houses – in the lane The open space had no wall and vehicles passed through it Waste was dumped in this space and there was slush during
rains
Parks/Playground
Present Poorly lit spaces or no lighting Presence of a boundary wall but drugs
were openly transacted and used in the park
Improper surfaces – no grass State of ill-repair – broken benches and
swings Eve-teasing Garbage littered around
Ideal There should be separate spaces to play and provision
to sit Lots of grass (so no one would get hurt if they fell down) Dustbins around the park There should be provision of benches for sitting
arrangements Provision of drinking water inside the park Lights inside and on the side of parks Safe road leading to the space The thought of collective responsibility should emerge
to take care of park
Inaam Nahin, Naam Chahiye! (We do not want
Favours, We want an Identity!)
Ground-Level Panel
Key Messages from Children
Who are we?:We are not just children, but are made aware from early childhood that we are also Dalit, Poor, Minorities, Migrants or Tribal
Society: Do not use “labeling” to discriminate against us. We fear because we have no right to articulate what we feel (no voice). We are further targeted by superstition driven misconceptions
Corporate: Many of our habitations are today your property. You hire us for very menial jobs and we leave both family and school to do these jobs. Once we are adults, we are considered “unskilled”. The environment gets polluted and diseases tend to spread and affect the population (especially us) living in the surrounding region.
State: Instead of providing opportunities to “include” us, there is exclusion, less information and we are unable to access policies meant for us. You do not know us- you even do not know how many of us are “labourers”. We want to Participate in governance. Its our right.
Next Phase of the programme
In the first phase, there was a demonstration by children that they can articulate what they need. They are not seeking “more” investment, what they want is “appropriate” investment.
In the next phase, we are documenting some of the efforts by civil society actors like the Humara Bachpan campaign and others, who have created spaces for children to engage with local administration.
Mainstreaming participatory research and participatory video with children into urban planning process. We are collaborating with urban planning and schools and institutions of architecture
Thank You
Countries
Assessments:
poverty, institutional, governance, gender, child rights...
Evaluations:
micro projects, macro projects, processes, fellowships...
Bilaterals:
DFID, SIDA, SDC
Micro level planning:
sub district and district level
Capacity building:
national and international
Other Projects:
Participatory Video with marginalised communities….
Multi laterals:
WB, ADB, UNDP, UNICEF, UNIFEM, BRC...
Engaged in:Partners
INGOs:
PLAN, CARE, ActionAid, SCF, TLM, Brooke, AIF
Foundations:
BMGF, AKF
Governments:
India (central, state and panchayat), Nepal, China
NGOs:
CRY, AAK, AAA...
CBOs:
Various SHGs, MFIs, Sex worker collectives...
Academic Institutions:
IDS, Univ. of Bristol, Indian Universities
Networks:
RCPLA, SEW, Ekta Parishad, QIC & IC, Voice of the Nile, CRN, CONGOMO
Monitoring:
systems (micro and macro), baselines, long term
Corporates:
Lafarge, NTPC, TSRDS