In the year 2001, the region of Kachchh witnessed a massive 7.7 magnitude of an earthquake, one of the deadliest in India’s history. Already in 1998 it had been shaken by a powerful cyclone. After these twin disasters, the city of Bhuj, one of the important trade centres of the region, witnessed a massive influx of people from nearby villages desperately looking for food, shelter, clothing and livelihoods. The city witnessed a dramatic 100% rise in its population, from 99,000 in 2001 to close to 200,000 in 2019.
This led to the sprawling of slum settlements inhabited by 31% of the city’s population, consisting primarily of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities or marginalised communities. However, the increase in the population was not accompanied by a proportional increase in access to basic services. Rather the city was faced with poor housing, excessive un-treated waste generation, water scarcity and contamination, and resultant health hazards among many others. This reflects the reality of most Indian cities, which have exploded exponentially with around 377.16 million living in 7,933 cities as per the 2011 census (according to India Habitat Report, 2016), yet their ability to provide for basic amenities like shelter, food, sewage, and infrastructure is abysmal.
Homes in the City
However, soon after the quake, something started brewing in Bhuj to challenge the general trend of poor urban planning. After some small initiatives here and there, in 2008, several civil society organizations began a systematic process of responding to the crises, by using the progressive provisions of the 74th Constitutional Amendment. The amendment aims to empower urban local bodies (ULBs) to enable them to function as “institutions of self-government”; it mandates the constitution of Ward Committees in cities with a population of over 3 lakhs (300,000), to be involved in planning, financial and administrative functions. Unfortunately these provisions have hardly been implemented in India, so it was significant that in Bhuj a process of decentralising planning and governance was initiated under a program called Homes in the City (HIC).
