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

www.praxisindia.orginfo@praxisindia.org

www.praxis-uk.orginfo@praxis-uk.org

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