In Ranchi, the Centre’s Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme covers 60 slums — 10 illegal — in six phases. Of the illegal 10 under fire, including the now-razed Islam Nagar, seven came up on Ranchi Municipal Corporation land, one on Ranchi government polytechnic land and two on plots owned by public sector undertaking Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC). With Jharkhand High Court ruling extreme steps to clear encroachments from the city, the state needs to display mature co-ordination among its different land-owning sectors, and decide if slums will be legalised in their existing sites or be shifted permanently.

In the concluding instalment of the three-part series on illegal slums in the line of fire, Amit Gupta puts the spotlight on the last three slums waiting to exhale

INDIRA NAGAR

Where: On HEC land, under

ward No. 39

Origin: Before 1970

Households: About 179

People profile: Most are lepers who depend on alms or sops from the government or NGOs. Others work as daily wage labourers. A few are employed as drivers of school buses of neighbouring areas

State take: Slum under BSUP Phase III, 152 families handpicked under the scheme. Centre has sanctioned Rs 6.3 crore for slum revamp

HARIJAN BUSTEE (PATHALKUDWA)

Where: On RMC land, under ward No. 17

Origin: Before 1975

Households: About 32

People profile: Rickshaw-pullers, safai karmacharis (cleaning staff) employed temporarily with government and private organisations, daily wage workers, et al

State take: Slum under BSUP Phase I, 30 families handpicked under the scheme. Centre has sanctioned Rs 4.85crore, which includes revamp budget of few smaller slums nearby

NAYEK BUSTEE, HATIA

Where: On HEC land, under ward No. 53

Origin: Not known

Households: About 288

People profile: Most people work as daily wage labourers in different ancillary units in the area

State take: Slum part of BSUP Phase III, 228 families handpicked under the scheme. Centre has sanctioned over Rs 10.65 crore for slum revamp

RESIDENTSPEAK

We have been staying here since the past 40 years or so. Two years ago, RMC babus visited us and took notes on total number of kutcha houses, but we didn’t get pucca houses as promised.

This is a populous slum. Lepers from across Jharkhand and neighbouring states like Bengal and Bihar stay here

Rajaram Mahto (65) Indira Nagar slum-dweller

OFFICIALSPEAK

To the best of my knowledge, a rehab colony for lepers exists in the area known as Indira Nagar. I have to verify if Nayek Bastee in Hatia is also on HEC land. The management has to decide whether the encroached acres, if any, will be given for slum development or not

P. Subramanyam HEC senior official

MAYORSPEAK

My stand remains the same. Slum-dwellers should first be rehabilitated or relocated. Forced displaced without a rehab plan doesn’t work